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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
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NASA NTRS1994

Arctic ocean radiative fluxes and cloud forcing estimated from the ISCCP C2 cloud dataset, 1983-1990

Radiative fluxes and cloud forcings for the ocean areas of the Arctic are computed from the monthly cloud product of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) for 1983-90. Spatially averaged short-wave fluxes are compared well with climatological values, while downwelling longwave fluxes are significantly lower. This is probably due to the fact that the ISCCP cloud amounts are underestimates. Top-of-the-atmosphere radiative fluxes are in excellent agreement with measurements from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). Computed cloud forcings indicate that clouds have a warming effect at the surface and at the top of the atmosphere during winter and a cooling effect during summer. The net radiative effect of clouds is larger at the surface during winter but greater at the top of the atmosphere during summer. Overall the net radiative effect of clouds at the top of the atmosphere is one of cooling. This is in contrast to a previous result from ERBE data showing arctic cloud forcings have a net warming effect. Sensitivities to errors in input parameters are generally greater during winter with cloud amount being the most important paarameter. During summer the surface radiation balance is most sensitive to errors in the measurements of surface reflectance. The results are encouraging, but the estimated error of 20 W/sq m in surface net radiative fluxes is too large, given that estimates of the net radiative warming effect due to a doubling of CO2 are on the order of 4 W/sq m. Because it is difficult to determine the accuracy of results with existing in situ observations, it is recommended that the development of improved algorithms for the retrieval of surface radiative properties be accompanied by the simultaneous assembly of validation datasets.

Schweiger, Axel J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Cloud cover estimation using bispectral satellite measurements

An algorithm has been developed for cloud cover estimation using bispectral satellite measurements. Based on the distribution of pixels in albedo-brightness temperature space, a number of threshold values are applied to identify those pixels which are most likely totally cloud filled. Mean cloudy-column albedo in a region much larger than a single pixel is then estimated and cloud cover computed. The algorithm has been applied to the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Geostationary Meteorological Satellite B2 data. Locations of tropical convective cells and the passage of fronts in higher latitudes are identified. Since these features represent the states of large-scale atmospheric circulations, it is concluded that the algorithm can yield consistent cloud data sets useful for climate studies.

Chou, M.-D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Relationship between the longwave cloud radiative forcing at the surface and the top of the atmosphere

An analysis is presented which suggests a technique that may be able to circumvent the problem of mapping the global longwave surface radiation budget from space in the presence of clouds. A theoretical framework is given that avoids the explicit computation of cloud fraction and the location of cloud base. It is found that in regions where a particular cloud regime exists preferentially, a relationship between the mean long range cloud radiative forcing (CRF) at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface can be shown to exist. Results from a general circulation model suggest that this relationship for monthly means is coherent over fairly large geographical areas. For example, in tropical convective areas, the longwave CRF at the top is very large, but at the surface it is quite small because of the high opacity of the lowest layers of the atmosphere. It is also found that, in areas of stratus over cool ocean surfaces, the longwave CRF at the top is very small but at the surface it is quite substantial.

HARSHVARDHAN↗
NASA NTRS2015

Assessing the Amazon Cloud Suitability for CLARREO's Computational Needs

In this document we compare the performance of the Amazon Web Services (AWS), also known as Amazon Cloud, with the CLARREO (Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory) cluster and assess its suitability for computational needs of the CLARREO mission. A benchmark executable to process one month and one year of PARASOL (Polarization and Anistropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar) data was used. With the optimal AWS configuration, adequate data-processing times, comparable to the CLARREO cluster, were found. The assessment of alternatives to the CLARREO cluster continues and several options, such as a NASA-based cluster, are being considered.

Goldin, Daniel↗
NASA NTRS2017

Development of Multi-Sensor Global Cloud and Radiance Composites for Earth Radiation Budget Monitoring from DSCOVR

The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) enables analysis of the daytime Earth radiation budget via the onboard Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Radiometer (NISTAR). Radiance observations and cloud property retrievals from low earth orbit and geostationary satellite imagers have to be co-located with EPIC pixels to provide scene identification in order to select anisotropic directional models needed to calculate shortwave and longwave fluxes. A new algorithm is proposed for optimal merging of selected radiances and cloud properties derived from multiple satellite imagers to obtain seamless global hourly composites at 5-kilometer resolution. An aggregated rating is employed to incorporate several factors and to select the best observation at the time nearest to the EPIC measurement. Spatial accuracy is improved using inverse mapping with gradient search during reprojection and bicubic interpolation for pixel resampling. The composite data are subsequently remapped into EPIC-view domain by convolving composite pixels with the EPIC point spread function (PSF) defined with a half-pixel accuracy. PSF-weighted average radiances and cloud properties are computed separately for each cloud phase. The algorithm has demonstrated contiguous global coverage for any requested time of day with a temporal lag of under 2 hours in over 95 percent of the globe.

Khlopenkov, Konstantin↗
NASA NTRS1987

Fluorescent excitation of interstellar H2

The infrared emission spectrum of H2 excited by ultraviolet absorption, followed by fluorescence, was investigated using comprehensive models of interstellar clouds for computing the spectrum and to assess the effects on the intensity to various cloud properties, such as density, size, temperature, and the intensity of the UV radiation field. It is shown that the absolute H2 IR line intensities depend primarily on the density of the cloud and the strength of the incident UV radiation, and to a much lesser exent on the temperature of the gas, the total thickness of the cloud, and the optical properties of the grains. A variety of recent observational results are discussed with reference to theoretical models. It is shown that the rich H2 emission spectrum of the reflection nebula NGC 2023 can be reproduced by a model with density of about 10,000/cu cm, temperature of about 80 K, and UV flux approximately 300 times that of the Galactic background starlight.

Black, John H.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Multiple scattering of polarized light in planetary atmospheres. II - Sunlight reflected by terrestrial water clouds.

The intensity and polarization of sunlight reflected by terrestrial water clouds are computed with the doubling method. The calculations illustrate that this method can be effectively used in problems involving strongly anisotropic phase matrices. The method can, therefore, be used to derive information about planetary clouds, including those of the earth, from polarimetric observations. The results of the computations indicate that the polarization is more sensitive than the intensity to cloud microstructure, such as particle size and shape.

Hansen, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Parameterization of Cloud Optical Properties for a Mixture of Ice Particles for use in Atmospheric Models

Based on the single-scattering optical properties that are pre-computed using an improve geometric optics method, the bulk mass absorption coefficient, single-scattering albedo, and asymmetry factor of ice particles have been parameterized as a function of the mean effective particle size of a mixture of ice habits. The parameterization has been applied to compute fluxes for sample clouds with various particle size distributions and assumed mixtures of particle habits. Compared to the parameterization for a single habit of hexagonal column, the solar heating of clouds computed with the parameterization for a mixture of habits is smaller due to a smaller cosingle-scattering albedo. Whereas the net downward fluxes at the TOA and surface are larger due to a larger asymmetry factor. The maximum difference in the cloud heating rate is approx. 0.2 C per day, which occurs in clouds with an optical thickness greater than 3 and the solar zenith angle less than 45 degrees. Flux difference is less than 10 W per square meters for the optical thickness ranging from 0.6 to 10 and the entire range of the solar zenith angle. The maximum flux difference is approximately 3%, which occurs around an optical thickness of 1 and at high solar zenith angles.

Chou, Ming-Dah↗
NASA NTRS1978

Energetic secondary electrons and the nonthermal galactic radio background - A probe of the magnetic field in interstellar clouds

A previous analysis of the manifestations of charged-pion-decay secondary electrons in interstellar cloud material is extended to include those contributions to the Galactic radio and soft gamma-ray backgrounds that are directly attributable to energetic secondaries. The equilibrium distribution of secondary electrons in dense interstellar clouds is calculated, synchrotron emissivity from isolated interstellar clouds is examined, and it is shown how the value of the magnetic field in these clouds may be determined by observing the radio emission in their directions. The contribution that such clouds make to the integrated radio background is evaluated, and the Galactic distribution of bremsstrahlung gamma rays that arise from interactions of secondary electrons with thermal material in dense clouds is computed. The results indicate that a magnetic field of no more than 80 microgauss is characteristic of dense clouds and that the integrated synchrotron radiation from secondary electrons in interstellar clouds will contribute a significant fraction of the nonthermal brightness along the Galactic equator even if the mean cloud field is as low as 35 microgauss.

Marscher, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Cloud pumping in a one-dimensional photochemical model

Cloud pumping data based on tropical maritime updraft statistics are incorporated in a one-dimensional steady-state eddy diffusive photochemical model of the troposphere. It is suggested that regions with weaker convection, such as the midlatitudes, may also experience substantial effects from cloud pumping. The direct effects of cloud pumping on CO were found to be more significant than implied by sensitivity studies. The (CH3)2S profile computed with cloud pumping agrees well with previous data.

Costen, Robert C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Subvisual Cirrus cloud properties derived from a FIRE IFO case study

From the central Wisconsin IFO field at Wausau, the Mobile Polarization Lidar and a surface radiation station from the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory observed two very tenuous cirrus clouds on 21 October 1986. The clouds were present just below the height of the tropopause, between -60 to -70 C. The first cloud was not detected visually, and is classified as subvisual cirrus. The second, a relatively narrow cloud band that was probably the remnants of an aircraft contrail, can be termed zenith-subvisual since, although it was invisible in the zenith direction, it could be discerned when viewed at lower elevation angles and also due to strong solar forward-scattering and corona effects. The observations provide an opportunity to assess the threshold cloud optical thickness associated with cirrus cloud visibility. Ruby lidar backscattered signals were converted to isotropic volume backscatter coefficients by applying the pure-molecular scattering assumption just below the cloud base. The backscattering coefficient due to the cloud is then obtained and expressed in relation to the molecular backscattering coefficient in terms of the scattering ratio R. The linear depolarization ratio for the cloud is computed after removing the essentially parallel-polarized scattering contribution from air molecules. The values are also applied to determine the cloud optical thickness through the use of backscatter-to-extinction ratio, and the concentration of cloud particles using the backscattering gain, and the effective diameter of the particles obtained from the analysis of solar corona photographs. The sizes of the particles generating the corona are related to the angular separations between the centers of the red bands and the sun, yielding diameters of approximately 25 microns. The direct and diffuse components of shortwave radiation fluxes, measured by full hemispheric pyranometers, were used to compute the nadir optical thickness of the total atmosphere.

Sassen, Kenneth↗
NASA NTRS1991

The role of global cloud climatologies in validating numerical models

Reliable estimates of the components of the surface radiation budget are important in studies of ocean-atmosphere interaction, land-atmosphere interaction, ocean circulation and in the validation of radiation schemes used in climate models. The methods currently under consideration must necessarily make certain assumptions regarding both the presence of clouds and their vertical extent. Because of the uncertainties in assumed cloudiness, all these methods involve perhaps unacceptable uncertainties. Here, a theoretical framework that avoids the explicit computation of cloud fraction and the location of cloud base in estimating the surface longwave radiation is presented. Estimates of the global surface downward fluxes and the oceanic surface net upward fluxes were made for four months (April, July, October and January) in 1985 to 1986. These estimates are based on a relationship between cloud radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere and the surface obtained from a general circulation model. The radiation code is the version used in the UCLA/GLA general circulation model (GCM). The longwave cloud radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere as obtained from Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) measurements is used to compute the forcing at the surface by means of the GCM-derived relationship. This, along with clear-sky fluxes from the computations, yield maps of the downward longwave fluxes and net upward longwave fluxes at the surface. The calculated results are discussed and analyzed. The results are consistent with current meteorological knowledge and explainable on the basis of previous theoretical and observational works; therefore, it can be concluded that this method is applicable as one of the ways to obtain the surface longwave radiation fields from currently available satellite data.

HARSHVARDHAN↗
NASA NTRS1983

The 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens - Physical and chemical processes in the stratospheric clouds

The large and diverse set of observational data collected in the high-altitude plumes of the May 18, May 25, and June 13, 1980 eruptions is organized and analyzed with a view to discerning the processes at work. The data serve to guide and constrain detailed model simulations of the volcanic clouds. For this purpose, use is made of a comprehensive one-dimensional model of stratospheric sulfate aerosols, sulfur precursor gases, and volcanic ash and dust. The model takes into account gas-phase and condensed-phase (heterogeneous) chemistry in the clouds, aerosol nucleation and growth, and cloud expansion. Computational results are presented for the time histories of the gaseous species concentrations, aerosol size distributions, and ash burdens of the eruption clouds. Also investigated are the long-term buildup of stratospheric aerosols in the Northern Hemisphere and the persistent effects of injected chlorine and water vapor on stratospheric ozone. It is concluded that SO2, water vapor, and ash were probably the most important substances injected into the stratosphere by the Mount St. Helens volcano, both with respect to their widespread effects on composition and their effect on climate.

Turco, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Simulation studies of the physical and chemical processes occurring in the stratospheric clouds of the Mount St. Helens eruptions of May and June 1980

The large and diverse set of observational data collected in the high-altitude clouds of May 18, May 25, and June 13, 1980 was organized and analyzed for trends which reveal the processes at work. The data were used to guide and constrain model simulations of the volcanic eruptions. A comprehensive one-dimensional model of stratospheric sulfate aerosols, sulfur precursor gases, and volcanic ash and dust particles is utilized which accounts for homogeneous and heterogeneous chemistry in the clouds, aerosol nucleation and growth, and cloud expansion. Computational results are given for the time histories of the gaseous species concentrations, sulfate aerosol size dispersions, and ash burdens in the eruption clouds. The long-term buildup of stratospheric aerosols in the Northern Hemisphere and the persistent effects of injected chlorine and water vapor on ozone are discussed. It is concluded that SO2, water vapor, and ash are the most important substances injected by the volcano into the stratosphere, with respect to both the widespread effects on composition and the impact on climate. It is found that the volcano probably had little influence on the climate ( 0.05 K global surface cooling) or on stratospheric ozone ( 0.2 percent maximum hemispherical reduction).

Turco, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Lightning data study in conjunction with geostationary satellite data

During the summer of 1985, cloud-to-ground stroke lightning were collected. Thirty minute samples of lightning were compared with GOES IR fractional cold cloud coverage computed for three temperature thresholds (213, 243, and 273 K) twice daily (morning and evening). It was found that satellite measurements of cold cloud have a relationship to the flashrate and, in a more limited way, to the polarity and numbers of return strokes. Results varied little by location. Lightning, especially positive strokes, was found to be correlated with fractional cloud coverage, especially for clouds at or below 213 K. Other data and correlations are discussed.

Auvine, Brian↗
NASA NTRS1981

Transport of infrared radiation in cuboidal clouds

The transport of infrared radiation in a single cuboidal cloud using a vertical two steam approximation was modeled. The emittance of the top face of the model cloud is always less than that for a plane parallel cloud of the same optical depth. The hemisphere flux escaping from the cloud top has a gradient from the center to the edges which brighten when the cloud is over warmer ground. Cooling rate calculations in the 8 to 13.6 micrometer region show that there is cooling from the sides of the cloud at all levels even when there is heating of the core from the ground below. The radiances exiting from model cuboidal clouds were computed by path integration over the source function obtained with the two stream approximation. It is suggested that the brightness temperature measured from finite clouds will overestimate the cloud top temperature.

HARSHVARDHAN↗
NASA NTRS1994

A quantitative analysis of IRAS maps of molecular clouds

We present an analysis of IRAS maps of five molecular clouds: Orion, Ophiuchus, Perseus, Taurus, and Lupus. For the classification and description of these astrophysical maps, we use a newly developed technique which considers all maps of a given type to be elements of a pseudometric space. For each physical characteristic of interest, this formal system assigns a distance function (a pseudometric) to the space of all maps: this procedure allows us to measure quantitatively the difference between any two maps and to order the space of all maps. We thus obtain a quantitative classification scheme for molecular clouds. In this present study we use the IRAS continuum maps at 100 and 60 micrometer(s) to produce column density (or optical depth) maps for the five molecular cloud regions given above. For this sample of clouds, we compute the 'output' functions which measure the distribution of density, the distribution of topological components, the self-gravity, and the filamentary nature of the clouds. The results of this work provide a quantitative description of the structure in these molecular cloud regions. We then order the clouds according to the overall environmental 'complexity' of these star-forming regions. Finally, we compare our results with the observed populations of young stellar objects in these clouds and discuss the possible environmental effects on the star-formation process. Our results are consistent with the recently stated conjecture that more massive stars tend to form in more 'complex' environments.

Wiseman, Jennifer J.↗