2,105 research outputs found
High resolution vertical profiles of wind, temperature and humidity obtained by computer processing and digital filtering of radiosonde and radar tracking data from the ITCZ experiment of 1977
Results are presented from computer processing and digital filtering of radiosonde and radar tracking data obtained during the ITCZ experiment when coordinated measurements were taken daily over a 16 day period across the Panama Canal Zone. The temperature relative humidity and wind velocity profiles are discussed
Protocol Requirements for Self-organizing Artifacts: Towards an Ambient Intelligence
We discuss which properties common-use artifacts should have to collaborate
without human intervention. We conceive how devices, such as mobile phones,
PDAs, and home appliances, could be seamlessly integrated to provide an
"ambient intelligence" that responds to the user's desires without requiring
explicit programming or commands. While the hardware and software technology to
build such systems already exists, as yet there is no standard protocol that
can learn new meanings. We propose the first steps in the development of such a
protocol, which would need to be adaptive, extensible, and open to the
community, while promoting self-organization. We argue that devices,
interacting through "game-like" moves, can learn to agree about how to
communicate, with whom to cooperate, and how to delegate and coordinate
specialized tasks. Thus, they may evolve a distributed cognition or collective
intelligence capable of tackling complex tasks.Comment: To be presented at 5th International Conference on Complex System
Data analysis and archival
The purpose of this task is the acquisition, distribution, archival, and analysis of data collected during and in support of the Upper Atmospheric Research Program (UARP) field experiments. Meteorological and U2 data from the 1984 Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange Project (STEP) was analyzed to determine characteristics of internal atmospheric waves. CDROM's containing data from the 1987 STEP, 1987 Airborne Antarctic Ozone Expedition (AAOE), and the 1989 Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE) were produced for archival and distribution of those data sets. The AASE CDROM contains preliminary data and a final release is planned for February 1990. Comparisons of data from the NASA ER-2 Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) with radar tracking and radiosonde data show good agreement. Planning for a Meteorological Support Facility continues. We are investigating existing and proposed hardware and software to receive, manipulate, and display satellite imagery and standard meteorological analyses, forecasts, and radiosonde data
Development of an Accelerated Test Design for Predicting the Service Life of the Solar Array at Mead, Nebraska
Potential long-term degradation modes for the two types of modules in the Mead array were determined and judgments were made as to those environmental stresses and combinations of stresses which accelerate the degradation of the power output. Hierarchical trees representing the severity of effects of stresses (test conditions) on eleven individual degradation modes were constructed and were pruned of tests judged to be nonessential. Composites of those trees were developed so that there is now one pruned tree covering eight degradation modes, another covering two degradation modes, and a third covering one degradation mode. These three composite trees form the basis for selection of test conditions in the final test plan which is now being prepared
Computer recommendations for an automatic approach and landing system for V/STOL aircraft. Volume 1 - Computer recommendations
Evaluation of digital computer for V/STOL aircraft automatic approach and landing syste
Computer recommendations for an automatic approach and landing system for V/STOL aircraft. Volume 2 - Equations
Automatic approach and landing system for V/STOL aircraf
An atlas of objectively analyzed atmospheric cross sections, 1973-1980
Atmospheric variability over time scales greater than one month is conceptually simplified and readily recognized from vertical cross-sections of zonal-monthly mean data. The reduction to two dimensions, latitude and height, explicitly eliminates all zonal waves but implicity retains their effects on the thermal-pressure fields and the dynamically related zonal wind fields. This atlas contains 96 examples, spanning all latitudes in both the northern and southern hemispheres and two decades in pressure, from 1000 to 10 mb. Four analyses, representing each month from January 1973 through December 1980, depicts the potential virtual temperature, the observed zonal wind velocity, the virtual temperature and the geostrophic zonal wind velocity. Each variable is contoured at a close interval to facilitate visual estimates of stability and vorticity via their gradients. The analyses are generated and contoured by objective computer methods from just one data source: in situ measurements from the conventional rawin-radiosonde system. Although the analyses are independently made at constant pressure levels (the mandatory levels) the cross-sections are drawn with geopotential height as the ordinate. With this ordinate one can observe the seasonal expansion and contraction of the earth's atmosphere, especially that of the polar stratosphere. Also, the quasi-biannual cycle can be identified and studied directly from successive cross-sections
Incidence of digital papillomatosis ("hairy warts") in a dairy herd. Response to surgery and autogenous vaccination
Digital papillomatosis (hairy warts) was
diagnosed in a dairy herd with a high level
of lameness (20%). Warts ranged from
mild to moderate to severe, with severity
increasing with length of lactations. All
milking cows (100%) had at least mild
lesions. Cows with severe lesions were
more likely to be lame. Severity of lesions
had no influence on 305-day ME milk production,
days open, or somatic cell counts.
Cows in milk more than 150 days and lame
produced 3 kg less milk per day than cows
that were not lame. Almost all warts were
in the interdigital cleft near the heel of the
rear feet. A few cows had lesions in the
front of the interdigital cleft or on the front
feet. No viral particles were observed or
isolated. A new, Gram-negative, motile,
facultatively anaerobic, spiral-shaped bacteria
was isolated from one lesion. The
cellular fatty acid profile of this bacterium
had no match to any other known bacteria
in any of three computer databases examined.
Cows with severe lesions were assigned
randomly to one of four groups: Group 1:
surgical removal and autogenous vaccination;
Group 2: surgical removal only;
Group 3: autogenous vaccination only, and
Group 4: control. Neither surgical removal
nor autogenous vaccination had a significant
effect on wart severity, lameness, or
milk production when cows were
inspected 10 wk later. Contemporary
evaluation of 249 herdmates revealed a
substantial number of severely affected
cows naturally improved. Of 25 severely
affected herd contemporaries, only 8 were
severely affected 10 wk later. Evidently,
natural improvement of lesions is a common
phenomenon with “hairy warts.
The space shuttle launch vehicle aerodynamic verification challenges
The Space Shuttle aerodynamics and performance communities were challenged to verify the Space Shuttle vehicle (SSV) aerodynamics and system performance by flight measurements. Historically, launch vehicle flight test programs which faced these same challenges were unmanned instrumented flights of simple aerodynamically shaped vehicles. However, the manned SSV flight test program made these challenges more complex because of the unique aerodynamic configuration powered by the first man-rated solid rocket boosters (SRB). The analyses of flight data did not verify the aerodynamics or performance preflight predictions of the first flight of the Space Transportation System (STS-1). However, these analyses have defined the SSV aerodynamics and verified system performance. The aerodynamics community also was challenged to understand the discrepancy between the wind tunnel and flight defined aerodynamics. The preflight analysis challenges, the aerodynamic extraction challenges, and the postflight analyses challenges which led to the SSV system performance verification and which will lead to the verification of the operational ascent aerodynamics data base are presented
- …