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At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

The fully coupled regionally refined model of E3SM version 2: overview of the atmosphere, land, and river results

Abstract. This paper provides an overview of the United States (US) Department of Energy's (DOE's) Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2) fully coupled regionally refined model (RRM) and documents the overall atmosphere, land, and river results from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) DECK (Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Characterization of Klima) and historical simulations – a first-of-its-kind set of climate production simulations using RRM. The North American (NA) RRM (NARRM) is developed as the high-resolution configuration of E3SMv2 with the primary goal of more explicitly addressing DOE's mission needs regarding impacts to the US energy sector facing Earth system changes. The NARRM features finer horizontal resolution grids centered over NA, consisting of 25→100 km atmosphere and land, a 0.125∘ river-routing model, and 14→60 km ocean and sea ice. By design, the computational cost of NARRM is ∼3× of the uniform low-resolution (LR) model at 100 km but only ∼ 10 %–20 % of a globally uniform high-resolution model at 25 km. A novel hybrid time step strategy for the atmosphere is key for NARRM to achieve improved climate simulation fidelity within the high-resolution patch without sacrificing the overall global performance. The global climate, including climatology, time series, sensitivity, and feedback, is confirmed to be largely identical between NARRM and LR as quantified with typical climate metrics. Over the refined NA area, NARRM is generally superior to LR, including for precipitation and clouds over the contiguous US (CONUS), summertime marine stratocumulus clouds off the coast of California, liquid and ice phase clouds near the North Pole region, extratropical cyclones, and spatial variability in land hydrological processes. The improvements over land are related to the better-resolved topography in NARRM, whereas those over ocean are attributable to the improved air–sea interactions with finer grids for both atmosphere and ocean and sea ice. Some features appear insensitive to the resolution change analyzed here, for instance the diurnal propagation of organized mesoscale convective systems over CONUS and the warm-season land–atmosphere coupling at the southern Great Plains. In summary, our study presents a realistically efficient approach to leverage the fully coupled RRM framework for a standard Earth system model release and high-resolution climate production simulations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1959

Van Allen Discovery Most Important

The first step toward the exploration of space occurred approximately 22 months ago as a part of the International Geophysical Year. In the short interval since October, 1957, the new tools of research, the satellite and the space rocket, have produced two unexpected results of fundamental scientific importance. First, instruments placed in the Explorer satellites by James A. Van Allen have revealed the existence of layers of energetic particles in the outer atmosphere. This discovery constitutes the most significant research achievement of the IGY satellite program. The layers may provide the explanation for the aurora and other geophysical phenomena, and they will also influence the design of vehicles for manned space flight, whose occupants must be shielded against their harmful biological effects. Second, the shape of the earth has been determined very accurately with the aid of data from the first Vanguard. As a result of this investigation, we have found that our planet tends toward the shape of a pear, with its stem at the North Pole. This discovery may produce major changes in our ideas on the interior structure of the earth.

Jastrow, R.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Geological framework of the south polar region of Mars.

The first 4 months of Mariner 9 photography of the south polar region are discussed. Three major geological units have been recognized, separated by erosional unconformities. From oldest to youngest they are: cratered terrain, pitted plains, and laminated terrain. The latter unit is unique in occurrence to the polar region, volatiles are probably involved in its origin, and may still be present within the laminated terrain as layered ice. The residual south polar cap has been observed to survive the disappearance of the thin annual CO2 frost deposit and to last virtually unchanged in outline through the southern summer. That exposed deposit is inferred to be composed of water-ice. The residual cap appears to lie at the apex of an unusual quasi-circular structure composed of laminated terrain; a similar structure also appears to exist near the north pole.

Murray, B. C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

A Geopause satellite system concept.

The Geopause satellite system concept offers promising approaches in connection with four different problem areas. A typical Geopause satellite orbit has a 14-hour period, a mean height of about 4.6 earth radii, and is nearly circular, polar, and normal to the ecliptic. At this height only a relatively few gravity terms have uncertainties corresponding to orbital perturbations above the decimeter level. The Geopause satellite system also provides the tracking geometery and coverage needed for determining the orbit, the tracking system biases, and the station locations. Studies indicate that the Geopause satellite, tracked with a 2-cm ranging system from nine NASA affiliated sites, can yield decimeter station location accuracies. Five or more fundamental stations well distributed in longitude can view Geopause over the North Pole. This means not only that redundant data are available for determining tracking system biases, but also that both components of the polar motion can be observed frequently. When tracking Geopause, the NASA sites become a two-hemisphere configuration which is ideal for a number of earth physics applications such as the observation of the polar motion with a time resolution of a fraction of a day.

Siry, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Polar cap on Europa.

Photoelectric observations are reported of two occultations of Jupiter's satellite Europa by the satellite Io. The reductions in the intensity during these events exceeds predicted values by 80% and 55% for the nights of June 17, 1973, and June 24, 1973, respectively. It is concluded that Europa has a bright polar cap extending from the north pole to latitude 30 deg. The light curves for the Europa occultations are presented.

Murphy, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Polar sea ice observations by means of microwave radiometry

Principles pertinent to the utilization of 1.55 cm wavelength radiation emanating from the surface of the earth for studying the changing characteristics of polar sea ice are briefly reviewed. Recent data obtained at that wavelength with an imaging radiometer on-board the Nimbus 5 satellite are used to illustrate how the seasonal changes in extent of sea ice in both polar regions may be monitored free of atmospheric interference. Within a season, changes in the compactness of the sea ice are also observed from the satellite. Some substantial areas of the Arctic sea ice canopy identified as first-year ice in the past winter were observed not to melt this summer, a graphic illustration of the eventual formation of multiyear ice in the Arctic. Finally, the microwave emissivity of some of the multiyear ice areas near the North Pole was found to increase significantly in the summer, probably due to liquid water content in the firm layer.

Gloersen, P.↗
NASA NTRS1971

A geopause satellite system concept

A typical Geopause satellite orbit has a 14 hour period, a mean height of about 4.6 earth radii, and is nearly circular, polar, and normal to the ecliptic. At this height only a relatively few gravity terms have uncertainties corresponding to orbital perturbations above the decimeter level. The orbit is at the geopotential boundary, the geopause. The few remaining environmental quantities which may be significant can be determined by means of orbit analysis and accelerometers. The Geopause satellite system also provides the tracking geometry and coverage needed for determining the orbit, the tracking system biases and the station locations. Five or more fundamental stations well distributed in longitude can view Geopause over the North Pole. Geopause also provides the basic capability for satellite-to-satellite tracking of drag-free satellites for mapping the gravity field and altimeter satellites for surveying the sea surface topography.

Siry, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Polar volatiles on Mars - Theory versus observation

Synthesis of the results of the Mariner 9 mission, as they pertain to polar volatiles, and comparison of them with a description of the solid-vapor equilibrium relations believed to be presently active on Mars. The discovery by Mariner 9 of extensive volcanic deposits on portions of the Martian surface suggests that the total amount of CO2 liberated to the surface probably exceeds that now present in the atmosphere. Thus excess CO2 in the solid form is to be expected in the polar areas. Although the simplified model of Leighton and Murray (1966), which predicts a permanent CO2 cap, has significant deficiencies both theoretically and observationally, the seasonal caps are composed of CO2, as predicted, excess CO2 is quite likely, and a permanent deposit of solid CO2 evidently is in equilibrium with atmospheric CO2. It is suggested that there must be a large reservoir of solid CO2 in gaseous equilibrium with the atmosphere, but buried immediately below the exposed residual water-ice cap. This reservoir is believed to be located near the north pole. The principal effect of such a reservoir is to average out annual and longer-term fluctuations in the polar heat balance.

Murray, B. C.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Polar enhancements of nightglow emissions near 6230A

Night airglow emissions near 6230A, as observed from the Ogo 4 spacecraft in 1967-8, show enhancements at polar latitudes by more than a factor of ten over mid and low latitude values. The enhancements are generally not symmetrical with either the north pole or the auroral oval. They are attributed in part to increases in the Meinel band emissions of OH, particularly as associated with a stratospheric warming event, and in part to increases in nitric oxide densities in the lower thermosphere.

Reed, E. I.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Beaufort Sea ice zones as delineated by microwave imagery

Microwave and infrared data were obtained from a research aircraft over the Beaufort Sea ice from the shoreline of Harrison Bay northward to a latitude of almost 81 deg N. The data acquired were compared with microwave data obtained on the surface at an approximate position of 75 deg N, 150 deg W. Over this north-south transect of the polar ice canopy it was discovered that the sea ice could be divided into five distinct zones. The shorefast sea ice was found to consist uniformly of first-year sea ice. The second zone was found to be a mixture of first-year sea ice, medium size multiyear floes, and many recently refrozen leads, polynyas, and open water; considerable shearing activity was evident in this zone. The third zone was a mixture of first-year and multiyear sea ice which had a uniform microwave signature. The fourth zone was found to be a mixture of first-year sea ice and medium-to-large size multiyear floes which was similar in composition to the second zone. The fifth zone was almost exclusively multiyear ice extending to the North Pole.

Campbell, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

UBV photometry of asteroid 433 Eros

UBV observations of asteroid 433 Eros were conducted on 17 nights during the winter of 1974/75. The peak-to-peak amplitude of the lightcurve varied from about 0.3 mag to nearly 1.4 mag. The absolute V mag at maximum light, extrapolated to zero phase, is 10.85. Phase coefficients of 0.0233 mag/degree, 0.0009 mag/degree, and 0.0004 mag/degree were derived for V, B-V and U-B, respectively. The zero-phase color of Eros (B-V = 0.88, U-B = 0.50) is representative of an S (silicaceous) compositional type asteroid. The color does not vary with rotation. The photometric behavior of Eros can be modeled by a cylinder with rounded ends having an axial ratio of about 2.3:1. The asteroid is rotating about a short axis with the north pole at 15 deg ecliptic longitude and 9 deg ecliptic latitude.

Millis, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

The emission-line spectrum above the limb of a solar coronal hole - 1175-1940 A

Emission-line spectra of a coronal hole that coincided with the north pole of the sun are discussed which were obtained with a slit spectrograph aboard Skylab at positions within and above the solar white-light limb in the wavelength range from 1175 to 1940 A. Relative line intensities, line profiles, and full widths at half-maximum are presented for selected chromospheric and transition-zone lines observed above the present polar coronal hole. Average mass motions in the transition zone are determined as a function of electron temperature from the widths of the optically thin lines by assuming ionization equilibrium. The line intensities and profiles are compared with corresponding results deduced from spectra obtained above a quiet solar region. The coronal-hole spectra are found to imply an angular dependence for the source function as well as a radial dependence such that the source function is the smallest at the south pole and increases with decreasing solar latitude.

Feldman, U.↗
NASA NTRS1976

North polar region of Mars - Imaging results from Viking 2

During October 1976, the Viking 2 orbiter acquired approximately 700 high-resolution images of the north polar region of Mars. These images confirm the existence at the north pole of extensive layered deposits largely covered over with deposits of perennial ice. An unconformity within the layered deposits suggests a complex history of climate change during their time of deposition. A pole-girdling accumulation of dunes composed of very dark materials is revealed by the Viking cameras. The entire region is devoid of fresh impact craters. Rapid rates of erosion or deposition are implied. A scenario for polar geological evolution, involving two types of climate change, is proposed.

Cutts, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Nonresonance rotation of Venus

Radar observations accumulated over the past 14 yr are used to make a precise estimate of the spin vector of Venus. The results obtained show that the spin vector of Venus may be adequately described in the standard 1950.0 coordinate system by a period of 243.01 + or - 0.03 days (retrograde) and a north pole direction corresponding to alpha = 272.8 + or - 0.5 deg and delta = 67.2 + or - 0.3 deg; the quoted errors represent estimates of 70% confidence intervals. The angular separations between the spin vector and those vectors representing the unit normals to the invariable plane of the solar system and the orbital plane of Venus are found to be 0.5 deg and 2.6 deg, respectively. It is concluded that Venus is not rotating with a resonance spin period relative to the orbit of earth and that the spin of Venus may be in a generalized Cassini state.

Shapiro, I. I.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Experimental evidence of interhemispheric transport from airborne carbon monoxide measurements

During the period 28-30 October 1977, a Pan American 747-SP aircraft flew around the world with an automated instrument package that included measurements of atmospheric CO made every 4 sec. The flight path extended from San Francisco, over the North Pole to London, south to Capetown, over the South Pole to Auckland, and back to San Francisco. The data collected show large changes with longitude, which are interpreted as direct evidence of interhemispheric mixing. Possible sources for CO are discussed.

Newell, R. E.↗