Diet of oceanic loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the central North Pacific

Diet analysis of 52 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) collected as bycatch from 1990 to 1992 in the high-seas driftnet fishery operating between lat. 29.5°N and 43°N and between long. 150°E and 154°W demonstrated that these turtles fed predominately at the surface; few deeper water prey items were present in their stomachs. The turtles ranged in size from 13.5 to 74.0 cm curved carapace length. Whole turtles (n =10) and excised stomachs (n= 42) were frozen and transported to a laboratory for analysis of major faunal components. Neustonic species accounted for four of the five most common prey taxa. The most common prey items were Janthina spp. (Gastropoda); Carinaria cithara Benson 1835 (Heteropoda); a chondrophore, Velella velella (Hydrodia); Lepas spp. (Cirripedia), Planes spp. (Decapoda: Grapsidae), and pyrosomas (Pyrosoma spp.)

The NASA Fireball Network

In the summer of 2008, the NASA Meteoroid Environments Office (MEO) began to establish a video fireball network, based on the following objectives: (1) determine the speed distribution of cm size meteoroids, (2) determine the major sources of cm size meteoroids (showers/sporadic sources), (3) characterize meteor showers (numbers, magnitudes, trajectories, orbits), (4) determine the size at which showers dominate the meteor flux, (5) discriminate between re-entering space debris and meteors, and 6) locate meteorite falls. In order to achieve the above with the limited resources available to the MEO, it was necessary that the network function almost fully autonomously, with very little required from humans in the areas of upkeep or analysis. With this in mind, the camera design and, most importantly, the ASGARD meteor detection software were adopted from the University of Western Ontario's Southern Ontario Meteor Network (SOMN), as NASA has a cooperative agreement with Western's Meteor Physics Group. 15 cameras have been built, and the network now consists of 8 operational cameras, with at least 4 more slated for deployment in calendar year 2013. The goal is to have 15 systems, distributed in two or more groups east of automatic analysis; every morning, this server also automatically generates an email and a web page (http://fireballs.ndc.nasa.gov) containing an automated analysis of the previous night's events. This analysis provides the following for each meteor: UTC date and time, speed, start and end locations (longitude, latitude, altitude), radiant, shower identification, light curve (meteor absolute magnitude as a function of time), photometric mass, orbital elements, and Tisserand parameter. Radiant/orbital plots and various histograms (number versus speed, time, etc) are also produced. After more than four years of operation, over 5,000 multi-station fireballs have been observed, 3 of which potentially dropped meteorites. A database containing data on all these events, including the videos and calibration information, has been developed and is being modified to include data from the SOMN and other camera networks

Shake-Off Measurements of Electron-Ion-Scattering Phase Shifts

Continuum electrons are produced in a specific l state with high-energy resolution using shake-off photoionization. This process is well characterized, so that the photoionization signal is an accurate measurement of the difference between the continuum electrons wave-function phase and that produced by a hydrogenic interaction. Measurements are reported showing the phase of a Ba++e- in a d wave, in cases where it is well behaved, and in cases where doubly excited resonances produce rapid phase variations

Enhancement of the Natural Earth Satellite Population Through Meteoroid Aerocapture

The vast majority of meteoroids either fall to the ground as meteorites or ablate completely in the atmosphere. However, large meteoroids have been observed to pass through the atmosphere and reenter space in a few instances. These atmosphere-grazing meteoroids have been characterized using ground-based observation and satellite-based infrared detection. As these methods become more sensitive, smaller atmospheregrazing meteoroids will likely be detected. In anticipation of this increased detection rate, we compute the frequency with which centimeter-sized meteoroids graze and exit Earth's atmosphere. We characterize the post-atmosphere orbital characteristics of these bodies and conduct numerical simulations of their orbital evolution under the perturbing influence of the Sun and Moon. We find that a small subset of aerocaptured meteoroids are perturbed away from immediate atmospheric reentry and become temporary natural Earth satellites

Influence of Decompression Rate on Hemodynamic Compensation to Continuous Lower Body Negative Pressure

We applied lower body negative pressure (LBNP) continuously, at three decompression rates, in an attempt to simulate uncontrolled hemorrhage as might be experienced by victims of traumatic injury. The purpose of our study was to determine whether hemodynamic compensations to simulated hemorrhage depend more on the magnitude, or the rate of change in pressure applied. Forty five (45) young, healthy subjects participated. We recorded the electrocardiogram, beat-to-beat arterial pressure (finger photoplethysmography), and measured cardiac output (inert gas rebreathing to calculate stroke volume) during continuous LBNP applied at three different decompression rates (n = 15 subjects for each rate; slow = 3 mm Hg∙min-1; medium = 6 mm Hg∙min-1; and fast = 12 mm Hg∙min-1) to an ending pressure of -60 mmHg. Slopes relating changes of dependent variable responses to the magnitude of decompression were calculated with linear regression, and group results were compared with ANOVA. LBNP increased (pooled across groups from 0 to -60 mmHg) heart rates (+28%; p ≤ .05 ), and decreased mean arterial pressures (-10%; p ≤ .05) and stroke volumes (-66%; p ≤ .05). The magnitude of changes induced by LBNP were not different between groups (p ≥ .4). Slopes (pooled across groups) relating heart rate (.3 bpm/mmHg ), mean arterial pressure (-.16 mmHg/mmHg), and stroke volume (-1.3 ml/mmHg) to the level of LBNP applied were not dependent on decompression rate (all ANOVA comparisons, p ≥ .3). We conclude that hemodynamic changes during continuous LBNP are associated directly with the magnitude of pressure applied, irrespective of the rate of decompression. Our results suggest that hemodynamic compensations to simulated uncontrolled hemorrhage are robust, and are not compromised by increasing the speed of decompression to simulate a greater rate of blood loss

Long-term microparticle flux variability indicated by comparison of Interplanetary Dust Experiment (IDE) timed impacts for LDEF's first year in orbit with impact data for the entire 5.77-year orbital lifetime

The electronic sensors of the Interplanetary Dust Experiment (IDE) recorded precise impact times and approximate directions for submicron to approximately 100 micron size particles on all six primary sides of the spacecraft for the first 346 days of the LDEF orbital mission. Previously-reported analyses of the timed impact data have established their spatio-temporal features, including the demonstration that a preponderance of the particles in this regime are orbital debris and that a large fraction of the debris particles are encountered in megameter-size clouds. Short-term fluxes within such clouds can rise several orders of magnitude above the long-term average. These unexpectedly large short-term variations in debris flux raise the question of how representative an indication of the multi-year average flux is given by the nearly one year of timed data. One of the goals of the IDE was to conduct an optical survey of impact sites on detectors that remained active during the entire LDEF mission, to obtain full-mission fluxes. We present here the comparisons and contrasts among the new IDE optical survey impact data, the IDE first-year timed impact data, and impact data from other LDEF micrometeoroid and debris experiments. The following observations are reported: (1) the 5.77 year long-term integrated microparticle impact fluxes recorded by IDE detectors matched the integrated impact fluxes measured by other LDEF investigators for the same period; (2) IDE integrated microparticle impact fluxes varied by factors from 0.5 to 8.3 for LDEF days 1-346, 347-2106 and 1-2106 (5.77 years) on rows 3 (trailing edge, or West), 6 (South side), 12 (North side), and the Earth and Space ends; and (3) IDE integrated microparticle impact fluxes varied less than 3 percent for LDEF days 1-346, 347-2106 and 1-2106 (5.77 years) on row 9 (leading edge, or East). These results give further evidence of the accuracy and internal consistency of the recorded IDE impact data. This leads to the further conclusion that the utility of long-term ratios for impacts on various sides of a stabilized satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO) is extremely limited. These observations and their consequences highlight the need for continuous, real time monitoring of the dynamic microparticle environment in LEO

Intraconfiguration Interactions in Barium 6p\u3csub\u3e1/2\u3c/sub\u3enf Autoionizing States

Measurements are reported of the energies and linewidths of the J=2, 3, and 4 components of the 6p1/214f and 6p1/219f states of barium. These states are anomalously broad, having autoionization lifetimes of approximately 1/2 of a classical Rydberg orbit period, and previously measurements have discerned no differences among the various J components. This work shows that the differences can be observed, and are consistent with calculations. The variations between states would be large if the states were LS coupled, but the large 6p ionic fine-structure forces recoupling into jj configurations. The spherical symmetry of the 6p1/2 ionic state minimizes the differences between J states, but does not eliminate them

Status of the NASA Allsky Camera Network

No abstract availabl