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Harwood, R. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Harwood, R. S..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

Validation of Aura Microwave Limb Sounder HCl Measurements

The Earth Observing System (EOS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) aboard the Aura satellite has provided daily global HCl profiles since August 2004. We provide a characterization of the resolution, random and systematic uncertainties, and known issues for the version 2.2 MLS HCl data. The MLS sampling allows for comparisons with many (~1500 to more than 3000) closely matched profiles from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS). These data sets provide HCl latitudinal distributions that are, overall, very similar to those from (coincident) MLS profiles, although there are some discrepancies in the upper stratosphere between the MLS and HALOE gradients. As found in previous work, MLS and ACE HCl profiles agree very well (within approximately 5%, on average), but the MLS HCl abundances are generally larger (by 10-20%) than HALOE HCl. The bias versus HALOE is unlikely to arise mostly from MLS, as a similar systematic bias (of order 15%) is not observed between average MLS and balloon-borne measurements of HCl, obtained over Fort Sumner, New Mexico, in 2004 and 2005. At the largest pressure (147 hPa) for MLS HCl, a high bias (approximately 0.2 ppbv) is apparent in analyses of low to midlatitude data versus in situ aircraft chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) HCl measurements from the Aura Validation Experiment (AVE) campaigns in 2004, 2005, and 2006; this bias is also observed in comparisons of MLS and aircraftHCl/O3 correlations. Good agreement between MLS and CIMS HCl is obtained at 100 to 68 hPa. The recommended pressure range for MLS HCl is from 100 to 0.15 hPa.

Earth Observing System (EOS)↗
NASA NTRS2007

Validation of Aura Microwave Limb Sounder Ozone by Ozonesonde and Lidar Measurements

We present validation studies of MLS version 2.2 upper tropospheric and stratospheric ozone profiles using ozonesonde and lidar data as well as climatological data. Ozone measurements from over 60 ozonesonde stations worldwide and three lidar stations are compared with coincident MLS data. The MLS ozone stratospheric data between 150 and 3 hPa agree well with ozonesonde measurements, within 8% for the global average. MLS values at 215 hPa are biased high compared to ozonesondes by approximately 20% at middle to high latitude, although there is a lot of variability in this altitude region.

validation studies↗
NASA NTRS2005

Polar processing and development of the 2004 Antarctic ozone hole : first results from MLS on Aura

The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on Aura is providing an extensive data set on stratospheric winter polar processing, including the first daily global observations of HCl, together with simultaneous measurements of ClO, HNO3, H2O, O3, N2O, and temperature (among others). We present first results charting the evolution of these quantities during the 2004 Antarctic late winter. MLS observations of chlorine deactivation and ozone loss during this period are shown to be consistent with results from the SLIMCAT chemical transport model.

Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS)↗
NASA NTRS1996

Validation of UARS Microwave Limb Sounder 183 GHz H2O Measurements

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) microwave limb sounder (MLS) makes measurements of thermal emission at 183.3 GHz which are used to infer the concentration of water vapor over a pressure range of 46-0.2hPa (approximately 20-60 km). We provide a validation of MLS H2O by analyzing the integrity of the measurements, by providing an error characterization, and by comparison with data from other instruments. It is estimated that version 3 MLS H2O retrievals are accurate to within 20-25% in the lower stratosphere and to within 8-13% in the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere. The precision of a single profile is estimated to be approximately 0.15 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in the midstratosphere and 0.2 ppmv in the lower and upper stratosphere. In the lower mesosphere the estimate of a single profile precision is 0.25-0.45 ppmv. During polar winter conditions, H2O retrievals at 46 hPa can have a substantial contribution from climatology. The vertical resolution of MLS H2O retrievals is approximately 5 km.

Lahoz, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Validation of UARS MLS 183 GHz H(sub 2)O Measurements

We provide a validation of MLS H(sub 2)O by analyzing the integrity of the measurements, by providing an error characterization and by comparison with data from other instruments. This paper concerns the data validation of middle atmosphere distributions of H(sub 2)O as measured by the Midrowave Limb Sounder (MLS).

thermal emission UARS energy balance of the middle↗
NASA NTRS1995

Tropical stratospheric water vapor measured by the microwave limb sounder (MLS)

The lower stratospheric variability of equatorial water vapor, measured by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), follows an annual cycle modulated by the quasi-biennial oscillation. At levels higher in the stratosphere, water vapor measurements exhibit a semi-annual oscillatory signal with the largest amplitudes at 2.2 and 1hPa. Zonal-mean cross sections of MLS water vapor are consistent with previous satellite measurements from the limb infrared monitor of the stratosphere (LIMS) and the stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment 2 (SAGE 2) instruments in that they show water vapor increasing upwards and the polewards from a well defined minimum in the tropics. The minimum values vary in height between the retrieved 46 and 22hPa pressure levels.

Carr, E. S.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Interhemispheric differences in polar stratospheric HNO3, H2O, ClO, and O3

Simultaneous global measurements of nitric acid (HNO3), water (H2O), chlorine monoxide (ClO), and ozone (O3) in the stratosphere have been obtained over complete annual cycles in both hemispheres by the Microwave Limb Sounder on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. A sizeable decrease in gas-phase HNO3 was evident in the lower stratospheric vortex over Antarctica by early June 1992, followed by a significant reduction in gas-phase H2O after mid-July. By mid-August, near the time of peak ClO, abundances of gas-phase HNO3 and H2O were extremely low. The concentrations of HNO3 and H2O over Antarctica remained depressed into November, well after temperatures in the lower stratosphere had risen above the evaporation threshold for polar stratospheric clouds, implying that denitrification and dehydration had occurred. No large decreases in either gas-phase HNO3 or H2O were observed in the 1992-1993 Arctic winter vortex. Although ClO was enhanced over the Arctic as it was over the Antarctic, Arctic O3 depletion was substantially smaller than that over Antarctica. A major factor currently limiting the formation of an Arctic ozone 'hole' is the lack of denitrification in the northern polar vortex, but future cooling of the lower stratosphere could lead to more intense denitrification and consequently larger losses of Arctic ozone.

Santee, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Three-dimensional evolution of water vapor distributions in the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere as observed by the MLS

The three-dimensional evolution of stratospheric water vapor distributions observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) during the period October 1991 - July 1992 is documented. The transport features inferred from the MLS water vapor distributions are corroborated using other dynamical fields, namely, nitrous oxide from the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer instrument, analyzed winds from the U.K. Meteorological Office (UKMO), UKMO-derived potential vorticity, and the diabatic heating field. By taking a vortex-centered view and an along-track view, the authors observe in great detail the vertical and horizontal structure of the northern winter stratosphere. It is demonstrated that the water vapor distributions show clear signatures of the effects of diabatic descent through isentropic surfaces and quasi-horizontal transport along isentropic surfaces, and that the large-scale winter flow is organized by the interaction between the westerly polar vortex and the Aleutian high.

Lahoz, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Chemical Depletion of Lower Stratospheric Ozone in the 1992-1993 Northern Winter Vortex

Satellite observations of ozone and chlorine monoxide in the Arctic lower stratosphere during winter 1992-1993 are compared with observations during other winters, observations of long-lived tracers and the evolution of the polar vortex. Chlorine in the lower stratospheric vortex during February 1993 was mostly in chemically reactive forms.

Arctic polar vortex↗
NASA NTRS1994

Lagrangian Transport Calculations Using UARS Data. Part I: Passive Tracers

The transport of passive tracers observed by UARS has been simulated using computed trajectories of thousands of air parcels initialized on a three-dimensional stratospheric grid. These trajectories are calculated in isentropic coordinates using horizontal winds provided by the United Kingdom Meteorological Office data assimilation system and vertical (cross-isentropic) velocities computed using a fast radiation code.

UARS computed trajectories↗
NASA NTRS1994

Interhemispheric Differences in Dentifrication and Related Processes Affecting Polar Ozone

The severe depletion of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica in late winter and early spring is caused by enhanced CLO abundances arising from heterogeneous reactions on polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). CLO abundances comparable to those over Antarctica have also been observed throughout the Arctic Vortex, but the accompanying loss of Arctic ozone has been much less severe.

ozone depletion↗
NASA NTRS1993

Northern hemisphere mid-stratosphere vortex processes diagnosed from H2O, N2O and potential vorticity

Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) H2O Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) N2O and potential vorticity calculated from UK Meteorological Office data are used to study mid-stratospheric vortex processes in the northern hemisphere winter of 1991-1992. Areas of moist air (at approx. 20 hPa) and N2O-poor air (at approx. 10hPa) are well-correlated with high values of potential vorticity and there is little or no large scale mixing across the vortex edge. We find evidence for the descent of relatively dry mesospheric air to the 840 K (approx. 10 hPa) level, as well as descent of moist air from the upper stratosphere to the 655 K (approx. 20 hPa) level. A reduction in the areas of the vortex and both the moist and H2O-poor regions is observed and there is evidence of moist and N2O-poor air parcels being extruded from the vortex.

Lahoz, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Springtime stratospheric water vapour in the Southern Hemisphere as measured by MLS

The effects of the break-up of the Antarctic vortex on the water vapor distribution are studied using MLS measurements of water vapor made during September 1991 and November 1991. In early November at 22 hPa a moist area is found within the polar vortex, consistent with an observed descent of order 10 km and strong radiative cooling. As the vortex erodes (beginning of November 1991), parcels of moist air become detached from the edge of the vortex and mix rapidly (within 2-3 days) with drier mid-latitude air. When the vortex breaks up (mid-November), larger parcels of moist air from both the edge and the inner vortex migrate to mid-latitudes. These parcels have a longer lifetime than those produced by vortex erosion, probably because they are correlated with higher potential vorticity gradients. The break-up of the vortex is accompanied by a mean adiabatic equatorward transport resulting in a significant increase in midstratospheric water vapor values at mid-latitudes in late spring.

Harwood, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The evolution of ozone observed by UARS MLS in the 1992 late winter southern polar vortex

The evolution of ozone (O3) observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder on board the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is described for 14 Aug through 20 Sep 1992, in relation to the polar vortex. The development of an ozone hole is observed in column O3, and a corresponding decrease is seen in O3 mixing ratio in the polar lower stratosphere, consistent with chemical destruction. The observations also suggest that poleward transport associated with episodes of strong planetary wave activity is important in increasing O3 in the mid-stratosphere.

Manney, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Stratospheric ClO and ozone from the Microwave Limb Sounder on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

Concentrations of atmospheric ozone and of ClO (the predominant form of reactive chlorine responsible for stratospheric ozone depletion) are reported for both the Arctic and Antarctic winters of the past 18 months. Chlorine in the lower stratosphere was almost completely converted to chemically reactive forms in both the northern and southern polar winter vortices. This occurred in the south long before the development of the Antarctic ozone hole, suggesting that ozone loss can be masked by influx of ozone-rich air.

Waters, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The microwave limb sounder for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

The Microwave Limb Sounder was designed to map the concentrations of trace gases from the stratosphere to the lower thermosphere, to improve understanding of the photochemical reactions which take place in this part of the atmosphere. The instrument will measure the intensity of thermal radiation from molecules in the atmosphere at frequencies corresponding to rotational absorption bands of chlorine monoxide, ozone, and water vapor. Molecular concentration profiles will be determined over a height range of 15 to 80 km (20 to 45 km for C10). The 57 deg inclination orbit proposed for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite will allow global coverage.

Waters, J. W.↗