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At least 271 records · Page 15

GLACE: The Global Land-Atmosphere Coupling Experiment Part 2: Analysis

The twelve weather and climate models participating in the Global Land-Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (GLACE) show both a wide variation in the strength of land-atmosphere coupling and some intriguing commonalities. In this paper, we address the causes of variations in coupling strength - both the geographic variations within a given model and the model-to-model differences. The ability of soil moisture to affect precipitation is examined in two stages, namely, the ability of the soil moisture to affect evaporation, and the ability of evaporation to affect precipitation. Most of the differences between the models and within a given model are found to be associated with the first stage - an evaporation rate that varies strongly and consistently with soil moisture tends to lead to a higher coupling strength. The first stage differences reflect identifiable differences in model parameterization and model climate. Intermodel differences in the evaporation-precipitation connection, however, also play a key role.

Guo, Zhichang↗

North American Megadroughts in the Common Era: Reconstructions and Simulations

During the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), Western North America experienced episodes of intense aridity that persisted for multiple decades or longer. These megadroughts are well documented in many proxy records, but the causal mechanisms are poorly understood. General circulation models (GCMs) simulate megadroughts, but do not reproduce the temporal clustering of events during the MCA, suggesting they are not caused by the time history of volcanic or solar forcing. Instead, GCMs generate megadroughts through (1) internal atmospheric variability, (2) sea-surface temperatures, and (3) land surface and dust aerosol feedbacks. While no hypothesis has been definitively rejected, and no GCM has accurately reproduced all features (e.g., timing, duration, and extent) of any specific megadrought, their persistence suggests a role for processes that impart memory to the climate system (land surface and ocean dynamics). Over the 21st century, GCMs project an increase in the risk of megadrought occurrence through greenhouse gas forced reductions in precipitation and increases in evaporative demand. This drying is robust across models and multiple drought indicators, but major uncertainties still need to be resolved. These include the potential moderation of vegetation evaporative losses at higher atmospheric [CO2], variations in land surface model complexity, and decadal to multidecadal modes of natural climate variability that could delay or advance onset of aridification over the the next several decades. Because future droughts will arise from both natural variability and greenhouse gas forced trends in hydroclimate, improving our understanding of the natural drivers of persistent multidecadal megadroughts should be a major research priority.

atmospheric temperature↗

Heterogeneous chemistry on liquid sulfate aerosols - A comparison of in situ measurements with zero-dimensional model calculations

The possibility that stratospheric chlorine is converted from reservoir to reactive forms by heterogeneous reactions on background sulfate aerosols is examined. Tightly constrained photochemical models have been used to calculate ClO abundances for the morning and the afternoon conditions observed on January 24, 1989 outside the Arctic polar vortex by instruments on the NASA ER-2 aircraft. Calculations involving gas-phase chemistry only and calculations with heterogeneous chemistry including HCl evaporation from the aerosol both produce ClO abundances that agree with observations; calculations in which HCl removal from the aerosol is controlled by heterogeneous reactions produce ClO abundances that are 3 to 3.5 times larger than observations. These results suggest that HCl evaporation must be included in a model of the chemistry of background aerosols.

Mather, J. H.↗

Estimating net rainfall, evaporation and water storage of a bare soil from sequential L-band emissivities

A general method to use a time series of L-band emissivities as an input to a hydrological model for continuously monitoring the net rainfall and evaporation as well as the water content over the entire soil profile is proposed. The model requires a sufficiently accurate and general relation between soil emissivity and surface moisture content. A model which requires the soil hydraulic properties as an additional input, but does not need any weather data was developed. The method is shown to be numerically consistent.

Stroosnijder, L.↗

EVAPORATIVE FILM COOLING FOR HYPERSONIC REENTRY VEHICLES

Evaporative film cooling on blunt nose models has been investigated in a 12″ × 12″ hypersonic blowdown wind tunnel at Mach number 7 with stagnation temperatures up to 2500 °R. Water as coolant was supplied continuously through orifices located near the stagnation point of a hemisphere-cylinder body (3 inch diameter) and a blunt cone with 10° half angle (base diameter 5.5 inches) forming an evaporating water film covering the body. This results in nearly uniform wall temperatures about 30 °R below the local boiling temperature of the water.

SPACE SCIENCE↗

On the physical basis of a theory of human thermoregulation.

Theoretical study of the physical factors which are responsible for thermoregulation in nude resting humans in a physical steady state. The behavior of oxidative metabolism, evaporative and convective thermal fluxes, fluid heat transfer, internal and surface temperatures, and evaporative phase transitions is studied by physiological/physical modeling techniques. The modeling is based on the theories that the body has a vital core with autothermoregulation, that the vital core contracts longitudinally, that the temperature of peripheral regions and extremities decreases towards the ambient, and that a significant portion of the evaporative heat may be lost underneath the skin. A theoretical basis is derived for a consistent modeling of steady-state thermoregulation on the basis of these theories.

Iberall, A. S.↗

Remote Sensing Based Yield Monitoring: Application to Winter Wheat in United States and Ukraine

Accurate and timely crop yield forecasts are critical for making informed agricultural policies and investments, as well as increasing market efficiency and stability. Earth observation data from space can contribute to agricultural monitoring, including crop yield assessment and forecasting. In this study, we present a new crop yield model based on the Difference Vegetation Index (DVI) extracted from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data at 1 km resolution and the un-mixing of DVI at coarse resolution to a pure wheat signal (100 percent of wheat within the pixel). The model was applied to estimate the national and subnational winter wheat yield in the United States and Ukraine from 2001 to 2017. The model at the subnational level shows very good performance for both countries with a coefficient of determination higher than 0.7 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of lower than 0.6 t/ha (tonnes per hectare) (15-18 percent). At the national level for the United States (US) and Ukraine the model provides a strong coefficient of determination of 0.81 and 0.86, respectively, which demonstrates good performance at this scale. The model was also able to capture low winter wheat yields during years with extreme weather events, for example 2002 in US and 2003 in Ukraine. The RMSE of the model for the US at the national scale is 0.11 t/ha (3.7 percent) while for Ukraine it is 0.27 t/ha (8.4 percent).

DVI↗

X-ray irradiation of interstellar grains in active galaxies - Evaporation and infrared spectra

A fundamental physical study of grains heated transiently by X-rays is presented. The X-ray photoionization cross sections used to determine the rate of energy deposition into the grains are given. A grain model is constructed and the radiative and evaporative responses of grains into X-ray absorption are described. The basic theory of stochastic grain heating is outlined, and analytical expressions for the temperature distributions of flickering grains are provided. The resulting IR spectra due to X-ray illumination are given, and the relevance of the present work to the IR continua of active galaxies is discussed. The present model provides two observational predictions: the infrared spectra of grains, even if they are superheated, should show a cutoff between 1 and 3 microns; and X-ray-illuminated environments should exhibit no PAH emissions.

Voit, G. M.↗

AGCM Biases in Evaporation Regime: Impacts on Soil Moisture Memory and Land-Atmosphere Feedback

Because precipitation and net radiation in an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) are typically biased relative to observations, the simulated evaporative regime of a region may be biased, with consequent negative effects on the AGCM s ability to translate an initialized soil moisture anomaly into an improved seasonal prediction. These potential problems are investigated through extensive offline analyses with the Mosaic land surface model (LSM). We first forced the LSM globally with a 15-year observations-based dataset. We then repeated the simulation after imposing a representative set of GCM climate biases onto the forcings - the observational forcings were scaled so that their mean seasonal cycles matched those simulated by the NSIPP-1 (NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office) AGCM over the same period-The AGCM s climate biases do indeed lead to significant biases in evaporative regime in certain regions, with the expected impacts on soil moisture memory timescales. Furthermore, the offline simulations suggest that the biased forcing in the AGCM should contribute to overestimated feedback in certain parts of North America - parts already identified in previous studies as having excessive feedback. The present study thus supports the notion that the reduction of climate biases in the AGCM will lead to more appropriate translations of soil moisture initialization into seasonal prediction skill.

Mahanama, Sarith P. P.↗

A study of the current group evaporation/combustion theories

Liquid fuel combustion can be greatly enhanced by disintegrating the liquid fuel into droplets, an effect achieved by various configurations. A number of experiments carried out in the seventies showed that combustion of droplet arrays and sprays do not form individual flames. Moreover, the rate of burning in spray combustion greatly deviates from that of the single combustion rate. Such observations naturally challenge its applicability to spray combustion. A number of mathematical models were developed to evaluate 'group combustion' and the related 'group evaporation' phenomena. This study investigates the similarity and difference of these models and their applicability to spray combustion. Future work that should be carried out in this area is indicated.

Shen, Hayley H.↗

Chemical modeling constraints on Martian surface mineralogies formed in an early, warm, wet climate, and speculations on the occurrence of phosphate minerals in the Martian regolith

This is one in a series of reports summarizing our chemical modeling studies of water-rock-gas interactions at the martian surface through time. The purpose of these studies is to place constraints on possible mineralogies formed at the martian surface and to model the geochemical implications of martian surficial processes proposed by previous researchers. Plumlee and Ridley summarize geochemical processes that may have occurred as a result of inferred volcano- and impact-driven hydrothermal activity on Mars. DeBraal et al. model the geochemical aspects of water-rock interactions and water evaporation near 0 C, as a prelude to future calculations that will model sub-0 C brine-rock-clathrate interactions under the current martian climate. In this report, we discuss reaction path calculations that model chemical processes that may have occurred at the martian surface in a postulated early, warm, wet climate. We assume a temperature of 25 C in all our calculations. Processes we model here include (1) the reaction of rainwater under various ambient CO2 and O2 pressures with basaltic rocks at the martian surface, (2) the formation of acid rain by volcanic gases such as HCl and SO2, (3) the reactions of acid rain with basaltic surficial materials, and (4) evaporation of waters resulting from rainwater-basalt interactions.

Plumlee, Geoffrey S.↗

Modeling of Thermal Performance of Multiphase Nuclear Fuel Cell Under Variable Gravity Conditions

A unique numerical method has been developed to model the dynamic processes of bulk evaporation and condensation processes, associated with internal heat generation and natural convection under different gravity levels. The internal energy formulation, for the bulk liquid-vapor phase change problems in an encapsulated container, was employed. The equations, governing the conservation of mass, momentum and energy for both phases involved in phase change, were solved. The thermal performance of a multiphase uranium tetra-fluoride fuel element under zero gravity, micro-gravity and normal gravity conditions has been investigated. The modeling yielded results including the evolution of the bulk liquid-vapor phase change process, the evolution of the liquid-vapor interface, the formation and development of the liquid film covering the side wall surface, the temperature distribution and the convection flow field in the fuel element. The strong dependence of the thermal performance of such multiphase nuclear fuel cell on the gravity condition has been revealed. Under all three gravity conditions, 0-g, 10(exp -3)-g, and 1-g, the liquid film is formed and covers the entire side wall. The liquid film covering the side wall is more isothermalized at the wall surface, which can prevent the side wall from being over-heated. As the gravity increases, the liquid film is thinner, the temperature gradient is larger across the liquid film and smaller across the vapor phase. This investigation provides valuable information about the thermal performance of multi-phase nuclear fuel element for the potential space and ground applications.

Ding, Z.↗

Assessment of surface turbulent fluxes using geostationary satellite surface skin temperatures and a mixed layer planetary boundary layer scheme

A method is presented for evaluating the fluxes of sensible and latent heating at the land surface, using satellite-measured surface temperature changes in a composite surface layer-mixed layer representation of the planetary boundary layer. The basic prognostic model is tested by comparison with synoptic station information at sites where surface evaporation climatology is well known. The remote sensing version of the model, using satellite-measured surface temperature changes, is then used to quantify the sharp spatial gradient in surface heating/evaporation across the central United States. An error analysis indicates that perhaps five levels of evaporation are recognizable by these methods and that the chief cause of error is the interaction of errors in the measurement of surface temperature change with errors in the assigment of surface roughness character. Finally, two new potential methods for remote sensing of the land-surface energy balance are suggested which will relay on space-borne instrumentation planned for the 1990s.

Diak, George R.↗

Dynamics of Water Absorption and Evaporation During Methanol Droplet Combustion in Microgravity

The combustion of methanol droplets is profoundly influenced by the absorption and evaporation of water, generated in the gas phase as a part of the combustion products. Initially there is a water-absorption period of combustion during which the latent heat of condensation of water vapor, released into the droplet, enhances its burning rate, whereas later there is a water-evaporation period, during which the water vapor reduces the flame temperature suffciently to extinguish the flame. Recent methanol droplet-combustion experiments in ambient environments diluted with carbon dioxide, conducted in the Combustion Integrated Rack on the International Space Station (ISS), as a part of the FLEX project, provided a method to delineate the water-absorption period from the water-evaporation period using video images of flame intensity. These were obtained using an ultra-violet camera that captures the OH* radical emission at 310 nm wavelength and a color camera that captures visible flame emission. These results are compared with results of ground-based tests in the Zero Gravity Facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center which employed smaller droplets in argon-diluted environments. A simplified theoretical model developed earlier correlates the transition time at which water absorption ends and evaporation starts. The model results are shown to agree reasonably well with experiment.

Hicks, Michael C.↗

Nodal Numerical Modeling of Submerged Helium Injection in a Cryogenic Propellant Tank

Subcooling of cryogenic propellant by helium injection is one of the most effective methods for suppressing bulk boiling and keeping subcooled propellant conditions for pre-launch, launch, and post-launch pressurization applications. For tank pressurization, submerged helium injection can substantially reduce helium consumption by infusing gaseous propellant into the tank ullage. This paper presents a mathematical model of the helium bubbling process in liquid oxygen to estimate the amount of oxygen vapor absorbed by the rising helium bubbles and the amount of subcooling of liquid oxygen due to evaporative heat and mass transfer. This mathematical model was incorporated in a simulation model of tank pressurization built with Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP), a general-purpose flow network code developed at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center. The numerical predictions of subcooling have been compared with the experimental data of Cho et al. which investigated the propellant subcooling effect as a function of system pressure, helium injection temperature, and flowrate for a non-drained submerged injection system. The numerical predictions of helium consumption have been compared with the test data from a NASA Centaur test vehicle which included both direct and submerged injection with draining of propellants. The numerical model developed with GFSSP has been validated against two sets of experimental data and has been shown to predict both propellant subcooling and helium consumption to within 30% in most cases. The test data used for the model validation were taken in 1-g, but the mass diffusion model was developed to be applied in both 1-g and micro-g environments.

Cryogenics↗

Constraints on Cumulus Parameterization from Simulations of Observed MJO Events

Two recent activities offer an opportunity to test general circulation model (GCM) convection and its interaction with large-scale dynamics for observed Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) events. This study evaluates the sensitivity of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) GCM to entrainment, rain evaporation, downdrafts, and cold pools. Single Column Model versions that restrict weakly entraining convection produce the most realistic dependence of convection depth on column water vapor (CWV) during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement MJO Investigation Experiment at Gan Island. Differences among models are primarily at intermediate CWV where the transition from shallow to deeper convection occurs. GCM 20-day hindcasts during the Year of Tropical Convection that best capture the shallow–deep transition also produce strong MJOs, with significant predictability compared to Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission data. The dry anomaly east of the disturbance on hindcast day 1 is a good predictor of MJO onset and evolution. Initial CWV there is near the shallow–deep transition point, implicating premature onset of deep convection as a predictor of a poor MJO simulation. Convection weakly moistens the dry region in good MJO simulations in the first week; weakening of large-scale subsidence over this time may also affect MJO onset. Longwave radiation anomalies are weakest in the worst model version, consistent with previous analyses of cloud/moisture greenhouse enhancement as the primary MJO energy source. The authors’ results suggest that both cloud-/moisture-radiative interactions and convection–moisture sensitivity are required to produce a successful MJO simulation.

Madden-Julian Oscillation↗

Diabatic forcing and initialization with assimilation of cloud and rain water in a forecast model: Methodology

The focus of this part of the investigation is to find one or more general modeling techniques that will help reduce the time taken by numerical forecast models to initiate or spin-up precipitation processes and enhance storm intensity. If the conventional data base could explain the atmospheric mesoscale flow in detail, then much of our problem would be eliminated. But the data base is primarily synoptic scale, requiring that a solution must be sought either in nonconventional data, in methods to initialize mesoscale circulations, or in ways of retaining between forecasts the model generated mesoscale dynamics and precipitation fields. All three methods are investigated. The initialization and assimilation of explicit cloud and rainwater quantities computed from conservation equations in a mesoscale regional model are examined. The physical processes include condensation, evaporation, autoconversion, accretion, and the removal of rainwater by fallout. The question of how to initialize the explicit liquid water calculations in numerical models and how to retain information about precipitation processes during the 4-D assimilation cycle are important issues that are addressed. The explicit cloud calculations were purposely kept simple so that different initialization techniques can be easily and economically tested. Precipitation spin-up processes associated with three different types of weather phenomena are examined. Our findings show that diabatic initialization, or diabatic initialization in combination with a new diabatic forcing procedure, work effectively to enhance the spin-up of precipitation in a mesoscale numerical weather prediction forecast. Also, the retention of cloud and rain water during the analysis phase of the 4-D data assimilation procedure is shown to be valuable. Without detailed observations, the vertical placement of the diabatic heating remains a critical problem.

Raymond, William H.↗