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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.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

An energy balance climate model with cloud feedbacks

The present two-level global climate model, which is based on the atmosphere-surface energy balance, includes physically based parameterizations for the exchange of heat and moisture across latitude belts and between the surface and the atmosphere, precipitation and cloud formation, and solar and IR radiation. The model field predictions obtained encompass surface and atmospheric temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and cloudiness. In the model integrations presented, it is noted that cloudiness is generally constant with changing temperature at low latitudes. High altitude cloudiness increases with temperature, although the cloud feedback effect on the radiation field remains small because of compensating effects on thermal and solar radiation. The net global feedback by the cloud field is negative, but small.

Roads, J. O.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Satellite Beach Energy - Restructuring the Energy Balance in Satellite Beach, Florida, by Quantifying Solar Energy Production Potential using NASA POWER Data Products and LiDAR

The City of Satellite Beach, Florida, has committed to supplying 100% of its energy use from renewable energy, primarily solar, by the year 2050. The team created a methodology for estimating rooftop solar power potential using a high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) dataset and the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) dataset to assist Satellite Beach in reaching their solar renewable energy goals. The POWER dataset provides information on direct and diffuse solar irradiation on horizontal surfaces, surface albedo, and effects of local meteorology, such as clouds. The team integrated the solar irradiance data with the LiDAR data to model slope, aspect, and shadowing in the 7 km2 study area to find suitable roof segments for solar panel installation and estimate the solar potential of each segment. This process was supplemented by an analysis of land surface temperature and urban greenness measured through the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIRS) observations. These metrics serve to target areas for cooling initiatives aimed at reducing Satellite Beach’s overall energy consumption. The team found the total rooftop solar potential throughout the city to be 221,919,330KWh per year with an average annual rooftop photovoltaic, or PV, potential of 55,647KWh per building. As such, the average building could generate over five times the annual energy needs for an average household if PV panels were installed on all viable areas of its roof.

Spencer Nelson↗
NASA NTRS1993

Energy balance in the solar transition region. III - Helium emission in hydrostatic, constant-abundance models with diffusion

In our previous papers we described the mathematical formalism and the computed results for energy-balance hydrostatic models of the solar transition region. In this paper we discuss in some detail the limitations of the hydrostatic and one-dimensional assumptions used. Then we analyze the determination of helium emission when diffusion is included. We use transport coefficients estimated from kinetic theory to determine the helium departures from local ionization balance. We calculate the helium spectra for each of our models and evaluate the role of helium in the energy transport. Also, we investigate the effects of coronal illumination on the structure of the transition region and upper chromosphere, and show how coronal illumination affects various EUV lines and the He I 10830 A line. Comparing with both absolute intensities and detailed line profiles, we show that our models are consistent not only with the observed hydrogen spectra but also with the available helium spectra.

Fontenla, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

An energy-balance model with multiply-periodic and quasi-chaotic free oscillations

A slightly modified version of the one-dimensional time-dependent energy-balance climate model of Ghil and Bhattacharya (1978) is presented. The albedo-temperature parameterization has been reformulated and the smoothing of the temperature distribution in the tropics has been eliminated. The model albedo depends on time-lagged temperature in order to account for finite growth and decay time of continental ice sheets. Two distinct regimes of oscillatory behavior which depend on the value of the albedo-temperature time lag are considered.

Bhattacharya, K.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Seasonal meridional energy balance and thermal structure of the atmosphere of Uranus - A radiative-convective-dynamical model

A model is presented for the thermodynamics of the seasonal meridional energy balance and thermal structure of the Uranian atmosphere. The model considers radiation and small-scale convection, and dynamical heat fluxes due to large-scale baroclinic eddies. Phase oscillations with a period of 0.5 Uranian year are discerned in the total internal power and global enthalpy storage. The variations in the identity of the main transport agent with the magnitude of the internal heat source are discussed. It is shown that meridional heat transport in the atmosphere is sufficient to lower seasonal horizontal temperature contrasts below those predicted with radiative-convection models.

Friedson, James↗
NASA NTRS1982

Climate studies with a multi-layer energy balance model. I - Model description and sensitivity to the solar constant. II - The role of feedback mechanisms in the CO2 problem

A nine-layer zonally averaged, steady-state model, based upon thermal energy balance, is developed for use in climate sensitivity studies and includes an accurate treatment of radiative transfer, parameterized meridional and vertical energy transport, and thermodynamic interaction between the surface and the atmosphere. A high degree of nonlinearity is exhibited by the model in a study of sensitivity to changes in the solar constant. The change in the hemispheric mean surface temperature is +3.1 C in response to a 2% increase in the solar constant and -4.3 C in response to a 2% decrease in the solar constant. The sensitivity varies with latitude, and the response of atmospheric temperature varies with height. In addition, the model is used to study the sensitivity of climate to a doubling of the atmospheric CO2 content. It is found that the tropospheric temperature lapse rate decreases at low latitudes but increases at high latitudes in response to a doubled CO2 content. Averaged over the Northern Hemisphere, the change is +2.3 C in the surface temperature and +0.47 C in the earth's brightness temperature. The effects of some feedback mechanisms on the climate sensitivity to a doubled CO2 content show that the sensitivity of surface temperature approximately doubles at all latitudes due to the change in water vapor content.

Peng, L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Regional earth-atmosphere energy balance estimates based on assimilations with a GCM

The Oort and Vonder Haar (1976) column-budget technique is presently used to evaluate the physical consistency and accuracy of regional earth-atmosphere energy balance estimates for (1) atmospheric budget terms, (2) net radiation at the top of the atmosphere, and (3) time tendency and flux divergence of energy, for Special Observing Periods of the FGGE year. It is found that, during winter, the midlatitude oceans supply large quantities of energy to the overlying atmosphere, which then transports the energy to the continental heat-sinks; the energy flows in the opposite direction during summer.

Alexander, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Understanding metabolic alterations in space flight using quantitative models - Fluid and energy balance

The results of an integrated multidisciplinary and multiexperimental investigation, using data from the Skylab program, of metabolic adaptation to space flight are summarized and discussed. The effects of space flight on fluid-electrolyte regulation, mechanisms of hormone disturbances, energy balance, and the etiology of weight loss are emphasized. A composite picture of the fluid, electrolyte, and energy response to weightlessness, based primarily on data gathered from the nine Skylab crewmen, is presented.

Leonard, J. I.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Energy balance and the composition of weight loss during prolonged space flight

Integrated metabolic balance analysis, Skylab integrated metabolic balance analysis and computer simulation of fluid-electrolyte responses to zero-g, overall mission weight and tissue losses, energy balance, diet and exercise, continuous changes, electrolyte losses, caloric and exercise requirements, and body composition are discussed.

Leonard, J. I.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Energy balance in a magnetically confined coronal structure observed by OSO-7

A model of a coronal region of enhanced Fe XV and Fe XVI emission is developed and its energy balance is examined using extreme ultraviolet observations from OSO-7 together with calculations of possible force-free coronal magnetic field configurations. The coronal emissions overlying the photospheric boundary between regions of opposite magnetic polarity are found to be associated with generally nonpotential (current-carrying) magnetic fields in the forms of arches with footpoints in regions of opposite polarity. The orientation of these arches relative to the neutral line changes with degree of ionization of the emitting ion (which we infer from our limb observations to be a function of height) and may be evidence of differing electric currents along various field lines. The appearance of a coronal arch, seen side-on, can conveniently be represented by a parabola and a detailed analysis shows this to be a realistic approximation that should be generally useful in analyzing two-dimensional pictures of coronal structures.

Neupert, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Simple energy balance model resolving the seasons and the continents - Application to the astronomical theory of the ice ages

An analysis is undertaken of the properties of a one-level seasonal energy balance climate model having explicit, two-dimensional land-sea geography, where land and sea surfaces are strictly distinguished by the local thermal inertia employed and transport is governed by a smooth, latitude-dependent diffusion mechanism. Solutions of the seasonal cycle for the cases of both ice feedback exclusion and inclusion yield good agreements with real data, using minimal turning of the adjustable parameters. Discontinuous icecap growth is noted for both a solar constant that is lower by a few percent and a change of orbital elements to favor cool Northern Hemisphere summers. This discontinuous sensitivity is discussed in the context of the Milankovitch theory of the ice ages, and the associated branch structure is shown to be analogous to the 'small ice cap' instability of simpler models.

North, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Sensitivity of an energy balance climate model with predicted snowfall rates

A snowfall parameterization and a polar-ice-sheet model are developed and applied to the two-level zonally averaged seasonal energy-balance climate model of Held and Suarez (1979), and sensitivity experiments involving changes in insolation are performed both with and without ice sheets. The results are presented in tables and graphs, and the hydrological-cycle response to insolation changes is found to be similar to that predicted by global-circulation models employing prescribed precipitation levels, with a somewhat higher sensitivity in the snow line. The area covered by ice sheets in the ice-sheet models is shown to be greater than that covered by permanent snow in the models without ice sheets, an effect attributed to lower surface temperatures over the ice. It is inferred that an increase in the solar constant can cause increased high-latitude precipitation but not an ice age.

Bowman, K. P.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Enthalpy By Energy Balance for Aerodynamic Heating Facility at NASA Ames Research Center Arc Jet Complex

The NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Arc Jet Facilities' Aerodynamic Heating Facility (AHF) has been instrumented for the Enthalpy By Energy Balance (EB2) method. Diagnostic EB2 data is routinely taken for all AHF runs. This paper provides an overview of the EB2 method implemented in the AHF. The chief advantage of the AHF implementation over earlier versions is the non-intrusiveness of the instruments used. For example, to measure the change in cooling water temperature, thin film 1000 ohm Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs) are used with an Anderson Current Loop (ACL) as the signal conditioner. The ACL with 1000 ohm RTDs allows for very sensitive measurement of the increase in temperature (Delta T) of the cooling water to the arc heater, which is a critical element of the EB2 method. Cooling water flow rates are measured with non-intrusive ultrasonic flow meters.

Hightower, T. Mark↗
NASA NTRS1950

Amplitude distribution and energy balance of small disturbances in plate flow

The distribution of the correlation coefficient and of the amplitude of the disturbance velocities is calculated as a function of the distance from the wall for two neutral disturbances, one at the lower and one at the upper branch of the neutral stability curve. The energy balance of the disturbance motion is also investigated and it is found that as required for neutral stability the energy of the disturbance motion that is dissipated by viscosity is equal to the energy transferred to the disturbance motion from the main flow during one cycle.

FLOW, LAMINAR - STABILITY↗
NASA NTRS2001

Sensitivity of the Tropical Atmospheric Energy Balance to ENSO-Related SST Changes: Comparison of Climate Model Simulations to Observed Responses

This paper focuses on how fresh water and radiative fluxes over the tropical oceans change during ENSO warm and cold events and how these changes affect the tropical energy balance. At present, ENSO remains the most prominent known mode of natural variability at interannual time scales. While this natural perturbation to climate is quite distinct from possible anthropogenic changes in climate, adjustments in the tropical water and energy budgets during ENSO may give insight into feedback processes involving water vapor and cloud feedbacks. Although great advances have been made in understanding this phenomenon and realizing prediction skill over the past decade, our ability to document the coupled water and energy changes observationally and to represent them in climate models seems far from settled (Soden, 2000 J Climate). In a companion paper we have presented observational analyses, based principally on space-based measurements which document systematic changes in rainfall, evaporation, and surface and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes. Here we analyze several contemporary climate models run with observed SSTs over recent decades and compare SST-induced changes in radiation, precipitation, evaporation, and energy transport to observational results. Among these are the NASA / NCAR Finite Volume Model, the NCAR Community Climate Model, the NCEP Global Spectral Model, and the NASA NSIPP Model. Key disagreements between model and observational results noted in the recent literature are shown to be due predominantly to observational shortcomings. A reexamination of the Langley 8-Year Surface Radiation Budget data reveals errors in the SST surface longwave emission due to biased SSTs. Subsequent correction allows use of this data set along with ERBE TOA fluxes to infer net atmospheric radiative heating. Further analysis of recent rainfall algorithms provides new estimates for precipitation variability in line with interannual evaporation changes inferred from the da Silva, Young, Levitus COADS analysis. The overall results from our analysis suggest an increase (decrease) of the hydrologic cycle during ENSO warm (cold) events at the rate of about 5 W/sq m per K of SST change. Model results agree reasonably well with this estimate of sensitivity. This rate is slightly less than that which would be expected for constant relative humidity over the tropical oceans. There remain, however, significant quantitative uncertainties in cloud forcing changes in the models as compared to observations. These differences are examined in relationship to model convection and cloud parameterizations Analysis of the possible sampling and measurement errors compared to systematic model errors is also presented.

Robertson, Franklin R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Atmospheric correction of LANDSAT TM thermal band using surface energy balance

Thermal infrared data of LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) are hardly used, probably due to the difficulties met when trying to correct them for atmospheric effects. A method for correcting these data was designed, based on surface energy balance estimation of known wet and dry targets included in the TM image to be corrected. This method, only using the image itself and local meteorological data was tested and validated on various surfaces: agricultural, forest and rangeland. The root mean square error on corrected temperatures is on the order of 1C.

Vidal, Alain↗
NASA NTRS1986

Understanding metabolic alterations in space flight using quantitative models: fluid and energy balance

This report summarizes many of the results obtained during the Skylab program, on metabolic changes during weightlessness. The examination of the data was conducted following an integrated multi-disciplinary and multi-experimental approach. Emphasis is given on several major aspects of metabolic adaptation to space flight: fluid-electrolyte regulation, mechanisms of hormone disturbances, energy balance and etiology of weight loss. The aim is to obtain a composite picture of the fluid, electrolyte and energy response to weightlessness.

Non-NASA Center↗