Effects of Subsonic Aircraft on Aerosols and Cloudiness in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

This work was accomplished primarily by Allison G. Wozniak, a graduate research assistant who has completed the Master of Science in Meteorology program at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Ms. Wozniak was guided and assisted in her work by L. R. Johnson and the principal investigator. Invaluable guidance was supplied by Dr. James Holdeman, NASA Lewis, the manager of the Global Atmospheric Sampling Program (GASP). Dr. Gregory Nastrom, St. Cloud (Minnesota) State University, who has used the GASP data set to provide unique views of the distribution of ozone, clouds, and atmospheric waves and turbulence, in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region, was also extremely helpful. Finally, Dr. Terry Deshler, University of Wyoming, supplied observations from the university's upper atmospheric monitoring program for comparison to GASP data

Use of Dual-wavelength Radar for Snow Parameter Estimates

Use of dual-wavelength radar, with properly chosen wavelengths, will significantly lessen the ambiguities in the retrieval of microphysical properties of hydrometeors. In this paper, a dual-wavelength algorithm is described to estimate the characteristic parameters of the snow size distributions. An analysis of the computational results, made at X and Ka bands (T-39 airborne radar) and at S and X bands (CP-2 ground-based radar), indicates that valid estimates of the median volume diameter of snow particles, D(sub 0), should be possible if one of the two wavelengths of the radar operates in the non-Rayleigh scattering region. However, the accuracy may be affected to some extent if the shape factors of the Gamma function used for describing the particle distribution are chosen far from the true values or if cloud water attenuation is significant. To examine the validity and accuracy of the dual-wavelength radar algorithms, the algorithms are applied to the data taken from the Convective and Precipitation-Electrification Experiment (CaPE) in 1991, in which the dual-wavelength airborne radar was coordinated with in situ aircraft particle observations and ground-based radar measurements. Having carefully co-registered the data obtained from the different platforms, the airborne radar-derived size distributions are then compared with the in-situ measurements and ground-based radar. Good agreement is found for these comparisons despite the uncertainties resulting from mismatches of the sample volumes among the different sensors as well as spatial and temporal offsets

Lightweight XML-based query, integration and visualization of distributed, multimodality brain imaging data

A need of many neuroimaging researchers is to integrate multimodality brain data that may be stored in separate databases. To address this need we have developed a framework that provides a uniform XML-based query interface across multiple online data sources. The development of this framework is driven by the need to integrate neurosurgical and neuroimaging data related to language. The data sources for the language studies are 1) a web-accessible relational database of neurosurgical cortical stimulation mapping data (CSM) that includes patient-specific 3-D coordinates of each stimulation site mapped to an MRI reconstruction of the patient brain surface; and 2) an XML database of fMRI and structural MRI data and analysis results, created automatically by a batch program we have embedded in SPM. To make these sources available for querying each is wrapped as an XML view embedded in a web service. A top level web application accepts distributed XQueries over the sources, which are dispatched to the underlying web services. Returned results can be displayed as XML, HTML, CSV (Excel format), a 2-D schematic of a parcellated brain, or a 3-D brain visualization. In the latter case the CSM patient-specific coordinates returned by the query are sent to a transformation web-service for conversion to normalized space, after which they are sent to our 3-D visualization program MindSeer, which is accessed via Java WebStart through a generated link. The anatomical distribution of pooled CSM sites can then be visualized using various surfaces derived from brain atlases. As this framework is further developed and generalized we believe it will have appeal for researchers who wish to query, integrate and visualize results across their own databases as well as those of collaborators

Infrared Nonlinear Optics

Contains report on one research project.U. S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Grant AFOSR-76-2894

Using an A-10 Aircraft for Airborne measurements of TGFs

Plans are underway to convert an A-10 combat attack aircraft into a research aircraft for thunderstorm research. This aircraft would be configured and instrumented for flights into large, convective thunderstorms. It would have the capabilities of higher altitude performance and protection for thunderstorm conditions that exceed those of aircraft now in use for this research. One area of investigation for this aircraft would be terrestrial gamma ]ray flashes (TGFs), building on the pioneering observations made by the Airborne Detector for Energetic Lightning Emissions (ADELE) project several years ago. A new and important component of the planned investigations are the continuous, detailed correlations of TGFs with the electric fields near the aircraft, as well as detailed measurements of nearby lightning discharges. Together, the x-and gamma-radiation environments, the electric field measurements, and the lightning observations (all measured on microsecond timescales) should provide new insights into this TGF production mechanism. The A -10 aircraft is currently being modified for thunderstorm research. It is anticipated that the initial test flights for this role will begin next year

Physiological Status Drives Metabolic Rate in Mediterranean Geckos Infected with Pentastomes

Negative effects of parasites on their hosts are well documented, but the proximate mechanisms by which parasites reduce their host's fitness are poorly understood. For example, it has been suggested that parasites might be energetically demanding. However, a recent meta-analysis suggests that they have statistically insignificant effects on host resting metabolic rate (RMR). It is possible, though, that energetic costs associated with parasites are only manifested during and/or following periods of activity. Here, we measured CO2 production (a surrogate for metabolism) in Mediterranean geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus) infected with a lung parasite, the pentastome Raillietiella indica, under two physiological conditions: rested and recently active. In rested geckos, there was a negative, but non-significant association between the number of pentastomes (i.e., infection intensity) and CO2 production. In recently active geckos (chased for 3 minutes), we recorded CO2 production from its maximum value until it declined to a stationary phase. We analyzed this decline as a 3 phase function (initial decline, secondary decline, stationary). Geckos that were recently active showed, in the secondary phase, a significant decrease in CO2 production as pentastome intensity increased. Moreover, duration of the secondary phase showed a significant positive association with the number of pentastomes. These results suggest that the intensity of pentastome load exerts a weak effect on the metabolism of resting geckos, but a strong physiological effect on geckos that have recently been active; we speculate this occurs via mechanical constraints on breathing. Our results provide a potential mechanism by which pentastomes can reduce gecko fitness

Distributed XQuery-based integration and visualization of multimodality data: Application to brain mapping.

This paper addresses the need for relatively small groups of collaborating investigators to integrate distributed and heterogeneous data about the brain. Although various national efforts facilitate large-scale data sharing, these approaches are generally too “heavyweight” for individual or small groups of investigators, with the result that most data sharing among collaborators continues to be ad hoc. Our approach to this problem is to create a “lightweight” distributed query architecture, in which data sources are accessible via web services that accept arbitrary query languages but return XML results. A Distributed XQuery Processor (DXQP) accepts distributed XQueries in which subqueries are shipped to the remote data sources to be executed, with the resulting XML integrated by DXQP. A web-based application called DXBrain accesses DXQP, allowing a user to create, save and execute distributed XQueries, and to view the results in various formats including a 3-D brain visualization. Example results are presented using distributed brain mapping data sources obtained in studies of language organization in the brain, but any other XML source could be included. The advantage of this approach is that it is very easy to add and query a new source, the tradeoff being that the user needs to understand XQuery and the schemata of the underlying sources. For small numbers of known sources this burden is not onerous for a knowledgeable user, leading to the conclusion that the system helps to fill the gap between ad hoc local methods and large scale but complex national data sharing efforts

Infrared Nonlinear Optics

Contains research objectives and summary of research on one research project.U. S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Grant AFOSR-76-2894

Lesula: A New Species of Cercopithecus Monkey Endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Implications for Conservation of Congo’s Central Basin

In June 2007, a previously undescribed monkey known locally as “lesula” was found in the forests of the middle Lomami Basin in central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We describe this new species as Cercopithecus lomamiensis sp. nov., and provide data on its distribution, morphology, genetics, ecology and behavior. C. lomamiensis is restricted to the lowland rain forests of central DRC between the middle Lomami and the upper Tshuapa Rivers. Morphological and molecular data confirm that C. lomamiensis is distinct from its nearest congener, C. hamlyni, from which it is separated geographically by both the Congo (Lualaba) and the Lomami Rivers. C. lomamiensis, like C. hamlyni, is semi-terrestrial with a diet containing terrestrial herbaceous vegetation. The discovery of C. lomamiensis highlights the biogeographic significance and importance for conservation of central Congo’s interfluvial TL2 region, defined from the upper Tshuapa River through the Lomami Basin to the Congo (Lualaba) River. The TL2 region has been found to contain a high diversity of anthropoid primates including three forms, in addition to C. lomamiensis, that are endemic to the area. We recommend the common name, lesula, for this new species, as it is the vernacular name used over most of its known range

Investigation of \u3csup\u3e186\u3c/sup\u3eRe via radiative thermal-neutron capture on \u3csup\u3e185\u3c/sup\u3eRe

Partial -ray production cross sections and the total radiative thermal-neutron capture cross section for the 185Re(n,)186Re reaction were measured using the Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis facility at the Budapest Research Reactor with an enriched 185Re target. The 186Re cross sections were standardized using well-known 35Cl(n,)36Cl cross sections from irradiation of a stoichiometric natReCl3 target. The resulting cross sections for transitions feeding the 186Re ground state from low-lying levels below a cutoff energy of Ec=746keV were combined with a modeled probability of ground-state feeding from levels above Ec to arrive at a total cross section of σ0=111(6)b for radiative thermal-neutron capture on 185Re. A comparison of modeled discrete-level populations with measured transition intensities led to proposed revisions for seven tentative spin-parity assignments in the adopted level scheme for 186Re. Additionally, 102 primary rays were measured, including 50 previously unknown. A neutron-separation energy of Sn=6179.59(5)keV was determined from a global least-squares fit of the measured -ray energies to the known 186Re decay scheme. The total capture cross section and separation energy results are comparable to earlier measurements of these values