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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

The hazard components of representative key risks. The physical climate perspective

The framework of Representative Key Risks (RKRs) has been adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II in order to categorize, assess and communicate a wide range of regional and sectoral key risks, expected to become severe as a consequence of the potentially detrimental convergence of changing climate conditions, exposure and vulnerability of human and natural systems, and responses through (mal)adaptation measures. Other papers in this special issue treat each of eight RKRs by holistically assessing their current status and future evolution as a result of this convergence. However, their treatment cannot always organize such assessment according to a systematic gradation of climatic changes, often times having to extrapolate the big-picture evolution of risk from either qualitative effects of “low” medium” and “high” warming, or limited/focused analysis of the consequences of particular mitigation choices (e.g., benefits of limiting warming to 1.5 or 2C). In this study we offer as systematic a representation as possible – given current literature and assessments – of the future evolution of the hazard components of RKRs. We draw on the assessment of changes in climatic impact-drivers relevant to RKRs described in the 6th Assessment Report by Working Group 1 (WGI) supplemented when needed by more recent literature. We identify the relevant hazards for each RKR, based upon the WGII authors’ assessment, and we report on their current state and expected future changes in magnitude, intensity and/or frequency, linking these changes to Global Warming Levels to the extent possible. For some of these quantities - like regional trends in oceanic and atmospheric temperature and precipitation, some heat and precipitation extremes, permafrost thaw and Northern Hemisphere snow cover - a strong and quantitative relationship with global average temperature change has been assessed. For others - like frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones and extra-tropical storms, and fire weather - the link to increasing global temperatures can only be described qualitatively. For some processes - like the behavior of ice-sheets, or changes in circulation dynamics - large uncertainties about the effects of different levels of warming remain, and for a few others - like ocean pH and air pollution - the composition of the scenario of anthropogenic emissions is most relevant, rather than the warming reached. In almost all cases, however, the basic message remains that every small increment in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and associated warming will bring changes in climate phenomena that will contribute to increasing risk of impacts on human and natural systems when these changes happen in conjunction with these systems’ conditions of exposure and vulnerability, and in lack of effective adaptation. Our picture of the evolution of RKR-relevant climatic impact-drivers complements and enriches the treatment of RKRs in the other papers in at least two ways: by filling in an often only cursory or limited representation of the physical climate aspects driving impacts, and by providing a fuller representation of their future possible evolution which represents an important component – if never the only one – of the potential future evolution of risk severity.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1973

Application of ERTS-1-data to the protection and management of New Jersey's coastal environment

The author has identified the following significant results. New Jersey's planned, regionalized network of sewage disposal facilities has been plotted on an ERTS-1 mosaic and circulation parameters for each of the planned outfall locations have been analyzed using the ERTS-1 imagery and comparative aircraft photography. Work is continuing on the circulation and dispersion of barge-dumped wastes in the New York Bight area. One of the largest remote sensing experiments ever attempted in this country was completed on April 7, 1973 during the ERTS-1 overpass. The test area included the northern portion of New Jersey and the Raritan Bay - New York Harbor area. Three NASA aircraft, two helicopters, nine surface vessels, 40 ground team personnel, and numerous oceanographic, radiometric, and meteorological equipment were deployed in an effort to characterize the surface and near-surface circulation dynamics in this 600 square mile area, during an entire tidal cycle. The analyses of these data in concert with all previous ERTS-1 overpasses will provide information that can lead to a better and more rational use of the nearshore marine environment. The data will be utilized to plan future outfall locations, regulating offshore disposal of wastes, etc.

Yunghans, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Seasonal variation of the 11 year solar cycle effect on the middle atmosphere: Role of the quasi biennial oscillation

Before the introduction of the Quasi Biennial Oscillation (Q.B.O.) in the study of the solar atmosphere relationship by Labitzke (1987) and Labitzke and Van Loon (1988), the only region of the atmosphere where an effect of a change in solar activity was generally admitted was the mesosphere. The response of the mesosphere, in phase with the solar activity, was found to be about one order of magnitude above model expectancy (around 10 to 20 Kelvin). It was observed independently of the season and maximized around 70 km (Chanin et al. 1987). However, from the same study, it was shown that the response of the stratosphere of opposite sign, clearly seen during winter and autumn, was at the threshold of detection in spring and summer. In the stratosphere, it was shown later that the separation of the data taking into account the sign of the Q.B.O. amplifies the negative correlation of the stratospheric temperature with solar activity in winter; it then becomes more significantly negative for the East phase of the Q.B.O. than when the data are all mixed (Labitzke and Chanin 1988). The studies of the seasonal response of the atmosphere to solar effect is crucial to understand the possible mechanism responsible of such a solar activity Q.B.O. relationship, knowing that the global dynamic circulation is quite different according to the seasons. The question is examined as to whether such separation of the data according to the phase of the Q.B.O. has any impact on the solar response of the middle atmosphere for seasons other than winter.

Keckhut, P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Vortex generation and mixing in three-dimensional supersonic combustors

The generation and evolution of the flow vorticity established by instream injector ramps in a high Mach number/high enthalpy scramjet combustor flow-field are described in detail for a number of computational cases. Classical fluid dynamic circulation is presented for these cases in order to clarify the spatial distribution and convection of the vorticity. The ability of the simulations to accurately represent Stokes Law of circulation is discussed and shown. In addition, the conservation of swirl (effectively the moment-of-momentum theorem) is presented for these flows. The impact of both turbulent diffusion and the vortex/ramp non-uniformity on the downstream mixing rate is clearly illustrated. A correlation over the length of the combustor between fuel-air mixing and a parameter called the vortex stirring length is demonstrated. Finally, computational results for a representative ramp injector are compared with experimental data. Influence of the stream vorticity on the effective turbulent Prandtl number used in the simulation is discussed.

Riggins, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Oxygen Isotopes in Fresh Water Biogenic Opal: Northeastern US Alleroed-Younger Dryas Temperature Shift

The first oxygen isotope analysis of biogenic opal from lake sediments, from the Allerod/Younger Dryas transition in a core from Linsley Pond, Connecticut, gives an average estimate of a 6 C drop in temperature during the Younger Dryas. This shift represents temperatures during the bloom season, and may be less than the winter temperature drop. The sharp transition itself, with a duration of about 200 years, suggests that the temperature decrease may have been as large as 12 C. Previous estimates of the Allerod/Younger Dryas temperature shifts are controversial, and range from 3-20 C, suggesting that further interdisciplinary research on the same samples is warranted. One way that global climate change manifests itself is by redistributing energy throughout the globe. The Northern Hemisphere latitudinal temperature gradient during the late-glacial is at present a controversial topic. The magnitude of air temperature shifts during the Allerod/Younger Dryas (YD) oscillation are estimated from mid-latitude pollen records surrounding the North Atlantic to be 3-5 C in Europe [Lowe et al., 19941 and 3-4 C in the eastern US [Peteet et al., 1993]. In contrast, lake temperatures estimates derived from aquatic midge larvae in the Canadian eastern maritimes and Maine range from 6-20 C, with larger shifts at more southern sites [Levesque et al., 1997]. The magnitude of YD cooling in Greenland ice cores ranges from at least 7 C from the Bolling warming [Dansgaard et al., 1989] to 15 C - a more recent estimate from borehole temperatures [Cuffey et al., 1995]. The ice core geochemical records reveal that massive frequent and short-term (decadal or less) changes in atmospheric composition occurred throughout this event, suggesting a very dynamic circulation [Mayewski et al., 1993).

Shemesh, Aldo↗
NASA NTRS2020

The European Russia Drought Atlas (1400-2016 CE)

We present the European Russia Drought Atlas (ERDA) that covers the East European Plain to the Ural Mountains from 1400–2016 CE. Like the Old World Drought Atlas (OWDA) for the Euro-Mediterranean region, the ERDA is a one-half degree gridded reconstruction of summer Palmer Drought Severity Indices estimated from a network of annual tree-ring chronologies. Ensemble point-by-point regression is used to generate the ERDA with the identical protocols used for developing the OWDA. Split calibration/validation tests of the ERDA indicate that it has significant skill over most of its domain and is much more skillful than the OWDA where they overlap in the western part of ERDA domain. Comparisons to historical droughts over European Russia additionally support the ERDA’s overall validity. The ERDA has been spatially smoothed and infilled using a local regression method to yield a spatially complete drought atlas back to 1400 CE. EOF analysis indicates that there are three principal modes of hydroclimatic variability in the ERDA. After Varimax rotation, these modes correlate significantly with independent climate data sets extending back to the late nineteenth century in a physically interpretable way and relate to atmospheric circulation dynamics of droughts and heatwaves over European Russia based on more recent instrumental data.

Cook, Edward R.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Response of Surface Shortwave Cloud Radiative Effect to Greenhouse Gases and Aerosols and Its Impact on Summer Maximum Temperature

Shortwave cloud radiative effects (SWCREs), defined as the difference of the shortwave radiative flux between all-sky and clear-sky conditions at the surface, have been reported to play an important role in influencing the Earth's energy budget and temperature extremes. In this study, we employed a set of global climate models to examine the SWCRE responses to CO2, black carbon (BC) aerosols, and sulfate aerosols in boreal summer over the Northern Hemisphere. We found that CO2 causes positive SWCRE changes over most of the NH, and BC causes similar positive responses over North America, Europe, and eastern China but negative SWCRE over India and tropical Africa. When normalized by effective radiative forcing, the SWCRE from BC is roughly 3–5 times larger than that from CO2. SWCRE change is mainly due to cloud cover changes resulting from changes in relative humidity (RH) and, to a lesser extent, changes in cloud liquid water, circulation, dynamics, and stability. The SWCRE response to sulfate aerosols, however, is negligible compared to that for CO2 and BC because part of the radiation scattered by clouds under all-sky conditions will also be scattered by aerosols under clear-sky conditions. Using a multilinear regression model, it is found that mean daily maximum temperature (Tmax) increases by 0.15 and 0.13 K per watt per square meter (W m−2) increase in local SWCRE under the CO2 and BC experiment, respectively. When domain-averaged, the contribution of SWCRE change to summer mean Tmax changes was 10 %–30 % under CO2 forcing and 30 %–50 % under BC forcing, varying by region, which can have important implications for extreme climatic events and socioeconomic activities.

surface shortwave cloud radiative effect↗
NASA NTRS1988

Venus mesosphere and thermosphere. III - Three-dimensional general circulation with coupled dynamics and composition

The three-dimensional structure and circulation of Venus' upper mesosphere and thermosphere is examined by means of a modification of NCAR's earth thermosphere general circulation model, using the parameterizations from an earlier two-dimensional Venus model that included eddy diffusion and wave drag. Many of the observed Venus thermosphere features are found to be reproduced by the model, which thereby serves as a benchmark on which to incorporate additional minor constituents and test new self-consistent parameterizations for wave drag and superrotation.

Bougher, S. W.↗
NASA NTRS1983

General circulation and the dynamical state of the Venus atmosphere

The principal mode of atmospheric circulation on Venus is a zonal retrograde superrotation of the entire atmosphere, from the lowest scale height to altitudes of more than 100 km, with an angular momentum that is about 0.15 percent of the solid planet angular momentum. These values suggest the possibility of significant angular momentum exchanges between the two reservoirs, yielding day length changes that may be of the order of hours and could therefore be detected by earth-based radar. Eddies, the mean meridional circulation, and planetary-scale waves may all be involved in the upward transport of retrograde angular momentum to maintain atmospheric counterrotation. Eddies have been observed in the lower atmoshere and may also transport heat and momentum latitudinally and vertically. Waves are present throughout the atmosphere, over a wide range of spatial scales. The mean zonal and meridional circulations may not be symmetric about the equator.

Schubert, G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Calculated hovering helicopter flight dynamics with a circulation-controlled rotor

The flight dynamics of a hovering helicopter with a circulation-controlled rotor are analyzed. The influence of the rotor blowing coefficient on the calculated eigenvalues of the helicopter motion is examined for a range of values of the rotor lift and the blade flap frequency. The control characteristics of a helicopter with a circulation-controlled rotor are discussed. The principal effect of the blowing is a reduction in the rotor speed stability derivative. Above a critical level of blowing coefficient, which depends on the flap frequency and rotor lift, negative speed stability is produced and the dynamic characteristics of the helicopter are radically altered. The handling qualities of a helicopter with negative speed stability are probably unacceptable without a stability augmentation system.

Johnson, W.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Active Upper-atmosphere Chemistry and Dynamics from Polar Circulation Reversal on Titan

Saturn's moon Titan has a nitrogen atmosphere comparable to Earth's, with a surface pressure of 1.4 bar. Numerical models reproduce the tropospheric conditions very well but have trouble explaining the observed middle-atmosphere temperatures, composition and winds. The top of the middle-atmosphere circulation has been thought to lie at an altitude of 450 to 500 kilometres, where there is a layer of haze that appears to be separated from the main haze deck. This 'detached' haze was previously explained as being due to the colocation of peak haze production and the limit of dynamical transport by the circulation's upper branch. Herewe report a build-up of trace gases over the south pole approximately two years after observing the 2009 post-equinox circulation reversal, from which we conclude that middle-atmosphere circulation must extend to an altitude of at least 600 kilometres. The primary drivers of this circulation are summer-hemisphere heating of haze by absorption of solar radiation and winter-hemisphere cooling due to infrared emission by haze and trace gases; our results therefore imply that these effects are important well into the thermosphere (altitudes higher than 500 kilometres). This requires both active upper-atmosphere chemistry, consistent with the detection of high-complexity molecules and ions at altitudes greater than 950 kilometres, and an alternative explanation for the detached haze, such as a transition in haze particle growth from monomers to fractal structures.

Titan Atmosphere↗
NASA NTRS1976

Adaptation of a general circulation model to ocean dynamics

A primitive-variable general circulation model of the ocean was formulated in which fast external gravity waves are suppressed with rigid-lid surface constraint pressires which also provide a means for simulating the effects of large-scale free-surface topography. The surface pressure method is simpler to apply than the conventional stream function models, and the resulting model can be applied to both global ocean and limited region situations. Strengths and weaknesses of the model are also presented.

Turner, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Calculated Hovering Helicopter Flight Dynamics with a Circulation Controlled Rotor

The influence of the rotor blowing coefficient on the calculated roots of the longitudinal and lateral motion was examined for a range of values of the rotor lift and the blade flap frequency. The control characteristics of a helicopter with a circulation controlled rotor are discussed. The principal effect of the blowing is a reduction in the rotor speed stability derivative. Above a critical level of blowing coefficient, which depends on the flap frequency and rotor lift, negative speed stability is produced and the dynamic characteristics of the helicopter are radically altered.

Johnson, W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The role of a pressure-dependent rheology in the dynamics of mantle circulation

A thermomechanical model for upper mantle convection was constructed such that the thickness and the structure of the lithosphere are determined self consistently by the heat transported by convection. In this study of the interaction between the lithosphere and upper mantle, strongly temperature and pressure dependent rheologies for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian creep mechanisms are employed. For a strictly temperature dependent rheology an insignificant amount of heat, less than 12.5 mW/sq m, can be transported convectively for an interior viscosity, 0(10 sup 21 Pas), compatible with post glacial rebound. On the other hand, for similar values of the interior viscosity, steady heat fluxes between 20 and 40 mW/sq m are produced by introducing pressure dependence into the rheology. For the temperature and pressure dependent flow law the horizontally averaged interior temperature displays very little variation with the amount of heat evacuated, once all of the rheological parameters are fixed. This finding may have important ramifications for parameterized convection.

Yuen, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The effect of realistic conductivities on the high-latitude neutral thermospheric circulation

The dynamics of the high latitude thermosphere are dominated by the ion circulation pattern driven by magnetospheric convection. The reaction of the neutral thermosphere is influenced by both the magnitude of the ion convection velocity and by the conductivity of the thermosphere. Using a three-dimensional, time-dependent, thermospheric, neutral model together with different ionospheric models, the effect of changes in conductivity can be assessed. The ion density is described by two models: the first is the empirical model of Chiu (1975) appropriate for very quiet geomagnetic conditions, and the second is a modified version of the theoretical model of Quegan et al. (1982). The differences in the neutral circulation resulting from the use of these two ionospheric models emphasizes the need for realistic high latitude conductivities when attempting to model average or disturbed geomagnetic conditions, and a requirement that models should couple realistically the ionosphere and the neutral thermosphere. An attempt is made to qualitatively interpret some of the features of the neutral circulation produced at high latitudes by magnetospheric processes.

Fuller-Rowell, T. J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

A mountain-induced moist baroclinic wave test case for the dynamical cores of atmospheric general circulation models

Idealized test cases for the dynamical cores of atmospheric general circulation models are informative tools to assess the accuracy of the numerical designs and investigate the general characteristics of atmospheric motions. A new test case is introduced that is built upon a baroclinically unstable base state with an added orographic barrier. The topography is analytically prescribed and acts as a trigger of both baroclinic Rossby waves and inertia–gravity waves on a rotating, regular-sized planet. Both dry and idealized moist configurations are suggested. The latter utilizes the Kessler warm-rain precipitation scheme. The test case enhances the complexity of the existing test suite hierarchy and focuses on the impacts of two midlatitudinal mountain ridges on the circulation. Selected simulation examples from four dynamical cores are shown. These are the Spectral Element and Finite Volume dynamical cores, which are part of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model (CESM), versions 2.1.3 and 2.2, and the Cubed-Sphere Finite Volume dynamical cores, which is new to CESM version 2.2. In addition, the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) is tested. The overall flow patterns agree well in the four dynamical cores, but the details can vary greatly. The examples highlight the broad palette of use cases for the test case and reveal physics–dynamics coupling issues.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1994

Evolution of the 1991-1992 Arctic vortex and comparison with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory SKYHI general circulation model

Nitrous oxide (N2O) measured on board the ER-2 aircraft during the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition 2 (AASE 2) has been used to monitor descent of air inside the Arctic vortex between October 1991 and March 1992. Monthly mean N2O fields are calculated from the flight data and then compared with mean fields calculated from the high-resolution Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory general circulation model SKYHI in order to evaluate the model's simulation of the polar vortex. From late fall through winter the model vortex evolves in much the same way as the 1991-1992 vortex, with N2O gradients at the edge becoming progressively steeper. The October to March trends in N2O profiles inside the vortex are used to verify daily net heating rates in the vortex that were computed from clear sky radiative heating rates and National Meteorological Center temperature observations. The computed heating rates successfully estimate the descent of vortex air from December through February but suggest that before December, air at high latitudes may not be isolated from the midlatitudes. SKYHI heating rates are in good agreement with the computed rates but tend to be slightly higher (i.e., less cooling) due to meteorological differences between SKYHI and the 1991-1992 winter. Three ER-2 flights measured N2O just north of the subtropical jet. These low-midlatitude profiles show only slight differences from the high-midlatitude profiles (45 deg - 60 deg N), indicating strong meridional mixing in the midlatitude 'surf zone.' Mean midwinter N2O profiles inside and outside the vortex calculated from AASE 2 data are shown to be nearly identical to 1989 AASE profiles, pointing to the N2O/potential temperature relationship as an excellent marker for vortex air.

Strahan, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A proposal for the intercomparison of the dynamical cores of atmospheric general circulation models

A benchmark calculation is proposed for evaluating the dynamical cores of atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs) independently of the physical parameterizations. The test focuses on the long-term statistical properties of a fully developed general circulation; thus, it is particularly appropriate for intercomparing the dynamics used in climate models. To illustrate the use of this benchmark, two very different atmospheric dynamical cores--one spectral, one finite difference--are compared. It is found that the long-term statistics produced by the two models are very similar. Selected results from these calculations are presented to initiate the intercomparison.

Held, Isaac M.↗