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At least 55 records · Page 3

The Role of Sea Ice in 2 x CO2 Climate Model Sensitivity: Hemispheric Dependencies - Part 2

How sensitive are doubled CO2 simulations to GCM control-run sea ice thickness and extent? This issue is examined in a series of 10 control-run simulations with different sea ice and corresponding doubled CO2 simulations. Results show that with increased control-run sea ice coverage in the Southern Hemisphere, temperature sensitivity with climate change is enhanced, while there is little effect on temperature sensitivity of (reasonable) variations in control-run sea ice thickness. In the Northern Hemisphere the situation is reversed: sea ice thickness is the key parameter, while (reasonable) variations in control-run sea ice coverage are of less importance. In both cases, the quantity of sea ice that can be removed in the warmer climate is the determining factor. Overall, the Southern Hemisphere sea ice coverage change had a larger impact on global temperature, because Northern Hemisphere sea ice was sufficiently thick to limit its response to doubled CO2, and sea ice changes generally occurred at higher latitudes, reducing the sea ice-albedo feedback. In both these experiments and earlier ones in which sea ice was not allowed to change, the model displayed a sensitivity of -0.02 C global warming per percent change in Southern Hemisphere sea ice coverage.

Rind, D.↗

Hemispherical variance anomaly and reionization optical depth

ABSTRACT Cosmic microwave background (CMB) full-sky temperature data show a hemispherical asymmetry in power nearly aligned with the Ecliptic, with the Northern hemisphere displaying an anomalously low variance, while the Southern hemisphere appears consistent with expectations from the best-fitting theory, Lambda Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM). The low signal-to-noise ratio in current polarization data prevents a similar comparison. Polarization realizations constrained by temperature data show that in ΛCDM the lack of variance is not expected to be present in polarization data. Therefore, a natural way of testing whether the temperature result is a fluke is to measure the variance of CMB polarization components. In anticipation of future CMB experiments that will allow for high-precision large-scale polarization measurements, we study how the variance of polarization depends on ΛCDM-parameter uncertainties by forecasting polarization maps with Planck’s Markov chain Monte Carlo chains. We show that polarization variance is sensitive to present uncertainties in cosmological parameters, mainly due to current poor constraints on the reionization optical depth τ, which drives variance at low multipoles. We demonstrate how the improvement in the τ measurement seen between Planck’s two latest data releases results in a tighter constraint on polarization variance expectations. Finally, we consider even smaller uncertainties on τ and how more precise measurements of τ can drive the expectation for polarization variance in a hemisphere close to that of the cosmic-variance-limited distribution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Geometric scaling of laser-driven proton focusing from hemispherical foils

We systematically characterize the focusing behavior of laser-driven proton beams from hemispherical targets of various diameters using mesh radiography. The proton focal location is inferred to be near the geometrical center for the smallest tested hemisphere (Ψ = 𝐷 hemi /𝐷 Laser = 6.1). However, larger hemispheres (Ψ = 14.6) degrade the focusing behavior and behave more like flat foils with focal location significantly inside the hemisphere. We also infer a tight virtual focus of 9 ± 3 𝜇⁢m through a mesh transition analysis.

Griff-McMahon, J. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United Sta↗

Southern Hemisphere dominates recent decline in global water availability

Global land water underpins livelihoods, socioeconomic development, and ecosystems. It remains unclear how water availability has changed in recent decades. Using an ensemble of observations, we quantified global land water availability over the past two decades. We show that the Southern Hemisphere has dominated the declining trend in global water availability from 2001 to 2020. The significant decrease occurs mainly in South America, southwestern Africa, and northwestern Australia. In the Northern Hemisphere, the complex regional increasing and decreasing trends cancel each other, resulting in a negligible hemispheric trend. The variability and trend in water availability in the Southern Hemisphere are largely driven by precipitation associated with climate modes, particularly the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Finally, this study highlights their dominant role in controlling global water availability.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Observation and differential cross section measurement of neutral current DIS events with an empty hemisphere in the Breit frame

The Breit frame provides a natural frame to analyze lepton–proton scattering events. In this reference frame, the parton model hard interactions between a quark and an exchanged boson defines the coordinate system such that the struck quark is back-scattered along the virtual photon momentum direction. In Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), higher order perturbative or non-perturbative effects can change this picture drastically. As Bjorken-x decreases below one half, a rather peculiar event signature is predicted with increasing probability, where no radiation is present in one of the two Breit-frame hemispheres and all emissions are to be found in the other hemisphere. At higher orders in $\alpha$ s or in the presence of soft QCD effects, predictions of the rate of these events are far from trivial, and that motivates measurements with real data. We report on the first observation of the empty current hemisphere events in electron–proton collisions at the HERA collider using data recorded with the H1 detector at a center-of-mass energy of 319 GeV. The fraction of inclusive neutral-current DIS events with an empty hemisphere is found to be 0.0112 ± 3.9% stat ± 4.5% syst ± 1.6% mod in the selected kinematic region of 150 < Q 2 < 1500 GeV 2 and inelasticity 0.14 < y < 0.7. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 351.1 pb -1 , sufficient to enable differential cross section measurements of these events. The results show an enhanced discriminating power at lower Bjorken-x among different Monte Carlo event generator predictions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Mean meridional circulation in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere during the polar night

Atmospheric structure derived from satellite, multichannel radiance data is used to calculate zonally averaged vertical motions in the wintertime stratosphere of both hemispheres. The Northern Hemisphere calculations confirm the two celled meridional circulation calculated by previous authors. The Southern Hemisphere results show a three celled structure with descending motion over the South Pole. The variability of the mean meridional circulation in the Southern Hemisphere in relation to the presence or absence of a minor midwinter warming is also discussed.

Adler, R. F.↗

A comparison of the structure and flow characteristics of the upper troposphere and stratosphere of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

The general circulations of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are compared with regard to the upper troposphere and stratosphere using atmospheric structure obtained from satellite, multi-channel radiance data. Specifically, the data are from the Satellite Infrared Spectrometer (SIRS) instrument aboard the Nimbus 3 spacecraft. The inter-hemispheric comparisons are based on two months of data (one summer month and one winter month) in each hemisphere. Topics studied include: mean meridional circulation in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere; magnitude and distribution of tropospheric eddy heat flux; magnitudes of energy cycle components; and the relation of vortex structure to the breakdown climatology of the Antarctic stratospheric polar vortex.

Adler, R. F.↗

Mean meridional circulation in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere based on satellite information

Atmospheric structure derived from satellite multi-channel radiance data is used to calculate zonally-averaged vertical motions in the wintertime stratosphere of both hemispheres using a heat budget approach. The Northern Hemisphere calculations based on the satellite data are shown to compare favorably with a computation carried out with conventional data, and with results of previous studies. The mean Southern Hemisphere pattern for the month of July 1969 indicates a high-latitude cell with the axis of sinking motion at approximately 50 deg S, while the rising motion is centered at 70 deg S. Thus the Antarctic stratospheric jet stream is associated with an indirect cell. Two individual 10-day periods from July 1969 are also examined to compare the mean meridional circulation and eddy heat flux patterns in the Southern Hemisphere during a minor midwinter warming and during a quiet period.

Adler, R. F.↗

Zonal and hemispheric variability of Nimbus 6 ERB longwave radiation

Radiation variability on a global and zonal scale is studied using outgoing longwave radiation data from the Nimbus 6 satellite for a period of 12 months. The analysis-of-variance technique, which permits the variance to be separated into spatial variance and time variance, is applied to latitudinal zones and to the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. For latitudinal zones, most of the variability of longwave radiation is in the tropics and subtropics and is due to spatial variance between regions within zones. Spatial variance in the Southern Hemisphere is much greater than in the Northern Hemisphere; daytime spatial variance is higher than nighttime spatial variance for both hemispheres.

Bess, T. D.↗

Hemispheric asymmetries of the thermospheric semiannual oscillation

An analysis of the data on the asymmetries of the terrestrial thermospheric semiannual oscillation (SAO), recorded by satellites, radar stations, and rocket soundings (Hedin, 1983), is presented. The possible sources for the thermospheric SAO are discussed. An interpretation is presented of the hemispheric asymmetries of the thermospheric SAO in terms of gravity-wave activities, in which the proposed mechanism is associated with the hemispheric asymmetries in the atmospheric circulation due to the orographic differences between the two hemispheres. Consideration is given to the energy requirements for the observed hemispheric difference in the thermospheric SAO. The overall evidence supporting the proposed interpretation is discussed.

Maeda, K.↗

Quasi-stationary states in the Southern Hemisphere

Pattern correlations between daily anomalies have been used to study the persistence of the Southern Hemisphere circulations. The dataset consists of daily Australian analyses of 500 mb heights and sea level pressure for the period from 1972 to 1983. Compared to the Northern Hemisphere, the pattern correlations are much lower and more variable in the Southern Hemisphere. The mean one-day lag autocorrelation is only 0.57, compared to 0.81 in the Northern Hemisphere. The correlations increase significantly for the filtered anomalies, which consist of the planetary wavenumbers from 0 to 4. Subjective criteria based on the pattern correlations are used to select quasi-stationary events. A series of 5 or more daily maps is defined to be quasi-stationary if the pattern correlations between all pairs of five consecutive maps in this time series are larger than or equal to 0.5. In winter, quasi-stationary events can be classified in terms of wavenumbers. Waves 3 and 4 are by far the dominant waves. More than half of the events have large wave 3 amplitude with geographically fixed orientations.

Mo, K. C.↗

High-angle-of-attack pneumatic lag and upwash corrections for a hemispherical flow direction sensor

As part of the NASA F-14 high angle of attack flight test program, a nose mounted hemispherical flow direction sensor was calibrated against a fuselage mounted movable vane flow angle sensor. Significant discrepancies were found to exist in the angle of attack measurements. A two fold approach taken to resolve these discrepancies during subsonic flight is described. First, the sensing integrity of the isolated hemispherical sensor is established by wind tunnel data extending to an angle of attack of 60 deg. Second, two probable causes for the discrepancies, pneumatic lag and upwash, are examined. Methods of identifying and compensating for lag and upwash are presented. The wind tunnel data verify that the isolated hemispherical sensor is sufficiently accurate for static conditions with angles of attack up to 60 deg and angles of sideslip up to 30 deg. Analysis of flight data for two high angle of attack maneuvers establishes that pneumatic lag and upwash are highly correlated with the discrepancies between the hemispherical and vane type sensor measurements.

Whitmore, Stephen A.↗

Northern vs. Southern Hemisphere energy conversions in January 1979

The methodology applied by Huang and Vincent (1985) for the diagnosis of the zonal and eddy energy conversions in the Southern Hemisphere was used to diagnose the energetics of the Northern Hemisphere for the same period (i.e., January 10-27, 1979). It was found that, in both hemispheres, the larger synoptic-scale waves are important in the AZ-AE-KE conversion. However, in the Northern Hemisphere, the long waves make the most significant contribution to this conversion cycle, whereas in the Southern Hemispere, the intermediate waves dominate.

Hurrell, James W.↗

Hemispherical color differences on Pluto and Charon

Time-resolved multicolor photometric observations of Pluto-Charon mutual events have been used to derive individual colors for these two bodies and to investigate the degree of color differences between their synchronous facing and opposite hemispheres. Pluto is significantly redder than Charon, where direct measurements of the anti-Charon hemisphere of Pluto and the Pluto-facing hemisphere of Charon yield B-V magnitudes of 0.867 + or - 0.008 and 0.700 + or - 0.010, respectively. Both Pluto and Charon are found to have relatively uniform longitudinal color distributions with 1-sigma upper limits of 2 percent and 5 percent, respectively, for any large-scale hemispherical color asymmetries. Thus, a previous suspicion of a significant color asymmetry on Charon is not confirmed. Instead the data may be attributed to a direct detection of polar caps on Pluto.

Binzel, Richard P.↗

Spatial averaging errors in creating hemispherical reflectance (albedo) maps from directional reflectance data

Spatial averaging errors which may occur when creating hemispherical reflectance maps for different cover types from direct nadir technique to estimate the hemispherical reflectance are assessed by comparing the results with those obtained with a knowledge-based system called VEG (Kimes et al., 1991, 1992). It was found that hemispherical reflectance errors provided by using VEG are much less than those using the direct nadir techniques, depending on conditions. Suggestions are made concerning sampling and averaging strategies for creating hemispherical reflectance maps for photosynthetic, carbon cycle, and climate change studies.

Kimes, D. S.↗

Equatorial heating and hemispheric decoupling effects on inner magnetospheric core plasma evolution

We have extended our previous semikinetic study of early stage plasmasphere refilling with perpendicular ion heating by removing the restriction that the northern and southern boundaries are identical and incorporating a generalized transport description for the electrons. This allows investigation of the effects of electron heating and a more realistic calculation of electric fields produced by ion and electron temperature anisotropies. The combination of perpendicular ion heating and parallel electron heating leads to an equatorial electrostatic potential peak, which tends to shield and decouple ion flows in the northern and southern hemispheres. Unequal ionospheric upflows in the northern and southern hemispheres lead to the development of distinctly asymmetric densities and other bulk parameters. At t = 5 hour after the initiation of refiling with different source densities (N(sub north) = 100 cu/cm, N(sub south) = 50 cu/cm), the maximum potential drops of the northern and southern hemispheres are 0.6 and 1.3 V, respectively. At this time the minimum ion densities are 11 and 7 cu/cm for the northern and southern hemispheres. DE 1 observations of asymmetric density profiles by Olsen may be consistent with these predictions. Termination of particle heating causes the reduction of equatorial potential and allows interhemispheric coupling. When the inflows from the ionospheres are reduced (as may occur after sunset), decreases in plasma density near the ionospheric regions are observed while the heated trapped ion population at the equator persists.

Lin, J.↗

Inferring the thermal-infrared hemispheric emission from a sparsely-vegetated surface by directional measurements

The thermal-infrared (longwave) emission from a vegetated terrain is generally anisotropic, i.e., the emission temperature varies with the view direction. If a directional measurement of temperature is considered to be equal to the effective temperature of the hemispheric emission, then the estimate of the latter can be significantly in error. The view-direction (zenith angle theta(sub eq) at which the emission equivalence does hold is determined in our modeling study. In a two-temperature field-of-view (soil and plants), theta(sub eq) falls in a narrow range depending on plant density and canopy architecture. Theta(sub eq) does not depend on soil and (uniform) plant temperatures nor on their ratio, even though the pattern of emission vs. the view direction depends crucially on this ratio. For a sparse canopy represented as thin, vertical cylindrical stalks (or vertical blades uniformly distributed in azimuth) with horizontal facets, theta(sub eq) ranges from 48 to 53 deg depending on the optical density of the vertical elements alone. When plant elements are modeled as small spheres, theta(sub eq) lies between 53 to 57 deg (for the same values of the canopy optical density). Only for horizontal leaves (a truly planophile canopy) is the temperature measured from any direction equal to the temperature of the hemispheric emission. When the emission temperature changes with optical depth within the canopy at a specified rate, theta(sub eq) depends to some extent on that rate. For practically any sparsely vegetated surface, a directional measurement at the zenith angle of 50 deg offers an appropriate evaluation of the hemispheric emission, since the error in the estimate will, at most, only slightly exceed 1% (around 4 W/sq m). Estimates of the hemispheric emission through a nadir measurement, on the other hand, can be in error in some cases by about 10%, i.e., on the order of 40 W/sq m.

Otterman, J.↗

A Status Report on the SHADOZ (Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes) Project and Some Issues Affecting Ozone Climatology

SHADOZ aims to support the study of local and global patterns in stratospheric and tropospheric ozone and to provide a data set for the validation for satellite products and model calculations of ozone. Southern hemispheric tropical ozone is of particular interest because this region appears to have complex interplay among photochemical ozone formation (from biomass burning and lightning), stratospheric dynamics, convection and possibly cross-hemispheric transport. Balloon-borne ozone instrumentation (ozonesondes), joined with standard radiosondes for measurement of pressure, temperature and relative humidity, is used to collect profiles throughout the troposphere and lower- to mid-stratosphere. A network of 10 southern hemisphere tropical and subtropical stations, called the Southern Hemisphere ADditional OZonesondes (SHADOZ) project, has been established from operational sites to assemble sonde data for 1998-2000. A status report on the archive, with station operating characteristics, will be given, along with some operational issues that may affect data analysis and interpretation.

Thompson, Anne M.↗