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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 325 records · Page 18
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NASA NTRS1979

Empirical models of the electron temperature and density in the nightside Venus ionosphere

Empirical models of the electron temperature and density of the late afternoon and nightside Venus ionosphere based on the Pioneer Venus measurements are presented. They describe the ionosphere conditions near 18 deg latitude between 150 and 700 km altitude for solar zenith angles of 80 to 180 deg, with a 10-fold decrease beyond 90 deg and a gradual decrease between 120 and 180 deg. The nightside electron density profile, the ion transport process, and electron precipitation are discussed. The high nocturnal temperatures and the well defined nightside ionopause suggest that energetic processes occur across the top of the entire nightside ionosphere, maintaining elevated temperatures.

Brace, L. H.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Venus ionosphere - Photochemical and thermal diffusion control of ion composition

The major photochemical sources and sinks for ten of the ions measured by the ion mass spectrometer on the Pioneer Venus bus and orbiter spacecraft that are consistent with the neutral gas composition measured on the same spacecraft are identified. The neutral gas temperature (as a function of solar zenith angle) derived from measured ion distributions in photochemical equilibrium is given. Above 200 kilometers, the altitude behavior of ions is generally controlled by plasma diffusion, with important modifications for minor ions due to thermal diffusion resulting from the observed gradients of plasma temperatures. The dayside equilibrium distributions of ions are sometimes perturbed by plasma convection, while lateral transport of ions from the dayside seems to be a major source of the nightside ionosphere.

Bauer, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Vertical structure of the ionosphere and upper neutral atmosphere of Saturn from the Pioneer radio occultation

Radio occultation measurements at S band (2.293 GHz) of the ionosphere and upper neutral atmosphere of Saturn were obtained during the flyby of the Pioneer 11 Saturn spacecraft in September 1979. Preliminary analysis of the occultation exit data taken at a latitude of 9.5 deg S and a solar zenith angle of 90.6 deg, revealed the presence of a rather thin ionosphere. It contained a main peak electron density of about 9.4 times 10 to the third/ccm at an altitude of about 2800 above the level of a neutral number density of 10 to the 19th/ccm and a lower peak of about 7000/ccm at 2200 km. Data in the neutral atmosphere were obtained to a pressure level of 120 millibars.

Kliore, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Atmospheric effects on cluster analyses

Ground reflected radiance, from which information is extracted through techniques of cluster analyses for remote sensing application, is altered by the atmosphere when it reaches the satellite. Therefore it is essential to understand the effects of the atmosphere on Landsat measurements, cluster characteristics and analysis accuracy. A doubling model is employed to compute the effective reflectivity, observed from the satellite, as a function of ground reflectivity, solar zenith angle and aerosol optical thickness for standard atmosphere. The relation between the effective reflectivity and ground reflectivity is approximately linear. It is shown that for a horizontally homogeneous atmosphere, the classification statistics from a maximum likelihood classifier remains unchanged under these transforms. If inhomogeneity is present, the divergence between clusters is reduced, and correlation between spectral bands increases. Radiance reflected by the background area surrounding the target may also reach the satellite. The influence of background reflectivity on effective reflectivity is discussed.

Kiang, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The seasonal cycle of snow cover, sea ice and surface albedo

The paper examines satellite data used to construct mean snow cover caps for the Northern Hemisphere. The zonally averaged snow cover from these maps is used to calculate the seasonal cycle of zonally averaged surface albedo. The effects of meltwater on the surface, solar zenith angle, and cloudiness are parameterized and included in the calculations of snow and ice albedo. The data allows a calculation of surface albedo for any land or ocean 10 deg latitude band as a function of surface temperature ice and snow cover; the correct determination of the ice boundary is more important than the snow boundary for accurately simulating the ice and snow albedo feedback.

Robock, A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

A model of CO-CH4 global transport/chemistry. I - Chemistry model

A simplified chemistry model was developed to incorporate the CO-CH4 chemistry into the global transport model of these compounds. CO is important because of its effects on atmospheric chemistry and is partly responsible for controlling the hydroxyl radical (OH) concentration in the troposphere. The model includes the photodissociation rate coefficients expressed as functions of solar zenith angle and altitude, and it was applied to determine the sensitivity of the OH concentration to trace gaseous species, such as NOx, O3, and H2O. Also, the concentrations and diurnal variations of OH and HO2, and the contribution of individual reactions to OH generation and consumption were calculated.

Peters, L. K.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Multispectral Resource Sampler (MRS): Proof of concept study on atmospheric corrections. Determinations of atmospheric optical parameters using the multispectral resource sampler atmospheric optical

An investigation was performed to determine which mathematical algorithms should be used in the calculation of atmospheric optical parameters using the Multispectral Resource Sampler (MRS) sensor. A simulation of the MRS sensor was performed using a radiative-transfer model. The simulation provides the spectral radiance at the satellite sensor in terms of various atmospheric parameters, such as optical thickness, solar zenith angle, nadir view angle, relative azimuth angle, bi-directional reflectance of the target, background albedo, and wavelength. Atmospheric correction algorithms were also developed for the determination of the total spectral optical thickness of the atmosphere for: (1) homogeneous (horizontal) hazy atmospheres with diffuse targets; (2) inhomogeneous (horizontal) hazy atmospheres with diffuse targets; and (3) homogeneous (horizontal) hazy atmospheres with non-diffuse targets.

Turner, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Effect of forest canopy closure on incoming solar radiance

In order to better understand the physical processes involved in defoliation assessment from remotely sensed data, a field study was designed to investigate the effect of forest canopy closure and other environmental variables on incoming solar radiation. Diffuse radiation measurements were recorded in red, infrared, and middle infrared wavelengths using the Mark 2 three band field radiometer. Results to date indicate that the percent canopy closure is the single most important variable affecting incoming solar radiation. In the visible and near infrared regions, interaction between time of day and date (defined later as solar zenith angle) also affect radiometric response. Aspect has only limited influence on radiance response. These same variables do not influence middle infrared response, however. Uniformity of the forest canopy appears to be more important. These results are compared to LANDSAT MSS classification results of gypsy moth defoliation.

Dottavio, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Radiometric resolution for monitoring vegetation - how many bits are needed

The number of radiometric quantizing levels required for satellite monitoring of vegetation resources was evaluated by using in situ collected spectral reflectance data, an atmospheric radiative transfer simulation model, and a satellite sensor simulation model. Reflectance data were converted to radiance data, passed through a model atmosphere to an altitude of 706 km, and subsequently quantized at 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 and 512 digital count levels for Thematic Mapper bands TM3 (0.63-0.69 microns) and TM4 (0.76-0.90 microns). The simulated digital count data were regressed against in situ biological data to quantify the relationship between quantizing levels. Results of the analysis demonstrated that solar zenith angle has an effect on the quantization equivalent change in reflectance, that 256 quantizing levels gave a 1-3% improvement per channel over 64 quantizing levels, and that 256 quantizing levels gave a 1% improvement per channel over 128 quantizing levels. No improvements were found for 256 versus 512 quantizing levels.

Tucker, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Ion energetics in the Venus nightside ionosphere

Consideration is given to the energetics of the ion gas flowing across the terminator into the Venus nightside ionosphere. Expressions are derived for the transport time of the ion gas (through 1 radian in solar zenith angle), the heat transfer time from the hot electron gas to the ions of an amount equal to the ion thermal energy), and the time required for vertical heat conduction to remove the internal energy of the ion column above a reference altitude, and it is shown that the time constant for transport is an order of magnitude smaller than the electron heat transfer time and comparable to the conduction time, and thus the ion gas is not a vertical conductive steady state. The conversion of bulk flow ion kinetic energy into heat is suggested as the mechanism responsible for the maintenance of the nightside ion temperatures at their observed values. It is thus concluded that the flow of the ion gas is quasi-adiabatic, and that steady-state, vertical, one dimensional energy balance models must be used with caution in the Venus ionosphere.

Knudsen, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The UV dayglow 3, OI emissions at 989, 1027, 1152, 1304, and 1356A

Rocket observations of the dayglow spectrum between 530 and 1500A were obtained on 9 January 1978 at a solar zenith angle of 56 deg. Data were obtained from 80 to 260 km with viewing angles of 40, 90, and 180 deg to the local zenith. OI emissions were observed at 989, 1027, 1152, 1304, and 1356A. Analysis of these data with a radiative transfer model using the energy dependences of currently accepted excitation cross sections, branching ratios and photoelectron fluxes shows that electron impact excitation is the primary source of these emissions. The infrared emission rates at 7990 and 11287A are also calculated in this analysis for comparison with previous observations and estimates.

Anderson, D. E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A feature of the behavior of He/+/ in the nightside high-latitude ionosphere during equinox

Observations of a hole of ionization in the nightside high-latitude ionosphere during equinox in which He(+) plays an important role in the relative abundance of the ionic constituents are reported. Ion abundance data were obtained during a period of very low magnetic activity from the retarding potential analyzer and magnetic ion mass spectrometer on board AE-D as the satellite passed across the polar region near midnight. Significant decreases in O(+) and H(+) concentrations are observed in the region between 1544 and 1547 UT within the polar cap, accompanied by the rise and dominance of He(+) ions to low altitudes. The dominance of He(+) is attributed to effects on photoproduction of changes in solar zenith angle as the plasma moves from the dayside to the nightside, where it stagnates or resides for periods greater than about 3 hours just poleward of the auroral zone. Model calculations of the physical processes involved in this mechanism are presented which in general tend to fit the observations.

Heelis, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Balloon-borne laser heterodyne radiometer for measurements of stratospheric trace species

A laser heterodyne radiometer has been flown to measure chlorine monoxide in the stratosphere, which has an important role in the catalytic destruction of ozone. The measured values in the 35-38 km region are found to be significantly higher than model predictions, and the drop-off at lower altitudes occurs at a higher rate, even after adjusting the profile to include the solar zenith angle effects.

Menzies, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Empirical models of the electron temperature and density in the Venus ionosphere

The electron temperature and density of the Venus ionosphere is characterized using data from the Pioneer Venus orbiter electron temperature probe experiment for the full range of solar zenith angles and local times. Values for the electron density are nearly uniform across the day side with a sharp decrease in the vicinity of the terminator. The model shows a substantial night side ionosphere which can be accounted for by a combination of several transport processes, and by local production by precipitating particles. The electron temperature model demonstrates the high temperatures seen on both the day side and night side. It is found that the night side is much more variable than the day side, and that there is no obvious north-south asymmetry in either the temperature or the density.

Theis, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The upper atmosphere of Venus during morning conditions

The structure and composition of the Venus upper atmosphere between 130- and 650-km altitude were measured for a solar zenith angle of approximately 60 deg by the neutral gas mass spectrometer on board the Pioneer Venus multiprobe bus. Below 180 km a wavelike structure is quite evident in the CO2 and He number density profiles. For altitudes above 100 km a one-dimensional model of the Venus upper atmosphere during morningside conditions (MS model) is presented. Number densities at 150-km altitude are as follows: CO2 equals 4.2 x 10 to the 9th, N2 equals 1.1 x 10 to the 9th, CO equals 2.8 x 10 to the 9th, and He equals 4.8 x 10 to the 6th per cu cm. The homopause altitudes for N2 and He are at 136 and 130 km, respectively.

Von Zahn, U.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Observations of large scale steady magnetic fields in the nightside Venus ionosphere and near wake

Based on an analysis of a large sample of Pioneer Venus Orbiter magnetometer data, characteristics of the magnetic fields near nightside periapsis are discussed. The observations generally indicate a weak average field of less than 10 gammas between 200 km and the periapsis altitude of 150 km, except when (1) the local solar wind dynamic pressure is high or (2) the spacecraft is in a 70 deg wide solar zenith angle range, which includes the midnight meridian and is centered west of it at 1 hr local time. The presence of radial field of alternating sign at low altitudes and in the nightside ionosphere suggests that the antiparallel magnetotail fields can terminate very close to the planet.

Luhmann, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Observations of the far ultraviolet nightglow

The far UV emission in the 1350-1700 A band observable at all latitudes and solar zenith angles up to 165 deg looking down from 225 km is discussed with reference to the Apollo-Soyuz data and results reported by Huffman et al. (1980). It is suggested that the much higher intensities of nighttime far UV radiation reported by Huffman et al. must be due either to an impulsive short-lived source or to a secular increase since 1975 of one or more of the parameters affecting the unknown emission mechanism.

Paresce, F.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Ozone in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere

A detailed photochemical model of the upper stratosphere and mesosphere is compared with three extensive sets of ozone observations: Atmospheric Explorer-E backscattered ultraviolet experiment (BUV), Nimbus-4 BUV, and rocket flights from Wallops Flight Center (ROCOZ). The Nimbus-4 and rocket observations are most sensitive to ozone between 30 and 50 km, whereas observations from AE-E measure the abundance of ozone up to 70 km. The photochemical model accurately reproduces the observed relationship between BUV intensity and local solar zenith angle, although the absolute calibration on AE-E appears to be in error. The AE-E observations and the model both exhibit a morning-afternoon asymmetry, with more ozone in the morning owing to the build up of HOx species in the afternoon. Seasonal changes in atmospheric temperature produce an annual maximum in tropical mesospheric ozone during June-July-August. The amplitude of the observed effect is somewhat larger than calculated by the model. Some problems appear to remain with the presently accepted kinetic rates for HOx species in the atmosphere.

Prather, J. J.↗