A meteorological overview of the ARCTAS 2008 mission

The <i>A</i>rctic <i>R</i>esearch of the <i>C</i>omposition of the <i>T</i>roposphere from <i>A</i>ircraft and <i>S</i>atellites (ARCTAS) mission was a multi-aircraft project whose major objective was to investigate the factors driving changes in the Arctic's atmospheric composition and climate. It was conducted during April and June–July 2008. The summer ARCTAS deployment was preceded by a week of flights over and around California to address state issues of air quality and climate forcing. This paper focuses on meteorological conditions during the ARCTAS Spring and Summer campaigns. We examine mission averaged large-scale flow patterns at the surface, 500 hPa, and 300 hPa and determine their departures from climatology. Results from runs of the <i>W</i>eather <i>R</i>esearch and <i>F</i>orecasting (WRF) model are used to describe meteorological conditions on individual days. Our WRF configuration included a nested grid approach that provided horizontal spacing as small as 5 km. Trajectories calculated from the WRF output are used to determine transport pathways to the Arctic, including their origins and the altitudes at which they reach 70° N. We also present backward trajectories from selected legs of individual ARCTAS flights. Finally, the FLEXPART Lagrangian particle dispersion model, with the high resolution WRF data as input, is used to determine the paths of anthropogenic and biomass burning-derived CO. Results show that there was frequent and widespread transport to the Arctic during both phases of ARCTAS and that the three ARCTAS aircraft sampled air having a multitude of origins, following a myriad of paths, and experiencing many types of meteorological conditions

A Method for Determining Offtracking of Multiple Unit Vehicle Combinations

The required road width around curves on forest roads is largely determined by the difference in wheel paths between the inside front tractor wheel and the inside rear trailer wheel. This difference, known as offtracking, is a function of the vehicle and road geometry. This paper presents a method for determining the offtracking of fixed and variable length multiple unit vehicle combinations travelling over forest roads. The computational method numerically integrates the differential equations which compute the path (tractrix) that the rear of a vehicle follows from a given steering curve. A unique three-point solution method is used to determine the instantaneous center of rotation for trailers in the vehicle combination. The method is shown to have good agreement with experimental data. It is suitable for use on microcomputers for single and multiple curves. A microcomputer program, OFFTRACK, was developed using this methodology

Neocarchean carbonate-associated sulfate records positive Δ^(33)S anomalies

Mass-independent fractionation of sulfur isotopes (reported as Δ^(33S) recorded in Archean sedimentary rocks helps to constrain the composition of Earth’s early atmosphere and the timing of the rise of oxygen ~2.4 billion years ago. Although current hypotheses predict uniformly negative Δ^(33)S for Archean seawater sulfate, this remains untested through the vast majority of Archean time.We applied x-ray absorption spectroscopy to investigate the low sulfate content of particularly well-preserved Neoarchean carbonates and mass spectrometry to measure their Δ^(33)S signatures. We report unexpected, large, widespread positive Δ^(33)S values from stratigraphic sections capturing over 70 million years and diverse depositional environments. Combined with the pyrite record, these results show that sulfate does not carry the expected negative Δ^(33)S from sulfur mass-independent fractionation in the Neoarchean atmosphere

Sedimentary pyrite δ^(34)S differs from porewater sulfide in Santa Barbara Basin: proposed role of organic sulfur

Santa Barbara Basin sediments host a complex network of abiotic and metabolic chemical reactions that knit together the carbon, sulfur, and iron cycles. From a 2.1-m sediment core collected in the center of the basin, we present high-resolution profiles of the concentrations and isotopic compositions of all the major species in this system: sulfate, sulfide (∑H_2S), elemental sulfur (S^0), pyrite, extractable organic sulfur (OS), proto-kerogen S, total organic and dissolved inorganic carbon, and total and reducible iron. Below 10 cm depth, the core is characterized by low apparent sulfate reduction rates (<0.01 mM/yr) except near the sulfate-methane transition zone. Surprisingly, pyrite forming in shallow sediments is ∼30‰ more ^(34)S-depleted than coexisting ∑H_2S in porewater. S^0 has the same strongly ^(34)S-depleted composition as pyrite where it forms near the sediment–water interface, though not at depth. This pattern is not easily explained by conventional hypotheses in which sedimentary pyrite derives from abiotic reactions with porewater ∑H_2S or from the products of S^0 disproportionation. Instead, we propose that pyrite formation in this environment occurs within sulfate reducing microbial aggregates or biofilms, where it reflects the isotopic composition of the immediate products of bacterial sulfate reduction. Porewater ∑H_2S in Santa Barbara Basin may be more ^(34)S-enriched than pyrite due to equilibration with relatively ^(34)S-enriched OS. The difference between OS and pyrite δ^(34)S values would then reflect the balance between microbial sulfide formation and the abundance of exchangeable OS. Both OS and pyrite δ34S records thus have the potential to provide valuable information about biogeochemical cycles and redox structure in sedimentary paleoenvironments

Three dimensional modeling via photographs for documentation of a village bath

24th International CIPA Symposium; Strasbourg; France; 2 September 2013 through 6 September 2013The aim of this study is supporting the conceptual discussions of architectural restoration with three dimensional modeling of monuments based on photogrammetric survey. In this study, a 16th century village bath in Ulamiş, Seferihisar, and Izmir is modeled for documentation. Ulamiş is one of the historical villages within which Turkish population first settled in the region of Seferihisar - Urla. The methodology was tested on an antique monument; a bath with a cubical form. Within the limits of this study, only the exterior of the bath was modeled. The presentation scale for the bath was determined as 1 / 50, considering the necessities of designing structural interventions and architectural ones within the scope of a restoration project. The three dimensional model produced is a realistic document presenting the present situation of the ruin. Traditional plan, elevation and perspective drawings may be produced from the model, in addition to the realistic textured renderings and wireframe representations. The model developed in this study provides opportunity for presenting photorealistic details of historical morphologies in scale. Compared to conventional drawings, the renders based on the 3d models provide an opportunity for conceiving architectural details such as color, material and texture. From these documents, relatively more detailed restitution hypothesis can be developed and intervention decisions can be taken. Finally, the principles derived from the case study can be used for 3d documentation of historical structures with irregular surfaces

Verifying Heap-Manipulating Programs with Unknown Procedure Calls

10.1007/978-3-642-16901-4_13Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)6447 LNCS171-18

Doppler Lidar System Design via Interdisciplinary Design Concept at NASA Langley Research Center - Part III

Optimized designs of the Navigation Doppler Lidar (NDL) instrument for Autonomous Landing Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) were accomplished via Interdisciplinary Design Concept (IDEC) at NASA Langley Research Center during the summer of 2013. Three branches in the Engineering Directorate and three students were involved in this joint task through the NASA Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars (LARSS) Program. The Laser Remote Sensing Branch (LRSB), Mechanical Systems Branch (MSB), and Structural and Thermal Systems Branch (STSB) were engaged to achieve optimal designs through iterative and interactive collaborative design processes. A preliminary design iteration was able to reduce the power consumption, mass, and footprint by removing redundant components and replacing inefficient components with more efficient ones. A second design iteration reduced volume and mass by replacing bulky components with excessive performance with smaller components custom-designed for the power system. The existing power system was analyzed to rank components in terms of inefficiency, power dissipation, footprint and mass. Design considerations and priorities are compared along with the results of each design iteration. Overall power system improvements are summarized for design implementations

Probing the Subcellular Localization of Hopanoid Lipids in Bacteria Using NanoSIMS

The organization of lipids within biological membranes is poorly understood. Some studies have suggested lipids group into microdomains within cells, but the evidence remains controversial due to non-native imaging techniques. A recently developed NanoSIMS technique indicated that sphingolipids group into microdomains within membranes of human fibroblast cells. We extended this NanoSIMS approach to study the localization of hopanoid lipids in bacterial cells by developing a stable isotope labeling method to directly detect subcellular localization of specific lipids in bacteria with ca. 60 nm resolution. Because of the relatively small size of bacterial cells and the relative abundance of hopanoid lipids in membranes, we employed a primary ^2H-label to maximize our limit of detection. This approach permitted the analysis of multiple stable isotope labels within the same sample, enabling visualization of subcellular lipid microdomains within different cell types using a secondary label to mark the growing end of the cell. Using this technique, we demonstrate subcellular localization of hopanoid lipids within alpha-proteobacterial and cyanobacterial cells. Further, we provide evidence of hopanoid lipid domains in between cells of the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme. More broadly, our method provides a means to image lipid microdomains in a wide range of cell types and test hypotheses for their functions in membranes

Sulfur isotopic composition of individual organic compounds from Cariaco Basin sediments

Reactions between reduced inorganic sulfur and organic compounds are thought to be important for the preservation of organic matter (OM) in sediments, but the sulfurization process is poorly understood. Sulfur isotopes are potentially useful tracers of sulfurization reactions, which often occur in the presence of a strong porewater isotopic gradient driven by microbial sulfate reduction. Prior studies of bulk sedimentary OM indicate that sulfurized products are ^(34)S-enriched relative to coexisting sulfide, and experiments have produced ^(34)S-enriched organosulfur compounds. However, analytical limitations have prevented the relationship from being tested at the molecular level in natural environments. Here we apply a new method, coupled gas chromatography – inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, to measure the compound-specific sulfur isotopic compositions of volatile organosulfur compounds over a 6 m core of anoxic Cariaco Basin sediments. In contrast to current conceptual models, nearly all extractable organosulfur compounds were substantially depleted in ^(34)S relative to coexisting kerogen and porewater sulfide. We hypothesize that this ^(34)S depletion is due to a normal kinetic isotope effect during the initial formation of a carbon-sulfur bond and that the source of sulfur in this relatively irreversible reaction is most likely the bisulfide anion in sedimentary pore water. The ^(34)S-depleted products of irreversible bisulfide addition alone cannot explain the isotopic composition of total extractable or residual OM. Therefore, at least two different sulfurization pathways must operate in the Cariaco Basin, generating isotopically distinct products. Compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis thus provides new insights into the timescales and mechanisms of OM sulfurization