Engineering topics

Broecker, W. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Broecker, W. S..

9 records

NASA NTRS1990

Boundary scavenging in the Pacific Ocean - A comparison of Be-10 and Pa-231

Measurements of U, Th, Pa-231, and Be-10 concentrations were conducted in Holocene sediments from several sites representing open-ocean and ocean-margin environments in the Pacific Ocean. The results show that boundary scavenging plays a major role in the removal of Be-10 from the Pacific. Deposition of Be-10 is more than an order of magnitude greater at margin sites than at deep central Pacific sites, while Pa-231 is 4- to 5-fold greater at margin sites. The factors controling boundary scavenging of Pa and Be are discussed.

Anderson, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1988

New evidence from the South China Sea for an abrupt termination of the last glacial period

Results demonstrating an abrupt change in the rate and character of sedimentation in the South China Sea at the close of the last glacial period are presented. Radiocarbon dating and its position in the oxygen isotope shift suggest that this change may be coincident with the abrupt change in climatic conditions seen at high latitudes in the North Atlantic and the Antarctic at 13 kyr BP. These results support the contention that a major global climatic change occurred between 14 and 13 kyr BP.

Broecker, W. S.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The effect of wind and currents on gas exchange in an estuarine system

The objectives were to develop a non-volatile tracer to use in gas exchange experiments in laterally unconfined systems and to study applications of deliberate tracers in limnology and oceanography. Progress was made on both fronts but work on the development of the non-volatile tracer proved to be more difficult and labor intensive that anticipated so no field experiments using non-volatile tracers was performed as yet. In the search for a suitable non-volatile tracer for an ocean scale gas exchange experiment a tracer was discovered which does not have the required sensitivity for a large scale experiment, but is very easy to analyze and will be well suited for smaller experiments such as gas exchange determinations on rivers and streams. Sulfur hexafluoride, SF6, was used successfully as a volatile tracer along with tritium as a non-volatile tracer to study gas exchange rates from a primary stream. This is the first gas exchange experiment in which gas exchange rates were determined on a head water stream where significant groundwater input occurs along the reach. In conjunction with SF6, Radon-222 measurements were performed on the groundwater and in the stream. The feasibility of using a combination of SF6 and radon is being studied to determine groundwater inputs and gas exchange of rates in streams with significant groundwater input without using a non-volatile tracer.

Broecker, W. S.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A deliberate tracer experiment in Santa Monica Basin

A tracer technique was developed for measurements of diffusion across oceanic density strata using SF6 and perfluorodecalin (PFD) tracers in the Santa Monica Basin. Fifty days after injection, the tracers were found to have mixed along the isopycnal surface to nearly every part of the basin. The diapycnal spreading of the tracer distributions yielded an apparent eddy diffusivity of 0.33 + or - 0.08 sq cm/s at the ambient density gradient of 4.0 + or - 0.5 x 10 to the -9th g/cm to the 4th.

Ledwell, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Atmospheric, climatic and environmental research

Research conducted during the past year in the climate and atmospheric modeling programs was focused on the development of appropriate atmospheric and upper ocean models, and preliminary applications of these models. Prinicpal models are a one-dimensional radiative-convection model, a three-dimensional global climate model, and an upper ocean model. Principal application is the study of the impact of CO2, aerosols and the solar constant on climate. Also the performance of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project cloud detection algorithm was evaluated, concentrating initially on its application to geosynchronous data, with an eventual switch of the developed methodologies to data from polar orbiting satellites. In the process, a number of improvements were made, in particular: an improved technique for tracking small scale day to day variability in clear sky continental temperatures; a number of techniques for the statistical assessment of cloud detection uncertainties due to cloud types which are spatially and temporally invariant; and a method used to detect those cloudy regions which have long term spatial and temporal stability.

Broecker, W. S.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Does the ocean-atmosphere system have more than one stable mode of operation?

The climate record obtained from two long Greenland ice cores reveals several brief climate oscillations during glacial time. The most recent of these oscillations, also found in continental pollen records, has greatest impact in the area under the meteorological influence of the northern Atlantic, but none in the United States. This suggests that these oscillations are caused by fluctuations in the formation rate of deep water in the northern Atlantic. As the present production of deep water in this area is driven by an excess of evaporation over precipitation and continental runoff, atmospheric water transport may be an important element in climate change. Changes in the production rate of deep water in this sector of the ocean may push the climate system from one quasi-stable mode of operation to another.

Broecker, W. S.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Gas exchange-wind speed relation measured with sulfur hexafluoride on a lake

Gas-exchange processes control the uptake and release of various gases in natural systems such as oceans, rivers, and lakes. Not much is known about the effect of wind speed on gas exchange in such systems. In the experiment described here, sulfur hexafluoride was dissolved in lake water, and the rate of escape of the gas with wind speed (at wind speeds up to 6 meters per second) was determined over a 1-month period. A sharp change in the wind speed dependence of the gas-exchange coefficient was found at wind speeds of about 2.4 meters per second, in agreement with the results of wind-tunnel studies. However the gas-exchange coefficients at wind speeds above 3 meters per second were smaller than those observed in wind tunnels and are in agreement with earlier lake and ocean results.

Wanninkhof, R.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Chemical Signatures Associated with the Freshening of Northern Atlantic Waters Between 1972 and 1981

Further insight into the possible causes of the freshening of deep water in the northern Atlantic between the GEOSECS survey (1972) and the TTO survey (1981) is provided by measurements of dissolved silica and dissolved oxygen. As all the northern end member waters are low in dissolved silica content and high in dissolved oxygen content, the message carried by these chemical properties of silica has to do with the extent to which the waters in the northern Atlantic have mixed with the high silica content waters of Antarctic origin. A change in the degree and pattern of this intrusion is noted between the GEOSECS and TTO surveys.

Broecker, W. S.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Multidisciplinary research in the space sciences

Research activities were carried out in the following areas during this reporting period: (1) astrophysics; (2) climate and atmospheric modeling; and (3) climate applications of earth observations & geological studies. An ultra-low-noise 115 GHz receiver based upon a superconducting tunnel diode mixer has been designed and constructed. The first laboratory tests have yielded spectacular results: a single-sideband noise temperature of 75 K considerably more sensitive than any other receiver at this frequency. The receiver will replace that currently in use on the Columbia-GISS CO Sky Survey telescope. The 1.2 meter millimeter-wave telescope at Columbia University has been used to complete two large-scale surveys of molecular matter in the part of the inner galaxy which is visible from the Northern hemisphere (the first galactic quadrant); one of the distant galaxy and one of the solar neighborhood. The research conducted during the past year in the climate and atmospheric modeling programs has been focused on the development of appropriate atmospheric and upper ocean models, and preliminary applications of these models. Principal models are a one-dimensional radiative-convective model, a three-dimensional global climate model, and an upper ocean model. During the past year this project has focused on development of 2-channel satellite analysis methods and radiative transfer studies in support of multichannel analysis techniques.

Broecker, W. S.↗