Sample records for observations radar bounce

  1. Double Bounce Component in Cross-Polarimetric SAR from a New Scattering Target Decomposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hong, Sang-Hoon; Wdowinski, Shimon

    2013-08-01

    Common vegetation scattering theories assume that the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) cross-polarization (cross-pol) signal represents solely volume scattering. We found this assumption incorrect based on SAR phase measurements acquired over the south Florida Everglades wetlands indicating that the cross-pol radar signal often samples the water surface beneath the vegetation. Based on these new observations, we propose that the cross-pol measurement consists of both volume scattering and double bounce components. The simplest multi-bounce scattering mechanism that generates cross-pol signal occurs by rotated dihedrals. Thus, we use the rotated dihedral mechanism with probability density function to revise some of the vegetation scattering theories and develop a three- component decomposition algorithm with single bounce, double bounce from both co-pol and cross-pol, and volume scattering components. We applied the new decomposition analysis to both urban and rural environments using Radarsat-2 quad-pol datasets. The decomposition of the San Francisco's urban area shows higher double bounce scattering and reduced volume scattering compared to other common three-component decomposition. The decomposition of the rural Everglades area shows that the relations between volume and cross-pol double bounce depend on the vegetation density. The new decomposition can be useful to better understand vegetation scattering behavior over the various surfaces and the estimation of above ground biomass using SAR observations.

  2. XPATCH: a high-frequency electromagnetic scattering prediction code using shooting and bouncing rays

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hazlett, Michael; Andersh, Dennis J.; Lee, Shung W.; Ling, Hao; Yu, C. L.

    1995-06-01

    This paper describes an electromagnetic computer prediction code for generating radar cross section (RCS), time domain signatures, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of realistic 3-D vehicles. The vehicle, typically an airplane or a ground vehicle, is represented by a computer-aided design (CAD) file with triangular facets, curved surfaces, or solid geometries. The computer code, XPATCH, based on the shooting and bouncing ray technique, is used to calculate the polarimetric radar return from the vehicles represented by these different CAD files. XPATCH computes the first-bounce physical optics plus the physical theory of diffraction contributions and the multi-bounce ray contributions for complex vehicles with materials. It has been found that the multi-bounce contributions are crucial for many aspect angles of all classes of vehicles. Without the multi-bounce calculations, the radar return is typically 10 to 15 dB too low. Examples of predicted range profiles, SAR imagery, and radar cross sections (RCS) for several different geometries are compared with measured data to demonstrate the quality of the predictions. The comparisons are from the UHF through the Ka frequency ranges. Recent enhancements to XPATCH for MMW applications and target Doppler predictions are also presented.

  3. Estimation of Moisture Content of Forest Canopy and Floor from SAR Data Part II: Trunk-Ground Double-Bounce Case

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moghaddam, M.; Saatchi, S.

    1996-01-01

    Several scattering mechanisms contribute to the total radar backscatter cross section measured by the synthetic aperture radar. These are volume scattering, trunk-ground double-bounce scattering, branch-ground double-bounce scattering, and surface scattering. All of these mechanisms are directly related to the dielectric constant of forest components responsible for that mechanism and their moisture.

  4. Large-Area Fabrication of Droplet Pancake Bouncing Surface and Control of Bouncing State.

    PubMed

    Song, Jinlong; Gao, Mingqian; Zhao, Changlin; Lu, Yao; Huang, Liu; Liu, Xin; Carmalt, Claire J; Deng, Xu; Parkin, Ivan P

    2017-09-26

    Superhydrophobic pillar arrays, which can generate the droplet pancake bouncing phenomenon with reduced liquid-solid contact time, have huge application prospects in anti-icing of aircraft wings from freezing rain. However, the previously reported pillar arrays, suitable for obtaining pancake bouncing, have a diameter ≤100 μm and height-diameter ratio >10, which are difficult to fabricate over a large area. Here, we have systematically studied the influence of the dimension of the superhydrophobic pillar arrays on the bouncing dynamics of water droplets. We show that the typical pancake bouncing with 57.8% reduction in contact time with the surface was observed on the superhydrophobic pillar arrays with 1.05 mm diameter, 0.8 mm height, and 0.25 mm space. Such pillar arrays with millimeter diameter and <1 height-diameter ratio can be easily fabricated over large areas. Further, a simple replication-spraying method was developed for the large-area fabrication of the superhydrophobic pillar arrays to induce pancake bouncing. No sacrificial layer was needed to reduce the adhesion in the replication processes. Since the bouncing dynamics were rather sensitive to the space between the pillars, a method to control the contact time, bouncing shape, horizontal bouncing direction, and reversible switch between pancake bouncing and conventional bouncing was realized by adjusting the inclination angle of the shape memory polymer pillars.

  5. Audiovisual Bounce-Inducing Effect: Attention Alone Does Not Explain Why the Discs Are Bouncing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grassi, Massimo; Casco, Clara

    2009-01-01

    Two discs moving from opposite points in space, overlapping and stopping at the other disc's starting point, can be seen as either bouncing or streaming through each other. With silent displays, observers report the discs as streaming, whereas if a sound is played when the discs touch each other, observers report the discs as bouncing. The origin…

  6. 46 CFR 11.480 - Radar observer.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Radar observer. 11.480 Section 11.480 Shipping COAST... ENDORSEMENTS Professional Requirements for National Deck Officer Endorsements § 11.480 Radar observer. (a) This section contains the requirements that an applicant must meet to qualify as a radar observer. (b) If an...

  7. 46 CFR 11.480 - Radar observer.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Radar observer. 11.480 Section 11.480 Shipping COAST... ENDORSEMENTS Professional Requirements for Deck Officers § 11.480 Radar observer. (a) This section contains the requirements that an applicant must meet to qualify as a radar observer. (Part 15 of this chapter specifies who...

  8. 46 CFR 11.480 - Radar observer.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Radar observer. 11.480 Section 11.480 Shipping COAST... ENDORSEMENTS Professional Requirements for Deck Officers § 11.480 Radar observer. (a) This section contains the requirements that an applicant must meet to qualify as a radar observer. (Part 15 of this chapter specifies who...

  9. 46 CFR 11.480 - Radar observer.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Radar observer. 11.480 Section 11.480 Shipping COAST... ENDORSEMENTS Professional Requirements for Deck Officers § 11.480 Radar observer. (a) This section contains the requirements that an applicant must meet to qualify as a radar observer. (Part 15 of this chapter specifies who...

  10. 46 CFR 11.480 - Radar observer.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Radar observer. 11.480 Section 11.480 Shipping COAST... ENDORSEMENTS Professional Requirements for Deck Officers § 11.480 Radar observer. (a) This section contains the requirements that an applicant must meet to qualify as a radar observer. (Part 15 of this chapter specifies who...

  11. 46 CFR 15.815 - Radar observers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Radar observers. 15.815 Section 15.815 Shipping COAST... Computations § 15.815 Radar observers. (a) Each person in the required complement of deck officers, including the master, on inspected vessels of 300 gross tons or over which are radar equipped, shall hold an...

  12. The fluid trampoline: droplets bouncing on a soap film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bush, John; Gilet, Tristan

    2008-11-01

    We present the results of a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of droplets falling onto a horizontal soap film. Both static and vertically vibrated soap films are considered. A quasi-static description of the soap film shape yields a force-displacement relation that provides excellent agreement with experiment, and allows us to model the film as a nonlinear spring. This approach yields an accurate criterion for the transition between droplet bouncing and crossing on the static film; moreover, it allows us to rationalize the observed constancy of the contact time and scaling for the coefficient of restitution in the bouncing states. On the vibrating film, a variety of bouncing behaviours were observed, including simple and complex periodic states, multiperiodicity and chaos. A simple theoretical model is developed that captures the essential physics of the bouncing process, reproducing all observed bouncing states. Quantitative agreement between model and experiment is deduced for simple periodic modes, and qualitative agreement for more complex periodic and chaotic bouncing states.

  13. Reflections on a Bouncing Ball

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rohr, Jim; Lopez, Veronica; Rohr, Tyler

    2014-01-01

    While observing the bounce heights of various kinds of sports balls dropped from different heights onto a variety of surfaces, we thought of the following question: Could measurements of drop and bounce heights of balls of different diameters, but of the same material, falling from different heights, but on the same surface, be expressed by a…

  14. Penn State Radar Systems: Implementation and Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Urbina, J. V.; Seal, R.; Sorbello, R.; Kuyeng, K.; Dyrud, L. P.

    2014-12-01

    Software Defined Radio/Radar (SDR) platforms have become increasingly popular as researchers, hobbyists, and military seek more efficient and cost-effective means for radar construction and operation. SDR platforms, by definition, utilize a software-based interface for configuration in contrast to traditional, hard-wired platforms. In an effort to provide new and improved radar sensing capabilities, Penn State has been developing advanced instruments and technologies for future radars, with primary objectives of making such instruments more capable, portable, and more cost effective. This paper will describe the design and implementation of two low-cost radar systems and their deployment in ionospheric research at both low and mid-latitudes. One radar has been installed near Penn State campus, University Park, Pennsylvania (77.97°W, 40.70°N), to make continuous meteor observations and mid-latitude plasma irregularities. The second radar is being installed in Huancayo (12.05°S, -75.33°E), Peru, which is capable of detecting E and F region plasma irregularities as well as meteor reflections. In this paper, we examine and compare the diurnal and seasonal variability of specular, non- specular, and head-echoes collected with these two new radar systems and discuss sampling biases of each meteor observation technique. We report our current efforts to validate and calibrate these radar systems with other VHF radars such as Jicamarca and SOUSY. We also present the general characteristics of continuous measurements of E-region and F-region coherent echoes using these modern radar systems and compare them with coherent radar events observed at other geographic mid-latitude radar stations.

  15. 46 CFR 15.815 - Radar observers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Radar observers. 15.815 Section 15.815 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MERCHANT MARINE OFFICERS AND SEAMEN MANNING REQUIREMENTS Computations § 15.815 Radar observers. (a) Each person in the required complement of deck officers, including...

  16. 46 CFR 15.815 - Radar observers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Radar observers. 15.815 Section 15.815 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MERCHANT MARINE OFFICERS AND SEAMEN MANNING REQUIREMENTS Computations § 15.815 Radar observers. (a) Each person in the required complement of deck officers, including...

  17. 46 CFR 15.815 - Radar observers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Radar observers. 15.815 Section 15.815 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MERCHANT MARINE OFFICERS AND SEAMEN MANNING REQUIREMENTS Computations § 15.815 Radar observers. (a) Each person in the required complement of deck officers, including...

  18. 46 CFR 15.815 - Radar observers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Radar observers. 15.815 Section 15.815 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MERCHANT MARINE OFFICERS AND SEAMEN MANNING REQUIREMENTS Computations § 15.815 Radar observers. (a) Each person in the required complement of deck officers, including...

  19. Radar signal pre-processing to suppress surface bounce and multipath

    DOEpatents

    Paglieroni, David W; Mast, Jeffrey E; Beer, N. Reginald

    2013-12-31

    A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes that return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

  20. Millimeter wave radars raise weapon IQ

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lerner, E. J.

    1985-02-01

    The problems encountered by laser and IR homing devices for guided munitions may be tractable with warhead-mounted mm-wave radars. Operating at about 100 GHz and having several kilometers range, mm-wave radars see through darkness, fog, rain and smoke. The radar must be coupled with an analyzer that discerns moving and stationary targets and higher priority targets. The target lock-on can include shut-off of the transmitter and reception of naturally-generated mm-waves bouncing off the target when in the terminal phase of the flight. Monopulse transmitters have simplified the radar design, although mass production of finline small radar units has yet to be accomplished, particularly in combining GaAs, ferrites and other materials on one monolithic chip.

  1. Radar observations of asteroids and comets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ostro, S. J.

    1985-01-01

    Radar techniques for the observation of asteroids and comets are reviewed, emphasizing the logical basis for inferring physical properties from radar measurements. Results to date are reviewed, focusing on some recent highlights of the research to demonstrate the synergism between radar and other ground-based techniques. Particular attention is given to the asteroids 2 Pallas, 16 Psyche, 2101 Adonis, and the comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock.

  2. Observation of the Earth by radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Elachi, C.

    1982-01-01

    Techniques and applications of radar observation from Earth satellites are discussed. Images processing and analysis of these images are discussed. Also discussed is radar imaging from aircraft. Uses of this data include ocean wave analysis, surface water evaluation, and topographic analysis.

  3. Consistency analysis and correction of ground-based radar observations using space-borne radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Shuai; Zhu, Yiqing; Wang, Zhenhui; Wang, Yadong

    2018-04-01

    The lack of an accurate determination of radar constant can introduce biases in ground-based radar (GR) reflectivity factor data, and lead to poor consistency of radar observations. The geometry-matching method was applied to carry out spatial matching of radar data from the Precipitation Radar (PR) on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite to observations from a GR deployed at Nanjing, China, in their effective sampling volume, with 250 match-up cases obtained from January 2008 to October 2013. The consistency of the GR was evaluated with reference to the TRMM PR, whose stability is established. The results show that the below-bright-band-height data of the Nanjing radar can be split into three periods: Period I from January 2008 to March 2010, Period II from March 2010 to May 2013, and Period III from May 2013 to October 2013. There are distinct differences in overall reflectivity factor between the three periods, and the overall reflectivity factor in period II is smaller by a factor of over 3 dB than in periods I and III, although the overall reflectivity within each period remains relatively stable. Further investigation shows that in period II the difference between the GR and PR observations changed with echo intensity. A best-fit relation between the two radar reflectivity factors provides a linear correction that is applied to the reflectivity of the Nanjing radar, and which is effective in improving its consistency. Rain-gauge data were used to verify the correction, and the estimated precipitation based on the corrected GR reflectivity data was closer to the rain-gauge observations than that without correction.

  4. Estimating Subcanopy Soil Moisture with RADAR

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moghaddam, M.; Saatchi, S.; Cuenca, R. H.

    1998-01-01

    The subcanopy soil moisture of a boreal old jack pine forest is estimated using polarimetric L- and P-band AIRSAR data. Model simulations have shown that for this stand, the principal scattering mechanism responsible for radar backscatter is the double-bounce mechanism between the tree trunks and the ground.

  5. Behaviour of a Bouncing Ball

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, Rod

    2015-01-01

    The bounce of a ball is a seemingly innocuous event that can be used to illustrate many aspects of elementary and even advanced mechanics. Both normal and oblique bounces on a rigid surface are considered in this article, emphasizing qualitative features of the bounce process. If the ball bounces at an oblique angle then it can slide throughout…

  6. Asteroid orbit fitting with radar and angular observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baturin, A. P.

    2013-12-01

    The asteroid orbit fitting problem using their radar and angular observations has been considered. The problem was solved in a standanrd way by means of minimization of weighted sum of squares of residuals. In the orbit fitting both kinds of radar observa-tions have been used: the observations of time delays and of Doppler frequency shifts. The weight for angular observations has been set the same for all of them and has been determined as inverse mean-square residual obtained in the orbit fitting using just angular observations. The weights of radar observations have been set as inverse squared errors of these observations published together with them in the Minor Planet Center electronical circulars (MPECs). For the orbit fitting some five asteroids have been taken from these circulars. The asteroids have been chosen fulfilling the requirement of more than six radar observations of them to be available. The asteroids are 1950 DA, 1999 RQ36, 2002 NY40, 2004 DC and 2005 EU2. Several orbit fittings for these aster-oids have been done: with just angular observations; with just radar observations; with both angular and radar observations. The obtained results are quite acceptable because in the last case the mean-square angular residuals are approximately equal to the same ones obtained in the fitting with just angular observations. As to radar observations mean-square residuals, the time delay residuals for three asteroids do not exceed 1 μs, for two others ˜ 10 μs and the Doppler shift residuals for three asteroids do not exceed 1 Hz, for two others ˜ 10 Hz. The motion equations included perturbations from 9 planets and the Moon using their ephemerides DE422. The numerical integration has been performed with Everhart 27-order method with variable step. All calculations have been exe-cuted to a 34-digit decimal precision (i.e. using 128-bit floating-point numbers). Further, the sizes of confidence ellipsoids of im-proved orbit parameters have been compared. It

  7. Bounce-harmonic Landau Damping of Plasma Waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderegg, Francois

    2015-11-01

    We present measurement of plasma wave damping, spanning the temperature regimes of direct Landau damping, bounce-harmonic Landau damping, inter-species drag damping, and viscous damping. Direct Landau damping is dominant at high temperatures, but becomes negligible as v bounce harmonics damping, controlled by an applied ``squeeze'' potential, which generates harmonics in the wave potential and in the particle dynamics. A particle moving in z experiences a non-sinusoidal mode potential caused by the squeeze, producing high spatial harmonics with lower phase velocity. These harmonics are Landau damped even when the mode phase velocity vph is large compared to the thermal velocity v , since the nth harmonic is resonant with a particle bouncing at velocity vb =vph / n . Here we increase the bounce harmonics through applied squeeze potential; but some harmonics are always present in finite length systems. For our centered squeeze geometry, theory shows that only odd harmonics are generated, and predicts the Landau damping rate from vph / n . Experimentally, the squeeze potential increases the wave damping and reduces its frequency. The frequency shift occurs because the squeeze potential reduces the number of particle where the mode velocity is the largest, therefore reducing the mode frequency. We observe an increase in the damping proportional to Vs2,and a frequency reduction proportional to Vs , in quantitative agreement with theory. Wave-coherent laser induced fluorescence allows direct observation of bounce resonances on the particle distribution, here predominantly at vph / 3 . A clear increase of the bounce harmonics is visible on the particle distribution when the squeeze potential is applied. Supported by NSF Grant PHY-1414570, and DOE Grants DE-SC0002451 and DE-SC0008693.

  8. Magnetogenesis in matter—Ekpyrotic bouncing cosmology

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

    Koley, Ratna; Samtani, Sidhartha, E-mail: ratna.physics@presiuniv.ac.in, E-mail: samtanisidhartha@gmail.com

    In the recent past there have been many attempts to associate the generation of primordial magnetic seed fields with the inflationary era, but with limited success. We thus take a different approach by using a model for nonsingular bouncing cosmology. A coupling of the electromagnetic Lagrangian F {sub μν} F {sup μν} with a non background scalar field has been considered for the breaking of conformal invariance. We have shown that non singular bouncing cosmology supports magnetogenesis evading the long standing back reaction and strong coupling problems which have plagued inflationary magnetogenesis. In this model, we have achieved a scalemore » invariant power spectrum for the parameter range compatible with observed CMB anisotropies. The desired strength of the magnetic field has also been obtained that goes in accordance with present observations. It is also important to note that no BKL instability arises within this parameter range. The energy scales for different stages of evolution of the bouncing model are so chosen that they solve certain problems of standard Big Bang cosmology as well.« less

  9. Nonlinear bounce resonances between magnetosonic waves and equatorially mirroring electrons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Lunjin; Maldonado, Armando; Bortnik, Jacob; Thorne, Richard M.; Li, Jinxing; Dai, Lei; Zhan, Xiaoya

    2015-08-01

    Equatorially mirroring energetic electrons pose an interesting scientific problem, since they generally cannot resonate with any known plasma waves and hence cannot be scattered down to lower pitch angles. Observationally it is well known that the flux of these equatorial particles does not simply continue to build up indefinitely, and so a mechanism must necessarily exist that transports these particles from an equatorial pitch angle of 90° down to lower values. However, this mechanism has not been uniquely identified yet. Here we investigate the mechanism of bounce resonance with equatorial noise (or fast magnetosonic waves). A test particle simulation is used to examine the effects of monochromatic magnetosonic waves on the equatorially mirroring energetic electrons, with a special interest in characterizing the effectiveness of bounce resonances. Our analysis shows that bounce resonances can occur at the first three harmonics of the bounce frequency (nωb, n = 1, 2, and 3) and can effectively reduce the equatorial pitch angle to values where resonant scattering by whistler mode waves becomes possible. We demonstrate that the nature of bounce resonance is nonlinear, and we propose a nonlinear oscillation model for characterizing bounce resonances using two key parameters, effective wave amplitude à and normalized wave number k~z. The threshold for higher harmonic resonance is more strict, favoring higher à and k~z, and the change in equatorial pitch angle is strongly controlled by k~z. We also investigate the dependence of bounce resonance effects on various physical parameters, including wave amplitude, frequency, wave normal angle and initial phase, plasma density, and electron energy. It is found that the effect of bounce resonance is sensitive to the wave normal angle. We suggest that the bounce resonant interaction might lead to an observed pitch angle distribution with a minimum at 90°.

  10. 'Bounce': Not Like the Others

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    This illustration shows that the rock dubbed 'Bounce' near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing region at Meridiani Planum is not made up of the same minerals as surrounding soil. Spectra from three soil samples taken outside of 'Eagle Crater' are compared to that of Bounce (bottom). The dashed white line in the center of the spectra indicates where the 'fingerprint' for triple-oxidized iron (Fe 3+) occurs. While the soil samples possess this feature, Bounce does not. The results suggest that Bounce did not originate in the plains of Meridiani Planum. These spectra were taken by the rover's Moessbauer spectrometer. Measurements of Bounce were made on sol 67.

  11. Weather Radars and Lidar for Observing the Atmosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    (Vivek) Vivekanandan, J.

    2010-05-01

    The Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado develops and deploys state-of-the-art ground-based radar, airborne radar and lidar instruments to advance scientific understanding of the earth system. The ground-based radar (S-Pol) is equipped with dual-wavelength capability (S-band and Ka-band). S-Pol is the only transportable radar in the world. In order to capture faster moving weather events such as tornadoes and record observations of clouds over rugged mountainous terrain and ocean, an airborne radar (ELDORA) is used. It is the only airborne Doppler meteorological radar that is able to detect motions in the clear air. The EOL is in the process of building the first phase of a three phase dual wavelength W/Ka-band airborne cloud radar to be called the HIAPER Cloud Radar (HCR). This phase is a pod based W-band radar system with scanning capability. The second phase will add pulse compression and polarimetric capability to the W-band system, while the third phase will add complementary Ka-band radar. The pod-based radar is primarily designed to fly on the Gulfstream V (GV) and C-130 aircraft. The envisioned capability of a millimeter wave radar system on GV is enhanced by coordination with microwave radiometer, in situ probes, and especially by the NCAR GV High-Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) which is also under construction. The presentation will describe the capabilities of current instruments and also planned instrumentation development.

  12. Rapid decrease of radar cross section of meteor head echo observed by the MU radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakamura, T.; Nishio, M.; Sato, T.; Tsutsumi, S.; Tsuda, T.; Fushimi, K.

    The meteor head echo observation using the MU (Middle and Upper atmosphere) radar (46.5M Hz, 1MW), Shigaraki, Japan, was carried out simultaneously with a high sensitive ICCD (Image-intensified CCD) camera observation in November 2001. The time records were synchronized using GPS satellite signals, in order to compare instantaneous radar and optical meteor magnitudes. 26 faint meteors were successfully observed simultaneously by both equipments. Detailed comparison of the time variation of radar echo intensity and absolute optical magnitude showed that the radar scattering cross section is likely to decrease rapidly by 5 - 20 dB without no corresponding magnitude variation in the optical data. From a simple modeling, we concluded that such decrease of RCS (radar cross section ) is probably due to the transition from overdense head echo to underd ense head echo.

  13. Spaceborne radar observations: A guide for Magellan radar-image analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ford, J. P.; Blom, R. G.; Crisp, J. A.; Elachi, Charles; Farr, T. G.; Saunders, R. Stephen; Theilig, E. E.; Wall, S. D.; Yewell, S. B.

    1989-01-01

    Geologic analyses of spaceborne radar images of Earth are reviewed and summarized with respect to detecting, mapping, and interpreting impact craters, volcanic landforms, eolian and subsurface features, and tectonic landforms. Interpretations are illustrated mostly with Seasat synthetic aperture radar and shuttle-imaging-radar images. Analogies are drawn for the potential interpretation of radar images of Venus, with emphasis on the effects of variation in Magellan look angle with Venusian latitude. In each landform category, differences in feature perception and interpretive capability are related to variations in imaging geometry, spatial resolution, and wavelength of the imaging radar systems. Impact craters and other radially symmetrical features may show apparent bilateral symmetry parallel to the illumination vector at low look angles. The styles of eruption and the emplacement of major and minor volcanic constructs can be interpreted from morphological features observed in images. Radar responses that are governed by small-scale surface roughness may serve to distinguish flow types, but do not provide unambiguous information. Imaging of sand dunes is rigorously constrained by specific angular relations between the illumination vector and the orientation and angle of repose of the dune faces, but is independent of radar wavelength. With a single look angle, conditions that enable shallow subsurface imaging to occur do not provide the information necessary to determine whether the radar has recorded surface or subsurface features. The topographic linearity of many tectonic landforms is enhanced on images at regional and local scales, but the detection of structural detail is a strong function of illumination direction. Nontopographic tectonic lineaments may appear in response to contrasts in small-surface roughness or dielectric constant. The breakpoint for rough surfaces will vary by about 25 percent through the Magellan viewing geometries from low to high

  14. A critical review of classical bouncing cosmologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Battefeld, Diana; Peter, Patrick

    2015-04-01

    Given the proliferation of bouncing models in recent years, we gather and critically assess these proposals in a comprehensive review. The PLANCK data shows an unmistakably red, quasi scale-invariant, purely adiabatic primordial power spectrum and no primary non-Gaussianities. While these observations are consistent with inflationary predictions, bouncing cosmologies aspire to provide an alternative framework to explain them. Such models face many problems, both of the purely theoretical kind, such as the necessity of violating the NEC and instabilities, and at the cosmological application level, as exemplified by the possible presence of shear. We provide a pedagogical introduction to these problems and also assess the fitness of different proposals with respect to the data. For example, many models predict a slightly blue spectrum and must be fine-tuned to generate a red spectral index; as a side effect, large non-Gaussianities often result. We highlight several promising attempts to violate the NEC without introducing dangerous instabilities at the classical and/or quantum level. If primordial gravitational waves are observed, certain bouncing cosmologies, such as the cyclic scenario, are in trouble, while others remain valid. We conclude that, while most bouncing cosmologies are far from providing an alternative to the inflationary paradigm, a handful of interesting proposals have surfaced, which warrant further research. The constraints and lessons learned as laid out in this review might guide future research.

  15. Eye on 'Bounce'

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    This mosaic, created from four images taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's microscopic imager, outlines the target on 'Bounce' rock that the rover's rock abrasion tool will abrade on sol 66.

    This 6-centimeter-square (2.4-inch-square) area was chosen by the rock abrasion tool team as the most advantageous area for grinding.

    Preliminary results from the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer show that Bounce is rich in hematite. Bounce contains spherules, or 'blueberries,' like some rocks in the 'Eagle Crater' outcrop. However, Bounce's spherules appear smaller and may be formed by an entirely different process. The blueberries seen in the outcrop are typically 3 to 4 millimeters (0.12 to 0.16 inch) each. A good example of a cluster of micro-berries can be seen just left of center in this image. Scientists are currently studying all of the rock's features as well as its chemical content. After next sol's grinding operation, the team will be able to compare the rock's exterior and interior chemical compositions.

  16. Viable tensor-to-scalar ratio in a symmetric matter bounce

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nath Raveendran, Rathul; Chowdhury, Debika; Sriramkumar, L.

    2018-01-01

    Matter bounces refer to scenarios wherein the universe contracts at early times as in a matter dominated epoch until the scale factor reaches a minimum, after which it starts expanding. While such scenarios are known to lead to scale invariant spectra of primordial perturbations after the bounce, the challenge has been to construct completely symmetric bounces that lead to a tensor-to-scalar ratio which is small enough to be consistent with the recent cosmological data. In this work, we construct a model involving two scalar fields (a canonical field and a non-canonical ghost field) to drive the symmetric matter bounce and study the evolution of the scalar perturbations in the model. We find that the model can be completely described in terms of a single parameter, viz. the ratio of the scale associated with the bounce to the value of the scale factor at the bounce. We evolve the scalar perturbations numerically across the bounce and evaluate the scalar power spectra after the bounce. We show that, while the scalar and tensor perturbation spectra are scale invariant over scales of cosmological interest, the tensor-to-scalar ratio proves to be much smaller than the current upper bound from the observations of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies by the Planck mission. We also support our numerical analysis with analytical arguments.

  17. Clear-air radar observations of the atmospheric boundary layer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ince, Turker

    2001-10-01

    This dissertation presents the design and operation of a high-resolution frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FM- CW) radar system to study the structure and dynamics of clear-air turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). This sensitive radar can image the vertical structure of the ABL with both high spatial and temporal resolutions, and provide both qualitative information about the morphology of clear-air structures and quantitative information on the intensity of fluctuations in refractive-index of air. The principles of operation and the hardware and data acquisition characteristics of the radar are described in the dissertation. In October 1999, the radar participated in the Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study (CASES'99) Experiment to characterize the temporal structure and evolution of the boundary-layer features in both convective and stable conditions. The observed structures include clear-air convection, boundary layer evolution, gravity waves, Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, stably stratified layers, and clear-air turbulence. Many of the S-band radar images also show high- reflectivity returns from Rayleigh scatterers such as insects. An adaptive median filtering technique based on local statistics has, therefore, been developed to discriminate between Bragg and Rayleigh scattering in clear-air radar observations. The filter is tested on radar observations of clear air convection with comparison to two commonly used image processing techniques. The dissertation also examines the statistical mean of the radar-measured C2n for clear-air convection, and compares it with the theoretical predictions. The study also shows that the inversion height, local thickness of the inversion layer, and the height of the elevated atmospheric layers can be estimated from the radar reflectivity measurements. In addition, comparisons to the radiosonde-based height estimates are made. To examine the temporal and spatial structure of C2n , the dissertation

  18. Generation of scale invariant magnetic fields in bouncing universes

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

    Sriramkumar, L.; Atmjeet, Kumar; Jain, Rajeev Kumar, E-mail: sriram@physics.iitm.ac.in, E-mail: katmjeet@physics.du.ac.in, E-mail: jain@cp3.dias.sdu.dk

    2015-09-01

    We consider the generation of primordial magnetic fields in a class of bouncing models when the electromagnetic action is coupled non-minimally to a scalar field that, say, drives the background evolution. For scale factors that have the power law form at very early times and non-minimal couplings which are simple powers of the scale factor, one can easily show that scale invariant spectra for the magnetic field can arise before the bounce for certain values of the indices involved. It will be interesting to examine if these power spectra retain their shape after the bounce. However, analytical solutions for themore » Fourier modes of the electromagnetic vector potential across the bounce are difficult to obtain. In this work, with the help of a new time variable that we introduce, which we refer to as the e-N-fold, we investigate these scenarios numerically. Imposing the initial conditions on the modes in the contracting phase, we numerically evolve the modes across the bounce and evaluate the spectra of the electric and magnetic fields at a suitable time after the bounce. As one could have intuitively expected, though the complete spectra depend on the details of the bounce, we find that, under the original conditions, scale invariant spectra of the magnetic fields do arise for wavenumbers much smaller than the scale associated with the bounce. We also show that magnetic fields which correspond to observed strengths today can be generated for specific values of the parameters. But, we find that, at the bounce, the backreaction due to the electromagnetic modes that have been generated can be significantly large calling into question the viability of the model. We briefly discuss the implications of our results.« less

  19. Bounce frequency fishbone analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    White, Roscoe; Fredrickson, Eric; Chen, Liu

    2002-11-01

    Large amplitude bursting modes are observed on NSTX, which are identified as bounce frequency fishbone modes(PDX Group, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Phys Rev. Lett) 50, 891 (1983)^,(L. Chen, R. B. White, and M. N. Rosenbluth Phys Rev. Lett) 52, 1122 (1984). The identification is carried out using numerical equilibria obtained from TRANSP( R. V. Budny, M. G. Bell A. C. Janos et al), Nucl Fusion 35, 1497 (1995) and the numerical guiding center code ORBIT( R.B. White, Phys. Fluids B 2)(4), 845 (1990). These modes are important for high energy particle distributions which have large average bounce angle, such as the nearly tangentially injected beam ions in NSTX and isotropic alpha particle distributions. They are particularly important in high q low shear advanced plasma scenarios. Different ignited plasma scenarios are investigated with these modes in view.

  20. Radar Observation of Insects - Mosquitoes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frost, E.; Downing, J.

    1979-01-01

    Tests were conducted at several sites over the coastal lowlands of New Jersey and over a region of high plains and low mountains in Oklahoma. In one area, a salt marsh in New Jersey, extensive ground tests were combined with laboratory data on expected insect backscatter to arrive at an extremely convincing model of the insect origin of most Dot Angels. A great deal of insight was studied from radar on the buildup and dispersal of insect swarms, since radar can follow where other means of trapping and observation cannot. Data on large-scale behavior as a function of wind and topography are presented. Displayed techniques which show individual or small swarm motion within some larger cloud or mass, or which can show the overall motion over great distances were developed. The influence of wind and terrain on insect motion and dispersal is determined from radar data.

  1. Van Allen Probes observations of drift-bounce resonance and energy transfer between energetic ring current protons and poloidal Pc4 wave

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oimatsu, S.; Masahito, N.; Takahashi, K.; Yamamoto, K.; Keika, K.; Kletzing, C.; MacDowall, R. J.; Smith, C.; Mitchell, D. G.

    2017-12-01

    Poloidal Pc4 wave and proton flux oscillation due to the drift-bounce resonance are observed in the inner magnetosphere on the dayside near the magnetic equator by the Van Allen Probes spacecraft on 2 March 2014. The flux modulation is observed in the energy range of 67.0 keV to 268.8 keV with the same frequency of poloidal Pc4 wave. We estimate the resonant energy to be 120 keV for pitch angle (α) of 20º-40º or 140º-160º, and 170-180 keV for α=40º-60º or 120º-140º. The drift-bounce resonance theory gives the resonant energy of 110-120 keV, which is consistent with the observation for small α (or large α when α≥90º), but slightly higher than the observation for large α (or small α when α≥90º). We consider that this discrepancy of the resonant energy is due to the drift shell splitting. In order to examine the direction of energy flow between protons and the wave, we calculate the sign of the gradient of proton phase space density (df/dW) in both outbound and inbound paths. Results showed positive gradient in both paths, which means that the energy is transferred from the protons to the wave. During the appearance of poloidal Pc4 wave, the Dst* index shows a sudden increase of 6.7 nT. We estimate the total energy loss of the ring current from the recovery of the Dst* index and the variation of proton flux by the drift-bounce resonance. The estimated energy loss is almost comparable for both cases. Therefore, we suggest that the energy transfer from the ring current protons to the wave via the drift-bounce resonance cause the increase of Dst* index.

  2. Galileon bounce after ekpyrotic contraction

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

    Osipov, M.; Rubakov, V., E-mail: osipov@ms2.inr.ac.ru, E-mail: rubakov@ms2.inr.ac.ru

    We consider a simple cosmological model that includes a long ekpyrotic contraction stage and smooth bounce after it. Ekpyrotic behavior is due to a scalar field with a negative exponential potential, whereas the Galileon field produces bounce. We give an analytical picture of how the bounce occurs within the weak gravity regime, and then perform numerical analysis to extend our results to a non-perturbative regime.

  3. Superhydrophobic-like tunable droplet bouncing on slippery liquid interfaces

    PubMed Central

    Hao, Chonglei; Li, Jing; Liu, Yuan; Zhou, Xiaofeng; Liu, Yahua; Liu, Rong; Che, Lufeng; Zhou, Wenzhong; Sun, Dong; Li, Lawrence; Xu, Lei; Wang, Zuankai

    2015-01-01

    Droplet impacting on solid or liquid interfaces is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature. Although complete rebound of droplets is widely observed on superhydrophobic surfaces, the bouncing of droplets on liquid is usually vulnerable due to easy collapse of entrapped air pocket underneath the impinging droplet. Here, we report a superhydrophobic-like bouncing regime on thin liquid film, characterized by the contact time, the spreading dynamics, and the restitution coefficient independent of underlying liquid film. Through experimental exploration and theoretical analysis, we demonstrate that the manifestation of such a superhydrophobic-like bouncing necessitates an intricate interplay between the Weber number, the thickness and viscosity of liquid film. Such insights allow us to tune the droplet behaviours in a well-controlled fashion. We anticipate that the combination of superhydrophobic-like bouncing with inherent advantages of emerging slippery liquid interfaces will find a wide range of applications. PMID:26250403

  4. The Minkowski metric in non-inertial observer radar coordinates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Minguzzi, E.

    2005-12-01

    We give a closed expression for the Minkowski (1+1)-dimensional metric in the radar coordinates of an arbitrary non-inertial observer O in terms of O's proper acceleration. Knowledge of the metric allows the non-inertial observer to perform experiments in spacetime without making reference to inertial frames. To clarify the relation between inertial and non-inertial observers the coordinate transformation between radar and inertial coordinates also is given. We show that every conformally flat coordinate system can be regarded as the radar coordinate system of a suitable observer for a suitable parametrization of the observer worldline. Therefore, the coordinate transformation between arbitrarily moving observers is a conformal transformation and conformally invariant (1+1)-dimensional theories lead to the same physics for all observers, independently of their relative motion.

  5. W-band spaceborne radar observations of atmospheric river events

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matrosov, S. Y.

    2010-12-01

    While the main objective of the world first W-band radar aboard the CloudSat satellite is to provide vertically resolved information on clouds, it proved to be a valuable tool for observing precipitation. The CloudSat radar is generally able to resolve precipitating cloud systems in their vertical entirety. Although measurements from the liquid hydrometer layer containing rainfall are strongly attenuated, special retrieval approaches can be used to estimate rainfall parameters. These approaches are based on vertical gradients of observed radar reflectivity factor rather than on absolute estimates of reflectivity. Concurrent independent estimations of ice cloud parameters in the same vertical column allow characterization of precipitating systems and provide information on coupling between clouds and rainfall they produce. The potential of CloudSat for observations atmospheric river events affecting the West Coast of North America is evaluated. It is shown that spaceborne radar measurements can provide high resolution information on the height of the freezing level thus separating areas of rainfall and snowfall. CloudSat precipitation rate estimates complement information from the surface-based radars. Observations of atmospheric rivers at different locations above the ocean and during landfall help to understand evolutions of atmospheric rivers and their structures.

  6. Running of the scalar spectral index in bouncing cosmologies

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

    Lehners, Jean-Luc; Wilson-Ewing, Edward, E-mail: jean-luc.lehners@aei.mpg.de, E-mail: wilson-ewing@aei.mpg.de

    We calculate the running of the scalar index in the ekpyrotic and matter bounce cosmological scenarios, and find that it is typically negative for ekpyrotic models, while it is typically positive for realizations of the matter bounce where multiple fields are present. This can be compared to inflation, where the observationally preferred models typically predict a negative running. The magnitude of the running is expected to be between 10{sup −4} and up to 10{sup −2}, leading in some cases to interesting expectations for near-future observations.

  7. Experimental observation of electron bounce resonance through electron energy distribution measurement in a finite size inductively coupled plasma

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

    Gu, Seuli; Kang, Hyun-Ju; Kim, Yu-Sin

    2016-06-15

    The electron bounce resonance was experimentally investigated in a low pressure planar inductively coupled plasma. The electron energy probability functions (EEPFs) were measured at different chamber heights and the energy diffusion coefficients were calculated by the kinetic model. It is found that the EEPFs begin to flatten at the first electron bounce resonance condition, and the plateau shifts to a higher electron energy as the chamber height increases. The plateau which indicates strong electron heating corresponds not only to the electron bounce resonance condition but also to the peaks of the first component of the energy diffusion coefficients. As amore » result, the plateau formation in the EEPFs is mainly due to the electron bounce resonance in a finite inductive discharge.« less

  8. 'Bounce' and Shergotty Share Common Ground

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    This illustration compares the spectrum of 'Bounce,' a rock at Meridiani Planum, to that of a martian meteorite found on Earth called Shergotty. Bounce's spectrum, and thus mineral composition, is unique to the rocks studied so far at Merdiani Planum and Gusev Crater, the landings sites of the Mars Exploration Rovers Opportunity and Spirit. However, the results here indicate that Bounce is not a one-of-a-kind rock, but shares origins with Shergotty. Shergotty landed in India in 1865. Bounce's spectra were taken on sol 67 by Opportunity's Moessbauer spectrometer.

  9. Recent Arecibo Radar Observations of Main-Belt Asteroids.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shepard, Michael K.; Howell, Ellen; Nolan, Michael; Taylor, Patrick; Springmann, Alessondra; Giorgini, Jon; Benner, Lance; Magri, Christopher

    2014-11-01

    We recently observed main-belt asteroids 12 Victoria (Tholen S-class, Bus L-class), 246 Asporina (A-class), and 2035 Stearns with the S-band (12 cm) Arecibo radar. Signal-to-noise ratios for Asporina and Stearns were only strong enough for continuous-wave (CW) analysis. Signal-to-noise ratios for Victoria were high enough for delay-Doppler imaging. Stearns exhibited a high radar polarization ratio of unity, higher than any other main-belt E-class, but similar to near-Earth E-class asteroids [Benner et al. Icarus 198, 294-304, 2008; Shepard et al. Icarus 215, 547-551, 2011]. The A-class asteroids show spectral absorption features consistent with olivine and have been suggested as the source of pallasite meteorites or the rare brachinites [Cruikshank and Hartmann, Science 223, 281-283, 1984]. The radar cross-section measured for Asporina leads to a radar albedo estimate of 0.11, suggesting a low near-surface bulk density, and by inference, a low metal content. This suggests that the brachinites are a better analog for Asporina than the iron-rich pallasites. Victoria has been observed by radar in the past and the continuous-wave echoes suggest it has a large concavity or is a contact binary [Mitchell et al. Icarus 118, 105-131, 1995]. Our new imaging observations should determine which is more likely.

  10. Optimizing observations of drizzle onset with millimeter-wavelength radars

    DOE PAGES

    Acquistapace, Claudia; Kneifel, Stefan; Löhnert, Ulrich; ...

    2017-05-12

    Cloud Doppler radars are increasingly used to study cloud and precipitation microphysical processes. Typical bulk cloud properties such as liquid or ice content are usually derived using the first three standard moments of the radar Doppler spectrum. Recent studies demonstrated the value of higher moments for the reduction of retrieval uncertainties and for providing additional insights into microphysical processes. Large effort has been undertaken, e.g., within the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program to ensure high quality of radar Doppler spectra. However, a systematic approach concerning the accuracy of higher moment estimates and sensitivity to basic radar system settings, such asmore » spectral resolution, integration time and beam width, are still missing. Here In this study, we present an approach on how to optimize radar settings for radar Doppler spectra moments in the specific context of drizzle detection. The process of drizzle development has shown to be particularly sensitive to higher radar moments such as skewness. We collected radar raw data (I/Q time series) from consecutive zenith-pointing observations for two liquid cloud cases observed at the cloud observatory JOYCE in Germany. The I/Q data allowed us to process Doppler spectra and derive their moments using different spectral resolutions and integration times during identical time intervals. This enabled us to study the sensitivity of the spatiotemporal structure of the derived moments to the different radar settings. The observed signatures were further investigated using a radar Doppler forward model which allowed us to compare observed and simulated sensitivities and also to study the impact of additional hardware-dependent parameters such as antenna beam width. For the observed cloud with drizzle onset we found that longer integration times mainly modify spectral width ( S w) and skewness ( S k), leaving other moments mostly unaffected. An integration time of 2 s seems to be

  11. The Surface of Titan: Arecibo Radar Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Campbell, D. B.; Black, G. J.; Carter, L. M.; Hine, A. A.; Margot, J. L.; Nolan, M. C.; Ostro, S. J.

    2002-01-01

    The Arecibo 12.6 cm radar system was used to observe Titan in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The mean value of the radar albedo is 0.16 and the polarization ratio is 0.35. For some longitudes the echo has a specular component although most of the echo power is contained in a diffuse component. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

  12. Antarctic meteor observations using the Davis MST and meteor radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holdsworth, David A.; Murphy, Damian J.; Reid, Iain M.; Morris, Ray J.

    2008-07-01

    This paper presents the meteor observations obtained using two radars installed at Davis (68.6°S, 78.0°E), Antarctica. The Davis MST radar was installed primarily for observation of polar mesosphere summer echoes, with additional transmit and receive antennas installed to allow all-sky interferometric meteor radar observations. The Davis meteor radar performs dedicated all-sky interferometric meteor radar observations. The annual count rate variation for both radars peaks in mid-summer and minimizes in early Spring. The height distribution shows significant annual variation, with minimum (maximum) peak heights and maximum (minimum) height widths in early Spring (mid-summer). Although the meteor radar count rate and height distribution variations are consistent with a similar frequency meteor radar operating at Andenes (69.3°N), the peak heights show a much larger variation than at Andenes, while the count rate maximum-to-minimum ratios show a much smaller variation. Investigation of the effects of the temporal sampling parameters suggests that these differences are consistent with the different temporal sampling strategies used by the Davis and Andenes meteor radars. The new radiant mapping procedure of [Jones, J., Jones, W., Meteor radiant activity mapping using single-station radar observations, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 367(3), 1050-1056, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10025.x, 2006] is investigated. The technique is used to detect the Southern delta-Aquarid meteor shower, and a previously unknown weak shower. Meteoroid speeds obtained using the Fresnel transform are presented. The diurnal, annual, and height variation of meteoroid speeds are presented, with the results found to be consistent with those obtained using specular meteor radars. Meteoroid speed estimates for echoes identified as Southern delta-Aquarid and Sextantid meteor candidates show good agreement with the theoretical pre-atmospheric speeds of these showers (41 km s -1 and 32 km s -1

  13. Detectability of primordial gravitational waves produced in bouncing models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pinto-Neto, Nelson; Scardua, Arthur

    2017-06-01

    It is widely known that bouncing models with a dust hydrodynamical fluid satisfying cs2=pd/ρd≈0 , where cs , pd , ρd are the sound velocity, pressure, and energy density of the dust fluid, respectively, have almost scale invariant spectrum of scalar perturbations and negligible primordial gravitational waves. We investigate whether adding another fluid with 1 /3 bounce, can increase the amplitude of gravitational waves in the high frequency regime, turning them detectable in near future observations for such range of frequencies. Indeed, we show that the energy density of primordial gravitational waves is proportional to k2 (9 w -1 )/(1 +3 w ) for wavelengths which become bigger than the Hubble radius when this extra fluid dominates the background. Hence, as w →1 (an almost stiff matter fluid), the energy density of primordial gravitational waves will increase faster in frequency, turning them potentially detectable at high frequencies. However, there is an extra factor Iq(w ) in the amplitude which decreases exponentially with w . The net effect of these two contributions turns the energy density of primordial gravitational waves not sufficiently big at high frequencies in order to be detected by present day or near future observations for models which satisfy the nucleosynthesis bounds and is symmetric with respect to the bounce. Hence, symmetric bouncing models where the background is dominated by a dust hydrodynamical fluid with small sound velocity, do not present any significant amount of primordial gravitational waves at any frequency range compatible with observations, even if there are other fields present in the model dominating the bounce phase. Any detection of such waves will then rule out this kind of model.

  14. Radar observations of Comet Halley

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Campbell, D. B.; Harmon, J. K.; Shapiro, I. I.

    1989-01-01

    Five nights of Arecibo radar observations of Comet Halley are reported which reveal a feature in the overall average spectrum which, though weak, seems consistent with being an echo from the comet. The large radar cross section and large bandwidth of the feature suggest that the echo is predominantly from large grains which have been ejected from the nucleus. Extrapolation of the dust particle size distribution to large grain sizes gives a sufficient number of grains to account for the echo. The lack of a detectable echo from the nucleus, combined with estimates of its size and rotation rate from spacecraft encounters and other data, indicate that the nucleus has a surface of relatively high porosity.

  15. 46 CFR 11.305 - Radar-Observer certificates and qualifying courses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... appropriate curriculum as follows: (1) Radar Observer (Unlimited). Classroom instruction—including... conditions. (D) Limitations of radar resulting from design factors. (E) Safety precautions associated with...) Limitations of radar resulting from design factors. (E) Safety precautions associated with use and maintenance...

  16. Exploring the Mathematics of Bouncing Balls

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vinogradova, Natalya; Blaine, Larry G.

    2010-01-01

    A common textbook problem asks students to calculate the total distance traveled by a bouncing ball, from its initial release until it comes to rest, under the assumption that the height of each bounce is some fixed proportion "r" of the height of the previous bounce. The solution is found by inserting information about "r" and the height from…

  17. Prostate specific antigen bounce is related to overall survival in prostate brachytherapy.

    PubMed

    Hinnen, Karel A; Monninkhof, Evelyn M; Battermann, Jan J; van Roermund, Joep G H; Frank, Steven J; van Vulpen, Marco

    2012-02-01

    To investigate the association between prostate specific antigen (PSA) bounce and disease outcome after prostate brachytherapy. We analyzed 975 patients treated with (125)I implantation monotherapy between 1992 and 2006. All patients had tumor Stage ≤ 2c, Gleason score ≤ 7 prostate cancer, a minimum follow-up of 2 years with at least four PSA measurements, and no biochemical failure in the first 2 years. Median follow-up was 6 years. Bounce was defined as a PSA elevation of +0.2 ng/mL with subsequent decrease to previous nadir. We used the Phoenix +2 ng/mL definition for biochemical failure. Additional endpoints were disease-specific and overall survival. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to adjust for potential confounding factors. Bounce occurred in 32% of patients, with a median time to bounce of 1.6 years. More than 90% of bounces took place in the first 3 years after treatment and had disappeared within 2 years of onset. Ten-year freedom from biochemical failure, disease-specific survival, and overall survival rates were, respectively, 90%, 99%, and 88% for the bounce group and 70%, 93%, and 82% for the no-bounce group. Only 1 patient (0.3%) died of prostate cancer in the bounce group, compared with 40 patients (6.1%) in the no-bounce group. Adjusted for confounding, a 70% biochemical failure risk reduction was observed for patients experiencing a bounce (hazard ratio 0.31; 95% confidence interval 0.20-0.48). A PSA bounce after prostate brachytherapy is strongly related to better outcome in terms of biochemical failure, disease-specific survival, and overall survival. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Fluvial channels on Titan: Initial Cassini RADAR observations

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lorenz, R.D.; Lopes, R.M.; Paganelli, F.; Lunine, J.I.; Kirk, R.L.; Mitchell, K.L.; Soderblom, L.A.; Stofan, E.R.; Ori, G.; Myers, M.; Miyamoto, H.; Radebaugh, J.; Stiles, B.; Wall, S.D.; Wood, C.A.

    2008-01-01

    Cassini radar images show a variety of fluvial channels on Titan's surface, often several hundreds of kilometers in length. Some (predominantly at low- and mid-latitude) are radar-bright and braided, resembling desert washes where fines have been removed by energetic surface liquid flow, presumably from methane rainstorms. Others (predominantly at high latitudes) are radar-dark and meandering and drain into or connect polar lakes, suggesting slower-moving flow depositing fine-grained sediments. A third type, seen predominantly at mid- and high latitudes, have radar brightness patterns indicating topographic incision, with valley widths of up to 3 km across and depth of several hundred meters. These observations show that fluvial activity occurs at least occasionally at all latitudes, not only at the Huygens landing site, and can produce channels much larger in scale than those observed there. The areas in which channels are prominent so far amount to about 1% of Titan's surface, of which only a fraction is actually occupied by channels. The corresponding global sediment volume inferred is not enough to account for the extensive sand seas. Channels observed so far have a consistent large-scale flow pattern, tending to flow polewards and eastwards. ?? 2008.

  19. First observations of the midlatitude evening anomaly using Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Larquier, S.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Baker, J. B. H.; Ravindran Varrier, N.; Lester, M.

    2011-10-01

    Under geomagnetically quiet conditions, the daytime midlatitude ionosphere is mainly influenced by solar radiation: typically, electron densities in the ionosphere peak around solar noon. Previous observations from the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar (ISR) have evidenced the presence of evening electron densities higher than daytime densities during the summer. The recent development of midlatitude Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars over North America and Japan has revealed an evening enhancement in ground backscatter during the summer. SuperDARN observations are compared to data from the Millstone Hill ISR, confirming a direct relation between the observed evening enhancements in electron densities and ground backscatter. Statistics over a year of data from the Blackstone radar show that the enhancement occurs during sunset for a few hours from April to September. The evening enhancement observed by both SuperDARN and the Millstone Hill ISR is shown to be related to recent satellite observations reporting an enhancement in electron densities over a wide range of longitudes in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitude sector during summer time. Finally, global results from the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) and the horizontal wind model (HWM07) are presented in relation with previously published experimental results and proposed mechanisms of the evening enhancement, namely, thermospheric horizontal winds and geomagnetic field configuration. It is shown that the IRI captures the features of the evening enhancement as observed by SuperDARN radars and satellites.

  20. Bouncing behavior of microscopic dust aggregates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seizinger, A.; Kley, W.

    2013-03-01

    Context. Bouncing collisions of dust aggregates within the protoplanetary disk may have a significant impact on the growth process of planetesimals. Yet, the conditions that result in bouncing are not very well understood. Existing simulations studying the bouncing behavior used aggregates with an artificial, very regular internal structure. Aims: Here, we study the bouncing behavior of sub-mm dust aggregates that are constructed applying different sample preparation methods. We analyze how the internal structure of the aggregate alters the collisional outcome and we determine the influence of aggregate size, porosity, collision velocity, and impact parameter. Methods: We use molecular dynamics simulations where the individual aggregates are treated as spheres that are made up of several hundred thousand individual monomers. The simulations are run on graphic cards (GPUs). Results: Statistical bulk properties and thus bouncing behavior of sub-mm dust aggregates depend heavily on the preparation method. In particular, there is no unique relation between the average volume filling factor and the coordination number of the aggregate. Realistic aggregates bounce only if their volume filling factor exceeds 0.5 and collision velocities are below 0.1 ms-1. Conclusions: For dust particles in the protoplanetary nebula we suggest that the bouncing barrier may not be such a strong handicap in the growth phase of dust agglomerates, at least in the size range of ≈100 μm.

  1. Radar observations of individual rain drops in the free atmosphere.

    PubMed

    Schmidt, Jerome M; Flatau, Piotr J; Harasti, Paul R; Yates, Robert D; Littleton, Ricky; Pritchard, Michael S; Fischer, Jody M; Fischer, Erin J; Kohri, William J; Vetter, Jerome R; Richman, Scott; Baranowski, Dariusz B; Anderson, Mark J; Fletcher, Ed; Lando, David W

    2012-06-12

    Atmospheric remote sensing has played a pivotal role in the increasingly sophisticated representation of clouds in the numerical models used to assess global and regional climate change. This has been accomplished because the underlying bulk cloud properties can be derived from a statistical analysis of the returned microwave signals scattered by a diverse ensemble comprised of numerous cloud hydrometeors. A new Doppler radar, previously used to track small debris particles shed from the NASA space shuttle during launch, is shown to also have the capacity to detect individual cloud hydrometeors in the free atmosphere. Similar to the traces left behind on film by subatomic particles, larger cloud particles were observed to leave a well-defined radar signature (or streak), which could be analyzed to infer the underlying particle properties. We examine the unique radar and environmental conditions leading to the formation of the radar streaks and develop a theoretical framework which reveals the regulating role of the background radar reflectivity on their observed characteristics. This main expectation from theory is examined through an analysis of the drop properties inferred from radar and in situ aircraft measurements obtained in two contrasting regions of an observed multicellular storm system. The observations are placed in context of the parent storm circulation through the use of the radar's unique high-resolution waveforms, which allow the bulk and individual hydrometeor properties to be inferred at the same time.

  2. Spinor driven cosmic bounces and their cosmological perturbations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Farnsworth, Shane; Lehners, Jean-Luc; Qiu, Taotao

    2017-10-01

    When coupling fermions to gravity, torsion is naturally induced. We consider the possibility that fermion bilinears can act as a source for torsion, altering the dynamics of the early universe such that the big bang gets replaced with a classical nonsingular bounce. We extend previous studies in several ways: we allow more general fermion couplings, consider both commuting and anticommuting spinors, and demonstrate that with an appropriate choice of potential one can easily obtain essentially arbitrary equations of state, including violations of the null energy condition, as required for a bounce. As an example, we construct a model of ekpyrotic contraction followed by a nonsingular bounce into an expanding phase. We analyze cosmological fluctuations in these models, and show that the perturbations can be rewritten in real fluid form. We find indications that spinor bounces are stable, and exhibit several solutions for the perturbations. Interestingly, spinor models do not admit a scalar-vector-tensor decomposition, and consequently some types of scalar fluctuations can act as a source for gravitational waves already at linear order. We also find that the first order dynamics are directionally dependent, an effect which might lead to distinguished observational signatures.

  3. 46 CFR 11.305 - Radar-Observer certificates and qualifying courses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Radar-Observer certificates and qualifying courses. 11... SEAMEN REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICER ENDORSEMENTS Training Schools with Approved Courses § 11.305 Radar... includes passing both a radar-theory examination and a practical demonstration on a simulator, and who...

  4. 46 CFR 11.305 - Radar-Observer certificates and qualifying courses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Radar-Observer certificates and qualifying courses. 11... SEAMEN REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICER ENDORSEMENTS Training Schools with Approved Courses § 11.305 Radar... includes passing both a radar-theory examination and a practical demonstration on a simulator, and who...

  5. Radiation bounce from the Lee-Wick construction?

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

    Karouby, Johanna; Brandenberger, Robert

    2010-09-15

    It was recently realized that matter modeled by the scalar field sector of the Lee-Wick standard model yields, in the context of a homogeneous and isotropic cosmological background, a bouncing cosmology. However, bouncing cosmologies induced by pressureless matter are in general unstable to the addition of relativistic matter (i.e. radiation). Here we study the possibility of obtaining a bouncing cosmology if we add not only radiation, but also its Lee-Wick partner, to the matter sector. We find that, in general, no bounce occurs. The only way to obtain a bounce is to choose initial conditions with very special phases ofmore » the radiation field and its Lee-Wick partner.« less

  6. Observation of snowfall with a low-power FM-CW K-band radar (Micro Rain Radar)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kneifel, Stefan; Maahn, Maximilian; Peters, Gerhard; Simmer, Clemens

    2011-06-01

    Quantifying snowfall intensity especially under arctic conditions is a challenge because wind and snow drift deteriorate estimates obtained from both ground-based gauges and disdrometers. Ground-based remote sensing with active instruments might be a solution because they can measure well above drifting snow and do not suffer from flow distortions by the instrument. Clear disadvantages are, however, the dependency of e.g. radar returns on snow habit which might lead to similar large uncertainties. Moreover, high sensitivity radars are still far too costly to operate in a network and under harsh conditions. In this paper we compare returns from a low-cost, low-power vertically pointing FM-CW radar (Micro Rain Radar, MRR) operating at 24.1 GHz with returns from a 35.5 GHz cloud radar (MIRA36) for dry snowfall during a 6-month observation period at an Alpine station (Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus, UFS) at 2,650 m height above sea level. The goal was to quantify the potential and limitations of the MRR in relation to what is achievable by a cloud radar. The operational MRR procedures to derive standard radar variables like effective reflectivity factor ( Z e) or the mean Doppler velocity ( W) had to be modified for snowfall since the MRR was originally designed for rain observations. Since the radar returns from snowfall are weaker than from comparable rainfall, the behavior of the MRR close to its detection threshold has been analyzed and a method is proposed to quantify the noise level of the MRR based on clear sky observations. By converting the resulting MRR- Z e into 35.5 GHz equivalent Z e values, a remaining difference below 1 dBz with slightly higher values close to the noise threshold could be obtained. Due to the much higher sensitivity of MIRA36, the transition of the MRR from the true signal to noise can be observed, which agrees well with the independent clear sky noise estimate. The mean Doppler velocity differences between both radars

  7. Intercontinental Bistatic Radar Test Observation of Asteroid 1998 WT24

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Righini, S.; Poppi, S.; Montebugnoli, S.; DiMartino, M.; Saba, L.; Delbo, M.; Ostro, S.; Monari, J.; Poloni, M.; Orlati, A.

    2002-01-01

    We describe the first intercontinental planetary radar test performed in Italy observing the near Earth asteroid (NEA) 33342 (1998 WT24) in December 2001 by means of the bistatic configurations Goldstone (California, USA)-Medicina (Italy) and Evpatoria (Ukraine)-Medicina. The experiment goal was to characterize the system for realtime radar follow-up observations of NEAs and artificial orbiting debris, in the framework of a feasibility study which aims at using the Sardinia Radio Telescope, at present under construction, also as a planetary radar facility. We report the preliminary results of the radar observations carried out by the IRA-CNR (Instituto di Radioastronomia - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) and the OATo (Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino) groups, aimed at exploring the scientific potentials of a new space radar program, using the existing facilities in Italy. The planetary radar technique is uniquely capable of investigating geometry and surface properties of various solar system objects, demonstrating advantages over the optical methods in its high spatial resolution and ability to obtain three-dimensional images. A single radar detection allows to obtain extremely accurate orbital elements, improving the instantaneous positional uncertainties by orders of magnitude with respect to an optically determined orbit. Radar is a powerful means to spatially resolve NEAs by measuring the distribution of the echo power in time delay (range) and Doppler frequency (line-of-sight velocity) with extreme precision in each coordinate, as it provides detailed information about the target physical properties like size, shape, rotation, near-surface bulk density and roughness and internal density distribution. The Medicina 32m antenna had been successfully used for the first time as the receiving part of a bistatic configuration during a test experiment (September 2001) held to check the capabilities of the entire data acquisition system. This test was possible

  8. Investigations on the sensitivity of a stepped-frequency radar utilizing a vector network analyzer for Ground Penetrating Radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seyfried, Daniel; Schubert, Karsten; Schoebel, Joerg

    2014-12-01

    Employing a continuous-wave radar system, with the stepped-frequency radar being one type of this class, all reflections from the environment are present continuously and simultaneously at the receiver. Utilizing such a radar system for Ground Penetrating Radar purposes, antenna cross-talk and ground bounce reflection form an overall dominant signal contribution while reflections from objects buried in the ground are of quite weak amplitude due to attenuation in the ground. This requires a large dynamic range of the receiver which in turn requires high sensitivity of the radar system. In this paper we analyze the sensitivity of our vector network analyzer utilized as stepped-frequency radar system for GPR pipe detection. We furthermore investigate the performance of increasing the sensitivity of the radar by means of appropriate averaging and low-noise pre-amplification of the received signal. It turns out that the improvement in sensitivity actually achievable may differ significantly from theoretical expectations. In addition, we give a descriptive explanation why our appropriate experiments demonstrate that the sensitivity of the receiver is independent of the distance between the target object and the source of dominant signal contribution. Finally, our investigations presented in this paper lead to a preferred setting of operation for our vector network analyzer in order to achieve best detection capability for weak reflection amplitudes, hence making the radar system applicable for Ground Penetrating Radar purposes.

  9. Radar Model of Asteroid 216 Kleopatra

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2000-01-01

    These images show several views from a radar-based computer model of asteroid 216 Kleopatra. The object, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is about 217 kilometers (135 miles) long and about 94 kilometers (58 miles) wide, or about the size of New Jersey.

    This dog bone-shaped asteroid is an apparent leftover from an ancient, violent cosmic collision. Kleopatra is one of several dozen asteroids whose coloring suggests they contain metal.

    A team of astronomers observing Kleopatra used the 305-meter (1,000-foot) telescope of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to bounce encoded radio signals off Kleopatra. Using sophisticated computer analysis techniques, they decoded the echoes, transformed them into images, and assembled a computer model of the asteroid's shape.

    The images were obtained when Kleopatra was about 171 million kilometers (106 million miles) from Earth. This model is accurate to within about 15 kilometers (9 miles).

    The Arecibo Observatory is part of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, operated by Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., for the National Science Foundation. The Kleopatra radar observations were supported by NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

  10. G-bounce

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

    Easson, Damien A.; Sawicki, Ignacy; Vikman, Alexander, E-mail: easson@asu.edu, E-mail: ignacy.sawicki@uni-heidelberg.de, E-mail: alexander.vikman@cern.ch

    2011-11-01

    We present a wide class of models which realise a bounce in a spatially flat Friedmann universe in standard General Relativity. The key ingredient of the theories we consider is a noncanonical, minimally coupled scalar field belonging to the class of theories with Kinetic Gravity Braiding / Galileon-like self-couplings. In these models, the universe smoothly evolves from contraction to expansion, suffering neither from ghosts nor gradient instabilities around the turning point. The end-point of the evolution can be a standard radiation-domination era or an inflationary phase. We formulate necessary restrictions for Lagrangians needed to obtain a healthy bounce and illustratemore » our results with phase portraits for simple systems including the recently proposed Galilean Genesis scenario.« less

  11. Radar observations of individual rain drops in the free atmosphere

    PubMed Central

    Schmidt, Jerome M.; Flatau, Piotr J.; Harasti, Paul R.; Yates, Robert D.; Littleton, Ricky; Pritchard, Michael S.; Fischer, Jody M.; Fischer, Erin J.; Kohri, William J.; Vetter, Jerome R.; Richman, Scott; Baranowski, Dariusz B.; Anderson, Mark J.; Fletcher, Ed; Lando, David W.

    2012-01-01

    Atmospheric remote sensing has played a pivotal role in the increasingly sophisticated representation of clouds in the numerical models used to assess global and regional climate change. This has been accomplished because the underlying bulk cloud properties can be derived from a statistical analysis of the returned microwave signals scattered by a diverse ensemble comprised of numerous cloud hydrometeors. A new Doppler radar, previously used to track small debris particles shed from the NASA space shuttle during launch, is shown to also have the capacity to detect individual cloud hydrometeors in the free atmosphere. Similar to the traces left behind on film by subatomic particles, larger cloud particles were observed to leave a well-defined radar signature (or streak), which could be analyzed to infer the underlying particle properties. We examine the unique radar and environmental conditions leading to the formation of the radar streaks and develop a theoretical framework which reveals the regulating role of the background radar reflectivity on their observed characteristics. This main expectation from theory is examined through an analysis of the drop properties inferred from radar and in situ aircraft measurements obtained in two contrasting regions of an observed multicellular storm system. The observations are placed in context of the parent storm circulation through the use of the radar’s unique high-resolution waveforms, which allow the bulk and individual hydrometeor properties to be inferred at the same time. PMID:22652569

  12. Unbraiding the bounce: superluminality around the corner

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dobre, David A.; Frolov, Andrei V.; Gálvez Ghersi, José T.; Ramazanov, Sabir; Vikman, Alexander

    2018-03-01

    We study a particular realization of the cosmological bounce scenario proposed recently by Ijjas and Steinhardt in [1]. First, we find that their bouncing solution starts from a divergent sound speed and ends with its vanishing. Thus, the solution connects two strongly coupled configurations. These pathologies are separated from the bouncing regime by only a few Planck times. We then reveal the exact structure of the Lagrangian, which reproduces this bouncing solution. This reconstruction allowed us to consider other cosmological solutions of the theory and analyze the phase space. In particular, we find other bouncing solutions and solutions with superluminal sound speed. These stable superluminal states can be continuously transformed into the solution constructed by Ijjas and Steinhardt. We discuss the consequences of this feature for a possible UV-completion.

  13. Ku-band ocean radar backscatter observations during SWADE

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nghiem, S. V.; Li, F. K.; Lou, S. H.; Neumann, G.

    1993-01-01

    We present results obtained by an airborne Ku-band scatterometer during the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment (SWADE). The specific objective of this study is to improve our understanding of the relationship between ocean radar backscatter and near surface winds. The airborne scatterometer, NUSCAT, was flown on the NASA Ames C-130 over an instrumented oceanic area near 37 deg N and 74 deg W. A total of 10 flights from 27 Feb. to 9 Mar. 1991 were conducted. Radar backscatter at incidence angles of 0 to 60 deg were obtained. For each incidence angle, the NUSCAT antenna was azimuthally scanned in multiple complete circles to measure the azimuthal backscatter modulations. Both horizontal and vertical polarization backscatter measurements were made. In some of the flights, the cross-polarization backscatter was measured as well. Internal calibrations were carried out throughout each of the flights. Preliminary results indicate that the radar was stable to +/-0.3 dB for each flight. In this paper, we present studies of the backscatter measurements over several crossings of the Gulf Stream. In these crossings, large air-sea temperature differences were encountered and substantial changes in the radar cross section were observed. We summarize the observations and compare them to the changes of several wind variables across the Gulf Stream boundary. In one of the flights, the apparent wind near the cold side of the Gulf Stream was very low (less than 3 m/s). The behavior of the radar cross sections at such low wind speeds and a comparison with models are presented. A case study of the effects of swell on the absolute cross section and the azimuthal modulation pattern is presented. Significant wave heights larger than m were observed during SWADE. The experimentally observed effects of the swell on the radar backscatter are discussed. The effects are used to assess the uncertainties in wind retrieval due to underlying waves. A summary of azimuthal modulation from our ten

  14. Shooting and bouncing rays - Calculating the RCS of an arbitrarily shaped cavity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ling, Hao; Chou, Ri-Chee; Lee, Shung-Wu

    1989-01-01

    A ray-shooting approach is presented for calculating the interior radar cross section (RCS) from a partially open cavity. In the problem considered, a dense grid of rays is launched into the cavity through the opening. The rays bounce from the cavity walls based on the laws of geometrical optics and eventually exit the cavity via the aperture. The ray-bouncing method is based on tracking a large number of rays launched into the cavity through the opening and determining the geometrical optics field associated with each ray by taking into consideration (1) the geometrical divergence factor, (2) polarization, and (3) material loading of the cavity walls. A physical optics scheme is then applied to compute the backscattered field from the exit rays. This method is so simple in concept that there is virtually no restriction on the shape or material loading of the cavity. Numerical results obtained by this method are compared with those for the modal analysis for a circular cylinder terminated by a PEC plate. RCS results for an S-bend circular cylinder generated on the Cray X-MP supercomputer show significant RCS reduction. Some of the limitations and possible extensions of this technique are discussed.

  15. Partitioning Ocean Wave Spectra Obtained from Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Delaye, Lauriane; Vergely, Jean-Luc; Hauser, Daniele; Guitton, Gilles; Mouche, Alexis; Tison, Celine

    2016-08-01

    2D wave spectra of ocean waves can be partitioned into several wave components to better characterize the scene. We present here two methods of component detection: one based on watershed algorithm and the other based on a Bayesian approach. We tested both methods on a set of simulated SWIM data, the Ku-band real aperture radar embarked on the CFOSAT (China- France Oceanography Satellite) mission which launch is planned mid-2018. We present the results and the limits of both approaches and show that Bayesian method can also be applied to other kind of wave spectra observations as those obtained with the radar KuROS, an airborne radar wave spectrometer.

  16. Development and Observation of the Phase Array Radar at X band

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ushio, T.; Shimamura, S.; Wu, T.; Kikuchi, H.; Yoshida, S.; Kawasaki, Z.; Mizutani, F.; Wada, M.; Satoh, S.; Iguchi, T.

    2013-12-01

    A new Phased Array Radar (PAR) system for thunderstorm observation has been developed by Toshiba Corporation and Osaka University under a grant of NICT, and installed in Osaka University, Japan last year. It is now well known that rapidly evolving severe weather phenomena (e.g., microbursts, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes) are a threat to our lives particularly in a densely populated area and is closely related to the production of lightning discharges. Over the past decade, mechanically rotating radar systems at the C-band or S-band have been proved to be effective for weather surveillance especially in a wide area more than 100 km in range. However, severe thunderstorm sometimes develops rapidly on the temporal and spatial scales comparable to the resolution limit (-10 min. and -500m) of typical S-band or C-band radar systems, and cannot be fully resolved with these radar systems. In order to understand the fundamental process and dynamics of such fast changing weather phenomena like lightning and tornado producing thunderstorm, volumetric observations with both high temporal and spatial resolution are required. The phased array radar system developed has the unique capability of scanning the whole sky with 100m and 10 to 30 second resolution up to 60 km. The system adopts the digital beam forming technique for elevation scanning and mechanically rotates the array antenna in azimuth direction within 10 to 30 seconds. The radar transmits a broad beam of several degrees with 24 antenna elements and receives the back scattered signal with 128 elements digitizing at each elements. Then by digitally forming the beam in the signal processor, the fast scanning is realized. After the installation of the PAR system in Osaka University, the initial observation campaign was conducted in Osaka urban area with Ku-band Broad Band Radar (BBR) network, C-band weather radar, and lightning location system. The initial comparison with C band radar system shows that the developed

  17. Interferometric Meteor Head Echo Observations using the Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar (SAAMER)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Janches, D.; Hocking, W.; Pifko, S.; Hormaechea, J. L.; Fritts, D. C.; Brunini, C; Michell, R.; Samara, M.

    2013-01-01

    A radar meteor echo is the radar scattering signature from the free-electrons in a plasma trail generated by entry of extraterrestrial particles into the atmosphere. Three categories of scattering mechanisms exist: specular, nonspecular trails, and head-echoes. Generally, there are two types of radars utilized to detect meteors. Traditional VHF meteor radars (often called all-sky1radars) primarily detect the specular reflection of meteor trails traveling perpendicular to the line of sight of the scattering trail, while High Power and Large Aperture (HPLA) radars efficiently detect meteor head-echoes and, in some cases, non-specular trails. The fact that head-echo measurements can be performed only with HPLA radars limits these studies in several ways. HPLA radars are very sensitive instruments constraining the studies to the lower masses, and these observations cannot be performed continuously because they take place at national observatories with limited allocated observing time. These drawbacks can be addressed by developing head echo observing techniques with modified all-sky meteor radars. In addition, the fact that the simultaneous detection of all different scattering mechanisms can be made with the same instrument, rather than requiring assorted different classes of radars, can help clarify observed differences between the different methodologies. In this study, we demonstrate that such concurrent observations are now possible, enabled by the enhanced design of the Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar (SAAMER) deployed at the Estacion Astronomica Rio Grande (EARG) in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The results presented here are derived from observations performed over a period of 12 days in August 2011, and include meteoroid dynamical parameter distributions, radiants and estimated masses. Overall, the SAAMER's head echo detections appear to be produced by larger particles than those which have been studied thus far using this technique.

  18. German Radar Observation Shuttle Experiment (ROSE)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sleber, A. J.; Hartl, P.; Haydn, R.; Hildebrandt, G.; Konecny, G.; Muehlfeld, R.

    1984-01-01

    The success of radar sensors in several different application areas of interest depends on the knowledge of the backscatter of radar waves from the targets of interest, the variance of these interaction mechanisms with respect to changing measurement parameters, and the determination of the influence of he measuring systems on the results. The incidence-angle dependency of the radar cross section of different natural targets is derived. Problems involved by the combination of data gained with different sensors, e.g., MSS-, TM-, SPOTand SAR-images are analyzed. Radar cross-section values gained with ground-based radar spectrometers and spaceborne radar imaging, and non-imaging scatterometers and spaceborne radar images from the same areal target are correlated. The penetration of L-band radar waves into vegetated and nonvegetated surfaces is analyzed.

  19. Absolute Lower Bound on the Bounce Action

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Ryosuke; Takimoto, Masahiro

    2018-03-01

    The decay rate of a false vacuum is determined by the minimal action solution of the tunneling field: bounce. In this Letter, we focus on models with scalar fields which have a canonical kinetic term in N (>2 ) dimensional Euclidean space, and derive an absolute lower bound on the bounce action. In the case of four-dimensional space, we show the bounce action is generically larger than 24 /λcr, where λcr≡max [-4 V (ϕ )/|ϕ |4] with the false vacuum being at ϕ =0 and V (0 )=0 . We derive this bound on the bounce action without solving the equation of motion explicitly. Our bound is derived by a quite simple discussion, and it provides useful information even if it is difficult to obtain the explicit form of the bounce solution. Our bound offers a sufficient condition for the stability of a false vacuum, and it is useful as a quick check on the vacuum stability for given models. Our bound can be applied to a broad class of scalar potential with any number of scalar fields. We also discuss a necessary condition for the bounce action taking a value close to this lower bound.

  20. Behavior of hollow balls containing granules bouncing repeatedly off the ground

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Min; Mu, Qing-song; Luo, Ning; Li, Gang; Peng, Ning-bo

    2013-07-01

    An experimental study of the behavior of hollow balls filled with some granules (mung beans or millets) bouncing repeatedly off a static flat horizontal surface is presented. We observed that the bounce number of the ball is limited and decreases regularly with an increasing number of granules. Moreover, for two balls containing a different kind of granules, their bounce numbers are basically equal when the two balls have the same mass of granules. While there is no clear relationship between the first rebound height of one ball and the number of granules, there appears an exponential decay of the second rebound height with an increase of the granule number. Furthermore, a two-dimensional numerical model has been created to find out the law of the ball's rebound height and the dissipation law of the granule nested system. A generalized prediction equation to reasonably explain the law of the bounce number has also been proposed.

  1. 46 CFR 11.307 - Training schools with approved radar observer courses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Training schools with approved radar observer courses... AND SEAMEN REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICER ENDORSEMENTS Training Schools with Approved Courses § 11.307 Training schools with approved radar observer courses. The Commanding Officer, National Maritime Center...

  2. 46 CFR 11.307 - Training schools with approved radar observer courses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Training schools with approved radar observer courses... AND SEAMEN REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICER ENDORSEMENTS Training Schools with Approved Courses § 11.307 Training schools with approved radar observer courses. The Commanding Officer, National Maritime Center...

  3. Stable Liquid Jets Bouncing off Soft Gels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Daniel, Dan; Yao, Xi; Aizenberg, Joanna

    2018-01-01

    A liquid jet can stably bounce off a sufficiently soft gel by following the contour of the dimple created upon impact. This new phenomenon is insensitive to the wetting properties of the gels and was observed for different liquids over a wide range of surface tensions, γ =24 -72 mN /m . In contrast, other jet rebound phenomena are typically sensitive to γ : only a high γ jet rebounds off a hard solid (e.g. superhydrophobic surface) and only a low γ jet bounces off a liquid bath. This is because an air layer must be stabilized between the two interfaces. For a soft gel, no air layer is necessary and the jet rebound remains stable even when there is direct liquid-gel contact.

  4. Effects of meteoroid fragmentation on radar observations of meteor trails

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elford, W. Graham; Campbell, L.

    2001-11-01

    Radar reflections from meteor trails often differ from the predictions of simple models. There is general consensus that these differences are probably the result of fragmentation of the meteoroid. Several examples taken from different types of meteor radar observations are considered in order to test the validity of the fragmentation hypothesis. The absence of the expected Fresnel oscillations in many observations of transverse scatter from meteor trails is readily explained by assuming a number of ablating fragments spread out along the trails. Observations of amplitude fluctuations in head echoes from "down-the-beam" meteoroids are explained by gross fragmentation of a meteoroid into two or more pieces. Another down-the-beam event is modeled by simulation of the differential retardation of two fragments of different mass, giving reasonable agreement between the observed and predicted radar signals.

  5. Compliance control for a hydraulic bouncing system.

    PubMed

    Chen, Guangrong; Wang, Junzheng; Wang, Shoukun; Zhao, Jiangbo; Shen, Wei

    2018-05-17

    This paper is to reduce the contact impact, control the leg stiffness and bouncing height. Firstly, the combining position/force active compliance control was involved in the deceleration phase to decrease the impact force and improve the leg compliance capacity. Then a reasonable velocity control of cylinder was addressed to control the bouncing height to the given value in the acceleration phase. Due to the model uncertainties and disturbances in the deceleration and acceleration phase, a near inverse like controller with a proportional and differential control (PD) was added into the velocity control of acceleration phase to compensate the bouncing height control error. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed controller was validated by experiments. Experimental results showed the impact force could be reduced effectively and a significant bouncing height control performance could be achieved. The influences of initial energy, preload of spring and velocity of cylinder on the bouncing height were addressed as well. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The composition of M-type asteroids: Synthesis of spectroscopic and radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neeley, J. R.; Ockert-Bell, M. E.; Clark, B. E.; Shepard, M. K.; Cloutis, E. A.; Fornasier, S.; Bus, S. J.

    2011-10-01

    This work updates our and expands our long term radar-driven observational campaign of 27 main-belt asteroids (MBAs) focused on Bus-DeMeo Xc- and Xk-type objects (Tholen X and M class asteroids) using the Arecibo radar and NASA Infrared Telescope Facilities (IRTF). Seventeen of our targets were near-simultaneously observed with radar and those observations are described in companion paper (Shepard et al., 2010). We utilized visible wavelength for a more complete compositional analysis of our targets. Compositional evidence is derived from our target asteroid spectra using three different methods: 1) a χ2 search for spectral matches in the RELAB database, 2) parametric comparisons with meteorites and 3) linear discriminant analysis. This paper synthesizes the results of the RELAB search, parametric comparisons, and linear discriminant analysis with compositional suggestions based on radar observations. We find that for six of seventeen targets with radar data, our spectral results are consistent with their radar analog (16 Psyche, 21 Lutetia, 69 Hesperia, 135 Hertha, 216 Kleopatra, and 497 Iva). For twenty out of twenty-seven objects our statistical comparisons with RELAB meteorites result in consistent analog identification, providing a degree of confidence in our parametric methods.

  7. Sporadic E ionization layers observed with radar imaging and ionospheric modification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hysell, D. L.; Munk, J.; McCarrick, M.

    2014-10-01

    Sporadic E ionization layers have been observed in the daytime subauroral ionospheric E layer by a 30 MHz radar in Alaska. The radar detects coherent backscatter from meter-scale field-aligned plasma density irregularities. The irregularities were generated by ionospheric modification—by the emission of strong HF electromagnetic waves directly beneath the layers—making the layers visible to the radar. Aperture-synthesis methods are used to generate imagery of the layers from the radar data. The layers are patchy, with patches organized along fronts spaced by tens of kilometers and propagating slowly toward the southwest. Similar, naturally occurring layers are commonly observed at middle latitudes at night in the absence of ionospheric modification. That the patchy layers can be found at high magnetic latitudes during the day argues that they are most likely produced through the interaction of the ionospheric layer with neutral atmospheric waves and instabilities. Attenuation of the radar echoes when the HF emission frequency exceeded the third harmonic of the electron gyrofrequency was observed and is discussed.

  8. Bouncing cosmology from warped extra dimensional scenario

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Das, Ashmita; Maity, Debaprasad; Paul, Tanmoy; SenGupta, Soumitra

    2017-12-01

    From the perspective of four dimensional effective theory on a two brane warped geometry model, we examine the possibility of "bouncing phenomena"on our visible brane. Our results reveal that the presence of a warped extra dimension lead to a non-singular bounce on the brane scale factor and hence can remove the "big-bang singularity". We also examine the possible parametric regions for which this bouncing is possible.

  9. Multi-bounce laser-based sails

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Metzger, Robert A.; Landis, Geoffrey

    2001-02-01

    A laser-based lightsail craft is proposed in which the laser beam is operated in a multi-bounce mode, such that after first striking the lightsail, the beam is reflected back to a source reflector where it is again directed to the lightsail. Recent developments in nearly ideal reflectors permit more than 1000 bounces, which reduce the laser power requirements by a factor of 1000 as compared to conventional laser-based lightsail proposals. Using the multi-bounce lightsail approach coupled with lasers operating in the power range of 100 MW to 1 GW, the details of a mission to Mars requiring only a sub-100 day transit, and an orbital transfer vehicle designed to transport cargo between Phobos and Deimos are examined. .

  10. Radar and optical observations of small mass meteors at Arecibo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michell, R.; Janches, D.; DeLuca, M. D.; Samara, M.; Chen, R. Y.

    2016-12-01

    Optical observations of meteors were conducted over 4 separate nights alongside the Arecibo radar. Meteors were detected in the optical imaging data and with both of the radars at Arecibo. The UHF (430 MHz) radar is the most sensitive and therefore detected the most meteors however the VHF (46.8 MHz) radar detected a higher percentage of meteors in common with the optics, due to the larger beam size and larger mass detectability threshold. The emphasis of this presentation is on meteors that were detected by the optics and one or both radars. The comparisons between the the relative sensitivities of these 3 detecting techniques will improve the meteoroid mass estimates made from the optical intensities. The overall aim would be to develop more accurate and robust methods of calculating meteoroid mass from the radar data alone.

  11. Radar observations of asteroid 216 Kleopatra

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ostro, S.; Hudson, R.; Nolan, M.; Margot, J.; Scheeres, D.; Campbell, D.; Magri, C.; Giorgini, J.; Yeomans, D.

    2000-01-01

    Radar observations of the main-belt, M-class asteroid 216 Kleopatra reveal a dumbbell-shaped object with overall dimensions of 217 kilometers by 94 kilometers by 81 kilometers (+/-25%). The asteroid's surface properties are consistent with a regolith having a metallic composition and a porosity comparable to that of Lunar soil.

  12. Primordial perturbations with pre-inflationary bounce

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cai, Yong; Wang, Yu-Tong; Zhao, Jin-Yun; Piao, Yun-Song

    2018-05-01

    Based on the effective field theory (EFT) of nonsingular cosmologies, we build a stable model, without the ghost and gradient instabilities, of bounce-inflation (inflation is preceded by a cosmological bounce). We perform a full simulation for the evolution of scalar perturbation, and find that the perturbation spectrum has a large-scale suppression (as expected), which is consistent with the power deficit of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) TT-spectrum at low multipoles, but unexpectedly, it also shows itself one marked lower valley. The depth of valley is relevant with the physics around the bounce scale, which is model-dependent.

  13. Arecibo Radar Observations of Near-Earth Asteroids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivera-Valentin, Edgard G.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Virkki, Anne; Saran Bhiravarasu, Sriram; Venditti, Flaviane; Zambrano-Marin, Luisa Fernanda; Aponte-Hernandez, Betzaida

    2017-10-01

    The Arecibo S-Band (2.38 GHz, 12.6 cm; 1 MW) planetary radar system at the 305-m William E. Gordon Telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico is the most active, most powerful, and most sensitive planetary radar facility in the world. As such, Arecibo is vital for post-discovery characterization and orbital refinement of near-Earth asteroids. Since August 2016, the program has observed 100 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), of which 38 are classified as potentially hazardous to Earth and 31 are compliant with the NASA Near-Earth Object Human Space Flight Accessible Targets Study (NHATS). Arecibo observations are critical for identifying NEAs that may be on a collision course with Earth in addition to providing detailed physical characterization of the objects themselves in terms of size, shape, spin, and surface properties, which are valuable for assessing impact mitigation strategies. Here, we will present a sampling of the asteroid zoo observed by Arecibo, including press-noted asteroids 2014 JO25 and the (163693) Atira binary system.

  14. Radar Observation of Large Attenuation in Convective Storms: Implications for the Dropsize Distribution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tian, Lin; Heymsfield, G. M.; Srivastava, R. C.

    2000-01-01

    Airborne meteorological radars typically operate at attenuating wavelengths. The path integrated attenuation (PIA) can be estimated using the surface reference technique (SRT). In this method, an initial value is determined for the radar cross section of the earth surface in a rain-free area in relatively close proximity to the rain cloud. During subsequent observations of precipitation any decrease 'in the observed surface cross section from the reference value s assumed to be a result of the two-way attenuation along the propagation path. In this paper we present selected instances of high PIA observed over land by an airborne radar. The observations were taken in Brazil and Florida during TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) field campaigns. We compared these observations with collocated and nearly simultaneous ground-based radar observations by an S-band radar that is not subject to significant attenuation. In this preliminary evaluation, a systematic difference in the attenuation in the two storms is attributed to a difference in the raindrop size distributions; this is supported by observations of ZDR (differential reflectivity).

  15. Linking snowflake microstructure to multi-frequency radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leinonen, J.; Moisseev, D.; Nousiainen, T.

    2013-04-01

    Spherical or spheroidal particle shape models are commonly used to calculate numerically the radar backscattering properties of aggregate snowflakes. A more complicated and computationally intensive approach is to use detailed models of snowflake structure together with numerical scattering models that can operate on arbitrary particle shapes. Recent studies have shown that there can be significant differences between the results of these approaches. In this paper, an analytical model, based on the Rayleigh-Gans scattering theory, is formulated to explain this discrepancy in terms of the effect of discrete ice crystals that constitute the snowflake. The ice crystals cause small-scale inhomogeneities whose effects can be understood through the density autocorrelation function of the particle mass, which the Rayleigh-Gans theory connects to the function that gives the radar reflectivity as a function of frequency. The derived model is a weighted sum of two Gaussian functions. A term that corresponds to the average shape of the particle, similar to that given by the spheroidal shape model, dominates at low frequencies. At high frequencies, that term vanishes and is gradually replaced by the effect of the ice crystal monomers. The autocorrelation-based description of snowflake microstructure appears to be sufficient for multi-frequency radar studies. The link between multi-frequency radar observations and the particle microstructure can thus be used to infer particle properties from the observations.

  16. Lunar Crater Ejecta: Physical Properties Revealed by Radar and Thermal Infrared Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ghent, R. R.; Carter, L. M.; Bandfield, J. L.; Udovicic, C. J. Tai; Campbell, B. A.

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the physical properties, and changes through time, of lunar impact ejecta using radar and thermal infrared data. We use data from two instruments on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) - the Diviner thermal radiometer and the Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) radar instrument - together with Earth-based radar observations. We use this multiwavelength intercomparison to constrain block sizes and to distinguish surface from buried rocks in proximal ejecta deposits. We find that radar-detectable rocks buried within the upper meter of regolith can remain undisturbed by surface processes such as micrometeorite bombardment for greater than 3 Gyr. We also investigate the thermophysical properties of radar-dark haloes, comprised of fine-grained, rock-poor ejecta distal to the blocky proximal ejecta. Using Diviner data, we confirm that the halo material is depleted in surface rocks, but show that it is otherwise thermophysically indistinct from background regolith. We also find that radar-dark haloes, like the blocky ejecta, remain visible in radar observations for craters with ages greater than 3 Ga, indicating that regolith overturn processes cannot replenish their block populations on that timescale.

  17. Radar Observations of the Icy Galilean Satellites During 2000 Opposition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harcke, L. J.; Zebker, H. A.; Jurgens, R. F.; Slade, M. A.; Butler, B. J.; Harmon, J. K.

    2001-01-01

    We report results of radar observation campaigns of Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto carried out during the November/December 2000 Jovian opposition using the Arecibo 12.6 cm, Goldstone 3.5 cm, and Goldstone/VLA 3.5 cm bistatic radars. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

  18. Evidence for Bouncing Evolution Before Inflation After BICEP2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xia, Jun-Qing; Cai, Yi-Fu; Li, Hong; Zhang, Xinmin

    2014-06-01

    The BICEP2 Collaboration reports a detection of primordial cosmic microwave background (CMB) B mode with a tensor-to-scalar ratio r =0.20-0.05+0.07 (68% C.L.). However, this result disagrees with the recent Planck limit r<0.11 (95% C.L.) on constraining inflation models. In this Letter we consider an inflationary cosmology with a preceding nonsingular bounce, which gives rise to observable signatures on primordial perturbations. One interesting phenomenon is that both the primordial scalar and tensor modes can have a step feature on their power spectra, which nicely cancels the tensor excess power on the CMB temperature power spectrum. By performing a global analysis, we obtain the 68% C.L. constraints on the parameters of the model from the Planck+WP and BICEP2 data together: the jump scale log10(kB/Mpc-1)=-2.4±0.2 and the spectrum amplitude ratio of bounce to inflation rB≡Pm/As=0.71±0.09. Our result reveals that the bounce inflation scenario can simultaneously explain the Planck and BICEP2 observations better than the standard cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant, and can be verified by future CMB polarization measurements.

  19. Classically Stable Nonsingular Cosmological Bounces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ijjas, Anna; Steinhardt, Paul J.

    2016-09-01

    One of the fundamental questions of theoretical cosmology is whether the Universe can undergo a nonsingular bounce, i.e., smoothly transit from a period of contraction to a period of expansion through violation of the null energy condition (NEC) at energies well below the Planck scale and at finite values of the scale factor such that the entire evolution remains classical. A common claim has been that a nonsingular bounce either leads to ghost or gradient instabilities or a cosmological singularity. In this Letter, we consider a well-motivated class of theories based on the cubic Galileon action and present a procedure for explicitly constructing examples of a nonsingular cosmological bounce without encountering any pathologies and maintaining a subluminal sound speed for comoving curvature modes throughout the NEC violating phase. We also discuss the relation between our procedure and earlier work.

  20. Optimizing weather radar observations using an adaptive multiquadric surface fitting algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martens, Brecht; Cabus, Pieter; De Jongh, Inge; Verhoest, Niko

    2013-04-01

    Real time forecasting of river flow is an essential tool in operational water management. Such real time modelling systems require well calibrated models which can make use of spatially distributed rainfall observations. Weather radars provide spatial data, however, since radar measurements are sensitive to a large range of error sources, often a discrepancy between radar observations and ground-based measurements, which are mostly considered as ground truth, can be observed. Through merging ground observations with the radar product, often referred to as data merging, one may force the radar observations to better correspond to the ground-based measurements, without losing the spatial information. In this paper, radar images and ground-based measurements of rainfall are merged based on interpolated gauge-adjustment factors (Moore et al., 1998; Cole and Moore, 2008) or scaling factors. Using the following equation, scaling factors (C(xα)) are calculated at each position xα where a gauge measurement (Ig(xα)) is available: Ig(xα)+-? C (xα) = Ir(xα)+ ? (1) where Ir(xα) is the radar-based observation in the pixel overlapping the rain gauge and ? is a constant making sure the scaling factor can be calculated when Ir(xα) is zero. These scaling factors are interpolated on the radar grid, resulting in a unique scaling factor for each pixel. Multiquadric surface fitting is used as an interpolation algorithm (Hardy, 1971): C*(x0) = aTv + a0 (2) where C*(x0) is the prediction at location x0, the vector a (Nx1, with N the number of ground-based measurements used) and the constant a0 parameters describing the surface and v an Nx1 vector containing the (Euclidian) distance between each point xα used in the interpolation and the point x0. The parameters describing the surface are derived by forcing the surface to be an exact interpolator and impose that the sum of the parameters in a should be zero. However, often, the surface is allowed to pass near the observations (i

  1. Bounce universe from string-inspired Gauss-Bonnet gravity

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

    Bamba, Kazuharu; Makarenko, Andrey N.; Myagky, Alexandr N.

    2015-04-01

    We explore cosmology with a bounce in Gauss-Bonnet gravity where the Gauss-Bonnet invariant couples to a dynamical scalar field. In particular, the potential and and Gauss-Bonnet coupling function of the scalar field are reconstructed so that the cosmological bounce can be realized in the case that the scale factor has hyperbolic and exponential forms. Furthermore, we examine the relation between the bounce in the string (Jordan) and Einstein frames by using the conformal transformation between these conformal frames. It is shown that in general, the property of the bounce point in the string frame changes after the frame is movedmore » to the Einstein frame. Moreover, it is found that at the point in the Einstein frame corresponding to the point of the cosmological bounce in the string frame, the second derivative of the scale factor has an extreme value. In addition, it is demonstrated that at the time of the cosmological bounce in the Einstein frame, there is the Gauss-Bonnet coupling function of the scalar field, although it does not exist in the string frame.« less

  2. Cosmological bouncing solutions in extended teleparallel gravity theories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de la Cruz-Dombriz, Álvaro; Farrugia, Gabriel; Said, Jackson Levi; Gómez, Diego Sáez-Chillón

    2018-05-01

    In the context of extended teleparallel gravity theories with a 3 +1 -dimensional Gauss-Bonnet analog term, we address the possibility of these theories reproducing several well-known cosmological bouncing scenarios in a four-dimensional Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker geometry. We study which types of gravitational Lagrangians are capable of reconstructing bouncing solutions provided by analytical expressions for symmetric, oscillatory, superbounce, matter bounce, and singular bounce. Some of the Lagrangians discovered are analytical at the origin, having both Minkowski and Schwarzschild vacuum solutions. All these results open up the possibility for such theories to be competitive candidates of extended theories of gravity in cosmological scales.

  3. Ionospheric footprint of magnetosheathlike particle precipitation observed by an incoherent scatter radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watermann, Jurgen; Lummerzheim, Dirk; De La Beaujardiere, Odile; Newell, Patrick T.; Rich, Frederic J.

    1994-01-01

    We have examined Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar observations of ionospheric plasma density and temperature distributions and measurements of F region ion drifts that were made during a prenoon pass of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)-F7 satellite through the radar field of view. The spacecraft traversed a region of intense electron precipitation with a characteristic energy below approximately 200 eV. Particles with such low characteristic energies are believed to be directly or indirectly of magnetosheath origin. The precipitation region had a width about 2 deg invariant latitude and covered the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL), the cusp, and the equatorward section of the plasma mantle (PM). The corotating radar observed a patch of enhanced electron density and elevated electron temperature in the F2 region between about 10.5 and 12 magnetic local time in the same invariant latitude range where DMSP-F7 detected the soft-electron flux. The ion drift pattern, also obtained by radar, shows that it is unlikely that the plasma patch was produced by solar radiation and advected into the radar field of view. We suggest that the radar observed modifications of the ionospheric plasma distribution, which resulted from direct entry of magnetosheath electrons into the magnetosphere and down to ionospheric altitudes. Model calculations of the ionospheric response to the observed electron precipitation support our interpretation. The spectral characteristics of the electron flux in the LLBL, cusp, and equatorward section of the PM were in this case too similar to allow to distinguish between them by using incoherent scatter radar measurements only.

  4. Observations of the marine environment from spaceborne side-looking real aperture radars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kalmykov, A. I.; Velichko, S. A.; Tsymbal, V. N.; Kuleshov, Yu. A.; Weinman, J. A.; Jurkevich, I.

    1993-01-01

    Real aperture, side looking X-band radars have been operated from the Soviet Cosmos-1500, -1602, -1766 and Ocean satellites since 1984. Wind velocities were inferred from sea surface radar scattering for speeds ranging from approximately 2 m/s to those of hurricane proportions. The wind speeds were within 10-20 percent of the measured in situ values, and the direction of the wind velocity agreed with in situ direction measurements within 20-50 deg. Various atmospheric mesoscale eddies and tropical cyclones were thus located, and their strengths were inferred from sea surface reflectivity measurements. Rain cells were observed over both land and sea with these spaceborne radars. Algorithms to retrieve rainfall rates from spaceborne radar measurements were also developed. Spaceborne radars have been used to monitor various marine hazards. For example, information derived from those radars was used to plan rescue operations of distressed ships trapped in sea ice. Icebergs have also been monitored, and oil spills were mapped. Tsunamis produced by underwater earthquakes were also observed from space by the radars on the Cosmos 1500 series of satellites. The Cosmos-1500 satellite series have provided all weather radar imagery of the earths surface to a user community in real time by means of a 137.4 MHz Automatic Picture Transmission channel. This feature enabled the radar information to be used in direct support of Soviet polar maritime activities.

  5. Nonsingular bouncing cosmology: Consistency of the effective description

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koehn, Michael; Lehners, Jean-Luc; Ovrut, Burt

    2016-05-01

    We explicitly confirm that spatially flat nonsingular bouncing cosmologies make sense as effective theories. The presence of a nonsingular bounce in a spatially flat universe implies a temporary violation of the null energy condition, which can be achieved through a phase of ghost condensation. We calculate the scale of strong coupling and demonstrate that the ghost-condensate bounce remains trustworthy throughout, and that all perturbation modes within the regime of validity of the effective description remain under control. For this purpose we require the perturbed action up to third order in perturbations, which we calculate in both flat and co-moving gauge—since these two gauges allow us to highlight different physical aspects. Our conclusion is that there exist healthy descriptions of nonsingular bouncing cosmologies providing a viable resolution of the big-bang singularities in cosmological models. Our results also suggest a variant of ekpyrotic cosmology, in which entropy perturbations are generated during the contracting phase, but are only converted into curvature perturbations after the bounce.

  6. Simulation of Space-borne Radar Observation from High Resolution Cloud Model - for GPM Dual frequency Precipitation Radar -

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, H.; Meneghini, R.; Jones, J.; Liao, L.

    2011-12-01

    A comprehensive space-borne radar simulator has been developed to support active microwave sensor satellite missions. The two major objectives of this study are: 1) to develop a radar simulator optimized for the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (KuPR and KaPR) on the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission satellite (GPM-DPR) and 2) to generate the synthetic test datasets for DPR algorithm development. This simulator consists of two modules: a DPR scanning configuration module and a forward module that generates atmospheric and surface radar observations. To generate realistic DPR test data, the scanning configuration module specifies the technical characteristics of DPR sensor and emulates the scanning geometry of the DPR with a inner swath of about 120 km, which contains matched-beam data from both frequencies, and an outer swath from 120 to 245 km over which only Ku-band data will be acquired. The second module is a forward model used to compute radar observables (reflectivity, attenuation and polarimetric variables) from input model variables including temperature, pressure and water content (rain water, cloud water, cloud ice, snow, graupel and water vapor) over the radar resolution volume. Presently, the input data to the simulator come from the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) and Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) models where a constant mass density is assumed for each species with a particle size distribution given by an exponential distribution with fixed intercept parameter (N0) and a slope parameter (Λ) determined from the equivalent water content. Although the model data do not presently contain mixed phase hydrometeors, the Yokoyama-Tanaka melting model is used along with the Bruggeman effective dielectric constant to replace rain and snow particles, where both are present, with mixed phase particles while preserving the snow/water fraction. For testing one of the DPR retrieval algorithms, the Surface Reference Technique (SRT), the simulator uses

  7. Planetary surface characterization from dual-polarization radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Virkki, Anne; Planetary Radar Team of the Arecibo Observatory

    2017-10-01

    We present a new method to investigate the physical properties of planetary surfaces using dual-polarization radar measurements. The number of radar observations has increased radically during the last five years, allowing us to compare the radar scattering properties of different small-body populations and compositional types. There has also been progress in the laboratory studies of the materials that are relevant to asteroids and comets.In a typical planetary radar measurement a circularly polarized signal is transmitted using a frequency of 2380 MHz (wavelength of 12.6 cm) or 8560 MHz (3.5 cm). The echo is received simultaneously in the same circular (SC) and the opposite circular (OC) polarization as the transmitted signal. The delay and doppler frequency of the signal give highly accurate astrometric information, and the intensity and the polarization are suggestive of the physical properties of the target's near-surface.The radar albedo describes the radar reflectivity of the target. If the effective near-surface is smooth and homogeneous in the wavelength-scale, the echo is received fully in the OC polarization. Wavelength-scale surface roughness or boulders within the effective near-surface volume increase the received echo power in both polarizations. However, there is a lack in the literature describing exactly how the physical properties of the target affect the radar albedo in each polarization, or how they can be derived from the radar measurements.To resolve this problem, we utilize the information that the diffuse components of the OC and SC parts are correlated when the near-surface contains wavelength-scale scatterers such as boulders. A linear least-squares fit to the detected values of OC and SC radar albedos allows us to separate the diffusely scattering part from the quasi-specular part. Combined with the spectro-photometric information of the target and laboratory studies of the permittivity-density dependence, the method provides us with a

  8. Prostate-specific antigen bounce after intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

    PubMed

    Sheinbein, Courtney; Teh, Bin S; Mai, Wei Y; Grant, Walter; Paulino, Arnold; Butler, E Brian

    2010-09-01

    To report prostate-specific antigen (PSA) bounce in patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) alone. Previous studies have reported PSA bounce in prostate cancer patients treated with conventional radiotherapy, 3D conformal radiotherapy, and permanent seed brachytherapy. From January 1997 to July 2002, 102 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with IMRT alone. No patients received androgen ablation. PSA bounce was defined as a PSA increase of at least 0.4 ng/mL, followed by any PSA decrease. Biochemical failure was defined by both the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology 1996 and 2006 consensus definitions. The median follow-up was 76 months. The median length of time until the first PSA bounce was 13.6 months. Thirty-three patients (32.4%) had at least 1 PSA bounce, with 25 (24.5%) having 1 bounce; 6 (5.9%), 2 bounces; and 2 (2.0%), 4 bounces. PSA bounce was not significantly associated with biochemical no evidence of disease survival, clinical stage, pretreatment PSA, Gleason combined score, prostate planning target volume, PSA nadir, or mean dose to the prostate. The rate of PSA bounce in patients aged ≤ 70 and > 70 years was 44.4% and 22.8%, respectively (P = .032). Our patient series is the first report on PSA bounce in patients treated with IMRT. Our study confirms that the majority of patients with a bouncing PSA remain biochemically and clinically free of disease with extended follow-up. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Note on bouncing backgrounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Haro, Jaume; Pan, Supriya

    2018-05-01

    The theory of inflation is one of the fundamental and revolutionary developments of modern cosmology that became able to explain many issues of the early Universe in the context of the standard cosmological model (SCM). However, the initial singularity of the Universe, where physics is indefinite, is still obscure in the combined SCM +inflation scenario. An alternative to SCM +inflation without the initial singularity is thus always welcome, and bouncing cosmology is an attempt at that. The current work is thus motivated to investigate the bouncing solutions in modified gravity theories when the background universe is described by the spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) geometry. We show that the simplest way to obtain the bouncing cosmologies in such spacetime is to consider some kind of Lagrangian whose gravitational sector depends only on the square of the Hubble parameter of the FLRW universe. For these modified Lagrangians, the corresponding Friedmann equation, a constraint in the dynamics of the Universe, depicts a curve in the phase space (H ,ρ ), where H is the Hubble parameter and ρ is the energy density of the Universe. As a consequence, a bouncing cosmology is obtained when this curve is closed and crosses the axis H =0 at least twice, and whose simplest particular example is the ellipse depicting the well-known holonomy corrected Friedmann equation in loop quantum cosmology (LQC). Sometimes, a crucial point in such theories is the appearance of the Ostrogradski instability at the perturbative level; however, fortunately enough, in the present work, as long as the linear level of perturbations is concerned, this instability does not appear, although it may appear at the higher order of perturbations.

  10. Modelling the normal bouncing dynamics of spheres in a viscous fluid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Izard, Edouard; Lacaze, Laurent; Bonometti, Thomas

    2017-06-01

    Bouncing motions of spheres in a viscous fluid are numerically investigated by an immersed boundary method to resolve the fluid flow around solids which is combined to a discrete element method for the particles motion and contact resolution. Two well-known configurations of bouncing are considered: the normal bouncing of a sphere on a wall in a viscous fluid and a normal particle-particle bouncing in a fluid. Previous experiments have shown the effective restitution coefficient to be a function of a single parameter, namely the Stokes number which compares the inertia of the solid particle with the fluid viscous dissipation. The present simulations show a good agreement with experimental observations for the whole range of investigated parameters. However, a new definition of the coefficient of restitution presented here shows a dependence on the Stokes number as in previous works but, in addition, on the fluid to particle density ratio. It allows to identify the viscous, inertial and dry regimes as found in experiments of immersed granular avalanches of Courrech du Pont et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 044301 (2003), e.g. in a multi-particle configuration.

  11. Non-singular bounce transitions in the multiverse

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

    Garriga, Jaume; Vilenkin, Alexander; Zhang, Jun, E-mail: jaume.garriga@ub.edu, E-mail: vilenkin@cosmos.phy.tufts.edu, E-mail: jun.zhang@tufts.edu

    2013-11-01

    According to classical GR, negative-energy (AdS) bubbles in the multiverse terminate in big crunch singularities. It has been conjectured, however, that the fundamental theory may resolve these singularities and replace them by non-singular bounces. Here we explore possible dynamics of such bounces using a simple modification of the Friedmann equation, which ensures that the scale factor bounces when the matter density reaches some critical value ρ{sub c}. This is combined with a simple scalar field 'landscape', where the energy barriers between different vacua are small compared to ρ{sub c}. We find that the bounce typically results in a transition tomore » another vacuum, with a scalar field displacement Δφ ∼ 1 in Planck units. If the new vacuum is AdS, we have another bounce, and so on, until the field finally transits to a positive-energy (de Sitter) vacuum. We also consider perturbations about the homogeneous solution and discuss some of their amplification mechanisms (e.g., tachyonic instability and parametric resonance). For a generic potential, these mechanisms are much less efficient than in models of slow-roll inflation. But the amplification may still be strong enough to cause the bubble to fragment into a mosaic of different vacua.« less

  12. Radar observations of near-Earth asteroids from Arecibo Observatory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivera-Valentin, Edgard G.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Rodriguez-Ford, Linda A.; Zambrano Marin, Luisa Fernanda; Virkki, Anne; Aponte Hernandez, Betzaida

    2016-10-01

    The Arecibo S-Band (2.38 GHz, 12.6 cm, 1 MW) planetary radar system at the 305-m William E. Gordon Telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico is the most active and most sensitive planetary radar facility in the world. Since October 2015, we have detected 56 near-Earth asteroids, of which 17 are classified as potentially hazardous to Earth and 22 are compliant with the Near-Earth Object Human Space Flight Accessible Target Study (NHATS) as possible future robotic- or human-mission destinations. We will present a sampling of the asteroid zoo observed by the Arecibo radar since the 2015 DPS meeting. This includes press-noted asteroids 2015 TB145, the so-called "Great Pumpkin", and 2003 SD220, the so-called "Christmas Eve asteroid".

  13. Radar Movie of Asteroid 2011 UW158

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-07-23

    Scientists using two giant, Earth-based radio telescopes bounced radar signals off passing asteroid 2011 UW158 to create images for this animation showing the rocky body's fast rotation. The passing asteroid made its closest approach to Earth on July 19, 2015 at 7:37 a.m. PST (4:37 a.m. EST) at a distance of about 1.5 million miles (2.4 million kilometers, or 6 times the distance from Earth to the moon). The close proximity during the pass made 2011 UW158 one of the best asteroid flybys of 2015 for imaging from Earth using radar. The radar images reveal that the shape of the asteroid is extremely irregular and quite elongated. Prominent parallel, linear features run along the length of the object that cause a large increase in brightness of the radar images as they rotate into view. Scientists note that the asteroid appears to be fairly unusual. Its fast rotation suggests the object has greater mechanical strength than other asteroids its size. A fast-rotating asteroid with lower mechanical strength would tend to split apart. To obtain the views, researchers paired the 230-foot- (70-meter-) wide Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, California, in concert with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's 330-foot (100-meter) Green Bank Telescope. Using this technique, the Goldstone antenna beams a radar signal at an asteroid and Green Bank receives the reflections. The technique, referred to as a bi-static observation, dramatically improves the amount of detail that can be seen in radar images. The new views obtained with the technique show features as small as about 24 feet (7.5 meters) wide. The 171 individual images used in the movie were generated from data collected on July 18. They show the asteroid is approximately 2000 by 1000 feet (600 by 300 meters) across. The observations also confirm earlier estimates by astronomers that the asteroid rotates quickly, completing one spin in just over half an hour. The movie spans a period of about an hour and 45

  14. Arecibo Radar Observations of Near-Earth Asteroids: A Study in Heterogeneity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nolan, M. C.; Howell, E. S.; Margot J.-L.; Ostro, S. J; Benner, L. A. M.; Giorgini, J. D.; Campbell, D. B.

    2002-01-01

    Characterization of the rotation state and structure of near-Earth asteroids through radar observations using the Arecibo and Goldstone planetary radar systems shows the remarkable variety of these objects, and suggests variety of formation and modification mechanisms. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

  15. Fingerprints of a riming event on cloud radar Doppler spectra: observations and modeling

    DOE PAGES

    Kalesse, Heike; Szyrmer, Wanda; Kneifel, Stefan; ...

    2016-03-09

    In this paper, Radar Doppler spectra measurements are exploited to study a riming event when precipitating ice from a seeder cloud sediment through a supercooled liquid water (SLW) layer. The focus is on the "golden sample" case study for this type of analysis based on observations collected during the deployment of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program's (ARM) mobile facility AMF2 at Hyytiälä, Finland, during the Biogenic Aerosols – Effects on Clouds and Climate (BAECC) field campaign. The presented analysis of the height evolution of the radar Doppler spectra is a state-of-the-art retrieval with profiling cloud radars in SLW layers beyondmore » the traditional use of spectral moments. Dynamical effects are considered by following the particle population evolution along slanted tracks that are caused by horizontal advection of the cloud under wind shear conditions. In the SLW layer, the identified liquid peak is used as an air motion tracer to correct the Doppler spectra for vertical air motion and the ice peak is used to study the radar profiles of rimed particles. A 1-D steady-state bin microphysical model is constrained using the SLW and air motion profiles and cloud top radar observations. The observed radar moment profiles of the rimed snow can be simulated reasonably well by the model, but not without making several assumptions about the ice particle concentration and the relative role of deposition and aggregation. In conclusion, this suggests that in situ observations of key ice properties are needed to complement the profiling radar observations before process-oriented studies can effectively evaluate ice microphysical parameterizations.« less

  16. Growing into and out of the bouncing barrier in planetesimal formation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kruss, Maximilian; Teiser, Jens; Wurm, Gerhard

    2017-04-01

    In recent laboratory studies the robustness of a bouncing barrier in planetesimal formation was studied with an ensemble of pre-formed compact mm-sized aggregates. Here we show that a bouncing barrier indeed evolves self-consistently by hit-and-stick from an ensemble of smaller dust aggregates. In addition, we feed small aggregates to an ensemble of larger bouncing aggregates. The stickiness temporarily increases, but the final number of aggregates still bouncing remains the same. However, feeding on the small particle supply, the size of the bouncing aggregates increases. This suggests that in the presence of a dust reservoir aggregates grow into but also out of a bouncing barrier at larger size.

  17. Collective many-body bounce in the breathing-mode oscillations of a Tonks-Girardeau gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Atas, Y. Y.; Bouchoule, I.; Gangardt, D. M.; Kheruntsyan, K. V.

    2017-10-01

    We analyze the breathing-mode oscillations of a harmonically quenched Tonks-Giradeau (TG) gas using an exact finite-temperature dynamical theory. We predict a striking collective manifestation of impenetrability—a collective many-body bounce effect. The effect, although being invisible in the evolution of the in situ density profile of the gas, can be revealed through a nontrivial periodic narrowing of its momentum distribution, taking place at twice the rate of the fundamental breathing-mode frequency. We identify physical regimes for observing the many-body bounce and construct the respective nonequilibrium phase diagram as a function of the quench strength and the initial temperature of the gas. We also develop a finite-temperature hydrodynamic theory of the TG gas wherein the many-body bounce is explained by an increased thermodynamic pressure during the isentropic compression cycle, which acts as a potential barrier for the particles to bounce off.

  18. Thermal fluctuations of dark matter in bouncing cosmology

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

    Li, Changhong, E-mail: changhongli@ynu.edu.cn

    We investigate the statistical nature of the dark matter particles produced in bouncing cosmology, especially, the evolution of its thermal fluctuations. By explicitly deriving and solving the equation of motion of super-horizon mode, we fully determine the evolution of thermal perturbation of dark matter in a generic bouncing background. And we also show that the evolution of super-horizon modes is stable and will not ruin the background evolution of a generic bouncing universe till the Planck scale. Given no super-horizon thermal perturbation of dark matter appears in standard inflation scenario such as WIMP(-less) miracles, such super-horizon thermal perturbation of darkmore » matter generated during the generic bouncing universe scenario may be significant for testing and distinguishing these two scenario in near future.« less

  19. Consistent scalar and tensor perturbation power spectra in single fluid matter bounce with dark energy era

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bacalhau, Anna Paula; Pinto-Neto, Nelson; Vitenti, Sandro Dias Pinto

    2018-04-01

    We investigate cosmological scenarios containing one canonical scalar field with an exponential potential in the context of bouncing models, in which the bounce happens due to quantum cosmological effects. The only possible bouncing solutions in this scenario (discarding an infinitely fine-tuned exception) must have one and only one dark energy phase, occurring either in the contracting era or in the expanding era. Hence, these bounce solutions are necessarily asymmetric. Naturally, the more convenient solution is the one in which the dark energy phase happens in the expanding era, in order to be a possible explanation for the current accelerated expansion indicated by cosmological observations. In this case, one has the picture of a Universe undergoing a classical dust contraction from very large scales, the initial repeller of the model, moving to a classical stiff-matter contraction near the singularity, which is avoided due to the quantum bounce. The Universe is then launched to a dark energy era, after passing through radiation- and dust-dominated phases, finally returning to the dust expanding phase, the final attractor of the model. We calculate the spectral indices and amplitudes of scalar and tensor perturbations numerically, considering the whole history of the model, including the bounce phase itself, without making any approximation nor using any matching condition on the perturbations. As the background model is necessarily dust dominated in the far past, the usual adiabatic vacuum initial conditions can be easily imposed in this era. Hence, this is a cosmological model in which the presence of dark energy behavior in the Universe does not turn the usual vacuum initial conditions prescription for cosmological perturbation in bouncing models problematic. Scalar and tensor perturbations end up being almost scale invariant, as expected. The background parameters can be adjusted, without fine-tunings, to yield the observed amplitude for scalar

  20. Scalar perturbation in symmetric Lee-Wick bouncing universe

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

    Cho, Inyong; Kwon, O-Kab, E-mail: iycho@seoultech.ac.kr, E-mail: okab@skku.edu

    2011-11-01

    We investigate the scalar perturbation in the Lee-Wick bouncing universe driven by an ordinary scalar field plus a ghost field. We consider only a symmetric evolution of the universe and the scalar fields about the bouncing point. The gauge invariant Sasaki-Mukhanov variable is numerically solved in the spatially flat gauge. We find a new form of the initial perturbation growing during the contracting phase. After the bouncing, this growing mode stabilizes to a constant mode which is responsible for the late-time power spectrum.

  1. Synthetic aperture radar interferometry of Okmok volcano, Alaska: radar observations

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lu, Zhong; Mann, Dörte; Freymueller, Jeffrey T.; Meyer, David

    2000-01-01

    ERS-1/ERS-2 synthetic aperture radar interferometry was used to study the 1997 eruption of Okmok volcano in Alaska. First, we derived an accurate digital elevation model (DEM) using a tandem ERS-1/ERS-2 image pair and the preexisting DEM. Second, by studying changes in interferometric coherence we found that the newly erupted lava lost radar coherence for 5-17 months after the eruption. This suggests changes in the surface backscattering characteristics and was probably related to cooling and compaction processes. Third, the atmospheric delay anomalies in the deformation interferograms were quantitatively assessed. Atmospheric delay anomalies in some of the interferograms were significant and consistently smaller than one to two fringes in magnitude. For this reason, repeat observations are important to confidently interpret small geophysical signals related to volcanic activities. Finally, using two-pass differential interferometry, we analyzed the preemptive inflation, coeruptive deflation, and posteruptive inflation and confirmed the observations using independent image pairs. We observed more than 140 cm of subsidence associated with the 1997 eruption. This subsidence occurred between 16 months before the eruption and 5 months after the eruption, was preceded by ∼18 cm of uplift between 1992 and 1995 centered in the same location, and was followed by ∼10 cm of uplift between September 1997 and 1998. The best fitting model suggests the magma reservoir resided at 2.7 km depth beneath the center of the caldera, which was ∼5 km from the eruptive vent. We estimated the volume of the erupted material to be 0.055 km3 and the average thickness of the erupted lava to be ∼7.4 m. Copyright 2000 by the American Geophysical Union.

  2. Why Low Bounce Balls Exhibit High Rolling Resistance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, Rod

    2015-01-01

    A simple experiment is described to measure the coefficient of rolling friction for a low bounce ball rolling on a horizontal surface. As observed previously by others, the coefficient increased with rolling speed. The energy loss due to rolling friction can be explained in terms of the measured coefficient of restitution for the ball, meaning…

  3. SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar). Earth observing system. Volume 2F: Instrument panel report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1987-01-01

    The scientific and engineering requirements for the Earth Observing System (EOS) imaging radar are provided. The radar is based on Shuttle Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C), and would include three frequencies: 1.25 GHz, 5.3 GHz, and 9.6 GHz; selectable polarizations for both transmit and receive channels; and selectable incidence angles from 15 to 55 deg. There would be three main viewing modes: a local high-resolution mode with typically 25 m resolution and 50 km swath width; a regional mapping mode with 100 m resolution and up to 200 km swath width; and a global mapping mode with typically 500 m resolution and up to 700 km swath width. The last mode allows global coverage in three days. The EOS SAR will be the first orbital imaging radar to provide multifrequency, multipolarization, multiple incidence angle observations of the entire Earth. Combined with Canadian and Japanese satellites, continuous radar observation capability will be possible. Major applications in the areas of glaciology, hydrology, vegetation science, oceanography, geology, and data and information systems are described.

  4. From black holes to white holes: a quantum gravitational, symmetric bounce

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olmedo, Javier; Saini, Sahil; Singh, Parampreet

    2017-11-01

    Recently, a consistent non-perturbative quantization of the Schwarzschild interior resulting in a bounce from black hole to white hole geometry has been obtained by loop quantizing the Kantowski-Sachs vacuum spacetime. As in other spacetimes where the singularity is dominated by the Weyl part of the spacetime curvature, the structure of the singularity is highly anisotropic in the Kantowski-Sachs vacuum spacetime. As a result, the bounce turns out to be in general asymmetric, creating a large mass difference between the parent black hole and the child white hole. In this manuscript, we investigate under what circumstances a symmetric bounce scenario can be constructed in the above quantization. Using the setting of Dirac observables and geometric clocks, we obtain a symmetric bounce condition which can be satisfied by a slight modification in the construction of loops over which holonomies are considered in the quantization procedure. These modifications can be viewed as quantization ambiguities, and are demonstrated in three different flavors, all of which lead to a non-singular black to white hole transition with identical masses. Our results show that quantization ambiguities can mitigate or even qualitatively change some key features of the physics of singularity resolution. Further, these results are potentially helpful in motivating and constructing symmetric black to white hole transition scenarios.

  5. The Composition of M-type Asteroids: Synthesis of Spectroscopic and Radar Observations.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bell, Maureen; Clark, B. E.; Shepard, M. K.; Issacs, R. A.; Cloutis, E. A.; Fornasier, S.; Bus, S. J.

    2010-10-01

    We have conducted a radar-driven observational campaign of 22 main-belt asteroids (MBAs) focused on Bus-DeMeo Xc- and Xk-type objects (Tholen X and M class asteroids) using the Arecibo radar and NASA Infrared Telescope Facilities (IRTF). Sixteen of our targets were near-simultaneously observed with radar. We find that most of the highest metal-content asteroids, as suggested by radar, tend to exhibit silicate absorption features at both 0.9 and 1.9 microns, and the lowest metal-content asteroids tend to exhibit either no bands or only the 0.9 microns band. Eleven of the asteroids were observed at several rotational longitudes in the near-infrared and significant variations in continuum slope were found for nine in the spectral regions 1.1-1.45 microns and 1.6-2.3 microns. Compositional evidence is derived from our target asteroid spectra using two different methods: 1) a Chi-squared search for spectral matches in the RELAB database, and 2) parametric comparisons with meteorites. We find that for four of the seven asteroids with the highest iron abundances, our spectral results are consistent with each other and with the radar evidence pointing to an iron meteorite composition (16 Psyche, 216 Kleopatra, 347 Pariana, and 779 Nina). Four asteroids have radar analogs consistent with either our parametric comparison or our RELAB analog type (21 Lutetia, 135 Hertha, 497 Iva, and 758 Mancunia ). The remaining eight asteroids (22 Kalliope, 97 Klotho, 110 Lydia, 129 Antigone, 224 Oceana, 678 Fredegundis, 771 Libera, and 785 Zwetana) have ambiguous compositional interpretations when comparing the spectral analogs to the radar analogs.

  6. Goldstone Radar Observations of the 1999 Mars Opposition and other Observing Opportunities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slade, M. A.

    1997-07-01

    As part of the International Mars Watch, Goldstone radar observations of Mars are planned during the 1999 Opposition ( Feb.'99-Aug'99). While some observing time is already allocated, a number of tracks could be made available for well-focused scientific objectives. Since the Deep Space Network plans far in advance, now is the time to develop your plans. During the next Mars opposition, the sub-Earth latitudes are in Mars' Northern hemisphere over the most northerly terrain accessible, which has not been previously examined with current sensitivity. The North residual ice cap is of particular interest. As a reminder to the Planetary Science community, observing proposals from any scientist with peer-reviewed planetary funding are solicited and should be forwarded to Martin.A.Slade@jpl.nasa.gov by email. Data reduction can, in principle, be carried out over the Internet. A graduate student or postdoctoral fellow resident at JPL for short period is recommended, however, to become familiar with suite of software for data analysis. Unfortunately, JPL cannot guarantee travel reimbursement due to funding limitations. We urge your consideration of becoming involved with the acquisition and analysis of Goldstone radar data. In the recent past, P.I.'s or co-I.s from Cornell, Arecibo/NAIC, Washington State University, Univ. Cal. Berkeley, Harvard -Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Univ. of Chicago, the DLR, Kashima SRC, ISAS, the Russian Academy of Science, the Russian Space Agency, and the USGS, have participated in radar experiments with Goldstone transmitting. This work is supported by the California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA.

  7. First observations of tracking clouds using scanning ARM cloud radars

    DOE PAGES

    Borque, Paloma; Giangrande, Scott; Kollias, Pavlos

    2014-12-01

    Tracking clouds using scanning cloud radars can help to document the temporal evolution of cloud properties well before large drop formation (‘‘first echo’’). These measurements complement cloud and precipitation tracking using geostationary satellites and weather radars. Here, two-dimensional (2-D) Along-Wind Range Height Indicator (AW-RHI) observations of a population of shallow cumuli (with and without precipitation) from the 35-GHz scanning ARM cloud radar (SACR) at the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) program Southern Great Plains (SGP) site are presented. Observations from the ARM SGP network of scanning precipitation radars are used to provide the larger scale context of the cloud fieldmore » and to highlight the advantages of the SACR to detect the numerous, small, non-precipitating cloud elements. A new Cloud Identification and Tracking Algorithm (CITA) is developed to track cloud elements. In CITA, a cloud element is identified as a region having a contiguous set of pixels exceeding a preset reflectivity and size threshold. The high temporal resolution of the SACR 2-D observations (30 sec) allows for an area superposition criteria algorithm to match cloud elements at consecutive times. Following CITA, the temporal evolution of cloud element properties (number, size, and maximum reflectivity) is presented. The vast majority of the designated elements during this cumulus event were short-lived non-precipitating clouds having an apparent life cycle shorter than 15 minutes. The advantages and disadvantages of cloud tracking using an SACR are discussed.« less

  8. First observations of tracking clouds using scanning ARM cloud radars

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

    Borque, Paloma; Giangrande, Scott; Kollias, Pavlos

    Tracking clouds using scanning cloud radars can help to document the temporal evolution of cloud properties well before large drop formation (‘‘first echo’’). These measurements complement cloud and precipitation tracking using geostationary satellites and weather radars. Here, two-dimensional (2-D) Along-Wind Range Height Indicator (AW-RHI) observations of a population of shallow cumuli (with and without precipitation) from the 35-GHz scanning ARM cloud radar (SACR) at the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) program Southern Great Plains (SGP) site are presented. Observations from the ARM SGP network of scanning precipitation radars are used to provide the larger scale context of the cloud fieldmore » and to highlight the advantages of the SACR to detect the numerous, small, non-precipitating cloud elements. A new Cloud Identification and Tracking Algorithm (CITA) is developed to track cloud elements. In CITA, a cloud element is identified as a region having a contiguous set of pixels exceeding a preset reflectivity and size threshold. The high temporal resolution of the SACR 2-D observations (30 sec) allows for an area superposition criteria algorithm to match cloud elements at consecutive times. Following CITA, the temporal evolution of cloud element properties (number, size, and maximum reflectivity) is presented. The vast majority of the designated elements during this cumulus event were short-lived non-precipitating clouds having an apparent life cycle shorter than 15 minutes. The advantages and disadvantages of cloud tracking using an SACR are discussed.« less

  9. 'Bounce' Exposed

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    This approximate true-color image, acquired by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera, features the hole ground by the rover's rock abrasion tool into 'Bounce' rock. The hole measures approximately 35 centimeters (14 inches) long and 10 centimeters (4 inches) high. The depression measures 6.44 millimeters (0.25 inch) deep and about 4.5 centimeters (1.7 inches) across. The grinding procedure took place on the rover's 66th sol on Mars and lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes. A combination of limited solar power, added safety measures and the rock's jagged texture led the rock abrasion tool team to set more aggressive grinding parameters to ensure that the end result was a full circle, suitable for a thorough read from the rover's spectrometers.

    Bounce's outer ring consists of the cuttings from the rock, pushed out by the brushes on the grinding instrument. The small impressions filled with red dust on the outer ring were caused by the instrument's contact mechanism, which serves to stabilize it while grinding.

    This image was created using the panoramic camera's blue, green and red filters.

  10. The composition of M-type asteroids: Synthesis of spectroscopic and radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ockert-Bell, M. E.; Clark, B. E.; Shepard, M. K.; Isaacs, R. A.; Cloutis, E. A.; Fornasier, S.; Bus, S. J.

    2010-12-01

    We have conducted a radar-driven observational campaign of 22 main-belt asteroids (MBAs) focused on Bus-DeMeo Xc- and Xk-type objects (Tholen X and M class asteroids) using the Arecibo radar and NASA Infrared Telescope Facilities (IRTF). Sixteen of our targets were near-simultaneously observed with radar and those observations are described in a companion paper (Shepard, M.K., and 19 colleagues [2010]. Icarus, in press). We find that most of the highest metal-content asteroids, as suggested by radar, tend to exhibit silicate absorption features at both 0.9 and 1.9 μm, and the lowest metal-content asteroids tend to exhibit either no bands or only the 0.9 μm band. Eleven of the asteroids were observed at several rotational longitudes in the near-infrared and significant variations in continuum slope were found for nine in the spectral regions 1.1-1.45 μm and 1.6-2.3 μm. We utilized visible wavelength data (Bus, S.J., Binzel, R.P. [2002b]. Icarus 158, 146-177; Fornasier, S., Clark, B.E., Dotto, E., Migliorini, A., Ockert-Bell, M., Barucci, M.A. [2010]. Icarus 210, 655-673.) for a more complete compositional analysis of our targets. Compositional evidence is derived from our target asteroid spectra using two different methods: (1) a χ2 search for spectral matches in the RELAB database, and (2) parametric comparisons with meteorites. This paper synthesizes the results of the RELAB search and the parametric comparisons with compositional suggestions based on radar observations. We find that for six of the seven asteroids with the highest iron abundances, our spectral results are consistent with the radar evidence (16 Psyche, 216 Kleopatra, 347 Pariana, 758 Mancunia, 779 Nina, and 785 Zwetana). Three of the seven asteroids with the lowest metal abundances, our spectral results are consistent with the radar evidence (21 Lutetia, 135 Hertha, 497 Iva). The remaining seven asteroids (22 Kalliope, 97 Klotho, 110 Lydia, 129 Antigone, 224 Oceana, 678 Fredegundis, and 771

  11. Implications of Planck2015 for inflationary, ekpyrotic and anamorphic bouncing cosmologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ijjas, Anna; Steinhardt, Paul J.

    2016-02-01

    The results from Planck2015, when combined with earlier observations from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, Atacama Cosmology Telescope, South Pole Telescope and other experiments, were the first observations to disfavor the ‘classic’ inflationary paradigm. To satisfy the observational constraints, inflationary theorists have been forced to consider plateau-like inflaton potentials that introduce more parameters and more fine-tuning, problematic initial conditions, multiverse-unpredictability issues, and a new ‘unlikeliness problem’. Some propose turning instead to a ‘postmodern’ inflationary paradigm in which the cosmological properties in our observable Universe are only locally valid and set randomly, with completely different properties (and perhaps even different physical laws) existing in most regions outside our horizon. By contrast, the new results are consistent with the simplest versions of ekpyrotic cyclic models in which the Universe is smoothed and flattened during a period of slow contraction followed by a bounce, and another promising bouncing theory, anamorphic cosmology, has been proposed that can produce distinctive predictions.

  12. Bounce universe and black holes from critical Einsteinian cubic gravity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feng, Xing-Hui; Huang, Hyat; Mai, Zhan-Feng; Lü, Hong

    2017-11-01

    We show that there exists a critical point for the coupling constants in Einsteinian cubic gravity in which the linearized equations on the maximally symmetric vacuum vanish identically. We construct an exact isotropic bounce universe in the critical theory in four dimensions. The comoving time runs from minus infinity to plus infinity, yielding a smooth universe bouncing between two de Sitter vacua. In five dimensions, we adopt a numerical approach to construct a bounce solution, in which a singularity occurs before the bounce takes place. We then construct exact anisotropic bounces that connect two isotropic de Sitter spacetimes with flat spatial sections. We further construct exact anti-de Sitter black holes in the critical theory in four and five dimensions and obtain an exact anti-de Sitter worm brane in four dimensions.

  13. Cosmological perturbations through a non-singular ghost-condensate/Galileon bounce

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

    Battarra, Lorenzo; Koehn, Michael; Lehners, Jean-Luc

    2014-07-01

    We study the propagation of super-horizon cosmological perturbations in a non-singular bounce spacetime. The model we consider combines a ghost condensate with a Galileon term in order to induce a ghost-free bounce. Our calculation is performed in harmonic gauge, which ensures that the linearized equations of motion remain well-defined and non-singular throughout. We find that, despite the fact that near the bounce the speed of sound becomes imaginary, super-horizon curvature perturbations remain essentially constant across the bounce. In fact, we show that there is a time close to the bounce where curvature perturbations of all wavelengths are required to bemore » momentarily exactly constant. We relate our calculations to those performed in other gauges, and comment on the relation to previous results in the literature.« less

  14. Radar observations of asteroid 216 kleopatra

    PubMed

    Ostro; Hudson; Nolan; Margot; Scheeres; Campbell; Magri; Giorgini; Yeomans

    2000-05-05

    Radar observations of the main-belt, M-class asteroid 216 Kleopatra reveal a dumbbell-shaped object with overall dimensions of 217 kilometers by 94 kilometers by 81 kilometers (+/-25%). The asteroid's surface properties are consistent with a regolith having a metallic composition and a porosity comparable to that of lunar soil. Kleopatra's shape is probably the outcome of an exotic sequence of collisional events, and much of its interior may have an unconsolidated rubble-pile structure.

  15. Big bounce with finite-time singularity: The F(R) gravity description

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Odintsov, S. D.; Oikonomou, V. K.

    An alternative to the Big Bang cosmologies is obtained by the Big Bounce cosmologies. In this paper, we study a bounce cosmology with a Type IV singularity occurring at the bouncing point in the context of F(R) modified gravity. We investigate the evolution of the Hubble radius and we examine the issue of primordial cosmological perturbations in detail. As we demonstrate, for the singular bounce, the primordial perturbations originating from the cosmological era near the bounce do not produce a scale-invariant spectrum and also the short wavelength modes after these exit the horizon, do not freeze, but grow linearly with time. After presenting the cosmological perturbations study, we discuss the viability of the singular bounce model, and our results indicate that the singular bounce must be combined with another cosmological scenario, or should be modified appropriately, in order that it leads to a viable cosmology. The study of the slow-roll parameters leads to the same result indicating that the singular bounce theory is unstable at the singularity point for certain values of the parameters. We also conformally transform the Jordan frame singular bounce, and as we demonstrate, the Einstein frame metric leads to a Big Rip singularity. Therefore, the Type IV singularity in the Jordan frame becomes a Big Rip singularity in the Einstein frame. Finally, we briefly study a generalized singular cosmological model, which contains two Type IV singularities, with quite appealing features.

  16. Comparison of High Resolution Quantitative Extreme Precipitation Estimation from GPM Dual-frequency Radar and S-band Radar Observation over Southern China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, A.; Chen, S.; Fan, S.; Min, C.

    2017-12-01

    Precipitation is one of the basic elements of regional and global climate change. Not only does the precipitation have a great impact on the earth's hydrosphere, but also plays a crucial role in the global energy balance. S-band ground-based dual-polarization radar has the excellent performance of identifying the different phase states of precipitation, which can dramatically improve the accuracy of hail identification and quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). However, the ground-based radar cannot measure the precipitation in mountains, sparsely populated plateau, desert and ocean because of the ground-based radar void. The Unites States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have launched the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) for almost three years. GPM is equipped with a GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and a Dual-frequency (Ku- and Ka-band) Precipitation Radar (DPR) that covers the globe between 65°S and 65°N. The main parameters and the detection method of DPR are different from those of ground-based radars, thus, the DPR's reliability and capability need to be investigated and evaluated by the ground-based radar. This study compares precipitation derived from the ground-based radar measurement to that derived from the DPR's observations. The ground-based radar is a S-band dual-polarization radar deployed near an airport in the west of Zhuhai city. The ground-based quantitative precipitation estimates are with a high resolution of 1km×1km×6min. It shows that this radar covers the whole Pearl River Delta of China, including Hong Kong and Macao. In order to quantify the DPR precipitation quantification capabilities relative to the S-band radar, statistical metrics used in this study are as follows: the difference (Dif) between DPR and the S-band radar observation, root-mean-squared error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient (CC). Additionally, Probability of Detection (POD) and False Alarm Ratio

  17. Airborne Radar Observations of Severe Hailstorms: Implications for Future Spaceborne Radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heymsfield, Gerald M.; Tian, Lin; Li, Lihua; McLinden, Matthew; Cervantes, Jaime I.

    2013-01-01

    A new dual-frequency (Ku and Ka band) nadir-pointing Doppler radar on the high-altitude NASA ER-2 aircraft, called the High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP), has collected data over severe thunderstorms in Oklahoma and Kansas during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E). The overarching motivation for this study is to understand the behavior of the dualwavelength airborne radar measurements in a global variety of thunderstorms and how these may relate to future spaceborne-radar measurements. HIWRAP is operated at frequencies that are similar to those of the precipitation radar on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (Ku band) and the upcoming Global Precipitation Measurement mission satellite's dual-frequency (Ku and Ka bands) precipitation radar. The aircraft measurements of strong hailstorms have been combined with ground-based polarimetric measurements to obtain a better understanding of the response of the Ku- and Ka-band radar to the vertical distribution of the hydrometeors, including hail. Data from two flight lines on 24 May 2011 are presented. Doppler velocities were approx. 39m/s2at 10.7-km altitude from the first flight line early on 24 May, and the lower value of approx. 25m/s on a second flight line later in the day. Vertical motions estimated using a fall speed estimate for large graupel and hail suggested that the first storm had an updraft that possibly exceeded 60m/s for the more intense part of the storm. This large updraft speed along with reports of 5-cm hail at the surface, reflectivities reaching 70 dBZ at S band in the storm cores, and hail signals from polarimetric data provide a highly challenging situation for spaceborne-radar measurements in intense convective systems. The Ku- and Ka-band reflectivities rarely exceed approx. 47 and approx. 37 dBZ, respectively, in these storms.

  18. Rock Bites into 'Bounce'

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    This panoramic camera image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity features the 6.44 millimeter (0.25 inch) deep hole ground into the rock dubbed 'Bounce' by the rover's rock abrasion tool. The tool took 2 hours and 15 minutes to grind the hole on sol 66 of the rover's journey. A combination of limited solar power and the rock's jagged texture led the rock abrasion tool team to set very aggressive grinding parameters to ensure that the end result was a full circle, suitable for a thorough read from the rover's spectrometers.

    Bounce's markedly different appearance (when compared to the rocks that were previously examined in the Eagle Crater outcrop) made it a natural target for rover research. In order to achieve an ideal position from which to grind into the rock, Opportunity moved in very close with its right wheel next to Bounce. In this image, the panoramic camera on the rover's mast is looking down, catching the tip of the solar panel which partially blocks the full circle ground by the rock abrasion tool.

    The outer ring consists of the cuttings from the rock, pushed out by the brushes on the grinding instrument. The dark impression at the top of the outer circle was caused by the instrument's contact mechanism which serves to stabilize it while grinding.

  19. Eliminate the "Bounce"!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leigh, Susan

    2016-01-01

    The "bounce" (coined by students at Susan Leigh's last campus) refers to the amount of time students spent chasing signatures and removing often-unnecessary registration "holds" in order to attend their classes. Leigh explains that all this chaos from complex, separately housed transactional business processes has led to the…

  20. Fully correcting the meteor speed distribution for radar observing biases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moorhead, Althea V.; Brown, Peter G.; Campbell-Brown, Margaret D.; Heynen, Denis; Cooke, William J.

    2017-09-01

    Meteor radars such as the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR) have the ability to detect millions of meteors, making it possible to study the meteoroid environment in great detail. However, meteor radars also suffer from a number of detection biases; these biases must be fully corrected for in order to derive an accurate description of the meteoroid population. We present a bias correction method for patrol radars that accounts for the full form of ionization efficiency and mass distribution. This is an improvement over previous methods such as that of Taylor (1995), which requires power-law distributions for ionization efficiency and a single mass index. We apply this method to the meteor speed distribution observed by CMOR and find a significant enhancement of slow meteors compared to earlier treatments. However, when the data set is severely restricted to include only meteors with very small uncertainties in speed, the fraction of slow meteors is substantially reduced, indicating that speed uncertainties must be carefully handled.

  1. Cosmological bounce and Genesis beyond Horndeski

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

    Kolevatov, R.; Mironov, S.; Volkova, V.

    2017-08-01

    We study 'classical' bouncing and Genesis models in beyond Horndeski theory. We give an example of spatially flat bouncing solution that is non-singular and stable throughout the whole evolution. We also provide an example of stable geodesically complete Genesis with similar features. The model is arranged in such a way that the scalar field driving the cosmological evolution initially behaves like full-fledged beyond Horndeski, whereas at late times it becomes a massless scalar field minimally coupled to gravity.

  2. Magnetic resonance characterization of septal bounce: findings of blood impact physiology.

    PubMed

    Angheloiu, George O; Rayarao, Geetha; Williams, Ronald; Yamrozik, June; Doyle, Mark; Biederman, Robert W W

    2015-01-01

    'Septal bounce' is a pathognomonic sign of constrictive pericarditis (CP). The objectives of the study are to resolve the etiology of the septal bounce, to generate septal bounce-related diagnostic tools, and to prove that its presence is related to the mechanical interaction between the atrioventricular inflow and the inter-ventricular septum. We compared steady state free precession four-chamber images between 11 CP patients and 11 controls via cardiac magnetic resonance. The septal bounce was composed of two movements observed during every cardiac cycle, simultaneous with the rapid filling and atrial systole respectively. Three parameters (measured at end-systole) were generated: right ventricular (RV) clamp (compression ratio of the RV)-greater in CP (0.88 ± 0.03) than controls (0.85 ± 0.03, p = 0.02), tri-septal angle between the tricuspid valve annulus plane and the interventricular septum (81° ± 9° vs. 91° ± 7°, p = 0.01), and impact angle between the tricuspid inflow vector and septum (8.6° ± 8.7° vs. 0° ± 6.6°, p = 0.01). The accuracy, positive predictive value, sensitivity and specificity of these parameters in differentiating CP from controls ranged from 100 to 82 %. A forth parameter-septal flow ratio, gauging the proportion of tricuspid inflow impacting the septum, was markedly higher in CP than controls (0.38 ± 0.19 vs. 0.01 ± 0.03, p < 0.0001) with 100 % sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value. The septal bounce consists of two sequential movements during each cardiac cycle, is time-related with the rapid ventricular filling and atrial systole, and likely represents a result of the tricuspid blood inflow impacting the interventricular septum. Four septal bounce-derived parameters have a good accuracy in differentiating CP from volunteers.

  3. Bouncing cosmological solutions from f(R,T) gravity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shabani, Hamid; Ziaie, Amir Hadi

    2018-05-01

    In this work we study classical bouncing solutions in the context of f(R,T)=R+h(T) gravity in a flat FLRW background using a perfect fluid as the only matter content. Our investigation is based on introducing an effective fluid through defining effective energy density and pressure; we call this reformulation as the " effective picture". These definitions have been already introduced to study the energy conditions in f(R,T) gravity. We examine various models to which different effective equations of state, corresponding to different h(T) functions, can be attributed. It is also discussed that one can link between an assumed f(R,T) model in the effective picture and the theories with generalized equation of state ( EoS). We obtain cosmological scenarios exhibiting a nonsingular bounce before and after which the Universe lives within a de-Sitter phase. We then proceed to find general solutions for matter bounce and investigate their properties. We show that the properties of bouncing solution in the effective picture of f(R,T) gravity are as follows: for a specific form of the f(R,T) function, these solutions are without any future singularities. Moreover, stability analysis of the nonsingular solutions through matter density perturbations revealed that except two of the models, the parameters of scalar-type perturbations for the other ones have a slight transient fluctuation around the bounce point and damp to zero or a finite value at late times. Hence these bouncing solutions are stable against scalar-type perturbations. It is possible that all energy conditions be respected by the real perfect fluid, however, the null and the strong energy conditions can be violated by the effective fluid near the bounce event. These solutions always correspond to a maximum in the real matter energy density and a vanishing minimum in the effective density. The effective pressure varies between negative values and may show either a minimum or a maximum.

  4. Class of regular bouncing cosmologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vasilić, Milovan

    2017-06-01

    In this paper, I construct a class of everywhere regular geometric sigma models that possess bouncing solutions. Precisely, I show that every bouncing metric can be made a solution of such a model. My previous attempt to do so by employing one scalar field has failed due to the appearance of harmful singularities near the bounce. In this work, I use four scalar fields to construct a class of geometric sigma models which are free of singularities. The models within the class are parametrized by their background geometries. I prove that, whatever background is chosen, the dynamics of its small perturbations is classically stable on the whole time axis. Contrary to what one expects from the structure of the initial Lagrangian, the physics of background fluctuations is found to carry two tensor, two vector, and two scalar degrees of freedom. The graviton mass, which naturally appears in these models, is shown to be several orders of magnitude smaller than its experimental bound. I provide three simple examples to demonstrate how this is done in practice. In particular, I show that graviton mass can be made arbitrarily small.

  5. Incoherent scatter radar observations of the ionosphere

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hagfors, Tor

    1989-01-01

    Incoherent scatter radar (ISR) has become the most powerful means of studying the ionosphere from the ground. Many of the ideas and methods underlying the troposphere and stratosphere (ST) radars have been taken over from ISR. Whereas the theory of refractive index fluctuations in the lower atmosphere, depending as it does on turbulence, is poorly understood, the theory of the refractivity fluctuations in the ionosphere, which depend on thermal fluctuations, is known in great detail. The underlying theory is one of the most successful theories in plasma physics, and allows for many detailed investigations of a number of parameters such as electron density, electron temperature, ion temperature, electron mean velocity, and ion mean velocity as well as parameters pertaining to composition, neutral density and others. Here, the author reviews the fundamental processes involved in the scattering from a plasma undergoing thermal or near thermal fluctuations in density. The fundamental scattering properties of the plasma to the physical parameters characterizing them from first principles. He does not discuss the observation process itself, as the observational principles are quite similar whether they are applied to a neutral gas or a fluctuating plasma.

  6. Doppler weather radar observations of the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schneider, David J.; Hoblitt, Richard P.

    2013-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a transportable Doppler C-band radar during the precursory stage of the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska that provided valuable information during subsequent explosive events. We describe the capabilities of this new monitoring tool and present data captured during the Redoubt eruption. The MiniMax 250-C (MM-250C) radar detected seventeen of the nineteen largest explosive events between March 23 and April 4, 2009. Sixteen of these events reached the stratosphere (above 10 km) within 2–5 min of explosion onset. High column and proximal cloud reflectivity values (50 to 60 dBZ) were observed from many of these events, and were likely due to the formation of mm-sized accretionary tephra-ice pellets. Reflectivity data suggest that these pellets formed within the first few minutes of explosion onset. Rapid sedimentation of the mm-sized pellets was observed as a decrease in maximum detection cloud height. The volcanic cloud from the April 4 explosive event showed lower reflectivity values, due to finer particle sizes (related to dome collapse and related pyroclastic flows) and lack of significant pellet formation. Eruption durations determined by the radar were within a factor of two compared to seismic and pressure-sensor derived estimates, and were not well correlated. Ash dispersion observed by the radar was primarily in the upper troposphere below 10 km, but satellite observations indicate the presence of volcanogenic clouds in the stratosphere. This study suggests that radar is a valuable complement to traditional seismic and satellite monitoring of explosive eruptions.

  7. Exploring inner structure of Titan's dunes from Cassini Radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, P.; Heggy, E.; Farr, T. G.

    2013-12-01

    Linear dunes discovered in the equatorial regions of Titan by the Cassini-Huygens mission are morphologically very similar to many terrestrial linear dune fields. These features have been compared with terrestrial longitudinal dune fields like the ones in Namib desert in western Africa. This comparison is based on the overall parallel orientation of Titan's dunes to the predominant wind direction on Titan, their superposition on other geomorphological features and the way they wrap around topographic obstacles. Studying the internal layering of dunes has strong implications in understanding the hypothesis for their origin and evolution. In Titan's case, although the morphology of the dunes has been studied from Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images, it has not been possible to investigate their internal structure in detail as of yet. Since no radar sounding data is available for studying Titan's subsurface yet, we have developed another technique to examine the inner layering of the dunes. In this study, we utilize multiple complementary radar datasets, including radar imaging data for Titan's and Earth's dunes and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)/radar sounding data for terrestrial dunes. Based on dielectric mixing models, we suggest that the Cassini Ku-band microwaves should be able to penetrate up to ~ 3 m through Titan's dunes, indicating that the returned radar backscatter signal would include contributions from both surface and shallow subsurface echoes. This implies that the shallow subsurface properties can be retrieved from the observed radar backscatter (σ0). In our analysis, the variation of the radar backscatter as a function of dune height is used to provide an insight into the layering in Titan's dunes. We compare the variation of radar backscatter with elevation over individual dunes on Titan and analogous terrestrial dunes in three sites (Great Sand Sea, Siwa dunes and Qattaniya dunes) in the Egyptian Sahara. We observe a strong, positive

  8. Observations of Enhanced Radar Backscatter (ERB) from Millstone Hill

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, M. C.

    1991-01-01

    Intense enhancements of the incoherent radar backscatter spectrum from the topside ionosphere were observed with the Millstone Hill UHF radar. Enhancements occurring at the local ion acoustic frequency causing large asymmetries in the measured ion line may be produced by current driven instabilities. These enhancements pose a practical problem for space surveillance systems because their cross section and spectral width are characteristic of satellites. Conversely, their hard target signature complicates the study of naturally occurring ERB events; it is nearly impossible to distinguish them from satellites based on a single measurement. Statistical comparisons of observed coherent echo distributions with predictions from a satellite catalog were used to broadly identify periods of ERB activity. A series of experiments using multiple diagnostics, including satellite instruments, for simultaneous observations have established the association of ERB with large fluxes of soft suprathermal electrons carrying field aligned currents. Zenith data are also presented which show the asymmetric growth of ion acoustic waves directly above Millstone Hill. Details of these results are presented.

  9. An observation of sea-spray microphysics by airborne Doppler radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fairall, C. W.; Pezoa, S.; Moran, K.; Wolfe, D.

    2014-05-01

    This paper describes observations and analysis of Doppler radar data from a down-looking 94 GHz (W-Band) system operated from a NOAA WP-3 Orion research aircraft in Tropical Storm (TS) Karen. The flight took place on 5 October 2013; Karen had weakened with maximum winds around 20 m s-1. Doppler spectral moments from the radar were processed to retrieve sea-spray microphysical properties (drop size and liquid water mass concentration) profiles in the height range 75-300 m above the sea surface. In the high wind speed regions of TS Karen (U10 > 15 m s-1), sea spray was observed with a nominal mass-mode radius of about 40 µm, a radar-weighted gravitational fall velocity of about 1 m s-1, and a mass concentration of about 10-3 gm-3 at 75 m. Spray-drop mass concentration declined with height to values of about 10-4 gm-3 at 300 m. Drop mass decreased slightly more slowly with increasing height than predicted by surface-layer similarity theory for a balance of turbulent diffusion vs fall velocity.

  10. Asteroid 16 Psyche: Radar Observations and Shape Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shepard, Michael K.; Richardson, James E.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Rodriguez-Ford, Linda A.; Conrad, Al; de Pater, Imke; Adamkovics, Mate; de Kleer, Katherine R.; Males, Jared; Morzinski, Kathleen M.; Miller Close, Laird; Kaasalainen, Mikko; Viikinkoski, Matti; Timerson, Bradley; Reddy, Vishnu; Magri, Christopher; Nolan, Michael C.; Howell, Ellen S.; Warner, Brian D.; Harris, Alan W.

    2016-10-01

    We observed 16 Psyche, the largest M-class asteroid in the main belt, using the S-band radar at Arecibo Observatory. We obtained 18 radar imaging and 6 continuous wave runs in November and December 2015, and combined these with 16 continuous wave runs from 2005 and 6 recent adaptive-optics (AO) images to generate a three-dimensional shape model of Psyche. Our model is consistent with a previously published AO image [Hanus et al. Icarus 226, 1045-1057, 2013] and three multi-chord occultations. Our shape model has dimensions 279 x 232 x 189 km (±10%), Deff = 226 ± 23 km, and is 6% larger than, but within the uncertainties of, the most recently published size and shape model generated from the inversion of lightcurves [Hanus et al., 2013]. Psyche is roughly ellipsoidal but displays a mass-deficit over a region spanning 90° of longitude. There is also evidence for two ~50-70 km wide depressions near its south pole. Our size and published masses lead to an overall bulk density estimate of 4500 ± 1400 kg m-3. Psyche's mean radar albedo of 0.37 ± 0.09 is consistent with a near-surface regolith composed largely of iron-nickel and ~40% porosity. Its radar reflectivity varies by a factor of 1.6 as the asteroid rotates, suggesting global variations in metal abundance or bulk density in the near surface. The variations in radar albedo appear to correlate with large and small-scale shape features. Our size and Psyche's published absolute magnitude lead to an optical albedo of pv = 0.15 ± 0.03, and there is evidence for albedo variegations that correlate with shape features.

  11. Internal wave observations made with an airborne synthetic aperture imaging radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Elachi, C.; Apel, J. R.

    1976-01-01

    Synthetic aperture L-band radar flown aboard the NASA CV-990 has observed periodic striations on the ocean surface off the coast of Alaska which have been interpreted as tidally excited oceanic internal waves of less than 500 m length. These radar images are compared to photographic imagery of similar waves taken from Landsat 1. Both the radar and Landsat images reveal variations in reflectivity across each wave in a packet that range from low to high to normal. The variations point to the simultaneous existence of two mechanisms for the surface signatures of internal waves: roughening due to wave-current interactions, and smoothing due to slick formation.

  12. The Larger the Viscosity, the Higher the Bounce

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stern, Menachem; Klein Schaarsberg, Martin; Peters, Ivo; Dodge, Kevin; Zhang, Wendy; Jaeger, Heinrich

    A low-viscosity liquid drop can bounce upon impact onto a solid. A high-viscosity drop typically just flattens, i.e., it splats. Surprisingly, our experiments with a droplet made of densely packed glass beads in silicone oil display the opposite behavior: the low-viscosity oil suspension drop splats. The high-viscosity oil suspension bounces. Increasing solvent viscosity increases the rebound energy. To gain insight into the underlying mechanism, we model the suspension as densely packed elastic spheres experiencing viscous lubrication drag between neighbors. The model reproduces the observed trends. Plots of elastic compression and drag experienced by the particles show that rebounds are made possible by (1) a fraction of the impact energy being stored during initial contact via elastic compression, (2) a rapid broadening of local lubrication drag interactions at the initial impact site into a spatially uniform upward force throughout the drop. Including finite wall drag due to the presence of ambient air into the numerical model diminishes and eventually cuts off the rebound.

  13. Microwave Observations of Snow-Covered Freshwater Lake Ice obtained during the Great Lakes Winter EXperiment (GLAWEX), 2017

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gunn, G. E.; Hall, D. K.; Nghiem, S. V.

    2017-12-01

    Studies observing lake ice using active microwave acquisitions suggest that the dominant scattering mechanism in ice is caused by double-bounce of the signal off vertical tubular bubble inclusions. Recent polarimetric SAR observations and target decomposition algorithms indicate single-bounce interactions may be the dominant source of returns, and in the absence of field observations, has been hypothesized to be the result of roughness at the ice-water interface on the order of incident wavelengths. This study presents in-situ physical observations of snow-covered lake ice in western Michigan and Wisconsin acquired during the Great Lakes Winter EXperiment in 2017 (GLAWEX'17). In conjunction with NASA's SnowEx airborne snow campaign in Colorado (http://snow.nasa.gov), C- (Sentinel-1, RADARSAT-2) and X-band (TerraSAR-X) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations were acquired coincidently to surface physical snow and ice observations. Small/large scale roughness features at the ice-water interface are quantified through auger transects and used as an input variable in lake ice backscatter models to assess the relative contributions from different scattering mechanisms.

  14. Modeling the Meteoroid Input Function at Mid-Latitude Using Meteor Observations by the MU Radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pifko, Steven; Janches, Diego; Close, Sigrid; Sparks, Jonathan; Nakamura, Takuji; Nesvorny, David

    2012-01-01

    The Meteoroid Input Function (MIF) model has been developed with the purpose of understanding the temporal and spatial variability of the meteoroid impact in the atmosphere. This model includes the assessment of potential observational biases, namely through the use of empirical measurements to characterize the minimum detectable radar cross-section (RCS) for the particular High Power Large Aperture (HPLA) radar utilized. This RCS sensitivity threshold allows for the characterization of the radar system s ability to detect particles at a given mass and velocity. The MIF has been shown to accurately predict the meteor detection rate of several HPLA radar systems, including the Arecibo Observatory (AO) and the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR), as well as the seasonal and diurnal variations of the meteor flux at various geographic locations. In this paper, the MIF model is used to predict several properties of the meteors observed by the Middle and Upper atmosphere (MU) radar, including the distributions of meteor areal density, speed, and radiant location. This study offers new insight into the accuracy of the MIF, as it addresses the ability of the model to predict meteor observations at middle geographic latitudes and for a radar operating frequency in the low VHF band. Furthermore, the interferometry capability of the MU radar allows for the assessment of the model s ability to capture information about the fundamental input parameters of meteoroid source and speed. This paper demonstrates that the MIF is applicable to a wide range of HPLA radar instruments and increases the confidence of using the MIF as a global model, and it shows that the model accurately considers the speed and sporadic source distributions for the portion of the meteoroid population observable by MU.

  15. Radar Observations of Asteroid 101955 Bennu and the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nolan, M. C.; Benner, L.; Giorgini, J. D.; Howell, E. S.; Kerr, R.; Lauretta, D. S.; Magri, C.; Margot, J. L.; Scheeres, D. J.

    2017-12-01

    On September 24, 2023, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will return a sample of asteroid (101955) Bennu to the Earth. We chose the target of this mission in part because of the work we did over more than a decade using the Arecibo and Goldstone planetary radars to observe this asteroid. We observed Bennu (then known as 1999 RQ36) at Arecibo and Goldstone in 1999 and 2005, and at Arecibo in 2011. Radar imaging from the first two observing epochs provided a shape and size for Bennu, which greatly simplified mission planning. We know that the spacecraft will encounter a roundish asteroid 500 m in diameter with a distinct equatorial ridge [Nolan et al., 2013]. Bennu does not have the dramatic concavities seen in Itokawa and comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Hayabusa and Rosetta mission targets, respectively, which would have been obvious in radar imaging. Further radar ranging in 2011 provided a detection of the Yarkovsky effect, allowing us to constrain Bennu's mass and bulk density from radar measurement of non-gravitational forces acting on its orbit [Chesley et al., 2014]. The 2011 observations were particularly challenging, occurring during a management transition at the Arecibo Observatory, and would not have been possible without significant extra cooperation between the old and new managing organizations. As a result, we can predict Bennu's position to within a few km over the next 100 years, until its close encounter with the Earth in 2135. We know its shape to within ± 10 m (1σ) on the long and intermediate axes and ± 52 m on the polar diameter, and its pole orientation to within 5 degrees. The bulk density is 1260 ± 70 kg/m3 and the rotation is retrograde with a 4.297 ± 0.002 h period The OSIRIS-REx team is using these constraints to preplan the initial stages of proximity operations and dramatically reduce risk. The Figure shows the model and Arecibo radar images from 1999 (left), 2005 (center), and 2011 (right). Bennu is the faint dot near the center of

  16. Radar observations of the Geminid meteoroid stream

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cevolani, G.; Bortolotti, G.; Foschini, L.; Franceschi, C.; Grassi, G.; Trivellone, G.

    1994-08-01

    Continuous radio-wave monitoring of the Geminid activity in December 1992 and 1993 by using a forward-scatter (FS) bistatic radar over the Bologna-Lecce baseline (700 km) in Italy, reveals peculiar structural aspects of the stream in terms of signal amplitude-rate and duration-rate dependence. The observational results of the Geminid display obtained in the two consecutive years with differentiated peak levels of transmitted power, exhibit different time distributions of underdense meteors against the signal received power. Both sets of data relative to the peak activity in December 12-14, show reflection properties of Geminids which are atypical if compared with echoes from cometary-type showers, with really high echo counts at mid-upper levels of the peak received power. A comparison with the records of 1986 Geminids at the Budrio backscatter radar station near Bologna, shows an asymmetric curve of activity, with smaller particles shifted to shorter and less eccentric orbits, the peak flux occurring earlier than that of larger ones.

  17. Arecibo Radar Observation of Near-Earth Asteroids: Expanded Sample Size, Determination of Radar Albedos, and Measurements of Polarization Ratios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lejoly, Cassandra; Howell, Ellen S.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Springmann, Alessondra; Virkki, Anne; Nolan, Michael C.; Rivera-Valentin, Edgard G.; Benner, Lance A. M.; Brozovic, Marina; Giorgini, Jon D.

    2017-10-01

    The Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) population ranges in size from a few meters to more than 10 kilometers. NEAs have a wide variety of taxonomic classes, surface features, and shapes, including spheroids, binary objects, contact binaries, elongated, as well as irregular bodies. Using the Arecibo Observatory planetary radar system, we have measured apparent rotation rate, radar reflectivity, apparent diameter, and radar albedos for over 350 NEAs. The radar albedo is defined as the radar cross-section divided by the geometric cross-section. If a shape model is available, the actual cross-section is known at the time of the observation. Otherwise we derive a geometric cross-section from a measured diameter. When radar imaging is available, the diameter was measured from the apparent range depth. However, when radar imaging was not available, we used the continuous wave (CW) bandwidth radar measurements in conjunction with the period of the object. The CW bandwidth provides apparent rotation rate, which, given an independent rotation measurement, such as from lightcurves, constrains the size of the object. We assumed an equatorial view unless we knew the pole orientation, which gives a lower limit on the diameter. The CW also provides the polarization ratio, which is the ratio of the SC and OC cross-sections.We confirm the trend found by Benner et al. (2008) that taxonomic types E and V have very high polarization ratios. We have obtained a larger sample and can analyze additional trends with spin, size, rotation rate, taxonomic class, polarization ratio, and radar albedo to interpret the origin of the NEAs and their dynamical processes. The distribution of radar albedo and polarization ratio at the smallest diameters (≤50 m) differs from the distribution of larger objects (>50 m), although the sample size is limited. Additionally, we find more moderate radar albedos for the smallest NEAs when compared to those with diameters 50-150 m. We will present additional trends we

  18. Modeled and Observed Altitude Distributions of the Micrometeoroid Influx in Radar Detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Swarnalingam, N.; Janches, D.; Plane, J. M. C.; Carrillo-Sánchez, J. D.; Sternovsky, Z.; Pokorny, P.; Nesvorny, D.

    2017-12-01

    The altitude distributions of the micrometeoroids are a representation of the radar response function of the incoming flux and thus can be utilized to calibrate radar measurements. These in turn, can be used to determine the rate of ablation and ionization of the meteoroids and ultimately the input flux. During the ablation process, electrons are created and subsequently these electrons produce backscatter signals when they encounter the transmitted signals from radar. In this work, we investigate the altitude distribution by exploring different sizes as well as the aspect sensitivity of the meteor head echoes. We apply an updated version of the Chemical Ablation Model (CABMOD), which includes results from laboratory simulation of meteor ablation for different metallic constituents. In particular, the updated version simulates the ablation of Na. It is observed in the updated version that electrons are produced to a wider altitude range with the peak production occurs at lower altitudes compared to the previous version. The results are compared to head echo meteor observations utilizing the Arecibo 430 MHz radar.

  19. The Bounce Meter

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nunn, John

    2014-01-01

    This paper describes how a microphone plugged in to a normal computer can be used to record the impacts of a ball bouncing on a table. The intervals between these impacts represent the "time of flight" of the ball. Since some energy is lost in each rebound, the time intervals get progressively smaller. Through calculation it is possible…

  20. Observations of sea ice and icebergs from satellite radar altimeters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rapley, C. G.

    1984-01-01

    Satellite radar altimeters can make useful contributions to the study of sea ice both by enhancing observations from other instruments and by providing a unique probe of ocean-ice interaction in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ). The problems, results and future potential of such observations are discussed.

  1. Quantitative estimation of Tropical Rainfall Mapping Mission precipitation radar signals from ground-based polarimetric radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bolen, Steven M.; Chandrasekar, V.

    2003-06-01

    The Tropical Rainfall Mapping Mission (TRMM) is the first mission dedicated to measuring rainfall from space using radar. The precipitation radar (PR) is one of several instruments aboard the TRMM satellite that is operating in a nearly circular orbit with nominal altitude of 350 km, inclination of 35°, and period of 91.5 min. The PR is a single-frequency Ku-band instrument that is designed to yield information about the vertical storm structure so as to gain insight into the intensity and distribution of rainfall. Attenuation effects on PR measurements, however, can be significant and as high as 10-15 dB. This can seriously impair the accuracy of rain rate retrieval algorithms derived from PR signal returns. Quantitative estimation of PR attenuation is made along the PR beam via ground-based polarimetric observations to validate attenuation correction procedures used by the PR. The reflectivity (Zh) at horizontal polarization and specific differential phase (Kdp) are found along the beam from S-band ground radar measurements, and theoretical modeling is used to determine the expected specific attenuation (k) along the space-Earth path at Ku-band frequency from these measurements. A theoretical k-Kdp relationship is determined for rain when Kdp ≥ 0.5°/km, and a power law relationship, k = a Zhb, is determined for light rain and other types of hydrometers encountered along the path. After alignment and resolution volume matching is made between ground and PR measurements, the two-way path-integrated attenuation (PIA) is calculated along the PR propagation path by integrating the specific attenuation along the path. The PR reflectivity derived after removing the PIA is also compared against ground radar observations.

  2. Distributions of Orbital Elements for Meteoroids on Near-Parabolic Orbits According to Radar Observational Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kolomiyets, S. V.

    2011-01-01

    Some results of the International Heliophysical Year (IHY) Coordinated Investigation Program (CIP) number 65 Meteors in the Earth Atmosphere and Meteoroids in the Solar System are presented. The problem of hyperbolic and near-parabolic orbits is discussed. Some possibilities for the solution of this problem can be obtained from the radar observation of faint meteors. The limiting magnitude of the Kharkov, Ukraine, radar observation program in the 1970 s was +12, resulting in a very large number of meteors being detected. 250,000 orbits down to even fainter limiting magnitude were determined in the 1972-78 period in Kharkov (out of them 7,000 are hyperbolic). The hypothesis of hyperbolic meteors was confirmed. In some radar meteor observations 1 10% of meteors are hyperbolic meteors. Though the Advanced Meteor Orbit Radar (AMOR, New Zealand) and Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR, Canada) have accumulated millions of meteor orbits, there are difficulties in comparing the radar observational data obtained from these three sites (New Zealand, Canada, Kharkov). A new global program International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) has begun in 2010 (http://www.iswi-secretariat.org). Today it is necessary to create the unified radar catalogue of nearparabolic and hyperbolic meteor orbits in the framework of the ISWI, or any other different way, in collaboration of Ukraine, Canada, New Zealand, the USA and, possibly, Japan. Involvement of the Virtual Meteor Observatory (Netherlands) and Meteor Data Centre (Slovakia) is desirable too. International unified radar catalogue of near-parabolic and hyperbolic meteor orbits will aid to a major advance in our understanding of the ecology of meteoroids within the Solar System and beyond.

  3. Running humans attain optimal elastic bounce in their teens.

    PubMed

    Legramandi, Mario A; Schepens, Bénédicte; Cavagna, Giovanni A

    2013-01-01

    In an ideal elastic bounce of the body, the time during which mechanical energy is released during the push equals the time during which mechanical energy is absorbed during the brake, and the maximal upward velocity attained by the center of mass equals the maximal downward velocity. Deviations from this ideal model, prolonged push duration and lower upward velocity, have found to be greater in older than in younger adult humans. However it is not known how similarity to the elastic bounce changes during growth and whether an optimal elastic bounce is attained at some age. Here we show that similarity with the elastic bounce is minimal at 2 years and increases with age attaining a maximum at 13-16 years, concomitant with a mirror sixfold decrease of the impact deceleration peak following collision of the foot with the ground. These trends slowly reverse during the course of the lifespan.

  4. A comparison of field-line resonances observed at the Goose Bay and Wick radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Provan, G.; Yeoman, T. K.

    1997-02-01

    Previous observations with the Goose Bay HF coherent-scatter radar have revealed structured spectral peaks at ultra-low frequencies. The frequencies of these spectral peaks have been demonstrated to be extremely consistent from day to day. The stability of these spectral peaks can be seen as evidence for the existence of global magnetospheric cavity modes whose resonant frequencies are independent of latitude. Field-line resonances occur when successive harmonics of the eigenfrequency of the magnetospheric cavity or waveguide match either the first harmonic eigenfrequency of the geomagnetic field lines or higher harmonics of this frequency. Power spectra observed at the SABRE VHF coherent-scatter radar at Wick, Scotland, during night and early morning are revealed to show similarly clearly structured spectral peaks. These spectral peaks are the result of local field-line resonances due to Alfvén waves standing on magnetospheric field lines. A comparison of the spectra observed by the Goose Bay and Wick radars demonstrate that the frequencies of the field-line resonances are, on average, almost identical, despite the different latitudinal ranges covered by the two radars. Possible explanations for the similarity of the signatures on the two radar systems are discussed.

  5. Multi-Wavelength Observations of 2100 Ra-Shalom: Radar and Lightcurves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shepard, M. K.; Clark-Joseph, B. E.; Benner, L. A. M.; Giorgini, J. D.; Kusnirak, P.; Margot, J.-L.; Nolan, M. C.; Ostro, S. J.; Pravec, P.; Sarounova, L.

    2004-01-01

    We conducted a multi-wavelength campaign to study the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 2100 Ra-Shalom during its August 2003 encounter. Rotationally resolved observations were acquired at Arecibo (12.6 cm radar), the IRTF (0.8-2.5 micron and 3 micron), McDonald Observatory (0.48-0.92 micron), Palomar Observatory (8-15 micron), and Ondrejov Observatory (optical lightcurves). Our objectives were to determine Ra-Shalom's size and shape, and the composition and physical state of its near-surface material. Preliminary results from radar and lightcurve measurements will be presented here.

  6. Radar observations of the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska: Initial deployment of a transportable Doppler radar system for volcano-monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoblitt, R. P.; Schneider, D. J.

    2009-12-01

    The rapid detection of explosive volcanic eruptions and accurate determination of eruption-column altitude and ash-cloud movement are critical factors in the mitigation of volcanic risks to aviation and in the forecasting of ash fall on nearby communities. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a transportable Doppler radar during the precursory stage of the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, and it provided valuable information during subsequent explosive events. We describe the capabilities of this new monitoring tool and present data that it captured during the Redoubt eruption. The volcano-monitoring Doppler radar operates in the C-band (5.36 cm) and has a 2.4-m parabolic antenna with a beam width of 1.6 degrees, a transmitter power of 330 watts, and a maximum effective range of 240 km. The entire disassembled system, including a radome, fits inside a 6-m-long steel shipping container that has been modified to serve as base for the antenna/radome, and as a field station for observers and other monitoring equipment. The radar was installed at the Kenai Municipal Airport, 82 km east of Redoubt and about 100 km southwest of Anchorage. In addition to an unobstructed view of the volcano, this secure site offered the support of the airport staff and the City of Kenai. A further advantage was the proximity of a NEXRAD Doppler radar operated by the Federal Aviation Administration. This permitted comparisons with an established weather-monitoring radar system. The new radar system first became functional on March 20, roughly a day before the first of nineteen explosive ash-producing events of Redoubt between March 21 and April 4. Despite inevitable start-up problems, nearly all of the events were observed by the radar, which was remotely operated from the Alaska Volcano Observatory office in Anchorage. The USGS and NEXRAD radars both detected the eruption columns and tracked the directions of drifting ash clouds. The USGS radar scanned a 45-degree sector

  7. Integrating Satellite, Radar and Surface Observation with Time and Space Matching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ho, Y.; Weber, J.

    2015-12-01

    The Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) from Unidata is a Java™-based software framework for analyzing and visualizing geoscience data. It brings together the ability to display and work with satellite imagery, gridded data, surface observations, balloon soundings, NWS WSR-88D Level II and Level III RADAR data, and NOAA National Profiler Network data, all within a unified interface. Applying time and space matching on the satellite, radar and surface observation datasets will automatically synchronize the display from different data sources and spatially subset to match the display area in the view window. These features allow the IDV users to effectively integrate these observations and provide 3 dimensional views of the weather system to better understand the underlying dynamics and physics of weather phenomena.

  8. Collective many-body bounce in the breathing-mode oscillations of a finite-temperature Tonks-Girardeau gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kheruntsyan, Karen; Atas, Yasar; Bouchoule, Isabelle; Gangardt, Dimitri

    2017-04-01

    We analyse the breathing-mode oscillations of a harmonically quenched Tonks-Giradeau (TG) gas using an exact finite-temperature dynamical theory. We predict a striking collective manifestation of impenetrability-a collective many-body bounce effect. The effect, while being invisible in the evolution of the in situ density profile of the gas, can be revealed through a nontrivial periodic narrowing of its momentum distribution, taking place at twice the rate of the fundamental breathing-mode frequency of oscillations of the density profile. We identify physical regimes for observing the many-body bounce and construct the respective nonequilibrium phase diagram as a function of the quench strength and the initial equilibrium temperature of the gas. We also develop a finite-temperature hydrodynamic theory of the TG gas, wherein the many-body bounce is explained by an increased thermodynamic pressure during the isentropic compression cycle, which acts as a potential barrier for the particles to bounce off.

  9. Near-surface bulk densities of asteroids derived from dual-polarization radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Virkki, A.; Taylor, P. A.; Zambrano-Marin, L. F.; Howell, E. S.; Nolan, M. C.; Lejoly, C.; Rivera-Valentin, E. G.; Aponte, B. A.

    2017-09-01

    We present a new method to constrain the near-surface bulk density and surface roughness of regolith on asteroid surfaces using planetary radar measurements. The number of radar observations has increased rapidly during the last five years, allowing us to compare and contrast the radar scattering properties of different small-body populations and compositional types. This provides us with new opportunities to investigate their near-surface physical properties such as the chemical composition, bulk density, porosity, or the structural roughness in the scale of centimeters to meters. Because the radar signal can penetrate into a planetary surface up to a few decimeters, radar can reveal information that is hidden from other ground-based methods, such as optical and infrared measurements. The near-surface structure of asteroids and comets in centimeter-to-meter scale is essential information for robotic and human space missions, impact threat mitigation, and understanding the history of these bodies as well as the formation of the whole Solar System.

  10. UHF and VHF radar observations of thunderstorms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Holden, D. N.; Ulbrich, C. W.; Larsen, M. F.; Rottger, J.; Ierkic, H. M.; Swartz, W.

    1986-01-01

    A study of thunderstorms was made in the Summer of 1985 with the 430-MHz and 50-MHz radars at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Both radars use the 300-meter dish, which gives a beam width of less than 2 degrees even at these long wavelengths. Though the radars are steerable, only vertical beams were used in this experiment. The height resolution was 300 and 150 meters for the UHF and VHF, respectively. Lightning echoes, as well as returns from precipitation and clear-air turbulence were detected with both wavelengths. Large increases in the returned power were found to be coincident with increasing downward vertical velocities at UHF, whereas at VHF the total power returned was relatively constant during the life of a storm. This was attributed to the fact that the VHF is more sensitive to scattering from the turbulence-induced inhomogeneities in the refractive index and less sensitive to scatter from precipitation particles. On occasion, the shape of the Doppler spectra was observed to change with the occurrence of a lightning discharge in the pulse volume. Though the total power and mean reflectivity weighted Doppler velocity changed little during these events, the power is Doppler frequency bins near that corresponding to the updraft did increase substantially within a fraction of a second after a discharge was detected in the beam. This suggests some interaction between precipitation and lightning.

  11. Coordinated Radar and Aircraft Observations of Turbulence.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-05-26

    VELOCITY (il/) Jig. 10. Spectrum at two points having excessive radar c / 23 ACKNOWLEDGMENr The direction and support of Mr. 1. Goldman of the FAA...of Doppler Weather Radar to Turbulence Measure- ments Which Affect Aircraft," FAA Report RD-77-145 (March 1977). 2. R. T. Strauch, "Applications of...Meteorological Doppler Radar for Weather- Surveillance Near Air Terminals", IEEE Trans. Geosci. Electron., G15-17, 4 (1979). 3. P. B. MacCready

  12. Running humans attain optimal elastic bounce in their teens

    PubMed Central

    Legramandi, Mario A.; Schepens, Bénédicte; Cavagna, Giovanni A.

    2013-01-01

    In an ideal elastic bounce of the body, the time during which mechanical energy is released during the push equals the time during which mechanical energy is absorbed during the brake, and the maximal upward velocity attained by the center of mass equals the maximal downward velocity. Deviations from this ideal model, prolonged push duration and lower upward velocity, have found to be greater in older than in younger adult humans. However it is not known how similarity to the elastic bounce changes during growth and whether an optimal elastic bounce is attained at some age. Here we show that similarity with the elastic bounce is minimal at 2 years and increases with age attaining a maximum at 13-16 years, concomitant with a mirror sixfold decrease of the impact deceleration peak following collision of the foot with the ground. These trends slowly reverse during the course of the lifespan. PMID:23419705

  13. Observations of the Sea Ice Cover Using Satellite Radar Interferometry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kwok, Ronald

    1995-01-01

    The fringes observed in repeat pass interferograms are expressions of surface relief and relative displacements. The limiting condition in the application of spaceborne radar interferometry to the remote sensing of the sea ice cover is the large magnitude of motion between repeat passes. The translation and rotation of ice floes tend to decorrelate the observations rendering radar interferometry ineffective. In our study, we have located three images in the high Arctic during a period when there was negligible motion between repeat observations. The fringes obtained from these images show a wealth of information about the sea ice cover which is important in atmosphere-ice interactions and sea ice mechanics. These measurements provide the first detailed remote sensing view of the sea ice cover. Ridges can be observed and their heights estimated if the interferometric baseline allows. We have observed ridges with heights greater than 4m. The variability in the phase measurements over an area provides an indication of the large scale roughness. Relative centimetric displacements between rigid ice floes have been observed. We illustrate these observations with examples extracted from the interferograms formed from this set of ERS-1 SAR images.

  14. Temporal Stability of Soil Moisture and Radar Backscatter Observed by the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR)

    PubMed Central

    Wagner, Wolfgang; Pathe, Carsten; Doubkova, Marcela; Sabel, Daniel; Bartsch, Annett; Hasenauer, Stefan; Blöschl, Günter; Scipal, Klaus; Martínez-Fernández, José; Löw, Alexander

    2008-01-01

    The high spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture is the result of atmospheric forcing and redistribution processes related to terrain, soil, and vegetation characteristics. Despite this high variability, many field studies have shown that in the temporal domain soil moisture measured at specific locations is correlated to the mean soil moisture content over an area. Since the measurements taken by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments are very sensitive to soil moisture it is hypothesized that the temporally stable soil moisture patterns are reflected in the radar backscatter measurements. To verify this hypothesis 73 Wide Swath (WS) images have been acquired by the ENVISAT Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) over the REMEDHUS soil moisture network located in the Duero basin, Spain. It is found that a time-invariant linear relationship is well suited for relating local scale (pixel) and regional scale (50 km) backscatter. The observed linear model coefficients can be estimated by considering the scattering properties of the terrain and vegetation and the soil moisture scaling properties. For both linear model coefficients, the relative error between observed and modelled values is less than 5 % and the coefficient of determination (R2) is 86 %. The results are of relevance for interpreting and downscaling coarse resolution soil moisture data retrieved from active (METOP ASCAT) and passive (SMOS, AMSR-E) instruments. PMID:27879759

  15. A comparison of airborne and ground-based radar observations with rain gages during the CaPE experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Satake, Makoto; Short, David A.; Iguchi, Toshio

    1992-01-01

    The vicinity of KSC, where the primary ground truth site of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) program is located, was the focal point of the Convection and Precipitation/Electrification (CaPE) experiment in Jul. and Aug. 1991. In addition to several specialized radars, local coverage was provided by the C-band (5 cm) radar at Patrick AFB. Point measurements of rain rate were provided by tipping bucket rain gage networks. Besides these ground-based activities, airborne radar measurements with X- and Ka-band nadir-looking radars on board an aircraft were also recorded. A unique combination data set of airborne radar observations with ground-based observations was obtained in the summer convective rain regime of central Florida. We present a comparison of these data intending a preliminary validation. A convective rain event was observed simultaneously by all three instrument types on the evening of 27 Jul. 1991. The high resolution aircraft radar was flown over convective cells with tops exceeding 10 km and observed reflectivities of 40 to 50 dBZ at 4 to 5 km altitude, while the low resolution surface radar observed 35 to 55 dBZ echoes and a rain gage indicated maximum surface rain rates exceeding 100 mm/hr. The height profile of reflectivity measured with the airborne radar show an attenuation of 6.5 dB/km (two way) for X-band, corresponding to a rainfall rate of 95 mm/hr.

  16. General background conditions for K-bounce and adiabaticity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Romano, Antonio Enea

    2017-03-01

    We study the background conditions for a bounce uniquely driven by a single scalar field model with a generalized kinetic term K( X), without any additional matter field. At the background level we impose the existence of two turning points where the derivative of the Hubble parameter H changes sign and of a bounce point where the Hubble parameter vanishes. We find the conditions for K( X) and the potential which ensure the above requirements. We then give the examples of two models constructed according to these conditions. One is based on a quadratic K( X), and the other on a K( X) which is avoiding divergences of the second time derivative of the scalar field, which may otherwise occur. An appropriate choice of the initial conditions can lead to a sequence of consecutive bounces, or oscillations of H. In the region where these models have a constant potential they are adiabatic on any scale and because of this they may not conserve curvature perturbations on super-horizon scales. While at the perturbation level one class of models is free from ghosts and singularities of the classical equations of motion, in general gradient instabilities are present around the bounce time, because the sign of the squared speed of sound is opposite to the sign of the time derivative of H. We discuss how this kind of instabilities could be avoided by modifying the Lagrangian by introducing Galilean terms in order to prevent a negative squared speed of sound around the bounce.

  17. Mainbelt asteroids - Dual-polarization radar observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ostro, S. J.; Campbell, D. B.; Shapiro, I. I.

    1985-01-01

    Observations of 20 asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter provide information about the nature of these objects' surfaces at centimeter-to-kilometer scales. At least one asteroid (Pallas) is extremely smooth at centimeter-to-meter scales. Each asteroid appears much rougher than the moon at some scale between several meters and many kilometers. The range of asteroid radar albedos is very broad and implies substantial variations in porosity or metal concentration (or both). The highest albedo estimate, for the asteroid Psyche, is consistent with a surface having porosities typical of lunar soil and a composition nearly entirely metallic.

  18. The First Year of Cassini RADAR Observations of Titan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elachi, C.; Lorenz, R. D.

    2005-12-01

    Titan`s atmosphere is essentially transparent to Radar, making it an ideal technique to study Titan`s surface. Cassini`s Titan Radar Mapper operates as a passive radiometer, scatterometer, altimeter, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Here we review data from four fly-bys in the first year of Cassini`s tour (Ta: October 2004, T3: February 2005, T7: September 2005, and T8: October 2005.) Early SAR images from Ta and T3 (showing < 3% of Titan`s surface) reveal that Titan is geologically young and complex (see Elachi et al., 2005, Science 13, 970-4). Significant variations were seen between the range of features seen in the Ta swath (centered at ~50N, 80W) and T3 (~ 30N, 70W) : the large-scale radiometric properties also differed, with T3 being radar-brighter. A variety of features have been identified in SAR, including two large impact craters, cryovolcanic flows and a probable volcanic dome. Dendritic and braided radar-bright sinuous channels, some 180km long, are evidence of fluvial activity. `Cat scratches`, arrays of linear dark features seem most likely to be Aeolian. Radar provides unique topographic information on Titan`s landscape e.g. the depth of the 80km crater observed in T3 can be geometrically determined to be around 1300m deep. Despite the shallow large-scale slopes indicated in altimetry to date, many small hills are seen in T3. Scatterometry and radiometry maps provide large-scale classification of surface types and polarization and incidence angle coverage being assembled will constrain dielectric and scattering properties of the surface. Judging from the TA/T3 diversity, we expect further variations in the types and distribution of surface materials and geologic features in T7, which spans a wide range of Southern latitudes. T8 SAR will cover a near-equatorial dark region, including the landing site of the Huygens probe.

  19. Estimation of snow in extratropical cyclones from multiple frequency airborne radar observations. An Expectation-Maximization approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grecu, M.; Tian, L.; Heymsfield, G. M.

    2017-12-01

    A major challenge in deriving accurate estimates of physical properties of falling snow particles from single frequency space- or airborne radar observations is that snow particles exhibit a large variety of shapes and their electromagnetic scattering characteristics are highly dependent on these shapes. Triple frequency (Ku-Ka-W) radar observations are expected to facilitate the derivation of more accurate snow estimates because specific snow particle shapes tend to have specific signatures in the associated two-dimensional dual-reflectivity-ratio (DFR) space. However, the derivation of accurate snow estimates from triple frequency radar observations is by no means a trivial task. This is because the radar observations can be subject to non-negligible attenuation (especially at W-band when super-cooled water is present), which may significantly impact the interpretation of the information in the DFR space. Moreover, the electromagnetic scattering properties of snow particles are computationally expensive to derive, which makes the derivation of reliable parameterizations usable in estimation methodologies challenging. In this study, we formulate an two-step Expectation Maximization (EM) methodology to derive accurate snow estimates in Extratropical Cyclones (ECTs) from triple frequency airborne radar observations. The Expectation (E) step consists of a least-squares triple frequency estimation procedure applied with given assumptions regarding the relationships between the density of snow particles and their sizes, while the Maximization (M) step consists of the optimization of the assumptions used in step E. The electromagnetic scattering properties of snow particles are derived using the Rayleigh-Gans approximation. The methodology is applied to triple frequency radar observations collected during the Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX). Results show that snowfall estimates above the freezing level in ETCs consistent with the triple frequency radar

  20. Radar orthogonality and radar length in Finsler and metric spacetime geometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pfeifer, Christian

    2014-09-01

    The radar experiment connects the geometry of spacetime with an observers measurement of spatial length. We investigate the radar experiment on Finsler spacetimes which leads to a general definition of radar orthogonality and radar length. The directions radar orthogonal to an observer form the spatial equal time surface an observer experiences and the radar length is the physical length the observer associates to spatial objects. We demonstrate these concepts on a forth order polynomial Finsler spacetime geometry which may emerge from area metric or premetric linear electrodynamics or in quantum gravity phenomenology. In an explicit generalization of Minkowski spacetime geometry we derive the deviation from the Euclidean spatial length measure in an observers rest frame explicitly.

  1. Surface Properties of the Moon, Venus and Small Bodies from Radar Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Campbell, Donald B.

    1997-01-01

    Studies of the moon during the period of the grant revolved around the issues of the possible presence of ice at the lunar poles and the determination of the electrical properties of the maria regoliths. The search for ice at the poles was conducted using measurements of the radar backscatter cross sections and circular polarization ratios measured from 125 m resolution Arecibo radar imagery at 13 cm wavelength obtained by Nicholas Stacy. No clear indication of the presence of ice was found in areas thought to be in permanent shadow from solar radiation. Then Cornell graduate student Greg Black modeled the radar backscattering behavior of the icy Galilean satellites using three wavelength measurements of their radar backscattering properties obtained with the Arecibo and Goldstone radars. The radar scattering properties of Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are unlike those of any other object observed with planetary radars. They are strongly backscattering with specific radar cross sections that can exceed unity. Polarization ratios are also high, approx. 1.5, indicative of multiple scattering, and the echos follow a diffuse scattering law at all incident angles with no indication of quasi-specular reflections. 3) Most of our effort on small bodies went into developing and investigating methods for long baseline radar synthesis imaging of near-earth asteroids and comets. At X-band, the width of the synthesized beam of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) is approximately 15 m at 0.03AU, a typical close approach distance for near-earth asteroids. A small amount of work was done analyzing Venus data from Arecibo and the Magellan mission.

  2. Primordial magnetic fields from a non-singular bouncing cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Membiela, Federico Agustín

    2014-08-01

    Although inflation is a natural candidate to generate the lengths of coherence of magnetic fields needed to explain current observations, it needs to break conformal invariance of electromagnetism to obtain significant magnetic amplitudes. Of the simplest realizations are the kinetically-coupled theories f2(ϕ)FμνF (or IFF theories). However, these are known to suffer from electric fields backreaction or the strong coupling problem. In this work we shall confirm that such class of theories are problematic to support magnetogenesis during inflationary cosmology. On the contrary, we show that a bouncing cosmology with a contracting phase dominated by an equation of state with p>-ρ/3 can support magnetogenesis, evading the backreaction/strong-coupling problem. Finally, we study safe magnetogenesis in a particular bouncing model with an ekpyrotic-like contracting phase. In this case we found that f2(ϕ)F2-instabilities might arise during the final kinetic-driven expanding phase for steep ekpyrotic potentials.

  3. Phantom behavior bounce with tachyon and non-minimal derivative coupling

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

    Banijamali, A.; Fazlpour, B., E-mail: a.banijamali@nit.ac.ir, E-mail: b.fazlpour@umz.ac.ir

    2012-01-01

    The bouncing cosmology provides a successful solution of the cosmological singularity problem. In this paper, we study the bouncing behavior of a single scalar field model with tachyon field non-minimally coupled to itself, its derivative and to the curvature. By utilizing the numerical calculations we will show that the bouncing solution can appear in the universe dominated by such a quintom matter with equation of state crossing the phantom divide line. We also investigate the classical stability of our model using the phase velocity of the homogeneous perturbations of the tachyon scalar field.

  4. Field validation of Tasmania's aquaculture industry bounce-diving schedules using Doppler analysis of decompression stress.

    PubMed

    Smart, David R; Van den Broek, Cory; Nishi, Ron; Cooper, P David; Eastman, David

    2014-09-01

    Tasmania's aquaculture industry produces over 40,000 tonnes of fish annually, valued at over AUD500M. Aquaculture divers perform repetitive, short-duration bounce dives in fish pens to depths up to 21 metres' sea water (msw). Past high levels of decompression illness (DCI) may have resulted from these 'yo-yo' dives. This study aimed to assess working divers, using Doppler ultrasonic bubble detection, to determine if yo-yo diving was a risk factor for DCI, determine dive profiles with acceptable risk and investigate productivity improvement. Field data were collected from working divers during bounce diving at marine farms near Hobart, Australia. Ascent rates were less than 18 m·min⁻¹, with routine safety stops (3 min at 3 msw) during the final ascent. The Kisman-Masurel method was used to grade bubbling post dive as a means of assessing decompression stress. In accordance with Defence Research and Development Canada Toronto practice, dives were rejected as excessive risk if more than 50% of scores were over Grade 2. From 2002 to 2008, Doppler data were collected from 150 bounce-dive series (55 divers, 1,110 bounces). Three series of bounce profiles, characterized by in-water times, were validated: 13-15 msw, 10 bounces inside 75 min; 16-18 msw, six bounces inside 50 min; and 19-21 msw, four bounces inside 35 min. All had median bubble grades of 0. Further evaluation validated two successive series of bounces. Bubble grades were consistent with low-stress dive profiles. Bubble grades did not correlate with the number of bounces, but did correlate with ascent rate and in-water time. These data suggest bounce diving was not a major factor causing DCI in Tasmanian aquaculture divers. Analysis of field data has improved industry productivity by increasing the permissible number of bounces, compared to earlier empirically-derived tables, without compromising safety. The recommended Tasmanian Bounce Diving Tables provide guidance for bounce diving to a depth of 21 msw

  5. Radar observations and shape model of asteroid 16 Psyche

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shepard, Michael K.; Richardson, James; Taylor, Patrick A.; Rodriguez-Ford, Linda A.; Conrad, Al; de Pater, Imke; Adamkovics, Mate; de Kleer, Katherine; Males, Jared R.; Morzinski, Katie M.; Close, Laird M.; Kaasalainen, Mikko; Viikinkoski, Matti; Timerson, Bradley; Reddy, Vishnu; Magri, Christopher; Nolan, Michael C.; Howell, Ellen S.; Benner, Lance A. M.; Giorgini, Jon D.; Warner, Brian D.; Harris, Alan W.

    2017-01-01

    Using the S-band radar at Arecibo Observatory, we observed 16 Psyche, the largest M-class asteroid in the main belt. We obtained 18 radar imaging and 6 continuous wave runs in November and December 2015, and combined these with 16 continuous wave runs from 2005 and 6 recent adaptive-optics (AO) images (Drummond et al., 2016) to generate a three-dimensional shape model of Psyche. Our model is consistent with a previously published AO image (Hanus et al., 2013) and three multi-chord occultations. Our shape model has dimensions 279 × 232 × 189 km (± 10%), Deff = 226 ± 23 km, and is 6% larger than, but within the uncertainties of, the most recently published size and shape model generated from the inversion of lightcurves (Hanus et al., 2013). Psyche is roughly ellipsoidal but displays a mass-deficit over a region spanning 90° of longitude. There is also evidence for two ∼50-70 km wide depressions near its south pole. Our size and published masses lead to an overall bulk density estimate of 4500 ± 1400 kgm-3. Psyche's mean radar albedo of 0.37 ± 0.09 is consistent with a near-surface regolith composed largely of iron-nickel and ∼40% porosity. Its radar reflectivity varies by a factor of 1.6 as the asteroid rotates, suggesting global variations in metal abundance or bulk density in the near surface. The variations in radar albedo appear to correlate with large and small-scale shape features. Our size and Psyche's published absolute magnitude lead to an optical albedo of pv = 0.15 ± 0.03, and there is evidence for albedo variegations that correlate with shape features.

  6. The first observed cloud echoes and microphysical parameter retrievals by China's 94-GHz cloud radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Juxiu; Wei, Ming; Hang, Xin; Zhou, Jie; Zhang, Peichang; Li, Nan

    2014-06-01

    By using the cloud echoes first successfully observed by China's indigenous 94-GHz SKY cloud radar, the macrostructure and microphysical properties of drizzling stratocumulus clouds in Anhui Province on 8 June 2013 are analyzed, and the detection capability of this cloud radar is discussed. The results are as follows. (1) The cloud radar is able to observe the time-varying macroscopic and microphysical parameters of clouds, and it can reveal the microscopic structure and small-scale changes of clouds. (2) The velocity spectral width of cloud droplets is small, but the spectral width of the cloud containing both cloud droplets and drizzle is large. When the spectral width is more than 0.4 m s-1, the radar reflectivity factor is larger (over -10 dBZ). (3) The radar's sensitivity is comparatively higher because the minimum radar reflectivity factor is about -35 dBZ in this experiment, which exceeds the threshold for detecting the linear depolarized ratio (LDR) of stratocumulus (commonly -11 to -14 dBZ; decreases with increasing turbulence). (4) After distinguishing of cloud droplets from drizzle, cloud liquid water content and particle effective radius are retrieved. The liquid water content of drizzle is lower than that of cloud droplets at the same radar reflectivity factor.

  7. Bounce inflation cosmology with Standard Model Higgs boson

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

    Wan, Youping; Huang, Fa Peng; Zhang, Xinmin

    It is of great interest to connect cosmology in the early universe to the Standard Model of particle physics. In this paper, we try to construct a bounce inflation model with the standard model Higgs boson, where the one loop correction is taken into account in the effective potential of Higgs field. In this model, a Galileon term has been introduced to eliminate the ghost mode when bounce happens. Moreover, due to the fact that the Fermion loop correction can make part of the Higgs potential negative, one naturally obtains a large equation of state(EoS) parameter in the contracting phase,more » which can eliminate the anisotropy problem. After the bounce, the model can drive the universe into the standard higgs inflation phase, which can generate nearly scale-invariant power spectrum.« less

  8. Microcrystallography using single-bounce monocapillary optics

    PubMed Central

    Gillilan, R. E.; Cook, M. J.; Cornaby, S. W.; Bilderback, D. H.

    2010-01-01

    X-ray microbeams have become increasingly valuable in protein crystallography. A number of synchrotron beamlines worldwide have adapted to handling smaller and more challenging samples by providing a combination of high-precision sample-positioning hardware, special visible-light optics for sample visualization, and small-diameter X-ray beams with low background scatter. Most commonly, X-ray microbeams with diameters ranging from 50 µm to 1 µm are produced by Kirkpatrick and Baez mirrors in combination with defining apertures and scatter guards. A simple alternative based on single-bounce glass monocapillary X-ray optics is presented. The basic capillary design considerations are discussed and a practical and robust implementation that capitalizes on existing beamline hardware is presented. A design for mounting the capillary is presented which eliminates parasitic scattering and reduces deformations of the optic to a degree suitable for use on next-generation X-ray sources. Comparison of diffraction data statistics for microcrystals using microbeam and conventional aperture-collimated beam shows that capillary-focused beam can deliver significant improvement. Statistics also confirm that the annular beam profile produced by the capillary optic does not impact data quality in an observable way. Examples are given of new structures recently solved using this technology. Single-bounce monocapillary optics can offer an attractive alternative for retrofitting existing beamlines for microcrystallography. PMID:20157276

  9. Bouncing cosmologies via modified gravity in the ADM formalism: Application to loop quantum cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Haro, Jaume; Amorós, Jaume

    2018-03-01

    We consider the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner formalism as a tool to build bouncing cosmologies. In this approach, the foliation of the spacetime has to be fixed in order to go beyond general relativity modifying the gravitational sector. Once a preferred slicing, which we choose based on the matter content of the Universe following the spirit of Weyl's postulate, has been fixed, f theories depending on the extrinsic and intrinsic curvature of the slicing are covariant for all the reference frames preserving the foliation; i.e., the constraint and dynamical equations have the same form for all these observers. Moreover, choosing multivalued f functions, bouncing backgrounds emerge in a natural way. In fact, the simplest is the one corresponding to holonomy corrected loop quantum cosmology. The final goal of this work is to provide the equations of perturbations which, unlike the full equations, become gauge invariant in this theory, and apply them to the so-called matter bounce scenario.

  10. Three-Centimeter Doppler Radar Observations of Wingtip-Generated Wake Vortices in Clear Air

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Marshall, Robert E.; Mudukutore, Ashok; Wissel, Vicki L. H.; Myers, Theodore

    1997-01-01

    This report documents a high risk, high pay-off experiment with the objective of detecting, for the first time, the presence of aircraft wake vortices in clear air using X-band Doppler radar. Field experiments were conducted in January 1995 at the Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) to demonstrate the capability of the 9.33 GHz (I=3 cm) radar, which was assembled using an existing nine-meter parabolic antenna reflector at VVTT and the receiver/transmitter from the NASA Airborne Windshear Radar-Program. A C-130-aircraft, equipped with wingtip smoke generators, created visually marked wake vortices, which were recorded by video cameras. A C-band radar also observed the wake vortices during detection attempts with the X-band radar. Rawinsonde data was used to calculate vertical soundings of wake vortex decay time, cross aircraft bearing wind speed, and water vapor mixing ratio for aircraft passes over the radar measurement range. This experiment was a pathfinder in predicting, in real time, the location and persistence of C-130 vortices, and in setting the flight path of the aircraft to optimize X-band radar measurement of the wake vortex core in real time. This experiment was conducted in support of the NASA Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS).

  11. Mars Express Bistatic Radar Observations 2016

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Andert, Tom; Simpson, Richard A.; Pätzold, Martin; Kahan, Daniel S.; Remus, Stefan; Oudrhiri, Kamal

    2017-04-01

    One objective of the Mars Express Radio Science Experiment (MaRS) is to address the dielectric properties and surface roughness of Mars, which can be determined by means of a surface scattering experiment, also known as bistatic radar (BSR). The radio subsystem transmitter located on board the Mars Express spacecraft beams right circularly polarized (RCP) radio signals at two wavelengths - 3.6 cm (X-Band) and 13 cm (S-Band) - toward Mars' surface. Part of the impinging radiation is then scattered toward a receiver at a ground station on Earth and both the right and left circularly polarized echo components (RCP and LCP, respectively) are recorded. The dielectric constant can be derived in this configuration from the RCP-to-LCP power ratio. This approach eliminates the need for absolute end-to-end calibration in favor of relative calibration of the RCP and LCP ground receiver channels. Nonetheless, accurate relative calibration of the two receiving channels remains challenging. The most favorable configuration for bistatic radar experiments is around Earth-Mars opposition, which occurs approximately every two years. In 2016 the minimum distance of about 0.5 AU was reached on May 30th; eleven BSR experiments were successfully conducted between the end of April and mid-June. The specular point tracks during two experiments over the Syrtis Major region were very similar on April 27th and June 2nd, and the data were collected using the same Earth-based antenna. The separation in time and the different observing angles provide an opportunity to check reproducibility of the calibrations and analysis methods. The paper will illustrate the general spacecraft-to-ground BSR observation technique and describe in detail the calibration procedures at the ground station needed to perform the relative calibration of the two receiving channels. Results from the calibrations and the surface observations will be shown for the two MaRS experiments over Syrtis Major.

  12. Observing convection with satellite, radar, and lightning measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamann, Ulrich; Nisi, Luca; Clementi, Lorenzo; Ventura, Jordi Figueras i.; Gabella, Marco; Hering, Alessandro M.; Sideris, Ioannis; Trefalt, Simona; Germann, Urs

    2015-04-01

    Heavy precipitation, hail, and wind gusts are the fundamental meteorological hazards associated with strong convection and thunderstorms. The thread is particularly severe in mountainous areas, e.g. it is estimated that on average between 50% and 80% of all weather-related damage in Switzerland is caused by strong thunderstorms (Hilker et al., 2010). Intense atmospheric convection is governed by processes that range from the synoptic to the microphysical scale and are considered to be one of the most challenging and difficult weather phenomena to predict. Even though numerical weather prediction models have some skills to predict convection, in general the exact location of the convective initialization and its propagation cannot be forecasted by these models with sufficient precision. Hence, there is a strong interest to improve the short-term forecast by using statistical, object oriented and/or heuristic nowcasting methods. MeteoSwiss has developed several operational nowcasting systems for this purpose such as TRT (Hering, 2008) and COALITION (Nisi, 2014). In this contribution we analyze the typical development of convection using measurements of the Swiss C-band Dual Polarization Doppler weather radar network, the MSG SEVIRI satellite, and the Météorage lighting network. The observations are complemented with the analysis and forecasts of the COSMO model. Special attention is given to the typical evolutionary stages like the pre-convective environment, convective initiation, cloud top glaciation, start, maximum, and end of precipitation and lightning activity. The pre-convective environment is examined using instability indices derived from SEVIRI observations and the COSMO forecasts. During the early development satellite observations are used to observe the rise of the cloud top, the growth of the cloud droplet or crystals, and the glaciation of the cloud top. SEVIRI brightness temperatures, channel differences, and temporal trends as suggested by

  13. Polarimetric radar and aircraft observations of saggy bright bands during MC3E

    DOE PAGES

    Matthew R. Kumjian; Giangrande, Scott E.; Mishra, Subashree; ...

    2016-03-19

    Polarimetric radar observations increasingly are used to understand cloud microphysical processes, which is critical for improving their representation in cloud and climate models. In particular, there has been recent focus on improving representations of ice collection processes (e.g., aggregation, riming), as these influence precipitation rate, heating profiles, and ultimately cloud life cycles. However, distinguishing these processes using conventional polarimetric radar observations is difficult, as they produce similar fingerprints. This necessitates improved analysis techniques and integration of complementary data sources. Furthermore, the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) provided such an opportunity.

  14. Very Large Rain Drops from 2D Video Disdrometers and Concomitant Polarimetric Radar Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thurai, Merhala; Gatlin, Patrick; Bringi, V. N.; Carey, Lawrence

    2014-01-01

    Drop size distribution (DSD) measurements using ground-based disdrometers (point measurements) have often been used to derive equations to relate radar observations to the integral rainfall parameters (Atlas et al. 1999, Bringi et al., 2003, Kozu et al., 2006, Tokay and Short, 1996, Ajayi and Owolabi, 1987, Battan, 1973). Disdrometers such as JWD, MRR and several others have a major limitation in measuring drops with equi-volume diameters (D(sub eq)) larger than 5 mm because they often rely on the velocity-diameter relationship which plateaus beyond this diameter range (Atlas et al., 1973, Gunn & Kinzer, 1949). Other disdrometers such as Parsivel also lack accuracy beyond this diameter range. The 2D video disdrometer (2DVD: Schönhuber et al., 2008) on the other hand gives drop-shape contours and velocities for each individual drop/hydrometeor falling through its sensor area; this provides a unique opportunity to study the role of very-large drops on radar measurements in particular those with polarimetric radar capability where DSDs with a significant component of very large drops may require special consideration given that the differential reflectivity and other polarimetric radar parameters including attenuation-correction methods will be sensitive to the concentrations of these large drops. A recent study on the occurrence of large drops by Gatlin et al. (2014) has compiled a large and diverse set of measurements made with the 2D video disdrometers from many locations around the globe. Some of the largest drops found in this study were 9 mm D(sub eq) and larger, and in this paper, we report on three such events, with maximum D(sub eq's) of 9.0, 9.1 and 9.7 mm, which occurred in Colorado, Northern Alabama, and Oklahoma, respectively. Detailed examination of the 2DVD data - in terms of shapes and fall velocities - has confirmed that these are fully-melted hydrometeors, although for the last case in Oklahoma, a bigger and non-fully-melted hydrometeor was also

  15. Observing ice particle growth along fall streaks in mixed-phase clouds using spectral polarimetric radar data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pfitzenmaier, Lukas; Unal, Christine M. H.; Dufournet, Yann; Russchenberg, Herman W. J.

    2018-06-01

    The growth of ice crystals in presence of supercooled liquid droplets represents the most important process for precipitation formation in the mid-latitudes. However, such mixed-phase interaction processes remain relatively unknown, as capturing the complexity in cloud dynamics and microphysical variabilities turns to be a real observational challenge. Ground-based radar systems equipped with fully polarimetric and Doppler capabilities in high temporal and spatial resolutions such as the S-band transportable atmospheric radar (TARA) are best suited to observe mixed-phase growth processes. In this paper, measurements are taken with the TARA radar during the ACCEPT campaign (analysis of the composition of clouds with extended polarization techniques). Besides the common radar observables, the 3-D wind field is also retrieved due to TARA unique three beam configuration. The novelty of this paper is to combine all these observations with a particle evolution detection algorithm based on a new fall streak retrieval technique in order to study ice particle growth within complex precipitating mixed-phased cloud systems. In the presented cases, three different growth processes of ice crystals, plate-like crystals, and needles are detected and related to the presence of supercooled liquid water. Moreover, TARA observed signatures are assessed with co-located measurements obtained from a cloud radar and radiosondes. This paper shows that it is possible to observe ice particle growth processes within complex systems taking advantage of adequate technology and state of the art retrieval algorithms. A significant improvement is made towards a conclusive interpretation of ice particle growth processes and their contribution to rain production using fall streak rearranged radar data.

  16. Goldstone and Arecibo radar observations of (99942) Apophis in 2012-2013

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brozović, Marina; Benner, Lance A. M.; McMichael, Joseph G.; Giorgini, Jon D.; Pravec, Petr; Scheirich, Petr; Magri, Christopher; Busch, Michael W.; Jao, Joseph S.; Lee, Clement G.; Snedeker, Lawrence G.; Silva, Marc A.; Slade, Martin A.; Semenov, Boris; Nolan, Michael C.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Howell, Ellen S.; Lawrence, Kenneth J.

    2018-01-01

    We report radar observations of Apophis obtained during the 2012-2013 apparition. We observed Apophis on fourteen days at Goldstone (8560 MHz, 3.5 cm) and on five days at Arecibo (2380 MHz, 12.3 cm) between 2012 December 21 to 2013 March 16. Closest approach occurred on January 9 at a distance of 0.097 au. We obtained relatively weak echo power spectra and delay-Doppler images. The highest range resolution was achieved at Goldstone, 0.125 μs or ∼20 m/px. The data suggest that Apophis is an elongated, asymmetric, and possibly bifurcated object. The images place a lower bound on the long axis of 450 m. We used the Pravec et al. (2014) lightcurve-derived shape and spin state model of Apophis to test for short axis mode (SAM) non-principal axis rotation (NPA) and to estimate the asteroid's dimensions. The radar data are consistent with the NPA spin state and they constrain the equivalent diameter to be D = 0.34 ± 0.04 km (1σ bound). This is slightly smaller than the most recent IR observation estimates of 375(-10)(+14) m and 380-393 m, reported by Müller et al. (2014) and Licandro et al. (2016) respectively. We estimated a radar albedo of 0.25 ± 0.11 based on Goldstone data, and an optical albedo, pV, of 0.35 ± 0.10. Licandro et al. (2016) reported pV in the range of 0.24-0.33. The radar astrometry has been updated using a 3-D shape model. The Yarkovsky acceleration has not been detected in the current orbital fit, but if the position error during the 2021 encounter exceeds 8-12 km, this could signal a detection of the Yarkovsky effect.

  17. On the Determination of Poisson Statistics for Haystack Radar Observations of Orbital Debris

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stokely, Christopher L.; Benbrook, James R.; Horstman, Matt

    2007-01-01

    A convenient and powerful method is used to determine if radar detections of orbital debris are observed according to Poisson statistics. This is done by analyzing the time interval between detection events. For Poisson statistics, the probability distribution of the time interval between events is shown to be an exponential distribution. This distribution is a special case of the Erlang distribution that is used in estimating traffic loads on telecommunication networks. Poisson statistics form the basis of many orbital debris models but the statistical basis of these models has not been clearly demonstrated empirically until now. Interestingly, during the fiscal year 2003 observations with the Haystack radar in a fixed staring mode, there are no statistically significant deviations observed from that expected with Poisson statistics, either independent or dependent of altitude or inclination. One would potentially expect some significant clustering of events in time as a result of satellite breakups, but the presence of Poisson statistics indicates that such debris disperse rapidly with respect to Haystack's very narrow radar beam. An exception to Poisson statistics is observed in the months following the intentional breakup of the Fengyun satellite in January 2007.

  18. Scanning Cloud Radar Observations at the ARM sites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kollias, P.; Clothiaux, E. E.; Shupe, M.; Widener, K.; Bharadwaj, N.; Miller, M. A.; Verlinde, H.; Luke, E. P.; Johnson, K. L.; Jo, I.; Tatarevic, A.; Lamer, K.

    2012-12-01

    Recently, the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program upgraded its fixed and mobile facilities with the acquisition of state-of-the-art scanning, dual-wavelength, polarimetric, Doppler cloud radars. The scanning ARM cloud radars (SACR's) are the most expensive and significant radar systems at all ARM sites and eight SACR systems will be operational at ARM sites by the end of 2013. The SACR's are the primary instruments for the detection of 3D cloud properties (boundaries, volume cloud fractional coverage, liquid water content, dynamics, etc.) beyond the soda-straw (profiling) limited view. Having scanning capabilities with two frequencies and polarization allows more accurate probing of a variety of cloud systems (e.g., drizzle and shallow, warm rain), better correction for attenuation, use of attenuation for liquid water content retrievals, and polarimetric and dual-wavelength ratio characterization of non-spherical particles for improved ice crystal habit identification. Examples of SACR observations from four ARM sites are presented here: the fixed sites at Southern Great Plains (SGP) and North Slope of Alaska (NSA), and the mobile facility deployments at Graciosa Island, Azores and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The 3D cloud structure is investigated both at the macro-scale (20-50 km) and cloud-scale (100-500 m). Doppler velocity measurements are corrected for velocity folding and are used either to describe the in-cloud horizontal wind profile or the 3D vertical air motions.

  19. HD Hydrological modelling at catchment scale using rainfall radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ciampalini Rossano. Ciampalini@Gmail. Com), Rossano; Follain, Stéphane; Raclot, Damien; Crabit, Armand; Pastor, Amandine; Augas, Julien; Moussa, Roger; Colin, François; Le Bissonnais, Yves

    2017-04-01

    Hydrological simulations at catchment scale repose on the quality and data availability both for soil and rainfall data. Soil data are quite easy to be collected, although their quality depends on the resources devoted to this task, rainfall data observations, instead, need further effort because of their spatiotemporal variability. Rainfalls are normally recorded with rain gauges located in the catchment, they can provide detailed temporal data, but, the representativeness is limited to the point where the data are collected. Combining different gauges in space can provide a better representation of the rainfall event but the spatialization is often the main obstacle to obtain data close to the reality. Since several years, radar observations overcome this gap providing continuous data registration, that, when properly calibrated, can offer an adequate, continuous, cover in space and time for medium-wide catchments. Here, we use radar records for the south of the France on the La Peyne catchment with the protocol there adopted by the national meteo agency, with resolution of 1 km space and 5' time scale observations. We present here the realisation of a model able to perform from rainfall radar observations, continuous hydrological and soil erosion simulations. The model is semi-theoretically based, once it simulates water fluxes (infiltration-excess overland flow, saturation overland flow, infiltration and channel routing) with a cinematic wave using the St. Venant equation on a simplified "bucket" conceptual model for ground water, and, an empirical representation of sediment load as adopted in models such as STREAM-LANDSOIL (Cerdan et al., 2002, Ciampalini et al., 2012). The advantage of this approach is to furnish a dynamic representation - simulation of the rainfall-runoff events more easily than using spatialized rainfalls from meteo stations and to offer a new look on the spatial component of the events.

  20. Estimating Precipitation Input to a Watershed by Combining Gauge and Radar Derived Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ercan, M. B.; Goodall, J. L.

    2011-12-01

    One challenge in creating an accurate watershed model is obtaining estimates of precipitation intensity over the watershed area. While precipitation measurements are generally available from gauging stations and radar instruments, both of these approaches for measuring precipitation have strengths and weakness. A typical way of addressing this challenge is to use gauged precipitation estimates to calibrate radar based estimates, however this study proposes a slightly different approach in which the optimal daily precipitation value is selected from either the gauged or the radar estimates based on the observed streamflow for that day. Our proposed approach is perhaps most relevant for cases of modeling watersheds that do not have a nearby precipitation gauge, or for regions that experience convective storms that are often highly spatially variable. Using the Eno River watershed located in Orange County, NC, three different precipitation datasets were created to predict streamflow at the watershed outlet for the time period 2005-2010 using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT): (1) estimates based on only precipitation gauging stations, (2) estimates based only on gauged-corrected radar observations, and (3) the combination of precipitation estimates from the gauge and radar data determined using our proposed approach. The results show that the combined precipitation approach significantly improves streamflow predictions (Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient, E = 0.66) when compared to the gauged estimates alone (E = 0.47) and the radar based estimates alone (E = 0.45). Our study was limited to one watershed, therefore additional studies are needed to control for factors such as climate, ecology, and hydrogeology that will likely influence the results of the analysis.

  1. Passive vs. Active Control of Rhythmic Ball Bouncing: The Role of Visual Information

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Siegler, Isabelle A.; Bardy, Benoit G.; Warren, William H.

    2010-01-01

    The simple task of bouncing a ball on a racket offers a model system for studying how human actors exploit the physics and information of the environment to control their behavior. Previous work shows that people take advantage of a passively stable solution for ball bouncing but can also use perceptual information to actively stabilize bouncing.…

  2. Small-scale wind disturbances observed by the MU radar during the passage of typhoon Kelly

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

    Sato, Kaoru

    1993-02-14

    This paper describes small-scale wind disturbances associated with Typhoon Kelly (October 1987) that were observed by the MU radar, one of the MST (mesosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere) radars, for about 60 hours with fine time and height resolution. To elucidate the background of small-scale disturbances, synoptic-scale variation in atmospheric stability related to the typhoon structure during the observation is examined. When the typhoon passed near the MU radar site, the structure was no longer axisymmetric. There is deep convection only in north-northeast side of the typhoon while convection behind it is suppressed by a synoptic-scale cold air mass moving eastwardmore » to the west of the typhoon. A change in atmospheric stability over the radar site as indicated by echo power profiles is likely due to the passage of the sharp transition zone of convection. Strong small-scale wind disturbances were observed around the typhoon passage. The statistical characteristics are different before (BT) and after (AT) the typhoon passage, especially in frequency spectra of vertical wind fluctuations. The spectra for BT are unique compared with earlier studies of vertical winds observed by VHF radars. Another difference is dominance of a horizontal wind component with a vertical wavelength of about 3 km, observed only in AT. Further analyses are made of characteristics and vertical momentum fluxes for dominant disturbances. Some disturbances are generated to remove the momentum of cyclonic wind rotation of the typhoon. Deep convection, topographic effects in strong winds, and strong vertical shear of horizontal winds around an inversion layer are possible sources of the disturbances. Two monochromatic disturbances lasting for more than 10 h in the lower stratosphere observed in BT and AT are identified as inertio-gravity waves, by obtaining wave parameters consistent with all observed quantities. Both of the inertio-gravity waves propagate energy away from the

  3. Transversal stability of the bouncing ball on a concave surface.

    PubMed

    Chastaing, J-Y; Pillet, G; Taberlet, N; Géminard, J-C

    2015-05-01

    A ball bouncing repeatedly on a vertically vibrating surface constitutes the famous "bouncing ball" problem, a nonlinear system used in the 1980s, and still in use nowadays, to illustrate the route to chaos by period doubling. In experiments, in order to avoid the ball escape that would be inevitable with a flat surface, a concave lens is often used to limit the horizontal motion. However, we observe experimentally that the system is not stable. The ball departs from the system axis and exhibits a pendular motion in the permanent regime. We propose theoretical arguments to account for the decrease of the growth rate and of the asymptotic-size of the trajectory when the frequency of the vibration is increased. The instability is very sensitive to the physics of the contacts, which makes it a potentially interesting way to study the collisions rules, or to test the laws used in numerical studies of granular matter.

  4. Spaceborne Applications of P Band Imaging Radars for Measuring Forest Biomass

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rignot, Eric J.; Zimmermann, Reiner; vanZyl, Jakob J.

    1995-01-01

    In three sites of boreal and temperate forests, P band HH, HV, and VV polarization data combined estimate total aboveground dry woody biomass within 12 to 27% of the values derived from allometric equations, depending on forest complexity. Biomass estimates derived from HV-polarization data only are 2 to 14% less accurate. When the radar operates at circular polarization, the errors exceed 100% over flooded forests, wet or damaged trees and sparse open tall forests because double-bounce reflections of the radar signals yield radar signatures similar to that of tall and massive forests. Circular polarizations, which minimize the effect of Faraday rotation in spaceborne applications, are therefore of limited use for measuring forest biomass. In the tropical rain forest of Manu, in Peru, where forest biomass ranges from 4 kg/sq m in young forest succession up to 50 kg/sq m in old, undisturbed floodplain stands, the P band horizontal and vertical polarization data combined separate biomass classes in good agreement with forest inventory estimates. The worldwide need for large scale, updated, biomass estimates, achieved with a uniformly applied method, justifies a more in-depth exploration of multi-polarization long wavelength imaging radar applications for tropical forests inventories.

  5. Monsoon Convection during the South China Sea Monsoon Experiment Observed from Shipboard Radar and the TRMM Satellite

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rickenbach, Tom; Cifelli, Rob; Halverson, Jeff; Kucera, Paul; Atkinson, Lester; Fisher, Brad; Gerlach, John; Harris, Kathy; Kaufman, Cristina; Liu, Ching-Hwang; hide

    1999-01-01

    A main goal of the recent South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) was to study convective processes associated with the onset of the Southeast Asian summer monsoon. The NASA TOGA C-band scanning radar was deployed on the Chinese research vessel Shi Yan #3 for two 20 day cruises, collecting dual-Doppler measurements in conjunction with the BMRC C-Pol dual-polarimetric radar on Dongsha Island. Soundings and surface meteorological data were also collected with an NCAR Integrated Sounding System (ISS). This experiment was the first major tropical field campaign following the launch of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. These observations of tropical oceanic convection provided an opportunity to make comparisons between surface radar measurements and the Precipitation Radar (PR) aboard the TRMM satellite in an oceanic environment. Nearly continuous radar operations were conducted during two Intensive Observing Periods (IOPS) straddling the onset of the monsoon (5-25 May 1998 and 5-25 June 1998). Mesoscale lines of convection with widespread regions of both trailing and forward stratiform precipitation were observed during the active monsoon periods in a southwesterly flow regime. Several examples of mesoscale convection will be shown from ship-based and spacebome radar reflectivity data during times of TRMM satellite overpasses. Further examples of pre-monsoon convection, characterized by isolated cumulonimbus and shallow, precipitating congestus clouds, will be discussed. A strong waterspout was observed very near the ship from an isolated cell in the pre-monsoon period, and was well documented with photography, radar, sounding, and sounding data.

  6. Phenomenology of bouncing black holes in quantum gravity: a closer look

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

    Barrau, Aurélien; Bolliet, Boris; Weimer, Celine

    2016-02-01

    It was recently shown that black holes could be bouncing stars as a consequence of quantum gravity. We investigate the astrophysical signals implied by this hypothesis, focusing on primordial black holes. We consider different possible bounce times and study the integrated diffuse emission.

  7. Global characterization of Titan's dune fields by RADAR and VIMS observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    garcia, A.; Rodriguez, S.; Lucas, A.; Appéré, T.; Le Gall, A.; Reffet, E.; Le Corre, L.; Le Mouélic, S.; Cornet, T.; Courrech Du Pont, S.; Narteau, C.; Bourgeois, O.; Radebaugh, J.; Arnold, K.; Barnes, J. W.; Sotin, C.; Brown, R. H.; Lorenz, R. D.; Turtle, E. P.

    2013-12-01

    Cassini/RADAR high-resolution images of Titan's surface revealed linear features, geomorphologically similar to longitudinal dunes. Those dunes cover a large portion of the whole surface of Titan, i.e 7.8%, and 13.4% are present on the 58.4% of the surface imaged by the RADAR/SAR from July 2004 to July 2013 (fig.1). 99.6% of the dunes are confined at the equatorial regions (30°N-30°S). Formed and sculpted by the wind, those features represent clues for the understanding of the climatic history on the satellite. By using the joint analysis between RADAR/SAR observations and the infrared VIMS mosaic corrected for atmospheric contributions acquired through July 2013 and June 2010 respectively, we found a very high degree of correlation at global scale (more than 70%) between the RADAR dunes and a specific infrared VIMS spectral unit, the 'dark brown unit'. Some RADAR dunes, less than 2%, also belong in a commonly referenced unit, the 'dark blue unit'. These two units have been delimited by defining for each a specific set of spectral criteria. We have shown that those two units present a spectral behavior different, especially at short wavelengths (below 2 μm) allowing to say that the 'dark brown unit' is dominated by organic sediment, similar to atmospheric aerosols, namely tholins, and the 'dark blue' is most likely enriched in water ice compared to the rest of Titan's surface. Given the strong correlation between RADAR dunes and the infrared 'dark brown unit' we are now able to extrapolate the total surface area of the dunes material to the total surface area of the 'dark brown unit' which correspond to 17% of the Titan's surface. This permits to estimate the volume of sediment of 360,000 km3 (total mass ≈ 290,000 GT). Thus, these estimates based on the RADAR dunes/VIMS units correlation make the dune fields the largest organic reservoir on Titan's surface and characterize more precisely the composition of the dune material over the total extend of the dune

  8. SuperDARN HOP radars observation of ionospheric convection associated with low-latitude aurora observed at Hokkaido, Japan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nishitani, N.; Hori, T.; Kataoka, R.; Ebihara, Y.; Shiokawa, K.; Otsuka, Y.; Suzuki, H.; Yoshikawa, A.

    2016-12-01

    The SuperDARN HOkkaido Pair of (HOP) radars, consisting of the Hokkaido East (2006-) and West (2014-) radars, are the SuperDARN radars located at the lowest geomagnetic latitude (36.5 degrees), and have been continuously measuring ionospheric convection at high to subauroral and middle latitudes with high temporal resolutions (<= 1 to 2 mins). These radars enable us to study the two-dimensional evolution of ionospheric convection ever 1 or 2 minutes. In this paper we study two low latitude aurora events observed in Hokkaido, Japan from 15 to 19 UT on March 17, 2015 and from 1900 to 2030 UT on December 20, 2015, identified using optical instruments such as all-sky CCD camera, wide field of view digital camera and meridian scanning photometer. Both events occurred during the main phase of the relatively large geomagnetic storms with minimum Dst of -223 nT and -170 nT respectively. The ionospheric convection at mid-latitude regions associated with the low-latitude auroral emission is characterized by (1) transient equatorward flows up to about 500 m/s in the initial phase of the emission (the geomagnetic field data at Paratunka, Far East Russia show corresponding negative excursions), and (2) sheared flow structure consisting of westward flow (about 500 m/s) equatorward of eastward flow (1000 m/s), with the equatorward boundary of auroral emission embedded in the westward flow region which expanded up to below 50 deg geomagnetic latitude. These observations imply that the electric field / convection distribution plays important roles in continuously generating the low latitude auroral emission. In particular the observation of the equatorward flow (dawn-dusk electric field) up to as low as about 50 deg geomagnetic latitude is the direct evidence for the presence of electric field to drive ring current particles into the plasmaspheric regions.

  9. Polarimetric and Multi-Doppler Radar Observations of Sprite-producing Storms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lang, TImothy J.; Lyons, Walter A.; Rutledge, Steven A.; Dolan, Brenda; Cummer, Steven A.; Krehbiel, Paul; Rison, William

    2014-01-01

    Sprites are caused by luminous electrical breakdown of the upper atmosphere, and frequently occur over large mesoscale precipitation systems. Two sprite-producing storms (on 8 and 25 June) were observed in Colorado during the summer of 2012. Unlike most past studies of sprites, these storms were observed by a polarimetric radar - the CSU-CHILL facility - which provided both PPI and RHI scans of the cases. Also available were multiple-Doppler syntheses from CSU-CHILL, local NEXRAD radars, and the CSU-Pawnee radar; as well as data from the Colorado Lightning Mapping Array (COLMA), high speed cameras, and other lightning-detection instrumentation. This unique dataset provided an unprecedented look at the detailed kinematic and microphysical structures of the thunderstorms as they produced sprites, including electrical alignment signatures in the immediate location of the charge layers neutralized by sprite-parent positive cloud-to-ground lightning strokes. One of the sprite-producing cases (25 June) featured an anomalous charge structure and may serve as a model for how sprites can be produced over convection rather than the more typical stratiform regions. Also to be presented will be evidence for advection of charge into a common stratiform precipitation region (on 8 June), which was then tapped by lightning originating from multiple different convective cores to produce sprites. Depending on the outcome of the 2013 convective season, polarimetric data from additional storms that produce sprites and other transient luminous events (TLEs) may be presented.

  10. Bounce Rock Dimple

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    This panoramic camera image shows the hole drilled by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rock abrasion tool into the rock dubbed 'Bounce' on Sol 65 of the rover's journey. The tool drilled about 7 millimeters (0.3 inches) into the rock and generated small piles of 'tailings' or rock dust around the central hole, which is about 4.5 centimeters (1.7 inches) across. The image from sol 66 of the mission was acquired using the panoramic camera's 430 nanometer filter.

  11. Model of rhythmic ball bouncing using a visually controlled neural oscillator.

    PubMed

    Avrin, Guillaume; Siegler, Isabelle A; Makarov, Maria; Rodriguez-Ayerbe, Pedro

    2017-10-01

    The present paper investigates the sensory-driven modulations of central pattern generator dynamics that can be expected to reproduce human behavior during rhythmic hybrid tasks. We propose a theoretical model of human sensorimotor behavior able to account for the observed data from the ball-bouncing task. The novel control architecture is composed of a Matsuoka neural oscillator coupled with the environment through visual sensory feedback. The architecture's ability to reproduce human-like performance during the ball-bouncing task in the presence of perturbations is quantified by comparison of simulated and recorded trials. The results suggest that human visual control of the task is achieved online. The adaptive behavior is made possible by a parametric and state control of the limit cycle emerging from the interaction of the rhythmic pattern generator, the musculoskeletal system, and the environment. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The study demonstrates that a behavioral model based on a neural oscillator controlled by visual information is able to accurately reproduce human modulations in a motor action with respect to sensory information during the rhythmic ball-bouncing task. The model attractor dynamics emerging from the interaction between the neuromusculoskeletal system and the environment met task requirements, environmental constraints, and human behavioral choices without relying on movement planning and explicit internal models of the environment. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  12. Past incompleteness of a bouncing multiverse

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

    Vilenkin, Alexander; Zhang, Jun, E-mail: vilenkin@cosmos.phy.tufts.edu, E-mail: jun.zhang@tufts.edu

    2014-06-01

    According to classical GR, Anti-de Sitter (AdS) bubbles in the multiverse terminate in big crunch singularities. It has been conjectured, however, that the fundamental theory may resolve these singularities and replace them by nonsingular bounces. This may have important implications for the beginning of the multiverse. Geodesics in cosmological spacetimes are known to be past-incomplete, as long as the average expansion rate along the geodesic is positive, but it is not clear that the latter condition is satisfied if the geodesic repeatedly passes through crunching AdS bubbles. We investigate this issue in a simple multiverse model, where the spacetime consistsmore » of a patchwork of FRW regions. The conclusion is that the spacetime is still past-incomplete, even in the presence of AdS bounces.« less

  13. 46 CFR 11.305 - Radar-Observer certificates and qualifying courses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...) Fundamentals of radar: (A) How radar works. (B) Factors affecting the performance and accuracy of marine radar... conditions. (D) Limitations of radar resulting from design factors. (E) Safety precautions associated with... factors to consider when determining changes of course or speed of a vessel to prevent collisions on the...

  14. Meteoroid Fragmentation as Revealed in Head- and Trail-Echoes Observed with the Arecibo UHF and VHF Radars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mathews, J. D.; Malhorta, A.

    2011-01-01

    We report recent 46.8/430 MHz (VHF/UHF) radar meteor observations at Arecibo Observatory (AO) that reveal many previously unreported features in the radar meteor return - including flare-trails at both UHF and VHF - that are consistent with meteoroid fragmentation. Signature features of fragmentation include strong intra-pulse and pulse-to-pulse fading as the result of interference between or among multiple meteor head-echo returns and between head-echo and impulsive flare or "point" trail-echoes. That strong interference fading occurs implies that these scatterers exhibit well defined phase centers and are thus small compared with the wavelength. These results are consistent with and offer advances beyond a long history of optical and radar meteoroid fragmentation studies. Further, at AO, fragmenting and flare events are found to be a large fraction of the total events even though these meteoroids are likely the smallest observed by the major radars. Fragmentation is found to be a major though not dominate component of the meteors observed at other HPLA radars that are sensitive to larger meteoroids.

  15. Water ring-bouncing on repellent singularities.

    PubMed

    Chantelot, Pierre; Mazloomi Moqaddam, Ali; Gauthier, Anaïs; Chikatamarla, Shyam S; Clanet, Christophe; Karlin, Ilya V; Quéré, David

    2018-03-28

    Texturing a flat superhydrophobic substrate with point-like superhydrophobic macrotextures of the same repellency makes impacting water droplets take off as rings, which leads to shorter bouncing times than on a flat substrate. We investigate the contact time reduction on such elementary macrotextures through experiment and simulations. We understand the observations by decomposing the impacting drop reshaped by the defect into sub-units (or blobs) whose size is fixed by the liquid ring width. We test the blob picture by looking at the reduction of contact time for off-centered impacts and for impacts in grooves that produce liquid ribbons where the blob size is fixed by the width of the channel.

  16. Investigating Mercury's South Polar Deposits: Arecibo Radar Observations and High-Resolution Determination of Illumination Conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chabot, Nancy L.; Shread, Evangela E.; Harmon, John K.

    2018-02-01

    There is strong evidence that Mercury's polar deposits are water ice hosted in permanently shadowed regions. In this study, we present new Arecibo radar observations of Mercury's south pole, which reveal numerous radar-bright deposits and substantially increase the radar imaging coverage. We also use images from MESSENGER's full mission to determine the illumination conditions of Mercury's south polar region at the same spatial resolution as the north polar region, enabling comparisons between the two poles. The area of radar-bright deposits in Mercury's south is roughly double that found in the north, consistent with the larger permanently shadowed area in the older, cratered terrain at the south relative to the younger smooth plains at the north. Radar-bright features are strongly associated with regions of permanent shadow at both poles, consistent with water ice being the dominant component of the deposits. However, both of Mercury's polar regions show that roughly 50% of permanently shadowed regions lack radar-bright deposits, despite some of these locations having thermal environments that are conducive to the presence of water ice. The observed uneven distribution of water ice among Mercury's polar cold traps may suggest that the source of Mercury's water ice was not a steady, regular process but rather that the source was an episodic event, such as a recent, large impact on the innermost planet.

  17. Multi beam observations of cosmic radio noise using a VHF radar with beam forming by a Butler matrix

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Renkwitz, T.; Singer, W.; Latteck, R.; Rapp, M.

    2011-08-01

    The Leibniz-Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) in Kühlungsborn started to install a new MST radar on the North-Norwegian island Andøya (69.30° N, 16.04° E) in 2009. The new Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System (MAARSY) replaces the previous ALWIN radar which has been successfully operated for more than 10 years. The MAARSY radar provides increased temporal and spatial resolution combined with a flexible sequential point-to-point steering of the radar beam. To increase the spatiotemporal resolution of the observations a 16-port Butler matrix has been built and implemented to the radar. In conjunction with 64 Yagi antennas of the former ALWIN antenna array the Butler matrix simultaneously provides 16 individual beams. The beam forming capability of the Butler matrix arrangement has been verified observing the galactic cosmic radio noise of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Furthermore, this multi beam configuration has been used in passive experiments to estimate the cosmic noise absorption at 53.5 MHz during events of enhanced solar and geomagnetic activity as indicators for enhanced ionization at altitudes below 90 km. These observations are well correlated with simultaneous observations of corresponding beams of the co-located imaging riometer AIRIS (69.14° N, 16.02° E) at 38.2 MHz. In addition, enhanced cosmic noise absorption goes along with enhanced electron densities at altitudes below about 90 km as observed with the co-located Saura MF radar using differential absorption and differential phase measurements.

  18. Polarimetric Radar Characteristics of Simulated and Observed Intense Convection Between Continental and Maritime Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsui, T.; Dolan, B.; Tao, W. K.; Rutledge, S. A.; Iguchi, T.; Barnum, J. I.; Lang, S. E.

    2017-12-01

    This study presents polarimetric radar characteristics of intense convective cores derived from observations as well as a polarimetric-radar simulator from cloud resolving model (CRM) simulations from Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) May 23 case over Oklahoma and a Tropical Warm Pool-International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE) Jan 23 case over Darwin, Australia to highlight the contrast between continental and maritime convection. The POLArimetric Radar Retrieval and Instrument Simulator (POLARRIS) is a state-of-art T-matrix-Mueller-Matrix-based polarimetric radar simulator that can generate synthetic polarimetric radar signals (reflectivity, differential reflectivity, specific differential phase, co-polar correlation) as well as synthetic radar retrievals (precipitation, hydrometeor type, updraft velocity) through the consistent treatment of cloud microphysics and dynamics from CRMs. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is configured to simulate continental and maritime severe storms over the MC3E and TWP-ICE domains with the Goddard bulk 4ICE single-moment microphysics and HUCM spectra-bin microphysics. Various statistical diagrams of polarimetric radar signals, hydrometeor types, updraft velocity, and precipitation intensity are investigated for convective and stratiform precipitation regimes and directly compared between MC3E and TWP-ICE cases. The result shows MC3E convection is characterized with very strong reflectivity (up to 60dBZ), slight negative differential reflectivity (-0.8 0 dB) and near-zero specific differential phase above the freezing levels. On the other hand, TWP-ICE convection shows strong reflectivity (up to 50dBZ), slight positive differential reflectivity (0 1.0 dB) and differential phase (0 0.8 dB/km). Hydrometeor IDentification (HID) algorithm from the observation and simulations detect hail-dominant convection core in MC3E, while graupel-dominant convection core in TWP-ICE. This land-ocean contrast

  19. Exploring Stratocumulus Cloud-Top Entrainment Processes and Parameterizations by Using Doppler Cloud Radar Observations

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

    Albrecht, Bruce; Fang, Ming; Ghate, Virendra

    2016-02-01

    Observations from an upward-pointing Doppler cloud radar are used to examine cloud-top entrainment processes and parameterizations in a non-precipitating continental stratocumulus cloud deck maintained by time varying surface buoyancy fluxes and cloud-top radiative cooling. Radar and ancillary observations were made at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM)’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site located near Lamont, Oklahoma of unbroken, non-precipitating stratocumulus clouds observed for a 14-hour period starting 0900 Central Standard Time on 25 March 2005. The vertical velocity variance and energy dissipation rate (EDR) terms in a parameterized turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) budget of the entrainment zone are estimated using themore » radar vertical velocity and the radar spectrum width observations from the upward-pointing millimeter cloud radar (MMCR) operating at the SGP site. Hourly averages of the vertical velocity variance term in the TKE entrainment formulation correlates strongly (r=0.72) to the dissipation rate term in the entrainment zone. However, the ratio of the variance term to the dissipation decreases at night due to decoupling of the boundary layer. When the night -time decoupling is accounted for, the correlation between the variance and the EDR term increases (r=0.92). To obtain bulk coefficients for the entrainment parameterizations derived from the TKE budget, independent estimate of entrainment were obtained from an inversion height budget using ARM SGP observations of the local time derivative and the horizontal advection of the cloud-top height. The large-scale vertical velocity at the inversion needed for this budget from EMWF reanalysis. This budget gives a mean entrainment rate for the observing period of 0.76±0.15 cm/s. This mean value is applied to the TKE budget parameterizations to obtain the bulk coefficients needed in these parameterizations. These bulk coefficients are compared with those from previous and are used to in

  20. Enhanced ground bounce noise reduction in a low-leakage CMOS multiplier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Verma, Bipin Kumar; Akashe, Shyam; Sharma, Sanjay

    2015-09-01

    In this paper, various parameters are used to reduce leakage power, leakage current and noise margin of circuits to enhance their performance. A multiplier is proposed with low-leakage current and low ground bounce noise for the microprocessor, digital signal processors (DSP) and graphics engines. The ground bounce noise problem appears when a conventional power-gating circuit transits from sleep-to-active mode. This paper discusses a reduction in leakage current in the stacking power-gating technique by three modes - sleep, active and sleep-to-active. The simulation results are performed on a 4 × 4 carry-save multiplier for leakage current, active power, leakage power and ground bounce noise, and comparison made for different nanoscales. Ground bounce noise is limited to 90%. The leakage current of the circuit is decimated up to 80% and the active power is reduced to 31%. We performed simulations using cadence virtuoso 180 and 45 nm at room temperature at various supply voltages.

  1. On angled bounce-off impact of a drop impinging on a flowing soap film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basu, Saikat; Yawar, Ali; Concha, Andres; Bandi, M. M.

    2017-12-01

    Small drops impinging obliquely on thin flowing soap films frequently demonstrate the rare emergence of bulk elastic effects working in-tandem with the more commonplace hydrodynamic interactions. Three collision regimes are observable: (a) drop piercing through the film, (b) it coalescing with the flow, and (c) it bouncing off the film surface. During impact, the drop deforms along with a bulk elastic deformation of the film. For impacts that are close-to-tangential, the bounce-off regime predominates. We outline a reduced order analytical framework assuming a deformable drop and a deformable three-dimensional film, and the idealization invokes a phase-based parametric study. Angular inclination of the film and the ratio of post and pre-impact drop sizes entail the phase parameters. We also perform experiments with vertically descending droplets (constituted from deionized water) impacting against an inclined soap film, flowing under constant pressure head. Model-predicted phase domain for bounce-off compares well to our experimental findings. Additionally, the experiments exhibit momentum transfer to the film in the form of shed vortex dipoles, along with propagation of free surface waves. On consulting prior published work, we note that for locomotion of water-walking insects using an impulsive action, the momentum distribution to the shed vortices and waves are both significant, taking up respectively 2/3 and 1/3 of the imparted streamwise momentum. Considering the visually similar impulse actions, this theory, despite its assumption of a quiescent liquid bath of infinite depth, is applied to the drop bounce-off experiments, and the resultant shed vortex dipole momenta are compared to the momenta of the coherent vortex structures computed from particle imaging velocimetry data. The magnitudes reveal identical order (10-7 N s), suggesting that notwithstanding the disparities, the bounce-off regime may be tapped as a toy analog for impulse-based interfacial

  2. Jupiter Trojan's Shallow Subsurface: Direct Observation By Radar Sounding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herique, A.; Plettemeier, D.; Beck, P.; Michel, P.; Kumamoto, A.; Kofman, W. W.

    2017-12-01

    Most of the Jupiter's Trojan are classified as spectral type P or D from visible and near-IR observations. Still, major question remain regarding theire origin and geological evolution: What ices are present in their interior, and in what amount? What is the abundance and the nature of the organic fraction? Did they experience some level of differentiation powered by 26Al? Answering theses question is the goal of the Solar-Power Sail JAXA mission [1, 2]. This mission plans to study the surface by remote sensing in the optical in IR domain. This probe will carry a large-sized lander with a drill to sample the constitutive material at meter depth in order to complement physical and chemical properties measured by on-board instruments. The sample return is an option under study.Radar sounding of the shallow subsurface would be envisaged in complement to this payload. Sounding radar could provide the structure of the first tens of meters of the Trojan surface. It will allow identifying layering, ice lens, and embedded block. It also will enable to reconnect the surface with the deep interior in order to identify exogenous / pristine material. For the surface package, the drilling and the sample return, radar sounding is a unique opportunity to support the selection of the landing site and to provide the greater geological context of the samples that will be returned to Earth.In this paper, we will detail the objective of this instrument and then we will outline the proposed instrument, which is inheriting from the radar developed for the AIDA/AIM mission.[1] Mori, O. et al., Science experiments on a Jupiter Trojan Asteroid in the solar powerd sail mission. LPSC 2016 - 1822.[2] Okada, T. et al., Science and Exploration of a Jupiter Trojan Asteroid in the solar-power sail mission. LPSC 2017 - 1828.

  3. Evolution of Precipitation Structure During the November DYNAMO MJO Event: Cloud-Resolving Model Intercomparison and Cross Validation Using Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiaowen; Janiga, Matthew A.; Wang, Shuguang; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Rowe, Angela; Xu, Weixin; Liu, Chuntao; Matsui, Toshihisa; Zhang, Chidong

    2018-04-01

    Evolution of precipitation structures are simulated and compared with radar observations for the November Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) event during the DYNAmics of the MJO (DYNAMO) field campaign. Three ground-based, ship-borne, and spaceborne precipitation radars and three cloud-resolving models (CRMs) driven by observed large-scale forcing are used to study precipitation structures at different locations over the central equatorial Indian Ocean. Convective strength is represented by 0-dBZ echo-top heights, and convective organization by contiguous 17-dBZ areas. The multi-radar and multi-model framework allows for more stringent model validations. The emphasis is on testing models' ability to simulate subtle differences observed at different radar sites when the MJO event passed through. The results show that CRMs forced by site-specific large-scale forcing can reproduce not only common features in cloud populations but also subtle variations observed by different radars. The comparisons also revealed common deficiencies in CRM simulations where they underestimate radar echo-top heights for the strongest convection within large, organized precipitation features. Cross validations with multiple radars and models also enable quantitative comparisons in CRM sensitivity studies using different large-scale forcing, microphysical schemes and parameters, resolutions, and domain sizes. In terms of radar echo-top height temporal variations, many model sensitivity tests have better correlations than radar/model comparisons, indicating robustness in model performance on this aspect. It is further shown that well-validated model simulations could be used to constrain uncertainties in observed echo-top heights when the low-resolution surveillance scanning strategy is used.

  4. New SuperDARN Radar Capabilities for Observing Ionospheric Plasma Convection and ITM Coupling in the Mid-Latitude Ionosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Baker, J. B.; Greenwald, R. A.; Clausen, L. B.; Shepherd, S. G.; Bristow, W. A.; Talaat, E. R.; Barnes, R. J.

    2010-12-01

    Within the past year the first pair of SuperDARN radars funded under the NSF MSI program has become operational at a site near Hays, Kansas. The fields of view of the co-located radars are oriented to provide common-volume observations with two existing radars in Virginia (Wallops, Blackstone) and two MSI radars under construction in Oregon (Christmas Valley). The emerging mid-latitude radar chain will complement the existing SuperDARN coverage at polar cap and auroral latitudes within North America. The mid-latitude radars observe the expansion of auroral effects during disturbed periods, subauroral polarization streams, and small-scale ionospheric irregularities on the nightside that open a window on the plasma drifts and electric fields of the quiet-time subauroral ionosphere. They also measure neutral winds at mesospheric heights and the propagation of ionospheric disturbances due to the passage of atmospheric gravity waves. The new radar capabilities provide unprecedented views of ITM processes in the subauroral ionosphere with applications to studies of ionospheric electric fields, ion-neutral coupling, atmospheric tides and planetary waves, ionospheric plasma structuring and plasma instability. In this talk we describe the new capabilities and the potential for providing large-scale context for related ITM measurements over North America. We present the first high-resolution two-dimensional maps of ionospheric plasma convection at mid-latitudes as generated from common-volume observations with the Hays and Blackstone radars.

  5. MST radar observations of Perseid meteor shower 2004

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Venkata Phani Kumar, D.; Reddy, K. Chenna; Yellaiah, G.

    2006-09-01

    There was a special attention for Perseid meteor shower observations in view of the predictions of an intense activity on 11th August 2004 caused by a filament of dust drifting across the Earth's orbit. Results of a systematic study of Perseid meteor shower observations, carried out during 12-15 August 2004 using Indian MST radar are presented. Based on over 27 hours of observing time, we detected 2260 meteor echoes occurring between 80 km and 120 km with a mean height of 103 km. For our observations, the peak activity of the shower occured on 12/13 August, corresponding to solar longitude lambdao = 140.565± 0.16 with an average rate of 250 meteor echoes per hour. The SNR distribution of the echoes observed during the shower indicates that the smaller size meteoroids are more compared to larger size meteoroids in the perseid meteor stream. The three distinct peaks observed in the shower activity is presented and discussed.

  6. A Biomechanical Analysis of the Effects of Bouncing the Barbell in the Conventional Deadlift.

    PubMed

    Krajewski, Kellen; LeFavi, Robert; Riemann, Bryan

    2018-02-27

    The purpose of this study is to analyze biomechanical differences between the bounce and pause styles of deadlifting. Twenty physically active males performed deadlifts at their 75% one repetition maximum testing utilizing both pause and bounce techniques in a within-subjects randomized study design. The average peak height the barbell attained from the three bounce style repetitions was used to compute a compatible phase for analysis of the pause style repetitions. Net joint moment impulse (NJMI), work, average vertical ground reaction force (vGRF), vGRF impulse and phase time were computed for two phases, lift off to peak barbell height and the entire ascent. Additionally, the ankle, knee, hip, and trunk angles at the location of peak barbell height. During the lift off to peak barbell height phase, although each of the joints demonstrated significantly less NJMI and work during the bounce style, the hip joint was impacted the most. The average vGRF was greater for the bounce however the vGRF impulse was greater for the pause. The NJMI results for the ascent phase were similar to the lift off to peak barbell height phase, while work was significantly less for the bounce condition compared to the pause condition across all three joints. Strength and conditioning specialists utilizing the deadlift should be aware that the bounce technique does not allow the athlete to develop maximal force production in the early portion of the lift. Further analyses should focus on joint angles and potential vulnerability to injury when the barbell momentum generated from the bounce is lost.

  7. Bouncing Ball with a Uniformly Varying Velocity in a Metronome Synchronization Task.

    PubMed

    Huang, Yingyu; Gu, Li; Yang, Junkai; Wu, Xiang

    2017-09-21

    Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS), a fundamental human ability to coordinate movements with external rhythms, has long been thought to be modality specific. In the canonical metronome synchronization task that requires tapping a finger along with an isochronous sequence, a well-established finding is that synchronization is much more stable to an auditory sequence consisting of auditory tones than to a visual sequence consisting of visual flashes. However, recent studies have shown that periodically moving visual stimuli can substantially improve synchronization compared with visual flashes. In particular, synchronization of a visual bouncing ball that has a uniformly varying velocity was found to be not less stable than synchronization of auditory tones. Here, the current protocol describes the application of the bouncing ball with a uniformly varying velocity in a metronome synchronization task. The usage of the bouncing ball in sequences with different inter-onset intervals (IOI) is included. The representative results illustrate synchronization performance of the bouncing ball, as compared with the performances of auditory tones and visual flashes. Given its comparable synchronization performance to that of auditory tones, the bouncing ball is of particular importance for addressing the current research topic of whether modality-specific mechanisms underlay SMS.

  8. Spontaneous jumping, bouncing and trampolining of hydrogel drops on a heated plate.

    PubMed

    Pham, Jonathan T; Paven, Maxime; Wooh, Sanghyuk; Kajiya, Tadashi; Butt, Hans-Jürgen; Vollmer, Doris

    2017-10-13

    The contact between liquid drops and hot solid surfaces is of practical importance for industrial processes, such as thermal spraying and spray cooling. The contact and bouncing of solid spheres is also an important event encountered in ball milling, powder processing, and everyday activities, such as ball sports. Using high speed video microscopy, we demonstrate that hydrogel drops, initially at rest on a surface, spontaneously jump upon rapid heating and continue to bounce with increasing amplitudes. Jumping is governed by the surface wettability, surface temperature, hydrogel elasticity, and adhesion. A combination of low-adhesion impact behavior and fast water vapor formation supports continuous bouncing and trampolining. Our results illustrate how the interplay between solid and liquid characteristics of hydrogels results in intriguing dynamics, as reflected by spontaneous jumping, bouncing, trampolining, and extremely short contact times.Drops of liquid on a hot surface can exhibit fascinating behaviour such as the Leidenfrost effect in which drops hover on a vapour layer. Here Pham et al. show that when hydrogel drops are placed on a rapidly heated plate they bounce to increasing heights even if they were initially at rest.

  9. First observations of SPEAR-induced topside and bottomside sporadic E layer heating observed using the EISCAT Svalbard and SuperDARN radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baddeley, L. J.; Haggstrøm, I.; Yeoman, T. K.; Rietveld, M.

    2012-01-01

    We present the first observations of heater-induced simultaneous topside and bottomside sporadic E layer enhancements at very high latitudes (78.15°N) using the Space Plasma Exploration by Active Radar (SPEAR) heating facility and the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) Svalbard Radar. During the experiment the SPEAR heating facility was transmitting with O-mode polarization in a field-aligned direction with a constant effective radiated power of ˜16 MW. Results show distinct heater-induced enhancements in both the ion and plasma line spectra. The plasma line enhancements are observed at the SPEAR heater frequency of 4.45 MHz. The plasma line observations represent the highest spatial resolution data (100 m) obtained of such heater-induced enhancements and indicate simultaneous enhancements at both the topside and bottomside of the layer, respectively (located at ˜107.5 and 109 km altitude, respectively). It is postulated that the results represent evidence of O- to Z-mode conversion of the heater wave occurring at the bottom of the E layer, allowing propagation through the layer resulting in simultaneous topside enhancements. The Z-mode enhancements are observed outside the Spitze angle, which is thought to be a result of field-aligned irregularities causing an increase in angular extent of the observations. Additional data from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) HF Finland radar are also shown, which indicate that upon a thinning of the sporadic E layer, the heater beam propagated into the F region, where it induced artificial field-aligned irregularities.

  10. Nonlinear mirror modelocking of a bounce geometry laser.

    PubMed

    Thomas, G M; Bäuerle, A; Farrell, D J; Damzen, M J

    2010-06-07

    We present the investigation of nonlinear mirror modelocking (NLM) of a bounce amplifier laser. This technique, a potential rival to SESAM modelocking, uses a nonlinear crystal and a dichroic mirror to passively modelock a Nd:GdVO(4) slab bounce amplifier operating at 1063nm. At 11.3W, we present the highest power achieved using the NLM technique, using type-II phase-matched KTP, with a pulse duration of 57ps. Using type-I phase-matched BiBO, modelocking was achieved with a shorter pulse duration of 5.7ps at an average power of 7.1W.

  11. Imaging radar observations of frozen Arctic lakes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Elachi, C.; Bryan, M. L.; Weeks, W. F.

    1976-01-01

    A synthetic aperture imaging L-band radar flown aboard the NASA CV-990 remotely sensed a number of ice-covered lakes about 48 km northwest of Bethel, Alaska. The image obtained is a high resolution, two-dimensional representation of the surface backscatter cross section, and large differences in backscatter returns are observed: homogeneous low returns, homogeneous high returns and/or low returns near lake borders, and high returns from central areas. It is suggested that a low return indicates that the lake is frozen completely to the bottom, while a high return indicates the presence of fresh water between the ice cover and the lake bed.

  12. The Occurrence of Small-scale Irregularities in the Mid-latitude Ionosphere from SuperDARN HF Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Baker, J. B.; Maimaiti, M.; Oksavik, K.; Erickson, P. J.; Scales, W.; Eltrass, A.

    2017-12-01

    The mid-latitude radars of the SuperDARN network routinely observe backscatter from nighttime decameter-scale F region irregularities at latitudes well equatorward of the auroral boundary. This Sub-Auroral Ionospheric Scatter (SAIS) is strongly distinguished from auroral and SAPS backscatter by low Doppler velocities ( tens m/s) and stable, long-lived ( hours) occurrence in discrete events that are extended in both latitude and longitude. Statistical and event studies of SAIS with the SuperDARN radars indicate that the subauroral F region ionosphere is replete with irregularities during events, at least poleward of the 50° Λ horizon of the North American mid-latitude radars, and that radar observation of SAIS backscatter is then primarily limited by the magnetic aspect condition. Joint experiments with incoherent scatter radar have furnished sets of plasma measurements suitable for testing theories of plasma instability. Modeling work stimulated by the observations has explored the temperature-gradient instability (TGI) and the gradient drift instability (GDI) as possible sources of the irregularities. In this talk we review the findings on the occurrence of the SAIS category of mid-latitude F region irregularities, summarize the results of the modeling work, and discuss future research directions.

  13. Observations of Phobos by the Mars Express radar MARSIS: Description of the detection techniques and preliminary results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cicchetti, A.; Nenna, C.; Plaut, J. J.; Plettemeier, D.; Noschese, R.; Cartacci, M.; Orosei, R.

    2017-11-01

    The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) (Picardi et al., 2005) is a synthetic aperture low frequency radar altimeter, onboard the ESA Mars Express orbiter, launched in June 2003. It is the first and so far the only spaceborne radar that has observed the Martian moon Phobos. Radar echoes were collected on different flyby trajectories. The primary aim of sounding Phobos is to prove the feasibility of deep sounding, into its subsurface. MARSIS is optimized for deep penetration investigations and is capable of transmitting at four different bands between 1.3 MHz and 5.5 MHz with a 1 MHz bandwidth. Unfortunately the instrument was originally designed to operate exclusively on Mars, assuming that Phobos would not be observed. Following this assumption, a protection mechanism was implemented in the hardware (HW) to maintain a minimum time separation between transmission and reception phases of the radar. This limitation does not have any impact on Mars observation but it prevented the observation of Phobos. In order to successfully operate the instrument at Phobos, a particular configuration of the MARSIS onboard software (SW) parameters, called ;Range Ambiguity,; was implemented to override the HW protection zone, ensuring at the same time a high level of safety of the instrument. This paper describes the principles of MARSIS onboard processing, and the procedure through which the parameters of the processing software were tuned to observe targets below the minimum distance allowed by hardware. Some preliminary results of data analysis will be shown, with the support of radar echo simulations. A qualitative comparison between the simulated results and the actual data, does not support the detection of subsurface reflectors.

  14. VenSAR on EnVision: Taking earth observation radar to Venus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghail, Richard C.; Hall, David; Mason, Philippa J.; Herrick, Robert R.; Carter, Lynn M.; Williams, Ed

    2018-02-01

    Venus should be the most Earth-like of all our planetary neighbours: its size, bulk composition and distance from the Sun are very similar to those of Earth. How and why did it all go wrong for Venus? What lessons can be learned about the life story of terrestrial planets in general, in this era of discovery of Earth-like exoplanets? Were the radically different evolutionary paths of Earth and Venus driven solely by distance from the Sun, or do internal dynamics, geological activity, volcanic outgassing and weathering also play an important part? EnVision is a proposed ESA Medium class mission designed to take Earth Observation technology to Venus to measure its current rate of geological activity, determine its geological history, and the origin and maintenance of its hostile atmosphere, to understand how Venus and Earth could have evolved so differently. EnVision will carry three instruments: the Venus Emission Mapper (VEM); the Subsurface Radar Sounder (SRS); and VenSAR, a world-leading European phased array synthetic aperture radar that is the subject of this article. VenSAR will obtain images at a range of spatial resolutions from 30 m regional coverage to 1 m images of selected areas; an improvement of two orders of magnitude on Magellan images; measure topography at 15 m resolution vertical and 60 m spatially from stereo and InSAR data; detect cm-scale change through differential InSAR, to characterise volcanic and tectonic activity, and estimate rates of weathering and surface alteration; and characterise of surface mechanical properties and weathering through multi-polar radar data. These data will be directly comparable with Earth Observation radar data, giving geoscientists unique access to an Earth-sized planet that has evolved on a radically different path to our own, offering new insights on the Earth-sized exoplanets across the galaxy.

  15. First Joint Observations of Radio Aurora by the VHF and HF Radars of the ISTP SB RAS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berngardt, O. I.; Lebedev, V. P.; Kutelev, K. A.; Kushnarev, D. S.; Grkovich, K. V.

    2018-01-01

    Two modern radars for diagnosis of the ionosphere by the radio-wave backscattering method, namely, the Irkutsk incoherent scatter radar at VHF (IISR, 154-162 MHz) and the Ekaterinburg coherent radar at HF (EKB, 8-20 MHz) are operated at the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISTP SB RAS). The paper analyzes the results of joint observations of strong scattering (radio aurora) on June 8, 2015. To determine the geographical position of the radio aurora, we developed original methods that take into account both the features of the radio-wave propagation and the features of the radar antenna systems. It is shown that there are areas where the spatial position of the HF and VHF radio aurora can coincide. This permits using the radars as a single complex for diagnosis of the characteristics of small-scale high-latitude irregularities in the ionospheric E and F layers. A comparative analysis of the characteristics and temporal dynamics of the radio-aurora region in the HF and VHF ranges is performed. Using the DMSP satellite data, it has been shown that the radio aurora dynamics during this experiment with the EKB radar can be related with the spatial dynamics of the localized area with high electric field, which moves from high to equatorial latitudes. It is found that due to the broader field of view, radio aurora at the HF radar was stably observed 6-12 min earlier than at the VHF radar. This permits using the EKB radar data for prediction of the radio-aurora detection by the IISR radar.

  16. Matter bounce cosmology with a generalized single field: non-Gaussianity and an extended no-go theorem

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

    Li, Yu-Bin; Cai, Yi-Fu; Quintin, Jerome

    We extend the matter bounce scenario to a more general theory in which the background dynamics and cosmological perturbations are generated by a k -essence scalar field with an arbitrary sound speed. When the sound speed is small, the curvature perturbation is enhanced, and the tensor-to-scalar ratio, which is excessively large in the original model, can be sufficiently suppressed to be consistent with observational bounds. Then, we study the primordial three-point correlation function generated during the matter-dominated contraction stage and find that it only depends on the sound speed parameter. Similar to the canonical case, the shape of the bispectrummore » is mainly dominated by a local form, though for some specific sound speed values a new shape emerges and the scaling behaviour changes. Meanwhile, a small sound speed also results in a large amplitude of non-Gaussianities, which is disfavored by current observations. As a result, it does not seem possible to suppress the tensor-to-scalar ratio without amplifying the production of non-Gaussianities beyond current observational constraints (and vice versa). This suggests an extension of the previously conjectured no-go theorem in single field nonsingular matter bounce cosmologies, which rules out a large class of models. However, the non-Gaussianity results remain as a distinguishable signature of matter bounce cosmology and have the potential to be detected by observations in the near future.« less

  17. Estimating vertical velocity and radial flow from Doppler radar observations of tropical cyclones

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, J. L.; Lee, W. C.; MacDonald, A. E.

    2006-01-01

    The mesoscale vorticity method (MVM) is used in conjunction with the ground-based velocity track display (GBVTD) to derive the inner-core vertical velocity from Doppler radar observations of tropical cyclone (TC) Danny (1997). MVM derives the vertical velocity from vorticity variations in space and in time based on the mesoscale vorticity equation. The use of MVM and GBVTD allows us to derive good correlations among the eye-wall maximum wind, bow-shaped updraught and echo east of the eye-wall in Danny. Furthermore, we demonstrate the dynamically consistent radial flow can be derived from the vertical velocity obtained from MVM using the wind decomposition technique that solves the Poisson equations over a limited-area domain. With the wind decomposition, we combine the rotational wind which is obtained from Doppler radar wind observations and the divergent wind which is inferred dynamically from the rotational wind to form the balanced horizontal wind in TC inner cores, where rotational wind dominates the divergent wind. In this study, we show a realistic horizontal and vertical structure of the vertical velocity and the induced radial flow in Danny's inner core. In the horizontal, the main eye-wall updraught draws in significant surrounding air, converging at the strongest echo where the maximum updraught is located. In the vertical, the main updraught tilts vertically outwards, corresponding very well with the outward-tilting eye-wall. The maximum updraught is located at the inner edge of the eye-wall clouds, while downward motions are found at the outer edge. This study demonstrates that the mesoscale vorticity method can use high-temporal-resolution data observed by Doppler radars to derive realistic vertical velocity and the radial flow of TCs. The vorticity temporal variations crucial to the accuracy of the vorticity method have to be derived from a high-temporal-frequency observing system such as state-of-the-art Doppler radars.

  18. Performance of the high-resolution atmospheric model HRRR-AK for correcting geodetic observations from spaceborne radars

    PubMed Central

    Gong, W; Meyer, F J; Webley, P; Morton, D

    2013-01-01

    [1] Atmospheric phase delays are considered to be one of the main performance limitations for high-quality satellite radar techniques, especially when applied to ground deformation monitoring. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are widely seen as a promising tool for the mitigation of atmospheric delays as they can provide knowledge of the atmospheric conditions at the time of Synthetic Aperture Radar data acquisition. However, a thorough statistical analysis of the performance of using NWP production in radar signal correction is missing to date. This study provides a quantitative analysis of the accuracy in using operational NWP products for signal delay correction in satellite radar geodetic remote sensing. The study focuses on the temperate, subarctic, and Arctic climate regions due to a prevalence of relevant geophysical signals in these areas. In this study, the operational High Resolution Rapid Refresh over the Alaska region (HRRR-AK) model is used and evaluated. Five test sites were selected over Alaska (AK), USA, covering a wide range of climatic regimes that are commonly encountered in high-latitude regions. The performance of the HRRR-AK NWP model for correcting absolute atmospheric range delays of radar signals is assessed by comparing to radiosonde observations. The average estimation accuracy for the one-way zenith total atmospheric delay from 24 h simulations was calculated to be better than ∼14 mm. This suggests that the HRRR-AK operational products are a good data source for spaceborne geodetic radar observations atmospheric delay correction, if the geophysical signal to be observed is larger than 20 mm. PMID:25973360

  19. Historical aspects of radar atmospheric dynamics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kato, Susumu

    1989-01-01

    A review of the history of radar techniques which have been applied to atmospheric observation is given. The author starts with ionosphere observation with the ionosonde, symbolizing as it does the earliest history of radar observation, and proceeds to later developments in radar observation such as the use of partial reflection, meteor, and incoherent scatter radars. Mesosphere stratosphere troposphere (MST) radars are discussed in terms of lower atmosphere observation.

  20. Quantum matter bounce with a dark energy expanding phase

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colin, Samuel; Pinto-Neto, Nelson

    2017-09-01

    Analyzing quantum cosmological scenarios containing one scalar field with exponential potential, we have obtained a universe model which realizes a classical dust contraction from very large scales, the initial repeller of the model, and moves to a stiff matter contraction near the singularity, which is avoided due to a quantum bounce. The universe is then launched in a stiff matter expanding phase, which then moves to a dark energy era, finally returning to the dust expanding phase, the final attractor of the model. Hence, one has obtained a nonsingular cosmological model where a single scalar field can describe both the matter contracting phase of a bouncing model, necessary to give an almost scale invariant spectrum of scalar cosmological perturbations, and a transient expanding dark energy phase. As the universe is necessarily dust dominated in the far past, usual adiabatic vacuum initial conditions can be easily imposed in this era, avoiding the usual issues appearing when dark energy is considered in bouncing models.

  1. Ring Current He Ion Control by Bounce Resonant ULF Waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Hyomin; Gerrard, Andrew J.; Lanzerotti, Louis J.; Soto-Chavez, Rualdo; Cohen, Ross J.; Manweiler, Jerry W.

    2017-12-01

    Ring current energy He ion (˜65 keV to ˜520 keV) differential flux data from the Radiation Belt Storm Probe Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instrument aboard the Van Allan Probes spacecraft show considerable variability during quiet solar wind and geomagnetic time periods. Such variability is apparent from orbit to orbit (˜9 h) of the spacecraft and is observed to be ˜50-100% of the nominal flux. Using data from the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) instrument, also aboard the Van Allen Probes spacecraft, we identify that a dominant source of this variability is from ULF waveforms with periods of tens of seconds. These periods correspond to the bounce resonant timescales of the ring current He ions being measured by RBSPICE. A statistical survey using the particle and field data for one full spacecraft precession period (approximately 2 years) shows that the wave and He ion flux variations are generally anticorrelated, suggesting the bounce resonant pitch angle scattering process as a major component in the scattering of He ions.

  2. Population trends of binary near-Earth asteroids based on radar and lightcurves observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brozovic, Marina; Benner, Lance A. M.; Naidu, Shantanu P.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Busch, Michael W.; Margot, Jean-Luc; Nolan, Michael C.; Howell, Ellen S.; Springmann, Alessondra; Giorgini, Jon D.; Shepard, Michael K.; Magri, Christopher; Richardson, James E.; Rivera-Valentin, Edgard G.; Rodriguez-Ford, Linda A.; Zambrano Marin, Luisa Fernanda

    2016-10-01

    The Arecibo and Goldstone planetary radars are invaluable instruments for the discovery and characterization of binary and triple asteroids in the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) population. To date, 41 out of 56 known binaries and triples (~73% of the objects) have been discovered by radar and 49 of these multiple systems have been detected by radar. Their absolute magnitudes range from 12.4 for (1866) Sisyphus to 22.6 for 2015 TD144 and have a mean and rms dispersion of 18.1+-2.0. There is a pronounced decrease in the abundance of binaries for absolute magnitudes H>20. One of the smallest binaries, 1994 CJ1, with an absolute magnitude H=21.4, is also the most accessible binary for a spacecraft rendezvous. Among 365 NEAs with H<22 (corresponding to diameters larger than ~ 140 m) detected by radar since 1999, ~13% have at least one companion. Two triple systems are known, (15391) 2001 SN263 and (136617) 1994 CC, but this is probably an underestimate due to low signal to noise ratios (SNRs) for many of the binary radar detections. Taxonomic classes have been reported for 41 out of 56 currently known multiple systems and some trends are starting to emerge: at least 50% of multiple asteroid systems are S, Sq, Q, or Sk, and at least 20% are optically dark (C, B, P, or U). Thirteen V-class NEAs have been observed by radar and six of them are binaries. Curiously, a comparable number of E-class objects have been detected by radar, but none is known to be a binary.

  3. Spaceborne Radar Observations of High Mountain Asia Snow and Ice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lund, J.

    2016-12-01

    The glaciers of High Mountain Asia show a negative trend in mass balance. Within its sub regions, however, a complex pattern of climate regions and glacial forcings arise. This complexity, coupled with the challenges of field study in the region, illicit notable uncertainties both in observation and prediction of glacial mass balance. Beyond being valuable indicators of climate variability, the glaciers of High Mountain Asia are important water resources for densely populated downstream regions, and also contribute to global sea level rise. Scatterometry, regularly used in polar regions to detect melt in snow and ice, has seen little use in lower latitude glaciers. In High Mountain Asia, focus has been placed on spatial and temporal trends in scatterometer signals for melt onset and freeze-up. In polar regions, scatterometry and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data have been used to estimate snow accumulation, along with interferometric SAR (InSAR) to measure glacier velocity, better constraining glacial mass balance estimates. For this poster, multiple radar sensors will be compared with both in situ as well as reanalysis precipitation data in varying climate regions in High Mountain Asia to explore correlations between snow accumulation and radar signals. Snowmelt timing influences on InSAR coherence may also be explored.

  4. Ground-based microwave radar and optical lidar signatures of volcanic ash plumes: models, observations and retrievals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mereu, Luigi; Marzano, Frank; Mori, Saverio; Montopoli, Mario; Cimini, Domenico; Martucci, Giovanni

    2013-04-01

    The detection and quantitative retrieval of volcanic ash clouds is of significant interest due to its environmental, climatic and socio-economic effects. Real-time monitoring of such phenomena is crucial, also for the initialization of dispersion models. Satellite visible-infrared radiometric observations from geostationary platforms are usually exploited for long-range trajectory tracking and for measuring low level eruptions. Their imagery is available every 15-30 minutes and suffers from a relatively poor spatial resolution. Moreover, the field-of-view of geostationary radiometric measurements may be blocked by water and ice clouds at higher levels and their overall utility is reduced at night. Ground-based microwave radars may represent an important tool to detect and, to a certain extent, mitigate the hazard from the ash clouds. Ground-based weather radar systems can provide data for determining the ash volume, total mass and height of eruption clouds. Methodological studies have recently investigated the possibility of using ground-based single-polarization and dual-polarization radar system for the remote sensing of volcanic ash cloud. A microphysical characterization of volcanic ash was carried out in terms of dielectric properties, size distribution and terminal fall speed, assuming spherically-shaped particles. A prototype of volcanic ash radar retrieval (VARR) algorithm for single-polarization systems was proposed and applied to S-band and C-band weather radar data. The sensitivity of the ground-based radar measurements decreases as the ash cloud is farther so that for distances greater than about 50 kilometers fine ash might be not detected anymore by microwave radars. In this respect, radar observations can be complementary to satellite, lidar and aircraft observations. Active remote sensing retrieval from ground, in terms of detection, estimation and sensitivity, of volcanic ash plumes is not only dependent on the sensor specifications, but also on

  5. Radar Observations of Convective Systems from a High-Altitude Aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heymsfield, G.; Geerts, B.; Tian, L.

    1999-01-01

    . Both TEFLUN-A and B were amply supported by surface data, in particular a dense raingauge network, a polarization radar, wind profilers, a mobile radiosonde system, a cloud physics aircraft penetrating the overflown storms, and a network of 10 cm Doppler radars(WSR-88D). This presentation will show some preliminary comparisons between TRMM, EDOP, and WSR-88D reflectivity fields in the case of an MCS, a hurricane, and less organized convection in central Florida. A validation of TRMM reflectivity is important, because TRMM's primary objective is to estimate the rainfall climatology with 35 degrees of the equator. Rainfall is estimated from the radar reflectivity, as well from TRMM's Microwave Imager, which measures at 10.7, 19.4, 21.3, 37, and 85.5 GHz over a broader swath (78 km). While the experiments lasted about three months the cumulative period of near simultaneous observations of storms by ground-based, airborne and space borne radars is only about an hour long. Therefore the comparison is case-study-based, not climatological. We will highlight fundamental differences in the typical reflectivity profiles in stratiform regions of MCS's, Florida convection and hurricanes and will explain why Z-R relationships based on ground-based radar data for convective systems over land should be different from those for hurricanes. These catastrophically intense rainfall from hurricane Georges in Hispaniola and from Mitch in Honduras highlights the importance of accurate Z-R relationships, It will be shown that a Z-R relationship that uses the entire reflectivity profile (rather than just a 1 level) works much better in a variety of cases, making an adjustment of the constants for different precipitation system categories redundant.

  6. Examining Scattering Mechanisms within Bubbled Freshwater Lake Ice using a Time-Series of RADARSAT-2 (C-band) and UW-Scat (X-, Ku-band) Polarimetric Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gunn, Grant; Duguay, Claude; Atwood, Don

    2017-04-01

    This study identifies the dominant scattering mechanism for C-, X- and Ku-band for bubbled freshwater lake ice in the Hudson Bay Lowlands near Churchill, Canada, using a winter time series of fully polarimetric ground-based (X- and Ku-band, UW-Scat) scatterometer and spaceborne (C-band) synthetic aperture radar (SAR, Radarsat-2) observations collected coincidentally to in-situ snow and ice measurements. Scatterometer observations identify two dominant backscatter sources from the ice cover: the snow-ice, and ice-water interface. Using in-situ measurements as ground-truth, a winter time series of scatterometer and satellite acquisitions show increases in backscatter from the ice-water interface prior to the timing of tubular bubble development in the ice cover. This timing indicates that scattering in the ice is independent of double-bounce scatter caused by tubular bubble inclusions. Concurrently, the co-polarized phase difference of interactions at the ice-water interface from both scatterometer and SAR observations are centred at 0° throughout the time series, indicating a scattering regime other than double bounce. A Yamaguchi three-component decomposition of SAR observations is presented for C-band acquisitions indicating a dominant single-bounce scattering mechanism regime, which is hypothesized to be a result of an ice-water interface that presents a rough surface or a surface composed of preferentially oriented facets. This study is the first to present a winter time series of coincident ground-based and spaceborne fully polarimetric active microwave observations for bubbled freshwater lake ice.

  7. 46 CFR 11.307 - Training schools with approved radar observer courses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Training schools with approved radar observer courses. 11.307 Section 11.307 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MERCHANT MARINE OFFICERS...) 493-1025 (also available on the internet at: http://www.uscg.mil/STCW//). [CGD 81-059, 52 FR 38623...

  8. 46 CFR 11.307 - Training schools with approved radar observer courses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Training schools with approved radar observer courses. 11.307 Section 11.307 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MERCHANT MARINE OFFICERS...) 493-1025 (also available on the internet at: http://www.uscg.mil/STCW//). [CGD 81-059, 52 FR 38623...

  9. Gravity-wave spectra in the atmosphere observed by MST radar, part 4.2B

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Scheffler, A. O.; Liu, C. H.

    1984-01-01

    A universal spectrum of atmospheric buoyancy waves is proposed based on data from radiosonde, Doppler navigation, not-wire anemometer and Jimsphere balloon. The possible existence of such a universal spectrum clearly will have significant impact on several areas in the study of the middle atmosphere dynamics such as the parameterization of sub-grid scale gravity waves in global circulation models; the transport of trace constituents and heat in the middle atmosphere, etc. Therefore, it is important to examine more global wind data with temporal and spatial resolutions suitable for the investigation of the wave spectra. Mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) radar observations offer an excellent opportunity for such studies. It is important to realize that radar measures the line-of-sight velocity which, in general, contains the combination of the vertical and horizontal components of the wave-associated particle velocity. Starting from a general oblique radar observation configuration, applying the dispersion relation for the gravity waves, the spectrum for the observed fluctuations in the line-of-sight gravity-wave spectrum is investigated through a filter function. The consequence of the filter function on data analysis is discussed.

  10. Surface current dynamics under sea breeze conditions observed by simultaneous HF radar, ADCP and drifter measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sentchev, Alexei; Forget, Philippe; Fraunié, Philippe

    2017-04-01

    Ocean surface boundary layer dynamics off the southern coast of France in the NW Mediterranean is investigated by using velocity observations by high-frequency (HF) radars, surface drifting buoys and a downward-looking drifting acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The analysis confirms that velocities measured by HF radars correspond to those observed by an ADCP at the effective depth z f = k -1, where k is wavenumber of the radio wave emitted by the radar. The radials provided by the radars were in a very good agreement with in situ measurements, with the relative errors of 1 and 9 % and root mean square (RMS) differences of 0.02 and 0.04 m/s for monostatic and bistatic radar, respectively. The total radar-based velocities appeared to be slightly underestimated in magnitude and somewhat biased in direction. At the end of the survey period, the difference in the surface current direction, based on HF radar and ADCP data, attained 10°. It was demonstrated that the surface boundary layer dynamics cannot be reconstructed successfully without taking into the account velocity variation with depth. A significant misalignment of ˜30° caused by the sea breeze was documented between the HF radar (HFR-derived) surface current and the background current. It was also found that the ocean response to a moderate wind forcing was confined to the 4-m-thick upper layer. The respective Ekman current attained the maximum value of 0.15 m/s, and the current rotation was found to be lagging the wind by approximately 40 min, with the current vector direction being 15-20° to the left of the wind. The range of velocity variability due to wind forcing was found comparable with the magnitude of the background current variability.

  11. Lightning mapping and dual-polarization radar observations of electrified storms at Langmuir Laboratory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krehbiel, P. R.; Hyland, P. T.; Edens, H. E.; Rison, W.

    2013-12-01

    Observations being made at Langmuir Laboratory with the NM Tech Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) and the University of Oklahoma ARRC PX-1000 dual polarization X-band radar strongly confirm and expand upon the normal polarity tripolar electrical structure of central New Mexico storms. This is in sharp contrast with the anomalously electrified storm structures observed in northern Colorado during and subsequent to the 2012 DC3 field campaign, as seen with North Colorado LMA and CSU CHILL dual-polarization radar observations. In this presentation we focus on the New Mexico observations, and several modes in which the tripolar structure appears initially to develop and evolve with time. Central New Mexico storms are often prolific producers of negative cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes, but rarely produce positive CGs. By contrast, many or most north Colorado storms are CG-deficient, with the relatively few CG discharges being of predominantly positive polarity. In addition, NM storms commonly produce bolt-from-the-blue (BFB) negative CGs, whereas anomalously electrified Colorado storms produce none. The occurrence of BFBs is indicative of a relatively weak lower positive charge region, while the occurrence of normal downward -CGs is indicative of a somewhat stronger lower positive charge. The lack of -CGs in Colorado storms results from lower positive charge being a dominant storm charge that is elevated in altitude. These and other basic features of the electrically activity of storms, coupled with dual polarization and Doppler radar observations of hydrometeor types and motions, are leading to a better understanding of the storm electrification processes.

  12. Bouncing droplets on a billiard table.

    PubMed

    Shirokoff, David

    2013-03-01

    In a set of experiments, Couder et al. demonstrate that an oscillating fluid bed may propagate a bouncing droplet through the guidance of the surface waves. I present a dynamical systems model, in the form of an iterative map, for a droplet on an oscillating bath. I examine the droplet bifurcation from bouncing to walking, and prescribe general requirements for the surface wave to support stable walking states. I show that in addition to walking, there is a region of large forcing that may support the chaotic motion of the droplet. Using the map, I then investigate the droplet trajectories in a square (billiard ball) domain. I show that in large domains, the long time trajectories are either non-periodic dense curves or approach a quasiperiodic orbit. In contrast, in small domains, at low forcing, trajectories tend to approach an array of circular attracting sets. As the forcing increases, the attracting sets break down and the droplet travels throughout space.

  13. On the spatial distribution of decameter‒scale subauroral ionospheric irregularities observed by SuperDARN radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larquier, S.; Ponomarenko, P.; Ribeiro, A. J.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Baker, J. B. H.; Sterne, K. T.; Lester, M.

    2013-08-01

    The midlatitude Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars regularly observe nighttime low‒velocity Sub‒Auroral Ionospheric Scatter (SAIS) from decameter‒scale ionospheric density irregularities during quiet geomagnetic conditions. To establish the origin of the density irregularities responsible for low‒velocity SAIS, it is necessary to distinguish between the effects of high frequency (HF) propagation and irregularity occurrence itself on the observed backscatter distribution. We compare range, azimuth, and elevation data from the Blackstone SuperDARN radar with modeling results from ray tracing coupled with the International Reference Ionosphere assuming a uniform irregularity distribution. The observed and modeled distributions are shown to be very similar. The spatial distribution of backscattering is consistent with the requirement that HF rays propagate nearly perpendicular to the geomagnetic field lines (aspect angle ≤1°). For the first time, the irregularities responsible for low‒velocity SAIS are determined to extend between 200 and 300 km altitude, validating previous assumptions that low‒velocity SAIS is an F‒region phenomenon. We find that the limited spatial extent of this category of ionospheric backscatter within SuperDARN radars' fields‒of‒view is a consequence of HF propagation effects and the finite vertical extent of the scattering irregularities. We conclude that the density irregularities responsible for low‒velocity SAIS are widely distributed horizontally within the midlatitude ionosphere but are confined to the bottom‒side F‒region.

  14. Microphysical Structures of Hurricane Irma Observed by Polarimetric Radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Didlake, A. C.; Kumjian, M. R.

    2017-12-01

    This study examines dual-polarization radar observations of Hurricane Irma as its center passed near the WSR-88D radar in Puerto Rico, capturing needed microphysical information of a mature tropical cyclone. Twenty hours of observations continuously sampled the inner core precipitation features. These data were analyzed by annuli and azimuth, providing a bulk characterization of the primary eyewall, secondary eyewall, and rainbands as they varied around the storm. Polarimetric radar variables displayed distinct signatures of convective and stratiform precipitation in the primary eyewall and rainbands that were organized in a manner consistent with the expected kinematic asymmetry of a storm in weak environmental wind shear but with moderate low-level storm-relative flow. In the front quadrants of the primary eyewall, vertical profiles of differential reflectivity (ZDR) exhibit increasing values with decreasing height consistent with convective precipitation processes. In particular, the front-right quadrant exhibits a signature in reflectivity (ZH) and ZDR indicating larger, sparser drops, which is consistent with a stronger updraft present in this quadrant. In the rear quadrants, a sharply peaked ZDR maximum occurs within the melting layer, which is attributed of stratiform processes. In the rainbands, the convective to stratiform transition can be seen traveling from the front-right to the front-left quadrant. The front-right quadrant exhibits lower co-polar correlation coefficient (ρHV) values in the 3-8 km altitude layer, suggesting larger vertical spreading of various hydrometeors that occurs in convective vertical motions. The front-left quadrant exhibits larger ρHV values, suggesting less diversity of hydrometeor shapes, consistent with stratiform processes. The secondary eyewall did not exhibit a clear signature of processes preferred in a specific quadrant, and a temporal analysis of the secondary eyewall revealed a complex evolution of its structure

  15. Investigating Mercury’s South Polar Deposits: Arecibo Radar Observations and High-resolution Determination of Illumination Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Chabot, Nancy L.; Shread, Evangela E.; Harmon, John K.

    2018-01-01

    There is strong evidence that Mercury’s polar deposits are water ice hosted in permanently shadowed regions. In this study, we present new Arecibo radar observations of Mercury’s south pole, which reveal numerous radar-bright deposits and substantially increase the radar imaging coverage. We also use images from MESSENGER’s full mission to determine the illumination conditions of Mercury’s south polar region at the same spatial resolution as the north polar region, enabling comparisons between the two poles. The area of radar-bright deposits in Mercury’s south is roughly double that found in the north, consistent with the larger permanently shadowed area in the older, cratered terrain at the south relative to the younger smooth plains at the north. Radar-bright features are strongly associated with regions of permanent shadow at both poles, consistent with water ice being the dominant component of the deposits. However, both of Mercury’s polar regions show that roughly 50% of permanently shadowed regions lack radar-bright deposits, despite some of these locations having thermal environments that are conducive to the presence of water ice. The observed uneven distribution of water ice among Mercury’s polar cold traps may suggest that the source of Mercury’s water ice was not a steady, regular process but rather that the source was an episodic event, such as a recent, large impact on the innermost planet. PMID:29552436

  16. Initial Observations of Lunar Impact Melts and Ejecta Flows with the Mini-RF Radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carter, Lynn M.; Neish, Catherine D.; Bussey, D. B. J.; Spudis, Paul D.; Patterson, G. Wesley; Cahill, Joshua T.; Raney, R. Keith

    2011-01-01

    The Mini-RF radar on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's spacecraft has revealed a great variety of crater ejecta flow and impact melt deposits, some of which were not observed in prior radar imaging. The craters Tycho and Glushko have long melt flows that exhibit variations in radar backscatter and circular polarization ratio along the flow. Comparison with optical imaging reveals that these changes are caused by features commonly seen in terrestrial lava flows, such as rafted plates, pressure ridges, and ponding. Small (less than 20 km) sized craters also show a large variety of features, including melt flows and ponds. Two craters have flow features that may be ejecta flows caused by entrained debris flowing across the surface rather than by melted rock. The circular polarization ratios (CPRs) of the impact melt flows are typically very high; even ponded areas have CPR values between 0.7-1.0. This high CPR suggests that deposits that appear smooth in optical imagery may be rough at centimeter- and decimeter- scales. In some places, ponds and flows are visible with no easily discernable source crater. These melt deposits may have come from oblique impacts that are capable of ejecting melted material farther downrange. They may also be associated with older, nearby craters that no longer have a radar-bright proximal ejecta blanket. The observed morphology of the lunar crater flows has implications for similar features observed on Venus. In particular, changes in backscatter along many of the ejecta flows are probably caused by features typical of lava flows.

  17. Use of NEXRAD radar-based observations for quality control of in-situ rain gauge measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nelson, B. R.; Prat, O.; Leeper, R.

    2017-12-01

    Rain gauge quality control is an often over looked important step in the archive of historical precipitation estimates. We investigate the possibilities that exist for using ground based radar networks for quality control of rain gauge measurements. This process includes the point to pixel comparisons of the rain gauge measurements with NEXRAD observations. There are two NEXRAD based data sets used for reference; the NCEP stage IV and the NWS MRMS gridded data sets. The NCEP stage IV data set is available at 4km hourly for the period 2002-present and includes the radar-gauge bias adjusted precipitation estimate. The NWS MRMS data set includes several different variables such as reflectivity, radar-only estimates, precipitation flag, and radar-gauge bias adjusted precipitation estimates. The latter product provides for much more information to apply quality control such as identification of precipitation type, identification of storm type and Z-R relation. In addition, some of the variables are available at 5-minute scale. The rain gauge networks that are investigated are the Climate Reference Network (CRN), the Fischer-Porter Hourly Precipitation Database (HPD), and the Hydrometeorological Automated Data System (HADS). The CRN network is available at the 5-minute scale, the HPD network is available at the 15-minute and hourly scale, and HADS is available at the hourly scale. The varying scales present challenges for comparisons. However given the higher resolution radar-based products we identify an optimal combination of rain gauge observations that can be compared to the radar-based information. The quality control process focuses on identifying faulty gauges in direct comparison while a deeper investigation focuses on event-based differences from light rain to extreme storms.

  18. Running of the spectral index in deformed matter bounce scenarios with Hubble-rate-dependent dark energy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arab, M.; Khodam-Mohammadi, A.

    2018-03-01

    As a deformed matter bounce scenario with a dark energy component, we propose a deformed one with running vacuum model (RVM) in which the dark energy density ρ _{Λ } is written as a power series of H^2 and \\dot{H} with a constant equation of state parameter, same as the cosmological constant, w=-1. Our results in analytical and numerical point of views show that in some cases same as Λ CDM bounce scenario, although the spectral index may achieve a good consistency with observations, a positive value of running of spectral index (α _s) is obtained which is not compatible with inflationary paradigm where it predicts a small negative value for α _s. However, by extending the power series up to H^4, ρ _{Λ }=n_0+n_2 H^2+n_4 H^4, and estimating a set of consistent parameters, we obtain the spectral index n_s, a small negative value of running α _s and tensor to scalar ratio r, which these reveal a degeneracy between deformed matter bounce scenario with RVM-DE and inflationary cosmology.

  19. Radar observation of known and unknown clear echoes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Glover, K. M.; Konrad, T. G.

    1979-01-01

    Target cross-section as a function of wavelength for known insects, known bird, and dot targets is presented. Tracking data using the time series analysis was tabulated for known birds. Examples were selected from these early works to give entomologists some indication of the types of information that are available by radar as well as examples of the different sources of clear-air radar backscatter.

  20. The behavior of bouncing disks and pizza tossing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, K.-C.; Friend, J.; Yeo, L.

    2009-03-01

    We investigate the dynamics of a disk bouncing on a vibrating platform - a variation of the classic bouncing ball problem - that captures the physics of pizza tossing and the operation of certain standing-wave ultrasonic motors (SWUMs). The system's dynamics explains why certain tossing motions are used by dough-toss performers for different tricks: a helical trajectory is used in single tosses because it maximizes energy efficiency and the dough's airborne rotational speed, a semi-elliptical motion is used in multiple tosses because it is easier for maintaining dough rotation at the maximum rotational speed. The system's bifurcation diagram and basins of attraction also informs SWUM designers about the optimal design for high speed and minimal sensitivity to perturbation.

  1. Double Bright Band Observations with High-Resolution Vertically Pointing Radar, Lidar, and Profiles

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Emory, Amber E.; Demoz, Belay; Vermeesch, Kevin; Hicks, Michael

    2014-01-01

    On 11 May 2010, an elevated temperature inversion associated with an approaching warm front produced two melting layers simultaneously, which resulted in two distinct bright bands as viewed from the ER-2 Doppler radar system, a vertically pointing, coherent X band radar located in Greenbelt, MD. Due to the high temporal resolution of this radar system, an increase in altitude of the melting layer of approximately 1.2 km in the time span of 4 min was captured. The double bright band feature remained evident for approximately 17 min, until the lower atmosphere warmed enough to dissipate the lower melting layer. This case shows the relatively rapid evolution of freezing levels in response to an advancing warm front over a 2 h time period and the descent of an elevated warm air mass with time. Although observations of double bright bands are somewhat rare, the ability to identify this phenomenon is important for rainfall estimation from spaceborne sensors because algorithms employing the restriction of a radar bright band to a constant height, especially when sampling across frontal systems, will limit the ability to accurately estimate rainfall.

  2. Double bright band observations with high-resolution vertically pointing radar, lidar, and profilers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Emory, Amber E.; Demoz, Belay; Vermeesch, Kevin; Hicks, Micheal

    2014-07-01

    On 11 May 2010, an elevated temperature inversion associated with an approaching warm front produced two melting layers simultaneously, which resulted in two distinct bright bands as viewed from the ER-2 Doppler radar system, a vertically pointing, coherent X band radar located in Greenbelt, MD. Due to the high temporal resolution of this radar system, an increase in altitude of the melting layer of approximately 1.2 km in the time span of 4 min was captured. The double bright band feature remained evident for approximately 17 min, until the lower atmosphere warmed enough to dissipate the lower melting layer. This case shows the relatively rapid evolution of freezing levels in response to an advancing warm front over a 2 h time period and the descent of an elevated warm air mass with time. Although observations of double bright bands are somewhat rare, the ability to identify this phenomenon is important for rainfall estimation from spaceborne sensors because algorithms employing the restriction of a radar bright band to a constant height, especially when sampling across frontal systems, will limit the ability to accurately estimate rainfall.

  3. Synchronization with competing visual and auditory rhythms: bouncing ball meets metronome.

    PubMed

    Hove, Michael J; Iversen, John R; Zhang, Allen; Repp, Bruno H

    2013-07-01

    Synchronization of finger taps with periodically flashing visual stimuli is known to be much more variable than synchronization with an auditory metronome. When one of these rhythms is the synchronization target and the other serves as a distracter at various temporal offsets, strong auditory dominance is observed. However, it has recently been shown that visuomotor synchronization improves substantially with moving stimuli such as a continuously bouncing ball. The present study pitted a bouncing ball against an auditory metronome in a target-distracter synchronization paradigm, with the participants being auditory experts (musicians) and visual experts (video gamers and ball players). Synchronization was still less variable with auditory than with visual target stimuli in both groups. For musicians, auditory stimuli tended to be more distracting than visual stimuli, whereas the opposite was the case for the visual experts. Overall, there was no main effect of distracter modality. Thus, a distracting spatiotemporal visual rhythm can be as effective as a distracting auditory rhythm in its capacity to perturb synchronous movement, but its effectiveness also depends on modality-specific expertise.

  4. Observations of mesospheric turbulence by rocket probe and VHF radar, part 2.4A

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Royrvik, O.; Smith, L. G.

    1984-12-01

    Data from the Jicamarca VHF radar and from a Languir probe fine-structure on a Nike Orion rocket launched from Punto Lobos, Peru, have been compared. A single mesospheric scattering layer was observed by the radar. The Langmuir probe detected irregularities in the electron-density profile in a narrow region between 85.2 and 86.6 km. It appears from a comparison between these two data sets that turbulence in the neutral atmosphere is the mechanism generating the refractive index irregularities.

  5. Observations of Mesospheric Turbulence by Rocket Probe and VHF Radar, Part 2.4A

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Royrvik, O.; Smith, L. G.

    1984-01-01

    Data from the Jicamarca VHF radar and from a Languir probe fine-structure on a Nike Orion rocket launched from Punto Lobos, Peru, have been compared. A single mesospheric scattering layer was observed by the radar. The Langmuir probe detected irregularities in the electron-density profile in a narrow region between 85.2 and 86.6 km. It appears from a comparison between these two data sets that turbulence in the neutral atmosphere is the mechanism generating the refractive index irregularities.

  6. An investigation of turbulent scatter from the mesosphere as observed by coherent-scatter radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gibbs, K. P.; Bowhill, S. A.

    1983-01-01

    Turbulent scatter from he mesosphere is observed using the Urbana coherent-scatter radar. The variation in signal-to-noise ratio as a function of time-of-day is examined. The origin of scattering regions is investigated by comparing the variations in scattered power and Doppler velocity. Nighttime echoes are shown for periods of enhanced electron concentration. The spectrum of the returned signal is studied with a resolution of ten seconds. Spectral information is used to increase altitude resolution and observe the motion of scatterers. The expected variation in signal-to-noise ratio with solar flux is observed. It is found that variations in the scattered power generally do not correspond to the gravity waves which are simultaneously observed. Turbulent layers are observed at altitudes with high shear in the horizontal velocity and at altitudes with low shear. The ten-second resolution is necessary to distinguish meteor echoes from echoes produced by the advection of a scattering layer through the radar beam.

  7. The north polar lakes of Titan as observed by Cassini Radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitchell, K. L.; Paillou, P.; Kirk, R. L.; Lunine, J. I.; Stofan, E. R.; Radebaugh, J.; Wall, S. D.; Hayes, A. G.; Lopes, R. M.; Stiles, B. W.; Ostro, S. J.; Lorenz, R. D.; Wood, C. A.; Cassini RADAR Team

    2007-12-01

    Over the course of a year, Cassini RADAR obtained Synthetic Aperture Radar images covering 69 percent of Titan's polar region north of 65 degrees; the region being 1.4E6 km3 in extent, greater than double the land area of the USA. We observe several hundred lakes with a range of morphological expression, including areally massive and morphologically distinctive "seas", covering ~15% of the polar region. Lakes are extremely radar dark, consistent with a lossy liquid hydrocarbon. Preliminary laboratory estimates suggest that loss tangents in the range 10E4 to 2x10E3 are reasonable, which implies that one can see through at least a few to many tens of m of liquids before the noise floor is reached, consistent with observed brightening towards many lake shores. North polar lake volumes are most likely in the 8E3 - 1.4E6 km3 range. Uncertainties will be reduced as more data, both image-based and experimental, are obtained but we can conclude with a high degree of confidence that hydrocarbon lakes on Titan are more voluminous than known terrestrial oil reserves; current estimates range from 2248 - 3896 billion barrels of oil (J. Hakes, 2000, Long Term World Oil Supply, Meeting of the Am. Ass. Pet. Geol., 18th April 2000, New Orleans, LA, http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/presentations/2000/long_term_supply.), hence 357 - 619 km3 . Small lakes often occupy steep-sided depressions, and although thermal and cryovolcanic origins cannot be completely ruled out, we are seeing growing geomorphologic evidence for dissolution chemistry, indicative of karst-like geology. The dichotomy between small lakes over slightly more than one half of the region, and seas on the other half, may be best explained by a topographic anomaly causing sub-surface flow of materials from the lakes to the seas. This may also explain observations by the Cassini ISS team (E. Turtle et al., in prep.) of a putative massive sea extending considerably further south than other observed north polar

  8. Modeling L-band synthetic aperture radar observations through dielectric changes in soil moisture and vegetation over shrublands

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    L-band airborne synthetic aperture radar observations were made over California shrublands to better understand the effects by soil and vegetation parameters on backscatter. Temporal changes in radar backscattering coefficient (s0) of up to 3 dB were highly correlated to surface soil moisture but no...

  9. High Frequency Radar Observations of Tidal Current Variability in the Lower Chesapeake Bay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Updyke, T. G.; Dusek, G.; Atkinson, L. P.

    2016-02-01

    Analysis of eight years of high frequency radar surface current observations in the lower Chesapeake Bay is presented with a focus on the variability of the tidal component of the surface circulation which accounts for a majority of the variance of the surface flow (typically 70-80% for the middle of the radar footprint). Variations in amplitude and phase of the major tidal constituents are examined in the context of water level, wind and river discharge data. Comparisons are made with harmonic analysis results from long-term records of current data measured by three current profilers operated by NOAA as part of the Chesapeake Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS). Preliminary results indicate that there is significant spatial variability in the M2 amplitude over the HF radar grid as well as temporal variability when harmonic analysis is performed using bi-monthly time segments over the course of the record.

  10. Oil detection in a coastal marsh with polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ramsey, Elijah W.; Rangoonwala, Amina; Suzuoki, Yukihiro; Jones, Cathleen E.

    2011-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's airborne Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) was deployed in June 2010 in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. UAVSAR is a fully polarimetric L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor for obtaining data at high spatial resolutions. Starting a month prior to the UAVSAR collections, visual observations confirmed oil impacts along shorelines within northeastern Barataria Bay waters in eastern coastal Louisiana. UAVSAR data along several flight lines over Barataria Bay were collected on 23 June 2010, including the repeat flight line for which data were collected in June 2009. Our analysis of calibrated single-look complex data for these flight lines shows that structural damage of shoreline marsh accompanied by oil occurrence manifested as anomalous features not evident in pre-spill data. Freeman-Durden (FD) and Cloude-Pottier (CP) decompositions of the polarimetric data and Wishart classifications seeded with the FD and CP classes also highlighted these nearshore features as a change in dominant scattering mechanism. All decompositions and classifications also identify a class of interior marshes that reproduce the spatially extensive changes in backscatter indicated by the pre- and post-spill comparison of multi-polarization radar backscatter data. FD and CP decompositions reveal that those changes indicate a transform of dominant scatter from primarily surface or volumetric to double or even bounce. Given supportive evidence that oil-polluted waters penetrated into the interior marshes, it is reasonable that these backscatter changes correspond with oil exposure; however, multiple factors prevent unambiguous determination of whether UAVSAR detected oil in interior marshes.

  11. Breakthrough revisited: investigating the requirements for growth of dust beyond the bouncing barrier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Booth, Richard A.; Meru, Farzana; Lee, Man Hoi; Clarke, Cathie J.

    2018-03-01

    For grain growth to proceed effectively and lead to planet formation, a number of barriers to growth must be overcome. One such barrier, relevant for compact grains in the inner regions of the disc, is the `bouncing barrier' in which large grains (˜mm size) tend to bounce off each other rather than sticking. However, by maintaining a population of small grains, it has been suggested that cm-size particles may grow rapidly by sweeping up these small grains. We present the first numerically resolved investigation into the conditions under which grains may be lucky enough to grow beyond the bouncing barrier by a series of rare collisions leading to growth (so-called `breakthrough'). Our models support previous results, and show that in simple models breakthrough requires the mass ratio at which high-velocity collisions transition to growth instead of causing fragmentation to be low, ϕ ≲ 50. However, in models that take into account the dependence of the fragmentation threshold on mass ratio, we find that breakthrough occurs more readily, even if mass transfer is relatively inefficient. This suggests that bouncing may only slow down growth, rather than preventing growth beyond a threshold barrier. However, even when growth beyond the bouncing barrier is possible, radial drift will usually prevent growth to arbitrarily large sizes.

  12. Error and Uncertainty Quantification in Precipitation Retrievals from GPM/DPR Using Ground-based Dual-Polarization Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chandra, Chandrasekar V.; Chen*, Haonan; Petersen, Walter

    2017-04-01

    The active Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and passive radiometer onboard Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core Observatory extend the observation range attained by Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) from tropical to most of the globe [1]. Through improved measurements of precipitation, the GPM mission is helping to advance our understanding of Earth's water and energy cycle, as well as climate changes. Ground Validation (GV) is an indispensable part of the GPM satellite mission. In the pre-launch era, several international validation experiments had already generated a substantial dataset that could be used to develop and test the pre-launch GPM algorithms. After launch, more ground validation field campaigns were conducted to further evaluate GPM precipitation data products as well as the sensitivities of retrieval algorithms. Among various validation equipment, ground based dual-polarization radar has shown great advantages to conduct precipitation estimation over a wide area in a relatively short time span. Therefore, radar is always a key component in all the validation field experiments. In addition, the radar polarization diversity has great potential to characterize precipitation microphysics through the identification of raindrop size distribution and different hydrometeor types [2]. Currently, all the radar sites comprising the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88DP) network are operating in dual-polarization mode. However, most of the operational radar based precipitation products are produced at coarse resolution typically on 1 km by 1 km spatial grids, focusing on precipitation accumulations at temporal scales of 1-h, 3-h, 6-h, 12-h, and/or 24-h (daily). Their capability for instantaneous GPM product validation is severely limited due to the spatial and temporal mismatching between observations from the ground and space. This paper first presents the rationale and

  13. Cassini radar and radiometry observations of Saturn's airless icy satellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Le Gall, A. A.; West, R.; Janssen, M. A.; Leyrat, C.; Bonnefoy, L.; Lellouch, E.

    2017-12-01

    The Cassini Radar is a multimode microwave sensor operating in the Ku-band, at a wavelength of 2.2 cm. While it was initially designed to examine the surface of Titan through the veil of its optically-opaque atmosphere, it is occasionally used to observe airless Saturn's moons from long ranges (>50 000 km) and, less frequently, during targeted flybys. In its active mode, the instrument measures the surface reflectivity in the backscattering direction. In its passive mode - or radiometry mode - it records the microwave thermal emission from the near-surface (typically few meters). Doing so, it provides insights into the degree of purity and maturity of the water-ice regolith of the investigated objects. In particular, it can reveal hemispheric dichotomies or regional anomalies and satellite-to-satellite variabilities which give clues into what is common and what is specific to the history of each satellite and to the processes that have shaped their surface/subsurface. In this paper, we will give an overview of the Cassini radar/radiometry observations of Saturnian icy moons, most of which have not been published yet. Now that the mission has come to an end, we will describe how the radio investigation of these objects can be pursued from Earth-based radiotelescopes.

  14. Monsoon Convective During the South China Sea Monsoon Experiment: Observations from Ground-Based Radar and the TRMM Satellite

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cifelli, Rob; Rickenbach, Tom; Halverson, Jeff; Keenan, Tom; Kucera, Paul; Atkinson, Lester; Fisher, Brad; Gerlach, John; Harris, Kathy; Kaufman, Cristina

    1999-01-01

    A main goal of the recent South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) was to study convective processes associated with the onset of the Southeast Asian summer monsoon. The NASA TOGA C-band scanning radar was deployed on the Chinese research vessel Shi Yan #3 for two 20 day cruises, collecting dual-Doppler measurements in conjunction with the BMRC C-Pol dual-polarimetric radar on Dongsha Island. Soundings and surface meteorological data were also collected with an NCAR Integrated Sounding System (ISS). This experiment was the first major tropical field campaign following the launch of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. These observations of tropical oceanic convection provided an opportunity to make comparisons between surface radar measurements and the Precipitation Radar (PR) aboard the TRMM satellite in an oceanic environment. Nearly continuous radar operations were conducted during two Intensive Observing Periods (IOPS) straddling the onset of the monsoon (5-25 May 1998 and 5-25 June 1998). Mesoscale lines of convection with widespread regions of both trailing and forward stratiform precipitation were observed following the onset of the active monsoon in the northern South China Sea region. The vertical structure of the convection during periods of strong westerly flow and relatively moist environmental conditions in the lower to mid-troposphere contrasted sharply with convection observed during periods of low level easterlies, weak shear, and relatively dry conditions in the mid to upper troposphere. Several examples of mesoscale convection will be shown from the ground (ship)-based and spaceborne radar data during times of TRMM satellite overpasses. Examples of pre-monsoon convection, characterized by isolated cumulonimbus and shallow, precipitating congestus clouds, will also be discussed.

  15. Characteristics of Moderately Deep Tropical Convection Observed by Dual-Polarimetric Radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Powell, Scott

    2017-04-01

    Moderately deep cumulonimbus clouds (often erroneously called congestus) over the tropical warm pool play an important role in large-scale dynamics by moistening the free troposphere, thus allowing for the upscale growth of convection into mesoscale convective systems. Direct observational analysis of such convection has been limited despite a wealth of radar data collected during several field experiments in the tropics. In this study, the structure of isolated cumulonimbus clouds, particularly those in the moderately deep mode with heights of up to 8 km, as observed by RHI scans obtained with the S-PolKa radar during DYNAMO is explored. Such elements are first identified following the algorithm of Powell et al (2016); small contiguous regions of echo are considered isolated convection. Within isolated echo objects, echoes are further subdivided into core echoes, which feature vertical profiles reflectivity and differential reflectivity that is similar to convection embedded in larger cloud complexes, and fringe echoes, which contain vertical profiles of differential reflectivity that are more similar to stratiform regions. Between the surface and 4 km, reflectivities of 30-40 (10-20) dBZ are most commonly observed in isolated convective core (fringe) echoes. Convective cores in echo objects too wide to be considered isolated have a ZDR profile that peaks near the surface (with values of 0.5-1 dB common), and decays linearly to about 0.3 dB at and above an altitude of 6 km. Stratiform echoes have a minimum ZDR below of 0-0.5 dB below the bright band and a constant distribution centered on 0.5 dB above the bright band. The isolated convective core and fringe respectively possess composite vertical profiles of ZDR that resemble convective and stratiform echoes. The mode of the distribution of aspect ratios of isolated convection is approximately 2.3, but the long axis of isolated echo objects demonstrates no preferred orientation. An early attempt at illustrating

  16. Assimilation of Dual-Polarimetric Radar Observations with WRF GSI

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, Xuanli; Mecikalski, John; Fehnel, Traci; Zavodsky, Bradley; Srikishen, Jayanthi

    2014-01-01

    Dual-polarimetric (dual-pol) radar typically transmits both horizontally and vertically polarized radio wave pulses. From the two different reflected power returns, more accurate estimate of liquid and solid cloud and precipitation can be provided. The upgrade of the traditional NWS WSR-88D radar to include dual-pol capabilities will soon be completed for the entire NEXRAD network. Therefore, the use of dual-pol radar network will have a broad impact in both research and operational communities. The assimilation of dual-pol radar data is especially challenging as few guidelines have been provided by previous research. It is our goal to examine how to best use dual-pol radar data to improve forecast of severe storm and forecast initialization. In recent years, the Development Testbed Center (DTC) has released the community Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) DA system for the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The community GSI system runs in independently environment, yet works functionally equivalent to operational centers. With collaboration with the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center, this study explores regional assimilation of the dual-pol radar variables from the WSR-88D radars for real case storms. Our presentation will highlight our recent effort on incorporating the horizontal reflectivity (ZH), differential reflectivity (ZDR), specific differential phase (KDP), and radial velocity (VR) data for initializing convective storms, with a significant focus being on an improved representation of hydrometeor fields. In addition, discussion will be provided on the development of enhanced assimilation procedures in the GSI system with respect to dual-pol variables. Beyond the dual-pol variable assimilation procedure developing within a GSI framework, highresolution (=1 km) WRF model simulations and storm scale data assimilation experiments will be examined, emphasizing both model initialization and short-term forecast

  17. Symmetry breaking in drop bouncing on curved surfaces

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yahua; Andrew, Matthew; Li, Jing; Yeomans, Julia M.; Wang, Zuankai

    2015-01-01

    The impact of liquid drops on solid surfaces is ubiquitous in nature, and of practical importance in many industrial processes. A drop hitting a flat surface retains a circular symmetry throughout the impact process. Here we show that a drop impinging on Echevaria leaves exhibits asymmetric bouncing dynamics with distinct spreading and retraction along two perpendicular directions. This is a direct consequence of the cylindrical leaves that have a convex/concave architecture of size comparable to the drop. Systematic experimental investigations on mimetic surfaces and lattice Boltzmann simulations reveal that this novel phenomenon results from an asymmetric momentum and mass distribution that allows for preferential fluid pumping around the drop rim. The asymmetry of the bouncing leads to ∼40% reduction in contact time. PMID:26602170

  18. Planetary radar studies. [radar mapping of the Moon and radar signatures of lunar and Venus craters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thompson, T. W.; Cutts, J. A.

    1981-01-01

    Progress made in studying the evolution of Venusian craters and the evolution of infrared and radar signatures of lunar crater interiors is reported. Comparison of radar images of craters on Venus and the Moon present evidence for a steady state Venus crater population. Successful observations at the Arecibo Observatory yielded good data on five nights when data for a mix of inner and limb areas were acquired. Lunar craters with radar bright ejects are discussed. An overview of infrared radar crater catalogs in the data base is included.

  19. Memory in random bouncing ball dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zouabi, C.; Scheibert, J.; Perret-Liaudet, J.

    2016-09-01

    The bouncing of an inelastic ball on a vibrating plate is a popular model used in various fields, from granular gases to nanometer-sized mechanical contacts. For random plate motion, so far, the model has been studied using Poincaré maps in which the excitation by the plate at successive bounces is assumed to be a discrete Markovian (memoryless) process. Here, we investigate numerically the behaviour of the model for continuous random excitations with tunable correlation time. We show that the system dynamics are controlled by the ratio of the Markovian mean flight time of the ball and the mean time between successive peaks in the motion of the exciting plate. When this ratio, which depends on the bandwidth of the excitation signal, exceeds a certain value, the Markovian approach is appropriate; below, memory of preceding excitations arises, leading to a significant decrease of the jump duration; at the smallest values of the ratio, chattering occurs. Overall, our results open the way for uses of the model in the low-excitation regime, which is still poorly understood.

  20. Influence of bouncing and assisted autogenic drainage on acid gastro-oesophageal reflux in infants.

    PubMed

    Van Ginderdeuren, Filip; Vandenplas, Yvan; Deneyer, Michel; Vanlaethem, Sylvie; Buyl, Ronald; Kerckhofs, Eric

    2017-08-01

    To determine the influence of modern airway clearance techniques using assisted autogenic drainage (AAD), whether or not combined with bouncing, on acid gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) in infants <1 year. In this controlled trial with intra-subject design infants were studied using oesophageal pH monitoring over 24 h, during which they received one 15 min session of bouncing, AAD or bouncing combined with AAD (BAAD). The number of reflux episodes (RE) and the refluxindex (RI) were the outcome measures. The results obtained during (T15) and 15 min after the intervention (T30) were compared to a period of 15 min before treatment (T0). The results of 150 infants, evenly distributed over the three treatment groups, were analyzed. No significant differences were found in number of RE at T15 and T30 compared to T0 in the bouncing group (P = 0.42), the AAD group (P = 0.14), and the BAAD group (P = 0.91). RI was significantly lower in the AAD group at T15 compared to T0 (P < 0.01). No differences in RI were found in the bouncing group (P = 0.28), nor in the BAAD group (P = 0.81). Bouncing, AAD and BAAD do not induce, nor aggravate acid GOR in infants under the age of 1 year. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Total Lightning Observations within Electrified Snowfall using Polarimetric Radar, LMA, and NLDN Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schultz, Christopher J.; Carey, Lawerence D.; Brunning, Eric C.; Blakeslee, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Four electrified snowfall cases are examined using total lightning measurements from lightning mapping arrays (LMAs), and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) from Huntsville, AL and Washington D.C. In each of these events, electrical activity was in conjunction with heavy snowfall rates, sometimes exceeding 5-8 cm hr-1. A combination of LMA, and NLDN data also indicate that many of these flashes initiated from tall communications towers and traveled over large horizontal distances. During events near Huntsville, AL, the Advanced Radar for Meteorological and Operational Research (ARMOR) C-band polarimetric radar was collecting range height indicators (RHIs) through regions of heavy snowfall. The combination of ARMOR polarimetric radar and VHF LMA observations suggested contiguous layer changes in height between sloping aggregate-dominated layers and horizontally-oriented crystals. These layers may have provided ideal conditions for the development of extensive regions of charge and resultant horizontal propagation of the lightning flashes over large distances.

  2. The dynamic cusp at low altitudes: A case study combining Viking, DMSP, and Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watermann, Jurgen; Delabeaujardiere, Odile; Lummerzheim, Dirk; Woch, Joachim; Newell, Patrick T.; Potemra, Thomas A.; Rich, Frederick J.; Shapshak, Mans

    1992-01-01

    A case study involving data from three satellites and a ground-based radar are presented. Focus is on a detailed discussion of observations of the dynamic cusp made on 24 Sep. 1986 in the dayside high-latitude ionosphere and interior magnetosphere. The relevant data from space-borne and ground-based sensors is presented. They include in-situ particle and field measurements from the DMSP-F7 and Viking spacecraft and Sondrestrom radar observations of the ionosphere. These data are augmented by observations of the IMF and the solar wind plasma. The observations are compared with predictions about the ionospheric response to the observed particle precipitation, obtained from an auroral model. It is shown that observations and model calculations fit well and provide a picture of the ionospheric footprint of the cusp in an invariant latitude versus local time frame. The combination of Viking, Sondrestrom radar, and IMP-8 data suggests that we observed an ionospheric signature of the dynamic cusp. Its spatial variation over time which appeared closely related to the southward component of the IMF was monitored.

  3. Observations of frontal zone structures with a VHF Doppler radar and radiosondes, part 1.2A

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Larsen, M. F.; Rottger, J.

    1984-01-01

    The SOUSY-VHF-Radar is a pulsed coherent radar operating at 53.5 MHz and located near Bad Lauterbert, West Germany. Since 1977, the facility, operated by the Max-Planck-Institut fur Aeronomie, has been used to make a series of frontal passage observations in the spring and fall. Experiments in winter have been difficult because part of the transmitting and receiving array is usually covered by snow during that part of the year. Wavelengths around 6 m are known to be sensitive to the vertical temperature structure of the atmosphere (GREEN and GAGE, 1980; RASTOGI and ROTTGER, 1982). Thus, it has been possible to use radars operating at frequencies near 500 MHz to locate the tropopause. Comparisons between radar data and radiosonde data have shown that there is a large gradient in the radar reflectivity at the height where the radiosonde tropopause occurs. An experiment carried out by ROTTGER (1979) on March 15 to 16, 1977, showed that the radar's sensitivity to the vertical temperature structure could also be used to locate the position of fronts. The SOUSY-VHF-Radar consists of a transmitting array, also used for receiving in some configurations, that can be scanned in the off-vertical direction but not at sufficiently low elevation angles to study the horizontal extent of structures.

  4. "Bouncing back": how Australia's leading women's magazines portray the postpartum 'body'.

    PubMed

    Roth, Heike; Homer, Caroline; Fenwick, Jennifer

    2012-09-01

    To examine how the Australian media portrays the childbearing body through the use of celebrity stories in women's magazines. The study aimed to provide insight into socially constructed factors that might influence women's body image and expectations during pregnancy and the early postnatal period. Media content analysis was used to analyse 25 celebrity stories about the childbearing postnatal body (images and texts) collected from Australia's three leading women's magazines between January and June 2009 (n=58). A variety of persuasive textual and visual messages were elicited. The major theme representing how the postnatal body was constructed was labelled 'Bouncing back'; the focus of this paper. The social messages inherent in the magazine stories were that women need to strive towards regaining a pre-pregnant body shape with the same effort one would employ when recovering from an illness. Three specific sub-themes that promoted weight loss were identified. These were labelled 'Racing to bounce back', 'Breastfeeding to bounce back' and 'Pretending to bounce back'. A fourth sub-theme, 'Refusing to bounce back: Celebrating my new body', grouped together stories about celebrities who appeared to embrace their changed, but healthy, postnatal body. The study highlighted the expectations of the postpartum body in relation to speedy return to the pre-pregnant state. Understanding how these portrayals may contribute to women's own body image and expectations in the early postpartum period may better assist maternity health care providers to engage with women in meaningful discussions about this important time in their lives and challenge notions of ideal body types. Assisting women to accept and nurture themselves and have confidence in their ability as a new parent is a crucial element of quality maternity service provision. Copyright © 2011 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Ku band airborne radar altimeter observations of marginal sea ice during the 1984 Marginal Ice Zone Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Drinkwater, Mark R.

    1991-01-01

    Pulse-limited, airborne radar data taken in June and July 1984 with a 13.8-GHz altimeter over the Fram Strait marginal ice zone are analyzed with the aid of large-format aerial photography, airborne synthetic aperture radar data, and surface observations. Variations in the radar return pulse waveforms are quantified and correlated with ice properties recorded during the Marginal Ice Zone Experiment. Results indicate that the wide-beam altimeter is a flexible instrument, capable of identifying the ice edge with a high degree of accuracy, calculating the ice concentration, and discriminating a number of different ice classes. This suggests that microwave radar altimeters have a sensitivity to sea ice which has not yet been fully exploited. When fused with SSM/I, AVHRR and ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar imagery, future ERS-1 altimeter data are expected to provide some missing pieces to the sea ice geophysics puzzle.

  6. Debris Flux Comparisons From The Goldstone Radar, Haystack Radar, and Hax Radar Prior, During, and After the Last Solar Maximum

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stokely, C. L.; Stansbery, E. G.; Goldstein, R. M.

    2006-01-01

    The continual monitoring of low Earth orbit (LEO) debris environment using highly sensitive radars is essential for an accurate characterization of these dynamic populations. Debris populations are continually evolving since there are new debris sources, previously unrecognized debris sources, and debris loss mechanisms that are dependent on the dynamic space environment. Such radar data are used to supplement, update, and validate existing orbital debris models. NASA has been utilizing radar observations of the debris environment for over a decade from three complementary radars: the NASA JPL Goldstone radar, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL) Long Range Imaging Radar (known as the Haystack radar), and the MIT/LL Haystack Auxiliary radar (HAX). All of these systems are highly sensitive radars that operate in a fixed staring mode to statistically sample orbital debris in the LEO environment. Each of these radars is ideally suited to measure debris within a specific size region. The Goldstone radar generally observes objects with sizes from 2 mm to 1 cm. The Haystack radar generally measures from 5 mm to several meters. The HAX radar generally measures from 2 cm to several meters. These overlapping size regions allow a continuous measurement of cumulative debris flux versus diameter from 2 mm to several meters for a given altitude window. This is demonstrated for all three radars by comparing the debris flux versus diameter over 200 km altitude windows for 3 nonconsecutive years from 1998 through 2003. These years correspond to periods before, during, and after the peak of the last solar cycle. Comparing the year to year flux from Haystack for each of these altitude regions indicate statistically significant changes in subsets of the debris populations. Potential causes of these changes are discussed. These analysis results include error bars that represent statistical sampling errors, and are detailed in this paper.

  7. Equatorial radar system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rukao, S.; Tsuda, T.; Sato, T.; Kato, S.

    1989-01-01

    A large clear air radar with the sensitivity of an incoherent scatter radar for observing the whole equatorial atmosphere up to 1000 km altitude is now being designed in Japan. The radar, called the Equatorial Radar, will be built in Pontianak, Kalimantan Island, Indonesia (0.03 N, 109.3 E). The system is a 47 MHz monostatic Doppler radar with an active phased array configuration similar to that of the MU radar in Japan, which has been in successful operation since 1983. It will have a PA product of more than 5 x 10(9) sq. Wm (P = average transmitter power, A = effective antenna aperture) with sensitivity more than 10 times that of the MU radar. This system configuration enables pulse-to-pulse beam steering within 25 deg from the zenith. As is the case of the MU radar, a variety of sophisticated operations will be made feasible under the supervision of the radar controller. A brief description of the system configuration is presented.

  8. Planetary radar studies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thompson, T. W.; Cutts, J. A.

    1981-01-01

    A catalog of lunar and radar anomalies was generated to provide a base for comparison with Venusian radar signatures. The relationships between lunar radar anomalies and regolith processes were investigated, and a consortium was formed to compare lunar and Venusian radar images of craters. Time was scheduled at the Arecibo Observatory to use the 430 MHz radar to obtain high resolution radar maps of six areas of the lunar suface. Data from 1978 observations of Mare Serenitas and Plato are being analyzed on a PDP 11/70 computer to construct the computer program library necessary for the eventual reduction of the May 1981 and subsequent data acquisitions. Papers accepted for publication are presented.

  9. Cosmological singularity resolution from quantum gravity: The emergent-bouncing universe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alesci, Emanuele; Botta, Gioele; Cianfrani, Francesco; Liberati, Stefano

    2017-08-01

    Alternative scenarios to the big bang singularity have been subject of intense research for several decades by now. Most popular in this sense have been frameworks were such singularity is replaced by a bounce around some minimal cosmological volume or by some early quantum phase. This latter scenario was devised a long time ago and referred as an "emergent universe" (in the sense that our universe emerged from a constant volume quantum phase). We show here that within an improved framework of canonical quantum gravity (the so-called quantum reduced loop gravity) the Friedmann equations for cosmology are modified in such a way to replace the big bang singularity with a short bounce preceded by a metastable quantum phase in which the volume of the universe oscillates between a series of local maxima and minima. We call this hybrid scenario an "emergent-bouncing universe" since after a pure oscillating quantum phase the classical Friedmann spacetime emerges. Perspective developments and possible tests of this scenario are discussed in the end.

  10. People bouncing on trampolines: dramatic energy transfer, a table-top demonstration, complex dynamics and a zero sum game.

    PubMed

    Srinivasan, Manoj; Wang, Yang; Sheets, Alison

    2013-01-01

    Jumping on trampolines is a popular backyard recreation. In some trampoline games (e.g., "seat drop war"), when two people land on the trampoline with only a small time-lag, one person bounces much higher than the other, as if energy has been transferred from one to the other. First, we illustrate this energy-transfer in a table-top demonstration, consisting of two balls dropped onto a mini-trampoline, landing almost simultaneously, sometimes resulting in one ball bouncing much higher than the other. Next, using a simple mathematical model of two masses bouncing passively on a massless trampoline with no dissipation, we show that with specific landing conditions, it is possible to transfer all the kinetic energy of one mass to the other through the trampoline - in a single bounce. For human-like parameters, starting with equal energy, the energy transfer is maximal when one person lands approximately when the other is at the bottom of her bounce. The energy transfer persists even for very stiff surfaces. The energy-conservative mathematical model exhibits complex non-periodic long-term motions. To complement this passive bouncing model, we also performed a game-theoretic analysis, appropriate when both players are acting strategically to steal the other player's energy. We consider a zero-sum game in which each player's goal is to gain the other player's kinetic energy during a single bounce, by extending her leg during flight. For high initial energy and a symmetric situation, the best strategy for both subjects (minimax strategy and Nash equilibrium) is to use the shortest available leg length and not extend their legs. On the other hand, an asymmetry in initial heights allows the player with more energy to gain even more energy in the next bounce. Thus synchronous bouncing unstable is unstable both for passive bouncing and when leg lengths are controlled as in game-theoretic equilibria.

  11. Preliminary VHF radar and high-data-rate optical turbulence profile observations using a balloon-ring platform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eaton, Frank D.; Nastrom, Gregory D.; Kyrazis, Demos T.; Black, Don G.; Black, Wiley T.; Black, R. Alastair

    2009-08-01

    A recent measurement campaign at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. involved taking simultaneous observations with a VHF radar and high-data-rate (1-micron diameter) platinum wires to sense optical turbulence (from temperature fluctuations). The radar observations produce profiles of the refractive index structure parameter (C2n ), the turbulent kinetic energy (σ2t ), the eddy dissipation rate (ɛ), the inner scale (lo ), the outer scale (Lo ) of turbulence, and wind speed and direction to an altitude of 20 km AGL. The fine wire measurements were taken from the surface with several sensors mounted on a balloon-ring platform sampling in excess of 3 kHz to balloon burst altitudes (typically above 25 km AGL). The main objectives of this effort are to compare the two measurement techniques and to obtain observations that can address several fundamental turbulence issues of the real turbulent atmosphere related to laser beam propagation. To date, modeling and simulation of laser beam propagation through atmospheric turbulence have relied upon a traditional theoretical basis that assumes the existence of homogeneous, isotropic, stationary, and Kolmogorov turbulence. Results presented from the radar observations include C2n, σ2t, ɛ, lo, and the standard deviation of vertical velocity (σw). A comparison of the profiles of C2n obtained from the two measurement techniques is shown and discussed. A time series of temperature data obtained from a fine wire probe traversing one radar range gate is presented and discussed. Future measurement and analysis efforts are presented.

  12. The proposed flatland radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Green, J. L.; Gage, K. S.; Vanzandt, T. E.; Nastrom, G. D.

    1986-01-01

    A flexible very high frequency (VHF) stratosphere-troposphere (ST) radar configured for meteorological research is to be constructed near Urbana, Illinois. Measurement of small vertical velocities associated with synoptic-scale meteorology can be performed. A large Doppler microwave radar (CHILL) is located a few km from the site of the proposed ST radar. Since the microwave radar can measure the location and velocity of hydrometeors and the VHF ST radar can measure clear (or cloudy) air velocities, simultaneous observations by these two radars of stratiform or convective weather systems would provide valuable meteorological information.

  13. Electrostatic ``bounce'' instability in a magnetotail configuration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fruit, G.; Louarn, P.; Tur, A.

    2013-02-01

    To understand the possible destabilization of two-dimensional current sheets, a kinetic model is proposed to describe the resonant interaction between electrostatic modes and trapped particles that bounce within the sheet. This work follows the initial investigation by Tur et al. [Phys. Plasmas 17, 102905 (2010)] that is revised and extended. Using a quasi-parabolic equilibrium state, the linearized gyro-kinetic Vlasov equation is solved for electrostatic fluctuations with period of the order of the electron bounce period. Using an appropriated Fourier expansion of the particle motion along the magnetic field, the complete time integration of the non-local perturbed distribution functions is performed. The dispersion relation for electrostatic modes is then obtained through the quasineutrality condition. It is found that strongly unstable electrostatic modes may develop provided that the current sheet is moderately stretched and, more important, that the proportion of passing particle remains small (less than typically 10%). This strong but finely tuned instability may offer opportunities to explain features of magnetospheric substorms.

  14. BOUNCE: A community-based mother–daughter healthy lifestyle intervention for low-income Latino families

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The primary purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a family-based exploratory community study titled BOUNCE (Behavior Opportunities Uniting Nutrition, Counseling, and Exercise), to increase physical fitness and activity in low-income Latino mothers and daughters. The BOUNCE study consis...

  15. Radar studies of bird migration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Williams, T. C.; Williams, J. M.

    1974-01-01

    Observations of bird migration with NASA radars were made at Wallops Island, Va. Simultaneous observations were made at a number of radar sites in the North Atlantic Ocean in an effort to discover what happened to those birds that were observed leaving the coast of North America headed toward Bermuda, the Caribbean and South America. Transatlantic migration, utilizing observations from a large number of radars is discussed. Detailed studies of bird movements at Wallops Island are presented.

  16. Earth observation photo taken by JPL with the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    Earth observation photo taken by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A). This image shows the Los Angeles basin. The area's freeways are visible as dark lines. The Los Angles harbor breakwater off Long Beach is seen as a bright line. Vessels in the harbor show as bright points.

  17. Ten Ways to Foster Resilience in Young Children--Teaching Kids to "Bounce Back"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Petty, Karen

    2014-01-01

    Resilience has often been defined as the ability to bounce back in times of adversity and to develop in a positive way when faced with setbacks. Children routinely show high amounts of resilience mostly because of temperament and a built-in sense of autonomy.Children are able to overcome adversity to bounce back before social and emotional harm is…

  18. Ground Radar Polarimetric Observations of High-Frequency Earth-Space Communication Links

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bolen, Steve; Chandrasekar, V.; Benjamin, Andrew

    2002-01-01

    Strategic roadmaps for NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space (REDS) enterprise support near-term high-frequency communication systems that provide moderate to high data rates with dependable service. Near-earth and human planetary exploration will baseline Ka-Band, but may ultimately require the use of even higher frequencies. Increased commercial demand on low-frequency earth-space bands has also led to increased interest in the use of higher frequencies in regions like K u - and K,- band. Data is taken from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR), which operates at 13.8 GHz, and the true radar reflectivity profile is determined along the PR beam via low-frequency ground based polarimetric observations. The specific differential phase (Kdp) is measured along the beam and a theoretical model is used to determine the expected specific attenuation (k). This technique, called the k-Kdp method, uses a Fuzzy-Logic model to determine the hydrometeor type along the PR beam from which the appropriate k-Kdp relationship is used to determine k and, ultimately, the total path-integrated attenuation (PIA) on PR measurements. Measurements from PR and the NCAR S-POL radar were made during the TEFLUN-B experiment that took place near Melbourne, FL in 1998, and the TRMM-LBA campaign near Ji-Parana, Brazil in 1999.

  19. Space Radar Image of Kilauea, Hawaii in 3-D

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1999-01-01

    erupted travels the 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Pu'u O'o crater (the active vent) just outside this image to the coast through a series of lava tubes, but in the past there have been many large lava flows that have traveled this distance, destroying houses and parts of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. This SIR-C/X-SAR image shows two types of lava flows that are common to Hawaiian volcanoes. Pahoehoe lava flows are relatively smooth, and appear very dark blue because much of the radar energy is reflected away from the radar. In contrast other lava flows are relatively rough and bounce much of the radar energy back to the radar, making that part of the image bright blue. This radar image is valuable because it allows scientists to study an evolving lava flow field from the Pu'u O'o vent. Much of the area on the northeast side (right) of the volcano is covered with tropical rain forest, and because trees reflect a lot of the radar energy, the forest appears bright in this radar scene. The linear feature running from Kilauea Crater to the right of the image is Highway 11leading to the city of Hilo which is located just beyond the right edge of this image. Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio

  20. ARMOR Dual-Polarimetric Radar Observations of Tornadic Debris Signatures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Petersen, W. A,; Carey, L. D.; Knupp, K. R.; Schultz, C.; Johnson, E.

    2008-01-01

    During the Super-Tuesday tornado outbreak of 5-6 February 2008, two EF-4 tornadoes occurred in Northern Alabama within 75 km range of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Advanced Radar for Meteorological and Operational Research (ARMOR, C-band dual-polarimetric). This study will present an analysis of ARMOR radar-indicated dual-polarimetric tornadic debris signatures. The debris signatures were associated with spatially-confined large decreases in the copolar correlation coefficient (rho(hv)hv) that were embedded within broader mesocyclone "hook" signatures. These debris signatures were most obviously manifest during the F-3 to F-4 intensity stages of the tornado(s) and extended to altitudes of approximately 3 km. The rho(hv) signatures of the tornadic debris were the most easily distinguished relative to other polarimetric and radial velocity parameters (e.g., associated with large hail and/or the incipient mesocyclone). Based on our analysis, and consistent with the small number of studies found in the literature, we conclude that dual-polarimetric radar data offer at least the possibility for enhancing specificity and confidence in the process of issuing tornado warnings based only on radar detection of threatening circulation features.

  1. First radar observations in the vicinity of the plasmapause of pulsed ionospheric flows generated by bursty bulk flows

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frissell, N. A.; Baker, J. B. H.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Clausen, L. B. N.; Kale, Z. C.; Rae, I. J.; Kepko, L.; Oksavik, K.; Greenwald, R. A.; West, M. L.

    2011-01-01

    Recent expansion of the SuperDARN network to mid-latitudes and the addition of a new high-time resolution mode provides new opportunities to observe mid-latitude ultra-low frequency waves and other ionospheric sub-auroral features at high temporal resolution. On 22 February 2008, the Blackstone SuperDARN radar and THEMIS ground magnetometers simultaneously observed substorm Pi2 pulsations. Similarities in measurements from the Blackstone radar and a magnetometer at Remus suggest a common generating mechanism. Cross-phase analysis of magnetometer data places these measurements at the ionospheric projection of the plasmapause, while fine spatial and temporal details of the radar data show evidence of field line compressions. About 1 min prior to ground Pi2 observation, 2 Earthward-moving Bursty Bulk Flows (BBFs) were observed by THEMIS probes D and E in the near-Earth plasma sheet. We conclude that the first 2 pulses of the Pi2s observed at Blackstone and Remus result from compressional energy generated by BBFs braking against the magnetospheric dipolar region.

  2. Doppler Radar and Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Observations of a Severe Outbreak of Tropical Cyclone Tornadoes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McCaul, Eugene W., Jr.; Buechler, Dennis; Cammarata, Michael; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Data from a single WSR-88D Doppler radar and the National Lightning Detection Network are used to examine the characteristics of the convective storms that produced a severe tornado outbreak within Tropical Storm Beryl's remnants on 16 August 1994. Comparison of the radar data with reports of tornadoes suggests that only 12 cells produced the 29 tornadoes that were documented in Georgia and the Carolinas on that date. Six of these cells spawned multiple tornadoes, and the radar data confirm the presence of miniature supercells. One of the cells was identifiable on radar for 11 hours, spawning tornadoes over a time period spanning approximately 6.5 hours. Time-height analyses of the three strongest supercells are presented in order to document storm kinematic structure and evolution. These Beryl mini-supercells were comparable in radar-observed intensity but much more persistent than other tropical cyclone-spawned tornadic cells documented thus far with Doppler radars. Cloud-to-ground lightning data are also examined for all the tornadic cells in this severe swarm-type tornado outbreak. These data show many of the characteristics of previously reported heavy-precipitation supercells. Lightning rates were weak to moderate, even in the more intense supercells, and in all the storms the lightning flashes were almost entirely negative in polarity. No lightning at all was detected in some of the single-tornado storms. In the stronger cells, there is some evidence that lightning rates can decrease during tornadogenesis, as has been documented before in some midlatitude tornadic storms. A number of the storms spawned tornadoes just after producing their final cloud-to-ground lightning flashes. These findings suggest possible benefits from implementation of observing systems capable of monitoring intracloud as well as cloud-to-ground lightning activity.

  3. Evaluation on surface current observing network of high frequency ground wave radars in the Gulf of Thailand

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yin, Xunqiang; Shi, Junqiang; Qiao, Fangli

    2018-05-01

    Due to the high cost of ocean observation system, the scientific design of observation network becomes much important. The current network of the high frequency radar system in the Gulf of Thailand has been studied using a three-dimensional coastal ocean model. At first, the observations from current radars have been assimilated into this coastal model and the forecast results have improved due to the data assimilation. But the results also show that further optimization of the observing network is necessary. And then, a series of experiments were carried out to assess the performance of the existing high frequency ground wave radar surface current observation system. The simulated surface current data in three regions were assimilated sequentially using an efficient ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation scheme. The experimental results showed that the coastal surface current observation system plays a positive role in improving the numerical simulation of the currents. Compared with the control experiment without assimilation, the simulation precision of surface and subsurface current had been improved after assimilated the surface currents observed at current networks. However, the improvement for three observing regions was quite different and current observing network in the Gulf of Thailand is not effective and a further optimization is required. Based on these evaluations, a manual scheme has been designed by discarding the redundant and inefficient locations and adding new stations where the performance after data assimilation is still low. For comparison, an objective scheme based on the idea of data assimilation has been obtained. Results show that all the two schemes of observing network perform better than the original network and optimal scheme-based data assimilation is much superior to the manual scheme that based on the evaluation of original observing network in the Gulf of Thailand. The distributions of the optimal network of radars could be a

  4. New aspects of the ionospheric irregularities observed with the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fukao, S.

    2003-04-01

    Coherent radar observations of 3-m equatorial spread F (ESF) irregularities have been conducted with the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) in the West Pacific (0.2oS, 100.32oW; geomagnetic latitude 10.63oS) since November 2002. The EAR has a peak output power of 100~kW and a circular antenna array approximately 110~m in diameter. An active phased-array antenna system enables it to view perpendicular to the geomagnetic field in a fan-shaped altitude-longitude sector which extends over 600~km at the altitude of 500~km. The purpose of this paper is to present some preliminary results obtained with this radar. First, the EAR observed that ESF irregularities with east-west scale sizes of 100-500~km usually appeared after sunset and traversed with a speed of the order of 100 m/s from west to east. They considerably changed their shapes, but the shapes of well-matured irregularities are, in general, quite similar to those inferred from altitude-time sections obtained simultaneously. Second, a tiny structure born within the sector was followed during its growth, and the growth rate was estimated to be 7x10-3/sec, the same order of magnitude as that of the gravitational Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Third, plasma bubbles as tall as 800~km in altitude (their maximum apex altitude is about 1300~km) appeared without being accompanied by any upwelling below which is usually observed at other longitudes. This result indicates that the ESF irregularities are first generated at the equator and rapidly rise upward involving higher latitude regions connected with the same geomagnetic field lines. Finally, an intense ESF irregularity was observed after sunrise, which moved first toward the pole and then disappeared to the west. Its growth rate is similar to the nocturnal irregularity. It will be interesting to investigate these new aspects of the ESF irregularities in this longitude for elucidation of their generation mechanism.

  5. Cosmological singularities and bounce in Cartan-Einstein theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lucat, Stefano; Prokopec, Tomislav

    2017-10-01

    We consider a generalized Einstein-Cartan theory, in which we add the unique covariant dimension four operators to general relativity that couples fermionic spin current to the torsion tensor (with an arbitrary strength). Since torsion is local and non-dynamical, when integrated out it yields an effective four-fermion interaction of the gravitational strength. We show how to renormalize the theory, in the one-loop perturbative expansion in generally curved space-times, obtaining the first order correction to the 2PI effective action in Schwinger-Keldysh (in-in) formalism. We then apply the renormalized theory to study the dynamics of a collapsing universe that begins in a thermal state and find that—instead of a big crunch singularity—the Universe with torsion undergoes a bounce. We solve the dynamical equations (a) classically (without particle production); (b) including the production of fermions in a fixed background in the Hartree-Fock approximation and (c) including the quantum backreaction of fermions onto the background space-time. In the first and last cases the Universe undergoes a bounce. The production of fermions due to the coupling to a contracting homogeneous background speeds up the bounce, implying that the quantum contributions from fermions is negative, presumably because fermion production contributes negatively to the energy-momentum tensor. When compared with former works on the subject, our treatment is fully microscopic (namely, we treat fermions by solving the corresponding Dirac equations) and quantum (in the sense that we include fermionic loop contributions).

  6. Geometric saliency to characterize radar exploitation performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nolan, Adam; Keserich, Brad; Lingg, Andrew; Goley, Steve

    2014-06-01

    Based on the fundamental scattering mechanisms of facetized computer-aided design (CAD) models, we are able to define expected contributions (EC) to the radar signature. The net result of this analysis is the prediction of the salient aspects and contributing vehicle morphology based on the aspect. Although this approach does not provide the fidelity of an asymptotic electromagnetic (EM) simulation, it does provide very fast estimates of the unique scattering that can be consumed by a signature exploitation algorithm. The speed of this approach is particularly relevant when considering the high dimensionality of target configuration variability due to articulating parts which are computationally burdensome to predict. The key scattering phenomena considered in this work are the specular response from a single bounce interaction with surfaces and dihedral response formed between the ground plane and vehicle. Results of this analysis are demonstrated for a set of civilian target models.

  7. Earth observation photo taken by JPL with the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    Photos of earth observations taken by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A). This image shows Lake Okeechobee (right) and Lake Istokopoga (left) in Central Florida. Lake Okeechobee is bounded on the east by rectangular agricultural fields and to the south and west by swamps and wetlands which appear as bright features.

  8. Contribution of multitemporal polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data for monitoring winter wheat and rapeseed crops

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Betbeder, Julie; Fieuzal, Remy; Philippets, Yannick; Ferro-Famil, Laurent; Baup, Frederic

    2016-04-01

    This paper aims to evaluate the contribution of multitemporal polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for winter wheat and rapeseed crops parameters [height, leaf area index, and dry biomass (DB)] estimation, during their whole vegetation cycles in comparison to backscattering coefficients and optical data. Angular sensitivities and dynamics of polarimetric indicators were also analyzed following the growth stages of these two common crop types using, in total, 14 radar images (Radarsat-2), 16 optical images (Formosat-2, Spot-4/5), and numerous ground data. The results of this study show the importance of correcting the angular effect on SAR signals especially for copolarized signals and polarimetric indicators associated to single-bounce scattering mechanisms. The analysis of the temporal dynamic of polarimetric indicators has shown their high potential to detect crop growth changes. Moreover, this study shows the high interest of using SAR parameters (backscattering coefficients and polarimetric indicators) for crop parameters estimation during the whole vegetation cycle instead of optical vegetation index. They particularly revealed their high potential for rapeseed height and DB monitoring [i.e., Shannon entropy polarimetry (r2=0.70) and radar vegetation index (r2=0.80), respectively].

  9. Measuring the rebound resilience of a bouncing ball

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wadhwa, Ajay

    2012-09-01

    Some balls which are made of high-quality rubber (an elastomeric) material, such as tennis or squash balls, could be used for the determination of an important property of such materials called resilience. Since a bouncing ball involves a single impact we call this property 'rebound resilience' and express it as the ratio of the rebound height to the initial drop height of the ball. We determine the rebound resilience for three different types of ball by calculating the coefficient of restitution of the ball-surface combination from the experimentally measurable physical quantities, such as initial drop height and time interval between successive bounces. Using these we also determine the contact time of balls with the surface of impact. For measurements we have used audio, motion and surface-temperature sensors that were interfaced through a USB port with a computer.

  10. Observations of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere using the urbana coherent-scatter radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goss, L. D.; Bowhill, S. A.

    1983-01-01

    The Urbana coherent-scatter radar was used to observe the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, and 134 hours of data were collected. Horizontal wind measurements show good agreement with balloon-measured winds. Gravity waves were frequently observed, and were enhanced during convective activity. Updrafts and downdrafts were observed within thunderstorms. Power returns are related to hydrostatic stability, and changes in echo specularity are shown.

  11. Ganymede: observations by radar.

    PubMed

    Goldstein, R M; Morris, G A

    1975-06-20

    Radar cross-section measurements indicate that Ganymede scatters to Earth 12 percent of the power expected from a conducting sphere of the same size and distance. This compares with 8 percent for Mars, 12 percent for Venus, 6 percent for Mercury, and about 8 percent for the asteroid Toro. Furthermore, Ganymede is considerably rougher (to the scale of the wavelength used, 12.6 centimeters) than Mars, Venus, or Mercury. Roughness is made evident in this experiment by the presence of echoes away from the center of the disk. A perfectly smooth target would reflect only a glint from the center, whereas a very rough target would reflect power from over the entire disk.

  12. A comparison of in situ and airborne radar observations of ocean wave directionality

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jackson, F. C.; Walton, W. T.; Peng, C. Y.

    1985-01-01

    The directional spectrum of a fully arisen, about 3 m sea as measured by an experimental airborne radar, the NASA K(u)-band radar ocean wave spectrometer (ROWS), is compared to reference pitch-roll buoy data and to the classical SWOP (stereo wave observations project) spectrum for fully developed conditions. The ROWS spectrum, inferred indirectly from backscattered power measurements at 5-km altitude, is shown to be in excellent agreement with the buoy spectrum. Specifically, excellent agreement is found between the two nondirectional height spectra, and mean wave directions and directional spreads as functions of frequency. A comparison of the ROWS and SWOP spectra shows the two spectra to be very similar, in detailed shape as well as in terms of the gross spreading characteristics. Both spectra are seen to exhibit bimodal structures which accord with the Phillips' (1958) resonance mechanism. This observation is thus seen to support Phillips' contention that the SWOP modes were indeed resonance modes, not statistical artifacts.

  13. People Bouncing on Trampolines: Dramatic Energy Transfer, a Table-Top Demonstration, Complex Dynamics and a Zero Sum Game

    PubMed Central

    Srinivasan, Manoj; Wang, Yang; Sheets, Alison

    2013-01-01

    Jumping on trampolines is a popular backyard recreation. In some trampoline games (e.g., “seat drop war”), when two people land on the trampoline with only a small time-lag, one person bounces much higher than the other, as if energy has been transferred from one to the other. First, we illustrate this energy-transfer in a table-top demonstration, consisting of two balls dropped onto a mini-trampoline, landing almost simultaneously, sometimes resulting in one ball bouncing much higher than the other. Next, using a simple mathematical model of two masses bouncing passively on a massless trampoline with no dissipation, we show that with specific landing conditions, it is possible to transfer all the kinetic energy of one mass to the other through the trampoline – in a single bounce. For human-like parameters, starting with equal energy, the energy transfer is maximal when one person lands approximately when the other is at the bottom of her bounce. The energy transfer persists even for very stiff surfaces. The energy-conservative mathematical model exhibits complex non-periodic long-term motions. To complement this passive bouncing model, we also performed a game-theoretic analysis, appropriate when both players are acting strategically to steal the other player's energy. We consider a zero-sum game in which each player's goal is to gain the other player's kinetic energy during a single bounce, by extending her leg during flight. For high initial energy and a symmetric situation, the best strategy for both subjects (minimax strategy and Nash equilibrium) is to use the shortest available leg length and not extend their legs. On the other hand, an asymmetry in initial heights allows the player with more energy to gain even more energy in the next bounce. Thus synchronous bouncing unstable is unstable both for passive bouncing and when leg lengths are controlled as in game-theoretic equilibria. PMID:24236029

  14. Titan Radar Mapper observations from Cassini's T3 fly-by

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Elachi, C.; Wall, S.; Janssen, M.; Stofan, E.; Lopes, R.; Kirk, R.; Lorenz, R.; Lunine, J.; Paganelli, F.; Soderblom, L.; Wood, C.; Wye, L.; Zebker, H.; Anderson, Y.; Ostro, S.; Allison, M.; Boehmer, R.; Callahan, P.; Encrenaz, P.; Flamini, E.; Francescetti, G.; Gim, Y.; Hamilton, G.; Hensley, S.; Johnson, W.; Kelleher, K.; Muhleman, D.; Picardi, G.; Posa, F.; Roth, L.; Seu, R.; Shaffer, S.; Stiles, B.; Vetrella, S.; West, R.

    2006-01-01

    Cassini's Titan Radar Mapper imaged the surface of Saturn's moon Titan on its February 2005 fly-by (denoted T3), collecting high-resolution synthetic-aperture radar and larger-scale radiometry and scatterometry data. These data provide the first definitive identification of impact craters on the surface of Titan, networks of fluvial channels and surficial dark streaks that may be longitudinal dunes. Here we describe this great diversity of landforms. We conclude that much of the surface thus far imaged by radar of the haze-shrouded Titan is very young, with persistent geologic activity. ?? 2006 Nature Publishing Group.

  15. The Pulkovo Cooperation for Radar and Optical Observations of Space Objects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Molotov, I.; Konovalenko, A. A.; Tuccari, G.; Falkovich, I.; Nechaeva, M.; Kiladze, R.; Titenko, V.; Agapov, V.; Khutorovsky, Z. N.; Sukhov, P. P.; Burtsev, Yu.; Sochilina, A.; Abalakin, V.; et al.

    The Pulkovo observatory is arranging the cooperation of optical and radio telescopes for space debris studies in two main research directions, i.e. the precise tracking of the GEO-objects for development of the dynamical control method and the barrier method study of small fragments produced by GEO-object explosions.Radar experiments are being carried out a few times per year by using the Evpatoria RT-70 transmitter and the receiving radio telescopes in Bear Lakes (Russia), Simeiz (Ukraine), Noto (Italy), and Urumqi (China). The data processing centers are located in N. Novgorod and Noto, and integrated into the Low Frequency VLBI Network (LFVN). The adjustment of the coordinated radar VLBI measurements has been completed, and the technique of beam-track searching has been tested. The program of the LFVN modernizations is in progress The Pulkovo cooperation of optical observers (PULCOO) includes observatories and observation stations of the former Soviet Union around the world, and is to provide the routine tracking of the GEO-objects. The adjustment has been carried out for the method to search for GEO-fragments in the barriers predicted on basis of the Pulkovo "LAPLACE" theory of motion. The refurbishment program for telescopes, which cooperate with the PULCOO, is in progress.

  16. Observations of Penetration Electric Fields and Sub-Auroral Ion Drifts With Mid-Latitude SuperDARN Radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baker, J. B.; Greenwald, R. A.; Yin, Y.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Clausen, L.; Frissell, N. A.; Ribeiro, A. J.

    2009-12-01

    The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) provides continuous Doppler measurements of ionospheric plasma convection over extended spatial scales with high temporal resolution. First generation SuperDARN radars were constructed at magnetic latitudes near 60 degrees to optimize coverage during periods of moderate geomagnetic activity. In recent years there has been an expansion of the network to middle latitudes to increase coverage during enhanced geomagnetic activity, such as during magnetic storms. In this paper we present measurements of prompt penetration electric fields and sub-auroral ion drift (SAID) events observed by the Wallops and Blackstone radars at middle latitudes. Together, these two radars provide a capability to continuously examine the temporal evolution of these features over an extended local time sector. We present case studies and statistical results showing that transient sub-auroral flow enhancements occur over a wide range of magnetospheric disturbance levels and are often highly correlated with activity at higher latitudes.

  17. Primordial gravitational waves in a quantum model of big bounce

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bergeron, Hervé; Gazeau, Jean Pierre; Małkiewicz, Przemysław

    2018-05-01

    We quantise and solve the dynamics of gravitational waves in a quantum Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker spacetime filled with perfect fluid. The classical model is formulated canonically. The Hamiltonian constraint is de-parametrised by setting a fluid variable as the internal clock. The obtained reduced (i.e. physical) phase space is then quantised. Our quantisation procedure is implemented in accordance with two different phase space symmetries, namely, the Weyl-Heisenberg symmetry for the perturbation variables, and the affine symmetry for the background variables. As an appealing outcome, the initial singularity is removed and replaced with a quantum bounce. The quantum model depends on a free parameter that is naturally induced from quantisation and determines the scale of the bounce. We study the dynamics of the quantised gravitational waves across the bounce through three different methods ("thin-horizon", analytical and numerical) which give consistent results and we determine the primordial power spectrum for the case of radiation-dominated universe. Next, we use the instantaneous radiation-matter transition transfer function to make approximate predictions for late universe and constrain our model with LIGO and Planck data. We also give an estimate of the quantum uncertainties in the present-day universe.

  18. The research of radar target tracking observed information linear filter method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Zheng; Zhao, Xuanzhi; Zhang, Wen

    2018-05-01

    Aiming at the problems of low precision or even precision divergent is caused by nonlinear observation equation in radar target tracking, a new filtering algorithm is proposed in this paper. In this algorithm, local linearization is carried out on the observed data of the distance and angle respectively. Then the kalman filter is performed on the linearized data. After getting filtered data, a mapping operation will provide the posteriori estimation of target state. A large number of simulation results show that this algorithm can solve above problems effectively, and performance is better than the traditional filtering algorithm for nonlinear dynamic systems.

  19. A Deep Neural Network Model for Rainfall Estimation UsingPolarimetric WSR-88DP Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, H.; Chandra, C. V.; Chen, H.

    2016-12-01

    Rainfall estimation based on radar measurements has been an important topic for a few decades. Generally, radar rainfall estimation is conducted through parametric algorisms such as reflectivity-rainfall relation (i.e., Z-R relation). On the other hand, neural networks are developed for ground rainfall estimation based on radar measurements. This nonparametric method, which takes into account of both radar observations and rainfall measurements from ground rain gauges, has been demonstrated successfully for rainfall rate estimation. However, the neural network-based rainfall estimation is limited in practice due to the model complexity and structure, data quality, as well as different rainfall microphysics. Recently, the deep learning approach has been introduced in pattern recognition and machine learning areas. Compared to traditional neural networks, the deep learning based methodologies have larger number of hidden layers and more complex structure for data representation. Through a hierarchical learning process, the high level structured information and knowledge can be extracted automatically from low level features of the data. In this paper, we introduce a novel deep neural network model for rainfall estimation based on ground polarimetric radar measurements .The model is designed to capture the complex abstractions of radar measurements at different levels using multiple layers feature identification and extraction. The abstractions at different levels can be used independently or fused with other data resource such as satellite-based rainfall products and/or topographic data to represent the rain characteristics at certain location. In particular, the WSR-88DP radar and rain gauge data collected in Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex and Florida are used extensively to train the model, and for demonstration purposes. Quantitative evaluation of the deep neural network based rainfall products will also be presented, which is based on an independent rain gauge

  20. Sources and Characteristics of Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Observed by SuperDARN Radars in the North American Sector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frissell, N. A.; Baker, J. B.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Greenwald, R. A.; Gerrard, A. J.; Miller, E. S.; West, M. L.

    2015-12-01

    Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) are wave-like perturbations of the F-region ionosphere with horizontal wavelengths on the order of several hundred kilometers, and periods between 15 - 60 min. In SuperDARN radar data, MSTID signatures are manifested as quasi-periodic enhancements of ground backscatter (i.e. skip focusing) which propagate through the radar field-of-view. At high latitudes, SuperDARN observations of MSTIDs have generally been attributed to atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) launched by auroral sources (e.g. Joule heating). However, recent studies with newer mid-latitude radars have shown MSTIDs are routinely observed in the subauroral ionosphere as well. To develop a more complete picture of MSTID activity, we have surveyed observations from four high latitude and six mid latitude SuperDARN radars located in the North American sector collected between 2011 and 2015 during the months of November to May. Consistent with previous SuperDARN MSTID studies, all radars observed MSTIDs with horizontal wavelengths between ~250 - 500 km and horizontal velocities between ~100 - 250 m/s. The majority of the MSTIDs were observed to propagate in a predominantly southward direction, with bearings ranging from ~135 ̊ - 250 ̊ geographic azimuth. This is highly suggestive of high latitude auroral sources; however, no apparent correlation with geomagnetic or space weather activity could be identified. Rather, comparison of the SuperDARN MSTID time-series data with northern hemisphere geopotential data from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) operational model reveals a strong correlation of MSTID activity with dynamics in the polar vortex structure on two primary time scales. First, a seasonal effect manifests as enhanced MSTID activity from November through January, followed by a depressed period from February to May. This appears to correspond with the seasonal development and later decay of the polar vortex. A

  1. Currents and Associated Electron Scattering and Bouncing Near the Diffusion Region at Earth's Magnetopause

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lavraud, B.; Zhang, Y. C.; Vernisse, Y.; Gershman, D. J.; Dorelli, J.; Cassak, P. A.; Dargent, J.; Pollock, C.; Giles, B.; Aunai, N.; hide

    2016-01-01

    Based on high-resolution measurements from NASA's Magnetospheric Multlscale mission, we present the dynamics of electrons associated with current systems observed near the diffusion region of magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause. Using pitch angle distributions (PAD) and magnetic curvature analysis, we demonstrate the occurrence of electron scattering in the curved magnetic field of the diffusion region down to energies of 20eV. We show that scattering occurs closer to the current sheet as the electron energy decreases. The scattering of Inflowing electrons, associated with field-aligned electrostatic potentials and Hall currents, produces a new population of scattered electrons with broader PAD which bounce back and forth in the exhaust. Except at the center of the diffusion region the two populations are collocated and appear to behave adiabatically: the inflowing electron PAD focuses inward (toward lower magnetic field), while the bouncing population PAD gradually peaks at 90 degrees away from the center (where it mirrors owing to higher magnetic field and probable field-aligned potentials).

  2. Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (85989) 1999 JD6: Radar, Infrared, and Lightcurve Observations and a Preliminary Shape Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marshall, Sean E.; Howell, Ellen S.; Brozović, Marina; Taylor, Patrick A.; Campbell, Donald B.; Benner, Lance A. M.; Naidu, Shantanu P.; Giorgini, Jon D.; Jao, Joseph S.; Lee, Clement G.; Richardson, James E.; Rodriguez-Ford, Linda A.; Rivera-Valentin, Edgard G.; Ghigo, Frank; Kobelski, Adam; Busch, Michael W.; Pravec, Petr; Warner, Brian D.; Reddy, Vishnu; Hicks, Michael D.; Crowell, Jenna L.; Fernandez, Yanga R.; Vervack, Ronald J.; Nolan, Michael C.; Magri, Christopher; Sharkey, Benjamin; Bozek, Brandon

    2015-11-01

    We report observations of potentially hazardous asteroid (85989) 1999 JD6, which passed 0.048 AU from Earth (19 lunar distances) during its close approach on July 25, 2015. During eleven days between July 15 and August 4, 2015, we observed 1999 JD6 with the Goldstone Solar System Radar and with Arecibo Observatory's planetary radar, including bistatic reception of some Goldstone echoes at Green Bank. We obtained delay-Doppler radar images at a wide range of latitudes, with range resolutions varying from 7.5 to 150 meters per pixel, depending on the observing conditions. We acquired near-infrared spectra from the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) on two nights in July 2015, at wavelengths from 0.75 to 5.0 microns, showing JD6's thermal emission. We also obtained optical lightcurves from Ondrejov Observatory (in 1999), Table Mountain Observatory (in 2000), and Palmer Divide Station (in 2015). Previous observers had suggested that 1999 JD6 was most likely an elongated object, based on its large lightcurve amplitude of 1.2 magnitudes (Szabo et al. 2001; Polishook and Brosch 2008; Warner 2014). The radar images reveal an elongated peanut-shaped object, with two lobes separated by a sharp concavity. JD6's maximum diameter is about two kilometers, and its larger lobe is approximately 50% longer than its smaller lobe. The larger lobe has a concavity on its end. We will present more details on the shape and rotation state of 1999 JD6, as well as its surface properties from optical and infrared data and thermal modeling.

  3. Scattering cross section of mesospheric echoes and turbulence parameters from Gadanki radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Selvaraj, D.; Patra, A. K.; Chandra, H.; Sinha, H. S. S.; Das, U.

    2014-11-01

    We present a comprehensive study on radar scattering cross section of mesospheric echoes and mesospheric turbulence parameters based on several days of observations made during two rocket-radar campaigns, one in July 2004 and another in April 2005, meant for studying mesospheric turbulence. Radar scattering cross section was found to have large local time and day-to-day variability and was found to be as low as 3.1×10-18 m-1 and as high as 1×10-14 m-1 and the median values were in the range of 4.4×10-18-4.7×10-16 m-1. Echoes connected with the low value of scattering cross section could be detected only when a long pulse width was used. Turbulence parameters were found to vary remarkably with time of the day and also from one day to another. In July, the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rate, outer scale and inner scale were in the range of 0.08-150 mW/kg, 33-1500 m, and 1.9-50 m, respectively, and their median values were in the range of 5-52 mW/kg, 293-977 m, and 2-31 m, respectively. In April, these estimates were in the range of 0.9-69 mW/kg, 38-1081 m, and 4-21 m, respectively, and their median values were in the range of 1-12 mW/kg, 140-378 m, and 8-13 m, respectively. These parameters are found to agree quite well with those estimated from rocket-borne observations, which were in the range of 4-117 mW/kg, 220-1475 m, and 15-31 m, respectively, in July and 2-36 mW/kg, 170-680 m, and 17-37 m, respectively, in April. Interestingly, the inner and outer scales estimated using both radar and rocket observations agree exceedingly well with model values. These results are compared in detail with those reported from low, middle and high latitudes including model and discussed in the light of current knowledge of mesospheric turbulence.

  4. Cassini RADAR Observations of Phoebe, Iapetus, Enceladus, and Rhea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ostro, S. J.; West, R. D.; Janssen, M. A.; Zebker, H. A.; Wye, L. C.; Lunine, J. I.; Lopes, R. M.; Kelleher, K.; Hamilton, G. A.; Gim, Y.; Anderson, Y. Z.; Boehmer, R. A.; Lorenz, R. D.

    2005-12-01

    Operating in its scatterometry mode, the Cassini radar has obtained 2.2-cm-wavelength echo power spectra from Phoebe on the inbound and outbound legs of its flyby (subradar points at W. Long, Lat. = 245,-22 deg and 328,+27 deg), from Iapetus' leading side (66,+39 deg) and trailing side (296,+44 deg) on the inbound and outbound legs of orbit BC, from Enceladus during orbits 3 (0,0 deg) and 4 (70,-13 deg), and from Rhea during orbit 11 (64,-77 deg). Our echo spectra, obtained in the same linear (SL) polarization as transmitted, are broad, nearly featureless, and much stronger than expected if the echoes were due just to single backreflections. Rather, volume scattering from the subsurface probably is primarily responsible for the echoes. This conclusion is supported by the strong anticorrelation between our targets' radar albedos (radar cross section divided by target projected area) and disc brightness temperatures estimated from passive radiometric measurements obtained during each radar flyby. Taking advantage of the available information about the radar properties of the icy satellites of Saturn and Jupiter, especially the linear- and circular-polarization characteristics of groundbased echoes from the icy Galilean satellites (Ostro et al. 1992, J. Geophys. Res. 97, 18227-18244), we estimate our targets' 2.2-cm total-power (TP) albedos and compare them to Arecibo and Goldstone values for icy satellites at 3.5, 13, and 70 cm. Our four targets' albedos span an order of magnitude and decrease in the same order as their optical albedos: Enceladus/Rhea/Iapetus/Phoebe. This sequence most likely corresponds to increasing contamination of near-surface water ice, whose extremely low electrical loss at radio wavelengths permits the multiple scattering responsible for high radar albedos. Plausible candidates for contaminants causing variations in radar albedo include ammonia, silicates, and polar organics. Modeling of icy Galilean satellite echoes indicates that penetration

  5. Bouncing ball problem: stability of the periodic modes.

    PubMed

    Barroso, Joaquim J; Carneiro, Marcus V; Macau, Elbert E N

    2009-02-01

    Exploring all its ramifications, we give an overview of the simple yet fundamental bouncing ball problem, which consists of a ball bouncing vertically on a sinusoidally vibrating table under the action of gravity. The dynamics is modeled on the basis of a discrete map of difference equations, which numerically solved fully reveals a rich variety of nonlinear behaviors, encompassing irregular nonperiodic orbits, subharmonic and chaotic motions, chattering mechanisms, and also unbounded nonperiodic orbits. For periodic motions, the corresponding conditions for stability and bifurcation are determined from analytical considerations of a reduced map. Through numerical examples, it is shown that a slight change in the initial conditions makes the ball motion switch from periodic to chaotic orbits bounded by a velocity strip v=+/-Gamma(1-epsilon) , where Gamma is the nondimensionalized shaking acceleration and epsilon the coefficient of restitution which quantifies the amount of energy lost in the ball-table collision.

  6. Goldstone/VLA 3.5cm Mars Radar Observations - "Stealths" and South Polar Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butler, Bryan; Chizek, M. R.; Slade, M. A.; Haldemann, A. F.; Muhleman, D. O.; Mao, T. F.

    2006-09-01

    The opposition of Mars in 2003 provided a fantastic opportunity to use the combined Goldstone/VLA radar to probe the surface with the highest resolution ever obtained on Mars with that instrument (as good as 70 km). Observations were made on August 11, 19, 28, and September 8. Details of data reduction and analysis of the radar echoes from the volcanic regions of the planet are presented in a companion paper in these proceedings (Chizek et al.). We will present results related to "Stealth" (and other radar-dark regions of the planet, including the Argyre and Hellas Planitiae, and a region to the west of the Elysium Mons caldera), and the south polar residual and seasonal ice caps. The size, shape, and reflectivity characteristics of Stealth and "mega-Stealth" (Edgett et al. 1997) are reaffirmed, with a better viewing geometry of the western extent of the feature than had been obtained previously. It had been speculated previously that Hellas Planitia should also be radar dark - this is confirmed by our imaging, though the reflectivity is not as low as for Stealth. We find a new radar dark area to the west of Elysium Mons, which is likely an ash fall from that volcano (similar to the relationship between Stealth and the Tharsis volcanoes). The south polar residual ice cap is a very bright reflector, as seen previously, but we now also see a very bright reflection from the seasonal cap, not seen previously. The cap is not uniformly bright, however, and the extent of the bright reflection does not correspond to that expected from the retreat of the cap as measured either from albedo or thermal emission characteristics. The NRAO is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

  7. Bistatic Radar Observations of the Moon Using Mini-RF on LRO and the Arecibo Observatory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Patterson, G. W.; Stickle, A. M.; Turner, F. S.; Jensen, J. R.; Bussey, D. B. J.; Spudis, P.; Espiritu, R. C.; Schulze, R. C.; Yocky, D. A.; Wahl, D. E.; hide

    2016-01-01

    The Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a hybrid dual-polarized synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that operated in concert with the Arecibo Observatory to collect bistatic radar data of the lunar nearside from 2012 to 2015. The purpose of this bistatic campaign was to characterize the radar scattering properties of the surface and near-surface, as a function of bistatic angle, for a variety of lunar terrains and search for a coherent backscatter opposition effect indicative of the presence of water ice. A variety of lunar terrain types were sampled over a range of incidence and bistatic angles; including mare, highland, pyroclastic, crater ejecta, and crater floor materials. Responses consistent with an opposition effect were observed for the ejecta of several Copernican-aged craters and the floor of the south-polar crater Cabeus. The responses of ejecta material varied by crater in a manner that suggests a relationship with crater age. The response for Cabeus was observed within the portion of its floor that is not in permanent shadow. The character of the response differs from that of crater ejecta and appears unique with respect to all other lunar terrains observed. Analysis of data for this region suggests that the unique nature of the response may indicate the presence of near-surface deposits of water ice.

  8. Evaluating the potential use of a high-resolution X-band polarimetric radar observations in Urban Hydrology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anagnostou, Marios N.; Kalogiros, John; Marzano, Frank S.; Anagnostou, Emmanouil N.; Baldini, Luca; Nikolopoulos, EfThymios; Montopoli, Mario; Picciotti, Errico

    2014-05-01

    The Mediterranean area concentrates the major natural risks related to the water cycle, including heavy precipitation and flash-flooding during the fall season. Every year in central and south Europe we witness several fatal and economical disasters from severe storm rainfall triggering Flash Floods, and its impacts are increasing worldwide, but remain very difficult to manage. The spatial scale of flash flood occurrence is such that its vulnerability is often focused on dispersed urbanization, transportation and tourism infrastructures (De Marchi and Scolobig 2012). Urbanized and industrialized areas shows peculiar hydrodynamic and meteo-oceanographic features and they concentrate the highest rates of flash floods and fatal disasters. The main causes of disturbance being littoral urban development and harbor activities, the building of littoral rail- and highways, and the presence of several polluted discharges. All the above mentioned characteristics limit our ability to issue timely flood warnings. Precipitation estimates based on raingauge networks are usually associated with low coverage density, particularly at high altitudes. On the other hand, operational weather radar networks may provide valuable information of precipitation at these regimes but reliability of their estimates is often limited due to retrieval (e.g. variability in the reflectivity-to-rainfall relationship) and spatial extent constrains (e.g. blockage issues, overshooting effects). As a result, we currently lack accurate precipitation estimates over urban complex terrain areas, which essentially means that we lack accurate knowledge of the triggering factor for a number of hazards like flash floods and debris flows/landslides occurring in those areas. A potential solution to overcome sampling as well as retrieval uncertainty limitations of current observational networks might be the use of network of low-power dual-polarization X-band radars as complement to raingauges and gap-filling to

  9. Geomagnetic Dependence of Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) Observed by Mid- and High- Latitude SuperDARN Radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frissell, N. A.; Baker, J. B.; Ruohoniemi, J.; Miller, E.; West, M.; Bristow, W. A.

    2013-12-01

    Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) are wave-like perturbations of the F-region ionosphere with horizontal wavelengths on the order of 100-250 km and periods between ~15 - 60 min. They are generally thought to be the ionospheric manifestation of Atmospheric Gravity Waves (AGWs). High-latitude MSTIDs have been studied using SuperDARN radars for many years, and have typically been attributed to auroral sources propagated by the Earth Reflected Wave (ERW) mode. Tropospheric sources and earthquakes are also known to be sources of MSTIDs. The goal of this study is to see if high- and mid- latitude MSTIDs share the same source region. Observations of MSTIDs using both mid- and high- latitude SuperDARN radars are presented. A case study using MSTIDs observed at the high latitude Goose Bay Radar (GBR) and the midlatitude Blackstone Radar (BKS) suggest that the auroral source is more likely for GBR than for BKS. BKS radar data from June 2010 - June 2011 were searched for signatures of MSTIDs. Statistics of propagation direction and wavelength for each event are used to suggest MSTID sources. Results show that MSTIDs are observed at BKS primarily in the fall/winter months, which is consistent with previously published results for high latitude stations. Distributions of MSTID occurrence organized by geomagnetic parameters Kp, SYM-H, and AE are presented to investigate MSTID dependence on geomagnetic activity at BKS. No correlation is found between these parameters and midlatitude MSTID occurrence, which suggests that high- and mid-latitude MSTIDs have different sources.

  10. Comparing Vesta's Surface Roughness to the Moon Using Bistatic Radar Observations by the Dawn Mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Palmer, E. M.; Heggy, E.; Kofman, W. W.; Moghaddam, M.

    2015-12-01

    The first orbital bistatic radar (BSR) observations of a small body have been conducted opportunistically by NASA's Dawn spacecraft at Asteroid Vesta using the telecommunications antenna aboard Dawn to transmit and the Deep Space Network 70-meter antennas on Earth to receive. Dawn's high-gain communications antenna continuously transmitted right-hand circularly polarized radio waves (4-cm wavelength), and due to the opportunistic nature of the experiment, remained in a fixed orientation pointed toward Earth throughout each BSR observation. As a consequence, Dawn's transmitted radio waves scattered from Vesta's surface just before and after each occultation of the Dawn spacecraft behind Vesta, resulting in surface echoes at highly oblique incidence angles of greater than 85 degrees, and a small Doppler shift of ~2 Hz between the carrier signal and surface echoes from Vesta. We analyze the power and Doppler spreading of Vesta's surface echoes to assess surface roughness, and find that Vesta's area-normalized radar cross section ranges from -8 to -17 dB, which is notably much stronger than backscatter radar cross section values reported for the Moon's limbs (-20 to -35 dB). However, our measurements correspond to the forward scattering regime--such that at high incidence, radar waves are expected to scatter more weakly from a rough surface in the backscatter direction than that which is scattered forward. Using scattering models of rough surfaces observed at high incidence, we report on the relative roughness of Vesta's surface as compared to the Moon and icy Galilean satellites. Through this, we assess the dominant processes that have influenced Vesta's surface roughness at centimeter and decimeter scales, which are in turn applicable to assisting future landing, sampling and orbital missions of other small bodies.

  11. Multi-variable X-band radar observation and tracking of ash plume from Mt. Etna volcano on November 23, 2013 event

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Montopoli, Mario; Vulpiani, Gianfranco; Riccci, Matteo; Corradini, Stefano; Merucci, Luca; Marzano, Frank S.

    2015-04-01

    Ground based weather radar observations of volcanic ash clouds are gaining momentum after recent works which demonstrated their potential use either as stand alone tool or in combination with satellite retrievals. From an operational standpoint, radar data have been mainly exploited to derive the height of ash plume and its temporal-spatial development, taking into account the radar limitation of detecting coarse ash particles (from approximately 20 microns to 10 millimeters and above in terms of particle's radius). More sophisticated radar retrievals can include airborne ash concentration, ash fall rate and out-flux rate. Marzano et al. developed several volcanic ash radar retrieval (VARR) schemes, even though their practical use is still subject to a robust validation activity. The latter is made particularly difficult due to the lack of field campaigns with multiple observations and the scarce repetition of volcanic events. The radar variable, often used to infer the physical features of actual ash clouds, is the radar reflectivity named ZHH. It is related to ash particle size distribution and it shows a nice power law relationship with ash concentration. This makes ZHH largely used in radar-volcanology studies. However, weather radars are often able to detect Doppler frequency shifts and, more and more, they have a polarization-diversity capability. The former means that wind speed spectrum of the ash cloud is potentially inferable, whereas the latter implies that variables other than ZHH are available. Theoretically, these additional radar variables are linked to the degree of eccentricity of ash particles, their orientation and density as well as the presence of strong turbulence effects. Thus, the opportunity to refine the ash radar estimates so far developed can benefit from the thorough analysis of radar Doppler and polarization diversity. In this work we show a detailed analysis of Doppler shifts and polarization variables measured by the X band radar

  12. Cosmological singularities and bounce in Cartan-Einstein theory

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

    Lucat, Stefano; Prokopec, Tomislav, E-mail: s.lucat@students.uu.nl, E-mail: t.prokopec@uu.nl

    We consider a generalized Einstein-Cartan theory, in which we add the unique covariant dimension four operators to general relativity that couples fermionic spin current to the torsion tensor (with an arbitrary strength). Since torsion is local and non-dynamical, when integrated out it yields an effective four-fermion interaction of the gravitational strength. We show how to renormalize the theory, in the one-loop perturbative expansion in generally curved space-times, obtaining the first order correction to the 2PI effective action in Schwinger-Keldysh ( in-in ) formalism. We then apply the renormalized theory to study the dynamics of a collapsing universe that begins inmore » a thermal state and find that—instead of a big crunch singularity—the Universe with torsion undergoes a bounce . We solve the dynamical equations (a) classically (without particle production); (b) including the production of fermions in a fixed background in the Hartree-Fock approximation and (c) including the quantum backreaction of fermions onto the background space-time. In the first and last cases the Universe undergoes a bounce. The production of fermions due to the coupling to a contracting homogeneous background speeds up the bounce, implying that the quantum contributions from fermions is negative, presumably because fermion production contributes negatively to the energy-momentum tensor. When compared with former works on the subject, our treatment is fully microscopic (namely, we treat fermions by solving the corresponding Dirac equations) and quantum (in the sense that we include fermionic loop contributions).« less

  13. Modeling COSMO-SkyMed measurements of precipitating clouds over the sea using simultaneous weather radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roberto, N.; Baldini, L.; Facheris, L.; Chandrasekar, V.

    2014-07-01

    Several satellite missions employing X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) have been activated to provide high-resolution images of normalized radar cross-sections (NRCS) on land and ocean for numerous applications. Rainfall and wind affect the sea surface roughness and consequently the NRCS from the combined effects of corrugation due to impinging raindrops and surface wind. X-band frequencies are sensitive to precipitation: intense convective cells result in irregularly bright and dark patches in SAR images, masking changes in surface NRCS. Several works have modeled SAR images of intense precipitation over land; less adequately investigated is the precipitation effect over the sea surface. These images are analyzed in this study by modeling both the scattering and attenuation of radiation by hydrometeors in the rain cells and the NRCS surface changes using weather radar precipitation estimates as input. The reconstruction of X-band SAR returns in precipitating clouds is obtained by the joint utilization of volume reflectivity and attenuation, the latter estimated by coupling ground-based radar measurements and an electromagnetic model to predict the sea surface NRCS. Radar signatures of rain cells were investigated using X-band SAR images collected from the COSMO-SkyMed constellation of the Italian Space Agency. Two case studies were analyzed. The first occurred over the sea off the coast of Louisiana (USA) in summer 2010 with COSMO-SkyMed (CSK®) ScanSar mode monitoring of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Simultaneously, the NEXRAD S-band Doppler radar (KLIX) located in New Orleans was scanning the same portion of ocean. The second case study occurred in Liguria (Italy) on November 4, 2011, during an extraordinary flood event. The same events were observed by the Bric della Croce C-band dual polarization radar located close to Turin (Italy). The polarimetric capability of the ground radars utilized allows discrimination of the composition of the precipitation

  14. Field-scale surface soil moisture retrieval using L-band synthetic aperture radar data: shrublands examples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, S.; Arii, M.; Jackson, T. J.

    2017-12-01

    L-band airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations at 7-m spatial resolution were made over California shrublands to better understand the effects of soil and vegetation parameters on backscattering coefficient (σ0). Temporal changes in σ0 of up to 3 dB were highly correlated to surface soil moisture but not to vegetation, even though vegetation water content (VWC) varied seasonally by a factor of two. HH was always greater than VV, suggesting the importance of double-bounce scattering by the woody parts. However, the geometric and dielectric properties of the woody parts did not vary significantly over time. Instead the changes in VWC occurred primarily in thin leaves that may not meaningfully influence absorption and scattering. A physically-based model for single scattering by discrete elements of plants successfully simulated the magnitude of the temporal variations in HH, VV, and HH/VV with a difference of less than 0.9 dB. In order to simulate the observations, the VWC input of the plant to the model was formulated as a function of plant's dielectric property (water fraction) while the plant geometry remains static in time. In comparison, when the VWC input was characterized by the geometry of a growing plant, the model performed poorly in describing the observed patterns in the σ0 changes. The modeling results offer explanation of the observation that soil moisture correlated highly with σ0: the dominant mechanisms for HH and VV are double-bounce scattering by trunk, and soil surface scattering, respectively. The time-series inversion of the physical model was able to retrieve soil moisture with the difference of -0.037 m3/m3 (mean), 0.025 m3/m3 (standard deviation), and 0.89 (correlation). Together with the previous results over croplands using the SAR data offering 0.05 m3/m3 retrieval accuracy, we will demonstrate the efficacy of the model-based time-series soil moisture retrieval at field scales.

  15. Observation of Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes using the northernmost MST radar at Eureka (80°N)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Swarnalingam, N.; Hocking, W.; Janches, D.; Drummond, J.

    2017-09-01

    We investigate long-term Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSEs) observations conducted by the northernmost geographically located MST radar at Eureka (80°N, 86°W). While PMSEs are a well recognized summer phenomenon in the polar regions, previous calibrated studies at Resolute Bay and Eureka using 51.5 MHz and 33 MHz radars respectively, showed that PMSE backscatter signal strengths are relatively weak in the polar cap sites, compared to the auroral zone sites (Swarnalingam et al., 2009b; Singer et al., 2010). Complications arise with PMSEs in which the echo strength is controlled by the electrons, which are, in turn, influenced by heavily charged ice particles as well as the variability in the D-region plasma. In recent years, PMSE experiments were conducted inside the polar cap utilizing a 51 MHz radar located at Eureka. In this paper, we investigate calibrated observations, conducted during 2009-2015. Seasonal and diurnal variations of the backscatter signal strengths are discussed and compared to previously published results from the ALOMAR radar, which is a radar of similar design located in the auroral zone at Andenes, Norway (69°N, 16°E). At Eureka, while PMSEs are present with a daily occurrence rate which is comparable to the rate observed at the auroral zone site for at least two seasons, they show a great level of inter-annual variability. The occurrence rate for the strong echoes tends to be low. Furthermore, comparison of the absolute backscatter signal strengths at these two sites clearly indicates that the PMSE backscatter signal strength at Eureka is weak. Although this difference could be caused by several factors, we investigate the intensity of the neutral air turbulence at Eureka from the measurements of the Doppler spectrum of the PMSE backscatter signals. We found that the level of the turbulence intensity at Eureka is weak relative to previously reported results from three high latitude sites.

  16. Observation of Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes using the Northernmost MST Radar at Eureka (80 deg N)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Swarnalingam, N.; Hocking, W.; Janches, D.; Drummond, J.

    2017-01-01

    We investigate long-term Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSEs) observations conducted by the northern most geographically located MST radar at Eureka (80 deg N, 86 deg W). While PMSEs are a well recognized summer phenomenon in the polar regions, previous calibrated studies at Resolute Bay and Eureka using 51.5 MHz and33 MHz radars respectively, showed that PMSE backscatter signal strengths are relatively weak in the polar cap sites, compared to the auroral zone sites (Swarnalingam et al., 2009b; Singer et al., 2010). Complications arise with PMSEs in which the echo strength is controlled by the electrons, which are, in turn, influenced by heavily charged ice particles as well as the variability in the D-region plasma. In recent years, PMSE experiments were conducted inside the polar cap utilizing a 51 MHz radar located at Eureka. In this paper, we investigate calibrated observations, conducted during 2009-2015. Seasonal and diurnal variations of the backscatter signal strengths are discussed and compared to previously published results from the ALOMAR radar, which is a radar of similar design located in the auroral zone at Andenes, Norway (69 deg N, 16 deg E). At Eureka, while PMSEs are present with a daily occurrence rate which is comparable to the rate observed at the auroral zone site for at least two seasons, they show a great level of inter-annual variability. The occurrence rate for the strong echoes tends to be low. Furthermore, comparison of the absolute backscatter signal strengths at these two sites clearly indicates that the PMSE backscatter signal strength at Eureka is weak. Although this difference could be caused by several factors, we investigate the intensity of the neutral air turbulence at Eureka from the measurements of the Doppler spectrum of the PMSE backscatter signals. We found that the level of the turbulence intensity at Eureka is weak relative to previously reported results from three high latitude sites.

  17. Energy-momentum tensor of bouncing gravitons

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

    Iofa, Mikhail Z.

    2015-07-14

    In models of the Universe with extra dimensions gravity propagates in the whole space-time. Graviton production by matter on the brane is significant in the early hot Universe. In a model of 3-brane with matter embedded in 5D space-time conditions for gravitons emitted from the brane to the bulk to return back to the brane are found. For a given 5-momentum of graviton falling back to the brane the interval between the times of emission and return to the brane is calculated. A method to calculate contribution to the energy-momentum tensor from multiple graviton bouncings is developed. Explicit expressions formore » contributions to the energy-momentum tensor of gravitons which have made one, two and three bounces are obtained and their magnitudes are numerically calculated. These expressions are used to solve the evolution equation for dark radiation. A relation connecting reheating temperature and the scale of extra dimension is obtained. For the reheating temperature T{sub R}∼10{sup 6} GeV we estimate the scale of extra dimension μ to be of order 10{sup −9} GeV (μ{sup −1}∼10{sup −5} cm)« less

  18. Energy-momentum tensor of bouncing gravitons

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

    Iofa, Mikhail Z., E-mail: iofa@theory.sinp.msu.ru

    2015-07-01

    In models of the Universe with extra dimensions gravity propagates in the whole space-time. Graviton production by matter on the brane is significant in the early hot Universe. In a model of 3-brane with matter embedded in 5D space-time conditions for gravitons emitted from the brane to the bulk to return back to the brane are found. For a given 5-momentum of graviton falling back to the brane the interval between the times of emission and return to the brane is calculated. A method to calculate contribution to the energy-momentum tensor from multiple graviton bouncings is developed. Explicit expressions formore » contributions to the energy-momentum tensor of gravitons which have made one, two and three bounces are obtained and their magnitudes are numerically calculated. These expressions are used to solve the evolution equation for dark radiation. A relation connecting reheating temperature and the scale of extra dimension is obtained. For the reheating temperature T{sub R}∼ 10{sup 6} GeV we estimate the scale of extra dimension μ to be of order 10{sup −9} GeV (μ{sup −1}∼ 10{sup −5} cm)« less

  19. A variational technique to estimate snowfall rate from coincident radar, snowflake, and fall-speed observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cooper, Steven J.; Wood, Norman B.; L'Ecuyer, Tristan S.

    2017-07-01

    Estimates of snowfall rate as derived from radar reflectivities alone are non-unique. Different combinations of snowflake microphysical properties and particle fall speeds can conspire to produce nearly identical snowfall rates for given radar reflectivity signatures. Such ambiguities can result in retrieval uncertainties on the order of 100-200 % for individual events. Here, we use observations of particle size distribution (PSD), fall speed, and snowflake habit from the Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC) to constrain estimates of snowfall derived from Ka-band ARM zenith radar (KAZR) measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope Alaska (NSA) Climate Research Facility site at Barrow. MASC measurements of microphysical properties with uncertainties are introduced into a modified form of the optimal-estimation CloudSat snowfall algorithm (2C-SNOW-PROFILE) via the a priori guess and variance terms. Use of the MASC fall speed, MASC PSD, and CloudSat snow particle model as base assumptions resulted in retrieved total accumulations with a -18 % difference relative to nearby National Weather Service (NWS) observations over five snow events. The average error was 36 % for the individual events. Use of different but reasonable combinations of retrieval assumptions resulted in estimated snowfall accumulations with differences ranging from -64 to +122 % for the same storm events. Retrieved snowfall rates were particularly sensitive to assumed fall speed and habit, suggesting that in situ measurements can help to constrain key snowfall retrieval uncertainties. More accurate knowledge of these properties dependent upon location and meteorological conditions should help refine and improve ground- and space-based radar estimates of snowfall.

  20. Radar investigation of asteroids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ostro, S. J.

    1981-01-01

    Software to support all stages of asteroid radar observation and data analysis is developed. First-order analysis of all data in hand is complete. Estimates of radar cross sections, circular polarization ratios, and limb-to-limb echo spectral bandwidths for asteroids 7 Iris, 16 Psyche, 97 Klotho, 1862 Apollo, and 1915 Quetzalcoatl are reported. Radar observations of two previously unobserved asteroids were conducted. An Aten asteroid, 2100 Ra-Shalom, with the smallest known semimajor axis (0.83) was detected. Preliminary data reduction indicates a circular polarization ratio comparable to those of Apollo, Quetzalcoatl, and Toro.

  1. Bouncing cosmologies from quantum gravity condensates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oriti, Daniele; Sindoni, Lorenzo; Wilson-Ewing, Edward

    2017-02-01

    We show how the large-scale cosmological dynamics can be obtained from the hydrodynamics of isotropic group field theory condensate states in the Gross-Pitaevskii approximation. The correct Friedmann equations are recovered in the classical limit for some choices of the parameters in the action for the group field theory, and quantum gravity corrections arise in the high-curvature regime causing a bounce which generically resolves the big-bang and big-crunch singularities.

  2. Combined in-situ and ground-based observations of quasi-periodic radar echoes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pfaff, R.; Kudeki, E.; Larsen, M.; Clemmons, J.; Earle, G.

    A series of combined rocket/radar investigation of the electrodynamics and neutralplasma coupling associated with sporadic-E layers and quasi-periodic backscatter radar echoes has been carried out from launch sites at both Puerto Rico and the Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia (USA) between 1998-2001. The instrumented rockets consisted of main and sub-payloads and were launched while strong quasiperiodic VHF echoes were observed simultaneously with the Univ. of Illinois 50 MHz backscatter radar. The rocket apogee was purposely limited so that the payloads would dwell in the sporadic-E region (90-115 km). The main payload included vector DC and AC electric field detectors, a DC magnetometer, an ion mass spectrometer, an ionization gauge, and spaced-electric field receivers to measure the wavelength and phase velocity of the unstable plasma waves. The sub-payload was instrumented to measure DC and wave electric fields and plasma density. In one case, a separate rocket was launched a few minutes later which released luminous TMA trails to measure the neutral wind, its velocity shear, and embedded neutral structures. In this experiment, the payloads successfully pierced a well-defined, 2-3 km thick metallic sporadic-E layer of approximately 10**5 e/cc near 103 km altitude. In-situ DC electric field measurements revealed ~5mV/m ambient meridional fields above and below the layer with 1-2 mV/m amplitude, large scale structures superimposed. The wavelengths of these structures were approximately 2-4 km and may be related to the seat of the quasiperiodic echoes. Intense (~5 mV/m), higher frequency (shorter scale) broadband waves were also observed in-situ, both above and below the layer, consistent with the VHF backscatter observations during the time of the launch. Neither the large scale nor short scale plasma waves appeared to be distinctly organized by the sporadic-E density layer. The TMA release showed large amplitude (~ 100 m/s) meridional winds near 102-105 km, with

  3. Eddies on the boundary between the Kuroshio current and coastal waters observed by HF ocean surface radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nadai, A.

    2016-02-01

    The HF ocean surface radar (HFOSR) is one of the powerful tools to measure the ocean current parameters like surface currents. Three observations of the Kuroshio current in the Tokara straight using HFOSR had done by the National Institute of Information and Comunications Technology (NICT: the former name is the Communications Research Laboratory). The first-order echoes on Doppler spectra of HFOSR shows broaden and splitting shape in the region of the border between the Kuroshio currents and coastal waters. The surface velocity maps show the existence of eddy on the border. The investigation of the mechanism of broadening first order-echoes by Nadai (2006) revealed that the modulation of wave fields from surface currents like eddy is the cause of broadening and the measured current fields also influenced the modulated wave fields. Moreover, Nadai (2006) also suggested that the influence is able to reduce using the average of two radial velocities extracted by the first-order echoes. In this paper, the results of current field observation around the border between the Kuroshio current and coastal waters are presented. Many small scale eddies are observed at the border of the Kuroshio current and coastal waters. The typical radius of the eddies is about 10km. Usury the observation of such a small scale eddy is difficult, but the eddies with same scale are observed by airborne synthetic aperture radar in the same area at different time. The eddies shows strong rotation as the typical tangential speed is about 1m/s. While the typical speed of the Kuroshio current is about 1.5m/s, the typical speed of the eddy movements is about 0.7m/s. No eddies generated in the radar coverage, but one or two eddies entered in the radar coverage a day. Therefore the origin of these eddies will exist in the upstream area of the radar coverage. Using the compensation method for the influence of the modulated wave field suggested by Nadai (2006), the eddies shows weak divergence. It is

  4. Low-sensitivity, low-bounce, high-linearity current-controlled oscillator suitable for single-supply mixed-mode instrumentation system.

    PubMed

    Hwang, Yuh-Shyan; Kung, Che-Min; Lin, Ho-Cheng; Chen, Jiann-Jong

    2009-02-01

    A low-sensitivity, low-bounce, high-linearity current-controlled oscillator (CCO) suitable for a single-supply mixed-mode instrumentation system is designed and proposed in this paper. The designed CCO can be operated at low voltage (2 V). The power bounce and ground bounce generated by this CCO is less than 7 mVpp when the power-line parasitic inductance is increased to 100 nH to demonstrate the effect of power bounce and ground bounce. The power supply noise caused by the proposed CCO is less than 0.35% in reference to the 2 V supply voltage. The average conversion ratio KCCO is equal to 123.5 GHz/A. The linearity of conversion ratio is high and its tolerance is within +/-1.2%. The sensitivity of the proposed CCO is nearly independent of the power supply voltage, which is less than a conventional current-starved oscillator. The performance of the proposed CCO has been compared with the current-starved oscillator. It is shown that the proposed CCO is suitable for single-supply mixed-mode instrumentation systems.

  5. Possible evolution of a bouncing universe in cosmological models with non-minimally coupled scalar fields

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

    Pozdeeva, Ekaterina O.; Vernov, Sergey Yu.; Skugoreva, Maria A.

    2016-12-01

    We explore dynamics of cosmological models with bounce solutions evolving on a spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker background. We consider cosmological models that contain the Hilbert-Einstein curvature term, the induced gravity term with a negative coupled constant, and even polynomial potentials of the scalar field. Bounce solutions with non-monotonic Hubble parameters have been obtained and analyzed. The case when the scalar field has the conformal coupling and the Higgs-like potential with an opposite sign is studied in detail. In this model the evolution of the Hubble parameter of the bounce solution essentially depends on the sign of the cosmological constant.

  6. Vertical transport of Kelut volcanic stratospheric aerosols observed by the equatorial lidar and the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nagasawa, C.; Abo, M.; Shibata, Y.

    2017-12-01

    The transport of substance between stratosphere and troposphere in the equatorial region makes an impact to the global climate change, but it has a lot of unknown behaviors. We have performed the lidar observations for survey of atmospheric structure of troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere over Kototabang (0.2S, 100.3E), Indonesia in the equatorial region since 2004. Kelut volcano (7.9S, 112.3E) in the Java island of Indonesia erupted on 13 February 2014. The CALIOP observed that the eruption cloud reached 26km above sea level in the tropical stratosphere, but most of the plume remained at 19-20 km over the tropopause. By CALIOP data analysis, aerosol clouds spread in the longitude direction with the lapse of time and arrived at equator in 5 days. After aerosol clouds reached equator, they moved towards the east along the equator by strong eastward equatorial wind of QBO. In June 2014 (4 months after the eruption), aerosol transport from the stratosphere to the troposphere were observed by the polarization lidar at Kototabang. At the same time, we can clearly see down phase structure of vertical wind velocity observed by EAR (Equatorial Atmosphere Radar) generated by the equatorial Kelvin wave. We investigate the transport of substance between stratosphere and troposphere in the equatorial region by data which have been collected by the polarization lidar at Kototabang and the EAR after Kelut volcano eruption. Using combination of ground based lidar, satellite based lidar, and atmosphere radar, we can get valuable evidence of equatorial transport of substance between the troposphere and the lower stratosphere. This work was supported by Collaborative Research based on MU Radar and Equatorial Atmosphere Radar.

  7. Dynamic cusp at low altitudes: A case study utilizing viking, DMSP-F7, and Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar observations

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

    Watermann, J.; DeLaBeaujar, O.; Lummerzheim, D.

    1994-12-31

    Coincident multi-instrument magnetospheric and ionospheric observations have made it possible to determine the position of the ionospheric footprint of the magnetospheric cusp and to monitor its evolution over time. The data used include charged particle and magnetic field measurements from the Earth-orbiting Viking and DMSP-F7 satellites, electric field measurements from Viking, interplanetary magnetic field and plasma data from IMP-8 and Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar observations of the ionospheric plasma density, temperature, and convection. Viking detected cusp precipitation poleward of 75.5 degrees invariant latitude. The ionospheric response to the observed electron precipitation was simulated using an auroral model. It predicts enhancedmore » plasma density and elevated electron temperature in the upper E- and F-regions. Sondrestrom radar observations are in agreement with the predictions. The radar detected a cusp signature on each of five consecutive antenna elevation scans covering 1.2 h local time. The cusp appeared to be about 2 degrees invariant latitude wide, and its ionospheric footprint shifted equatorward by nearly 2 degrees during this time, possibly influenced by an overall decrease in the IMF B{sub Z} component The radar plasma drift data and the Viking magnetic and electric field data suggest that the cusp was associated with a continuous, rather than a patchy, merging between the IMF and the geomagnetic field.« less

  8. Diurnal, monthly and seasonal variation of mean winds in the MLT region observed over Kolhapur using MF radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, A. K.; Gaikwad, H. P.; Ratnam, M. Venkat; Gurav, O. B.; Ramanjaneyulu, L.; Chavan, G. A.; Sathishkumar, S.

    2018-04-01

    Medium Frequency (MF) radar located at Kolhapur (16.8°N, 74.2°E) has been upgraded in August 2013. Since then continuous measurements of zonal and meridional winds are obtained covering larger altitudes from the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region. Diurnal, monthly and seasonal variation of these mean winds is presented in this study using four years (2013-2017) of observations. The percentage occurrence of radar echoes show maximum between 80 and 105 km. The mean meridional wind shows Annual Oscillation (AO) between 80 and 90 km altitudes with pole-ward motion during December solstice and equatorial motion during June solstice. Quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) with weaker amplitudes are also observed between 90 and 104 km. Zonal winds show semi-annual oscillation (SAO) with westward winds during equinoxes and eastward winds during solstices between 80 and 90 km. AO with eastward winds during December solstice and westward wind in the June solstice is also observed in the mean zonal wind between 100 and 110 km. These results match well with that reported from other latitudes within Indian region between 80 and 90 km. However, above 90 km the results presented here provide true mean background winds for the first time over Indian low latitude region as the present station is away from equatorial electro-jet and are not contaminated by ionospheric processes. Further, the results presented earlier with an old version of this radar are found contaminated due to unknown reasons and are corrected in the present work. This upgraded MF radar together with other MLT radars in the Indian region forms unique network to investigate the vertical and lateral coupling.

  9. Giant aerosol observations with cloud radar: methodology and effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guma Claramunt, Pilar; Madonna, Fabio; Amodeo, Aldo; Bauer-Pfundstein, Matthias; Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos; Pappalardo, Gelsomina

    2017-04-01

    Giant aerosol particles can act as Giant Cloud Condensation Nuclei (GCCN), and determine the droplet concentration at the cloud formation, the clouds albedo and lifetime, and the precipitation formation. In addition, depending on their composition, they can also act as IN. It is not yet clear if they can also expedite rain processes. The main techniques used nowadays in measuring aerosols, which are lidar and sun photometer, cannot retrieve aerosol microphysical properties for particles bigger than a few microns, which means that they do not account for giant aerosols. Therefore, the distribution and impact in the atmosphere and climate of these particles is not well known and the aerosol transport models largely underestimate them. Recent studies have demonstrated that cloud radars are able to detect ultragiant volcanic aerosols also at a large distance from the source. In this study, an innovative methodology for the observation of giant aerosols using the millimeter wavelength radar has been developed and applied to 6 years of measurements carried out at CNR-IMAA Atmospheric Observatory (CIAO), in Potenza, South Italy, finding more than 40 giant aerosol events per year and a good agreement with the aerosol climatologic data. Besides, the effects of giant aerosols in the local and regional meteorology have been studied by correlating several atmospheric variables in the time period following the observation of giant particles. The meteorological situation has been assessed through the data classification into cases characterized by different pressure vertical velocities at the upper atmosphere (400 hPa), Giant aerosols are correlated to lower values of the Cloud Optical Depth (COD) in presence of stable or unstable atmospheric conditions while higher values are found for an intermediate stability. The giant aerosols effects on the Liquid Water Path (LWP) are closely linked to those in the Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOD). The highest increases in the LWP occurs

  10. Radar Remote Sensing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rosen, Paul A.

    2012-01-01

    This lecture was just a taste of radar remote sensing techniques and applications. Other important areas include Stereo radar grammetry. PolInSAR for volumetric structure mapping. Agricultural monitoring, soil moisture, ice-mapping, etc. The broad range of sensor types, frequencies of observation and availability of sensors have enabled radar sensors to make significant contributions in a wide area of earth and planetary remote sensing sciences. The range of applications, both qualitative and quantitative, continue to expand with each new generation of sensors.

  11. Estimation of High-Frequency Earth-Space Radio Wave Signals via Ground-Based Polarimetric Radar Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bolen, Steve; Chandrasekar, V.

    2002-01-01

    Expanding human presence in space, and enabling the commercialization of this frontier, is part of the strategic goals for NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) enterprise. Future near-Earth and planetary missions will support the use of high-frequency Earth-space communication systems. Additionally, increased commercial demand on low-frequency Earth-space links in the S- and C-band spectra have led to increased interest in the use of higher frequencies in regions like Ku and Ka-band. Attenuation of high-frequency signals, due to a precipitating medium, can be quite severe and can cause considerable disruptions in a communications link that traverses such a medium. Previously, ground radar measurements were made along the Earth-space path and compared to satellite beacon data that was transmitted to a ground station. In this paper, quantitative estimation of the attenuation along the propagation path is made via inter-comparisons of radar data taken from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) and ground-based polarimetric radar observations. Theoretical relationships between the expected specific attenuation (k) of spaceborne measurements with ground-based measurements of reflectivity (Zh) and differential propagation phase shift (Kdp) are developed for various hydrometeors that could be present along the propagation path, which are used to estimate the two-way path-integrated attenuation (PIA) on the PR return echo. Resolution volume matching and alignment of the radar systems is performed, and a direct comparison of PR return echo with ground radar attenuation estimates is made directly on a beam-by-beam basis. The technique is validated using data collected from the TExas and Florida UNderflights (TEFLUN-B) experiment and the TRMM large Biosphere-Atmosphere experiment in Amazonia (LBA) campaign. Attenuation estimation derived from this method can be used for strategiC planning of communication systems for

  12. Thump, Ring: The Sound of a Bouncing Ball

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katz, J. I.

    2010-01-01

    A basketball bounced on a stiff surface produces a characteristic loud thump, followed by a high-pitched ringing. Describing the ball as an inextensible but flexible membrane containing compressed air, I formulate an approximate theory of the generation of these sounds and predict their amplitudes and waveforms. (Contains 3 figures.)

  13. Fully stable cosmological solutions with a non-singular classical bounce

    DOE PAGES

    Ijjas, Anna; Steinhardt, Paul J.

    2016-11-28

    Recently, we showed how it is possible to use a cubic Galileon action to construct classical cosmological solutions that enter a contracting null energy condition (NEC) violating phase, bounce at finite values of the scale factor and exit into an expanding NEC-satisfying phase without encountering any singularities or pathologies. One drawback of these examples is that singular behavior is encountered at some time either just before or just after the NEC-violating phase. In this Letter, we show that it is possible to circumvent this problem by extending our method to actions that include the next order L 4 Galileon interaction.more » In using this approach, we construct non-singular classical bouncing cosmological solutions that are non-pathological for all times.« less

  14. Radar Observations of Asteroids 7 Iris, 9 Metis, 12 Victoria, 216 Kleopatra, and 654 Zelinda

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mitchell, David L.; Ostro, Steven J.; Rosema, Keith D.; Hudson, R. Scott; Campbell, Donald B.; Chandler, John F.; Shapiro, Irwin I.

    1995-01-01

    We report 13-cm wavelength radar observations of the main-belt asteroids 7 Iris, 9 Metis, 12 Victoria, 216 Kleopatra, and 654 Zelinda obtained at Arecibo between 1980 and 1989. The echoes are highly polarized yet broadly distributed in Doppler frequency, indicating that our targets are smooth on decimeter scales but very rough on some scale(s) larger than about I m. The echo spectra are generally consistent with existing size, shape, and spin information based on radiometric, lightcurve, and occultation data. All of our targets possess distinctive radar signatures that reveal large- scale topography. Reflectivity spikes within narrow ranges of rotation phase suggest large flat regions on Iris, Metis, and Zelinda, while bimodal spectra imply nonconvex, possibly bifurcated shapes for Kleopatra and Victoria. Kleopatra has the highest radar albedo yet measured for a main-belt asteroid, indicating a high metal concentration and making Kleopatra the best main-belt candidate for a core remnant of a differentiated and subsequently disrupted parent body. Upon completion of the Arecibo telescope upgrade, there will be several opportunities per year to resolve main-belt asteroids with hundreds of delay-Doppler cells, which can be inverted to provide estimates of both three-dimensional shape and radar scattering properties.

  15. A variational technique to estimate snowfall rate from coincident radar, snowflake, and fall-speed observations

    DOE PAGES

    Cooper, Steven J.; Wood, Norman B.; L'Ecuyer, Tristan S.

    2017-07-20

    Estimates of snowfall rate as derived from radar reflectivities alone are non-unique. Different combinations of snowflake microphysical properties and particle fall speeds can conspire to produce nearly identical snowfall rates for given radar reflectivity signatures. Such ambiguities can result in retrieval uncertainties on the order of 100–200% for individual events. Here, we use observations of particle size distribution (PSD), fall speed, and snowflake habit from the Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC) to constrain estimates of snowfall derived from Ka-band ARM zenith radar (KAZR) measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope Alaska (NSA) Climate Research Facility site at Barrow. MASCmore » measurements of microphysical properties with uncertainties are introduced into a modified form of the optimal-estimation CloudSat snowfall algorithm (2C-SNOW-PROFILE) via the a priori guess and variance terms. Use of the MASC fall speed, MASC PSD, and CloudSat snow particle model as base assumptions resulted in retrieved total accumulations with a -18% difference relative to nearby National Weather Service (NWS) observations over five snow events. The average error was 36% for the individual events. The use of different but reasonable combinations of retrieval assumptions resulted in estimated snowfall accumulations with differences ranging from -64 to +122% for the same storm events. Retrieved snowfall rates were particularly sensitive to assumed fall speed and habit, suggesting that in situ measurements can help to constrain key snowfall retrieval uncertainties. Furthermore, accurate knowledge of these properties dependent upon location and meteorological conditions should help refine and improve ground- and space-based radar estimates of snowfall.« less

  16. A variational technique to estimate snowfall rate from coincident radar, snowflake, and fall-speed observations

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

    Cooper, Steven J.; Wood, Norman B.; L'Ecuyer, Tristan S.

    Estimates of snowfall rate as derived from radar reflectivities alone are non-unique. Different combinations of snowflake microphysical properties and particle fall speeds can conspire to produce nearly identical snowfall rates for given radar reflectivity signatures. Such ambiguities can result in retrieval uncertainties on the order of 100–200% for individual events. Here, we use observations of particle size distribution (PSD), fall speed, and snowflake habit from the Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC) to constrain estimates of snowfall derived from Ka-band ARM zenith radar (KAZR) measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope Alaska (NSA) Climate Research Facility site at Barrow. MASCmore » measurements of microphysical properties with uncertainties are introduced into a modified form of the optimal-estimation CloudSat snowfall algorithm (2C-SNOW-PROFILE) via the a priori guess and variance terms. Use of the MASC fall speed, MASC PSD, and CloudSat snow particle model as base assumptions resulted in retrieved total accumulations with a -18% difference relative to nearby National Weather Service (NWS) observations over five snow events. The average error was 36% for the individual events. The use of different but reasonable combinations of retrieval assumptions resulted in estimated snowfall accumulations with differences ranging from -64 to +122% for the same storm events. Retrieved snowfall rates were particularly sensitive to assumed fall speed and habit, suggesting that in situ measurements can help to constrain key snowfall retrieval uncertainties. Furthermore, accurate knowledge of these properties dependent upon location and meteorological conditions should help refine and improve ground- and space-based radar estimates of snowfall.« less

  17. BOUNCE: An exploratory healthy lifestyle summer intervention for girls

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Our objective was to assess the efficacy of the Behavior Opportunities Uniting Nutrition Counseling (BOUNCE) parent-daughter intervention in promoting selected physical fitness measures and activity. Thirty-seven Latino and African American parent-daughter pairs participated in the study. The interv...

  18. Variable reluctance switch avoids contact corrosion and contact bounce

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watson, P. C.

    1967-01-01

    Variable reluctance switch avoids contact corrosion and bounce in a hostile environment. It consists of a wire-wound magnetic core and moveable bridge piece that alters the core flux pattern to produce an electrical output useful for switching control media.

  19. The Clementine Bistatic Radar Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nozette, S.; Lichtenberg, C. L.; Spudis, P.; Bonner, R.; Ort, W.; Malaret, E.; Robinson, M.; Shoemaker, E. M.

    1996-01-01

    During the Clementine 1 mission, a bistatic radar experiment measured the magnitude and polarization of the radar echo versus bistatic angle, beta, for selected lunar areas. Observations of the lunar south pole yield a same-sense polarization enhancement around beta = 0. Analysis shows that the observed enhancement is localized to the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole. Radar observations of periodically solar-illuminated lunar surfaces, including the north pole, yielded no such enhancement. A probable explanation for these differences is the presence of low-loss volume scatterers, such as water ice, in the permanently shadowed region at the south pole.

  20. Characterization of Nightside Mid-latitude Irregularities Observed with the Blackstone SuperDARN Radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Ribeiro, A. J.; Baker, J. B.; Greenwald, R. A.; Newell, P. T.

    2009-12-01

    The new mid-latitude SuperDARN radars at Wallops Island and Blackstone observe strong coherent backscattering on an almost nightly basis from latitudes that appear to be subauroral. One study has demonstrated an excellent correlation with the occurrence of density and temperature gradients within the ionospheric projection of the plasmapause (Greenwald et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. [2006]). We have processed all the data collected with the Blackstone radar since its inception in February 2008 for a characterization of the occurrence and properties of ‘plasmapause’ scatter. We have determined the local time and Kp dependencies of the activity and the relation of the spatial distribution of the irregularities to magnetospheric boundaries and ionospheric density gradients. We establish that the irregularities are a feature of the quiet-time subauroral ionosphere and provide a valuable diagnostic of the electric fields in the inner magnetosphere.

  1. Xpatch prediction improvements to support multiple ATR applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Andersh, Dennis J.; Lee, Shung W.; Moore, John T.; Sullivan, Douglas P.; Hughes, Jeff A.; Ling, Hao

    1998-08-01

    This paper describes an electromagnetic computer prediction code for generating radar cross section (RCS), time-domain signature sand synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of realistic 3D vehicles. The vehicle, typically an airplane or a ground vehicle, is represented by a computer-aided design (CAD) file with triangular facets, IGES curved surfaces, or solid geometries.The computer code, Xpatch, based on the shooting-and-bouncing-ray technique, is used to calculate the polarimetric radar return from the vehicles represented by these different CAD files. Xpatch computers the first- bounce physical optics (PO) plus the physical theory of diffraction (PTD) contributions. Xpatch calculates the multi-bounce ray contributions by using geometric optics and PO for complex vehicles with materials. It has been found that the multi-bounce calculations, the radar return in typically 10 to 15 dB too low. Examples of predicted range profiles, SAR, imagery, and RCS for several different geometries are compared with measured data to demonstrate the quality of the predictions. Recent enhancements to Xpatch include improvements for millimeter wave applications and hybridization with finite element method for small geometric features and augmentation of additional IGES entities to support trimmed and untrimmed surfaces.

  2. Mesospheric momentum fluxes observed by the MST radar at Poker Flat, Alaska

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Ding-Yi; Fritts, David C.

    1990-01-01

    An analysis of the wave motions observed with the Poker Flat MST radar during the winter, summer, and fall of 1986 is presented. Monthly and daily mean winds, momentum fluxes, and velocity variances are investigated in detail. While several features are in agreement with previous measurements, some significant differences also are found to exist in the observations. Monthly mean horizontal winds between 82 and 89 km have amplitudes of 20-40 m/s westward and 10-25 m/s southward in July and August. In fall and winter, the horizontal winds between 58 and 75 km are weaker and essentially eastward.

  3. Radar Observations of Near-Earth Asteroids 2000 UG11 and 2000 UK11

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nolan, M. C.; Margot, J.-L.; Howell, E. S.; Benner, L. A. M.; Ostro, S. J.; Jurgens, R. F.; Giorgini, J. D.; Campbell, D. B.

    2001-01-01

    Two small near-Earth asteroids, 2000 UG11 and 2000 UK11 were observed using the Arecibo and Goldstone radars a week after their discovery. 2000 UK11 is a rapidly rotating (3 min) approximately 30 m solid body. 2000 UG11 is two bodies separated by at least 300 m Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract..

  4. Spontaneous Droplet Jump with Electro-Bouncing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmidt, Erin; Weislogel, Mark

    2016-11-01

    We investigate the dynamics of water droplet jumps from superhydrophobic surfaces in the presence of an electric field during a step reduction in gravity level. In the brief free-fall environment of a drop tower, when a strong non-homogeneous electric field (with a measured strength between 0 . 39 and 2 . 36 kV/cm) is imposed, body forces acting on the jumped droplets are primarily supplied by polarization stress and Coulombic attraction instead of gravity. The droplet charge, measured to be on the order of 2 . 3 . (10-11) C, originates by electro-osmosis of charged species at the (PTFE coated) hydrophobic surface interface. This electric body force leads to a droplet bouncing behavior similar to well-known phenomena in 1-g, though occurring for larger drops 0.1 mL for a given range of impact Weber numbers, We < 20 . In 1-g, for We > 0 . 4 , impact recoil behavior on a super-hydrophobic surface is normally dominated by damping from contact line hysteresis and by air-layer interactions. However, in the strong electric field, the droplet bounce dynamics additionally include electrohydrodynamic effects on wettability and Cassie-Wenzel transition. This is qualitatively discussed in terms of coefficients of restitution and trends in contact time. This work was supported primarily by NASA Cooperative Agreement NNX12A047A.

  5. Radar detectability studies of slow and small Zodiacal Dust Cloud Particles: I. The case of Arecibo 430 MHz meteor head echo observations

    PubMed Central

    Janches, D.; Plane, J.M.C.; Nesvorný, D.; Feng, W.; Vokrouhlický, D.; Nicolls, M.J.

    2016-01-01

    Recent model development of the Zodiacal Dust Cloud (ZDC) model (Nesvorný et al. 2010, 2011b) argue that the incoming flux of meteoric material into the Earth’s upper atmosphere is mostly undetected by radars because they cannot detect small extraterrestrial particles entering the atmosphere at low velocities due to the relatively small production of electrons. In this paper we present a new methodology utilizing meteor head echo radar observations that aims to constrain the ZDC physical model by ground-based measurements. In particular, for this work, we focus on Arecibo 430 MHz observations since this is the most sensitive radar utilized for this type of observations to date. For this, we integrate and employ existing comprehensive models of meteoroid ablation, ionization and radar detection to enable accurate interpretation of radar observations and show that reasonable agreement in the hourly rates is found between model predictions and Arecibo observations when: 1) we invoke the lower limit of the model predicted flux (~16 t/d) and 2) we estimate the ionization probability of ablating metal atoms using laboratory measurements of the ionization cross sections of high speed metal atom beams, resulting in values up to two orders of magnitude lower than the extensively utilized figure reported by Jones (1997) for low speeds meteors. However, even at this lower limit the model over predicts the slow portion of the Arecibo radial velocity distributions by a factor of 3, suggesting the model requires some revision. PMID:27642186

  6. Radar Detectability Studies of Slow and Small Zodiacal Dust Cloud Particles: I. The Case of Arecibo 430 MHz Meteor Head Echo Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Janches, D.; Plane, J. M. C.; Nesvorny, D.; Feng, W.; Vokrouhlicky, D.; Nicolls, M. J.

    2014-01-01

    Recent model development of the Zodiacal Dust Cloud (ZDC) model (Nesvorny et al. 2010, 2011b) argue that the incoming flux of meteoric material into the Earth's upper atmosphere is mostly undetected by radars because they cannot detect small extraterrestrial particles entering the atmosphere at low velocities due to the relatively small production of electrons. In this paper we present a new methodology utilizing meteor head echo radar observations that aims to constrain the ZDC physical model by ground-based measurements. In particular, for this work, we focus on Arecibo 430 MHz observations since this is the most sensitive radar utilized for this type of observations to date. For this, we integrate and employ existing comprehensive models of meteoroid ablation, ionization and radar detection to enable accurate interpretation of radar observations and show that reasonable agreement in the hourly rates is found between model predictions and Arecibo observations when: 1) we invoke the lower limit of the model predicted flux (approximately 16 t/d) and 2) we estimate the ionization probability of ablating metal atoms using laboratory measurements of the ionization cross sections of high speed metal atom beams, resulting in values up to two orders of magnitude lower than the extensively utilized figure reported by Jones (1997) for low speeds meteors. However, even at this lower limit the model over predicts the slow portion of the Arecibo radial velocity distributions by a factor of 3, suggesting the model requires some revision.

  7. Radar detectability studies of slow and small zodiacal dust cloud particles. I. The case of Arecibo 430 MHz meteor head echo observations

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

    Janches, D.; Plane, J. M. C.; Feng, W.

    2014-11-20

    Recent model development of the Zodiacal Dust Cloud (ZDC) argues that the incoming flux of meteoric material into the Earth's upper atmosphere is mostly undetected by radars because they cannot detect small extraterrestrial particles entering the atmosphere at low velocities due to the relatively small production of electrons. In this paper, we present a new methodology utilizing meteor head echo radar observations that aims to constrain the ZDC physical model by ground-based measurements. In particular, for this work, we focus on Arecibo 430 MHz observations since this is the most sensitive radar utilized for this type of observations to date.more » For this, we integrate and employ existing comprehensive models of meteoroid ablation, ionization, and radar detection to enable accurate interpretation of radar observations and show that reasonable agreement in the hourly rates is found between model predictions and Arecibo observations when (1) we invoke the lower limit of the model predicted flux (∼16 t d{sup –1}) and (2) we estimate the ionization probability of ablating metal atoms using laboratory measurements of the ionization cross sections of high-speed metal atom beams, resulting in values up to two orders of magnitude lower than the extensively utilized figure reported by Jones for low-speed meteors. However, even at this lower limit, the model overpredicts the slow portion of the Arecibo radial velocity distributions by a factor of three, suggesting that the model requires some revision.« less

  8. Evaluation of meteorological airborne Doppler radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hildebrand, P. H.; Mueller, C. K.

    1984-01-01

    This paper will discuss the capabilities of airborne Doppler radar for atmospheric sciences research. The evaluation is based on airborne and ground based Doppler radar observations of convective storms. The capability of airborne Doppler radar to measure horizontal and vertical air motions is evaluated. Airborne Doppler radar is shown to be a viable tool for atmospheric sciences research.

  9. Comparing Goldstone Solar System Radar Earth-based Observations of Mars with Orbital Datasets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Haldemann, A. F. C.; Larsen, K. W.; Jurgens, R. F.; Slade, M. A.

    2005-01-01

    The Goldstone Solar System Radar (GSSR) has collected a self-consistent set of delay-Doppler near-nadir radar echo data from Mars since 1988. Prior to the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) global topography for Mars, these radar data provided local elevation information, along with radar scattering information with global coverage. Two kinds of GSSR Mars delay-Doppler data exist: low 5 km x 150 km resolution and, more recently, high (5 to 10 km) spatial resolution. Radar data, and non-imaging delay-Doppler data in particular, requires significant data processing to extract elevation, reflectivity and roughness of the reflecting surface. Interpretation of these parameters, while limited by the complexities of electromagnetic scattering, provide information directly relevant to geophysical and geomorphic analyses of Mars. In this presentation we want to demonstrate how to compare GSSR delay-Doppler data to other Mars datasets, including some idiosyncracies of the radar data. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

  10. Merging Radar Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPEs) from the High-resolution NEXRAD Reanalysis over CONUS with Rain-gauge Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prat, O. P.; Nelson, B. R.; Stevens, S. E.; Nickl, E.; Seo, D. J.; Kim, B.; Zhang, J.; Qi, Y.

    2015-12-01

    The processing of radar-only precipitation via the reanalysis from the National Mosaic and Multi-Sensor Quantitative (NMQ/Q2) based on the WSR-88D Next-generation Radar (Nexrad) network over the Continental United States (CONUS) is completed for the period covering from 2002 to 2011. While this constitutes a unique opportunity to study precipitation processes at higher resolution than conventionally possible (1-km, 5-min), the long-term radar-only product needs to be merged with in-situ information in order to be suitable for hydrological, meteorological and climatological applications. The radar-gauge merging is performed by using rain gauge information at daily (Global Historical Climatology Network-Daily: GHCN-D), hourly (Hydrometeorological Automated Data System: HADS), and 5-min (Automated Surface Observing Systems: ASOS; Climate Reference Network: CRN) resolution. The challenges related to incorporating differing resolution and quality networks to generate long-term large-scale gridded estimates of precipitation are enormous. In that perspective, we are implementing techniques for merging the rain gauge datasets and the radar-only estimates such as Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW), Simple Kriging (SK), Ordinary Kriging (OK), and Conditional Bias-Penalized Kriging (CBPK). An evaluation of the different radar-gauge merging techniques is presented and we provide an estimate of uncertainty for the gridded estimates. In addition, comparisons with a suite of lower resolution QPEs derived from ground based radar measurements (Stage IV) are provided in order to give a detailed picture of the improvements and remaining challenges.

  11. Radar observation of an along-front jet and transverse flow convergence associated with a North Sea front

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matthews, J. P.; Fox, A. D.; Prandle, D.

    1993-01-01

    This paper describes the first synoptic mapping of surface currents across a strong and stable tidal mixing front by HF radar. The radar deployment took place along the coast of northeast England during August and early September 1988 in parallel with extensive ship based CTD density and ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) measurements which provided data in the vertical plane to complement those of the HF radar. We describe two main results. Firstly, during a spring-tide period of strengthening inshore density gradients, an along-front jet with speeds of up to 14 cm s -1 was detected in the long term IIF radar residual field. The location and spatial form of this jet correspond with estimates of geostrophic currents derived from the measured density field. Secondly, a transverse "double-sided" surface flow convergence centred close to the frontal boundary and of net magnitude 4 cm s -1 accompanied the large along-front jet. Such a weaker cross-frontal component has been anticipated on theoretical grounds but never previously observed in this detailed fashion. The experiment underlines the power of a synergistic approach, based on HF remote sensing radar and ADCP, for the study of frontal circulation in coastal zones.

  12. Keeping the Beat: A Large Sample Study of Bouncing and Clapping to Music

    PubMed Central

    Tranchant, Pauline; Vuvan, Dominique T.; Peretz, Isabelle

    2016-01-01

    The vast majority of humans move in time with a musical beat. This behaviour has been mostly studied through finger-tapping synchronization. Here, we evaluate naturalistic synchronization responses to music–bouncing and clapping–in 100 university students. Their ability to match the period of their bounces and claps to those of a metronome and musical clips varying in beat saliency was assessed. In general, clapping was better synchronized with the beat than bouncing, suggesting that the choice of a specific movement type is an important factor to consider in the study of sensorimotor synchronization processes. Performance improved as a function of beat saliency, indicating that beat abstraction plays a significant role in synchronization. Fourteen percent of the population exhibited marked difficulties with matching the beat. Yet, at a group level, poor synchronizers showed similar sensitivity to movement type and beat saliency as normal synchronizers. These results suggest the presence of quantitative rather than qualitative variations when losing the beat. PMID:27471854

  13. Mountains on Titan observed by Cassini Radar

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Radebaugh, J.; Lorenz, R.D.; Kirk, R.L.; Lunine, J.I.; Stofan, E.R.; Lopes, R.M.C.; Wall, S.D.

    2007-01-01

    The Cassini Titan Radar mapper has observed elevated blocks and ridge-forming block chains on Saturn's moon Titan demonstrating high topography we term "mountains." Summit flanks measured from the T3 (February 2005) and T8 (October 2005) flybys have a mean maximum slope of 37?? and total elevations up to 1930 m as derived from a shape-from-shading model corrected for the probable effects of image resolution. Mountain peak morphologies and surrounding, diffuse blankets give evidence that erosion has acted upon these features, perhaps in the form of fluvial runoff. Possible formation mechanisms for these mountains include crustal compressional tectonism and upthrusting of blocks, extensional tectonism and formation of horst-and-graben, deposition as blocks of impact ejecta, or dissection and erosion of a preexisting layer of material. All above processes may be at work, given the diversity of geology evident across Titan's surface. Comparisons of mountain and blanket volumes and erosion rate estimates for Titan provide a typical mountain age as young as 20-100 million years. ?? 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Radar Observations of Binary Asteroid 2000 DP107

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Margot, J. L.; Nolan, M. C.; Benner, L. A. M.; Ostro, S. J.; Jurgens, R. F.; Giorgini, J. D.; Slade, M. A.; Campbell, D. B.

    2001-01-01

    We present the discovery and characterization of DP107 with the Goldstone and Arecibo radars, including a detailed sequence of images showing the system's orbital motion. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

  15. The dynamic cusp at low altitudes: A case study utilizing Viking, DMSP-F7 and Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watermann, J.; De La Beaujardiere, O.; Lummerzheim, D.; Woch, J.; Newell, P. T.; Potemra, T. A.; Rich, F. J.; Shapshak, M.

    1994-01-01

    Coincident multi-instrument magnetospheric and ionospheric observations have made it possible to determine the position of the ionospheric footprint of the magnetospheric cusp and to monitor its evolution over time. The data used include charged particle and magnetic field measurements from the Earth-orbiting Viking and DMSP-F7 satellites, electric field measurements from Viking, interplanetary magnetic field and plasma data from IMP-8, and Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar observations of the ionospheric plasma density, temperature, and convection. Viking detected cusp precipitation poleward of 75.5 deg invariant latitude. The ionospheric response to the observed electron precipitation was simulated using an auroral model. It predicts enhanced plasma density and elevated electron temperature in the upper E- and F- regions. Sondrestrom radar observations are in agreement with the predictions. The radar detected a cusp signature on each of five consecutive antenna elevation scans covering 1.2h local time. The cusp appeared to be about 2 deg invariant latitude wide, and its ionospheric footprint shifted equatorward by nearly 2 deg during this time, possibly influenced by an overall decrease in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) B(sub z) component. The radar plasma drift data and the Viking magnetic and electric field data suggest that the cusp was associated with a continuous, rather than a patchy, merging between the IMF and the geomagnetic field.

  16. Assimilation of Wave Imaging Radar Observations for Real-time Wave-by-Wave Forecasting

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

    Simpson, Alexandra; Haller, Merrick; Walker, David

    This project addressed Topic 3: “Wave Measurement Instrumentation for Feed Forward Controls” under the FOA number DE-FOA-0000971. The overall goal of the program was to develop a phase-resolving wave forecasting technique for application to the active control of Wave Energy Conversion (WEC) devices. We have developed an approach that couples a wave imaging marine radar with a phase-resolving linear wave model for real-time wave field reconstruction and forward propagation of the wave field in space and time. The scope of the project was to develop and assess the performance of this novel forecasting system. Specific project goals were as follows:more » Develop and verify a fast, GPU-based (Graphical Processing Unit) wave propagation model suitable for phase-resolved computation of nearshore wave transformation over variable bathymetry; Compare the accuracy and speed of performance of the wave model against a deep water model in their ability to predict wave field transformation in the intermediate water depths (50 to 70 m) typical of planned WEC sites; Develop and implement a variational assimilation algorithm that can ingest wave imaging radar observations and estimate the time-varying wave conditions offshore of the domain of interest such that the observed wave field is best reconstructed throughout the domain and then use this to produce model forecasts for a given WEC location; Collect wave-resolving marine radar data, along with relevant in situ wave data, at a suitable wave energy test site, apply the algorithm to the field data, assess performance, and identify any necessary improvements; and Develop a production cost estimate that addresses the affordability of the wave forecasting technology and include in the Final Report. The developed forecasting algorithm (“Wavecast”) was evaluated for both speed and accuracy against a substantial synthetic dataset. Early in the project, performance tests definitively demonstrated that the system was capable

  17. Dunes on Titan observed by Cassini Radar

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Radebaugh, J.; Lorenz, R.D.; Lunine, J.I.; Wall, S.D.; Boubin, G.; Reffet, E.; Kirk, R.L.; Lopes, R.M.; Stofan, E.R.; Soderblom, L.; Allison, M.; Janssen, M.; Paillou, P.; Callahan, P.; Spencer, C.; ,

    2008-01-01

    Thousands of longitudinal dunes have recently been discovered by the Titan Radar Mapper on the surface of Titan. These are found mainly within ??30?? of the equator in optically-, near-infrared-, and radar-dark regions, indicating a strong proportion of organics, and cover well over 5% of Titan's surface. Their longitudinal duneform, interactions with topography, and correlation with other aeolian forms indicate a single, dominant wind direction aligned with the dune axis plus lesser, off-axis or seasonally alternating winds. Global compilations of dune orientations reveal the mean wind direction is dominantly eastwards, with regional and local variations where winds are diverted around topographically high features, such as mountain blocks or broad landforms. Global winds may carry sediments from high latitude regions to equatorial regions, where relatively drier conditions prevail, and the particles are reworked into dunes, perhaps on timescales of thousands to tens of thousands of years. On Titan, adequate sediment supply, sufficient wind, and the absence of sediment carriage and trapping by fluids are the dominant factors in the presence of dunes. ?? 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. A method to combine spaceborne radar and radiometric observations of precipitation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munchak, Stephen Joseph

    This dissertation describes the development and application of a combined radar-radiometer rainfall retrieval algorithm for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. A retrieval framework based upon optimal estimation theory is proposed wherein three parameters describing the raindrop size distribution (DSD), ice particle size distribution (PSD), and cloud water path (cLWP) are retrieved for each radar profile. The retrieved rainfall rate is found to be strongly sensitive to the a priori constraints in DSD and cLWP; thus, these parameters are tuned to match polarimetric radar estimates of rainfall near Kwajalein, Republic of Marshall Islands. An independent validation against gauge-tuned radar rainfall estimates at Melbourne, FL shows agreement within 2% which exceeds previous algorithms' ability to match rainfall at these two sites. The algorithm is then applied to two years of TRMM data over oceans to determine the sources of DSD variability. Three correlated sets of variables representing storm dynamics, background environment, and cloud microphysics are found to account for approximately 50% of the variability in the absolute and reflectivity-normalized median drop size. Structures of radar reflectivity are also identified and related to drop size, with these relationships being confirmed by ground-based polarimetric radar data from the North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME). Regional patterns of DSD and the sources of variability identified herein are also shown to be consistent with previous work documenting regional DSD properties. In particular, mid-latitude regions and tropical regions near land tend to have larger drops for a given reflectivity, whereas the smallest drops are found in the eastern Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone. Due to properties of the DSD and rain water/cloud water partitioning that change with column water vapor, it is shown that increases in water vapor in a global warming scenario could lead to slight (1

  19. Compressive Strength of Cometary Surfaces Derived from Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    ElShafie, A.; Heggy, E.

    2014-12-01

    Landing on a comet nucleus and probing it, mechanically using harpoons, penetrometers and drills, and electromagnetically using low frequency radar waves is a complex task that will be tackled by the Rosetta mission for Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The mechanical properties (i.e. density, porosity and compressive strength) and the electrical properties (i.e. the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant) of the comet nucleus, constrain both the mechanical and electromagnetic probing capabilities of Rosetta, as well as the choice of landing site, the safety of the landing, and subsurface data interpretation. During landing, the sounding radar data that will be collected by Rosetta's CONSERT experiment can be used to probe the comet's upper regolith layer by assessing its dielectric properties, which are then inverted to retrieve the surface mechanical properties. These observations can help characterize the mechanical properties of the landing site, which will optimize the operation of the anchor system. In this effort, we correlate the mechanical and electrical properties of cometary analogs to each other, and derive an empirical model that can be used to retrieve density, porosity and compressive strength from the dielectric properties of the upper regolith inverted from CONSERT observations during the landing phase. In our approach we consider snow as a viable cometary material analog due to its low density and its porous nature. Therefore, we used the compressive strength and dielectric constant measurements conducted on snow at a temperature of 250 K and a density range of 0.4-0.9 g/cm3 in order to investigate the relation between compressive strength and dielectric constant under cometary-relevant density range. Our results suggest that compressive strength increases linearly as function of the dielectric constant over the observed density range mentioned above. The minimum and maximum compressive strength of 0.5 and 4.5 MPa corresponded to a

  20. Combined In-situ and Ground-based Observations of Quasi-periodic Radar Echoes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pfaff, R.; Kudeki, E.; Larsen, M.; Clemmons, J.; Earle, G.

    A series of combined rocket/radar investigation of the electrodynamics and neutral- plasma coupling associated with sporadic-E layers and quasi-periodic backscatter radar echoes has been carried out from launch sites at both Puerto Rico and the Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia (USA) between 1998-2001. The instrumented rock- ets consisted of main and sub-payloads and were launched while strong quasi- periodic VHF echoes were observed simultaneously with the Univ. of Illinois 50 MHz backscatter radar. The rocket apogee was purposely limited so that the payloads would dwell in the sporadic-E region (90-115 km). The main payload included vector DC and AC electric field detectors, a DC magnetometer, an ion mass spectrometer, an ioniza- tion gauge, and spaced-electric field receivers to measure the wavelength and phase velocity of the unstable plasma waves. The sub-payload was instrumented to measure DC and wave electric fields and plasma density. In one case, a separate rocket was launched a few minutes later which released luminous TMA trails to measure the neu- tral wind, its velocity shear, and embedded neutral structures. In this experiment, the payloads successfully pierced a well-defined, 2-3 km thick metallic sporadic-E layer of approximately 10**5 e/cc near 103 km altitude. In-situ DC electric field measure- ments revealed ~5mV/m ambient meridional fields above and below the layer with 1-2 mV/m amplitude, large scale structures superimposed. The wavelengths of these structures were approximately 2-4 km and may be related to the seat of the quasi- periodic echoes. Intense (~5 mV/m), higher frequency (shorter scale) broadband waves were also observed in-situ, both above and below the layer, consistent with the VHF backscatter observations during the time of the launch. Neither the large scale nor short scale plasma waves appeared to be distinctly organized by the sporadic-E den- sity layer. The TMA release showed large amplitude (~ 100 m/s) meridional winds near

  1. Interferometric Radar Observations of Glaciar San Rafael, Chile

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rignot, Eric; Forster, Richard; Isacks, Bryan

    1996-01-01

    Interferometric radar observations of Glaciar San Rafael, Chile, were collected in October 1994 by NASA's Spaceborne Imaging Radar C (SIR-C) at both L- (24cm) and C-band frequency (5.6cm), with vertical transmit and receive polarization. The C-band data did not yield good geophysical products, because the temporal coherence of the signal was significantly reduced after 24h. The L-band data were, however, successfully employed to map the surface topography of the icefield with a 10m uncertainty in height, and measure ice velocity with a precision of 4 mm/d or 1.4 m/a. The corresponding error in strain rates is 0.05/a at a 30 m horizontal spacing. The one-dimensional interferometric velocities were subsequently converted to horizontal displacements by assuming a flow direction and complemented by feature-tracking results near the calving front. The results provide a comprehensive view of the ice-flow dynamics of Glaciar San Rafael. The glacier has a core of rapid flow, 4.5 km in width and 3.5 degrees in average slope,surrounded by slower moving ice, not by rock. Ice velocity is 2.6 m/d or 0.95 km/a near the equilibrium line altitude (1200m), increasing rapidly before the glacier enters the narrower terminal valley, to reach 17.5 m/d or 6.4 km/a at the calving front. Strain rates are dominated by lateral shearing at the glacier margins (0.4-0.7/a), except for the terminal-valley section, where longitudinal strain rates average close to 1/a. This spectacular longitudinal increase in ice velocity in the last few kilometers may be a fundamental feature of tidewater glaciers.

  2. Predictability of GNSS signal observations in support of Space Situational Awareness using passive radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahmud, M. S.; Lambert, A.; Benson, C.

    2015-07-01

    GNSS signals have been proposed as emitters of opportunity to enhance Space Situational Awareness (SSA) by tracking small items of space debris using bistatic radar. Although the scattered GNSS signal levels from small items of space debris are incredibly low, the dynamic disturbances of the observed object are very small, and the phase of the scattered signals is well behaved. It is therefore plausible that coherent integration periods on the order of many minutes could be achieved. However, even with long integration periods, very large receiver arrays with extensive, but probably viable, processing are required to recover the scattered signal. Such large arrays will be expensive, and smaller more affordable arrays will collect insufficient signal power to detect the small objects (relative to wavelength) that are necessary to maintain the necessary phase coherency. The investments necessary to build a large receiver array are unlikely without substantial risk reduction. Pini and Akos have previously reported on use of very large radio telescopes to analyse the short-term modulation performance of GNSS satellite signals. In this work we report on tracking of GPS satellites with a radio-astronomy VLBI antenna system to assess the stability of the observed GPS signal over a time period indicative of that proposed for passive radar. We also confirm some of the processing techniques that may be used in both demonstrations and the final system. We conclude from the limited data set that the signal stability when observed by a high-gain tracking antenna and compared against a high quality, low phase-noise clock is excellent, as expected. We conclude by framing further works to reduce risk for a passive radar SSA capability using GNSS signals. http://www.ignss.org/Conferences/PastConferencePapers/2015ConferencePastPapers/2015PeerReviewedPapers/tabid/147/Default.aspx

  3. Evidence for ground-ice occurrence on asteroid Vesta using Dawn bistatic radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Palmer, E. M.; Heggy, E.; Kofman, W. W.

    2017-12-01

    From 2011 to 2012, the Dawn spacecraft orbited asteroid Vesta, the first of its two targets in the asteroid belt, and conducted the first bistatic radar (BSR) experiment at a small-body, during which Dawn's high-gain communications antenna is used to transmit radar waves that scatter from Vesta's surface toward Earth at high incidence angles just before and after occultation of the spacecraft behind the asteroid. Among the 14 observed mid-latitude forward-scatter reflections, the radar cross section ranges from 84 ± 8 km2 (near Saturnalia Fossae) to 3,588 ± 200 km2 (northwest of Caparronia crater), implying substantial spatial variation in centimeter- to decimeter-scale surface roughness. The compared distributions of surface roughness and subsurface hydrogen concentration [H]—measured using data from Dawn's BSR experiment and Gamma Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRaND), respectively—reveal the occurrence of heightened subsurface [H] with smoother terrains that cover tens of square kilometers. Furthermore, unlike on the Moon, we observe no correlation between surface roughness and surface ages on Vesta—whether the latter is derived from lunar or asteroid-flux chronology [Williams et al., 2014]—suggesting that cratering processes alone are insufficient to explain Vesta's surface texture at centimeter-to-decimeter scales. Dawn's BSR observations support the hypothesis of transient melting, runoff and recrystallization of potential ground-ice deposits, which are postulated to flow along fractures after an impact, and provide a mechanism for the smoothing of otherwise rough, fragmented impact ejecta. Potential ground-ice presence within Vesta's subsurface was first proposed by Scully et al. [2014], who identified geomorphological evidence for transient water flow along several of Vesta's crater walls using Dawn Framing Camera images. While airless, differentiated bodies such as Vesta and the Moon are thought to have depleted their initial volatile content

  4. The Bounce of SL-9 Impact Ejecta Plumes on Re-Entry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deming, L. D.; Harrington, J.

    1996-09-01

    We have generated synthetic light curves of the re-entry of SL-9 ejecta plumes into Jupiter's atmosphere and have modeled the periodic oscillation of the observed R plume light curves (P. D. Nicholson et al. 1995, Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 1613--1616) as a hydrodynamic bounce. Our model is separated into plume and atmospheric components. The plume portion of the model is a ballistic Monte Carlo calculation (Harrington and Deming, this meeting). In this paper we describe the atmospheric portion of the model. The infalling plume is divided over a spatial grid (in latitude/longitude). The plume is layered, and joined to a 1-D Lagrangian radiative-hydrodynamic model of the atmosphere, at each grid point. The radiative-hydrodynamic code solves the momentum, energy, and radiative transfer equations for both the infalling plume layers and the underlying atmosphere using an explicit finite difference scheme. It currently uses gray opacities for both the plume and the atmosphere, and the calculations indicate that a much greater opacity is needed for the plume than for the atmosphere. We compute the emergent infrared intensity at each grid point, and integrate spatially to yield a synthetic light curve. These curves exhibit many features in common with observed light curves, including a rapid rise to maximum light followed by a gradual decline due to radiative damping. Oscillatory behavior (the ``bounce'') is a persistent feature of the light curves, and is caused by the elastic nature of the plume impact. In addition to synthetic light curves, the model also calculates temperature profiles for the jovian atmosphere as heated by the plume infall.

  5. Measuring the Rebound Resilience of a Bouncing Ball

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wadhwa, Ajay

    2012-01-01

    Some balls which are made of high-quality rubber (an elastomeric) material, such as tennis or squash balls, could be used for the determination of an important property of such materials called resilience. Since a bouncing ball involves a single impact we call this property "rebound resilience" and express it as the ratio of the rebound height to…

  6. Second harmonic Pi2 pulsation observed near the plasmapause by the Asian-Oceanian SuperDARN radars and THEMIS satellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Teramoto, M.; Nishitani, N.; Hori, T.; Devlin, J. C.; Angelopoulos, V.; Glassmeier, K.; Clausen, L.; Baumjohann, W.; Bonnell, J. W.; Mozer, F.

    2012-12-01

    Pi2 pulsations appear on the nightside at substorm onsets. Several studies suggested that transient Alfven waves might contribute to the excitation of Pi2 pulsations at nightside mid and high latitudes. On the other hand, fast mode waves trapped between the ionosphere and plasmapause are responsible for Pi2 pulsations at mid and low latitudes on the nightside. Using the Sweden And Britain auroral Radar Experiment (SABRE) coherent radar at auroral and sub-auroral latitudes, Yeoman et al. [1991] found that the radar could distinguish between these two types of Pi2 pulsations and suggested that the mid latitude region is the transition region of these two types of Pi2 pulsations. We report on one event of Pi2 pulsation starting at 09:12 UT on 19 August 2010 observed simultaneously by the Hokkaido (HOK), Tiger (TIG), and Unwin (UNW) SuperDARN radars and THEMIS-A, -D, -E satellites when they were located in the premidnight sector. The THEMIS satellites observed Pi2 pulsations at 13 mHz predominantly in the compressional and radial components of the magnetic field and the azimuthal component of the electric field when satellites were located at L < 5 inside the plasmasphere. These pulsations had high coherence (~1) with the H-component Pi2 pulsations at a low-latitude ground station, Kakioka (KAK: magnetic latitude 27.47; magnetic longitude 209.2 degrees). The Poynting flux indicates earthward and duskward flux of Pi2 energy. The radars observed oscillations of Doppler velocities at mid latitude while operating in themisscan mode, during which beam 4 of HOK, beam 4 of TIG, and beam 14 of UNW provide 8-s sampling data. These oscillations corresponded to approximately the east-west component of electric field in the ionosphere. Oscillations backscattered form the lower-latitude ionosphere had a predominant frequency at 13 mHz while Pi2 pulsations observed at higher latitude by the radars had predominant frequencies at both 13 and 25 mHz. The power of Doppler velocity

  7. Mesospheric temperatures estimated from the meteor radar observations at Mohe, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Libo; Liu, Huixin; Chen, Yiding; Le, Huijun

    2017-04-01

    In this work, we report the estimation of mesospheric temperatures at 90 km height from the observations of the VHF all-sky meteor radar operated at Mohe (53.5 °N, 122.3° E), China, since August 2011. The kinetic temperature profiles retrieved from the observations of Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) onboard the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics, and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite are processed to provide the temperature (TSABER) and temperature gradient (dT/dh) at 90 km height. Based on the SABER temperature profile data an empirical dT/dh model is developed for the Mohe latitude. First, we derive the temperatures from the meteor decay times (Tmeteor) and the Mohe dT/dh model gives prior information of temperature gradients. Secondly, the full-width of half maximum (FWHM) of the meteor height profiles is calculated and further used to deduce the temperatures (TFWHM) based on the strong linear relationship between FWHM and TSABER. The temperatures at 90 km deduced from the decay times (Tmeteor) and from the meteor height distributions (TFWHM) at Mohe are validated/calibrated with TSABER. The temperatures present a considerable annual variation, being maximum in winter and minimum in summer. Harmonic analyses reveal that the temperatures have an annual variation consistent with TSABER. Our work suggests that the FWHM has a good performance in routine estimation of the temperatures. It should be pointed out that the slope of FWHM and TSABER is 10.1 at Mohe, which is different from that of 15.71 at King Sejong (62.2° S, 58.8° E) station. Acknowledgments The TIMED/SABER kinetic temperature (version 2.0) data are provided by the SABER team through http://saber.gats-inc.com/. The temperatures from the NRLMSISE-00 model are calculated using Aerospace Blockset toolbox of MATLAB (2016a). This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41231065, 41321003). We acknowledge the use of meteor radar

  8. The New Meteor Radar at Penn State: Design and First Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Urbina, J.; Seal, R.; Dyrud, L.

    2011-01-01

    In an effort to provide new and improved meteor radar sensing capabilities, Penn State has been developing advanced instruments and technologies for future meteor radars, with primary objectives of making such instruments more capable and more cost effective in order to study the basic properties of the global meteor flux, such as average mass, velocity, and chemical composition. Using low-cost field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), combined with open source software tools, we describe a design methodology enabling one to develop state-of-the art radar instrumentation, by developing a generalized instrumentation core that can be customized using specialized output stage hardware. Furthermore, using object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques and open-source tools, we illustrate a technique to provide a cost-effective, generalized software framework to uniquely define an instrument s functionality through a customizable interface, implemented by the designer. The new instrument is intended to provide instantaneous profiles of atmospheric parameters and climatology on a daily basis throughout the year. An overview of the instrument design concepts and some of the emerging technologies developed for this meteor radar are presented.

  9. Aspect sensitive E- and F-region SPEAR-enhanced incoherent backscatter observed by the EISCAT Svalbard radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dhillon, R. S.; Robinson, T. R.; Yeoman, T. K.

    2009-01-01

    Previous studies of the aspect sensitivity of heater-enhanced incoherent radar backscatter in the high-latitude ionosphere have demonstrated the directional dependence of incoherent scatter signatures corresponding to artificially excited electrostatic waves, together with consistent field-aligned signatures that may be related to the presence of artificial field-aligned irregularities. These earlier high-latitude results have provided motivation for repeating the investigation in the different geophysical conditions that obtain in the polar cap ionosphere. The Space Plasma Exploration by Active Radar (SPEAR) facility is located within the polar cap and has provided observations of RF-enhanced ion and plasma line spectra recorded by the EISCAT Svalbard UHF incoherent scatter radar system (ESR), which is collocated with SPEAR. In this paper, we present observations of aspect sensitive E- and F-region SPEAR-induced ion and plasma line enhancements that indicate excitation of both the purely growing mode and the parametric decay instability, together with sporadic E-layer results that may indicate the presence of cavitons. We note consistent enhancements from field-aligned, vertical and also from 5° south of field-aligned. We attribute the prevalence of vertical scatter to the importance of the Spitze region, and of that from field-aligned to possible wave/irregularity coupling.

  10. Insights into riming and aggregation processes as revealed by aircraft, radar, and disdrometer observations for a 27 April 2011 widespread precipitation event: Insights into Riming and Aggregation

    DOE PAGES

    Giangrande, Scott E.; Toto, Tami; Bansemer, Aaron; ...

    2016-05-19

    Our study presents aircraft spiral ascent and descent observations intercepting a transition to riming processes during widespread stratiform precipitation. The sequence is documented using collocated scanning and profiling radar, including longer-wavelength dual polarization measurements and shorter-wavelength Doppler spectra. Riming regions are supported using aircraft measurements recording elevated liquid water concentrations, spherical particle shapes, and saturation with respect to water. Profiling cloud radar observations indicate riming regions during the event as having increasing particle fall speeds, rapid time-height changes, and bimodalities in Doppler spectra. These particular riming signatures are coupled to scanning dual polarization radar observations of higher differential reflectivity (ZDR)more » aloft. Moreover, reduced melting layer enhancements and delayed radar bright-band signatures in the column are also observed during riming periods, most notably with the profiling radar observations. The bimodal cloud radar Doppler spectra captured near riming zones indicate two time-height spectral ice peaks, one rimed particle peak, and one peak associated with pristine ice needle generation and/or growth between -4°C and -7°C also sampled by aircraft probes. We observe this pristine needle population near the rimed particle region which gives a partial explanation for the enhanced ZDR. The riming signatures aloft and radar measurements within the melting level are weakly lag correlated (r~0.6) with smaller median drop sizes at the surface, as compared with later times when aggregation of larger particle sizes was believed dominant.« less

  11. Insights into riming and aggregation processes as revealed by aircraft, radar, and disdrometer observations for a 27 April 2011 widespread precipitation event: Insights into Riming and Aggregation

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

    Giangrande, Scott E.; Toto, Tami; Bansemer, Aaron

    Our study presents aircraft spiral ascent and descent observations intercepting a transition to riming processes during widespread stratiform precipitation. The sequence is documented using collocated scanning and profiling radar, including longer-wavelength dual polarization measurements and shorter-wavelength Doppler spectra. Riming regions are supported using aircraft measurements recording elevated liquid water concentrations, spherical particle shapes, and saturation with respect to water. Profiling cloud radar observations indicate riming regions during the event as having increasing particle fall speeds, rapid time-height changes, and bimodalities in Doppler spectra. These particular riming signatures are coupled to scanning dual polarization radar observations of higher differential reflectivity (ZDR)more » aloft. Moreover, reduced melting layer enhancements and delayed radar bright-band signatures in the column are also observed during riming periods, most notably with the profiling radar observations. The bimodal cloud radar Doppler spectra captured near riming zones indicate two time-height spectral ice peaks, one rimed particle peak, and one peak associated with pristine ice needle generation and/or growth between -4°C and -7°C also sampled by aircraft probes. We observe this pristine needle population near the rimed particle region which gives a partial explanation for the enhanced ZDR. The riming signatures aloft and radar measurements within the melting level are weakly lag correlated (r~0.6) with smaller median drop sizes at the surface, as compared with later times when aggregation of larger particle sizes was believed dominant.« less

  12. Two radars for AIM mission: A direct observation of the asteroid's structure from deep interior to regolith

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herique, A.; Ciarletti, V.

    2015-10-01

    Our knowledge of the internal structure of asteroids is, so far, indirect - relying entirely on inferences from remote sensing observations of the surface, and theoretical modeling. What are the bulk properties of the regolith and deep interior? And what are the physical processes that shape their internal structures? Direct measurements are needed to provide answers that will directly improve our ability to understand and model the mechanisms driving Near Earth Asteroids (NEA) for the benefit of science as well as for planetary defense or exploration. Radar tomography is the only technique to characterize internal structure from decimetric scale to global scale. This paper reviews the benefits of direct measurement of the asteroid interior. Then the radar concepts for both deep interior and shallow subsurface are presented and the radar payload proposed for the AIDA/AIM mission is outlined.

  13. Optimal control of a hybrid rhythmic-discrete task: the bouncing ball revisited.

    PubMed

    Ronsse, Renaud; Wei, Kunlin; Sternad, Dagmar

    2010-05-01

    Rhythmically bouncing a ball with a racket is a hybrid task that combines continuous rhythmic actuation of the racket with the control of discrete impact events between racket and ball. This study presents experimental data and a two-layered modeling framework that explicitly addresses the hybrid nature of control: a first discrete layer calculates the state to reach at impact and the second continuous layer smoothly drives the racket to this desired state, based on optimality principles. The testbed for this hybrid model is task performance at a range of increasingly slower tempos. When slowing the rhythm of the bouncing actions, the continuous cycles become separated into a sequence of discrete movements interspersed by dwell times and directed to achieve the desired impact. Analyses of human performance show increasing variability of performance measures with slower tempi, associated with a change in racket trajectories from approximately sinusoidal to less symmetrical velocity profiles. Matching results of model simulations give support to a hybrid control model based on optimality, and therefore suggest that optimality principles are applicable to the sensorimotor control of complex movements such as ball bouncing.

  14. Radar investigation of asteroids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ostro, S. J.

    1983-01-01

    For 80 Sappho, 356 Liguria, 694 Ekard, and 2340 Hathor, data were taken simultaneously in the same sense of circular polarization as transmitted (SC) as well as in the opposite (OC) sense. Graphs show the average OC and SC radar echo power spectra soothed to a resolution of EFB Hz and plotted against Doppler frequency. Radar observations of the peculiar object 2201 Oljato reveal an unusual set of echo power spectra. The albedo and polarization ratio remain fairly constant but the bandwidths range from approximately 0.8 Hz to 1.4 Hz and the spectral shapes vary dramatically. Echo characteristics within any one date's approximately 2.5-hr observation period do not fluctuate very much. Laboratory measurements of the radar frequency electrical properties of particulate metal-plus-silicate mixtures can be combined with radar albedo estimates to constrain the bulk density and metal weight, fraction in a hypothetical asteroid regolith having the same particle size distribution as lab samples.

  15. First incoherent scatter radar observations of radio wave pumping in the ionosphere around the second electron gyroharmonic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kosch, Michael; Bristow, Bill; Gustavsson, Bjorn; Heinselman, Craig; Hughes, John; Isham, Brett; Mutiso, Charles; Nielsen, Kim; Pedersen, Todd; Wang, Weiyuan; Wong, Alfred

    We report results from a unique experiment performed at the HIPAS ionospheric modification facility in Alaska. High power radio waves at 2.85 MHz, which corresponds to the second electron gyroharmonic at 240 km altitude, were transmitted into the nighttime ionosphere. Diagnostics included optical equipment at HIPAS and HAARP, 288 km to the south-east, the PFISR radar at Poker Flat, 32 km to the north-west, and the Kodiak SuperDARN radar, 856 km to the south-west. Camera observations of the stimulated optical emissions at 557.7 nm (O1S, threshold 4.2 eV) and 630 nm (O1D, threshold 2 eV) were made, allowing tomographic reconstruction of the volume emission. The first observations of pump-induced 732 nm (O+, threshold 18.6 eV) emissions are reported. Kodiak radar backscatter, which is a proxy for upper-hybrid resonance, shows strong production of striations without a minimum on the second gyroharmonic, confirming previous results. PFISR analysis shows clear evidence of electron temperature enhancements, consistent with previous EISCAT results, maximizing when the pump frequency matches the second gyroharmonic and when double resonance occurs, i.e. the upper-hybrid resonance frequency matches the second gyroharmonic. This is consistent with the optical observations. From the above data, we are able to infer the efficiency of different groups of electron-accelerating mechanisms.

  16. 3D MR-Spectroscopic Imaging Assessment of Metabolic Activity in the Prostate During the PSA 'Bounce' Following {sup 125}Iodine Brachytherapy

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

    Kirilova, Anna; Damyanovich, Andrei; Crook, Juanita, E-mail: jcrook@bccancer.bc.c

    2011-02-01

    Purpose: A temporary increase in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values is observed in 30%-40% of men following {sup 125} I brachytherapy (BT) for prostate cancer. We present the results of a study to characterize prostate metabolic activity during the PSA 'bounce' and to correlate metabolic changes with PSA levels using three-dimensional magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (3D-MRSI). Methods and Materials: 3D-MRSI was performed in 24 patients during the PSA bounce. Eight of these had also had a baseline 3D-MRSI scan before BT for the purpose of tumor mapping. The 3D-MRSI was repeated at 6- and 12-month intervals, and PSA levels were monitoredmore » every 3 months. Twenty-one of the patients had favorable-risk prostate cancer, and 3 had intermediate risk. Results: The choline+creatine signal intensity, although markedly reduced, was observable following BT. Diffuse activity not corresponding to original biopsy-positive sites was observed in 22 cases, and 2 cases were documented to have local recurrence. No statistically significant correlation between metabolic activity and PSA levels at each interval was found. Conclusion: Post-BT prostate 3D-MRSI shows evidence of diffuse metabolic activity unrelated to residual malignancy. This supports the benign nature of the PSA bounce and suggests an inflammatory etiology. In the situation of a rising PSA, observation of focal activity on MRI/3D-MRSI could be a useful adjunct to suggest local recurrence at an earlier interval after brachytherapy when prostate biopsies would still be unhelpful. Longer follow-up is necessary to confirm the complex relationship between metabolic activity and PSA levels.« less

  17. Final Cassini RADAR Observation of Titan's Magic Island Region and Ligeia Mare

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hofgartner, J. D.; Hayes, A.; Lunine, J. I.; Stiles, B. W.; Malaska, M. J.; Wall, S. D.

    2017-12-01

    Cassini arrived in the Saturn system shortly after the Oct. 2002 northern winter solstice and the mission will end shortly after the May 2017 northern summer solstice. A main objective of the Cassini Solstice mission is to study seasonal and temporal changes and at Titan this includes changes of the hydrocarbon lakes/seas. Titan's Magic Islands are transient bright features in the north polar sea, Ligeia Mare that were observed to be temporal changes in Cassini RADAR images. The Magic Islands were discovered in a July 2013 image as anomalously bright features that were not present in four previous observations from Feb. 2007 - May 2013. The region of the Magic Islands was again anomalously bright in an Aug. 2014 image and the total areal extent of the anomalously bright region had increased by more than a factor of three. The transient features were not, however, observed in a Jan. 2015 image. Thus in seven observations spanning much of the Cassini mission the bright features were observed to appear, increase in extent, and then disappear. They are referred to as Titan's Magic Islands because of their appearing/disappearing behavior and resemblance in appearance to islands. These transient bright features are not actually islands. The transients were concluded to be most consistent with waves, floating solids, suspended solids, and bubbles. Tides, sea level changes, and seafloor changes are unlikely to be the primary cause of these temporal changes. Whether these temporal changes are also seasonal changes was unclear. The final Cassini RADAR imaging observation of Titan in Apr. 2017 included the region of the Magic Islands. The transient bright features were not present during this observation. The geometry of the observation was such that, had the transients been present, their brightness may have ruled out some of the remaining hypotheses. Their absence however, is less constraining but consistent with their transient nature. Waves, floating solids, suspended

  18. Study of midlatitude ionospheric irregularities and E- and F-region coupling based on rocket and radar observations from Japan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamamoto, M.

    2015-12-01

    We have been studying ionspheric irregularities in mid-latitude region by using radars, sounding rockets, etc. The mid-latitude ionosphere was considered much stable than those in the equatorial or polar region in the past, but our studies for years have revealed that there are much active variabilities. We found variety of wave-like structures that are specific in the mid-latitudes. One of the phenomena is quasi-periodic echoes (QP echoes) first observed by the MU radar that reflects horizontal plasma-density structures associated to sporadic-E layers. Another phenomenon is medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID) in the F-region. In the generation mechanism we think that Ionospheric E- and F-region coupling process is important. In this presentation, we will discuss nature of mid-latitude ionosphere based on our observations; the MU radar, sounding rocket campaigns of SEEK-1/2, and recent MSTID rocket experiment from JAXA Uchinoura Space Center in July 2013.

  19. Combined observations of meteors by image-orthicon television camera and multi-station radar. [to compare ionization with luminosity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cook, A. F.; Forti, G.; Mccrosky, R. E.; Posen, A.; Southworth, R. B.; Williams, J. T.

    1973-01-01

    Observations from multiple sites of a radar network and by television of 29 individual meteors from February 1969 through June 1970 are reported. Only 12 of the meteors did not appear to fragment over all the observed portion of their trajectories. From these 12, the relation for the radar magnitude to the panchromatic absolute magnitude was found in terms of velocity of the meteor. A very tentative fit to the data on the duration of long enduring echoes versus visual absolute magnitude is made. The exponential decay characteristics of the later parts of several of the light curves are pointed out as possible evidence of mutual coalescence of droplets into which the meteoroid has completely broken.

  20. Observations of meteor-head echoes using the Jicamarca 50MHz radar in interferometer mode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chau, J. L.; Woodman, R. F.

    2004-03-01

    We present results of recent observations of meteor-head echoes obtained with the high-power large-aperture Jicamarca 50MHz radar (11.95°S, 76.87°W) in an interferometric mode. The large power-aperture of the system allows us to record more than 3000 meteors per hour in the small volume subtended by the 1° antenna beam, albeit when the cluttering equatorial electrojet (EEJ) echoes are not present or are very weak. The interferometry arrangement allows the determination of the radiant (trajectory) and speed of each meteor. It is found that the radiant distribution of all detected meteors is concentrated in relative small angles centered around the Earth's Apex as it transits over the Jicamarca sky, i.e. around the corresponding Earth heading for the particular observational day and time, for all seasons observed so far. The dispersion around the Apex is ~18° in a direction transverse to the Ecliptic plane and only 8.5° in heliocentric longitude in the Ecliptic plane both in the Earth inertial frame of reference. No appreciable interannual variability has been observed. Moreover, no population related to the optical (larger meteors) Leonid showers of 1998-2002 is found, in agreement with other large power-aperture radar observations.

    A novel cross-correlation detection technique (adaptive match-filtering) is used in combination with a 13 baud Barker phase-code. The technique allows us to get good range resolution (0.75km) without any sensitivity deterioration for the same average power, compared to the non-coded long pulse scheme used at other radars. The matching Doppler shift provides an estimation of the velocity within a pulse with the same accuracy as if a non-coded pulse of the same length had been used. The velocity distribution of the meteors is relatively narrow and centered around 60kms-1. Therefore most of the meteors have an almost circular retrograde orbit around the Sun. Less than 8% of the velocities correspond to

  1. Using TRMM and GPM precipitation radar for calibration of weather radars in the Philippines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crisologo, Irene; Bookhagen, Bodo; Smith, Taylor; Heistermann, Maik

    2016-04-01

    Torrential and sustained rainfall from tropical cyclones, monsoons, and thunderstorms frequently impact the Philippines. In order to predict, assess, and measure storm impact, it is imperative to have a reliable and accurate monitoring system in place. In 2011, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) established a weather radar network of ten radar devices, eight of which are single-polarization S-band radars and two dual-polarization C-band radars. Because of a low-density hydrometeorological monitoring networks in the Philippines, calibration of weather radars becomes a challenging, but important task. In this study, we explore the potential of scrutinizing the calibration of ground radars by using the observations from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). For this purpose, we compare different TRMM level 1 and 2 orbital products from overpasses over the Philippines, and compare these products to reflectivities observed by the Philippine ground radars. Differences in spatial resolution are addressed by computing adequate zonal statistics of the local radar bins located within the corresponding TRMM cell in space and time. The wradlib package (Heistermann et al. 2013; Heistermann et al. 2015) is used to process the data from the Subic S-band single-polarization weather radar. These data will be analyzed in conjunction with TRMM data for June to August 2012, three months of the wet season. This period includes the enhanced monsoon of 2012, locally called Habagat 2012, which brought sustained intense rainfall and massive floods in several parts of the country including the most populated city of Metro Manila. References Heistermann, M., Jacobi, S., Pfaff, T. (2013): Technical Note: An open source library for processing weather radar data (wradlib). Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 863-871, doi: 10.5194/hess-17-863-2013. Heistermann, M., S. Collis, M. J. Dixon, S. Giangrande, J. J. Helmus, B. Kelley, J

  2. Description and Initial Evaluation of a Computer-Based Individual Trainer for the Radar Intercept Observer.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rigney, Joseph W.; And Others

    An individual trainer for giving students in the radar intercept observer (RIO) schools concentrated practice in procedures for air-to-air intercepts was designed around a programmable graphics terminal with two integral minicomputers and 8k of core memory. The trainer automatically administers practice in computing values of variables in the…

  3. Big-bounce cosmology from quantum gravity: The case of a cyclical Bianchi I universe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moriconi, Riccardo; Montani, Giovanni; Capozziello, Salvatore

    2016-07-01

    We analyze the classical and quantum dynamics of a Bianchi I model in the presence of a small negative cosmological constant characterizing its evolution in term of the dust-time dualism. We demonstrate that in a canonical metric approach, the cosmological singularity is removed in correspondence to a positive defined value of the dust energy density. Furthermore, the quantum big bounce is connected to the Universe's turning point via a well-defined semiclassical limit. Then we can reliably infer that the proposed scenario is compatible with a cyclical universe picture. We also show how, when the contribution of the dust energy density is sufficiently high, the proposed scenario can be extended to the Bianchi IX cosmology and therefore how it can be regarded as a paradigm for the generic cosmological model. Finally, we investigate the origin of the observed cutoff on the cosmological dynamics, demonstrating how the big-bounce evolution can be mimicked by the same semiclassical scenario, where the negative cosmological constant is replaced via a polymer discretization of the Universe's volume. A direct proportionality law between these two parameters is then established.

  4. Sources and Characteristics of Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Observed by a Longitudinally Distributed Chain of SuperDARN Radars Across the United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frissell, N. A.; Baker, J. B. H.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Gerrard, A. J.; Miller, E. S.; West, M. L.; Bristow, W.

    2014-12-01

    Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) are wave-like perturbations of the F-region ionosphere with horizontal wavelengths on the order of 100-250 km and periods between ~15 - 60 min. In SuperDARN data, MSTID signatures are manifested as quasi-periodic enhancements of ground scatter power moving through the radar FOV. High latitude SuperDARN MSTIDs have been studied for many years and are generally attributed to atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) launched by auroral sources. Recent extension of the SuperDARN network to midlatitudes has revealed that MSTIDs are routinely observed at midlatitudes as well. Our previous research using the single radar in Blackstone, Virginia found a primary MSTID propagation direction which suggests that high latitude activity is also the primary source of midlatitude MSTIDs. However, there is also a population of MSTIDs that could be generated by tropospheric sources. This study extends this research by surveying multiple midlatitude radars in Oregon (CVW and CVE), Kansas (FHW and FHW) and Virginia (BKS and WAL) from 1 November 2012 through 1 January 2013 for MSTID signatures in order understand the longitudinal distribution of midlatitude MSTID characteristics and understand possible influences of varied terrain on MSTID observations. MSTIDs observed by all radars had typical wavelengths between 250 to 500 km and horizontal velocities between 100 and 250 m/s. In all radars, the dominant population of MSTIDs propagated in a southward direction, ranging from 135˚ to 250˚ geographic azimuth. The dominant southward propagation direction suggests auroral sources are the dominant source of MSTIDs observed by SuperDARN radars at midlatitudes, which reinforces findings regarding the primary population in previous work.

  5. Effects of Tunable Data Compression on Geophysical Products Retrieved from Surface Radar Observations with Applications to Spaceborne Meteorological Radars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gabriel, Philip M.; Yeh, Penshu; Tsay, Si-Chee

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents results and analyses of applying an international space data compression standard to weather radar measurements that can easily span 8 orders of magnitude and typically require a large storage capacity as well as significant bandwidth for transmission. By varying the degree of the data compression, we analyzed the non-linear response of models that relate measured radar reflectivity and/or Doppler spectra to the moments and properties of the particle size distribution characterizing clouds and precipitation. Preliminary results for the meteorologically important phenomena of clouds and light rain indicate that for a 0.5 dB calibration uncertainty, typical for the ground-based pulsed-Doppler 94 GHz (or 3.2 mm, W-band) weather radar used as a proxy for spaceborne radar in this study, a lossless compression ratio of only 1.2 is achievable. However, further analyses of the non-linear response of various models of rainfall rate, liquid water content and median volume diameter show that a lossy data compression ratio exceeding 15 is realizable. The exploratory analyses presented are relevant to future satellite missions, where the transmission bandwidth is premium and storage requirements of vast volumes of data, potentially problematic.

  6. Aeronomy report no. 74: The Urbana meteor-radar system; design, development, and first observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hess, G. C.; Geller, M. A.

    1976-01-01

    The design, development, and first observations of a high power meteor-radar system located near Urbana, Illinois are described. The roughly five-fold increase in usable echo rate compared to other facilities, along with automated digital data processing and interferometry measurement of echo arrival angles, permits unsurpassed observations of tidal structure and shorter period waves. Such observations are discussed. The technique of using echo decay rates to infer density and scale height and the method of inferring wind shear from radial acceleration are examined. An original experiment to test a theory of the Delta-region winter anomaly is presented.

  7. Shallow radar (SHARAD) sounding observations of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Carter, L.M.; Campbell, B.A.; Watters, T.R.; Phillips, R.J.; Putzig, N.E.; Safaeinili, A.; Plaut, J.J.; Okubo, C.H.; Egan, A.F.; Seu, R.; Biccari, D.; Orosei, R.

    2009-01-01

    The SHARAD (shallow radar) sounding radar on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detects subsurface reflections in the eastern and western parts of the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). The radar waves penetrate up to 580 m of the MFF and detect clear subsurface interfaces in two locations: west MFF between 150 and 155?? E and east MFF between 209 and 213?? E. Analysis of SHARAD radargrams suggests that the real part of the permittivity is ???3.0, which falls within the range of permittivity values inferred from MARSIS data for thicker parts of the MFF. The SHARAD data cannot uniquely determine the composition of the MFF material, but the low permittivity implies that the upper few hundred meters of the MFF material has a high porosity. One possibility is that the MFF is comprised of low-density welded or interlocked pyroclastic deposits that are capable of sustaining the steep-sided yardangs and ridges seen in imagery. The SHARAD surface echo power across the MFF is low relative to typical martian plains, and completely disappears in parts of the east MFF that correspond to the radar-dark Stealth region. These areas are extremely rough at centimeter to meter scales, and the lack of echo power is most likely due to a combination of surface roughness and a low near-surface permittivity that reduces the echo strength from any locally flat regions. There is also no radar evidence for internal layering in any of the SHARAD data for the MFF, despite the fact that tens-of-meters scale layering is apparent in infrared and visible wavelength images of nearby areas. These interfaces may not be detected in SHARAD data if their permittivity contrasts are low, or if the layers are discontinuous. The lack of closely spaced internal radar reflectors suggests that the MFF is not an equatorial analog to the current martian polar deposits, which show clear evidence of multiple internal layers in SHARAD data. ?? 2008 Elsevier Inc.

  8. Bounce Rock-A shergottite-like basalt encountered at Meridiani Planum, Mars

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Zipfel, J.; Schroder, C.; Jolliff, B.L.; Gellert, Ralf; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Rieder, R.; Anderson, R.; Bell, J.F.; Brückner, J.; Crisp, J.A.; Christensen, P.R.; Clark, B. C.; de Souza, P.A.; Dreibus, G.; D'uston, C.; Economou, T.; Gorevan, S.P.; Hahn, B.C.; Klingelhofer, G.; McCoy, T.J.; McSween, H.Y.; Ming, D. W.; Morris, R.V.; Rodionov, D.S.; Squyres, S. W.; Wanke, H.; Wright, S.P.; Wyatt, M.B.; Yen, A. S.

    2011-01-01

    The Opportunity rover of the Mars Exploration Rover mission encountered an isolated rock fragment with textural, mineralogical, and chemical properties similar to basaltic shergottites. This finding was confirmed by all rover instruments, and a comprehensive study of these results is reported here. Spectra from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and the Panoramic Camera reveal a pyroxene-rich mineralogy, which is also evident in M??ssbauer spectra and in normative mineralogy derived from bulk chemistry measured by the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. The correspondence of Bounce Rock's chemical composition with the composition of certain basaltic shergottites, especially Elephant Moraine (EET) 79001 lithology B and Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 94201, is very close, with only Cl, Fe, and Ti exhibiting deviations. Chemical analyses further demonstrate characteristics typical of Mars such as the Fe/Mn ratio and P concentrations. Possible shock features support the idea that Bounce Rock was ejected from an impact crater, most likely in the Meridiani Planum region. Bopolu crater, 19.3km in diameter, located 75km to the southwest could be the source crater. To date, no other rocks of this composition have been encountered by any of the rovers on Mars. The finding of Bounce Rock by the Opportunity rover provides further direct evidence for an origin of basaltic shergottite meteorites from Mars. ?? The Meteoritical Society, 2011.

  9. Bounce Rock - A shergottite-like basalt encountered at Meridiani Planum, Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zipfel, Jutta; Schräder, Christian; Jolliff, Bradley L.; Gellert, Ralf; Herkenhoff, Kenneth E.; Rieder, Rudolf; Anderson, Robert; Bell, James F., III; Brückner, Johannes; Crisp, Joy A.; Christensen, Philip R.; Clark, Benton C.; de Souza, Paulo A., Jr.; Dreibus, Gerlind; D'Uston, Claude; Economou, Thanasis; Gorevan, Steven P.; Hahn, Brian C.; Klingelhäfer, Göstar; McCoy, Timothy J.; McSween, Harry Y., Jr.; Ming, Douglas W.; Morris, Richard V.; Rodionov, Daniel S.; Squyres, Steven W.; Wńnke, Heinrich; Wright, Shawn P.; Wyatt, Michael B.; Yen, Albert S.

    2011-01-01

    Abstract- The Opportunity rover of the Mars Exploration Rover mission encountered an isolated rock fragment with textural, mineralogical, and chemical properties similar to basaltic shergottites. This finding was confirmed by all rover instruments, and a comprehensive study of these results is reported here. Spectra from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and the Panoramic Camera reveal a pyroxene-rich mineralogy, which is also evident in Mössbauer spectra and in normative mineralogy derived from bulk chemistry measured by the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. The correspondence of Bounce Rock’s chemical composition with the composition of certain basaltic shergottites, especially Elephant Moraine (EET) 79001 lithology B and Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 94201, is very close, with only Cl, Fe, and Ti exhibiting deviations. Chemical analyses further demonstrate characteristics typical of Mars such as the Fe/Mn ratio and P concentrations. Possible shock features support the idea that Bounce Rock was ejected from an impact crater, most likely in the Meridiani Planum region. Bopolu crater, 19.3 km in diameter, located 75 km to the southwest could be the source crater. To date, no other rocks of this composition have been encountered by any of the rovers on Mars. The finding of Bounce Rock by the Opportunity rover provides further direct evidence for an origin of basaltic shergottite meteorites from Mars.

  10. Flash propagation and inferred charge structure relative to radar-observed ice alignment signatures in a small Florida mesoscale convective system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Biggerstaff, Michael I.; Zounes, Zackery; Addison Alford, A.; Carrie, Gordon D.; Pilkey, John T.; Uman, Martin A.; Jordan, Douglas M.

    2017-08-01

    A series of vertical cross sections taken through a small mesoscale convective system observed over Florida by the dual-polarimetric SMART radar were combined with VHF radiation source locations from a lightning mapping array (LMA) to examine the lightning channel propagation paths relative to the radar-observed ice alignment signatures associated with regions of negative specific differential phase (KDP). Additionally, charge layers inferred from analysis of LMA sources were related to the ice alignment signature. It was found that intracloud flashes initiated near the upper zero-KDP boundary surrounding the negative KDP region. The zero-KDP boundary also delineated the propagation path of the lightning channel with the negative leaders following the upper boundary and positive leaders following the lower boundary. Very few LMA sources were found in the negative KDP region. We conclude that rapid dual-polarimetric radar observations can diagnose strong electric fields and may help identify surrounding regions of charge.

  11. Observations of metal concentrations in E-region sporadic thin layers using incoherent-scatter radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suzuki, Nobuhiro

    This thesis has used incoherent-scatter radar data from the facility at Sondrestrom, Greenland to determine the ion mass values inside thin sporadic-E layers in the lower ionosphere. Metallic positively-charged ions of meteoric origin are deposited in the earth's upper atmosphere over a height range of about 85-120 km. Electric fields and neutral-gas (eg N2, O, O2) winds at high latitudes may produce convergent ion dynamics that results in the re-distribution of the background altitude distribution of the ions to form thin (1-3 km) high-density layers that are detectable with radar. A large database of experimental radar observations has been processed to determine ion mass values inside these thin ion layers. The range resolution of the radar was 600 meters that permitted mass determinations at several altitude steps within the layers. Near the lower edge of the layers the ion mass values were in the range 20-25 amu while at the top portion of the layers the mass values were generally in the range 30-40 amu. The numerical values are consistent with in-situ mass spectrometer data obtained by other researchers that suggest these layers are mainly composed of a mixture or Mg +, Si+, and Fe + ions. The small tendency for heavier ions to reside at the top portion of the layers is consistent with theory. The results have also found new evidence for the existence of complex-shaped multiple layers; the examples studied suggest similar ion mass values in different layers that in some cases are separated in altitude by several km.

  12. Signal and noise level estimation for narrow spectral width returns observed by the Indian MST radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hooper, D. A.

    1999-07-01

    Use is made of five sets of multibeam observations of the lower atmosphere made by the Indian mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) radar. Two aspects of signal processing which can lead to serious underestimates of the signal-to-noise ratio are considered. First, a comparison is made of the effects of different data weighting windows applied to the inphase and quadrature components of the radar return samples prior to Fourier transformation. The relatively high degree of spectral leakage associated with the rectangular and Hamming windows can give rise to overestimates of the noise levels by up to 28 dB for the strongest signals. Use of the Hanning window is found to be the most appropriate for these particular data. Second, a technique for removing systematic dc biases from the data in the time domain is compared with the more well-known practice of correction in the frequency domain. The latter technique, which is often used to remove the effects of ground clutter, is shown to be particularly inappropriate for the characteristically narrow spectral width signals observed by the Indian MST radar. For cases of near-zero Doppler shift it can remove up to 30 dB of signal information. The consequences of noise and signal level discrepancies for studies of refractivity structures are discussed. It is shown that neither problem has a significant effect on Doppler shift or spectral width estimates.

  13. Experimental Verification of Ocean Bounced GPS Signals and Analysis of their Application to Ionospheric Corrections for Satellite Altimetry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Axelrad, P.; Cox, A. E.; Crumpton, K. S.

    1997-01-01

    An algorithm is presented which uses observations of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals reflected from the ocean surface and acquired by a GPS receiver onboard an altimetric satellite to compute the ionospheric delay present in the altimeter measurement. This eliminates the requirement for a dual frequency altimeter for many Earth observing missions. A ground-based experiment is described which confirms the presence of these ocean-bounced signals and demonstrates the potential for altimeter ionospheric correction at the centimeter level.

  14. Constraining Bulk Densities of Near-Earth Asteroid Surfaces from Radar Observations Using Laboratory Measurements of Permittivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hickson, D. C.; Boivin, A.; Daly, M. G.; Ghent, R. R.; Nolan, M. C.; Tait, K.; Cunje, A.; Tsai, C. A.

    2017-12-01

    Planetary radar is widely used to survey the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) population and can provide insight into target shapes, sizes, and spin states. The dual-polarization reflectivity is sensitive to surface roughness as well as material properties, specifically the real part of the complex permittivity, or dielectric constant. Knowledge of the behavior of the dielectric constant of asteroid regolith analogue material with environmental parameters can be used to inversely solve for such parameters, such as bulk density, from radar observations. In this study laboratory measurements of the complex permittivity of powdered aluminum oxide and dunite samples are performed in a low-pressure environment chamber using a coaxial transmission line from roughly 1 GHz to 8.5 GHz. The bulk densities of the samples are varied across the measurements by incrementally adding silica aerogel, a low-density material with a very low dielectric constant. This allows the alteration of the proportions of void space to solid particle grains to achieve microgravity-relevant porosities without significantly altering the dielectric properties of the powder sample. The data are then modeled using various electromagnetic mixing equations to characterize the change in dielectric constant with increasing volume fractions of void space (decreasing bulk density). Using spectral analogues as constraints on the composition of NEAs allows us to calculate the range in bulk densities in the near surface of NEAs that have been observed by planetary radar. Utilizing existing radar data from Arecibo Observatory we calculate the bulk density in the near-surface on (101955) Bennu, the target of NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission, to be ρ = 1.27 ± 0.33 g cm-3 based on an average of the likely range in particle density and dielectric constant of the regolith material.

  15. Cassini RADAR observations of lakes and seas in the Northern Polar region of Titan: Bathymetry and Composition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mastrogiuseppe, Marco; Hayes, Alex; Poggiali, Valerio; Lunine, Jonathan; Seu, Roberto; Hofgartner, Jason; Le Gall, Alice; Lorenz, Ralph; Mitri, Giuseppe

    2017-04-01

    Recent observations by the Cassini spacecraft has revealed its RADAR to be an invaluable tool for investigating Titan's seas and lakes. The T91 (May 2013) observation of Ligeia Mare, Titan's second largest sea, has demonstrated the capabilities of the RADAR, in its altimeter mode, to measure depth, composition and seafloor topography. The 104 (August 2014) observation provided similar data over the largest sea, Kraken Mare, and the T108 (January 2015) flyby acquired an altimetry pass over Punga Mare. The T49 (December 2007) altimetry pass over Ontario Lacus, the largest southern liquid body, has also been processed to retrieve subsurface echoes. Cassini's final flyby of Titan, T126 (April 2017), is the next and unique opportunity to observe an area in the Northern Polar region of Titan, where several small - medium size (5 - 30 km) lakes are present and have been previously imaged by Cassini. In our presentation, we will report the integrated results of these investigations and discuss them in the overall context of Titan's hydrologic cycle.

  16. Big bounce, slow-roll inflation, and dark energy from conformal gravity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gegenberg, Jack; Rahmati, Shohreh; Seahra, Sanjeev S.

    2017-02-01

    We examine the cosmological sector of a gauge theory of gravity based on the SO(4,2) conformal group of Minkowski space. We allow for conventional matter coupled to the spacetime metric as well as matter coupled to the field that gauges special conformal transformations. An effective vacuum energy appears as an integration constant, and this allows us to recover the late time acceleration of the Universe. Furthermore, gravitational fields sourced by ordinary cosmological matter (i.e. dust and radiation) are significantly weakened in the very early Universe, which has the effect of replacing the big bang with a big bounce. Finally, we find that this bounce is followed by a period of nearly exponential slow roll inflation that can last long enough to explain the large scale homogeneity of the cosmic microwave background.

  17. Modeling waves forced by a drop bouncing on a vibrating bath

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Turton, Sam; Rosales, Ruben; Bush, John

    2017-11-01

    We study the wavefield generated by a droplet bouncing on a bath of silicon oil undergoing vertical oscillations. Such droplets may bounce indefinitely below the Faraday threshold, and in certain parameter regimes destabilize into a walking state in which they are propelled by their own wavefield. While previous theoretical models have rationalize the behavior of single droplets, difficulties have arisen in rationalizing the behavior of multi-droplet systems. We here present a refined wave model that allows us to do so. In particular, we give a detailed account of the spatio-temporal decay of the waves, in addition to the couping between the wave amplitude and modulations in the droplet's vertical dynamics. Our analytic model is compared with the results of direct numerical simulations and experiments. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the NSF.

  18. Discharge destination's effect on bounce-back risk in Black, White, and Hispanic acute ischemic stroke patients.

    PubMed

    Kind, Amy J H; Smith, Maureen A; Liou, Jinn-Ing; Pandhi, Nancy; Frytak, Jennifer R; Finch, Michael D

    2010-02-01

    To determine whether racial and ethnic effects on bounce-back risk (ie, movement to settings of higher care intensity within 30 d of hospital discharge) in acute stroke patients vary depending on initial posthospital discharge destination. Retrospective analysis of administrative data. Four hundred twenty-two hospitals, southern/eastern United States. All Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or more with hospitalization for acute ischemic stroke within one of the 422 target hospitals during the years 1999 or 2000 (N=63,679). Not applicable. Adjusted predicted probabilities for discharge to and for bouncing back from each initial discharge site (ie, home, home with home health care, skilled nursing facility [SNF], or rehabilitation center) by race (ie, black, white, and Hispanic). Models included sociodemographics, comorbidities, stroke severity, and length of stay. Blacks and Hispanics were significantly more likely to be discharged to home health care (blacks=21% [95% confidence interval (CI), 19.9-22.8], Hispanic=19% [17.1-21.7] vs whites=16% [15.5-16.8]) and less likely to be discharged to SNFs (blacks=26% [95% CI, 23.6-29.3], Hispanics=28% [25.4-31.6] vs whites=33% [31.8-35.1]) than whites. However, blacks and Hispanics were significantly more likely to bounce back when discharged to SNFs than whites (blacks=26% [95% CI, 24.2-28.6], Hispanics=28% [24-32.6] vs whites=21% [20.3-21.9]). Hispanics had a lower risk of bouncing back when discharged home than either blacks or whites (Hispanics=14% [95% CI, 11.3-17] vs blacks=20% [18.4-22.2], whites=18% [16.8-18.3]). Patients discharged to home health care or rehabilitation centers demonstrated no significant differences in bounce-back risk. Racial/ethnic bounce-back risk differs depending on initial discharge destination. Additional research is needed to fully understand this variation in effect. Copyright 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. 2-D inner-shelf current observations from a single VHF WEllen RAdar (WERA) station

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Voulgaris, G.; Kumar, N.; Gurgel, K.-W.; Warner, J.C.; List, J.H.

    2011-01-01

    The majority of High Frequency (HF) radars used worldwide operate at medium to high frequencies (8 to 30 MHz) providing spatial resolutions ranging from 3 to 1.5 km and ranges from 150 to 50 km. This paper presents results from the deployment of a single Very High Frequency (VHF, 48 MHz) WEllen RAdar (WERA) radar with spatial resolution of 150 m and range 10-15 km, used in the nearshore off Cape Hatteras, NC, USA. It consisted of a linear array of 12 antennas operating in beam forming mode. Radial velocities were estimated from radar backscatter for a variety of wind and nearshore wave conditions. A methodology similar to that used for converting acoustically derived beam velocities to an orthogonal system is presented for obtaining 2-D current fields from a single station. The accuracy of the VHF radar-derived radial velocities is examined using a new statistical technique that evaluates the system over the range of measured velocities. The VHF radar velocities showed a bias of 3 to 7 cm/s over the experimental period explainable by the differences in radar penetration and in-situ measurement height. The 2-D current field shows good agreement with the in-situ measurements. Deviations and inaccuracies are well explained by the geometric dilution analysis. ?? 2011 IEEE.

  20. Tomographic Observation and Bedmapping of Glaciers in Western Greenland with IceBridge Sounding Radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wu, Xiaoqing; Paden, John; Jezek, Ken; Rignot, Eric; Gim, Young

    2013-01-01

    We produced the high resolution bedmaps of several glaciers in western Greenland from IceBridge Mission sounding radar data using tomographic sounding technique. The bedmaps cover 3 regions: Russell glaciers, Umanaq glaciers and Jakobshavn glaciers of western Greenland. The covered areas is about 20x40 km(sup 2) for Russell glaciers and 300x100 sq km, and 100x80 sq km for Jakobshavn glaciers. The ground resolution is 50 meters and the average ice thickness accuracy is 10 to 20 meters. There are some void areas within the swath of the tracks in the bedmaps where the ice thickness is not known. Tomographic observations of these void areas indicate that the surface and shallow sub-surface pockets, likely filled with water, are highly reflective and greatly weaken the radar signal and reduce the energy reaching and reflected from the ice sheet bottom.

  1. Kharkiv Meteor Radar System (the XX Age)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kolomiyets, S. V.

    2012-09-01

    Kharkiv meteor radar research are of historic value (Kolomiyets and Sidorov 2007). Kharkiv radar observations of meteors proved internationally as the best in the world, it was noted at the IAU General Assembly in 1958. In the 1970s Kharkiv meteor automated radar system (MARS) was recommended at the international level as a successful prototype for wide distribution. Until now, this radar system is one of the most sensitive instruments of meteor radars in the world for astronomical observations. In 2004 Kharkiv meteor radar system is included in the list of objects which compose the national property of Ukraine. Kharkiv meteor radar system has acquired the status of the important historical astronomical instrument in world history. Meteor Centre for researching meteors in Kharkiv is a analogue of the observatory and performs the same functions of a generator and a battery of special knowledge and skills (the world-famous studio). Kharkiv and the location of the instrument were brand points on the globe, as the place where the world-class meteor radar studies were carried out. They are inscribed in the history of meteor astronomy, in large letters and should be immortalized on a world-wide level.

  2. Investigating nearby exoplanets via interstellar radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scheffer, Louis K.

    2014-01-01

    Interstellar radar is a potential intermediate step between passive observation of exoplanets and interstellar exploratory missions. Compared with passive observation, it has the traditional advantages of radar astronomy. It can measure surface characteristics, determine spin rates and axes, provide extremely accurate ranges, construct maps of planets, distinguish liquid from solid surfaces, find rings and moons, and penetrate clouds. It can do this even for planets close to the parent star. Compared with interstellar travel or probes, it also offers significant advantages. The technology required to build such a radar already exists, radar can return results within a human lifetime, and a single facility can investigate thousands of planetary systems. The cost, although too high for current implementation, is within the reach of Earth's economy.

  3. Sources and characteristics of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances observed by high-frequency radars in the North American sector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frissell, N. A.; Baker, J. B. H.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Greenwald, R. A.; Gerrard, A. J.; Miller, E. S.; West, M. L.

    2016-04-01

    Medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) are wave-like ionospheric perturbations routinely observed by high-frequency radars. We focus on a class of MSTIDs observed during the winter daytime at high latitudes and midlatitudes. The source of these MSTIDs remains uncertain, with the two primary candidates being space weather and lower atmospheric processes. We surveyed observations from four high-latitude and six midlatitude Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radars in the North American sector from November to May 2012 to 2015. The MSTIDs observed have horizontal wavelengths between ˜150 and 650 km and horizontal velocities between ˜75 and 325 m s-1. In local fall and winter seasons the majority of MSTIDs propagated equatorward, with bearings ranging from ˜125° to 225° geographic azimuth. No clear correlation with space weather activity as parameterized by AE and SYM-H could be identified. Rather, MSTID observations were found to have a strong correlation with polar vortex dynamics on two timescales. First, a seasonal timescale follows the annual development and decay of the polar vortex. Second, a shorter 2-4 week timescale again corresponds to synoptic polar vortex variability, including stratospheric warmings. Additionally, statistical analysis shows that MSTIDs are more likely during periods of strong polar vortex. Direct comparison of the MSTID observations with stratospheric zonal winds suggests that a wind filtering mechanism may be responsible for the strong correlation. Collectively, these observations suggest that polar atmospheric processes, rather than space weather activity, are primarily responsible for controlling the occurrence of high-latitude and midlatitude winter daytime MSTIDs.

  4. Sources and Characteristics of Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Observed by High Frequency Radars in the North American Sector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frissell, N. A.; Baker, J. B.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Greenwald, R. A.; Gerrard, A. J.; Miller, E. S.; West, M. L.

    2016-12-01

    Medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) are wave-like ionospheric perturbations routinely observed by high-frequency radars. We focus on a class of MSTIDs observed during the winter daytime at high latitudes and midlatitudes. The source of these MSTIDs remains uncertain, with the two primary candidates being space weather and lower atmospheric processes. We surveyed observations from four high-latitude and six midlatitude Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radars in the North American sector from November to May 2012 to 2015. The MSTIDs observed have horizontal wavelengths between 150 and 650 km and horizontal velocities between 75 and 325 m/s. In local fall and winter seasons the majority of MSTIDs propagated equatorward, with bearings ranging from 125° to 225° geographic azimuth. No clear correlation with space weather activity as parameterized by AE and SYM-H could be identified. Rather, MSTID observations were found to have a strong correlation with polar vortex dynamics on two timescales. First, a seasonal timescale follows the annual development and decay of the polar vortex. Second, a shorter 2-4 week timescale again corresponds to synoptic polar vortex variability, including stratospheric warmings. Additionally, statistical analysis shows that MSTIDs are more likely during periods of strong polar vortex. Direct comparison of the MSTID observations with stratospheric zonal winds suggests that a wind filtering mechanism may be responsible for the strong correlation. Collectively, these observations suggest that polar atmospheric processes, rather than space weather activity, are primarily responsible for controlling the occurrence of high-latitude and midlatitude winter daytime MSTIDs.

  5. Generalized holographic dark energy and bouncing cosmology in Gauss-Bonnet gravity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Makarenko, Andrey N.; Myagky, Alexander N.

    We found out that F(𝒢) gravity theory can be rewritten in the holographic language at the level of background equivalence. The examples of the bouncing cosmological models in F(𝒢) gravity are considered in details.

  6. Increasing Fractional Doses Increases the Probability of Benign PSA Bounce in Patients Undergoing Definitive HDR Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer

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

    Hauck, Carlin R.; Ye, Hong; Chen, Peter Y.

    Purpose: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) bounce is a temporary elevation of the PSA level above a prior nadir. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the frequency of a PSA bounce following high-dose-rate (HDR) interstitial brachytherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer is associated with individual treatment fraction size. Methods and Materials: Between 1999 and 2014, 554 patients underwent treatment of low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer with definitive HDR brachytherapy as monotherapy and had ≥3 subsequent PSA measurements. Four different fraction sizes were used: 950 cGy × 4 fractions, 1200 cGy × 2 fractions, 1350 cGy × 2 fractions, 1900 cGy × 1more » fraction. Four definitions of PSA bounce were applied: ≥0.2, ≥0.5, ≥1.0, and ≥2.0 ng/mL above the prior nadir with a subsequent return to the nadir. Results: The median follow-up period was 3.7 years. The actuarial 3-year rate of PSA bounce for the entire cohort was 41.3%, 28.4%, 17.4%, and 6.8% for nadir +0.2, +0.5, +1.0, and +2.0 ng/mL, respectively. The 3-year rate of PSA bounce >0.2 ng/mL was 42.2%, 32.1%, 41.0%, and 59.1% for the 950-, 1200-, 1350-, and 1900-cGy/fraction levels, respectively (P=.002). The hazard ratio for bounce >0.2 ng/mL for patients receiving a single fraction of 1900 cGy compared with those receiving treatment in multiple fractions was 1.786 (P=.024). For patients treated with a single 1900-cGy fraction, the 1-, 2-, and 3-year rates of PSA bounce exceeding the Phoenix biochemical failure definition (nadir +2 ng/mL) were 4.5%, 18.7%, and 18.7%, respectively, higher than the rates for all other administered dose levels (P=.025). Conclusions: The incidence of PSA bounce increases with single-fraction HDR treatment. Knowledge of posttreatment PSA kinetics may aid in decision making regarding management of potential biochemical failures.« less

  7. Increasing Fractional Doses Increases the Probability of Benign PSA Bounce in Patients Undergoing Definitive HDR Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer.

    PubMed

    Hauck, Carlin R; Ye, Hong; Chen, Peter Y; Gustafson, Gary S; Limbacher, Amy; Krauss, Daniel J

    2017-05-01

    Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) bounce is a temporary elevation of the PSA level above a prior nadir. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the frequency of a PSA bounce following high-dose-rate (HDR) interstitial brachytherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer is associated with individual treatment fraction size. Between 1999 and 2014, 554 patients underwent treatment of low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer with definitive HDR brachytherapy as monotherapy and had ≥3 subsequent PSA measurements. Four different fraction sizes were used: 950 cGy × 4 fractions, 1200 cGy × 2 fractions, 1350 cGy × 2 fractions, 1900 cGy × 1 fraction. Four definitions of PSA bounce were applied: ≥0.2, ≥0.5, ≥1.0, and ≥2.0 ng/mL above the prior nadir with a subsequent return to the nadir. The median follow-up period was 3.7 years. The actuarial 3-year rate of PSA bounce for the entire cohort was 41.3%, 28.4%, 17.4%, and 6.8% for nadir +0.2, +0.5, +1.0, and +2.0 ng/mL, respectively. The 3-year rate of PSA bounce >0.2 ng/mL was 42.2%, 32.1%, 41.0%, and 59.1% for the 950-, 1200-, 1350-, and 1900-cGy/fraction levels, respectively (P=.002). The hazard ratio for bounce >0.2 ng/mL for patients receiving a single fraction of 1900 cGy compared with those receiving treatment in multiple fractions was 1.786 (P=.024). For patients treated with a single 1900-cGy fraction, the 1-, 2-, and 3-year rates of PSA bounce exceeding the Phoenix biochemical failure definition (nadir +2 ng/mL) were 4.5%, 18.7%, and 18.7%, respectively, higher than the rates for all other administered dose levels (P=.025). The incidence of PSA bounce increases with single-fraction HDR treatment. Knowledge of posttreatment PSA kinetics may aid in decision making regarding management of potential biochemical failures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Application of CHESS single-bounce capillaries at synchrotron beamlines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, R.; Szebenyi, T.; Pfeifer, M.; Woll, A.; Smilgies, D.-M.; Finkelstein, K.; Dale, D.; Wang, Y.; Vila-Comamala, J.; Gillilan, R.; Cook, M.; Bilderback, D. H.

    2014-03-01

    Single-bounce capillaries are achromatic X-ray focusing optics that can provide efficient and high demagnification focusing with large numerical apertures. Capillary fabrication at CHESS can be customized according to specific application requirements. Exemplary applications are reviewed in this paper, as well as recent progress on condensers for high-resolution transmission X-ray microscopy and small focal size capillaries.

  9. ISINGLASS Auroral Sounding Rocket Campaign Data Synthesis: Radar, Imagery, and In Situ Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clayton, R.; Lynch, K. A.; Evans, T.; Hampton, D. L.; Burleigh, M.; Zettergren, M. D.; Varney, R. H.; Reimer, A.; Hysell, D. L.; Michell, R.; Samara, M.; Grubbs, G. A., II

    2017-12-01

    E-field and flow variations across auroral arc boundaries are typically sub-grid measurements for ground based sensors such as radars and imagers, even for quiet stable arcs. In situ measurements can provide small scale resolution, but only provide a snapshot at a localized time and place. Using ground based and in situ measurements of the ISINGLASS auroral sounding rocket campaign in conjunction, we use the in situ measurements to validate ground based synthesis of these small scale observations based on the classification of auroral arcs in Marklund(1984). With validation of this technique, sub-grid information can be gained from radar data using particular visible auroral features during times where only ground based measurements are present. The ISINGLASS campaign (Poker Flat Alaska, Winter 2017) included the nights of Feb 22 2017 and Mar 02 2017, which possessed multiple stable arc boundaries that can be used for synthesis, including the two events into which the ISINGLASS rockets were launched. On Mar 02 from 0700 to 0800 UT, two stable slowly southward-propagating auroral arcs persisted within the instrument field of view, and lasted for a period of >15min. The second of these events contains the 36.304 rocket trajectory, while both events have full ground support from camera imagery and radar. Data synthesis from these events is accomplished using Butler (2010), Vennell (2009), and manually selected auroral boundaries from ground based cameras. With determination of the auroral arc boundaries from ground based imagery, a prediction of the fields along the length of a long straight arc boundary can be made using the ground based radar data, even on a sub-radar-grid scale, using the Marklund arc boundary classification. We assume that fields everywhere along a long stable arc boundary should be the same. Given a long stable arc, measurements anywhere along the arc (i.e. from PFISR) can be replicated along the length of the boundary. This prediction can then

  10. Cassini's Final Titan Radar Swath

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-08-11

    During its final targeted flyby of Titan on April 22, 2017, Cassini's radar mapper got the mission's last close look at the moon's surface. On this 127th targeted pass by Titan (unintuitively named "T-126"), the radar was used to take two images of the surface, shown at left and right. Both images are about 200 miles (300 kilometers) in width, from top to bottom. Objects appear bright when they are tilted toward the spacecraft or have rough surfaces; smooth areas appear dark. At left are the same bright, hilly terrains and darker plains that Cassini imaged during its first radar pass of Titan, in 2004. Scientists do not see obvious evidence of changes in this terrain over the 13 years since the original observation. At right, the radar looked once more for Titan's mysterious "magic island" (PIA20021) in a portion of one of the large hydrocarbon seas, Ligeia Mare. No "island" feature was observed during this pass. Scientists continue to work on what the transient feature might have been, with waves and bubbles being two possibilities. In between the two parts of its imaging observation, the radar instrument switched to altimetry mode, in order to make a first-ever (and last-ever) measurement of the depths of some of the lakes that dot the north polar region. For the measurements, the spacecraft pointed its antenna straight down at the surface and the radar measured the time delay between echoes from the lakes' surface and bottom. A graph is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21626

  11. Bouncing and emergent cosmologies from Arnowitt–Deser–Misner RG flows

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bonanno, Alfio; Gionti, S. J. Gabriele; Platania, Alessia

    2018-03-01

    Asymptotically safe gravity provides a framework for the description of gravity from the trans-Planckian regime to cosmological scales. According to this scenario, the cosmological constant and Newton’s coupling are functions of the energy scale whose evolution is dictated by the renormalization group (RG) equations. The formulation of the RG equations on foliated spacetimes, based on the Arnowitt–Deser–Misner (ADM) formalism, furnishes a natural way to construct the RG energy scale from the spectrum of the Laplacian operator on the spatial slices. Combining this idea with an RG improvement procedure, in this work we study quantum gravitational corrections to the Einstein–Hilbert action on Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker backgrounds. The resulting quantum-corrected Friedmann equations can give rise to both bouncing cosmologies and emergent Universe solutions. Our bouncing models do not require the presence of exotic matter and emergent Universe solutions can be constructed for any allowed topology of the spatial slices.

  12. Particle Sizes in the Coma of Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková from Arecibo Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Springmann, Alessondra; Howell, Ellen S.; Harmon, John K.; Lejoly, Cassandra; Rivera-Valentin, Edgard G.; Virkki, Anne; Zambrano-Marin, Luisa F.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Harris, Walter M.; Mueller, Beatrice E. A.; Samarasinha, Nalin H.; Rodriguez Sanchez-Vahamonde, Carolina

    2017-10-01

    Radar observations of cometary comae can provide information about not only the cross-section of the coma, but also constraints on the particle sizes comprising the coma. Harmon et al. (2011) described analysis of radar observations of comet 103P/Hartley 2 to constrain the sizes of its coma particles, as well as modeling to analyze the particle velocity distribution in the coma and orientation with respect to the sun. Arecibo Observatory planetary radar system observations of comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková were obtained 9-16 February 2017 by transmitting a continuous wave of polarized radio waves at the comet. By examining the polarization ratios of the returned signal (whether it has the same sense or opposite sense of the transmitted signal), we can look for non-zero same sense polarization signal. Detectable same sense signal indicates the presence of particles with sizes larger than the Rayleigh transition size criteria, a = λ/2π ≈ 2 cm (for the Arecibo wavelength of 12.6 cm).The observations show strong opposite sense signal return from the comet nucleus, as well as a larger ‘skirt’ of surrounding grains in the coma. Preliminary analysis of this data indicates at least a weak same sense polarized signal, implying a population of grains larger than 2 cm in the coma. The sizes of particles in the coma, compared with the area of the coma, can help us constrain the minimum mass for particles at the Rayleigh size limit in the 45P coma. Further, a detectable grain halo of large particles around 45P would imply significant lofting of grains from the comet nucleus.ReferencesHarmon, John K., et al. "Radar observations of comet 103P/Hartley 2." The Astrophysical Journal Letters 734.1 (2011): L2.

  13. Mapping Wintering Waterfowl Distributions Using Weather Surveillance Radar

    PubMed Central

    Buler, Jeffrey J.; Randall, Lori A.; Fleskes, Joseph P.; Barrow, Wylie C.; Bogart, Tianna; Kluver, Daria

    2012-01-01

    The current network of weather surveillance radars within the United States readily detects flying birds and has proven to be a useful remote-sensing tool for ornithological study. Radar reflectivity measures serve as an index to bird density and have been used to quantitatively map landbird distributions during migratory stopover by sampling birds aloft at the onset of nocturnal migratory flights. Our objective was to further develop and validate a similar approach for mapping wintering waterfowl distributions using weather surveillance radar observations at the onset of evening flights. We evaluated data from the Sacramento, CA radar (KDAX) during winters 1998–1999 and 1999–2000. We determined an optimal sampling time by evaluating the accuracy and precision of radar observations at different times during the onset of evening flight relative to observed diurnal distributions of radio-marked birds on the ground. The mean time of evening flight initiation occurred 23 min after sunset with the strongest correlations between reflectivity and waterfowl density on the ground occurring almost immediately after flight initiation. Radar measures became more spatially homogeneous as evening flight progressed because birds dispersed from their departure locations. Radars effectively detected birds to a mean maximum range of 83 km during the first 20 min of evening flight. Using a sun elevation angle of −5° (28 min after sunset) as our optimal sampling time, we validated our approach using KDAX data and additional data from the Beale Air Force Base, CA (KBBX) radar during winter 1998–1999. Bias-adjusted radar reflectivity of waterfowl aloft was positively related to the observed diurnal density of radio-marked waterfowl locations on the ground. Thus, weather radars provide accurate measures of relative wintering waterfowl density that can be used to comprehensively map their distributions over large spatial extents. PMID:22911816

  14. Mapping wintering waterfowl distributions using weather surveillance radar.

    PubMed

    Buler, Jeffrey J; Randall, Lori A; Fleskes, Joseph P; Barrow, Wylie C; Bogart, Tianna; Kluver, Daria

    2012-01-01

    The current network of weather surveillance radars within the United States readily detects flying birds and has proven to be a useful remote-sensing tool for ornithological study. Radar reflectivity measures serve as an index to bird density and have been used to quantitatively map landbird distributions during migratory stopover by sampling birds aloft at the onset of nocturnal migratory flights. Our objective was to further develop and validate a similar approach for mapping wintering waterfowl distributions using weather surveillance radar observations at the onset of evening flights. We evaluated data from the Sacramento, CA radar (KDAX) during winters 1998-1999 and 1999-2000. We determined an optimal sampling time by evaluating the accuracy and precision of radar observations at different times during the onset of evening flight relative to observed diurnal distributions of radio-marked birds on the ground. The mean time of evening flight initiation occurred 23 min after sunset with the strongest correlations between reflectivity and waterfowl density on the ground occurring almost immediately after flight initiation. Radar measures became more spatially homogeneous as evening flight progressed because birds dispersed from their departure locations. Radars effectively detected birds to a mean maximum range of 83 km during the first 20 min of evening flight. Using a sun elevation angle of -5° (28 min after sunset) as our optimal sampling time, we validated our approach using KDAX data and additional data from the Beale Air Force Base, CA (KBBX) radar during winter 1998-1999. Bias-adjusted radar reflectivity of waterfowl aloft was positively related to the observed diurnal density of radio-marked waterfowl locations on the ground. Thus, weather radars provide accurate measures of relative wintering waterfowl density that can be used to comprehensively map their distributions over large spatial extents.

  15. Evaluation of Cloud Microphysics in JMA-NHM Simulations Using Bin or Bulk Microphysical Schemes through Comparison with Cloud Radar Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Iguchi, Takamichi; Nakajima, Teruyuki; Khain, Alexander P.; Saito, Kazuo; Takemura, Toshihiko; Okamoto, Hajime; Nishizawa, Tomoaki; Tao, Wei-Kuo

    2012-01-01

    Numerical weather prediction (NWP) simulations using the Japan Meteorological Agency NonhydrostaticModel (JMA-NHM) are conducted for three precipitation events observed by shipborne or spaceborneW-band cloud radars. Spectral bin and single-moment bulk cloud microphysics schemes are employed separatelyfor an intercomparative study. A radar product simulator that is compatible with both microphysicsschemes is developed to enable a direct comparison between simulation and observation with respect to theequivalent radar reflectivity factor Ze, Doppler velocity (DV), and path-integrated attenuation (PIA). Ingeneral, the bin model simulation shows better agreement with the observed data than the bulk modelsimulation. The correction of the terminal fall velocities of snowflakes using those of hail further improves theresult of the bin model simulation. The results indicate that there are substantial uncertainties in the masssizeand sizeterminal fall velocity relations of snowflakes or in the calculation of terminal fall velocity of snowaloft. For the bulk microphysics, the overestimation of Ze is observed as a result of a significant predominanceof snow over cloud ice due to substantial deposition growth directly to snow. The DV comparison shows thata correction for the fall velocity of hydrometeors considering a change of particle size should be introducedeven in single-moment bulk cloud microphysics.

  16. Mapping the Extent and Magnitude of Severe Flooding Induced by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria with Sentinel-1 SAR and InSAR Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, B.; Koirala, R.; Oliver-Cabrera, T.; Wdowinski, S.; Osmanoglu, B.

    2017-12-01

    Hurricanes can cause winds, rainfall and storm surge, all of which could result in flooding. Between August and September 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria made landfall over Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico causing destruction and damages. Flood mapping is important for water management and to estimate risks and property damage. Though water gauges are able to monitor water levels, they are normally distributed sparsely. To map flooding products of these extreme events, we use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations acquired by the European satellite constellation Sentinel-1. We obtained two acquisitions from before each flooding event, a single acquisition during the hurricane, and two after each event, a total of five acquisitions. We use both amplitude and phase observations to map extent and magnitude of flooding respectively. To map flooding extents, we use amplitude images from before, after and if possible during the hurricane pass. A calibration is used to convert the image raw data to backscatter coefficient, termed sigma nought. We generate a composite of the two image layers using red and green bands to show the change of sigma nought between acquisitions, which directly reflects the extent of flooding. Because inundation can result with either an increase or decrease of sigma nought values depending on the surface scattering characteristics, we map flooded areas in location where sigma nought changes were above a detection threshold. To study magnitude of flooding we study Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) phase changes. Changes in the water level can be detected by the radar when the signal is reflected away from water surface and bounces again by another object (e.g. trees and/or buildings) known as double bounce phase. To generate meaningful interferograms, we compare phase information with the nearest water gauge records to verify our results. Preliminary results show that the three hurricanes caused flooding condition over

  17. Doppler Radar and Lightning Network Observations of a Severe Outbreak of Tropical Cyclone Tornadoes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McCaul, Eugene W., Jr.; Buechler, Dennis; Goodman, Steven; Cammarata, Michael

    2003-01-01

    Data from a single WSR-88D Doppler radar and the National Lightning Detection Network are used to examine in detail the characteristics of the convective storms that produced a severe tornado outbreak within Tropical Storm Beryl's remnants on 16 August 1994. Comparison of the radar data with reports of tornadoes suggests that only 13 cells produced the 29 tornadoes that were documented in Georgia and the Carolinas on that date. Six of these cells spawned multiple tornadoes, and the radar data confirm the presence of miniature supercells. One of the cells was identifiable on radar for 11 hours, spawning tornadoes over a time period spanning approximately 6.5 hours. Several other tornadic cells also exhibited great longevity, with cell lifetimes greater than ever previously documented in a landfalling tropical cyclone tornado event, and comparable to those found in major midlatitude tornadic supercell outbreaks. Time-height analyses of the three strongest tornadic supercells are presented in order to document storm kinematic structure and to show how these storms appear at different ranges from a WSR-88D radar. In addition, cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning data are examined for the outbreak, the most intense tropical cyclone tornado event studied thus far. Although the tornadic cells were responsible for most of Beryl's CG lightning, flash rates were only weak to moderate, even in the most intense supercells, and in all the tornadic storms the lightning flashes were almost entirely negative in polarity. A few of the single-tornado storms produced no detectable CG lightning at all. In the stronger cells, there is some evidence that CG lightning rates decreased during tornadogenesis, as has been documented before in some midlatitude tornadic storms. A number of the storms spawned tornadoes just after producing their final CG lightning flashes. Surprisingly, both peak currents and positive flash percentages were larger in Beryl s nontornadic storms than in the tornadic

  18. Radar investigation of asteroids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ostro, S. J.

    1984-07-01

    The initial radar observations of the mainbelt asteroids 9 Metis, 27 Euterpe, and 60 Echo are examined. For each target, data are taken simultaneously in the same sense of circular polarization as transmitted as well as in the opposite (OC) sense. Estimates of the radar cross sections provide estimates of the circular polarization ratio, and the normalized OC radar cross section. The circular polarization ratio, is comparable to values measured for other large S type asteroids and for a few much smaller, Earth approaching objects, most of the echo is due to single reflection backscattering from smooth surface elements.

  19. Radar investigation of asteroids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ostro, S. J.

    1984-01-01

    The initial radar observations of the mainbelt asteroids 9 Metis, 27 Euterpe, and 60 Echo are examined. For each target, data are taken simultaneously in the same sense of circular polarization as transmitted as well as in the opposite (OC) sense. Estimates of the radar cross sections provide estimates of the circular polarization ratio, and the normalized OC radar cross section. The circular polarization ratio, is comparable to values measured for other large S type asteroids and for a few much smaller, Earth approaching objects, most of the echo is due to single reflection backscattering from smooth surface elements.

  20. Investigating the Relationship between the Half-Life Decay of the Height and the Coefficient of Restitution of Bouncing Balls Using a Microcomputer-Based Laboratory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amrani, D.

    2010-01-01

    This pedagogical activity is aimed at students using a computer-learning environment with advanced tools for data analysis. It investigates the relationship between the coefficient of restitution and the way the heights of different bouncing balls decrease in a number of bounces with time. The time between successive ball bounces, or…

  1. Characterizing frontal eddies along the East Australian Current from HF radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schaeffer, Amandine; Gramoulle, A.; Roughan, M.; Mantovanelli, A.

    2017-05-01

    The East Australian Current (EAC) dominates the ocean circulation along south-eastern Australia, however, little is known about the submesoscale frontal instabilities associated with this western boundary current. One year of surface current measurements from HF radars, in conjunction with mooring and satellite observations, highlight the occurrence and propagation of meanders and frontal eddies along the inshore edge of the EAC. Eddies were systematically identified using the geometry of the high spatial resolution (˜1.5 km) surface currents, and tracked every hour. Cyclonic eddies were observed irregularly, on average every 7 days, with inshore radius ˜10 km. Among various forms of structures, frontal eddies associated with EAC meanders were characterized by poleward advection speeds of ˜0.3-0.4 m/s, migrating as far as 500 km south, based on satellite imagery. Flow field kinematics show that cyclonic eddies have high Rossby numbers (0.6-1.9) and enhance particle dispersion. Patches of intensified surface divergence at the leading edge of the structures are expected to generate vertical uplift. This is confirmed by subsurface measurements showing temperature uplift of up to 55 m over 24 h and rough estimates of vertical velocities of 10s of meters per day. While frontal eddies propagate through the radar domain independently of local wind stress, upfront wind can influence their stalling and growth, and can also generate large cold core eddies through intense shear. Such coherent structures are a major mechanism for the transport and entrainment of nutrient rich coastal or deep waters, influencing physical and biological dynamics, and connectivity over large distances.

  2. Arecibo radar observations of Mars surface characteristics in the Northern Hemisphere

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Simpson, R. A.; Tyler, G. L.; Campbell, D. B.

    1978-01-01

    Mars surface characteristics at and near the Viking Chryse and Tritonis Lacus landing areas were determined by radio scatter using the 12.6-cm radar at the Arecibo Observatory during 1975-76. Interpretation of each power spectrum suggests rms surface tilts of 4 deg at the final A1WNW (47.9 deg W, 22.5 deg N) site, 5 deg near the original A1 site, and 6 deg between the two. At the back-up site (A2) surface-roughness estimates were about 4 deg. Striking changes in surface texture have been found near the eastern bases of Tharsis Montes and Albor Tholus, each volcanic feature marking the western boundary of very smooth surface units. The roughness sensed at 1- to 100-m scales by radar appears to be relatively independent of the surface units defined at large scale lengths by photogeologists. Radar properties thus provide an additional means by which planetary surfaces may be characterized.

  3. Space-time slicing in Horndeski theories and its implications for non-singular bouncing solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ijjas, Anna

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, we show how the proper choice of gauge is critical in analyzing the stability of non-singular cosmological bounce solutions based on Horndeski theories. We show that it is possible to construct non-singular cosmological bounce solutions with classically stable behavior for all modes with wavelengths above the Planck scale where: (a) the solution involves a stage of null-energy condition violation during which gravity is described by a modification of Einstein's general relativity; and (b) the solution reduces to Einstein gravity both before and after the null-energy condition violating stage. Similar considerations apply to galilean genesis scenarios.

  4. Observations of Strong Surface Radar Ducts over the Persian Gulf.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brooks, Ian M.; Goroch, Andreas K.; Rogers, David P.

    1999-09-01

    Ducting of microwave radiation is a common phenomenon over the oceans. The height and strength of the duct are controlling factors for radar propagation and must be determined accurately to assess propagation ranges. A surface evaporation duct commonly forms due to the large gradient in specific humidity just above the sea surface; a deeper surface-based or elevated duct frequently is associated with the sudden change in temperature and humidity across the boundary layer inversion.In April 1996 the U.K. Meteorological Office C-130 Hercules research aircraft took part in the U.S. Navy Ship Antisubmarine Warfare Readiness/Effectiveness Measuring exercise (SHAREM-115) in the Persian Gulf by providing meteorological support and making measurements for the study of electromagnetic and electro-optical propagation. The boundary layer structure over the Gulf is influenced strongly by the surrounding desert landmass. Warm dry air flows from the desert over the cooler waters of the Gulf. Heat loss to the surface results in the formation of a stable internal boundary layer. The layer evolves continuously along wind, eventually forming a new marine atmospheric boundary layer. The stable stratification suppresses vertical mixing, trapping moisture within the layer and leading to an increase in refractive index and the formation of a strong boundary layer duct. A surface evaporation duct coexists with the boundary layer duct.In this paper the authors present aircraft- and ship-based observations of both the surface evaporation and boundary layer ducts. A series of sawtooth aircraft profiles map the boundary layer structure and provide spatially distributed estimates of the duct depth. The boundary layer duct is found to have considerable spatial variability in both depth and strength, and to evolve along wind over distances significant to naval operations (100 km). The depth of the evaporation duct is derived from a bulk parameterization based on Monin-Obukhov similarity theory

  5. Large-scale Observations of a Subauroral Polarization Stream by Midlatitude SuperDARN Radars: Instantaneous Longitudinal Velocity Variations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clausen, L. B. N.; Baker, J. B. H.; Sazykin, S.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Greenwald, R. A.; Thomas, E. J.; Shepherd, S. G.; Talaat, E. R.; Bristow, W. A.; Zheng, Y.; hide

    2012-01-01

    We present simultaneous measurements of flow velocities inside a subauroral polarization stream (SAPS) made by six midlatitude high-frequency SuperDARN radars. The instantaneous observations cover three hours of universal time and six hours of magnetic local time (MLT). From velocity variations across the field-of-view of the radars we infer the local 2D flow direction at three different longitudes. We find that the local flow direction inside the SAPS channel is remarkably constant over the course of the event. The flow speed, however, shows significant temporal and spatial variations. After correcting for the radar look direction we are able to accurately determine the dependence of the SAPS velocity on magnetic local time. We find that the SAPS velocity variation with magnetic local time is best described by an exponential function. The average velocity at 00 MLT was 1.2 km/s and it decreased with a spatial e-folding scale of two hours of MLT toward the dawn sector. We speculate that the longitudinal distribution of pressure gradients in the ring current is responsible for this dependence and find these observations in good agreement with results from ring current models. Using TEC measurements we find that the high westward velocities of the SAPS are - as expected - located in a region of low TEC values, indicating low ionospheric conductivities.

  6. Earth observation photo taken by JPL with the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    Earth observation photo taken by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A). This image shows a 50 by 120 kilometer (30 by 75 mile) area of the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern coast of Central Sardinia (left). The city of Arbatose is seen as a bright area along the coast in the lower part of the image, and the star-like spot off the coast is a ship's reflection. The Gulf of Orsei is near the top of the image. Bright, mottled features in the sea (right) represent surface choppiness.

  7. Earth observation photo taken by JPL with the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    Earth observation photo taken by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A). This image shows a 50 by 100 kilometer (30 by 60 mile) area of the Imperial Valley in Southern California and neighboring Mexico. The checkered patterns represent agricultural fields where different types of crops in different stages of growth are cultivated. The very bright areas are (top left to lower right) the U.S. towns of Brawley, Imperial, El Centro, Calexico and the Mexican city of Mexicali. The bright L-shaped line (upper right) is the All-American water canal.

  8. Comparison of incoherent scatter radar observations of SIMPLEX electron density depletion with SAMI2 and SAMI3 model results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhatt, A.; Huba, J. D.; Bernhardt, P. A.; Erickson, P. J.

    2010-12-01

    The Space Shuttle's Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines have been used for active ionospheric modification experiments employing ground based ionospheric radars as diagnostic tools. These experiments initiated by the Naval Research Laboratory in 1995 have been scheduled as the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Localized Exhaust or SIMPLEX through the US Dept. of Defense's Space Test Program. During 2009, two SIMPLEX experiments with the shuttles STS-119 and STS-128 were viewed by the Millstone Hill 440 MHz radar in Westford, MA operated by the MIT Haystack Observatory. The objectives of these experiments were to observe local ion-acoustic turbulence and the ionospheric density irregularities created by the exhaust injection across the magnetic field that present a Bragg scattering target for the radar. The exhaust also creates a depletion in the background electron density at F-region altitudes that persists for a relatively long time and is readily detected by an incoherent scatter radar. The OMS engine burns release 10 kg/s of H2O, CO2, H2, and N2 molecules that charge exchange with ambient O+ ions at the F region heights, producing molecular ions and the electron density depletion due to the recombination with the ambient electrons. 2009 was a year of deep solar minimum that saw the background electron density values 19% lower than were expected during a solar minimum. (Emmert et al., GRL, 2010). We believe that the long recovery time from density depletion in SIMPLEX experiments of 2009 may have a root in the unique nature of the deep solar minimum. The density whole production and recovery will be modeled using NRL SAMI2 and SAMI3 model and the results will be discussed along with the observations using the incoherent scatter radar.

  9. The problem of regime summaries of the data from radar observations. [for cloud system identification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Divinskaya, B. S.; Salman, Y. M.

    1975-01-01

    Peculiarities of the radar information about clouds are examined in comparison with visual data. An objective radar classification is presented and the relation of it to the meteorological classification is shown. The advisability of storage and summarization of the primary radar data for regime purposes is substantiated.

  10. Study on bouncing motion of a water drop collision on superhydrophobic surface under icing conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maeda, Tetsuro; Morita, Katsuaki; Kimura, Shigeo

    2017-11-01

    When micro droplets in the air are supercooled and collide with the object, they froze on the surface at the time of a collision and can be defined as icing. If supercooled water droplets collide with an airfoil of an aircraft in flight and shape changes, there is a danger of losing lift and falling. Recently, the ice protection system using a heater and Anti- / Deicing (superhydrophobic) coating is focused. In this system, colliding water droplets are melted by the heat of the heater at the tip of the blade, and the water droplet is bounced by the aerodynamic force on the rear superhydrophobic coating. Thus, it prevents the phenomenon of icing again at the back of the wing (runback ice). Therefore, it is possible to suppress power consumption of the electric heater. In that system, it is important to withdraw water droplets at an extremely superhydrophobic surface at an early stage. However, research on bouncing phenomenon on superhydrophobic surface under icing conditions are not done much now. Therefore, in our research, we focus on one drop supercooled water droplet that collides with the superhydrophobic surface in the icing phenomenon, and aim to follow that phenomenon. In this report, the contact time is defined as the time from collision of a water droplet to bouncing from the superhydrophobic surface, and various parameters (temperature, speed, and diameter) on water droplets under icing conditions are set as the water drop bouncing time (contact time) of the product.

  11. Workshop on Radar Investigations of Planetary and Terrestrial Environments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2005-01-01

    Contents include the following: Salt Kinematics and InSAR. SAR Interferometry as a Tool for Monitoring Coastal Changes in the Nile River Delta of Egypt. Modem Radar Techniques for Geophysical Applications: Two Examples. WISDOM Experiment on the EXOMARS ESA Mission. An Ice Thickness Study Utilizing Ground Penetrating Radar on the Lower Jamapa. Probing the Martian Subsurface with Synthetic Aperture Radar. Planetary Surface Properties from Radar Polarimetric Observations. Imaging the Sub-surface Reflectors : Results From the RANETA/NETLANDER Field Test on the Antarctic Ice Shelf. Strategy for Selection of Mars Geophysical Analogue Sites. Observations of Low Frequency Low Altitude Plasma Oscillations at Mars and Implications for Electromagnetic Sounding of the Subsurface. Ionospheric Transmission Losses Associated with Mars-orbiting Radar. A Polarimetric Scattering Model for the 2-Layer Problem. Radars for Imaging and Sounding of Polar Ice Sheets. Strata: Ground Penetrating Radar for Mars Rovers. Scattering Limits to Depth of Radar Investigation: Lessons from the Bishop Tuff.

  12. Extended target recognition in cognitive radar networks.

    PubMed

    Wei, Yimin; Meng, Huadong; Liu, Yimin; Wang, Xiqin

    2010-01-01

    We address the problem of adaptive waveform design for extended target recognition in cognitive radar networks. A closed-loop active target recognition radar system is extended to the case of a centralized cognitive radar network, in which a generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) based sequential hypothesis testing (SHT) framework is employed. Using Doppler velocities measured by multiple radars, the target aspect angle for each radar is calculated. The joint probability of each target hypothesis is then updated using observations from different radar line of sights (LOS). Based on these probabilities, a minimum correlation algorithm is proposed to adaptively design the transmit waveform for each radar in an amplitude fluctuation situation. Simulation results demonstrate performance improvements due to the cognitive radar network and adaptive waveform design. Our minimum correlation algorithm outperforms the eigen-waveform solution and other non-cognitive waveform design approaches.

  13. Space radar image of Western Pacific rain clouds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1995-01-01

    surrounding ocean is blue to green plus black. Winds and currents cause the ocean surface to be rough and those variations on the surface affect how the radar signals bounce off the surface. The bright areas on the image correspond to areas where the wind speed is high. The highest winds are seen as the yellow-green region of the large rain cell. The lowest winds are seen inside the atoll as dark areas. Outside the rain cell, the winds are moderately low, which is indicated by the puff-like, blue patterns surrounding the cell and extending into the atoll. The long, thin, dark lines extending across the ocean are surface currents. Here the currents are likely accumulating natural oils caused by small marine biological organisms. The oils cause the small, wind-generated waves to be reduced in size or damped which produces a smooth, dark zone on the radar image.

  14. Statistical Patterns of Ionospheric Convection Derived From Mid-Latitude, High-Latitude, and Polar SuperDARN HF Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, E. G.; Shepherd, S. G.

    2017-12-01

    Global patterns of ionospheric convection have been widely studied in terms of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) magnitude and orientation in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres using observations from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN). The dynamic range of driving conditions under which existing SuperDARN statistical models are valid is currently limited to periods when the high-latitude convection pattern remains above about 60° geomagnetic latitude. Cousins and Shepherd [2010] found this to correspond to intervals when the solar wind electric field Esw < 4.1 mV/m and IMF Bz is negative. Conversely, under northward IMF conditions (Bz > 0) the high-latitude radars often experience difficulties in measuring convection above about 85° geomagnetic latitude. In this presentation, we introduce a new statistical model of ionospheric convection which is valid for much more dominant IMF Bz conditions than was previously possible by including velocity measurements from the newly constructed tiers of radars in the Northern Hemisphere at midlatitudes and in the polar cap. This new model (TS17) is compared to previous statistical models derived from high-latitude SuperDARN observations (RG96, PSR10, CS10) and its impact on instantaneous Map Potential solutions is examined.

  15. The matter-ekpyrotic bounce scenario in Loop Quantum Cosmology

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

    Haro, Jaume; Amorós, Jaume; Saló, Llibert Aresté, E-mail: jaime.haro@upc.edu, E-mail: jaume.amoros@upc.edu, E-mail: llibert.areste@estudiant.upc.edu

    We will perform a detailed study of the matter-ekpyrotic bouncing scenario in Loop Quantum Cosmology using the methods of the dynamical systems theory. We will show that when the background is driven by a single scalar field, at very late times, in the contracting phase, all orbits depict a matter dominated Universe, which evolves to an ekpyrotic phase. After the bounce the Universe enters in the expanding phase, where the orbits leave the ekpyrotic regime going to a kination (also named deflationary) regime. Moreover, this scenario supports the production of heavy massive particles conformally coupled with gravity, which reheats themore » universe at temperatures compatible with the nucleosynthesis bounds and also the production of massless particles non-conformally coupled with gravity leading to very high reheating temperatures but ensuring the nucleosynthesis success. Dealing with cosmological perturbations, these background dynamics produce a nearly scale invariant power spectrum for the modes that leave the Hubble radius, in the contracting phase, when the Universe is quasi-matter dominated, whose spectral index and corresponding running is compatible with the recent experimental data obtained by PLANCK's team.« less

  16. IMPROVED CAPABILITIES FOR SITING WIND FARMS AND MITIGATING IMPACTS ON RADAR OBSERVATIONS

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

    Chiswell, S.

    2010-01-15

    The development of efficient wind energy production involves challenges in technology and interoperability with other systems critical to the national mission. Wind turbines impact radar measurements as a result of their large reflectivity cross section as well as through the Doppler phase shift of their rotating blades. Wind farms can interfere with operational radar in multiple contexts, with degradation impacts on: weather detection such as tornado location, wind shear, and precipitation monitoring; tracking of airplanes where air traffic control software can lose the tracks of aircraft; and in identification of other low flying targets where a wind farm located closemore » to a border might create a dead zone for detecting intruding objects. Objects in the path of an electromagnetic wave affect its propagation characteristics. This includes actual blockage of wave propagation by large individual objects and interference in wave continuity due to diffraction of the beam by individual or multiple objects. As an evolving industry, and the fastest growing segment of the energy sector, wind power is poised to make significant contributions in future energy generation requirements. The ability to develop comprehensive strategies for designing wind turbine locations that are mutually beneficial to both the wind industry that is dependent on production, and radar sites which the nation relies on, is critical to establishing reliable and secure wind energy. The mission needs of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DOD), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) dictate that the nation's radar systems remain uninhibited, to the maximum extent possible, by man-made obstructions; however, wind turbines can and do impact the surveillance footprint for monitoring airspace both for national defense as well as critical weather conditions which can impact life and property. As a result

  17. An Orbital "Virtual Radar" from TRMM Passive Microwave and Lightning Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Boccippio, Dennis J.

    2004-01-01

    The retrieval of vertical structure from joint passive microwave and lightning observations is demonstrated. Three years of data from the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) are used as a training dataset for regression and classification neural networks; the TMI (TRMM Microwave Imager) and LIS (Lightning Imaging Sensor) provide the inputs, the PR (Precipitation Radar) provides the training targets. Both vertical reflectivity profile categorization (into 9 convective, 7 stratiform, 2 mixed and 6 anvil types) and geophysical parameters (surface rainfall, vertically integrated liquid (VIL), ice water content (IWC) and echo tops) are retrieved. Retrievals are successful over both land and ocean surfaces. The benefit of using lightning observations as inputs to these retrievals is quantitatively demonstrated; lightning essentially provides an additional convective/stratiform discriminator, and is most important for isolation of midlevel (tops in the mixed phase region) convective profile types (this is because high frequency passive microwave observations already provide good convective/stratiform discrimination for deep convective profiles). This is highly relevant as midlevel convective profiles account for an extremely large fraction of tropical rainfall, and yet are most difficult to discriminate from comparable-depth stratiform profile types using passive microwave observations alone.

  18. a Direct Observation of the Asteroid's Structure from Deep Interior to Regolith: Two Radars on the Aim Mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herique, A.; Ciarletti, V.; Plettemeier, D.; Grygorczuk, J.

    2016-12-01

    Our knowledge of the internal structure of asteroids entirely relies on inferences from remote sensing observations of the surface and theoretical modeling. Is the body a monolithic piece of rock or a rubble-pile, how high is the porosity? What is the typical size of the constituent blocs? Are these blocs homogeneous or heterogeneous? The body is covered by a regolith whose properties remain largely unknown in term of depth, size distribution and spatial variability. Is it resulting from fine particles re-accretion or from thermal fracturing? After several asteroid orbiting missions, theses crucial and yet basic questions remain open. Direct measurements of asteroid deep interior and regolith structure are needed to better understand the asteroid accretion and dynamical evolution and to provide answers that will directly improve our ability to understand the formation and evolution of the Near Earth Asteroids (NEA), that will allow us to model the mechanisms driving NEA deflection and other risk mitigation techniques. Radars operating at distance from a spacecraft are the only instruments capable of achieving this science objective of characterizing the internal structure and heterogeneity from submetric to global scale for the benefit of science as well as for planetary defense or exploration. The AIM mission will have two complementary radars on-board, operating at different frequencies in order to meet the objectives requirements. The deep interior structure tomography requires a low-frequency radar (LFR) in order to propagate throughout the complete body and characterize the deep interior: this LFR will be a direct heritage of the CONSERT radar designed for the Rosetta mission. Ihe characterization of the first ten meters of the subsurface with a metric resolution to identify layering and to reconnect surface measurements to internal structure will be achieved with a higher frequency radar (HFR). The design of HFR is based on the WISDOM radar developed for the

  19. Reflectivity retrieval in a networked radar environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lim, Sanghun

    Monitoring of precipitation using a high-frequency radar system such as X-band is becoming increasingly popular due to its lower cost compared to its counterpart at S-band. Networks of meteorological radar systems at higher frequencies are being pursued for targeted applications such as coverage over a city or a small basin. However, at higher frequencies, the impact of attenuation due to precipitation needs to be resolved for successful implementation. In this research, new attenuation correction algorithms are introduced to compensate the attenuation impact due to rain medium. In order to design X-band radar systems as well as evaluate algorithm development, it is useful to have simultaneous X-band observation with and without the impact of path attenuation. One way to obtain that data set is through theoretical models. Methodologies for generating realistic range profiles of radar variables at attenuating frequencies such as X-band for rain medium are presented here. Fundamental microphysical properties of precipitation, namely size and shape distribution information, are used to generate realistic profiles of X-band starting with S-band observations. Conditioning the simulation from S-band radar measurements maintains the natural distribution of microphysical parameters associated with rainfall. In this research, data taken by the CSU-CHILL radar and the National Center for Atmospheric Research S-POL radar are used to simulate X-band radar variables. Three procedures to simulate the radar variables at X-band and sample applications are presented. A new attenuation correction algorithm based on profiles of reflectivity, differential reflectivity, and differential propagation phase shift is presented. A solution for specific attenuation retrieval in rain medium is proposed that solves the integral equations for reflectivity and differential reflectivity with cumulative differential propagation phase shift constraint. The conventional rain profiling algorithms

  20. Observations of Heavy Rainfall in a Post Wildland Fire Area Using X-Band Polarimetric Radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cifelli, R.; Matrosov, S. Y.; Gochis, D. J.; Kennedy, P.; Moody, J. A.

    2011-12-01

    Polarimetric X-band radar systems have been used increasingly over the last decade for rainfall measurements. Since X-band radar systems are generally less costly, more mobile, and have narrower beam widths (for same antenna sizes) than those operating at lower frequencies (e.g., C and S-bands), they can be used for the "gap-filling" purposes for the areas when high resolution rainfall measurements are needed and existing operational radars systems lack adequate coverage and/or resolution for accurate quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). The main drawback of X-band systems is attenuation of radar signals, which is significantly stronger compared to frequencies used by "traditional" precipitation radars operating at lower frequencies. The use of different correction schemes based on polarimetric data can, to a certain degree, overcome this drawback when attenuation does not cause total signal extinction. This presentation will focus on examining the use of high-resolution data from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) mobile X-band dual polarimetric radar for the purpose of estimating precipitation in a post-wildland fire area. The NOAA radar was deployed in the summer of 2011 to examine the impact of gap-fill radar on QPE and the resulting hydrologic response during heavy rain events in the Colorado Front Range in collaboration with colleagues from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Colorado State University (CSU), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A network of rain gauges installed by NCAR, the Denver Urban Drainage Flood Control District (UDFCD), and the USGS are used to compare with the radar estimates. Supplemental data from NEXRAD and the CSU-CHILL dual polarimetric radar are also used to compare with the NOAA X-band and rain gauges. It will be shown that rainfall rates and accumulations estimated from specific differential phase measurements (KDP) at X-band are in good agreement with the measurements from the gauge

  1. Observations of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at a cloud base with the middle and upper atmosphere (MU) and weather radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luce, Hubert; Mega, Tomoaki; Yamamoto, Masayuki K.; Yamamoto, Mamoru; Hashiguchi, Hiroyuki; Fukao, Shoichiro; Nishi, Noriyuki; Tajiri, Takuya; Nakazato, Masahisa

    2010-10-01

    Using the very high frequency (46.5 MHz) middle and upper atmosphere radar (MUR), Ka band (35 GHz) and X band (9.8 GHz) weather radars, a Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability occurring at a cloud base and its impact on modulating cloud bottom altitudes are described by a case study on 8 October 2008 at the Shigaraki MU Observatory, Japan (34.85°N, 136.10°E). KH braids were monitored by the MUR along the slope of a cloud base gradually rising with time around an altitude of ˜5.0 km. The KH braids had a horizontal wavelength of about 3.6 km and maximum crest-to-trough amplitude of about 1.6 km. Nearly monochromatic and out of phase vertical air motion oscillations exceeding ±3 m s-1 with a period of ˜3 min 20 s were measured by the MUR above and below the cloud base. The axes of the billows were at right angles of the wind and wind shear both oriented east-north-east at their altitude. The isotropy of the radar echoes and the large variance of Doppler velocity in the KH billows (including the braids) indicate the presence of strong turbulence at the Bragg (˜3.2 m) scale. After the passage of the cloud system, the KH waves rapidly damped and the vertical scale of the KH braids progressively decreased down to about 100 m before their disappearance. The radar observations suggest that the interface between clear air and cloud was conducive to the presence of the dynamical shear instability by reducing static stability (and then the Richardson number) near the cloud base. Downward cloudy protuberances detected by the Ka band radar had vertical and horizontal scales of about 0.6-1.1 and 3.2 km, respectively, and were clearly associated with the downward air motions. Observed oscillations of the reflectivity-weighted Doppler velocity measured by the X band radar indicate that falling ice particles underwent the vertical wind motions generated by the KH instability to form the protuberances. The protuberances at the cloud base might be either KH billow clouds or perhaps

  2. High Ice Water Content at Low Radar Reflectivity near Deep Convection. Part I ; Consistency of In Situ and Remote-Sensing Observations with Stratiform Rain Column Simulations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fridlind, A. M.; Ackerman, A. S.; Grandin, A.; Dezitter, F.; Weber, M.; Strapp, J. W.; Korolev, A. V.; Williams, C. R.

    2015-01-01

    Occurrences of jet engine power loss and damage have been associated with flight through fully glaciated deep convection at -10 to -50 degrees Centigrade. Power loss events commonly occur during flight through radar reflectivity (Zeta (sub e)) less than 20-30 decibels relative to Zeta (dBZ - radar returns) and no more than moderate turbulence, often overlying moderate to heavy rain near the surface. During 2010-2012, Airbus carried out flight tests seeking to characterize the highest ice water content (IWC) in such low-radar-reflectivity regions of large, cold-topped storm systems in the vicinity of Cayenne, Darwin, and Santiago. Within the highest IWC regions encountered, at typical sampling elevations (circa 11 kilometers), the measured ice size distributions exhibit a notably narrow concentration of mass over area-equivalent diameters of 100-500 micrometers. Given substantial and poorly quantified measurement uncertainties, here we evaluate the consistency of the Airbus in situ measurements with ground-based profiling radar observations obtained under quasi-steady, heavy stratiform rain conditions in one of the Airbus-sampled locations. We find that profiler-observed radar reflectivities and mean Doppler velocities at Airbus sampling temperatures are generally consistent with those calculated from in situ size-distribution measurements. We also find that column simulations using the in situ size distributions as an upper boundary condition are generally consistent with observed profiles of radar reflectivity (Ze), mean Doppler velocity (MDV), and retrieved rain rate. The results of these consistency checks motivate an examination of the microphysical pathways that could be responsible for the observed size-distribution features in Ackerman et al. (2015).

  3. Dynamics of a bouncing ball

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chastaing, J.-Y.; Bertin, E.; Géminard, J.-C.

    2015-06-01

    We describe an experiment dedicated to the study of the trajectories of a ball bouncing on a vibrating plate. Using an experimental device of our own design, it is possible to impose arbitrary trajectories on the plate and we show that the entire trajectory of the ball can be reconstructed solely from measurement of the times the ball hits the plate. In this paper, we make use of our apparatus to introduce the notion of dissipative collisions and to propose three different ways to measure the associated restitution coefficient. We then report on correlations in the chaotic regime and theoretically discuss the complex patterns that are exhibited in the case of a sinusoidal vibration. Lastly, we show that the use of an aperiodic driving vibration makes it possible to minimize part of these correlations.

  4. Three-dimensional mosaicking of the South Korean radar network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berenguer, Marc; Sempere-Torres, Daniel; Lee, GyuWon

    2016-04-01

    Dense radar networks offer the possibility of improved Quantitative Precipitation Estimation thanks to the additional information collected in the overlapping areas, which allows mitigating errors associated with the Vertical Profile of Reflectivity or path attenuation by intense rain. With this aim, Roca-Sancho et al. (2014) proposed a technique to generate 3-D reflectivity mosaics from the multiple radars of a network. The technique is based on an inverse method that simulates the radar sampling of the atmosphere considering the characteristics (location, frequency and scanning protocol) of each individual radar. This technique has been applied to mosaic the observations of the radar network of South Korea (composed of 14 S-band radars), and integrate the observations of the small X-band network which to be installed near Seoul in the framework of a project funded by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA). The evaluation of the generated 3-D mosaics has been done by comparison with point measurements (i.e. rain gauges and disdrometers) and with the observations of independent radars. Reference: Roca-Sancho, J., M. Berenguer, and D. Sempere-Torres (2014), An inverse method to retrieve 3D radar reflectivity composites, Journal of Hydrology, 519, 947-965, doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.07.039.

  5. Ground radar detection of meteoroids in space

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kessler, D. J.; Landry, P. M.; Gabbard, J. R.; Moran, J. L. T.

    1980-01-01

    A special test to lower the detection threshold for satellite fragments potentially dangerous to spacecraft was carried out by NORAD for NASA, using modified radar software. The Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System, a large, planar face, phased radar, operates at a nominal 430 MHz and produces 120 pulses per second, 45 of which were dedicated to search. In a time period of 8.4 hours of observations over three days, over 6000 objects were detected and tracked of which 37 were determined to have velocities greater than escape velocity. Six of these were larger objects with radar cross sections greater than 0.1 sq m and were probably orbiting satellites. A table gives the flux of both observed groups.

  6. Relationship between refractivity turbulence intensity from MST radar observations and synoptic-scale vorticity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nastrom, G. D.; Eaton, F. D.

    2009-12-01

    The relationship between the refractivity turbulence structure constant (Cn2) and the synoptic-scale relative vorticity (ζ) is investigated using observations made with the VHF radar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, over the years 2001-2004. During November-April the frequency distributions of the correlation coefficients for Cn2 and ζ, Cn2 and wind speed, the turbulent kinetic energy (σt2) and ζ, and Cn2 and σt2, show a close relationship between Cn2 and ζ. Large increases of Cn2 occur at about 9-14 km during times of cyclone passages, as expected since Cn2 depends strongly on static stability (in dry air), the static stability increases above the tropopause, and the height of the tropopause falls during cyclone passages. The analysis was repeated using distance from the tropopause as the vertical coordinate in order to remove this simple dependence on static stability, and it is found the strong relationship between Cn2 and ζ persists in the tropopause-relative coordinates. When the values of Cn2 are averaged into bins based on ζ, the changes in ζ explain over 90% of the variance of mean Cn2. A regression model for Cn2 by altitude as a function of ζ is developed. The correlation patterns found at Vandenberg AFB are corroborated with the large sets of 50 MHz radar data from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and the Middle and Upper Atmosphere radar near Shigaraki, Japan. Although the three sites are located at similar latitudes, they are in very different topographic and climatic regions, suggesting the results found here are fairly general for midlatitude conditions.

  7. Energetic costs of producing muscle work and force in a cyclical human bouncing task

    PubMed Central

    Kuo, Arthur D.

    2011-01-01

    Muscles expend energy to perform active work during locomotion, but they may also expend significant energy to produce force, for example when tendons perform much of the work passively. The relative contributions of work and force to overall energy expenditure are unknown. We therefore measured the mechanics and energetics of a cyclical bouncing task, designed to control for work and force. We hypothesized that near bouncing resonance, little work would be performed actively by muscle, but the cyclical production of force would cost substantial metabolic energy. Human subjects (n = 9) bounced vertically about the ankles at inversely proportional frequencies (1–4 Hz) and amplitudes (15–4 mm), such that the overall rate of work performed on the body remained approximately constant (0.30 ± 0.06 W/kg), but the forces varied considerably. We used parameter identification to estimate series elasticity of the triceps surae tendon, as well as the work performed actively by muscle and passively by tendon. Net metabolic energy expenditure for bouncing at 1 Hz was 1.15 ± 0.31 W/kg, attributable mainly to active muscle work with an efficiency of 24 ± 3%. But at 3 Hz (near resonance), most of the work was performed passively, so that active muscle work could account for only 40% of the net metabolic rate of 0.76 ± 0.28 W/kg. Near resonance, a cost for cyclical force that increased with both amplitude and frequency of force accounted for at least as much of the total energy expenditure as a cost for work. Series elasticity reduces the need for active work, but energy must still be expended for force production. PMID:21212245

  8. Comparison of Ground- and Space-based Radar Observations with Disdrometer Measurements During the PECAN Field Campaign

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Torres, A. D.; Rasmussen, K. L.; Bodine, D. J.; Dougherty, E.

    2015-12-01

    Plains Elevated Convection At Night (PECAN) was a large field campaign that studied nocturnal mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), convective initiation, bores, and low-level jets across the central plains in the United States. MCSs are responsible for over half of the warm-season precipitation across the central U.S. plains. The rainfall from deep convection of these systems over land have been observed to be underestimated by satellite radar rainfall-retrieval algorithms by as much as 40 percent. These algorithms have a strong dependence on the generally unmeasured rain drop-size distribution (DSD). During the campaign, our group measured rainfall DSDs, precipitation fall velocities, and total precipitation in the convective and stratiform regions of MCSs using Ott Parsivel optical laser disdrometers. The disdrometers were co-located with mobile pod units that measured temperature, wind, and relative humidity for quality control purposes. Data from the operational NEXRAD radar in LaCrosse, Wisconsin and space-based radar measurements from a Global Precipitation Measurement satellite overpass on July 13, 2015 were used for the analysis. The focus of this study is to compare DSD measurements from the disdrometers to radars in an effort to reduce errors in existing rainfall-retrieval algorithms. The error analysis consists of substituting measured DSDs into existing quantitative precipitation estimation techniques (e.g. Z-R relationships and dual-polarization rain estimates) and comparing these estimates to ground measurements of total precipitation. The results from this study will improve climatological estimates of total precipitation in continental convection that are used in hydrological studies, climate models, and other applications.

  9. Simultaneous observations of structure function parameter of refractive index using a high-resolution radar and the DataHawk small airborne measurement system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scipión, Danny E.; Lawrence, Dale A.; Milla, Marco A.; Woodman, Ronald F.; Lume, Diego A.; Balsley, Ben B.

    2016-09-01

    The SOUSY (SOUnding SYstem) radar was relocated to the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO) near Lima, Peru, in 2000, where the radar controller and acquisition system were upgraded with state-of-the-art parts to take full advantage of its potential for high-resolution atmospheric sounding. Due to its broad bandwidth (4 MHz), it is able to characterize clear-air backscattering with high range resolution (37.5 m). A campaign conducted at JRO in July 2014 aimed to characterize the lower troposphere with a high temporal resolution (8.1 Hz) using the DataHawk (DH) small unmanned aircraft system, which provides in situ atmospheric measurements at scales as small as 1 m in the lower troposphere and can be GPS-guided to obtain measurements within the beam of the radar. This was a unique opportunity to make coincident observations by both systems and to directly compare their in situ and remotely sensed parameters. Because SOUSY only points vertically, it is only possible to retrieve vertical radar profiles caused by changes in the refractive index within the resolution volume. Turbulent variations due to scattering are described by the structure function parameter of refractive index Cn2. Profiles of Cn2 from the DH are obtained by combining pressure, temperature, and relative humidity measurements along the helical trajectory and integrated at the same scale as the radar range resolution. Excellent agreement is observed between the Cn2 estimates obtained from the DH and SOUSY in the overlapping measurement regime from 1200 m up to 4200 m above sea level, and this correspondence provides the first accurate calibration of the SOUSY radar for measuring Cn2.

  10. Dynamic subauroral ionospheric electric fields observed by the Falkland Islands radar during the course of a geomagnetic storm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grocott, A.; Milan, S. E.; Baker, J. B. H.; Freeman, M. P.; Lester, M.; Yeoman, T. K.

    2011-11-01

    We present an analysis of ionospheric electric field data observed during a geomagnetic storm by the recently deployed HF radar located on the Falkland Islands. On 3 August 2010 at ˜1800 UT evidence of the onset of a geomagnetic storm was observed in ground magnetometer data in the form of a decrease in the Sym-H index of ˜100 nT. The main phase of the storm was observed to last ˜24 hours before a gradual recovery lasting ˜3 days. On 4 August, during the peak magnetic disturbance of the storm, a high velocity (>1000 m s-1) channel of ionospheric plasma flow, which we interpret as a subauroral ion drift (SAID), located between 53° and 58° magnetic south and lasting ˜6.5 hours, was observed by the Falkland Islands radar in the pre-midnight sector. Coincident flow data from the DMSP satellites and the magnetically near-conjugate northern hemisphere Blackstone HF radar reveal that the SAID was embedded within the broader subauroral polarization streams (SAPS). DMSP particle data indicate that the SAID location closely followed the equatorward edge of the auroral electron precipitation boundary, while remaining generally poleward of the equatorward boundary of the ion precipitation. The latitude of the SAID varied throughout the interval on similar timescales to variations in the interplanetary magnetic field and auroral activity, while variations in its velocity were more closely related to ring current dynamics. These results are consistent with SAID electric fields being generated by localized charge separation in the partial ring current, but suggest that their location is more strongly governed by solar wind driving and associated large-scale magnetospheric dynamics.

  11. Bird radar validation in the field by time-referencing line-transect surveys.

    PubMed

    Dokter, Adriaan M; Baptist, Martin J; Ens, Bruno J; Krijgsveld, Karen L; van Loon, E Emiel

    2013-01-01

    Track-while-scan bird radars are widely used in ornithological studies, but often the precise detection capabilities of these systems are unknown. Quantification of radar performance is essential to avoid observational biases, which requires practical methods for validating a radar's detection capability in specific field settings. In this study a method to quantify the detection capability of a bird radar is presented, as well a demonstration of this method in a case study. By time-referencing line-transect surveys, visually identified birds were automatically linked to individual tracks using their transect crossing time. Detection probabilities were determined as the fraction of the total set of visual observations that could be linked to radar tracks. To avoid ambiguities in assigning radar tracks to visual observations, the observer's accuracy in determining a bird's transect crossing time was taken into account. The accuracy was determined by examining the effect of a time lag applied to the visual observations on the number of matches found with radar tracks. Effects of flight altitude, distance, surface substrate and species size on the detection probability by the radar were quantified in a marine intertidal study area. Detection probability varied strongly with all these factors, as well as species-specific flight behaviour. The effective detection range for single birds flying at low altitude for an X-band marine radar based system was estimated at ~1.5 km. Within this range the fraction of individual flying birds that were detected by the radar was 0.50 ± 0.06 with a detection bias towards higher flight altitudes, larger birds and high tide situations. Besides radar validation, which we consider essential when quantification of bird numbers is important, our method of linking radar tracks to ground-truthed field observations can facilitate species-specific studies using surveillance radars. The methodology may prove equally useful for optimising

  12. StatisticAl Characteristics of Cloud over Beijing, China Obtained FRom Ka band Doppler Radar Observation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    LIU, J.; Bi, Y.; Duan, S.; Lu, D.

    2017-12-01

    It is well-known that cloud characteristics, such as top and base heights and their layering structure of micro-physical parameters, spatial coverage and temporal duration are very important factors influencing both radiation budget and its vertical partitioning as well as hydrological cycle through precipitation data. Also, cloud structure and their statistical distribution and typical values will have respective characteristics with geographical and seasonal variation. Ka band radar is a powerful tool to obtain above parameters around the world, such as ARM cloud radar at the Oklahoma US, Since 2006, Cloudsat is one of NASA's A-Train satellite constellation, continuously observe the cloud structure with global coverage, but only twice a day it monitor clouds over same local site at same local time.By using IAP Ka band Doppler radar which has been operating continuously since early 2013 over the roof of IAP building in Beijing, we obtained the statistical characteristic of clouds, including cloud layering, cloud top and base heights, as well as the thickness of each cloud layer and their distribution, and were analyzed monthly and seasonal and diurnal variation, statistical analysis of cloud reflectivity profiles is also made. The analysis covers both non-precipitating clouds and precipitating clouds. Also, some preliminary comparison of the results with Cloudsat/Calipso products for same period and same area are made.

  13. Characteristics of Volcanic Stratospheric Aerosol Layer Observed by CALIOP and Ground Based Lidar at Equatorial Atmosphere Radar Site

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abo, Makoto; Shibata, Yasukuni; Nagasawa, Chikao

    2018-04-01

    We investigated the relation between major tropical volcanic eruptions in the equatorial region and the stratospheric aerosol data, which have been collected by the ground based lidar observations at at Equatorial Atmosphere Radar site between 2004 and 2015 and the CALIOP observations in low latitude between 2006 and 2015. We found characteristic dynamic behavior of volcanic stratospheric aerosol layers over equatorial region.

  14. Coupling the Leidenfrost effect and elastic deformations to power sustained bouncing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Waitukaitis, Scott R.; Zuiderwijk, Antal; Souslov, Anton; Coulais, Corentin; van Hecke, Martin

    2017-11-01

    The Leidenfrost effect occurs when an object near a hot surface vaporizes rapidly enough to lift itself up and hover. Although well understood for liquids and stiff sublimable solids, nothing is known about the effect with materials whose stiffness lies between these extremes. Here we introduce a new phenomenon that occurs with vaporizable soft solids--the elastic Leidenfrost effect. By dropping hydrogel spheres onto hot surfaces we find that, rather than hovering, they energetically bounce several times their diameter for minutes at a time. With high-speed video during a single impact, we uncover high-frequency microscopic gap dynamics at the sphere/substrate interface. We show how these otherwise-hidden agitations constitute work cycles that harvest mechanical energy from the vapour and sustain the bouncing. Our findings suggest a new strategy for injecting mechanical energy into a widely used class of soft materials, with potential relevance to fields such as active matter, soft robotics and microfluidics.

  15. Generalized Galileons: instabilities of bouncing and Genesis cosmologies and modified Genesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Libanov, M.; Mironov, S.; Rubakov, V.

    2016-08-01

    We study spatially flat bouncing cosmologies and models with the early-time Genesis epoch in a popular class of generalized Galileon theories. We ask whether there exist solutions of these types which are free of gradient and ghost instabilities. We find that irrespectively of the forms of the Lagrangian functions, the bouncing models either are plagued with these instabilities or have singularities. The same result holds for the original Genesis model and its variants in which the scale factor tends to a constant as t → -∞. The result remains valid in theories with additional matter that obeys the Null Energy Condition and interacts with the Galileon only gravitationally. We propose a modified Genesis model which evades our no-go argument and give an explicit example of healthy cosmology that connects the modified Genesis epoch with kination (the epoch still driven by the Galileon field, which is a conventional massless scalar field at that stage).

  16. Generalized Galileons: instabilities of bouncing and Genesis cosmologies and modified Genesis

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

    Libanov, M.; Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology,Institutskii per. 9, 141700 Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region; Mironov, S.

    2016-08-18

    We study spatially flat bouncing cosmologies and models with the early-time Genesis epoch in a popular class of generalized Galileon theories. We ask whether there exist solutions of these types which are free of gradient and ghost instabilities. We find that irrespectively of the forms of the Lagrangian functions, the bouncing models either are plagued with these instabilities or have singularities. The same result holds for the original Genesis model and its variants in which the scale factor tends to a constant as t→−∞. The result remains valid in theories with additional matter that obeys the Null Energy Condition andmore » interacts with the Galileon only gravitationally. We propose a modified Genesis model which evades our no-go argument and give an explicit example of healthy cosmology that connects the modified Genesis epoch with kination (the epoch still driven by the Galileon field, which is a conventional massless scalar field at that stage).« less

  17. Comparison of radar data versus rainfall data

    PubMed Central

    Espinosa, B.; Hromadka, T.V.; Perez, R.

    2015-01-01

    Doppler radar data are increasingly used in rainfall-runoff synthesis studies, perhaps due to radar data availability, among other factors. However, the veracity of the radar data are often a topic of concern. In this paper, three Doppler radar outcomes developed by the United States National Weather Service at three radar sites are examined and compared to actual rain gage data for two separate severe storm events in order to assess accuracy in the published radar estimates of rainfall. Because the subject storms were very intense rainfall events lasting approximately one hour in duration, direct comparisons between the three radar gages themselves can be made, as well as a comparison to rain gage data at a rain gage location subjected to the same storm cells. It is shown that topographic interference with the radar outcomes can be a significant factor leading to differences between radar and rain gage readings, and that care is needed in calibrating radar outcomes using available rain gage data in order to interpolate rainfall estimates between rain gages using the spatial variation observed in the radar readings. The paper establishes and describes•the need for “ground-truthing” of radar data, and•possible errors due to topographic interference. PMID:26649276

  18. Intercomparison of attenuation correction algorithms for single-polarized X-band radars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lengfeld, K.; Berenguer, M.; Sempere Torres, D.

    2018-03-01

    Attenuation due to liquid water is one of the largest uncertainties in radar observations. The effects of attenuation are generally inversely proportional to the wavelength, i.e. observations from X-band radars are more affected by attenuation than those from C- or S-band systems. On the other hand, X-band radars can measure precipitation fields in higher temporal and spatial resolution and are more mobile and easier to install due to smaller antennas. A first algorithm for attenuation correction in single-polarized systems was proposed by Hitschfeld and Bordan (1954) (HB), but it gets unstable in case of small errors (e.g. in the radar calibration) and strong attenuation. Therefore, methods have been developed that restrict attenuation correction to keep the algorithm stable, using e.g. surface echoes (for space-borne radars) and mountain returns (for ground radars) as a final value (FV), or adjustment of the radar constant (C) or the coefficient α. In the absence of mountain returns, measurements from C- or S-band radars can be used to constrain the correction. All these methods are based on the statistical relation between reflectivity and specific attenuation. Another way to correct for attenuation in X-band radar observations is to use additional information from less attenuated radar systems, e.g. the ratio between X-band and C- or S-band radar measurements. Lengfeld et al. (2016) proposed such a method based isotonic regression of the ratio between X- and C-band radar observations along the radar beam. This study presents a comparison of the original HB algorithm and three algorithms based on the statistical relation between reflectivity and specific attenuation as well as two methods implementing additional information of C-band radar measurements. Their performance in two precipitation events (one mainly convective and the other one stratiform) shows that a restriction of the HB is necessary to avoid instabilities. A comparison with vertically pointing

  19. AirMOSS P-Band Radar Retrieval of Subcanopy Soil Moisture Profile

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tabatabaeenejad, A.; Burgin, M. S.; Duan, X.; Moghaddam, M.

    2013-12-01

    Knowledge of soil moisture, as a key variable of the Earth system, plays an important role in our under-standing of the global water, energy, and carbon cycles. The importance of such knowledge has led NASA to fund missions such as Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) and Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS). The AirMOSS mission seeks to improve the estimates of the North American Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) by providing high-resolution observations of the root zone soil moisture (RZSM) over regions representative of the major North American biomes. AirMOSS flies a P-band SAR to penetrate vegetation and into the root zone to provide estimates of RZSM. The flights cover areas containing flux tower sites in regions from the boreal forests in Saskatchewan, Canada, to the tropical forests in La Selva, Costa Rica. The radar snapshots are used to generate estimates of RZSM via inversion of a scattering model of vegetation overlying soils with variable moisture profiles. These retrievals will be used to generate a time record of RZSM, which will be integrated with an ecosystem demography model in order to estimate the respiration and photosynthesis carbon fluxes. The aim of this work is the retrieval of the moisture profile over AirMOSS sites using the collected P-band radar data. We have integrated layered-soil scattering models into a forest scattering model; for the backscattering from ground and for the trunk-ground double-bounce mechanism, we have used a layered small perturbation method and a coherent scattering model of layered soil, respectively. To estimate the soil moisture profile, we represent it as a second-order polynomial in the form of az2 + bz + c, where z is the depth and a, b, and c are the coefficients to be retrieved from radar measurements. When retrieved, these coefficients give us the soil moisture up to a prescribed depth of validity. To estimate the unknown coefficients of the polynomial, we use simulated

  20. Evaluation of Unified Model Microphysics in High-resolution NWP Simulations Using Polarimetric Radar Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnson, Marcus; Jung, Youngsun; Dawson, Daniel; Supinie, Timothy; Xue, Ming; Park, Jongsook; Lee, Yong-Hee

    2018-07-01

    The UK Met Office Unified Model (UM) is employed by many weather forecasting agencies around the globe. This model is designed to run across spatial and time scales and known to produce skillful predictions for large-scale weather systems. However, the model has only recently begun running operationally at horizontal grid spacings of ˜1.5 km [e.g., at the UK Met Office and the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA)]. As its microphysics scheme was originally designed and tuned for large-scale precipitation systems, we investigate the performance of UM microphysics to determine potential inherent biases or weaknesses. Two rainfall cases from the KMA forecasting system are considered in this study: a Changma (quasi-stationary) front, and Typhoon Sanba (2012). The UM output is compared to polarimetric radar observations in terms of simulated polarimetric radar variables. Results show that the UM generally underpredicts median reflectivity in stratiform rain, producing high reflectivity cores and precipitation gaps between them. This is partially due to the diagnostic rain intercept parameter formulation used in the one-moment microphysics scheme. Model drop size is generally both underand overpredicted compared to observations. UM frozen hydrometeors favor generic ice (crystals and snow) rather than graupel, which is reasonable for Changma and typhoon cases. The model performed best with the typhoon case in terms of simulated precipitation coverage.

  1. Lunar and Venusian radar bright rings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thompson, T. W.; Saunders, R. S.; Weissman, D. E.

    1986-01-01

    Twenty-one lunar craters have radar bright ring appearances which are analogous to eleven complete ring features in the earth-based 12.5 cm observations of Venus. Radar ring diameters and widths for the lunar and Venusian features overlap for sizes from 45 to 100 km. Radar bright areas for the lunar craters are associated with the slopes of the inner and outer rim walls, while level crater floors and level ejecta fields beyond the raised portion of the rim have average radar backscatter. It is proposed that the radar bright areas of the Venusian rings are also associated with the slopes on the rims of craters. The lunar craters have evolved to radar bright rings via mass wasting of crater rim walls and via post-impact flooding of crater floors. Aeolian deposits of fine-grained material on Venusian crater floors may produce radar scattering effects similar to lunar crater floor flooding. These Venusian aeolian deposits may preferentially cover blocky crater floors producing a radar bright ring appearance. It is proposed that the Venusian features with complete bright ring appearances and sizes less than 100 km are impact craters. They have the same sizes as lunar craters and could have evolved to radar bright rings via analogous surface processes.

  2. Cross-evaluation of reflectivity from the space-borne precipitation radar and multi-type ground-based weather radar network in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhong, Lingzhi; Yang, Rongfang; Wen, Yixin; Chen, Lin; Gou, Yabin; Li, Ruiyi; Zhou, Qing; Hong, Yang

    2017-11-01

    China operational weather radar network consists of more than 200 ground-based radars (GR(s)). The lack of unified calibrators often result in poor mosaic products as well as its limitation in radar data assimilation in numerical models. In this study, radar reflectivity and precipitation vertical structures observed from space-borne TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) PR (precipitation radar) and GRs are volumetrically matched and cross-evaluated. It is found that observation of GRs is basically consistent with that of PR. For their overlapping scanning regions, the GRs are often affected by the beam blockage for complex terrain. The statistics show the better agreement among S band A type (SA) radars, S band B type (SB) radars and PR, as well as poor performance of S band C type (SC) radars. The reflectivity offsets between GRs and PR depend on the reflectivity magnitudes: They are positive for weak precipitation and negative for middle and heavy precipitation, respectively. Although the GRs are quite consistent with PR for large sample, an individual GR has its own fluctuated biases monthly. When the sample number is small, the bias statistics may be determined by a single bad GR in a group. Results from this study shed lights that the space-borne precipitation radars could be used to quantitatively calibrate systematic bias existing in different GRs in order to improve the consistency of ground-based weather radar network across China, and also bears the promise to provide a robust reference even form a space and ground constellation network for the dual-frequency precipitation radars onboard the satellites anticipated in the near future.

  3. Lidar and radar measurements of the melting layer in the frame of the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study: observations of dark and bright band phenomena

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    di Girolamo, P.; Summa, D.; Bhawar, R.; di Iorio, T.; Norton, E. G.; Peters, G.; Dufournet, Y.

    2011-11-01

    During the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study (COPS), lidar dark and bright bands were observed by the University of BASILicata Raman lidar system (BASIL) during several intensive (IOPs) and special (SOPs) observation periods (among others, 23 July, 15 August, and 17 August 2007). Lidar data were supported by measurements from the University of Hamburg cloud radar MIRA 36 (36 GHz), the University of Hamburg dual-polarization micro rain radars (24.1 GHz) and the University of Manchester UHF wind profiler (1.29 GHz). Results from BASIL and the radars for 23 July 2007 are illustrated and discussed to support the comprehension of the microphysical and scattering processes responsible for the appearance of the lidar and radar dark and bright bands. Simulations of the lidar dark and bright band based on the application of concentric/eccentric sphere Lorentz-Mie codes and a melting layer model are also provided. Lidar and radar measurements and model results are also compared with measurements from a disdrometer on ground and a two-dimensional cloud (2DC) probe on-board the ATR42 SAFIRE.

  4. TRMM Precipitation Radar and Microwave Imager Observations of Convective and Stratiform Rain Over Land and Their Theoretical Implications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prabhakara, C.; Iacovazzi, R., Jr.; Yoo, J.-M.; Weinman, J. A.; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Observations of brightness temperature, Tb made over land regions by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) radiometer have been analyzed along with the nearly simultaneous measurements of the vertical profiles of reflectivity factor, Z, made by the Precipitation Radar (PR) onboard the TRMM satellite. This analysis is performed to explore the interrelationship between the TMI and PR data in areas that are covered predominantly by convective or stratiform rain. In particular, we have compared on a scale of 20 km, average vertical profiles of Z with the averages of Tbs in the 19, 37 and 85 GHz channels. Generally, we find from these data that as Z increases, Tbs in the three channels decrease due to extinction. In order to explain physically the relationship between the Tb and Z observations, we have performed radiative transfer simulations utilizing vertical profiles of hydrometeors applicable to convective and stratiform rain regions. These profiles are constructed taking guidance from the Z observations of PR and recent LDR and ZDR measurements made by land-based polarimetric radars.

  5. Radar research on thunderstorms and lightning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rust, W. D.; Doviak, R. J.

    1982-01-01

    Applications of Doppler radar to detection of storm hazards are reviewed. Normal radar sweeps reveal data on reflectivity fields of rain drops, ionized lightning paths, and irregularities in humidity and temperature. Doppler radar permits identification of the targets' speed toward or away from the transmitter through interpretation of the shifts in the microwave frequency. Wind velocity fields can be characterized in three dimensions by the use of two radar units, with a Nyquist limit on the highest wind speeds that may be recorded. Comparisons with models numerically derived from Doppler radar data show substantial agreement in storm formation predictions based on information gathered before the storm. Examples are provided of tornado observations with expanded Nyquist limits, gust fronts, turbulence, lightning and storm structures. Obtaining vertical velocities from reflectivity spectra is discussed.

  6. RAPIER: a new relocatable VHF coherent radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Popple, M.; Chapman, P. J.; Thomas, E. C.; Jones, T. B.

    1997-06-01

    VHF coherent radar observations of the high latitude ionosphere have contributed significantly to our understanding of the complex processes which couple the ionosphere, magnetosphere and the solar wind. In addition, these observations have also improved our knowledge of the physics of the ionospheric plasma irregularities and their scattering properties. In this article the design of a new mobile coherent radar system is described. The new system, RAPIER (Relocatable Auroral Polar Ionospheric Radar), was initially collocated with the existing SABRE radar and simultaneous operations undertaken to evaluate RAPIER's performance in its beam scanning mode. In this way the performance of the new system was quantitatively compared with that of a well established auroral radar facility. The velocities measured by the new RAPIER system are well correlated with those observed by SABRE. The received backscatter powers observed by the two systems were, however, less well correlated, mainly caused by differences between their respective antenna elevation polar diagrams. As expected from system considerations, SABRE was found to be more sensitive than RAPIER at slant ranges corresponding to the maxima in the SABRE elevation polar diagrams. However, RAPIER's improved elevation polar diagram, superior instantaneous dynamic range and its ability to alter its receiver gain with pointing direction ensured that it could accurately measure targets over a much greater spatial region than SABRE. This effect became more pronounced when regions of intense backscatter were monitored.

  7. A radar-echo model for Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thompson, T. W.; Moore, H. J.

    1990-01-01

    Researchers developed a radar-echo model for Mars based on 12.6 cm continuous wave radio transmissions backscattered from the planet. The model broadly matches the variations in depolarized and polarized total radar cross sections with longitude observed by Goldstone in 1986 along 7 degrees S. and yields echo spectra that are generally similiar to the observed spectra. Radar map units in the model include an extensive cratered uplands unit with weak depolarized echo cross sections, average thermal inertias, moderate normal refelectivities, and moderate rms slopes; the volcanic units of Tharsis, Elysium, and Amazonis regions with strong depolarized echo cross sections, low thermal inertia, low normal reflectivities, and large rms slopes; and the northern planes units with moderate to strong depolarized echo cross sections, moderate to very high thermal inertias, moderate to large normal reflectivities, and moderate rms slopes. The relevance of the model to the interpretation of radar echoes from Mars is discussed.

  8. Assimilation of Wave Imaging Radar Observations for Real-Time Wave-by-Wave Forecasting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haller, M. C.; Simpson, A. J.; Walker, D. T.; Lynett, P. J.; Pittman, R.; Honegger, D.

    2016-02-01

    It has been shown in various studies that a controls system can dramatically improve Wave Energy Converter (WEC) power production by tuning the device's oscillations to the incoming wave field, as well as protect WEC devices by decoupling them in extreme wave conditions. A requirement of the most efficient controls systems is a phase-resolved, "deterministic" surface elevation profile, alerting the device to what it will experience in the near future. The current study aims to demonstrate a deterministic method of wave forecasting through the pairing of an X-Band marine radar with a predictive Mild Slope Equation (MSE) wave model. Using the radar as a remote sensing technique, the wave field up to 1-4 km surrounding a WEC device can be resolved. Individual waves within the radar scan are imaged through the contrast between high intensity wave faces and low intensity wave troughs. Using a recently developed method, radar images are inverted into the radial component of surface slope, shown in the figure provided using radar data from Newport, Oregon. Then, resolved radial slope images are assimilated into the MSE wave model. This leads to a best-fit model hindcast of the waves within the domain. The hindcast is utilized as an initial condition for wave-by-wave forecasting with a target forecast horizon of 3-5 minutes (tens of wave periods). The methodology is currently being tested with synthetic data and comparisons with field data are imminent.

  9. Climatology of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances observed by the midlatitude Blackstone SuperDARN radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frissell, N. A.; Baker, J. B. H.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Gerrard, A. J.; Miller, E. S.; Marini, J. P.; West, M. L.; Bristow, W. A.

    2014-09-01

    A climatology of daytime midlatitude medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) observed by the Blackstone Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radar is presented. MSTIDs were observed primarily from fall through spring. Two populations were observed: a dominant population heading southeast (centered at 147° geographic azimuth, ranging from 100° to 210°) and a secondary population heading northwest (centered at -50° azimuth, ranging from -75° to -25°). Horizontal velocities ranged from 50 to 250 m s-1 with a distribution maximum between 100 and 150 m s-1. Horizontal wavelengths ranged from 100 to 500 km with a distribution peak at 250 km, and periods between 23 and 60 min, suggesting that the MSTIDs may be consistent with thermospheric gravity waves. A local time (LT) dependence was observed such that the dominant (southeastward) population decreased in number as the day progressed until a late afternoon increase. The secondary (northwestward) population appeared only in the afternoon, possibly indicative of neutral wind effects or variability of sources. LT dependence was not observed in other parameters. Possible solar-geomagnetic and tropospheric MSTID sources were considered. The auroral electrojet (AE) index showed a correlation with MSTID statistics. Reverse ray tracing with the HINDGRATS model indicates that the dominant population has source regions over the Great Lakes and near the geomagnetic cusp, while the secondary population source region is 100 km above the Atlantic Ocean east of the Carolinas. This suggests that the dominant population may come from a region favorable to either tropospheric or geomagnetic sources, while the secondary population originates from a region favorable to secondary waves generated via lower atmospheric convection.

  10. First Rosetta Radio Science Bistatic Radar Observations of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Andert, Thomas P.; Remus, Stefan; Simpson, Richard A.; Pätzold, Martin; Asmar, Sami W.; Kahan, Daniel S.; Bird, Mike K.; Häusler, Bernd; Tellmann, Silvia

    2015-04-01

    The Rosetta spacecraft was successfully inserted on 6th August 2014 into orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In September Rosetta was placed into bound orbits with an initial distance of 30 km and a decreasing distance until the end October. After lander delivery, bound orbits were maintained again at 20 km and 30 km. One of the objectives of the Rosetta Radio Science Investigations (RSI) is to address the dielectric properties, small-scale roughness, and rotational state of the nucleus of the comet, which can be determined by means of a surface scattering experiment, also known as Bistatic Radar. The radio subsystem transmitter located on board the Rosetta spacecraft beams right circularly polarized radio signals at two wavelengths -3.6 cm (X-Band) and 13 cm (S-Band) - toward the nucleus surface. Part of the impinging radiation is then scattered toward a receiver at a ground station on Earth and recorded. On September 29th, 2014 the first Bistatic Radar experiment ever at a comet was successfully conducted. The distance between 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and Rosetta was 20 km and both right circularly polarized (RCP) and left circularly polarized (LCP) reflected signals from the comet's surface in X-Band were detected during the experiment at the Goldstone complex of the NASA Deep Space Network. The ultra-stable oscillator (USO) on board Rosetta served during the experiment as a very stable reference frequency source. The direct and reflected signal were separated during the experiment by only a fraction of 1 Hz. The extreme stability of the USO allowed a detection and separation of the weak signals even on the required long integration times. Five additional Bistatic Radar experiments were conducted successfully between mid-October and mid-December 2014 with the 70-m DSN ground stations in Goldstone and Canberra at different distances to the comet (10 km, 20 km and 30 km) and reflected signals were observed in each case.

  11. Bouncing Continents: Insights into the Physics of the Polar Regions of the Earth from the POLENET Project in the International Polar Year

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reading, Anya M.

    2008-01-01

    When ice sheets melt, and reduce the load on the surface of the Earth, the land areas beneath them bounce back up. New, accurate observations are needed to investigate this uplift and its implications effectively. This article provides a topical starting point for investigating some applications of physics applied to the polar regions of the…

  12. Polarimetric and Multi-Doppler Radar Observations of Electrified and Unelectrified Wildfire Smoke Plumes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lang, Timothy J.; Rutledge, Steven A.; Dolan, Brenda; Krehbiel, Paul; Rison, William; Lindsey, Daniel T.

    2013-01-01

    Pyrocumulus clouds above three Colorado wildfires (Hewlett Gulch, High Park, and Waldo Canyon; all occurred during summer 2012) electrified and produced small intracloud discharges whenever the smoke plumes grew to high altitudes (over 10 km above mean sea level, or MSL). This occurred during periods of rapid wildfire growth, as indicated by the shortwave infrared channel on a geostationary satellite, as well as by incident reports. In the Hewlett Gulch case, the fire growth led to increased updrafts within the plume, as inferred by multiple- Doppler radar syntheses, which led to the vertical development and subsequent electrification - a life cycle as short as 30 minutes. The lightning, detected by a threedimensional lightning mapping network, was favored in high-altitude regions (10 km MSL) containing modest reflectivities (25 dBZ and lower), 0 dB differential reflectivity, and reduced correlation coefficient (0.6-0.7). This indicated the likely presence of ice particles (crystals and aggregates, possibly rimed) mixed with ash. Though neither multiple-Doppler nor polarimetric observations were available during the electrification of the High Park and Waldo Canyon plumes, their NEXRAD observations showed reflectivity structures consistent with Hewlett Gulch. In addition, polarimetric and multiple-Doppler scanning of unelectrified High Park plumes indicated only irregularly shaped ash, and not ice, was present (i.e., reflectivities < 25 dBZ, differential reflectivity > 5 dB, correlation < 0.4), and there was no broaching of the 10 km altitude. Based on these results, the electrification likely was caused by ice-based processes that did not involve significant amounts of graupel. The results demonstrate the scientific value of multiple-Doppler and polarimetric radar observations of wildfire smoke plumes - including the ability to distinguish between regions of pure hydrometeors, regions of pure ash, and mixtures of both - and also suggest a possible new application

  13. The orbit of asteroid (99942) Apophis as determined from optical and radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vinogradova, T. A.; Kochetova, O. M.; Chernetenko, Yu. A.; Shor, V. A.; Yagudina, E. I.

    2008-08-01

    The results of improving the orbit accuracy for the asteroid Apophis and the circumstances of its approach to Earth in 2029 are described. Gravitational perturbations from all of the major planets and Pluto, Ceres, Pallas, and Vesta are taken into account in the equations of motion of the asteroid. Relativistic perturbations from the Sun and perturbations due to the oblateness of the Sun and Earth and due to the light pressure are also included in the model. Perturbations from the Earth and Moon are considered separately. The coordinates of the perturbing bodies are calculated using DE405. The phase correction and the gravitational deflection of light are taken into account. The numerical integration of the equations of motion and equations in variations is performed by the 15th-order Everhart method. The error of the numerical integration over the 2005 2029 interval, estimated using forward and backward computations, is not more than 3 × 10-11 AU. Improved coordinates and velocities at epoch JD2454200.5 (April 10, 2007) were obtained applying the weighted leastsquares fit. For the period from March 15, 2004, to August 16, 2006, 989 optical and 7 radar observations were used. The resulting system represents the optical observations with an error of 0.37 (66 conditional equations were rejected). The residuals of the radar observations are an order, or more, smaller than their errors. The system of Apophis’ elements and the estimates of their precision obtained in this study are in perfect agreement with the results published by other authors. The minimum Apophis-Earth distance is about 38 200 km on April 13, 2029. This estimate agrees to within 20 km with those calculated based on other published systems of elements. The effect of some model components on the minimum distance is estimated.

  14. Investigation of the role of plasma wave cascading processes in the formation of midlatitude irregularities utilizing GPS and radar observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eltrass, A.; Scales, W. A.; Erickson, P. J.; Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Baker, J. B. H.

    2016-06-01

    Recent studies reveal that midlatitude ionospheric irregularities are less understood due to lack of models and observations that can explain the characteristics of the observed wave structures. In this paper, the cascading processes of both the temperature gradient instability (TGI) and the gradient drift instability (GDI) are investigated as the cause of these irregularities. Based on observations obtained during a coordinated experiment between the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar and the Blackstone Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radar, a time series for the growth rate of both TGI and GDI is calculated for observations in the subauroral ionosphere under both quiet and disturbed geomagnetic conditions. Recorded GPS scintillation data are analyzed to monitor the amplitude scintillations and to obtain the spectral characteristics of irregularities producing ionospheric scintillations. Spatial power spectra of the density fluctuations associated with the TGI from nonlinear plasma simulations are compared with both the GPS scintillation spectral characteristics and previous in situ satellite spectral measurements. The spectral comparisons suggest that initially, TGI or/and GDI irregularities are generated at large-scale size (kilometer scale), and the dissipation of the energy associated with these irregularities occurs by generating smaller and smaller (decameter scale) irregularities. The alignment between experimental, theoretical, and computational results of this study suggests that in spite of expectations from linear growth rate calculations, cascading processes involving TGI and GDI are likely responsible for the midlatitude ionospheric irregularities associated with GPS scintillations during disturbed times.

  15. Turbulent upwelling of mid-latitude ionosphere. 1. Observational results by the MU radar

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

    Fukao, Shoichiro; Shirakawa, Tatsuya; Takami, Tomoyuki

    1991-03-01

    In this paper, the authors present the detailed results of a series of experiments designed to study the coherent backscatter of 50-MHz radar waves from the mid-latitude F region. Data were obtained with the active phased-array MU radar in Japan and include some auxiliary E region coherent echoes as well.The strongest echoes correspond to irregularities at least 20 dB stronger than thermal backscatter at the same frequency from typical F region densities at the same range. Simultaneous observations with ionosondes show that these echoes occur during strong mid-latitude spread F. As defined by ionosondes, the latter phenomenon is certainly muchmore » more widespread than the turbulent upwelling events described here, but they believe that in some sense these correspond to the most violent mid-latitude spread F. The strongest echoes occur in large patches which display away Doppler shifts corresponding to irregularity motion upward and northward from the radar. At the edges of these patches there is often a brief period of toward Doppler before the echoing region ceases. On rare occasions comparable patches of strong away and toward Doppler are detected, although in such cases the Doppler width of the toward echoes is much narrower than that of the away echoes. The multiple beam capability at MU allowed us to track the patches in the zonal direction on two days. The patches moved east to west in both cases at velocities of 125 m/s and 185 m/s, respectively. There is a distinct tendency for the bottom contour of the scattering region to be modulated at the same period as the patch occurence frequency as well as at higher frequencies. This higher-frequency component may correspond to substructures in the large patches and to the E region coherent scatter patches which were detected simultaneously in several multiple beam experiments.« less

  16. Observing the polar oceans with spaceborne radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rothrock, Drew

    1986-01-01

    The application of spaceborne imaging radar data to polar oceanography and sea ice is explored. Several problems come to mind which are presently ripe with ideas and models, but are in need of new data, SAR data, for any progress to be made. These are the study of the ice mass balance, the ice momentum balance, and the circulation of the Arctic Ocean. These problems are described along with the data which is applicable to them and can be extracted from SAR imagery. Some uses are discussed of these data to explore mesoscale processes which affect the oceans and ice cover.

  17. Coordinated Radar Resource Management for Networked Phased Array Radars

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-12-01

    Coordinated radar resource management for networked phased array radars Peter W. Moo and Zhen Ding Radar Sensing & Exploitation Section Defence...15] P.W. Moo . Scheduling for multifunction radar via two-slope benefit functions. Radar, Sonar Navigation, IET, 5(8):884 –894, Oct. 2011. [16] M.I

  18. Borehole radar interferometry revisited

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Liu, Lanbo; Ma, Chunguang; Lane, John W.; Joesten, Peter K.

    2014-01-01

    Single-hole, multi-offset borehole-radar reflection (SHMOR) is an effective technique for fracture detection. However, commercial radar system limitations hinder the acquisition of multi-offset reflection data in a single borehole. Transforming cross-hole transmission mode radar data to virtual single-hole, multi-offset reflection data using a wave interferometric virtual source (WIVS) approach has been proposed but not fully demonstrated. In this study, we compare WIVS-derived virtual single-hole, multi-offset reflection data to real SHMOR radar reflection profiles using cross-hole and single-hole radar data acquired in two boreholes located at the University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT USA). The field data results are similar to full-waveform numerical simulations developed for a two-borehole model. The reflection from the adjacent borehole is clearly imaged by both the real and WIVS-derived virtual reflection profiles. Reflector travel-time changes induced by deviation of the two boreholes from the vertical can also be observed on the real and virtual reflection profiles. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of the WIVS approach to improve bedrock fracture imaging for hydrogeological and petroleum reservoir development applications.

  19. Observations of Radar Backscatter at Ku and C Bands in the Presence of Large Waves during the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nghiem, S. V.; Li, Fuk K.; Lou, Shu-Hsiang; Neumann, Gregory; McIntosh, Robert E.; Carson, Steven C.; Carswell, James R.; Walsh, Edward J.; Donelan, Mark A.; Drennan, William M.

    1995-01-01

    Ocean radar backscatter in the presence of large waves is investigated using data acquired with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory NUSCAT radar at Ku band for horizontal and vertical polarizations and the University of Massachusetts CSCAT radar at C band for vertical polarization during the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment. Off-nadir backscatter data of ocean surfaces were obtained in the presence of large waves with significant wave height up to 5.6 m. In moderate-wind cases, effects of large waves are not detectable within the measurement uncertainty and no noticeable correlation between backscatter coefficients and wave height is found. Under high-wave light-wind conditions, backscatter is enhanced significantly at large incidence angles with a weaker effect at small incidence angles. Backscatter coefficients in the wind speed range under consideration are compared with SASS-2 (Ku band), CMOD3-H1 (C band), and Plant's model results which confirm the experimental observations. Variations of the friction velocity, which can give rise to the observed backscatter behaviors in the presence of large waves, are presented.

  20. Hail statistic in Western Europe based on a hyrid cell-tracking algorithm combining radar signals with hailstone observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fluck, Elody

    2015-04-01

    Hail statistic in Western Europe based on a hybrid cell-tracking algorithm combining radar signals with hailstone observations Elody Fluck¹, Michael Kunz¹ , Peter Geissbühler², Stefan P. Ritz² With hail damage estimated over Billions of Euros for a single event (e.g., hailstorm Andreas on 27/28 July 2013), hail constitute one of the major atmospheric risks in various parts of Europe. The project HAMLET (Hail Model for Europe) in cooperation with the insurance company Tokio Millennium Re aims at estimating hail probability, hail hazard and, combined with vulnerability, hail risk for several European countries (Germany, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg). Hail signals are obtained from radar reflectivity since this proxy is available with a high temporal and spatial resolution using several hail proxies, especially radar data. The focus in the first step is on Germany and France for the periods 2005- 2013 and 1999 - 2013, respectively. In the next step, the methods will be transferred and extended to other regions. A cell-tracking algorithm TRACE2D was adjusted and applied to two dimensional radar reflectivity data from different radars operated by European weather services such as German weather service (DWD) and French weather service (Météo-France). Strong convective cells are detected by considering 3 connected pixels over 45 dBZ (Reflectivity Cores RCs) in a radar scan. Afterwards, the algorithm tries to find the same RCs in the next 5 minute radar scan and, thus, track the RCs centers over time and space. Additional information about hailstone diameters provided by ESWD (European Severe Weather Database) is used to determine hail intensity of the detected hail swaths. Maximum hailstone diameters are interpolated along and close to the individual hail tracks giving an estimation of mean diameters for the detected hail swaths. Furthermore, a stochastic event set is created by randomizing the parameters obtained from the