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AM-FM separation using shunting neural networks

October 6, 1998
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Conference Paper
Author:
Robert A. Baxter
…
Published in:
Proc. of the IEEE-SP Int. Symp. on Time-Frequency and Time-Scale Analysis, 6-9 October 1998, pp. 553-556.
Topic:
signal processing
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

We describe an approach to estimating the amplitude-modulated (AM) and frequency-modulated (FM) components of a signal. Any signal can be written as the product of an AM component and an FM component. There have been several approaches to solving the AM-FM estimation problem described in the literature. Popular methods include the use of time-frequency analysis, the Hilbert transform, and the Teager energy operator. We focus on an approach based on FM-to-AM transduction that is motivated by auditory physiology. We show that the transduction approach can be realized as a bank of bandpass filters followed by envelope detectors and shunting neural networks, and the resulting dynamical system is capable of robust AM-FM estimation in noisy environments and over a broad range of filter bandwidths and locations. Our model is consistent with recent psychophysical experiments that indicate AM and FM components of acoustic signals may be transformed into a common neural code in the brain stem via FM-to-AM transduction. Applications of our model include signal recognition and multi-component decomposition.
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Summary

We describe an approach to estimating the amplitude-modulated (AM) and frequency-modulated (FM) components of a signal. Any signal can be written as the product of an AM component and an FM component. There have been several approaches to solving the AM-FM estimation problem described in the literature. Popular methods include...

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AM-FM separation using shunting neural networks

1.5-um Tapered-Gain-Region Lasers with High-CW Output Powers

October 1, 1998
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Journal Article
Author:
Joseph P. Donnelly
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Published in:
IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett., Vol. 10, No. 10, October 1998, pp. 1377-1379.
Topic:
optics
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

High-power diode lasers consisting of a ridge-waveguide section coupled to a tapered region have been fabricated in 1.5um InGaAsP-InP multiple-quantum-well material. Self-focusing at high current densities and high-intensity input into the taper section has been identified as a fundamental problem in these devices that has to be dealt with. To date, continuous-wave output powers>1 W with=80% of the power in the near-diffraction-limited central lobe of the far field have been obtained through a judicious choice of device parameters.
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Summary

High-power diode lasers consisting of a ridge-waveguide section coupled to a tapered region have been fabricated in 1.5um InGaAsP-InP multiple-quantum-well material. Self-focusing at high current densities and high-intensity input into the taper section has been identified as a fundamental problem in these devices that has to be dealt with. To...

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1.5-um Tapered-Gain-Region Lasers with High-CW Output Powers

Comparisons between total lightning data, mesocyclone strength, and storm damage associated with the Florida tornado outbreak of February 23 1998

September 14, 1998
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Conference Paper
Author:
Stephen Hodanish
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Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, pp. 681-684.
Topic:
weather
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

During the late evening and early morning hours of February 22/23 1998, the worst tornado outbreak in recorded history occurred over the peninsula of central Florida. Analysis of KMLB Doppler radar data indicated at least 9 supercells developed over the region, with 4 of the supercells producing tornadoes. These 4 tornadic supercells produced a total of 7 tornadoes, some of them on the ground for tens of miles (Fig. 1.). A total of 42 fatalities were reported with over 260 injured. Monetary losses totaled over 100 million dollars. During this severe weather outbreak, National Weather Service Melbourne, in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was collecting data from a unique lightning observing system called Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (LISDAD). This system has the capability to combine radar reflectivity data collected from the KMLB WSR-88D, cloud to ground data collected from the National Lightning Detection Network, and total lightning data collected from NASA's Lightning Detection And Ranging (LDAR) system. The object of this study is to compare total lightning data collected from the LISDAD system to mesocyclone strength as observed from the KMLB WSR-88D. These data will then be compared to the times of tornadic winds.
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Summary

During the late evening and early morning hours of February 22/23 1998, the worst tornado outbreak in recorded history occurred over the peninsula of central Florida. Analysis of KMLB Doppler radar data indicated at least 9 supercells developed over the region, with 4 of the supercells producing tornadoes. These 4...

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Comparisons between total lightning data, mesocyclone strength, and storm damage associated with the Florida tornado outbreak of February 23 1998

Observations of total lightning associated with severe convection during the wet season in Central Florida

September 14, 1998
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Conference Paper
Author:
Stephen Hodanish
…
Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, 635-638.
Topic:
weather
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

This paper will discuss findings of a collaborative lightning research project between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Melbourne (MLB), Florida and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In August 1996, NWS MLB received a workstation which incorporates data from the KMLB WSR-88D, Cloud to Ground (CG) stroke data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), and 3D volumetric lightning data collected from the Kennedy Space Centers' Lightning Detection And Ranging (LDAR) system. The two primary objectives of this lightning workstation, called Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (L1SDAD), are to: a.) Observe how total lightning relates to severe convective storm morphology over central Florida, and, b.) Compare ground based total lightning data (LDAR) to a satellite based lightning detection system. This presentation will focus on objective #1.
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Summary

This paper will discuss findings of a collaborative lightning research project between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Melbourne (MLB), Florida and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In August 1996, NWS MLB received a workstation which incorporates data from the KMLB WSR-88D, Cloud...

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Observations of total lightning associated with severe convection during the wet season in Central Florida

The design and evaluation of the Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (LISDAD)

September 14, 1998
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Conference Paper
Author:
Robert A. Boldi
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Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, pp. 631-634.
Topic:
weather
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

The ultimate goal of the LISDAD system is to quantify the utility of total lightning infomation in short-term, severe-weather-forecasting operations. Secondary goals were to collect times series of various storm-cell parameters that relate to storm development and electrification and subsequently make these data available for post-facto analysis. To these ends scientists from NASA, NWS, and MIT/LL organized an effort to study the relationship of lightning and severe-weather on a storm-by-storm, and even cell-by-cell basis for as many storms as possible near Melbourne, Florida. Melbourne was chosen as it offers a unique combination of high probability of severe weather and proximity to major relevant sensors, specifically: NASA's total lightning mapping system at Kennedy Space Center (the LDAR system) at KSC [Lennon and Maier, 1991], a NWS / NEXRAD radar at Melbourne, and a prototype Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS), at Orlando. The ITWS system obtains cloud-to-ground lightning information from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) via a link to Lexington, MA, and also uses NSSL's Severe Storms Analysis Package (NSSL / SSAP) to obtain information about various storm-cell parameters
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Summary

The ultimate goal of the LISDAD system is to quantify the utility of total lightning infomation in short-term, severe-weather-forecasting operations. Secondary goals were to collect times series of various storm-cell parameters that relate to storm development and electrification and subsequently make these data available for post-facto analysis. To these ends...

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The design and evaluation of the Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (LISDAD)

Total lightning as a severe weather diagnostic in strongly baroclinic systems in Central Florida

September 14, 1998
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Conference Paper
Author:
Earle R. Williams
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Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, pp. 643-647.
Topic:
weather
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

Severe weather is defined by specific thresholds in wind. hail size and vorticity. All of these phenomena have close physical connections with vertical drafts in deep convection, which are themselves not directly measured with scanning Doppler radars of the NEXRAD type. Cloud electrification and lightning are particularly sensitive to these drafts because they modulate the supply of supercooled water which is the growth agent for the ice particles (ice crystals, graupel and hail) believed essential for electrical charge separation. For these reasons, one can expect correlations at the outset between total lightning activity and the development of severe weather which may aid in the understanding and prediction of these extreme weather conditions. The exploration of these ideas has historically been impeded by lack of good quantitative observations. A recent review of results on severe storm electrification (Williams, 1998) indicates a general absence of cases for which total lightning activity is documented over the lifetime of a severe storm. The recent development of LISDAD (Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Application Display) (Boldi, et aI., 1998) has largely remedied this problem. This paper is concerned with the use of LISDAD to quantify the behavior of total lightning in all types of severe weather, with a focus on a pair of extraordinarily electrified supercells in the Florida dry season.
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Summary

Severe weather is defined by specific thresholds in wind. hail size and vorticity. All of these phenomena have close physical connections with vertical drafts in deep convection, which are themselves not directly measured with scanning Doppler radars of the NEXRAD type. Cloud electrification and lightning are particularly sensitive to these...

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Total lightning as a severe weather diagnostic in strongly baroclinic systems in Central Florida

Total lightning and radar storm characteristics associated with severe storms in Central Florida

September 14, 1998
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Conference Paper
Author:
Steven J. Goodman
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Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, pp. 639-642.
Topic:
weather
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

A number of prior studies have examined the association of lightning activity with the occurrence of severe weather and tornadoes, in particular. High flash rates are often observed in tornadic storms but not always. Taylor found that 23% of nontornadic storms and I% of non-severe storms had sferics rates comparable to the tornadic storms. MacGorman (1993) found that storms with mesocyclones produced more frequent intracloud (lC) lightning than cloud-ta-ground (CG) lightning. MacGorman (1993) and others suggest that the lightning activity accompanying tornadic storms will be dominated by intracloud lightning- with an increase in intracloud and total flash rates as the updraft increases in depth, size, and velocity. In a recent study, Perez et aI. (1998) found that CG flash rates alone are too variable to be a useful predictor of (F4, F5) tornado formation. Studies of non-tornadic storms have also shown that total lightning flash rates track the updraft, with rates increasing as the updraft intensifies and decreasing rapidly with cessation of vertical growth or downburst onset (Goodman et aI., 1988; Williams et aI., 1989). Such relationships result from the development of mixed phase precipitation and increased hydrometeor collisions that lead to the efficient separation of charge. Correlations between updraft strength and other variables such as cloud-top height, cloud water mass, and hail size have also been observed. In this paper we examine the total lightning activity (with high time resolution), and the associated Doppler radar time history of weaker (FO, Fl) tornadic storms in Florida. Much of the prior work has focused on tornadic supercells in the Great Plains.
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Summary

A number of prior studies have examined the association of lightning activity with the occurrence of severe weather and tornadoes, in particular. High flash rates are often observed in tornadic storms but not always. Taylor found that 23% of nontornadic storms and I% of non-severe storms had sferics rates comparable...

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Total lightning and radar storm characteristics associated with severe storms in Central Florida

EO-1 Advanced Land Imager in-flight calibration

August 21, 1998
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Conference Paper
Author:
Jeffrey A. Mendenhall
…
Published in:
SPIE, Vol. 3439, Earth Observing Systems III, 19-21 July 1998, pp. 416-422.
Topic:
remote sensing
R&D area:

Summary

The EO-1 Advanced Land Imager (ALI) is the first earth-orbiting instrument to be flown under NASA's New Millenium program. The ALI employs novel wide-angle optics and a multispectral and panchromatic spectrometer. EO-1 is a technology verification project designed to demonstrate comparable or improved Landsat spatial and spectral resolution with substantial mass, volume, and cost savings. This paper provides an overview of in-flight calibration and performance assessment of the Advanced Land Imager. Included are techniques for calibrating and assessing focus and MTF using long, straight, man-made objects and monitoring of radiometric linearity and offsets using an internal calibration source, standard Earth reference scenes, and solar and lunar observations.
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Summary

The EO-1 Advanced Land Imager (ALI) is the first earth-orbiting instrument to be flown under NASA's New Millenium program. The ALI employs novel wide-angle optics and a multispectral and panchromatic spectrometer. EO-1 is a technology verification project designed to demonstrate comparable or improved Landsat spatial and spectral resolution with substantial...

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EO-1 Advanced Land Imager in-flight calibration

Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) initial 1997 system deployment at Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) Airport

July 8, 1998
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Project Report
Author:
Timothy J. Dasey
…
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report NASA-L-3
Topic:
aviation weather
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

The potential hazard of aircraft encounters with the wake turbulence of preceding aircraft requires the use of minimum separations on landing that are a significant constraint on airport arrival capacity during instrument flight rules (IF) conditions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center has been researching the development of the Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) which would dynamically change aircraft arrival separations based on the forecasted weather conditions and vortex behavior. An experimental AVOSS test system has been constructed at DFW airport and includes a large set of meteorological instruments, wake vortex sensors from three organizations, and an aircraft data collection system. All of this data are relayed to a central processing center at DFW for processing by automated meteorological data fusion algorithms and by NASA vortex behavior predictions software. An initial deployment and test of the DFW system was conducted during a three-week period in September/October of 1997. This document describes the overall system, the Lincoln-deployed sensors, including the Continuous-Wave Coherent lidar, and the meteorological data collection and processing system. Algorithms that were used to process the data for scientific use are described, as well as the conditions of the data collection and the data formats, for potential users of this database.
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Summary

The potential hazard of aircraft encounters with the wake turbulence of preceding aircraft requires the use of minimum separations on landing that are a significant constraint on airport arrival capacity during instrument flight rules (IF) conditions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center has been researching the...

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Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) initial 1997 system deployment at Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) Airport

A multilayered packaging architecture for spatial power combined arrays

June 21, 1998
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Conference Paper
Author:
Sean M. Duffy
Published in:
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Int. Symp. 1998 Digest, Vol. 1, 21-26 June 1998, pp. 494-7.
Topic:
antennas
R&D area:
R&D group:

Summary

The explosion of interest in high data rate communications places great demands on current antenna designs. Antennas used for transmitting signals can require high gain with high radiated power. An efficient means to accomplish these goals is the free space combining of many amplifiers via elements in an antenna array. Combining the output power of the MMIC amplifiers in space obviates the circuit losses associated with connecting many amplifiers in parallel and results in potentially more efficient transmitting antennas. However, the implementation of arrays with many MMIC amplifiers and antenna elements requires a compact, multilayered packaging architecture to achieve the density of circuits with desired performance.
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Summary

The explosion of interest in high data rate communications places great demands on current antenna designs. Antennas used for transmitting signals can require high gain with high radiated power. An efficient means to accomplish these goals is the free space combining of many amplifiers via elements in an antenna array...

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A multilayered packaging architecture for spatial power combined arrays
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