Award Data

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere are primary drivers of global climate change and hence there is a crucial need to quantify their sources and sinks. A general technique to constrain source and sink strengths is the analysis of the relative proportions of isotopic variants of GHG's. These measurements must be performed with extremely high precision. The gold standard technique, i ...

There are currently no inexpensive observing systems that detect temperature, salinity and currents under the ocean's surface - all important factors in predicting the intensity of hurricanes. Boston Engineering proposes to develop the Multi-Purpose Above Surface/Below Surface Expendable Dropsondes (MASED). Our design builds on the highly successful air dropsondes already in use, combined with a ...

NOAA has identified a problem with the display and usability of satellite imagery on NWS websites. This proposal provides analysis of the feasibility and usability of a proposed system to address this concern. Our goal in the project is to create a heuristically sound conceptual design and tool set for display and interaction with satellite imagery on the NWS site. The project will also explore ...

To capture critical weather and SST data in the Tropical Cyclone Boundary Layer (TCBL), Piasecki Aircraft proposes to evaluate existing meteorological sensor packages, integrate new off-the-shelf MEMS sensors, and design an air-launched UAS to improve the resolution of observations captured in the TCBL. Capturing latent and sensible heat fluxes can be achieved reliably with a powered UAS (compare ...

The mechanics of single photons can be used to entangle information carry quantum states, allowing for quantum computation or random number generation. Quantum communication utilizes the quantum nature of single-photons to retain information, particularly in the form of quantum key distribution protocols. High-efficiency, low-noise single photon detection at high efficiency is critical for the app ...

During the Phase I program, Aurora conducted a comprehensive survey of potential platforms that included government owned and furnished UAVs and manned aircraft as well as Aurora’s Centaur Optionally Piloted Aircraft (OPA). The survey concluded, in part, that UAVs offer a significant improvement in data collection capability when compared to manned aircraft that are currently fielded by NOAA. ...

To build a climate-smart and resilient nation, we need to foster a climate-literate public that understands its vulnerabilities to a changing climate and makes informed decisions. A core component of this challenge is to develop simple, intuitive and high-impact visualizations of climate data--data that is and will be made available through the President’s Climate Data Initiative--for education ...

THERE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR A RELIABLE, SECURE METHOD FOR RETRIEVAL OF DATA FROM MOORED INSTRUMENTATION ARRAYS. THESEARRAYS, WHICH CONTAIN CURRENT METERS, TIDE GAUGES, TEMPERATURE SENSORS, AND OTHER OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTRUMENTS, ACQUIRE AND STORE DATA OVER A PERIOD OF WEEKS OR MONTHS AND THEN ARE RETRIEVED, THE RESTORED DATA RECOVERED, AND THE INSTRUMENTS REDEPLOYED. RETRIEVAL AND DEPLOYMENT IS AN EXP ...

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THIS PROPOSAL OUTLINES A SIMPLE YET ACCURATE APPROACH TO MEASURING THE POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF A ROBOT. THE MECHANISM CAN BE USED TO MAKE BOTH STATIC AND DYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS. TWO VERSIONS OF THE DESIGN ARE PROPOSED; THE FIRST VERSION HAVING HIGH ACCURACY OVER A SMALL WORK VOLUME,AND THE SECOND VERSION HAVING LOWER ACCURACY OVER A WORK VOLUME WHICH WOULD ALLOW POSE MEASUREMENT OVER THE ENTIRE ...