Digital Commons Network^™

James Van Allen And His Namesake Nasa Mission, D. N. Baker, V. C. Hoxie, A. Jaynes, A. Kale, S. G. Kanekal, X. Li, Geoffrey Reeves, Harlan E. Spence

Physics & Astronomy

Abstract

In many ways, James A. Van Allen defined and “invented” modern space research. His example showed the way for government-university partners to pursue basic research that also served important national and international goals. He was a tireless advocate for space exploration and for the role of space science in the spectrum of national priorities.

Imls Place Grant: Campus Journal Press Release, Place Project Group

PLACE Project

Campus Journal press release describing the PLACE (Position-based Location Archive Coordinate Explorer) project that is funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) library partnered with the UNH Earth Systems Research Center to develop a geospatial interface that is searchable by geospatial coordinates.

Unh Library Imls Place Grant News Announcement, Place Project Group

PLACE Project

UNH Library Website News announcement about the IMLS Grant for PLACE, November 7, 2014.

Science Goals And Overview Of The Radiation Belt Storm Probes (Rbsp) Energetic Particle, Composition, And Thermal Plasma (Ect) Suite On Nasa’S Van Allen Probes Mission, Harlan E. Spence, G. D. Reeves, D. N. Baker, J. B. Blake, M. Bolton, S. Bourdarie, A. A. Chan, S. G. Claudepierre, J. H. Clemmons, J. P. Cravens, S. R. Elkington, J. F. Fennell

Physics & Astronomy

The Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP)-Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma (ECT) suite contains an innovative complement of particle instruments to ensure the highest quality measurements ever made in the inner magnetosphere and radiation belts. The coordinated RBSP-ECT particle measurements, analyzed in combination with fields and waves observations and state-of-the-art theory and modeling, are necessary for understanding the acceleration, global distribution, and variability of radiation belt electrons and ions, key science objectives of NASA’s Living With a Star program and the Van Allen Probes mission. The RBSP-ECT suite consists of three highly-coordinated instruments: the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS), the …

The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (Mageis) Instruments Aboard The Radiation Belt Storm Probes (Rbsp) Spacecraft, J. B. Blake, P. A. Carranza, S. G. Claudepierre, J. H. Clemmons, W. R. Crain, Y. Dotan, J. F. Fennell, F. H. Fuentes, R. M. Galvan, J. S. George, M. G. Henderson, M. Lalic

Physics & Astronomy

This paper describes the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) instruments aboard the RBSP spacecraft from an instrumentation and engineering point of view. There are four magnetic spectrometers aboard each of the two spacecraft, one low-energy unit (20–240 keV), two medium-energy units (80–1200 keV), and a high-energy unit (800–4800 keV). The high unit also contains a proton telescope (55 keV–20 MeV). The magnetic spectrometers focus electrons within a selected energy pass band upon a focal plane of several silicon detectors where pulse-height analysis is used to determine if the energy of the incident electron is appropriate for the electron momentum selected …

Helium, Oxygen, Proton, And Electron (Hope) Mass Spectrometer For The Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission, H. O. Funsten, R. M. Skoug, A. A. Guthrie, E. A. Macdonald, J. R. Baldonado, R. W. Harper, K. C. Henderson, K. H. Kihara, J. E. Lake, B. A. Larsen, A. D. Puckett, V. J. Vigil, Harlan E. Spence

Physics & Astronomy

The HOPE mass spectrometer of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission (renamed the Van Allen Probes) is designed to measure the in situ plasma ion and electron fluxes over 4π sr at each RBSP spacecraft within the terrestrial radiation belts. The scientific goal is to understand the underlying physical processes that govern the radiation belt structure and dynamics. Spectral measurements for both ions and electrons are acquired over 1 eV to 50 keV in 36 log-spaced steps at an energy resolution ΔE FWHM/E≈15 %. The dominant ion species (H+, He+, and O+) of the magnetosphere are identified using foil-based …

Caratterizzazione Dell’Ambiente Marino Dei Campi Flegrei. Risultati Preliminari Della Campagna Oceanografica Ricamar 2013, M. Grassi, C. Carmisciano, L. Cocchi, L. Dialti, M. Filippone, Matteo Guideri, Roberta Ivaldi, Giuseppe Masetti, F. Muccini, M. Pratellesi, E. Ricci, Paolo Stefanelli

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The caldera of the Phlegraean Fields (also known as Campi Flegrei) is one of the most dangerous and populated volcanic area in the world, covering an area that comprises the western part of Naples and the Gulf of Pozzuoli. The main peculiarity of current volcanic activity is the gradual and periodic lift (positive or negative) of part of the Earth's surface (bradyseism) combined, only during the positive phase, with a strong sismicity and surficial hydrotermal activity. Deformative models, calibrated using land-based measurements, highlighted the Gulf of Pozzuoli as the area with the largest deformation. Although the network of monitoring sensors …

Alb Evaluation For Noaa Charting Requirements, Gretchen Imahori, Shachak Pe'eri, Christopher E. Parrish

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) acquires hydrographic data around the coasts of the US and its territories using in-house surveys and contracting resources. Hydrographic data are primarily collected using sonar systems, while a small percent is acquired via Airborne Lidar Bathymetry (ALB) for nearshore areas. NOAA has an ongoing requirement, as per the Coast and Geodetic Survey Act of 1947, to survey nearshore areas as part of its coastal mapping activities, including updating nautical charts, creating hydrodynamic models and supporting coastal planning and habitat mapping. NOAA has initiated a project to investigate the potential use of ALB data …

A Source Of Terrestrial Organic Carbon To Investigate The Browning Of Aquatic Ecosystems, Jay T. Lennon, Stephen K. Hamilton, Mario E. Muscarella, A. Stuart Grandy, Kyle Wickings, Stuart E. Jones

Faculty Publications

There is growing evidence that terrestrial ecosystems are exporting more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to aquatic ecosystems than they did just a few decades ago. This “browning” phenomenon will alter the chemistry, physics, and biology of inland water bodies in complex and difficult-to-predict ways. Experiments provide an opportunity to elucidate how browning will affect the stability and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. However, it is challenging to obtain sources of DOC that can be used for manipulations at ecologically relevant scales. In this study, we evaluated a commercially available source of humic substances (“Super Hume”) as an analog for natural sources …

A Detailed Seabed Signature From Hurricane Sandy Revealed In Bedforms And Scour, Arthur Trembanis, Carter Duval, Jonathan Beaudoin, Val E. Schmidt, Doug Miller, Larry A. Mayer

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

On 30 October 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall near Brigantine New Jersey bringing widespread erosion and damage to the coastline. We have obtained a unique set of high-resolution before and after storm measurements of seabed morphology and in situhydrodynamic conditions (waves and currents) capturing the impact of the storm at an inner continental shelf field site known as the “Redbird reef”. Understanding the signature of this storm event is important for identifying the impacts of such events and for understanding the role that such events have in the transport of sediment and marine debris on the inner continental shelf. …

Imls Place Grant: Press Release Abstract 1, Place Project Group

PLACE Project

Early press release describing the PLACE (Position-based Location Archive Coordinate Explorer) project that is funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) library partnered with the UNH Earth Systems Research Center to develop a geospatial interface that is searchable by geospatial coordinates.

Plans For The Next Grape Balloon Flight, Mark L. Mcconnell, Peter F. Bloser, T P. Connor, Camden Ertley, Jason S. Legere, James M. Ryan, Sambid K. Wasti

Space Science Center

The Gamma RAy Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE) was first flown on a 26-hour balloon flight in the fall of 2011. GRAPE consists of an array of Compton polarimeter modules (based on traditional scintillation technologies) designed to operate in the energy range from 50 keV up to 500 keV. The ultimate goal is to operate GRAPE in a wide FoV configuration for the study of gamma-ray bursts. For the first (demonstration) balloon flight, GRAPE was configured in a collimated mode to facilitate observations of known point sources. The Crab nebula/pulsar, the active Sun, and Cygnus X-1 were the primary targets for the …

Scintillator Gamma-Ray Detectors With Silicon Photomultiplier Readouts For High-Energy Astronomy, Peter F. Bloser, Jason S. Legere, Chris Bancroft, Mark L. Mcconnell, James M. Ryan, Nathan Schwadron

Space Science Center

Space-based gamma-ray detectors for high-energy astronomy face strict constraints of mass, volume, and power, and must endure harsh operating environments. Scintillator materials have a long history of successful operation under these conditions, and new materials offer greatly improved performance in terms of efficiency, time response, and energy resolution. The use of scintillators in space remains constrained, however, by the mass, volume, and fragility of the associated light readout device, typically a vacuum photomultiplier tube (PMT). Recently developed silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) offer gains and efficiencies similar to those of PMTs, but with greatly reduced mass and volume, high ruggedness, and no …

Beyond Peak Reservoir Storage? A Global Estimate Of Declining Water Storage Capacity In Large Reservoirs, Dominik Wisser, Steve Frolking, Stephen Hagen, Marc F. P. Bierkens

Earth Sciences

Water storage is an important way to cope with temporal variation in water supply and demand. The storage capacity and the lifetime of water storage reservoirs can be significantly reduced by the inflow of sediments. A global, spatially explicit assessment of reservoir storage loss in conjunction with vulnerability to storage loss has not been done. We estimated the loss in reservoir capacity for a global data set of large reservoirs from 1901 to 2010, using modeled sediment flux data. We use spatially explicit population data sets as a proxy for storage demand and calculate storage capacity for all river basins …

Gradual Generalization Of Nautical Chart Contours With A Cube B-Spline Snake Model, Dandan Miao, Brian R. Calder

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

—B-spline snake methods have been used in cartographic generalization in the past decade, particularly in the generalization of navigational charts where this method yields good results with respect to the shoal-bias rules for generalization of chart contours. However, previous studies only show generalization results at particular generalization (or scale) levels, and the user can only see two conditions: before the generalization and after generalization, but nothing in between. This paper presents an improved method of using B-spline snakes for generalization in the context of nautical charts, where the generalization process is done gradually, and the user can see the complete …

Designing Improved Sediment Transport Visualizations, Chris Englert, Thomas J. Butkiewicz, Larry A. Mayer, Val E. Schmidt, Jonathan Beaudoin, Arthur Trembanis, Carter Duval

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Monitoring, or more commonly, modeling of sediment transport in the coastal environment is a critical task with relevance to coastline stability, beach erosion, tracking environmental contaminants, and safety of navigation. Increased intensity and regularity of storms such as Superstorm Sandy heighten the importance of our understanding of sediment transport processes. A weakness of current modeling capabilities is the ability to easily visualize the result in an intuitive manner. Many of the available visualization software packages display only a single variable at once, usually as a two-dimensional, plan-view cross-section. With such limited display capabilities, sophisticated 3D models are undermined in both …

Evaluating The Usace's Ncmp For Noaa Charting Operations, Gretchen Imahori, Shachak Pe'eri, Christopher Parrish, Toshi Wozumi, Stephen A. White, Inseong Jeong, Christopher L. Macon

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Satellite-Derived Bathymetry: A Reconnaissance Tool For Hydrography, Shachak Pe'eri, Christopher Parrish, Lee Alexander, Andy Armstrong

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Snow Spectral Albedo At Summit, Greenland: Measurements And Numerical Simulations Based On Physical And Chemical Properties Of The Snowpack, Carlo Carmagnola, Florent Domine, Marie Dumont, Patrick Wright, B Strellis, M Bergin, Jack E. Dibb, G Picard, Q Libois, L Arnaud, S Morin

Earth Sciences

The broadband albedo of surface snow is determined both by the near-surface profile of the physical and chemical properties of the snowpack and by the spectral and angular characteristics of the incident solar radiation. Simultaneous measurements of the physical and chemical properties of snow were carried out at Summit Camp, Greenland (72°36´ N, 38°25´ W, 3210 m a.s.l.) in May and June 2011, along with spectral albedo measurements. One of the main objectives of the field campaign was to test our ability to predict snow spectral albedo by comparing the measured albedo to the albedo calculated with a radiative transfer …

Revision Of Empirical Electric Field Modeling In The Inner Magnetosphere Using Cluster Data, Hiroshi Matsui, Harlan E. Spence, Y. V. Khotyaintsev, P. A. Lindqvist

Physics & Astronomy

Using Cluster data from the Electron Drift (EDI) and the Electric Field and Wave (EFW) instruments, we revise our empirically-based, inner-magnetospheric electric field (UNH-IMEF) model at 22.662 mV/m; K-p<1, 1K(p)<2, 2K(p)<3, 3K(p)<4, 4K(p)<5, and K(p)4(+). Patterns consist of one set of data and processing for smaller activities, and another for higher activities. As activity increases, the skewed potential contour related to the partial ring current appears on the nightside. With the revised analysis, we find that the skewed potential contours get clearer and potential contours get denser on the nightside and morningside. Since the fluctuating components are not negligible, standard deviations from the modeled values are included in the model. In this study, we perform validation of the derived model more extensively. We find experimentally that the skewed contours are located close to the last closed equipotential, consistent with previous theories. This gives physical context to our model and serves as one validation effort. As another validation effort, the derived results are compared with other models/measurements. From these comparisons, we conclude that our model has some clear advantages over the others.

The Preservation Of Atmospheric Nitrate In Snow At Summit, Greenland, Dorothy L. Fibiger, Meredith G. Hastings, Jack E. Dibb, L Gregory Huey

Earth Sciences

There is great interest in using nitrate NO3 isotopic composition in ice cores to track the history of precursor nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) in the atmosphere. Nitrate NO3 however can be lost from the snow by surface processes, such as photolysis back to NOx upon exposure to sunlight, making it difficult to interpret records of NO3 as a tracer of atmospheric NOx loading. In a campaign consisting of two field seasons (May–June) at Summit, Greenland, high temporal frequency surface snow samples were collected and analyzed for the oxygen isotopic composition of NO3. The strong, linear relationship observed …

Characterization Of Optical Communication In A Leader-Follower Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Formation, Firat Eren, Shachak Pe'eri, May-Win Thein

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

As part of the research to development an optical communication design of a leader-follower formation between unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), this paper presents light field characterization and design configuration of the hardware required to allow the use of distance detection between UUVs. The study specifically is targeting communication between remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). As an initial step in this study, the light field produced from a light source mounted on the leader UUV was empirically characterized and modeled. Based on the light field measurements, a photo-detector array for the follower UUV was designed. Evaluation of the communication algorithms to monitor …

Near Resonance Acoustic Scattering From Organized Schools Of Juvenile Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus), Thomas C. Weber, Molly Lutcavage, Madeline L. Schroth-Miller

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Schools of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) can exhibit highly organized spatial structure within the school. This structure was quantified for dome shaped schools using both aerial imagery collected from a commercial spotter plane and 400 kHz multibeam echo sounder data collected on a fishing vessel in 2009 in Cape Cod Bay, MA. Observations from one school, containing an estimated 263 fish within an approximately ellipsoidal volume of 1900 m3, were used to seed an acoustic model that estimated the school target strength at frequencies between 10 and 2000 Hz. The fish's swimbladder resonance was estimated to occur at approximately …

Optimizing Resolution And Uncertainty In Bathymetric Sonar Systems, Val E. Schmidt, Thomas C. Weber, Xavier Lurton

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Bathymetric sonar systems (whether multibeam or phase-differencing sidescan) contain an inherent trade-off between resolution and uncertainty. Systems are traditionally designed with a fixed spatial resolution, and the parameter settings are optimized to minimize the uncertainty in the soundings within that constraint. By fixing the spatial resolution of the system, current generation sonars operate sub-optimally when the SNR is high, producing soundings with lower resolution than is supportable by the data, and inefficiently when the SNR is low, producing high-uncertainty soundings of little value. Here we propose fixing the sounding measurement uncertainty instead, and optimizing the resolution of the system within …

Acoustic And Optical Observations Of Methane Gas Seeps In The Gulf Of Mexico, Thomas C. Weber, Kevin W. Jerram, Yuri Rzhanov, Larry A. Mayer, Dave Lovalvo

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

In 2011 and 2012, measurements of acoustic backscatter from natural methane seeps were made in the northern Gulf of Mexico in water depths between 1000-2000 m. The measurementswere made using a calibrated 18 kHz echo sounder with an 11 degree beamwidth in order to estimate the depth-dependent target strength (TS). The TS data indicate a wide variation in the rate of gas seepage from the seafloor. Several of these seeps were revisited with a remotely operated vehicle in order to optically assess the bubble size distribution and to estimate the rate at which gas bubbles were exiting the seafloor. The …

An Imaging Neutron/Gamma-Ray Spectrometer, Amanda C. Madden, Peter F. Bloser, Dominique Fourguette, Liane Larocque, Matt Lewis, Jason S. Legere, Mark L. Mcconnell, Marissa Rouseau, James M. Ryan

Space Science Center

We present the test results of a neutron/gamma-ray imaging spectrometer for the identification and location of radioactive and special nuclear materials. Radioactive materials that could be fashioned into a radiation dispersal device typically emit gamma rays, while fissile materials such as uranium and plutonium emit both neutrons and gamma rays via spontaneous or induced fission. The simultaneous detection of neutrons and gamma rays is a clear indication of the presence of fissile material. The instrument works as a double-scatter telescope, requiring a neutron or gamma ray to undergo an interaction in two detectors to be considered a valid event. While …

Measurements Of Galactic Cosmic Ray Shielding With The Crater Instrument, C. Zeitlin, A. W. Case, Harlan E. Spence, Nathan A. Schwadron, M. Golightly, Jody K. Wilson, J. C. Kasper, J. B. Blake, M. D. Looper, J. E. Mazur, L. W. Townsend, Y. Iwata

Physics & Astronomy

[1] The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) instrument aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been measuring energetic charged particles from the galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) and solar particle events in lunar orbit since 2009. CRaTER includes three pairs of silicon detectors, separated by pieces of tissue-equivalent plastic that shield two of the three pairs from particles incident at the zenith-facing end of the telescope. Heavy-ion beams studied in previous ground-based work have been shown to be reasonable proxies for the GCRs when their energies are sufficiently high. That work, which included GCR simulations, led to predictions …

On The Export Of Reactive Nitrogen From Asia: NoX Partitioning And Effects On Ozone, T H. Bertram, Paul J. Wooldridge, Jack E. Dibb, Robert C. Cohen, A E. Perring

Earth Sciences

The partitioning of reactive nitrogen (NO_y was measured over the remote North Pacific during spring 2006. Aircraft observations of NO, NO₂, total peroxy nitrates (ΣPNs), total alkyl and multi-functional nitrates (ΣANs) and nitric acid (HNO₃, made between 25° and 55° N, confirm a controlling role for peroxyacyl nitrates in NO_x production in aged Asian outflow. ΣPNs account for more than 60% of NO_y above 5 km, while thermal dissociation limits their contribution to less than 10% in the lower troposphere. Using simultaneous observations of NO_x, ΣPNs, ΣANs, HNO₃ and average …

Satellite-Derived Bathymetry A Reconnaissance Tool For Hydrography, Shachak Pe'eri, Chukwuma Azuike, Christopher Parrish

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

In some developing countries, the information available to plan and prioritise hydrographic surveys is typically based on visual inspection of existing nautical charts. However, due to the age of many existing charts and lack of availability of the original source data from which they were compiled (e.g., smooth sheets) this type of analysis is often quite limited. A study was conducted to evaluate the use of a satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) procedure to map shallow-water bathymetry in a GIS environment, and to identify areas that require a new hydrographic survey. Publically available, multispectral satellite imagery and published algorithms are used to …

R/V Falkor Multibeam Echosounder System Review, Jonathan Beaudoin, Paul D. Johnson, Ashton F. Flinders

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.