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NASA NTRS2004

Gravity Waves and Mesospheric Clouds in the Summer Middle Atmosphere: A Comparison of Lidar Measurements and Ray Modeling of Gravity Waves Over Sondrestrom, Greenland

We conducted gravity wave ray-tracing experiments within an atmospheric region centered near the ARCLITE lidar system at Sondrestrom, Greenland (67N, 310 deg E), in efforts to understand lidar observations of both upper stratospheric gravity wave activity and mesospheric clouds during August 1996 and the summer of 2001. The ray model was used to trace gravity waves through realistic three-dimensional daily-varying background atmospheres in the region, based on forecasts and analyses in the troposphere and stratosphere and climatologies higher up. Reverse ray tracing based on upper stratospheric lidar observations at Sondrestrom was also used to try to objectively identify wave source regions in the troposphere. A source spectrum specified by reverse ray tracing experiments in early August 1996 (when atmospheric flow patterns produced enhanced transmission of waves into the upper stratosphere) yielded model results throughout the remainder of August 1996 that agreed best with the lidar observations. The model also simulated increased vertical group propagation of waves between 40 km and 80 km due to intensifying mean easterlies, which allowed many of the gravity waves observed at 40 km over Sondrestrom to propagate quasi-vertically from 40-80 km and then interact with any mesospheric clouds at 80 km near Sondrestrom, supporting earlier experimentally-inferred correlations between upper stratospheric gravity wave activity and mesospheric cloud backscatter from Sondrestrom lidar observations. A pilot experiment of real-time runs with the model in 2001 using weather forecast data as a low-level background produced less agreement with lidar observations. We believe this is due to limitations in our specified tropospheric source spectrum, the use of climatological winds and temperatures in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere, and missing lidar data from important time periods.

LIDAR (LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING)↗

NASA NTRS2023

Magnetosonic ULF Waves With Anomalous Plasma–Magnetic Field Correlations: Standing Waves and Inhomogeneous Plasmas

Ultra-low frequency (ULF) wave observations across the heliosphere often rely on the sign of correlations between plasma (density/pressure) and magnetic field perturbations to distinguish between fast and slow magnetosonic modes. However, the assumptions behind this magnetohydrodynamic result are not always valid, particularly within the magnetosphere which is inhomogeneous and supports standing waves along the geomagnetic field. Through theory and a global simulation, we find both effects can result in anomalous plasma–magnetic field correlations. The interference pattern in standing waves can lead both body and surface magnetosonic waves to have different cross-phases than their constituent propagating waves. Furthermore, if the scale of gradients in the background are shorter than the wavelength or the waves are near-incompressible, then advection by the wave of inhomogeneities can overcome the wave's inherent sense of compression. These effects need to be allowed for and taken into account when applying the typical diagnostic to observations.

MHD Waves↗

NASA NTRS1971

Conversion of electrostatic plasma waves into electromagnetic waves - Numerical calculation of the dispersion relation for all wavelengths.

The dispersion curves have been computed for a wide range of wavelengths from electromagnetic waves to electrostatic waves in a magnetoactive warm plasma with a Maxwellian velocity distribution function. The computation was carried out mainly for the perpendicular propagation mode. The upper hybrid resonance is the connection point of the electrostatic waves and the electromagnetic waves. The electrostatic waves not associated with the upper hybrid resonance are subjected to electron cyclotron damping when the wavelength becomes long. Oblique propagation is allowed for the electrostatic waves in a frequency range from the plasma frequency to the upper hybrid resonance frequency in the long-wavelength region where Landau damping can be neglected and where the electrostatic mode smoothly connects to the electromagnetic X-mode. In a slightly inhomogeneous plasma, the Bernstein-mode electrostatic wave can escape by being converted into the O-mode electromagnetic wave; two reflections take place during this escape process.

Oya, H.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The damping of ocean surface waves by a monomolecular film measured by wave staffs and microwave radars

Open ocean and wave tank experiments were carried out with the aim of studying the damping of capillary and gravity waves by a monomolecular film. These films of biogenic origin influence air-sea interaction processes and thereby affect the use of remote sensing techniques in oceanography. Measurement was carried out by wave staffs, by a coherent X band microwave scatterometer mounted on a sea-based platform, and by an incoherent K band microwave scatterometer carried by an aircraft under moderate wind conditions. A wave attenuation of about 40-60% is observed in the frequency range between 3.2 and 16 Hz. Tank experiments show that a direct influence of oleyl alcohol surface films on wave damping is confined to frequencies equal to or greater than 2 Hz; a further indirect effect of films on the damping of ocean waves in the frequency range between 0.12 and 0.7 Hz (by modifying the wind input and wave-wave interaction mechanisms) is also indicated

Huehnerfuss, H.↗

NASA NTRS1984

The generation of mesospheric planetary waves by zonally asymmetric gravity wave breaking

A semispectral numerical model is used to study the influence of a longitudinally varying gravity wave source on the general circulation of the winter mesosphere. The gravity wave source consists of stationary (topographic) waves with a longitudinally varying amplitude distribution that is approximated by the first two terms in a zonal harmonic expansion (i.e., the zonal mean plus planetary wavenumber 1). The computed zonal mean circulation in the mesosphere is nearly the same as that computed for a zonally symmetric gravity wave source of equal amplitude. However, the asymmetric source excites a strong stationary wavenumber 1 disturbance near the level of gravity wave breaking (equal to about 71 km). This disturbance has a zonal wind maximum about 1/4-cycle upstream from the gravity wave drag maximum. It is concluded that vertically propagating gravity waves produced in the troposphere are a possible source for mesospheric planetary waves.

Holton, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Extreme waves in the Agulhas - A case study in wave-current interaction

SIR data obtained in October 1984 off the South African coast are analyzed. The analysis of the derived ocean-wave slope spectra reveals the presence of two wave systems: a swell field from the SW of about 190 m wavelength and a swell out of the SE with a wavelength of about 220 m. An observed increase in wave energy along the northern edge of the Agulhas, caused by the propagation of the 190 m wave system opposite to that of the Agulhas Current, is studied by modeling the interaction of a wave with an opposite current. The role of refraction in the energy intensification is discussed. The effects of currrent curvature on the trajectory of the wave group and of meandering on a uniform wave field are investigated. A possible mechanism for the generation of extreme waves is proposed.

Irvine, David E.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Rossby wave activity in a two-dimensional model - Closure for wave driving and meridional eddy diffusivity

A parameterization of the effects of Rossby waves in the middle atmosphere is proposed for use in two-dimensional models. By adding an equation for conservation of Rossby wave activity, closure is obtained for the meridional eddy fluxes and body force due to Rossby waves. Rossby wave activity is produced in a climatological fashion at the tropopause, is advected by a group velocity which is determined solely by model zonal winds, and is absorbed where it converges. Absorption of Rossby wave activity causes both an easterly torque and an irreversible mixing of potential vorticity, represented by the meridional eddy diffusivity, K(yy). The distribution of Rossby wave driving determines the distribution of K(yy), which is applied to all of the chemical constituents. This provides a self-consistent coupling of the wave activity with the winds, tracer distributions and the radiative field. Typical winter stratospheric values for K(yy) of 2 million sq m/sec are obtained. Poleward tracer advection is enhanced and meridional tracer gradients are reduced where Rossby wave activity is absorbed in the model.

Hitchman, Matthew H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

On the dependence of travelling wave stability on basic state wave phase speed

The dependence of stability on basic state wave phase speed is examined in a nondivergent barotropic model on a sphere for planetary scale waves with phase speeds typical of waves observed in the atmosphere. Triad interactions are examined analytically and compared to numerical results from a full spectral model. A number of triads may result in growth of the perturbation components for each basic state wave; for each triad there is a basic state wave phase speed where it is resonant, identified as the point where the critical amplitude for instability to that perturbation becomes zero. Critical amplitudes for instability obtained using the full spectral model generally agree well with triad results. Since the basic state wave phase speed determines which triad will grow, spatial structure and critical amplitudes for instability for the growing disturbances depend strongly on basic state wave phase speed. The results of this idealized study suggest that phase speed may be an important factor in determining the stability of planetary scale waves in the atmosphere.

Manney, Gloria L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

ULF waves upstream of the Venus bow shock - Properties of one-hertz waves

Pioneer Venus Orbiter data are used here to study the properties of a class of ULF upstream waves with relatively high observed frequencies. These waves show significant similarity to 'one-Hz' waves identified at earth in the ISEE 1 and 2 observations and the whistler waves identified earlier by IMP 6 observations. The waves appear almost immediately after the spacecraft crosses the magnetic field tangent line to the bow shock surface into the region of connected field lines. The wave amplitude decreases with distance from the shock measured along the magnetic field line. Group velocities calculated using the cold plasma dispersion relation indicate that the waves have sufficient upstream velocities to propagate form the shock into the solar wind. The totality of observations seem best explained by a source of right-handed whistler mode waves at the bow shock.

Orlowski, D. S.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Enhanced damping of Alfven waves in the solar corona by a turbulent wave spectrum

The effect of a background spectrum of Alfven waves on the rate of dissipation of a test shear Alfven wave is numerically calculated. The results demonstrate that as the classical resistivity eta and classical viscosity mu become small, the damping rate of the Alfven wave remains large and depends only on the amplitude for the scalar potential of the wave spectrum and the wavenumber of the Alfven wave. The damping rate is virtually independent of eta and mu. The wave spectrum need not be turbulent or stochastic to affect the damping rate. The dissipation rate is nonlinear enhanced by nonstochastic spectra as well as by stochastic spectra if two conditions are met. First, the perpendicular magnetic field associated with Alfven wave spectrum must exceed a certain collision-frequency threshold and second, for nonstochastic spectra only, the magnetic field must exceed a threshold proportional to the parallel wavenumber of the shear Alfven wave. These conditions can be easily satisfied in the solar corona.

Kleva, Robert G.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Observations of Radar Backscatter at Ku and C Bands in the Presence of Large Waves during the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment

Ocean radar backscatter in the presence of large waves is investigated using data acquired with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory NUSCAT radar at Ku band for horizontal and vertical polarizations and the University of Massachusetts CSCAT radar at C band for vertical polarization during the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment. Off-nadir backscatter data of ocean surfaces were obtained in the presence of large waves with significant wave height up to 5.6 m. In moderate-wind cases, effects of large waves are not detectable within the measurement uncertainty and no noticeable correlation between backscatter coefficients and wave height is found. Under high-wave light-wind conditions, backscatter is enhanced significantly at large incidence angles with a weaker effect at small incidence angles. Backscatter coefficients in the wind speed range under consideration are compared with SASS-2 (Ku band), CMOD3-H1 (C band), and Plant's model results which confirm the experimental observations. Variations of the friction velocity, which can give rise to the observed backscatter behaviors in the presence of large waves, are presented.

Nghiem, S. V.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Wave Normal and Poynting Vector Calculations using the Cassini Radio and Plasma Wave Instrument

Wave normal and Poynting vector measurements from the Cassini radio and plasma wave instrument (RPWS) are used to examine the propagation characteristics of various plasma waves during the Earth flyby on August 18, 1999. Using the five-channel waveform receiver (WFR), the wave normal vector is determined using the Means method for a lightning-induced whistler, equatorial chorus, and a series of low-frequency emissions observed while Cassini was in the magnetosheath. The Poynting vector for these emissions is also calculated from the five components measured by the WFR. The propagation characteristics of the lightning-induced whistler were found to be consistent with the whistler wave mode of propagation, with propagation antiparallel to the magnetic field (southward) at Cassini. The sferic associated with this whistler was observed by both Cassini and the Stanford VLF group at the Palmer Station in Antarctica. Analysis of the arrival direction of the sferic at the Palmer Station suggests that the lightning stroke is in the same sector as Cassini. Chorus was observed very close (within a few degrees) to the magnetic equator during the flyby. The chorus was found to propagate primarily away from the magnetic equator and was observed to change direction as Cassini crossed the magnetic equator. This suggests that the source region of the chorus is very near the magnetic equator. The low-frequency emission in the magnetosheath has many of the characteristics of lion roars. The average value of the angle between the wave normal vector and the local magnetic field was found to be 16 degrees, and the emissions ranged in frequency from 0. 19 to 0.75 f(sub ce), where f(sub ce) is the electron cyclotron frequency. The wave normal vectors of these waves were primarily in one direction for each individual burst (either parallel or antiparallel to the local field) but varied in direction throughout the magnetosheath. This suggests that the sources of the emissions are far from the spacecraft and that there are multiple source regions.

Hospodarsky, G. B.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Application of monochromatic ocean wave forecasts to prediction of wave-induced currents

The use of monochromatic wind-wave forecasts in prediction of wind-wave-induced currents was assessed. Currents were computed for selected combinations of wind conditions by using a spectrum approach which was developed by using the Bretschneider wave spectrum for partially developed wind seas. These currents were compared with currents computed by using the significant and average monochromatic wave parameters related to the Bretschneider spectrum. Results indicate that forecasts of significant wave parameters can be used to predict surface wind-wave-induced currents. Conversion of these parameters to average wave parameters can furnish reasonable estimates of subsurface current values.

Poole, L. R.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Symmetry and selection rules for wave-wave interactions

Selection rules for nonlinear three-wave interactions are derived on the basis of the symmetry of the background medium and the waves themselves. The process described bypasses the formal derivation of the coupling coefficient itself. The primary concern is with the effect of the polarization of the waves on the selection rules. Although consideration is limited to three-wave interactions, the method is easily generalized to more waves. Results are derived for these examples: three waves with parallel propagation vectors in an unmagnetized medium, and three waves propagating parallel, and then perpendicular, to a static magnetic field.

Harker, K. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Internal gravity waves in the solar atmosphere. I - Adiabatic waves in the chromosphere

The properties of adiabatic and linear internal gravity waves propagating in a solar wind model are discussed, using nonlinearity criteria unique to gravity waves to estimate wave-breaking heights. The results are used to deduce information on the possible role of gravity waves in the chromospheric energy balance. Maximum vertical velocity amplitudes for gravity waves are estimated to be on the order of 2 km/sec or less, and maximum horizontal velocity amplitudes are less than 6 km/sec, with temperature perturbations as large as 1000-2000 K. It is also estimated that gravity waves with an incident energy flux of one million ergs/sq cm-sec can propagate upward to a maximum height of 900-1000 km above the visible surface before nonlinearities lead to wave breaking, while those with an energy flux of 100,000 ergs/sq cm-sec can reach maximum heights of 1400-1600 km.

Mihalas, B. W.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Seasat synthetic aperture radar observations of wave-current and wave-topographic interactions

This study investigated the capability of a spaceborne, imaging radar system to detect subtle changes in the propagation characteristics of ocean wave systems. Specifically, an evolving surface gravity wave system emanating from Hurricane Ella and propagating toward Cape Hatteras, NC, formed the basis of this investigation. This wave system was successfully imaged by the Seasat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) during revolution 974 on September 3, 1978. Estimates of the dominant wavelength and direction of the ocean waves were derived from the SAR data by using optical Fourier transforms. Environmental data of the test area, which included the surface velocity vector within the Gulf Stream, the location of Hurricane Ella, and local bathymetric information, were used in conjunction with the SAR data to form the basis of this comparative study. Favorable agreement was found between wave rays calculated by utilizing theoretical wave-current and wave-topographic interactions and SAR observed dominant wavelength and direction changes across the Gulf Stream and continental shelf.

Meadows, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Some case studies of ocean wave physical processes utilizing the GSFC airborne radar ocean wave spectrometer

The NASA K sub u band Radar Ocean Wave Spectrometer (ROWS) is an experimental prototype of a possible future satellite instrument for low data rate global waves measurements. The ROWS technique, which utilizes short pulse radar altimeters in a conical scan mode near vertical incidence to map the directional slope spectrum in wave number and azimuth, is briefly described. The potential of the technique is illustrated by some specific case studies of wave physical processes utilizing the aircraft ROWS data. These include: (1) an evaluation of numerical hindcast model performance in storm sea conditions, (2) a study of fetch limited wave growth, and (3) a study of the fully developed sea state. Results of these studies, which are briefly summarized, show how directional wave spectral observations from a mobile platform can contribute enormously to our understanding of wave physical processes.

Jackson, F. C.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Conservation laws of wave action and potential enstrophy for Rossby waves in a stratified atmosphere

The evolution of wave energy, enstrophy, and wave motion for atmospheric Rossby waves in a variable mean flow are discussed from a theoretical and pedagogic standpoint. In the absence of mean flow gradients, the wave energy density satisfies a local conservation law, with the appropriate flow velocity being the group velocity. In the presence of mean flow variations, wave energy is not conserved, but wave action is, provided the mean flow is independent of longitude. Wave enstrophy is conserved for arbitrary variations of the mean flow. Connections with Eliassen-Palm flux are also discussed.

Straus, D. M.↗