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NASA NTRS1993

Navier-Stokes calculations on multi-element airfoils using a chimera-based solver

A study of Navier-Stokes calculations of flows about multielement airfoils using a chimera grid approach is presented. The chimera approach utilizes structured, overlapped grids which allow great flexibility of grid arrangement and simplifies grid generation. Calculations are made for two-, three-, and four-element airfoils, and modeling of the effect of gap distance between elements is demonstrated for a two element case. Solutions are obtained using the thin-layer form of the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations with turbulence closure provided by the Baldwin-Lomax algebraic model or the Baldwin-Barth one equation model. The Baldwin-Barth turbulence model is shown to provide better agreement with experimental data and to dramatically improve convergence rates for some cases. Recently developed, improved farfield boundary conditions are incorporated into the solver for greater efficiency. Computed results show good comparison with experimental data which include aerodynamic forces, surface pressures, and boundary layer velocity profiles.

Jasper, Donald W.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Scientific goals of the Cooperative Multiscale Experiment (CME)

Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS) form the focus of CME. Recent developments in global climate models, the urgent need to improve the representation of the physics of convection, radiation, the boundary layer, and orography, and the surge of interest in coupling hydrologic, chemistry, and atmospheric models of various scales, have emphasized the need for a broad interdisciplinary and multi-scale approach to understanding and predicting MCS's and their interactions with processes at other scales. The role of mesoscale systems in the large-scale atmospheric circulation, the representation of organized convection and other mesoscale flux sources in terms of bulk properties, and the mutually consistent treatment of water vapor, clouds, radiation, and precipitation, are all key scientific issues concerning which CME will seek to increase understanding. The manner in which convective, mesoscale, and larger scale processes interact to produce and organize MCS's, the moisture cycling properties of MCS's, and the use of coupled cloud/mesoscale models to better understand these processes, are also major objectives of CME. Particular emphasis will be placed on the multi-scale role of MCS's in the hydrological cycle and in the production and transport of chemical trace constituents. The scientific goals of the CME consist of the following: understand how the large and small scales of motion influence the location, structure, intensity, and life cycles of MCS's; understand processes and conditions that determine the relative roles of balanced (slow manifold) and unbalanced (fast manifold) circulations in the dynamics of MCS's throughout their life cycles; assess the predictability of MCS's and improve the quantitative forecasting of precipitation and severe weather events; quantify the upscale feedback of MCS's to the large-scale environment and determine interrelationships between MCS occurrence and variations in the large-scale flow and surface forcing; provide a data base for initialization and verification of coupled regional, mesoscale/hydrologic, mesoscale/chemistry, and prototype mesoscale/cloud-resolving models for prediction of severe weather, ceilings, and visibility; provide a data base for initialization and validation of cloud-resolving models, and for assisting in the fabrication, calibration, and testing of cloud and MCS parameterization schemes; and provide a data base for validation of four dimensional data assimilation schemes and algorithms for retrieving cloud and state parameters from remote sensing instrumentation.

Cotton, William↗

NASA NTRS1994

Precision orbit determination for TOPEX/POSEIDON

The TOPEX/POSEIDON mission objective requires that the radial position of the spacecraft be determined with an accuracy better than 13 cm RMS (root mean square). This stringent requirement is an order of magnitude below the accuracy achieved for any altimeter mission prior to the definition of the TOPEX/POSEIDON mission. To satislfy this objective, the TOPEX Precision Orbit determination (POD) Team was established as a joint effort between the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Texas at Austin, with collaboration from the University of Colorado and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During the prelaunch development and the post launch verification phases, the POD team improved, calibrated, and validated the precision orbit determination computer software systems. The accomplishments include (1) increased accuracy of the gravity and surface force models and (2) improved peformance of both laser ranging and Doppler tracking systems. The result of these efforts led to orbit accuracies for TOPEX/POSEIDON which are significantly better than the original mission requirement. Tests based on data fits, covariance analysis, and orbit comparisons indicate that the radial component of the TOPEX/POSEIDON spacecraft is determined, relative to the Earth's mass center, with an root mean square (RMS) error in the range of 3 to 4 cm RMS. This orbit accuracy, together with the near continuous dual-frequency altimetry from this mission, provides the means to determine the ocean's dynamic topography with an unprecedented accuracy.

Tapley, B. D.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Reduced Stress Tensor and Dissipation and the Transport of Lamb Vector

We develop a methodology to ensure that the stress tensor, regardless of its number of independent components, can be reduced to an exactly equivalent one which has the same number of independent components as the surface force. It is applicable to the momentum balance if the shear viscosity is constant. A direct application of this method to the energy balance also leads to a reduction of the dissipation rate of kinetic energy. Following this procedure, significant saving in analysis and computation may be achieved. For turbulent flows, this strategy immediately implies that a given Reynolds stress model can always be replaced by a reduced one before putting it into computation. Furthermore, we show how the modeling of Reynolds stress tensor can be reduced to that of the mean turbulent Lamb vector alone, which is much simpler. As a first step of this alternative modeling development, we derive the governing equations for the Lamb vector and its square. These equations form a basis of new second-order closure schemes and, we believe, should be favorably compared to that of traditional Reynolds stress transport equation.

Wu, Jie-Zhi↗

NASA NTRS2001

Intercomparison of GOES-8 Imager and Sounder Land Surface Temperature Retrievals

Recent studies at the Global Hydrology and Climate Center (GHCC) have shown that the assimilation of land skin temperature (LST) tendencies into a mesoscale model can significantly improve short term forecasts of near surface temperature and moisture. The high spatial and temporal resolution of GOES derived land surface products provide valuable information about the spatial and temporal variability of the land surface forcing simulated in the model. In the GHCC studies LST was derived using a split window technique requiring at least two longwave infrared window channels and thus, utilized the 11 and 12 micron channels found on the GOES-8 Imager with a nadir spatial resolution of 4km. However, beginning with the launch of GOES-M (scheduled for mid 2001 ) and subsequent satellites the 12 micron channel will be removed from the Imager leaving only one longwave window channel. The GOES Sounder will continue to have more than one longwave infrared window channel (including a 12 micron channel) but, with a spatial resolution of 10 km nadir. LST retrievals from the newer GOES satellites will thus be derived from Sounder measurements at a reduced spatial resolution. This paper intercompares the LST retrievals from the GOES-8 Imager and Sounder. The effects on the LST retrievals due to the Sounder's reduced resolution from that of the Imager and its different longwave infrared channel characteristics are examined. The effects of transitioning from Imager to Sounder LST products on the results from model assimilation of these products are also examined.

Suggs, Ronnie J.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Full-Time, Eye-Safe Cloud and Aerosol Lidar Observation at Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Sites: Instruments and Data Analysis

Atmospheric radiative forcing, surface radiation budget, and top of the atmosphere radiance interpretation involves a knowledge of the vertical height structure of overlying cloud and aerosol layers. During the last decade, the U.S. Department of Energy through I the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program has constructed four long- term atmospheric observing sites in strategic climate regimes (north central Oklahoma, In Barrow. Alaska, and Nauru and Manus Islands in the tropical western Pacific). Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) systems provide continuous, autonomous observation of all significant atmospheric cloud and aerosol at each of the central ARM facilities. Systems are compact and transmitted pulses are eye-safe. Eye-safety is achieved by expanding relatively low-powered outgoing Pulse energy through a shared, coaxial transmit/receive telescope. ARM NIPL system specifications, and specific unit optical designs are discussed. Data normalization and calibration techniques are presented. A multiple cloud boundary detection algorithm is also described. These techniques in tandem represent an operational value added processing package used to produce normalized data products for Cloud and aerosol research and the historical ARM data archive.

Campbell, James R.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Mechanistic Studies of Combustion and Structure Formation During Synthesis of Advanced Materials

Combustion in a variety of heterogeneous systems, leading to the synthesis of advanced materials, is characterized by high temperatures (2000-3500 K) and heating rates (up to 10(exp 6) K/s) at and ahead of the reaction front. These high temperatures generate liquids and gases which are subject to gravity-driven flow. The removal of such gravitational effects is likely to provide increased control of the reaction front, with a consequent improvement in control of the microstructure of the synthesized products. Thus, microgravity (mu-g) experiments lead to major advances in the understanding of fundamental aspects of combustion and structure formation under the extreme conditions of the combustion synthesis (CS) wave. In addition, the specific features of microgravity environment allow one to produce unique materials, which cannot be obtained under terrestrial conditions. The current research is a logic continuation of our previous work on investigations of the fundamental phenomena of combustion and structure formation that occur at the high temperatures achieved in a CS wave. Our research is being conducted in three main directions: 1) Microstructural Transformations during Combustion Synthesis of Metal-Ceramic Composites. The studies are devoted to the investigation of particle growth during CS of intermetallic-ceramic composites, synthesized from nickel, aluminum, titanium, and boron metal reactants. To determine the mechanisms of particle growth, the investigation varies the relative amount of components in the initial mixture to yield combustion wave products with different ratios of solid and liquid phases, under 1g and mu-g conditions; 2) Mechanisms of Heat Transfer during Reactions in Heterogeneous Media. Specifically, new phenomena of gasless combustion wave propagation in heterogeneous media with porosity higher than that achievable in normal gravity conditions, are being studied. Two types of mixtures are investigated: clad powders, where contact between reactants occurs within each particle, and mixtures of elemental powders, where interparticle contacts are important for the reaction; and 3) Mechanistic Studies of Phase Separation in Combustion of Thermite Systems. Studies are devoted to experiments on thermite systems (metal oxide-reducing metal) where phase separation processes occur to produce alloys with tailored compositions and properties. The separation may be either gravity-driven or due to surface forces, and systematic studies to elucidate the true mechanism are being conducted. The knowledge obtained will be used to find the most promising ways of controlling the microstructure and properties of combustion-synthesized materials. Low-gravity experiments are essential to create idealized an environment for insights into the physics and chemistry of advanced material synthesis processes.

Varma, A.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Land Surface Data Assimilation and the Northern Gulf Coast Land/Sea Breeze

A technique has been developed for assimilating GOES-derived skin temperature tendencies and insolation into the surface energy budget equation of a mesoscale model so that the simulated rate of temperature change closely agrees with the satellite observations. A critical assumption of the technique is that the availability of moisture (either from the soil or vegetation) is the least known term in the model's surface energy budget. Therefore, the simulated latent heat flux, which is a function of surface moisture availability, is adjusted based upon differences between the modeled and satellite observed skin temperature tendencies. An advantage of this technique is that satellite temperature tendencies are assimilated in an energetically consistent manner that avoids energy imbalances and surface stability problems that arise from direct assimilation of surface shelter temperatures. The fact that the rate of change of the satellite skin temperature is used rather than the absolute temperature means that sensor calibration is not as critical. The sea/land breeze is a well-documented mesoscale circulation that affects many coastal areas of the world including the northern Gulf Coast of the United States. The focus of this paper is to examine how the satellite assimilation technique impacts the simulation of a sea breeze circulation observed along the Mississippi/Alabama coast in the spring of 2001. The technique is implemented within the PSU/NCAR MM5 V3-4 and applied on a 4-km domain for this particular application. It is recognized that a 4-km grid spacing is too coarse to explicitly resolve the detailed, mesoscale structure of sea breezes. Nevertheless, the model can forecast certain characteristics of the observed sea breeze including a thermally direct circulation that results from differential low-level heating across the land-sea interface. Our intent is to determine the sensitivity of the circulation to the differential land surface forcing produced via the assimilation of GOES skin temperature tendencies. Results will be quantified through statistical verification techniques.

Lapenta, William M.↗

NASA NTRS2002

CHAMP Tracking and Accelerometer Data Analysis Results

The CHAMP (Challenging Minisatellite Payload) mission's unique combination of sensors and orbit configuration will enable unprecedented improvements in modeling and understanding the Earth's static gravity field and its temporal variations. CHAMP is the first of two missions (GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) to be launched in the later part of '01) that combine a new generation of GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers, a high precision three axis accelerometer, and star cameras for the precision attitude determination. In order to isolate the gravity signal for science investigations, it is necessary to perform a detailed reduction and analysis of the GPS and SLR tracking data in conjunction with the accelerometer and attitude data. Precision orbit determination based on the GPS and SLR (Satellite Laser Ranging) tracking data will isolate the orbit perturbations, while the accelerometer data will be used to distinguish the surface forces from those due to the geopotential (static, and time varying). In preparation for the CHAMP and GRACE missions, extensive modifications have been made to NASA/GSFC's GEODYN orbit determination software to enable the simultaneous reduction of spacecraft tracking (e.g. GPS and SLR), three axis accelerometer and precise attitude data. Several weeks of CHAMP tracking and accelerometer data have been analyzed and the results will be presented. Precision orbit determination analysis based on tracking data alone in addition to results based on the simultaneous reduction of tracking and accelerometer data will be discussed. Results from a calibration of the accelerometer will be presented along with the results from various orbit determination strategies. Gravity field modeling status and plans will be discussed.

Lemoine, Frank G.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Application of Land Surface Data Assimilation to Simulations of Sea Breeze Circulations

A technique has been developed for assimilating GOES-derived skin temperature tendencies and insolation into the surface energy budget equation of a mesoscale model so that the simulated rate of temperature change closely agrees with the satellite observations. A critical assumption of the technique is that the availability of moisture (either from the soil or vegetation) is the least known term in the model's surface energy budget. Therefore, the simulated latent heat flux, which is a function of surface moisture availability, is adjusted based upon differences between the modeled and satellite- observed skin temperature tendencies. An advantage of this technique is that satellite temperature tendencies are assimilated in an energetically consistent manner that avoids energy imbalances and surface stability problems that arise from direct assimilation of surface shelter temperatures. The fact that the rate of change of the satellite skin temperature is used rather than the absolute temperature means that sensor calibration is not as critical. The sea/land breeze is a well-documented mesoscale circulation that affects many coastal areas of the world including the northern Gulf Coast of the United States. The focus of this paper is to examine how the satellite assimilation technique impacts the simulation of a sea breeze circulation observed along the Mississippi/Alabama coast in the spring of 2001. The technique is implemented within the PSUNCAR MM5 V3-5 and applied at spatial resolutions of 12- and 4-km. It is recognized that even 4-km grid spacing is too coarse to explicitly resolve the detailed, mesoscale structure of sea breezes. Nevertheless, the model can forecast certain characteristics of the observed sea breeze including a thermally direct circulation that results from differential low-level heating across the land-sea interface. Our intent is to determine the sensitivity of the circulation to the differential land surface forcing produced via the assimilation of GOES skin temperature tendencies. Results will be quantified through statistical verification techniques.

Mackaro, Scott↗

NASA NTRS2003

Fresh Water Content Variability in the Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean model simulations have revealed that the Arctic Ocean has a basin wide oscillation with cyclonic and anticyclonic circulation anomalies (Arctic Ocean Oscillation; AOO) which has a prominent decadal variability. This study explores how the simulated AOO affects the Arctic Ocean stratification and its relationship to the sea ice cover variations. The simulation uses the Princeton Ocean Model coupled to sea ice. The surface forcing is based on NCEP-NCAR Reanalysis and its climatology, of which the latter is used to force the model spin-up phase. Our focus is to investigate the competition between ocean dynamics and ice formation/melt on the Arctic basin-wide fresh water balance. We find that changes in the Atlantic water inflow can explain almost all of the simulated fresh water anomalies in the main Arctic basin. The Atlantic water inflow anomalies are an essential part of AOO, which is the wind driven barotropic response to the Arctic Oscillation (AO). The baroclinic response to AO, such as Ekman pumping in the Beaufort Gyre, and ice meldfreeze anomalies in response to AO are less significant considering the whole Arctic fresh water balance.

Hakkinen, Sirpa↗

NASA NTRS2004

Fast, Repeatable Clumping of Solid Particles in Microgravity

A crucial step in planet formation is the growth of solid bodies in the sub-millimeter to meter size range: too large to condense directly from the gas phase and too small to interact meaningfully through mutual gravitation. The existence of planets in our solar system demands that some growth process once operated in that size regime, but the mechanism has not been positively identified. Whatever it was, it worked despite nebular turbulence that was probably strong enough to break dust structures cohering by weak surface forces and to disrupt small-scale gravitational collapse via the Goldreich-Ward mechanism. Recent work on this topic, reviewed in, has focussed on ice and frost in the laboratory, silicate dust in drop-tower and orbital microgravity environments, and numerically modelled magnetic particles.

Kive, S. G.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Simulating Virtual Terminal Area Weather Data Bases for Use in the Wake Vortex Avoidance System (Wake VAS) Prediction Algorithm

During the research project, sounding datasets were generated for the region surrounding 9 major airports, including Dallas, TX, Boston, MA, New York, NY, Chicago, IL, St. Louis, MO, Atlanta, GA, Miami, FL, San Francico, CA, and Los Angeles, CA. The numerical simulation of winter and summer environments during which no instrument flight rule impact was occurring at these 9 terminals was performed using the most contemporary version of the Terminal Area PBL Prediction System (TAPPS) model nested from 36 km to 6 km to 1 km horizontal resolution and very detailed vertical resolution in the planetary boundary layer. The soundings from the 1 km model were archived at 30 minute time intervals for a 24 hour period and the vertical dependent variables as well as derived quantities, i.e., 3-dimensional wind components, temperatures, pressures, mixing ratios, turbulence kinetic energy and eddy dissipation rates were then interpolated to 5 m vertical resolution up to 1000 m elevation above ground level. After partial validation against field experiment datasets for Dallas as well as larger scale and much coarser resolution observations at the other 8 airports, these sounding datasets were sent to NASA for use in the Virtual Air Space and Modeling program. The application of these datasets being to determine representative airport weather environments to diagnose the response of simulated wake vortices to realistic atmospheric environments. These virtual datasets are based on large scale observed atmospheric initial conditions that are dynamically interpolated in space and time. The 1 km nested-grid simulated datasets providing a very coarse and highly smoothed representation of airport environment meteorological conditions. Details concerning the airport surface forcing are virtually absent from these simulated datasets although the observed background atmospheric processes have been compared to the simulated fields and the fields were found to accurately replicate the flows surrounding the airport where coarse verification data were available as well as where airport scale datasets were available.

Kaplan, Michael L.↗

NASA NTRS2005

A Global Rapid Integrated Monitoring System for Water Cycle and Water Resource Assessment (Global-RIMS)

The main focus of our work was to solidify underlying data sets, the data processing tools and the modeling environment needed to perform a series of long-term global and regional hydrological simulations leading eventually to routine hydrometeorological predictions. A water and energy budget synthesis was developed for the Mississippi River Basin (Roads et al. 2003), in order to understand better what kinds of errors exist in current hydrometeorological data sets. This study is now being extended globally with a larger number of observations and model based data sets under the new NASA NEWS program. A global comparison of a number of precipitation data sets was subsequently carried out (Fekete et al. 2004) in which it was further shown that reanalysis precipitation has substantial problems, which subsequently led us to the development of a precipitation assimilation effort (Nunes and Roads 2005). We believe that with current levels of model skill in predicting precipitation that precipitation assimilation is necessary to get the appropriate land surface forcing.

Roads, John↗

NASA NTRS2005

The 0.125 degree finite-volume General Circulation Model on the NASA Columbia Supercomputer: Preliminary Simulations of Mesoscale Vortices

The NASA Columbia supercomputer was ranked second on the TOP500 List in November, 2004. Such a quantum jump in computing power provides unprecedented opportunities to conduct ultra-high resolution simulations with the finite-volume General Circulation Model (fvGCM). During 2004, the model was run in realtime experimentally at 0.25 degree resolution producing remarkable hurricane forecasts [Atlas et al., 2005]. In 2005, the horizontal resolution was further doubled, which makes the fvGCM comparable to the first mesoscale resolving General Circulation Model at the Earth Simulator Center [Ohfuchi et al., 2004]. Nine 5-day 0.125 degree simulations of three hurricanes in 2004 are presented first for model validation. Then it is shown how the model can simulate the formation of the Catalina eddies and Hawaiian lee vortices, which are generated by the interaction of the synoptic-scale flow with surface forcing, and have never been reproduced in a GCM before.)

Shen, B.-W.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Influence of the Convection Electric Field Models on Predicted Plasmapause Positions During Magnetic Storms

In the present work, we determine how three well documented models of the magnetospheric electric field, and two different mechanisms proposed for the formation of the plasmapause influence the radial distance, the shape and the evolution of the plasmapause during the geomagnetic storms of 28 October 2001 and of 17 April 2002. The convection electric field models considered are: Mcllwain's E51) electric field model, Volland-Stern's model and Weimer's statistical model compiled from low-Earth orbit satellite data. The mechanisms for the formation of the plasmapause to be tested are: (i) the MHD theory where the plasmapause should correspond to the last-closed- equipotential (LCE) or last-closed-streamline (LCS), if the E-field distribution is stationary or time-dependent respectively; (ii) the interchange mechanism where the plasmapause corresponds to streamlines tangent to a Zero-Parallel-Force surface where the field-aligned plasma distribution becomes convectively unstable during enhancements of the E-field intensity in the nightside local time sector. The results of the different time dependent simulations are compared with concomitant EUV observations when available. The plasmatails or plumes observed after both selected geomagnetic storms are predicted in all simulations and for all E-field models. However, their shapes are quite different depending on the E-field models and the mechanisms that are used. Despite the partial success of the simulations to reproduce plumes during magnetic storms and substorms, there remains a long way to go before the detailed structures observed in the EUV observations during periods of geomagnetic activity can be accounted for very precisely by the existing E-field models. Furthermore, it cannot be excluded that the mechanisms currently identified to explain the formation of "Carpenter's knee" during substorm events, will', have to be revised or complemented in the cases of geomagnetic storms.

Pierrard, V.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Evaluation of Enhanced High Resolution MODIS/AMSR-E SSTs and the Impact on Regional Weather Forecast

Over the last few years, the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center has been generating a 1-km sea surface temperature (SST) composite derived from retrievals of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for use in operational diagnostics and regional model initialization. With the assumption that the day-to-day variation in the SST is nominal, individual MODIS passes aboard the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua and Terra satellites are used to create and update four composite SST products each day at 0400, 0700, 1600, and 1900 UTC, valid over the western Atlantic and Caribbean waters. A six month study from February to August 2007 over the marine areas surrounding southern Florida was conducted to compare the use of the MODIS SST composite versus the Real-Time Global SST analysis to initialize the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Substantial changes in the forecast heat fluxes were seen at times in the marine boundary layer, but relatively little overall improvement was measured in the sensible weather elements. The limited improvement in the WRF model forecasts could be attributed to the diurnal changes in SST seen in the MODIS SST composites but not accounted for by the model. Furthermore, cloud contamination caused extended periods when individual passes of MODIS were unable to update the SSTs, leading to substantial SST latency and a cool bias during the early summer months. In order to alleviate the latency problems, the SPoRT Center recently enhanced its MODIS SST composite by incorporating information from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) instruments as well as the Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis. These enhancements substantially decreased the latency due to cloud cover and improved the bias and correlation of the composites at available marine point observations. While these enhancements improved upon the modeled cold bias using the original MODIS SSTs, the discernable impacts on the WRF model were still somewhat limited. This paper explores several factors that may have contributed to this result. First, the original methodology to initialize the model used the most recent SST composite available in a hypothetical real ]time configuration, often matching the forecast initial time with an SST field that was 5-8 hours offset. To minimize the differences that result from the diurnal variations in SST, the previous day fs SST composite is incorporated at a time closest to the model initialization hour (e.g. 1600 UTC composite at 1500 UTC model initialization). Second, the diurnal change seen in the MODIS SST composites was not represented by the WRF model in previous simulations, since the SSTs were held constant throughout the model integration. To address this issue, we explore the use of a water skin-temperature diurnal cycle prediction capability within v3.1 of the WRF model to better represent fluctuations in marine surface forcing. Finally, the verification of the WRF model is limited to very few over-water sites, many of which are located near the coastlines. In order to measure the open ocean improvements from the AMSR-E, we could use an independent 2-dimensional, satellite-derived data set to validate the forecast model by applying an object-based verification method. Such a validation technique could aid in better understanding the benefits of the mesoscale SST spatial structure to regional models applications.

Schiferl, Luke D.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Assessing the Potential to Derive Air-Sea Freshwater Fluxes from Aquarius-Like Observations of Surface Salinity

A state-of-the-art numerical model is used to investigate the possibility of determining freshwater flux fields from temporal changes io sea-surface salinity (SSS), a goal of the satellite salinity-measuring mission, Aquarius/SAC-D. Because the estimated advective temporal scale is usually longer than the Aquarius/SAC-D revisit time, the possibility of producing freshwater flux estimates from temporal salinity changes is first examined by using a correlation analysis. For the mean seasonal cycle, the patterns of the correlations between the freshwater fluxes and surface salinity temporal tendencies are mainly zonally oriented, and are highest where the local precipitation is also relatively high. Nonseasonal (deviations from the monthly mean) correlations are highest along mid-latitude moon tracks and are relatively small in the tropics. The complex correlation patterns presented here suggest that a global retrieval of the difference between evaporation and precipitation (E-P) from salinity changes requires more complex techniques than a simple consideration of local balance with surface forcing.

Zhen, Li↗