Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “2 column instrument”

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 91 records · Page 5

Search for soft X-ray emission from SN 1987A with a CCD X-ray imaging spectrometer

The results of soft X-ray observations of SN 1987A over the energy band 0.65-2.0 keV are reported. The upper limits on the soft X-ray flux are inconsistent with an extrapolation of the spectrum measured by the Ginga Satellite to the energy band and require a turnover in the X-ray spectrum between 2 and 4 keV. If this turnover is due to absorption by intervening material, a neutral column density associated with the supernova of at least 2.8 x 10 to the 21st/sq cm is required. The background rate for the Texas Instruments 800 x 800 pixel CCD, measured between 150 and 285 km altitude, was 1.1 counts/sq cm s. The background spectrum has a broad peak at 350 electrons, corresponding to charge deposited in the detector by minimally ionizing particles.

Burrows, D. N.↗

Impact of Satellite Sea Surface Salinity Observations on ENSO Predictions from the GEOS GMAO S2S Forecast System

We assess the impact of satellite sea surface salinity (SSS) observations on dynamical ENSO forecasts. Assimilation of SSS improves the mixed layer depth (MLD) and modulates the Kelvin waves associated with ENSO. In column 2, the initialization differences between experiments that assimilate SSS minus those withholding SSS assimilation are presented. Column 3 shows examples of forecasts generated for the different phases of ENSO. From March to June 2015, the availability of two overlapping satellite SSS instruments, Aquarius and SMAP, allows a unique opportunity to compare and contrast coupled forecasts generated with the benefit of these two satellite SSS observation types. The far right column compares assimilation of Aquarius, SMAP and combined Aquaries and SMAP on forecasts for the 2015 El Nino.

ENSO↗

Troposheric Ozone Derived from Cloud Slicing Technique

In this talk, an overview of the Cloud Slicing Technique for deriving the ozone vertical profile from coincident satellite measurements of cloud top pressure and above cloud column ozone from the total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) instrument will be presented. This technique is an extension of "Convective Cloud Differential (CCD) technique which has been used to derive tropospheric column ozone in the tropics from 1979 to the present time using Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) high density level 2 footprint measurements. The CCD based tropospheric ozone data have provided an unique insight into the temporal variability of ozone in the tropics from the seasonal to decadal time scales including 1997-1998 El Nino event. These data are now available from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via world-wide-web.

Chandra, Sushil↗

The Diffuse Extreme Ultraviolet Background

Observations of the diffuse EUV background towards 138 different directions using the spectrometers aboard the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer satellite (EUVE) have been combined into a spectrum from 150A to 730A and represent an effective exposure of 18 million seconds. There is no significant evidence of any non-local line flux in the resultant spectrum such as that from a hot coronal plasma. These results are inconsistent with the Wisconsin C and B broad-band surveys assuming the source is a logT = 5.8 - 6.1 hot plasma in ionization equilibrium with solar abundances, confirming the previous result of Jelinksy, Vallerga and Edelstein) (hereafter Paper 1) using an observation along the ecliptic with the same instrument. To make these results consistent with the previous broad-band surveys, the plasma responsible for the emission must either be depleted in Fe by a factor of approximately 6, be behind an absorbing slab of neutral H with a column of 2 x 10(exp 19)/sq cm, or not be in collisional ionization equilibrium (CIE). One such non-CIE model (Breitswerdt and Schmutzier) that explains the soft x-ray results is also inconsistent with this EUV data.

Vallerga, John↗

Night and Day: The Opacity of Clouds Measured by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA)

The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) [l] on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft ranged to clouds over the course of nearly two Mars years [2] using an active laser ranging system. While ranging to the surface, the instrument was also able to measure the product of the surface reflectivity with the two-way atmospheric transmission at 1064 nm. Furthermore, the reflectivity has now been mapped over seasonal cycles using the passive radiometric capability built into MOLA [3]. Combining these measurements, the column opacity may be inferred. MOLA uniquely provides these measurements both night and day. This study examines the pronounced nighttime opacity of the aphelion season tropical water ice clouds, and the indiscernibly low opacity of the southern polar winter clouds. The water ice clouds (Figure 1) do not themselves trigger the altimeter but have measured opacities tau > 1.5 and are temporally and spatially correlated with temperature anomalies predicted by a Mars Global Circulation Model (MGCM) that incorporates cloud radiative effects [4]. The south polar CO2 ice clouds trigger the altimeter with a very high backscatter cross-section over a thickness of 3-9 m and are vertically dispersed over several km, but their total column opacities lie well below the MOLA measurement limit of tau = 0.7. These clouds correspond to regions of supercooled atmosphere that may form either very large specularly reflecting particles [2] or very compact, dense concentrations (>5x10(exp 6)/cu m) of 100-p particles

Neumann, G. A.↗

Using Satellite Data to Identify the Methane Emission Controls of South Sudan's Wetlands

The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) provides observations of atmospheric methane (CH4) at an unprecedented combination of high spatial resolution and daily global coverage. Hu et al. (2018) reported unexpectedly large methane enhancements over South Sudan in these observations. Here we assess methane emissions from the wetlands of South Sudan using 2 years (December 2017–November 2019) of TROPOMI total column methane observations. We estimate annual wetland emissions of 7.4 ± 3.2 Tg yr−1, which agrees with the multiyear GOSAT inversions of Lunt et al. (2019) but is an order of magnitude larger than estimates from wetland process models. This disagreement may be explained by the underestimation (by up to 4 times) of inundation extent by the hydrological schemes used in those models. We investigate the seasonal cycle of the emissions and find the lowest emissions during the June–August season when the process models show the largest emissions. Using satellite-altimetry-based river water height measurements, we infer that this seasonal mismatch is likely due to a seasonal mismatch in inundation extent. In models, inundation extent is controlled by regional precipitation scaled to static wetland extent maps, whereas the actual inundation extent is driven by water inflow from rivers like the White Nile and the Sobat. We find the lowest emissions in the highest precipitation and lowest temperature season (June–August, JJA) when models estimate large emissions. In general, our emission estimates show better agreement in terms of both seasonal cycle and annual mean with model estimates that use a stronger temperature dependence. This suggests that temperature might be a stronger control for the South Sudan wetlands emissions than currently assumed by models. Our findings demonstrate the use of satellite instruments for quantifying emissions from inaccessible and uncertain tropical wetlands, providing clues for the improvement of process models and thereby improving our understanding of the currently uncertain contribution of wetlands to the global methane budget.

methane emission↗

Improved Satellite Retrievals of NO2 and SO2 over the Canadian Oil Sands and Comparisons with Surface Measurements

Satellite remote sensing is increasingly being used to monitor air quality over localized sources such as the Canadian oil sands. Following an initial study, significantly low biases have been identified in current NO2 and SO2 retrieval products from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite sensor over this location resulting from a combination of its rapid development and small spatial scale. Air mass factors (AMFs) used to convert line-of-sight "slant" columns to vertical columns were re-calculated for this region based on updated and higher resolution input information including absorber profiles from a regional-scale (15 km × 15 km resolution) air quality model, higher spatial and temporal resolution surface reflectivity, and an improved treatment of snow. The overall impact of these new Environment Canada (EC) AMFs led to substantial increases in the peak NO2 and SO2 average vertical column density (VCD), occurring over an area of intensive surface mining, by factors of 2 and 1.4, respectively, relative to estimates made with previous AMFs. Comparisons are made with long-term averages of NO2 and SO2 (2005-2011) from in situ surface monitors by using the air quality model to map the OMI VCDs to surface concentrations. This new OMI-EC product is able to capture the spatial distribution of the in situ instruments (slopes of 0.65 to 1.0, correlation coefficients of greater than 0.9). The concentration absolute values from surface network observations were in reasonable agreement, with OMI-EC NO2 and SO2 biased low by roughly 30%. Several complications were addressed including correction for the interference effect in the surface NO2 instruments and smoothing and clear-sky biases in the OMI measurements. Overall these results highlight the importance of using input information that accounts for the spatial and temporal variability of the location of interest when performing retrievals.

surface concentration↗

Top-Down NOx Emissions of European Cities Based on the Downwind Plume of Modelled and Space-Borne Tropospheric NO2 Columns

Top-down estimates of surface NOX emissions were derived for 23 European cities based on the downwind plume decay of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) columns from the LOTOS-EUROS (Long Term Ozone Simulation-European Ozone Simulation) chemistry transport model (CTM) and from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite retrievals, averaged for the summertime period (April-September) during 2013. Here we show that the top-down NOX emissions derived from LOTOS-EUROS for European urban areas agree well with the bottom-up NOX emissions from the MACC-III inventory data (R(exp 2) = 0.88) driving the CTM demonstrating the potential of this method. OMI top-down NOX emissions over the 23 European cities are generally lower compared with the MACC-III emissions and their correlation is slightly lower (R(exp 2) = 0.79). The uncertainty on the derived NO2 lifetimes and NOX emissions are on average ~55% for OMI and ~63% for LOTOS-EUROS data. The downwind NO2 plume method applied on both LOTOS-EUROS and OMI tropospheric NO2 columns allows to estimate NOX emissions from urban areas, demonstrating that this is a useful method for real-time updates of urban NOX emissions with reasonable accuracy.

NOx emissions↗

The NASA participation in the 1980 EPA PEPE/NEROS field measurements program

The Persistent Elevated Pollution Episode (PEPE)/Northeast Regional Oxidant Study (NEROS) Project consisted of a series of field measurements sponsored by the EPA during July and August, 1980. NASA participation in the Project had several purposes: (1) use remote sensing to help determine mixed layer height and ozone profiles regionally; and (2) provide opportunity for development, testing and evaluation of several NASA 'emerging' airborne remote sensing systems. NASA also provided information on the hazy pollution episodes throughout the summer of 1980 with satellite imagery. This paper describes findings on atmospheric aerosols, ozone profile and ozone column and discusses the instruments (airborne and ground-based sensors) and techniques used to obtain the relevant data. Associated archived data is also discussed.

Remsberg, E.↗

Nimbus 7 solar backscatter ultraviolet (SBUV) ozone products user's guide

Three ozone tape products from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) experiment aboard Nimbus 7 were archived at the National Space Science Data Center. The experiment measures the fraction of incoming radiation backscattered by the Earth's atmosphere at 12 wavelengths. In-flight measurements were used to monitor changes in the instrument sensitivity. Total column ozone is derived by comparing the measurements with calculations of what would be measured for different total ozone amounts. The altitude distribution is retrieved using an optimum statistical technique for the inversion. The estimated initial error in the absolute scale for total ozone is 2 percent, with a 3 percent drift over 8 years. The profile error depends on latitude and height, smallest at 3 to 10 mbar; the drift increases with increasing altitude. Three tape products are described. The High Density SBUV (HDSBUV) tape contains the final derived products - the total ozone and the vertical ozone profile - as well as much detailed diagnostic information generated during the retrieval process. The Compressed Ozone (CPOZ) tape contains only that subset of HDSBUV information, including total ozone and ozone profiles, considered most useful for scientific studies. The Zonal Means Tape (ZMT) contains daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly averages of the derived quantities over 10 deg latitude zones.

Fleig, Albert J.↗

The Sensitivity of U.S. Surface Ozone Formation to NOx, and VOCs as Viewed from Space

We investigated variations in the sensitivity of surface ozone formation in summer to precursor species concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) as inferred from the ratio of tropospheric columns of formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The data indicate that ozone formation became: 1. more sensitive to NO(x) over most of the U.S, from 2005 to 2007 because of substantial decreases in NO(x) emissions primarily from stationary sources, and 2. more sensitive to NO(x) with increasing temperature, in part because emissions of highly reactive, biogenic isoprene increase with temperature, thus increasing the total VOC reactivity. Based on our interpretation of the data, current strategies implemented to reduce unhealthy levels of surface ozone should focus more on reducing NO(x) emissions, except in some downtown areas which have historically benefited from reductions in VOC emissions.

Duncan, Bryan N.↗

Has NO(2) in Metropolitan Areas Returned to Pre-COVID-19 Levels as Measured by OMI Satellite Data?

Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) are primarily emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels, such as automobiles and power plants. NOx can contribute to chemical reactions that produce ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution. Using tropospheric vertical column density (TVCD) NO2 data from satellite hyperspectral instruments, such as the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board NASA’s EOS Aura satellite, one can monitor changes in NO2 pollution during “black-swan” events, such as mobility restrictions during COVID-19 lockdowns. Our OMI team has created the Global Nitrogen Dioxide Monitoring Home Page (https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/no2/no2_index.html ) where we display NO2 TVCD time series, animated maps, and COVID-specific NO2 anomalies comparing to a pre-COVID five-year average for 317 cities and regions around the world. During the pandemic as a result of the widespread lockdowns, many areas saw low NO2 anomalies superimposed on the natural weather related NO2 changes, such as seasonal NO2 cycle. Has NO2 levels returned to pre-Covid-19 levels in large metropolitan areas? We analyze NO2 time series from March through September for the years 2020-2023 using as a reference the average NO2 from 2015-2019 for those months. We will present data from selected cities that represent all countries.

Keith D Evans↗

Airborne Sunphotometer Measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth and Water Vapor in ACE-Asia and Their Comparisons to Correlative Measurements

In the Spring 2001 phase of the Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia), the 6-channel NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-6) operated on 15 of the 19 research flights of the NCAR C-130, while its 14-channel counterpart (AATS-14) flew successfully on all 19 research flights of the CIRPAS Twin Otter. ACE-Asia studied aerosol outflow from the Asian continent to the Pacific basin. It was designed to integrate suborbital and satellite measurements and models to reduce the uncertainty in calculations of the climate forcing due to aerosols. AATS-6 and AATS-14 measured solar beam transmission at six and 14 wavelengths (380-1021 and 354-1558 nm, respectively), yielding aerosol optical depth (AOD) spectra and columnar water vapor (CWV). Vertical differentiation in profiles yielded aerosol extinction spectra and water vapor concentration. In this paper, we plan to present examples of the following, preliminary findings that are based in part on our airborne sunphotometer measurements: (1) The wavelength dependence of sunphotometer-derived AOD and extinction indicates that supermicron dust was often a major component of the aerosol, frequently extending to high altitudes. The percentage of full-column AOD (525 nm) that Jay above 3 km was typically 34+/-13%. In contrast, the analogous percentage of columnar water vapor was only 10+/-4%; (2) Initial comparison studies between AOD data obtained by AATS-6 and AATS-14 during coordinated low-level flight legs show agreement well within the instruments' error bars; (3) Aerosol extinction has been derived from airborne in situ measurements of scattering (nephelometers) and absorption (particle soot/ absorption photometer, PSAP) or calculated from particle size distribution measurements (mobility analyzers and aerodynamic particle sizers). Comparison with corresponding extinction values derived from the Ames airborne sunphotometer measurements shows good agreement for the vertical distribution of aerosol layers. However, the level of agreement in absolute magnitude of the derived aerosol extinction/optical depth varied among the aerosol layers sampled; (4) Initial comparisons of sunphotometer and satellite-derived AOD using SeaWiFS, MISR and AVHRR show promising results. We also plan to include comparisons with MODIS and TOMS: (5) Initial comparisons of sunphotometer-derived AOD and aerosol extinction profiles with lidars in Tokyo and on a ship show reasonable agreement.

Schmid, B.↗

Satellite Remote-Sensing Capability to Assess Tropospheric-Column Ratios of Formaldehyde and Nitrogen Dioxide: Case Study During the Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study 2018 (LISTOS 2018) Field Campaign

Satellite retrievals of tropospheric-column formaldehyde (HCHO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) are frequently used to investigate the sensitivity of ozone (O 3 ) production to emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic carbon compounds. This study inter-compared the systematic biases and uncertainties in retrievals of NO 2 and HCHO, as well as resulting HCHO–NO 2 ratios (FNRs), from two commonly applied satellite sensors to investigate O 3 production sensitivities (Ozone Monitoring Instrument, OMI, and TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument, TROPOMI) using airborne remote-sensing data taken during the Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study 2018 between 25 June and 6 September 2018. Compared to aircraft-based HCHO and NO 2 observations, the accuracy of OMI and TROPOMI were magnitude-dependent with high biases in clean environments and a tendency towards more accurate comparisons to even low biases in moderately polluted to polluted regions. OMI and TROPOMI NO 2 systematic biases were similar in magnitude (normalized median bias, NMB = 5 %–6 %; linear regression slope ≈ 0.5–0.6), with OMI having a high median bias and TROPOMI resulting in small low biases. Campaign-averaged uncertainties in the three satellite retrievals (NASA OMI; Quality Assurance for Essential Climate Variables, QA4ECV OMI; and TROPOMI) of NO 2 were generally similar, with TROPOMI retrievals having slightly less spread in the data compared to OMI. The three satellite products differed more when evaluating HCHO retrievals. Campaign-averaged tropospheric HCHO retrievals all had linear regression slopes ∼0.5 and NMBs of 39 %, 17 %, 13 %, and 23 % for NASA OMI, QA4ECV OMI, and TROPOMI at finer (0.05° x 0.05°) and coarser (0.15° x 0.15°) spatial resolution, respectively. Campaign-averaged uncertainty values (root mean square error, RMSE) in NASA and QA4ECV OMI HCHO retrievals were ~9.0 x 10 15 molecules cm –2 (∼ 50 %–55 % of mean column abundance), and the higher-spatial-resolution retrievals from TROPOMI resulted in RMSE values ∼30 % lower. Spatially averaging TROPOMI tropospheric-column HCHO, along with NO 2 and FNRs, to resolutions similar to the OMI reduced the uncertainty in these retrievals. Systematic biases in OMI and TROPOMI NO 2 and HCHO retrievals tended to cancel out, resulting in all three satellite products comparing well to observed FNRs. However, while satellite-derived FNRs had minimal campaign-averaged median biases, unresolved errors in the indicator species did not cancel out in FNR calculations, resulting in large RMSE values compared to observations. Uncertainties in HCHO retrievals were determined to drive the unresolved biases in FNR retrievals.

Matthew S. Johnson↗

M2-SCREAM: A Stratospheric Composition Reanalysis of Aura MLS Data With MERRA-2 Transport

MERRA-2 Stratospheric Composition Reanalysis of Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (M2-SCREAM) is a new reanalysis of stratospheric ozone, water vapor, hydrogen chloride (HCl), nitric acid (HNO 3 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) between 2004 and the present (with a latency of several months). The assimilated fields are provided at a 50-km horizontal resolution and at a three-hourly frequency. M2-SCREAM assimilates version 4.2 Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) profiles of the five constituents alongside total ozone column from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument. Dynamics and tropospheric water vapor are constrained by the MERRA-2 reanalysis. The assimilated species are in excellent agreement with the MLS observations, except for HNO 3 in polar night, where data are not assimilated. Comparisons against independent observations show that the reanalysis realistically captures the spatial and temporal variability of all the assimilated constituents. In particular, the standard deviations of the differences between M2-SCREAM and constituent mixing ratio data from The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer are much smaller than the standard deviations of the measured constituents. Evaluation of the reanalysis against aircraft data and balloon-borne frost point hygrometers indicates a faithful representation of small-scale structures in the assimilated water vapor, HNO 3 and ozone fields near the tropopause. Comparisons with independent observations and a process-based analysis of the consistency of the assimilated constituent fields with the MERRA-2 dynamics and with large-scale stratospheric processes demonstrate the utility of M2-SCREAM for scientific studies of chemical and transport variability on time scales ranging from hours to decades. Analysis uncertainties and guidelines for data usage are provided.

MERRA-2↗

Investigation of NO2 Measurements Made During DISCOVER-AQ and KORUS-AQ Campaigns in Conjunction with NO2 Tropospheric Column from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and High-Resolution Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model Simulation

Atmospheric NO2 is produced by combustion, lightning, and in soil. NO2 affects ozone production and criteria pollutant itself.It also has indirect radiative impacts in the troposphere, since ozone has largest warming effect in upper troposphere. Tropospheric vertical column densities (VCD) of NO2 are available from satellites (GOME, OMI, SCIAMACHY, GOME-2). DISCOVER-AQ and KORUS-AQ aircraft campaigns we reconducted to improve the use of satellites to monitor air quality for public health and environmental benefit in United States and South Korea. In this study, we investigate 1) How do these measurements compare? 2) What is the best way to make comparisons of space- and ground-based measurements?

multi-scale air quality↗

Nimbus-7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data products user's guide

Two tape products from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aboard the Nimbus-7 have been archived at the National Space Science Data Center. The instrument measures backscattered Earth radiance and incoming solar irradiance; their ratio -- the albedo -- is used in ozone retrievals. In-flight measurements are used to monitor changes in the instrument sensitivity. The algorithm to retrieve total column ozone compares the observed ratios of albedos at pairs of wavelengths with pair ratios calculated for different ozone values, solar zenith angles, and optical paths. The initial error in the absolute scale for TOMS total ozone is 3 percent, the one standard-deviation random error is 2 percent, and the drift is +/- 1.5 percent over 14.5 years. The High Density TOMS (HDTOMS) tape contains the measured albedos, the derived total ozone amount, reflectivity, and cloud-height information for each scan position. It also contains an index of SO2 contamination for each position. The Gridded TOMS (GRIDTOMS) tape contains daily total ozone and reflectivity in roughly equal area grids (110 km in latitude by about 100-150 km in longitude). Detailed descriptions of the tape structure and record formats are provided.

Mcpeters, Richard D.↗

Science Objectives of EOS-Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

OMI is a UV/VIS nadir solar backscatter spectrograph, which provides near global coverage in one day with a spatial resolution of 13 x 24 sq km. OMI is a new instrument, with a heritage from the European satellite instruments GOME, GOMOS and SCIAMACHY. OMI's unique capabilities for measuring important trace gases with a small footprint and daily global coverage, in conjunction with the other Aura instruments, will make a major contribution to our understanding of stratospheric and tropospheric chemistry and climate change. OMI will measure solar irradiance and Earth radiances in the wavelength range of 270 to 500 nm with spectral resolution of about 0.5 nm and a spectral sampling of about 2-3 per FWHM. From these observations, total columns of O3, NO2, BrO and SO2 will be derived from the back-scattered solar radiance using differential absorption spectroscopy (DOAS). The TOMS total ozone record will also be continued by employing the well established TOMS algorithm. Because of the high accuracy and spatial resolution of the measurements, a good estimate of tropospheric amounts of ozone and NO2 are expected. Ozone profiles will be derived using the optimal estimation method. The spectral aerosol optical depth will be determined from measurements between 340 and 500 nm. This will provide information on aerosol concentration, aerosol size distribution and aerosol type. This wavelength range makes it possible to retrieve aerosol information over both land and sea. OMI observations will also allow retrievals of cloud coverage and cloud heights. From these products, the UV-B flux at the surface can then be derived with high spatial resolution.

Levelt, P. F.↗