Study on temperature measurement of gas turbine blade based on analysis of error caused by the reflected radiation and emission angle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dong; Feng, Chi; Gao, Shan; Chen, Liwei; Daniel, Ketui

2018-06-01

Accurate measurement of gas turbine blade temperature is of great significance as far as blade health monitoring is concerned. An important method for measuring this temperature is the use of a radiation pyrometer. In this research, error of the pyrometer caused by reflected radiation from the surfaces surrounding the target and the emission angle of the target was analyzed. Important parameters for this analysis were the view factor between interacting surfaces, spectral directional emissivity, pyrometer operating wavelength and the surface temperature distribution on the blades and the vanes. The interacting surface of the rotor blade and the vane models used were discretized using triangular surface elements from which contour integral was used to calculate the view factor between the surface elements. Spectral directional emissivities were obtained from an experimental setup of Ni based alloy samples. A pyrometer operating wavelength of 1.6 μm was chosen. Computational fluid dynamics software was used to simulate the temperature distribution of the rotor blade and the guide vane based on the actual gas turbine input parameters. Results obtained in this analysis show that temperature error introduced by reflected radiation and emission angle ranges from  ‑23 K to 49 K.

Moon manned missions radiation safety analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathi, R. K.; Wilson, J. W.; de Anlelis, G.; Badavi, F. F.

An analysis is performed on the radiation environment found on the surface of the Moon, and applied to different possible lunar base mission scenarios. An optimization technique has been used to obtain mission scenarios minimizing the astronaut radiation exposure and at the same time controlling the effect of shielding, in terms of mass addition and material choice, as a mission cost driver. The optimization process has been realized through minimization of mass along all phases of a mission scenario, in terms of time frame (dates, transfer time length and trajectory, radiation environment), equipment (vehicles, in terms of shape, volume, onboard material choice, size and structure), location (if in space, on the surface, inside or outside a certain habitats), crew characteristics (number, gender, age, tasks) and performance required (spacecraft and habitat volumes), radiation exposure annual and career limit constraint (from NCRP 132), and implementation of the ALARA principle (shelter from the occurrence of Solar Particle Events). On the lunar surface the most important contribution to radiation exposure is given by background Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) particles, mostly protons, alpha particles, and some heavy ions, and by locally induced particles, mostly neutrons, created by the interaction between GCR and surface material and emerging from below the surface due to backscattering processes. In this environment manned habitats are to host future crews involved in the construction and/or in the utilization of moon based infrastructure. Three different kinds of lunar missions are considered in the analysis, Moon Base Construction Phase, during which astronauts are on the surface just to build an outpost for future resident crews, Moon Base Outpost Phase, during which astronaut crews are resident but continuing exploration and installation activities, and Moon Base Routine Phase, with long-term shifting resident crews. In each scenario various kinds of habitats, from very simple shelters to more complex bases, are considered in full detail (e.g., shape, thickness, materials, etc) with considerations of various shielding strategies. In this first analysis all the shape considered are cylindrical or composed of combination of cylinders. Moreover, a radiation safety analysis of more future possible habitats like lava tubes has been also performed.

Drivers in the Scaling Between Precipitation and Cloud Radiative Impacts in Deep Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rapp, A. D.; Sun, L.; Smalley, K.

2017-12-01

The coupling between changes in radiation and precipitation has been demonstrated by a number of studies and suggests an important link between cloud and precipitation processes for defining climate sensitivity. Precipitation and radiative fluxes from CloudSat/CALIPSO retrieval products are used to examine the relationship between precipitation and cloud radiative impacts through two dimensionless parameters. The surface radiative cooling impact, Rc, represents the ratio of the surface shortwave cloud radiative effect to latent heating (LH) from precipitation. The atmospheric radiative heating impact, Rh, represents the ratio of the atmospheric cloud radiative effect to LH from precipitation. Together, these parameters describe the relationship between precipitation processes and how efficiently clouds cools the surface or heats the atmosphere. Deep convective clouds are identified using the 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR joint radar-lidar product and the cloud radiative impact parameters are calculated from the 2B-FLXHR-LIDAR fluxes and 2C-RAIN-PROFILE precipitation. Deep convective clouds will be sampled according to their dynamic and thermodynamic regimes to provide insights into the factors that control the scaling between precipitation and radiative impacts. Preliminary results from analysis of precipitating deep convective pixels indicates a strong increase (decrease) in the ratio of atmospheric heating (surface cooling) and precipitation with thermodynamic environment, especially increasing water vapor; however, it remains to be seen whether these results hold when integrated over an entire deep convective cloud system. Analysis of the dependence of Rc and Rh on the cloud horizontal and vertical structure is also planned, which should lead to a better understanding of the role of non-precipitating anvil characteristics in modulating the relationship between precipitation and surface and atmospheric radiative effects.

Studies of the net surface radiative flux from satellite radiances during FIFE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frouin, Robert

1993-01-01

Studies of the net surface radiative flux from satellite radiances during First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE) are presented. Topics covered include: radiative transfer model validation; calibration of VISSR and AVHRR solar channels; development and refinement of algorithms to estimate downward solar and terrestrial irradiances at the surface, including photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) and surface albedo; verification of these algorithms using in situ measurements; production of maps of shortwave irradiance, surface albedo, and related products; analysis of the temporal variability of shortwave irradiance over the FIFE site; development of a spectroscopy technique to estimate atmospheric total water vapor amount; and study of optimum linear combinations of visible and near-infrared reflectances for estimating the fraction of PAR absorbed by plants.

Slope effects on shortwave radiation components and net radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walter-Shea, Elizabeth A.; Blad, Blaine L.; Hays, Cynthia J.; Mesarch, Mark A.

1992-01-01

The main objective of the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) has been stated as 'the development of techniques that may be applied to satellite observations of the radiation reflected and emitted from the Earth to yield quantitative information concerning land surface climatological conditions.' The major field study, FIFE (the First ISLSCP Field Experiment), was conducted in 1978-89 to accomplish this objective. Four intensive field campaigns (IFC's) were carried out in 1987 and one in 1989. Factors contributing to observed reflected radiation from the FIFE site must be understood before the radiation observed by satellites can be used to quantify surface processes. Analysis since our last report has focused on slope effects on incoming and outgoing shortwave radiation and net radiation from data collected in 1989.

An Analysis and Procedure for Determining Space Environmental Sink Temperatures With Selected Computational Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juhasz, Albert J.

2001-01-01

The purpose of this report was to analyze the heat-transfer problem posed by the determination of spacecraft temperatures and to incorporate the theoretically derived relationships in the computational code TSCALC. The basis for the code was a theoretical analysis of the thermal radiative equilibrium in space, particularly in the Solar System. Beginning with the solar luminosity, the code takes into account these key variables: (1) the spacecraft-to-Sun distance expressed in astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU represents the average Sun-to-Earth distance of 149.6 million km; (2) the angle (arc degrees) at which solar radiation is incident upon a spacecraft surface (ILUMANG); (3) the spacecraft surface temperature (a radiator or photovoltaic array) in kelvin, the surface absorptivity-to-emissivity ratio alpha/epsilon with respect to the solar radiation and (alpha/epsilon)(sub 2) with respect to planetary radiation; and (4) the surface view factor to space F. Outputs from the code have been used to determine environmental temperatures in various Earth orbits. The code was also utilized as a subprogram in the design of power system radiators for deep-space probes.

Radiation Heat Transfer Between Diffuse-Gray Surfaces Using Higher Order Finite Elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gould, Dana C.

2000-01-01

This paper presents recent work on developing methods for analyzing radiation heat transfer between diffuse-gray surfaces using p-version finite elements. The work was motivated by a thermal analysis of a High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) wing structure which showed the importance of radiation heat transfer throughout the structure. The analysis also showed that refining the finite element mesh to accurately capture the temperature distribution on the internal structure led to very large meshes with unacceptably long execution times. Traditional methods for calculating surface-to-surface radiation are based on assumptions that are not appropriate for p-version finite elements. Two methods for determining internal radiation heat transfer are developed for one and two-dimensional p-version finite elements. In the first method, higher-order elements are divided into a number of sub-elements. Traditional methods are used to determine radiation heat flux along each sub-element and then mapped back to the parent element. In the second method, the radiation heat transfer equations are numerically integrated over the higher-order element. Comparisons with analytical solutions show that the integration scheme is generally more accurate than the sub-element method. Comparison to results from traditional finite elements shows that significant reduction in the number of elements in the mesh is possible using higher-order (p-version) finite elements.

Observed Reduction In Surface Solar Radiation - Aerosol Forcing Versus Cloud Feedback?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liepert, B.

The solar radiation reaching the ground is a key parameter for the climate system. It drives the hydrological cycle and numerous biological processes. Surface solar radi- ation revealed an estimated 7W/m2 or 4% decline at sites worldwide from 1961 to 1990. The strongest decline occurred at the United States sites with 19W/m2 or 10%. Increasing air pollution and hence direct and indirect aerosol effect, as we know today can only explain part of the reduction in solar radiation. Increasing cloud optical thick- ness - possibly due to global warming - is a more likely explanation for the observed reduction in solar radiation in the United States. The analysis of surface solar radiation data will be shown and compared with GCM results of the direct and indirect aerosol effect. It will be argued that the residual declines in surface solar radiation is likely due to cloud feedback.

Radiative Flux Analysis

DOE Data Explorer

Long, Chuck [NOAA

2008-05-14

The Radiative Flux Analysis is a technique for using surface broadband radiation measurements for detecting periods of clear (i.e. cloudless) skies, and using the detected clear-sky data to fit functions which are then used to produce continuous clear-sky estimates. The clear-sky estimates and measurements are then used in various ways to infer cloud macrophysical properties.

Fire-induced albedo change and surface radiative forcing in sub-Saharan Africa savanna ecosystems: Implications for the energy balance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dintwe, Kebonye; Okin, Gregory S.; Xue, Yongkang

2017-06-01

Surface albedo is a critical parameter that controls surface energy balance. In dryland ecosystems, fires play a significant role in decreasing surface albedo, resulting in positive radiative forcing. Here we investigate the long-term effect of fire on surface albedo. We devised a method to calculate short-, medium-, and long-term effect of fire-induced radiative forcing and their relative effects on energy balance. We used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in our analysis, covering different vegetation classes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Our analysis indicated that mean short-term fire-induced albedo change in SSA was -0.022, -0.035, and -0.041 for savannas, shrubland, and grasslands, respectively. At regional scale, mean fire-induced albedo change in savannas was -0.018 and -0.024 for northern sub-Saharan of Africa and the southern hemisphere Africa, respectively. The short-term mean fire-induced radiative forcing in burned areas in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was 5.41 W m-2, which contributed continental and global radiative forcings of 0.25 and 0.058 W m-2, respectively. The impact of fire in surface albedo has long-lasting effects that varies with vegetation type. The long-term energetic effects of fire-induced albedo change and associated radiative forcing were, on average, more than 19 times greater across SSA than the short-term effects, suggesting that fires exerted far more radiative forcing than previously thought. Taking into account the actual duration of fire's effect on surface albedo, we conclude that the contribution of SSA fires, globally and throughout the year, is 0.12 W m-2. These findings provide crucial information on possible impact of fire on regional climate variability.

EFFECTS OF LASER RADIATION ON MATTER: Role of the external photoelectric effect in surface microprocessing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ageev, Vladimir P.; Konov, Vitalii I.; Krechetov, A. I.

1990-08-01

An analysis is made of the photoemission of electrons in gases when the surface of a solid is subjected to high-intensity ultraviolet laser radiation which does not cause surface heating. Various situations are considered in which generation of high local electric fields and of a dense cloud of charged particles near the surface may alter and even determine the mechanism of laser-stimulated processes on surfaces of solids.

Evaluation of surface energy and radiation balance systems on the Konza Prairie

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fritschen, Leo J.

1987-01-01

Four Surface Energy and Radiation Balance Systems (SERBS) were installed and operated for two weeks in Kansas during July of 1986. Surface energy and radiation balances were investigated on six sites on the Konza Prairie about 3 km south of Manhattan, Kansas. Measurements were made to allow the computation of these radiation components: total solar and diffuse radiation, reflected solar radiation, net radiation, and longwave radiation upward and downward. Measurements were made to allow the computation of the sensible and latent heat fluxes by the Bowen ratio method using differential psychrometers on automatic exchange mechanisms. The report includes a description of the experimental sites, data acquisition systems and sensors, data acquisitions system operating instructions, and software used for data acquisition and analysis. In addition, data listings and plots of the energy balance components for all days and systems are given.

Revisiting a Hydrological Analysis Framework with International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project Initiative 2 Rainfall, Net Radiation, and Runoff Fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koster, Randal D.; Fekete, Balazs M.; Huffman, George J.; Stackhouse, Paul W.

2006-01-01

The International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project Initiative 2 (ISLSCP-2) data set provides the data needed to characterize the surface water budget across much of the globe in terms of energy availability (net radiation) and water availability (precipitation) controls. The data, on average, are shown to be consistent with Budyko s decades-old framework, thereby demonstrating the continuing relevance of Budyko s semiempirical relationships. This consistency, however, appears only when a small subset of the data with hydrologically suspicious behavior is removed from the analysis. In general, the precipitation, net radiation, and runoff data also appear consistent in their interannual variability and in the phasing of their seasonal cycles.

Influence of snow cover changes on surface radiation and heat balance based on the WRF model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Lingxue; Liu, Tingxiang; Bu, Kun; Yang, Jiuchun; Chang, Liping; Zhang, Shuwen

2017-10-01

The snow cover extent in mid-high latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere has significantly declined corresponding to the global warming, especially since the 1970s. Snow-climate feedbacks play a critical role in regulating the global radiation balance and influencing surface heat flux exchange. However, the degree to which snow cover changes affect the radiation budget and energy balance on a regional scale and the difference between snow-climate and land use/cover change (LUCC)-climate feedbacks have been rarely studied. In this paper, we selected Heilongjiang Basin, where the snow cover has changed obviously, as our study area and used the WRF model to simulate the influences of snow cover changes on the surface radiation budget and heat balance. In the scenario simulation, the localized surface parameter data improved the accuracy by 10 % compared with the control group. The spatial and temporal analysis of the surface variables showed that the net surface radiation, sensible heat flux, Bowen ratio, temperature and percentage of snow cover were negatively correlated and that the ground heat flux and latent heat flux were positively correlated with the percentage of snow cover. The spatial analysis also showed that a significant relationship existed between the surface variables and land cover types, which was not obviously as that for snow cover changes. Finally, six typical study areas were selected to quantitatively analyse the influence of land cover types beneath the snow cover on heat absorption and transfer, which showed that when the land was snow covered, the conversion of forest to farmland can dramatically influence the net radiation and other surface variables, whereas the snow-free land showed significantly reduced influence. Furthermore, compared with typical land cover changes, e.g., the conversion of forest into farmland, the influence of snow cover changes on net radiation and sensible heat flux were 60 % higher than that of land cover changes, indicating the importance of snow cover changes in the surface-atmospheric feedback system.

Application of Monte Carlo techniques to transient thermal modeling of cavity radiometers having diffuse-specular surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahan, J. R.; Eskin, L. D.

1981-01-01

A viable alternative to the net exchange method of radiative analysis which is equally applicable to diffuse and diffuse-specular enclosures is presented. It is particularly more advantageous to use than the net exchange method in the case of a transient thermal analysis involving conduction and storage of energy as well as radiative exchange. A new quantity, called the distribution factor is defined which replaces the angle factor and the configuration factor. Once obtained, the array of distribution factors for an ensemble of surface elements which define an enclosure permits the instantaneous net radiative heat fluxes to all of the surfaces to be computed directly in terms of the known surface temperatures at that instant. The formulation of the thermal model is described, as is the determination of distribution factors by application of a Monte Carlo analysis. The results show that when fewer than 10,000 packets are emitted, an unsatisfactory approximation for the distribution factors is obtained, but that 10,000 packets is sufficient.

CAUSES: Attribution of Surface Radiation Biases in NWP and Climate Models near the U.S. Southern Great Plains

DOE PAGES

Van Weverberg, K.; Morcrette, C. J.; Petch, J.; ...

2018-02-28

Many Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and climate models exhibit too warm lower tropospheres near the midlatitude continents. The warm bias has been shown to coincide with important surface radiation biases that likely play a critical role in the inception or the growth of the warm bias. This paper presents an attribution study on the net radiation biases in nine model simulations, performed in the framework of the CAUSES project (Clouds Above the United States and Errors at the Surface). Contributions from deficiencies in the surface properties, clouds, water vapor, and aerosols are quantified, using an array of radiation measurement stationsmore » near the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis is shown to attribute the radiation errors to specific cloud regimes. The net surface shortwave radiation is overestimated in all models throughout most of the simulation period. Cloud errors are shown to contribute most to this overestimation, although nonnegligible contributions from the surface albedo exist in most models. Missing deep cloud events and/or simulating deep clouds with too weak cloud radiative effects dominate in the cloud-related radiation errors. Some models have compensating errors between excessive occurrence of deep cloud but largely underestimating their radiative effect, while other models miss deep cloud events altogether. Surprisingly, even the latter models tend to produce too much and too frequent afternoon surface precipitation. This suggests that rather than issues with the triggering of deep convection, cloud radiative deficiencies are related to too weak convective cloud detrainment and too large precipitation efficiencies.« less

CAUSES: Attribution of Surface Radiation Biases in NWP and Climate Models near the U.S. Southern Great Plains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Weverberg, K.; Morcrette, C. J.; Petch, J.

Many Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and climate models exhibit too warm lower tropospheres near the midlatitude continents. The warm bias has been shown to coincide with important surface radiation biases that likely play a critical role in the inception or the growth of the warm bias. This paper presents an attribution study on the net radiation biases in nine model simulations, performed in the framework of the CAUSES project (Clouds Above the United States and Errors at the Surface). Contributions from deficiencies in the surface properties, clouds, water vapor, and aerosols are quantified, using an array of radiation measurement stationsmore » near the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis is shown to attribute the radiation errors to specific cloud regimes. The net surface shortwave radiation is overestimated in all models throughout most of the simulation period. Cloud errors are shown to contribute most to this overestimation, although nonnegligible contributions from the surface albedo exist in most models. Missing deep cloud events and/or simulating deep clouds with too weak cloud radiative effects dominate in the cloud-related radiation errors. Some models have compensating errors between excessive occurrence of deep cloud but largely underestimating their radiative effect, while other models miss deep cloud events altogether. Surprisingly, even the latter models tend to produce too much and too frequent afternoon surface precipitation. This suggests that rather than issues with the triggering of deep convection, cloud radiative deficiencies are related to too weak convective cloud detrainment and too large precipitation efficiencies.« less

CAUSES: Attribution of Surface Radiation Biases in NWP and Climate Models near the U.S. Southern Great Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Weverberg, K.; Morcrette, C. J.; Petch, J.; Klein, S. A.; Ma, H.-Y.; Zhang, C.; Xie, S.; Tang, Q.; Gustafson, W. I.; Qian, Y.; Berg, L. K.; Liu, Y.; Huang, M.; Ahlgrimm, M.; Forbes, R.; Bazile, E.; Roehrig, R.; Cole, J.; Merryfield, W.; Lee, W.-S.; Cheruy, F.; Mellul, L.; Wang, Y.-C.; Johnson, K.; Thieman, M. M.

2018-04-01

Many Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and climate models exhibit too warm lower tropospheres near the midlatitude continents. The warm bias has been shown to coincide with important surface radiation biases that likely play a critical role in the inception or the growth of the warm bias. This paper presents an attribution study on the net radiation biases in nine model simulations, performed in the framework of the CAUSES project (Clouds Above the United States and Errors at the Surface). Contributions from deficiencies in the surface properties, clouds, water vapor, and aerosols are quantified, using an array of radiation measurement stations near the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis is shown to attribute the radiation errors to specific cloud regimes. The net surface shortwave radiation is overestimated in all models throughout most of the simulation period. Cloud errors are shown to contribute most to this overestimation, although nonnegligible contributions from the surface albedo exist in most models. Missing deep cloud events and/or simulating deep clouds with too weak cloud radiative effects dominate in the cloud-related radiation errors. Some models have compensating errors between excessive occurrence of deep cloud but largely underestimating their radiative effect, while other models miss deep cloud events altogether. Surprisingly, even the latter models tend to produce too much and too frequent afternoon surface precipitation. This suggests that rather than issues with the triggering of deep convection, cloud radiative deficiencies are related to too weak convective cloud detrainment and too large precipitation efficiencies.

An Assessment of ECMWF Analyses and Model Forecasts over the North Slope of Alaska Using Observations from the ARM Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Shaocheng; Klein, Stephen A.; Yio, J. John

2006-03-11

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis and model forecast data are evaluated using observations collected during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) October 2004 Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE) at its North Slope of Alaska (NSA) site. It is shown that the ECMWF analysis reasonably represents the dynamic and thermodynamic structures of the large-scale systems that affected the NSA during M-PACE. The model-analyzed near-surface horizontal winds, temperature, and relative humidity also agree well with the M-PACE surface measurements. Given the well-represented large-scale fields, the model shows overall good skill in predicting various cloud types observed during M-PACE; however, themore » physical properties of single-layer boundary layer clouds are in substantial error. At these times, the model substantially underestimates the liquid water path in these clouds, with the concomitant result that the model largely underpredicts the downwelling longwave radiation at the surface and overpredicts the outgoing longwave radiation at the top of the atmosphere. The model also overestimates the net surface shortwave radiation, mainly because of the underestimation of the surface albedo. The problem in the surface albedo is primarily associated with errors in the surface snow prediction. Principally because of the underestimation of the surface downwelling longwave radiation at the times of single-layer boundary layer clouds, the model shows a much larger energy loss (-20.9 W m-2) than the observation (-9.6 W m-2) at the surface during the M-PACE period.« less

Impact of cirrus on the surface radiative environment at the FIRE ETLA Palisades, NY site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, David A.; Kukla, George; Frei, Allan

1990-01-01

FIRE Extended Time Limited Area (ETLA) observations provide year round information critical to gaining a better understanding of cloud/climate interactions. The Lamont/Rutgers team has participated in the ETLS program through the collection and analysis of shortwave and longwave downwelling irradiances at Palisades, NY. These data are providing useful information on surface radiative fluxes with respect to sky condition, solar zenith angle and season. Their utility extends to the calibration and validation of cloud/radiative models and satellite cloud and radiative retrievals. The impact cirrus clouds have on the surface radiative environment is examined using Palisades ETLA information on atmospheric transmissivities and downwelling longwave fluxes for winter and summer cirrus and clear sky episodes in 1987.

Variability of Solar Radiation under Cloud-Free Skies in China: The Role of Aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qian, Yun; Wang, Weiguo; Leung, L. ruby; Kaiser, Dale P.

2007-01-01

In this study, we analyzed long-term surface global and diffuse solar radiation, aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA), and relative humidity (RH) from China. Our analysis reveals that much of China experienced significant decreases in global solar radiation (GSR) and increases in diffuse solar radiation under cloud-free skies between the 1960s and 1980s. With RH and aerosol SSA being rather constant during that time period, we suggest that the increasing aerosol loading from emission of pollutants is responsible for the observed reduced GSR and increased diffuse radiation in cloud-free skies. Although pollutant emissions continue to increase after the 1980s, the increment of aerosol SSA since 1980s can partly explain the transition of GSR from a decreasing trend to no apparent trend around that time. Preliminary analysis is also provided on the potential role of RH in affecting the global and diffuse solar radiation reaching the earth surface.

Photoemission analysis of chemically modified TlBr surfaces for improved radiation detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, A. J.; Lee, J.-S.; Stanford, J. A.; Grant, W. K.; Voss, L. F.; Beck, P. R.; Graff, R. T.; Swanberg, E. L.; Conway, A. M.; Nikolic, R. J.; Payne, S. A.; Kim, H.; Cirignano, L. J.; Shah, K.

2013-09-01

Device-grade TlBr was subjected to various chemical treatments used in room temperature radiation detector fabrication to determine the resulting surface composition and electronic structure. Samples of as polished TlBr were treated separately with 2%Br:MeOH, 10%HF, 10%HCl and 96%SOCl2 solutions. High-resolution photoemission measurements on the valence band electronic structure and Tl 4f, Br 3d, Cl 2p and S 2p core lines were used to evaluate surface chemistry. Results suggest anion substitution at the surface with subsequent shallow heterojunction formation. Surface chemistry and valence band electronic structure were further correlated with the goal of optimizing the long-term stability and radiation response.

Impacts of spectral nudging on the simulated surface air temperature in summer compared with the selection of shortwave radiation and land surface model physics parameterization in a high-resolution regional atmospheric model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jun; Hwang, Seung-On

2017-11-01

The impact of a spectral nudging technique for the dynamical downscaling of the summer surface air temperature in a high-resolution regional atmospheric model is assessed. The performance of this technique is measured by comparing 16 analysis-driven simulation sets of physical parameterization combinations of two shortwave radiation and four land surface model schemes of the model, which are known to be crucial for the simulation of the surface air temperature. It is found that the application of spectral nudging to the outermost domain has a greater impact on the regional climate than any combination of shortwave radiation and land surface model physics schemes. The optimal choice of two model physics parameterizations is helpful for obtaining more realistic spatiotemporal distributions of land surface variables such as the surface air temperature, precipitation, and surface fluxes. However, employing spectral nudging adds more value to the results; the improvement is greater than using sophisticated shortwave radiation and land surface model physical parameterizations. This result indicates that spectral nudging applied to the outermost domain provides a more accurate lateral boundary condition to the innermost domain when forced by analysis data by securing the consistency with large-scale forcing over a regional domain. This consequently indirectly helps two physical parameterizations to produce small-scale features closer to the observed values, leading to a better representation of the surface air temperature in a high-resolution downscaled climate.

X-ray photoemission analysis of chemically modified TlBr surfaces for improved radiation detectors

DOE PAGES

Nelson, A. J.; Voss, L. F.; Beck, P. R.; ...

2013-01-12

We subjected device-grade TlBr to various chemical treatments used in room temperature radiation detector fabrication to determine the resulting surface composition and electronic structure. As-polished TlBr was treated separately with HCl, SOCl 2, Br:MeOH and HF solutions. High-resolution photoemission measurements on the valence band electronic structure and Tl 4f, Br 3d, Cl 2p and S 2p core lines were used to evaluate surface chemistry and shallow heterojunction formation. Surface chemistry and valence band electronic structure were correlated with the goal of optimizing the long-term stability and radiation response.

X-ray photoemission analysis of chemically modified TlBr surfaces for improved radiation detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, A. J.; Voss, L. F.; Beck, P. R.; Graff, R. T.; Conway, A. M.; Nikolic, R. J.; Payne, S. A.; Lee, J.-S.; Kim, H.; Cirignano, L.; Shah, K.

2013-04-01

Device-grade TlBr was subjected to various chemical treatments used in room temperature radiation detector fabrication to determine the resulting surface composition and electronic structure. As-polished TlBr was treated separately with HCl, SOCl2, Br:MeOH, and HF solutions. High-resolution photoemission measurements on the valence band electronic structure and Tl 4f, Br 3d, Cl 2p, and S 2p core lines were used to evaluate surface chemistry and shallow heterojunction formation. Surface chemistry and valence band electronic structure were correlated with the goal of optimizing the long-term stability and radiation response.

Apparatus and method for transient thermal infrared emission spectrometry

DOEpatents

McClelland, John F.; Jones, Roger W.

1991-12-24

A method and apparatus for enabling analysis of a solid material (16, 42) by applying energy from an energy source (20, 70) top a surface region of the solid material sufficient to cause transient heating in a thin surface layer portion of the solid material (16, 42) so as to enable transient thermal emission of infrared radiation from the thin surface layer portion, and by detecting with a spectrometer/detector (28, 58) substantially only the transient thermal emission of infrared radiation from the thin surface layer portion of the solid material. The detected transient thermal emission of infrared radiation is sufficiently free of self-absorption by the solid material of emitted infrared radiation, so as to be indicative of characteristics relating to molecular composition of the solid material.

An Evaluation of Sea Surface Temperature as Measured by the Nimbus 1 High Resolution Infrared Radiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allison, Lewis J.; Kennedy, James S.

1967-01-01

An analysis of Nimbus I HRIR data over various parts of the world indicated limited success in deriving sea surface temperatures to within 3 to 6 K of aircraft radiation measurements (8- 13 microns) and synoptic-climatological ship sea surface temperature data. The areas studied included the east, west and Gulf coasts of the United States, West Greenland, Nova Scotia, southern Japan, the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean. At night, thin clouds which may fill the radiometer's field of view make it difficult to interpret the absolute values of derived sea surface temperature. During the daytime, the HRIR data is unusable for oceanographic temperature analysis because the contamination by reflected solar radiation mixes with the emitted radiation. Future satellite instrumentation, consisting of a HFUR radiometer (10-11 microns) when used in conjunction with television. data, will delineate cloud free ocean areas and permit the daily derivation of sea surface temperatures from approximately 10 to 30 Percent of the world's oceanic regions.

Atmospheric radiation model for water surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, R. E.; Gaskill, D. W.; Lierzer, J. R.

1982-01-01

An atmospheric correction model was extended to account for various atmospheric radiation components in remotely sensed data. Components such as the atmospheric path radiance which results from singly scattered sky radiation specularly reflected by the water surface are considered. A component which is referred to as the virtual Sun path radiance, i.e. the singly scattered path radiance which results from the solar radiation which is specularly reflected by the water surface is also considered. These atmospheric radiation components are coded into a computer program for the analysis of multispectral remote sensor data over the Great Lakes of the United States. The user must know certain parameters, such as the visibility or spectral optical thickness of the atmosphere and the geometry of the sensor with respect to the Sun and the target elements under investigation.

CAUSES: Attribution of Surface Radiation Biases in NWP and Climate Models near the U.S. Southern Great Plains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Weverberg, K.; Morcrette, C. J.; Petch, J.

Many numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate models exhibit too warm lower tropospheres near the mid-latitude continents. This warm bias has been extensively studied before, but evidence about its origin remains inconclusive. Some studies point to deficiencies in the deep convective or low clouds. Other studies found an important contribution from errors in the land surface properties. The warm bias has been shown to coincide with important surface radiation biases that likely play a critical role in the inception or the growth of the warm bias. Documenting these radiation errors is hence an important step towards understanding and alleviating themore » warm bias. This paper presents an attribution study to quantify the net radiation biases in 9 model simulations, performed in the framework of the CAUSES project (Clouds Above the United States and Errors at the Surface). Contributions from deficiencies in the surface properties, clouds, integrated water vapor (IWV) and aerosols are quantified, using an array of radiation measurement stations near the ARM SGP site. Furthermore, an in depth-analysis is shown to attribute the radiation errors to specific cloud regimes. The net surface SW radiation is overestimated (LW underestimated) in all models throughout most of the simulation period. Cloud errors are shown to contribute most to this overestimation in all but one model, which has a dominant albedo issue. Using a cloud regime analysis, it was shown that missing deep cloud events and/or simulating deep clouds with too weak cloud-radiative effects account for most of these cloud-related radiation errors. Some models have compensating errors between excessive occurrence of deep cloud, but largely underestimating their radiative effect, while other models miss deep cloud events altogether. Surprisingly however, even the latter models tend to produce too much and too frequent afternoon surface precipitation. This suggests that rather than issues with the triggering of deep convection, the deep cloud problem in many models could be related to too weak convective cloud detrainment and too large precipitation efficiencies. This does not rule out that previously documented issues with the evaporative fraction contribute to the warm bias as well, since the majority of the models underestimate the surface rain rates overall, as they miss the observed large nocturnal precipitation peak.« less

Lunar base thermal management/power system analysis and design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcghee, Jerry R.

1992-01-01

A compilation of several lunar surface thermal management and power system studies completed under contract and IR&D is presented. The work includes analysis and preliminary design of all major components of an integrated thermal management system, including loads determination, active internal acquisition and transport equipment, external transport systems (active and passive), passive insulation, solar shielding, and a range of lunar surface radiator concepts. Several computer codes were utilized in support of this study, including RADSIM to calculate radiation exchange factors and view factors, RADIATOR (developed in-house) for heat rejection system sizing and performance analysis over a lunar day, SURPWER for power system sizing, and CRYSTORE for cryogenic system performance predictions. Although much of the work was performed in support of lunar rover studies, any or all of the results can be applied to a range of surface applications. Output data include thermal loads summaries, subsystem performance data, mass, and volume estimates (where applicable), integrated and worst-case lunar day radiator size/mass and effective sink temperatures for several concepts (shielded and unshielded), and external transport system performance estimates for both single and two-phase (heat pumped) transport loops. Several advanced radiator concepts are presented, along with brief assessments of possible system benefits and potential drawbacks. System point designs are presented for several cases, executed in support of the contract and IR&D studies, although the parametric nature of the analysis is stressed to illustrate applicability of the analysis procedure to a wide variety of lunar surface systems. The reference configuration(s) derived from the various studies will be presented along with supporting criteria. A preliminary design will also be presented for the reference basing scenario, including qualitative data regarding TPS concerns and issues.

Understanding Coupling of Global and Diffuse Solar Radiation with Climatic Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamdan, Lubna

Global solar radiation data is very important for wide variety of applications and scientific studies. However, this data is not readily available because of the cost of measuring equipment and the tedious maintenance and calibration requirements. Wide variety of models have been introduced by researchers to estimate and/or predict the global solar radiations and its components (direct and diffuse radiation) using other readily obtainable atmospheric parameters. The goal of this research is to understand the coupling of global and diffuse solar radiation with climatic variability, by investigating the relationships between these radiations and atmospheric parameters. For this purpose, we applied multilinear regression analysis on the data of National Solar Radiation Database 1991--2010 Update. The analysis showed that the main atmospheric parameters that affect the amount of global radiation received on earth's surface are cloud cover and relative humidity. Global radiation correlates negatively with both variables. Linear models are excellent approximations for the relationship between atmospheric parameters and global radiation. A linear model with the predictors total cloud cover, relative humidity, and extraterrestrial radiation is able to explain around 98% of the variability in global radiation. For diffuse radiation, the analysis showed that the main atmospheric parameters that affect the amount received on earth's surface are cloud cover and aerosol optical depth. Diffuse radiation correlates positively with both variables. Linear models are very good approximations for the relationship between atmospheric parameters and diffuse radiation. A linear model with the predictors total cloud cover, aerosol optical depth, and extraterrestrial radiation is able to explain around 91% of the variability in diffuse radiation. Prediction analysis showed that the linear models we fitted were able to predict diffuse radiation with efficiency of test adjusted R2 values equal to 0.93, using the data of total cloud cover, aerosol optical depth, relative humidity and extraterrestrial radiation. However, for prediction purposes, using nonlinear terms or nonlinear models might enhance the prediction of diffuse radiation.

Spatially Complete Global Spectral Surface Albedos: Value-Added Datasets Derived from Terra MODIS Land Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moody, Eric G.; King, Michael D.; Platnick, Steven; Schaaf, Crystal B.; Gao, Feng

2004-01-01

Land surface albedo is an important parameter in describing the radiative properties of the earth s surface as it represents the amount of incoming solar radiation that is reflected from the surface. The amount and type of vegetation of the surface dramatically alters the amount of radiation that is reflected; for example, croplands that contain leafy vegetation will reflect radiation very differently than blacktop associated with urban areas. In addition, since vegetation goes through a growth, or phenological, cycle, the amount of radiation that is reflected changes over the course of a year. As a result, albedo is both temporally and spatially dependant upon global location as there is a distribution of vegetated surface types and growing conditions. Land surface albedo is critical for a wide variety of earth system research projects including but not restricted to remote sensing of atmospheric aerosol and cloud properties from space, ground-based analysis of aerosol optical properties from surface-based sun/sky radiometers, biophysically-based land surface modeling of the exchange of energy, water, momentum, and carbon for various land use categories, and surface energy balance studies. These projects require proper representation of the surface albedo s spatial, spectral, and temporal variations, however, these representations are often lacking in datasets prior to the latest generation of land surface albedo products.

Ablation and radiation coupled viscous hypersonic shock layers, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engel, C. D.

1971-01-01

The results for a stagnation-line analysis of the radiative heating of a phenolic-nylon ablator are presented. The analysis includes flow field coupling with the ablator surface, equilibrium chemistry, a step-function diffusion model and a coupled line and continuum radiation calculation. This report serves as the documentation, i e. users manual and operating instructions for the computer programs listed in the report.

Transition of surface energy budget in the Gobi Desert between spring and summer seasons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Eric A.; Reiter, Elmar R.; Gao, Youxi

1986-01-01

The surface energetics of the southwest Gobi Desert, including the temporal variations and diurnally averaged properties of the surface energy budget components, was investigated. The field program was conducted during the spring and summer of 1984, with the measurement system designed to monitor radiative exchange, heat/moisture storage in the soil, and sensible and latent heat exhange between the ground and the atmosphere. Results of the analysis reveal a seasonal transition feature not expected of a midlatitude desert. Namely, the differences in both surface radiation exchange and the distibution of sensible and latent heat transfer arise within a radiatively forced environment that barely deviates from spring to summer in terms of available solar energy at the surface. Both similarities and differences in the spring and summer surface energy budgets arise from differences imparted to the system by an increase in the summertime atmospheric moisture content. Changes in the near-surface mixing ratio are shown to alter the effectiveness of the desert surface in absorbing radiative energy and redistibuting it to the lower atmosphere through sensible and latent heat exchange.

Surface Optical Rectification from Layered MoS2 Crystal by THz Time-Domain Surface Emission Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Huang, Yuanyuan; Zhu, Lipeng; Zhao, Qiyi; Guo, Yaohui; Ren, Zhaoyu; Bai, Jintao; Xu, Xinlong

2017-02-08

Surface optical rectification was observed from the layered semiconductor molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) crystal via terahertz (THz) time-domain surface emission spectroscopy under linearly polarized femtosecond laser excitation. The radiated THz amplitude of MoS 2 has a linear dependence on ever-increasing pump fluence and thus quadratic with the pump electric field, which discriminates from the surface Dember field induced THz radiation in InAs and the transient photocurrent-induced THz generation in graphite. Theoretical analysis based on space symmetry of MoS 2 crystal suggests that the underlying mechanism of THz radiation is surface optical rectification under the reflection configuration. This is consistent with the experimental results according to the radiated THz amplitude dependences on azimuthal and incident polarization angles. We also demonstrated the damage threshold of MoS 2 due to microscopic bond breaking under the femtosecond laser irradiation, which can be monitored via THz time-domain emission spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy.

Increase of surface solar irradiance across East China related to changes in aerosol properties during the past decade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jing; Jiang, Yiwei; Xia, Xiangao; Hu, Yongyun

2018-03-01

Previously, it was widely documented that an overall decrease in surface solar radiation occurred in China at least until 2005, in contrast to the general background of ‘global brightening’. Increased anthropogenic aerosol emissions were speculated to be the source of the reduction. In this study, we extend the trend analysis to the most recent decade from 2005-2015 and find that surface solar radiation has shifted from ‘dimming’ to ‘brightening’ over East China, with the largest increase over the northeast and southeast parts. Meanwhile, satellite and ground observation both indicate a reduction in aerosol optical depth (AOD) during the same period, whereas no significant trends in cloud amount show up. Detailed analysis using co-located radiation and aerosol observation at the XiangHe station in North China suggests that both AOD and single scattering albedo (SSA) changes contribute to the radiation trends. AOD reduction contributes to the increase of direct solar radiation, also decreasing the diffuse radiation, while the increase of SSA serves to increase the diffuse fraction. Simple calculations using a radiative transfer model confirm that the two effects combined explain changes in the global solar radiation and its components effectively. Our results have implications for potential climate effects with the reduction of China’s aerosol emissions, and the necessity to monitor aerosol composition in addition to its loading.

An analysis of the radiation from apertures in curved surfaces by the geometrical theory of diffraction. [ray technique for electromagnetic fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pathak, P. H.; Kouyoumjian, R. G.

1974-01-01

In this paper the geometrical theory of diffraction is extended to treat the radiation from apertures of slots in convex perfectly conducting surfaces. It is assumed that the tangential electric field in the aperture is known so that an equivalent infinitesimal source can be defined at each point in the aperture. Surface rays emanate from this source which is a caustic of the ray system. A launching coefficient is introduced to describe the excitation of the surface ray modes. If the field radiated from the surface is desired, the ordinary diffraction coefficients are used to determine the field of the rays shed tangentially from the surface rays. The field of the surface ray modes is not the field on the surface; hence if the mutual coupling between slots is of interest, a second coefficient related to the launching coefficient must be employed. In the region adjacent to the shadow boundary, the component of the field directly radiated from the source is represented by Fock-type functions. In the illuminated region the incident radiation from the source (this does not include the diffracted field components) is treated by geometrical optics. This extension of the geometrical theory of diffraction is applied to calculate the radiation from slots on elliptic cylinders, spheres, and spheroids.

Mixed convection-radiation interaction in boundary-layer flow over horizontal surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, F. S.; Hady, F. M.

1990-06-01

The effect of buoyancy forces and thermal radiation on the steady laminar plane flow over an isothermal horizontal flat plate is investigated within the framework of first-order boundary-layer theory, taking into account the hydrostatic pressure variation normal to the plate. The fluid considered is a gray, absorbing-emitting but nonscattering medium, and the Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. Both a hot surface facing upward and a cold surface facing downward are considered in the analysis. Numerical results for the local Nusselt number, the local wall shear stress, the local surface heat flux, as well as the velocity and temperature distributions are presented for gases with a Prandtl number of 0.7 for various values of the radiation-conduction parameter, the buoyancy parameter, and the temperature ratio parameter.

The variation in surface morphology and hardness of human deciduous teeth samples after laser irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalid, Arooj; Bashir, Shazia; Akram, Mahreen; Salman Ahmed, Qazi

2017-11-01

The variation in surface morphology and hardness of human deciduous teeth samples has been investigated after laser irradiation at different wavelengths and energies. Nd:YAG was employed as a source of irradiation for IR (1064 nm) and visible (532 nm) radiation, whereas an excimer laser was used as the source of UV (248 nm) radiation. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis was carried out to reveal the surface morphological evolution of teeth samples. Vickers microhardness tester was employed to investigate the modifications in the hardness of the laser-treated samples. It is observed from SEM analysis that IR wavelength is responsible for ablation of collagen matrix and intertubular dentine. For visible radiation, the ablation of collagen along with hydroxypatite is observed. With UV radiation, the ablation of peritubular dentine is dominant and is responsible for the sealing of tubules. The decrease in hardness at lower energy for both wavelengths is due to the evaporation of carbon content. With increasing energy, evaporation of water along with carbon content, and resolidification and re-organization of inorganic content causes the increase in hardness of the treated dentine. SEM as well as microhardness analyses reveal that laser wavelengths and energy of laser radiation significantly influence the surface morphology and hardness of samples.

Plasma effect on weld pool surface reconstruction by shape-from-polarization analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Coniglio, N.; Mathieu, A., E-mail: alexandre.mathieu@u-bourgogne.fr; Aubreton, O.

2014-03-31

The polarimetric state of the thermal radiations emitted by the weld metal contains geometric information about the emitting surface. Even though the analysed thermal radiation has a wavelength corresponding to a blind spectral window of the arc plasma, the physical presence of the arc plasma itself interferes with the rays radiated by the weld pool surface before attaining the polarimeter, thus modifying the geometric information transported by the ray. In the present work, the effect of the arc plasma-surrounding zone on the polarimetric state and propagation direction of the radiated ray is analyzed. The interaction with the arc plasma zonemore » induces a drop in ray intensity and a refraction of ray optical path.« less

Effects of Gas-Phase Radiation and Detailed Kinetics on the Burning and Extinction of a Solid Fuel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhatigan, Jennifer L.

2001-01-01

This is the first attempt to analyze both radiation and detailed kinetics on the burning and extinction of a solid fuel in a stagnation-point diffusion flame. We present a detailed and comparatively accurate computational model of a solid fuel flame along with a quantitative study of the kinetics mechanism, radiation interactions, and the extinction limits of the flame. A detailed kinetics model for the burning of solid trioxane (a trimer of formaldehyde) is coupled with a narrowband radiation model, with carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water vapor as the gas-phase participating media. The solution of the solid trioxane diffusion flame over the flammable regime is presented in some detail, as this is the first solution of a heterogeneous trioxane flame. We identify high-temperature and low-temperature reaction paths for the heterogeneous trioxane flame. We then compare the adiabatic solution to solutions that include Surface radiation only and gas-phase and surface radiation using a black surface model. The analysis includes discussion of detailed flame chemistry over the flammable regime and, in particular, at the low stretch extinction limit. We emphasize the low stretch regime of the radiatively participating flame, since this is the region representative of microgravity flames. When only surface radiation is included, two extinction limits exist (the blow-off limit, and the low stretch radiative limit), and the burning rate and maximum flame temperatures are lower, as expected. With the inclusion of surface and gas-phase radiation, results show that, while flame temperatures are lower, the burning rate of the trioxane diffusion flame may actually increase at low stretch rate due to radiative feedback from the flame to the surface.

A study of surface temperatures, clouds and net radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhuria, Harbans

1994-01-01

The study is continuing and it is focused on examining seasonal relationships between climate parameters such as the surface temperatures, the net radiation and cloud types and amount on a global basis for the period February 1985 to January 1987. The study consists of an analysis of the combined Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program (ISCCP) products. The main emphasis is on obtaining the information about the interactions and relationships of Earth Radiation Budget parameters, cloud and temperature information. The purpose is to gain additional qualitative and quantitative insight into the cloud climate relationship.

A Study of Surface Temperatures, Clouds and Net Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhuria, Harbans

1996-01-01

This study focused on the seasonal relationships and interactions of climate parameters such as the surface temperatures, net radiation, long wave flux, short wave flux, and clouds on a global basis. Five years of observations (December 1984 to November 1989) from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program (ISCCP) were used to study both seasonal variations and interannual variations by use of a basic radiation budget equation. In addition, the study was extended to include an analysis of the cloud forcing due El-Nino's impact on the ERBE parameters.

Terahertz analysis of stratified wall plaster at buildings of cultural importance across Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Gillian C.; Jackson, J. Bianca; Giovannacci, David; Bowen, John W.; Delandes, Bruno; Labaune, Julien; Mourou, Gerard; Menu, Michel; Detalle, Vincent

2013-05-01

Terahertz (THz) radiation is being developed as a tool for the analysis of cultural heritage, and due to recent advances in technology is now available commercially in systems which can be deployed for field analysis. The radiation is capable of penetrating up to one centimetre of wall plaster and is delivered in ultrafast pulses which are reflected from layers within this region. The technique is non-contact, non-invasive and non-destructive. While sub-surface radar is able to penetrate over a metre of wall plaster, producing details of internal structures, infrared and ultraviolet techniques produce information about the surface layers of wall plaster. THz radiation is able to provide information about the interim region of up to approximately one centimetre into the wall surface. Data from Chartres Cathedral, France, Riga Dome Cathedral, Latvia, and Chartreuse du Val de Bénédiction, France is presented each with different research questions. The presence of sub-surface paint layers was expected from documentary evidence, dating to the 13th Century, at Chartres Cathedral. In contrast, at the Riga Dome Cathedral surface painting had been obscured as recently as 1941 during the Russian occupation of Latvia using white lead-based paint. In the 13th Century, wall paintings at the Chapel of the Frescos, Chartreuse du Val de Benediction in Villeneuve les Avignon were constructed using sinopia under-painting on plaster covering uneven stonework.. This paper compares and contrasts the ability of THz radiation to provide information about sub-surface features in churches and Cathedrals across Europe by analysing depth based profiles gained from the reflected signal.

Validation and Sensitivity Analysis of a New Atmosphere-Soil-Vegetation Model.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagai, Haruyasu

2002-02-01

This paper describes details, validation, and sensitivity analysis of a new atmosphere-soil-vegetation model. The model consists of one-dimensional multilayer submodels for atmosphere, soil, and vegetation and radiation schemes for the transmission of solar and longwave radiations in canopy. The atmosphere submodel solves prognostic equations for horizontal wind components, potential temperature, specific humidity, fog water, and turbulence statistics by using a second-order closure model. The soil submodel calculates the transport of heat, liquid water, and water vapor. The vegetation submodel evaluates the heat and water budget on leaf surface and the downward liquid water flux. The model performance was tested by using measured data of the Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study (CASES). Calculated ground surface fluxes were mainly compared with observations at a winter wheat field, concerning the diurnal variation and change in 32 days of the first CASES field program in 1997, CASES-97. The measured surface fluxes did not satisfy the energy balance, so sensible and latent heat fluxes obtained by the eddy correlation method were corrected. By using options of the solar radiation scheme, which addresses the effect of the direct solar radiation component, calculated albedo agreed well with the observations. Some sensitivity analyses were also done for model settings. Model calculations of surface fluxes and surface temperature were in good agreement with measurements as a whole.

Radiation exposure in the moon environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reitz, Guenther; Berger, Thomas; Matthiae, Daniel

2012-12-01

During a stay on the moon humans are exposed to elevated radiation levels due to the lack of substantial atmospheric and magnetic shielding compared to the Earth's surface. The absence of magnetic and atmospheric shielding allows cosmic rays of all energies to impinge on the lunar surface. Beside the continuous exposure to galactic cosmic rays (GCR), which increases the risk of cancer mortality, exposure through particles emitted in sudden nonpredictable solar particle events (SPE) may occur. SPEs show an enormous variability in particle flux and energy spectra and have the potential to expose space crew to life threatening doses. On Earth, the contribution to the annual terrestrial dose of natural ionizing radiation of 2.4 mSv by cosmic radiation is about 1/6, whereas the annual exposure caused by GCR on the lunar surface is roughly 380 mSv (solar minimum) and 110 mSv (solar maximum). The analysis of worst case scenarios has indicated that SPE may lead to an exposure of about 1 Sv. The only efficient measure to reduce radiation exposure is the provision of radiation shelters. Measurements on the lunar surface performed during the Apollo missions cover only a small energy band for thermal neutrons and are not sufficient to estimate the exposure. Very recently some data were added by the Radiation Dose Monitoring (RADOM) instrument operated during the Indian Chandrayaan Mission and the Cosmic Ray Telescope (CRaTER) instrument of the NASA LRO (Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter) mission. These measurements need to be complemented by surface measurements. Models and simulations that exist describe the approximate radiation exposure in space and on the lunar surface. The knowledge on the radiation exposure at the lunar surface is exclusively based on calculations applying radiation transport codes in combination with environmental models. Own calculations are presented using Monte-Carlo simulations to calculate the radiation environment on the moon and organ doses on the surface of the moon for an astronaut in an EVA suit and are compared with measurements. Since it is necessary to verify/validate such calculations with measurement on the lunar surface, a description is given of a radiation detector for future detailed surface measurements. This device is proposed for the ESA Lunar Lander Mission and is capable to characterize the radiation field concerning particle fluencies, dose rates and energy transfer spectra for ionizing particles and to measure the dose contribution of secondary neutrons.

Ablation article and method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erickson, W. D.; Sullivan, E. M. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

An ablation article, such as a conical heat shield, having an ablating surface is provided with at least one discrete area of at least one seed material, such as aluminum. When subjected to ablation conditions, the seed material is ablated. Radiation emanating from the ablated seed material is detected to analyze ablation effects without disturbing the ablation surface. By providing different seed materials having different radiation characteristics, the ablating effects on various areas of the ablating surface can be analyzed under any prevailing ablation conditions. The ablating article can be provided with means for detecting the radiation characteristics of the ablated seed material to provide a self-contained analysis unit.

Use of a Hybrid Edge Node-Centroid Node Approach to Thermal Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peabody, Hume L.

2010-01-01

A recent proposal submitted for an ESA mission required that models be delivered in ESARAD/ESAT AN formats. ThermalDesktop was the preferable analysis code to be used for model development with a conversion done as the final step before delivery. However, due to some differences between the capabilities of the two codes, a unique approach was developed to take advantage of the edge node capability of ThermalDesktop while maintaining the centroid node approach used by ESARAD. In essence, two separate meshes were used: one for conduction and one for radiation. The conduction calculations were eliminated from the radiation surfaces and the capacitance and radiative calculations were eliminated from the conduction surfaces. The resulting conduction surface nodes were coincident with all nodes of the radiation surface and were subsequently merged, while the nodes along the edges remained free. Merging of nodes on the edges of adjacent surfaces provided the conductive links between surfaces. Lastly, all nodes along edges were placed into the subnetwork and the resulting supernetwork included only the nodes associated with radiation surfaces. This approach had both benefits and disadvantages. The use of centroid, surface based radiation reduces the overall size of the radiation network, which is often the most computationally intensive part of the modeling process. Furthermore, using the conduction surfaces and allowing ThermalDesktop to calculate the conduction network can save significant time by not having to manually generate the couplings. Lastly, the resulting GMM/TMM models can be exported to formats which do not support edge nodes. One drawback, however, is the necessity to maintain two sets of surfaces. This requires additional care on the part of the analyst to ensure communication between the conductive and radiative surfaces in the resulting overall network. However, with more frequent use of this technique, the benefits of this approach can far outweigh the additional effort.

Use of a Hybrid Edge Node-Centroid Node Approach to Thermal Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peabody, Hume L.

2010-01-01

A recent proposal submitted for an ESA mission required that models be delivered in ESARAD/ESATAN formats. ThermalDesktop was the preferable analysis code to be used for model development with a conversion done as the final step before delivery. However, due to some differences between the capabilities of the two codes, a unique approach was developed to take advantage of the edge node capability of ThermalDesktop while maintaining the centroid node approach used by ESARAD. In essence, two separate meshes were used: one for conduction and one for radiation. The conduction calculations were eliminated from the radiation surfaces and the capacitance and radiative calculations were eliminated from the conduction surfaces. The resulting conduction surface nodes were coincident with all nodes of the radiation surface and were subsequently merged, while the nodes along the edges remained free. Merging of nodes on the edges of adjacent surfaces provided the conductive links between surfaces. Lastly, all nodes along edges were placed into the subnetwork and the resulting supernetwork included only the nodes associated with radiation surfaces. This approach had both benefits and disadvantages. The use of centroid, surface based radiation reduces the overall size of the radiation network, which is often the most computationally intensive part of the modeling process. Furthermore, using the conduction surfaces and allowing ThermalDesktop to calculate the conduction network can save significant time by not having to manually generate the couplings. Lastly, the resulting GMM/TMM models can be exported to formats which do not support edge nodes. One drawback, however, is the necessity to maintain two sets of surfaces. This requires additional care on the part of the analyst to ensure communication between the conductive and radiative surfaces in the resulting overall network. However, with more frequent use of this technique, the benefits of this approach can far outweigh the additional effort.

The Regional Influence of the Arctic Oscillation and Arctic Dipole on the Wintertime Arctic Surface Radiation Budget and Sea Ice Growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hegyi, Bradley M.; Taylor, Patrick C.

2017-01-01

An analysis of 2000-2015 monthly Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System-Energy Balanced and Filled (CERES-EBAF) and Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA2) data reveals statistically significant fall and wintertime relationships between Arctic surface longwave (LW) radiative flux anomalies and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Arctic Dipole (AD). Signifying a substantial regional imprint, a negative AD index corresponds with positive downwelling clear-sky LW flux anomalies (greater than10W m(exp -2)) north of western Eurasia (0 deg E-120 deg E) and reduced sea ice growth in the Barents and Kara Seas in November-February. Conversely, a positive AO index coincides with negative clear-sky LW flux anomalies and minimal sea ice growth change in October-November across the Arctic. Increased (decreased) atmospheric temperature and water vapor coincide with the largest positive (negative) clear-sky flux anomalies. Positive surface LW cloud radiative effect anomalies also accompany the negative AD index in December-February. The results highlight a potential pathway by which Arctic atmospheric variability influences the regional surface radiation budget over areas of Arctic sea ice growth.

Remote Heat Flux Using a Self Calibration Multiwavelength Pyrometer and a Transparent Material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Daniel

1998-01-01

A self calibrating multiwavelength pyrometer was used to conduct remote heat flux measurements using a transparent sapphire disk by determining the sapphire disk's front and back surface temperatures. Front surface temperature (Tfs) was obtained from detection of surface emitted radiation at long wavelengths (k = 6 gm). Back surface temperature (Tbs) was obtained from short wavelength (1 to 5 gm) radiation transmitted through the sapphire disk. The thermal conductivity of the sapphire disk and the heat transfer coefficients h, and h2 of its surfaces are determined experimentally. An analysis of the heat flux measurement is presented.

Multisource Estimation of Long-term Global Terrestrial Surface Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, L.; Sheffield, J.

2017-12-01

Land surface net radiation is the essential energy source at the earth's surface. It determines the surface energy budget and its partitioning, drives the hydrological cycle by providing available energy, and offers heat, light, and energy for biological processes. Individual components in net radiation have changed historically due to natural and anthropogenic climate change and land use change. Decadal variations in radiation such as global dimming or brightening have important implications for hydrological and carbon cycles. In order to assess the trends and variability of net radiation and evapotranspiration, there is a need for accurate estimates of long-term terrestrial surface radiation. While large progress in measuring top of atmosphere energy budget has been made, huge discrepancies exist among ground observations, satellite retrievals, and reanalysis fields of surface radiation, due to the lack of observational networks, the difficulty in measuring from space, and the uncertainty in algorithm parameters. To overcome the weakness of single source datasets, we propose a multi-source merging approach to fully utilize and combine multiple datasets of radiation components separately, as they are complementary in space and time. First, we conduct diagnostic analysis of multiple satellite and reanalysis datasets based on in-situ measurements such as Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA), existing validation studies, and other information such as network density and consistency with other meteorological variables. Then, we calculate the optimal weighted average of multiple datasets by minimizing the variance of error between in-situ measurements and other observations. Finally, we quantify the uncertainties in the estimates of surface net radiation and employ physical constraints based on the surface energy balance to reduce these uncertainties. The final dataset is evaluated in terms of the long-term variability and its attribution to changes in individual components. The goal of this study is to provide a merged observational benchmark for large-scale diagnostic analyses, remote sensing and land surface modeling.

Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Analysis of Thermal Distribution in Arch Dams considering Solar Radiation Effect

PubMed Central

Mirzabozorg, H.; Hariri-Ardebili, M. A.; Shirkhan, M.; Seyed-Kolbadi, S. M.

2014-01-01

The effect of solar radiation on thermal distribution in thin high arch dams is investigated. The differential equation governing thermal behavior of mass concrete in three-dimensional space is solved applying appropriate boundary conditions. Solar radiation is implemented considering the dam face direction relative to the sun, the slop relative to horizon, the region cloud cover, and the surrounding topography. It has been observed that solar radiation changes the surface temperature drastically and leads to nonuniform temperature distribution. Solar radiation effects should be considered in thermal transient analysis of thin arch dams. PMID:24695817

Mathematical modeling and numerical analysis of thermal distribution in arch dams considering solar radiation effect.

PubMed

Mirzabozorg, H; Hariri-Ardebili, M A; Shirkhan, M; Seyed-Kolbadi, S M

2014-01-01

The effect of solar radiation on thermal distribution in thin high arch dams is investigated. The differential equation governing thermal behavior of mass concrete in three-dimensional space is solved applying appropriate boundary conditions. Solar radiation is implemented considering the dam face direction relative to the sun, the slop relative to horizon, the region cloud cover, and the surrounding topography. It has been observed that solar radiation changes the surface temperature drastically and leads to nonuniform temperature distribution. Solar radiation effects should be considered in thermal transient analysis of thin arch dams.

Comparison and Analysis of Energy Performance of Baseline and Enhanced Temporary Army Shelters

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

modeling .................................................................................................... 37 4.4 Predicted vs. field- measured data...with remote access capability ......................... 35 4-2 Direct normal solar radiation measured at weather station and estimated with the... Measured global horizontal radiation and EnergyPlus calculated incident solar radiation on a horizontal surface

Investigating the role of the land surface in explaining the interannual variation of the net radiation balance over the Western Sahara and sub-Sahara

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Eric A.; Nicholson, Sharon

1987-01-01

The status of the data sets is discussed. Progress was made in both data analysis and modeling areas. The atmospheric and land surface contributions to the net radiation budget over the Sahara-Sahel region is being decoupled. The interannual variability of these two processes was investigated and this variability related to seasonal rainfall fluctuations. A modified Barnes objective analysis scheme was developed which uses an eliptic scan pattern and a 3-pass iteration of the difference fields.

Thermal Analysis of Thermal Protection System of Test Launch Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jongmin

2017-10-01

In this paper, a thermal analysis of the thermal protection system (TPS) of test launch vehicle (TLV) is explained. TLV is heated during the flight due to engine exhaust plume gas by thermal radiation and a TPS is needed to protect the vehicle from the heating. The thermal analysis of the TPS is conducted to predict the heat flux from plume gas and temperature of the TPS during the flight. To simplify the thermal analysis, plume gas radiation and radiative properties are assumed to be surface radiation and constants, respectively. Thermal conductivity, emissivity and absorptivity of the TPS material are measured. Proper plume conditions are determined from the preliminary analysis and then the heat flux and temperature of the TPS are calculated.

Quantifying Diurnal Cloud Radiative Effects by Cloud Type in the Tropical Western Pacific

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burleyson, Casey D.; Long, Charles N.; Comstock, Jennifer M.

2015-06-01

Cloud radiative effects are examined using long-term datasets collected at the three Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facilities in the tropical western Pacific. We quantify the surface radiation budget, cloud populations, and cloud radiative effects by partitioning the data by cloud type, time of day, and as a function of large scale modes of variability such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase and wet/dry seasons at Darwin. The novel facet of our analysis is that we break aggregate cloud radiative effects down by cloud type across the diurnal cycle. The Nauru cloud populations andmore » subsequently the surface radiation budget are strongly impacted by ENSO variability whereas the cloud populations over Manus only shift slightly in response to changes in ENSO phase. The Darwin site exhibits large seasonal monsoon related variations. We show that while deeper convective clouds have a strong conditional influence on the radiation reaching the surface, their limited frequency reduces their aggregate radiative impact. The largest source of shortwave cloud radiative effects at all three sites comes from low clouds. We use the observations to demonstrate that potential model biases in the amplitude of the diurnal cycle and mean cloud frequency would lead to larger errors in the surface energy budget compared to biases in the timing of the diurnal cycle of cloud frequency. Our results provide solid benchmarks to evaluate model simulations of cloud radiative effects in the tropics.« less

Sub-Scale Analysis of New Large Aircraft Pool Fire-Suppression

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

discrete ordinates radiation and single step Khan and Greeves soot model provided radiation and soot interaction. Agent spray dynamics were...Notable differences observed showed a modeled increase in the mockup surface heat-up rate as well as a modeled decreased rate of soot production...488 K SUPPRESSION STARTED  Large deviation between sensors due to sensor alignment challenges and asymmetric fuel surface ignition  Unremarkable

Correcting surface solar radiation of two data assimilation systems against FLUXNET observations in North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Lei; Lee, Xuhui; Liu, Shoudong

2013-09-01

Solar radiation at the Earth's surface is an important driver of meteorological and ecological processes. The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the reanalysis solar radiation produced by NARR (North American Regional Reanalysis) and MERRA (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications) against the FLUXNET measurements in North America. We found that both assimilation systems systematically overestimated the surface solar radiation flux on the monthly and annual scale, with an average bias error of +37.2 Wm-2 for NARR and of +20.2 Wm-2 for MERRA. The bias errors were larger under cloudy skies than under clear skies. A postreanalysis algorithm consisting of empirical relationships between model bias, a clearness index, and site elevation was proposed to correct the model errors. Results show that the algorithm can remove the systematic bias errors for both FLUXNET calibration sites (sites used to establish the algorithm) and independent validation sites. After correction, the average annual mean bias errors were reduced to +1.3 Wm-2 for NARR and +2.7 Wm-2 for MERRA. Applying the correction algorithm to the global domain of MERRA brought the global mean surface incoming shortwave radiation down by 17.3 W m-2 to 175.5 W m-2. Under the constraint of the energy balance, other radiation and energy balance terms at the Earth's surface, estimated from independent global data products, also support the need for a downward adjustment of the MERRA surface solar radiation.

Preliminary Radiation Analysis of the Total Ionizing Dose for the Resource Prospector Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rojdev, Kristina; Tylka, Allan J.; Atwell, William

2015-01-01

NASA's Resource Prospector (RP) is a collaborative project between multiple centers and institutions to search for volatiles at the polar regions of the Moon as a potential resource for oxygen and propellant production. The mission is rated Class D and will be the first In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) demonstration on the lunar surface and at the lunar poles. Given that this mission is rated Class D, the project is considering using commercial off the shelf (COTS) electronics parts to reduce cost. However, COTS parts can be more susceptible to space radiation than typical aerospace electronic parts and carry some additional risk. Thus, prior to parts selection, having a better understanding of the radiation environment can assist designers in the parts selection process. The focus of this paper is to provide a preliminary analysis of the radiation environment from launch, through landing on the surface, and some surface stay as an initial step in determining worst case mission doses to assist designers in screening out electronic parts that would not meet the potential dose levels experienced on this mission.

Improving representation of canopy temperatures for modeling subcanopy incoming longwave radiation to the snow surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webster, Clare; Rutter, Nick; Jonas, Tobias

2017-09-01

A comprehensive analysis of canopy surface temperatures was conducted around a small and large gap at a forested alpine site in the Swiss Alps during the 2015 and 2016 snowmelt seasons (March-April). Canopy surface temperatures within the small gap were within 2-3°C of measured reference air temperature. Vertical and horizontal variations in canopy surface temperatures were greatest around the large gap, varying up to 18°C above measured reference air temperature during clear-sky days. Nighttime canopy surface temperatures around the study site were up to 3°C cooler than reference air temperature. These measurements were used to develop a simple parameterization for correcting reference air temperature for elevated canopy surface temperatures during (1) nighttime conditions (subcanopy shortwave radiation is 0 W m-2) and (2) periods of increased subcanopy shortwave radiation >400 W m-2 representing penetration of shortwave radiation through the canopy. Subcanopy shortwave and longwave radiation collected at a single point in the subcanopy over a 24 h clear-sky period was used to calculate a nighttime bulk offset of 3°C for scenario 1 and develop a multiple linear regression model for scenario 2 using reference air temperature and subcanopy shortwave radiation to predict canopy surface temperature with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.7°C. Outside of these two scenarios, reference air temperature was used to predict subcanopy incoming longwave radiation. Modeling at 20 radiometer locations throughout two snowmelt seasons using these parameterizations reduced the mean bias and RMSE to below 10 W m s-2 at all locations.

Mathematical Analysis of Space Radiator Segmenting for Increased Reliability and Reduced Mass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juhasz, Albert J.

2001-01-01

Spacecraft for long duration deep space missions will need to be designed to survive micrometeoroid bombardment of their surfaces some of which may actually be punctured. To avoid loss of the entire mission the damage due to such punctures must be limited to small, localized areas. This is especially true for power system radiators, which necessarily feature large surface areas to reject heat at relatively low temperature to the space environment by thermal radiation. It may be intuitively obvious that if a space radiator is composed of a large number of independently operating segments, such as heat pipes, a random micrometeoroid puncture will result only in the loss of the punctured segment, and not the entire radiator. Due to the redundancy achieved by independently operating segments, the wall thickness and consequently the weight of such segments can be drastically reduced. Probability theory is used to estimate the magnitude of such weight reductions as the number of segments is increased. An analysis of relevant parameter values required for minimum mass segmented radiators is also included.

Radiation Channels Close to a Plasmonic Nanowire Visualized by Back Focal Plane Imaging

PubMed Central

Hartmann, Nicolai; Piatkowski, Dawid; Ciesielski, Richard; Mackowski, Sebastian; Hartschuh, Achim

2014-01-01

We investigated the angular radiation patterns, a key characteristic of an emitting system, from individual silver nanowires decorated with rare earth ion-doped nanocrystals. Back focal plane radiation patterns of the nanocrystal photoluminescence after local two-photon excitation can be described by two emission channels: Excitation of propagating surface plasmons in the nanowire followed by leakage radiation and direct dipolar emission observed also in the absence of the nanowire. Theoretical modeling reproduces the observed radiation patterns which strongly depend on the position of excitation along the nanowire. Our analysis allows to estimate the branching ratio into both emission channels and to determine the diameter dependent surface plasmon quasi-momentum, important parameters of emitter-plasmon structures. PMID:24131299

Solar Radiation and Cloud Radiative Forcing in the Pacific Warm Pool Estimated Using TOGA COARE Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chou, Ming-Dah; Chou, Shu-Hsien; Zhao, Wenzhong

1999-01-01

The energy budget of the tropical western Pacific (TWP) is particularly important because this is one of the most energetic convection regions on the Earth. Nearly half of the solar radiation incident at the top of atmosphere is absorbed at the surface and only about 22% absorbed in the atmosphere. A large portion of the excess heat absorbed at the surface is transferred to the atmosphere through evaporation, which provides energy and water for convection and precipitation. The western equatorial Pacific is characterized by the highest sea surface temperature (SST) and heaviest rainfall in the world ocean. A small variation of SST associated with the eastward shift of the warm pool during El-Nino/Souther Oscillation changes the atmospheric circulation pattern and affects the global climate. In a study of the TWP surface heat and momentum fluxes during the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) Intensive observing period (IOP) from November 1992 to February have found that the solar radiation is the most important component of the surface energy budget, which undergoes significant temporal and spatial variation. The variations are influenced by the two 40-50 days Madden Julian Oscillations (MJOs) which propagated eastward from the Indian Ocean to the Central Pacific during the IOP. The TWP surface solar radiation during the COARE IOP was investigated by a number of studies. In addition, the effects of clouds on the solar heating of the atmosphere in the TWP was studied using energy budget analysis. In this study, we present some results of the TWP surface solar shortwave or SW radiation budget and the effect of clouds on the atmospheric solar heating using the surface radiation measurements and Japan's Geostationary Meteorological Satellite 4 radiance measurements during COARE IOP.

Evaluation of Improved Engine Compartment Overheat Detection Techniques.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-08-01

radiation properties (emissivity and reflectivity) of the surface. The first task of the numerical procedure is to investigate the radiosity (radiative heat...and radiosity are spatially uniform within each zone. 0 Radiative properties are spatially uniform and independent of direction. 0 The enclosure is...variation in the radiosity will be nonuniform in distribution in that region. The zone analysis method assumes the : . ,. temperature and radiation

The relevance of rooftops: Analyzing the microscale surface energy balance in the Chicago region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khosla, Radhika

Spatial structure in climate variables often exist over very short length scales within an urban area, and this structure is a result of various site-specific features. In order to analyze the seasonal and diurnal energy flows that take place at a microclimatic surface, this work develops a semi-empirical energy balance model. For this, radiation fluxes and meteorological measurements are determined by direct observation; sensible heat and latent heat fluxes by parameterizations; and the heat storage flux by a 1-D mechanistic model that allows analysis of the temperature profile and heat storage within an underlying slab. Two sites receive detailed study: an anthropogenic site, being a University of Chicago building rooftop, and a natural site, outside Chicago in the open country. Two identical sets of instruments record measurements contemporaneously from these locations during June-November 2007, the entire period for which analyses are carried out. The study yields seasonal trends in surface temperature, surface-to-air temperature contrast and net radiation. At both sites, a temporal hysteresis between net radiation and heat storage flux indicates that surplus energy absorbed during daylight is released to the atmosphere later in the evening. The surface energy balance model responds well to site specific features for both locations. An analysis of the surface energy balance shows that the flux of sensible heat is the largest non-radiative contributor to the roof's surface cooling, while the flux of latent heat (also referred to as evaporative cooling) is the largest heat sink for the soil layer. In the latter part of the study, the surface energy balance model is upgraded by adding the capability to compute changes in surface temperature and non-radiative fluxes for any specified set of thermal and reflective roof properties. The results of this analysis allow an examination of the relationship between the roof temperature, the heat flux entering the building interior through the roof, and the physical properties of the surface. These results hold particular relevance for urban heat island mitigation strategies. Based on the results of this work, recommendations are proposed for widespread adoption of various techniques that enhance building energy efficiency (particularly targeting rooftops), mitigate the negative impacts of the urban heat island, and overcome the current barriers to transforming the market.

Modeling the non-grey-body thermal emission from the full moon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogler, Karl J.; Johnson, Paul E.; Shorthill, Richard W.

1991-01-01

The present series of thermophysical computer models for solid-surfaced planetary bodies whose surface roughness is modeled as paraboloidal craters of specified depth/diameter ratio attempts to characterize the nongrey-body brightness temperature spectra of the moon and of the Galilean satellites. This modeling, in which nondiffuse radiation properties and surface roughness are included for rigorous analysis of scattered and reemitted radiation within a crater, explains to first order the behavior of both limb-scans and disk-integrated IR brightness temperature spectra for the full moon. Only negative surface relief can explain lunar thermal emissions' deviation from smooth Lambert-surface expectations.

Light radiation pressure upon an optically orthotropic surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nerovny, Nikolay A.; Lapina, Irina E.; Grigorjev, Anton S.

2017-11-01

In this paper, we discuss the problem of determination of light radiation pressure force upon an anisotropic surface. The optical parameters of such a surface are considered to have major and minor axes, so the model is called an orthotropic model. We derive the equations for force components from emission, absorption, and reflection, utilizing a modified Maxwell's specular-diffuse model. The proposed model can be used to model a flat solar sail with wrinkles. By performing Bayesian analysis for example of a wrinkled surface, we show that there are cases in which an orthotropic model of the optical parameters of a surface may be more accurate than an isotropic model.

New Developments for Radiation Enhancements from Metal Surfaces by Using Nanoscale Materials in the Membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, Koji; Matsuda, Masami

2017-12-01

The enhancements of thermal radiations from the surfaces of devices are very important for electric machines to prevent from heating up and/or efficiency degradations. In this investigation, new applications of micro-scale membrane of Si, SiO2 etc. on the metal surfaces have been studied to cool down the temperature without breaking insulations of the devices by selecting materials. The modified black-body radiations were sensitively detected by thermisters with sub-second responses. The optimum membrane thicknesses were successfully determined by subtractions a of radiation intensities between those at membranes with and without membrane, respectively. We obtained the best cooling condition in SiO2 membrane with 20μmt for an Al-plate of 10cmx10cmx1mmt. Further, we observed the detaching/attaching processes of massive molecule clusters from the metal surface as a sudden change in temperature changes just like the noises in the detectors. A characteristic pattern of temperature change was observed in diatomite membranes during the cooling process in a temperature range between 200-50°C. These radiation phenomena as a function of temperature might be available as a molecular analysis on the metal surface.

Evaluation of surface energy and radiation balance systems for FIFE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fritschen, Leo J.; Qian, Ping

1988-01-01

The energy balance and radiation balance components were determined at six sites during the First International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project Field Experiment (FIFE) conducted south of Manhattan, Kansas during the summer of 1987. The objectives were: to determine the effect of slope and aspect, throughout a growing season, on the magnitude of the surface energy balance fluxes as determined by the Energy Balance Method (EBM); to investigate the calculation of the soil heat flux density at the surface as calculated from the heat capacity and the thermal conductivity equations; and to evaluate the performance of the Surface Energy and Radiation Balance System (SERBS). A total of 17 variables were monitored at each site. They included net, solar (up and down), total hemispherical (up and down), and diffuse radiation, soil temperature and heat flux density, air and wet bulb temperature gradients, wind speed and direction, and precipitation. A preliminary analysis of the data, for the season, indicate that variables including net radiation, air temperature, vapor pressure, and wind speed were quite similar at the sites even though the sites were as much as 16 km apart and represented four cardinal slopes and the top of a ridge.

Method and apparatus for chemical and topographical microanalysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kossakovski, Dmitri A. (Inventor); Baldeschwieler, John D. (Inventor); Beauchamp, Jesse L. (Inventor)

2002-01-01

A scanning probe microscope is combined with a laser induced breakdown spectrometer to provide spatially resolved chemical analysis of the surface correlated with the surface topography. Topographical analysis is achieved by scanning a sharp probe across the sample at constant distance from the surface. Chemical analysis is achieved by the means of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy by delivering pulsed laser radiation to the sample surface through the same sharp probe, and consequent collection and analysis of emission spectra from plasma generated on the sample by the laser radiation. The method comprises performing microtopographical analysis of the sample with a scanning probe, selecting a scanned topological site on the sample, generating a plasma plume at the selected scanned topological site, and measuring a spectrum of optical emission from the plasma at the selected scanned topological site. The apparatus comprises a scanning probe, a pulsed laser optically coupled to the probe, an optical spectrometer, and a controller coupled to the scanner, laser and spectrometer for controlling the operation of the scanner, laser and spectrometer. The probe and scanner are used for topographical profiling the sample. The probe is also used for laser radiation delivery to the sample for generating a plasma plume from the sample. Optical emission from the plasma plume is collected and delivered to the optical spectrometer so that analysis of emission spectrum by the optical spectrometer allows for identification of chemical composition of the sample at user selected sites.

Analysis of the Diurnal Cycle of Precipitation and its Relation to Cloud Radiative Forcing Using TRMM Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Randall, David A.; Fowler, Laura D.; Lin, Xin

1998-01-01

In order to improve our understanding of the interactions between clouds, radiation, and the hydrological cycle simulated in the Colorado State University General Circulation Model (CSU GCM), we focused our research on the analysis of the diurnal cycle of precipitation, top-of-the-atmosphere and surface radiation budgets, and cloudiness using 10-year long Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulations. Comparisons the simulated diurnal cycle were made against the diurnal cycle of Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) radiation budget and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) cloud products. This report summarizes our major findings over the Amazon Basin.

Analysis of Long-Term Cloud Cover, Radiative Fluxes, and Sea Surface Temperature in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, J. J.; Frouin, R.

1996-01-01

Grant activities accomplished during this reporting period are summarized. The contributions of the principle investigator are reported under four categories: (1) AHVRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) data; (2) GOES (Geostationary Operational Environ Satellite) data; (3) system software design; and (4) ATSR (Along Track Scanning Radiometer) data. The contributions of the associate investigator are reported for:(1) longwave irradiance at the surface; (2) methods to derive surface short-wave irradiance; and (3) estimating PAR (photo-synthetically active radiation) surface. Several papers have resulted. Abstracts for each paper are provided.

Tumor Cells Surviving Exposure to Proton or Photon Radiation Share a Common Immunogenic Modulation Signature, Rendering Them More Sensitive to T Cell–Mediated Killing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gameiro, Sofia R.; Malamas, Anthony S.; Bernstein, Michael B.

Purpose: To provide the foundation for combining immunotherapy to induce tumor antigen–specific T cells with proton radiation therapy to exploit the activity of those T cells. Methods and Materials: Using cell lines of tumors frequently treated with proton radiation, such as prostate, breast, lung, and chordoma, we examined the effect of proton radiation on the viability and induction of immunogenic modulation in tumor cells by flow cytometric and immunofluorescent analysis of surface phenotype and the functional immune consequences. Results: These studies show for the first time that (1) proton and photon radiation induced comparable up-regulation of surface molecules involved in immune recognition (histocompatibilitymore » leukocyte antigen, intercellular adhesion molecule 1, and the tumor-associated antigens carcinoembryonic antigen and mucin 1); (2) proton radiation mediated calreticulin cell-surface expression, increasing sensitivity to cytotoxic T-lymphocyte killing of tumor cells; and (3) cancer stem cells, which are resistant to the direct cytolytic activity of proton radiation, nonetheless up-regulated calreticulin after radiation in a manner similar to non-cancer stem cells. Conclusions: These findings offer a rationale for the use of proton radiation in combination with immunotherapy, including for patients who have failed radiation therapy alone or have limited treatment options.« less

Algorithm for Surface of Translation Attached Radiators (A-STAR). Volume 1: Formulation of the analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medgyesimitschang, L. N.; Putnam, J. M.

1982-05-01

A general analytical formulation, based on the method of moments (MM) is described for solving electromagnetic problems associated with off-surface (wire) and aperture radiators on finite-length cylinders of arbitrary cross section, denoted in this report as bodies of translation (BOT). This class of bodies can be used to model structures with noncircular cross sections such as wings, fins and aircraft fuselages.

Particle agglomeration and fuel decomposition in burning slurry droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhury, P. Roy; Gerstein, Melvin

In a burning slurry droplet the particles tend to agglomerate and produce large clusters which are difficult to burn. As a consequence, the combustion efficiency is drastically reduced. For such a droplet the nonlinear D2- t behavior associated with the formation of hard to burn agglomerates can be explained if the fuel decomposes on the surface of the particles. This paper deals with analysis and experiments with JP-10 and Diesel #2 slurries prepared with inert SiC and Al 2O 3 particles. It provides direct evidence of decomposed fuel residue on the surface of the particles heated by flame radiation. These decomposed fuel residues act as bonding agents and appear to be responsible for the observed agglomeration of particles in a slurry. Chemical analysis, scanning electron microscope photographs and finally micro-analysis by electron scattering clearly show the presence of decomposed fuel residue on the surface of the particles. Diesel #2 is decomposed relatively easily and therefore leaves a thicker deposit on SiC and forms larger agglomerates than the more stable JP-10. A surface reaction model with particles heated by flame radiation is able to describe the observed trend of the diameter history of the slurry fuel. Additional experiments with particles of lower emissivity (Al 2O 3) and radiation absorbing dye validate the theoretical model of the role of flame radiation in fuel decomposition and the formation of agglomerates in burning slurry droplets.

Space station thermal control surfaces. [space radiators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maag, C. R.; Millard, J. M.; Jeffery, J. A.; Scott, R. R.

1979-01-01

Mission planning documents were used to analyze the radiator design and thermal control surface requirements for both space station and 25-kW power module, to analyze the missions, and to determine the thermal control technology needed to satisfy both sets of requirements. Parameters such as thermal control coating degradation, vehicle attitude, self eclipsing, variation in solar constant, albedo, and Earth emission are considered. Four computer programs were developed which provide a preliminary design and evaluation tool for active radiator systems in LEO and GEO. Two programs were developed as general programs for space station analysis. Both types of programs find the radiator-flow solution and evaluate external heat loads in the same way. Fortran listings are included.

Estimating regional evapotranspiration from remotely sensed data by surface energy balance models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asrar, Ghassem; Kanemasu, Edward; Myneni, R. B.; Lapitan, R. L.; Harris, T. R.; Killeen, J. M.; Cooper, D. I.; Hwang, C.

1987-01-01

Spatial and temporal variations of surface radiative temperatures of the burned and unburned areas of the Konza tallgrass prairie were studied. The role of management practices, topographic conditions and the uncertainties associated with in situ or airborne surface temperature measurements were assessed. Evaluation of diurnal and seasonal spectral characteristics of the burned and unburned areas of the prairie was also made. This was accomplished based on the analysis of measured spectral reflectance of the grass canopies under field conditions, and modelling their spectral behavior using a one dimensional radiative transfer model.

First-Time Analysis of Completely Restored DTREM Instrument Data from Apollo 14 and 15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McBride, Marie J.; Williams, David R.; Hills, H. Kent; Turner, Niescja

2013-01-01

The Dust, Thermal and Radiation Engineering Measurement (DTREM) packages (figure 1) mounted on the central stations of the Apollo 11, 12, 14, and 15 ALSEPs (Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Packages) measured the outputs of exposed solar cells and thermistors over time. The goal of the experiment, also commonly known as the dust detector, was to study the long-term effects of dust, radiation, and temperature at the lunar surface on solar cells. The monitors returned data for up to almost 8 years from the lunar surface.

Carbon-Water-Energy Relations for Selected River Basins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choudhury, B. J.

1998-01-01

A biophysical process-based model was run using satellite, assimilated and ancillary data for four years (1987-1990) to calculate components of total evaporation (transpiration, interception, soil and snow evaporation), net radiation, absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and net primary productivity over the global land surface. Satellite observations provided fractional vegetation cover, solar and photosynthetically active radiation incident of the surface, surface albedo, fractional cloud cover, air temperature and vapor pressure. The friction velocity and surface air pressure are obtained from a four dimensional data assimilation results, while precipitation is either only surface observations or a blended product of surface and satellite observations. All surface and satellite data are monthly mean values; precipitation has been disaggregated into daily values. All biophysical parameters of the model are prescribed according to published records. From these global land surface calculations results for river basins are derived using digital templates of basin boundaries. Comparisons with field observations (micrometeorologic, catchment water balance, biomass production) and atmospheric water budget analysis for monthly evaporation from six river basins have been done to assess errors in the calculations. Comparisons are also made with previous estimates of zonal variations of evaporation and net primary productivity. Efficiencies of transpiration, total evaporation and radiation use, and evaporative fraction for selected river basins will be presented.

Relationship between clouds and sea surface temperatures in the western tropical Pacific

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arking, Albert; Ziskin, Daniel

1994-01-01

Analysis of four years of earth radiation budget, cloud, and sea surface temperature data confirms that cloud parameters change dramatically when and where sea surface temperatures increase above approximately 300K. These results are based upon monthly mean values within 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg grid points over the 'warm pool' region of the western tropical Pacific. The question of whether sea surface temperatures are influenced, in turn, by the radiative effects of these clouds (Ramanathan and Collins) is less clear. Such a feedback, if it exists, is weak. The reason why clouds might have so little influence, despite large changes in their longwave and shortwave radiative effects, might be that the sea surface responds to both the longwave heating and the shortwave cooling effects of clouds, and the two effects nearly cancel. There are strong correlations between the rate of change of sea surface temperature and any of the radiation budget parameters that are highly correlated with the incident solar flux-implying that season and latitude are the critical factors determining sea surface temperatures. With the seasonal or both seasonal and latitudinal variations removed, the rate of change of sea surface temperature shows no correlation with cloud-related parameters in the western tropical Pacific.

Reconstruction and analysis of erythemal UV radiation time series from Hradec Králové (Czech Republic) over the past 50 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Čížková, Klára; Láska, Kamil; Metelka, Ladislav; Staněk, Martin

2018-02-01

This paper evaluates the variability of erythemal ultraviolet (EUV) radiation from Hradec Králové (Czech Republic) in the period 1964-2013. The EUV radiation time series was reconstructed using a radiative transfer model and additional empirical relationships, with the final root mean square error of 9.9 %. The reconstructed time series documented the increase in EUV radiation doses in the 1980s and the 1990s (up to 15 % per decade), which was linked to the steep decline in total ozone (10 % per decade). The changes in cloud cover were the major factor affecting the EUV radiation doses especially in the 1960s, 1970s, and at the beginning of the new millennium. The mean annual EUV radiation doses in the decade 2004-2013 declined by 5 %. The factors affecting the EUV radiation doses differed also according to the chosen integration period (daily, monthly, and annually): solar zenith angle was the most important for daily doses, cloud cover, and surface UV albedo for their monthly means, and the annual means of EUV radiation doses were most influenced by total ozone column. The number of days with very high EUV radiation doses increased by 22 % per decade, the increase was statistically significant in all seasons except autumn. The occurrence of the days with very high EUV doses was influenced mostly by low total ozone column (82 % of days), clear-sky or partly cloudy conditions (74 % of days) and by increased surface albedo (19 % of days). The principal component analysis documented that the occurrence of days with very high EUV radiation doses was much affected by the positive phase of North Atlantic Oscillation with an Azores High promontory reaching over central Europe. In the stratosphere, a strong Arctic circumpolar vortex and the meridional inflow of ozone-poor air from the southwest were favorable for the occurrence of days with very high EUV radiation doses. This is the first analysis of the relationship between the high EUV radiation doses and macroscale circulation patterns, and therefore more attention should be given also to other dynamical variables that may affect the solar UV radiation on the Earth surface.

Convection and thermal radiation analytical models applicable to a nuclear waste repository room

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davis, B.W.

1979-01-17

Time-dependent temperature distributions in a deep geologic nuclear waste repository have a direct impact on the physical integrity of the emplaced canisters and on the design of retrievability options. This report (1) identifies the thermodynamic properties and physical parameters of three convection regimes - forced, natural, and mixed; (2) defines the convection correlations applicable to calculating heat flow in a ventilated (forced-air) and in a nonventilated nuclear waste repository room; and (3) delineates a computer code that (a) computes and compares the floor-to-ceiling heat flow by convection and radiation, and (b) determines the nonlinear equivalent conductivity table for a repositorymore » room. (The tables permit the use of the ADINAT code to model surface-to-surface radiation and the TRUMP code to employ two different emissivity properties when modeling radiation exchange between the surface of two different materials.) The analysis shows that thermal radiation dominates heat flow modes in a nuclear waste repository room.« less

Operational Derivation of Surface Albedo and Down-Welling Short-Wave Radiation in the Satellite Application Facility for Land Surface Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geiger, B.; Carrer, D.; Meurey, C.; Roujean, J.-L.

2006-08-01

The Satellite Application Facility for Land Surface Anal- ysis hosted by the Portuguese Meteorological Institute in Lisbon generates and distributes value added satellite products for numerical weather prediction and environ- mental applications in near-real time. Within the project consortium M´et´eo-France is responsible for the land sur- face albedo and down-welling short-wave radiation flux products. Since the beginning of the year 2005 Meteosat Second Generation data are routinely processed by the Land-SAF operational system. In general the validation studies carried out so far show a good consistency with in-situ observations or equivalent products derived from other satellites. After one year of operations a summary of the product characteristics and performances is given. Key words: Surface Albedo; Down-welling Radiation; Land-SAF.

Colour change evaluation on UV radiation exposure for Păun-Repedea calcareous geomaterial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelin, V.; Sandu, I.; Munteanu, M.; Iurcovschi, C. T.; Gurlui, S.; Sandu, AV; Vasilache, V.; Brȃnzilă, M.; Sandu, I. G.

2016-06-01

When talking about the preservation treatments that can be applied to natural stones used in different constructions, the surface hydrophobization plays an important part, especially when referring to porous surfaces like the calcareous oolithic stones specific to Repedea area, Iasi County, Romania. The present paper presents a method that evaluates the hydrophobization efficiency of two types of pellicles, involving UV artificial ageing and colorimetric analysis of the treated surfaces. The evaluation was done through continuous colorimetric monitoring and by comparing the evolution of the chromatic modifications of the two treated surfaces with the original colorimetric values and with the witness area, which was exposed to UV radiations under the same conditions, but left chemical untreated. The techniques used during this experiment were: CIE L*a*b* colorimetry, OM, SEM-EDX, UV radiation exposure and Spectrum Irradiance Measurement.

Cosmic dosimetry using TLD aboard spacecrafts of the "Cosmos" series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hübner, K.; Schmidt, P.; Fellinger, J.

Thermoluminescent (TL) detectors were used for dosimetric investigations on the outer surface as well as inside Soviet spacecrafts of the "Cosmos" series. At the outer surface, ultrathin TL detectors, based on CaF 2-PTFE and LiF, were arranged in special stacks and exposed to unshielded cosmic radiation. The strong decrease of dose within a few mg/cm 2 demonstrates that weakly penetrating radiation is dominating in the radiation field under investigation. On the basis of glow curve analysis of LiF thermoluminescent detectors it could be shown, that the high doses are caused by electrons.

Cosmic dosimetry using TLD aboard spacecrafts of the "Cosmos" series.

PubMed

Hubner, K; Schmidt, P; Fellinger, J

1994-11-01

Thermoluminescent (TL) detectors were used for dosimetric investigations on the outer surface as well as inside Soviet spacecrafts of the "Cosmos" series. At the outer surface, ultrathin TL detectors, based on CaF2-PTFE and LiF, were arranged in special stacks and exposed to unshielded cosmic radiation. The strong decrease of dose within a few mg/cm2 demonstrates that weakly penetrating radiation is dominating in the radiation field under investigation. On the basis of glow curve analysis of LiF thermoluminescent detectors it could be shown, that the high doses are caused by electrons.

Prospective of employing high porosity open-cell metal foams in passive cryogenic radiators for space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tisha, Dixit; Indranil, Ghosh

2017-02-01

Passive cryogenic radiators work on the principle of dissipating heat to the outer space purely by radiation. High porosity open-cell metal foams are a relatively new class of extended surfaces. These possess the advantages of high surface area density and low weight, characteristics which the space industry looks for. In case of radiative heat transfer, the porous nature of metal foams permits a deeper penetration of the incident radiation. Consequently, the heat transfer area participating in radiative heat exchange increases thereby enhancing the heat transfer rate. However, effective heat conduction in between the foam struts reduces as a result of the void spaces. These two conflicting phenomenon for radiation heat transfer in metal foams have been studied in this work. Similar to the foam conduction-convection heat transfer analysis, a conduction-radiation heat transfer model has been developed for metal foams in analogy with the conventional solid fin theory. Metal foams have been theoretically represented as simple cubic structures. A comparison of the radiative heat transfer through metal foams and solid fins attached to a surface having constant temperature has been presented. Effect of changes in foam characteristic properties such as porosity and pore density have also been studied.

Thermodynamics and Cloud Radiative Effect from the First Year of GoAmazon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collow, Allie Marquardt; Miller, Mark; Trabachino, Lynne

2015-01-01

Deforestation is an ongoing concern for the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil and associated changes to the land surface have been hypothesized to alter the climate in the region. A comprehensive set of meteorological observations at the surface and within the lower troposphere above Manacapuru, Brazil and data from the Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) are used to evaluate the seasonal cycle of cloudiness, thermodynamics, and the radiation budget. While ample moisture is present in the Amazon Rainforest year round, the northward progression of the Hadley circulation during the dry season contributes to a drying of the middle troposphere and inhibits the formation of deep convection. This results in a reduction in cloudiness and precipitation as well as an increase in the height of the lifting condensation level, which is shown to have a negative correlation to the fraction of low clouds. Frequent cloudiness prevents solar radiation from reaching the surface and clouds are often reflective with high values of shortwave cloud radiative effect at the surface and top of the atmosphere. Cloud radiative effect is reduced during the dry season however the dry season surface shortwave cloud radiative effect is still double what is observed during the wet season in other tropical locations. Within the column, the impact of clouds on the radiation budget is more prevalent in the longwave part of the spectrum, with a net warming in the wet season.

Analysis of the In-Water and Sky Radiance Distribution Data Acquired During the Radyo Project

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

radiative transfer to model the BRDF of particulate surfaces. OBJECTIVES The major objective of this research is to understand the downwelling...of image and radiative transfer models used in the ocean. My near term ocean optics objectives have been: 1) to improve the measurement capability...directional Reflectance Distribution Function ( BRDF ) of benthic surfaces in the ocean, and 4) to understand the capabilities and limitations of using

Satellite estimation of surface spectral ultraviolet irradiance using OMI data in East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, H.; Kim, J.; Jeong, U.

2017-12-01

Due to a strong influence to the human health and ecosystem environment, continuous monitoring of the surface ultraviolet (UV) irradiance is important nowadays. The amount of UVA (320-400 nm) and UVB (290-320 nm) radiation at the Earth surface depends on the extent of Rayleigh scattering by atmospheric gas molecules, the radiative absorption by ozone, radiative scattering by clouds, and both absorption and scattering by airborne aerosols. Thus advanced consideration of these factors is the essential part to establish the process of UV irradiance estimation. Also UV index (UVI) is a simple parameter to show the strength of surface UV irradiance, therefore UVI has been widely utilized for the purpose of UV monitoring. In this study, we estimate surface UV irradiance at East Asia using realistic input based on OMI Total Ozone and reflectivity, and then validate this estimated comparing to UV irradiance from World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre (WOUDC) data. In this work, we also try to develop our own retrieval algorithm for better estimation of surface irradiance. We use the Vector Linearized Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (VLIDORT) model version 2.6 for our UV irradiance calculation. The input to the VLIDORT radiative transfer calculations are the total ozone column (TOMS V7 climatology), the surface albedo (Herman and Celarier, 1997) and the cloud optical depth. Based on these, the UV irradiance is calculated based on look-up table (LUT) approach. To correct absorbing aerosol, UV irradiance algorithm added climatological aerosol information (Arola et al., 2009). The further study, we analyze the comprehensive uncertainty analysis based on LUT and all input parameters.

Direct Radiative Impacts of Central American Biomass Burning Smoke Aerosols: Analysis from a Coupled Aerosol-Radiation-Meteorology Model RAMS-AROMA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Christopher, S. A.; Nair, U. S.; Reid, J. S.; Prins, E. M.

2005-12-01

Considerable efforts including various field experiments have been carried out in the last decade for studying the regional climatic impact of smoke aerosols produced by biomass burning activities in Africa and South America. In contrast, only few investigations have been conducted for Central American Biomass Burning (CABB) region. Using a coupled aerosol-radiation-meteorology model called RAMS-AROMA together with various ground-based observations, we present a comprehensive analysis of the smoke direct radiative impacts on the surface energy budget, boundary layer evolution, and e precipitation process during the CABB events in Spring 2003. Quantitative estimates are also made regarding the transboundary carbon mass to the U.S. in the form of smoke particles. Buult upon the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) mesoscale model, the RAMS AROMA has several features including Assimilation and Radiation Online Modeling of Aerosols (AROMA) algorithms. The model simulates smoke transport by using hourly smoke emission inventory from the Fire Locating and Modeling of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE) geostationary satellite database. It explicitly considers the smoke effects on the radiative transfer at each model time step and model grid, thereby coupling the dynamical processes and aerosol transport. Comparison with ground-based observation show that the simulation realistically captured the smoke transport timeline and distribution from daily to hourly scales. The effects of smoke radiative extinction on the decrease of 2m air temperature (2mT), diurnal temperature range (DTR), and boundary layer height over the land surface are also quantified. Warming due to smoke absorption of solar radiation can be found in the lower troposphere over the ocean, but not near the underlying land surface. The increase of boundary layer stability produces a positive feedback where more smoke particles are trapped in the lower boundary layer. These changes in temperature, surface energy budget and the atmospheric lapse rate have important ramification for the simulation of precipitations.

Tools for Atmospheric Radiative Transfer: Streamer and FluxNet. Revised

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Key, Jeffrey R.; Schweiger, Axel J.

1998-01-01

Two tools for the solution of radiative transfer problems are presented. Streamer is a highly flexible medium spectral resolution radiative transfer model based on the plane-parallel theory of radiative transfer. Capable of computing either fluxes or radiances, it is suitable for studying radiative processes at the surface or within the atmosphere and for the development of remote-sensing algorithms. FluxNet is a fast neural network-based implementation of Streamer for computing surface fluxes. It allows for a sophisticated treatment of radiative processes in the analysis of large data sets and potential integration into geophysical models where computational efficiency is an issue. Documentation and tools for the development of alternative versions of Fluxnet are available. Collectively, Streamer and FluxNet solve a wide variety of problems related to radiative transfer: Streamer provides the detail and sophistication needed to perform basic research on most aspects of complex radiative processes while the efficiency and simplicity of FluxNet make it ideal for operational use.

Simulation of the ocean's spectral radiant thermal source and boundary conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merzlikin, Vladimir; Krass, Maxim; Cheranev, Svyatoslav; Aloric, Aleksandra

2013-05-01

This article considers the analysis of radiant heat transfer for semitransparent natural and polluted seawaters and its physical interpretations. Technogenic or natural pollutions are considered as ensembles of selective scattering, absorbing and emitting particles with complex refractive indices in difference spectral ranges of external radiation. Simulation of spectral radiant thermal sources within short wavelength of solar penetrating radiation for upper oceanic depth was carried out for deep seawater on regions from ˜ 300 to ˜ 600 nm and for subsurface layers (not more ˜ 1 m) - on one ˜ 600 - 1200 nm. Model boundary conditions on exposed oceanic surface are defined by (1) emittance of atmosphere and seawater within long wavelength radiation ˜ 9000 nm, (2) convection, and (3) thermal losses due to evaporation. Spatial and temporal variability of inherent optical properties, temperature distributions of the upper overheated layer of seawater, the appearance of a subsurface temperature maximum and a cool surface skin layer in response to penetrating solar radiation are explained first of all by the effects of volumetric scattering (absorption) and surface cooling of polluted seawater. The suggested analysis can become an important and useful subject of research for oceanographers and climatologists.

Characterization of rotary-percussion drilling as a seismic-while-drilling source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Yingjian; Hurich, Charles; Butt, Stephen D.

2018-04-01

This paper focuses on an evaluation of rotary-percussion drilling (RPD) as a seismic source. Two field experiments were conducted to characterize seismic sources from different rocks with different strengths, i.e. weak shale and hard arkose. Characterization of RPD sources consist of spectral analysis and mean power measurements, along with field measurements of the source radiation patterns. Spectral analysis shows that increase of rock strength increases peak frequency and widens bandwidth, which makes harder rock more viable for seismic-while-drilling purposes. Mean power analysis infers higher magnitude of body waves in RPD than in conventional drillings. Within the horizontal plane, the observed P-wave energy radiation pattern partially confirms the theoretical radiation pattern under a single vertical bit vibration. However a horizontal lobe of energy is observed close to orthogonal to the axial bit vibration. From analysis, this lobe is attributed to lateral bit vibration, which is not documented elsewhere during RPD. Within the horizontal plane, the observed radiation pattern of P-waves is generally consistent with a spherically-symmetric distribution of energy. In addition, polarization analysis is conducted on P-waves recorded at surface geophones for understanding the particle motions. P-wave particle motions are predominantly in the vertical direction showing the interference of the free-surface.

The Radiation Environment on the Surface of Mars and its Implications for Human Exploration: Five Years of Measurements with the MSL/RAD instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehresmann, B.; Zeitlin, C. J.; Hassler, D.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Guo, J.; Appel, J. K.; Boehm, E.; Boettcher, S. I.; Burmeister, S.; Lohf, H.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Matthiae, D.; Rafkin, S. C.; Reitz, G.

2017-12-01

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission has now been operating in Gale Crater on the surface of Mars for five years. Onboard Curiosity, the Radiation Assessment Detector (MSL/RAD) is measuring the Martian surface radiation environment, providing insights into its intensity and composition. This radiation field is mainly composed of primary Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and secondary particles created by the GCRs' interactions with the Martian atmosphere and soil. On short time scales, the radiation environment can be dominated by contributions from Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events. Due to the shielding effect of the Martian atmosphere, shapes and intensities of SEP spectra differ significantly between interplanetary space and the Martian surface. Understanding how SEP events influence the surface radiation field is crucial to assess associated health risks for potential human missions to Mars. Even in the absence of SEP events, the surface environment is influenced by solar activity, which determines the strength of the interplanetary magnetic field and modulates GCR intensities. The GCR flux has risen considerably since Curiosity's landing as the solar cycle heads towards minimum. Here, we present updated MSL/RAD results for charged particle fluxes measured on the surface from GCRs and SEP events from the five years of MSL operations on Mars. We will present results that incorporate updated analysis techniques for the MSL/RAD data and yield the most robust particle spectra to date. The GCR results will be compared to simulation results. The SEP-induced fluxes on the surface will be compared to measurements from other spacecraft in the inner heliosphere and, in particular, in Martian orbit.

Sound Radiated by a Wave-Like Structure in a Compressible Jet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golubev, V. V.; Prieto, A. F.; Mankbadi, R. R.; Dahl, M. D.; Hixon, R.

2003-01-01

This paper extends the analysis of acoustic radiation from the source model representing spatially-growing instability waves in a round jet at high speeds. Compared to previous work, a modified approach to the sound source modeling is examined that employs a set of solutions to linearized Euler equations. The sound radiation is then calculated using an integral surface method.

Current Status on Radiation Modeling for the Hayabusa Re-entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winter, Michael W.; McDaniel, Ryan D.; Chen, Yih-Kang; Liu, Yen; Saunders, David

2011-01-01

On June 13, 2010 the Japanese Hayabusa capsule performed its reentry into the Earths atmosphere over Australia after a seven year journey to the asteroid Itokawa. The reentry was studied by numerous imaging and spectroscopic instruments onboard NASA's DC-8 Airborne Laboratory and from three sites on the ground, in order to measure surface and plasma radiation generated by the Hayabusa Sample Return Capsule (SRC). Post flight, the flow solutions were recomputed to include the whole flow field around the capsule at 11 points along the reentry trajectory using updated trajectory information. Again, material response was taken into account to obtain most reliable surface temperature information. These data will be used to compute thermal radiation of the glowing heat shield and plasma radiation by the shock/post-shock layer system to support analysis of the experimental observation data. For this purpose, lines of sight data are being extracted from the flow field volume grids and plasma radiation will be computed using NEQAIR [4] which is a line-by-line spectroscopic code with one-dimensional transport of radiation intensity. The procedures being used were already successfully applied to the analysis of the observation of the Stardust reentry [5].

Optimal spacing within a tubed, volumetric, cavity receiver suitable for modular molten salt solar towers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Peter

2016-05-01

A 2-dimensional radiation analysis has been developed to analyse the radiative efficiency of an arrangement of heat transfer tubes distributed in layers but spaced apart to form a tubed, volumetric receiver. Such an arrangement could be suitable for incorporation into a cavity receiver. Much of the benefit of this volumetric approach is gained after using 5 layers although improvements do continue with further layers. The radiation analysis splits each tube into multiple segments in which each segment surface can absorb, reflect and radiate rays depending on its surface temperature. An iterative technique is used to calculate appropriate temperatures depending on the distribution of the net energy absorbed and assuming that the cool heat transfer fluid (molten salt) starts at the front layer and flows back through successive layers to the rear of the cavity. Modelling the finite diameter of each layer of tubes increases the ability of a layer to block radiation scattered at acute angles and this effect is shown to reduce radiation losses by nearly 25% compared to the earlier 1-d analysis. Optimum efficient designs tend to occur when the blockage factor is 0.2 plus the inverse of the number of tube layers. It is beneficial if the distance between successive layers is ≥ 2 times the diameter of individual tubes and in this situation, if the incoming radiation is spread over a range of angles, the performance is insensitive to the degree of any tube positional offset or stagger between layers.

Comparison and Validation of FLUKA and HZETRN as Tools for Investigating the Secondary Neutron Production in Large Space Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rojdev, Kristina; Koontz, Steve; Reddell, Brandon; Atwell, William; Boeder, Paul

2015-01-01

NASA's exploration goals are focused on deep space travel and Mars surface operations. To accomplish these goals, large structures will be necessary to transport crew and logistics in the initial stages, and NASA will need to keep the crew and the vehicle safe during transport and any surface activities. One of the major challenges of deep space travel is the space radiation environment and its impacts on the crew, the electronics, and the vehicle materials. The primary radiation from the sun (solar particle events) and from outside the solar system (galactic cosmic rays) interact with materials of the vehicle. These interactions lead to some of the primary radiation being absorbed, being modified, or producing secondary radiation (primarily neutrons). With all vehicles, the high energy primary radiation is of most concern. However, with larger vehicles that have large shielding masses, there is more opportunity for secondary radiation production, and this secondary radiation can be significant enough to cause concern. When considering surface operations, there is also a secondary radiation source from the surface of the planet, known as albedo, with neutrons being one of the most significant species. Given new vehicle designs for deep space and Mars missions, the secondary radiation environment and the implications of that environment is currently not well understood. Thus, several studies are necessary to fill the knowledge gaps of this secondary radiation environment. In this paper, we put forth the initial steps to increasing our understanding of neutron production from large vehicles by comparing the neutron production resulting from our radiation transport codes and providing a preliminary validation of our results against flight data. This paper will review the details of these results and discuss the finer points of the analysis.

Solar Spectral Radiative Forcing Due to Dust Aerosol During the Puerto Rico Dust Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pilewskie, P.; Bergstrom, R.; Rabbette, M.; Livingston, J.; Russell, P.; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

During the Puerto Rico Dust Experiment (PRIDE) upwelling and downwelling solar spectral irradiance was measured on board the SPAWAR Navajo and downwelling solar spectral flux was measured at a surface site using the NASA Ames Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer. These data will be used to determine the net solar radiative forcing of dust aerosol and to quantify the solar spectral radiative energy budget in the presence of elevated aerosol loading. We will assess the variability in spectral irradiance using formal principal component analysis procedures and relate the radiative variability to aerosol microphysical properties. Finally, we will characterize the sea surface reflectance to improve aerosol optical depth retrievals from the AVHRR satellite and to validate SeaWiFS ocean color products.

Satellite-based trends of solar radiation and cloud parameters in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfeifroth, Uwe; Bojanowski, Jedrzej S.; Clerbaux, Nicolas; Manara, Veronica; Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo; Trentmann, Jörg; Walawender, Jakub P.; Hollmann, Rainer

2018-04-01

Solar radiation is the main driver of the Earth's climate. Measuring solar radiation and analysing its interaction with clouds are essential for the understanding of the climate system. The EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) generates satellite-based, high-quality climate data records, with a focus on the energy balance and water cycle. Here, multiple of these data records are analyzed in a common framework to assess the consistency in trends and spatio-temporal variability of surface solar radiation, top-of-atmosphere reflected solar radiation and cloud fraction. This multi-parameter analysis focuses on Europe and covers the time period from 1992 to 2015. A high correlation between these three variables has been found over Europe. An overall consistency of the climate data records reveals an increase of surface solar radiation and a decrease in top-of-atmosphere reflected radiation. In addition, those trends are confirmed by negative trends in cloud cover. This consistency documents the high quality and stability of the CM SAF climate data records, which are mostly derived independently from each other. The results of this study indicate that one of the main reasons for the positive trend in surface solar radiation since the 1990's is a decrease in cloud coverage even if an aerosol contribution cannot be completely ruled out.

Sensitivity of the Tropical Atmosphere Energy Balance to ENSO-Related SST Changes: How Well Can We Quantify Hydrologic and Radiative Responses?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robertson, Franklin R.; Fitzjarrald, Dan; Sohn, Byung-Ju; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The continuing debate over feedback mechanisms governing tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and tropical climate in general has highlighted the diversity of potential checks and balances within the climate system. Competing feedbacks due to changes in surface evaporation, water vapor, and cloud long- and shortwave radiative properties each may serve critical roles in stabilizing or destabilizing the climate system. It is also intriguing that even those climate variations having origins internal to the climate system-- changes in ocean heat transport for example, apparently require complementary equilibrating effects by changes in atmospheric energy fluxes. Perhaps the best observational evidence of this is the relatively invariant nature of tropically averaged net radiation exiting the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) as measured by broadband satellite sensors over the past two decades. Thus, analyzing how these feedback mechanisms are operating within the context of current interannual variability may offer considerable insight for anticipating future climate change. In this paper we focus 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. 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). Our analysis makes use a number of data bases, principally those derived from space-based measurements, to explore systematic changes in rainfall, evaporation, and surface and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes, A reexamination of the Langley 8-Year Surface Radiation Budget data set reveals errors in the surface longwave emission due to use of biased SSTs. Subsequent correction allows subsequent use of this data set along with ERBE TOA fluxes to infer net atmospheric radiative beating. 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 Wm-2 per K of SST change. This rate is slightly less than that which would be expected for constant relative humidity over the tropical oceans. Corresponding radiative fluxes seem systematically smaller resulting in a enhanced (suppressed) export of energy from the tropical ocean regions during warm (cold) SST events. Discussion of likely errors due to sampling and measurement strategies are discussed along with their impacts on our conclusions.

Nonlinear Transient Thermal Analysis by the Force-Derivative Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balakrishnan, Narayani V.; Hou, Gene

1997-01-01

High-speed vehicles such as the Space Shuttle Orbiter must withstand severe aerodynamic heating during reentry through the atmosphere. The Shuttle skin and substructure are constructed primarily of aluminum, which must be protected during reentry with a thermal protection system (TPS) from being overheated beyond the allowable temperature limit, so that the structural integrity is maintained for subsequent flights. High-temperature reusable surface insulation (HRSI), a popular choice of passive insulation system, typically absorbs the incoming radiative or convective heat at its surface and then re-radiates most of it to the atmosphere while conducting the smallest amount possible to the structure by virtue of its low diffusivity. In order to ensure a successful thermal performance of the Shuttle under a prescribed reentry flight profile, a preflight reentry heating thermal analysis of the Shuttle must be done. The surface temperature profile, the transient response of the HRSI interior, and the structural temperatures are all required to evaluate the functioning of the HRSI. Transient temperature distributions which identify the regions of high temperature gradients, are also required to compute the thermal loads for a structural thermal stress analysis. Furthermore, a nonlinear analysis is necessary to account for the temperature-dependent thermal properties of the HRSI as well as to model radiation losses.

Evaluation of Cloud Fraction and Radiative Fluxes in Recent Reanalyses over the Arctic using Surface and Satellite Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zib, B.; Dong, X.; Xi, B.; Kennedy, A. D.

2010-12-01

Reanalysis datasets can be an essential tool for investigating numerous climate parameters, especially in data-sparse regions like the Arctic. Where long-term continuous data is limited, reanalyses offer a resource for the recognition and analysis of change in a sensitive and complex coupled Arctic climate system. A study focused on the evaluation and intercomparison of four relatively new global reanalysis datasets will be conducted. The four new reanalyses being investigated include: (i) NASA-MERRA, (ii) NCEP-CFS, (iii) NOAA-20CR, and (iv) NCEP-DOE II. In this study, the cloud fraction and TOA radiative fluxes simulated from four reanalyses over the entire Arctic region will be compared with those derived from NASA MODIS and CERES sensors during the period 2000-2008. The surface radiative fluxes derived in each reanalysis will also be compared and validated by the BSRN surface observations during the period 1994-2008. The high latitude BSRN sites used in this study are Barrow, Alaska (BAR) and Ny Alesund, Svalbard, Norway (NYA). BSRN offers high time resolution solar and atmospheric radiation measurements from high accuracy instruments that provide a baseline for validating reanalysis estimates of surface radiation. In addition to downwelling radiation fluxes, cloud fraction from the reanalyses will also be evaluated by the Vaisala ceilometer derived cloud fraction at the Barrow, AK site. The ultimate goal of this study is to quantitatively estimate the uncertainties or biases of cloud fraction and TOA and surface radiative fluxes derived from four different recent reanalyses using highly qualified long-term surface and satellite observations as ground truth over the Arctic region.

Troughs in Ice Sheets and Other Icy Deposits on Mars: Analysis of Their Radiative Balance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fountain, A.; Kargel, J.; Lewis, K.; MacAyeal, D.; Pfeffer, T.; Zwally, H. J.

2000-01-01

It has long been known that groove-like structures in glaciers and ice sheets can trap more incoming solar radiation than is the case for a 'normal' flat, smooth surface. In this presentation, we shall describe the radiative regimes of typical scarps and troughs on icy surfaces of Mars, and suggest how these features originate and evolve through time. The basis of our analysis is the radiation balance model presented by Pfeffer and Bretherton. Their model considers the visible band radiation regime of a V-shaped groove on a terrestrial ice surface, and shows that absorbed energy can be enhanced by up to 50 percent for grooves with small opening angles and with typical polar values of the solar zenith angle. Our work extends this model by considering: (a) departures from V-shaped geometry, (b) both englacial and surficial dust and debris, and (c) the infrared spectrum. We apply the extended model to various features on the Martian surface, including the spiral-like scarps on the Northern and Southern ice sheets, the large-scale chasms (e.g., Chasm Borealis), and groove-like lineations on valley floors thought to be filled with mixtures of dust and icy substances. In conjunction with study of valley-closure experiments, we suggest that spiral-like scarps and chasms are stable features of the Martian climate regime. We also suggest that further study of scarps and chasms may shed light on the composition (i.e., relative proportions of water ice, carbon-dioxide ice and dust) of the Martian ice sheets and valley fills.

CAUSES: On the Role of Surface Energy Budget Errors to the Warm Surface Air Temperature Error Over the Central United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, H. -Y.; Klein, S. A.; Xie, S.

Many weather forecasting and climate models simulate a warm surface air temperature (T2m) bias over mid-latitude continents during the summertime, especially over the Great Plains. We present here one of a series of papers from a multi-model intercomparison project (CAUSES: Cloud Above the United States and Errors at the Surface), which aims to evaluate the role of cloud, radiation, and precipitation biases in contributing to T2m bias using a short-term hindcast approach with observations mainly from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site during the period of April to August 2011. The present study examines the contributionmore » of surface energy budget errors to the bias. All participating models simulate higher net shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes at the surface but there is no consistency on signs of biases in latent and sensible heat fluxes over the Central U.S. and ARM SGP. Nevertheless, biases in net shortwave and downward longwave fluxes, as well as surface evaporative fraction (EF) are the main contributors to T2m bias. Radiation biases are largely affected by cloud simulations, while EF is affected by soil moisture modulated by seasonal accumulated precipitation and evaporation. An approximate equation is derived to further quantify the magnitudes of radiation and EF contributions to T2m bias. Our analysis suggests that radiation errors are always an important source of T2m error for long-term climate runs with EF errors either of equal or lesser importance. However, for the short-term hindcasts, EF errors are more important provided a model has a substantial EF bias.« less

How Well are Recent Climate Variability Signals Resolved by Satellite Radiative Flux Estimates?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robertson, Franklin R.; Lu, H.-L.

2004-01-01

One notable aspect of Earth s climate is that although the planet appears to be very close to radiative balance at top-of-atmosphere (TOA), the atmosphere itself and underlying surface are not. Profound exchanges of energy between the atmosphere and oceans, land and cryosphere occur over a range of time scales. Recent evidence from broadband satellite measurements suggests that even these TOA fluxes contain some detectable variations. Our ability to measure and reconstruct radiative fluxes at the surface and at the top of atmosphere is improving rapidly. Understanding the character of radiative flux estimates and relating them to variations in other energy fluxes and climate state variables is key to improving our understanding of climate. In this work we will evaluate several recently released estimates of radiative fluxes, focusing primarily on surface estimates. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project FD radiative flux profiles are available from rnid-1983 to near present and have been constructed by driving the radiative transfer physics from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) global model with ISCCP clouds and HlRS operational soundings profiles. Full and clear sky SW and LW fluxes are produced. A similar product from the NASA/GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget Project using different radiative flux codes and thermodynamics from the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System assimilation model makes a similar calculation of surface fluxes. However this data set currently extends only through 1995. Several estimates of downward LW flux at the surface inferred from microwave data are also examined. Since these products have been evaluated with Baseline Surface Radiation Network data over land we focus over ocean regions and use the DOE/NOAA/NASA Shipboard Ocean Atmospheric Radiation (SOAR) surface flux measurements to characterize performance of these data sets under both clear and cloudy conditions. Some aspects of performance are stratified according to SST and vertical motion regimes. Comparisons to the TRMM/CERES SRB data in 1998 are also interpreted. These radiative fluxes are then analyzed to determine how surface (and TOA) radiative exchanges respond to interannual signals of ENS0 warm and cold events. Our analysis includes regional changes as well as integrated signals over land, ocean and various latitude bands. Changes in water vapor and cloud forcing signatures are prominent on interannual time scales. Prominent signals are also found in the SW fluxes for the Pinatubo volcanic event. These systematic changes in fluxes are related to changes in large-scale circulations and energy transport in the atmosphere and ocean. Some estimates of signal-to-noise and reliability are discussed to place our results in context.

Full 3D visualization tool-kit for Monte Carlo and deterministic transport codes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frambati, S.; Frignani, M.

2012-07-01

We propose a package of tools capable of translating the geometric inputs and outputs of many Monte Carlo and deterministic radiation transport codes into open source file formats. These tools are aimed at bridging the gap between trusted, widely-used radiation analysis codes and very powerful, more recent and commonly used visualization software, thus supporting the design process and helping with shielding optimization. Three main lines of development were followed: mesh-based analysis of Monte Carlo codes, mesh-based analysis of deterministic codes and Monte Carlo surface meshing. The developed kit is considered a powerful and cost-effective tool in the computer-aided design formore » radiation transport code users of the nuclear world, and in particular in the fields of core design and radiation analysis. (authors)« less

Surface analysis of anodized aluminum clamps from NASA-LDEF satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grammer, H. L.; Wightman, J. P.; Young, Philip R.

1992-01-01

Surface analysis results of selected anodized aluminum clamps containing black (Z306) and white (A276) paints which received nearly six years of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) exposure on the Long Duration Exposure Facility are reported. Surface analytical techniques, including x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive analysis by x-ray (SEM/EDAX), showed significant differences in the surface composition of these materials depending upon the position on the LDEF. Differences in the surface composition are attributed to varying amounts of atomic oxygen and vacuum ultraviolet radiation (VUV). Silicon containing compounds were the primary contaminant detected on the materials.

Elevated Aerosol Layers and Their Radiative Impact over Kanpur During Monsoon Onset Period

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarangi, Chandan; Tripathi, S. N.; Mishra, A. K.; Welton, E. J.

2016-01-01

Accurate information about aerosol vertical distribution is needed to reduce uncertainties in aerosol radiative forcing and its effect on atmospheric dynamics. The present study deals with synergistic analyses of aerosol vertical distribution and aerosol optical depth (AOD) with meteorological variables using multisatellite and ground-based remote sensors over Kanpur in central Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). Micro-Pulse Lidar Network-derived aerosol vertical extinction (sigma) profiles are analyzed to quantify the interannual and daytime variations during monsoon onset period (May-June) for 2009-2011. The mean aerosol profile is broadly categorized into two layers viz., a surface layer (SL) extending up to 1.5 km (where sigma decreased exponentially with height) and an elevated aerosol layer (EAL) extending between 1.5 and 5.5 km. The increase in total columnar aerosol loading is associated with relatively higher increase in contribution from EAL loading than that from SL. The mean contributions of EALs are about 60%, 51%, and 50% to total columnar AOD during 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. We observe distinct parabolic EALs during early morning and late evening but uniformly mixed EALs during midday. The interannual and daytime variations of EALs are mainly influenced by long-range transport and convective capacity of the local emissions, respectively. Radiative flux analysis shows that clear-sky incoming solar radiation at surface is reduced with increase in AOD, which indicates significant cooling at surface. Collocated analysis of atmospheric temperature and aerosol loading reveals that increase in AOD not only resulted in surface dimming but also reduced the temperature (approximately 2-3 C) of lower troposphere (below 3 km altitude). Radiative transfer simulations indicate that the reduction of incoming solar radiation at surface is mainly due to increased absorption by EALs (with increase in total AOD). The observed cooling in lower troposphere in high aerosol loading scenario could be understood as a dynamical feedback of EAL-induced stratification of lower troposphere. Further, the observed radiative effect of EALs increases the stability of the lower troposphere, which could modulate the large-scale atmospheric dynamics during monsoon onset period. These findings encourage follow-up studies on the implication of EALs to the Indian summer monsoon dynamics using numerical models.

Studies of radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Irvine, W. M.; Schloerb, F. P.

1984-01-01

Progress is reported in modeling cometary emission in the 18-cm OH transition with specific application and predictions for Comet Halley. Radiative transfer is also being studied in rough and porous media. The kinematics of the cold, dark interstellar cloud Li34N were examined, and CO monitoring of Venus and Mars continues. Analysis of 3.4 mm maps of the lunar surface shows thermal anomalies associated with such surface features as the Crater Copernicus, Mare Imbrium, Mare Nubium, Mare Serenitatis, and Mare Tranquillatis.

A Local Condensation Analysis Representing Two-phase Annular Flow in Condenser/radiator Capillary Tubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karimi, Amir

1991-01-01

NASA's effort for the thermal environmental control of the Space Station Freedom is directed towards the design, analysis, and development of an Active Thermal Control System (ATCS). A two phase, flow through condenser/radiator concept was baselined, as a part of the ATCS, for the radiation of space station thermal load into space. The proposed condenser rejects heat through direct condensation of ATCS working fluid (ammonia) in the small diameter radiator tubes. Analysis of the condensation process and design of condenser tubes are based on the available two phase flow models for the prediction of flow regimes, heat transfer, and pressure drops. The prediction formulas use the existing empirical relationships of friction factor at gas-liquid interface. An attempt is made to study the stability of interfacial waves in two phase annular flow. The formulation is presented of a stability problem in cylindrical coordinates. The contribution of fluid viscosity, surface tension, and transverse radius of curvature to the interfacial surface is included. A solution is obtained for Kelvin-Helmholtz instability problem which can be used to determine the critical and most dangerous wavelengths for interfacial waves.

Performance assessment of a photonic radiative cooling system for office buildings

DOE PAGES

Wang, Weimin; Fernandez, Nick; Katipamula, Srinivas; ...

2017-11-08

Recent advances in materials have demonstrated the ability to maintain radiator surfaces at below-ambient temperatures in the presence of intense, direct sunlight. Daytime radiative cooling is promising for building applications. Here, this paper estimates the energy savings from daytime radiative cooling, specifically based on photonic materials. A photonic radiative cooling system was proposed and modeled using the whole energy simulation program EnergyPlus. A typical medium-sized office building was used for the simulation analysis. Several reference systems were established to quantify the potential of energy savings from the photonic radiative cooling system. The reference systems include a variable-air-volume (VAV) system, amore » hydronic radiant system, and a nighttime radiative cooling system. The savings analysis was made for a number of locations with different climates. Simulation results showed that the photonic radiative cooling system saved between 45% and 68% cooling electricity relative to the VAV system and between 9% and 23% relative to the nighttime radiative cooling system featured with the best coating commercially available on market. Finally, a simple economic analysis was also made to estimate the maximum acceptable incremental cost for upgrading from nighttime cooling to photonic radiative cooling.« less

Performance assessment of a photonic radiative cooling system for office buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Weimin; Fernandez, Nick; Katipamula, Srinivas

Recent advances in materials have demonstrated the ability to maintain radiator surfaces at below-ambient temperatures in the presence of intense, direct sunlight. Daytime radiative cooling is promising for building applications. Here, this paper estimates the energy savings from daytime radiative cooling, specifically based on photonic materials. A photonic radiative cooling system was proposed and modeled using the whole energy simulation program EnergyPlus. A typical medium-sized office building was used for the simulation analysis. Several reference systems were established to quantify the potential of energy savings from the photonic radiative cooling system. The reference systems include a variable-air-volume (VAV) system, amore » hydronic radiant system, and a nighttime radiative cooling system. The savings analysis was made for a number of locations with different climates. Simulation results showed that the photonic radiative cooling system saved between 45% and 68% cooling electricity relative to the VAV system and between 9% and 23% relative to the nighttime radiative cooling system featured with the best coating commercially available on market. Finally, a simple economic analysis was also made to estimate the maximum acceptable incremental cost for upgrading from nighttime cooling to photonic radiative cooling.« less

Effect of surface radiation on natural convection in an asymmetrically heated channel-chimney system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasri, Zied; Derouich, Youssef; Laatar, Ali Hatem; Balti, Jalloul

2018-05-01

In this paper, a more realistic numerical approach that takes into account the effect of surface radiation on the laminar air flow induced by natural convection in a channel-chimney system asymmetrically heated at uniform heat flux is used. The aim is to enrich the results given in Nasri et al. (Int J Therm Sci 90:122-134, 2015) by varying all the geometric parameters of the system and by taking into account the effect of surface radiation on the flows. The numerical results are first validated against experimental and numerical data available in the literature. The computations have allowed the determination of optimal configurations that maximize the mass flow rate and the convective heat transfer and minimize the heated wall temperatures. The analysis of the temperature fields with the streamlines and the pressure fields has helped to explain the effects of surface radiation and of the different thermo-geometrical parameters on the system performances to improve the mass flow rate and the heat transfer with respect to the simple channel. It is shown that the thermal performance of the channel-chimney system in terms of lower heated wall temperatures is little affected by the surface radiation. At the end, simple correlation equations have been proposed for quickly and easily predict the optimal configurations as well as the corresponding enhancement rates of the induced mass flow rate and the convective heat transfer.

Algorithms for radiative transfer simulations for aerosol retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukai, Sonoyo; Sano, Itaru; Nakata, Makiko

2012-11-01

Aerosol retrieval work from satellite data, i.e. aerosol remote sensing, is divided into three parts as: satellite data analysis, aerosol modeling and multiple light scattering calculation in the atmosphere model which is called radiative transfer simulation. The aerosol model is compiled from the accumulated measurements during more than ten years provided with the world wide aerosol monitoring network (AERONET). The radiative transfer simulations take Rayleigh scattering by molecules and Mie scattering by aerosols in the atmosphere, and reflection by the Earth surface into account. Thus the aerosol properties are estimated by comparing satellite measurements with the numerical values of radiation simulations in the Earth-atmosphere-surface model. It is reasonable to consider that the precise simulation of multiple light-scattering processes is necessary, and needs a long computational time especially in an optically thick atmosphere model. Therefore efficient algorithms for radiative transfer problems are indispensable to retrieve aerosols from space.

The Charged Particle Environment on the Surface of Mars induced by Solar Energetic Particles - Five Years of Measurements with the MSL/RAD instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehresmann, B.; Hassler, D.; Zeitlin, C.; Guo, J.; Lee, C. O.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Appel, J. K.; Boehm, E.; Boettcher, S. I.; Brinza, D. E.; Burmeister, S.; Lohf, H.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Matthiae, D.; Rafkin, S. C.; Reitz, G.

2017-12-01

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission has now been operating in Gale crater on the surface of Mars for five years. On board MSL, the Radiation Assessment Detector (MSL/RAD) is measuring the Martian surface radiation environment, providing insights on its intensity and composition. This radiation field is mainly composed of primary Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and secondary particles created by the GCRs' interactions with the Martian atmosphere and soil. However, on shorter time scales the radiation environment can be dominated by contributions from Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events. Due to the modulating effect of the Martian atmosphere shape and intensity of these SEP spectra will differ significantly between interplanetary space and the Martian surface. Understanding how SEP events influence the surface radiation field is crucial to assess associated health risks for potential human missions to Mars. Here, we present updated MSL/RAD results for charged particle fluxes measured on the surface during SEP activity from the five years of MSL operations on Mars. The presented results incorporate updated analysis techniques for the MSL/RAD data and yield the most robust particle spectra to date. Furthermore, we compare the MSL/RAD SEP-induced fluxes to measurements from other spacecraft in the inner heliosphere and, in particular, in Martian orbit. Analyzing changes of SEP intensities from interplanetary space to the Martian surface gives insight into the modulating effect of the Martian atmosphere, while comparing timing profiles of SEP events between Mars and different points in interplanetary space can increase our understanding of SEP propagation in the heliosphere.

Nanoparticle induced piezoelectric, super toughened, radiation resistant, multi-functional nanohybrids.

PubMed

Tiwari, Vimal K; Shripathi, T; Lalla, N P; Maiti, Pralay

2012-01-07

We have developed multifunctional nanohybrids of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (CTFE) with a small percentage of surface modified inorganic layered silicate showing dramatic improvement in toughness, radiation resistant and piezoelectric properties vis-à-vis pristine polymer. Massive intercalation (d(001) 1.8 → 3.9 nm) of polymer inside the nanoclay galleries and unique crystallization behavior of the fluoropolymer on the surface of individual silicate layer has been reported. Toughness in the nanohybrid increases more than three orders of magnitude as compared to pure CTFE. High energy radiation (80 MeV Si(+7)) causes chain session, amorphization and creates olefinic bonds in the pure polymer while the nanohybrids are radiation resistant at a similar dose. Nanoclay induces the metastable piezoelectric β-phase in CTFE, suitable for sensor and actuator application. Molecular level changes after irradiation and controlled morphology for smart membrane have been confirmed by using spectroscopy, sol-gel technique, surface morphology studies and in situ residual gas analysis.

Model Errors in Simulating Precipitation and Radiation fields in the NARCCAP Hindcast Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.; Waliser, D. E.; Mearns, L. O.; Mattmann, C. A.; McGinnis, S. A.; Goodale, C. E.; Hart, A. F.; Crichton, D. J.

2012-12-01

The relationship between the model errors in simulating precipitation and radiation fields including the surface insolation and OLR, is examined from the multi-RCM NARCCAP hindcast experiment for the conterminous U.S. region. Findings in this study suggest that the RCM biases in simulating precipitation are related with those in simulating radiation fields. For a majority of RCMs participated in the NARCCAP hindcast experiment as well as their ensemble, the spatial pattern of the insolation bias is negatively correlated with that of the precipitation bias, suggesting that the biases in precipitation and surface insolation are systematically related, most likely via the cloud fields. The relationship varies according to seasons as well with stronger relationship between the simulated precipitation and surface insolation during winter. This suggests that the RCM biases in precipitation and radiation are related via cloud fields. Additional analysis on the RCM errors in OLR is underway to examine more details of this relationship.

Reentry heat transfer analysis of the space shuttle orbiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ko, W. L.; Quinn, R. D.; Gong, L.

1982-01-01

A structural performance and resizing finite element thermal analysis computer program was used in the reentry heat transfer analysis of the space shuttle. Two typical wing cross sections and a midfuselage cross section were selected for the analysis. The surface heat inputs to the thermal models were obtained from aerodynamic heating analyses, which assumed a purely turbulent boundary layer, a purely laminar boundary layer, separated flow, and transition from laminar to turbulent flow. The effect of internal radiation was found to be quite significant. With the effect of the internal radiation considered, the wing lower skin temperature became about 39 C (70 F) lower. The results were compared with fight data for space transportation system, trajectory 1. The calculated and measured temperatures compared well for the wing if laminar flow was assumed for the lower surface and bay one upper surface and if separated flow was assumed for the upper surfaces of bays other than bay one. For the fuselage, good agreement between the calculated and measured data was obtained if laminar flow was assumed for the bottom surface. The structural temperatures were found to reach their peak values shortly before touchdown. In addition, the finite element solutions were compared with those obtained from the conventional finite difference solutions.

Modeling and experimental study on near-field acoustic levitation by flexural mode.

PubMed

Liu, Pinkuan; Li, Jin; Ding, Han; Cao, Wenwu

2009-12-01

Near-field acoustic levitation (NFAL) has been used in noncontact handling and transportation of small objects to avoid contamination. We have performed a theoretical analysis based on nonuniform vibrating surface to quantify the levitation force produced by the air film and also conducted experimental tests to verify our model. Modal analysis was performed using ANSYS on the flexural plate radiator to obtain its natural frequency of desired mode, which is used to design the measurement system. Then, the levitation force was calculated as a function of levitation distance based on squeeze gas film theory using measured amplitude and phase distributions on the vibrator surface. Compared with previous fluid-structural analyses using a uniform piston motion, our model based on the nonuniform radiating surface of the vibrator is more realistic and fits better with experimentally measured levitation force.

Experimental validation of finite element and boundary element methods for predicting structural vibration and radiated noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seybert, A. F.; Wu, T. W.; Wu, X. F.

1994-01-01

This research report is presented in three parts. In the first part, acoustical analyses were performed on modes of vibration of the housing of a transmission of a gear test rig developed by NASA. The modes of vibration of the transmission housing were measured using experimental modal analysis. The boundary element method (BEM) was used to calculate the sound pressure and sound intensity on the surface of the housing and the radiation efficiency of each mode. The radiation efficiency of each of the transmission housing modes was then compared to theoretical results for a finite baffled plate. In the second part, analytical and experimental validation of methods to predict structural vibration and radiated noise are presented. A rectangular box excited by a mechanical shaker was used as a vibrating structure. Combined finite element method (FEM) and boundary element method (BEM) models of the apparatus were used to predict the noise level radiated from the box. The FEM was used to predict the vibration, while the BEM was used to predict the sound intensity and total radiated sound power using surface vibration as the input data. Vibration predicted by the FEM model was validated by experimental modal analysis; noise predicted by the BEM was validated by measurements of sound intensity. Three types of results are presented for the total radiated sound power: sound power predicted by the BEM model using vibration data measured on the surface of the box; sound power predicted by the FEM/BEM model; and sound power measured by an acoustic intensity scan. In the third part, the structure used in part two was modified. A rib was attached to the top plate of the structure. The FEM and BEM were then used to predict structural vibration and radiated noise respectively. The predicted vibration and radiated noise were then validated through experimentation.

Moment Method Solutions for Radiation and Scattering from Arbitrarily Shaped Surfaces.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-02-01

IBM -370/168. A. Monopole Antenna on a Disk The study of the monopole antenna on a circular disk is of inter- est since it leads to the understanding...34 . . ._"-", - CHAPTER V ANALYSIS OF MICRUSI- itP ANTL-NNAS This chapter will present an analysis of the microstrip antenna. Surface-patch dipole modes are used to

Neutron radiative capture methods for surface elemental analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Trombka, J.I.; Senftle, F.; Schmadebeck, R.

1970-01-01

Both an accelerator and a 252Cf neutron source have been used to induce characteristic gamma radiation from extended soil samples. To demonstrate the method, measurements of the neutron-induced radiative capture and activation gamma rays have been made with both Ge(Li) and NaI(Tl) detectors, Because of the possible application to space flight geochemical analysis, it is believed that NaI(Tl) detectors must be used. Analytical procedures have been developed to obtain both qualitative and semiquantitative results from an interpretation of the measured NaI(Tl) pulse-height spectrum. Experiment results and the analytic procedure are presented. ?? 1970.

CAUSES: On the Role of Surface Energy Budget Errors to the Warm Surface Air Temperature Error Over the Central United States

DOE PAGES

Ma, H. -Y.; Klein, S. A.; Xie, S.; ...

2018-02-27

Many weather forecast and climate models simulate warm surface air temperature (T 2m) biases over midlatitude continents during the summertime, especially over the Great Plains. We present here one of a series of papers from a multimodel intercomparison project (CAUSES: Cloud Above the United States and Errors at the Surface), which aims to evaluate the role of cloud, radiation, and precipitation biases in contributing to the T 2m bias using a short-term hindcast approach during the spring and summer of 2011. Observations are mainly from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains sites. The present study examines the contributions ofmore » surface energy budget errors. All participating models simulate too much net shortwave and longwave fluxes at the surface but with no consistent mean bias sign in turbulent fluxes over the Central United States and Southern Great Plains. Nevertheless, biases in the net shortwave and downward longwave fluxes as well as surface evaporative fraction (EF) are contributors to T 2m bias. Radiation biases are largely affected by cloud simulations, while EF bias is largely affected by soil moisture modulated by seasonal accumulated precipitation and evaporation. An approximate equation based upon the surface energy budget is derived to further quantify the magnitudes of radiation and EF contributions to T 2m bias. Our analysis ascribes that a large EF underestimate is the dominant source of error in all models with a large positive temperature bias, whereas an EF overestimate compensates for an excess of absorbed shortwave radiation in nearly all the models with the smallest temperature bias.« less

CAUSES: On the Role of Surface Energy Budget Errors to the Warm Surface Air Temperature Error Over the Central United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, H.-Y.; Klein, S. A.; Xie, S.; Zhang, C.; Tang, S.; Tang, Q.; Morcrette, C. J.; Van Weverberg, K.; Petch, J.; Ahlgrimm, M.; Berg, L. K.; Cheruy, F.; Cole, J.; Forbes, R.; Gustafson, W. I.; Huang, M.; Liu, Y.; Merryfield, W.; Qian, Y.; Roehrig, R.; Wang, Y.-C.

2018-03-01

Many weather forecast and climate models simulate warm surface air temperature (T2m) biases over midlatitude continents during the summertime, especially over the Great Plains. We present here one of a series of papers from a multimodel intercomparison project (CAUSES: Cloud Above the United States and Errors at the Surface), which aims to evaluate the role of cloud, radiation, and precipitation biases in contributing to the T2m bias using a short-term hindcast approach during the spring and summer of 2011. Observations are mainly from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains sites. The present study examines the contributions of surface energy budget errors. All participating models simulate too much net shortwave and longwave fluxes at the surface but with no consistent mean bias sign in turbulent fluxes over the Central United States and Southern Great Plains. Nevertheless, biases in the net shortwave and downward longwave fluxes as well as surface evaporative fraction (EF) are contributors to T2m bias. Radiation biases are largely affected by cloud simulations, while EF bias is largely affected by soil moisture modulated by seasonal accumulated precipitation and evaporation. An approximate equation based upon the surface energy budget is derived to further quantify the magnitudes of radiation and EF contributions to T2m bias. Our analysis ascribes that a large EF underestimate is the dominant source of error in all models with a large positive temperature bias, whereas an EF overestimate compensates for an excess of absorbed shortwave radiation in nearly all the models with the smallest temperature bias.

CAUSES: On the Role of Surface Energy Budget Errors to the Warm Surface Air Temperature Error Over the Central United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, H. -Y.; Klein, S. A.; Xie, S.

Many weather forecast and climate models simulate warm surface air temperature (T 2m) biases over midlatitude continents during the summertime, especially over the Great Plains. We present here one of a series of papers from a multimodel intercomparison project (CAUSES: Cloud Above the United States and Errors at the Surface), which aims to evaluate the role of cloud, radiation, and precipitation biases in contributing to the T 2m bias using a short-term hindcast approach during the spring and summer of 2011. Observations are mainly from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains sites. The present study examines the contributions ofmore » surface energy budget errors. All participating models simulate too much net shortwave and longwave fluxes at the surface but with no consistent mean bias sign in turbulent fluxes over the Central United States and Southern Great Plains. Nevertheless, biases in the net shortwave and downward longwave fluxes as well as surface evaporative fraction (EF) are contributors to T 2m bias. Radiation biases are largely affected by cloud simulations, while EF bias is largely affected by soil moisture modulated by seasonal accumulated precipitation and evaporation. An approximate equation based upon the surface energy budget is derived to further quantify the magnitudes of radiation and EF contributions to T 2m bias. Our analysis ascribes that a large EF underestimate is the dominant source of error in all models with a large positive temperature bias, whereas an EF overestimate compensates for an excess of absorbed shortwave radiation in nearly all the models with the smallest temperature bias.« less

Single scattering solution for radiative transfer through Rayleigh and aerosol atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otterman, J.

1977-01-01

A solution is presented to the radiative transfer of the solar irradiation through a turbid atmosphere, based on the single-scattering approximation, i.e., an assumption that a photon that underwent scattering either leaves the top of the atmosphere or strikes the surface. The solution depends on a special idealization of the scattering phase function of the aerosols. The equations developed are subsequently applied to analyze quantitatively the enhancement of the surface irradiation and the enhancement of the scattered radiant emittance as seen from above the atmosphere, caused by the surface reflectance and atmospheric back scattering. An order of magnitude error analysis is presented.

Shortwave radiative forcing, rapid adjustment, and feedback to the surface by sulfate geoengineering: analysis of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project G4 scenario

DOE PAGES

Kashimura, Hiroki; Abe, Manabu; Watanabe, Shingo; ...

2017-03-08

This paper evaluates the forcing, rapid adjustment, and feedback of net shortwave radiation at the surface in the G4 experiment of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project by analysing outputs from six participating models. G4 involves injection of 5 Tg yr -1 of SO 2, a sulfate aerosol precursor, into the lower stratosphere from year 2020 to 2069 against a background scenario of RCP4.5. A single-layer atmospheric model for shortwave radiative transfer is used to estimate the direct forcing of solar radiation management (SRM), and rapid adjustment and feedbacks from changes in the water vapour amount, cloud amount, and surface albedo (compared with RCP4.5). The analysismore » shows that the globally and temporally averaged SRM forcing ranges from -3.6 to -1.6 W m -2, depending on the model. The sum of the rapid adjustments and feedback effects due to changes in the water vapour and cloud amounts increase the downwelling shortwave radiation at the surface by approximately 0.4 to 1.5 W m -2 and hence weaken the effect of SRM by around 50 %. The surface albedo changes decrease the net shortwave radiation at the surface; it is locally strong (~-4 W m -2) in snow and sea ice melting regions, but minor for the global average. The analyses show that the results of the G4 experiment, which simulates sulfate geoengineering, include large inter-model variability both in the direct SRM forcing and the shortwave rapid adjustment from change in the cloud amount, and imply a high uncertainty in modelled processes of sulfate aerosols and clouds.« less

Potential of a New Lunar Surface Radiator Concept for Hot Lunar Thermal Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ochoa, Dustin A.; Vogel, Matthew R.; Trevino, Luis A.; Stephan, Ryan A.

2008-01-01

The optimum radiator configuration in hot lunar thermal environments is one in which the radiator is parallel to the ground and has no view to the hot lunar surface. However, typical spacecraft configurations have limited real estate available for top-mounted radiators, resulting in a desire to use the spacecraft s vertically oriented sides. Vertically oriented, flat panel radiators will have a large view factor to the lunar surface, and thus will be subjected to significant incident lunar infrared heat. Consequently, radiator fluid temperatures will need to exceed approx.325 K (assuming standard spacecraft radiator optical properties) in order to provide positive heat rejection at lunar noon. Such temperatures are too high for crewed spacecraft applications in which a heat pump is to be avoided. A recent study of vertically oriented radiator configurations subjected to lunar noon thermal environments led to the discovery of a novel radiator concept that yielded positive heat rejection at lower fluid temperatures. This radiator configuration, called the Upright Lunar Terrain Radiator Assembly (ULTRA), has exhibited superior performance to all previously analyzed concepts in terms of heat rejection in the lunar noon thermal environment. A key benefit of the ULTRA is the absence of louvers or other moving parts and its simple geometry. Analysis of the ULTRA for a lunar extravehicular activity (EVA) portable life support system (PLSS) is shown to provide moderate heat rejection, on average, at all solar incident angles assuming an average radiator temperature of 294 K, whereas prior concepts exhibited insignificant heat rejection or heat absorption at higher incident angles. The performance of the ULTRA for a lunar lander is also discussed and compared to the performance of a vertically oriented, flat panel radiator at various lunar latitudes.

The long-term Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS) product suite and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, S.

2015-12-01

Our Earth's environment is experiencing rapid changes due to natural variability and human activities. To monitor, understand and predict environment changes to meet the economic, social and environmental needs, use of long-term high-quality satellite data products is critical. The Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS) product suite, generated at Beijing Normal University, currently includes 12 products, including leaf area index (LAI), broadband shortwave albedo, broadband longwave emissivity, downwelling shortwave radiation and photosynthetically active radiation, land surface skin temperature, longwave net radiation, daytime all-wave net radiation, fraction of absorbed photosynetically active radiation absorbed by green vegetation (FAPAR), fraction of green vegetation coverage, gross primary productivity (GPP), and evapotranspiration (ET). Most products span from 1981-2014. The algorithms for producing these products have been published in the top remote sensing related journals and books. More and more applications have being reported in the scientific literature. The GLASS products are freely available at the Center for Global Change Data Processing and Analysis of Beijing Normal University (http://www.bnu-datacenter.com/), and the University of Maryland Global Land Cover Facility (http://glcf.umd.edu). After briefly introducing the basic characteristics of GLASS products, we will present some applications on the long-term environmental changes detected from GLASS products at both global and local scales. Detailed analysis of regional hotspots, such as Greenland, Tibetan plateau, and northern China, will be emphasized, where environmental changes have been mainly associated with climate warming, drought, land-atmosphere interactions, and human activities.

Passive-solar directional-radiating cooling system

DOEpatents

Hull, J.R.; Schertz, W.W.

1985-06-27

A radiative cooling system for use with an ice-making system having a radiating surface aimed at the sky for radiating energy at one or more wavelength bands for which the atmosphere is transparent and a cover thermally isolated from the radiating surface and transparent at least to the selected wavelength or wavelengths, the thermal isolation reducing the formation of condensation on the radiating surface and/or cover and permitting the radiation to continue when the radiating surface is below the dewpoint of the atmosphere, and a housing supporting the radiating surface, cover and heat transfer means to an ice storage reservoir.

Passive-solar directional-radiating cooling system

DOEpatents

Hull, John R.; Schertz, William W.

1986-01-01

A radiative cooling system for use with an ice-making system having a radiating surface aimed at the sky for radiating energy at one or more wavelength bands for which the atmosphere is transparent and a cover thermally isolated from the radiating surface and transparent at least to the selected wavelength or wavelengths, the thermal isolation reducing the formation of condensation on the radiating surface and/or cover and permitting the radiation to continue when the radiating surface is below the dewpoint of the atmosphere, and a housing supporting the radiating surface, cover and heat transfer means to an ice storage reservoir.

Direct radiative effects induced by intense desert dust outbreaks over the broader Mediterranean basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gkikas, Antonis; Obiso, Vincenzo; Vendrell, Lluis; Basart, Sara; Jorba, Oriol; Pérez Garcia-Pando, Carlos; Hatzianastassiou, Nikos; Gassó, Santiago; Baldasano, Jose Maria

2016-04-01

Throughout the year, under favorable conditions, massive loads of mineral particles originating in the northern African and Middle East deserts are transported over the Mediterranean basin. Due to their composition and size, dust aerosols perturb the Earth-Atmosphere system's energy budget interacting directly with the shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) radiation. The present study aims to compute the Mediterranean dust outbreaks' direct radiative effects (DREs) as well as to assess the effect of including dust DREs in numerical simulations of a regional model. To this aim, 20 intense dust outbreaks have been selected based on their spatial coverage and intensity. Their identification, over the period 2000-2013, has been achieved through an objective and dynamic algorithm which utilizes as inputs daily satellite retrievals derived by the MODIS-Terra, EP-TOMS and OMI-Aura sensors. For each outbreak, two simulations of the NMMB/BSC-Dust model were made for a forecast period of 84 hours, with the model initialized at 00 UTC of the day when the dust outbreak was ignited, activating (RADON) and deactivating (RADOFF) dust-radiation interactions. The simulation domain covers the northern Africa, the Middle East and Europe at 0.25° x 0.25° horizontal resolution, for 40 hybrid sigma pressure levels up to 50 hPa. The instantaneous and regional DREs have been calculated at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), into the atmosphere (ATMAB), and at surface, for the downwelling (SURF) and the absorbed (NETSURF) radiation, for the SW, LW and NET (SW+LW) radiation. The interaction between dust aerosols and NET radiation, locally leads to an atmospheric warming (DREATMAB) by up to 150 Wm-2, a surface cooling (DRENETSURF) by up to 250 Wm-2 and a reduction of the downwelling radiation at the surface (DRESURF) by up to 300 Wm-2. At TOA, DREs are mainly negative (down to -150 Wm-2) indicating a cooling of the Earth-Atmosphere system, although positive values (up to 50 Wm-2) are encountered over desert areas. The mean regional NET DREs, under clear-sky conditions, vary between -10 to 2, -3 to 25, -35 to 3 and -22 to 3 Wm-2 for TOA, ATMAB, SURF and NETSURF, respectively. According to our results, dust outbreaks can cause a decrease of temperature at 2 meters by 4 °C during daytime while an increase of a similar magnitude is found at night. Moreover, negative feedbacks on dust emissions and aerosol optical depth are observed when dust-radiation interactions are activated. Our analysis clearly shows that taking into account the dust radiative effects in numerical simulations (RADON) the model's ability to reproduce the temperature fields as well as the downwelling radiation fluxes at the surface is improved. The former is confirmed by the evaluation of the model's outputs against ERA-Interim reanalyses datasets and weather stations observations (Integrated Surface Database, ISD) while the latter is justified through the comparison of model's downwelling SW/LW radiation fluxes at the surface with ground measurements from 6 Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) stations. A similar analysis is also attempted for the dust aerosol optical depth at 550 nm using the AERONET ground retrievals as reference measurements.

Effects of high energy radiation on the mechanical properties of epoxy-graphite fiber reinforced composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fornes, R. E.; Gilbert, R. D.; Memory, J. D.

1985-01-01

In an effort to elucidate the changes in molecular structural and mechanical properties of epoxy/graphite fiber composites upon exposure to ionizing radiation in a simulated space environment, spectroscopic and surface properties of tetraglycidyl-4,4'-diamino diphenyl methane (TGDDM) red with diamino diphenyl sulfone (DDS) and T-300 graphite fiber were investigated following exposure to ionizing radiation. Cobalt-60 gamma radiation and 1/2 MeV electrons were used as radiation sources. The system was studied using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, infrared absorption spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis.

Earth Radiation Budget Research at the NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, G. Louis; Harrison, Edwin F.; Gibson, Gary G.

2014-01-01

In the 1970s research studies concentrating on satellite measurements of Earth's radiation budget started at the NASA Langley Research Center. Since that beginning, considerable effort has been devoted to developing measurement techniques, data analysis methods, and time-space sampling strategies to meet the radiation budget science requirements for climate studies. Implementation and success of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) was due to the remarkable teamwork of many engineers, scientists, and data analysts. Data from ERBE have provided a new understanding of the effects of clouds, aerosols, and El Nino/La Nina oscillation on the Earth's radiation. CERES spacecraft instruments have extended the time coverage with high quality climate data records for over a decade. Using ERBE and CERES measurements these teams have created information about radiation at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and throughout the atmosphere for a better understanding of our climate. They have also generated surface radiation products for designers of solar power plants and buildings and numerous other applications

Comprehensive analysis of heat transfer of gold-blood nanofluid (Sisko-model) with thermal radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eid, Mohamed R.; Alsaedi, Ahmed; Muhammad, Taseer; Hayat, Tasawar

Characteristics of heat transfer of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) in flow past a power-law stretching surface are discussed. Sisko bio-nanofluid flow (with blood as a base fluid) in existence of non-linear thermal radiation is studied. The resulting equations system is abbreviated to model the suggested problem in non-linear PDEs. Along with initial and boundary-conditions, the equations are made non-dimensional and then resolved numerically utilizing 4th-5th order Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg (RKF45) technique with shooting integration procedure. Various flow quantities behaviors are examined for parametric consideration such as the Au-NPs volume fraction, the exponentially stretching and thermal radiation parameters. It is observed that radiation drives to shortage the thermal boundary-layer thickness and therefore resulted in better heat transfer at surface.

Gravity Scaling of a Power Reactor Water Shield

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reid, Robert S.; Pearson, J. Boise

2008-01-01

Water based reactor shielding is being considered as an affordable option for use on initial lunar surface power systems. Heat dissipation in the shield from nuclear sources must be rejected by an auxiliary thermal hydraulic cooling system. The mechanism for transferring heat through the shield is natural convection between the core surface and an array of thermosyphon radiator elements. Natural convection in a 100 kWt lunar surface reactor shield design has been previously evaluated at lower power levels (Pearson, 2007). The current baseline assumes that 5.5 kW are dissipated in the water shield, the preponderance on the core surface, but with some volumetric heating in the naturally circulating water as well. This power is rejected by a radiator located above the shield with a surface temperature of 370 K. A similarity analysis on a water-based reactor shield is presented examining the effect of gravity on free convection between a radiation shield inner vessel and a radiation shield outer vessel boundaries. Two approaches established similarity: 1) direct scaling of Rayleigh number equates gravity-surface heat flux products, 2) temperature difference between the wall and thermal boundary layer held constant on Earth and the Moon. Nussult number for natural convection (laminar and turbulent) is assumed of form Nu = CRa(sup n). These combined results estimate similarity conditions under Earth and Lunar gravities. The influence of reduced gravity on the performance of thermosyphon heat pipes is also examined.

Material for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and SER sensors and method for preparing same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farquharson, Stuart (Inventor); Nelson, Chad (Inventor); Lee, Yuan-Hsiang (Inventor)

2003-01-01

Metal-doped sol-gel materials, suitable for use as sensors for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic analysis for trace chemical detection, are produced by effecting gelation and solvent removal of a doped sol-gel under mild temperature conditions. At least in certain instances reaction and drying will desirably be effected in an oxygen-starved environment. The metal of the sol-gel material functions, when irradiated, to produce a plasmon field for interaction with molecules of an analyte in contact therewith, increasing by orders of magnitude Raman photons that are generate by excitation radiation, and the method allows matching of the metal and metal particle size to a wavelength of light (or incident radiation, e.g., laser radiation) to generate surface plasmons. The porosity of the sol-gel material dramatically increases the surface area, and thereby the amount of metal exposed for analyte interaction. The sensors provided may be in the form of glass vials, fiber optics, multi-well micro-sample plates, etc., having surface coatings of the doped sol-gel material, to provide sampling systems for use in a Raman instrument.

Surface temperatures in New York City: Geospatial data enables the accurate prediction of radiative heat transfer.

PubMed

Ghandehari, Masoud; Emig, Thorsten; Aghamohamadnia, Milad

2018-02-02

Despite decades of research seeking to derive the urban energy budget, the dynamics of thermal exchange in the densely constructed environment is not yet well understood. Using New York City as a study site, we present a novel hybrid experimental-computational approach for a better understanding of the radiative heat transfer in complex urban environments. The aim of this work is to contribute to the calculation of the urban energy budget, particularly the stored energy. We will focus our attention on surface thermal radiation. Improved understanding of urban thermodynamics incorporating the interaction of various bodies, particularly in high rise cities, will have implications on energy conservation at the building scale, and for human health and comfort at the urban scale. The platform presented is based on longwave hyperspectral imaging of nearly 100 blocks of Manhattan, in addition to a geospatial radiosity model that describes the collective radiative heat exchange between multiple buildings. Despite assumptions in surface emissivity and thermal conductivity of buildings walls, the close comparison of temperatures derived from measurements and computations is promising. Results imply that the presented geospatial thermodynamic model of urban structures can enable accurate and high resolution analysis of instantaneous urban surface temperatures.

Impact of Low Level Clouds on radiative and turbulent surface flux in southern West Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lohou, Fabienne; Kalthoff, Norbert; Dione, Cheikh; Lothon, Marie; Adler, Bianca; Babic, Karmen; Pedruzo-Bagazgoitia, Xabier; Vila-Guerau De Arellano, Jordi

2017-04-01

During the monsoon season in West Africa, low-level clouds form almost every night and break up between 0900 and the middle of the afternoon depending on the day. The break-up of these clouds leads to the formation of boundary-layer cumuli clouds, which can sometimes evolve into deep convection. The low-level clouds have a strong impact on the radiation and energy budget at the surface and consequently on the humidity in the boundary layer and the afternoon convection. During the DACCIWA ground campaign, which took place in June and July 2016, three supersites in Benin, Ghana, and Nigeria were instrumented to document the conditions within the lower troposphere including the cloud layers. Radiative and turbulent fluxes were measured at different places by several surface stations jointly with low-level cloud occurrence during 50 days. These datasets enable the analysis of modifications in the diurnal cycle of the radiative and turbulent surface flux induced by the formation and presence of the low-level clouds. The final objective of this study is to estimate the error made in some NWP simulations when the diurnal cycle of low-level clouds is poorly represented or not represented at all.

Infrared Algorithm Development for Ocean Observations with EOS/MODIS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Otis B.

1997-01-01

Efforts continue under this contract to develop algorithms for the computation of sea surface temperature (SST) from MODIS infrared measurements. This effort includes radiative transfer modeling, comparison of in situ and satellite observations, development and evaluation of processing and networking methodologies for algorithm computation and data accession, evaluation of surface validation approaches for IR radiances, development of experimental instrumentation, and participation in MODIS (project) related activities. Activities in this contract period have focused on radiative transfer modeling, evaluation of atmospheric correction methodologies, undertake field campaigns, analysis of field data, and participation in MODIS meetings.

Thermal radiation characteristics of nonisothermal cylindrical enclosures using a numerical ray tracing technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baumeister, Joseph F.

1990-01-01

Analysis of energy emitted from simple or complex cavity designs can lead to intricate solutions due to nonuniform radiosity and irradiation within a cavity. A numerical ray tracing technique was applied to simulate radiation propagating within and from various cavity designs. To obtain the energy balance relationships between isothermal and nonisothermal cavity surfaces and space, the computer code NEVADA was utilized for its statistical technique applied to numerical ray tracing. The analysis method was validated by comparing results with known theoretical and limiting solutions, and the electrical resistance network method. In general, for nonisothermal cavities the performance (apparent emissivity) is a function of cylinder length-to-diameter ratio, surface emissivity, and cylinder surface temperatures. The extent of nonisothermal conditions in a cylindrical cavity significantly affects the overall cavity performance. Results are presented over a wide range of parametric variables for use as a possible design reference.

Panel acoustic contribution analysis.

PubMed

Wu, Sean F; Natarajan, Logesh Kumar

2013-02-01

Formulations are derived to analyze the relative panel acoustic contributions of a vibrating structure. The essence of this analysis is to correlate the acoustic power flow from each panel to the radiated acoustic pressure at any field point. The acoustic power is obtained by integrating the normal component of the surface acoustic intensity, which is the product of the surface acoustic pressure and normal surface velocity reconstructed by using the Helmholtz equation least squares based nearfield acoustical holography, over each panel. The significance of this methodology is that it enables one to analyze and rank relative acoustic contributions of individual panels of a complex vibrating structure to acoustic radiation anywhere in the field based on a single set of the acoustic pressures measured in the near field. Moreover, this approach is valid for both interior and exterior regions. Examples of using this method to analyze and rank the relative acoustic contributions of a scaled vehicle cabin are demonstrated.

Quantifying and Reducing Uncertainties in Estimating OMI Tropospheric Column NO2 Trend over The United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smeltzer, C. D.; Wang, Y.; Boersma, F.; Celarier, E. A.; Bucsela, E. J.

2013-12-01

We investigate the effects of retrieval radiation schemes and parameters on trend analysis using tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical column density (VCD) measurements over the United States. Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) observations from 2005 through 2012 are used in this analysis. We investigated two radiation schemes, provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA TOMRAD) and Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI DAK). In addition, we analyzed trend dependence on radiation parameters, including surface albedo and viewing geometry. The cross-track mean VCD average difference is 10-15% between the two radiation schemes in 2005. As the OMI anomaly developed and progressively worsens, the difference between the two schemes becomes larger. Furthermore, applying surface albedo measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) leads to increases of estimated NO2 VCD trends over high-emission regions. We find that the uncertainties of OMI-derived NO2 VCD trends can be reduced by up to a factor of 3 by selecting OMI cross-track rows on the basis of their performance over the ocean [see abstract figure]. Comparison of OMI tropospheric VCD trends to those estimated based on the EPA surface NO2 observations indicate using MODIS surface albedo data and a more narrow selection of OMI cross-track rows greatly improves the agreement of estimated trends between satellite and surface data. This figure shows the reduction of uncertainty in OMI NO2 trend by selecting OMI cross-track rows based on the performance over the ocean. With this technique, uncertainties within the seasonal trend may be reduced by a factor of 3 or more (blue) compared with only removing the anomalous rows: considering OMI cross-track rows 4-24 (red).

Understanding self ion damage in FCC Ni-Cr-Fe based alloy using X-ray diffraction techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halder Banerjee, R.; Sengupta, P.; Chatterjee, A.; Mishra, S. C.; Bhukta, A.; Satyam, P. V.; Samajdar, I.; Dey, G. K.

2018-04-01

Using X-ray diffraction line profile analysis (XRDLPA) approach the radiation response of FCC Ni-Cr-Fe based alloy 690 to 1.5 and 3 MeV Ni2+ ion damage was quantified in terms of its microstructural parameters. These microstructural parameters viz. average domain size, microstrain and dislocation density were found to vary anisotropically with fluence. The anisotropic behaviour is mainly attributable to presence of twins in pre-irradiated microstructure. After irradiation, surface roughness increases as a function of fluence attributable to change in surface and sub-surface morphology caused by displacement cascade, defects and sputtered atoms created by incident energetic ion. The radiation hardening in case of 1.5 MeV Ni2+ irradiated specimens too is a consequence of the increase in dislocation density formed by interaction of radiation induced defects with pre-existing dislocations. At highest fluence there is an initiation of saturation.

Land Surface Microwave Emissivity Dynamics: Observations, Analysis and Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tian, Yudong; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Harrison, Kenneth W.; Kumar, Sujay; Ringerud, Sarah

2014-01-01

Land surface microwave emissivity affects remote sensing of both the atmosphere and the land surface. The dynamical behavior of microwave emissivity over a very diverse sample of land surface types is studied. With seven years of satellite measurements from AMSR-E, we identified various dynamical regimes of the land surface emission. In addition, we used two radiative transfer models (RTMs), the Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) and the Community Microwave Emission Modeling Platform (CMEM), to simulate land surface emissivity dynamics. With both CRTM and CMEM coupled to NASA's Land Information System, global-scale land surface microwave emissivities were simulated for five years, and evaluated against AMSR-E observations. It is found that both models have successes and failures over various types of land surfaces. Among them, the desert shows the most consistent underestimates (by approx. 70-80%), due to limitations of the physical models used, and requires a revision in both systems. Other snow-free surface types exhibit various degrees of success and it is expected that parameter tuning can improve their performances.

Analysis of a Lunar Base Electrostatic Radiation Shield Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buhler, Charles R.

2004-01-01

Space weather can be defined as the total ensemble of radiation in space, as well as on the surface of moons and asteroids. It consists of electromagnetic, charged-particle, and neutral particle radiation. The fundamental goal behind this NIAC Phase I research is to investigate methods of generating a static electric-field potential phi(x, y, z) in the volume above and around a "safe" or protected area on the lunar surface so that trajectories of harmful charged particle radiation are modified (deflected or reflected), thus creating a shadow over that region. Since the charged particles are not neutralized but merely redirected, there will be areas outside of the shadowed protected region that will have a higher flux concentration of radiation. One of the fundamental limitations of the static electric (electrostatic)-field approach to radiation shielding is that complete shadowing is accomplished only by complete reflection, which can only occur for shield voltages greater than or equal to the kinetic energy (in electron volts) of the incoming charged particles. Just as habitats on Earth are protected from severe weather events and conditions, such as extreme temperatures, high winds, and UV radiation, using multiple methods of shielding protection from severe space weather will undoubtedly require multiple strategies. The electrostatic shield concept may be one of many methods employed to protect astronaut habitats on the lunar surface from some of the harmful effects of space weather.

New gridded database of clear-sky solar radiation derived from ground-based observations over Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartok, Blanka; Wild, Martin; Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo; Hakuba, Maria Z.

2017-04-01

Since aerosols modify the entire energy balance of the climate system through different processes, assessments regarding aerosol multiannual variability are highly required by the climate modelling community. Because of the scarcity of long-term direct aerosol measurements, the retrieval of aerosol data/information from other type of observations or satellite measurements are very relevant. One approach frequently used in the literature is analyze of the clear-sky solar radiation which offer a better overview of changes in aerosol content. In the study first two empirical methods are elaborated in order to separate clear-sky situations from observed values of surface solar radiation available at the World Radiation Data Center (WRDC), St. Petersburg. The daily data has been checked for temporal homogeneity by applying the MASH method (Szentimrey, 2003). In the first approach, clear sky situations are detected based on clearness index, namely the ratio of the surface solar radiation to the extraterrestrial solar irradiation. In the second approach the observed values of surface solar radiation are compared to the climatology of clear-sky surface solar radiation calculated by the MAGIC radiation code (Muller et al. 2009). In both approaches the clear-sky radiation values highly depend on the applied thresholds. In order to eliminate this methodological error a verification of clear-sky detection is envisaged through a comparison with the values obtained by a high time resolution clear-sky detection and interpolation algorithm (Long and Ackermann, 2000) making use of the high quality data from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN). As the consequences clear-sky data series are obtained for 118 European meteorological stations. Next a first attempt has been done in order to interpolate the point-wise clear-sky radiation data by applying the MISH (Meteorological Interpolation based on Surface Homogenized Data Basis) method for the spatial interpolation of surface meteorological elements developed at the Hungarian Meteorological Service (Szentimrey 2007). In this way new gridded database of clear-sky solar radiation is created suitable for further investigations regarding the role of aerosols in the energy budget, and also for validations of climate model outputs. References 1. Long CN, Ackerman TP. 2000. Identification of clear skies from broadband pyranometer measurements and calculation of downwelling shortwave cloud effects, J. Geophys. Res., 105(D12), 15609-15626, doi:10.1029/2000JD900077. 2. Mueller R, Matsoukas C, Gratzki A, Behr H, Hollmann R. 2009. The CM-SAF operational scheme for the satellite based retrieval of solar surface irradiance - a LUT based eigenvector hybrid approach, Remote Sensing of Environment, 113 (5), 1012-1024, doi:10.1016/j.rse.2009. 01.012 3. Szentimrey T. 2014. Multiple Analysis of Series for Homogenization (MASHv3.03), Hungarian Meteorological Service, https://www.met.hu/en/omsz/rendezvenyek/homogenization_and_interpolation/software/ 4. Szentimrey T. Bihari Z. 2014: Meteorological Interpolation based on Surface Homogenized Data Basis (MISHv1.03) https://www.met.hu/en/omsz/rendezvenyek/homogenization_and_interpolation/software/

A one-year study of the diurnal cycle of meteorology, clouds and radiation in the West African Sahel region

DOE PAGES

Collow, Allison B.; Ghate, Virendra P.; Miller, Mark A.; ...

2015-09-09

Here, the diurnal cycles of meteorological and radiation variables are analysed during the wet and dry seasons over the Sahel region of West Africa during 2006 using surface data collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) programme's Mobile Facility, satellite radiation measurements from the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument aboard Meteosat 8, and reanalysis products from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The meteorological analysis builds upon past studies of the diurnal cycle in the region by incorporating diurnal cycles of lower tropospheric wind profiles, thermodynamic profiles, integrated water vapour and liquid water measurements, and cloud radar measurementsmore » of frequency and location. These meteorological measurements are complemented by 3 h measurements of the diurnal cycles of the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and surface short-wave (SW) and long-wave (LW) radiative fluxes and cloud radiative effects (CREs), and the atmospheric radiative flux divergence (RFD) and atmospheric CREs. Cirrus cloudiness during the dry season is shown to peak in coverage in the afternoon, while convective clouds during the wet season are shown to peak near dawn and have an afternoon minimum related to the rise of the lifting condensation level into the Saharan Air Layer. The LW and SW RFDs and CREs exhibit diurnal cycles during both seasons, but there is a relatively small difference in the LW cycles during the two seasons (10 – 30 W m –2 depending on the variable and time of day). Small differences in the TOA CREs during the two seasons are overwhelmed by large differences in the surface SW CREs, which exceed 100 W m –2. A significant surface SW CRE during the wet season combined with a negligible TOA SW CRE produces a diurnal cycle in the atmospheric CRE that is modulated primarily by the SW surface CRE, peaks at midday at ~150 W m –2, and varies widely from day to day.« less

A One-Year Study of the Diurnal Cycle of Meteorology, Clouds, and Radiation in the West African Sahel Region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marquardt-Collow, Allison; Ghate, Virendra P.; Miller, Mark A.

The diurnal cycles of meteorological and radiation variables are analyzed during the wet and dry seasons over the Sahel region of West Africa during 2006 using surface data collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Mobile Facility, satellite radiation measurements from the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument aboard Meteosat 8, and reanalysis products from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The meteorological analysis builds upon past studies of the diurnal cycle in the region by incorporating diurnal cycles of lower tropospheric wind profiles, thermodynamic profiles, integrated water vapor and liquid water measurements, and cloud radar measurements ofmore » frequency and location. These meteorological measurements are complemented by 3-hour measurements of the diurnal cycles of the TOA and surface shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) radiative fluxes and cloud radiative effects (CREs), and the atmospheric radiative flux divergence (RFD) and atmospheric CREs. Cirrus cloudiness during the dry season is shown to peak in coverage in the afternoon, while convective clouds during the wet season are shown to peak near dawn and have an afternoon minimum related to the rise of the Lifting Condensation Level into the Saharan Air Layer. The LW and SW RFDs and CREs exhibit diurnal cycles during both seasons, but there is a relatively small difference in the LW cycles during the two seasons (10-30 Wm^(-2) depending on the variable and time of day). Small differences in the TOA CREs during the two seasons are overwhelmed by large differences in the surface SW CREs, which exceed 100 Wm^(-2). A significant surface SW CRE during the wet season combined with a negligible TOA SW CRE produces a diurnal cycle in the atmospheric CRE that is modulated primarily by the SW surface CRE, peaks at midday at ~150 Wm^(-2), and varies widely from day to day.« less

A one-year study of the diurnal cycle of meteorology, clouds and radiation in the West African Sahel region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collow, Allison B.; Ghate, Virendra P.; Miller, Mark A.

Here, the diurnal cycles of meteorological and radiation variables are analysed during the wet and dry seasons over the Sahel region of West Africa during 2006 using surface data collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) programme's Mobile Facility, satellite radiation measurements from the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument aboard Meteosat 8, and reanalysis products from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The meteorological analysis builds upon past studies of the diurnal cycle in the region by incorporating diurnal cycles of lower tropospheric wind profiles, thermodynamic profiles, integrated water vapour and liquid water measurements, and cloud radar measurementsmore » of frequency and location. These meteorological measurements are complemented by 3 h measurements of the diurnal cycles of the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and surface short-wave (SW) and long-wave (LW) radiative fluxes and cloud radiative effects (CREs), and the atmospheric radiative flux divergence (RFD) and atmospheric CREs. Cirrus cloudiness during the dry season is shown to peak in coverage in the afternoon, while convective clouds during the wet season are shown to peak near dawn and have an afternoon minimum related to the rise of the lifting condensation level into the Saharan Air Layer. The LW and SW RFDs and CREs exhibit diurnal cycles during both seasons, but there is a relatively small difference in the LW cycles during the two seasons (10 – 30 W m –2 depending on the variable and time of day). Small differences in the TOA CREs during the two seasons are overwhelmed by large differences in the surface SW CREs, which exceed 100 W m –2. A significant surface SW CRE during the wet season combined with a negligible TOA SW CRE produces a diurnal cycle in the atmospheric CRE that is modulated primarily by the SW surface CRE, peaks at midday at ~150 W m –2, and varies widely from day to day.« less

Effect of Index of Refraction on Radiation Characteristics in a Heated Absorbing, Emitting, and Scattering Layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siegel, R.; Spuckler, C. M.

1992-01-01

The index of refraction can considerably influence the temperature distribution and radiative heat flow in semitransparent materials such as some ceramics. For external radiant heating, the refractive index influences the amount of energy transmitted into the interior of the material. Emission within a material depends on the square of its refractive index, and hence this emission can be many times that for a biackbody radiating into a vacuum. Since radiation exiting through an interface into a vacuum cannot exceed that of a blackbody, there is extensive reflection at the internal surface of an interface, mostly by total internal reflection. This redistributes energy within the layer and tends to make its temperature distribution more uniform. The purpose of the present analysis is to show that, for radiative equilibrium in a gray layer with diffuse interfaces, the temperature distribution and radiative heat flux for any index of refraction can be obtained very simply from the results for an index of refraction of unity. For the situation studied here, the layer is subjected to external radiative heating incident on each of its surfaces. The material emits, absorbs, and isotropically scatters radiation. For simplicity the index of refraction is unity in the medium surrounding the layer. The surfaces of the layer are assumed diffuse. This is probably a reasonable approximation for a ceramic layer that has not been polished. When transmitted radiation or radiation emitted from the interior reaches the inner surface of an interface, the radiation is diffused and some of it thereby placed into angular directions for which there is total internal reflection. This provides a trapping effect for retaining energy within the layer and tends to equalize its temperature distribution. An analysis of temperature distributions in absorbing-emitting layers, including index of refraction effects, was developed by Gardon (1958) to predict cooling and heat treating of glass plates. The interfaces were optically smooth; the resulting specular reflections were computed from the Fresnel reflection laws. This provides a somewhat different behavior than for diffuse interfaces. A similar application was for heating that occurs in a window of a re-entry vehicle (Fowle et al., 1969). A number of recent papers (Rokhsaz and Dougherty, 1989; Ping and Lallemand, 1989; Crosbie and Shieh, 1990) further examined the effects of Fresnel boundary reflections and nonunity refractive index. Other examples of analyses of both steady and transient heat transfer to single or multiple plane layers (Amlin and Korpela, 1979; Tarshis et al., 1969) have used diffuse assumptions at the interfaces as in the present study

Defining the Magnitude: Patterns, Regularities and Direct TOA-Surface Flux Relationships in the 15-Year Long CERES Satellite Data — Observations, Model and Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zagoni, M.

2017-12-01

Over the past fifteen years, the NASA Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite mission has provided the scientific community with the most reliable Earth radiation budget data. This presentation offers quantitative assessment of the published CERES Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Edition 2.8 and Edition 4.0 data products, and reveals several internal patterns, ratios and regularities within the annual global mean flux components of the all-sky and clear-sky surface and atmospheric energy budgets. The found patterns, among others, include: (i) direct relationships between the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative and surface radiative and non-radiative fluxes (contradicting the expectation that TOA and surface fluxes are physically decoupled); (ii) integer ratios and relationships between the absorbed and emitted surface and atmospheric energy flow elements; and (iii) definite connections among the clear-sky and the all-sky shortwave, longwave and non-radiative (turbulent) flux elements and the corresponding greenhouse effect. Comparison between the EBAF Ed2.8 and Ed4.0 SFC and TOA data products and trend analyses of the normalized clear-sky and all-sky greenhouse factors are presented. Longwave cloud radiative effect (LW CRE) proved to be playing a principal role in organizing the found numerical patterns in the surface and atmospheric energy flow components. All of the revealed structures are quantitatively valid within the one-sigma range of uncertainty of the involved individual flux elements. This presentation offers a conceptual framework to interpret the found relationships and shows how the observed CERES fluxes can be deduced from this proposed physical model. An important conclusion drawn from our analysis is that the internal atmospheric and surface energy flow system forms a definite structure and seems to be more constrained to the incoming solar energy than previously thought.

Investigation of the radiative forcings of thin cirrus in the tropical atmosphere using remote sensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Qing

Cirrus clouds have a unique influence on the climate system through their effects on the radiation budget of the earth and the atmosphere. To better understand the radiative effect of cirrus clouds, the microphysical and radiative properties of these clouds, especially tropical thin cirrus clouds, are studied based on both insitu cirrus measurements and satellite remote sensing observations. We perform a correlation analysis involving ice water content (IWC) and mean effective diameter (De) for applications to radiative transfer calculations and climate models using insitu measurements obtained from numerous field campaigns in the tropics, midlatitude, and Arctic regions. In conjunction with the study of cirrus clouds, we develop a high-resolution spectral infrared radiative transfer model for thin cirrus cloudy atmosphere, which is employed to retrieve De and cirrus optical depth from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) infrared spectra. Numerical simulations show that cirrus cloudy radiances in the 800-1130 cm-1 thermal infrared window are sufficiently sensitive to variations in cirrus optical depth, and ice crystal size and habit. A number of nighttime thin cirrus scenes over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program's Tropical Western Pacific sites have been selected from AIRS datasets for this study. The radiative transfer model is applied to these selected cases to determine cirrus optical depth, De and habit factors. Solar and infrared radiative forcings and heating rates produced by thin cirrus in the tropical atmosphere have been calculated using the retrieved cirrus optical and microphysical properties along with a modified Fu and Liou broadband radiative transfer scheme to analyze their dependence on cirrus cloud properties. Generally, larger TOA warming and smaller surface warming are associated with higher cirrus clouds. To cross-check the validity of our model, the collocated and coincident surface radiation measurements taken by ARM pyrgeometers have been compared with the calculated surface fluxes. Using the method developed in this study, regional radiation budget analyses can be carried out in the future study to quantitatively understand the role of thin cirrus clouds on solar and thermal infrared radiative forcings at the top of the atmosphere, the tropopause, and the surface.

Combined natural convection and non-gray radiation heat transfer in a horizontal annulus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yujia; Zhang, Xiaobing; Howell, John R.

2018-02-01

Natural convection and non-gray radiation in an annulus containing a radiative participating gas is investigated. To determine the effect of non-gray radiation, the spectral line based weighted sum of gray gas is adopted to model the gas radiative properties. Case with only surface radiation (transparent medium) is also considered to see the relative contributions of surface radiation and gas radiation. The finite volume method is used to solve the mass, momentum, energy and radiative transfer equations. Comparisons between pure convection, case considering only surface radiation and case considering both gas radiation and surface radiation are made and the results show that radiation is not negligible and gas radiation becomes more important with increasing Rayleigh number (and the annulus size).

Regional aerosol radiative and hydrological effects over the mid-Atlantic corridor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creekmore, Torreon N.

A thorough assessment of direct, indirect, and semi-direct influences of aerosols on Earth's energy budget is required to better understand climate and estimate how it may change in the future. Clear-sky surface broadband (measured and modeled) irradiance, spectral aerosol optical depth, heating rate profiles, and non-radiative flux measurements were conducted at a state-of-the-art site, developed by the NOAA-Howard University Center for Atmospheric Sciences (NCAS) program, providing a best estimate of aerosol radiative atmosphere-surface interactions. Methods developed by the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program were applied to: (1) temporally quantify regional aerosol forcing, (2) to derive an empirical equation describing a relationship between aerosol optical depth and normalized diffuse ratio, (3) evaluate aerosol impacts on atmospheric heating, and (4) evaluate how aerosol forcing impacts may possibly reduce latent and sensible fluxes. Measurements were obtained during the period of May--September for the years of 2005, 2006, and 2007. Atmospheric aerosols are among the key uncertainties affecting the Earth's climate and atmospheric radiative processes. Present-day increases in aerosol concentrations directly, indirectly, and semi-directly impact the Earth's energy budget (i.e., cooling the surface and heating the atmosphere), thereby contributing to climate change. The Howard University Beltsville Site (HUBS) has experienced a greater loss in mean normalized aerosol radiative forcing with time, as observations show a decrease from --0.9 in 2005 to --3.1 and --3.4 W/m2 for 2006 and 2007 respectively, in mean net surface irradiance. The mean normalized aerosol radiative forcing estimated for the period considered was --2.5 W/m2. The reduction in surface solar insolation is due to increased scattering and absorption related to increased aerosol burdens v for the period, promoting surface cooling and atmospheric heating. Calculation of radiative flux and heating rates profiles, which are constrained by HUBS observations, were performed by the 1-D Fu-Liou radiative transfer model to investigate the effect of polluted and pristine aerosol conditions on the surface energy budget and hydrological cycle. For HUBS the surface forcing (--14.2 W/m2) and atmospheric forcing (9.9 W/m2) were significantly larger than the TOA (--4.3 W/m2) radiative forcing. Associated aerosol heating, as well as reduced surface insolation, may lead to increasing near surface static stability, and reduced vertical transport of moisture into the atmospheric boundary layer, and over time, a possible spin-down of the hydrological cycle. It is shown that HUBS provides an ideal opportunity for improving measurements and datasets, thus allowing for both the study and understanding of aerosol impacts on the climate system. Further, results show that in order to provide reference quality data and constrain aerosol radiative effects over land, ground-based research sites must conform to HUBS standards of: (1) instrumentation (e.g. passive and active sensors); (2) operational protocols (e.g. calibration and routine cleaning); (3) rigorous cloud screening protocols; and (4) incorporation of ARM QC and modified FFA algorithms. HUBS surface measurements provides the reference quality data necessary and capability required to help enhance measurements and constrain current uncertainties in estimates of aerosol direct effects over land. Incorporating a combined technique of both active and passive instruments reduced the direct radiative forcing estimates by ˜82 W/m2. The analysis of aerosol effects over HUBS helps continue in bridging the gap of applying measurements for improvement of climate simulations by generating observational products, which describes aerosol and radiation field characteristics in detail.

Analysis of the UV-B Regime and Potential Effects on Alfalfa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seitz, Jeffery C.

1998-01-01

Life at the surface of the Earth, over the last 400 m.y., evolved under conditions of decreased short-wave radiation (i.e., ultraviolet) relative to solar output due to absorption and scattering by constituents (e.g., ozone, water vapor, aerosols) in the upper atmosphere. However, a significant amount of ultraviolet radiation in the range from 280-320 nm, known as ultraviolet-B radiation, reaches the Earth's surface and has sufficient energy to be damaging to biologic tissue. Natural fluctuations in atmospheric constituents (seasonal variation, volcanic eruptions, etc.), changes in the orbital attitude of the Earth (precession, axial tilt, orbital eccentricity), and long-term solar variability contribute to changes in the total amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface of the Earth, and thus, the biosphere. More recently, the atmospheric release of commercial propellants and refrigerants, known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), has contributed to a significant depletion in naturally occurring ozone in the stratosphere. Thus, decreased stratospheric ozone has resulted in an increased UV-B flux at the Earth's surface which may have profound effects on terrestrial and marine organisms. In this study, we are investigating the effects of differing solar UV-B fluxes on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), an important agricultural crop. A long-term goal of this research is to develop spectral signatures to detect plant response to increased UV-B radiation from remote sensor platforms.

The Unprecedented 2016-2017 Arctic Sea Ice Growth Season: The Crucial Role of Atmospheric Rivers and Longwave Fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegyi, Bradley M.; Taylor, Patrick C.

2018-05-01

The 2016-2017 Arctic sea ice growth season (October-March) exhibited one of the lowest values for end-of-season sea ice volume and extent of any year since 1979. An analysis of Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 atmospheric reanalysis data and Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System radiative flux data reveals that a record warm and moist Arctic atmosphere supported the reduced sea ice growth. Numerous regional episodes of increased atmospheric temperature and moisture, transported from lower latitudes, increased the cumulative energy input from downwelling longwave surface fluxes. In those same episodes, the efficiency of the atmosphere cooling radiatively to space was reduced, increasing the amount of energy retained in the Arctic atmosphere and reradiated back toward the surface. Overall, the Arctic radiative cooling efficiency shows a decreasing trend since 2000. The results presented highlight the increasing importance of atmospheric forcing on sea ice variability demonstrating that episodic Arctic atmospheric rivers, regions of elevated poleward water vapor transport, and the subsequent surface energy budget response is a critical mechanism actively contributing to the evolution of Arctic sea ice.

On-Line Tool for the Assessment of Radiation in Space - Deep Space Mission Enhancements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandridge, Chris a.; Blattnig, Steve R.; Norman, Ryan B.; Slaba, Tony C.; Walker, Steve A.; Spangler, Jan L.

2011-01-01

The On-Line Tool for the Assessment of Radiation in Space (OLTARIS, https://oltaris.nasa.gov) is a web-based set of tools and models that allows engineers and scientists to assess the effects of space radiation on spacecraft, habitats, rovers, and spacesuits. The site is intended to be a design tool for those studying the effects of space radiation for current and future missions as well as a research tool for those developing advanced material and shielding concepts. The tools and models are built around the HZETRN radiation transport code and are primarily focused on human- and electronic-related responses. The focus of this paper is to highlight new capabilities that have been added to support deep space (outside Low Earth Orbit) missions. Specifically, the electron, proton, and heavy ion design environments for the Europa mission have been incorporated along with an efficient coupled electron-photon transport capability to enable the analysis of complicated geometries and slabs exposed to these environments. In addition, a neutron albedo lunar surface environment was also added, that will be of value for the analysis of surface habitats. These updates will be discussed in terms of their implementation and on how OLTARIS can be used by instrument vendors, mission designers, and researchers to analyze their specific requirements.12

Radiation analysis for manned missions to the Jupiter system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De Angelis, G.; Clowdsley, M. S.; Nealy, J. E.; Tripathi, R. K.; Wilson, J. W.

2004-01-01

An analysis for manned missions targeted to the Jovian system has been performed in the framework of the NASA RASC (Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts) program on Human Exploration beyond Mars. The missions were targeted to the Jupiter satellite Callisto. The mission analysis has been divided into three main phases, namely the interplanetary cruise, the Jupiter orbital insertion, and the surface landing and exploration phases. The interplanetary phase is based on departure from the Earth-Moon L1 point. Interplanetary trajectories based on the use of different propulsion systems have been considered, with resulting overall cruise phase duration varying between two and five years. The Jupiter-approach and the orbital insertion trajectories are considered in detail, with the spacecraft crossing the Jupiter radiation belts and staying around the landing target. In the surface exploration phase the stay on the Callisto surface is considered. The satellite surface composition has been modeled based on the most recent results from the GALILEO spacecraft. In the transport computations the surface backscattering has been duly taken into account. Particle transport has been performed with the HZETRN heavy ion code for hadrons and with an in-house developed transport code for electrons and bremsstrahlung photons. The obtained doses have been compared to dose exposure limits. c2004 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radiation analysis for manned missions to the Jupiter system.

PubMed

De Angelis, G; Clowdsley, M S; Nealy, J E; Tripathi, R K; Wilson, J W

2004-01-01

An analysis for manned missions targeted to the Jovian system has been performed in the framework of the NASA RASC (Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts) program on Human Exploration beyond Mars. The missions were targeted to the Jupiter satellite Callisto. The mission analysis has been divided into three main phases, namely the interplanetary cruise, the Jupiter orbital insertion, and the surface landing and exploration phases. The interplanetary phase is based on departure from the Earth-Moon L1 point. Interplanetary trajectories based on the use of different propulsion systems have been considered, with resulting overall cruise phase duration varying between two and five years. The Jupiter-approach and the orbital insertion trajectories are considered in detail, with the spacecraft crossing the Jupiter radiation belts and staying around the landing target. In the surface exploration phase the stay on the Callisto surface is considered. The satellite surface composition has been modeled based on the most recent results from the GALILEO spacecraft. In the transport computations the surface backscattering has been duly taken into account. Particle transport has been performed with the HZETRN heavy ion code for hadrons and with an in-house developed transport code for electrons and bremsstrahlung photons. The obtained doses have been compared to dose exposure limits. c2004 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Annual Cycle of Surface Longwave Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mlynczak, Pamela E.; Smith, G. Louis; Wilber, Anne C.; Stackhouse, Paul W.

2011-01-01

The annual cycles of upward and downward longwave fluxes at the Earth s surface are investigated by use of the NASA/GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget Data Set. Because of the immense difference between the heat capacity of land and ocean, the surface of Earth is partitioned into these two categories. Principal component analysis is used to quantify the annual cycles. Over land, the first principal component describes over 95% of the variance of the annual cycle of the upward and downward longwave fluxes. Over ocean the first term describes more than 87% of these annual cycles. Empirical orthogonal functions show the corresponding geographical distributions of these cycles. Phase plane diagrams of the annual cycles of upward longwave fluxes as a function of net shortwave flux show the thermal inertia of land and ocean.

INTEGRATED AND FIBER OPTICS: Unidirectional coupling of radiation out of a composite dielectric waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avrutskiĭ, I. A.; Sychugov, V. A.; Tishchenko, A. V.; Svakhin, A. S.

1989-02-01

An analysis is made of the emission of light from a composite system representing a thin film on the surface of a corrugated diffused waveguide. Expressions are obtained for the radiative light losses in this waveguide. There is no emission of light into the substrate for certain relationships between the amplitudes and phases of the corrugations at the interfaces between the film and the adjoining medium and between the film and the waveguide. Numerical estimates of the losses are obtained for a case of practical importance, which is a corrugated diffused waveguide in glass with a film of Nb2O5 on the surface. A report is given of an experiment in which a grating was formed for coupling radiation out of a composite Cs+-diffused waveguide coated by a film of Nb2O5, which was capable of preferential (80%) emission of radiation into air, and in the presence of an immersion liquid ensured practically unidirectional coupling out of radiation into air.

A Digital Map From External Forcing to the Final Surface Warming Pattern and its Seasonal Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, M.

2015-12-01

Historically, only the thermodynamic processes (e.g., water vapor, cloud, surface albedo, and atmospheric lapse rate) that directly influence the top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiative energy flux balance are considered in climate feedback analysis. One of my recent research areas is to develop a new framework for climate feedback analysis that explicitly takes into consideration not only the thermodynamic processes that the directly influence the TOA radiative energy flux balance but also the local dynamical (e.g., evaporation, surface sensible heat flux, vertical convections etc) and non-local dynamical (large-scale horizontal energy transport) processes in aiming to explain the warming asymmetry between high and low latitudes, between ocean and land, and between the surface and atmosphere. In the last 5-6 years, we have developed a coupled atmosphere-surface climate feedback-response analysis method (CFRAM) as a new framework for estimating climate feedback and sensitivity in coupled general circulation models with a full physical parameterization package. In the CFRAM, the isolation of partial temperature changes due to an external forcing alone or an individual feedback is achieved by solving the linearized infrared radiation transfer model subject to individual energy flux perturbations (external or due to feedbacks). The partial temperature changes are addable and their sum is equal to the (total) temperature change (in the linear sense). The CFRAM is used to isolate the partial temperature changes due to the external forcing, due to water vapor feedback, clouds, surface albedo, local vertical convection, and non-local atmospheric dynamical feedbacks, as well as oceanic heat storage. It has been shown that seasonal variations in the cloud feedback, surface albedo feedback, and ocean heat storage/dynamics feedback, directly caused by the strong annual cycle of insolation, contribute primarily to the large seasonal variation of polar warming. Furthermore, the CO2 forcing, and water vapor and atmospheric dynamics feedbacks add to the maximum polar warming in fall/winter.

Thermal Analysis of a Finite Element Model in a Radiation Dominated Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Page, Arthur T.

2001-01-01

This paper presents a brief overview of thermal analysis, evaluating the University of Arizona mirror design, for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) Pre-Phase A vehicle concept. Model building begins using Thermal Desktop(TM), by Cullimore and Ring Technologies, to import a NASTRAN bulk data file from the structural model of the mirror assembly. Using AutoCAD(R) capabilities, additional surfaces are added to simulate the thermal aspects of the problem which, for due reason, are not part of the structural model. Surfaces are then available to accept thermophysical and thermo-optical properties. Thermal Desktop(TM) calculates radiation conductors using Monte Carlo simulations. Then Thermal Desktop(TM) generates the SINDA input file having a one-to-one correspondence with the NASTRAN node and element definitions. A model is now available to evaluate the mirror design in the radiation dominated environment, conduct parametric trade studies of the thermal design, and provide temperatures to the finite element structural model.

Thermal Analysis of a Finite Element Model in a Radiation Dominated Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Page, Arhur T.

1999-01-01

This paper presents a brief overview of thermal analysis, evaluating the University of Arizona mirror design, for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) Pre-Phase A vehicle concept. Model building begins using Thermal Desktop(Tm), by Cullimore and Ring Technologies, to import a NASTRAN bulk data file from the structural model of the mirror assembly. Using AutoCAD(R) capabilities, additional surfaces are added to simulate the thermal aspects of the problem which, for due reason, are not part of the structural model. Surfaces are then available to accept thermophysical and thermo-optical properties. Thermal Desktop(Tm) calculates radiation conductors using Monte Carlo simulations. Then Thermal Desktop(Tm) generates the SINDA/Fluint input file having a one-to-one correspondence with the NASTRAN node and element definitions. A model is now available to evaluate the mirror design in the radiation dominated environment conduct parametric trade studies of the thermal design, and provide temperatures to the finite element structural model.

Analysis of cylindrical wrap-around and doubly conformal patch antennas by way of the finite element-artificial absorber method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volakis, J. L.; Kempel, L. C.; Sliva, R.; Wang, H. T. G.; Woo, A. G.

1994-01-01

The goal of this project was to develop analysis codes for computing the scattering and radiation of antennas on cylindrically and doubly conformal platforms. The finite element-boundary integral (FE-BI) method has been shown to accurately model the scattering and radiation of cavity-backed patch antennas. Unfortunately extension of this rigorous technique to coated or doubly curved platforms is cumbersome and inefficient. An alternative approximate approach is to employ an absorbing boundary condition (ABC) for terminating the finite element mesh thus avoiding use of a Green's function. A FE-ABC method is used to calculate the radar cross section (RCS) and radiation pattern of a cavity-backed patch antenna which is recessed within a metallic surface. It is shown that this approach is accurate for RCS and antenna pattern calculations with an ABC surface displaced as little as 0.3 lambda from the cavity aperture. These patch antennas may have a dielectric overlay which may also be modeled with this technique.

Preliminary evaluation of a liquid belt radiator for space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teagan, W. P.; Fitzgerald, K.

1984-01-01

The liquid belt radiator (LBR) is discussed. The LBR system operates either in the sensible heat mode or in the latent heat mode. Parametric analysis shows that the LBR may reduce the mass of heat pipe radiators by 70 to 90% when the LBR surface has a total emissivity in excess of 0.3. It is indicated that the diffusion pump oils easily meet this criteria with emissivities greater than 0.8. Measurements on gallium indicate that its emissivity is probably in excess of 0.3 in the solid state when small amounts of impurities are on the surface. The point design exhibits a characteristic mass of 3.1 kg/kW of power dissipation, a mass per unit prime radiating area of approximately 0.9 kg/sq ms and a total package volume of approximately 2.50 cubic m. This compares favorably with conventional technologies which have weights on the order of 4 kg/sq m.

Analysis of the thermal performance of heat pipe radiators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boo, J. H.; Hartley, J. G.

1990-01-01

A comprehensive mathematical model and computational methodology are presented to obtain numerical solutions for the transient behavior of a heat pipe radiator in a space environment. The modeling is focused on a typical radiator panel having a long heat pipe at the center and two extended surfaces attached to opposing sides of the heat pipe shell in the condenser section. In the set of governing equations developed for the model, each region of the heat pipe - shell, liquid, and vapor - is thermally lumped to the extent possible, while the fin is lumped only in the direction normal to its surface. Convection is considered to be the only significant heat transfer mode in the vapor, and the evaporation and condensation velocity at the liquid-vapor interface is calculated from kinetic theory. A finite-difference numerical technique is used to predict the transient behavior of the entire radiator in response to changing loads.

Broad band waveguide spectrometer

DOEpatents

Goldman, Don S.

1995-01-01

A spectrometer for analyzing a sample of material utilizing a broad band source of electromagnetic radiation and a detector. The spectrometer employs a waveguide possessing an entry and an exit for the electromagnetic radiation emanating from the source. The waveguide further includes a surface between the entry and exit portions which permits interaction between the electromagnetic radiation passing through the wave guide and a sample material. A tapered portion forms a part of the entry of the wave guide and couples the electromagnetic radiation emanating from the source to the waveguide. The electromagnetic radiation passing from the exit of the waveguide is captured and directed to a detector for analysis.

Atomic-scale luminescence measurement and theoretical analysis unveiling electron energy dissipation at a p-type GaAs(110) surface.

PubMed

Imada, Hiroshi; Miwa, Kuniyuki; Jung, Jaehoon; Shimizu, Tomoko K; Yamamoto, Naoki; Kim, Yousoo

2015-09-11

Luminescence of p-type GaAs was induced by electron injection from the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope into a GaAs(110) surface. Atomically-resolved photon maps revealed a significant reduction in luminescence intensity at surface electronic states localized near Ga atoms. Theoretical analysis based on first principles calculations and a rate equation approach was performed to describe the perspective of electron energy dissipation at the surface. Our study reveals that non-radiative recombination through the surface states (SS) is a dominant process for the electron energy dissipation at the surface, which is suggestive of the fast scattering of injected electrons into the SS.

Atmospheric structure favoring high sea surface temperatures in the western equatorial Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wirasatriya, Anindya; Kawamura, Hiroshi; Shimada, Teruhisa; Hosoda, Kohtaro

2016-10-01

We investigated the atmospheric processes over high sea surface temperature called Hot Event (HE) in the western equatorial Pacific from climatological analysis and a case study of the HE which began on 28 May 2003 (hereafter, HE030528). Climatological analysis shows that during the development stage of HE, solar radiation inside the HE area is higher than its climatology and wind speed is lower than the decay stage. During the decay stage, strong westerly wind often occurs inside HE area. The case study of HE030528 shows that the suppressed convection above high SST area resulted from the deep convection from the northern and southern areas outside HE. The suppressed convection created a band-shaped structure of low cloud cover along HE area increasing solar radiation during the development stage. Thus, the theory of "remote convection" was supported for the HE030528 formation mechanisms. The large sea level pressure gradient magnitude between the southern side of the terrain gap and the northern coast of the Solomon Islands, through which strong wind blew, indicated the role of land topography for the increase of wind speed during the decay of HE030528. Moreover, surface wind had an important role to influence the variability of solar radiation during the occurrence of HE030528 by controlling the water vapor supply in the upper troposphere through surface evaporation and surface convergence variation. Thus, surface wind was the key factor for HE030528 occurrence. The representativeness of HE030528 and the possible relation between HE and Madden-Julian Oscillation are also discussed.

EFFECTS OF LASER RADIATION ON MATTER. LASER PLASMA: Characteristics of the evolution of a plasma formed by cw and pulse-periodic CO2 laser radiation in various gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanevskiĭ, M. F.; Stepanova, M. A.

1990-06-01

An investigation was made of the interaction between high-power cw and pulse-periodic CO2 laser radiation and a low-threshold optical breakdown plasma near a metal surface. Characteristics of the breakdown plasma were studied as a function of the experimental conditions. A qualitative analysis was made of the results using a simple one-dimensional model for laser combustion waves.

Analysis of the In-Water and Sky Radiance Distribution Data Acquired During the RaDyO Project

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-30

radiative transfer to model the BRDF of particulate surfaces. OBJECTIVES The major objective of this research is to understand the downwelling spectral...in the water, was also used by the two major modeling groups in RaDyO, to successfully validate their radiative transfer models . This work is...image and radiative transfer models used in the ocean. My near term ocean optics objectives have been: 1) to improve the measurement capability of

Properties of dust and clouds in the Mars atmosphere: Analysis of Viking IRTM emission phase function sequences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancy, R. T.; Lee, S. W.

1991-01-01

An analysis of emission-phase-function (EPF) observations from the Viking Orbiter Infrared Thermal Mapper (IRTM) yields a wide variety of results regarding dust and cloud scattering in the Mars atmosphere and atmospheric-corrected albedos for the surface of Mars. A multiple scattering radiative transfer model incorporating a bidirectional phase function for the surface and atmospheric scattering by dust and clouds is used to derive surface albedos and dust and ice optical properties and optical depths for these various conditions on Mars.

Comparison of finite source and plane wave scattering from corrugated surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, D. M.

1977-01-01

The choice of a plane wave to represent incident radiation in the analysis of scatter from corrugated surfaces was examined. The physical optics solution obtained for the scattered fields due to an incident plane wave was compared with the solution obtained when the incident radiation is produced by a source of finite size and finite distance from the surface. The two solutions are equivalent if the observer is in the far field of the scatterer and the distance from observer to scatterer is large compared to the radius of curvature at the scatter points, condition not easily satisfied with extended scatterers such as rough surfaces. In general, the two solutions have essential differences such as in the location of the scatter points and the dependence of the scattered fields on the surface properties. The implication of these differences to the definition of a meaningful radar cross section was examined.

Automated calculation of surface energy fluxes with high-frequency lake buoy data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woolway, R. Iestyn; Jones, Ian D; Hamilton, David P.; Maberly, Stephen C; Muroaka, Kohji; Read, Jordan S.; Smyth, Robyn L; Winslow, Luke A.

2015-01-01

Lake Heat Flux Analyzer is a program used for calculating the surface energy fluxes in lakes according to established literature methodologies. The program was developed in MATLAB for the rapid analysis of high-frequency data from instrumented lake buoys in support of the emerging field of aquatic sensor network science. To calculate the surface energy fluxes, the program requires a number of input variables, such as air and water temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and short-wave radiation. Available outputs for Lake Heat Flux Analyzer include the surface fluxes of momentum, sensible heat and latent heat and their corresponding transfer coefficients, incoming and outgoing long-wave radiation. Lake Heat Flux Analyzer is open source and can be used to process data from multiple lakes rapidly. It provides a means of calculating the surface fluxes using a consistent method, thereby facilitating global comparisons of high-frequency data from lake buoys.

Solutions of the equation of heat flow. [in and around sunspots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Margolis, S. H.; Knobloch, E.

1980-01-01

The geometry of sunspots has been used to suggest a problem in heat flow. The equation of heat transport is solved for the case of a cylinder with a given thermal conductivity imbedded in an otherwise uniform medium with different conductivity. The surface of this region radiates heat with flux proportional to temperature. At a lower surface, either in heat flux or temperature is held constant. The cylinder can have an anisotropic thermal conductivity. The variations in temperature along the radiating surface have been determined. A simple approximation is noted which has been found to give a general solution with acceptable accuracy. This method may be of some use in other situations requiring the solution of Laplace's equation with a free surface. The analysis is used to set limits on the ratio of diameter to depth for cases which preserve the sharp surface temperature transition across the cylinder.

Surface and interface analysis of nanomaterials at microfocus beamline (BL-16) of Indus-2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Das, Gangadhar, E-mail: rnrrsgangadhar@gmail.com; Tiwari, M. K., E-mail: mktiwati@rrcat.gov.in; Homi Bhabha National Institute, RRCAT

2016-05-06

Analysis of chemical nature and electronic structure at the interface of a thin film medium is important in many technological applications as well as to understand overall efficiency of a thin film device. Synchrotron radiation based x-ray spectroscopy is a promising technique to study interface nature of the nanomaterials with atomic resolutions. A combined x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence measurement facility has been recently constructed at the BL-16 microfocus beamline of Indus-2 synchrotron facility to accomplish surface-interface microstructural characterization of thin layered materials. It is also possible to analyze contaminates or adsorbed ad-atoms on the surface of themore » thin nanostructure materials. The BL-16 beamline also provides an attractive platform to perform a variety of analytical research activities especially in the field of micro x-ray fluorescence and ultra-trace elements analysis using Synchrotron radiation. We describe various salient features of the BL-16 reflectometer experimental station and the detailed description of its capabilities through the measured results, obtained for various thin layered nanomaterials.« less

In-Plane Shielding for CT: Effect of Off-Centering, Automatic Exposure Control and Shield-to-Surface Distance

PubMed Central

Dang, Pragya; Singh, Sarabjeet; Saini, Sanjay; Shepard, Jo-Anne O.

2009-01-01

Objective To assess effects of off-centering, automatic exposure control, and padding on attenuation values, noise, and radiation dose when using in-plane bismuth-based shields for CT scanning. Materials and Methods A 30 cm anthropomorphic chest phantom was scanned on a 64-multidetector CT, with the center of the phantom aligned to the gantry isocenter. Scanning was repeated after placing a bismuth breast shield on the anterior surface with no gap and with 1, 2, and 6 cm of padding between the shield and the phantom surface. The "shielded" phantom was also scanned with combined modulation and off-centering of the phantom at 2 cm, 4 cm and 6 cm below the gantry isocenter. CT numbers, noise, and surface radiation dose were measured. The data were analyzed using an analysis of variance. Results The in-plane shield was not associated with any significant increment for the surface dose or CT dose index volume, which was achieved by comparing the radiation dose measured by combined modulation technique to the fixed mAs (p > 0.05). Irrespective of the gap or the surface CT numbers, surface noise increased to a larger extent compared to Hounsfield unit (HU) (0-6 cm, 26-55%) and noise (0-6 cm, 30-40%) in the center. With off-centering, in-plane shielding devices are associated with less dose savings, although dose reduction was still higher than in the absence of shielding (0 cm off-center, 90% dose reduction; 2 cm, 61%) (p < 0.0001). Streak artifacts were noted at 0 cm and 1 cm gaps but not at 2 cm and 6 cm gaps of shielding to the surface distances. Conclusion In-plane shields are associated with greater image noise, artifactually increased attenuation values, and streak artifacts. However, shields reduce radiation dose regardless of the extent of off-centering. Automatic exposure control did not increase radiation dose when using a shield. PMID:19270862

Effect of chlorination on the TlBr band edges for improved room temperature radiation detectors: Effect of chlorination on the TlBr band edges for radiation detectors

DOE PAGES

Varley, J. B.; Conway, A. M.; Voss, L. F.; ...

2015-02-09

Thallium bromide (TlBr) crystals subjected to hydrochloric acid (HCl) chemical treatments have been shown to advantageously affect device performance and longevity in TlBr-based room temperature radiation detectors, yet the exact mechanisms of the improvements remain poorly understood. Here in this paper, we investigate the influence of several HCl chemical treatments on device-grade TlBr and describe the changes in the composition and electronic structure of the surface. Composition analysis and depth profiles obtained from secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) identify the extent to which each HCl etch condition affects the detector surface region and forms of a graded TlBr/TlBr 1-xCL xmore » surface heterojunction. Using a combination of X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and hybrid density functional calculations, we are able to determine the valence band offsets, band gaps, and conduction band offsets as a function of Cl content over the entire composition range of TIBr 1-xC1 X. This study establishes a strong correlation between device process conditions, surface chemistry, and electronic structure with the goal of further optimizing the long-term stability and radiation response of TlBr-based detectors.« less

The effects of cloud radiative forcing on an ocean-covered planet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Randall, David A.

1990-01-01

Cumulus anvil clouds, whose importance has been emphasized by observationalists in recent years, exert a very powerful influence on deep tropical convection by tending to radiatively destabilize the troposphere. In addition, they radiatively warm the column in which they reside. Their strong influence on the simulated climate argues for a much more refined parameterization in the General Circulation Model (GCM). For Seaworld, the atmospheric cloud radiative forcing (ACRF) has a powerful influence on such basic climate parameters as the strength of the Hadley circulation, the existence of a single narrow InterTropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), and the precipitable water content of the atmosphere. It seems likely, however, that in the real world the surface CRF feeds back negatively to suppress moist convection and the associated cloudiness, and so tends to counteract the effects of the ACRF. Many current climate models have fixed sea surface temperatures but variable land-surface temperatures. The tropical circulations of such models may experience a position feedback due to ACRF over the oceans, and a negative or weak feedback due to surface CRF over the land. The overall effects of the CRF on the climate system can only be firmly established through much further analysis, which can benefit greatly from the use of a coupled ocean-atmospheric model.

Radiative flow of Carreau liquid in presence of Newtonian heating and chemical reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayat, T.; Ullah, Ikram; Ahmad, B.; Alsaedi, A.

Objective of this article is to investigate the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer stretched flow of Carreau fluid in the presence of Newtonian heating. Sheet is presumed permeable. Analysis is studied in the presence of chemical reaction and thermal radiation. Mathematical formulation is established by using the boundary layer approximations. The resultant nonlinear flow analysis is computed for the convergent solutions. Interval of convergence via numerical data and plots are obtained and verified. Impact of numerous pertinent variables on the velocity, temperature and concentration is outlined. Numerical data for surface drag coefficient, surface heat transfer (local Nusselt number) and mass transfer (local Sherwood number) is executed and inspected. Comparison of skin friction coefficient in limiting case is made for the verification of current derived solutions.

Conductive aluminum line formation on aluminum nitride surface by infrared nanosecond laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozioł, Paweł E.; Antończak, Arkadiusz J.; Szymczyk, Patrycja; Stępak, Bogusz; Abramski, Krzysztof M.

2013-12-01

In this paper the fabrication of conductive aluminum paths on AlN ceramic's surface due to the interaction of laser radiation Nd:YAG (1.064 μm) is presented. The metallization process produces an appropriate power value on the ceramics surface to ensure the correct temperature (2200 °C) for which aluminum and nitrogen bonds are broken. Studies have been undertaken on creating low-ohmic structures depending on the parameters such as radiation power, scanning speed, the coverage of subsequent pulses and the environmental impact of the process (air, nitrogen, argon). Furthermore, with regards to the application of this method, it was significant to determine the thickness of the functional layer. A structure of the resistivity of ρ = 0.64 × 10-6 Ω m and aluminum layer thickness of 10 μm was achieved for the process carried out on the inert gas, argon. In addition, a quantitative analysis of nitrogen and aluminum for laser-treated structures was conducted. The performed tests confirmed that the highest amount of aluminum was produced on the surface treated by laser radiation in the environment of the process gas, argon.

Assessment of Climate Variability of the Greenland Ice Sheet: Integration of In Situ and Satellite Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steffen, K.; Abdalati, W.; Stroeve, J.; Nolin, A.; Box, J.; Key, J.; Zwally, J.; Stober, M.; Kreuter, J.

1996-01-01

The proposed research involves the application of multispectral satellite data in combination with ground truth measurements to monitor surface properties of the Greenland Ice Sheet which are essential for describing the energy and mass of the ice sheet. Several key components of the energy balance are parameterized using satellite data and in situ measurements. The analysis has been done for a 6 to 17 year time period in order to analyze the seasonal and interannual variations of the surface processes and the climatology. Our goal was to investigate to what accuracy and over what geographic areas large scale snow properties and radiative fluxes can be derived based upon a combination of available remote sensing and meteorological data sets. For the understanding of the surface processes a field program was designed to collect information on spectral albedo, specular reflectance, soot content, grain size and the physical properties of different snow types. Further, the radiative and turbulent fluxes at the ice/snow surface were monitored for the parameterization and interpretation of the satellite data. Highlights include AVHRR time series and surface based radiation measurements, passive microwave time series, and geodetic results from the ETH/CU camp.

Hybrid radiator cooling system

DOEpatents

France, David M.; Smith, David S.; Yu, Wenhua; Routbort, Jules L.

2016-03-15

A method and hybrid radiator-cooling apparatus for implementing enhanced radiator-cooling are provided. The hybrid radiator-cooling apparatus includes an air-side finned surface for air cooling; an elongated vertically extending surface extending outwardly from the air-side finned surface on a downstream air-side of the hybrid radiator; and a water supply for selectively providing evaporative cooling with water flow by gravity on the elongated vertically extending surface.

Use of radiation in biomaterials science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benson, Roberto S.

2002-05-01

Radiation is widely used in the biomaterials science for surface modification, sterilization and to improve bulk properties. Radiation is also used to design of biochips, and in situ photopolymerizable of bioadhesives. The energy sources most commonly used in the irradiation of biomaterials are high-energy electrons, gamma radiation, ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. Surface modification involves placement of selective chemical moieties on the surface of a material by chemical reactions to improve biointeraction for cell adhesion and proliferation, hemocompatibility and water absorption. The exposure of a polymer to radiation, especially ionizing radiation, can lead to chain scission or crosslinking with changes in bulk and surface properties. Sterilization by irradiation is designed to inactivate most pathogens from the surface of biomedical devices. An overview of the use of gamma and UV radiation to improve surface tissue compatibility, bulk properties and surface properties for wear resistance, formation of hydrogels and curing dental sealants and bone adhesives is presented. Gamma and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiated ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) exhibit improvement in surface modulus and hardness. The surface modulus and hardness of UHMWPE showed a dependence on type of radiation, dosage and processing. VUV surface modified e-PTFE vascular grafts exhibit increases in hydrophilicity and improvement towards adhesion of fibrin glue.

Performance Analysis of Transposition Models Simulating Solar Radiation on Inclined Surfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Yu; Sengupta, Manajit

2016-06-02

Transposition models have been widely used in the solar energy industry to simulate solar radiation on inclined photovoltaic panels. Following numerous studies comparing the performance of transposition models, this work aims to understand the quantitative uncertainty in state-of-the-art transposition models and the sources leading to the uncertainty. Our results show significant differences between two highly used isotropic transposition models, with one substantially underestimating the diffuse plane-of-array irradiances when diffuse radiation is perfectly isotropic. In the empirical transposition models, the selection of the empirical coefficients and land surface albedo can both result in uncertainty in the output. This study can bemore » used as a guide for the future development of physics-based transposition models and evaluations of system performance.« less

Effect on structure and mechanical property of tungsten irradiated by high intensity pulsed ion beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mei, Xianxiu; Zhang, Xiaonan; Liu, Xiaofei; Wang, Younian

2017-09-01

The anti-thermal radiation performance of tungsten was investigated by high intensity pulsed ion beam technology. The ion beam was mainly composed of Cn+ (70%) and H+ (30%) at an acceleration voltage of 250 kV under different energy densities for different number of pulses. GIXRD analysis showed that no obvious phase structural changes occurred on the tungsten, and microstress generated. SEM analysis exhibited that there was no apparent irradiation damage on the surface of tungsten at the low irradiation frequency (3 times and 10 times) and at the low energy density (0.25 J/cm2 and 0.7 J/cm2). Cracks appeared on the surface of tungsten after 100-time and 300-time irradiation. Shedding phenomenon even appeared on the surface of tungsten at the energy densities of 1.4 J/cm2 and 2.0 J/cm2. The surface nano-hardness of tungsten decreased with the increase of the pulse times and the energy density. The tungsten has good anti-thermal radiation properties under certain heat load environment.

Estimation of surface temperature in remote pollution measurement experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gupta, S. K.; Tiwari, S. N.

1978-01-01

A simple algorithm has been developed for estimating the actual surface temperature by applying corrections to the effective brightness temperature measured by radiometers mounted on remote sensing platforms. Corrections to effective brightness temperature are computed using an accurate radiative transfer model for the 'basic atmosphere' and several modifications of this caused by deviations of the various atmospheric and surface parameters from their base model values. Model calculations are employed to establish simple analytical relations between the deviations of these parameters and the additional temperature corrections required to compensate for them. Effects of simultaneous variation of two parameters are also examined. Use of these analytical relations instead of detailed radiative transfer calculations for routine data analysis results in a severalfold reduction in computation costs.

Calibration of GOES-derived solar radiation data using a distributed network of surface measurements in Florida, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sumner, David M.; Pathak, Chandra S.; Mecikalski, John R.; Paech, Simon J.; Wu, Qinglong; Sangoyomi, Taiye; Babcock, Roger W.; Walton, Raymond

2008-01-01

Solar radiation data are critically important for the estimation of evapotranspiration. Analysis of visible-channel data derived from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) using radiative transfer modeling has been used to produce spatially- and temporally-distributed datasets of solar radiation. An extensive network of (pyranometer) surface measurements of solar radiation in the State of Florida has allowed refined calibration of a GOES-derived daily integrated radiation data product. This refinement of radiation data allowed for corrections of satellite sensor drift, satellite generational change, and consideration of the highly-variable cloudy conditions that are typical of Florida. To aid in calibration of a GOES-derived radiation product, solar radiation data for the period 1995–2004 from 58 field stations that are located throughout the State were compiled. The GOES radiation product was calibrated by way of a three-step process: 1) comparison with ground-based pyranometer measurements on clear reference days, 2) correcting for a bias related to cloud cover, and 3) deriving month-by-month bias correction factors. Pre-calibration results indicated good model performance, with a station-averaged model error of 2.2 MJ m–2 day–1 (13 percent). Calibration reduced errors to 1.7 MJ m–2 day–1 (10 percent) and also removed time- and cloudiness-related biases. The final dataset has been used to produce Statewide evapotranspiration estimates.

Surface-enhanced Raman medical probes and system for disease diagnosis and drug testing

DOEpatents

Vo-Dinh, T.

1999-01-26

A probe for a surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectrometer includes a member of optically transmissive material for receiving the excitation radiation from a laser and for carrying the radiation emitted from a specimen to a detector. An end of the member for placing against the specimen has a coating that produces surface enhancement of the specimen during Raman scattering spectroscopic analysis. Specifically the coating is formed by a first layer of microparticles on the member and a metal layer over the first layer. The first layer may form a microstructure surface over which a metal layer is applied. Alternatively the coating may be a material containing microparticles of a metal. An optional layer of a material may be applied to the metal layer to concentrate onto the probe compounds of analytical interest onto the probe. 39 figs.

Surface-enhanced raman medical probes and system for disease diagnosis and drug testing

DOEpatents

Vo-Dinh, Tuan

1999-01-01

A probe for a surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectrometer includes a member of optically transmissive material for receiving the excitation radiation from a laser and for carrying the radiation emitted from a specimen to a detector. An end of the member for placing against the specimen has a coating that produces surface enhancement of the specimen during Raman scattering spectroscopic analysis. Specifically the coating is formed by a first layer of microparticles on the member and a metal layer over the first layer. The first layer may form a microstructure surface over which a metal layer is applied. Alternatively the coating may be a material containing microparticles of a metal. An optional layer of a material may be applied to the metal layer to concentrate onto the probe compounds of analytical interest onto the probe.

Cooling of the North Atlantic by Saharan Dust

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lau, K. M.; Kim, K. M.

2007-01-01

Using aerosol optical depth, sea surface temperature, top-of-the-atmosphere solar radiation flux, and oceanic mixed-layer depth from diverse data sources that include NASA satellites, NCEP reanalysis, in situ observations, as well as long-term dust records from Barbados, we examine the possible relationships between Saharan dust and Atlantic sea surface temperature. Results show that the estimated anomalous cooling pattern of the Atlantic during June 2006 relative to June 2005 due to attenuation of surface solar radiation by Saharan dust remarkably resemble observations, accounting for approximately 30-40% of the observed change in sea surface temperature. Historical data analysis show that there is a robust negative correlation between atmospheric dust loading and Atlantic SST consistent with the notion that increased (decreased) Saharan dust is associated with cooling (warming) of the Atlantic during the early hurricane season (July- August-September).

Effects of solar radiation, terrestrial radiation and lunar interior heat flow on surface temperature at the nearside of the Moon: Based on numerical calculation and data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yutian; Wang, Xueqiang; Bi, Shengshan; Wu, Jiangtao; Huang, Shaopeng

2017-09-01

Surface temperature at the nearside of the Moon (Ts,n) embraces an abundance of valuable information to be explored, and its measurement contributes to studying Earth's energy budget. On a basis of a one-dimensional unsteady heat-transfer model, this paper ran a quantitative calculation that how much the Ts,n varies with the changes of different heat sources, including solar radiation, terrestrial radiation, and lunar interior heat flow. The results reveal that solar radiation always has the most important influence on Ts,n not only during lunar daytime (by means of radiation balance) but also during lunar nighttime (by means of lunar regolith heat conduction). Besides, the effect of terrestrial radiation is also unavoidable, and measuring the variation of lunar nighttime low temperature is exactly helpful in observing Earth outgoing radiation. Accordingly, it is practical to establish a Moon-base observatory on the Moon. For verification, the Apollo 15 mission temperature data was used and analyzed as well. Moreover, other 9 typical lunar areas were selected and the simulation was run one after another in these areas after proper model amendation. It is shown that the polar regions on the Moon are the best areas for establishing Moon-base observatory.

In situ study on surface roughening in radiation-resistant Ag nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shang, Z.; Li, Jin; Fan, C.; Chen, Y.; Li, Q.; Wang, H.; Shen, T. D.; Zhang, X.

2018-05-01

Metallic materials subjected to heavy ion irradiation experience significant radiation damage. Free surface is a type of effective defect sinks to improve the radiation resistance in metallic materials. However, the radiation resistance of metallic nanowires (NWs) is largely unknown. Here we show, via in situ Kr ion irradiations in a transmission electron microscope, Ag NWs exhibited much better radiation resistance than coarse-grained Ag. Irradiation-induced prominent surface roughening in Ag NWs provides direct evidence for interaction between defect clusters and free surface. Diameter dependent variation of the surface roughness in irradiated Ag NWs has also been observed. This study provides insight on mechanisms of enhanced radiation resistance via free surfaces in metallic NWs.

In situ study on surface roughening in radiation-resistant Ag nanowires.

PubMed

Shang, Z; Li, Jin; Fan, C; Chen, Y; Li, Q; Wang, H; Shen, T D; Zhang, X

2018-05-25

Metallic materials subjected to heavy ion irradiation experience significant radiation damage. Free surface is a type of effective defect sinks to improve the radiation resistance in metallic materials. However, the radiation resistance of metallic nanowires (NWs) is largely unknown. Here we show, via in situ Kr ion irradiations in a transmission electron microscope, Ag NWs exhibited much better radiation resistance than coarse-grained Ag. Irradiation-induced prominent surface roughening in Ag NWs provides direct evidence for interaction between defect clusters and free surface. Diameter dependent variation of the surface roughness in irradiated Ag NWs has also been observed. This study provides insight on mechanisms of enhanced radiation resistance via free surfaces in metallic NWs.

Isolation of Radiation-Resistant Bacteria from Mars Analog Antarctic Dry Valleys by Preselection, and the Correlation between Radiation and Desiccation Resistance.

PubMed

Musilova, Michaela; Wright, Gary; Ward, John M; Dartnell, Lewis R

2015-12-01

Extreme radiation-resistant microorganisms can survive doses of ionizing radiation far greater than are present in the natural environment. Radiation resistance is believed to be an incidental adaptation to desiccation resistance, as both hazards cause similar cellular damage. Desert soils are, therefore, promising targets to prospect for new radiation-resistant strains. This is the first study to isolate radiation-resistant microbes by using gamma-ray exposure preselection from the extreme cold desert of the Antarctic Dry Valleys (a martian surface analogue). Halomonads, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, were the most numerous survivors of the highest irradiation exposures. They were studied here for the first time for both their desiccation and irradiation survival characteristics. In addition, the association between desiccation and radiation resistance has not been investigated quantitatively before for a broad diversity of microorganisms. Thus, a meta-analysis of scientific literature was conducted to gather a larger data set. A strong correlation was found between desiccation and radiation resistance, indicating that an increase in the desiccation resistance of 5 days corresponds to an increase in the room-temperature irradiation survival of 1 kGy. Irradiation at -79°C (representative of average martian surface temperatures) increases the microbial radiation resistance 9-fold. Consequently, the survival of the cold-, desiccation-, and radiation-resistant organisms isolated here has implications for the potential habitability of dormant or cryopreserved life on Mars. Extremophiles-Halomonas sp.-Antarctica-Mars-Ionizing radiation-Cosmic rays.

Thermal design and validation of radiation detector for the ChubuSat-2 micro-satellite with high-thermal-conductive graphite sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Daeil; Miyata, Kikuko; Nagano, Hosei

2017-07-01

This paper describes thermal design of the radiation detector (RD) for the ChubuSat-2 with the use of high-thermal-conductive materials. ChubuSat-2 satellite is a 50-kg-class micro-satellite joint development with Nagoya University and aerospace companies. The main mission equipment of ChubuSat-2 is a RD to observe neutrons and gamma rays. However, the thermal design of the RD encounters a serious problem, such as no heater for RD and electric circuit alignment constrain. To solve this issue, the RD needs a new thermal design and thermal control for successful space missions. This paper proposes high-thermal-conductive graphite sheets to be used as a flexible radiator fin for the RD. Before the fabrication of the device, the optimal thickness and surface area for the flexible radiator fin were determined by thermal analysis. Consequently, the surface area of flexible radiator fin was determined to be 8.6×104 mm2. To verify the effects of the flexible radiator fin, we constructed a verification model and analyzed the temperature distributions in the RD. Also, the thermal vacuum test was performed using a thermal vacuum chamber, which was evacuated at a pressure of around 10-4 Pa, and its internal temperature was cooled at -80 °C by using a refrigerant. As a result, it has been demonstrated that the flexible radiator fin is effective. And the thermal vacuum test results are presented good correlation with the analysis results.

Surface wave chemical detector using optical radiation

DOEpatents

Thundat, Thomas G.; Warmack, Robert J.

2007-07-17

A surface wave chemical detector comprising at least one surface wave substrate, each of said substrates having a surface wave and at least one measurable surface wave parameter; means for exposing said surface wave substrate to an unknown sample of at least one chemical to be analyzed, said substrate adsorbing said at least one chemical to be sensed if present in said sample; a source of radiation for radiating said surface wave substrate with different wavelengths of said radiation, said surface wave parameter being changed by said adsorbing; and means for recording signals representative of said surface wave parameter of each of said surface wave substrates responsive to said radiation of said different wavelengths, measurable changes of said parameter due to adsorbing said chemical defining a unique signature of a detected chemical.

Simulation of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument Aerosol Index Using the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Aerosol Reanalysis Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colarco, Peter R.; Gasso, Santiago; Ahn, Changwoo; Buchard, Virginie; Da Silva, Arlindo M.; Torres, Omar

2017-01-01

We provide an analysis of the commonly used Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index (AI) product for qualitative detection of the presence and loading of absorbing aerosols. In our analysis, simulated top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiances are produced at the OMI footprints from a model atmosphere and aerosol profile provided by the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications aerosol reanalysis (MERRAero). Having established the credibility of the MERRAero simulation of the OMI AI in a previous paper we describe updates in the approach and aerosol optical property assumptions. The OMI TOA radiances are computed in cloud-free conditions from the MERRAero atmospheric state, and the AI is calculated. The simulated TOA radiances are fed to the OMI aerosol retrieval algorithms, and its retrieved AI (OMAERUV AI) is compared to the MERRAero calculated AI. Two main sources of discrepancy are discussed: one pertaining the OMI algorithm assumptions of the surface pressure, which are generally different from what the actual surface pressure of an observation is, and the other related to simplifying assumptions in the molecular atmosphere radiative transfer used in the OMI algorithms. Surface pressure assumptions lead to systematic biases in the OMAERUV AI, particularly over the oceans. Simplifications in the molecular radiative transfer lead to biases particularly in regions of topography intermediate to surface pressures of 600hPa and 1013.25hPa. Generally, the errors in the OMI AI due to these considerations are less than 0.2 in magnitude, though larger errors are possible, particularly over land. We recommend that future versions of the OMI algorithms use surface pressures from readily available atmospheric analyses combined with high-spatial resolution topographic maps and include more surface pressure nodal points in their radiative transfer lookup tables.

Simulation of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aerosol index using the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System aerosol reanalysis products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colarco, Peter R.; Gassó, Santiago; Ahn, Changwoo; Buchard, Virginie; da Silva, Arlindo M.; Torres, Omar

2017-11-01

We provide an analysis of the commonly used Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index (AI) product for qualitative detection of the presence and loading of absorbing aerosols. In our analysis, simulated top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiances are produced at the OMI footprints from a model atmosphere and aerosol profile provided by the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications aerosol reanalysis (MERRAero). Having established the credibility of the MERRAero simulation of the OMI AI in a previous paper we describe updates in the approach and aerosol optical property assumptions. The OMI TOA radiances are computed in cloud-free conditions from the MERRAero atmospheric state, and the AI is calculated. The simulated TOA radiances are fed to the OMI near-UV aerosol retrieval algorithms (known as OMAERUV) is compared to the MERRAero calculated AI. Two main sources of discrepancy are discussed: one pertaining to the OMI algorithm assumptions of the surface pressure, which are generally different from what the actual surface pressure of an observation is, and the other related to simplifying assumptions in the molecular atmosphere radiative transfer used in the OMI algorithms. Surface pressure assumptions lead to systematic biases in the OMAERUV AI, particularly over the oceans. Simplifications in the molecular radiative transfer lead to biases particularly in regions of topography intermediate to surface pressures of 600 and 1013.25 hPa. Generally, the errors in the OMI AI due to these considerations are less than 0.2 in magnitude, though larger errors are possible, particularly over land. We recommend that future versions of the OMI algorithms use surface pressures from readily available atmospheric analyses combined with high-spatial-resolution topographic maps and include more surface pressure nodal points in their radiative transfer lookup tables.

Was There a Significantly Negative Anomaly of Global Land Surface Net Radiation from 2001-2006?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, S.; Jia, A.; Jiang, B.

2016-12-01

Surface net radiation, which characterizes surface energy budget, can be estimated from in-situ measurements, satellite products, model simulations, and reanalysis. Satellite products are usually validated using ground measurements to characterize their uncertainties. The surface net radiation product from the CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) has been widely used. After validating it using extensive ground measurements, we also verified that the CERES surface net radiation product is highly accurate. When we evaluated the temporal variations of the averaged global land surface net radiation from the CERES product, we found a significantly negative anomaly starting from 2001, reaching the maximum in 2004, and gradually coming back to normal in 2006. The valley has the magnitude of approximately 3 Wm-2 centered at 2004. After comparing with the high-resolution GLASS (Global LAnd Surface Satellite) net radiation product developed at Beijing Normal University, the CMIP5 model simulations, and the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset, we concluded that the significant decreasing pattern of land surface net radiation from 2001-2006 is an artifact mainly due to inaccurate longwave net radiation of the CERES surface net radiation product. The current ground measurement networks are not spatially dense enough to capture the false negative anomaly from the CERES product, which calls for more ground measurements.

Effects of the specular Orbiter forward radiators on a typical Spacelab payload thermal environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, L. D.; Humphries, W. R.; Littles, J. W.

1981-01-01

Orbiter radiators, having a specular reflection, must be considered when determining the design environment for payloads which can view the forward deployed radiators. Unlike most surfaces on the Orbiter, which reflect energy diffusely, the radiators are covered with a highly specular silverized Teflon material, with high emissivity, and have a concave contour, producing a local concentration of reflected energy towards the region of angle incidence. The combined effects of radiator specularity and geometry were analyzed using the Thermal Radiation Analysis System (TRASYS II), a specialized ray trace program, and a generalized Monte-Carlo-based thermal radiation program. Data given for a 0 deg payload inclination angle at orbital noon at 3.454 m indicate that the maximum total flux and average flux can increase 173% and 63%, respectively, when compared to diffuse radiators.

[Radiation conditions and radiation risks for cosmonauts flying to Mars using electrical jet microthrusters].

PubMed

Shafirkin, A V; Kolomenskiĭ, A V

2008-01-01

According to recent workups, the Mars mission spacecraft will be designed with an electrical jet microthrusters rather than a power reactor facility. The article contains analysis of the main sources of radiation hazard during the exploration mission using this cost-efficient, ecological, easy-to-operate propulsion powered by solar arrays. In addition, the authors make predictions of the generalized doses of ionizing radiation for mission durations of 730 and 900 days behind various shielding thicknesses, and on the Martian surface. Calculation algorithms are described and radiation risks are estimated for the crew life span and possible life time reduction in consequence of participation in the mission.

Multiwavelength pyrometer for gray and non-gray surfaces in the presence of interfering radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ng, Daniel L. P. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A method and apparatus for detecting the temperature of gray and non-gray bodies in the presence of interfering radiation are presented. A gray body has a constant emissivity less than 1 and a non-gray body has an emissivity which varies with wavelength. The emissivity and reflectivity of the surface is determined over a range of wavelengths. Spectra are also measured of the extraneous interference radiation source and the surface of the object to be measured in the presence of the extraneous interference radiation source. An auxiliary radiation source is used to determine the reflectivity of the surface and also the emissivity. The measured spectrum of the surfaces in the presence of the extraneous interference radiation source is set equal to the emissivity of the surface multiplied by a Planck function containing a temperature term T plus the surface reflectivity multiplied by the spectrum of the extraneous interference radiation source. The equation is then solved for T to determine the temperature of the surface.

Validation and Spatiotemporal Analysis of CERES Surface Net Radiation Product

DOE PAGES

Jia, Aolin; Jiang, Bo; Liang, Shunlin; ...

2016-01-23

The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) generates one of the few global satellite radiation products. The CERES ARM Validation Experiment (CAVE) has been providing long-term in situ observations for the validation of the CERES products. However, the number of these sites is low and their distribution is globally sparse, and particularly the surface net radiation product has not been rigorously validated yet. Therefore, additional validation efforts are highly required to determine the accuracy of the CERES radiation products. In this study, global land surface measurements were comprehensively collected for use in the validation of the CERES netmore » radiation (R n) product on a daily (340 sites) and a monthly (260 sites) basis, respectively. The validation results demonstrated that the CERES R n product was, overall, highly accurate. The daily validations had a Mean Bias Error (MBE) of 3.43 W·m −2, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 33.56 W·m −2, and R 2 of 0.79, and the monthly validations had an MBE of 3.40 W·m −2, RMSE of 25.57 W·m −2, and R 2 of 0.84. The accuracy was slightly lower for the high latitudes. Following the validation, the monthly CERES R n product, from March 2000 to July 2014, was used for a further analysis. We analysed the global spatiotemporal variation of the R n, which occurred during the measurement period. In addition, two hot spot regions, the southern Great Plains and south-central Africa, were then selected for use in determining the driving factors or attribution of the R n variation. We determined that R n over the southern Great Plains decreased by −0.33 W·m −2 per year, which was mainly driven by changes in surface green vegetation and precipitation. In south-central Africa, R n decreased at a rate of −0.63 W·m −2 per year, the major driving factor of which was surface green vegetation.« less

Validation and Spatiotemporal Analysis of CERES Surface Net Radiation Product

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jia, Aolin; Jiang, Bo; Liang, Shunlin

The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) generates one of the few global satellite radiation products. The CERES ARM Validation Experiment (CAVE) has been providing long-term in situ observations for the validation of the CERES products. However, the number of these sites is low and their distribution is globally sparse, and particularly the surface net radiation product has not been rigorously validated yet. Therefore, additional validation efforts are highly required to determine the accuracy of the CERES radiation products. In this study, global land surface measurements were comprehensively collected for use in the validation of the CERES netmore » radiation (R n) product on a daily (340 sites) and a monthly (260 sites) basis, respectively. The validation results demonstrated that the CERES R n product was, overall, highly accurate. The daily validations had a Mean Bias Error (MBE) of 3.43 W·m −2, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 33.56 W·m −2, and R 2 of 0.79, and the monthly validations had an MBE of 3.40 W·m −2, RMSE of 25.57 W·m −2, and R 2 of 0.84. The accuracy was slightly lower for the high latitudes. Following the validation, the monthly CERES R n product, from March 2000 to July 2014, was used for a further analysis. We analysed the global spatiotemporal variation of the R n, which occurred during the measurement period. In addition, two hot spot regions, the southern Great Plains and south-central Africa, were then selected for use in determining the driving factors or attribution of the R n variation. We determined that R n over the southern Great Plains decreased by −0.33 W·m −2 per year, which was mainly driven by changes in surface green vegetation and precipitation. In south-central Africa, R n decreased at a rate of −0.63 W·m −2 per year, the major driving factor of which was surface green vegetation.« less

Analysis of Water Vapour Flux Between Alpine Wetlands Underlying the Surface and Atmosphere in the Source Region of the Yellow River

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Y.; Wen, J.; Liu, R.; Wang, X.; JIA, D.

2017-12-01

Wetland underlying surface is sensitive to climate change. Analysis of the degree of coupling between wetlands and the atmosphere and a quantitative assessment of how environmental factors influence latent heat flux have considerable scientific significance. Previous studies, which focused on the forest, grassland and farmland ecosystems, lack research on the alpine wetlands. In addition, research on the environmental control mechanism of latent heat flux is still qualitative and lacks quantitative evaluations and calculations. Using data from the observational tests of the Maduo Observatory of Climate and Environment of the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource, CAS, from June 1 to August 31, 2014, this study analysed the time-varying characteristics and causes of the degree of coupling between alpine wetlands underlying surface and the atmosphere and quantitatively calculated the influences of different environmental factors (solar radiation and vapour pressure deficit) on latent heat flux. The results were as follows: Due to the diurnal variations of solar radiation and wind speed, the diurnal variations of the Ω factor present a trend in which the Ω factor are small in the morning and large in the evening. Due to the vegetation growing cycle, the seasonal variations of the Ω factor present a reverse "U" trend . These trends are similar to the diurnal and seasonal variations of the absolute control exercised by solar radiation over the latent heat flux. This conforms to omega theory. The values for average absolute atmospheric factor (surface factor or total ) control exercised by solar radiation and water vapour pressure are 0.20 (0.02 or 0.22 ) and 0.005 (-0.07 or -0.06) W·m-2·Pa-1, respectively.. Generally speaking, solar radiation and water vapour pressure deficit exert opposite forces on the latent heat flux. The average Ω factor is high during the vegetation growing season, with a value of 0.38, and the degree of coupling between the alpine wetland surface and the atmosphere system is low. The actual measurements agree with omega theory. The latent heat flux is mainly influenced by solar radiation. From the above, our study has provided reference information for exploring the influences of environmental factors on the latent heat flux over the alpine wetlands of the Yellow River source region.

Development of indirect EFBEM for radiating noise analysis including underwater problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Hyun-Wung; Hong, Suk-Yoon; Song, Jee-Hun

2013-09-01

For the analysis of radiating noise problems in medium-to-high frequency ranges, the Energy Flow Boundary Element Method (EFBEM) was developed. EFBEM is the analysis technique that applies the Boundary Element Method (BEM) to Energy Flow Analysis (EFA). The fundamental solutions representing spherical wave property for radiating noise problems in open field and considering the free surface effect in underwater are developed. Also the directivity factor is developed to express wave's directivity patterns in medium-to-high frequency ranges. Indirect EFBEM by using fundamental solutions and fictitious source was applied to open field and underwater noise problems successfully. Through numerical applications, the acoustic energy density distributions due to vibration of a simple plate model and a sphere model were compared with those of commercial code, and the comparison showed good agreement in the level and pattern of the energy density distributions.

Assessment of cirrus cloud and aerosol radiative effect in South-East Asia by ground-based NASA MPLNET lidar network data and CALIPSO satellite measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lolli, Simone; Campbell, James R.; Lewis, Jasper R.; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Di Girolamo, Paolo; Fatkhuroyan, Fatkhuroyan; Gu, Yu; Marquis, Jared W.

2017-10-01

Aerosol, together with cirrus clouds, play a fundamental role in the earth-atmosphere system radiation budget, especially at tropical latitudes, where the Earth surface coverage by cirrus cloud can easily reach 70%. In this study we evaluate the combined aerosol and cirrus cloud net radiative effects in a wild and barren region like South East Asia. This part of the world is extremely vulnerable to climate change and it is source of important anthropogenic and natural aerosol emissions. The analysis has been carried out by computing cirrus cloud and aerosol net radiative effects through the Fu-Liou-Gu atmospheric radiative transfer model, adequately adapted to input lidar measurements, at surface and top-of-the atmosphere. The aerosol radiative effects were computed respectively using the retrieved lidar extinction from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization in 2011 and 2012 and the lidar on-board of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations for the South East Asia Region (27N-12S, 77E-132E) with 5° x 5° spatial resolution. To assess the cirrus cloud radiative effect, we used the ground-based Micro Pulse Lidar Network measurements at Singapore permanent observational site. Results put in evidence that strong aerosol emission areas are related on average to a net surface cooling. On the contrary, cirrus cloud radiative effect shows a net daytime positive warming of the system earth-atmosphere. This effect is weak over the ocean where the albedo is lower and never counter-balances the net cooling produced by aerosols. The net cooling is stronger in 2011, with an associated reduction in precipitations by the four of the five rain-gauges stations deployed in three regions as Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java with respect to 2012. We can speculate that aerosol emissions may be associated with lower rainfall, however some very important phenomena as El Nino Southern Oscillation , Madden-Julian Oscillation, Monsoon and Indian Dipole are not considered in the analysis.

A comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the WRF model for air quality applications over the Iberian Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borge, Rafael; Alexandrov, Vassil; José del Vas, Juan; Lumbreras, Julio; Rodríguez, Encarnacion

Meteorological inputs play a vital role on regional air quality modelling. An extensive sensitivity analysis of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was performed, in the framework of the Integrated Assessment Modelling System for the Iberian Peninsula (SIMCA) project. Up to 23 alternative model configurations, including Planetary Boundary Layer schemes, Microphysics, Land-surface models, Radiation schemes, Sea Surface Temperature and Four-Dimensional Data Assimilation were tested in a 3 km spatial resolution domain. Model results for the most significant meteorological variables, were assessed through a series of common statistics. The physics options identified to produce better results (Yonsei University Planetary Boundary Layer, WRF Single-Moment 6-class microphysics, Noah Land-surface model, Eta Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory longwave radiation and MM5 shortwave radiation schemes) along with other relevant user settings (time-varying Sea Surface Temperature and combined grid-observational nudging) where included in a "best case" configuration. This setup was tested and found to produce more accurate estimation of temperature, wind and humidity fields at surface level than any other configuration for the two episodes simulated. Planetary Boundary Layer height predictions showed a reasonable agreement with estimations derived from routine atmospheric soundings. Although some seasonal and geographical differences were observed, the model showed an acceptable behaviour overall. Despite being useful to define the most appropriate setup of the WRF model for air quality modelling over the Iberian Peninsula, this study provides a general overview of WRF sensitivity and can constitute a reference for future mesoscale meteorological modelling exercises.

More Frequent Cloud Free Sky and Less Surface Solar Radiation in China from 1955-2000

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qian, Yun; Kaiser, Dale P.; Leung, L. Ruby; Xu, Ming

2006-01-01

In this study, we used newly available data frorn extended weather stations and time period to reveal that much of China has experienced significant decreases in cloud cover over the last half of the Twentieth century. This conclusion is supported by analysis of the more reliably observed frequency of cloud-free sky and overcast sky. We estimated that the total cloud cover and low cloud cover in China have decreased 0.88% and 0.33% per decade, respectively, and cloud-free days have increased 0.60% and overcast days decreased 0.78% per decade from 1954-2001. Meanwhile, both solar radiation and pan evaporation have decreased in China, with'solar radiation decreasing 3.1 w/square m and pan evaporation decreasing 39 mm per decade. Combining these results with findings of previous studies, we speculated that increased air pollution may have produced a fog-like haze that reflected/absorbed radiation from the sun and resulted in less solar radiation reaching the surface, despite concurrent increasing trends in cloud-free sky over China.

Graphite and ablative material response to CO2 laser, carbon-arc, and xenon-arc radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brewer, W. D.

1976-01-01

The behavior was investigated of graphite and several charring ablators in a variety of high-radiative heat-flux environments. A commercial-grade graphite and nine state-of-the-art charring ablators were subjected to various radiative environments produced by a CO2 laser and a carbon arc. Graphite was also tested in xenon-arc radiation. Heat-flux levels ranged from 10 to 47 MW/sq m. Tests were conducted in air, nitrogen, helium, and a CO2-N2 mixture which simulated the Venus atmosphere. The experimental results were compared with theoretical results obtained with a one-dimensional charring-ablator analysis and a two-dimensional subliming-ablator analysis. Neither the graphite nor the charring ablators showed significant differences in appearance or microstructure after testing in the different radiative environments. The performance of phenolic nylon and graphite was predicted satisfactorily with existing analyses and published material property data. Good agreement between experimental and analytical results was obtained by using sublimation parameters from a chemical nonequilibrium analysis of graphite sublimation. Some charring ablators performed reasonably well and could withstand radiative fluxes of the level encountered in certain planetary entries. Other materials showed excessive surface recession and/or large amounts of cracking and spalling, and appear to be unsuitable for severe radiative environments.

Smart, passive sun facing surfaces

DOEpatents

Hively, Lee M.

1996-01-01

An article adapted for selectively utilizing solar radiation comprises an absorptive surface and a reflective surface, the absorptive surface and the reflective surface oriented to absorb solar radiation when the sun is in a relatively low position, and to reflect solar radiation when the sun is in a relatively high position.

Smart, passive sun facing surfaces

DOEpatents

Hively, L.M.

1996-04-30

An article adapted for selectively utilizing solar radiation comprises an absorptive surface and a reflective surface, the absorptive surface and the reflective surface oriented to absorb solar radiation when the sun is in a relatively low position, and to reflect solar radiation when the sun is in a relatively high position. 17 figs.

Interference phenomena in the refraction of a surface polariton by vertical dielectric barriers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, T. P.; Wallis, R. F.; Maradudin, A. A.; Stegeman, G. I.

1984-01-01

A normal mode analysis is used to calculate the transmission and reflection coefficients for a surface polariton propagating along the interface between a surface active medium and a dielectric and incident normally on a vertical dielectric barrier of finite thickness or a thin dielectric film of finite length. The efficiencies of conversion of the surface polariton into transmitted and reflected bulk waves are also determined. The radiation patterns associated with the latter waves are presented.

Estimation of surface heat and moisture fluxes over a prairie grassland. I - In situ energy budget measurements incorporating a cooled mirror dew point hygrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Eric A.; Crosson, William L.; Tanner, Bertrand D.

1992-01-01

Attention is focused on in situ measurements taken during FIFE required to support the development and validation of a biosphere model. Seasonal time series of surface flux measurements obtained from two surface radiation and energy budget stations utilized to support the FIFE surface flux measurement subprogram are examined. Data collection and processing procedures are discussed along with the measurement analysis for the complete 1987 test period.

The impact of boreal forest fire on climate warming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Randerson, J.T.; Liu, H.; Flanner, M.G.; Chambers, S.D.; Jin, Y.; Hess, P.G.; Pfister, G.; Mack, M.C.; Treseder, K.K.; Welp, L.R.; Chapin, F.S.; Harden, J.W.; Goulden, M.L.; Lyons, E.; Neff, J.C.; Schuur, E.A.G.; Zender, C.S.

2006-01-01

We report measurements and analysis of a boreal forest fire, integrating the effects of greenhouse gases, aerosols, black carbon deposition on snow and sea ice, and postfire changes in surface albedo. The net effect of all agents was to increase radiative forcing during the first year (34 ?? 31 Watts per square meter of burned area), but to decrease radiative forcing when averaged over an 80-year fire cycle (-2.3 ?? 2.2 Watts per square meter) because multidecadal increases in surface albedo had a larger impact than fire-emitted greenhouse gases. This result implies that future increases in boreal fire may not accelerate climate warming.

The impact of boreal forest fire on climate warming.

PubMed

Randerson, J T; Liu, H; Flanner, M G; Chambers, S D; Jin, Y; Hess, P G; Pfister, G; Mack, M C; Treseder, K K; Welp, L R; Chapin, F S; Harden, J W; Goulden, M L; Lyons, E; Neff, J C; Schuur, E A G; Zender, C S

2006-11-17

We report measurements and analysis of a boreal forest fire, integrating the effects of greenhouse gases, aerosols, black carbon deposition on snow and sea ice, and postfire changes in surface albedo. The net effect of all agents was to increase radiative forcing during the first year (34 +/- 31 Watts per square meter of burned area), but to decrease radiative forcing when averaged over an 80-year fire cycle (-2.3 +/- 2.2 Watts per square meter) because multidecadal increases in surface albedo had a larger impact than fire-emitted greenhouse gases. This result implies that future increases in boreal fire may not accelerate climate warming.

Refining surface net radiation estimates in arid and semi-arid climates of Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golkar, Foroogh; Rossow, William B.; Sabziparvar, Ali Akbar

2018-06-01

Although the downwelling fluxes exhibit space-time scales of dependency on characteristic of atmospheric variations, especially clouds, the upward fluxes and, hence the net radiation, depends on the variation of surface properties, particularly surface skin temperature and albedo. Evapotranspiration at the land surface depends on the properties of that surface and is determined primarily by the net surface radiation, mostly absorbed solar radiation. Thus, relatively high spatial resolution net radiation data are needed for evapotranspiration studies. Moreover, in more arid environments, the diurnal variations of surface (air and skin) temperature can be large so relatively high (sub-daily) time resolution net radiation is also needed. There are a variety of radiation and surface property products available but they differ in accuracy, space-time resolution and information content. This situation motivated the current study to evaluate multiple sources of information to obtain the best net radiation estimate with the highest space-time resolution from ISCCP FD dataset. This study investigates the accuracy of the ISCCP FD and AIRS surface air and skin temperatures, as well as the ISCCP FD and MODIS surface albedos and aerosol optical depths as the leading source of uncertainty in ISCCP FD dataset. The surface air temperatures, 10-cm soil temperatures and surface solar insolation from a number of surface sites are used to judge the best combinations of data products, especially on clear days. The corresponding surface skin temperatures in ISCCP FD, although they are known to be biased somewhat high, disagreed more with AIRS measurements because of the mismatch of spatial resolutions. The effect of spatial resolution on the comparisons was confirmed using the even higher resolution MODIS surface skin temperature values. The agreement of ISCCP FD surface solar insolation with surface measurements is good (within 2.4-9.1%), but the use of MODIS aerosol optical depths as an alternative was checked and found to not improve the agreement. The MODIS surface albedos differed from the ISCCP FD values by no more than 0.02-0.07, but because these differences are mostly at longer wavelengths, they did not change the net solar radiation very much. Therefore to obtain the best estimate of surface net radiation with the best combination of spatial and temporal resolution, we developed a method to adjust the ISCCP FD surface longwave fluxes using the AIRS surface air and skin temperatures to obtain the higher spatial resolution of the latter (45 km), while retaining the 3-h time intervals of the former. Overall, the refinements reduced the ISCCP FD longwave flux magnitudes by about 25.5-42.1 W/m2 RMS (maximum difference -27.5 W/m2 for incoming longwave radiation and -59 W/m2 for outgoing longwave radiation) with the largest differences occurring at 9:00 and 12:00 UTC near local noon. Combining the ISCCP FD net shortwave radiation data and the AIRS-modified net longwave radiation data changed the total net radiation for summertime by 4.64 to 61.5 W/m2 and for wintertime by 1.06 to 41.88 W/m2 (about 11.1-39.2% of the daily mean).

Performance assessment of different day-of-the-year-based models for estimating global solar radiation - Case study: Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, Gasser E.; Youssef, M. Elsayed; Ali, Mohamed A.; Mohamed, Zahraa E.; Shehata, Ali I.

2016-11-01

Different models are introduced to predict the daily global solar radiation in different locations but there is no specific model based on the day of the year is proposed for many locations around the world. In this study, more than 20 years of measured data for daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface are used to develop and validate seven models to estimate the daily global solar radiation by day of the year for ten cities around Egypt as a case study. Moreover, the generalization capability for the best models is examined all over the country. The regression analysis is employed to calculate the coefficients of different suggested models. The statistical indicators namely, RMSE, MABE, MAPE, r and R2 are calculated to evaluate the performance of the developed models. Based on the validation with the available data, the results show that the hybrid sine and cosine wave model and 4th order polynomial model have the best performance among other suggested models. Consequently, these two models coupled with suitable coefficients can be used for estimating the daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface for each city, and also for all the locations around the studied region. It is believed that the established models in this work are applicable and significant for quick estimation for the average daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface with higher accuracy. The values of global solar radiation generated by this approach can be utilized in the design and estimation of the performance of different solar applications.

Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) algorithm theoretical basis document. Volume 1; Overviews (subsystem 0)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wielicki, Bruce A. (Principal Investigator); Barkstrom, Bruce R. (Principal Investigator); Baum, Bryan A.; Cess, Robert D.; Charlock, Thomas P.; Coakley, James A.; Green, Richard N.; Lee, Robert B., III; Minnis, Patrick; Smith, G. Louis

1995-01-01

The theoretical bases for the Release 1 algorithms that will be used to process satellite data for investigation of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) are described. The architecture for software implementation of the methodologies is outlined. Volume 1 provides both summarized and detailed overviews of the CERES Release 1 data analysis system. CERES will produce global top-of-the-atmosphere shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere, at the surface, and within the atmosphere by using the combination of a large variety of measurements and models. The CERES processing system includes radiance observations from CERES scanning radiometers, cloud properties derived from coincident satellite imaging radiometers, temperature and humidity fields from meteorological analysis models, and high-temporal-resolution geostationary satellite radiances to account for unobserved times. CERES will provide a continuation of the ERBE record and the lowest error climatology of consistent cloud properties and radiation fields. CERES will also substantially improve our knowledge of the Earth's surface radiation budget.

Combined Influence of Hall Current and Soret Effect on Chemically Reacting Magnetomicropolar Fluid Flow from Radiative Rotating Vertical Surface with Variable Suction in Slip-Flow Regime

PubMed Central

Jain, Preeti

2014-01-01

An analysis study is presented to study the effects of Hall current and Soret effect on unsteady hydromagnetic natural convection of a micropolar fluid in a rotating frame of reference with slip-flow regime. A uniform magnetic field acts perpendicularly to the porous surface which absorbs the micropolar fluid with variable suction velocity. The effects of heat absorption, chemical reaction, and thermal radiation are discussed and for this Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in energy equation. The entire system rotates with uniform angular velocity Ω about an axis normal to the plate. The nonlinear coupled partial differential equations are solved by perturbation techniques. In order to get physical insight, the numerical results of translational velocity, microrotation, fluid temperature, and species concentration for different physical parameters entering into the analysis are discussed and explained graphically. Also, the results of the skin-friction coefficient, the couple stress coefficient, Nusselt number, and Sherwood number are discussed with the help of figures for various values of flow pertinent flow parameters. PMID:27350957

Radiation and Plasma Environments for Lunar Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minow, Joseph I.; Edwards, David L.; Altstatt, Richard L.; Diekmann, Anne M.; Blackwell, William C., Jr.; Harine, Katherine J.

2006-01-01

Space system design for lunar orbit and extended operations on the lunar surface requires analysis of potential system vulnerabilities to plasma and radiation environments to minimize anomalies and assure that environmental failures do not occur during the mission. Individual environments include the trapped particles in Earth s radiation belts, solar energetic particles and galactic cosmic rays, plasma environments encountered in transit to the moon and on the lunar surface (solar wind, terrestrial magnetosheath and magnetotail, and lunar photoelectrons), and solar ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet photons. These are the plasma and radiation environments which contribute to a variety of effects on space systems including total ionizing dose and dose rate effects in electronics, degradation of materials in the space environment, and charging of spacecraft and lunar dust. This paper provides a survey of the relevant charged particle and photon environments of importance to lunar mission design ranging from the lowest (approx.few 10 s eV) photoelectron energies to the highest (approx.GeV) cosmic ray energies.

Test Before You Fly - High Fidelity Planetary Environment Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Craven, Paul; Ramachandran, Narayanan; Vaughn, Jason; Schneider, Todd; Nehls, Mary

2012-01-01

The lunar surface environment will present many challenges to the survivability of systems developed for long duration lunar habitation and exploration of the lunar, or any other planetary, surface. Obstacles will include issues pertaining especially to the radiation environment (solar plasma and electromagnetic radiation) and lunar regolith dust. The Planetary Environments Chamber is one piece of the MSFC capability in Space Environmental Effects Test and Analysis. Comprised of many unique test systems, MSFC has the most complete set of SEE test capabilities in one location allowing examination of combined space environmental effects without transporting already degraded, potentially fragile samples over long distances between tests. With this system, the individual and combined effects of the lunar radiation and regolith environment on materials, sub-systems, and small systems developed for the lunar return can be investigated. This combined environments facility represents a unique capability to NASA, in which tests can be tailored to any one aspect of the lunar environment (radiation, temperature, vacuum, regolith) or to several of them combined in a single test.

Meteorological factors controlling year-to-year variations in the spring onset of snow melt over the Arctic sea ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maksimovich, E.

2010-09-01

The spring onset of snow melt on the Arctic sea ice shows large inter-annual variability. Surface melt triggers positive feedback mechanisms between the albedo, snow properties and thickness, as well as sea ice thickness. Hence, it is important to quantify the factors contributing to inter-annual variability of the melt onset (MO) in various parts of the Arctic Ocean. Meteorological factors controlling surface heat budget and surface melting/freezing are the shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes and the turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat. These fluxes depend on the weather conditions, including the radiative impact of clouds, heat advection and wind speed. We make use of SSM/I-based MO time series (Markus, Miller and Stroeve) and the ECMWF ERA Interim reanalysis on the meteorological conditions and surface fluxes, both data sets spanning the period 1989-2008 and covering recent years with a rapid sea ice decline. The advantage is that SSM/I-based MO time series are independent of the ERA-Interim data. Our objective is to investigate if there exists a physically consistent and statistically significant relationship between MO timing and corresponding meteorological conditions. Results based on the regression analysis between the MO timing and seasonal anomalies of surface longwave radiative fluxes reveal strong relationships. Synoptic scale (3-14 days) anomalies in downward longwave radiation are essential in the Western Arctic. Regarding the longer history (20-60 days) the distinct contribution from the downward longwave radiative fluxes is captured within the whole study region. Positive anomalies in the downward longwave radiation dominate over the simultaneous negative anomalies in the downward shortwave radiation. The anomalies in downward radiative fluxes are consistent with the total column water vapor, sea level pressure and 10-m wind direction. Sensible and latent heat fluxes affect surface melt timing in the Beaufort Sea and in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic Basin. Stronger winds strengthen the relationship between the turbulent fluxes and the MO timing. The turbulent surface fluxes in spring are relatively weak, of the order of 1-10W/m2, compared to the downward shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes, which are of the order of 100-150W/m2. As soon as data uncertainties are comparable to the anomaly in turbulent fluxes, statistical relationships found between MO timing and preceding anomaly in turbulent fluxes do not necessarily prove their reasonal-causal relationship. This joint study of SSM/I-based MO record and the ERA-Interim meteorological fields region-wide with a focus on the seasonal transition demonstrates their consistency in time and space. Such result could be regarded as an important indicator that both data sets have the appropriate performance of the surface state in the Arctic Ocean. Nevertheless, an important additional effort is needed for to resolve better the cloud radiative and boundary layer turbulent processes over the sea ice.

Impact of differences in the solar irradiance spectrum on surface reflectance retrieval with different radiative transfer codes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Staenz, K.; Williams, D. J.; Fedosejevs, G.; Teillet, P. M.

1995-01-01

Surface reflectance retrieval from imaging spectrometer data as acquired with the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) has become important for quantitative analysis. In order to calculate surface reflectance from remotely measured radiance, radiative transfer codes such as 5S and MODTRAN2 play an increasing role for removal of scattering and absorption effects of the atmosphere. Accurate knowledge of the exo-atmospheric solar irradiance (E(sub 0)) spectrum at the spectral resolution of the sensor is important for this purpose. The present study investigates the impact of differences in the solar irradiance function, as implemented in a modified version of 5S (M5S), 6S, and MODTRAN2, and as proposed by Green and Gao, on the surface reflectance retrieved from AVIRIS data. Reflectance measured in situ is used as a basis of comparison.

First and Higher Order Effects on Zero Order Radiative Transfer Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neelam, M.; Mohanty, B.

2014-12-01

Microwave radiative transfer model are valuable tool in understanding the complex land surface interactions. Past literature has largely focused on local sensitivity analysis for factor priotization and ignoring the interactions between the variables and uncertainties around them. Since land surface interactions are largely nonlinear, there always exist uncertainties, heterogeneities and interactions thus it is important to quantify them to draw accurate conclusions. In this effort, we used global sensitivity analysis to address the issues of variable uncertainty, higher order interactions, factor priotization and factor fixing for zero-order radiative transfer (ZRT) model. With the to-be-launched Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission of NASA, it is very important to have a complete understanding of ZRT for soil moisture retrieval to direct future research and cal/val field campaigns. This is a first attempt to use GSA technique to quantify first order and higher order effects on brightness temperature from ZRT model. Our analyses reflect conditions observed during the growing agricultural season for corn and soybeans in two different regions in - Iowa, U.S.A and Winnipeg, Canada. We found that for corn fields in Iowa, there exist significant second order interactions between soil moisture, surface roughness parameters (RMS height and correlation length) and vegetation parameters (vegetation water content, structure and scattering albedo), whereas in Winnipeg, second order interactions are mainly due to soil moisture and vegetation parameters. But for soybean fields in both Iowa and Winnipeg, we found significant interactions only to exist between soil moisture and surface roughness parameters.

Some observations on the greenhouse effect at the Earth's surface.

PubMed

Akitt, J W

2018-01-05

It is shown that the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and water vapour reflect back to the surface, all IR radiation originating at the surface within their respective spectral bands. This reflection occurs in a very thin layer at the surface, not much over 12cm in thickness. Heat is lost from the surface by heat exchange with the atmosphere and by loss of radiation. About 52% of radiation leaves the surface in two principal window regions but this is not enough to account for the earth's equilibrium temperature. This window radiation seems to disappear quite quickly and is replaced by black body radiation. It is this which eventually contributes to the earth's radiation balance, and has to originate approximately between 40 and 50km altitude where the temperature is about correct, near 255K. Doubling the CO 2 concentration increases the surface temperature by about 0.9°C and this need not have any influence higher up in the atmosphere. The surface temperature seems indeed to have no direct influence on the earth's external radiation balance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Some observations on the greenhouse effect at the Earth's surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akitt, J. W.

2018-01-01

It is shown that the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and water vapour reflect back to the surface, all IR radiation originating at the surface within their respective spectral bands. This reflection occurs in a very thin layer at the surface, not much over 12 cm in thickness. Heat is lost from the surface by heat exchange with the atmosphere and by loss of radiation. About 52% of radiation leaves the surface in two principal window regions but this is not enough to account for the earth's equilibrium temperature. This window radiation seems to disappear quite quickly and is replaced by black body radiation. It is this which eventually contributes to the earth's radiation balance, and has to originate approximately between 40 and 50 km altitude where the temperature is about correct, near 255 K. Doubling the CO2 concentration increases the surface temperature by about 0.9 °C and this need not have any influence higher up in the atmosphere. The surface temperature seems indeed to have no direct influence on the earth's external radiation balance.

Effects of Variable Thermal Conductivity and Non-linear Thermal Radiation Past an Eyring Powell Nanofluid Flow with Chemical Reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramzan, M.; Bilal, M.; Kanwal, Shamsa; Chung, Jae Dong

2017-06-01

Present analysis discusses the boundary layer flow of Eyring Powell nanofluid past a constantly moving surface under the influence of nonlinear thermal radiation. Heat and mass transfer mechanisms are examined under the physically suitable convective boundary condition. Effects of variable thermal conductivity and chemical reaction are also considered. Series solutions of all involved distributions using Homotopy Analysis method (HAM) are obtained. Impacts of dominating embedded flow parameters are discussed through graphical illustrations. It is observed that thermal radiation parameter shows increasing tendency in relation to temperature profile. However, chemical reaction parameter exhibits decreasing behavior versus concentration distribution. Supported by the World Class 300 Project (No. S2367878) of the SMBA (Korea)

The use of interpractive graphic displays for interpretation of surface design parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Talcott, N. A., Jr.

1981-01-01

An interactive computer graphics technique known as the Graphic Display Data method has been developed to provide a convenient means for rapidly interpreting large amounts of surface design data. The display technique should prove valuable in such disciplines as aerodynamic analysis, structural analysis, and experimental data analysis. To demonstrate the system's features, an example is presented of the Graphic Data Display method used as an interpretive tool for radiation equilibrium temperature distributions over the surface of an aerodynamic vehicle. Color graphic displays were also examined as a logical extension of the technique to improve its clarity and to allow the presentation of greater detail in a single display.

Surface electrical properties experiment study phase, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The choice of an antenna for a subsurface radio sounding experiment is discussed. The radiation properties of the antennas as placed on the surface of the medium is examined. The objective of the lunar surface electrical properties experiment is described. A numerical analysis of the dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability of a subsurface domain is developed. The application of electromagnetic field measurements between one or more transmitting antennas and a roving receiving station is explained.

Prediction of the Acoustic Field Associated with Instability Wave Source Model for a Compressible Jet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golubev, Vladimir; Mankbadi, Reda R.; Dahl, Milo D.; Kiraly, L. James (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This paper provides preliminary results of the study of the acoustic radiation from the source model representing spatially-growing instability waves in a round jet at high speeds. The source model is briefly discussed first followed by the analysis of the produced acoustic directivity pattern. Two integral surface techniques are discussed and compared for prediction of the jet acoustic radiation field.

The composition of the lunar crust: Radiative transfer modeling and analysis of lunar visible and near-infrared spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cahill, Joshua T. S.

This dissertation has two focuses: (1) the evaluation and validation of algorithms used for analysis of lunar visible and near-infrared data sets, and (2) the determination of lunar surface and sub-surface crustal composition by virtue of these algorithms. To that end, the results and interpretation reported herein further enhance knowledge of lunar ferroan anorthosite (FAN) and magnesium-suite (Mg-suite) mineralogy, chemistry, and distribution on and in our Moon's crust.

A critical examination of the validity of simplified models for radiant heat transfer analysis.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toor, J. S.; Viskanta, R.

1972-01-01

Examination of the directional effects of the simplified models by comparing the experimental data with the predictions based on simple and more detailed models for the radiation characteristics of surfaces. Analytical results indicate that the constant property diffuse and specular models do not yield the upper and lower bounds on local radiant heat flux. In general, the constant property specular analysis yields higher values of irradiation than the constant property diffuse analysis. A diffuse surface in the enclosure appears to destroy the effect of specularity of the other surfaces. Semigray and gray analyses predict the irradiation reasonably well provided that the directional properties and the specularity of the surfaces are taken into account. The uniform and nonuniform radiosity diffuse models are in satisfactory agreement with each other.

Surface degradation of polymer insulators under accelerated climatic aging in weather-ometer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, G.; McGrath, P.B.; Burns, C.W.

1996-12-31

Climatic aging experiments were conducted on two types of outdoor polymer insulators by using a programmable weather-ometer. The housing materials for the insulators were silicone rubber (SR) and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM). The accelerated aging stresses were comprised of ultraviolet radiation, elevated temperature, temperature cycling, thermal shock and high humidity. Their effects on the insulator surface conditions and electrical performance wee examined through visual inspection and SEM studies, contact angle measurements, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, and 50% impulse flashover voltage tests. The results showed a significant damage on the insulator surface caused by some ofmore » the imposed aging stresses. The EDS analysis suggested a photooxidation process that happened on the insulator surface during the aging period.« less

Exploiting diurnal variations to evaluate the ISCCP-FD flux calculations and radiative-flux-analysis-processed surface observations from BSRN, ARM, and SURFRAD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Yuanchong; Long, Charles N.; Rossow, William B.

2010-01-01

Based on monthly-3-hourly and 3-hourly mean surface radiative fluxes and their associated meteorological parameters for 2004 from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project-FD (ISCCP-FD) and the Radiative Flux Analysis method-Produced Surface Observations (RFA-PSO) for 15 high-quality-controlled surface stations, operated by the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN), the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Surface Radiation budget network (SURFRAD), this work, goes beyond the previous validation for FD against surface observation by introducing the Meteorological Similarity Comparison Method (MSCM) to make a more precise, mutual evaluation of both FD and PSO products. The comparison results inmore » substantial uncertainty reduction and provides reasonable physical explanations for the flux differences. This approach compares fluxes for cases where the atmospheric and surface physical properties (specifically, the input parameters for radiative transfer model) are as close as possible to the values determined at the observational sites by matching the RFA-produced cloud fraction (CF) and/or optical thickness (Tau), etc., or alternatively, by directly changing the model input variables for FD to match PSO values, and using such-produced matched sub-datasets to make more accurate comparisons based on more similar meteorological environments between FD and PSO. The crucial part is the availability of flux-associated meteorological parameters from RFA-PSO, which was only recently made available that makes this work possible. For surface downwelling shortwave(SW) flux (SWdn) and its two components, diffuse (Dif) and direct (Dir), uncertainty for monthly mean is 15, 15 and 17 W/m 2, respectively, smaller than the separately estimated uncertainty values from both FD and PSO. When applying MSCM by reducing their CF difference, the differences can be reduced by a factor of 2. The strength of MSCM is particularly shown in the comparisons of diurnal variations. For clear sky, reducing the FD values of aerosol optical depth (AOD) by 50% to approximately match the PSO values brings all downward SW flux components into substantial agreement. For cloudy scenes, when both CF and Tau are matched to within 0.1 – 0.25 and ~10, respectively, the majority of the SW flux components have nearly-perfect agreement between FD and PSO. The best restriction differences are not zero indicates the influence of other parameters that are not accounted for yet. For longwave (LW) fluxes, general evaluation also confirms uncertainty values for FD and PSO less than separately estimated. When applying MSCM to CF and surface air temperature, the agreement is substantially improved. For downwelling LW diurnal variation comparison, FD shows good agreement with PSO for both RFA-defined or true clear sky but overestimates the amplitude for cloudy sky by 3-7 W/m 2, which may be caused by different sensitivities to cirrus clouds. For upwelling LW diurnal cycle, the situation is reversed; FD now underestimates the diurnal amplitude for all and clear sky but generally agrees for overcast (CF > 0.7). The combined effect of downwelling and upwelling LW fluxes results in FD's underestimates of the diurnal variation of the net-LW-loss for all the scenes by up to 10 W/m 2, although the daily mean net loss is more accurate. Therefore, in terms of amplitude and phase, both FD and PSO seem to have caught correct diurnal variations.« less

Evaluation of different models to estimate the global solar radiation on inclined surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demain, C.; Journée, M.; Bertrand, C.

2012-04-01

Global and diffuse solar radiation intensities are, in general, measured on horizontal surfaces, whereas stationary solar conversion systems (both flat plate solar collector and solar photovoltaic) are mounted on inclined surface to maximize the amount of solar radiation incident on the collector surface. Consequently, the solar radiation incident measured on a tilted surface has to be determined by converting solar radiation from horizontal surface to tilted surface of interest. This study evaluates the performance of 14 models transposing 10 minutes, hourly and daily diffuse solar irradiation from horizontal to inclined surface. Solar radiation data from 8 months (April to November 2011) which include diverse atmospheric conditions and solar altitudes, measured on the roof of the radiation tower of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium in Uccle (Longitude 4.35°, Latitude 50.79°) were used for validation purposes. The individual model performance is assessed by an inter-comparison between the calculated and measured solar global radiation on the south-oriented surface tilted at 50.79° using statistical methods. The relative performance of the different models under different sky conditions has been studied. Comparison of the statistical errors between the different radiation models in function of the clearness index shows that some models perform better under one type of sky condition. Putting together different models acting under different sky conditions can lead to a diminution of the statistical error between global measured solar radiation and global estimated solar radiation. As models described in this paper have been developed for hourly data inputs, statistical error indexes are minimum for hourly data and increase for 10 minutes and one day frequency data.

Radiation physics and modelling for off-nadir satellite-sensing of non-Lambertian surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerstl, S. A.; Simmer, C.

1986-01-01

The primary objective of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of the physics of satellite remote-sensing when off-nadir observations are considered. Emphasis is placed on the analysis and modeling of atmospheric effects and the radiative transfer of non-Lambertian surface reflectance characteristics from ground-level to satellite locations. The relative importance of spectral, spatial, angular, and temporal reflectance characteristics for satellite-sensed identification of vegetation types in the visible and near-infrared wavelength regions is evaluated. The highest identification value is attributed to angular reflectance signatures. Using radiative transfer calculations to evaluate the atmospheric effects on angular reflectance distributions of vegetation surfaces, atmosphere-invariant angular reflectance features such as the 'hot spot' and the 'persistent valley' are identified. A new atmospheric correction formalism for complete angular reflectance distributions is described. A sample calculation demonstrates that a highly non-Lambertian measured surface reflectance distribution can be retrieved from simulated satellite data in the visible and near infrared to within about 20 percent accuracy for almost all view directions up to 60 deg off-nadir. Thus the high value of angular surface reflectance characteristics (the 'angular signature') for satellite-sensed feature identification is confirmed, which provides a scientific basis for future off-nadir satellite observations.

Optimized Radiator Geometries for Hot Lunar Thermal Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ochoa, Dustin

2013-01-01

The optimum radiator configuration in hot lunar thermal environments is one in which the radiator is parallel to the ground and has no view to the hot lunar surface. However, typical spacecraft configurations have limited real estate available for top-mounted radiators, resulting in a desire to use the spacecraft's vertically oriented sides. Vertically oriented, flat panel radiators will have a large view factor to the lunar surface, and thus will be subjected to significant incident lunar infrared heat. Consequently, radiator fluid temperatures will need to exceed approximately 325 K (assuming standard spacecraft radiator optical properties) in order to provide positive heat rejection at lunar noon. Such temperatures are too high for crewed spacecraft applications in which a heat pump is to be avoided. A recent study of vertically oriented radiator configurations subjected to lunar noon thermal environments led to the discovery of a novel radiator concept that yielded positive heat rejection at lower fluid temperatures. This radiator configuration, called the Intense Thermal Infrared Reflector (ITIR), has exhibited superior performance to all previously analyzed concepts in terms of heat rejection in the lunar noon thermal environment. A key benefit of ITIR is the absence of louvers or other moving parts and its simple geometry (no parabolic shapes). ITIR consists of a specularly reflective shielding surface and a diffuse radiating surface joined to form a horizontally oriented V-shape (shielding surface on top). The point of intersection of these surfaces is defined by two angles, those which define the tilt of each surface with respect to the local horizontal. The optimum set of these angles is determined on a case-by-case basis. The idea assumes minimal conductive heat transfer between shielding and radiating surfaces, and a practical design would likely stack sets of these surfaces on top of one another to reduce radiator thickness.

Estimating the Longwave Radiation Underneath the Forest Canopy in Snow-dominated Setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Y.; Kumar, M.; Link, T. E.

2017-12-01

Forest canopies alter incoming longwave radiation at the land surface, thus influencing snow cover energetics. The snow surface receives longwave radiation from the sky as well as from surrounding vegetation. The longwave radiation from trees is determined by its skin temperature, which shows significant heterogeneity depending on its position and morphometric attributes. Here our goal is to derive an effective tree temperature that can be used to estimate the longwave radiation received by the land surface pixel. To this end, we implement these three steps: 1) derive a relation between tree trunk surface temperature and the incident longwave radiation, shortwave radiation, and air temperature; 2) develop an inverse model to calculate the effective temperature by establishing a relationship between the effective temperature and the actual tree temperature; and 3) estimate the effective temperature using widely measured variables, such as solar radiation and forest density. Data used to derive aforementioned relations were obtained at the University of Idaho Experimental Forest, in northern Idaho. Tree skin temperature, incoming longwave radiation, solar radiation received by the tree surface, and air temperature were measured at an isolated tree and a tree within a homogeneous forest stand. Longwave radiation received by the land surface and the sky view factors were also measured at the same two locations. The calculated effective temperature was then compared with the measured tree trunk surface temperature. Additional longwave radiation measurements with pyrgeometer arrays were conducted under forests with different densities to evaluate the relationship between effective temperature and forest density. Our preliminary results show that when exposed to direct shortwave radiation, the tree surface temperature shows a significant difference from the air temperature. Under cloudy or shaded conditions, the tree surface temperature closely follows the air temperature. The effective tree temperature follows the air temperature in a dense forest stand, although it is significantly larger than the air temperature near the isolated tree. This discrepancy motivates us to explore ways to represent the effective tree temperature for stands with different densities.

Decadal Variations in Surface Solar Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wild, M.

2007-05-01

Satellite estimates provide some information on the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the planet back to the 1980s. The amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth surface can be traced further back in time, untill the 1960s at widespread locations and into the first half of the 20th Century at selected sites. These surface sites suggest significant decadal variations in solar radiation incident at the surface, with indication for a widespread dimming from the 1960s up to the mid 1980s, and a recovery thereafter. Indications for changes in surface solar radiation may also be seen in observatinal records of diurnal temperature range, which provide a better global coverage than the radiation measurrements. Trends in diurnal temperature ranges over global land surfaces show, after decades of decline, a distinct tendency to level off since the mid 1980s. This provides further support for a significant shift in surface solar radiation during the 1980s. There is evidence that the changes in surface solar radiation are linked to associated changes in atmospheric aerosol. Variations in scattering sulfur and absorbing black carbon aerosols are in line with the variations in surface solar radiation. This suggests that at least a part of the variations in surface solar radiation should also be seen in the clear sky planetary albedo. Model simulations with a GCM which includes a sophisticated interactive treatment of aerosols and their emission histories (ECHAM5 HAM), can be used to address this issue. The model is shown to be capable of reproducing the reversal from dimming to brightening under cloud-free conditions in many parts of the world, in line with observational evidence. Associated changes can also be seen in the clear sky planetary albedo, albeit of smaller magnitude.

Simulation of within-canopy radiation exchange

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Radiation exchange at the surface plays a critical role in the surface energy balance, plant microclimate, and plant growth. The ability to simulate the surface energy balance and the microclimate within the plant canopy is contingent upon simulation of the surface radiation exchange. A validation a...

Ultra-high resolution water window x ray microscope optics design and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shealy, David L.; Wang, C.

1993-01-01

This project has been focused on the design and analysis of an ultra-high resolution water window soft-x-ray microscope. These activities have been accomplished by completing two tasks contained in the statement of work of this contract. The new results from this work confirm: (1) that in order to achieve resolutions greater than three times the wavelength of the incident radiation, it will be necessary to use spherical mirror surfaces and to use graded multilayer coatings on the secondary in order to accommodate the large variations of the angle of incidence over the secondary when operating the microscope at numerical apertures of 0.35 or greater; (2) that surface contour errors will have a significant effect on the optical performance of the microscope and must be controlled to a peak-to-valley variation of 50-100 A and a frequency of 8 periods over the surface of a mirror; and (3) that tolerance analysis of the spherical Schwarzschild microscope has been shown that the water window operations will require 2-3 times tighter tolerances to achieve a similar performance of operations with 130 A radiation. These results have been included in a manuscript included in the appendix.

The Impact of Radiation Changes on the Terrestrial Carbon Sink over the Post Pinatubo Period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitch, S.; Mercado, L. M.; Bellouin, N.; Boucher, O.; Huntingford, C.; Cox, P. M.

2008-12-01

The amount of solar radiation reaching the earth surface is one of the major drivers of plant photosynthesis and therefore changes in radiation are likely to indirectly have an effect on the terrestrial carbon cycle. For example, changes in surface radiation that lead to increasing diffuse surface irradiance are reported to enhance plant photosynthesis (Gu et al., 2003, Niyogi et al., 2004, Oliveira et al., 2007, Roderick et al., 2001). Solar radiation reaching the land surface has changed over the industrial era due to aerosols emitted from volcanoes and various anthropogenic sources (Kvalevag and Myhre, 2007). Such changes in total surface radiation are accompanied by changes in direct and diffuse surface solar radiation. Recent major volcanic events include the eruptions of el Chichón in 1986 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991. In this study we estimate the impact of changes in surface radiation on photosynthetic carbon uptake during the Post Pinatubo period. We use an offline version of the Hadley Centre land surface scheme (Mercado et al., 2007) modified to account for variations in direct and diffuse radiation on sunlit and shaded canopy photosynthesis. We use meteorological forcing from the Climate Research Unit Data set. Additionally short wave and photosynthetic active radiation are reconstructed from the Hadley centre climate model, which accounts for the scattering and absorption of light by tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols. We describe the development of the land carbon cycle through the Pinatubo event and diagnose the impact of changes in diffuse radiation on the atmospheric [CO2] growth-rate

Comparison of measured and modeled radiation, heat and water vapor fluxes: FIFE pilot study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blad, Blaine L.; Hubbard, Kenneth G.; Verma, Shashi B.; Starks, Patrick; Norman, John M.; Walter-Shea, Elizabeth

1987-01-01

The feasibility of using radio frequency receivers to collect data from automated weather stations to model fluxes of latent heat, sensible heat, and radiation using routine weather data collected by automated weather stations was tested and the estimated fluxes were compared with fluxes measured over wheat. The model Cupid was used to model the fluxes. Two or more automated weather stations, interrogated by radio frequency and other means, were utilized to examine some of the climatic variability of the First ISLSCP (International Satellite Land-Surface Climatology Project) Field Experiment (FIFE) site, to measure and model reflected and emitted radiation streams from various locations at the site and to compare modeled latent and sensible heat fluxes with measured values. Some bidirectional reflected and emitted radiation data were collected from 23 locations throughout the FIFE site. Analysis of these data along with analysis of the measured sensible and latent heat fluxes is just beginning.

Exciton-Plasmon hybrids for surface catalysis detected by SERS.

PubMed

Cao, En; Sun, Mengtao; Song, Yu-Zhi; Liang, Wenjie

2018-06-25

Surface plasmons (SPs), the free electrons are collectively excited on the metal surface, which have been successfully used in the analysis chemical and signal detection. Generally, SPs possess two types of decay channels. One of that is radiation decay by reemitting photons. The other way is producing hot electrons with high kinetic energy that named non-radiation, which can be applied in surface catalysis. When the excitation light with special wavelength is irradiated on the surface of pasmonic nanostructure, the strong coupling interaction between electrons and light will occur on that, followed by a series of unique properties. More than a decade, two-dimensional (2D) materials have become a hot topic of research, since the graphene was found in 2004. Recently, the combination of graphene with metal NPs has been shown lots of supernormal advantages in that, such as high stability and catalytic activity, which also has been successfully applied in plasmon-exciton co-driven chemical reactions. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Sensitivity of nocturnal boundary layer temperature to tropospheric aerosol surface radiative forcing under clear-sky conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nair, Udaysankar S.; McNider, Richard; Patadia, Falguni; Christopher, Sundar A.; Fuller, Kirk

2011-01-01

Since the middle of the last century, global surface air temperature exhibits an increasing trend, with nocturnal temperatures increasing at a much higher rate. Proposed causative mechanisms include the radiative impact of atmospheric aerosols on the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) where the temperature response is amplified due to shallow depth and its sensitivity to potential destabilization. A 1-D version of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System is used to examine the sensitivity of the nocturnal boundary layer temperature to the surface longwave radiative forcing (SLWRF) from urban aerosol loading and doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. The analysis is conducted for typical midlatitude nocturnal boundary layer case days from the CASES-99 field experiment and is further extended to urban sites in Pune and New Delhi, India. For the cases studied, locally, the nocturnal SLWRF from urban atmospheric aerosols (2.7-47 W m-2) is comparable or exceeds that caused by doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide (3 W m-2), with the surface temperature response ranging from a compensation for daytime cooling to an increase in the nocturnal minimum temperature. The sensitivity of the NBL to radiative forcing is approximately 4 times higher compared to the daytime boundary layer. Nighttime warming or cooling may occur depending on the nature of diurnal variations in aerosol optical depth. Soil moisture also modulates the magnitude of SLWRF, decreasing from 3 to 1 W m-2 when soil saturation increases from 37% to 70%. These results show the importance of aerosols on the radiative balance of the climate system.

Cell engineering: nanometric grafting of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide onto polystyrene film by different doses of gamma radiation

PubMed Central

Biazar, Esmaeil; Zeinali, Reza; Montazeri, Naser; Pourshamsian, Khalil; Behrouz, Mahmoud Jabarvand; Asefnejad, Azadeh; Khoshzaban, Ahad; Shahhosseini, Gholamreza; Najafabadi, Mostafa Soleimannejad; Abyani, Reza; Jamalzadeh, Hamidreza; Fouladi, Mahdi; Hagh, Sasan Rahbar F; Khamaneh, Aylar Shams; Kabiri, Soudabeh; Keshel, Saeed Heidari; Mansourkiaei, Ana

2010-01-01

Poly-N-isopropylacrylamide was successfully grafted onto a polystyrene cell culture dish and γ-preirradiated in air. In this study, the effect of a γ-pre-irradiation dose of radiation (radiation absorbed dosages of 10, 20, 30, 40 KGy) under appropriate temperature and grafting conditions was investigated. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed the existence of the graft poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAAm) on the substrate. The optimal value of the dose for grafting was 40 KGy at 50°C. The scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images clearly showed that increasing the absorbed dose of radiation would increase the amount of grafting. Surface topography and graft thickness in AFM images of the radiated samples showed that the PNIPAAm at the absorbed dose of radiation was properly grafted. The thickness of these grafts was about 50–100 nm. The drop water contact angles of the best grafted sample at 37°C and 10°C were 55.3 ± 1.2° and 61.2 ± 0.9° respectively, which showed the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the grafted surfaces. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis also revealed the low critical solution temperature of the grafted sample to be 32°C. Thermoresponsive polymers were grafted to dishes covalently which allowed fibroblast cells to attach and proliferate at 37°C; the cells also detached spontaneously without using enzymes when the temperature dropped below 32°C. This characteristic proves that this type of grafted material has potential as a biomaterial for cell sheet engineering. PMID:20957116

Radiation Protection for Lunar Mission Scenarios

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clowdsley, Martha S.; Nealy, John E.; Wilson, John W.; Anderson, Brooke M.; Anderson, Mark S.; Krizan, Shawn A.

2005-01-01

Preliminary analyses of shielding requirements to protect astronauts from the harmful effects of radiation on both short-term and long-term lunar missions have been performed. Shielding needs for both solar particle events (SPEs) and galactic cosmic ray (GCR) exposure are discussed for transit vehicles and surface habitats. This work was performed under the aegis of two NASA initiatives. The first study was an architecture trade study led by Langley Research Center (LaRC) in which a broad range of vehicle types and mission scenarios were compared. The radiation analysis for this study primarily focused on the additional shielding mass required to protect astronauts from the rare occurrence of a large SPE. The second study, led by Johnson Space Center (JSC), involved the design of lunar habitats. Researchers at LaRC were asked to evaluate the changes to mission architecture that would be needed if the surface stay were lengthened from a shorter mission duration of 30 to 90 days to a longer stay of 500 days. Here, the primary radiation concern was GCR exposure. The methods used for these studies as well as the resulting shielding recommendations are discussed. Recommendations are also made for more detailed analyses to minimize shielding mass, once preliminary vehicle and habitat designs have been completed. Here, methodologies are mapped out and available radiation analysis tools are described. Since, as yet, no dosimetric limits have been adopted for missions beyond low earth orbit (LEO), radiation exposures are compared to LEO limits. Uncertainties associated with the LEO career effective dose limits and the effects of lowering these limits on shielding mass are also discussed.

Arctic Stratus Cloud Properties and Their Effect on the Surface Radiation Budget: Selected Cases from FIRE ACE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doug, Xiquan; Mace, Gerald G.; Minnis, Patrick; Young, David F.

2001-01-01

To study Arctic stratus cloud properties and their effect on the surface radiation balance during the spring transition season, analyses are performed using data taken during three cloudy and two clear days in May 1998 as part of the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Arctic Cloud Experiment (ACE). Radiative transfer models are used in conjunction with surface- and satellite-based measurements to retrieve the layer-averaged microphysical and shortwave radiative properties. The surface-retrieved cloud properties in Cases 1 and 2 agree well with the in situ and satellite retrievals. Discrepancies in Case 3 are due to spatial mismatches between the aircraft and the surface measurements in a highly variable cloud field. Also, the vertical structure in the cloud layer is not fully characterized by the aircraft measurements. Satellite data are critical for understanding some of the observed discrepancies. The satellite-derived particle sizes agree well with the coincident surface retrievals and with the aircraft data when they were collocated. Optical depths derived from visible-channel data over snow backgrounds were overestimated in all three cases, suggesting that methods currently used in satellite cloud climatologies derive optical depths that are too large. Use of a near-infrared channel with a solar infrared channel to simultaneously derive optical depth and particle size appears to alleviate this overestimation problem. Further study of the optical depth retrieval is needed. The surface-based radiometer data reveal that the Arctic stratus clouds produce a net warming of 20 W m(exp -2) in the surface layer during the transition season suggesting that these clouds may accelerate the spring time melting of the ice pack. This surface warming contrasts with the net cooling at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) during the same period. All analysis of the complete FIRE ACE data sets will be valuable for understanding the role of clouds during the entire melting and refreezing process that occurs annually in the Arctic.

Technical note: Fu-Liou-Gu and Corti-Peter model performance evaluation for radiative retrievals from cirrus clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lolli, Simone; Campbell, James R.; Lewis, Jasper R.; Gu, Yu; Welton, Ellsworth J.

2017-06-01

We compare, for the first time, the performance of a simplified atmospheric radiative transfer algorithm package, the Corti-Peter (CP) model, versus the more complex Fu-Liou-Gu (FLG) model, for resolving top-of-the-atmosphere radiative forcing characteristics from single-layer cirrus clouds obtained from the NASA Micro-Pulse Lidar Network database in 2010 and 2011 at Singapore and in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA, in 2012. Specifically, CP simplifies calculation of both clear-sky longwave and shortwave radiation through regression analysis applied to radiative calculations, which contributes significantly to differences between the two. The results of the intercomparison show that differences in annual net top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) cloud radiative forcing can reach 65 %. This is particularly true when land surface temperatures are warmer than 288 K, where the CP regression analysis becomes less accurate. CP proves useful for first-order estimates of TOA cirrus cloud forcing, but may not be suitable for quantitative accuracy, including the absolute sign of cirrus cloud daytime TOA forcing that can readily oscillate around zero globally.

Decay assessment through thermographic analysis in architectural and archaeological heritage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomez-Heras, Miguel; Martinez-Perez, Laura; Fort, Rafael; Alvarez de Buergo, Monica

2010-05-01

Any exposed stone-built structure is subject to thermal variations due to daily, seasonal and secular environmental temperature changes. Surface temperature is a function of air temperature (due to convective heat transfer) and of infrared radiation received through insolation. While convective heat transfer homogenizes surface temperature, stone response to insolation is much more complex and the temporal and spatial temperature differences across structures are enhanced. Surface temperature in stone-built structures will be affected by orientation, sunlight inclination and the complex patterns of light and shadows generated by the often intricate morphology of historical artefacts and structures. Surface temperature will also be affected by different material properties, such as albedo, thermal conductivity, transparency and absorbance to infrared radiation of minerals and rocks. Moisture and the occurrence of salts will also be a factor affecting surface temperatures. Surface temperatures may as well be affected by physical disruptions of rocks due to differences in thermal inertia generated by cracks and other discontinuities. Thermography is a non-invasive, non-destructive technique that measures temperature variations on the surface of a material. With this technique, surface temperature rates of change and their spatial variations can be analysed. This analysis may be used not only to evaluate the incidence of thermal decay as a factor that generates or enhances stone decay, but also to detect and evaluate other factors that affect the state of conservation of architectural and archaeological heritage, as for example moisture, salts or mechanical disruptions.

Sound radiation modes of cylindrical surfaces and their application to vibro-acoustics analysis of cylindrical shells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yao; Yang, Tiejun; Chen, Yuehua

2018-06-01

In this paper, sound radiation modes of baffled cylinders have been derived by constructing the radiation resistance matrix analytically. By examining the characteristics of sound radiation modes, it is found that radiation coefficient of each radiation mode increases gradually with the increase of frequency while modal shapes of sound radiation modes of cylindrical shells show a weak dependence upon frequency. Based on understandings on sound radiation modes, vibro-acoustics behaviors of cylindrical shells have been analyzed. The vibration responses of cylindrical shells are described by modified Fourier series expansions and solved by Rayleigh-Ritz method involving Flügge shell theory. Then radiation efficiency of a resonance has been determined by examining whether the vibration pattern is in correspondence with a sound radiation mode possessing great radiation efficiency. Furthermore, effects of thickness and boundary conditions on sound radiation of cylindrical shells have been investigated. It is found that radiation efficiency of thicker shells is greater than thinner shells while shells with a clamped boundary constraint radiate sound more efficiently than simply supported shells under thin shell assumption.

The Greenhouse Effect - Re-examination of the Impact of an Increase in Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Underwood, T. G.

2017-12-01

Examination of the radiation budget at the surface of the Earth shows that there are three factors affecting the surface temperature; the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the atmosphere and by the surface respectively, and the amount of leakage of infrared radiation emitted from the surface directly into space. If there were no leakage, the upwelling infrared radiation from the Earth's surface would be equal to the incoming solar radiation absorbed by the atmosphere plus twice the solar radiation absorbed by the surface. This results from the summation of a sequence of equal upward and downward re-emissions of infrared radiation absorbed by the atmosphere following the initial absorption of solar radiation. At current levels of solar absorption, this would result in total upwelling radiation of approximately 398.6 W/m2, or a maximum surface temperature of 16.4°C. Allowing for leakage of infrared radiation through the atmospheric window, the resulting emission from the Earth's surface is reduced to around 396 W/m2, corresponding to the current average global surface temperature of around 15.9°C. Absorption of solar and infrared radiation by greenhouse gases is determined by the absorption bands for the respective gases and their concentrations. Absorption of incoming solar radiation is largely by water vapor and ozone, and an increase in absorption would reduce not increase the surface temperature. Moreover, it is probable that all emitted infrared radiation that can be absorbed by greenhouse gases, primarily water vapor, with a small contribution from carbon dioxide and ozone, is already fully absorbed, and the leakage of around 5.5 % corresponds to the part of the infrared red spectrum that is not absorbed by greenhouse gases. The carbon dioxide absorption bands, which represent a very small percentage of the infrared spectrum, are most likely fully saturated. In these circumstances, increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, and carbon dioxide in particular, will have no effect on the emitted radiation. The surface temperature is probably at the thermodynamic limit for the current luminosity of the sun. Satellite based measurements since 1979 suggest that any global warming over the past 150 years may be due to an increase in total solar irradiance, which we are still a decade or two from being able to confirm.

Characterizing energy budget variability at a Sahelian site: a test of NWP model behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackie, Anna; Palmer, Paul I.; Brindley, Helen

2017-12-01

We use observations of surface and top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) broadband radiation fluxes determined from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement programme mobile facility, the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) and Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) instruments and a range of meteorological variables at a site in the Sahel to test the ability of the ECMWF Integrated Forecasting System cycle 43r1 to describe energy budget variability. The model has daily average biases of -12 and 18 W m-2 for outgoing longwave and reflected shortwave TOA radiation fluxes, respectively. At the surface, the daily average bias is 12(13) W m-2 for the longwave downwelling (upwelling) radiation flux and -21(-13) W m-2 for the shortwave downwelling (upwelling) radiation flux. Using multivariate linear models of observation-model differences, we attribute radiation flux discrepancies to physical processes, and link surface and TOA fluxes. We find that model biases in surface radiation fluxes are mainly due to a low bias in ice water path (IWP), poor description of surface albedo and model-observation differences in surface temperature. We also attribute observed discrepancies in the radiation fluxes, particularly during the dry season, to the misrepresentation of aerosol fields in the model from use of a climatology instead of a dynamic approach. At the TOA, the low IWP impacts the amount of reflected shortwave radiation while biases in outgoing longwave radiation are additionally coupled to discrepancies in the surface upwelling longwave flux and atmospheric humidity.

The Pilatus Unmanned Aircraft System for Lower Atmospheric Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

de Boer, Gijs; Palo, Scott; Argrow, Brian; LoDolce, Gabriel; Mack, James; Gao, Ru-shan; Telg, Hagen; Trussel, Cameron; Fromm, Joshua; Long, Charles N.;

The pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Boer, G.; Palo, S.; Argrow, B.; LoDolce, G.; Mack, J.; Gao, R.-S.; Telg, H.; Trussel, C.; Fromm, J.; Long, C. N.; Bland, G.; Maslanik, J.; Schmid, B.; Hock, T.

2015-11-01

This paper presents details of the University of Colorado (CU) Pilatus unmanned research aircraft, assembled to provide measurements of aerosols, radiation and thermodynamics in the lower troposphere. This aircraft has a wingspan of 3.2 m and a maximum take off weight of 25 kg and is powered by an electric motor to reduce engine exhaust and concerns about carburetor icing. It carries instrumentation to make measurements of broadband up- and downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation, aerosol particle size distribution, atmospheric temperature, relative humidity and pressure and to collect video of flights for subsequent analysis of atmospheric conditions during flight. In order to make the shortwave radiation measurements, care was taken to carefully position a high-quality compact inertial measurement unit (IMU) and characterize the attitude of the aircraft and it's orientation to the upward looking radiation sensor. Using measurements from both of these sensors, a correction is applied to the raw radiometer measurements to correct for aircraft attitude and sensor tilt relative to the sun. The data acquisition system was designed from scratch based on a set of key driving requirements to accommodate the variety of sensors deployed. Initial test flights completed in Colorado provide promising results with measurements from the radiation sensors agreeing with those from a nearby surface site. Additionally, estimates of surface albedo from onboard sensors were consistent with local surface conditions, including melting snow and bright runway surface. Aerosol size distributions collected are internally consistent and have previously been shown to agree well with larger, surface-based instrumentation. Finally the atmospheric state measurements evolve as expected, with the near-surface atmosphere warming over time as the day goes on, and the atmospheric relative humidity decreasing with increased temperature. No directional bias on measured temperature, as might be expected due to uneven heating of the sensor housing over the course of a racetrack pattern, was detected. The results from these flights indicate that the CU Pilatus platform is capable of performing research grade lower tropospheric measurement missions.

The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Boer, Gijs; Palo, Scott; Argrow, Brian; LoDolce, Gabriel; Mack, James; Gao, Ru-Shan; Telg, Hagen; Trussel, Cameron; Fromm, Joshua; Long, Charles N.; Bland, Geoff; Maslanik, James; Schmid, Beat; Hock, Terry

2016-04-01

This paper presents details of the University of Colorado (CU) "Pilatus" unmanned research aircraft, assembled to provide measurements of aerosols, radiation and thermodynamics in the lower troposphere. This aircraft has a wingspan of 3.2 m and a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg, and it is powered by an electric motor to reduce engine exhaust and concerns about carburetor icing. It carries instrumentation to make measurements of broadband up- and downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation, aerosol particle size distribution, atmospheric temperature, relative humidity and pressure and to collect video of flights for subsequent analysis of atmospheric conditions during flight. In order to make the shortwave radiation measurements, care was taken to carefully position a high-quality compact inertial measurement unit (IMU) and characterize the attitude of the aircraft and its orientation to the upward-looking radiation sensor. Using measurements from both of these sensors, a correction is applied to the raw radiometer measurements to correct for aircraft attitude and sensor tilt relative to the sun. The data acquisition system was designed from scratch based on a set of key driving requirements to accommodate the variety of sensors deployed. Initial test flights completed in Colorado provide promising results with measurements from the radiation sensors agreeing with those from a nearby surface site. Additionally, estimates of surface albedo from onboard sensors were consistent with local surface conditions, including melting snow and bright runway surface. Aerosol size distributions collected are internally consistent and have previously been shown to agree well with larger, surface-based instrumentation. Finally the atmospheric state measurements evolve as expected, with the near-surface atmosphere warming over time as the day goes on, and the atmospheric relative humidity decreasing with increased temperature. No directional bias on measured temperature, as might be expected due to uneven heating of the sensor housing over the course of a racetrack pattern, was detected. The results from these flights indicate that the CU Pilatus platform is capable of performing research-grade lower tropospheric measurement missions.

Three dimensional radiative flow of magnetite-nanofluid with homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayat, Tasawar; Rashid, Madiha; Alsaedi, Ahmed

2018-03-01

Present communication deals with the effects of homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions in flow of nanofluid by non-linear stretching sheet. Water based nanofluid containing magnetite nanoparticles is considered. Non-linear radiation and non-uniform heat sink/source effects are examined. Non-linear differential systems are computed by Optimal homotopy analysis method (OHAM). Convergent solutions of nonlinear systems are established. The optimal data of auxiliary variables is obtained. Impact of several non-dimensional parameters for velocity components, temperature and concentration fields are examined. Graphs are plotted for analysis of surface drag force and heat transfer rate.

Search for life on Mars.

PubMed

Brack, A; Clancy, P; Fitton, B; Hoffmann, B; Horneck, G; Kurat, G; Maxwell, J; Ori, G; Pillinger, C; Raulin, F; Thomas, N; Westall, F

1998-06-01

A multi-user integrated suite of instruments designed to optimize the search for evidence of life on Mars is described. The package includes: -Surface inspection and surface environment analysis to identify the potential Mars landing sites, to inspect the surface geology and mineralogy, to search for visible surficial microbial macrofossils, to study the surface radiation budget and surface oxidation processes, to search for niches for extant life. -Subsurface sample acquisition by core drilling -Analysis of surface and subsurface minerals and organics to characterize the surface mineralogy, to analyse the surface and subsurface oxidants, to analyse the mineralogy of subsurface aliquots, to analyse the organics present in the subsurface aliquots (elemental and molecular composition, isotopes, chirality). -Macroscopic and microscopic inspection of subsurface aliquots to search for life's indicators (paleontological, biological, mineralogical) and to characterize the mineralogy of the subsurface aliquots. The study is led by ESA Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity Directorate.

Satellite Estimates of Surface Short-wave Fluxes: Issues of Implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, H.; Pinker, Rachel; Minnis, Patrick

2006-01-01

Surface solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface is the primary forcing function of the land surface energy and water cycle. Therefore, there is a need for information on this parameter, preferably, at global scale. Satellite based estimates are now available at accuracies that meet the demands of many scientific objectives. Selection of an approach to estimate such fluxes requires consideration of trade-offs between the use of multi-spectral observations of cloud optical properties that are more difficult to implement at large scales, and methods that are simplified but easier to implement. In this study, an evaluation of such trade-offs will be performed. The University of Maryland Surface Radiation Model (UMD/SRB) has been used to reprocess five years of GOES-8 satellite observations over the United States to ensure updated calibration and improved cloud detection over snow. The UMD/SRB model was subsequently modified to allow input of information on aerosol and cloud optical depth with information from independent satellite sources. Specifically, the cloud properties from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Satellite Data Analysis Program (Minnis et al., 1995) are used to drive the modified version of the model to estimate surface short-wave fluxes over the Southern Great Plain ARM sites for a twelve month period. The auxiliary data needed as model inputs such as aerosol optical depth, spectral surface albedo, water vapor and total column ozone amount were kept the same for both versions of the model. The estimated shortwave fluxes are evaluated against ground observations at the ARM Central Facility and four satellite ARM sites. During summer, the estimated fluxes based on cloud properties derived from the multi-spectral approach were in better agreement with ground measurements than those derived from the UMD/SRB model. However, in winter, the fluxes derived with the UMD/SRB model were in better agreement with ground observations than those estimated from cloud properties provided by the ARM Satellite Data Analysis Program. During the transition periods, the results were comparable.

Thermal Control System for a Small, Extended Duration Lunar Surface Science Platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bugby, D.; Farmer, J.; OConnor, B.; Wirzburger, M.; Abel, E.; Stouffer, C.

2010-01-01

The presentation slides include: Introduction: lunar mission definition, Problem: requirements/methodology, Concept: thermal switching options, Analysis: system evaluation, Plans: dual-radiator LHP (loop heat pipe) test bed, and Conclusions: from this study.

Optical radiation from the interaction of energetic atoms, ions, electrons, and photons with surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tolk, N. H.; Albridge, R. G.; Haglund, R. F., Jr.; Mendenhall, M. H.

1985-01-01

Heavy particle, electron, and UV photon bombardment of solid surfaces has been recently observed to result in the emission of infrared, visible, and ultraviolet radiation. This effect occurs over a wide range of incident projectile energies. Line radiation arising from transitions between discrete atomic or molecular levels may be attributed to the decay of excited particles which have been sputtered or electronically/chemically desorbed from the surface. Broadband continuum radiation, which is also observed, is believed to arise either from fluorescence of the near surface bulk or from the radiative decay of desorbed excited clusters. Spacecraft, in the ambient near Earth environment, are subject to such bombardment. The dynamics of energetic particle and photon beam interactions with surfaces which lead to surface erosion and glow phenomena will be treated. In addition, projected experimental and theoretical studies of oxygen and nitrogen beam surface interactions on materials characteristic of spacecraft surfaces will be discussed.

Charged particle detectors with active detector surface for partial energy deposition of the charged particles and related methods

DOEpatents

Gerts, David W; Bean, Robert S; Metcalf, Richard R

2013-02-19

A radiation detector is disclosed. The radiation detector comprises an active detector surface configured to generate charge carriers in response to charged particles associated with incident radiation. The active detector surface is further configured with a sufficient thickness for a partial energy deposition of the charged particles to occur and permit the charged particles to pass through the active detector surface. The radiation detector further comprises a plurality of voltage leads coupled to the active detector surface. The plurality of voltage leads is configured to couple to a voltage source to generate a voltage drop across the active detector surface and to separate the charge carriers into a plurality of electrons and holes for detection. The active detector surface may comprise one or more graphene layers. Timing data between active detector surfaces may be used to determine energy of the incident radiation. Other apparatuses and methods are disclosed herein.

Detailed real-time infrared radiation simulation applied to the sea surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xuemin; Wu, Limin; Long, Liang; Zhang, Lisha

2018-01-01

In this paper, the infrared radiation characteristics of sea background have been studied. First, MODTRAN4.0 was used to calculate the transmittance of mid-infrared and far-infrared, and the solar spectral irradiance, the atmospheric and sea surface radiation. Secondly, according to the JONSWAP sea spectrum model, the different sea conditions grid model based on gravity wave theory was generated. The spectral scattering of the sun and the atmospheric background radiation was studied. The total infrared radiation of the sea surface was calculated. Finally, the infrared radiation of a piece of sea surface was mapped to each pixel of the detector, and the infrared radiation is simulated. The conclusion is that solar radiance has a great influence on the infrared radiance. When the detector angle is close to the sun's height angle, there will be bright spots on the sea surface.

Transient Temperature Analysis in a System of Thin Shells Combined with Convective and Radiative Cooling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasad, Ravindra; Samria, N. K.

1989-01-01

The problem considered has applications in the transient thermal analysis and time for attaining the steady state of the cylinder wall and cylinder head of an air-cooled internal-combustion engine. Numerical calculations based on finite difference approximations are carried out to assess the thermal response in a system of thin cylindrical and spherical shells having hot gases inside with convective boundary conditions. The outside surface is exposed to cooling medium where it looses heat by natural convection and radiation. As a special case, when radius is large, the surface may be considered to be a plane wall. The cylinder cover and cylinder wall of an internal-combustion engine are considered to be a plane wall for a comparatively higher ratio of cylinder diameter to the thickness of the wall, i.e., whend/δ varies from 80 to 100. A plot of temperature-time history and heat flow rates have been obtained.

Theoretical analysis of heat flow in horizontal ribbon growth from a melt. [silicon metal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zoutendyk, J. A.

1978-01-01

A theoretical heat flow analysis for horizontalribbon growth is presented. Equations are derived relating pull speed, ribbon thickness, thermal gradient in the melt, and melt temperature for limiting cases of heat removal by radiation only and isothermal heat removal from the solid surface over the melt. Geometrical cross sections of the growth zone are shown to be triangular and nearly parabolic for the two respective cases. Theoretical pull speed for silicon ribbon 0.01 cm thick, where the loss of latent heat of fusion is by radiation to ambient temperature (300 K) only, is shown to be 1 cm/sec for horizontal growth extending 2 cm over the melt and with no heat conduction either to or from the melt. Further enhancement of ribbon growth rate by placing cooling blocks adjacent to the top surface is shown to be theoretically possible.

Assessment of climate variability of the Greenland Ice Sheet: Integration of in situ and satellite data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steffen, K.; Abdalati, W.; Stroeve, J.; Key, J.

1994-01-01

The proposed research involves the application of multispectral satellite data in combination with ground truth measurements to monitor surface properties of the Greenland Ice Sheet which are essential for describing the energy and mass of the ice sheet. Several key components of the energy balance are parameterized using satellite data and in situ measurements. The analysis will be done for a ten year time period in order to get statistics on the seasonal and interannual variations of the surface processes and the climatology. Our goal is to investigate to what accuracy and over what geographic areas large scale snow properties and radiative fluxes can be derived based upon a combination of available remote sensing and meteorological data sets. Operational satellite sensors are calibrated based on ground measurements and atmospheric modeling prior to large scale analysis to ensure the quality of the satellite data. Further, several satellite sensors of different spatial and spectral resolution are intercompared to access the parameter accuracy. Proposed parameterization schemes to derive key component of the energy balance from satellite data are validated. For the understanding of the surface processes a field program was designed to collect information on spectral albedo, specular reflectance, soot content, grain size and the physical properties of different snow types. Further, the radiative and turbulent fluxes at the ice/snow surface are monitored for the parameterization and interpretation of the satellite data. The expected results include several baseline data sets of albedo, surface temperature, radiative fluxes, and different snow types of the entire Greenland Ice Sheet. These climatological data sets will be of potential use for climate sensitivity studies in the context of future climate change.

Evaluating Plasmonic Transport in Current-carrying Silver Nanowires

PubMed Central

Song, Mingxia; Stolz, Arnaud; Zhang, Douguo; Arocas, Juan; Markey, Laurent; Colas des Francs, Gérard; Dujardin, Erik; Bouhelier, Alexandre

2013-01-01

Plasmonics is an emerging technology capable of simultaneously transporting a plasmonic signal and an electronic signal on the same information support1,2,3. In this context, metal nanowires are especially desirable for realizing dense routing networks4. A prerequisite to operate such shared nanowire-based platform relies on our ability to electrically contact individual metal nanowires and efficiently excite surface plasmon polaritons5 in this information support. In this article, we describe a protocol to bring electrical terminals to chemically-synthesized silver nanowires6 randomly distributed on a glass substrate7. The positions of the nanowire ends with respect to predefined landmarks are precisely located using standard optical transmission microscopy before encapsulation in an electron-sensitive resist. Trenches representing the electrode layout are subsequently designed by electron-beam lithography. Metal electrodes are then fabricated by thermally evaporating a Cr/Au layer followed by a chemical lift-off. The contacted silver nanowires are finally transferred to a leakage radiation microscope for surface plasmon excitation and characterization8,9. Surface plasmons are launched in the nanowires by focusing a near infrared laser beam on a diffraction-limited spot overlapping one nanowire extremity5,9. For sufficiently large nanowires, the surface plasmon mode leaks into the glass substrate9,10. This leakage radiation is readily detected, imaged, and analyzed in the different conjugate planes in leakage radiation microscopy9,11. The electrical terminals do not affect the plasmon propagation. However, a current-induced morphological deterioration of the nanowire drastically degrades the flow of surface plasmons. The combination of surface plasmon leakage radiation microscopy with a simultaneous analysis of the nanowire electrical transport characteristics reveals the intrinsic limitations of such plasmonic circuitry. PMID:24378340

Characteristics of the evolution of a plasma generated by radiation from CW and repetitively pulsed CO2 lasers in different gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanevskii, M. F.; Stepanova, M. A.

1990-06-01

The interaction between high-power CW and repetitively pulsed CO2 laser radiation and a low-threshold optical-breakdown plasma near a metal surface is investigated. The characteristics of the breakdown plasma are examined as functions of the experimental conditions. A qualitative analysis of the results obtained was performed using a simple one-dimensional model for laser combustion waves.

Texturing Carbon-carbon Composite Radiator Surfaces Utilizing Atomic Oxygen

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raack, Taylor

2004-01-01

Future space nuclear power systems will require radiator technology to dissipate excess heat created by a nuclear reactor. Large radiator fins with circulating coolant are in development for this purpose and an investigation of how to make them most efficient is underway. Maximizing the surface area while minimizing the mass of such radiator fins is critical for obtaining the highest efficiency in dissipating heat. Processes to develop surface roughness are under investigation to maximize the effective surface area of a radiator fin. Surface roughness is created through several methods including oxidation and texturing. The effects of atomic oxygen impingement on carbon-carbon surfaces are currently being investigated for texturing a radiator surface. Early studies of atomic oxygen impingement in low Earth orbit indicate significant texturing due to ram atomic oxygen. The surface morphology of the affected surfaces shows many microscopic cones and valleys which have been experimentally shown to increase radiation emittance. Further study of this morphology proceeded in the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). Atomic oxygen experiments on the LDEF successfully duplicated the results obtained from materials in spaceflight by subjecting samples to 4.5 eV atomic oxygen from a fixed ram angle. These experiments replicated the conical valley morphology that was seen on samples subjected to low Earth orbit.

Space-radiation-induced Photon Luminescence of the Moon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Thomas; Lee, Kerry

2008-01-01

We report on the results of a study of the photon luminescence of the Moon induced by Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and space radiation from the Sun, using the Monte Carlo program FLUKA. The model of the lunar surface is taken to be the chemical composition of soils found at various landing sites during the Apollo and Luna programs, averaged over all such sites to define a generic regolith for the present analysis. This then becomes the target that is bombarded by Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) above 1 keV in FLUKA to determine the photon fluence albedo produced by the Moon's surface when there is no sunlight and Earthshine. This is to be distinguished from the gamma-ray spectrum produced by the radioactive decay of radiogenic constituents lying in the surface and interior of the Moon. From the photon fluence we derive the spectrum which can be utilized to examine existing lunar spectral data and to design orbiting instrumentation for measuring various components of the space-radiation-induced photon luminescence present on the Moon.

Performance Analysis of Thermoelectric Modules Consisting of Square Truncated Pyramid Elements Under Constant Heat Flux

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oki, Sae; Natsui, Shungo; Suzuki, Ryosuke O.

2018-01-01

System design of a thermoelectric (TE) power generation module is pursued in order to improve the TE performance. Square truncated pyramid shaped P-N pairs of TE elements are connected electronically in series in the open space between two flat insulator boards. The performance of the TE module consisting of 2-paired elements is numerically simulated using commercial software and original TE programs. Assuming that the heat radiating into the hot surface is regulated, i.e., the amount of heat from the hot surface to the cold one is steadily constant, as it happens for solar radiation heating, the performance is significantly improved by changing the shape and the alignment pattern of the elements. When the angle θ between the edge and the base is smaller than 72°, and when the cold surface is kept at a constant temperature, two patterns in particular, amongst the 17 studied, show the largest TE power and efficiency. In comparison to other geometries, the smarter square truncated pyramid shape can provide higher performance using a large cold bath and constant heat transfer by heat radiation.

Performance Analysis of Thermoelectric Modules Consisting of Square Truncated Pyramid Elements Under Constant Heat Flux

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oki, Sae; Natsui, Shungo; Suzuki, Ryosuke O.

2018-06-01

System design of a thermoelectric (TE) power generation module is pursued in order to improve the TE performance. Square truncated pyramid shaped P-N pairs of TE elements are connected electronically in series in the open space between two flat insulator boards. The performance of the TE module consisting of 2-paired elements is numerically simulated using commercial software and original TE programs. Assuming that the heat radiating into the hot surface is regulated, i.e., the amount of heat from the hot surface to the cold one is steadily constant, as it happens for solar radiation heating, the performance is significantly improved by changing the shape and the alignment pattern of the elements. When the angle θ between the edge and the base is smaller than 72°, and when the cold surface is kept at a constant temperature, two patterns in particular, amongst the 17 studied, show the largest TE power and efficiency. In comparison to other geometries, the smarter square truncated pyramid shape can provide higher performance using a large cold bath and constant heat transfer by heat radiation.

Seasonal and interannual variability of atmospheric heat sources and moisture sinks as determined from NCEP/NCAR ranalysis. Part I

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yanai, Michio; Tomita, Tomohiko

1997-11-01

In this paper, an analysis of the heat and moisture budgets of the troposphere is revised and extended. The analysis is based on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reanalysis from 1980 to 1994. The seasonal and interannual variability of heat sources and sinks and the nature of heating over various geographical locations is examined in detail. Results presented include global distributions of the 15-year mean of the vertically integrated heat source and moisture sink and the outgoing longwave radiation flux for northern winter and northern summer. A time series of monthlymore » mean anomalies of the apparent heat source, the apparent moisture sink, outgoing longwave radiation, sea surface temperature, and divergence at wind fields of 850 hPa and 200 hPa are presented for the equatorial Indian Ocean, the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean, western Tibet, and eastern Tibet. In the equatorial Indian Ocean, short period oscillation is superimposed upon longer periods. Over the eastern Pacific, a longer periodicity is dominant and the variability of the heat source is very well correlated with similar variations of outgoing longwave radiation, sea surface temperature, and horizontal divergence. The high correlation with these variables suggests that anomalous heating is accompanied by intensified convective activity favored by warmer sea surface temperature. 13 refs., 5 figs.« less

Analysis of Aerosol Optical and Physical Properties and Their Impact on Surface Radiative Energy Budget and Atmospheric Thermodynamics during Aerose Campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, A.; Joseph, E.; Nalli, N. R.; Morris, V.; Aerose Team

2010-12-01

Western Africa is one of the largest sources of mineral dust aerosol in the world. With uncertainty of how dust impacts on weather and climate, the trans-Atlantic Aerosols and Ocean Science Expeditions (AEROSE) are good opportunities to address this issue. Recent studies have suggested that the Saharan air layer (SAL) can alter the dynamics, microphysics and thermodynamics of tropical systems (e.g., Dunion and Velden 2004), cools the sea surface temperature (e.g., Lau and Kim 2007), suppress deep convection (e.g., Mapes and Zuidema 1996; Wong and Dessler 2005), and alter the radiation balance of the atmosphere (e.g., Slingo et al. 2006). AEROSE constitutes a comprehensive approach, in terms of both measurements and modeling, for gaining understanding of the impacts of long-range transport of mineral dust in the tropical Atlantic (Morris et al. 2006; Nalli et al. 2010). Sounding data from AEROSE shows a well-maintained and static stability of the SAL well across the Atlantic (Nalli et al. 2005). Results of the current study may shed light on the role of dust on the thermodynamics of the SAL and its impact on sea surface temperature. This work will involve using radiative transfer models for calculating total heating rates during heavy dusty days encountered during AEROSE campaigns and analysis of the physical properties of the aerosols.

Differences in rates of decrease of environmental radiation dose rates by ground surface property in Fukushima City after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

PubMed

Kakamu, Takeyasu; Kanda, Hideyuki; Tsuji, Masayoshi; Kobayashi, Daisuke; Miyake, Masao; Hayakawa, Takehito; Katsuda, Shin-ichiro; Mori, Yayoi; Okouchi, Toshiyasu; Hazama, Akihiro; Fukushima, Tetsuhito

2013-01-01

After the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011, the environmental radiation dose in Fukushima City increased. On 11 April, 1 mo after the earthquake, the environmental radiation dose rate at various surfaces in the same area differed greatly by surface property. Environmental radiation measurements continue in order to determine the estimated time to 50% reduction in environmental radiation dose rates by surface property in order to make suggestions for decontamination in Fukushima. The measurements were carried out from 11 April to 11 November 2011. Forty-eight (48) measurement points were selected, including four kinds of ground surface properties: grass (13), soil (5), artificial turf (7), and asphalt (23). Environmental radiation dose rate was measured at heights of 100 cm above the ground surface. Time to 50% reduction of environmental radiation dose rates was estimated for each ground surface property. Radiation dose rates on 11 November had decreased significantly compared with those on 11 April for all surface properties. Artificial turf showed the longest time to 50% reduction (544.32 d, standard error: 96.86), and soil showed the shortest (213.20 d, standard error: 35.88). The authors found the environmental radiation dose rate on artificial materials to have a longer 50% reduction time than that on natural materials. These results contribute to determining an order of priority for decontamination after nuclear disasters.

Influence of inhomogeneous surface heat capacity on the estimation of radiative response coefficients in a two-zone energy balance model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jungmin; Choi, Yong-Sang

2018-04-01

Observationally constrained values of the global radiative response coefficient are pivotal to assess the reliability of modeled climate feedbacks. A widely used approach is to measure transient global radiative imbalance related to surface temperature changes. However, in this approach, a potential error in the estimate of radiative response coefficients may arise from surface inhomogeneity in the climate system. We examined this issue theoretically using a simple two-zone energy balance model. Here, we dealt with the potential error by subtracting the prescribed radiative response coefficient from those calculated within the two-zone framework. Each zone was characterized by the different magnitude of the radiative response coefficient and the surface heat capacity, and the dynamical heat transport in the atmosphere between the zones was parameterized as a linear function of the temperature difference between the zones. Then, the model system was forced by randomly generated monthly varying forcing mimicking time-varying forcing like an observation. The repeated simulations showed that inhomogeneous surface heat capacity causes considerable miscalculation (down to -1.4 W m-2 K-1 equivalent to 31.3% of the prescribed value) in the global radiative response coefficient. Also, the dynamical heat transport reduced this miscalculation driven by inhomogeneity of surface heat capacity. Therefore, the estimation of radiative response coefficients using the surface temperature-radiation relation is appropriate for homogeneous surface areas least affected by the exterior.

Vector radiative transfer code SORD: Performance analysis and quick start guide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korkin, Sergey; Lyapustin, Alexei; Sinyuk, Alexander; Holben, Brent; Kokhanovsky, Alexander

2017-10-01

We present a new open source polarized radiative transfer code SORD written in Fortran 90/95. SORD numerically simulates propagation of monochromatic solar radiation in a plane-parallel atmosphere over a reflecting surface using the method of successive orders of scattering (hence the name). Thermal emission is ignored. We did not improve the method in any way, but report the accuracy and runtime in 52 benchmark scenarios. This paper also serves as a quick start user's guide for the code available from ftp://maiac.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/skorkin, from the JQSRT website, or from the corresponding (first) author.

NASA Giovanni Portals for NLDAS/GLDAS Online Visualization, Analysis, and Intercomparison

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rui, Hualan; Teng, William L.; Vollmer, Bruce; Mocko, David M.; Beaudoing, Hiroko Kato; Rodell, Matthew

2011-01-01

The North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) are generating a series of land surface forcing (e.g., precipitation, surface meteorology, and radiation), state (e.g., soil moisture and temperature, and snow), and flux (e.g., evaporation and sensible heat flux) products, simulated by several land surface models. To date, NLDAS and GLDAS have generated more than 30 (1979 - present) and 60 (1948 - present) years of data, respectively. To further facilitate data accessibility and utilization, three new portals in the NASA Giovanni system have been made available for NLDAS and GLDAS online visualization, analysis, and intercomparison.

Sensitivity of thermal inertia calculations to variations in environmental factors. [in mapping of Earth's surface by remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahle, A. B.; Alley, R. E.; Schieldge, J. P.

1984-01-01

The sensitivity of thermal inertia (TI) calculations to errors in the measurement or parameterization of a number of environmental factors is considered here. The factors include effects of radiative transfer in the atmosphere, surface albedo and emissivity, variations in surface turbulent heat flux density, cloud cover, vegetative cover, and topography. The error analysis is based upon data from the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) satellite for July 1978 at three separate test sites in the deserts of the western United States. Results show that typical errors in atmospheric radiative transfer, cloud cover, and vegetative cover can individually cause root-mean-square (RMS) errors of about 10 percent (with atmospheric effects sometimes as large as 30-40 percent) in HCMM-derived thermal inertia images of 20,000-200,000 pixels.

Hydromagnetic Rarefied Fluid Flow over a Wedge in the Presence of Surface Slip and Thermal Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, K.; Sharma, R. P.; Duari, P. R.

2017-12-01

An analysis is presented to investigate the effects of thermal radiation on a convective slip flow of an electrically conducting slightly rarefied fluid, having temperature dependent fluid properties, over a wedge with a thermal jump at the surface of the boundary in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. The reduced equations are solved numerically using the finite difference code that implements the 3-stage Lobatto IIIa formula for the partitioned Runge-Kutta method. Numerical results for the dimensionless velocity and temperature as well as for the skin friction coefficient and the Nusselt number are presented through graphs and tables for pertinent parameters to show interesting aspects of the solution.

Impact of Asian Dust on Climate and Air Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Mian; Tan, Qian; Diehl, Thomas; Yu, Hongbin

2010-01-01

Dust generated from Asian permanent desert and desertification areas can be efficiently transported around the globe, making significant radiative impact through their absorbing and scattering solar radiation and through their deposition on snow and ice to modify the surface albedo. Asian dust is also a major concern of surface air quality not only in the source and immediate downwind regions but also areas thousands of miles away across the Pacific. We present here a global model, GOCART, analysis of data from satellite remote sensing instrument (MODIS, MISR, CALIPSO, OMI) and other observations on Asian dust sources, transport, and deposition, and use the model to assess the Asian dust impact on global climate and air quality.

Astronomical and Hydrological Perspective of Mountain Impacts on the Asian Summer Monsoon.

PubMed

He, Bian; Wu, Guoxiong; Liu, Yimin; Bao, Qing

2015-12-01

The Asian summer monsoon has great socioeconomic impacts. Understanding how the huge Tibetan and Iranian Plateaus affect the Asian summer monsoon is of great scientific value and has far-reaching significance for sustainable global development. One hypothesis considers the plateaus to be a shield for monsoon development in India by blocking cold-dry northerly intrusion into the tropics. Based on astronomical radiation analysis and numerical modeling, here we show that in winter the plateaus cannot block such a northerly intrusion; while in summer the daily solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface, and the surface potential temperature to the north of the Tibetan Plateau, are higher than their counterparts to its south, and such plateau shielding is not needed. By virtue of hydrological analysis, we show that the high energy near the surface required for continental monsoon development is maintained mainly by high water vapor content. Results based on potential vorticity-potential temperature diagnosis further demonstrate that it is the pumping of water vapor from sea to land due to the thermal effects of the plateaus that breeds the Asian continental monsoon.

Evapotranspiration from combined reflected solar and emitted terrestrial radiation - Preliminary FIFE results from AVHRR data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goward, S. N.; Hope, A. S.

1989-01-01

The relation between remotely sensed spectral vegetation indices and thermal IR measurements is studied. Land surface evapotranspiration is evaluated based on this relationship. Analysis of the AVHRR data, obtained in Kansas in 1987, reveal a strong correlation between the spectral vegetation indices and surface temperature and this relation covaries with surface moisture conditions. It is noted that the relation between remotely sensed measurements of canopy green foliage and surface temperature is useful for examining variations in the interface thermal inertia and energy balance Bowen ratio.

Influence of Extraterrestrial Radiation on Radiation Portal Monitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Keller, Paul E.; Kouzes, Richard T.

2009-06-01

Cosmic radiation and solar flares can be a major source of background radiation at the Earth’s surface. This paper examines the relationship between extraterrestrial radiation and the detectable background in radiation portal monitors used for homeland security applications. Background radiation data from 13 radiation portal monitor facilities are examined and compared against external sources of data related to extraterrestrial radiation, including measurements at neutron monitors located at 53 cosmic-ray observatories around the Earth, four polar orbiting satellites, three geostationary satellites, ground-based geomagnetic field data from observatories around the Earth, a solar magnetic index, solar radio flux data, and sunspot activitymore » data. Four-years (January 2003 through December 2006) of data are used in this study, which include the latter part of Solar Cycle 23 as solar activity was on the decline. The analysis shows a significant relationship between some extraterrestrial radiation and the background detected in the radiation portal monitors. A demonstrable decline is shown in the average gamma ray and neutron background at the radiation portal monitors as solar activity declined over the period of the study.« less

Validation of finite element and boundary element methods for predicting structural vibration and radiated noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seybert, A. F.; Wu, X. F.; Oswald, Fred B.

1992-01-01

Analytical and experimental validation of methods to predict structural vibration and radiated noise are presented. A rectangular box excited by a mechanical shaker was used as a vibrating structure. Combined finite element method (FEM) and boundary element method (BEM) models of the apparatus were used to predict the noise radiated from the box. The FEM was used to predict the vibration, and the surface vibration was used as input to the BEM to predict the sound intensity and sound power. Vibration predicted by the FEM model was validated by experimental modal analysis. Noise predicted by the BEM was validated by sound intensity measurements. Three types of results are presented for the total radiated sound power: (1) sound power predicted by the BEM modeling using vibration data measured on the surface of the box; (2) sound power predicted by the FEM/BEM model; and (3) sound power measured by a sound intensity scan. The sound power predicted from the BEM model using measured vibration data yields an excellent prediction of radiated noise. The sound power predicted by the combined FEM/BEM model also gives a good prediction of radiated noise except for a shift of the natural frequencies that are due to limitations in the FEM model.

Changing Surface-Atmosphere Energy Exchange and Refreezing Capacity of the Lower Accumulation Area, West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charalampidis, C.; van As, D.; Machguth, H.; Smeets, P.; van den Broeke, M. R.; Box, J. E.

2014-12-01

We present five years (2009-2013) of automatic weather station (AWS) data from the lower accumulation area (1840 m above sea level) of the Kangerlussuaq region, western Greenland ice sheet. The summers of 2010 and 2012 were both exceptionally warm, but only 2012 resulted in negative surface mass budget (SMB) and surface runoff. The observed runoff was due to a large ice fraction in the upper 10 m of firn that prevented melt water from percolating to available pore space below. Analysis of the in situ data reveals a relatively low 2012 summer albedo of ~0.7 as melt water was present at the surface. Consequently, during the 2012 melt season the surface absorbed 30% (213 MJ m-2) more solar radiation than in 2010. We drive a surface energy balance model with the AWS data to evaluate the seasonal and interannual variability of all surface energy fluxes. The model is able to reproduce the observed melt rates as well as the SMB for each season. While the drive for melt is solar radiation, year-to-year differences are controlled by terrestrial radiation, apart from 2012 when solar radiation dominated melt. Sensitivity tests reveal that 72% of the excess solar energy in 2012 was used for melt, corresponding to 40% (0.67 m) of the 2012 surface ablation. The remaining ablation (0.99 m) was primarily due to the relatively high atmospheric temperatures up to +2.6 °C daily average, indicating that 2012 would have been a negative SMB year in the lower accumulation area even without the melt-albedo feedback. Longer time series of SMB, regional temperature and remotely sensed albedo (MODIS) suggest that 2012 was the first negative SMB year with the lowest albedo at this elevation on record. The warming conditions of the last years resulted in enhanced melt and reduction of the refreezing capacity of the lower accumulation area. If the warming continues the lower accumulation area will be transformed into superimposed ice.

Evaluation of MODIS and VIIRS Albedo Products Using Ground and Airborne Measurements and Development of Ceos/Wgcv/Lpv Albedo Ecv Protocols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Z.; Roman, M. O.; Schaaf, C.; Sun, Q.; Liu, Y.; Saenz, E. J.; Gatebe, C. K.

2014-12-01

Surface albedo, defined as the ratio of the hemispheric reflected solar radiation flux to the incident flux upon the surface, is one of the essential climate variables and quantifies the radiation interaction between the atmosphere and the land surface. An absolute accuracy of 0.02-0.05 for global surface albedo is required by climate models. The MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) standard BRDF/albedo product makes use of a linear "kernel-driven" RossThick-LiSparse Reciprocal (RTLSR) BRDF model to describe the reflectance anisotropy. The surface albedo is calculated by integrating the BRDF over the above ground hemisphere. While MODIS Terra was launched in Dec 1999 and MODIS Aqua in 2002, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite was launched more recently on October 28, 2011. Thus a long term record of BRDF, albedo and Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) products from VIIRS can be generated through MODIS heritage algorithms. Several investigations have evaluated the MODIS albedo products during the growing season, as well as during dormant and snow covered periods. The Land Product Validation (LPV) sub-group of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) aims to address the challenges associated with the validation of global land products. The validation of global surface radiation/albedo products is one of the LPV subgroup activities. In this research, a reference dataset covering various land surface types and vegetation structure is assembled to assess the accuracy of satellite albedo products. This dataset includes in situ data (Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN), FLUXNET and Long Term Ecological Research network (LTER) etc.) and airborne measurements (e.g. Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR)). Spatially representative analysis is applied to each site to establish whether the ground measurements can adequately represent moderate spatial resolution remotely sensed albedo products.

The Seasonal Cycle of the Radiation Budget and Cloud Radiative Effect in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collow, A.; Miller, M. A.

2015-12-01

The Amazon Rainforest of Brazil is a region with potential climate sensitivities, especially with ongoing land surface changes and biomass burning aerosols due to deforestation. Ubiquitous moisture in the area make clouds a common feature over the Amazon Rainforest and along with the influences from deforestation have a significant impact on the radiation budget. This region experiences a seasonal contrast in clouds, precipitation, and aerosols making it an ideal location to study the relationship between these variables and the radiation budget. An internationally sponsored campaign entitled GOAmazon2014/15 included a deployment of an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility, which collected comprehensive measurements using in situ and remote sensors. Observations of clouds, aerosols, and radiative fluxes from the first year of the deployment are analyzed in conjunction with top of the atmosphere (TOA) observations from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and analyses from the newly released Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version-2 (MERRA-2). The combination of surface and TOA observations allows for the calculation of radiative flux divergence and cloud radiative effect (CRE) within the column, while the comparison to MERRA-2 enables the verification of a new reanalysis product and a view of the spatial variation of the radiation budget. Clouds are very reflective in the area, creating a cooling effect in the shortwave (SW) at the surface, with some seasonality present due to the reduction of optically thick clouds in the dry season. Clouds have little effect on the column itself in the SW due to the balance between the reflective and absorbing properties of the clouds with the majority of the impact on the atmosphere from clouds warming in the longwave. Influences of aerosols are seen in the dry season, and an increase in moisture above the Amazon River and its tributaries enhance the CRE.

Automatic respiration tracking for radiotherapy using optical 3D camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Tuotuo; Geng, Jason; Li, Shidong

2013-03-01

Rapid optical three-dimensional (O3D) imaging systems provide accurate digitized 3D surface data in real-time, with no patient contact nor radiation. The accurate 3D surface images offer crucial information in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) treatments for accurate patient repositioning and respiration management. However, applications of O3D imaging techniques to image-guided radiotherapy have been clinically challenged by body deformation, pathological and anatomical variations among individual patients, extremely high dimensionality of the 3D surface data, and irregular respiration motion. In existing clinical radiation therapy (RT) procedures target displacements are caused by (1) inter-fractional anatomy changes due to weight, swell, food/water intake; (2) intra-fractional variations from anatomy changes within any treatment session due to voluntary/involuntary physiologic processes (e.g. respiration, muscle relaxation); (3) patient setup misalignment in daily reposition due to user errors; and (4) changes of marker or positioning device, etc. Presently, viable solution is lacking for in-vivo tracking of target motion and anatomy changes during the beam-on time without exposing patient with additional ionized radiation or high magnet field. Current O3D-guided radiotherapy systems relay on selected points or areas in the 3D surface to track surface motion. The configuration of the marks or areas may change with time that makes it inconsistent in quantifying and interpreting the respiration patterns. To meet the challenge of performing real-time respiration tracking using O3D imaging technology in IGRT, we propose a new approach to automatic respiration motion analysis based on linear dimensionality reduction technique based on PCA (principle component analysis). Optical 3D image sequence is decomposed with principle component analysis into a limited number of independent (orthogonal) motion patterns (a low dimension eigen-space span by eigen-vectors). New images can be accurately represented as weighted summation of those eigen-vectors, which can be easily discriminated with a trained classifier. We developed algorithms, software and integrated with an O3D imaging system to perform the respiration tracking automatically. The resulting respiration tracking system requires no human intervene during it tracking operation. Experimental results show that our approach to respiration tracking is more accurate and robust than the methods using manual selected markers, even in the presence of incomplete imaging data.

Preliminary analysis of the implications of natural radiations on geostationary operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, J. W.; Denn, F. M.

1976-01-01

The natural radiations present at geostationary orbit are discussed. Low-level galactic cosmic rays are important for careers spending a year or more at geostationary altitude. Trapped radiation will on occasion require interruption of extravehicular activity (EVA). The spacesuit shield requirements are strongly affected by the number of interruptions allowed. EVA cannot proceed during a large solar event and maximum allowable doses are exceeded in a few hours unless a heavily shielded area is provided. A shelter of 10 g/sq cm with personal shielding for the eyes and testes would contain exposure to within the presently accepted exposure constraints. Since radiation levels can increase unexpectedly to serious levels, an onboard radiation monitoring system with rate and integration capabilities is required for both surface-dose and depth-dose monitoring.

Isolation of Radiation-Resistant Bacteria from Mars Analog Antarctic Dry Valleys by Preselection, and the Correlation between Radiation and Desiccation Resistance

PubMed Central

Wright, Gary; Ward, John M.; Dartnell, Lewis R.

2015-01-01

Abstract Extreme radiation–resistant microorganisms can survive doses of ionizing radiation far greater than are present in the natural environment. Radiation resistance is believed to be an incidental adaptation to desiccation resistance, as both hazards cause similar cellular damage. Desert soils are, therefore, promising targets to prospect for new radiation-resistant strains. This is the first study to isolate radiation-resistant microbes by using gamma-ray exposure preselection from the extreme cold desert of the Antarctic Dry Valleys (a martian surface analogue). Halomonads, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, were the most numerous survivors of the highest irradiation exposures. They were studied here for the first time for both their desiccation and irradiation survival characteristics. In addition, the association between desiccation and radiation resistance has not been investigated quantitatively before for a broad diversity of microorganisms. Thus, a meta-analysis of scientific literature was conducted to gather a larger data set. A strong correlation was found between desiccation and radiation resistance, indicating that an increase in the desiccation resistance of 5 days corresponds to an increase in the room-temperature irradiation survival of 1 kGy. Irradiation at −79°C (representative of average martian surface temperatures) increases the microbial radiation resistance 9-fold. Consequently, the survival of the cold-, desiccation-, and radiation-resistant organisms isolated here has implications for the potential habitability of dormant or cryopreserved life on Mars. Key Words: Extremophiles—Halomonas sp.—Antarctica—Mars—Ionizing radiation—Cosmic rays. Astrobiology 15, 1076–1090. PMID:26684506

Forcing and Responses of the Surface Energy Budget at Summit, Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Nathaniel B.

Energy exchange at the Greenland Ice Sheet surface governs surface temperature variability, a factor critical for representing increasing surface melt extent, which portends a rise in global sea level. A comprehensive set of cloud, tropospheric, near-surface and sub-surface measurements at Summit Station is utilized to determine the driving forces and subsequent responses of the surface energy budget (SEB). This budget includes radiative, turbulent, and ground heat fluxes, and ultimately controls the evolution of surface temperature. At Summit Station, clouds radiatively warm the surface in all months with an annual average cloud radiative forcing value of 33 W m -2, largely driven by the occurrence of liquid-bearing clouds. The magnitude of the surface temperature response is dependent on how turbulent and ground heat fluxes modulate changes to radiative forcing. Relationships between forcing terms and responding surface fluxes show that changes in the upwelling longwave radiation compensate for 65-85% (50- 60%) of the total change in radiative forcing in the winter (summer). The ground heat flux is the second largest response term (16% annually), especially during winter. Throughout the annual cycle, the sensible heat flux response is comparatively constant (9%) and latent heat flux response is only 1.5%, becoming more of a factor in modulating surface temperature responses during the summer. Combining annual cycles of these responses with cloud radiative forcing results, clouds warm the surface by an estimated 7.8°C annually. A reanalysis product (ERA-I), operational model (CFSv2), and climate model (CESM) are evaluated utilizing the comprehensive set of SEB observations and process-based relationships. Annually, surface temperatures in each model are warmer than observed with overall poor representation of the coldest surface temperatures. Process-based relationships between different SEB flux terms offer insight into how well a modeling framework represents physical processes and the ability to distinguish errors in forcing versus those in physical representation. Such relationships convey that all three models underestimate the response of surface temperatures to changes in radiative forcing. These results provide a method to expose model deficiencies and indicate the importance of representing surface, sub-surface and boundary-layer processes when portraying cloud impacts on surface temperature variability.

Quantitative Infrared Image Analysis Of Simultaneous Upstream and Downstream Microgravity Flame Spread over Thermally-Thin Cellulose in Low Speed Forced Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olson, S. L.; Lee, J. R.; Fujita, O.; Kikuchi, M.; Kashiwagi, T.

2013-01-01

The effect of low velocity forced flow on microgravity flame spread is examined using quantitative analysis of infrared video imaging. The objective of the quantitative analysis is to provide insight into the mechanisms of flame spread in microgravity where the flame is able to spread from a central location on the fuel surface, rather than from an edge. Surface view calibrated infrared images of ignition and flame spread over a thin cellulose fuel were obtained along with a color video of the surface view and color images of the edge view using 35 mm color film at 2 Hz. The cellulose fuel samples were mounted in the center of a 12 cm wide by 16 cm tall flow duct and were ignited in microgravity using a straight hot wire across the center of the 7.5 cm wide by 14 cm long samples. Four cases, at 1 atm. 35%O2 in N2, at forced flows from 2 cm/s to 20 cm/s are presented here. This flow range captures flame spread from strictly upstream spread at low flows, to predominantly downstream spread at high flow. Surface temperature profiles are evaluated as a function of time, and temperature gradients for upstream and downstream flame spread are measured. Flame spread rates from IR image data are compared to visible image spread rate data. IR blackbody temperatures are compared to surface thermocouple readings to evaluate the effective emissivity of the pyrolyzing surface. Preheat lengths and pyrolysis lengths are evaluated both upstream and downstream of the central ignition point. A surface energy balance estimates the net heat flux from the flame to the fuel surface along the length of the fuel. Surface radiative loss and gas-phase radiation from soot are measured relative to the net heat feedback from the flame. At high surface heat loss relative to heat feedback, the downstream flame spread does not occur.

Inclusion of Solar Elevation Angle in Land Surface Albedo Parameterization Over Bare Soil Surface.

PubMed

Zheng, Zhiyuan; Wei, Zhigang; Wen, Zhiping; Dong, Wenjie; Li, Zhenchao; Wen, Xiaohang; Zhu, Xian; Ji, Dong; Chen, Chen; Yan, Dongdong

2017-12-01

Land surface albedo is a significant parameter for maintaining a balance in surface energy. It is also an important parameter of bare soil surface albedo for developing land surface process models that accurately reflect diurnal variation characteristics and the mechanism behind the solar spectral radiation albedo on bare soil surfaces and for understanding the relationships between climate factors and spectral radiation albedo. Using a data set of field observations, we conducted experiments to analyze the variation characteristics of land surface solar spectral radiation and the corresponding albedo over a typical Gobi bare soil underlying surface and to investigate the relationships between the land surface solar spectral radiation albedo, solar elevation angle, and soil moisture. Based on both solar elevation angle and soil moisture measurements simultaneously, we propose a new two-factor parameterization scheme for spectral radiation albedo over bare soil underlying surfaces. The results of numerical simulation experiments show that the new parameterization scheme can more accurately depict the diurnal variation characteristics of bare soil surface albedo than the previous schemes. Solar elevation angle is one of the most important factors for parameterizing bare soil surface albedo and must be considered in the parameterization scheme, especially in arid and semiarid areas with low soil moisture content. This study reveals the characteristics and mechanism of the diurnal variation of bare soil surface solar spectral radiation albedo and is helpful in developing land surface process models, weather models, and climate models.

Response of inorganic materials to laser - plasma EUV radiation focused with a lobster eye collector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartnik, Andrzej; Fiedorowicz, Henryk; Jarocki, Roman; Kostecki, Jerzy; Szczurek, Miroslaw; Havlikova, Radka; Pína, Ladislav; Švéda, Libor; Inneman, Adolf

2007-05-01

A single photon of EUV radiation carries enough energy to break any chemical bond or excite electrons from inner atomic shells. It means that the radiation regardless of its intensity can modify chemical structure of molecules. It is the reason that the radiation even with low intensity can cause fragmentation of long chains of organic materials and desorption of small parts from their surface. In this work interaction of EUV radiation with inorganic materials was investigated. Different inorganic samples were irradiated with a 10 Hz laser - plasma EUV source based on a gas puff target. The radiation was focused on a sample surface using a lobster eye collector. Radiation fluence at the surface reached 30 mJ/cm2 within a wavelength range 7 - 20 nm. In most cases there was no surface damage even after several minutes of irradiation. In some cases there could be noticed discolouration of an irradiated surface or evidences of thermal effects. In most cases however luminescent and scattered radiation was observed. The luminescent radiation was emitted in different wavelength ranges. It was recorded in a visible range of radiation and also in a wide wavelength range including UV, VUV and EUV. The radiation was especially intense in a case of non-metallic chemical compounds.

Long-Term Validation and Variability of the Shortwave and Longwave Radiation Data of the GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Taiping; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Gupta, Shashi K.; Cox, Stephan J.; Mikovitz, Colleen; Hinkelman, Laura M.

2006-01-01

In this investigation, we make systematic Surface Radiation Budget-Baseline Surface Radiation Network (SRB-BSRN), Surface Radiation Data Centre (SRB-WRDC) and Surface Radiation Budget-Global Energy Balance Archive (SRB-GEBA) comparisons for both shortwave and longwave daily and monthly mean radiation fluxes at the Earth's surface. We first have an overview of all the comparable pairs of data in scatter or scatter density plots. Then we show the time series of the SRB data at grids in which there are ground sites where longterm records of data are available for comparison. An overall very good agreement between the SRB data and ground observations is found. To see the variability of the SRB data during the 21.5 years, we computed the global mean and its linear trend. No appreciable trend is detected at the 5% level. The empirical orthogonal functions (EOF) of the SRB deseasonalized shortwave downward flux are computed over the Pacific region, and the first EOF coefficient is found to be correlated with the ENSO Index at a high value of coefficient of 0.7083.

Analysing surface energy balance closure and partitioning over a semi-arid savanna FLUXNET site in Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majozi, Nobuhle P.; Mannaerts, Chris M.; Ramoelo, Abel; Mathieu, Renaud; Nickless, Alecia; Verhoef, Wouter

2017-07-01

Flux towers provide essential terrestrial climate, water, and radiation budget information needed for environmental monitoring and evaluation of climate change impacts on ecosystems and society in general. They are also intended for calibration and validation of satellite-based Earth observation and monitoring efforts, such as assessment of evapotranspiration from land and vegetation surfaces using surface energy balance approaches. In this paper, 15 years of Skukuza eddy covariance data, i.e. from 2000 to 2014, were analysed for surface energy balance closure (EBC) and partitioning. The surface energy balance closure was evaluated using the ordinary least squares regression (OLS) of turbulent energy fluxes (sensible (H) and latent heat (LE)) against available energy (net radiation (Rn) less soil heat (G)), and the energy balance ratio (EBR). Partitioning of the surface energy during the wet and dry seasons was also investigated, as well as how it is affected by atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (VPD), and net radiation. After filtering years with low-quality data (2004-2008), our results show an overall mean EBR of 0.93. Seasonal variations of EBR also showed the wet season with 1.17 and spring (1.02) being closest to unity, with the dry season (0.70) having the highest imbalance. Nocturnal surface energy closure was very low at 0.26, and this was linked to low friction velocity during night-time, with results showing an increase in closure with increase in friction velocity. The energy partition analysis showed that sensible heat flux is the dominant portion of net radiation, especially between March and October, followed by latent heat flux, and lastly the soil heat flux, and during the wet season where latent heat flux dominated sensible heat flux. An increase in net radiation was characterized by an increase in both LE and H, with LE showing a higher rate of increase than H in the wet season, and the reverse happening during the dry season. An increase in VPD is correlated with a decrease in LE and increase in H during the wet season, and an increase in both fluxes during the dry season.

The Effect of Topographic Shadowing by Ice on Irradiance in the Greenland Ice Sheet Ablation Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leidman, S. Z.; Rennermalm, A. K.; Ryan, J.; Cooper, M. G.; Smith, L. C.

2017-12-01

Accurately predicting runoff contributions to global sea level rise requires more refined surface mass balance (SMB) models of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). Topographic shadowing has shown to be important in the SMB of snow-covered regions, yet SMB models for the GrIS generally ignore how surface topography affects spatial variability of incoming solar radiation on a surface. In the ablation zone of Southwest Greenland, deeply incised supraglacial drainage features, fracturing, and large-scale bed deformation result in extensive areas of rough surface topography. This topography blocks direct radiation such that shadowed areas receive less energy for melting while other topographic features such as peaks recieve more energy. In this study, we quantify how shadowing from local topography features changes incoming solar radiation. We apply the ArcGIS Pro Solar Radiation Toolset to calculate the direct and diffuse irradiance in sunlit and shadowed areas by determining the sun's movement for every half hour increment of 2016. Multiple digital elevation models (DEMs) with spatial resolutions ranging from 0.06 to 5m were derived from fixed wing and quadcopter UAV imagery collected in summer 2016 and the ArcticDEM dataset. Our findings show that shadowing significantly decreases irradiance compared to smoothed surfaces where local topography is removed. This decrease is exponentially proportional to the DEM pixel sized with 5m DEMs only able to capture a small percentage of the effect. Applying these calculations to the ArcticDEM to cover a larger study area indicates that decreases in irradiance are nonlinearly proportional to elevation with highly crevassed areas showing a larger effect from shadowing. Even so, shading at higher elevations reduces irradiance enough to result in several centimeters snow water equivalence (SWE) per year of over-prediction of runoff in SMB models. Furthermore, analysis of solar radiation products shows that shadowing predicts albedo variability far better than a range of variables derived from UAV imagery mosaics including slope, aspect, elevation, or the distance to dark surface features. In summary, implementation of the effect of shadowing on irradiance should therefore be considered for accurate surface mass balance calculations for the Greenland ice sheet.

The enhancement of biological ocular UV radiation on beaches compared to the radiation on grass.

PubMed

Liu, Guang-Cong; Wang, Fang; Gao, Yan-Yan; Yang, Zheng; Hu, Li-Wen; Gao, Qian; Ri, Jun-Chol; Liu, Yang

2014-12-01

The influence of albedo on ocular UV exposure has seldom been reported. This paper aimed to explore the enhancement effect on measured ocular UV radiation due to a sand surface compared to measured ocular UV radiation due to a grass surface. We measured ambient and ocular UV radiation over the beach and grass surface in Sanya City of China (18.4°N, 109.7°E). The experimental apparatus was composed of a manikin and a dual-detector spectrometer. Integration of both UVA and UVB radiation was used to denote UV radiation. Then biologically effective ocular UVB radiation (UVBE) and the ratios of UVBE of two surfaces were calculated. Maximum of ocular UV radiation versus time over the two surfaces is bimodal. UVBE on the beach is significantly larger than UVBE on the sand, and UVBE peaked at different solar elevation angle (SEA) over the two surfaces (about 53° and 40° on the beach and grass, respectively, according to Bayesian regression). The maximum of ocular UVBE ratios is greater than two, which peaked SEA was about 50°. One hour's cumulative radiation under sunny weather exceeds thresholds for photokeratitis, conjunctivitis and lens damage. Higher albedo significantly increased biological ocular UV radiation. Tourists on tropical beaches should take protective measures and avoid facing the sun directly, especially when SEA is around 50°. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure and propagation of supersonic singularities from helicoidal sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, M. K.; Farassat, F.

1987-01-01

An asymptotic analysis of the acoustic field radiated by a supersonic helicoidal line source distribution is given. The asymptotic results are valid in the vicinity of the Mach surfaces associated with the moving sources. Particular attention is paid to the singular nature of the field on the Mach surfaces, which the analysis describes exactly. In addition, it is found that the asymptotic approximation predicts numerical values of the pressure with considerable accuracy. Some details on the field of a single source are derived as a special case.

Packaging Technology for Dielectric-Coating-Less Heavy Ion Radiation Testing of High-Voltage (HV) Electronic Parts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodworth, Andrew; Chen, Liangyu

2017-01-01

Testing high voltage (HV) electronic parts (greater than 300 V) for sudden event effects (SEE) caused by cosmic rays in the space environment, consisting of energetic heavy-ions, and neutron radiation in the upper atmosphere is a crucial step towards using these parts in spacecraft and aircraft. Due to the nature of cosmic radiation and neutrons, electronic parts are tested for SEE without any packaging and/or shielding over the top of the device. In the case of commercial HV parts, the top of the packaging is etched off and then a thin dielectric coating is placed over the part in order to avoid electrical arcing between the device surface and wire bonds and other components. Even though the effects of the thin dielectric layer on SEE testing can be accounted for, the dielectric layer significantly hinders post testing failure analysis. Replicating the test capability of state-of-the-art packaging while eliminating the need for post radiation test processing of the die surface (that obscures failure analysis) is the goal. To that end, a new packaging concept for HV parts has been developed that requires no dielectric coating over the part. Testing of prototype packages used with Schottky diodes (rated at 1200V) has shown no electrical arcing during testing and leakage currents during reverse bias testing are within the manufactures specifications.

Analysis of loss-of-coolant accident for a fast-spectrum lithium-cooled nuclear reactor for space-power applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turney, G. E.; Petrik, E. J.; Kieffer, A. W.

1972-01-01

A two-dimensional, transient, heat-transfer analysis was made to determine the temperature response in the core of a conceptual space-power nuclear reactor following a total loss of reactor coolant. With loss of coolant from the reactor, the controlling mode of heat transfer is thermal radiation. In one of the schemes considered for removing decay heat from the core, it was assumed that the 4 pi shield which surrounds the core acts as a constant-temperature sink (temperature, 700 K) for absorption of thermal radiation from the core. Results based on this scheme of heat removal show that melting of fuel in the core is possible only when the emissivity of the heat-radiating surfaces in the core is less than about 0.40. In another scheme for removing the afterheat, the core centerline fuel pin was replaced by a redundant, constant temperature, coolant channel. Based on an emissivity of 0.20 for all material surfaces in the core, the calculated maximum fuel temperature for this scheme of heat removal was 2840 K, or about 90 K less than the melting temperature of the UN fuel.

Ground Plane and Near-Surface Thermal Analysis for NASA's Constellation Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gasbarre, Joseph F.; Amundsen, Ruth M.; Scola, Salvatore; Leahy, Frank F.; Sharp, John R.

2008-01-01

Most spacecraft thermal analysis tools assume that the spacecraft is in orbit around a planet and are designed to calculate solar and planetary fluxes, as well as radiation to space. On NASA Constellation projects, thermal analysts are also building models of vehicles in their pre-launch condition on the surface of a planet. This process entails making some modifications in the building and execution of a thermal model such that the radiation from the planet, both reflected albedo and infrared, is calculated correctly. Also important in the calculation of pre-launch vehicle temperatures are the natural environments at the vehicle site, including air and ground temperatures, sky radiative background temperature, solar flux, and optical properties of the ground around the vehicle. A group of Constellation projects have collaborated on developing a cohesive, integrated set of natural environments that accurately capture worst-case thermal scenarios for the pre-launch and launch phases of these vehicles. The paper will discuss the standardization of methods for local planet modeling across Constellation projects, as well as the collection and consolidation of natural environments for launch sites. Methods for Earth as well as lunar sites will be discussed.

Capabilities of VOS-based fluxes for estimating ocean heat budget and its variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulev, S.; Belyaev, K.

2016-12-01

We consider here the perspective of using VOS observations by merchant ships available form the ICOADS data for estimating ocean surface heat budget at different time scale. To this purpose we compute surface turbulent heat fluxes as well as short- and long-wave radiative fluxes from the ICOADS reports for the last several decades in the North Atlantic mid latitudes. Turbulent fluxes were derived using COARE-3 algorithm and for computation of radiative fluxes new algorithms accounting for cloud types were used. Sampling uncertainties in the VOS-based fluxes were estimated by sub-sampling of the recomputed reanalysis (ERA-Interim) fluxes according to the VOS sampling scheme. For the turbulent heat fluxes we suggest an approach to minimize sampling uncertainties. The approach is based on the integration of the turbulent heat fluxes in the coordinates of steering parameters (vertical surface temperature and humidity gradients on one hand and wind speed on the other) for which theoretical probability distributions are known. For short-wave radiative fluxes sampling uncertainties were minimized by "rotating local observation time around the clock" and using probability density functions for the cloud cover occurrence distributions. Analysis was performed for the North Atlantic latitudinal band from 25 N to 60 N, for which also estimates of the meridional heat transport are available from the ocean cross-sections. Over the last 35 years turbulent fluxes within the region analysed increase by about 6 W/m2 with the major growth during the 1990s and early 2000s. Decreasing incoming short wave radiation during the same time (about 1 W/m2) implies upward change of the ocean surface heat loss by about 7-8 W/m2. We discuss different sources of uncertainties of computations as well as potential of the application of the analysis concept to longer time series going back to 1920s.

The solar dimming/brightening effect over the Mediterranean Basin in the period 1979-2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kambezidis, H. D.; Kaskaoutis, D. G.; Kalliampakos, G. K.; Rashki, A.; Wild, M.

2016-12-01

Numerous studies have shown that the solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface is subjected to multi-decadal variations with significant spatial and temporal heterogeneities in both magnitude and sign. Although several studies have examined the solar radiation trends over Europe, North America and Asia, the Mediterranean Basin has not been studied extensively. This work investigates the evolution and trends in the surface net short-wave radiation (NSWR, surface solar radiation - reflected) over the Mediterranean Basin during the period 1979-2012 using monthly re-analysis datasets from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and aims to shed light on the specific role of clouds on the NSWR trends. The solar dimming/brightening phenomenon is temporally and spatially analyzed over the Mediterranean Basin. The spatially-averaged NSWR over the whole Mediterranean Basin was found to increase in MERRA by +0.36 Wm-2 per decade, with higher rates over the western Mediterranean (+0.82 Wm-2 per decade), and especially during spring (March-April-May; +1.3 Wm-2 per decade). However, statistically significant trends in NSWR either for all-sky or clean-sky conditions are observed only in May. The increasing trends in NSWR are mostly associated with decreasing ones in cloud optical depth (COD), especially for the low (<700 hPa) clouds. The decreasing COD trends (less opaque clouds and/or decrease in absolute cloudiness) are more pronounced during spring, thus controlling the increasing tendency in NSWR. The NSWR trends for cloudless (clear) skies are influenced by changes in the water-vapor content or even variations in surface albedo to a lesser degree, whereas aerosols are temporally constant in MERRA. The slight negative trend (not statistically significant) in NSWR under clear skies for nearly all months and seasons implies a slight increasing trend in water vapor under a warming and more humid climatic scenario over the Mediterranean.

On the Utilization of Ice Flow Models and Uncertainty Quantification to Interpret the Impact of Surface Radiation Budget Errors on Estimates of Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Mass Balance and Regional Estimates of Mass Balance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlegel, N.; Larour, E. Y.; Gardner, A. S.; Lang, C.; Miller, C. E.; van den Broeke, M. R.

2016-12-01

How Greenland ice flow may respond to future increases in surface runoff and to increases in the frequency of extreme melt events is unclear, as it requires detailed comprehension of Greenland surface climate and the ice sheet's sensitivity to associated uncertainties. With established uncertainty quantification tools run within the framework of Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM), we conduct decadal-scale forward modeling experiments to 1) quantify the spatial resolution needed to effectively force distinct components of the surface radiation budget, and subsequently surface mass balance (SMB), in various regions of the ice sheet and 2) determine the dynamic response of Greenland ice flow to variations in components of the net radiation budget. The Glacier Energy and Mass Balance (GEMB) software is a column surface model (1-D) that has recently been embedded as a module within ISSM. Using the ISSM-GEMB framework, we perform sensitivity analyses to determine how perturbations in various components of the surface radiation budget affect model output; these model experiments allow us predict where and on what spatial scale the ice sheet is likely to dynamically respond to changes in these parameters. Preliminary results suggest that SMB should be forced at at least a resolution of 23 km to properly capture dynamic ice response. In addition, Monte-Carlo style sampling analyses reveals that the areas with the largest uncertainty in mass flux are located near the equilibrium line altitude (ELA), upstream of major outlet glaciers in the North and West of the ice sheet. Sensitivity analysis indicates that these areas are also the most vulnerable on the ice sheet to persistent, far-field shifts in SMB, suggesting that continued warming, and upstream shift in the ELA, are likely to result in increased velocities, and consequentially SMB-induced thinning upstream of major outlet glaciers. Here, we extend our investigation to consider various components of the surface radiation budget separately, in order to determine how and where errors in these fields may independently impact ice flow. This work was performed at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Cryosphere and Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Science Programs.

The Impact of Desert Dust Aerosol Radiative Forcing on Global and West African Precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordan, A.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Dezfuli, A. K.

2015-12-01

Desert dust aerosols exert a radiative forcing on the atmosphere, influencing atmospheric temperature structure and modifying radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and surface. As dust aerosols perturb radiative fluxes, the atmosphere responds by altering both energy and moisture dynamics, with potentially significant impacts on regional and global precipitation. Global Climate Model (GCM) experiments designed to characterize these processes have yielded a wide range of results, owing to both the complex nature of the system and diverse differences across models. Most model results show a general decrease in global precipitation, but regional results vary. Here, we compare simulations from GFDL's CM2Mc GCM with multiple other model experiments from the literature in order to investigate mechanisms of radiative impact and reasons for GCM differences on a global and regional scale. We focus on West Africa, a region of high interannual rainfall variability that is a source of dust and that neighbors major Sahara Desert dust sources. As such, changes in West African climate due to radiative forcing of desert dust aerosol have serious implications for desertification feedbacks. Our CM2Mc results show net cooling of the planet at TOA and surface, net warming of the atmosphere, and significant increases in precipitation over West Africa during the summer rainy season. These results differ from some previous GCM studies, prompting comparative analysis of desert dust parameters across models. This presentation will offer quantitative analysis of differences in dust aerosol parameters, aerosol optical properties, and overall particle burden across GCMs, and will characterize the contribution of model differences to the uncertainty of forcing and climate response affecting West Africa.

Fermi-Compton scattering due to magnetopause surface fluctuations in Jupiter's magnetospheric cavity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barbosa, D. D.

1981-01-01

The effects of boundary surface fluctuations on a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation trapped in a high Q (quality) cavity are considered. Undulating walls introduce small frequency shifts at reflection to the radiation, and it is argued that the process is entirely analogous to both Fermi (particle) acceleration and inverse Compton scattering. A Fokker-Planck formalism is pursued; it yields a diffusion equation in frequency for which the Green's function and steady-state solutions are found. Applying this analysis to the Jovian continuum radiation discovered by Voyager spacecraft, it is suggested that characteristic diffusion times are greater than 1 year, and that in order to account for the steep frequency spectra observed, an unidentified loss mechanism must operate in the cavity with a decay time constant approximately equal to the characteristic diffusion time divided by 28. A radiator-reactor model of the cavity is investigated to provide an estimate for the intrinsic luminosity of the low frequency (approximately 100 Hz) continuum source whose power is approximately 7 x 10 to the 6th W.

The impact of the diurnal cycle on the propagation of Madden-Julian Oscillation convection across the Maritime Continent

DOE PAGES

Hagos, Samson M.; Zhang, Chidong; Feng, Zhe; ...

2016-09-19

Influences of the diurnal cycle of convection on the propagation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) across the Maritime Continent (MC) are examined using cloud-permitting regional model simulations and observations. A pair of ensembles of control (CONTROL) and no-diurnal cycle (NODC) simulations of the November 2011 MJO episode are performed. In the CONTROL simulations, the MJO signal is weakened as it propagates across the MC, with much of the convection stalling over the large islands of Sumatra and Borneo. In the NODC simulations, where the incoming shortwave radiation at the top of the atmosphere is maintained at its daily mean value,more » the MJO signal propagating across the MC is enhanced. Examination of the surface energy fluxes in the simulations indicates that in the presence of the diurnal cycle, surface downwelling shortwave radiation in CONTROL simulations is larger because clouds preferentially form in the afternoon. Furthermore, the diurnal co-variability of surface wind speed and skin temperature results in a larger sensible heat flux and a cooler land surface in CONTROL compared to NODC simulations. Here, an analysis of observations indicates that the modulation of the downwelling shortwave radiation at the surface by the diurnal cycle of cloudiness negatively projects on the MJO intraseasonal cycle and therefore disrupts the propagation of the MJO across the MC.« less

Background canceling surface alpha detector

DOEpatents

MacArthur, D.W.; Allander, K.S.; Bounds, J.A.

1996-06-11

A background canceling long range alpha detector which is capable of providing output proportional to both the alpha radiation emitted from a surface and to radioactive gas emanating from the surface. The detector operates by using an electrical field between first and second signal planes, an enclosure and the surface or substance to be monitored for alpha radiation. The first and second signal planes are maintained at the same voltage with respect to the electrically conductive enclosure, reducing leakage currents. In the presence of alpha radiation and radioactive gas decay, the signal from the first signal plane is proportional to both the surface alpha radiation and to the airborne radioactive gas, while the signal from the second signal plane is proportional only to the airborne radioactive gas. The difference between these two signals is proportional to the surface alpha radiation alone. 5 figs.

Background canceling surface alpha detector

DOEpatents

MacArthur, Duncan W.; Allander, Krag S.; Bounds, John A.

1996-01-01

A background canceling long range alpha detector which is capable of providing output proportional to both the alpha radiation emitted from a surface and to radioactive gas emanating from the surface. The detector operates by using an electrical field between first and second signal planes, an enclosure and the surface or substance to be monitored for alpha radiation. The first and second signal planes are maintained at the same voltage with respect to the electrically conductive enclosure, reducing leakage currents. In the presence of alpha radiation and radioactive gas decay, the signal from the first signal plane is proportional to both the surface alpha radiation and to the airborne radioactive gas, while the signal from the second signal plane is proportional only to the airborne radioactive gas. The difference between these two signals is proportional to the surface alpha radiation alone.

Process for sensing defects on a smooth cylindrical interior surface in tubing

DOEpatents

Dutton, G. Wayne

1987-11-17

The cylindrical interior surface of small diameter metal tubing is optically inspected to determine surface roughness by passing a slightly divergent light beam to illuminate the entire interior surface of the tubing. Impingement of the input light beam components on any rough spots on the interior surface generates forward and backward scattered radiation components. The forward scattered components can be measured by blocking direct and specular radiation components exiting the tubing while allowing the forward scattered radiation to travel past the blocking location. Collecting optics are employed to converge the forward scattered radiation onto a photodetector generating a signal indicative of surface roughness. In the back scattered mode, back scattered radiation exiting the tubing through the entrance opening is reflected 90.degree. by a beam splitter towards collecting optics and a photodetector. Alternatively, back scattered radiation can be transmitted through a fiber optic bundle towards the collecting optics. The input light beam can be supplied through a white light fiber optic bundle mounted coaxial with the first bundle.

Process for sensing defects on a smooth cylindrical interior surface in tubing

DOEpatents

Dutton, G.W.

1987-11-17

The cylindrical interior surface of small diameter metal tubing is optically inspected to determine surface roughness by passing a slightly divergent light beam to illuminate the entire interior surface of the tubing. Impingement of the input light beam components on any rough spots on the interior surface generates forward and backward scattered radiation components. The forward scattered components can be measured by blocking direct and specular radiation components exiting the tubing while allowing the forward scattered radiation to travel past the blocking location. Collecting optics are employed to converge the forward scattered radiation onto a photodetector generating a signal indicative of surface roughness. In the back scattered mode, back scattered radiation exiting the tubing through the entrance opening is reflected 90[degree] by a beam splitter towards collecting optics and a photodetector. Alternatively, back scattered radiation can be transmitted through a fiber optic bundle towards the collecting optics. The input light beam can be supplied through a white light fiber optic bundle mounted coaxial with the first bundle. 6 figs.

Process and apparatus for sensing defects on a smooth cylindrical surface in tubing

DOEpatents

Dutton, G.W.

1985-08-05

The cylindrical interior surface of small diameter metal tubing is optically inspected to determine surface roughness by passing a slightly divergent light beam to illuminate the entire interior surface of the tubing. Impingement of the input light beam components on any rough spots on the interior surface generates forward and backward scattered radiation components. The forward scattered components can be measured by blocking direct and specular radiation components exiting the tubing while allowing the forward scattered radiation to travel past the blocking location. Collecting optics are employed to converge the forward scattered radiation onto a photodetector generating a signal indicative of surface roughness. In the back scattered mode, back scattered radiation exiting the tubing through the entrance opening is reflected 90/sup 0/ by a beam splitter towards collecting optics and a photodetector. Alternatively, back scattered radiation can be transmitted through a fiber optic bundle towards the collecting optics. The input light beam can be supplied through a white light fiber optic bundle mounted coaxial with the first bundle.

The dynamic deformation of a layered viscoelastic medium under surface excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aglyamov, Salavat R.; Wang, Shang; Karpiouk, Andrei B.; Li, Jiasong; Twa, Michael; Emelianov, Stanislav Y.; Larin, Kirill V.

2015-06-01

In this study the dynamic behavior of a layered viscoelastic medium in response to the harmonic and impulsive acoustic radiation force applied to its surface was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. An analytical solution for a layered viscoelastic compressible medium in frequency and time domains was obtained using the Hankel transform. A special incompressible case was considered to model soft biological tissues. To verify our theoretical model, experiments were performed using tissue-like gel-based phantoms with varying mechanical properties. A 3.5 MHz single-element focused ultrasound transducer was used to apply the radiation force at the surface of the phantoms. A phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography system was used to track the displacements of the phantom surface. Theoretically predicted displacements were compared with experimental measurements. The role of the depth dependence of the elastic properties of a medium in its response to an acoustic pulse at the surface was studied. It was shown that the low-frequency vibrations at the surface are more sensitive to the deep layers than high-frequency ones. Therefore, the proposed model in combination with spectral analysis can be used to evaluate depth-dependent distribution of the mechanical properties based on the measurements of the surface deformation.

THE EFFECT OF CLOUD FRACTION ON THE RADIATIVE ENERGY BUDGET: The Satellite-Based GEWEX-SRB Data vs. the Ground-Based BSRN Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, T.; Stackhouse, P. W.; Gupta, S. K.; Cox, S. J.; Mikovitz, J. C.; Nasa Gewex Srb

2011-12-01

The NASA GEWEX-SRB (Global Energy and Water cycle Experiment - Surface Radiation Budget) project produces and archives shortwave and longwave atmospheric radiation data at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and the Earth's surface. The archive holds uninterrupted records of shortwave/longwave downward/upward radiative fluxes at 1 degree by 1 degree resolution for the entire globe. The latest version in the archive, Release 3.0, is available as 3-hourly, daily and monthly means, spanning 24.5 years from July 1983 to December 2007. Primary inputs to the models used to produce the data include: shortwave and longwave radiances from International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) pixel-level (DX) data, cloud and surface properties derived therefrom, temperature and moisture profiles from GEOS-4 reanalysis product obtained from the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), and column ozone amounts constituted from Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) archives, and Stratospheric Monitoring-group's Ozone Blended Analysis (SMOBA), an assimilation product from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. The data in the archive have been validated systemically against ground-based measurements which include the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) data, the World Radiation Data Centre (WRDC) data, and the Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) data, and generally good agreement has been achieved. In addition to all-sky radiative fluxes, the output data include clear-sky fluxes, cloud optical depth, cloud fraction and so on. The BSRN archive also includes observations that can be used to derive the cloud fraction, which provides a means for analyzing and explaining the SRB-BSRN flux differences. In this paper, we focus on the effect of cloud fraction on the surface shortwave flux and the level of agreement between the satellite-based SRB data and the ground-based BSRN data. The satellite and BSRN employ different measuring methodologies and thus result in data representing means on dramatically different spatial scales. Therefore, the satellite-based and ground-based measurements are not expected to agree all the time, especially under skies with clouds. The flux comparisons are made under different cloud fractions, and it is found that the SRB-BSRN radiative flux discrepancies can be explained to a certain extent by the SRB-BSRN cloud fraction discrepancies. Apparently, cloud fraction alone cannot completely define the role of clouds in radiation transfer. Further studies need to incorporate the classification of cloud types, altitudes, cloud optical depths and so on.

Assessment of Global Annual Atmospheric Energy Balance from Satellite Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Bing; Stackhouse, Paul; Minnis, Patrick; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Hu, Yongxiang; Sun, Wenbo; Fan, Tai-Fang (Alice); Hinkelman, Laura

2008-01-01

Global atmospheric energy balance is one of the fundamental processes for the earth's climate system. This study uses currently available satellite data sets of radiative energy at the top of atmosphere (TOA) and surface and latent and sensible heat over oceans for the year 2000 to assess the global annual energy budget. Over land, surface radiation data are used to constrain assimilated results and to force the radiation, turbulent heat, and heat storage into balance due to a lack of observation-based turbulent heat flux estimations. Global annual means of the TOA net radiation obtained from both direct measurements and calculations are close to zero. The net radiative energy fluxes into the surface and the surface latent heat transported into the atmosphere are about 113 and 86 Watts per square meter, respectively. The estimated atmospheric and surface heat imbalances are about -8 9 Watts per square meter, values that are within the uncertainties of surface radiation and sea surface turbulent flux estimates and likely systematic biases in the analyzed observations. The potential significant additional absorption of solar radiation within the atmosphere suggested by previous studies does not appear to be required to balance the energy budget the spurious heat imbalances in the current data are much smaller (about half) than those obtained previously and debated at about a decade ago. Progress in surface radiation and oceanic turbulent heat flux estimations from satellite measurements significantly reduces the bias errors in the observed global energy budgets of the climate system.

Stationary Solutions of A One-dimensional Thermodynamic Radiative Sea Ice Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, P. D.; Feltham, D. L.

A one-dimensional thermodynamic model of sea ice is coupled to a two-stream radi- ation model and the stationary (time-independent) solutions analysed. The stationary model represents the state of the sea ice subjected to persistent or slowly varying forc- ing. Two physically realisable stationary solutions (real and positive ice thickness) occur for a large range of positive oceanic heat flux ( 20,Wm-2). The two station- ary solutions are due to the two-stream radiation model, which allows radiation to be reflected at the ice-ocean interface. Thick ice ( 1,m) only absorbs radiation near its surface, whereas thin ice ( 0.1,m) absorbs radiation across its entire depth. The two stationary solutions are caused by these two different radiative regimes. The results of this analysis have relevance to the interpretation and implementation of thermody- namic models of sea ice and the interpretation of thickness data.

New configuration factors for curved surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabeza-Lainez, Jose M.; Pulido-Arcas, Jesus A.

2013-03-01

Curved surfaces have not been thoroughly considered in radiative transfer analysis mainly due to the difficulties arisen in the integration process and perhaps because of the lack of spatial vision of the researchers. It is a fact, especially for architectural lighting, that when concave geometries appear inside a curved space, they are mostly avoided. In this way, a vast repertoire of significant forms is neglected and energy waste is evident. Starting from the properties of volumes enclosed by the minimum number of surfaces, the authors formulate, with little calculus, new simple laws, which enable them to discover a set of configuration factors for caps and various segments of the sphere. The procedure is subsequently extended to previously unimagined surfaces as the paraboloid, the ellipsoid or the cone. Appropriate combination of the said forms with right truncated cones produces several complex volumes, often used in architectural and engineering creations and whose radiative performance could not be accurately predicted for decades. To complete the research, a new method for determining interreflections in curved volumes is also presented. Radiative transfer simulation benefits from these findings, as the simplicity of the results has led the authors to create innovative software more efficient for design and evaluation and applicable to emerging fields like LED lighting.

Surface Power Radiative Cooling Tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaughn, Jason; Schneider, Todd

2006-01-01

Terrestrial nuclear power plants typically maintain their temperature through convective cooling, such as water and forced air. However, the space environment is a vacuum environment, typically 10-8 Torr pressure, therefore in proposed missions to the lunar surface, power plants would have to rely on radiative cooling to remove waste heat. Also, the Martian surface has a very tenuous atmosphere (e.g. ~5 Torr CO2), therefore, the main heat transfer method on the Martian surface is also radiative. Because of the lack of atmosphere on the Moon and the tenuous atmosphere on Mars, surface power systems on both the Lunar and Martian surface must rely heavily on radiative heat transfer. Because of the large temperature swings on both the lunar and the Martian surfaces, trying to radiate heat is inefficient. In order to increase power system efficiency, an effort is underway to test various combinations of materials with high emissivities to demonstrate their ability to survive these degrading atmospheres to maintain a constant radiator temperature improving surface power plant efficiency. An important part of this effort is the development of a unique capability that would allow the determination of a materials emissivity at high temperatures. A description of the test capability as well as initial data is presented.

Common radiation analysis model for 75,000 pound thrust NERVA engine (1137400E)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warman, E. A.; Lindsey, B. A.

1972-01-01

The mathematical model and sources of radiation used for the radiation analysis and shielding activities in support of the design of the 1137400E version of the 75,000 lbs thrust NERVA engine are presented. The nuclear subsystem (NSS) and non-nuclear components are discussed. The geometrical model for the NSS is two dimensional as required for the DOT discrete ordinates computer code or for an azimuthally symetrical three dimensional Point Kernel or Monte Carlo code. The geometrical model for the non-nuclear components is three dimensional in the FASTER geometry format. This geometry routine is inherent in the ANSC versions of the QAD and GGG Point Kernal programs and the COHORT Monte Carlo program. Data are included pertaining to a pressure vessel surface radiation source data tape which has been used as the basis for starting ANSC analyses with the DASH code to bridge into the COHORT Monte Carlo code using the WANL supplied DOT angular flux leakage data. In addition to the model descriptions and sources of radiation, the methods of analyses are briefly described.

Experimental investigation of the influence of internal frames on the vibroacoustic behavior of a stiffened cylindrical shell using wavenumber analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, V.; Maxit, L.; Renou, Y.; Audoly, C.

2017-09-01

The understanding of the influence of non-axisymmetric internal frames on the vibroacoustic behavior of a stiffened cylindrical shell is of high interest for the naval or aeronautic industries. Several numerical studies have shown that the non-axisymmetric internal frame can increase the radiation efficiency significantly in the case of a mechanical point force. However, less attention has been paid to the experimental verification of this statement. That is why this paper proposes to compare the radiation efficiency estimated experimentally for a stiffened cylindrical shell with and without internal frames. The experimental process is based on scanning laser vibrometer measurements of the vibrations on the surface of the shell. A transform of the vibratory field in the wavenumber domain is then performed. It allows estimating the far-field radiated pressure with the stationary phase theorem. An increase of the radiation efficiency is observed in the low frequencies. Analysis of the velocity field in the physical and wavenumber spaces allows highlighting the coupling of the circumferential orders at the origin of the increase in the radiation efficiency.

Cabauw experimental results from the Project for Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chen, T.H.; Henderson-Sellers, A.; Milly, P.C.D.; Pitman, A.J.; Beljaars, A.C.M.; Polcher, J.; Abramopoulos, F.; Boone, A.; Chang, S.; Chen, F.; Dai, Y.; Desborough, C.E.; Dickinson, R.E.; Dumenil, L.; Ek, M.; Garratt, J.R.; Gedney, N.; Gusev, Y.M.; Kim, J.; Koster, R.; Kowalczyk, E.A.; Laval, K.; Lean, J.; Lettenmaier, D.; Liang, X.; Mahfouf, Jean-Francois; Mengelkamp, H.-T.; Mitchell, Ken; Nasonova, O.N.; Noilhan, J.; Robock, A.; Rosenzweig, C.; Schaake, J.; Schlosser, C.A.; Schulz, J.-P.; Shao, Y.; Shmakin, A.B.; Verseghy, D.L.; Wetzel, P.; Wood, E.F.; Xue, Y.; Yang, Z.-L.; Zeng, Q.

1997-01-01

In the Project for Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes phase 2a experiment, meteorological data for the year 1987 from Cabauw, the Netherlands, were used as inputs to 23 land-surface flux schemes designed for use in climate and weather models. Schemes were evaluated by comparing their outputs with long-term measurements of surface sensible heat fluxes into the atmosphere and the ground, and of upward longwave radiation and total net radiative fluxes, and also comparing them with latent heat fluxes derived from a surface energy balance. Tuning of schemes by use of the observed flux data was not permitted. On an annual basis, the predicted surface radiative temperature exhibits a range of 2 K across schemes, consistent with the range of about 10 W m-2 in predicted surface net radiation. Most modeled values of monthly net radiation differ from the observations by less than the estimated maximum monthly observational error (±10 W m-2). However, modeled radiative surface temperature appears to have a systematic positive bias in most schemes; this might be explained by an error in assumed emissivity and by models' neglect of canopy thermal heterogeneity. Annual means of sensible and latent heat fluxes, into which net radiation is partitioned, have ranges across schemes of 30 W m-2 and 25 W m-2, respectively. Annual totals of evapotranspiration and runoff, into which the precipitation is partitioned, both have ranges of 315 mm. These ranges in annual heat and water fluxes were approximately halved upon exclusion of the three schemes that have no stomatal resistance under non-water-stressed conditions. Many schemes tend to underestimate latent heat flux and overestimate sensible heat flux in summer, with a reverse tendency in winter. For six schemes, root-mean-square deviations of predictions from monthly observations are less than the estimated upper bounds on observation errors (5 W m-2 for sensible heat flux and 10 W m-2 for latent heat flux). Actual runoff at the site is believed to be dominated by vertical drainage to groundwater, but several schemes produced significant amounts of runoff as overland flow or interflow. There is a range across schemes of 184 mm (40% of total pore volume) in the simulated annual mean root-zone soil moisture. Unfortunately, no measurements of soil moisture were available for model evaluation. A theoretical analysis suggested that differences in boundary conditions used in various schemes are not sufficient to explain the large variance in soil moisture. However, many of the extreme values of soil moisture could be explained in terms of the particulars of experimental setup or excessive evapotranspiration.

Cabauw Experimental Results from the Project for Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, T. H.; Henderson-Sellers, A.; Milly, P. C. D.; Pitman, A. J.; Beljaars, A. C. M.; Polcher, J.; Abramopoulos, F.; Boone, A.; Chang, S.; Chen, F.; Dai, Y.; Desborough, C. E.; Dickinson, R. E.; Dümenil, L.; Ek, M.; Garratt, J. R.; Gedney, N.; Gusev, Y. M.;  Kim, J.;  Koster, R.;  Kowalczyk, E. A.;  Laval, K.;  Lean, J.;  Lettenmaier, D.;  Liang, X.;  Mahfouf, J.-F.;  Mengelkamp, H.-T.;  Mitchell, K.;  Nasonova, O. N.;  Noilhan, J.;  Robock, A.;  Rosenzweig, C.;  Schaake, J.;  Schlosser, C. A.;  Schulz, J.-P.;  Shao, Y.;  Shmakin, A. B.;  Verseghy, D. L.;  Wetzel, P.;  Wood, E. F.;  Xue, Y.;  Yang, Z.-L.;  Zeng, Q.

1997-06-01

In the Project for Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes phase 2a experiment, meteorological data for the year 1987 from Cabauw, the Netherlands, were used as inputs to 23 land-surface flux schemes designed for use in climate and weather models. Schemes were evaluated by comparing their outputs with long-term measurements of surface sensible heat fluxes into the atmosphere and the ground, and of upward longwave radiation and total net radiative fluxes, and also comparing them with latent heat fluxes derived from a surface energy balance. Tuning of schemes by use of the observed flux data was not permitted. On an annual basis, the predicted surface radiative temperature exhibits a range of 2 K across schemes, consistent with the range of about 10 W m2 in predicted surface net radiation. Most modeled values of monthly net radiation differ from the observations by less than the estimated maximum monthly observational error (±10 W m2). However, modeled radiative surface temperature appears to have a systematic positive bias in most schemes; this might be explained by an error in assumed emissivity and by models' neglect of canopy thermal heterogeneity. Annual means of sensible and latent heat fluxes, into which net radiation is partitioned, have ranges across schemes of30 W m2 and 25 W m2, respectively. Annual totals of evapotranspiration and runoff, into which the precipitation is partitioned, both have ranges of 315 mm. These ranges in annual heat and water fluxes were approximately halved upon exclusion of the three schemes that have no stomatal resistance under non-water-stressed conditions. Many schemes tend to underestimate latent heat flux and overestimate sensible heat flux in summer, with a reverse tendency in winter. For six schemes, root-mean-square deviations of predictions from monthly observations are less than the estimated upper bounds on observation errors (5 W m2 for sensible heat flux and 10 W m2 for latent heat flux). Actual runoff at the site is believed to be dominated by vertical drainage to groundwater, but several schemes produced significant amounts of runoff as overland flow or interflow. There is a range across schemes of 184 mm (40% of total pore volume) in the simulated annual mean root-zone soil moisture. Unfortunately, no measurements of soil moisture were available for model evaluation. A theoretical analysis suggested that differences in boundary conditions used in various schemes are not sufficient to explain the large variance in soil moisture. However, many of the extreme values of soil moisture could be explained in terms of the particulars of experimental setup or excessive evapotranspiration.

Radiation measurement above the lunar surface by Kaguya gamma-ray spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasebe, Nobuyuki; Nagaoka, Hiroshi; Kusano, Hiroki; Hareyama, Matoko; Ideguchi, Yusuke; Shimizu, Sota; Shibamura, Eido

The lunar surface is filled with various ionizing radiations such as high energy galactic particles, albedo particles and secondary radiations of neutrons, gamma rays and other elementary particles. A high-resolution Kaguya Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (KGRS) was carried on the Japan’s lunar explorer SELENE (Kaguya), the largest lunar orbiter since the Apollo missions. The KGRS instrument employed, for the first time in lunar exploration, a high-purity Ge crystal to increase the identification capability of elemental gamma-ray lines. The Ge detector is surrounded by BGO and plastic counters as for anticoincidence shields. The KGRS measured gamma rays in the energy range from 200 keV to 13 MeV with high precision to determine the chemical composition of the lunar surface. It provided data on the abundance of major elements over the entire lunar surface. In addition to the gamma-ray observation by the KGRS, it successfully measured the global distribution of fast neutrons. In the energy spectra of gamma-rays observed by the KGRS, several saw-tooth- peaks of Ge are included, which are formed by the collision interaction of lunar fast neutrons with Ge atoms in the Ge crystal. With these saw-tooth-peaks analysis, global distribution of neutrons emitted from the lunara surface was successfully created, which was compared with the previous results obtained by Lunar Prospector neutron maps. Another anticoincidence counter, the plastic counter with 5 mm thickness, was used to veto radiation events mostly generated by charged particles. A single photomultiplier serves to count scintillation light from the plastic scintillation counter. The global map of counting rates observed by the plastic counter was also created, implying that the radiation counting rate implies the geological distribution, in spite that the plastic counter mostly measures high energy charged particles and energetic neutrons. These results are presented and discussed.

Training and Validation of the Fast PCRTM_Solar Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Q.; Liu, X.; Wu, W.; Yang, P.; Wang, C.

2015-12-01

Fast and accurate radiative transfer model is the key for satellite data assimilation for remote sensing application. The simulation of the satellite remote sensing radiances is very complicated since many physical processes, such as absorption, emission, and scattering, are involved due to the interactions between electromagnetic radiation and earth surface, water vapor, clouds, aerosols, and gas molecules in the sky. The principal component-based radiative transfer model (PCRTM) has been developed for various passive IR and MW instruments. In this work, we extended PCRTM to including the contribution from solar radiation. The cloud/aerosol bidirectional reflectances have been carefully calculated using the well-known Discrete-Ordinate-Method Radiative Transfer (DISORT) model under over 10 millions of diverse conditions with varying cloud particle size, wavelength, satellite viewing direction, and solar angles. The obtained results were compressed significantly using principal component analysis and used in the mono domain radiance calculation. We used 1352 different atmosphere profiles, each of them has different surface skin temperatures and surface pressures in our training. Different surface emissivity spectra were derived from ASTER database and emissivity models. Some artificially generated emissivity spectra were also used to account for diverse surface types of the earth. Concentrations of sixteen trace gases were varied systematically in the training and the remaining trace gas contributions were accounted for as a fixed gas. Training was done in both clear and cloudy skies conditions. Finally the nonlocal thermal equilibrium (NLTE) induced radiance change was included for daytime conditions. We have updated the PCRTM model for instruments such as IASI, NASTI, CrIS, AIRS, and SHIS. The training results show that the PCRTM model can calculate thousands of channel radiances by computing only a few hundreds of mono radiances. This greatly increased the computation efficiency since we do not need to calculate the millions of mono radiances and do the convolution process. The results from fast PCRTM_Solar simulation were compared to the instrument observed data. The simulated results were excellently agreed with the observations.

Measuring and interpreting X-ray fluorescence from planetary surfaces.

PubMed

Owens, Alan; Beckhoff, Burkhard; Fraser, George; Kolbe, Michael; Krumrey, Michael; Mantero, Alfonso; Mantler, Michael; Peacock, Anthony; Pia, Maria-Grazia; Pullan, Derek; Schneider, Uwe G; Ulm, Gerhard

2008-11-15

As part of a comprehensive study of X-ray emission from planetary surfaces and in particular the planet Mercury, we have measured fluorescent radiation from a number of planetary analog rock samples using monochromatized synchrotron radiation provided by the BESSY II electron storage ring. The experiments were carried out using a purpose built X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer chamber developed by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany's national metrology institute. The XRF instrumentation is absolutely calibrated and allows for reference-free quantitation of rock sample composition, taking into account secondary photon- and electron-induced enhancement effects. The fluorescence data, in turn, have been used to validate a planetary fluorescence simulation tool based on the GEANT4 transport code. This simulation can be used as a mission analysis tool to predict the time-dependent orbital XRF spectral distributions from planetary surfaces throughout the mapping phase.

Asymptotic/numerical analysis of supersonic propeller noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, M. K.; Wydeven, R.

1989-01-01

An asymptotic analysis based on the Mach surface structure of the field of a supersonic helical source distribution is applied to predict thickness and loading noise radiated by high speed propeller blades. The theory utilizes an integral representation of the Ffowcs-Williams Hawkings equation in a fully linearized form. The asymptotic results are used for chordwise strips of the blade, while required spanwise integrations are performed numerically. The form of the analysis enables predicted waveforms to be interpreted in terms of Mach surface propagation. A computer code developed to implement the theory is described and found to yield results in close agreement with more exact computations.

Decadal evolution of the surface energy budget during the fast warming and global warming hiatus periods in the ERA-interim

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xiaoming; Sejas, Sergio A.; Cai, Ming; Taylor, Patrick C.; Deng, Yi; Yang, Song

2018-05-01

The global-mean surface temperature has experienced a rapid warming from the 1980s to early-2000s but a muted warming since, referred to as the global warming hiatus in the literature. Decadal changes in deep ocean heat uptake are thought to primarily account for the rapid warming and subsequent slowdown. Here, we examine the role of ocean heat uptake in establishing the fast warming and warming hiatus periods in the ERA-Interim through a decomposition of the global-mean surface energy budget. We find the increase of carbon dioxide alone yields a nearly steady increase of the downward longwave radiation at the surface from the 1980s to the present, but neither accounts for the fast warming nor warming hiatus periods. During the global warming hiatus period, the transfer of latent heat energy from the ocean to atmosphere increases and the total downward radiative energy flux to the surface decreases due to a reduction of solar absorption caused primarily by an increase of clouds. The reduction of radiative energy into the ocean and the surface latent heat flux increase cause the ocean heat uptake to decrease and thus contribute to the slowdown of the global-mean surface warming. Our analysis also finds that in addition to a reduction of deep ocean heat uptake, the fast warming period is also driven by enhanced solar absorption due predominantly to a decrease of clouds and by enhanced longwave absorption mainly attributed to the air temperature feedback.

Time-Dependent Cryospheric Longwave Surface Emissivity Feedback in the Community Earth System Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuo, Chaincy; Feldman, Daniel R.; Huang, Xianglei; Flanner, Mark; Yang, Ping; Chen, Xiuhong

2018-01-01

Frozen and unfrozen surfaces exhibit different longwave surface emissivities with different spectral characteristics, and outgoing longwave radiation and cooling rates are reduced for unfrozen scenes relative to frozen ones. Here physically realistic modeling of spectrally resolved surface emissivity throughout the coupled model components of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) is advanced, and implications for model high-latitude biases and feedbacks are evaluated. It is shown that despite a surface emissivity feedback amplitude that is, at most, a few percent of the surface albedo feedback amplitude, the inclusion of realistic, harmonized longwave, spectrally resolved emissivity information in CESM1.2.2 reduces wintertime Arctic surface temperature biases from -7.2 ± 0.9 K to -1.1 ± 1.2 K, relative to observations. The bias reduction is most pronounced in the Arctic Ocean, a region for which Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 5 (CMIP5) models exhibit the largest mean wintertime cold bias, suggesting that persistent polar temperature biases can be lessened by including this physically based process across model components. The ice emissivity feedback of CESM1.2.2 is evaluated under a warming scenario with a kernel-based approach, and it is found that emissivity radiative kernels exhibit water vapor and cloud cover dependence, thereby varying spatially and decreasing in magnitude over the course of the scenario from secular changes in atmospheric thermodynamics and cloud patterns. Accounting for the temporally varying radiative responses can yield diagnosed feedbacks that differ in sign from those obtained from conventional climatological feedback analysis methods.

Measuring the greenhouse effect and radiative forcing through the atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Philipona, Rolf; Kräuchi, Andreas; Brocard, Emmanuel

2013-04-01

In spite of a large body of existing measurements of incoming shortwave solar radiation and outgoing longwave terrestrial radiation at the Earth's surface and at the top of the atmosphere, there are few observations documenting how radiation profiles change through the atmosphere - information that is necessary to fully quantify the greenhouse effect of the Earth's atmosphere. Using weather balloons and specific radiometer equipped radiosondes, we continuously measured shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes from the surface of the Earth up to altitudes of 35 kilometers in the upper stratosphere. Comparing radiation profiles from night measurements with different amounts of water vapor, we show evidence of large greenhouse forcing. We show, that under cloud free conditions, water vapor increases with Clausius-Clapeyron ( 7% / K), and longwave downward radiation at the surface increases by 8 Watts per square meter per Kelvin. The longwave net radiation however, shows a positive increase (downward) of 2.4 Watts per square meter and Kelvin at the surface, which decreases with height and shows a similar but negative increase (upward) at the tropopause. Hence, increased tropospheric water vapor increases longwave net radiation towards the ground and towards space, and produces a heating of 0.42 Kelvin per Watt per square meter at the surface. References: Philipona et al., 2012: Solar and thermal radiation profiles and radiative forcing measured through the atmosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L13806, doi: 10.1029/2012GL052087.

Analysis of airborne MAIS imaging spectrometric data for mineral exploration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang Jinnian; Zheng Lanfen; Tong Qingxi

1996-11-01

The high spectral resolution imaging spectrometric system made quantitative analysis and mapping of surface composition possible. The key issue will be the quantitative approach for analysis of surface parameters for imaging spectrometer data. This paper describes the methods and the stages of quantitative analysis. (1) Extracting surface reflectance from imaging spectrometer image. Lab. and inflight field measurements are conducted for calibration of imaging spectrometer data, and the atmospheric correction has also been used to obtain ground reflectance by using empirical line method and radiation transfer modeling. (2) Determining quantitative relationship between absorption band parameters from the imaging spectrometer data andmore » chemical composition of minerals. (3) Spectral comparison between the spectra of spectral library and the spectra derived from the imagery. The wavelet analysis-based spectrum-matching techniques for quantitative analysis of imaging spectrometer data has beer, developed. Airborne MAIS imaging spectrometer data were used for analysis and the analysis results have been applied to the mineral and petroleum exploration in Tarim Basin area china. 8 refs., 8 figs.« less

Remote sensing of solar radiation absorbed and reflected by vegetated land surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myneni, Ranga B.; Asrar, Ghassem; Tanre, Didier; Choudhury, Bhaskar J.

1992-01-01

1D and 3D radiative-transfer models have been used to investigate the problem of remotely sensed determination of vegetated land surface-absorbed and reflected solar radiation. Calculations were conducted for various illumination conditions to determine surface albedo, soil- and canopy-absorbed photosynthetically active and nonactive radiation, and normalized difference vegetation index. Simple predictive models are developed on the basis of the relationships among these parameters.

Comparison of Martian Surface Radiation Predictions to the Measurements of Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment Detector (MSL/RAD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Myung-Hee Y.; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Zeitlin, Cary; Hassler, Donald M.; Ehresmann, Bent; Rafkin, Scot C. R.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F; Boettcher, Stephan; Boehm, Eckart; Guo, Jingnan;

The influence of surface type on the absorbed radiation by a human under hot, dry conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardin, A. W.; Vanos, J. K.

2018-01-01

Given the predominant use of heat-retaining materials in urban areas, numerous studies have addressed the urban heat island mitigation potential of various "cool" options, such as vegetation and high-albedo surfaces. The influence of altered radiational properties of such surfaces affects not only the air temperature within a microclimate, but more importantly the interactions of long- and short-wave radiation fluxes with the human body. Minimal studies have assessed how cool surfaces affect thermal comfort via changes in absorbed radiation by a human ( R abs) using real-world, rather than modeled, urban field data. The purpose of the current study is to assess the changes in the absorbed radiation by a human—a critical component of human energy budget models—based on surface type on hot summer days (air temperatures > 38.5∘C). Field tests were conducted using a high-end microclimate station under predominantly clear sky conditions over ten surfaces with higher sky view factors in Lubbock, Texas. Three methods were used to measure and estimate R abs: a cylindrical radiation thermometer (CRT), a net radiometer, and a theoretical estimation model. Results over dry surfaces suggest that the use of high-albedo surfaces to reduce overall urban heat gain may not improve acute human thermal comfort in clear conditions due to increased reflected radiation. Further, the use of low-cost instrumentation, such as the CRT, shows potential in quantifying radiative heat loads within urban areas at temporal scales of 5-10 min or greater, yet further research is needed. Fine-scale radiative information in urban areas can aid in the decision-making process for urban heat mitigation using non-vegetated urban surfaces, with surface type choice is dependent on the need for short-term thermal comfort, or reducing cumulative heat gain to the urban fabric.

The "Chocolate Experiment"--A Demonstration of Radiation Absorption by Different Colored Surfaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fung, Dennis

2015-01-01

In the typical "cookbook" experiment comparing the radiation absorption rates of different colored surfaces, students' hands are commonly used as a measurement instrument to demonstrate that dull black and silvery surfaces are good and poor absorbers of radiation, respectively. However, college students are often skeptical about using…

WCRP surface radiation budget shortwave data product description, version 1.1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitlock, C. H.; Charlock, T. P.; Staylor, W. F.; Pinker, R. T.; Laszlo, I.; Dipasquale, R. C.; Ritchey, N. A.

1993-01-01

Shortwave radiative fluxes which reach the Earth's surface are key elements that influence both atmospheric and oceanic circulation. The World Climate Research Program has established the Surface Radiation Budget climatology project with the ultimate goal of determining the various components of the surface radiation budget from satellite data on a global scale. This report describes the first global product that is being produced and archived as part of that effort. The interested user can obtain the monthly global data sets free of charge using e-mail procedures.

Development of an Urban Multilayer Radiation Scheme and Its Application to the Urban Surface Warming Potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoyagi, Toshinori; Takahashi, Shunji

2012-02-01

To investigate how a three-dimensional structure such as an urban canyon can affect urban surface warming, we developed an urban multilayer radiation scheme. The complete consideration of multiple scattering of shortwave and longwave radiation using the radiosity method is an important feature of the present scheme. A brief description of this scheme is presented, followed by evaluations that compare its results with observations of the effective albedo and radiative temperature for urban blocks. Next, we calculate the urban surface warming potential (USWP), defined as the difference between the daily mean radiative temperature of urban surfaces (which are assumed to be black bodies), including their canyon effects and the daily mean temperature of a flat surface with the same material properties, under a radiative equilibrium state. Assuming standard material properties (albedo and emissivity of 0.4 and 0.9, respectively), we studied the sensitivity of the USWP to various aspect ratios of building heights to road widths. The results show that the temporally-averaged surface temperature of an urban area can be higher than that of a flat surface. In addition, we determined the overestimation of the effective temperature of urban surfaces induced by the overestimation of the radiation distribution to the walls when one uses a single-layer scheme for urban block arrays that have a low sky-view factor less than around 0.5.

Quasi-Sun-Pointing of Spacecraft Using Radiation Pressure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spilker, Thomas

2003-01-01

A report proposes a method of utilizing solar-radiation pressure to keep the axis of rotation of a small spin-stabilized spacecraft pointed approximately (typically, within an angle of 10 deg to 20 deg) toward the Sun. Axisymmetry is not required. Simple tilted planar vanes would be attached to the outer surface of the body, so that the resulting spacecraft would vaguely resemble a rotary fan, windmill, or propeller. The vanes would be painted black for absorption of Solar radiation. A theoretical analysis based on principles of geometric optics and mechanics has shown that torques produced by Solar-radiation pressure would cause the axis of rotation to precess toward Sun-pointing. The required vane size would be a function of the angular momentum of the spacecraft and the maximum acceptable angular deviation from Sun-pointing. The analysis also shows that the torques produced by the vanes would slowly despin the spacecraft -- an effect that could be counteracted by adding specularly reflecting "spin-up" vanes.

Mitigating the surface urban heat island: Mechanism study and sensitivity analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Chunlei

2017-08-01

In a surface urban heat island (SUHI), the urban land surface temperature (LST) is usually higher than the temperature of the surrounding rural areas due to human activities and surface characteristics. Because a SUHI has many adverse impacts on urban environment and human health, SUHI mitigation strategies are very important. This paper investigates the mechanism of a SUHI based on the basic physical laws that control the formation of a SUHI; five mitigation strategies are proposed, namely: sprinkling and watering; paving a pervious surface; reducing the anthropogenic heat (AH) release; using a "white roof"; increasing the fractional vegetation cover or leaf area index (LAI). To quantify the effect of these mitigation strategies, 26 sets of experiments are designed and implemented by running the integrated urban land model (IUM). The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that sprinkling and watering is an effective measure for mitigating a SUHI for an entire day. Decreasing the AH release is also useful for both night- and daytime SUHI mitigation; however, the cooling extent is proportional to the diurnal cycle of AH. Increasing the albedo can reduce the LST in the daytime, especially when the solar radiation is significant; the cooling extent is approximately proportional to the diurnal cycle of the net radiation. Increasing the pervious surface percentage can mitigate the SUHI especially in the daytime. Increasing the fractional vegetation cover can mitigate the SUHI in the daytime but may aggravate the SUHI at night.

Solar radiation pressure effects on the Helios spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Georgevic, R. M.

1976-01-01

A mathematical model of the solar radiation force and torques, developed for the Mariner 10 Venus/Mercury spacecraft mission, was used for a detailed analysis of the effects of solar light pressure on the Helios spacecraft. Due to the fact that the main body of the Helios spacecraft is a surface of enclosure, inside of which most of the reradiated thermal energy is lost, expressions for the portion of the solar radiation force, produced by the thermal reradiation, had to be given a different form. Hence the need for the derivation of a somewhat different theoretical model for the force acting on the main body of the spacecraft.

Excimer laser irradiation of metal surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinsman, Grant

In this work a new method of enhancing CO2 laser processing by modifying the radiative properties of a metal surface is studied. In this procedure, an excimer laser (XeCl) or KrF) exposes the metal surface to overlapping pulses of high intensity, 10(exp 8) - 10(exp 9) W cm(exp -2), and short pulse duration, 30 nsec FWHM (Full Width Half Maximum), to promote structural and chemical change. The major processing effect at these intensities is the production of a surface plasma which can lead to the formation of a laser supported detonation wave (LSD wave). This shock wave can interact with the thin molten layer on the metal surface influencing to a varying degree surface oxidation and roughness features. The possibility of the expulsion, oxidation and redeposition of molten droplets, leading to the formation of micron thick oxide layers, is related to bulk metal properties and the incident laser intensity. A correlation is found between the expulsion of molten droplets and a Reynolds number, showing the interaction is turbulent. The permanent effects of these interactions on metal surfaces are observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transient calorimetric measurements and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Observed surface textures are related to the scanning procedures used to irradiate the metal surface. Fundamental radiative properties of a metal surface, the total hemispherical emissivity, the near-normal spectral absorptivity, and others are examined in this study as they are affected by excimer laser radiation. It is determined that for heavily exposed Al surface, alpha' (10.6 microns) can be increased to values close to unity. Data relating to material removal rates and chemical surface modification for excimer laser radiation is also discussed. The resultant reduction in the near-normal reflectivity solves the fundamental problem of coupling laser radiation into highly reflective and conductive metals such as copper and aluminum. The increased absorption at 10.6 microns enables enhanced CO2 laser drilling and cutting rates in electrolytic Cu at incident intensities, I(0) of approximately 10(exp 6) W cm(exp -2). Data showing enhanced drilling rates in Al 1100-H14 is also presented. In these regimes the majority of material is removed in the liquid state. The amount of molten material formed can be directly attributed to the enhanced initial coupling of the excimer laser irradiated surface. Previously, to process Cu and Al it has been required to increase I(0) until material removal occurs through vaporization. This fundamental data and analysis provides a basic framework for further work in this new field of study.

Improved power efficiency for very-high-temperature solar-thermal-cavity receivers

DOEpatents

McDougal, A.R.; Hale, R.R.

1982-04-14

This invention is an improved solar energy cavity receiver for exposing materials and components to high temperatures. The receiver includes a housing having an internal reflective surface defining a cavity and having an inlet for admitting solar radiation thereto. A photothermal absorber is positiond in the cavity to receive radiation from the inlet. A reflective baffle is positioned between the absorber and the inlet to severely restrict the re-radiation of energy through the inlet. The front surface of the baffle defines a narrow annulus with the internal reflective surface of the housing. The front surface of the baffle is contoured to reflect incoming radiation onto the internal surface of the housing, from which it is reflected through the annulus and onto the front surface of the absorber. The back surface of the baffle intercepts radiation from the front of the absorber. With this arrangement, a high percentage of the solar power input is retained in the cavity; thus, high internal temperatues are attained.

Power efficiency for very high temperature solar thermal cavity receivers

DOEpatents

McDougal, Allan R.; Hale, Robert R.

1984-01-01

This invention is an improved solar energy cavity receiver for exposing materials and components to high temperatures. The receiver includes a housing having an internal reflective surface defining a cavity and having an inlet for admitting solar radiation thereto. A photothermal absorber is positioned in the cavity to receive radiation from the inlet. A reflective baffle is positioned between the absorber and the inlet to severely restrict the re-radiation of energy through the inlet. The front surface of the baffle defines a narrow annulus with the internal reflective surface of the housing. The front surface of the baffle is contoured to reflect incoming radiation onto the internal surface of the housing, from which it is reflected through the annulus and onto the front surface of the absorber. The back surface of the baffle intercepts infrared radiation from the front of the absorber. With this arrangement, a high percentage of the solar power input is retained in the cavity; thus, high internal temperatures are attained.

Integral Radiator and Storage Tank

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, Kenneth A.; Miller, John R.; Jakupca, Ian; Sargi,Scott

2007-01-01

A simplified, lightweight system for dissipating heat of a regenerative fuel- cell system would include a heat pipe with its evaporator end placed at the heat source and its condenser end integrated into the wall of the regenerative fuel cell system gas-storage tanks. The tank walls act as heat-radiating surfaces for cooling the regenerative fuel cell system. The system was conceived for use in outer space, where radiation is the only physical mechanism available for transferring heat to the environment. The system could also be adapted for use on propellant tanks or other large-surface-area structures to convert them to space heat-radiating structures. Typically for a regenerative fuel cell system, the radiator is separate from the gas-storage tanks. By using each tank s surface as a heat-radiating surface, the need for a separate, potentially massive radiator structure is eliminated. In addition to the mass savings, overall volume is reduced because a more compact packaging scheme is possible. The underlying tank wall structure provides ample support for heat pipes that help to distribute the heat over the entire tank surface. The heat pipes are attached to the outer surface of each gas-storage tank by use of a high-thermal conductance, carbon-fiber composite-material wrap. Through proper choice of the composite layup, it is possible to exploit the high longitudinal conductivity of the carbon fibers (greater than the thermal conductivity of copper) to minimize the unevenness of the temperature distribution over the tank surface, thereby helping to maximize the overall heat-transfer efficiency. In a prototype of the system, the heat pipe and the composite wrap contribute an average mass of 340 g/sq m of radiator area. Lightweight space radiator panels have a mass of about 3,000 g/sq m of radiator area, so this technique saves almost 90 percent of the mass of separate radiator panels. In tests, the modified surface of the tank was found to have an emissivity of 0.85. The composite wrap remained tightly bound to the surface of the tank throughout the testing in thermal vacuum conditions.

Statistical analysis of polarization-inhomogeneous Fourier spectra of laser radiation scattered by human skin in the tasks of differentiation of benign and malignant formations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ushenko, Alexander G.; Dubolazov, Alexander V.; Ushenko, Vladimir A.; Novakovskaya, Olga Y.

2016-07-01

The optical model of formation of polarization structure of laser radiation scattered by polycrystalline networks of human skin in Fourier plane was elaborated. The results of investigation of the values of statistical (statistical moments of the 1st to 4th order) parameters of polarization-inhomogeneous images of skin surface in Fourier plane were presented. The diagnostic criteria of pathological process in human skin and its severity degree differentiation were determined.

ATS-6 - Synchronous orbit trapped radiation studies with an electron-proton spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, R. J.; Swanson, R. L.; Winckler, J. R.; Erickson, K. N.

1975-01-01

The paper discusses the University of Minnesota experiment on ATS-6 designed to study the origin and dynamics of high-energy electrons and protons in the outer radiation belt and in the near-earth plasma sheet. The experiment consists of two nearly identical detector assemblies, each of which is a magnetic spectrometer containing four gold-silicon surface barrier detectors. The instrument provides a clean separation between protons and electrons by the combination of pulse height analysis and magnetic deflection.

Cloud Radiative Effect to Downward Longwave Radiation in the Polar Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, K.; Hayasaka, T.

2014-12-01

Downward longwave radiation is important factor to affect climate change. In polar regions, estimation of the radiative effect of cloud on the downward longwave radiation has large uncertainty. Relatively large cloud effect to the radiation occurs there due to low temperature, small amount of water vapor, and strong inversion layer. The cloud effect is, however, not evaluated sufficiently because the long term polar night and high surface albedo make satellite retrieval difficult. The intent of the present study is to quantify cloud radiative effect for downward longwave radiation in the polar regions by in-situ observation and radiative transfer calculation. The observation sites in this study are Ny-Ålesund (NYA), Syowa (SYO), and South Pole (SPO). These stations belong to the Baseline Surface Radiation Network. The period of data analysis is from 2003 to 2012. The effect of cloud on the downward longwave radiation is evaluated by subtraction of calculated downward longwave radiation under clear-sky condition from observed value under all-sky condition. Radiative transfer model was used for the evaluation of clear sky radiation with vertical temperature and humidity profile obtained by radiosonde observations. Calculated result shows good correlation with observation under clear-sky condition. The RMSE is +0.83±5.0. The cloud effect varied from -10 - +110 W/m2 (-10 - +40 %). Cloud effect increased with increasing of cloud fraction and decreasing of cloud base height and precipitable water. In SYO negative effects were sometimes obtained. The negative cloud effect emerged under dry and temperature inversion condition lower than 2 km. One of reasons of negative effect is considered to be existence of cloud at temperature inversion altitude. When the cloud effect is smaller than -5 W/m2 (standard deviation between calculation and observation), 50 % of them have a condition with cloud base height estimated by micro pulse lidar lower than 2 km.

[Mechanistic modelling allows to assess pathways of DNA lesion interactions underlying chromosome aberration formation].

PubMed

Eĭdel'man, Iu A; Slanina, S V; Sal'nikov, I V; Andreev, S G

2012-12-01

The knowledge of radiation-induced chromosomal aberration (CA) mechanisms is required in many fields of radiation genetics, radiation biology, biodosimetry, etc. However, these mechanisms are yet to be quantitatively characterised. One of the reasons is that the relationships between primary lesions of DNA/chromatin/chromosomes and dose-response curves for CA are unknown because the pathways of lesion interactions in an interphase nucleus are currently inaccessible for direct experimental observation. This article aims for the comparative analysis of two principally different scenarios of formation of simple and complex interchromosomal exchange aberrations: by lesion interactions at chromosome territories' surface vs. in the whole space of the nucleus. The analysis was based on quantitative mechanistic modelling of different levels of structures and processes involved in CA formation: chromosome structure in an interphase nucleus, induction, repair and interactions of DNA lesions. It was shown that the restricted diffusion of chromosomal loci, predicted by computational modelling of chromosome organization, results in lesion interactions in the whole space of the nucleus being impossible. At the same time, predicted features of subchromosomal dynamics agrees well with in vivo observations and does not contradict the mechanism of CA formation at the surface of chromosome territories. On the other hand, the "surface mechanism" of CA formation, despite having certain qualities, proved to be insufficient to explain high frequency of complex exchange aberrations observed by mFISH technique. The alternative mechanism, CA formation on nuclear centres is expected to be sufficient to explain frequent complex exchanges.

Role of surface plasmon polaritons and other waves in the radiation of resonant optical dipole antennas

PubMed Central

Jia, Hongwei; Liu, Haitao; Zhong, Ying

2015-01-01

The radiation of an electric dipole emitter can be drastically enhanced if the emitter is placed in the nano-gap of a metallic dipole antenna. By assuming that only surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are excited on the antenna, we build up an intuitive pure-SPP model that is able to comprehensively predict the electromagnetic features of the antenna radiation, such as the total or radiative emission rate and the far-field radiation pattern. With the model we can distinguish the respective contributions from SPPs and from other surface waves to the antenna radiation. It is found that for antennas with long arms that support higher-order resonances, SPPs provide a dominant contribution to the antenna radiation, while for other cases, the contribution of surface waves other than SPPs should be considered. The model reveals an intuitive picture that the enhancement of the antenna radiation is due to surface waves that are resonantly excited on the two antenna arms and that are further coupled into the nano-gap or scattered into free space. From the model we can derive a phase-matching condition that predicts the antenna resonance and the resultant enhanced radiation. The model is helpful for a physical understanding and intuitive design of antenna devices. PMID:25678191

The Study of Simulated Space Radiation Environment Effect on Conductive Properties of ITO Thermal Control Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei-Quan, Feng; Chun-Qing, Zhao; Zi-Cai, Shen; Yi-Gang, Ding; Fan, Zhang; Yu-Ming, Liu; Hui-Qi, Zheng; Xue, Zhao

In order to prevent detrimental effects of ESD caused by differential surface charging of spacecraft under space environments, an ITO transparent conductive coating is often deposited on the thermal control materials outside spacecraft. Since the ITO coating is exposed in space environment, the environment effects on electrical property of ITO coatings concern designers of spacecraft deeply. This paper introduces ground tests to simulate space radiation environmental effects on conductive property of ITO coating. Samples are made of ITO/OSR, ITO/Kapton/Al and ITO/FEP/Ag thermal control coatings. Simulated space radiation environment conditions are NUV of 500ESH, 40 keV electron of 2 × 1016 е/cm2, 40 keV proton of 2.5 × 1015 p/cm2. Conductive property is surface resistivity measured in-situ in vacuum. Test results proved that the surface resistivity for all ITO coatings have a sudden decrease in the beginning of environment test. The reasons for it may be the oxygen vacancies caused by vacuum and decayed RIC caused by radiation. Degradation in conductive properties caused by irradiation were found. ITO/FEP/Ag exhibits more degradation than other two kinds. The conductive property of ITO/kapton/Al is stable for vacuum irradiation. The analysis of SEM and XPS found more crackers and less Sn and In concentration after irradiation which may be the reason for conductive property degradation.

Simple process-led algorithms for simulating habitats (SPLASH v.1.0): robust indices of radiation, evapotranspiration and plant-available moisture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Tyler W.; Prentice, I. Colin; Stocker, Benjamin D.; Thomas, Rebecca T.; Whitley, Rhys J.; Wang, Han; Evans, Bradley J.; Gallego-Sala, Angela V.; Sykes, Martin T.; Cramer, Wolfgang

2017-02-01

Bioclimatic indices for use in studies of ecosystem function, species distribution, and vegetation dynamics under changing climate scenarios depend on estimates of surface fluxes and other quantities, such as radiation, evapotranspiration and soil moisture, for which direct observations are sparse. These quantities can be derived indirectly from meteorological variables, such as near-surface air temperature, precipitation and cloudiness. Here we present a consolidated set of simple process-led algorithms for simulating habitats (SPLASH) allowing robust approximations of key quantities at ecologically relevant timescales. We specify equations, derivations, simplifications, and assumptions for the estimation of daily and monthly quantities of top-of-the-atmosphere solar radiation, net surface radiation, photosynthetic photon flux density, evapotranspiration (potential, equilibrium, and actual), condensation, soil moisture, and runoff, based on analysis of their relationship to fundamental climatic drivers. The climatic drivers include a minimum of three meteorological inputs: precipitation, air temperature, and fraction of bright sunshine hours. Indices, such as the moisture index, the climatic water deficit, and the Priestley-Taylor coefficient, are also defined. The SPLASH code is transcribed in C++, FORTRAN, Python, and R. A total of 1 year of results are presented at the local and global scales to exemplify the spatiotemporal patterns of daily and monthly model outputs along with comparisons to other model results.

Analysis of the surface heat balance over the world ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Esbenson, S. K.

1981-01-01

The net surface heat fluxes over the global ocean for all calendar months were evaluated. To obtain a formula in the form Qs = Q2(T*A - Ts), where Qs is the net surface heat flux, Ts is the sea surface temperature, T*A is the apparent atmospheric equilibrium temperature, and Q2 is the proportionality constant. Here T*A and Q2, derived from the original heat flux formulas, are functions of the surface meteorological parameters (e.g., surface wind speed, air temperature, dew point, etc.) and the surface radiation parameters. This formulation of the net surface heat flux together with climatological atmospheric parameters provides a realistic and computationally efficient upper boundary condition for oceanic climate modeling.

Dependence of global radiation on cloudiness and surface albedo in Tartu, Estonia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tooming, H.

The dependence of global and diffuse radiation on surface albedo due to multiple reflection of radiation between the surface and the atmosphere (base of clouds) is found on the basis of data obtained at the Tartu-Tõravere Actinometric Station over the period 1955-2000. It is found that the monthly totals of global radiation increase by up to 1.38-1.88 times, particularly in the winter half-year between November and March, when snow cover albedo may be high. A semi-empirical formula is derived for calculating with sufficient accuracy the monthly totals of global radiation, considering the amount of cloudiness and the surface albedo. In the time series of the monthly total by global radiation a downward trend occurs in winter months. A decrease in global radiation by up to 20% in the past 46 years can be explained primarily by a relatively high negative trend in the snow cover duration and surface albedo (up to -0.24). As a result, days are growing darker, a new phenomenon associated with climate change, which undoubtedly affects human mood to some extent.

Climate Response to Negative Greenhouse Gas Radiative Forcing in Polar Winter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flanner, M. G.; Huang, X.; Chen, X.; Krinner, G.

2018-02-01

Greenhouse gas (GHG) additions to Earth's atmosphere initially reduce global outgoing longwave radiation, thereby warming the planet. In select environments with temperature inversions, however, increased GHG concentrations can actually increase local outgoing longwave radiation. Negative top of atmosphere and effective radiative forcing (ERF) from this situation give the impression that local surface temperatures could cool in response to GHG increases. Here we consider an extreme scenario in which GHG concentrations are increased only within the warmest layers of winter near-surface inversions of the Arctic and Antarctic. We find, using a fully coupled Earth system model, that the underlying surface warms despite the GHG addition exerting negative ERF and cooling the troposphere in the vicinity of the GHG increase. This unique radiative forcing and thermal response is facilitated by the high stability of the polar winter atmosphere, which inhibit thermal mixing and amplify the impact of surface radiative forcing on surface temperature. These findings also suggest that strategies to exploit negative ERF via injections of short-lived GHGs into inversion layers would likely be unsuccessful in cooling the planetary surface.

The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research

DOE PAGES

de Boer, Gijs; Palo, Scott; Argrow, Brian; ...

2016-04-28

This study presents details of the University of Colorado (CU) “Pilatus” unmanned research aircraft, assembled to provide measurements of aerosols, radiation and thermodynamics in the lower troposphere. This aircraft has a wingspan of 3.2 m and a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg, and it is powered by an electric motor to reduce engine exhaust and concerns about carburetor icing. It carries instrumentation to make measurements of broadband up- and downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation, aerosol particle size distribution, atmospheric temperature, relative humidity and pressure and to collect video of flights for subsequent analysis of atmospheric conditions during flight. Inmore » order to make the shortwave radiation measurements, care was taken to carefully position a high-quality compact inertial measurement unit (IMU) and characterize the attitude of the aircraft and its orientation to the upward-looking radiation sensor. Using measurements from both of these sensors, a correction is applied to the raw radiometer measurements to correct for aircraft attitude and sensor tilt relative to the sun. The data acquisition system was designed from scratch based on a set of key driving requirements to accommodate the variety of sensors deployed. Initial test flights completed in Colorado provide promising results with measurements from the radiation sensors agreeing with those from a nearby surface site. Additionally, estimates of surface albedo from onboard sensors were consistent with local surface conditions, including melting snow and bright runway surface. Aerosol size distributions collected are internally consistent and have previously been shown to agree well with larger, surface-based instrumentation. Finally the atmospheric state measurements evolve as expected, with the near-surface atmosphere warming over time as the day goes on, and the atmospheric relative humidity decreasing with increased temperature. No directional bias on measured temperature, as might be expected due to uneven heating of the sensor housing over the course of a racetrack pattern, was detected. The results from these flights indicate that the CU Pilatus platform is capable of performing research-grade lower tropospheric measurement missions.« less

The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

de Boer, Gijs; Palo, Scott; Argrow, Brian

This study presents details of the University of Colorado (CU) “Pilatus” unmanned research aircraft, assembled to provide measurements of aerosols, radiation and thermodynamics in the lower troposphere. This aircraft has a wingspan of 3.2 m and a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg, and it is powered by an electric motor to reduce engine exhaust and concerns about carburetor icing. It carries instrumentation to make measurements of broadband up- and downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation, aerosol particle size distribution, atmospheric temperature, relative humidity and pressure and to collect video of flights for subsequent analysis of atmospheric conditions during flight. Inmore » order to make the shortwave radiation measurements, care was taken to carefully position a high-quality compact inertial measurement unit (IMU) and characterize the attitude of the aircraft and its orientation to the upward-looking radiation sensor. Using measurements from both of these sensors, a correction is applied to the raw radiometer measurements to correct for aircraft attitude and sensor tilt relative to the sun. The data acquisition system was designed from scratch based on a set of key driving requirements to accommodate the variety of sensors deployed. Initial test flights completed in Colorado provide promising results with measurements from the radiation sensors agreeing with those from a nearby surface site. Additionally, estimates of surface albedo from onboard sensors were consistent with local surface conditions, including melting snow and bright runway surface. Aerosol size distributions collected are internally consistent and have previously been shown to agree well with larger, surface-based instrumentation. Finally the atmospheric state measurements evolve as expected, with the near-surface atmosphere warming over time as the day goes on, and the atmospheric relative humidity decreasing with increased temperature. No directional bias on measured temperature, as might be expected due to uneven heating of the sensor housing over the course of a racetrack pattern, was detected. The results from these flights indicate that the CU Pilatus platform is capable of performing research-grade lower tropospheric measurement missions.« less

Laboratory Investigations of the Complex Refractory Organic Material Produced from Irradiation of Pluto Ice Analogs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Materese, Christopher K.; Cruikshank, Dale P.; Sanford, Scott A.; Imanaka, Hiroshi

2014-01-01

Much of Pluto's surface consists of N2 ice with smaller amounts of CH4 and CO ices. Despite the low temperature (approximately 45K), chemistry can be driven in the surface ices by radiation processing such as cosmic ray bombardment. When cosmic rays strike the surface, much of their energy is dispersed in the form of secondary electrons, which in turn drive much of the resulting chemical reactions. Laboratory experiments designed to simulate the conditions on these icy bodies may provide insight into this chemistry. Significant progress has been made in the laboratory toward understanding the smaller, simple compounds produced in the solid phase by radiation processing of (N2, CH4, CO) ices (Bohn et al. 1994; Moore & Hudson 2003; Hodyss et al. 2011; Kim and Kaiser 2012). Recently Materese et al. (2014) used a variety of techniques to better characterize the refractory materials produced from the UV photo-irradiation of N2:CH4:CO ices. However, because Pluto's atmosphere is optically thick to Lyman-alpha UV radiation it is important to re-examine the results using an alternate radiation source. Our latest work has consisted of the analysis of refractory materials produced from the electron bombardment of low temperature N2(-), CH4(-), and CO(-)containing ices (100:1:1). The ice mixture was chosen to be analogous to the known surface ices on Pluto and the radiation source was chosen to mimic the secondary electrons produced by cosmic rays bombardment. The residues were studied using multiple chemical techniques including, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The organic residues produced in these experiments can be seen as an analog for the refractory component of the surface of Pluto, and are compared with the residues previously obtained from UV photo-irradiation. UV and near- IR spectroscopy of the surfaces of Pluto and Charon during the encounter with NASA's New Horizons spacecraft in 2015, will give the first close-up measurements of ices and their photoproducts. Laboratory measurements and experiments will provide a better context for the data returned by the spacecraft.

Insights into the diurnal cycle of global Earth outgoing radiation using a numerical weather prediction model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gristey, Jake J.; Chiu, J. Christine; Gurney, Robert J.; Morcrette, Cyril J.; Hill, Peter G.; Russell, Jacqueline E.; Brindley, Helen E.

2018-04-01

A globally complete, high temporal resolution and multiple-variable approach is employed to analyse the diurnal cycle of Earth's outgoing energy flows. This is made possible via the use of Met Office model output for September 2010 that is assessed alongside regional satellite observations throughout. Principal component analysis applied to the long-wave component of modelled outgoing radiation reveals dominant diurnal patterns related to land surface heating and convective cloud development, respectively explaining 68.5 and 16.0 % of the variance at the global scale. The total variance explained by these first two patterns is markedly less than previous regional estimates from observations, and this analysis suggests that around half of the difference relates to the lack of global coverage in the observations. The first pattern is strongly and simultaneously coupled to the land surface temperature diurnal variations. The second pattern is strongly coupled to the cloud water content and height diurnal variations, but lags the cloud variations by several hours. We suggest that the mechanism controlling the delay is a moistening of the upper troposphere due to the evaporation of anvil cloud. The short-wave component of modelled outgoing radiation, analysed in terms of albedo, exhibits a very dominant pattern explaining 88.4 % of the variance that is related to the angle of incoming solar radiation, and a second pattern explaining 6.7 % of the variance that is related to compensating effects from convective cloud development and marine stratocumulus cloud dissipation. Similar patterns are found in regional satellite observations, but with slightly different timings due to known model biases. The first pattern is controlled by changes in surface and cloud albedo, and Rayleigh and aerosol scattering. The second pattern is strongly coupled to the diurnal variations in both cloud water content and height in convective regions but only cloud water content in marine stratocumulus regions, with substantially shorter lag times compared with the long-wave counterpart. This indicates that the short-wave radiation response to diurnal cloud development and dissipation is more rapid, which is found to be robust in the regional satellite observations. These global, diurnal radiation patterns and their coupling with other geophysical variables demonstrate the process-level understanding that can be gained using this approach and highlight a need for global, diurnal observing systems for Earth outgoing radiation in the future.

Influence of Clouds On The Surface Radiative Balance For Two Mediterranean Sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bortoli, D.; Costa, M. J.; Nardino, M.

Clouds strongly affect the Earth's climate influencing the surface radiative balance by reducing the incident solar radiation and increasing the downward longwave flux. Al- though the quantitative impact of clouds on the surface radiative balance is necessarily associated with great uncertainties due to the complexity and variation of the under- lying parameters, cloud radiative forcing is one of the main regulating factors of the Earth's climate. The present work aims at determining the effect of cloud coverage on the surface radiative balance, in order to contribute for a better understanding of local variations in the Mediterranean climate. Measurements of the cloud cover index (CCI) require the presence of an observer capable of quantifying cloud amounts in the sky in sight above the measurements' site. Since such measurements are not always available the cloud cover index is re- trieved using two different methodologies. On one hand the CCI is computed from the surface radiometer measurements throughout a parameterisation. On the other it is retrieved using a bi-spectral algorithm based on the METEOSAT satellite measure- ments from the visible and infrared spectral regions. Results of the CCI are compared with co-located observations to perform a general check against the available "ground truth". At the same time the CCI values obtained from both methodologies are inter- compared. Results of the CCI and their implications on the surface radiative balance are presented for the two Mediterranean sites selected, one located in Italy and the other in the south of Portugal. The cloud radiative forcing calculations show a cooling effect of the surface in presence of clouds for both sites. Moreover, a seasonal dependence is obtained, with a stronger cooling effect during summer. Acknowledgements: The work was supported by Instituto de Cooperação Científica e Tecnológica Internacional (ICCTI) - Portugal and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) - Italy, through the bilateral agreement "Study of cloud and aerosol radiative forcing on the surface radiative balance".

Parasitic heat loss reduction in AMTEC cells by heat shield optimization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Borkowski, C.A.; Svedberg, R.C.; Hendricks, T.J.

1997-12-31

Alkali metal thermal to electric conversion (AMTEC) cell performance can be increased by the proper design of thermal radiative shielding internal to the AMTEC cell. These heat shields essentially lower the radiative heat transfer between the heat input zone of the cell and the heat rejection zone of the cell. In addition to lowering the radiative heat transfer between the heat input and heat rejection surfaces of the cell, the shields raise the AMTEC cell performance by increasing the temperature of the beta alumina solid electrolyte (BASE). This increase in temperature of the BASE tube allows the evaporator temperature tomore » be increased without sodium condensing within the BASE tubes. Experimental testing and theoretical analysis have been performed to compare the relative merits of two candidate heat shield packages: (1) chevron, and (2) cylindrical heat shields. These two heat shield packages were compared to each other and a baseline cell which had no heat shields installed. For the two heat shield packages, the reduction in total heat transfer is between 17--27% for the heat input surface temperature varying from 700 C, 750 C, and 800 C with the heat rejection surface temperature kept at 300 C.« less

Radiative Susceptibility of Cloudy Atmospheres to Droplet Number Perturbations: 2. Global analysis from MODIS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oreopoulos, Lazaros; Platnick, Steven

2008-01-01

Global distributions of albedo susceptibility for areas covered by liquid clouds are presented for 4 months in 2005. The susceptibility estimates are based on expanded definitions presented in a companion paper and include relative cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) changes, perturbations in cloud droplet asymmetry parameter and single-scattering albedo, atmospheric/surface effects, and incorporation of the full solar spectrum. The cloud properties (optical thickness and effective radius) used as input in the susceptibility calculations come from MODIS Terra and Aqua Collection 5 gridded data. Geographical distributions of susceptibility corresponding to absolute ( absolute cloud susceptibility ) and relative ( relative cloud susceptibility ) CDNC changes are markedly different indicating that the detailed nature of the cloud microphysical perturbation is important for determining the radiative forcing associated with the first indirect aerosol effect. However, both types of susceptibility exhibit common characteristics such as significant reductions when perturbations in single-scattering properties are omitted, significant increases when atmospheric absorption and surface albedo effects are ignored, and the tendency to decrease with latitude, to be higher over ocean than over land, and to be statistically similar between the morning and afternoon MODIS overpasses. The satellite-based susceptibility analysis helps elucidate the role of present-day cloud and land surface properties in indirect aerosol forcing responses. Our realistic yet moderate CDNC perturbations yield forcings on the order of 1-2 W/sq m for cloud optical property distributions and land surface spectral albedos observed by MODIS. Since susceptibilities can potentially be computed from model fields, these results have practical application in assessing the reasonableness of model-generated estimates of the aerosol indirect radiative forcing.

Accuracy Evaluation of a 3-Dimensional Surface Imaging System for Guidance in Deep-Inspiration Breath-Hold Radiation Therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alderliesten, Tanja; Sonke, Jan-Jakob; Betgen, Anja

2013-02-01

Purpose: To investigate the applicability of 3-dimensional (3D) surface imaging for image guidance in deep-inspiration breath-hold radiation therapy (DIBH-RT) for patients with left-sided breast cancer. For this purpose, setup data based on captured 3D surfaces was compared with setup data based on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods and Materials: Twenty patients treated with DIBH-RT after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) were included. Before the start of treatment, each patient underwent a breath-hold CT scan for planning purposes. During treatment, dose delivery was preceded by setup verification using CBCT of the left breast. 3D surfaces were captured by a surface imaging systemmore » concurrently with the CBCT scan. Retrospectively, surface registrations were performed for CBCT to CT and for a captured 3D surface to CT. The resulting setup errors were compared with linear regression analysis. For the differences between setup errors, group mean, systematic error, random error, and 95% limits of agreement were calculated. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed. Results: Good correlation between setup errors was found: R{sup 2}=0.70, 0.90, 0.82 in left-right, craniocaudal, and anterior-posterior directions, respectively. Systematic errors were {<=}0.17 cm in all directions. Random errors were {<=}0.15 cm. The limits of agreement were -0.34-0.48, -0.42-0.39, and -0.52-0.23 cm in left-right, craniocaudal, and anterior-posterior directions, respectively. ROC analysis showed that a threshold between 0.4 and 0.8 cm corresponds to promising true positive rates (0.78-0.95) and false positive rates (0.12-0.28). Conclusions: The results support the application of 3D surface imaging for image guidance in DIBH-RT after BCS.« less

Cherenkov emission of terahertz surface plasmon polaritons from a superluminal optical spot on a structured metal surface.

PubMed

Bakunov, M I; Tsarev, M V; Hangyo, M

2009-05-25

We propose to launch terahertz surface plasmon polaritons on a structured metal surface by using a femtosecond laser pulse obliquely incident on a strip of an electro-optic material deposited on the surface. The laser pulse creates a nonlinear polarization that moves along the strip with a superluminal velocity and emits surface terahertz waves via the Cherenkov radiation mechanism. We calculate the radiated fields and frequency distribution of the radiated energy for a grooved perfect-conductor surface with a GaAs strip illuminated by Ti:sapphire laser. This technique can be used to perform surface terahertz spectroscopy.

Solar irradiance changes and photobiological effects at earth's surface following astrophysical ionizing radiation events.

PubMed

Thomas, Brian C; Neale, Patrick J; Snyder, Brock R

2015-03-01

Astrophysical ionizing radiation events have been recognized as a potential threat to life on Earth, primarily through depletion of stratospheric ozone and subsequent increase in surface-level solar ultraviolet radiation. Simulations of the atmospheric effects of a variety of events (such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and solar proton events) have been previously published, along with estimates of biological damage at Earth's surface. In this work, we employed the Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible (TUV) radiative transfer model to expand and improve calculations of surface-level irradiance and biological impacts following an ionizing radiation event. We considered changes in surface-level UVB, UVA, and photosynthetically active radiation (visible light) for clear-sky conditions and fixed aerosol parameter values. We also considered a wide range of biological effects on organisms ranging from humans to phytoplankton. We found that past work overestimated UVB irradiance but that relative estimates for increase in exposure to DNA-damaging radiation are still similar to our improved calculations. We also found that the intensity of biologically damaging radiation varies widely with organism and specific impact considered; these results have implications for biosphere-level damage following astrophysical ionizing radiation events. When considering changes in surface-level visible light irradiance, we found that, contrary to previous assumptions, a decrease in irradiance is only present for a short time in very limited geographical areas; instead we found a net increase for most of the modeled time-space region. This result has implications for proposed climate changes associated with ionizing radiation events.

On the intrinsic timescales of temporal variability in measurements of the surface solar radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bengulescu, Marc; Blanc, Philippe; Wald, Lucien

2018-01-01

This study is concerned with the intrinsic temporal scales of the variability in the surface solar irradiance (SSI). The data consist of decennial time series of daily means of the SSI obtained from high-quality measurements of the broadband solar radiation impinging on a horizontal plane at ground level, issued from different Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) ground stations around the world. First, embedded oscillations sorted in terms of increasing timescales of the data are extracted by empirical mode decomposition (EMD). Next, Hilbert spectral analysis is applied to obtain an amplitude-modulation-frequency-modulation (AM-FM) representation of the data. The time-varying nature of the characteristic timescales of variability, along with the variations in the signal intensity, are thus revealed. A novel, adaptive null hypothesis based on the general statistical characteristics of noise is employed in order to discriminate between the different features of the data, those that have a deterministic origin and those being realizations of various stochastic processes. The data have a significant spectral peak corresponding to the yearly variability cycle and feature quasi-stochastic high-frequency variability components, irrespective of the geographical location or of the local climate. Moreover, the amplitude of this latter feature is shown to be modulated by variations in the yearly cycle, which is indicative of nonlinear multiplicative cross-scale couplings. The study has possible implications on the modeling and the forecast of the surface solar radiation, by clearly discriminating the deterministic from the quasi-stochastic character of the data, at different local timescales.

Adaptation of an urban land surface model to a tropical suburban area: Offline evaluation, sensitivity analysis, and optimization of TEB/ISBA (SURFEX)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harshan, Suraj

The main objective of the present thesis is the improvement of the TEB/ISBA (SURFEX) urban land surface model (ULSM) through comprehensive evaluation, sensitivity analysis, and optimization experiments using energy balance and radiative and air temperature data observed during 11 months at a tropical sub-urban site in Singapore. Overall the performance of the model is satisfactory, with a small underestimation of net radiation and an overestimation of sensible heat flux. Weaknesses in predicting the latent heat flux are apparent with smaller model values during daytime and the model also significantly underpredicts both the daytime peak and nighttime storage heat. Surface temperatures of all facets are generally overpredicted. Significant variation exists in the model behaviour between dry and wet seasons. The vegetation parametrization used in the model is inadequate to represent the moisture dynamics, producing unrealistically low latent heat fluxes during a particularly dry period. The comprehensive evaluation of the USLM shows the need for accurate estimation of input parameter values for present site. Since obtaining many of these parameters through empirical methods is not feasible, the present study employed a two step approach aimed at providing information about the most sensitive parameters and an optimized parameter set from model calibration. Two well established sensitivity analysis methods (global: Sobol and local: Morris) and a state-of-the-art multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (Borg) were employed for sensitivity analysis and parameter estimation. Experiments were carried out for three different weather periods. The analysis indicates that roof related parameters are the most important ones in controlling the behaviour of the sensible heat flux and net radiation flux, with roof and road albedo as the most influential parameters. Soil moisture initialization parameters are important in controlling the latent heat flux. The built (town) fraction has a significant influence on all fluxes considered. Comparison between the Sobol and Morris methods shows similar sensitivities, indicating the robustness of the present analysis and that the Morris method can be employed as a computationally cheaper alternative of Sobol's method. Optimization as well as the sensitivity experiments for the three periods (dry, wet and mixed), show a noticeable difference in parameter sensitivity and parameter convergence, indicating inadequacies in model formulation. Existence of a significant proportion of less sensitive parameters might be indicating an over-parametrized model. Borg MOEA showed great promise in optimizing the input parameters set. The optimized model modified using the site specific values for thermal roughness length parametrization shows an improvement in the performances of outgoing longwave radiation flux, overall surface temperature, heat storage flux and sensible heat flux.

Solar Radiation on Mars: Tracking Photovoltaic Array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Appelbaum, Joseph; Flood, Dennis J.; Crutchik, Marcos

1994-01-01

A photovoltaic power source for surface-based operation on Mars can offer many advantages. Detailed information on solar radiation characteristics on Mars and the insolation on various types of collector surfaces are necessary for effective design of future planned photovoltaic systems. In this article we have presented analytical expressions for solar radiation calculation and solar radiation data for single axis (of various types) and two axis tracking surfaces and compared the insulation to horizontal and inclined surfaces. For clear skies (low atmospheric dust load) tracking surfaces resulted in higher insolation than stationary surfaces, whereas for highly dusty atmospheres, the difference is small. The insolation on the different types of stationary and tracking surfaces depend on latitude, season and optical depth of the atmosphere, and the duration of system operation. These insolations have to be compared for each mission.

Understanding the bursty electron cyclotron emission during a sawtooth crash in the HT-7 tokamak

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Erzhong, E-mail: rzhonglee@ipp.ac.cn; Hu, Liqun; Chen, Kaiyun

2014-01-15

Bursts in electron cyclotron emission (ECE) were observed during sawtooth crashes in HT-7 in discharges with ion cyclotron resonance heating injected near the q = 1 rational surface (q is the safety factor). The local ECE measurement indicated that the bursty radiation is only observed on channels near but a little away outward from the q = 1 magnetic surface. In conjunction with the soft x-ray tomography analysis, it was determined that, for the first time, only a compression process survives in the later stage of fast magnetic reconnection but before prompt heat transport. The compression enhanced the electron radiation temperature, the increased amplitudemore » of which agreed well with the estimation according to a kinetic compression theory model [R. J. Hastie and T. C. Hender, Nucl. Fusion 28, 585 (1988)]. This paper presents the experimental evidence that there indeed exists a transient compression phase which results in the bursty ECE radiation during a sawtooth crash.« less

The NOAA Integrated Surface Irradiance Study (ISIS)-A New Surface Radiation Monitoring Program.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hicks, B. B.; Deluisi, J. J.; Matt, D. R.

1996-12-01

This paper describes a new radiation monitoring program, the Integrated Surface Irradiance Study (ISIS), that builds upon and takes over from earlier NOAA networks monitoring components of solar radiation [both the visible component (SOLRAD) and the shortwave component that causes sunburn, UV-B] across the continental United States. ISIS is implemented in two levels. Level 1 addresses incoming radiation only, and level 2 addresses the surface radiation balance. Level 2 also constitutes the SURFRAD (Surface Radiation) program of the NOAA Office of Global Programs, specifically intended to provide radiation data to support large-scale hydrologic studies that will be conducted under the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment. Eventually, it is planned for level 2 sites to monitor all components of the surface energy balance. Both levels of ISIS will eventually measure both visible and UV radiation components. At present, there are nine sites that are considered to be at ISIS level 1 standard and an additional four level 2 SURFRAD sites. A 10th level 1 site will be in operation soon. Plans call for an increase in the number of sites of both kinds, up to about 15 ISIS sites, of which 6 will be at the SURFRAD level. Data are available via FTP at ftp.atdd.noaa.govlpublisis or at http://www.srrb.noaa.gov (level 2).

Direct laser additive fabrication system with image feedback control

DOEpatents

Griffith, Michelle L.; Hofmeister, William H.; Knorovsky, Gerald A.; MacCallum, Danny O.; Schlienger, M. Eric; Smugeresky, John E.

2002-01-01

A closed-loop, feedback-controlled direct laser fabrication system is disclosed. The feedback refers to the actual growth conditions obtained by real-time analysis of thermal radiation images. The resulting system can fabricate components with severalfold improvement in dimensional tolerances and surface finish.

Constraining parameters of the neutron star in the supernova remnant HESS J1731-347

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klochkov, D.; Suleimanov, V.; Puehlhofer, G.; Werner, K.; Santangelo, A.

2014-07-01

The Central Compact Object (CCO) in HESS J1731-347, presumably a neutron star, is one of the brightest sources in this class. Like other CCOs, it potentially provides an "undisturbed" view of thermal radiation generated at the neutron star surface. The shape and normalization of the corresponding X-ray spectrum depends on the emitting area, surface redshift, and gravity acceleration. Thus, its modeling under certain assumptions allows the mass and radius of the neutron star to be constrained. In our analysis, we model the spectrum of the CCO accumulated with XMM-Newton over ˜100 ksec exposure time in three observations. The exposure time has increased by a factor of five since our previous analysis of the source. For the spectral fitting, we use our hydrogen and carbon atmosphere models calculated assuming hydrostatic and radiative equilibria and taking into account pressure ionization and the presence of spectral lines (in case of carbon). We present the resulting constraints on the mass, radius, distance, and temperature of the neutron star.

Corrosion of Highly Specular Vapor Deposited Aluminum (VDA) on Earthshade Door Sandwich Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plaskon, Daniel; Hsieh, Cheng

2003-01-01

High-resolution infrared (IR) imaging requires spacecraft instrument design that is tightly coupled with overall thermal control design. The JPL Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument measures the 3-dimensional distribution of ozone and its precursors in the lower atmosphere on a global scale. The TES earthshade must protect the 180-K radiator and the 230-K radiator from the Earth IR and albedo. Requirements for specularity, emissivity, and solar absorptance of inner surfaces could only be met with vapor deposited aluminum (VDA). Circumstances leading to corrosion of the VDA are described. Innovative materials and processing to meet the optical and thermal cycle requirements were developed. Examples of scanning electronmicroscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and other surface analysis techniques used in failure analysis, problem solving, and process development are given. Materials and process selection criteria and development test results are presented in a decision matrix. Examples of conditions promoting and preventing galvanic corrosion between VDA and graphite fiber-reinforced laminates are provided.

Senstitivity analysis of horizontal heat and vapor transfer coefficients for a cloud-topped marine boundary layer during cold-air outbreaks. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Y. V.

1986-01-01

The effects of external parameters on the surface heat and vapor fluxes into the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) during cold-air outbreaks are investigated using the numerical model of Stage and Businger (1981a). These fluxes are nondimensionalized using the horizontal heat (g1) and vapor (g2) transfer coefficient method first suggested by Chou and Atlas (1982) and further formulated by Stage (1983a). In order to simplify the problem, the boundary layer is assumed to be well mixed and horizontally homogeneous, and to have linear shoreline soundings of equivalent potential temperature and mixing ratio. Modifications of initial surface flux estimates, time step limitation, and termination conditions are made to the MABL model to obtain accurate computations. The dependence of g1 and g2 in the cloud topped boundary layer on the external parameters (wind speed, divergence, sea surface temperature, radiative sky temperature, cloud top radiation cooling, and initial shoreline soundings of temperature, and mixing ratio) is studied by a sensitivity analysis, which shows that the uncertainties of horizontal transfer coefficients caused by changes in the parameters are reasonably small.

Monitoring the spring-summer surface energy budget transition in the Gobi Desert using AVHRR GAC data. [Global Area Coverage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Eric A.; Reiter, Elmar R.

1986-01-01

A research program has been started in which operationally available weather satellites radiance data are used to reconstruct various properties of the diurnal surface energy budget over sites for which detailed estimates of the complete radiation, heat, and moisture exchange process are available. In this paper, preliminary analysis of the 1985 Gobi Desert summer period results is presented. The findings demonstrate various important relationships concerning the feasibility of retrieving the amplitudes of the diurnal surface energy budget processes for daytime and nighttime conditions.

A Sensitivity Analysis of the Nocturnal Boundary-Layer Properties to Atmospheric Emissivity Formulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siqueira, Mario B.; Katul, Gabriel G.

2010-02-01

A one-dimensional model for the mean potential temperature within the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) was used to assess the sensitivity of three NBL properties (height, thermal stratification strength, and near-surface cooling) to three widely used atmospheric emissivity formulations. The calculations revealed that the NBL height is robust to the choice of the emissivity function, though this is not the case for NBL Richardson number and near-surface cooling rate. Rather than endorse one formulation, our analysis highlights the importance of atmospheric emissivity in modelling the radiative properties of the NBL especially for clear-sky conditions.

Giant radiating dyke swarms on Earth and Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ernst, Richard E.; Head, James W.; Parfitt, Elisabeth; Wilson, Lionel; Grosfils, Eric

1993-01-01

On Earth, giant radiating dyke swarms are usually preserved as fan-shaped fragments which have been dismembered from their original configuration by subsequent plate tectonic rifting events. Analysis of the largest fragments and consideration of their original configuration has led to the idea that many swarms are plume related, and that dyke swarms radiate away from plume centers. Magellan radar data reveal abundant intact giant radiating swarms on Venus which are similar in scale and pattern to those on Earth. The absence of intense weathering and plate tectonic processes on Venus accounts for the preservation of the primary radiating patterns. It is characteristic of both Earth and Venus that giant radiating dikes are emplaced laterally for distances of at least 2000 km away from plume centers. At distances beyond the influence of the plume on both Earth and Venus, the radiating dyke pattern is often swept into a linear pattern aligned with the regional stress field. There is tremendous potential synergism between the characterization and analysis of terrestrial dyke swarms (where significant erosion has revealed their structure and emplacement directions at depth) and the giant swarms of Venus (where the complete circumferential structure is preserved, and the surface fracture systems above near surface dikes and the nature of the central source regions are revealed). In this study, we report on the characteristics of radial dyke swarms on Earth and Venus and draw some preliminary comparisons from the two perspectives. In summary, on both planets there is evidence for plume-related magmatic centers associated with vertical and lateral injection of magma over considerable distances (up to at least 2000 km). The abundance of very broadly radiating swarms on Venus supports the notion that the swarms on Earth were radiating over broad sectors at the time of intrusion but were dissected by later events. The Venus data show that a swarm can change from radiating (proximal) to regional (distal) subparallel orientations. An implication for Earth is that many regional linear swarms which do not have a radiating pattern may be due to fragmentation of the swarm during later plate tectonic rifting. Completion of the global classification and census of Venus features, comparison to the terrestrial synthesis, and documentation of the mode of emplacement of dikes in these environments (buffered and unbuffered conditions) should lead to additional general insight into mechanisms of formation and evolution and their relation to plumes.

Electrodynamic Dust Shield Technology for Thermal Radiators Used in Lunar Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calle, Carlos I.; Hogue, Michael D.; Snyder, Sarah J.; Clements, Sidney J.; Johansen, Michael R.; Chen, Albert

2011-01-01

Two general types of thermal radiators are being considered for lunar missions: coated metallic surfaces and Second Surface Mirrors. Metallic surfaces are coated with a specially formulated white paint that withstands the space environment and adheres well to aluminium, the most common metal used in space hardware. AZ-93 White Thermal Control Paint, developed for the space program, is an electrically conductive inorganic coating that offers thermal control for spacecraft. It is currently in use on satellite surfaces (Fig 1). This paint withstands exposure to atomic oxygen, charged particle radiation, and vacuum ultraviolet radiation form 118 nm to 170 nm while reflecting 84 to 85% of the incident solar radiation and emitting 89-93% of the internal heat generated inside the spacecraft.

FIBER AND INTEGRATED OPTICS. OTHER TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS: Laser generation of dislocations and mechanism of anisotropic melting of semiconductor surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volodin, B. L.; Emel'yanov, Vladimir I.

1990-05-01

An analysis is made of a vacancy-deformation mechanism of generation of dislocations by laser radiation involving condensation of laser-induced vacancies when the vacancy concentration exceeds a certain critical value. The theory can be used to estimate the radius of the resultant dislocation loops and their density. It is used to interpret anisotropic laser melting of semiconductor surfaces.

Feasibility Analysis of Liquefying Oxygen Generated from Water Electrolysis Units on Lunar Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeng, Frank F.

2009-01-01

Concepts for liquefying oxygen (O2) generated from water electrolysis subsystems on the Lunar surface were explored. Concepts for O2 liquefaction units capable of generating 1.38 lb/hr (0.63 kg/hr) liquid oxygen (LOX) were developed. Heat and mass balance calculations for the liquefaction concepts were conducted. Stream properties, duties of radiators, heat exchangers and compressors for the selected concepts were calculated and compared.

Surface temperature-modulating factors in the Sonoran Desert, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tereshchenko, I.; Zolotokryin, A.; Titkova, T.; Brito-Castillo, L.; Monzon, C.

2013-05-01

This study is focused on seasonal cycle of parameters, which modulate surface temperature in the Sonora desert (North-West Mexico). The understanding of this process is important for monitoring of desertification. In this paper, a new approach to the monitoring of desertification based on the use of the albedo mechanism is proposed. It is known that the positive albedo-precipitation feedback plays a significant role in the desertification process. The originality of the work rest on considering the albedo mechanism not in isolation but as a joint effect of two temperature-modulating factors: radiation and evapotranspiration. It is assumed that the prevalence of the radiation factor is a manifestation of the albedo mechanism. One indirect characteristic of prevalence of the radiation factor is Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which is an indicator of green phytomass. We define and substantiate the criterion of predominance of the radiation factor by using the threshold value of NDVI AVHRR. The area, within which the threshold value is achieved, is a key factor; the data on the variability of this area becomes useful and essential in the process of monitoring of desertification. This is true because in a certain year, the time span of the period, during which the radiation factor is predominant, is an important factor in the desertification process. The main features of the ratio between albedo and surface temperature are discussed in terms of analysis of monthly means (albedo, temperature, NDVI) in the state of Sonora (29-32N, 111-115W), in particular, within the box 30-31N, 112-113W.

Diffracted and head waves associated with waves on nonseparable surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barger, Raymond L.

1992-01-01

A theory is presented for computing waves radiated from waves on a smooth surface. With the assumption that attention of the surface wave is due only to radiation and not to dissipation in the surface material, the radiation coefficient is derived in terms of the attenuation factor. The excitation coefficient is determined by the reciprocity condition. Formulas for the shape and the spreading of the radiated wave are derived, and some sample calculations are presented. An investigation of resonant phase matching for nonseparable surfaces is presented with a sample calculation. A discussion of how such calculations might be related to resonant frequencies of nonseparable thin shell structures is included. A description is given of nonseparable surfaces that can be modeled in the vector that facilitates use of the appropriate formulas of differential geometry.

Enhanced multifunctional paint for detection of radiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farmer, Joseph C.; Moses, Edward Ira; Rubenchik, Alexander M.

An enhanced multifunctional paint apparatus, systems, and methods for detecting radiation on a surface include providing scintillation particles; providing an enhance neutron absorptive material; providing a binder; combining the scintillation particles, the enhance neutron absorptive material, and the binder creating a multifunctional paint; applying the multifunctional paint to the surface; and monitoring the surface for detecting radiation.

Surface radiation budget for climate applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suttles, J. T. (Editor); Ohring, G. (Editor)

1986-01-01

The Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) consists of the upwelling and downwelling radiation fluxes at the surface, separately determined for the broadband shortwave (SW) (0 to 5 micron) and longwave (LW) (greater than 5 microns) spectral regions plus certain key parameters that control these fluxes, specifically, SW albedo, LW emissivity, and surface temperature. The uses and requirements for SRB data, critical assessment of current capabilities for producing these data, and directions for future research are presented.

Simulations of GCR interactions within planetary bodies using GEANT4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mesick, K.; Feldman, W. C.; Stonehill, L. C.; Coupland, D. D. S.

2017-12-01

On planetary bodies with little to no atmosphere, Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) can hit the body and produce neutrons primarily through nuclear spallation within the top few meters of the surfaces. These neutrons undergo further nuclear interactions with elements near the planetary surface and some will escape the surface and can be detected by landed or orbiting neutron radiation detector instruments. The neutron leakage signal at fast neutron energies provides a measure of average atomic mass of the near-surface material and in the epithermal and thermal energy ranges is highly sensitive to the presence of hydrogen. Gamma-rays can also escape the surface, produced at characteristic energies depending on surface composition, and can be detected by gamma-ray instruments. The intra-nuclear cascade (INC) that occurs when high-energy GCRs interact with elements within a planetary surface to produce the leakage neutron and gamma-ray signals is highly complex, and therefore Monte Carlo based radiation transport simulations are commonly used for predicting and interpreting measurements from planetary neutron and gamma-ray spectroscopy instruments. In the past, the simulation code that has been widely used for this type of analysis is MCNPX [1], which was benchmarked against data from the Lunar Neutron Probe Experiment (LPNE) on Apollo 17 [2]. In this work, we consider the validity of the radiation transport code GEANT4 [3], another widely used but open-source code, by benchmarking simulated predictions of the LPNE experiment to the Apollo 17 data. We consider the impact of different physics model options on the results, and show which models best describe the INC based on agreement with the Apollo 17 data. The success of this validation then gives us confidence in using GEANT4 to simulate GCR-induced neutron leakage signals on Mars in relevance to a re-analysis of Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data. References [1] D.B. Pelowitz, Los Alamos National Laboratory, LA-CP-05-0369, 2005. [2] G.W. McKinney et al, Journal of Geophysics Research, 111, E06004, 2006. [3] S. Agostinelli et al, Nuclear Instrumentation and Methods A, 506, 2003.

A Global Model Simulation of Aerosol Effects of Surface Radiation Budget- Toward Understanding of the "Dimming to Brightening" Transition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Mian; Diehl, Thomas; Bian, Huisheng; Yu, Hongbin

2008-01-01

We present a global model study on the role aerosols play in the change of solar radiation at Earth's surface that transitioned from a decreasing (dimming) trend to an increasing (brightening) trend. Our primary objective is to understand the relationship between the long-term trends of aerosol emission, atmospheric burden, and surface solar radiation. More specifically, we use the recently compiled comprehensive global emission datasets of aerosols and precursors from fuel combustion, biomass burning, volcanic eruptions and other sources from 1980 to 2006 to simulate long-term variations of aerosol distributions and optical properties, and then calculate the multi-decadal changes of short-wave radiative fluxes at the surface and at the top of the atmosphere by coupling the GOCART model simulated aerosols with the Goddard radiative transfer model. The model results are compared with long-term observational records from ground-based networks and satellite data. We will address the following critical questions: To what extent can the observed surface solar radiation trends, known as the transition from dimming to brightening, be explained by the changes of anthropogenic and natural aerosol loading on global and regional scales? What are the relative contributions of local emission and long-range transport to the surface radiation budget and how do these contributions change with time?

Land surface temperature measurements from EOS MODIS data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wan, Zhengming

1994-01-01

A generalized split-window method for retrieving land-surface temperature (LST) from AVHRR and MODIS data has been developed. Accurate radiative transfer simulations show that the coefficients in the split-window algorithm for LST must depend on the viewing angle, if we are to achieve a LST accuracy of about 1 K for the whole scan swath range (+/-55.4 deg and +/-55 deg from nadir for AVHRR and MODIS, respectively) and for the ranges of surface temperature and atmospheric conditions over land, which are much wider than those over oceans. We obtain these coefficients from regression analysis of radiative transfer simulations, and we analyze sensitivity and error by using results from systematic radiative transfer simulations over wide ranges of surface temperatures and emissivities, and atmospheric water vapor abundance and temperatures. Simulations indicated that as atmospheric column water vapor increases and viewing angle is larger than 45 deg it is necessary to optimize the split-window method by separating the ranges of the atmospheric column water vapor and lower boundary temperature, and the surface temperature into tractable sub-ranges. The atmospheric lower boundary temperature and (vertical) column water vapor values retrieved from HIRS/2 or MODIS atmospheric sounding channels can be used to determine the range where the optimum coefficients of the split-window method are given. This new LST algorithm not only retrieves LST more accurately but also is less sensitive than viewing-angle independent LST algorithms to the uncertainty in the band emissivities of the land-surface in the split-window and to the instrument noise.

High cloud variations with surface temperature from 2002 to 2015: Contributions to atmospheric radiative cooling rate and precipitation changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Run; Liou, Kuo-Nan; Su, Hui; Gu, Yu; Zhao, Bin; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Liu, Shaw Chen

2017-05-01

The global mean precipitation is largely constrained by atmospheric radiative cooling rates (Qr), which are sensitive to changes in high cloud fraction. We investigate variations of high cloud fraction with surface temperature (Ts) from July 2002 to June 2015 and compute their radiative effects on Qr using the Fu-Liou-Gu plane-parallel radiation model. We find that the tropical mean (30°S-30°N) high cloud fraction decreases with increasing Ts at a rate of about -1.0 ± 0.34% K-1 from 2002 to 2015, which leads to an enhanced atmospheric cooling around 0.86 W m-2 K-1. On the other hand, the northern midlatitudes (30°N-60°N) high cloud fraction increases with surface warming at a rate of 1.85 ± 0.65% K-1 and the near-global mean (60°S-60°N) high cloud fraction shows a statistically insignificant decreasing trend with increasing Ts over the analysis period. Dividing high clouds into cirrus, cirrostratus, and deep convective clouds, we find that cirrus cloud fraction increases with surface warming at a rate of 0.32 ± 0.11% K-1 (0.01 ± 0.17% K-1) for the near-global mean (tropical mean), while cirrostratus and deep convective clouds decrease with surface warming at a rate of -0.02 ± 0.18% K-1 and -0.33 ± 0.18% K-1 for the near-global mean and -0.64 ± 0.23% K-1 and -0.37 ± 0.13% K-1 for the tropical mean, respectively. High cloud fraction response to feedback to Ts accounts for approximately 1.9 ± 0.7% and 16.0 ± 6.1% of the increase in precipitation per unit surface warming over the period of 2002-2015 for the near-global mean and the tropical mean, respectively.

The role of global cloud climatologies in validating numerical models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

HARSHVARDHAN

1991-01-01

Reliable estimates of the components of the surface radiation budget are important in studies of ocean-atmosphere interaction, land-atmosphere interaction, ocean circulation and in the validation of radiation schemes used in climate models. The methods currently under consideration must necessarily make certain assumptions regarding both the presence of clouds and their vertical extent. Because of the uncertainties in assumed cloudiness, all these methods involve perhaps unacceptable uncertainties. Here, a theoretical framework that avoids the explicit computation of cloud fraction and the location of cloud base in estimating the surface longwave radiation is presented. Estimates of the global surface downward fluxes and the oceanic surface net upward fluxes were made for four months (April, July, October and January) in 1985 to 1986. These estimates are based on a relationship between cloud radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere and the surface obtained from a general circulation model. The radiation code is the version used in the UCLA/GLA general circulation model (GCM). The longwave cloud radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere as obtained from Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) measurements is used to compute the forcing at the surface by means of the GCM-derived relationship. This, along with clear-sky fluxes from the computations, yield maps of the downward longwave fluxes and net upward longwave fluxes at the surface. The calculated results are discussed and analyzed. The results are consistent with current meteorological knowledge and explainable on the basis of previous theoretical and observational works; therefore, it can be concluded that this method is applicable as one of the ways to obtain the surface longwave radiation fields from currently available satellite data.

Global Precipitation Measurement, Validation, and Applications Integrated Hydrologic Validation to Improve Physical Precipitation Retrievals for GPM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peters-Lidar, Christa D.; Tian, Yudong; Kenneth, Tian; Harrison, Kenneth; Kumar, Sujay

2011-01-01

Land surface modeling and data assimilation can provide dynamic land surface state variables necessary to support physical precipitation retrieval algorithms over land. It is well-known that surface emission, particularly over the range of frequencies to be included in the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM), is sensitive to land surface states, including soil properties, vegetation type and greenness, soil moisture, surface temperature, and snow cover, density, and grain size. In order to investigate the robustness of both the land surface model states and the microwave emissivity and forward radiative transfer models, we have undertaken a multi-site investigation as part of the NASA Precipitation Measurement Missions (PMM) Land Surface Characterization Working Group. Specifically, we will demonstrate the performance of the Land Information System (LIS; http://lis.gsfc.nasa.gov; Peters-Lidard et aI., 2007; Kumar et al., 2006) coupled to the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA's) Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM; Weng, 2007; van Deist, 2009). The land surface is characterized by complex physical/chemical constituents and creates temporally and spatially heterogeneous surface properties in response to microwave radiation scattering. The uncertainties in surface microwave emission (both surface radiative temperature and emissivity) and very low polarization ratio are linked to difficulties in rainfall detection using low-frequency passive microwave sensors (e.g.,Kummerow et al. 2001). Therefore, addressing these issues is of utmost importance for the GPM mission. There are many approaches to parameterizing land surface emission and radiative transfer, some of which have been customized for snow (e.g., the Helsinki University of Technology or HUT radiative transfer model;) and soil moisture (e.g., the Land Surface Microwave Emission Model or LSMEM).

Influence of radiant energy exchange on the determination of convective heat transfer rates to Orbiter leeside surfaces during entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Throckmorton, D. A.

1982-01-01

Temperatures measured at the aerodynamic surface of the Orbiter's thermal protection system (TPS), and calorimeter measurements, are used to determine heating rates to the TPS surface during atmospheric entry. On the Orbiter leeside, where convective heating rates are low, it is possible that a significant portion of the total energy input may result from solar radiation, and for the wing, cross radiation from the hot (relatively) Orbiter fuselage. In order to account for the potential impact of these sources, values of solar- and cross-radiation heat transfer are computed, based upon vehicle trajectory and attitude information and measured surface temperatures. Leeside heat-transfer data from the STS-2 mission are presented, and the significance of solar radiation and fuselage-to-wing cross-radiation contributions to total energy input to Orbiter leeside surfaces is assessed.

Changes of cloudiness over tropical land during the past few decades and its link to global climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arias, P.; Fu, R.; Li, W.

2007-12-01

Tropical forests play a key role in determining the global carbon-climate feedback in the 21st century. Changes in rainforest growth and mortality rates, especially in the deep and least perturbed forest areas, have been consistently observed across global tropics in recent years. Understanding the underlying causes of these changes, especially their links to the global climate change, is especially important in determining the future of the tropical rainforests in the 21st century. Previous studies have mostly focus on the potential influences from elevated atmospheric CO2 and increasing surface temperature. Because the rainforests in wet tropical region is often light limited, we explore whether cloudiness have changed, if so, whether it is consistent with that expected from changes in forest growth rate. We will report our observational analysis examining the trends in annual average shortwave (SW) downwelling radiation, total cloud cover, and cumulus cover over the tropical land regions and to link them with trends in convective available potencial energy (CAPE). ISCCP data and radiosonde records available from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences of the University of Wyoming (http://www.weather.uwyo.edu/upperair/sounding.html) are used to study the trends. The period for the trend analysis is 1984-2004 for the ISCCP data and 1980-2006 for the radiosondes. The results for the Amazon rainforest region suggest a decreasing trend in total cloud and convective cloud covers, which results in an increase in downwelling SW radiation at the surface. These changes of total and convective clouds are consistent with a trend of decreasing CAPE and an elevated Level of Free Convection (LFC) height, as obtained from the radiosondes. All the above mentioned trends are statistically significant based on the Mann-Kendall test with 95% of confidence. These results consistently suggest the downward surface solar radiation has been increasing since 1984, result from a decrease of convective and total cloudiness over the Southern Amazon basin, due to an increase of LFC and atmospheric thermodynamic stability. Such an increase of surface SW radiation probably has contributed to the increasing in growth rate for the forests in the Amazon forests. Currently, the same analysis is being applied using radiosonde data from the Comprehensive Aerological Reference Data Set (CARDS) over the Amazon and Congo basins and the Southeast Asia. Our objective is to identify changes in cloudiness over tropical land and identify its underlying causes, especially the link to changes in surface temperature and humidity.

Surface BRDF estimation from an aircraft compared to MODIS and ground estimates at the Southern Great Plains site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Knobelspiesse, Kirk D.; Cairns, Brian; Schmid, Beat

2008-10-21

The surface spectral albedo is an important component of climate models since it determines the amount of incident solar radiation that is absorbed by the ground. The albedo can be highly heterogeneous, both in space and time, and thus adequate measurement and modeling is challenging. One source of measurements that constrain the surface albedo are satellite instruments that observe the Earth, such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Satellites estimate the surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) by correcting top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiances for atmospheric effects and accumulating observations at a variety of viewing geometries. The BRDFmore » can then be used to determine the albedo that is required in climate modeling. Other measurements that provide a more direct constraint on surface albedo are those made by upward and downward looking radiometers at the ground. One product in particular, the Best Estimate Radiation Flux (BEFLUX) value added product of the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program at the Southern Great Plains Central Facility (SGP CF) in central Oklahoma, has been used to evaluate the quality of the albedo products derived from MODIS BRDF estimates. These comparisons have highlighted discrepancies between the energy absorbed at the surface that is calculated from the BEFLUX products and that is predicted from the MODIS BRDF product. This paper attempts to investigate these discrepancies by using data from an airborne scanning radiometer, the Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) that was flown at low altitude in the vicinity of the SGP CF site during the Aerosol Lidar Validation Experiment (ALIVE) in September of 2005. The RSP is a polarimeter that scans in the direction of the aircraft ground track, and can thus estimate the BRDF in a period of seconds, rather than the days required by MODIS to accumulate enough viewing angles. Atmospheric correction is aided by the Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-14), which was operated on the same aircraft as the RSP. The RSP data can therefore be used to validate the MODIS BRDF product and diagnose the reason for the discrepancies with BEFLUX. Our analysis indicates that MODIS and RSP estimates of surface absorption and BEFLUX measurements do agree and that previously noticed differences between MODIS albedo products and BEFLUX were due as much to the analysis techniques used as to any instrumental effects. We conclude that the MODIS BRDF products provide a useful measure of surface albedo that can be used to determine whether the surface radiative heating in climate models has a realistic spatial and seasonal variation.« less

Radiation Environments on Mars and Their Implications for Terrestrial Planetary Habitability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, I.; Kasting, J. F.

2009-12-01

The understanding of the surface and subsurface radiation environments of a terrestrial planet such as Mars is crucial to its potential past and/or present habitability. Despite this, the subject of high energy radiation is rarely contemplated within the field of Astrobiology as an essential factor determining the realistic parameter space for the development and preservation of life. Furthermore, not much is known of the radiation environment on the surface of Mars due to the fact that no real data exist on this contribution. There are no direct measurements available as no surface landers/probes have ever carried nuclear radiation detection equipment to characterize the interactions arising from cosmic ray bombardment, solar particle events and the atmosphere striking the planetary surface. The first mission set to accomplish this task, the Mars Science Laboratory, is not scheduled to launch until 2011. Presented here are some of such simulations performed with the HZETRN NASA code offering radiation depth profiles as well as a characterization of the diverse radiation environments. A discussion of the implications that these projected doses would have on terrestrial planetary habitability on Mars is presented as well as its implications for the habitability of terrestrial planets elsewhere. This work does not provide an estimate of the UV radiation fields on the Martian surface instead it focuses on the high energy radiation fields as composed by galactic cosmic rays (GCRs)

Comparison of Solar UVA and UVB Radiation Measured in Selangor, Malaysia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kamarudin, S. U.; Gopir, G.; Yatim, B.

The solar ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation data was measured at Physics Building, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (2 degree sign 55' N, 101 degree sign 46' E, 50m asl) by the Xplorer GLX Pasco that connected to UVA Light sensor. The measured solar UVA data were compared with the total daily solar ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation data recorded by the Malaysian Metrological Department at Petaling Jaya, Malaysia (3 degree sign 06' N, 101 degree sign 39' E, 50m asl) for 18 days in year 2007. The daily total average of UVA radiation received is (298{+-}105) kJm{sup -2} while the total daily maximummore » is (600{+-}56) kJm{sup -2}. From the analysis, it shows that the values of UVA radiation data were higher than UVB radiation data with the average ratio of 6.41% between 3-14%. A weak positive correlation was found (the correlation coefficient, r, is 0.22). The amount of UVA radiation that reached the earth surface is less dependence on UVB radiation and the factors were discussed.« less

Coherent and tunable terahertz radiation from graphene surface plasmon polaritons excited by an electron beam

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Shenggang, E-mail: liusg@uestc.edu.cn; Hu, Min; Chen, Xiaoxing

2014-05-19

Although surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) resonance in graphene can be tuned in the terahertz regime, transforming such SPPs into coherent terahertz radiation has not been achieved. Here, we propose a graphene-based coherent terahertz radiation source with greatly enhanced intensity. The radiation works at room temperature, it is tunable and can cover the whole terahertz regime. The radiation intensity generated with this method is 400 times stronger than that from SPPs at a conventional dielectric or semiconducting surface and is comparable to that from the most advanced photonics source such as a quantum cascade laser. The physical mechanism for this strongmore » radiation is presented. The phase diagrams defining the parameters range for the occurrence of radiation is also shown.« less

Relationships between surface solar radiation and wheat yield in Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez-Barrera, Sara; Rodriguez-Puebla, Concepción

2017-04-01

Here we examine the role of solar radiation to describe wheat-yield variability in Spain. We used Partial Least Square regression to capture the modes of surface solar radiation that drive wheat-yield variability. We will show that surface solar radiation introduces the effects of teleconnection patterns on wheat yield and also it is associated with drought and diurnal temperature range. We highlight the importance of surface solar radiation to obtain models for wheat-yield projections because it could reduce uncertainty with respect to the projections based on temperatures and precipitation variables. In addition, the significance of the model based on surface solar radiation is greater than the previous one based on drought and diurnal temperature range (Hernandez-Barrera et al., 2016). According to our results, the increase of solar radiation over Spain for 21st century could force a wheat-yield decrease (Hernandez-Barrera et al., 2017). Hernandez-Barrera S., Rodríguez-Puebla C. and Challinor A.J. 2016 Effects of diurnal temperature range and drought on wheat yield in Spain. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. DOI: 10.1007/s00704-016-1779-9 Hernandez-Barrera S., Rodríguez-Puebla C. 2017 Wheat yield in Spain and associated solar radiation patterns. International Journal of Climatology. DOI: 10.1002/joc.4975

High-Resolution Synchrotron Radiation Imaging of Trace Metal Elemental Concentrations in Porites Coral

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cirino, M.; Dunbar, R. B.; Tangri, N.; Mehta, A.

2014-12-01

We investigated the use of synchrotron radiation for elemental imaging within the skeleton of a Porites coral from American Samoa to explore the fine-scale structure of strontium to calcium (Sr/Ca) variability. The use of a synchrotron for coral paleoclimate analysis is relatively new. The method provides a high resolution, two-dimensional elemental map of a coral surface. The aragonitic skeleton of Porites sp. colonies has been widely used for paleoclimate reconstruction as the oxygen isotope ratio (δ18O) signal varies with both sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS). Sr/Ca has been used in previous studies in conjunction with δ18O to deconvolve SST from SSS, as Sr/Ca in the coral skeleton varies with SST, but not SSS. However, recent studies suggest that in some cases Sr/Ca variability in coral does not reliably reflect changes in SST. We sought to address this puzzle by investigating Sr/Ca variability in Porites corals at a very fine spatial scale while also demonstrating the suitability of the synchrotron as a coral analysis tool. We also considered Sr/Ca variability as it pertains to the coral's structural elements. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center synchrotron station generates collimated x-rays in the energy range of 4500-45000 eV with beam diameters as small as 20 μm. Synchrotron imaging allows faster and higher-resolution Sr/Ca analysis than does inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). It also is capable of mapping spatial distributions of many elements, which aids in the development of a multiproxy approach to paleoclimate reconstruction. Imaging and analysis of the Porites coral using synchrotron radiation revealed an intricate sub-seasonal Sr/Ca signal, possibly correlating to a sub-monthly resolution. This signal, which seems unrelated to SST, dominates the annual signal.

Entropy generation minimization (EGM) of nanofluid flow by a thin moving needle with nonlinear thermal radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waleed Ahmed Khan, M.; Ijaz Khan, M.; Hayat, T.; Alsaedi, A.

2018-04-01

Entropy generation minimization (EGM) and heat transport in nonlinear radiative flow of nanomaterials over a thin moving needle has been discussed. Nonlinear thermal radiation and viscous dissipation terms are merged in the energy expression. Water is treated as ordinary fluid while nanomaterials comprise titanium dioxide, copper and aluminum oxide. The nonlinear governing expressions of flow problems are transferred to ordinary ones and then tackled for numerical results by Built-in-shooting technique. In first section of this investigation, the entropy expression is derived as a function of temperature and velocity gradients. Geometrical and physical flow field variables are utilized to make it nondimensionalized. An entropy generation analysis is utilized through second law of thermodynamics. The results of temperature, velocity, concentration, surface drag force and heat transfer rate are explored. Our outcomes reveal that surface drag force and Nusselt number (heat transfer) enhanced linearly for higher nanoparticle volume fraction. Furthermore drag force decays for aluminum oxide and it enhances for copper nanoparticles. In addition, the lowest heat transfer rate is achieved for higher radiative parameter. Temperature field is enhanced with increase in temperature ratio parameter.

Thermal Analysis of porous fin with uniform magnetic field using Adomian decomposition Sumudu transform method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patel, Trushit; Meher, Ramakanta

2017-09-01

In this paper, we consider a Roseland approximation to radiate heat transfer, Darcy's model to simulate the flow in porous media and finite-length fin with insulated tip to study the thermal performance and to predict the temperature distribution in a vertical isothermal surface. The energy balance equations of the porous fin with several temperature dependent properties are solved using the Adomian Decomposition Sumudu Transform Method (ADSTM). The effects of various thermophysical parameters, such as the convection-conduction parameter, Surface-ambient radiation parameter, Rayleigh numbers and Hartman number are determined. The results obtained from the ADSTM are further compared with the fourth-fifth order Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method and Least Square Method(LSM) (Hoshyar et al. 2016 ) to determine the accuracy of the solution.

Arctic ocean radiative fluxes and cloud forcing estimated from the ISCCP C2 cloud dataset, 1983-1990

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schweiger, Axel J.; Key, Jeffrey R.

1994-01-01

Radiative fluxes and cloud forcings for the ocean areas of the Arctic are computed from the monthly cloud product of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) for 1983-90. Spatially averaged short-wave fluxes are compared well with climatological values, while downwelling longwave fluxes are significantly lower. This is probably due to the fact that the ISCCP cloud amounts are underestimates. Top-of-the-atmosphere radiative fluxes are in excellent agreement with measurements from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). Computed cloud forcings indicate that clouds have a warming effect at the surface and at the top of the atmosphere during winter and a cooling effect during summer. The net radiative effect of clouds is larger at the surface during winter but greater at the top of the atmosphere during summer. Overall the net radiative effect of clouds at the top of the atmosphere is one of cooling. This is in contrast to a previous result from ERBE data showing arctic cloud forcings have a net warming effect. Sensitivities to errors in input parameters are generally greater during winter with cloud amount being the most important paarameter. During summer the surface radiation balance is most sensitive to errors in the measurements of surface reflectance. The results are encouraging, but the estimated error of 20 W/sq m in surface net radiative fluxes is too large, given that estimates of the net radiative warming effect due to a doubling of CO2 are on the order of 4 W/sq m. Because it is difficult to determine the accuracy of results with existing in situ observations, it is recommended that the development of improved algorithms for the retrieval of surface radiative properties be accompanied by the simultaneous assembly of validation datasets.

The effect of the eye's surface topography on the total irradiance of ultraviolet radiation on the inner canthus.

PubMed

Birt, Benjamin; Cowling, Ian; Coyne, Steve; Michael, Greg

2007-04-02

Basal cell carcinoma is the most commonly occurring skin cancer in sub tropical climates. The link between ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and basal cell carcinomas (BCC) is strong. Numerous studies have investigated the spatial distribution of BCCs over the head and neck region and the relative UVR dose, with little or no correlation found between the UVR dose and occurrence rates. This is particularly noted in the inner canthus region. The inner canthus' field of view is restricted by the eye brow ridge, eye orbit and the cheek bone. Yet, the occurrence rate here of BCC's when compared to other regions that are more directly exposed to the environment is significantly higher. A possible causal effect for the increase in occurrence rate in this region is the focussed reflection of UVR from the tear film surface associated with the eye not previously considered in earlier studies. This paper investigates the potential for the surface topography of the eye to reflect focussed radiation towards the inner canthus using a ray tracing programme where the analysis is conducted at a cellular level. Defined hot spots, or striations, of increased irradiation were evidenced across the surface of the inner canthus. This increase in irradiation was not observed with macroscopic detectors which also possibly explain why this increased dose has not previously been detected during environmental measurements with large detectors on manikins or humans.

The effects of downwelling radiance on MER surface spectra: the evil that atmospheres do

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolff, M.; Ghosh, A.; Arvidson, R.; Christensen, P.; Guinness, E.; Ruff, S.; Seelos, F.; Smith, M.; Athena Science

2004-11-01

While it may not be surprising to some that downwelling radiation in the martian atmosphere may contribute a non-negligible fraction of the radiance for a given surface scene, others remain shocked and surprised (and often dismayed) to discover this fact; particularly with regard to mini-TES observations. Naturally, the relative amplitude of this sky ``contamination'' is often a complicated function of meteorological conditions, viewing geometry, surface properties, and (for the IR) surface temperature. Ideally, one would use a specialized observations to mimic the actual hemispherical-directional nature of the problem. Despite repeated attempts to obtain Pancam complete sky observations and mini-TES sky octants, such observations are not available in the MER observational database. As a result, one is left with the less-enviable, though certainly more computationally intensive, task of connecting point observations (radiance and derived meteorological parameters) to a hemispherical integral of downwelling radiance. Naturally, one must turn to a radiative transfer analysis, despite oft-repeated attempts to assert otherwise. In our presentation, we offer insight into the conditions under which one must worry about atmospheric removal, as well as semi-empirical approaches (based upon said radiative transfer efforts) for producing the correction factors from the available MER atmospheric observations. This work is proudly supported by the MER program through NASA/JPL Contract No. 1242889 (MJW), as well as the contracts for the co-authors.

UV sensitivity of planktonic net community production in ocean surface waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Regaudie-de-Gioux, Aurore; Agustí, Susana; Duarte, Carlos M.

2014-05-01

The net plankton community metabolism of oceanic surface waters is particularly important as it more directly affects the partial pressure of CO2 in surface waters and thus the air-sea fluxes of CO2. Plankton communities in surface waters are exposed to high irradiance that includes significant ultraviolet blue (UVB, 280-315 nm) radiation. UVB radiation affects both photosynthetic and respiration rates, increase plankton mortality rates, and other metabolic and chemical processes. Here we test the sensitivity of net community production (NCP) to UVB of planktonic communities in surface waters across contrasting regions of the ocean. We observed here that UVB radiation affects net plankton community production at the ocean surface, imposing a shift in NCP by, on average, 50% relative to the values measured when excluding partly UVB. Our results show that under full solar radiation, the metabolic balance shows the prevalence of net heterotrophic community production. The demonstration of an important effect of UVB radiation on NCP in surface waters presented here is of particular relevance in relation to the increased UVB radiation derived from the erosion of the stratospheric ozone layer. Our results encourage design future research to further our understanding of UVB effects on the metabolic balance of plankton communities.

Excimer laser-induced hydrohynamical effects and surface modifications on silicon carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicolas, Gines; Autric, Michel

1996-04-01

The use of lasers in many applications requires an understanding and control of the fundamental processes involved during the laser radiation-material interaction. The importance and the duration of the phenomena involved (optical, thermal, mechanical, electromagnetic, radiative) depend on parameters such as the power density of the laser radiation, the nature and the surface morphology of the material, the surrounding gas and the wavelength of the radiation. A part of the incident energy is reflected by the surface, while the remaining quantity of this energy is absorbed by the material. This incident energy contributes to heating, melting, vaporization and plasma formation if the laser intensity is sufficiently high. The present study is devoted to the ceramic material irradiation in air by an excimer laser at a wavelength of 248 nm and a pulse duration of 20 ns. The objective is to understand the different phenomena induced by radiation and to improve mechanical properties of the surface. Presented results concern the dynamics of plasmas and shock waves, plus surface modifications (porosity, roughness, composition changes) on silicon carbide samples (SiC). A part of the study has resulted in the characterization of the flow created in front of the sample revealing different hydrodynamical regimes. Visualizations of the luminous plasma front and shock waves have been obtained using a fast electronic camera IMACON 790 and a ICCD camera. These optical devices have permitted us to observe simultaneously the formation and expansion of different fronts (plasma and shock waves) propagating into the surrounding gas. The results have been compared to the theory. Complex structures inside the plume have been observed inducing a turbulence phenomena some milliseconds after the irradiation. On the other hand, the surface morphology has been characterized by observations with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) showing important modifications of the morphology according to the energy density and number of pulses applied. A decrease of surface porosity is revealed using image processing technique. This improvement is accompanied with an increase of roughness which has been measured by mechanical profilometry and might be detrimental for friction applications. In addition, an analysis of the material in depth by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) has shown chemical composition changes (an increase in the percentage of silicon) in the zone irradiated.

An examination of Mars' north seasonal polar cap using MGS: Composition and infrared radiation balance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, Gary B.

2013-08-01

A detailed analysis of data from one revolution of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) is presented. Approximately 80% of this revolution observes the mid-winter northern seasonal polar cap, which covers the surface to <60°N, and which is predominantly within polar night. The surface composition and temperature are determined through analysis of 6-50 μm infrared spectra from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES). The infrared radiative balance, which is the entire heat balance in the polar night except for small subsurface and atmospheric advection terms, is calculated for the surface and atmospheric column. The primary constituent, CO2 ice, also dominates the infrared spectral properties by variations in its grain size and by admixtures of dust and water ice, which cause large variations in the 20-50 μm emissivity. This is modified by incomplete areal coverage, and clouds or hazes. This quantitative analysis reveals CO2 grain radii ranging from ˜100 μm in isolated areas, to 1-5 mm in more widespread regions. The water ice content varies from none to about one part per thousand by mass, with a clear increase towards the periphery of the polar cap. The dust content is typically a few parts per thousand by mass, but is as much as an order of magnitude less abundant in "cold spot" regions, where the low emissivity of pure CO2 ice is revealed. This is the first quantitative analysis of thermal spectra of the seasonal polar cap and the first to estimate water ice content. Our models show that the cold spots represent cleaner, dust-free ice rather than finer grained ice than the background. Our guess is that the dust in cold spots is hidden in the center of the CO2 frost particles rather than not present. The fringes of the cap have more dust and water ice, and become patchy, with warmer water snow filling the gaps on the night side, and warmer bare soil on the day side. A low optical depth (<1 in the visible) water ice atmospheric haze is apparent on the night side, and appears with smaller optical depth on the day side. The infrared radiative balance at the surface is typically 20-25 W m-2 in the central polar cap, with ˜25% dips in the regions of dust-free CO2. The atmospheric radiative terms are typically 1-3 W m-2.

Numerical Simulations of Turbulent Molecular Clouds Regulated by Radiation Feedback Forces. II. Radiation-Gas Interactions and Outflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raskutti, Sudhir; Ostriker, Eve C.; Skinner, M. Aaron

2017-12-01

Momentum deposition by radiation pressure from young, massive stars may help to destroy molecular clouds and unbind stellar clusters by driving large-scale outflows. We extend our previous numerical radiation hydrodynamic study of turbulent star-forming clouds to analyze the detailed interaction between non-ionizing UV radiation and the cloud material. Our simulations trace the evolution of gas and star particles through self-gravitating collapse, star formation, and cloud destruction via radiation-driven outflows. These models are idealized in that we include only radiation feedback and adopt an isothermal equation of state. Turbulence creates a structure of dense filaments and large holes through which radiation escapes, such that only ˜50% of the radiation is (cumulatively) absorbed by the end of star formation. The surface density distribution of gas by mass as seen by the central cluster is roughly lognormal with {σ }{ln{{Σ }}}=1.3{--}1.7, similar to the externally projected surface density distribution. This allows low surface density regions to be driven outwards to nearly 10 times their initial escape speed {v}{esc}. Although the velocity distribution of outflows is broadened by the lognormal surface density distribution, the overall efficiency of momentum injection to the gas cloud is reduced because much of the radiation escapes. The mean outflow velocity is approximately twice the escape speed from the initial cloud radius. Our results are also informative for understanding galactic-scale wind driving by radiation, in particular, the relationship between velocity and surface density for individual outflow structures and the resulting velocity and mass distributions arising from turbulent sources.

Satellite-based climate data records of surface solar radiation from the CM SAF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trentmann, Jörg; Cremer, Roswitha; Kothe, Steffen; Müller, Richard; Pfeifroth, Uwe

2017-04-01

The incoming surface solar radiation has been defined as an essential climate variable by GCOS. Long term monitoring of this part of the earth's energy budget is required to gain insights on the state and variability of the climate system. In addition, climate data sets of surface solar radiation have received increased attention over the recent years as an important source of information for solar energy assessments, for crop modeling, and for the validation of climate and weather models. The EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) is deriving climate data records (CDRs) from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite instruments. Within the CM SAF these CDRs are accompanied by operational data at a short time latency to be used for climate monitoring. All data from the CM SAF is freely available via www.cmsaf.eu. Here we present the regional and the global climate data records of surface solar radiation from the CM SAF. The regional climate data record SARAH (Surface Solar Radiation Dataset - Heliosat, doi: 10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/SARAH/V002) is based on observations from the series of Meteosat satellites. SARAH provides 30-min, daily- and monthly-averaged data of the effective cloud albedo, the solar irradiance (incl. spectral information), the direct solar radiation (horizontal and normal), and the sunshine duration from 1983 to 2015 for the full view of the Meteosat satellite (i.e, Europe, Africa, parts of South America, and the Atlantic ocean). The data sets are generated with a high spatial resolution of 0.05° allowing for detailed regional studies. The global climate data record CLARA (CM SAF Clouds, Albedo and Radiation dataset from AVHRR data, doi: 10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/CLARA_AVHRR/V002) is based on observations from the series of AVHRR satellite instruments. CLARA provides daily- and monthly-averaged global data of the solar irradiance (SIS) from 1982 to 2015 with a spatial resolution of 0.25°. In addition to the solar surface radiation also the longwave surface radiation as well as surface albedo and numerous cloud properties are provided in CLARA. Here we provide an overview of the climate data records of the surface solar radiation and present the results of the quality assessment of both climate data records against available surface reference observations, e.g., from the BSRN and the GEBA data archive.

Nonlinear radiative heat flux and heat source/sink on entropy generation minimization rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayat, T.; Khan, M. Waleed Ahmed; Khan, M. Ijaz; Alsaedi, A.

2018-06-01

Entropy generation minimization in nonlinear radiative mixed convective flow towards a variable thicked surface is addressed. Entropy generation for momentum and temperature is carried out. The source for this flow analysis is stretching velocity of sheet. Transformations are used to reduce system of partial differential equations into ordinary ones. Total entropy generation rate is determined. Series solutions for the zeroth and mth order deformation systems are computed. Domain of convergence for obtained solutions is identified. Velocity, temperature and concentration fields are plotted and interpreted. Entropy equation is studied through nonlinear mixed convection and radiative heat flux. Velocity and temperature gradients are discussed through graphs. Meaningful results are concluded in the final remarks.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robertson, Franklin R.; Fitzjarrald, Dan; Marshall, Susan; Oglesby, Robert; Roads, John; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

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.

Gas chromatography/matrix-isolation apparatus

DOEpatents

Reedy, G.T.

1986-06-10

A gas-sample collection device provides matrix isolation of individual gas bands from a gas chromatographic separation and for the spectroscopic analysis of the individual sample bands. The device includes a vacuum chamber containing a rotatably supported, specular carousel having at least one reflecting surface for holding a sample deposited thereon. A gas inlet is provided for depositing a mixture of sample and matrix material on the reflecting surface which is maintained at a sufficiently low temperature to cause solidification. A first parabolic mirror directs an incident beam of electromagnetic radiation, such as in the infrared (IR) spectrum, from a source onto the sample/matrix mixture while a second parabolic mirror directs a second beam of electromagnetic radiation reflected by the specular surface to an IR spectrometer for determining the absorption spectra of the sample material deposited on the reflecting surface. The pair of off-axis parabolic mirrors having a common focal point are positioned outside of the vacuum chamber and may be displaced in combination for improved beam positioning and alignment. The carousel is provided with an aperture for each reflecting surface to facilitate accurate positioning of the incident beam relative to the gas-samples under analysis. Improved gas-sample deposition is insured by the use of a long focal length stereomicroscope positioned outside of the vacuum chamber for monitoring sample formation through a window, while the sample collector is positioned outside of the zone bounded by the incident and reflected electromagnetic beams for improved sample access and monitoring. 10 figs.

Gas chromatography/matrix-isolation apparatus

DOEpatents

Reedy, Gerald T.

1986-01-01

A gas-sample collection device provides matrix isolation of individual gas bands from a gas chromatographic separation and for the spectroscopic analysis of the individual sample bands. The device includes a vacuum chamber containing a rotatably supported, specular carousel having at least one reflecting surface for holding a sample deposited thereon. A gas inlet is provided for depositing a mixture of sample and matrix material on the reflecting surface which is maintained at a sufficiently low temperature to cause solidification. A first parabolic mirror directs an incident beam of electromagnetic radiation, such as in the infrared (IR) spectrum, from a source onto the sample/matrix mixture while a second parabolic mirror directs a second beam of electromagnetic radiation reflected by the specular surface to an IR spectrometer for determining the absorption spectra of the sample material deposited on the reflecting surface. The pair of off-axis parabolic mirrors having a common focal point are positioned outside of the vacuum chamber and may be displaced in combination for improved beam positioning and alignment. The carousel is provided with an aperture for each reflecting surface to facilitate accurate positioning of the incident beam relative to the gas-samples under analysis. Improved gas-sample deposition is insured by the use of a long focal length stereomicroscope positioned outside of the vacuum chamber for monitoring sample formation through a window, while the sample collector is positioned outside of the zone bounded by the incident and reflected electromagnetic beams for improved sample access and monitoring.

Surface and top-of-atmosphere radiative feedback kernels for CESM-CAM5

DOE PAGES

Pendergrass, Angeline G.; Conley, Andrew; Vitt, Francis M.

2018-02-21

Radiative kernels at the top of the atmosphere are useful for decomposing changes in atmospheric radiative fluxes due to feedbacks from atmosphere and surface temperature, water vapor, and surface albedo. Here we describe and validate radiative kernels calculated with the large-ensemble version of CAM5, CESM1.1.2, at the top of the atmosphere and the surface. Estimates of the radiative forcing from greenhouse gases and aerosols in RCP8.5 in the CESM large-ensemble simulations are also diagnosed. As an application, feedbacks are calculated for the CESM large ensemble. The kernels are freely available at https://doi.org/10.5065/D6F47MT6, and accompanying software can be downloaded from https://github.com/apendergrass/cam5-kernels.

Mars' surface radiation environment measured with the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover.

PubMed

Hassler, Donald M; Zeitlin, Cary; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F; Ehresmann, Bent; Rafkin, Scot; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L; Brinza, David E; Weigle, Gerald; Böttcher, Stephan; Böhm, Eckart; Burmeister, Soenke; Guo, Jingnan; Köhler, Jan; Martin, Cesar; Reitz, Guenther; Cucinotta, Francis A; Kim, Myung-Hee; Grinspoon, David; Bullock, Mark A; Posner, Arik; Gómez-Elvira, Javier; Vasavada, Ashwin; Grotzinger, John P

2014-01-24

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover began making detailed measurements of the cosmic ray and energetic particle radiation environment on the surface of Mars on 7 August 2012. We report and discuss measurements of the absorbed dose and dose equivalent from galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles on the martian surface for ~300 days of observations during the current solar maximum. These measurements provide insight into the radiation hazards associated with a human mission to the surface of Mars and provide an anchor point with which to model the subsurface radiation environment, with implications for microbial survival times of any possible extant or past life, as well as for the preservation of potential organic biosignatures of the ancient martian environment.

Surface and top-of-atmosphere radiative feedback kernels for CESM-CAM5

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pendergrass, Angeline G.; Conley, Andrew; Vitt, Francis M.

Radiative kernels at the top of the atmosphere are useful for decomposing changes in atmospheric radiative fluxes due to feedbacks from atmosphere and surface temperature, water vapor, and surface albedo. Here we describe and validate radiative kernels calculated with the large-ensemble version of CAM5, CESM1.1.2, at the top of the atmosphere and the surface. Estimates of the radiative forcing from greenhouse gases and aerosols in RCP8.5 in the CESM large-ensemble simulations are also diagnosed. As an application, feedbacks are calculated for the CESM large ensemble. The kernels are freely available at https://doi.org/10.5065/D6F47MT6, and accompanying software can be downloaded from https://github.com/apendergrass/cam5-kernels.

Arc-textured high emittance radiator surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banks, Bruce A. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

High emittance radiator surfaces are produced by arc-texturing. This process produces such a surface on a metal by scanning it with a low voltage electric arc from a carbon electrode in an inert environment.

Europa Surface Radiation Environment for Lander Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, John F.; Sturner, Steven J.

2006-01-01

The Jovian magnetospheric particle environment at Europa's surface is critical to assessment of landed astrobiological experiments in three respects: (1) the landing site must be chosen for the best prospects for detectable organic or inorganic signs of Life, e.g. regions of freshly emergent flows from the subsurface; (2) lander systems must reach the surface through the Jovian magnetospheric environment and operate long enough on the surface to return useful data; (3) lander instrumentation must be capable of detecting signs of life in the context of the local environmental radiation and associated chemistry. The Galileo, Voyager, and Pioneer missions have provided a wealth of data on energetic particle intensities throughout the Jovian magnetosphere including from many flybys of Europa. cumulative radiation dosages for spacecraft enroute to Europa can be well characterized, but knowledge of the surface radiation environment is very limited. Energetic electrons should primarily impact the trailing hemisphere with decreasing intensity towards the center of the leading hemisphere and are the most significant radiation component down to meter depths in the surface regolith due to secondary interactions. Observed surface distribution for sulfates is suggestive of electron irradiation but may have alternative interpretations. Having much-larger magnetic gyroradii than electrons, energetic protons and heavier ions irradiate more of the global surface. The particular orientations of electron, proton, and ion gyromotion would project into corresponding directional (e.g., east-west) anisotropies of particle flu into the surface. Particular topographic features at the landing site may therefore offer shielding from part of the incident radiation.

Device and Method of Scintillating Quantum Dots for Radiation Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, Eric R. (Inventor); DeHaven, Stanton L. (Inventor); Williams, Phillip A. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A radiation imaging device includes a radiation source and a micro structured detector comprising a material defining a surface that faces the radiation source. The material includes a plurality of discreet cavities having openings in the surface. The detector also includes a plurality of quantum dots disclosed in the cavities. The quantum dots are configured to interact with radiation from the radiation source, and to emit visible photons that indicate the presence of radiation. A digital camera and optics may be used to capture images formed by the detector in response to exposure to radiation.

Global Surface Net-Radiation at 5 km from MODIS Terra

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Verma, Manish; Fisher, Joshua; Mallick, Kaniska

Reliable and fine resolution estimates of surface net-radiation are required for estimating latent and sensible heat fluxes between the land surface and the atmosphere. However, currently, fine resolution estimates of net-radiation are not available and consequently it is challenging to develop multi-year estimates of evapotranspiration at scales that can capture land surface heterogeneity and are relevant for policy and decision-making. We developed and evaluated a global net-radiation product at 5 km and 8-day resolution by combining mutually consistent atmosphere and land data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board Terra. Comparison with net-radiation measurements from 154 globally distributedmore » sites (414 site-years) from the FLUXNET and Surface Radiation budget network (SURFRAD) showed that the net-radiation product agreed well with measurements across seasons and climate types in the extratropics (Wilmott's index ranged from 0.74 for boreal to 0.63 for Mediterranean sites). Mean absolute deviation between the MODIS and measured net-radiation ranged from 38.0 ± 1.8 W.m -2 in boreal to 72.0 ± 4.1 W.m -2 in the tropical climates. The mean bias was small and constituted only 11%, 0.7%, 8.4%, 4.2%, 13.3%, and 5.4% of the mean absolute error in daytime net-radiation in boreal, Mediterranean, temperate-continental, temperate, semi-arid, and tropical climate, respectively. To assess the accuracy of the broader spatiotemporal patterns, we upscaled error-quantified MODIS net-radiation and compared it with the net-radiation estimates from the coarse spatial (1° x 1°) but high temporal resolution gridded net-radiation product from the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES). Our estimates agreed closely with the net-radiation estimates from the CERES. Difference between the two was less than 10W.m -2 in 94% of the total land area. MODIS net-radiation product will be a valuable resource for the science community studying turbulent fluxes and energy budget at the Earth's surface.« less

Global Surface Net-Radiation at 5 km from MODIS Terra

DOE PAGES

Verma, Manish; Fisher, Joshua; Mallick, Kaniska; ...

2016-09-06

Reliable and fine resolution estimates of surface net-radiation are required for estimating latent and sensible heat fluxes between the land surface and the atmosphere. However, currently, fine resolution estimates of net-radiation are not available and consequently it is challenging to develop multi-year estimates of evapotranspiration at scales that can capture land surface heterogeneity and are relevant for policy and decision-making. We developed and evaluated a global net-radiation product at 5 km and 8-day resolution by combining mutually consistent atmosphere and land data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board Terra. Comparison with net-radiation measurements from 154 globally distributedmore » sites (414 site-years) from the FLUXNET and Surface Radiation budget network (SURFRAD) showed that the net-radiation product agreed well with measurements across seasons and climate types in the extratropics (Wilmott's index ranged from 0.74 for boreal to 0.63 for Mediterranean sites). Mean absolute deviation between the MODIS and measured net-radiation ranged from 38.0 ± 1.8 W.m -2 in boreal to 72.0 ± 4.1 W.m -2 in the tropical climates. The mean bias was small and constituted only 11%, 0.7%, 8.4%, 4.2%, 13.3%, and 5.4% of the mean absolute error in daytime net-radiation in boreal, Mediterranean, temperate-continental, temperate, semi-arid, and tropical climate, respectively. To assess the accuracy of the broader spatiotemporal patterns, we upscaled error-quantified MODIS net-radiation and compared it with the net-radiation estimates from the coarse spatial (1° x 1°) but high temporal resolution gridded net-radiation product from the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES). Our estimates agreed closely with the net-radiation estimates from the CERES. Difference between the two was less than 10W.m -2 in 94% of the total land area. MODIS net-radiation product will be a valuable resource for the science community studying turbulent fluxes and energy budget at the Earth's surface.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Habte, A.; Sengupta, M.; Wilcox, S.

Models to compute Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) and Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) have been in development over the last 3 decades. These models can be classified as empirical or physical, based on the approach. Empirical models relate ground based observations with satellite measurements and use these relations to compute surface radiation. Physical models consider the radiation received from the earth at the satellite and create retrievals to estimate surface radiation. While empirical methods have been traditionally used for computing surface radiation for the solar energy industry the advent of faster computing has made operational physical models viable. The Global Solarmore » Insolation Project (GSIP) is an operational physical model from NOAA that computes GHI using the visible and infrared channel measurements from the GOES satellites. GSIP uses a two-stage scheme that first retrieves cloud properties and uses those properties in a radiative transfer model to calculate surface radiation. NREL, University of Wisconsin and NOAA have recently collaborated to adapt GSIP to create a 4 km GHI and DNI product every 30 minutes. This paper presents an outline of the methodology and a comprehensive validation using high quality ground based solar data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Surface Radiation (SURFRAD) (http://www.srrb.noaa.gov/surfrad/sitepage.html) and Integrated Surface Insolation Study (ISIS) http://www.srrb.noaa.gov/isis/isissites.html), the Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Sun Spot One (SS1) stations.« less

Effects of deterministic surface distortions on reflector antenna performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rahmat-Samii, Y.

1985-01-01

Systematic distortions of reflector antenna surfaces can cause antenna radiation patterns to be undesirably different from those of perfectly smooth reflector surfaces. In this paper, a simulation model for systematic distortions is described which permits an efficient computation of the effects of distortions in the reflector pattern. The model uses a vector diffraction physical optics analysis for the determination of both the co-polar and cross-polar fields. An interpolation scheme is also presented for the description of reflector surfaces which are prescribed by discrete points. Representative numerical results are presented for reflectors with sinusoidally and thermally distorted surfaces. Finally, comparisons are made between the measured and calculated patterns of a slowly-varying distorted offset parabolic reflector.

The Influence of Atomic Diffusion on Stellar Ages and Chemical Tagging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dotter, Aaron; Conroy, Charlie; Cargile, Phillip

2017-05-10

In the era of large stellar spectroscopic surveys, there is an emphasis on deriving not only stellar abundances but also the ages for millions of stars. In the context of Galactic archeology, stellar ages provide a direct probe of the formation history of the Galaxy. We use the stellar evolution code MESA to compute models with atomic diffusion—with and without radiative acceleration—and extra mixing in the surface layers. The extra mixing consists of both density-dependent turbulent mixing and envelope overshoot mixing. Based on these models we argue that it is important to distinguish between initial, bulk abundances (parameters) and current,more » surface abundances (variables) in the analysis of individual stellar ages. In stars that maintain radiative regions on evolutionary timescales, atomic diffusion modifies the surface abundances. We show that when initial, bulk metallicity is equated with current, surface metallicity in isochrone age analysis, the resulting stellar ages can be systematically overestimated by up to 20%. The change of surface abundances with evolutionary phase also complicates chemical tagging, which is the concept that dispersed star clusters can be identified through unique, high-dimensional chemical signatures. Stars from the same cluster, but in different evolutionary phases, will show different surface abundances. We speculate that calibration of stellar models may allow us to estimate not only stellar ages but also initial abundances for individual stars. In the meantime, analyzing the chemical properties of stars in similar evolutionary phases is essential to minimize the effects of atomic diffusion in the context of chemical tagging.« less

Thermal Vacuum Test of Ice as a Phase Change Material Integrated with a Radiator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Steve; Le, Hung; Leimkuehler, Thomas O.; Stephan, Ryan A.

2009-01-01

Water may be used as radiation shielding for Solar Particle Events (SPE) to protect crewmembers in the Lunar Electric Rover (LER). Because the water is already present for radiation protection, it could also provide a mass efficient solution to the vehicle's thermal control system. This water can be frozen by heat rejection from a radiator and used as a Phase Change Material (PCM) for thermal storage. Use of this water as a PCM can eliminate the need for a pumped fluid loop thermal control system as well as reduce the required size of the radiator. This paper describes the testing and analysis performed for the Rover Engineering Development Unit (REDU), a scaled-down version of a water PCM heat sink for the LER. The REDU was tested in a thermal-vacuum chamber at environmental temperatures similar to those of a horizontal radiator panel on the lunar surface. Testing included complete freeze and melt cycles along with scaled transient heat load profiles simulating a 24-hour day for the rover.

West Antarctic Ice Sheet cloud cover and surface radiation budget from NASA A-Train satellites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scott, Ryan C.; Lubin, Dan; Vogelmann, Andrew M.

Clouds are an essential parameter of the surface energy budget influencing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) response to atmospheric warming and net contribution to global sea-level rise. A four-year record of NASA A-Train cloud observations is combined with surface radiation measurements to quantify the WAIS radiation budget and constrain the three-dimensional occurrence frequency, thermodynamic phase partitioning, and surface radiative effect of clouds over West Antarctica (WA). The skill of satellite-modeled radiative fluxes is confirmed through evaluation against measurements at four Antarctic sites (WAIS Divide Ice Camp, Neumayer, Syowa, and Concordia Stations). And due to perennial high-albedo snow and icemore » cover, cloud infrared emission dominates over cloud solar reflection/absorption leading to a positive net all-wave cloud radiative effect (CRE) at the surface, with all monthly means and 99.15% of instantaneous CRE values exceeding zero. The annual-mean CRE at theWAIS surface is 34 W m -2, representing a significant cloud-induced warming of the ice sheet. Low-level liquid-containing clouds, including thin liquid water clouds implicated in radiative contributions to surface melting, are widespread and most frequent in WA during the austral summer. Clouds warm the WAIS by 26 W m -2, in summer, on average, despite maximum offsetting shortwave CRE. Glaciated cloud systems are strongly linked to orographic forcing, with maximum incidence on the WAIS continuing downstream along the Transantarctic Mountains.« less

West Antarctic Ice Sheet cloud cover and surface radiation budget from NASA A-Train satellites

DOE PAGES

Scott, Ryan C.; Lubin, Dan; Vogelmann, Andrew M.; ...

2017-04-26

Clouds are an essential parameter of the surface energy budget influencing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) response to atmospheric warming and net contribution to global sea-level rise. A four-year record of NASA A-Train cloud observations is combined with surface radiation measurements to quantify the WAIS radiation budget and constrain the three-dimensional occurrence frequency, thermodynamic phase partitioning, and surface radiative effect of clouds over West Antarctica (WA). The skill of satellite-modeled radiative fluxes is confirmed through evaluation against measurements at four Antarctic sites (WAIS Divide Ice Camp, Neumayer, Syowa, and Concordia Stations). And due to perennial high-albedo snow and icemore » cover, cloud infrared emission dominates over cloud solar reflection/absorption leading to a positive net all-wave cloud radiative effect (CRE) at the surface, with all monthly means and 99.15% of instantaneous CRE values exceeding zero. The annual-mean CRE at theWAIS surface is 34 W m -2, representing a significant cloud-induced warming of the ice sheet. Low-level liquid-containing clouds, including thin liquid water clouds implicated in radiative contributions to surface melting, are widespread and most frequent in WA during the austral summer. Clouds warm the WAIS by 26 W m -2, in summer, on average, despite maximum offsetting shortwave CRE. Glaciated cloud systems are strongly linked to orographic forcing, with maximum incidence on the WAIS continuing downstream along the Transantarctic Mountains.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Varley, J. B.; Conway, A. M.; Voss, L. F.

Thallium bromide (TlBr) crystals subjected to hydrochloric acid (HCl) chemical treatments have been shown to advantageously affect device performance and longevity in TlBr-based room temperature radiation detectors, yet the exact mechanisms of the improvements remain poorly understood. Here in this paper, we investigate the influence of several HCl chemical treatments on device-grade TlBr and describe the changes in the composition and electronic structure of the surface. Composition analysis and depth profiles obtained from secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) identify the extent to which each HCl etch condition affects the detector surface region and forms of a graded TlBr/TlBr 1-xCL xmore » surface heterojunction. Using a combination of X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and hybrid density functional calculations, we are able to determine the valence band offsets, band gaps, and conduction band offsets as a function of Cl content over the entire composition range of TIBr 1-xC1 X. This study establishes a strong correlation between device process conditions, surface chemistry, and electronic structure with the goal of further optimizing the long-term stability and radiation response of TlBr-based detectors.« less

Wake Cycle Robustness of the Mars Science Laboratory Flight Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitehill, Robert

2011-01-01

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a spacecraft being developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the purpose of in-situ exploration on the surface of Mars. The objective of MSL is to explore and quantitatively assess a local region on the Martian surface as a habitat for microbial life, past or present. This objective will be accomplished through the assessment of the biological potential of at least one target environment, the characterization of the geology and geochemistry of the landing region, an investigation of the planetary process relevant to past habitability, and a characterization of surface radiation. For this purpose, MSL incorporates a total of ten scientific instruments for which functions are to include, among others, atmospheric and descent imaging, chemical composition analysis, and radiation measurement. The Flight Software (FSW) system is responsible for all mission phases, including launch, cruise, entry-descent-landing, and surface operation of the rover. Because of the essential nature of flight software to project success, each of the software modules is undergoing extensive testing to identify and correct errors.

Solar radiation measurement project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ioup, J. W.

1981-01-01

The Xavier solar radiation measurement project and station are described. Measurements of the total solar radiation on a horizontal surface from an Eppley pyranometer were collected into computer data files. Total radiation in watt hours was converted from ten minute intervals to hourly intervals. Graphs of this total radiation data are included. A computer program in Fortran was written to calculate the total extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal surface for each day of the month. Educational and social benefits of the project are cited.

Understanding Radiation Thermometry. Part II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Risch, Timothy K.

2015-01-01

This document is a two-part course on the theory and practice of radiation thermometry. Radiation thermometry is the technique for determining the temperature of a surface or a volume by measuring the electromagnetic radiation it emits. This course covers the theory and practice of radiative thermometry and emphasizes the modern application of the field using commercially available electronic detectors and optical components. The course covers the historical development of the field, the fundamental physics of radiative surfaces, along with modern measurement methods and equipment.

Understanding Radiation Thermometry. Part I

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Risch Timothy K.

2015-01-01

This document is a two-part course on the theory and practice of radiation thermometry. Radiation thermometry is the technique for determining the temperature of a surface or a volume by measuring the electromagnetic radiation it emits. This course covers the theory and practice of radiative thermometry and emphasizes the modern application of the field using commercially available electronic detectors and optical components. The course covers the historical development of the field, the fundamental physics of radiative surfaces, along with modern measurement methods and equipment.

Sizing and Pointing of Solar Panels and for Solar Thermal Applications

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2014-09-25

... on horizontal surface (kWh/m2/day) Amount of electromagnetic energy (solar radiation) incident on the surface of the earth. ... on horizontal surface (kWh/m2/day) Amount of electromagnetic energy (solar radiation) incident on the surface of the earth ...

Influence of cloud fraction and snow cover to the variation of surface UV radiation at King Sejong station, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yun Gon; Koo, Ja-Ho; Kim, Jhoon

2015-10-01

This study investigated how cloud fraction and snow cover affect the variation of surface ultraviolet (UV) radiation by using surface Erythemal UV (EUV) and Near UV (NUV) observed at the King Sejong Station, Antarctica. First the Radiative Amplification Factor (RAF), the relative change of surface EUV according to the total-column ozone amount, is compared for different cloud fractions and solar zenith angles (SZAs). Generally, all cloudy conditions show that the increase of RAF as SZA becomes larger, showing the larger effects of vertical columnar ozone. For given SZA cases, the EUV transmission through mean cloud layer gradually decreases as cloud fraction increases, but sometimes the maximum of surface EUV appears under partly cloudy conditions. The high surface EUV transmittance under broken cloud conditions seems due to the re-radiation of scattered EUV by cloud particles. NUV transmission through mean cloud layer also decreases as cloud amount increases but the sensitivity to the cloud fraction is larger than EUV. Both EUV and NUV radiations at the surface are also enhanced by the snow cover, and their enhancement becomes higher as SZA increases implying the diurnal variation of surface albedo. This effect of snow cover seems large under the overcast sky because of the stronger interaction between snow surface and cloudy sky.

A New Fast Algorithm to Completely Account for Non-Lambertian Surface Reflection of The Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qin, Wen-Han; Herman, Jay R.; Ahmad, Ziauddin; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) influences not only radiance just about the surface, but that emerging from the top of the atmosphere (TOA). In this study we propose a new, fast and accurate, algorithm CASBIR (correction for anisotropic surface bidirectional reflection) to account for such influences on radiance measured above TOA. This new algorithm is based on a 4-stream theory that separates the radiation field into direct and diffuse components in both upwelling and downwelling directions. This is important because the direct component accounts for a substantial portion of incident radiation under a clear sky, and the BRDF effect is strongest in the reflection of the direct radiation reaching the surface. The model is validated by comparison with a full-scale, vector radiation transfer model for the atmosphere-surface system. The result demonstrates that CASBIR performs very well (with overall relative difference of less than one percent) for all solar and viewing zenith and azimuth angles considered in wavelengths from ultraviolet to near-infrared over three typical, but very different surface types. Application of this algorithm includes both accounting for non-Lambertian surface scattering on the emergent radiation above TOA and a potential approach for surface BRDF retrieval from satellite measured radiance.

Error sources in the real-time NLDAS incident surface solar radiation and an evaluation against field observations and the NARR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, G.; Gao, X.; Sorooshian, S.

2005-12-01

The atmospheric model is sensitive to the land surface interactions and its coupling with Land surface Models (LSMs) leads to a better ability to forecast weather under extreme climate conditions, such as droughts and floods (Atlas et al. 1993; Beljaars et al. 1996). However, it is still questionable how accurately the surface exchanges can be simulated using LSMs, since terrestrial properties and processes have high variability and heterogeneity. Examinations with long-term and multi-site surface observations including both remotely sensed and ground observations are highly needed to make an objective evaluation on the effectiveness and uncertainty of LSMs at different circumstances. Among several atmospheric forcing required for the offline simulation of LSMs, incident surface solar radiation is one of the most significant components, since it plays a major role in total incoming energy into the land surface. The North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) are two important data sources providing high-resolution surface solar radiation data for the use of research communities. In this study, these data are evaluated against field observations (AmeriFlux) to identify their advantages, deficiencies and sources of errors. The NLDAS incident solar radiation shows a pretty good agreement in monthly mean prior to the summer of 2001, while it overestimates after the summer of 2001 and its bias is pretty close to the EDAS. Two main error sources are identified: 1) GOES solar radiation was not used in the NLDAS for several months in 2001 and 2003, and 2) GOES incident solar radiation when available, was positively biased in year 2002. The known snow detection problem is sometimes identified in the NLDAS, since it is inherited from GOES incident solar radiation. The NARR consistently overestimates incident surface solar radiation, which might produce erroneous outputs if used in the LSMs. Further attention is given to the diurnal cycle of NLDAS. Because LSMs are designed to simulate radiation diurnal variation, they are always running at high temporal resolution (30-minutes to several hours). The NLDAS solar radiation data clearly show much smoothened diurnal cycles than observation in cloudy days, which is due to the lower spatial resolution of the NLDAS inherited from the GOES and the EDAS. Taking these problems discovered above into consideration, it is suggested that the NLDAS project work on reducing the systematic biases in the surface solar radiation estimates, so that the users could take full advantage from the data.

Reverse surface-polariton cherenkov radiation

PubMed Central

Tao, Jin; Wang, Qi Jie; Zhang, Jingjing; Luo, Yu

2016-01-01

The existence of reverse Cherenkov radiation for surface plasmons is demonstrated analytically. It is shown that in a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide, surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excited by an electron moving at a speed higher than the phase velocity of SPPs can generate Cherenkov radiation, which can be switched from forward to reverse direction by tuning the core thickness of the waveguide. Calculations are performed in both frequency and time domains, demonstrating that a radiation pattern with a backward-pointing radiation cone can be achieved at small waveguide core widths, with energy flow opposite to the wave vector of SPPs. Our study suggests the feasibility of generating and steering electron radiation in simple plasmonic systems, opening the gate for various applications such as velocity-selective particle detections. PMID:27477061

Comparison of ScaRaB, GOES 8, Aircraft, and Surface Observations of the Absorption of Solar Radiation by Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pope, Shelly K.; Valero, Francisco P. J.; Collins, William D.; Minnis, Patrick

2002-01-01

Data obtained by the Scanner for Radiation Budget (ScaRaB) instrument on the Meteor 3 satellite have been analyzed and compared to satellite (GOES 8), aircraft (Radiation Measurement System, RAMS), and surface (Baseline Solar Radiation Network (BSRN), Solar and Infrared Observations System (SIROS), and RAMS) measurements of irradiance obtained during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements Enhanced Shortwave Experiment (ARESE). It is found that the ScaRaB data covering the period from March 1994 to February 1995 (the instrument's operational lifetime) indicate excess absorption of solar radiation by the cloudy atmosphere in agreement with previous aircraft, surface, and GOES 8 results. The full ScaRaB data set combined with BSRN and SIROS surface observations gives an average all-sky absorptance of 0.28. The GOES 8 data set combined with RAMS surface observations gives an average all-sky absorptance of 0.26. The aircraft data set (RAMS) gives a mean all-sky absorptance of 0.24 (for the column between 0.5 and 13 km).

Effect of Surface Functionalization on Structural and Optical Properties of Luminescent LaF₃:Sm Nanoparticles.

PubMed

Ansari, Anees A

2018-02-01

Samarium (Sm3+)-doped LaF3 nanoparticles (NPs) subsequently encapsulated with inert crystalline LaF3 and amorphous silica layers were prepared by polyol and sol-gel chemical process, respectively. These surface modified core/shell/SiO2-nanostructured were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FE-transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal analysis, FTIR, UV/Vis absorption, bang gap energy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The FETEM, EDX and FTIR spectral studies clearly revealed that the silica layer has been formed surrounding the core-NPs. Comparative spectral analysis indicated that core/shell/SiO2-NPs revealed high solubility in aqueous and non-aqueous solvents. The decrease in band gap energy after surface growth of an inert LaF3 and silica shells is directly correlated to the increase in grain size. On comparing the emission intensity, a significant enhancement was observed after inert layer coating, whereas, it suppress after silica encapsulation due to the non-radiative transitions. The increase luminescent intensity after inert shell growth indicates that a significant amount of non-radiative centers existing on the surface of core/shell nanoparticles can be eliminated by the shielding effect of LaF3 shells. These observed results indicate that the as-prepared core/shell/SiO2-NPs could be highly useful in broad photonic based applications such as optical sensor/optical bio-probe and light emitting diode.

Radiation characteristics of Leaky Surface Plasmon polaritons of graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohadesi, V.; Asgari, A.; Siahpoush, V.

2018-07-01

High efficient coupling of graphene surface plasmons to far field radiation is possible by some techniques and can be used in the radiating applications. Besides of the coupling efficiency, the angular distribution of the radiated power is an important parameter in the radiating devices performance. In this paper we investigate the gain of the far field radiation related to the coupling of graphene surface plasmons via a high permittivity medium located close to the graphene. Our results show that high directive radiation and high coupling efficiency can be obtained by this technique and gain and directivity of radiation can be modified by graphene characteristics such as chemical potential and also quality of the graphene. Raising the chemical potential of graphene leads to increase the gain of the radiation as the result of amplifying the directivity of the radiation. Furthermore, high values of relaxation time lead to high directive and strong coupling which raises the maximum value of gain in efficient coupling angle. Tunable characteristics of gain and directivity in this structure can be important designing reconfigurable THz radiating devices.

Radiative flux opens new window on climate research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinker, R. T.; Laszlo, I.; Whitlock, C. H.; Charlock, T. P.

1995-01-01

For several decades, global satellite observations have been made of the rate at which electromagnetic energy (radiative flux) is emerging from the top of the atmosphere of our planet in the spectral range of about 0.2-50.0 microns. At the same time, models have been developed to infer the radiative flux at the surface from the values observed by the satellites at the upper boundary. The balance of incoming and outgoing radiative flux (radiation budget) at both boundaries, determines the net gain or loss of the radiative energy within an atmospheric column. Climate researchers can use the radiative flux as a tool to validate climate models, separate the radiative impact of clouds from surface and atmosphere contributions, and to understand the global hydrological cycle. When applied to physical processes occurring at the surface, information on the radiative flux has the potential to substantially advance our understanding of the transport of heat, moisture, and momentum across the surface/atmosphere interface. Geophysicists of many disciplines stand to benefit from efforts to improve the use of this latter untapped resource. Oceanographers can improve the representation of the selective absorption of radiation in the oceans; biologists and ecologists can improve their models for carbon dioxide exchange and biological heating in oceans; agronomists can model more realistically biomass and crop yields; and environmentalists can obtain better assessment of natural resources of radiation.

Magnetic field-related heating instabilities in the surface layers of the sun and stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrari, A.; Rosner, R.; Vaiana, G. S.

1982-01-01

The stability of a magnetized low-density plasma to current-driven filamentation instabilities is investigated and the results are applied to the surface layers of stars. Unlike previous studies, the initial (i.e., precoronal) state of the stellar surface atmosphere is taken to be a low-density, optically thin magnetized plasma in radiative equilibrium. The linear analysis shows that the surface layers of main-sequence stars (including the sun) which are threaded by magnetic fields are unstable; the instabilities considered lead to structuring perpendicular to the ambient magnetic fields. These results suggest that relatively modest surface motions, in conjunction with the presence of magnetic fields, suffice to account for the presence of inhomogeneous chromospheric and coronal plasma overlying a star's surface.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ashraf, M. Bilal, E-mail: bilalashraf-qau@yahoo.com; Hayat, T.; Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80257, Jeddah 21589

Three dimensional radiative flow of Maxwell fluid over an inclined stretching surface with convective boundary condition is investigated. Heat and mass transfer analysis is taken into account with thermophoresis effects. Similarity transformations are utilized to reduce the partial differential equations into ordinary differential equations. Series solutions of velocity, temperature and concentration are developed. Influence of different parameters Biot number, therrmophoretic parameter, Deborah number, ratio parameter, inclined stretching angle, radiation parameter, mixed convection parameter and concentration buoyancy parameter on the non-dimensional velocity components, temperature and concentration are plotted and discussed in detail. Physical quantities of interests are tabulated and examined.

Analysis of the selected mechanical parameters of coating of filters protecting against hazardous infrared radiation.

PubMed

Gralewicz, Grzegorz; Owczarek, Grzegorz; Kubrak, Janusz

2017-03-01

This article presents a comparison of the test results of selected mechanical parameters (hardness, Young's modulus, critical force for delamination) for protective filters intended for eye protection against harmful infrared radiation. Filters with reflective metallic films were studied, as well as interference filters developed at the Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB). The test results of the selected mechanical parameters were compared with the test results, conducted in accordance with a standardised method, of simulating filter surface destruction that occurs during use.

Calculation of TIR Canopy Hot Spot and Implications for Earth Radiation Budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, J. A.; Ballard, J. R., Jr.

2000-01-01

Using a 3-D model for thermal infrared exitance and the Lowtran 7 atmospheric radiative transfer model, we compute the variation in brightness temperature with view direction and, in particular, the canopy thermal hot spot. We then perform a sensitivity analysis of surface energy balance components for a nominal case using a simple SVAT model given the uncertainty in canopy temperature arising from the thermal hot spot effect. Canopy thermal hot spot variations of two degrees C lead to differences of plus or minus 24% in the midday available energy.

Solid rocket booster thermal radiation model, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, G. H.; Lee, A. L.

1976-01-01

A solid rocket booster (SRB) thermal radiation model, capable of defining the influence of the plume flowfield structure on the magnitude and distribution of thermal radiation leaving the plume, was prepared and documented. Radiant heating rates may be calculated for a single SRB plume or for the dual SRB plumes astride the space shuttle. The plumes may be gimbaled in the yaw and pitch planes. Space shuttle surface geometries are simulated with combinations of quadric surfaces. The effect of surface shading is included. The computer program also has the capability to calculate view factors between the SRB plumes and space shuttle surfaces as well as surface-to-surface view factors.

Field scale spatiotemporal analysis of surface soil moisture for evaluating point-scale in situ networks

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil moisture is an intrinsic state variable that varies considerably in space and time. From a hydrologic viewpoint, soil moisture controls runoff, infiltration, storage and drainage. Soil moisture determines the partitioning of the incoming radiation between latent and sensible heat fluxes. Althou...

Mitigation of radiation induced surface contamination

DOEpatents

Klebanoff, Leonard E.; Stulen, Richard H.

2003-01-01

A process for mitigating or eliminating contamination and/or degradation of surfaces having common, adventitious atmospheric contaminants adsorbed thereon and exposed to radiation. A gas or a mixture of gases is introduced into the environment of a surface(s) to be protected. The choice of the gaseous species to be introduced (typically a hydrocarbon gas, water vapor, or oxygen or mixtures thereof) is dependent upon the contaminant as well as the ability of the gaseous species to bind to the surface to be protected. When the surface and associated bound species are exposed to radiation reactive species are formed that react with surface contaminants such as carbon or oxide films to form volatile products (e.g., CO, CO.sub.2) which desorb from the surface.

Thermal Characterization of a Hall Effect Thruster

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

View Factor A = Area θ = Angle R = Distance xiii J = Radiosity q = Heat Transfer Rate W = Radiated Power U = Voltage C...summation rule. 1 1 N ij j F = =∑ (18) Radiosity (Ji) takes into account both radiation emitted and reflected from a surface. Analyzing radiation...exchanges between two surfaces is made easier with a few assumptions. Each surface is assumed isothermal and characterized by a uniform radiosity

Stochastic Radiative Transfer Model for Contaminated Rough Surfaces: A Framework for Detection System Design

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-01

STOCHASTIC RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODEL FOR CONTAMINATED ROUGH SURFACES: A...of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid ...COVERED (From - To) Jan 2013 - Sep 2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Stochastic Radiative Transfer Model for Contaminated Rough Surfaces: A Framework for

Analysis of space radiation exposure levels at different shielding configurations by ray-tracing dose estimation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kartashov, Dmitry; Shurshakov, Vyacheslav

2018-03-01

A ray-tracing method to calculate radiation exposure levels of astronauts at different spacecraft shielding configurations has been developed. The method uses simplified shielding geometry models of the spacecraft compartments together with depth-dose curves. The depth-dose curves can be obtained with different space radiation environment models and radiation transport codes. The spacecraft shielding configurations are described by a set of geometry objects. To calculate the shielding probability functions for each object its surface is composed from a set of the disjoint adjacent triangles that fully cover the surface. Such description can be applied for any complex shape objects. The method is applied to the space experiment MATROSHKA-R modeling conditions. The experiment has been carried out onboard the ISS from 2004 to 2016. Dose measurements were realized in the ISS compartments with anthropomorphic and spherical phantoms, and the protective curtain facility that provides an additional shielding on the crew cabin wall. The space ionizing radiation dose distributions in tissue-equivalent spherical and anthropomorphic phantoms and for an additional shielding installed in the compartment are calculated. There is agreement within accuracy of about 15% between the data obtained in the experiment and calculated ones. Thus the calculation method used has been successfully verified with the MATROSHKA-R experiment data. The ray-tracing radiation dose calculation method can be recommended for estimation of dose distribution in astronaut body in different space station compartments and for estimation of the additional shielding efficiency, especially when exact compartment shielding geometry and the radiation environment for the planned mission are not known.

Modal analysis and nonlinear characterization of an airborne power ultrasonic transducer with rectangular plate radiator.

PubMed

Andrés, R R; Acosta, V M; Lucas, M; Riera, E

2018-01-01

Some industrial processes like particle agglomeration or food dehydration among others can be enhanced by the use of power ultrasonic technologies. These technologies are based on an airborne power ultrasonic transducer (APUT) constituted by a pre-stressed Langevin-type transducer, a mechanical amplifier and an extensive plate radiator. In order to produce the desired effects in industrial processing, the transducer has to vibrate in an extensional mode driving an extensive radiator in the desired flexural mode with high amplitude displacements. Due to the generation of these high amplitude displacements in the radiator surfaces, non-linear effects like frequency shifts, hysteresis or modal interactions, among others, may be produced in the transducer behavior. When any nonlinear effect appears, when applying power, the stability and efficiency of this ultrasonic technology decreases, and the transducer may be damaged depending on the excitation power level and the nature of the nonlinearity. In this paper, an APUT with flat rectangular radiator is presented, as the active part of an innovative system with stepped reflectors. The nonlinear behavior of the APUT has been characterized numerically and experimentally in case of the modal analysis and experimentally in the case of dynamic analysis. According to the results obtained after the experiments, no modal interactions are expected, nor do other nonlinear effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Micrometeoroid and orbital debris impact inspection of the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 radiator and the implications for the near-Earth small particle environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liou, J.-C.; Anz-Meador, P.; Opiela, J.; Christiansen, E.; Cowardin, H.; Davidson, W.; Ed-Wards, D.; Hedman, T.; Herrin, J.; Hyde, J.; Juarez, Q.; Lear, D.; McNamara, K.; Moser, D.; Ross, D.; Stansbery, E.

The STS-125 Atlantis astronauts retrieved the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) during a very successful servicing mission to the HST in May 2009. The radiator attached to WFPC2 has dimensions of 2.2 m by 0.8 m. Its outermost layer is a 4-mm thick aluminum plate covered with a white thermal control coating. This radiator had been exposed to space since the deployment of WFPC2 in 1993. Due to its large surface area and long exposure time, the radiator serves as a unique witness plate for the micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) environment between 560 and 620 km altitude. The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office is leading an effort, with full support from the HST Program at GSFC, NASA Curation Office at JSC, NASA Hypervelocity Impact Technology Facility at JSC, and NASA Meteoroid Environment Office at MSFC, to inspect the exposed radiator surface. The objective is to measure and analyze the MMOD impact damage on the radiator, and then apply the data to validate or improve the near-Earth MMOD environment definition. The initial inspection was completed in September 2009. A total of 685 MMOD impact features (larger than about 0.3 mm) were identified and documented. This paper will provide an overview of the inspection, the analysis of the data, and the initial effort to use the data to model the MMOD environment.

Offshore Radiation Observations for Climate Research at the CERES Ocean Validation Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rutledge, Charles K.; Schuster, Gregory L.; Charlock, Thomas P.; Denn, Frederick M.; Smith, William L., Jr.; Fabbri, Bryan E.; Madigan, James J., Jr.; Knapp, Robert J.

2006-01-01

When radiometers on a satellite are pointed towards the planet with the goal of understanding a phenomenon quantitatively, rather than just creating a pleasing image, the task at hand is often problematic. The signal at the detector can be affected by scattering, absorption, and emission; and these can be due to atmospheric constituents (gases, clouds, and aerosols), the earth's surface, and subsurface features. When targeting surface phenomena, the remote sensing algorithm needs to account for the radiation associated with the atmospheric constituents. Likewise, one needs to correct for the radiation leaving the surface, when atmospheric phenomena are of interest. Rigorous validation of such remote sensing products is a real challenge. In visible and near infrared wavelengths, the jumble of effects on atmospheric radiation are best accomplished over dark surfaces with fairly uniform reflective properties (spatial homogeneity) in the satellite instrument's field of view (FOV). The ocean's surface meets this criteria; land surfaces - which are brighter, more spatially inhomogeneous, and more changeable with time - generally do not. NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project has used this backdrop to establish a radiation monitoring site in Virginia's coastal Atlantic Ocean. The project, called the CERES Ocean Validation Experiment (COVE), is located on a rigid ocean platform allowing the accurate measurement of radiation parameters that require precise leveling and pointing unavailable from ships or buoys. The COVE site is an optimal location for verifying radiative transfer models and remote sensing algorithms used in climate research; because of the platform's small size, there are no island wake effects; and suites of sensors can be simultaneously trained both on the sky and directly on ocean itself. This paper describes the site, the types of measurements made, multiple years of atmospheric and ocean surface radiation observations, and satellite validation results.

Computer prediction of dual reflector antenna radiation properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christodoulou, C.

1981-01-01

A program for calculating radiation patterns for reflector antennas with either smooth analytic surfaces or with surfaces composed of a number of panels. Techniques based on the geometrical optics (GO) approach were used in tracing rays over the following regions: from a feed antenna to the first reflector surface (subreflector); from this reflector to a larger reflector surface (main reflector); and from the main reflector to a mathematical plane (aperture plane) in front of the main reflector. The equations of GO were also used to calculate the reflected field components for each ray making use of the feed radiation pattern and the parameters defining the surfaces of the two reflectors. These resulting fields form an aperture distribution which is integrated numerically to compute the radiation pattern for a specified set of angles.

Solar Irradiance Changes And Photobiological Effects At Earth's Surface Following Astrophysical Ionizing Radiation Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Brian; Neale, Patrick

2016-01-01

Astrophysical ionizing radiation events have been recognized as a potential threat to life on Earth for decades. Although there is some direct biological damage on the surface from redistributed radiation several studies have indicated that the greatest long term threat is from ozone depletion and subsequent heightened solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It is known that organisms exposed to this irradiation experience harmful effects such as sunburn and even direct damage to DNA, proteins, or other cellular structures. Simulations of the atmospheric effects of a variety of events (such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and solar proton events) have been previously published, along with estimates of biological damage at Earth's surface. In the present work, we employed a radiative transfer model to expand and improve calculations of surface-level irradiance and biological impacts following an ionizing radiation event. We considered changes in surface-level UVB, UVA, and photosynthetically active radiation (visible light). Using biological weighting functions we have considered a wide range of effects, including: erythema and skin cancer in humans; inhibition of photosynthesis in the diatom Phaeodactylum sp. and dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans inhibition of carbon fixation in Antarctic phytoplankton; inhibition of growth of oat (Avena sativa L. cv. Otana) seedlings; and cataracts. We found that past work overestimated UVB irradiance, but that relative estimates for increase in exposure to DNA damaging radiation are still similar to our improved calculations. We also found that the intensity of biologically damaging radiation varies widely with organism and specific impact considered; these results have implications for biosphere-level damage following astrophysical ionizing radiation events. When considering changes in surface-level visible light irradiance, we found that, contrary to previous assumptions, a decrease in irradiance is only present for a short time in very limited geographical areas; instead we found a net increase for most of the modeled time-space region. This result has implications for proposed climate changes associated with ionizing radiation events.

Ultraviolet-radiation-induced methane emissions from meteorites and the Martian atmosphere.

PubMed

Keppler, Frank; Vigano, Ivan; McLeod, Andy; Ott, Ulrich; Früchtl, Marion; Röckmann, Thomas

2012-05-30

Almost a decade after methane was first reported in the atmosphere of Mars there is an intensive discussion about both the reliability of the observations--particularly the suggested seasonal and latitudinal variations--and the sources of methane on Mars. Given that the lifetime of methane in the Martian atmosphere is limited, a process on or below the planet's surface would need to be continuously producing methane. A biological source would provide support for the potential existence of life on Mars, whereas a chemical origin would imply that there are unexpected geological processes. Methane release from carbonaceous meteorites associated with ablation during atmospheric entry is considered negligible. Here we show that methane is produced in much larger quantities from the Murchison meteorite (a type CM2 carbonaceous chondrite) when exposed to ultraviolet radiation under conditions similar to those expected at the Martian surface. Meteorites containing several per cent of intact organic matter reach the Martian surface at high rates, and our experiments suggest that a significant fraction of the organic matter accessible to ultraviolet radiation is converted to methane. Ultraviolet-radiation-induced methane formation from meteorites could explain a substantial fraction of the most recently estimated atmospheric methane mixing ratios. Stable hydrogen isotope analysis unambiguously confirms that the methane released from Murchison is of extraterrestrial origin. The stable carbon isotope composition, in contrast, is similar to that of terrestrial microbial origin; hence, measurements of this signature in future Mars missions may not enable an unambiguous identification of biogenic methane.

Greenland surface albedo changes in July 1981-2012 from satellite observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Tao; Liang, Shunlin; Yu, Yunyue; Wang, Dongdong; Gao, Feng; Liu, Qiang

2013-12-01

Significant melting events over Greenland have been observed over the past few decades. This study presents an analysis of surface albedo change over Greenland using a 32-year consistent satellite albedo product from the global land surface satellite (GLASS) project together with ground measurements. Results show a general decreasing trend of surface albedo from 1981 to 2012 (-0.009 ± 0.002 decade-1, p < 0.01). However, a large decrease has occurred since 2000 (-0.028 ± 0.008 decade-1, p < 0.01) with most significant decreases at elevations between 1000 and 1500 m (-0.055 decade-1, p < 0.01) which may be associated with surface temperature increases. The surface radiative forcing from albedo changes is 2.73 W m-2 decade-1 and 3.06 W m-2 decade-1 under full-sky and clear-sky conditions, respectively, which indicates that surface albedo changes are likely to have a larger impact on the surface shortwave radiation budget than that caused by changes in the atmosphere over Greenland. A comparison made between satellite albedo products and data output from the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project 5 (CMIP5) general circulation models (GCMs) shows that most of the CMIP5 models do not detect the significantly decreasing trends of albedo in recent decades. This suggests that more efforts are needed to improve our understanding and simulation of climate change at high latitudes.

Effects of Combined Surface and In-Depth Absorption on Ignition of PMMA

PubMed Central

Gong, Junhui; Chen, Yixuan; Li, Jing; Jiang, Juncheng; Wang, Zhirong; Wang, Jinghong

2016-01-01

A one-dimensional numerical model and theoretical analysis involving both surface and in-depth radiative heat flux absorption are utilized to investigate the influence of their combination on ignition of PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate). Ignition time, transient temperature in a solid and optimized combination of these two absorption modes of black and clear PMMA are examined to understand the ignition mechanism. Based on the comparison, it is found that the selection of constant or variable thermal parameters of PMMA barely affects the ignition time of simulation results. The linearity between tig−0.5 and heat flux does not exist anymore for high heat flux. Both analytical and numerical models underestimate the surface temperature and overestimate the temperature in a solid beneath the heat penetration layer for pure in-depth absorption. Unlike surface absorption circumstances, the peak value of temperature is in the vicinity of the surface but not on the surface for in-depth absorption. The numerical model predicts the ignition time better than the analytical model due to the more reasonable ignition criterion selected. The surface temperature increases with increasing incident heat flux. Furthermore, it also increases with the fraction of surface absorption and the radiative extinction coefficient for fixed heat flux. Finally, the combination is optimized by ignition time, temperature distribution in a solid and mass loss rate. PMID:28773940

Effects of Combined Surface and In-Depth Absorption on Ignition of PMMA.

PubMed

Gong, Junhui; Chen, Yixuan; Li, Jing; Jiang, Juncheng; Wang, Zhirong; Wang, Jinghong

2016-10-05

A one-dimensional numerical model and theoretical analysis involving both surface and in-depth radiative heat flux absorption are utilized to investigate the influence of their combination on ignition of PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate). Ignition time, transient temperature in a solid and optimized combination of these two absorption modes of black and clear PMMA are examined to understand the ignition mechanism. Based on the comparison, it is found that the selection of constant or variable thermal parameters of PMMA barely affects the ignition time of simulation results. The linearity between t ig -0.5 and heat flux does not exist anymore for high heat flux. Both analytical and numerical models underestimate the surface temperature and overestimate the temperature in a solid beneath the heat penetration layer for pure in-depth absorption. Unlike surface absorption circumstances, the peak value of temperature is in the vicinity of the surface but not on the surface for in-depth absorption. The numerical model predicts the ignition time better than the analytical model due to the more reasonable ignition criterion selected. The surface temperature increases with increasing incident heat flux. Furthermore, it also increases with the fraction of surface absorption and the radiative extinction coefficient for fixed heat flux. Finally, the combination is optimized by ignition time, temperature distribution in a solid and mass loss rate.

Spatial interpolation of solar global radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lussana, C.; Uboldi, F.; Antoniazzi, C.

2010-09-01

Solar global radiation is defined as the radiant flux incident onto an area element of the terrestrial surface. Its direct knowledge plays a crucial role in many applications, from agrometeorology to environmental meteorology. The ARPA Lombardia's meteorological network includes about one hundred of pyranometers, mostly distributed in the southern part of the Alps and in the centre of the Po Plain. A statistical interpolation method based on an implementation of the Optimal Interpolation is applied to the hourly average of the solar global radiation observations measured by the ARPA Lombardia's network. The background field is obtained using SMARTS (The Simple Model of the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer of Sunshine, Gueymard, 2001). The model is initialised by assuming clear sky conditions and it takes into account the solar position and orography related effects (shade and reflection). The interpolation of pyranometric observations introduces in the analysis fields information about cloud presence and influence. A particular effort is devoted to prevent observations affected by large errors of different kinds (representativity errors, systematic errors, gross errors) from entering the analysis procedure. The inclusion of direct cloud information from satellite observations is also planned.

Net radiative forcing from widespread deployment of photovoltaics.

PubMed

Nemet, Gregory F

2009-03-15

If photovoltaics (PV) are to contribute significantly to stabilizing the climate, they will need to be deployed on the scale of multiple terawatts. Installation of that much PV would cover substantial portions of the Earth's surface with dark-colored, sunlight-absorbing panels, reducing the Earth's albedo. How much radiative forcing would result from this change in land use? How does this amount compare to the radiative forcing avoided by substituting PV for fossil fuels? This analysis uses a series of simple equations to compare the two effects and finds that substitution dominates; the avoided radiative forcing due to substitution of PV for fossil fuels is approximately 30 times largerthan the forcing due to albedo modification. Sensitivity analysis, including discounting of future costs and benefits, identifies unfavorable yet plausible configurations in which the albedo effect substantially reduces the climatic benefits of PV. The value of PV as a climate mitigation option depends on how it is deployed, not just how much it is deployed--efficiency of PV systems and the carbon intensity of the substituted energy are particularly important

BWR ASSEMBLY SOURCE TERMS FOR WASTE PACKAGE DESIGN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

T.L. Lotz

1997-02-15

This analysis is prepared by the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS) Waste Package Development Department (WPDD) to provide boiling water reactor (BWR) assembly radiation source term data for use during Waste Package (WP) design. The BWR assembly radiation source terms are to be used for evaluation of radiolysis effects at the WP surface, and for personnel shielding requirements during assembly or WP handling operations. The objectives of this evaluation are to generate BWR assembly radiation source terms that bound selected groupings of BWR assemblies, with regard to assembly average burnup and cooling time, which comprise the anticipated MGDS BWR commercialmore » spent nuclear fuel (SNF) waste stream. The source term data is to be provided in a form which can easily be utilized in subsequent shielding/radiation dose calculations. Since these calculations may also be used for Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA), with appropriate justification provided by TSPA, or radionuclide release rate analysis, the grams of each element and additional cooling times out to 25 years will also be calculated and the data included in the output files.« less

Assessment of the Effect of Air Pollution Controls on Trends in Shortwave Radiation over the United States from 1995 through 2010 from Multiple Observation Networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gan, Chuen-Meei; Pleim, Jonathan; Mathur, Rohit

2014-02-14

Long term datasets of total (all-sky) and clear-sky downwelling shortwave (SW) radiation, cloud cover fraction (cloudiness) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) are analyzed together with aerosol concentration from several networks (e.g. SURFRAD, CASTNET, IMPROVE and ARM) in the United States (US). Seven states with varying climatology are selected to better understand the effect of aerosols and clouds on SW radiation. This analysis aims to test the hypothesis that the reductions in anthropogenic aerosol burden resulting from substantial reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides over the past 15 years across the US has caused an increase in surfacemore » SW radiation. We show that the total and clear-sky downwelling SW radiation from seven sites have increasing trends except Penn State which shows no tendency in clear-sky SW radiation. After investigating several confounding factors, the causes can be due to the geography of the site, aerosol distribution, heavy air traffic and increasing cloudiness. Moreover, we assess the relationship between total column AOD with surface aerosol concentration to test our hypothesis. In our findings, the trends of clear-sky SW radiation, AOD, and aerosol concentration from the sites in eastern US agree well with our hypothesis. However, the sites in western US demonstrate increasing AOD associated with mostly increasing trends in surface aerosol concentration. At these sites, the changes in aerosol burden and/or direct aerosol effects alone cannot explain the observed changes in SW radiation, but other factors need to be considered such as cloudiness, aerosol vertical profiles and elevated plumes.« less

Inactivation of avirulent Yersinia pestis in Butterfield's phosphate buffer and frankfurters by UVC (254 nm) and gamma radiation.

PubMed

Sommers, Christopher H; Cooke, Peter H

2009-04-01

Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague. Although rare, pharyngeal plague in humans has been associated with consumption or handling of meat prepared from infected animals. The risks of contracting plague from consumption of deliberately contaminated food are currently unknown. Gamma radiation is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation, and UVC radiation is used for decontamination of liquids or food surfaces. Gamma radiation D10-values (the radiation dose needed to inactivate 1 log unit pathogen) were 0.23 (+/-0.01) and 0.31 (+/-0.03) kGy for avirulent Y. pestis inoculated into Butterfield's phosphate buffer and onto frankfurter surfaces, respectively, at 0 degree C. A UVC radiation dose of 0.25 J/cm2 inactivated avirulent Y. pestis suspended in Butterfield's phosphate buffer. UVC radiation doses of 0.5 to 4.0 J/cm2 inactivated 0.97 to 1.20 log units of the Y. pestis surface inoculated onto frankfurters. A low gamma radiation dose of 1.6 kGy could provide a 5-log reduction and a UVC radiation dose of 1 to 4 J/cm2 would provide a 1-log reduction of Y. pestis surface inoculated onto frankfurters. Y. pestis was capable of growth on frankfurters during refrigerated storage (10 degrees C). Gamma radiation of frankfurters inhibited the growth of Y. pestis during refrigerated storage, and UVC radiation delayed the growth of Y. pestis.

Smoke over haze: Comparative analysis of satellite, surface radiometer, and airborne in situ measurements of aerosol optical properties and radiative forcing over the eastern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vant-Hull, Brian; Li, Zhanqing; Taubman, Brett F.; Levy, Robert; Marufu, Lackson; Chang, Fu-Lung; Doddridge, Bruce G.; Dickerson, Russell R.

2005-05-01

In July 2002 Canadian forest fires produced a major smoke episode that blanketed the east coast of the United States. Properties of the smoke aerosol were measured in situ from aircraft, complementing operational Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) remotely sensed aerosol retrievals. This study compares single scattering albedo and phase function derived from the in situ measurements and AERONET retrievals in order to evaluate their consistency for application to satellite retrievals of optical depth and radiative forcing. These optical properties were combined with MODIS reflectance observations to calculate optical depth. The use of AERONET optical properties yielded optical depths 2-16% lower than those directly measured by AERONET. The use of in situ-derived optical properties resulted in optical depths 22-43% higher than AERONET measurements. These higher optical depths are attributed primarily to the higher absorption measured in situ, which is roughly twice that retrieved by AERONET. The resulting satellite retrieved optical depths were in turn used to calculate integrated radiative forcing at both the surface and top of atmosphere. Comparisons to surface (Surface Radiation Budget Network (SURFRAD) and ISIS) and to satellite (Clouds and Earth Radiant Energy System CERES) broadband radiometer measurements demonstrate that the use of optical properties derived from the aircraft measurements provided a better broadband forcing estimate (21% error) than those derived from AERONET (33% error). Thus AERONET-derived optical properties produced better fits to optical depth measurements, while in situ properties resulted in better fits to forcing measurements. These apparent inconsistencies underline the significant challenges facing the aerosol community in achieving column closure between narrow and broadband measurements and calculations.

An Assessment of the Surface Longwave Direct Radiative Effect of Airborne Saharan Dust During the NAMMA Field Campaign

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansell, R. A.; Tsay, S. C.; Ji, Q.; Hsu, N. C.; Jeong, M. J.; Wang, S. H.; Reid, J. S.; Liou, K. N.; Ou, S. C.

2010-01-01

In September 2006, NASA Goddard s mobile ground-based laboratories were deployed to Sal Island in Cape Verde (16.73degN, 22.93degW) to support the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (NAMMA) field study. The Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI), a key instrument for spectrally characterizing the thermal IR, was used to retrieve the dust IR aerosol optical depths (AOTs) in order to examine the diurnal variability of airborne dust with emphasis on three separate dust events. AERI retrievals of dust AOT are compared with those from the coincident/collocated multifilter rotating shadow-band radiometer (MFRSR), micropulse lidar (MPL), and NASA Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) sensors. The retrieved AOTs are then inputted into the Fu-Liou 1D radiative transfer model to evaluate local instantaneous direct longwave radiative effects (DRE(sub LW)) of dust at the surface in cloud-free atmospheres and its sensitivity to dust microphysical parameters. The top-of-atmosphere DRE(sub LW) and longwave heating rate profiles are also evaluated. Instantaneous surface DRE(sub LW) ranges from 2 to 10 W/sq m and exhibits a strong linear dependence with dust AOT yielding a DRE(sub LW) of 16 W/sq m per unit dust AOT. The DRE(sub LW) is estimated to be approx.42% of the diurnally averaged direct shortwave radiative effect at the surface but of opposite sign, partly compensating for the shortwave losses. Certainly nonnegligible, the authors conclude that DRE(sub LW) can significantly impact the atmospheric energetics, representing an important component in the study of regional climate variation.

Chemical analyses of provided samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, Christopher H.

1993-01-01

A batch of four samples were received and chemical analysis was performed of the surface and near surface regions of the samples by the surface analysis by laser ionization (SALI) method. The samples included four one-inch diameter optics labeled windows no. PR14 and PR17 and MgF2 mirrors 9-93 PPPC exp. and control DMES 26-92. The analyses emphasized surface contamination or modification. In these studies, pulsed desorption by 355 nm laser light and single-photon ionization (SPI) above the sample by coherent 118 nm radiation (at approximately 5 x 10(exp 5) W/cm(sup 2)) were used, emphasizing organic analysis. For the two windows with an apparent yellowish contaminant film, higher desorption laser power was needed to provide substantial signals, indicating a less volatile contamination than for the two mirrors. Window PR14 and the 9-93 mirror showed more hydrocarbon components than the other two samples. The mass spectra, which show considerable complexity, are discussed in terms of various potential chemical assignments.

Joint Retrieval Of Surface Reflectance And Aerosol Properties: Application To MSG/SEVIRI in the framework of the aerosol_cci project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luffarelli, Marta; Govaerts, Yves; Goossens, Cedric

2017-04-01

A new versatile algorithm for the joint retrieval of surface reflectance and aerosol properties has been developed and tested at Rayference. This algorithm, named Combined Inversion of Surface and Aerosols (CISAR), includes a fast physically-based Radiative Transfer Model (RTM) accounting for the surface reflectance anisotropy and its coupling with aerosol scattering. This RTM explicitly solves the radiative transfer equation during the inversion process, without relying on pre-calculated integrals stored in LUT, allowing for a continuous variation of the state variables in the solution space. The inversion is based on a Optimal Estimation (OE) approach, which seeks for the best balance between the information coming from the observation and the a priori information. The a priori information is any additional knowledge on the observed system and it can concern the magnitude of the state variable or constraints on temporal and spectral variability. Both observations and priori information are provided with the corresponding uncertainty. For each processed spectral band, CISAR delivers the surface Bidirectional Reflectance Factor (BRF) and aerosol optical thickness, discriminating the effects of small and large particles. It also provides the associated uncertainty covariance matrix for every processed pixels. In the framework of the ESA aerosol_cci project, CISAR is applied on TOA BRF acquired by SEVIRI onboard Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) in the VIS0.6, VIS0.8 and NIR1.6 spectral bands. SEVIRI observations are accumulated during several days to document the surface anisotropy and minimize the impact of clouds. While surface radiative properties are supposed constant during this accumulation period, aerosol properties are derived on an hourly basis. The information content of each MSG/SEVIRI band will be provided based on the analysis of the posterior uncertainty covariance matrix. The analysis will demonstrate in particular the capability of CISAR to decouple the fraction of TOA BRF signal coming from the surface from the one originating from the aerosols. The results of the algorithm are compared with independent data sets of AOD and surface reflectance. Comparison with ground observations from the AERONET network shows a good agreement between these data. The surface reflectance evaluation is performed comparing white-sky albedo retrieved by CISAR with the MODIS surface product. This evaluation shows a very good consistency. The retrieved aerosol optical depth is consistent also in term of spatial distribution, being comparable in terms of geographical location and intensity.

A Climatology of Surface Cloud Radiative Effects at the ARM Tropical Western Pacific Sites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McFarlane, Sally A.; Long, Charles N.; Flaherty, Julia E.

Cloud radiative effects on surface downwelling fluxes are investigated using long-term datasets from the three Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites in the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) region. The Nauru and Darwin sites show significant variability in sky cover, downwelling radiative fluxes, and surface cloud radiative effect (CRE) due to El Niño and the Australian monsoon, respectively, while the Manus site shows little intra-seasonal or interannual variability. Cloud radar measurement of cloud base and top heights are used to define cloud types so that the effect of cloud type on the surface CRE can be examined. Clouds with low bases contributemore » 71-75% of the surface shortwave (SW) CRE and 66-74% of the surface longwave (LW) CRE at the three TWP sites, while clouds with mid-level bases contribute 8-9% of the SW CRE and 12-14% of the LW CRE, and clouds with high bases contribute 16-19% of the SW CRE and 15-21% of the LW CRE.« less

Global Performance of a Fast Parameterization Scheme for Estimating Surface Solar Radiation from MODIS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, W.; Yang, K.; Sun, Z.; Qin, J.; Niu, X.

2016-12-01

A fast parameterization scheme named SUNFLUX is used in this study to estimate instantaneous surface solar radiation (SSR) based on products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard both Terra and Aqua platforms. The scheme mainly takes into account the absorption and scattering processes due to clouds, aerosols and gas in the atmosphere. The estimated instantaneous SSR is evaluated against surface observations obtained from seven stations of the Surface Radiation Budget Network (SURFRAD), four stations in the North China Plain (NCP) and 40 stations of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN). The statistical results for evaluation against these three datasets show that the relative root-mean-square error (RMSE) values of SUNFLUX are less than 15%, 16% and 17%, respectively. Daily SSR is derived through temporal upscaling from the MODIS-based instantaneous SSR estimates, and is validated against surface observations. The relative RMSE values for daily SSR estimates are about 16% at the seven SURFRAD stations, four NCP stations, 40 BSRN stations and 90 China Meteorological Administration (CMA) radiation stations.

Energy exchanges in a Central Business District - Interpretation of Eddy Covariance and radiation flux measurements (London UK)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotthaus, S.; Grimmond, S.

2013-12-01

Global urbanisation brings increasingly dense and complex urban structures. To manage cities sustainably and smartly, currently and into the future under changing climates, urban climate research needs to advance in areas such as Central Business Districts (CBD) where human interactions with the environment are particularly concentrated. Measurement and modelling approaches may be pushed to their limits in dense urban settings, but if urban climate research is to contribute to the challenges of real cities those limits have to be addressed. The climate of cities is strongly governed by surface-atmosphere exchanges of energy, moisture and momentum. Observations of the relevant fluxes provide important information for improvement and evaluation of modelling approaches. Due to the CBD's heterogeneity, a very careful analysis of observations is required to understand the relevant processes. Current approaches used to interpret observations and set them in a wider context may need to be adapted for use in these more complex areas. Here, we present long-term observations of the radiation balance components and turbulent fluxes of latent heat, sensible heat and momentum in the city centre of London. This is one of the first measurement studies in a CBD covering multiple years with analysis at temporal scales from days to seasons. Data gathered at two sites in close vicinity, but with different measurement heights, are analysed to investigate the influence of source area characteristics on long-term radiation and turbulent fluxes. Challenges of source area modelling and the critical aspect of siting in such a complex environment are considered. Outgoing long- and short-wave radiation are impacted by the anisotropic nature of the urban surface and the high reflectance materials increasingly being used as building materials. Results highlight the need to consider the source area of radiometers in terms of diffuse and direct irradiance. Sensible heat fluxes (QH) are positive all year round, even at night. QH systematically exceeds input from net all-wave radiation (Q*), probably sustained by a both storage and anthropogenic heat fluxes (QF). Model estimates suggest QF can exceed the Q* nearly all year round. The positive QH inhibits stable conditions, but the stability classification is determined predominantly by the pattern of friction velocity over the rough urban surface. Turbulent latent heat flux variations are controlled (beyond the available energy) by rainfall due to the small vegetation cover. The Bowen ratio is mostly larger than one. Analysis of the eddy covariance footprint surface controls for the different land cover types by flow patterns for measurements at the two heights suggests the spatial variations of the sensible heat flux observed are partly related to changes in surface roughness, even at the local scale. Where the source areas are most homogeneous, flow conditions are vertically consistent - even if initial morphometric parameters suggested the measurements may be below the blending height. Turbulence statistics and momentum flux patterns prove useful for the interpretation of turbulent heat exchanges observed.

Finite-rate chemistry effects upon convective and radiative heating of an atmospheric entry vehicle. [reentry aerothermochemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guillermo, P.

1975-01-01

A mathematical model of the aerothermochemical environment along the stagnation line of a planetary return spacecraft using an ablative thermal protection system was developed and solved for conditions typical of atmospheric entry from planetary missions. The model, implemented as a FORTRAN 4 computer program, was designed to predict viscous, reactive and radiative coupled shock layer structure and the resulting body heating rates. The analysis includes flow field coupling with the ablator surface, binary diffusion, coupled line and continuum radiative and equilibrium or finite rate chemistry effects. The gas model used includes thermodynamic, transport, kinetic and radiative properties of air and ablation product species, including 19 chemical species and 16 chemical reactions. Specifically, the impact of nonequilibrium chemistry effects upon stagnation line shock layer structure and body heating rates was investigated.