Research to determine cloud and synoptic parameters associated with clear air turbulence Interim report

Clear air turbulence in stratosphere and tropospher

Role of internal gases and creep of Ag in controlling the critical current density of Ag-sheathed Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox wires

High engineering critical current density JE of >500 A/mm2 at 20 T and 4.2 K can be regularly achieved in Ag-sheathed multifilamentary Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox (Bi-2212) round wire when the sample length is several centimeters. However, JE(20 T) in Bi-2212 wires of several meters length, as well as longer pieces wound in coils, rarely exceeds 200 A/mm2. Moreover, long-length wires often exhibit signs of Bi-2212 leakage after melt processing that are rarely found in short, open-end samples. We studied the length dependence of JE of state-of-the-art powder-in-tube (PIT) Bi-2212 wires and gases released by them during melt processing using mass spectroscopy, confirming that JE degradation with length is due to wire swelling produced by high internal gas pressures at elevated temperatures [1,2]. We further modeled the gas transport in Bi-2212 wires and examined the wire expansion at critical stages of the melt processing of as-drawn PIT wires and the wires that received a degassing treatment or a cold-densification treatment before melt processing. These investigations showed that internal gas pressure in long-length wires drives creep of the Ag sheath during the heat treatment, causing wire to expand, lowering the density of Bi-2212 filaments, and therefore degrading the wire JE; the creep rupture of silver sheath naturally leads to the leakage of Bi-2212 liquid. Our work shows that proper control of such creep is the key to preventing Bi-2212 leakage and achieving high JE in long-length Bi-2212 conductors and coils

Results from the CDMS II Experiment

I report recent results and the status of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory in Minnesota, USA. A blind analysis of data taken by 30 detectors between October 2006 and July 2007 found zero events consistent with WIMPs elastically scattering in our Ge detectors. This resulted in an upper limit on the spin-independent, WIMP-nucleon cross section of 6.6 x 10^-44 cm^2 (4.6 x 10^-44 cm^2 when combined with our previous results) at the 90% C.L. for a WIMP of mass 60 GeV/c^2. In March 2009 data taking with CDMS II stopped in order to install the first of 5 SuperTowers of detectors for the SuperCDMS Soudan project. Analysis of data taken between August 2007 and March 2009 is ongoing.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the TAUP09 conference (Rome, July 1st-5th 2009

Remedies of Illegal Taxation

Taxation is to a nation what the circulation of the blood is to he individual; absolutely essential to life. In ordinary times it is the chief burden which government imposes upon the people, and is likely, therefore, to be the greatest source of discontent. This renders it of the utmost importance that taxation should as nearly as possible be just, and also that it should appear to those who pay it to be just. Absolute justice, however, is unattainable

Monolithic microwave integrated circuit water vapor radiometer

A proof of concept Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) Water Vapor Radiometer (WVR) is under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). WVR's are used to remotely sense water vapor and cloud liquid water in the atmosphere and are valuable for meteorological applications as well as for determination of signal path delays due to water vapor in the atmosphere. The high cost and large size of existing WVR instruments motivate the development of miniature MMIC WVR's, which have great potential for low cost mass production. The miniaturization of WVR components allows large scale deployment of WVR's for Earth environment and meteorological applications. Small WVR's can also result in improved thermal stability, resulting in improved calibration stability. Described here is the design and fabrication of a 31.4 GHz MMIC radiometer as one channel of a thermally stable WVR as a means of assessing MMIC technology feasibility

Addressing ocean acidification as part of sustainable ocean development

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Brill for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ocean Yearbook 27, edited by Aldo Chircop, Scott Coffen-Smout, and Moira McConnell, :29-46. Leiden: Brill (Martinus Nijhoff), 2013. ISBN: 9789004250451.Many of the declarations and outcome documents from prior United Nations international meetings address ocean issues such as fishing, pollution, and climate change, but they do not address ocean acidification. This progressive alteration of seawater chemistry caused by uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is an emerging issue of concern that has potential consequences for marine ecosystems and the humans that depend on them. Addressing ocean acidification will require mitigation of global CO2 emissions at the international level accompanied by regional marine resource use adaptations that reduce the integrated pressure on marine ecosystems while the global community works towards implementing permanent CO2 emissions reductions. Addressing ocean acidification head-on is necessary because it poses a direct challenge to sustainable development targets such as the Millennium Development Goals, and it cannot be addressed adequately with accords or geoengineering plans that do not specifically decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Here, we will briefly review the current state of ocean acidification knowledge and identify several mitigation and adaptation strategies that should be considered along with reductions in CO2 emissions to reduce the near-term impacts of ocean acidification. Our goal is to present potential options while identifying some of their inherent weaknesses to inform decisionmaking discussions, rather than to recommend adoption of specific policies. While the reduction of CO2 emissions should be the number one goal of the international community, it is unlikely that the widespread changes and infrastructure redevelopment necessary to accomplish this will be achieved soon, before ocean acidification’s short-term impacts become significant. Therefore, a multi-faceted approach must be employed to address this growing problem