ALBERT

Description: The development of Nascom systems for ground communications began in 1958 with Project Vanguard. The low-speed systems (rates less than 9.6 Kbs) were developed following existing standards; but, there were no comparable standards for high-speed systems. As a result, these systems were developed using custom protocols and custom hardware. Technology has made enormous strides since the ground support systems were implemented. Standards for computer equipment, software, and high-speed communications exist and the performance of current workstations exceeds that of the mainframes used in the development of the ground systems. Nascom is in the process of upgrading its ground support systems and providing additional services. The Message Switching System (MSS), Communications Address Processor (CAP), and Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) Automated Control System (MACS) are all examples of Nascom systems developed using standards such as, X-windows, Motif, and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Also, the Earth Observing System (EOS) Communications (Ecom) project is stressing standards as an integral part of its network. The move towards standards has produced a reduction in development, maintenance, and interoperability costs, while providing operational quality improvement. The Facility and Resource Manager (FARM) project has been established to integrate the Nascom networks and systems into a common network management architecture. The maximization of standards and implementation of computer automation in the architecture will lead to continued cost reductions and increased operational efficiency. The first step has been to derive overall Nascom requirements and identify the functionality common to all the current management systems. The identification of these common functions will enable the reuse of processes in the management architecture and promote increased use of automation throughout the Nascom network. The MSS, CAP, MACS, and Ecom projects have indicated the potential value of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and standards through reduced cost and high quality. The FARM will allow the application of the lessons learned from these projects to all future Nascom systems.

Description: Actual trajectories of two PPB's which flew in the Antarctic stratosphere in austral summer and spring are compared with those calculated based on objective analysis data of Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The differences between the actual and calculated trajectories are discussed to check reliability of the JMA objective analysis data for the stratosphere, and to detect subsynoptic scale variability due to gravity waves and others.

Description: Analysis of ozonesonde data collected at high northern latitudes in winter and spring shows that laminae of enhanced and depleted ozone are associated with the polar vortex. In January and February, they are most common at all latitudes in the potential temperature range 370-430 K, but are abundant up to 500 K between 60 and 70 deg N. In March and April they occur most frequently northward of 75 deg N, and are abundant up to 520 K, whereas they are largely confined to the range 320-440 K at lower latitudes. Analysis of ozone lidar data obtained during AASE-1 depicts clearly the extrusion of laminae of enhanced ozone concentration from the polar regions in the altitude range 13-15 km. These extrusions form a class of laminae which transport ozone equatorward in the lowest levels of the stratosphere.

Description: Groundbased UV/Vis-spectroscopy of zenith scattered sunlight was performed at Sondre Stromfjord (Greenland) during Jan/Feb 1990 and Jan/Feb 1991. Considerable amounts of OClO were observed during both campaigns. Maximum OClO vertical column densities at 92 deg solar zenith angle (SZA) were 7.4 x 10(exp 13) molec/sq cm in 1990 and 5.7 x 10(exp 13) molec/sq cm in 1991 (chemical enhancement is included in the calculation of the air mass factor (AMF)). A threshold seems to exist for OClO detection: OClO was detected on every day when the potential vorticity at the 475 K level of potential temperature was higher than 35 x 10(exp -6)Km(exp 2)kg(exp -1)s(exp -1). NO2 vertical columns lower than 1 x 10(exp 15) molec/sq cm were frequently observed in both winters.

Description: Laboratory and in-flight experiments were conducted to evaluate 3-D audio display technology for cockpit applications. A 3-D audio display generator was developed which digitally encodes naturally occurring direction information onto any audio signal and presents the binaural sound over headphones. The acoustic image is stabilized for head movement by use of an electromagnetic head-tracking device. In the laboratory, a 3-D audio display generator was used to spatially separate competing speech messages to improve the intelligibility of each message. Up to a 25 percent improvement in intelligibility was measured for spatially separated speech at high ambient noise levels (115 dB SPL). During the in-flight experiments, pilots reported that spatial separation of speech communications provided a noticeable improvement in intelligibility. The use of 3-D audio for target acquisition was also investigated. In the laboratory, 3-D audio enabled the acquisition of visual targets in about two seconds average response time at 17 degrees accuracy. During the in-flight experiments, pilots correctly identified ground targets 50, 75, and 100 percent of the time at separation angles of 12, 20, and 35 degrees, respectively. In general, pilot performance in the field with the 3-D audio display generator was as expected, based on data from laboratory experiments.

Description: Speaker identification and word spotting will shortly play a key role in space applications. An approach based on the wavelet transform is presented that, in the context of the 'modulation model,' enables extraction of speech features which are used as input for the classification process.

Description: The theory that large-body impacts are the primary cause of mass extinctions of life on the Earth now has a sound theoretical and observational foundation. A convergence of evidence suggests that the biosphere may be a sensitive detector of large impact events, which result in the recorded global mass extinction pulses. The astronomically observed flux of asteroids and comets in the neighborhood of the Earth, and the threshold impact size calculated to produce a global environment catastrophe, can be used to predict a time history of large impact events and related mass extinctions of life that agrees well with the record of approx. 24 extinction events in the last 540 m.y.

Description: The debate concerning possible reactions between impacts, extinction events, and volcanism has recently taken a new turn. Diamictites and associated sedimentary deposits long regarded by geologists as glaciogenic, have been reinterpreted as impact-related. Going further, the Permo-Carboniferous diamictites that are widespread in the southern continents and India are not put forward as evidence that fragmentation of the Gondwana supercontinent in the Mesozoic was a direct result of meteorite impact. In an abstract at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, and in an article in the popular press, one member of the earth science community has made a specific claim to identify the site of the supercontinent-destroying bolide on the Falkland/Malvinas Plateau. It is claimed by this scientist that the Cape Fold belt in Africa represents a 'breaking wave' of deformation resulting from this impact, and that fractures in the clasts of the Dwyka diamictite in southern Africa represent impact-induced cataclasis of the target rock. These hypotheses fly in the face of the well-established tectonic history of the Gondwana supercontinent in several respects.

Description: The upheaval triggered in 1980 by the Alvarez-Berkeley group impact hypothesis transformed the literature of mass extinctions from an unfocused, sporadic collection of papers that virtually ignored extraterrestrial causes and treated endogenous ones only sparingly better to an integrated, diverse body of literature. Research programs organized seemingly overnight spawned collaborative teams whose members, often from distant, isolated disciplines, redirected their careers in order to address the captivating, high-stakes issues. The initial, generally skeptical, cool reception of the impact hypothesis might have been predicted for any of a number of reasons: such an instantaneous catastrophe contravened earth science's reigning philosophy of uniformitarianism; it was formulated from a form of evidence - siderophile element anomalies - alien to the community charged with its appraisal; it advanced a causal mechanism that was improbable in terms of canonical knowledge; and it was proffered mainly by specialists alien to earth and biological science, especially paleobiology. Early on it became clear that irrespective of which causal hypothesis was chosen, the chosen one would be the strongest predictor of how the chooser would select and apply standards in assessing evidence bearing on all such hypothesis. Less strong correlation also appeared between disciplinary speciality and the assessment of evidence. Such correlations varied with the level of specialization; the most robust correlations appeared in the broadest areas of science practice. The gestalt (mindset) seemingly engendered by the embrace of an extinction hypothesis overrode, or was stronger than, the intellectual predispositions attributable to disciplinary specialty.

Description: The work of Nikola Tesla, especially that directed toward world-wide electrical energy distribution via excitation of the earth-ionosphere cavity resonances, has stimulated interest in the study of these resonances. Not only are they important for their potential use in the transmission of intelligence and electrical power, they are important because they are an integral part of our natural environment. This paper describes the design of a sensitive, untuned, low noise active antenna which is uniquely suited to modern earth-ionosphere cavity resonance measurements employing fast-Fourier transform techniques for near-real-time data analysis. It capitalizes on a little known field-antenna interaction mechanism. Recently, the authors made preliminary measurements of the magnetic fields in the earth-ionosphere cavity. During the course of this study, the problem of designing an optimized ELF magnetic field sensor presented itself. The sensor would have to be small, light weight (for portable use), and capable of detecting the 5-50 Hz picoTesla-level signals generated by the natural excitations of the earth-ionosphere cavity resonances. A review of the literature revealed that past researchers had employed very large search coils, both tuned and untuned. Hill and Bostick, for example, used coils of 30,000 turns wound on high permeability cores of 1.83 m length, weighing 40 kg. Tuned coils are unsuitable for modern fast-Fourier transform data analysis techniques which require a broad spectrum input. 'Untuned' coils connected to high input impedance voltage amplifiers exhibit resonant responses at the resonant frequency determined by the coil inductance and the coil distributed winding capacitance. Also, considered as antennas, they have effective areas equal only to their geometrical areas.

Description: A decentralized autonomous control mechanism applied to the control of three dimensional manipulators and its robustness to partial damage was assessed by computer simulation. Decentralized control structures are believed to be quite robust to time delay between the operator and the target system. A 10-jointed manipulator based on our control mechanism was able to continue its positioning task in three-dimensional space without revision of the control program, even after some of its joints were damaged. These results suggest that this control mechanism can be effectively applied to space telerobots, which are associated with serious time delay between the operator and the target system, and which cannot be easily repaired after being partially damaged.

Description: The New Institutional Area Network (NEWIAN) at Marshall supports over 5000 end users with access to 26 file servers providing work presentation services. It is comprised of some 150 Ethernet LAN's interconnected by bridges/routers which are in turn connected to servers over two dual FDDI rings. The network supports various higher level protocols such as IP, IPX, AppleTalk (AT), and DECNet. At present IPX and AT protocols packets are routed, and IP protocol packets are bridged; however, work is in progress to route all IP packets. The impact of routing IP packets on network operation is examined. Broadband Integrated Services Data Network (BISDN), presently at various stages of development, is intended to provide voice, video, and data transfer services over a single network. BISDN will use asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) as a data transfer technique which provides for transmission, multiplexing, switching, and relaying of small size data units called cells. Limited ATM Wide Area Network (WAN) services are offered by Wiltel, AT&T, Sprint, and others. NASA is testing a pilot ATM WAN with a view to provide Program Support Communication Network services using ATM. ATM supports wide range of data rates and quality of service requirements. It is expected that ATM switches will penetrate campus networks as well. However, presently products in these areas are at various stages of development and standards are not yet complete. We examine development of ATM to help assess its role in the evolution of NEWIAN.

Description: Many of the instruments used to deduce the physical parameters of the Earth's atmosphere necessary for climate studies or for pollution monitoring (for instance, temperature versus pressure or number densities of trace molecules) rely on the existence of accurate spectroscopic data and an understanding of the physical processes responsible for the absorption or emission of radiation. During the summer, research was either continued or begun on three distinct problems: (1) an improved theoretical framework for the calculation of the far-wing absorption of allowed spectral lines; (2) a refinement of the calculation of the collision-induced fundamental spectrum of N2; and (3) an investigation of possible line-mixing effects in the fundamental spectrum of CH4. Progress in these three areas is summarized below. During the past few years, we have developed a theoretical framework for the calculation of the absorption of radiation by the far wings of spectral lines. Such absorption due to water vapor plays a crucial role in the greenhouse effect as well as limiting the retrieval of temperature profiles from satellite data. Several improvements in the theory have been made and the results are being prepared for publication. Last year we published results for the theoretical calculation of the absorption of radiation due to the dipoles induced during binary collisions of N2 molecules using independently measured molecular parameters; the results were in reasonable agreement with experimental data. However, recent measurements have revealed new fine structure that has been attributed to line-mixing effects. We do not think that this is correct, rather that the structure results from short-range anisotropic dipoles. We are in the process of including this refinement in our theoretical calculation in order to compare with the new experimental data. Subtle changes in the spectra of CH4 measured by researchers at Langley have also been attributed to line-mixing effects. By analyzing the same spectral lines we have attempted to verify or rule out possible line-mixing mechanisms. Due to the complexity and richness of the spectrum of this highly symmetric molecule, as well as the small magnitude of the effects, a detailed first-principle calculation of the mixing is a difficult problem. Before such a program is undertaken it is important to glean as much information as possible concerning the possible mechanisms by a systematic analysis of the existing data.

Description: Signature recognition is the problem of identifying an event or events from its time series. The generic problem has numerous applications to science and engineering. At NASA's Johnson Space Center, for example, mission control personnel, using electronic displays and strip chart recorders, monitor telemetry data from three-phase electrical buses on the Space Shuttle and maintain records of device activation and deactivation. Since few electrical devices have sensors to indicate their actual status, changes of state are inferred from characteristic current and voltage fluctuations. Controllers recognize these events both by examining the waveform signatures and by listening to audio channels between ground and crew. Recently the authors have developed a prototype system that identifies major electrical events from the telemetry and displays them on a workstation. Eventually the system will be able to identify accurately the signatures of over fifty distinct events in real time, while contending with noise, intermittent loss of signal, overlapping events, and other complications. This system is just one of many possible signature recognition applications in Mission Control. While much of the technology underlying these applications is the same, each application has unique data characteristics, and every control position has its own interface and performance requirements. There is a need, therefore, for CASE tools that can reduce the time to implement a running signature recognition application from months to weeks or days. This paper describes our work to date and our future plans.

Description: The Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment, (LITE), has been developed, designed, and built by NASA Langley Research Center, to be flown on the space shuttle 'Discovery' on September 9, 1994. Lidar, which stands for light detecting and ranging, is a radar system that uses short pulses of laser light instead of radio waves in the case of the common radar. This space-based lidar offers atmospheric measurements of stratospheric and tropospheric aerosols, the planetary boundary layer, cloud top heights, and atmospheric temperature and density in the 10-40 km altitude range. A study is being done on the use, advantages, and limitations of a millimeterwave radar to be utilized in synergy with the Lidar system, for the LITE-2 experiment to be flown on a future space shuttle mission. The lower atmospheric attenuation, compared to infrared and optical frequencies, permits the millimeter-wave signals to penetrate through the clouds and measure multi-layered clouds, cloud thickness, and cloud-base height. These measurements would provide a useful input to radiation computations used in the operational numerical weather prediction models, and for forecasting. High power levels, optimum modulation, data processing, and high antenna gain are used to increase the operating range, while space environment, radar tradeoffs, and power availability are considered. Preliminary, numerical calculations are made, using the specifications of an experimental system constructed at Georgia Tech. The noncoherent 94 GHz millimeter-wave radar system has a pulsed output with peak value of 1 kW. The backscatter cross section of the particles to be measured, that are present in the volume covered by the beam footprint, is also studied.

Description: A series of multi-frequency radar measurements of aircraft wakes at altitudes of 5,000 to 25,00 ft. were performed at Kwajalein, R.M.I., in May and June of 1990. Two aircraft were tested, a Learjet 35 and a Lockheed C-5A. The cross-section of the wake of the Learjet was too small for detection at Kwajalein. The wake of the C-5A, although also very small, was detected and measured at VHF, UHF, L-, S-, and C-bands, at distances behind the aircraft ranging from about one hundred meters to tens of kilometers. The data suggest that the mechanism by which aircraft wakes have detectable radar signatures is, contrary to previous expectations, unrelated to engine exhaust but instead due to turbulent mixing by the wake vortices of pre-existing index of refraction gradients in the ambient atmosphere. These measurements were of necessity performed with extremely powerful and sensitive instrumentation radars, and the wake cross-section is too small for most practical applications.

Description: The potential of the ESA Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) to produce ozone profile information has been examined by carrying out two sample retrievals using simulated GOME data. The first retrieval examines the potential of the GOME instrument to produce stratospheric ozone profiles using the traditional back-scatter ultraviolet technique, while the second examines the possibility of obtaining tropospheric profile information, and improving the quality of the stratospheric profile retrievals, by exploiting the temperature dependence of the ozone Huggins bands.

Description: The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument performs multiple solar spectral irradiance measurements in the wavelength region 200 to 400 nm at 1.1 nm resolution during yearly Space Shuttle flights. Solar spectral irradiance observations from the first three SSBUV Shuttle flights, October 1989, October 1990, and August 1991, are compared with one another and with solar measurements made by the NOAA-11 SBUV/2 instrument. The repeated SSBUV solar spectral observations, which agree to within plus or minus 1-2 percent from 200 to 400 nm, are valuable not only as a means of validating and calibrating the satellite-based solar irradiance measurements, but also as a distinct set of stand-alone solar measurements for monitoring long-term changes in the solar spectral irradiance, which are important for ozone photochemistry.

Description: The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer, Model 2 (SBUV/2) instruments, as part of their regular operation, deploy ground aluminum reflective diffusers to deflect solar irradiance into the instrument's field-of-view. Previous SBUV instrument diffusers have shown a tendency to degrade in their reflective efficiencies. This degradation will add a trend to the ozone measurements if left uncorrected. An extensive in-flight calibration system was designed into the SBUV/2 instruments to effectively measure the degradation of the solar diffuser (Ball Aerospace Systems Division 1981). Soon after launch, the NOAA-9 SBUV/2 calibration system was unable to track the diffuser's reflectivity changes due, in part, to design flows (Frederick et al. 1986). Subsequently, the NOAA-11 SBUV/2 calibration system was redesigned and an analysis of the first 2 years of data (Weiss et al. 1991) indicated the NOAA-11 SBUV/2 onboard calibration system's performance to be exceeding preflight expectations. This paper will describe the analysis of the first three years NOAA-11 SBUV/2 calibration system data.

Description: Quantitative assessment of the impact of solar ultraviolet irradiance variations on stratospheric ozone abundances currently requires the use of proxy indicators. The Mg II core-to-wing index has been developed as an indicator of solar UV activity between 175-400 nm that is independent of most instrument artifacts, and measures solar variability on both rotational and solar cycle time scales. Linear regression fits have been used to merge the individual Mg II index data sets from the Nimbus-7, NOAA-9, and NOAA-11 instruments onto a single reference scale. The change in 27-dayrunning average of the composite Mg II index from solar maximum to solar minimum is approximately 8 percent for solar cycle 21, and approximately 9 percent for solar cycle 22 through January 1992. Scaling factors based on the short-term variations in the Mg II index and solar irradiance data sets have been developed to estimate solar variability at mid-UV and near-UV wavelengths. Near 205 nm, where solar irradiance variations are important for stratospheric photo-chemistry and dynamics, the estimated change in irradiance during solar cycle 22 is approximately 10 percent using the composite Mg II index and scale factors.

Description: An evaluation of the optical effects of stratospheric aerosol layers on total ozone retrieval from space by the TOMS/SBUV type instruments is presented here. Using the Dave radiative transfer model we estimate the magnitude of the errors in the retrieved ozone when polar stratospheric clouds (PSC's) or volcanic aerosol layers interfere with the measurements. The largest errors are produced by optically thick water ice PSC's. Results of simulation experiments on the effect of the Pinatubo aerosol cloud on the Nimbus-7 and Meteor-3 TOMS products are presented.

Description: Ozone Retrievals from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) Instrument on-board the Nimbus-7 Satellite have been reprocessed using an improved internal calibration. The resulting data set covering November, 1978 through January, 1987 has been archived at the National Space Science Data Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The reprocessed SBUV total ozone data as well as recalibrated Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data are compared with total ozone measurements from a network of ground based Dobson spectrophotometers. The SBUV also measures the vertical distribution of ozone, and these measurements are compared with external measurements made by SAGE II, Umkehr, and Ozonesondes. Special attention is paid to long-term changes in ozone bias.

Description: SAGE II observations of ozone at sunrise and sunset (solar zenith angle = 90 deg) at approximately the same tropical latitude and on the same day exhibit larger concentrations at sunrise than at sunset between 55 and 65 km. Because of the rapid conversion between atomic oxygen and ozone, the onion-peeling scheme used in SAGE II retrievals, which is based on an assumption of constant ozone, is invalid. A one-dimensional photochemical model is used to simulate the diurnal variation of ozone particularly within the solar zenith angle of 80 deg - 100 deg. This model indicates that the retrieved SAGE II sunrise and sunset ozone values are both overestimated. The Chapman reactions produce an adequate simulation of the ozone sunrise/sunset ratio only below 60 km, while above 60 km this ratio is highly affected by the odd oxygen loss due to odd hydrogen reactions, particularly OH. The SAGE II ozone measurements are in excellent agreement with model results to which an onion peeling procedure is applied. The SAGE II ozone observations provide information on the mesospheric chemistry not only through the ozone profile averages but also from the sunrise/sunset ratio.

Description: The NOAA satellite ozone monitoring program was initiated by the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) in December 1984, with the launch of the NOAA-9 spacecraft carrying the first operational Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (SBUV/2). This instrument and its successor on NOAA-11, launched in 1988, are similar to the SBUV instrument launched by the NASA in 1978 on the Nimbus-7 research spacecraft. Measurements by the SBUV and SBUV/2 instruments overlap beginning in 1985. These instruments use measurements of the reflected ultraviolet solar radiation from the atmosphere to derive total ozone amounts and ozone vertical profiles. Since launch, the NOAA instruments and the derived products have been undergoing extensive evaluation by scientists of NOAA and NASA. Measurements obtained with these instruments are processed in real time by the NESDIS. These are reprocessed as the SBUV/2 instrument characterization is refined and as the retrieval algorithm for processing the data is improved. The NOAA-9 ozone data archive begins in March 1985 and continues through October 1990. The archive of NOAA-11 data begins in January 1989 and the data continues to be acquired in 1992.

Description: Following the success of the Sunphotometer Earth Atmosphere Measurement (SPEAM-I) experiment, a more involved experiment was developed to fly as part of the second set of Canadian Experiments (CANEX-2) which will fly on the US Space Shuttle in the fall of 1992. The instrument complement includes an IBM-PC compatible control computer, a hand-held diode array spectrophotometer, and an interference-filter, limb imaging radiometer for the measurement of the atmospheric airglow. The hand-held spectrometer will measure nitrogen dioxide, ozone and aerosols. The limb imaging radiometer will observe emissions from the O2(1 DELTA) and O2(1 SIGMA) airglow bands. Only the spectrophotometer will be discussed here.

Description: A concept for measuring stratospheric NOy-species is presented which utilizes the catalytic reduction of NO2 and HNO3 over heated metal catalysts and the chemisorption of HNO3 on Nylon. Using the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy (MPAE) chemiluminescent balloon-borne sonde, stratospheric NO and NO2 profiles have been measured since 1983. NO is detected by chemiluminescence produced in reaction with O3 while NO2 needs first to be converted to NO over a heated stainless steel catalyst. To improve this technique for simultaneously measuring HNO3, the catalytic reduction of NO2 and HNO3 over several metal catalysts and the chemisorption of NO2 and HNO3 on Nylon have been investigated in laboratory tests. The results of these tests under simulated stratospheric conditions are presented in detail in this paper. They demonstrate that the simultaneous measurement of NO, NO2 and HNO3 is indeed possible with the combination of stainless steel or Au as a catalyst and a nylon filter.

Description: A new TOMS instrument (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) was launched from the Plesetsk Cosomodrome, Russia on August 15, 1991. The purpose of the joint project between the U.S. and Russia was to continue the long-term record of ozone measurements from Nimbus-7/TOMS (launched in October 1978). Ozone data from the two satellites compare very closely. When the orbital positions were nearly the same, the comparison over the entire globe showed an offset of 2 percent with a standard deviation of 5 percent. Comparisons were made with several ground based M124 and Dobson stations showing good agreement in absolute value and with the day-to-day variations seen by the ground stations.

Description: Electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozone-sonde observations, made in recent years at ten stations whose locations range from the Arctic to Antarctica, have yielded a self-consistent ozone data base from which mean seasonal and annual latitudinal ozone vertical distributions to 35 km have been derived. Ozone measurement uncertainties are estimated, and results are presented in the Bass-Paur (1985) ozone absorption coefficient scale adopted for use with Dobson ozone spectrophotometers January 1, 1992. The data should be useful for comparison with model calculations of the global distribution of atmospheric ozone, for serving as apriori statistical information in deriving ozone vertical distributions from satellite and Umkehr observations, and for improving the satellite and Umkehr ozone inversion algorithms. Attention is drawn to similar results based on a less comprehensive data set published in Ozone in the Atmosphere, Proceedings of the 1988 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium where errors in data tabulations occurred for three of the stations due to inadvertent transposition of ozone partial pressure and air temperature values.

Description: We have analyzed atmospheric thermal emission spectra obtained with the balloon-borne FIRS-2 far infrared Fourier transform spectrometer during balloon flights from Palestine, Texas on May 12-13, 1988 and from Fort Sumner, New Mexico on September 26-27, 1989 and on July 4-5, 1990. Seven and two pure rotational transition lines in 100-205 cm(exp -1) range are analyzed for deriving vertical profiles of stratospheric HCl and HF, respectively. We obtain both the daytime and nighttime average vertical profiles from 15 to 50 km. We compare these profiles with the ones obtained in June, 1983 with the first version of FIRS spectrometer during the Balloon Intercomparison Campaign (BIC-2). BIC-2 results were revised to be consistent with the present analysis which uses the latest spectral parameters. According to our comparison results no increase is recognized for HCl but about 3 percent per year increase for HF from 1983 to 1990, assuming a linear trend. These annual increase rates are smaller than those reported by other groups. Recently Rinsland et al. (1991) and Wallace and Livingston (1991) reported long term behavior of total HCl and HF observed on Kit Peak between 1977 and 1990. As Kit Peak is located near both balloon launching sites, Palestine and Fort Sumner, we think our results are favorably comparable with theirs. Comparison results with ours and ground-based measurements will be presented and discussed.

Description: A balloon-borne project for ozone layer measurements was undertaken using the MAST ozone sondes and ASTOR radiosondes. Previously published data on this series (Ilyas, 1984) was recently re-analyzed using a rigorous technique to evaluate correction factors (ranging between 1.2 to 1.4). The revised data presented here, show that at the tropospheric and lower stratospheric levels, the ozone concentrations at the equator are much lower than the mid-latitude concentrations. The layer of peak concentration is found to be shifted upward compared to the mid-latitude profile and above this the two profiles get closer.

Description: A small optical ozone instrument has been developed for a rocket-borne dropsonde to measure the altitude profile of stratospheric ozone. It consists of a four-color filter photometer that measures the attenuation of sunlight as a function of altitude at four wavelengths in the middle ultraviolet. The ozone dropsonde is launched aboard a meteorological rocket MT-135, providing the altitude profiles of ozone as well as atmospheric temperature and wind. The rocket launchings have been carried out five times since August 1990 at Uchinoura (31 deg N, 131 deg E), Japan to measure ozone concentration from 52 to 20 km altitudes during the slow fall of the dropsonde. The ozone profiles measured in summer (August 27, 1990; Sep. 11 and 12, 1991) were very stable above an altitude of 28km. where as those measured in winter (Feb. 9, and 11, 1991) showed considerable day-to-day variations at the stratospheric altitudes. Ozone, temperature and wind profiles measured simultaneously by both rocket and balloon ozonsondes are compared with CIRA 1986 model atmosphere.

Description: Regular balloon ozone soundings with electrochemical sondes have been performed at Uccle since 1969. More than 450 ozone soundings between 1985 and 1989 were used to calculate the altitudes Zs from the VIZ radiosonde data and the altitudes Zr deduced from the tracking of the balloon train with a primary wind-finding radar. The values of Zs at fixed times appeared to be systematically too low as compared to Zr. The differences Zr-Zs increase with altitude; at 30 km the annual mean values of Zr-Zs (plus or minus standard deviation) vary between 590 plus or minus 910 m and 1410 plus or minus 1160 m, according to the pressure calibration of different manufacturing series of radiosondes. From these results it is found that around the 30 km level the ozone concentrations calculated from soundings with VIZ sondes are too low by 7.5 to 14 percent, depending upon the manufacturing series of radiosondes. At least part of the discrepancy which has often been found between ozone profiles from balloon soundings and from other techniques such as rocket observations or Umkehr measurements may be explained by this effect. An altitude correction would have important consequences as to the climatology of ozone in the middle stratosphere as adopted at the moment. About half of the day-to-day variability of ozone observed from soundings with VIZ radiosondes above the 30 km level, is induced by the variability of Zr-Zs. The agreement between altitudes calculated from radar data and Vaisala radiosondes is much better; from 34 comparative soundings a mean difference (plus or minus standard deviation) of about -300 plus/minus 180 m was found at 30 km.

Description: The Umkehr method for retrieving the gross features of the vertical ozone distribution requires measurements of the ratio of zenith-sky radiances at two wavelengths in the near-UV region while the solar zenith angle (SZA) changes from 60 to 90 degrees. A Brewer spectrophotometer was used for taking such measurements extending the SZA range down to 96 degrees. Analyzed data from the Spring of 1991 imply that observations at twilight are of great significance in improving ozone retrievals in the upper stratosphere. Judged by the variance reduction for Umkehr layers 9 to 12 (25-30 percent for layer 11) and the increase in separation and amplitude of the averaging kernels for the relevant layers, the ozone retrievals in the upper stratosphere are shown to be in better agreement with climatological means.

Description: Stratospheric ozone has been measured using infrared emission spectroscopy of the 9.6 micron band. Thermal emission spectra of the zenith sky were measured from the ground. The spectra show the presence of the 1020 cm(exp -1) spectral feature of ozone on clear days. The spectra were measured with a BOMEM model 100 emission interferometer with a resolution of 4 cm(exp -1). The feature corresponds to a mixing ratio of 5 ppmv if the ozone is assumed to be uniformly distributed in the stratosphere from 25 to 35 km. The development of an inversion algorithm to derive the altitude distribution of the ozone in 3 layers is described. These measurements have been conducted from Peterborough, Ontario since June 1991; further investigations are planned to study the comparisons with Dobson and LIDAR ozone measurements.

Description: The Aberystwyth MST radar has been used as part of the TOASTE program to study the structure of the tropopause in cut-off-low system with an aim to identifying regions where stratosphere-troposphere exchange are taking place. Theory predicts that the vertical gradient in reflected power is proportional to the static stability of the reflecting region, and should therefore resolve tropopause structure. Comparisons of MST power profiles with radiosonde data are presented and show good agreement, revealing regions of indefinite tropopauses, where stratosphere-troposphere exchange is thought to take place. The continuous nature of MST data allows an estimation of the size of these regions.

Description: The numerical modeling of the changes of the concentration of trace gases in the atmosphere during the eclipse shows that the NO2 total content in the vertical column increases approximately by 80 percent. The first observations of the NO2 total content during the eclipse of 1981 have given 60 plus or minus 20 percent. In the observations of 1990 the more precise methods and instruments for stratospheric NO2 measurements were used. The surface ozone, NO, and NO2 concentrations were under control. The results of the observations give the increasing of the stratospheric NO2 during the eclipse by 55 plus or minus 6 percent. The maximum increasing of the NO2 content is observed at the moment of the maximum phase.

Description: Measurements of stratospheric composition have been made with a novel star-pointing spectrometer. The instrument consists of a telescope that focuses light from stars, planets, or the moon onto a spectrometer and two dimensional CCD array detector. Atmospheric absorptions can be measured, from which atmospheric columns of several gases can be determined. The instrument was deployed in Abisko, 69 deg N, during the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment (EASOE). The instrument has the potential for measuring O3, OClO, NO2, and NO3. In this paper, a method for the retrieval of vertical columns is described, and some examples of ozone measurements given.

Description: Regular measurements of stratospheric ozone concentration profiles have been made at Table Mountain, California, since January 1988. During the period to December 1991, 435 independent profiles were measured by the differential absorption lidar technique. These long-term results, and an evaluation of their quality, is presented in this paper.

Description: An FTIR spectrometer was installed at Arrival Heights, Antarctica (78 deg S, 167 deg E) in February 1991 to measure the evolution of stratospheric HNO3 during the year. In particular, it was the intention to make the first observations of HNO3 trends during autumn, concurrently with ongoing measurements of column NO2 made with a grating spectrometer. The time-series of NO2 in the Antarctic shows a rapid decline in the column amount during autumn, and a slow recovery in spring, as the photochemical conditions move the species to and from higher storage reservoirs. The new nitric acid data show for the first time that during autumn the vertical column increases from approximately 1.9 x 10(exp 16) molecule cm(exp -2) at day 30 to approximately 3.1 x 10(exp 16) molecule cm(exp -2) by day 100. When the sun returns in spring, it is found that the column amount has fallen to about half the value at the end of autumn. Spring amounts are variable, but as found in the data from previous years remain low inside the vortex. The autumn increase is attributed to the heterogeneous conversion of N2O5 to gas-phase HNO3 on background aerosols. Low nitric acid column amounts at the start of spring suggest that the HNO3 has moved from the gas to the condensed phase on polar stratospheric clouds with the advent of low temperatures during the polar night.

Description: The evolution of ozone anomalies over the middle and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during the winter 1991-1992 is studied in this work. The largest monthly mean negative deviations in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere were about 10 percent in November and December, and up to 20 percent in January, February, and March over Eurasian territories, and much smaller over the Canadian sector. At the end of January, on individual days, total ozone values of 190-210 D.U. were observed over Eastern Europe and European part of Russia, that is 40-45 percent below normal. On the whole, the 1991-1992 winter was one of the most anomalous over all the period of ozone observations. Finally, an attempt is made to quantify the contribution of transport in the ozone layer changes over Europe during this period.

Description: A light, relatively cheap and easy to operate balloonborne UV-visible spectrometer was designed for investigating ozone photochemistry in the Arctic winter. The instrument was flown 11 times during the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment (EASOE) in winter 1991-92 in Northern Scandinavia. The first simultaneous measurements of vertical distributions of aerosols, PSC's, O3, NO2 and OClO inside the vortex during flight no. 6 on 16 January, in cold conditions are reported, which show that nitrogen oxides were almost absent (lower than 100 ppt) in the stratosphere below 22 km, while a layer of relatively large OClO concentration (15 ppt) was present at the altitude of the minimum temperature.

Description: The NASA Langley airborne differential absorption lidar system was operated from the NASA Ames DC-8 aircraft during the 1992 Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition to investigate the distribution of stratospheric aerosols and ozone (O3) across the Arctic vortex from January to March 1992. Aerosols from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption were found outside and inside the Arctic vortex with distinctly different scattering characteristics and spatial distributions in the two regions. The aerosol and O3 distributions clearly identified the edge of the vortex and provided additional information on vortex dynamics and transport processes. Few polar stratospheric clouds were observed during the AASE-2; however, those that were found had enhanced scattering and depolarization over the background Pinatubo aerosols. The distribution of aerosols inside the vortex exhibited relatively minor changes during the AASE-2. Ozone depletion inside the vortex as limited to less than or equal to 20 percent in the altitude region from 15-20 km.

Description: We have studied the development of the austral ozone hole using a 3-D spectral chemical transport model at R15 resolution for the period 15th September to 15th October, 1991. The model is driven by objectively analyzed wind fields obtained from the Canadian Meteorological Center and uses the chemical module developed by Kaminski (1992). Although extensive processing of NO(y) and Cl(x) occurs within the model, the ozone hole that develops appears shallow and ephemeral. Analysis of the results indicate that the meridional transport of ozone is sufficient to overwhelm the substantial chemical depletion that does occur. We suggest that the low resolution objectively analyzed data used is unable to capture the essential isolated nature of the vortex.

Description: A three-dimensional radiative-dynamical-chemical model has been developed and used to study some aspects of modeling the polar lower stratosphere. The model includes a comprehensive gas-phase chemistry scheme as well as a treatment of heterogeneous reactions occurring on the surface of polar stratospheric clouds. Tracer transport is treated by an accurate, nondispersive scheme with little diffusion suited to the representation of strong gradients. Results from a model simulation of early February 1990 are presented and used to illustrate the importance of the model transport scheme. The model simulation is also used to examine the potential for Arctic ozone destruction and the relative contributions of the chemical cycles responsible.

Description: Stratospheric ozone and aerosol data recorded at Spitsbergen (79 deg N, 12 deg E) from 1988 to 1992 are presented. Strong dynamical influences like seasonal variations and annual cycles in the ozone concentrations are described. Polar Stratospheric Clouds were detected above Spitsbergen in January 1989 and 1990, but not in the next two years. Volcanic aerosols, attributed to the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, appeared as early as August 1991 above Spitsbergen and were a constant feature of the lower Arctic stratosphere in winter 1991/92.

Description: A four wavelength depolarization backscattering lidar has been operated during the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment (EASOE) in Sodankyl, in the Finnish Arctic. The lidar performed measurements during the months of December 1991, January, February and March 1992. The Finnish Meteorological Institute during the same period launched regularly three Radiosondes per day, and three Ozone sondes per week. Both Mt. Pinatubo aerosols and Polar Stratospheric Clouds were measured. The use of four wavelengths, respectively at 355 nm, 532 nm , 750 nm, and 850 nm permits an inversion of the lidar data to determine aerosol particle size. The depolarization technique permits the identification of Polar Stratospheric Clouds. Frequent correlation between Ozone minima and peaks in the Mt. Pinatubo aerosol maxima were detected. Measurements were carried out both within and outside the Polar Vortex.

Description: It is now clear that heterogeneous reactions play an important role in controlling the concentration of ozone in the stratosphere. In this work, the loss of N2O5 on ice substrates has been studied in a flow reactor in an attempt to gain a more fundamental understanding of these reactions. The apparent reaction probability in this system was found to decrease as the substrate was exposed to N2O5. A model which corrected for the loss of surface sites was developed and although it appears to fit the data for a given experiment quite well, it is concluded that the loss of reactive sites is not the full explanation. In addition, the results of an experimental and modeling study suggest that reaction on the internal surface of the ice substrates is not a major loss mechanism for N2O5 in the current work.

Description: Previous laboratory studies have established the stability conditions of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT), of which type 1 polar stratospheric cloud (PSC 1) particles are thought to be composed. However, NAT samples in lab studies were almost always formed under conditions very different from those of the stratosphere. In order to better understand the in situ growth of PSC 1 particle populations, samples of water and nitric acid were deposited under conditions of temperature and pressure which more closely approximate the polar stratosphere. The compositions of the solids, measured shortly after deposition, depended on the H2O:HNO3 ratio in the vapor from which the solids were condensed. Solids formed from vapor mixtures that approached stratospheric contained significantly less HNO3 than the 25 mol percent expected of NAT.

Description: It is expected from theoretical considerations that synoptic-scale variations in total ozone should be correlated with the absolute vorticity field near the tropopause. This paper tests the theory, using TOMS total ozone fields and vorticity derived from ECMWF analyses. A good correlation is found, except during winter - suggesting that other sources of variability in total ozone are active at this time. The correlation with potential vorticity is also investigated. This shows two maxima in the correlation coefficient in winter and spring, one near the tropopause and the other in the region of 420K. A study of the residuals from a linear regression of vorticity with total ozone during January reveals a similar structure to the 450K potential vorticity field.

Description: The SBUV instrument, on Nimbus-7, measures the backscatter ultraviolet radiance at 12 wavelengths. The radiance data from these wavelengths was used to deduce the ozone profile and the total column ozone. In February 1987, there was an instrument malfunction. The purpose of this paper is to describe the malfunction, to determine the effect of the malfunction on the data quality, and if possible, to correct for the effects of the malfunction on the data from the SBUV instrument.

Description: More than 2000 ozone soundings and a large number of Dobson observations have been performed since 1967 in a unique procedure. The achieved very homogeneous data sets were used to evaluate significant long-term trends both in the troposphere and the stratosphere. The trend amounts to about plus 2 percent per year in the troposphere and to about minus 0.5 percent per year in the stratosphere. Extremely low ozone records obtained during winter 1991/92 are discussed in the light of the long term series. The winter mean of the ozone column is the lowest one of the series. The ozone deficit occurred mainly in the lower stratosphere. One cause may be the Pinatubo cloud. Even compared with the extreme winter mean following the El Chichon eruption the ozone content was lower. Additionally ozone was reduced by dynamical effects due to unusual weather situations.

Description: Concentrations of tropospheric O3, NO2, H2CO, and SO2 have been measured on the Campus of the 'Universite Libre de Bruxelles' on a routine basis since October 1990. The long path system consists of a source lamp, a first 30 cm f/8 Cassegrain type telescope which collimates the light onto a slightly parabolic mirror placed on the roof of a building situated 394 m away from the laboratory. The light is sent back into a second 30 cm Cassegrain telescope. This telescope has been modified so that the output beam is a 5 cm diameter parallel beam. This beam is then focused onto the entrance aperture of the BRUKER IFS120HR fourier transform spectrometer. The two telescopes are mounted on alignment devices and the external mirror is equipped with a driving system operated from the laboratory. The choice of the light source (either a 1000 W high pressure 'ozone free' xenon lamp or a 250 W tungsten filament) and of the detector (either a solar blind UV-diode or a silicon diode) depended on the spectral region studied. These regions lie respectively from 26,000 cm(exp -1) to 30,000 cm(exp -1) (260-380 nm) and from 14,000 cm(exp -1) to 30,000 cm(exp -1) (330-700 nm). The spectra have been recorded at the resolution of 16 cm(exp -1) and with a dispersion of 7.7 cm(exp -1). They have been measured during the forward and the backward movements of the mobile mirror, in double sided mode; each spectrum is an average of 2000 scans. The time required to record a spectrum is about 45 minutes. The shape of the raw spectra in the two investigated regions are represented.

Description: A tropopause fold developed on the western flank of a trough in the 300 mb flow on 6 Oct. 1990. Radiosonde ascents over western Europe showed very dry stable layers beneath the jet stream in the potential temperature range 310 to 315 K. These were evident on profiles from 12h on 6 Oct. to 00h on 8 Oct. ECMWF model assimilations were examined for this period to determine how well the model represented the radiosonde observations. Humidity fields were found to give better agreement than potential vorticity, probably because the PV is affected by the limited vertical resolution of the model. Isentropic trajectories were calculated for the air in the fold as represented by the ECMWF assimilation at 00h on 7 Oct. Those on the western edge of the fold split from the main flow and transferred to the troposphere, while those on the eastern side ended up in the cut-off low. A lower bound of 1.1 x 10(exp 14) kg is estimated for the amount of stratospheric air transferred into the troposphere by this fold.

Description: A study of ozone transfer to the troposphere has been performed during two phases of the evolution of a cut-off low using both ozone vertical profiles and objective analysis of the ECMWF to compute potential vorticity distributions and air mass trajectories. Ozone profiles were measured by a ground based lidar system at the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP, 43 deg 55 N, 5 deg 42 E). A stratospheric ozone transport into the troposphere has been observed during a tropopause fold which occurred at the beginning of the cut-off low formation and during the erosion phase of the cut-off low. From the estimate of the maximum ozone content transferred to the troposphere, both mechanisms have the same order of magnitude of influence on the ozone flux to the troposphere. On a time scale of a few days, the correlation is very good between the potential vorticity and the ozone time evolution in the vicinity of the upper level frontal system.

Description: Large-scale summertime (July-August) distributions of O3 and aerosols were observed in a broad range of atmosphere conditions over the tundra, ice, and ocean regions near Alaska in 1988 and over the lowlands and boreal forests of Canada in 1990. The tropospheric O3 budget in the high-latitude regions was found to be strongly influenced by stratospheric intrusions, and deposition at the surface was found to be the main sink for O3 in the troposphere. Enhanced levels of O3 were observed in plumes from fires in Alaska and Canada. This paper discusses the large-scale variability of O3 and aerosols observed in the high-latitude regions during these field experiments.

Description: It is found from model simulations of trace gas and meteorological data from aircraft campaigns that deep convection may enhance the potential for photochemical ozone production in the middle and upper troposphere by up to a factor of 60. Examination of half a dozen individual convective episodes show that the degree of enhancement is highly variable. Factors affecting enhancement include boundary layer NO(x) mixing ratios, differences in the strength and structure of convective cells, as well as variation in the amount of background pollution already in the free troposphere.

Description: Clouds, although only occupying a relatively small fraction of the troposphere volume, can have a substantial impact on the chemistry of the troposphere. In newly formed clouds, or in clouds with air rapidly flowing through, the chemistry is expected to be far more active than in aged clouds with stagnant air. Thus, frequent cycling of air through shortlived clouds, i.e. cumulus clouds, is likely to be a much more efficient media for altering the composition of the atmosphere than an extensive cloud cover i.e. frontal cloud systems. The impact of clouds is tested out in a 2-D channel model encircling the globe in a latitudinal belt from 30 to 60 deg N. The model contains a detailed gas phase chemistry. In addition physiochemical interactions between the gas and aqueous phases are included. For species as H2O2, CH2O, O3, and SO2, Henry's law equilibria are assumed, whereas HNO3 and H2SO4 are regarded as completed dissolved in the aqueous phase. Absorption of HO2 and OH is assumed to be mass-transport limited. The chemistry of the aqueous phase is characterized by rapid cycling of odd hydrogen, (H2O2, HO2, and OH). O2(-) (produced through dissociation of HO2) reacting with dissolved O3 is a major source of OH in the aqueous phase. This reaction can be a significant sink for O3 in the troposphere. In the interstitial cloud air, odd hydrogen is depleted, whereas NO(x) remains in the gas phase, thus reducing ozone production due to the reaction between NO and HO2. Our calculations give markedly lower ozone levels when cloud interactions are included. This may in part explain the overpredictions of ozone levels often experienced in models neglecting cloud chemical interactions. In the present study, the existence of clouds, cloud types, and their lifetimes are modeled as pseudo random variables. Such pseudo random sequences are in reality deterministic and may, given the same starting values, be reproduced. The effects of cloud interactions on the overall chemistry of the troposphere are discussed. In particular, tests are performed to determine the sensitivity of cloud frequencies and cloud types.

Description: A simple quasi 2-D model is used to study the zonal distribution of NO(x). The model includes vertical transport in form of eddy diffusion and deep convection, zonal transport by a vertically uniform wind, and a simplified chemistry of NO, NO2 and HNO3. The NO(x) sources considered are surface emissions (mostly from the combustion of fossil fuel), lightning, aircraft emissions, and downward transport from the stratosphere. The model is applied to the latitude band of 40 deg N to 50 deg N during the month of June; the contributions to the zonal NO(x) distribution from the individual sources and transport processes are investigated. The model predicted NO(x) concentration in the upper troposphere is dominated by air lofted from the polluted planetary boundary layer over the large industrial areas of Eastern North America and Europe. Aircraft emissions are also important and contribute on average 30 percent. Stratospheric input is minor about 10 percent, less even than that by lightning. The model provides a clear indication of intercontinental transport of NO(x) and HNO3 in the upper troposphere. Comparison of the modelled NO profiles over the Western Atlantic with those measured during STRATOZ 3 in 1984 shows good agreement at all altitudes.

Description: A 3-D regional photochemical tracer/transport model for Europe and the Eastern Atlantic has been developed based on the NASA/GISS CTM. The model resolution is 4x5 degrees latitude and longitude with 9 layers in the vertical (7 in the troposphere). Advective winds, convection statistics and other meteorological data from the NASA/GISS GCM are used. An extensive gas-phase chemical scheme based on the scheme used in our global 2D model has been incorporated in the 3D model. In this work ozone formation in the troposphere is studied with the 3D model during a 5 day period starting June 30. Extensive local ozone production is found and the relationship between the source regions and the downwind areas are discussed. Variations in local ozone formation as a function of total emission rate, as well as the composition of the emissions (HC/NO(x)) ratio and isoprene emissions) are elucidated. An important vertical transport process in the troposphere is by convective clouds. The 3D model includes an explicit parameterization of this process. It is shown that this process has significant influence on the calculated surface ozone concentrations.

Description: Results from surface ozone measurements at Penang (5.5 deg N, 100 deg E) over 1980-88 period are presented. The study indicates the ozone concentrations undergoing significant diurnal and seasonal variations. The peak concentration are observed at around mid-day (up to 35 nb) but the O3 concentration generally drops to zero level in the early evening and remains unchanged until mid-morning. Monthly-averaged daily 1-h average concentrations are generally small (4-13 nb) and decrease continually from the early part of the year to the end. Frequently, varying local weather conditions seem to influence the O3 concentrations.

Description: Surface ozone concentration at three Indian stations - New Delhi (28.6 deg N), Pune (18.5 deg N) and Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum (8.3 deg N) - has been measured since 1973 with the help of an electrochemical continuous ozone recorder. These stations show diurnal, seasonal and annual cycles in surface ozone. Daily changes show that the minimum value occurs at sunrise and maximum in the afternoon. As regards seasonal variations, Thiruvananthapuram and Pune have a minimum value during monsoon season (June to August) while at New Delhi the minimum value occurs in January. However, New Delhi also records low ozone amount during monsoon season identical to the amounts show at Thiruvananthapuram and Pune. The annual cycles at these stations have been compared with similar measurements in the northern and southern hemispheres. The Indian measurements agree well with the annual cycles at these stations. Further, the analysis of the Indian data indicates that the major contribution in surface ozone comes from the natural sources like stratospheric-tropospheric exchange, turbulence, and mixing in the boundary layer; however, a small contribution from anthropogenic sources cannot be ruled out at Pune and probably at New Delhi, especially in winter and summer seasons.

Description: From a network of surface ozone monitoring sites distributed primarily over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the seasonal, day-to-day, and diurnal patterns are delineated. At most of the NH (Northern Hemisphere) sites there is a spring maximum and late summer or autumn minimum. At Barrow, AK (70 deg N) and Barbados (14 deg N), however, there is a winter maximum, but the mechanisms producing the maximum are quite different. All the sites in the SH (Southern Hemisphere) show winter maxima and summer minima. At the subtropical and tropical sites, there are large day-to-day variations that reflect the changes in flow patterns. Air of tropical origin has much lower ozone concentrations than air from higher latitudes. At the two tropical sites (Barbados and Samoa), there is a marked diurnal ozone variation with highest amounts in the early morning and lowest values in the afternoon. At four of the locations (Barrow, AK; Mauna Loa, HI; American Samoa; and South Pole), there are 15- through 20-year records which allow us to look at longer term changes. At Barrow there has been a large summer increase over the 20 years of measurements. At South Pole, on the other hand, summer decreases have led to an overall decline in surface ozone amounts.

Description: Ground-based measurements of ozone have been carried out at three stations in the German alps (47 deg N, 11 deg E, altitudes 740, 1776, and 2962 m a.s.l.) as well as at the coastal station Cape Point (34 deg S, 18 deg E). For the mountain sites (at 1776 and 2962 m), trend calculations based on monthly means have yielded O3 growth rates of 0.8 and 0.9 ppbv yr(exp -1), respectively, over the period 1978-91. Seasonally differentiated data sets have yielded higher rates for summer than for winter. The impact of near-ground photochemical O3 production on the observed O3 concentration is shown. No significant long-term O3 trend has been observed at 740 m (valley floor) as well as at the southern hemispheric station Cape Point. Evidence exists for a close relationship between the amplitude variations of the annual cycles of O3 and CO at Cape Point.

Description: A seven year (1984-90) climatology of tropospheric vertical ozone soundings, performed by electrochemical sondes at the OHP (44 deg N, 6 deg E, 700 m ASL) in Southern France, is presented. Its seasonal variation shows a broad spring/summer maximum in the troposphere. The contribution of photochemical ozone production and transport from the stratosphere to this seasonal variation are studied by a correlative analysis of ozone concentrations and meteorological variables, with emphasis on potential vorticity. This analysis shows the impact of dynamical and photochemical processes on the spatial and temporal ozone variability. In particular, a positive correlation (r = 04.0, significance greater than 99.9 percent) of ozone with potential vorticity is observed in the middle troposphere, reflecting the impact of stratosphere-troposphere exchange on the vertical ozone distribution.

Description: In August of 1986 a program was initiated to measure atmospheric ozone profiles at mid-latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere by flying ECC ozonesondes on a regular basis from the DSIR Physical Sciences Atmospheric Laboratory at Lauder, New Zealand, 45 deg S. Flights since that time have been performed on a regular basis at the rate of two flights per week during the 5 month period August to December, the time of maximum variability at mid-latitudes, and once per week for the remainder of the year. These data, consisting now of more than 400 profiles has been analyzed and the free troposphere portion of the profiles binned as 1km slabs. These data have been combined to form a seasonal average values for each season of each year in 2 km slabs and the variation observed in these seasonal averages is the basis of this paper. A biennial component is apparent in these data and the lack of any increasing trend over this 5 year period is contrasted with that measured at similar latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere over the same period.

Description: Transmission spectra of three ferric oxides (two alpha-Fe2O3 samples and one gamma-Fe2O3 sample) and two ferric oxyhydroxides (alpha-FeOOH and gamma-FeOOH) were measured. This preliminary study has demonstrated that crystalline ferric oxides and ferric oxyhydroxides exhibit complex spectral features at thermal wavelengths. Some of these features suggest that thermal infrared observations of Mars can provide significant insight into the ferric mineralogy of that planet. The results of this study suggest that emissivity spectra of crystalline ferric oxides and ferric oxyhydroxides may prove quite important for the interpretation of thermal infrared spectral observations of Mars.

Description: A spatial auditory display was designed for separating the multiple communication channels usually heard over one ear to different virtual auditory positions. The single 19 foot rack mount device utilizes digital filtering algorithms to separate up to four communication channels. The filters use four different binaural transfer functions, synthesized from actual outer ear measurements, to impose localization cues on the incoming sound. Hardware design features include 'fail-safe' operation in the case of power loss, and microphone/headset interfaces to the mobile launch communication system in use at KSC. An experiment designed to verify the intelligibility advantage of the display used 130 different call signs taken from the communications protocol used at NASA KSC. A 6 to 7 dB intelligibility advantage was found when multiple channels were spatially displayed, compared to monaural listening. The findings suggest that the use of a spatial auditory display could enhance both occupational and operational safety and efficiency of NASA operations.

Description: On April 11, 1991, the Galileo spacecraft executed a sequence that would open the spacecraft's High Gain Antenna. The Antenna's launch restraint had been released just after deployment sequence, the antenna, which opens like an umbrella, never reached the fully deployed position. The analyses and tests that followed allowed a conclusive determination of the likely failure mechanisms and pointed to some strategies to use for recovery of the high gain antenna.

Description: The Machine Aided Voice Translation (MAVT) system was developed in response to the shortage of experienced military field interrogators with both foreign language proficiency and interrogation skills. Combining speech recognition, machine translation, and speech generation technologies, the MAVT accepts an interrogator's spoken English question and translates it into spoken Spanish. The spoken Spanish response of the potential informant can then be translated into spoken English. Potential military and civilian applications for automatic spoken language translation technology are discussed in this paper.

Description: The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) Mobile Terminal (AMT) is a proof-of-concept K/Ka-band mobile satellite communications terminal under development by NASA at JPL. Currently the AMT is undergoing systems integration and testing in preparation for a July 1993 ACTS launch and the subsequent commencement of mobile experiments in the fall of 1993. The AMT objectives are presented, followed by a discussion of the AMT communications channel and the mobile terminal's design and performance.

Description: The use of Xpress Transfer Protocol (XTP) and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) provides a high speed and high performance network solution to multimedia transmission that requires high bandwidth. FDDI is an ANSI and ISO standard for a MAC and physical layer protocol that provides a signaling rate of 100 Mbits/sec and fault tolerance. XTP is a transport and network layer protocol designed for high performance and efficiency and is the heart of the SAFENET Lightweight Suite for systems that require performance or realtime communications. The testbed consists of several commercially available Intel based i486 PC's containing off-the-shelf FDDI cards, audio analog-digital converter cards, video interface cards, and XTP software. Unicast, multicast, and duplex audio transmission experiments have been performed using XTP software. Unicast and multicast video transmission is in progress. Several potential commercial applications are described.

Description: Few contest that mass extinctions have punctuated the history of life, or that those events were so pervasive environmentally, taxonomically, and geographically that physical forcing factors were probably involved. However, consensus remains elusive on the nature of those factors, and on how a given perturbation - impact, volcanism, sea-level change, or ocean anoxic event - could actually generate the observed intensity and selectivity of biotic losses. At least two basic problems underlie these long-standing disagreements: difficulties in resolving the fine details of taxon ranges and abundances immediately prior to and after an extinction boundary and the scarcity of simple, unitary cause-and-effect relations in complex biological systems.

Description: Conformal arrays are popular antennas for aircraft, spacecraft, and land vehicle platforms due to their inherent low weight and drag properties. However, to date there has been a dearth of rigorous analytical or numerical solutions to aid the designer. In fact, it has been common practice to use limited measurements and planar approximations in designing such non-planar antennas. The finite element-boundary integral method is extended to scattering by cavity-backed structures in an infinite, metallic cylinder. In particular, the formulation specifics such as weight functions, dyadic Green's function, implementation details and particular difficulties inherent to cylindrical structures are discussed. Special care is taken to ensure that the resulting computer program has low memory demand and minimal computational requirements. Scattering results are presented and validated as much as possible.

Description: The Galileo mission operations concept is undergoing substantial redesign, necessitated by the deployment failure of the High Gain Antenna, while the spacecraft is on its way to Jupiter. The new design applies state-of-the-art technology and processes to increase the telemetry rate available through the Low Gain Antenna and to increase the information density of the telemetry. This paper describes the mission planning process being developed as part of this redesign. Principal topics include a brief description of the new mission concept and anticipated science return (these have been covered more extensively in earlier papers), identification of key drivers on the mission planning process, a description of the process and its implementation schedule, a discussion of the application of automated mission planning tool to the process, and a status report on mission planning work to date. Galileo enhancements include extensive reprogramming of on-board computers and substantial hard ware and software upgrades for the Deep Space Network (DSN). The principal mode of operation will be onboard recording of science data followed by extended playback periods. A variety of techniques will be used to compress and edit the data both before recording and during playback. A highly-compressed real-time science data stream will also be important. The telemetry rate will be increased using advanced coding techniques and advanced receivers. Galileo mission planning for orbital operations now involves partitioning of several scarce resources. Particularly difficult are division of the telemetry among the many users (eleven instruments, radio science, engineering monitoring, and navigation) and allocation of space on the tape recorder at each of the ten satellite encounters. The planning process is complicated by uncertainty in forecast performance of the DSN modifications and the non-deterministic nature of the new data compression schemes. Key mission planning steps include quantifying resource or capabilities to be allocated, prioritizing science observations and estimating resource needs for each, working inter-and intra-orbit trades of these resources among the Project elements, and planning real-time science activity. The first major mission planning activity, a high level, orbit-by-orbit allocation of resources among science objectives, has already been completed; and results are illustrated in the paper. To make efficient use of limited resources, Galileo mission planning will rely on automated mission planning tools capable of dealing with interactions among time-varying downlink capability, real-time science and engineering data transmission, and playback of recorded data. A new generic mission planning tool is being adapted for this purpose.

Description: Space very long baseline interferometry (SVLBI) experiments using a TDRSS satellite have successfully demonstrated the capability of using spacecraft to extend the effective baseline length of VLBI observations beyond the diameter of the Earth, thereby improving the resolution for imaging of active galactic nuclei at centimeter wavelengths. As a result, two spacecraft dedicated to SVLBI, VSOP (Japan) and RadioAstron (Russia), are scheduled to be launched into high Earth orbit in 1996 and 1997. The success of these missions depends on the cooperation of the international community in providing support from ground tracking stations, ground radio telescopes, and correlation facilities. The timely exchange and monitoring of data among the participants requires a well-designed and automated international data transfer system. In this paper, we will discuss the design requirements, data types and flows, and the operational responsibilities associated with the SVLBI data transfer system.

Description: One of the key goals of the Florida Center is to obtain a maximum of useful information on propagation behavior unique to its subtropical weather and subtropical climate. Such weather data is of particular interest when it is (or has the potential to become) useful for developing and implementing techniques to compensate for adverse weather effects. Also discussed are data observations, current challenges, CDF's, sun movement, and diversity experiments.

Description: A geosynchronous satellite system capable of providing many channels of digital audio radio service (DARS) to mobile platforms within the contiguous United States using S-band radio frequencies is being implemented. The system is designed uniquely to mitigate both multipath fading and outages from physical blockage in the transmission path by use of satellite spatial diversity in combination with radio frequency and time diversity. The system also employs a satellite orbital geometry wherein all mobile platforms in the contiguous United States have elevation angles greater than 20 deg to both of the diversity satellites. Since implementation of the satellite system will require three years, an emulation has been performed using terrestrial facilities in order to allow evaluation of DARS capabilities in advance of satellite system operations. The major objective of the emulation was to prove the feasibility of broadcasting from satellites 30 channels of CD quality programming using S-band frequencies to an automobile equipped with a small disk antenna and to obtain quantitative performance data on S-band propagation in a satellite spatial diversity system.

Description: This paper presents an overview of the Odyssey system with special emphasis given to the link availability for both mobile link and feeder link. The Odyssey system design provides high link availability, typically 98 percent in the primary service areas, and better than 95 percent availability in other service areas. Strategies for overcoming Ka-band feeder link rain fades are presented. Mobile link propagation study results and summary link budgets are also presented.

Description: The results of L-band communications availability work performed to date are presented. Results include a L-band communications availability estimate model and field propagation trials using an INMARSAT-M terminal. American Mobile Satellite Corporation's (AMSC's) primary concern centers on availability of voice communications intelligibility, with secondary concerns for circuit-switched data and fax. The model estimates for representative terrain/vegetation areas are applied to the contiguous U.S. for overall L-band communications availability estimates.

Description: A database of various propagation phenomena models that can be used by telecommunications systems engineers to obtain parameter values for systems design is presented. This is an easy-to-use tool and is currently available for either a PC using Excel software under Windows environment or a Macintosh using Excel software for Macintosh. All the steps necessary to use the software are easy and many times self-explanatory; however, a sample run of the CCIR rain attenuation model is presented.

Description: This paper describes the current experimental program and future plans for the reception of transmissions from the 18.7, 39.6, and 49.5 GHz beacons from the ITALSAT satellite by the Radio Communications Research Unit at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK. The Radio Communications Research Unit, which has had considerable experience in developing experimental millimetric equipment for propagation studies, has initiated the development of a single-channel receiver and a triple-channel receiver to measure propagation effects at 49.5 GHz and 39.6 GHz respectively. The initial location of the receivers will be at Chilbolton, Hampshire, UK.

Description: Mobile satellite systems (MSS) are presently designed or planned to operate, with the exception of OMNITRACKS, in the lower part of the frequency spectrum (UHF to S-bands). The decisions taken at the last World Administrative Radio Conference in 1992 to increase the allocated L- and S-bands for MSS services will only partly alleviate the problem of system capacity. In addition the use of L-and S-band frequencies generally requires large antenna apertures on board the satellite terminal side. The idea of exploiting the large spectrum resources available at higher frequencies (20-30 GHz) and the perspective of reducing user terminal size (and possibly price too) have spurred the interest of systems designers and planners. On the other hand, Ka-band frequencies suffer from increased slant path losses due to atmospheric attenuation phenomena. The European Space Agency (ESA) has recently embarked on a number of activities aimed at studying the effect of the typical mobile propagation impairments at Ka-band. This paper briefly summarizes ESA efforts in this field of research and presents preliminary experimental results.

Description: There are a number of propagation issues that need further investigation for efficient system planning for EHF communication systems. Especially needed are better cloud and rain characterizations. A method for estimating one of the rain induced effects of interest, outage duration, is presented.

Description: A summary of the activities of the OPEX (Olympus Propagation EXperimenters) group is given and some of the recent findings are presented. OLYMPUS, a telecommunication satellite owned by the European Space Agency, was launched on 12 June 1989. After the in-orbit tests were completed (in September 1989) the first propagation experiments started. Throughout 1990 the spacecraft functioned very well and a large number of experimenters received the beacon signals. On 29 May 1991 the spacecraft became inoperational after a major technical problem. With a series of complicated procedures OLYMPUS was recovered on 15 August 1991 - the first time in history that a civilian telecommunications satellite was brought back to service after losing power and telemetry. The propagation experiments were back on track. However, the recovery had used up so much fuel that the North-South station keeping had to be abandoned, which led to a natural increase of inclination at a rate of about 0.8 deg per year. On 10 October 1992 the second 30 GHz beacon tube failed, causing a loss of this beacon signal. The other two beacon frequencies continued to deliver a stable signal for more than two years. On 12 August 1993 the spacecraft experienced another problem with the altitude control, but this time there was not enough fuel left for a recovery maneuver and thus the mission came to an end.

Description: An effective means of reducing Ka-band propagation loss is the use of high elevation angle paths, i.e., a large masking angle, between earth stations and the space platform. Experimental data have shown that the signal loss associated with most atmospheric effects is inversely proportional to sin(theta), where theta denotes the path elevation angle. A large masking angle and a generous link margin are the primary tools used in the Teledesic Corporation network to minimize atmospheric-related signal outages. This report documents the results of a study sponsored by Teledesic Corporation to characterize the effect of radiowave propagation on Teledesic's links. The recent Olympus campaign in Europe and the U.S. has provided new information that is not included. Therefore, CCIR recommendations and NASA Propagation Handbook models constitute the base of this study, and, when applicable, data from other sources have been used to improve the predictions. Furthermore, attention has been given to data from the Olympus campaign. The effects investigated during this study include gas, rain, fog, sand, and cloud attenuation; diversity gain; scintillation; and depolarization.

Description: A series of programmatic and technical goals for the satellite laser ranging (SLR) network are presented. They are: (1) standardize the performance of the global SLR network; (2) improve the geographic distribution of stations; (3) reduce costs of field operations and data processing; (4) expand the 24 hour temporal coverage to better serve the growing constellation of satellites; (5) improve absolute range accuracy to 2 mm at key stations; (6) improve satellite force, radiative propagation, and station motion models and investigate alternative geodetic analysis techniques; (7) support technical intercomparison and the Terrestrial Reference Frame through global collocations; (8) investigate potential synergisms between GPS and SLR.

Description: The launch of GPS-35 (RPN 5) with a laser retroreflector has provided an opportunity to compare SLR-determined orbits of a GPS satellite with those determined by GPS receivers operated with the transmitted radio signals on the L(sub 1) and L(sub 2) frequencies. Operational considerations of the SLR and hardware design have influenced the amount and quality of SLR data collected on this satellite. As of February 1, 1994, all of the collected SLR data have been collected from northern hemisphere stations. Adequate southern hemisphere coverage is required to fully compare the results obtained from L(sub 1)/L(sub 2) and from SLR.

Description: SLR 2000 is a concept for a totally automated subcentimeter SLR system presently being studied at GSFC. If funding permits, a prototype would be installed and tested at the Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory (GCAO) in FY98 and a small number of automated stations would be fielded by the year 2000. Unlike present systems, the "SLR 2000" system is being designed to: 1) operate autonomously without the need for onsite operators; 2) present no hazards (i.e., optical, electrical, and/or chemical) to personnel in the vicinity or to overflying aircraft; and 3) have a mean time between failures (MTBF) of at least three months. It is assumed that the systems are located at "friendly" sites where some level of security is provided and where certain low level service functions (e.g. commercial power, communications, heat pump service cleaning, etc.) are available or can be contracted for locally on an as-needed basis. The main system consists of two parts - an optical head and electronics rack. The optical head contains the laser transmitter and power supply, transmit/receive switch, optical telescope, tracking angle sensor (intensified CCD camera), detector and power supply, two angular encoders, azimuth and elevation motors, and a protective dome. The optical head mounts directly to the top of a concrete pier which contains the geodetic monument and forms part of the environmental housing for the hardware and servicing personnel. It is equipped with electronic levels for leveling the mount and monitoring its stability.

Description: An experiment was designed to launch a corner cube retroreflector array on one of the Global Positioning Satellites (GPS). The launch on Aug. 31, 1993 ushered in the era of SLR tracking of GPS spacecraft. Once the space operations group finished the check-out procedures for the new satellite, the agreed upon SLR sites were allowed to track it. The first site to acquire GPS-35 was the Russian system at Maidanak and closely after the MLRS system at McDonald Observatory, Texas. The laser tracking network is currently tracking the GPS spacecraft known as GPS-35 or PRN 5 with great success. From the NASA side there are five stations that contribute data regularly and nearly as many from the international partners. Upcoming modifications to the ground receivers will allow for a further increase in the tracking capabilities of several additional sites and add some desperately needed southern hemisphere tracking. We are analyzing the data and are comparing SLR-derived orbits to those determined on the basis of GPS radiometric data.

Description: Clearly a calibration of the TOPEX altimeter (and future TOPEX-class altimeters) which is more accurate and better prepared to meet the demands of global sea level trend monitoring is warranted. TOPEX/Posideon (T/P) is in its second year of data acquisition. If it survives or surpasses the two to five year projected baseline, an unprecedented opportunity for monitoring global sea level trends at mm/y levels will have been lost due to insufficient accuracy in its altimeter calibration. It is therefore paramount to revisit the design of the T/P calibration experiment and implement a more direct approach which better utilizes the accuracy of SLR to perform this needed bias assessment.

Description: Since the beginning of regular space geodetic measurements, Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) has routinely provided polar motion and length of day solutions. At the present time, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) regularly produces daily polar motion solutions with 0.4 mas accuracy, equivalent to the routine 1-day VLBI experiments and SLR solutions using 3 days of Lageos-1 data. This rapid progress of the GPS technique forces a review of any resource allocations for VLBI and SLR measurements of Earth orientation.

Description: Since a VLBI station cannot operate in isolation and since simultaneous operation of the entire VLBI network is impractical, it is necessary to design observing programs with periodic observing sessions using networks of 3-7 stations that, when treated together, will have the necessary interstation data and network overlaps to determine the desired rates of change. Thus, there has been a mix of global, intercontinental, transcontinental, and regional networks to make measurements ranging from plate motions to deformation over a few hundred km. Over time, even networks focusing on regional deformation using mobile VLBI included large stations removed by several thousand km to increase sensitivity, determine EOP more accurately, and provide better ties to the terrestrial reference frame (TRF). Analysis products have also evolved, beginning with baseline components, and then to full three-dimensional site velocities in a global TRF.

Description: The inherent precision of the doubly differenced phase measurement and the low cost of instrumentation made GPS the space geodetic technique of choice for regional surveys as soon as the constellation reached acceptable geometry in the area of interest: 1985 in western North America, the early 1990's in most of the world. Instrument and site-related errors for horizontal positioning are usually less than 3 mm, so that the dominant source of error is uncertainty in the reference frame defined by the satellites orbits and the tracking stations used to determine them. Prior to about 1992, when the tracking network for most experiments was globally sparse, the number of fiducial sites or the level at which they could be tied to an SLR or VLBI reference frame usually, set the accuracy limit. Recently, with a global network of over 30 stations, the limit is set more often by deficiencies in models for non-gravitational forces acting on the satellites. For regional networks in the northern hemisphere, reference frame errors are currently about 3 parts per billion (ppb) in horizontal position, allowing centimeter-level accuracies over intercontinental distances and less than 1 mm for a 100 km baseline. The accuracy of GPS measurements for monitoring height variations is generally 2-3 times worse than for horizontal motions. As for VLBI, the primary source of error is unmodeled fluctuations in atmospheric water vapor, but both reference frame uncertainties and some instrument errors are more serious for vertical than horizontal measurements. Under good conditions, daily repeatabilities at the level of 10 mm rms were achieved. This paper will summarize the current accuracy of GPS measurements and their implication for the use of SLR to study regional kinematics.

Description: The stations of the Global Laser Tracking Network have significantly contributed to the measurement of plate kinematics. The expanding network of progressively improved instruments clearly demonstrates the systems' centimeter positioning accuracy. Several satellite laser ranging (SLR) analysis groups have adopted techniques to distill geodynamic information from the Lageos-1 satellite observations using orbital arc lengths from an hour to a decade. SLR observations now provide the scale for the International Terrestrial Reference System and help to define the Earth's polar motion in this system. Agreement between positions separately determined with SLR, VLBI and GPS systems has been established at the level of a few centimeters in position and a few millimeters per year in horizontal velocity.

Description: Redistribution of mass within the Earth system changes its gravitational field, and thus changes the orbits of Earth satellites. While these variations are small, Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) to precise geodetic satellites such as Lageos-1, Lageos-2, Starlette, Ajisai, and Stella can detect these changes at their broadest spatial scales (currently greater than 10,000 km). The satellites sense only the combined variation in the solid Earth-ocean-atmosphere system; however, modeling of these different components has led to detection of long-wavelength variations in the distribution of atmospheric mass, changes in the amplitudes of atmospheric and oceanic tides, and secular variations caused by the post-glacial adjustment of the Earth's crust. The unambiguous detection of ocean mass redistribution by SLR has not been verified due largely to inadequacies in current ocean models. Great progress has been made in recent years in the determination of luni-solar tides and the braking they induce in the Earth-Moon-Sun system (leading to secular changes in the length-to-day and lengthening of the lunar orbit period) using a wide variety of techniques including ocean tide gauges, satellite altimetry, Lunar Laser Ranging, and near-Earth satellite orbit modeling. Recent investigations of the more complex and less predictable non-tidal temporal variations in the gravity field have generally proceeded along two fronts: 1) the determination of long-wavelength variations in the gravity field through the changing perturbations seen in the orbits of near-Earth satellites, and 2) the prediction of temporal variations in gravity using geophysical, atmospheric, and oceanic models. A convergence of these efforts is sought to better understand the source of observed changes in the Earth's gravitational field.

Description: The terrestrial reference frame (TRF) is realized by a set of positions and velocities derived from a combination of the three space geodetic techniques, SLR, VLBI and GPS. The standard International TRF is constructed by the International Earth Rotation Service in such a way that it is stable with time and the addition of new data. An adopted model for overall plate motion, NUVEL-1 NNR, defines the conceptual reference frame in which all the plates are moving. In addition to the measurements made between reference points within the space geodetic instruments, it is essential to have accurate, documented eccentricity measurements from the instrument reference points to ground monuments. Proper local surveys between the set of ground monuments at a site are also critical for the use of the space geodetic results. Eccentricities and local surveys are, in fact, the most common and vexing sources of error in the use of the TRF for such activities as collocation and intercomparison.

Description: The conception of the amplification of the coherent field is formulated. The definition of the coefficient of the amplification as the relation between the mean value of the field at the output to the value at the input and the definition of the noise as the difference between the number of photons in the output mode and square of the modulus of the mean value of the output amplitude are considered. Using a simple example it is shown that by these definitions the noise of the nonlinear amplifier may be less than the noise of the ideal linear amplifier of the same amplification coefficient. Proposals to search another definition of basic parameters of the nonlinear amplifiers are discussed. This definition should enable us to formulate the universal fundamental lower limit of the noise which should be valid for linear quantum amplifiers as for nonlinear ones.

Description: Electromagnetic fields of the vacuum mode near a conducting mirror are modified with respect to those in free space, with their amplitudes having a sinusoidal spatial dependence from the mirror. Therefore if we combine this spatially amplitude-modulated vacuum field mode and intense coherent light with a beam splitter, we may detect this fluctuation of the vacuum mode in a homodyne detection scheme. It will give a new method to produce squeezed states of light with a single mirror placed close to an unused port of a beam splitter. We show that the amplitude fluctuation of the combined light can be reduced by a factor of 2 below that of the coherent light. We also discuss the limitations due to the finite line width of the laser and the effective absorption length of the photodiodes.

Description: The Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder (ISAMS) is producing the first global measurements of emission from the 1 yields 0 band of nitric oxide (NO). The emission from the lower thermosphere has been examined and is seen to increase dramatically at times corresponding to high solar activity. The temporal and geographical extent of the effect is reported, and possible mechanisms for the enhanced emission are discussed. The need for adequate representation of thermospheric NO emission in order to retrieve NO number densities at all heights from ISAMS data is discussed, as are prospects for science studies using such NO number density measurements.

Description: The Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric (ISAMS) on board the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) incorporates a 12.1 micron window channel for the measurement of aerosol opacity. The retrieval scheme is discussed briefly and preliminary observations of the Mt. Pinatubo aerosol cloud are presented and compared with SAGE 2 observations at 1.02 microns. The effect of aerosol on other ISAMS channels and its spectral dependence is discussed.