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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Synchrotron cooling and annihilation of an E(+)-E(-) plasma: The radiation mechanism for the March 5, 1979 transient

Positron-electron pair radiation is examined as a mechanism that could be responsible for the impulsive phase emission of the March 5, 1979 transient. Synchrotron cooling and subsequent annihilation of the pairs can account for the energy spectrum, the very high brightness, and the approximately 0.4 MeV feature observed from this transient, whose source is likely to be a neutron star in the supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. In this model, the observed radiation is produced in the skin layer of a hot, radiation dominated pair atmosphere, probably confined to the vicinity of the neutron star by a strong magnetic field. The width of this layer is only about 0.1 mm. In this layer, approximately 10 to the 12th power generations of pairs are formed (by photon-photon collisions), cooled and annihilated during the approximately 0.15 sec duration of the impulsive phase. The very large burst energy implied by the distance of the Large Magellanic Cloud, and its very rapid release, are unsolved problems. Nonetheless, the possibility of neutron star vibrations, which could transport the energy coherently to the surface, heat the atmosphere mechanically to a hot, pair-producing temperature, and have a characteristic damping time roughly equal to the duration of the impulsive phase are addressed.

Ramaty, R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Spatial variability of outgoing longwave radiation

Data from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment scanning radiometer aboard the NOAA-9 operational meteorological satellite are used to investigate the spatial variability of Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR). Daily and monthly radiation maps at 2.5 deg latitude-longitude scale are used as a basis for the study. The regions of greatest variability are in the tropics and subtropics. Storm tracks such as the South Pacific convergence zone appear as regions of high OLR variability. Spatial spectra in longitude show two regimes of OLR. At large scales (wavenumbers less than 6), the spatial spectrum is flat. For wavenumbers greater than 10, the spectra decrease as wavenumber to the -3 power. The spatial spectrum of daily anomalies from the mean is a strong function of latitude and season, with interesting features. Correlations of daily anomalies from the monthly mean decrease exponentially in latitude but have a damped-wave structure in longitude. The spatial variability of the daily maps, as measured by degree variance, have 10 times the power at degree 24 than the monthly maps, but at scales between 1 and 10, the degree variance is practically the same for daily as for monthly.

Smith, G. Louis↗
NASA NTRS2004

An Apparatus for Monitoring the Health of Electrical Cables

As with most elements of infrastructure, electrical wiring is innocuous; usually hidden away and unnoticed until it fails. Failure of infrastructure, however, sometimes leads to serious health and safety hazards. Electrical wiring fails when the polymeric (usually rubber) insulation material that sheathes the conductor gets embrittled with age from exposure to pressure, temperature or radiation cycling or when the insulation gets removed by the chafing of wires against each other. Miles of such wiring can be found in typical aircraft, with significant lengths of the wiring immersed in aviation fuel - a recipe for an explosion if a spark were to occur. Diagnosing the health of wiring is thus an important aspect of monitoring the health of aging aircraft. Stress wave propagation through wiring affords a quick and non-invasive method for health monitoring. The extent to which a stress wave propagating through the cable core gets attenuated depends on the condition of the surrounding insulation. When the insulation is in good condition - supple and pliable, there is more damping or attenuation of the waveform. As the insulation gets embrittled and cracked, the attenuation is likely to reduce and the waveform of the propagating stress wave is likely to change. The monitoring of these changes provides a potential tool to evaluate wiring or cabling in service that is not accessible for visual inspection. This experiment has been designed for use in an introductory mechanical or materials engineering instrumentation lab. Initial setup (after procuring all the materials) should take the lab instructor about 4 hours. A single measurement can be initiated and saved to disk in less than 3 minutes, allowing for all the students in a typical lab section to take their own data rather than share a single set of data for the entire class.

Pai, Devdas M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Analysis of Aerothermal Heating Over Reusable Single-Stage to Orbit Vehicles

Using the General Aerodynamic Simulation Program (GASP) with finite-rate surface catalysis and radiative equilibrium surface temperature conditions, a computational study has been conducted to predict three-dimensional aero-convective heating over the proposed reusable single-stage to orbit vehicles. The solutions for three basic classes of usable single-stage-to-orbit vehicles, including wing body, lifting body and vertical lander, are presented and compared to provide information for vehicle design. The free stream conditions used in this study occur at an altitude of 57.5 km, ambient density of 4.129e-4 kg/cubic m, and velocity of 4,849 m/s. The convective heating over the vehicle surface in both laminar and turbulent flow regimes were computed. The Baldwin-Lomax algebraic model with a modified van Driest damping factor was applied in the turbulent flow calculations. A bifurcation model which guarantees the conservation of mass diffusive fluxes was adopted to account for the multi-species mass diffusion. The effects of turbulence and surface catalysis on the surface heating are discussed in detail The solutions indicate the degree of oxygen dissociation over the leeward side is sensitive to the shape of vehicle body. Predicted convective heating over the entire surface of lifting body is strongly affected by the presence of surface catalysis. For wing body and vertical lander, the surface catalysis effect does not appear to be important in the far downstream region, and turbulence is the dominant effect on the heating prediction in this region.

Chen, Y. K.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Measurement of Microscopic Growth Rates in Float-Zone Silicon Crystals

Time dependent convective flows during crystal growth of doped semiconductors lead to fluctuations of the composition, so called dopant striations. In general, it is difficult to decide which is the main mechanism for the generation of these striations, it might be either the fluctuation of the concentration field in the melt and the extent of the solute boundary layer ahead of the solid-liquid interface or a variation of the growth velocity. Direct access to the concentration field is rather complicated to achieve, especially considering the high process temperature and the chemical activity of liquid silicon. The contribution of growth rate fluctuations to the formation of compositional fluctuations can be determined by measuring microscopic growth rates. The classical method of current pulses requires electrical feed-throughs and good electrical contacts, both are critical issues for the growth of high purity silicon crystals. Using a radiation based heating system, the heating power can be modulated very fast and effectively. We added to the normal heater power a sinusoidal off-set in the frequency range of 1 to 10 Hz, generating a narrow spaced weak rippling in the grown crystals which are superposed to the dopant striations caused by natural and by thermocapillary convection. The pulling speed was varied between 1 and 4mm/min. The microscope images of etched crystals slices have been analyzed by peak-search algorithms (measuring the spacing between each artificially induced marker) and by FFT. Performing growth experiments under a time-dependent flow regime, fluctuations of the microscopic growth velocity of Delta(v)/v(sub average) up to 50% have been measured. Damping the time-dependent convection by the use of an axial, static magnetic field of 500mT, the microscopic growth rate became constant within the resolution limit of this method. The results will be discussed using analytical methods for the calculation of microscopic growth velocity and by comparing them with measurements of temperature fluctuations in the melt during growth experiments itself.

Dold, P.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Energy Transfer and Triadic Interactions in Compressible Turbulence

Using a two-point closure theory, the Eddy-Damped-Quasi-Normal-Markovian (EDQNM) approximation, we have investigated the energy transfer process and triadic interactions of compressible turbulence. In order to analyze the compressible mode directly, the Helmholtz decomposition is used. The following issues were addressed: (1) What is the mechanism of energy exchange between the solenoidal and compressible modes, and (2) Is there an energy cascade in the compressible energy transfer process? It is concluded that the compressible energy is transferred locally from the solenoidal part to the compressible part. It is also found that there is an energy cascade of the compressible mode for high turbulent Mach number (M(sub t) greater than or equal to 0.5). Since we assume that the compressibility is weak, the magnitude of the compressible (radiative or cascade) transfer is much smaller than that of solenoidal cascade. These results are further confirmed by studying the triadic energy transfer function, the most fundamental building block of the energy transfer.

Bataille, F.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Applications of a Venus thermospheric circulation model

A variety of Pioneer Venus observations suggest a global scale, day-to-night Venus thermospheric circulation. Model studies of the dynamics and energetics of the Venus thermosphere are presented in order to address new driving, mixing and cooling mechanisms for an improved model simulation. The adopted approach was to reexamine the circulation by first using a previous two dimensional code to quantify those physical processes which can be inferred from the Pioneer Venus observations. Specifically, the model was used to perform sensitivity studies to determine the degree to which eddy cooling, eddy or wave drag, eddy diffusion and 15 micrometer radiational cooling are necessary to bring the model temperature and composition fields into agreement with observations. Three EUV heating cases were isolated for study. Global temperature and composition fields in good agreement with Pioneer data were obtained. Large scale horizontal winds 220 m/s were found to be consistent with the observed cold nightside temperatures and dayside bulges of O, CO and CO2. Observed dayside temperatures were obtained by using a 7 to 19% EUV heating efficiency profile. The enhanced 15 micrometer cooling needed for thermal balance is obtained using the best rate coefficient available for atomic O collisional excitation of CO2(0,1,0). Eddy conduction was not found to be a viable cooling mechanism due to the weakened global circulation. The strong 15 micrometer damping and low EUV efficiency imply a very weak dependence of the general circulation to solar cycle variability. The NCAR terrestrial thermospheric general circulation model was adapted for Venus inputs using the above two dimensional model parameters, to give a three dimensional benchmark for future Venus modelling work.

Bougher, S. W.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Leaf-level chlorophyll fluorescence and reflectance spectra of high latitude plants

Little is known about the chlorophyll fluorescence spectra for high latitude plants. A FluoWat leaf clip was used to measure leaf-level reflectance and chlorophyll fluorescence spectra of leaves of common high latitude plants to examine general spectral characteristics of these species. Fluorescence yield (Fyield) was calculated as the ratio of the emitted fluorescence divided by the absorbed radiation for the wavelengths from 400 nm up to the wavelength of the cut-off for the FluoWat low pass filter (either 650 or 700 nm). The Fyield spectra grouped into distinctly different patterns among different plant functional types. Black spruce (Picea mariana) Fyield spectra had little red fluorescence, which was reabsorbed in the shoot, but displayed a distinct far-red peak. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) had both high red and far-red Fyield peaks, as did sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus). Cotton grass (Eriophorum spp.) had both red and far-red Fyield peaks, but these peaks were much lower than for aspen or coltsfoot. Sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.) had a distinct Fyield red peak but low far-red fluorescence. Reindeer moss lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) had very low fluorescence levels, although when damp displayed a small red Fyield peak. These high latitude vegetation samples showed wide variations in Fyield spectral shapes. The Fyield values for the individual red or far-red peaks were poorly correlated to chlorophyll content, however the ratio of far-red to red Fyield showed a strong correlation with chlorophyll content. The spectral variability of these plants may provide information for remote sensing of vegetation type but may also confound attempts to measure high latitude vegetation biophysical characteristics and function using solar induced fluorescence (SIF).

K Fred Huemmrich↗
NASA NTRS2007

Reply to "Comment on 'A Self-Consistent Model of the Interacting Ring Current Ions and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves, Initial Results: Waves and Precipitation Fluxes' and 'Self-Consistent Model of the Magnetospheric Ring Current and Propagating Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves: Waves in Multi-Ion Magnetosphere' by Khazanov et al. et al."

It is well-known that the effects of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves on ring current (RC) ion and radiation belt (RB) electron dynamics strongly depend on such particle/wave characteristics as the phase-space distribution function, frequency, wavenormal angle, wave energy, and the form of wave spectral energy density. The consequence is that accurate modeling of EMIC waves and RC particles requires robust inclusion of the interdependent dynamics of wave growth/damping, wave propagation, and[ particles. Such a self-consistent model is being progressively developed by Khazanov et al. [2002, 2006, 2007]. This model is based on a system of coupled kinetic equations for the RC and EMIC wave power spectral density along with the ray tracing equations. Thome and Home [2007] (hereafter referred to as TH2007) call the Khazanov et al. [2002, 2006] results into question in their Comment. The points in contention can be summarized as follows. TH2007 claim that: (1) "the important damping of waves by thermal heavy ions is completely ignored", and Landau damping during resonant interaction with thermal electrons is not included in our model; (2) EMIC wave damping due to RC O + is not included in our simulation; (3) non-linear processes limiting EMIC wave amplitude are not included in our model; (4) growth of the background fluctuations to a physically significantamplitude"must occur during a single transit of the unstable region" with subsequent damping below bi-ion latitudes,and consequently"the bounce averaged wave kinetic equation employed in the code contains a physically erroneous 'assumption". Our reply will address each of these points as well as other criticisms mentioned in the Comment. TH2007 are focused on two of our papers that are separated by four years. Significant progress in the self-consistent treatment of the RC-EMIC wave system has been achieved during those years. The paper by Khazanov et al. [2006] presents the latest version of our model, and in this Reply we refer mostly to this paper.

Khazanov, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Magnetospheric modulation effects on solar cosmic rays from simultaneous OGO 1 and 3 ion chamber data in 1968 and 1969

Simultaneous observations by identical ionization chambers aboard the satellites OGO-1 and OGO-3 are utilized to investigate spatial variations in particle intensity near and inside the magnetosphere during the solar cosmic ray events of September 1966. Cross-correlation of the absolute proton flux computed from the chamber rate during three solar particle events shows good agreement with the measurements by the IMP-F Solar Proton Monitor during the same events. The chamber has a dynamic range of over six orders of magnitude. Before launch it was calibrated in the laboratory with radiation dosages in the range 1 R/hr-6000 R/hr. The OGO-1 and OGO-3 chambers, which were normalized in the laboratory prior to the launch, are found to maintain their normalization within approximately equal to 1 per cent during their flight. The high sensitivity and absolute inter-comparability of the instruments allow small intensity differences to be detected and it is established that the observed differences can be explained by a magnetospheric screening effect when an anisotropic beam of particles is present in space. Evidence is presented to show that the screening is at times complete for a duration of as much as 110 min in the tail of the magnetosphere so that during this period the solar cosmic rays (E approximately equal to 15 MeV) have virtually no access to that region of the magnetosphere. Small intensity fluctuations of a temporal nature observed and found to be subjected to a damping effect inside the magnetosphere.

Hofmann, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Search for Gravitational Wave Ringdowns from Perturbed Intermediate Mass Black Holes in LIGO-Virgo Data from 2005-2010

We report results from a search for gravitational waves produced by perturbed intermediate mass black holes (IMBH) in data collected by LIGO and Virgo between 2005 and 2010. The search was sensitive to astrophysical sources that produced damped sinusoid gravitational wave signals, also known as ringdowns, with frequency 50 less than or equal to italic f0/Hz less than or equal to 2000 and decay timescale 0.0001 approximately less than t/s approximately less than 0.1 characteristic of those produced in mergers of IMBH pairs. No significant gravitational wave candidate was detected. We report upper limits on the astrophysical coalescence rates of IMBHs with total binary mass 50 less than or equal to M/solar mass less than or equal to 450 and component mass ratios of either 1:1 or 4:1. For systems with total mass 100 less than or equal to M/solar mass 150, we report a 90%-confidence upper limit on the rate of binary IMBH mergers with non-spinning and equal mass components of 6:9 x 10(exp 8) Mpc(exp -3)yr(exp -1). We also report a rate upper limit for ringdown waveforms from perturbed IMBHs, radiating 1% of their mass as gravitational waves in the fundamental, l=m=2, oscillation mode, that is nearly three orders of magnitude more stringent than previous results.

wave↗
NASA NTRS1992

Funnel-shaped, low-frequency equatorial waves

Funnel-shaped, low-frequency radiation, as observed in frequency time spectrograms, is frequently found at the earth's magnetic equator which extends from the proton-cyclotron frequency up to the lower hybrid frequency. Ray-tracing calculations can qualitatively reproduce the observed frequency-time characteristics of these emissions if the waves are propagating in the fast magnetosonic mode starting with wave normal angles of about 88 deg at the magnetic equator. The funnel-shaped emissions are consistent with generation by protons with a ring-type velocity space distribution. A ring-shaped region of positive slope in the velocity space density distribution of protons is observed near the Alfven velocity, indicating that the ring protons strongly interact with the waves. Ray-tracing calculations show that for similar equatorial wave normal angles lower-frequency fast magnetosonic waves are more closely confined to the magnetic equator than higher-frequency fast magnetosonic waves. For waves refracted back toward the equator at similar magnetic latitudes, the lower-frequency waves experience stronger damping in the vicinity of the equator than higher-frequency waves. Also, wave growth is restricted to higher frequencies at larger magnetic latitudes. Wave damping at the equator and wave growth off the equator favors equatorial wave normal angle distributions which lead to the funnel-shaped frequency time characteristic.

Boardsen, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The roles of vertical mixing, solar radiation, and wind stress in a model simulation of the sea surface temperature seasonal cycle in the tropical Pacfic Ocean

The climatological seasonal cycle of sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific is simulated using a newly developed upper ocean model. The roles of vertical mixing, solar radiation, and wind stress are investigated in a hierarchy of numerical experiments with various combinations of vertical mixing algorithms and surface-forcing products. It is found that the large SST annual cycle in the eastern equatorial Pacific is, to a large extent, controlled by the annually varying mixed layer depth which, in turn, is mainly determined by the competing effects of solar radiation and wind forcing. With the application of our hybrid vertical mixing scheme the model-simulated SST annual cycle is much improved in both amplitude and phase as compared to the case of a constant mixed layer depth. Beside the strong effects on vertical mixing, solar radiation is the primary heating term in the surface layer heat budget, and wind forcing influences SST by driving oceanic advective processes that redistribute heat in the upper ocean. For example, the SST seasonal cycle in the western Pacific basically follows the semiannual variation of solar heating, and the cycle in the central equatorial region is significantly affected by the zonal advective heat flux associated with the seasonally reversing South Equatorial Current. It has been shown in our experiments that the amount of heat flux modification needed to eliminate the annual mean SST errors in the model is, on average, no larger than the annual mean uncertainties among the various surface flux products used in this study. Whereas a bias correction is needed to account for remaining uncertainties in the annual mean heat flux, this study demonstrates that with proper treatment of mixed layer physics and realistic forcing functions the seasonal variability of SST is capable of being simulated successfully in response to external forcing without relying on a relaxation or damping formulation for the dominant surface heat flux contributions.

Chen, Dake↗
NASA NTRS1994

Shortwave feedbacks and El Nino-Southern Oscillation: Forced ocean coupled ocean-atmosphere experiments

Changes in tropical sea surface temperature (SST) can produce changes in cloudiness that modify incoming solar shortwave (SW) radiation, which in turn affects SST. The effects of this negative feedback on Pacific interannual variability are examined in forced ocean model and hybrid coupled ocean-atmosphere model simulations. Two empirical schemes are used to model the large-scale, low-frequency response of surface SW to SST anomalies. The first scheme attempts to account for the nonlocal nature of the atmospheric response to SST based patterns of covariability analyzed through singular value decomposition. In the observations the primary coupled mode of variability is composed of a SW anomaly in the central Pacific that covaries with anomalous SST in the eastern Pacific. This is applied in the model as a nonlocal feedback. The second scheme examines the effects of a purely local feedback with a spatially varying coefficient of magnitude chosen similar to the first scheme. In almost all cases the second scheme behaved similarly to the first, presumably because the correlation scale of SST is large enough for El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dynamics that there is little sensitivity to the local approximation in the SW feedback. In simulations forced by time series of observed wind stress the SW feedback induced very minor SST damping. Results for a simpified heat budget analysis showed that while the SW feedback increased the local heat flux damping on SST, it also induced a mean shallowing of the mixed layer. The resulting changes in both the local mean vertical temperature gradient and the zonal velocity response to the wind stress acted to oppose the local heat flux damping effects. When the observed SW anomalies were applied to forced simulations, the simulated SST anomalies were modified as expected, and agreement with observed SST improved. In coupled simulations the SW feedbacks had greater impact than in the case of specified stress. The main effects were to decrease the magnitude of the warm and cold SST anomalies in the central Pacific, while leaving the pattern and evolution of ENSO anomalies essentially unchanged elsewhere. The SW feedbacks thus produce a modest improvement of the model ENSO SST pattern compared with observations, although they tended to shorten the period of the model ENSO cycle. Overall the results suggest that large-scale SW feedbacks are of quantitative importance to simulating some aspects of the ENSO cycle but are not critical to the overall occurrence of the phenomenon.

Waliser, Duane E.↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Anisotropy of the Microwave Background to l=3500: Mosaic Observations with the Cosmic Background Imager

Using the Cosmic Background Imager, a 13-element interferometer array operating in the 26-36 GHz frequency band, we have observed 40 deg (sup 2) of sky in three pairs of fields, each approximately 145 feet x 165 feet, using overlapping pointings: (mosaicing). We present images and power spectra of the cosmic microwave background radiation in these mosaic fields. We remove ground radiation and other low-level contaminating signals by differencing matched observations of the fields in each pair. The primary foreground contamination is due to point sources (radio galaxies and quasars). We have subtracted the strongest sources from the data using higher-resolution measurements, and we have projected out the response to other sources of known position in the power-spectrum analysis. The images show features on scales approximately 6 feet-15 feet, corresponding to masses approximately 5-80 x 10(exp 14) solar mass at the surface of last scattering, which are likely to be the seeds of clusters of galaxies. The power spectrum estimates have a resolution delta l approximately 200 and are consistent with earlier results in the multipole range l approximately less than 1000. The power spectrum is detected with high signal-to-noise ratio in the range 300 approximately less than l approximately less than 1700. For 1700 approximately less than l approximately less than 3000 the observations are consistent with the results from more sensitive CBI deep-field observations. The results agree with the extrapolation of cosmological models fitted to observations at lower l, and show the predicted drop at high l (the "damping tail").

Pearson, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Gamma-ray and millimeter-wave emissions from the 1991 June X-class solar flares

We have studied the spectacular 1991 June X-class flares using gamma-ray data from the Charged Particle Detectors (CPDs) of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) and 80 GHz millimeter data from Nobeyama, Japan. The CPDs were the only CGRO instrument that did not saturate during the extremely intense 1991 June 4 flare. We have shown that for this flare the CPDs respond to MeV photons, most of which are due to bremsstrahlung produced by relativistic electrons at the Sun. We have further shown that the gamma-ray and millimeter observations agree numerically if the 80 GHz radiation is gyrosynchrotron radiation produced by trapped electrons and the gamma rays are thick-target bremsstrahlung due to electrons precipitating out of the trap. The requirement that the trapping time obtained from the numerical comparison be consistent with the observed time profiles implies a magnetic field between about 200 and 300 G and an electron spectral index between about 3 to 5. By comparing the CPD observations with both the 80 GHz data and nuclear line data from the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) and the Oriented Scintillation Spectroscopy Experiment (OSSE) on CGRO for the flares of June 4, 6, 9, and 11, we found that the ratio of the CPD counts to both the millimeter flux densities and the nuclear line fluences decreases with decreasing flare heliocentric angle. All of these flares were produced in the same active region. We interpreted this result in terms of a loop model in which the gyrosynchrotron emission is produced in the coronal portion of the loop where the electrons are kept isotropic by pitch angle scattering due to plasma turbulence, while the bremsstrahlung is produced by precipitating electrons that interact anisotropically. We found that the trapping time in the coronal portion is time dependent, reaching a minimum of about 10 s at the peak of the CPD count rate. We suggested the damping of the turbulence as a possible reason for the variation of the trapping time. turbulence as a possible reason for the variation of the trapping time.

Ramaty, Reuven↗
NASA NTRS2000

SAO and Kelvin Waves in the EuroGRIPS GCMS and the UK Meteorological Offices Analyses

This work is an intercomparison of four tropospheric-stratospheric climate models, the Unified Model (UM) of the U.K. Meteorological Office (UKMO), the model of the Free University in Berlin (FUB). the ARPEGE-climat model of the National Center for Meteorological Research (CNRM), and the Extended UGAMP GCM (EUGCM) of the Center for Global Atmospheric Modelling (CGAM), against the UKMO analyses. This comparison has been made in the framework of the "GSM-Reality Intercomparison Project for SPARC" (GRIPS). SPARC (Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate) aims are to investigate the effects of the middle atmosphere on climate and the GRIPS purpose is to organized a comprehensive assessment of current Middle Atmosphere-Climate Models (MACMs). The models integrations were made without identical contraints e.g. boundary conditions, incoming solar radiation). All models are able to represent the dominant features of the extratropical circulation. In this paper, the structure of the tropical winds and the strengths of the Kelvin waves are examined. Explanations for the differences exhibited. between the models. as well as between models and analyses, are also proposed. In the analyses a rich spectrum of waves (eastward and westward) is present and contributes to drive the SAO (SemiAnnual Oscillation) and the QBO (Quasi-Biennal Oscillation). The amplitude of the Kelvin waves is close to the one observed in UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) data. In agreement with observations, the Kelvin waves generated in the models propagate into the middle atmosphere as wave packets which underlines convective forcing origin. In most models, slow Kelvin waves propagate too high and are hence overestimated in the upper stratosphere and in the mesosphere, except for the UM which is more diffusive. These waves are not sufficient to force realistic westerlies of the QBO or SAO westerly phases. If the SAO is represented by all models only two of them are able to generate westerlies between 10 hPa and 50 hPa. The importance of the role played by subgrided gravity waves is more and more recognized. Actually, the EUGCM which includes a parametrization of gravity waves with a non-zero phase speed is able to simulate. with however some unrealistic features, clear easterly to westerly transitions as well as westerlies downward propagations. Thermal damping is also important in the westerlies forcing in the stratosphere. The model ARPEGE-climat shows more westerlies in the stratosphere than tile other three models probably due to the use of a simplified scheme to predict the ozone distribution in the middle atmosphere.

Amodei, M.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Direct Imaging of Extra-Solar Planets in Star Forming Regions: Lessons Learned from a False Positive Around IM Lup

Context. Most exoplanet imagers consist of ground-based adaptive optics coronagraphic cameras which are currently limited in contrast, sensitivity and astrometric precision, but advantageously observe in the near-infrared window (1 5 m). Because of these practical limitations, our current observational aim at detecting and characterizing planets puts heavy constraints on target selection, observing strategies, data reduction, and follow-up. Most surveys so far have thus targeted young systems (1 100 Myr) to catch the putative remnant thermal radiation of giant planets, which peaks in the near-infrared. They also favor systems in the solar neighborhood (d less than 80 pc), which eases angular resolution requirements but also ensures a good knowledge of the distance and proper motion, which are critical to secure the planet status, and enable subsequent characterization. Aims. Because of their youth, it is very tempting to target the nearby star forming regions, which are typically twice as far as the bulk of objects usually combed for planets by direct imaging. Probing these interesting reservoirs sets additional constraints that we review in this paper by presenting the planet search that we initiated in 2008 around the disk-bearing T Tauri star IM Lup, which is part of the Lupus star forming region (140-190 pc). Methods. We show and discuss why age determination, the choice of evolutionary model for both the central star and the planet, precise knowledge of the host star proper motion, relative or absolute (between different instruments) astrometric accuracy (including plate scale calibration), and patience are the key ingredients for exoplanet searches around more distant young stars. Results. Unfortunately, most of the time, precision and perseverance are not paying off: we discovered a candidate companion around IM Lup in 2008, which we report here to be an unbound background object. We nevertheless review in details the lessons learned from our endeavor, and additionally present the best detection limits ever calculated for IM Lup. We also accessorily report on the successful use of innovative data reduction techniques, such as the damped-LOCI and iterative roll subtraction.

D Mawet↗