Approved For Release 2 REECE MSSiTFE BR 800270001-4 ILL INTRODUCTION (U) A. (U) General (U) In order to accomplish the goals listed in the Executive Summary, this program was designed to be a joint effort between SRI International and Time Research Institute (TRI) of Los Altos, California, with SRI as the prime contractor. Time Research Institute is a research organization that specializes in temporal analysis of geophysical variables and their potential correlation with phenomena of interest, such as weather patterns, earth- quakes, and the like. (U) Time Research Institute was responsible for establishing the appropriate hardware and software systems for collecting and analyzing data on environmental conditions and their correlation with RV performance. The purpose of the correlation study was to determine whether RV performance is enhanced or degraded by measurable changes occurring in the geophysical (including solar-terrestrial) environments. The specific geophysical data bases examined in this effort are given in Table l. (U) Should correlations between geophysical variables and RV per- formance be rigorously established over time, the application potential of the effort is twofold: * Time periods in which enhanced RV performance might be expected could be identified, resulting in increased quality and accuracy of information obtained through such channels; similarly, time periods in which degraded RV performance might be expected could be avoided. Thus, optimum performance windows would be identified. * An increased understanding of the types of environmental changes that correlate with RV performance could provide clues as to the mechanisms involved in RV functioning. Such knowledge would lead to a more focussed research on factors that could enhance RV performance, and would also provide information critical to the development of defensive countermeasures against RV. 5 UNCLASSIFIED Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001800270001-4
Approved For Release GN CLASSIFIED Table 1 (U) GEOPHYSICAL DATA BASES Solar terrestrial Geomagnetic--ground-measured indices An sum of Ko Cy cg Solar flux (MHz): 15,400, 8,800, 4,995, 2,800, 2,695, 1,415, 606, 410, 245 Sunspot number Solar flares Ionospheric measurements - Sudden ionospheric disturbances (SID) - Sudden enhancements of signal strength (SES) ULF /ELF - 19 frequencies (from 1 to 30 Hz) UNCLASSIFIED B. (U) Report Organization (U) The remainder of this report is organized to include: Method of Approach (Section IV), Results (V), Evaluation and Recommendations (VI), and Summary (VII). The Method of Approach section contains descriptions of the project tasks, which include Time Research Institute's data acqui- sition systems, other sources of geophysical data acquisition, lists of geophysical data that have been analyzed, and the analysis technique employed. The Results section contains the findings from the comparisons of both the ELF data sets among themselves, and the comparisons of RV performance data with the ELF and other geophysical data. The Evaluation and Recommendations section summarizes the findings and possible applica- tions of our research, and identifies areas where further investigation is needed. The Summary section summarizes the overall effort and its impli- cations with regard to RV performance enhancement and countermeasures development. 6 UNCLASSIFIED Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001800270001-4
Approved For Release 20H GRE [CA PS 4p BGhp001800270001-4 IV METHOD OF APPROACH (U) A. (U) Literature Search (U) A literature search into the areas of known effects of static and low-frequency magnetic and electric fields on biological processes was carried out. Much of the literature available in the ELF range dealt with the effects (or lack thereof) of 60-Hz fields. Papers were sought that described both the gross effects of these fields and the mechanisms by which they could affect biological organisms. Some reports describing higher electromagnetic frequencies (e.g., microwave) were also included for their inferential value. (A bibliography appears as an appendix to this report.) B. (U) Data Acquisition 1. (U) ELF Measurements a. (U) Introduction (U) Although the ELF range (3 to 300 Hz) has been studied in some detail, many unknowns remain. Although it is known that extremely- low frequencies generated by geophysical means (e.g., electrical-storm activity) tend to distribute themselves globally, little information is available on the variation of the ELF environment from location to loca- tion. Therefore, local variations may exist that are caused by both man- made sources, and by the geological structure of the area. In the San Francisco Bay Area, man-made sources that generate ELF on a local scale include motors, telephone lines, power lines, and electrical subways [Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ]; it needed to be determined whether the emission from such sources constitutes a significant contribution to the omnipresent global ELF field. (U) In order to address the above issue, two ELF monitoring stations were set up--one at SRI Menlo Park (the RV laboratory), the other UNCLASSIFIED Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001800270001-4
Approved For Release ON CLASSIFIED 800270001-4 (U) at the TRI field station, 17 km distant. It was anticipated that the SRI environment might be an electrically "noisy" one due to the large amount of electrical and electronics activity in the area--a hypothesis that was verified. With the requirement that two ELF monitoring sites be implemented for the program, it was decided that the two systems would be made identical. In this way, differences between the systems would be minimized, thus reducing the opportunity for artifactual differences between the outputs. b. (U) Los Altos Site (TRI) (U) Since May 1982, TRI has been operating a prototype ELF monitoring site in Los Altos, where data have been collected twice daily for the purpose of correlating ELF disturbances against various phenomena of interest. In this period, analysis techniques were developed that were directly applicable to the present task. (U) One of the first tasks was the upgrading of the Los Altos ELF monitoring site to provide coverage during power interrupts. Details of this effort can be found in an interim report prepared by SRI International.°® (U) The second task was the development of an upgraded high- data-rate ELF system (in duplicate) to be installed at the TRI and the SRI sites. Figure 1 is a block diagram of the basic upgraded ELF data-rate ELF system (in duplicate) to be installed at the TRI and the SRI sites. Figure 1 is a block diagram of the basic upgraded ELF data-acquisition system. The ELF signal is collected by an antenna, amplified, and then digitized by an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter so that the signal can be input into a computer for the purpose of analysis. (U) The antenna is a "bioantenna" (a Live Oak tree). This procedure was based on one recommended by the Radioscience Laboratory at Stanford University. The detected signal is the voltage measured across a pair of electrodes implanted vertically approximately six feet apart along the lower tree trunk. A full description of the method is given in Reference 6, a reprint of which is included in the interim report mentioned above. 8 UNCLASSIFIED Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001800270001-4
Approved For Release 200g NC LSS TF PE Re 18002 70001-4 INCREASES SIGNAL STRENGTH A-TO-D MAKES SIGNAL READABLE BY CONVERTER COMPUTER DETERMINES INTENSITY OF SIGNAL FREQUENCY COMPONENTS FLOPPY DISKETTES TRANSPORTED TO IBM XT COMPUTER FIGURE 1 (U) ELF DATA-ACQUISITION SYSTEM (U) The system is configured around an IBM PC jr. micro- processor, which is not only cost-effective, but is compatible with an IBM XT computer where much of the ELF analysis is done. Data transfer and reduction is simple; floppy diskettes are transferable from one computer to the other. (U) Software has been developed for the IBM PC jr. that reads input data from the A/D converter, performs a fast-Fourier transform (FFT), then outputs seven data files of 19 frequencies each to a floppy diskette. The system operates on universal time (UT), writing records of the means and standard deviations of 19 frequencies in the 1-to-30-Hz range~-each half hour, half-UT day, UT day, and half Pacific-time day. This system is far superior in speed and accuracy to the prototype system. In the upgraded system, approximately 318 ELF samples are recorded each half hour. By comparison, the prototype ELF system sampled and processed UNCLASSIFIED Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001800270001-4