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At least 343 records · Page 19

A high-resolution survey of interstellar Na I D1 lines

We present high-resolution (0.5 km/s) spectra, obtained with the McDonald Observatory 2.7 m coude echelle spectrograph, of interstellar Na I D1 absorption toward 38 bright stars. Numerous narrow, closely blended absorption components, showing resolved Na I hyperfine structure, are evident in these spectra; such narrow components appear in both low halo and quite local gas, as well as in gas toward more distant disk stars. We have used the method of profile fitting in an attempt to determine column densities, line widths, and velocities for the individual interstellar clouds contributing to the observed absorption lines. The resulting sample of 276 clouds is significantly larger, and likely more complete, than several previous samples of 'individual' interstellar clouds, and allows more precise investigation of various statistical properties. We find that the cloud column density (N) and line width parameter (b) are not correlated, for 0.3 km/s approximately less than b approximately less than 1.5 km/s and 10.0/sq cm approximately less than log (N(Na I)) approximately less than 11.6/sq cm. The median b is about 0.73 km/s, the median log N is about 11.09/sq cm, and the median separation between adjacent components is about 2.0 km/s. All these are overestimates of the true median values, however, due to our inability to completely resolve all the component structure present in some cases; even at a resolution of 0.5 km/s, we may have discerned only 60% of the full number of individual components actually present. The one-dimensional dispersion of component velocities, in the local standard of rest, is approximately 8.6 km/s; the distribution of velocities is broader and displaced to more negative velocities for the weaker components. If 80 K is a representative temperature for the interstellar clouds seen in Na I absorption, then at least 38% (and probably the majority) of the clouds have subsonic internal turbulent motions. The range in N(H I) observed at a given N(Na I) increases as N(Na I) decreases below about 10(exp 11)/sq cm, so that N(Na I) becomes a less reliable predictor of N(H I) at low column densities. These spectra will be quite useful in future detailed studies of these lines of sight with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) echelle -- to determine accurate velocities and to reveal the detailed interstellar component structures that cannot be discerned at the 3.5 km/s resolution available with the GHRS.

Welty, Daniel E.↗

The mesoscale forcing of a midlatitude upper-tropospheric jet streak by a simulated convective system. 2: Kinetic energy and resolution analysis

A kinetic energy (KE) analysis of the forcing of a mesoscale upper-tropospheric jet streak by organized diabatic processes within the simulated convective system (SCS) that was discussed in Part 1 is presented in this study. The relative contributions of the ageostrophic components of motion to the generation of KE of the convectively generated jet streak are compared, along with the KE generation by the rotational (nondivergent) and irrotational (divergent) mass transport. The sensitivity of the numerical simulations of SCS development to resolution is also briefly examined. Analysis within isentropic coordinates provides for an explicit determination of the influence of the diabatic processes on the generation of KE. The upper-level production of specific KE is due predominatly to the inertial advective ageostrophic component (IAD), and as such represents the primary process through which the KE of the convectively generated jet streak is realized. A secondary contribution by the inertial diabatic (IDI) term is observed. Partitioning the KE generation into its rotational and irrotational components reveals that the latter, which is directly linked to the diabatic heating within the SCS through isentropic continuity requirements, is the ultimate source of KE generation as the global area integral of generation by the rotational component vanishes. Comparison with an identical dry simulation reveals that the net generation of KE must be attributed to latent heating. Both the IAD and IDI ageostrophic components play important roles in this regard. Examination of results from simulations conducted at several resolutions supports the previous findings in that the effects of diabatic processes and ageostrophic motion on KE generation remain consistent. Resolution does impact the location and timing of SCS development, a result that has important implications in forecasting the onset of convection that develops from evolution of the large-scale flow and moisture transport. Marked differences are observed in the momentum field aloft subsequent to the life cycle of the SCS in the 1 deg, 30-level base case (MP130) simulation discussed in Part 1 versus its 2 deg counterparts in that the MP130 simulation with higher spatial resolution contains from 14% to 30% more total KE.

Wolf, Bart J.↗

Explicit and implicit compact high-resolution shock-capturing methods for multidimensional Euler equations 1: Formulation

Two classes of explicit compact high-resolution shock-capturing methods for the multidimensional compressible Euler equations for fluid dynamics are constructed. Some of these schemes can be fourth-order accurate away from discontinuities. For the semi-discrete case their shock-capturing properties are of the total variation diminishing (TVD), total variation bounded (TVB), total variation diminishing in the mean (TVDM), essentially nonoscillatory (ENO), or positive type of scheme for 1-D scalar hyperbolic conservation laws and are positive schemes in more than one dimension. These fourth-order schemes require the same grid stencil as their second-order non-compact cousins. One class does not require the standard matrix inversion or a special numerical boundary condition treatment associated with typical compact schemes. Due to the construction, these schemes can be viewed as approximations to genuinely multidimensional schemes in the sense that they might produce less distortion in spherical type shocks and are more accurate in vortex type flows than schemes based purely on one-dimensional extensions. However, one class has a more desirable high-resolution shock-capturing property and a smaller operation count in 3-D than the other class. The extension of these schemes to coupled nonlinear systems can be accomplished using the Roe approximate Riemann solver, the generalized Steger and Warming flux-vector splitting or the van Leer type flux-vector splitting. Modification to existing high-resolution second- or third-order non-compact shock-capturing computer codes is minimal. High-resolution shock-capturing properties can also be achieved via a variant of the second-order Lax-Friedrichs numerical flux without the use of Riemann solvers for coupled nonlinear systems with comparable operations count to their classical shock-capturing counterparts. The simplest extension to viscous flows can be achieved by using the standard fourth-order compact or non-compact formula for the viscous terms.

Yee, H. C.↗

Edge technique lidar for high accuracy, high spatial resolution wind measurement in the Planetary Boundary Layer

The goal of the Army Research Office (ARO) Geosciences Program is to measure the three dimensional wind field in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over a measurement volume with a 50 meter spatial resolution and with measurement accuracies of the order of 20 cm/sec. The objective of this work is to develop and evaluate a high vertical resolution lidar experiment using the edge technique for high accuracy measurement of the atmospheric wind field to meet the ARO requirements. This experiment allows the powerful capabilities of the edge technique to be quantitatively evaluated. In the edge technique, a laser is located on the steep slope of a high resolution spectral filter. This produces large changes in measured signal for small Doppler shifts. A differential frequency technique renders the Doppler shift measurement insensitive to both laser and filter frequency jitter and drift. The measurement is also relatively insensitive to the laser spectral width for widths less than the width of the edge filter. Thus, the goal is to develop a system which will yield a substantial improvement in the state of the art of wind profile measurement in terms of both vertical resolution and accuracy and which will provide a unique capability for atmospheric wind studies.

Korb, C. L.↗

Active-Pixel Image Sensors With Programmable Resolution

Active-pixel image sensors with programmable resolution proposed for use in applications in which speed and efficiency of processing of image data enhanced by providing those data at varying resolutions. Such applications include modeling of biological vision, stereoscopic range-finding, recognition of patterns, tracking targets, and progressive transmission of compressed images. In target-tracking application, sensor initially forms low-resolution image from which area of interest identified, then sensor set at high resolution for examination of identified area. Outputs of contiguous pixels combined. Sensor of this type made to act as though it comprised fewer and larger pixels.

Kemeny, Sabrina E.↗

Definition of the Spatial Resolution of X-Ray Microanalysis in Thin Foils

The spatial resolution of X-ray microanalysis in thin foils is defined in terms of the incident electron beam diameter and the average beam broadening. The beam diameter is defined as the full width tenth maximum of a Gaussian intensity distribution. The spatial resolution is calculated by a convolution of the beam diameter and the average beam broadening. This definition of the spatial resolution can be related simply to experimental measurements of composition profiles across interphase interfaces. Monte Carlo calculations using a high-speed parallel supercomputer show good agreement with this definition of the spatial resolution and calculations based on this definition. The agreement is good over a range of specimen thicknesses and atomic number, but is poor when excessive beam tailing distorts the assumed Gaussian electron intensity distributions. Beam tailing occurs in low-Z materials because of fast secondary electrons and in high-Z materials because of plural scattering.

Williams, D. B.↗

Analysis of Atmospheric Trace Constituents from High Resolution Infrared Balloon-Borne and Ground-Based Solar Absorption Spectra

Recent results and ongoing studies of high resolution solar absorption spectra will be presented. The analysis of these spectra is aimed at the identification and quantification of trace constituents important in atmospheric chemistry of the stratosphere and upper troposphere. Analysis of balloon-borne and ground-based spectra obtained at 0.0025/ cm covering the 700-2200/ cm interval will be presented. Results from ground-based 0.02/ cm solar spectra, from several locations such as Denver, South Pole, M. Loa, and New Zealand will also be shown. The 0.0025/ cm spectra show many new spectroscopic features. The analysis of these spectra, along with corresponding laboratory spectra, improves the spectral line parameters, and thus the accuracy of trace constituents quantification. The combination of the recent balloon flights, with earlier flights data since 1978 at 0.02/ cm resolution, provides trends analysis of several stratospheric trace species. Results for COF2, F22, SF6, and other species will be presented. Analysis of several ground-based solar spectra provides trends for HCl, HF and other species. The retrieval methods used for total column density and altitude distribution for both ground-based and balloon-borne spectra will be presented. These are extended for the analysis of the ground-based spectra to be obtained by the high resolution interferometers of the Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC). Progress or the University of Denver studies for the NDSC will be presented. This will include intercomparison of solar spectra and trace gases retrievals obtained from simultaneous scans by the high resolution (0.0025/ cm) interferometers of BRUKER and BOMEM.

Goldman, A.↗

A Variable Resolution Stretched Grid Data Assimilation System for Regional Studies and Applications

The variable resolution stretched grid (SG) version of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Data Assimilation System (DAS) incorporating the GEOS SG-GCM, has been developed and tested. The area/region of interest used in experiments is a rectangle over the U.S. with -60 km horizontal resolution and 70 layers extending from the surface to 0.1 hPa. The forecast error statistics has been reassessed for finer regional resolution. The experiments are performed for winter and summer seasons. The SG-GCM and SG-DAS experiments show that a definite down-scaling takes place over the area of interest. The SG-DAS is capable of reproducing regional mesoscale patterns and diagnostics that are not produced by coarser uniform resolution runs. The SG-DAS fields and diagnostics are used for regional forecasting, new instrument impact studies, and for validation of regional climate simulation experiments.

Fox-Rabinovitz, Michael S.↗

Earth Observing System (EOS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Global Snow-Cover Maps

Following the 1999 launch of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the capability exists to produce global snow-cover maps on a daily basis at 500-m resolution. Eight-day composite snow-cover maps will also be available. MODIS snow-cover products are produced at Goddard Space Flight Center and archived and distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. The products are available in both orbital and gridded formats. An online search and order tool and user-services staff will be available at NSIDC to assist users with the snow products. The snow maps are available at a spatial resolution of 500 m, and 1/4 degree x 1/4 degree spatial resolution, and provide information on sub-pixel (fractional) snow cover. Pre-launch validation work has shown that the MODIS snow-mapping algorithms perform best under conditions of continuous snow cover in low vegetation areas, but can also map snow cover in dense forests. Post-launch validation activities will be performed using field and aircraft measurements from a February 2000 validation mission, as well as from existing satellite-derived snow-cover maps from NOAA and Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+).

Hall, Dorothy K.↗

Clementine High Resolution Camera Mosaicking Project: CL 6022; 80 deg S to 90 deg S Latitude, South Periapsis - Volume 22

This compact disk (CD) is part of the Clementine I high resolution (HiRes) camera lunar image mosaics developed by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS). These mosaics were developed through calibration and semi-automated registration against the recently released geometrically and photometrically controlled Ultraviolet/Visible (UV/Vis) Basemap Mosaic, which is available through the PDS, as CD-ROM volumes CL_3001-3015. The HiRes mosaics are compiled from non-uniformity corrected, 750 nanometer ("D") filter high resolution observations from the HiRes imaging system onboard the Clementine Spacecraft. The geometric control is provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Clementine Basemap Mosaic compiled from the 750 nm Ultraviolet/Visible Clementine imaging system. Calibration was achieved by removing the image nonuniformity largely caused by the HiRes system's light intensifier. Also provided are offset and scale factors, achieved by a fit of the HiRes data to the corresponding photometrically calibrated UV/Vis basemap that approximately transform the 8-bit HiRes data to photometric units. The mosaics on this CD are compiled from polar data (latitudes greater than 80 degrees), and are presented in the stereographic projection at a scale of 30 m/pixel at the pole, a resolution 5 times greater than that (150 m/pixel) of the corresponding UV/Vis polar basemap. This 5:1 scale ratio is in keeping with the sub-polar mosaic, in which the HiRes and UV/Vis mosaics had scales of 20 m/pixel and 100 m/pixel, respectively. The equal-area property of the stereographic projection made this preferable for the HiRes polar mosaic rather than the basemap's orthographic projection. Thus, a necessary first step in constructing the mosaic was the reprojection of the UV/Vis basemap to the stereographic projection. The HiRes polar data can be naturally grouped according to the orbital periapsis, which was in the south during the first half of the mapping mission and in the north during the second half. Images in each group have generally uniform intrinsic resolution, illumination, exposure and gain. Rather than mingle data from the two periapsis epochs, separate mosaics are provided for each, a total of 4 polar mosaics. The mosaics are divided into 100 square tiles of 2250 pixels (approximately 2.2 deg near the pole) on a side. Not all squares of this grid contain HiRes mosaic data, some inevitably since a square is not a perfect representation of a (latitude) circle, others due to the lack of HiRes data. This CD also contains ancillary data files that support the HiRes mosaic. These files include browse images with UV/Vis context stored in a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format, index files ('imgindx.tab' and 'srcindx.tab') that tabulate the contents of the CD, and documentation files. For more information on the contents and organization of the CD volume set refer to the "FILES, DIRECTORIES AND DISK CONTENTS" section of this document. The image files are organized according to NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) standards. An image file (tile) is organized as a PDS labeled file containing an "image object".

Malin, Michael↗

Clementine High Resolution Camera Mosaicking Project: CL 6020; 80 deg N to 90 deg N Latitude, South Periapsis - Volume 20

This compact disk (CD) is part of the Clementine I high resolution (HiRes) camera lunar image mosaics developed by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS). These mosaics were developed through calibration and semi-automated registration against the recently released geometrically and photometrically controlled Ultraviolet/Visible (UV/Vis) Basemap Mosaic, which is available through the PDS, as CD-ROM volumes CL_3001-3015. The HiRes mosaics are compiled from non-uniformity corrected, 750 nanometer ("D") filter high resolution observations from the HiRes imaging system onboard the Clementine Spacecraft. The geometric control is provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Clementine Basemap Mosaic compiled from the 750 nm Ultraviolet/Visible Clementine imaging system. Calibration was achieved by removing the image nonuniformity largely caused by the HiRes system's light intensifier. Also provided are offset and scale factors, achieved by a fit of the HiRes data to the corresponding photometrically calibrated UV/Vis basemap that approximately transform the 8-bit HiRes data to photometric units. The mosaics on this CD are compiled from polar data (latitudes greater than 80 degrees), and are presented in the stereographic projection at a scale of 30 m/pixel at the pole, a resolution 5 times greater than that (150 m/pixel) of the corresponding UV/Vis polar basemap. This 5:1 scale ratio is in keeping with the sub-polar mosaic, in which the HiRes and UV/Vis mosaics had scales of 20 m/pixel and 100 m/pixel, respectively. The equal-area property of the stereographic projection made this preferable for the HiRes polar mosaic rather than the basemap's orthographic projection. Thus, a necessary first step in constructing the mosaic was the reprojection of the UV/Vis basemap to the stereographic projection. The HiRes polar data can be naturally grouped according to the orbital periapsis, which was in the south during the first half of the mapping mission and in the north during the second half. Images in each group have generally uniform intrinsic resolution, illumination, exposure and gain. Rather than mingle data from the two periapsis epochs, separate mosaics are provided for each, a total of 4 polar mosaics. The mosaics are divided into 100 square tiles of 2250 pixels (approximately 2.2 deg near the pole) on a side. Not all squares of this grid contain HiRes mosaic data, some inevitably since a square is not a perfect representation of a (latitude) circle, others due to the lack of HiRes data. This CD also contains ancillary data files that support the HiRes mosaic. These files include browse images with UV/Vis context stored in a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format, index files ('imgindx.tab' and 'srcindx.tab') that tabulate the contents of the CD, and documentation files. For more information on the contents and organization of the CD volume set refer to the "FILES, DIRECTORIES AND DISK CONTENTS" section of this document. The image files are organized according to NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) standards. An image file (tile) is organized as a PDS labeled file containing an "image object".

Malin, Michael↗

Clementine High Resolution Camera Mosaicking Project: CL 6021; 80 deg S to 90 deg S Latitude, North Periapsis - Volume 21

This compact disk (CD) is part of the Clementine I high resolution (HiRes) camera lunar image mosaics developed by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS). These mosaics were developed through calibration and semi-automated registration against the recently released geometrically and photometrically controlled Ultraviolet/Visible (UV/Vis) Basemap Mosaic, which is available through the PDS, as CD-ROM volumes CL_3001-3015. The HiRes mosaics are compiled from non-uniformity corrected, 750 nanometer ("D") filter high resolution observations from the HiRes imaging system onboard the Clementine Spacecraft. The geometric control is provided by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Clementine Basemap Mosaic compiled from the 750 nm Ultraviolet/Visible Clementine imaging system. Calibration was achieved by removing the image nonuniformity largely caused by the HiRes system's light intensifier. Also provided are offset and scale factors, achieved by a fit of the HiRes data to the corresponding photometrically calibrated UV/Vis basemap that approximately transform the 8-bit HiRes data to photometric units. The mosaics on this CD are compiled from polar data (latitudes greater than 80 degrees), and are presented in the stereographic projection at a scale of 30 m/pixel at the pole, a resolution 5 times greater than that (150 m/pixel) of the corresponding UV/Vis polar basemap. This 5:1 scale ratio is in keeping with the sub-polar mosaic, in which the HiRes and UV/Vis mosaics had scales of 20 m/pixel and 100 m/pixel, respectively. The equal-area property of the stereographic projection made this preferable for the HiRes polar mosaic rather than the basemap's orthographic projection. Thus, a necessary first step in constructing the mosaic was the reprojection of the UV/Vis basemap to the stereographic projection. The HiRes polar data can be naturally grouped according to the orbital periapsis, which was in the south during the first half of the mapping mission and in the north during the second half. Images in each group have generally uniform intrinsic resolution, illumination, exposure and gain. Rather than mingle data from the two periapsis epochs, separate mosaics are provided for each, a total of 4 polar mosaics. The mosaics are divided into 100 square tiles of 2250 pixels (approximately 2.2 deg near the pole) on a side. Not all squares of this grid contain HiRes mosaic data, some inevitably since a square is not a perfect representation of a (latitude) circle, others due to the lack of HiRes data. This CD also contains ancillary data files that support the HiRes mosaic. These files include browse images with UV/Vis context stored in a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format, index files ('imgindx.tab' and 'srcindx.tab') that tabulate the contents of the CD, and documentation files. For more information on the contents and organization of the CD volume set refer to the "FILES, DIRECTORIES AND DISK CONTENTS" section of this document. The image files are organized according to NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) standards. An image file (tile) is organized as a PDS labeled file containing an "image object".

Malin, Michael↗

Clementine High Resolution Camera Mosaicking Project: CL 6019; 80 deg N to 90 deg N Latitude, North Periapsis - Volume 19

This compact disk (CD) is part of the Clementine I high resolution (HiRes) camera lunar image mosaics developed by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS). These mosaics were developed through calibration and semi-automated registration against the recently released geometrically and photometrically controlled Ultraviolet/Visible (UV/Vis) Basemap Mosaic, which is available through the PDS, as CD-ROM volumes CL_3001-3015. The HiRes mosaics are compiled from non-uniformity corrected, 750 nanometer ("D") filter high resolution observations from the HiRes imaging system onboard the Clementine Spacecraft. The geometric control is provided by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Clementine Basemap Mosaic compiled from the 750 nm Ultraviolet/Visible Clementine imaging system. Calibration was achieved by removing the image nonuniformity largely caused by the HiRes system's light intensifier. Also provided are offset and scale factors, achieved by a fit of the HiRes data to the corresponding photometrically calibrated UV/Vis basemap that approximately transform the 8-bit HiRes data to photometric units. The mosaics on this CD are compiled from polar data (latitudes greater than 80 degrees), and are presented in the stereographic projection at a scale of 30 m/pixel at the pole, a resolution 5 times greater than that (150 m/pixel) of the corresponding UV/Vis polar basemap. This 5:1 scale ratio is in keeping with the sub-polar mosaic, in which the HiRes and UV/Vis mosaics had scales of 20 m/pixel and 100 m/pixel, respectively. The equal-area property of the stereographic projection made this preferable for the HiRes polar mosaic rather than the basemap's orthographic projection. Thus, a necessary first step in constructing the mosaic was the reprojection of the UV/Vis basemap to the stereographic projection. The HiRes polar data can be naturally grouped according to the orbital periapsis, which was in the south during the first half of the mapping mission and in the north during the second half. Images in each group have generally uniform intrinsic resolution, illumination, exposure and gain. Rather than mingle data from the two periapsis epochs, separate mosaics are provided for each, a total of 4 polar mosaics. The mosaics are divided into 100 square tiles of 2250 pixels (approximately 2.2 deg near the pole) on a side. Not all squares of this grid contain HiRes mosaic data, some inevitably since a square is not a perfect representation of a (latitude) circle, others due to the lack of HiRes data. This CD also contains ancillary data files that support the HiRes mosaic. These files include browse images with UV/Vis context stored in a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format, index files ('imgindx.tab' and 'srcindx.tab') that tabulate the contents of the CD, and documentation files. For more information on the contents and organization of the CD volume set refer to the "FILES, DIRECTORIES AND DISK CONTENTS" section of this document. The image files are organized according to NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) standards. An image file (tile) is organized as a PDS labeled file containing an "image object".

Malin, Michael↗

Routine High-Resolution Forecasts/Analyses for the Pacific Disaster Center: User Manual

Enclosed herein is our HWCMO user manual. This manual constitutes the final report for our NASA/PDC grant, NASA NAG5-8730, "Routine High Resolution Forecasts/Analysis for the Pacific Disaster Center". Since the beginning of the grant, we have routinely provided experimental high resolution forecasts from the RSM/MSM for the Hawaii Islands, while working to upgrade the system to include: (1) a more robust input of NCEP analyses directly from NCEP; (2) higher vertical resolution, with increased forecast accuracy; (3) faster delivery of forecast products and extension of initial 1-day forecasts to 2 days; (4) augmentation of our basic meteorological and simplified fireweather forecasts to firedanger and drought forecasts; (5) additional meteorological forecasts with an alternate mesoscale model (MM5); and (6) the feasibility of using our modeling system to work in higher-resolution domains and other regions. In this user manual, we provide a general overview of the operational system and the mesoscale models as well as more detailed descriptions of the models. A detailed description of daily operations and a cost analysis is also provided. Evaluations of the models are included although it should be noted that model evaluation is a continuing process and as potential problems are identified, these can be used as the basis for making model improvements. Finally, we include our previously submitted answers to particular PDC questions (Appendix V). All of our initially proposed objectives have basically been met. In fact, a number of useful applications (VOG, air pollution transport) are already utilizing our experimental output and we believe there are a number of other applications that could make use of our routine forecast/analysis products. Still, work still remains to be done to further develop this experimental weather, climate, fire danger and drought prediction system. In short, we would like to be a part of a future PDC team, if at all possible, to further develop and apply the system for the Hawaiian and other Pacific Islands as well as the entire Pacific Basin.

Roads, John↗

Optimizations on Designing High-Resolution Finite-Difference Schemes

We describe a general optimization procedure for both maximizing the resolution characteristics of existing finite differencing schemes as well as designing finite difference schemes that will meet the error tolerance requirements of numerical solutions. The procedure is based on an optimization process. This is a generalization of the compact scheme introduced by Lele in which the resolution is improved for single, one-dimensional spatial derivative, whereas in the present approach the complete scheme, after spatial and temporal discretizations, is optimized on a range of parameters of the scheme and the governing equations. The approach is to linearize and Fourier analyze the discretized equations to check the resolving power of the scheme for various wave number ranges in the solution and optimize the resolution to satisfy the requirements of the problem. This represents a constrained nonlinear optimization problem which can be solved to obtain the nodal weights of discretization. An objective function is defined in the parametric space of wave numbers, Courant number, Mach number and other quantities of interest. Typical criterion for defining the objective function include the maximization of the resolution of high wave numbers for acoustic and electromagnetic wave propagations and turbulence calculations. The procedure is being tested on off-design conditions of non-uniform mesh, non-periodic boundary conditions, and non-constant wave speeds for scalar and system of equations. This includes the solution of wave equations and Euler equations using a conventional scheme with and without optimization and the design of an optimum scheme for the specified error tolerance.

Liu, Yen↗

Charge Resolution of the Silicon Matrix of the ATIC Experiment

ATIC (Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter) is a balloon borne experiment designed to measure the cosmic ray composition for elements from hydrogen to iron and their energy spectra from approx.50 GeV to near 100 TeV. It consists of a Si-matrix detector to determine the charge of a CRT particle, a scintillator hodoscope for tracking, carbon interaction targets and a fully active BGO calorimeter. ATIC had its first flight from McMurdo, Antarctica from 28/12/2000 to 13/01/2001. The ATIC flight collected approximately 25 million events. The silicon matrix of the ATIC spectrometer is designed to resolve individual elements from proton to iron. To provide this resolution careful calibration of each pixel of the silicon matrix is required. Firstly, for each electronic channel of the matrix the pedestal value was subtracted taking into account its drift during the flight. The muon calibration made before the flight was used then to convert electric signals (in ADC channel number) to energy deposits in each pixel. However, the preflight muon calibration was not accurate enough for the purpose, because of lack of statistics in each pixel. To improve charge resolution the correction was done for the position of Helium peak in each pixel during the flight . The other way to set electric signals in electronics channels of the Si-matrix to one scale was correction for electric channel gains accurately measured in laboratory. In these measurements it was found that small different nonlinearities for different channels are present in the region of charge Z > 20. The correction for these non-linearities was not done yet. In linear approximation the method provides practically the same resolution as muon calibration plus He-peak correction. For searching a pixel with the signal of primary particle an indication from the cascade in the calorimeter was used. For this purpose a trajectory was reconstructed using weight centers of energy deposits in BGO layers. The point of intersection of this trajectory with Si-matrix and its RMS was determined. The pixel with maximal signal in 3sigma region was taken as sought. The signal in this pixel was corrected by trajectory zenith angle. The preliminary results on charge resolution of the Si-matrix in the range from protons to iron are presented.

Zatsepin, V. I.↗

High-Efficiency High-Resolution Global Model Developments at the NASA Goddard Data Assimilation Office

The Data Assimilation Office (DAO) has been developing a new generation of ultra-high resolution General Circulation Model (GCM) that is suitable for 4-D data assimilation, numerical weather predictions, and climate simulations. These three applications have conflicting requirements. For 4-D data assimilation and weather predictions, it is highly desirable to run the model at the highest possible spatial resolution (e.g., 55 km or finer) so as to be able to resolve and predict socially and economically important weather phenomena such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, and severe winter storms. For climate change applications, the model simulations need to be carried out for decades, if not centuries. To reduce uncertainty in climate change assessments, the next generation model would also need to be run at a fine enough spatial resolution that can at least marginally simulate the effects of intense tropical cyclones. Scientific problems (e.g., parameterization of subgrid scale moist processes) aside, all three areas of application require the model's computational performance to be dramatically improved as compared to the previous generation. In this talk, I will present the current and future developments of the "finite-volume dynamical core" at the Data Assimilation Office. This dynamical core applies modem monotonicity preserving algorithms and is genuinely conservative by construction, not by an ad hoc fixer. The "discretization" of the conservation laws is purely local, which is clearly advantageous for resolving sharp gradient flow features. In addition, the local nature of the finite-volume discretization also has a significant advantage on distributed memory parallel computers. Together with a unique vertically Lagrangian control volume discretization that essentially reduces the dimension of the computational problem from three to two, the finite-volume dynamical core is very efficient, particularly at high resolutions. I will also present the computational design of the dynamical core using a hybrid distributed-shared memory programming paradigm that is portable to virtually any of today's high-end parallel super-computing clusters.

Lin, Shian-Jiann↗

High-Efficiency High-Resolution Global Model Developments at the NASA Goddard Data Assimilation Office

The Data Assimilation Office (DAO) has been developing a new generation of ultra-high resolution General Circulation Model (GCM) that is suitable for 4-D data assimilation, numerical weather predictions, and climate simulations. These three applications have conflicting requirements. For 4-D data assimilation and weather predictions, it is highly desirable to run the model at the highest possible spatial resolution (e.g., 55 kin or finer) so as to be able to resolve and predict socially and economically important weather phenomena such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, and severe winter storms. For climate change applications, the model simulations need to be carried out for decades, if not centuries. To reduce uncertainty in climate change assessments, the next generation model would also need to be run at a fine enough spatial resolution that can at least marginally simulate the effects of intense tropical cyclones. Scientific problems (e.g., parameterization of subgrid scale moist processes) aside, all three areas of application require the model's computational performance to be dramatically improved as compared to the previous generation. In this talk, I will present the current and future developments of the "finite-volume dynamical core" at the Data Assimilation Office. This dynamical core applies modem monotonicity preserving algorithms and is genuinely conservative by construction, not by an ad hoc fixer. The "discretization" of the conservation laws is purely local, which is clearly advantageous for resolving sharp gradient flow features. In addition, the local nature of the finite-volume discretization also has a significant advantage on distributed memory parallel computers. Together with a unique vertically Lagrangian control volume discretization that essentially reduces the dimension of the computational problem from three to two, the finite-volume dynamical core is very efficient, particularly at high resolutions. I will also present the computational design of the dynamical core using a hybrid distributed- shared memory programming paradigm that is portable to virtually any of today's high-end parallel super-computing clusters.

Lin, Shian-Jiann↗