Determination of lunar ilmenite abundance from remotely sensed data

Of fundamental importance in the utilization of indigenous resources for a future permanently manned lunar base is the identification and mapping of the abundance distribution of the mineral ilmenite, which is currently considered the most readily identifiable and most easily accessible source of oxygen needed for human consumables and spacecraft propellant. Solid state detector array technology now permits the use of ground based multispectral remote sensing techniques to produce maps with better than one kilometer spatial resolution and uncertainties of about two weight-percent TiO2 abundance. An empirical relationship between the weight-percent abundance of titanium dioxide and the 400/560 nm spectral ratio measured in returned lunar samples was used. Because this abundance correlation is valid only for mature lunar mare regolith, the distribution of immature mafic minerals which were found to be correlated primarily with steep slopes exposing bedrock was qualitatively mapped. The first mapping phase focused on the entire lunar nearside at 5.3 km per pixel, and on experiments with more sensitive spectral ratios. Relative spectrophotometry was employed to aid in identifying wavelengths that provide greater spectral contrast. It was found that the 400/730 nm ratio improved the abundance sensitivity by 37 percent, while the 950/730 nm ratio improved mafic mineral contrast about 100 percent. The second mapping phase utilized a large experimental CCD at 280 m per pixel to map the high titanium regions identified in the phase one mapping. The high resolution maps provide data on the small scale (500 m) variations in abundance and their relationship to morphological units

Lunar phase function effects on spectral ratios used for resource assessment

Groundbased telescopic CCD images of 36 selected locations on the moon were obtained in five 'standard' bandpasses at 12 phase angles ranging from -78 deg to +75 deg to measure phase function effects on the ratio values used to quantify the abundance of TiO2 and qualitatively indicate soil maturity. Consistent with previous studies, we find that the moon is 'bluer' at small phase angles, but that the effect on the ratio values for TiO2 abundance for the phase angles of our data is on the order of the measurement uncertainties throughout the range of abundances found in the mare. The effect is more significant as seen from orbiting spacecraft over a range of selenographic latitude. Spectral ratio images (400/560 and 400/730 nm) were used to map the abundance of TiO2 using the empirical relation found by Charlette et al from analysis of returned lunar soils. Additionally, the 950/560 and 950/730 nm image ratios were used to define the regions of mature mare soil in which the relation is valid. Although the phase function dependence on wavelength was investigated and quantified for small areas and the integrated disc, the effect specifically on TiO2 mapping was not rigorously determined. For consistency and convenience in observing the whole lunar front side, our mapping utilized images taken -15 deg less than alpha less than 15 deg when the moon was fully illuminated from earth; however, this includes the strong opposition peak

Urban remote sensing applications: TIMS observations of the City of Scottsdale

A research program has been initiated between Arizona State University and the City of Scottsdale, Arizona to study the potential applications of TIMS (Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner) data for urban scene classification, desert environmental assessment, and change detection. This program is part of a long-term effort to integrate remote sensing observations into state and local planning activities to improve decision making and future planning. Specific test sites include a section of the downtown Scottsdale region that has been mapped in very high detail as part of a pilot program to develop an extensive GIS database. This area thus provides excellent time history of the evolution of the city infrastructure, such as the timing and composition of street repavement. A second area of study includes the McDowell intensive study by state and local agencies to assess potential sites for urban development as well as preservation. These activities are of particular relevance as the Phoenix metropolitan area undergoes major expansion into the surrounding desert areas. The objectives of this study in urban areas are aimed at determining potential applications of TIMS data for classifying and assessing land use and surface temperatures. Land use centers on surface impermeability studies for storm runoff assessment and pollution control. These studies focus on determining the areal abundance of urban vegetation and undeveloped soil. Highly experimental applications include assessment and monitoring of pavement condition. Temperature studies focus on determining swimming pool area and temperature for use in monitoring evaporating and urban water consumption. These activities are of particular relevance as the Phoenix metropolitan area undergoes major expansion into the surrounding desert area

Pathosphere.org: pathogen detection and characterization through a web-based, open source informatics platform

Background The detection of pathogens in complex sample backgrounds has been revolutionized by wide access to next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms. However, analytical methods to support NGS platforms are not as uniformly available. Pathosphere (found at Pathosphere.org) is a cloud - based open - sourced community tool that allows for communication, collaboration and sharing of NGS analytical tools and data amongst scientists working in academia, industry and government. The architecture allows for users to upload data and run available bioinformatics pipelines without the need for onsite processing hardware or technical support. Results The pathogen detection capabilities hosted on Pathosphere were tested by analyzing pathogen-containing samples sequenced by NGS with both spiked human samples as well as human and zoonotic host backgrounds. Pathosphere analytical pipelines developed by Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) identified spiked pathogens within a common sample analyzed by 454, Ion Torrent, and Illumina sequencing platforms. ECBC pipelines also correctly identified pathogens in human samples containing arenavirus in addition to animal samples containing flavivirus and coronavirus. These analytical methods were limited in the detection of sequences with limited homology to previous annotations within NCBI databases, such as parvovirus. Utilizing the pipeline-hosting adaptability of Pathosphere, the analytical suite was supplemented by analytical pipelines designed by the United States Army Medical Research Insititute of Infectious Diseases and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (USAMRIID-WRAIR). These pipelines were implemented and detected parvovirus sequence in the sample that the ECBC iterative analysis previously failed to identify. Conclusions By accurately detecting pathogens in a variety of samples, this work demonstrates the utility of Pathosphere and provides a platform for utilizing, modifying and creating pipelines for a variety of NGS technologies developed to detect pathogens in complex sample backgrounds. These results serve as an exhibition for the existing pipelines and web-based interface of Pathosphere as well as the plug-in adaptability that allows for integration of newer NGS analytical software as it becomes available

Exact three-colored quantum scars from geometric frustration

Nonequilibrium properties of quantum materials present many intriguing properties, among them athermal behavior, which violates the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Such behavior has primarily been observed in disordered systems. More recently, experimental and theoretical evidence for athermal eigenstates, known as “quantum scars,” has emerged in nonintegrable disorder-free models in one dimension with constrained dynamics. In this Rapid Communication, we show the existence of quantum scar eigenstates and investigate their dynamical properties in many simple two-body Hamiltonians with “staggered” interactions, involving ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic motifs, in arbitrary dimensions. These magnetic models include simple modifications of widely studied ones (e.g., the XXZ model) on a variety of frustrated and unfrustrated lattices. We demonstrate our ideas by focusing on the two-dimensional frustrated spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet, which was previously shown to harbor a special exactly solvable point with “three-coloring” ground states in its phase diagram. For appropriately chosen initial product states—for example, those which correspond to any state of valid three-colors—we show the presence of robust quantum revivals, which survive the addition of anisotropic terms. We also suggest avenues for future experiments which may see this effect in real materials

Thermoluminescence properties of undoped and Tb3+ and Ce3+ doped YAG nanophosphor under UV-, X- and ?-ray irradiation

The thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) characterization of Er3+ and Yb3+ doped Y 3Al5O12 nanocrystalline samples prepared by the precipitation process and exposed to ?-rays are discussed. The TL as well as the OSL were two orders of magnitude higher in Er3+ doped than in Yb3+ specimens. The charge trapping and the radiative thermally stimulated recombination processes in Y3Al5O12 : Er3+ involve four trapping states at 166, 243, 342 and 424 °C, but just two trapping levels at 219 and 413 °C for Y3Al 5O12 : Yb3+ at a heating rate of 10 °C s-1. The photostimulation with 470 nm light causes in both phosphors a radiative recombination of the optically free charge carriers belonging to the same trapping states. The TL and the OSL as a function of radiation dose behaviour were linear in the 10-100 Gy dose range. The results provide evidence of the potential uses of these materials in radiation storage and dosimeter devices. " 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd.",,,,,,"10.1088/0022-3727/38/21/004",,,"http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12104/45345","http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-27544465259&partnerID=40&md5=4ea4260b44e2a18117914c16b49dd140",,,,,,"21",,"Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics",,"385

Thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence properties of nanocrystalline Er3+ and Yb3+ doped Y3Al 5O12 exposed to β-rays

The thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) characterization of Er3+ and Yb3+ doped Y 3Al5O12 nanocrystalline samples prepared by the precipitation process and exposed to β-rays are discussed. The TL as well as the OSL were two orders of magnitude higher in Er3+ doped than in Yb3+ specimens. The charge trapping and the radiative thermally stimulated recombination processes in Y3Al5O12 : Er3+ involve four trapping states at 166, 243, 342 and 424 °C, but just two trapping levels at 219 and 413 °C for Y3Al 5O12 : Yb3+ at a heating rate of 10 °C s-1. The photostimulation with 470 nm light causes in both phosphors a radiative recombination of the optically free charge carriers belonging to the same trapping states. The TL and the OSL as a function of radiation dose behaviour were linear in the 10-100 Gy dose range. The results provide evidence of the potential uses of these materials in radiation storage and dosimeter devices. © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd

Thermoluminescence properties of undoped and Tb3+ and Ce3+ doped YAG nanophosphor under UV-, X- and β-ray irradiation

The thermoluminescence (TL) properties of undoped, Ce3+ and Tb3+ doped Y3Al5O12 (YAG) nanocrystals under UV-, X- and β-rays irradiation is reported. The TL signal of undoped and doped samples indicates a high sensitivity to UV-, X- and β-ray irradiation. The introduction of the doping ions induces changes in the trapping processes and the TL efficiency. The results show that both undoped and doped YAG nanocrystalline phosphor present good TL efficiency as well as good dose response which qualify them as a potential UV-, X- and β-ray dosimeter. A linear response under X-ray irradiation is observed for low doses level in the 0.02-1.02 μGy range and for relatively high doses level of β-ray irradiation in the range from 10 to 600 Gy. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved