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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

LMC stellar X-ray sources observed with ROSAT. 1: X-ray data and search for optical counterparts

Observations of Einstein Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) X-ray point sources have been made with ROSAT's High-Resolution Imager to obtain accurate positions from which to search for optical counterparts. This paper is the first in a series reporting results of the ROSAT observations and subsequent optical observations. It includes the X-ray positions and fluxes, information about variability, optical finding charts for each source, a list of identified counterparts, and information about candidates which have been observed spectroscopically in each of the fields. Sixteen point sources were measured at a greater than 3 sigma level, while 15 other sources were either extended or less significant detections. About 50% of the sources are serendipitous detections (not found in previous surveys). More than half of the X-ray sources are variable. Sixteen of the sources have been optically identified or confirmed: six with foreground cool stars, four with Seyfert galaxies, two with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the LMC, and four with peculiar hot LMC stars. Presumably the latter are all binaries, although only one (CAL 83) has been previously studied in detail.

Schmidtke, P. C.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Lightning Return-Stroke Current Waveforms Aloft, From Measured Field Change, Current, and Channel Geometry

Direct current measurements are available near the attachment point from both natural cloud-to-ground lightning and rocket-triggered lightning, but little is known about the rise time and peak amplitude of return-stroke currents aloft. We present, as functions of height, current amplitudes, rise times, and effective propagation velocities that have been estimated with a novel remote-sensing technique from data on 24 subsequent return strokes in six different lightning flashes that were triggering at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, FL, during 1987. The unique feature of this data set is the stereo pairs of still photographs, from which three-dimensional channel geometries were determined previously. This has permitted us to calculate the fine structure of the electric-field-change (E) waveforms produced by these strokes, using the current waveforms measured at the channel base together with physically reasonable assumptions about the current distributions aloft. The computed waveforms have been compared with observed E waveforms from the same strokes, and our assumptions have been adjusted to maximize agreement. In spite of the non-uniqueness of solutions derived by this technique, several conclusions seem inescapable: 1) The effective propagation speed of the current up the channel is usually significantly (but not unreasonably) faster than the two-dimensional velocity measured by a streak camera for 14 of these strokes. 2) Given the deduced propagation speed, the peak amplitude of the current waveform often must decrease dramatically with height to prevent the electric field from being over-predicted. 3) The rise time of the current wave front must always increase rapidly with height in order to keep the fine structure of the calculated field consistent with the observations.

Willett, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Interleaved Observation Execution and Rescheduling on Earth Observing Systems

Observation scheduling for Earth orbiting satellites solves the following problem: given a set of requests for images of the Earth, a set of instruments for acquiring those images distributed on a collecting of orbiting satellites, and a set of temporal and resource constraints, generate a set of assignments of instruments and viewing times to those requests that satisfy those constraints. Observation scheduling is often construed as a constrained optimization problem with the objective of maximizing the overall utility of the science data acquired. The utility of an image is typically based on the intrinsic importance of acquiring it (for example, its importance in meeting a mission or science campaign objective) as well as the expected value of the data given current viewing conditions (for example, if the image is occluded by clouds, its value is usually diminished). Currently, science observation scheduling for Earth Observing Systems is done on the ground, for periods covering a day or more. Schedules are uplinked to the satellites and are executed rigorously. An alternative to this scenario is to do some of the decision-making about what images are to be acquired on-board. The principal argument for this capability is that the desirability of making an observation can change dynamically, because of changes in meteorological conditions (e.g. cloud cover), unforeseen events such as fires, floods, or volcanic eruptions, or un-expected changes in satellite or ground station capability. Furthermore, since satellites can only communicate with the ground between 5% to 10% of the time, it may be infeasible to make the desired changes to the schedule on the ground, and uplink the revisions in time for the on-board system to execute them. Examples of scenarios that motivate an on-board capability for revising schedules include the following. First, if a desired visual scene is completely obscured by clouds, then there is little point in taking it. In this case, satellite resources, such as power and storage space can be better utilized taking another image that is higher quality. Second, if an unexpected but important event occurs (such as a fire, flood, or volcanic eruption), there may be good reason to take images of it, instead of expending satellite resources on some of the lower priority scheduled observations. Finally, if there is unexpected loss of capability, it may be impossible to carry out the schedule of planned observations. For example, if a ground station goes down temporarily, a satellite may not be able to free up enough storage space to continue with the remaining schedule of observations. This paper describes an approach for interleaving execution of observation schedules with dynamic schedule revision based on changes to the expected utility of the acquired images. We describe the problem in detail, formulate an algorithm for interleaving schedule revision and execution, and discuss refinements to the algorithm based on the need for search efficiency. We summarize with a brief discussion of the tests performed on the system.

Khatib, Lina↗
NASA NTRS2011

Tests of the Grobner Basis Solution for Lightning Ground Flash Fraction Retrieval

Satellite lightning imagers such as the NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Lightning Imaging Sensor (TRMM/LIS) and the future GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) are designed to detect total lightning (ground flashes + cloud flashes). However, there is a desire to discriminate ground flashes from cloud flashes from the vantage point of space since this would enhance the overall information content of the satellite lightning data and likely improve its operational and scientific applications (e.g., in severe weather warning, lightning nitrogen oxides studies, and global electric circuit analyses). A Bayesian inversion method was previously introduced for retrieving the fraction of ground flashes in a set of flashes observed from a satellite lightning imager. The method employed a constrained mixed exponential distribution model to describe the lightning optical measurements. To obtain the optimum model parameters (one of which is the ground flash fraction), a scalar function was minimized by a numerical method. In order to improve this optimization, a Grobner basis solution was introduced to obtain analytic representations of the model parameters that serve as a refined initialization scheme to the numerical optimization. In this study, we test the efficacy of the Grobner basis initialization using actual lightning imager measurements and ground flash truth derived from the national lightning network.

Koshak, William↗
NASA NTRS2001

Absorption of Solar Radiation by Clouds: A Second Look at Irradiance Measurements

A decade ago, Stephens and Tsay provided an overview of the subject of absorption of solar radiation by clouds in the earth's atmosphere. They summarized the available evidence that pointed to disagreements between theoretical and observed values of cloud absorption (and reflection). At that time, a theoretician's approach (assuming perfect flux measurements) was adopted to test the model uncertainty under various hypotheses, such as the omitted large drops, excess absorbing aerosols, enhanced water vapor continuum absorption, and cloud inhomogeneity. Since then, several advances in theoretical work have been made, but a satisfactory answer for the discrepancy is still lacking. Now, we offer an experimentalist's approach (focusing on field, not laboratory) to examine the observational uncertainty under numerous field factors, such as the temperature dependence, attitude control, and sampling strategy in the spatial and spectral domain. Examples from recent field campaigns have pointed out that these sources of error may be responsible for the unacceptable level of uncertainty (e.g., as large as 20 W/square m). We give examples of each, discuss their contribution to overall uncertainty in shortwave absorption, and suggest a coordinated approach to their solution.

Tsay, Si-Chee↗
NASA NTRS1986

The molecular content of the nearby galaxy from IRAS and HI observations

Because infrared emission is a very good tracer of mass at high latitudes, by combining it with HI observations it provides a convenient though indirect way of observing the spatial distribution of molecular material. Moreover, these observations will premit placing limits on the fraction of total infrared luminosity emitted by dust associated with molecular and atomic hydrogen clouds. A preliminary result from the study of the correlation between HI column density and 100 micron infrared flux density as measured by the IRAS satellite is reported. The ratio F100/W(HI) = R has an average value of roughty 17 KJy/sr/(K km/s) over the whole sky. Bright regions in the FIR such as the Galactic plane and HII regions are excluded from the data. The histogram of the number of pixels vs R has a strong peak near 17 (same units as before) and is asymmetric about this mean value, having a tail at higher values of R. This basic shape is fairly independent of the region of the sky we observe. The peak confirms the general correlation between infrared emission and HI column density reported previously. One way to explain the shape of the distribution is to assume a constant dust to gas mass ratio and a constant interstellar radiation field and associate points in the tail with molecular clouds. In this case the ratio R is higher for points in the tail because it does not account for the column density of molecular hydrogen.

Bazell, D.↗
NASA NTRS2022

LECTURE 8: Understanding Global Cloud Radiative Impacts

The influence of clouds on the radiation budget is one of the most important facets of the Earth’s climate. Satellite observations in the last 35 years have helped us understand the bulk radiative effects of different classes of clouds. Bill Rossow has spearheaded efforts in that direction, demonstrating the value of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) cloud retrievals as a foundation for the full reconstruction of Earth’s Radiation Budget components. This main aim of this document is to provide an overview of the global radiative impacts of clouds at annual time scales. While geographical and seasonal aspects receive some attention, it is cloud radiative effect decomposition by cloud category (or“class” ) that is the main focal point. Furthermore, this document addresses the large-scale radiative behavior of clouds only for the current climate, with no further discussion of how this behavior may change in the future and what its climatic impact may be [please refer to Del Genio (2018) for an excellent overview of this topic]. Cloud classes can be defined in many ways, and are often referred to with terms such as “cloud type”and “cloud regime”. Some of the definitions are more meaningful at the level of individual instrument footprints (“pixels” for passive or “rays” for active satellite observations) while others for larger areas (e.g., “mesoscale”).This distinction will become apparent below.

Lazaros Oreopoulos↗
NASA NTRS1987

Effect of an electron scattering cloud on X-ray oscillations produced by beaming

The effect of a scattering cloud on the amplitude of oscillations produced by a rotating beam of X-rays is investigated using analytical and Monte Carlo methods. The scattering cloud was modeled as a uniform density sphere, and the source was represented as an anistropic distribution of radiation emerging from a point at the center of the scattering cloud. The intensity distribution produced by the source beam is examined as a function of optical depth. The relation between electron scattering optical depth and the forward-backward ratio is studied. It is observed that the scattering in a central corona of various optical depths reduces the amplitude of the oscillation. The data suggest that the quasi-periodic oscillations observed in the X-ray intensities of some luminous low-mass X-ray binaries are caused by oscillations in the luminosity of the X-ray star.

Brainerd, J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Absorption of Solar Radiation by Clouds: An Overview

This talk provides an overview of the subject of absorption of solar radiation by clouds in the earth's atmosphere. The paper summarizes the available evidence which points to disagreements between theoretical and observed values of cloud absorption (and reflections). The importance of these discrepancies, particularly to remote sensing of clouds as well as to studies of cloud physics and earth radiation budgets, is emphasized. Existing cloud absorption and reflection measurements are reviewed and the persistent differences that exist between calculated and measured near-infrared cloud albedos are highlighted. Various explanations for these reflection and absorption discrepancies are discussed under two separate paths: a theoretician's approach and an experimentalist's approach. Examples for the former approach include model accuracy tests, large-droplet hypothesis, excess absorbing aerosol, enhanced water vapor continuum absorption, and effects of cloud inhomogeneity. The latter approach focuses on discussions of instrumental device, calibration, operational strategy, and signal/noise separation. A recommendation for future activities on this subject will be given.

Tsay, Si-Chee↗
NASA NTRS1977

Design and testing of the navigation model for three axis stabilized earth oriented satellites applied to the ATS-6 satellite image data base

An earth edge methodology has been developed to account for the relative attitude changes between successive ATS-6 images which allows reasonable high quality wind sets to be produced. The method consists of measuring the displacements of the right and left infrared earth edges between successive ATS-6 images as a function of scan line; from these measurements the attitude changes can be deduced and used to correct the apparent cloud displacement measurements. The wind data sets generated from ATS-6 using the earth-edge methodology were compared with those derived from the SMS-1 images (and model) covering the same time period. Quantitative comparisons for low level trade cumuli were made at interpolated uniformly spaced grid points and for selected individual comparison clouds. Selected individual comparison clouds, the root-mean-square differences for the U and V components were 1.0 and 1.2 meters per second with a maximum wind direction difference of 15 deg.

Kuhlow, W. W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Waves, advection, and cloud patterns on Venus

The stable layers adjacent to the nearly neutral layer within the Venus clouds are found to be capable of supporting vertically trapped, horizontally propagating waves with horizontal wavelengths of about 10 km and speeds of a few meters per second relative to the mean wind in the neutral layer. These waves may possibly be excited by turbulence within the neutral layer. Here, the properties of the waves, and the patterns which they might produce within the visible clouds if excited near the subsolar point are examined. The patterns can be in agreement with many features in images. The waves are capable of transferring momentum latitudinally to help maintain the general atmospheric spin, but at present we are not able to evaluate wave amplitudes. We also examine an alternative possibility that the cloud patterns are produced by advection and shearing by the mean zonal and meridional flow of blobs formed near the equator. It is concluded that advection and shearing by the mean flow is the most likely explanation for the general pattern of small scale striations.

Schinder, Paul J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Machine‐Learning‐Assisted Stochastic Cloud Population Model as a Parameterization of Cumulus Convection

Abstract A machine‐learning‐assisted stochastic cloud population model is coupled with the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to represent fluctuations in the cloud‐base mass flux associated with the life cycles and interactions among cumulus convection cells. In this cloud population model, the size distribution and the associated cloud‐base mass flux of the convective cells are related to their previous state and to the change in the total convective area via a transition function. The convective area tendency in turn is assumed to depend on the cloud‐base mass flux that is resolved by the host WRF model. The transition function is represented by a single hidden‐layer neural network trained by the evolution of convective cell size distributions in a 1‐km grid‐spacing WRF simulation run over the Australian Monsoon region. At every grid point of the host model, the cloud population model predicts the cell size and cloud‐base mass flux distributions from which a random sample of cells is fed to an entraining parcel model that calculates precipitation as well as the associated liquid water potential temperature and total moisture tendencies. These tendencies are averaged over the cells and provided to the host model. Several regional simulations are performed over tropical and midlatitude domains to test this as a potential approach to scale‐aware parameterization. It is shown that such an approach could be a new promising path to simulating realistic precipitation statistics and propagation of precipitation associated with the Madden‐Julian Oscillation while maintaining realistic depictions of the diurnal cycle over both land and ocean.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Vertical Gradient of Size-Resolved Aerosol Compositions over the Arctic Reveals Cloud Processed Aerosol in-Cloud and above Cloud

Arctic aerosols play a significant role in the aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions, but ground-based measurements are insufficient to explain the interaction of aerosols and clouds in a vertically stratified Arctic atmosphere. This study shows the vertical variability of aerosol particle composition via tethered balloon system at Oliktok Point, Alaska, in August 2019, at different cloud layers for two case studies (background aerosol condition and polluted condition). Multi-modal micro-spectroscopy analysis of samples during the background case reveals a broadening of chemically specific size distribution above cloud top with a high abundance of sulfate and core-shell morphology, suggesting possible cloud processing of aerosols. The pollution case also indicates a broadening of size distribution at the upper cloud layer with the dominance of carbonaceous aerosol, which suggests the potential of carbonaceous aerosols for Arctic cloud formation. Here this study provides insights into the vertical profile of Arctic aerosols on cloud formation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2018

A Concept of Operations for Earth Science Data Archive and Distribution in the Cloud

Science data systems can enable more comprehensive Earth system research by evolving to take advantage of advances in commercial computer technology services. Since their inception twenty five years ago, NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) have periodically evolved to utilize new technology and expand research using the exponential growth and diversity of Earth observations. Recently, with the advent of a maturing commercial compute services industry and upcoming high data volume missions such as the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission and the NASA-Indian Space Research Organization Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, options were explored and a decision made to utilize commercial compute and storage services. This paper presents an overview of the concept of operations under development for the DAACs in the Cloud. We highlight the goals and expected advantages of utilizing Cloud services. We outline EOSDIS operations tenets and driving principles. A high-level view of EOSDIS system of systems target architecture serves as context for describing principle interactions. Concepts for key DAAC system and EOSDIS enterprise functions characterize automated end-to-end operations but mark nominal check and recovery points. Concepts are presented for managing Cloud resources, including organizational roles and responsibilities of the NASA project and DAAC personnel. Scenarios we use to further distinguish between what the system will do and what configuration and controls operators will have. Examples include interactions with data providers and data consumers with both in-cloud and on-premise facilities.

Moses, John F.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Investigate the Security of Electric Vehicle (EV) Ecosystem Applications

Apps that run on mobile devices are one of critical components of the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem and pose possible threat actor points of entry that may impact the trust and security of EV charging systems in the future. Mobile apps often rely on communication between cloud servers and users, thereby creating potential points of entry for cyberattacks. Although app stores such as Apple App Store or Google Play Store generally test the security of apps, the cyber aspects may not be sufficient for many entities including DOD, federal fleets, and commercial entities. A more thorough inspection and the ability to influence developers is imminently needed. This research studies security attributes and vulnerabilities of a sample of mobile applications that support key user functions in the EV ecosystem. The study shows that all analyzed apps have security risks, categorized as either high or medium or both and a comprehensive cybersecurity guideline for developing mobile apps is necessary.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
NASA NTRS1996

Study of the Radiative Properties of Inhomogeneous Stratocumulus Clouds

Clouds play an important role in the radiation budget of the atmosphere. A good understanding of how clouds interact with solar radiation is necessary when considering their effects in both general circulation models and climate models. This study examined the radiative properties of clouds in both an inhomogeneous cloud system, and a simplified cloud system through the use of a Monte Carlo model. The purpose was to become more familiar with the radiative properties of clouds, especially absorption, and to investigate the excess absorption of solar radiation from observations over that calculated from theory. The first cloud system indicated that the absorptance actually decreased as the cloud's inhomogeneity increased, and that cloud forcing does not indicate any changes. The simplified cloud system looked at two different cases of absorption of solar radiation in the cloud. The absorptances calculated from the Monte Carlo is compared to a correction method for calculating absorptances and found that the method can over or underestimate absorptances at cloud edges. Also the cloud edge effects due to solar radiation points to a possibility of overestimating the retrieved optical depth at the edge, and indicates a possible way to correct for it. The effective cloud fraction (Ne) for a long time has been calculated from a cloud's reflectance. From the reflectance it has been observed that the N, for most cloud geometries is greater than the actual cloud fraction (Nc) making a cloud appear wider than it is optically. Recent studies we have performed used a Monte Carlo model to calculate the N, of a cloud using not only the reflectance but also the absorptance. The derived Ne's from the absorptance in some of the Monte Carlo runs did not give the same results as derived from the reflectance. This study also examined the inhomogeneity of clouds to find a relationship between larger and smaller scales, or wavelengths, of the cloud. Both Fourier transforms and wavelet transforms were used to analyze the liquid water content of marine stratocumulus clouds taken during the ASTEX project. From the analysis it was found that the energy in the cloud is not uniformly distributed but is greater at the larger scales than at the smaller scales. This was determined by examining the slope of the power spectrum, and by comparing the variability at two scales from a wavelet analysis.

Batey, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2005

Nighttime Cirrus Detection using Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Window Channels and Total Column Water Vapor

A method of cirrus detection at nighttime is presented that utilizes 3.8 and 10.4 (micro)m infrared (IR) window brightness temperature differences (dBT) and total column precipitable water (PW) measurements. This technique is applied to the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit A (AMSU-A) instrument suite on board EOS-Aqua, where dBT is determined from sets of carefully selected AIRS window channels, while PW is derived from the synergistic AIRS and AMSU-A water vapor retrievals. Simulated and observed dBT for a particular value of PW are not constant; several physical factors impact dBT, including the variability in temperature and relative humidity profiles, surface emissivity, instrument noise, and skin/ near-surface air temperature differences. We simulate clear-sky dBT over a realistic range of PWs using 8350 radiosondes that have varying temperature and relative humidity profiles. Thresholds between cloudy and uncertain sky conditions are derived once the scatter in the clear-sky dBT is determined. Simulations of optically thin cirrus indicate that this technique is most sensitive to cirrus optical depth in the 10 (micro)m window of 0.1-0.15 or greater over the tropical and subtropical oceans, where surface emissivity and skin/near-surface air temperature impacts on the IR radiances are minimal. The method at present is generally valid over oceanic regions only, specifically, the tropics and subtropics. The detection of thin cirrus, and other cloud types, is validated using observations at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program site located at Manus Island in the tropical western Pacific for 89 coincident EOS-Aqua overpasses. Even though the emphasis of this work is on the detection of thin cirrus at nighttime, this technique is sensitive to a broad cloud morphology. The cloud detection technique agrees with ARM-detected clouds 82-84% of the time, which include thin cirrus, as well as other cloud types. Most of the disagreements are well explained by AIRS footprint-scale heterogeneity compared to ARM point measurements, cirrus overlying lower-layer water clouds, possible mixed phase microphysics in midlevel clouds, and significant IR channel noise for cold BT scenes over deep convective towers.

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (RAM)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Surface-based observations of cold-air outbreak clouds during the COMBLE field campaign

Abstract. Cold-air outbreaks (CAOs) are characterized by extreme air–sea energy exchanges and low-level convective clouds over large areas in the high-latitude oceans. As such, CAOs are an important component of the Earth's climate system. The CAOs in the Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (COMBLE) deployment of the US Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) provided the first comprehensive view of CAOs using a suite of ground-based observations at the northern coast of Norway. Here, cloud and precipitation observations from 13 CAO cases during COMBLE are analyzed. A vertical air motion retrieval technique is applied to the Ka-band ARM Zenith-pointing Radar (KAZR) observations. The CAO cumulus clouds are characterized by strong updrafts with magnitudes between 2–8 m s−1, vertical extents of 1–3 km, and horizontal scales of 0.25–3 km. A strong relationship between our vertical air velocity retrievals and liquid water path (LWP) measurements is found. The LWP measurements exceed 1 kg m−2 in strong updraft areas, and the vertical extent of the updraft correlates well with the LWP values. The CAO cumulus clouds exhibit eddy dissipation rate values between 10−3 and 10−2 m2 s−3 in the lowest 10 km of the atmosphere, and using a radar Doppler spectra technique, evidence of secondary ice production is found during one of the cases.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗