This document is a compilation of the scientific and technical information that the Langley Research Center has produced during the calendar year 1999. Included are citations for Special Publications, Technical Publications, Conference Publications, Technical Memorandums, Contractor Reports, Journal Articles and Book Publications, Meeting Presentations, Technical Talks, Tech Briefs, and Patents. Stewart, Susan H. (Compiler) and Machie, Harriet (Compiler) Langley Research Center

The latest version of Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM-99) is presented and discussed. GRAM-99 uses either (binary) Global Upper Air Climatic Atlas (GUACA) or (ASCII) Global Gridded Upper Air Statistics (GGUAS) CD-ROM data sets, for 0-27 km altitudes. As with earlier versions, GRAM-99 provides complete geographical and altitude coverage for each month of the year. GRAM-99 uses a specially-developed data set, based on Middle Atmosphere Program (MAP) data, for 20-120 km altitudes, and NASA's 1999 version Marshall Engineering Thermosphere (MET-99) model for heights above 90 km. Fairing techniques assure smooth transition in overlap height ranges (2()%27 km and 9% 120km). GRAM-99 includes water vapor and 11 other atmospheric constituents (03, N20 CO, CH4, CO2, N2, 02, 0, A, He and H). A variable-scale perturbation model provides both large-scale (wave) and small-scale (stochastic) deviations from mean values for thermodynamic variables and horizontal and vertical wind components. The small-scale perturbation model includes improvements in representing intermittency ("patchiness"). A major new feature is an option to substitute Range Reference Atmosphere (RRA) data for conventional GRAM climatology when a trajectory passes sufficiently near any RRA site. A complete user's guide for running the program, plus sample input and output, is provided. An example is provided for how to incorporate GRAM-99 as subroutines in other programs (e.g., trajectory codes).

Lists citations with abstracts for aerospace related reports obtained from world wide sources and announces documents that have recently been entered into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Database.

It was a simple announcement on a summer day. It appeared to be a straightforward proposal to solve a serious problem. Constrained by a statutory requirement for self-funding and facing a new paradigm in information dissemination, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) was failing. As federal agencies distributed reports at no cost on the World Wide Web-- reports that formerly NTIS had distributed--NTIS was unable to collect revenue sufficient to cover its costs of cataloging and maintaining its collection. The proposal put forth in August 1999 by the Department of Commerce (where NTIS is organizationally located) was to close NTIS and move its collections and functions to the Library of Congress. The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) immediately recognized this proposal to be far more significant than it first appeared. Fundamental issues regarding how the government used, disseminated and valued its information resources were at stake. The Commission stepped forward and prepared a preliminary assessment of the proposed closure of NTIS, which it delivered to the President and Congress. This report recommended a number of steps to keep NTIS operational, but it also stated that a much broader assessment of the underlying issues involved in public information dissemination throughout government was needed.