Jupiter’s interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft

On 27 August 2016, the Juno spacecraft acquired science observations of Jupiter, passing less than 5000 kilometers above the equatorial cloud tops. Images of Jupiter’s poles show a chaotic scene, unlike Saturn’s poles. Microwave sounding reveals weather features at pressures deeper than 100 bars, dominated by an ammonia-rich, narrow low-latitude plume resembling a deeper, wider version of Earth’s Hadley cell. Near-infrared mapping reveals the relative humidity within prominent downwelling regions. Juno’s measured gravity field differs substantially from the last available estimate and is one order of magnitude more precise. This has implications for the distribution of heavy elements in the interior, including the existence and mass of Jupiter’s core. The observed magnetic field exhibits smaller spatial variations than expected, indicative of a rich harmonic content

BNCT filter design studies for the ORNL Tower Shielding Facility

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) in the United States has entered into a new phase with the initiation of clinical trials using neutron sources at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. If these trials are successful at demonstrating the efficacy of BNCT as a viable treatment for glioblastoma multiforme, then there will be an immediate demand for several additional neutron sources in order to treat the several thousand patients currently diagnosed with glioblastomas in the U.S. each year. However, the requirements for an acceptable neutron source for BNCT are rather severe in terms of the need to provide a sufficient number of epithermal neutrons to a patient-accessible location in a reasonable time with minimal thermal-neutron, fast- neutron, and gamma-ray background. A recent study of potential neutron sources at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been completed, which concludes that the Tower Shielding Facility (TSF), also appears very well suited for BNCT. The light-water-cooled reactor is contained in an aluminum pressure vessel and located in a large concrete `bunker` referred to as the Big Beam Shield (BBS). The BBS contains a 77-cm-diameter beam collimator, which permits access to a broad beam neutron flux exceeding 4 x 10[sup ll] Cm[sup -2]s[sup- 1] at the operational power of 1 MW. The collimated beam emerges horizontally onto an unenclosed test pad area on which shield mockups were assembled. The appropriate beam filter and collimator system can be easily constructed in the expansive area previously used for the large shield mockups. Additional engineering of the beam shutter mechanism and the construction of treatment support facilities will be needed but can be easily accommodated on the remote dedicated site. The filter design analysis is provided

Assimilation of Mars Global Surveyor atmospheric temperature data into a general circulation model

We examined the observed temperature data from Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) between heliocentric longitude L_s = 141° and 146° (∼10 Martian days in northern summer) during the mapping phase, then compared them with the simulated results using the NASA/Ames Mars general circulation model. Both show a strong polar vortex at the winter pole, higher equatorial temperatures near the ground and larger tropospheric lapse rates during daytime than at night. However, the simulation is colder than the observation at the bottom and top of the atmosphere and warmer in the middle. The highest wave activities are found in the polar front in both the simulations and the observations, but it is at a much higher altitude in the former. Experiments show that larger dust opacity improves the temperature field in the lower atmospheric levels. Using a steady state Kalman filter, we attempted to obtain a model state that is consistent with the observations. The assimilation did achieve better agreement with the observations overall, especially over the north pole. However, it is hard to make any further improvement. Dust opacity is the key factor in determining the temperature field; correcting temperature alone improves the spatial and temporal variations, it degrades the mean state in the south pole. Assimilation cannot improve the simulation further, unless more realistic dust opacity and its vertical profile are considered

Two-year observations of the Jupiter polar regions by JIRAM on board Juno

We observed the evolution of Jupiter's polar cyclonic structures over two years between February 2017 and February 2019, using polar observations by the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper, JIRAM, on the Juno mission. Images and spectra were collected by the instrument in the 5‐μm wavelength range. The images were used to monitor the development of the cyclonic and anticyclonic structures at latitudes higher than 80° both in the northern and the southern hemispheres. Spectroscopic measurements were then used to monitor the abundances of the minor atmospheric constituents water vapor, ammonia, phosphine and germane in the polar regions, where the atmospheric optical depth is less than 1. Finally, we performed a comparative analysis with oceanic cyclones on Earth in an attempt to explain the spectral characteristics of the cyclonic structures we observe in Jupiter's polar atmosphere

Liquid Metal Reactor Program: JASPER US/DOE/PNC Shielding Research Program : Technical progress report, April 1-May 31, 1987

This progress report details activities on the JASPER Shielding Program for the time period of April 1, 1987 through May 31, 1987

BUGLE-96: A revised multigroup cross section library for LWR applications based on ENDF/B-VI Release 3

A revised multigroup cross-section library based ON ENDF/B-VI Release 3 has been produced for light water reactor shielding and reactor pressure vessel dosimetry applications. This new broad-group library, which is designated BUGLE-96, represents an improvement over the BUGLE-93 library released in February 1994 and is expected to replace te BUGLE-93 data. The cross-section processing methodology is the same as that used for producing BUGLE-93 and is consistent with ANSI/ANS 6.1.2. As an added feature, cross-section sets having upscatter data for four thermal neutron groups are included in the BUGLE-96 package available from the Radiation Shielding Information Center. The upscattering data should improve the application of this library to the calculation of more accurate thermal fluences, although more computer time will be required. The incorporation of feedback from users has resulted in a data library that addresses a wider spectrum of user needs

Student Satisfaction and Performance in an Online Teacher Certification Program

The article presents a study which demonstrates the effectiveness of an online post baccalaureate teacher certification program developed by a Wisconsin university. The case method approach employing multiple methods and multiple data sources were used to investigate the degree to which pre-service teachers were prepared to teach. It was concluded that the study supports online delivery as an effective means of teacher preparation, but it was limited in the number of students followed into their first year of teaching

Liquid Metal Reactor Program: JASPER USDOE/PNC Shielding Research Program: Technical progress report, August 1-September 30, 1986

This report details activities on the JASPER Shielding Program for the time period of August 1, 1986 through September 30, 1986. This report contains the measurements in phases VI and VII, a graphite benchmark study and an alternate loop type shield design study for the Liquid Metal Reactor (LMR), respectively. This report also includes the results of analyses for phases I, II, III, V, and VI