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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Field and data analysis studies related to the atmospheric environment

This report summarizes work on a broad array of projects including: (1) applications of meteorological and/or oceanographic satellites; (2) improvement of the current set of NASA/USAF lightning related launch commit criteria rules; (3) the design, building, testing and deployment of a set of cylindrical field mills for aircraft use; (4) the study of marginal electrification storm conditions in relationship to the current launch commit rules for the space shuttle and various other launch vehicles using an instrumented aircraft; (5) support of the DC-8 and ER-2 lightning instrument package as part of both the Tropical Ocean - Global Atmospheric/Coupled Ocean-Atmospheric Response Experiment and the Convection and Moisture Experiment; (6) design of electronic circuitry and microprocessor firmware for the NASA Advanced Ground Based Field Mill; (7) design and testing of electronic and computer instrumentation for atmospheric electricity measurements; (8) simulating observations from a lightning imaging sensor on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring satellite; and (9) supporting scientific visualization and the development of computer software tools.

Kidder, Stanley↗
NASA NTRS2012

Flash Detection Efficiencies of Long Range Lightning Detection Networks During GRIP

We flew our Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) on the NASA Global Hawk as a part of the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) field program. The GRIP program was a NASA Earth science field experiment during the months of August and September, 2010. During the program, the LIP detected lighting from 48 of the 213 of the storms overflown by the Global Hawk. The time and location of tagged LIP flashes can be used as a "ground truth" dataset for checking the detection efficiency of the various long or extended range ground-based lightning detection systems available during the GRIP program. The systems analyzed included Vaisala Long Range (LR), Vaisala GLD360, the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), and the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN). The long term goal of our research is to help understand the advantages and limitations of these systems so that we can utilize them for both proxy data applications and cross sensor validation of the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) sensor when it is launched in the 2015 timeframe.

Mach, Douglas M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

ER-2 Observations of Precipitation Systems During TRMM-LBA

The NASA ER-2 performed numerous flights over precipitation systems in Rondonia, Brazil. The ER-2 carried a payload including the ER-2 Doppler Radar (EDOP), the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), the Lightning Instrument Package, and other instruments. This presentation will overview the types of data sets collected during TRMM-LBA (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Satellite-Large Scale Biosphere Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia) with particular emphasis on EDOP measurements. Numerous cases of convection ranging from weak to very intense, were overflown by the ER-2. Two TRMM overpasses were coincident with ER-2 flights which allowed for intercomparisons between the Precipitation Radiometer (PR), EDOP, and the S-POL (S-band Polarimetric Radar) and TOGA (Tropical Oceans and Global Atmosphere) ground-based radars. Preliminary results from this comparison will be presented as well as initial selection of case studies and efforts involving vertical motions in convection.

Heymsfield, Gerald↗
NASA NTRS1999

ER-2 Observations of Precipitation Systems During TRMM-LBA

The NASA ER-2 performed numerous flights over precipitation systems in Rondonia, Brazil. The ER-2 carried a payload including the ER-2 Doppler Radar (EDOP), the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), the Lightning Instrument Package, and other instruments. This presentation will overview the types of data sets collected during TRMM-LBA with particular emphasis on EDOP measurements. Numerous cases of convection ranging from weak to very intense, were overflown by the ER-2. Two TRMM overpasses were coincident with ER-2 flights which allowed for intercomparisons between the Precipitation Radiometer (PR), EDOP, and the S-POL and TOGA ground-based radars. Preliminary results from this comparison will be presented as well as initial selection of case studies and efforts involving vertical motions in convection.

Heymsfield, Gerald↗
NASA NTRS2004

Tropical Cyclone Precipitation Types and Electrical Field Information Observed by High Altitude Aircraft Instrumentation

During the 1998 and 200 1 hurricane seasons of the Atlantic Ocean Basin, the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), the ER-2 Doppler (EDOP) radar, and the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) were flown aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ER-2 high altitude aircraft as part of the Third Convection And Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-3) and the Fourth Convection And Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-4). Several hurricanes and tropical storms were sampled during these experiments. A rainfall screening technique has been developed using AMPR passive microwave observations of these tropical cyclones (TC) collected at frequencies of 10.7, 19.35,37.1, and 85.5 GHz and verified using vertical profiles of EDOP reflectivity and lower altitude horizontal reflectivity scam collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOM) P-3 radar. Matching the rainfall classification results with coincident electrical field information collected by the LIP readily identifl convective rain regions within the TC precipitation fields. Strengths and weaknesses of the rainfall classification procedure will be discussed as well as its potential as a real-time analysis tool for monitoring vertical updrafl strength and convective intensity from a remotely operated or uninhabited aerial vehicle.

Hood, Robbie E.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Classification of Tropical Oceanic Precipitation Using High Altitude Aircraft Microwave and Electric Field Measurements

A physically intuitive and computationally simple precipitation mapping algorithm has been developed for use with the airborne Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR). The algorithm is based on microwave emission and scattering properties of precipitation. Specifically, emission by liquid water allows increasing brightness temperatures at low frequencies to be interpreted as increasing rain rates. Scattering by large hydrometeors (particularly graupel and hail) causes relative minima in the brightness temperatures, with progressively larger hydrometeors scattering progressively longer wavelengths. The vigor of convection is therefore ascertained according to which wavelengths are being significantly scattered. The combination of emission and scattering information from four microwave channels is used to assign a precipitation category, which is related to the liquid rain rate, the vertical extent of precipitation, and the vigor of convection. The qualitative precipitation categories output by the passive microwave algorithm have been verified using coincident radar (ER-2 Doppler Radar - EDOP) and electric field measurements (Lightning Instrument Package - LIP). These coincident measurements can subsequently be used to quantify rain rates, hydrometeor contents, and vertical profiles that are typical for each precipitation category. This algorithm has been developed using an airborne platform. Comparisons are being made with other airborne, satellite, and ground-based radar and radiometer data. This technique shows promise both as a research tool and potentially as a real-time analysis tool, which could be applied to either traditional or uninhabited aerial vehicles.

Cecil, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Classification of Tropical Oceanic Precipitation Using High Altitude Aircraft Microwave and Electric Field Measurements

A physically intuitive and computationally simple precipitation mapping algorithm has been developed for use with the airborne Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR). The algorithm is based on microwave emission and scattering properties of precipitation. Specifically, emission by liquid water allows increasing brightness temperatures at low frequencies to be interpreted as increasing rain rates. Scattering by large hydrometeors (particularly graupel and hail) causes relative minima in the brightness temperatures, with progressively larger hydrometeors scattering progressively longer wavelengths. The vigor of convection is therefore ascertained according to which wavelengths are being significantly scattered. The combination of emission and scattering information from four microwave channels is used to assign a precipitation category, which is related to the liquid rain rate, the vertical extent of precipitation, and the vigor of convection. The qualitative precipitation categories output by the passive microwave algorithm have been verified using coincident radar (ER-2 Doppler Radar - EDOP) and electric field measurements (Lightning Instrument Package - LIP). These coincident measurements can subsequently be used to quantify rain rates, hydrometeor contents, and vertical profiles that are typical for each precipitation category. This algorithm has been developed using an airborne platform. Comparisons are being made with other airborne, satellite, and ground-based radar and radiometer data. This technique shows promise both as a research tool and potentially as a real-time analysis tool, which could be applied to either traditional or uninhabited aerial vehicles.

Cecil, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Classification of Tropical Oceanic Precipitation using High Altitude Aircraft: Microwave and Electric Field Measurements

During the 1998 and 2001 hurricane seasons of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), the ER-2 Doppler (EDOP) radar, and the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) were flown aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ER-2 high altitude aircraft as part of the Third Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-3) and the Fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-4). Several hurricanes, tropical storms, and other precipitation systems were sampled during these experiments. An oceanic rainfall screening technique has been developed using AMPR passive microwave observations of these systems collected at frequencies of 10.7, 19.35,37.1, and 85.5 GHz. This technique combines the information content of the four AMPR frequencies regarding the gross vertical structure of hydrometeors into an intuitive and easily executable precipitation mapping format. The results have been verified using vertical profiles of EDOP reflectivity and lower altitude horizontal reflectivity scans collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration WP-3D Orion radar. Matching the rainfall classification results with coincident electric field information collected by the LIP readily identifies convective rain regions within the precipitation fields. This technique shows promise as a real-time research and analysis tool for monitoring vertical updraft strength and convective intensity from airborne platforms such as remotely operated or uninhabited aerial vehicles. The technique is analyzed and discussed for a wide variety of precipitation types using the 26 August 1998 observations of Hurricane Bonnie near landfall.

Hood, Robbie E.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Classification of Tropical Oceanic Precipitation using High-Altitude Aircraft Microwave and Electric Field Measurements

During the 1998 and 2001 hurricane seasons of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), the ER-2 Doppler (EDOP) radar, and the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) were flown aboard the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft as part of the Third Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-3) and the Fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-4). Several hurricanes, tropical storms, and other precipitation systems were sampled during these experiments. An oceanic rainfall screening technique has been developed using AMPR passive microwave observations of these systems collected at frequencies of 10.7, 19.35, 37.1, and 85.5 GHz. This technique combines the information content of the four AMPR frequencies regarding the gross vertical structure of hydrometeors into an intuitive and easily executable precipitation mapping format. The results have been verified using vertical profiles of EDOP reflectivity and lower-altitude horizontal reflectivity scans collected by the NOAA WP3D Orion radar. Matching the rainfall classification results with coincident electric field information collected by the LIP readily identifies convective rain regions within the precipitation fields. This technique shows promise as a real-time research and analysis tool for monitoring vertical updraft strength and convective intensity from airborne platforms such as remotely operated or uninhabited aerial vehicles. The technique is analyzed and discussed for a wide variety of precipitation types using the 26 August 1998 observations of Hurricane Bonnie near landfall.

Hood, Robbie E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of Present and Future Spaceborne Lightning Observations During the ALOFT Campaign

The ALOFT1 campaign took place during July 2023. The NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft was based in Tampa, Florida, and flew approximately 60 hours sampling tropical and sub-tropical thunderstorms that were mostly contained within the common fields of view of GLM4-16 and GLM-18. In addition, multiple underflights of the ISS LIS5 instrument occurred. The FEGS2 and LIP6 instrument suite on the ER-2 provided a combination of multispectral optical, slow and fast electric field change, and three-dimensional electric field measurements of lightning and thunderstorms. Notably, in addition to the 777-nm band used by GLM and LIS, FEGS also observed at 337 nm, 500 nm, 868 nm, wideband visible-to-infrared, and shortwave infrared. A spectrometer that spanned most major lightning bands from the ultraviolet to infrared was included. Observations of gamma-ray production by thunderstorms were also collected during ALOFT. Thus, the lightning-observing suite on the ER-2 during ALOFT provides an unprecedented suborbital dataset for direct optical-to-optical and indirect radio-to-optical validation of existing spaceborne lightning sensors like GLM and LIS. In addition, the multispectral observations from FEGS enables evaluation of current and future spaceborne lightning-observing concepts. For example, the 337-nm channel is relevant to both existing missions like ASIM7 as well as future concepts like the CubeSpark mission currently being formulated by NASA. Complementary to LIS, the ISS also carries the STP-H88 payload, which features microwave radiometers covering 18-182 GHz, while the ER-2 carried radiometers covering 10-684 GHz, enabling evaluation of spaceborne passive microwave measurements that are complementary to the lightning observations. 1. Airborne Lightning Observatory for FEGS2 and TGFs3 2. Fly’s Eye GLM4 Simulator 3. Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes 4. Geostationary Lightning Mapper 5. International Space Station Lightning Imaging Sensor 6. Lightning Instrument Package 7. Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor 8. 8th Space Test Program – Houston mission

Timothy Lang↗
NASA NTRS1983

Observations of optical lightning emissions from above thunderstorms using U-2 aircraft

In order to determine how to achieve orders of magnitude improvement in spatial and temporal resolution and in sensitivity of satellite lightning sensors, better quantitative measurements of the characteristics of the optical emissions from lightning as observed from above tops of thunderclouds are required. A number of sensors have been developed and integrated into an instrument package and flown aboard a NASA U-2 aircraft. The objectives have been to acquire optical lightning data needed for designing the lightning mapper sensor, and to study lightning physics and the correlation of lightning activity with storm characteristics. The instrumentation and observations of the program are reviewed and their significance for future research is discussed.

Christian, H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The OSTA-1 scientific payload - Scientific results from the second flight of the Shuttle

The qualification, operation, and results from the first Office of Science and Technology Assessment payload, flown on board the second Shuttle mission, are detailed. Among the experiments were a Shuttle Imaging Radar-A, which recorded 1000 m of 70 mm film of 50 km swaths of the earth's land and ocean surface. The multispectral IR radiometer permitted the acquisistion of 400,000 ten-channel spectral over the wavelength interval 0.5-2.35 microns, including rock and soil identifications which are correlated with economically significant geologic materials. The ocean color experiment involved an eight channel optical mechanical scanner to detect ocean water color changes due to the presence of phytoplankton. Air pollution was measured by radiometer in the 4.50-4.83 micron regions, and an asymmetry in CO concentration was found between the northern and sourthern hemispheres. Only five seconds of surface and meteorological data were collected by the FILE package, while the one successfully used film cassette on a lightning recording experiment revealed discharges among convective storm systems. A rerunning of unsuccessful experiments and new instrumentation for future Shuttle missions are indicated.

Taranik, J. V.↗