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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

Improving a Spectral Bin Microphysical Scheme Using TRMM Satellite Observations

Comparisons between cloud model simulations and observations are crucial in validating model performance and improving physical processes represented in the mod Tel.hese modeled physical processes are idealized representations and almost always have large rooms for improvements. In this study, we use data from two different sensors onboard TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) satellite to improve the microphysical scheme in the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model. TRMM observed mature-stage squall lines during late spring, early summer in central US over a 9-year period are compiled and compared with a case simulation by GCE model. A unique aspect of the GCE model is that it has a state-of-the-art spectral bin microphysical scheme, which uses 33 different bins to represent particle size distribution of each of the seven hydrometeor species. A forward radiative transfer model calculates TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) reflectivity and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) 85 GHz brightness temperatures from simulated particle size distributions. Comparisons between model outputs and observations reveal that the model overestimates sizes of snow/aggregates in the stratiform region of the squall line. After adjusting temperature-dependent collection coefficients among ice-phase particles, PR comparisons become good while TMI comparisons worsen. Further investigations show that the partitioning between graupel (a high-density form of aggregate), and snow (a low-density form of aggregate) needs to be adjusted in order to have good comparisons in both PR reflectivity and TMI brightness temperature. This study shows that long-term satellite observations, especially those with multiple sensors, can be very useful in constraining model microphysics. It is also the first study in validating and improving a sophisticated spectral bin microphysical scheme according to long-term satellite observations.

Li, Xiaowen↗
NASA NTRS2006

Monthly-Diurnal Water Budget Variability Over Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean Sea Basin from Satellite Observations

This study presents results from a multi-satellite/multi-sensor retrieval system design d to obtain the atmospheric water budget over the open ocean. A combination of hourly-sampled monthly datasets derived from the GOES-8 5-channel Imager, the TRMM TMI radiometer, and the DMSP 7-channel passive microwave radiometers (SSM/I) have been acquired for the combined Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean Sea basin. Whereas the methodology has been tested over this basin, the retrieval system is designed for portability to any open-ocean region. Algorithm modules using the different datasets to retrieve individual geophysical parameters needed in the water budget equation are designed in a manner that takes advantage of the high temporal resolution of the GOES-8 measurements, as well as the physical relationships inherent to the TRMM and SSM/I passive microwave measurements in conjunction with water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rainfall. The methodology consists of retrieving the precipitation, surface evaporation, and vapor-cloud water storage terms in the atmospheric water balance equation from satellite techniques, with the water vapor advection term being obtained as the residue needed for balance. Thus, the intent is to develop a purely satellite-based method for obtaining the full set of terms in the atmospheric water budget equation without requiring in situ sounding information on the wind profile. The algorithm is validated by cross-checking all the algorithm components through multiple-algorithm retrieval intercomparisons. A further check on the validation is obtained by directly comparing water vapor transports into the targeted basin diagnosed from the satellite algorithms to those obtained observationally from a network of land-based upper air stations that nearly uniformly surround the basin, although it is fair to say that these checks are more effective in identifying problems in estimating vapor transports from a "leaky" operational radiosonde network than in verifying the transport estimates determined from the satellite algorithm system. Total columnar atmospheric water budget results are presented for an extended annual cycle consisting of the months of October-97, January-98, April-98, July-98,October-98, and January- 1999. These results are used to emphasize the changing relationship in E-P, as well as in the varying roles of storage and advection in balancing E-P both on daily and monthly time scales and on localized and basin space scales. Results from the algorithm-to-algorithm intercomparisons are also presented in the context of sensitivity testing to help understand the intrinsic uncertainties in evaluating the water budget terms by an all-satellite algorithm approach.

Smith, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS2005

A Model Assessment of Satellite Observed Trends in Polar Sea Ice Extents

For more than three decades now, satellite passive microwave observations have been used to monitor polar sea ice. Here we utilize sea ice extent trends determined from primarily satellite data for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres for the period 1972(73)-2004 and compare them with results from simulations by eleven climate models. In the Northern Hemisphere, observations show a statistically significant decrease of sea ice extent and an acceleration of sea ice retreat during the past three decades. However, from the modeled natural variability of sea ice extents in control simulations, we conclude that the acceleration is not statistically significant and should not be extrapolated into the future. Observations and model simulations show that the time scale of climate variability in sea ice extent in the Southern Hemisphere is much larger than in the Northern Hemisphere and that the Southern Hemisphere sea ice extent trends are not statistically significant.

Vinnikov, Konstantin Y.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Space-Based Measurements of CO2 from the Japanese Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and the NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) Missions

Space-based remote sensing observations hold substantial promise for future long-term monitoring of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The principal advantages of space based measurements include: (1) Spatial coverage (especially over oceans and tropical land) (2) Sampling density (needed to resolve CO2 weather). The principal challenge is the need for high precision To reach their full potential, space based CO2 measurements must be validated against surface measurements to ensure their accuracy. The TCCON network is providing the transfer standard There is a need for a long-term vision to establish and address community priorities (1) Must incorporate ground, air, space-based assets and models (2) Must balance calls for new observations with need to maintain climate data records.

Orbiting Carbon Observatory -↗
NASA NTRS1973

Use of meteorological satellite observations in weather modification programs

The potential value of weather satellite data in field operations of weather modification is appraised. It was found that satellites could play a useful role in operational weather modification projects, particularly in the recognition of treatment opportunities. Satellite cloud photographs and infrared observations appear promising in the identification of treatment opportunities in seeding orographic cloud systems for increased snowpack, in seeding convective clouds for increased rainfall, in identifying hail threats, and in tracking and observing hurricanes as an aid to timing and location of seeding treatments. It was concluded that the potential value of satellite data in the treatment and evaluation phases of operational projects is not as great as in the recognition of treatment opportunity.

Dennis, A. S.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Regional Analysis of the 2015–16 Lower Mekong River Basin Drought Using NASA Satellite Observations

Study region Lower Mekong River Basin (LMRB) Study focus Satellite remote sensing products are widely used for monitoring droughts. Using NASA satellite sensors of precipitation (Global Measurement Mission, GPM), soil moisture (Soil Moisture Active and Passive, SMAP), and terrestrial water storage (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, GRACE), this study evaluates the historical drought in the LMRB during 2015–16. SMAP soil moisture was validated against in-situ soil moisture, and GPM precipitation and SMAP soil moisture were cross-validated with streamflow observations. The spatiotemporal dynamics of soil moisture were also examined in different ranges of catchment areas. In performing the analysis, we used lagged correlations between hydrological variables and the indices of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI). New hydrological insights for the regions Spatio-temporal patterns of drought in 2015–16 were examined from the entire basin to small watersheds. A mismatch occurs when using GRACE data to study droughts in small watersheds (many of the small watersheds would be a fraction of the few 100 km2 spatial resolutions of GRACE pixel). In smaller watersheds, hydrological drought (SSI) was closely defined with SMAP soil moisture downscaled to 1 km rather than the meteorological drought index (SPI). By leveraging satellite-based observations across a range of spatial scales, this study highlights the utility of Earth observations in informing water resources and land management decisions at the regional scale.

Mekong↗
NASA NTRS1992

The upper layer circulation of the Black Sea - Its variability as inferred from hydrographic and satellite observations

Quasi-synoptic hydrographic data and satellite imagery are used to describe the circulation and the structural variability of the Black Sea with particular emphasis on the Turkish coast. The circulation is indicated to involve a variable cyclonic circulation with no apparent central locus and a well-defined cyclonic 'Rim Current' containing meanders and interacting eddy fields confined to the shelf slope. Interspersed between the coastal eddies are filaments and intense jets, often with dipole eddies at their termina. The extension of these features across the shelf-slope into the central basin offshore waters implies important dynamical processes related to the shell-deep basin exchanges. These features are often steered by the topography and evolve continuously through the mixed baroclinic-barotropic instability of the Rim Current.

Oguz, Temel↗
NASA NTRS1992

Preliminary design of a satellite observation system for Space Station Freedom

Degobah Satellite Systems (DSS), in cooperation with the University Space Research Association (USRA), NASA - Johnson Space Center (JSC), and the University of Texas, has completed the preliminary design of a satellite system to provide inexpensive on-demand video images of all or any portion of Space Station Freedom (SSF). DSS has narrowed the scope of the project to complement the work done by Mr. Dennis Wells at Johnson Space Center. This three month project has resulted in completion of the preliminary design of AERCAM, the Autonomous Extravehicular Robotic Camera, detailed in this design report. This report begins by providing information on the project background, describing the mission objectives, constraints, and assumptions. Preliminary designs for the primary concept and satellite subsystems are then discussed in detail. Included in the technical portion of the report are detailed descriptions of an advanced imaging system and docking and safing systems that ensure compatibility with the SSF. The report concludes by describing management procedures and project costs.

Cabe, Greg↗
NASA NTRS2020

CM6: A Comprehensive Geomagnetic Field Model Derived From Both CHAMP and Swarm Satellite Observations

From the launch of the Oersted satellite in 1999, through the CHAMP mission from 2000 to 2010, and now with the Swarm constellation mission starting in 2013, satellite magnetometry has provided excellent monitoring of the near-Earth magnetic field regime. The advanced Comprehensive Inversion scheme has been applied to data before Swarm and to the Swarm data itself, but now for the first time to all the satellite data in this new era, culminating in the CM6 model. The highlights of this model include not only a continuous core magnetic field description over the entire time period 1999 to 2019.5 in good agreement with the CHAOS model series, but the addition of two new oceanic tidal magnetic sources: the larger lunar elliptic semi-diurnal constituent N2 and the lunar diurnal constituent O1. CM6 is also the parent model of the NASA/GSFC candidates for the DGRF2015 and IGRF2020 in response to the IGRF-13 call. This paper provides a full report on the development of CM6.

Geomagnetism↗
NASA NTRS2016

Magnetospheric Multiscale Satellite Observations of Parallel Electron Acceleration in Magnetic Field Reconnection by Fermi Reflection from Time Domain Structures

The same time domain structures (TDS) have been observed on two Magnetospheric Multiscale Satellites near Earth's dayside magnetopause. These TDS, traveling away from the X line along the magnetic field at 4000 km/s, accelerated field-aligned approx. 5 eV electrons to approx. 200 eV by a single Fermi reflection of the electrons by these overtaking barriers. Additionally, the TDS contained both positive and negative potentials, so they were a mixture of electron holes and double layers. They evolve in approx.10 km of space or 7 ms of time and their spatial scale size is 10-20 km, which is much larger than the electron gyroradius (less than1km) or the electron inertial length (4 km at the observation point, less nearer the X line).

Mozer, F. S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Detecting the diurnal cycle of rainfall using satellite observations

The diurnal cycle in rainfall varies considerably from region to region in the tropics. Determining this variability is important both for comparing predictions of atmospheric models to real atmospheric behavior and for making sure that estimates of total rainfall from low-altitude satellites are not biased because of their infrequent observations of a given region of the earth. Although there are no data from the proposed Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite to work with yet, we can ask how well the diurnal cycle in rainfall will be detected when the satellite is eventually collecting data, given the satellite's proposed sampling characteristics. Data analyses for the diurnal cycle are discussed, taking into account the fact that the satellite visits will be irregularly spaced in time. The amplitudes of the first few harmonics will be determined by least-squares fits to the satellite observations, and the tests needed to establish the statistical significance of the fitted amplitudes are discussed. The accuracy with which the first few harmonics of the diurnal cycle can be detected is estimated from several months of satellite data using rainfall statistics observed during the GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program) Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE).

Bell, Thomas L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Geostationary Satellite Observations Over Global Environmental Monitoring Sites

Globally, there are now hundreds of ground-based environmental monitoring stations routinely collecting data on a variety of earth-atmosphere interactions. Such observations are also being augmented with data from orbiting satellites. With the beginning of the EOS-era, the MODIS subset around flux towers has been frequently used for validating ecosystem models developed at flux towers and upscaling the observed flux data to regional scales. However, MODIS on the polar-orbiting satellites can observe target regions only once a day, while the Fluxnet eddy- covariance data are compiled as sub-hourly. Therefore, summarizing the sub-hourly flux data into daily statistics is necessary for the comparison between MODIS and Flux data. The new generation geostationary satellite sensors (GOES-16/17 ABI and Himawari-8/9 AHI) have capabilities similar to MODIS but collect data at 5-15 minute intervals. These high-frequency observations allow us to understand and scale diurnal fluxes. Some studies have already shown the effective utilization of time series of geostationary satellite data for ecosystem modeling. We are producing NEX Level-1G products, which are gridded Top-of-Atmosphere reflectance and brightness temperature data from geostationary satellite sensors. We cut out the NEX Level-1G data using the same file format with the MODIS subset except for the projection. The other data products (e.g., surface reflectance, land surface temperature, vegetation indices, and climate data) will be added upon their availability. Currently included networks are Fluxnet, PhenoCam, and AERONET. The NEX subset data will be provided through NASA NEX data portal.

Geostationary Satellites↗
NASA NTRS1989

Time-periodic variations in stratospheric ozone from satellite observations

The time-periodic variations in stratospheric zonal mean ozone number density are examined with emphasis on annual and semi-annual oscillations. The data base for this analysis is the ozone observation from the SAGE II satellite instrument. A multiple linear regression method is adopted for the analysis. The results show that the amplitudes and phases of the time-periodic ozone variations are functions of altitude and latitude.

Wang, Pi-Huan↗
NASA NTRS2016

Magnetospheric Multiscale Satellites Observations of Parallel Electric Fields Associated with Magnetic Reconnection

We report observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites of parallel electric fields (E (sub parallel)) associated with magnetic reconnection in the subsolar region of the Earth's magnetopause. E (sub parallel) events near the electron diffusion region have amplitudes on the order of 100 millivolts per meter, which are significantly larger than those predicted for an antiparallel reconnection electric field. This Letter addresses specific types of E (sub parallel) events, which appear as large-amplitude, near unipolar spikes that are associated with tangled, reconnected magnetic fields. These E (sub parallel) events are primarily in or near a current layer near the separatrix and are interpreted to be double layers that may be responsible for secondary reconnection in tangled magnetic fields or flux ropes. These results are telling of the three-dimensional nature of magnetopause reconnection and indicate that magnetopause reconnection may be often patchy and/or drive turbulence along the separatrix that results in flux ropes and/or tangled magnetic fields.

Ergun, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Stratocumulus cloud height variations determined from surface and satellite observations

Determination of cloud-top heights from satellite-inferred cloud-top temperatures is a relatively straightforward procedure for a well-behaved troposphere. The assumption of a monotonically decreasing temperature with increasing altitude is commonly used to assign a height to a given cloud-top temperature. In the hybrid bispectral threshold method, or HBTM, Minnis et al. (1987) assume that the lapse rate for the troposphere is -6.5/Kkm and that the surface temperature which calibrated this lapse rate is the 24 hour mean of the observed or modeled clear-sky, equivalent blackbody temperature. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) algorithm (Rossow et al., 1988) attempts a more realistic assignment of height by utilizing interpolations of analyzed temperature fields from the National Meteorological Center (NMC) to determine the temperature at a given level over the region of interest. Neither these nor other techniques have been tested to any useful extent. The First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Intensive Field Observations (IFO) provide an excellent opportunity to assess satellite-derived cloud height results because of the availability of both direct and indirect cloud-top altitude data of known accuracy. The variations of cloud-top altitude during the Marine Stratocumulus IFO (MSIFO, June 29 to July 19, 1987) derived from surface, aircraft, and satellite data are examined.

Minnis, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS1988

Simultaneous VLA-satellite observations of the sun

The simultaneous use of VLA and satellite-borne telescopes to observe the quiescent and active corona with comparable resolution in time and space is discussed. VLA data at 90-cm specify closed and open magnetic stuctures in the low solar corona, providing information on the initiating source of coronal mass ejections in satellite coronagraphs. The study of quiescent coronal loops from combined soft X-ray and 20-cm VLA data is considered. The used of combined VLA-satellite data to investigate magnetic interaction and particle acceleration before and during flare is discussed.

Lang, Kenneth R.↗