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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
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NASA NTRS1999

Global Precipitation during the 1997-98 El Nino and Initiation of the 1998-99 La Nina

The 1997-99 ENSO (El nino Southern Oscillation) cycle was very powerful, but also well observed. The best satellite rainfall estimates combined with gauge observations allow for a global analysis of precipitation anomalies accompanying the 1997-98 El Nino and initiation of the 1998-99 La Nina. For the period April 1997 to March 1998 the central to eastern Pacific, southeastern and western U.S., Argentina, eastern Africa, South China, eastern Russia, and North Atlantic were all more than two standard deviations wetter than normal. During the same year the Maritime Continent, eastern Indian Ocean, subtropical North Pacific, northeastern South America, and much of the mid- latitude southern oceans were more than two standard deviations drier than normal. An analysis of the evolution of the El Nino and accompanying precipitation anomalies revealed that a dry Maritime Continent led the formation of the El Nino SST (Sea Surface Temperature), while in the central Pacific, precipitation anomalies lagged the El Nino SST by a season. A rapid transition from El Nino to La Nina occurred in May 1998, but as early as October-November 1997 precipitation indices captured precursor changes in Pacific rainfall anomalies. Differences were found between observed and modeled [NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis] precipitation anomalies for 1997 and 98. In particular, the model had a bias towards positive precipitation anomalies and the magnitudes of the anomalies in the equatorial Pacific were small compared to the observations. Also, the evolution of the precipitation field, including the drying of the Maritime Continent and eastward progression of rainfall in the equatorial Pacific, was less pronounced for the model compared to the observations. One degree daily estimates of rainfall show clearly the MaddenJulian Oscillation and related westerly wind burst events over the Maritime Continent, which are key indicators for the onset of El Nino.

Curtis, Scott↗
NASA NTRS2003

STS-107 Mission Highlights Resource, Part 3 of 4

This video, Part 3 of 4, shows the activities of the STS-107 crew during flight days 9 through 12 of the Columbia orbiter's final flight. The crew consists of Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Mission Specialists David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon. On flight day 9 David Brown and other crew members are at work on experiments in the Spacehab research module, and imagery is shown from the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX) on a pass over North Africa and the Horn of Africa. Ilan Ramon narrates part of the footage from flight day 10, and intravehicular activities of the astronauts onboard Columbia are shown, as well as views of the Gulf of Aden, and Lake Chad, which is seen with the back of the orbiter in the foreground. Rick Husband narrates the footage from day 11, which includes cleaning duties and maintenance, as well as an excellent view of the Sinai Peninsula, Israel, and Jordan, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aqaba. The highlight of flight day 12 is a conversation between Columbia's crew and the crew of the International Space Station (ISS). A special section of Earth views at the end of the video shows: 1) Atlantic Ocean, Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean Sea, Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, and Algeria; 2) Baja Peninsula; 3) Cyprus and Mediterranean Sea; 4) Florida; 5) Earth limb and Pacific Ocean; 6) North Carolina Outer Banks, Cape Hatteras, and Atlantic Ocean; 7) Houston with zoom out to Texas and Louisiana; 8) Mt. Vesuvius (Italy); 9) Earth limb and Atlantic Ocean; 10) Earth limb and terminator, and Pacific Ocean; 11) Saudia Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and Arabian Sea.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2009

Comparison of GOES Cloud Classification Algorithms Employing Explicit and Implicit Physics

Cloud-type classification based on multispectral satellite imagery data has been widely researched and demonstrated to be useful for distinguishing a variety of classes using a wide range of methods. The research described here is a comparison of the classifier output from two very different algorithms applied to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) data over the course of one year. The first algorithm employs spectral channel thresholding and additional physically based tests. The second algorithm was developed through a supervised learning method with characteristic features of expertly labeled image samples used as training data for a 1-nearest-neighbor classification. The latter's ability to identify classes is also based in physics, but those relationships are embedded implicitly within the algorithm. A pixel-to-pixel comparison analysis was done for hourly daytime scenes within a region in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Considerable agreement was found in this analysis, with many of the mismatches or disagreements providing insight to the strengths and limitations of each classifier. Depending upon user needs, a rule-based or other postprocessing system that combines the output from the two algorithms could provide the most reliable cloud-type classification.

EXPLICIT PHYSICS ALGORITHMS↗
NASA NTRS1989

Low frequency oscillations in total ozone measurements

Low frequency oscillations with periods of approximately one to two months are found in eight years of global grids of total ozone data from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) satellite instrument. The low frequency oscillations corroborate earlier analyses based on four years of data. In addition, both annual and seasonal one-point correlation maps based on the 8-year TOMS data are presented. The results clearly show a standing dipole in ozone perturbations, oscillating with 35 to 50 day periods over the equatorial Indian Ocean-west Pacific region. This contrasts with the eastward moving dipole reported in other data sets. The standing ozone dipole appears to be a dynamical feature associated with vertical atmospheric motions. Consistent with prior analyses based on lower stratospheric temperature fields, large-scale standing patterns are also found in the extratropics of both hemispheres, correlated with ozone fluctuations over the equatorial west Pacific. In the Northern Hemisphere, a standing pattern is observed extending from the tropical Indian Ocean to the north Pacific, across North America, and down to the equatorial Atlantic Ocean region. This feature is most pronounced in the NH summer.

Gao, X. H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Low-frequency oscillations in total ozone measurements

Low frequency oscillations with periods of approximately one to two months are found in eight years of global grids of total ozone data from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) satellite instrument. The low frequency oscillations corroborate earlier analyses based on four years of data. In addition, both annual and seasonal one-point correlation maps based on the 8-year TOMS data are presented. The results clearly show a standing dipole in ozone perturbations, oscillating with 35 to 50 day periods over the equatorial Indian Ocean-west Pacific region. This contrasts with the eastward moving dipole reported in other data sets. The standing ozone dipole appears to be a dynamical feature associated with vertical atmospheric motions. Consistent with prior analyses based on lower stratospheric temperature fields, large-scale standing patterns are also found in the extratropics of both hemispheres, correlated with ozone fluctuations over the equatorial west Pacific. In the Northern Hemisphere, a standing pattern is observed extending from the tropical Indian Ocean to the north Pacific, across North America, and down to the equatorial Atlantic Ocean region. This feature is most pronounced in the NH summer.

Gao, X. H.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Tropical cyclone rainfall characteristics as determined from a satellite passive microwave radiometer

Data from the Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer on Nimbus-5 (ESMR-5) have been used to calculate total tropical cyclone Latent Heat Release (LHR) and rainfall parameters for over 70 satellite observations of 21 tropical cyclones during 1973, 1974, and 1975 in the North Pacific tropical ocean. The data were found to be useful in determining the rainfall characteristics of these storms and appear to be potentially useful in monitoring and making short-term prediction of their intensity. Case studies as well as composite studies indicate that the increase in the ESMR-5 derived LHR corresponds to storm intensification. It also appears that the ESMR-5 derived rainfall parameters can be used to detect the beginning of tropical cyclone intensification.

Rodgers, E. B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The effects of sulfate and soot in smoke on atmospheric extinction

There was a big forest fire in Northeastern China in May, 1987. An apparently new aerosol layer was detected at the base of the stratosphere. The fire burned from about 6 to 28 May 1987 and produced extensive clouds of smoke that were tracked for thousands of kilometers using NOAA weather satellite imagery. It was found that during and just after this fire, the concentration of particles in the upper tropopause and lower stratosphere above the Pacific Ocean and North America increased as much as 10 times normal concentrations. The increase of the atmospheric extinction coefficient was contributed mostly by sulfates and soot resulting from biomass burning and coal combustion. It was shown that their contributions can reach 80 to 90 percent of the whole extinction coefficient. The forest fire can inject smoke high into the atmosphere, resulting in an increase in atmospheric extinction that might lead to a climate perturbation.

Su, Weihan↗
NASA NTRS1997

Airborne Measurements of NO, NO2, and NO(y) as Related to NASA's Pacific Exploratory Mission

The Tropospheric Trace Gas and Airborne Measurements Group's (TTGAMG) efforts on NASA GTE (Global Tropospheric Experiment) PEM (Pacific Exploratory Mission) West A & B field campaign primarily involved the acquisition of NO, NO2 and NO(y) measurements, as well as the subsequent analysis and interpretation of the data base obtained during the PEM West field campaign. These investigations focused on the distribution of trace gases, sources and sinks of ozone, ozone producing precursors with a heavy emphasize on ozone's photochemical state, and the partitioning of the molecules within the NO(y) family over the north western Pacific Ocean. The two components of PEM West were focused on observing air masses as they reached the Asian Continent (PEM West A) or as the air mass departed the Asian Continent (PEM West B). NO(x) concentrations play a pivotal role in controlling the photochemical lifetime of ozone in these environments, and understanding the NO(x) species partitioning is paramount. The transport of NO(x) into the regions, in the form of longer lived NO(y) family members, was examined in relation to the comparison of natural occurring sources of NO(x) (i.e., lightning and stratosphere/troposphere exchange) to those produced as a result of anthropogenic activity (i.e., biomass burning and aircraft emissions). The TTGAMG's measurements of NOx and NO(y), in conjunction with other investigators' measurements of PAN (H. B. Singh's group) and HNO3 (R. W. Talbot's group), have been used to assess the total reactive odd nitrogen levels over the study regions, the partitioning of the reactive odd nitrogen species in their various forms, and the usefulness of the NO, measurement and its measurement technique. The TTGAMG's primary PEM West objectives were the characterization of the factors controlling the distribution and fate of reactive odd nitrogen compounds over the western Pacific Ocean and an analysis of the concentration of various trace gases in the troposphere as the air mass aged by both dynamical mixing and photochemical processes in the troposphere.

Sandholm, Scott↗
NASA NTRS2016

Using CATS Near-Real-time Lidar Observations to Monitor and Constrain Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Forecasts

An eruption of Italian volcano Mount Etna on 3 December 2015 produced fast-moving sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfate aerosol clouds that traveled across Asia and the Pacific Ocean, reaching North America in just 5 days. The Ozone Profiler and Mapping Suite's Nadir Mapping UV spectrometer aboard the U.S. National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite observed the horizontal transport of the SO2 cloud. Vertical profiles of the colocated volcanic sulfate aerosols were observed between 11.5 and 13.5 km by the new Cloud Aerosol Transport System (CATS) space-based lidar aboard the International Space Station. Backward trajectory analysis estimates the SO2 cloud altitude at 7-12 km. Eulerian model simulations of the SO2 cloud constrained by CATS measurements produced more accurate dispersion patterns compared to those initialized with the back trajectory height estimate. The near-real-time data processing capabilities of CATS are unique, and this work demonstrates the use of these observations to monitor and model volcanic clouds.

space↗
NASA NTRS2011

Interannual Variation in Phytoplankton Concentration and Community in the Pacific Ocean

Climate events such as El Nino have been shown to have an effect on the biology of our ocean. Because of the lack of data, we still have very little knowledge about the spatial and temporal effect these climate events may have on biological marine systems. In this study, we used the NASA Ocean Biogeochemical Model (NOBM) to assess the interannual variability in phytoplankton community in the Pacific Ocean between 1998 and 2005. In the North Central and Equatorial Pacific Ocean, changes in the Multivariate El Nino Index were associated with changes in phytoplankton composition. The model identified an increase in diatoms of approx.33 % in the equatorial Pacific in 1999 during a La Nina event. This increase in diatoms coincided with a decrease of approx.11 % in cyanobacteria concentration. The inverse relationship between cyanobacteria and diatoms concentration was significant (p<0.05) throughout the period of study. The use of a numerical model allows us to assess the impact climate variability has on key phytoplankton groups known to lead to contrasting food chain at a spatial and temporal resolution unachievable when relying solely on in-situ observations.

Rousseaux, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Estimation of mean sea surfaces in the North Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean using GEOS-3 altimeter data

The sea surface heights above the reference ellipsoid were determined for several regions of the world's ocean using data from the radar altimeter on board the GEOS-3 satellite in conjunction with precise orbital position information derived from laser data. The resolution of the estimated sea surfaces varied from 0.25 degrees off the east coast of the United States to about 2 degrees in the Indian Ocean near Australia. The rms crossover discrepancy after adjustment varied from 30 cm to 70 cm depending on geographic location. Comparison of the altimeter derived mean sea surface in the North Atlantic with the 5 x 5 ft GEM-8 detailed gravimetric geoid indicated a relative consistency of better than one meter.

Marsh, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Estimation of mean sea surfaces in the north Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean using GEOS-3 altimeter data

The mean surfaces of several regions of the world's oceans were estimated using GEOS-3 altimeter data. The northwest Atlantic, the northeast Pacific off the coast of California, the Indian Ocean, the southwest Pacific, and the Phillipine Sea are included. These surfaces have been oriented with respect to a common earth center-of-mass system by constraining the separate solutions to conform to precisely determined laser reference control orbits. The same reference orbits were used for all regions assuring continuity of the separate solutions. Radial accuracies of the control orbits were in the order of one meter. The altimeter measured sea surface height crossover differences were minimized by the adjustment of tilt and bias parameters for each pass with the exception of laser reference control passes. The tilt and bias adjustments removed long wavelength errors which were primarily due to orbit error. Ocean tides were evaluated. The resolution of the estimated sea surfaces varied from 0.25 degrees off the east coast of the United States to about 2 degrees in part of the Indian Ocean near Australia. The rms crossover discrepancy after adjustment varied from 30 cm to 70 cm depending upon geographic location. Comparisons of the altimeter derived mean sea surface in the North Atlantic with the 5 feet x 5 feet GEM-8 detailed gravimetric geoid indicated a relative consistency of better than a meter.

Marsh, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Atmospheric Circulation Anomalies During Two Persistent North American Droughts: 1932-1939 and 1948-1957

We use an early twentieth century (1908-1958) atmospheric reanalysis, based on assimilation of surface and sea level pressure observations, to contrast atmospheric circulation during two periods of persistent drought in North America: 1932-1939 (the Dust Bowl) and 1948-1957. Primary forcing for both droughts is believed to come from anomalous sea surface temperatures (SSTs): a warm Atlantic and a cool eastern tropical Pacific. For boreal winter (October-March) in the 1950s, a stationary wave pattern originating from the tropical Pacific is present, with positive centers over the north Pacific and north Atlantic ocean basins and a negative center positioned over northwest North America and the tropical/subtropical Pacific. This wave train is largely absent for the 1930s drought; boreal winter height anomalies are organized much more zonally, with positive heights extending across northern North America. For boreal summer (April-September) during the 1930s, a strong upper level ridge is centered over the Great Plains; this feature is absent during the 1950s and appears to be linked to a weakening of the Great Plains low-level jet (GPLLJ). Subsidence anomalies are co-located over the centers of each drought: in the central Great Plains for the 1930s and in a band extending from the southwest to the southeastern United States for the 1950s. The location and intensity of this subsidence during the 1948-1957 drought is a typical response to a cold eastern tropical Pacific, but for 1932-1939 deviates in terms of the expected intensity, location, and spatial extent. Overall, circulation anomalies during the 1950s drought appear consistent with the expected response to the observed SST forcing. This is not the case for the 1930s, implying some other causal factor may be needed to explain the Dust Bowl drought anomalies. In addition to SST forcing, the 1930s were also characterized by massive alterations to the land surface, including regional-scale devegetation from crop failures and intensive wind erosion and dust storms. Incorporation of these land surface factors into a general circulation model greatly improves the simulation of precipitation and subsidence anomalies during this drought, relative to simulations with SST forcing alone. Even with additional forcing from the land surface, however, the model still has difficulty reproducing some of the other circulation anomalies, including weakening of the GPLLJ and strengthening of the upper level ridge during AMJJAS. This may be due to either weaknesses in the model or uncertainties in the boundary condition estimates. Still, analysis of the circulation anomalies supports the conclusion of an earlier paper (Cook et al. in Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:4997, 2009), demonstrating that land degradation factors are consistent with the anomalous nature of the Dust Bowl drought.

Cook, Benjamin↗
NASA NTRS2000

Airborne UV DIAL Measurements of Ozone and Aerosols

The NASA Langley Research Center's airborne UV Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system measures vertical profiles of ozone and aerosols above and below the aircraft along its flight track. This system has been used in over 20 airborne field missions designed to study the troposphere and stratosphere since 1980. Four of these missions involved tropospheric measurement programs in the Pacific Ocean with two in the western North Pacific and two in the South Pacific. The UV DIAL system has been used in these missions to study such things as pollution outflow, long-range transport, and stratospheric intrusions; categorize the air masses encountered; and to guide the aircraft to altitudes where interesting features can be studied using the in situ instruments. This paper will highlight the findings with the UV DIAL system in the Pacific Ocean field programs and introduce the mission planned for the western North Pacific for February-April 2001. This will be an excellent opportunity for collaboration between the NASA airborne mission and those with ground-based War systems in Asia Pacific Rim countries to make a more complete determination of the transport of air from Asia to the western Pacific.

Grant, William B.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Seasonal Variation in Precipitation Patterns to the Global Ocean: An Analysis of the GPCP Version 2 Data Set

An analysis of temporal and spatial variation of oceanic precipitation was conducted on the GPCP version two data set. While the precipitation patterns observed are generally similar to the previous climatologies, new features and greater detail of global precipitation were revealed from out analysis of the GPCP data set. High precipitation waw observed in the inter-tropical convergence zone, the South Pacific convergence zone, and the storm tracks in the North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Low precipitation was observe in the Polar regions and in the subtropics of the East Pacific, East Atlantic, and the Southeast and Northwest Indian Ocean. The spatial coverage of these high and low precipitation regions changed thruough the year. A strong seasonal cycle or precipitation was observed for the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres and for each ocean basin. Global precipitation also varied significantly with both latitude and longitude, with a latitudinal maximum at 56 degrees South, 39 degrees South, 4 degrees South, 6 degrees North, 39 degrees North, and 56 degress North, and a longitudinal maxiumum over each ocean. The seasonal varying precipitation patterns are a foundation for evaluating the effect of wet deposition on ocean circulation, flux of chemical species, and its effect on marine ecosystems.

Miller, Richard↗
NASA NTRS1989

Tropical oceanic rainfall - Estimation from SMMR and SSM/I

A method of inferring rainfall over oceans with Nimbus-7 SMMR data (Prabhakara et al., 1986) is improved by including data from the DMSP Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I). The microwave observations at low frequencies are compared with the SSM/I measurements at 85 GHz. The process used to analyze the microwave data and the retrieval method are described. A map of the monthly mean rainfall rate for July 1987 over the North and South Pacific Oceans is obtained using the SSM/I data.

Prabhakara, C.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Interannual Variability, Global Teleconnection, and Potential Predictability Associated with the Asian Summer Monsoon

In this Chapter, aspects of global teleconnections associated with the interannual variability of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) are discussed. The basic differences in the basic dynamics of the South Asian Monsoon and the East Asian monsoon, and their implications on global linkages are discussed. Two teleconnection modes linking ASM variability to summertime precipitation over the continental North America were identified. These modes link regional circulation and precipitation anomalies over East Asia and continental North America, via coupled atmosphere-ocean variations over the North Pacific. The first mode has a large zonally symmetrical component and appears to be associated with subtropical jetstream variability and the second mode with Rossby wave dispersion. Both modes possess strong sea surface temperature (SST) expressions in the North Pacific. Results show that the two teleconnection modes may have its origin in intrinsic modes of sea surface temperature variability in the extratropical oceans, which are forced in part by atmospheric variability and in part by air-sea interaction. The potential predictability of the ASM associated with SST variability in different ocean basins is explored using a new canonical ensemble correlation prediction scheme. It is found that SST anomalies in tropical Pacific, i.e., El Nino, is the most dominant forcing for the ASM, especially over the maritime continent and eastern Australia. SST anomalies in the India Ocean may trump the influence from El Nino in western Australia and western maritime continent. Both El Nino, and North Pacific SSTs contribute to monsoon precipitation anomalies over Japan, southern Korea, northern and central China. By optimizing SST variability signals from the world ocean basins using CEC, the overall predictability of ASM can be substantially improved.

Lau, K. M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Role of Ocean Currents and Bottom Pressure Variability on Seasonal Polar Motion

Changes in the ocean angular momentum (OAM) components about the equatorial axes, either due to fluctuations in currents or bottom pressure (mass redistribution), can induce movements of the Earth's pole of rotation, commonly referred to as polar motion or wobble. Output from a 1 deg resolution ocean model is used to calculate the effective equatorial OAM functions chi(sub 1, sup O) and chi(sub 2, sup O), corresponding to polar motion excitation about the equatorial axis pointing to the Greenwich and 90 deg E meridians, respectively. Time series of chi(sup O) are combined with similar atmospheric series chi(sup A), computed from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalyses, to interpret the observed low-frequency polar motion excitation for the period 1985-1996. Results indicate that the oceans are a very important excitation source for the Chandler (approximately 433 days), annual, and semiannual wobbles, providing for much better amplitude and phase agreement with the observed excitation at these periods, in comparison with what is obtained when only the atmosphere is considered. Both oceanic mass and motion terms are found to be important but with mass signals having somewhat larger amplitudes. The role of regional variability in ocean currents and bottom pressure in contributing to chi(sup O) signals is quantified. Midlatitude regions (approximately 30 deg - 70 deg) figure prominently as places of strong local oceanic excitation signals. The North Pacific basin is found to be generally important for chi(sup O) excitation, while the Southern Ocean is important for both chi(sub 1, sup O) and chi(sub 2, sup O). The largest positive covariances of local with global chi(sup O) signals occur in the Kuroshio region near the western boundary of the North Pacific for chi(sub 1, sup O) and southwest of Australia for chi(sub 2, sup O).

Ponte, Rui M.↗