Remote Sensing Of Thermally Induced Activity On Io And Mars

My dissertation details the work I have done related to remote sensing of thermal activityon Io and thermal remote sensing used in the search for oases on Mars. At Io, I studiedtwo volcanoes, Tvashtar and Prometheus and their thermal activity. At Mars, I investigatedsuggestions of a possible oasis in one of the youngest volcanic regions, Cerberus Fossaeand nearby areas of SE Elysium.Tvashtar was the site of the first high-spatial-resolution observation of an extraterrestriallava curtain. The Tvashtar complex was also the site of a large, confined eruption a fewmonths after the fissure eruption. I discuss the work involved in estimating the brightnesstemperatures and power output of both eruptions as seen by the Galileo SSI. I also discusscooling and eruption-style models and their application to Tvashtar. In every geometricallycorrect observation of Prometheus, we have seen a 100 km tall SO2 gas and dust plumeabove its flow field. This plume and field migrated ~80 km between the Voyager and Galileo eras. I describe the work I performed in modeling the plume's creation as lava-volatileinteractions at the flow fronts.My Mars research entailed the search for thermal systems and constraints on nearsurfacewater ice in an equatorial region that contains some of the youngest lava flows onMars. This region, SE Elysium, also shows evidence of contemporaneous water and lava. Life as we know it requires a source of energy and liquid water, so a geologically youngregion containing both water and energy is an obvious place to study. I show, however, thatthe recent suggestions of extant near-surface water ice and possible endogenic energy escapeare not necessary, and that the thermal imaging of the region requires rock rather thanwater ice near the surface. I also show that the current instruments at Mars are insufficientfor the remote discovery of thermal reservoirs and then discuss some possible remedies

The History of Eruptions at Acala Fluctus, Io: Source of Multiple Outbursts

Recent ground-based Infrared Telescope Facility observations showed that a hot spot observed at the location of the surface feature Acala Fluctus was volcanically active for ∼18 months in 2019–2020 and exhibited two outbursts with a temperature of ∼1200 K. A high-temperature hot spot at Acala was also observed by Galileo SSI in the late 1990s over multiple flybys. Low-temperature hot spots in this area were detected in 2000 by the Galileo Photopolarimeter Radiometer and in 1979 by Voyager IRIS. However, neither the Galileo NIMS instrument nor any instrument on the New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Io in 2007, saw any evidence of an Acala hot spot. It is also possible that earlier ground-based disk-integrated observations of hot spots are due to Acala, even though they were originally attributed to other volcanoes, such as Loki. These include outbursts in 1978 and 1990 and a persistent low-temperature source in the 1980 and 1990s. From these observations, we propose that Acala consists of highly variable high-temperature fire fountains and a large area of low-temperature, older flows. Due to these recent outbursts, we expect that any images of Acala obtained by JunoCam will show surface changes from Galileo images

No to NOSA, yes to mainstream licenses

The NASA Open Source Agreement (NOSA) has limitations and should not be used as a one-size-fits-all open source license for NASA-produced software, and should not be considered the default license to apply to NASA-produced software. Instead, the recommendations regarding software licenses advanced at the 2011 NASA Open Source Summit should be followed

Antibody response to common viruses and human leukocyte antigen-DRB1 in pediatric multiple sclerosis

BackgroundAs remote infections with common herpes viruses are associated with modulation of the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), we hypothesized that antibody concentrations against these viruses may further modify risk. As many common viruses are first encountered during childhood, pediatric MS offer a unique opportunity to investigate more closely their influence on susceptibility. Our aim was to determine if MS patients who were positive for these viruses had higher levels of antibodies to these viruses. We also assessed whether human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1*1501 genotype influenced viral antibody levels.MethodsAntibody response levels toward Epstein Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1, and HLA-DRB1*1501 status were determined in pediatric MS patients (n=189) and controls (n=38). Multivariate analyses were used, adjusted for age, gender, race, ethnicity and use of disease-modifying therapies.ResultsThe antibody concentrations against EBV (Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1), viral capsid antigen (VCA) and early antigen (EA)), CMV and HSV-1 were similar between pediatric MS patients and controls positive for seroconversion against the virus of interest. EBNA-1 humoral responses were higher in HLA-DRB1 positive individuals (p=0.005) whereas other viral humoral responses were similar in HLA-DRB1 positive and negative individuals.ConclusionAmong those positive for EBNA-1, MS patients did not have higher levels of antibody response to EBNA-1: however, titers for EBNA-1 were higher in those who were HLA-DRB1 positive. This suggests that genotype might influence the humoral response to EBV. Whether other genotypes influence antibody response to other viruses remains to be determined