349 research outputs found
FPGA Coprocessor Design for an Onboard Multi-Angle Spectro-Polarimetric Imager
A multi-angle spectro-polarimetric imager (MSPI) is an advanced camera system currently under development at JPL for possible future consideration on a satellite-based Aerosol-Cloud-Environ - ment (ACE) interaction study. The light in the optical system is subjected to a complex modulation designed to make the overall system robust against many instrumental artifacts that have plagued such measurements in the past. This scheme involves two photoelastic modulators that are beating in a carefully selected pattern against each other. In order to properly sample this modulation pattern, each of the proposed nine cameras in the system needs to read out its imager array about 1,000 times per second. The onboard processing required to compress this data involves least-squares fits (LSFs) of Bessel functions to data from every pixel in realtime, thus requiring an onboard computing system with advanced data processing capabilities in excess of those commonly available for space flight. As a potential solution to meet the MSPI onboard processing requirements, an LSF algorithm was developed on the Xilinx Virtex-4FX60 field programmable gate array (FPGA). In addition to configurable hardware capability, this FPGA includes Power -PC405 microprocessors, which together enable a combination hardware/ software processing system. A laboratory demonstration was carried out based on a hardware/ software co-designed processing architecture that includes hardware-based data collection and least-squares fitting (computationally), and softwarebased transcendental function computation (algorithmically complex) on the FPGA. Initial results showed that these calculations can be handled using a combination of the Virtex- 4TM Power-PC core and the hardware fabric
FPGA Coprocessor for Accelerated Classification of Images
An effort related to that described in the preceding article focuses on developing a spaceborne processing platform for fast and accurate onboard classification of image data, a critical part of modern satellite image processing. The approach again has been to exploit the versatility of recently developed hybrid Virtex-4FX field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to run diverse science applications on embedded processors while taking advantage of the reconfigurable hardware resources of the FPGAs. In this case, the FPGA serves as a coprocessor that implements legacy C-language support-vector-machine (SVM) image-classification algorithms to detect and identify natural phenomena such as flooding, volcanic eruptions, and sea-ice break-up. The FPGA provides hardware acceleration for increased onboard processing capability than previously demonstrated in software. The original C-language program demonstrated on an imaging instrument aboard the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite implements a linear-kernel SVM algorithm for classifying parts of the images as snow, water, ice, land, or cloud or unclassified. Current onboard processors, such as on EO-1, have limited computing power, extremely limited active storage capability and are no longer considered state-of-the-art. Using commercially available software that translates C-language programs into hardware description language (HDL) files, the legacy C-language program, and two newly formulated programs for a more capable expanded-linear-kernel and a more accurate polynomial-kernel SVM algorithm, have been implemented in the Virtex-4FX FPGA. In tests, the FPGA implementations have exhibited significant speedups over conventional software implementations running on general-purpose hardware
Sainfoin – New Data on Anthelmintic Effects and Production in Sheep and Goats
Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) are one of the most important problems affecting health and therefore performance and welfare in small ruminant husbandry. The control of these parasites in the past strongly relied on the repeated use of anthelmintic drugs. This has led to nematode populations which are resistant to most of the currently available anthelmintics. Furthermore customer’s demands for organic and residue free animal products are increasing. The aforementioned problems have given a strong impetus for the development of new non-chemical strategies to control GIN. Previous research has pointed out the anthelmintic potential of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) and other tanniferous (CT) feed sources in goats and lambs infected with GIN. A recent Swiss experiment focussed on the use of sainfoin and field bean (Vicia faba, cv. Scirocco) as single CT sources as well as in combination for additional synergic effects, to reduce periparturient GIN egg rise of ewes in late gestation and early lactation. Another experiment with Alpine goats concentrated on the influence of sainfoin on milk performance and cheese quality. The results of these experiments will be presented and discussed in connection with previous knowledge on (i) anthelmintic effects of sainfoin and (ii) the influence of sainfoin administration on performance
Absence of seasonal patterns in MBT-CBT indices in mid-latitude soils
The degree of methylation and cyclization of bacteria-derived branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) membrane lipids in soils depends on temperature and soil pH. Expressed in the methylation index of branched tetraethers (MBT) and cyclization ratio of branched tetraethers (CBT), these relationships are used to reconstruct past annual mean air temperature (MAT) based on the distribution of branched GDGTs in ancient sediments; the MBT-CBT proxy. Although it was shown that the best correlation of this proxy is with annual MAT, it remains unknown whether a seasonal bias in temperature reconstructions could occur, such as towards a seasonal period of optimal growth’ of the, as yet, unidentified soil bacteria which produce branched GDGTs. To investigate this possibility, soils were sampled from eight different plots in the USA (Minnesota and Ohio), The Netherlands (Texel) and the UK (Devon) in time series over 1 year and analyzed for their branched GDGT content. Further analyses of the branched GDGTs present as core lipids (CLs; the presumed fossil pool) and intact polar lipids (IPLs; the presumed extant pool) were undertaken for two of the investigated soil plots. The amount of IPL-derived branched GDGTs is low relative to the branched GDGT CLs, i.e. only 6–9% of the total branched GDGT pool.In all soils, no clear change was apparent in the distribution of branched GDGT lipids (either core or IPL-derived) with seasonal temperature change; the MBT–CBT temperature proxy gave similar temperature estimates year-round, which generally matched the mean annual soil temperature. In addition to a lack of coherent changes in relative distributions, concentrations of the branched GDGTs did not show clear changes over the seasons. For IPL-derived GDGTs these results suggest that their turnover time in soils is in the order of 1 year or more. Thus, our study does not provide evidence for seasonal effects on the distribution of branched GDGTs in soils, at least at mid-latitudes, and therefore, no direct evidence for a bias of MBT–CBT reconstructed temperatures towards a certain season of optimal growth of the source bacteria. If, however, there is a slight seasonal preference of branched GDGT production, which can easily be obscured by natural variability due to the heterogeneity of soils, then a seasonal bias may potentially still develop over time due to the long turnover time of branched GDGTs
Fast Numerical simulations of 2D turbulence using a dynamic model for Subgrid Motions
We present numerical simulation of 2D turbulent flow using a new model for
the subgrid scales which are computed using a dynamic equation linking the
subgrid scales with the resolved velocity. This equation is not postulated, but
derived from the constitutive equations under the assumption that the
non-linear interactions of subgrid scales between themselves are equivalent to
a turbulent viscosity.The performances of our model are compared with Direct
Numerical Simulations of decaying and forced turbulence. For a same resolution,
numerical simulations using our model allow for a significant reduction of the
computational time (of the order of 100 in the case we consider), and allow the
achievement of significantly larger Reynolds number than the direct method.Comment: 35 pages, 9 figure
The energy budget in Rayleigh-Benard convection
It is shown using three series of Rayleigh number simulations of varying
aspect ratio AR and Prandtl number Pr that the normalized dissipation at the
wall, while significantly greater than 1, approaches a constant dependent upon
AR and Pr. It is also found that the peak velocity, not the mean square
velocity, obeys the experimental scaling of Ra^{0.5}. The scaling of the mean
square velocity is closer to Ra^{0.46}, which is shown to be consistent with
experimental measurements and the numerical results for the scaling of Nu and
the temperature if there are strong correlations between the velocity and
temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, new version 13 Mar, 200
Forced Stratified Turbulence: Successive Transitions with Reynolds Number
Numerical simulations are made for forced turbulence at a sequence of
increasing values of Reynolds number, R, keeping fixed a strongly stable,
volume-mean density stratification. At smaller values of R, the turbulent
velocity is mainly horizontal, and the momentum balance is approximately
cyclostrophic and hydrostatic. This is a regime dominated by so-called pancake
vortices, with only a weak excitation of internal gravity waves and large
values of the local Richardson number, Ri, everywhere. At higher values of R
there are successive transitions to (a) overturning motions with local
reversals in the density stratification and small or negative values of Ri; (b)
growth of a horizontally uniform vertical shear flow component; and (c) growth
of a large-scale vertical flow component. Throughout these transitions, pancake
vortices continue to dominate the large-scale part of the turbulence, and the
gravity wave component remains weak except at small scales.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures (submitted to Phys. Rev. E
Calibrating the Mixing Length Parameter for a Red Giant Envelope
Two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations were made to calibrate the mixing
length parameter for modeling red giant's convective envelope. As was briefly
reported in Asida & Tuchman (97), a comparison of simulations starting with
models integrated with different values of the mixing length parameter, has
been made. In this paper more results are presented, including tests of the
spatial resolution and Large Eddy Simulation terms used by the numerical code.
The consistent value of the mixing length parameter was found to be 1.4, for a
red giant of mass 1.2 solar-mass, core mass of 0.96 solar-mass, luminosity of
200 solar-luminosities, and metallicity Z=0.001.Comment: 18 pages, 1 table, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap.
Entropy production and Lyapunov instability at the onset of turbulent convection
Computer simulations of a compressible fluid, convecting heat in two
dimensions, suggest that, within a range of Rayleigh numbers, two distinctly
different, but stable, time-dependent flow morphologies are possible. The
simpler of the flows has two characteristic frequencies: the rotation frequency
of the convecting rolls, and the vertical oscillation frequency of the rolls.
Observables, such as the heat flux, have a simple-periodic (harmonic) time
dependence. The more complex flow has at least one additional characteristic
frequency -- the horizontal frequency of the cold, downward- and the warm,
upward-flowing plumes. Observables of this latter flow have a broadband
frequency distribution. The two flow morphologies, at the same Rayleigh number,
have different rates of entropy production and different Lyapunov exponents.
The simpler "harmonic" flow transports more heat (produces entropy at a greater
rate), whereas the more complex "chaotic" flow has a larger maximum Lyapunov
exponent (corresponding to a larger rate of phase-space information loss). A
linear combination of these two rates is invariant for the two flow
morphologies over the entire range of Rayleigh numbers for which the flows
coexist, suggesting a relation between the two rates near the onset of
convective turbulence.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Global effects of local sound-speed perturbations in the Sun: A theoretical study
We study the effect of localized sound-speed perturbations on global mode
frequencies by applying techniques of global helioseismology on numerical
simulations of the solar acoustic wave field. Extending the method of
realization noise subtraction (e.g. Hanasoge et al. 2007) to global modes and
exploiting the luxury of full spherical coverage, we are able to achieve very
highly resolved frequency differences that are used to study sensitivities and
the signatures of the thermal asphericities. We find that (1) global modes are
almost twice as sensitive to sound-speed perturbations at the bottom of the
convection zone as in comparison to anomalies well in the radiative interior
(), (2) the -degeneracy is lifted ever so slightly,
as seen in the coefficients, and (3) modes that propagate in the vicinity
of the perturbations show small amplitude shifts ().Comment: Submitted to Solar Physic
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