[mmaimcal] FYI: 7 Nov BIWEEKLY CALENDAR OF THE ALMA PROJECT at NRAO
Al Wootten
awootten at nrao.edu
Mon Nov 14 16:29:36 EST 2005
Please note errors to me.
Thx,
Al
BIWEEKLY CALENDAR OF THE ALMA PROJECT at NRAO
Nov 7, 2005 -- Nov 21, 2005
******************************** THIS FORTNIGHT*****************************
A face-to-face meeting of Computing Subsystem Leads will occur in
Charlottesville 16-19 Nov, followed by a face-to-face meeting of the Science
Software Requirements group.
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The ALMA Board met in Santiago 1 November through 2 November. The Board
approved a resolution stating:
"The ALMA Board concurs with the ALMA Director's
recommendation that the European Exec proceed with the issuance of a
contract to procure its share of the ALMA antennas."
The Board also accepted a number of Baseline Change Proposals, amounting
to a savings to the Project of about $17M (Y2K).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Two portions of enhanced ALMA were reviewed at CDRs held in Osaka and
Tokyo last week. The reviews for the 12m antennas and for the Atacama
Compact Array (ACA) System went quite well, in the opinion of one
review committee member.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
... Peter Napier has agreed to take on the job as Team Leader for the
ALMA Prototype System Integration group in Socorro, beginning in late
January 2006. ... The ALMA Project looks forward to
a continuation of Peter's excellent contributions to NRAO, and will be
delighted to welcome him to his ALMA Systems Integration role in
January. -- Jim Ulvestad -- Adrian Russell --
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Past issues of this Calendar may be viewed at
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMACalendars.html
See also the JAO ALMA Calendar overview at:
http://www.alma.cl/alma_project
*******************************************************************************
General Happenings
Santiago: The ALMA Board met in Santiago 1 November through 2 November.
OSF: Bidding documents for cleaning and catering services were released to
bidders 2 Nov with closing expected 18 Nov. Currently there are 111
persons under ALMA supervision working at the site.
AOS: Bidding documents for mechanical and electrical installations and
architectural finishes were released to bidders 27 Oct; closing 21 Nov.
Rough work on the road has reached km 40.
ATF: Preparations for Optical Pointing using the Vertex antenna under
realtime Linux continue. The Alcatel antenna continues motionless as a
result of a component failure.
NTC: Cryostat No. 2 will be shipped to the NTC shortly. Cryostat No. 3 will
be ready for shipping shortly; Cryostat No. 4 is undergoing testing.
B6 (1.3mm) image rejection is better than previously thought owing to
correction of a software bug which had caused underestimation of performance.
HIA: B3 (3mm) cartridge No. 2 and meets specification.
NAASC: NAASC: Pre-registration for the z-Machines workshop has closed. 70
participants are expected: 27 speakers and ~30 posters. The program will
be published on November 1 on the meeting website
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/zmachines.
The ANASAC met via telcom on October 18, to be briefed by the NRAO
director on the ALMA Cost Review. They also discussed the planning of
the ALMA Town Meeting at the January meeting of the AAS in Washington
D.C. on January 9th.
*******************************************************************************
DAILY CALENDAR (Times EDT ) see
https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/AlmaCalendar
Mon 7 November
Tue 8 November
All Day: ALMA-J 12m ACA Antenna CDR/MRR 1, Osaka
10:30 AM-11:30 AM: JAO IPT Telecon
Wed 9 November
All Day: ALMA-J 12m ACA Antenna CDR/MRR 1, Osaka
Thu 10
All Day: ALMA-J ACA System CDR, Mitaka
11:00 AM: Calibration Group telecon
Fri 11 Veterans Day Holiday, US
Sat Nov 12
Sun Nov 13
Mon Nov 14
Tue Nov 15
10:30 AM-11:30 AM: JAO IPT Telecon
4:00 PM-5:00 PM: NAScienceIPT teleconference (open to all interested
parties) (434)296-7082
Wed Nov 16
All Day: Computing Subsystem Leads CV
8:00 AM: System Requirements Group telecon
10:30 AM-11:30 AM: Science IPT Telecon
4:00 PM: ASAC Telecon
Thu Nov 17
11:30 AM: CCB Telecon
Fri Nov 18
Sat Nov 19
Sun Nov 20
All Day: SSR Committee meeting
****************************** UPCOMING EVENTS ****************************
ALMA Calendar--https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/AlmaCalendar
* Nov 8-9 -- ESO Finance Committee
* Nov 8-9 -- ALMA-J Antenna SRR, Osaka
* Nov 10-11 -- ACA System Review, Tokyo
* Nov 21-22 -- SSR Meeting, Charlottesville
* Nov 30-Dec 1 -- National Science Board meets
* Dec 7-8 -- ESO Council Regular Meeting
* Jan 4-7 -- URSI/NA, Boulder
* Jan 12-14 -- ALMA Zmachines workshop
******************************* TECHNICAL NEWS *****************************
ALMA Memo 542: Height and Velocity of the Turbulence Layer at Chajnantor
Estimated From Radiometric Measurements
Author: Juan Pablo Pérez Beaupuits (CTH), Roberto C. Rivera (ESO),
Lars-Åke Nyman (ESO)
Abstract: The height of the turbulence layer above Chajnantor was
determined using two Water Vapour Radiometers (WVR) located along
a 300m East-West baseline. The radiometers measure the fluctuations
in the precipitable water vapour (PWV). The fluctuations are similar
in both WVR and thus a cross-correlation of the signal of both
radiometers make possible to determine the transit time from the
correlation time lag. With a known transit time, and with both beams
parallel along the East-West baseline, it is possible to obtain the
velocity of the turbulence layer, projected along the baseline. Using
the projected turbulence velocity together with a second transit time
found with the beams crossed at a given height, we obtained the height
of the turbulence layer.
Data were taken during a two-month period in December 2003 and January
2004. The most reliable estimates of the velocity and height of the
turbulence layer occurred between 14 and 22 UT, which corresponds to
about 38% of a whole day. During this period the median height of the
turbulence layer is about 600 m. About 70% of the analyzed time the
turbulence layer was below 1000 m. During night-time, the estimate of
the height becomes less accurate because the wind speeds are lower,
the wind direction changes from East-West towards North-South, and
the amount of PWV seems to be very low, which all together is
reflected in weaker signals in the radiometers and less amount of
strong cross-correlations.
A pdf copy of this memo is on edm.alma.cl and will eventually appear at:
http://www.alma.nrao.edu/memos/html-memos/alma542/memo542.pdf
******************************ALSO OF INTEREST******************************
The SMA reportedly achieved fringes on a baseline including the JCMT.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------TENURE TRACK ASTRONOMER POSITIONS------------------------
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) invites outstanding
applicants for tenure track astronomer positions. In the next few years,
the NRAO expects to make one or two appointments per year. Appointments
are not restricted to radio astronomers. See
http://www.nrao.edu/administration/personnel_office/careers.shtml#tenure
---------------------------ALMA Postdocs-----------------------------------
2006 Postdoc Position at the North American ALMA Science Center/ALMA
Construction
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory expects to invite applications
for a NRAO Postdoctoral appointment at the North American ALMA Science
Center in Charlottesville, Va. These positions provide 50% time for
independent research, with the remaining 50% assigned to project
and operational duties at the sites.
The position is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation
through the ALMA Construction Project. See
http://www.nrao.edu/administration/personnel_office/careers.shtml#alma
---------------------------------------------
******************************************************************************
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