Remote Sensing of Sea Ice from Earth Satellites

The application of meteorological satellite data for mapping ice fields is discussed. The characteristics of the photographic records of sea ice formations are described. The derivation of the composite minimum brightness chart by computer processing of the mapped satellite vidicon data for several successive days is explained. The factors which create a quantitative delimiting of the sea ice conditions are explained

A semianalytical satellite theory for weak time-dependent perturbations

The modifications of the semianalytical satellite theory required to include these 'weak' time dependent perturbations are described. The new formulation results in additional terms in the short periodic variations but does not change the averaged equations of motion. Thus the m monthly terms are still included in the averaged equations of motion. This contrasts with the usual approach for the strongly time dependent perturbations in which the m monthly (or m daily, if tesseral harmonics are being considered) terms would be eliminated from the averaged equations of motion and included in the short periodics computation. Numerical test results for the GPS case obtained with a numerical averaging implementation of the new theory demonstrate the accuracy improvement

Design study of test models of maneuvering aircraft configurations for the National Transonic Facility (NTF)

The feasibility of designing advanced technology, highly maneuverable, fighter aircraft models to achieve full scale Reynolds number in the National Transonic Facility (NTF) is examined. Each of the selected configurations are tested for aeroelastic effects through the use of force and pressure data. A review of materials and material processes is also included

A Legend...

Memories of former superior general William Slattery illustrating his life and character are presented. Joseph McClain knew Slattery when he was provincial and during preparations for the 1968─1969 General Assembly, but most of McClain’s recollections come from the period after Slattery returned to Germantown, Philadelphia from Rome. From 1972 to 1981, McClain was in daily contact with Slattery. He describes Slattery’s daily schedule and habits. Even with failing sight and extreme pain, Slattery remained devoted to the various aspects of Vincentian life, exemplifying Vincentian virtues, especially humility and simplicity

Ultrafast Dynamics of Carrier Multiplication in Quantum Dots

A quantum-kinetic approach to the ultrafast dynamics of carrier multiplication in semiconductor quantum dots is presented. We investigate the underlying dynamics in the electronic subband occupations and the time-resolved optical emission spectrum, focusing on the interplay between the light-matter and the Coulomb interaction. We find a transition between qualitatively differing behaviors of carrier multiplication, which is controlled by the ratio of the interaction induced time scale and the pulse duration of the exciting light pulse. On short time scales, i.e., before intra-band relaxation, this opens the possibility of detecting carrier multiplication without refering to measurements of (multi-)exciton lifetimes.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, submitte

Satellite Remote Sensing: Ocean Color

Satellite ocean color instruments routinely provide global, synoptic views of the Earth's marine biosphere. These spaceborne radiometers measure light exiting the top of the atmosphere at discrete wavelengths in the ultraviolet to shortwave infrared region of the spectrum. This includes measurements of the color of the ocean - information used to infer the contents of the sunlit upper ocean, such as concentrations of phytoplankton, suspended sediments, and dissolved organic carbon. Continuous marine biological, ecological, and biogeochemical data records from satellite ocean color instruments now span over twenty years. This time-series not only supports Earth system and climate research, but also ecosystem and watershed management activities, including detection of nuisance and harmful algal blooms

The Auditor’s Report on Internal Control & Fraud Detection Responsibility: A Comparison of French and U.S. Users’ Perceptions

The AICPA recently finished a harmonization project to converge U.S. audit standards with those of the International Audit and Assurance Standards Board. The assumption implicit in this project is that users of financial statements will benefit from a converged, or consistent set of audit standards. Additionally, the AICPA’s clarified auditing standard AU-C700, Audit Conclusions and Reporting, now requires explicit acknowledgement of the auditor’s responsibility for fraud procedures in the auditor’s report, which is the focus of advisory committees in both the U.S. Department of Treasury and the European Commission. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how users (U.S. and French) rate a harmonized audit communication. Specifically, we test perceptions of the auditor’s internal control report using the PCAOB’s AS2 report. Results indicate that U.S. and French users rate the report similarly, with no significant differences along dimensions of readability, reliability, and liability. Additionally, we investigate how user perceptions change when evaluating a report that contains wording as to the auditor’s fraud detection responsibility. Results indicate that while U.S. users’ perceptions increase positively when fraud wording is added, French perceptions remain unchanged. Overall, our results suggest that both U.S. and non-U.S. users perceive the information from an auditor’s internal control report the same. However, specific wording changes (like fraud) do not universally increase positive perceptions perhaps because of country-specific legal and regulatory environments

Ocean Chlorophyll Studies from a U-2 Aircraft Platform

Chlorophyll gradient maps of large ocean areas were generated from U-2 ocean color scanner data obtained over test sites in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The delineation of oceanic features using the upward radiant intensity relies on an analysis method which presupposes that radiation backscattered from the atmosphere and ocean surface can be properly modeled using a measurement made at 778 nm. An estimation of the chlorophyll concentration was performed by properly ratioing radiances measured at 472 nm and 548 nm after removing the atmospheric effects. The correlation between the remotely sensed data and in-situ surface chlorophyll measurements was validated in two sets of data. The results show that the correlation between the in-situ measured chlorophyll and the derived quantity is a negative exponential function and the correlation coefficient was calculated to be -0.965