The OSO-1 solar neutron experiment

BF₃ counters on OSO-1 were used to look for solar neutrons by trying to observe a diurnal variation in count rate. No effect was observed and an upper limit was placed on the solar neutron flux at the earth of J _n < 2 × 10^–3 neut/cm²/sec of 10 keV < E _n < 10 meV for the period March to May 1962. No proton-producing flares occurred during this time, so the most obvious source of solar neutrons could not be studied. The emulsion experiment of Apparao et al., flown during this period, which seemed to indicate solar neutrons has probably been misinterpreted.     

Neutron Stars with a Quark Core. II. Basic Integral and Structural Parameters

A broad sample of computed realistic equations of state of superdense matter with a quark phase transition is used to construct a series of models of neutron stars with a strange quark core. The integral characteristics of the stellar configurations are obtained: gravitational mass, rest mass, radius, relativistic moment of inertia, and red shift from the star's surface, as well as the mass and radius of the quark core within the allowable range of values for the central pressure. The parameters of some of the characteristic configurations of the calculated series are also given and these are studied in detail. It is found that a new additional region of stability for neutron stars with strange quark cores may exist for some models of the equation of state.     

Multi-decadal synthesis of benthic–pelagic coupling in the western arctic: Role of cross-shelf advective processes

Using geographic information systems (GIS) software and geostatistical techniques, we utilized three decades of water-column chlorophyll a data to examine the relative importance of autochthonous versus allochthonous sources of reduced carbon to benthic communities that occur from the northern Bering to the eastern Beaufort Sea shelf. Spatial trend analyses revealed areas of high benthic biomass (>300 g m⁻²) and chlorophyll (>150 mg m⁻²) on both the southern and northern Chukchi shelf; both areas are known as depositional centers for reduced organic matter that originates on the Bering Sea shelf and is advected northward in Anadyr and Bering shelf water masses. We found a significant correlation between biomass and chlorophyll a in the Chukchi Sea, reflective of the strong benthic–pelagic coupling in a system that is utilized heavily by benthic-feeding marine mammals. In contrast, there was no significant correlation between biomass and chlorophyll in the Beaufort Sea, which by comparison, is considerably less productive (biomass and chlorophyll, <75 g m⁻² and <50 mg m⁻², respectively). One notable exception is an area of relatively high biomass (50–100 g m⁻²) and chlorophyll (80 mg m⁻²) near Barter Island in the eastern Beaufort Sea. Compared to other adjacent areas in the Beaufort Sea, the chlorophyll values in the vicinity of Barter Island were considerably higher and likely reflect a long-hypothesized upwelling in that area and close coupling between the benthos and autochthonous production. In the Bering Sea, a drop in benthic biomass in 1994 compared with previous measurements (1974–1993) may support earlier observations that document a decline in biomass that began between the 1980s and 1990s in the Chirikov Basin and south of St. Lawrence Island. The results of this study indicate that the benthos is an excellent long-term indicator of both local and physical advective processes. In addition, this work provides further evidence that secondary production on arctic shelves can be significantly augmented by reduced carbon advected from highly productive adjacent shelves.     

Tropospheric Ozone in a Global-Scale Three-Dimensional Lagrangian Model and Its Response to NOX Emission Controls

A three-dimensional Lagrangian tropospheric chemistry modelis used toinvestigate the impact of human activities on the tropospheric distributionofozone and hydroxyl radicals. The model describes the behaviour of 50 speciesincluding methane, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide andnineorganic compounds emitted from human activities and a range of other sources.Thechemical mechanism involves about 100 chemical reactions of which 16 arephotochemical reactions whose diurnal dependence is treated in full. The modelutilises a five minute chemistry time step and a three hour advection timestepfor the 50,000 air parcels. Meteorological data for the winds, temperatures,clouds and so on are taken from the UK Meteorological Office global model for1994 onwards. The impacts of a 50% reduction in European NO_Xemissions onglobal ozone concentrations are assessed. Surface ozoneconcentrations decrease in summertime and rise in wintertime, but to differentextents.     

A NEW APPROACH TO THE INVERSION OF SEISMIC DATA*

A new inversion method for seismic reflection data is based on impedance concepts and uses transformations to reduce the essentially non-linear problem to a linear eigenvalue formulation without approximation. A set of reflection data has been inverted using this method. The characteristic impedances of the layers so determined are compared with log data from a reference borehole.     

Relationship of galaxies from the second Byurakan survey to Zwicky clusters. II. Discussion

We analyze the data presented in a previous paper by Gyulzadyan and Petrosian, and discuss the results of a statistical investigation of the relationship between SBS galaxies and Zwicky clusters. The main results are that SBS galaxies follow the overall galaxy distribution in clusters and they do not avoid any type of Zwicky cluster. There is a significantly higher probability of finding SBS galaxies occurring in medium compact clusters than in open clusters. They also follow the well-established morphology-density relation. Earlier morphological type, higher luminosity, larger linear size, and redder SBS galaxies tend to be found in clusters with higher compactness, or in more compact regions of the clusters. The number distribution of SBS galaxies in Zwicky open clusters probably follows the distribution of normal galaxies. The number distribution of SBS galaxies in medium compact and compact clusters shows two-maxima structure. Published in Astrofizika, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 225–236 (May 2009).     

Meteor44 Video Meteor Photometry

Meteor44 is a software system developed at MSFC for the calibration and analysis of video meteor data. The photometric range of the (8 bit) video data is extended from a visual magnitude range of from 8 to 3 to from 8 to −8 for both meteors and stellar images using saturation compensation. Camera and lens specific saturation compensation coefficients are derived from artificial variable star laboratory measurements. Saturation compensation significantly increases the number of meteors with measured intensity and improves the estimation of meteoroid mass distribution. Astrometry is automated to determine each image's plate coefficient using appropriate star catalogs. The images are simultaneously intensity calibrated from the contained stars to determine the photon sensitivity and the saturation level referenced above the atmosphere. The camera's spectral response is used to compensate for stellar color index and typical meteor spectra in order to report meteor light curves in traditional visual magnitude units. Recent efforts include improved camera calibration procedures and long focal length "streak" meteor photometry. Meteor44 has been used to analyze data from the 2001, 2002 and 2003 MSFC Leonid observational campaigns as well as several lesser showers.     

A COMBINED REFRACTION-DIFFRACTION-DISSIPATION MODEL OF WAVE PROPAGATION

A numerical model based on the mild-slope equation of water wave propagation over complicated bathymetry,taking into account the combined effects of refraction,diffraction and dissipation due to wavebreaking is presented.Wave breaking is simulated by modifying the wave height probability density func-tion and the wave energy dissipation mechanism is parameterized according to that of the hydraulic jumpformulation.Solutions of the wave height,phase function,and the wave direction at every grid point areobtained by finite difference approximation of the governing equations,using Gauss-Seidel Iterative Method(GSIM)row by row.Its computational convenience allows it to be applied to large coast regions tostudy the wave transformation problem.Several case studies have been made and the results compare verywell with the experiment data and other model solutions.The capability and utility of the model forreal coast areas are illustrated by application to a shallow bay of northeast Australia.