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Source: IRS e-Filed Form 990 (from the IRS e-File system), Tax Year 2023
Total Revenue
▼$1.6M
Program Spending
80%
of total expenses go to program services
Total Contributions
$1.1M
Total Expenses
▼$1.7M
Total Assets
$875.2K
Total Liabilities
▼$120.8K
Net Assets
$754.4K
Officer Compensation
→$142.5K
Other Salaries
$637.2K
Investment Income
$14.8K
Fundraising
▼$701.7K
Source: USAspending.gov · Searched by organization name
Total Federal Funding (partial)
$81.7M
Awards Found
200+
Additional awards may exist. View all on USAspending.gov →
| Awarding Agency | Description | Amount | Fiscal Year | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | NASA HAS INSPIRED THE PUBLIC FOR DECADES WITH ITS MISSION TO EXPLORE NEW FRONTIERS AND TO DRIVE ADVANCES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MAT | $10.2M | FY2016 | Feb 2016 – Dec 2026 |
| National Science Foundation | BROAD IMPLEMENTATION: PHASE 2 OF THE STAR LIBRARY EDUCATION NETWORK | $3.3M | FY2014 | Sep 2014 – Apr 2021 |
| National Science Foundation | ASTEROIDS! AN INTEGRATED ASTRONOMY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR SMALL SCIENCE CENTERS AND LIBRARIES | $3M | FY2008 | Sep 2008 – Aug 2012 |
| National Science Foundation | ENHANCING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN LIBRARIES OF RURAL COMMUNITIES | $2.8M | FY2020 | Jan 2020 – Aug 2025 |
| National Science Foundation | STAR LIBRARY EDUCATION NETWORK: A HANDS-ON LEARNING PROGRAM FOR LIBRARIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES | $2.5M | FY2010 | Sep 2010 – Aug 2013 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FIRE-NET: IMPROVING FIRE RESPONSE TIME THROUGH A UNIFIED DATA-DRIVEN GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH: DECISION-SUPPORT DATA INTEGRATION NETWORK SYSTEM (DESDINY) -DUE TO AN INCREASE IN WILDFIRE FREQUENCY, FIREFIGHTERS MUST OFTEN FIGHT MULTIPLE FIRES SIMULTANEOUSLY ON A REGULAR BASIS. FIREFIGHTING AGENCIES FACE DECISION MAKING AND INFORMATION INTEGRATION CHALLENGES, AS THEY HAVE BECOME DELUGED WITH DATA AND INFORMATION FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES AND INTERFACES. THEIR TOP PRIORITY IS DATA AND INFORMATION INTEGRATION, YET THEY ARE OFTEN HINDERED BY THE LACK OF UNIFIED INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE, COGNITIVE OVERLOAD, AND SYSTEMS NETWORKING AMONG DATA AND USERS. A UNIFIED DATA AND INFORMATION INTEGRATION SYSTEM WOULD REDUCE FIREFIGHTING RESPONSE TIME, MITIGATE DAMAGE AND SAVE LIVES. THIS PROJECT USES HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN RESEARCH ON USER ENGAGEMENT ACROSS PLATFORMS AND DATA TO BUILD A DECISION-SUPPORT DATA INTEGRATION NETWORK SYSTEM (DESDINY). THE RESEARCH TEAM CONVENES A NETWORKED CONFERENCE OF FIRE CHIEFS ACROSS MULTIPLE AGENCIES TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF WILDLAND FIRE DATA INTEGRATION, DESIGNED TO MAXIMIZE IMPACT ACROSS FIRE AGENCIES. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY (OCFA), ONE OF THE LARGEST FIRE AGENCIES IN THE U.S., SERVING OVER 2 MILLION PEOPLE. THE NETWORK-BUILDING FOCUS WILL ALLOW EXPANSION OF ITS OUTREACH TO COMMUNITIES AND AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES TO WORK TOWARDS ACHIEVING A MORE RESILIENT FUTURE. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT BROADER IMPACTS BY SAVING LIVES, MITIGATING PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND UNIFYING KNOWLEDGE ECOSYSTEMS BY IMPROVING SPEED AND ACCURACY OF DECISION-MAKING. THREE MAIN SCIENCE QUESTIONS DRIVE THE RESEARCH. FIRST, HOW CAN SYNERGIES AND DIFFERENCES IN DECISION-MAKING ACROSS FIRE AGENCIES BE MAPPED AND INTERFACED TO IMPROVE THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM OF FIRE DATA INTEGRATION? SECOND, HOW DO DISCREPANCIES IN DATA AND INFORMATION CONTENT, RESOLUTIONS, ACCURACIES/UNCERTAINTIES, AND TIMING IMPACT WILDFIRE DECISION-MAKING? FINALLY, HOW CAN WILDFIRE DECISION-MAKING BE ACCELERATED? THE THREE CORE OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROJECT ARE: 1) CONVENE A CONFERENCE OF FIRE CHIEFS THROUGH A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS TO DEVELOP AN INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FOR DATA AND INFORMATION INTEGRATION AND OPTIMIZATION; 2) PROTOTYPE A DECISION-SUPPORT DATA INTEGRATION NETWORK SYSTEM (DESDINY) TO IMPROVE DECISION-MAKING SPEED, CONFIDENCE, AND ACCURACY; AND 3) CONDUCT A QUANTITATIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE THE IMPROVEMENT IN DECISION-MAKING SPEED, CONFIDENCE, AND ACCURACY. ACHIEVEMENT OF THESE OBJECTIVES WILL LEAD TO IMPORTANT ADVANCES IN: 1) WILDFIRE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS; 2) WILDFIRE DECISION-MAKING ACROSS FIRE AGENCIES; AND 3) ACCESS TO CODE AND SOFTWARE THAT IS FREELY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD. | $1.8M | FY2026 | Jan 2026 – Dec 2028 |
| National Science Foundation | STEPS - SCIENCETHEATER EDUCATION PROGRAMMING SYSTEM: A VEHICLE FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY, AND COMMUNICATING SCIEN | $1.3M | FY2007 | Aug 2007 – Jun 2010 |
| National Science Foundation | PROJECT BUILD (BUILDING USING AN INTERACTIVE LEARNING DESIGN) | $1.1M | FY2017 | Apr 2017 – Mar 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PARTNER WITH PUBLIC LIBRARIES TO HELP INFORM ENGAGE AND INSPIRE NEW AND UNDERSERVED PUBLIC AUDIENCES. | $987.1K | FY2021 | Mar 2021 – Aug 2025 |
| National Science Foundation | SPACE WEATHER OUTREACH | $864K | FY2008 | Aug 2008 – Jul 2012 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS RELATED TO A VARIETY OF PHENOMENA IN THE NEAR-EARTH SPACE ENVIRONMENT INDUCE ELECTRIC FIELDS AT THE EARTH S SURFACE. THESE "GEOELECTRIC" FIELDS IN TURN DRIVE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING GEOMAGNETICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS (GIC) IN TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SUCH AS RAILROADS PIPELINES SUBMARINE CABLES AND POWER GRIDS. THE SPATIO-TEMPORAL SPECIFICATION OF GEOELECTRIC FIELDS IS NEEDED TO IMPROVE FORECASTS OF GIC AND THE COMBINATION OF GROUND CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENTS AND THE TIME RATE OF CHANGE OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD (DB/DT) CAN BE USED TO ESTIMATE THE GEOELECTRIC FIELD. PULSATIONS OR WAVES AT THE LOWER END OF THE ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) BAND IN THE COUPLED MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE (M-I) GENERATE PERIODIC GROUND MAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS AND DB/DT THAT HAVE BEEN LINKED TO GEOELECTRIC FIELDS AND GIC. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF ULF WAVES IN GENERATING GEOELECTRIC FIELDS IS THUS NEEDED TO IMPROVE GIC MODELS AND FORECASTING CAPABILITIES. ..WE PROPOSE A COORDINATED INVESTIGATION USING SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS COHERENT SCATTER RADARS (SUPERDARN) GROUND MAGNETOMETERS MAGNETO-TELLURIC SURVEYS AND GEOELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS TO ADDRESS THE OVER-ARCHING SCIENCE QUESTION "HOW DO ULF WAVES IN THE M-I SYSTEM COUPLE TO GEOELECTRIC FIELD VARIATIONS RELEVANT TO GIC?" WITH SUB-QUESTIONS "WHAT ARE THE SPATIAL/TEMPORAL SCALES OF DB/DT AND GEOELECTRIC FIELDS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT ULF WAVE MODES? WHAT COMBINATIONS OF ULF WAVE PROPERTIES DRIVING CONDITIONS AND LOCAL GROUND CONDUCTIVITIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LARGEST DB/DT AND GEOELECTRIC FIELDS?" BY EXAMINING HOW ULF WAVES COUPLE THROUGH THE M-I SYSTEM TO GROUND DB/DT THIS STUDY ADDRESSES THE HIGH-LEVEL DECADAL SURVEY GOAL 2 "DETERMINE THE DYNAMICS AND COUPLING OF EARTH S MAGNETOSPHERE IONOSPHERE AND ATMOSPHERE AND THEIR RESPONSE TO SOLAR AND TERRESTRIAL INPUTS " IS CONSISTENT WITH THE NASA HELIOPHYSICS DIVISION STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE TO "UNDERSTAND THE SUN AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH THE EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM INCLUDING SPACE WEATHER" (NASA HELIOPHYSICS ROADMAP) AND COMPLEMENTS EFFORTS BY THE NASA LWS INSTITUTE GIC GROUP. ..WE WILL ADDRESS THE SCIENCE QUESTIONS THROUGH A COMBINATION OF (1) ESTIMATES OF ULF GEOLECTRIC FIELDS OBTAINED FROM A META-ANALYSIS OF PREVIOUS ULF WAVE STUDIES AND MAGNETO-TELLURIC IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENTS (2) GLOBAL MEASUREMENTS OF ULF WAVE PROPERTIES USED TO OBTAIN GEOELECTRIC FIELDS IN DETAILED CASE STUDIES (3) STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF CO-LOCATED GROUND MAGNETIC AND GEOELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS. THE PI IS QUALIFIED FOR THIS STUDY DUE TO (1) RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS THAT DEMONSTRATE ULF WAVE EXPERTISE AND ABILITY TO EXPLORE NEW SCIENTIFIC IDEAS THAT WILL IMPACT THE ULF WAVE AND GIC RESEARCH FIELDS AND (2) CURRENT LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES THAT DEMONSTRATE ABILITY TO DEVELOP ULF WAVE THEMES LEAD COMMUNITY IN NEW DIRECTIONS AND MENTOR JUNIOR RESEARCHERS. ..THIS INVESTIGATION IS TIMELY AS IT USES SEVERAL RECENTLY AVAILABLE DATASETS TO PROVIDE NEW CONSTRAINTS ON ULF WAVE IMPACTS ON GEOELECTRIC FIELDS/GIC. THROUGH ULF WAVE EXPERTISE AND CURRENT LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES (E.G. GEM ULF WAVE FOCUS GROUP) THE PI IS WELL-POSITIONED TO COMMUNICATE NEW RESULTS TO BOTH THE ULF WAVE AND GIC MODELING RESEARCH GROUPS FOSTERING CROSS-DISCUSSION BETWEEN THESE COMMUNITIES AND FOCUSING FUTURE MODELING/OBSERVATION EFFORTS ON ULF WAVE MODES MOST LIKELY TO GENERATE SIGNIFICANT GIC. . | $841K | FY2019 | Jun 2019 – May 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 22-LWS22_2-0028 ADVANCED STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SOLAR WIND CONTROL OF MAGNETOSPHERIC ACTIVITY AND MAGNETOSPHERIC PARTICLE POPULATIONS | $817.5K | FY2023 | May 2023 – May 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE HELIOSPHERIC CURRENT-SHEET NETWORK AND THE CELLULARIZATION OF THE SOLAR WIND | $750K | FY2021 | Aug 2021 – Aug 2028 |
| National Science Foundation | NEW TECHNIQUES FOR INTERPRETING PHYSICAL STRUCTURES AND TURBULENCE IN THE SOLAR WIND | $750K | FY2014 | Apr 2014 – Mar 2017 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | NASA HAS INSPIRED THE PUBLIC FOR DECADES WITH ITS MISSION TO EXPLORE NEW FRONTIERS AND TO DRIVE ADVANCES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MAT | $735.5K | FY2014 | Sep 2014 – Aug 2018 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WAVES GENERATED BY ACCELERATED PARTICLES ARE IMPORTANT THROUGHOUT OUR HELIOSPHERE. THESE PARTICLES OFTEN GAIN THEIR ENERGY AT SHOCKS VIA FERMI ACCELERATION. AT THE EARTH'S BOW SHOCK THIS MECHANISM ACCELERATES ION BEAMS BACK INTO THE SOLAR WIND THE BEAMS CAN THEN GENERATE ULTRA-LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) WAVES WHEN THEY INTERACT WITH THE BACKGROUND SOLAR WIND PLASMA. THESE WAVES CAN INFLUENCE SPACE WEATHER ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE GROUND AND REPRESENT A NATURAL LABORATORY FOR FUTURE TURBULENCE-RELEVANT NON-LINEAR STUDIES. DESPITE A CLEAR CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BEAM AND THE WAVES THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROPERTIES AND DYNAMICS OF THE OBSERVED ULF WAVES ARE STILL A MATTER OF DEBATE. FOR EXAMPLE EVOLUTION OF THE OBSERVED FREQUENCIES IN TIME AND SPACE MAY BE DUE TO A) FAST CHANGES IN THE BEAM PROPERTIES OR B) A NON-LINEAR PARAMETRIC INSTABILITY OF THE ULF WAVES. WE PROPOSE TO ELUCIDATE THIS AND OTHER KEY PHYSICS USING A NOVEL COMBINATION OF ARTEMIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER SPACECRAFT THE VLASIATOR GLOBAL HYBRID-VLASOV SIMULATION CODE AND A NEW ARBITRARY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION DISPERSION SOLVER. THE RESULTS WILL BE APPLICABLE TO SHOCKS ELSEWHERE IN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THUS MAY INFORM PRESENT AND FUTURE NASA MISSIONS. THE PROPOSED STUDY IS RELEVANT TO ALL FOUR DECADAL SURVEY GOALS: GOAL 1) RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WILL HELP PREDICT VARIATIONS IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT IN THE ION FORESHOCK AND COUPLED REGIONS OF THE MAGNETOSPHERE OF BOTH EARTH AND OTHER PLANETS. GOAL 2) THE ION BEAM AND ASSOCIATED ULF WAVES REPRESENT A RESPONSE OF THE EARTH'S MAGNETOSPHERE TO SOLAR INPUT. A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS RESPONSE WILL BE OBTAINED BY CARRYING OUT THE PROPOSED STUDY. GOAL 3) THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND SIMILAR SHOCKS THAT DETERMINE THE INTERACTION OF THE SOLAR WIND WITH THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM. GOAL 4) ION BEAM-WAVE INTERACTIONS AND PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES ARE FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES THAT OCCUR BOTH WITHIN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE. WE AIM TO CHARACTERIZE THESE PROCESSES USING THE EARTH'S ION FORESHOCK REGION AS OUR LABORATORY. | $698K | FY2020 | Apr 2020 – Mar 2026 |
| National Science Foundation | IS THE SOLAR WIND ELECTRON STRAHL A SEED POPULATION FOR THE EARTH'S ELECTRON RADIATION BELT? -THE NEAR-EARTH SPACE IS FILLED WITH CHARGED PARTICLES FROM THE SOLAR WIND AND THE EARTH'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE. HOWEVER, HOW THESE PARTICLES ARE ACCELERATED AND TRANSPORTED INTO THE RADIATION BELT REMAINS A MYSTERY. THIS MAGNETOSPHERIC PROJECT WILL EXPLORE A POSSIBLE PATHWAY TO DISCERN THE ULTIMATE SOURCE POPULATION OF THE EARTH'S ELECTRON RADIATION BELT AND DISCERN THE CONTROLLING FACTORS FOR THAT SOURCE POPULATION. THE REASONING IS AS FOLLOWS. (1) BECAUSE THE ELECTRON RADIATION BELT IS LOST ON OCCASION, A SEED POPULATION OF ENERGETIC ELECTRONS IS REQUIRED TO REPLACE THE BELT. (2) IT IS COMMONLY ACCEPTED THAT THE RADIATION-BELT SEED POPULATION IS THE POPULATION OF ENERGETIC ELECTRONS INJECTED INTO THE DIPOLE BY SUBSTORMS. (3) THESE SUBSTORM-INJECTED ELECTRONS ARE SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS IN THE EARTH'S MAGNETOTAIL PLASMA SHEET THAT ARE ADIABATICALLY DELIVERED FROM THE MAGNETOTAIL INTO THE DIPOLE BY SUBSTORMS. (4) A RESULTING QUESTION IS: WHERE DO THE MAGNETOTAIL SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS COME FROM, AND WHAT FACTORS CONTROL THEM? THIS PROJECT ARGUES THAT THE MAGNETOTAIL SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS COME FROM THE ENERGETIC ELECTRON STRAHL IN THE SOLAR WIND. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS NSF PROJECT ARE: (1) TO DETERMINE WHETHER (AND BY HOW MUCH) THE SOLAR-WIND ELECTRON STRAHL ACTS AS A SEED POPULATION FOR THE EARTH'S ELECTRON RADIATION BELT, (2) TO DETERMINE THE CONTROLLING FACTORS FOR THIS PROCESS, (3) TO TRACE THE ELECTRON STRAHL FROM THE SOLAR WIND, INTO THE EARTH'S MAGNETOTAIL PLASMA SHEET, INTO SUBSTORM INJECTIONS, AND EVOLVING INTO THE ELECTRON RADIATION BELT, AND (4) TO DISCERN WHETHER THERE ARE OTHER SOURCES OF THE SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS IN THE MAGNETOTAIL PLASMA SHEET THAT BECOME ENERGETIC SUBSTORM- INJECTED ELECTRONS. IN THE DIVERSE DATA ANALYSIS OF THIS PROJECT, THE STRAHL ELECTRON POPULATION IN THE SOLAR WIND AT EARTH WILL BE STATISTICALLY FOLLOWED INTO THE MAGNETOTAIL PLASMA SHEET, INTO SUBSTORM ELECTRON INJECTIONS, AND INTO THE ELECTRON RADIATION BELT. THE DATA ANALYSIS WILL BE GUIDED BY COMPUTER SIMULATIONS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THE STRAHL ELECTRON POPULATION AS IT ENTERS INTO AND TRAVERSES THROUGH THE MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE SYSTEM. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA. | $682.3K | FY2023 | Jul 2023 – Jun 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IS EFFECTIVELY IDENTIFIED OBSERVATIONALLY VIA THE DETECTION OF FAST OUTFLOW JETS CAUSED BY THE CONVERSION OF MAGNETIC ENERGY TO KINETIC ENERGY. INDEED RECONNECTION JETS ARE AMONG THE MOST DIAGNOSED FEATURES IN SPACE PLASMAS AND A LARGE DATABASE OF SUCH ENCOUNTERS IS AVAILABLE FROM MANY MISSIONS. WE FOCUS HERE ON THE EXISTING DATA FROM MMS IN THE MAGNETOPAUSE AND IN THE TAIL AS WELL AS DATA FROM PREVIOUS MISSIONS. TAKEN TOGETHER THESE ENCOUNTERS FORM THE BASIS FOR A DETAILED INVESTIGATION DESIGNED TO ARRIVE AT A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF RECONNECTION IN THE EVOLUTION OF MAGNETOSPHERIC PLASMAS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH EFFORT FOCUS ON TWO DISTINCT RECONNECTION SCENARIOS: ISOLATED RECONNECTION SITES WHERE OUTFLOW JETS PROPAGATE INTO AND INTERACT WITH THE PRE-EXISTING PLASMA TO FORM FRONTS AND MULTIPLE RECONNECTIONS SITES WHERE THE JETS INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT WAVES AND INSTABILITIES DEVELOP IN THESE OUTFLOWS. IN THE OUTFLOWS WE OBSERVE TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPIES VELOCITY SHEARS INTERPENETRATING BEAMS DENSITY AND PRESSURE GRADIENTS THE PRESENCE OF UNFAVORABLE MAGNETIC FIELD LINE CURVATURE. ALL THESE SOURCES OF FREE ENERGY HAVE BEEN OBSERVED TO CAUSE INSTABILITIES. THE NON-LINEAR DEVELOPMENT OF THESE WAVES LEADS TO A STRONG MODIFICATION OF THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION LEADING TO PARTICLE ACCELERATION AND HEATING AS WELL AS THE INSURGENCE OF STRONG POYNTING FLUXES CARRYING ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY. IN THESE CONDITIONS THE OUTFLOWS BECOME A POWERHOUSE FOR ENERGY EXCHANGE FOR THE FORMATION OF SECONDARY RECONNECTION SITES AND THE ONSET OF A POSSIBLY TURBULENT CASCADE. THE QUESTION IS THEN HOW IMPORTANT ARE THESE PHENOMENON IN TERMS OF THEIR IMPACT ON THE DYNAMICS OF SUBSTORMS AND THEIR IMPACT CLOSER TO EARTH? THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTION LIES IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE WAVE SPECTRA OF THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS AND OF THE ENERGY TRANSPORT FLUXES (POYNTING HEAT ENTHALPY) FOR EACH SPECIES AND FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS. THESE CAN BE MEASURED IN SITU AT VARIOUS DISTANCES FROM THE RECONNECTION SITE (INTENDED HERE AS THE LOCI WHERE FIELD LINES BREAK AND RECONNECT OFTEN LOOSELY CALLED X-POINTS). FORM A DATABASE OF DIFFERENT CROSSING AND FROM DIFFERENT SPACECRAFTS AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS FOR THE SAME CROSSING INFORMATION CAN BE DERIVED ON THE ENERGY FLUXES AND CAN BE PUT IN CONTEXT OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF RECONNECTION IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE. THIS ANSWER WILL DEPEND DRASTICALLY ON THE GLOBAL CONTEXT OF RECONNECTION FOR EACH DIFFERENT CROSSING. TO ADDRESS THESE SCIENCE QUESTIONS AND ACHIEVE OUR GOALS WE WILL EMPLOY THE FOLLOWING METHODOLOGY EMPLOYING A COMBINATION OF STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTER SIMULATIONS AND DATA ANALYSIS: MMS (BUT TO A LESSER DEGREE ALSO PREVIOUS MISSIONS) ALLOW US TO CONSTRUCT SIMULATIONS INITIALIZED WITH THE LOCALLY OBSERVED PARTICLE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS AND WITH A MEAN CONFIGURATION OF THE PLASMA AND FIELDS INDUCED BY THE DATA. WE CAN THEN OBTAIN FROM SIMULATION THE PLASMA EVOLUTION UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS AND COMPARE DIRECTLY VIRTUAL MEASURES IN THE SIMULATED PLASMA WITH REAL DIAGNOSTICS FROM THE MISSIONS. THE NOVELTY IS THE USE OF OBSERVATIONAL DATA TO SETUP THE SIMULATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTHETIC MEASUREMENTS FROM THE SIMULATION TO REPLICATE THE OBSERVED MEASUREMENTS. THE LOOP STARTING WITH DATA LEADING TO DATA-DRIVEN SIMULATIONS AND PRODUCING SYNTHETIC OBSERVATIONS WILL BE CLOSED BY THE DIRECT COMPARISON OF REAL OBSERVATIONS AND SYNTHETIC OBSERVATION USING THEORY MODELS CAPABLE OF PREDICTING THE WAVES AND INSTABILITY IN THE SIMULATIONS AND IN THE OBSERVED NATURAL PLASMA. BY ADDRESSING THE STATED SCIENCE QUESTIONS USING THE STATED METHODOLOGY THE PRESENT PROPOSAL AIMS CENTRALLY AT GOAL #4 OF THE HELIOSPHERIC DECADAL SURVEY GOAL: MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IS A FUNDAMENTAL PLASMA PROCESS THAT OCCURS BOTH WITHIN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE. | $679.5K | FY2019 | Jul 2019 – Jun 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO ADVANCE A CURRENTLY EXISTING MODEL OF THE ELECTRON AND ION FLUXES IN THE INNER MAGNETOSPHERE BY EXTENDING THE SPATIAL COVERAGE TO L2-7 AND EXTENDING THE ENERGY COVERAGE TO 0.001-2000 KEV. THE PROJECT WILL BUILD ON THE FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY OF A FREELY-AVAILABLE AND INDEPENDENTLY-TESTED MODEL THAT CURRENTLY DELIVERS FORECASTS OF THE ION AND ELECTRON FLUXES AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT (GEO) LDENTON ET AL. 2015; DENTON ET AL. 2016]. SINCE ITS DEVELOPMENT THE MODEL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY UTILIZED BY A VARIETY OF GROUPS IN THE COMMUNITY WITH A SCIENCE OPERATIONS AND COMMERCIAL FOCUS. | $612.4K | FY2017 | Sep 2017 – Sep 2023 |
| National Science Foundation | MAKING SPACE SOCIAL: EXPLORING THE EDUCATIONAL POTENTIAL OF THE FACEBOOK SOCIAL NETWORK | $594.4K | FY2010 | Sep 2010 – Aug 2012 |
| National Science Foundation | LABORATORY CHARACTERIZATION OF CO-PROPAGATING ALFVEN WAVE INTERACTIONS -THE BEHAVIOR OF TURBULENCE IS ONE OF THE MOST HOTLY DEBATED TOPICS AMONG RESEARCHERS, AND UNDERSTANDING THIS BEHAVIOR HAS BEEN A LONG-STANDING GOAL OF THE HELIOPHYSICS COMMUNITY. TURBULENCE IN THE NEAR-SUN SOLAR WIND IS IMBALANCED, MEANING THERE ARE MANY MORE WAVES MOVING AWAY FROM THE SUN THAN TOWARDS THE SUN; THIS IMBALANCE MAY IMPACT WHICH INTERACTIONS BETWEEN WAVES ARE MOST IMPORTANT FOR MOVING ENERGY FROM LARGE TO SMALL SCALES IN THE SOLAR WIND. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW ENERGY MOVES THROUGH THIS SYSTEM, THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT SCALED LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS TO PRECISELY CHARACTERIZE TWO OF THESE WAVE-WAVE INTERACTIONS AND COMPARE THEM TO A THIRD (PREVIOUSLY STUDIED) INTERACTION. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL QUANTITATIVELY DEMONSTRATE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THESE INTERACTIONS, WHICH CAN INFORM INTERPRETATION OF SPACECRAFT DATA AND FUTURE SIMULATION EFFORTS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS RESEARCH IS LED BY AND WILL PRIMARILY SUPPORT AN EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHER FROM AN UNDERREPRESENTED GROUP WHO DEVOTES SUBSTANTIAL TIME TO A VARIETY OF COMMUNITY EFFORTS IN BROADEN PARTICIPATION OF THE FULL SPECTRUM OF DIVERSE TALENTS IN STEM. THE TEAM WILL PARTICIPATE IN OUTREACH PROGRAMS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION. THIS WORK INCLUDES AN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION COMPONENT. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WAVE-WAVE INTERACTION PROCESSES WHICH MAY BE CONTROLLING IMBALANCED SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE AT ION SCALES, PARTICULARLY IN THE SOLAR CORONA AND INNER SOLAR WIND. SPECIFICALLY, THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT A SERIES OF LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS ON LARGE PLASMA DEVICE (LAPD) LOCATED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES TO INVESTIGATE THE DETAILED BEHAVIOR OF TWO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CO-PROPAGATING ALFV?N WAVES: A NOVEL INTERACTION DRIVEN BY HALL PHYSICS, AND THE ALREADY KNOWN DISPERSIVE INTERACTION. THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT A SCALING STUDY OF THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THESE TWO CO-PROPAGATING INTERACTIONS AND COMPARE THEM TO THE OFTEN-DOMINANT MHD COUNTER-PROPAGATING INTERACTION. THESE COMPARISONS WILL HELP ESTABLISH WHICH PROCESSES MAY BE MOST ACTIVE IN DRIVING THE DYNAMICS OF IMBALANCED MAGNETIZED PLASMA TURBULENCE. SUCH EFFORTS ARE PARTICULARLY TIMELY, AS PARKER SOLAR PROBE IS NOW STUDYING PRECISELY THE REGION OF SPACE WHERE THE INTERACTIONS OCCUR. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT COULD INFLUENCE THE PLASMA DYNAMICS, ALLOWING THE TEAM TO INFORM INTERPRETATION OF PARKER SOLAR PROBE MEASUREMENTS AND RELATED SIMULATIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD. | $589.9K | FY2024 | Jul 2024 – Jun 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | DEVELOPMENT OF A STELLAR MODEL-FITTING PIPELINE FOR ASTEROSEISMIC DATA FROM THE TESS MISSION ASTEROSEISMIC ANALYSIS. PRIOR TO THE KEPLER MISSION, SOL | $557.3K | FY2016 | Jan 2016 – Dec 2020 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | BEYOND ITS POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR EXOBIOLOGY, THE IDENTIFICATION OF METHANE AS A DISEQUILIBRIUM CONSTITUENT OF THE CURRENT MARS ATMOSPHERE PLACES | $555.2K | FY2010 | Jun 2010 – Jun 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE DYNAMICAL IMPORTANCE OF ATMOSPHERIC GRAVITY WAVES (GWS) AT MARS HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED. MODELING SUGGESTS THAT DRAG DUE TO GW SATURATION CAN SLOW THE WINTER WESTERLY JETS IN THE MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE AND GENERATE A DOWNWELLING CIRCULATION THAT ADIABATICALLY HEATS THE WINTER POLAR ATMOSPHERE ABOVE RADIATIVE EQUILIBRIUM A PHENOMENON PARTICULARLY NOTABLE IN DUST STORMS. THE TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS GENERATED BY GWS ALSO ARE IMPLICATED IN CREATING COLD POCKETS IN THE MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH CO2 CAN CONDENSE AND FORM CLOUDS. IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE GWS GENERATE LARGE DENSITY FLUCTUATIONS THAT AFFECT AEROBRAKING OR DEEP DIPPING SPACECRAFT AND STRONGLY HEAT/COOL THE THERMOSPHERE BY MECHANICAL DISSIPATION. MECHANICAL STIRRING BY GWS ALSO HOMOGENIZES ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE POTENTIALLY AFFECTING ATMOSPHERIC ESCAPE RATES. BETTER UNDERSTANDING GWS AT MARS THEREFORE WILL LEAD TO BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF APPLIED PROBLEMS SUCH AS RELIABLE AEROCAPTURE AT MARS AS WELL AS BASIC SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS REGARDING THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF MARS S ATMOSPHERE. MODELING HAS BEEN QUITE SUCCESSFUL AT UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF GWS BUT IT HAS PROCEEDED WITH FEW OBSERVATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE SOURCES/ACTIVITY OF GWS IN THE LOWER AND MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE. EXISTING CONSTRAINTS MAINLY COME FROM RADIO OCCULTATIONS WHICH ARE SENSITIVE TO GRAVITY WAVES WITH WAVELENGTHS GREATER THAN A FEW HUNDRED KM AND TEND TO HAVE MUCH SPARSER OBSERVATIONAL PATTERNS THAN MAPPING INSTRUMENTS. HOWEVER POTENTIAL CONSTRAINTS WITH HIGHER DATA DENSITY AND DIFFERENT SENSITIVITIES TO GWS EXIST (SUCH AS SMALL-SCALE TEMPERATURE VARIANCES IN ON-PLANET INFRARED SOUNDINGS) BUT ARE STILL MOSTLY UNEXPLOITED. THIS PROPOSAL USES MULTIPLE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SPACECRAFT INSTRUMENT DATASETS FROM MRO MGS AND ODY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND GW ACTIVITY AT MARS (A PHENOMENON OF WIDE THEORETICAL INTEREST IN ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS AND THE SUBJECT OF ONGOING MODELING) AND THEREBY ENHANCE THE SCIENCE RETURN FROM THESE INSTRUMENTS. MODELING WILL BE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING THE SENSITIVITY OF THE OBSERVATIONS TO GW ACTIVITY AND SO THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PROJECT'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE ANALYSIS OF RADIANCE AND IMAGE DATA. IT IS THEREFORE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF MDAP. THE PI FREQUENTLY COLLABORATES WITH THE MRO-MCS SCIENCE OPERATIONS TEAM BUT HAS NO FORMAL STATUS ON THE TEAM AND CURRENTLY RECEIVES NO FUNDING FROM MRO. THUS THE PROPOSED WORK DOES NOT OVERLAP WITH WORK SUPPORTED THROUGH THE MRO PROJECT. | $548.9K | FY2019 | Aug 2019 – Jul 2023 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ENERGETIC PARTICLE PRECIPITATION FROM THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND EFFECTS ON OZONE DYNAMICS IN THE MESOSPHERE AND STRATOSPHERE | $534K | FY2022 | Jan 2022 – Dec 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | DUST IS UBIQUITOUS IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS. IT IS THE BUILDING BLOCK FROM WHICH ALL OBJECTS ABOUT STARS ARE CREATED INCLUDING OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM. THE WAY IN WHICH SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS FORMED WAS DETERMINED BY THE FUNDAMENTAL FORCES ACTING UPON THE DUST PARTICLES WITHIN THE PROTOPLANETARY INCLUDING ESPECIALLY GRAVITY AND RADIATION-PRESSURE FORCES. THE STRUCTURE OF A PROTOPLANETARY DISK DEPENDS ON THE DYNAMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE DUST WITHIN. THESE PROPERTIES ARE A COMPLICATED FUNCTION THAT DEPENDS ON THE INTERACTION OF THE STAR'S RADIATION WITH THE DUST. TYPICALLY THESE INTERACTIONS ARE APPROXIMATED BY ASSUMING THE DUST HAS A VERY SIMPLE SPHERICAL SHAPE. THE USE OF SUCH PARTICLES CAN GIVE ERRONEOUS RESULTS UP TO AN ORDER-OF-MAGNITUDE DIFFERENCE IN THE RADIATION PRESSURE FOR INSTANCE WHEN COMPARED WITH THOSE OF HIGHLY IRREGULAR PARTICLE SIMULANTS LIKE SO-CALLED AGGLOMERATED DEBRIS PARTICLES (ARNOLD ET AL. 2019 2022). TO DATE NO LIGHT-SCATTERING MEASUREMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE FROM REAL INTERPLANETARY DUST PARTICLES (IDPS) THAT CAN BE USED TO TEST MODEL SIMULANTS. RECENT RESEARCH IN OPTICAL TRAPPING ALLOWS COMPLETE CONTROL AND MANIPULATION OF MICRON-SIZE PARTICLES. WE WILL USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LEVITATE SINGLE IDPS AND MEASURE THEIR LIGHT-SCATTERING PROPERTIES. WE WILL COMPARE THESE MEASUREMENTS WITH THOSE OF MODEL SIMULANTS AND EXAMINE THEIR ACCURACY AND APPROPRIATENESS. WHILE TRAPPED WE WILL MEASURE THE IDP LIGHT-SCATTERING PROPERTIES AND DETERMINE ITS DYNAMICS WHEN IT IS ILLUMINATED BY AN EXTERNAL LIGHT SOURCE. THIS WORK WILL HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND THE INTERACTION OF LIGHT WITH REAL IDPS AND ALLOW US TO INTERPRET MORE ACCURATELY THE COMPOSITION OF PROTOPLANETARY DISKS AND HOW THESE SYSTEMS EVOLVED. IN SUM: 1. WE WILL USE NEWLY DEVELOPED PARTICLE-TRAPPING TECHNIQUES TO LEVITATE AND MEASURE THE LIGHT SCATTERING FROM METEORITES AND IDPS 2. WE WILL ANALYZE THE DYNAMICS OF IDPS WHEN UNDERGOING THE EFFECTS OF RADIATION PRESSURE 3. SUCH INFORMATION WILL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE PROTOPLANETARY DISK AND THE FORMATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM THE KEY OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROGRAM. | $530.2K | FY2023 | Mar 2023 – Mar 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | IN ORDER TO OBTAIN QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LUNAR REGOLITH USING REMOTE-SENSING TECHNIQUES IT IS NECESSARY TO KNOW HOW THE REGOLITH SCATTERS LIGHT. LUNAR REGOLITH IS COMPOSED OF LARGE IRREGULARLY SHAPED PARTICLES IN CLOSE CONTACT. SUCH SY | $515.1K | FY2021 | Aug 2021 – Jul 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | OBSERVATIONS OF EXTRASOLAR PLANET TRANSITS AND SECONDARY ECLIPSES -- MUTUAL ECLIPSE EVENTS WHERE THE PLANET PASSES IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND ITS PARENT | $515K | FY2011 | Feb 2011 – Feb 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE OBSERVATORY (MIO) | $514.6K | FY2022 | Nov 2021 – Oct 2024 |
| National Science Foundation | GEM: ONSET AND CONSEQUENCES OF RECONNECTION IN THE MAGNETOTAIL | $508.6K | FY2016 | Sep 2016 – Aug 2019 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: WATER IN THE FOUR CORNERS REGION: LIBRARIES AND EXHIBITS CONNECTING AND ENGAGING COMMUNITIES WITH THEIR WATER SYSTEMS | $499.7K | FY2020 | Jan 2020 – Dec 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SCIENCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THE MOST ENERGETIC ELECTRONS IN SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE (SEP) EVENTS CAN EXTEND TO MORE THAN SEVERAL MEV. AT THE SUN ELECTRON BEAMS AT THESE ENERGIES ARE USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH HARD X-RAYS AND GYRO-SYNCHROTRON RADIATION. THESE ELECTRONS MIGHT ALSO EXCITE WHISTLER-MODE WAVES THAT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO ENERGY LOSS FROM THE BEAMS PRODUCE TURBULENCE AND LOCALLY HEAT PLASMA. ALTHOUGH THESE RELATIVISTIC ELECTRONS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED DIRECTLY BY SATELLITES IN THE INTERPLANETARY MEDIUM AND INFERRED FROM REMOTE SENSING IT IS NOT KNOWN WHETHER THEY MAY ALSO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE GENERATION OF TYPE II AND TYPE III RADIO BURSTS IN ADDITION TO THE USUALLY INVOKED ~KEV BEAMS. UNDERSTANDING THE ROLES OF RELATIVISTIC ELECTRONS (FROM ~100 KEV TO ~1 MEV) IN THE GENERATION OF RADIO WAVES AND OTHER MODES THE EFFICIENCY OF THE RELEVANT PROCESSES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ENERGY BALANCE IN SOLAR FLARES AND OTHER ACTIVE SOLAR EVENTS IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING PARTITIONING OF ENERGY IN SOLAR EVENTS AS WELL AS PROPAGATION OF SEP ELECTRONS. MOTIVATED IN PART BY THE OPPORTUNITIES AND NEEDS OF THE UPCOMING SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AIMS TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: 1. WHAT WAVE MODES (LANGMUIR WHISTLER ETC.) ARE GENERATED BY RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON BEAMS IN PLASMAS WITH CHARACTERISTICS SIMILAR TO THE SOLAR CORONA AND NEAR-SUN SOLAR WIND? ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THESE WAVES CONSISTENT WITH OBSERVATIONS? 2. UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS CAN RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON BEAMS GENERATE RADIO WAVES EITHER DIRECTLY OR BY EXCITING PLASMA OSCILLATIONS FIRST THAT COULD EXPLAIN SOME FEATURES OF SOLAR RADIO EMISSION SUCH AS TYPE II AND TYPE III BURSTS? 3. WHAT SIGNATURES OF THE ABOVE PROCESSES CAN BE TESTED BY OBSERVATIONS FROM SOLAR PROBE PLUS OTHER IN-SITU AND REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS TO DETERMINE THE MECHANISM OF WAVE GENERATION BY ELECTRON BEAMS NEAR IN THE SUN? METHODOLOGY WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS UTILIZING LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AT THE LARGE PLASMA DEVICE (LAPD) AT UCLA SIMULATIONS AND COMPARISON TO SATELLITE DATA. THE LAPD HAS A HIGHLY REPRODUCIBLE 21 M LONG AND 60 CM DIAMETER QUIESCENT PLASMA COLUMN PRODUCED BY A LARGE AREA CATHODE-ANODE SOURCE. THE VALUES OF VARIOUS DIMENSIONLESS PARAMETERS (E.G. PLASMA BETA OR THE RATIO BETWEEN PLASMA AND ELECTRON CYCLOTRON FREQUENCIES) CAN SPAN A RANGE OF VALUES COMPARABLE TO THE NEAR-SUN SOLAR WIND AND CORONA. THE LAPD IS EQUIPPED WITH AN EXTENSIVE SET OF DIAGNOSTICS AND AN AUTOMATED DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL UTILIZE A UNIQUE VARIABLE-ENERGY (FROM 100 KEV TO 1 MEV) ELECTRON BEAM RECENTLY DEVELOPED AT LANL. EXPERIMENTAL CAMPAIGN WILL BE SUPPORTED BY AN EXTENSIVE THEORY AND SIMULATION EFFORT NECESSARY BOTH TO GUIDE AND/OR INTERPRET THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA AND EXTRAPOLATE THE RESULTS TO OTHER PARAMETER REGIMES. RELEVANCE THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS WILL PROVIDE NEW UNDERSTANDING OF PHYSICAL PROCESSES DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO GOALS OF NASA S HELIOPHYSICS PROGRAM TO EXPLORE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SUN TO THE EARTH AND THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS THAT LINK THE SUN THE EARTH AND DEVELOP THE KNOWLEDGE AND CAPABILITY TO DETECT AND PREDICT EXTREME CONDITIONS IN SPACE THE RESULTS ARE ALSO DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE OBJECTIVES DESCRIBED IN THE HELIOSPHERIC DECADAL SURVEY SPECIFICALLY GOAL 3 DETERMINE THE INTERACTION OF THE SUN WITH THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND GOAL 4 DISCOVER AND CHARACTERIZE FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES THAT OCCUR BOTH WITHIN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE. THE RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION WILL HAVE DIRECT IMPACT ON THE SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION BY PROVIDING BOTH DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH SEP BEAM-DRIVEN PLASMA WAVES AND TURBULENCE AND BY DEVELOPING A RELEVANT SET OF OBSERVATIONAL SIGNATURES. | $495.4K | FY2018 | Aug 2018 – Jun 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES: ASTEROSEISMOLOGY HAS PROVED TO BE A VERY POWERFUL TOOL THANKS TO THE HIGH-PRECISION DATA OBTAINED BY THE SPACE MISSIONS SUCH AS KEPLER AND COROT. SOLAR-LIKE OSCILLATIONS HAVE BEEN DETECTED AND REPORTED FOR AROUND 15 600 RED GIANTS AND 540 MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS OBSERVED BY THE NOMINAL KEPLER MISSION. HENCE THESE STARS HAVE THEIR SURFACE GRAVITIES MASSES AND RADII OBTAINED WITH SEISMOLOGY. HOWEVER ACCORDING TO THE LATEST KEPLER STAR PROPERTIES CATALOG (MATHUR ET AL. IN PREP.) MORE THAN 24 000 RED GIANTS 127 000 FGK DWARFS AND ~10 000 SUBGIANTS WERE TARGETED. K2 HAS BEEN OBSERVING ~90 000 RED GIANTS AND DWARFS. MOREOVER THE CONTINUOUS PHOTOMETRIC DATA OF 4 YEARS (RESP. 3 MO) COLLECTED BY KEPLER (RESP. K2) CONTAIN THE SIGNATURE OF OTHER PHENOMENA SUCH AS CONVECTION ROTATION AND MAGNETISM WHICH ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND STELLAR EVOLUTION AND CAN ALSO BE USED TO OBTAIN PRECISE FUNDAMENTAL STELLAR PARAMETERS EVEN WHEN PULSATIONS ARE NOT DETECTED. WE PROPOSE TO PERFORM THE LARGEST HOMOGENEOUS ANALYSIS TO DATE OF SEISMIC OSCILLATIONS CONVECTION AND ROTATION/MAGNETIC ACTIVITY ACROSS THE FULL RANGE OF STELLAR SPECTRAL TYPES AND EVOLUTIONARY STATES PRESENT IN THE K2 AND KEPLER MISSIONS. WE WILL USE THE LONGEST PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TIME SERIES TO DERIVE THE MOST ACCURATE SURFACE GRAVITIES ROTATION PERIODS EVOLUTIONARY STATES AND MAGNETIC ACTIVITY LEVELS TO CHARACTERIZE ROTATION-AGEMAGNETIC ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS AND OSCILLATIONS-MAGNETISM INTERACTION. RELEVANCE: THE DETERMINATION OF THE GRAVITY MASS RADIUS AND AGE OF PLANET HOST STARS ALLOW US TO BETTER CHARACTERIZE THE PLANETARY SYSTEMS. BY STUDYING THE STELLAR SURFACE ROTATION PERIODS WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ANGULAR MOMENTUM TRANSPORT INVOLVED DURING THE STELLAR EVOLUTION AND HAVE MORE ACCURATE ROTATION-AGE RELATIONSHIPS. FINALLY THE STUDY OF THE MAGNETIC ACTIVITY OF A LARGE NUMBER OF STARS WILL ALLOW US TO PUT THE SUN IN A BROADER CONTEXT. THIS WORK WILL ALSO HAVE AN IMPACT ON GALACTIC EVOLUTION STUDY. METHODOLOGY: WE WILL ANALYZE THE DATA WITH THE NEW VERSION OF THE A2Z PIPELINE (MATHUR ET AL. 2010) ON THE STARS WHERE NO ACOUSTIC MODES HAVE BEEN DETECTED OR COMPLETELY CHARACTERIZED SO FAR. IN THE CASE THAT STILL NO MODES ARE OBSERVED WE WILL STUDY THE CONVECTIVE BACKGROUND AS IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT THE GRANULATION TIMESCALE IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE SURFACE GRAVITY OF THE STAR (MATHUR ET AL. 2011). WE WILL DEVELOP AND AUTOMATE THE RECENT METHOD DEVELOPED BY KALLINGER ET AL. (2016) THAT PROVED IT IS POSSIBLE TO MEASURE LOGG VERY PRECISELY WITH THE AUTO-CORRELATION FUNCTION FOR STARS WHERE THE MODES ARE SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE NYQUIST FREQUENCY I.E. SUBGIANTS FOR THE LONG CADENCE DATA. WE WILL ANALYZE DWARFS AND SUBGIANTS OBSERVED BY KEPLER AND K2 TO LOOK FOR THEIR ROTATION PERIODS FOLLOWING GARCIA ET AL. (2014). THIS METHOD WAS SHOWN TO HAVE THE BEST COMBINATION OF COMPLETENESS AND RELIABILITY ACCORDING TO HARE AND HOUNDS BENCHMARKS (AIGRAIN ET AL. 2015). WE WILL CALIBRATE GYROCHRONOLOGY RELATION WITH THE BEST-CHARACTERIZED DWARFS AS DONE BY VAN SADERS ET AL. (2016) AND APPLY IT TO DWARFS WHEN APPLICABLE TO ESTIMATE THEIR AGES. FOR THE STARS WHERE A RELIABLE ROTATION PERIOD IS DETERMINED WE WILL COMPUTE A PHOTOMETRIC MAGNETIC PROXY AS DEFINED IN MATHUR ET AL. (2014). IN MANY CASES WE WILL HAVE COMPLEMENTARY SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS (E.G. GAIA). DATA: WE WILL ANALYZE THE KEPLER Q0-Q17 DATA CALIBRATED WITH THE KADACS SOFTWARE (GARCIA ET AL. 2011; MATHUR ET AL. IN PREP.) AND THE K2 C1 TO C7 DATA PROCESSED BY VANDERBURG&JOHNSON (2014). | $485.7K | FY2017 | Jan 2017 – Dec 2022 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 21-LDAP21_2-0029 EXAMINATION OF POTENTIALLY HYDRATED LUNAR VOLCANIC TERRAINS USING ORBITAL IMAGING SPECTROMETER DATA. | $481.8K | FY2022 | Sep 2022 – Aug 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES OF VENUS PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS | $463.2K | FY2018 | Apr 2018 – Apr 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS ARE UBIQUITOUS IN SPACE AND ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS WHERE THEY OFTEN PROVIDE ONE OF THE MOST EFFICIENT MECHANISMS FOR PARTICLE HEATING AND ACCELERATION. FURTHERMORE PLANETARY BOW SHOCKS CONTROL THE INTERACTION OF THE SOLAR WIND WITH PLANETARY MAGNETOSPHERES (NOTABLY THAT OF THE EARTH) WHILE THE ARRIVAL OF INTERPLANETARY (IP) SHOCKS OFTEN TRIGGERS SIGNIFICANT SPACE WEATHER EVENTS SUCH AS GEOMAGNETIC STORMS. IT HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED THAT IN A COLLISIONLESS PLASMA WHERE COULOMB BINARY COLLISIONS ARE TOO INFREQUENT TO CONTROL ENERGY DISSIPATION AROUND SHOCKS PLASMA WAVES AND INSTABILITIES MAY PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN PROVIDING THE ENERGY DISSIPATION NECESSARY FOR THE SHOCK TO EXIST. ION ACOUSTIC LOWER-HYBRID WHISTLER-BRANCH AND OTHER FAST SHORT-WAVELENGTHS FLUCTUATIONS ARE ROUTINELY OBSERVED IN SPACECRAFT MEASUREMENTS AND HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN RELEVANT NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS. YET IT REMAINS UNCLEAR CURRENTLY IF THESE FLUCTUATIONS PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE OR ALTERNATIVELY ARE A RELATIVELY BENIGN ACCOMPANIMENT TO THE SHOCK WHICH IS ULTIMATELY CONTROLLED BY KINETIC BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL PARTICLES (SUCH AS ELECTROSTATIC AND MAGNETIC PARTICLE REFLECTION). THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION IS TO ADDRESS THIS UNCERTAINTY USING A COMBINATION OF HIGH-RESOLUTION KINETIC SIMULATIONS AND SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS. METHODOLOGY: THE CENTER ELEMENT OF THE PROPOSED WORK WILL BE HIGH-RESOLUTION (INCLUDING THOSE WITH CELLS SIZE AT OR BELOW DEBYE LENGTH) FULLY KINETIC PARTICLE-AND-CELL (PIC) SIMULATIONS. THE SIMULATIONS WILL BE PREDOMINANTLY 2D. A SMALL NUMBER OF 3D TARGETING SPECIFIC ISSUES (SUCH AS DETERMINATION OF THE SPECTRA OF EXCITED INSTABILITIES) MAY BE CONDUCTED AS WELL. THE SIMULATIONS WILL USE INITIAL AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS CORRESPONDING TO TYPICAL CONDITIONS OBSERVED AT THE EARTH S BOW SHOCK AND IP SHOCKS. THE PROPERTIES OF THE SHORT-WAVELENGTH FLUCTUATIONS AND GLOBAL STRUCTURE OF THE SHOCK (E.G. PROFILES OF FLOW TEMPERATURE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS FUNCTIONS WHEN AVAILABLE) WILL BE COMPARED TO SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS FROM WIND THEMIS AND MMS. ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELD DATA FROM BOTH WIND THEMIS AND MMS WILL BE ANALYZED IN COMBINATION WITH PARTICLE DATA FROM THERMAL TO SUPRATHERMAL ENERGIES. THE ELECTROMAGNETIC AND ELECTROSTATIC FLUCTUATIONS WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND THEN COMPARED TO THE OBSERVED PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE OF FREE ENERGY AND/OR THE PREDICTED EFFECT OF THE WAVES ON THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS. WE WILL COMPARE TO SIMULATION RESULTS AS EVEN WITH MMS MANY OF THE INTERACTIONS OCCUR TOO QUICKLY TO DIRECTLY OBSERVE THE EVOLUTION OF THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS. WE WILL DETERMINE THE INITIAL AND FINAL STATES OF THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS FROM SIMULATIONS AND USE THAT KNOWLEDGE TO QUANTIFY THE EFFECT OF THE WAVES ON THE DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE OBSERVATIONS. RELEVANCE OF THE PROBLEM TO THE HELIOPHYSICS OVERARCHING GOAL: THE PROPOSAL IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE TO UNDERSTAND THE SUN AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM INCLUDING SPACE WEATHER SINCE SHOCKS ARE WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS A MAJOR PLAYER IN THESE INTERACTIONS. THE PROPOSAL DIRECTLY ADDRESSES ALL THREE OVERARCHING SCIENCE GOALS: I) TO EXPLORE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES AT WORK IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SUN TO EARTH AND THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM II) TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE SUN EARTH THE PLANETARY SPACE ENVIRONMENTS AND THE OUTER REACHES OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND III) TO DEVELOP THE KNOWLEDGE AND CAPABILITY TO DETECT AND PREDICT EXTREME CONDITIONS IN SPACE TO PROTECT LIFE AND SOCIETY AND TO SAFEGUARD EXPLORATION BEYOND EARTH. | $459.2K | FY2022 | Dec 2021 – Jun 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | NON-LTE 3D SPECTRAL SYNTHESIS FOR LARGE-SCALE STELLAR SURVEYS ASTEROSEISMOLOGY AND GALACTIC ARCHAEOLOGY | $457.5K | FY2022 | Jul 2022 – Jun 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 22-XRP22_2-0091 FOLLOW THE METHANE: EXPLORING THE POSSIBLE CAUSES OF THE LOW METHANE ABUNDANCE ON WARM HYDROGEN-RICH EXOPLANETS | $451K | FY2023 | Jan 2023 – Jan 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE OF THIS LWS INVESTIGATION IS TO USE A SYSTEMS-SCIENCE APPROACH TO INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS, TIME LAGS, FEE | $450K | FY2016 | Nov 2015 – Nov 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL INVESTIGATE CHEMISTRY AND DYNAMICS OF VENUS MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE (75-120 KM). IM | $448.4K | FY2010 | Jan 2010 – Jan 2015 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | A DATA ANALYSIS PROGRAM GUIDED BY COLLABORATIVE MODELING EFFORTS IS PROPOSED TO ADDRESS A GROWING DIVERSE SET OF AEROSOL MEASUREMENTS IN THE MARS MID | $444.3K | FY2015 | Jul 2015 – Oct 2020 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | VERTICAL VARIATIONS IN THE PARTICLE SIZES OF AEROSOLS CAN HAVE A DRAMATIC EFFECT IN THEIR NET IMPACT ON THE STATE AND EVOLUTION OF THE MARTIAN ATMOSP | $442.2K | FY2010 | Aug 2010 – Jul 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS INVESTIGATION ARE (1) TO USE THE INSIGHT CAMERAS TO MONITOR ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY (TAU) THROUGH THE MISSION; (2) TO CHARACTERIZE THE ATMOSPHERIC DUST AT THE LANDING SITE AND PLACE IT INTO CONTEXT WITH OTHER MEASUREMENTS; (3) TO CHARACTERIZE THE ROLE OF DUST IN BOUNDARY-LAYER METEOROLOGY; (4) TO IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE ICE CLOUDS AND HAZES AND CONSTRAIN THE WINDS THAT TRANSPORT THEM; AND (5) MEASURE NIGHT OPACITY AND CONSTRAIN THE RATE OF MICRO-METEORITE IMPACTS. THE PROPOSED WORK REQUIRES IMAGES FROM THE INSTRUMENT DEPLOYMENT CAMERA (IDC) WITH THE INSTRUMENT CONTEXT CAMERA (ICC) AS A BACKUP. ARM MOTIONS ARE NOT PLANNED AFTER THE DEPLOYMENT PHASE; THUS THE PROPOSED WORK IS BASED AROUND A SINGLE AIM NEAR THE SOUTHERN HORIZON CONSISTENT WITH ICC AND IDC CAPABILITIES. TO MEASURE OPACITY SKY IMAGES TAKEN EARLY OR LATE IN THE DAY WILL PROVIDE SKY RADIANCE OVER A RANGE OF ELEVATION AND SCATTERING ANGLES. VARIATION OF RADIANCE ALONG CONSTANT SCATTERING ANGLE DETERMINES ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY; GIVEN WELL-CALIBRATED ACCURATE DATA A RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODEL (DISORT) RETRIEVAL OF OPACITY IS STRAIGHTFORWARD. FOR REAL DATA OBTAINED WITH A CAMERA EXPOSED TO A DUSTY MARTIAN ENVIRONMENT FOR AN EXTENDED TIME USE OF RELATIVE RADIANCE VARIATION (WITH ELEVATION ANGLE AT CONSTANT SCATTERING ANGLE) LARGELY REMOVES THE EFFECT OF A DUST COATING THAT MAY VARY IN TIME AND REDUCES SENSITIVITY TO CALIBRATION UNCERTAINTIES. THE PROPOSED METHOD WAS TESTED WITH SKY IMAGING DATA ACQUIRED OVER ONE MARS YEAR USING OPPORTUNITY'S NAVCAM. THE OPPORTUNITY IMAGES WERE TAKEN IN INSIGHT-ANALOG MODE WITH A FIXED AIM ACROSS MARTIAN SEASONS AND INCLUDED TIMES OF DUST STORMS SEASONALLY HIGH AND LOW DUST AND DUST MIXED WITH ICE HAZES. COMPARISONS TO DIRECTLY MEASURED (PANCAM) OPACITY DETERMINED THAT THE INTRINSIC ERROR OF THE NAVCAM METHOD WAS<0.1. THE PROPOSED (FOR TAU) IDC AIM ALLOWS IMAGING OF THE SKY AND GROUND NEAR THE HORIZON. THIS ENABLES SEVERAL RELEVANT IMAGING CAMPAIGNS: SKY IMAGING AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF DAY ALLOWS THE SCATTERING ANGLE COVERAGE THAT WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE SCATTERING PHASE FUNCTION; HORIZON IMAGES WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE BOUNDARY LAYER DUST CONTENT; SHORT-PERIOD TIME-LAPSE IMAGES WILL BE USED TO SEARCH FOR AND CHARACTERIZE DUST DEVILS AND CLOUDS AND THEIR MOTIONS; IMAGES AT NIGHT WILL BE USED TO IMAGE STARS AND VALIDATE THE OPACITY MEASUREMENT WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY ALLOWING METEORS TO BE DETECTED. NOTE THAT WHILE THE PROPOSAL IS BASED ON IMAGING DURING AND BEYOND THE DEPLOYMENT PHASE THE IMAGING IS DESIGNED TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE TAU MEASUREMENT AND DOES NOT REQUIRE USE OF THE ARM AFTER THE DEPLOYMENT PHASE. THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION FULLY SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE FIRST 'SPECIAL INVESTIGATION' OF THE NRA: ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY (TAU) WILL BE MEASURED AND REPORTED ON AN OPERATIONS-RELEVANT TIMESCALE USING ALGORITHMS THAT WILL BE PROVIDED FOR USE IN AUTOMATED PROCESSING OF IDC AND ICC IMAGES. THE METHOD HAS BEEN VALIDATED BY ANALYSIS OF ONE MARS YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY DATA THAT WERE TAKEN TO MIMIC POSSIBLE INSIGHT MEASUREMENTS. THE METHOD HAS BEEN DESIGNED AND TESTED FOR AUTOMATED PERFORMANCE. THE INVESTIGATION IS ALSO RELEVANT TO 'SPECIAL INVESTIGATION' 6 ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA: THE OPACITY MEASUREMENT IS PART OF A LARGER INVESTIGATION OF THE DUST CYCLE AT THE INSIGHT LANDING SITE THAT FOCUSES ON THE ROLE OF DUST IN LOCAL METEOROLOGY. IN ADDITION IMAGES WILL ALSO BE USED TO INVESTIGATE ICE CLOUDS AND HAZE ABUNDANCE AND VARIATION AND TO CONSTRAIN HIGH-LEVEL WINDS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL ALSO IMPACT OTHER MISSION AND PARTICIPATING SCIENTIST OBJECTIVES: OPACITY VARIATIONS ARE RELEVANT TO THE SUBSURFACE THERMAL ENVIRONMENT; POSSIBLE NIGHT-TIME IMAGES MAY BE RELEVANT TO THE MICRO-METEORITE FLUX. | $441.1K | FY2018 | Aug 2018 – Aug 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SOLAR SYSTEM SCIENCE WITH NEXT GENERATION SPACE TELESCOPE (NGST): INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENTIST | $424.2K | FY2002 | Sep 2002 – Sep 2014 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 3D SPECTRAL SYNTHESIS FOR LARGE-SCALE STELLAR SURVEYS ASTEROSEISMOLOGY AND GALACTIC ARCHAEOLOGY | $422.7K | FY2020 | Jul 2020 – Jun 2025 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NSF-BSF: INFLUENCE OF UPSTREAM TURBULENCE AND SHOCK RIPPLING ON DOWNSTREAM RELAXATION IN COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS A COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH EFFORT BY THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE, THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE, AND BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY IN ISRAEL. THE MAIN GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES OF SHOCK WAVES IN ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS. SHOCKS ARE STRONG DISTURBANCES THAT MAY OCCUR WHEN OBJECTS MOVE THROUGH A MEDIUM WITH VERY LARGE SPEED. PLASMA SHOCKS ARE VERY IMPORTANT PHENOMENA BECAUSE THEY CAN EFFICIENTLY CONVERT FLOW ENERGY INTO HEAT AND ACCELERATION OF INDIVIDUAL PARTICLES TO HIGH ENERGIES. FOR EXAMPLE, SHOCKS PRODUCED BY ASTROPHYSICAL EXPLOSIONS ARE THOUGHT TO OPERATE AS GIANT PARTICLE ACCELERATORS, PRODUCING SOME OF THE MOST ENERGETIC PARTICLES IN THE UNIVERSE. SIMILARLY, A SHOCK STANDING IN FRONT OF THE EARTH SLOWS DOWN THE SOLAR WIND, A STREAM OF PLASMA COMING FROM THE SUN. AS A RESULT, THIS SHOCK PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CONTROLLING SPACE WEATHER, UNDERSTANDING WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROTECTING CRITICAL COMMUNICATION AND NAVIGATION SATELLITES, AS WELL AS POWER GRIDS HERE ON EARTH. THIS PROJECT WILL USE A COMBINATION OF COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, ANALYTICAL THEORY, AND SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS TO UNCOVER A RELATION BETWEEN PROPERTIES OF THE SHOCKS AND THE HEATING AND ACCELERATION OF PLASMA BEHIND THE SHOCK. THE PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL INFORM A WIDE VARIETY OF INVESTIGATIONS, INCLUDING STUDIES OF SPACE WEATHER. CONCURRENTLY WITH ADVANCING THE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE OF PLASMA SHOCKS, THE AWARD SUPPORTS SEVERAL EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH EFFORTS FOR UNIVERSITY AND K-12 STUDENTS. COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS ARE SOME OF THE MOST UBIQUITOUS STRONGLY NONLINEAR PHENOMENA IN SPACE AND ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS. THEY RAPIDLY CONVERT ENERGY OF THE UPSTREAM FLOW INTO HEATING, ACCELERATION OF PARTICLES TO HIGH ENERGIES, AND MAGNETIC FIELD GENERATION. RELAXATION AND SELF-ORGANIZATION PROCESSES BEHIND THE SHOCK HAVE A STRONG IMPACT ON THE OVERALL ENERGY PARTITION AND MAY DETERMINE THE COUPLING OF THE SHOCK TO THE HOST SYSTEM. THIS STUDY WILL ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE TIME-DEPENDENT SHOCK RIPPLING, ACCOMPANIED BY PLASMA INSTABILITIES AND TURBULENCE, PROVIDES NECESSARY RELAXATION OF THE PLASMA TO A SELF-ORGANIZED STATE WITH A HIGH ENERGY PARTICLE POPULATION. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED USING A COMBINATION OF THEORETICAL AND NUMERICAL KINETIC MODELING COMBINED WITH OBSERVATIONAL DATA ANALYSIS, WITH THE STUDY OF ENERGETIC PARTICLE ACCELERATION IN COLLISIONLESS ASTROPHYSICAL SHOCKS CONTRIBUTING TO THE GOALS OF NSF'S WINDOWS ON THE UNIVERSE: THE ERA OF MULTI-MESSENGER ASTROPHYSICS META-PROGRAM. THE PROJECT OUTCOMES ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT UNDERSTANDING OF MANY GEOSPACE AND ASTROPHYSICAL SYSTEMS, INCLUDING STUDIES OF THE EARTH?S MAGNETOSHEATH AND ITS DYNAMICAL MAGNETOPAUSE, SHOCK WAVES ASSOCIATED WITH CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS, AND OF THEIR GEOMAGNETIC EFFECTS. THROUGH TRAINING OF STUDENTS, POSTDOCS, AND EARLY-CAREER SCIENTISTS, THE PROJECT WILL PROMOTE EDUCATION IN COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE AND PLASMA PHYSICS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD. | $417.1K | FY2025 | Aug 2025 – Jul 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SCIENCE OBJECTIVES: MOST THEORETICAL MODELS OF ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY ON EXTRASOLAR GIANT PLANETS HAVE FOCUSED ON HYDROGEN HELIUM OXYGEN CARBON AND NITROGEN SPECIES. THE NEGLECT OF OTHER COSMICALLY ABUNDANT ELEMENTS IS NOT DUE TO THEIR LACK OF | $413.8K | FY2022 | Jan 2022 – Dec 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 21-MSLPSP21_2-0046 - EXAMINING ALTERATION ENVIRONMENTS OF GRANULAR BASALTIC MATERIALS USING COMBINED RESULTS FROM APXS CHEMCAM AND MASTCAM COMPARED AGAINST TERRESTRIAL ANALOG DATASETS | $409.9K | FY2022 | Apr 2022 – Sep 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ASTEROSEISMIC ANALYSES OF STARS OFTEN YIELD CONFLICTING SETS OF SOLUTIONS TO THE OBSERVATIONS. THE DICHOTOMIES ARISE FROM TENSIONS BETWEEN CLASSICAL OBSERVABLES SUCH AS PHOTOMETRY SPECTROSCOPY AND ABUNDANCE ANALYSIS VERSUS THE SEISMIC OBSERVABLES OF DOZENS OF P- AND G-MODE FREQUENCIES. THIS IN TURN IS A TENSION BETWEEN STELLAR ATMOSPHERE MODELS AND INTERIOR STRUCTURE MODELS. F-STARS AND SUB-GIANTS SEEM MOST PRONE TO THIS BUT SUB-GIANTS THANKS TO THEIR MIXED G- AND P-MODES ALSO HAVE THE PROMISE OF SHOWING US STELLAR INTERIORS IN UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL. METHODS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO RESOLVE SUCH CONFLICTS BUT ONLY DO SO BY INJECTING UNWANTED BIAS INTO THE ANALYSIS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL INSTEAD ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WHICH IS A CONFLICT BETWEEN THE MODELING OF CLASSIC AND SEISMIC OBSERVABLES. THE SOLAR ABUNDANCE PROBLEM POINTS TO THE SAME TENSION BETWEEN ATMOSPHERIC AND INTERIOR MODELS AND IS LIKELY TO ALSO APPLY TO OTHER STARS. ONE SOLUTION MADE MORE PROBABLE BY RECENT EXPERIMENTS ON IRON UNDER SOLAR CONDITIONS IS AN INCREASE OF INTERIOR OPACITY. THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED BY A NEW OPACITY CALCULATION BY A. PRADHAN'S GROUP AT OHIO STATE UNIV. (OUTSIDE THIS PROJECT) BASED ON A NEW EQUATION OF STATE BEING DEVELOPED BY THE PI. THESE WILL FORM THE ATOMIC PHYSICS FOUNDATION OF THE PROJECT PROPOSED HERE. THE ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE PRODUCING THE CLASSIC OBSERVABLES IS GREATLY AFFECTED BY THE 3D NATURE OF CONVECTION IN LATE-TYPE STARS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL THEREFORE CENTER AROUND THE CALCULATION OF A NEW GRID OF REALISTIC 3D SIMULATIONS OF DEEP STELLAR ATMOSPHERES. IT WILL SPAN FROM M DWARFS TO EARLY A STARS ON THE MAIN SEQUENCE AND UP TO GIANTS WITH LOGG=0. THE GRID WILL INITIALLY SPAN METALLICITIES OF [FE/H] = [-1.0 -0.5 0.0 +0.2] WITH SOME ADDITIONAL SIMULATIONS TO EXPLORE DEPENDENCIES ON HELIUM CONTENT. THE GRID WILL EMPLOY THE NEW EQUATION OF STATE AND OPACITIES MENTIONED ABOVE AND A NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS TO THE HYDRODYNAMICS. WE WILL ALSO CHANGE THE FILE FORMAT TO MAKE THE FILES MORE IMMEDIATELY ACCESSIBLE AS WE PLAN TO GIVE THE COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE FULL SIMULATION RESULTS AND SUPPORTING CODE. TO PERFORM ASTEROSEISMIC ANALYSIS THE ATMOSPHERE SIMULATIONS NEED TO BE CONNECTED WITH INTERIOR AND EVOLUTION MODELS. THESE MODELS WILL USE THE SAME NEW ATOMIC PHYSICS AS THE 3D ATMOSPHERES THE PHOTOSPHERIC TRANSITION RESULTING FROM THE 3D RADIATIVE TRANSFER IN THE CONVECTING SIMULATIONS THE CONVECTIVE EXPANSION OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND A MIXING-LENGTH PARAMETER THAT REPRODUCE THE BOTTOM OF THE SIMULATIONS. THE SEISMIC MODELING WILL BUILD ON THE PI'S CURRENT EFFORTS TO EVALUATE THE COMPONENTS OF THE ASTEROSEISMIC SURFACE EFFECT ARISING FROM DIRECT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CONVECTION AND OSCILLATION MODES. THE RESULT WILL BE AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY AND QUALITY IN ALL THE STEPS OF THE MODELING AND AN ELIMINATION OF THE CLASSIC BREAK BETWEEN ATMOSPHERE AND INTERIOR MODELS. THE ASTEROSEISMIC MODELING PORTAL (AMP) BY TEAM-MEMBER T. METCALFE WILL COMBINE THESE CHANGES TO THE STELLAR STRUCTURE AND SEISMIC MODELING TO PERFORM SEARCHES FOR THE BEST FIT MODELS TO BOTH SEISMIC AND CLASSIC OBSERVATIONS OF STARS. THE RESULT WILL BE ROBUST AND UNAMBIGUOUS MATCHING THE QUALITY OF KEPLER AND K2 OBSERVATIONS. SUCH AN IMPROVED FOCUS OF KEPLER/K2 WILL ENABLE INVESTIGATIONS INTO MORE SUBTLE PHENOMENA AND POSSIBLY BREAK SOME OF THE CURRENT DEGENERACY BETWEEN STELLAR PARAMETERS WE TRY TO SOLVE FOR. OUR RESULTS WILL BE APPLIED TO A SAMPLE OF PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT OR INTERESTING KEPLER AND K2 TARGETS. OUR PROJECT WILL ADVANCE THE SCIENCE GOALS OF NASA'S ASTROPHYSICS PROGRAM AND IN PARTICULAR THAT OF THE K2 MISSION AND THE SOON TO BE LAUNCHED TESS MISSION. THE SAME PHYSICS APPLIES TO THE SUN AND WE WILL THEREFORE ALSO SUPPORT THE SCIENCE GOALS OF THE HELIOPHYSICS PROGRAM AND THE SOHO AND SDO MISSIONS. | $409.2K | FY2018 | Feb 2018 – Feb 2023 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ACCESSING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF ASTEROSEISMOLOGY WITH KEPLER USING REALISTIC 3D SIMULATIONS OF STELLAR CONVECTION. ASTEROSEISMIC ANALYSIS OF STARS IS | $402.9K | FY2015 | Oct 2014 – Apr 2018 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | PERTURBATIONS IN IONOSPHERIC TOTAL ELECTRON CONTENT (DTEC) WITH TIMESCALES OF ~10S-1000S CAN BE DRIVEN FROM ABOVE BY PROCESSES IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE - INCLUDING MAGNETOSPHERIC ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) WAVES - AND BELOW BY PROCESSES SUCH AS EARTHQUAKES THAT COUPLE TO ACOUSTIC-GRAVITY WAVES IN THE ATMOSPHERE. CHARACTERIZING THE SUBSET OF DTEC RELATED TO ULF WAVES IS OF HIGH PRIORITY AS SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THESE PERTURBATIONS IMPACT IONOSPHERIC SPACE WEATHER. FOR EXAMPLE CASE STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT ULF WAVES CAN PRODUCE EXTREME DTEC IN SOME CASES LEADING TO A MODULATION OF HEIGHT-INTEGRATED IONOSPHERIC CONDUCTANCES BY A FACTOR OF 7 TO 10. THESE EXTREME PERTURBATIONS CAN IN TURN AFFECT IONOSPHERE/THERMOSPHERE HEATING RATES COUPLING TO GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS THAT AFFECT GEOMAGNETICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS (GIC) AND SCINTILLATION THESE ARE ALL SPACE WEATHER HAZARDS. HOWEVER SINCE MOST WORK HAS FOCUSED ON SINGLE EVENT STUDIES WE HAVE LIMITED INFORMATION ON HOW OFTEN THESE EXTREME DTEC EVENTS OCCUR AND THEIR FAVORED LOCATIONS AND DRIVING CONDITIONS. IN THE ABSENCE OF A COMPREHENSIVE STATISTICAL STUDY IT IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN WHETHER ULF WAVES ROUTINELY DRIVE DTEC OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR SPACE WEATHER. MOREOVER PAST WORK HAS DEMONSTRATED MULTIPLE MECHANISMS TO GENERATE DTEC HOWEVER DUE TO A LACK OF REALISTIC NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS THAT CAPTURE IONOSPHERE-THERMOSPHERE (I-T) COUPLING THERE IS LIMITED INFORMATION REGARDING (1) HOW MULTIPLE MECHANISMS MAY CONTRIBUTE SIMULTANEOUSLY TO THE DTEC AND (2) HOW IONOSPHERE THERMOSPHERE COUPLING AFFECTS THE TEC RESPONSE. THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL MAKE PROGRESS ON THESE CHALLENGES BY ADDRESSING THE OVER-ARCHING QUESTION "ARE SPACE-WEATHER SIGNIFICANT ULF TEC PERTURBATIONS ROUTINELY DRIVEN BY MAGNETOSPHERIC WAVES?" AND SUB-QUESTIONS "WHAT ARE THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF TEC PERTURBATIONS DRIVEN BY MAGNETOSPHERIC ULF WAVES?" AND "WHAT ARE THE FAVORED MECHANISMS/CONDITIONS TO DRIVE TEC PERTURBATIONS OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR SPACE WEATHER?" WE WILL ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS USING (1) A STATISTICAL STUDY OF MULTI-POINT TEC GROUND MAGNETOMETER MEASUREMENTS AND NASA SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS COMBINED WITH VOLCANO/EARTHQUAKE LISTS (2) NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS USING GLOBAL IONOSPHERE THERMOSPHERE MODEL (GITM) DRIVEN BY ULF ELECTRIC FIELD PERTURBATIONS WITH DIFFERENT TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALES (CONSTRAINED BY PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS) AND (3) DATA-MODEL COMPARISONS DURING DETAILED CASE STUDIES WITH CONSTRAINTS ON THE SOURCE OF MAGNETOSPHERIC ULF WAVE ACTIVITY IONOSPHERIC ELECTRIC FIELDS AND MULTI-POINT TEC OBSERVATIONS. THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO THE HSR PROGRAM BECAUSE A) IT INCLUDES NUMERICAL SIMULATION (GITM) (B) IT INCLUDES DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF NASA-SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS AND (C) IT IS RELEVANT TO THE HELIOPHYSICS PROGRAM OVERARCHING GOAL TO "TO UNDERSTAND THE SUN AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH THE EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM INCLUDING SPACE WEATHER" BECAUSE WE WILL MAKE PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF ULF WAVES IN DRIVING TEC PERTURBATIONS WITH LARGE AMPLITUDES WHICH AFFECT IONOSPHERIC CONDUCTIVITY AND CAUSE SPACE WEATHER IMPACTS (SEE ABOVE). THERE IS A HIGH POTENTIAL IMPACT FOR THIS PROJECT BECAUSE WE ARE ADDRESSING UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS WITH NEW TOOLS AND APPROACHES: (1) WE WILL PERFORM A STATISTICAL STUDY WITH SATELLITE CONJUNCTIONS WHEREAS MOST PAST WORK FOCUSED ON EVENT STUDIES/SMALL INTERVALS (2) WE WILL CONSIDER DRIVING FROM THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND THE SURFACE/LOWER ATMOSPHERE IN THE SAME INVESTIGATION (3) WE WILL USE 1-S AND 5-S TEC MEASUREMENTS INSTEAD OF MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE 30-S MEASUREMENTS THAT CANNOT ADEQUATELY SAMPLE SIGNIFICANT PARTS OF THE ULF RANGE. THIS INVESTIGATION IS ALSO TIMELY WITH ADVANCED I-T MODELING CAPABILITIES NOT AVAILABLE BEFORE THAT ARE CRUCIAL TO CAPTURE SPATIALLY LOCALIZED ULF WAVES AND SURFACE DISTURBANCES. | $401.5K | — | — – Aug 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ANALYZING THE PLASMAS UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM OF INTERPLANETARY SHOCKS: TURBULENCE AND COMPRESSED STRUCTURE SCIENCE GOALS AND METHODOLGY THE OVERAR | $400K | FY2017 | Dec 2016 – Dec 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE RESPONSE OF THE OUTER RADIATION BELT (RB) TO SOLAR INTERPLANETARY STRUCTURES (SIS) IS NOTORIOUSLY UNPREDICTABLE. SUCH UNPREDICTABILITY IS LIKELY | $400K | FY2014 | Jul 2014 – Jul 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES. DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | $392.3K | FY2025 | Nov 2024 – Nov 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SUDDEN VELOCITY SHEARS (= SUDDEN WIND SHEARS) ARE ABUNDANT IN THE SOLAR-WIND PLASMA. IN THE SOLAR WIND A VELOCITY SHEAR IS ACROSS A PLANAR SHEAR LAYE | $389.7K | FY2014 | Dec 2013 – — |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SCIENCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. ALMOST A DECADE AFTER THE END OF THE MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR (MGS) MISSION THE DATA COLLECTED BY THE THERMAL EMISSION SPEC | $387K | FY2016 | Apr 2016 – Mar 2023 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE THE DYNAMICS OF SHARP-EDGED PLANETARY RINGS THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED STUDY IS TO EXAMINE THE RESPONSE OF SATURN'S MANY | $383.7K | FY2009 | Aug 2009 – Aug 2013 |
| National Science Foundation | SATURN'S NARROW ECCENTRIC RINGLETS | $376.4K | FY2013 | Aug 2013 – Jul 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE TRANSIT OF AN EXOPLANET ACROSS THE VISIBLE DISK OF ITS HOST STAR PRODUCES A PHOTOMETRIC SIGNAL THAT CONTAINS INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE PL | $373.1K | FY2013 | Jan 2013 – Jan 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS ON LUNAR INFRARED SPECTRAAN UNDERSTANDING OF LUNAR SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND ITS EFFECTS ON EMITTED RA | $371K | FY2016 | Aug 2016 – Jul 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ARCHIVING AND TOOLS FOR RADIO SCIENCE RING OCCULTATIONS AT SATURN AND URANUS | $370.6K | FY2024 | Mar 2024 – Mar 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ALTHOUGH THE VOYAGER GALILEO AND CASSINI MISSIONS HAVE PROVIDED US WITH UNPRECEDENTED INSIGHT INTO THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERES OF JUPITER AND SATURN WE STILL DO NOT DEFINITIVELY KNOW THE SOURCE OF THE UPPERTROPOSPHERIC HAZES ON THESE PLANETS OR THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL DRIVERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OBSERVED VARIATIONS IN ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AS A FUNCTION OF ALTITUDE AND LATITUDE. OUR THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF TROPOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY ON THE GAS GIANTS IS PARTICULARLY POOR. WE PROPOSE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE DEFICIENCIES BY DEVELOPING THEORETICAL MODELS FOR JUPITER AND SATURN THAT WILL ILLUMINATE THE UNDERLYING PROCESSES CONTROLLING THE TROPOSPHERIC GAS-PHASE COMPOSITION AEROSOL STRUCTURE VERTICAL AND MERIDIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF CONSTITUENTS AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN THE ABOVE PROPERTIES. WE WILL USE PHOTOCHEMISTRY/TRANSPORT MODELS THAT EXTEND THROUGH THE UPPER TROPOSPHERE AND STRATOSPHERE TO INVESTIGATE THE PHOTOCHEMICAL COUPLING OF AMMONIA PHOSPHINE HYDROCARBON AND OXYGEN SPECIES ON BOTH JUPITER AND SATURN. THE PHOTOCHEMICAL MODEL RESULTS CONCERNING THE PRODUCTION RATES OF CONDENSABLE PHOTOPRODUCTS WILL BE COUPLED WITH AN AEROSOL-MICROPHYSICS MODEL TO PREDICT THE PARTICLE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION NUMBER DENSITY VERTICAL STRUCTURE AND OTHER PROPERTIES OF TROPOSPHERIC AEROSOLS. THE MODEL RESULTS WILL BE DIRECTLY COMPARED WITH GALILEO NIMS AND CASSINI VIMS AND CIRS SPECTRA TO CONSTRAIN CERTAIN CHEMICAL AND TRANSPORT PROPERTIES ACROSS THE PLANETS. THE GOALS OF THE PROPOSED WORK ARE (1) TO DETERMINE THE DOMINANT GAS-PHASE AND CONDENSABLE PRODUCTS FROM JOVIAN AND SATURNIAN TROPOSPHERIC PHOTOCHEMISTRY (2)TO QUANTIFY THE RELATIVE ROLES OF THE DIFFERENT PROCESSES THAT CONTROL THE OBSERVED VERTICAL AND MERIDIONAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF NH3 AND PH3 (3) TO DETERMINE THE ORIGIN AND COMPOSITION OF THE TROPOSPHERIC HAZE (4) TO MAP THE INFERRED VARIATIONS IN TROPOSPHERIC VERTICAL TRANSPORT PARAMETERS (E.G. VERTICAL WINDS AND/OR EDDY DIFFUSION COEFFICIENTS) ACROSS THE PLANETS FROM MODEL-DATA COMPARISONS AND (5) TO PREDICT THE SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN TROPOSPHERIC COMPOSITION ON SATURN. THE MODELS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENERAL PROPERTIES AND CHEMICAL-DYNAMICAL BEHAVIOR OF GAS-GIANT ATMOSPHERES AND WILL ENHANCE THE SCIENTIFIC RETURN FROM THE GALILEO AND CASSINI MISSIONS. | $363.7K | FY2013 | Jun 2013 – Jun 2017 |
| National Science Foundation | SHINE: PHYSICS OF THE INTERPLANETARY ELECTRIC POTENTIAL AND MODIFICATIONS TO EXOSPHERE MODELS OF THE SOLAR WIND | $360K | FY2017 | Sep 2017 – Aug 2020 |
| National Science Foundation | GEM SYSTEMS SCIENCE: CREATING AND ANALYZING AN EARTH INDEX COLLECTION | $360K | FY2016 | Apr 2016 – Mar 2019 |
| National Science Foundation | GEM: DEVELOPING A HIGHLY PREDICTABLE CANONICAL GEOMAGNETIC INDEX TO GAUGE SPACE WEATHER | $359.7K | FY2021 | Oct 2020 – Sep 2023 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE PHYSICS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR WIND REMAINS AN OPEN QUESTION. EXISTING THEORIES RELY ON MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AND/OR NON-LINEAR ALFV N WAVE PHENOMENA. THE SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2018 WILL PASS WITHIN 8.5 SOLAR RADII OF THE SUN PROVIDING NEW IN-SITU MEASUREMENTS. IN PREPARATION FOR THESE NEW OBSERVATIONS IT IS IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP A CLEAR IDEA OF SIGNATURES THAT MAY INDICATE THE PRESENCE OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL PROCESSES THAT MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HEATING AND ACCELERATION OF THE SOLAR WIND. SHEAR ALFV N WAVE PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES IN WHICH AN UNSTABLE LARGE AMPLITUDE ALFV N WAVE NON-LINEARLY PRODUCES OTHER MODES MAY BE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN THE REGION SOLAR PROBE PLUS IS EXPECTED TO STUDY. FOR INSTANCE THE ION ACOUSTIC MODE PRODUCED FROM PARAMETRIC DELAY OF A LARGE AMPLITUDE ALFV N WAVE COULD DIRECTLY HEAT IONS; THUS THIS PROCESS COULD HELP ACCOUNT FOR UNEXPLAINED CORONAL HEATING. PARAMETRIC DECAY ALSO PRODUCES A BACKWARD PROPAGATING ALFV N WAVE AND THUS MAY HELP EXPLAIN WHY WAVES PROPAGATING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS ARE OBSERVED IN THE SOLAR WIND. PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES MAY ALSO SERVE AS AN INTERMEDIATE INSTABILITY MECHANISM FOR THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY FROM LARGE TO SMALL SPACIAL SCALES. WHILE THERE HAS BEEN AN ABUNDANCE OF THEORETICAL WORK ON SHEAR ALFV N WAVE PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED. BASIC LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS MAY PLAY A KEY ROLE TOWARDS VALIDATING THEORETICAL MODELS AND PROVIDING PREDICTIONS FOR SOLAR PROBE PLUS OBSERVATIONS. CENTRAL QUESTION: WHAT ROLE DO SHEAR ALFV N WAVE PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES PLAY IN THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR WIND? SCIENCE QUESTIONS: 1. UNDER WHAT SETS OF PLASMA PARAMETERS ARE SHEAR ALFV N WAVE PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES OBSERVED IN THE LAB? HOW DO THESE PARAMETERS COMPARE TO WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE OBSERVED BY SOLAR PROBE PLUS? 2. HOW DO KEY FEATURES OF THE INSTABILITY VARY WITH IMPORTANT PARAMETERS SUCH AS PLASMA BETA AND PUMP WAVE FREQUENCY? HOW DO THESE FEATURES COMPARE TO THEORETICAL PREDICTIONS? 3. WHICH INSTABILITY SIGNATURES OBSERVED IN THE LAB MAY USED TO INFORM FUTURE SPACE OBSERVATIONS SUCH AS SOLAR PROBE PLUS? METHODOLOGY: EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED AT THE LARGE PLASMA DEVICE (LAPD) AT UCLA WHICH CAN PRODUCE A 20M LONG 60CM DIAMETER PLASMA COLUMN THAT IS IDEAL FOR WAVE STUDIES. THE LAPD IS EQUIPPED WITH AN EXTENSIVE SET OF DIAGNOSTICS AND A COMPUTER-CONTROLLED DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM. ANTENNA AND DRIVER CIRCUITS FOR LAUNCHING THE WAVES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE FACILITY. THE VALUES OF VARIOUS DIMENSIONLESS PARAMETERS (E.G. PLASMA BETA OR THE RATIO BETWEEN PLASMA AND ELECTRON CYCLOTRON FREQUENCIES) CAN SPAN A RANGE OF VALUES RELEVANT TO THE NEAR-SUN SOLAR WIND AND CORONA. RELEVANCE: THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE THREE HELIOPHYSICS SCIENCE GOALS IN THE 2014 NASA SCIENCE PLAN AND TO THE UPCOMING SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION. SPECIFICALLY: GOAL 1) PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES REPRESENT AN IMPORTANT PHYSICAL PROCESS AT WORK IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENTAL. THE PROCESS MAY BE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT CLOSE TO THE SUN WHERE SOLAR PROBE PLUS AIMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE SUN'S CORONA IS HEATED AND HOW THE SOLAR WIND IS ACCELERATED. PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES MAY HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON CORONAL HEATING AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR WIND THUS THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS PARTICULARLY TIMELY AND RELEVANT. IN PARTICULAR THE LIST OF OBSERVATIONAL SIGNATURES TO BE DEVELOPED WILL GREATLY AID THE INTERPRETATION OF FUTURE MISSION DATA. GOALS 2 AND 3) THE SOLAR WIND IS AN IMPORTANT LINK BETWEEN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF OUR HELIOPSHERE. THE IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE CORONA AND NEAR-EARTH SOLAR WIND GAINED FROM THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS THAT LINK THE SUN TO OTHER REGIONS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. THIS IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING IS ALSO CRUCIAL TO FUTURE PREDICTIONS OF SPACE WEATHER EVENTS. | $358.1K | FY2018 | Jul 2018 – Sep 2023 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE SINGLE-SOURCE - BY INVITATION ONLY (2018) | $356.5K | FY2022 | Aug 2022 – Dec 2024 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NSFGEO-NERC:CONJUGATE EXPERIMENT TO INVESTIGATE SOURCES OF HIGH-LATITUDE MAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS IN COUPLED SOLAR WIND-MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE-GROUND SYSTEM | $354.1K | FY2021 | Oct 2020 – Sep 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IS A PROCESS OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE IN SPACE AND ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS. IN GEOSPACE RECONNECTION IS THE PRIMARY MEANS BY WHICH SOLAR-WIND PLASMAS AND ELECTRIC FIELDS ARE EFFICIENTLY TRANSFERRED INTO EARTH S MAGNETOSPHERE AND BY WHICH MAGNETIC ENERGY STORED IN THE MAGNETOTAIL IS RELEASED AND THE TAIL IS RECONFIGURED INTO ITS QUIET STATE. A MAJOR EFFECT OF RECONNECTION AND OF THE DYNAMIC EVOLUTION ASSOCIATED WITH RECONNECTING FIELDS IS THE ACCELERATION OF CHARGED PARTICLES BY INDUCED ELECTRIC FIELDS AND PARALLEL ELECTRIC FIELDS. THIS CONSTITUTES AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN THE OVERALL ENERGY BALANCE OF THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND IS ALSO OF INCREASING RELEVANCE FOR HUMANS AND HUMAN ASSETS THROUGH SPACE WEATHER EFFECTS. THE MAGNETOSPHERIC MULTISCALE (MMS) MISSION WITH ITS VARIABLE SPACECRAFT SEPARATIONS FROM TENS TO THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS WITH ITS HIGH-RATE BURST-MODE DATA SYSTEM WITH ITS INTERSPACECRAFT RANGING AND ALARM SYSTEM AND WITH ITS 3D ELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS IS DESIGNED TO TAKE THE ULTIMATE STEP IN INVESTIGATING THE PHYSICS OF RECONNECTION AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES MECHANISMS AND DYNAMICS OF MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AND THE EFFECTS ON PARTICLES WHICH INCLUDES PLASMA HEATING THE GENERATION PROPAGATION AND CONSEQUENCES OF FAST FLOWS AND THE ACCELERATION OF PARTICLES TO HIGH ENERGIES. SPECIFICALLY WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE . THE ONSET AND DYNAMIC CONSEQUENCES OF ACTIVITY. THIS INCLUDES SPECIFICALLY PROPERTIES OF FAST FLOWS (BURSTY BULK FLOWS) AND DIPOLARIZATION EVENTS .THE ACCELERATION OF CHARGED PARTICLES TO HIGH SUPRATHERMAL ENERGIES. THIS INOLVES USE OF THE DYNAMIC FIELDS FROM THE MHD SIMULATIONS TO INVESTIGATE TEST PARTICLE MOTION AND ACCELERATION. RESULTS FROM OUR INVESTIGATIONS WILL BE DIRECTLY APPLICABLE TO THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE MMS MISSION AND SERVE TO ENHANCE THE SCIENTIFIC RETURN AS WELL AS TO FOCUS THE GOALS OF THIS MISSION. | $350K | FY2018 | Apr 2018 – Apr 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | COUPLED TROPOSPHERIC-STRATOSPHERIC SEASONAL PHOTOCHEMICAL MODEL FOR SATURN | $349.1K | FY2021 | Dec 2020 – Dec 2023 |
| National Science Foundation | OBSERVATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF DYNAMICAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL VARIABILITY IN THE VENUS MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE | $342.6K | FY2013 | Sep 2013 – Aug 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BETTER CHARACTERIZE THE WATER VAPOR CYCLE ON MARS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS 1) TO STUDY GLOBAL VARIATIONS OF THE VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE WATER VAPOR IN THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE AT DIFFERENT SEASONS AND 2) TO | $339.9K | FY2019 | Aug 2019 – Aug 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE SOLAR WIND DOES NOT FLOW SMOOTHLY AND STEADILY AWAY FROM THE SUN. INSTEAD, ITS PROPERTIES FLUCTUATE INCESSANTLY IN SPACE AND TIME AND OVER A WIDE | $336K | FY2014 | Mar 2014 – Mar 2018 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NON-LINEAR PHYSICS OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN A RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON BEAM AND MAGNETIZED PLASMA: AN INTEGRATED EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING APPROACH | $326.3K | FY2017 | Sep 2017 – Aug 2022 |
| National Science Foundation | POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP: OPP-PRF: INVESTIGATING POLAR GEOMAGNETIC SIGNATURES ASSOCIATED WITH SUBSTORM ONSET TO ADDRESS DATA GAPS IN SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SPACE WEATHER RESEARCH -SPACE IS OFTEN CONSIDERED A VACUUM, BUT IT IS HOME OF VARIOUS ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND CHARGED PARTICLES CALLED PLASMA. VARIATIONS IN THESE FIELDS AND PLASMA CAN BE CALLED ?SPACE WEATHER?, AND THESE SPACE WEATHER EVENTS MAY SEVERELY IMPACT VARIOUS HUMAN-DEPLOYED TECHNOLOGICAL NETWORKS IN SEVERAL WAYS, INCLUDING INTERFERING WITH GPS TECHNOLOGIES AND CAUSING VAST ELECTRIC POWER BLACKOUTS. GEOMAGNETIC SUBSTORMS IN POLAR REGIONS ARE DAILY SPACE WEATHER EVENTS AND THESE ARE TYPICALLY IDENTIFIED AND STUDIED USING AURORAL ELECTROJET (AE) INDICES, WHICH ARE COMPILED USING GROUND-BASED GEOMAGNETIC FIELD VARIATION MEASUREMENTS. HOWEVER, WHILE AE INDICES EXIST IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, THERE ARE NO SUCH INDICES DEVELOPED FOR THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. THERE SIMPLY IS NOT ENOUGH LAND TO HAVE APPROPRIATELY PLACED AND SPACED GEOMAGNETIC INSTRUMENTS. HOWEVER, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE ARE INTERHEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES BETWEEN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN POLAR REGIONS. IN OTHER WORDS, THE TWO HEMISPHERES ARE NOT IDENTICAL, SO IT CANNOT BE ASSUMED THAT SUBSTORM OBSERVATIONS FROM THE NORTHERN AURORAL ZONE ARE COMPATIBLE WITH RESEARCH DONE IN THE SOUTHERN POLAR AREAS. AS THE INTERHEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES IN SUBSTORM RESEARCH ARE ALSO NOT OFTEN ABLE TO BE EVALUATED, THIS AWARD WILL BE ADDRESSING THE SOUTHERN POLAR REGIONS? DATA GAP BY INVESTIGATING POTENTIAL ALTERNATE METHODS TO IDENTIFY SOUTHERN POLAR SUBSTORMS. THE PI1B WAVES ARE A TYPE OF NATURAL ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) WAVES CHARACTERIZED BY BROADBAND BURSTS IN THE PI1 RANGE (1 ? 40 SECOND PERIODS). SUBSTORM ONSETS ARE WELL CORRELATED WITH PI1B WAVES IN THE EVENING TO POST-MIDNIGHT SECTORS, AND IT WAS SUGGESTED IN THE GEOSPACE LITERATURE THAT PI1B WAVES COULD BE USED TO MONITOR POLAR SUBSTORMS DEVELOPMENT. THIS AWARD WILL USE A MIX OF EXISTING, PUBLICLY AVAILABLE GROUND-BASED MAGNETOMETER DATA AND IN-SITU SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS TO IDENTIFY AND COMPARE BOTH THE SUBSTORM ONSETS AND PI1B WAVES. THIS RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING OUTSTANDING SCIENCE QUESTIONS: (1) ARE PI1B WAVES A PROXY FOR AURORAL ELECTROJET INTENSIFICATION ASSOCIATED WITH SUBSTORM ONSET? (2) IF SO, HOW DOES THE PI1B PROXY COMPARE WITH EXISTING PROXIES BASED ON THE AE AND OTHER GEOMAGNETIC INDICES? AND (3) WHAT ARE PHYSICAL MECHANISMS THAT CAN EXPLAIN CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE PI1B WAVES AND SUBSTORM ONSETS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA. | $324.6K | FY2023 | Sep 2023 – Aug 2025 |
| National Science Foundation | GEM: DIPOLARIZATION AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION AT SUBSTORM ONSET | $320K | FY2013 | Oct 2012 – Sep 2016 |
| National Science Foundation | OPP-PRF: CONJUGATE EXPERIMENT TO EXPLORE MAGNETOSPHERIC PHENOMENA VIA SPATIAL SONIFICATION AND MIXED REALITY -MAGNETIC FIELD VARIATIONS ON THE EARTH?S SURFACE CAN BE USED TO REMOTE SENSE AND CHARACTERIZE ELECTRICAL CURRENTS AND PLASMA WAVES IN THE NEAR-EARTH SPACE ENVIRONMENT THAT CAN AFFECT TECHNOLOGY, FOR EXAMPLE BY INDUCING CURRENTS IN POWER GRIDS. ASYMMETRIES BETWEEN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT IN THE POLAR REGIONS OF THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES CAN PROFOUNDLY AFFECT THESE MAGNETIC FIELD VARIATIONS. MAGNETOMETERS, WHICH MEASURE THE STRENGTH AND DIRECTION OF MAGNETIC FIELDS, HAVE BEEN INSTALLED IN THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE EARTH?S MAGNETIC FIELD LINES. BY LOOKING AT DATA FROM BOTH SETS OF MAGNETOMETERS, RESEARCHERS CAN DETERMINE WHETHER DISTURBANCES IN THE EARTH?S MAGNETOSPHERE (A REGION OF NEAR-EARTH SPACE DOMINATED BY THE EARTH?S MAGNETIC FIELD) CAUSED BY THE SUN IMPACT THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE OR BOTH, AND THUS UNDERSTAND THE SOURCES OF NORTH-SOUTH HEMISPHERE ASYMMETRIES. SOME EVENTS THAT APPEAR IN THE MAGNETOMETER DATA MAY BE DIFFICULT FOR COMPUTERS TO IDENTIFY, BUT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO IDENTIFY IF THE DATA IS TRANSLATED INTO SOUND. RESEARCHERS WILL DEVELOP A TOOL FOR LISTENING TO DATA IN A VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT, SO THAT DATA FROM VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS CAN BE PLAYED BACK, MAKING IT EASIER TO EXPLORE DATASETS INTUITIVELY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE PROTOTYPED USING A MIXED REALITY HEADSET FOR USE IN BOTH SCIENCE AND EDUCATION AND MAY BE USED TO ANALYZE DATA TAKEN AT THE SAME TIME BY SENSORS ON THE GROUND AND ON SATELLITES. THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE ONE PARTICULAR TYPE OF DISTURBANCE ? MAGNETOSHEATH JETS ? AND ITS RELATION TO PLASMA WAVES BY ADDRESSING THE QUESTION ?DO MAGNETOSHEATH JETS ROUTINELY DRIVE PC5/PC6 GEOMAGNETIC PULSATIONS?? VIA THE ANALYSIS OF MAGNETOMETER DATA FROM GEOMAGNETICALLY CONJUGATE (BASED ON THE INTERNATIONAL GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE FIELD, IGRF) ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC MAGNETOMETERS. THIS QUESTION WILL BE APPROACHED FIRST THROUGH TRADITIONAL PLOTTING AND VISUAL ANALYSIS, THEN BY PRESENTING DATASTREAMS AS SOUND SOURCES SITUATED IN A VIRTUAL AUDIO ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPED IN THE UNITY GAME ENGINE AND INTEGRATED WITH MIXED REALITY PRESENTATION VIA THE MICROSOFT HOLOLENS PLATFORM. THIS APPROACH WILL LEVERAGE HUMAN CAPABILITIES FOR SPATIAL DISCRIMINATION OF SOUNDS TO IDENTIFY GEOMAGNETIC PULSATIONS (SURFACE MAGNETIC FIELD VARIATIONS RELATED TO PLASMA WAVES IN OUTER SPACE) RELATED TO MAGNETOSHEATH JET EVENTS WITH POTENTIALLY LARGE NORTH-SOUTH HEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES, SPATIALLY LOCALIZED WAVE ACTIVITY, AND IRREGULAR WAVEFORMS. THE RESULTING PRESENTATION MODALITY WILL MAKE USE OF EXISTING REPOSITORIES OF MAGNETOMETER DATA AND MAY POTENTIALLY BE EXTENDED TO THE PRESENTATION OF SYNCHRONOUS DATASETS FROM MULTIPLE SENSING NETWORKS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA. | $307.5K | FY2023 | Jan 2023 – Dec 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES MECHANISMS AND DYNAMICS OF RECONNECTION AND THEIR EFFECTS ON PARTICLE ACCELERATION, WHICH INCLUDES PLASMA HEATING, TH | $307.1K | FY2013 | Dec 2012 – Dec 2017 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | CARBON, OXYGEN, AND SULFUR CHEMISTRY ON VENUS IN THREE DIMENSIONS: TIME, ALTITUDE, AND LATITUDE THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO UNDERSTAND Q | $305.1K | FY2016 | Jul 2016 – Jul 2022 |
| National Science Foundation | THE CODEX OF THE MILKY WAY -STARS ARE THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS OF GALAXIES LIKE OUR OWN MILKY WAY. UNDERSTANDING GALAXY EVOLUTION, AND INDEED THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, REQUIRES A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF HOW DIFFERENT TYPES OF STARS CHANGE WITH TIME. STARS HAVE THEIR OWN LIFE CYCLE, FROM STELLAR BIRTH IN COLD CLOUDS, THROUGH THEIR MATURITY AS THE STARS WE SEE AT NIGHT, TO THEIR ENDS AS RED GIANTS OR SOMETIMES SPECTACULAR SUPERNOVAE. THE PROCESS OF FORMING STARS, HOWEVER, IS STILL POORLY UNDERSTOOD, MAINLY DUE TO THE DIFFICULTY IN OBSERVING THE PROCESSES THAT TAKE PLACE INSIDE COLD, DARK MOLECULAR CLOUDS WHICH VISIBLE LIGHT CANNOT PENETRATE. INSTEAD, ASTRONOMERS USE LONGER-WAVELENGTH RADIATION, LIKE INFRARED LIGHT OR RADIO WAVES, TO DISCOVER IMPORTANT DETAILS OF STAR FORMATION, INCLUDING THE TEMPERATURE, DENSITY AND ABUNDANCES OF ELEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED TO FORM MOLECULES. THE INVESTIGATOR WILL SHARE THEIR RESEARCH WITH THE PUBLIC IN A STRIKING WAY, BY LAUNCHING A ?SCIENCE+ART? OUTREACH EFFORT TO SCHOOLCHILDREN, EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND ART FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC'S APPRECIATION, AND INCREASING THE IMPACT OF THIS RESEARCH. A PRIMARY GOAL OF THE INVESTIGATOR?S RESEARCH IS TESTING MODELS FOR MOLECULAR EMISSION IN THE GALAXY, BASED ON MAPS OF MM-WAVE EMISSION FROM CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) MOLECULES IN CLOUDS. ASTRONOMERS MAKE CO OBSERVATIONS OF THE MILKY WAY BECAUSE THE MOLECULE IS WIDESPREAD AND RELATIVELY EASY TO OBSERVE. THE INVESTIGATOR HAS RECENTLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH SUGGESTING SIMPLE INTERPRETATIONS OF CO MAPPING MAY BE SUBTLY MISLEADING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS IN CLOUDS, WHICH ARE MOSTLY MADE UP OF MOLECULAR HYDROGEN (H2) THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO DETECT DIRECTLY. IN SHORT, THE CO MAPS CAN BE BIASED IN TRACING H2. THE INVESTIGATOR WILL COMPLETE AND RELEASE TO THE COMMUNITY THEIR MOLECULAR LINE SURVEY OF THE MILKY WAY AS THE COMBINED DENSE GAS AND EXCITATION ATLAS OF THE MILKY WAY (THE CODEX). IN ADDITION, THEY WILL PROVIDE A MORE SOPHISTICATED CALCULATION OF THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS IN MOLECULAR CLOUDS, SOMETHING WHICH HAS NOT BEEN ATTEMPTED BEFORE EXCEPTING ON MUCH SMALLER SCALES. THIS WILL ALLOW ASTRONOMERS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THE H2 MOLECULES ASSEMBLE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY TO MAKE STARS THROUGHOUT THE MILKY WAY, AND BY EXTENSION, IN OTHER SPIRAL GALAXIES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA. | $305K | FY2022 | Aug 2022 – Jul 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | IN ORDER TO RETRIEVE COMPOSITIONAL AND THERMOPHYSICAL INFORMATION FROM THE SPECTRAL DATA ACQUIRED BY THE OSIRIS-REX THERMAL EMISSION SPECTROMETER (OTES) AND OSIRIS-REX VISIBLE AND INFRARED SPECTROMETER (OVIRS) INSTRUMENTS AN UNDERSTANDING OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND ROCK ABUNDANCE AND THEIR EFFECTS ON EMITTED RADIANCE IS ESSENTIAL. SURFACE ANISOTHERMALITY DUE TO SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND ROCK ABUNDANCE CAN BE PERVASIVE COMPLICATING AND HINDERING THE COMPOSITIONAL AND THERMOPHYSICAL INTERPRETATION OF SPECTRAL DATASETS. WE WILL USE A SURFACE ROUGHNESS THERMAL MODEL TO ACCOUNT FOR ANISOTHERMALITY AND CORRECT FOR EMITTED RADIANCE IN OVIRS SPECTRA. PROPER CORRECTION IS CRUCIAL FOR THE IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF OH AND H2O ABSORPTIONS NEAR 3 UM AS WELL AS OTHER ABSORPTIONS. IN ADDITION WE WILL IMPLEMENT A ROUGHNESS-BASED CORRECTION FOR OTES MEASUREMENTS WHICH ARE LIKELY TO HAVE BROAD AND PROMINENT SPECTRAL SLOPES THAT ARE AN EFFECT OF ANISOTHERMALITY. WITHOUT THIS CORRECTION THESE SLOPES WOULD BE PRESENT IN EMISSIVITY DATA AND CAN MODIFY THE SHAPE OF SPECTRAL ABSORPTIONS AND RESULT IN A SHORTER WAVELENGTH CHRISTIANSEN FEATURE IN SILICATE MATERIALS. THE WORK PROPOSED HERE HAS FOUR PRIMARY GOALS: 1) DEVELOP AND APPLY A SURFACE ROUGHNESS THERMAL MODEL TO THE CORRECTION OF OTES AND OVIRS SPECTRAL DATASETS TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE BOTH COMPOSITIONAL AND SURFACE TEMPERATURE INTERPRETATIONS. 2) DERIVE AND MAP THE SURFACE ROCK ABUNDANCE FROM NIGHTTIME OTES MEASUREMENTS. 3) DOCUMENT DIRECTIONAL EMISSIVITY EFFECTS TO CHARACTERIZE HEMISPHERICAL EMISSIVITY ON BENNU. 4) SUPPORT OSIRIS-REX OPERATIONS BY PROVIDING TARGETING STRATEGIES CALIBRATION ASSESSMENT AND DATASET PRODUCTION. THE PRIMARY GOALS LISTED HERE SUPPORT THE GOALS OF THE OSIRIS-REX PARTICIPATING SCIENTIST PROGRAM BY ENHANCING THE SCIENTIFIC RETURN OF THE MISSION. IN PARTICULAR THESE GOALS WILL ENABLE AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF COMPOSITIONAL AND THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES BY PROVIDING DATA THAT DIRECTLY SUPPORTS AND ENHANCES EXISTING MISSION GOALS OF THE SPECTRAL ANALYSIS AND THERMAL ANALYSIS WORKING GROUPS. ALL DATA PRODUCTS WILL BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE EITHER THROUGH THE PLANETARY DATA SYSTEM (PDS) OR ALONG WITH PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS. | $298.5K | FY2018 | Nov 2017 – Nov 2023 |
| National Science Foundation | SHINE: SHORT-WAVELENGTH TURBULENCE IN THE SOLAR WIND | $298K | FY2015 | Apr 2015 – Mar 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE MOON IS THE MOST EASILY OBSERVABLE SOLAR-SYSTEM BODY. AS SUCH IT CAN BE USED AS A TESTING GROUND FOR REMOTE-SENSING TECHNIQUES. SUCH TECHNIQUES A | $297.4K | FY2011 | Nov 2010 – Oct 2014 |
| National Science Foundation | IPY: POLAR HYDROBOT SIMULATOR | $296.5K | FY2007 | Sep 2007 – Jun 2010 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 21-PDART21-0015 MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS PORTAL TO OBSERVATIONS RESOURCES AND TOOLS TO ADVANCE.LEGACY SCIENCE (MER PORTAL). | $291.6K | FY2023 | Oct 2022 – Oct 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | $289.5K | FY2025 | Feb 2025 – Jan 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | OBJECTIVES: MILLIMETER AND SUB-MILLIMETER OBSERVATIONS FROM GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES HAVE REVEALED THE PRESENCE OF AN UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE AMOUNT OF CARBON MONOXIDE IN NEPTUNE'S STRATOSPHERE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN DELIVERED DURING A LARGE COMETARY IMPACT THAT OCCURRED A COUPLE HUNDRED YEARS AGO (E.G. LELLOUCH ET AL. 2005; A&A 430 L3-L40). THE COMET-IMPACT HYPOTHESIS COULD ALSO EXPLAIN THE CURRENT PRESENCE OF HCN AND CS IN NEPTUNE'S STRATOSPHERE. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO TRACK THE FATE OF GAS-PHASE SPECIES INTRODUCED INTO NEPTUNE'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE FROM THIS PUTATIVE COMETARY IMPACT. IN PARTICULAR WE SEEK TO FURTHER OUR UNDERSTANDING OF (1)THE COUPLED CARBON OXYGEN NITROGEN AND SULFUR CHEMISTRY RESULTING FROM SUCH AN IMPACT; (2) THE ORIGIN OF THE DIFFERENT VERTICAL PROFILES OF CO CS AND HCN CURRENTLY OBSERVED IN NEPTUNE'S STRATOSPHERE; (3) THE EFFECT OF THE COMET-DERIVED SPECIES ON THE CURRENT STRATOSPHERIC C2H6/C2H6 RATIO AND OTHER CONSEQUENCES FOR THE BACKGROUND HYDROCARBON PHOTOCHEMISTRY ON NEPTUNE; AND (4) THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE COMET-DERIVED CO ON OUR ABILITY TO DETERMINE THE DEEP OXYGEN ABUNDANCE ON NEPTUNE BY INDIRECT METHODS. METHODOLOGY: 1-D PHOTOCHEMICAL MODELS WILL BE USED TO TRACK THE NEUTRAL CARBON OXYGEN NITROGEN AND SULFUR PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND HAZE PRODUCTION THAT RESULTS AFTER A PUTATIVE LARGE COMETARY IMPACT ON NEPTUNE. MODEL PREDICTIONS REGARDING THE VERTICAL PROFILES OF TROPOSPHERIC AND STRATOSPHERIC SPECIES WILL BE COMPARED WITH PUBLISHED GROUND-BASED AND SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS. SIGNIFICANCE/RELEVANCE: THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION SEEKS TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND COMPOSITION OF NEPTUNE AND WILL HELP CONSTRAIN THE DEEP OXYGEN ABUNDANCE ON THE PLANET WHICH HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF ICE GIANTS. THE WORK IS LARGELY THEORETICAL IN NATURE AND CONTAINS NO DATA-ANALYSIS COMPONENT. AS SUCH THE PROPOSAL IS MOST RELEVANT TO THE NASA SOLAR SYSTEM WORKINGS PROGRAM WHOSE "CALL SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES THAT AFFECT THE... ATMOSPHERES... OF PLANETARY BODIES." | $275.3K | FY2019 | Feb 2019 – Feb 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE PROPOSE TO LEAD SUPERCAM OBSERVATIONS TO MEASURE THE ATMOSPHERIC COLUMN ABUNDANCES OF MOLECULAR OXYGEN WATER VAPOR AND CARBON MONOXIDE AS WELL AS ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOL COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES. THESE MEASUREMENTS ARE MOTIVATED BY SURPRISING O2 | $275K | FY2021 | Feb 2021 – Feb 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AIMS TO UNDERSTAND QUANTITATIVELY THE COUPLING BETWEEN CHEMISTRY AND DYNAMICS AS EXPRESSED IN THE GLOBAL SULFUR CYCLES | $274.6K | FY2021 | Nov 2020 – Nov 2026 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PEERING TO THE HEART OF MASSIVE STAR BIRTH -MASSIVE STARS MUCH LARGER THAN THE SUN AFFECT THE EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES THROUGH THEIR POWERFUL WINDS AND THE INTENSE RADIATION THEY PRODUCE. WHEN THEY EXPLODE AS SUPERNOVAE, MASSIVE STARS THROW HEAVY ELEMENTS INTO THE SURROUNDING INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM. YET DESPITE THEIR IMPORTANCE, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW THEY ARE FORMED. IN THIS PROJECT, OVER 100 VERY YOUNG, MASSIVE STARS WILL BE OBSERVED WITH RADIO TELESCOPES IN NEW MEXICO AND CHILE. COMPUTER MODELS WILL BE USED TO INTERPRET THE OBSERVATIONAL DATA AND TO DEVELOP A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF MASSIVE STAR FORMATION AS A WHOLE. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT. THE PROPOSERS ALSO PLAN ON DEVELOPING AN EXISTING OUTREACH PROGRAM, STAR HUNT, THAT INVOLVES MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILDREN AND THEIR TEACHERS IN AN ASTRONOMY RESEARCH EXERCISE. STAR HUNT PLUS WILL BE DEPLOYED TO SCHOOLS IN NEW MEXICO, VIRGINIA AND EVENTUALLY NATIONWIDE. THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT, BETWEEN TEAMS IN VIRGINIA AND NEW MEXICO, WILL INVESTIGATE THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF MASSIVE YOUNG STARS. A COMBINED THEORETICAL AND OBSERVATIONAL APPROACH IS PROPOSED: A GRID OF MODEL SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS AND SYNTHETIC IMAGES WILL BE PRODUCED. OVER 100 MASSIVE PROTOSTARS WILL THEN BE OBSERVED IN CM CONTINUUM EMISSION WITH THE VERY LARGE ARRAY AND IN MM/SUB-MM EMISSION WITH THE ATACAMA LARGE MILLIMETER ARRAY. THE OBSERVATIONAL DATA WILL BE USED TO TEST THE MODELS, ILLUSTRATE THE PRESENCE OF LOWER-MASS COMPANIONS AND RADIO JETS, AND CHARACTERIZE INFLOW AND OUTFLOW PROPERTIES. INFALL VELOCITIES AND MASS FLOW RATES WILL BE COMPARED TO THE VALUES EXPECTED FROM THE SED-FITTED CORE ACCRETION MODELS. SIMILARLY, THE MOLECULAR OUTFLOW PROPERTIES WILL BE COMPARED TO THOSE OF THE RADIO JETS AND PREDICTIONS OF THE MODELS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA. | $274.1K | FY2023 | Oct 2022 – Sep 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE RESIDUAL SOUTH POLAR CAP OF MARS (RSPC) CONSISTS MOSTLY OF SOLID CARBON DIOXIDE THAT IS ABLE TO AVOID SUBLIMATION IN SUMMER DUE TO ITS UNUSUALLY | $273.9K | FY2011 | Jun 2011 – Nov 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | OBJECTIVES: THE RAPIDLY GROWING STATISTICS FOR EXOPLANET PROPERTIES SUCH AS RADIUS, MASS, BULK DENSITY, ORBITAL PERIOD, AND EMISSION TEMPERATURE REVE | $273.6K | FY2016 | Dec 2015 – Dec 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | $273.3K | FY2025 | Apr 2025 – Apr 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | OBJECTIVES: VISIBLE AND ULTRAVIOLET IMAGES HAVE REVEALED A "POLAR HOOD" OF DARK STRATOSPHERIC HAZES COVERING HIGH-LATITUDE REGIONS AROUND BOTH POLES | $272.9K | FY2016 | Mar 2016 – Mar 2020 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | OF ALL THE PLANETS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM, WE KNOW COMPARATIVELY LITTLE ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERES OF URANUS AND NEPTUNE BECAUSE THEIR LARGE ORBITAL DISTANCE | $272.8K | FY2013 | Mar 2013 – — |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SIMULATING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF CARBON MONOXIDE AND OXYGEN TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL STABILITY OF VENUS' ATMOSPHERE | $272.8K | FY2022 | Jul 2022 – Jul 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE KOREA PATHFINDER LUNAR ORBITER (KPLO) WIDE FIELD POLARIMETRIC CAMERA (POLCAM) WILL BE THE FIRST ORBITAL INSTRUMENT TO COLLECT | $271.6K | FY2021 | Aug 2021 – Sep 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THIS MISSION CONCEPT TARGETS MARS AND ITS ATMOSPHERE. MORE SPECIFICALLY THE TEMPORAL EVOLUTION OF THE HORIZONTAL SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF DUST AND WATER ICE AEROSOLS AT MULTIPLE SCALES. THE KEY SCIENCE OBJECTIVE IS TO MONITOR IN DETAIL THE ONSET EVOLUTION AND DECAY OF LARGE DUST STORMS AND THE FORMATION EVOLUTION AND DISSIPATION OF EXTENDED WATER ICE CLOUDS FROM THE VANTAGE POINT OF AN AREOSTATIONARY ORBIT. THIS MISSION SHALL ALSO MONITOR THE CHANGES IN SURFACE PROPERTIES (E.G. ALBEDO) OVER THE OBSERVED REGION THROUGHOUT THE MARTIAN YEAR AND SPECIFICALLY AFTER THE OCCURRENCE AND DECAY OF LARGE DUST STORMS. WE PLAN TO PUT A LOW-COST 12U CUBESAT IN AREOSTATIONARY ORBIT AROUND MARS FOR AT LEAST ONE MARTIAN YEAR DEPARTING FROM A PRIMARY MARS MISSION AFTER RIDESHARING TO MARS. WE SHALL USE: A SOLAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS THE CUBESAT TO REACH OPTIMIZE AND MAINTAIN ITS ORBIT DRAMATICALLY IMPROVING ITS LIFETIME AND CONTROL; 160 W/KG SOLAR ARRAYS THAT ENABLE LONGER RANGE IMPROVED SENSORS HIGHER DATA RATE COMMUNICATION AND MORE POWER TO THE PAYLOAD; THE JPL-DEVELOPED IRIS TRANSPONDER SYSTEM. THE CUBESAT SHALL CARRY AN IMAGING SYSTEM CONSISTING OF TWO FIXED-FOCUS CAMERA HEADS: ONE 3.0-MEGAPIXEL VISIBLE COLOR CAMERA AND ONE 0.3-MEGAPIXEL THERMAL INFRARED CAMERA. THE CAMERAS SHALL PROVIDE FULL-DISK IMAGES OF MARS WITH RESOLUTIONS OF 4.5 KM (VISIBLE) AND 13.6 KM (INFRARED) AT HIGH SAMPLING FREQUENCY. RETRIEVALS USING DAY- AND NIGHT-SIDE INFRARED IMAGES OF THE MONITORED AREA SHALL PROVIDE ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES AT A FEW PRESSURE LEVELS BELOW 10 PA (~45 KM ALTITUDE) AND THE COLUMN OPTICAL DEPTHS OF DUST AND WATER ICE. WE EXPECT THAT THE PLANNED OBSERVATIONS CREATE A UNIQUE DATASET OF DETAILED INFORMATION ON WEATHER AND SURFACE CHANGES AND ALLOW TO PUT THE AEROSOL DYNAMICS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL AND GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC THERMODYNAMICS AND CIRCULATION. THIS MISSION CONCEPT BYPASSES THE CURRENT LIMITATION OF ORBITERS AT MARS WHICH CANNOT PROVIDE CONTINUOUS ATMOSPHERIC AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS OVER EXTENDED FIXED AREAS. IT ADDRESSES THE SCIENCE GOAL OF THE NASA 2014 SCIENCE PLAN ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM OPERATE INTERACT AND EVOLVE. | $270.6K | FY2017 | Jul 2017 – — |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE PLANETARY EPHEMERIS IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR INTERPLANETARY SPACECRAFT NAVIGATION, AS WELL AS THE PREDICTION OF OCCULTATIONS, TESTS OF GENERAL RE | $270K | FY2015 | Apr 2015 – Apr 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ARE COULOMB COLLISIONS SUFFICIENT TO PREDICT OBSERVED NON-THERMAL SOLAR WIND ELECTRONS INCLUDING THEIR HEAT FLOW? | $269.7K | FY2024 | Aug 2024 – Jun 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF MINERALOGICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE MARTIAN SURFACE DERIVED FROM REMOTELY SENSED VISIBLE/NEAR-INFRARED AND THERMAL INFRARED | $258.8K | FY2014 | Aug 2014 – Aug 2018 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE SEARCH FOR LIFE BEYOND EARTH IS ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL AND EXCITING ENDEAVORS OF MODERN ASTRONOMY, AND IS A KEY ELEMENT OF THE NASA SCIENCE | $256.4K | FY2011 | May 2011 – — |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | CURRENT STUDIES OF THE VENUS ATMOSPHERE, WITH RESPECT TO SPACECRAFT AND GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS, ARE SURPRISINGLY LIMITED GIVEN THE RANGE OF OUTSTA | $256K | FY2013 | Mar 2013 – Apr 2018 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE MARS EXPRESS PLANETARY FOURIER SPECTROMETER (PFS) HAS COLLECTED INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF MARS OVER THE PAST DECADE. ITS SPECTRAL RANGE AND TEMPOR | $255.7K | FY2015 | Jun 2015 – May 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE WATER ABUNDANCE IN THE DEEP TROPOSPHERE OF JUPITER AND THE OTHER GIANT PLANETS PROVIDES IMPORTANT CLUES TO SOLAR SYSTEM FORMATION AND EVOLUTION A | $255.2K | FY2010 | Feb 2010 – Feb 2013 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON THE OVER-ARCHING SCIENCE QUESTION DO LARGE SCALE MONOCHROMATIC (LSM) ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) WAVES ROUTINELY PRODUCE NON-DIFFUSIVE BEHAVIOR IN THE EARTH S OUTER ELECTRON RADIATION BELT? WE ARE COMBINING OBSERVATIONS AND SIMULATIONS TO CONFIRM THE PRESENCE/ABSENCE OF THREE NON-DIFFUSIVE BEHAVIORS DURING LSM ULF WAVE EVENTS DRIVEN BY SOLAR WIND FLUCTUATIONS: (1) DRIFT RESONANCE (2) BULK RADIAL TRANSPORT ON TIMESCALES FASTER THAN RADIAL DIFFUSION AND (3) RADIALLY LOCALIZED PHASE SPACE DENSITY (PSD) PEAKS. OUR PRIMARY DATASETS ARE ENERGETIC PARTICLE DATA FROM THE MAGNETIC ELECTRON ION SPECTROMETER (MAGEIS) INSTRUMENT ON NASA S VAN ALLEN PROBES SPACECRAFT AND OUTPUT FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE INNER MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE (CIMI) MODEL COUPLED WITH THE BLOCK ADAPTIVE TREE SOLAR WIND ROE UPWIND SCHEME (BATSRUS) MODEL SUPPLEMENTED WITH OTHER SATELLITE AND GROUND-BASED MEASUREMENTS. BY COMPARING MEASUREMENTS AND SIMULATION OUTPUT IN A LARGE EVENT ENSEMBLE THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPLICABILITY OF THE RADIAL DIFFUSION APPROXIMATION IN RADIATION BELT MODELS. | $252.5K | FY2018 | Sep 2018 – May 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | $251.6K | FY2025 | Apr 2025 – Apr 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE OFFICE OF STEM ENGAGEMENT (OSTEM) SEEKS TO: 1. ATTRACT STUDENTS TO STEM THROUGH UNIQUE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THAT SPARK INTEREST AND PROVIDE CONNECTIONS TO NASA S MISSION AND WORK 2. ENGAGE STUDENTS IN AUTHENTIC LEARNING EXPERIENCES WITH NASA | $250K | FY2025 | Jul 2025 – Jul 2027 |
| National Science Foundation | CONFERENCE: BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES: A NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM THAT EXPLORES THE ROLE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN ADDRESSING LOCAL CLIMATE IMPACTS -THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE WILL CONVENE LIBRARY LEADERS, CLIMATE RESEARCHERS AND EDUCATORS, PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS, AND INFORMAL EDUCATORS TO EXAMINE THE CURRENT PREVALENCE OF CLIMATE RELATED PROGRAMMING IN LIBRARIES, AND HOW THE CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CAN BE USED BY LIBRARIES TO CREATE LOCALLY AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT, CHANGE ORIENTED, AND EQUITABLE STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH) LEARNING EXPERIENCES. THE INTENTION IS FOR THESE EXPERIENCES TO BE DESIGNED WITH (NOT JUST FOR) THEIR COMMUNITIES INCREASING RESILIENCE AND THE ABILITY TO ADDRESS HYPER-LOCAL CLIMATE IMPACTS. THE CONFERENCE WILL INCLUDE 30 PUBLIC LIBRARY LEADERS, EXPERTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS, AND EXPERTS IN STEM EDUCATION AND INFORMAL LEARNING. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE IS TO BRING TOGETHER THOUGHT LEADERS AND CHANGE MAKERS ACROSS THE FIELDS OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES, INFORMAL STEM LEARNING, AND CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE TO CATALYZE ACTION AND RESEARCH AROUND THE ROLES THAT LIBRARIES AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS CAN PLAY IN RESPONDING TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH-RELATED CONCERNS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. THE CONFERENCE WILL ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE BY DOCUMENTING CURRENT EFFORTS AND UTILIZING THE EXPERTS PARTICIPATING TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH, ACTION, AND PLANNING. INFORMAL EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS LIBRARIES, ARE NOW SEEN AS AN UNTAPPED EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE. WHILE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION IN MUSEUM SETTINGS HAS GROWN SUBSTANTIALLY, THE POTENTIAL OF INFORMAL LEARNING IN LIBRARIES IS STILL BEING EXPLORED. THERE IS A NEED FOR RESEARCH EXPLORING HOW EXISTING INFORMAL LEARNING MODELS CAN HELP PREDICT AND UNDERSTAND LEARNING OUTCOMES IN A LIBRARY SETTING. THIS CONFERENCE PROJECT AIMS TO IDENTIFY AND CREATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A RESEARCH AGENDA ACROSS THE AREA OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES, CLIMATE, AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. EVALUATION FOR THE CONFERENCE AND RELATED DELIVERABLES WILL BE ROOTED IN THE TRANSFORMATIVE PARADIGM, WHICH RECOGNIZES THE PERVASIVENESS OF INEQUITY AND INJUSTICE IN PEOPLE'S DAILY LIVES, AND VIEWS THE ROLE OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION TO BE ONE OF ADDRESSING AND ALLEVIATING THESE SOCIETAL PROBLEMS. SPECIFIC DELIVERABLES FOR THIS PROJECT INCLUDE: THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OR SYMPOSIUM, FOUR BACKGROUND REPORTS TO SET THE STAGE FOR THE CONFERENCE AND TO IDENTIFY CURRENT SALIENT ISSUES, WEBINARS FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF HIGHLIGHTING PROJECT AND PARTNER RESOURCES AS WELL AS THE CONFERENCE RESULTS, A WEBPAGE TO DISSEMINATE CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUTS, PRESENTATIONS AT REGIONAL AND NATIONAL MEETINGS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EVALUATION INSTRUMENTS MEANT TO SUPPORT AND ITERATE ON THE PROJECT WORK. PROJECT PARTNERS INCLUDE THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE'S NATIONAL CENTER FOR INTERACTIVE LEARNING, WEB JUNCTION, INTERACTIVE LEARNING DYNAMICS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO. WITH A FOCUS ON CENTERING EQUITY AND BUILDING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN POORER COMMUNITIES, THIS CONFERENCE TARGETS THE PUBLIC LIBRARIANS AS THE PRIMARY AUDIENCE AND WILL FURTHER CEMENT THE ROLES OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES AS EQUITABLY ACCESSED COMMUNITY SPACES AND CRITICAL ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS IN STEM LEARNING ECOSYSTEMS, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE CRITICAL ISSUES OF CLIMATE CHANGE, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND MISINFORMATION ABOUT SCIENTIFIC PROCESSES RELATED TO BOTH. THIS CONFERENCE PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ADVANCING INFORMAL STEM LEARNING (AISL) PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS PROJECTS THAT: (A) CONTRIBUTE TO RESEARCH AND PRACTICE THAT CONSIDERS INFORMAL STEM LEARNING'S ROLE IN EQUITY AND BELONGING IN STEM; (B) PROMOTE PERSONAL AND EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS IN STEM; (C) ADVANCE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY; (D) FOSTER INTEREST IN STEM CAREERS; (E) CREATE AND ENHANCE THE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMAL STEM LEARNING; (F) IMPROVE COMMUNITY VIBRANCY; AND/OR (G) ENHANCE SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AND THE PUBLIC'S ENGAGEMENT IN AND UNDERSTANDING OF STEM AND STEM PROCESSES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA. | $250K | FY2023 | Aug 2023 – Jan 2025 |
| National Science Foundation | STEM LEARNING IN LIBRARIES: A NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NEEDS, OPPORTUNITIES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS | $249.3K | FY2014 | Sep 2014 – Aug 2015 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SOLE SOURCE HYPERS TOOLS FOR 3D SIMULATIONS OF TURBULENCE AND RECONNECTION | $245.7K | FY2023 | Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 |
| National Science Foundation | NSF-BSF: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RANKINE-HUGONIOT CONDITIONS RELATING THE GYROTROPIC REGIONS OF COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS IN NON-THERMAL PLASMA | $245.6K | FY2020 | Jul 2020 – Jun 2023 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | FINDING NEO USING THE SEARCH FOR ASTEROIDS AS A FRAMEWORK FOR ENGAGING WEB, SCIENCE CENTER, AND LIBRARY AUDIENCES IN ASTRONOMY, MATHEMATICS, AND ENGI | $245.1K | FY2008 | Jan 2008 – Jul 2014 |
| National Science Foundation | MESOSPHERE-THERMOSPHERE SCIENCE FROM MICROWAVE OBSERVATIONS | $240.4K | FY2007 | Nov 2006 – Oct 2009 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS THREE-YEAR CCMSC INVESTIGATION ARE TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING THE PHYSICS OF SOLAR-WIND/MAGNETOSPHERE COUPLING DURING SOLAR | $240.1K | FY2012 | Jul 2012 – Jul 2014 |
| Department of Energy | LABORATORY STUDY OF ALFVEN WAVE STEEPENING | $239.9K | FY2022 | Sep 2022 – Aug 2026 |
| Department of Energy | STRONG TURBULENT ALFVEN WAVE INTERACTIONS IN A LABORATORY PLASMA | $239.1K | FY2020 | Sep 2020 – Aug 2023 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DASI TRACK 1--AUTONOMOUS REMOTE GEOSPACE OBSERVATION AND RESEARCH ARRAY (AURORA) -HIGH-LATITUDE AND POLAR REGIONS PRESENT A UNIQUE SET OF CHALLENGES FOR CONTINUOUS OBSERVATIONS BECAUSE OF THEIR REMOTENESS AND EXTREME AND HARSH ENVIRONMENTS. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION OF SMALL, LOW-POWER, AUTONOMOUS, MULTI-INSTRUMENT ADAPTIVE, GROUND-BASED GEOSPACE OBSERVATION ARRAYS, NAMED AUTONOMOUS REMOTE GEOSPACE OBSERVATION AND RESEARCH ARRAY (AURORA). IT IS DESIGNED TO FILL LARGE GAPS IN THE CURRENTLY EXISTING GROUND-BASED INSTRUMENT ARRAYS IN THE HIGH-LATITUDE AND POLAR REGIONS. WITH ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES IN SOLAR PANELS, BATTERIES, BIDIRECTIONAL SATELLITE COMMUNICATION, LOW-POWER SENSORS (FLUXGATE AND SEARCHCOIL MAGNETOMETERS, RADIO RECEIVERS, ETC.), AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTERS, AURORA WILL ENABLE YEAR-ROUND OBSERVATIONS WITH COST-EFFECTIVE, MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS IN THESE REMOTE LOGISTICALLY CHALLENGING LOCATIONS. THIS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE ABILITY TO STUDY (1) INTERHEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF GEOMAGNETIC AND IONOSPHERIC VARIABILITY, (2) THE MESOSCALE OF SOLAR-WIND - MAGNETOSPHERE - IONOSPHERE COUPLING IN HIGH-LATITUDE AND POLAR REGIONS, AS WELL AS OTHER SPACE WEATHER PHENOMENA. DEEP-FIELD AUTONOMOUS OBSERVATORIES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CO-LOCATE INSTRUMENTS ACROSS DISCIPLINES IN POLAR SCIENCE AND FACILITATE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO TRAINING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE. IT WILL SUPPORT TWO EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS INCLUDING A FEMALE EARLY-CAREER SCIENTIST. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE RESEARCH, ASSISTING WITH INSTRUMENTATION DESIGN AND TESTING. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD. | $237.9K | FY2024 | Sep 2024 – Aug 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 24-KPLOPSEM24-0003 USING KPLO POLCAM MULTISPECTRAL POLARIMETRIC DATA TO DISTINGUISH AND CHARACTERIZE KNOWN AND SUSPECTED LUNAR PYROCLASTIC DEPOSIT | $237.8K | FY2025 | May 2025 – Apr 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP A MULTI-YEAR RECORD OF WATER VAPOR VARIABILITY IN THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE USING THE OBSERVATIONS OF PLANE | $237.2K | FY2013 | Sep 2013 – Mar 2017 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE PROPOSAL IS RELEVANT TO THE MDAP PROGRAM BECAUSE IT WILL ENHANCE SCIENTIFIC RETURN FROM THE MGS MISSION BY ANALYZING DATA FROM THE MGS TES SPECTR | $234.5K | FY2016 | Apr 2016 – Apr 2020 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THIS INVESTIGATION HAS THREE SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES. THE FIRST OBJECTIVE IS TO INVESTIGATE THE METHODS THAT WAVES ARE CREATED IN THE SOLAR WIND. THE SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF WAVES IN THE SOLAR WIND. THE THIRD OBJECTIVE IS STUDY HOW WAVES INTERACT WITH THE HEAVY ION POPULATION IN THE SOLAR WIND. DR. BROILES WILL PARTICIPATE IN ALL THREE GOALS BUT WILL BE MOST ACTIVE IN GOALS 1 AND 3. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS INVESTIGATION IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WAVE-PARTICLEINTERACTIONS WORK IN THE SOLAR WIND. IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THIS THE INVESTIGATION IS BROKEN DOWN INTO TWO STUDIES: (1) A COMPARISON OF OBSERVED PLASMA WAVES TO THEBI-MAXWELLIAN PROTON DISTRIBUTION AND SPEED DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN PROTONS AND ALPHAS (2) A COMPARISON BETWEEN OBSERVED WAVES AND THE HEAVY ION SPEED AND TEMPERATURE RESPONSE. DR. BROILES WILL PERFORM MOST OF THE DATA ANALYSIS ON THE PLASMA DATA AND WILL PROVIDE INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS FOR CO-I'S LAN JIAN AND PETER GARY. A SERIES OF STUDIES WILL BE PERFORMED ONCE A LARGE LIST OF WAVES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND IF SIGNIFICANT WILL BE PRESENTED AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS AND PUBLISHED IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS. | $233.6K | FY2017 | Apr 2017 – Apr 2020 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GEM: THE EXCITATION AND PROPAGATION OF FAST MAGNETOSONIC WAVES AND THEIR EFFECT ON RADIATION BELT ELECTRONS | $228.1K | FY2018 | Aug 2018 – Dec 2022 |
| National Science Foundation | MAGNETIC EVOLUTION OF SUN-LIKE ACTIVITY CYCLES | $225.5K | FY2018 | Sep 2018 – Aug 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | QUANTIFYING TURBULENT DISSIPATION IN THE SOLAR WIND USING STATE-OF-THE-ART OBSERVATIONS AND KINETIC SIMULATIONS THE PROJECT TEAM PROPOSES TO BRING RE | $225K | FY2015 | Jul 2015 – Jul 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ASTEROIOD LIGHTCURVE OBSERVATIONS & ANALYSIS | $223.3K | FY2006 | May 2006 – Apr 2009 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EXPLORING GAS THROUGHOUT THE MILKY WAY GALAXY AND MAGELLANIC SYSTEM OF GALAXIES WITH THE WHAM-SOUTH TELESCOPE | $211.6K | FY2017 | Sep 2017 – Aug 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 18-2ADAP18-0233 DEBRIS DISK VARIABILITY - EXPLORING THE DIVERSE OUTCOMES OF LARGE COLLISIONS DURING THE ERAS OF OLIGARCHS AND CHAOTIC GROWTH II | $203.6K | FY2024 | Sep 2024 – Sep 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | "STUDIES OF THE JETS AND PLUME OF ENCELADUS"WE PROPOSE TO STUDY THE DETAILED PHYSICAL AND TEMPORAL C | $200.8K | FY2008 | Jul 2008 – Apr 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ANALYSIS OF LAYERED TERRAINS NEAR MAWRTH VALLIS: COMPARISONS WITH MERIDIANI PLANUM | $200.5K | FY2006 | Jul 2006 – Jul 2011 |
| National Science Foundation | GEM: INVESTIGATION OF PLASMASPHERE-MAGNETOSPHERE DYNAMICS | $200.1K | FY2013 | Oct 2012 – Sep 2014 |
| National Science Foundation | SHINE: OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS OF KINETIC DISSIPATION PROCESSES IN THE SOLAR WIND | $200.1K | FY2012 | Jun 2012 – May 2014 |
| National Science Foundation | CHEMISTRY AND DYNAMICS OF THE VENUS AND MARS ATMOSPHERES FROM SUB-MM OBSERVATIONS | $196.9K | FY2006 | Jul 2006 – Jun 2009 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ROCKS MAKING UP THE NOACHIAN AND HESPERIAN AGED CRUST OF MARS INCLUDE NUMEROUS LAYERED DEPOSITS WITH PHYLLOSILICATES, HYDRATED SILICA, AND/OR SULFATE | $195.6K | FY2012 | Apr 2012 – Apr 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE ROSES FUNDING OPPORTUNITY GOALS ARE: EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | $194K | FY2025 | Dec 2024 – Nov 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL FIT CIRS SPECTRA IN THE VICINITY OF TIGER STRIPES FRACTURES WITH SURFACE TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTIONS CORRESPONDING TO THE HEAT | $191.8K | FY2016 | Apr 2016 – Apr 2020 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | "MICRO PROCESSES IN SATURN'S RINGS"...SYNTHESIS) THAT IS CATALYTICALLY CONTROLLED BY ITS PRODUCTS (P | $185.4K | FY2008 | Jul 2008 – Sep 2014 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENC | $184.4K | FY2025 | Aug 2025 – Jul 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON A SINGLE OBJECTIVE DETERMINE THE PROPERTIES OF MAGNETOSPHERE MAGNETOHYDYNAMIC (MHD) FAST MODE WAVES (FMW) OUTSIDE THE PLASMASPHERE DURING DIFFERENT DRIVING CONDITIONS AIMED AT ANSWERING TWO SCIENCE QUESTIONS: HOW IS MAGNETOSPHERE FMW ENERGY DISTRIBUTED OUTSIDE THE PLASMSPHERE AS FUNCTION OF FREQUENCY AND DRIVING CONDITION? HOW LARGE ARE TYPICAL FMW AMPLITUDES COMPARED TO OTHER ULF WAVES MODES? OBSERVATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ARE NEEDED TO TEST THERE THERORIES ON FMW AND ASSESS THE ROLE OF THESE WAVES IN RADIATION BELT INTERACTIONS BUT SUCH CONSTRAINTS ARE LIMITED AS IT IS OFTEN NOT POSSIBLE TO UNAMBIGUOUSLY IDENTIFY FMW IN WARMER PLASMA OUTSIDE THE PLASMASPHERE WITHOUT THERMAL PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS. THIS PROJECT USES NEARLY A DECADE OF WELL INSTRUMENTED MULTI-POINT NASA TIME HISTORY OF EVENTS MACROSCALE INTERACTIONS DURING SUBSTORMS (THEMIS) SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS FROM MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. | $184K | FY2019 | Jan 2019 – Jan 2023 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE WILL DEVELOP PHOTOCHEMISTRY/TRANSPORT MODELS FOR JUPITER URANUS AND NEPTUNE TO INVESTIGATE HOW AND WHY ATMOSPHERIC CONSTITUENTS ARE DISTRIBUTED | $180.1K | FY2010 | Feb 2010 – Feb 2012 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | PHOTOMETRIC AND POLARIMETRIC RESPONSES VARY AS A FUNCTION OF PHASE ANGLE. NEAR OPPOSITION THE CHANGES IN THE RESPONSE CAN BE DRAMATIC. THIS IS ESPEC | $180K | FY2011 | Nov 2010 – Oct 2014 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH ARE TO USE AVIRIS-NG DATA COLLECTED OVER THE AMBAJI AND ZAWAR MINES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS IN THE STATES OF GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN IN INDIA TO EXAMINE IMPACTS FROM THOSE MINES ON THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES. TO ASSESS THESE IMPACTS THE AVIRIS-NG DATA WILL BE USED TO MAP MINERALS BOTH AT THESE MINE SITES AND IN THE SURROUNDING DRAINAGE BASINS IN WHICH THEY RESIDE. ACID-GENERATING MINERALS AT AND NEAR THE MINE SITES WILL BE FLAGGED AS WILL MINERALS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO ADSORB TRACE METALS RELEASED FROM THE MINES AND SURROUNDING MINERALIZED AREAS. ALSO ANY CHANGES IN THE REFLECTANCE OF ABSORPTION FEATURES OF MINERALS WITH ADSORBED TRACE METALS WILL BE CHARACTERIZED AND MINERALS WITH ADSORBED TRACE METALS WILL BE MAPPED IN THE HIGH SPECTRAL RESOLUTION AVIRIS-NG DATA ON THE BASIS OF THE DISTORTED ABSORPTION FEATURES. STREAMS RIVERS OR OTHER WATER BODIES DOWNSLOPE FROM ANY EXPOSURES OF ACID-GENERATING MINERALS OR MINERALS THAT HAVE ADSORBED TRACE METALS WILL BE FLAGGED AS POTENTIALLY HAVING IMPACTED WATER QUALITY. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON WATER QUALITY IN THE INDIAN STATES OF GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN FROM MINES AND MINERALIZED AREAS COVERED IN AVIRIS-NG FLIGHTLINES COLLECTED IN 2016 IN COORDINATION WITH THE INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (ISRO). ASSESSMENTS OF WATER QUALITY USING NASA DEVELOPED AIR- OR SPACEBORNE SENSORS ARE RELEVANT TO THE NASA APPLIED SCIENCES WATER RESOURCES APPLICATION AREA. THIS PROPOSED INVESTIGATION WILL EXAMINE THE UTILITY OF THE APPLICATION OF AVIRIS-NG IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY DATA TO MAP MINERALS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO AFFECT WATER QUALITY IN DRAINAGE BASINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE AMBAJI AND ZAWAR MINES. DETERMINING THE PRESENCE OF SURFACE EXPOSURES OF ACID-GENERATING OR TRACE METAL-BEARING MINERALS WILL ALLOW FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO KEEP THEM FROM AFFECTING DOWNSLOPE WATER SUPPLIES. IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE POSSIBLE PRESENCE OF TRACE-METAL BEARING MINERALS WE WILL EXPLORE IF AVIRIS-NG SPECTRA CAN DISTINGUISH AND MAP CHANGES IN ABSORPTION BAND SHAPE IN STREAM SEDIMENTS DOWNSLOPE FROM THE MINING CENTERS THAT WAS CAUSED BY THE ADSORPTION OF HEAVY METALS INTO THE MINERAL LATTICE. | $177.7K | FY2017 | Aug 2017 – Aug 2020 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | URANUS REACHES EQUINOX IN 2007 (THE LAST EQUINOX WAS IN 1965 THE NEXT IS 2049). PRE-EQUINOX IMAGES | $175.7K | FY2007 | Jul 2007 – Mar 2013 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 21-XRP21-0016 "CHARACTERIZING REJUVENATED EXOPLANETARY SYSTEMS -- A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF DUSTY WHITE DWARFS USING ARCHIVAL SPITZER DATA" | $172.8K | FY2024 | Aug 2024 – Aug 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | MEASURING MOLECULAR OXYGEN WATER VAPOR AND AEROSOLS WITH CHEMCAM PASSIVE SKY OBSERVATIONS | $172.5K | FY2024 | Feb 2024 – Feb 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ACCURATE MASS LOSS RATES ARE REQUIRED FOR ASTROPHYSICAL APPLICATIONS RANGING FROM THE EVOLUTION OF THE ELEMENTS TO THE DYNAMICS OF THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM. | $172.2K | FY2022 | Jan 2022 – Nov 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | DR. BOUDOURIDIS WILL OBTAIN THE NECESSARY POLAR UVI DATA FROM OUR COLLABORATOR, DR. D. LUMMERZHEIM, AND WILL BEGIN THE ANALYSIS OF THE POLAR CAP BOUN | $167.6K | FY2011 | Feb 2011 – Feb 2013 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGE | $166.8K | FY2025 | Jul 2025 – Jul 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | CREATING AN IMPROVED MULTIANNUAL DUST CLIMATOLOGY DATASET FOR MARS THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO CREATE AN IMPROVED REFERENCE DATABASE FOR THE VERTICALLY-INT | $165.9K | FY2015 | Jun 2015 – Jun 2020 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE SECULAR EVOLUTION OF CLOSE RING-SATELLITE SYSTEMSTHE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL EXAMINE THE SECULAR | $160K | FY2007 | Jun 2007 – May 2009 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EQUATORIAL GLACIATION AND LANDSCAPE BURIAL IN THE LATE PALEOZOIC: IMPLICATIONS FOR PANGAEAN CLIMATE AND TECTONICS | $156.6K | FY2019 | Sep 2019 – Aug 2022 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | UNDERSTANDING LONG-TERM CHANGES IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF NEPTUNE AND URANUS. | $154.1K | FY2006 | Jul 2006 – Aug 2013 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | IN THIS PROJECT, WE PROPOSE TO USE NEAR-INFRARED SPECTRA FROM THE CASSINI VISUAL AND INFRARED MAPPING SPECTROMETER (VIMS), SUPPLEMENTED WITH GROUND-B | $154K | FY2016 | Apr 2016 – Apr 2018 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO INVESTIGATE THE DYNAMICS, VARIABILITY, AND CONNECTIONS OF THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS TO POLAR VORTICES. IT | $153.7K | FY2014 | Jun 2014 – Feb 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | $151K | FY2025 | Nov 2024 – Nov 2026 |
| National Science Foundation | EXPANDING PARTNERSHIPS WITH NORTHERN MARIANA LIBRARIES TO BUILD CAPACITY AND ENHANCE STEM ACTIVITIES -THE GOAL OF THIS PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT & PLANNING (TYPE 3) PROJECT IS FOR THE LIBRARIES OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS THAT LEVERAGES EXISTING COLLABORATIONS WITH THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PARTNERSHIP PROJECT IS TO CONTINUE THE FORWARD PROGRESS AND SET THE STAGE FOR FUTURE WORK IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN LIBRARIES AND SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE, AS WELL AS SUPPORT THE LIBRARIES IN ACQUIRING FUNDING RESOURCES. THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT ARE TO: 1) IDENTIFY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO PARTNER WITH, 2) PROVIDE EXISTING AND NEW PARTNERS WITH INFORMATION, TRAINING, AND RESOURCES TO ACQUIRE STEM EDUCATION FUNDING, AND 3) BUILD CAPACITY FOR CONTINUED AND FUTURE COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH FUNDING AND RESEARCH. THIS PROJECT WILL UTILIZE A VARIETY OF DELIVERABLES WHICH INCLUDE COMMUNITY DIALOGUES, ASSET MAPPING, LIBRARY SHOWCASES, AS WELL AS TRAINING RELATED THE ACQUISITION OF FUNDING, AND BASIC EVALUATION AND RESEARCH METHODS. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ADVANCING INFORMAL STEM LEARNING (AISL) PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO ADVANCE NEW APPROACHES TO, AND EVIDENCE-BASED UNDERSTANDING OF, THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF STEM LEARNING IN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENTS. THIS INCLUDES PROVIDING EVERYONE MULTIPLE PATHWAYS FOR ACCESSING AND ENGAGING IN STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD. | $149.1K | FY2025 | Sep 2025 – Nov 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | USING LIDAR AND PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING MEASUREMENTS TO STUDY THE FEEDBACK BETWEEN SPRINGTIME ARCTIC SNOW ICE ALGAE AND CLOUDS AND TO HELP INTERPRETING CIRCULAR POLARIZATION MEASUREMENTS OF OTHER PLANETS | $147.9K | FY2024 | Mar 2024 – Mar 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO FEED HYPERS OUTPUT DIRECTLY INTO AN EXISTING CCMC MODULE (MHD CODE) TO RECREATE TURBULENT FORESHOCK CONDITIONS IN GLOBAL MHD SIMULATIONS AT CCMC. | $146.6K | FY2021 | Jan 2021 – Dec 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROVIDE AN ADAPTIVE HYBRID MODEL (KINETIC ION/FLUID ELECTRON) THAT GOES BEYOND FLUID DESCRIPTION TO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY THROUGH CCMC. THE ADAPTIVE HYBRID CODE HYPERS WILL FEED DIRECTLY INTO GLOBAL MHD CODES AVAILABLE AT THE CCMC TO RECREATE TURBULENT FORESHOCK CONDITIONS IN GLOBAL MHD SIMULATIONS AT CCMC. THE PROJECT WILL EMPOWER CCMC SCIENCE USERS TO STUDY IMPACTS OF TURBULENT FORESHOCK CONDITIONS ON GLOBAL MAGNETOSPHERE DYNAMICS DURING STORMS AND SUBSTORMS. SELECT SEVERAL SOLAR WIND CONDITIONS WILL BE UTILIZED AS 3-DIMENTIONAL TEST CASES TO ADDRESS RECONNECTION TURBULENCE ON MULTIPLE SCALES INCLUDING KINETIC TURBULENCE KINETIC ALFVEN WAVES ION CYCLOTRON WAVES DRIFT WAVES AND MIRROR MODE. ALL OF THESE REQUIRE MORE THAN FLUID CODES CAN CONTRIBUTE. ALSO ABILITY TO UTILIZE SELECTED INPUT CONDITIONS WILL ENABLE CCMC AND ITS USERS TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT MODELS OF APPLIED RESISTIVITY AND MESH RESOLUTION ON RECONNECTION AND TURBULENCE. LASTLY THE PROJECT WILL ENABLE THE VISUALIZATION OF 3D HYPERS OUTPUT THROUGH THE CCMC WEB-BASED SYSTEM. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROVIDE RESEARCH COMMUNITY THROUGH CCMC THE 3 DIMENSIONAL (3D) ADAPTIVE HYBRID (KINETIC ION/FLUID ELECTRON) CODE HYPERS TO ENABLE CCMC AND ITS USERS TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF NON-FLUID EFFECTS ON GMAGNETOSPHERE DYNAMICS AND TO FEED 3D HYPERS OUTPUT DIRECTLY INTO GLOBAL MHD CODES AVAILABLE AT THE CCMC. | $143.6K | FY2022 | Jan 2022 – Dec 2022 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SAP PURCHASE REQUISITION: 4200416562 - WHILE THE KEPLER MISSION'S MAIN GOAL CONSISTS OF SEARCHING FOR EXOPLANETS THROUGH THE DETECTION OF TRANSITS, A | $142.7K | FY2014 | Jan 2014 – Jan 2017 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EARTH-BASED AND LUNAR ORBITAL RADAR STUDIES HAVE IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF LOW-RADAR RETURN DEPOSITS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE THAT OCCUR IN ASSOCIATION WITH VOLCANIC DOMES AND OTHER VOLCANIC FEATURES SUCH AS RILLES. THESE HAVE BEEN INTERPRETED AS BEING PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS HOWEVER THEY CANNOT BE EASILY GROUPED WITH THE TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES OF LONG-KNOWN LUNAR PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS- THE LARGE REGIONAL AND SMALLER LOCALIZED LUNAR PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS (LPDS). | $140.5K | FY2020 | Sep 2020 – Aug 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ORGANIC REFRACTORY THOLIN AT THE SURFACE OF THE COMET 67P-CG: INSIGHT FROM LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS AND ROSINA DATA | $138.4K | FY2021 | May 2021 – — |
| National Science Foundation | DISCOVER EARTH: AN INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM FOR LIBRARIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES | $137.1K | FY2010 | Sep 2010 – Feb 2012 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | MODELING MAGNETOTAIL DYNAMICS AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION RELATED TO MAGNETIC RECONNECTION | $133.2K | FY2024 | Aug 2024 – Jul 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | ASTEROID LIGHTCURVE OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS:OUR PROPOSAL - "ASTEROID LIGHTCURVE OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS" - WILL OBTAIN PHOTOMETRIC OBSERVATIONS | $129.6K | FY2009 | Jan 2009 – Apr 2011 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE AT SHORT WAVELENGTHS | $128K | FY2012 | May 2012 – May 2013 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DERIVE OPTICAL CONSTANTS (REAL AND IMAGINARY REFRACTIVE INDICES) FROM VISIBLE AND NEAR-INFRARED (VNIR, 0.35 - 5M) LABO | $125.7K | FY2015 | Aug 2015 – Aug 2017 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AT THE MAGNETOPAUSE TYPICALLY INVOLVES MERGING PLASMAS WITH DIFFERENT PROPERTIES: DENSITIES, TEMPERATURES, AND MAGNETIC FIELDS. | $125.1K | FY2012 | Aug 2012 – Mar 2014 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE EVOLUTION OF THE MAGNETOSPHERE INVOLVES PHASES OF TOPOLOGICAL INTEGRITY, TYPICALLY WELL DESCRIBED BY IDEAL MHD, AND PHASES OF TOPOLOGICAL CHANGE | $125K | FY2013 | Sep 2013 – Nov 2014 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THREE-YEAR EXTENSION OF THE MMS MISSION OPERATIONS | $124.7K | FY2025 | Jan 2025 – Dec 2025 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 23-PDART23-0026 HIGH-RESOLUTION POSITIONAL MEASUREMENTS OF PHOBOS AND DEIMOS FROM THE MARTIAN SURFACE | $124.7K | FY2025 | Oct 2024 – Oct 2025 |
| National Science Foundation | GIANT PLANETS: EXPLORING THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM | $120.1K | FY2004 | Sep 2004 – Aug 2008 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TRANSPORT OF MAGMA IN THE NEAR SURFACE AT SMALL VOLCANOES- EXPERIMENTAL INTRUSION OF BASALTIC MELT INTO UNCONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS | $111.8K | FY2021 | Aug 2021 – Jul 2024 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE PROPOSE TO BUILD A CATALOG OF INFRARED PHOTOMETRY FOR A SAMPLE OF STARS WITHIN 130 PC FROM ARCHIVAL SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS. SPITZER | $111.7K | FY2010 | Jan 2010 – Oct 2016 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THIS PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT POLCAM THROUGH SIMULATIONS OF LIGHT SCATTERING FROM IRREGULARLY SHAPED PARTICLES FORMING EXTENDED MEDIA THAT RESEMBLE THE LUNAR REGOLITH STUDYING ESPECIALLY THE EFFECT OF THE POROSITY AND ORIENTATION/OBSERVATION G | $108.8K | FY2025 | Jun 2025 – Jun 2028 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | COLLISIONLESS PLASMAS THROUGHOUT THE HELIOSPHERE ARE USUALLY TURBULENT. PLASMA TURBULENCE IS BELIEVED TO PLAY A FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN A WIDE RANGE OF H | $106.7K | FY2012 | Jan 2012 – Apr 2013 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | PI MASSA WILL MODEL SPITZER, 2MASS AND OPTICAL PHOTOMETRY OF HUNDREDS OF AGELLANIC O STARS TO DETERMINE THEIR IR EXCESSES. THE LMC PROVIDES A USEFUL | $105.9K | FY2014 | Nov 2013 – Nov 2015 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE PROPOSE AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF THE VENUS MIDDLE MESOSPHERE (70-100 KM) AND LOWER THERMOSPHERE (100-120 KM); A POORLY EXPLORED REGION OF THE MAS | $105K | FY2014 | Jun 2014 – Jun 2018 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | RETRIEVALS OF SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES, ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS OPACITIES AND WATER VAPOR ABUNDANCES FROM THE DAYTIME NADIR OBSERVATIONS BY | $103.1K | FY2013 | Jan 2013 – Apr 2014 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE PROPOSE TO COORDINATE SWIFT WISE AND FERMI LAT OBSERVATIONS OF 18 BLAZARS. WHEN COMBINED WITH GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS THE RESULTING SEDS WILL | $100K | FY2010 | Aug 2010 – Feb 2013 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AT THE EARTH S MAGNETOPAUSE IS A PRIMARY MECHANISM FOR EXCHANGES OF ENERGY, MOMENTUM, AND PLASMA BETWEEN THE SOLAR WIND AND THE | $99.7K | FY2014 | Jun 2014 – — |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE NATURE OF DOMES AND MORE IRREGULARLY SHAPED HILLS IN WESTERN ARCADIA PLANITIA REMAINS ENIGMATIC. A VOLCANIC ORIGIN IS LIKELY BUT THE COMPOSITION OF THE DOMES AND THE ENVIRONMENT INTO WHICH THEY WERE FORMED IS NOT CERTAIN. RAMPEY ET AL. (2007; JGR 112 DOI:10.1029/2006JE002750) CONCLUDED THEY WERE INTERMEDIATE TO FELSIC LAVA AND CRYPTODOMES BASED SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF MORPHOLOGIC FEATURES. EXAMINATION OF THESE DOMES WITH CRISM DATA IN A PREVIOUS INVESTIGATION BY THIS PROPOSED INVESTIGATION S PI (FARRAND ET AL. 2011; ICARUS 211 139-156.) SUGGESTED THAT THEY MIGHT INSTEAD BE BASALTIC IN COMPOSITION. THEMIS DATA COLLECTED FROM EARLIER LOCAL SOLAR TIMES WITH ASSOCIATED WARMER SURFACE TEMPERATURES WAS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE EARLIER INVESTIGATION BUT IS NOW IN THE PDS AND THIS DATA CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE IF THE DOMES MIGHT BE MORE INTERMEDIATE TO FELSIC IN COMPOSITION. ALSO THE AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL CRISM AND HIRISE SCENES INCLUDING HIRISE STEREO PAIRS OVER MORE OF THESE DOMES MERITS FURTHER EXAMINATION WHICH CAN FURTHER ELUCIDATE THE NATURE OF THESE FEATURES. FOR EXAMPLE SOME OF THESE DOMES ARE SURROUNDED BY RAMPARTS WHICH ARE SUGGESTIVE OF TUFF RINGS. THUS FOR THESE DOMES WITH RAMPARTS THE INITIAL PHASE OF THE ERUPTION MIGHT HAVE BEEN PHREATOMAGMATIC FOLLOWED BY A DOME BUILDING PHASE. BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF THE ERUPTIVE SEQUENCE WILL SHED LIGHT ON THE ENVIRONMENT EXTANT AT THE TIME OF THE DOMES FORMATION. ALSO ARCADIA PLANITIA HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS A REGION WITH ABUNDANT SUBSURFACE ICE (BRAMSON ET AL. GRL 42 DOI:10.1002/2015GL064844) THUS A PERIGLACIAL ORIGIN FOR THE DOMES CANNOT BE DISMISSED AND WILL BE CONSIDERED IN PARALLEL WITH THE VOLCANIC/SHALLOW INTRUSIVE HYPOTHESIS. | $96.7K | FY2017 | Aug 2017 – Aug 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE SOLAR WIND DYNAMIC PRESSURE, BOTH THROUGH ITS STEADY STATE VALUE AND THROUGH ITS VARIATIONS, PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE | $94.5K | FY2011 | Jul 2011 – Jan 2017 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE PROJECT: METHANE IMAGING SEARCH FOR PLANETARY MASS OBJECTS IN THE NEAREST STAR-FORMING REGIONS | $93.2K | FY2010 | Sep 2010 – May 2012 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION CONCERNS THE MODELING OF HOW SUBSTORM DIPOLARIZATIONS AND FLOWS AFFECT THE MAGNETIC FIELD AND ELECTRIC CURRENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK CONSISTS PRIMARILY OF 3D MHD SIMULATIONS TO INVESTIGATE THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PROPERTIES OF THE FIELDS TO BE COMPARED WITH SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS BOTH LOCALLY AND STATISTICALLY. THE GOAL IS TO GET INSIGHT INTO WHAT DRIVES THE DIFFERENT CURRENT LOOPS OF THE CURRENT WEDGE SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH DIPOLARIZATION EVENTS AND SUBSTORMS. THE ULTIMATE DELIVERABLES ARE PUBLICATIONS IN THE REFEREED OPEN LITERATURE AS WELL AS PRESENTATIONS OF THE RESULTS IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES. | $90K | FY2018 | Jul 2018 – Jul 2021 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | CHARACTERIZATION OF NORTHERN PLAINS OF MARS | $86.7K | FY2005 | Sep 2005 – Aug 2010 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE NEAR-EARTH SPACE ENVIRONMENT CONTAINS A DYNAMIC MIX OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND CHARGED PARTICLES (PLASMA) THAT CAN AFFECT TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE. FOR EXAMPLE PLASMA WAVES IN THIS REGION CAN GENERATE HIGH-ENERGY SATELLITE-DAMAGING RADIATION AND CREATE ELECTRIC CURRENTS THAT DAMAGE POWER GRIDS MAKING THESE WAVES A HIGH PRIORITY FOR STUDY. SPACE PLASMA WAVES OFTEN TAKE THE FORM OF STANDING WAVES AND RESONANCES THAT ARE ANALOGOUS TO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS HARPS BELLS AND ORGANS. HOWEVER UNLIKE THE SYNCHRONOUS SOUND WAVES EMITTED BY PRECISELY TUNED INSTRUMENTS PLAYING TOGETHER IN A SYMPHONY THESE SPACE PLASMA WAVES ARE MORE LIKE A CACOPHONY OF MANY OVERLAPPING WAVES WITH HIGHLY VARIED TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS THAT CANNOT EASILY BE ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS COMPLICATED MIX OF WAVES IS LIMITED BY A LACK OF ROBUST DETECTION METHODS PARTICULARLY DURING CONDITIONS WHEN SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ARE EXPECTED. WE WILL ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES THROUGH AUDIFICATION OF NASA SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS THAT WILL BE EXAMINED BY CITIZEN SCIENTISTS. AUDIFICATION IS A ONE-TO-ONE MAPPING OF DATA SAMPLES IN A TIME SERIES TO AUDIO SAMPLES AND IT IS AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR WAVE EVENT DETECTION. THE RECENTLY COMPLETED MAGNETOSPHERIC UNDULATIONS SONIFIED INCORPORATING CITIZEN SCIENTISTS (MUSICS) PROJECT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM PROVES THAT CITIZEN SCIENTISTS CAN EFFECTIVELY IDENTIFY PLASMA WAVES THROUGH AUDIFICATION AND MAKE MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTIONS TO PEER REVIEWED HELIOPHYSICS RESEARCH. THE PROPOSED HELIOPHYSICS AUDIFIED: RESONANCES IN PLASMAS (HARP) PROJECT AIMS TO BUILD ON AND EXPAND MUSICS IN THREE WAYS: 1) ADAPT MUSICS TO A FULLY REMOTE AUDIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES RATHER THAN THE BLEND OF IN PERSON AND REMOTE DISCUSSIONS THAT WERE CONDUCTED WITH LONDON HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. WE WILL DEVELOP TOOLS THAT STREAMLINE THE TRAINING PROCESS MAKE EVENT DETECTION MORE USER FRIENDLY AND IMPROVE VISUALIZATION OF RESULTS SO CITIZEN SCIENTISTS CAN SEE THE IMPACT OF THEIR WORK. 2) USE EXISTING NATIONAL CENTER OF INTERACTIVE LEARNING (NCIL PART OF SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE) PARTNERSHIPS TO BETA-TEST THE NEW TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES WITH CITIZEN SCIENTISTS. 3) USE EVENT DATA COLLECTED FROM CITIZEN SCIENTISTS TO ADDRESS THE OUTSTANDING QUESTION WHAT TYPES OF ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY RESONANCES OCCUR DURING SPACE WEATHER EVENTS? THE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS WILL USE MAGNETIC AND ELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS FROM NASA S THEMIS SATELLITES TO IDENTIFY AND CLASSIFY EVENTS THEN TEAM MEMBERS WILL WORK WITH THE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS TO INTERPRET THE RESULTS AND PREPARE THEM FOR PUBLICATION. THIS WORK IS RELEVANT TO THE NASA CSSFP BECAUSE (1) IT WILL SUPPORT THE BETA-TESTING OF AUDIFICATION CITIZEN SCIENCE TOOLS DURING A CRITICAL TRANSITION PERIOD (ADAPTING TOOLS FROM IN PERSON AUDIENCES IN THE UK TO A FULLY REMOTE AUDIENCE IN THE US) (2) THE WORK WILL ADDRESS AN OUTSTANDING QUESTION IN HELIOPHYSICS RESEARCH THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE HIGH-LEVEL DECADAL SURVEY GOAL DETERMINE THE DYNAMICS AND COUPLING OF EARTH S MAGNETOSPHERE IONOSPHERE AND ATMOSPHERE AND THEIR RESPONSE TO SOLAR AND TERRESTRIAL INPUTS AND THE HELIOPHYSICS PROGRAM OBJECTIVE EXPLORE AND CHARACTERIZE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SUN TO THE HELIOPAUSE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE (3) THE WORK WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR FUTURE AUDIFICATION CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS THAT ADDRESS A WIDER RANGE SCIENCE QUESTIONS AND BETTER ENGAGE THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN HELIOPHYSICS RESEARCH. THERE IS A HIGH IMPACT POTENTIAL FOR THIS PROJECT SINCE THE AUDIFICATION TOOLS THAT ARE DEVELOPED WILL INTERFACE WITH EXISTING NASA SPACE PHYSICS DATA FACILITY TOOLS THUS THEY COULD BE READILY ADAPTED TO A WIDE RANGE OF OTHER DATASETS AND SCIENCE OBJECTIVES. THE PROPOSING TEAM INCLUDES EXPERTISE ON PLASMA WAVE RESEARCH SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH AND SONIFICATION/AUDIFICATION CITIZEN SCIENCE. | $83K | FY2021 | Jun 2021 – May 2023 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | PI OSTERLOO IS A RESEARCH SCIENTIST AT THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE IN BOULDER CO. MUCH OF PI-OSTERLOO S WORK HAS FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF MARS WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS AROUND UNDERSTANDING THE FORMATION MECHANISMS AND TIMING OF CHLORIDE SALT DEPOSITS. SHE IS AN EXPERT IN ORBITAL AND LABORATORY SPECTROSCOPY AND IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO UNDERTAKE THE REMAINDER OF THE WORK ON THIS PROJECT. THE PROPOSED WORK INCLUDES A CONTINUATION OF SPECTROSCOPIC INVESTIGATIONS AT BOTH REGIONAL AND LOCAL SCALES TO INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPOSITIONAL DIVERSITY AND STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS OF THE NOACHIS TERRA CHLORIDE DEPOSITS TO OTHER ALTERATION MINERAL PHASES AS WELL AS IN CONTEXT TO THE PARENT MATERIAL FROM WHICH THE ALTERATION PHASES WERE DERIVED. PI OSTERLOO WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON NON-LINEAR UNMIXING TECHNIQUES FOR QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MINERAL ABUNDANCES AND GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE SURFACE MATERIALS. THESE METHODS ARE KEY FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SIX REGIONAL STUDY AREAS AND DETAILED GEOLOGIC MAPPING OF THE LOCAL CHLORIDE-BEARING DEPOSITS IN NOACHIS TERRA. FOR CONTINUITY PI OSTERLOO WILL ENSURE THE SAME SPECTRAL LIBRARY AND SPECTRAL METHODS WILL BE USED FOR INTERPRETING SURFACE MINERALOGY TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE PREVIOUS WORK OF POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER PHILIPS. ADDITIONALLY AN AQUEOUS ALTERATION SURVEY USING CRISM MSP DATA IS UNDERWAY AND WILL BE COMPLETED TO AID IN THE SYNTHESIS OF THE AQUEOUS HISTORY OF NOACHIS TERRA. PI OSTERLOO WILL PREPARE THE FINAL MANUSCRIPT DESCRIBING THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS BY THE END OF THE NCE (SEPTEMBER 2021). | $82.8K | FY2021 | Jun 2021 – Jun 2022 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE PROPOSE TO ANALYZE MULTI-WAVELENGTH DATA AND MODEL SEDS OF 3C454.3 DURING ITS EXTRAORDINARY NOVEMBER 2010-JANUARY 2011 FLARE. WE OBTAINED TOO HERS | $80K | FY2011 | Aug 2011 – Aug 2012 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | DR. QUINTIN SCHILLER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSISTING IN THE DEVELOPMENT TESTING AND CALIBRATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT INCLUDING THE DETECTOR HEAD AND TELESCOPE ELECTRONICS. | $79.8K | FY2020 | Aug 2020 – Aug 2022 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENC | $79.7K | FY2026 | Jan 2026 – Jan 2027 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | THE PROJECT GOALS ARE TO DETERMINE QUANTITATIVELY THE EFFECTS OF MINERAL PARTICLE CLUSTERING ON MARS SPACECRAFT SPECTRAL SIGNATURES AND TO REFINE AND | $78.1K | FY2015 | Aug 2015 – Feb 2017 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE PROPOSE THE NEXT MAJOR ADVANCE IN IMAGING YOUNG PROTOPLANETARY DISKS PROBING PLANET FORMATION WITHIN THEM AT SOLAR SYSTEM SCALES USING A NEW INSTRUMENT COMBINATION SUBARU SCEXAO/CHARIS AND VAMPIRES INTEGRAL FIELD SPECTROSCOPY AND POLARIMETRY. | $75K | FY2020 | Jan 2020 – Dec 2024 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DIPOLE TILT EFFECT ON KELVIN-HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY AND ITS ASSOCIATED IONOSPHERIC AND GEOMAGNETIC SIGNATURES -MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AND THE KELVIN-HELMHOTZ INSTABILITY (KHI) ARE BELIEVED TO BE THE TWO MAJOR COUPLING MECHANISMS BETWEEN THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND THE SOLAR WIND. THIS COUPLING ENABLES ENERGY AND PARTICLE EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE TWO REGIONS. THIS PROJECT STUDIES THESE PHENOMENA TO PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE IMPORTANCE OF EARTH?S DIPOLE AS A FUNCTION OF TIME FOR PLASMA TRANSPORT ACROSS THE MAGNETOPAUSE, THE IONOSPHERE DYNAMIC, AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING SPACE WEATHER. THE BROADER IMPACTS INCLUDE SUPPORT OF A GRADUATE STUDENT AND THE RESEARCH IS LED BY EARLY CAREER WOMAN SCIENTISTS. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE DIPOLE TILT EFFECTS ON THE KHI AT THE EARTH?S MAGNETOPAUSE BOUNDARY AND THE ASSOCIATED GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS USING BOTH IN SITU AND MHD SIMULATION DATA. THE FOLLOWING SCIENCE QUESTIONS ARE ADDRESSED: DIPOLE TILT EFFECTS ON KHI AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS UNDER DIFFERENT IMF AND SOLAR WIND PLASMA CONDITIONS, AND THE DIPOLE TILT EFFECTS ON KHI-ASSOCIATED GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS ON THE GROUND. A COMBINATION OF OBSERVATIONAL DATA (STATISTICAL STUDY) AND MODELING WITH OPEN GEOSPACE GENERAL CIRCULATION MODEL (OPENGGCM) WILL BE USED TO ADDRESS THE DIPOLE TILT EFFECTS ON KHI AND HOW THAT AFFECTS THE GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS EXCITED BY KHI ON THE GROUND. THE PROJECT UTILIZES NSF FUNDED GROUND-BASED DATA SETS INCLUDING MAGNETOMETER OBSERVATIONS AND SUPERDARN RADAR. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA. | $73.1K | FY2023 | Jun 2023 – May 2026 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | GOALS: WE PROPOSE STUDY THE SOLAR INNER CORONA DURING THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF 2017 WITH POLARIMETRIC IMAGING. OUR OBJECTIVES ARE TO LEVERAGE OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH CITIZEN CATE AND NCIL NASA MY_LIBRARY TO OBSERVE AND CHARACTERIZE THE POLARIMETRIC NATURE OF THE INNER SOLAR CORONA DURING THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE IN AUGUST 2017 AND UTILIZE THE APPROACH OF CITIZEN SCIENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR IMAGE ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE THE OBSERVED POLARIZATION OF THE CORONA.METHODOLOGY: RESEARCH SCIENCE: WE PROPOSE TO HAVE AT LEAST TWO INDEPENDENT LOCATIONS WITH TELESCOPES SIMILAR TO THE TELESCOPES USED IN CITIZEN CATE PROJECT AMENDED WITH POLARIMETERS AND APPROPRIATE FILTERS TO MAP THE POLARIZATION OF THE INNER SOLAR CORONA. ONE LOCATION WILL BE TETONIA IDAHO; THE SECOND LOCATION WILL BE SELECTED BASED ON CO LOCATION WITH ONE OF CITIZEN CATE SITES. THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE INNER CORONA IS HEATED IS STILL NOT CONFIRMED. MAPPING OF THE POLARIMETRIC SIGNATURE OF CORONAL FEATURES PROVIDES A MEASURE OF ELECTRON DENSITY CRITICAL TO MODELLING CORONAL WAVES WHICH ARE POSSIBLE SOURCE OF CORONAL HEATING. THE TWO INDEPENDENT OBSERVATIONAL LOCATIONS WILL ALLOW FOR CROSS CALIBRATION INSURE AGAINST WEATHER AND POTENTIAL TIME DEPENDENT VARIATIONS IN THE POLARIZATION OF THE CORONA. IF FUNDED WE WILL ALSO PARTNER WITH OTHER TEAMS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY OF CORONAL POLARIZATION TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT SITES AND MEASUREMENTS. THESE APPROACHES WILL ALLOW FOR COMPARISON OF POLARIZATION WITH IMAGES OF THE SOLAR CORONA AND TEMPORAL CHANGES IF ANY IN THE CORONA.CITIZEN SCIENCE WE WILL INCLUDE STUDENTS WITH EDUCATORS AND AMATEUR SOLAR ASTRONOMERS TO TRANSFORM THE PROJECT FROM MERE OBSERVATIONS TO A CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT TO TRACK THE CHANGES IN SOLAR CORONAL POLARIZATION AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. INCLUDING EXPEDITIONS TO THE LOCATIONS IDENTIFIED. WE WILL DOVETAIL OUR CITIZEN SCIENCE APPROACH TO PROMOTE MULTIDIMENSIONAL CROWDSOURCING OF THE OBSERVATIONS AND ENCOURAGE THE ACTIVE LEARNING PROCESS VIA THE NCIL NASA MY LIBRARY PROJECT WHICH WILL BE PARTICIPATING AT THREE LOCATIONS: OREGON WYOMING AND KANSAS ALONG THE PATH OF TOTALITY. WE PROPOSE TO ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE WITH UTILIZATION OF THE RESOURCES PROVIDED BY THROUGH THE EYES OF NASA. FINALLY WE WILL INTEGRATE VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENHANCE THE PARTICIPATION OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS SUCH AS FACEBOOK VIMEO PINTEREST FLCKR) BASED ON OUR EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE WITH PREVIOUS COMET OBSERVING CAMPAIGNS CONSULTANT T. GREINER. SPECIFICALLY WE WILL PARTNER WITH GLOBE AT NIGHT TO MEASURE THE DARKNESS OF THE ECLIPSE SKY AND COMPARE WITH THE NIGHT SKY OBSERVATIONS IN ITS DATABASE. WE WILL PROVIDE THE PRODUCTS TO NASA SMD TO SHARE WITH EDUCATORS STUDENTS AND OTHER INFORMAL AUDIENCES. | $70K | FY2017 | Mar 2017 – Mar 2018 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE PROPOSE TO MONITOR FOUR FLAT SPECTRUM RADIO QUASARS (BLAZARS) AND ONE POWERFUL RADIO GALAXY CYGNUS A TO SEARCH FOR VARIABILITY ON TIMESCALES COM | $67.1K | FY2011 | Jan 2011 – Jan 2013 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | HERE WE PROPOSE A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DATA FROM KINETIC PARTICLE IN CELL (PIC) AND FLUID MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC (MHD) SIMULATIONS USING THE TECHNIQUES | $67K | FY2014 | Jun 2014 – Jun 2019 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | RESEARCH PROPOSAL ENTITLED: "MODELS OF NEPTUNE'S ATMOSPHERIC CLOUDS AND HAZES" IN RESPONSE TO NASA RESEARCH ANNOUCEMENT NUMBER 03-OSS-01, PLANETA | $66.6K | FY2007 | Mar 2007 – Jun 2010 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | WE PROPOSE TO DOUBLE THE TIME BASELINE OF OUR APPROVED CYCLE 2 PROGRAM TO SEARCH FOR VARIABILITY IN FOUR FLAT SPECTRUM RADIO QUASARS (BLAZARS) AND ON | $60.1K | FY2012 | Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 |
| National Science Foundation | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GEM--AN INTEGRATED STUDY OF FAST MAGNETOSONIC WAVES IN THE RADIATION BELTS | $60K | FY2013 | Sep 2013 – Feb 2017 |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$10.2M
NASA HAS INSPIRED THE PUBLIC FOR DECADES WITH ITS MISSION TO EXPLORE NEW FRONTIERS AND TO DRIVE ADVANCES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MAT
National Science Foundation
$3.3M
BROAD IMPLEMENTATION: PHASE 2 OF THE STAR LIBRARY EDUCATION NETWORK
National Science Foundation
$3M
ASTEROIDS! AN INTEGRATED ASTRONOMY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR SMALL SCIENCE CENTERS AND LIBRARIES
National Science Foundation
$2.8M
ENHANCING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN LIBRARIES OF RURAL COMMUNITIES
National Science Foundation
$2.5M
STAR LIBRARY EDUCATION NETWORK: A HANDS-ON LEARNING PROGRAM FOR LIBRARIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
National Science Foundation
$1.8M
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FIRE-NET: IMPROVING FIRE RESPONSE TIME THROUGH A UNIFIED DATA-DRIVEN GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH: DECISION-SUPPORT DATA INTEGRATION NETWORK SYSTEM (DESDINY) -DUE TO AN INCREASE IN WILDFIRE FREQUENCY, FIREFIGHTERS MUST OFTEN FIGHT MULTIPLE FIRES SIMULTANEOUSLY ON A REGULAR BASIS. FIREFIGHTING AGENCIES FACE DECISION MAKING AND INFORMATION INTEGRATION CHALLENGES, AS THEY HAVE BECOME DELUGED WITH DATA AND INFORMATION FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES AND INTERFACES. THEIR TOP PRIORITY IS DATA AND INFORMATION INTEGRATION, YET THEY ARE OFTEN HINDERED BY THE LACK OF UNIFIED INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE, COGNITIVE OVERLOAD, AND SYSTEMS NETWORKING AMONG DATA AND USERS. A UNIFIED DATA AND INFORMATION INTEGRATION SYSTEM WOULD REDUCE FIREFIGHTING RESPONSE TIME, MITIGATE DAMAGE AND SAVE LIVES. THIS PROJECT USES HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN RESEARCH ON USER ENGAGEMENT ACROSS PLATFORMS AND DATA TO BUILD A DECISION-SUPPORT DATA INTEGRATION NETWORK SYSTEM (DESDINY). THE RESEARCH TEAM CONVENES A NETWORKED CONFERENCE OF FIRE CHIEFS ACROSS MULTIPLE AGENCIES TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF WILDLAND FIRE DATA INTEGRATION, DESIGNED TO MAXIMIZE IMPACT ACROSS FIRE AGENCIES. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY (OCFA), ONE OF THE LARGEST FIRE AGENCIES IN THE U.S., SERVING OVER 2 MILLION PEOPLE. THE NETWORK-BUILDING FOCUS WILL ALLOW EXPANSION OF ITS OUTREACH TO COMMUNITIES AND AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES TO WORK TOWARDS ACHIEVING A MORE RESILIENT FUTURE. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT BROADER IMPACTS BY SAVING LIVES, MITIGATING PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND UNIFYING KNOWLEDGE ECOSYSTEMS BY IMPROVING SPEED AND ACCURACY OF DECISION-MAKING. THREE MAIN SCIENCE QUESTIONS DRIVE THE RESEARCH. FIRST, HOW CAN SYNERGIES AND DIFFERENCES IN DECISION-MAKING ACROSS FIRE AGENCIES BE MAPPED AND INTERFACED TO IMPROVE THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM OF FIRE DATA INTEGRATION? SECOND, HOW DO DISCREPANCIES IN DATA AND INFORMATION CONTENT, RESOLUTIONS, ACCURACIES/UNCERTAINTIES, AND TIMING IMPACT WILDFIRE DECISION-MAKING? FINALLY, HOW CAN WILDFIRE DECISION-MAKING BE ACCELERATED? THE THREE CORE OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROJECT ARE: 1) CONVENE A CONFERENCE OF FIRE CHIEFS THROUGH A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS TO DEVELOP AN INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FOR DATA AND INFORMATION INTEGRATION AND OPTIMIZATION; 2) PROTOTYPE A DECISION-SUPPORT DATA INTEGRATION NETWORK SYSTEM (DESDINY) TO IMPROVE DECISION-MAKING SPEED, CONFIDENCE, AND ACCURACY; AND 3) CONDUCT A QUANTITATIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE THE IMPROVEMENT IN DECISION-MAKING SPEED, CONFIDENCE, AND ACCURACY. ACHIEVEMENT OF THESE OBJECTIVES WILL LEAD TO IMPORTANT ADVANCES IN: 1) WILDFIRE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS; 2) WILDFIRE DECISION-MAKING ACROSS FIRE AGENCIES; AND 3) ACCESS TO CODE AND SOFTWARE THAT IS FREELY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.
National Science Foundation
$1.3M
STEPS - SCIENCETHEATER EDUCATION PROGRAMMING SYSTEM: A VEHICLE FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY, AND COMMUNICATING SCIEN
National Science Foundation
$1.1M
PROJECT BUILD (BUILDING USING AN INTERACTIVE LEARNING DESIGN)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$987.1K
THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PARTNER WITH PUBLIC LIBRARIES TO HELP INFORM ENGAGE AND INSPIRE NEW AND UNDERSERVED PUBLIC AUDIENCES.
National Science Foundation
$864K
SPACE WEATHER OUTREACH
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$841K
GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS RELATED TO A VARIETY OF PHENOMENA IN THE NEAR-EARTH SPACE ENVIRONMENT INDUCE ELECTRIC FIELDS AT THE EARTH S SURFACE. THESE "GEOELECTRIC" FIELDS IN TURN DRIVE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING GEOMAGNETICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS (GIC) IN TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SUCH AS RAILROADS PIPELINES SUBMARINE CABLES AND POWER GRIDS. THE SPATIO-TEMPORAL SPECIFICATION OF GEOELECTRIC FIELDS IS NEEDED TO IMPROVE FORECASTS OF GIC AND THE COMBINATION OF GROUND CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENTS AND THE TIME RATE OF CHANGE OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD (DB/DT) CAN BE USED TO ESTIMATE THE GEOELECTRIC FIELD. PULSATIONS OR WAVES AT THE LOWER END OF THE ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) BAND IN THE COUPLED MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE (M-I) GENERATE PERIODIC GROUND MAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS AND DB/DT THAT HAVE BEEN LINKED TO GEOELECTRIC FIELDS AND GIC. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF ULF WAVES IN GENERATING GEOELECTRIC FIELDS IS THUS NEEDED TO IMPROVE GIC MODELS AND FORECASTING CAPABILITIES. ..WE PROPOSE A COORDINATED INVESTIGATION USING SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS COHERENT SCATTER RADARS (SUPERDARN) GROUND MAGNETOMETERS MAGNETO-TELLURIC SURVEYS AND GEOELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS TO ADDRESS THE OVER-ARCHING SCIENCE QUESTION "HOW DO ULF WAVES IN THE M-I SYSTEM COUPLE TO GEOELECTRIC FIELD VARIATIONS RELEVANT TO GIC?" WITH SUB-QUESTIONS "WHAT ARE THE SPATIAL/TEMPORAL SCALES OF DB/DT AND GEOELECTRIC FIELDS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT ULF WAVE MODES? WHAT COMBINATIONS OF ULF WAVE PROPERTIES DRIVING CONDITIONS AND LOCAL GROUND CONDUCTIVITIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LARGEST DB/DT AND GEOELECTRIC FIELDS?" BY EXAMINING HOW ULF WAVES COUPLE THROUGH THE M-I SYSTEM TO GROUND DB/DT THIS STUDY ADDRESSES THE HIGH-LEVEL DECADAL SURVEY GOAL 2 "DETERMINE THE DYNAMICS AND COUPLING OF EARTH S MAGNETOSPHERE IONOSPHERE AND ATMOSPHERE AND THEIR RESPONSE TO SOLAR AND TERRESTRIAL INPUTS " IS CONSISTENT WITH THE NASA HELIOPHYSICS DIVISION STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE TO "UNDERSTAND THE SUN AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH THE EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM INCLUDING SPACE WEATHER" (NASA HELIOPHYSICS ROADMAP) AND COMPLEMENTS EFFORTS BY THE NASA LWS INSTITUTE GIC GROUP. ..WE WILL ADDRESS THE SCIENCE QUESTIONS THROUGH A COMBINATION OF (1) ESTIMATES OF ULF GEOLECTRIC FIELDS OBTAINED FROM A META-ANALYSIS OF PREVIOUS ULF WAVE STUDIES AND MAGNETO-TELLURIC IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENTS (2) GLOBAL MEASUREMENTS OF ULF WAVE PROPERTIES USED TO OBTAIN GEOELECTRIC FIELDS IN DETAILED CASE STUDIES (3) STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF CO-LOCATED GROUND MAGNETIC AND GEOELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS. THE PI IS QUALIFIED FOR THIS STUDY DUE TO (1) RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS THAT DEMONSTRATE ULF WAVE EXPERTISE AND ABILITY TO EXPLORE NEW SCIENTIFIC IDEAS THAT WILL IMPACT THE ULF WAVE AND GIC RESEARCH FIELDS AND (2) CURRENT LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES THAT DEMONSTRATE ABILITY TO DEVELOP ULF WAVE THEMES LEAD COMMUNITY IN NEW DIRECTIONS AND MENTOR JUNIOR RESEARCHERS. ..THIS INVESTIGATION IS TIMELY AS IT USES SEVERAL RECENTLY AVAILABLE DATASETS TO PROVIDE NEW CONSTRAINTS ON ULF WAVE IMPACTS ON GEOELECTRIC FIELDS/GIC. THROUGH ULF WAVE EXPERTISE AND CURRENT LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES (E.G. GEM ULF WAVE FOCUS GROUP) THE PI IS WELL-POSITIONED TO COMMUNICATE NEW RESULTS TO BOTH THE ULF WAVE AND GIC MODELING RESEARCH GROUPS FOSTERING CROSS-DISCUSSION BETWEEN THESE COMMUNITIES AND FOCUSING FUTURE MODELING/OBSERVATION EFFORTS ON ULF WAVE MODES MOST LIKELY TO GENERATE SIGNIFICANT GIC. .
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$817.5K
22-LWS22_2-0028 ADVANCED STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SOLAR WIND CONTROL OF MAGNETOSPHERIC ACTIVITY AND MAGNETOSPHERIC PARTICLE POPULATIONS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$750K
THE HELIOSPHERIC CURRENT-SHEET NETWORK AND THE CELLULARIZATION OF THE SOLAR WIND
National Science Foundation
$750K
NEW TECHNIQUES FOR INTERPRETING PHYSICAL STRUCTURES AND TURBULENCE IN THE SOLAR WIND
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$735.5K
NASA HAS INSPIRED THE PUBLIC FOR DECADES WITH ITS MISSION TO EXPLORE NEW FRONTIERS AND TO DRIVE ADVANCES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MAT
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$698K
WAVES GENERATED BY ACCELERATED PARTICLES ARE IMPORTANT THROUGHOUT OUR HELIOSPHERE. THESE PARTICLES OFTEN GAIN THEIR ENERGY AT SHOCKS VIA FERMI ACCELERATION. AT THE EARTH'S BOW SHOCK THIS MECHANISM ACCELERATES ION BEAMS BACK INTO THE SOLAR WIND THE BEAMS CAN THEN GENERATE ULTRA-LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) WAVES WHEN THEY INTERACT WITH THE BACKGROUND SOLAR WIND PLASMA. THESE WAVES CAN INFLUENCE SPACE WEATHER ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE GROUND AND REPRESENT A NATURAL LABORATORY FOR FUTURE TURBULENCE-RELEVANT NON-LINEAR STUDIES. DESPITE A CLEAR CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BEAM AND THE WAVES THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROPERTIES AND DYNAMICS OF THE OBSERVED ULF WAVES ARE STILL A MATTER OF DEBATE. FOR EXAMPLE EVOLUTION OF THE OBSERVED FREQUENCIES IN TIME AND SPACE MAY BE DUE TO A) FAST CHANGES IN THE BEAM PROPERTIES OR B) A NON-LINEAR PARAMETRIC INSTABILITY OF THE ULF WAVES. WE PROPOSE TO ELUCIDATE THIS AND OTHER KEY PHYSICS USING A NOVEL COMBINATION OF ARTEMIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER SPACECRAFT THE VLASIATOR GLOBAL HYBRID-VLASOV SIMULATION CODE AND A NEW ARBITRARY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION DISPERSION SOLVER. THE RESULTS WILL BE APPLICABLE TO SHOCKS ELSEWHERE IN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THUS MAY INFORM PRESENT AND FUTURE NASA MISSIONS. THE PROPOSED STUDY IS RELEVANT TO ALL FOUR DECADAL SURVEY GOALS: GOAL 1) RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WILL HELP PREDICT VARIATIONS IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT IN THE ION FORESHOCK AND COUPLED REGIONS OF THE MAGNETOSPHERE OF BOTH EARTH AND OTHER PLANETS. GOAL 2) THE ION BEAM AND ASSOCIATED ULF WAVES REPRESENT A RESPONSE OF THE EARTH'S MAGNETOSPHERE TO SOLAR INPUT. A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS RESPONSE WILL BE OBTAINED BY CARRYING OUT THE PROPOSED STUDY. GOAL 3) THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND SIMILAR SHOCKS THAT DETERMINE THE INTERACTION OF THE SOLAR WIND WITH THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM. GOAL 4) ION BEAM-WAVE INTERACTIONS AND PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES ARE FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES THAT OCCUR BOTH WITHIN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE. WE AIM TO CHARACTERIZE THESE PROCESSES USING THE EARTH'S ION FORESHOCK REGION AS OUR LABORATORY.
National Science Foundation
$682.3K
IS THE SOLAR WIND ELECTRON STRAHL A SEED POPULATION FOR THE EARTH'S ELECTRON RADIATION BELT? -THE NEAR-EARTH SPACE IS FILLED WITH CHARGED PARTICLES FROM THE SOLAR WIND AND THE EARTH'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE. HOWEVER, HOW THESE PARTICLES ARE ACCELERATED AND TRANSPORTED INTO THE RADIATION BELT REMAINS A MYSTERY. THIS MAGNETOSPHERIC PROJECT WILL EXPLORE A POSSIBLE PATHWAY TO DISCERN THE ULTIMATE SOURCE POPULATION OF THE EARTH'S ELECTRON RADIATION BELT AND DISCERN THE CONTROLLING FACTORS FOR THAT SOURCE POPULATION. THE REASONING IS AS FOLLOWS. (1) BECAUSE THE ELECTRON RADIATION BELT IS LOST ON OCCASION, A SEED POPULATION OF ENERGETIC ELECTRONS IS REQUIRED TO REPLACE THE BELT. (2) IT IS COMMONLY ACCEPTED THAT THE RADIATION-BELT SEED POPULATION IS THE POPULATION OF ENERGETIC ELECTRONS INJECTED INTO THE DIPOLE BY SUBSTORMS. (3) THESE SUBSTORM-INJECTED ELECTRONS ARE SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS IN THE EARTH'S MAGNETOTAIL PLASMA SHEET THAT ARE ADIABATICALLY DELIVERED FROM THE MAGNETOTAIL INTO THE DIPOLE BY SUBSTORMS. (4) A RESULTING QUESTION IS: WHERE DO THE MAGNETOTAIL SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS COME FROM, AND WHAT FACTORS CONTROL THEM? THIS PROJECT ARGUES THAT THE MAGNETOTAIL SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS COME FROM THE ENERGETIC ELECTRON STRAHL IN THE SOLAR WIND. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS NSF PROJECT ARE: (1) TO DETERMINE WHETHER (AND BY HOW MUCH) THE SOLAR-WIND ELECTRON STRAHL ACTS AS A SEED POPULATION FOR THE EARTH'S ELECTRON RADIATION BELT, (2) TO DETERMINE THE CONTROLLING FACTORS FOR THIS PROCESS, (3) TO TRACE THE ELECTRON STRAHL FROM THE SOLAR WIND, INTO THE EARTH'S MAGNETOTAIL PLASMA SHEET, INTO SUBSTORM INJECTIONS, AND EVOLVING INTO THE ELECTRON RADIATION BELT, AND (4) TO DISCERN WHETHER THERE ARE OTHER SOURCES OF THE SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS IN THE MAGNETOTAIL PLASMA SHEET THAT BECOME ENERGETIC SUBSTORM- INJECTED ELECTRONS. IN THE DIVERSE DATA ANALYSIS OF THIS PROJECT, THE STRAHL ELECTRON POPULATION IN THE SOLAR WIND AT EARTH WILL BE STATISTICALLY FOLLOWED INTO THE MAGNETOTAIL PLASMA SHEET, INTO SUBSTORM ELECTRON INJECTIONS, AND INTO THE ELECTRON RADIATION BELT. THE DATA ANALYSIS WILL BE GUIDED BY COMPUTER SIMULATIONS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THE STRAHL ELECTRON POPULATION AS IT ENTERS INTO AND TRAVERSES THROUGH THE MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE SYSTEM. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$679.5K
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IS EFFECTIVELY IDENTIFIED OBSERVATIONALLY VIA THE DETECTION OF FAST OUTFLOW JETS CAUSED BY THE CONVERSION OF MAGNETIC ENERGY TO KINETIC ENERGY. INDEED RECONNECTION JETS ARE AMONG THE MOST DIAGNOSED FEATURES IN SPACE PLASMAS AND A LARGE DATABASE OF SUCH ENCOUNTERS IS AVAILABLE FROM MANY MISSIONS. WE FOCUS HERE ON THE EXISTING DATA FROM MMS IN THE MAGNETOPAUSE AND IN THE TAIL AS WELL AS DATA FROM PREVIOUS MISSIONS. TAKEN TOGETHER THESE ENCOUNTERS FORM THE BASIS FOR A DETAILED INVESTIGATION DESIGNED TO ARRIVE AT A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF RECONNECTION IN THE EVOLUTION OF MAGNETOSPHERIC PLASMAS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH EFFORT FOCUS ON TWO DISTINCT RECONNECTION SCENARIOS: ISOLATED RECONNECTION SITES WHERE OUTFLOW JETS PROPAGATE INTO AND INTERACT WITH THE PRE-EXISTING PLASMA TO FORM FRONTS AND MULTIPLE RECONNECTIONS SITES WHERE THE JETS INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT WAVES AND INSTABILITIES DEVELOP IN THESE OUTFLOWS. IN THE OUTFLOWS WE OBSERVE TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPIES VELOCITY SHEARS INTERPENETRATING BEAMS DENSITY AND PRESSURE GRADIENTS THE PRESENCE OF UNFAVORABLE MAGNETIC FIELD LINE CURVATURE. ALL THESE SOURCES OF FREE ENERGY HAVE BEEN OBSERVED TO CAUSE INSTABILITIES. THE NON-LINEAR DEVELOPMENT OF THESE WAVES LEADS TO A STRONG MODIFICATION OF THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION LEADING TO PARTICLE ACCELERATION AND HEATING AS WELL AS THE INSURGENCE OF STRONG POYNTING FLUXES CARRYING ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY. IN THESE CONDITIONS THE OUTFLOWS BECOME A POWERHOUSE FOR ENERGY EXCHANGE FOR THE FORMATION OF SECONDARY RECONNECTION SITES AND THE ONSET OF A POSSIBLY TURBULENT CASCADE. THE QUESTION IS THEN HOW IMPORTANT ARE THESE PHENOMENON IN TERMS OF THEIR IMPACT ON THE DYNAMICS OF SUBSTORMS AND THEIR IMPACT CLOSER TO EARTH? THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTION LIES IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE WAVE SPECTRA OF THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS AND OF THE ENERGY TRANSPORT FLUXES (POYNTING HEAT ENTHALPY) FOR EACH SPECIES AND FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS. THESE CAN BE MEASURED IN SITU AT VARIOUS DISTANCES FROM THE RECONNECTION SITE (INTENDED HERE AS THE LOCI WHERE FIELD LINES BREAK AND RECONNECT OFTEN LOOSELY CALLED X-POINTS). FORM A DATABASE OF DIFFERENT CROSSING AND FROM DIFFERENT SPACECRAFTS AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS FOR THE SAME CROSSING INFORMATION CAN BE DERIVED ON THE ENERGY FLUXES AND CAN BE PUT IN CONTEXT OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF RECONNECTION IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE. THIS ANSWER WILL DEPEND DRASTICALLY ON THE GLOBAL CONTEXT OF RECONNECTION FOR EACH DIFFERENT CROSSING. TO ADDRESS THESE SCIENCE QUESTIONS AND ACHIEVE OUR GOALS WE WILL EMPLOY THE FOLLOWING METHODOLOGY EMPLOYING A COMBINATION OF STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTER SIMULATIONS AND DATA ANALYSIS: MMS (BUT TO A LESSER DEGREE ALSO PREVIOUS MISSIONS) ALLOW US TO CONSTRUCT SIMULATIONS INITIALIZED WITH THE LOCALLY OBSERVED PARTICLE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS AND WITH A MEAN CONFIGURATION OF THE PLASMA AND FIELDS INDUCED BY THE DATA. WE CAN THEN OBTAIN FROM SIMULATION THE PLASMA EVOLUTION UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS AND COMPARE DIRECTLY VIRTUAL MEASURES IN THE SIMULATED PLASMA WITH REAL DIAGNOSTICS FROM THE MISSIONS. THE NOVELTY IS THE USE OF OBSERVATIONAL DATA TO SETUP THE SIMULATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTHETIC MEASUREMENTS FROM THE SIMULATION TO REPLICATE THE OBSERVED MEASUREMENTS. THE LOOP STARTING WITH DATA LEADING TO DATA-DRIVEN SIMULATIONS AND PRODUCING SYNTHETIC OBSERVATIONS WILL BE CLOSED BY THE DIRECT COMPARISON OF REAL OBSERVATIONS AND SYNTHETIC OBSERVATION USING THEORY MODELS CAPABLE OF PREDICTING THE WAVES AND INSTABILITY IN THE SIMULATIONS AND IN THE OBSERVED NATURAL PLASMA. BY ADDRESSING THE STATED SCIENCE QUESTIONS USING THE STATED METHODOLOGY THE PRESENT PROPOSAL AIMS CENTRALLY AT GOAL #4 OF THE HELIOSPHERIC DECADAL SURVEY GOAL: MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IS A FUNDAMENTAL PLASMA PROCESS THAT OCCURS BOTH WITHIN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$612.4K
THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO ADVANCE A CURRENTLY EXISTING MODEL OF THE ELECTRON AND ION FLUXES IN THE INNER MAGNETOSPHERE BY EXTENDING THE SPATIAL COVERAGE TO L2-7 AND EXTENDING THE ENERGY COVERAGE TO 0.001-2000 KEV. THE PROJECT WILL BUILD ON THE FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY OF A FREELY-AVAILABLE AND INDEPENDENTLY-TESTED MODEL THAT CURRENTLY DELIVERS FORECASTS OF THE ION AND ELECTRON FLUXES AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT (GEO) LDENTON ET AL. 2015; DENTON ET AL. 2016]. SINCE ITS DEVELOPMENT THE MODEL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY UTILIZED BY A VARIETY OF GROUPS IN THE COMMUNITY WITH A SCIENCE OPERATIONS AND COMMERCIAL FOCUS.
National Science Foundation
$594.4K
MAKING SPACE SOCIAL: EXPLORING THE EDUCATIONAL POTENTIAL OF THE FACEBOOK SOCIAL NETWORK
National Science Foundation
$589.9K
LABORATORY CHARACTERIZATION OF CO-PROPAGATING ALFVEN WAVE INTERACTIONS -THE BEHAVIOR OF TURBULENCE IS ONE OF THE MOST HOTLY DEBATED TOPICS AMONG RESEARCHERS, AND UNDERSTANDING THIS BEHAVIOR HAS BEEN A LONG-STANDING GOAL OF THE HELIOPHYSICS COMMUNITY. TURBULENCE IN THE NEAR-SUN SOLAR WIND IS IMBALANCED, MEANING THERE ARE MANY MORE WAVES MOVING AWAY FROM THE SUN THAN TOWARDS THE SUN; THIS IMBALANCE MAY IMPACT WHICH INTERACTIONS BETWEEN WAVES ARE MOST IMPORTANT FOR MOVING ENERGY FROM LARGE TO SMALL SCALES IN THE SOLAR WIND. TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW ENERGY MOVES THROUGH THIS SYSTEM, THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT SCALED LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS TO PRECISELY CHARACTERIZE TWO OF THESE WAVE-WAVE INTERACTIONS AND COMPARE THEM TO A THIRD (PREVIOUSLY STUDIED) INTERACTION. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL QUANTITATIVELY DEMONSTRATE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THESE INTERACTIONS, WHICH CAN INFORM INTERPRETATION OF SPACECRAFT DATA AND FUTURE SIMULATION EFFORTS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS RESEARCH IS LED BY AND WILL PRIMARILY SUPPORT AN EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHER FROM AN UNDERREPRESENTED GROUP WHO DEVOTES SUBSTANTIAL TIME TO A VARIETY OF COMMUNITY EFFORTS IN BROADEN PARTICIPATION OF THE FULL SPECTRUM OF DIVERSE TALENTS IN STEM. THE TEAM WILL PARTICIPATE IN OUTREACH PROGRAMS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION. THIS WORK INCLUDES AN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION COMPONENT. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WAVE-WAVE INTERACTION PROCESSES WHICH MAY BE CONTROLLING IMBALANCED SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE AT ION SCALES, PARTICULARLY IN THE SOLAR CORONA AND INNER SOLAR WIND. SPECIFICALLY, THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT A SERIES OF LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS ON LARGE PLASMA DEVICE (LAPD) LOCATED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES TO INVESTIGATE THE DETAILED BEHAVIOR OF TWO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CO-PROPAGATING ALFV?N WAVES: A NOVEL INTERACTION DRIVEN BY HALL PHYSICS, AND THE ALREADY KNOWN DISPERSIVE INTERACTION. THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT A SCALING STUDY OF THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THESE TWO CO-PROPAGATING INTERACTIONS AND COMPARE THEM TO THE OFTEN-DOMINANT MHD COUNTER-PROPAGATING INTERACTION. THESE COMPARISONS WILL HELP ESTABLISH WHICH PROCESSES MAY BE MOST ACTIVE IN DRIVING THE DYNAMICS OF IMBALANCED MAGNETIZED PLASMA TURBULENCE. SUCH EFFORTS ARE PARTICULARLY TIMELY, AS PARKER SOLAR PROBE IS NOW STUDYING PRECISELY THE REGION OF SPACE WHERE THE INTERACTIONS OCCUR. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT COULD INFLUENCE THE PLASMA DYNAMICS, ALLOWING THE TEAM TO INFORM INTERPRETATION OF PARKER SOLAR PROBE MEASUREMENTS AND RELATED SIMULATIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$557.3K
DEVELOPMENT OF A STELLAR MODEL-FITTING PIPELINE FOR ASTEROSEISMIC DATA FROM THE TESS MISSION ASTEROSEISMIC ANALYSIS. PRIOR TO THE KEPLER MISSION, SOL
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$555.2K
BEYOND ITS POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR EXOBIOLOGY, THE IDENTIFICATION OF METHANE AS A DISEQUILIBRIUM CONSTITUENT OF THE CURRENT MARS ATMOSPHERE PLACES
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$548.9K
THE DYNAMICAL IMPORTANCE OF ATMOSPHERIC GRAVITY WAVES (GWS) AT MARS HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED. MODELING SUGGESTS THAT DRAG DUE TO GW SATURATION CAN SLOW THE WINTER WESTERLY JETS IN THE MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE AND GENERATE A DOWNWELLING CIRCULATION THAT ADIABATICALLY HEATS THE WINTER POLAR ATMOSPHERE ABOVE RADIATIVE EQUILIBRIUM A PHENOMENON PARTICULARLY NOTABLE IN DUST STORMS. THE TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS GENERATED BY GWS ALSO ARE IMPLICATED IN CREATING COLD POCKETS IN THE MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH CO2 CAN CONDENSE AND FORM CLOUDS. IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE GWS GENERATE LARGE DENSITY FLUCTUATIONS THAT AFFECT AEROBRAKING OR DEEP DIPPING SPACECRAFT AND STRONGLY HEAT/COOL THE THERMOSPHERE BY MECHANICAL DISSIPATION. MECHANICAL STIRRING BY GWS ALSO HOMOGENIZES ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE POTENTIALLY AFFECTING ATMOSPHERIC ESCAPE RATES. BETTER UNDERSTANDING GWS AT MARS THEREFORE WILL LEAD TO BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF APPLIED PROBLEMS SUCH AS RELIABLE AEROCAPTURE AT MARS AS WELL AS BASIC SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS REGARDING THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF MARS S ATMOSPHERE. MODELING HAS BEEN QUITE SUCCESSFUL AT UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF GWS BUT IT HAS PROCEEDED WITH FEW OBSERVATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE SOURCES/ACTIVITY OF GWS IN THE LOWER AND MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE. EXISTING CONSTRAINTS MAINLY COME FROM RADIO OCCULTATIONS WHICH ARE SENSITIVE TO GRAVITY WAVES WITH WAVELENGTHS GREATER THAN A FEW HUNDRED KM AND TEND TO HAVE MUCH SPARSER OBSERVATIONAL PATTERNS THAN MAPPING INSTRUMENTS. HOWEVER POTENTIAL CONSTRAINTS WITH HIGHER DATA DENSITY AND DIFFERENT SENSITIVITIES TO GWS EXIST (SUCH AS SMALL-SCALE TEMPERATURE VARIANCES IN ON-PLANET INFRARED SOUNDINGS) BUT ARE STILL MOSTLY UNEXPLOITED. THIS PROPOSAL USES MULTIPLE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SPACECRAFT INSTRUMENT DATASETS FROM MRO MGS AND ODY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND GW ACTIVITY AT MARS (A PHENOMENON OF WIDE THEORETICAL INTEREST IN ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS AND THE SUBJECT OF ONGOING MODELING) AND THEREBY ENHANCE THE SCIENCE RETURN FROM THESE INSTRUMENTS. MODELING WILL BE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING THE SENSITIVITY OF THE OBSERVATIONS TO GW ACTIVITY AND SO THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PROJECT'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE ANALYSIS OF RADIANCE AND IMAGE DATA. IT IS THEREFORE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF MDAP. THE PI FREQUENTLY COLLABORATES WITH THE MRO-MCS SCIENCE OPERATIONS TEAM BUT HAS NO FORMAL STATUS ON THE TEAM AND CURRENTLY RECEIVES NO FUNDING FROM MRO. THUS THE PROPOSED WORK DOES NOT OVERLAP WITH WORK SUPPORTED THROUGH THE MRO PROJECT.
National Science Foundation
$534K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ENERGETIC PARTICLE PRECIPITATION FROM THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND EFFECTS ON OZONE DYNAMICS IN THE MESOSPHERE AND STRATOSPHERE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$530.2K
DUST IS UBIQUITOUS IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS. IT IS THE BUILDING BLOCK FROM WHICH ALL OBJECTS ABOUT STARS ARE CREATED INCLUDING OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM. THE WAY IN WHICH SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS FORMED WAS DETERMINED BY THE FUNDAMENTAL FORCES ACTING UPON THE DUST PARTICLES WITHIN THE PROTOPLANETARY INCLUDING ESPECIALLY GRAVITY AND RADIATION-PRESSURE FORCES. THE STRUCTURE OF A PROTOPLANETARY DISK DEPENDS ON THE DYNAMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE DUST WITHIN. THESE PROPERTIES ARE A COMPLICATED FUNCTION THAT DEPENDS ON THE INTERACTION OF THE STAR'S RADIATION WITH THE DUST. TYPICALLY THESE INTERACTIONS ARE APPROXIMATED BY ASSUMING THE DUST HAS A VERY SIMPLE SPHERICAL SHAPE. THE USE OF SUCH PARTICLES CAN GIVE ERRONEOUS RESULTS UP TO AN ORDER-OF-MAGNITUDE DIFFERENCE IN THE RADIATION PRESSURE FOR INSTANCE WHEN COMPARED WITH THOSE OF HIGHLY IRREGULAR PARTICLE SIMULANTS LIKE SO-CALLED AGGLOMERATED DEBRIS PARTICLES (ARNOLD ET AL. 2019 2022). TO DATE NO LIGHT-SCATTERING MEASUREMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE FROM REAL INTERPLANETARY DUST PARTICLES (IDPS) THAT CAN BE USED TO TEST MODEL SIMULANTS. RECENT RESEARCH IN OPTICAL TRAPPING ALLOWS COMPLETE CONTROL AND MANIPULATION OF MICRON-SIZE PARTICLES. WE WILL USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LEVITATE SINGLE IDPS AND MEASURE THEIR LIGHT-SCATTERING PROPERTIES. WE WILL COMPARE THESE MEASUREMENTS WITH THOSE OF MODEL SIMULANTS AND EXAMINE THEIR ACCURACY AND APPROPRIATENESS. WHILE TRAPPED WE WILL MEASURE THE IDP LIGHT-SCATTERING PROPERTIES AND DETERMINE ITS DYNAMICS WHEN IT IS ILLUMINATED BY AN EXTERNAL LIGHT SOURCE. THIS WORK WILL HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND THE INTERACTION OF LIGHT WITH REAL IDPS AND ALLOW US TO INTERPRET MORE ACCURATELY THE COMPOSITION OF PROTOPLANETARY DISKS AND HOW THESE SYSTEMS EVOLVED. IN SUM: 1. WE WILL USE NEWLY DEVELOPED PARTICLE-TRAPPING TECHNIQUES TO LEVITATE AND MEASURE THE LIGHT SCATTERING FROM METEORITES AND IDPS 2. WE WILL ANALYZE THE DYNAMICS OF IDPS WHEN UNDERGOING THE EFFECTS OF RADIATION PRESSURE 3. SUCH INFORMATION WILL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE PROTOPLANETARY DISK AND THE FORMATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM THE KEY OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROGRAM.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$515.1K
IN ORDER TO OBTAIN QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LUNAR REGOLITH USING REMOTE-SENSING TECHNIQUES IT IS NECESSARY TO KNOW HOW THE REGOLITH SCATTERS LIGHT. LUNAR REGOLITH IS COMPOSED OF LARGE IRREGULARLY SHAPED PARTICLES IN CLOSE CONTACT. SUCH SY
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$515K
OBSERVATIONS OF EXTRASOLAR PLANET TRANSITS AND SECONDARY ECLIPSES -- MUTUAL ECLIPSE EVENTS WHERE THE PLANET PASSES IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND ITS PARENT
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$514.6K
THE MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE OBSERVATORY (MIO)
National Science Foundation
$508.6K
GEM: ONSET AND CONSEQUENCES OF RECONNECTION IN THE MAGNETOTAIL
National Science Foundation
$499.7K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: WATER IN THE FOUR CORNERS REGION: LIBRARIES AND EXHIBITS CONNECTING AND ENGAGING COMMUNITIES WITH THEIR WATER SYSTEMS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$495.4K
SCIENCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THE MOST ENERGETIC ELECTRONS IN SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE (SEP) EVENTS CAN EXTEND TO MORE THAN SEVERAL MEV. AT THE SUN ELECTRON BEAMS AT THESE ENERGIES ARE USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH HARD X-RAYS AND GYRO-SYNCHROTRON RADIATION. THESE ELECTRONS MIGHT ALSO EXCITE WHISTLER-MODE WAVES THAT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO ENERGY LOSS FROM THE BEAMS PRODUCE TURBULENCE AND LOCALLY HEAT PLASMA. ALTHOUGH THESE RELATIVISTIC ELECTRONS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED DIRECTLY BY SATELLITES IN THE INTERPLANETARY MEDIUM AND INFERRED FROM REMOTE SENSING IT IS NOT KNOWN WHETHER THEY MAY ALSO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE GENERATION OF TYPE II AND TYPE III RADIO BURSTS IN ADDITION TO THE USUALLY INVOKED ~KEV BEAMS. UNDERSTANDING THE ROLES OF RELATIVISTIC ELECTRONS (FROM ~100 KEV TO ~1 MEV) IN THE GENERATION OF RADIO WAVES AND OTHER MODES THE EFFICIENCY OF THE RELEVANT PROCESSES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ENERGY BALANCE IN SOLAR FLARES AND OTHER ACTIVE SOLAR EVENTS IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING PARTITIONING OF ENERGY IN SOLAR EVENTS AS WELL AS PROPAGATION OF SEP ELECTRONS. MOTIVATED IN PART BY THE OPPORTUNITIES AND NEEDS OF THE UPCOMING SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AIMS TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: 1. WHAT WAVE MODES (LANGMUIR WHISTLER ETC.) ARE GENERATED BY RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON BEAMS IN PLASMAS WITH CHARACTERISTICS SIMILAR TO THE SOLAR CORONA AND NEAR-SUN SOLAR WIND? ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THESE WAVES CONSISTENT WITH OBSERVATIONS? 2. UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS CAN RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON BEAMS GENERATE RADIO WAVES EITHER DIRECTLY OR BY EXCITING PLASMA OSCILLATIONS FIRST THAT COULD EXPLAIN SOME FEATURES OF SOLAR RADIO EMISSION SUCH AS TYPE II AND TYPE III BURSTS? 3. WHAT SIGNATURES OF THE ABOVE PROCESSES CAN BE TESTED BY OBSERVATIONS FROM SOLAR PROBE PLUS OTHER IN-SITU AND REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS TO DETERMINE THE MECHANISM OF WAVE GENERATION BY ELECTRON BEAMS NEAR IN THE SUN? METHODOLOGY WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS UTILIZING LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AT THE LARGE PLASMA DEVICE (LAPD) AT UCLA SIMULATIONS AND COMPARISON TO SATELLITE DATA. THE LAPD HAS A HIGHLY REPRODUCIBLE 21 M LONG AND 60 CM DIAMETER QUIESCENT PLASMA COLUMN PRODUCED BY A LARGE AREA CATHODE-ANODE SOURCE. THE VALUES OF VARIOUS DIMENSIONLESS PARAMETERS (E.G. PLASMA BETA OR THE RATIO BETWEEN PLASMA AND ELECTRON CYCLOTRON FREQUENCIES) CAN SPAN A RANGE OF VALUES COMPARABLE TO THE NEAR-SUN SOLAR WIND AND CORONA. THE LAPD IS EQUIPPED WITH AN EXTENSIVE SET OF DIAGNOSTICS AND AN AUTOMATED DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL UTILIZE A UNIQUE VARIABLE-ENERGY (FROM 100 KEV TO 1 MEV) ELECTRON BEAM RECENTLY DEVELOPED AT LANL. EXPERIMENTAL CAMPAIGN WILL BE SUPPORTED BY AN EXTENSIVE THEORY AND SIMULATION EFFORT NECESSARY BOTH TO GUIDE AND/OR INTERPRET THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA AND EXTRAPOLATE THE RESULTS TO OTHER PARAMETER REGIMES. RELEVANCE THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS WILL PROVIDE NEW UNDERSTANDING OF PHYSICAL PROCESSES DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO GOALS OF NASA S HELIOPHYSICS PROGRAM TO EXPLORE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SUN TO THE EARTH AND THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS THAT LINK THE SUN THE EARTH AND DEVELOP THE KNOWLEDGE AND CAPABILITY TO DETECT AND PREDICT EXTREME CONDITIONS IN SPACE THE RESULTS ARE ALSO DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE OBJECTIVES DESCRIBED IN THE HELIOSPHERIC DECADAL SURVEY SPECIFICALLY GOAL 3 DETERMINE THE INTERACTION OF THE SUN WITH THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND GOAL 4 DISCOVER AND CHARACTERIZE FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES THAT OCCUR BOTH WITHIN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE. THE RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION WILL HAVE DIRECT IMPACT ON THE SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION BY PROVIDING BOTH DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH SEP BEAM-DRIVEN PLASMA WAVES AND TURBULENCE AND BY DEVELOPING A RELEVANT SET OF OBSERVATIONAL SIGNATURES.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$485.7K
SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES: ASTEROSEISMOLOGY HAS PROVED TO BE A VERY POWERFUL TOOL THANKS TO THE HIGH-PRECISION DATA OBTAINED BY THE SPACE MISSIONS SUCH AS KEPLER AND COROT. SOLAR-LIKE OSCILLATIONS HAVE BEEN DETECTED AND REPORTED FOR AROUND 15 600 RED GIANTS AND 540 MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS OBSERVED BY THE NOMINAL KEPLER MISSION. HENCE THESE STARS HAVE THEIR SURFACE GRAVITIES MASSES AND RADII OBTAINED WITH SEISMOLOGY. HOWEVER ACCORDING TO THE LATEST KEPLER STAR PROPERTIES CATALOG (MATHUR ET AL. IN PREP.) MORE THAN 24 000 RED GIANTS 127 000 FGK DWARFS AND ~10 000 SUBGIANTS WERE TARGETED. K2 HAS BEEN OBSERVING ~90 000 RED GIANTS AND DWARFS. MOREOVER THE CONTINUOUS PHOTOMETRIC DATA OF 4 YEARS (RESP. 3 MO) COLLECTED BY KEPLER (RESP. K2) CONTAIN THE SIGNATURE OF OTHER PHENOMENA SUCH AS CONVECTION ROTATION AND MAGNETISM WHICH ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND STELLAR EVOLUTION AND CAN ALSO BE USED TO OBTAIN PRECISE FUNDAMENTAL STELLAR PARAMETERS EVEN WHEN PULSATIONS ARE NOT DETECTED. WE PROPOSE TO PERFORM THE LARGEST HOMOGENEOUS ANALYSIS TO DATE OF SEISMIC OSCILLATIONS CONVECTION AND ROTATION/MAGNETIC ACTIVITY ACROSS THE FULL RANGE OF STELLAR SPECTRAL TYPES AND EVOLUTIONARY STATES PRESENT IN THE K2 AND KEPLER MISSIONS. WE WILL USE THE LONGEST PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TIME SERIES TO DERIVE THE MOST ACCURATE SURFACE GRAVITIES ROTATION PERIODS EVOLUTIONARY STATES AND MAGNETIC ACTIVITY LEVELS TO CHARACTERIZE ROTATION-AGEMAGNETIC ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS AND OSCILLATIONS-MAGNETISM INTERACTION. RELEVANCE: THE DETERMINATION OF THE GRAVITY MASS RADIUS AND AGE OF PLANET HOST STARS ALLOW US TO BETTER CHARACTERIZE THE PLANETARY SYSTEMS. BY STUDYING THE STELLAR SURFACE ROTATION PERIODS WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ANGULAR MOMENTUM TRANSPORT INVOLVED DURING THE STELLAR EVOLUTION AND HAVE MORE ACCURATE ROTATION-AGE RELATIONSHIPS. FINALLY THE STUDY OF THE MAGNETIC ACTIVITY OF A LARGE NUMBER OF STARS WILL ALLOW US TO PUT THE SUN IN A BROADER CONTEXT. THIS WORK WILL ALSO HAVE AN IMPACT ON GALACTIC EVOLUTION STUDY. METHODOLOGY: WE WILL ANALYZE THE DATA WITH THE NEW VERSION OF THE A2Z PIPELINE (MATHUR ET AL. 2010) ON THE STARS WHERE NO ACOUSTIC MODES HAVE BEEN DETECTED OR COMPLETELY CHARACTERIZED SO FAR. IN THE CASE THAT STILL NO MODES ARE OBSERVED WE WILL STUDY THE CONVECTIVE BACKGROUND AS IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT THE GRANULATION TIMESCALE IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE SURFACE GRAVITY OF THE STAR (MATHUR ET AL. 2011). WE WILL DEVELOP AND AUTOMATE THE RECENT METHOD DEVELOPED BY KALLINGER ET AL. (2016) THAT PROVED IT IS POSSIBLE TO MEASURE LOGG VERY PRECISELY WITH THE AUTO-CORRELATION FUNCTION FOR STARS WHERE THE MODES ARE SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE NYQUIST FREQUENCY I.E. SUBGIANTS FOR THE LONG CADENCE DATA. WE WILL ANALYZE DWARFS AND SUBGIANTS OBSERVED BY KEPLER AND K2 TO LOOK FOR THEIR ROTATION PERIODS FOLLOWING GARCIA ET AL. (2014). THIS METHOD WAS SHOWN TO HAVE THE BEST COMBINATION OF COMPLETENESS AND RELIABILITY ACCORDING TO HARE AND HOUNDS BENCHMARKS (AIGRAIN ET AL. 2015). WE WILL CALIBRATE GYROCHRONOLOGY RELATION WITH THE BEST-CHARACTERIZED DWARFS AS DONE BY VAN SADERS ET AL. (2016) AND APPLY IT TO DWARFS WHEN APPLICABLE TO ESTIMATE THEIR AGES. FOR THE STARS WHERE A RELIABLE ROTATION PERIOD IS DETERMINED WE WILL COMPUTE A PHOTOMETRIC MAGNETIC PROXY AS DEFINED IN MATHUR ET AL. (2014). IN MANY CASES WE WILL HAVE COMPLEMENTARY SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS (E.G. GAIA). DATA: WE WILL ANALYZE THE KEPLER Q0-Q17 DATA CALIBRATED WITH THE KADACS SOFTWARE (GARCIA ET AL. 2011; MATHUR ET AL. IN PREP.) AND THE K2 C1 TO C7 DATA PROCESSED BY VANDERBURG&JOHNSON (2014).
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$481.8K
21-LDAP21_2-0029 EXAMINATION OF POTENTIALLY HYDRATED LUNAR VOLCANIC TERRAINS USING ORBITAL IMAGING SPECTROMETER DATA.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$463.2K
OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES OF VENUS PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$459.2K
COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS ARE UBIQUITOUS IN SPACE AND ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS WHERE THEY OFTEN PROVIDE ONE OF THE MOST EFFICIENT MECHANISMS FOR PARTICLE HEATING AND ACCELERATION. FURTHERMORE PLANETARY BOW SHOCKS CONTROL THE INTERACTION OF THE SOLAR WIND WITH PLANETARY MAGNETOSPHERES (NOTABLY THAT OF THE EARTH) WHILE THE ARRIVAL OF INTERPLANETARY (IP) SHOCKS OFTEN TRIGGERS SIGNIFICANT SPACE WEATHER EVENTS SUCH AS GEOMAGNETIC STORMS. IT HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED THAT IN A COLLISIONLESS PLASMA WHERE COULOMB BINARY COLLISIONS ARE TOO INFREQUENT TO CONTROL ENERGY DISSIPATION AROUND SHOCKS PLASMA WAVES AND INSTABILITIES MAY PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN PROVIDING THE ENERGY DISSIPATION NECESSARY FOR THE SHOCK TO EXIST. ION ACOUSTIC LOWER-HYBRID WHISTLER-BRANCH AND OTHER FAST SHORT-WAVELENGTHS FLUCTUATIONS ARE ROUTINELY OBSERVED IN SPACECRAFT MEASUREMENTS AND HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN RELEVANT NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS. YET IT REMAINS UNCLEAR CURRENTLY IF THESE FLUCTUATIONS PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE OR ALTERNATIVELY ARE A RELATIVELY BENIGN ACCOMPANIMENT TO THE SHOCK WHICH IS ULTIMATELY CONTROLLED BY KINETIC BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL PARTICLES (SUCH AS ELECTROSTATIC AND MAGNETIC PARTICLE REFLECTION). THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION IS TO ADDRESS THIS UNCERTAINTY USING A COMBINATION OF HIGH-RESOLUTION KINETIC SIMULATIONS AND SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS. METHODOLOGY: THE CENTER ELEMENT OF THE PROPOSED WORK WILL BE HIGH-RESOLUTION (INCLUDING THOSE WITH CELLS SIZE AT OR BELOW DEBYE LENGTH) FULLY KINETIC PARTICLE-AND-CELL (PIC) SIMULATIONS. THE SIMULATIONS WILL BE PREDOMINANTLY 2D. A SMALL NUMBER OF 3D TARGETING SPECIFIC ISSUES (SUCH AS DETERMINATION OF THE SPECTRA OF EXCITED INSTABILITIES) MAY BE CONDUCTED AS WELL. THE SIMULATIONS WILL USE INITIAL AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS CORRESPONDING TO TYPICAL CONDITIONS OBSERVED AT THE EARTH S BOW SHOCK AND IP SHOCKS. THE PROPERTIES OF THE SHORT-WAVELENGTH FLUCTUATIONS AND GLOBAL STRUCTURE OF THE SHOCK (E.G. PROFILES OF FLOW TEMPERATURE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS FUNCTIONS WHEN AVAILABLE) WILL BE COMPARED TO SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS FROM WIND THEMIS AND MMS. ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELD DATA FROM BOTH WIND THEMIS AND MMS WILL BE ANALYZED IN COMBINATION WITH PARTICLE DATA FROM THERMAL TO SUPRATHERMAL ENERGIES. THE ELECTROMAGNETIC AND ELECTROSTATIC FLUCTUATIONS WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND THEN COMPARED TO THE OBSERVED PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE OF FREE ENERGY AND/OR THE PREDICTED EFFECT OF THE WAVES ON THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS. WE WILL COMPARE TO SIMULATION RESULTS AS EVEN WITH MMS MANY OF THE INTERACTIONS OCCUR TOO QUICKLY TO DIRECTLY OBSERVE THE EVOLUTION OF THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS. WE WILL DETERMINE THE INITIAL AND FINAL STATES OF THE PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS FROM SIMULATIONS AND USE THAT KNOWLEDGE TO QUANTIFY THE EFFECT OF THE WAVES ON THE DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE OBSERVATIONS. RELEVANCE OF THE PROBLEM TO THE HELIOPHYSICS OVERARCHING GOAL: THE PROPOSAL IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE TO UNDERSTAND THE SUN AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM INCLUDING SPACE WEATHER SINCE SHOCKS ARE WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS A MAJOR PLAYER IN THESE INTERACTIONS. THE PROPOSAL DIRECTLY ADDRESSES ALL THREE OVERARCHING SCIENCE GOALS: I) TO EXPLORE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES AT WORK IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SUN TO EARTH AND THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM II) TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE SUN EARTH THE PLANETARY SPACE ENVIRONMENTS AND THE OUTER REACHES OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND III) TO DEVELOP THE KNOWLEDGE AND CAPABILITY TO DETECT AND PREDICT EXTREME CONDITIONS IN SPACE TO PROTECT LIFE AND SOCIETY AND TO SAFEGUARD EXPLORATION BEYOND EARTH.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$457.5K
NON-LTE 3D SPECTRAL SYNTHESIS FOR LARGE-SCALE STELLAR SURVEYS ASTEROSEISMOLOGY AND GALACTIC ARCHAEOLOGY
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$451K
22-XRP22_2-0091 FOLLOW THE METHANE: EXPLORING THE POSSIBLE CAUSES OF THE LOW METHANE ABUNDANCE ON WARM HYDROGEN-RICH EXOPLANETS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$450K
THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE OF THIS LWS INVESTIGATION IS TO USE A SYSTEMS-SCIENCE APPROACH TO INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS, TIME LAGS, FEE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$448.4K
PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL INVESTIGATE CHEMISTRY AND DYNAMICS OF VENUS MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE (75-120 KM). IM
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$444.3K
A DATA ANALYSIS PROGRAM GUIDED BY COLLABORATIVE MODELING EFFORTS IS PROPOSED TO ADDRESS A GROWING DIVERSE SET OF AEROSOL MEASUREMENTS IN THE MARS MID
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$442.2K
VERTICAL VARIATIONS IN THE PARTICLE SIZES OF AEROSOLS CAN HAVE A DRAMATIC EFFECT IN THEIR NET IMPACT ON THE STATE AND EVOLUTION OF THE MARTIAN ATMOSP
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$441.1K
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS INVESTIGATION ARE (1) TO USE THE INSIGHT CAMERAS TO MONITOR ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY (TAU) THROUGH THE MISSION; (2) TO CHARACTERIZE THE ATMOSPHERIC DUST AT THE LANDING SITE AND PLACE IT INTO CONTEXT WITH OTHER MEASUREMENTS; (3) TO CHARACTERIZE THE ROLE OF DUST IN BOUNDARY-LAYER METEOROLOGY; (4) TO IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE ICE CLOUDS AND HAZES AND CONSTRAIN THE WINDS THAT TRANSPORT THEM; AND (5) MEASURE NIGHT OPACITY AND CONSTRAIN THE RATE OF MICRO-METEORITE IMPACTS. THE PROPOSED WORK REQUIRES IMAGES FROM THE INSTRUMENT DEPLOYMENT CAMERA (IDC) WITH THE INSTRUMENT CONTEXT CAMERA (ICC) AS A BACKUP. ARM MOTIONS ARE NOT PLANNED AFTER THE DEPLOYMENT PHASE; THUS THE PROPOSED WORK IS BASED AROUND A SINGLE AIM NEAR THE SOUTHERN HORIZON CONSISTENT WITH ICC AND IDC CAPABILITIES. TO MEASURE OPACITY SKY IMAGES TAKEN EARLY OR LATE IN THE DAY WILL PROVIDE SKY RADIANCE OVER A RANGE OF ELEVATION AND SCATTERING ANGLES. VARIATION OF RADIANCE ALONG CONSTANT SCATTERING ANGLE DETERMINES ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY; GIVEN WELL-CALIBRATED ACCURATE DATA A RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODEL (DISORT) RETRIEVAL OF OPACITY IS STRAIGHTFORWARD. FOR REAL DATA OBTAINED WITH A CAMERA EXPOSED TO A DUSTY MARTIAN ENVIRONMENT FOR AN EXTENDED TIME USE OF RELATIVE RADIANCE VARIATION (WITH ELEVATION ANGLE AT CONSTANT SCATTERING ANGLE) LARGELY REMOVES THE EFFECT OF A DUST COATING THAT MAY VARY IN TIME AND REDUCES SENSITIVITY TO CALIBRATION UNCERTAINTIES. THE PROPOSED METHOD WAS TESTED WITH SKY IMAGING DATA ACQUIRED OVER ONE MARS YEAR USING OPPORTUNITY'S NAVCAM. THE OPPORTUNITY IMAGES WERE TAKEN IN INSIGHT-ANALOG MODE WITH A FIXED AIM ACROSS MARTIAN SEASONS AND INCLUDED TIMES OF DUST STORMS SEASONALLY HIGH AND LOW DUST AND DUST MIXED WITH ICE HAZES. COMPARISONS TO DIRECTLY MEASURED (PANCAM) OPACITY DETERMINED THAT THE INTRINSIC ERROR OF THE NAVCAM METHOD WAS<0.1. THE PROPOSED (FOR TAU) IDC AIM ALLOWS IMAGING OF THE SKY AND GROUND NEAR THE HORIZON. THIS ENABLES SEVERAL RELEVANT IMAGING CAMPAIGNS: SKY IMAGING AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF DAY ALLOWS THE SCATTERING ANGLE COVERAGE THAT WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE SCATTERING PHASE FUNCTION; HORIZON IMAGES WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE BOUNDARY LAYER DUST CONTENT; SHORT-PERIOD TIME-LAPSE IMAGES WILL BE USED TO SEARCH FOR AND CHARACTERIZE DUST DEVILS AND CLOUDS AND THEIR MOTIONS; IMAGES AT NIGHT WILL BE USED TO IMAGE STARS AND VALIDATE THE OPACITY MEASUREMENT WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY ALLOWING METEORS TO BE DETECTED. NOTE THAT WHILE THE PROPOSAL IS BASED ON IMAGING DURING AND BEYOND THE DEPLOYMENT PHASE THE IMAGING IS DESIGNED TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE TAU MEASUREMENT AND DOES NOT REQUIRE USE OF THE ARM AFTER THE DEPLOYMENT PHASE. THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION FULLY SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE FIRST 'SPECIAL INVESTIGATION' OF THE NRA: ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY (TAU) WILL BE MEASURED AND REPORTED ON AN OPERATIONS-RELEVANT TIMESCALE USING ALGORITHMS THAT WILL BE PROVIDED FOR USE IN AUTOMATED PROCESSING OF IDC AND ICC IMAGES. THE METHOD HAS BEEN VALIDATED BY ANALYSIS OF ONE MARS YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY DATA THAT WERE TAKEN TO MIMIC POSSIBLE INSIGHT MEASUREMENTS. THE METHOD HAS BEEN DESIGNED AND TESTED FOR AUTOMATED PERFORMANCE. THE INVESTIGATION IS ALSO RELEVANT TO 'SPECIAL INVESTIGATION' 6 ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA: THE OPACITY MEASUREMENT IS PART OF A LARGER INVESTIGATION OF THE DUST CYCLE AT THE INSIGHT LANDING SITE THAT FOCUSES ON THE ROLE OF DUST IN LOCAL METEOROLOGY. IN ADDITION IMAGES WILL ALSO BE USED TO INVESTIGATE ICE CLOUDS AND HAZE ABUNDANCE AND VARIATION AND TO CONSTRAIN HIGH-LEVEL WINDS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL ALSO IMPACT OTHER MISSION AND PARTICIPATING SCIENTIST OBJECTIVES: OPACITY VARIATIONS ARE RELEVANT TO THE SUBSURFACE THERMAL ENVIRONMENT; POSSIBLE NIGHT-TIME IMAGES MAY BE RELEVANT TO THE MICRO-METEORITE FLUX.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$424.2K
SOLAR SYSTEM SCIENCE WITH NEXT GENERATION SPACE TELESCOPE (NGST): INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENTIST
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$422.7K
3D SPECTRAL SYNTHESIS FOR LARGE-SCALE STELLAR SURVEYS ASTEROSEISMOLOGY AND GALACTIC ARCHAEOLOGY
National Science Foundation
$417.1K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NSF-BSF: INFLUENCE OF UPSTREAM TURBULENCE AND SHOCK RIPPLING ON DOWNSTREAM RELAXATION IN COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS A COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH EFFORT BY THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE, THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE, AND BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY IN ISRAEL. THE MAIN GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES OF SHOCK WAVES IN ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS. SHOCKS ARE STRONG DISTURBANCES THAT MAY OCCUR WHEN OBJECTS MOVE THROUGH A MEDIUM WITH VERY LARGE SPEED. PLASMA SHOCKS ARE VERY IMPORTANT PHENOMENA BECAUSE THEY CAN EFFICIENTLY CONVERT FLOW ENERGY INTO HEAT AND ACCELERATION OF INDIVIDUAL PARTICLES TO HIGH ENERGIES. FOR EXAMPLE, SHOCKS PRODUCED BY ASTROPHYSICAL EXPLOSIONS ARE THOUGHT TO OPERATE AS GIANT PARTICLE ACCELERATORS, PRODUCING SOME OF THE MOST ENERGETIC PARTICLES IN THE UNIVERSE. SIMILARLY, A SHOCK STANDING IN FRONT OF THE EARTH SLOWS DOWN THE SOLAR WIND, A STREAM OF PLASMA COMING FROM THE SUN. AS A RESULT, THIS SHOCK PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CONTROLLING SPACE WEATHER, UNDERSTANDING WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROTECTING CRITICAL COMMUNICATION AND NAVIGATION SATELLITES, AS WELL AS POWER GRIDS HERE ON EARTH. THIS PROJECT WILL USE A COMBINATION OF COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, ANALYTICAL THEORY, AND SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS TO UNCOVER A RELATION BETWEEN PROPERTIES OF THE SHOCKS AND THE HEATING AND ACCELERATION OF PLASMA BEHIND THE SHOCK. THE PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL INFORM A WIDE VARIETY OF INVESTIGATIONS, INCLUDING STUDIES OF SPACE WEATHER. CONCURRENTLY WITH ADVANCING THE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE OF PLASMA SHOCKS, THE AWARD SUPPORTS SEVERAL EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH EFFORTS FOR UNIVERSITY AND K-12 STUDENTS. COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS ARE SOME OF THE MOST UBIQUITOUS STRONGLY NONLINEAR PHENOMENA IN SPACE AND ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS. THEY RAPIDLY CONVERT ENERGY OF THE UPSTREAM FLOW INTO HEATING, ACCELERATION OF PARTICLES TO HIGH ENERGIES, AND MAGNETIC FIELD GENERATION. RELAXATION AND SELF-ORGANIZATION PROCESSES BEHIND THE SHOCK HAVE A STRONG IMPACT ON THE OVERALL ENERGY PARTITION AND MAY DETERMINE THE COUPLING OF THE SHOCK TO THE HOST SYSTEM. THIS STUDY WILL ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE TIME-DEPENDENT SHOCK RIPPLING, ACCOMPANIED BY PLASMA INSTABILITIES AND TURBULENCE, PROVIDES NECESSARY RELAXATION OF THE PLASMA TO A SELF-ORGANIZED STATE WITH A HIGH ENERGY PARTICLE POPULATION. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED USING A COMBINATION OF THEORETICAL AND NUMERICAL KINETIC MODELING COMBINED WITH OBSERVATIONAL DATA ANALYSIS, WITH THE STUDY OF ENERGETIC PARTICLE ACCELERATION IN COLLISIONLESS ASTROPHYSICAL SHOCKS CONTRIBUTING TO THE GOALS OF NSF'S WINDOWS ON THE UNIVERSE: THE ERA OF MULTI-MESSENGER ASTROPHYSICS META-PROGRAM. THE PROJECT OUTCOMES ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT UNDERSTANDING OF MANY GEOSPACE AND ASTROPHYSICAL SYSTEMS, INCLUDING STUDIES OF THE EARTH?S MAGNETOSHEATH AND ITS DYNAMICAL MAGNETOPAUSE, SHOCK WAVES ASSOCIATED WITH CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS, AND OF THEIR GEOMAGNETIC EFFECTS. THROUGH TRAINING OF STUDENTS, POSTDOCS, AND EARLY-CAREER SCIENTISTS, THE PROJECT WILL PROMOTE EDUCATION IN COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE AND PLASMA PHYSICS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$413.8K
SCIENCE OBJECTIVES: MOST THEORETICAL MODELS OF ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY ON EXTRASOLAR GIANT PLANETS HAVE FOCUSED ON HYDROGEN HELIUM OXYGEN CARBON AND NITROGEN SPECIES. THE NEGLECT OF OTHER COSMICALLY ABUNDANT ELEMENTS IS NOT DUE TO THEIR LACK OF
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$409.9K
21-MSLPSP21_2-0046 - EXAMINING ALTERATION ENVIRONMENTS OF GRANULAR BASALTIC MATERIALS USING COMBINED RESULTS FROM APXS CHEMCAM AND MASTCAM COMPARED AGAINST TERRESTRIAL ANALOG DATASETS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$409.2K
ASTEROSEISMIC ANALYSES OF STARS OFTEN YIELD CONFLICTING SETS OF SOLUTIONS TO THE OBSERVATIONS. THE DICHOTOMIES ARISE FROM TENSIONS BETWEEN CLASSICAL OBSERVABLES SUCH AS PHOTOMETRY SPECTROSCOPY AND ABUNDANCE ANALYSIS VERSUS THE SEISMIC OBSERVABLES OF DOZENS OF P- AND G-MODE FREQUENCIES. THIS IN TURN IS A TENSION BETWEEN STELLAR ATMOSPHERE MODELS AND INTERIOR STRUCTURE MODELS. F-STARS AND SUB-GIANTS SEEM MOST PRONE TO THIS BUT SUB-GIANTS THANKS TO THEIR MIXED G- AND P-MODES ALSO HAVE THE PROMISE OF SHOWING US STELLAR INTERIORS IN UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL. METHODS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO RESOLVE SUCH CONFLICTS BUT ONLY DO SO BY INJECTING UNWANTED BIAS INTO THE ANALYSIS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL INSTEAD ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WHICH IS A CONFLICT BETWEEN THE MODELING OF CLASSIC AND SEISMIC OBSERVABLES. THE SOLAR ABUNDANCE PROBLEM POINTS TO THE SAME TENSION BETWEEN ATMOSPHERIC AND INTERIOR MODELS AND IS LIKELY TO ALSO APPLY TO OTHER STARS. ONE SOLUTION MADE MORE PROBABLE BY RECENT EXPERIMENTS ON IRON UNDER SOLAR CONDITIONS IS AN INCREASE OF INTERIOR OPACITY. THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED BY A NEW OPACITY CALCULATION BY A. PRADHAN'S GROUP AT OHIO STATE UNIV. (OUTSIDE THIS PROJECT) BASED ON A NEW EQUATION OF STATE BEING DEVELOPED BY THE PI. THESE WILL FORM THE ATOMIC PHYSICS FOUNDATION OF THE PROJECT PROPOSED HERE. THE ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE PRODUCING THE CLASSIC OBSERVABLES IS GREATLY AFFECTED BY THE 3D NATURE OF CONVECTION IN LATE-TYPE STARS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL THEREFORE CENTER AROUND THE CALCULATION OF A NEW GRID OF REALISTIC 3D SIMULATIONS OF DEEP STELLAR ATMOSPHERES. IT WILL SPAN FROM M DWARFS TO EARLY A STARS ON THE MAIN SEQUENCE AND UP TO GIANTS WITH LOGG=0. THE GRID WILL INITIALLY SPAN METALLICITIES OF [FE/H] = [-1.0 -0.5 0.0 +0.2] WITH SOME ADDITIONAL SIMULATIONS TO EXPLORE DEPENDENCIES ON HELIUM CONTENT. THE GRID WILL EMPLOY THE NEW EQUATION OF STATE AND OPACITIES MENTIONED ABOVE AND A NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS TO THE HYDRODYNAMICS. WE WILL ALSO CHANGE THE FILE FORMAT TO MAKE THE FILES MORE IMMEDIATELY ACCESSIBLE AS WE PLAN TO GIVE THE COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE FULL SIMULATION RESULTS AND SUPPORTING CODE. TO PERFORM ASTEROSEISMIC ANALYSIS THE ATMOSPHERE SIMULATIONS NEED TO BE CONNECTED WITH INTERIOR AND EVOLUTION MODELS. THESE MODELS WILL USE THE SAME NEW ATOMIC PHYSICS AS THE 3D ATMOSPHERES THE PHOTOSPHERIC TRANSITION RESULTING FROM THE 3D RADIATIVE TRANSFER IN THE CONVECTING SIMULATIONS THE CONVECTIVE EXPANSION OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND A MIXING-LENGTH PARAMETER THAT REPRODUCE THE BOTTOM OF THE SIMULATIONS. THE SEISMIC MODELING WILL BUILD ON THE PI'S CURRENT EFFORTS TO EVALUATE THE COMPONENTS OF THE ASTEROSEISMIC SURFACE EFFECT ARISING FROM DIRECT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CONVECTION AND OSCILLATION MODES. THE RESULT WILL BE AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY AND QUALITY IN ALL THE STEPS OF THE MODELING AND AN ELIMINATION OF THE CLASSIC BREAK BETWEEN ATMOSPHERE AND INTERIOR MODELS. THE ASTEROSEISMIC MODELING PORTAL (AMP) BY TEAM-MEMBER T. METCALFE WILL COMBINE THESE CHANGES TO THE STELLAR STRUCTURE AND SEISMIC MODELING TO PERFORM SEARCHES FOR THE BEST FIT MODELS TO BOTH SEISMIC AND CLASSIC OBSERVATIONS OF STARS. THE RESULT WILL BE ROBUST AND UNAMBIGUOUS MATCHING THE QUALITY OF KEPLER AND K2 OBSERVATIONS. SUCH AN IMPROVED FOCUS OF KEPLER/K2 WILL ENABLE INVESTIGATIONS INTO MORE SUBTLE PHENOMENA AND POSSIBLY BREAK SOME OF THE CURRENT DEGENERACY BETWEEN STELLAR PARAMETERS WE TRY TO SOLVE FOR. OUR RESULTS WILL BE APPLIED TO A SAMPLE OF PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT OR INTERESTING KEPLER AND K2 TARGETS. OUR PROJECT WILL ADVANCE THE SCIENCE GOALS OF NASA'S ASTROPHYSICS PROGRAM AND IN PARTICULAR THAT OF THE K2 MISSION AND THE SOON TO BE LAUNCHED TESS MISSION. THE SAME PHYSICS APPLIES TO THE SUN AND WE WILL THEREFORE ALSO SUPPORT THE SCIENCE GOALS OF THE HELIOPHYSICS PROGRAM AND THE SOHO AND SDO MISSIONS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$402.9K
ACCESSING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF ASTEROSEISMOLOGY WITH KEPLER USING REALISTIC 3D SIMULATIONS OF STELLAR CONVECTION. ASTEROSEISMIC ANALYSIS OF STARS IS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$401.5K
PERTURBATIONS IN IONOSPHERIC TOTAL ELECTRON CONTENT (DTEC) WITH TIMESCALES OF ~10S-1000S CAN BE DRIVEN FROM ABOVE BY PROCESSES IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE - INCLUDING MAGNETOSPHERIC ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) WAVES - AND BELOW BY PROCESSES SUCH AS EARTHQUAKES THAT COUPLE TO ACOUSTIC-GRAVITY WAVES IN THE ATMOSPHERE. CHARACTERIZING THE SUBSET OF DTEC RELATED TO ULF WAVES IS OF HIGH PRIORITY AS SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THESE PERTURBATIONS IMPACT IONOSPHERIC SPACE WEATHER. FOR EXAMPLE CASE STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT ULF WAVES CAN PRODUCE EXTREME DTEC IN SOME CASES LEADING TO A MODULATION OF HEIGHT-INTEGRATED IONOSPHERIC CONDUCTANCES BY A FACTOR OF 7 TO 10. THESE EXTREME PERTURBATIONS CAN IN TURN AFFECT IONOSPHERE/THERMOSPHERE HEATING RATES COUPLING TO GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS THAT AFFECT GEOMAGNETICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS (GIC) AND SCINTILLATION THESE ARE ALL SPACE WEATHER HAZARDS. HOWEVER SINCE MOST WORK HAS FOCUSED ON SINGLE EVENT STUDIES WE HAVE LIMITED INFORMATION ON HOW OFTEN THESE EXTREME DTEC EVENTS OCCUR AND THEIR FAVORED LOCATIONS AND DRIVING CONDITIONS. IN THE ABSENCE OF A COMPREHENSIVE STATISTICAL STUDY IT IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN WHETHER ULF WAVES ROUTINELY DRIVE DTEC OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR SPACE WEATHER. MOREOVER PAST WORK HAS DEMONSTRATED MULTIPLE MECHANISMS TO GENERATE DTEC HOWEVER DUE TO A LACK OF REALISTIC NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS THAT CAPTURE IONOSPHERE-THERMOSPHERE (I-T) COUPLING THERE IS LIMITED INFORMATION REGARDING (1) HOW MULTIPLE MECHANISMS MAY CONTRIBUTE SIMULTANEOUSLY TO THE DTEC AND (2) HOW IONOSPHERE THERMOSPHERE COUPLING AFFECTS THE TEC RESPONSE. THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL MAKE PROGRESS ON THESE CHALLENGES BY ADDRESSING THE OVER-ARCHING QUESTION "ARE SPACE-WEATHER SIGNIFICANT ULF TEC PERTURBATIONS ROUTINELY DRIVEN BY MAGNETOSPHERIC WAVES?" AND SUB-QUESTIONS "WHAT ARE THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF TEC PERTURBATIONS DRIVEN BY MAGNETOSPHERIC ULF WAVES?" AND "WHAT ARE THE FAVORED MECHANISMS/CONDITIONS TO DRIVE TEC PERTURBATIONS OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR SPACE WEATHER?" WE WILL ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS USING (1) A STATISTICAL STUDY OF MULTI-POINT TEC GROUND MAGNETOMETER MEASUREMENTS AND NASA SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS COMBINED WITH VOLCANO/EARTHQUAKE LISTS (2) NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS USING GLOBAL IONOSPHERE THERMOSPHERE MODEL (GITM) DRIVEN BY ULF ELECTRIC FIELD PERTURBATIONS WITH DIFFERENT TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALES (CONSTRAINED BY PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS) AND (3) DATA-MODEL COMPARISONS DURING DETAILED CASE STUDIES WITH CONSTRAINTS ON THE SOURCE OF MAGNETOSPHERIC ULF WAVE ACTIVITY IONOSPHERIC ELECTRIC FIELDS AND MULTI-POINT TEC OBSERVATIONS. THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO THE HSR PROGRAM BECAUSE A) IT INCLUDES NUMERICAL SIMULATION (GITM) (B) IT INCLUDES DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF NASA-SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS AND (C) IT IS RELEVANT TO THE HELIOPHYSICS PROGRAM OVERARCHING GOAL TO "TO UNDERSTAND THE SUN AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH THE EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM INCLUDING SPACE WEATHER" BECAUSE WE WILL MAKE PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF ULF WAVES IN DRIVING TEC PERTURBATIONS WITH LARGE AMPLITUDES WHICH AFFECT IONOSPHERIC CONDUCTIVITY AND CAUSE SPACE WEATHER IMPACTS (SEE ABOVE). THERE IS A HIGH POTENTIAL IMPACT FOR THIS PROJECT BECAUSE WE ARE ADDRESSING UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS WITH NEW TOOLS AND APPROACHES: (1) WE WILL PERFORM A STATISTICAL STUDY WITH SATELLITE CONJUNCTIONS WHEREAS MOST PAST WORK FOCUSED ON EVENT STUDIES/SMALL INTERVALS (2) WE WILL CONSIDER DRIVING FROM THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND THE SURFACE/LOWER ATMOSPHERE IN THE SAME INVESTIGATION (3) WE WILL USE 1-S AND 5-S TEC MEASUREMENTS INSTEAD OF MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE 30-S MEASUREMENTS THAT CANNOT ADEQUATELY SAMPLE SIGNIFICANT PARTS OF THE ULF RANGE. THIS INVESTIGATION IS ALSO TIMELY WITH ADVANCED I-T MODELING CAPABILITIES NOT AVAILABLE BEFORE THAT ARE CRUCIAL TO CAPTURE SPATIALLY LOCALIZED ULF WAVES AND SURFACE DISTURBANCES.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$400K
ANALYZING THE PLASMAS UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM OF INTERPLANETARY SHOCKS: TURBULENCE AND COMPRESSED STRUCTURE SCIENCE GOALS AND METHODOLGY THE OVERAR
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$400K
THE RESPONSE OF THE OUTER RADIATION BELT (RB) TO SOLAR INTERPLANETARY STRUCTURES (SIS) IS NOTORIOUSLY UNPREDICTABLE. SUCH UNPREDICTABILITY IS LIKELY
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$392.3K
EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES. DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$389.7K
SUDDEN VELOCITY SHEARS (= SUDDEN WIND SHEARS) ARE ABUNDANT IN THE SOLAR-WIND PLASMA. IN THE SOLAR WIND A VELOCITY SHEAR IS ACROSS A PLANAR SHEAR LAYE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$387K
SCIENCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. ALMOST A DECADE AFTER THE END OF THE MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR (MGS) MISSION THE DATA COLLECTED BY THE THERMAL EMISSION SPEC
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$383.7K
SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE THE DYNAMICS OF SHARP-EDGED PLANETARY RINGS THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED STUDY IS TO EXAMINE THE RESPONSE OF SATURN'S MANY
National Science Foundation
$376.4K
SATURN'S NARROW ECCENTRIC RINGLETS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$373.1K
THE TRANSIT OF AN EXOPLANET ACROSS THE VISIBLE DISK OF ITS HOST STAR PRODUCES A PHOTOMETRIC SIGNAL THAT CONTAINS INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE PL
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$371K
INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS ON LUNAR INFRARED SPECTRAAN UNDERSTANDING OF LUNAR SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND ITS EFFECTS ON EMITTED RA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$370.6K
ARCHIVING AND TOOLS FOR RADIO SCIENCE RING OCCULTATIONS AT SATURN AND URANUS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$363.7K
ALTHOUGH THE VOYAGER GALILEO AND CASSINI MISSIONS HAVE PROVIDED US WITH UNPRECEDENTED INSIGHT INTO THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERES OF JUPITER AND SATURN WE STILL DO NOT DEFINITIVELY KNOW THE SOURCE OF THE UPPERTROPOSPHERIC HAZES ON THESE PLANETS OR THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL DRIVERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OBSERVED VARIATIONS IN ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AS A FUNCTION OF ALTITUDE AND LATITUDE. OUR THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF TROPOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY ON THE GAS GIANTS IS PARTICULARLY POOR. WE PROPOSE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE DEFICIENCIES BY DEVELOPING THEORETICAL MODELS FOR JUPITER AND SATURN THAT WILL ILLUMINATE THE UNDERLYING PROCESSES CONTROLLING THE TROPOSPHERIC GAS-PHASE COMPOSITION AEROSOL STRUCTURE VERTICAL AND MERIDIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF CONSTITUENTS AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN THE ABOVE PROPERTIES. WE WILL USE PHOTOCHEMISTRY/TRANSPORT MODELS THAT EXTEND THROUGH THE UPPER TROPOSPHERE AND STRATOSPHERE TO INVESTIGATE THE PHOTOCHEMICAL COUPLING OF AMMONIA PHOSPHINE HYDROCARBON AND OXYGEN SPECIES ON BOTH JUPITER AND SATURN. THE PHOTOCHEMICAL MODEL RESULTS CONCERNING THE PRODUCTION RATES OF CONDENSABLE PHOTOPRODUCTS WILL BE COUPLED WITH AN AEROSOL-MICROPHYSICS MODEL TO PREDICT THE PARTICLE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION NUMBER DENSITY VERTICAL STRUCTURE AND OTHER PROPERTIES OF TROPOSPHERIC AEROSOLS. THE MODEL RESULTS WILL BE DIRECTLY COMPARED WITH GALILEO NIMS AND CASSINI VIMS AND CIRS SPECTRA TO CONSTRAIN CERTAIN CHEMICAL AND TRANSPORT PROPERTIES ACROSS THE PLANETS. THE GOALS OF THE PROPOSED WORK ARE (1) TO DETERMINE THE DOMINANT GAS-PHASE AND CONDENSABLE PRODUCTS FROM JOVIAN AND SATURNIAN TROPOSPHERIC PHOTOCHEMISTRY (2)TO QUANTIFY THE RELATIVE ROLES OF THE DIFFERENT PROCESSES THAT CONTROL THE OBSERVED VERTICAL AND MERIDIONAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF NH3 AND PH3 (3) TO DETERMINE THE ORIGIN AND COMPOSITION OF THE TROPOSPHERIC HAZE (4) TO MAP THE INFERRED VARIATIONS IN TROPOSPHERIC VERTICAL TRANSPORT PARAMETERS (E.G. VERTICAL WINDS AND/OR EDDY DIFFUSION COEFFICIENTS) ACROSS THE PLANETS FROM MODEL-DATA COMPARISONS AND (5) TO PREDICT THE SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN TROPOSPHERIC COMPOSITION ON SATURN. THE MODELS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENERAL PROPERTIES AND CHEMICAL-DYNAMICAL BEHAVIOR OF GAS-GIANT ATMOSPHERES AND WILL ENHANCE THE SCIENTIFIC RETURN FROM THE GALILEO AND CASSINI MISSIONS.
National Science Foundation
$360K
SHINE: PHYSICS OF THE INTERPLANETARY ELECTRIC POTENTIAL AND MODIFICATIONS TO EXOSPHERE MODELS OF THE SOLAR WIND
National Science Foundation
$360K
GEM SYSTEMS SCIENCE: CREATING AND ANALYZING AN EARTH INDEX COLLECTION
National Science Foundation
$359.7K
GEM: DEVELOPING A HIGHLY PREDICTABLE CANONICAL GEOMAGNETIC INDEX TO GAUGE SPACE WEATHER
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$358.1K
THE PHYSICS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR WIND REMAINS AN OPEN QUESTION. EXISTING THEORIES RELY ON MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AND/OR NON-LINEAR ALFV N WAVE PHENOMENA. THE SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2018 WILL PASS WITHIN 8.5 SOLAR RADII OF THE SUN PROVIDING NEW IN-SITU MEASUREMENTS. IN PREPARATION FOR THESE NEW OBSERVATIONS IT IS IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP A CLEAR IDEA OF SIGNATURES THAT MAY INDICATE THE PRESENCE OF VARIOUS PHYSICAL PROCESSES THAT MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HEATING AND ACCELERATION OF THE SOLAR WIND. SHEAR ALFV N WAVE PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES IN WHICH AN UNSTABLE LARGE AMPLITUDE ALFV N WAVE NON-LINEARLY PRODUCES OTHER MODES MAY BE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN THE REGION SOLAR PROBE PLUS IS EXPECTED TO STUDY. FOR INSTANCE THE ION ACOUSTIC MODE PRODUCED FROM PARAMETRIC DELAY OF A LARGE AMPLITUDE ALFV N WAVE COULD DIRECTLY HEAT IONS; THUS THIS PROCESS COULD HELP ACCOUNT FOR UNEXPLAINED CORONAL HEATING. PARAMETRIC DECAY ALSO PRODUCES A BACKWARD PROPAGATING ALFV N WAVE AND THUS MAY HELP EXPLAIN WHY WAVES PROPAGATING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS ARE OBSERVED IN THE SOLAR WIND. PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES MAY ALSO SERVE AS AN INTERMEDIATE INSTABILITY MECHANISM FOR THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY FROM LARGE TO SMALL SPACIAL SCALES. WHILE THERE HAS BEEN AN ABUNDANCE OF THEORETICAL WORK ON SHEAR ALFV N WAVE PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED. BASIC LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS MAY PLAY A KEY ROLE TOWARDS VALIDATING THEORETICAL MODELS AND PROVIDING PREDICTIONS FOR SOLAR PROBE PLUS OBSERVATIONS. CENTRAL QUESTION: WHAT ROLE DO SHEAR ALFV N WAVE PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES PLAY IN THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR WIND? SCIENCE QUESTIONS: 1. UNDER WHAT SETS OF PLASMA PARAMETERS ARE SHEAR ALFV N WAVE PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES OBSERVED IN THE LAB? HOW DO THESE PARAMETERS COMPARE TO WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE OBSERVED BY SOLAR PROBE PLUS? 2. HOW DO KEY FEATURES OF THE INSTABILITY VARY WITH IMPORTANT PARAMETERS SUCH AS PLASMA BETA AND PUMP WAVE FREQUENCY? HOW DO THESE FEATURES COMPARE TO THEORETICAL PREDICTIONS? 3. WHICH INSTABILITY SIGNATURES OBSERVED IN THE LAB MAY USED TO INFORM FUTURE SPACE OBSERVATIONS SUCH AS SOLAR PROBE PLUS? METHODOLOGY: EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED AT THE LARGE PLASMA DEVICE (LAPD) AT UCLA WHICH CAN PRODUCE A 20M LONG 60CM DIAMETER PLASMA COLUMN THAT IS IDEAL FOR WAVE STUDIES. THE LAPD IS EQUIPPED WITH AN EXTENSIVE SET OF DIAGNOSTICS AND A COMPUTER-CONTROLLED DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM. ANTENNA AND DRIVER CIRCUITS FOR LAUNCHING THE WAVES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE FACILITY. THE VALUES OF VARIOUS DIMENSIONLESS PARAMETERS (E.G. PLASMA BETA OR THE RATIO BETWEEN PLASMA AND ELECTRON CYCLOTRON FREQUENCIES) CAN SPAN A RANGE OF VALUES RELEVANT TO THE NEAR-SUN SOLAR WIND AND CORONA. RELEVANCE: THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE THREE HELIOPHYSICS SCIENCE GOALS IN THE 2014 NASA SCIENCE PLAN AND TO THE UPCOMING SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION. SPECIFICALLY: GOAL 1) PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES REPRESENT AN IMPORTANT PHYSICAL PROCESS AT WORK IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENTAL. THE PROCESS MAY BE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT CLOSE TO THE SUN WHERE SOLAR PROBE PLUS AIMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE SUN'S CORONA IS HEATED AND HOW THE SOLAR WIND IS ACCELERATED. PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES MAY HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON CORONAL HEATING AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR WIND THUS THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS PARTICULARLY TIMELY AND RELEVANT. IN PARTICULAR THE LIST OF OBSERVATIONAL SIGNATURES TO BE DEVELOPED WILL GREATLY AID THE INTERPRETATION OF FUTURE MISSION DATA. GOALS 2 AND 3) THE SOLAR WIND IS AN IMPORTANT LINK BETWEEN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF OUR HELIOPSHERE. THE IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE CORONA AND NEAR-EARTH SOLAR WIND GAINED FROM THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS THAT LINK THE SUN TO OTHER REGIONS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. THIS IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING IS ALSO CRUCIAL TO FUTURE PREDICTIONS OF SPACE WEATHER EVENTS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$356.5K
SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE SINGLE-SOURCE - BY INVITATION ONLY (2018)
National Science Foundation
$354.1K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NSFGEO-NERC:CONJUGATE EXPERIMENT TO INVESTIGATE SOURCES OF HIGH-LATITUDE MAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS IN COUPLED SOLAR WIND-MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE-GROUND SYSTEM
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$350K
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IS A PROCESS OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE IN SPACE AND ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS. IN GEOSPACE RECONNECTION IS THE PRIMARY MEANS BY WHICH SOLAR-WIND PLASMAS AND ELECTRIC FIELDS ARE EFFICIENTLY TRANSFERRED INTO EARTH S MAGNETOSPHERE AND BY WHICH MAGNETIC ENERGY STORED IN THE MAGNETOTAIL IS RELEASED AND THE TAIL IS RECONFIGURED INTO ITS QUIET STATE. A MAJOR EFFECT OF RECONNECTION AND OF THE DYNAMIC EVOLUTION ASSOCIATED WITH RECONNECTING FIELDS IS THE ACCELERATION OF CHARGED PARTICLES BY INDUCED ELECTRIC FIELDS AND PARALLEL ELECTRIC FIELDS. THIS CONSTITUTES AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN THE OVERALL ENERGY BALANCE OF THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND IS ALSO OF INCREASING RELEVANCE FOR HUMANS AND HUMAN ASSETS THROUGH SPACE WEATHER EFFECTS. THE MAGNETOSPHERIC MULTISCALE (MMS) MISSION WITH ITS VARIABLE SPACECRAFT SEPARATIONS FROM TENS TO THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS WITH ITS HIGH-RATE BURST-MODE DATA SYSTEM WITH ITS INTERSPACECRAFT RANGING AND ALARM SYSTEM AND WITH ITS 3D ELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS IS DESIGNED TO TAKE THE ULTIMATE STEP IN INVESTIGATING THE PHYSICS OF RECONNECTION AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES MECHANISMS AND DYNAMICS OF MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AND THE EFFECTS ON PARTICLES WHICH INCLUDES PLASMA HEATING THE GENERATION PROPAGATION AND CONSEQUENCES OF FAST FLOWS AND THE ACCELERATION OF PARTICLES TO HIGH ENERGIES. SPECIFICALLY WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE . THE ONSET AND DYNAMIC CONSEQUENCES OF ACTIVITY. THIS INCLUDES SPECIFICALLY PROPERTIES OF FAST FLOWS (BURSTY BULK FLOWS) AND DIPOLARIZATION EVENTS .THE ACCELERATION OF CHARGED PARTICLES TO HIGH SUPRATHERMAL ENERGIES. THIS INOLVES USE OF THE DYNAMIC FIELDS FROM THE MHD SIMULATIONS TO INVESTIGATE TEST PARTICLE MOTION AND ACCELERATION. RESULTS FROM OUR INVESTIGATIONS WILL BE DIRECTLY APPLICABLE TO THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE MMS MISSION AND SERVE TO ENHANCE THE SCIENTIFIC RETURN AS WELL AS TO FOCUS THE GOALS OF THIS MISSION.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$349.1K
COUPLED TROPOSPHERIC-STRATOSPHERIC SEASONAL PHOTOCHEMICAL MODEL FOR SATURN
National Science Foundation
$342.6K
OBSERVATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF DYNAMICAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL VARIABILITY IN THE VENUS MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$339.9K
THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BETTER CHARACTERIZE THE WATER VAPOR CYCLE ON MARS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS 1) TO STUDY GLOBAL VARIATIONS OF THE VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE WATER VAPOR IN THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE AT DIFFERENT SEASONS AND 2) TO
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$336K
THE SOLAR WIND DOES NOT FLOW SMOOTHLY AND STEADILY AWAY FROM THE SUN. INSTEAD, ITS PROPERTIES FLUCTUATE INCESSANTLY IN SPACE AND TIME AND OVER A WIDE
National Science Foundation
$326.3K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: NON-LINEAR PHYSICS OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN A RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON BEAM AND MAGNETIZED PLASMA: AN INTEGRATED EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING APPROACH
National Science Foundation
$324.6K
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP: OPP-PRF: INVESTIGATING POLAR GEOMAGNETIC SIGNATURES ASSOCIATED WITH SUBSTORM ONSET TO ADDRESS DATA GAPS IN SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SPACE WEATHER RESEARCH -SPACE IS OFTEN CONSIDERED A VACUUM, BUT IT IS HOME OF VARIOUS ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND CHARGED PARTICLES CALLED PLASMA. VARIATIONS IN THESE FIELDS AND PLASMA CAN BE CALLED ?SPACE WEATHER?, AND THESE SPACE WEATHER EVENTS MAY SEVERELY IMPACT VARIOUS HUMAN-DEPLOYED TECHNOLOGICAL NETWORKS IN SEVERAL WAYS, INCLUDING INTERFERING WITH GPS TECHNOLOGIES AND CAUSING VAST ELECTRIC POWER BLACKOUTS. GEOMAGNETIC SUBSTORMS IN POLAR REGIONS ARE DAILY SPACE WEATHER EVENTS AND THESE ARE TYPICALLY IDENTIFIED AND STUDIED USING AURORAL ELECTROJET (AE) INDICES, WHICH ARE COMPILED USING GROUND-BASED GEOMAGNETIC FIELD VARIATION MEASUREMENTS. HOWEVER, WHILE AE INDICES EXIST IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, THERE ARE NO SUCH INDICES DEVELOPED FOR THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. THERE SIMPLY IS NOT ENOUGH LAND TO HAVE APPROPRIATELY PLACED AND SPACED GEOMAGNETIC INSTRUMENTS. HOWEVER, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE ARE INTERHEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES BETWEEN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN POLAR REGIONS. IN OTHER WORDS, THE TWO HEMISPHERES ARE NOT IDENTICAL, SO IT CANNOT BE ASSUMED THAT SUBSTORM OBSERVATIONS FROM THE NORTHERN AURORAL ZONE ARE COMPATIBLE WITH RESEARCH DONE IN THE SOUTHERN POLAR AREAS. AS THE INTERHEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES IN SUBSTORM RESEARCH ARE ALSO NOT OFTEN ABLE TO BE EVALUATED, THIS AWARD WILL BE ADDRESSING THE SOUTHERN POLAR REGIONS? DATA GAP BY INVESTIGATING POTENTIAL ALTERNATE METHODS TO IDENTIFY SOUTHERN POLAR SUBSTORMS. THE PI1B WAVES ARE A TYPE OF NATURAL ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) WAVES CHARACTERIZED BY BROADBAND BURSTS IN THE PI1 RANGE (1 ? 40 SECOND PERIODS). SUBSTORM ONSETS ARE WELL CORRELATED WITH PI1B WAVES IN THE EVENING TO POST-MIDNIGHT SECTORS, AND IT WAS SUGGESTED IN THE GEOSPACE LITERATURE THAT PI1B WAVES COULD BE USED TO MONITOR POLAR SUBSTORMS DEVELOPMENT. THIS AWARD WILL USE A MIX OF EXISTING, PUBLICLY AVAILABLE GROUND-BASED MAGNETOMETER DATA AND IN-SITU SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS TO IDENTIFY AND COMPARE BOTH THE SUBSTORM ONSETS AND PI1B WAVES. THIS RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING OUTSTANDING SCIENCE QUESTIONS: (1) ARE PI1B WAVES A PROXY FOR AURORAL ELECTROJET INTENSIFICATION ASSOCIATED WITH SUBSTORM ONSET? (2) IF SO, HOW DOES THE PI1B PROXY COMPARE WITH EXISTING PROXIES BASED ON THE AE AND OTHER GEOMAGNETIC INDICES? AND (3) WHAT ARE PHYSICAL MECHANISMS THAT CAN EXPLAIN CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE PI1B WAVES AND SUBSTORM ONSETS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
National Science Foundation
$320K
GEM: DIPOLARIZATION AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION AT SUBSTORM ONSET
National Science Foundation
$307.5K
OPP-PRF: CONJUGATE EXPERIMENT TO EXPLORE MAGNETOSPHERIC PHENOMENA VIA SPATIAL SONIFICATION AND MIXED REALITY -MAGNETIC FIELD VARIATIONS ON THE EARTH?S SURFACE CAN BE USED TO REMOTE SENSE AND CHARACTERIZE ELECTRICAL CURRENTS AND PLASMA WAVES IN THE NEAR-EARTH SPACE ENVIRONMENT THAT CAN AFFECT TECHNOLOGY, FOR EXAMPLE BY INDUCING CURRENTS IN POWER GRIDS. ASYMMETRIES BETWEEN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT IN THE POLAR REGIONS OF THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES CAN PROFOUNDLY AFFECT THESE MAGNETIC FIELD VARIATIONS. MAGNETOMETERS, WHICH MEASURE THE STRENGTH AND DIRECTION OF MAGNETIC FIELDS, HAVE BEEN INSTALLED IN THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE EARTH?S MAGNETIC FIELD LINES. BY LOOKING AT DATA FROM BOTH SETS OF MAGNETOMETERS, RESEARCHERS CAN DETERMINE WHETHER DISTURBANCES IN THE EARTH?S MAGNETOSPHERE (A REGION OF NEAR-EARTH SPACE DOMINATED BY THE EARTH?S MAGNETIC FIELD) CAUSED BY THE SUN IMPACT THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE OR BOTH, AND THUS UNDERSTAND THE SOURCES OF NORTH-SOUTH HEMISPHERE ASYMMETRIES. SOME EVENTS THAT APPEAR IN THE MAGNETOMETER DATA MAY BE DIFFICULT FOR COMPUTERS TO IDENTIFY, BUT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO IDENTIFY IF THE DATA IS TRANSLATED INTO SOUND. RESEARCHERS WILL DEVELOP A TOOL FOR LISTENING TO DATA IN A VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT, SO THAT DATA FROM VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS CAN BE PLAYED BACK, MAKING IT EASIER TO EXPLORE DATASETS INTUITIVELY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE PROTOTYPED USING A MIXED REALITY HEADSET FOR USE IN BOTH SCIENCE AND EDUCATION AND MAY BE USED TO ANALYZE DATA TAKEN AT THE SAME TIME BY SENSORS ON THE GROUND AND ON SATELLITES. THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE ONE PARTICULAR TYPE OF DISTURBANCE ? MAGNETOSHEATH JETS ? AND ITS RELATION TO PLASMA WAVES BY ADDRESSING THE QUESTION ?DO MAGNETOSHEATH JETS ROUTINELY DRIVE PC5/PC6 GEOMAGNETIC PULSATIONS?? VIA THE ANALYSIS OF MAGNETOMETER DATA FROM GEOMAGNETICALLY CONJUGATE (BASED ON THE INTERNATIONAL GEOMAGNETIC REFERENCE FIELD, IGRF) ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC MAGNETOMETERS. THIS QUESTION WILL BE APPROACHED FIRST THROUGH TRADITIONAL PLOTTING AND VISUAL ANALYSIS, THEN BY PRESENTING DATASTREAMS AS SOUND SOURCES SITUATED IN A VIRTUAL AUDIO ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPED IN THE UNITY GAME ENGINE AND INTEGRATED WITH MIXED REALITY PRESENTATION VIA THE MICROSOFT HOLOLENS PLATFORM. THIS APPROACH WILL LEVERAGE HUMAN CAPABILITIES FOR SPATIAL DISCRIMINATION OF SOUNDS TO IDENTIFY GEOMAGNETIC PULSATIONS (SURFACE MAGNETIC FIELD VARIATIONS RELATED TO PLASMA WAVES IN OUTER SPACE) RELATED TO MAGNETOSHEATH JET EVENTS WITH POTENTIALLY LARGE NORTH-SOUTH HEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES, SPATIALLY LOCALIZED WAVE ACTIVITY, AND IRREGULAR WAVEFORMS. THE RESULTING PRESENTATION MODALITY WILL MAKE USE OF EXISTING REPOSITORIES OF MAGNETOMETER DATA AND MAY POTENTIALLY BE EXTENDED TO THE PRESENTATION OF SYNCHRONOUS DATASETS FROM MULTIPLE SENSING NETWORKS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$307.1K
THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES MECHANISMS AND DYNAMICS OF RECONNECTION AND THEIR EFFECTS ON PARTICLE ACCELERATION, WHICH INCLUDES PLASMA HEATING, TH
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$305.1K
CARBON, OXYGEN, AND SULFUR CHEMISTRY ON VENUS IN THREE DIMENSIONS: TIME, ALTITUDE, AND LATITUDE THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO UNDERSTAND Q
National Science Foundation
$305K
THE CODEX OF THE MILKY WAY -STARS ARE THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS OF GALAXIES LIKE OUR OWN MILKY WAY. UNDERSTANDING GALAXY EVOLUTION, AND INDEED THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, REQUIRES A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF HOW DIFFERENT TYPES OF STARS CHANGE WITH TIME. STARS HAVE THEIR OWN LIFE CYCLE, FROM STELLAR BIRTH IN COLD CLOUDS, THROUGH THEIR MATURITY AS THE STARS WE SEE AT NIGHT, TO THEIR ENDS AS RED GIANTS OR SOMETIMES SPECTACULAR SUPERNOVAE. THE PROCESS OF FORMING STARS, HOWEVER, IS STILL POORLY UNDERSTOOD, MAINLY DUE TO THE DIFFICULTY IN OBSERVING THE PROCESSES THAT TAKE PLACE INSIDE COLD, DARK MOLECULAR CLOUDS WHICH VISIBLE LIGHT CANNOT PENETRATE. INSTEAD, ASTRONOMERS USE LONGER-WAVELENGTH RADIATION, LIKE INFRARED LIGHT OR RADIO WAVES, TO DISCOVER IMPORTANT DETAILS OF STAR FORMATION, INCLUDING THE TEMPERATURE, DENSITY AND ABUNDANCES OF ELEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED TO FORM MOLECULES. THE INVESTIGATOR WILL SHARE THEIR RESEARCH WITH THE PUBLIC IN A STRIKING WAY, BY LAUNCHING A ?SCIENCE+ART? OUTREACH EFFORT TO SCHOOLCHILDREN, EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND ART FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC'S APPRECIATION, AND INCREASING THE IMPACT OF THIS RESEARCH. A PRIMARY GOAL OF THE INVESTIGATOR?S RESEARCH IS TESTING MODELS FOR MOLECULAR EMISSION IN THE GALAXY, BASED ON MAPS OF MM-WAVE EMISSION FROM CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) MOLECULES IN CLOUDS. ASTRONOMERS MAKE CO OBSERVATIONS OF THE MILKY WAY BECAUSE THE MOLECULE IS WIDESPREAD AND RELATIVELY EASY TO OBSERVE. THE INVESTIGATOR HAS RECENTLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH SUGGESTING SIMPLE INTERPRETATIONS OF CO MAPPING MAY BE SUBTLY MISLEADING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS IN CLOUDS, WHICH ARE MOSTLY MADE UP OF MOLECULAR HYDROGEN (H2) THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO DETECT DIRECTLY. IN SHORT, THE CO MAPS CAN BE BIASED IN TRACING H2. THE INVESTIGATOR WILL COMPLETE AND RELEASE TO THE COMMUNITY THEIR MOLECULAR LINE SURVEY OF THE MILKY WAY AS THE COMBINED DENSE GAS AND EXCITATION ATLAS OF THE MILKY WAY (THE CODEX). IN ADDITION, THEY WILL PROVIDE A MORE SOPHISTICATED CALCULATION OF THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS IN MOLECULAR CLOUDS, SOMETHING WHICH HAS NOT BEEN ATTEMPTED BEFORE EXCEPTING ON MUCH SMALLER SCALES. THIS WILL ALLOW ASTRONOMERS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THE H2 MOLECULES ASSEMBLE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY TO MAKE STARS THROUGHOUT THE MILKY WAY, AND BY EXTENSION, IN OTHER SPIRAL GALAXIES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$298.5K
IN ORDER TO RETRIEVE COMPOSITIONAL AND THERMOPHYSICAL INFORMATION FROM THE SPECTRAL DATA ACQUIRED BY THE OSIRIS-REX THERMAL EMISSION SPECTROMETER (OTES) AND OSIRIS-REX VISIBLE AND INFRARED SPECTROMETER (OVIRS) INSTRUMENTS AN UNDERSTANDING OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND ROCK ABUNDANCE AND THEIR EFFECTS ON EMITTED RADIANCE IS ESSENTIAL. SURFACE ANISOTHERMALITY DUE TO SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND ROCK ABUNDANCE CAN BE PERVASIVE COMPLICATING AND HINDERING THE COMPOSITIONAL AND THERMOPHYSICAL INTERPRETATION OF SPECTRAL DATASETS. WE WILL USE A SURFACE ROUGHNESS THERMAL MODEL TO ACCOUNT FOR ANISOTHERMALITY AND CORRECT FOR EMITTED RADIANCE IN OVIRS SPECTRA. PROPER CORRECTION IS CRUCIAL FOR THE IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF OH AND H2O ABSORPTIONS NEAR 3 UM AS WELL AS OTHER ABSORPTIONS. IN ADDITION WE WILL IMPLEMENT A ROUGHNESS-BASED CORRECTION FOR OTES MEASUREMENTS WHICH ARE LIKELY TO HAVE BROAD AND PROMINENT SPECTRAL SLOPES THAT ARE AN EFFECT OF ANISOTHERMALITY. WITHOUT THIS CORRECTION THESE SLOPES WOULD BE PRESENT IN EMISSIVITY DATA AND CAN MODIFY THE SHAPE OF SPECTRAL ABSORPTIONS AND RESULT IN A SHORTER WAVELENGTH CHRISTIANSEN FEATURE IN SILICATE MATERIALS. THE WORK PROPOSED HERE HAS FOUR PRIMARY GOALS: 1) DEVELOP AND APPLY A SURFACE ROUGHNESS THERMAL MODEL TO THE CORRECTION OF OTES AND OVIRS SPECTRAL DATASETS TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE BOTH COMPOSITIONAL AND SURFACE TEMPERATURE INTERPRETATIONS. 2) DERIVE AND MAP THE SURFACE ROCK ABUNDANCE FROM NIGHTTIME OTES MEASUREMENTS. 3) DOCUMENT DIRECTIONAL EMISSIVITY EFFECTS TO CHARACTERIZE HEMISPHERICAL EMISSIVITY ON BENNU. 4) SUPPORT OSIRIS-REX OPERATIONS BY PROVIDING TARGETING STRATEGIES CALIBRATION ASSESSMENT AND DATASET PRODUCTION. THE PRIMARY GOALS LISTED HERE SUPPORT THE GOALS OF THE OSIRIS-REX PARTICIPATING SCIENTIST PROGRAM BY ENHANCING THE SCIENTIFIC RETURN OF THE MISSION. IN PARTICULAR THESE GOALS WILL ENABLE AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF COMPOSITIONAL AND THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES BY PROVIDING DATA THAT DIRECTLY SUPPORTS AND ENHANCES EXISTING MISSION GOALS OF THE SPECTRAL ANALYSIS AND THERMAL ANALYSIS WORKING GROUPS. ALL DATA PRODUCTS WILL BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE EITHER THROUGH THE PLANETARY DATA SYSTEM (PDS) OR ALONG WITH PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS.
National Science Foundation
$298K
SHINE: SHORT-WAVELENGTH TURBULENCE IN THE SOLAR WIND
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$297.4K
THE MOON IS THE MOST EASILY OBSERVABLE SOLAR-SYSTEM BODY. AS SUCH IT CAN BE USED AS A TESTING GROUND FOR REMOTE-SENSING TECHNIQUES. SUCH TECHNIQUES A
National Science Foundation
$296.5K
IPY: POLAR HYDROBOT SIMULATOR
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$291.6K
21-PDART21-0015 MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS PORTAL TO OBSERVATIONS RESOURCES AND TOOLS TO ADVANCE.LEGACY SCIENCE (MER PORTAL).
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$289.5K
EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$275.3K
OBJECTIVES: MILLIMETER AND SUB-MILLIMETER OBSERVATIONS FROM GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES HAVE REVEALED THE PRESENCE OF AN UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE AMOUNT OF CARBON MONOXIDE IN NEPTUNE'S STRATOSPHERE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN DELIVERED DURING A LARGE COMETARY IMPACT THAT OCCURRED A COUPLE HUNDRED YEARS AGO (E.G. LELLOUCH ET AL. 2005; A&A 430 L3-L40). THE COMET-IMPACT HYPOTHESIS COULD ALSO EXPLAIN THE CURRENT PRESENCE OF HCN AND CS IN NEPTUNE'S STRATOSPHERE. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO TRACK THE FATE OF GAS-PHASE SPECIES INTRODUCED INTO NEPTUNE'S UPPER ATMOSPHERE FROM THIS PUTATIVE COMETARY IMPACT. IN PARTICULAR WE SEEK TO FURTHER OUR UNDERSTANDING OF (1)THE COUPLED CARBON OXYGEN NITROGEN AND SULFUR CHEMISTRY RESULTING FROM SUCH AN IMPACT; (2) THE ORIGIN OF THE DIFFERENT VERTICAL PROFILES OF CO CS AND HCN CURRENTLY OBSERVED IN NEPTUNE'S STRATOSPHERE; (3) THE EFFECT OF THE COMET-DERIVED SPECIES ON THE CURRENT STRATOSPHERIC C2H6/C2H6 RATIO AND OTHER CONSEQUENCES FOR THE BACKGROUND HYDROCARBON PHOTOCHEMISTRY ON NEPTUNE; AND (4) THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE COMET-DERIVED CO ON OUR ABILITY TO DETERMINE THE DEEP OXYGEN ABUNDANCE ON NEPTUNE BY INDIRECT METHODS. METHODOLOGY: 1-D PHOTOCHEMICAL MODELS WILL BE USED TO TRACK THE NEUTRAL CARBON OXYGEN NITROGEN AND SULFUR PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND HAZE PRODUCTION THAT RESULTS AFTER A PUTATIVE LARGE COMETARY IMPACT ON NEPTUNE. MODEL PREDICTIONS REGARDING THE VERTICAL PROFILES OF TROPOSPHERIC AND STRATOSPHERIC SPECIES WILL BE COMPARED WITH PUBLISHED GROUND-BASED AND SPACECRAFT OBSERVATIONS. SIGNIFICANCE/RELEVANCE: THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION SEEKS TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND COMPOSITION OF NEPTUNE AND WILL HELP CONSTRAIN THE DEEP OXYGEN ABUNDANCE ON THE PLANET WHICH HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF ICE GIANTS. THE WORK IS LARGELY THEORETICAL IN NATURE AND CONTAINS NO DATA-ANALYSIS COMPONENT. AS SUCH THE PROPOSAL IS MOST RELEVANT TO THE NASA SOLAR SYSTEM WORKINGS PROGRAM WHOSE "CALL SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES THAT AFFECT THE... ATMOSPHERES... OF PLANETARY BODIES."
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$275K
WE PROPOSE TO LEAD SUPERCAM OBSERVATIONS TO MEASURE THE ATMOSPHERIC COLUMN ABUNDANCES OF MOLECULAR OXYGEN WATER VAPOR AND CARBON MONOXIDE AS WELL AS ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOL COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES. THESE MEASUREMENTS ARE MOTIVATED BY SURPRISING O2
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$274.6K
THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AIMS TO UNDERSTAND QUANTITATIVELY THE COUPLING BETWEEN CHEMISTRY AND DYNAMICS AS EXPRESSED IN THE GLOBAL SULFUR CYCLES
National Science Foundation
$274.1K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PEERING TO THE HEART OF MASSIVE STAR BIRTH -MASSIVE STARS MUCH LARGER THAN THE SUN AFFECT THE EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES THROUGH THEIR POWERFUL WINDS AND THE INTENSE RADIATION THEY PRODUCE. WHEN THEY EXPLODE AS SUPERNOVAE, MASSIVE STARS THROW HEAVY ELEMENTS INTO THE SURROUNDING INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM. YET DESPITE THEIR IMPORTANCE, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW THEY ARE FORMED. IN THIS PROJECT, OVER 100 VERY YOUNG, MASSIVE STARS WILL BE OBSERVED WITH RADIO TELESCOPES IN NEW MEXICO AND CHILE. COMPUTER MODELS WILL BE USED TO INTERPRET THE OBSERVATIONAL DATA AND TO DEVELOP A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF MASSIVE STAR FORMATION AS A WHOLE. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT. THE PROPOSERS ALSO PLAN ON DEVELOPING AN EXISTING OUTREACH PROGRAM, STAR HUNT, THAT INVOLVES MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILDREN AND THEIR TEACHERS IN AN ASTRONOMY RESEARCH EXERCISE. STAR HUNT PLUS WILL BE DEPLOYED TO SCHOOLS IN NEW MEXICO, VIRGINIA AND EVENTUALLY NATIONWIDE. THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT, BETWEEN TEAMS IN VIRGINIA AND NEW MEXICO, WILL INVESTIGATE THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF MASSIVE YOUNG STARS. A COMBINED THEORETICAL AND OBSERVATIONAL APPROACH IS PROPOSED: A GRID OF MODEL SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS AND SYNTHETIC IMAGES WILL BE PRODUCED. OVER 100 MASSIVE PROTOSTARS WILL THEN BE OBSERVED IN CM CONTINUUM EMISSION WITH THE VERY LARGE ARRAY AND IN MM/SUB-MM EMISSION WITH THE ATACAMA LARGE MILLIMETER ARRAY. THE OBSERVATIONAL DATA WILL BE USED TO TEST THE MODELS, ILLUSTRATE THE PRESENCE OF LOWER-MASS COMPANIONS AND RADIO JETS, AND CHARACTERIZE INFLOW AND OUTFLOW PROPERTIES. INFALL VELOCITIES AND MASS FLOW RATES WILL BE COMPARED TO THE VALUES EXPECTED FROM THE SED-FITTED CORE ACCRETION MODELS. SIMILARLY, THE MOLECULAR OUTFLOW PROPERTIES WILL BE COMPARED TO THOSE OF THE RADIO JETS AND PREDICTIONS OF THE MODELS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$273.9K
THE RESIDUAL SOUTH POLAR CAP OF MARS (RSPC) CONSISTS MOSTLY OF SOLID CARBON DIOXIDE THAT IS ABLE TO AVOID SUBLIMATION IN SUMMER DUE TO ITS UNUSUALLY
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$273.6K
OBJECTIVES: THE RAPIDLY GROWING STATISTICS FOR EXOPLANET PROPERTIES SUCH AS RADIUS, MASS, BULK DENSITY, ORBITAL PERIOD, AND EMISSION TEMPERATURE REVE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$273.3K
EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$272.9K
OBJECTIVES: VISIBLE AND ULTRAVIOLET IMAGES HAVE REVEALED A "POLAR HOOD" OF DARK STRATOSPHERIC HAZES COVERING HIGH-LATITUDE REGIONS AROUND BOTH POLES
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$272.8K
OF ALL THE PLANETS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM, WE KNOW COMPARATIVELY LITTLE ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERES OF URANUS AND NEPTUNE BECAUSE THEIR LARGE ORBITAL DISTANCE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$272.8K
SIMULATING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF CARBON MONOXIDE AND OXYGEN TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL STABILITY OF VENUS' ATMOSPHERE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$271.6K
THE KOREA PATHFINDER LUNAR ORBITER (KPLO) WIDE FIELD POLARIMETRIC CAMERA (POLCAM) WILL BE THE FIRST ORBITAL INSTRUMENT TO COLLECT
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$270.6K
THIS MISSION CONCEPT TARGETS MARS AND ITS ATMOSPHERE. MORE SPECIFICALLY THE TEMPORAL EVOLUTION OF THE HORIZONTAL SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF DUST AND WATER ICE AEROSOLS AT MULTIPLE SCALES. THE KEY SCIENCE OBJECTIVE IS TO MONITOR IN DETAIL THE ONSET EVOLUTION AND DECAY OF LARGE DUST STORMS AND THE FORMATION EVOLUTION AND DISSIPATION OF EXTENDED WATER ICE CLOUDS FROM THE VANTAGE POINT OF AN AREOSTATIONARY ORBIT. THIS MISSION SHALL ALSO MONITOR THE CHANGES IN SURFACE PROPERTIES (E.G. ALBEDO) OVER THE OBSERVED REGION THROUGHOUT THE MARTIAN YEAR AND SPECIFICALLY AFTER THE OCCURRENCE AND DECAY OF LARGE DUST STORMS. WE PLAN TO PUT A LOW-COST 12U CUBESAT IN AREOSTATIONARY ORBIT AROUND MARS FOR AT LEAST ONE MARTIAN YEAR DEPARTING FROM A PRIMARY MARS MISSION AFTER RIDESHARING TO MARS. WE SHALL USE: A SOLAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS THE CUBESAT TO REACH OPTIMIZE AND MAINTAIN ITS ORBIT DRAMATICALLY IMPROVING ITS LIFETIME AND CONTROL; 160 W/KG SOLAR ARRAYS THAT ENABLE LONGER RANGE IMPROVED SENSORS HIGHER DATA RATE COMMUNICATION AND MORE POWER TO THE PAYLOAD; THE JPL-DEVELOPED IRIS TRANSPONDER SYSTEM. THE CUBESAT SHALL CARRY AN IMAGING SYSTEM CONSISTING OF TWO FIXED-FOCUS CAMERA HEADS: ONE 3.0-MEGAPIXEL VISIBLE COLOR CAMERA AND ONE 0.3-MEGAPIXEL THERMAL INFRARED CAMERA. THE CAMERAS SHALL PROVIDE FULL-DISK IMAGES OF MARS WITH RESOLUTIONS OF 4.5 KM (VISIBLE) AND 13.6 KM (INFRARED) AT HIGH SAMPLING FREQUENCY. RETRIEVALS USING DAY- AND NIGHT-SIDE INFRARED IMAGES OF THE MONITORED AREA SHALL PROVIDE ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES AT A FEW PRESSURE LEVELS BELOW 10 PA (~45 KM ALTITUDE) AND THE COLUMN OPTICAL DEPTHS OF DUST AND WATER ICE. WE EXPECT THAT THE PLANNED OBSERVATIONS CREATE A UNIQUE DATASET OF DETAILED INFORMATION ON WEATHER AND SURFACE CHANGES AND ALLOW TO PUT THE AEROSOL DYNAMICS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCAL AND GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC THERMODYNAMICS AND CIRCULATION. THIS MISSION CONCEPT BYPASSES THE CURRENT LIMITATION OF ORBITERS AT MARS WHICH CANNOT PROVIDE CONTINUOUS ATMOSPHERIC AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS OVER EXTENDED FIXED AREAS. IT ADDRESSES THE SCIENCE GOAL OF THE NASA 2014 SCIENCE PLAN ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM OPERATE INTERACT AND EVOLVE.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$270K
THE PLANETARY EPHEMERIS IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR INTERPLANETARY SPACECRAFT NAVIGATION, AS WELL AS THE PREDICTION OF OCCULTATIONS, TESTS OF GENERAL RE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$269.7K
ARE COULOMB COLLISIONS SUFFICIENT TO PREDICT OBSERVED NON-THERMAL SOLAR WIND ELECTRONS INCLUDING THEIR HEAT FLOW?
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$258.8K
THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF MINERALOGICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE MARTIAN SURFACE DERIVED FROM REMOTELY SENSED VISIBLE/NEAR-INFRARED AND THERMAL INFRARED
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$256.4K
THE SEARCH FOR LIFE BEYOND EARTH IS ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL AND EXCITING ENDEAVORS OF MODERN ASTRONOMY, AND IS A KEY ELEMENT OF THE NASA SCIENCE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$256K
CURRENT STUDIES OF THE VENUS ATMOSPHERE, WITH RESPECT TO SPACECRAFT AND GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS, ARE SURPRISINGLY LIMITED GIVEN THE RANGE OF OUTSTA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$255.7K
THE MARS EXPRESS PLANETARY FOURIER SPECTROMETER (PFS) HAS COLLECTED INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF MARS OVER THE PAST DECADE. ITS SPECTRAL RANGE AND TEMPOR
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$255.2K
THE WATER ABUNDANCE IN THE DEEP TROPOSPHERE OF JUPITER AND THE OTHER GIANT PLANETS PROVIDES IMPORTANT CLUES TO SOLAR SYSTEM FORMATION AND EVOLUTION A
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$252.5K
THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON THE OVER-ARCHING SCIENCE QUESTION DO LARGE SCALE MONOCHROMATIC (LSM) ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY (ULF) WAVES ROUTINELY PRODUCE NON-DIFFUSIVE BEHAVIOR IN THE EARTH S OUTER ELECTRON RADIATION BELT? WE ARE COMBINING OBSERVATIONS AND SIMULATIONS TO CONFIRM THE PRESENCE/ABSENCE OF THREE NON-DIFFUSIVE BEHAVIORS DURING LSM ULF WAVE EVENTS DRIVEN BY SOLAR WIND FLUCTUATIONS: (1) DRIFT RESONANCE (2) BULK RADIAL TRANSPORT ON TIMESCALES FASTER THAN RADIAL DIFFUSION AND (3) RADIALLY LOCALIZED PHASE SPACE DENSITY (PSD) PEAKS. OUR PRIMARY DATASETS ARE ENERGETIC PARTICLE DATA FROM THE MAGNETIC ELECTRON ION SPECTROMETER (MAGEIS) INSTRUMENT ON NASA S VAN ALLEN PROBES SPACECRAFT AND OUTPUT FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE INNER MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE (CIMI) MODEL COUPLED WITH THE BLOCK ADAPTIVE TREE SOLAR WIND ROE UPWIND SCHEME (BATSRUS) MODEL SUPPLEMENTED WITH OTHER SATELLITE AND GROUND-BASED MEASUREMENTS. BY COMPARING MEASUREMENTS AND SIMULATION OUTPUT IN A LARGE EVENT ENSEMBLE THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPLICABILITY OF THE RADIAL DIFFUSION APPROXIMATION IN RADIATION BELT MODELS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$251.6K
EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$250K
THE OFFICE OF STEM ENGAGEMENT (OSTEM) SEEKS TO: 1. ATTRACT STUDENTS TO STEM THROUGH UNIQUE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THAT SPARK INTEREST AND PROVIDE CONNECTIONS TO NASA S MISSION AND WORK 2. ENGAGE STUDENTS IN AUTHENTIC LEARNING EXPERIENCES WITH NASA
National Science Foundation
$250K
CONFERENCE: BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES: A NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM THAT EXPLORES THE ROLE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN ADDRESSING LOCAL CLIMATE IMPACTS -THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE WILL CONVENE LIBRARY LEADERS, CLIMATE RESEARCHERS AND EDUCATORS, PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS, AND INFORMAL EDUCATORS TO EXAMINE THE CURRENT PREVALENCE OF CLIMATE RELATED PROGRAMMING IN LIBRARIES, AND HOW THE CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CAN BE USED BY LIBRARIES TO CREATE LOCALLY AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT, CHANGE ORIENTED, AND EQUITABLE STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH) LEARNING EXPERIENCES. THE INTENTION IS FOR THESE EXPERIENCES TO BE DESIGNED WITH (NOT JUST FOR) THEIR COMMUNITIES INCREASING RESILIENCE AND THE ABILITY TO ADDRESS HYPER-LOCAL CLIMATE IMPACTS. THE CONFERENCE WILL INCLUDE 30 PUBLIC LIBRARY LEADERS, EXPERTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS, AND EXPERTS IN STEM EDUCATION AND INFORMAL LEARNING. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE IS TO BRING TOGETHER THOUGHT LEADERS AND CHANGE MAKERS ACROSS THE FIELDS OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES, INFORMAL STEM LEARNING, AND CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE TO CATALYZE ACTION AND RESEARCH AROUND THE ROLES THAT LIBRARIES AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS CAN PLAY IN RESPONDING TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH-RELATED CONCERNS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. THE CONFERENCE WILL ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE BY DOCUMENTING CURRENT EFFORTS AND UTILIZING THE EXPERTS PARTICIPATING TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH, ACTION, AND PLANNING. INFORMAL EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS LIBRARIES, ARE NOW SEEN AS AN UNTAPPED EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE. WHILE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION IN MUSEUM SETTINGS HAS GROWN SUBSTANTIALLY, THE POTENTIAL OF INFORMAL LEARNING IN LIBRARIES IS STILL BEING EXPLORED. THERE IS A NEED FOR RESEARCH EXPLORING HOW EXISTING INFORMAL LEARNING MODELS CAN HELP PREDICT AND UNDERSTAND LEARNING OUTCOMES IN A LIBRARY SETTING. THIS CONFERENCE PROJECT AIMS TO IDENTIFY AND CREATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A RESEARCH AGENDA ACROSS THE AREA OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES, CLIMATE, AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. EVALUATION FOR THE CONFERENCE AND RELATED DELIVERABLES WILL BE ROOTED IN THE TRANSFORMATIVE PARADIGM, WHICH RECOGNIZES THE PERVASIVENESS OF INEQUITY AND INJUSTICE IN PEOPLE'S DAILY LIVES, AND VIEWS THE ROLE OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION TO BE ONE OF ADDRESSING AND ALLEVIATING THESE SOCIETAL PROBLEMS. SPECIFIC DELIVERABLES FOR THIS PROJECT INCLUDE: THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OR SYMPOSIUM, FOUR BACKGROUND REPORTS TO SET THE STAGE FOR THE CONFERENCE AND TO IDENTIFY CURRENT SALIENT ISSUES, WEBINARS FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF HIGHLIGHTING PROJECT AND PARTNER RESOURCES AS WELL AS THE CONFERENCE RESULTS, A WEBPAGE TO DISSEMINATE CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUTS, PRESENTATIONS AT REGIONAL AND NATIONAL MEETINGS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EVALUATION INSTRUMENTS MEANT TO SUPPORT AND ITERATE ON THE PROJECT WORK. PROJECT PARTNERS INCLUDE THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE'S NATIONAL CENTER FOR INTERACTIVE LEARNING, WEB JUNCTION, INTERACTIVE LEARNING DYNAMICS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO. WITH A FOCUS ON CENTERING EQUITY AND BUILDING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN POORER COMMUNITIES, THIS CONFERENCE TARGETS THE PUBLIC LIBRARIANS AS THE PRIMARY AUDIENCE AND WILL FURTHER CEMENT THE ROLES OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES AS EQUITABLY ACCESSED COMMUNITY SPACES AND CRITICAL ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS IN STEM LEARNING ECOSYSTEMS, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE CRITICAL ISSUES OF CLIMATE CHANGE, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND MISINFORMATION ABOUT SCIENTIFIC PROCESSES RELATED TO BOTH. THIS CONFERENCE PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ADVANCING INFORMAL STEM LEARNING (AISL) PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS PROJECTS THAT: (A) CONTRIBUTE TO RESEARCH AND PRACTICE THAT CONSIDERS INFORMAL STEM LEARNING'S ROLE IN EQUITY AND BELONGING IN STEM; (B) PROMOTE PERSONAL AND EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS IN STEM; (C) ADVANCE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY; (D) FOSTER INTEREST IN STEM CAREERS; (E) CREATE AND ENHANCE THE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMAL STEM LEARNING; (F) IMPROVE COMMUNITY VIBRANCY; AND/OR (G) ENHANCE SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AND THE PUBLIC'S ENGAGEMENT IN AND UNDERSTANDING OF STEM AND STEM PROCESSES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
National Science Foundation
$249.3K
STEM LEARNING IN LIBRARIES: A NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NEEDS, OPPORTUNITIES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$245.7K
SOLE SOURCE HYPERS TOOLS FOR 3D SIMULATIONS OF TURBULENCE AND RECONNECTION
National Science Foundation
$245.6K
NSF-BSF: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RANKINE-HUGONIOT CONDITIONS RELATING THE GYROTROPIC REGIONS OF COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS IN NON-THERMAL PLASMA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$245.1K
FINDING NEO USING THE SEARCH FOR ASTEROIDS AS A FRAMEWORK FOR ENGAGING WEB, SCIENCE CENTER, AND LIBRARY AUDIENCES IN ASTRONOMY, MATHEMATICS, AND ENGI
National Science Foundation
$240.4K
MESOSPHERE-THERMOSPHERE SCIENCE FROM MICROWAVE OBSERVATIONS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$240.1K
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS THREE-YEAR CCMSC INVESTIGATION ARE TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING THE PHYSICS OF SOLAR-WIND/MAGNETOSPHERE COUPLING DURING SOLAR
Department of Energy
$239.9K
LABORATORY STUDY OF ALFVEN WAVE STEEPENING
Department of Energy
$239.1K
STRONG TURBULENT ALFVEN WAVE INTERACTIONS IN A LABORATORY PLASMA
National Science Foundation
$237.9K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DASI TRACK 1--AUTONOMOUS REMOTE GEOSPACE OBSERVATION AND RESEARCH ARRAY (AURORA) -HIGH-LATITUDE AND POLAR REGIONS PRESENT A UNIQUE SET OF CHALLENGES FOR CONTINUOUS OBSERVATIONS BECAUSE OF THEIR REMOTENESS AND EXTREME AND HARSH ENVIRONMENTS. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION OF SMALL, LOW-POWER, AUTONOMOUS, MULTI-INSTRUMENT ADAPTIVE, GROUND-BASED GEOSPACE OBSERVATION ARRAYS, NAMED AUTONOMOUS REMOTE GEOSPACE OBSERVATION AND RESEARCH ARRAY (AURORA). IT IS DESIGNED TO FILL LARGE GAPS IN THE CURRENTLY EXISTING GROUND-BASED INSTRUMENT ARRAYS IN THE HIGH-LATITUDE AND POLAR REGIONS. WITH ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES IN SOLAR PANELS, BATTERIES, BIDIRECTIONAL SATELLITE COMMUNICATION, LOW-POWER SENSORS (FLUXGATE AND SEARCHCOIL MAGNETOMETERS, RADIO RECEIVERS, ETC.), AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTERS, AURORA WILL ENABLE YEAR-ROUND OBSERVATIONS WITH COST-EFFECTIVE, MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS IN THESE REMOTE LOGISTICALLY CHALLENGING LOCATIONS. THIS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE ABILITY TO STUDY (1) INTERHEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF GEOMAGNETIC AND IONOSPHERIC VARIABILITY, (2) THE MESOSCALE OF SOLAR-WIND - MAGNETOSPHERE - IONOSPHERE COUPLING IN HIGH-LATITUDE AND POLAR REGIONS, AS WELL AS OTHER SPACE WEATHER PHENOMENA. DEEP-FIELD AUTONOMOUS OBSERVATORIES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CO-LOCATE INSTRUMENTS ACROSS DISCIPLINES IN POLAR SCIENCE AND FACILITATE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO TRAINING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE. IT WILL SUPPORT TWO EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS INCLUDING A FEMALE EARLY-CAREER SCIENTIST. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE RESEARCH, ASSISTING WITH INSTRUMENTATION DESIGN AND TESTING. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$237.8K
24-KPLOPSEM24-0003 USING KPLO POLCAM MULTISPECTRAL POLARIMETRIC DATA TO DISTINGUISH AND CHARACTERIZE KNOWN AND SUSPECTED LUNAR PYROCLASTIC DEPOSIT
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$237.2K
THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP A MULTI-YEAR RECORD OF WATER VAPOR VARIABILITY IN THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE USING THE OBSERVATIONS OF PLANE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$234.5K
THE PROPOSAL IS RELEVANT TO THE MDAP PROGRAM BECAUSE IT WILL ENHANCE SCIENTIFIC RETURN FROM THE MGS MISSION BY ANALYZING DATA FROM THE MGS TES SPECTR
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$233.6K
THIS INVESTIGATION HAS THREE SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES. THE FIRST OBJECTIVE IS TO INVESTIGATE THE METHODS THAT WAVES ARE CREATED IN THE SOLAR WIND. THE SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF WAVES IN THE SOLAR WIND. THE THIRD OBJECTIVE IS STUDY HOW WAVES INTERACT WITH THE HEAVY ION POPULATION IN THE SOLAR WIND. DR. BROILES WILL PARTICIPATE IN ALL THREE GOALS BUT WILL BE MOST ACTIVE IN GOALS 1 AND 3. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS INVESTIGATION IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WAVE-PARTICLEINTERACTIONS WORK IN THE SOLAR WIND. IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THIS THE INVESTIGATION IS BROKEN DOWN INTO TWO STUDIES: (1) A COMPARISON OF OBSERVED PLASMA WAVES TO THEBI-MAXWELLIAN PROTON DISTRIBUTION AND SPEED DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN PROTONS AND ALPHAS (2) A COMPARISON BETWEEN OBSERVED WAVES AND THE HEAVY ION SPEED AND TEMPERATURE RESPONSE. DR. BROILES WILL PERFORM MOST OF THE DATA ANALYSIS ON THE PLASMA DATA AND WILL PROVIDE INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS FOR CO-I'S LAN JIAN AND PETER GARY. A SERIES OF STUDIES WILL BE PERFORMED ONCE A LARGE LIST OF WAVES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND IF SIGNIFICANT WILL BE PRESENTED AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS AND PUBLISHED IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS.
National Science Foundation
$228.1K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GEM: THE EXCITATION AND PROPAGATION OF FAST MAGNETOSONIC WAVES AND THEIR EFFECT ON RADIATION BELT ELECTRONS
National Science Foundation
$225.5K
MAGNETIC EVOLUTION OF SUN-LIKE ACTIVITY CYCLES
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$225K
QUANTIFYING TURBULENT DISSIPATION IN THE SOLAR WIND USING STATE-OF-THE-ART OBSERVATIONS AND KINETIC SIMULATIONS THE PROJECT TEAM PROPOSES TO BRING RE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$223.3K
ASTEROIOD LIGHTCURVE OBSERVATIONS & ANALYSIS
National Science Foundation
$211.6K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EXPLORING GAS THROUGHOUT THE MILKY WAY GALAXY AND MAGELLANIC SYSTEM OF GALAXIES WITH THE WHAM-SOUTH TELESCOPE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$203.6K
18-2ADAP18-0233 DEBRIS DISK VARIABILITY - EXPLORING THE DIVERSE OUTCOMES OF LARGE COLLISIONS DURING THE ERAS OF OLIGARCHS AND CHAOTIC GROWTH II
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$200.8K
"STUDIES OF THE JETS AND PLUME OF ENCELADUS"WE PROPOSE TO STUDY THE DETAILED PHYSICAL AND TEMPORAL C
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$200.5K
ANALYSIS OF LAYERED TERRAINS NEAR MAWRTH VALLIS: COMPARISONS WITH MERIDIANI PLANUM
National Science Foundation
$200.1K
GEM: INVESTIGATION OF PLASMASPHERE-MAGNETOSPHERE DYNAMICS
National Science Foundation
$200.1K
SHINE: OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS OF KINETIC DISSIPATION PROCESSES IN THE SOLAR WIND
National Science Foundation
$196.9K
CHEMISTRY AND DYNAMICS OF THE VENUS AND MARS ATMOSPHERES FROM SUB-MM OBSERVATIONS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$195.6K
ROCKS MAKING UP THE NOACHIAN AND HESPERIAN AGED CRUST OF MARS INCLUDE NUMEROUS LAYERED DEPOSITS WITH PHYLLOSILICATES, HYDRATED SILICA, AND/OR SULFATE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$194K
THE ROSES FUNDING OPPORTUNITY GOALS ARE: EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$191.8K
THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL FIT CIRS SPECTRA IN THE VICINITY OF TIGER STRIPES FRACTURES WITH SURFACE TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTIONS CORRESPONDING TO THE HEAT
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$185.4K
"MICRO PROCESSES IN SATURN'S RINGS"...SYNTHESIS) THAT IS CATALYTICALLY CONTROLLED BY ITS PRODUCTS (P
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$184.4K
EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENC
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$184K
THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON A SINGLE OBJECTIVE DETERMINE THE PROPERTIES OF MAGNETOSPHERE MAGNETOHYDYNAMIC (MHD) FAST MODE WAVES (FMW) OUTSIDE THE PLASMASPHERE DURING DIFFERENT DRIVING CONDITIONS AIMED AT ANSWERING TWO SCIENCE QUESTIONS: HOW IS MAGNETOSPHERE FMW ENERGY DISTRIBUTED OUTSIDE THE PLASMSPHERE AS FUNCTION OF FREQUENCY AND DRIVING CONDITION? HOW LARGE ARE TYPICAL FMW AMPLITUDES COMPARED TO OTHER ULF WAVES MODES? OBSERVATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ARE NEEDED TO TEST THERE THERORIES ON FMW AND ASSESS THE ROLE OF THESE WAVES IN RADIATION BELT INTERACTIONS BUT SUCH CONSTRAINTS ARE LIMITED AS IT IS OFTEN NOT POSSIBLE TO UNAMBIGUOUSLY IDENTIFY FMW IN WARMER PLASMA OUTSIDE THE PLASMASPHERE WITHOUT THERMAL PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS. THIS PROJECT USES NEARLY A DECADE OF WELL INSTRUMENTED MULTI-POINT NASA TIME HISTORY OF EVENTS MACROSCALE INTERACTIONS DURING SUBSTORMS (THEMIS) SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS FROM MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$180.1K
WE WILL DEVELOP PHOTOCHEMISTRY/TRANSPORT MODELS FOR JUPITER URANUS AND NEPTUNE TO INVESTIGATE HOW AND WHY ATMOSPHERIC CONSTITUENTS ARE DISTRIBUTED
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$180K
PHOTOMETRIC AND POLARIMETRIC RESPONSES VARY AS A FUNCTION OF PHASE ANGLE. NEAR OPPOSITION THE CHANGES IN THE RESPONSE CAN BE DRAMATIC. THIS IS ESPEC
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$177.7K
THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH ARE TO USE AVIRIS-NG DATA COLLECTED OVER THE AMBAJI AND ZAWAR MINES AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS IN THE STATES OF GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN IN INDIA TO EXAMINE IMPACTS FROM THOSE MINES ON THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES. TO ASSESS THESE IMPACTS THE AVIRIS-NG DATA WILL BE USED TO MAP MINERALS BOTH AT THESE MINE SITES AND IN THE SURROUNDING DRAINAGE BASINS IN WHICH THEY RESIDE. ACID-GENERATING MINERALS AT AND NEAR THE MINE SITES WILL BE FLAGGED AS WILL MINERALS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO ADSORB TRACE METALS RELEASED FROM THE MINES AND SURROUNDING MINERALIZED AREAS. ALSO ANY CHANGES IN THE REFLECTANCE OF ABSORPTION FEATURES OF MINERALS WITH ADSORBED TRACE METALS WILL BE CHARACTERIZED AND MINERALS WITH ADSORBED TRACE METALS WILL BE MAPPED IN THE HIGH SPECTRAL RESOLUTION AVIRIS-NG DATA ON THE BASIS OF THE DISTORTED ABSORPTION FEATURES. STREAMS RIVERS OR OTHER WATER BODIES DOWNSLOPE FROM ANY EXPOSURES OF ACID-GENERATING MINERALS OR MINERALS THAT HAVE ADSORBED TRACE METALS WILL BE FLAGGED AS POTENTIALLY HAVING IMPACTED WATER QUALITY. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON WATER QUALITY IN THE INDIAN STATES OF GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN FROM MINES AND MINERALIZED AREAS COVERED IN AVIRIS-NG FLIGHTLINES COLLECTED IN 2016 IN COORDINATION WITH THE INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (ISRO). ASSESSMENTS OF WATER QUALITY USING NASA DEVELOPED AIR- OR SPACEBORNE SENSORS ARE RELEVANT TO THE NASA APPLIED SCIENCES WATER RESOURCES APPLICATION AREA. THIS PROPOSED INVESTIGATION WILL EXAMINE THE UTILITY OF THE APPLICATION OF AVIRIS-NG IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY DATA TO MAP MINERALS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO AFFECT WATER QUALITY IN DRAINAGE BASINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE AMBAJI AND ZAWAR MINES. DETERMINING THE PRESENCE OF SURFACE EXPOSURES OF ACID-GENERATING OR TRACE METAL-BEARING MINERALS WILL ALLOW FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO KEEP THEM FROM AFFECTING DOWNSLOPE WATER SUPPLIES. IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE POSSIBLE PRESENCE OF TRACE-METAL BEARING MINERALS WE WILL EXPLORE IF AVIRIS-NG SPECTRA CAN DISTINGUISH AND MAP CHANGES IN ABSORPTION BAND SHAPE IN STREAM SEDIMENTS DOWNSLOPE FROM THE MINING CENTERS THAT WAS CAUSED BY THE ADSORPTION OF HEAVY METALS INTO THE MINERAL LATTICE.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$175.7K
URANUS REACHES EQUINOX IN 2007 (THE LAST EQUINOX WAS IN 1965 THE NEXT IS 2049). PRE-EQUINOX IMAGES
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$172.8K
21-XRP21-0016 "CHARACTERIZING REJUVENATED EXOPLANETARY SYSTEMS -- A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF DUSTY WHITE DWARFS USING ARCHIVAL SPITZER DATA"
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$172.5K
MEASURING MOLECULAR OXYGEN WATER VAPOR AND AEROSOLS WITH CHEMCAM PASSIVE SKY OBSERVATIONS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$172.2K
ACCURATE MASS LOSS RATES ARE REQUIRED FOR ASTROPHYSICAL APPLICATIONS RANGING FROM THE EVOLUTION OF THE ELEMENTS TO THE DYNAMICS OF THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$167.6K
DR. BOUDOURIDIS WILL OBTAIN THE NECESSARY POLAR UVI DATA FROM OUR COLLABORATOR, DR. D. LUMMERZHEIM, AND WILL BEGIN THE ANALYSIS OF THE POLAR CAP BOUN
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$166.8K
EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$165.9K
CREATING AN IMPROVED MULTIANNUAL DUST CLIMATOLOGY DATASET FOR MARS THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO CREATE AN IMPROVED REFERENCE DATABASE FOR THE VERTICALLY-INT
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$160K
THE SECULAR EVOLUTION OF CLOSE RING-SATELLITE SYSTEMSTHE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL EXAMINE THE SECULAR
National Science Foundation
$156.6K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EQUATORIAL GLACIATION AND LANDSCAPE BURIAL IN THE LATE PALEOZOIC: IMPLICATIONS FOR PANGAEAN CLIMATE AND TECTONICS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$154.1K
UNDERSTANDING LONG-TERM CHANGES IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF NEPTUNE AND URANUS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$154K
IN THIS PROJECT, WE PROPOSE TO USE NEAR-INFRARED SPECTRA FROM THE CASSINI VISUAL AND INFRARED MAPPING SPECTROMETER (VIMS), SUPPLEMENTED WITH GROUND-B
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$153.7K
THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO INVESTIGATE THE DYNAMICS, VARIABILITY, AND CONNECTIONS OF THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS TO POLAR VORTICES. IT
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$151K
EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.
National Science Foundation
$149.1K
EXPANDING PARTNERSHIPS WITH NORTHERN MARIANA LIBRARIES TO BUILD CAPACITY AND ENHANCE STEM ACTIVITIES -THE GOAL OF THIS PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT & PLANNING (TYPE 3) PROJECT IS FOR THE LIBRARIES OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS THAT LEVERAGES EXISTING COLLABORATIONS WITH THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PARTNERSHIP PROJECT IS TO CONTINUE THE FORWARD PROGRESS AND SET THE STAGE FOR FUTURE WORK IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN LIBRARIES AND SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE, AS WELL AS SUPPORT THE LIBRARIES IN ACQUIRING FUNDING RESOURCES. THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT ARE TO: 1) IDENTIFY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO PARTNER WITH, 2) PROVIDE EXISTING AND NEW PARTNERS WITH INFORMATION, TRAINING, AND RESOURCES TO ACQUIRE STEM EDUCATION FUNDING, AND 3) BUILD CAPACITY FOR CONTINUED AND FUTURE COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH FUNDING AND RESEARCH. THIS PROJECT WILL UTILIZE A VARIETY OF DELIVERABLES WHICH INCLUDE COMMUNITY DIALOGUES, ASSET MAPPING, LIBRARY SHOWCASES, AS WELL AS TRAINING RELATED THE ACQUISITION OF FUNDING, AND BASIC EVALUATION AND RESEARCH METHODS. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ADVANCING INFORMAL STEM LEARNING (AISL) PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO ADVANCE NEW APPROACHES TO, AND EVIDENCE-BASED UNDERSTANDING OF, THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF STEM LEARNING IN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENTS. THIS INCLUDES PROVIDING EVERYONE MULTIPLE PATHWAYS FOR ACCESSING AND ENGAGING IN STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$147.9K
USING LIDAR AND PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING MEASUREMENTS TO STUDY THE FEEDBACK BETWEEN SPRINGTIME ARCTIC SNOW ICE ALGAE AND CLOUDS AND TO HELP INTERPRETING CIRCULAR POLARIZATION MEASUREMENTS OF OTHER PLANETS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$146.6K
THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO FEED HYPERS OUTPUT DIRECTLY INTO AN EXISTING CCMC MODULE (MHD CODE) TO RECREATE TURBULENT FORESHOCK CONDITIONS IN GLOBAL MHD SIMULATIONS AT CCMC.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$143.6K
THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROVIDE AN ADAPTIVE HYBRID MODEL (KINETIC ION/FLUID ELECTRON) THAT GOES BEYOND FLUID DESCRIPTION TO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY THROUGH CCMC. THE ADAPTIVE HYBRID CODE HYPERS WILL FEED DIRECTLY INTO GLOBAL MHD CODES AVAILABLE AT THE CCMC TO RECREATE TURBULENT FORESHOCK CONDITIONS IN GLOBAL MHD SIMULATIONS AT CCMC. THE PROJECT WILL EMPOWER CCMC SCIENCE USERS TO STUDY IMPACTS OF TURBULENT FORESHOCK CONDITIONS ON GLOBAL MAGNETOSPHERE DYNAMICS DURING STORMS AND SUBSTORMS. SELECT SEVERAL SOLAR WIND CONDITIONS WILL BE UTILIZED AS 3-DIMENTIONAL TEST CASES TO ADDRESS RECONNECTION TURBULENCE ON MULTIPLE SCALES INCLUDING KINETIC TURBULENCE KINETIC ALFVEN WAVES ION CYCLOTRON WAVES DRIFT WAVES AND MIRROR MODE. ALL OF THESE REQUIRE MORE THAN FLUID CODES CAN CONTRIBUTE. ALSO ABILITY TO UTILIZE SELECTED INPUT CONDITIONS WILL ENABLE CCMC AND ITS USERS TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT MODELS OF APPLIED RESISTIVITY AND MESH RESOLUTION ON RECONNECTION AND TURBULENCE. LASTLY THE PROJECT WILL ENABLE THE VISUALIZATION OF 3D HYPERS OUTPUT THROUGH THE CCMC WEB-BASED SYSTEM. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROVIDE RESEARCH COMMUNITY THROUGH CCMC THE 3 DIMENSIONAL (3D) ADAPTIVE HYBRID (KINETIC ION/FLUID ELECTRON) CODE HYPERS TO ENABLE CCMC AND ITS USERS TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF NON-FLUID EFFECTS ON GMAGNETOSPHERE DYNAMICS AND TO FEED 3D HYPERS OUTPUT DIRECTLY INTO GLOBAL MHD CODES AVAILABLE AT THE CCMC.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$142.7K
SAP PURCHASE REQUISITION: 4200416562 - WHILE THE KEPLER MISSION'S MAIN GOAL CONSISTS OF SEARCHING FOR EXOPLANETS THROUGH THE DETECTION OF TRANSITS, A
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$140.5K
EARTH-BASED AND LUNAR ORBITAL RADAR STUDIES HAVE IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF LOW-RADAR RETURN DEPOSITS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE THAT OCCUR IN ASSOCIATION WITH VOLCANIC DOMES AND OTHER VOLCANIC FEATURES SUCH AS RILLES. THESE HAVE BEEN INTERPRETED AS BEING PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS HOWEVER THEY CANNOT BE EASILY GROUPED WITH THE TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES OF LONG-KNOWN LUNAR PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS- THE LARGE REGIONAL AND SMALLER LOCALIZED LUNAR PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS (LPDS).
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$138.4K
ORGANIC REFRACTORY THOLIN AT THE SURFACE OF THE COMET 67P-CG: INSIGHT FROM LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS AND ROSINA DATA
National Science Foundation
$137.1K
DISCOVER EARTH: AN INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM FOR LIBRARIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$133.2K
MODELING MAGNETOTAIL DYNAMICS AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION RELATED TO MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$129.6K
ASTEROID LIGHTCURVE OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS:OUR PROPOSAL - "ASTEROID LIGHTCURVE OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS" - WILL OBTAIN PHOTOMETRIC OBSERVATIONS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$128K
SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE AT SHORT WAVELENGTHS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$125.7K
THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DERIVE OPTICAL CONSTANTS (REAL AND IMAGINARY REFRACTIVE INDICES) FROM VISIBLE AND NEAR-INFRARED (VNIR, 0.35 - 5M) LABO
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$125.1K
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AT THE MAGNETOPAUSE TYPICALLY INVOLVES MERGING PLASMAS WITH DIFFERENT PROPERTIES: DENSITIES, TEMPERATURES, AND MAGNETIC FIELDS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$125K
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MAGNETOSPHERE INVOLVES PHASES OF TOPOLOGICAL INTEGRITY, TYPICALLY WELL DESCRIBED BY IDEAL MHD, AND PHASES OF TOPOLOGICAL CHANGE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$124.7K
THREE-YEAR EXTENSION OF THE MMS MISSION OPERATIONS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$124.7K
23-PDART23-0026 HIGH-RESOLUTION POSITIONAL MEASUREMENTS OF PHOBOS AND DEIMOS FROM THE MARTIAN SURFACE
National Science Foundation
$120.1K
GIANT PLANETS: EXPLORING THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM
National Science Foundation
$111.8K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TRANSPORT OF MAGMA IN THE NEAR SURFACE AT SMALL VOLCANOES- EXPERIMENTAL INTRUSION OF BASALTIC MELT INTO UNCONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$111.7K
WE PROPOSE TO BUILD A CATALOG OF INFRARED PHOTOMETRY FOR A SAMPLE OF STARS WITHIN 130 PC FROM ARCHIVAL SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS. SPITZER
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$108.8K
THIS PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT POLCAM THROUGH SIMULATIONS OF LIGHT SCATTERING FROM IRREGULARLY SHAPED PARTICLES FORMING EXTENDED MEDIA THAT RESEMBLE THE LUNAR REGOLITH STUDYING ESPECIALLY THE EFFECT OF THE POROSITY AND ORIENTATION/OBSERVATION G
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$106.7K
COLLISIONLESS PLASMAS THROUGHOUT THE HELIOSPHERE ARE USUALLY TURBULENT. PLASMA TURBULENCE IS BELIEVED TO PLAY A FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN A WIDE RANGE OF H
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$105.9K
PI MASSA WILL MODEL SPITZER, 2MASS AND OPTICAL PHOTOMETRY OF HUNDREDS OF AGELLANIC O STARS TO DETERMINE THEIR IR EXCESSES. THE LMC PROVIDES A USEFUL
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$105K
WE PROPOSE AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF THE VENUS MIDDLE MESOSPHERE (70-100 KM) AND LOWER THERMOSPHERE (100-120 KM); A POORLY EXPLORED REGION OF THE MAS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$103.1K
RETRIEVALS OF SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES, ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS OPACITIES AND WATER VAPOR ABUNDANCES FROM THE DAYTIME NADIR OBSERVATIONS BY
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$100K
WE PROPOSE TO COORDINATE SWIFT WISE AND FERMI LAT OBSERVATIONS OF 18 BLAZARS. WHEN COMBINED WITH GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS THE RESULTING SEDS WILL
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$99.7K
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AT THE EARTH S MAGNETOPAUSE IS A PRIMARY MECHANISM FOR EXCHANGES OF ENERGY, MOMENTUM, AND PLASMA BETWEEN THE SOLAR WIND AND THE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$96.7K
THE NATURE OF DOMES AND MORE IRREGULARLY SHAPED HILLS IN WESTERN ARCADIA PLANITIA REMAINS ENIGMATIC. A VOLCANIC ORIGIN IS LIKELY BUT THE COMPOSITION OF THE DOMES AND THE ENVIRONMENT INTO WHICH THEY WERE FORMED IS NOT CERTAIN. RAMPEY ET AL. (2007; JGR 112 DOI:10.1029/2006JE002750) CONCLUDED THEY WERE INTERMEDIATE TO FELSIC LAVA AND CRYPTODOMES BASED SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF MORPHOLOGIC FEATURES. EXAMINATION OF THESE DOMES WITH CRISM DATA IN A PREVIOUS INVESTIGATION BY THIS PROPOSED INVESTIGATION S PI (FARRAND ET AL. 2011; ICARUS 211 139-156.) SUGGESTED THAT THEY MIGHT INSTEAD BE BASALTIC IN COMPOSITION. THEMIS DATA COLLECTED FROM EARLIER LOCAL SOLAR TIMES WITH ASSOCIATED WARMER SURFACE TEMPERATURES WAS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE EARLIER INVESTIGATION BUT IS NOW IN THE PDS AND THIS DATA CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE IF THE DOMES MIGHT BE MORE INTERMEDIATE TO FELSIC IN COMPOSITION. ALSO THE AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL CRISM AND HIRISE SCENES INCLUDING HIRISE STEREO PAIRS OVER MORE OF THESE DOMES MERITS FURTHER EXAMINATION WHICH CAN FURTHER ELUCIDATE THE NATURE OF THESE FEATURES. FOR EXAMPLE SOME OF THESE DOMES ARE SURROUNDED BY RAMPARTS WHICH ARE SUGGESTIVE OF TUFF RINGS. THUS FOR THESE DOMES WITH RAMPARTS THE INITIAL PHASE OF THE ERUPTION MIGHT HAVE BEEN PHREATOMAGMATIC FOLLOWED BY A DOME BUILDING PHASE. BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF THE ERUPTIVE SEQUENCE WILL SHED LIGHT ON THE ENVIRONMENT EXTANT AT THE TIME OF THE DOMES FORMATION. ALSO ARCADIA PLANITIA HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS A REGION WITH ABUNDANT SUBSURFACE ICE (BRAMSON ET AL. GRL 42 DOI:10.1002/2015GL064844) THUS A PERIGLACIAL ORIGIN FOR THE DOMES CANNOT BE DISMISSED AND WILL BE CONSIDERED IN PARALLEL WITH THE VOLCANIC/SHALLOW INTRUSIVE HYPOTHESIS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$94.5K
THE SOLAR WIND DYNAMIC PRESSURE, BOTH THROUGH ITS STEADY STATE VALUE AND THROUGH ITS VARIATIONS, PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE
National Science Foundation
$93.2K
COLLABORATIVE PROJECT: METHANE IMAGING SEARCH FOR PLANETARY MASS OBJECTS IN THE NEAREST STAR-FORMING REGIONS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$90K
THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION CONCERNS THE MODELING OF HOW SUBSTORM DIPOLARIZATIONS AND FLOWS AFFECT THE MAGNETIC FIELD AND ELECTRIC CURRENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK CONSISTS PRIMARILY OF 3D MHD SIMULATIONS TO INVESTIGATE THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PROPERTIES OF THE FIELDS TO BE COMPARED WITH SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS BOTH LOCALLY AND STATISTICALLY. THE GOAL IS TO GET INSIGHT INTO WHAT DRIVES THE DIFFERENT CURRENT LOOPS OF THE CURRENT WEDGE SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH DIPOLARIZATION EVENTS AND SUBSTORMS. THE ULTIMATE DELIVERABLES ARE PUBLICATIONS IN THE REFEREED OPEN LITERATURE AS WELL AS PRESENTATIONS OF THE RESULTS IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$86.7K
CHARACTERIZATION OF NORTHERN PLAINS OF MARS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$83K
THE NEAR-EARTH SPACE ENVIRONMENT CONTAINS A DYNAMIC MIX OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND CHARGED PARTICLES (PLASMA) THAT CAN AFFECT TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE. FOR EXAMPLE PLASMA WAVES IN THIS REGION CAN GENERATE HIGH-ENERGY SATELLITE-DAMAGING RADIATION AND CREATE ELECTRIC CURRENTS THAT DAMAGE POWER GRIDS MAKING THESE WAVES A HIGH PRIORITY FOR STUDY. SPACE PLASMA WAVES OFTEN TAKE THE FORM OF STANDING WAVES AND RESONANCES THAT ARE ANALOGOUS TO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS HARPS BELLS AND ORGANS. HOWEVER UNLIKE THE SYNCHRONOUS SOUND WAVES EMITTED BY PRECISELY TUNED INSTRUMENTS PLAYING TOGETHER IN A SYMPHONY THESE SPACE PLASMA WAVES ARE MORE LIKE A CACOPHONY OF MANY OVERLAPPING WAVES WITH HIGHLY VARIED TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS THAT CANNOT EASILY BE ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS COMPLICATED MIX OF WAVES IS LIMITED BY A LACK OF ROBUST DETECTION METHODS PARTICULARLY DURING CONDITIONS WHEN SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ARE EXPECTED. WE WILL ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES THROUGH AUDIFICATION OF NASA SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS THAT WILL BE EXAMINED BY CITIZEN SCIENTISTS. AUDIFICATION IS A ONE-TO-ONE MAPPING OF DATA SAMPLES IN A TIME SERIES TO AUDIO SAMPLES AND IT IS AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR WAVE EVENT DETECTION. THE RECENTLY COMPLETED MAGNETOSPHERIC UNDULATIONS SONIFIED INCORPORATING CITIZEN SCIENTISTS (MUSICS) PROJECT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM PROVES THAT CITIZEN SCIENTISTS CAN EFFECTIVELY IDENTIFY PLASMA WAVES THROUGH AUDIFICATION AND MAKE MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTIONS TO PEER REVIEWED HELIOPHYSICS RESEARCH. THE PROPOSED HELIOPHYSICS AUDIFIED: RESONANCES IN PLASMAS (HARP) PROJECT AIMS TO BUILD ON AND EXPAND MUSICS IN THREE WAYS: 1) ADAPT MUSICS TO A FULLY REMOTE AUDIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES RATHER THAN THE BLEND OF IN PERSON AND REMOTE DISCUSSIONS THAT WERE CONDUCTED WITH LONDON HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. WE WILL DEVELOP TOOLS THAT STREAMLINE THE TRAINING PROCESS MAKE EVENT DETECTION MORE USER FRIENDLY AND IMPROVE VISUALIZATION OF RESULTS SO CITIZEN SCIENTISTS CAN SEE THE IMPACT OF THEIR WORK. 2) USE EXISTING NATIONAL CENTER OF INTERACTIVE LEARNING (NCIL PART OF SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE) PARTNERSHIPS TO BETA-TEST THE NEW TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES WITH CITIZEN SCIENTISTS. 3) USE EVENT DATA COLLECTED FROM CITIZEN SCIENTISTS TO ADDRESS THE OUTSTANDING QUESTION WHAT TYPES OF ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY RESONANCES OCCUR DURING SPACE WEATHER EVENTS? THE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS WILL USE MAGNETIC AND ELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS FROM NASA S THEMIS SATELLITES TO IDENTIFY AND CLASSIFY EVENTS THEN TEAM MEMBERS WILL WORK WITH THE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS TO INTERPRET THE RESULTS AND PREPARE THEM FOR PUBLICATION. THIS WORK IS RELEVANT TO THE NASA CSSFP BECAUSE (1) IT WILL SUPPORT THE BETA-TESTING OF AUDIFICATION CITIZEN SCIENCE TOOLS DURING A CRITICAL TRANSITION PERIOD (ADAPTING TOOLS FROM IN PERSON AUDIENCES IN THE UK TO A FULLY REMOTE AUDIENCE IN THE US) (2) THE WORK WILL ADDRESS AN OUTSTANDING QUESTION IN HELIOPHYSICS RESEARCH THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE HIGH-LEVEL DECADAL SURVEY GOAL DETERMINE THE DYNAMICS AND COUPLING OF EARTH S MAGNETOSPHERE IONOSPHERE AND ATMOSPHERE AND THEIR RESPONSE TO SOLAR AND TERRESTRIAL INPUTS AND THE HELIOPHYSICS PROGRAM OBJECTIVE EXPLORE AND CHARACTERIZE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SUN TO THE HELIOPAUSE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE (3) THE WORK WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR FUTURE AUDIFICATION CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS THAT ADDRESS A WIDER RANGE SCIENCE QUESTIONS AND BETTER ENGAGE THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN HELIOPHYSICS RESEARCH. THERE IS A HIGH IMPACT POTENTIAL FOR THIS PROJECT SINCE THE AUDIFICATION TOOLS THAT ARE DEVELOPED WILL INTERFACE WITH EXISTING NASA SPACE PHYSICS DATA FACILITY TOOLS THUS THEY COULD BE READILY ADAPTED TO A WIDE RANGE OF OTHER DATASETS AND SCIENCE OBJECTIVES. THE PROPOSING TEAM INCLUDES EXPERTISE ON PLASMA WAVE RESEARCH SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH AND SONIFICATION/AUDIFICATION CITIZEN SCIENCE.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$82.8K
PI OSTERLOO IS A RESEARCH SCIENTIST AT THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE IN BOULDER CO. MUCH OF PI-OSTERLOO S WORK HAS FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF MARS WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS AROUND UNDERSTANDING THE FORMATION MECHANISMS AND TIMING OF CHLORIDE SALT DEPOSITS. SHE IS AN EXPERT IN ORBITAL AND LABORATORY SPECTROSCOPY AND IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO UNDERTAKE THE REMAINDER OF THE WORK ON THIS PROJECT. THE PROPOSED WORK INCLUDES A CONTINUATION OF SPECTROSCOPIC INVESTIGATIONS AT BOTH REGIONAL AND LOCAL SCALES TO INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPOSITIONAL DIVERSITY AND STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS OF THE NOACHIS TERRA CHLORIDE DEPOSITS TO OTHER ALTERATION MINERAL PHASES AS WELL AS IN CONTEXT TO THE PARENT MATERIAL FROM WHICH THE ALTERATION PHASES WERE DERIVED. PI OSTERLOO WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON NON-LINEAR UNMIXING TECHNIQUES FOR QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MINERAL ABUNDANCES AND GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE SURFACE MATERIALS. THESE METHODS ARE KEY FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SIX REGIONAL STUDY AREAS AND DETAILED GEOLOGIC MAPPING OF THE LOCAL CHLORIDE-BEARING DEPOSITS IN NOACHIS TERRA. FOR CONTINUITY PI OSTERLOO WILL ENSURE THE SAME SPECTRAL LIBRARY AND SPECTRAL METHODS WILL BE USED FOR INTERPRETING SURFACE MINERALOGY TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE PREVIOUS WORK OF POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER PHILIPS. ADDITIONALLY AN AQUEOUS ALTERATION SURVEY USING CRISM MSP DATA IS UNDERWAY AND WILL BE COMPLETED TO AID IN THE SYNTHESIS OF THE AQUEOUS HISTORY OF NOACHIS TERRA. PI OSTERLOO WILL PREPARE THE FINAL MANUSCRIPT DESCRIBING THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS BY THE END OF THE NCE (SEPTEMBER 2021).
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$80K
WE PROPOSE TO ANALYZE MULTI-WAVELENGTH DATA AND MODEL SEDS OF 3C454.3 DURING ITS EXTRAORDINARY NOVEMBER 2010-JANUARY 2011 FLARE. WE OBTAINED TOO HERS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$79.8K
DR. QUINTIN SCHILLER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSISTING IN THE DEVELOPMENT TESTING AND CALIBRATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT INCLUDING THE DETECTOR HEAD AND TELESCOPE ELECTRONICS.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$79.7K
EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENC
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$78.1K
THE PROJECT GOALS ARE TO DETERMINE QUANTITATIVELY THE EFFECTS OF MINERAL PARTICLE CLUSTERING ON MARS SPACECRAFT SPECTRAL SIGNATURES AND TO REFINE AND
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$75K
WE PROPOSE THE NEXT MAJOR ADVANCE IN IMAGING YOUNG PROTOPLANETARY DISKS PROBING PLANET FORMATION WITHIN THEM AT SOLAR SYSTEM SCALES USING A NEW INSTRUMENT COMBINATION SUBARU SCEXAO/CHARIS AND VAMPIRES INTEGRAL FIELD SPECTROSCOPY AND POLARIMETRY.
National Science Foundation
$73.1K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DIPOLE TILT EFFECT ON KELVIN-HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY AND ITS ASSOCIATED IONOSPHERIC AND GEOMAGNETIC SIGNATURES -MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AND THE KELVIN-HELMHOTZ INSTABILITY (KHI) ARE BELIEVED TO BE THE TWO MAJOR COUPLING MECHANISMS BETWEEN THE MAGNETOSPHERE AND THE SOLAR WIND. THIS COUPLING ENABLES ENERGY AND PARTICLE EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE TWO REGIONS. THIS PROJECT STUDIES THESE PHENOMENA TO PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE IMPORTANCE OF EARTH?S DIPOLE AS A FUNCTION OF TIME FOR PLASMA TRANSPORT ACROSS THE MAGNETOPAUSE, THE IONOSPHERE DYNAMIC, AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING SPACE WEATHER. THE BROADER IMPACTS INCLUDE SUPPORT OF A GRADUATE STUDENT AND THE RESEARCH IS LED BY EARLY CAREER WOMAN SCIENTISTS. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE DIPOLE TILT EFFECTS ON THE KHI AT THE EARTH?S MAGNETOPAUSE BOUNDARY AND THE ASSOCIATED GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS USING BOTH IN SITU AND MHD SIMULATION DATA. THE FOLLOWING SCIENCE QUESTIONS ARE ADDRESSED: DIPOLE TILT EFFECTS ON KHI AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS UNDER DIFFERENT IMF AND SOLAR WIND PLASMA CONDITIONS, AND THE DIPOLE TILT EFFECTS ON KHI-ASSOCIATED GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS ON THE GROUND. A COMBINATION OF OBSERVATIONAL DATA (STATISTICAL STUDY) AND MODELING WITH OPEN GEOSPACE GENERAL CIRCULATION MODEL (OPENGGCM) WILL BE USED TO ADDRESS THE DIPOLE TILT EFFECTS ON KHI AND HOW THAT AFFECTS THE GEOMAGNETIC PERTURBATIONS EXCITED BY KHI ON THE GROUND. THE PROJECT UTILIZES NSF FUNDED GROUND-BASED DATA SETS INCLUDING MAGNETOMETER OBSERVATIONS AND SUPERDARN RADAR. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$70K
GOALS: WE PROPOSE STUDY THE SOLAR INNER CORONA DURING THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF 2017 WITH POLARIMETRIC IMAGING. OUR OBJECTIVES ARE TO LEVERAGE OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH CITIZEN CATE AND NCIL NASA MY_LIBRARY TO OBSERVE AND CHARACTERIZE THE POLARIMETRIC NATURE OF THE INNER SOLAR CORONA DURING THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE IN AUGUST 2017 AND UTILIZE THE APPROACH OF CITIZEN SCIENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR IMAGE ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE THE OBSERVED POLARIZATION OF THE CORONA.METHODOLOGY: RESEARCH SCIENCE: WE PROPOSE TO HAVE AT LEAST TWO INDEPENDENT LOCATIONS WITH TELESCOPES SIMILAR TO THE TELESCOPES USED IN CITIZEN CATE PROJECT AMENDED WITH POLARIMETERS AND APPROPRIATE FILTERS TO MAP THE POLARIZATION OF THE INNER SOLAR CORONA. ONE LOCATION WILL BE TETONIA IDAHO; THE SECOND LOCATION WILL BE SELECTED BASED ON CO LOCATION WITH ONE OF CITIZEN CATE SITES. THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE INNER CORONA IS HEATED IS STILL NOT CONFIRMED. MAPPING OF THE POLARIMETRIC SIGNATURE OF CORONAL FEATURES PROVIDES A MEASURE OF ELECTRON DENSITY CRITICAL TO MODELLING CORONAL WAVES WHICH ARE POSSIBLE SOURCE OF CORONAL HEATING. THE TWO INDEPENDENT OBSERVATIONAL LOCATIONS WILL ALLOW FOR CROSS CALIBRATION INSURE AGAINST WEATHER AND POTENTIAL TIME DEPENDENT VARIATIONS IN THE POLARIZATION OF THE CORONA. IF FUNDED WE WILL ALSO PARTNER WITH OTHER TEAMS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY OF CORONAL POLARIZATION TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT SITES AND MEASUREMENTS. THESE APPROACHES WILL ALLOW FOR COMPARISON OF POLARIZATION WITH IMAGES OF THE SOLAR CORONA AND TEMPORAL CHANGES IF ANY IN THE CORONA.CITIZEN SCIENCE WE WILL INCLUDE STUDENTS WITH EDUCATORS AND AMATEUR SOLAR ASTRONOMERS TO TRANSFORM THE PROJECT FROM MERE OBSERVATIONS TO A CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT TO TRACK THE CHANGES IN SOLAR CORONAL POLARIZATION AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. INCLUDING EXPEDITIONS TO THE LOCATIONS IDENTIFIED. WE WILL DOVETAIL OUR CITIZEN SCIENCE APPROACH TO PROMOTE MULTIDIMENSIONAL CROWDSOURCING OF THE OBSERVATIONS AND ENCOURAGE THE ACTIVE LEARNING PROCESS VIA THE NCIL NASA MY LIBRARY PROJECT WHICH WILL BE PARTICIPATING AT THREE LOCATIONS: OREGON WYOMING AND KANSAS ALONG THE PATH OF TOTALITY. WE PROPOSE TO ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE WITH UTILIZATION OF THE RESOURCES PROVIDED BY THROUGH THE EYES OF NASA. FINALLY WE WILL INTEGRATE VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENHANCE THE PARTICIPATION OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS SUCH AS FACEBOOK VIMEO PINTEREST FLCKR) BASED ON OUR EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE WITH PREVIOUS COMET OBSERVING CAMPAIGNS CONSULTANT T. GREINER. SPECIFICALLY WE WILL PARTNER WITH GLOBE AT NIGHT TO MEASURE THE DARKNESS OF THE ECLIPSE SKY AND COMPARE WITH THE NIGHT SKY OBSERVATIONS IN ITS DATABASE. WE WILL PROVIDE THE PRODUCTS TO NASA SMD TO SHARE WITH EDUCATORS STUDENTS AND OTHER INFORMAL AUDIENCES.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$67.1K
WE PROPOSE TO MONITOR FOUR FLAT SPECTRUM RADIO QUASARS (BLAZARS) AND ONE POWERFUL RADIO GALAXY CYGNUS A TO SEARCH FOR VARIABILITY ON TIMESCALES COM
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$67K
HERE WE PROPOSE A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DATA FROM KINETIC PARTICLE IN CELL (PIC) AND FLUID MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC (MHD) SIMULATIONS USING THE TECHNIQUES
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$66.6K
RESEARCH PROPOSAL ENTITLED: "MODELS OF NEPTUNE'S ATMOSPHERIC CLOUDS AND HAZES" IN RESPONSE TO NASA RESEARCH ANNOUCEMENT NUMBER 03-OSS-01, PLANETA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$60.1K
WE PROPOSE TO DOUBLE THE TIME BASELINE OF OUR APPROVED CYCLE 2 PROGRAM TO SEARCH FOR VARIABILITY IN FOUR FLAT SPECTRUM RADIO QUASARS (BLAZARS) AND ON
National Science Foundation
$60K
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GEM--AN INTEGRATED STUDY OF FAST MAGNETOSONIC WAVES IN THE RADIATION BELTS
Source: Federal Audit Clearinghouse (fac.gov)
No federal single audit records found for this organization.
Single audits are required for entities expending $750,000+ in federal awards annually.
Tax Year 2024 · Source: IRS e-Filed Form 990
Individuals serving as officers, directors, or trustees of the organization.
| Name | Title | Hrs/Wk | Compensation | Related Orgs | Other |
|---|
Source: IRS Publication 78, Auto-Revocation List & e-Postcard Data
Tax-deductible contributions: Yes
Deductibility code: PC
Sources: IRS e-Filed Form 990 (XML) & ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Scroll →
| Year | Revenue | Contributions | Expenses | Assets | Net Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023IRS e-File | $1.6M | $1.1M | $1.7M | $875.2K | $754.4K |
| 2022 | $1.6M | $1.2M | $1.6M | $981.2K | $917.4K |
| 2021 | $2M | $1.7M | $1.5M | $991.4K | $972.7K |
| 2020 | $1.5M | $1.2M | $1.4M |
Sources: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer & IRS e-File Index
Financial data: IRS e-Filed Form 990 (Tax Year 2023)
Leadership & compensation: IRS e-Filed Form 990, Part VII (Tax Year 2024)
Federal grants: USAspending.gov (live)
Organization info: IRS Business Master File
Tax-deductibility: IRS Publication 78
| Total |
|---|
| Frank Lanzone | President | 40 | $105.2K | $0 | $0 | $105.2K |
| Patty Gabrisch | Chief Financial Officer/se | 20 | $37.4K | $0 | $0 | $37.4K |
| Elisabeth Sperow Jd | Secretary | 0.5 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Frank Lanzone
President
$105.2K
Hrs/Wk
40
Compensation
$105.2K
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
Patty Gabrisch
Chief Financial Officer/se
$37.4K
Hrs/Wk
20
Compensation
$37.4K
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
Elisabeth Sperow Jd
Secretary
$0
Hrs/Wk
0.5
Compensation
$0
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
Members of the governing board. Board members often serve without compensation.
| Name | Title | Hrs/Wk | Compensation | Related Orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr James R Gates | Director | 0.5 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fred Griffith | Director | 0.5 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Jeanne Potter | Director | 0.5 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Johnine Talley | Director | 0.5 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Kelly Mccleary | Director | 0.5 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Patricia Ponce | Director |
Dr James R Gates
Director
$0
Hrs/Wk
0.5
Compensation
$0
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
Fred Griffith
Director
$0
Hrs/Wk
0.5
Compensation
$0
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
Jeanne Potter
Director
$0
Hrs/Wk
0.5
Compensation
$0
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
| $849.4K |
| $430.4K |
| 2019 | $1.3M | $930K | $1.4M | $354.8K | $329.3K |
| 2018 | $1.4M | $909.8K | $1.4M | $460.1K | $430.8K |
| 2017 | $1.3M | $822.2K | $1.3M | $468.5K | $398K |
| 2016 | $1.2M | $818K | $1.3M | $421K | $385.2K |
| 2015 | $1.4M | $1M | $1.3M | $487.2K | $440.1K |
| 2014 | $1.1M | $720.1K | $1.2M | $536.3K | $333.8K |
| 2013 | $1.1M | $732.8K | $1.1M | $630.8K | $450.8K |
| 2012 | $1.2M | $863K | $1.1M | $768.6K | $443.7K |
| 2011 | $1.1M | $792.8K | $1.1M | $731K | $327.2K |
| 2021 | 990 | Data |
| 2020 | 990 | Data |
| 2019 | 990 | Data |
| 2018 | 990 | Data |
| 2017 | 990 | Data |
| 2016 | 990 | Data |
| 2015 | 990 | Data |
| 2014 | 990 | Data |
| 2013 | 990 | Data |
| 2012 | 990 | Data |
| 2011 | 990 | Data |
| 2010 | 990 | — |
| 2009 | 990 | — |
| 2008 | 990 | — |
| 2007 | 990 | — |
| 2006 | 990 | — |
| 2005 | 990 | — |
| 2003 | 990 | — |
| 2002 | 990 | — |
| 2001 | 990 | — |
| 0.5 |
| $0 |
| $0 |
| $0 |
| $0 |
| Steve Urbani | Board Chairman | 2.5 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Johnine Talley
Director
$0
Hrs/Wk
0.5
Compensation
$0
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
Kelly Mccleary
Director
$0
Hrs/Wk
0.5
Compensation
$0
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
Patricia Ponce
Director
$0
Hrs/Wk
0.5
Compensation
$0
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0
Steve Urbani
Board Chairman
$0
Hrs/Wk
2.5
Compensation
$0
Related Orgs
$0
Other
$0