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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 271 records · Page 15
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DOE OSTI2026

Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) Core Project Final Report: Fiscal Years 2022-2024

The Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) is a world-leading solar calibration and measurement facility and maintains and disseminates the World Radiation Reference (essentially the W/m2) for the United States that is essential for traceable and accurate measurements of solar radiation at all solar generation facilities. SRRL operates two calibration facilities that meet International Standards Organization-17025 (ISO-17025) standards and provide unique high-quality calibrations to NREL and other U.S. Department of Energy laboratories. The Baseline Measurement System (BMS) at SRRL provides a high-quality record of solar irradiance and surface meteorological conditions. SRRL capabilities are used to develop (1) improved methods for the calibration of solar radiometers; (2) new standards through the ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the American Standards for Testing of Materials (ASTM) International; (c) solar radiation and meteorological models; and (d) advanced instrumentation and methods for operating solar measurement stations. The SRRL datasets are also critical for the validation of new models and datasets, such as the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB). The research and development of solar radiation measurement systems and resource modeling techniques are essential for advancing the scientific basis for producing reliable resource data. Specifically, the spatial, temporal, and spectral (wavelength dependency) characteristics of the solar resource are required in several different time frames for various project phases.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

CRGTBSO3 TBS Ozone Data

The Tethered Balloon System (TBS) operated for two weeks during a summer IOP of the CoURAGE campaign. This dataset includes data collected from an En-Sci electrochemical cell (ECC) ozonesonde on the TBS. The ozonesonde was connected to an iMet-4RSB radiosonde, and the overall data collected included ozone, relative humidity, temperature, and altitude. The data from the iMet is the same as that found in the TBSMERGED data product. The TBS also had another instrument (iMet XQ2) that collected meteorological data, which may have more accurate relative humidity (RH) data. This ozonesonde data set is intended to complement the TBSMERGED data product, the CRGTBSO3 surface ozone measurements, and the CoURAGE SWARM ozone lidar (TOLNet) measurements from other locations.

Atmospheric relative humidity↗
NASA NTRS1971

Development and testing of the infrared interferometer spectrometer for the Mariner Mars 1971 spacecraft

The design, development and testing of the infrared interferometer spectrometer is reported with emphasis on the unique features of the Mariner instrument as compared to previous IRIS instruments flown on the Nimbus meteorological research satellites. The interferometer functions in the spectral range from 50 microns to 6.3 microns. A noise equivalent radiance of 0.5 X 10 to the -7th power W/sq cm/ster/cm has been achieved. Major improvements that were implemented included the cesium iodide beamsplitter and electronic features to suppress the effect of vibration on the Michelson mirror motion and digital filtering through the summation of increased sampling of the infrared signal. A bit error detection and correction scheme was also implemented in order to recover the science data with a higher level of confidence over the telecommunication link.

Hanel, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Optical cross beam field tests at ESSA Haswell Field site, October 1969

A series of tests with both the visible and IR optical cross beam systems was made at the Haswell, Colorado, Field Site of ESSA. This memorandum covers only the details of the test setup and runs. A joint field test program was undertaken by ESSA at a 164 meter (500 foot) meteorological tower. The tower was instrumented with wind sensors, temperature sensors, temperature sensors, fluctuating wind and temperature sensors and humidity sensors. The sensors were located at three elevations: 42, 192 and 162 meters. A movable elevator was also instrumented and could be positioned at any desired location along the tower height. The main object of the cross beam studies was to compare the visible and IR systems. The instruments were also arranged so that direct comparison with the sensors on the tower can be made.

Sandborn, V. A.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Remote sensing of rain over the ocean

Computer models of the microwave emission from the earth's atmosphere were used to study the problem of retrieving meteorological information from the SMMR instrument that will be flown on NIMBUS-G. Methods for retrieving rain rate, wind speed, cloud height, and ocean temperature are described for the case when the satellite is over the ocean.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1982

The Nimbus satellite system: Remote sensing R&D platform of the 70's

Originally conceived to be the future operational weather satellite, the Nimbus series of seven satellites became the work horse and experimental backbone of the NASA/NOAA space research program. Early problems in developing the attitude control system and proving its operational characteristics in the simulated space environment are discussed. The program proved itself many times over; contributing substantially to the scientific knowledge of atmospherics and weather. As application/research vehicles, the seven Nimbus spacecraft were used for the development, test and application of a variety of new and advanced meteorological and geophysical remote sensing instruments and associated data transmission and processing techniques.

Haas, I. S.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Utilization of satellite and surface observations in a gravity wave study

The possibility of detecting gravity waves in the upper troposphere by means of satellite imagery is examined. Attention is focused on the gravity wave event of March 27, 1975, for which the surface wave is analyzed by a pressure perturbation analysis based on barograph traces and a surface wind divergence analysis. IR observations were also made of the event with instrumentation on board the synchronous meteorological satellite (SMS-1). Strong wind gusts were reported at surface stations immediately following severe drops in the surface pressures, events which were found not to be connected with convective activity. The wave was concluded to extend throughout the troposphere with an axis tilted with height, indicating the wave was generated from an upper level energy source. It is suggested that the gravity wave was an adjustment to ageostrophic motions within the jet stream entering the Midwest. The finding is in concert with previous observations of jet streaks upstream from surface gravity waves.

Pecnick, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Analysis of tethered balloon, ceilometer and class sounding data taken on San Nicolas Island during the FIRE project

During the FIRE Marine Stratocumulus Program on San Nicolas Island, Colorado State University (CSU) and the British Meteorological Office (BMO) operated separate instrument packages on the NASA tethered balloon. The CSU package contained instrumentation for the measurement of temperature, pressure, humidity, cloud droplet concentration, and long and short wave radiation. Eight research flights, performed between July 7 and July 14, are summarized. An analysis priority to the July 7, 8 and 11 flights was assigned for the purposes of comparing the CSU and BMO data. Results are presented. In addition, CSU operated a laser ceilometer for the determination of cloud base, and a CLASS radiosonde site which launched 69 sondes. Data from all of the above systems are being analyzed.

Schubert, Wayne H.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Control of Methane Production and Exchange in Northern Peatlands

This proposal has successfully supported studies that have developed unique long ten-n datasets of methane (CH4) emissions and carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange in order to quantify the controls on CH4 production and exchange especially the linkages to the carbon cycle in northern peatlands. The primary research site has been a small fen in southeastern New Hampshire where a unique multi-year data baseline of CH4 flux measurements was begun (with NASA funding) in 1989. The fen has also been instrumented for continuous hydrological and meteorological observations and year-round porewater sampling. Multiyear datasets of methane flux are very valuable and very rare. Datasets using the same sampling techniques at the same sites are the only way to assess the effect of the integrated ecosystem response to climatological variability. The research has had two basic objectives: 1. To quantify the effect of seasonal and interannual variability on CH4flux. 2. To examine process level controls on methane dynamics.

Crill, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS1998

I/O Parallelization for the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS DAS)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Data Assimilation Office (DAO) at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has developed the GEOS DAS, a data assimilation system that provides production support for NASA missions and will support NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) in the coming years. The GEOS DAS will be used to provide background fields of meteorological quantities to EOS satellite instrument teams for use in their data algorithms as well as providing assimilated data sets for climate studies on decadal time scales. The DAO has been involved in prototyping parallel implementations of the GEOS DAS for a number of years and is now embarking on an effort to convert the production version from shared-memory parallelism to distributed-memory parallelism using the portable Message-Passing Interface (MPI). The GEOS DAS consists of two main components, an atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM) and a Physical-space Statistical Analysis System (PSAS). The GCM operates on data that are stored on a regular grid while PSAS works with observational data that are scattered irregularly throughout the atmosphere. As a result, the two components have different data decompositions. The GCM is decomposed horizontally as a checkerboard with all vertical levels of each box existing on the same processing element(PE). The dynamical core of the GCM can also operate on a rotated grid, which requires communication-intensive grid transformations during GCM integration. PSAS groups observations on PEs in a more irregular and dynamic fashion.

Lucchesi, Rob↗
NASA NTRS2017

The Profile Envision and Splice Tool (PRESTO): Developing an Atmospheric Wind Analysis Tool for Space Launch Vehicles Using Python

Tropospheric winds are an important driver of the design and operation of space launch vehicles. Multiple types of weather balloons and Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (DRWP) systems exist at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), co-located on the United States Air Force's (USAF) Eastern Range (ER) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), that are capable of measuring atmospheric winds. Meteorological data gathered by these instruments are being used in the design of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and other space launch vehicles, and will be used during the day-of-launch (DOL) of SLS to aid in loads and trajectory analyses. For the purpose of SLS day-of-launch needs, the balloons have the altitude coverage needed, but take over an hour to reach the maximum altitude and can drift far from the vehicle's path. The DRWPs have the spatial and temporal resolutions needed, but do not provide complete altitude coverage. Therefore, the Natural Environments Branch (EV44) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed the Profile Envision and Splice Tool (PRESTO) to combine balloon profiles and profiles from multiple DRWPs, filter the spliced profile to a common wavelength, and allow the operator to generate output files as well as to visualize the inputs and the spliced profile for SLS DOL operations. PRESTO was developed in Python taking advantage of NumPy and SciPy for the splicing procedure, matplotlib for the visualization, and Tkinter for the execution of the graphical user interface (GUI). This paper describes in detail the Python coding implementation for the splicing, filtering, and visualization methodology used in PRESTO.

Orcutt, John M.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Formation of Cirrus Clouds near the Tropical Tropopause and Their Implications for Stratospheric Humidity, Radiation Budgets, and Climate

Optically-thin cirrus clouds are a nearly ubiquitous feature of the transition layer between the tropical troposphere and stratosphere (known as the Tropical Tropopause Layer). Given their high occurrence frequency, these clouds have significant impacts on the Earth's radiation budget, with a particularly strong influence on the outgoing longwave radiation. Further, ice crystal growth and sedimentation in these clouds dehydrates air in the cold TTL to very low water vapor mixing ratios. Since transport from the troposphere into the stratosphere occurs primarily through the tropical tropopause and the Brewer-Dobson circulation transports air from the TTL throughout the stratosphere, cloud processes in the TTL cold trap essentially regulate the humidity of the entire stratosphere. It has been shown that even small changes in stratospheric humidity can have significant impacts on the Earth's radiation budget and climate, with magnitudes comparable to anthropogenic changes in greenhouse gases. The humidity of air crossing the TTL cold trap depends to first order on tropical tropopause temperatures, but also on deep convection reaching the TTL, large-scale transport (in balance with TTL radiative heating), atmospheric waves, and cloud microphysical processes. Gaps in our understanding of TTL transport and cloud processes motivated the NASA Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX). ATTREX used the long-range (16,000 km), high-altitude (20 km) Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system equipped with twelve instruments measuring clouds, water vapor, meteorological conditions, chemical tracers, chemical radicals, and radiation. I will discuss the physics of TTL cirrus formation and the impact of these clouds on water vapor and radiation budgets, including new results emerging from the ATTREX measurements.

Jensen, Eric↗
NASA NTRS1990

Applications of ISES for meteorology

The results are summarized from an initial assessment of the potential real-time meteorological requirements for the data from Eos systems. Eos research scientists associated with facility instruments, investigator instruments, and interdisciplinary groups with data related to meteorological support were contacted, along with those from the normal operational user and technique development groups. Two types of activities indicated the greatest need for real-time Eos data: technology transfer groups (e.g., NOAA's Forecasting System Laboratory and the DOD development laboratories), and field testing groups with airborne operations. A special concern was expressed by several non-U.S. participants who desire a direct downlink to be sure of rapid receipt of the data for their area of interest. Several potential experiments or demonstrations are recommended for ISES which include support for hurricane/typhoon forecasting, space shuttle reentry, severe weather forecasting (using microphysical cloud classification techniques), field testing, and quick reaction of instrumented aircraft to measure such events as polar stratospheric clouds and volcanic eruptions.

Try, Paul D.↗
NASA NTRS1951

An Instrument Employing a Coronal Discharge for the Determination of Droplet-Size Distribution in Clouds

A flight instrument that uses electric means for measuring the droplet-size distribution in above-freezing clouds has been devised and given preliminary evaluation in flight. An electric charge is placed on the droplets and they are separated aerodynamically according to their mass. Because the charge placed on the droplets is a. function of the droplet size, the size spectrum can 'be determined by measurement of the charge deposited on cylinders of several different sizes placed to intercept the charged droplets. An expression for the rate of charge acquisition by a water droplet in a field of coronal discharge is derived. The results obtained in flight with an instrument based on the method described indicate that continuous records of droplet-size spectrum variations in clouds can be obtained. The experimental instrument was used to evaluate the method and was not refined to the extent necessary for obtaining conclusive meteorological data. The desirable features of an instrument based on the method described are (i) The instrument can be used in clouds with temperatures above freezing; (2) the size and the shape of the cylinders do not change during the exposure time; (3) the readings are instantaneous and continuous; (4) the available sensitivity permits the study of variations in cloud structures of less than 200 feet in extent.

Brun, Rinaldo J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Density and temperature structure over northern Europe

During the Energy Budget Campaign, a number of profiles of the density and temperature were obtained to study the structure and variability of the atmosphere. The measurements were made using rocketborne instrumentation launched from Esrange, Sweden, and Andoya Rocket Range, Norway, during November and December 1980. The techniques included meteorological temperature sondes, passive falling sphere, accelerometer instrumented falling spheres, density gauges, mass spectrometers and infrared emission experiments. The instruments provided data covering the altitude range from 20 to 150 km. The measurements were made during periods which have been grouped into three categories by level of geomagnetic activity. Analysis has been made to compare the results and to examine the wave features and variations in the vertical profiles for scales ranging between hundreds of meters and tens of kilometers. Most of the features observed fit qualitatively within the range expected for internal gravity waves. However, the features in the profiles during one of the measurement periods are unusual and may be due to aurorally generated shock waves. The geomagnetic storm conditions caused temperature increases in the lower thermosphere which maximized in the 120-140 km region.

Philbrick, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Meteorological and operational aspects of 46 clear air turbulence sampling missions with an instrument B-57B aircraft. Volume 1: Program summary

The results of 46 clear air turbulence (CAT) probing missions conducted with an extensively instrumented B-57B aircraft are summarized. Turbulence samples were obtained under diverse conditions including mountain waves, jet streams, upper level fronts and troughs, and low altitude mechanical and thermal turbulence. CAT was encouraged on 20 flights comprising 77 data runs. In all, approximately 4335 km were flown in light turbulence, 1415 km in moderate turbulence, and 255 km in severe turbulence during the program. The flight planning, operations, and turbulence forecasting aspects conducted with the B-57B aircraft are presented.

Davis, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Studies of Potential Mars Surveyor 1998 Landing Sites

The 1998 lander payload consists of a descent imager, the Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) instruments (lander stereo camera, arm-mounted close-up imager, meteorology package, thermal and evolved gas analyzer), and a LIDAR instrument. The mission focuses on assessment of near-surface water ice in the south polar region, and the volatile and climate history of Mars. In order to achieve these objectives, the landing site must allow access to polar layered deposits by the robotic arm, which may be able to dig as much as 0.5 m below the surface. Hence, the presence of recent aeolian debris at the landing site may adversely affect the ability of the MVACS instruments to gather the samples and acquire data needed to properly address the science objectives. The studies described here include mapping surface units in the landing region (73S - 77S, 140W - 230W) to infer the distribution of aeolian debris and to identify potential landing sites where mantling is minimal. Because the '98 lander will not be able to survive very low temperature conditions, this study also includes mapping of south polar seasonal frost retreat based on Viking Orbiter images. The results of this work, in conjunction with complementary studies by other investigators, will facilitate the selection of the Mars Surveyor 1998 landing site (and backup) by the summer of 1998.

Herkenhoff, K. E.↗