Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Sea surface”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 523 records · Page 29
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

Climatic change by cloudiness linked to the spatial variability of sea surface temperatures

An active role in modifying the earth's climate is suggested for low cloudiness over the circumarctic oceans. Such cloudiness, linked to the spatial differences in ocean surface temperatures, was studied. The temporal variations from year to year of ocean temperature patterns can be pronounced and therefore, the low cloudiness over this region should also show strong temporal variations, affecting the albedo of the earth and therefore the climate. Photographs are included.

Otterman, J.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Comments on Navy/NRL requirements for sea surface temperature and surface wind measurements on Seasat-A

SEASAT instrumentation payload requirements to provide satellite data for the Navy fleet operational fog prediction program include: (1) some form of C-band microwave radiometer capability; (2) a scanning antenna with a 40-km Instanteneous Field of View (IFOV) for the C-band channel; (3) a narrow band and high resolution IR scanning radiometer for cloud free areas; and (4) a capability for measuring surface winds of 3 to 50 m/sec at + or - 10% accuracy and 50 to 100 km spatial resolution.

Ruskin, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Physical oceanography from satellites: Currents and the slope of the sea surface

A global scheme using satellite altimetry in conjunction with thermometry techniques provides for more accurate determinations of first order leveling networks by overcoming discrepancies between ocean leveling and land leveling methods. The high noise content in altimetry signals requires filtering or correction for tides, etc., as well as carefully planned sampling schemes.

Sturges, W.↗
NASA NTRS1976

The theory and applications of ocean wave measuring systems at and below the sea surface, on the land, from aircraft, and from spacecraft

Methods for measuring and analyzing ocean waves are described, including those presently in use on spacecraft and planned for SEASAT-A. Potential difficulties with synthetic aperture systems for a spacecraft are described and an alternate design is suggested. The different methods can yield different kinds of spectra and other kinds of imagery. Ways to compare different kinds of data are given. The scientific and practical applications of data from spacecraft are given.

Pierson, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Active microwave measurement from space of sea-surface winds

Radar backscatter measurements from the ocean were made at 13.9 GHz from Skylab. The radar signal increased rapidly with wind speed over the entire range of winds encountered, and for angles of incidence of 30 deg larger. Signals observed were normalized to a nominal incidence angle and to a nominal upwind observation direction, using a theoretical model that has been verified as approximately true with aircraft experiments. Observations during the summer and winter Skylab missions were treated separately because of possible differences caused by an accident to the antenna between the two sets of observations. The results are in general agreement with the theory in all cases. The objective analysis method used for determining surface-truth winds in the Skylab experiment was tested by comparing results obtained at weather ships with the observations made by the weather ships themselves. In most cases, the variance about the regression line between objective analysis and weather-ship data actually exceeded that about the regression line between objective analysis and backscatter data

Young, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Sea surface temperature of the coastal zones of France

The results of an investigation to map the various thermal gradients in the coastal zones of France are presented. Paricular emphasis is given to the natural phenomena and man made thermal effluents. It is shown that a close correlation exist between wind speed direction and the offshore width of the effluent.

Deschamps, P. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Some effects of topography, soil moisture, and sea-surface temperature on continental precipitation as computed with the GISS coarse mesh climate model

The effects of terrain elevation, soil moisture, and zonal variations in sea/surface temperature on the mean daily precipitation rates over Australia, Africa, and South America in January were evaluated. It is suggested that evaporation of soil moisture may either increase or decrease the model generated precipitation, depending on the surface albedo. It was found that a flat, dry continent model best simulates the January rainfall over Australia and South America, while over Africa the simulation is improved by the inclusion of surface physics, specifically soil moisture and albedo variations.

Spar, J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Scanner for measuring fine sea-surface structures

An optical scanner using the principle of light reflection has been designed for determining directional slope distributions of the wind-disturbed water surface. The instrument has been tested successfully in the laboratory and could be used in the field. Some sample results along with procedures for data analysis are also presented.

Wu, J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Infrared remote sensing of sea surface temperature

The surface temperature TS of the ocean and solid earth can be derived from the radiance data measured in the 3.7 micron transparent region between 2700 and 2500 per cm as well as from the 11 micron water vapor continuum between 960 and 775 per cm. The effects on the accuracy of the recovered values of TS of surface emissivity, reflection of solar radiation and variations in the concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere are different in the two bands. In this paper, the accuracy of the surface temperature derived from each of these two transparent spectral regions is discussed. The possibility of determining the difference between the air temperature at the surface and the true skin surface temperature is also considered.

Chahine, M. T.↗