The meteorological measurement system on the NASA ER-2 aircraft

A Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) was designed for the high-altitude ER-2 aircraft (NASA 706). Through dedicated instrumentation installed on the aircraft and repeated calibrations, the MMS provides accurate in situ measurements of free-stream pressure, temperature, and the wind vector. The MMS has participated in two major high-altitude scientific expeditions, the Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange Project (STEP) based in northern Australia and the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment (AAOE) based in southern Chile. Key MMS subsystems are described. The MMS consists of a dedicated inertial navigation system (INS), a randome differential pressure system, a data acquisition system, and air data instrumentation. The MMS incorporates a high-resolution INS (Litton LIN-72RH model), which is specially configured and is updated at 25 Hz. The differential pressure system, consisting of two sets of pressure ports and transducers, is installed in the ER-2 radome to provide sensitive measurements of the airflow angles (angle of attack and angle of sideslip). The data acquisition system was designed to meet aircraft requirements of compactness and light weight (2 cu ft 50 lb) and for MMS requirements to sample, control, process, and store 45 parameters (some redundant) at a sampling rate up to 10 Hz. The MMS data are stored both in a tape recorder (20 MB) and a hermatically-sealed winchester hard disc (10 MB). Special and redundant instrumentation for temperature and pressure measurements were also installed on the aircraft

The NASA-ER2 meteorological measurement system: Instrumentaion, calibration and intercomparison results

The NASA ER-2 aircraft is used as a platform for high altitude atmospheric missions. The Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) was designed specifically for atmospheric research to provide accurate, fast response, in situ measurements of pressure, temperature, and the three dimensional wind vector. The MMS consists of three subsystems: an air motion sensing system to measure the velocity of the air with respect to the aircraft, a high resolution Inertial Navigation System (INS) to measure the velocity of the aircraft with respect to the Earth, and a Data Acquisition System, to sample, process and record the measured quantities. Details of each of these systems are given. The location of the MMS instrumentation is illustrated. The calibration of the MMS is discussed and results on an intercomparison of MMS measurements, Vaisala radiosonde observation and radar tracking data are given. An illustration of the MMS measurement of vertical wind is given

Temperature and horizontal wind measurements on the ER-2 aircraft during the 1987 airborne Antarctic ozone experiment

The NASA ER-2 aircraft is equipped with special instrumentation to provide accurate in situ measurement of the atmospheric state variables during flight. The Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) on the ER-2 aircraft is described. Since the meteorological parameters (temperature, pressure, and wind vector) are extensively used by other ER-2 experimenters for data processing and interpretation, the accuracy and resolution of each of these parameters are assessed and discussed. During the 1987 Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment (AAOE) mission, the ER-2 aircraft was stationed at Punta Arenas, Chile (53 S, 72 W), and successfully flew over Antarctica on 12 occasions between August 17 and September 22, 1987. On each of the 12 flights, the ER-2 aircraft flight plan was to take off at approximately the same local time, fly southward at a near constant potential temperature surface, descend and ascend at the southernmost terminus at about 72 S over Antarctica and return northward at either the same or a different constant potential temperature surface. The measurements of the MMS experiment during the AAOE mission are presented. MMS data are organized to provide a composite view of the polar atmosphere, which is characterized by frigid temperatures and high zonal winds. Altitudinal variations of the temperature measurement (during takeoff/landing at Punta Arenas and during descent/ascent at the southern terminus) and latitudinal variations of the zonal wind (on near constant potential temperature surfaces) are emphasized and discussed

GNOSIS: the first instrument to use fibre Bragg gratings for OH suppression

GNOSIS is a prototype astrophotonic instrument that utilizes OH suppression fibres consisting of fibre Bragg gratings and photonic lanterns to suppress the 103 brightest atmospheric emission doublets between 1.47-1.7 microns. GNOSIS was commissioned at the 3.9-meter Anglo-Australian Telescope with the IRIS2 spectrograph to demonstrate the potential of OH suppression fibres, but may be potentially used with any telescope and spectrograph combination. Unlike previous atmospheric suppression techniques GNOSIS suppresses the lines before dispersion and in a manner that depends purely on wavelength. We present the instrument design and report the results of laboratory and on-sky tests from commissioning. While these tests demonstrated high throughput and excellent suppression of the skylines by the OH suppression fibres, surprisingly GNOSIS produced no significant reduction in the interline background and the sensitivity of GNOSIS and IRIS2 is about the same as IRIS2. It is unclear whether the lack of reduction in the interline background is due to physical sources or systematic errors as the observations are detector noise-dominated. OH suppression fibres could potentially impact ground-based astronomy at the level of adaptive optics or greater. However, until a clear reduction in the interline background and the corresponding increasing in sensitivity is demonstrated optimized OH suppression fibres paired with a fibre-fed spectrograph will at least provide a real benefits at low resolving powers.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, accepted to A

Variation in inbreeding rates across the range of Northern Spotted Owls (\u3ci\u3eStrix occidentalis caurina\u3c/i\u3e): Insights from over 30 years of monitoring data

Inbreeding has been difficult to quantify in wild populations because of incomplete parentage information. We applied and extended a recently developed framework for addressing this problem to infer inbreeding rates in Northern Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) across the Pacific Northwest, USA. Using pedigrees from 14,187 Northern Spotted Owls, we inferred inbreeding rates for 14 types of matings among relatives that produce pedigree inbreeding coefficients of F=0.25 or F=0.125. Inbreeding was most common in the Washington Cascades, where an estimated 15% of individuals are inbred. Inbreeding was lowest in western Oregon (3.5%) and northern California (2.7%), and intermediate for the Olympic Peninsula of Washington (6.1%). Estimates from the Olympic Peninsula were likely underestimates because of small sample sizes and the presence of few pedigrees capable of resolving inbreeding events. Most inbreeding resulted from matings between full siblings or half siblings, although a high rate of inbreeding from mother–son pairs was identified in the Olympic Peninsula. Geographic variation in inbreeding rates may reflect population declines and bottlenecks that have been detected in prior investigations. We show that there is strong selection against inbred birds. Only 3 of 44 inbred birds were later identified as parents (6.8%), whereas 2,823 of 10,380 birds that represented a comparable cross section of the data were later seen as reproducing parents (27.2%). Habitat loss and competition with Barred Owls (S. varia) remain primary threats to Northern Spotted Owls. However, given the negative consequences of inbreeding, Spotted Owl populations in Washington with suitable habitat and manageable numbers of Barred Owls may benefit from translocations of individuals from Oregon and California to introduce new genetic variation and reduce future inbreeding events. La endogamia ha sido dif´ıcil de cuantificar en las poblaciones silvestres debido a la falta de informaci ´on sobre los parentescos. Aplicamos y extendimos un marco conceptual recientemente desarrollado para encarar el problema de inferir las tasas de endogamia en Strix occidentalis caurina a trav´es del noroeste del Pac´ıfico, EEUU. Usando los pedigr´ıes provenientes de 14187 individuos, inferimos las tasas de endogamia para 14 tipos de apareamiento entre parientes que producen coeficientes de endogamia de pedigr´ı de F=0.25 o F=0.125. La endogamia fue ma´s com´un en las Cascadas de Washington, donde se estima que 15% de los individuos son endoga´micos. La endogamia fue menor en el oeste de Oreg´on (3.5%) y el norte de California (2.7%), e intermedia en la Pen´ınsula Ol´ımpica de Washington (6.1%). Las estimaciones de la Pen´ınsula Ol´ımpica fueron probablemente subestimadas debido a los peque ˜nos tama ˜nos de muestreo y a la presencia de pocos pedigr´ıes capaces de resolver los eventos de endogamia. La mayor´ıa de la endogamia result ´o de los apareamientos entre hermanos completos o medios hermanos, aunque se identific ´o una alta tasa de endogamia en parejas madre/hijo en la Pen´ınsula Ol´ımpica. La variaci ´on geogra´ fica en las tasas de endogamia puede reflejar disminuciones poblacionales y cuellos de botella que han sido detectados en investigaciones previas. Mostramos que hay una fuerte selecci ´on contra las aves endoga´micas. Solo tres de 44 aves endoga´micas fueron ma´s tarde identificadas como progenitores (6.8%), mientras que 2823 de 10380 aves que representaron una secci ´on transversal comparable de datos fueron vistas ma´s tarde como progenitores reproductivos (27.2%). La p´erdida de ha´bitat y la competencia con Strix varia sigue siendo la principal amenaza para S. o. caurina. Sin embargo, dadas las consecuencias negativas de la endogamia, las poblaciones de S. occidentalis en Washington con ha´bitat adecuado y n´umeros manejables de Strix varia pueden beneficiarse de traslocaciones de individuos de Oreg´on y California para introducir nueva variaci ´on gen´etica y reducir futuros eventos de endogamia

Shower Thoughts: Why Scientists Should Spend More Time in the Rain

Stormwater is a vital resource and dynamic driver of terrestrial ecosystem processes. However, processes controlling interactions during and shortly after storms are often poorly seen and poorly sensed when direct observations are substituted with technological ones. We discuss how human observations complement technological ones and the benefits of scientists spending more time in the storm. Human observation can reveal ephemeral storm-related phenomena such as biogeochemical hot moments, organismal responses, and sedimentary processes that can then be explored in greater resolution using sensors and virtual experiments. Storm-related phenomena trigger lasting, oversized impacts on hydrologic and biogeochemical processes, organismal traits or functions, and ecosystem services at all scales. We provide examples of phenomena in forests, across disciplines and scales, that have been overlooked in past research to inspire mindful, holistic observation of ecosystems during storms. We conclude that technological observations alone are insufficient to trace the process complexity and unpredictability of fleeting biogeochemical or ecological events without the shower thoughts produced by scientists\u27 human sensory and cognitive systems during storms

The past and future roles of competition and habitat in the range-wide occupancy dynamics of Northern Spotted Owls

Slow ecological processes challenge conservation. Short-term variability can obscure the importance of slower processes that may ultimately determine the state of a system. Furthermore, management actions with slow responses can be hard to justify. One response to slow processes is to explicitly concentrate analysis on state dynamics. Here, we focus on identifying drivers of Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) territorial occupancy dynamics across 11 study areas spanning their geographic range and forecasting response to potential management actions. Competition with Barred Owls (Strix varia) has increased Spotted Owl territory extinction probabilities across all study areas and driven recent declines in Spotted Owl populations. Without management intervention, the Northern Spotted Owl subspecies will be extirpated from parts of its current range within decades. In the short term, Barred Owl removal can be effective. Over longer time spans, however, maintaining or improving habitat conditions can help promote the persistence of northern spotted owl populations. In most study areas, habitat effects on expected Northern Spotted Owl territorial occupancy are actually greater than the effects of competition from Barred Owls. This study suggests how intensive management actions (removal of a competitor) with rapid results can complement a slower management action (i.e., promoting forest succession)

Bridging Alone: Religious Conservatism, Marital Homogamy, and Voluntary Association Membership

This study characterizes social insularity of religiously conservative American married couples by examining patterns of voluntary associationmembership. Constructing a dataset of 3938 marital dyads from the second wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, the author investigates whether conservative religious homogamy encourages membership in religious voluntary groups and discourages membership in secular voluntary groups. Results indicate that couples’ shared affiliation with conservative denominations, paired with beliefs in biblical authority and inerrancy, increases the likelihood of religious group membership for husbands and wives and reduces the likelihood of secular group membership for wives, but not for husbands. The social insularity of conservative religious groups appears to be reinforced by homogamy—particularly by wives who share faith with husbands

Charge separation relative to the reaction plane in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}= 2.76 TeV

Measurements of charge dependent azimuthal correlations with the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported for Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV. Two- and three-particle charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta| < 0.8$ are presented as a function of the collision centrality, particle separation in pseudo-rapidity, and transverse momentum. A clear signal compatible with a charge-dependent separation relative to the reaction plane is observed, which shows little or no collision energy dependence when compared to measurements at RHIC energies. This provides a new insight for understanding the nature of the charge dependent azimuthal correlations observed at RHIC and LHC energies.Comment: 12 pages, 3 captioned figures, authors from page 2 to 6, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/286