Archive | March 30, 2011 | Armed with Science

Unlocking Research on Nuclear and Radiological Threats

Filed under Physical Sciences, Technology by John Ohab on March 30, 2011 at 2:14 pm {no comments}

This blog post was shared with us by the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Information Analysis Center (CBRNIAC). It is the 13th entry in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center.

The Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) history of the United States exists in sealed documents and gated buildings. Part of The Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Information Analysis Center’s (CBRNIAC) goal is cataloging historical CBRN research for future use. Although most people are not familiar with the exact studies that occur at CBRN labs, you may be familiar with some of the sites.

Einstein buffs may be aware of the famed Trinity site, home to the first nuclear explosion. Other sites, like the One-Million-Liter Test Sphere, played a major role in biodefense experimentation during the Cold War. Or perhaps you’re familiar with the Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission Line Aircraft Simulator, which was used to test aircraft against electromagnetic pulses to simulate nuclear detonations.

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Want $20K? Design a System for Sensing People at a Distance

Filed under Challenge, STEM, Technology by John Ohab on March 29, 2011 at 10:19 am {one comment}

Interested in winning money for solving some of the U.S. Air Force’s toughest challenges?

The U.S. Air Force Research Lab and the Wright Brothers Institute have launched the Open Innovation Pavilion, an online innovation marketplace where more than a quarter million of the world’s brightest minds solve tough problems for cash awards. This week, we’ll run through each of the ongoing challenges, which feature more than $100,000 in prizes. Hey, count me in!

First up: Remote Human Demographic Characterization.

The Air Force Research Lab is offering up to $20,000 for a system that can determine approximate age (adult, teen, child) and gender of small groups of people at a distance. You, the Solver, will propose a system and make suggestions for a potential hardware configuration that meets the requirements and justify it with arguments and relevant references. Evidence that the proposed system will work (from previous applications, existing data, literature, etc.) will be very important. The proposal will be evaluated on a theoretical basis considering the current state of the art knowledge.

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IceBridge: Laser and Radar Altimetry

Filed under Earth Sciences, STEM by Carla Voorhees on March 28, 2011 at 9:45 am {no comments}

First Class Midshipmen Eric Brugler who is an honors Oceanography major at the United States Naval Academy. He is interested in the polar regions of the earth because he believes they play a very important role to the earth’s climate system.

First Class Midshipman Brugler with P-3 (Photo by Lt. Cmdr. Woods)

Today we flew again and went right by the North Pole. The NASA P-3 went two degrees to the left of it if you can picture looking straight down on top of earth.

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IceBridge: Almost to the North Pole

Filed under Earth Sciences, STEM by Carla Voorhees on March 25, 2011 at 12:49 pm {one comment}

Lt. Cmdr. John Woods is a Meteorology and Oceanography Officer (METOC) currently teaching in the Oceanography Department at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). He is part of the Sea Ice Thickness Observation team currently participating in NASA’s Operation IceBridge 2011 (OIB 2011).

Another early morning wake-up with a quick check of the weather. I went to bed with snow falling and not-so-promising satellite pictures showing a fairly significant storm system off to our west. I was thinking we would be canceled due to weather, but woke up to surprisingly calm conditions. The system skirted by us to our west and headed due south rather than east. The weather conditions here in the Arctic are much different from home, and I am still trying to figure out how the weather systems move about the area.

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ICEX: Submarine Selection, Operations, and Dignitaries

Filed under Earth Sciences by Carla Voorhees on March 24, 2011 at 12:29 pm {2 comments}

USS CONNECTICUT surfacing through the ice at Marvin Gardens (Photo courtesy NavyLive)

The U.S. Navy is conducting an Arctic Submarine exercise called ICEX. They’ve built a floating Ice Camp, and are blogging about their experiences conducting the tests. See the links below for the most recent posts in their series!

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IceBridge: Flying Across the Arctic Ocean

Filed under Earth Sciences by Julie Weckerlein on March 24, 2011 at 11:47 am {no comments}

Alarm clock was set for 5:30 a.m. to wake up, shower, get some breakfast and be at the hangar no later than 7 a.m. for an 8 a.m. take-off. The weather was good for our target area north of the Canadian archipelago (islands), to survey the sea ice beneath the ENVISAT (LINK) satellite overpass that would take place later on in the afternoon.

Part of the goal of IceBridge is to compare measurements taken on the P-3 to those measured by the satellites orbiting overhead. Since the satellite has much better spatial coverage then our airplane, if we can get good agreement between its data and the P-3 data, then we can trust that the satellite data is good. This will be tested on another level later when we fly over the Navy Ice Camp, north of Alaska, where they will have instruments on the ground that we will then compare both our plane and satellite data again.

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IceBridge: Flying Over Ice Floes

Filed under Earth Sciences, STEM by Julie Weckerlein on March 23, 2011 at 3:08 pm {no comments}

First Class Midshipmen Eric Brugler (Photo taken by Lt. Cmdr. John Woods)

Today was the day I had been waiting for all week. It was the first flight day of the IceBridge operation out of Thule Air Base, Greenland. Flying today had a special meaning to me for a few different reasons. I recently was selected to become a Navy pilot, which is a goal I have been working towards for some time. Upon completion of graduate school, I will report to Pensacola, Florida, and begin flight training.

I was able to talk to the pilots, flight engineers and air crewmen of the NASA P-3B, who happen to be mostly ex-Navy guys, which was a pretty cool experience for me. So, not only was I constantly interacting with the scientists and engineers, but with the people actually flying the aircraft and allowing the mission to happen in the first place.

The day started early because we had to report to the aircraft by 7 a.m., so I woke up, got breakfast and headed right over to the hangar. The actual flight, although a long mission, was nothing short of amazing. We flew a path known as “Connor Corridor,” a flight taking us from Thule to north of the Canadian Archipelago.

This was a “ENVISAT” mission meaning we would be flying over the sea ice and actually going over a region that an ESA ENVISAT satellite would look at later in the day. This was really interesting for me since I am studying the sea ice variation in the Arctic; therefore it was cool getting to see firsthand what I am reading about in books and learning about in my classes.

Photo by Lt. Cmdr. John Woods

This is a picture taken looking out the window of the P-3B as we flew at 1,500 feet. It was very cool getting to see open leads and ridges as the picture shows. This appears to be multi-year ice because the ridges seen in the picture are weathered indicating that they have been there for multiple years.

Not only did I get to see some amazing scenery, I also learned a lot from the people taking measurements onboard. On the P-3B, there is a gravimeter, a few airborne topographic mappers (ATMs), some cameras for the digital mapping system (DMS), ku-band radar, snow radars, MCoRDS radars and a magnetometer. All of this equipment is collecting data and in fact a lot of the instruments’ measurements are used together with other equipment in order to give the most accurate depiction of the Arctic as possible.

We landed around 4 p.m., making it about an eight-hour mission. Although it was long, it was an experience I will remember for a lifetime.

From Garbage to Gas: Today’s Military Goes Green

Filed under Earth Sciences by Armed with Science on March 23, 2011 at 12:49 pm {2 comments}

This blog post was shared by the Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Testing Information Analysis Center. It is the 12th post in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

Waste to energy technologies can help reduce the amount of fuel needed at forward operating locations, while minimizing waste that must be disposed. (Courtesy photo)

These days, most people like going to the gas station as much as going to the dentist. With the cost of gas slowly creeping upwards, consumers are starting to feel the pinch at the pump.

Now imagine filling up a military vehicle that weighs nearly 10 times your average family car with a much larger fuel tank. Many of these vehicles are currently in Afghanistan with our deployed forces, where fuel is even harder to come by.

The U.S. military uses fuel not only for its vehicles, but also for power generation at forward operating bases. Transporting fuel through the rugged, mountainous country adds enormous security, cost, and logistical considerations. However, just as your car and house require energy to sustain your way of life, our forces cannot carry out their vital mission without fuel for vehicles and power for facilities.

As such, they are necessities. Since our forces literally cannot live without these resources, they have made significant efforts to use them more efficiently, and are actively seeking alternatives that reduce dependence on petroleum.

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