Sample records for ceres integral benchmarks

  1. Surface Mineralogy Mapping of Ceres from the Dawn Mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCord, T. B.; Zambon, F.

    2017-12-01

    Ceres' surface composition is of special interest because it is a window into the interior state and the past evolution of this dwarf planet. Disk-integrated telescopic spectral observations indicated that Ceres' surface is hydroxylated, similar to but not exactly the same as some of the carbonaceous chondrite classes of meteorites. Furthermore, Ceres' bulk density is low, indicating significant water content. The Dawn mission in orbit around Ceres, provided a new and larger set of observations on the mineralogy, molecular and elemental composition, and their distributions in association with surface features and geology. A set of articles was prepared, from which this presentation is derived, that is the first treatment of the entire surface composition of Ceres using the complete High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) Dawn Ceres data set and the calibrations from all the Dawn instruments. This report provides a current and comprehensive view of Ceres' surface composition and integrates them into general conclusions. Ceres' surface composition shows a fairly uniform distribution of NH4- and Mg-phyllosilicates, carbonates, mixed with a dark component. The widespread presence of phyllosilicates, and salts on Ceres' surface is indicative of the presence of aqueous alteration processes, which involved the whole dwarf planet. There is also likely some contamination by low velocity infall, as seen on Vesta, but it is more difficult to distinguish this infall from native Ceres material, unlike for the Vesta case.

  2. Design and analysis of radiometric instruments using high-level numerical models and genetic algorithms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sorensen, Ira Joseph

    A primary objective of the effort reported here is to develop a radiometric instrument modeling environment to provide complete end-to-end numerical models of radiometric instruments, integrating the optical, electro-thermal, and electronic systems. The modeling environment consists of a Monte Carlo ray-trace (MCRT) model of the optical system coupled to a transient, three-dimensional finite-difference electrothermal model of the detector assembly with an analytic model of the signal-conditioning circuitry. The environment provides a complete simulation of the dynamic optical and electrothermal behavior of the instrument. The modeling environment is used to create an end-to-end model of the CERES scanning radiometer, and its performance is compared to the performance of an operational CERES total channel as a benchmark. A further objective of this effort is to formulate an efficient design environment for radiometric instruments. To this end, the modeling environment is then combined with evolutionary search algorithms known as genetic algorithms (GA's) to develop a methodology for optimal instrument design using high-level radiometric instrument models. GA's are applied to the design of the optical system and detector system separately and to both as an aggregate function with positive results.

  3. Integrated Cloud-Aerosol-Radiation Product using CERES, MODIS, CALIPSO and CloudSat Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sun-Mack, Sunny; Minnis, Patrick; Chen, Yan; Gibson, Sharon; Yi, Yuhong; Trepte, Qing; Wielicki, Bruce; Kato, Seiji; Winker, Dave

    2007-01-01

    This paper documents the development of the first integrated data set of global vertical profiles of clouds, aerosols, and radiation using the combined NASA A-Train data from the Aqua Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), and CloudSat. As part of this effort, cloud data from the CALIPSO lidar and the CloudSat radar are merged with the integrated column cloud properties from the CERES-MODIS analyses. The active and passive datasets are compared to determine commonalities and differences in order to facilitate the development of a 3- dimensional cloud and aerosol dataset that will then be integrated into the CERES broadband radiance footprint. Preliminary results from the comparisons for April 2007 reveal that the CERES-MODIS global cloud amounts are, on average, 0.14 less and 0.15 greater than those from CALIPSO and CloudSat, respectively. These new data will provide unprecedented ability to test and improve global cloud and aerosol models, to investigate aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing, and to validate the accuracy of global aerosol, cloud, and radiation data sets especially in polar regions and for multi-layered cloud conditions.

  4. Integrated cloud-aerosol-radiation product using CERES, MODIS, CALIPSO, and CloudSat data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun-Mack, Sunny; Minnis, Patrick; Chen, Yan; Gibson, Sharon; Yi, Yuhong; Trepte, Qing; Wielicki, Bruce; Kato, Seiji; Winker, Dave; Stephens, Graeme; Partain, Philip

    2007-10-01

    This paper documents the development of the first integrated data set of global vertical profiles of clouds, aerosols, and radiation using the combined NASA A-Train data from the Aqua Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), and CloudSat. As part of this effort, cloud data from the CALIPSO lidar and the CloudSat radar are merged with the integrated column cloud properties from the CERES-MODIS analyses. The active and passive datasets are compared to determine commonalities and differences in order to facilitate the development of a 3-dimensional cloud and aerosol dataset that will then be integrated into the CERES broadband radiance footprint. Preliminary results from the comparisons for April 2007 reveal that the CERES-MODIS global cloud amounts are, on average, 0.14 less and 0.15 greater than those from CALIPSO and CloudSat, respectively. These new data will provide unprecedented ability to test and improve global cloud and aerosol models, to investigate aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing, and to validate the accuracy of global aerosol, cloud, and radiation data sets especially in polar regions and for multi-layered cloud conditions.

  5. An Integrated Cloud-Aerosol-Radiation Product Using CERES, MODIS, CALIPSO and CloudSat Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun-Mack, S.; Gibson, S.; Chen, Y.; Wielicki, B.; Minnis, P.

    2006-12-01

    The goal of this paper is to provide the first integrated data set of global vertical profiles of aerosols, clouds, and radiation using the combined NASA A-Train data from Aqua CERES and MODIS, CALIPSO, and CloudSat. All of these instruments are flying in formation as part of the Aqua Train, or A-Train. This paper will present the preliminary results of merging aerosol and cloud data from the CALIPSO active lidar, cloud data from CloudSat, integrated column aerosol and cloud data from the MODIS CERES analyses, and surface and top-of-atmosphere broadband radiation fluxes from CERES. These new data will provide unprecedented ability to test and improve global cloud and aerosol models, to investigate aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing, and to validate the accuracy of global aerosol, cloud, and radiation data sets especially in polar regions and for multi-layered cloud conditions.

  6. CERES AuTomAted job Loading SYSTem (CATALYST): An automated workflow manager for satellite data production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gleason, J. L.; Hillyer, T. N.; Wilkins, J.

    2012-12-01

    The CERES Science Team integrates data from 5 CERES instruments onboard the Terra, Aqua and NPP missions. The processing chain fuses CERES observations with data from 19 other unique sources. The addition of CERES Flight Model 5 (FM5) onboard NPP, coupled with ground processing system upgrades further emphasizes the need for an automated job-submission utility to manage multiple processing streams concurrently. The operator-driven, legacy-processing approach relied on manually staging data from magnetic tape to limited spinning disk attached to a shared memory architecture system. The migration of CERES production code to a distributed, cluster computing environment with approximately one petabyte of spinning disk containing all precursor input data products facilitates the development of a CERES-specific, automated workflow manager. In the cluster environment, I/O is the primary system resource in contention across jobs. Therefore, system load can be maximized with a throttling workload manager. This poster discusses a Java and Perl implementation of an automated job management tool tailored for CERES processing.

  7. Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Data Products for Climate Research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kato, Seiji; Loeb, Norman G.; Rutan, David A.; Rose, Fred G.

    2015-01-01

    NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project integrates CERES, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and geostationary satellite observations to provide top-of-atmosphere (TOA) irradiances derived from broadband radiance observations by CERES instruments. It also uses snow cover and sea ice extent retrieved from microwave instruments as well as thermodynamic variables from reanalysis. In addition, these variables are used for surface and atmospheric irradiance computations. The CERES project provides TOA, surface, and atmospheric irradiances in various spatial and temporal resolutions. These data sets are for climate research and evaluation of climate models. Long-term observations are required to understand how the Earth system responds to radiative forcing. A simple model is used to estimate the time to detect trends in TOA reflected shortwave and emitted longwave irradiances.

  8. Dawn Mission: A Journey in Space and Time

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Russell, C. T.; Coradini, A.; DeSanctis, M. C.; Feldman, W. C.; Jaumann, R.; Konopliv, A. S.; McCord, T. B.; McFadden, L. A.; McSween, H. Y.; Mottola, S.

    2003-01-01

    By successively orbiting both 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres the Dawn mission directly addresses the longstanding goals of NASA and the planetary community to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system by obtaining geophysical and geochemical data on diverse main belt asteroids. Ceres and Vesta are two complementary terrestrial protoplanets (one apparently "wet" and one "dry"), whose accretion was terminated by the formation of Jupiter. Ceres is little changed since it formed in the early solar system, while Vesta has experienced significant heating and differentiation. Both have remained intact over the age of the solar system, thereby retaining a record of events and processes from the time of planet formation. Detailed study of the geophysics and geochemistry of these two bodies provides critical benchmarks for the early solar system conditions and processes that shaped its subsequent evolution. Dawn provides the missing context for both primitive and evolved meteoritic data, thus playing a central role in understanding terrestrial planet formation and the evolution of the asteroid belt. Dawn is to be launched in May 2006 arriving at Vesta in 2010 and Ceres in 2014, stopping at each to make 11 months of orbital measurements. The spacecraft uses solar electric propulsion both in cruise and in orbit to make most efficient use of its xenon propellant. The spacecraft carries a framing camera, visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, gamma ray/neutron spectrometer, a laser altimeter, magnetometer, and radio science.

  9. Automated Job Controller for Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Production Processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gleason, J. L.; Hillyer, T. N.

    2011-12-01

    Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) is one of NASA's highest priority Earth Observing System (EOS) scientific instruments. The CERES science team will integrate data from the CERES Flight Model 5 (FM5) on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) in addition to the four CERES scanning instrument on Terra and Aqua. The CERES production system consists of over 75 Product Generation Executives (PGEs) maintained by twelve subsystem groups. The processing chain fuses CERES instrument observations with data from 19 other unique sources. The addition of FM5 to over 22 instrument years of data to be reprocessed from flight models 1-4 creates a need for an optimized production processing approach. This poster discusses a new approach, using JBoss and Perl to manage job scheduling and interdependencies between PGEs and external data sources. The new optimized approach uses JBoss to serve handler servlets which regulate PGE-level job interdependencies and job completion notifications. Additional servlets are used to regulate all job submissions from the handlers and to interact with the operator. Perl submission scripts are used to build Process Control Files and to interact directly with the operating system and cluster scheduler. The result is a reduced burden on the operator by algorithmically enforcing a set of rules that determine the optimal time to produce data products with the highest integrity. These rules are designed on a per PGE basis and periodically change. This design provides the means to dynamically update PGE rules at run time and increases the processing throughput by using an event driven controller. The immediate notification of a PGE's completion (an event) allows successor PGEs to launch at the proper time with minimal start up latency, thereby increasing computer system utilization.

  10. Ceres' obliquity history: implications for permanently shadowed regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ermakov, A.; Mazarico, E.; Schroeder, S.; Carsenty, U.; Schorghofer, N.; Raymond, C. A.; Zuber, M. T.; Smith, D. E.; Russell, C. T.

    2016-12-01

    The Dawn spacecraft's Framing Camera (FC) images and radio-tracking data have allowed precise determination of Ceres' rotational pole and obliquity. Presently, the obliquity (ɛ) of Ceres is ≈4°. Because of the low obliquity, permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) can exist on Ceres, and have been identified using both images and shape models (Schorghofer et al., 2016). These observations make Ceres only the third body in the solar system with recognized PSRs after the Moon (Zuber et al., 1997) and Mercury (Chabot et al., 2012). Some craters in Ceres' polar regions possess bright crater floor deposits (BCFD). These crater floors are typically in shadow. However, they receive light scattered from the surrounding sunlit crater walls and therefore can be seen by FC. These bright deposits are hypothesized to be water ice accumulated in PSR cold traps, analogous to the Moon (Watson et al., 1961). The existence of the PSRs critically depends on the body's obliquity. The goal of this work is to study the history of Ceres' obliquity. Knowing past obliquity variations can shed light on the history of PSRs, and can help constrain the water-ice deposition time scales. We integrate the obliquity of Ceres over the last 3 My for the range of C/MR2vol constrained by the Dawn gravity measurements (Park et al., 2016, Ermakov et al., 2016) using methods described in Wisdom & Holman (1991) and Touma & Wisdom (1994). The obliquity history for C/MR2vol=0.392 is shown in Fig. 1. The integrations show that the obliquity of Ceres undergoes large oscillations with the main period of T=25 ky and a maximum of 19.7°. The obliquity oscillations are driven by the periodic change of Ceres' orbit inclination (T=22 ky) and the pole precession (T=210 ky). Ceres passed a local obliquity minimum 1327 years ago when (ɛmin=2.4°). The most recent maximum was 13895 years ago (ɛmax=18.5°). At such high obliquity, most of the present-day PSRs receive direct sunlight. We find a correlation between BCFDs and the most persistent PSRs. In the northern hemisphere, we find that only two PSRs remain at ɛmax. Interestingly, these PSRs contain BCFDs. In the southern hemisphere, we find that only one crater with a BCFD remains in shadow at ɛmax. Ongoing work includes computation of the irradiance of individual BCFDs given the orbital and obliquity history.

  11. An Assessment of New Satellite Data Products for the Development of a Long-Term Global Solar Resource at 10-100 km

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stackhouse Jr., Paul W.; Minnis, Patrick; Perez, Richard

    A project representing an effort to reprocess the NASA based solar resource data sets is reviewed. The effort represented a collaboration between NASA, NOAA, NREL and the SUNY-Albany and aimed to deliver a 10 km resolution, 3-hourly data set spanning from 1983 through near-present. Part of the project was to transition project capability to NREL for annual processing to extend data set. Due to delays in the key input project called ISCCP, we evaluate only Beta versions of this data set and also introduce the potential use of another NASA Langley based cloud data set for the CERES project. Themore » CERES project uses these cloud properties to compute global top-of-atmosphere and surface fluxes at the 1x1 degree resolution. Here, we also briefly discuss these data sets in potential usage for solar resource benchmarking.« less

  12. An Assessment of New Satellite Data Products for the Development of a Long-Term Global Solar Resource at 10-100 km

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Minnis, Patrick; Perez, Richard; Sengupta, Manajit; Knapp, Kenneth; Mikovitz, J. Colleen; Schlemmer, James; Scarino, Benjamin; Zhang, Taiping; Cox, Stephen J.

    2016-01-01

    A project representing an effort to reprocess the NASA based solar resource data sets is reviewed. The effort represented a collaboration between NASA, NOAA, NREL and the SUNY-Albany and aimed to deliver a 10 km resolution, 3-hourly data set spanning from 1983 through near-present. Part of the project was to transition project capability to NREL for annual processing to extend data set. Due to delays in the key input project called ISCCP, we evaluate only Beta versions of this data set and also introduce the potential use of another NASA Langley based cloud data set for the CERES project. The CERES project uses these cloud properties to compute global top-of-atmosphere and surface fluxes at the 1x1 degree resolution. Here, we also briefly discuss these data sets in potential usage for solar resource benchmarking.

  13. Visualization and Quality Control Web Tools for CERES Products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitrescu, C.; Doelling, D. R.

    2017-12-01

    The NASA CERES project continues to provide the scientific communities a wide variety of satellite-derived data products such as observed TOA broadband shortwave and longwave observed fluxes, computed TOA and Surface fluxes, as well as cloud, aerosol, and other atmospheric parameters. They encompass a wide range of temporal and spatial resolutions, suited to specific applications. CERES data is used mostly by climate modeling communities but also by a wide variety of educational institutions. To better serve our users, a web-based Ordering and Visualization Tool (OVT) was developed by using Opens Source Software such as Eclipse, java, javascript, OpenLayer, Flot, Google Maps, python, and others. Due to increased demand by our own scientists, we also implemented a series of specialized functions to be used in the process of CERES Data Quality Control (QC) such as 1- and 2-D histograms, anomalies and differences, temporal and spatial averaging, side-by-side parameter comparison, and others that made the process of QC far easier and faster, but more importantly far more portable. With the integration of ground site observed surface fluxes we further facilitate the CERES project to QC the CERES computed surface fluxes. An overview of the CERES OVT basic functions using Open Source Software, as well as future steps in expanding its capabilities will be presented at the meeting.

  14. Visualization and Quality Control Web Tools for CERES Products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitrescu, C.; Doelling, D. R.; Rutan, D. A.

    2016-12-01

    The CERES project continues to provide the scientific community a wide variety of satellite-derived data products such as observed TOA broadband shortwave and longwave observed fluxes, computed TOA and Surface fluxes, as well as cloud, aerosol, and other atmospheric parameters. They encompass a wide range of temporal and spatial resolutions, suited to specific applications. Now in its 16-year, CERES products are mostly used by climate modeling communities that focus on global mean energetics, meridianal heat transport, and climate trend studies. In order to serve all our users, we developed a web-based Ordering and Visualization Tool (OVT). Using Opens Source Software such as Eclipse, java, javascript, OpenLayer, Flot, Google Maps, python, and others, the OVT Team developed a series of specialized functions to be used in the process of CERES Data Quality Control (QC). We mention 1- and 2-D histogram, anomaly, deseasonalization, temporal and spatial averaging, side-by-side parameter comparison, and others that made the process of QC far easier and faster, but more importantly far more portable. We are now in the process of integrating ground site observed surface fluxes to further facilitate the CERES project to QC the CERES computed surface fluxes. These features will give users the opportunity to perform their own comparisons of the CERES computed surface fluxes and observed ground site fluxes. An overview of the CERES OVT basic functions using Open Source Software, as well as future steps in expanding its capabilities will be presented at the meeting.

  15. Climate Model Evaluation using New Datasets from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Loeb, Norman G.; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Doelling, David R.

    2008-01-01

    There are some in the science community who believe that the response of the climate system to anthropogenic radiative forcing is unpredictable and we should therefore call off the quest . The key limitation in climate predictability is associated with cloud feedback. Narrowing the uncertainty in cloud feedback (and therefore climate sensitivity) requires optimal use of the best available observations to evaluate and improve climate model processes and constrain climate model simulations over longer time scales. The Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) is a satellite-based program that provides global cloud, aerosol and radiative flux observations for improving our understanding of cloud-aerosol-radiation feedbacks in the Earth s climate system. CERES is the successor to the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), which has widely been used to evaluate climate models both at short time scales (e.g., process studies) and at decadal time scales. A CERES instrument flew on the TRMM satellite and captured the dramatic 1998 El Nino, and four other CERES instruments are currently flying aboard the Terra and Aqua platforms. Plans are underway to fly the remaining copy of CERES on the upcoming NPP spacecraft (mid-2010 launch date). Every aspect of CERES represents a significant improvement over ERBE. While both CERES and ERBE measure broadband radiation, CERES calibration is a factor of 2 better than ERBE. In order to improve the characterization of clouds and aerosols within a CERES footprint, we use coincident higher-resolution imager observations (VIRS, MODIS or VIIRS) to provide a consistent cloud-aerosol-radiation dataset at climate accuracy. Improved radiative fluxes are obtained by using new CERES-derived Angular Distribution Models (ADMs) for converting measured radiances to fluxes. CERES radiative fluxes are a factor of 2 more accurate than ERBE overall, but the improvement by cloud type and at high latitudes can be as high as a factor of 5. Diurnal cycles are explicitly resolved by merging geostationary satellite observations with CERES and MODIS. Atmospheric state data are provided from a frozen version of the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office- Data Assimilation System at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. In addition to improving the accuracy of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes, CERES also produces radiative fluxes at the surface and at several levels in the atmosphere using radiative transfer modeling, constrained at the TOA by CERES (ERBE was limited to the TOA). In all, CERES uses 11 instruments on 7 spacecraft all integrated to obtain climate accuracy in TOA to surface fluxes. This presentation will provide an overview of several new CERES datasets of interest to the climate community (including a new adjusted TOA flux dataset constrained by estimates of heat storage in the Earth system), show direct comparisons between CERES ad ERBE, and provide a detailed error analysis of CERES fluxes at various time and space scales. We discuss how observations can be used to reduce uncertainties in cloud feedback and climate sensitivity and strongly argue why we should NOT "call off the quest".

  16. Evaluating Surface Flux Results from CERES-FLASHFlux

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilber, A. C.; Stackhouse, P. W., Jr.; Kratz, D. P.; Gupta, S. K.; Sawaengphokhai, P.

    2016-12-01

    The Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) mission provides TOA (Top-of-Atmosphere) and surface radiative flux products for each CERES footprint (Single Scanner Footprint) and also time integrated and spatially averaged (TISA) to provide 1ox1o fluxes at various temporal averages. The CERES TISA products are available to the public within 3-6 months of observation. The CERES Fast Longwave and SHortwave radiative Flux (FLASHFlux) data products were developed to provide a rapid release version of the CERES data products. FLASHFlux data products are made available to the research and applications communities within one week of the satellite observations. Over the last several years, the CERES team has contributed to a section on the variability of radiation budget at the Top-of-Atmosphere in the annual "State of the Climate Report" published in BAMS using CERES TISA and FLASHFlux data products. Recently, the FLASHFlux data were used to investigate the radiative impacts of the intense 2015-2016 El Nino event. In addition FLASHFlux date are routinely used by applied science in energy related and agricultural sectors. The current version of FLASHFlux is being upgraded to FLASHFlux Version4A to improve consistency with the climate quality Edition 4 CERES data products. This presentation will describe the planned changes including the change to the latest meteorological product from Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), GEOS FP-IT (5.12.4). GEOS 5.12.4 is an assimilation that is consistent with MERRA-2. We present comparisons of global and regional changes in the TOA and surface radiative fluxes as a result of the upgrade for both longwave (LW) and shortwave (SW) surface fluxes. We also compare the data products against ground measurements using data from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) - including NOAA SURFRAD, Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) and Ocean buoy measurements from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI).

  17. Future Flight Opportunities and Calibration Protocols for CERES: Continuation of Observations in Support of the Long-Term Earth Radiation Budget Climate Data Record

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Priestley, Kory J.; Smith, George L.

    2010-01-01

    The goal of the Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) project is to provide a long-term record of radiation budget at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA), within the atmosphere, and at the surface with consistent cloud and aerosol properties at climate accuracy. CERES consists of an integrated instrument-algorithm validation science team that provides development of higher-level products (Levels 1-3) and investigations. It involves a high level of data fusion, merging inputs from 25 unique input data sources to produce 18 CERES data products. Over 90% of the CERES data product volume involves two or more instruments. Continuation of the Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) Climate Data Record (CDR) has been identified as critical in the 2007 NRC Decadal Survey, the Global Climate Observing System WCRP report, and in an assessment titled Impacts of NPOESS Nunn-McCurdy Certification on Joint NASA-NOAA Climate Goals . Five CERES instruments have flown on three different spacecraft: TRMM, EOS-Terra and EOS-Aqua. In response, NASA, NOAA and NPOESS have agreed to fly the existing CERES Flight Model (FM-5) on the NPP spacecraft in 2011 and to procure an additional CERES Sensor with modest upgrades for flight on the JPSS C1 spacecraft in 2014, followed by a CERES follow-on sensor for flight in 2018. CERES is a scanning broadband radiometer that measures filtered radiance in the SW (0.3-5 m), total (TOT) (0.3-200 m) and WN (8-12 m) regions. Pre-launch calibration is performed on each Flight Model to meet accuracy requirements of 1% for SW and 0.5% for outgoing LW observations. Ground to flight or in-flight changes are monitored using protocols employing onboard and vicarious calibration sources. Studies of flight data show that SW response can change dramatically due to optical contamination. with greatest impact in blue-to UV radiance, where tungsten lamps are largely devoid of output. While science goals remain unchanged for ERB Climate Data Record, it is now understood that achieving these goals is more difficult for two reasons. The first is an increased understanding of the dynamics of the Earth/atmosphere system which demonstrates that separation of natural variability from anthropogenic change on decadal time scales requires observations with higher accuracy and stabilit

  18. Dynamical portrait of the Hoffmeister asteroid family

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Novakovic, Bojan; Maurel, Clara; Tsirvoulis, Georgios; Knezevic, Zoran; Radovic, Viktor

    2015-08-01

    The (1726) Hoffmeister asteroid family is located in the middle of the Main Belt, between 2.75 and 2.82 AU. It draws our attention due to its unusual shape when projected to the semi-major axis vs. inclination plane. Actually, the distribution of family members as seen in this plane clearly suggests different dynamical evolution for the two parts of the family delimited in terms of semi-major axis.Therefore, we investigate here the dynamics of the family members aiming primarily to explain the observed unusual shape, but we also reconstruct the evolution of the whole family in time, and estimated its age.The Hoffmeister family is close to the fourth degree secular resonance z1=g-g6+s-s6, and in the neighborhood of the most massive asteroid (1) Ceres, each of these possibly being responsible for the strange shape of the family. To identify which ones, if any, among the different possible dynamical mechanisms are actually at work here, we performed a set of numerical integrations. We integrate the orbits of test particles over 300 Myr, as the age of the Hoffmeister family was previously roughly estimated to be 300 ± 200 Myr. Moreover, in order to identify and isolate the main perturber(s), we repeat four times the integrations using each time a different dynamical model, taking or not into account the Yarkovsky effect and dwarf planet Ceres as a perturbing body.Our results reveal the significant role of a so far overlooked dynamical aspect, namely a secular resonance between the dwarf planet Ceres and other asteroids. In particular, we show that the post-impact evolution of the Hoffmeister asteroid family is a direct consequence of the nodal secular resonance with Ceres.

  19. NASA's Dawn Mission to Asteroid 4 Vesta

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McFadden, Lucyann A.

    2011-01-01

    NASA's Dawn Mission to asteroid 4 Vesta is part of a 13-year robotic space project designed to reveal the nature of two of the largest asteroids in the Main Asteroid Belt of our Solar System. Ceres and Vesta are two complementary terrestrial protoplanets whose accretion was probably terminated by the formation of Jupiter. They provide a bridge in our understanding between the rocky bodies of the inner solar system and the icy bodies of the outer solar system. Ceres appears to be undifferentiated Vesta has experienced significant heating and likely differentiation. Both formed very early in history of the solar system and while suffering many impacts have remained intact, thereby retaining a record of events and processes from the time of planet formation. Detailed study of the geophysics and geochemistry of these two bodies provides critical benchmarks for early solar system conditions and processes that shaped its subsequent evolution. Dawn provides the missing context for both primitive and evolved meteoritic data, thus playing a central role in understanding terrestrial planet formation and the evolution of the asteroid belt. Dawn is to he launched in 2006 arriving at Vesta in 20l0 and Ceres in 2014, stopping at each to make 11 months of orbital measurements. The spacecraft uses solar electric propulsion, both in cruise and in orbit, to make most efficient use of its xenon propellant. The spacecraft carries a framing camera, visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, gamma ray/neutron magnetometer, and radio science.

  20. CERES ERBE-like Instantaneous TOA Estimates (ES-8) in HDF (CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=1998-08-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  1. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  2. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  3. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2006-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  4. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  5. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-12-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  6. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-29] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  7. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2003-12-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  8. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-12-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  9. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-29] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  10. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-29] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  11. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  12. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  13. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  14. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2002-12-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  15. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) in HDF (CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Geographical Averages (ES-4) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-4 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. For each observed 2.5-degree spatial region, the daily average, the hourly average over the month, and the overall monthly average of shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-9 product are spatially nested up from 2.5-degree regions to 5- and 10-degree regions, to 2.5-, 5-, and 10-degree zonal averages, and to global monthly averages. For each nested area, the albedo and net flux are given. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The following CERES ES4 data sets are currently available: CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES4_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES4_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES4_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES4_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES4_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-12-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 month; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Monthly - < Annual].

  16. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  17. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  18. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF ( CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-29] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  19. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF ( CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2006-09-30] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  20. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=1998-08-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  1. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-29] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  2. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  3. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  4. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CERES:CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  5. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-29] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  6. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  7. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF ( CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2006-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  8. CERES ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) in HDF (CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ERBE-like Monthly Regional Averages (ES-9) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The ES-9 is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave and longwave fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) from the CERES ES-8 product for a month are sorted by 2.5-degree spatial regions, by day number, and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-day-hour bin is determined and recorded on the ES-9 along with other flux statistics and scene information. For each region, the daily average flux is estimated from an algorithm that uses the available hourly data, scene identification data, and diurnal models. This algorithm is 'like' the algorithm used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The ES-9 also contains hourly average fluxes for the month and an overall monthly average for each region. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The following CERES ES9 data sets are currently available: CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_PFM+FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_PFM+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES9_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_FM1+FM2+FM3+FM4_Edition1 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM3_Edition2 CER_ES9_FM1+FM4_Edition2 CER_ES9_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES9_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Longitude_Resolution=2.5 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=250 km - < 500 km or approximately 2.5 degrees - < 5.0 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=hourly, daily, monthly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily, Daily - < Weekly, Monthly - < Annual].

  9. CERES ERBE-like Instantaneous TOA Estimates (ES-8) in HDF (CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ES-8 archival data product contains a 24-hour, single-satellite, instantaneous view of scanner fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reduced from spacecraft altitude unfiltered radiances using Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner Inversion algorithms and the ERBE shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) Angular Distribution Models (ADMs). The ES-8 also includes the total (TOT), SW, LW, and window (WN) channel radiometric data; SW, LW, and WN unfiltered radiance values; and the ERBE scene identification for each measurement. These data are organized according to the CERES 3.3-second scan into 6.6-second records. As long as there is one valid scanner measurement within a record, the ES-8 record will be generated. The following CERES ES8 data sets are currently available: CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Transient-Ops2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1997-12-27; Stop_Date=2006-01-01] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 day; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Daily - < Weekly].

  10. CERES ERBE-like Instantaneous TOA Estimates (ES-8) in HDF (CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ES-8 archival data product contains a 24-hour, single-satellite, instantaneous view of scanner fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reduced from spacecraft altitude unfiltered radiances using Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner Inversion algorithms and the ERBE shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) Angular Distribution Models (ADMs). The ES-8 also includes the total (TOT), SW, LW, and window (WN) channel radiometric data; SW, LW, and WN unfiltered radiance values; and the ERBE scene identification for each measurement. These data are organized according to the CERES 3.3-second scan into 6.6-second records. As long as there is one valid scanner measurement within a record, the ES-8 record will be generated. The following CERES ES8 data sets are currently available: CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Transient-Ops2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1997-12-27; Stop_Date=2006-09-30] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 day; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Daily - < Weekly].

  11. CERES ERBE-like Instantaneous TOA Estimates (ES-8) in HDF (CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ES-8 archival data product contains a 24-hour, single-satellite, instantaneous view of scanner fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reduced from spacecraft altitude unfiltered radiances using Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner Inversion algorithms and the ERBE shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) Angular Distribution Models (ADMs). The ES-8 also includes the total (TOT), SW, LW, and window (WN) channel radiometric data; SW, LW, and WN unfiltered radiance values; and the ERBE scene identification for each measurement. These data are organized according to the CERES 3.3-second scan into 6.6-second records. As long as there is one valid scanner measurement within a record, the ES-8 record will be generated. The following CERES ES8 data sets are currently available: CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Transient-Ops2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1997-12-27; Stop_Date=2005-03-29] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 day; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Daily - < Weekly].

  12. CERES ERBE-like Instantaneous TOA Estimates (ES-8) in HDF (CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ES-8 archival data product contains a 24-hour, single-satellite, instantaneous view of scanner fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reduced from spacecraft altitude unfiltered radiances using Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner Inversion algorithms and the ERBE shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) Angular Distribution Models (ADMs). The ES-8 also includes the total (TOT), SW, LW, and window (WN) channel radiometric data; SW, LW, and WN unfiltered radiance values; and the ERBE scene identification for each measurement. These data are organized according to the CERES 3.3-second scan into 6.6-second records. As long as there is one valid scanner measurement within a record, the ES-8 record will be generated. The following CERES ES8 data sets are currently available: CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Transient-Ops2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1997-12-27; Stop_Date=2005-11-01] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 day; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Daily - < Weekly].

  13. CERES ERBE-like Instantaneous TOA Estimates (ES-8) in HDF (CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ES-8 archival data product contains a 24-hour, single-satellite, instantaneous view of scanner fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reduced from spacecraft altitude unfiltered radiances using Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner Inversion algorithms and the ERBE shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) Angular Distribution Models (ADMs). The ES-8 also includes the total (TOT), SW, LW, and window (WN) channel radiometric data; SW, LW, and WN unfiltered radiance values; and the ERBE scene identification for each measurement. These data are organized according to the CERES 3.3-second scan into 6.6-second records. As long as there is one valid scanner measurement within a record, the ES-8 record will be generated. The following CERES ES8 data sets are currently available: CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Transient-Ops2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1997-12-27; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 day; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Daily - < Weekly].

  14. CERES ERBE-like Instantaneous TOA Estimates (ES-8) in HDF (CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition2)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The ES-8 archival data product contains a 24-hour, single-satellite, instantaneous view of scanner fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reduced from spacecraft altitude unfiltered radiances using Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner Inversion algorithms and the ERBE shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) Angular Distribution Models (ADMs). The ES-8 also includes the total (TOT), SW, LW, and window (WN) channel radiometric data; SW, LW, and WN unfiltered radiance values; and the ERBE scene identification for each measurement. These data are organized according to the CERES 3.3-second scan into 6.6-second records. As long as there is one valid scanner measurement within a record, the ES-8 record will be generated. The following CERES ES8 data sets are currently available: CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Edition2 CER_ES8_TRMM-PFM_Transient-Ops2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_ES8_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_ES8_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_ES8_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1997-12-27; Stop_Date=2005-12-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 day; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Daily - < Weekly].

  15. Next-Generation Angular Distribution Models for Top-of-Atmosphere Radiative Flux Calculation from CERES Instruments: Validation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Su, W.; Corbett, J.; Eitzen, Z.; Liang, L.

    2015-01-01

    Radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument are fundamental variables for understanding the Earth's energy balance and how it changes with time. TOA radiative fluxes are derived from the CERES radiance measurements using empirical angular distribution models (ADMs). This paper evaluates the accuracy of CERES TOA fluxes using direct integration and flux consistency tests. Direct integration tests show that the overall bias in regional monthly mean TOA shortwave (SW) flux is less than 0.2Wm(exp -2) and the RMSE is less than 1.1Wm(exp -2). The bias and RMSE are very similar between Terra and Aqua. The bias in regional monthly mean TOA LW fluxes is less than 0.5Wm(exp -2) and the RMSE is less than 0.8Wm(exp -)2 for both Terra and Aqua. The accuracy of the TOA instantaneous flux is assessed by performing tests using fluxes inverted from nadir- and oblique-viewing angles using CERES along-track observations and temporally and spatially matched MODIS observations, and using fluxes inverted from multi-angle MISR observations. The averaged TOA instantaneous SW flux uncertainties from these two tests are about 2.3% (1.9Wm(exp -2) over clear ocean, 1.6% (4.5Wm(exp -2) over clear land, and 2.0% (6.0Wm(exp -) over clear snow/ice; and are about 3.3% (9.0Wm(exp -2), 2.7% (8.4Wm(exp -2), and 3.7% (9.9Wm(exp -2) over ocean, land, and snow/ice under all-sky conditions. The TOA SW flux uncertainties are generally larger for thin broken clouds than for moderate and thick overcast clouds. The TOA instantaneous daytime LW flux uncertainties derived from the CERESMODIS test are 0.5% (1.5Wm(exp -2), 0.8% (2.4Wm(exp -2), and 0.7% (1.3Wm(exp -2) over clear ocean, land, and snow/ice; and are about 1.5% (3.5Wm(exp -2), 1.0% (2.9Wm(exp -2), and 1.1% (2.1Wm(exp -2) over ocean, land, and snow/ice under all-sky conditions. The TOA instantaneous nighttime LW flux uncertainties are about 0.5-1% (<2.0Wm(exp -2) for all surface types. Flux uncertainties caused by errors in scene identification are also assessed by using the collocated CALIPSO, CloudSat, CERES and MODIS data product. Errors in scene identification tend to underestimate TOA SW flux by about 0.6Wm(exp -2) and overestimate TOA daytime (nighttime) LW flux by 0.4 (0.2)Wm(exp -2) when all CERES viewing angles are considered.

  16. Protocol Development for the NASA-JSC Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) Phase 3 Project: A Report on Baseline Studies at KSC for Continuous Salad Production

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goins, G. D.; Yorio, N. C.; Vivenzio, H. R.

    1998-01-01

    The Phase 3 Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) was conducted in a 20-foot chamber at Johnson Space Center. The overall objective of the Phase 3 project was to conduct a 90-day regenerative life support system test involving 4 human subjects to demonstrate an integrated biological and physicochemical life support system. A secondary objective of the Phase 3 LMLSTP was to demonstrate the ability to produce salad-type vegetable by integration of a small benchtop growth chamber located within the crew habitat area. This small chamber, commercially manufactured as the Controlled Environment Research Ecosystem (CERES 2010(TM)), functioned as a means to continuously provide fresh lettuce crops for crew members. The CERES 2010(TM) growth chamber utilized hardware components developed for effective plant biomass production in spaceflight applications. These components included: (1) LED lighting; (2) Astroculture(TM) Root Trays; and (3) Zeoponic media. In planning for the LMLSTP Phase 3, a request was put forward for KSC scientists to generate a protocol for successful continuous planting, culturing, and harvesting of the salad-crop, lettuce. By conducting baseline tests with components of the CERES 2010(TM), a protocol was developed.

  17. Data Management for a Climate Data Record in an Evolving Technical Landscape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moore, K. D.; Walter, J.; Gleason, J. L.

    2017-12-01

    For nearly twenty years, NASA Langley Research Center's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Science Team has been producing a suite of data products that forms a persistent climate data record of the Earth's radiant energy budget. Many of the team's physical scientists and key research contributors have been with the team since the launch of the first CERES instrument in 1997. This institutional knowledge is irreplaceable and its longevity and continuity are among the reasons that the team has been so productive. Such legacy involvement, however, can also be a limiting factor. Some CERES scientists-cum-coders might possess skills that were state-of-the-field when they were emerging scientists but may now be outdated with respect to developments in software development best practices and supporting technologies. Both programming languages and processing frameworks have evolved significantly in the past twenty years, and updating one of these factors warrants consideration of updating the other. With the imminent launch of a final CERES instrument and the good health of those in flight, the CERES data record stands to continue far into the future. The CERES Science Team is, therefore, undergoing a re-architecture of its codebase to maintain compatibility with newer data processing platforms and technologies and to leverage modern software development best practices. This necessitates training our staff and consequently presents several challenges, including: Development continues immediately on the next "edition" of research algorithms upon release of the previous edition. How can code be rewritten at the same time that the science algorithms are being updated and integrated? With limited time to devote to training, how can we update the staff's existing skillset without slowing progress or introducing new errors? The CERES Science Team is large and complex, much like the current state of its codebase. How can we identify, in a breadth-wise manner, areas for code improvement across multiple research groups that maintain code with varying semantics but common concepts? In this work, we discuss the successes and pitfalls of this major re-architecture effort and share how we will sustain improvement into the future.

  18. CERES FM-5 on the NPP Spacecraft: Continuing the Earth Radiation Budget Climate Data Record

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Priestly, Kory; Smith, G. Louis

    2009-01-01

    The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Flight Model-5 (FM-5) instrument will fly on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft, which has a launch-readiness date in June, 2010. This mission will continue the critical Earth Radiation Budget Climate Data Record (CDR) begun by the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) instruments in the mid 1980 s and continued by the CERES instruments currently flying on the EOS Terra and Aqua spacecraft. Ground calibrations have been completed for FM-5 and the instrument has been delivered for integration to the spacecraft Rigorous pre-launch ground calibration is performed on each CERES unit to achieve an accuracy goal of 1% for SW flux and 0.5% for outgoing LW flux. Any ground to flight or in-flight changes in radiometer response is monitored using a protocol employing both onboard and vicarious calibration sources and experiments. Recent studies of FM-1 through FM-4 data have shown that the SW response of space based broadband radiometers can change dramatically due to optical contamination. With these changes having most impact on optical response to blue-to UV radiance, where tungsten lamps are largely devoid of output, such changes are hard to monitor accurately using existing on-board sources. This paper outlines the lessons learned on the existing CERES sensors from 30+ years of flight experience and presents a radiometric protocol to be implemented on the FM-5 instrument to ensure that its performance exceeds the stated calibration and stability goals.

  19. Dawn approaches Ceres: Analysis of first FC color data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoffmann, Martin; Nathues, Andreas; Schäfer, Michael; Russell, Christopher T.; Schäfer, Tanja; Memgel, Kurt; Reddy, Vishnu; Thangjam, Guneshwar S.; Sierks, Holger; Christensen, Ulrich; Hiesinger, Harald; Le Corre, Lucille; Gutiérrez-Marqués, Pablo; Büttner, Irene; Hall, Ian; Ripken, Joachim; Sykes, Mark V.; Li, Jian-Yang

    2015-04-01

    Since December 1, 2014 the Dawn spacecraft obtains images of Ceres by its onboard Framing Camera in seven color bands and one clear (panchromatic) filter. The size of Ceres (in pixels) has increased during this time from a diameter of 9 pixels to about a quarter of the full frame. The higher resolution of more recent data reveals first details of the topography and distribution of reflectances. Also, we are going to show evidence on extent and elevation of impact structures and other geologic features. These are first indications on their context and unique properties of the surface and evolution of Ceres. The relationship of these features to previous resolved HST observations (Li et al., 2006) and the recent discussion on water emission activity (Küppers et al., 2014), as well as their distribution in longitude and latitude, will be discussed. The (anticipated) most recent data will be able to resolve water related features comparable with those on icy satellites. Potential consequences for the upcoming high resolution data and their planning are to be shown. The first data, obtained on Dec 1st, have been used to start studying the phase curve and to derive an integrated spectrum of Ceres (17 co-registered pixels around the center of the disk). The data were integrated to a single spectrum between 0.44 µm and 0.96 µm. The spectrum is essentially flat over all bands within the accuracy of the data (± 0.01 in reflectance). It is consistent with previous Earth based spectra (Vilas and McFadden, 1992, Burbine et al., 2002, Li et al., 2006). Potential sites showing spectral absorption features in the visual wavelength range will be discussed. The distribution of reflectances at positions relative to the sub-solar longitude also confirms the expected extrapolation of the phase curve from ground based observations. A comparison of the observed phase effect and detected surface features will be presented. Thus differences of the surface roughness on different size scales can be discussed. They are related to presumed effects like relaxation associated with a potential subsurface water regime of Ceres. References Burbine, T. H., Rivkin, A. S., Noble, S. K., Mothe-Diniz, T., Bottke, W. F., McCoy, T. J., Dyar, M. D., Thomas, C. A. (2008). Oxygen and asteroids. Reviews in Mineralogy & Geochemistry 68, 273-343 Küppers, M., O'Rourke, L., Bocklee-Morvan, D., Zakharov, V., Lee, S., von Allmen, P., Carry, B., Teyssier, D., Marston, A., Müller, T., Crovisier, J., Barucci, M. A., Moreno, R. (2014). Localized sources of water vapour on the dwarf planet (1) Ceres. Nature 505, 525-527 Li, J.-Y., McFadden, L. A., Parker, J. Wm., Young, E. F., Stern, S. A., Thomas, P. C., Russell, C. T., Sykes, M. V. (2006). Photometric analysis of 1 Ceres and surface mapping from HST observations. Icarus 182, 143-160 Vilas, F., McFadden L. A. (1992) CCD reflectance spectra of selected asteroids. I. Presentation and data analysis considerations. Icarus 100, 85-94

  20. Announcement of CERES FM6 Edition1-CV Product Release

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2018-06-14

    The Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA Langley Research Center in collaboration with the CERES Science Team ... be found at the CERES data table:   http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/project/ceres/ceres_table   Edition1-CV is for instrument ...

  1. CERES Web Links

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2013-03-21

    ...   Web Links to Relevant CERES Information Relevant information about CERES, CERES references, ... Instrument Working Group Home Page Aerosol Retrieval Web Page  (Center for Satellite Applications and Research) ...

  2. Results of a Hubble Space Telescope Search for Natural Satellites of Dwarf Planet 1 Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeMario, Benjamin; Schmidt, Britney E.; Mutchler, Maximilian J.; Li, Jian-Yang; McFadden, Lucy Ann; McLean, Brian; Russell, Christopher T.

    2016-10-01

    In order to prepare for the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, a search for satellites was undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to enhance the mission science return and to ensure spacecraft safety. Previous satellite searches from ground-based telescopes have detected no satellites within Ceres' Hill sphere down to a size of 3 km (Gehrels et al. 1987) and early HST investigations searched to a limit of 1-2 km (Bieryla et al. 2011). The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the HST was used to image Ceres between 14 April - 28 April 2014. These images cover approximately the inner third of Ceres' Hill sphere, where the Hill sphere is the region surrounding Ceres where stable satellite orbits are possible. We performed a deep search for possible companions orbiting Ceres. No natural companions were located down to a diameter of 48 meters, over most of the Hill sphere to a distance of 205,000 km (434 Ceres radii) from the surface of Ceres. It was impossible to search all the way to the surface of Ceres because of scattered light, but at a distance of 2865 km (five Ceres radii), the search limit was determined to be 925 meters. The absence of a satellite around Ceres could, in the future, support more refined theories about satellite formation or capture mechanisms in the solar system.

  3. Results of a hubble space telescope search for natural satellites of dwarf planet 1 ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeMario, Benjamin E.; Schmidt, Britney E.; Mutchler, Max J.; Li, Jian-Yang; McFadden, Lucy A.; McLean, Brian J.; Russell, Christopher T.

    2016-12-01

    In order to prepare for the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, a search for satellites was undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to enhance the mission science return and to ensure spacecraft safety. Previous satellite searches from ground-based telescopes have detected no satellites within Ceres' Hill sphere down to a size of 3 km (Gehrels et al. 1987) and early HST investigations searched to a limit of 1-2 km (Bieryla et al. 2011). The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the HST was used to image Ceres between 14 April-28 April 2014. These images cover approximately the inner third of Ceres' Hill sphere, where the Hill sphere is the region surrounding Ceres where stable satellite orbits are possible. We performed a deep search for possible companions orbiting Ceres. No natural companions were located down to a diameter of 48 m, over most of the Hill sphere to a distance of 205,000 km (434 Ceres radii) from the surface of Ceres. It was impossible to search all the way to the surface of Ceres because of scattered light, but at a distance of 2865 km (five Ceres radii), the search limit was determined to be 925 m.

  4. Cloud Properties of CERES-MODIS Edition 4 and CERES-VIIRS Edition 1

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sun-Mack, Sunny; Minnis, Patrick; Chang, Fu-Lung; Hong, Gang; Arduini, Robert; Chen, Yan; Trepte, Qing; Yost, Chris; Smith, Rita; Brown, Ricky; hide

    2015-01-01

    The Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) analyzes MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to derive cloud properties that are combine with aerosol and CERES broadband flux data to create a multi-parameter data set for climate study. CERES has produced over 15 years of data from Terra and over 13 years of data from Aqua using the CERES-MODIS Edition-2 cloud retrieval algorithm. A recently revised algorithm, CERESMODIS Edition 4, has been developed and is now generating enhanced cloud data for climate research (over 10 years for Terra and 8 years for Aqua). New multispectral retrievals of properties are included along with a multilayer cloud retrieval system. Cloud microphysical properties are reported at 3 wavelengths, 0.65, 1.24, and 2.1 microns to enable better estimates of the vertical profiles of cloud water contents. Cloud properties over snow are retrieved using the 1.24-micron channel. A new CERES-VIIRS cloud retrieval package was developed for the VIIRS spectral complement and is currently producing the CERES-VIIRS Edition 1 cloud dataset. The results from CERES-MODIS Edition 4 and CERES-VIIRS Edition 1 are presented and compared with each other and other datasets, including CALIPSO, CloudSat and the CERES-MODIS Edition-2 results.

  5. The mass of (1) Ceres from perturbations on (348) May

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Williams, Gareth V.

    1992-01-01

    The most promising ground-based technique for determining the mass of a minor planet is the observation of the perturbations it induces in the motion of another minor planet. This method requires careful observation of both minor planets over extended periods of time. The mass of (1) Ceres has been determined from the perturbations on (348) May, which made three close approaches to Ceres at intervals of 46 years between 1891 and 1984. The motion of May is clearly influenced by Ceres, and by using different test masses for Ceres, a search was made to determine the mass of Ceres that minimizes the residuals in the observations of May.

  6. Ceres From Dawn, Processed

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-01-19

    This processed image, taken Jan. 13, 2015, shows the dwarf planet Ceres as seen from the Dawn spacecraft. The image hints at craters on the surface of Ceres. Dawn framing camera took this image at 238,000 miles 383,000 kilometers from Ceres. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19167

  7. Ceres in Color

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-11-18

    This image of Ceres approximates how the dwarf planet's colors would appear to the eye. This view of Ceres, produced by the German Aerospace Center in Berlin, combines images taken during Dawn's first science orbit in 2015 using the framing camera's red, green and blue spectral filters. The color was calculated using a reflectance spectrum, which is based on the way that Ceres reflects different wavelengths of light and the solar wavelengths that illuminate Ceres. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21079

  8. Millimeter and Submillimeter Observations of Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuan, Yi-Jehng; Chuang, Yo-Ling; Tseng, Wei-Ling; Coulson, Iain M.; Chung, Ming-Chi

    2016-07-01

    1 Ceres is the largest celestial body in the Main Asteroid Belt and is also the sole dwarf planet in the inner solar system. Water vapor from small icy solar-system bodies, including Ceres and Europa, was detected by Herschel infrared space telescope recently. Data taken from Dawn spacecraft suggest that a subsurface layer of briny water ice, together with ammonia-rich clays, may exist on Ceres. We hence observed Ceres using the 15-m James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) to search for other atmospheric molecules besides H _{2}O. Submillimeter continuum observations employing SCUBA-2 were also carried out. Here we report the tentative detection of hydrogen cyanide in the atmosphere of Ceres. If confirmed, our finding could imply that Ceres may have a comet-like chemical composition. However, further observational confirmation and more detailed analysis is needed.

  9. Interior Structure of Ceres Artist Concept

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-08-03

    This artist's concept shows a diagram of how the inside of Ceres could be structured, based on data about the dwarf planet's gravity field from NASA's Dawn mission. Using information about Ceres' gravity and topography, scientists found that Ceres is "differentiated," which means that it has compositionally distinct layers at different depths. The densest layer is at the core, which scientists suspect is made of hydrated silicates. Above that is a volatile-rich shell, topped with a crust of mixed materials. This research teaches scientists about what internal processes could have occurred during the early history of Ceres. It appears that, during a heating phase early in the history of Ceres, water and other light materials partially separated from rock. These light materials and water then rose to the outer layer of Ceres. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20867

  10. Ceres In Context: What the Rest of the Asteroid Population Tells Us About Its Largest Member

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivkin, A.

    2015-12-01

    Ceres is famously the largest object in the asteroid belt. Over the course of the last 215 years it has been considered everything from a unique protoplanet (or indeed full-fledged "planet") to a large but run-of-the-mill piece of rock. Over the last decade, models of Ceres' thermal history and shape measurements based on HST imagery have led to the recognition that Ceres is a differentiated object, and likely an ice-rich one. In the last year the Dawn spacecraft has provided unprecedented views of Ceres' surface and combined with data from observational facilities like Herschel and countless telescopes it has shown the varied nature of its geology and ongoing processes. Even given these recent results, Ceres remains an inhabitant of the asteroid belt, existing in the ambient environment and affected by impactors, micrometeorites, solar wind, and other factors. While we only have spacecraft imagery from a very small number of targets, we do have a wealth of Earth-based data from the objects that have shared space with Ceres for billions of years. The insights gained from studying these objects can be applied to Ceres to understand its context and nature. Similarly, what we learn at Ceres will be applicable in many ways to other objects, particularly the twenty or so largest asteroids, which tend to be low-albedo, water-rich bodies. I will discuss our current understanding of the asteroids, particularly those that share important characteristics with Ceres, and focus on what we can learn about Ceres from these bodies.

  11. Evidence for ammonium-bearing minerals in Ceres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    King, T. V. V.; Clark, R. N.; Calvin, W. M.; Sherman, D. M.; Swayze, G. A.; Brown, R. H.

    1991-01-01

    Evidence for ammonium-bearing minerals was found on the surface of the largest asteroid Ceres. The presence of ammonium-bearing clays suggests that Ceres has experienced a period of alteration by substantial amounts of an ammonium-bearing fluid. The presence of the ammonium-bearing clays does not preclude Ceres maintaining a volatile inventory in the core or in a volatile-rich zone at some distance below the surface. Telescopic observations of Ceres, using the 3.0 meter NASA Infrared telescope facility prompted this reevaluation of its surface mineralogy.

  12. First Monthly CERES Global Longwave and Shortwave Radiation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System, CERES, monitors solar energy reflected from the Earth and heat energy emitted from the Earth. In this image, heat energy radiated from the earth is shown in varying shades of yellow, red, blue and white. The brightest yellow areas, such as the Sahara Desert and Arabian Peninsula, are emitting the most energy out to space, while the dark blue polar regions and bright white clouds are the coldest areas on Earth, and are emitting the least energy. The animation (1.5MB) (high-res (4MB)) shows roughly a week of CERES data. For more information: CERES images through Visible Earth. CERES web site Image courtesy of the CERES instrument team

  13. CERES Detects Earth's Heat and Energy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System, CERES, monitors solar energy reflected from the Earth and heat energy emitted from the Earth. In this image, heat energy radiated from the earth is shown in varying shades of yellow, red, blue and white. The brightest yellow areas, such as the Sahara Desert and Arabian Peninsula, are emitting the most energy out to space, while the dark blue polar regions and bright white clouds are the coldest areas on Earth, and are emitting the least energy. The animation (1.5MB) (high-res (4MB)) shows roughly a week of CERES data. For more information: CERES images through Visible Earth. CERES web site Image courtesy of the CERES instrument team

  14. Termination of cover crops using rollers/crimpers

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    An integral component of conservation agriculture systems is the use of a high-residue winter cover crop; however, terminating cover crops is an addition expense and planting into high-residue can be a challenge. An experiment was conducted using black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.), rye (Secale cere...

  15. CERES SSF and SFC Edition 3A product issues

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2013-12-05

    ... order the CERES SSF and SFC Edition 3A products due to the discovery of an issue with the products.   In mid 2010 the CERES SSF ... ordered the CERES SSF and SFC Edition 3A products due to the discovery of an issue with the products. Due to these problems, we are ...

  16. Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) algorithm theoretical basis document. Volume 1; Overviews (subsystem 0)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator); Barkstrom, Bruce R. (Principal Investigator); Baum, Bryan A.; Cess, Robert D.; Charlock, Thomas P.; Coakley, James A.; Green, Richard N.; Lee, Robert B., III; Minnis, Patrick; Smith, G. Louis

    1995-01-01

    The theoretical bases for the Release 1 algorithms that will be used to process satellite data for investigation of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) are described. The architecture for software implementation of the methodologies is outlined. Volume 1 provides both summarized and detailed overviews of the CERES Release 1 data analysis system. CERES will produce global top-of-the-atmosphere shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and within the atmosphere by using the combination of a large variety of measurements and models. The CERES processing system includes radiance observations from CERES scanning radiometers, cloud properties derived from coincident satellite imaging radiometers, temperature and humidity fields from meteorological analysis models, and high-temporal-resolution geostationary satellite radiances to account for unobserved times. CERES will provide a continuation of the ERBE record and the lowest error climatology of consistent cloud properties and radiation fields. CERES will also substantially improve our knowledge of the Earth's surface radiation budget.

  17. Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document. Volume 3; Cloud Analyses and Determination of Improved Top of Atmosphere Fluxes (Subsystem 4)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1995-01-01

    The theoretical bases for the Release 1 algorithms that will be used to process satellite data for investigation of the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) are described. The architecture for software implementation of the methodologies is outlined. Volume 3 details the advanced CERES methods for performing scene identification and inverting each CERES scanner radiance to a top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) flux. CERES determines cloud fraction, height, phase, effective particle size, layering, and thickness from high-resolution, multispectral imager data. CERES derives cloud properties for each pixel of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) visible and infrared scanner and the Earth Observing System (EOS) moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer. Cloud properties for each imager pixel are convolved with the CERES footprint point spread function to produce average cloud properties for each CERES scanner radiance. The mean cloud properties are used to determine an angular distribution model (ADM) to convert each CERES radiance to a TOA flux. The TOA fluxes are used in simple parameterization to derive surface radiative fluxes. This state-of-the-art cloud-radiation product will be used to substantially improve our understanding of the complex relationship between clouds and the radiation budget of the Earth-atmosphere system.

  18. Faster paleospin and deep-seated uncompensated mass as possible explanations for Ceres' present-day shape and gravity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Xiaochen; McKinnon, William B.

    2018-01-01

    We show that Ceres' measured degree-2 zonal gravity, J2, is smaller by about 10% than that derived assuming Ceres' rotational flattening, as measured by Dawn, is hydrostatic. Irrespective of Ceres' radial density variation, as long as its internal structure is hydrostatic the J2 predicted from the shape model is consistently larger than measured. As an explanation, we suggest that Ceres' current shape may be a fossil remnant of faster rotation in the geologic past. We propose that up to ∼7% of Ceres' previous spin angular momentum has been removed by dynamic perturbations such as a random walk due to impacts or a loss of satellite that slowed Ceres spin as it tidally evolved outward. As an alternative, we also consider a formal degree-2 admittance solution, from which we infer a range of possible non-hydrostatic contributions to J2 from uncompensated, deep-seated density anomalies. We show that such density anomalies could be due to low order convection or upwelling. The normalized moments-of-inertia derived for the two explanations - faster paleospin and deep-seated density anomalies - range between 0.353 ± 0.009 and 0.375 ± 0.001 for a spherically equivalent Ceres, which can be used as constraints on more complex Ceres interior models.

  19. Geologic Mapping Results for Ceres from NASA's Dawn Mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, D. A.; Mest, S. C.; Buczkowski, D.; Scully, J. E. C.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-12-01

    NASA's Dawn Mission included a geologic mapping campaign during its nominal mission at dwarf planet Ceres, including production of a global geologic map and a series of 15 quadrangle maps to determine the variety of process-related geologic materials and the geologic history of Ceres. Our mapping demonstrates that all major planetary geologic processes (impact cratering, volcanism, tectonism, and gradation (weathering-erosion-deposition)) have occurred on Ceres. Ceres crust, composed of altered and NH3-bearing silicates, carbonates, salts and 30-40% water ice, preserves impact craters and all sizes and degradation states, and may represent the remains of the bottom of an ancient ocean. Volcanism is manifested by cryovolcanic domes, such as Ahuna Mons and Cerealia Facula, and by explosive cryovolcanic plume deposits such as the Vinalia Faculae. Tectonism is represented by several catenae extending from Ceres impact basins Urvara and Yalode, terracing in many larger craters, and many localized fractures around smaller craters. Gradation is manifested in a variety of flow-like features caused by mass wasting (landslides), ground ice flows, as well as impact ejecta lobes and melts. We have constructed a chronostratigraphy and geologic timescale for Ceres that is centered around major impact events. Ceres geologic periods include Pre-Kerwanan, Kerwanan, Yalodean/Urvaran, and Azaccan (the time of rayed craters, similar to the lunar Copernican). The presence of geologically young cryovolcanic deposits on Ceres surface suggests that there could be warm melt pockets within Ceres shallow crust and the dwarf planet remain geologically active.

  20. Geostationary Enhanced Temporal Interpolation for CERES Flux Products

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Doelling, David R.; Loeb, Norman G.; Keyes, Dennis F.; Nordeen, Michele L.; Morstad, Daniel; Nguyen, Cathy; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Young, David F.; Sun, Moguo

    2013-01-01

    The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments on board the Terra and Aqua spacecraft continue to provide an unprecedented global climate record of the earth's top-of-atmosphere (TOA) energy budget since March 2000. A critical step in determining accurate daily averaged flux involves estimating the flux between CERES Terra or Aqua overpass times. CERES employs the CERES-only (CO) and the CERES geostationary (CG) temporal interpolation methods. The CO method assumes that the cloud properties at the time of the CERES observation remain constant and that it only accounts for changes in albedo with solar zenith angle and diurnal land heating, by assuming a shape for unresolved changes in the diurnal cycle. The CG method enhances the CERES data by explicitly accounting for changes in cloud and radiation between CERES observation times using 3-hourly imager data from five geostationary (GEO) satellites. To maintain calibration traceability, GEO radiances are calibrated against Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the derived GEO fluxes are normalized to the CERES measurements. While the regional (1 deg latitude x 1 deg longitude) monthly-mean difference between the CG and CO methods can exceed 25 W m(sub -2) over marine stratus and land convection, these regional biases nearly cancel in the global mean. The regional monthly CG shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) flux uncertainty is reduced by 20%, whereas the daily uncertainty is reduced by 50% and 20%, respectively, over the CO method, based on comparisons with 15-min Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) data.

  1. Contribution to the development of DOE ARM Climate Modeling Best Estimate Data (CMBE) products: Satellite data over the ARM permanent and AMF sites: Final Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xie, B; Dong, X; Xie, S

    2012-05-18

    To support the LLNL ARM infrastructure team Climate Modeling Best Estimate (CMBE) data development, the University of North Dakota (UND)'s group will provide the LLNL team the NASA CERES and ISCCP satellite retrieved cloud and radiative properties for the periods when they are available over the ARM permanent research sites. The current available datasets, to date, are as follows: the CERES/TERRA during 200003-200812; the CERES/AQUA during 200207-200712; and the ISCCP during 199601-200806. The detailed parameters list below: (1) CERES Shortwave radiative fluxes (net and downwelling); (2) CERES Longwave radiative fluxes (upwelling) - (items 1 & 2 include both all-sky andmore » clear-sky fluxes); (3) CERES Layered clouds (total, high, middle, and low); (4) CERES Cloud thickness; (5) CERES Effective cloud height; (6) CERES cloud microphysical/optical properties; (7) ISCCP optical depth cloud top pressure matrix; (8) ISCCP derived cloud types (r.g., cirrus, stratus, etc.); and (9) ISCCP infrared derived cloud top pressures. (10) The UND group shall apply necessary quality checks to the original CERES and ISCCP data to remove suspicious data points. The temporal resolution for CERES data should be all available satellite overpasses over the ARM sites; for ISCCP data, it should be 3-hourly. The spatial resolution is the closest satellite field of view observations to the ARM surface sites. All the provided satellite data should be in a format that is consistent with the current ARM CMBE dataset so that the satellite data can be easily merged into the CMBE dataset.« less

  2. Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carman, Stephen L.; Cooper, John E.; Miller, James; Harrison, Edwin F.; Barkstrom, Bruce R.

    1992-01-01

    The CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) experiment will play a major role in NASA's multi-platform Earth Observing System (EOS) program to observe and study the global climate. The CERES instruments will provide EOS scientists with a consistent data base of accurately known fields of radiation and of clouds. CERES will investigate the important question of cloud forcing and its influence on the radiative energy flow through the Earth's atmosphere. The CERES instrument is an improved version of the ERBE (Earth Radiation Budget Experiment) broadband scanning radiometer flown by NASA from 1984 through 1989. This paper describes the science of CERES, presents an overview of the instrument preliminary design, and outlines the issues related to spacecraft pointing and attitude control.

  3. Project CERES. Ceres Unified School District, Ceres, California. A Submission to the Joint Dissemination Review Panel.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Octave V.

    One of seven career education programs chosen for nationwide dissemination by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP), Project CERES (Career Education Responsive to Every Student) is being conducted for grades K-6 with planned expansion to grades 7-12. For the years 1972-76, it received funding…

  4. A Study of Cloud Radiative Forcing and Feedback

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ramanathan, Veerabhadran

    2000-01-01

    The main objective of the grant proposal was to participate in the CERES (Cloud and Earth's Radiant Energy System) Satellite experiment and perform interdisciplinary investigation of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS). During the grant period, massive amounts of scientific data from diverse platforms have been accessed, processed and archived for continuing use; several software packages have been developed for integration of different data streams for performing scientific evaluation; extensive validation studies planned have been completed culminating in the development of important algorithms that are being used presently in the operational production of data from the CERES. Contributions to the inter-disciplinary science investigations have been significantly more than originally envisioned. The results of these studies have appeared in several refereed journals and conference proceedings. They are listed at the end of this report.

  5. Dawn arrives at Ceres: Exploration of a small, volatile-rich world.

    PubMed

    Russell, C T; Raymond, C A; Ammannito, E; Buczkowski, D L; De Sanctis, M C; Hiesinger, H; Jaumann, R; Konopliv, A S; McSween, H Y; Nathues, A; Park, R S; Pieters, C M; Prettyman, T H; McCord, T B; McFadden, L A; Mottola, S; Zuber, M T; Joy, S P; Polanskey, C; Rayman, M D; Castillo-Rogez, J C; Chi, P J; Combe, J P; Ermakov, A; Fu, R R; Hoffmann, M; Jia, Y D; King, S D; Lawrence, D J; Li, J-Y; Marchi, S; Preusker, F; Roatsch, T; Ruesch, O; Schenk, P; Villarreal, M N; Yamashita, N

    2016-09-02

    On 6 March 2015, Dawn arrived at Ceres to find a dark, desiccated surface punctuated by small, bright areas. Parts of Ceres' surface are heavily cratered, but the largest expected craters are absent. Ceres appears gravitationally relaxed at only the longest wavelengths, implying a mechanically strong lithosphere with a weaker deep interior. Ceres' dry exterior displays hydroxylated silicates, including ammoniated clays of endogenous origin. The possibility of abundant volatiles at depth is supported by geomorphologic features such as flat crater floors with pits, lobate flows of materials, and a singular mountain that appears to be an extrusive cryovolcanic dome. On one occasion, Ceres temporarily interacted with the solar wind, producing a bow shock accelerating electrons to energies of tens of kilovolts. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  6. Constraints on Ceres internal strcuture from the Dawn gravity and shape data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ermakov, A.; Zuber, M. T.; Smith, D. E.; Fu, R. R.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.; Park, R. S.

    2015-12-01

    Ceres is the largest body in the asteroid belt with a radius of approximately 470 km. It is large enough to attain a shape much closer to hydrostatic equilibrium than major asteroids. Pre-Dawn shape models of Ceres (e.g. Thomas et al., 2005; Carry et al., 2008) revealed that its shape is consistent with a hydrostatic ellipsoid. After the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft in Ceres orbit in March 2015, Framing Camera images were used to construct shape models of Ceres. Meanwhile, radio-tracking data are being used to develop gravity models. We use the Dawn-derived shape and gravity models to constrain Ceres' internal structure. These data for the first time allow estimation of the degree to which Ceres is hydrostatic. Observed non-hydrostatic effects include a 2.1 km triaxiality (difference between the two equatorial axes) as well as an 660-m center-of-mass - center-of-figure offset. The Dawn gravity data from the Survey orbit shows that Ceres has a central density concentration. Second-degree sectorial gravity coefficients are negatively correlated with topography indicating a peculiar interior structure. We compute the relative crustal thickness based on the observed Bouguer anomaly. Hydrostatic models show that Ceres appears more differentiated based on its gravity than on its shape. We expand the Ceres shape in spherical harmonics, observing that the power spectrum of topography deviates from the power law at low degrees (Fig. 1). We interpret the decrease of power at low degrees to be due to viscous relaxation. We suggest that relaxation happens on Ceres but, unlike modeled in Bland (2013), it is important only at the lowest degrees that correspond to scales of several hundreds of km. There are only a few features on Ceres of that size and at least one of them (an impact basin provisionally named Kerwan) appears relaxed. The simplest explanation is that Ceres's outer shell is not pure ice or pure rock but an ice-rock mixture that allows some relaxation at the longest wavelengths. We use the deal.ii finite-element library (Bangerth 2007) to compute relaxed topography spectra. In out future work, we plan to model viscous relaxation to constrain the viscosity profile and thermal evolution.

  7. Photometric properties of Ceres from telescopic observations using Dawn Framing Camera color filters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reddy, Vishnu; Li, Jian-Yang; Gary, Bruce L.; Sanchez, Juan A.; Stephens, Robert D.; Megna, Ralph; Coley, Daniel; Nathues, Andreas; Le Corre, Lucille; Hoffmann, Martin

    2015-11-01

    The dwarf planet Ceres is likely differentiated similar to the terrestrial planets but with a water/ice dominated mantle and an aqueously altered crust. Detailed modeling of Ceres' phase function has never been performed to understand its surface properties. The Dawn spacecraft began orbital science operations at the dwarf planet in April 2015. We observed Ceres with flight spares of the seven Dawn Framing Camera color filters mounted on ground-based telescopes over the course of three years to model its phase function versus wavelength. Our analysis shows that the modeled geometric albedos derived from both the IAU HG model and the Hapke model are consistent with a flat and featureless spectrum of Ceres, although the values are ∼10% higher than previous measurements. Our models also suggest a wavelength dependence of Ceres' phase function. The IAU G-parameter and the Hapke single-particle phase function parameter, g, are both consistent with decreasing (shallower) phase slope with increasing wavelength. Such a wavelength dependence of phase function is consistent with reddening of spectral slope with increasing phase angle, or phase-reddening. This phase reddening is consistent with previous spectra of Ceres obtained at various phase angles archived in the literature, and consistent with the fact that the modeled geometric albedo spectrum of Ceres is the bluest of all spectra because it represents the spectrum at 0° phase angle. Ground-based FC color filter lightcurve data are consistent with HST albedo maps confirming that Ceres' lightcurve is dominated by albedo and not shape. We detected a positive correlation between 1.1-μm absorption band depth and geometric albedo suggesting brighter areas on Ceres have absorption bands that are deeper. We did not see the "extreme" slope values measured by Perna et al. (Perna, D., et al. [2015]. Astron. Astrophys. 575 (L1-6)), which they have attributed to "resurfacing episodes" on Ceres.

  8. Role of calcium in growth inhibition induced by a novel cell surface sialoglycopeptide

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Betz, N. A.; Westhoff, B. A.; Johnson, T. C.; Spooner, B. S. (Principal Investigator)

    1995-01-01

    Our laboratory has purified an 18 kDa cell surface sialoglycopeptide growth inhibitor (CeReS-18) from intact bovine cerebral cortex cells. Evidence presented here demonstrates that sensitivity to CeReS-18-induced growth inhibition in BALB-c 3T3 cells is influenced by calcium, such that a decrease in the calcium concentration in the growth medium results in an increase in sensitivity to CeReS-18. Calcium did not alter CeReS-18 binding to its cell surface receptor and CeReS-18 does not bind calcium directly. Addition of calcium, but not magnesium, to CeReS-18-inhibited 3T3 cells results in reentry into the cell cycle. A greater than 3-hour exposure to increased calcium is required for escape from CeReS-18-induced growth inhibition. The calcium ionophore ionomycin could partially mimic the effect of increasing extracellular calcium, but thapsigargin was ineffective in inducing escape from growth inhibition. Increasing extracellular calcium 10-fold resulted in an approximately 7-fold increase in total cell-associated 45Ca+2, while free intracellular calcium only increased approximately 30%. However, addition of CeReS-18 did not affect total cell-associated calcium or the increase in total cell-associated calcium observed with an increase in extracellular calcium. Serum addition induced mobilization of intracellular calcium and influx across the plasma membrane in 3T3 cells, and pretreatment of 3T3 cells with CeReS-18 appeared to inhibit these calcium mobilization events. These results suggest that a calcium-sensitive step exists in the recovery from CeReS-18-induced growth inhibition. CeReS-18 may inhibit cell proliferation through a novel mechanism involving altering the intracellular calcium mobilization/regulation necessary for cell cycle progression.

  9. Floor-Fractured Craters on Ceres and Implications for Internal Composition and Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buczkowski, D.; Schenk, P.; Scully, J. E. C.; Park, R. S.; Preusker, F.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2016-12-01

    Several of the impact craters on Ceres have patterns of fractures on their floors. These fractures appear similar to those found within a class of lunar craters referred to as Floor-Fractured Craters (FFCs) [1]. Lunar FFCs are characterized by anomalously shallow floors cut by radial, concentric, and/or polygonal fractures, and have been classified into crater classes, Types 1 through 6, based on their morphometric properties [1,2]. Models for their formation have included both floor uplift due to magmatic intrusion below the crater or floor shallowing due to viscous relaxation. However, the observation that the depth versus diameter (d/D) relationship of the FFCs is distinctly shallower than the same association for other lunar craters supports the hypotheses that the floor fractures form due to shallow magmatic intrusion under the crater [2]. We have cataloged the Ceres FFCs according to the classification scheme designed for the Moon. Large (>50 km) Ceres FFCs are most consistent with Type 1 lunar FFCs, having deep floors, central peaks, wall terraces, and radial and/or concentric fractures. Smaller craters on Ceres are more consistent with Type 4 lunar FFCs, having less-pronounced floor fractures and v-shaped moats separating the wall scarp from the crater interior. An analysis of the d/D ratio for Ceres craters shows that, like lunar FFCs, the Ceres FFCs are anomalously shallow. This suggests that the fractures on the floor of Ceres FFCs may be due the intrusion of a low-density material below the craters that is uplifting their floors. While on the Moon the intrusive material is hypothesized to be silicate magma, this is unlikely for Ceres. However, a cryovolcanic extrusive edifice has been identified on Ceres [3], suggesting that cryomagmatic intrusions could be responsible for the formation of the Ceres FFCs. References: [1] Schultz P. (1976) Moon, 15, 241-273 [2] Jozwiak L.M. et al (2015) JGR 117, doi: 10.1029/2012JE004134 [3] Ruesch O. et al (2016) Science

  10. What do the CERES Product Levels represent?

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2014-12-08

    ... Products Level 1B Data products are processed to sensor units. The BDS product contains CERES ... between average global net TOA flux imbalance and ocean heat storage). EBAF   CERES: Product Questions ...

  11. Virtual Instrument Simulator for CERES

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chapman, John J.

    1997-01-01

    A benchtop virtual instrument simulator for CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) has been built at NASA, Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. The CERES instruments will fly on several earth orbiting platforms notably NASDA's Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites. CERES measures top of the atmosphere radiative fluxes using microprocessor controlled scanning radiometers. The CERES Virtual Instrument Simulator consists of electronic circuitry identical to the flight unit's twin microprocessors and telemetry interface to the supporting spacecraft electronics and two personal computers (PC) connected to the I/O ports that control azimuth and elevation gimbals. Software consists of the unmodified TRW developed Flight Code and Ground Support Software which serves as the instrument monitor and NASA/TRW developed engineering models of the scanners. The CERES Instrument Simulator will serve as a testbed for testing of custom instrument commands intended to solve in-flight anomalies of the instruments which could arise during the CERES mission. One of the supporting computers supports the telemetry display which monitors the simulator microprocessors during the development and testing of custom instrument commands. The CERES engineering development software models have been modified to provide a virtual instrument running on a second supporting computer linked in real time to the instrument flight microprocessor control ports. The CERES Instrument Simulator will be used to verify memory uploads by the CERES Flight Operations TEAM at NASA. Plots of the virtual scanner models match the actual instrument scan plots. A high speed logic analyzer has been used to track the performance of the flight microprocessor. The concept of using an identical but non-flight qualified microprocessor and electronics ensemble linked to a virtual instrument with identical system software affords a relatively inexpensive simulation system capable of high fidelity.

  12. Flight Over Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-01-28

    This animated flight over Ceres explores the most prominent craters, as well as the mountain Ahuna Mons. The movie shows Ceres in enhanced color, using images taken by the NASA's Dawn spacecraft as it orbited the dwarf planet.

  13. Dawn Gateway View of Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-12-05

    From about three times the distance from Earth to the moon, NASA's Dawn spacecraft spies its final destination -- the dwarf planet Ceres. The resolution of this image does not yet exceed the best views of Ceres, which were obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (see PIA10235). Nonetheless, Ceres' spherical shape is clearly revealed here. Sunlight illuminates the dwarf planet from the right, leaving a sliver of the surface in shadow at left. A zoomed-in view is provided in Figure 1, along with the original unmagnified, uncropped view. The image was taken on Dec. 1, 2014 with the Dawn spacecraft's framing camera, using a clear spectral filter. Dawn was about 740,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Ceres at the time. Ceres is 590 miles (950 kilometers) across and was discovered in 1801. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19049

  14. Enhanced Early View of Ceres from Dawn

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-12-05

    As the Dawn spacecraft flies through space toward the dwarf planet Ceres, the unexplored world appears to its camera as a bright light in the distance, full of possibility for scientific discovery. This view was acquired as part of a final calibration of the science camera before Dawn's arrival at Ceres. To accomplish this, the camera needed to take pictures of a target that appears just a few pixels across. On Dec. 1, 2014, Ceres was about nine pixels in diameter, nearly perfect for this calibration. The images provide data on very subtle optical properties of the camera that scientists will use when they analyze and interpret the details of some of the pictures returned from orbit. Ceres is the bright spot in the center of the image. Because the dwarf planet is much brighter than the stars in the background, the camera team selected a long exposure time to make the stars visible. The long exposure made Ceres appear overexposed, and exaggerated its size; this was corrected by superimposing a shorter exposure of the dwarf planet in the center of the image. A cropped, magnified view of Ceres appears in the inset image at lower left. The image was taken on Dec. 1, 2014 with the Dawn spacecraft's framing camera, using a clear spectral filter. Dawn was about 740,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Ceres at the time. Ceres is 590 miles (950 kilometers) across and was discovered in 1801. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19050

  15. On possible colonization of Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Steklov, A. F.; Vidmachenko, A. P.

    2018-05-01

    Ceres is located between the planets of the terrestrial group, which are potentially amenable to terraforming, and the giant planets with their large satellites; to the latter we attribute Galilean satellites, Titan, Triton. These objects can be considered as permanent or transshipment bases for mastering the corresponding giant planets. Therefore Ceres can be considered as an intermediate base for interplanetary flights. Staying in the asteroid belt, Ceres can also become a base for the development of other asteroids and mining of mineral raw materials and ore minerals on them. It is believed that before settling of Ceres, it will be necessary to colonize the Moon and/or Mars.

  16. A strategy to assess the pointing accuracy of the CERES FM1-FM5 scanners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Nathaniel P.; Szewczyk, Z. Peter; Hess, Phillip C.; Priestley, Kory J.

    2017-09-01

    The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) scanning radiometer is designed to measure the solar radiation reflected by the Earth and thermal radiation emitted by the Earth. Five CERES instruments are currently in service; two aboard the Terra spacecraft, launched in 1999; two aboard the Aqua spacecraft, launched in 2002; and one instrument about the NPP spacecraft, launched in 2011. Verifying the pointing accuracy of the CERES instruments is required to assure that all earth viewing data is correctly geolocated. The CERES team has developed an on-orbit technique for assessing the pointing accuracy of the CERES sensors that relies on a rapid gradient change of measurements taken over a well-defined and known Earth target, such as a coastline, where a strong contrast in brightness and temperature exists. The computed coastline is then compared with World Bank II map to verify the accuracy of the measurement location. This paper briefly restates the algorithm used in the study, describes collection of coastline data, and summarizes the results of the study the CERES FM1, FM2, FM3, and FM5 instruments.

  17. Views of Ceres on Approach

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-02-25

    These images of dwarf planet Ceres, processed to enhance clarity, were taken on Feb. 19, 2015, from a distance of about 29,000 miles 46,000 kilometers, by NASA Dawn spacecraft. Dawn observed Ceres completing one full rotation, lasting about nine hours. The images show the full range of different crater shapes that can be found at Ceres' surface: from shallow, flattish craters to those with peaks at their centers. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19183

  18. Evidence for the interior evolution of Ceres from geologic analysis of fractures

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Scully, Jennifer E. C.; Buczkowski, Debra; Schmedemann, Nico; Raymond, Carol A.; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; Scott King,; Bland, Michael T.; Ermakov, Anton; O'Brien, D.P.; Marchi, S.; Longobardo, A.; Russell, C.T.; Fu, R.R.; Neveu, M.

    2017-01-01

    Ceres is the largest asteroid belt object, and the Dawn spacecraft observed Ceres since 2015. Dawn observed two morphologically distinct linear features on Ceres's surface: secondary crater chains and pit chains. Pit chains provide unique insights into Ceres's interior evolution. We interpret pit chains called the Samhain Catenae as the surface expression of subsurface fractures. Using the pit chains' spacings, we estimate that the localized thickness of Ceres's fractured, outer layer is approximately ≥58 km, at least ~14 km greater than the global average. We hypothesize that extensional stresses, induced by a region of upwelling material arising from convection/diapirism, formed the Samhain Catenae. We derive characteristics for this upwelling material, which can be used as constraints in future interior modeling studies. For example, its predicted location coincides with Hanami Planum, a high-elevation region with a negative residual gravity anomaly, which may be surficial evidence for this proposed region of upwelling material.

  19. Color View of Ceres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2005-01-01

    This is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope color image of Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt.

    Astronomers enhanced the sharpness in these Advanced Camera for Surveys images to bring out features on Ceres' surface, including brighter and darker regions that could be asteroid impact features. The observations were made in visible and ultraviolet light between December 2003 and January 2004.

    The colors represent the differences between relatively red and blue regions. These differences may simply be due to variation on the surface among different types of material.

    Ceres' round shape suggests that its interior is layered like those of terrestrial planets such as Earth. Ceres may have a rocky inner core, an icy mantle, and a thin, dusty outer crust inferred from its density and rotation rate of 9 hours. Ceres is approximately 590 miles (950 kilometers) across and was first discovered in 1801.

  20. Ceres and the terrestrial planets impact cratering record

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strom, R. G.; Marchi, S.; Malhotra, R.

    2018-03-01

    Dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the Main Asteroid Belt, has a surface that exhibits a range of crater densities for a crater diameter range of 5-300 km. In all areas the shape of the craters' size-frequency distribution is very similar to those of the most ancient heavily cratered surfaces on the terrestrial planets. The most heavily cratered terrain on Ceres covers ∼15% of its surface and has a crater density similar to the highest crater density on <1% of the lunar highlands. This region of higher crater density on Ceres probably records the high impact rate at early times and indicates that the other 85% of Ceres was partly resurfaced after the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) at ∼4 Ga. The Ceres cratering record strongly indicates that the period of Late Heavy Bombardment originated from an impactor population whose size-frequency distribution resembles that of the Main Belt Asteroids.

  1. CERES Fast Longwave And SHortwave Radiative Flux (FLASHFlux) Version4A.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sawaengphokhai, P.; Stackhouse, P. W., Jr.; Kratz, D. P.; Gupta, S. K.

    2017-12-01

    The agricultural, renewable energy management, and science communities need global surface and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes on a low latency basis. The Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) FLASHFlux (Fast Longwave and SHortwave radiative Flux) data products address this need by enhancing the speed of CERES processing using simplified calibration and parameterized model of surface fluxes to provide a daily global radiative fluxes data set within one week of satellite observations. The CERES FLASHFlux provides two data products: 1) an overpass swath Level 2 Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) data products separately for both Aqua and Terra observations, and 2) a daily Level 3 Time Interpolated and Spatially Averaged (TISA) 1o x 1o gridded data that combines Aqua and Terra observations. The CERES FLASHFlux data product is being promoted to Version4A. Updates to FLASHFlux Version4A include a new cloud retrieval algorithm and an improved shortwave surface flux parameterization. We inter-compared FLASHFlux Version4A, FLASHFlux Version3C, CERES Edition 4 Syn1Deg and at the monthly scale CERES Edition4 EBAF (Energy Balanced and Filled) Top-of-Atmosphere and Edition 4 Surface EBAF fluxes to evaluate these improvements. We also analyze the impact of the new inputs and cloud algorithm to the surface shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes using ground sites measurement provided by CAVE (CERES/ARM Validation Experiment).

  2. Exploration of an Ancient Ocean World: Dawn at Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raymond, C. A.

    2016-12-01

    The Dawn mission completed its comprehensive mapping of Ceres, the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system, earlier this year and has since begun an extended mission to improve the quality of the data sets and test specific hypotheses. Prior to Dawn's arrival, Ceres was already known to be a dark, wet dwarf planet with evidence for altered minerals and water vapor emissions, from decades of ground- and space-based observations. Dawn arrived at Ceres in March of 2015 and found a very dark surface as expected, but unexpectedly found a heavily cratered surface that was punctuated by small extremely bright areas. Contrary to the prediction by pre-Dawn models of an ice-rich, viscously-relaxed smooth surface resulting from physical differentiation and freezing of an ancient subsurface ocean, its surface has many craters, implying a mechanically strong thick crust. Ceres is, however, missing the largest expected craters and is gravitationally relaxed at long wavelengths, implying that the strong crust overlies a weaker deep interior. This presented a challenge to the pre-Dawn differentiation model, but data were available to test it. Ceres' surface is dominated by dark material, phyllosilicates, ammoniated clays and carbonates. The ubiquitous presence of ammoniated minerals suggests formation in a colder environment, possibly in the outer solar system, while the distribution of minerals indicates that Ceres' interior experienced pervasive alteration. Water ice has been observed in fresh craters at high latitudes, and elemental measurements indicate the presence of water ice in the immediate subsurface. These observations, along with Ceres gravity field confirm that Ceres at least partially differentiated, releasing water and volatiles from the original chondritic material, and providing evidence for an ancient subsurface ocean. Evidence for past and continuing geologic activity on Ceres is found in the regional variations in topography and morphology of the surface. Smoother, apparently resurfaced areas are generally found at lower elevations and rougher areas have greater relief. Local morphology such as crater floor deposits, isolated mountains and the enigmatic bright areas indicate active processes on Ceres that likely involve brine-driven cryovolcanism.

  3. Floor-fractured craters on Ceres and implications for interior processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buczkowski, Debra; Schenk, Paul M.; Scully, Jennifer E. C.; Park, Ryan; Preusker, Frank; Raymond, Carol; Russell, Christopher T.

    2016-10-01

    Several of the impact craters on Ceres have patterns of fractures on their floors. These fractures appear similar to those found within a class of lunar craters referred to as Floor-Fractured Craters (FFCs) [Schultz, 1976].Lunar FFCs are characterized by anomalously shallow floors cut by radial, concentric, and/or polygonal fractures, and have been classified into crater classes, Types 1 through 6, based on their morphometric properties [Schultz, 1976; Jozwiak et al, 2012, 2015]. Models for their formation have included both floor uplift due to magmatic intrusion below the crater or floor shallowing due to viscous relaxation. However, the observation that the depth versus diameter (d/D) relationship of the FFCs is distinctly shallower than the same association for other lunar craters supports the hypotheses that the floor fractures form due to shallow magmatic intrusion under the crater [Jozwiak et al, 2012, 2015].FFCs have also been identified on Mars [Bamberg et al., 2014]. Martian FFCs exhibit morphological characteristics similar to the lunar FFCs, and analyses suggest that the Martian FCCs also formed due to volcanic activity, although heavily influenced by interactions with groundwater and/or ice.We have cataloged the Ceres FFCs according to the classification scheme designed for the Moon. Large (>50 km) Ceres FFCs are most consistent with Type 1 lunar FFCs, having deep floors, central peaks, wall terraces, and radial and/or concentric fractures. Smaller craters on Ceres are more consistent with Type 4 lunar FFCs, having less-pronounced floor fractures and a v-shaped moats separating the wall scarp from the crater interior.An analysis of the d/D ratio for Ceres craters shows that, like lunar FFCs, the Ceres FFCs are anomalously shallow. This suggests that the fractures on the floor of Ceres FFCs may be due the intrusion of a low-density material below the craters that is uplifting their floors. While on the Moon and Mars the intrusive material is hypothesized to be silicate magma, this is unlikely for Ceres. However, a cryovolcanic extrusive edifice has been identified on Ceres [Ruesch et al., 2016], suggesting that cryomagmatic intrusions could be responsible for the formation of the Ceres FFCs.

  4. A browser-based 3D Visualization Tool designed for comparing CERES/CALIOP/CloudSAT level-2 data sets.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chu, C.; Sun-Mack, S.; Chen, Y.; Heckert, E.; Doelling, D. R.

    2017-12-01

    In Langley NASA, Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are merged with Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) and CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR). The CERES merged product (C3M) matches up to three CALIPSO footprints with each MODIS pixel along its ground track. It then assigns the nearest CloudSat footprint to each of those MODIS pixels. The cloud properties from MODIS, retrieved using the CERES algorithms, are included in C3M with the matched CALIPSO and CloudSat products along with radiances from 18 MODIS channels. The dataset is used to validate the CERES retrieved MODIS cloud properties and the computed TOA and surface flux difference using MODIS or CALIOP/CloudSAT retrieved clouds. This information is then used to tune the computed fluxes to match the CERES observed TOA flux. A visualization tool will be invaluable to determine the cause of these large cloud and flux differences in order to improve the methodology. This effort is part of larger effort to allow users to order the CERES C3M product sub-setted by time and parameter as well as the previously mentioned visualization capabilities. This presentation will show a new graphical 3D-interface, 3D-CERESVis, that allows users to view both passive remote sensing satellites (MODIS and CERES) and active satellites (CALIPSO and CloudSat), such that the detailed vertical structures of cloud properties from CALIPSO and CloudSat are displayed side by side with horizontally retrieved cloud properties from MODIS and CERES. Similarly, the CERES computed profile fluxes whether using MODIS or CALIPSO and CloudSat clouds can also be compared. 3D-CERESVis is a browser-based visualization tool that makes uses of techniques such as multiple synchronized cursors, COLLADA format data and Cesium.

  5. Asteroid Secular Dynamics: Ceres’ Fingerprint Identified

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Novaković, Bojan; Maurel, Clara; Tsirvoulis, Georgios; Knežević, Zoran

    2015-07-01

    Here we report on the significant role of a so far overlooked dynamical aspect, namely, a secular resonance between the dwarf planet Ceres and other asteroids. We demonstrate that this type of secular resonance can be the dominant dynamical factor in certain regions of the main asteroid belt. Specifically, we performed a dynamical analysis of the asteroids belonging to the (1726) Hoffmeister family. To identify which dynamical mechanisms are actually at work in this part of the main asteroid belt, i.e., to isolate the main perturber(s), we study the evolution of this family in time. The study is accomplished using numerical integrations of test particles performed within different dynamical models. The obtained results reveal that the post-impact evolution of the Hoffmeister asteroid family is a direct consequence of the nodal secular resonance with Ceres. This leads us to the conclusion that similar effects must exist in other parts of the asteroid belt. In this respect, the obtained results shed light on an important and entirely new aspect of the long-term dynamics of small bodies. Ceres’ fingerprint in asteroid dynamics, expressed through the discovered secular resonance effect, completely changes our understanding of the way in which perturbations by Ceres-like objects affect the orbits of nearby bodies.

  6. CERES: An ab initio code dedicated to the calculation of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of lanthanide complexes.

    PubMed

    Calvello, Simone; Piccardo, Matteo; Rao, Shashank Vittal; Soncini, Alessandro

    2018-03-05

    We have developed and implemented a new ab initio code, Ceres (Computational Emulator of Rare Earth Systems), completely written in C++11, which is dedicated to the efficient calculation of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the crystal field states arising from the splitting of the ground state spin-orbit multiplet in lanthanide complexes. The new code gains efficiency via an optimized implementation of a direct configurational averaged Hartree-Fock (CAHF) algorithm for the determination of 4f quasi-atomic active orbitals common to all multi-electron spin manifolds contributing to the ground spin-orbit multiplet of the lanthanide ion. The new CAHF implementation is based on quasi-Newton convergence acceleration techniques coupled to an efficient library for the direct evaluation of molecular integrals, and problem-specific density matrix guess strategies. After describing the main features of the new code, we compare its efficiency with the current state-of-the-art ab initio strategy to determine crystal field levels and properties, and show that our methodology, as implemented in Ceres, represents a more time-efficient computational strategy for the evaluation of the magnetic properties of lanthanide complexes, also allowing a full representation of non-perturbative spin-orbit coupling effects. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Calcium influences sensitivity to growth inhibition induced by a cell surface sialoglycopeptide

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Betz, N. A.; Fattaey, H. K.; Johnson, T. C.; Spooner, B. S. (Principal Investigator)

    1994-01-01

    While studies concerning mitogenic factors have been an important area of research for many years, much less is understood about the mechanisms of action of cell surface growth inhibitors. We have purified an 18 kDa cell surface sialoglycopeptide growth inhibitor (CeReS-18) which can reversibly inhibit the proliferation of diverse cell types. The studies discussed in this article show that three mouse keratinocyte cell lines exhibit sixty-fold greater sensitivity than other fibroblasts and epithelial-like cells to CeReS-18-induced growth inhibition. Growth inhibition induced by CeReS-18 treatment is a reversible process, and the three mouse keratinocyte cell lines exhibited either single or multiple cell cycle arrest points, although a predominantly G0/G1 cell cycle arrest point was exhibited in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. The sensitivity of the mouse keratinocyte cell lines to CeReS-18-induced growth inhibition was not affected by the degree of tumorigenic progression in the cell lines and was not due to differences in CeReS-18 binding affinity or number of cell surface receptors per cell. However, the sensitivity of both murine fibroblasts and keratinocytes could be altered by changing the extracellular calcium concentration, such that increased extracellular calcium concentrations resulted in decreased sensitivity to CeReS-18-induced proliferation inhibition. Thus the increased sensitivity of the murine keratinocyte cell lines to CeReS-18 could be ascribed to the low calcium concentration used in their propagation. Studies are currently under way investigating the role of calcium in CeReS-18-induced growth arrest. The CeReS-18 may serve as a very useful tool to study negative growth control and the signal transduction events associated with cell cycling.

  8. Spectral Characterizations of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Thermistor Bolometers using Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) Techniques

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thornhill, K. Lee; Bitting, Herbert; Lee, Robert B., III; Paden, Jack; Pandey, Dhirendra K.; Priestley, Kory J.; Thomas, Susan; Wilson, Robert S.

    1998-01-01

    Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) techniques are being used to characterize the relative spectral response, or sensitivity, of scanning thermistor bolometers in the infrared (IR) region (2 - >= 100-micrometers). The bolometers are being used in the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) program. The CERES measurements are designed to provide precise, long term monitoring of the Earth's atmospheric radiation energy budget. The CERES instrument houses three bolometric radiometers, a total wavelength (0.3- >= 150-micrometers) sensor, a shortwave (0.3-5-micrometers) sensor, and an atmospheric window (8-12-micrometers) sensor. Accurate spectral characterization is necessary for determining filtered radiances for longwave radiometric calibrations. The CERES bolometers spectral response's are measured in the TRW FTS Vacuum Chamber Facility (FTS - VCF), which uses a FTS as the source and a cavity pyroelectric trap detector as the reference. The CERES bolometers and the cavity detector are contained in a vacuum chamber, while the FTS source is housed in a GN2 purged chamber. Due to the thermal time constant of the CERES bolometers, the FTS must be operated in a step mode. Data are acquired in 6 IR spectral bands covering the entire longwave IR region. In this paper, the TRW spectral calibration facility design and data measurement techniques are described. Two approaches are presented which convert the total channel FTS data into the final CERES spectral characterizations, producing the same calibration coefficients (within 0.1 percent). The resulting spectral response curves are shown, along with error sources in the two procedures. Finally, the impact of each spectral response curve on CERES data validation will be examined through analysis of filtered radiance values from various typical scene types.

  9. Clues to Ceres' Internal Structure

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-10-26

    This frame from an animation shows Ceres as seen by NASA's Dawn spacecraft from its high-altitude mapping orbit at 913 miles (1,470 kilometers) above the surface. The colorful map overlaid at right shows variations in Ceres' gravity field measured by Dawn, and gives scientists hints about the dwarf planet's internal structure. Red colors indicate more positive values, corresponding to a stronger gravitational pull than expected, compared to scientists' pre-Dawn model of Ceres' internal structure; blue colors indicate more negative values, corresponding to a weaker gravitational pull. The animation was created by projecting a map of Ceres onto a rotating sphere. The image scale is about 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel. The animations are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22083

  10. ERBE and CERES broadband scanning radiometers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Weaver, William L.; Cooper, John E.

    1990-01-01

    Broadband scanning radiometers have been used extensively on earth-orbiting satellites to measure the Earth's outgoing radiation. The resulting estimates of longwave and shortwave fluxes have played an important role in helping to understand the Earth's radiant energy balance or budget. The Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES) experiment is expected to include instruments with three broadband scanning radiometers. The design of the CERES instrument will draw heavily from the flight-proven Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner instrument technology and will benefit from the several years of ERBE experience in mission operations and data processing. The discussion starts with a description of the scientific objectives of ERBE and CERES. The design and operational characteristics of the ERBE and CERES instrument are compared and the two ground-based data processing systems are compared. Finally, aspects of the CERES data processing which might be performed in near real-time aboard a spacecraft platform are discussed, and the types of algorithms and input data requirements for the onboard processing system are identified.

  11. Preliminary Geological Map of the Ac-H-7 Kerwan Quadrangle of Ceres: An Integrated Mapping Study Using Dawn Spacecraft Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, D. A.; Crown, D. A.; Mest, S. C.; Buczkowski, D.; Schenk, P.; Scully, J. E. C.; Jaumann, R.; Roatsch, T.; Preusker, F.; Platz, T.; Nathues, A.; Hoffmann, M.; Schäfer, M.; Marchi, S.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Russell, C. T.; Raymond, C. A.

    2015-12-01

    We used geologic mapping applied to Dawn spacecraft data as a tool to understand the geologic history of the Ac-H-7 Kerwan Quadrangle of dwarf planet Ceres. This region, located between 22˚S-22˚N and 72-144˚E, hosts four primary features: 1) the northern part of the 284 km diameter impact basin Kerwan in the center and SE corner of the quadrangle, whose rim is degraded and whose interior has been filled with a 'smooth material' that hosts a significantly lower impact crater density than most of the rest of Ceres' surface; 2) a portion of the 125 km diameter crater Dantu, whose ejecta field covers the NE corner of the quadrangle and where color data show both bright and dark materials, suggesting excavation of terrains of different compositions; 3) an unnamed double crater in the NW corner of the quadrangle surrounded by an ejecta field; and 4) a heavily cratered plains unit in the SW corner of the quadrangle that appears to be part of the dominant unit across Ceres surface. Key goals of the ongoing mapping are to assess the types of processes that might be responsible for resurfacing by the smooth unit, and understanding the nature of the variably-colored Dantu ejecta. The Dantu region is one of two longitudinally distinct regions on Ceres where ESA Hershel space telescope data suggested a release of water vapor (1). At the time of this writing geologic mapping was performed on Framing Camera (FC) mosaics from the Approach (1.3 km/px) and Survey (415 m/px) orbits, including grayscale and color images and digital terrain models derived from stereo images. In Fall 2015 images from the High Altitude Mapping Orbit (140 m/px) will be used to refine the mapping, followed by Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (35 m/px) images in January 2016. Support of the Dawn Instrument, Operations, and Science Teams is acknowledged. This work is supported by grants from NASA, and from the German and Italian Space Agencies. Reference: (1) Küppers, M., et al. (2014). Nature, v. 505, 525-527.

  12. Variability in Global Top-of-Atmosphere Shortwave Radiation Between 2000 and 2005

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Loebe, Norman G.; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Rose, Fred G.; Doelling, David R.

    2007-01-01

    Measurements from various instruments and analysis techniques are used to directly compare changes in Earth-atmosphere shortwave (SW) top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation between 2000 and 2005. Included in the comparison are estimates of TOA reflectance variability from published ground-based Earthshine observations and from new satellite-based CERES, MODIS and ISCCP results. The ground-based Earthshine data show an order-of-magnitude more variability in annual mean SW TOA flux than either CERES or ISCCP, while ISCCP and CERES SW TOA flux variability is consistent to 40%. Most of the variability in CERES TOA flux is shown to be dominated by variations global cloud fraction, as observed using coincident CERES and MODIS data. Idealized Earthshine simulations of TOA SW radiation variability for a lunar-based observer show far less variability than the ground-based Earthshine observations, but are still a factor of 4-5 times more variable than global CERES SW TOA flux results. Furthermore, while CERES global albedos exhibit a well-defined seasonal cycle each year, the seasonal cycle in the lunar Earthshine reflectance simulations is highly variable and out-of-phase from one year to the next. Radiative transfer model (RTM) approaches that use imager cloud and aerosol retrievals reproduce most of the change in SW TOA radiation observed in broadband CERES data. However, assumptions used to represent the spectral properties of the atmosphere, clouds, aerosols and surface in the RTM calculations can introduce significant uncertainties in annual mean changes in regional and global SW TOA flux.

  13. Variability in global top-of-atmosphere shortwave radiation between 2000 and 2005

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Loeb, Norman G.; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Rose, Fred G.; Doelling, David R.

    2007-02-01

    Measurements from various instruments and analysis techniques are used to directly compare changes in Earth-atmosphere shortwave (SW) top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation between 2000 and 2005. Included in the comparison are estimates of TOA reflectance variability from published ground-based Earthshine observations and from new satellite-based CERES, MODIS and ISCCP results. The ground-based Earthshine data show an order-of-magnitude more variability in annual mean SW TOA flux than either CERES or ISCCP, while ISCCP and CERES SW TOA flux variability is consistent to 40%. Most of the variability in CERES TOA flux is shown to be dominated by variations global cloud fraction, as observed using coincident CERES and MODIS data. Idealized Earthshine simulations of TOA SW radiation variability for a lunar-based observer show far less variability than the ground-based Earthshine observations, but are still a factor of 4-5 times more variable than global CERES SW TOA flux results. Furthermore, while CERES global albedos exhibit a well-defined seasonal cycle each year, the seasonal cycle in the lunar Earthshine reflectance simulations is highly variable and out-of-phase from one year to the next. Radiative transfer model (RTM) approaches that use imager cloud and aerosol retrievals reproduce most of the change in SW TOA radiation observed in broadband CERES data. However, assumptions used to represent the spectral properties of the atmosphere, clouds, aerosols and surface in the RTM calculations can introduce significant uncertainties in annual mean changes in regional and global SW TOA flux.

  14. Ceres Sharper Than Ever Animation

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-01-27

    This frame from an animation of the dwarf planet Ceres was made by combining images taken by the Dawn spacecraft on January 25, 2015. These images of Ceres, and they represent the highest-resolution views to date of the dwarf planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19171

  15. CERES Product Level Details

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2013-02-28

    ... CERES Product Level Details   Level 1B:  Data products are processed to sensor units. The BDS product contains CERES ... position and velocity, and all raw engineering and status data from the instrument. Level 2:  Data products are derived ... between average global net TOA flux imbalance and ocean heat storage). ...

  16. A MATLAB/Simulink based GUI for the CERES Simulator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Valencia, Luis H.

    1995-01-01

    The Clouds and The Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) simulator will allow flight operational familiarity with the CERES instrument prior to launch. It will provide a CERES instrument simulation facility for NASA Langley Research Center. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and TRW. One of the objectives of building this simulator would be for use as a testbed for functionality checking of atypical memory uploads and for anomaly investigation. For instance, instrument malfunction due to memory damage requires troubleshooting on a simulator to determine the nature of the problem and to find a solution.

  17. A Multi-Year Data Set of Cloud Properties Derived for CERES from Aqua, Terra, and TRMM

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Minnis, Patrick; Sunny Sun-Mack; Trepte, Quinz Z.; Yan Chen; Brown, Richard R.; Gibson, Sharon C.; Heck, Michael L.; Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike

    2007-01-01

    The Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project is producing a suite of cloud properties from high-resolution imagers on several satellites and matching them precisely with broadband radiance data to study the influence of clouds and radiation on climate. The cloud properties generally compare well with independent validation sources. Distinct differences are found between the CERES cloud properties and those derived with other algorithms from the same imager data. CERES products will be updated beginning in late 2006.

  18. Fast Longwave and Shortwave Radiative Flux (FLASHFlux) Products from CERES and MODIS Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Kratz, David P.; McGarragh, Greg R.; Gupta, Shashi K.; Geier, Erika B.

    2006-01-01

    The Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy Systems (CERES) project is currently producing world-class climatological data products derived from measurements taken aboard the Terra and Aqua spacecrafts (Wielicki et al., 1996). While of exceptional fidelity, these data products require a considerable amount of processing to assure quality and verify accuracy and precision. Obtaining such high quality assurance, however, means that the CERES data is typically released more than six months after the acquisition of the initial measurements. For climate studies, such delays are of little consequence, especially considering the improved quality of the released data products. There are, however, many uses for the CERES data products on a near real-time basis. These include: CERES instrument calibration and subsystem quality checks, CLOUDSAT operations, seasonal predictions, agricultural and ocean assimilations, support of field campaigns, and outreach programs such as S'Cool. The FLASHflux project was envisioned as a conduit whereby CERES data could be provided to the community within a week of the initial measurements, with the trade-off that some degree of fidelity would be exacted to gain speed. In this paper, we will report on some very encouraging initial results from the FLASHflux project in which we compared the FLASHflux instantaneous surface fluxes to the CERES surface-only flux algorithm data products.

  19. Ammoniated phyllosilicates with a likely outer Solar System origin on (1) Ceres.

    PubMed

    De Sanctis, M C; Ammannito, E; Raponi, A; Marchi, S; McCord, T B; McSween, H Y; Capaccioni, F; Capria, M T; Carrozzo, F G; Ciarniello, M; Longobardo, A; Tosi, F; Fonte, S; Formisano, M; Frigeri, A; Giardino, M; Magni, G; Palomba, E; Turrini, D; Zambon, F; Combe, J-P; Feldman, W; Jaumann, R; McFadden, L A; Pieters, C M; Prettyman, T; Toplis, M; Raymond, C A; Russell, C T

    2015-12-10

    Studies of the dwarf planet (1) Ceres using ground-based and orbiting telescopes have concluded that its closest meteoritic analogues are the volatile-rich CI and CM carbonaceous chondrites. Water in clay minerals, ammoniated phyllosilicates, or a mixture of Mg(OH)2 (brucite), Mg2CO3 and iron-rich serpentine have all been proposed to exist on the surface. In particular, brucite has been suggested from analysis of the mid-infrared spectrum of Ceres. But the lack of spectral data across telluric absorption bands in the wavelength region 2.5 to 2.9 micrometres--where the OH stretching vibration and the H2O bending overtone are found--has precluded definitive identifications. In addition, water vapour around Ceres has recently been reported, possibly originating from localized sources. Here we report spectra of Ceres from 0.4 to 5 micrometres acquired at distances from ~82,000 to 4,300 kilometres from the surface. Our measurements indicate widespread ammoniated phyllosilicates across the surface, but no detectable water ice. Ammonia, accreted either as organic matter or as ice, may have reacted with phyllosilicates on Ceres during differentiation. This suggests that material from the outer Solar System was incorporated into Ceres, either during its formation at great heliocentric distance or by incorporation of material transported into the main asteroid belt.

  20. The Exosphere of Ceres Generated by Photolysis and Radiolysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tseng, W. L.; Ip, W. H.; Kuan, Y. J.

    2016-12-01

    Ceres is the largest object (with a diameter of 950 km) among the main-belt asteroids. The OH cloud, the photodissociated products of H2O, was suggested by the IUE (International Ultraviolet Explorer) observations to be present around Ceres (A'Hearn and Feldman, 1992). Recently, Kuppers et al. (2014) reported a direct detection of water vapor by Herschel that > 1026 molecules s-1was produced from localized sources on Ceres' surface. Most excitingly, the Dawn images showed that a haze layer consisting of water-ice particles and dust was found above the Occator crater (Nathues et al., 2015). The haze was also shown to have a diurnal change of brightness, indicating a comet-like sublimation activity. In addition, subsurface outgassing (e.g., cryovolcanism and/or the plume activity similar to that found in Enceladus) is another possible source mechanism, which is not fully understood yet. Following the Ceres' exospheric model of Tu et al. (2014), here we focus on O2, O3 and H2O2 molecules, which are the primary products of radiolytic and photolytic decomposition of water ice, and possibly the CO2 and SO2 molecules produced from the impurities. We will compute the source rates from various production mechanisms and simulate the cloud morphologies. Then we will compare with the available data (e.g., the atomic oxygen emission observed by HST from Roth et al., 2016) and seek for any evidence in the ground-based millimeter/submillimeter observations. Understanding the chemical composition of Ceres and its evolved exosphere, in analogy to comets and the icy satellites, would reveal the secret of the origin and evolution of the solar system. 1. A'Hearn, M.F., Feldman, P.D., (1992) Water vaporization on Ceres. Icarus 98, 389-407. 2. Küppers, M., et al., (2014) Localized sources of water vapour on the dwarf planet (1) Ceres. Nature 505, 525-527. 3. Nathues, A., et al. (2015), Sublimation in bright spots on (1) Ceres, Nature, 528(7581), 237-240. 4. Tu, L., W.-H. Ip, and Y.-C. Wang (2014), A sublimation-driven exospheric model of Ceres, Planet. Space Sci., 104, 157-162. 5. Roth, L., et al. (2016), Constraints on an exosphere at Ceres from Hubble Space Telescope observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 2465-2472.

  1. On the origin of the organic-rich material on Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marchi, Simone; Bowling, Timothy; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina

    2017-10-01

    The detection of localized, organic-rich material on Ceres [1] poses an interesting conundrum. Either the organic-rich material has an exogenous origin, and thus it has been delivered to Ceres after its formation; or it has an endogenous origin, and thus it has been synthesized and/or concentrated in a specific location on Ceres via internal processes.Both scenarios have shortfalls, indicating we may ultimately be missing how organic matter has been formed, transported and reworked in solar system objects. The very location of Ceres at the boundary between the inner and outer solar system, and its intriguing composition characterized by clays, sodium- and ammonium-carbonates [2], suggest Ceres experienced a very complex chemical evolution. The role of organics in this evolution is not fully understood, with important astrobiological implications [3].Here we investigate the viability of organics delivery to Ceres via asteroidal/cometary impactors. We will present iSALE shock physics code [4-5] simulations that explore a range of impact parameters, such as impactor sizes and velocities, and discuss the likelihood of organics delivery. We find that comet-like projectiles, with relatively high impact velocities, are expected to lose almost all of their organics due to shock compression. Asteroidal-like impactors, with lower incident velocities, can retain 20-30% of their pre-impact organic material during delivery, especially for small impactors and very oblique impact angles. However, the spatial distribution of organics on Ceres seems difficult to reconcile with delivery from small main belt asteroids. These findings corroborate an endogenous origin for the organics on Ceres.[1] De Sanctis M. C. et al. Science 355, 2016. [2] De Sanctis M. C. et al. Nature 536, 2016. [3] Castillo-Rogez J. C. et al. Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop 2017 (LPI Contrib. No. 1989). [4] Amsden A. et al. LANL Report, LA-8095, 1980. [5] Collins G. S. et al. MAPS 39, 2004.

  2. Formation of brucite and cronstedtite-bearing mineral assemblages on Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zolotov, Mikhail Yu.

    2014-01-01

    Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest body in the main asteroid belt with a rocky surface and uncertain internal structure. Spectra of Ceres in near- and mid-infrared wavelengths are consistent with the occurrence of brucite, Mg-bearing carbonates, and an Fe-rich phyllosilicate cronstedtite. Spectra of 10 Hygiea and 324 Bamberga imply similar compositions. Here, we considered stabilities of these minerals to constrain their origin. Cronstedtite is most stable at the temperature of ˜0 °C at moderately oxidizing aqueous conditions and at high water/rock ratios. Although cronstedtite could form on planetesimals, the apparent lack of serpentine may indicate its formation by Ceres' temporary surface solutions. Brucite forms at a low activity of dissolved SiO2, at a low fugacity of CO2, and at highly alkaline pH. Brucite and cronstedtite do not form together and may not form deep in the Ceres' interior. The absence of Mg serpentine from Ceres' surface materials and the unlikely occurrence of very olivine-rich rocks do not indicate a formation of brucite through serpentinization of such rocks. Brucite could form by transient near-surface fluids which do not equilibrate with silicates. Temporary fluids could deposit Mg carbonates before, after, or together with brucite at near-surface conditions that favor CO2 degassing. Regardless of Ceres' internal structure, internal thermal and aqueous processes may not affect cold near-surface layers. Percolation of interior fluids is not consistent with the lack of detection of low-solubility salts. However, impacts of ice-rich targets during the Late Heavy Bombardment could account for transient aqueous environments and unusual surface mineralogies of Ceres, Hygiea, and Bamberga. Brucite and Mg carbonates could have formed through hydration and carbonation of MgO evaporated from silicates. Apparently abundant carbonates may indicate an ample impact oxidation of organic matter, and the occurrence of brucite with cronstedtite may reflect turbulent and disequilibrium environments. Clay-like homogeneous surface materials on Ceres could be gravitationally sorted deposits of impact clouds.

  3. Ceres composition as inferred by the VIR-Dawn imaging spectrometer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Longobardo, Andrea

    2016-07-01

    The NASA's Dawn spacecraft [1] is orbiting around Ceres since early 2015. The Dawn mission to Ceres is divided in five stages, characterized by different altitudes above the Ceres mean surface. These five stages correspond with the different phases of the mission,, i.e. Approach, Rotational Characterization, Survey, High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) and Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO). Each phase is characterized by an increasing spatial resolution linked with the spacecraft altitude. The VIR imaging spectrometer [2] on board the Dawn spacecraft is providing a huge amount of data and giving an essential contribution to understand the Ceres composition and to give constraint about its evolution. VIR observations revealed that Ceres is a dark body, with an average albedo of 0.08 measured at 1.2 mm [3]. However, specific features seen at the local scale may show substantially higher albedo (i.e. greater than 0.2), especially in Occator, Haulani and Oxo craters [4]. VIR data reveal that the Ceres visible and near-infrared spectra (wavelength range from 0.25 to 5 mm) are mainly characterized by the following absorptions: - 2.7 mm band, ascribed to OH-bearing materials [5] and distributed across the Ceres surface; - 3.05 mm band, ascribed to NH4-bearing materials [5] and also ubiquitous on the Ceres surface; - 3.3-3.5 mm complex and 3.9 mm band, ascribed to carbonates [4] and observed only at some locations [6]. The presence of these features, in particular the 3.05 mm band, indicate widespread occurrence of ammoniated phyllosilicates [5], which could be mixed with carbonates in specific regions. The phyllosilicates composition is basically homogeneous across the Ceres surface, as suggested by the low variation of 2.7 mm and 3.05 mm band centers [7]. The presence of ammonia suggests the presence of outer Solar System materials, which could have been brought in the Main Asteroid Belt and accreted during the Ceres formation [8]. Alternatively, Ceres itself could have been formed in the outer Solar System before to migrate in its actual location [9]. References [1] Russell, C.T. et al., Science, 336, 684, 2012 [2] De Sanctis M.C. et al., Space Sci. Rev., 163, 329-336, 2011 [3] Longobardo, A. et al., LPSC abstract, #2239, 2016 [4] De Sanctis, M.C. et al., LPSC abstract, #1832, 2016 [5] De Sanctis, M.C. et al., Nature, 528, 241-244, 2015 [6] Palomba, E. et al., LPSC abstract, #2166, 2016 [7] Ammannito, E. et al., LPSC abstract, #3020, 2016 [8] Johansen, A. et al., Sci. Adv. 1, 1500109, 2015 [9] McKinnon, W.B. et al., Proc. Conf. Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, # 6475, 2012

  4. Gravity field and shape of Ceres from Dawn

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Ryan; Konopliv, Alexander; Vaughan, Andrew; Bills, Bruce; Castillo-Rogez, Julie; Ermakov, Anton; Fu, Roger; Raymond, Carol; Russell, Chris; Zuber, Maria

    2017-04-01

    The Dawn gravity science investigation utilizes the DSN radio tracking of the spacecraft and on-board framing camera images to determine the gravity field and global shape of Ceres. The gravity science data collected during Approach, Survey, High-Altitude Mapping Orbit, and Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit phases were processed. The final gravity science solution yielded a degree and order 18 gravity field, called CERES18C, which is globally accurate to degree and order 14. Also, the final Ceres shape using the stereo-photoclinometry method is available with the height uncertainty better than 30 meters. The degree-2 gravity harmonics show that the rotation of Ceres is very nearly about a principal axis. Combining the gravity field and topography gives the bulk density of 2162.6±2.0 kg/m3. The estimated spin pole vector yields RA=(291.42744±0.00022)° and Dec=(66.76065±0.00022)° with the prime meridian and rotation rate of (170.374±0.012)° and (952.1532638±0.0000019)°/day, respectively. The low Bouguer gravity at high topographic areas, and vice versa, indicates that the topography of Ceres is compensated, which can be explained by a low-viscosity layer at depth. Further studies on Ceres interior show that low gravity-topography admittances are consistent with Airy isostasy and finite-element modeling require a decrease of viscosity with depth.

  5. Development of dedicated target tracking capability for the CERES instruments through flight software: enhancing radiometric validation and on-orbit calibration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Teague, Kelly K.; Smith, G. Louis; Priestley, Kory; Lukashin, Constantine; Roithmayr, Carlos

    2012-09-01

    Five CERES scanning radiometers have been flown to date. The Proto-Flight Model flew aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission spacecraft in November 1997. Two CERES instruments, Flight Models (FM) 1 and 2, are aboard the Terra spacecraft, which was launched in December 1999. Two more CERES instruments, FM-3 and FM-4, are on the Aqua spacecraft, which was placed in orbit in May 2002. These instruments continue to operate after providing over a decade of Earth Radiation Budget data. The CERES FM-5 instrument, onboard the Suomi-NPP spacecraft, launched in October 2011. The CERES FM- 6 instrument is manifested on the JPPS-1 spacecraft to be launched in December 2016. A successor to these instruments is presently in the definition stage. This paper describes the evolving role of flight software in the operation of these instruments to meet the Science objectives of the mission and also the ability to execute supplemental tasks as they evolve. In order to obtain and maintain high accuracy in the data products from these instruments, a number of operational activities have been developed and implemented since the instruments were originally designed and placed in orbit. These new activities are possible because of the ability to exploit and modify the flight software, which operates the instruments. The CERES Flight Software interface was designed to allow for on-orbit modification, and as such, constantly evolves to meet changing needs. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of modifications which have been developed to allow dedicated targeting of specific geographic locations as the CERES sensor flies overhead on its host spacecraft. This new observing strategy greatly increases the temporal and angular sampling for specific targets of high scientific interest.

  6. Visualization and Quality Control Web Tools for CERES Products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitrescu, C.; Doelling, D.; Chu, C.; Mlynczak, P.

    2014-12-01

    The CERES project continues to provide the scientific community a wide variety of satellite-derived data products. The flagship products TOA broadband shortwave and longwave observed fluxes, computed TOA and Surface fluxes, as well as cloud, aerosol, and other atmospheric parameters. These datasets encompass a wide range of temporal and spatial resolutions, suited to specific applications. We thus offer time resolutions that range from instantaneous to monthly means, with spatial resolutions that range from 20-km footprint to global scales. The 14-year record is mostly used by climate modeling communities that focus on global mean energetics, meridianal heat transport, and climate trend studies. CERES products are also used by the remote sensing community for their climatological studies. In the last years however, our CERES products had been used by an even broader audience, like the green energy, health and environmental research communities, and others. Because of that, the CERES project has implemented a now well-established web-oriented Ordering and Visualization Tool (OVT), which is well into its fifth year of development. In order to help facilitate a comprehensive quality control of CERES products, the OVT Team began introducing a series of specialized functions. These include the 1- and 2-D histogram, anomaly, deseasonalization, temporal and spatial averaging, side-by-side parameter comparison, and other specialized scientific application capabilities. Over time increasingly higher order temporal and spatial resolution products are being made available to the public through the CERES OVT. These high-resolution products require accessing the existing long-term archive - thus the reading of many very large netCDF or HDF files that pose a real challenge to the task of near instantaneous visualization. An overview of the CERES OVT basic functions and QC capabilities as well as future steps in expanding its capabilities will be presented at the meeting.

  7. Ceres Evolution: From Thermodynamic Modeling and Now Dawn Observation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCord, T. B.; Combe, J. P.; Castillo, J. C.; Raymond, C. A.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Jaumann, R.; Ammannito, E.; Russell, C. T.

    2015-12-01

    Thermodynamic modeling indicated that Ceres has experienced planetary processes, including extensive melting of its ~25% water and differentiation, (McCord and Sotin, JGR, 2005; Castillo and McCord, Icarus, 2009). Early telescopic studies showed Ceres' surface to be spectrally similar to carboneous-chondrite-like material, i.e., aqueously altered silicates darkened by carbon, with a water-OH-related absorption near 3.06 µm. Later observations improved the spectra and suggested more specific interpretations: Structural water in clay minerals, phyllosilicates, perhaps ammoniated, iron-rich clays, carbonates, brucite, all implying extensive aqueous alteration, perhaps in the presence of CO2. Telescopic observations and thermodynamic models predicted Dawn would find a very different body compared to Vesta (e.g. McCord et al., SSR, 2011), as current Dawn observations are confirming. Ceres' original water ice should have melted early in its evolution, with the resulting differentiation and mineralization strongly affecting Ceres' composition, size and shape over time. The ocean should have become very salty and perhaps may still be liquid in places. The surface composition from telescopes seems to reflect this complex history. The mineralization with repeated mixing of the crust with the early liquid interior and with in-fall from space would create a complex surface that will present an interpretation challenge for Dawn. The Dawn spacecraft is currently collecting observations of Ceres' landforms, elemental and mineralogical/molecular composition and gravity field from orbit. Early results suggest a heavily cratered but distorted and lumpy body with features and composition consistent with internal activity, perhaps recent or current, associated with water and perhaps other volatiles. We will present and interpret the latest Dawn Ceres findings and how they affect our earlier understanding of Ceres evolution from modeling and telescope observations.

  8. Kinetic Effect on the Freezing of Ammonium-Sodium-Carbonate-Chloride Brines and Implications for Origin of Ceres' Bright Spots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hodyss, R. P.; Thomas, E. C.; Vu, T. H.; Johnson, P. V.; Choukroun, M.

    2017-12-01

    Subsurface brines on Ceres containing natrite (Na2CO3) and smaller amounts of NH4Cl or NH4HCO3 have been proposed to reach the dwarf planet's surface from an internal reservoir, where the brines freeze and result in bright spots across Ceres. Kinetically frozen solutions containing the likely constituents of Ceres' subsurface brines (ammonium, sodium, carbonate, and chloride ions) were studied via infrared and micro-Raman spectroscopy, where the flash-frozen mixtures were found to preferentially form ammonium chloride and ammonium bicarbonate, even in sodium-dominated solutions. Additionally, sodium chloride only formed when sodium or chloride (or both) were present in excess in the brine solutions. Raman spectroscopy was further employed to analyze the effect of vacuum exposure on these frozen brines over longer periods of time to simulate the surface conditions of Ceres.

  9. Pitted terrains on (1) Ceres and implications for shallow subsurface volatile distribution

    PubMed Central

    Platz, T.; Schorghofer, N.; Prettyman, T. H.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Crown, D. A.; Schmedemann, N.; Neesemann, A.; Kneissl, T.; Marchi, S.; Schenk, P. M.; Bland, M. T.; Schmidt, B. E.; Hughson, K. H. G.; Tosi, F.; Zambon, F.; Mest, S. C.; Yingst, R. A.; Williams, D. A.; Russell, C. T.; Raymond, C. A.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Prior to the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, the dwarf planet was anticipated to be ice‐rich. Searches for morphological features related to ice have been ongoing during Dawn's mission at Ceres. Here we report the identification of pitted terrains associated with fresh Cerean impact craters. The Cerean pitted terrains exhibit strong morphological similarities to pitted materials previously identified on Mars (where ice is implicated in pit development) and Vesta (where the presence of ice is debated). We employ numerical models to investigate the formation of pitted materials on Ceres and discuss the relative importance of water ice and other volatiles in pit development there. We conclude that water ice likely plays an important role in pit development on Ceres. Similar pitted terrains may be common in the asteroid belt and may be of interest to future missions motivated by both astrobiology and in situ resource utilization. PMID:28989206

  10. Pitted terrains on (1) Ceres and implications for shallow subsurface volatile distribution.

    PubMed

    Sizemore, H G; Platz, T; Schorghofer, N; Prettyman, T H; De Sanctis, M C; Crown, D A; Schmedemann, N; Neesemann, A; Kneissl, T; Marchi, S; Schenk, P M; Bland, M T; Schmidt, B E; Hughson, K H G; Tosi, F; Zambon, F; Mest, S C; Yingst, R A; Williams, D A; Russell, C T; Raymond, C A

    2017-07-16

    Prior to the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, the dwarf planet was anticipated to be ice-rich. Searches for morphological features related to ice have been ongoing during Dawn's mission at Ceres. Here we report the identification of pitted terrains associated with fresh Cerean impact craters. The Cerean pitted terrains exhibit strong morphological similarities to pitted materials previously identified on Mars (where ice is implicated in pit development) and Vesta (where the presence of ice is debated). We employ numerical models to investigate the formation of pitted materials on Ceres and discuss the relative importance of water ice and other volatiles in pit development there. We conclude that water ice likely plays an important role in pit development on Ceres. Similar pitted terrains may be common in the asteroid belt and may be of interest to future missions motivated by both astrobiology and in situ resource utilization.

  11. The missing large impact craters on Ceres.

    PubMed

    Marchi, S; Ermakov, A I; Raymond, C A; Fu, R R; O'Brien, D P; Bland, M T; Ammannito, E; De Sanctis, M C; Bowling, T; Schenk, P; Scully, J E C; Buczkowski, D L; Williams, D A; Hiesinger, H; Russell, C T

    2016-07-26

    Asteroids provide fundamental clues to the formation and evolution of planetesimals. Collisional models based on the depletion of the primordial main belt of asteroids predict 10-15 craters >400 km should have formed on Ceres, the largest object between Mars and Jupiter, over the last 4.55 Gyr. Likewise, an extrapolation from the asteroid Vesta would require at least 6-7 such basins. However, Ceres' surface appears devoid of impact craters >∼280 km. Here, we show a significant depletion of cerean craters down to 100-150 km in diameter. The overall scarcity of recognizable large craters is incompatible with collisional models, even in the case of a late implantation of Ceres in the main belt, a possibility raised by the presence of ammoniated phyllosilicates. Our results indicate that a significant population of large craters has been obliterated, implying that long-wavelength topography viscously relaxed or that Ceres experienced protracted widespread resurfacing.

  12. Searching for organics on the dwarf planet Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nayak, Michael

    The Herschel Space Observatory recently detected the presence of water vapor in observations of Ceres, bringing it into the crosshairs of the search for the building blocks of life in the solar system. I present a mission concept designed in collaboration with the NASA Ames Research Center for a two-probe mission to the dwarf planet Ceres, utilizing a pair of small low-cost spacecraft. The primary spacecraft will carry both a mass and an infrared spectrometer to characterize the detected vapor. Shortly after its arrival a second and largely similar spacecraft will impact Ceres to create an impact ejecta "plume" timed to enable a rendezvous and sampling by the primary spacecraft. This enables additional subsurface chemistry, volatile content and material characterization, and new science complementary to the Dawn spacecraft, the first to arrive at Ceres. Science requirements, candidate instruments, rendezvous trajectories, spacecraft design and comparison with Dawn science are detailed.

  13. Pitted terrains on (1) Ceres and implications for shallow subsurface volatile distribution

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sizemore, H.G.; Platz, Thomas; Schorghofer, Norbert; Prettyman, Thomas; De Sanctis, Maria Christina; Crown, David A.; Schmedemann, Nico; Nessemann, Andeas; Kneissl, Thomas; Simone Marchi,; Schenk, Paul M.; Bland, Michael T.; Schmidt, B.E.; Hughson, Kynan H.G.; Tosi, F.; Zambon, F; Mest, S.C.; Yingst, R.A.; Williams, D.A.; Russell, C.T.; Raymond, C.A.

    2017-01-01

    Prior to the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, the dwarf planet was anticipated to be ice-rich. Searches for morphological features related to ice have been ongoing during Dawn's mission at Ceres. Here we report the identification of pitted terrains associated with fresh Cerean impact craters. The Cerean pitted terrains exhibit strong morphological similarities to pitted materials previously identified on Mars (where ice is implicated in pit development) and Vesta (where the presence of ice is debated). We employ numerical models to investigate the formation of pitted materials on Ceres and discuss the relative importance of water ice and other volatiles in pit development there. We conclude that water ice likely plays an important role in pit development on Ceres. Similar pitted terrains may be common in the asteroid belt and may be of interest to future missions motivated by both astrobiology and in situ resource utilization.

  14. INTEGRAL BENCHMARK DATA FOR NUCLEAR DATA TESTING THROUGH THE ICSBEP AND THE NEWLY ORGANIZED IRPHEP

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Blair Briggs; Lori Scott; Yolanda Rugama

    The status of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) was last reported in a nuclear data conference at the International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology, ND-2004, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Since that time the number and type of integral benchmarks have increased significantly. Included in the ICSBEP Handbook are criticality-alarm / shielding and fundamental physic benchmarks in addition to the traditional critical / subcritical benchmark data. Since ND 2004, a reactor physics counterpart to the ICSBEP, the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) was initiated. The IRPhEP is patterned after the ICSBEP, butmore » focuses on other integral measurements, such as buckling, spectral characteristics, reactivity effects, reactivity coefficients, kinetics measurements, reaction-rate and power distributions, nuclide compositions, and other miscellaneous-type measurements in addition to the critical configuration. The status of these two projects is discussed and selected benchmarks highlighted in this paper.« less

  15. Spatial sampling considerations of the CERES (Clouds and Earth Radiant Energy System) instrument

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, G. L.; Manalo-Smith, Natividdad; Priestley, Kory

    2014-10-01

    The CERES (Clouds and Earth Radiant Energy System) instrument is a scanning radiometer with three channels for measuring Earth radiation budget. At present CERES models are operating aboard the Terra, Aqua and Suomi/NPP spacecraft and flights of CERES instruments are planned for the JPSS-1 spacecraft and its successors. CERES scans from one limb of the Earth to the other and back. The footprint size grows with distance from nadir simply due to geometry so that the size of the smallest features which can be resolved from the data increases and spatial sampling errors increase with nadir angle. This paper presents an analysis of the effect of nadir angle on spatial sampling errors of the CERES instrument. The analysis performed in the Fourier domain. Spatial sampling errors are created by smoothing of features which are the size of the footprint and smaller, or blurring, and inadequate sampling, that causes aliasing errors. These spatial sampling errors are computed in terms of the system transfer function, which is the Fourier transform of the point response function, the spacing of data points and the spatial spectrum of the radiance field.

  16. Geochemistry, thermal evolution, and cryovolcanism on Ceres with a muddy ice mantle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neveu, M.; Desch, S. J.

    2015-12-01

    Ceres is a geophysical puzzle: observations with the Dawn spacecraft have revealed a seemingly old surface saturated with craters, and a shape close to that determined by [1] suggestive of a homogeneous, unevolved interior. These findings strongly contrast with pre-Dawn observations of products of aqueous alteration on Ceres' surface [2], and of water vapor emanating from Ceres [3], as well as with Dawn images of bright regions on the surface, all suggestive of past and ongoing geological activity. We present a model of Ceres' interior that may reconcile these observations. Following [4], we assume that Ceres accreted ice and chondritic rock (both micron-sized rock fines and millimeter-sized chondrules), and that micron-sized fines stayed suspended in liquid. We have carried out geophysical and thermal evolution simulations using a code modified from [5,6], whose outcomes suggest that aqueously altered grains were emplaced on Ceres' surface during the first tens of Myr of its evolution. We have also performed geochemical simulations using the PHREEQC code [7] of the interaction between pure liquid water and assemblages of chondritic elemental and mineral composition [8,9]. Their outcomes suggest that Ceres' unusual surface mineralogy is consistent with aqueous alteration at T ≥ 200oC. This requires an early ocean formed by heating from 26Al decay. Thermal evolution simulations, including insulating fines, yield present-day temperatures at the core-mantle boundary of 240-250 K, just warm enough for chloride brines to persist and be freezing today [10]. Ongoing freezing may over-pressurize brine pockets, driving cryovolcanic outflow whose surface expression may have been observed by Dawn at Ceres' 'bright spots'. These outflows may be contributing to the water vapor being produced at Ceres. [1] Drummond et al. (2014) Icarus 236, 28-37 [2] Milliken & Rivkin (2009) Nat. Geosc. 2, 258-261 [3] Küppers et al. (2014) Nature 505, 525-527 [4] Travis et al. (2015) 46th LPSC, abstract 2360 [5] Desch et al. (2009) Icarus 202, 694-714 [6] Neveu et al. (2015) JGR:Planets 120, 123-154 [7] Parkhurst & Appelo (2013) http://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/06/a43 [8] Wasson & Kallemeyn (1988) Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 325, 535-544 [9] Howard et al. (2011) GCA 75, 2735-2751 [10] Barduhn & Manudhane (1979) Desalination 28, 233-241

  17. Retrieving SW fluxes from geostationary narrowband radiances for the NASA-CERES SYN1deg product

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wrenn, F. J., IV; Doelling, D. R.; Liang, L.

    2016-12-01

    The CERES mission was designed to measure the natural variability of the net TOA flux over long time scales relevant to climate monitoring. To achieve this goal, CERES provides the level-3 SSF1deg, SYN1deg, and EBAF monthly 1° by 1° regional TOA flux. The single satellite (Terra or Aqua) SSF1deg 24-hour shortwave flux is based on one daytime measurements and assumes constant meteorology to model the diurnal change in albedo. To accurately describe regions with a prominent diurnal signal, the SYN1deg Edition4 dataset employs hourly geostationary (GEO) measurements. This improves upon Edition3, which used 3-hourly GEO measurements and with temporal interpolation. The EBAF product combines the temporal stability of the SSF1deg product with the diurnal information from SYN1deg and removes the CERES instrument calibration bias by constraining the net flux balance to the ocean heat storage term. The SYN-1deg product retrieves hourly SW fluxes from GEO measurements. Over regions with large diurnal cycles, such as maritime stratus and land afternoon convective locations, the GEO derived SW fluxes will capture the diurnal flux not observed with Terra or Aqua sun-synchronous satellites. Obtaining fluxes from geostationary satellite radiance is a multistep process. First, most GEO visible imagers lack calibration and must be calibrated to MODIS and VIIRS. Second, the GEO imager visible channel radiances are converted to broadband radiances using empirical and theoretical models. The lack of coincident, collocated, and co-angled GEO and CERES measurements makes building an empirical model difficult. The narrowband to broadband models are a function of surface and cloud conditions, which are difficult to identify due to the inconsistent cloud retrievals between the 16 GEO imagers used in the CERES record. Third, the GEO derived broadband radiances are passed through the CERES angular distribution model (ADM) to convert the radiances to fluxes. Lastly, the GEO derived broadband fluxes are normalized with CERES fluxes in order to preserve the CERES instrument calibration. Validation is performed by comparing the GEO converted fluxes against CERES observations using coincident and collocated data. This work will focus on the GEO visible radiance conversion, validation approach, and Edition4 improvements.

  18. Retrieving SW fluxes from geostationary narrowband radiances for the NASA-CERES SYN1deg product

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wrenn, F. J., IV; Doelling, D. R.; Liang, L.

    2017-12-01

    The CERES mission was designed to measure the natural variability of the net TOA flux over long time scales relevant to climate monitoring. To achieve this goal, CERES provides the level-3 SSF1deg, SYN1deg, and EBAF monthly 1° by 1° regional TOA flux. The single satellite (Terra or Aqua) SSF1deg 24-hour shortwave flux is based on one daytime measurements and assumes constant meteorology to model the diurnal change in albedo. To accurately describe regions with a prominent diurnal signal, the SYN1deg Edition4 dataset employs hourly geostationary (GEO) measurements. This improves upon Edition3, which used 3-hourly GEO measurements and with temporal interpolation. The EBAF product combines the temporal stability of the SSF1deg product with the diurnal information from SYN1deg and removes the CERES instrument calibration bias by constraining the net flux balance to the ocean heat storage term. The SYN-1deg product retrieves hourly SW fluxes from GEO measurements. Over regions with large diurnal cycles, such as maritime stratus and land afternoon convective locations, the GEO derived SW fluxes will capture the diurnal flux not observed with Terra or Aqua sun-synchronous satellites. Obtaining fluxes from geostationary satellite radiance is a multistep process. First, most GEO visible imagers lack calibration and must be calibrated to MODIS and VIIRS. Second, the GEO imager visible channel radiances are converted to broadband radiances using empirical and theoretical models. The lack of coincident, collocated, and co-angled GEO and CERES measurements makes building an empirical model difficult. The narrowband to broadband models are a function of surface and cloud conditions, which are difficult to identify due to the inconsistent cloud retrievals between the 16 GEO imagers used in the CERES record. Third, the GEO derived broadband radiances are passed through the CERES angular distribution model (ADM) to convert the radiances to fluxes. Lastly, the GEO derived broadband fluxes are normalized with CERES fluxes in order to preserve the CERES instrument calibration. Validation is performed by comparing the GEO converted fluxes against CERES observations using coincident and collocated data. This work will focus on the GEO visible radiance conversion, validation approach, and Edition4 improvements.

  19. Sublimation in bright spots on (1) Ceres.

    PubMed

    Nathues, A; Hoffmann, M; Schaefer, M; Le Corre, L; Reddy, V; Platz, T; Cloutis, E A; Christensen, U; Kneissl, T; Li, J-Y; Mengel, K; Schmedemann, N; Schaefer, T; Russell, C T; Applin, D M; Buczkowski, D L; Izawa, M R M; Keller, H U; O'Brien, D P; Pieters, C M; Raymond, C A; Ripken, J; Schenk, P M; Schmidt, B E; Sierks, H; Sykes, M V; Thangjam, G S; Vincent, J-B

    2015-12-10

    The dwarf planet (1) Ceres, the largest object in the main asteroid belt with a mean diameter of about 950 kilometres, is located at a mean distance from the Sun of about 2.8 astronomical units (one astronomical unit is the Earth-Sun distance). Thermal evolution models suggest that it is a differentiated body with potential geological activity. Unlike on the icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, where tidal forces are responsible for spewing briny water into space, no tidal forces are acting on Ceres. In the absence of such forces, most objects in the main asteroid belt are expected to be geologically inert. The recent discovery of water vapour absorption near Ceres and previous detection of bound water and OH near and on Ceres (refs 5-7) have raised interest in the possible presence of surface ice. Here we report the presence of localized bright areas on Ceres from an orbiting imager. These unusual areas are consistent with hydrated magnesium sulfates mixed with dark background material, although other compositions are possible. Of particular interest is a bright pit on the floor of crater Occator that exhibits probable sublimation of water ice, producing haze clouds inside the crater that appear and disappear with a diurnal rhythm. Slow-moving condensed-ice or dust particles may explain this haze. We conclude that Ceres must have accreted material from beyond the 'snow line', which is the distance from the Sun at which water molecules condense.

  20. Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) algorithm theoretical basis document. volume 4; Determination of surface and atmosphere fluxes and temporally and spatially averaged products (subsystems 5-12); Determination of surface and atmosphere fluxes and temporally and spatially averaged products

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator); Barkstrom, Bruce R. (Principal Investigator); Baum, Bryan A.; Charlock, Thomas P.; Green, Richard N.; Lee, Robert B., III; Minnis, Patrick; Smith, G. Louis; Coakley, J. A.; Randall, David R.

    1995-01-01

    The theoretical bases for the Release 1 algorithms that will be used to process satellite data for investigation of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) are described. The architecture for software implementation of the methodologies is outlined. Volume 4 details the advanced CERES techniques for computing surface and atmospheric radiative fluxes (using the coincident CERES cloud property and top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) flux products) and for averaging the cloud properties and TOA, atmospheric, and surface radiative fluxes over various temporal and spatial scales. CERES attempts to match the observed TOA fluxes with radiative transfer calculations that use as input the CERES cloud products and NOAA National Meteorological Center analyses of temperature and humidity. Slight adjustments in the cloud products are made to obtain agreement of the calculated and observed TOA fluxes. The computed products include shortwave and longwave fluxes from the surface to the TOA. The CERES instantaneous products are averaged on a 1.25-deg latitude-longitude grid, then interpolated to produce global, synoptic maps to TOA fluxes and cloud properties by using 3-hourly, normalized radiances from geostationary meteorological satellites. Surface and atmospheric fluxes are computed by using these interpolated quantities. Clear-sky and total fluxes and cloud properties are then averaged over various scales.

  1. Samhain Catenae on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-11-09

    This image made with data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows pit chains on dwarf planet Ceres called Samhain Catenae. Scientists created this image by draping the grayscale mosaic of Ceres' surface onto the shape model of the dwarf planet. The arrows in the image point to a few of the pit chains investigated in a 2017 study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22086

  2. Development and Implementation of a Comprehensive Radiometric Validation Protocol for the CERES Earth Radiation Budget Climate Record Sensors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Priestley, K. J.; Matthews, G.; Thomas, S.

    2006-01-01

    The CERES Flight Models 1 through 4 instruments were launched aboard NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra and Aqua Spacecraft into 705 Km sun-synchronous orbits with 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. equatorial crossing times. These instruments supplement measurements made by the CERES Proto Flight Model (PFM) instrument launched aboard NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) into a 350 Km, 38-degree mid-inclined orbit. CERES Climate Data Records consist of geolocated and calibrated instantaneous filtered and unfiltered radiances through temporally and spatially averaged TOA, Surface and Atmospheric fluxes. CERES filtered radiance measurements cover three spectral bands including shortwave (0.3 to 5 microns), total (0.3 to 100 microns) and an atmospheric window channel (8 to 12 microns). The CERES Earth Radiation Budget measurements represent a new era in radiation climate data, realizing a factor of 2 to 4 improvement in calibration accuracy and stability over the previous ERBE climate records, while striving for the next goal of 0.3-percent per decade absolute stability. The current improvement is derived from two sources: the incorporation of lessons learned from the ERBE mission in the design of the CERES instruments and the development of a rigorous and comprehensive radiometric validation protocol consisting of individual studies covering different spatial, spectral and temporal time scales on data collected both pre and post launch. Once this ensemble of individual perspectives is collected and organized, a cohesive and highly rigorous picture of the overall end-to-end performance of the CERES instrument's and data processing algorithms may be clearly established. This approach has resulted in unprecedented levels of accuracy for radiation budget instruments and data products with calibration stability of better than 0.2-percent and calibration traceability from ground to flight of 0.25-percent. The current work summarizes the development, philosophy and implementation of the protocol designed to rigorously quantify the quality of the data products as well as the level of agreement between the CERES TRMM, Terra and Aqua climate data records.

  3. High-resolution Ceres LAMO atlas derived from Dawn FC images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roatsch, T.; Kersten, E.; Matz, K. D.; Preusker, F.; Scholten, F.; Jaumann, R.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C.

    2016-12-01

    Introduction: NASA's Dawn spacecraft has been orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres since December 2015 in LAMO (High Altitude Mapping Orbit) with an altitude of about 400 km to characterize for instance the geology, topography, and shape of Ceres. One of the major goals of this mission phase is the global high-resolution mapping of Ceres. Data: The Dawn mission is equipped with a fram-ing camera (FC). The framing camera took until the time of writing about 27,500 clear filter images in LAMO with a resolution of about 30 m/pixel and dif-ferent viewing angles and different illumination condi-tions. Data Processing: The first step of the processing chain towards the cartographic products is to ortho-rectify the images to the proper scale and map projec-tion type. This process requires detailed information of the Dawn orbit and attitude data and of the topography of the target. A high-resolution shape model was provided by stereo processing of the HAMO dataset, orbit and attitude data are available as reconstructed SPICE data. Ceres' HAMO shape model is used for the calculation of the ray intersection points while the map projection itself was done onto a reference sphere of Ceres. The final step is the controlled mosaicking of all nadir images to a global mosaic of Ceres, the so called basemap. Ceres map tiles: The Ceres atlas will be produced in a scale of 1:250,000 and will consist of 62 tiles that conforms to the quadrangle schema for Venus at 1:5,000,000. A map scale of 1:250,000 is a compro-mise between the very high resolution in LAMO and a proper map sheet size of the single tiles. Nomenclature: The Dawn team proposed to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to use the names of gods and goddesses of agriculture and vege-tation from world mythology as names for the craters and to use names of agricultural festivals of the world for other geological features. This proposal was ac-cepted by the IAU and the team proposed 92 names for geological features to the IAU based on the LAMO mosaic. These feature names will be applied to the map tiles.

  4. High-resolution Ceres HAMO Atlas derived from Dawn FC Images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roatsch, T.; Kersten, E.; Matz, K. D.; Preusker, F.; Scholten, F.; Jaumann, R.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2015-12-01

    Introduction: NASA's Dawn spacecraft will orbit the dwarf planet Ceres in August and September 2015 in HAMO (High Altitude Mapping Orbit) with an altitude of about 1,500 km to characterize for instance the geology, topography, and shape of Ceres before it will be transferred to the lowest orbit. One of the major goals of this mission phase is the global mapping of Ceres. Data: The Dawn mission is equipped with a fram-ing camera (FC). The framing camera will take about 2600 clear filter images with a resolution of about 120 m/pixel and different viewing angles and different illumination conditions. Data Processing: The first step of the processing chain towards the cartographic products is to ortho-rectify the images to the proper scale and map projec-tion type. This process requires detailed information of the Dawn orbit and attitude data and of the topography of the target. Both, improved orientation and high-resolution shape models, are provided by stereo processing of the HAMO dataset. Ceres' HAMO shape model is used for the calculation of the ray intersection points while the map projection itself will be done onto a reference sphere for Ceres. The final step is the controlled mosaicking of all nadir images to a global mosaic of Ceres, the so called basemap. Ceres map tiles: The Ceres atlas will be produced in a scale of 1:750,000 and will consist of 15 tiles that conform to the quadrangle schema for small planets and medium size Icy satellites. A map scale of 1:750,000 guarantees a mapping at the highest availa-ble Dawn resolution in HAMO. Nomenclature: The Dawn team proposed to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to use the names of gods and goddesses of agriculture and vege-tation from world mythology as names for the craters. This proposal was accepted by the IAU and the team proposed names for geological features to the IAU based on the HAMO mosaic. These feature names will be applied to the map tiles.

  5. High resolution Ceres HAMO atlas derived from Dawn FC images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roatsch, Thomas; Kersten, Elke; Matz, Klaus-Dieter; Preusker, Frank; Scholten, Frank; Jaumann, Ralf; Raymond, Carol A.; Russell, Chris T.

    2016-04-01

    Introduction: NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered the orbit of dwarf planet Ceres in March 2015, and will characterize the geology, elemental and mineralogical composition, topography, shape, and internal structure of Ceres. One of the major goals of the mission is a global mapping of Ceres. Data: The Dawn mission was mapping Ceres in HAMO (High Altitude Mapping Orbit, 1475 km altitude) between August and October 2015. The framing camera took about 2,600 clear filter images with a resolution of about 140 m/pixel during these cycles. The images were taken with different viewing angles and different illumination conditions. We selected images from one cycle (cycle #1) for the mosaicking process to have similar viewing and illumination conditions. Very minor gaps in the coverage were filled with a few images from cycle #2. Data Processing: The first step of the processing chain towards the cartographic products is to ortho-rectify the images to the proper scale and map projec-tion type. This process requires detailed information of the Dawn orbit and attitude data and of the topography of the targets. Both, improved orientation and a high-resolution shape model, are provided by stereo processing (bundle block adjustment) of the HAMO stereo image dataset [3]. Ceres's HAMO shape model was used for the calculation of the ray intersection points while the map projection itself was done onto the reference sphere of Ceres with a radius of 470 km. The final step is the controlled mosaicking) of all images to a global mosaic of Ceres, the so-called basemap. Ceres map tiles: The Ceres atlas was produced in a scale of 1:750,000 and consists of 15 tiles that conform to the quadrangle scheme proposed by Greeley and Batson [4]. A map scale of 1:750,000 guarantees a mapping at the highest available Dawn resolution in HAMO. The individual tiles were extracted from the global mosaic and reprojected. Nomenclature: The Dawn team proposed 81 names for geological features. By international agreement, craters must be named after gods and goddesses of agriculture and vegetation from world mythology, whereas other geological features must be named after agricultural festivals of the world. The nomenclature proposed by the Dawn team was approved by the IAU [http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/] and is shown in Fig. 1. The entire Ceres HAMO atlas will be available to the public through the Dawn GIS web page [http://dawngis.dlr.de/atlas]. References: [1] Russell, C.T. and Raymond, C.A., Space Sci. Rev., 163, DOI 10.1007/s11214-011-9836-2; [2] Sierks, et al., 2011, Space Sci. Rev., 163, DOI 10.1007/s11214-011-9745-4; [3] Preusker, F. et al., this session; [4] Greeley, R. and Batson, G., 1990, Planetary Mapping, Cambridge University Press.

  6. Testing and validating the CERES-wheat (Crop Estimation through Resource and Environment Synthesis-wheat) model in diverse environments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Otter-Nacke, S.; Godwin, D. C.; Ritchie, J. T.

    1986-01-01

    CERES-Wheat is a computer simulation model of the growth, development, and yield of spring and winter wheat. It was designed to be used in any location throughout the world where wheat can be grown. The model is written in Fortran 77, operates on a daily time stop, and runs on a range of computer systems from microcomputers to mainframes. Two versions of the model were developed: one, CERES-Wheat, assumes nitrogen to be nonlimiting; in the other, CERES-Wheat-N, the effects of nitrogen deficiency are simulated. The report provides the comparisons of simulations and measurements of about 350 wheat data sets collected from throughout the world.

  7. Ultraviolet reflectance by the cere of raptors

    PubMed Central

    Mougeot, François; Arroyo, Beatriz E

    2006-01-01

    Ultraviolet (UV) signals have been shown to play key roles in social and sexual signalling in birds. Using a spectrophotometer, we analysed the colour of the cere (skin above the beak) of a diurnal raptor, the Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus), and show that it reflects in the UV part of the spectrum. The cere is a well-known sexual signal in raptors, with carotenoid based pigmentation being indicative of quality. We thus hypothesized that UV reflectance also signals quality. Accordingly, we found that in our sample of wild males, the location of the UV peak was related to the orangeness of cere and correlated with male body mass and condition (mass corrected for size). Also, males with brighter UV were mated to females that laid earlier, as expected if UV reflectance relates to a male's quality and attractiveness. Future studies should investigate the relationships between UV reflectance and carotenoid pigmentation of cere, and test how UV reflectance influences mate choice. PMID:17148356

  8. The missing large impact craters on Ceres

    PubMed Central

    Marchi, S.; Ermakov, A. I.; Raymond, C. A.; Fu, R. R.; O'Brien, D. P.; Bland, M. T.; Ammannito, E.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Bowling, T.; Schenk, P.; Scully, J. E. C.; Buczkowski, D. L.; Williams, D. A.; Hiesinger, H.; Russell, C. T.

    2016-01-01

    Asteroids provide fundamental clues to the formation and evolution of planetesimals. Collisional models based on the depletion of the primordial main belt of asteroids predict 10–15 craters >400 km should have formed on Ceres, the largest object between Mars and Jupiter, over the last 4.55 Gyr. Likewise, an extrapolation from the asteroid Vesta would require at least 6–7 such basins. However, Ceres' surface appears devoid of impact craters >∼280 km. Here, we show a significant depletion of cerean craters down to 100–150 km in diameter. The overall scarcity of recognizable large craters is incompatible with collisional models, even in the case of a late implantation of Ceres in the main belt, a possibility raised by the presence of ammoniated phyllosilicates. Our results indicate that a significant population of large craters has been obliterated, implying that long-wavelength topography viscously relaxed or that Ceres experienced protracted widespread resurfacing. PMID:27459197

  9. Boulders on Ceres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schroder, S. E.; Carsenty, U.; Neesemann, A.; Jaumann, R.; Marchi, S.; Mcfadden, L. A.; Otto, K.; Schenk, P.; Schulzeck, F.; Raymond, C. A.; hide

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: In December 2015 the Dawn spacecraft moved into the Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) around Ceres, encircling the dwarf planet at a distance of 400 km to the surface below. At this altitude, images of the on-board framing camera have a resolution of 36 meters per pixel, high enough to distinguish large boulders on the surface. Indeed, LAMO images show a multitude of boulders around what seem to be fresh craters. The average life-time of boulders on Dawn's previous target, Vesta, was estimated to be similar to that of Lunar boulders, as may be expected from the basaltic surface composition. The bulk composition of Ceres may be carbonaceous chondrite-like with significant contributions of clays, salt, and water ice. As such, the abundance and distribution of boulders on Ceres may be different from that on Vesta. We mapped, counted, and measured the diameter of boulders over the entire surface of Ceres. Our analysis of the data in combination with crater age estimates may provide clues to the physical nature and composition of the surface.

  10. CERES: A Set of Automated Routines for Echelle Spectra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brahm, Rafael; Jordán, Andrés; Espinoza, Néstor

    2017-03-01

    We present the Collection of Elemental Routines for Echelle Spectra (CERES). These routines were developed for the construction of automated pipelines for the reduction, extraction, and analysis of spectra acquired with different instruments, allowing the obtention of homogeneous and standardized results. This modular code includes tools for handling the different steps of the processing: CCD image reductions; identification and tracing of the echelle orders; optimal and rectangular extraction; computation of the wavelength solution; estimation of radial velocities; and rough and fast estimation of the atmospheric parameters. Currently, CERES has been used to develop automated pipelines for 13 different spectrographs, namely CORALIE, FEROS, HARPS, ESPaDOnS, FIES, PUCHEROS, FIDEOS, CAFE, DuPont/Echelle, Magellan/Mike, Keck/HIRES, Magellan/PFS, and APO/ARCES, but the routines can be easily used to deal with data coming from other spectrographs. We show the high precision in radial velocity that CERES achieves for some of these instruments, and we briefly summarize some results that have already been obtained using the CERES pipelines.

  11. Map of Ceres' Bright Spots

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-12

    This map from NASA's Dawn mission shows locations of bright material on dwarf planet Ceres. There are more than 300 bright areas, called "faculae," on Ceres. Scientists have divided them into four categories: bright areas on the floors of crater (red), on the rims or walls of craters (green), in the ejecta blankets of craters (blue), and on the flanks of the mountain Ahuna Mons (yellow). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21914

  12. New Names on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-09-01

    Often, the names of features on planetary bodies are connected through a specific theme -- for example, many features on the Moon have been named after famous scientists. NASA's Dawn mission, together with the International Astronomical Union, established that craters on Ceres would be named for agricultural deities from all over the world, and other features would be named for agricultural festivals. Ceres itself was named after the Roman goddess of corn and harvests by its discoverer, Giuseppe Piazzi, who spotted it with his telescope in 1801. Since March 2015, Dawn has been orbiting Ceres and sending back many intriguing images and other data about its features. Using suggestions from the Dawn team, the IAU recently approved 25 new Ceres feature names tied to theme of agricultural deities, marked in yellow on the map. Emesh Crater, for example, is named for the Sumerian god of vegetation and agriculture. Jumi is the Latvian god of fertility of the field. The newly named surface features vary in size. Thrud, for example, is a crater with a diameter of 4.8 miles (7.8 kilometers) within the larger crater Zadeni, while Mlezi has a diameter of 28 miles (42 kilometers). For more information, the characteristics of these and other features on Ceres can be found in the IAU's Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21755

  13. Consistency of two global MODIS aerosol products over ocean on Terra and Aqua CERES SSF datasets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ignatov, Alexander; Minnis, Patrick; Wielicki, Bruce; Loeb, Norman G.; Remer, Lorraine A.; Kaufman, Yoram J.; Miller, Walter F.; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Laszlo, Istvan; Geier, Erika B.

    2004-12-01

    MODIS aerosol retrievals over ocean from Terra and Aqua platforms are available from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) datasets generated at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). Two aerosol products are reported side by side. The primary M product is generated by subsetting and remapping the multi-spectral (0.44 - 2.1 μm) MOD04 aerosols onto CERES footprints. MOD04 processing uses cloud screening and aerosol algorithms developed by the MODIS science team. The secondary (AVHRR-like) A product is generated in only two MODIS bands: 1 and 6 on Terra, and ` and 7 on Aqua. The A processing uses NASA/LaRC cloud-screening and NOAA/NESDIS single channel aerosol algorthm. The M and A products have been documented elsewhere and preliminarily compared using two weeks of global Terra CERES SSF (Edition 1A) data in December 2000 and June 2001. In this study, the M and A aerosol optical depths (AOD) in MODIS band 1 and (0.64 μm), τ1M and τ1A, are further checked for cross-platform consistency using 9 days of global Terra CERES SSF (Edition 2A) and Aqua CERES SSF (Edition 1A) data from 13 - 21 October 2002.

  14. Landslides on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-04-19

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft has revealed many landslides on Ceres, which researchers interpret to have been shaped by a significant amount of water ice. A 2017 study in the journal Nature Geoscience classifies three types of these debris flows. Image 1 (left in the montage) shows an example of "Type I" flow features, which are relatively round and large, have thick "toes" at their ends. They look similar to rock glaciers and icy landslides on Earth. Type I landslides are mostly found at high latitudes, which is also where the most ice is thought to reside near Ceres' surface. Image 2 (center) shows an example of a "Type II" flow feature. Type II features are often thinner and longer than Type I, and are the most common type of landslide on Ceres. They appear more like the avalanches seen on Earth. Image 3 (right) shows an example of a "Type III" flow feature at Datan Crater. The study authors interpret Ceres' Type III landslides to involve melted ice, although scientists do not know if they actually contain liquid water. The authors think Type III landslides are related to impact craters, and may have formed during impact events into the ice on Ceres. The features resemble fluid material ejected from craters in the icy regions of Mars and Jupiter's moon Ganymede. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21471

  15. The Ceres S'Cool Project: Operational but not Routine

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chambers, Lin H.; Young, David F.; Green, Carolyn J.; Haeffelin, Martial P.; Racel, Anne M.

    1999-01-01

    The first Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument has been returning useful data on Earth's radiation budget from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft since late 1997. Validation of the initial data is now intensively underway. As one component of this validation, the CERES Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) project has been operational since April 1998 - the 2nd CERES validation month. S'COOL involves school children in over 140 schools in 15 countries on 5 continents in making and reporting observations and measurements which they and CERES scientists can then compare to the satellite retrievals. The project is planned to continue through the life of the CERES Project (nominally 15 years), and new participants are invited to join on a continuous basis. This paper will report on the first year of the operational phase of the project, during which a number of exciting events occurred (a demonstration of the project to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and visits by CERES personnel to participating schools, among others). It will further report on some of the noteworthy observations and comparisons which have been made possible by this project. We have found that schools are often located in interesting places, in terms of the clouds found there and the satellite's ability to observe these clouds. The paper will also report on the learning opportunities delivered by this project, and on new questions about the planet and its climate which arise in the students' minds as a result of their active participation.

  16. The CERES S'COOL Project: Operational but not Routine

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chambers, Lin H.; Young, David F.; Green, Carolyn J.; Haeffelin, Martial P.; Racel, Anne M.

    1999-01-01

    The first Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument has been returning useful data on Earth's radiation budget from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft since late 1997. Validation of the initial data is now intensively underway. As one component of this validation, the CERES Students Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) project has been operational since April 1998 - the 2nd CERES validation month. S'COOL involves school children in over 140 schools in 15 countries on 5 continents in making and reporting observations and measurements which they and CERES scientists can then compare to the satellite retrievals. The project is planned to continue through the life of the CERES Project (nominally 15 years), and new participants are invited to join on a continuous basis. This paper will report on the first year of the operational phase of the project, during which a number of exciting events occurred (a demonstration of the project to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and visits by CERES personnel to participating schools, among others). It will further report on some of the noteworthy observations and comparisons which have been made possible by this project. We have found that schools are often located in interesting places, in terms of the clouds found there and the satellite's ability to observe these clouds. The paper will also report on the learning opportunities delivered by this project, and on new questions about the planet and its climate which arise in the students minds as a result of their active participation.

  17. Analytical Web Tool for CERES Products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitrescu, C.; Chu, C.; Doelling, D.

    2012-12-01

    The CERES project provides the community climate quality observed TOA fluxes, consistent cloud properties, and computed profile and surface fluxes. The 11-year long data set proves invaluable for remote sensing and climate modeling communities for annual global mean energy, meridianal heat transport, consistent cloud and fluxes and climate trends studies. Moreover, a broader audience interested in Earth's radiative properties such as green energy, health and environmental companies have showed their interest in CERES derived products. A few years ago, the CERES team start developing a new web-based Ordering Tool tailored for this wide diversity of users. Recognizing the potential that web-2.0 technologies can offer to both Quality Control (QC) and scientific data visualization and manipulation, the CERES team began introducing a series of specialized functions that addresses the above. As such, displaying an attractive, easy to use modern web-based format, the Ordering Tool added the following analytical functions: i) 1-D Histograms to display the distribution of the data field to identify outliers that are useful for QC purposes; ii) an "Anomaly" map that shows the regional differences between the current month and the climatological monthly mean; iii) a 2-D Histogram that can identify either potential problems with the data (i.e. QC function) or provides a global view of trends and/or correlations between various CERES flux, cloud, aerosol, and atmospheric properties. The large volume and diversity of data, together with the on-the-fly execution were the main challenges that had to be tackle with. Depending on the application, the execution was done on either the browser side or the server side with the help of auxiliary files. Additional challenges came from the use of various open source applications, the multitude of CERES products and the seamless transition from previous development. For the future, we plan on expanding the analytical capabilities of the Ordering Tool and add/combine more CERES products to meet the growing data demand.

  18. Assessing the Monthly Averaged Variability of TOA Fluxes from CERES using EBAF, ERBE-like and FLASHFlux Data From 2001 to Present

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stackhouse, Paul; Wong, Takmeng; Kratz, David; Gupta, Shashi; Wiber, Anne; Edwards, Anne

    2010-05-01

    The FLASHFlux (Fast Longwave and Shortwave radiative Fluxes from CERES and MODIS) project derives daily averaged gridded top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and surface radiative fluxes within one week of observation. Production of CERES based TOA and surface fluxes is achieved by using the latest CERES calibration that is assumed constant in time and by making simplifying assumptions in the computation of time and space averaged quantities. Together these assumptions result in approximately a 1% increase in the uncertainty for FLASHFlux products over CERES. Analysis has clearly demonstrated that the global-annual mean outgoing longwave radiation shows a decrease of ~0.75 Wm-2, from 2007 to 2008, while the global-annual mean reflected shortwave radiation shows a decrease of 0.14 Wm-2 over that same period. Thus, the combined longwave and shortwave changes have resulted in an increase of ~0.89 Wm-2 in net radiation into the Earth climate system in 2008. A time series of TOA fluxes was constructed from CERES EBAF, CERES ERBE-like and FLASHFLUX. Relative to this multi-dataset average from 2001 to 2008, the 2008 global-annual mean anomalies are -0.54/-0.26/+0.80 Wm-2, respectively, for the longwave/shortwave/net radiation. These flux values, which were published in the NOAA 2008 State of the Climate Report, are within their corresponding 2-sigma interannual variabilities for this period. This paper extends these results through 2009, where the net flux is observed to recover. The TOA LW variability is also compared to AIRS OLR showing excellent agreement in the anomalies. The variability appears very well correlated to the to the 2007-2009 La Nina/El Nino cycles, which altered the global distribution of clouds, total column water vapor and temperature. Reassessments of these results are expected when newer Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data are released.

  19. Exploring medium gravity icy planetary bodies: an opportunity in the Inner System by landing at Ceres high latitudes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poncy, J.; Grasset, O.; Martinot, V.; Tobie, G.

    2009-04-01

    With potentially up to 25% of its mass as H2O and current indications of a differentiated morphology, 950km-wide "dwarf planet" Ceres is holding the promise to be our closest significant icy planetary body. Ceres is within easier reach than the icy moons, allowing for the use of solar arrays and not lying inside the deep gravity well of a giant planet. As such, it would represent an ideal step stone for future in-situ exploration of other airless icy bodies of major interest such as Europa or Enceladus. But when NASA's Dawn orbits Ceres and maps it in 2015, will we be ready to undertake the next logical step: landing? Ceres' gravity at its poles, at about one fifth of the Moon's gravity, is too large for rendezvous-like asteroid landing techniques to apply. Instead, we are there fully in the application domain of soft precision landing techniques such as the ones being developed for ESA's MoonNext mission. These latter require a spacecraft architecture akin to robotic lunar Landers or NASA's Phoenix, and differing from missions to comets and asteroids. If Dawn confirms the icy nature of Ceres under its regolith-covered surface, the potential presence of some ice spots on the surface would call for specific attention. Such spots would indeed be highly interesting landing sites. They are more likely to lie close to the poles of Ceres where cold temperatures should prevent exposed ice from sublimating and/or may limit the thickness of the regolith layer. Also the science and instruments suite should be fitted to study a large body that has probably been or may still be geologically active: its non-negligible gravity field combined with its high volatile mass fraction would then bring Ceres closer in morphology and history to an "Enceladus" or a frozen or near-frozen "Europa" than to a rubble-pile-structured asteroid or a comet nucleus. Thales Alenia Space and the "Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique" of the University of Nantes have carried out a preliminary assessment of a mission to Ceres high latitudes. We present here why we think an in-situ mission to the polar areas of Ceres should be of interest in the near future. We dwell on the environmental factors and challenges for a Lander, both as specificities of Ceres and as a consequence of the high latitude targeted. Factors such as day duration, fine regolith, terrain hazards, optical contrasts, thermal gradients, planetary contamination... are reviewed. We then assess how the soft precision landing technologies being developed for other missions would apply in such an environment. We present a preliminary mission analysis and a concept for the Lander, with preliminary evaluation of mass and power resources for a fixed payload or for a mini-rover. The resulting mission design combines technological maturity and a launch mass that is found compatible with the moderate cost of a Soyuz launcher. Finally we conclude that a Ceres Polar Lander mission should be feasible, covered by automatic missions to the Moon in terms of difficulty of landing and by Dawn for the cruise. Lander missions to medium gravity bodies such as Ceres, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Iapetus, Triton… in the [0.01-0.15g] range should be accounted for in the development roadmaps of landing techniques and be considered in their return on investment. The synergies with the soft landing missions to come on Mars and Moon should then make a Ceres lander affordable for the agencies within the end of the next decade and pave the way for in-situ missions to more distant icy bodies.

  20. Bright Stuff on Ceres = Sulfates and Carbonates on CI Chondrites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zolensky, Michael; Chan, Queenie H. S.; Gounelle, Matthieu; Fries, Marc

    2016-01-01

    Recent reports of the DAWN spacecraft's observations of the surface of Ceres indicate that there are bright areas, which can be explained by large amounts of the Mg sulfate hexahydrate (MgSO4•6(H2O)), although the identification appears tenuous. There are preliminary indications that water is being evolved from these bright areas, and some have inferred that these might be sites of contemporary hydro-volcanism. A heat source for such modern activity is not obvious, given the small size of Ceres, lack of any tidal forces from nearby giant planets, probable age and presumed bulk composition. We contend that observations of chondritic materials in the lab shed light on the nature of the bright spots on Ceres

  1. Is Ceres' deep interior ice-rich? Constraints from crater morphology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bland, M. T.; Raymond, C. A.; Fu, R.; Marchi, S.; Castillo, J. C.; King, S. D.; Schenk, P.; Preusker, F.; Park, R. S.; Russell, C. T.

    2016-12-01

    Determining the composition and internal structure of Ceres is critical to understanding its origin and evolution. Analysis of the depths of Ceres' largest impact craters [Bland et al. 2016] and global shape [Fu et al. 2016] using data returned by NASA's Dawn spacecraft indicate that the dwarf planet's subsurface contains no more than 30% water ice by volume, with the other 70% consisting of salts (hydrated and/or anhydrous), clathrates, and phyllosilicates. Despite these findings, Ceres is unlikely to be ice-free. The GRaND instrument has detected probable water ice at decimeter depths (with strong latitudinal variations) [Prettyman et al. 2016], water ice has been detected in fresh [Combe et al. 2016] and permanently shadowed craters [Schorghofer et al. 2016], and the simple-complex morphologic transition diameter is consistent with a weak (icy) surface layer [Schenk et al. 2016]. Furthermore, a cryovolcanic origin for Ahuna Mons requires a source of water-rich material [Ruesch et al. 2016]. Here we use numerical simulations of the viscous relaxation of impact craters to provide new constraints on the water ice content of Ceres as a function of depth that enable a more complete understanding of the thickness and composition of its outer layer. These new simulations include three rheological layers: a high-viscosity near-surface layer, a weaker (possibly ice-rich layer), and an essentially immobile rocky layer at depth. Results are latitude (temperature) dependent; however, we generally find that retaining crater topography requires a high-viscosity (ice-poor) layer with a thickness of 50% the crater radius. For example, retaining a 100-km diameter crater at latitudes below 50o requires a high-viscosity (103x water ice) layer at least 30 km thick, if the underlying layer is pure ice. Deep, low-latitude craters 150 km in diameter are observed on Ceres [Bland et al. 2016], so the high-viscosity layer is likely >40 km thick. However, our results do not exclude the existence of a reservoir enriched in water ice at the base of Ceres' outer layer. We also find that the unique morphology of Ceres' largest crater, Kerwan, may result from viscous relaxation in a thin outer layer, potentially providing a constraint on the local thickness of Ceres outer shell.

  2. Ceres' darkest secret and its putative exosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schorghofer, N.; Mazarico, E.; Platz, T.; Schroeder, S.; Byrne, S.; Carsenty, U.; Combe, J. P.; Ermakov, A.; McFadden, L. A.; Prettyman, T. H.; Preusker, F.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2016-12-01

    Craters near Ceres' rotational poles can be shadowed year-round and trap volatiles. The persistently shadowed regions (PSRs) have been mapped in the northern hemisphere in two ways: by illumination modeling based on the topography and by stacking of images acquired near summer solstice. Scattered light reveals bright crater floor deposits (BCFDs) in a few PSRs. The lack of BCFDs in most PSRs can in part be explained by changes in Ceres' obliquity (axis tilt). At least one BCFD is illuminated and spectroscopically identified as H2O ice; this deposit is exceptionally bright and unusual morphologically. The BCFDs are likely water ice, either delivered through the exosphere or exposed ground ice. The remarkably shallow depths at which water ice is encountered on Ceres, on a global scale, imply that only a small amount of H2O was supplied to its water exosphere from this endogenic source. Ice that accumulated in the PSRs is hence easily dominated by other sources. The lack of optically thick ice deposits in most PSRs provides an upper bound on the exogenic delivery of water to Ceres, estimated as <109 kg since the most recent obliquity maximum 14 kyr ago. Water molecules are only barely gravitationally bound to Ceres at thermal speeds, but heavier species can be long-lived in the exosphere due to the low photo-destruction rates. Nevertheless, there is no observational evidence of other exospheric species yet. These results are based on observations by the FC (Framing Camera), VIR (Visible and Infrared Spectrometer), GRaND (Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer), and Gravity Science investigation of the Dawn spacecraft, which continues to advance our understanding not only of Ceres but of processes relevant to other Solar System bodies as well.

  3. Constraints on Ceres' Internal Structure and Evolution From Its Shape and Gravity Measured by the Dawn Spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ermakov, A. I.; Fu, R. R.; Castillo-Rogez, J. C.; Raymond, C. A.; Park, R. S.; Preusker, F.; Russell, C. T.; Smith, D. E.; Zuber, M. T.

    2017-11-01

    Ceres is the largest body in the asteroid belt with a radius of approximately 470 km. In part due to its large mass, Ceres more closely approaches hydrostatic equilibrium than major asteroids. Pre-Dawn mission shape observations of Ceres revealed a shape consistent with a hydrostatic ellipsoid of revolution. The Dawn spacecraft Framing Camera has been imaging Ceres since March 2015, which has led to high-resolution shape models of the dwarf planet, while the gravity field has been globally determined to a spherical harmonic degree 14 (equivalent to a spatial wavelength of 211 km) and locally to 18 (a wavelength of 164 km). We use these shape and gravity models to constrain Ceres' internal structure. We find a negative correlation and admittance between topography and gravity at degree 2 and order 2. Low admittances between spherical harmonic degrees 3 and 16 are well explained by Airy isostatic compensation mechanism. Different models of isostasy give crustal densities between 1,200 and 1,400 kg/m3 with our preferred model giving a crustal density of 1,287+70-87 kg/m3. The mantle density is constrained to be 2,434+5-8 kg/m3. We compute isostatic gravity anomaly and find evidence for mascon-like structures in the two biggest basins. The topographic power spectrum of Ceres and its latitude dependence suggest that viscous relaxation occurred at the long wavelengths (>246 km). Our density constraints combined with finite element modeling of viscous relaxation suggests that the rheology and density of the shallow surface are most consistent with a rock, ice, salt and clathrate mixture.

  4. Impact crater morphology and the Central Pit/Dome of Occator: Ceres as an Ice-rich Body

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schenk, P.; Marchi, S.; O'Brien, D. P.; Platz, T.; Bland, M. T.; Buczkowski, D.; Scully, J. E. C.; Ammannito, E.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2016-12-01

    Pristine crater morphologies on Ceres (at D <40 km) are astonishingly similar to those on midsize icy bodies (e.g., moons of Saturn) but very different from those on silicate-rich Vesta. All these bodies have similar gravity and broadly similar impact velocities, and these patterns reveal that the upper 10s of km of Ceres are much weaker than on silicate-rich Vesta. This stands in contrast to the lack of viscous relaxation (Bland et al., 2016), which implies an upper layer on Ceres capable of resisting flow despite the relatively high surface temperatures. This can be explained as distinct responses of an outer layer partially composed of weak ices and strong silicates that fail during high-strain impact processes (which are apparently controlled by the weak phase) but does not flow under low-strain creep (which is apparently controlled more by the strong phase). Furthermore, comparison with Martian craters indicates that, in contrast to Ceres, the amount of water ice in the crust of Mars results in hybrid morphologies only midway between silicate and ice worlds, indicating that the upper layers of Ceres must have more ice than does Mars. The presence of apparent impact melt deposits and central pits in larger craters (D>40 km and D>75 km, respectively) on Ceres implies either warmer conditions than at Saturn, or the presence of a deeper layer enriched in (weaker) ice at comparable depths, also consistent with partial relaxation in larger craters. The formation of a fractured dome 3-km-wide and 0.75-km-high within recently formed Occator crater may be due to refreezing of a water zone melted after impact, or mobilization of carbonates or ice in the crater center, possibly from such deeper layers.

  5. A CERES-like Cloud Property Climatology Using AVHRR Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Minnis, P.; Bedka, K. M.; Yost, C. R.; Trepte, Q.; Bedka, S. T.; Sun-Mack, S.; Doelling, D.

    2015-12-01

    Clouds affect the climate system by modulating the radiation budget and distributing precipitation. Variations in cloud patterns and properties are expected to accompany changes in climate. The NASA Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project developed an end-to-end analysis system to measure broadband radiances from a radiometer and retrieve cloud properties from collocated high-resolution MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to generate a long-term climate data record of clouds and clear-sky properties and top-of-atmosphere radiation budget. The first MODIS was not launched until 2000, so the current CERES record is only 15 years long at this point. The core of the algorithms used to retrieve the cloud properties from MODIS is based on the spectral complement of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), which has been aboard a string of satellites since 1978. The CERES cloud algorithms were adapted for application to AVHRR data and have been used to produce an ongoing CERES-like cloud property and surface temperature product that includes an initial narrowband-based radiation budget. This presentation will summarize this new product, which covers nearly 37 years, and its comparability with cloud parameters from CERES, CALIPSO, and other satellites. Examples of some applications of this dataset are given and the potential for generating a long-term radiation budget CDR is also discussed.

  6. Establishing the infrastructure to conduct comparative effectiveness research toward the elimination of disparities: a community-based participatory research framework.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Danyell S; Dapic, Virna; Sultan, Dawood H; August, Euna M; Green, B Lee; Roetzheim, Richard; Rivers, Brian

    2013-11-01

    In Tampa, Florida, researchers have partnered with community- and faith-based organizations to create the Comparative Effectiveness Research for Eliminating Disparities (CERED) infrastructure. Grounded in community-based participatory research, CERED acts on multiple levels of society to enhance informed decision making (IDM) of prostate cancer screening among Black men. CERED investigators combined both comparative effectiveness research and community-based participatory research to design a trial examining the effectiveness of community health workers and a digitally enhanced patient decision aid to support IDM in community settings as compared with "usual care" for prostate cancer screening. In addition, CERED researchers synthesized evidence through the development of systematic literature reviews analyzing the effectiveness of community health workers in changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of African American adults toward cancer prevention and education. An additional systematic review analyzed chemoprevention agents for prostate cancer as an emerging technique. Both of these reviews, and the comparative effectiveness trial supporting the IDM process, add to CERED's goal of providing evidence to eliminate cancer health disparities.

  7. Diurnal, Seasonal, and Interannual Variations of Cloud Properties Derived for CERES From Imager Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Minnis, Patrick; Young, David F.; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Trepte, Qing Z.; Chen, Yan; Brown, Richard R.; Gibson, Sharon; Heck, Patrick W.

    2004-01-01

    Simultaneous measurement of the radiation and cloud fields on a global basis is a key component in the effort to understand and model the interaction between clouds and radiation at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and within the atmosphere. The NASA Clouds and Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project, begun in 1998, is meeting this need. Broadband shortwave (SW) and longwave radiance measurements taken by the CERES scanners at resolutions between 10 and 20 km on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Terra, and Aqua satellites are matched to simultaneous retrievals of cloud height, phase, particle size, water path, and optical depth OD from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Besides aiding the interpretation of the broadband radiances, the CERES cloud properties are valuable for understanding cloud variations at a variety of scales. In this paper, the resulting CERES cloud data taken to date are averaged at several temporal scales to examine the temporal and spatial variability of the cloud properties on a global scale at a 1 resolution.

  8. Cloud optical properties from satellites over Europe: CM SAF vs CERES

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Konstantinou, Athanasia; Alexandri, Georgia; Balis, Dimitris

    2017-04-01

    In this work, the macro and micro physical properties of liquid and ice clouds over Europe are examined for the 8-year period 2004-2011. For the scopes of this research, high resolution (0.05x0.05 degree) satellite-based observations from CM SAF (Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring) and coarse resolution (1x1 degree) data from CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) are utilized. The spatial and temporal patterns of the bias between the two products are examined. It is found that the difference between CM SAF and CERES cloud fractional cover (CFC) is 10% while cloud optical thickness (COT) from CM SAF is generally lower than CERES by 10 %. The effective radius of liquid (Rel) and ice (Rei) clouds is also examined. For the region of interest, CM SAF Rel is 12% higher while CM SAF Rei is lower by 20% than that of CERES. Intercomparison studies like the one presented here help us to get an insight into the capabilities and limitation of the cloud satellite products which are currently in use by the scientific community.

  9. Ceres During Opposition Surge.

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-05-16

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft successfully observed Ceres at opposition on April 29, 2017, taking images from a position exactly between the sun and Ceres' surface. Mission specialists had carefully maneuvered Dawn into a special orbit so that the spacecraft could view Occator Crater, which contains the brightest area of Ceres, from this new perspective. A movie shows these opposition images, with contrast enhanced to highlight brightness differences. The bright spots of Occator stand out particularly well on an otherwise relatively bland surface. Dawn took these images from an altitude of about 12,000 miles (20,000 kilometers). Based on data from ground-based telescopes and spacecraft that have previously viewed planetary bodies at opposition, scientists predicted that Ceres would appear brighter from this opposition configuration. This increase in brightness, or "surge," relates the size of the grains of material on the surface, as well as how porous those materials are. The science motivation for performing these observations is further explained in the March 2017 issue of the Dawn Journal blog. A movie can be viewed at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21405

  10. Hints at Ceres Composition from Color

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-09-30

    This map-projected view of Ceres was created from images taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft during its high-altitude mapping orbit, in August and September, 2015. Images taken using infrared (920 nanometers), red (750 nanometers) and blue (440 nanometers) spectral filters were combined to create this false-color view. Redder colors indicate places on Ceres' surface that reflect light strongly in the infrared, while bluish colors indicate enhanced reflectivity at short (bluer) wavelengths; green indicates places where albedo, or overall brightness, is strongly enhanced. Scientists use this technique in order to highlight subtle color differences across Ceres, which would appear fairly uniform in natural color. This can provide valuable insights into the mineral composition of the surface, as well as the relative ages of surface features. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19977

  11. Ceres' Global Cryosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sizemore, H. G.; Prettyman, T. H.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Schmidt, B. E.; Hughson, K.; Chilton, H.; Castillo, J. C.; Platz, T.; Schorghofer, N.; Bland, M. T.; Sori, M.; Buczkowski, D.; Byrne, S.; Landis, M. E.; Fu, R.; Ermakov, A.; Raymond, C. A.; Schwartz, S. J.

    2017-12-01

    Prior to the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, the dwarf planet was anticipated to have a deep global cryosphere protected by a thin silicate lag. Gravity science along with data collected by Dawn's Framing Camera (FC), Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND), and Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIR-MS) during the primary mission at Ceres have confirmed the existence of a global, silicate-rich cryosphere, and suggest the existence of deeper ice, brine, or mud layers. As such, Ceres' surface morphology has characteristics in common with both Mars and the small icy bodies of the outer solar system. We will summarize the evidence for the existence and global extent of the Cerean cryosphere. We will also discuss the range of morphological features that have been linked to subsurface ice, and highlight outstanding science questions.

  12. Secular evolution of asteroid families: the role of Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Novaković, Bojan; Tsirvoulis, Georgios; Marò, Stefano; Đošović, Vladimir; Maurel, Clara

    2016-01-01

    We consider the role of the dwarf planet Ceres on the secular dynamics of the asteroid main belt. Specifically, we examine the post impact evolution of asteroid families due to the interaction of their members with the linear nodal secular resonance with Ceres. First, we find the location of this resonance and identify which asteroid families are crossed by its path. Next, we summarize our results for three asteroid families, namely (1726) Hoffmeister, (1128) Astrid and (1521) Seinajoki which have irregular distributions of their members in the proper elements space, indicative of the effect of the resonance. We confirm this by performing a set of numerical simulations, showcasing that the perturbing action of Ceres through its linear nodal secular resonance is essential to reproduce the actual shape of the families.

  13. Variations in the amount of water ice on Ceres' surface suggest a seasonal water cycle.

    PubMed

    Raponi, Andrea; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Frigeri, Alessandro; Ammannito, Eleonora; Ciarniello, Mauro; Formisano, Michelangelo; Combe, Jean-Philippe; Magni, Gianfranco; Tosi, Federico; Carrozzo, Filippo Giacomo; Fonte, Sergio; Giardino, Marco; Joy, Steven P; Polanskey, Carol A; Rayman, Marc D; Capaccioni, Fabrizio; Capria, Maria Teresa; Longobardo, Andrea; Palomba, Ernesto; Zambon, Francesca; Raymond, Carol A; Russell, Christopher T

    2018-03-01

    The dwarf planet Ceres is known to host a considerable amount of water in its interior, and areas of water ice were detected by the Dawn spacecraft on its surface. Moreover, sporadic water and hydroxyl emissions have been observed from space telescopes. We report the detection of water ice in a mid-latitude crater and its unexpected variation with time. The Dawn spectrometer data show a change of water ice signatures over a period of 6 months, which is well modeled as ~2-km 2 increase of water ice. The observed increase, coupled with Ceres' orbital parameters, points to an ongoing process that seems correlated with solar flux. The reported variation on Ceres' surface indicates that this body is chemically and physically active at the present time.

  14. Methodology and issues of integral experiments selection for nuclear data validation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tatiana, Ivanova; Ivanov, Evgeny; Hill, Ian

    2017-09-01

    Nuclear data validation involves a large suite of Integral Experiments (IEs) for criticality, reactor physics and dosimetry applications. [1] Often benchmarks are taken from international Handbooks. [2, 3] Depending on the application, IEs have different degrees of usefulness in validation, and usually the use of a single benchmark is not advised; indeed, it may lead to erroneous interpretation and results. [1] This work aims at quantifying the importance of benchmarks used in application dependent cross section validation. The approach is based on well-known General Linear Least Squared Method (GLLSM) extended to establish biases and uncertainties for given cross sections (within a given energy interval). The statistical treatment results in a vector of weighting factors for the integral benchmarks. These factors characterize the value added by a benchmark for nuclear data validation for the given application. The methodology is illustrated by one example, selecting benchmarks for 239Pu cross section validation. The studies were performed in the framework of Subgroup 39 (Methods and approaches to provide feedback from nuclear and covariance data adjustment for improvement of nuclear data files) established at the Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Cooperation (WPEC) of the Nuclear Science Committee under the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA/OECD).

  15. NPP Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Predicted Sensor Performance Calibration and Preliminary Data Product Performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Priestly, Kory; Smith, George L.; Thomas, Susan; Maddock, Suzanne L.

    2009-01-01

    Continuation of the Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) Climate Data Record (CDR) has been identified as critical in the 2007 NRC Decadal Survey, the Global Climate Observing System WCRP report, and in an assessment titled Impacts of NPOESS Nunn-McCurdy Certification on Joint NASA-NOAA Climate Goals. In response, NASA, NOAA and NPOESS agreed in early 2008 to fly the final existing CERES Flight Model (FM-5) on the NPP spacecraft for launch in 2010. Future opportunities for ERB CDR continuity consist of procuring an additional CERES Sensor with modest performance upgrades for flight on the NPOESS C1 spacecraft in 2013, followed by a new CERES follow-on sensor for flight in 2018 on the NPOESS C3 spacecraft. While science goals remain unchanged for the long-term ERB Climate Data Record, it is now understood that the task of achieving these goals is more difficult for two reasons. The first is an increased understanding of the dynamics of the Earth/atmosphere system which demonstrates that rigorous separation of natural variability from anthropogenic change on decadal time scales requires higher accuracy and stability than originally envisioned. Secondly, future implementation scenarios involve less redundancy in flight hardware (1 vs. 2 orbits and operational sensors) resulting in higher risk of loss of continuity and reduced number of independent observations to characterize performance of individual sensors. Although EOS CERES CDR's realize a factor of 2 to 4 improvement in accuracy and stability over previous ERBE CDR's, future sensors will require an additional factor of 2 improvement to answer rigorously the science questions moving forward. Modest investments, defined through the CERES Science Team s 30-year operational history of the EOS CERES sensors, in onboard calibration hardware and pre-flight calibration and test program will ensure meeting these goals while reducing costs in re-processing scientific datasets. The CERES FM-5 pre-flight radiometric characterization program benefited from the 30-year operational experience of the CERES EOS sensors, as well as a stronger emphasis of radiometric characterization in the Statement of Work with the sensor provider. Improvements to the pre-flight program included increased spectral, spatial, and temporal sampling under vacuum conditions as well as additional tests to characterize the primary and transfer standards in the calibration facility. Future work will include collaboration with NIST to further enhance the understanding of the radiometric performance of this equipment prior to flight. The current effort summarizes these improvements to the CERES FM-5 pre-flight sensor characterization program, as well as modifications to inflight calibration procedures and operational tasking. In addition, an estimate of the impacts to the system level accuracy and traceability is presented.

  16. The 2004 Opposition of Ceres Observed with Adaptive Optics on the VLT

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Erard, S.; Frorni, O.; Ollivier, M.; Dotto, E.; Roush, T.; Poulet, F.; Mueller, T.

    2005-01-01

    The close opposition of Ceres in January 2004 has been observed with the NACO adaptive optics system on the VLT. Both imaging and spectroscopy were performed in the 1.1-4.1 m range. Extensive longitudinal coverage was acquired during a three days run, with spatial resolution up to 50 km in imaging mode. The scientific objectives are 1) to provide the first IR map of Ceres; 2) to map possible compositional variations at the surface. Only imaging results are presented here.

  17. Validation and Spatiotemporal Analysis of CERES Surface Net Radiation Product

    DOE PAGES

    Jia, Aolin; Jiang, Bo; Liang, Shunlin; ...

    2016-01-23

    The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) generates one of the few global satellite radiation products. The CERES ARM Validation Experiment (CAVE) has been providing long-term in situ observations for the validation of the CERES products. However, the number of these sites is low and their distribution is globally sparse, and particularly the surface net radiation product has not been rigorously validated yet. Therefore, additional validation efforts are highly required to determine the accuracy of the CERES radiation products. In this study, global land surface measurements were comprehensively collected for use in the validation of the CERES netmore » radiation (R n) product on a daily (340 sites) and a monthly (260 sites) basis, respectively. The validation results demonstrated that the CERES R n product was, overall, highly accurate. The daily validations had a Mean Bias Error (MBE) of 3.43 W·m −2, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 33.56 W·m −2, and R 2 of 0.79, and the monthly validations had an MBE of 3.40 W·m −2, RMSE of 25.57 W·m −2, and R 2 of 0.84. The accuracy was slightly lower for the high latitudes. Following the validation, the monthly CERES R n product, from March 2000 to July 2014, was used for a further analysis. We analysed the global spatiotemporal variation of the R n, which occurred during the measurement period. In addition, two hot spot regions, the southern Great Plains and south-central Africa, were then selected for use in determining the driving factors or attribution of the R n variation. We determined that R n over the southern Great Plains decreased by −0.33 W·m −2 per year, which was mainly driven by changes in surface green vegetation and precipitation. In south-central Africa, R n decreased at a rate of −0.63 W·m −2 per year, the major driving factor of which was surface green vegetation.« less

  18. Validation and Spatiotemporal Analysis of CERES Surface Net Radiation Product

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jia, Aolin; Jiang, Bo; Liang, Shunlin

    The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) generates one of the few global satellite radiation products. The CERES ARM Validation Experiment (CAVE) has been providing long-term in situ observations for the validation of the CERES products. However, the number of these sites is low and their distribution is globally sparse, and particularly the surface net radiation product has not been rigorously validated yet. Therefore, additional validation efforts are highly required to determine the accuracy of the CERES radiation products. In this study, global land surface measurements were comprehensively collected for use in the validation of the CERES netmore » radiation (R n) product on a daily (340 sites) and a monthly (260 sites) basis, respectively. The validation results demonstrated that the CERES R n product was, overall, highly accurate. The daily validations had a Mean Bias Error (MBE) of 3.43 W·m −2, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 33.56 W·m −2, and R 2 of 0.79, and the monthly validations had an MBE of 3.40 W·m −2, RMSE of 25.57 W·m −2, and R 2 of 0.84. The accuracy was slightly lower for the high latitudes. Following the validation, the monthly CERES R n product, from March 2000 to July 2014, was used for a further analysis. We analysed the global spatiotemporal variation of the R n, which occurred during the measurement period. In addition, two hot spot regions, the southern Great Plains and south-central Africa, were then selected for use in determining the driving factors or attribution of the R n variation. We determined that R n over the southern Great Plains decreased by −0.33 W·m −2 per year, which was mainly driven by changes in surface green vegetation and precipitation. In south-central Africa, R n decreased at a rate of −0.63 W·m −2 per year, the major driving factor of which was surface green vegetation.« less

  19. Overview of CERES Cloud Properties Derived From VIRS AND MODIS DATA

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Minis, Patrick; Geier, Erika; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Chen, Yan; Trepte, Qing Z.; Dong, Xiquan; Doelling, David R.; Ayers, J. Kirk; Khaiyer, Mandana M.

    2006-01-01

    Simultaneous measurement of radiation and cloud fields on a global basis is recognized as a key component in understanding and modeling the interaction between clouds and radiation at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and within the atmosphere. The NASA Clouds and Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project (Wielicki et al., 1998) began addressing this issue in 1998 with its first broadband shortwave and longwave scanner on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). This was followed by the launch of two CERES scanners each on Terra and Aqua during late 1999 and early 2002, respectively. When combined, these satellites should provide the most comprehensive global characterization of clouds and radiation to date. Unfortunately, the TRMM scanner failed during late 1998. The Terra and Aqua scanners continue to operate, however, providing measurements at a minimum of 4 local times each day. CERES was designed to scan in tandem with high resolution imagers so that the cloud conditions could be evaluated for every CERES measurement. The cloud properties are essential for converting CERES radiances shortwave albedo and longwave fluxes needed to define the radiation budget (ERB). They are also needed to unravel the impact of clouds on the ERB. The 5-channel, 2-km Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on the TRMM and the 36-channel 1-km Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua are analyzed to define the cloud properties for each CERES footprint. To minimize inter-satellite differences and aid the development of useful climate-scale measurements, it was necessary to ensure that each satellite imager is calibrated in a fashion consistent with its counterpart on the other CERES satellites (Minnis et al., 2006) and that the algorithms are as similar as possible for all of the imagers. Thus, a set of cloud detection and retrieval algorithms were developed that could be applied to all three imagers utilizing as few channels as possible while producing stable and accurate cloud properties. This paper discusses the algorithms and results of applying those techniques to more than 5 years of Terra MODIS, 3 years of Aqua MODIS, and 4 years of TRMM VIRS data.

  20. Ceres: Dawn visits a Warm Wet Planet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCord, T. B.; Combe, J. P.

    2014-12-01

    Ceres likely contains considerable water, has differentiated, and formed a hydrated silicate core and water mantle. There were major dimensional, thermal and chemical changes over its history, making it more a planet than an asteroid. These factors created the present day body, which the Dawn misson will visit next March. I will summarize our current understanding of Ceres and suggest what Dawn will find. A major uncertainty is how processes, such as aqueous mineralization, impact and cratering, infall of external material, mixing, and viscous relaxation of surface features have altered the formation materials and surface, hiding Ceres' secrets. Ceres' bulk density of 2100 kg/m3, suggest major water content. Modeling of Ceres' thermodynamic evolution for different times of accretion, assuming several radioactive heating scenarios, produces results ranging from a dry Vestal-like object (earlier, hotter formation) to retention and melting of the ice and differentiation of silicates from liquid water. Mixing of liquid water and silicates leads to exothermic hydration reactions, formation of a core and a liquid mantle. Large dimensional changes are associated. A crust stays frozen but founders at times due to gravitational instability, dimensional changes and impacts. The liquid mantle freezes from top, down, but a layer of salty liquid water probably exists today near the core. Hydrated silicates from the initial differentiation would likely dehydrate near the core center due to temperature and pressure. From observations, only subdued spatial albedo and color variations are observed at UV and IR wavelengths on Ceres' surface at the scale possible from Earth (~50-100 km) and an oblate spheroid shape is found, consistent with a differentiated body. Compositional evidence includes the long known similarity of Ceres' albedo and visual-IR reflectance spectrum to those for carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Thus, the surface is likely made of carbon-bearing, hydroxolated materials, with spectral evidence of OH and maybe H2O molecules, consistent with the results of both the evolutionary thermodynamic models and infill of carbonaceous chondrite-like materials. Two reports of OH and H2O in the exosphere, apparently originating from localized sources, suggest present day cryovolcanism.

  1. How do I obtain CERES data?

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2017-10-12

    Order online ASDC Web Ordering Tool data available for ftp download. Order online CERES Subsetter Ordering Page data available for ftp download. Order online Earthdata Search Tool data available for download. Download the ...

  2. CERES FM6 Edition1-CV Product Release

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2018-06-13

    ... Wednesday, June 13, 2018 The Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA Langley Research Center in collaboration with the CERES Science Team announces the release of the first Joint Polar Satellite System 1 ...

  3. Validation of CERES/TERRA Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Barkstrom, Bruce R.; Wieliski, Bruce A.; Smith, G. Louis; Lee, Robert B.; Priestley, Kory J.; Charlock, Thomas P.; Kratz, David P.

    2000-01-01

    There are 2 CERES scanning radiometer instruments aboard the TERRA spacecraft, one for mapping the solar radiation reflected from the Earth and the outgoing longwave radiation and the other for measuring the anisotropy of the radiation. Each CERES instrument has on-board calibration devices, which have demonstrated that from ground to orbit the broadband total and shortwave sensor responses maintained their ties to the International Temperature Scale of 1990 at precisions approaching radiances have been validated in orbit to +/- 0.3 % (0.3 W/sq m sr). Top of atmosphere fluxes are produced by use of the CERES data alone. By including data from other instruments, surface radiation fluxes and radiant fluxes within the atmosphere and at its top, shortwave and longwave, for both up and down components, are derived. Validation of these data products requires ground and aircraft measurements of fluxes and of cloud properties.

  4. Validation and Improvement of CERES Surface Radiation Budget Algorithms: Extension of Dusty and Cloudy Scenes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ramanathan, V.; Inamdar, Anand K.

    2005-01-01

    Our main task was to validate and improve the generation of surface long wave fluxes from the CERES TOA window channel flux measurements. We completed this task successfully for the clear sky fluxes in the presence of aerosols including dust during the first year of the project. The algorithm we developed for CERES was remarkably successful for clear sky fluxes and we have no further tasks that need to be performed past the requested termination date of December 31, 2004. We found that the information contained in the TOA fluxes was not sufficient to improve upon the current CERES algorithm for cloudy sky fluxes. Given this development and given our success in clear sky fluxes, we do not see any reason to continue our validation work beyond what we have completed. Specific details are given.

  5. Role of the retinoblastoma protein in cell cycle arrest mediated by a novel cell surface proliferation inhibitor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Enebo, D. J.; Fattaey, H. K.; Moos, P. J.; Johnson, T. C.; Spooner, B. S. (Principal Investigator)

    1994-01-01

    A novel cell regulatory sialoglycopeptide (CeReS-18), purified from the cell surface of bovine cerebral cortex cells has been shown to be a potent and reversible inhibitor of proliferation of a wide array of fibroblasts as well as epithelial-like cells and nontransformed and transformed cells. To investigate the possible mechanisms by which CeReS-18 exerts its inhibitory action, the effect of the inhibitor on the posttranslational regulation of the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene product (RB), a tumor suppressor gene, has been examined. It is shown that CeReS-18 mediated cell cycle arrest of both human diploid fibroblasts (HSBP) and mouse fibroblasts (Swiss 3T3) results in the maintenance of the RB protein in the hypophosphorylated state, consistent with a late G1 arrest site. Although their normal nontransformed counterparts are sensitive to cell cycle arrest mediated by CeReS-18, cell lines lacking a functional RB protein, through either genetic mutation or DNA tumor virus oncoprotein interaction, are less sensitive. The refractory nature of these cells is shown to be independent of specific surface receptors for the inhibitor, and another tumor suppressor gene (p53) does not appear to be involved in the CeReS-18 inhibition of cell proliferation. The requirement for a functional RB protein product, in order for CeReS-18 to mediate cell cycle arrest, is discussed in light of regulatory events associated with density-dependent growth inhibition.

  6. Thermal Emission Spectroscopy of 1 Ceres: Evidence for Olivine

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Witteborn, F. C.; Roush, T. L.; Cohen, M.

    1999-01-01

    Thermal emission spectra of the largest asteroid 1 Ceres obtained from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory display features that may provide information on its surface mineralogy. A plot of the Ceres spectrum (calibrated using alpha Boo as a standard) divided by a standard thermal model (STM) is shown. Also shown is the emissivity spectrum deduced from reflectivity measurements for olivine grains <5 microns in diameter. The general shape of the Ceres and the olivine curves agree in essential details, such as the maxima from 8 to 12 microns, the minimum between 12 and 14 microns, the broad peak near 17.5 micron, and the slope beyond 22 micron. (Use of the 10 to 15-micron grain reflectivities provides a better match to the 12- to 14-micron dip. We used a value of unity for beta, the beaming factor associated with small-scale surface roughness in our STM. Adjustment of beta to a lower value raises the long-wavelength side of the Ceres spectrum, providing an even better match to the olivine curve.) The emissivity behavior roughly matches the emission coefficients which were calculated for olivine particles with a particle radius of 3 microns. Their calculations show not only the negative slope from 23 to 25 pm, but a continued decrease past 30 micron. The Ceres emissivity is thus similar to that of small olivine grains from 8 to 30 micron, but olivine's emissivity is lower from 5 to 8 pm.

  7. Preparing for Dawn's Mission at Ceres: Challenges and Opportunities in the Exploration of a Dwarf Planet

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rayman, Marc D.; Mase, Robert A.

    2014-01-01

    After escaping from Vesta in 2012, Dawn is continuing its 2.5-year flight to dwarf planet Ceres. Investigating this second destination promises to provide a view of an intriguing world of ice and rock, likely displaying fascinating geology entirely unlike any body yet orbited by a spacecraft. Dawn spends the significant majority of the time thrusting with its ion propulsion system to deliver the 3.6 km/s required to rendezvous with Ceres. Meanwhile, the operations team has developed the sequences that will be used there. Following orbit capture in March 2015, Dawn will fly to a series of four circular polar science orbits. The orbits, ranging from about 13,500 km to 375 km in altitude, are designed to optimize the scientific observations. The overall strategy for exploring Ceres is based strongly on the extremely successful 16 months of Vesta operations, during which Dawn met or exceeded all of its objectives. Nevertheless, the loss of two of the spacecraft's four reaction wheels has necessitated some important changes. Based on a very productive hydrazine conservation campaign in the interplanetary cruise and the development of new hydrazine-efficient methods of operating at Ceres, there is good reason to expect that Dawn will be able to accomplish all of its objectives regardless of the health of the reaction wheels. This paper describes the progress in traveling to Ceres as well as the plans for exploring this giant, icy world.

  8. Geomorphological evidence for ground ice on dwarf planet Ceres

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schmidt, Britney E.; Hughson, Kynan H.G.; Chilton, Heather T.; Scully, Jennifer E. C.; Platz, Thomas; Nathues, Andreas; Sizemore, Hanna; Bland, Michael T.; Byrne, Shane; Marchi, Simone; O'Brien, David; Schorghofer, Norbert; Hiesinger, Harald; Jaumann, Ralf; Hendrick Pasckert, Jan; Lawrence, Justin D.; Buzckowski, Debra; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; Sykes, Mark V.; Schenk, Paul M.; DeSanctis, Maria-Cristina; Mitri, Giuseppe; Formisano, Michelangelo; Li, Jian-Yang; Reddy, Vishnu; Le Corre, Lucille; Russell, Christopher T.; Raymond, Carol A.

    2017-01-01

    Five decades of observations of Ceres suggest that the dwarf planet has a composition similar to carbonaceous meteorites and may have an ice-rich outer shell protected by a silicate layer. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has detected ubiquitous clays, carbonates and other products of aqueous alteration across the surface of Ceres, but surprisingly it has directly observed water ice in only a few areas. Here we use Dawn Framing Camera observations to analyse lobate morphologies on Ceres’ surface and we infer the presence of ice in the upper few kilometres of Ceres. We identify three distinct lobate morphologies that we interpret as surface flows: thick tongue-shaped, furrowed flows on steep slopes; thin, spatulate flows on shallow slopes; and cuspate sheeted flows that appear fluidized. The shapes and aspect ratios of these flows are different from those of dry landslides—including those on ice-poor Vesta—but are morphologically similar to ice-rich flows on other bodies, indicating the involvement of ice. Based on the geomorphology and poleward increase in prevalence of these flows, we suggest that the shallow subsurface of Ceres is comprised of mixtures of silicates and ice, and that ice is most abundant near the poles.

  9. High-Resolution Global Geologic Map of Ceres from NASA Dawn Mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, D. A.; Buczkowski, D. L.; Crown, D. A.; Frigeri, A.; Hughson, K.; Kneissl, T.; Krohn, K.; Mest, S. C.; Pasckert, J. H.; Platz, T.; Ruesch, O.; Schulzeck, F.; Scully, J. E. C.; Sizemore, H. G.; Nass, A.; Jaumann, R.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2018-06-01

    This presentation will discuss the completed 1:4,000,000 global geologic map of dwarf planet Ceres derived from Dawn Framing Camera Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMo) images, combining 15 quadrangle maps.

  10. Animation of Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-01-19

    This frame from an animation comes from NASA Dawn spacecraft as it observed Ceres for an hour on Jan. 13, 2015, from a distance of 238,000 miles 383,000 kilometers. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19168

  11. Dawn LAMO Image 19

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-02-03

    Tupo Crater on Ceres is seen in this view from NASA Dawn spacecraft. This crater, located in the southern hemisphere of Ceres, was named for the Polynesian god of turmeric. Dawn captured the scene on Dec. 24, 2015.

  12. On the Way to Ceres Artist Concept

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-12-03

    This artist concept shows NASA Dawn spacecraft heading toward the dwarf planet Ceres. When Dawn arrives, it will be the first spacecraft to go into orbit around two destinations in our solar system beyond Earth.

  13. Dawn Survey Orbit Image 42

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-08-06

    This image of Ceres, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, features a large, steep-sided mountain and several intriguing bright spots. The mountain's height is estimated to be about 4 miles (6 kilometers), which is a revision of the previous estimate of 3 miles (5 kilometers). It is the highest point seen on Ceres so far. The image was obtained on June 25, 2015 from an altitude of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers) above Ceres and has a resolution of 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19615

  14. Diet expert subsystem for CELSS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yendler, Boris S.; Nguyen, Thoi K.; Waleh, Ahmad

    1991-01-01

    An account is given of the mathematical basis of a diet-controlling expert system, designated 'Ceres' for the human crews of a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). The Ceres methodology can furnish both steady-state and dynamic diet solutions; the differences between Ceres and a conventional nutritional-modeling method is illustrated by the case of a three-component, potato-wheat-soybean food system. Attention is given to the role of food processing in furnishing flexibility in diet-planning management. Crew diet solutions based on simple optimizations are not necessarily the most suitable for optimum CELSS operation.

  15. Dawn Framing Camera: Morphology and morphometry of impact craters on Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Platz, T.; A; Nathues; Schäfer, M.; Hoffmann, M.; Kneissl, T.; Schmedemann, N.; Vincent, J.-B.; Büttner, I.; Gutierrez-Marques, P.; Ripken, J.; Russell, C. T.; Schäfer, T.; Thangjam, G. S.

    2015-10-01

    In the first approach images of Ceres we tried to discern the simple-to-complex transition diameter of impact craters. Limited by spatial resolution we found the smallest complex crater without central peak development to be around 21.4 km in diameter. Hence, the transition diameter is expected to be between 21.4 km and 10.6 km, the predicted transition diameter for an icy target. It appears likely that either Ceres' surface material contains a rocky component or has a laterally inhomogeneous composition ranging from icy to ice-rocky

  16. An integrated data envelopment analysis-artificial neural network approach for benchmarking of bank branches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shokrollahpour, Elsa; Hosseinzadeh Lotfi, Farhad; Zandieh, Mostafa

    2016-06-01

    Efficiency and quality of services are crucial to today's banking industries. The competition in this section has become increasingly intense, as a result of fast improvements in Technology. Therefore, performance analysis of the banking sectors attracts more attention these days. Even though data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a pioneer approach in the literature as of an efficiency measurement tool and finding benchmarks, it is on the other hand unable to demonstrate the possible future benchmarks. The drawback to it could be that the benchmarks it provides us with, may still be less efficient compared to the more advanced future benchmarks. To cover for this weakness, artificial neural network is integrated with DEA in this paper to calculate the relative efficiency and more reliable benchmarks of one of the Iranian commercial bank branches. Therefore, each branch could have a strategy to improve the efficiency and eliminate the cause of inefficiencies based on a 5-year time forecast.

  17. Urvara and Yalode: Giant Craters on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2018-02-22

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the large craters Urvara (top) and Yalode (bottom) on dwarf planet Ceres. These features are so big that they must be observed from high altitudes in order to fit in the frame of a single image. Urvara is (101 miles (163 kilometers) in diameter, while Yalode is 162 miles (260 kilometers) in diameter. The two giant craters were formed at different times. Yalode is almost 1 billion years older than Urvara, which is about 120 million to 140 million years old. Yalode's relatively smooth floor indicates Ceres' crust material became close to -- or even reached -- the melting temperature of ice as a consequence of the heat generated by the impact. On the other hand, the smaller Urvara has rougher terrain. This suggests Urvara had either a lower temperature increase from the impact, or a colder crust temperature at the time of the crater's formation, or a combination of the two. Indeed, Ceres' interior was warmer in the past, and has been slowly cooling as its supply of radioactive isotopes, whose decay represents Ceres' main heat source, has been decreasing over time. This picture also reveals geological details such, as the feature Nar Sulcus inside Yalode and a central peak in Urvara. Urvara is named after the Indian and Iranian deity of plants and fields. Yalode is named for the Dahomey goddess, worshipped by women at the harvest rites. This image was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 9, 2015. The spacecraft was then in its survey orbit (2,700 miles, 4,400 kilometers above the surface), when the footprint of Dawn's framing camera on Ceres' surface was about 260 miles (420 kilometers) across on Ceres' surface. The resolution is 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel. The central coordinates of the picture are 43 degrees south latitude, 278 degrees east in longitude. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21917

  18. Dawn LAMO Image 106

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-06-09

    This image from NASA Dawn spacecraft shows a portion of Ceres known as Erntedank Planum, a broad plateau 345 miles 555 kilometers wide. The terrain seen here lies just to the southeast of Occator Crater, home of Ceres brightest region.

  19. Color Map of Ceres Elliptical Projection

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-03-22

    This global map elliptical map from NASA Dawn spacecraft shows the surface of Ceres in enhanced color, encompassing infrared wavelengths beyond human visual range. Some areas near the poles are black where Dawn color imaging coverage is incomplete.

  20. Results of two multichord stellar occultations by dwarf planet (1) Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gomes-Júnior, A. R.; Giacchini, B. L.; Braga-Ribas, F.; Assafin, M.; Vieira-Martins, R.; Camargo, J. I. B.; Sicardy, B.; Timerson, B.; George, T.; Broughton, J.; Blank, T.; Benedetti-Rossi, G.; Brooks, J.; Dantowitz, R. F.; Dunham, D. W.; Dunham, J. B.; Ellington, C. K.; Emilio, M.; Herpich, F. R.; Jacques, C.; Maley, P. D.; Mehret, L.; Mello, A. J. T.; Milone, A. C.; Pimentel, E.; Schoenell, W.; Weber, N. S.

    2015-08-01

    We report the results of two multichord stellar occultations by the dwarf planet (1) Ceres that were observed from Brazil on 2010 August 17, and from the USA on 2013 October 25. Four positive detections were obtained for the 2010 occultation, and nine for the 2013 occultation. Elliptical models were adjusted to the observed chords to obtain Ceres' size and shape. Two limb-fitting solutions were studied for each event. The first one is a nominal solution with an indeterminate polar aspect angle. The second one was constrained by the pole coordinates as given by Drummond et al. Assuming a Maclaurin spheroid, we determine an equatorial diameter of 972 ± 6 km and an apparent oblateness of 0.08 ± 0.03 as our best solution. These results are compared to all available size and shape determinations for Ceres made so far, and shall be confirmed by the NASA's Dawn space mission.

  1. Possible Ceres bow shock surfaces based on fluid models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jia, Y.-D.; Villarreal, M. N.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-05-01

    The hot electron beams that Dawn detected at Ceres can be explained by fast-Fermi acceleration at a temporary bow shock. A shock forms when the solar wind encounters a temporary atmosphere, similar to a cometary coma. We use a magnetohydrodynamic model to quantitatively reproduce the 3-D shock surface at Ceres and deduce the atmosphere characteristics that are required to create such a shock. Our most simple model requires about 1.8 kg/s, or 6 × 1025/s water vapor production rate to form such a shock. Such an estimate relies on characteristics of the solar wind-Ceres interaction. We present several case studies to show how these conditions affect our estimate. In addition, we contrast these cases with the smaller and narrower shock caused by a subsurface induction. Our multifluid model reveals the asymmetry introduced by the large gyroradius of the heavy pickup ions and further constrains the IMF direction during the events.

  2. Topographic Ceres Map With Crater Names

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-07-28

    This color-coded map from NASA Dawn mission shows the highs and lows of topography on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres. It is labeled with names of features approved by the International Astronomical Union. Occator, the mysterious crater containing Ceres' mysterious bright spots, is named after the Roman agriculture deity of harrowing, a method of leveling soil. They retain their bright appearance in this map, although they are color-coded in the same green elevation of the crater floor in which they sit. The color scale extends about 5 miles (7.5 kilometers) below the surface in indigo to 5 miles (7.5 kilometers) above the surface in white. The topographic map was constructed from analyzing images from Dawn's framing camera taken from varying sun and viewing angles. The map was combined with an image mosaic of Ceres and projected as an simple cylindrical projection. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19606

  3. High-resolution Ceres Low Altitude Mapping Orbit Atlas derived from Dawn Framing Camera images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roatsch, Th.; Kersten, E.; Matz, K.-D.; Preusker, F.; Scholten, F.; Jaumann, R.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-06-01

    The Dawn spacecraft Framing Camera (FC) acquired over 31,300 clear filter images of Ceres with a resolution of about 35 m/pxl during the eleven cycles in the Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) phase between December 16 2015 and August 8 2016. We ortho-rectified the images from the first four cycles and produced a global, high-resolution, uncontrolled photomosaic of Ceres. This global mosaic is the basis for a high-resolution Ceres atlas that consists of 62 tiles mapped at a scale of 1:250,000. The nomenclature used in this atlas was proposed by the Dawn team and was approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The full atlas is available to the public through the Dawn Geographical Information System (GIS) web page [http://dawngis.dlr.de/atlas] and will become available through the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) (http://pdssbn.astro.umd.edu/).

  4. CERES Clouds and Radiative Swath (CRS) data in HDF. (CER_CRS_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Clouds and Radiative Swath (CRS) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The CRS contains all of the CERES SSF product data. For each CERES footprint on the SSF the CRS also contains vertical flux profiles evaluated at four levels in the atmosphere: the surface, 500-, 70-, and 1-hPa. The CRS fluxes and cloud parameters are adjusted for consistency with a radiative transfer model and adjusted fluxes are evaluated at the four atmospheric levels for both clear-sky and total-sky. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2001-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  5. CERES Clouds and Radiative Swath (CRS) data in HDF (CER_CRS_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2C)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Clouds and Radiative Swath (CRS) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The CRS contains all of the CERES SSF product data. For each CERES footprint on the SSF the CRS also contains vertical flux profiles evaluated at four levels in the atmosphere: the surface, 500-, 70-, and 1-hPa. The CRS fluxes and cloud parameters are adjusted for consistency with a radiative transfer model and adjusted fluxes are evaluated at the four atmospheric levels for both clear-sky and total-sky. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  6. CERES Clouds and Radiative Swath (CRS) data in HDF. (CER_CRS_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Clouds and Radiative Swath (CRS) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The CRS contains all of the CERES SSF product data. For each CERES footprint on the SSF the CRS also contains vertical flux profiles evaluated at four levels in the atmosphere: the surface, 500-, 70-, and 1-hPa. The CRS fluxes and cloud parameters are adjusted for consistency with a radiative transfer model and adjusted fluxes are evaluated at the four atmospheric levels for both clear-sky and total-sky. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2001-10-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  7. The missing large impact craters on Ceres

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Marchi, S.; Ermakov, A.; Raymond, C.A.; Fu, R.R.; O'Brien, D.P.; Bland, Michael T.; Ammannito, E.; De Sanctis, M.C.; Bowling, Tim; Schenk, P.; Scully, J.E.C.; Buczkowski, D.L.; Williams, D.A.; Hiesinger, H.; Russell, C.T.

    2016-01-01

    Asteroids provide fundamental clues to the formation and evolution of planetesimals. Collisional models based on the depletion of the primordial main belt of asteroids predict 10–15 craters >400 km should have formed on Ceres, the largest object between Mars and Jupiter, over the last 4.55 Gyr. Likewise, an extrapolation from the asteroid Vesta would require at least 6–7 such basins. However, Ceres’ surface appears devoid of impact craters >~280 km. Here, we show a significant depletion of cerean craters down to 100–150 km in diameter. The overall scarcity of recognizable large craters is incompatible with collisional models, even in the case of a late implantation of Ceres in the main belt, a possibility raised by the presence of ammoniated phyllosilicates. Our results indicate that a significant population of large craters has been obliterated, implying that long-wavelength topography viscously relaxed or that Ceres experienced protracted widespread resurfacing.

  8. Improving Federal Education Programs through an Integrated Performance and Benchmarking System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Education, Washington, DC. Office of the Under Secretary.

    This document highlights the problems with current federal education program data collection activities and lists several factors that make movement toward a possible solution, then discusses the vision for the Integrated Performance and Benchmarking System (IPBS), a vision of an Internet-based system for harvesting information from states about…

  9. Using Web-Based Peer Benchmarking to Manage the Client-Based Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raska, David; Keller, Eileen Weisenbach; Shaw, Doris

    2013-01-01

    The complexities of integrating client-based projects into marketing courses provide challenges for the instructor but produce richness of context and active learning for the student. This paper explains the integration of Web-based peer benchmarking as a means of improving student performance on client-based projects within a single semester in…

  10. Quality Enhancement on E-Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ossiannilsson, E. S. I.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Benchmarking, a method for quality assurance has not been very commonly used in higher education with regard to e-learning. Today, e-learning is an integral part of higher education, and so should also be an integral part of quality assurance systems. However, quality indicators, benchmarks and critical success factors on e-learning have…

  11. Preliminary Results from Initial Investigations of Ceres' Cratering Record from Dawn Imaging Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmedemann, Nico; Michael, Gregory; Ivanov, Boris A.; Kneissl, Thomas; Neesemann, Adrian; Hiesinger, Harald; Jaumann, Ralf; Raymond, Carol A.; Russell, Christopher T.

    2015-04-01

    The highly successful Dawn mission [1] finished data collection at Vesta in 2012 and is now on its way to the dwarf planet Ceres. According to the current Ceres approach timeline of the Dawn mission, the ground resolution of the Dawn FC camera [2] will be about 10 times better than Hubble data [3] at the time of the presentation of this work. This may allow for identification of craters about 15 km in diameter. Initial mapping of sample areas may provide enough information of the cratering record in order to compare it with the theoretical Ceres crater production function we present at the 46th LPSC conference (March 16-20, 2015, The Woodlands, Texas) [4]. Our preliminary crater production function for Ceres is derived from the assumption of an icy crust just below a thin surface layer of dust [5], and a projectile population that is very similar to the one that impacted the Moon [6]. In order to scale the lunar cratering record to Ceres we use the Ivanov scaling laws [7], which allow for crater scaling based on parameters that can be derived from observations. The lunar-like approach gave reasonable good results for the crater production function on the asteroids Vesta, Ida, Lutetia and Gaspra [8]. Since the lunar surface is of basaltic composition, the correct scaling between the different materials is challenging. One crucial parameter is the transition diameter from simple to complex craters. Based on the simple to complex transition diameter on Iapetus, an icy satellite of Saturn, we expect this transition at about 12 km crater size at Ceres. This value may be slightly different due to the different temperatures at Ceres and Iapetus. If the simple to complex transition is observed at much larger diameters, the reason could be a substantial fraction of rock in the shallow subsurface of Ceres. In an ice-rich surface material high relaxation rates may also be expected that could change the shape of the crater production function. A thorough geological mapping takes much more time than is available and, thus, will not be available at the time of the presentation. First hi-res imaging data will also provide details about crater morphologies and the major geologic units that will be analyzed during later stages of the Dawn mission. Acknowledgment: This work has been supported by the German Space Agency (DLR) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, grants 50OW1101 (NS, TK, AN) and 50QM1301 (GM). BAI is supported by Program 22 RAS. References: [1] Russell C.T. et al. (2012) Science, 336, 684-686; [2] Sierks H. et al. (2011) Space Science Reviews, 163, 263-327; [3] Li J.Y. et al. (2006) Icarus, 182, 143-160; [4] Schmedemann N. et al. (2015): 46.LPSC, The Woodlands, #1418; [5] McCord T.B. et al. (2012) Ceres: Its Origin, Evolution and Structure and Dawn's Potential Contribution. In: Russell, C.T, Raymond, C.A. (eds.) The Dawn Mission to Minor Planets 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres. Springer, New York, 63-76; [6] Neukum G. and Ivanov B. A. (1994) Crater size distribu-tions and impact probabilities on Earth from Lunar, terrestrial planet, and asteroid cratering data. In: Gehrels T. (ed) Hazards due to comets and asteroids. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 359-416. [7] Ivanov B.A. (2001) Space Science Reviews, 96, 87-104; [8] Schmedemann N. et al. (2014), 103, 104-130.

  12. Top-of-Atmosphere Direct Radiative Effect of Aerosols from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Satellite Instrument (CERES)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Loeb, N. G.; Kato, S.

    2002-01-01

    Nine months of CERES/TRMM broadband fluxes combined with VIRS high-resolution imager measurements are used to estimate the daily average direct radiative effect of aerosols for clear-sky conditions over the tropical oceans. On average, aerosols have a cooling effect over the tropics of 4.6 +/- 1 W/sq m. The magnitude is approx.2 W/sq m smaller over the southern tropical oceans than it is over northern tropical oceans. The direct effect derived from CERES is highly correlated with coincident aerosol optical depth retrievals inferred from 0.63 microns VIRS radiances (correlation coefficient of 0.96). The slope of the regression line is approx. -32 W/sq m/t over the equatorial Pacific Ocean, but changes both regionally and seasonally, depending on the aerosol characteristics. Near sources of biomass burning and desert dust, the aerosol direct effect reaches -25 W sq m to -30 W/sq m. The direct effect from CERES also shows a dependence on wind speed. The reason for this dependence is unclear-it may be due to increased aerosol (e.g. sea-salt or aerosol transport) or increased surface reflection (e.g. due to whitecaps). The uncertainty in the tropical average direct effect from CERES is approx. 1 W/sq m (approx. 20%) due mainly to cloud contamination, the radiance-to-flux conversion, and instrument calibration. By comparison, uncertainties in the direct effect from the ERBE and CERES "ERBE-Like" products are a factor of 3 to 5 larger.

  13. Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres Lithograph

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-01-01

    This artist's lithograph features general information, significant dates, and interesting facts on the backabout asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres and is part of the Mission Art series from NASA's Dawn mission. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19370

  14. Are Floor-Fractured Craters on Ceres Formed by Cryomagmatism?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buczkowski, D. L.; Sizemore, H. G.; Bland, M. T.; Scully, J. E. C.; Quick, L. C.; Hughson, K. H. G.; Park, R. S.; Preusker, F.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2018-06-01

    Several of the impact craters on Ceres have sets of fractures on their floors, morphologically similar lunar Floor-Fractured Craters. We present a geomorphic and topographic analysis of the cerean FFCs and propose hypotheses for their formation.

  15. Limited Evaluation of Image Quality Produced by a Portable Head CT Scanner (CereTom) in a Neurosurgery Centre.

    PubMed

    Abdullah, Ariz Chong; Adnan, Johari Siregar; Rahman, Noor Azman A; Palur, Ravikant

    2017-03-01

    Computed tomography (CT) is the preferred diagnostic toolkit for head and brain imaging of head injury. A recent development is the invention of a portable CT scanner that can be beneficial from a clinical point of view. To compare the quality of CT brain images produced by a fixed CT scanner and a portable CT scanner (CereTom). This work was a single-centre retrospective study of CT brain images from 112 neurosurgical patients. Hounsfield units (HUs) of the images from CereTom were measured for air, water and bone. Three assessors independently evaluated the images from the fixed CT scanner and CereTom. Streak artefacts, visualisation of lesions and grey-white matter differentiation were evaluated at three different levels (centrum semiovale, basal ganglia and middle cerebellar peduncles). Each evaluation was scored 1 (poor), 2 (average) or 3 (good) and summed up to form an ordinal reading of 3 to 9. HUs for air, water and bone from CereTom were within the recommended value by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Streak artefact evaluation scores for the fixed CT scanner was 8.54 versus 7.46 ( Z = -5.67) for CereTom at the centrum semiovale, 8.38 (SD = 1.12) versus 7.32 (SD = 1.63) at the basal ganglia and 8.21 (SD = 1.30) versus 6.97 (SD = 2.77) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. Grey-white matter differentiation showed scores of 8.27 (SD = 1.04) versus 7.21 (SD = 1.41) at the centrum semiovale, 8.26 (SD = 1.07) versus 7.00 (SD = 1.47) at the basal ganglia and 8.38 (SD = 1.11) versus 6.74 (SD = 1.55) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. Visualisation of lesions showed scores of 8.86 versus 8.21 ( Z = -4.24) at the centrum semiovale, 8.93 versus 8.18 ( Z = -5.32) at the basal ganglia and 8.79 versus 8.06 ( Z = -4.93) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. All results were significant with P -value < 0.01. Results of the study showed a significant difference in image quality produced by the fixed CT scanner and CereTom, with the latter being more inferior than the former. However, HUs of the images produced by CereTom do fulfil the recommendation of the ACR.

  16. Exploring Tectonic Activity on Vesta and Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buczkowski, D.; Scully, J. E. C.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-12-01

    Images of Vesta and Ceres taken by the Dawn spacecraft revealed large-scale linear structural features on both asteroids. We evaluate their morphology to determine 1) what processes caused them to form and 2) what implications this has for the history of Vesta and Ceres as planetary bodies. The Divalia Fossae are wide troughs bounded by steep scarps that encircle Vesta roughly aligned with the equator. Fault plane analysis suggests that their formation was triggered by the impact event that formed the Rheasilvia basin. The Saturnalia Fossae extend from Divalia to the northern polar region; fault plane analysis ties their formation to the Veneneia basin impact event. Also, it has been suggested that the elongate hill Brumalia Tholus could have been formed as a magmatic intrusion utilizing the subsurface Albalonga fracture as a conduit to the surface, intruding into and deforming the rock above it. Kilometer-scale linear structures cross much of the eastern hemisphere of Ceres. Many structures appear to be radial to the large craters Urvara and Yalode, and likely formed due to impact processes. However, the Samhain Catenae do not have any obvious relationship to a crater and the lack of raised rims makes it unlikely that these are secondary impacts; they are also crosscut by linear features radial to Urvara and Yalode, indicating they are not fractures formed during those impact events. Instead, the morphology of these structures more closely resembles that of pit crater chains (buried normal faults), and show en echelon orientation and S-shaped linkages. Polygonal craters, which form where there is pervasive subsurface fracturing, are widespread on Ceres, and those polygonal craters proximal to the Samhain Catenae have straight crater rims aligned with the structures. Several craters on Ceres have fractured floors, similar to lunar floor-fractured craters (FFCs), which are theorized to form from floor uplift due to magmatic intrusion. Large (>50 km) Ceres FFCs can have both radial and concentric fractures at the crater center, and/or concentric fractures near the crater wall. Smaller craters have a v-shaped moat separating the wall scarp from the crater interior, but different interior morphologies. A depth vs. diameter analysis shows that the Ceres FFCs are unusually shallow, consistent with the magmatic intrusion models.

  17. Animation of Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-02-06

    This still from an animation showcases a series of images NASA Dawn spacecraft took on approach to Ceres on Feb. 4, 2015 at a distance of about 90,000 miles 145,000 kilometers from the dwarf planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19179

  18. Cryovolcanic History of Ceres from Topography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sori, M. M.; Sizemore, H. G.; Byrne, S.; Bramson, A. M.; Bland, M. T.; Stein, N. T.; Russell, C. T.; Raymond, C. A.

    2018-06-01

    We use image analysis and flow modeling of domes on Ceres to argue that they are cryovolcanic in origin. Results imply an average cryovolcanic rate of 10000 m^3/yr, orders of magnitude lower than rates of basaltic volcanism on terrestrial planets.

  19. Ground Calibrations of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Spacecraft Thermistor Bolometers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, Robert B., III; Smith, G. Lou; Barkstrom, Bruce R.; Priestley, Kory J.; Thomas, Susan; Paden, Jack; Pandey, Direndra K.; Thornhill, K. Lee; Bolden, William C.; Wilson, Robert S.

    1997-01-01

    The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) spacecraft scanning thermistor bolometers will measure earth-reflected solar and earth-emmitted,longwave radiances, at the top-of-the-atmosphere. The measurements are performed in the broadband shortwave (0.3-5.0 micron) and longwave (5.0 - >100 micron) spectral regions as well as in the 8 -12 micron water vapor window over geographical footprints as small as 10 kilometers at the nadir. The CERES measurements are designed to improve our knowledge of the earth's natural climate processes, in particular those related to clouds, and man's impact upon climate as indicated by atmospheric temperature. November 1997, the first set of CERES bolometers is scheduled for launch on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Spacecraft. The CERES bolometers were calibrated radiometrically in a vacuum ground facility using absolute reference sources, tied to the International Temperature Scale of 1990. Accurate bolometer calibrations are dependent upon the derivations of the radiances from the spectral properties [reflectance, transmittance, emittance, etc.] of both the sources and bolometers. In this paper, the overall calibration approaches are discussed for the longwave and shortwave calibrations. The spectral responses for the TRMM bolometer units are presented and applied to the bolometer ground calibrations in order to determine pre-launch calibration gains.

  20. The interior structure of Ceres as revealed by surface topography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fu, Roger R.; Ermakov, Anton I.; Marchi, Simone; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; Raymond, Carol A.; Hager, Bradford H.; Zuber, Maria T.; King, Scott D.; Bland, Michael T.; Cristina De Sanctis, Maria; Preusker, Frank; Park, Ryan S.; Russell, Christopher T.

    2017-10-01

    Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt (940 km diameter), provides a unique opportunity to study the interior structure of a volatile-rich dwarf planet. Variations in a planetary body's subsurface rheology and density affect the rate of topographic relaxation. Preferential attenuation of long wavelength topography (≥150 km) on Ceres suggests that the viscosity of its crust decreases with increasing depth. We present finite element (FE) geodynamical simulations of Ceres to identify the internal structures and compositions that best reproduce its topography as observed by the NASA Dawn mission. We infer that Ceres has a mechanically strong crust with maximum effective viscosity ∼1025 Pa s. Combined with density constraints, this rheology suggests a crustal composition of carbonates or phyllosilicates, water ice, and at least 30 volume percent (vol.%) low-density, high-strength phases most consistent with salt and/or clathrate hydrates. The inference of these crustal materials supports the past existence of a global ocean, consistent with the observed surface composition. Meanwhile, we infer that the uppermost ≥60 km of the silicate-rich mantle is mechanically weak with viscosity <1021 Pa s, suggesting the presence of liquid pore fluids in this region and a low temperature history that avoided igneous differentiation due to late accretion or efficient heat loss through hydrothermal processes.

  1. The interior structure of Ceres as revealed by surface topography

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fu, Roger R.; Ermakov, Anton; Marchi, Simone; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; Raymond, Carol A.; Hager, Bradford; Zuber, Maria; King, Scott D.; Bland, Michael T.; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Preusker, Frank; Park, Ryan S.; Russell, Christopher T.

    2017-01-01

    Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt (940 km diameter), provides a unique opportunity to study the interior structure of a volatile-rich dwarf planet. Variations in a planetary body's subsurface rheology and density affect the rate of topographic relaxation. Preferential attenuation of long wavelength topography (≥150 km) on Ceres suggests that the viscosity of its crust decreases with increasing depth. We present finite element (FE) geodynamical simulations of Ceres to identify the internal structures and compositions that best reproduce its topography as observed by the NASA Dawn mission. We infer that Ceres has a mechanically strong crust with maximum effective viscosity ∼1025 Pa s. Combined with density constraints, this rheology suggests a crustal composition of carbonates or phyllosilicates, water ice, and at least 30 volume percent (vol.%) low-density, high-strength phases most consistent with salt and/or clathrate hydrates. The inference of these crustal materials supports the past existence of a global ocean, consistent with the observed surface composition. Meanwhile, we infer that the uppermost ≥60 km of the silicate-rich mantle is mechanically weak with viscosity <1021 Pa s, suggesting the presence of liquid pore fluids in this region and a low temperature history that avoided igneous differentiation due to late accretion or efficient heat loss through hydrothermal processes.

  2. Polygonal Craters on Dwarf-Planet Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Otto, K. A.; Jaumann, R.; Krohn, K.; Buczkowski, D. L.; von der Gathen, I.; Kersten, E.; Mest, S. C.; Preusker, F.; Roatsch, T.; Schenk, P. M.; Schröder, S.; Schulzeck, F.; Scully, J. E. C.; Stepahn, K.; Wagner, R.; Williams, D. A.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2015-10-01

    With approximately 950 km diameter and a mass of #1/3 of the total mass of the asteroid belt, (1) Ceres is the largest and most massive object in the Main Asteroid Belt. As an intact proto-planet, Ceres is key to understanding the origin and evolution of the terrestrialplanets [1]. In particular, the role of water during planet formation is of interest, because the differentiated dwarf-planet is thought to possess a water rich mantle overlying a rocky core [2]. The Dawn space craft arrived at Ceres in March this year after completing its mission at (4) Vesta. At Ceres, the on-board Framing Camera (FC) collected image data which revealed a large variety of impact crater morphologies including polygonal craters (Figure 1). Polygonal craters show straight rim sections aligned to form an angular shape. They are commonly associated with fractures in the target material. Simple polygonal craters develop during the excavation stage when the excavation flow propagates faster along preexisting fractures [3, 5]. Complex polygonal craters adopt their shape during the modification stage when slumping along fractures is favoured [3]. Polygonal craters are known from a variety of planetary bodies including Earth [e.g. 4], the Moon [e.g. 5], Mars [e.g. 6], Mercury [e.g. 7], Venus [e.g. 8] and outer Solar System icy satellites [e.g. 9].

  3. Evaluating Surface Flux Results from CERES-FLASHFlux

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilber, Anne C.; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Kratz, David P.; Gupta, Shashi K.; Sawaengphokhai, Parnchai K.

    2015-01-01

    The Fast Longwave and Shortwave Radiative Flux (FLASHFlux) data product was developed to provide a rapid release version of the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) results, which could be made available to the research and applications communities within one week of the satellite observations by exchanging some accuracy for speed of processing. Unlike standard CERES products, FLASHFlux does not maintain a long-term consistent record. Therefore the latest algorithm changes and input data can be incorporated into processing. FLASHFlux released Version3A (January 2013) and Version 3B (August 2014) which include the latest meteorological product from Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), GEOS FP-IT (5.9.1), the latest spectral response functions and gains for the CERES instruments, and aerosol climatology based on the latest MATCH data. Version 3B included a slightly updated calibration and some changes to the surface albedo over snow/ice. Typically FLASHFlux does not reprocess earlier versions when a new version is released. The combined record of Time Interpolated Space Averaged (TISA) surface flux results from Versions3A and 3B for July 2012 to October 2015 have been compared to the ground-based measurements. The FLASHFlux results are also compared to two other CERES gridded products, SYN1deg and EBAF surface fluxes.

  4. Was There a Significantly Negative Anomaly of Global Land Surface Net Radiation from 2001-2006?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liang, S.; Jia, A.; Jiang, B.

    2016-12-01

    Surface net radiation, which characterizes surface energy budget, can be estimated from in-situ measurements, satellite products, model simulations, and reanalysis. Satellite products are usually validated using ground measurements to characterize their uncertainties. The surface net radiation product from the CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) has been widely used. After validating it using extensive ground measurements, we also verified that the CERES surface net radiation product is highly accurate. When we evaluated the temporal variations of the averaged global land surface net radiation from the CERES product, we found a significantly negative anomaly starting from 2001, reaching the maximum in 2004, and gradually coming back to normal in 2006. The valley has the magnitude of approximately 3 Wm-2 centered at 2004. After comparing with the high-resolution GLASS (Global LAnd Surface Satellite) net radiation product developed at Beijing Normal University, the CMIP5 model simulations, and the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset, we concluded that the significant decreasing pattern of land surface net radiation from 2001-2006 is an artifact mainly due to inaccurate longwave net radiation of the CERES surface net radiation product. The current ground measurement networks are not spatially dense enough to capture the false negative anomaly from the CERES product, which calls for more ground measurements.

  5. Validation of CERES-MODIS Arctic cloud properties using CloudSat/CALIPSO and ARM NSA observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giannecchini, K.; Dong, X.; Xi, B.; Minnis, P.; Kato, S.

    2011-12-01

    The traditional passive satellite studies of cloud properties in the Arctic are often affected by the complex surface features present across the region. Nominal visual and thermal contrast exists between Arctic clouds and the snow- and ice-covered surfaces beneath them, which can lead to difficulties in satellite retrievals of cloud properties. However, the addition of active sensors to the A-Train constellation of satellites has increased the availability of validation sources for cloud properties derived from passive sensors in the data-sparse high-latitude regions. In this study, Arctic cloud fraction and cloud heights derived from the NASA CERES team (CERES-MODIS) have been compared with CloudSat/CALIPSO and DOE ARM NSA radar-lidar observations over Barrow, AK, for the two-year period from 2007 to 2008. An Arctic-wide comparison of cloud fraction and height between CERES-MODIS and CloudSat/CALIPSO was then conducted for the same time period. The CERES-MODIS cloud properties, which include cloud fraction and cloud effective heights, were retrieved using the 4-channel VISST (Visible Infrared Solar-Infrared Split-window Technique) [Minnis et al.,1995]. CloudSat/CALIPSO cloud fraction and cloud-base and -top heights were from version RelB1 data products determined by both the 94 GHz radar onboard CloudSat and the lidar on CALIPSO with a vertical resolution of 30 m below 8.2 km and 60 m above. To match the surface and satellite observations/retrievals, the ARM surface observations were averaged into 3-hour intervals centered at the time of the satellite overpass, while satellite observations were averaged within a 3°x3° grid box centered on the Barrow site. The preliminary results have shown that all observed CFs have peaks during April-May and September-October, and dips during winter months (January-February) and summer months (June-July) during the study period of 2007-2008. ARM radar-lidar and CloudSat/CALIPSO show generally good agreement in CF (0.79 vs. 0.74), while CERES-MODIS derived values are much lower (0.60). CERES-MODIS derived cloud effective height (2.7 km) falls between the CloudSat/CALIPSO derived cloud base (0.6 km) and top (6.4 km) and the ARM ceilometers and MMCR derived cloud base (0.9 km) and radar derived cloud top (5.8 km). When extended to the entire Arctic, although the CERES-MODIS and Cloudsat/CALIPSO derived annual mean CFs agree within a few percents, there are significant differences over several regions, and the maximum cloud heights derived from CloudSat/CALIPSO (13.4 km) and CERES-MODIS (10.7 km) show the largest disagreement during early spring.

  6. Do We Already have Samples of CERES H Chondrite Haliites and the CERES-HEBE Link

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fries, Marc D.; Messenger, S.; Steele, A.; Zolensky, M.

    2013-01-01

    We investigate the hypothesis that halite grains in the brecciated H chondrites Zag and Monahans originate from Ceres. Evidence includes mineralogy of the halites consistent with formation on a large, carbonaceous, aqueously active body close to the H chondrite parent body >4 Ga ago. Evidence also includes orbital simularities between 1 Ceres and the purported H chondrite parent body (HPB) 6 Hebe, possibly facilitating a gentle transfer between the bodies. Halite grains in the Monahans and Zag Hchondrites are exogenous to the H chondrite parent body and were transported to the HPB >4 Ga ago. Examination of minerals and carboanceous materials entrained within the halites shows that the halite parent body (HaPB) is consistent with a carbonaceous body [1]. It is probably a large body due to the variety of entrained carbonaceous materials which probably accreted from multiple sources. The halite grains contain intact, HaPB-origin, ancient fluid inclusions indicating that transfer between the HaPB and the HPB was a gentle process resulting in a ?T of <25 degC. Ejection from the HaPB may have been via cryovolcanic processes similar to those on modern-day Enceladus, which have been interpreted to include halite from spectroscopic observations. The ?Tmax to preserve the brinebearing halite restricts the impact velocity to the HPB at less than ˜350-700 m/s, depending upon the fraction of kinetic energy used heat the sample. [2-6]. Therefore the HaPB and HPB must have shared nearby orbits at the time of the HaPB-HPB transfer. Evidence presented elsewhere indicates asteroid 6 Hebe is a favored candidate for the HPB based on reflectance spectrum similarity with H chondrites and dynamical arguments [7,8]. The modern orbits of Ceres and Hebe are reasonably similar, with aphelion/perihelion of Ceres and Hebe of 2.99/2.55 and 2.91/1.94 AU, respectively. Initial calculations indicate an approximate mean infall velocity of 1.20 to 1.38 km/s. While higher than 350- 700 m/s, the orbits may have been more favorable >4 Ga ago. Additional dynamical factors need to be investigated. A combination of factors suggests Ceres as the HaPB. It is a carbonaceous body with suggestions of past aqueous activity [9], which is consistent with the mineral species found in H chondrite halites. Ceres is also a large body capable of accreting the range of carbonaceous materials noted [5]. It is relatively near to purported HPB Hebe, which is required to preserve halite fluid inclusions. The above evidence defines a hypothesized scenario featuring ejection of halite grains from Ceres onto Hebe. Halite was then entrained in H-chondrite near-surface breccias and ejected from Hebe for transport to Earth.

  7. Hospital benchmarking: are U.S. eye hospitals ready?

    PubMed

    de Korne, Dirk F; van Wijngaarden, Jeroen D H; Sol, Kees J C A; Betz, Robert; Thomas, Richard C; Schein, Oliver D; Klazinga, Niek S

    2012-01-01

    Benchmarking is increasingly considered a useful management instrument to improve quality in health care, but little is known about its applicability in hospital settings. The aims of this study were to assess the applicability of a benchmarking project in U.S. eye hospitals and compare the results with an international initiative. We evaluated multiple cases by applying an evaluation frame abstracted from the literature to five U.S. eye hospitals that used a set of 10 indicators for efficiency benchmarking. Qualitative analysis entailed 46 semistructured face-to-face interviews with stakeholders, document analyses, and questionnaires. The case studies only partially met the conditions of the evaluation frame. Although learning and quality improvement were stated as overall purposes, the benchmarking initiative was at first focused on efficiency only. No ophthalmic outcomes were included, and clinicians were skeptical about their reporting relevance and disclosure. However, in contrast with earlier findings in international eye hospitals, all U.S. hospitals worked with internal indicators that were integrated in their performance management systems and supported benchmarking. Benchmarking can support performance management in individual hospitals. Having a certain number of comparable institutes provide similar services in a noncompetitive milieu seems to lay fertile ground for benchmarking. International benchmarking is useful only when these conditions are not met nationally. Although the literature focuses on static conditions for effective benchmarking, our case studies show that it is a highly iterative and learning process. The journey of benchmarking seems to be more important than the destination. Improving patient value (health outcomes per unit of cost) requires, however, an integrative perspective where clinicians and administrators closely cooperate on both quality and efficiency issues. If these worlds do not share such a relationship, the added "public" value of benchmarking in health care is questionable.

  8. Colorized Map of Ceres Mercator Projection

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-03-22

    The map is a Mercator projection and has a resolution of 460 feet 140 meters per pixel. The images used to make this map were taken from Dawn high-altitude mapping orbit HAMO, at a distance of 915 miles 1,470 kilometers from Ceres.

  9. Dawn: Testing Paradigms by Exploring Dichotomies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Russell, C. T.; Schmidt, B. E.; Wise, J.; Ristvey, J.; Raymond, C. A.

    2010-12-01

    NASA’s Dawn mission represents a series of “firsts” for major NASA missions. Dawn is the first major NASA science mission to use ion propulsion engines, allowing Dawn to be the first mission to orbit one target and then leave its gravity well to explore a second destination. Dawn is the first science mission to the main asteroid belt, reaching protoplanet Vesta in summer 2011, and will be the first mission to reach a “dwarf planet” when it arrives at Ceres in 2015. By targeting both Vesta and Ceres, Dawn explores two intriguing dichotomies in the solar system, that of the dry rocky planets and the wet icy bodies (Fire and Ice) and the dichotomy between planets and asteroids. Is there a clear dividing line here? Vesta, the second most massive asteroid, is a protoplanet: a round, mostly intact asteroid that bears more resemblance to a planet than to smaller asteroids. Vesta is also the likely parent body of the HED meteorites that richly populate Earth’s meteorite collections. It is possible to hold a piece of Vesta in your hands. From the HED meteorites, scientists have learned the Vesta is one of few differentiated asteroids. And from its spectrum, rich in basaltic minerals, it is known to be much like a mini-version of Earth’s Moon and Mercury. Vesta’s surface once was home to floods of lava not unlike those found still today on the Earth. Vesta is very similar to a terrestrial planet. Ceres is the giant of the asteroid belt with a hydrostatic shape that earns it a dwarf planet classification. Like its larger cousins, Ceres’ round shape suggests that the body may be differentiated, but due to its low density, Ceres’ interior is more like an icy moon of Jupiter. Beneath a relatively thin clay veneer probably lies an ice-rich mantle and rocky core, and even possibly a liquid ocean. With such enticing questions posed for Vesta and Ceres, Dawn will enable scientists and the public alike to explore how planets were born, how fire and ice have shaped the solar system, and have a chance to push the boundaries of our own classification system. Dawn’s set of instrumentation, with cameras, a visible and infrared spectrometer, a gamma ray and neutron detector and radio science, will produce a wealth of information about two previously unexplored, diverse and yet somehow familiar worlds. Communication of the lessons learned by Dawn from the scientists to the public has and will occur over a range of interfaces, including a series of online activities such as Find a Meteorite, Clickworkers and a simulation of an ion engine. Other activities include Dawn “Science of the Day” archives, fun family activities and games as well as classroom materials and outreach events. Since the two bodies are the brightest sources in the main belt, an integral part of Dawn’s journey has been the integration of amateur and “backyard” astronomers. All these activities allow us to share the science with the public. Dawn arrives at Vesta in the middle of the Year of the Solar System in July 2011 and will depart for Ceres as the YSS ends.

  10. CERES and the S'COOL Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chambers, Lin H.; Young, David F.; Barkstrom, Bruce R.; Wielicki, Bruce A.

    1997-01-01

    The first Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument will be launched on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft from a Japanese launch site in November 1997. This instrument is a follow-on to the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) begun in the 1980's. The instrument will measure the radiation budget - incoming and outgoing radiant energy - of the Earth. It will establish a baseline and look for climatic trends. The major feature of interest is clouds, which play a very strong role in regulating our climate. CERES will identify clear and cloudy regions and determine cloud physical and microphysical properties using imager data from a companion instrument. Validation efforts for the remote sensing algorithms will be intensive. As one component of the validation, the S'COOL (Students' Cloud Observations On-Line) project will involve school children from around the globe in making ground truth measurements at the time of a CERES overpass. Their observations will be collected at the NASA Langley Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) and made available over the Internet for educational purposes as well as for use by the CERES Science Team in validation efforts. Pilot testing of the S'COOL project began in January 1997 with two local schools in Southeastern Virginia and one remote site in Montana. This experience is helping guide the development of the S'COOL project. National testing is planned for April 1997, international testing for July 1997, and global testing for October 1997. In 1998, when the CERES instrument is operational, a global observer network should be in place providing useful information to the scientists and learning opportunities to the students.

  11. On-orbit solar calibrations using the Aqua Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) in-flight calibration system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilson, Robert S.; Priestley, Kory J.; Thomas, Susan; Hess, Phillip

    2009-08-01

    The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) spacecraft scanning thermistor bolometers were used to measure earth-reflected solar and earth-emitted longwave radiances, at satellite altitude. The bolometers measured the earth radiances in the broadband shortwave solar (0.3 - 5.0 micrometers) and total (0.3->100 micrometers) spectral bands as well as in the (8 - 12 micrometers) water vapor window spectral band over geographical footprints as small as 10 kilometers at nadir. In May 2002, the fourth and fifth sets of CERES bolometers were launched aboard the Aqua spacecraft. Ground vacuum calibrations defined the initial count conversion coefficients that were used to convert the bolometer output voltages into filtered earth radiances. The mirror attenuator mosaic (MAM), a solar diffuser plate, was built into the CERES instrument package calibration system in order to define in-orbit shifts or drifts in the sensor responses. The shortwave and total sensors are calibrated using the solar radiances reflected from the MAM's. Each MAM consists of baffle-solar diffuser plate systems, which guide incoming solar radiances into the instrument fields-of-view of the shortwave and total wave sensor units. The MAM diffuser reflecting type surface consists of an array of spherical aluminum mirror segments, which are separated by a Merck Black A absorbing surface, overcoated with silicon dioxide. Temperature sensors are located in each MAM plate and baffle. The CERES MAM wass designed to yield calibration precisions approaching .5 percent for the total and shortwave detectors. In this paper, the MAM solar calibration procedures are presented along with on-orbit results. Comparisons are also made between the Aqua,Terra and the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) CERES MAM solar calibrations.

  12. The Role of DYNAMO in Situ Observations in Improving NASA Ceres-like Daily Surface and Atmospheric Radiative Flux Estimates

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Hailan; Su, Wenying; Loeb, Norman G.; Achuthavarier, Deepthi; Schubert, Siegfried D.

    2017-01-01

    The daily surface and atmospheric radiative fluxes from NASA Clouds and the Earths RadiantEnergy System (CERES) Synoptic 1 degree (SYN1deg) Ed3A are among the most widely used data to studycloud-radiative feedback. The CERES SYN1deg data are based on Fu-Liou radiative transfer computations thatuse specific humidity (Q) and air temperature (T) from NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO)reanalyses as inputs and are therefore subject to the quality of those fields. This study uses in situ Q and Tobservations collected during the Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) field campaign toaugment the input stream used in the NASA GMAO reanalysis and assess the impact on the CERES dailysurface and atmospheric longwave estimates. The results show that the assimilation of DYNAMOobservations considerably improves the vertical profiles of analyzed Q and T over and near DYNAMO stationsby moistening and warming the lower troposphere and upper troposphere and drying and cooling themid-upper troposphere. As a result of these changes in Q and T, the computed CERES daily surface downwardlongwave flux increases by about 5 W m(exp -2), due mainly to the warming and moistening in the lowertroposphere; the computed daily top-of-atmosphere (TOA) outgoing longwave radiation increases by2-3 W m(exp -2) during dry periods only. Correspondingly, the estimated local atmospheric longwave radiativecooling enhances by about 5 W m(exp -2) (7-8 W m(exp -2)) during wet (dry) periods. These changes reduce the bias inthe CERES SYN1deg-like daily longwave estimates at both the TOA and surface and represent animprovement over the DYNAMO region.

  13. Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC): State of the Council 2010

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nambiar, Raghunath; Wakou, Nicholas; Carman, Forrest; Majdalany, Michael

    The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) is a non-profit corporation founded to define transaction processing and database benchmarks and to disseminate objective, verifiable performance data to the industry. Established in August 1988, the TPC has been integral in shaping the landscape of modern transaction processing and database benchmarks over the past twenty-two years. This paper provides an overview of the TPC's existing benchmark standards and specifications, introduces two new TPC benchmarks under development, and examines the TPC's active involvement in the early creation of additional future benchmarks.

  14. Contributions to Integral Nuclear Data in ICSBEP and IRPhEP since ND 2013

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bess, John D.; Briggs, J. Blair; Gulliford, Jim

    2016-09-01

    The status of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) and the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) was last discussed directly with the international nuclear data community at ND2013. Since ND2013, integral benchmark data that are available for nuclear data testing has continued to increase. The status of the international benchmark efforts and the latest contributions to integral nuclear data for testing is discussed. Select benchmark configurations that have been added to the ICSBEP and IRPhEP Handbooks since ND2013 are highlighted. The 2015 edition of the ICSBEP Handbook now contains 567 evaluations with benchmark specifications for 4,874more » critical, near-critical, or subcritical configurations, 31 criticality alarm placement/shielding configuration with multiple dose points apiece, and 207 configurations that have been categorized as fundamental physics measurements that are relevant to criticality safety applications. The 2015 edition of the IRPhEP Handbook contains data from 143 different experimental series that were performed at 50 different nuclear facilities. Currently 139 of the 143 evaluations are published as approved benchmarks with the remaining four evaluations published in draft format only. Measurements found in the IRPhEP Handbook include criticality, buckling and extrapolation length, spectral characteristics, reactivity effects, reactivity coefficients, kinetics, reaction-rate distributions, power distributions, isotopic compositions, and/or other miscellaneous types of measurements for various types of reactor systems. Annual technical review meetings for both projects were held in April 2016; additional approved benchmark evaluations will be included in the 2016 editions of these handbooks.« less

  15. CERES FM6 First Light Imagery

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2018-06-07

    ... Larger Image   Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Flight Model 6 (CERES FM6) opened its cover on Jan. 5, 2018 ... radiometer that NASA/NOAA has flown that measures the solar energy reflected by Earth, heat the planet emits, and the role of clouds in ...

  16. CER_SRBAVG_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Edition2A

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2014-07-24

    ... Readme Files:  Readme R4-671 UNIX C shell scripts for extracting regional CERES geo and non-geo fluxes from ... Software Files :  Read Package (C) UNIX C shell scripts for extracting regional CERES geo and non-geo fluxes from ...

  17. Animation of Ceres on Approach

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-02-04

    This is a frame from an animation showcasing a series of images NASA Dawn spacecraft took on approach to Ceres on Feb. 4, 2015 at a distance of about 90,000 miles 145,000 kilometers from the dwarf planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19182

  18. Vesta and Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Righter, Kevin

    2018-04-01

    Asteroids 1 Ceres and 4 Vesta are the two largest asteroids in the asteroid belt, with mean diameters of 946 km and 525 km, respectively. Ceres was reclassified as a dwarf planet by the IAU (International Astronomical Union) as a result of their new dwarf planet definition, which is a body that (a) orbits the sun, (b) has enough mass to assume a nearly round shape, (c) has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a moon. Our understanding of these two bodies has been revolutionized in the last decade by the success of the Dawn mission that visited both bodies. Vesta is an example of a small body that has been heated substantially, and differentiated into a metallic core, silicate mantle, and basaltic crust. Ceres is a volatile-rich rocky body that did not experience significant heating and therefore has only partially differentiated. These two contrasting bodies have been instrumental in learning how inner solar system material formed and evolved.

  19. Distribution and Validation of CERES Irradiance Global Data Products Via Web Based Tools

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rutan, David; Mitrescu, Cristian; Doelling, David; Kato, Seiji

    2016-01-01

    The CERES SYN1deg product provides climate quality 3-hourly globally gridded and temporally complete maps of top of atmosphere, in atmosphere, and surface fluxes. This product requires efficient release to the public and validation to maintain quality assurance. The CERES team developed web-tools for the distribution of both the global gridded products and grid boxes that contain long term validation sites that maintain high quality flux observations at the Earth's surface. These are found at: http://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/order_data.php. In this poster we explore the various tools available to users to sub-set, download, and validate using surface observations the SYN1Deg and Surface-EBAF products. We also analyze differences found in long-term records from well-maintained land surface sites such as the ARM central facility and high quality buoy radiometers, which due to their isolated nature cannot be maintained in a similar manner to their land based counterparts.

  20. Spectral Longwave Cloud Radiative Forcing as Observed by AIRS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blaisdell, John M.; Susskind, Joel; Lee, Jae N.; Iredell, Lena

    2016-01-01

    AIRS V6 products contain the spectral contributions to Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR), clear-sky OLR (OLR(sub CLR)), and Longwave Cloud Radiative Forcing (LWCRF) in 16 bands from 100 cm(exp -1) to 3260 cm(exp -1). We show climatologies of selected spectrally resolved AIRS V6 products over the period of September 2002 through August 2016. Spectrally resolved LWCRF can better describe the response of the Earth system to cloud and cloud feedback processes. The spectral LWCRF enables us to estimate the fraction of each contributing factor to cloud forcing, i.e.: surface temperature, mid to upper tropospheric water vapor, and tropospheric temperature. This presentation also compares the spatial characteristics of LWCRF from AIRS, CERES_EBAF Edition-2.8, and MERRA-2. AIRS and CERES LWCRF products show good agreement. The OLR bias between AIRS and CERES is very close to that of OLR(sub CLR). This implies that both AIRS and CERES OLR products accurately account for the effect of clouds on OLR.

  1. Morphological Indicators of a Mascon Beneath Ceres's Largest Crater, Kerwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bland, M. T.; Ermakov, A. I.; Raymond, C. A.; Williams, D. A.; Bowling, T. J.; Preusker, F.; Park, R. S.; Marchi, S.; Castillo-Rogez, J. C.; Fu, R. R.; Russell, C. T.

    2018-02-01

    Gravity data of Ceres returned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dawn spacecraft is consistent with a lower density crust of variable thickness overlying a higher density mantle. Crustal thickness variations can affect the long-term, postimpact modification of impact craters on Ceres. Here we show that the unusual morphology of the 280 km diameter crater Kerwan may result from viscous relaxation in an outer layer that thins substantially beneath the crater floor. We propose that such a structure is consistent with either impact-induced uplift of the high-density mantle beneath the crater or from volatile loss during the impact event. In either case, the subsurface structure inferred from the crater morphology is superisostatic, and the mass excess would result in a positive Bouguer anomaly beneath the crater, consistent with the highest-degree gravity data from Dawn. Ceres joins the Moon, Mars, and Mercury in having basin-associated gravity anomalies, although their origin may differ substantially.

  2. Purification and stability characterization of a cell regulatory sialoglycopeptide inhibitor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moos, P. J.; Fattaey, H. K.; Johnson, T. C.; Spooner, B. S. (Principal Investigator)

    1995-01-01

    Previous attempts to physically separate the cell cycle inhibitory and protease activities in preparations of a purified cell regulatory sialoglycopeptide (CeReS) inhibitor were largely unsuccessful. Gradient elution of the inhibitor preparation from a DEAE HPLC column separated the cell growth inhibitor from the protease, and the two activities have been shown to be distinct and non-overlapping. The additional purification increased the specific biological activity of the CeReS preparation by approximately two-fold. The major inhibitory fraction that eluted from the DEAE column was further analyzed by tricine-SDS-PAGE and microbore reverse phase HPLC and shown to be homogeneous in nature. Two other fractions separated by DEAE HPLC, also devoid of protease activity, were shown to be inhibitory to cell proliferation and most likely represented modified relatives of the CeReS inhibitor. The highly purified CeReS was chemically characterized for amino acid and carbohydrate composition and the role of the carbohydrate in cell proliferation inhibition, stability, and protease resistance was assessed.

  3. Morphological indicators of a mascon beneath Ceres' largest crater, Kerwan

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bland, Michael T.; Ermakov, Anton; Raymond, Carol A.; Williams, David A.; Bowling, Tim J.; Preusker, F.; Park, Ryan S.; Marchi, Simone; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; Fu, R.R.; Russell, Christopher T.

    2018-01-01

    Gravity data of Ceres returned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dawn spacecraft is consistent with a lower density crust of variable thickness overlying a higher density mantle. Crustal thickness variations can affect the long‐term, postimpact modification of impact craters on Ceres. Here we show that the unusual morphology of the 280 km diameter crater Kerwan may result from viscous relaxation in an outer layer that thins substantially beneath the crater floor. We propose that such a structure is consistent with either impact‐induced uplift of the high‐density mantle beneath the crater or from volatile loss during the impact event. In either case, the subsurface structure inferred from the crater morphology is superisostatic, and the mass excess would result in a positive Bouguer anomaly beneath the crater, consistent with the highest‐degree gravity data from Dawn. Ceres joins the Moon, Mars, and Mercury in having basin‐associated gravity anomalies, although their origin may differ substantially.

  4. Ceres’ Evolution and Potential Habitability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raymond, Carol Anne; Ammannito, Eleonora; Bland, Michael T.; Castillo-Rogez, Julie; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Ermakov, Anton; Fu, Roger; McCord, Thomas; Park, Ryan; Prettyman, Thomas H.; Ruesch, Ottaviano; Russell, Christopher T.; Dawn Team

    2017-10-01

    Dawn’s observations at Ceres confirm it is a volatile-rich body that has undergone ice-rock differentiation and global alteration [1-4], indicating that, as predicted by pre-Dawn thermochemical models, Ceres harbored an ancient subsurface ocean [5,6]. Density and shape data indicate that at present, Ceres has a crust composed of silicate, salts, clathrates and ≤ 35% water ice, overlying a denser core of hydrated silicates [7,8,9,10], whereas the original ice-dominated outer shell was likely lost to impact-induced sublimation early in Ceres’ history [11]. The interior structure constrains the maximum internal temperature to have been only a few hundred degrees [9]; however, rather than indicating a late formation for Ceres, it may indicate that circulation of fluids within Ceres modulated the temperature [12].The extent and longevity of the ocean are debatable; however, the modern surface of Ceres shows evidence of brine extrusion [e.g., 13], indicating at least pockets of subsurface liquid remain. Carbonates are found to dominate the composition of the brightest deposits on the surface, attesting to transport of crystallized brine material to the surface [14]. These multiple lines of evidence point to a warm aqueous subsurface environment with complex chemistry early in Ceres’ history and processes that exchanged material between the muddy ocean layer and the surface. Such history and the presence of organic material in localized deposits [15, 16] make Ceres an enticing target for future exploration. [1] Russell et al., Science, 2016 [2] Prettyman et al., Science, 2017 [3] De Sanctis et al., 2015 10.1038/nature18290 [4] Ammannito et al., Science, 2016 [5] McCord and Sotin, JGR, 2005 [6] Castillo-Rogez and McCord, Icarus, 2010 [7] Park et al., Nature, 2016 [8] Ermakov et al., JGR, 2017 [9] Fu et al., EPSL, 2017 [10] Bland et al., Nat. GeoSci., 2016 [11] Castillo-Rogez et al., LPSC, 2016 [12] Travis et al., Icarus, subm. [13] Ruesch et al., Science, 2106 [14] De Sanctis et al., Nature, 2016 [15] De Sanctis et al., Science, 2017 [16] Marchi et al., this meeting. Acknowledgements: Part of this work is being carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract to NASA.

  5. Fast Longwave and Shortwave Radiative Fluxes (FLASHFlux) From CERES and MODIS Measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stackhouse, Paul; Gupta, Shashi; Kratz, David; Geier, Erika; Edwards, Anne; Wilber, Anne

    The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project is currently producing highly accurate surface and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation budget datasets from measurements taken by CERES broadband radiometers and a subset of imaging channels on the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument operating onboard Terra and Aqua satellites. The primary objective of CERES is to produce highly accurate and stable time-series datasets of radiation budget parameters to meet the needs of climate change research. Accomplishing such accuracy and stability requires monitoring the calibration and stability of the instruments, maintaining constancy of processing algorithms and meteorological inputs, and extensively validating the products against independent measurements. Such stringent requirements inevitably delay the release of products to the user community by as much as six months to a year. While such delays are inconsequential for climate research, other applications like short-term and seasonal predictions, agricultural and solar energy research, ocean and atmosphere assimilation, and field experiment support could greatly benefit if CERES products were available quickly after satellite measurements. To meet the needs of the latter class of applications, FLASHFlux was developed and is being implemented at the NASA/LaRC. FLASHFlux produces reliable surface and TOA radiative parameters within a one week of satellite observations using CERES "quicklook" data stream and fast surface flux algorithms. Cloud properties used in flux computation are derived concurrently using MODIS channel radiances. In the process, a modest degree of accuracy is sacrificed in the interest of speed. All fluxes are derived initially on a CERES footprint basis. Daily average fluxes are then derived on a 1° x1° grid in the next stage of processing. To date, FLASHFlux datasets have been used in operational processing of CloudSat data, in support of a field experiment, and for the S'COOL education outreach program. In this presentation, examples will be presented of footprint level and gridded/daily averaged fluxes and their validation. FLASHFlux datasets are available to the science community at the LaRC Atmospheric Sciences Data Center (ASDC) at: eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/PRODOCS/flashflux/table flashflux.html.

  6. Thermo-Compositional Evolution of a Brine Reservoir Beneath Ceres' Occator Crater and Implications for Cryovolcanism at the Surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quick, L. C.

    2017-12-01

    The Dawn spacecraft has imaged several putative cryovolcanic features on Ceres (Buczkowski et al., 2016; Ruesch et al., 2016), and several lines of evidence point to past cryovolcanic activity at Occator crater (De Sanctis et al., 2016; Krohn et al., 2016; Buczkowski et al., 2017; Nathues et al., 2017; Ruesch et al., 2017; Zolotov, 2017). Hence it is possible that cryovolcanism played a key role in delivering carbonate and/or chloride brines to Ceres' surface in the past. As any cryolavas delivered to the surface would have issued from a briny subsurface reservoir, or, cryomagma chamber, it is necessary to consider the thermal and compositional evolution of such a reservoir. The detection of a 200 km x 200 km negative Bouguer anomaly beneath Occator suggests the presence of a low-density region beneath the crater (Ermakov et al., 2017). If this region is a residual cryomagma chamber, excess pressures caused by its gradual freezing, or stresses produced by the Occator-forming impact, could have once facilitated the delivery of cryolavas to the Cerean surface. I have investigated the progressive solidification of a cryomagma chamber beneath Occator and implications for the changing compositions of cryolavas on Ceres. I will present the results of this study as well as discuss the dynamics and heat transfer associated with cryomagmatic ascent to the surface. Preliminary results suggest that a 200 km wide cryomagma chamber situated beneath Ceres' crust would take approximately 1 Gyr to completely crystallize. However, such a reservoir would be depleted in chloride and carbonate salts after only 54 Myr of cooling. If the reservoir contained NH3-bearing fluids, eruptions could proceed for another 100 Myr before increased reservoir crystallization rendered cryomagmatic fluids completely immobile. In addition, it is likely that cryomagmas delivered to Ceres' surface had viscosities < 108 Pa s, and were delivered in fractures with propagation speeds ≥ 10-5 m/s. I will review these results in detail, as well as discuss the behavior of cryolavas after extrusion onto Ceres' surface, and implications for the emplacement of the Vinalia Faculae.

  7. Ceres' deformational surface features compared to other planetary bodies.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    von der Gathen, Isabel; Jaumann, Ralf; Krohn, Katrin; Buczkowski, Debra L.; Elgner, Stephan; Kersten, Elke; Matz, Klaus-Dieter; Nass, Andrea; Otto, Katharina; Preusker, Frank; Roatsch, Thomas; Schröder, Stefanus E.; Schulzeck, Franziska; Stephan, Katrin; Wagner, Roland; De Sanctis, Maria C.; Schenk, Paul; Scully, Jennifer E. C.; Williams, Dave A.; Raymond, Carol A.

    2016-04-01

    On March 2015, NASA's Dawn spacecraft arrived at the dwarf planet Ceres and has been providing images of its surface. Based on High Altitude Mapping Orbiter (HAMO) clear filter images (140 m/px res.), a Survey mosaic (~400 m/px) and a series of Low Altitude Mapping Orbiter (LAMO) clear filter images (35 m/px) of the Dawn mission [1], deformational features are identified on the surface of Ceres. In order to further our knowledge about the nature and origin of these features, we start a comparative analysis of similar features on different planetary bodies, like Enceladus, Ganymede and the Moon, based on images provided by the Cassini, Galileo and Lunar Orbiter mission. This study focuses on the small scale fractures, mostly located on Ceres' crater floors, in comparison with crater fractures on the planetary bodies named above. The fractures were analyzed concerning the morphology and shape, the distribution, orientation and possible building mechanisms. On Ceres, two different groups of fractures are distinct. The first one includes fractures, normally arranged in subparallel pattern, which are usually located on crater floors, but also on crater rims. Their sense of direction is relatively uniform but in some cases they get deformed by shearing. The second group consists of joint systems, which spread out of one single location, sometimes arranged concentric to the crater rim. They were likely formed by cooling-melting processes linked to the impact process or up doming material. Fractures located on crater floors are also common on the icy satellite Enceladus [3]. While Enceladus' fractures don't seem to have a lot in common compared to those on Ceres, we assume that similar fracture patterns and therefore similar building mechanism can be found e.g. on Ganymede and especially on the Moon [2]. Further work will include the comparison of the fractures with additional planetary bodies and the trial to explain why fracturing e.g. on Enceladus differs from that on Ceres. References: [1] Roatsch T. et al. (2016) PSS, in press. [2] Buczkowski D. L. (2016) LPSC. [3] Stephan, K. et al. (2013), in The Science of Solar System Ices, p. 279.

  8. The size, shape, density, and albedo of Ceres from its occultation of BD+8 deg 471

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Millis, R. L.; Wasserman, L. H.; Franz, O. G.; Nye, R. A.; Oliver, R. C.; Kreidl, T. J.; Jones, S. E.; Hubbard, W.; Lebofsky, L.; Goff, R.

    1986-01-01

    The occultation of BD+8 degrees 471 by Ceres on 13 November 1984 was observed photoelectrically at 13 sites in Mexico, Florida, and the Caribbean. These observations indicate that Ceres is an oblate spheroid having an equatorial radius of 479.6 + or - 2.4 km and a polar radius of 453.4 + or - 4.5 km. The mean density of this minor planet is 2.7 gm/cubic cm + or - 5%, and its visual geometric albedo is 0.070. While the surface appears globally to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, firm evidence of real limb irregularities is seen in the data.

  9. Ceres Persistent Shadow

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-12-15

    This frame from an animation made of images from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a crater in the northern polar region of Ceres that is partly in shadow year-round. In several craters like this one, bright water ice deposits have been observed by Dawn's framing camera. This finding suggests that water ice can be stored for significant amounts of time in cold, dark craters on Ceres. Such reservoirs are called "cold traps." At less than minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit (110 Kelvin), they are so chilly that very little of the ice turns into vapor in the course of a billion years. A movie is available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21082

  10. Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Visualization Single Satellite Footprint (SSF) Plot Generator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Barsi, Julia A.

    1995-01-01

    The first Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument will be launched in 1997 to collect data on the Earth's radiation budget. The data retrieved from the satellite will be processed through twelve subsystems. The Single Satellite Footprint (SSF) plot generator software was written to assist scientists in the early stages of CERES data analysis, producing two-dimensional plots of the footprint radiation and cloud data generated by one of the subsystems. Until the satellite is launched, however, software developers need verification tools to check their code. This plot generator will aid programmers by geolocating algorithm result on a global map.

  11. All inclusive benchmarking.

    PubMed

    Ellis, Judith

    2006-07-01

    The aim of this article is to review published descriptions of benchmarking activity and synthesize benchmarking principles to encourage the acceptance and use of Essence of Care as a new benchmarking approach to continuous quality improvement, and to promote its acceptance as an integral and effective part of benchmarking activity in health services. The Essence of Care, was launched by the Department of Health in England in 2001 to provide a benchmarking tool kit to support continuous improvement in the quality of fundamental aspects of health care, for example, privacy and dignity, nutrition and hygiene. The tool kit is now being effectively used by some frontline staff. However, use is inconsistent, with the value of the tool kit, or the support clinical practice benchmarking requires to be effective, not always recognized or provided by National Health Service managers, who are absorbed with the use of quantitative benchmarking approaches and measurability of comparative performance data. This review of published benchmarking literature, was obtained through an ever-narrowing search strategy commencing from benchmarking within quality improvement literature through to benchmarking activity in health services and including access to not only published examples of benchmarking approaches and models used but the actual consideration of web-based benchmarking data. This supported identification of how benchmarking approaches have developed and been used, remaining true to the basic benchmarking principles of continuous improvement through comparison and sharing (Camp 1989). Descriptions of models and exemplars of quantitative and specifically performance benchmarking activity in industry abound (Camp 1998), with far fewer examples of more qualitative and process benchmarking approaches in use in the public services and then applied to the health service (Bullivant 1998). The literature is also in the main descriptive in its support of the effectiveness of benchmarking activity and although this does not seem to have restricted its popularity in quantitative activity, reticence about the value of the more qualitative approaches, for example Essence of Care, needs to be overcome in order to improve the quality of patient care and experiences. The perceived immeasurability and subjectivity of Essence of Care and clinical practice benchmarks means that these benchmarking approaches are not always accepted or supported by health service organizations as valid benchmarking activity. In conclusion, Essence of Care benchmarking is a sophisticated clinical practice benchmarking approach which needs to be accepted as an integral part of health service benchmarking activity to support improvement in the quality of patient care and experiences.

  12. Benchmarking the Integration of WAVEWATCH III Results into HAZUS-MH: Preliminary Results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Berglund, Judith; Holland, Donald; McKellip, Rodney; Sciaudone, Jeff; Vickery, Peter; Wang, Zhanxian; Ying, Ken

    2005-01-01

    The report summarizes the results from the preliminary benchmarking activities associated with the use of WAVEWATCH III (WW3) results in the HAZUS-MH MR1 flood module. Project partner Applied Research Associates (ARA) is integrating the WW3 model into HAZUS. The current version of HAZUS-MH predicts loss estimates from hurricane-related coastal flooding by using values of surge only. Using WW3, wave setup can be included with surge. Loss estimates resulting from the use of surge-only and surge-plus-wave-setup were compared. This benchmarking study is preliminary because the HAZUS-MH MR1 flood module was under development at the time of the study. In addition, WW3 is not scheduled to be fully integrated with HAZUS-MH and available for public release until 2008.

  13. Ceres RC3 Animation

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-05-11

    In this closest-yet view of Ceres, the brightest spots within a crater in the northern hemisphere are revealed to be composed of many smaller spots. This frame is from an animation of sequences taken by NASA Dawn spacecraft on May 4, 2015. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19547

  14. CERES EBAF Data available in the ArcGIS Portal

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2018-06-22

    ... 28 variables from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Edition 4 Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) data ... climate model evaluation, estimating the Earth's global mean energy budget, and to infer meridional heat transport.  The ASDC will continue ...

  15. In-Flight Operation of the Dawn Ion Propulsion System Through Survey Science Orbit at Ceres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Garner, Charles E.; Rayman, Marc D.

    2015-01-01

    The Dawn mission, part of NASA's Discovery Program, has as its goal the scientific exploration of the two most massive main-belt objects, Vesta and Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on September 27, 2007 on a Delta-II 7925H- 9.5 (Delta-II Heavy) rocket that placed the 1218-kg spacecraft onto an Earth-escape trajectory. On-board the spacecraft is an ion propulsion system (IPS) developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory which will provide a total delta V of 11 km/s for the heliocentric transfer to Vesta, orbit capture at Vesta, transfer between Vesta science orbits, departure and escape from Vesta, heliocentric transfer to Ceres, orbit capture at Ceres, and transfer between Ceres science orbits. Full-power thrusting from December 2007 through October 2008 was used to successfully target a Mars gravity assist flyby in February 2009 that provided an additional delta V of 2.6 km/s. Deterministic thrusting for the heliocentric transfer to Vesta resumed in June 2009 and concluded with orbit capture at Vesta on July 16, 2011. From July 2011 through September 2012 the IPS was used to transfer to all the different science orbits at Vesta and to escape from Vesta orbit. Cruise for a rendezvous with Ceres began in September 2012 and concluded with the start of the approach to Ceres phase on December 26, 2015, leading to orbit capture on March 6, 2015. Deterministic thrusting continued during approach to place the spacecraft in its first science orbit, called RC3, which was achieved on April 23, 2015. Following science operations at RC3 ion thrusting was resumed for twenty-five days leading to arrival to the next science orbit, called survey orbit, on June 3, 2015. The IPS will be used for all subsequent orbit transfers and trajectory correction maneuvers until completion of the primary mission in approximately June 2016. To date the IPS has been operated for over 46,774 hours, consumed approximately 393 kg of xenon, and provided a delta V of over 10.8 km/s to the spacecraft. The IPS performance characteristics are very close to the expected performance based on analysis and testing performed pre-launch. This paper provides an overview of Dawn's mission objectives and the results of Dawn IPS mission operations through arrival at the second science orbit at Ceres.

  16. Limited Evaluation of Image Quality Produced by a Portable Head CT Scanner (CereTom) in a Neurosurgery Centre

    PubMed Central

    Abdullah, Ariz Chong; Adnan, Johari Siregar; Rahman, Noor Azman A.; Palur, Ravikant

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Computed tomography (CT) is the preferred diagnostic toolkit for head and brain imaging of head injury. A recent development is the invention of a portable CT scanner that can be beneficial from a clinical point of view. Aim To compare the quality of CT brain images produced by a fixed CT scanner and a portable CT scanner (CereTom). Methods This work was a single-centre retrospective study of CT brain images from 112 neurosurgical patients. Hounsfield units (HUs) of the images from CereTom were measured for air, water and bone. Three assessors independently evaluated the images from the fixed CT scanner and CereTom. Streak artefacts, visualisation of lesions and grey–white matter differentiation were evaluated at three different levels (centrum semiovale, basal ganglia and middle cerebellar peduncles). Each evaluation was scored 1 (poor), 2 (average) or 3 (good) and summed up to form an ordinal reading of 3 to 9. Results HUs for air, water and bone from CereTom were within the recommended value by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Streak artefact evaluation scores for the fixed CT scanner was 8.54 versus 7.46 (Z = −5.67) for CereTom at the centrum semiovale, 8.38 (SD = 1.12) versus 7.32 (SD = 1.63) at the basal ganglia and 8.21 (SD = 1.30) versus 6.97 (SD = 2.77) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. Grey–white matter differentiation showed scores of 8.27 (SD = 1.04) versus 7.21 (SD = 1.41) at the centrum semiovale, 8.26 (SD = 1.07) versus 7.00 (SD = 1.47) at the basal ganglia and 8.38 (SD = 1.11) versus 6.74 (SD = 1.55) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. Visualisation of lesions showed scores of 8.86 versus 8.21 (Z = −4.24) at the centrum semiovale, 8.93 versus 8.18 (Z = −5.32) at the basal ganglia and 8.79 versus 8.06 (Z = −4.93) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. All results were significant with P-value < 0.01. Conclusions Results of the study showed a significant difference in image quality produced by the fixed CT scanner and CereTom, with the latter being more inferior than the former. However, HUs of the images produced by CereTom do fulfil the recommendation of the ACR. PMID:28381933

  17. The Crater Ejecta Distribution on Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmedemann, Nico; Neesemann, Adrian; Schulzeck, Franziska; Krohn, Katrin; Gathen, Isabel; Otto, Katharina; Jaumann, Ralf; Michael, Gregory; Raymond, Carol; Russell, Christopher

    2017-04-01

    Since March 6 2015 the Dawn spacecraft [1] has been in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. At small crater diameters Ceres appears to be peppered with secondary craters that often align in chains or form clusters. Some of such possible crater chains follow curved geometries and are not in a radial orientation with respect to possible source craters [2]. Ceres is a fast rotating body ( 9 h per revolution) with comparatively low surface gravity ( 0.27 m/s2). A substantial fraction of impact ejecta may be launched with velocities similar to Ceres' escape velocity (510 m/s), which implies that many ejected particles follow high and long trajectories. Thus, due to Ceres' fast rotation the distribution pattern of the reimpacting ejected material is heavily affected by Coriolis forces that results in a highly asymmetrical and curved pattern of secondary crater chains. In order to simulate flight trajectories and distribution of impact ejected material for individual craters on Ceres we used the scaling laws by [3] adjusted to the Cerean impact conditions [4] and the impact ejecta model by [5]. These models provide the starting conditions for tracer particles in the simulation. The trajectories of the particles are computed as n-body simulation. The simulation calculates the positions and impact velocities of each impacting tracer particle with respect to the rotating surface of Ceres, which is approximated by a two-axis ellipsoid. Initial results show a number of interesting features in the simulated deposition geometries of specific crater ejecta. These features are roughly in agreement with features that can be observed in Dawn imaging data of the Cerean surface. For example: ray systems of fresh impact craters, non-radial crater chains and global scale border lines of higher and lower color ratio areas. Acknowledgment: This work has been supported by the German Space Agency (DLR) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany, grants 50 OW 1505 (NS, AN) and 50 QM 1301 (GM), and Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft (Helmholtz Association) PD-207 (KK). We thank the Dawn flight team for their excellent job of navigating and maintaining the probe. References: [1] C. T. Russell, et al., Science, 353, 1008 (2016). [2] J. E. C. Scully et al., American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #48, id.321.02 (2016). [3] B. A. Ivanov, Space Science Reviews, 96, 87 (2001). [4] H. Hiesinger et al., Science, 353, 1003 (2016). [5] K. R. Housen and K. A. Holsapple, Icarus, 211, 856 (2011).

  18. CERES Single Scanner Satellite Footprint, TOA, Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2003-12-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  19. CERES Single Satellite Footprint, TOA and Surface Fluxes, Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Edition2A)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-09-16] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  20. CERES Single Scanner Satellite Footprint, TOA, Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Edition1B)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-29] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  1. CERES Single Scanner Satellite Footprint, TOA, Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF)- Test data in HDF (CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset-Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=1998-08-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  2. CERES Single Satellite Footprint, TOA and Surface Fluxes, Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Ed2A-NoSW)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2006-01-01] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  3. CERES Single Scanner Satellite Footprint, TOA, Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2006-01-01] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  4. CERES Single Scanner Satellite Footprint, TOA, Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  5. CERES Single Scanner Satellite Footprint, TOA, Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2003-12-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  6. Hanami Planum on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2018-03-22

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft showing the northern part of Hanami Planum on Ceres honors the Japanese cherry blossom festival, or "Hanami," which is a long-standing Japanese tradition of welcoming spring. Hanami Planum is the third largest geological feature on Ceres, after Vendimia Planitia and the Samhain Catenae. It extends over 345 miles (555 kilometers). This image shows familiar features, such as Occator Crater, characterized both by bright material inside the crater and dark ejecta material outside. Several parallel linear features, called Junina Catenae, can be seen departing from Occator and extending toward the top of the image. These catenae are chains of small craters formed by the impact and scouring of material ejected when large craters are formed. Scientists were able to relate these crater chains to Urvara and Yalode. Even though these are located in the southern hemisphere, some of their ejecta could reach the northern hemisphere, thanks to Ceres' fast rotation and small size. This image was obtained by Dawn on June 15, 2015. The spacecraft was then in its survey orbit (2,700 miles, or 4,400 kilometers high), when the footprint of Dawns framing camera on Ceres surface was about 260 miles (420 kilometers). The resolution is 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel. The central coordinates of the picture are 14 degrees north latitude, 213 degrees east in longitude. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21921

  7. Zonal Aerosol Direct and Indirect Radiative Forcing using Combined CALIOP, CERES, CloudSat, and CERES Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, W. F.; Kato, S.; Rose, F. G.; Sun-Mack, S.

    2009-12-01

    Under the NASA Energy and Water Cycle System (NEWS) program, cloud and aerosol properties derived from CALIPSO, CloudSat, and MODIS data then matched to the CERES footprint are used for irradiance profile computations. Irradiance profiles are included in the publicly available product, CCCM. In addition to the MODIS and CALIPSO generated aerosol, aerosol optical thickness is calculated over ocean by processing MODIS radiance through the Stowe-Ignatov algorithm. The CERES cloud mask and properties algorithm are use with MODIS radiance to provide additional cloud information to accompany the actively sensed data. The passively sensed data is the only input to the standard CERES radiative flux products. The combined information is used as input to the NASA Langley Fu-Liou radiative transfer model to determine vertical profiles and Top of Atmosphere shortwave and longwave flux for pristine, all-sky, and aerosol conditions for the special data product. In this study, the three sources of aerosol optical thickness will be compared directly and their influence on the calculated and measured TOA fluxes. Earlier studies indicate that the largest uncertainty in estimating direct aerosol forcing using aerosol optical thickness derived from passive sensors is caused by cloud contamination. With collocated CALIPSO data, we are able to estimate frequency of occurrence of cloud contamination, effect on the aerosol optical thickness and direct radiative effect estimates.

  8. Dawn Survey Orbit Image 13

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-06-24

    The north pole of Ceres can be seen in this image taken on June 9, 2015 by NASA Dawn spacecraft, shows dwarf planet Ceres from an altitude of 2,700 miles 4,400 kilometers with a resolution of 1,400 feet 410 meters per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19581

  9. Dawn Survey Orbit Image 45

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-08-11

    This image, taken June 6, 2015 by NASA Dawn spacecraft, shows Haulani crater on Ceres from an altitude of 2,700 miles 4,400 kilometers with a resolution of 1,400 feet 410 meters per pixel. North on Ceres is toward upper right. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19621

  10. CERES SYN1deg Ed4 Product Removal

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2016-04-18

    ... The CERES Synoptic One Degree Edition4A product family, SYN1deg-1Hour, SYN1deg-3Hour, SYN1deg-MHour, SYN1deg-Day, and SYN1deg-Month with Configuration Code 400404 was pulled from public view after two errors were identified.   The first issue ...

  11. One Year of Observations of Dawn at Ceres: Composition as seen by VIR

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Sanctis, M. Cristina; Ammannito, Eleonora; Ciarniello, Mauro; Raponi, Andrea; Carrozzo, F. Giacomo; Frigeri, Alessandro; Longobardo, Andrea; Palomba, Ernesto; Tosi, Federico; Zambon, Francesca; Fonte, Sergio; Formisano, Michelangelo; Giardino, Marco; Magni, Gianfranco; Capaccioni, Fabrizio; Capria, M. Teresa; Marchi, Simone; Pieters, Carle M.; Ehlmann, Bethany; McCord, Tom

    2016-04-01

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft [1] arrived at Ceres on March 5, 2015, and has been studying the dwarf planet. The Dawn mission is observing Ceres' surface with its suite of instruments [1] including a Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer (VIR-MS) [2]. VIR-MS is an imaging spectrometer coupling high spectral and spatial resolution in the VIS (0.25-1-micron) and IR (0.95-5-micron) spectral ranges. Ceres' surface is very dark, but small localized areas exhibit unexpectedly bright materials. Since the first approach data, near infrared spectra revealed a dark surface, with a strong and complex absorption band in the spectral region around 3 microns [3]. Near-infrared spectroscopic analyses confirmed previous observation of bands at 3.1, 3.3-3.5, 3.9 micron but have clearly identified a band at 2.72 micron. This characteristic narrow feature is distinctive for OH-bearing minerals, while H2O-bearing phases, show a much broader absorption band that is a poor match for the Ceres spectrum. Water ice does not fit the observed spectrum. The 3.05-3.1 μm band is also visible in Ceres' ground-based spectra, and has been previously attributed to different phases including water ice, hydrated or NH4-bearing clays and brucite [4,5,6]. We find here that the best fit is obtained with ammoniated phyllosilicate added to a dark material (likely magnetite), antigorite and carbonate [7]. These different components, including ammoniated phases, occur everywhere across the surface although with different relative abundances [8]. Particularly interesting are the bright materials present in some craters like Occator, Haulani and Oxo that show different proportions of the components of the mixture [8]. However, the distribution of the band depths are not always linked to morphological structures. The retrieved mineralogy and composition indicates pervasive aqueous alteration of the surface, processes that are expected to be favored on large bodies like Ceres [9]. Furthermore, Ceres' low density and the presence of OH-bearing minerals, suggests a high content of water inside the body, consistent with extensive differentiation and hydrothermal activity, and possibly even a present-day liquid subsurface layer [10]. However, we note that large amounts of water ice are unlikely on the surface due to the instability of this phase at Ceres' surface temperatures [11]. On the other hand, the presence of ammoniated clays (ammonia ice is extremely volatile) together with the low density, may indicate that Ceres retained more volatiles than objects represented in the meteorite collection, or that it accreted from more volatile-rich material typical of the outer solar system [3]. References: 1] Russell, C.T. et al., Science, 336, 684, 2012. [2]De Sanctis M.C. et al., SSR, doi: I 10.1007/s11214-010-9668-5 , 2010. [3]De Sanctis M.C. et al., Nature, 2015, doi:10.1038/nature16172. [4] Lebofsky et al.,, Icarus 48, 453-459. 1981. [5] King, T.V.V. et al., Science 255, 1551-1553, 1992. [6] Rivkin, A.S. et al., , Icarus 185, 563-567, 2006. [7] Raponi A. et al., LPSC 2016. [8] Ammannito E. et al., LPSC2016. [9] McSween et al., LPSC 2016. [10] Neveu M., Desch S. J., Geophys. R. Lett., 2015. [11] Formisano M. et al., MNRAS, 2015..

  12. The Ceres S'COOL Project: Two Years After First Launch

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chambers, Lin H.; Young, David F.; Green, Carolyn J.; Haberer, Susan J.; Racel, Anne M.

    2000-01-01

    The idea for the Students' Cloud Observations OnLine (S'COOL) project as an outreach and education element of NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) research program was conceived in late 1996 during a conversation with a middle school science teacher. S'COOL was implemented in a series of increasingly developed test phases during 1997, as the launch of the first CERES instrument approached. Even before launch, the reception of the project in schools far exceeded expectations. After several delays the first instrument, on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft, was launched on Thanksgiving Day, 1997. Since the first launch, development and expansion of the project has continued with expectations for launch of Terra carrying two CERES instruments into a polar orbit in mid-1998. That launch is now expected in fall 1999, and will finally provide overflight of all participating schools. In two years, the project has grown from three initial test participants to over 300 schools now participating in 23 countries on five continents. Students from first grade through university level are involved (most participants are ages 10-15). S'COOL is also being used by a few education professors to teach about Internet use in the classroom. The project continues to grow through word of mouth, presentations at teacher workshops, and now increasingly through teachers who find it during web searches. Participants in the S'COOL project are part of the CERES validation team. They provide ground truth measurements at the time the CERES instrument flies over their location, to be compared with the retrieval of cloud properties by remote sensing from CERES. Quantities reported include cloud type, height, fraction and opacity; information on contrails; surface temperature, pressure and relative humidity; and ground cover (snow/ice, wet, dry; leaves on trees or not). in addition, a comment field on the report form serves as a catch-all for all kinds of interesting observations, including similes written by some classes to describe more exactly the clouds they see. Several not totally unexpected complications with the CERES instrument and processing software mean that the CERES team has not yet reached the point of computing the cloud properties, a high level product at the end of the processing stream. However, progress is being made and we anticipate that we will soon be populating the S'COOL database with a large number of satellite retrievals for comparison with the students' observations. Some satellite retrievals from the initial test phases are already available in the database, The CERES instruments are planned to operate at least through 2006, and the S'COOL Project is planned to continue at least that long, providing motivational learning to as many students as possible. This paper reports on the first several years of the S'CCOL project. It further reports on some of the noteworthy observations and comparisons made possible by this project. Schools are often located in interesting places, in terms of the clouds found there and the satellite's ability to observe these clouds. The paper also reports on the learning opportunities delivered by this project, and on new questions about the planet and its climate which arise in the students' minds as a result of their active participation.

  13. The Composition of the Dwarf Planet Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivkin, A.; Li, J. Y.; Milliken, R. E.; Lim, L. F.; Lovell, A.; Schmidt, B. E.; McFadden, L. A.

    2012-12-01

    Ceres, the largest object between Mars and Jupiter, is not easily classified. Its low density suggests a significant ice fraction, like the icy satellites. It is too warm for ice to remain stable over much of its surface, but may maintain ice at a depth of a few meters [1,2]. It is large enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, but is probably differentiated rock from ice rather than the metal-rock separation seen in the planets [3,4]. It is considered a "dwarf planet" in the current IAU scheme, the only one interior to Neptune. What we know about Ceres has to this point been determined via remote sensing. The first observations of Ceres were made in the visible-near IR (0.4-2.5 μm) spectral region, and established an overall similarity to carbonaceous chondrites based on a low albedo and relatively flat spectrum. Its visible specrtum places it within the C class, which dominates the middle of the asteroid belt [5,6]. Positive identifications of absorptions have been rare in this spectral region, beyond a decrease in reflectance shortward of 0.4 μm due to oxidized iron. A broad band centered near 1.1 μm is consistent with magnetite, which is also found in some carbonaceous chondrites [7]. Longer wavelengths have provided more quantitative identifications. A series of absorptions in the 3-4 μm region have been interpreted most recently as due to brucite and carbonates [8-11]. Mid-IR (8-13 μm) observations have inconsistently found evidence for carbonates, but on the whole are consistent with the 3-4 μm observations [12,13]. A list of identified and yet-unidentified [14,15] absorptions in Ceres' spectrum is presented in Table 1. In addition to these identified species, the possibility of near-surface ice on Ceres combined with a low obliquity and resultant low temperatures at high latitudes leads to the prospect of polar caps, undetected in our low spatial resolution data but observable from orbit. The possibility of solar wind-created OH and impactor contamination on Ceres' surface, as has been suggested for the Moon and Vesta [16,17], also needs to be considered when considering in detail what Dawn may find. Over the last 35 years, astronomers and geologists have pieced together our ideas of Ceres' surface composition, which along with modeling and laboratory efforts leads to our overall interpretation of this body. We will present our current synthesis of Ceres research as it stands in the pre-Dawn era. References: [1] Fanale and Salvail (1989) Icarus, 82, [ [2] Schorghofer (2008) ApJ, 682. [3] McCord and Sotin (2005) JGR, 110. [4] Thomas et al. (2005) Nature, 437. [5] Bus and Binzel (2002), Icarus, 158. [6] Johnson and Fanale (1973), JGR, 35. [7] Larson et al. (1979) Icarus, 39. [8] Lebofsky et al. (1981) Icarus, 48. [9] King et al. (1992) Science, 255. [10] Rivkin et al. (2006) Icarus, 185. [11] Milliken and Rivkin (2009) Nature Geo., 2. [12] Cohen et al. (1998), AJ, 115. [13] Lim et al. (2005) Icarus, 173. [14] Parker et al. (2002) AJ, 123. [15] Li et al. (2006) Icarus, 182. [16] Clark/Sunshine et al./Pieters et al. (2009) Science 326.[17] McCord et al. (2012) LPSC 43.Identified spectral features on Ceres

  14. Implementation and validation of a conceptual benchmarking framework for patient blood management.

    PubMed

    Kastner, Peter; Breznik, Nada; Gombotz, Hans; Hofmann, Axel; Schreier, Günter

    2015-01-01

    Public health authorities and healthcare professionals are obliged to ensure high quality health service. Because of the high variability of the utilisation of blood and blood components, benchmarking is indicated in transfusion medicine. Implementation and validation of a benchmarking framework for Patient Blood Management (PBM) based on the report from the second Austrian Benchmark trial. Core modules for automatic report generation have been implemented with KNIME (Konstanz Information Miner) and validated by comparing the output with the results of the second Austrian benchmark trial. Delta analysis shows a deviation <0.1% for 95% (max. 1.4%). The framework provides a reliable tool for PBM benchmarking. The next step is technical integration with hospital information systems.

  15. Surface radiation budget in the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) effort and in the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Charlock, Thomas P.; Smith, G. L.; Rose, Fred G.

    1990-01-01

    The surface radiation budget (SRB) and the atmospheric radiative flux divergence (ARD) are vital components of the weather and climate system. The importance of radiation in a complex international scientific endeavor, the GEWEX of the World Climate Research Programme is explained. The radiative transfer techniques and satellite instrumentation that will be used to retrieve the SRB and ARD later in this decade with the CERES are discussed; CERES is a component of the Earth Observing System satellite program. Examples of consistent SRB and ARD retrievals made with Nimbus-7 and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data from July 1983 are presented.

  16. CubeSat Remote Sensing: A Survey of Current Capabilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hegel, D.

    2014-12-01

    Recent years have seen dramatic growth in the availability and capability of very small satellites for atmospheric sensing, and other space-based science, as the simplicity of integration and low cost of these platforms enables projects that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive, or demand excessive expertise/infrastructure to execute. This paper surveys the current state-of-the-art for CubeSat performance, including pointing accuracy, geolocation, available power, and data downlink capacity. Applications for up-coming missions, such as CeREs, MinXSS, and HARP will also be discussed.

  17. FLASH_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Version3C

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2018-04-04

    ... Tool:  CERES Order Tool  (netCDF) Subset Data:  CERES Search and Subset Tool (HDF4 & netCDF) ... Cloud Layer Area Cloud Infared Emissivity Cloud Base Pressure Surface (Radiative) Flux TOA Flux Surface Types TOT ... Radiance SW Filtered Radiance LW Flux Order Data:  Earthdata Search:  Order Data Guide Documents:  ...

  18. FLASH_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Version3C

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2018-04-04

    ... Tool:  CERES Order Tool  (netCDF) Subset Data:  CERES Search and Subset Tool (HDF4 & netCDF) ... Cloud Layer Area Cloud Infrared Emissivity Cloud Base Pressure Surface (Radiative) Flux TOA Flux Surface Types TOT ... Radiance SW Filtered Radiance LW Flux Order Data:  Earthdata Search:  Order Data Guide Documents:  ...

  19. ISCCP-D2like-GEO Ed3A

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2018-05-16

    ISCCP-D2like-GEO Ed3A Project Title:  CERES Discipline:  ... Order Data Guide Documents:  GEO Description/Abstract Detailed CERES ISCCP-D2like Product ... Data Products Catalog:  DPC_ISCCP-D2like-GEO_R5V3  (PDF) Readme Files:  Readme GEO R5-987 ...

  20. 75 FR 71142 - National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-22

    ..., Building, 2500 W Pennyway, Kansas City, 10000985 NEW YORK Allegany County Ceres School, School St., Ceres, 10000991 Erie County Kensington Gardens Apartment Complex, 1, 2, 3 W Cleveland Dr., Buffalo, 10000989 Zink..., Bismarck vicinity, 10000998 Divide County Alkabo School, North end of Main St., Divide, 10000997 Kidder...

  1. Establishing the Infrastructure to Conduct Comparative Effectiveness Research Toward the Elimination of Disparities: A Community-Based Participatory Research Framework

    PubMed Central

    Wilson, Danyell S.; Dapic, Virna; Sultan, Dawood H.; August, Euna M.; Green, B. Lee; Roetzheim, Richard; Rivers, Brian

    2014-01-01

    In Tampa, Florida, researchers have partnered with community- and faith-based organizations to create the Comparative Effectiveness Research for Eliminating Disparities (CERED) infrastructure. Grounded in community-based participatory research, CERED acts on multiple levels of society to enhance informed decision making (IDM) of prostate cancer screening among Black men. CERED investigators combined both comparative effectiveness research and community-based participatory research to design a trial examining the effectiveness of community health workers and a digitally enhanced patient decision aid to support IDM in community settings as compared with “usual care” for prostate cancer screening. In addition, CERED researchers synthesized evidence through the development of systematic literature reviews analyzing the effectiveness of community health workers in changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of African American adults toward cancer prevention and education. An additional systematic review analyzed chemoprevention agents for prostate cancer as an emerging technique. Both of these reviews, and the comparative effectiveness trial supporting the IDM process, add to CERED’s goal of providing evidence to eliminate cancer health disparities. PMID:23431128

  2. Computational correction of copy number effect improves specificity of CRISPR-Cas9 essentiality screens in cancer cells.

    PubMed

    Meyers, Robin M; Bryan, Jordan G; McFarland, James M; Weir, Barbara A; Sizemore, Ann E; Xu, Han; Dharia, Neekesh V; Montgomery, Phillip G; Cowley, Glenn S; Pantel, Sasha; Goodale, Amy; Lee, Yenarae; Ali, Levi D; Jiang, Guozhi; Lubonja, Rakela; Harrington, William F; Strickland, Matthew; Wu, Ting; Hawes, Derek C; Zhivich, Victor A; Wyatt, Meghan R; Kalani, Zohra; Chang, Jaime J; Okamoto, Michael; Stegmaier, Kimberly; Golub, Todd R; Boehm, Jesse S; Vazquez, Francisca; Root, David E; Hahn, William C; Tsherniak, Aviad

    2017-12-01

    The CRISPR-Cas9 system has revolutionized gene editing both at single genes and in multiplexed loss-of-function screens, thus enabling precise genome-scale identification of genes essential for proliferation and survival of cancer cells. However, previous studies have reported that a gene-independent antiproliferative effect of Cas9-mediated DNA cleavage confounds such measurement of genetic dependency, thereby leading to false-positive results in copy number-amplified regions. We developed CERES, a computational method to estimate gene-dependency levels from CRISPR-Cas9 essentiality screens while accounting for the copy number-specific effect. In our efforts to define a cancer dependency map, we performed genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 essentiality screens across 342 cancer cell lines and applied CERES to this data set. We found that CERES decreased false-positive results and estimated sgRNA activity for both this data set and previously published screens performed with different sgRNA libraries. We further demonstrate the utility of this collection of screens, after CERES correction, for identifying cancer-type-specific vulnerabilities.

  3. Computational correction of copy-number effect improves specificity of CRISPR-Cas9 essentiality screens in cancer cells

    PubMed Central

    Meyers, Robin M.; Bryan, Jordan G.; McFarland, James M.; Weir, Barbara A.; Sizemore, Ann E.; Xu, Han; Dharia, Neekesh V.; Montgomery, Phillip G.; Cowley, Glenn S.; Pantel, Sasha; Goodale, Amy; Lee, Yenarae; Ali, Levi D.; Jiang, Guozhi; Lubonja, Rakela; Harrington, William F.; Strickland, Matthew; Wu, Ting; Hawes, Derek C.; Zhivich, Victor A.; Wyatt, Meghan R.; Kalani, Zohra; Chang, Jaime J.; Okamoto, Michael; Stegmaier, Kimberly; Golub, Todd R.; Boehm, Jesse S.; Vazquez, Francisca; Root, David E.; Hahn, William C.; Tsherniak, Aviad

    2017-01-01

    The CRISPR-Cas9 system has revolutionized gene editing both on single genes and in multiplexed loss-of-function screens, enabling precise genome-scale identification of genes essential to proliferation and survival of cancer cells1,2. However, previous studies reported that a gene-independent anti-proliferative effect of Cas9-mediated DNA cleavage confounds such measurement of genetic dependency, leading to false positive results in copy number amplified regions3,4. We developed CERES, a computational method to estimate gene dependency levels from CRISPR-Cas9 essentiality screens while accounting for the copy-number-specific effect. As part of our efforts to define a cancer dependency map, we performed genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 essentiality screens across 342 cancer cell lines and applied CERES to this dataset. We found that CERES reduced false positive results and estimated sgRNA activity for both this dataset and previously published screens performed with different sgRNA libraries. Here, we demonstrate the utility of this collection of screens, upon CERES correction, in revealing cancer-type-specific vulnerabilities. PMID:29083409

  4. STXM-XANES Analysis of Organic Matter in Dark Clasts and Halite Crystals in Zag and Monahans Meteorites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kebukawa, Y.; Zolensky, M. E.; Fries, M.; Nakato, A.; Kilcoyne, A. L. D.; Takeichi, Y.; Suga, H.; Miyamoto, C.; Rahman, Z.; Kobayashi, K.; hide

    2016-01-01

    Zag and Monahans meteorites (H5) contains xenolithic dark clasts and halite (NaCl) crystals [e.g., 1]. The proposed source of the H chondrites is asteroid 6 Hebe [2]. The modern orbits of 1 Ceres and 6 Hebe essentially cross, with aphelion/perihelion of Ceres and Hebe of 2.99/2.55 and 2.91/1.94 AU (Astronomical Units), respectively. Therefore, Ceres might be the source of the clasts and halite in Zag and Monahans meteorites. Recent results from NASA's Dawn mission shows that bright spots in Ceres's crater may be hydrated magnesium sulfate with some water ice, and an average global surface contains ammoniated phyllosilicates that is likely of outer Solar System origin. One dark clast and all halite crystals in Zag and Monahans meteorites contain carbon-rich particles. We report organic analyses of these carbon-rich particles using carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen X-ray absorption near edge structure (C-, N-, and O-XANES), in order to constrain the origin of the clast and halite crystals.

  5. Navigation Image of Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-04-07

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft took this picture on its way to a new orbit, at an altitude of about 30,000 miles (48,300 kilometers), as part of a series of images intended to help the navigation of the spacecraft relative to Ceres. The image was taken on March 28, 2017. Several familiar features can be identified: At the top, we see Occator Crater and its faculae (bright deposits identified as a mixture of sodium carbonate and other salts). Below center is the crater Urvara, and to the right of it, the larger crater Yalode (the third and second largest craters on Ceres, respectively). Large-scale faults called Samhain Catenae stretch from the Occator region toward the Yalode-Urvara region. The spacecraft will settle into a new orbit that will allow it to observe Ceres in opposition at the end of April 2017, when Dawn is directly between the sun and the Occator bright spots, at an altitude of about 12,400 miles (20,000 kilometers). The Dawn Journal has more details about the science expected from these observations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21401

  6. First Complete Look at Ceres Poles

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-11-20

    Researchers from NASA's Dawn mission have composed the first comprehensive views of the north (left) and south pole regions (right) of dwarf planet Ceres, using images obtained by the Dawn spacecraft. The images were taken between Aug. 17 and Oct. 23, 2015, from an altitude of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). The region around the south pole appears black in this view because this area has been in shade ever since Dawn's arrival on March 6, 2015, and is therefore not visible. At the north polar region, craters Jarovit, Ghanan and Asari are visible, as well as the mountain Ysolo Mons. Near the south pole, craters Attis and Zadeni can be seen. Detailed maps of the polar regions allow researchers to study the craters in this area and compare them to those covering other parts of Ceres. Variations in shape and complexity can point to different surface compositions. In addition, the bottoms of some craters located close to the poles receive no sunlight throughout Ceres' orbit around the sun. Scientists want to investigate whether surface ice can be found there. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20126

  7. Resonance Parameter Adjustment Based on Integral Experiments

    DOE PAGES

    Sobes, Vladimir; Leal, Luiz; Arbanas, Goran; ...

    2016-06-02

    Our project seeks to allow coupling of differential and integral data evaluation in a continuous-energy framework and to use the generalized linear least-squares (GLLS) methodology in the TSURFER module of the SCALE code package to update the parameters of a resolved resonance region evaluation. We recognize that the GLLS methodology in TSURFER is identical to the mathematical description of a Bayesian update in SAMMY, the SAMINT code was created to use the mathematical machinery of SAMMY to update resolved resonance parameters based on integral data. Traditionally, SAMMY used differential experimental data to adjust nuclear data parameters. Integral experimental data, suchmore » as in the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments Project, remain a tool for validation of completed nuclear data evaluations. SAMINT extracts information from integral benchmarks to aid the nuclear data evaluation process. Later, integral data can be used to resolve any remaining ambiguity between differential data sets, highlight troublesome energy regions, determine key nuclear data parameters for integral benchmark calculations, and improve the nuclear data covariance matrix evaluation. Moreover, SAMINT is not intended to bias nuclear data toward specific integral experiments but should be used to supplement the evaluation of differential experimental data. Using GLLS ensures proper weight is given to the differential data.« less

  8. Stratospheric balloon observations of comets C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring), C/2014 E2 (Jacques), and Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheng, Andrew F.; Hibbitts, C. A.; Espiritu, R.; McMichael, R.; Fletcher, Z.; Bernasconi, P.; Adams, J. D.; Lisse, C. M.; Sitko, M. L.; Fernandes, R.; Young, E. F.; Kremic, T.

    2017-01-01

    The Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science (BOPPS) was launched from Fort Sumner, New Mexico on September 26, 2014 and observed Oort Cloud comets from a stratospheric balloon observatory, using a 0.8 meter aperture telescope, a pointing system that achieved < 1 arc second pointing stability, and an imaging instrument suite covering the near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared. BOPPS observed two Oort Cloud comets, C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) and C/2014 E2 (Jacques), at the 2.7 μm wavelength of water emission. BOPPS also observed Ceres at 2.7 μm wavelength to characterize the nature of hydrated materials on Ceres. Absolute flux calibrations were made using observations of A0V stars at nearly the same elevations as each target. The Comet Siding Spring brightness in R-band was magnitude R = 10.8 in a photometric aperture of 17.4″. The inferred H2O production rate from Comet Siding Spring was 6 × 1027 s-1, assuming optically thin emissions, which may be a lower limit if optical depth effects are important. A superheat dust population was discovered at Comet Jacques, producing a bright infrared continuum without evidence for line emission. Observations of Ceres from BOPPS and from IRTF, obtained the same night, did not find evidence for a strong water vapor emission near 2.7 μm and led to an approximate upper limit < 7 × 1027 s-1 for water emission from Ceres.

  9. Cloud vertical profiles derived from CALIPSO and CloudSat and a comparison with MODIS derived clouds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kato, S.; Sun-Mack, S.; Miller, W. F.; Rose, F. G.; Minnis, P.; Wielicki, B. A.; Winker, D. M.; Stephens, G. L.; Charlock, T. P.; Collins, W. D.; Loeb, N. G.; Stackhouse, P. W.; Xu, K.

    2008-05-01

    CALIPSO and CloudSat from the a-train provide detailed information of vertical distribution of clouds and aerosols. The vertical distribution of cloud occurrence is derived from one month of CALIPSO and CloudSat data as a part of the effort of merging CALIPSO, CloudSat and MODIS with CERES data. This newly derived cloud profile is compared with the distribution of cloud top height derived from MODIS on Aqua from cloud algorithms used in the CERES project. The cloud base from MODIS is also estimated using an empirical formula based on the cloud top height and optical thickness, which is used in CERES processes. While MODIS detects mid and low level clouds over the Arctic in April fairly well when they are the topmost cloud layer, it underestimates high- level clouds. In addition, because the CERES-MODIS cloud algorithm is not able to detect multi-layer clouds and the empirical formula significantly underestimates the depth of high clouds, the occurrence of mid and low-level clouds is underestimated. This comparison does not consider sensitivity difference to thin clouds but we will impose an optical thickness threshold to CALIPSO derived clouds for a further comparison. The effect of such differences in the cloud profile to flux computations will also be discussed. In addition, the effect of cloud cover to the top-of-atmosphere flux over the Arctic using CERES SSF and FLASHFLUX products will be discussed.

  10. How to achieve and prove performance improvement - 15 years of experience in German wastewater benchmarking.

    PubMed

    Bertzbach, F; Franz, T; Möller, K

    2012-01-01

    This paper shows the results of performance improvement, which have been achieved in benchmarking projects in the wastewater industry in Germany over the last 15 years. A huge number of changes in operational practice and also in achieved annual savings can be shown, induced in particular by benchmarking at process level. Investigation of this question produces some general findings for the inclusion of performance improvement in a benchmarking project and for the communication of its results. Thus, we elaborate on the concept of benchmarking at both utility and process level, which is still a necessary distinction for the integration of performance improvement into our benchmarking approach. To achieve performance improvement via benchmarking it should be made quite clear that this outcome depends, on one hand, on a well conducted benchmarking programme and, on the other, on the individual situation within each participating utility.

  11. Kwanzaa Tholus

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-21

    These images show a subtle feature on Ceres called Kwanzaa Tholus. Kwanzaa, meaning "first fruits" in Swahili, is an African-American festival based on ancient African harvest celebrations, and takes place from December 26 to January 1. A tholus is a type of small mountain. Kwanzaa Tholus measures about 22 by 12 miles (35 by 19 kilometers) and is elevated about 2 miles (3 km) above its surroundings. Because the mountain does not rise sharply above the ground, it is difficult to see in the mosaic on the left, although a small crescent-shaped shadow stands out. The image on the right, which is an elevation map of the area, shows where Kwanzaa Tholus is more prominently. The rounded shape of Kwanzaa Tholus is typical of tholi (plural of tholus) in general, but is different than other examples found on Ceres (like Dalien Tholus) and Mars. This region is particularly rich in this type of feature: The current Ceres map shows six named tholi and montes (slightly bigger mountains) in the region (centered around 32 degrees north, 327 degrees east) and several others including Ahuna Mons farther south. Scientists say Kwanzaa Tholus may have once been as prominent as Ahuna Mons, the tallest and most noticeable mountain on Ceres. Ahuna Mons is likely a cryovolcano, a volcano formed by the gradual accumulation of thick, slowly flowing icy materials. Because ice https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/ceres-cryo-volcano/is not strong enough to preserve an elevated structure for extended periods, cryovolcanoes on Ceres are expected to gradually collapse over tens of millions of years. This means Kwanzaa Tholus and other tholi in that area could be degraded mountains, which also formed from cryovolcanic activity. The mosaic on the left combines images taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in its high-altitude mapping orbit (HAMO) at about 915 miles (1,470 kilometers) above the surface. The spatial resolution is 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21916

  12. Ammonium on Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ammannito, E.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Carrorro, F. G.; Ciarniello, M.; Combe, J. P.; De Angelis, S.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Frigeri, A.; Longobardo, A.; Mugnuolo, R.; Marchi, S.; Palomba, E.; Raymond, C. A.; Salatti, M.; Tosi, F.; Zambon, F.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-12-01

    Since January 2015, the surface of Ceres has been studied by the Dawn spacecraft through the measurements from the three instruments on board (1). The VIR imaging spectrometer, sensitive to the spectral range 0.25 -5.0 μm, provided information on the surficial composition of Ceres at resolutions ranging from few kilometers to about one hundred meters (2). Analysis of VIR reflectance data revealed that the average spectrum of Ceres is compatible with a mixture of low-albedo minerals, Mg- phyllosilicates, ammoniated clays, and Mg- carbonates, (3) confirming previous studies based on ground based spectra (4, 5). Mineralogical maps of the surface at about 1 km/px show that the components identified in the average spectrum are present all across the surface with variations in their relative abundance and chemical composition (6, 7). While the ammoniated clays have been already studied (6), the presence nature and distribution of additional ammoniated species has never been investigated in detail, although the spectral analysis of the bright faculae within Occator crater already revealed the potential presence of ammonium salts (8). Since the position and shape of the ammonium absorption in the VIS-NIR region are function of the hosting mineral specie (8), we did an inventory and characterization of the ammonium-rich regions, in order to analyze their spectral properties. In addition to the presence of ammonium, also the identification of the hosting species has implication for the evolution of Ceres. Our study, therefore, is a step forward in understanding of evolutionary pathway of Ceres. References: (1) Russell, C. T. et al., Science, 2016. (2) De Sanctis M.C. et al., Space Science Reviews, 2011. (3) De Sanctis M.C. et al., Nature, 2015. (4) King T. et al. Science, 1992. (5) Rivkin A.S. et al. Icarus, 2006. (6) Ammannito E. et al., Science, 2016. (7) Carrozzo F.G. et al., Science Advances, in revision. (8) De Sanctis et al., Nature, 2016. (9) Berg et al., Icarus, 2016.

  13. Vesta and Ceres as Seen by Dawn

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Russell, C. T.; Nathues, A.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Prettyman, T. H.; Konopliv, A. S.; Park, R. S.; Jaumann, R.; McSween, H. Y., Jr.; Raymond, C. A.; Pieters, C. M.; McCord, T. B.; Marchi, S.; Schenk, P.; Buczkowski, D.

    2015-12-01

    Ceres and Vesta are the most massive bodies in the main asteroid belt. They have witnessed 4.6 Ga of solar system history. Dawn's objective is to interview these two witnesses. These bodies are relatively simple protoplanets, with a modest amount of thermal evolution and geochemical alteration. They are our best archetypes of the early building blocks of the terrestrial planets. In particular siderophile elements in the Earth's core were probably first segregated in Vesta-like bodies, and its water was likely first condensed in Ceres-like bodies. Vesta has provided copious meteorites for geochemical analysis. This knowledge was used to infer the constitution of the parent body. Dawn verified that Vesta was consistent with being that body, confirming the geochemical inferences from these samples on the formation and evolution of the solar system. Ceres has not revealed itself with a meteoritic record nor an asteroid family. While the surface is scarred with craters, it is probable that the ejecta from the crater-forming events created little competent material from the icy crust and any such ejected material that reached Earth might have disintegrated upon entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Ceres' surface differs greatly from Vesta's. Plastic or fluidized mass wasting is apparent as are many irregularly shaped craters, including many polygonal crater forms. There are many central-pit craters possibly caused by volatilization of the crust in the center of the impact. There are many central-peak craters but are these due to rebound or pingo-like formation processes? Bright spots, possibly salt deposits, dot the landscape, evidence of fluvial processes beneath the crust. Observations of the largest region of bright spots may suggest sublimation from the surface of the bright area, consistent with Herschel water vapor observations. Ceres is not only the most massive body in the asteroid belt but also possibly the most active occupant of the main belt.

  14. Ceres' intriguing Occator crater and its faculae: formation and evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buczkowski, D.; Scully, J. E. C.; Bowling, T.; Bu, C.; Castillo, J. C.; Jaumann, R.; Longobardo, A.; Nathues, A.; Neesemann, A.; Palomba, E.; Platz, T.; Quick, L. C.; Raponi, A.; Raymond, C. A.; Ruesch, O.; Russell, C. T.; Schenk, P.; Stein, N.

    2017-12-01

    Since March 2015, the Dawn spacecraft has orbited and explored Ceres, which is a dwarf planet and the largest object in the asteroid belt (radius 470 km). One of the most intriguing features on Ceres' surface is Occator crater, a 92-km-diameter impact crater that contains distinctive bright spots, called faculae, within its floor (Nathues et al., 2015; Russell et al., 2016; Schenk et al., 2017). Occator crater has been dated to 20-30 million years old (Nathues et al., 2017; Neesemann et al., 2017). The single scattering albedo of Occator's faculae is 0.67-0.80, which is greater than Ceres' average single scattering albedo of 0.09-0.11 (Li et al., 2016). The central facula is named Cerealia Facula, and is located in a 9 km wide and 700 m deep pit. There are also multiple additional faculae in the eastern crater floor, which are named the Vinalia Faculae. The faculae are mostly composed of sodium carbonate, are distinct from Ceres' average surface composition and are proposed to be the solid residues of crystallized brines (De Sanctis et al., 2016). The presence of such bright, apparently fresh, material on the surface of a dwarf planet that is billions of years old is intriguing, and indicates that active processes involving brines occurred within the geologically recent past. The Dawn Science Team has investigated whether the processes that formed the crater and the faculae are entirely endogenic, entirely exogenic or a combination of both. For example, the extensive lobate materials within the crater floor have been proposed to be impact melt, mass wasting deposits or cryolava flows (e.g. Buczkowski et al., 2017; Jaumann et al., 2017; Nathues et al., 2017; Schenk et al., 2017). Each possibility has the potential to provide fascinating insights into Ceres' evolution, including the potential for liquids within Ceres' interior today. The team's in-depth investigation of Occator crater will be presented in an upcoming special issue of the journal Icarus. This special issue will include analyses of Occator and the faculae based on Dawn data, modeling studies, laboratory experiments, and studies comparing Occator and the faculae to other impact craters and bright deposits. In this presentation we will preview and summarize these results.

  15. CERES FLASHFlux: CERES Data Products for Science and Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sawaengphokhai, P.; Stackhouse, P. W.; Kratz, D. P.; Gupta, S. K.; Wilber, A. C.

    2013-12-01

    The Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Fast Longwave And SHortwave Radiative Fluxes (FLASHFlux) data products were introduced at the NASA Langley Research Center to address the needs of the science community for global surface and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes on a near real-time basis. This has been accomplished by enhancing the speed of CERES processing using simplified calibration and averaging techniques to produce daily TOA fluxes and fast radiation parameterizations to produce daily surface fluxes within a week of satellite observation. While the resulting products are not considered to be sufficiently accurate for studying long-term climate trends, they satisfy the needs for many near real-time scientific data analyses and industrial applications. Currently, FLASHFlux produces daily Level-2 Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) and Level-3 Temporally Interpolated and Spatially Averaged (TISA) data products. The SSF products are derived for the cross-track CERES instrument on Terra and Aqua separately. The TISA data products are derived using measurements from the CERES instruments from Terra and Aqua together. TOA fluxes from SSF have been used to validate flux products from CloudSat and Megha-Tropiques and are available within about 4 days of real-time.. Additionally, we show the usefulness of the FLASHFlux TISA top-of-atmosphere data products for near real term application such as extending the CERES Energy Balance And Filled (EBAF) data to assess Earth's radiation budget variability as presented in the State of the Climate 2012. The FLASHFlux SSF and TISA employ the Langley Parameterize Shortwave Algorithm (LPSA) and Langley Parameterize Longwave Algorithm (LPLA) to derive daily surface flux estimates within about 6-7 days of satellite observation. Preliminary surface validation of the FLASHFlux Version3A shows underestimation less than 5 Wm-2 for downward longwave flux and less than 20 Wm-2 for downward shortwave flux. Improvement in cloud transmission algorithm is currently being investigated to address the underestimation in LPSA. Nevertheless, we illustrate the usefulness of the surface TISA data products, particularly the daily averaged solar fluxes, in the monitoring solar power systems either standalone or attached to buildings. The daily solar flux products are shown to correlate well to surface measurements and solar system output.

  16. Consistency of Global Modis Aerosol Optical Depths over Ocean on Terra and Aqua Ceres SSF Datasets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ignatov, Alexander; Minnis, Patrick; Miller, Walter F.; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Remer, Lorraine

    2006-01-01

    Aerosol retrievals over ocean from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Terra and Aqua platforms are available from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) datasets generated at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). Two aerosol products are reported side-by-side. The primary M product is generated by sub-setting and remapping the multi-spectral (0.47-2.1 micrometer) MODIS produced oceanic aerosol (MOD04/MYD04 for Terra/Aqua) onto CERES footprints. M*D04 processing uses cloud screening and aerosol algorithms developed by the MODIS science team. The secondary AVHRR-like A product is generated in only two MODIS bands 1 and 6 (on Aqua, bands 1 and 7). The A processing uses the CERES cloud screening algorithm, and NOAA/NESDIS glint identification, and single-channel aerosol retrieval algorithms. The M and A products have been documented elsewhere and preliminarily compared using 2 weeks of global Terra CERES SSF Edition 1A data in which the M product was based on MOD04 collection 3. In this study, the comparisons between the M and A aerosol optical depths (AOD) in MODIS band 1 (0.64 micrometers), tau(sub 1M) and tau(sub 1A) are re-examined using 9 days of global CERES SSF Terra Edition 2A and Aqua Edition 1B data from 13 - 21 October 2002, and extended to include cross-platform comparisons. The M and A products on the new CERES SSF release are generated using the same aerosol algorithms as before, but with different preprocessing and sampling procedures, lending themselves to a simple sensitivity check to non-aerosol factors. Both tau(sub 1M) and tau(sub 1A) generally compare well across platforms. However, the M product shows some differences, which increase with ambient cloud amount and towards the solar side of the orbit. Three types of comparisons conducted in this study - cross-platform, cross-product, and cross-release confirm the previously made observation that the major area for improvement in the current aerosol processing lies in a more formalized and standardized sampling (and most importantly, cloud screening) whereas optimization of the aerosol algorithm is deemed to be an important yet less critical element.

  17. Validation of the Archived CERES Surface and Atmosphere Radiation Budget (SARB) at SGP

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Charlock, Thomas P.; Rose, Fred G.; Rutan, David A.

    2003-01-01

    The CERES Surface and Atmosphere Radiation Budget (SARB) product (Charlock et al, 2002) includes the vertical profile of broadband SW, broadband LW, and 8-12 micron window (WN) fluxes; upwelling and downwelling at TOA, 70 hPa, 200 hPa, 500 hPa, and the surface; and for all-sky and clear-sky conditions. We test the archived CERES TRMM record of SARB for January-August 1998 and focus on discrepancies with ground-based measurements at SGP. The CERES SARB is generated by a highly modified Fu-Liou radiative transfer code (Fu and Liou, 1993). The most critical inputs for this application are cloud optical properties (fractional area, optical depth, particle size and phase, height of top, and estimate of geometrical thickness Minnis et al., 2002) from the narrowband VIRS imager. Numerous VIRS pixels (approx. 2km resolution at nadir) are matched to each of the large (approx. 20km) CERES broadband footprints (Wielicki et al, 1996). Other inputs include temperature and humidity from ECMWF (Rabier et al, 1998) , NCEP ozone profiles from SBUV and TOVS (Yang et al, 2001), aerosol optical thickness (AOT) from the Model for Atmospheric Transport and Chemistry (MATCH) aerosol assimilation (Collins et al., 2001) or alternately from the VIRS imager (Ignatov and Stowe, 2000). VIRS AOT is available for clear and partly cloudy ocean footprints during daylight; and only when viewing geometry renders a contribution from sunglint as unlikely. For other footprints, AOT is taken from MATCH. AOT is apportioned into fractions of dust (Tegan and Lacis, 1996), sea salt, sulfate, dust, soluble organic, insoluble organic, and soot (Hess et al., 1996) using the 6-hourly MATCH output. Tuned fluxes are retrieved by adjusting inputs to nudge computed TOA fluxes toward CERES observations (Rose et al, 1997). In clear conditions, the fields of humidity, surface skin temperature, surface albedo and AOT are adjusted to produce a closer match of computed and observed fluxes at TOA. When CERES footprints have clouds, the cloud optical thickness, fractional area within the footprint, and temperature of cloud top are adjusted by the tuning algorithm. Both tuned and untuned fluxes are archived, as are the respective adjustments to any parameters at the surface or within the atmosphere.

  18. Clear-sky irradiance simulation using GMAO products and its comparison to ground and CERES satellite observation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ham, S. H.; Loeb, N. G.; Kato, S.; Rose, F. G.; Bosilovich, M. G.; Rutan, D. A.; Huang, X.; Collow, A.

    2017-12-01

    Global Modeling Assimilation Office (GMAO) GEOS assimilated datasets are used to describe temperature and humidity profiles in the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data processing. Given that advance versions of the assimilated data sets known as of Forward Processing (FP), FP Parallel (FPP), and Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) datasets are available, we examine clear-sky irradiance calculation to see if accuracy is improved with these newer versions of GMAO datasets when their temperature and humidity profiles are used in computing irradiances. Two older versions, GEOS-5.2.0 and GEOS-5.4.1 are used for producing, respectively, Ed3 and Ed4 CERES data products. For the evaluation, CERES-derived TOA irradiances and observed ground-based surface irradiances are compared with the computed irradiances for clear skies identified by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Surface type dependent spectral emissivity is taken from an observationally-based monthly gridded emissivity dataset. TOA longwave (LW) irradiances computed with GOES-5.2.0 temperature and humidity profiles are biased low, up to -5 Wm-2, compared to CERES-derived TOA longwave irradiance over tropical oceans. In contrast, computed longwave irradiances agree well with CERES observations with the biases less than 2 W m-2 when GOES-5.4.1, FP v5.13, or MERRA-2 temperature and humidity are used. The negative biases of the TOA LW irradiance computed with GOES-5.2.0 appear to be related to a wet bias at 500-850 hPa layer. This indicates that if the input of CERES algorithm switches from GOES-5.2.0 to FP v5.13 or MERRA-2, the bias in clear-sky longwave TOA fluxes over tropical oceans is expected to be smaller. At surface, downward LW irradiances computed with FP v5.13 and MERRA-2 are biased low, up to -10 Wm-2, compared to ground observations over tropical oceans. The magnitude of the bias in the longwave surface irradiances cannot be explained by uncertainties related to aerosol, which is estimated to be less than 2.5 W m-2. Therefore, the negative biases are likely caused by cold or dry biases in FP v5.13 and MERRA-2 datasets. We plan to continue the investigation with more ground sites.

  19. Chemical Mapping of Vesta and Ceres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prettyman, Thomas H.; Mittlefehldt, David W.; Yamashita, Naoyuki; McSween, Harry Y.; Feldman, William C.; Lawrence, David J.; Beck, Andrew W.; McCoy, Timothy J.; Toplis, Michael J.; Mizzon, Hugau; hide

    2012-01-01

    Following successful science operations at Vesta, the Dawn spacecraft is headed for an encounter with Ceres in 2015. What have we learned at Vesta? And, what do we expect to learn by comparing Vesta and Ceres? We will address these questions from the standpoint of geochemistry. Dawn's Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) is sensitive to the elemental composition of surface materials to depths of a few decimeters [1]. Gamma rays and neutrons, produced by the steady bombardment of galactic cosmic rays and by the decay of naturally ]occurring radioisotopes (K, Th, U), provide a chemical fingerprint of the regolith. Analysis of planetary radiation emissions enables mapping of specific elements (such as Fe, Mg, Si, Cl, and H) and compositional parameters (such as average atomic mass), which provide information about processes that shaped the planet1s surface and interior. Dawn has exceeded operational goals for GRaND at Vesta, accumulating an abundance of nadir-pointed data during five months in a 210 km, low altitude mapping orbit around Vesta (265-km mean radius). Chemical information from gamma ray and neutron measurements was used to test the connection between Vesta and the howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites [2]. Additionally, GRaND searched for evolved, igneous lithologies [3], mantle and upper crustal materials exposed in large impact basins, mesosiderite compositions, and hydrogen in Vesta1s bulk regolith. Results of our analyses and their implications for thermal evolution and regolith-processes will be presented. The possibility of a subcrustal ocean [4, 5] and lack of cerean meteorites makes water-rich Ceres a compelling target of exploration [6]. If Ceres underwent aqueous differentiation, then crustal overturn or gas driven volcanism may have significantly modified its primitive surface; and products of aqueous alteration (e.g. [7]) would detectable by GRaND [1]. For example, the presence of Cl in salts, associated with liquid-water-processes, would have a profound effect on the thermal neutron leakage flux. GRaND is sensitive to H and H-layering, which may be in the form of endogenic water ice or hydrous minerals on Ceres. Ammonia ice (e.g., from recent cryovolcanism) would produce a distinctly different neutron signature than water ice [1]. Prospective results for GRaND at Ceres will be presented in the context of what we have learned about Vesta.

  20. An historic discovery around the corner from school: Ceres, a solar system object with an uncertain identity.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stira, Salvatore

    2016-04-01

    Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and it was discovered on January 1, 1801, by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi. The study of Ceres is especially relevant to my students because this celestial body was discovered in Palermo, in the astronomic observatory located in the UNESCO world heritage site "Palazzo dei Normanni", around 500 meters away from the institute where I teach, and because Ceres was considered the patron goddess of Sicily. Moreover, it received scientists and media attention recently because it was explored by the NASA Dawn spacecraft in 2015. The categorization of Ceres has changed more than once and has been the subject of some disagreement. It was originally considered a planet, but was reclassified as an asteroid in the 1850s when many other objects in similar orbits were discovered. Its status changed again in 2006 when it was promoted to dwarf planet, a classification it shares with Pluto and other Kuiper belt objects. The study of this celestial body has a notable educational value, since the uncertain identity of Ceres constitutes an occasion to reflect on the criterions of classification of the natural objects. The history of its discovery allows the students to understand as the scientific method doesn't always consist in the verification of hypothesis through experiments but it sometimes asks for the forecast of facts through mathematical calculations, repeated and methodic observations, the collaboration between scientists of different sectors and nationality. Furthermore, it is a particularly suitable topic for interdisciplinary connections, as regards both scientific and humanistic matters. In order to promote the scientific competences of my first class students, I have developed a learning unit on Ceres, thanks to good cooperation with the Palermo Observatory scientists, particularly active in the astronomic dissemination towards the schools and the citizens. The most meaningful activities of the learning units have been: 1) Working in groups: classification of solar system objects through the use of cards with figures and description of the celestial bodies. 2) A guided tour to Palermo Astronomic Observatory Museum, where stored instruments used by Piazzi for observation of Ceres and the original scientific documentation regarding this important discovery. 3) Internet search of information on the mission Dawn and implementation of Learning objects on this matter. 4) A guided visit to the exhibition "Cerere, da Piazzi a Dawn"; This learning unit, that has aroused interest and active participation among the students, cannot be regarded as closed, because it can be used for the discussion of other matters (for instance the search of the life on other celestial bodies).

  1. An Impact Origin for Surface Minerals on Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zolotov, M. Y.

    2013-12-01

    The dwarf planet Ceres is the largest body in the main asteroid belt with a hydrated dark rocky surface and an uncertain internal structure [1,2]. Spectra of Ceres in the near- and mid-infrared ranges show that surface materials may not contain abundant serpentine, saponite, sulfates, olivine, pyroxenes, and organic matter [2,3], which are common in carbonaceous chondrites. However, brucite, Mg carbonates, cronstedtite, and magnetite could be abundant and indicate aqueous processes [2,3]. The formation of abundant brucite, carbonates, and cronstedtite requires open-system low-temperature conditions characterized by elevated water/rock ratios and low fugacities of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The observed mineralogy is more consistent with a near-surface origin than with a formation within Ceres or on planetesimals. The instability of aqueous solutions at the surface of Ceres implies mineral deposition during transient events of fluidal activity. But a warming of near-surface rocks by thermal processes in the interior requires dehydration of rocks, which is not consistent with the low density of Ceres. The lack of low-solubility sulfates in surface materials does not indicate percolation of interior fluids. Carbonate-bearing fluids may not percolate to the cold surface, especially if Ceres had undergone water-rock differentiation [1,4]. The lack of serpentine in surface materials does not indicate a formation of brucite through aqueous alteration of olivine-rich rocks. Though, the observed minerals could form in impact collisions of ice-rich targets and/or impactors. OH-bearing phases may condense from water-rich impact plumes [5]. Brucite and Mg carbonates could form through hydrolysis and carbonation of condensed MgO formed through evaporation of silicates. Apparently abundant carbonates may indicate an ample oxidation of organics. Ferric iron in magnetite and cronstedtite agrees with water-rich and oxidizing impact settings [5]. Turbulent and disequilibrium environments in impact plumes and surges could have led to deposition of minerals which typically do not form together (e.g., brucite and cronstedtite). Aqueous minerals could have formed in impact clouds, crater outflows, transient ice-covered crater lakes, and related hydrothermal systems. The observed clay-sized and spatially homogeneous surface materials [2] could be gravitationally sorted deposits of impact clouds and surges. The surface materials could have formed through impacts on an icy shell of a differentiated Ceres during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) in the inner solar system, which affected may other asteroids [6]. However, mineral-forming processes during collisions of an undifferentiated and hydrated Ceres with water-rich bodies during LHB remain a possibility. A detection of fluidized crater outflows together with topography and composition of surface materials with Dawn will test this hypothesis. Refs: [1] McCord, T.B. et al. (2011) Space Sci. Rev. 163, 63-76. [2] Rivkin, A.S. et al. (2011) Space Sci. Rev. 101, 1-22. [3] Milliken, R.E., and Rivkin, A.S. (2009) Nature Geoscience 2, 258-261. [4] Castillo-Rogez, J.C., and McCord, T.B. (2010) Icarus 205, 443-459. [5] Gerasimov, M.V. et al. (2002) Deep-Sea Res. II 49, 995-1009. [6] Marchi, S. et al. (2013) Nature Geoscience, 6, 303-307.

  2. CERES: Cultivating Innovation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hamilton, Richard

    2014-03-06

    CERES, with the help of ARPA-E funding, has rethought biofuels from the ground up. Their forward thinking approach to overcoming the traditional barriers for biofuels has resulted in creating high biomass feedstocks for switchgrass, sorghum, and miscanthus varietals. These new breeds grow taller and thicker on traditionally low rent farmland that doesn't compete with corn or other food crops.

  3. Two MODIS Aerosol Products Over Ocean on the Terra and Aqua CERES SSF Datasets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ignatov, Alexander; Minnis, Patrick; Loeb, Norman; Wielicki, Bruce; Miller, Walter; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Tanre, Didier; Remer, Lorraine; Laszlo, Istvan; Geier, Erika

    2004-01-01

    Over ocean, two aerosol products are reported on the Terra and Aqua CERES SSFs. Both are derived from MODIS, but using different sampling and aerosol algorithms. This study briefly summarizes these products, and compares using 2 weeks of global Terra data from 15-21 December 2000, and 1-7 June 2001.

  4. CERES: Cultivating Innovation

    ScienceCinema

    Hamilton, Richard

    2018-05-30

    CERES, with the help of ARPA-E funding, has rethought biofuels from the ground up. Their forward thinking approach to overcoming the traditional barriers for biofuels has resulted in creating high biomass feedstocks for switchgrass, sorghum, and miscanthus varietals. These new breeds grow taller and thicker on traditionally low rent farmland that doesn't compete with corn or other food crops.

  5. The Dawn Gravity Investigation at Vesta and Ceres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Konopliv, A. S.; Asmar, S.W.; Bills, B. G.; Mastrodemos, N.; Park, R. S.; Raymond, C. A.; Smith, D. E.; Zuber, M. T.

    2011-01-01

    The objective of the Dawn gravity investigation is to use high precision X-band Doppler tracking and landmark tracking from optical images to measure the gravity fields of Vesta and Ceres to a half-wavelength surface resolution better than 90-km and 300-km, respectively. Depending on the Doppler tracking assumptions, the gravity field will be determined to somewhere between harmonic degrees 15 and 25 for Vesta and about degree 10 for Ceres. The gravity fields together with shape models determined from Dawn's framing camera constrain models of the interior from the core to the crust. The gravity field is determined jointly with the spin pole location. The second degree harmonics together with assumptions on obliquity or hydrostatic equilibrium may determine the moments of inertia.

  6. The geomorphology of Ceres

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Buczkowski, D.L.; Schmidt, B.E.; Williams, D.A.; Mest, S.C.; Scully, J.E.C.; Ermakov, A.; Preusker, F.; Schenk, P.; Otto, K. A.; Hiesinger, H.; O'Brien, D.; Marchi, S.; Sizemore, H.G.; Hughson, K.; Chilton, H.; Bland, M.; Byrne, S.; Schorghofer, N.; Platz, T.; Jaumann, R.; Roatsch, T.; Sykes, M. V.; Nathues, A.; De Sanctis, M.C.; Raymond, C.A.; Russell, C.T.

    2016-01-01

    Analysis of Dawn spacecraft Framing Camera image data allows evaluation of the topography and geomorphology of features on the surface of Ceres. The dwarf planet is dominated by numerous craters, but other features are also common. Linear structures include both those associated with impact craters and those that do not appear to have any correlation to an impact event. Abundant lobate flows are identified, and numerous domical features are found at a range of scales. Features suggestive of near-surface ice, cryomagmatism, and cryovolcanism have been identified. Although spectroscopic analysis has currently detected surface water ice at only one location on Ceres, the identification of these potentially ice-related features suggests that there may be at least some ice in localized regions in the crust.

  7. An Integrated Development Environment for Adiabatic Quantum Programming

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Humble, Travis S; McCaskey, Alex; Bennink, Ryan S

    2014-01-01

    Adiabatic quantum computing is a promising route to the computational power afforded by quantum information processing. The recent availability of adiabatic hardware raises the question of how well quantum programs perform. Benchmarking behavior is challenging since the multiple steps to synthesize an adiabatic quantum program are highly tunable. We present an adiabatic quantum programming environment called JADE that provides control over all the steps taken during program development. JADE captures the workflow needed to rigorously benchmark performance while also allowing a variety of problem types, programming techniques, and processor configurations. We have also integrated JADE with a quantum simulation enginemore » that enables program profiling using numerical calculation. The computational engine supports plug-ins for simulation methodologies tailored to various metrics and computing resources. We present the design, integration, and deployment of JADE and discuss its use for benchmarking adiabatic quantum programs.« less

  8. The Army Pollution Prevention Program: Improving Performance Through Benchmarking.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1995-06-01

    Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave Blank) 2. REPORT DATE June 1995 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Final 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE...unlimited 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) This report investigates the feasibility of using benchmarking as a method for...could use to determine to what degree it should integrate benchmarking with other quality management tools to support the pollution prevention program

  9. Dwarf planet Ceres: Ellipsoid dimensions and rotational pole from Keck and VLT adaptive optics images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drummond, J. D.; Carry, B.; Merline, W. J.; Dumas, C.; Hammel, H.; Erard, S.; Conrad, A.; Tamblyn, P.; Chapman, C. R.

    2014-07-01

    The dwarf planet (1) Ceres, the largest object between Mars and Jupiter, is the target of the NASA Dawn mission, and we seek a comprehensive description of the spin-axis orientation and dimensions of Ceres in order to support the early science operations at the rendezvous in 2015. We have obtained high-angular resolution images using adaptive optics cameras at the W.M. Keck Observatory and the ESO VLT over ten dates between 2001 and 2010, confirming that the shape of Ceres is well described by an oblate spheroid. We derive equatorial and polar diameters of 967 ± 10 km and 892 ± 10 km, respectively, for a model that includes fading of brightness towards the terminator, presumably linked to limb darkening. These dimensions lie between values derived from a previous analysis of a subset of these images obtained at Keck by Carry et al. (Carry et al. [2008]. Astron. Astrophys. 478 (4), 235-244) and a study of Hubble Space Telescope observations (Thomas et al. [2005]. Nature 437, 224-226). Although the dimensions are 1-2% smaller than those found from the HST, the oblateness is similar. We find the spin-vector coordinates of Ceres to lie at (287°, +64°) in equatorial EQJ2000 reference frame (346°, +82° in ecliptic ECJ2000 coordinates), yielding a small obliquity of 3°. While this is in agreement with the aforementioned studies, we have improved the accuracy of the pole determination, which we set at a 3° radius.

  10. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Takir, D.; Reddy, V.; Sanchez, J. A.

    Phase angle-induced spectral effects are important to characterize since they affect spectral band parameters such as band depth and band center, and therefore skew mineralogical interpretations of planetary bodies via reflectance spectroscopy. Dwarf planet (1) Ceres is the next target of NASA’s Dawn mission, which is expected to arrive in 2015 March. The visible and near-infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) on board Dawn has the spatial and spectral range to characterize the surface between 0.25–5.0 μm. Ceres has an absorption feature at 3.0 μm due to hydroxyl- and/or water-bearing minerals. We analyzed phase angle-induced spectral effects on the 3 μm absorptionmore » band on Ceres using spectra measured with the long-wavelength cross-dispersed (LXD: 1.9–4.2 μm) mode of the SpeX spectrograph/imager at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. Ceres LXD spectra were measured at different phase angles ranging from 0.°7 to 22°. We found that the band center slightly increases from 3.06 μm at lower phase angles (0.°7 and 6°) to 3.07 μm at higher phase angles (11° and 22°), the band depth decreases by ∼20% from lower phase angles to higher phase angles, and the band area decreases by ∼25% from lower phase angles to higher phase angles. Our results will have implications for constraining the abundance of OH on the surface of Ceres from VIR spectral data, which will be acquired by Dawn starting spring 2015.« less

  11. Evaluating accuracy of DSSAT model for soybean yield estimation using satellite weather data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ovando, Gustavo; Sayago, Silvina; Bocco, Mónica

    2018-04-01

    Crop models allow simulating the development and yield of the crops, to represent and to evaluate the influence of multiple factors. The DSSAT cropping system model is one of the most widely used and contains CROPGRO module for soybean. This crop has a great importance for many southern countries of Latin America and for Argentina. Solar radiation and rainfall are necessary variables as inputs for crop models; however these data are not as readily available. The satellital products from Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Tropic Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) provide continuous spatial and temporal information of solar radiation and precipitation, respectively. This study evaluates and quantifies the uncertainty in estimating soybean yield using a DSSAT model, when recorded weather data are replaced with CERES and TRMM ones. Different percentages of data replacements, soybean maturity groups and planting dates are considered, for 2006-2016 period in Oliveros (Argentina). Results show that CERES and TRMM products can be used for soybean yield estimation with DSSAT considering that: percentage of data replacement, campaign, planting date and maturity group, determine the amounts and trends of yield errors. Replacements with CERES data up to 30% result in %RMSE lower than 10% in 87% of the cases; while the replacement with TRMM data presents the best statisticals in campaigns with high yields. Simulations based entirely on CERES solar radiation give better results than those with TRMM. In general, similar percentages of replacement show better performance in the estimation of soybean yield for solar radiation than the replacement of precipitation values.

  12. Ceres Revealed in a Grain of Salt

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zolensky, M. E.; Bodnar, R. J.; Fries, M.; Chan, Q. H.-S.; Kebukawa, Y.; Mikouchi, T.; Hagiya, K.; Komatsu, M.; Ohsumi, K.; Steele, A.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: Zag and Monahans (1998) are H chondrite regolith breccias containing 4.5 giga-year-old halite crystals which contain abundant inclusions of aqueous fluids, solids and organics. These all originated on a cryo-volcanically-active C class asteroid, probably 1 Ceres; the halite was transported to the regolith of the H chondrite parent asteroid, potentially 6 Hebe. Detailed analysis of these solids will thus potentially reveal the mineralogy of Ceres. Mineralogy of solids in the Monahans Halite Solid grains are present in the halites, which were entrained within the mother brines during eruption, including material from the interior and surface of the erupting body. The solids include abundant, widely variable organics that could not have been significantly heated (which would have resulted in the loss of fluids from the halite). Our analyses by Raman microprobe, SEM/EDX, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, UPLC-FD/QToF-MS, C-XANES and TEM reveal that these trapped grains include macromolecular carbon (MMC) similar in structure to CV3 chondrite matrix carbon, aliphatic carbon compounds, olivine (Fo99-59), high- and low-Ca pyroxene, feldspars, phyllosilicates, magnetite, sulfides, metal, lepidocrocite, carbonates, diamond, apatite and zeolites. Conclusions: The halite in Monahans and Zag derive from a water and carbon-rich object that was cryo-volcanically active in the early solar system, probably Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft found that Ceres includes C chondrite materials. Our samples include both protolith and aqueously-altered samples of the body, permitting understanding of alteration conditions. Whatever the halite parent body, it was rich in a wide variety of organics and warm, liquid water at the solar system's dawn.

  13. A cell stabilization factor for transport of experimental cell cultures to and from the International Space Station

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fattaey, Heideh K.; Consigli, Richard A.; Grenz, Ladonna; Johnson, Terry C.

    2000-01-01

    The requirement for long term storage of cell cultures previous to arrival on the International Space Station (ISS), as well as culture maintenance after the conduct of experiment in microgravity, necessitates inhibition of cell proliferation and metabolism pending return to earth-based laboratories. Transport of cells in a nonstabilized condition can lead to a loss of cell viability and/or a source of selection pressures for survival that can alter the overall cell population. We have isolated in our laboratory a reversible inhibitor of cell proliferation, a cell regulatory sialoglycopeptide (CeReS-18), that has the capability of stabilizing cells isolated from a wide phylogenetic range by arresting them in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. We show here that CeReS-18 is unusually stable and can be stored at ambient temperatures for weeks without a measurable loss in its biological activity. In addition we demonstrate that CeReS-18 is a superior cell-stabilizing agent as compared to other methods deployed for cell stabilization purposes, such as, decrease in the incubation temperature and serum down shifts. We also discovered that hybridoma cultures stabilized in their proliferative cycle by CeReS-18 produced 150%-300% more antibody per cell than that measured in the proliferating control cultures. The reversible inhibitory activity of CeReS-18, together with its unusual stability, as well as its wide target range lend themselves to use of this inhibitor as a cell stabilizing agent for cell transport to and storage on the ISS. .

  14. Global and local re-impact and velocity regime of ballistic ejecta of boulder craters on Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schulzeck, F.; Schröder, S. E.; Schmedemann, N.; Stephan, K.; Jaumann, R.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2018-04-01

    Imaging by the Dawn-spacecraft reveals that fresh craters on Ceres below 40 km often exhibit numerous boulders. We investigate how the fast rotating, low-gravity regime on Ceres influences their deposition. We analyze size-frequency distributions of ejecta blocks of twelve boulder craters. Global and local landing sites of boulder crater ejecta and boulder velocities are determined by the analytical calculation of elliptic particle trajectories on a rotating body. The cumulative distributions of boulder diameters follow steep-sloped power-laws. We do not find a correlation between boulder size and the distance of a boulder to its primary crater. Due to Ceres' low gravitational acceleration and fast rotation, ejecta of analyzed boulder craters (8-31 km) can be deposited across the entire surface of the dwarf planet. The particle trajectories are strongly influenced by the Coriolis effect as well as the impact geometry. Fast ejecta of high-latitude craters accumulate close to the pole of the opposite hemisphere. Fast ejecta of low-latitude craters wraps around the equator. Rotational effects are also relevant for the low-velocity regime. Boulders are ejected at velocities up to 71 m/s.

  15. Localized sources of water vapour on the dwarf planet (1) Ceres.

    PubMed

    Küppers, Michael; O'Rourke, Laurence; Bockelée-Morvan, Dominique; Zakharov, Vladimir; Lee, Seungwon; von Allmen, Paul; Carry, Benoît; Teyssier, David; Marston, Anthony; Müller, Thomas; Crovisier, Jacques; Barucci, M Antonietta; Moreno, Raphael

    2014-01-23

    The 'snowline' conventionally divides Solar System objects into dry bodies, ranging out to the main asteroid belt, and icy bodies beyond the belt. Models suggest that some of the icy bodies may have migrated into the asteroid belt. Recent observations indicate the presence of water ice on the surface of some asteroids, with sublimation a potential reason for the dust activity observed on others. Hydrated minerals have been found on the surface of the largest object in the asteroid belt, the dwarf planet (1) Ceres, which is thought to be differentiated into a silicate core with an icy mantle. The presence of water vapour around Ceres was suggested by a marginal detection of the photodissociation product of water, hydroxyl (ref. 12), but could not be confirmed by later, more sensitive observations. Here we report the detection of water vapour around Ceres, with at least 10(26) molecules being produced per second, originating from localized sources that seem to be linked to mid-latitude regions on the surface. The water evaporation could be due to comet-like sublimation or to cryo-volcanism, in which volcanoes erupt volatiles such as water instead of molten rocks.

  16. ALMA Thermal Mapping of Ceres – Search for Subsurface Water Ice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moullet, Arielle; Li, Jian-Yang; Titus, Timothy N.; Sykes, Mark V.; Hsieh, Henry H.

    2018-06-01

    Spectroscopic observations of the surface of Ceres by Dawn have demonstrated that hydrated minerals are ubiquitous, but only few smaller sites are enriched with water ice. This is somewhat surprising as Ceres is believed to host a large amount a water in its interior.The possibility of inhomogeneous subsurface water distribution can be investigated by tracing thermal inertia distribution. To that effect, we mapped the temperature of Ceres using 1.3mm maps of the whole surface obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) over three different epochs during one Ceres’ year. Assessing the thermal conditions at the depths probed by sub millimeter observations (a few cm below the surface, within the annual thermal skin depth) is critical to constrain the effective thermal inertia, and hence the status of subsurface water ice. We will present preliminary results in terms of temperature features and the corresponding thermal inertia derived based on comparisons from the KRC thermal model which has been extensively used for Mars. Initial analysis is consistent with the presence of near-surface high thermal inertia layer, presumably water ice, in the north polar region.This work is supported by the NASA Solar System Observations Program NNX15AE02G.

  17. The composition of phobos: evidence for carbonaceous chondrite surface from spectral analysis.

    PubMed

    Pang, K D; Pollack, J B; Veverka, J; Lane, A L; Ajello, J M

    1978-01-06

    A reflectance spectrum of Phobos (from 200 to 1100 nanometers) has been compiled from the Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectrometer, Viking lander imaging, and ground-based photometric data. The reflectance of the martian satellite is approximately constant at 5 percent from 1100 to 400 nanometers but drops sharply below 400 nanometers, reaching a value of 1 percent at 200 nanometers. The spectral albedo of Phobos bears a striking resemblance to that of asteroids (1) Ceres and (2) Pallas. Comparison of the reflectance spectra of asteroids with those of meteorites has shown that the spectral signature of Ceres is indicative of a carbonaceous chondritic composition. A physical explanation of how the compositional information is imposed on the reflectance spectrum is given. On the basis of a good match between the reflectance spectra of Phobos and Ceres and the extensive research that has been done to infer the composition of Ceres, it seems reasonable to believe that the surface composition of Phobos is similar to that of carbonaceous chondrites. This suggestion is consistent with the recently determined low density of Mars's inner satellite. Our result and recent Viking noble gas measurements suggest different modes of origin for Mars and Phobos.

  18. North Polar Radiative Flux Variability from 2002 Through 2014

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rutan, David; Rose, Fred; Doelling, David; Kato, Seiji; Smith, Bill, Jr.

    2017-01-01

    NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project produces the SYN1Deg data product. SYN1deg provides global, 1deg gridded, hourly estimates of Top of Atmosphere (TOA) (CERES observations and calculations) and atmospheric and surface radiative flux (calculations). Examples of 12 year North Polar averages of some variables are shown to the right. Given recent interest in polar science we focus here on TOA and Surface validation of calculated irradiant fluxes. TOA upward longwave irradiance calculations match the CERES observations well both spatially and temporally with correlations remaining strong through PC 6. Compare SYN1Deg Calculations & Meteorological Teleconnections. TOA reflected shortwave irradiance calculations match the CERES observations well both spatially and temporally with correlations remaining string through PC 7. Comparing SYN1Deg calculations to teleconnection patterns requires expanding the area to 30N for EOF analyses. Correlating the Principal Components of various variables to teleconnection time series indicates which variable is most highly correlated with which teleconnection signal. The tables indicate the Pacific North American Oscillation is most correlated to the OLR EOF 1, and the North American Oscillation is correlated most closely to surface LW flux down EOF 1.

  19. Water Ice Abundance on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-12-15

    This frame from an animation shows dwarf planet Ceres overlaid with the concentration of hydrogen determined from data acquired by the gamma ray and neutron detector GRaND instrument aboard NASA Dawn spacecraft. The hydrogen is in the upper yard (or meter) of regolith, the loose surface material on Ceres. The color scale gives hydrogen content in water-equivalent units, which assumes all of the hydrogen is in the form of H2O. Blue indicates where hydrogen content is higher, near the poles, while red indicates lower content at lower latitudes. In reality, some of the hydrogen is in the form of water ice, while a portion of the hydrogen is in the form of hydrated minerals (such as OH, in serpentine group minerals). The color information is superimposed on shaded relief map for context. A second animation (Figure 2) compares the hydrogen content of Ceres' regolith with that of the giant asteroid Vesta, which Dawn orbited from 2011 to 2012. These data show Vesta is a much drier world, with a much lower percent of hydrogen in its regolith. Both maps were produced from data acquired by GRaND. Videos are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21081

  20. Overview of the CERES Edition-4 Multilayer Cloud Property Datasets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, F. L.; Minnis, P.; Sun-Mack, S.; Chen, Y.; Smith, R. A.; Brown, R. R.

    2014-12-01

    Knowledge of the cloud vertical distribution is important for understanding the role of clouds on earth's radiation budget and climate change. Since high-level cirrus clouds with low emission temperatures and small optical depths can provide a positive feedback to a climate system and low-level stratus clouds with high emission temperatures and large optical depths can provide a negative feedback effect, the retrieval of multilayer cloud properties using satellite observations, like Terra and Aqua MODIS, is critically important for a variety of cloud and climate applications. For the objective of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), new algorithms have been developed using Terra and Aqua MODIS data to allow separate retrievals of cirrus and stratus cloud properties when the two dominant cloud types are simultaneously present in a multilayer system. In this paper, we will present an overview of the new CERES Edition-4 multilayer cloud property datasets derived from Terra as well as Aqua. Assessment of the new CERES multilayer cloud datasets will include high-level cirrus and low-level stratus cloud heights, pressures, and temperatures as well as their optical depths, emissivities, and microphysical properties.

  1. Geochemistry of Vesta and Ceres: In-flight calibration of Dawn

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prettyman, T. H.; Feldman, W. C.; McSween, H. Y.

    2009-04-01

    The purpose of the Dawn mission is to investigate processes that contributed to the formation and early evolution of solid bodies in the solar system by exploring Vesta and Ceres, which are the two largest bodies in the main astreroid belt. Because they were formed at different heliocentric distances, Vesta and Ceres incorporated different amounts of water and other volatiles, which strongly influenced their thermal evolution. Vesta, which is thought to be the source of the basaltic, Howardite, Eucrite, and Diogenite (HED) meteorites, is dry and underwent igneous differentiation. In contrast, low-temperature, aqueous processing must have played an important role in the evolution of Ceres, which is rich in water and other volatiles, and may still contain subsurface liquid water. By exploring both Vesta and Ceres, the gradient in the composition of the solar nebula and role of water in planetary evolution can be investigated. The Dawn payload includes redundant framing cameras (FC), a visible and infrared spectrometer (VIR), and a gamma ray and neutron detector (GRaND), which, along with radio science, will measure surface geomorphology, composition, and mineralogy, and provide constraints on the internal structure of Vesta and Ceres. For both Vesta and Ceres, global mapping data will be acquired from circular polar orbits. In low altitude orbits, GRaND will map the elemental composition of Vesta and Ceres to depths less than one meter, including major rock forming elements and light elements (such as H, C, and N), which are the primary constituents of ices. GRaND consists of 21 radiation sensors, which measure the spectrum of neutrons and gamma rays originating from interactions between galactic cosmic rays and the material constituents of the asteroids and, separately, backgrounds from spacecraft materials. GRaND uses a bismuth germanate (BGO) scintillator for gamma ray spectroscopy, which has high efficiency, enabling the measurement of gamma rays up to 10 MeV, including capture gamma rays from Fe and Ti. Below 3 MeV, the BGO sensor works in combination with a 16-element array of CdZnTe semiconductors, which have relatively high resolution, enabling accurate measurement of the densely populated, low energy region of the gamma ray spectrum, which contains gamma rays from radioactive decay (K, Th, and U) and from nuclear reactions (for example, with Mg, Si, and H). Thermal, epithermal, and fast neutrons are measured using a combination of boron-loaded plastic and lithium-loaded glass scintillators. At Vesta, gamma ray and neutron spectroscopy will be used to determine geochemical trends that can be compared with HED data. For example, a scatter plot of the average atomic mass (determined from fast neutrons) and magnesium number can be used to tell the difference between diogenite and eucrite compositions, which are HED end-members. Correlations with MgO (for example, with FeO or SiO2) also strongly differentiate between diogenite and eucrite, and, in combination with optical spectroscopy, can be used to determine whether an olivine-rich mantle is exposed in Vesta's large south polar crater. At Ceres, neutron spectroscopy can be used to determine water abundance and layering (for example, ice may be present in the shallow subsurface at high latitudes), which will provide constraints on recharge and loss mechanisms (for example, emplacement via water volcanism vs. gradual replenishment from a subsurface acquifer). In addition, nuclear spectroscopy can be used to determine the possible presence of CO2 and NH3 ices on the surface of Ceres as well as the composition of non-icy materials, including the hydration state and composition of surface minerals. GRaND was calibrated in the laboratory prior to delivery to the spacecraft. In addition, the response of the instrument to the space radiation environment was measured during Earth-Mars cruise, which followed launch in September of 2007. Because the data were acquired when the energetic particle flux was minimal, the measurements are ideal for determining the background from galactic cosmic rays under conditions that would be ideal for science data acquisition at Vesta and Ceres. In February of 2009, the spacecraft will fly by Mars. At closest approach, the spacecraft will be within 500 km of Mars, providing GRaND with a strong source of planetary neutrons and gamma rays, which will be used to cross-calibrate GRaND against elemental abundance data acquired by the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer instrument suite. Here, we describe the instrument response model and its application to the analysis of the space radiation background during cruise and cross-calibration against Odyssey data at Mars. The model is applied to determine the expected performance of GRaND at Vesta and Ceres.

  2. Integrated control/structure optimization by multilevel decomposition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zeiler, Thomas A.; Gilbert, Michael G.

    1990-01-01

    A method for integrated control/structure optimization by multilevel decomposition is presented. It is shown that several previously reported methods were actually partial decompositions wherein only the control was decomposed into a subsystem design. One of these partially decomposed problems was selected as a benchmark example for comparison. The system is fully decomposed into structural and control subsystem designs and an improved design is produced. Theory, implementation, and results for the method are presented and compared with the benchmark example.

  3. Localized aliphatic organic material on the surface of Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Sanctis, M. C.; Ammannito, E.; McSween, H. Y.; Raponi, A.; Marchi, S.; Capaccioni, F.; Capria, M. T.; Carrozzo, F. G.; Ciarniello, M.; Fonte, S.; Formisano, M.; Frigeri, A.; Giardino, M.; Longobardo, A.; Magni, G.; McFadden, L. A.; Palomba, E.; Pieters, C. M.; Tosi, F.; Zambon, F.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-02-01

    Organic compounds occur in some chondritic meteorites, and their signatures on solar system bodies have been sought for decades. Spectral signatures of organics have not been unambiguously identified on the surfaces of asteroids, whereas they have been detected on cometary nuclei. Data returned by the Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer on board the Dawn spacecraft show a clear detection of an organic absorption feature at 3.4 micrometers on dwarf planet Ceres. This signature is characteristic of aliphatic organic matter and is mainly localized on a broad region of ~1000 square kilometers close to the ~50-kilometer Ernutet crater. The combined presence on Ceres of ammonia-bearing hydrated minerals, water ice, carbonates, salts, and organic material indicates a very complex chemical environment, suggesting favorable environments to prebiotic chemistry.

  4. The geomorphology of Ceres.

    PubMed

    Buczkowski, D L; Schmidt, B E; Williams, D A; Mest, S C; Scully, J E C; Ermakov, A I; Preusker, F; Schenk, P; Otto, K A; Hiesinger, H; O'Brien, D; Marchi, S; Sizemore, H; Hughson, K; Chilton, H; Bland, M; Byrne, S; Schorghofer, N; Platz, T; Jaumann, R; Roatsch, T; Sykes, M V; Nathues, A; De Sanctis, M C; Raymond, C A; Russell, C T

    2016-09-02

    Analysis of Dawn spacecraft Framing Camera image data allows evaluation of the topography and geomorphology of features on the surface of Ceres. The dwarf planet is dominated by numerous craters, but other features are also common. Linear structures include both those associated with impact craters and those that do not appear to have any correlation to an impact event. Abundant lobate flows are identified, and numerous domical features are found at a range of scales. Features suggestive of near-surface ice, cryomagmatism, and cryovolcanism have been identified. Although spectroscopic analysis has currently detected surface water ice at only one location on Ceres, the identification of these potentially ice-related features suggests that there may be at least some ice in localized regions in the crust. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  5. Ceres Topographic Globe Animation

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-07-28

    This frame from an animation shows a color-coded map from NASA Dawn mission revealing the highs and lows of topography on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres. The color scale extends 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) below the surface in purple to 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) above the surface in brown. The brightest features (those appearing nearly white) -- including the well-known bright spots within a crater in the northern hemisphere -- are simply reflective areas, and do not represent elevation. The topographic map was constructed from analyzing images from Dawn's framing camera taken from varying sun and viewing angles. The map was combined with an image mosaic of Ceres and projected onto a 3-D shape model of the dwarf planet to create the animation. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19605

  6. Kupalo Crater from LAMO

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-01-12

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows Kupalo Crater, one of the youngest craters on Ceres. The crater has bright material exposed on its rim and walls, which could be salts. Its flat floor likely formed from impact melt and debris. Kupalo, which measures 16 miles (26 kilometers) across and is located at southern mid-latitudes, is named for the Slavic god of vegetation and harvest. Kupalo was imaged earlier in Dawn's science mission at Ceres -- during Survey orbit (see PIA19624) and from the high altitude mapping orbit, or HAMO (see PIA20124). Dawn took this image on Dec. 21 from its low-altitude mapping orbit (LAMO) at an approximate altitude of 240 miles (385 kilometers) above Ceres. The image resolution is 120 feet (35 meters) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20192

  7. First observations of Ceres by VIR on Dawn mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Sanctis, M. Cristina; Ammannito, Eleonora; Fonte, Sergio; Magni, Gianfranco; Capaccioni, Fabrizio; Capria, M. Teresa; Raymond, Carol. A.; Russell, Christopher T.

    2015-04-01

    The Dawn spacecraft [1] is now approaching Ceres, the second of its targets. Ceres represents the key to understand some important points relative to the role of the protoplanet size and the water content in the evolution of these bodies. Ceres is thought to be differentiated, and hydrated minerals were proposed to exist on its surface [2,3,4]. Its low density [3] associated with the presence of transient water vapour, suggests a high content of ice inside the body and on its surface. Ceres seems to have been subject to differentiation and hydrothermal activity, and might host a liquid subsurface layer even today. Dawn is equipped with a Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer (VIR-MS) [5]. VIR-MS is an imaging spectrometer coupling high spectral and spatial resolution in the VIS (0.25-1 micron) and IR (0.95-5 micron) spectral ranges. The surface composition of Ceres is poorly understood through its nearly featureless visible spectrum. Its visible reflectance spectrum has a steep UV absorption edge that begins at a relatively short wavelength, around 0.4 micron, unlike many C-type asteroids where the UV drop-off begins around 0.6 to 0.7 micron[6]. The near-IR spectrum has a strong absorption band centered at about 3-micron. The absorption features in the 3-micron region were attributed to structural water in clay minerals [7,8] but could also be ammoniated clays [9]. [10] reported the discovery of carbonates and iron-rich clays from measurements of weak 3-micron features, and the results are consistent with the mid-IR spectra of clay minerals. On approach to Ceres, Dawn will obtain images and hyperspectral . VIR data, with resolution larger than Hubble images will reveal the first details of the Ceres' surface composition. Here we report about the first data obtained by VIR during its approach to Ceres. Acknowledgments VIR is funded by the Italian Space Agency-ASI and was developed under the leadership of INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome-Italy. The instrument was built by Selex-Galileo, Florence-Italy. The authors acknowledge the support of the Dawn Science, Instrument, and Operations Teams. This work was supported by ASI and NASA. A portion of this work was performed at the JPL/NASA. References [1] Russell, C.T. et al., Science, 336, 684, 2012. [2] McCord et al., Space Science Reviews 163:63, 2011 [3] Thomas, P.C., Parker, J.Wm., McFadden, L.A., et al. Nature, 437, 224-226, 2005 [4] Kuppers et al., Nature, 505, 525-527, 2014 [5]De Sanctis M.C. et al., Space Sci. Rev., DOI 10.1007/s11214-010-9668-5 , 2010. [6] Li et al.,Icarus, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2005.12.012, 2006 [7] Lebofsky, L.A., Feierberg, M.A., Tokunaga, A.T., Larson, H.P., Johnson, J.R.,. Icarus 48, 453-459. 1981 [8] Feierberg, M.A., Lebofsky, L.A., Larson, H.P., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 45, 971-981, 1981 [9] King, T.V.V., Clark, R.N., Calvin, W.M., Sherman, D.M., Brown, R.H.,Science 255, 1551- 1553, 1992 [10] Rivkin, A.S., Volquardsen, E.L., Clark, B.E., Icarus 185, 563-567, 2006

  8. Benchmarking expert system tools

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Riley, Gary

    1988-01-01

    As part of its evaluation of new technologies, the Artificial Intelligence Section of the Mission Planning and Analysis Div. at NASA-Johnson has made timing tests of several expert system building tools. Among the production systems tested were Automated Reasoning Tool, several versions of OPS5, and CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System), an expert system builder developed by the AI section. Also included in the test were a Zetalisp version of the benchmark along with four versions of the benchmark written in Knowledge Engineering Environment, an object oriented, frame based expert system tool. The benchmarks used for testing are studied.

  9. Description of the CERES Ocean Validation Experiment (COVE), A Dedicated EOS Validation Test Site

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rutledge, K.; Charlock, T.; Smith, B.; Jin, Z.; Rose, F.; Denn, F.; Rutan, D.; Haeffelin, M.; Su, W.; Xhang, T.; Jay, M.

    2001-12-01

    A unique test site located in the mid-Atlantic coastal marine waters has been used by several EOS projects for validation measurements. A common theme across these projects is the need for a stable measurement site within the marine environment for long-term, high quality radiation measurements. The site was initiated by NASA's Clouds and the Earths Radiant Energy System (CERES) project. One of CERES's challenging goals is to provide upwelling and downwelling shortwave fluxes at several pressure altitudes within the atmosphere and at the surface. Operationally the radiative transfer model of Fu and Liou (1996, 1998), the CERES instrument measured radiances and various other EOS platform data are being used to accomplish this goal. We present here, a component of the CERES/EOS validation effort that is focused to verify and optimize the prediction algorithms for radiation parameters associated with the marine coastal and oceanic surface types of the planet. For this validation work, the CERES Ocean Validation Experiment (COVE) was developed to provide detailed high-frequency and long-duration measurements for radiation and their associated dependent variables. The CERES validations also include analytical efforts which will not be described here (but see Charlock et.al, Su et.al., Smith et.al-Fall 2001 AGU Meeting) The COVE activity is based on a rigid ocean platform which is located approximately twenty kilometers off of the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The once-manned US Coast Guard facility rises 35 meters from the ocean surface allowing the radiation instruments to be well above the splash zone. The depth of the sea is eleven meters at the site. A power and communications system has been installed for present and future requirements. Scientific measurements at the site have primarily been developed within the framework of established national and international monitoring programs. These include the Baseline Surface Radiation Network of the World Meteorological Organization, NASA's robotic aerosol measurement program - AERONET, NOAA's GPS Water Vapor Demonstration Network, NOAA's National Buoy Data Center and GEWEX's Global Aerosol Climate Program. Other EOS projects have utilized the COVE platform for validation measurements (short term: MODIS, MISR intermediate term: SEAWIFS). A longer term measurement program for the AIRS instrument to be deployed on the AQUA satellite is underway. The poster will detail the unique measurement and infrastructure assets of the COVE site and present example 1.5 year time series of the major radiometric parameters. Lastly, the near term measurement augmentations that are anticipated at COVE will be discussed.

  10. Spectrophotometric properties of dwarf planet Ceres from the VIR spectrometer on board the Dawn mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ciarniello, M.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Ammannito, E.; Raponi, A.; Longobardo, A.; Palomba, E.; Carrozzo, F. G.; Tosi, F.; Li, J.-Y.; Schröder, S. E.; Zambon, F.; Frigeri, A.; Fonte, S.; Giardino, M.; Pieters, C. M.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-02-01

    Aims: We present a study of the spectrophotometric properties of dwarf planet Ceres in the visual-to-infrared (VIS-IR) spectral range by means of hyper-spectral images acquired by the VIR imaging spectrometer on board the NASA Dawn mission. Methods: Disk-resolved observations with a phase angle within the 7° <α < 132° interval were used to characterize Ceres' phase curve in the 0.465-4.05 μm spectral range. Hapke's model was applied to perform the photometric correction of the dataset to standard observation geometry at VIS-IR wavelength, allowing us to produce albedo and color maps of the surface. The V-band magnitude phase function of Ceres has been computed from disk-resolved images and fitted with both the classical linear model and H-G formalism. Results: The single-scattering albedo and the asymmetry parameter at 0.55 μm are w = 0.14 ± 0.02 and ξ = -0.11 ± 0.08, respectively (two-lobe Henyey-Greenstein phase function); at the same wavelength, Ceres' geometric albedo as derived from our modeling is 0.094 ± 0.007; the roughness parameter is bar{θ=29° ± 6°}. Albedo maps indicate small variability on a global scale with an average reflectance at standard geometry of 0.034 ± 0.003. Nonetheless, isolated areas such as the Occator bright spots, Haulani, and Oxo show an albedo much higher than average. We measure a significant spectral phase reddening, and the average spectral slope of Ceres' surface after photometric correction is 1.1% kÅ-1 and 0.85% kÅ-1 at VIS and IR wavelengths, respectively. Broadband color indices are V-R = 0.38 ± 0.01 and R-I = 0.33 ± 0.02. Color maps show that the brightest features typically exhibit smaller slopes. The H-G modeling of the V-band magnitude phase curve for α < 30° gives H = 3.14 ± 0.04 and G = 0.10 ± 0.04, while the classical linear model provides V(1,1,0°) = 3.48 ± 0.03 and β = 0.036 ± 0.002. The comparison of our results with spectrophotometric properties of other minor bodies indicates that Ceres has a less back-scattering phase function and a slightly higher albedo than comets and C-type objects. However, the latter represents the closest match in the usual asteroid taxonomy.

  11. An Improved Algorithm for Retrieving Surface Downwelling Longwave Radiation from Satellite Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhou, Yaping; Kratz, David P.; Wilber, Anne C.; Gupta, Shashi K.; Cess, Robert D.

    2006-01-01

    Retrieving surface longwave radiation from space has been a difficult task since the surface downwelling longwave radiation (SDLW) are integrations from radiation emitted by the entire atmosphere, while those emitted from the upper atmosphere are absorbed before reaching the surface. It is particularly problematic when thick clouds are present since thick clouds will virtually block all the longwave radiation from above, while satellites observe atmosphere emissions mostly from above the clouds. Zhou and Cess developed an algorithm for retrieving SDLW based upon detailed studies using radiative transfer model calculations and surface radiometric measurements. Their algorithm linked clear sky SDLW with surface upwelling longwave flux and column precipitable water vapor. For cloudy sky cases, they used cloud liquid water path as an additional parameter to account for the effects of clouds. Despite the simplicity of their algorithm, it performed very well for most geographical regions except for those regions where the atmospheric conditions near the surface tend to be extremely cold and dry. Systematic errors were also found for areas that were covered with ice clouds. An improved version of the algorithm was developed that prevents the large errors in the SDLW at low water vapor amounts. The new algorithm also utilizes cloud fraction and cloud liquid and ice water paths measured from the Cloud and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellites to separately compute the clear and cloudy portions of the fluxes. The new algorithm has been validated against surface measurements at 29 stations around the globe for the Terra and Aqua satellites. The results show significant improvement over the original version. The revised Zhou-Cess algorithm is also slightly better or comparable to more sophisticated algorithms currently implemented in the CERES processing. It will be incorporated in the CERES project as one of the empirical surface radiation algorithms.

  12. Integration of oncology and palliative care: setting a benchmark.

    PubMed

    Vayne-Bossert, P; Richard, E; Good, P; Sullivan, K; Hardy, J R

    2017-10-01

    Integration of oncology and palliative care (PC) should be the standard model of care for patients with advanced cancer. An expert panel developed criteria that constitute integration. This study determined whether the PC service within this Health Service, which is considered to be fully "integrated", could be benchmarked against these criteria. A survey was undertaken to determine the perceived level of integration of oncology and palliative care by all health care professionals (HCPs) within our cancer centre. An objective determination of integration was obtained from chart reviews of deceased patients. Integration was defined as >70% of all respondents answered "agree" or "strongly agree" to each indicator and >70% of patient charts supported each criteria. Thirty-four HCPs participated in the survey (response rate 69%). Over 90% were aware of the outpatient PC clinic, interdisciplinary and consultation team, PC senior leadership, and the acceptance of concurrent anticancer therapy. None of the other criteria met the 70% agreement mark but many respondents lacked the necessary knowledge to respond. The chart review included 67 patients, 92% of whom were seen by the PC team prior to death. The median time from referral to death was 103 days (range 0-1347). The level of agreement across all criteria was below our predefined definition of integration. The integration criteria relating to service delivery are medically focused and do not lend themselves to interdisciplinary review. The objective criteria can be audited and serve both as a benchmark and a basis for improvement activities.

  13. Origins of Central Pits and Domes on Ceres: Dawn Mapping Constraints and Ganymede Comparisons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schenk, P.; Hiesinger, H.; Platz, T.; Bowling, T.; Schmidt, B.; Sizemore, H.

    2017-09-01

    The bright faculae (spots) on Ceres are the most provocative features on this small planetary body and in Occator crater are associated with a prominent fractured dome and pit complex. This feature is analogous to those observed on large icy moon Ganymede and is potentially related to hydrothermal venting of carbonate-rich fluids followed by doming of the pit floor.

  14. SOFIA Science Imagery

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-09-14

    SCI2017_0003: The column of material at and just below the surface of dwarf planet Ceres (box) – the top layer contains anhydrous (dry) pyroxene dust accumulated from space mixed in with native hydrous (wet) dust, carbonates, and water ice. (Bottom) Cross section of Ceres showing the surface layers that are the subject of this study plus a watery mantle and a rocky-metallic core. Credit: Pierre Vernazza, LAM–CNRS/AMU

  15. Photometric correction of VIR high space resolution data of Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Longobardo, Andrea; Palomba, Ernesto; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Ciarniello, Mauro; Tosi, Federico; Giacomo Carrozzo, Filippo; Capria, Maria Teresa; Zambon, Francesca; Raponi, Andrea; Ammannito, Eleonora; Zinzi, Angelo; Raymond, Carol; Russell, Christopher T.; VIR-Dawn Team

    2016-10-01

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft [1] has been orbiting Ceres since early 2015. The mission is divided into five stages, characterized by different spacecraft altitudes corresponding to different space resolutions, i.e. Approach (CSA), Rotational Characterization (CSR), Survey (CSS), High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO), and Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO).Ceres is a dark body (i.e. average albedo at 1.2 um is 0.08 [2]), hence photometric correction is much more important than for brighter asteroids (e.g. S-type and achondritric). Indeed, the negligible role of multiple scattering increases the reflectance dependence on phase angle.A photometric correction of VIR data at low spatial resolution (i.e. CSA, CSR, CSS) has already been applied with different methodologies (e.g. [2], [3]), These techniques highlight a reflectance and band depths dependency on the phase angle which is homogeneous on the entire surface in agreement with C-type taxonomy.However, with increasing spatial resolution (i.e. HAMO and LAMO data), the retrieval of a unique set of parameters for the photometric correction is no longer sufficient to obtain reliable albedo/band depth maps. In this work, a new photometric correction is obtained and applied to all the high resolution VIR data of Ceres, taking into account the reflectance variations observed at small scales. The developed algorithm will be implemented on the MATISSE tool [4] in order to be visualized on the Ceres shape model.Finally, an interpretation of the obtained phase functions is given in terms of optical and physical properties of the Ceres regolith.AcknowledgementsVIR was funded and coordinated by the Italian Space Agency, and built by SELEX ES, with the scientific leadership of IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy, and is operated by IAPS-INAF, Rome, Italy. Support of the Dawn Science, Instrument, and Operation Teams is gratefully acknowledged.References[1] Russell, C. T. et al., 2012, Science 336, 686[2] Longobardo A., et al., 2016, LPSC, 2239[3] Ciarniello, M. et al., 2016, submitted to A&A[4] Zinzi, A. et al., 2016, A&C, 15, 16-28

  16. The topography of Ceres and implications for the formation of linear surface structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buczkowski, D.; Otto, K.; Ruesch, O.; Scully, J. E. C.; Williams, D. A.; Mest, S. C.; Schenk, P.; Jaumann, R.; Nathues, A.; Preusker, F.; Park, R. S.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2015-12-01

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft began orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres in April 2015. Framing Camera data from the Approach (1.3 km/px) and Survey (415 m/px) orbits include digital terrain models derived from processing stereo images. These models have supported various scientific studies of the surface. The eastern hemisphere of Ceres is topographically higher than the western hemisphere. Some of linear structures on Ceres (which include grooves, pit crater chains, fractures and troughs) appear to be radial to the large basins Urvara and Yalode, and most likely formed due to impact processes. However, set of regional linear structures (RLS) that do not have any obvious relationship to impact craters are found on the eastern hemisphere topographic high region. Many of the longer RLS are comprised of smaller structures that have linked together, suggestive of en echelon fractures. Polygonal craters, theorized to form when pervasive subsurface fracturing affects crater formation [1], are widespread on Ceres [2], and those proximal to the RLS have straight crater rims aligned with the grooves and troughs, suggesting that the RLS are fracture systems. A cross-section of one RLS is displayed in FC images of the Occator crater wall. Comparing these images to the digital terrain models show 1) that the structure dips ~60º and 2) there is downward motion on the hanging wall, implying normal faulting. The digital terrain models also reveal the presence of numerous positive relief features with sub-circular shapes. These dome-like features have been tentatively interpreted as volcanic/magmatic features [3]; other possibilities include salt domes. Analog models of domal uplift in areas of regional extension [4] predict patterns of linear structures similar to those observed in the RLS near Occator. Utilizing topography data provided by the Ceres digital terrain models, we assess the relationship between the RLS and nearby domes and topographic high regions to determine the mechanism by which the RLS may have formed. [1] Thomas, P.C. et al. (1999) Icarus, doi: 10.1006/icar.1999.6121 [2] Otto et al. (2015) EPSC2015-284 [3] Ruesch et al. [this meeting] [4] Sims et al. (2013) AAPG Bulletin, doi: 10.1306/02101209136

  17. Influence of Ice Cloud Microphysics on Imager-Based Estimates of Earth's Radiation Budget

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Loeb, N. G.; Kato, S.; Minnis, P.; Yang, P.; Sun-Mack, S.; Rose, F. G.; Hong, G.; Ham, S. H.

    2016-12-01

    A central objective of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) is to produce a long-term global climate data record of Earth's radiation budget from the TOA down to the surface along with the associated atmospheric and surface properties that influence it. CERES relies on a number of data sources, including broadband radiometers measuring incoming and reflected solar radiation and OLR, high-resolution spectral imagers, meteorological, aerosol and ozone assimilation data, and snow/sea-ice maps based on microwave radiometer data. While the TOA radiation budget is largely determined directly from accurate broadband radiometer measurements, the surface radiation budget is derived indirectly through radiative transfer model calculations initialized using imager-based cloud and aerosol retrievals and meteorological assimilation data. Because ice cloud particles exhibit a wide range of shapes, sizes and habits that cannot be independently retrieved a priori from passive visible/infrared imager measurements, assumptions about the scattering properties of ice clouds are necessary in order to retrieve ice cloud optical properties (e.g., optical depth) from imager radiances and to compute broadband radiative fluxes. This presentation will examine how the choice of an ice cloud particle model impacts computed shortwave (SW) radiative fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and surface. The ice cloud particle models considered correspond to those from prior, current and future CERES data product versions. During the CERES Edition2 (and Edition3) processing, ice cloud particles were assumed to be smooth hexagonal columns. In the Edition4, roughened hexagonal columns are assumed. The CERES team is now working on implementing in a future version an ice cloud particle model comprised of a two-habit ice cloud model consisting of roughened hexagonal columns and aggregates of roughened columnar elements. In each case, we use the same ice particle model in both the imager-based cloud retrievals (inverse problem) and the computed radiative fluxes (forward calculation). In addition to comparing radiative fluxes using the different ice cloud particle models, we also compare instantaneous TOA flux calculations with those observed by the CERES instrument.

  18. Vesta and Ceres by the light of Dawn

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Russell, Christopher T.

    2015-11-01

    Ceres and Vesta are the most massive bodies in the main asteroid belt. They both appear to be intact protoplanets whose growth may have been drastically altered by the concomitant formation of Jupiter.. These two bodies have witnessed 4.6 Ga of solar system history, much, but not all, of which has been recorded in their surfaces. Dawn’s objective is to interview these two witnesses to learn as much as possible about the early epoch. These bodies are protoplanets, our best archetypes of the early building blocks of the terrestrial planets. In particular, siderophile elements in the Earth’s core were probably first segregated in Vesta-like bodies, and its water was likely first condensed in Ceres-like bodies.Many of the basaltic achondrites originated from a common parent body. Dawn verified that Vesta was consistent with that parent body. hence strengthening geochemical inferences from these samples on the formation and evolution of the solar system and supporting hypotheses for their delivery from Vesta to Earth. Ceres has not revealed itself with a meteoritic record. While the surface is scarred with craters, it is probable that the ejecta from the crater-forming event created little competent material from the icy crust and any such ejected projectiles that reached Earth might have disintegrated upon entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.Ceres’ surface differs greatly from Vesta’s. Plastic or fluidized mass wasting is apparent, as are many irregularly shaped craters, including many polygonal crater forms. There are many central-pit craters possibly caused by volatilization of the crust in the center of the impact. There are also many central-peak craters, which were made by rebound or pingo-like formation processes. Bright deposits dot the landscape, which are possibly salt-rich, suggesting fluvial activity beneath the crust. Observations of the brightest spots on Ceres could suggest sublimation from the surface of the bright area, which may be water vapor driven, as Herschel observations suggest. Ceres is not only the most massive body in the asteroid belt but also possibly the most active.

  19. Laboratory Study of Aliphatic Organic Spectral Signatures and Applications to Ceres and Primitive Asteroids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaplan, H. H.; Milliken, R.

    2017-12-01

    Aliphatic organics were recently discovered on the surface of Ceres with Dawn's Visible and InfraRed (VIR) mapping spectrometer, which has implications for prebiotic chemistry of Ceres and other asteroids. An absorption in the spectrum at 3.4 µm was used to identify and provide initial estimates of the amount of organic material. We have studied the 3.4 µm absorption in reflectance spectra of bulk rock and meteorite powders and isolated organic materials in the NASA RELAB facility at Brown University to determine how organic composition and abundance affects absorption strength. Reflectance spectra of insoluble organic matter (IOM) extracted from carbonaceous chondrites were measured from 0.35 - 25 µm. These IOM have known elemental (H, C, N, O) and isotopic compositions that were compared with spectral properties. Bulk meteorites were measured as chips and particulates over the same wavelength range. Despite overall low reflectance values (albedo <0.01), the 3.4 µm absorption is observed for some IOM samples, specifically those with a H/C ratio greater than 0.4. The absorption strength (band depth) increases with increasing H/C ratio, which corroborates similar findings in our previous study of sedimentary rocks and isolated kerogens. The absorption strength in the bulk meteorites reflects both H/C of the IOM and the concentration of IOM in the inorganic (mineral) matrix. Overlapping absorptions from carbonates and phyllosilicates (OH/H2O) can also influence the aliphatic organic bands in bulk rocks and meteorites. This laboratory work provides a foundation that can be used to constrain the composition of Ceres' aliphatic organic matter using band depth as a proxy for H/C. Reflectance spectra collected for this work will also be used to model the Dawn VIR data and obtain abundance and H/C estimates assuming that the organic material on Ceres' surface is similar to carbonaceous chondrite IOM. These spectra and findings can aid interpretation of reflectance data from Ceres and other asteroid missions, such as OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2.

  20. Divergent Geophysical Evolution of Vesta and Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raymond, C. A.; Ermakov, A.; Castillo, J. C.; Fu, R. R.; McSween, H. Y., Jr.; McCord, T. B.; Park, R. S.; Russell, C. T.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Jaumann, R.; Konopliv, A. S.

    2017-12-01

    The Dawn mission explored two massive protoplanets in the main asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres, that are fossils from the earliest epoch of solar system formation. Dawn's data provide evidence that these bodies formed very early, within the first few million years after CAIs, yet they followed divergent evolutionary paths. Vesta formed <1.5 Myr after CAIs of volatile-depleted chondritic material. Dawn confirmed the HED-based prediction that Vesta melted, forming at least a partial magma ocean, that yielded a large iron core. Gravity and spectral data support a complex magmatic evolution, resulting in a compositionally stratified mantle, with olivine sequestered in the deep mantle, and eruption of evolved melts. Such complexity can explain the apparent distinct magmatic reservoirs implied by trace elements in the HED clan. Discovery of hydrated material on Vesta's surface implies that volatile delivery to the inner solar system was an important process. Thus, while the basic HED paradigm was confirmed, we learned that differentiation on a small planet is more complex than envisioned. Dwarf planet Ceres was known to be water-rich before Dawn arrived. However, contrary to the expected ice-rich, viscously-relaxed smooth surface resulting from physical differentiation and freezing of an ancient subsurface ocean, its surface has many craters, implying a mechanically strong thick crust. The lack of large craters and Ceres' gravitationally-relaxed shape at long wavelengths implies that a strong crust overlies a weaker deep interior. The globally homogeneous distribution of minerals across the surface indicates that Ceres' interior experienced pervasive alteration. Topography and morphology of the surface reveals smoother, apparently resurfaced areas, generally at lower elevation, and rougher areas with greater relief. Local morphology such as crater floor deposits, isolated mountains, and enigmatic bright areas indicate recently active processes on Ceres, likely driven by brine cryovolcanism. Causes of the divergent evolution of these bodies include their accretionary environment, timing of accretion and size. Acknowledgements: Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. Integrated control/structure optimization by multilevel decomposition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zeiler, Thomas A.; Gilbert, Michael G.

    1990-01-01

    A method for integrated control/structure optimization by multilevel decomposition is presented. It is shown that several previously reported methods were actually partial decompositions wherein only the control was decomposed into a subsystem design. One of these partially decomposed problems was selected as a benchmark example for comparison. The present paper fully decomposes the system into structural and control subsystem designs and produces an improved design. Theory, implementation, and results for the method are presented and compared with the benchmark example.

  2. Results Oriented Benchmarking: The Evolution of Benchmarking at NASA from Competitive Comparisons to World Class Space Partnerships

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bell, Michael A.

    1999-01-01

    Informal benchmarking using personal or professional networks has taken place for many years at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recognized early on, the need to formalize the benchmarking process for better utilization of resources and improved benchmarking performance. The need to compete in a faster, better, cheaper environment has been the catalyst for formalizing these efforts. A pioneering benchmarking consortium was chartered at KSC in January 1994. The consortium known as the Kennedy Benchmarking Clearinghouse (KBC), is a collaborative effort of NASA and all major KSC contractors. The charter of this consortium is to facilitate effective benchmarking, and leverage the resulting quality improvements across KSC. The KBC acts as a resource with experienced facilitators and a proven process. One of the initial actions of the KBC was to develop a holistic methodology for Center-wide benchmarking. This approach to Benchmarking integrates the best features of proven benchmarking models (i.e., Camp, Spendolini, Watson, and Balm). This cost-effective alternative to conventional Benchmarking approaches has provided a foundation for consistent benchmarking at KSC through the development of common terminology, tools, and techniques. Through these efforts a foundation and infrastructure has been built which allows short duration benchmarking studies yielding results gleaned from world class partners that can be readily implemented. The KBC has been recognized with the Silver Medal Award (in the applied research category) from the International Benchmarking Clearinghouse.

  3. Radiation Budget Instrument (RBI) for JPSS-2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Georgieva, Elena; Priestley, Kory; Dunn, Barry; Cageao, Richard; Barki, Anum; Osmundsen, Jim; Turczynski, Craig; Abedin, Nurul

    2015-01-01

    Radiation Budget Instrument (RBI) will be one of five instruments flying aboard the JPSS-2 spacecraft, a polar-orbiting sun-synchronous satellite in Low Earth Orbit. RBI is a passive remote sensing instrument that will follow the successful legacy of the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments to make measurement of Earth's short and longwave radiation budget. The goal of RBI is to provide an independent measurement of the broadband reflected solar radiance and Earth's emitted thermal radiance by using three spectral bands (Shortwave, Longwave, and Total) that will have the same overlapped point spread function (PSF) footprint on Earth. To ensure precise NIST-traceable calibration in space the RBI sensor is designed to use a visible calibration target (VCT), a solar calibration target (SCT), and an infrared calibration target (ICT) containing phase change cells (PCC) to enable on-board temperature calibration. The VCT is a thermally controlled integrating sphere with space grade Spectralon covering the inner surface. Two sides of the sphere will have fiber-coupled laser diodes in the UV to IR wavelength region. An electrical substitution radiometer on the integrating sphere will monitor the long term stability of the sources and the possible degradation of the Spectralon in space. In addition the radiometric calibration operations will use the Spectralon diffusers of the SCT to provide accurate measurements of Solar degradation. All those stable on-orbit references will ensure that calibration stability is maintained over the RBI sensor lifetime. For the preflight calibration the RBI will view five calibration sources - two integrating spheres and three CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder ) -like blackbodies whose outputs will be validated with NIST calibration approach. Thermopile are the selected detectors for the RBI. The sensor has a requirement to perform lunar calibration in addition to solar calibration in space in a way similar to CERES instruments approach. To monitor climate change and to get stable and traceable results, it is critical to assure stable calibration over instrument lifetime.

  4. Secular obliquity variations for Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bills, Bruce; Scott, Bryan R.; Nimmo, Francis

    2016-10-01

    We have constructed secular variation models for the orbit and spin poles of the asteroid (1) Ceres, and used them to examine how the obliquity, or angular separation between spin and orbit poles, varies over a time span of several million years. The current obliquity is 4.3 degrees, which means that there are some regions near the poles which do not receive any direct Sunlight. The Dawn mission has provided an improved estimate of the spin pole orientation, and of the low degree gravity field. That allows us to estimate the rate at which the spin pole precesses about the instantaneous orbit pole.The orbit of Ceres is secularly perturbed by the planets, with Jupiter's influence dominating. The current inclination of the orbit plane, relative to the ecliptic, is 10.6 degrees. However, it varies between 7.27 and 11.78 degrees, with dominant periods of 22.1 and 39.6 kyr. The spin pole precession rate parameter has a period of 205 kyr, with current uncertainty of 3%, dominated by uncertainty in the mean moment of inertia of Ceres.The obliquity varies, with a dominant period of 24.5 kyr, with maximum values near 26 degrees, and minimum values somewhat less than the present value. Ceres is currently near to a minimum of its secular obliquity variations.The near-surface thermal environment thus has at least 3 important time scales: diurnal (9.07 hours), annual (4.60 years), and obliquity cycle (24.5 kyr). The annual thermal wave likely only penetrates a few meters, but the much long thermal wave associated with the obliquity cycle has a skin depth larger by a factor of 70 or so, depending upon thermal properties in the subsurface.

  5. Radiometric calibration and performance trends of the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument sensors onboard the Terra and Aqua spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shankar, Mohan; Priestley, Kory; Smith, Nathaniel; Smith, Nitchie; Thomas, Susan; Walikainen, Dale

    2015-10-01

    The Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments help to study the impact of clouds on the earth's radiation budget. There are currently five instruments- two each on board Aqua and Terra spacecraft and one on the Suomi NPP spacecraft to measure the earth's reflected shortwave and emitted longwave energy, which represent two components of the earth's radiation energy budget. Flight Models (FM) 1 and 2 are on Terra, FM 3 and 4 are on Aqua, and FM5 is on Suomi NPP. The measurements are made by three sensors on each instrument: a shortwave sensor that measures the 0.3-5 microns wavelength band, a window sensor that measures the water vapor window between 8-12 microns, and a total sensor that measures all incident energy (0.3- >100 microns). The required accuracy of CERES measurements of 0.5% in the longwave and 1% in the shortwave is achieved through an extensive pre-launch ground calibration campaign as well as on-orbit calibration and validation activities. Onorbit calibration is carried out using the Internal Calibration Module (ICM) that consists of a tungsten lamp, blackbodies, and a solar diffuser known as the Mirror Attenuator Mosaic (MAM). The ICM calibration provides information about the stability of the sensors' broadband radiometric gains on-orbit. Several validation studies are conducted in order to monitor the behavior of the instruments in various spectral bands. The CERES Edition-4 data products for the FM1-FM4 instruments incorporate the latest calibration methodologies to improve on the Edition-3 data products. In this paper, we discuss the updated calibration methodology and present some validation studies to demonstrate the improvement in the trends using the CERES Edition-4 data products for all four instruments.

  6. On-orbit stability and performance of the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument sensors onboard the Aqua and Terra Spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shankar, Mohan; Priestley, Kory; Smith, Nitchie; Thomas, Susan; Walikainen, Dale

    2014-09-01

    The Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments onboard the Terra and Aqua spacecraft are part of the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) constellation to make long-term observations of the earth. CERES measures the earth-reflected shortwave energy as well as the earth-emitted thermal energy, which are two components of the earth's radiation energy budget. These measurements are made by five instruments- Flight Models (FM) 1 and 2 onboard Terra, FMs 3 and 4 onboard Aqua and FM5 onboard Suomi NPP. Each instrument comprises three sensors that measure the radiances in different wavelength bands- a shortwave sensor that measures in the 0.3 to 5 micron band, a total sensor that measures all the incident energy (0.3-200 microns) and a window sensor that measures the water-vapor window region of 8 to 12 microns. The stability of the sensors is monitored through on-orbit calibration and validation activities. On-orbit calibration is carried out using the Internal Calibration Module (ICM) that consists of a tungsten lamp, blackbodies, and a solar diffuser known as the Mirror Attenuator Mosaic (MAM). The ICM calibration provides information about the stability of the sensors' broadband radiometric gains on-orbit. Several validation studies are conducted in order to monitor the behavior of the instruments in various spectral bands. The CERES Edition-4 data products for FM1-FM4 incorporate the latest corrections to the sensor responses using the calibration techniques. In this paper, we present the on-orbit performance stability as well as some validation studies used in deriving the CERES Edition-4 data products from all four instruments.

  7. DIFFERENT ORIGINS OR DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONS? DECODING THE SPECTRAL DIVERSITY AMONG C-TYPE ASTEROIDS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vernazza, P.; Marsset, M.; Groussin, O.

    Anhydrous pyroxene-rich interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) have been proposed as surface analogs for about two-thirds of all C-complex asteroids. However, this suggestion appears to be inconsistent with the presence of hydrated silicates on the surfaces of some of these asteroids, including Ceres. Here, we report the presence of enstatite (pyroxene) on the surface of two C-type asteroids (Ceres and Eugenia) based on their spectral properties in the mid-infrared range. The presence of this component is particularly unexpected in the case of Ceres, because most thermal evolution models predict a surface consisting of hydrated compounds only. The most plausible scenario is that Ceres’more » surface has been partially contaminated by exogenous enstatite-rich material, possibly coming from the Beagle asteroid family. This scenario questions a similar origin for Ceres and the remaining C-types, and it possibly supports recent results obtained by the Dawn mission (NASA) that Ceres may have formed in the very outer solar system. Concerning the smaller D  ∼ 200 km C-types such as Eugenia, both their derived surface composition (enstatite and amorphous silicates) and low density (<1.5 g cm{sup −3}) suggest that these bodies accreted from the same building blocks, namely chondritic porous, pyroxene-rich IDPs and volatiles (mostly water ice), and that a significant volume fraction of these bodies has remained unaffected by hydrothermal activity likely implying a late accretion. In addition, their current heliocentric distance may best explain the presence or absence of water ice at their surfaces. Finally, we raise the possibility that CI chondrites, Tagish-Lake-like material, or hydrated IDPs may be representative samples of the cores of these bodies.« less

  8. An intercomparison and validation of satellite-based surface radiative energy flux estimates over the Arctic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Riihelä, Aku; Key, Jeffrey R.; Meirink, Jan Fokke; Kuipers Munneke, Peter; Palo, Timo; Karlsson, Karl-Göran

    2017-05-01

    Accurate determination of radiative energy fluxes over the Arctic is of crucial importance for understanding atmosphere-surface interactions, melt and refreezing cycles of the snow and ice cover, and the role of the Arctic in the global energy budget. Satellite-based estimates can provide comprehensive spatiotemporal coverage, but the accuracy and comparability of the existing data sets must be ascertained to facilitate their use. Here we compare radiative flux estimates from Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Synoptic 1-degree (SYN1deg)/Energy Balanced and Filled, Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) surface energy budget, and our own experimental FluxNet / Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring cLoud, Albedo and RAdiation (CLARA) data against in situ observations over Arctic sea ice and the Greenland Ice Sheet during summer of 2007. In general, CERES SYN1deg flux estimates agree best with in situ measurements, although with two particular limitations: (1) over sea ice the upwelling shortwave flux in CERES SYN1deg appears to be underestimated because of an underestimated surface albedo and (2) the CERES SYN1deg upwelling longwave flux over sea ice saturates during midsummer. The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-based GEWEX and FluxNet-CLARA flux estimates generally show a larger range in retrieval errors relative to CERES, with contrasting tendencies relative to each other. The largest source of retrieval error in the FluxNet-CLARA downwelling shortwave flux is shown to be an overestimated cloud optical thickness. The results illustrate that satellite-based flux estimates over the Arctic are not yet homogeneous and that further efforts are necessary to investigate the differences in the surface and cloud properties which lead to disagreements in flux retrievals.

  9. Different Origins or Different Evolutions? Decoding the Spectral Diversity Among C-type Asteroids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vernazza, P.; Castillo-Rogez, J.; Beck, P.; Emery, J.; Brunetto, R.; Delbo, M.; Marsset, M.; Marchis, F.; Groussin, O.; Zanda, B.; Lamy, P.; Jorda, L.; Mousis, O.; Delsanti, A.; Djouadi, Z.; Dionnet, Z.; Borondics, F.; Carry, B.

    2017-02-01

    Anhydrous pyroxene-rich interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) have been proposed as surface analogs for about two-thirds of all C-complex asteroids. However, this suggestion appears to be inconsistent with the presence of hydrated silicates on the surfaces of some of these asteroids, including Ceres. Here, we report the presence of enstatite (pyroxene) on the surface of two C-type asteroids (Ceres and Eugenia) based on their spectral properties in the mid-infrared range. The presence of this component is particularly unexpected in the case of Ceres, because most thermal evolution models predict a surface consisting of hydrated compounds only. The most plausible scenario is that Ceres’ surface has been partially contaminated by exogenous enstatite-rich material, possibly coming from the Beagle asteroid family. This scenario questions a similar origin for Ceres and the remaining C-types, and it possibly supports recent results obtained by the Dawn mission (NASA) that Ceres may have formed in the very outer solar system. Concerning the smaller D ˜ 200 km C-types such as Eugenia, both their derived surface composition (enstatite and amorphous silicates) and low density (<1.5 g cm-3) suggest that these bodies accreted from the same building blocks, namely chondritic porous, pyroxene-rich IDPs and volatiles (mostly water ice), and that a significant volume fraction of these bodies has remained unaffected by hydrothermal activity likely implying a late accretion. In addition, their current heliocentric distance may best explain the presence or absence of water ice at their surfaces. Finally, we raise the possibility that CI chondrites, Tagish-Lake-like material, or hydrated IDPs may be representative samples of the cores of these bodies.

  10. MVIRI/SEVIRI TOA Radiation Datasets within the Climate Monitoring SAF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Urbain, Manon; Clerbaux, Nicolas; Ipe, Alessandro; Baudrez, Edward; Velazquez Blazquez, Almudena; Moreels, Johan

    2016-04-01

    Within CM SAF, Interim Climate Data Records (ICDR) of Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA) radiation products from the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instruments on the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites have been released in 2013. These datasets (referred to as CM-113 and CM-115, resp. for shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) radiation) are based on the instantaneous TOA fluxes from the GERB Edition-1 dataset. They cover the time period 2004-2011. Extending these datasets backward in the past is not possible as no GERB instruments were available on the Meteosat First Generation (MFG) satellites. As an alternative, it is proposed to rely on the Meteosat Visible and InfraRed Imager (MVIRI - from 1982 until 2004) and the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI - from 2004 onward) to generate a long Thematic Climate Data Record (TCDR) from Meteosat instruments. Combining MVIRI and SEVIRI allows an unprecedented temporal (30 minutes / 15 minutes) and spatial (2.5 km / 3 km) resolution compared to the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) products. This is a step forward as it helps to increase the knowledge of the diurnal cycle and the small-scale spatial variations of radiation. The MVIRI/SEVIRI datasets (referred to as CM-23311 and CM-23341, resp. for SW and LW radiation) will provide daily and monthly averaged TOA Reflected Solar (TRS) and Emitted Thermal (TET) radiation in "all-sky" conditions (no clear-sky conditions for this first version of the datasets), as well as monthly averaged of the hourly integrated values. The SEVIRI Solar Channels Calibration (SSCC) and the operational calibration have been used resp. for the SW and LW channels. For MFG, it is foreseen to replace the latter by the EUMETSAT/GSICS recalibration of MVIRI using HIRS. The CERES TRMM angular dependency models have been used to compute TRS fluxes while theoretical models have been used for TET fluxes. The CM-23311 and CM-23341 datasets will cover a 32 years time period, from 1st February 1982 to 31st January 2014. TRS and TET fluxes will be provided on a regular latitude-longitude grid at a spatial resolution of 0.05° (i.e. about 5.5 km) to ensure consistency with other CM SAF products. Validation will be performed at lower resolution (e.g. 1° x 1°) by intercomparison with several other datasets (CERES EBAF, CERES SYN 1deg-day, HIRS OLR, ISCCP-FD, NCDC daily OLR, etc.).

  11. Top of Atmosphere Radiation MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record within the Climate Monitoring SAF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Urbain, Manon; Clerbaux, Nicolas; Ipe, Alessandro; Tornow, Florian; Hollmann, Rainer; Baudrez, Edward; Velazquez Blazquez, Almudena; Moreels, Johan; Trentmann, Jörg

    2017-04-01

    The CM SAF Top of Atmosphere (TOA) Radiation MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record provides a homogeneous satellite-based climatology of the TOA Reflected Solar (TRS) and Emitted Thermal (TET) radiation in all-sky conditions. The continuous monitoring of these two components of the Earth Radiation Budget is of prime importance to study climate variability and change. The Meteosat Visible and InfraRed Imager (MVIRI - from 1983 until 2004) and the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI - from 2004 onward) on board the Meteosat First and Second Generation satellites are combined to generate a long Thematic Climate Data Record (TCDR). Combining MVIRI and SEVIRI allows an unprecedented temporal (30 minutes / 15 minutes) and spatial (2.5 km / 3 km) resolution compared to the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) products. This is a step forward as it helps to increase the knowledge of the diurnal cycle and the small-scale spatial variations of radiation. The MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record covers a 32 years time period from 1 February 1983 to 30 April 2015. The TOA radiation products are provided as daily mean, monthly mean and monthly averages of the hourly integrated values (diurnal cycle). To ensure consistency with other CM SAF products, the data is provided on a regular grid at a spatial resolution of 0.05 degrees (i.e. about 5.5 km) and covers the region between +/- 70° longitude and +/- 70° latitude. Validation of the MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record has been performed by intercomparison with several references such as the CERES products (EBAF, SYN1deg-Day and SYN1deg-M3Hour), the HIRS OLR Climate Data Record (Daily and Monthly), the reconstructed ERBS WFOV-CERES (or DEEP-C) dataset and the ISCCP FD products. CERES is considered as the best reference from March 2000 onward. The quality of the early part of the Data Record is verified against the other references. In general, the stability of all the TOA radiation products is estimated to be better than 4 W.m-2 (max-min) and no significant transition or jump between satellites and generations of instruments is observed. Most of the products also fulfill the accuracy requirements that were defined in the CM SAF Product Requirement Document. Finally, a few examples of possible applications of the MVIRI/SEVIRI Data Record will be presented as well as some indicative analysis results (such as trend analysis).

  12. KSC-07pd1384

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-06

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility, a technician monitors the loading of xenon for the ion propulsion system in the Dawn spacecraft. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft uses ion propulsion to get the additional velocity needed to reach Vesta once it leaves the Delta rocket. It also uses ion propulsion to spiral to lower altitudes on Vesta, to leave Vesta and cruise to Ceres and to spiral to a low-altitude orbit at Ceres. Ion propulsion makes efficient use of the onboard fuel by accelerating it to a velocity 10 times that of chemical rockets. Dawn is scheduled to launch July 7aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

  13. KSC-07pd1386

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-06

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility, a technician monitors the loading of xenon for the ion propulsion system in the Dawn spacecraft. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft uses ion propulsion to get the additional velocity needed to reach Vesta once it leaves the Delta rocket. It also uses ion propulsion to spiral to lower altitudes on Vesta, to leave Vesta and cruise to Ceres and to spiral to a low-altitude orbit at Ceres. Ion propulsion makes efficient use of the onboard fuel by accelerating it to a velocity 10 times that of chemical rockets. Dawn is scheduled to launch July 7aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

  14. KSC-07pd1387

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-06

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility, technicians check data during the loading of xenon for the ion propulsion system in the Dawn spacecraft. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft uses ion propulsion to get the additional velocity needed to reach Vesta once it leaves the Delta rocket. It also uses ion propulsion to spiral to lower altitudes on Vesta, to leave Vesta and cruise to Ceres and to spiral to a low-altitude orbit at Ceres. Ion propulsion makes efficient use of the onboard fuel by accelerating it to a velocity 10 times that of chemical rockets. Dawn is scheduled to launch July 7aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

  15. KSC-07pd1388

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-07

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility, technicians are loading the Dawn spacecraft with xenon gas for the ion propulsion system. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft uses ion propulsion to get the additional velocity needed to reach Vesta once it leaves the Delta rocket. It also uses ion propulsion to spiral to lower altitudes on Vesta, to leave Vesta and cruise to Ceres and to spiral to a low-altitude orbit at Ceres. Ion propulsion makes efficient use of the onboard fuel by accelerating it to a velocity 10 times that of chemical rockets. Dawn is scheduled to launch July 7aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

  16. KSC-07pd1385

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-06

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility, technicians check data during the loading of xenon for the ion propulsion system in the Dawn spacecraft. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft uses ion propulsion to get the additional velocity needed to reach Vesta once it leaves the Delta rocket. It also uses ion propulsion to spiral to lower altitudes on Vesta, to leave Vesta and cruise to Ceres and to spiral to a low-altitude orbit at Ceres. Ion propulsion makes efficient use of the onboard fuel by accelerating it to a velocity 10 times that of chemical rockets. Dawn is scheduled to launch July 7aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

  17. Secular resonances with Ceres and Vesta

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsirvoulis, Georgios; Novaković, Bojan

    2016-12-01

    In this work we explore dynamical perturbations induced by the massive asteroids Ceres and Vesta on main-belt asteroids through secular resonances. First we determine the location of the linear secular resonances with Ceres and Vesta in the main belt, using a purely numerical technique. Then we use a set of numerical simulations of fictitious asteroids to investigate the importance of these secular resonances in the orbital evolution of main-belt asteroids. We found, evaluating the magnitude of the perturbations in the proper elements of the test particles, that in some cases the strength of these secular resonances is comparable to that of known non-linear secular resonances with the giant planets. Finally we explore the asteroid families that are crossed by the secular resonances we studied, and identified several cases where the latter seem to play an important role in their post-impact evolution.

  18. Seasonal and Vegetational Variation in Albedo Measured During CERES Ground-Validation Pilot Study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schuster, G. L.; Whitlock, C. H.; Plant, J. V.; Wheeler, R. J.; Moats, C. D.; Larman, K. T.; Ayers, J. K.; Feldl, E. K.

    1997-01-01

    The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite is scheduled for launch in the Fall of 1997 aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). A surface measurement pilot study has been initiated in a 37-km region near Richmond, VA, for comparison with the CERES surface flux retrievals. Two-minute averaged upwelling and downwelling surface fluxes over a mostly deciduous forest have been recorded daily for the past two years, and show a broadband, shortwave daily albedo increase during the summer months. Evidence is presented that indicates vegetational changes in the forest as the overriding mechanism for this change. Upwelling flux measured over the entire region by helicopter-mounted instrumentation has been processed for four solar seasons. Future plans include the installation of four more albedo surface sites over various types of vegetation throughout the region.

  19. 'Rubber Duck' on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-10-12

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a group of craters, left of center, that resembles a rubber duck. Halki Crater, the "head," is 12 miles (20 kilometers) in diameter, while Telepinu Crater, the "body," is 19 miles (31 kilometers) across. They can be found in the global map of Ceres' names. The "beak" crater is unnamed. Halki and Telepinu have both been recently added to the list of official names for Ceres' geological features. They are both named after Hittite (Asia Minor) deities: the goddess of grain and the god of fertility and vegetation, respectively. Dawn acquired this picture on August 20, 2015, from its high-altitude mapping orbit at about 915 miles (1,470 kilometers) above the surface. The center coordinates of this image are 26 degrees north latitude, 339 degrees east longitude. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21909

  20. Seasonal and interannual variations of top-of-atmosphere irradiance and cloud cover over polar regions derived from the CERES data set

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kato, Seiji; Loeb, Norman G.; Minnis, Patrick; Francis, Jennifer A.; Charlock, Thomas P.; Rutan, David A.; Clothiaux, Eugene E.; Sun-Mack, Szedung

    2006-10-01

    The daytime cloud fraction derived by the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) cloud algorithm using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) radiances over the Arctic from March 2000 through February 2004 increases at a rate of 0.047 per decade. The trend is significant at an 80% confidence level. The corresponding top-of-atmosphere (TOA) shortwave irradiances derived from CERES radiance measurements show less significant trend during this period. These results suggest that the influence of reduced Arctic sea ice cover on TOA reflected shortwave radiation is reduced by the presence of clouds and possibly compensated by the increase in cloud cover. The cloud fraction and TOA reflected shortwave irradiance over the Antarctic show no significant trend during the same period.

  1. Diurnal Differences in OLR Climatologies and Anomaly Time Series

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Susskind, Joel; Lee, Jae N.; Iredell, Lena; Loeb, Norm

    2015-01-01

    AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) Version-6 OLR (Outgoing Long-Wave Radiation) matches CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) Edition-2.8 OLR very closely on a 1x1 latitude x longitude scale, both with regard to absolute values, and also with regard to anomalies of OLR. There is a bias of 3.5 watts per meter squared, which is nearly constant both in time and space. Contiguous areas contain large positive or negative OLR difference between AIRS and CERES are where the day-night difference of OLR is large. For AIRS, the larger the diurnal cycle, the more likely that sampling twice a day is inadequate. Lower values of OLRclr (Clear Sky OLR) and LWCRF (Longwave Cloud Radiative Forcing) in AIRS compared to CERES is at least in part a result of AIRS sampling over cold and cloudy cases.

  2. Cratering on Ceres: Implications for its crust and evolution

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hiesinger, H.; Marchi, S.; Schmedemann, N.; Schenk, P.; Pasckert, J. H.; Neesemann, A.; O'Brien, D. P.; Kneissl, T.; Ermakov, A.; Fu, R.R.; Bland, M. T.; Nathues, A.; Platz, T.; Williams, D.A.; Jaumann, R.; Castillo-Rogez, J. C.; Ruesch, O.; Schmidt, B.; Park, R.S.; Preusker, F.; Buczkowski, D.L.; Russell, C.T.; Raymond, C.A.

    2016-01-01

    Thermochemical models have predicted that Ceres, is to some extent, differentiated and should have an icy crust with few or no impact craters. We present observations by the Dawn spacecraft that reveal a heavily cratered surface, a heterogeneous crater distribution, and an apparent absence of large craters. The morphology of some impact craters is consistent with ice in the subsurface, which might have favored relaxation, yet large unrelaxed craters are also present. Numerous craters exhibit polygonal shapes, terraces, flowlike features, slumping, smooth deposits, and bright spots. Crater morphology and simple-to-complex crater transition diameters indicate that the crust of Ceres is neither purely icy nor rocky. By dating a smooth region associated with the Kerwan crater, we determined absolute model ages (AMAs) of 550 million and 720 million years, depending on the applied chronology model.

  3. Shadowed Craters on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-07-08

    At the poles of Ceres, scientists have found craters that are permanently in shadow (indicated by blue markings). Such craters are called "cold traps" if they remain below about minus 240 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 151 degrees Celsius). These shadowed craters may have been collecting ice for billions of years because they are so cold. This image was created using data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20696

  4. Water Molecule Hops on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-12-15

    This graphic shows a theoretical path of a water molecule on Ceres. Some water molecules fall into cold, dark craters at high latitudes called "cold traps," where very little of the ice turns into vapor, even over the course of a billion years. Other water molecules that do not land in cold traps are lost to space as they hop around the dwarf planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21083

  5. Nar Suclus

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-03-30

    This image shows the eastern part of a feature called Nar Sulcus in Yalode Crater on dwarf planet Ceres, as seen by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The term "sulcus" (plural: sulci) describes terrain with long, parallel fractures. Sulci are very common on icy moons -- for example, at the south pole of Enceladus, as seen in PIA11686. Nar Sulcus, 31 miles (50 kilometer) long, is the only feature of its kind identified on Ceres. It may point to an episode of tectonic deformation resulting from the evolution of the crater, which is the second largest on Ceres. The impact that formed Yalode heated Ceres' mixture of ice, rock and salt, perhaps causing a large volume to melt. When this material subsequently refroze, it would expand (just as water does when it turns to ice in your freezer). That may have created stresses that fractured the ground, forming Nar Sulcus. The name "Nar Sulcus" refers to the Azerbaijani festival of the pomegranate harvest. That festival is held in October and November in the city of Goychay, center of pomegranate cultivation in Azerbaijan. Dawn took this image on August 15, 2016, from its low-altitude mapping orbit, at a distance of about 240 miles (385 kilometers) above the surface. The image resolution is 120 feet (35 meters) per pixel. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21400

  6. Flow Around a Crater on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-05-02

    Ceres surface shows evidence for different types of flows that indicate the presence of ice in the regolith. One type of flow encircles the large impact crater at right in this image taken by NASA Dawn spacecraft. One type of flow encircles the large impact crater at right in this image. Scientists see features in this flow that indicate a low degree of internal friction within its material, meaning it was able to flow easily and far from its source. This could be due to the incorporation of a significant amount of liquid water or water vapor into the ejecta blanket. This flow also shows a large ridge along its edge (seen most clearly just to the left of the large crater). These features are commonly associated with flows on Mars called "fluidized ejecta blankets." This feature is located southwest of Kerwan crater at 40 degrees south latitude, 109 degrees east longitude. This is in the vicinity of the latitudes where Dawn's gamma ray and neutron spectrometer (GRaND) instrument sensed the presence of ice in the first meter of Ceres' regolith. The image was taken on August, 7, 2016 from an altitude of about 240 miles (390 kilometers) above Ceres. The image resolution is about 120 feet (35 meters) per pixel. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21404

  7. Bright carbonate deposits as evidence of aqueous alteration on (1) Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Sanctis, M. C.; Raponi, A.; Ammannito, E.; Ciarniello, M.; Toplis, M. J.; McSween, H. Y.; Castillo-Rogez, J. C.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Carrozzo, F. G.; Marchi, S.; Tosi, F.; Zambon, F.; Capaccioni, F.; Capria, M. T.; Fonte, S.; Formisano, M.; Frigeri, A.; Giardino, M.; Longobardo, A.; Magni, G.; Palomba, E.; McFadden, L. A.; Pieters, C. M.; Jaumann, R.; Schenk, P.; Mugnuolo, R.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2016-08-01

    The typically dark surface of the dwarf planet Ceres is punctuated by areas of much higher albedo, most prominently in the Occator crater. These small bright areas have been tentatively interpreted as containing a large amount of hydrated magnesium sulfate, in contrast to the average surface, which is a mixture of low-albedo materials and magnesium phyllosilicates, ammoniated phyllosilicates and carbonates. Here we report high spatial and spectral resolution near-infrared observations of the bright areas in the Occator crater on Ceres. Spectra of these bright areas are consistent with a large amount of sodium carbonate, constituting the most concentrated known extraterrestrial occurrence of carbonate on kilometre-wide scales in the Solar System. The carbonates are mixed with a dark component and small amounts of phyllosilicates, as well as ammonium carbonate or ammonium chloride. Some of these compounds have also been detected in the plume of Saturn’s sixth-largest moon Enceladus. The compounds are endogenous and we propose that they are the solid residue of crystallization of brines and entrained altered solids that reached the surface from below. The heat source may have been transient (triggered by impact heating). Alternatively, internal temperatures may be above the eutectic temperature of subsurface brines, in which case fluids may exist at depth on Ceres today.

  8. Using S’COOL and MY NASA DATA to Support Language Arts Instruction: Overview and Analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moore, S. W.; Rogerson, T. M.; Chambers, L. H.; Fischer, J. D.; Oots, P. C.; Lewis, P. M.

    2009-12-01

    Science can serve as an authentic motivational and instructional vehicle for instruction in language arts. Two NASA educational outreach programs provide ample opportunity for strengthening vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing skills, through the integration of authentic activities and scenarios in the context of a real-time NASA mission. The NASA CERES Students’ Cloud Observation On-Line (S’COOL) project is a hands-on project that supports NASA research on the Earth’s climate. Students are engaged in identifying cloud-types and levels and sending that information to NASA. If the students’ observations are within +/-15 minutes of the CERES satellite-based instrument passing over their location, this is designated as a “match”. The participating teacher is sent an e-mail asking the student-observers to consider the various aspects of the match, including the interpretation of a graphical aid, using the correct terminology to express level of agreement, and writing comments to describe their “matches”, all of which contribute to strengthening skills in language arts. To further integrate the language arts, the S’COOL website provides several teacher-authored on-line lessons that integrate reading skills, vocabulary, and composition. The Mentoring and inquiry using NASA Data on Atmospheric and earth science for Teachers and Amateurs (MY NASA DATA) project is a project to enable K-12 teaches and students, as well as citizen scientists, to explore the large volumes of data that NASA collects about the Earth from space. Opportunity for addressing literacy is integrated into several teacher-authored on-line lessons. Scenarios present students with a problem requiring the reading and comprehension of the scenario, understanding of terminology, the ability to read and understand a written technical procedure, and composition of related conclusions. In addition, students are provided opportunities to analyze a data-set and/or data plot, then choose correct terminology and compose hypotheses about possible patterns and anomalies. This paper will provide an overview and analysis of the use of S’COOL and MY NASA DATA to support language arts instruction.

  9. Collage of Features on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2018-01-17

    This collage shows some of the most interesting geological sites that NASA's Dawn spacecraft has revealed at dwarf planet Ceres. Images were acquired with the spacecraft's framing camera during various phases of the mission: Survey orbit at a distance of about 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers); high-altitude mapping orbit (HAMO) at a distance of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers) from Ceres; and low-altitude mapping orbit (LAMO) at an altitude of 240 miles (385 kilometers). In the first row, from left to right: Ceres in shown in false color, roughly centered on Occator Crater, home of the brightest area on Ceres. This picture combines color images obtained by Dawn in its survey orbit. Red corresponds to a wavelength range around 980 nanometers (near infrared), green to a wavelength range around 750 nanometers (red, visible light) and blue to a wavelength range of around 430 nanometers (blue, visible light). This picture illustrates the diversity of terrains on Ceres where the bluish material points to recently emplaced material and the brownish background material is associated with older terrains. Juling Crater (12 miles, 20 kilometers in diameter) as seen in LAMO. Central coordinates are 36 degrees south latitude, 168 degrees east longitude. It is named after the Sakai/Orang Asli (Malaysia) spirit of the crops. This crater displays evidence for the presence of ice -- for example, in the form of a large flow feature seen at the top of the image. Oxo Crater (6 miles, 10 kilometers in diameter) as seen in LAMO. Center coordinates are 42 degrees north latitude, 0 degrees east longitude. It is named after the god of agriculture in Afro-Brazilian beliefs of Yoruba derivation. Oxo hosts the first site at which Dawn detected ice on Ceres, exposed by a landslide. Ahuna Mons is not only a volcano, but also the tallest mountain on Ceres. It is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) high and 11 miles (17 kilometers) wide. Center coordinates are 10 degrees south latitude, 316 degrees east longitude. This view combines images obtained in LAMO in blue (430 nanometers), green (750 nanometers) and infrared (980 nanometers) color filters. Ahuna is named after the Sumi tribe (Nagaland, northeastern India) traditional post-harvest thanksgiving festival. Second Row Occator Crater (57 miles, 92 kilometers across) is seen in LAMO images. Center coordinates are 20 degrees north latitude, 239 degrees east longitude. Named after the Roman agricultural deity of the harrowing. This image shows a "Type I" flow feature with a thick "toe" typical of rock glaciers and icy landslides on Earth as viewed in LAMO. The flow feature, found in Ghanan Crater (77 degrees north latitude, 31 degrees east longitude), is one of the most voluminous on Ceres. Enhanced color view of Haulani Crater (21 miles, 34 kilometers in diameter) in color observed in HAMO. Central coordinates: 6 degrees north latitude, 11 degrees east longitude. Named after the Hawaiian plant goddess. Kokopelli Crater (21 miles, 34 kilometers in diameter) seen in LAMO. Central coordinates: 18 degrees north latitude, 125 degrees east longitude. Named after the Pueblo (SW USA) fertility deity, who presides over agriculture. This crater displays a nice arrangement of scarps that likely formed when the crater partly collapsed during its formation. Third Row Central region of Occator Crater, called Cerealia Facula, seen in color. The facula -- or "bright spot" -- is about 9 miles (14 kilometers) in diameter. Center coordinates: 20 N, 240 E. Cerealia refers to the major festival in Ancient Rome that celebrates the grain goddess Ceres (8 days in mid- to late April). The view was produced by combining the highest resolution images of Occator obtained in LAMO (at image scales of 35 meters, or 115 feet, per pixel) with color images obtained in HAMO (at image scales of 135 meters, or about 440 feet, per pixel). The three images used to produce the color were taken using filters centered at 430, 750 and 980 nanometers (the last being slightly beyond the range of human vision, in the near-infrared). North part of Nar Sulcus seen in LAMO. The full feature is about 39 miles (63 km) in length and is located around 42 degrees south latitude, 280 degrees east longitude. Nar is a Azerbaijani festival of pomegranate harvest held in October-November in Goychay city, center of pomegranate cultivation in Azerbaijan. A sulcus is a set of parallel furrows or ridges. Ikapati Crater (31 miles, 50 kilometers in diameter) seen in LAMO. Central coordinates: 34 degrees north latitude, 46 degrees east longitude. Ikapati is named after the Philippine goddess of the cultivated lands. The crater has a smooth floor, probably because heat from the impact that formed Ikapati caused ice in the ground to melt, and then refreeze. This view of Ceres, taken in LAMO, shows an area located at approximately 86 degrees south longitude, 177 degrees east longitude. This part of Ceres, near the south pole, has such long shadows because, from the perspective of this location, the sun is near the horizon. At the time this image was taken, the sun was 4 degrees north of the equator. If you were standing this close to Ceres' south pole, the sun would never get high in the sky during the course of a nine-hour Cerean day. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22090

  10. KSC-07pd1389

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-07

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility, technicians look at the connections for loading the Dawn spacecraft with xenon gas for the ion propulsion system. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft uses ion propulsion to get the additional velocity needed to reach Vesta once it leaves the Delta rocket. It also uses ion propulsion to spiral to lower altitudes on Vesta, to leave Vesta and cruise to Ceres and to spiral to a low-altitude orbit at Ceres. Ion propulsion makes efficient use of the onboard fuel by accelerating it to a velocity 10 times that of chemical rockets. Dawn is scheduled to launch July 7aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

  11. KSC-07pd1390

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-07

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility, a technician checks the connections for loading the Dawn spacecraft with xenon gas for the ion propulsion system. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft uses ion propulsion to get the additional velocity needed to reach Vesta once it leaves the Delta rocket. It also uses ion propulsion to spiral to lower altitudes on Vesta, to leave Vesta and cruise to Ceres and to spiral to a low-altitude orbit at Ceres. Ion propulsion makes efficient use of the onboard fuel by accelerating it to a velocity 10 times that of chemical rockets. Dawn is scheduled to launch July 7aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

  12. Emesh Crater on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-11-02

    This image taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows Emesh, a crater on Ceres. Emesh, named after the Sumerian god of vegetation and agriculture, is 12 miles (20 kilometers) wide. Located at the edge of the Vendimia Planitia, the floor of this crater is asymmetrical with terraces distributed along the eastern rim. Additionally, this image shows many subtle linear features that are likely the surface expressions of faults. These faults play a big role in shaping Ceres' craters, leading to non-circular craters such as Emesh. To the left of Emesh in this view, a much older crater of similar size has mostly been erased by impacts and their ejecta. Dawn took this image on May 11, 2016, from its low-altitude mapping orbit, at a distance of about 240 miles (385 kilometers) above the surface. The center coordinates of this image are 11 degrees north latitude, 158 degrees east longitude. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21911

  13. Ceres: predictions for near-surface water ice stability and implications for plume generating processes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Titus, Timothy N.

    2015-01-01

    This paper will constrain the possible sources and processes for the formation of recently observed H2O vapor plumes above the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres. Two hypotheses have been proposed: (1) cryovolcanism where the water source is the mantle and the heating source is still unknown or (2) comet-like sublimation where near-surface water ice is vaporized by seasonally increasing solar insolation. We test hypothesis #2, comet-like near-surface sublimation, by using a thermal model to examine the stability of water-ice in the near surface. For a reasonable range of physical parameters (thermal inertia, surface roughness, slopes), we find that water ice is only stable at latitudes higher than ~40-60 degrees. These results indicate that either (a) the physical properties of Ceres are unlike our expectations or (b) an alternative to comet-like sublimation, such as the cryovolcanism hypothesis, must be invoked.

  14. Top-of-the-atmosphere shortwave flux estimation from UV observations: An empirical approach using A-Train Satellite data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, P.; Joiner, J.; Vasilkov, A. P.; Bhartia, P. K.

    2012-12-01

    Measurements of top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiation are essential for the understanding of Earth's energy budget and climate system. Clouds, aerosols, water vapor, and ozone (O3) are among the most important agents impacting the Earth's short-wave (SW) radiation budget. There are several sensors in the orbit that provide independent information related to the Earth's SW radiation budget. Having coincident information from these sensors is important for understanding their potential contributions. The A-train constellation of satellites provides a unique opportunity to analyze near-simultaneous data from several of these sensors. They include the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument, on the NASA Aqua satellite, that makes broadband measurements in both the long-wave and short-wave region of electromagnetic spectrum, and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), on the NASA Aura satellite, that makes TOA hyper-spectral measurements from ultraviolet (UV) to visible wavelengths. Top of the atmosphere SW fluxes are estimated using a combination of data from CERES and the Aqua MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). OMI measurements have been successfully utilized to derive the information on trace gases (e.g., O3, NO2, and SO2), clouds, and absorbing aerosols. In this paper, OMI retrievals of cloud/aerosol parameters and O3 have been collocated with CERES TOA SW flux retrievals. We use this collocated data to develop a neural network that estimates TOA shortwave flux globally over ocean using data from OMI and meteorological analyses. These input data include the effective cloud fraction, cloud optical centroid pressure (OCP), total-column O3, and sun-satellite viewing geometry from OMI as well as wind speed and total column water vapor from the Goddard Earth Observing System 5 Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (GEOS-5 MERRA) along with a climatology of chlorophyll content from SeaWiFs satellite. We train the neural network using a subset of CERES retrievals of TOA SW flux as the target output (truth) and withhold a different subset of the CERES data to be used for validation. Our comparison of OMI-estimated TOA SW flux with independent CERES retrievals shows a high degree of correlation (R>0.96) between the two. About 85% of all the analyzed OMI flux data falls within ±5% of the CERES observations and global mean biases varies within ±3% over the entire year. We further examine the sensitivity of the neural network SW flux estimation to the choice of input parameters. Application of our neural network to OMI heritage measurements from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) series can potentially provide a unique long term global record of estimated TOA SW flux starting in late 1978.

  15. Resolved spectrophotometric properties of the Ceres surface from Dawn Framing Camera images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schröder, S. E.; Mottola, S.; Carsenty, U.; Ciarniello, M.; Jaumann, R.; Li, J.-Y.; Longobardo, A.; Palmer, E.; Pieters, C.; Preusker, F.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-05-01

    We present a global spectrophotometric characterization of the Ceres surface using Dawn Framing Camera (FC) images. We identify the photometric model that yields the best results for photometrically correcting images. Corrected FC images acquired on approach to Ceres were assembled into global maps of albedo and color. Generally, albedo and color variations on Ceres are muted. The albedo map is dominated by a large, circular feature in Vendimia Planitia, known from HST images (Li et al., 2006), and dotted by smaller bright features mostly associated with fresh-looking craters. The dominant color variation over the surface is represented by the presence of "blue" material in and around such craters, which has a negative spectral slope over the visible wavelength range when compared to average terrain. We also mapped variations of the phase curve by employing an exponential photometric model, a technique previously applied to asteroid Vesta (Schröder et al., 2013b). The surface of Ceres scatters light differently from Vesta in the sense that the ejecta of several fresh-looking craters may be physically smooth rather than rough. High albedo, blue color, and physical smoothness all appear to be indicators of youth. The blue color may result from the desiccation of ejected material that is similar to the phyllosilicates/water ice mixtures in the experiments of Poch et al. (2016). The physical smoothness of some blue terrains would be consistent with an initially liquid condition, perhaps as a consequence of impact melting of subsurface water ice. We find red terrain (positive spectral slope) near Ernutet crater, where De Sanctis et al. (2017) detected organic material. The spectrophotometric properties of the large Vendimia Planitia feature suggest it is a palimpsest, consistent with the Marchi et al. (2016) impact basin hypothesis. The central bright area in Occator crater, Cerealia Facula, is the brightest on Ceres with an average visual normal albedo of about 0.6 at a resolution of 1.3 km per pixel (six times Ceres average). The albedo of fresh, bright material seen inside this area in the highest resolution images (35 m per pixel) is probably around unity. Cerealia Facula has an unusually steep phase function, which may be due to unresolved topography, high surface roughness, or large average particle size. It has a strongly red spectrum whereas the neighboring, less-bright, Vinalia Faculae are neutral in color. We find no evidence for a diurnal ground fog-type haze in Occator as described by Nathues et al. (2015). We can neither reproduce their findings using the same images, nor confirm them using higher resolution images. FC images have not yet offered direct evidence for present sublimation in Occator.

  16. Ceres: Evolution and Present State

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castillo-Rogez, J.; McCord, T.

    2007-08-01

    Introduction:We consider Ceres as a prototype for planetary evolution [1]. From thermal modeling by McCord and Sotin [2, 3, 4], Ceres was inferred to have differentiated into a rocky core of hydrated silicates, and an icy outer shell. Thomas et al. [5] confirmed such a model from direct observation of Ceres's shape from Hubble Space Telescope observations, and pervious occultation measurements. McCord and Sotin [4] also suggest that Ceres could have preserved a deep ocean, especially if ammonia or some other ice melting point depressant, such as salts, was incorporated during accretion. We continue to develop thermal modeling of Ceres, using increasingly sophisticated models and new observational information in order to match the observed shape. . In particular, we investigate the evolution of the core. Approach: Our models require the following initial input: initial planetesimal temperature (after [6]); composition; time of formation with respect to Calcium-Aluminum Inclusions (CAIs); and an internal heat profile after initial accretion. Modeling begins with a porous Ceres (after [7, 8]). The rock phase has the composition of an ordinary chondrite (after [9]). Short-lived radiogenic isotopes, including 26Al and 60Fe, have initial concentrations as measured by [10, 11]. Conductive thermal evolution is computed for one-dimensional models following the approach of [4] and [12]. The silicate core evolves through hydration, then dehydration and melting stages. Currently, hydrothermal cooling is not included in our algorithm. Model Results: Conditions were present for full differentiation of Ceres if accretion time t0-CAIs was less than 7 My and/or if ammonia was accreted. For times of formation t0-CAIs shorter than 2 My, the boiling point of water was reached within a few My after accretion, and may have led to major water loss.Under these conditions, hydrothermal activity was inevitable, and might still be taking place inside Ceres. Whether a deep ocean is still present within Ceres or not depends on the initial conditions, especially the presence of ammonia. The core follows very different evolutionary paths, given the range of input values. Core evolution is most strongly affected by the time of accretion, with respect to inclusion of CAIs. With the inclusion of short-lived radioisotopes, pressure and temperature conditions in the core can lead to dehydration of the silicate phase [13], and layering of the core. An outer layer consisting of hydrated silicates, and a deep core consisting of dry silicate is the result, due to the equation of state of hydrated silicates. Explosive volcanism is expected to occur [14]. Conditions can even lead to partial differentiation of a metallic core.It is these model runs, resulting in the differentiation of Ceres's core into an outer hydrated layer, dehydrated inner layer and a tiny metallic center, that also produce the observed shape. Acknowledgement: This work was supported in part by the NASA Dawn Discovery Program under contract to the Space Science Institute by the UCLA and funded by JPL/NASA. Part of this work was performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory - California Institute of Technology under contract to NASA. References: [1] McCord T. B. et al. 2006. Eos 87(10). [2] McCord, T. B., Sotin, C. 2003. American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #35, #34.17; Bull. Amer. Astron. Soc. 35, 979. [3] McCord, T., Sotin, C. 2004. 35th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 18 - 25 July 2004, in Paris, France., 1148. [4] McCord, T.B., C. Sotin 2005. J. Geophys. Res., 110, E05009, doi: 10.1029/2004JE002244. 1-14. [5] Thomas, P. C., et al. 2005. Nature 437, doi: 10.1038/nature03938, 224-226. [6] Mousis O. and Alibert Y. (2005) MNRAS, 358, 188-192. [7] Leliwa-Kopystynski, J., Kossacki, K. J. 1995. Planet. Space Sci. 43, 851-861. [8] Leliwa-Kopystynski, J., Kossacki, K. J. 2000. Planet. Space Sci. 48, 727-745. [9] Wasson, J. T., Kalleymen, G. W. 1988. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London A 325, 535. [10] Wasserburg, G. J., Papanastassiou, D. A. 1982. in Essays in Nuclear Astrophysics, ed. C.A. Barnes, D.D. Clayton, & D.N. Schramm (New York: Cambridge Univ. Press), 77. [11] Tachibana, S., et al. 2006. Astroph. J., 639, L87-L90, doi: 10.1086/503201. [12] Castillo et al. Submitted to Icarus. [13] Ellis D. E., Wyllie P. J. 1979. Am. Miner. 64, 41-48. [14] Wilson L. et al. (1999) MPS, 34, 541-557.

  17. Phase field benchmark problems for dendritic growth and linear elasticity

    DOE PAGES

    Jokisaari, Andrea M.; Voorhees, P. W.; Guyer, Jonathan E.; ...

    2018-03-26

    We present the second set of benchmark problems for phase field models that are being jointly developed by the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) along with input from other members in the phase field community. As the integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) approach to materials design has gained traction, there is an increasing need for quantitative phase field results. New algorithms and numerical implementations increase computational capabilities, necessitating standard problems to evaluate their impact on simulated microstructure evolution as well as their computational performance. We propose one benchmark problem formore » solidifiication and dendritic growth in a single-component system, and one problem for linear elasticity via the shape evolution of an elastically constrained precipitate. We demonstrate the utility and sensitivity of the benchmark problems by comparing the results of 1) dendritic growth simulations performed with different time integrators and 2) elastically constrained precipitate simulations with different precipitate sizes, initial conditions, and elastic moduli. As a result, these numerical benchmark problems will provide a consistent basis for evaluating different algorithms, both existing and those to be developed in the future, for accuracy and computational efficiency when applied to simulate physics often incorporated in phase field models.« less

  18. Phase field benchmark problems for dendritic growth and linear elasticity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jokisaari, Andrea M.; Voorhees, P. W.; Guyer, Jonathan E.

    We present the second set of benchmark problems for phase field models that are being jointly developed by the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) along with input from other members in the phase field community. As the integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) approach to materials design has gained traction, there is an increasing need for quantitative phase field results. New algorithms and numerical implementations increase computational capabilities, necessitating standard problems to evaluate their impact on simulated microstructure evolution as well as their computational performance. We propose one benchmark problem formore » solidifiication and dendritic growth in a single-component system, and one problem for linear elasticity via the shape evolution of an elastically constrained precipitate. We demonstrate the utility and sensitivity of the benchmark problems by comparing the results of 1) dendritic growth simulations performed with different time integrators and 2) elastically constrained precipitate simulations with different precipitate sizes, initial conditions, and elastic moduli. As a result, these numerical benchmark problems will provide a consistent basis for evaluating different algorithms, both existing and those to be developed in the future, for accuracy and computational efficiency when applied to simulate physics often incorporated in phase field models.« less

  19. School Culture Benchmarks: Bridges and Barriers to Successful Bullying Prevention Program Implementation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coyle, H. Elizabeth

    2008-01-01

    A substantial body of research indicates that positive school culture benchmarks are integrally tied to the success of school reform and change in general. Additionally, an emerging body of research suggests a similar role for school culture in effective implementation of school violence prevention and intervention efforts. However, little…

  20. Insight into the nature and formation of the organic matter observed on Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ammannito, E.; Vinogradoff, V.; De Sanctis, M. C.; De Angelis, S.; Ferrari, M.; Ciarniello, M.; Raponi, A.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-12-01

    Observed by the Dawn spacecraft since March 2015, Ceres is a fascinating world [1]. Its surface, covered by phyllosilicates, carbonates, ammoniated-bearing hydrated minerals, water ice, salts and opaque materials indicates a complex chemical environment [1,2,3]. VIR, the Visible and InfraRed mapping spectrometer onboard the Dawn mission, has revealed the presence of aliphatic carbons with the 3.3-3.5 µm bands, near the Ernutet crater [4]. The origin of this OM is likely related to an endogenous source [4] and new issues are raised: what is the origin formation and the true nature of the OM hidden behind these aliphatic signatures? We used the spectral imaging (SPIM) facility in use at the laboratory of IAPS-INAF (spare of the VIR instrument onboard Dawn) to measure organic materials in the range 0.2-5.1 µm. These materials, such as insoluble organic matter (IOM) of chondrites, synthetic polymers, asphaltite, as well as spectra from literature data have been compared to VIR data. The Ceres aliphatic bands might match with an aliphatic branched polymer structure, i.e. with a 1.3 < CH2/CH3 ratio < 1.7, may contain some amine groups and likely some aromatic carbons such as chondritic IOM. Two hypotheses, which could be complementary, arise for the origin and formation of this OM: i) from internal processes only: due to past hydrothermal activity on Ceres [2], the circulation of H2-rich fluids during serpentinization processes with the presence of carbon dioxide might have led to Fischer-Tropsch-type reactions (methane and hydrocarbons formation [5]), subsequently processed during the pervasive hydrothermal alteration; ii) from interstellar heritage and internal processes: a part of the OM might have interstellar or protoplanetary precursors, coming from icy-grains, which were accreted into Ceres and undergone hydrothermal alteration with minerals. In either case, the partial differentiation of Ceres, might have driven the volatiles (i.e. the organic matter) near the surface. The second hypothesis, might also explain the high concentration of nitrogen. [1] Russell et al., (2016) Science, 353 (6303) 1008-1010. [2] De Sanctis et al., (2015) Nature 528, 241-244. [3] De Sanctis et al., (2016) Nature 536, 54- 57. [4] De Sanctis et al., (2017) Science, 355, 719-722. [5] Holm et al., (2015), Astrobiology, 15, 587-600.

  1. Interannual Variability of OLR as Observed by AIRS and CERES

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Susskind, Joel; Molnar, Gyula; Iredell, Lena; Loeb, Norman G.

    2012-01-01

    This paper compares spatial anomaly time series of OLR (Outgoing Longwave Radiation) and OLR(sub CLR) (Clear Sky OLR) as determined using observations from CERES Terra and AIRS over the time period September 2002 through June 2011. Both AIRS and CERES show a significant decrease in global mean and tropical mean OLR over this time period. We find excellent agreement of the anomaly time-series of the two OLR data sets in almost every detail, down to 1 deg X 1 deg spatial grid point level. The extremely close agreement of OLR anomaly time series derived from observations by two different instruments implies that both sets of results must be highly stable. This agreement also validates to some extent the anomaly time series of the AIRS derived products used in the computation of the AIRS OLR product. The paper also examines the correlations of anomaly time series of AIRS and CERES OLR, on different spatial scales, as well as those of other AIRS derived products, with that of the NOAA Sea Surface Temperature (SST) product averaged over the NOAA Nino-4 spatial region. We refer to these SST anomalies as the El Nino Index. Large spatially coherent positive and negative correlations of OLR anomaly time series with that of the El Nino Index are found in different spatial regions. Anomalies of global mean, and especially tropical mean, OLR are highly positively correlated with the El Nino Index. These correlations explain that the recent global and tropical mean decreases in OLR over the period September 2002 through June 2011, as observed by both AIRS and CERES, are primarily the result of a transition from an El Nino condition at the beginning of the data record to La Nina conditions toward the end of the data period. We show that the close correlation of global mean, and especially tropical mean, OLR anomalies with the El Nino Index can be well accounted for by temporal changes of OLR within two spatial regions which lie outside the NOAA Nino-4 region, in which anomalies of cloud cover and mid-tropospheric water vapor are both highly negatively correlated with the El Nino Index. Agreement of the AIRS and CERES OLR(sub CLR) anomaly time series is less good, which may be a result of the large sampling differences in the ensemble of cases included in each OLR(sub CLR) data set.

  2. The CERES S'COOL Project: Development and Operational Phases

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chambers, Lin H.; Young, David F.; Racel, Anne M.

    1998-01-01

    As part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, the first Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument will be launched on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft from the Tanegashima launch site in Japan in November 1997. The instrument will measure the radiation budget incoming and outgoing radiant energy - of the Earth. The major feature of interest is clouds, which play a very strong role in regulating our climate. CERES will identify clear and cloudy regions and determine cloud physical and microphysical properties using imager data from a companion instrument. Validation efforts for the remote sensing algorithms will be intensive. As one component of the validation, the S'COOL (Students' Cloud Observations On-Line) project will involve school children around the globe in making ground truth measurements at the time of a CERES overpass. They will report cloud type, height, fraction, and opacity, as well as the local surface conditions. Their observations will be collected at the NASA Langley Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) and made available over the Internet for educational purposes as well as for use by the CERES Science Team in validation efforts. Pilot testing of the S'COOL project began in January 1997 with two local schools in Southeastern Virginia and one remote site in Montana. National testing in April 1997 involved 8 schools (grades 3 to high school) across the United States. Global testing will be carried out in October 1997. Details of the S'COOL project, which is mainly Internet-based, are being developed in each of these phases according to feedback received from participants. In 1998, when the CERES instrument is operational, a global observer network should be in place providing useful information to the scientists and learning opportunities to the students. Broad participation in the S'COOL project is planned, both to obtain data from a wide range of geographic areas, and to involve as many students as possible in learning about clouds and atmospheric science. This paper reports on the development phase of the S'COOL project, including the reaction of the teachers and students who have been involved. It describes the operational state of the S'COOL network, and identifies opportunities for additional participants.

  3. Availability of Neutronics Benchmarks in the ICSBEP and IRPhEP Handbooks for Computational Tools Testing

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bess, John D.; Briggs, J. Blair; Ivanova, Tatiana

    2017-02-01

    In the past several decades, numerous experiments have been performed worldwide to support reactor operations, measurements, design, and nuclear safety. Those experiments represent an extensive international investment in infrastructure, expertise, and cost, representing significantly valuable resources of data supporting past, current, and future research activities. Those valuable assets represent the basis for recording, development, and validation of our nuclear methods and integral nuclear data [1]. The loss of these experimental data, which has occurred all too much in the recent years, is tragic. The high cost to repeat many of these measurements can be prohibitive, if not impossible, to surmount.more » Two international projects were developed, and are under the direction of the Organisation for Co-operation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD NEA) to address the challenges of not just data preservation, but evaluation of the data to determine its merit for modern and future use. The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) was established to identify and verify comprehensive critical benchmark data sets; evaluate the data, including quantification of biases and uncertainties; compile the data and calculations in a standardized format; and formally document the effort into a single source of verified benchmark data [2]. Similarly, the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) was established to preserve integral reactor physics experimental data, including separate or special effects data for nuclear energy and technology applications [3]. Annually, contributors from around the world continue to collaborate in the evaluation and review of select benchmark experiments for preservation and dissemination. The extensively peer-reviewed integral benchmark data can then be utilized to support nuclear design and safety analysts to validate the analytical tools, methods, and data needed for next-generation reactor design, safety analysis requirements, and all other front- and back-end activities contributing to the overall nuclear fuel cycle where quality neutronics calculations are paramount.« less

  4. Retrieval of Ice Cloud Properties Using Variable Phase Functions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heck, Patrick W.; Minnis, Patrick; Yang, Ping; Chang, Fu-Lung; Palikonda, Rabindra; Arduini, Robert F.; Sun-Mack, Sunny

    2009-03-01

    An enhancement to NASA Langley's Visible Infrared Solar-infrared Split-window Technique (VISST) is developed to identify and account for situations when errors are induced by using smooth ice crystals. The retrieval scheme incorporates new ice cloud phase functions that utilize hexagonal crystals with roughened surfaces. In some situations, cloud optical depths are reduced, hence, cloud height is increased. Cloud effective particle size also changes with the roughened ice crystal models which results in varied effects on the calculation of ice water path. Once validated and expanded, the new approach will be integrated in the CERES MODIS algorithm and real-time retrievals at Langley.

  5. Assessment of the monitoring and evaluation system for integrated community case management (ICCM) in Ethiopia: a comparison against global benchmark indicators.

    PubMed

    Mamo, Dereje; Hazel, Elizabeth; Lemma, Israel; Guenther, Tanya; Bekele, Abeba; Demeke, Berhanu

    2014-10-01

    Program managers require feasible, timely, reliable, and valid measures of iCCM implementation to identify problems and assess progress. The global iCCM Task Force developed benchmark indicators to guide implementers to develop or improve monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. To assesses Ethiopia's iCCM M&E system by determining the availability and feasibility of the iCCM benchmark indicators. We conducted a desk review of iCCM policy documents, monitoring tools, survey reports, and other rele- vant documents; and key informant interviews with government and implementing partners involved in iCCM scale-up and M&E. Currently, Ethiopia collects data to inform most (70% [33/47]) iCCM benchmark indicators, and modest extra effort could boost this to 83% (39/47). Eight (17%) are not available given the current system. Most benchmark indicators that track coordination and policy, human resources, service delivery and referral, supervision, and quality assurance are available through the routine monitoring systems or periodic surveys. Indicators for supply chain management are less available due to limited consumption data and a weak link with treatment data. Little information is available on iCCM costs. Benchmark indicators can detail the status of iCCM implementation; however, some indicators may not fit country priorities, and others may be difficult to collect. The government of Ethiopia and partners should review and prioritize the benchmark indicators to determine which should be included in the routine M&E system, especially since iCCMdata are being reviewed for addition to the HMIS. Moreover, the Health Extension Worker's reporting burden can be minimized by an integrated reporting approach.

  6. How the Distribution of Impact Ejecta may explain Surface Features on Ceres and Saturnian Satellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmedemann, N.; Neesemann, A.; Schulzeck, F.; Krohn, K.; von der Gathen, I.; Otto, K. A.; Jaumann, R.; Wagner, R.; Michael, G.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

    2017-09-01

    The high rate of Ceres' rotation in addition to its low surface gravity result in strong Coriolis forces affecting significant amounts of far flying impact ejecta. Dawn Framing Camera observations of specific orientations of secondary crater chains and global scale color ratio anomalies can be explained by application of our crater ejecta distribution model. The model is also applied to Saturnian satellites for understanding their pattern of secondary crater chains and cluster.

  7. Lateral View of Occator

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-12-09

    A group of scientists from NASA's Dawn mission suggests that when sunlight reaches Ceres' Occator Crater, a kind of thin haze of dust and evaporating water forms there. This haze only becomes dense enough to be seen by looking at it laterally, as in this image, the scientists wrote in the journal Nature in December 2015. Occator measures about 60 miles (90 kilometers) wide, and contains the brightest material seen on Ceres. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20181

  8. The philosophy of benchmark testing a standards-based picture archiving and communications system.

    PubMed

    Richardson, N E; Thomas, J A; Lyche, D K; Romlein, J; Norton, G S; Dolecek, Q E

    1999-05-01

    The Department of Defense issued its requirements for a Digital Imaging Network-Picture Archiving and Communications System (DIN-PACS) in a Request for Proposals (RFP) to industry in January 1997, with subsequent contracts being awarded in November 1997 to the Agfa Division of Bayer and IBM Global Government Industry. The Government's technical evaluation process consisted of evaluating a written technical proposal as well as conducting a benchmark test of each proposed system at the vendor's test facility. The purpose of benchmark testing was to evaluate the performance of the fully integrated system in a simulated operational environment. The benchmark test procedures and test equipment were developed through a joint effort between the Government, academic institutions, and private consultants. Herein the authors discuss the resources required and the methods used to benchmark test a standards-based PACS.

  9. Self Validation of Radiance Measurements from the CERES (TRMM)Instrument

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paden, Jack; Pandey, Dhirendra K.; Lee, Robert B., III; Priestley, Kory J.

    1999-01-01

    Eight continuous months of earth-nadir-viewing radiance measurements from the 3-channel Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM,) Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) scanning radiometric measurement instrument, have been analyzed. While previous remote sensing satellites, such as the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) covered all subsets of the broadband radiance spectrum (total, longwave and shortwave.) CERES has two subset channels (window and shortwave) which do not give continuous frequency coverage over the total band. Previous experience with ERBE indicated the need for us to model the equivalent daytime longwave radiance using a window channel regression, which will allow us to validate the performance of the instrument using a three-channel inter-comparison. Limiting our consideration to the fixed azimuth plane, cross-track, scanning mode (FAPS), each nadir-viewing measurement was averaged into three subjective categories called daytime, nighttime, and twilight. Daytime was defined as any measurement taken when the solar zenith angle (SZA) was less than 90 ; nighttime was taken to be any measurement where the SZA was greater than 117 ; and twilight was everything else. Our analysis indicates that there are only two distinct categories of nadir-view data; daytime, and non-daytime (i.e., the union of the nighttime and twilight sets); and that the CERES longwave radiance is predictable to an accuracy of 1%, based on the SZA, and window channel measurements.

  10. Comparison of Cloud Detection Using the CERES-MODIS Ed4 and LaRC AVHRR Cloud Masks and CALIPSO Vertical Feature Mask

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trepte, Q. Z.; Minnis, P.; Palikonda, R.; Bedka, K. M.; Sun-Mack, S.

    2011-12-01

    Accurate detection of cloud amount and distribution using satellite observations is crucial in determining cloud radiative forcing and earth energy budget. The CERES-MODIS (CM) Edition 4 cloud mask is a global cloud detection algorithm for application to Terra and Aqua MODIS data with the aid of other ancillary data sets. It is used operationally for the NASA's Cloud and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project. The LaRC AVHRR cloud mask, which uses only five spectral channels, is based on a subset of the CM cloud mask which employs twelve MODIS channels. The LaRC mask is applied to AVHRR data for the NOAA Climate Data Record Program. Comparisons among the CM Ed4, and LaRC AVHRR cloud masks and the CALIPSO Vertical Feature Mask (VFM) constitute a powerful means for validating and improving cloud detection globally. They also help us understand the strengths and limitations of the various cloud retrievals which use either active and passive satellite sensors. In this paper, individual comparisons will be presented for different types of clouds over various surfaces, including daytime and nighttime, and polar and non-polar regions. Additionally, the statistics of the global, regional, and zonal cloud occurrence and amount from the CERES Ed4, AVHRR cloud masks and CALIPSO VFM will be discussed.

  11. Global distributions of cloud properties for CERES

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun-Mack, S.; Minnis, P.; Heck, P.; Young, D.

    2003-04-01

    The microphysical and macrophysical properties of clouds play a crucial role in the earth's radiation budget. Simultaneous measurement of the radiation and cloud fields on a global basis has long been recognized as a key component in understanding and modeling the interaction between clouds and radiation at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and within the atmosphere. With the implementation of the NASA Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) in 1998, this need is being met. Broadband shortwave and longwave radiance measurements taken by the CERES scanners at resolutions between 10 and 20 km on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Terra, and Aqua satellites are matched to simultaneous retrievals of cloud height, phase, particle size, water path, and optical depth from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. The combined cloud-radiation product has already been used for developing new, highly accurate anisotropic directional models for converting broadband radiances to flux. They also provide a consistent measure of cloud properties at different times of day over the globe since January 1998. These data will be valuable for determining the indirect effects of aerosols and for linking cloud water to cloud radiation. This paper provides an overview of the CERES cloud products from the three satellites including the retrieval methodology, validation, and global distributions. Availability and access to the datasets will also be discussed.

  12. Thought Experiment to Examine Benchmark Performance for Fusion Nuclear Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murata, Isao; Ohta, Masayuki; Kusaka, Sachie; Sato, Fuminobu; Miyamaru, Hiroyuki

    2017-09-01

    There are many benchmark experiments carried out so far with DT neutrons especially aiming at fusion reactor development. These integral experiments seemed vaguely to validate the nuclear data below 14 MeV. However, no precise studies exist now. The author's group thus started to examine how well benchmark experiments with DT neutrons can play a benchmarking role for energies below 14 MeV. Recently, as a next phase, to generalize the above discussion, the energy range was expanded to the entire region. In this study, thought experiments with finer energy bins have thus been conducted to discuss how to generally estimate performance of benchmark experiments. As a result of thought experiments with a point detector, the sensitivity for a discrepancy appearing in the benchmark analysis is "equally" due not only to contribution directly conveyed to the deterctor, but also due to indirect contribution of neutrons (named (A)) making neutrons conveying the contribution, indirect controbution of neutrons (B) making the neutrons (A) and so on. From this concept, it would become clear from a sensitivity analysis in advance how well and which energy nuclear data could be benchmarked with a benchmark experiment.

  13. Current Issues for Higher Education Information Resources Management.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    CAUSE/EFFECT, 1996

    1996-01-01

    Issues identified as important to the future of information resources management and use in higher education include information policy in a networked environment, distributed computing, integrating information resources and college planning, benchmarking information technology, integrated digital libraries, technology integration in teaching,…

  14. Revenues and Expenditures: Peer and Benchmark Comparisons--University of Hawai'i Community Colleges, Fiscal Year 1995-96.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawaii Univ., Honolulu. Institutional Research Office.

    This report presents information comparing the University of Hawaii Community Colleges (UHCC) to benchmark and peer-group institutions on selected financial measures. The primary data sources for this report were the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Finance Survey for the 1995-1996 fiscal year and the IPEDS Fall Enrollment…

  15. Revenues and Expenditures: Peer and Benchmark Comparisons, University of Hawai'i, Fiscal Year 1994-95.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawaii Univ., Honolulu.

    The University of Hawaii's (UH) three university and seven community college campuses are compared with benchmark and peer group institutions with regard to selected financial measures. The primary data sources for this report were the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Finance Survey, Fiscal Year 1994-95. Tables show data on…

  16. Dawn at Ceres: A Synopsis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Russell, Christopher T.; Raymond, Carol A.; DeSanctis, Maria Christina; Nathues, Andreas; Prettyman, Thomas; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; McSween, Harry Y.; Pieters, Carle M.; Jaumann, Ralf; Buczkowski, Debra; Ammannito, Eleonora; Hiesinger, Harald; Toplis, Michael J.; Li, Jian-Yang; Park, Ryan S.

    2017-04-01

    Dawn has now been in orbit about Ceres for over two years. In that time, it has spiraled down to the lowest altitudes and back to the highest altitudes and on its way, performed global mapping of Ceres' surface morphology, topography, gravity, mineralogy, and elemental composition. It found a water-rich body with a temporary atmosphere that was sufficiently strong to deflect the solar wind. This atmosphere appears after the Sun produces high fluxes of very energetic protons. This time-varying association explains why 1-AU observations previously had both detected and failed to detect a water or OH atmosphere at Ceres. At global scale, the surface typically consists of a layer of phyllosilicates, including ammoniated clays, Ca-Mg carbonates and a dark but spectrally neutral component. At local scale, the Cerealia facula in Occator crater was found to be the largest known extraterrestrial accumulation of Na-carbonates. The Ernutet crater was peppered with organic molecules, possibly of internal origin, while small km square-sized regions of exposed ice were found in several places on the surface. In broad regions at high latitude, ice is just beneath the surface, and the depth to the ice table varies with latitude. Fractured crater floors suggesting stresses produced by uplift of sub-surface material were found, and the dome in the center of Occator craters' central pit was also postulated to be fractured by localized upwelling material. Ahuna mons, a 4-km high isolated mountain, further indicates the recent occurrence of cryovolcanic activity likely driven by brines. The gravity and topography data and the crater-size frequency distribution have been interpreted in terms of a rigid ice-rock shell covering a less rigid interior. Elemental data are consistent with ice-rock fractionation. The data clearly demonstrate that Ceres is a small exotic water-rich world, deserving of much attention in the next wave of planetary exploration.

  17. Ceres' Evolution Before and After Dawn: Where are We Now?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCord, T. B.; Castillo, J. C.

    2016-12-01

    Observations of Ceres before Dawn indicated that it contains 25 wt% water, and thermodynamic modeling indicated Ceres probably had experienced the same process of differentiation due to melting of the original ice after accretion as experienced by large icy moons. Consistent with that was a surface of altered mineralogy like clays suggesting aqueous alteration of the original chondritic silicates. Dawn has revealed some concentration of mass toward the center, specific aqueously altered mineralogies, a stiff surface with weaker material beneath, and extrusions and protrusions suggesting recent subsurface activity, including exposures of water ice that must be very recent. This wealth of new information from Dawn enables selection of more specific evolution models that best match the vastly improved Dawn observations. In this new study we propose one possibility is that Ceres accreted as an ice and silicate mixture after short-lived radionuclides in CAIs had significantly decayed, i.e. nearer 5 my after CAIs, and thus differentiated less completely than for hotter models. On the other hand, the presence of heavily aqueously altered mineralogies, including probably salts, suggests extensive mixing of water and silicates, which might normally be associated with more complete differentiation. Geologically recent activity, perhaps even to the present time, seems evident from several young landforms, including protrusions consistent with diapirism and recent exposures of water ice. This suggests recent flexing of the subsurface and rising of less dense interior material, including salts and ice. The presence of ammoniated minerals and what appear to be salt deposits suggest a major lowering of subsurface water ice melting temperature, enhancing the duration of water-silicate contact, and perhaps accelerating the mineralization processes and slowing or halting differentiation of water and silicates. Thus, Ceres is becoming known as the first body outward from the Sun that has had its evolution controlled by water-driven processes. Investigations of its interior and geology enable by Dawn's observations will in turn help to better understand other ice-rich bodies.

  18. Ceres' evolution before and after Dawn: Where are we now?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCord, Thomas B.; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.

    2016-10-01

    Observations of Ceres before Dawn indicated that it contains ~25 wt% water, and thermodynamic modeling indicated Ceres probably had experienced the same process of differentiation due to melting of the original ice after accretion as experienced by large icy moons. Consistent with that was a surface of altered mineralogy like clays suggesting aqueous alteration of the original chondritic silicates. Dawn has revealed some concentration of mass toward the center, specific aqueously altered mineralogies, a stiff surface with weaker material beneath, and extrusions and protrusions suggesting recent subsurface activity, including exposures of water ice that must be very recent. This wealth of new information from Dawn enables selection of more specific evolution models that best match the vastly improved Dawn observations. In this new study we propose one possibility is that Ceres accreted as an ice and silicate mixture after short-lived radionuclides in CAIs had significantly decayed, i.e. nearer 5 my after CAIs, and thus differentiated less completely than for hotter models. On the other hand, the presence of heavily aqueously altered mineralogies, including probably salts, suggests extensive mixing of water and silicates, which might normally be associated with more complete differentiation. Geologically recent activity, perhaps even to the present time, seems evident from several young landforms, including protrusions consistent with diapirism and recent exposures of water ice. This suggests recent flexing of the subsurface and rising of less dense interior material, including salts and ice. The presence of ammoniated minerals and what appear to be salt deposits suggest a major lowering of subsurface water ice melting temperature, enhancing the duration of water-silicate contact, and perhaps accelerating the mineralization processes and slowing or halting differentiation of water and silicates. Thus, Ceres is becoming known as the first body outward from the Sun that has had its evolution controlled by water-driven processes. Investigations of its interior and geology enable by Dawn's observations will in turn help to better understand other ice-rich bodies.

  19. Top-of-the-Atmosphere Shortwave Flux Estimation from UV Observations: An Empirical Approach

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gupta, P.; Joiner, Joanna; Vasilkov, A.; Bhartia, P. K.; da Silva, Arlindo

    2012-01-01

    Measurements of top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiation are essential to the understanding of Earth's climate. Clouds, aerosols, and ozone (0,) are among the most important agents impacting the Earth's short-wave (SW) radiation budget. There are several sensors in orbit that provide independent information related to the Earth's SW radiation budget. Having coincident information from these sensors is important for understanding their potential contributions. The A-train constellation of satellites provides a unique opportunity to analyze near-simultaneous data from several of these sensors. They include the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), on the NASA Aura satellite, that makes TOA hyper-spectral measurements from ultraviolet (UV) to visible wavelengths, and Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument, on the NASA Aqua satellite, that makes broadband measurements in both the long- and short-wave. OMI measurements have been successfully utilized to derive the information on trace gases (e.g., 0 1, NO" and SO,), clouds, and absorbing aerosols. TOA SW fluxes are estimated using a combination of data from CERES and the Aqua MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). In this paper, OMI retrievals of cloud/aerosol parameters and 0 1 have been collocated with CERES TOA SW flux retrievals. We use this collocated data to develop a neural network that estimates TOA shortwave flux globally over ocean using data from OMI and meteorological analyses. This input data include the effective cloud fraction, cloud optical centroid pressure (OCP), total-column 0" and sun-satellite viewing geometry from OMI as well as wind speed and water vapor from the Goddard Earth Observing System 5 Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (GEOS-5 MERRA) along with a climatology of chlorophyll content. We train the neural network using a subset of CERES retrievals of TOA SW flux as the target output (truth) and withhold a different subset of the CERES data to be used for validation.

  20. Derivation of Improved Surface and TOA Broadband Fluxes Using CERES-derived Narrowband-to-Broadband Coefficients

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Khaiyer, Mandana M.; Doelling, David R.; Chan, Pui K.; Nordeen, MIchele L.; Palikonda, Rabindra; Yi, Yuhong; Minnis, Patrick

    2006-01-01

    Satellites can provide global coverage of a number of climatically important radiative parameters, including broadband (BB) shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and surface. These parameters can be estimated from narrowband (NB) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) data, but their accuracy is highly dependent on the validity of the narrowband-to-broadband (NB-BB) conversion formulas that are used to convert the NB fluxes to broadband values. The formula coefficients have historically been derived by regressing matched polarorbiting satellite BB fluxes or radiances with their NB counterparts from GOES (e.g., Minnis et al., 1984). More recently, the coefficients have been based on matched Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and GOES-6 data (Minnis and Smith, 1998). The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy Budget (CERES see Wielicki et al. 1998)) project has recently developed much improved Angular Distribution Models (ADM; Loeb et al., 2003) and has higher resolution data compared to ERBE. A limited set of coefficients was also derived from matched GOES-8 and CERES data taken on Topical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite (Chakrapani et al., 2003; Doelling et al., 2003). The NB-BB coefficients derived from CERES and the GOES suite should yield more accurate BB fluxes than from ERBE, but are limited spatially and seasonally. With CERES data taken from Terra and Aqua, it is now possible to derive more reliable NB-BB coefficients for any given area. Better TOA fluxes should translate to improved surface radiation fluxes derived using various algorithms. As part of an ongoing effort to provide accurate BB flux estimates for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program, this paper documents the derivation of new NB-BB coefficients for the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) domain and for the Darwin region of the Tropical Western Pacific (DTWP) domain.

  1. Benchmark matrix and guide: Part III.

    PubMed

    1992-01-01

    The final article in the "Benchmark Matrix and Guide" series developed by Headquarters Air Force Logistics Command completes the discussion of the last three categories that are essential ingredients of a successful total quality management (TQM) program. Detailed behavioral objectives are listed in the areas of recognition, process improvement, and customer focus. These vertical categories are meant to be applied to the levels of the matrix that define the progressive stages of the TQM: business as usual, initiation, implementation, expansion, and integration. By charting the horizontal progress level and the vertical TQM category, the quality management professional can evaluate the current state of TQM in any given organization. As each category is completed, new goals can be defined in order to advance to a higher level. The benchmarking process is integral to quality improvement efforts because it focuses on the highest possible standards to evaluate quality programs.

  2. Dawn Survey Orbit Image 43

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-08-07

    This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows a portion of the southern hemisphere of dwarf planet Ceres from an altitude of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers). The image, with a resolution of 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel, was taken on June 25, 2015. The image was obtained on June 25, 2015 from an altitude of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers) above Ceres and has a resolution of 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19616

  3. 15 maps merged in one data structure - GIS-based template for Dawn at Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Naß, A.; Dawn Mapping Team

    2017-09-01

    Derive regional and global valid statements out of the map (quadrangles) is already a very time intensive task. However, another challenge is how individual mappers can generate one homogenous GIS-based project (w.r.t. geometrical and visual character) representing one geologically-consistent final map. Within this contribution a template will be presented which was generated for the process of the interpretative mapping project of Ceres to accomplish the requirement of unifying and merging individual quadrangle.

  4. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Elevation Bearing Assembly Life Test

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brown, Phillip L.; Miller, James B.; Jones, William R., Jr.; Rasmussen, Kent; Wheeler, Donald R.; Rana, Mauro; Peri, Frank

    1999-01-01

    The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) elevation scan bearings lubricated with Pennzane SHF X2000 and 2% lead naphthenate (PbNp) were life tested for a seven-year equivalent Low Earth Orbit (LEO) operation. The bearing life assembly was tested continuously at an accelerated and normal rate using the scanning patterns developed for the CERES Earth Observing System AM-1 mission. A post-life-test analysis was performed on the collected data, bearing wear, and lubricant behavior.

  5. An Automated Tool to Enable the Distributed Operations of Air Force Satellites

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-01-01

    workstations, home PCs, PDAs, pagers) over connections with various bandwidths (e.g., dial-up 56k , wireless 9.6k), SERS has different USis to support the...demonstration and evaluation activities, and (3) CERES employs more modem and open ground systems than are currently deployed in the space operations...COTS or custom tools. • Yes, we demonstrated that our software can interface with a modem Air Force ground system (CERES’ COBRA). • We identified new

  6. Dawn : a mission in developement for exploration of main belt asteroids Vesta and Ceres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rayman, Marc D.; Fraschetti, Thomas C.; Russell, Christopher T.; Raymond, Carol A.

    2004-01-01

    Dawn is in development for a 2006 launch on a mission to explore main belt asteroids in order to yield insights into important questions about the formation and evolution of the solar system. Its objective is to acquire detailed data from orbit around two complementary bodies, Vesta and Ceres, the two most massive asteroids. The project relies on extensive heritage from other deep-space and Earth-orbiting missions, thus permitting the ambitious objectives to be accomplished with an affordable budget.

  7. Ceres Obliquity History and Its Implications for the Permanently Shadowed Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ermakov, A. I.; Mazarico, E.; Schroder, S. E.; Carsenty, U.; Schorghofer, N.; Preusker, F.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.; Zuber, Maria T.

    2017-01-01

    Due to the small current obliquity of Ceres ( epsilon approximately equal to 4), permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) exist on the dwarf planets surface. Since the existence and persistence of the PSRs depend on the obliquity, we compute the obliquity history over the last 3 My and find that it undergoes large oscillations with a period of 24.5 ky and a maximum of max 19:5. During periods of large obliquity, most of the present-day PSRs receive direct sunlight. Some craters in Ceres polar regions possess bright crater floor deposits (BCFDs).We find an apparent correlation between BCFDs and the most persistent PSRs. In the north, only two PSRs remain at max and they both contain BCFDs. In the south, one of the two only craters that remain in shadow at max contains a BCFD. The location of BCFDs within persistent PSRs strongly suggests BCFDs consist of volatiles accumulated in PSR cold traps: either water molecules trapped from the exosphere or exposed ground ice.

  8. Nature, formation, and distribution of carbonates on Ceres.

    PubMed

    Carrozzo, Filippo Giacomo; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Raponi, Andrea; Ammannito, Eleonora; Castillo-Rogez, Julie; Ehlmann, Bethany L; Marchi, Simone; Stein, Nathaniel; Ciarniello, Mauro; Tosi, Federico; Capaccioni, Fabrizio; Capria, Maria Teresa; Fonte, Sergio; Formisano, Michelangelo; Frigeri, Alessandro; Giardino, Marco; Longobardo, Andrea; Magni, Gianfranco; Palomba, Ernesto; Zambon, Francesca; Raymond, Carol A; Russell, Christopher T

    2018-03-01

    Different carbonates have been detected on Ceres, and their abundance and spatial distribution have been mapped using a visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR), the Dawn imaging spectrometer. Carbonates are abundant and ubiquitous across the surface, but variations in the strength and position of infrared spectral absorptions indicate variations in the composition and amount of these minerals. Mg-Ca carbonates are detected all over the surface, but localized areas show Na carbonates, such as natrite (Na 2 CO 3 ) and hydrated Na carbonates (for example, Na 2 CO 3 ·H 2 O). Their geological settings and accessory NH 4 -bearing phases suggest the upwelling, excavation, and exposure of salts formed from Na-CO 3 -NH 4 -Cl brine solutions at multiple locations across the planet. The presence of the hydrated carbonates indicates that their formation/exposure on Ceres' surface is geologically recent and dehydration to the anhydrous form (Na 2 CO 3 ) is ongoing, implying a still-evolving body.

  9. [Uriel García Cáceres, prominent leader and teacher of public health in Peru].

    PubMed

    Ugarte Ubilluz, Oscar

    2014-01-01

    Dr. Uriel García Cáceres, prominent physician, researcher and Peruvian historian, was born in the city of Cusco in 1922. He studied medicine at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (1942-1950). He was influenced by Dr. Pedro Weiss and as a result he worked in the field of Pathological Anatomy, where he made substantial discoveries such as the description of kidney nodules associated with the verrucous stage of bartonellosis or Carrion’s disease. His most important contributions are in the paleopathology field, in which he helped create a better understanding of Peruvian ancient pathology. Dr. García Cáceres also participated in the political arena; he was Peru's Minister of Health, a position in which he served selflessly and always working for the good of the health of all Peruvians. At 91 years old, he is always tenacious and cheerful, and above all, he is a teacher with a readiness to learn.

  10. Cloud Forecasting and 3-D Radiative Transfer Model Validation using Citizen-Sourced Imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gasiewski, A. J.; Heymsfield, A.; Newman Frey, K.; Davis, R.; Rapp, J.; Bansemer, A.; Coon, T.; Folsom, R.; Pfeufer, N.; Kalloor, J.

    2017-12-01

    Cloud radiative feedback mechanisms are one of the largest sources of uncertainty in global climate models. Variations in local 3D cloud structure impact the interpretation of NASA CERES and MODIS data for top-of-atmosphere radiation studies over clouds. Much of this uncertainty results from lack of knowledge of cloud vertical and horizontal structure. Surface-based data on 3-D cloud structure from a multi-sensor array of low-latency ground-based cameras can be used to intercompare radiative transfer models based on MODIS and other satellite data with CERES data to improve the 3-D cloud parameterizations. Closely related, forecasting of solar insolation and associated cloud cover on time scales out to 1 hour and with spatial resolution of 100 meters is valuable for stabilizing power grids with high solar photovoltaic penetrations. Data for cloud-advection based solar insolation forecasting with requisite spatial resolution and latency needed to predict high ramp rate events obtained from a bottom-up perspective is strongly correlated with cloud-induced fluctuations. The development of grid management practices for improved integration of renewable solar energy thus also benefits from a multi-sensor camera array. The data needs for both 3D cloud radiation modelling and solar forecasting are being addressed using a network of low-cost upward-looking visible light CCD sky cameras positioned at 2 km spacing over an area of 30-60 km in size acquiring imagery on 30 second intervals. Such cameras can be manufactured in quantity and deployed by citizen volunteers at a marginal cost of 200-400 and operated unattended using existing communications infrastructure. A trial phase to understand the potential utility of up-looking multi-sensor visible imagery is underway within this NASA Citizen Science project. To develop the initial data sets necessary to optimally design a multi-sensor cloud camera array a team of 100 citizen scientists using self-owned PDA cameras is being organized to collect distributed cloud data sets suitable for MODIS-CERES cloud radiation science and solar forecasting algorithm development. A low-cost and robust sensor design suitable for large scale fabrication and long term deployment has been developed during the project prototyping phase.

  11. Preliminary Geological Map of the Ac-H-2 Coniraya Quadrangle of Ceres: An Integrated Mapping Study Using Dawn Spacecraft Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hiesinger, H.; Pasckert, J. H.; Williams, D. A.; Crown, D. A.; Mest, S. C.; Buczkowski, D.; Schenk, P.; Scully, J. E. C.; Jaumann, R.; Roatsch, T.; Preusker, F.; Platz, T.; Nathues, A.; Hoffmann, M.; Marchi, S.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Russell, C. T.; Raymond, C. A.

    2015-12-01

    To better understand the geologic history of dwarf planet Ceres, the surface has been divided into 15 quadrangles that are systematically mapped on the basis of images obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which began orbiting Ceres in April 2015. We will report on preliminary mapping results for the Ac-H-2 Coniraya Quadrangle based on Framing Camera (FC) mosaics from the Dawn Approach (1.3 km/px) and Survey (415 m/px) orbits. This quadrangle is located between 21-66°N and 0-90°E and is dominated by mostly highly degraded impact craters of diameters between 50 and 200 km and clusters of small- to midsize impact craters. Color data show that this quadrangle is generally darker than most regions of the southern hemisphere. Two prominent impact craters in this quadrangle have been named Coniraya and Gaue crater, respectively. Coniraya is the largest more or less intact impact crater with a diameter of 136 km, centered at 65.8°N/40.5°E. It appears shallow and its crater rim is heavily degraded but still continuous. At the current image resolution, textural differences between the interior and exterior of the crater are not visible. With a diameter of 84 km, Gaue crater appears to be the freshest large impact crater in this quadrangle. It is located at the eastern border of the Coniraya Quadrangle with a small central peak at 30°N/85.7°E. The crater rim is quite sharp and the ejecta blanket can be traced around the crater to a distance of ~200km from the crater center. Most of the crater floor around the central peak is covered by a smooth uniform unit with a lower impact crater population than the surrounding surfaces. Color data show that this smooth unit is darker than the surrounding surfaces. A similar unit can be found on the floor of a complex cluster of 10-56 km diameter craters at 32°N/40°E. With upcoming higher resolution data we will refine our geologic map and will specifically investigate possible formation processes of these smooth units.

  12. Preliminary Geological Map of the Ac-H-12 Toharu Quadrangle of Ceres: An Integrated Mapping Study Using Dawn Spacecraft Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mest, S. C.; Williams, D. A.; Crown, D. A.; Yingst, R. A.; Buczkowski, D.; Schenk, P.; Scully, J. E. C.; Jaumann, R.; Roatsch, T.; Preusker, F.; Platz, T.; Nathues, A.; Hoffmann, M.; Schäfer, M.; Marchi, S.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Russell, C. T.; Raymond, C. A.

    2015-12-01

    We are using recent data from the Dawn spacecraft to map the geology of the Ac-H-12 Toharu Quadrangle (21-66°S, 90-180°E) of the dwarf planet Ceres in order to examine its surface geology and understand its geologic history. At the time of this writing, mapping was performed on Framing Camera (FC) mosaics from late Approach (1.3 km/px) and Survey (415 m/px) orbits, including clear filter and color images and digital terrain models derived from stereo images. Images from the High Altitude Mapping Orbit (140 m/px) will be used to refine the map in Fall 2015, followed by the Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (35 m/px) starting in December 2015. The quad is named after crater Toharu (87 km diameter; 49°S, 155°E). The southern rim of Kerwan basin (284 km diameter) is visible along the northern edge of the quad, which is preserved as a low-relief scarp. The quad exhibits smooth terrain in the north, and more heavily cratered terrain in the south. The smooth terrain forms nearly flat-lying plains in some areas, such as on the floor and to the southeast of Kerwan, and overlies hummocky materials in other areas. These smooth materials extend over a much broader area outside of the quad, and appear to contain some of the lowest crater densities on Ceres. Impact craters exhibit a range of coinciding sizes and preservation styles. Smaller craters (<40 km) generally appear morphologically "fresh", and their rims are nearly circular and raised above the surrounding terrain. Larger craters, such as Toharu, appear more degraded, exhibiting irregularly shaped, sometimes scalloped, rim structures, and debris lobes on their floors. Numerous craters (> 20 km) contain central mounds; at current FC resolution, it is difficult to discern if these are primary structures (i.e., central peaks) or secondary features. Support of the Dawn Instrument, Operations, & Science Teams is acknowledged. This work is supported by grants from NASA, DLR and MPG.

  13. Project S'COOL

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Green, Carolyn J.; Chambers, Lin H.

    1998-01-01

    The Students Clouds Observations On-Line or S'COOL project was piloted in 1997. It was created with the idea of using students to serve as one component of the validation for the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument which was launched with the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) in November, 1997. As part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise CERES is interested in the role clouds play in regulating our climate. Over thirty schools became involved in the initial thrust of the project. The CERES instrument detects the location of clouds and identifies their physical properties. S'COOL students coordinate their ground truth observations with the exact overpass of the satellite at their location. Their findings regarding cloud type, height, fraction and opacity as well as surface conditions are then reported to the NASA Langley Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The data is then accessible to both the CERES team for validation and to schools for educational application via the Internet. By March of 1998 ninety-three schools, in nine countries had enrolled in the S'COOL project. Joining the United States participants were from schools in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The project is gradually becoming the global project envisioned by the project s creators. As students obtain the requested data useful for the scientists, it was hoped that students with guidance from their instructors would have opportunity and motivation to learn more about clouds and atmospheric science as well.

  14. Investigation of Next-Generation Earth Radiation Budget Radiometry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Coffey, Katherine L.; Mahan, J. R.

    1999-01-01

    The current effort addresses two issues important to the research conducted by the Thermal Radiation Group at Virginia Tech. The first research topic involves the development of a method which can properly model the diffraction of radiation as it enters an instrument aperture. The second topic involves the study of a potential next-generation space-borne radiometric instrument concept. Presented are multiple modeling efforts to describe the diffraction of monochromatic radiant energy passing through an aperture for use in the Monte-Carlo ray-trace environment. Described in detail is a deterministic model based upon Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and the particle theory of light. This method is applicable to either Fraunhofer or Fresnel diffraction situations, but is incapable of predicting the secondary fringes in a diffraction pattern. Also presented is a second diffraction model, based on the Huygens-Fresnel principle with a correcting obliquity factor. This model is useful for predicting Fraunhofer diffraction, and can predict the secondary fringes because it keeps track of phase. NASA is planning for the next-generation of instruments to follow CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System), an instrument which measures components of the Earth's radiant energy budget in three spectral bands. A potential next-generation concept involves modification of the current CERES instrument to measure in a larger number of wavelength bands. This increased spectral partitioning would be achieved by the addition of filters and detectors to the current CERES geometry. The capacity of the CERES telescope to serve for this purpose is addressed in this thesis.

  15. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Horowitz, Kelsey A; Ding, Fei; Mather, Barry A

    This presentation was given at the 2017 NREL Workshop 'Benchmarking Distribution Grid Integration Costs Under High Distributed PV Penetrations.' It provides a brief overview of recent and ongoing NREL work on distribution system grid integration costs, as well as challenges and needs from the community.

  16. Ceres: Its Origin and Predicted Bulk Chemical Composition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prentice, Andrew

    2014-11-01

    I explore the formation of Ceres in the framework of the Modern Laplacian theory of Solar System origin (MLT; Prentice 2006 PASA 23 1; 2008 LPSC, abs.1945.pdf). I suggest that all MB asteroids condensed within a gas ring cast off from the equator of the contracting protosolar cloud (PSC) near to the mean present orbit of Ceres. According to the MLT, the shedding of gas rings started at the orbit of Quaoar and comes about through supersonic turbulent stress due to powerful convective motions in the cloud. If the PSC contracts uniformly, the gas ring mean orbital radii Rn (n = 0, 1, 2...) form a geometric sequence and their temperatures Tn scale nearly as Tn ~ A/Rn. The values of the mean ratio Rn/Rn+1 and the constant A depend on the controlling parameters of the PSC. These are chosen so that the mean ratio matches the observed mean planetary spacing and that the metal mass fraction ~0.71 of the condensate at Mercury’s orbit yields a planet of mean density 5.43 g/cc. For Mercury, Tn = 1638 K and the gas pressure on the gas ring mean orbit is 18 kPa.For Ceres, Tn = 272 K and the gas pressure is 8.9 Pa. The condensate consists mostly of Mg-silicates & SiO2 (mass fraction 0.394), magnetite (0.181), (Fe-Ni-Co)S (0.191), and brucite (0.127). The RTP mean density is 3.391 g/cc. If short-lived radionuclides cause dehydration of the rock and separation of rocks & metals to form a central core, the RTP density of the core is 3.662 g/cc and the mass fractions of separated water and NaCl are 0.04182 and 0.00153. All MB asteroids may initially have been ocean worlds. As Tn exceeds the brine freezing temperature 271 K, the water mantles remain liquid. Collisions between the asteroid embryos dislodge water from the smaller ones, so creating a liquid torus on the gas ring mean orbit. This water is then accreted by the largest embryos. A 4-zone model for Ceres (c) with mean density 2.08 g/cc has a rock (and inner metal) core of mass 0.732Mc, overlain by a 2.5 km thick salt layer and an outer pure ice mantle of mass 0.258 Mc. The MOI factor of this model is 0.295. Perhaps Dawn will find the surface of Ceres to be very flat, though roughened through aeons of impacts, with fresh craters having bright floors and ejecta.

  17. The Dawn of Vesta Science

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Garner, Charles E.; Rayman, Marc D.; Brophy, John R.; Mikes, Steven C.

    2011-01-01

    The Dawn mission is part of NASA's Discovery Program and has as its goal the scientific exploration of the two most massive main-belt asteroids, Vesta and Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on September 27, 2007 on a Delta-II 7925H-9.5 (Delta-II Heavy) rocket that placed the 1218-kg spacecraft onto an Earth-escape trajectory. On-board the spacecraft is an ion propulsion system (IPS) developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory which will provide a total ?V of 11.3 km/s for the heliocentric transfer to Vesta, orbit capture at Vesta, transfer between Vesta science orbits, departure and escape from Vesta, heliocentric transfer to Ceres, orbit capture at Ceres, and transfer between Ceres science orbits. Fullpower thrusting from December 2007 through October 2008 was used to successfully target a Mars gravity assist flyby in February 2009 that provided an additional ?V of 2.6 km/s. Deterministic thrusting for the heliocentric transfer to Vesta resumed in June 2009 and concluded with orbit capture at Vesta on July 16, 2011. An additional 210 hours of IPS thrusting was used to enter the first Vesta science orbit, called Survey orbit, on August 3, 2011 at an altitude of approximately 2,735 km. To date the IPS has been operated for 23,621 hours, consumed approximately 252 kg of xenon, and provided a delta-V of approximately 6.7 km/s. The IPS performance characteristics are very close to the expected performance based on analysis and testing performed pre-launch. The only significant issue in over the almost four years of IPS operations in flight was the temporary failure of a valve driver board in the Digital Control and Interface Unit-1 (DCIU-1), resulting in a loss of thrust of approximately 29 hours. Thrusting operations resumed after switching to DCIU-2, and power cycling conducted after orbit capture restored DCIU-1 to full functionality. After about three weeks of Survey orbit operations the IPS will be used to transfer the spacecraft to the other planned science orbit altitudes. After approximately one year of science operations the IPS will be used for escape from Vesta and then for thrusting to Ceres with a planned arrival date at Ceres in February 2015. This paper provides an overview of Dawn's mission objectives and the results of Dawn IPS mission operations through the start of science operations at Vesta.

  18. A web-based system architecture for ontology-based data integration in the domain of IT benchmarking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pfaff, Matthias; Krcmar, Helmut

    2018-03-01

    In the domain of IT benchmarking (ITBM), a variety of data and information are collected. Although these data serve as the basis for business analyses, no unified semantic representation of such data yet exists. Consequently, data analysis across different distributed data sets and different benchmarks is almost impossible. This paper presents a system architecture and prototypical implementation for an integrated data management of distributed databases based on a domain-specific ontology. To preserve the semantic meaning of the data, the ITBM ontology is linked to data sources and functions as the central concept for database access. Thus, additional databases can be integrated by linking them to this domain-specific ontology and are directly available for further business analyses. Moreover, the web-based system supports the process of mapping ontology concepts to external databases by introducing a semi-automatic mapping recommender and by visualizing possible mapping candidates. The system also provides a natural language interface to easily query linked databases. The expected result of this ontology-based approach of knowledge representation and data access is an increase in knowledge and data sharing in this domain, which will enhance existing business analysis methods.

  19. The Nature of C Asteroid Regolith from Meteorite Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zolensky, M.; Mikouchi, T.; Hagiya, K.; Ohsumi, K.; Komatsu, M.; Jenniskens, P.; Le, L.; Yin, Q.-Z; Kebukawa, Y.; Fries, M.

    2013-01-01

    Regolith from C (and related) asteroid bodies are a focus of the current missions Dawn at Ceres, Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS REx. An asteroid as large as Ceres is expected to be covered by a mature regolith, and as Hayabusa demonstrated, flat and therefore engineeringly-safe ponded deposits will probably be the sampling sites for both Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS REx. Here we examine what we have learned about the mineralogy of fine-grained asteroid regolith from recent meteorite studies and the examination of the samples harvested from asteroid Itokawa by Hayabusa.

  20. Dawn XMO2 Image 29

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-01-11

    Ikapati Crater on Ceres is seen at top right in this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft. Ikapati has a complex of central peaks and roughly parallel fractures on its floor. The crater, named for a Philippine goddess of cultivated lands, measures 31 miles (50 kilometers) in diameter. Dawn took this image on Oct. 24, 2016, during its second extended-mission science orbit (XMO2), from a distance of about 920 miles (1,480 kilometers) above the surface of Ceres. The image resolution is about 460 feet (140 meters) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21249

  1. Triaxial ellipsoid dimensions and rotational poles of seven asteroids from Lick Observatory adaptive optics images, and of Ceres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drummond, Jack; Christou, Julian

    2008-10-01

    Seven main belt asteroids, 2 Pallas, 3 Juno, 4 Vesta, 16 Psyche, 87 Sylvia, 324 Bamberga, and 707 Interamnia, were imaged with the adaptive optics system on the 3 m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory in the near infrared, and their triaxial ellipsoid dimensions and rotational poles have been determined with parametric blind deconvolution. In addition, the dimensions and pole for 1 Ceres are derived from resolved images at multiple epochs, even though it is an oblate spheroid.

  2. Ahuna Mons

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2018-03-14

    This view from NASA's Dawn mission shows Ceres' tallest mountain, Ahuna Mons, 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) high and 11 miles (17 kilometers) wide. This is one of the few sites on Ceres at which a significant amount of sodium carbonate has been found, shown in green and red colors in the lower right image. The top and lower left images were collected by Dawn's framing camera. The top image is a 3D view reconstructed with the help of topography data. A non-annotated version is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21919

  3. Worldwide photometry and lightcurve observations of 1 Ceres during the 1975-1976 apparition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tedesco, E. F.; Taylor, R. C.; Drummond, J.; Harwood, D.; Nickoloff, I.; Scaltriti, F.; Zappala, V.; Schober, H. J.

    1983-01-01

    Lightcurves and UBV photometry of Ceres from the 1975-1976 apparition are presented. The synodic period is 0.37812 + or 0.00004 day, the mean absolute V magnitude is 3.61 + or 0.03, and the phase coefficient is 0.040 + or - 0.001 mag/deg. The U-B and B-V phase coefficients are +0.0015 + or - 0.0007 and +0.0006 + or - 0.0003 mag/deg, respectively. The colors at zero phase are B-V = +0.70 + or - 0.01 and U-B = +0.41 + or 0.01.

  4. HyspIRI Low Latency Concept and Benchmarks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mandl, Dan

    2010-01-01

    Topics include HyspIRI low latency data ops concept, HyspIRI data flow, ongoing efforts, experiment with Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) approach to injecting new algorithms into SensorWeb, low fidelity HyspIRI IPM testbed, compute cloud testbed, open cloud testbed environment, Global Lambda Integrated Facility (GLIF) and OCC collaboration with Starlight, delay tolerant network (DTN) protocol benchmarking, and EO-1 configuration for preliminary DTN prototype.

  5. Integrated Sensing Processor, Phase 2

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-12-01

    performance analysis for several baseline classifiers including neural nets, linear classifiers, and kNN classifiers. Use of CCDR as a preprocessing step...below the level of the benchmark non-linear classifier for this problem ( kNN ). Furthermore, the CCDR preconditioned kNN achieved a 10% improvement over...the benchmark kNN without CCDR. Finally, we found an important connection between intrinsic dimension estimation via entropic graphs and the optimal

  6. The appearance of Carbonaceous Chondrites on (1) Ceres from observations by the Dawn Framing Camera

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schäfer, Tanja; Schäfer, Michael; Mengel, Kurt; Cloutis, Edward A.; Izawa, Matthew R. M.; Thangjam, Guneshwar; Hoffmann, Martin; Platz, Thomas; Nathues, Andreas; Kallisch, Jan; Ripken, Joachim; Russel, Christopher T.

    2016-04-01

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft reached dwarf planet Ceres in March 2015 and started data acquisition using three different instruments. These are the Framing Camera (FC; [1]), the Visible & Infrared Spectrometer (VIR; [2]), and the Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND; [3]). In our work we focus on the potential appearance of carbonaceous chondritic (CC) material on the cerean surface using Dawn FC color mosaics covering the VIS/NIR wavelength region. In preparation of the Dawn arrival at Ceres, a discrimination scheme for CC groups using FC color ratios was developed by [4] and is based on 121 CC laboratory spectra compiled from RELAB. As the cerean surface material mainly differs by its spectral slope over the whole FC wavelength range (0.44-0.97 μm), we classified the color mosaics by this parameter. We applied the CC discrimination scheme only to those regions on the cerean surface (more than 90 %) which exhibit spectral slopes ≥ -1 % reflectance per μm to exclude the strongly negative sloped regions of large young craters such as Occator, Haulani, and Oxo. These are not likely to be similar to pure CC material as can be seen by their brightness and their bluish spectral slope [5]. We found that the surface material of Ceres is, among the suite of CCs, most similar to Ivuna samples artificially heated to 200 and 300°C [6] and unusual CCs, which naturally experienced heating. The latter ones comprise Dhofar 225, Y-86789 and Y-82162, which have been determined to have undergone aqueous alteration and subsequent thermal metamorphism (e.g. [7,8]).Our comparison with VIR data shows, that the spectra of Ivuna heated to 200°C and 300°C match well the OH-absorption at 2.7 μm but do not show the smaller 3.05-3.1 μm absorption observed on Ceres [9,10,11]. Nevertheless, the remarkably flat UV drop-off detected on the cerean surface may, at least spectrally, correspond to highly aqueously altered and subsequently thermally metamorphosed CC material. Further alteration of this material on a parent body like Ceres may produce spectral changes affecting the 3 μm region, while showing no additional modification in the VIS/NIR region. Scenarios of thermal and geophysical evolution models allow Ceres' differentiation into a core of dehydrated silicates and a shell of hydrated silicates overlain by an icy shell [12,13]. The widespread occurence of material on the cerean surface, spectrally similar to thermally altered CC material, suggests that we possibly see the mineralogy of the hydrated-dehydrated boundary of Ceres exposed by impact gardening and simultaneous loss of the icy shell. Also differing recent models of a convecting mud ocean on Ceres, introduced by [14] and enhanced by [15], allow a lag deposit of aqueously altered fine material on the surface, spectrally corresponding to mildly heated Ivuna samples. References: [1] Sierks, H. et al. 2011. Space Sci. Rev., 163, 1-4, 263-327. [2] De Sanctis, C.M. et al. 2011. Space Sci. Rev., 163, 1-4, 329-369. [3] Prettyman, T.H. et al. 2011. Space Sci. Rev., 163, 1-4, 371-459. [4] Schäfer, T. et al., 2015. Icarus 265, 149-160. [5] Nathues, A. et al., 2015. Nature 528 (7581), 237-240. [6] Hiroi, T. et al., 1996. Lunar Planet. Sci. 27, 551. [7] Brearley, A.J., Jones, R.H., 1998. Chondritic meteorites. In: Planetary Materials, Papike, J.J. (Ed.). Rev. in Mineralogy and Geochem. 36 (1), ch. 3, 1-398. [8] Ivanova, M.A. et al., 2010. Meteoritics & Planet. Sci. 45 (7), 1108-1123. [9] King, T.V.V., et al., 1992. Science 255, 1551-1553. [10] De Sanctis, M.C. et al., 2015. Nature 528 (7581), 241-244. [11] Milliken, R.E., Rivkin, A.S., 2009. Nature Geosci. 2 (4), 258-261. [12] Castillo-Rogez, J.C., McCord, T.B., 2010. Icarus 205 (2), 443-459. [13] Neveu, M., Desch, S.J., Castillo-Rogez, J.C., 2015. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 120 (2), 123-154. [14] Travis, B.J. et al., 2015. Lunar Planet. Sci., #2360. [15] Neveu, M., Desch, S.J., 2015. Geophys. Res. Lett. 42 (23), 10197-10206.

  7. Climate Quality Broadband and Narrowband Solar Reflected Radiance Calibration Between Sensors in Orbit

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A.; Doelling, David R.; Young, David F.; Loeb, Norman G.; Garber, Donald P.; MacDonnell, David G.

    2008-01-01

    vAs the potential impacts of global climate change become more clear [1], the need to determine the accuracy of climate prediction over decade-to-century time scales has become an urgent and critical challenge. The most critical tests of climate model predictions will occur using observations of decadal changes in climate forcing, response, and feedback variables. Many of these key climate variables are observed by remotely sensing the global distribution of reflected solar spectral and broadband radiance. These "reflected solar" variables include aerosols, clouds, radiative fluxes, snow, ice, vegetation, ocean color, and land cover. Achieving sufficient satellite instrument accuracy, stability, and overlap to rigorously observe decadal change signals has proven very difficult in most cases and has not yet been achieved in others [2]. One of the earliest efforts to make climate quality observations was for Earth Radiation Budget: Nimbus 6/7 in the late 1970s, ERBE in the 1980s/90s, and CERES in 2000s are examples of the most complete global records. The recent CERES data products have carried out the most extensive intercomparisons because if the need to merge data from up to 11 instruments (CERES, MODIS, geostationary imagers) on 7 spacecraft (Terra, Aqua, and 5 geostationary) for any given month. In order to achieve climate calibration for cloud feedbacks, the radiative effect of clear-sky, all-sky, and cloud radiative effect must all be made with very high stability and accuracy. For shortwave solar reflected flux, even the 1% CERES broadband absolute accuracy (1-sigma confidence bound) is not sufficient to allow gaps in the radiation record for decadal climate change. Typical absolute accuracy for the best narrowband sensors like SeaWiFS, MISR, and MODIS range from 2 to 4% (1-sigma). IPCC greenhouse gas radiative forcing is approx. 0.6 W/sq m per decade or 0.6% of the global mean shortwave reflected flux, so that a 50% cloud feedback would change the global reflected flux by approx. 0.3 W/sq m or 0.3% per decade in broadband SW calibration change. Recent results comparing CERES reflected flux changes with MODIS, MISR, and SeaWiFS narrowband changes concluded that only SeaWiFS and CERES were approaching sufficient stability in calibration for decadal climate change [3]. Results using deep convective clouds in the optically thick limit as a stability target may prove very effective for improving past data sets like ISCCP. Results for intercalibration of geostationary imagers to CERES using an entire month of regional nearly coincident data demonstrates new approaches to constraining the calibration of current geostationary imagers. The new Decadal Survey Mission CLARREO is examining future approaches to a "NIST-in-Orbit" approach of very high absolute accuracy reference radiometers that cover the full solar and infrared spectrum at high spectral resolution but at low spatial resolution. Sampling studies have shown that a precessing CLARREO mission could calibrate other geo and leo reflected solar radiation and thermal infrared sensors.

  8. Comparative Cooperative Education: Evaluating Thai Models on Work-Integrated Learning, Using the German Duale Hochschule Baden-Wuerttemberg Model as a Benchmark

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reinhard, Karin; Pogrzeba, Anna

    2016-01-01

    The role of industry in the higher education system is becoming more prevalent, as universities integrate a practical element into their curricula. However, the level of development of cooperative education and work-integrated learning varies from country to country. In Germany, cooperative education and work-integrated learning has a long…

  9. Geomorphological Evidence for Pervasive Ground Ice on Ceres from Dawn Observations of Craters and Flows.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmidt, B. E.; Chilton, H.; Hughson, K.; Scully, J. E. C.; Russell, C. T.; Sizemore, H. G.; Nathues, A.; Platz, T.; Bland, M. T.; Schenk, P.; Hiesinger, H.; Jaumann, R.; Byrne, S.; Schorghofer, N.; Ammannito, E.; Marchi, S.; O'Brien, D. P.; Sykes, M. V.; Le Corre, L.; Capria, M. T.; Reddy, V.; Raymond, C. A.; Mest, S. C.; Feldman, W. C.

    2015-12-01

    Five decades of observations of Ceres' albedo, surface composition, shape and density suggest that Ceres is comprised of both silicates and tens of percent of ice. Historical suggestions of surficial hydrated silicates and evidence for water emission, coupled with its bulk density of ~2100 kg/m3 and Dawn observations of young craters containing high albedo spots support this conclusion. We report geomorphological evidence from survey data demonstrating that evaporative and fluid-flow processes within silicate-ice mixtures are prevalent on Ceres, and indicate that its surface materials contain significant water ice. Here we highlight three classes of features that possess strong evidence for ground ice. First, ubiquitous scalloped and "breached" craters are characterized by mass wasting and by the recession of crater walls in asymmetric patterns; these appear analogous to scalloped terrain on Mars and protalus lobes formed by mass wasting in terrestrial glaciated regions. The degradation of crater walls appears to be responsible for the nearly complete removal of some craters, particularly at low latitudes. Second, several high latitude, high elevation craters feature lobed flows that emanate from cirque-shaped head walls and bear strikingly similar morphology to terrestrial rock glaciers. These similarities include lobate toes and indications of furrows and ridges consistent with ice-cored or ice-cemented material. Other lobed flows persist at the base of crater walls and mass wasting features. Many flow features evidently terminate at ramparts. Third, there are frequent irregular domes, peaks and mounds within crater floors that depart from traditional crater central peaks or peak complexes. In some cases the irregular domes show evidence for high albedo or activity, and thus given other evidence for ice, these could be due to local melt and extrusion via hydrologic gradients, forming domes similar to pingos. The global distribution of these classes of features, combined with latitudinal variation in their abundance and/or appearance, suggests that ground ice is a key controller of geology on Ceres, and that ice content within the surface and subsurface is spatially varied and/or activated by energetic events. Dawn high altitude mapping orbit (HAMO) data will provide better views.

  10. Observing Recent Changes in the Large-Scale Arctic Energy Budget

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Porter, D. F.; Serreze, M.; Cassano, J.

    2008-12-01

    Changes in the large-scale energy budget of the Arctic are examined using a variety of next-generation reanalysis and observational data. An effort is made to construct a best-guess of the current arctic energy budget using a variety of atmospheric data. For the period of 2000-2005, monthly means from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data represents the current most-reliable top of atmosphere radiation budget. The remaining components of the energy budget system in the arctic polar cap (defined as 70 degrees North latitude circle), comprising of the vertically-integrated storage and horizontal transports of energy, and net heat transfers between the atmosphere and the subsurface column, are diagnosed using the Japanese 25-year Reanalysis Project (JRA-25) and the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis (NRA). The as then record-setting minimum sea-ice extent during the 2005 melt season is used as a marker of recent changes occurring in the arctic climate system. However, changes in each reanalysis differs than the satellite observations. In one example, when compared to the 2000-2005 climatology, CERES shows a shift in the peak TOA radiation from July to June in 2005, a change that is absent in the reanalyses and directly attributable to the early and pronounced albedo reduction. An earlier peak in TOA radiation can strongly modulate the flux energy convergence from lower latitudes through circulation changes. Here, the energy budget framework provides a simplified view of the pathway through which changes of key component parings occur.

  11. Developing integrated benchmarks for DOE performance measurement

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Barancik, J.I.; Kramer, C.F.; Thode, Jr. H.C.

    1992-09-30

    The objectives of this task were to describe and evaluate selected existing sources of information on occupational safety and health with emphasis on hazard and exposure assessment, abatement, training, reporting, and control identifying for exposure and outcome in preparation for developing DOE performance benchmarks. Existing resources and methodologies were assessed for their potential use as practical performance benchmarks. Strengths and limitations of current data resources were identified. Guidelines were outlined for developing new or improved performance factors, which then could become the basis for selecting performance benchmarks. Data bases for non-DOE comparison populations were identified so that DOE performance couldmore » be assessed relative to non-DOE occupational and industrial groups. Systems approaches were described which can be used to link hazards and exposure, event occurrence, and adverse outcome factors, as needed to generate valid, reliable, and predictive performance benchmarks. Data bases were identified which contain information relevant to one or more performance assessment categories . A list of 72 potential performance benchmarks was prepared to illustrate the kinds of information that can be produced through a benchmark development program. Current information resources which may be used to develop potential performance benchmarks are limited. There is need to develop an occupational safety and health information and data system in DOE, which is capable of incorporating demonstrated and documented performance benchmarks prior to, or concurrent with the development of hardware and software. A key to the success of this systems approach is rigorous development and demonstration of performance benchmark equivalents to users of such data before system hardware and software commitments are institutionalized.« less

  12. Benchmark problems for numerical implementations of phase field models

    DOE PAGES

    Jokisaari, A. M.; Voorhees, P. W.; Guyer, J. E.; ...

    2016-10-01

    Here, we present the first set of benchmark problems for phase field models that are being developed by the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). While many scientific research areas use a limited set of well-established software, the growing phase field community continues to develop a wide variety of codes and lacks benchmark problems to consistently evaluate the numerical performance of new implementations. Phase field modeling has become significantly more popular as computational power has increased and is now becoming mainstream, driving the need for benchmark problems to validate and verifymore » new implementations. We follow the example set by the micromagnetics community to develop an evolving set of benchmark problems that test the usability, computational resources, numerical capabilities and physical scope of phase field simulation codes. In this paper, we propose two benchmark problems that cover the physics of solute diffusion and growth and coarsening of a second phase via a simple spinodal decomposition model and a more complex Ostwald ripening model. We demonstrate the utility of benchmark problems by comparing the results of simulations performed with two different adaptive time stepping techniques, and we discuss the needs of future benchmark problems. The development of benchmark problems will enable the results of quantitative phase field models to be confidently incorporated into integrated computational materials science and engineering (ICME), an important goal of the Materials Genome Initiative.« less

  13. Pongal Catena on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-06-08

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the northeastern rim of Urvara Crater on Ceres at lower left. To the right of the crater, the long, narrow feature that appears to jut out toward the north is called Pongal Catena, which is about 60 miles (96 km) long. Catenae are large grooves or troughs that can have various origins. They refer to chains of closely connected craters formed by a series of impacts, as found on Jupiter's moon Ganymede. They can also represent large faults created by internal forces, for example in this example found on Mars. The mechanism that formed Pongal Catena is not understood yet, but it likely formed as a consequence of the stresses generated by the large impacts that resulted in the formation of the Urvara and Yalode craters. Pongal catena is one of several types of fractures found in this region that reflect a complex history. A feature called Nar Sulcus is another example. Studying the geometry of these features and their relationships can help shed light on the nature of Ceres' subsurface. This image was obtained on September 28, 2015, from an altitude of about 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). Pongal Catena is centered at 37.4 degrees south latitude, 267.7 degrees east longitude. This feature gets its name from the Tamil (Sri Lanka and southern India) harvest festival observed in mid-January. It is a time for giving thanks to nature, and we thank Ceres for all the wonders it has offered us so far. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21408

  14. A Supplementary Clear-Sky Snow and Ice Recognition Technique for CERES Level 2 Products

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Radkevich, Alexander; Khlopenkov, Konstantin; Rutan, David; Kato, Seiji

    2013-01-01

    Identification of clear-sky snow and ice is an important step in the production of cryosphere radiation budget products, which are used in the derivation of long-term data series for climate research. In this paper, a new method of clear-sky snow/ice identification for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is presented. The algorithm's goal is to enhance the identification of snow and ice within the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data after application of the standard CERES scene identification scheme. The input of the algorithm uses spectral radiances from five MODIS bands and surface skin temperature available in the CERES Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) product. The algorithm produces a cryosphere rating from an aggregated test: a higher rating corresponds to a more certain identification of the clear-sky snow/ice-covered scene. Empirical analysis of regions of interest representing distinctive targets such as snow, ice, ice and water clouds, open waters, and snow-free land selected from a number of MODIS images shows that the cryosphere rating of snow/ice targets falls into 95% confidence intervals lying above the same confidence intervals of all other targets. This enables recognition of clear-sky cryosphere by using a single threshold applied to the rating, which makes this technique different from traditional branching techniques based on multiple thresholds. Limited tests show that the established threshold clearly separates the cryosphere rating values computed for the cryosphere from those computed for noncryosphere scenes, whereas individual tests applied consequently cannot reliably identify the cryosphere for complex scenes.

  15. Constraints on water vapor and sulfur dioxide at Ceres: Exploiting the sensitivity of the Hubble Space Telescope

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roth, Lorenz

    2018-05-01

    Far-ultraviolet observations of dwarf-planet (1) Ceres were obtained on several occasions in 2015 and 2016 by the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), both on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We report a search for neutral gas emissions at hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur lines around Ceres from a potential teneous exosphere. No detectable exosphere emissions are present in any of the analyzed HST observations. We apply analytical models to relate the derived upper limits for the atomic species to a water exosphere (for H and O) and a sulfur dioxide exosphere (for S and O), respectively. The H and O upper limits constrain the H2O production rate at the surface to (2 - 4) ×1026 molecules s-1 or lower, similar to or slightly larger than previous detections and upper limits. With low fluxes of energetic protons measured in the solar wind prior to the HST observations and the obtained non-detections, an assessment of the recently suggested sputter-generated water exosphere during solar energetic particle events is not possible. Investigating a sulfur dioxide-based exosphere, we find that the O and S upper limits constrain the SO2 density at the surface to values ∼ 1010 times lower than the equilibrium vapor pressure density. This result implies that SO2 is not present on Ceres' sunlit surface, contrary to previous findings in HST ultraviolet reflectance spectra but in agreement with the absence of SO2 infrared spectral features as observed by the Dawn spacecraft.

  16. Surface Downward Longwave Radiation Retrieval Algorithm for GEO-KOMPSAT-2A/AMI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahn, Seo-Hee; Lee, Kyu-Tae; Rim, Se-Hun; Zo, Il-Sung; Kim, Bu-Yo

    2018-05-01

    This study contributes to the development of an algorithm to retrieve the Earth's surface downward longwave radiation (DLR) for 2nd Geostationary Earth Orbit KOrea Multi-Purpose SATellite (GEO-KOMPSAT-2A; GK-2A)/Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI). Regarding simulation data for algorithm development, we referred to Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA-interim reanalysis data. The clear sky DLR calculations were in good agreement with the Gangneung-Wonju National University (GWNU) Line-By-Line (LBL) model. Compared with CERES data, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was 10.14Wm-2. In the case of cloudy sky DLR, we estimated the cloud base temperature empirically by utilizing cloud liquid water content (LWC) according to the cloud type. As a result, the correlation coefficients with CERES all sky DLRs were greater than 0.99. However, the RMSE between calculated DLR and CERES data was about 16.67Wm-2, due to ice clouds and problems of mismatched spatial and temporal resolutions for input data. This error may be reduced when GK-2A is launched and its products can be used as input data. Accordingly, further study is needed to improve the accuracy of DLR calculation by using high-resolution input data. In addition, when compared with BSRN surface-based observational data and retrieved DLR for all sky, the correlation coefficient was 0.86 and the RMSE was 31.55 Wm-2, which indicates relatively high accuracy. It is expected that increasing the number of experimental Cases will reduce the error.

  17. Top-of-the-atmosphere shortwave flux estimation from satellite observations: an empirical neural network approach applied with data from the A-train constellation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, Pawan; Joiner, Joanna; Vasilkov, Alexander; Bhartia, Pawan K.

    2016-07-01

    Estimates of top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) radiative flux are essential for the understanding of Earth's energy budget and climate system. Clouds, aerosols, water vapor, and ozone (O3) are among the most important atmospheric agents impacting the Earth's shortwave (SW) radiation budget. There are several sensors in orbit that provide independent information related to these parameters. Having coincident information from these sensors is important for understanding their potential contributions. The A-train constellation of satellites provides a unique opportunity to analyze data from several of these sensors. In this paper, retrievals of cloud/aerosol parameters and total column ozone (TCO) from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) have been collocated with the Aqua Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) estimates of total reflected TOA outgoing SW flux (SWF). We use these data to develop a variety of neural networks that estimate TOA SWF globally over ocean and land using only OMI data and other ancillary information as inputs and CERES TOA SWF as the output for training purposes. OMI-estimated TOA SWF from the trained neural networks reproduces independent CERES data with high fidelity. The global mean daily TOA SWF calculated from OMI is consistently within ±1 % of CERES throughout the year 2007. Application of our neural network method to other sensors that provide similar retrieved parameters, both past and future, can produce similar estimates TOA SWF. For example, the well-calibrated Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) series could provide estimates of TOA SWF dating back to late 1978.

  18. Top-of-the-Atmosphere Shortwave Flux Estimation from Satellite Observations: An Empirical Neural Network Approach Applied with Data from the A-Train Constellation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gupta, Pawan; Joiner, Joanna; Vasilkov, Alexander; Bhartia, Pawan K.

    2016-01-01

    Estimates of top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) radiative flux are essential for the understanding of Earth's energy budget and climate system. Clouds, aerosols, water vapor, and ozone (O3) are among the most important atmospheric agents impacting the Earth's shortwave (SW) radiation budget. There are several sensors in orbit that provide independent information related to these parameters. Having coincident information from these sensors is important for understanding their potential contributions. The A-train constellation of satellites provides a unique opportunity to analyze data from several of these sensors. In this paper, retrievals of cloud/aerosol parameters and total column ozone (TCO) from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) have been collocated with the Aqua Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) estimates of total reflected TOA outgoing SW flux (SWF). We use these data to develop a variety of neural networks that estimate TOA SWF globally over ocean and land using only OMI data and other ancillary information as inputs and CERES TOA SWF as the output for training purposes. OMI-estimated TOA SWF from the trained neural networks reproduces independent CERES data with high fidelity. The global mean daily TOA SWF calculated from OMI is consistently within 1% of CERES throughout the year 2007. Application of our neural network method to other sensors that provide similar retrieved parameters, both past and future, can produce similar estimates TOA SWF. For example, the well-calibrated Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) series could provide estimates of TOA SWF dating back to late 1978.

  19. Coloration Determination of Spectral Darkening Occurring on a Broadband Earth Observing Radiometer: Application to Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Matthews, Grant; Priestley, Kory; Loeb, Norman G.; Loukachine, Konstantin; Thomas, Susan; Walikainen, Dale; Wielicki, Bruce A.

    2006-01-01

    It is estimated that in order to best detect real changes in the Earth s climate system, space based instrumentation measuring the Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) must remain calibrated with a stability of 0.3% per decade. Such stability is beyond the specified accuracy of existing ERB programs such as the Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES, using three broadband radiometric scanning channels: the shortwave 0.3 - 5microns, total 0.3. > 100microns, and window 8 - 12microns). It has been shown that when in low earth orbit, optical response to blue/UV radiance can be reduced significantly due to UV hardened contaminants deposited on the surface of the optics. Since typical onboard calibration lamps do not emit sufficient energy in the blue/UV region, this darkening is not directly measurable using standard internal calibration techniques. This paper describes a study using a model of contaminant deposition and darkening, in conjunction with in-flight vicarious calibration techniques, to derive the spectral shape of darkening to which a broadband instrument is subjected. Ultimately the model uses the reflectivity of Deep Convective Clouds as a stability metric. The results of the model when applied to the CERES instruments on board the EOS Terra satellite are shown. Given comprehensive validation of the model, these results will allow the CERES spectral responses to be updated accordingly prior to any forthcoming data release in an attempt to reach the optimum stability target that the climate community requires.

  20. Space Weathering on Airless Bodies.

    PubMed

    Pieters, Carle M; Noble, Sarah K

    2016-10-01

    Space weathering refers to alteration that occurs in the space environment with time. Lunar samples, and to some extent meteorites, have provided a benchmark for understanding the processes and products of space weathering. Lunar soils are derived principally from local materials but have accumulated a range of optically active opaque particles (OAOpq) that include nanophase metallic iron on/in rims formed on individual grains (imparting a red slope to visible and near-infrared reflectance) and larger iron particles (which darken across all wavelengths) such as are often found within the interior of recycled grains. Space weathering of other anhydrous silicate bodies, such as Mercury and some asteroids, produce different forms and relative abundance of OAOpq particles depending on the particular environment. If the development of OAOpq particles is minimized (such as at Vesta), contamination by exogenic material and regolith mixing become the dominant space weathering processes. Volatile-rich bodies and those composed of abundant hydrous minerals (dwarf planet Ceres, many dark asteroids, outer solar system satellites) are affected by space weathering processes differently than the silicate bodies of the inner solar system. However, the space weathering products of these bodies are currently poorly understood and the physics and chemistry of space weathering processes in different environments are areas of active research.

  1. Climate Change Observation Accuracy: Requirements and Economic Value

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce; Cooke, Roger; Golub, Alexander; Baize, Rosemary; Mlynczak, Martin; Lukashin, Constantin; Thome, Kurt; Shea, Yolanda; Kopp, Greg; Pilewskie, Peter; hide

    2016-01-01

    This presentation will summarize a new quantitative approach to determining the required accuracy for climate change observations. Using this metric, most current global satellite observations struggle to meet this accuracy level. CLARREO (Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory) is a new satellite mission designed to resolve this challenge is by achieving advances of a factor of 10 for reflected solar spectra and a factor of 3 to 5 for thermal infrared spectra. The CLARREO spectrometers can serve as SI traceable benchmarks for the Global Satellite Intercalibration System (GSICS) and greatly improve the utility of a wide range of LEO and GEO infrared and reflected solar satellite sensors for climate change observations (e.g. CERES, MODIS, VIIIRS, CrIS, IASI, Landsat, etc). A CLARREO Pathfinder mission for flight on the International Space Station is included in the U.S. Presidentâ€"TM"s fiscal year 2016 budget, with launch in 2019 or 2020. Providing more accurate decadal change trends can in turn lead to more rapid narrowing of key climate science uncertainties such as cloud feedback and climate sensitivity. A new study has been carried out to quantify the economic benefits of such an advance and concludes that the economic value is $9 Trillion U.S. dollars. The new value includes the cost of carbon emissions reductions.

  2. Space Weathering on Airless Bodies

    PubMed Central

    Pieters, Carle M.; Noble, Sarah K.

    2018-01-01

    Space weathering refers to alteration that occurs in the space environment with time. Lunar samples, and to some extent meteorites, have provided a benchmark for understanding the processes and products of space weathering. Lunar soils are derived principally from local materials but have accumulated a range of optically active opaque particles (OAOpq) that include nanophase metallic iron on/in rims formed on individual grains (imparting a red slope to visible and near-infrared reflectance) and larger iron particles (which darken across all wavelengths) such as are often found within the interior of recycled grains. Space weathering of other anhydrous silicate bodies, such as Mercury and some asteroids, produce different forms and relative abundance of OAOpq particles depending on the particular environment. If the development of OAOpq particles is minimized (such as at Vesta), contamination by exogenic material and regolith mixing become the dominant space weathering processes. Volatile-rich bodies and those composed of abundant hydrous minerals (dwarf planet Ceres, many dark asteroids, outer solar system satellites) are affected by space weathering processes differently than the silicate bodies of the inner solar system. However, the space weathering products of these bodies are currently poorly understood and the physics and chemistry of space weathering processes in different environments are areas of active research. PMID:29862145

  3. A Privacy-Preserving Platform for User-Centric Quantitative Benchmarking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrmann, Dominik; Scheuer, Florian; Feustel, Philipp; Nowey, Thomas; Federrath, Hannes

    We propose a centralised platform for quantitative benchmarking of key performance indicators (KPI) among mutually distrustful organisations. Our platform offers users the opportunity to request an ad-hoc benchmarking for a specific KPI within a peer group of their choice. Architecture and protocol are designed to provide anonymity to its users and to hide the sensitive KPI values from other clients and the central server. To this end, we integrate user-centric peer group formation, exchangeable secure multi-party computation protocols, short-lived ephemeral key pairs as pseudonyms, and attribute certificates. We show by empirical evaluation of a prototype that the performance is acceptable for reasonably sized peer groups.

  4. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Munro, J.F.; Kristal, J.; Thompson, G.

    The Office of Environmental Management is bringing Headquarters and the Field together to implement process improvements throughout the Complex through a systematic process of organizational learning called benchmarking. Simply stated, benchmarking is a process of continuously comparing and measuring practices, processes, or methodologies with those of other private and public organizations. The EM benchmarking program, which began as the result of a recommendation from Xerox Corporation, is building trust and removing barriers to performance enhancement across the DOE organization. The EM benchmarking program is designed to be field-centered with Headquarters providing facilitatory and integrative functions on an ``as needed`` basis.more » One of the main goals of the program is to assist Field Offices and their associated M&O/M&I contractors develop the capabilities to do benchmarking for themselves. In this regard, a central precept is that in order to realize tangible performance benefits, program managers and staff -- the ones closest to the work - must take ownership of the studies. This avoids the ``check the box`` mentality associated with some third party studies. This workshop will provide participants with a basic level of understanding why the EM benchmarking team was developed and the nature and scope of its mission. Participants will also begin to understand the types of study levels and the particular methodology the EM benchmarking team is using to conduct studies. The EM benchmarking team will also encourage discussion on ways that DOE (both Headquarters and the Field) can team with its M&O/M&I contractors to conduct additional benchmarking studies. This ``introduction to benchmarking`` is intended to create a desire to know more and a greater appreciation of how benchmarking processes could be creatively employed to enhance performance.« less

  5. Application of the CERES Flux-by-Cloud Type Simulator to GCM Output

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eitzen, Zachary; Su, Wenying; Xu, Kuan-Man; Loeb, Norman G.; Sun, Moguo; Doelling, David R.; Bodas-Salcedo, Alejandro

    2016-01-01

    The CERES Flux By CloudType data product produces CERES top-of-atmosphere (TOA) fluxes by region and cloud type. Here, the cloud types are defined by cloud optical depth (t) and cloud top pressure (pc), with bins similar to those used by ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project). This data product has the potential to be a powerful tool for the evaluation of the clouds produced by climate models by helping to identify which physical parameterizations have problems (e.g., boundary-layer parameterizations, convective clouds, processes that affect surface albedo). Also, when the flux-by-cloud type and frequency of cloud types are simultaneously used to evaluate a model, the results can determine whether an unrealistically large or small occurrence of a given cloud type has an important radiative impact for a given region. A simulator of the flux-by-cloud type product has been applied to three-hourly data from the year 2008 from the UK Met Office HadGEM2-A model using the Langley Fu-Lour radiative transfer model to obtain TOA SW and LW fluxes.

  6. Differentiation of the asteroid Ceres as revealed by its shape.

    PubMed

    Thomas, P C; Parker, J Wm; McFadden, L A; Russell, C T; Stern, S A; Sykes, M V; Young, E F

    2005-09-08

    The accretion of bodies in the asteroid belt was halted nearly 4.6 billion years ago by the gravitational influence of the newly formed giant planet Jupiter. The asteroid belt therefore preserves a record of both this earliest epoch of Solar System formation and variation of conditions within the solar nebula. Spectral features in reflected sunlight indicate that some asteroids have experienced sufficient thermal evolution to differentiate into layered structures. The second most massive asteroid--4 Vesta--has differentiated to a crust, mantle and core. 1 Ceres, the largest and most massive asteroid, has in contrast been presumed to be homogeneous, in part because of its low density, low albedo and relatively featureless visible reflectance spectrum, similar to carbonaceous meteorites that have suffered minimal thermal processing. Here we show that Ceres has a shape and smoothness indicative of a gravitationally relaxed object. Its shape is significantly less flattened than that expected for a homogeneous object, but is consistent with a central mass concentration indicative of differentiation. Possible interior configurations include water-ice-rich mantles over a rocky core.

  7. Spectral Irradiance Calibration in the Infrared. 11; Comparison of (alpha) Bootis and 1 Ceres with a Laboratory Standard

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Witteborn, Fred C.; Cohen, Martin; Bregman, Jesse D.; Wooden, Diane H.; Heere, Karen; Shirley, Eric L.

    1999-01-01

    Infrared spectra of two celestial objects frequently used as flux standards are calibrated against an absolute laboratory flux standard at a spectral resolving power of 100 to 200. The spectrum of the KI.5 III star alpha Boo is measured from 3 to 30 microns, and that of the C-type asteroid 1 Ceres from 5 to 30 microns. While these "standard" spectra do not have the apparent precision of those based on calculated models, they do not require the assumptions involved in theoretical models of stars and asteroids. Specifically, they provide a model-independent means of calibrating celestial flux in the spectral range from 12 to 30 microns, where accurate absolute photometry is not available. The agreement found between the spectral shapes of alpha Boo and Ceres based on laboratory standards and those based on observed ratios to alpha CMa (Sirius) and alpha Lyr (Vega), flux-calibrated by theoretical modeling of these hot stars, strengthens our confidence in the applicability of the stellar models as primary irradiance standards.

  8. Earth Radiation Budget Research at the NASA Langley Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, G. Louis; Harrison, Edwin F.; Gibson, Gary G.

    2014-01-01

    In the 1970s research studies concentrating on satellite measurements of Earth's radiation budget started at the NASA Langley Research Center. Since that beginning, considerable effort has been devoted to developing measurement techniques, data analysis methods, and time-space sampling strategies to meet the radiation budget science requirements for climate studies. Implementation and success of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) was due to the remarkable teamwork of many engineers, scientists, and data analysts. Data from ERBE have provided a new understanding of the effects of clouds, aerosols, and El Nino/La Nina oscillation on the Earth's radiation. CERES spacecraft instruments have extended the time coverage with high quality climate data records for over a decade. Using ERBE and CERES measurements these teams have created information about radiation at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and throughout the atmosphere for a better understanding of our climate. They have also generated surface radiation products for designers of solar power plants and buildings and numerous other applications

  9. S'COOL Provides Research Opportunities and Current Data for Today's Technological Classroom

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Green, Carolyn J.; Chambers, Lin H.; Racel, Anne M.

    1999-01-01

    NASA's Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) project, a hands-on educational project, was an innovative idea conceived by the scientists in the Radiation Sciences Branch at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, in 1996. It came about after a local teacher expressed the idea that she wanted her students to be involved in real-life science. S'COOL supports NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument, which was launched on the Tropical Rainforest Measuring Mission (TRMM) in November, 1997, as part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. With the S'COOL project students observe clouds and related weather conditions, compute data and note vital information while obtaining ground truth observations for the CERES instrument. The observations can then be used to help validate the CERES measurements, particularly detection of clear sky from space. In addition to meeting math, science and geography standards, students are engaged in using the computer to obtain, report and analyze current data, thus bringing modern technology into the realm of classroom, a paradigm that demands our attention.

  10. Spectral Irradiance Calibration in the Infrared 11: Comparison of (alpha) Boo and 1 Ceres with a Laboratory Standard

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Witteborn, Fred C.; Cohen, Martin; Bregman, Jess D.; Wooden, Diane; Heere, Karen; Shirley, Eric L.

    1998-01-01

    Infrared spectra of two celestial objects frequently used as flux standards are calibrated against an absolute laboratory flux standard at a spectral resolving power of 100 to 200. The spectrum of the K1.5III star, alpha Boo, is measured from 3 microns to 30 microns and that of the C-type asteroid, 1 Ceres, from 5 microns to 30 microns. While these 'standard' spectra do not have the apparent precision of those based on calculated models, they do not require the assumptions involved in theoretical models of stars and asteroids. Specifically they provide a model-independent means of calibrating celestial flux in the spectral range from 12 microns to 30 microns where accurate absolute photometry is not available. The agreement found between the spectral shapes of alpha Boo and Ceres based on laboratory standards, and those based on observed ratios to alpha CMa (Sirius) and alpha Lyr (Vega), flux calibrated by theoretical modeling of these hot stars strengthens our confidence in the applicability of the stellar models as primary irradiance standards.

  11. Benchmarking nitrogen removal suspended-carrier biofilm systems using dynamic simulation.

    PubMed

    Vanhooren, H; Yuan, Z; Vanrolleghem, P A

    2002-01-01

    We are witnessing an enormous growth in biological nitrogen removal from wastewater. It presents specific challenges beyond traditional COD (carbon) removal. A possibility for optimised process design is the use of biomass-supporting media. In this paper, attached growth processes (AGP) are evaluated using dynamic simulations. The advantages of these systems that were qualitatively described elsewhere, are validated quantitatively based on a simulation benchmark for activated sludge treatment systems. This simulation benchmark is extended with a biofilm model that allows for fast and accurate simulation of the conversion of different substrates in a biofilm. The economic feasibility of this system is evaluated using the data generated with the benchmark simulations. Capital savings due to volume reduction and reduced sludge production are weighed out against increased aeration costs. In this evaluation, effluent quality is integrated as well.

  12. Technology Assessment On Stressor Impacts To Green Infrastructure BMP Performance, Monitoring And Integration

    EPA Science Inventory

    This presentation will document, benchmark and evalute state-of-the-science research and implementation on BMP performance, monitoring, and integration for green infrastructure applications, to manage wet weather flwo, storm-water-runoff stressor relief and remedial sustainable w...

  13. KSC-07pd2583

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-09-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Rising above a cloud-filled horizon, the Delta II rocket carrying the Dawn spacecraft roars into the sky. Liftoff was at 7:34 a.m. EDT from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

  14. KSC-07pd1654

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft moves out of the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla., for transportation to Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and mate to the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  15. KSC-07pd2584

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-09-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Delta II rocket with the Dawn spacecraft on top waits in the early morning light for launch. Liftoff was at 7:34 a.m. EDT from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

  16. KSC-07pd2585

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-09-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Rising into billowing clouds above the horizon, the Delta II rocket carrying the Dawn spacecraft roars into the sky. Liftoff was at 7:34 a.m. EDT from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

  17. KSC-07pd1661

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the top of Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers help to guide NASA’s Dawn spacecraft into position for stacking with the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA’s first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  18. KSC-07pd2586

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-09-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Leaving the clouds behind, the Delta II rocket carrying the Dawn spacecraft arcs through the blue sky over the Atlantic Ocean. Liftoff was at 7:34 a.m. EDT from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

  19. KSC-07pd1663

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers position NASA's Dawn spacecraft to mate it with the Delta II launch vehicle below. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA’s Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA’s first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  20. KSC-07pd1659

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, NASA's Dawn spacecraft is hoisted up on the pad in preparation for stacking with the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  1. KSC-07pd1662

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers position NASA’s Dawn spacecraft to lower it toward the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA’s first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  2. KSC-07pd1660

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the top of Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers help to guide NASA’s Dawn spacecraft into position for stacking with the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA’s first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  3. Highly Pristine Organic Matter in a Xenolith Clast in the Zag H Chrondrite

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kebukawa, Y.; Ito, M.; Zolensky, M. E.; Nakato, A.; Suga, H.; Takahashi, Y.; Takeichi, Y.; Mase, K.; Chan, Q.; Fries, M.; hide

    2017-01-01

    The Zag meteorite is a halite-bearing H3-6 chondrite [1]. We have been studying a dark Zag clast with abundant organic matter [2,3], which was proposed to be from Ceres [4,5]. Therefore, our systematic research of the Zag clast may provide an important linkage to the recent remote sensing observations obtained by the DAWN mission to Ceres. We prepared a new sub-sample of this clast for coordinated organic analysis by STXM-XANES and NanoSIMS, in order to understand the nature and origin of the organic matter.

  4. Minor planets and related objects. XXI - Photometry of eight asteroids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Taylor, R. C.; Gehrels, T.; Capen, R. C.

    1976-01-01

    Light curves, UBV colors, rotational periods, phase coefficients, and absolute magnitudes are presented. The asteroids studied are (1) Ceres, (4) Vesta, (16) Psyche, (78) Diana, (281) Lucretia, (451) Patientia, (1212) Francette, and (1362) Griqua. The rotation axis of Lucretia is nearly perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic. Ceres appears to be nearly spherical with an absolute magnitude of B(1,0)=4.42, which is 0.3 mag fainter than previously reported. The determination of the absolute magnitude for an asteroid depends on its aspect, and for each opposition there is, therefore, a different absolute magnitude.

  5. Statistical Analyses of Satellite Cloud Object Data from CERES. Part III; Comparison with Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations of Tropical Convective Clouds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Luo, Yali; Xu, Kuan-Man; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Wong, Takmeng; Eitzen, Zachary A.

    2007-01-01

    The present study evaluates the ability of a cloud-resolving model (CRM) to simulate the physical properties of tropical deep convective cloud objects identified from a Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) data product. The emphasis of this study is the comparisons among the small-, medium- and large-size categories of cloud objects observed during March 1998 and between the large-size categories of cloud objects observed during March 1998 (strong El Ni o) and March 2000 (weak La Ni a). Results from the CRM simulations are analyzed in a way that is consistent with the CERES retrieval algorithm and they are averaged to match the scale of the CERES satellite footprints. Cloud physical properties are analyzed in terms of their summary histograms for each category. It is found that there is a general agreement in the overall shapes of all cloud physical properties between the simulated and observed distributions. Each cloud physical property produced by the CRM also exhibits different degrees of disagreement with observations over different ranges of the property. The simulated cloud tops are generally too high and cloud top temperatures are too low except for the large-size category of March 1998. The probability densities of the simulated top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) albedos for all four categories are underestimated for high albedos, while those of cloud optical depth are overestimated at its lowest bin. These disagreements are mainly related to uncertainties in the cloud microphysics parameterization and inputs such as cloud ice effective size to the radiation calculation. Summary histograms of cloud optical depth and TOA albedo from the CRM simulations of the large-size category of cloud objects do not differ significantly between the March 1998 and 2000 periods, consistent with the CERES observations. However, the CRM is unable to reproduce the significant differences in the observed cloud top height while it overestimates the differences in the observed outgoing longwave radiation and cloud top temperature between the two periods. Comparisons between the CRM results and the observations for most parameters in March 1998 consistently show that both the simulations and observations have larger differences between the large- and small-size categories than between the large- and medium-size, or between the medium- and small-size categories. However, the simulated cloud properties do not change as much with size as observed. These disagreements are likely related to the spatial averaging of the forcing data and the mismatch in time and in space between the numerical weather prediction model from which the forcing data are produced and the CERES observed cloud systems.

  6. SatelliteDL - An IDL Toolkit for the Analysis of Satellite Earth Observations - GOES, MODIS, VIIRS and CERES

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fillmore, D. W.; Galloy, M. D.; Kindig, D.

    2013-12-01

    SatelliteDL is an IDL toolkit for the analysis of satellite Earth observations from a diverse set of platforms and sensors. The design features an abstraction layer that allows for easy inclusion of new datasets in a modular way. The core function of the toolkit is the spatial and temporal alignment of satellite swath and geostationary data. IDL has a powerful suite of statistical and visualization tools that can be used in conjunction with SatelliteDL. Our overarching objective is to create utilities that automate the mundane aspects of satellite data analysis, are extensible and maintainable, and do not place limitations on the analysis itself. Toward this end we have constructed SatelliteDL to include (1) HTML and LaTeX API document generation, (2) a unit test framework, (3) automatic message and error logs, (4) HTML and LaTeX plot and table generation, and (5) several real world examples with bundled datasets available for download. For ease of use, datasets, variables and optional workflows may be specified in a flexible format configuration file. Configuration statements may specify, for example, a region and date range, and the creation of images, plots and statistical summary tables for a long list of variables. SatelliteDL enforces data provenance; all data should be traceable and reproducible. The output NetCDF file metadata holds a complete history of the original datasets and their transformations, and a method exists to reconstruct a configuration file from this information. Release 0.1.0 of SatelliteDL is anticipated for the 2013 Fall AGU conference. It will distribute with ingest methods for GOES, MODIS, VIIRS and CERES radiance data (L1) as well as select 2D atmosphere products (L2) such as aerosol and cloud (MODIS and VIIRS) and radiant flux (CERES). Future releases will provide ingest methods for ocean and land surface products, gridded and time averaged datasets (L3 Daily, Monthly and Yearly), and support for 3D products such as temperature and water vapor profiles. Emphasis will be on NPP Sensor, Environmental and Climate Data Records as they become available. To obtain SatelliteDL (from 2013 December onward) please visit the project website at the indicated URL. Our poster exhibits three regional weather examples of SatelliteDL in action: (1) a mesoscale convective complex over the Great Plains (GOES, MODIS, VIIRS and CERES), (2) a dust storm over Arabia (MODIS, VIIRS and CERES) and (3) a volcanic ash plume over Patagonia and the South Atlantic (GOES, MODIS and CERES). In these examples the GOES radiances are cross-calibrated with MODIS. Cloud products are shown in examples (1) and (3) and aerosol products in examples (2) and (3).

  7. Technology Assessment On Stressor Impacts to Green Infrastructure BMP Performance, Monitoring, and Integration (Cincinnati, OH)

    EPA Science Inventory

    This poster presentation will document, benchmark and evaluate state-of-the-science research and implementation on BMP performance, monitoring and integration for green infrastructure applications, to manage wet weather flow, storm-water runoff stressor relief and remedial sustai...

  8. The application of a Web-geographic information system for improving urban water cycle modelling.

    PubMed

    Mair, M; Mikovits, C; Sengthaler, M; Schöpf, M; Kinzel, H; Urich, C; Kleidorfer, M; Sitzenfrei, R; Rauch, W

    2014-01-01

    Research in urban water management has experienced a transition from traditional model applications to modelling water cycles as an integrated part of urban areas. This includes the interlinking of models of many research areas (e.g. urban development, socio-economy, urban water management). The integration and simulation is realized in newly developed frameworks (e.g. DynaMind and OpenMI) and often assumes a high knowledge in programming. This work presents a Web based urban water management modelling platform which simplifies the setup and usage of complex integrated models. The platform is demonstrated with a small application example on a case study within the Alpine region. The used model is a DynaMind model benchmarking the impact of newly connected catchments on the flooding behaviour of an existing combined sewer system. As a result the workflow of the user within a Web browser is demonstrated and benchmark results are shown. The presented platform hides implementation specific aspects behind Web services based technologies such that the user can focus on his main aim, which is urban water management modelling and benchmarking. Moreover, this platform offers a centralized data management, automatic software updates and access to high performance computers accessible with desktop computers and mobile devices.

  9. Use of integral experiments in support to the validation of JEFF-3.2 nuclear data evaluation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leclaire, Nicolas; Cochet, Bertrand; Jinaphanh, Alexis; Haeck, Wim

    2017-09-01

    For many years now, IRSN has developed its own Monte Carlo continuous energy capability, which allows testing various nuclear data libraries. In that prospect, a validation database of 1136 experiments was built from cases used for the validation of the APOLLO2-MORET 5 multigroup route of the CRISTAL V2.0 package. In this paper, the keff obtained for more than 200 benchmarks using the JEFF-3.1.1 and JEFF-3.2 libraries are compared to benchmark keff values and main discrepancies are analyzed regarding the neutron spectrum. Special attention is paid on benchmarks for which the results have been highly modified between both JEFF-3 versions.

  10. Benchmarking Discount Rate in Natural Resource Damage Assessment with Risk Aversion.

    PubMed

    Wu, Desheng; Chen, Shuzhen

    2017-08-01

    Benchmarking a credible discount rate is of crucial importance in natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) and restoration evaluation. This article integrates a holistic framework of NRDA with prevailing low discount rate theory, and proposes a discount rate benchmarking decision support system based on service-specific risk aversion. The proposed approach has the flexibility of choosing appropriate discount rates for gauging long-term services, as opposed to decisions based simply on duration. It improves injury identification in NRDA since potential damages and side-effects to ecosystem services are revealed within the service-specific framework. A real embankment case study demonstrates valid implementation of the method. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

  11. Results of the GABLS3 diurnal-cycle benchmark for wind energy applications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rodrigo, J. Sanz; Allaerts, D.; Avila, M.

    We present results of the GABLS3 model intercomparison benchmark revisited for wind energy applications. The case consists of a diurnal cycle, measured at the 200-m tall Cabauw tower in the Netherlands, including a nocturnal low-level jet. The benchmark includes a sensitivity analysis of WRF simulations using two input meteorological databases and five planetary boundary-layer schemes. A reference set of mesoscale tendencies is used to drive microscale simulations using RANS k-ϵ and LES turbulence models. The validation is based on rotor-based quantities of interest. Cycle-integrated mean absolute errors are used to quantify model performance. The results of the benchmark are usedmore » to discuss input uncertainties from mesoscale modelling, different meso-micro coupling strategies (online vs offline) and consistency between RANS and LES codes when dealing with boundary-layer mean flow quantities. Altogether, all the microscale simulations produce a consistent coupling with mesoscale forcings.« less

  12. Results of the GABLS3 diurnal-cycle benchmark for wind energy applications

    DOE PAGES

    Rodrigo, J. Sanz; Allaerts, D.; Avila, M.; ...

    2017-06-13

    We present results of the GABLS3 model intercomparison benchmark revisited for wind energy applications. The case consists of a diurnal cycle, measured at the 200-m tall Cabauw tower in the Netherlands, including a nocturnal low-level jet. The benchmark includes a sensitivity analysis of WRF simulations using two input meteorological databases and five planetary boundary-layer schemes. A reference set of mesoscale tendencies is used to drive microscale simulations using RANS k-ϵ and LES turbulence models. The validation is based on rotor-based quantities of interest. Cycle-integrated mean absolute errors are used to quantify model performance. The results of the benchmark are usedmore » to discuss input uncertainties from mesoscale modelling, different meso-micro coupling strategies (online vs offline) and consistency between RANS and LES codes when dealing with boundary-layer mean flow quantities. Altogether, all the microscale simulations produce a consistent coupling with mesoscale forcings.« less

  13. Assessment of the NPOESS/VIIRS Nighttime Infrared Cloud Optical Properties Algorithms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wong, E.; Ou, S. C.

    2008-12-01

    In this paper we will describe two NPOESS VIIRS IR algorithms used to retrieve microphysical properties for water and ice clouds during nighttime conditions. Both algorithms employ four VIIRS IR channels: M12 (3.7 μm), M14 (8.55 μm), M15 (10.7 μm) and M16 (12 μm). The physical basis for the two algorithms is similar in that while the Cloud Top Temperature (CTT) is derived from M14 and M16 for ice clouds the Cloud Optical Thickness (COT) and Cloud Effective Particle Size (CEPS) are derived from M12 and M15. The two algorithms depart in the different radiative transfer parameterization equations used for ice and water clouds. Both the VIIRS nighttime IR algorithms and the CERES split-window method employ the 3.7 μm and 10.7 μm bands for cloud optical properties retrievals, apparently based on similar physical principles but with different implementations. It is reasonable to expect that the VIIRS and CERES IR algorithms produce comparable performance and similar limitations. To demonstrate the VIIRS nighttime IR algorithm performance, we will select a number of test cases using NASA MODIS L1b radiance products as proxy input data for VIIRS. The VIIRS retrieved COT and CEPS will then be compared to cloud products available from the MODIS, NASA CALIPSO, CloudSat and CERES sensors. For the MODIS product, the nighttime cloud emissivity will serve as an indirect comparison to VIIRS COT. For the CALIPSO and CloudSat products, the layered COT will be used for direct comparison. Finally, the CERES products will provide direct comparison with COT as well as CEPS. This study can only provide a qualitative assessment of the VIIRS IR algorithms due to the large uncertainties in these cloud products.

  14. Comparison of Cloud and Aerosol Detection between CERES Edition 3 Cloud Mask and CALIPSO Version 2 Data Products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trepte, Qing; Minnis, Patrick; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Trepte, Charles

    Clouds and aerosol play important roles in the global climate system. Accurately detecting their presence, altitude, and properties using satellite radiance measurements is a crucial first step in determining their influence on surface and top-of-atmosphere radiative fluxes. This paper presents a comparison analysis of a new version of the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Edition 3 cloud detection algorithms using Aqua MODIS data with the recently released Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) Version 2 Vertical Feature Mask (VFM). Improvements in CERES Edition 3 cloud mask include dust detection, thin cirrus tests, enhanced low cloud detection at night, and a smoother transition from mid-latitude to polar regions. For the CALIPSO Version 2 data set, changes to the lidar calibration can result in significant improvements to its identification of optically thick aerosol layers. The Aqua and CALIPSO satellites, part of the A-train satellite constellation, provide a unique opportunity for validating passive sensor cloud and aerosol detection using an active sensor. In this paper, individual comparison cases will be discussed for different types of clouds and aerosols over various surfaces, for daytime and nighttime conditions, and for regions ranging from the tropics to the poles. Examples will include an assessment of the CERES detection algorithm for optically thin cirrus, marine stratus, and polar night clouds as well as its ability to characterize Saharan dust plumes off the African coast. With the CALIPSO lidar's unique ability to probe the vertical structure of clouds and aerosol layers, it provides an excellent validation data set for cloud detection algorithms, especially for polar nighttime clouds.

  15. Global cloud database from VIRS and MODIS for CERES

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Minnis, Patrick; Young, David F.; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Trepte, Qing Z.; Chen, Yan; Heck, Patrick W.; Dong, Xiquan

    2003-04-01

    The NASA CERES Project has developed a combined radiation and cloud property dataset using the CERES scanners and matched spectral data from high-resolution imagers, the Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. The diurnal cycle can be well-characterized over most of the globe using the combinations of TRMM, Aqua, and Terra data. The cloud properties are derived from the imagers using state-of-the-art methods and include cloud fraction, height, optical depth, phase, effective particle size, emissivity, and ice or liquid water path. These cloud products are convolved into the matching CERES fields of view to provide simultaneous cloud and radiation data at an unprecedented accuracy. Results are available for at least 3 years of VIRS data and 1 year of Terra MODIS data. The various cloud products are compared with similar quantities from climatological sources and instantaneous active remote sensors. The cloud amounts are very similar to those from surface observer climatologies and are 6-7% less than those from a satellite-based climatology. Optical depths are 2-3 times smaller than those from the satellite climatology, but are within 5% of those from the surface remote sensing. Cloud droplet sizes and liquid water paths are within 10% of the surface results on average for stratus clouds. The VIRS and MODIS retrievals are very consistent with differences that usually can be explained by sampling, calibration, or resolution differences. The results should be extremely valuable for model validation and improvement and for improving our understanding of the relationship between clouds and the radiation budget.

  16. FC colour images of dwarf planet Ceres reveal a complicated geological history

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nathues, A.; Hoffmann, M.; Platz, T.; Thangjam, G. S.; Cloutis, E. A.; Reddy, V.; Le Corre, L.; Li, J.-Y.; Mengel, K.; Rivkin, A.; Applin, D. M.; Schaefer, M.; Christensen, U.; Sierks, H.; Ripken, J.; Schmidt, B. E.; Hiesinger, H.; Sykes, M. V.; Sizemore, H. G.; Preusker, F.; Russell, C. T.

    2016-12-01

    The dwarf planet Ceres (equatorial diameter 963km) is the largest object that has remained in the main asteroid belt (Russell and Raymond, 2012), while most large bodies have been destroyed or removed by dynamical processes (Petit et al. 2001; Minton and Malhotra, 2009). Pre-Dawn investigations (McCord and Sotin, 2005; Castillo-Rogez and McCord, 2010; Castillo-Rogez et al., 2011) suggest that Ceres is a thermally evolved, but still volatile-rich body with potential geological activity, that was never completely molten, but possibly differentiated into a rocky core, an ice-rich mantle, and may contain remnant internal liquid water. Thermal alteration should contribute to producing a (dark) carbonaceous chondritic-like surface (McCord and Sotin, 2005; Castillo-Rogez and McCord, 2010; Castillo-Rogez et al., 2011; Nathues et al., 2015) containing ammoniated phyllosilicates (King et al., 1992; De Sanctis et al., 2015 and 2016). Here we show and analyse global contrast-rich colour mosaics, derived from a camera on-board Dawn at Ceres (Russell et al., 2016). Colours are unexpectedly more diverse on global scale than anticipated by Hubble Space Telescope (Li et al., 2006) and ground-based observations (Reddy et al. 2015). Dawn data led to the identification of five major colour units. The youngest units identified by crater counting, termed bright and bluish units, are exclusively found at equatorial and intermediate latitudes. We identified correlations between the distribution of the colour units, crater size, and formation age, inferring a crustal stratigraphy. Surface brightness and spectral properties are not correlated. The youngest surface features are the bright spots at crater Occator ( Ø 92km). Their colour spectra are highly consistent with the presence of carbonates while most of the remaining surface resembles modifications of various types of ordinary carbonaceous chondrites.

  17. Benchmarking: a method for continuous quality improvement in health.

    PubMed

    Ettorchi-Tardy, Amina; Levif, Marie; Michel, Philippe

    2012-05-01

    Benchmarking, a management approach for implementing best practices at best cost, is a recent concept in the healthcare system. The objectives of this paper are to better understand the concept and its evolution in the healthcare sector, to propose an operational definition, and to describe some French and international experiences of benchmarking in the healthcare sector. To this end, we reviewed the literature on this approach's emergence in the industrial sector, its evolution, its fields of application and examples of how it has been used in the healthcare sector. Benchmarking is often thought to consist simply of comparing indicators and is not perceived in its entirety, that is, as a tool based on voluntary and active collaboration among several organizations to create a spirit of competition and to apply best practices. The key feature of benchmarking is its integration within a comprehensive and participatory policy of continuous quality improvement (CQI). Conditions for successful benchmarking focus essentially on careful preparation of the process, monitoring of the relevant indicators, staff involvement and inter-organizational visits. Compared to methods previously implemented in France (CQI and collaborative projects), benchmarking has specific features that set it apart as a healthcare innovation. This is especially true for healthcare or medical-social organizations, as the principle of inter-organizational visiting is not part of their culture. Thus, this approach will need to be assessed for feasibility and acceptability before it is more widely promoted.

  18. Using ontology databases for scalable query answering, inconsistency detection, and data integration

    PubMed Central

    Dou, Dejing

    2011-01-01

    An ontology database is a basic relational database management system that models an ontology plus its instances. To reason over the transitive closure of instances in the subsumption hierarchy, for example, an ontology database can either unfold views at query time or propagate assertions using triggers at load time. In this paper, we use existing benchmarks to evaluate our method—using triggers—and we demonstrate that by forward computing inferences, we not only improve query time, but the improvement appears to cost only more space (not time). However, we go on to show that the true penalties were simply opaque to the benchmark, i.e., the benchmark inadequately captures load-time costs. We have applied our methods to two case studies in biomedicine, using ontologies and data from genetics and neuroscience to illustrate two important applications: first, ontology databases answer ontology-based queries effectively; second, using triggers, ontology databases detect instance-based inconsistencies—something not possible using views. Finally, we demonstrate how to extend our methods to perform data integration across multiple, distributed ontology databases. PMID:22163378

  19. Neutron Reference Benchmark Field Specification: ACRR Free-Field Environment (ACRR-FF-CC-32-CL).

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vega, Richard Manuel; Parma, Edward J.; Griffin, Patrick J.

    2015-07-01

    This report was put together to support the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) REAL- 2016 activity to validate the dosimetry community’s ability to use a consistent set of activation data and to derive consistent spectral characterizations. The report captures details of integral measurements taken in the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) central cavity free-field reference neutron benchmark field. The field is described and an “a priori” calculated neutron spectrum is reported, based on MCNP6 calculations, and a subject matter expert (SME) based covariance matrix is given for this “a priori” spectrum. The results of 31 integral dosimetry measurements in themore » neutron field are reported.« less

  20. A refined 'standard' thermal model for asteroids based on observations of 1 Ceres and 2 Pallas

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lebofsky, Larry A.; Sykes, Mark V.; Tedesco, Edward F.; Veeder, Glenn J.; Matson, Dennis L.

    1986-01-01

    An analysis of ground-based thermal IR observations of 1 Ceres and 2 Pallas in light of their recently determined occultation diameters and small amplitude light curves has yielded a new value for the IR beaming parameter employed in the standard asteroid thermal emission model which is significantly lower than the previous one. When applied to the reduction of thermal IR observations of other asteroids, this new value is expected to yield model diameters closer to actual values. The present formulation incorporates the IAU magnitude convention for asteroids that employs zero-phase magnitudes, including the opposition effect.

  1. KSC-07pd1664

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Delta II launch vehicle with NASA’s Dawn spacecraft mission logo can be seen as it is moved into position for stacking with the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA’s first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  2. KSC-07pd1656

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers attach a crane to NASA's Dawn spacecraft. It will be lifted into the mobile service tower for mating to the Delta II launch vehicle.Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  3. KSC-07pd2062

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-07-22

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. — Sitting on a transporter, the Dawn spacecraft arrives at the Astrotech payload processing facility. Dawn was returned from Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to Astrotech to await a new launch date. The launch opportunity extends from Sept. 7 to Oct. 15. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA’s first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. NASA/Charisse Nahser

  4. KSC-07pd1655

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft, mated to the Delta II upper stage booster, arrives at Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It will be lifted into the mobile service tower for mating to the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  5. KSC-07pd2063

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-07-22

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. — The Dawn spacecraft is moved inside the Astrotech payload processing facility. Dawn was returned from Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to Astrotech to await a new launch date. The launch opportunity extends from Sept. 7 to Oct. 15. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA’s first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. NASA/Charisse Nahser

  6. KSC-07pd1653

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Astrotech Facility in Titusville, Fla., NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is ready to be transported to Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, for mate to the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  7. KSC-07pd1658

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers prepare NASA's Dawn spacecraft mated to the Delta II upper stage booster, for hoisting up into the mobile service tower. Dawn will be mated with the Delta II launch vehicle. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  8. KSC-07pd1657

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2007-06-27

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers attach a crane to NASA's Dawn spacecraft mated to the Delta II upper stage booster, in preparation for stacking with the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

  9. Dawn XMO2 Image 28

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-01-03

    Meanderi Crater on Ceres is seen at lower right in this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft. Meanderi -- named for the Ngaing goddess (New Guinea) of taro, sugar cane and other foods -- hosts several medium-sized craters within its walls. Meanderi measures 64 miles (103 kilometers) in diameter. The crater is centered at 41 degrees south, 194 degrees east. Dawn took this image on Oct. 26, 2016, during its second extended-mission science orbit (XMO2), from a distance of about 920 miles (1,480 kilometers) above the surface of Ceres. The image resolution is about 460 feet (140 meters) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21248

  10. The CERES/NA45 radial drift Time Projection Chamber

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adamová, D.; Agakichiev, G.; Antończyk, D.; Appelshäuser, H.; Belaga, V.; Bielčíková, J.; Braun-Munzinger, P.; Campagnolo, R.; Cherlin, A.; Damjanović, S.; Dietel, T.; Dietrich, L.; Drees, A.; Dubitzky, W.; Esumi, S. I.; Filimonov, K.; Fraenkel, Z.; Garabatos, C.; Glässel, P.; Hering, G.; Holeczek, J.; Kushpil, V.; Marín, A.; Milošević, J.; Milov, A.; Miśkowiec, D.; Musa, L.; Panebrattsev, Y.; Pechenova, O.; Petráček, V.; Pfeiffer, A.; Rak, J.; Ravinovich, I.; Richter, M.; Sako, H.; Schäfer, E.; Schmitz, W.; Schukraft, J.; Seipp, W.; Sharma, A.; Shimansky, S.; Stachel, J.; Šumbera, M.; Tilsner, H.; Tserruya, I.; Wessels, J. P.; Wienold, T.; Windelband, B.; Wurm, J. P.; Xie, W.; Yurevich, S.; Yurevich, V.

    2008-08-01

    The design, calibration, and performance of the first radial drift Time Projection Chamber (TPC) are presented. The TPC was built and installed at the CERES/NA45 experiment at the CERN SPS in the late nineties, with the objective to improve the momentum resolution of the spectrometer. The upgraded experiment took data twice, in 1999 and in 2000. After a detailed study of residual distortions a spatial resolution of 340 μm in the azimuthal and 640 μm in the radial direction was achieved, corresponding to a momentum resolution of Δp/p=√{(1%·p/GeV)2+(2%)2}.

  11. Composition and structure of the shallow subsurface of Ceres revealed by crater morphology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bland, Michael T.; Raymond, Carol A.; Schenk, Paul M.; Fu, Roger R.; Kneissl, Thomas; Pasckert, Jan Hendrik; Hiesinger, Harry; Preusker, Frank; Park, Ryan S.; Marchi, Simone; King, Scott D.; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; Russell, Christopher T.

    2016-07-01

    Before NASA’s Dawn mission, the dwarf planet Ceres was widely believed to contain a substantial ice-rich layer below its rocky surface. The existence of such a layer has significant implications for Ceres’s formation, evolution, and astrobiological potential. Ceres is warmer than icy worlds in the outer Solar System and, if its shallow subsurface is ice-rich, large impact craters are expected to be erased by viscous flow on short geologic timescales. Here we use digital terrain models derived from Dawn Framing Camera images to show that most of Ceres’s largest craters are several kilometres deep, and are therefore inconsistent with the existence of an ice-rich subsurface. We further show from numerical simulations that the absence of viscous relaxation over billion-year timescales implies a subsurface viscosity that is at least one thousand times greater than that of pure water ice. We conclude that Ceres’s shallow subsurface is no more than 30% to 40% ice by volume, with a mixture of rock, salts and/or clathrates accounting for the other 60% to 70%. However, several anomalously shallow craters are consistent with limited viscous relaxation and may indicate spatial variations in subsurface ice content.

  12. Students as Ground Observers for Satellite Cloud Retrieval Validation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chambers, Lin H.; Costulis, P. Kay; Young, David F.; Rogerson, Tina M.

    2004-01-01

    The Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) Project was initiated in 1997 to obtain student observations of clouds coinciding with the overpass of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments on NASA's Earth Observing System satellites. Over the past seven years we have accumulated more than 9,000 cases worldwide where student observations are available within 15 minutes of a CERES observation. This paper reports on comparisons between the student and satellite data as one facet of the validation of the CERES cloud retrievals. Available comparisons include cloud cover, cloud height, cloud layering, and cloud visual opacity. The large volume of comparisons allows some assessment of the impact of surface cover, such as snow and ice, reported by the students. The S'COOL observation database, accessible via the Internet at http://scool.larc.nasa.gov, contains over 32,000 student observations and is growing by over 700 observations each month. Some of these observations may be useful for assessment of other satellite cloud products. In particular, some observing sites have been making hourly observations of clouds during the school day to learn about the diurnal cycle of cloudiness.

  13. Composition and structure of the shallow subsurface of Ceres revealed by crater morphology

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bland, Michael T.; Carol A. Raymond,; Schenk, Paul M.; Roger R. Fu,; Thomas Kneisl,; Hendrick Pasckert, Jan; Hiesinger, Harald; Frank Preusker,; Ryan S. Park,; Simone Marchi,; Scott King,; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.; Christopher T. Russell,

    2016-01-01

    Before NASA’s Dawn mission, the dwarf planet Ceres was widely believed to contain a substantial ice-rich layer below its rocky surface. The existence of such a layer has significant implications for Ceres’s formation, evolution, and astrobiological potential. Ceres is warmer than icy worlds in the outer Solar System and, if its shallow subsurface is ice-rich, large impact craters are expected to be erased by viscous flow on short geologic timescales. Here we use digital terrain models derived from Dawn Framing Camera images to show that most of Ceres’s largest craters are several kilometres deep, and are therefore inconsistent with the existence of an ice-rich subsurface. We further show from numerical simulations that the absence of viscous relaxation over billion-year timescales implies a subsurface viscosity that is at least one thousand times greater than that of pure water ice. We conclude that Ceres’s shallow subsurface is no more than 30% to 40% ice by volume, with a mixture of rock, salts and/or clathrates accounting for the other 60% to 70%. However, several anomalously shallow craters are consistent with limited viscous relaxation and may indicate spatial variations in subsurface ice content.

  14. Oxo Crater on (1) Ceres: Geological History and the Role of Water-ice

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nathues, A.; Platz, T.; Hoffmann, M.

    Dwarf planet Ceres (∅ ∼ 940 km) is the largest object in the main asteroid belt. Investigations suggest that Ceres is a thermally evolved, volatile-rich body with potential geological activity, a body that was never completely molten, but one that possibly partially differentiated into a rocky core and an ice-rich mantle, and may contain remnant internal liquid water. Thermal alteration and the infall of exogenic material contribute to producing a (dark) carbonaceous chondritic-like surface containing ammoniated phyllosilicates. Here we report imaging and spectroscopic analyses of data on the bright Oxo crater derived from the Framing Camera and the Visible andmore » Infrared Spectrometer on board the Dawn spacecraft. We confirm that the transitional complex crater Oxo (∅ ∼ 9 km) exhibits exposed surface water-ice. We show that this water-ice-rich material is associated exclusively with two lobate deposits at pole-facing scarps, deposits that also contain carbonates and admixed phyllosilicates. Due to Oxo’s location at −4802 m below the cerean reference ellipsoid and its very young age of only 190 ka (1 σ : +100 ka, −70 ka), Oxo is predestined for ongoing water-ice sublimation.« less

  15. Xevioso Crater on Ceres

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-09-26

    Xevioso Crater is the small (5.3 miles, 8.5 kilometers in diameter) crater associated with bright ejecta toward the top of this image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. It is one of the newly named craters on Ceres. Xevioso is located in the vicinity of Ahuna Mons, the tall, lonely mountain seen toward the bottom of the picture. Given that the small impact that formed Xevioso was able to excavate bright material, scientists suspect the material may be found at shallow depth. Its nature and relationship to other bright regions on Ceres is under analysis. The asymmetrical distribution of this bright ejecta indicates Xevioso formed via an oblique impact. Another view of Xevioso can be found here. Xevioso is named for the Fon god of thunder and fertility from the Kingdom of Dahomey, which was located in a region that is now the west African country of Benin. Dawn acquired this picture on October 15, 2015, from its high altitude mapping orbit at about 915 miles (1,470 kilometers) above the surface. The center coordinates of this image are 3.8 degrees south latitude, 314 degrees east longitude, and its resolution is 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21907

  16. CERES cloud property retrievals from imagers on TRMM, Terra, and Aqua

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Minnis, Patrick; Young, David F.; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Heck, Patrick W.; Doelling, David R.; Trepte, Qing Z.

    2004-02-01

    The micro- and macrophysical properties of clouds play a crucial role in Earth"s radiation budget. The NASA Clouds and Earth"s Radiant Energy System (CERES) is providing simultaneous measurements of the radiation and cloud fields on a global basis to improve the understanding and modeling of the interaction between clouds and radiation at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and within the atmosphere. Cloud properties derived for CERES from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra and Aqua satellites are compared to ensure consistency between the products to ensure the reliability of the retrievals from multiple platforms at different times of day. Comparisons of cloud fraction, height, optical depth, phase, effective particle size, and ice and liquid water paths from the two satellites show excellent consistency. Initial calibration comparisons are also very favorable. Differences between the Aqua and Terra results are generally due to diurnally dependent changes in the clouds. Additional algorithm refinement is needed over the polar regions for Aqua and at night over those same areas for Terra. The results should be extremely valuable for model validation and improvement and for improving our understanding of the relationship between clouds and the radiation budget.

  17. CERES Monthly Gridded Single Satellite TOA and Surfaces/Clouds (SFC) data in HDF (CER_SFC_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Beta4)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator)

    The Monthly Gridded TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SFC) product contains a month of space and time averaged Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SFC is also produced for combinations of scanner instruments. All instantaneous shortwave, longwave, and window fluxes at the Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) and surface from the CERES SSF product for a month are sorted by 1-degree spatial regions and by the local hour of observation. The mean of the instantaneous fluxes for a given region-hour bin is determined and recorded on the SFC along with other flux statistics and scene information. These average fluxes are given for both clear-sky and total-sky scenes. The regional cloud properties are column averaged and are included on the SFC. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2000-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=100] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=1 degree; Longitude_Resolution=1 degree; Horizontal_Resolution_Range=100 km - < 250 km or approximately 1 degree - < 2.5 degrees; Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

  18. Spectral Irradiance Calibration in the Infrared. 7. 5-14 microns Spectroscopy of the Asteroids Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cohen, Martin; Witteborn, Fred C.; Roush, Ted; Bregman, Jesse; Wooden, Diane

    1996-01-01

    We describe our efforts to seek "closure" in our infrared absolute calibration scheme by comparing spectra of asteroids, absolutely calibrated through reference stars, with "Standard Thermal Models" and "Thermophysical Models" for these bodies. Our use of continuous 5-14 microns airborne spectra provides complete sampling of the rise to, and peak, of the infrared spectral energy distribution and constrains these models. Such models currently support the absolute calibration of ISO-PHOT at far-infrared wave- lengths (as far as 300 microns), and contribute to that of the Mid-Infrared Spectrometer on the "Infrared Telescope in Space" in the 6-12 microns region. The best match to our observed spectra of Ceres and Vesta is a, standard thermal model using a beaming factor of unity. We also report the presence of three emissivity features in Ceres which may complicate the traditional model extrapolation to the far-infrared from contemporaneous ground-based N-band photometry that is used to support calibration of, for example, ISO-PHOT. While identification of specific materials that cause these features is not made, we discuss families of minerals that may be responsible.

  19. Ice under cover: Using bulk spatial and physical properties of probable ground ice driven mass wasting features on Ceres to better understand its surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hughson, K.; Russell, C.; Schmidt, B. E.; Chilton, H.; Scully, J. E. C.; Castillo, J. C.; Combe, J. P.; Ammannito, E.; Sizemore, H.; Platz, T.; Byrne, S.; Nathues, A.; Raymond, C. A.

    2016-12-01

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft arrived at Ceres on March 6, 2015, and has been studying the dwarf planet through a series of successively lower orbits, obtaining morphological and topographical image, mineralogical, elemental composition, and gravity data (Russell et al., 2016). Images taken by Dawn's Framing Camera show a multitude of flow features that were broadly interpreted as ground ice related structures either similar to ice cored/ice cemented flows (as seen on Earth and Mars), long run-out landslides, or fluidized ejecta (as seen on Mars) by Schmidt et al. (2016a and 2016b) and Buczkowski et al. (2016). The aforementioned ice cored/ice cemented-like flows are present only at high latitudes. Results from Dawn's Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) indicate a shallow ice table on Ceres above 45-50°N/S, which supports the interpretation that these flows are ice-rich (Prettyman et al., 2016). A near coincident spectral detection of H2O ice with one of these ice cored/ice cemented-like flows in Oxo crater by Dawn's Visual and Infrared spectrometer (VIR) further bolsters this claim (Combe et al., 2016). We use aggregate spatial and physical properties of these ice attributed cerean flows, such as flow orientation, inclination, preference for north or south facing slopes, drop height to run-out length ratio, geographical location, and areal number density to better understand the rheology and distribution of ground ice in Ceres' uppermost layer. By combining these data with local spectroscopic, global elemental abundance, experimentally derived physical properties of cerean analogue material, and other morphological information (such as the morphologies of flow hosting craters) we intend to further test the ground ice hypothesis for the formation of these flows and constrain the global distribution of near surface ground ice on Ceres to a higher fidelity than what would be possible using GRaND and VIR observations alone. References: Buczkowski et al., (2016) Science, AcceptedCombe, J-P., et al. (2016) Science, AcceptedPrettyman, T. H., et al. (2016) LPSC XVII, Abstract #2228 Russell, et al. (2016) Science, AcceptedSchmidt, B. E., et al. (2016a) LPSC XVII, Abstract #2677 Schmidt, B. E., et al. (2016b), Nature Geoscience, In Review

  20. The Chesapeake Lighthouse and Aircraft Measurements for Satellites (CLAMS) Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, William L., Jr.; Charlock, Thomas; Wielicki, Bruce; Kahn, Ralph; Martins, J. Vanderlei; Gatebe, Charles; Hobbs, Peter V.; Purgold, G. Carl; Redemann, Jens; Remer, Lorraine

    2004-01-01

    NASA has developed an Earth Observing System (EOS) consisting of a series of satellites designed to study global change from space. The EOS flagship is the EOS TERRA satellite, launched in December 1999, equipped with five unique sensors to monitor and study the Earth s heat budget and many of the key controlling variables governing the Earth's climate system. CLAMS, the Chesapeake Lighthouse and Aircraft Measurements for Satellites field campaign was conducted from NASA Wallops Flight Facility and successfully executed over the middle Atlantic eastern seaboard from July 10 August 2, 2001. CLAMS is primarily a shortwave closure experiment designed to validate and improve EOS TERRA satellite data products being derived from three sensors: CERES (Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System), MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer) and MODIS (MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). CLAMS is jointly sponsored by the CERES, MISR and MODIS instrument teams and the NASA GEWEX Global Aerosol Climatology Project (GACP). CLAMS primary objectives are to validate satellite-based retrievals of aerosol properties and vertical profiles of radiative flux, temperature and water vapor. Central to CLAMS measurement strategy is the Chesapeake Lighthouse, a stable sea platform located in the Atlantic Ocean, 13 miles east of Virginia Beach near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and the site of an ongoing CERES Ocean Validation Experiment (COVE). Six research aircraft were deployed to make detailed measurements of the atmosphere and ocean surface in the vicinity of COVE, over the surrounding ocean, over nearby NOAA buoys and over a few land sites. The measurements are used to validate and provide ground truth for simultaneous products being derived from TERRA data, a key step toward an improved understanding and ability to predict changes in the Earth's climate. One of the two CERES instruments on-board TERRA was programmed for Rotating Azimuth Plane Scans (RAPS) during CLAMS, increasing the CERES coverage over COVE by a factor of 10. Nine coordinated aircraft missions and numerous additional sorties were flown under a variety of atmospheric conditions and aerosol loadings. On one golden day, July 17, all six aircraft flew coordinated patterns, vertically stacked between 100 ft and 65,000 ft over the COVE site as the TERRA satellite orbited overhead. A summary of CLAMS measurement campaign and a description of the platforms and measurements is given.

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