ALBERT

Description: We compare model predictions of cometary water group ion densities and the solar wind slow down with measurements made by the Giotto Johnstone plasma analyzer implanted ion sensor at the encounter with comet Grigg-Skjellerup (G-S) on July 10, 1992. The observed slope of the ion density profile on approach to the comet is unexpectedly steep. Possible explanations for this are discussed. We present also a preliminary investigation of the quasilinear velocity-space diffusion of the implanted heavy ion population at G-S using a transport equation including souce, convection, adiabatic compression, and velocity diffusion terms. Resulting distributions are anisotropic, in agreement with observations. We consider theoretically the waves that may be generated by the diffusion process for the observed solar wind conditions. At initial ion injections, waves are generated at omega approximately Omega(sub i) the ion gyrofrequency, and lower frequencies are predicted for diffusion toward a bispherical shell.

Description: Large-amplitude ultralow-frequency wave structure observed on both sides of the magnetic pileup boundary of comet P/Halley during the flyby of the Giotto spacecraft have been analyzed using suprathermal electron density and magnetic field observations. Upstream of the boundary, electron density and magnetic field magnitude variations are anticorrelated, while in the pileup region these quantities are clearly correlated. Both in front of and behind the pileup boundary the observed waves are quasi-perpendicular wave structures as a minimum variance analysis shows. A detailed comparison of our observations in the prepileup region with theoretical and numerical results shows that the mirror mode mode waves may have been generated by a mirror instability driven by the pressure anisotropy of the ring-type distributions of the heavy (water group) pickup cometary ions.

Description: Experiments have been performed to study the average flow properties of inertially dominated bubbly liquids which may be described by a novel analysis. Bubbles with high Reynolds number and low Weber number may produce a fluid velocity disturbance that can be approximated by a potential flow. We studied the behavior of suspensions of bubbles of about 1.5 mm diameter in vertical and inclined channels. The suspension was produced using a bank of 900 glass capillaries with inner diameter of about 100 microns in a quasi-steady fashion. In addition, salt was added to the suspension to prevent bubble-bubble coalescence. As a result, a nearly monodisperse suspension of bubble was produced. By increasing the inclination angle, we were able to explore an increasing amount of shear to buoyancy motion. A pipe flow experiment with the liquid being recirculated is under construction. This will provide an even larger range of shear to buoyancy motion. We are planning a microgravity experiment in which a bubble suspension is subjected to shearing in a couette cell in the absence of a buoyancy-driven relative motion of the two phases. By employing a single-wire, hot film anemometer, we were able to obtain the liquid velocity fluctuations. The shear stress at the wall was measured using a hot film probe flush mounted on the wall. The gas volume fraction, bubble velocity, and bubble velocity fluctuations were measured using a homemade, dual impedance probe. In addition, we also employed a high-speed camera to obtain the bubble size distribution and bubble shape in a dilute suspension. A rapid decrease in bubble velocity for a dilute bubble suspension is attributed to the effects of bubble-wall collisions. The more gradual decrease of bubble velocity as gas volume fraction increases, due to subsequent hindering of bubble motion, is in qualitative agreement with the predictions of Spelt and Sangani for the effects of potential-flow bubble-bubble interactions on the mean velocity. The ratio of the bubble velocity variance to the square of the mean is 0(0.1). For these conditions Spelt and Sangani predicted that the homogeneous suspension would be unstable and clustering into horizontal rafts will take place. Evidence for bubble clustering is obtained by analysis of video images. The liquid velocity variance is larger than would be expected for a homogeneous suspension and the liquid velocity frequency spectrum indicates the presence of velocity fluctuations that are slow compared with the time for the passage of an individual bubble. These observations provide further evidence for bubble clustering.

Description: Eastman et al. (1988) have interpreted the CDAW 7 substorm of April 24, 1979, previously taken as unambiguously supporting the near-earth neutral line model of magnetospheric substorms, in terms of spatial movements of a preexisting plasma-sheet boundary layer (PSBL) and its associated current sheets across the observing ISEE 1 and 2 spacercraft. It is presently noted that, by contrast, a reinvestigation of ISEE 1 and 2 energetic particle measurements around substorm onset on short time-scales shows the observed flux pattern to require the formation of a particle source eastward of the ISEE spacecraft, well within the plasma sheet, associated with the substorm onset. Strong flows were absent prior to substorm onset, indicating the temporal nature of the event, as opposed to an encounter with a preexisting PSBL containing large flows.

Description: We introduce colorimetric solid-phase extraction (C-SPE) for the rapid determination of selected ions. This new technique links the exhaustive concentration of an analyte by SPE onto a membrane disk surface for quantitative measurement with a hand-held diffuse reflectance spectrometer. The concentration/measurement procedure is complete in approximately 1 min and can be performed almost anywhere. This method has been used to monitor iodine and iodide in spacecraft water in the 0.1-5.0 ppm range and silver(I) in the range of 5.0-1000 microg/l. Applications to the trace analysis of copper(II), nickel(II), iron(III) and chromium(VI) are described. Studies on the mechanism of extraction showed that impregnation of the disk with a surfactant as well as a complexing reagent results in uptake of additional water, which markedly improves the extraction efficiency.

Description: Crown closure is one of the input parameters used for forest growth and yield modelling. Preliminary work by Staenz et al. indicates that imaging spectrometer data acquired with sensors such as the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) have some potential for estimating crown closure on a stand level. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to establish a relationship between AVIRIS data and the crown closure derived from aerial photography of a forested test site within the Interior Douglas Fir biogeoclimatic zone in British Columbia, Canada; (2) to investigate the impact of atmospheric effects and the forest background on the correlation between AVIRIS data and crown closure estimates; and (3) to improve this relationship using multiple regression analysis.

Description: A concept utilizing fuzzy theory has been developed for a camera tracking system to provide support for proximity operations and traffic management around the Space Station Freedom. Fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic based reasoning are used in a control system which utilizes images from a camera and generates required pan and tilt commands to track and maintain a moving target in the camera's field of view. This control system can be implemented on a fuzzy chip to provide an intelligent sensor for autonomous operations. Capabilities of the control system can be expanded to include approach, handover to other sensors, caution and warning messages.