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At least 487 records · Page 27

Atmospheric Pressure Corrections in Geodesy and Oceanography: a Strategy for Handling Air Tides

Global pressure data are often needed for processing or interpreting modern geodetic and oceanographic measurements. The most common source of these data is the analysis or reanalysis products of various meteorological centers. Tidal signals in these products can be problematic for several reasons, including potentially aliased sampling of the semidiurnal solar tide as well as the presence of various modeling or timing errors. Building on the work of Van den Dool and colleagues, we lay out a strategy for handling atmospheric tides in (re)analysis data. The procedure also offers a method to account for ocean loading corrections in satellite altimeter data that are consistent with standard ocean-tide corrections. The proposed strategy has immediate application to the on-going Jason-1 and GRACE satellite missions.

Ponte, Rui M.↗

Octree based automatic meshing from CSG models

Finite element meshes derived automatically from solid models through recursive spatial subdivision schemes (octrees) can be made to inherit the hierarchical structure and the spatial addressability intrinsic to the underlying grid. These two properties, together with the geometric regularity that can also be built into the mesh, make octree based meshes ideally suited for efficient analysis and self-adaptive remeshing and reanalysis. The element decomposition of the octal cells that intersect the boundary of the domain is emphasized. The problem, central to octree based meshing, is solved by combining template mapping and element extraction into a procedure that utilizes both constructive solid geometry and boundary respresentation techniques. Boundary cells that are not intersected by the edge of the domain boundary are easily mapped to predefined element topology. Cells containing edges (and vertices) are first transformed into a planar polyhedron and then triangulated via element extractors. The modeling environments required for the derivation of planar polyhedra and for element extraction are analyzed.

Perucchio, Renato↗

Geometrical and topological issues in octree based automatic meshing

Finite element meshes derived automatically from solid models through recursive spatial subdivision schemes (octrees) can be made to inherit the hierarchical structure and the spatial addressability intrinsic to the underlying grid. These two properties, together with the geometric regularity that can also be built into the mesh, make octree based meshes ideally suited for efficient analysis and self-adaptive remeshing and reanalysis. The element decomposition of the octal cells that intersect the boundary of the domain is discussed. The problem, central to octree based meshing, is solved by combining template mapping and element extraction into a procedure that utilizes both constructive solid geometry and boundary representation techniques. Boundary cells that are not intersected by the edge of the domain boundary are easily mapped to predefined element topology. Cells containing edges (and vertices) are first transformed into a planar polyhedron and then triangulated via element extractor. The modeling environments required for the derivation of planar polyhedra and for element extraction are analyzed.

Saxena, Mukul↗

Some Applications of SiFSAP for Wildfires, Weather and Atmospheric Dynamics Studies

The Single Field of View (SFOV) Sounder Atmospheric Product (SiFSAP) derived from Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on SNPP and JPSS have a spatial resolution ( ~14.5 km) better than most global weather and climate models. Most recent improvement in the quality of these products enables us to use these high-resolution observation-based sounding data for air quality, weather and atmospheric dynamics studies. A few cases studies through a synergistic use of SiFSAP from S-NPP and J-1 and the reanalysis data from ERA5 and MERRA-2 will be presented, which include a process-oriented analysis of (1) a stratospheric intrusion (SI) event occurred on June 11-13, 2017 in the southwestern US, (2) one extreme cold air break (CAO) episode occurred on 27-31 January 2019 across much of the US Midwest and its impact from stratospheric downward transport, and (3) dynamic transport of carbon monoxide (CO) associated with Australia’s unprecedented fire from the end of 2019 to early 2020. These examples will demonstrate the value of SiFSAP for weather, atmospheric dynamics, air quality, wildfires studies and for model evaluations.

Xiaozhen (Shawn) Xiong↗

Consistency Between Tropical Divergent Circulations from Reanalysis Data Sets and Satellite-Derived Precipitation, Radiation, and Surface Fluxes

Large-scale divergent circulations are part of the atmospheric dynamic response to diabatic heating from condensation, radiative processes, and surface heat fluxes. Vertical motion and the associated divergent wind is thus intimately tied to the hydrologic cycle and the global heat balance. Vertical motions are recovered diagnostically from reanalyses and, as such, are subject to shortcommings in model physics, numerics, and data availability. We use several Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Earth Observation System (EOS) data sets derived from satellite data to assess interannual divergent flow anomalies in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and GSFC Data Assimilation Office (DAO) analyses. Among the data sets are monthly, 2.5 degree gridded precipitation (Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I-based)), Top or the atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes from ERBS, surface radiative fluxes from the SRB project, and surface latent and sensible flux estimates from SSM/I. These data sets can be considered as independent of the reanalysis fields. We focus largely on the period 1987-1989 encompassing a strong El Nino / la Nina couplet. Consequently we emphasize interannual changes as well as climatological aspects of the reanalyses. In the processes of this study we use simple integral constraints enforced through the satellite-derived data sets to derive corrections to the divergent circulation produced from the reanalyses. We examine the implications of these corrections in describing how perturbations to the tropical heat balance evolve during a warm / cool couplet. In particular the perturbations to the planetary scale water vapor transport, and the resulting changes in TOA and surface radiative fluxes are considered.

Robertson, Franklin R.↗

Observational Diagnoses of Extratropical Ozone STE During the Aura Era

The transport of ozone from the stratosphere to the extratropical troposphere is an important boundary condition to tropospheric chemistry. However, previous direct estimates from models and indirect estimates from observations have poorly constrained the magnitude of ozone stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE). In this study we provide a direct diagnosis of the extratropical ozone STE using data from the Microwave Limb Sounder on Aura and output of the MERRA reanalysis over the time period from 2005 to the present. We find that the mean annual STE is about 275 Tg/yr and 205 Tg/yr in the NH and SH, respectively. The interannual variability of the magnitude is about twice as great in the NH than the SH. We find that this variability is dominated by the seasonal variability during the late winter and spring. A comparison of the ozone flux to the mass flux reveals that there is not a simple relationship between the two quantities. This presentation will also examine the magnitude and distribution of ozone in the lower stratosphere relative to the years of maximum and minimum ozone STE. Finally, we will examine any possible signature of increased ozone STE in the troposphere using sonde and tropospheric ozone residual (TOR) data, and output from the Global Modeling Initiative Chemistry Transport Model (GMI CTM).

Olsen, Mark A.↗

The Impact of the Atlantic Cold Tongue on West African Monsoon Onset in Regional Model Simulations for 1998-2002

The Atlantic cold tongue (ACT) develops during spring and early summer near the Equator in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Guinea. The hypothesis that the ACT accelerates the timing of West African monsoon (WAM) onset is tested by comparing two regional climate model (RM3) simulation ensembles. Observed sea surface temperatures (SST) that include the ACT are used to force a control ensemble. An idealized, warm SST perturbation is designed to represent lower boundary forcing without the ACT for the experiment ensemble. Summer simulations forced by observed SST and reanalysis boundary conditions for each of five consecutive years are compared to five parallel runs forced by SST with the warm perturbation. The article summarizes the sequence of events leading to the onset of the WAM in the Sahel region. The representation of WAM onset in RM3 simulations is examined and compared to Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) and reanalysis data. The study evaluates the sensitivity of WAM onset indicators to the presence of the ACT by analysing the differences between the two simulation ensembles. Results show that the timing of major rainfall events and therefore theWAM onset in the Sahel are not sensitive to the presence of the ACT. However, the warm SST perturbation does increase downstream rainfall rates over West Africa as a consequence of enhanced specific humidity and enhanced northward moisture flux in the lower troposphere.

Regional model simulation↗

Recent Advances in Ozone Data Assimilation at the GMAO - Towards a New Reanalysis

This presentation summarized ongoing work on improving the representation of ozone in the GEOS Data Assimilation Systems. Data from two EOS Aura sensors was used: the total column ozone from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and high vertical resolution stratospheric profiles from Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS, version 3.3). As several previous studies have demonstrated, assimilation of this data can constrain the stratospheric and tropospheric ozone columns with relatively good accuracy. However, the representation of the vertical structures in the troposphere and near tropopause region is often deficient. Since both these layers of the atmosphere are critical to the understanding of the radiative forcing as well as the ozone budget in the troposphere, current work will focus on improving the assimilated product between the surface and the 50 hPa pressure level. The discussion included recent steps that have been taken towards refining the treatment of ozone in GEOS-5. Impacts of improved tropospheric chemistry model were discussed including the introduction of efficiency factors ("averaging kernels") for OMI total ozone, and direct assimilation of radiances from the MLS instrument. In particular, advantages and challenges involved in assimilating limb radiances rather than retrieved product were discussed. This work is, in part, a preparation for a planned reanalysis of the EOS Aura data from 2005 to present.

Krzysztof, Wargan↗

Climate Forcing Datasets for Agricultural Modeling: Merged Products for Gap-Filling and Historical Climate Series Estimation

The AgMERRA and AgCFSR climate forcing datasets provide daily, high-resolution, continuous, meteorological series over the 1980-2010 period designed for applications examining the agricultural impacts of climate variability and climate change. These datasets combine daily resolution data from retrospective analyses (the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, MERRA, and the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis, CFSR) with in situ and remotely-sensed observational datasets for temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation, leading to substantial reductions in bias in comparison to a network of 2324 agricultural-region stations from the Hadley Integrated Surface Dataset (HadISD). Results compare favorably against the original reanalyses as well as the leading climate forcing datasets (Princeton, WFD, WFD-EI, and GRASP), and AgMERRA distinguishes itself with substantially improved representation of daily precipitation distributions and extreme events owing to its use of the MERRA-Land dataset. These datasets also peg relative humidity to the maximum temperature time of day, allowing for more accurate representation of the diurnal cycle of near-surface moisture in agricultural models. AgMERRA and AgCFSR enable a number of ongoing investigations in the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) and related research networks, and may be used to fill gaps in historical observations as well as a basis for the generation of future climate scenarios.

Climate Forcing Data↗

Calculating the Height of Volcanic Cloud SO2 With a Lagrangian Trajectory Tool: Raikoke (2019) and Pinatubo (1991) Cases

We have developed a new data analysis tool to reconstruct the altitude of SO2 clouds ejected by avolcanic eruption. Starting with 2D fields of satellite observed SO2 column density, known volcanolocation, and reanalysis wind fields, the Goddard Lagrangian trajectory tool allows us to estimatethe altitude and local concentration of SO2 at the time of observation. We demonstrate this tool forthe June 21, 2019 Mt. Raikoke eruption (8h, 30h and 78 hours after eruption). We use SO2 data fromthe Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite/Nadir Mapper (OMPS/NM) onboard the NASA-NOAASuomi National Polar Partnership satellite and the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument(TROPOMI) onboard the European Copernicus Sentinel 5 precursor satellite and wind fields fromthe NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model. We obtained a wide distribution ofSO2 altitudes between 1 and 19 kilometers in different parts of the Raikoke SO2 clouds, with thehighest SO2 concentration between 11 and 16 km, in good agreement with data from independentSO2 layer height retrievals from TROPOMI and Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer(IASI). We then applied this method to the June 15, 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption using SO2 columnmeasurements from the NASA Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on June 16, 17, 18 andusing wind fields from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis version 2. Weobtained a wide distribution of SO2 heights from 6 km up to 30 km in the northern part of the cloud.We use our new trajectory tool to reconstruct volcanic SO2/aerosol emission sources as functions oftime and altitude, providing inputs to the GEOS model aerosol and chemistry schemes in order tosimulate the dispersion of volcanic SO2 and aerosol clouds from these events.

SO2↗

The Solsticial Pause on Mars: A Planetary Wave Reanalysis - Part 1

Large-scale planetary waves are diagnosed from an analysis of profiles retrieved from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer aboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft during its scientific mapping phase. The analysis is conducted by assimilating thermal profiles and total dust opacity retrievals into a Mars global circulation model. Transient waves are largest throughout the northern hemisphere autumn, winter and spring period and almost absent during the summer. The southern hemisphere exhibits generally weaker transient wave behavior. A striking feature of the low-altitude transient waves in the analysis is that they show a broad subsidiary minimum in amplitude centred on the winter solstice, a period when the thermal contrast between the summer hemisphere and the winter pole is strongest and baroclinic wave activity might be expected to be strong. This behavior, here called the 'solsticial pause,' is present in every year of the analysis. This strong pause is under-represented in many independent model experiments, which tend to produce relatively uniform baroclinic wave activity throughout the winter. This paper documents and diagnoses the transient wave solsticial pause found in the analysis; a companion paper investigates the origin of the phenomenon in a series of model experiments.

Lewis, Stephen R.↗

Consistency Between Divergent Circulations from Reanalysis Data Sets and Satellite-Derived Precipitation, Radiation, and Surface Fluxes

Large-scale divergent circulations are part of the atmospheric dynamic response to diabatic heating from condensation, radiative processes, and surface heat fluxes. Vertical motion and the associated divergent wind is thus intimately tied to the hydrologic cycle and the global heat balance. Despite its importance, the divergent circulation is too small in comparison to the rotational flow to measure directly with any accuracy. Vertical motions are recovered diagnostically from reanalyses and, as such, are subject to shortcomings in model physics, numerics, and data availability. We use several GEWEX pre-EOS data sets derived from satellite data to assess interannual divergent flow anomalies in the NCEP, GSFC, and GSFC DAO analyse. Among the data sets are monthly, 2.5 degree gridded precipitation (MSU and SSM/I-based), TOA radiative fluxes from ERBS, surface radiative fluxes from the SRB project, and surface latent and sensible flux estimates from SSM/I. Most of these data sets can be considered as independent of the reanalysis fields. We focus largely on the period 1987-1989 encompassing a strong El Nino / la Nina couplet. Consequently we emphasize interannual changes rather than climatological aspects of the reanalyses. In the processes of this study we use simple integral constraints enforced through the satellite-derived data sets to derive corrections to the divergent circulation produced from the reanalyses. We examine the implications of these corrections in describing how perturbations to the tropical heat balance evolve during a warm / cool couplet. In particular the perturbations to the planetary scale water vapor transport, and the resulting changes in TOA and surface radiative fluxes are considered.

Robertson, Franklin R.↗

Assessment and Enhancement of MERRA Land Surface Hydrology Estimates

The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) is a state-ofthe-art reanalysis that provides, in addition to atmospheric fields, global estimates of soil moisture, latent heat flux, snow, and runoff for 1979-present. This study introduces a supplemental and improved set of land surface hydrological fields ("MERRA-Land") generated by re-running a revised version of the land component of the MERRA system. Specifically, the MERRA-Land estimates benefit from corrections to the precipitation forcing with the Global Precipitation Climatology Project pentad product (version 2.1) and from revised parameter values in the rainfall interception model, changes that effectively correct for known limitations in the MERRA surface meteorological forcings. The skill (defined as the correlation coefficient of the anomaly time series) in land surface hydrological fields from MERRA and MERRA-Land is assessed here against observations and compared to the skill of the state-of-the-art ERA-Interim (ERA-I) reanalysis. MERRA-Land and ERA-I root zone soil moisture skills (against in situ observations at 85 US stations) are comparable and significantly greater than that of MERRA. Throughout the northern hemisphere, MERRA and MERRA-Land agree reasonably well with in situ snow depth measurements (from 583 stations) and with snow water equivalent from an independent analysis. Runoff skill (against naturalized stream flow observations from 18 US basins) of MERRA and MERRA-Land is typically higher than that of ERA-I. With a few exceptions, the MERRA-Land data appear more accurate than the original MERRA estimates and are thus recommended for those interested in using MERRA output for land surface hydrological studies.

Reichle, Rolf H.↗

Use of Aerosol Observations From Aircraft in Satellite Remote Sensing and Modelling Comparisons

Aerosol extensive and intensive properties vary throughout the world and remain one of the largest uncertainties in determining future climate both because of difficulties in their measurement and their modelled behaviors. Here we highlight the contributions of airborne sampling by the sunphotometer 4STAR (Spectrometers for Sky-Scanning Sun Tracking Atmospheric Research) from two different parts of the world; Korean peninsula and region during the KORUS-AQ experiment (KORean-US Air Quality in May-June 2016) and over the South East Atlantic during ORACLES (ObseRvations of CLouds above Aerosols and their intEractionS in August-September-October 2016, 2017, and 2018) field campaign. The high temporal and spatial resolution, afforded by airborne sampling during KORUS-AQ, are used to determine the variability of aerosol intensive and extensive properties, which is a metric than can be compared in between multiple different observations and models, even over varying surfaces and spanning multiple different aerosol emission sources. We show the consistency over spatial scales of the AOD (Aerosol Optical Depth), and the aerosol intensive properties (Angstrom exponent - AE, fine mode fraction - FMF) observed by 4STAR, GOCI (Geostationary Ocean Color Imager Yonsei aerosol retrieval v2), MERRA-2 reanalysis (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, v2), and from airborne in situ aerosol optical measurements by LARGE (NASA Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment). The majority of AODs due to fine mode aerosol is observed at altitudes lower than 2 km and is dependent on the prevailing meteorological conditions. AE and FMF are found to be more spatially variable than AOD during all of KORUS-AQ, even when accounting for potential sampling biases. This may indicate that microphysical processes like aerosol particle formation, growth, and coagulation impact the dominant aerosol size at shorter scales than their combined effect on the aerosol optical depth by the aerosol emission, transport, and removal. Averaging between measurements and model, the distance at which the correlation to itself is reduced by 15% is 65 km for AOD, and 22.7 km for AE. Vertically resolved measurement from an aircraft enable the direct measurements of aerosols overlying clouds. When aerosol overlie bright clouds, their radiative impact on the incident light can be either positive or negative. This difference in radiative impact promotes difficulties in remote sensing aerosol properties, which have shown biases in AOD retrievals when clouds are underneath. The AOD above clouds measured by 4STAR during ORACLES are used to build and improve upon the current Near-Real-Time MODACAERO algorithm for above cloud AOD from MODIS, into a continuity product for NASA EOS/SNPP/JPSS.

Aerosol↗

An Assessment of the Radiative Effects of Ice Supersaturation Based on in Situ Observations

We use aircraft observations combined with the reanalysis data to investigate the radiative effects of ice supersaturation (ISS). Our results show that although the excess water vapor over ice saturation itself has relatively small radiative effects, mistaking it as ice crystals in climate models would lead to considerable impacts: on average, +2.49 W/m(exp 2) change in the top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiation, -2.7 W/m(exp 2) change in surface radiation, and 1.47 K/d change in heating rates. The radiative effects of ISS generally increase with the magnitudes of supersaturation. However, there is a strong dependence on the preexisting ice water path, which can even change the sign of the TOA radiative effect. It is therefore important to consider coexistence between ISS and ice clouds and to validate their relationship in the parameterizations of ISS in climate models.

Tan, Xiaoxiao↗

NASA's High-Resolution GEOS Forecasting and Reanalysis Products: Support for TOLNet

Stratospheric intrusions (SIs) the introduction of ozone-rich stratospheric air into the troposphere – have been the interest of decades of research for their link with surface ozone air quality exceedances, especially at the high elevations in the western USA in springtime; however, the impact of SIs in the remaining seasons and over the rest of the USA is less clear. We can expect MERRA-2 to realistically represent both atmospheric dynamics and composition. The operational GEOS weather forecasting system, GEOS-FP, has a similar ozone observing system to MERRA-2, while NASA's new global high-resolution air quality forecast system, GEOS-CF, combines the operational GEOS weather forecasting model with the state-of-the-science GEOS-Chem chemistry module (version 12), simulating a wide range of additional air pollutants and tracers which strengthens this detailed analysis of the intrusions and the sources for the high ozone concentrations. Using a multitude of observational datasets, including lidar, air craft, ozonesondes and air quality monitoring surface sites, in combination with the GEOS forecast and reanalysis products, we aim to provide the public with tools which are available in near-real time to enhance their capability to identify the impact of stratospheric air on surface ozone concentrations separate from anthropogenic sources. In particular, improved understanding of the connections between large-scale climate variability and local-scale dynamically-driven air quality events may support improved seasonal prediction of SI events.

Knowland, K. Emma↗

Gamma-Ray Observations of the Interstellar Clouds in Cepheus

During the last six months of the period of performance, the diffuse gamma-ray emission from the Monoceros region was reanalyzed and one of the important conclusions was revised as a result. The reanalysis incorporated newly-available data from recent EGRET viewing periods and revealed a previously-uncataloged gamma-ray point source near the plane in Monoceros. The effect of incorporating this source in the diffuse emission model was significant, as its flux was comparable to that from a large interstellar cloud complex in the Perseus arm. In the updated model, a greatly reduced gamma-ray emissivity was found in the Perseus arm. This finding alters the previous conclusion that we had found evidence for an enhanced emissivity in the arm, which had supported the hypothesis that cosmic rays are coupled to the interstellar medium on the scale of spiral arms. Our updated findings are consistent with our previous results for the emissivity toward the Cepheus region (Digel et al. 1996), where a monotonic gradient of emissivity in the outer Galaxy was found. The updated analysis of Monoceros was presented at the June, 1998 meeting of the American Astronomical Society, and a journal publication should be ready for submission soon.

Digel, S.↗

Rapid iterative reanalysis for automated design

A method for iterative reanalysis in automated structural design is presented for a finite-element analysis using the direct stiffness approach. A basic feature of the method is that the generalized stiffness and inertia matrices are expressed as functions of structural design parameters, and these generalized matrices are expanded in Taylor series about the initial design. Only the linear terms are retained in the expansions. The method is approximate because it uses static condensation, modal reduction, and the linear Taylor series expansions. The exact linear representation of the expansions of the generalized matrices is also described and a basis for the present method is established. Results of applications of the present method to the recalculation of the natural frequencies of two simple platelike structural models are presented and compared with results obtained by using a commonly applied analysis procedure used as a reference. In general, the results are in good agreement. A comparison of the computer times required for the use of the present method and the reference method indicated that the present method required substantially less time for reanalysis. Although the results presented are for relatively small-order problems, the present method will become more efficient relative to the reference method as the problem size increases. An extension of the present method to static reanalysis is described, ana a basis for unifying the static and dynamic reanalysis procedures is presented.

Bhatia, K. G.↗