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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 OSTI2020

Atmospheric Research Over the Extended Western North Atlantic Ocean Region and North American East Coast: A Review of Past Work and Challenges Ahead

Decades of atmospheric research have focused on the extended Western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO) region, including the East Coast of North America and the island of Bermuda, because of its unique location that offers accessibility, gradients in important atmospheric parameters, and a range of meteorological regimes leading to diverse conditions that are poorly understood. This work reviews decades of scientific investigations for the extended WNAO region. Approximately 40 combined field campaigns and long-term monitoring programs, in addition to 563 peer-reviewed publications between 1950 and 2019 have provided a firm foundation of knowledge for the extended WNAO region. Of particular importance in this region has been extensive work at the island of Bermuda that is host to important time series records of oceanic and atmospheric variables. Our review categorizes WNAO research into eight major categories, with some studies fitting into multiple categories (relative %): Aerosols (26%), Gases (23%), Development/Validation of Techniques, Models, and Retrievals (17%), Meteorology and Transport (10%), Air-Sea Interactions (9%), Wet Deposition (6%), Clouds/Storms (6%), and Aerosol-Cloud Interactions (3%). These extensive works have revealed a series of major knowledge gaps. For instance, a disproportionately low number of studies have been devoted to aerosol-cloud interactions, which is identified here as one of the most pressing research needs for the extended WNAO region. Recommendations for future research are provided in the categories highlighted above. Part 2 of this paper series will summarize major spatial and temporal features for the extended WNAO region.

Sorooshian, Armin↗
NASA NTRS1985

A survey of major east coast snowstorms, 1960-1983. Part 2: Case studies of eighteen storms

Snowfall, surface and upper air charts, and available satellite images are presented for eighteen major East Coast snowstorms that occurred between 1960 and 1983. The charts and descriptions of key fields are provided so that students, weather forecasters, and researchers alike can visualize how a large sample of major winter cyclones form and intensify. Although there are noted similarities in certain aspects of the surface and upper tropospheric development of the storms, significant case-to-case variability precludes the ability to effectively composite these weather systems.

Kocin, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightning flashes along the east coast of the United States

A magnetic direction-finding network for the detection of lightning cloud-to-ground strikes has been installed along the east coast of the United States. Most of the lightning occurring from Maine to Florida and as far west as Ohio is detected. Time, location, flash polarity, stroke count, and peak signal amplitude are recorded in real time. Flash locations, time, and polarity are displayed routinely for research and operational purposes. Flash density maps have been generated for the summers of 1983 and 1984, when the network only extended to North Carolina, and show density maxima in northern Virginia and Maryland.

Orville, R. E., Sr.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Explosive east coast cyclogenesis over the west-central North Atlantic Ocean - A composite study derived from ECMWF operational analyses

This paper describes the observational aspects of explosive east-coast cyclogenesis using composites constructed from the daily global analyses generated and archived by ECMWF. An explosively deepening storm or bomb is defined as an extratropical cyclone whose mean sea-level pressure falls at least 1 mb/h for 24 h. The ECMWF data sets are used to examine the three-dimensional kinematic and thermodynamic structure of bombs over the entire depth of the troposphere. The evolution and structure of the composite bomb is diagnosed using a moving coordinate system consisting of a box with dimensions of 35 x 35 deg of latitude-longitude. The results reveal that explosive cyclogenesis is a baroclinic phenomenon in which the rapid development in the presence of strong upper tropospheric forcing is most likely enhanced by a highly destabilized lower troposphere.

Manobianco, John↗
NASA NTRS2019

Holocene Ecohydrological Variability on the East Coast of Kamchatka

The Late Glacial and Holocene climate of the western North Pacific is less studied than that of the eastern North Pacific. While it is well known that strong east-west gradients in the tropical Pacific Ocean influence terrestrial climate, we seek to better understand how these gradients are expressed in the northern extratropics. Toward this aim, we present an organic and stable isotope geochemical and macrofossil record from a peatland on the east coast of the Kamchatka peninsula. We find that both the early and late Holocene were wetter, with a different assemblage of plants from the middle Holocene, which was drier, with more episodic precipitation. The large ecohydrological changes at several points during the Holocene are contemporaneous with and of the same sense as those we find at places to the east, such as south-central Alaska and to the south, in northern Japan. We also find that the middle Holocene period of warmth, dryness and low carbon accumulation occur contemporaneously with an enhanced east-west gradient in tropical Pacific sea surface temperature. This suggests that hydroclimatic conditions in the subarctic can be influenced by tropical dynamics.

Nichols, Jonathan↗
DOE OSTI2026

Observations of Offshore Low‐Level Jets Off the U.S. East Coast Reveal Systematic Biases in ERA5 and HRRR

Low-level jets (LLJs)—wind speed maxima typically occurring a few hundred meters above the surface—are common off the U.S. East Coast and influence many atmospheric processes with societal importance, including cloud formation, aviation safety, and search-and-rescue. However, their vertical structure and frequency remain poorly quantified due to limited offshore observations. This study presents new scanning Doppler LiDAR and infrared spectroradiometer data from the 2024 summer deployment of an offshore barge during the Wind Forecast Improvement Project 3. These coupled wind and temperature profiles provide unprecedented resolution to assess LLJ behavior and model performance. LLJs occurred in over 21% of observed profiles, with a weak diurnal preference for nighttime and early morning hours and maximum winds typically near 300 m. Both ERA5 and High-Resolution Rapid Refresh analysis underestimate jet wind speeds and misrepresent the boundary layer thermal structure. These results highlight persistent model biases and the critical need for high-resolution offshore observations.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

A total of 19 months of daily weather logging on the US east coast: the WFIP3 event log

The Third Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP3) is a multi-institutional field campaign designed to advance the understanding and prediction of the offshore atmospheric boundary layer along the US east coast. Extending from February 2024 through August 2025, WFIP3 combines long-term coastal and offshore measurements with targeted modeling and forecasting efforts. This data paper presents the WFIP3 event log, a curated record of 578 d of meteorological phenomena and field observations that complements the campaign's extensive high-frequency datasets. The event log provides both manually documented daily weather discussions and automatically derived indicators of atmospheric processes – including low-level jets, wind ramps, extreme wind veer, and weak wind conditions – based on observations from scanning lidars deployed at three coastal and offshore sites. The dataset offers structured metadata, standardized time and site identifiers, and consistent terminology to facilitate its integration with WFIP3's observational and modeling data products. The log supports diverse applications, from model evaluation and forecast verification to the selection of case studies on offshore boundary-layer dynamics. The WFIP3 event log is publicly available through the US Department of Energy's Wind Data Hub, providing the research community with a transparent and enduring contextual reference for the interpretation and use of WFIP3 measurements.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1984

Comments on 'Comparative diagnostic case study of east coast secondary cyclogenesis under weak versus strong synoptic-scale forcing'

A comment is presented on a recent paper by Pagnotti and Bosart (1984) which contrasted different forcing mechanisms for weak and strong cyclones along the east coast of the U.S., and Bosart replies. The comment argues that the paper did not give a clear definition of 'weak' upper-level forcing and did not provide sufficient evidence to support its claim that the return branch of transverse circulations may be coupled to the middle as opposed to the lower troposphere.

Uccellini, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A mesoscale numerical forecast of an intense convective snowburst along the East Coast

Mesoscale numerical forecasts utilizing the Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System (MASS) are documented for a convective snowburst in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore, Maryland, region on March 8, 1984 that was associated with secondary cyclogenesis along the East Coast. The forecasts are presented to demonstrate the ability of a mesoscale model to simulate dynamical interactions and diabatic process for a wintertime convective event that was inadequately predicted by local forecasters and to note some of the possible benefits of using mesoscale models for day-to-day forecasting. The results from this and other recent mesoscale modeling studies indicate that three-hourly output of key model fields, when combined with other data sources, can be a valuable aid to forecasters concerned with predicting weather events that are mesoscale in character.

Kocin, P. J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Analysis of Dust Samples Collected from a Near-Marine East Coast ISFSI Site ("Site C")

In June of 2022, dust samples were collected from the surface of an in-service spent nuclear fuel dry storage canister during an inspection at an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation. The site is anonymous but is a near-marine or brackish water east coast location referred to here as "Site C". The purpose of the sampling was to assess the composition and abundance of the soluble salts present on the canister surface, information that provides a metric for potential corrosion risks. Following collection, the samples were delivered to Sandia National Laboratories for analysis. At Sandia, the soluble salts were leached from the dust and quantified by ion chromatography. In addition, subsamples of the dust were taken for scanning electron microscopy to determine the particle sizes, morphology, and mineralogy of the dust and salts. The results of those analyses are presented in this report.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2015

Joint Projections of US East Coast Sea Level and Storm Surge

Future coastal flood risk will be strongly influenced by sea-level rise (SLR) and changes in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. These two factors are generally considered independently. Here, we assess twenty-first century changes in the coastal hazard for the US East Coast using a flood index (FI) that accounts for changes in flood duration and magnitude driven by SLR and changes in power dissipation index (PDI, an integrated measure of tropical cyclone intensity, frequency and duration). Sea-level rise and PDI are derived from representative concentration pathway (RCP) simulations of 15 atmosphere- ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs). By 2080-2099, projected changes in the FI relative to 1986-2005 are substantial and positively skewed: a 10th-90th percentile range 4-75 times higher for RCP 2.6 and 35-350 times higher for RCP 8.5. High-end Fl projections are driven by three AOGCMs that project the largest increases in SLR, PDI and upper ocean temperatures. Changes in PDI are particularly influential if their intra-model correlation with SLR is included, increasing the RCP 8.5 90th percentile FI by a further 25%. Sea-level rise from other, possibly correlated, climate processes (for example, ice sheet and glacier mass changes) will further increase coastal flood risk and should be accounted for in comprehensive assessments.

cyclones↗
DOE OSTI2024

Power Production, Inter- and Intra-Array Wake Losses from the U.S. East Coast Offshore Wind Energy Lease Areas

There is an urgent need to develop accurate predictions of power production, wake losses and array–array interactions from multi-GW offshore wind farms in order to enable developments that maximize power benefits, minimize levelized cost of energy and reduce investment uncertainty. New, climatologically representative simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are presented and analyzed to address these research needs with a specific focus on offshore wind energy lease areas along the U.S. east coast. These, uniquely detailed, simulations are designed to quantify important sources of wake-loss projection uncertainty. They sample across different wind turbine deployment scenarios and thus span the range of plausible installed capacity densities (ICDs) and also include two wind farm parameterizations (WFPs; Fitch and explicit wake parameterization (EWP)) and consider the precise WRF model release used. System-wide mean capacity factors for ICDs of 3.5 to 6.0 MWkm−2 range from 39 to 45% based on output from Fitch and 50 to 55% from EWP. Wake losses are 27–37% (Fitch) and 11–19% (EWP). The discrepancy in CF and wake losses from the two WFPs derives from two linked effects. First, EWP generates a weaker ‘deep array effect’ within the largest wind farm cluster (area of 3675 km2), though both parameterizations indicate substantial within-array wake losses. If 15 MW wind turbines are deployed at an ICD of 6 MWkm−2 the most heavily waked wind turbines generate an average of only 32–35% of the power of those that experience the freestream (undisturbed) flow. Nevertheless, there is no evidence for saturation of the resource. The wind power density (electrical power generation per unit of surface area) increases with ICD and lies between 2 and 3 Wm−2. Second, EWP also systematically generates smaller whole wind farm wakes. Sampling across all offshore wind energy lease areas and the range of ICD considered, the whole wind farm wake extent for a velocity deficit of 5% is 1.18 to 1.38 times larger in simulations with Fitch. Over three-quarters of the variability in normalized wake extents is attributable to variations in freestream wind speeds, turbulent kinetic energy and boundary layer depth. These dependencies on meteorological parameters allow for the development of computationally efficient emulators of wake extents from Fitch and EWP.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1999

Climate Change and a Global City: An Assessment of the Metropolitan East Coast Region

The objective of the research is to derive an assessment of the potential climate change impacts on a global city - in this case the 31 county region that comprises the New York City metropolitan area. This study comprises one of the regional components that contribute to the ongoing U.S. National Assessment: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change and is an application of state-of-the-art climate change science to a set of linked sectoral assessment analyses for the Metro East Coast (MEC) region. We illustrate how three interacting elements of global cities react and respond to climate variability and change with a broad conceptual model. These elements include: people (e.g., socio- demographic conditions), place (e.g., physical systems), and pulse (e.g., decision-making and economic activities). The model assumes that a comprehensive assessment of potential climate change can be derived from examining the impacts within each of these elements and at their intersections. Thus, the assessment attempts to determine the within-element and the inter-element effects. Five interacting sector studies representing the three intersecting elements are evaluated. They include the Coastal Zone, Infrastructure, Water Supply, Public Health, and Institutional Decision-making. Each study assesses potential climate change impacts on the sector and on the intersecting elements, through the analysis of the following parts: 1. Current conditions of sector in the region; 2. Lessons and evidence derived from past climate variability; 3. Scenario predictions affecting sector; potential impacts of scenario predictions; 4. Knowledge/information gaps and critical issues including identification of additional research questions, effectiveness of modeling efforts, equity of impacts, potential non-local interactions, and policy recommendations; and 5. Identification of coping strategies - i.e., resilience building, mitigation strategies, new technologies, education that affects decision-making, and better preparedness for contingencies.

Rosenzweig, Cynthia↗
NASA NTRS1990

Interannual variation of seasonal means and subseasonal variability of cloud streets off the east coast of North America 1984-1987

Convection waves are a strong function of the original forcing by convection in the boundary layer. This convection can take the form of random or 2-D spatial structure. When clouds are formed as a result of 2-D boundary layer forcing, they are called cloud streets. Convective waves may be important in the global momentum balance. Global circulation models presently overestimate wind speeds in the middle and upper troposphere, and do not account for convective waves. If the hypothesis that convective waves significantly contribute to momentum transport in the troposphere is correct, then climatology of cloud streets will help understand convective waves' role in the global momentum balance. If the hypothesis is incorrect, then cloud street climatology is still useful because cloud streets show areas where large amounts of sensible and latent heat are transferred from the ocean to the atmosphere. Interannual variation of seasonal means and subseasonal variability of cloud street occurrence off the east coast of North America is examined and compared. The months of Dec., Jan., and Feb. during 1984-85, 1985-86, and 1986-87 are examined along with each season.

Rademacher, Kurt R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

In-situ characterization of a background calibration line for east coast aerial measuring

Report outlines the methodology used to establish a background calibration line for AMS-East operations at Joint Base Andrews. The results provide a general isotopic characterization of the soil within the calibration line at Joint Base Andrews, and the expected terrestrial exposure rate which can be used to aerial measuring.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
NASA NTRS1990

A numerical investigation of East Coast cyclogenesis during the cold-air damming event of 27-28 February 1982. I - Dynamic and thermodynamic structure

A cyclogenesis event combined with strong cold-air damming, coastal frontogenesis, and extensive mixed precipitation, which occurred on February 27-28, 1982 at the South Carolina coast is investigated numerically. The prestorm environment and subsequent cyclogenesis was simulated using a nested version of the Penn State/NCAR mesoscale model with 35-km fine-mesh resolution. The model was found to successfully reproduce most principal synoptic and mesoscale features associated with this cyclogenesis case, including the storm path and intensification, the coastal front structure, cold-air damming, circulations induced by a polar jet streak, low-level jets, and precipitation. The results of this study reveal the existence of two moist airstreams fed by an onshore flow from the marine boundary layer east of the coastal front.

Lapenta, William M.↗