upper cloud layer: Topics by Science.gov

Cirrus Cloud Retrieval Using Infrared Sounding Data: Multilevel Cloud Errors.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baum, Bryan A.; Wielicki, Bruce A.

1994-01-01

In this study we perform an error analysis for cloud-top pressure retrieval using the High-Resolution Infrared Radiometric Sounder (HIRS/2) 15-µm CO2 channels for the two-layer case of transmissive cirrus overlying an overcast, opaque stratiform cloud. This analysis includes standard deviation and bias error due to instrument noise and the presence of two cloud layers, the lower of which is opaque. Instantaneous cloud pressure retrieval errors are determined for a range of cloud amounts (0.1 1.0) and cloud-top pressures (850250 mb). Large cloud-top pressure retrieval errors are found to occur when a lower opaque layer is present underneath an upper transmissive cloud layer in the satellite field of view (FOV). Errors tend to increase with decreasing upper-cloud elective cloud amount and with decreasing cloud height (increasing pressure). Errors in retrieved upper-cloud pressure result in corresponding errors in derived effective cloud amount. For the case in which a HIRS FOV has two distinct cloud layers, the difference between the retrieved and actual cloud-top pressure is positive in all casts, meaning that the retrieved upper-cloud height is lower than the actual upper-cloud height. In addition, errors in retrieved cloud pressure are found to depend upon the lapse rate between the low-level cloud top and the surface. We examined which sounder channel combinations would minimize the total errors in derived cirrus cloud height caused by instrument noise and by the presence of a lower-level cloud. We find that while the sounding channels that peak between 700 and 1000 mb minimize random errors, the sounding channels that peak at 300—500 mb minimize bias errors. For a cloud climatology, the bias errors are most critical.
Evaluation of Satellite-Based Upper Troposphere Cloud Top Height Retrievals in Multilayer Cloud Conditions During TC4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Fu-Lung; Minnis, Patrick; Ayers, J. Kirk; McGill, Matthew J.; Palikonda, Rabindra; Spangenberg, Douglas A.; Smith, William L., Jr.; Yost, Christopher R.

2010-01-01

Upper troposphere cloud top heights (CTHs), restricted to cloud top pressures (CTPs) less than 500 hPa, inferred using four satellite retrieval methods applied to Twelfth Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-12) data are evaluated using measurements during the July August 2007 Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4). The four methods are the single-layer CO2-absorption technique (SCO2AT), a modified CO2-absorption technique (MCO2AT) developed for improving both single-layered and multilayered cloud retrievals, a standard version of the Visible Infrared Solar-infrared Split-window Technique (old VISST), and a new version of VISST (new VISST) recently developed to improve cloud property retrievals. They are evaluated by comparing with ER-2 aircraft-based Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) data taken during 9 days having extensive upper troposphere cirrus, anvil, and convective clouds. Compared to the 89% coverage by upper tropospheric clouds detected by the CPL, the SCO2AT, MCO2AT, old VISST, and new VISST retrieved CTPs less than 500 hPa in 76, 76, 69, and 74% of the matched pixels, respectively. Most of the differences are due to subvisible and optically thin cirrus clouds occurring near the tropopause that were detected only by the CPL. The mean upper tropospheric CTHs for the 9 days are 14.2 (+/- 2.1) km from the CPL and 10.7 (+/- 2.1), 12.1 (+/- 1.6), 9.7 (+/- 2.9), and 11.4 (+/- 2.8) km from the SCO2AT, MCO2AT, old VISST, and new VISST, respectively. Compared to the CPL, the MCO2AT CTHs had the smallest mean biases for semitransparent high clouds in both single-layered and multilayered situations whereas the new VISST CTHs had the smallest mean biases when upper clouds were opaque and optically thick. The biases for all techniques increased with increasing numbers of cloud layers. The transparency of the upper layer clouds tends to increase with the numbers of cloud layers.
Initial studies of middle and upper tropospheric stratiform clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cox, S. K.

1982-01-01

The spatial and temporal occurrence of cloud layers, the development of a physical-numerical model to simulate the life cycles of tropospheric cloud layers, and the design of an observational program to study the properties of these layers are described.
The evaporatively driven cloud-top mixing layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mellado, Juan Pedro

2010-11-01

Turbulent mixing caused by the local evaporative cooling at the top cloud-boundary of stratocumuli will be discussed. This research is motivated by the lack of a complete understanding of several phenomena in that important region, which translates into an unacceptable variability of order one in current models, including those employed in climate research. The cloud-top mixing layer is a simplified surrogate to investigate, locally, particular aspects of the fluid dynamics at the boundary between the stratocumulus clouds and the upper cloud-free air. In this work, direct numerical simulations have been used to study latent heat effects. The problem is the following: When the cloud mixes with the upper cloud-free layer, relatively warm and dry, evaporation tends to cool the mixture and, if strong enough, the buoyancy reversal instability develops. This instability leads to a turbulent convection layer growing next to the upper boundary of the cloud, which is, in several aspects, similar to free convection below a cold horizontal surface. In particular, results show an approximately self-preserving behavior that is characterized by the molecular buoyancy flux at the inversion base, fact that helps to explain the difficulties found when doing large-eddy simulations of this problem using classical subgrid closures.
Cloud layer thicknesses from a combination of surface and upper-air observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poore, Kirk D.; Wang, Junhong; Rossow, William B.

1995-01-01

Cloud layer thicknesses are derived from base and top altitudes by combining 14 years (1975-1988) of surface and upper-air observations at 63 sites in the Northern Hemisphere. Rawinsonde observations are employed to determine the locations of cloud-layer top and base by testing for dewpoint temperature depressions below some threshold value. Surface observations serve as quality checks on the rawinsonde-determined cloud properties and provide cloud amount and cloud-type information. The dataset provides layer-cloud amount, cloud type, high, middle, or low height classes, cloud-top heights, base heights and layer thicknesses, covering a range of latitudes from 0 deg to 80 deg N. All data comes from land sites: 34 are located in continental interiors, 14 are near coasts, and 15 are on islands. The uncertainties in the derived cloud properties are discussed. For clouds classified by low-, mid-, and high-top altitudes, there are strong latitudinal and seasonal variations in the layer thickness only for high clouds. High-cloud layer thickness increases with latitude and exhibits different seasonal variations in different latitude zones: in summer, high-cloud layer thickness is a maximum in the Tropics but a minimum at high latitudes. For clouds classified into three types by base altitude or into six standard morphological types, latitudinal and seasonal variations in layer thickness are very small. The thickness of the clear surface layer decreases with latitude and reaches a summer minimum in the Tropics and summer maximum at higher latitudes over land, but does not vary much over the ocean. Tropical clouds occur in three base-altitude groups and the layer thickness of each group increases linearly with top altitude. Extratropical clouds exhibit two groups, one with layer thickness proportional to their cloud-top altitude and one with small (less than or equal to 1000 m) layer thickness independent of cloud-top altitude.
On the existence of tropical anvil clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seeley, J.; Jeevanjee, N.; Langhans, W.; Romps, D.

2017-12-01

In the deep tropics, extensive anvil clouds produce a peak in cloud cover below the tropopause. The dominant paradigm for cloud cover attributes this anvil peak to a layer of enhanced mass convergence in the clear-sky upper-troposphere, which is presumed to force frequent detrainment of convective anvils. However, cloud cover also depends on the lifetime of cloudy air after it detrains, which raises the possibility that anvil clouds may be the signature of slow cloud decay rather than enhanced detrainment. Here we measure the cloud decay timescale in cloud-resolving simulations, and find that cloudy updrafts that detrain in the upper troposphere take much longer to dissipate than their shallower counterparts. We show that cloud lifetimes are long in the upper troposphere because the saturation specific humidity becomes orders of magnitude smaller than the typical condensed water loading of cloudy updrafts. This causes evaporative cloud decay to act extremely slowly, thereby prolonging cloud lifetimes in the upper troposphere. As a consequence, extensive anvil clouds still occur in a convecting atmosphere that is forced to have no preferential clear-sky convergence layer. On the other hand, when cloud lifetimes are fixed at a characteristic lower-tropospheric value, extensive anvil clouds do not form. Our results support a revised understanding of tropical anvil clouds, which attributes their existence to the microphysics of slow cloud decay rather than a peak in clear-sky convergence.
Cloud Detection Using Measured and Modeled State Parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yi, Y.; Minnis, P.; Huang, J.; Ayers, J. K.; Doelling, D. R.; Khaiyer, M. M.; Nordeen, M. L.

2004-01-01

In this study, hourly RUC analyses were used to examine the differences between RH and temperature values from RUC reanalysis data and from radiosonde atmospheric profiles obtained at the ARM SCF. The results show that the temperature observations from the SONDE and RUC are highly correlated. The RHs are also well-correlated, but the SONDE values generally exceed those from RUC. Inside cloud layers, the RH from RUC is 2-14% lower than the RH from SONDE for all RUC layers. Although the layer mean RH within clouds is much greater than the layer mean RH outside cloud or in the clear-sky, RH thresholds chosen as a function of temperature can more accurately diagnose cloud occurrence for either dataset. For overcast clouds, it was found that the 50% probability RH threshold for diagnosing a cloud, within a given upper tropospheric layer is roughly 90% for the Vaisala RS80-15LH radisonde and 80% for RUC data. While for the partial cloud (cloud amount is less than 90%), the RH thresholds of SONDE are close to RUC for a given probability in upper tropospheric layers. The probabilities of detecting clouds at a given RH and temperature should be useful for a variety of application such as the development of new cloud parameterizations or for estimating the vertical profile of cloudiness underneath a given cloud observed from the satellite to construct a 3-D cloud data set for computing atmospheric radiative heating profiles or determining potential aircraft icing conditions.
Modeling marine boundary-layer clouds with a two-layer model: A one-dimensional simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Shouping

1993-01-01

A two-layer model of the marine boundary layer is described. The model is used to simulate both stratocumulus and shallow cumulus clouds in downstream simulations. Over cold sea surfaces, the model predicts a relatively uniform structure in the boundary layer with 90%-100% cloud fraction. Over warm sea surfaces, the model predicts a relatively strong decoupled and conditionally unstable structure with a cloud fraction between 30% and 60%. A strong large-scale divergence considerably limits the height of the boundary layer and decreases relative humidity in the upper part of the cloud layer; thus, a low cloud fraction results. The efffects of drizzle on the boundary-layer structure and cloud fraction are also studied with downstream simulations. It is found that drizzle dries and stabilizes the cloud layer and tends to decouple the cloud from the subcloud layer. Consequently, solid stratocumulus clouds may break up and the cloud fraction may decrease because of drizzle.
Comparisons of Satellite-Deduced Overlapping Cloud Properties and CALIPSO CloudSat Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Fu-Lung; Minnis, Patrick; Lin, Bing; Sun-Mack, Sunny

2010-01-01

Introduction to the overlapped cloud properties derived from polar-orbiting (MODIS) and geostationary (GOES-12, -13, Meteosat-8, -9, etc.) meteorological satellites, which are produced at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) cloud research & development team (NASA lead scientist: Dr. Patrick Minnis). Comparison of the LaRC CERES MODIS Edition-3 overlapped cloud properties to the CALIPSO and the CloudSat active sensing data. High clouds and overlapped clouds occur frequently as deduced by CALIPSO (44 & 25%), CloudSat (25 & 4%), and MODIS (37 & 6%). Large fractions of optically-thin cirrus and overlapped clouds are deduced from CALIPSO, but much smaller fractions are from CloudSat and MODIS. For overlapped clouds, the averaged upper-layer CTHs are about 12.8 (CALIPSO), 10.9 (CloudSat) and 10 km (MODIS), and the averaged lower-layer CTHs are about 3.6 (CALIPSO), 3.2 (CloudSat) and 3.9 km (MODIS). Based on comparisons of upper and lower-layer cloud properties as deduced from the MODIS, CALIPSO and CloudSat data, more enhanced passive satellite methods for retrieving thin cirrus and overlapped cloud properties are needed and are under development.
Model of the vertical structure of the optical parameters of the Neptune atmosphere.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozhenko, A. V.

Analyzes the wavelength dependence of the geometric albedo of Neptune's disk and estimates some parameters of the planet's atmosphere by the method based on the determination of deviations of the vertical structure of the cloud layer from the homogeneity condition. The ratio between the methane and gas scale heights is found to be about 0.4. For the upper atmosphere, components of methane, aerosol, the mean geometric radius of particles, the turbulent mixing coefficient are determined. Two solutions were found for deeper atmospheric layers. The first one suggests a rather dense cloud; in the second solution the lower cloud layer is an extension of the upper aerosol layer.
Coupled Sulfur and Chlorine Chemistry in Venus' Upper Cloud Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, Franklin P.

2006-09-01

Venus' atmosphere likely contains a rich variety of sulfur and chlorine compounds because HCl, SO2, and OCS have all been observed. Photodissociation of CO2 and SO2 in the upper cloud layer produces oxygen which can react directly or indirectly with SO2 to form SO3 and eventually H2SO4. Photodissociation of HCl within and above the upper cloud layer produces chlorine which can react with CO and O2 to form ClCO and ClC(O)OO. These two species have been identified as potentially critical intermediaries in the production of CO2. Much less work has been done on the potential coupling between sulfur and chlorine chemistry that may occur within the upper cloud layer. Several aspects have been examined in recent modeling: (1) linkage of the CO2 and sulfur oxidation cycles (based on ideas from Yung and DeMore, 1982), (2) reaction of Cl with SO2 to form ClSO2 (based on ideas from DeMore et al., 1985), and (3) the chemistry of SmCln for m,n = 1,2 (based on preliminary work in Mills, 1998). Initial results suggest the chemistry of SmCln may provide a pathway for accelerated production of polysulfur, Sx, if the oxygen abundance in the upper cloud layer is as small as is implied by the observational limit on O2 (Trauger and Lunine, 1983). Initial results also suggest that ClSO2 can act as a buffer which helps increase the scale height of SO2 and decrease the rate of production of H2SO4. This presentation will describe the results from this modeling; discuss their potential implications for the CO2, sulfur oxidation, and polysulfur cycles; and outline key observations from Venus Express that can help resolve existing questions concerning the chemistry of Venus' upper cloud. Partial funding for this research was provided by the Australian Research Council.
Characteristics of middle and upper tropospheric clouds as deduced from rawinsonde data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starr, D. D. O.; Cox, S. K.

1982-01-01

The static environment of middle and upper tropospheric clouds is characterized. Computed relative humidity with respect to ice is used to diagnose the presence of cloud layer. The deduced seasonal mean cloud cover estimates based on this technique are shown to be reasonable. The cases are stratified by season and pressure thickness, and the dry static stability, vertical wind speed shear, and Richardson number are computed for three layers for each case. Mean values for each parameter are presented for each stratification and layer. The relative frequency of occurrence of various structures is presented for each stratification. The observed values of each parameter and the observed structure of each parameter are quite variable. Structures corresponding to any of a number of different conceptual models may be found. Moist adiabatic conditions are not commonly observed and the stratification based on thickness yields substantially different results for each group.
Determination of ice water path in ice-over-water cloud systems using combined MODIS and AMSR-E measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jianping; Minnis, Patrick; Lin, Bing; Yi, Yuhong; Fan, T.-F.; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Ayers, J. K.

2006-11-01

To provide more accurate ice cloud microphysical properties, the multi-layered cloud retrieval system (MCRS) is used to retrieve ice water path (IWP) in ice-over-water cloud systems globally over oceans using combined instrument data from Aqua. The liquid water path (LWP) of lower-layer water clouds is estimated from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) measurements. The properties of the upper-level ice clouds are then derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements by matching simulated radiances from a two-cloud-layer radiative transfer model. The results show that the MCRS can significantly improve the accuracy and reduce the over-estimation of optical depth and IWP retrievals for ice-over-water cloud systems. The mean daytime ice cloud optical depth and IWP for overlapped ice-over-water clouds over oceans from Aqua are 7.6 and 146.4 gm-2, respectively, down from the initial single-layer retrievals of 17.3 and 322.3 gm-2. The mean IWP for actual single-layer clouds is 128.2 gm-2.
Evaluating stratiform cloud base charge remotely

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, R. Giles; Nicoll, Keri A.; Aplin, Karen L.

2017-06-01

Stratiform clouds acquire charge at their upper and lower horizontal boundaries due to vertical current flow in the global electric circuit. Cloud charge is expected to influence microphysical processes, but understanding is restricted by the infrequent in situ measurements available. For stratiform cloud bases below 1 km in altitude, the cloud base charge modifies the surface electric field beneath, allowing a new method of remote determination. Combining continuous cloud height data during 2015-2016 from a laser ceilometer with electric field mill data, cloud base charge is derived using a horizontal charged disk model. The median daily cloud base charge density found was -0.86 nC m-2 from 43 days' data. This is consistent with a uniformly charged region 40 m thick at the cloud base, now confirming that negative cloud base charge is a common feature of terrestrial layer clouds. This technique can also be applied to planetary atmospheres and volcanic plumes.Plain Language SummaryThe idea that clouds in the atmosphere can charge electrically has been appreciated since the time of Benjamin Franklin, but it is less widely recognized that it is not just thunderclouds which contain electric charge. For example, water droplets in simple layer clouds, that are abundant and often responsible for an overcast day, carry electric charges. The droplet charging arises at the upper and lower edges of the layer cloud. This occurs because the small droplets at the edges draw charge from the air outside the cloud. Understanding how strongly layer clouds charge is important in evaluating electrical effects on the development of such clouds, for example, how thick the cloud becomes and whether it generates rain. Previously, cloud charge measurement has required direct measurements within the cloud using weather balloons or aircraft. This work has monitored the lower cloud charge continuously using instruments placed at the surface beneath. From measurements made over 2 years, the cloud base charge is negative in the majority of cases. This confirms that charging of layer clouds is not a random process but instead arises from fundamental aspects of the atmosphere's structure. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.A51F0116I','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.A51F0116I">Organization of the Tropical Convective Cloud Population by Humidity and the Critical Transition to Heavy Precipitation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Igel, M. 2015-12-01 The tropical atmosphere exhibits an abrupt statistical switch between non-raining and heavily raining states as column moisture increases across a wide range of length scales. Deep convection occurs at values of column humidity above the transition point and induces drying of moist columns. With a 1km resolution, large domain cloud resolving model run in RCE, what will be made clear here for the first time is how the entire tropical convective cloud population is affected by and feeds back to the pickup in heavy precipitation. Shallow convection can act to dry the low levels through weak precipitation or vertical redistribution of moisture, or to moisten toward a transition to deep convection. It is shown that not only can deep convection dehydrate the entire column, it can also dry just the lower layer through intense rain. In the latter case, deep stratiform cloud then forms to dry the upper layer through rain with anomalously high rates for its value of column humidity until both the total column moisture falls below the critical transition point and the upper levels are cloud free. Thus, all major tropical cloud types are shown to respond strongly to the same critical phase-transition point. This mutual response represents a potentially strong organizational mechanism for convection, and the frequency of and logical rules determining physical evolutions between these convective regimes will be discussed. The precise value of the point in total column moisture at which the transition to heavy precipitation occurs is shown to result from two independent thresholds in lower-layer and upper-layer integrated humidity. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080015852','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080015852">Determination of Ice Water Path in Ice-over-Water Cloud Systems Using Combined MODIS and AMSR-E Measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Huang, Jianping; Minnis, Patrick; Lin, Bing; Yi, Yuhong; Fan, T.-F.; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Ayers, J. K. 2006-01-01 To provide more accurate ice cloud properties for evaluating climate models, the updated version of multi-layered cloud retrieval system (MCRS) is used to retrieve ice water path (IWP) in ice-over-water cloud systems over global ocean using combined instrument data from the Aqua satellite. The liquid water path (LWP) of lower layer water clouds is estimated from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) measurements. With the lower layer LWP known, the properties of the upper-level ice clouds are then derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer measurements by matching simulated radiances from a two-cloud layer radiative transfer model. Comparisons with single-layer cirrus systems and surface-based radar retrievals show that the MCRS can significantly improve the accuracy and reduce the over-estimation of optical depth and ice water path retrievals for ice over-water cloud systems. During the period from December 2004 through February 2005, the mean daytime ice cloud optical depth and IWP for overlapped ice-over-water clouds over ocean from Aqua are 7.6 and 146.4 gm(sup -2), respectively, significantly less than the initial single layer retrievals of 17.3 and 322.3 gm(sup -2). The mean IWP for actual single-layer clouds was 128.2 gm(sup -2). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JGRD..122.8833T','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JGRD..122.8833T">Saharan dust, convective lofting, aerosol enhancement zones, and potential impacts on ice nucleation in the tropical upper troposphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Twohy, C. H.; Anderson, B. E.; Ferrare, R. A.; Sauter, K. E.; L'Ecuyer, T. S.; van den Heever, S. C.; Heymsfield, A. J.; Ismail, S.; Diskin, G. S. 2017-08-01 Dry aerosol size distributions and scattering coefficients were measured on 10 flights in 32 clear-air regions adjacent to tropical storm anvils over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Aerosol properties in these regions were compared with those from background air in the upper troposphere at least 40 km from clouds. Median values for aerosol scattering coefficient and particle number concentration >0.3 μm diameter were higher at the anvil edges than in background air, showing that convective clouds loft particles from the lower troposphere to the upper troposphere. These differences are statistically significant. The aerosol enhancement zones extended 10-15 km horizontally and 0.25 km vertically below anvil cloud edges but were not due to hygroscopic growth since particles were measured under dry conditions. Number concentrations of particles >0.3 μm diameter were enhanced more for the cases where Saharan dust layers were identified below the clouds with airborne lidar. Median number concentrations in this size range increased from 100 l-1 in background air to 400 l-1 adjacent to cloud edges with dust below, with larger enhancements for stronger storm systems. Integration with satellite cloud frequency data indicates that this transfer of large particles from low to high altitudes by convection has little impact on dust concentrations within the Saharan Air Layer itself. However, it can lead to substantial enhancement in large dust particles and, therefore, heterogeneous ice nuclei in the upper troposphere over the Atlantic. This may induce a cloud/aerosol feedback effect that could impact cloud properties in the region and downwind. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AIPC.1100..295M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AIPC.1100..295M">Estimation of Microphysical and Radiative Parameters of Precipitating Cloud Systems Using mm-Wavelength Radars</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Matrosov, Sergey Y. 2009-03-01 A remote sensing approach is described to retrieve cloud and rainfall parameters within the same precipitating system. This approach is based on mm-wavelength radar signal attenuation effects which are observed in a layer of liquid precipitation containing clouds and rainfall. The parameters of ice clouds in the upper part of startiform precipitating systems are then retrieved using the absolute measurements of radar reflectivity. In case of the ground-based radar location, these measurements are corrected for attenuation in the intervening layer of liquid hydrometers. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19810068858','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19810068858">Analysis of Meteorological Data Obtained During Flight in a Supercooled Stratiform Cloud of High Liquid-Water Content</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Perkins, Porter J.; Kline, Dwight B. 1951-01-01 Flight icing-rate data obtained in a dense and. abnormally deep supercooled stratiform cloud system indicated the existence of liquid-water contents generally exceeding values in amount and extent previously reported over the midwestern sections of the United States. Additional information obtained during descent through a part of the cloud system indicated liquid-water contents that significantly exceeded theoretical values, especially near the middle of the cloud layer.. The growth of cloud droplets to sizes that resulted in sedimentation from the upper portions of the cloud is considered to be a possible cause of the high water contents near the center of the cloud layer. Flight measurements of the vertical temperature distribution in the cloud layer indicated a rate of change of temperature with altitude exceeding that of the moist adiabatic lapse rate. This excessive rate of change is considered to have contributed to the severity of the condition. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19820003815','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19820003815">Improved simulation of aerosol, cloud, and density measurements by shuttle lidar</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Russell, P. B.; Morley, B. M.; Livingston, J. M.; Grams, G. W.; Patterson, E. W. 1981-01-01 Data retrievals are simulated for a Nd:YAG lidar suitable for early flight on the space shuttle. Maximum assumed vertical and horizontal resolutions are 0.1 and 100 km, respectively, in the boundary layer, increasing to 2 and 2000 km in the mesosphere. Aerosol and cloud retrievals are simulated using 1.06 and 0.53 microns wavelengths independently. Error sources include signal measurement, conventional density information, atmospheric transmission, and lidar calibration. By day, tenuous clouds and Saharan and boundary layer aerosols are retrieved at both wavelengths. By night, these constituents are retrieved, plus upper tropospheric, stratospheric, and mesospheric aerosols and noctilucent clouds. Density, temperature, and improved aerosol and cloud retrievals are simulated by combining signals at 0.35, 1.06, and 0.53 microns. Particlate contamination limits the technique to the cloud free upper troposphere and above. Error bars automatically show effect of this contamination, as well as errors in absolute density nonmalization, reference temperature or pressure, and the sources listed above. For nonvolcanic conditions, relative density profiles have rms errors of 0.54 to 2% in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. Temperature profiles have rms errors of 1.2 to 2.5 K and can define the tropopause to 0.5 km and higher wave structures to 1 or 2 km. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li class="active">1</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_2");'>2</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_3");'>3</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_2" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>1</a></li> <li class="active">2</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_3");'>3</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="21"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160007039','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160007039">Lidar Measurements of Wind and Cloud Around Venus from an Orbiting or Floating/flying Platform</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Singh, Upendra N.; Limaye, Sanjay; Emmitt, George D.; Refaat, Tamer F.; Kavaya, Michael J.; Yu, Jirong; Petros, Mulugeta 2015-01-01 Given the presence of clouds and haze in the upper portion of the Venus atmosphere, it is reasonable to consider a Doppler wind lidar (DWL) for making remote measurements of the 3-dimensional winds within the tops of clouds and the overlying haze layer. Assuming an orbit altitude of 250 kilometers and cloud tops at 60 kilometers (within the upper cloud layer), an initial performance assessment of an orbiting DWL was made using a numerical instrument and atmospheres model developed for both Earth and Mars. It is reasonable to expect vertical profiles of the 3-dimensional wind speed with 1 kilometer vertical resolution and horizontal spacing of 25 kilometers to several 100 kilometers depending upon the desired integration times. These profiles would begin somewhere just below the tops of the highest clouds and extend into the overlying haze layer to some to-be-determined height. Getting multiple layers of cloud returns is also possible with no negative impact on velocity measurement accuracy. The knowledge and expertise for developing coherent Doppler wind lidar technologies and techniques, for Earth related mission at NASA Langley Research Center is being leveraged to develop an appropriate system suitable for wind measurement around Venus. We are considering a fiber-laser-based lidar system of high efficiency and smaller size and advancing the technology level to meet the requirements for DWL system for Venus from an orbiting or floating/flying platform. This presentation will describe the concept, simulation and technology development plan for wind and cloud measurements on Venus. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920040330&hterms=project+waves&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3Dproject%2Bwaves','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920040330&hterms=project+waves&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3Dproject%2Bwaves">Cirrus cloud spectra and layers observed during the FIRE and GASP projects</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Flatau, Piotr J.; Gultepe, I.; Nastrom, G.; Cotton, William R.; Heymsfield, A. J. 1990-01-01 A general characterization is developed for cirrus clouds in terms of their spectra, shapes, optical thicknesses, and radiative properties for use in numerical models. Data sets from the Global Atmospheric Sampling Project (GASP) of the upper troposphere and the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) are combined and analyzed to study general traits of cirrus clouds. A definition is given for 2D turbulence, and the GASP and FIRE data sets are examined with respect to cirrus layers and entrainment and to dominant turbulent scales. The approach employs conditional sampling in cloudy and clear air, power-spectral analysis, and mixing-line-type diagrams. Evidence is given for a well mixed cloud deck and for the tendency of cirrus to be formed in multilayer structures. The results are of use in mesoscale and global circulation models which predict cirrus, in small-scale cirrus modeling, and in studying the role of gravity waves in the horizontal structure of upper tropospheric clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5365653-wavelength-dependence-polarization-xxxx-venus-upper-atmosphere-aerosol-layers-from-polarimetry','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5365653-wavelength-dependence-polarization-xxxx-venus-upper-atmosphere-aerosol-layers-from-polarimetry">Wavelength dependence of polarization. XXXX. Venus upper atmosphere aerosol layers from polarimetry</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Santer, R.; Dollfus, A. 1980-06-01 Previous photometric and polarimetric observations of Venus have indicated the presence of a thin layer of small particles above the usual cloud layers. We sensed some characteristics of this upper layer on the basis of the Meudon and Pic-du-Midi regional polarization survey, covering from 1950 to 1972. Optical thicknesses of the order of several percent with particle radii of around 0.2 ..mu..m are indicated. The refraction index is not known. Although this layer is apparently globally permanent, variations occur regionally and with time. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19900018946','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19900018946">Vertical-velocity skewness in the marine stratus-topped boundary layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Moeng, Chin-Hoh; Rotunno, Richard; Paluch, Ilga R. 1990-01-01 Vertical-velocity skewness, S(sub w), in a turbulent flow is important in several regards. S(sub w) is indicative of the structure of the motion when it is positive, updrafts are narrower and stronger than surrounding downdrafts, and vice versa. Aircraft measurements often suggest cool, narrow downdrafts at some distance below the stratus cloud top, indicating a negative S(sub w) (Nicholls and Leighton, 1986). This seems natural as the turbulence within the stratus-topped boundary layer (CTBL) is driven mainly by the radiative cooling at the cloud top (although sometimes surface heating can also play a major role). One expects intuitively (e.g., Nicolls, 1984) that, in the situations where cloud-top cooling and surface heating coexist, the turbulence statistics in the upper part of the CTBL are influenced more by the cloud-top cooling, while those in the lower part, more by the surface heating. Thus one expects negative S(sub w) in the upper part, and positive in the lower part, in this case. In contradistinction, large-eddy simulations (LES) of the CTBL show just the opposite: the S(sub w) is positive in the upper part and negative in the lower part of the layer. To understand the nature of vertical-velocity skewness, the simplest type of buoyancy-driven turbulence (turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection) is studied through direct numerical simulation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=5144091','PMC'); return false;" href="https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=5144091">Aerosol effect on the evolution of the thermodynamic properties of warm convective cloud fields</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pmc">PubMed Central</a> Dagan, Guy; Koren, Ilan; Altaratz, Orit; Heiblum, Reuven H. 2016-01-01 Convective cloud formation and evolution strongly depend on environmental temperature and humidity profiles. The forming clouds change the profiles that created them by redistributing heat and moisture. Here we show that the evolution of the field’s thermodynamic properties depends heavily on the concentration of aerosol, liquid or solid particles suspended in the atmosphere. Under polluted conditions, rain formation is suppressed and the non-precipitating clouds act to warm the lower part of the cloudy layer (where there is net condensation) and cool and moisten the upper part of the cloudy layer (where there is net evaporation), thereby destabilizing the layer. Under clean conditions, precipitation causes net warming of the cloudy layer and net cooling of the sub-cloud layer (driven by rain evaporation), which together act to stabilize the atmosphere with time. Previous studies have examined different aspects of the effects of clouds on their environment. Here, we offer a complete analysis of the cloudy atmosphere, spanning the aerosol effect from instability-consumption to enhancement, below, inside and above warm clouds, showing the temporal evolution of the effects. We propose a direct measure for the magnitude and sign of the aerosol effect on thermodynamic instability. PMID:27929097 </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27929097','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27929097">Aerosol effect on the evolution of the thermodynamic properties of warm convective cloud fields.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Dagan, Guy; Koren, Ilan; Altaratz, Orit; Heiblum, Reuven H 2016-12-08 Convective cloud formation and evolution strongly depend on environmental temperature and humidity profiles. The forming clouds change the profiles that created them by redistributing heat and moisture. Here we show that the evolution of the field's thermodynamic properties depends heavily on the concentration of aerosol, liquid or solid particles suspended in the atmosphere. Under polluted conditions, rain formation is suppressed and the non-precipitating clouds act to warm the lower part of the cloudy layer (where there is net condensation) and cool and moisten the upper part of the cloudy layer (where there is net evaporation), thereby destabilizing the layer. Under clean conditions, precipitation causes net warming of the cloudy layer and net cooling of the sub-cloud layer (driven by rain evaporation), which together act to stabilize the atmosphere with time. Previous studies have examined different aspects of the effects of clouds on their environment. Here, we offer a complete analysis of the cloudy atmosphere, spanning the aerosol effect from instability-consumption to enhancement, below, inside and above warm clouds, showing the temporal evolution of the effects. We propose a direct measure for the magnitude and sign of the aerosol effect on thermodynamic instability. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JGRD..122.6469I','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JGRD..122.6469I">The tropical precipitation pickup threshold and clouds in a radiative convective equilibrium model: 2. Two-layer moisture</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Igel, Matthew R. 2017-06-01 This paper complements Part 1 in which cloud processes of aggregated convection are examined in a large-domain radiative convective equilibrium simulation in order to uncover those responsible for a consistently observed, abrupt increase in mean precipitation at a column relative humidity value of approximately 77%. In Part 2, the focus is on how the transition is affected independently by total moisture above and below the base of the melting layer. When mean precipitation rates are examined as simultaneous functions of these two moisture layers, four distinct behaviors are observed. These four behaviors suggest unique, yet familiar, physical regimes in which (i) little rain is produced by infrequent clouds, (ii) shallow convection produces increasing warm rain with increasing low-level moisture, (iii) deep convection produces progressively heavier rain above the transition point with increasing total moisture, and (iv) deep stratiform cloud produces increasingly intense precipitation from melting for increasing upper level moisture. The independent thresholds separating regimes in upper and lower layer humidity are shown to result in the value of total column humidity at which a transition between clear air and deep convection, and therefore a pickup in precipitation, is possible. All four regimes force atmospheric columns toward the pickup value at 77% column humidity, but each does so through a unique set of physical processes. Layer moisture and microphysical budgets are analyzed and contrasted with column budgets. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A23A0182V','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A23A0182V">Evaluation of multi-layer cloud detection based on MODIS CO2-slicing algorithm with CALIPSO-CloudSat measurements.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Viudez-Mora, A.; Kato, S.; Smith, W. L., Jr.; Chang, F. L. 2016-12-01 Knowledge of the vertical cloud distribution is important for a variety of climate and weather applications. The cloud overlapping variations greatly influence the atmospheric heating/cooling rates, with implications for the surface-troposphere radiative balance, global circulation and precipitation. Additionally, an accurate knowledge of the multi-layer cloud distribution in real-time can be used in applications such safety condition for aviation through storms and adverse weather conditions. In this study, we evaluate a multi-layered cloud algorithm (Chang et al. 2005) based on MODIS measurements aboard Aqua satellite (MCF). This algorithm uses the CO2-slicing technique combined with cloud properties determined from VIS, IR and NIR channels to locate high thin clouds over low-level clouds, and retrieve the τ of each layer. We use CALIPSO (Winker et. al, 2010) and CloudSat (Stephens et. al, 2002) (CLCS) derived cloud vertical profiles included in the C3M data product (Kato et al. 2010) to evaluate MCF derived multi-layer cloud properties. We focus on 2 layer overlapping and 1-layer clouds identified by the active sensors and investigate how well these systems are identified by the MODIS multi-layer technique. The results show that for these multi-layered clouds identified by CLCS, the MCF correctly identifies about 83% of the cases as multi-layer. However, it is found that the upper CTH is underestimated by about 2.6±0.4 km, because the CO2-slicing technique is not as sensitive to the cloud physical top as the CLCS. The lower CTH agree better with differences found to be about 1.2±0.5 km. Another outstanding issue for the MCF approach is the large number of multi-layer false alarms that occur in single-layer conditions. References: Chang, F.-L., and Z. Li, 2005: A new method for detection of cirrus overlapping water clouds and determination of their optical properties. J. Atmos. Sci., 62. Kato, S., et al. (2010), Relationships among cloud occurrence frequency, overlap, and effective thickness derived from CALIPSO and CloudSat merged cloud vertical profiles, J. Geophys. Res., 115. Stephens, G. L., et al. (2002), The CloudSat mission and A-Train, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 83. Winker, D. M., et al., 2010: The CALIPSO Mission: A global 3D view of aerosols and clouds. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013JGRD..118..846Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013JGRD..118..846Z">Validation of a radiosonde-based cloud layer detection method against a ground-based remote sensing method at multiple ARM sites</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zhang, Jinqiang; Li, Zhanqing; Chen, Hongbin; Cribb, Maureen 2013-01-01 Cloud vertical structure is a key quantity in meteorological and climate studies, but it is also among the most difficult quantities to observe. In this study, we develop a long-term (10 years) radiosonde-based cloud profile product for the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program Southern Great Plains (SGP), Tropical Western Pacific (TWP), and North Slope of Alaska (NSA) sites and a shorter-term product for the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) deployed in Shouxian, Anhui Province, China (AMF-China). The AMF-China site was in operation from 14 May to 28 December 2008; the ARM sites have been collecting data for over 15 years. The Active Remote Sensing of Cloud (ARSCL) value-added product (VAP), which combines data from the 95-GHz W-band ARM Cloud Radar (WACR) and/or the 35-GHz Millimeter Microwave Cloud Radar (MMCR), is used in this study to validate the radiosonde-based cloud layer retrieval method. The performance of the radiosonde-based cloud layer retrieval method applied to data from different climate regimes is evaluated. Overall, cloud layers derived from the ARSCL VAP and radiosonde data agree very well at the SGP and AMF-China sites. At the TWP and NSA sites, the radiosonde tends to detect more cloud layers in the upper troposphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4889349','PMC'); return false;" href="https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4889349">Satellite retrieval of cloud condensation nuclei concentrations by using clouds as CCN chambers</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pmc">PubMed Central</a> Rosenfeld, Daniel; Zheng, Youtong; Hashimshoni, Eyal; Pöhlker, Mira L.; Jefferson, Anne; Pöhlker, Christopher; Yu, Xing; Zhu, Yannian; Liu, Guihua; Yue, Zhiguo; Fischman, Baruch; Li, Zhanqing; Giguzin, David; Goren, Tom; Artaxo, Paulo; Pöschl, Ulrich 2016-01-01 Quantifying the aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative effect at a global scale requires simultaneous satellite retrievals of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and cloud base updraft velocities (Wb). Hitherto, the inability to do so has been a major cause of high uncertainty regarding anthropogenic aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative forcing. This can be addressed by the emerging capability of estimating CCN and Wb of boundary layer convective clouds from an operational polar orbiting weather satellite. Our methodology uses such clouds as an effective analog for CCN chambers. The cloud base supersaturation (S) is determined by Wb and the satellite-retrieved cloud base drop concentrations (Ndb), which is the same as CCN(S). Validation against ground-based CCN instruments at Oklahoma, at Manaus, and onboard a ship in the northeast Pacific showed a retrieval accuracy of ±25% to ±30% for individual satellite overpasses. The methodology is presently limited to boundary layer not raining convective clouds of at least 1 km depth that are not obscured by upper layer clouds, including semitransparent cirrus. The limitation for small solar backscattering angles of <25° restricts the satellite coverage to ∼25% of the world area in a single day. PMID:26944081 </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26944081','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26944081">Satellite retrieval of cloud condensation nuclei concentrations by using clouds as CCN chambers.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Rosenfeld, Daniel; Zheng, Youtong; Hashimshoni, Eyal; Pöhlker, Mira L; Jefferson, Anne; Pöhlker, Christopher; Yu, Xing; Zhu, Yannian; Liu, Guihua; Yue, Zhiguo; Fischman, Baruch; Li, Zhanqing; Giguzin, David; Goren, Tom; Artaxo, Paulo; Barbosa, Henrique M J; Pöschl, Ulrich; Andreae, Meinrat O 2016-05-24 Quantifying the aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative effect at a global scale requires simultaneous satellite retrievals of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and cloud base updraft velocities (Wb). Hitherto, the inability to do so has been a major cause of high uncertainty regarding anthropogenic aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative forcing. This can be addressed by the emerging capability of estimating CCN and Wb of boundary layer convective clouds from an operational polar orbiting weather satellite. Our methodology uses such clouds as an effective analog for CCN chambers. The cloud base supersaturation (S) is determined by Wb and the satellite-retrieved cloud base drop concentrations (Ndb), which is the same as CCN(S). Validation against ground-based CCN instruments at Oklahoma, at Manaus, and onboard a ship in the northeast Pacific showed a retrieval accuracy of ±25% to ±30% for individual satellite overpasses. The methodology is presently limited to boundary layer not raining convective clouds of at least 1 km depth that are not obscured by upper layer clouds, including semitransparent cirrus. The limitation for small solar backscattering angles of <25° restricts the satellite coverage to ∼25% of the world area in a single day. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110020277&hterms=HISTOGRAM&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DHISTOGRAM','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110020277&hterms=HISTOGRAM&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DHISTOGRAM">Vertical Structures of Anvil Clouds of Tropical Mesoscale Convective Systems Observed by CloudSat</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Hence, Deanna A.; Houze, Robert A. 2011-01-01 A global study of the vertical structures of the clouds of tropical mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) has been carried out with data from the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar. Tropical MCSs are found to be dominated by cloud-top heights greater than 10 km. Secondary cloud layers sometimes occur in MCSs, but outside their primary raining cores. The secondary layers have tops at 6 8 and 1 3 km. High-topped clouds extend outward from raining cores of MCSs to form anvil clouds. Closest to the raining cores, the anvils tend to have broader distributions of reflectivity at all levels, with the modal values at higher reflectivity in their lower levels. Portions of anvil clouds far away from the raining core are thin and have narrow frequency distributions of reflectivity at all levels with overall weaker values. This difference likely reflects ice particle fallout and therefore cloud age. Reflectivity histograms of MCS anvil clouds vary little across the tropics, except that (i) in continental MCS anvils, broader distributions of reflectivity occur at the uppermost levels in the portions closest to active raining areas; (ii) the frequency of occurrence of stronger reflectivity in the upper part of anvils decreases faster with increasing distance in continental MCSs; and (iii) narrower-peaked ridges are prominent in reflectivity histograms of thick anvil clouds close to the raining areas of connected MCSs (superclusters). These global results are consistent with observations at ground sites and aircraft data. They present a comprehensive test dataset for models aiming to simulate process-based upper-level cloud structure around the tropics. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110023303&hterms=HISTOGRAM&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DHISTOGRAM','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110023303&hterms=HISTOGRAM&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DHISTOGRAM">Vertical Structures of Anvil Clouds of Tropical Mesoscale Convective Systems Observed by CloudSat</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Yuan, J.; Houze, R. A., Jr.; Heymsfield, A. 2011-01-01 A global study of the vertical structures of the clouds of tropical mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) has been carried out with data from the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar. Tropical MCSs are found to be dominated by cloud-top heights greater than 10 km. Secondary cloud layers sometimes occur in MCSs, but outside their primary raining cores. The secondary layers have tops at 6--8 and 1--3 km. High-topped clouds extend outward from raining cores of MCSs to form anvil clouds. Closest to the raining cores, the anvils tend to have broader distributions of reflectivity at all levels, with the modal values at higher reflectivity in their lower levels. Portions of anvil clouds far away from the raining core are thin and have narrow frequency distributions of reflectivity at all levels with overall weaker values. This difference likely reflects ice particle fallout and therefore cloud age. Reflectivity histograms of MCS anvil clouds vary little across the tropics, except that (i) in continental MCS anvils, broader distributions of reflectivity occur at the uppermost levels in the portions closest to active raining areas; (ii) the frequency of occurrence of stronger reflectivity in the upper part of anvils decreases faster with increasing distance in continental MCSs; and (iii) narrower-peaked ridges are prominent in reflectivity histograms of thick anvil clouds close to the raining areas of connected MCSs (superclusters). These global results are consistent with observations at ground sites and aircraft data. They present a comprehensive test dataset for models aiming to simulate process-based upper-level cloud structure around the tropics. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20130005720&hterms=al+gore&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dal%2Bgore','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20130005720&hterms=al+gore&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dal%2Bgore">Examining the Impact of Overlying Aerosols on the Retrieval of Cloud Optical Properties from Passive Remote Sensing</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Coddington, O. M.; Pilewskie, P.; Redemann, J.; Platnick, S.; Russell, P. B.; Schmidt, K. S.; Gore, W. J.; Livingston, J.; Wind, G.; Vukicevic, T. 2010-01-01 Haywood et al. (2004) show that an aerosol layer above a cloud can cause a bias in the retrieved cloud optical thickness and effective radius. Monitoring for this potential bias is difficult because space ]based passive remote sensing cannot unambiguously detect or characterize aerosol above cloud. We show that cloud retrievals from aircraft measurements above cloud and below an overlying aerosol layer are a means to test this bias. The data were collected during the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-A) study based out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States, above extensive, marine stratus cloud banks affected by industrial outflow. Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) irradiance measurements taken along a lower level flight leg above cloud and below aerosol were unaffected by the overlying aerosol. Along upper level flight legs, the irradiance reflected from cloud top was transmitted through an aerosol layer. We compare SSFR cloud retrievals from below ]aerosol legs to satellite retrievals from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) in order to detect an aerosol ]induced bias. In regions of small variation in cloud properties, we find that SSFR and MODIS-retrieved cloud optical thickness compares within the uncertainty range for each instrument while SSFR effective radius tend to be smaller than MODIS values (by 1-2 microns) and at the low end of MODIS uncertainty estimates. In regions of large variation in cloud properties, differences in SSFR and MODIS ]retrieved cloud optical thickness and effective radius can reach values of 10 and 10 microns, respectively. We include aerosols in forward modeling to test the sensitivity of SSFR cloud retrievals to overlying aerosol layers. We find an overlying absorbing aerosol layer biases SSFR cloud retrievals to smaller effective radii and optical thickness while nonabsorbing aerosols had no impact. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1565929','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1565929">[Do volcanic eruptions and wide-spread fires affect our climate?].</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Primault, B 1992-03-31 During the first half of 1991, the press, radio and TV have often reported about large fires (Kuwait, forest fires in Portugal) or volcanic eruptions (Mount Unzen, Pinatubo). Starting with the facts, the author investigates first the kind of particles constituting such smoke clouds and in particular their size. He places the main cloud in the atmosphere and asks; the cloud remains near the soil, whether it reaches the upper layers of the troposphere or it breaks out into the stratosphere? The transport of the cloud depends on particle-size and of the winds blowing in the reached layer. All these clouds have an impact on the weather. The author analyses finally the credible influence of such clouds on weather elements: radiation and temperature as well as the extent of these effects. He corroborates his analysis by visual observations or measurements. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002SoSyR..36..492M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002SoSyR..36..492M">How Many Convective Zones Are There in the Atmosphere of Venus?</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Moroz, V. I.; Rodin, A. V. 2002-11-01 The qualitative characteristics of the vertical structure of the atmospheres of Venus and the Earth essentially differ. For instance, there are at least two, instead of one, zones with normal (thermal) convection on Venus. The first one is near the surface (a boundary layer); the second is at the altitudes of the lower part of the main cloud layer between 49 and 55 km. Contrary to the hypotheses proposed by Izakov (2001, 2002), the upper convective zone prevents energy transfer from the upper clouds to the subcloud atmosphere by ``anomalous turbulent heat conductivity.'' It is possible, however, that the anomalous turbulent heat conductivity takes part in the redistribution of the heat fluxes within the lower (subcloud) atmosphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.V23C2859D','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.V23C2859D">An experimental study of the role of particle diffusive convection on the residence time of volcanic ash clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Deal, E.; Carazzo, G.; Jellinek, M. 2013-12-01 The longevity of volcanic ash clouds generated by explosive volcanic plumes is difficult to predict. Diffusive convective instabilities leading to the production of internal layering are known to affect the stability and longevity of these clouds, but the detailed mechanisms controlling particle dynamics and sedimentation are poorly understood. We present results from a series of analog experiments reproducing diffusive convection in a 2D (Hele-Shaw) geometry, which allow us to constrain conditions for layer formation, sedimentation regime and cloud residence time as a function of only the source conditions. We inject a turbulent particle-laden jet sideways into a tank containing a basal layer of salt water and an upper layer of fresh water, which ultimately spreads as a gravity current. After the injection is stopped, particles in suspension settle through the cloud to form particle boundary layers (PBL) at the cloud base. We vary the initial particle concentration of the plume and the injection velocity over a wide range of conditions to identify and characterize distinct regimes of sedimentation. Our experiments show that convective instabilities driven as a result of differing diffusivities of salt and particles lead to periodic layering over a wide range of conditions expected in nature. The flux of particles from layered clouds and the thicknesses of the layers are understood using classical theory for double diffusive convection adjusted for the hydrodynamic diffusion of particles. Although diffusive convection increases sedimentation rates for the smallest particles (<30 μm) its overall effect is to extend the cloud residence time to several hours by maintaining larger particles in suspension within the layers, which is several orders of magnitude longer than expected when considering individual settling rates. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1348413','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1348413">Satellite retrieval of cloud condensation nuclei concentrations by using clouds as CCN chambers</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Rosenfeld, Daniel; Zheng, Youtong; Hashimshoni, Eyal Quantifying the aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative effect at a global scale requires simultaneous satellite retrievals of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and cloud base updraft velocities ( Wb). Hitherto, the inability to do so has been a major cause of high uncertainty regarding anthropogenic aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative forcing. This can be addressed by the emerging capability of estimating CCN and Wb of boundary layer convective clouds from an operational polar orbiting weather satellite. In this paper, our methodology uses such clouds as an effective analog for CCN chambers. The cloud base supersaturation ( S) is determined by Wb and the satellite-retrieved cloud basemore » drop concentrations ( Ndb), which is the same as CCN(S). Validation against ground-based CCN instruments at Oklahoma, at Manaus, and onboard a ship in the northeast Pacific showed a retrieval accuracy of ±25% to ±30% for individual satellite overpasses. The methodology is presently limited to boundary layer not raining convective clouds of at least 1 km depth that are not obscured by upper layer clouds, including semitransparent cirrus. Finally, the limitation for small solar backscattering angles of <25° restricts the satellite coverage to ~25% of the world area in a single day.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1348413-satellite-retrieval-cloud-condensation-nuclei-concentrations-using-clouds-ccn-chambers','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1348413-satellite-retrieval-cloud-condensation-nuclei-concentrations-using-clouds-ccn-chambers">Satellite retrieval of cloud condensation nuclei concentrations by using clouds as CCN chambers</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Rosenfeld, Daniel; Zheng, Youtong; Hashimshoni, Eyal; ... 2016-03-04 Quantifying the aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative effect at a global scale requires simultaneous satellite retrievals of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and cloud base updraft velocities ( Wb). Hitherto, the inability to do so has been a major cause of high uncertainty regarding anthropogenic aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative forcing. This can be addressed by the emerging capability of estimating CCN and Wb of boundary layer convective clouds from an operational polar orbiting weather satellite. In this paper, our methodology uses such clouds as an effective analog for CCN chambers. The cloud base supersaturation ( S) is determined by Wb and the satellite-retrieved cloud basemore » drop concentrations ( Ndb), which is the same as CCN(S). Validation against ground-based CCN instruments at Oklahoma, at Manaus, and onboard a ship in the northeast Pacific showed a retrieval accuracy of ±25% to ±30% for individual satellite overpasses. The methodology is presently limited to boundary layer not raining convective clouds of at least 1 km depth that are not obscured by upper layer clouds, including semitransparent cirrus. Finally, the limitation for small solar backscattering angles of <25° restricts the satellite coverage to ~25% of the world area in a single day.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160000959','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160000959">Remote Sensing of Cloud Top Heights Using the Research Scanning Polarimeter</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Sinclair, Kenneth; van Diedenhoven, Bastiaan; Cairns, Brian; Yorks, John; Wasilewski, Andrzej 2015-01-01 Clouds cover roughly two thirds of the globe and act as an important regulator of Earth's radiation budget. Of these, multilayered clouds occur about half of the time and are predominantly two-layered. Changes in cloud top height (CTH) have been predicted by models to have a globally averaged positive feedback, however observational changes in CTH have shown uncertain results. Additional CTH observations are necessary to better and quantify the effect. Improved CTH observations will also allow for improved sub-grid parameterizations in large-scale models and accurate CTH information is important when studying variations in freezing point and cloud microphysics. NASA's airborne Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) is able to measure cloud top height using a novel multi-angular contrast approach. RSP scans along the aircraft track and obtains measurements at 152 viewing angles at any aircraft location. The approach presented here aggregates measurements from multiple scans to a single location at cloud altitude using a correlation function designed to identify the location-distinct features in each scan. During NASAs SEAC4RS air campaign, the RSP was mounted on the ER-2 aircraft along with the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL), which made simultaneous measurements of CTH. The RSPs unique method of determining CTH is presented. The capabilities of using single and combinations of channels within the approach are investigated. A detailed comparison of RSP retrieved CTHs with those of CPL reveal the accuracy of the approach. Results indicate a strong ability for the RSP to accurately identify cloud heights. Interestingly, the analysis reveals an ability for the approach to identify multiple cloud layers in a single scene and estimate the CTH of each layer. Capabilities and limitations of identifying single and multiple cloud layers heights are explored. Special focus is given to sources of error in the method including optically thin clouds, physically thick clouds, multi-layered clouds as well as cloud phase. When determining multi-layered CTHs, limits on the upper clouds opacity are assessed. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>1</a></li> <li class="active">2</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_3");'>3</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_3" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>1</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_2");'>2</a></li> <li class="active">3</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="41"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010099433','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010099433">A Numerical Study of Tropical Sea-Air Interactions Using a Cloud Resolving Model Coupled with an Ocean Mixed-Layer Model</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Shie, Chung-Lin; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Johnson, Dan; Simpson, Joanne; Li, Xiaofan; Sui, Chung-Hsiung; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor) 2001-01-01 Coupling a cloud resolving model (CRM) with an ocean mixed layer (OML) model can provide a powerful tool for better understanding impacts of atmospheric precipitation on sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity. The objective of this study is twofold. First, by using the three dimensional (3-D) CRM-simulated (the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble model, GCE) diabatic source terms, radiation (longwave and shortwave), surface fluxes (sensible and latent heat, and wind stress), and precipitation as input for the OML model, the respective impact of individual component on upper ocean heat and salt budgets are investigated. Secondly, a two-way air-sea interaction between tropical atmospheric climates (involving atmospheric radiative-convective processes) and upper ocean boundary layer is also examined using a coupled two dimensional (2-D) GCE and OML model. Results presented here, however, only involve the first aspect. Complete results will be presented at the conference. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004JAtS...61.3112M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004JAtS...61.3112M">Mixing Layer Formation near the Tropopause Due to Gravity Wave Critical Level Interactions in a Cloud-Resolving Model.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Moustaoui, Mohamed; Joseph, Binson; Teitelbaum, Hector 2004-12-01 A plausible mechanism for the formation of mixing layers in the lower stratosphere above regions of tropical convection is demonstrated numerically using high-resolution, two-dimensional (2D), anelastic, nonlinear, cloud-resolving simulations. One noteworthy point is that the mixing layer simulated in this study is free of anvil clouds and well above the cloud anvil top located in the upper troposphere. Hence, the present mechanism is complementary to the well-known process by which overshooting cloud turrets causes mixing within stratospheric anvil clouds. The paper is organized as a case study verifying the proposed mechanism using atmospheric soundings obtained during the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment (CEPEX), when several such mixing layers, devoid of anvil clouds, had been observed. The basic dynamical ingredient of the present mechanism is (quasi stationary) gravity wave critical level interactions, occurring in association with a reversal of stratospheric westerlies to easterlies below the tropopause region. The robustness of the results is shown through simulations at different resolutions. The insensitivity of the qualitative results to the details of the subgrid scheme is also evinced through further simulations with and without subgrid mixing terms. From Lagrangian reconstruction of (passive) ozone fields, it is shown that the mixing layer is formed kinematically through advection by the resolved-scale (nonlinear) velocity field.<HR ALIGN="center" WIDTH="30%"> </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19820049383&hterms=grams&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3Dgrams','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19820049383&hterms=grams&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3Dgrams">Orbiting lidar simulations. I - Aerosol and cloud measurements by an independent-wavelength technique</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Russell, P. B.; Morley, B. M.; Livingston, J. M.; Grams, G. W.; Patterson, E. M. 1982-01-01 Aerosol and cloud measurements have been simulated for a Space Shuttle lidar. Expected errors - in signal, transmission, density, and calibration - are calculated algebraically and checked by simulating measurements and retrievals using random-number generators. By day, vertical structure is retrieved for tenuous clouds, Saharan aerosols, and boundary layer aerosols (at 0.53 and 1.06 micron) as well as strong volcanic stratospheric aerosols (at 0.53 micron). By night, all these constituents are retrieved plus upper tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols (at 1.06 micron), mesospheric aerosols (at 0.53 micron), and noctilucent clouds (at 1.06 and 0.53 micron). The vertical resolution was 0.1-0.5 km in the troposphere, 0.5-2.0 km above, except 0.25-1.0 km in the mesospheric cloud and aerosol layers; horizontal resolution was 100-2000 km. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AMT.....5.1889P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AMT.....5.1889P">Cloud retrievals from satellite data using optimal estimation: evaluation and application to ATSR</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Poulsen, C. A.; Siddans, R.; Thomas, G. E.; Sayer, A. M.; Grainger, R. G.; Campmany, E.; Dean, S. M.; Arnold, C.; Watts, P. D. 2012-08-01 Clouds play an important role in balancing the Earth's radiation budget. Hence, it is vital that cloud climatologies are produced that quantify cloud macro and micro physical parameters and the associated uncertainty. In this paper, we present an algorithm ORAC (Oxford-RAL retrieval of Aerosol and Cloud) which is based on fitting a physically consistent cloud model to satellite observations simultaneously from the visible to the mid-infrared, thereby ensuring that the resulting cloud properties provide both a good representation of the short-wave and long-wave radiative effects of the observed cloud. The advantages of the optimal estimation method are that it enables rigorous error propagation and the inclusion of all measurements and any a priori information and associated errors in a rigorous mathematical framework. The algorithm provides a measure of the consistency between retrieval representation of cloud and satellite radiances. The cloud parameters retrieved are the cloud top pressure, cloud optical depth, cloud effective radius, cloud fraction and cloud phase. The algorithm can be applied to most visible/infrared satellite instruments. In this paper, we demonstrate the applicability to the Along-Track Scanning Radiometers ATSR-2 and AATSR. Examples of applying the algorithm to ATSR-2 flight data are presented and the sensitivity of the retrievals assessed, in particular the algorithm is evaluated for a number of simulated single-layer and multi-layer conditions. The algorithm was found to perform well for single-layer cloud except when the cloud was very thin; i.e., less than 1 optical depths. For the multi-layer cloud, the algorithm was robust except when the upper ice cloud layer is less than five optical depths. In these cases the retrieved cloud top pressure and cloud effective radius become a weighted average of the 2 layers. The sum of optical depth of multi-layer cloud is retrieved well until the cloud becomes thick, greater than 50 optical depths, where the cloud begins to saturate. The cost proved a good indicator of multi-layer scenarios. Both the retrieval cost and the error need to be considered together in order to evaluate the quality of the retrieval. This algorithm in the configuration described here has been applied to both ATSR-2 and AATSR visible and infrared measurements in the context of the GRAPE (Global Retrieval and cloud Product Evaluation) project to produce a 14 yr consistent record for climate research. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A11U..06K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A11U..06K">Convectively-driven cold layer and its influences on moisture in the UTLS</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kim, J.; Randel, W. J.; Birner, T. 2016-12-01 Characteristics of the cold anomaly in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) that is commonly observed with deep convection are examined using CloudSat and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) GPS radio occultation measurements. Deep convection is sampled based on the cloud top height (>17 km) from CloudSat 2B-CLDCLASS, and then temperature profiles from COSMIC are composited around the deep convection. The composite temperature shows anomalously warm troposphere (up to 14 km) and a significantly cold layer near the tropopause (at 16-18 km) in the regions of deep convection. Generally in the tropics, the cold layer has very large horizontal scale (2,000 - 6,000 km) compared to that of mesoscale convective cluster, and it lasts one or two weeks with minimum temperature anomaly of - 2K. The cold layer shows slight but clear eastward-tilted vertical structure in the deep tropics indicating a large-scale Kelvin wave response. Further analyses on circulation patterns suggest that the anomaly can be explained as a part of Gill-type response in the TTL to deep convective heating in the troposphere. Response of moisture to the cold layer is also examined in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere using microwave limb sounder (MLS) measurements. The water vapor anomalies show coherent structures with the temperature and circulation anomalies. A clear dry anomaly is found in the cold layer and its outflow region, implying a large-scale dehydration process due to the convectively driven cold layer in the upper TTL. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009ACP.....9.8799D','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009ACP.....9.8799D">UV Raman lidar measurements of relative humidity for the characterization of cirrus cloud microphysical properties</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> di Girolamo, P.; Summa, D.; Lin, R.-F.; Maestri, T.; Rizzi, R.; Masiello, G. 2009-11-01 Raman lidar measurements performed in Potenza by the Raman lidar system BASIL in the presence of cirrus clouds are discussed. Measurements were performed on 6 September 2004 in the frame of the Italian phase of the EAQUATE Experiment. The major feature of BASIL is represented by its capability to perform high-resolution and accurate measurements of atmospheric temperature and water vapour, and consequently relative humidity, both in daytime and night-time, based on the application of the rotational and vibrational Raman lidar techniques in the UV. BASIL is also capable to provide measurements of the particle backscatter and extinction coefficient, and consequently lidar ratio (at the time of these measurements, only at one wavelength), which are fundamental to infer geometrical and microphysical properties of clouds. A case study is discussed in order to assess the capability of Raman lidars to measure humidity in presence of cirrus clouds, both below and inside the cloud. While air inside the cloud layers is observed to be always under-saturated with respect to water, both ice super-saturation and under-saturation conditions are found inside these clouds. Upper tropospheric moistening is observed below the lower cloud layer. The synergic use of the data derived from the ground based Raman Lidar and of spectral radiances measured by the NAST-I Airborne Spectrometer allows the determination of the temporal evolution of the atmospheric cooling/heating rates due to the presence of the cirrus cloud. Lidar measurements beneath the cirrus cloud layer have been interpreted using a 1-D cirrus cloud model with explicit microphysics. The 1-D simulations indicate that sedimentation-moistening has contributed significantly to the moist anomaly, but other mechanisms are also contributing. This result supports the hypothesis that the observed mid-tropospheric humidification is a real feature which is strongly influenced by the sublimation of precipitating ice crystals. Results illustrated in this study demonstrate that Raman lidars, like the one used in this study, can resolve the spatial and temporal scales required for the study of cirrus cloud microphysical processes and appear sensitive enough to reveal and quantify upper tropospheric humidification associated with cirrus cloud sublimation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009ACPD....914735D','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009ACPD....914735D">UV Raman lidar measurements of relative humidity for the characterization of cirrus cloud microphysical properties</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> di Girolamo, P.; Summa, D.; Lin, R.-F.; Maestri, T.; Rizzi, R.; Masiello, G. 2009-07-01 Raman lidar measurements performed in Potenza by the Raman lidar system BASIL in the presence of cirrus clouds are discussed. Measurements were performed on 6 September 2004 in the frame of Italian phase of the EAQUATE Experiment. The major feature of BASIL is represented by its capability to perform high-resolution and accurate measurements of atmospheric temperature and water vapour, and consequently relative humidity, both in daytime and night-time, based on the application of the rotational and vibrational Raman lidar techniques in the UV. BASIL is also capable to provide measurements of the particle backscatter and extinction coefficient, and consequently lidar ratio (at the time of these measurements only at one wavelength), which are fundamental to infer geometrical and microphysical properties of clouds. A case study is discussed in order to assess the capability of Raman lidars to measure humidity in presence of cirrus clouds, both below and inside the cloud. While air inside the cloud layers is observed to be always under-saturated with respect to water, both ice super-saturation and under-saturation conditions are found inside these clouds. Upper tropospheric moistening is observed below the lower cloud layer. The synergic use of the data derived from the ground based Raman Lidar and of spectral radiances measured by the NAST-I Airborne Spectrometer allows to determine the temporal evolution of the atmospheric cooling/heating rates due to the presence of the cirrus cloud anvil. Lidar measurements beneath the cirrus cloud layer have been interpreted using a 1-D cirrus cloud model with explicit microphysics. The 1-D simulations indicates that sedimentation-moistening has contributed significantly to the moist anomaly, but other mechanisms are also contributing. This result supports the hypothesis that the observed mid-tropospheric humidification is a real feature which is strongly influenced by the sublimation of precipitating ice crystals. Results illustrated in this study demonstrate that Raman lidars, like the one used in this study, can resolve the spatial and temporal scales required for the study of cirrus cloud microphysical processes and appears sensitive enough to reveal and quantify upper tropospheric humidification associated with cirrus cloud sublimation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090023544','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090023544">Multi-Layer Arctic Mixed-Phase Clouds Simulated by a Cloud-Resolving Model: Comparison with ARM Observations and Sensitivity Experiments</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Luo, Yali; Xu, Kuan-Man; Morrison, Hugh; McFarquhar, Greg M.; Wang, Zhien; Zhang, Gong 2007-01-01 A cloud-resolving model (CRM) is used to simulate the multiple-layer mixed-phase stratiform (MPS) clouds that occurred during a three-and-a-half day subperiod of the Department of Energy-Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program s Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE). The CRM is implemented with an advanced two-moment microphysics scheme, a state-of-the-art radiative transfer scheme, and a complicated third-order turbulence closure. Concurrent meteorological, aerosol, and ice nucleus measurements are used to initialize the CRM. The CRM is prescribed by time-varying large-scale advective tendencies of temperature and moisture and surface turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat. The CRM reproduces the occurrences of the single- and double-layer MPS clouds as revealed by the M-PACE observations. However, the simulated first cloud layer is lower and the second cloud layer thicker compared to observations. The magnitude of the simulated liquid water path agrees with that observed, but its temporal variation is more pronounced than that observed. As in an earlier study of single-layer cloud, the CRM also captures the major characteristics in the vertical distributions and temporal variations of liquid water content (LWC), total ice water content (IWC), droplet number concentration and ice crystal number concentration (nis) as suggested by the aircraft observations. However, the simulated mean values differ significantly from the observed. The magnitude of nis is especially underestimated by one order of magnitude. Sensitivity experiments suggest that the lower cloud layer is closely related to the surface fluxes of sensible and latent heat; the upper cloud layer is probably initialized by the large-scale advective cooling/moistening and maintained through the strong longwave (LW) radiative cooling near the cloud top which enhances the dynamical circulation; artificially turning off all ice-phase microphysical processes results in an increase in LWP by a factor of 3 due to interactions between the excessive LW radiative cooling and extra cloud water; heating caused by phase change of hydrometeors could affect the LWC and cloud top height by partially canceling out the LW radiative cooling. It is further shown that the resolved dynamical circulation appears to contribute more greatly to the evolution of the MPS cloud layers than the parameterized subgrid-scale circulation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=AC80-7007&hterms=many+miles+away+moon&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dmany%2Bmiles%2Baway%2Bmoon','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=AC80-7007&hterms=many+miles+away+moon&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dmany%2Bmiles%2Baway%2Bmoon">Photographer : JPL Range : 12 million km. ( 7.56 million miles) P-23057C & BW This Voyager 1</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1980-01-01 Photographer : JPL Range : 12 million km. ( 7.56 million miles) P-23057C & BW This Voyager 1 photograph of Titan, the largest of Saturn's 14 known satellites, shows little more than the upper layers of clouds covering the moon. The orange colored haze, is believed to be composed of photochemically produced hydrocarbons, hides Titan's solid surface from Voyager's camera. Some weak shadings in the clouds are becoming visible. However, note that the satellite's southern, lower, hemisphere is brighter than the northern. It is not known whether these subtle shadings are on the surface or are due to clouds below a high haze layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ThApC.123..551W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ThApC.123..551W">Features of clouds and convection during the pre- and post-onset periods of the Asian summer monsoon</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wang, Yi; Wang, Chenghai 2016-02-01 The statistical characteristics of the vertical structure of clouds in the Asian summer monsoon region are investigated using two CloudSat standard products (Geometrical Profiling Product (GEOPROF) and GEOPROF-lidar) during the pre- and post-onset periods of the Asian summer monsoon, from April to August in 2007-2010. The characteristics of the vertical structure of clouds are analyzed and compared for different underlying surfaces in four subregions during this period. Also analyzed are the evolution of precipitation and hydrometeors with the northward advance of the Asian summer monsoon, and different hydrometeor characteristics attributed to the underlying surface features. The results indicate that the vertical cloud amounts increase significantly after the summer monsoon onset; this increase occurs first in the upper troposphere and then at lower altitudes over tropical regions (South Asian and tropical Northwest Pacific regions). The heights of the cloud top ascend, and the vertical height between the top and the base of the whole cloud increases. Single-layer (SL) and double-layer (DL) hydrometeors contribute over half and one third of the cloudiness in these 5 months (April to August), respectively. The multilayer frequencies increase in four different regions, and cloud layer depths (CLD) increase after the summer monsoon onset. These changes are stronger in tropical regions than in subtropical regions, while the vertical distance between cloud layers (VDCL) deceases in tropical regions and increases in subtropical regions. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008ACP.....8.4547F','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008ACP.....8.4547F">Variability of cirrus clouds in a convective outflow during the Hibiscus campaign</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Fierli, F.; di Donfrancesco, G.; Cairo, F.; Marécal, V.; Zampieri, M.; Orlandi, E.; Durry, G. 2008-08-01 Light-weight microlidar and water vapour measurements were taken on-board a stratospheric balloon during the HIBISCUS 2004 campaign, held in Bauru, Brazil (49° W, 22° S). Cirrus clouds were observed throughout the flight between 12 and 15 km height with a high mesoscale variability in optical and microphysical properties. It was found that the cirrus clouds were composed of different layers characterized by marked differences in height, thickness and optical properties. Simultaneous water vapour observations show that the different layers are characterized by different values of the saturation with respect to ice. A mesoscale simulation and a trajectory analysis clearly revealed that the clouds had formed in the outflow of a large and persistent convective region and that the observed variability of the optical properties and of the cloud structure is likely linked to the different residence times of the convectively-processed air in the upper troposphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43H2575L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43H2575L">The Effect of Cirrus Clouds on Water Vapor Transport in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Lei, L.; McCormick, M. P.; Anderson, J. 2017-12-01 Water vapor plays an important role in the Earth's radiation budget and stratospheric chemistry. It is widely accepted that a large percentage of water vapor entering the stratosphere travels through the tropical tropopause and is dehydrated by the cold tropopause temperature. The vertical transport of water vapor is also affected by the radiative effects of cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer. This latter effect of cirrus clouds was investigated in this research. The work focuses on the tropical and mid-latitude region (50N-50S). Water vapor data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and cirrus cloud data from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) instruments were used to investigate the relationship between the water vapor and the occurrence of cirrus cloud. A 10-degree in longitude by 10-degree in latitude resolution was chosen to bin the MLS and CALIPSO data. The result shows that the maximum water vapor in the upper troposphere (below 146 hPa) is matched very well with the highest frequency of cirrus cloud occurrences. Maximum water vapor in the lower stratosphere (100 hPa) is partly matched with the maximum cirrus cloud occurrence in the summer time. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Interpolated Outgoing Longwave Radiation data and NCEP-DOE Reanalysis 2 wind data were used also to investigate the relationship between the water vapor entering the stratosphere, deep convection, and wind. Results show that maximum water vapor at 100 hPa coincides with the northern hemisphere summer-time anticyclone. The effects from both single-layer cirrus clouds and cirrus clouds above the anvil top on the water vapor entering the stratosphere were also studied and will be presented. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014cosp...40E1776L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014cosp...40E1776L">Preliminary results of fluid dynamic model calculation of convective motion induced by solar heating at the Venus cloud top level.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Lee, Yeon Joo; Imamura, Takeshi; Maejima, Yasumitsu; Sugiyama, Ko-ichiro The thick cloud layer of Venus reflects solar radiation effectively, resulting in a Bond albedo of 76% (Moroz et al., 1985). Most of the incoming solar flux is absorbed in the upper cloud layer at 60-70 km altitude. An unknown UV absorber is a major sink of the solar energy at the cloud top level. It produces about 40-60% of the total solar heating near the cloud tops, depending on its vertical structure (Crisp et al., 1986; Lee et al., in preparation). UV images of Venus show a clear difference in morphology between laminar flow shaped clouds on the morning side and convective-like cells on the afternoon side of the planet in the equatorial region (Titov et al., 2012). This difference is probably related to strong solar heating at the cloud tops at the sub-solar point, rather than the influence from deeper level convection in the low and middle cloud layers (Imamura et al., 2014). Also, small difference in cloud top structures may trigger horizontal convection at this altitude, because various cloud top structures can significantly alter the solar heating and thermal cooling rates at the cloud tops (Lee et al., in preparation). Performing radiative forcing calculations for various cloud top structures using a radiative transfer model (SHDOM), we investigate the effect of solar heating at the cloud tops on atmospheric dynamics. We use CReSS (Cloud Resolving Storm Simulator), and consider the altitude range from 35 km to 90 km, covering a full cloud deck. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090034995&hterms=raman&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Draman','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090034995&hterms=raman&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Draman">Evaluation of the OMI Cloud Pressures Derived from Rotational Raman Scattering by Comparisons with other Satellite Data and Radiative Transfer Simulations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Vasilkov, Alexander; Joiner, Joanna; Spurr, Robert; Bhartia, Pawan K.; Levelt, Pieternel; Stephens, Graeme 2009-01-01 In this paper we examine differences between cloud pressures retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) using the ultraviolet rotational Raman scattering (RRS) algorithm and those from the thermal infrared (IR) Aqua/MODIS. Several cloud data sets are currently being used in OMI trace gas retrieval algorithms including climatologies based on IR measurements and simultaneous cloud parameters derived from OMI. From a validation perspective, it is important to understand the OMI retrieved cloud parameters and how they differ with those derived from the IR. To this end, we perform radiative transfer calculations to simulate the effects of different geophysical conditions on the OMI RRS cloud pressure retrievals. We also quantify errors related to the use of the Mixed Lambert-Equivalent Reflectivity (MLER) concept as currently implemented of the OMI algorithms. Using properties from the Cloudsat radar and MODIS, we show that radiative transfer calculations support the following: (1) The MLER model is adequate for single-layer optically thick, geometrically thin clouds, but can produce significant errors in estimated cloud pressure for optically thin clouds. (2) In a two-layer cloud, the RRS algorithm may retrieve a cloud pressure that is either between the two cloud decks or even beneath the top of the lower cloud deck because of scattering between the cloud layers; the retrieved pressure depends upon the viewing geometry and the optical depth of the upper cloud deck. (3) Absorbing aerosol in and above a cloud can produce significant errors in the retrieved cloud pressure. (4) The retrieved RRS effective pressure for a deep convective cloud will be significantly higher than the physical cloud top pressure derived with thermal IR. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFMAE33C0509B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFMAE33C0509B">An Analysis of Two Thunderstorms Producing Five Negative Sprites on 12 September 2014</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Boggs, L.; Liu, N.; Splitt, M. E.; Lazarus, S. M.; Cummer, S. A.; Rassoul, H. 2015-12-01 We present a detailed analysis of the thunderstorms and the parent lightning discharge morphologies of five confirmed negative sprites taking place in two different thunderstorms. These two thunderstorms took place in east-central and south Florida on 12 September 2014. We utilized several lightning location networks, remote magnetic field measurements, dual polarization radar, and balloon borne soundings in our analysis. Each parent discharge was immediately preceded by intra-cloud (IC) discharges between the mid-level negative and upper positive charge regions. This either allowed a second upward negative leader to escape the upper positive charge region, or encouraged a downward negative leader to be initiated and connect with ground. The discharges found in this study support the findings of Lu et al., 2012 [JGR,117, D04212, 2012] that negative sprite-parent lightning consists primarily of hybrid intra-cloud negative cloud-to-ground (IC-NCG) and bolt-from-the-blue (BFB) lightning. Our work finds these unique discharges form in thunderstorms that have an excess of mid-level negative charge and weakened upper positive charge. Due to this charge structure, these unusual discharges transfer more charge to the ground than typical negative cloud-to-ground discharges. Our study suggests that the key difference separating bolt-from-the-blue and gigantic jet discharges is an asymmetric charge structure. This acts to bring the negative leader exiting the thundercloud closer to the lateral positive screening layer, encouraging the negative leader to turn towards ground. This investigation reveals IC discharges that involve multiple convective cells and come to ground as a negative CG discharge, a breed of hybrid IC-NCG discharges, also transfer more negative charge to ground than typical negative CG discharges and are able to initiate negative sprites. From this work, the charge structures mentioned above resulted from tall, intense convective cells with low CG flash rates with high wind shear in the mid to upper regions of the cloud. This acted to create a large reservoir of mid-level negative charge and create a general asymmetry to the charge structure. The wind shear in the upper regions also acted to weaken the upper positive charge by turbulent mixing with the upper negative screening charge layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080006610','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080006610">Ice Cloud Properties in Ice-Over-Water Cloud Systems Using TRMM VIRS and TMI Data</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Minnis, Patrick; Huang, Jianping; Lin, Bing; Yi, Yuhong; Arduini, Robert F.; Fan, Tai-Fang; Ayers, J. Kirk; Mace, Gerald G. 2007-01-01 A multi-layered cloud retrieval system (MCRS) is updated and used to estimate ice water path in maritime ice-over-water clouds using Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission spacecraft between January and August 1998. Lookup tables of top-of-atmosphere 0.65- m reflectance are developed for ice-over-water cloud systems using radiative transfer calculations with various combinations of ice-over-water cloud layers. The liquid and ice water paths, LWP and IWP, respectively, are determined with the MCRS using these lookup tables with a combination of microwave (MW), visible (VIS), and infrared (IR) data. LWP, determined directly from the TMI MW data, is used to define the lower-level cloud properties to select the proper lookup table. The properties of the upper-level ice clouds, such as optical depth and effective size, are then derived using the Visible Infrared Solar-infrared Split-window Technique (VISST), which matches the VIRS IR, 3.9- m, and VIS data to the multilayer-cloud lookup table reflectances and a set of emittance parameterizations. Initial comparisons with surface-based radar retrievals suggest that this enhanced MCRS can significantly improve the accuracy and decrease the IWP in overlapped clouds by 42% and 13% compared to using the single-layer VISST and an earlier simplified MW-VIS-IR (MVI) differencing method, respectively, for ice-over-water cloud systems. The tropical distribution of ice-over-water clouds is the same as derived earlier from combined TMI and VIRS data, but the new values of IWP and optical depth are slightly larger than the older MVI values, and exceed those of single-layered layered clouds by 7% and 11%, respectively. The mean IWP from the MCRS is 8-14% greater than that retrieved from radar retrievals of overlapped clouds over two surface sites and the standard deviations of the differences are similar to those for single-layered clouds. Examples of a method for applying the MCRS over land without microwave data yield similar differences with the surface retrievals. By combining the MCRS with other techniques that focus primarily on optically thin cirrus over low water clouds, it will be possible to more fully assess the IWP in all conditions over ocean except for precipitating systems. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19870027597&hterms=ia&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Dia','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19870027597&hterms=ia&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Dia">Particulate matter in the Venus atmosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ragent, B.; Esposito, L. W.; Tomasko, M. G.; Marov, M. IA.; Shari, V. P. 1985-01-01 The paper presents a summary of the data currently available (June 1984) describing the planet-enshrouding particulate matter in the Venus atmosphere. A description and discussion of the state of knowledge of the Venus clouds and hazes precedes the tables and plots. The tabular material includes a precis of upper haze and cloud-top properties, parameters for model-size distributions for particles and particulate layers, and columnar masses and mass loadings. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19980008085','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19980008085">A Model for Particle Microphysics,Turbulent Mixing, and Radiative Transfer in the Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer and Comparisons with Measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ackerman, Andrew S.; Toon, Owen B.; Hobbs, Peter V. 1995-01-01 A detailed 1D model of the stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer is described. The model has three coupled components: a microphysics module that resolves the size distributions of aerosols and cloud droplets, a turbulence module that treats vertical mixing between layers, and a multiple wavelength radiative transfer module that calculates radiative heating rates and cloud optical properties. The results of a 12-h model simulation reproduce reasonably well the bulk thermodynamics, microphysical properties, and radiative fluxes measured in an approx. 500-m thick, summertime marine stratocumulus cloud layer by Nicholls. However, in this case, the model predictions of turbulent fluxes between the cloud and subcloud layers exceed the measurements. Results of model simulations are also compared to measurements of a marine stratus layer made under gate conditions and with measurements of a high, thin marine stratocumulus layer. The variations in cloud properties are generally reproduced by the model, although it underpredicts the entrainment of overlying air at cloud top under gale conditions. Sensitivities of the model results are explored. The vertical profile of cloud droplet concentration is sensitive to the lower size cutoff of the droplet size distribution due to the presence of unactivated haze particles in the lower region of the modeled cloud. Increases in total droplet concentrations do not always produce less drizzle and more cloud water in the model. The radius of the mean droplet volume does not correlate consistently with drizzle, but the effective droplet radius does. The greatest impacts on cloud properties predicted by the model are produced by halving the width of the size distribution of input condensation nuclei and by omitting the effect of cloud-top radiative cooling on the condensational growth of cloud droplets. The omission of infrared scattering produces noticeable changes in cloud properties. The collection efficiencies for droplets less than 30-micron radius, and the value of the accommodation coefficient for condensational droplet growth, have noticeable effects on cloud properties. The divergence of the horizontal wind also has a significant effect on a 12-h model simulation of cloud structure. Conclusions drawn from the model are tentative because of the limitations of the 1D model framework. A principal simplification is that the model assumes horizontal homogeneity, and, therefore, does not resolve updrafts and downdrafts. Likely consequences of this simplification include overprediction of the growth of droplets by condensation in the upper region of the cloud, underprediction of droplet condensational growth in the lower region of the cloud, and under-prediction of peak supersaturations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19970001781','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19970001781">A Model for Particle Microphysics, Turbulent Mixing, and Radiative Transfer in the Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer and Comparisons with Measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ackerman, Andrew S.; Toon, Owen B.; Hobbs, Peter V. 1995-01-01 A detailed 1D model of the stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer is described. The model has three coupled components: a microphysics module that resolves the size distributions of aerosols and cloud droplets, a turbulence module that treats vertical mixing between layers, and a multiple wavelength radiative transfer module that calculates radiative heating rates and cloud optical properties. The results of a 12-h model simulation reproduce reasonably well the bulk thermodynamics, microphysical properties, and radiative fluxes measured in an approx. 500-m thick, summertime marine stratocumulus cloud layer by Nicholls. However, in this case, the model predictions of turbulent fluxes between the cloud and subcloud layers exceed the measurements. Results of model simulations are also compared to measurements of a marine stratus layer made under gale conditions and with measurements of a high, thin marine stratocumulus layer. The variations in cloud properties are generally reproduced by the model, although it underpredicts the entrainment of overlying air at cloud top under gale conditions. Sensitivities of the model results are explored. The vertical profile of cloud droplet concentration is sensitive to the lower size cutoff of the droplet size distribution due to the presence of unactivated haze particles in the lower region of the modeled cloud. Increases in total droplet concentrations do not always produce less drizzle and more cloud water in the model. The radius of the mean droplet volume does not correlate consistently with drizzle, but the effective droplet radius does. The greatest impacts on cloud properties predicted by the model are produced by halving the width of the size distribution of input condensation nuclei and by omitting the effect of cloud-top radiative cooling on the condensational growth of cloud droplets. The omission of infrared scattering produces noticeable changes in cloud properties. The collection efficiencies for droplets less than 30-micrometers radius, and the value of the accommodation coefficient for condensational droplet growth, have noticeable effects on cloud properties. The divergence of the horizontal wind also has a significant effect on a 12-h model simulation of cloud structure. Conclusions drawn from the model are tentative because of the limitations of the 1D model framework. A principal simplification is that the model assumes horizontal homogeneity, and, therefore, does not resolve updrafts and downdrafts. Likely consequences of this simplification include overprediction of the growth of droplets by condensation in the upper region of the cloud, underprediction of droplet condensational growth in the lower region of the cloud, and underprediction of peak supersaturations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018GeoRL..45.4345M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018GeoRL..45.4345M">Cloud Feedback Key to Marine Heatwave off Baja California</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Myers, Timothy A.; Mechoso, Carlos R.; Cesana, Gregory V.; DeFlorio, Michael J.; Waliser, Duane E. 2018-05-01 Between 2013 and 2015, the northeast Pacific Ocean experienced the warmest surface temperature anomalies in the modern observational record. This "marine heatwave" marked a shift of Pacific decadal variability to its warm phase and was linked to significant impacts on marine species as well as exceptionally arid conditions in western North America. Here we show that the subtropical signature of this warming, off Baja California, was associated with a record deficit in the spatial coverage of co-located marine boundary layer clouds. This deficit coincided with a large increase in downwelling solar radiation that dominated the anomalous energy budget of the upper ocean, resulting in record-breaking warm sea surface temperature anomalies. Our observation-based analysis suggests that a positive cloud-surface temperature feedback was key to the extreme intensity of the heatwave. The results demonstrate the extent to which boundary layer clouds can contribute to regional variations in climate. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>1</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_2");'>2</a></li> <li class="active">3</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_4" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_2");'>2</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_3");'>3</a></li> <li class="active">4</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_6");'>6</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="61"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1233295','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1233295">Vertical microphysical profiles of convective clouds as a tool for obtaining aerosol cloud-mediated climate forcings</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Rosenfeld, Daniel Quantifying the aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative effect at a global scale requires simultaneous satellite retrievals of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and cloud base updraft velocities (Wb). Hitherto, the inability to do so has been a major cause of high uncertainty regarding anthropogenic aerosol/cloud-mediated radiative forcing. This can be addressed by the emerging capability of estimating CCN and Wb of boundary layer convective clouds from an operational polar orbiting weather satellite. Our methodology uses such clouds as an effective analog for CCN chambers. The cloud base supersaturation (S) is determined by Wb and the satellite-retrieved cloud base drop concentrations (Ndb), which ismore » the same as CCN(S). Developing and validating this methodology was possible thanks to the ASR/ARM measurements of CCN and vertical updraft profiles. Validation against ground-based CCN instruments at the ARM sites in Oklahoma, Manaus, and onboard a ship in the northeast Pacific showed a retrieval accuracy of ±25% to ±30% for individual satellite overpasses. The methodology is presently limited to boundary layer not raining convective clouds of at least 1 km depth that are not obscured by upper layer clouds, including semitransparent cirrus. The limitation for small solar backscattering angles of <25º restricts the satellite coverage to ~25% of the world area in a single day. This methodology will likely allow overcoming the challenge of quantifying the aerosol indirect effect and facilitate a substantial reduction of the uncertainty in anthropogenic climate forcing.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001iaop.work...54M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001iaop.work...54M">A Nuclear Ramjet Flyer for Exploration of Jovian Atmosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Maise, G.; Powell, J.; Paniagua, J.; Lecat, R. 2001-01-01 We investigated the design, operation, and data gathering possibilities of a nuclear-powered ramjet flyer in the Jovian atmosphere. The MITEE nuclear rocket engine can be modified to operate as a ramjet in planetary atmospheres. (Note: MITEE is a compact, ultra-light-weight thermal nuclear rocket which uses hydrogen as the propellant.) To operate as a ramjet, MITEE requires a suitable inlet and diffuser to substitute for the propellant that is pumped from the supply tanks in a nuclear rocket engine. Such a ramjet would fly in the upper Jovian atmosphere, mapping in detail temperatures, pressures, compositions, lightning activity, and wind speeds in the highly turbulent equatorial zone and the Great Red Spot. The nuclear ramjet could operate for months because: (1) the Jovian atmosphere has unlimited propellant, (2) the MITEE nuclear reactor is a (nearly) unlimited power source, and (3) with few moving parts, mechanical wear should be minimal. This paper presents a conceptual design of a ramjet flyer and its nuclear engine. The flyer incorporates a swept-wing design with instruments located in the twin wing-tip pods (away from the radiation source and readily shielded, if necessary). The vehicle is 2 m long with a 2 m wingspan. Its mass is 220 kg, and its nominal flight Mach number is 1.5. Based on combined neutronic and thermal/hydraulic analyses, we calculated that the ambient pressure range over which the flyer can operate to be from about 0.04 to 4 (terrestrial) atmospheres. This altitude range encompasses the three uppermost cloud layers in the Jovian atmosphere: (1) the entire uppermost visible NH3 ice cloud layer (where lightning has been observed), (2) the entire NH4HS ice cloud layer, and (3) the upper portion of the H2O ice cloud layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005DPS....37.2207S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005DPS....37.2207S">Cloud structure on Uranus as constrained by near IR 1.1-1.8 micron spectra.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Sromovsky, L. A.; Fry, P. M. 2005-08-01 Three uranian cloud layers were identified by West et al. (Uranus, Univ. Arizona Press, 1991): an optically thin stratospheric haze, an optically thicker methane haze (0.4 < τ < 1) primarily in the 1.2-1.3 bar region, and a cloud of unknown composition near 3 bars. Using improved methane band models of Irwin et al. (BAAS, this issue) we were able to test this paradigm using near-IR spectra covering 1.1-1.8 μ m, a range well suited for distinguishing the main cloud levels. We assumed a 2-cloud model in which the lower cloud is opaque and the upper cloud consists of broken opaque elements. The pressure and fractional coverage of the upper cloud and the pressure and albedo of the lower cloud were adjusted to fit the 1975 geometric albedo spectrum of Fink and Larsen (ApJ 233, 1021-40, 1979), with the following results (first two rows): Fit Range & Upper & Upper & Lower & Lower & (μ m) & P (bars) & Fraction(%) & P (bars) & Albedo (%) & χ2 1.175-1.34 & 2.2±0.15 & 2.8±0.4 & 6.6+1.2-0.7 & 6.5±0.8 & 206 1.450-1.70 & 1.8±0.10 & 2.2±0.3 & 5.2+0.8-0.4 & 3.3±0.3& 223 1.175-1.34 & 1.25 (fixed) & 0.15±0.08 & 3.1 (fixed) & 6.6±0.8 & 296 1.450-1.70 & 1.25 (fixed) & 0.66±0.05 & 3.1 (fixed) & 4.4±0.1 & 281 Fixing clouds at paradigm pressures of 1.25 bars and 3.1 bars yields a significant reduction in fit quality and a very small upper cloud contribution (last two rows). The paradigm-violating best-fit results are consistent with an analysis of seven-band Keck AO imaging observations (Sromovsky and Fry, in preparation), which concludes that the 1.2-bar cloud is at best a minor contributor to Uranus' reflectivity and that latitudinal variations in brightness are mainly controlled by deeper clouds. How prior results can be explained in the context of these new results remains to be determined. This research was supported by a grant from NASA's Planetary Astronomy Program. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFMIN24B..02Y','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFMIN24B..02Y">A Big Data Platform for Storing, Accessing, Mining and Learning Geospatial Data</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Yang, C. P.; Bambacus, M.; Duffy, D.; Little, M. M. 2017-12-01 Big Data is becoming a norm in geoscience domains. A platform that is capable to effiently manage, access, analyze, mine, and learn the big data for new information and knowledge is desired. This paper introduces our latest effort on developing such a platform based on our past years' experiences on cloud and high performance computing, analyzing big data, comparing big data containers, and mining big geospatial data for new information. The platform includes four layers: a) the bottom layer includes a computing infrastructure with proper network, computer, and storage systems; b) the 2nd layer is a cloud computing layer based on virtualization to provide on demand computing services for upper layers; c) the 3rd layer is big data containers that are customized for dealing with different types of data and functionalities; d) the 4th layer is a big data presentation layer that supports the effient management, access, analyses, mining and learning of big geospatial data. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014DPS....4651105B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014DPS....4651105B">Why is the Great Red Spot Red? The Exogenic, Photolytic Origin of the UV/Blue-Absorbing Chromophores of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot as Determined by Spectral Analysis of Cassini/VIMS Observations using New Laboratory Optical Coefficients</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Baines, Kevin H.; Carlson, Robert W.; Momary, Thomas W. 2014-11-01 For centuries, a major question for Jupiter has been: Why is the Great Red Spot red? In particular, two major theories have been proposed: (1) that the coloring is due to photolytic processes in the upper cloud layer, or (2) it is due to the upwellimg of red materials processed relatively deep within the troposphere. Utilizing indices of refraction for red choromophores generated by the photolysis of ammonia and acetylene in the laboratory, we present results of a spectral analysis of the core of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) as observed by the visual channel of the Cassini/Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). Consistent with the physical origin of such laboratory-generated chromophores in Jupiter - i.e., by solar-driven UV photolysis within the upper levels of the GRS structure near ~ 0.3 bar - our spectral modeling yields satisfactory results for such Mie scattering chromophores only when they are confined to the upper ~ 100 mbar of the GRS. Beneath this reddish upper cloud layer, our models indicate that the remainder of the GRS cloud - assumed to extend down to at least the ammonia condensation level near 0.6 bar - must be relatively spectrally bright throughout the UV-red spectrum; that is, they must be predominantly a whitish or grey color at depth. Thus, our 0.35-1.0 micron spectral models of the GRS are inconsistent with an endogenic origin of the reddish coloring originating in the depths of Jupiter, but are consistent with a photolytic origin due to the photolysis of ammonia and acetylene in the upper troposphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.A21F..02S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.A21F..02S">Synopsis of TC4 Missions and Meteorology</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Starr, D.; Pfister, L.; Selkirk, H.; Nguyen, L. 2007-12-01 The TC4 (Tropical Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling) Experiment conducted 26 aircraft sorties on 13 flight days from July 17 to August 8, 2007 (23 days). Quality science observations were also obtained during the transit flights to/from from San Jose, Costa Rica, where the mission was based. On 9 days, coordinated aircraft missions were flown with the NASA ER-2 and DC-8, and with the NASA WB-57 on 3 occasions (and transit flights). The ER-2 served as an A-Train simulator (MODIS, CloudSat, CALIPSO, AIRS/TES, partial AMSR-E) while the WB-57 provided in-situ measurements of upper tropospheric cloud particles, aerosols and trace gases. The DC-8 provided both in-situ and remote sensing measurements, where the latter were focused on Aura validation, and also including a down-looking scanning precipitation radar (TRMM PR simulator). This paper will provide a synopsis of the science observations that were obtained, as regards the clouds and cloud systems sampled, from a meteorological perspective. A diversity of clouds were sampled and the meteorology proved more interesting than expected, at least to this author. Upper tropospheric cirrus outflows were sampled from a number of convective cloud systems including ITCZ-type systems as well as systems close to and affected by land. The low level inflows to these systems were also sampled in some cases (DC-8) and missions were flown to sample stratocumulus clouds over the Pacific Ocean exploiting the unique instrumentation on the DC-8 to add to the knowledge of these clouds which are so important to the Earth radiation budget. Measurements were made in the tropical Tropopause Transition Layer (TTL) by the WB-57. Upper tropospheric clouds and TTL properties and processes were central TC4 objectives. Excellent data were also obtained on the fate of the Saharan Air Layer and its aerosols over the Caribbean and Central America, as well as samples of plumes from volcanoes in Ecuador and Columbia and biogenic emissions over Columbia and the Pacific Ocean. Satellite observations, including those from various A-Train sensors, were used in planning the missions which were, in many cases, coordinated, at least in part, with satellite overpasses, especially Aura and other A-Train sensors (DC-8) and Terra. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110008577','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110008577">Cloud Condensation in Titan's Lower Stratosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Romani, Paul N.; Anderson, Carrie M. 2011-01-01 A 1-D condensation model is developed for the purpose of reproducing ice clouds in Titan's lower stratosphere observed by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) onboard Cassini. Hydrogen cyanide (HCN), cyanoacetylene (HC3N), and ethane (C2H6) vapors are treated as chemically inert gas species that flow from an upper boundary at 500 km to a condensation sink near Titan's tropopause (-45 km). Gas vertical profiles are determined from eddy mixing and a downward flux at the upper boundary. The condensation sink is based upon diffusive growth of the cloud particles and is proportional to the degree of supersaturation in the cloud formation regIOn. Observations of the vapor phase abundances above the condensation levels and the locations and properties of the ice clouds provide constraints on the free parameters in the model. Vapor phase abundances are determined from CIRS mid-IR observations, whereas cloud particle sizes, altitudes, and latitudinal distributions are derived from analyses of CIRS far-IR observations of Titan. Specific cloud constraints include: I) mean particle radii of2-3 J.lm inferred from the V6 506 cm- band of HC3N, 2) latitudinal abundance distributions of condensed nitriles, inferred from a composite emission feature that peaks at 160/cm , and 3) a possible hydrocarbon cloud layer at high latitudes, located near an altitude of 60 km, which peaks between 60 and 80 cm l . Nitrile abundances appear to diminish substantially at high northern latitudes over the time period 2005 to 2010 (northern mid winter to early spring). Use of multiple gas species provides a consistency check on the eddy mixing coefficient profile. The flux at the upper boundary is the net column chemical production from the upper atmosphere and provides a constraint on chemical pathways leading to the production of these compounds. Comparison of the differing lifetimes, vapor phase transport, vapor phase loss rate, and particle sedimentation, sheds light on temporal stability of the clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013DPS....4520208H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013DPS....4520208H">Venus winds from ultraviolet, visible and near infrared images from the VIRTIS instrument on Venus Express</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hueso, Ricardo; Garate-Lopez, I.; Peralta, J.; Bandos, T.; Sánchez-Lavega, A. 2013-10-01 After more than 6 years orbiting Venus the Venus Express mission has provided the largest database of observations of Venus atmosphere at different cloud layers with the combination of VMC and VIRTIS instruments. We present measurements of cloud motions in the South hemisphere of Venus analyzing images from the VIRTIS-M visible channel at different wavelengths sensitive to the upper cloud haze at 65-70 km height (dayside ultraviolet images) and the middle cloud deck (dayside visible and near infrared images around 1 μm) about 5-8 km deeper in the atmosphere. We combine VIRTIS images in nearby wavelengths to increase the contrast of atmospheric details and measurements were obtained with a semi-automatic cloud correlation algorithm. Both cloud layers are studied simultaneously to infer similarities and differences in these vertical levels in terms of cloud morphologies and winds. For both levels we present global mean zonal and meridional winds, latitudinal distribution of winds with local time and the wind shear between both altitudes. The upper branch of the Hadley cell circulation is well resolved in UV images with an acceleration of the meridional circulation at mid-latitudes with increasing local time peaking at 14-16h. This organized meridional circulation is almost absent in NIR images. Long-term variability of zonal winds is also found in UV images with increasing winds over time during the VEX mission. This is in agreement with current analysis of VMC images (Kathuntsev et al. 2013). The possible long-term acceleration of zonal winds is also examined for NIR images. References Khatuntsev et al. Icarus 226, 140-158 (2013) </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01191&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01191&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes">Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.This frame is a view to the northeast, from between the cloud layers and above the streaks in the lower cloud leading towards the hotspot. The upper haze layer has some features that match the lower cloud, such as the bright streak in the foreground of the frame. These are probably thick clouds that span several tens of vertical kilometers.Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations.The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25.The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the lower cloud with an overlying thin haze.The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ galileo. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01192&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01192&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes">Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.This frame is a view to the northeast, from between the cloud layers and above the streaks in the lower cloud leading towards the hotspot. The hotspot is clearly visible as a deep blue feature. The cloud streaks end near the hotspot, consistent with the idea that clouds traveling along these streak lines descend and evaporate as they approach the hotspot. The upper haze layer is slightly bowed upwards above the hotspot.Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations.The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25.The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the lower cloud with an overlying thin haze.The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ galileo. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=STS055-151-120&hterms=popcorn&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dpopcorn','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=STS055-151-120&hterms=popcorn&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dpopcorn">STS-55 Earth observation of the Timor Sea</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1993-01-01 STS-55 Earth observation taken from Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, shows the Timor Sea along the south coast of Timor. The sunglint pattern shows a sharp boundary in sea surface temperature, with cooler water along the coast and warmer water offshore. The sunglint brightness reveals water surface roughness with bright indicating smooth water and dark representing rough water. Cooler water is smoother because it acts to stabilize the atmospheric boundary layer, while the warm water acts to destabilize the atmosphere. Another indication of water temperature is the cloud pattern. Advection within the atmosphere as a result of warming at the sea surface forms low-level clouds with the small, popcorn-like appearance seen in upper right corner of the photograph. The cool water, on the other hand, is relatively free of the popcorn-like clouds. The distribution of the clouds indicates that the wind is blowing toward the upper right corner of the photograph. Also note the line of low-level </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A23B0189L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A23B0189L">A Study of the Physical Processes of an Advection Fog BoundaryLayer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Liu, D.; Yan, W.; Kang, Z.; Dai, Z.; Liu, D.; Liu, M.; Cao, L.; Chen, H. 2016-12-01 Using the fog boundary layer observation collected by a moored balloon between December 1 and 2, 2009, the processes of advection fog formation and dissipation under cold and warm double-advection conditions was studied. the conclusions are as follows: 1. The advection fog process was generated by the interaction between the near-surface northeast cold advection and the upper layer's southeast warm, humid advection. The ground fog formed in an advection cooling process, and the thick fog disappeared in two hours when the wind shifted from the northeast to the northwest. The top of the fog layer remained over 600 m for most of the time. 2. This advection fog featured a double-inversion structure. The interaction between the southeast warm, humid advection of the upper layer and the descending current generated the upper inversion layer. The northeast cold advection near the ground and the warm, humid advection in the high-altitude layer formed the lower layer clouds and lower inversion layer. The upper inversion layer was composed of southeast warm, humid advection and a descending current with increasing temperature. The double inversion provided good thermal conditions for maintaining the thick fog layer. 3. The southeast wind of the upper layer not only created the upper inversion layer but also brought vapour-rich air to the fog region. The steady southeast vapour transportation by the southeast wind was the main condition that maintained the fog thickness, homogeneous density, and long duration. The low-altitude low-level jet beneath the lower inversion layer helped maintain the thickness and uniform density of the fog layer by enhancing the exchange of heat, momentum and vapour within the lower inversion layer. 4. There were three transportation mechanisms associated with this advection fog: 1) The surface layer vapour was delivered to the lower fog layer. 2) The low-altitude southeast low-level jet transported the vapour to the upper layer. 3) The vapour was exchanged between the upper and lower layers via the turbulent exchange and vertical air motion, which mixed the fog density and maintained the thickness of the fog. These mechanisms explain why the fog top was higher than the lower inversion layer and reached the upper inversion layer, as well as why this advection fog was so thick. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19870003942','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19870003942">The upper atmosphere of Venus: A tentative explanation of its rotation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Boyer, C. 1986-01-01 The upper atmosphere of Venus seems to revolve every 4 days, while the planet rotates in 243 days. Mariner 10 UV data on the changing positions of dark spots in the upper Venusian clouds have supported estimations of speeds ranging from 120-240 m/s. High rates of acceleration and deceleration occur on the night side, the former between -110 to -90 deg and the latter continuing to -50 deg. Arch and Y formations have been seen repeatedly between -110 to -70 deg. The highest are seen at about -90 deg and the lowest at about -30 deg. The temperature of the cloud layer at 60 km altitude is about 20 C, the pressure is nearly one earth atmosphere, and complex molecules, including O, C, H, N and S and combinations of these are present in abundance. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1043373-aerosol-concentration-size-distribution-measured-below-above-cloud-from-doe-during-vocals-rex','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1043373-aerosol-concentration-size-distribution-measured-below-above-cloud-from-doe-during-vocals-rex">Aerosol concentration and size distribution measured below, in, and above cloud from the DOE G-1 during VOCALS-REx</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Kleinman L. I.; Daum, P. H.; Lee, Y.-N. 2012-01-04 During the VOCALS Regional Experiment, the DOE G-1 aircraft was used to sample a varying aerosol environment pertinent to properties of stratocumulus clouds over a longitude band extending 800 km west from the Chilean coast at Arica. Trace gas and aerosol measurements are presented as a function of longitude, altitude, and dew point in this study. Spatial distributions are consistent with an upper atmospheric source for O{sub 3} and South American coastal sources for marine boundary layer (MBL) CO and aerosol, most of which is acidic sulfate. Pollutant layers in the free troposphere (FT) can be a result of emissionsmore » to the north in Peru or long range transport from the west. At a given altitude in the FT (up to 3 km), dew point varies by 40 C with dry air descending from the upper atmospheric and moist air having a boundary layer (BL) contribution. Ascent of BL air to a cold high altitude results in the condensation and precipitation removal of all but a few percent of BL water along with aerosol that served as CCN. Thus, aerosol volume decreases with dew point in the FT. Aerosol size spectra have a bimodal structure in the MBL and an intermediate diameter unimodal distribution in the FT. Comparing cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) and pre-cloud aerosol (D{sub p} > 100 nm) gives a linear relation up to a number concentration of {approx}150 cm{sup -3}, followed by a less than proportional increase in CDNC at higher aerosol number concentration. A number balance between below cloud aerosol and cloud droplets indicates that {approx}25 % of aerosol with D{sub p} > 100 nm are interstitial (not activated). A direct comparison of pre-cloud and in-cloud aerosol yields a higher estimate. Artifacts in the measurement of interstitial aerosol due to droplet shatter and evaporation are discussed. Within each of 102 constant altitude cloud transects, CDNC and interstitial aerosol were anti-correlated. An examination of one cloud as a case study shows that the interstitial aerosol appears to have a background, upon which is superimposed a high frequency signal that contains the anti-correlation. The anti-correlation is a possible source of information on particle activation or evaporation.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01190&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01190&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes">Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.This frame is a view from the southwest looking northeast, from an altitude just above the high haze layer. The streaks in the lower cloud leading towards the hotspot are visible. The upper haze layer is mostly flat, with notable small peaks that can be matched with features in the lower cloud. In reality, these areas may represent a continuous vertical cloud column.Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations.The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25.The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the lower cloud with an overlying thin haze.The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090032059','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090032059">Vertical Cloud Climatology During TC4 Derived from High-Altitude Aircraft Merged Lidar and Radar Profiles</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Hlavka, Dennis; Tian, Lin; Hart, William; Li, Lihua; McGill, Matthew; Heymsfield, Gerald 2009-01-01 Aircraft lidar works by shooting laser pulses toward the earth and recording the return time and intensity of any of the light returning to the aircraft after scattering off atmospheric particles and/or the Earth s surface. The scattered light signatures can be analyzed to tell the exact location of cloud and aerosol layers and, with the aid of a few optical assumptions, can be analyzed to retrieve estimates of optical properties such as atmospheric transparency. Radar works in a similar fashion except it sends pulses toward earth at a much larger wavelength than lidar. Radar records the return time and intensity of cloud or rain reflection returning to the aircraft. Lidar can measure scatter from optically thin cirrus and aerosol layers whose particles are too small for the radar to detect. Radar can provide reflection profiles through thick cloud layers of larger particles that lidar cannot penetrate. Only after merging the two instrument products can accurate measurements of the locations of all layers in the full atmospheric column be achieved. Accurate knowledge of the vertical distribution of clouds is important information for understanding the Earth/atmosphere radiative balance and for improving weather/climate forecast models. This paper describes one such merged data set developed from the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling (TC4) experiment based in Costa Rica in July-August 2007 using the nadir viewing Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) and the Cloud Radar System (CRS) on board the NASA ER-2 aircraft. Statistics were developed concerning cloud probability through the atmospheric column and frequency of the number of cloud layers. These statistics were calculated for the full study area, four sub-regions, and over land compared to over ocean across all available flights. The results are valid for the TC4 experiment only, as preferred cloud patterns took priority during mission planning. The TC4 Study Area was a very cloudy region, with cloudy profiles occurring 94 percent of the time during the ER-2 flights. One to three cloud layers were common, with the average calculated at 2.03 layers per profile. The upper troposphere had a cloud frequency generally over 30%, reaching 42 percent near 13 km during the study. There were regional differences. The Caribbean was much clearer than the Pacific regions. Land had a much higher frequency of high clouds than ocean areas. One region just south and west of Panama had a high probability of clouds below 15 km altitude with the frequency never dropping below 25% and reaching a maximum of 60% at 11-13 km altitude. These cloud statistics will help characterize the cloud volume for TC4 scientists as they try to understand the complexities of the tropical atmosphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70016474','USGSPUBS'); return false;" href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70016474">Images from Galileo of the Venus cloud deck</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/pubs/index.jsp?view=adv">USGS Publications Warehouse</a> Belton, M.J.S.; Gierasch, P.J.; Smith, M.D.; Helfenstein, P.; Schinder, P.J.; Pollack, James B.; Rages, K.A.; Ingersoll, A.P.; Klaasen, K.P.; Veverka, J.; Anger, C.D.; Carr, M.H.; Chapman, C.R.; Davies, M.E.; Fanale, F.P.; Greeley, R.; Greenberg, R.; Head, J. W.; Morrison, D.; Neukum, G.; Pilcher, C.B. 1991-01-01 Images of Venus taken at 418 (violet) and 986 [near-infrared (NIR)] nanometers show that the morphology and motions of large-scale features change with depth in the cloud deck. Poleward meridional velocities, seen in both spectral regions, are much reduced in the NIR. In the south polar region the markings in the two wavelength bands are strongly anticorrelated. The images follow the changing state of the upper cloud layer downwind of the subsolar point, and the zonal flow field shows a longitudinal periodicity that may be coupled to the formation of large-scale planetary waves. No optical lightning was detected. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA616540','DTIC-ST'); return false;" href="http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA616540">Description of Mixed-Phase Clouds in Weather Forecast and Climate Models</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.dtic.mil/">DTIC Science & Technology</a> 2014-09-30 deficits, leading to freeze-up of both sea ice and the ocean surface. The surface albedo and processes impacting the energy content of the upper ocean...appear key to producing a temporal difference be- tween the freeze-up of the sea - ice surface and adjacent open water. While synoptic conditions, atmos...Leck, 2013: Cloud and boundary layer interactions over the Arctic sea - ice in late summer, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 13, 13191-13244, doi </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19586392','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19586392">Light in condensed matter in the upper atmosphere as the origin of homochirality: circularly polarized light from Rydberg matter.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Holmlid, Leif 2009-01-01 Clouds of the condensed excited Rydberg matter (RM) exist in the atmospheres of comets and planetary bodies (most easily observed at Mercury and the Moon), where they surround the entire bodies. Vast such clouds are recently proposed to exist in the upper atmosphere of Earth (giving rise to the enormous features called noctilucent clouds, polar mesospheric clouds, and polar mesospheric summer radar echoes). It has been shown in experiments with RM that linearly polarized visible light scattered from an RM layer is transformed to circularly polarized light with a probability of approximately 50%. The circular Rydberg electrons in the magnetic field in the RM may be chiral scatterers. The magnetic and anisotropic RM medium acts as a circular polarizer probably by delaying one of the perpendicular components of the light wave. The delay process involved is called Rabi-flopping and gives delays of the order of femtoseconds. This strong effect thus gives intense circularly polarized visible and UV light within RM clouds. Amino acids and other chiral molecules will experience a strong interaction with this light field in the upper atmospheres of planets. The interaction will vary with the stereogenic conformation of the molecules and in all probability promote the survival of one enantiomer. Here, this strong effect is proposed to be the origin of homochirality. The formation of amino acids in the RM clouds is probably facilitated by the catalytic effect of RM. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AsBio...9..535H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AsBio...9..535H">Light in Condensed Matter in the Upper Atmosphere as the Origin of Homochirality: Circularly Polarized Light from Rydberg Matter</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Holmlid, Leif 2009-08-01 Clouds of the condensed excited Rydberg matter (RM) exist in the atmospheres of comets and planetary bodies (most easily observed at Mercury and the Moon), where they surround the entire bodies. Vast such clouds are recently proposed to exist in the upper atmosphere of Earth (giving rise to the enormous features called noctilucent clouds, polar mesospheric clouds, and polar mesospheric summer radar echoes). It has been shown in experiments with RM that linearly polarized visible light scattered from an RM layer is transformed to circularly polarized light with a probability of approximately 50%. The circular Rydberg electrons in the magnetic field in the RM may be chiral scatterers. The magnetic and anisotropic RM medium acts as a circular polarizer probably by delaying one of the perpendicular components of the light wave. The delay process involved is called Rabi-flopping and gives delays of the order of femtoseconds. This strong effect thus gives intense circularly polarized visible and UV light within RM clouds. Amino acids and other chiral molecules will experience a strong interaction with this light field in the upper atmospheres of planets. The interaction will vary with the stereogenic conformation of the molecules and in all probability promote the survival of one enantiomer. Here, this strong effect is proposed to be the origin of homochirality. The formation of amino acids in the RM clouds is probably facilitated by the catalytic effect of RM. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_2");'>2</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_3");'>3</a></li> <li class="active">4</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_6");'>6</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_5" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_3");'>3</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li class="active">5</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_6");'>6</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_7");'>7</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="81"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016Icar..264...72I','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016Icar..264...72I">Spectral analysis of Uranus' 2014 bright storm with VLT/SINFONI</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Irwin, P. G. J.; Fletcher, L. N.; Read, P. L.; Tice, D.; de Pater, I.; Orton, G. S.; Teanby, N. A.; Davis, G. R. 2016-01-01 An extremely bright storm system observed in Uranus' atmosphere by amateur observers in September 2014 triggered an international campaign to observe this feature with many telescopes across the world. Observations of the storm system in the near infrared were acquired in October and November 2014 with SINFONI on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. SINFONI is an Integral Field Unit spectrometer returning 64 × 64 pixel images with 2048 wavelengths and uses adaptive optics. Image cubes in the H-band (1.43-1.87 μm) were obtained at spatial resolutions of ∼ 0.1″ per pixel. The observations show that the centre of the storm feature shifts markedly with increasing altitude, moving in the retrograde direction and slightly poleward with increasing altitude. We also see a faint 'tail' of more reflective material to the immediate south of the storm, which again trails in the retrograde direction. The observed spectra were analysed with the radiative transfer and retrieval code, NEMESIS (Irwin et al. [2008]. J. Quant. Spec. Radiat. Transfer, 109, 1136-1150). We find that the storm is well-modelled using either two main cloud layers of a 5-layer aerosol model based on Sromovsky et al. (Sromovsky et al. [2011]. Icarus, 215, 292-312) or by the simpler two-cloud-layer model of Tice et al. (Tice et al. [2013]. Icarus, 223, 684-698). The deep component appears to be due to a brightening (i.e. an increase in reflectivity) and increase in altitude of the main tropospheric cloud deck at 2-3 bars for both models, while the upper component of the feature was modelled as being due to either a thickening of the tropospheric haze of the 2-layer model or a vertical extension of the upper tropospheric cloud of the 5-layer model, assumed to be composed of methane ice and based at the methane condensation level of our assumed vertical temperature and abundance profile at 1.23 bar. We also found this methane ice cloud to be responsible for the faint 'tail' seen to the feature's south and the brighter polar 'hood' seen in all observations polewards of ∼45°N for the 5-layer model. During the twelve days between our sets of observations the higher-altitude component of the feature was observed to have brightened significantly and extended to even higher altitudes, while the deeper component faded. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015DPS....4740001I','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015DPS....4740001I">Spectral analysis of Uranus’ 2014 bright storm with VLT/SINFONI</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Irwin, Patrick Gerard Joseph; Fletcher, Leigh N.; Read, Peter L.; Tice, Dane; de Pater, Imke; Orton, Glenn S.; Teanby, Nicholas A.; Davis, Gary R. 2015-11-01 Observations by amateur observers of an extremely bright storm system in Uranus’ atmosphere in September 2014 triggered an international campaign to view this feature with many telescopes across the world. Near infrared observations of the storm system were acquired in October/November 2014 with SINFONI on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. SINFONI is an Integral Field Unit spectrometer, recording 64 × 64 pixel images with 2048 wavelengths/pixel using adaptive optics. H-band (1.43 - 1.87 µm) image 'cubes' were obtained at spatial resolutions of ˜ 0.1″ per pixel. The observations show that the centre of the storm feature shifts markedly with increasing altitude, moving in the retrograde direction and slightly poleward with increasing altitude. A faint 'tail' of more reflective material was also seen to the immediate south of the storm, which again trails in the retrograde direction. The observed spectra were analysed with the radiative transfer and retrieval code, NEMESIS (Irwin et al., 2008). We find that the storm is well-modelled using either two main cloud layers of a 5-layer aerosol model based on Sromovsky et al. (2011) or employing the simpler two-cloud-layer model of Tice et al. (2013). The deep component appears to be caused by a brightening (i.e. an increase in reflectivity) and increase in altitude of the main tropospheric cloud deck at 2 - 3 bars for both models, while the upper component of the feature appears to be due to either a thickening of the tropospheric haze of the 2-layer model or a vertical extension of the upper tropospheric cloud of the 5-layer model, assumed to be composed of methane ice and based at the assumed methane condensation level at 1.23 bar. For the 5-layer model we also found this methane ice cloud to be responsible for the faint ‘tail’ seen to the feature’s south and the brighter polar ‘hood’ seen in all observations polewards of ˜ 45°N.During the twelve days between our sets of observations the higher-altitude component of the feature was observed to have brightened significantly and moved to even higher altitudes, while the deeper component faded. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AGUFM.A13J0436H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AGUFM.A13J0436H">Coastal Jets, Oceanic Upwelling, Mesoscale Eddies, and Clouds in the Southeast Pacific</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hong, X.; Wang, S.; Jiang, Q.; O'Neill, L. W.; Hodur, R.; Chen, S.; Martin, P.; Cummings, J. A. 2009-12-01 Coastal jets, oceanic upwelling, mesoscale eddies, and clouds in the Southeast Pacific (SEP) are studied using the two-way-coupled COAMPS/NCOM system with the NCODA for the ocean data assimilation. The coupled system was run for the period of the VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study (VOCALS) field campaign from 20 October to 30 November, 2008. The investigation of the feedback between the atmosphere and the ocean is focused on the periods of the strong and the weak coastal jets. During the strong coastal jet period, colder and drier air along the coast results in larger surface heat fluxes and increased boundary layer height. More extensive and organized clouds are generated in the strongly unstable conditions in the atmospheric boundary layer. The oceanic upwelling is stronger and the upwelled cold water extends further offshore. During the weak coastal jet period, the cyclonic and anti-cyclonic oceanic eddies propagate westward more significantly. The inertial oscillations induced by the variations of the wind stress also increase in strength with stronger phase shifts between the oscillations in the upper and the lower layers of the ocean. In addition, the model results from the coupled system were evaluated with available observations from the VOCALS field campaign. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20100033753','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20100033753">A 10-Year Climatology of Cloud Cover and Vertical Distribution Derived from Both Surface and GOES Observations Over the DOE ARM SGP Site</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Xi, Baike; Dong, Xiquan; Minnis, P.; Khaiyer, M. 2010-01-01 Analysis of a decade of ARM radar-lidar and GOES observations at the SGP site reveal that 0.5 and 4-hr averages of the surface cloud fraction correspond closely to 0.5deg and 2.5deg averages of GOES cloudiness, respectively. The long-term averaged surface and GOES cloud fractions agree to within 0.5%. Cloud frequency increases and cloud amount decreases as the temporal and spatial averaging scales increase. Clouds occurred most often during winter and spring. Single-layered clouds account for 61.5% of the total cloud frequency. There are distinct bimodal vertical distributions of clouds with a lower peak around 1 km and an upper one that varies from 7.5 to 10.8 km between winter and summer, respectively. The frequency of occurrence for nighttime GOES high-cloud tops agree well with the surface observations, but are underestimated during the day. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-iss023e057948.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-iss023e057948.html">Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 23 Crew</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 2010-05-25 ISS023-E-057948 (25 May 2010) --- A sunset on the Indian Ocean is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 23 crew member on the International Space Station (ISS). The image presents an edge-on, or limb view, of Earth’s atmosphere as seen from orbit. The Earth’s curvature is visible along the horizon line, or limb, that extends across the image from center left to lower right. Above the darkened surface of Earth, a brilliant sequence of colors roughly denotes several layers of the atmosphere. Deep oranges and yellows are visible in the troposphere that extends from Earth’s surface to 6-20 kilometers high. This layer contains over 80 percent of the mass of the atmosphere and almost all of the water vapor, clouds, and precipitation – several dark cloud layers are visible within this layer. Variations in the colors are due mainly to varying concentrations of either clouds or aerosols (airborne particles or droplets). The pink to white region above the clouds appears to be the stratosphere; this atmospheric layer generally has little or no clouds and extends up to approximately 50 kilometers above Earth’s surface. Above the stratosphere blue layers mark the upper atmosphere (including the mesosphere, thermosphere, ionosphere, and exosphere) as it gradually fades into the blackness of outer space. The ISS was located over the southern Indian Ocean when this image was taken, with the observer looking towards the west. Crew members aboard the space station see 16 sunrises and sunsets per day due to their high orbital velocity (greater than 28,000 kilometers per hour). The multiple chances for photography are fortunate, as at that speed each sunrise/sunset event only lasts a few seconds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AGUFMSA33B..07L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AGUFMSA33B..07L">Stratospheric effects on trends of mesospheric ice clouds (Invited)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Luebken, F.; Baumgarten, G.; Berger, U. 2009-12-01 Ice layers in the summer mesosphere at middle and polar latitudes appear as `noctilucent clouds' (NLC) and `polar mesosphere clouds'(PMC) when observed by optical methods from the ground or from satellites, respectively. A newly developed model of the atmosphere called LIMA (Leibniz Institute Middle Atmosphere Model) nicely reproduces the mean conditions of the summer mesopause region and is used to study the ice layer morphology (LIMA/ice). LIMA nudges to ECMWF data in the troposphere and lower stratosphere which influences the background conditions in the mesosphere and ice cloud morphology. Since ice layer formation is very sensitive to the thermal structure of the mesopause region the morphology of NLC and PMC is frequently discussed in terms of long term variations. Model runs of LIMA/ice are now available for 1961 until 2008. A strong correlation between temperatures and PMC altitudes is observed. Applied to historical measurements this gives negligible temperature trends at PMC altitudes (approximately 0.01-0.02 K/y). Trace gas concentrations are kept constant in LIMA except for water vapor which is modified by variable solar radiation. Still, long term trends in temperatures and ice layer parameters are observed, consistent with observations. We present results regarding inter-annual variability of upper mesosphere temperatures, water vapor, and ice clouds, and also long term variations. We compare our model results with satellite borne and lidar observations including some record high NLC parameters measured in the summer season of 2009. The latitudinal dependence of trends and ice layer parameters is discussed, including a NH/SH comparison. We will present an explanation of the trends in the background atmosphere and ice layer parameters. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18324021','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18324021">Influence of daylight and noise current on cloud and aerosol observations by spaceborne elastic scattering lidar.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Nakajima, T Y; Imai, T; Uchino, O; Nagai, T 1999-08-20 The influence of daylight and noise current on cloud and aerosol observations by realistic spaceborne lidar was examined by computer simulations. The reflected solar radiations, which contaminate the daytime return signals of lidar operations, were strictly and explicitly estimated by accurate radiative transfer calculations. It was found that the model multilayer cirrus clouds and the boundary layer aerosols could be observed during the daytime and the nighttime with only a few laser shots. However, high background noise and noise current make it difficult to observe volcanic aerosols in middle and upper atmospheric layers. Optimal combinations of the laser power and receiver field of view are proposed to compensate for the negative influence that is due to these noises. For the computer simulations, we used a realistic set of lidar parameters similar to the Experimental Lidar in-Space Equipment of the National Space Development Agency of Japan. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-iss028e020276.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-iss028e020276.html">Earth Observation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 2011-08-02 ISS028-E-020276 (2 Aug. 2011) --- This photograph of polar mesospheric clouds was acquired at an altitude of just over 202 nautical miles (about 322 kilometers) in the evening hours (03:19:54 Greenwich Mean Time) on Aug. 2, 2011, as the International Space Station was passing over the English Channel. The nadir coordinates of the station were 49.1 degrees north latitude and 5.5 degrees west longitude. Polar mesospheric clouds (also known as noctilucent, or ?night-shining? clouds) are transient, upper atmospheric phenomena that are usually observed in the summer months at high latitudes (greater than 50 degrees) of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. They appear bright and cloudlike while in deep twilight. They are illuminated by sunlight when the lower layers of the atmosphere are in the darkness of Earth?s shadow. The horizon of Earth appears at the bottom of the image, with some layers of the lower atmosphere already illuminated by the rising sun. The higher, bluish-colored clouds look much like wispy cirrus clouds, which can be found as high as 60,000 feet (18 kilometers) in the atmosphere. However noctilucent clouds, as seen here, are observed in the mesosphere at altitudes of 250,000 to 280,000 feet (about 76 to 85 kilometers). Astronaut observations of polar mesospheric clouds over northern Europe in the summer are not uncommon. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011SPIE.8310E..04Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011SPIE.8310E..04Z">Application-oriented integrated control center (AICC) for heterogeneous optical networks</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zhao, Yongli; Zhang, Jie; Cao, Xuping; Wang, Dajiang; Wu, Koubo; Cai, Yinxiang; Gu, Wanyi 2011-12-01 Various broad bandwidth services have being swallowing the bandwidth resource of optical networks, such as the data center application and cloud computation. There are still some challenges for future optical networks although the available bandwidth is increasing with the development of transmission technologies. The relationship between upper application layer and lower network resource layer is necessary to be researched further. In order to improve the efficiency of network resources and capability of service provisioning, heterogeneous optical networks resource can be abstracted as unified Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) which can be open to various upper applications through Application-oriented Integrated Control Center (AICC) proposed in the paper. A novel Openflow-based unified control architecture is proposed for the optimization of cross layer resources. Numeric results show good performance of AICC through simulation experiments. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19850004528','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19850004528">The Jovian atmospheric window at 2.7 microns: A search for H2S</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Larson, H. P.; Davis, D. S.; Hofmann, R.; Bjoraker, G. L. 1984-01-01 The atmospheric transmission window at 2.7 microns in Jupiter's atmosphere was observed at a spectral resolution of 0.1/cm from the Kuiiper Airborne Observatory. From an analysis of the CH4 abundance (80 m-am) and the H2O abundance ( 0.0125 cm-am) it was determined that the penetration depth of solar flux at 2.7 microns is near the base of the NH3 cloud layer. The upper limit to H2O at 2.7 microns and other results suggest that photolytic reactions in Jupiter's lower troposphere may not be as significant as was previously thought. A search for H2S in Jupiter's atmosphere yielded an upper limit of 0.1 cm-am. The corresponding limit to the element abundance ratio S/H was approx. 1.7x10(-8), about 10(-3) times the solar value. Upon modeling the abundance and distribution of H2S in Jupiter's atmosphere it was concluded that, contrary to expectations, sulfur-bearing chromophores are not present in significant amounts in Jupiter's visible clouds. Rather, it appears that most of Jupiter's sulfur is locked up as NH4SH in a lower cloud layer. Alternatively, the global abundance of sulfur in Jupiter may be significantly depleted. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080045463&hterms=Ackerman&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAuthor-Name%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3DAckerman','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080045463&hterms=Ackerman&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAuthor-Name%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3DAckerman">Observing Ice in Clouds from Space</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ackerman, S.; Star, D. O'C.; Skofronick-Jackson, G.; Evans, F.; Wang, J. R.; Norris, P.; daSilva, A.; Soden, B. 2006-01-01 There are many satellite observations of cloud top properties and the liquid and rain content of clouds, however, we do not yet quantitatively understand the processes that control the water budget of the upper troposphere where ice is the predominant phase, and how these processes are linked to precipitation processes and the radiative energy budget. The ice in clouds in the upper troposphere either melts into rain or is detrained, and persists, as cirrus clouds affecting the hydrological and energy cycle, respectively. Fully modeling the Earth's climate and improving weather and climate forecasts requires accurate satellite measurements of various cloud properties at the temporal and spatial scales of cloud processes. These properties include cloud horizontal and vertical structure, cloud water content and some measure of particle sizes and shapes. The uncertainty in knowledge of these ice characteristics is reflected in the large discrepancies in model simulations of the upper tropospheric water budget. Model simulations are sensitive to the partition of ice between precipitation and outflow processes, i.e., to the parameterization of ice clouds and ice processes. One barrier to achieving accurate global ice cloud properties is the lack of adequate observations at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths (183-874 GHz). Recent advances in instrumentation have allowed for the development and implementation of an airborne submillimeter-wave radiometer. The brightness temperatures at these frequencies are especially sensitive to cirrus ice particle sizes (because they are comparable to the wavelength). This allows for more accurate ice water path estimates when multiple channels are used to probe into the cloud layers. Further, submillimeter wavelengths offer simplicity in the retrieval algorithms because they do not probe into the liquid and near surface portions of clouds, thus requiring only one term of the radiative transfer equation (ice scattering) to relate brightness temperatures to ice. The next step is a satellite mission designed to acquire global Earth radiance measurements in the submillimeter-wave region, thus bridging the measurement gap between microwave sounders and shorter-wavelength infrared and visible sensors. This presentation provides scientific justification and an approach to measuring ice water path and particle size from a satellite platform that spans a range encompassing both the hydrologically active and radiatively active components of cloud systems. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017P%26SS..144...16M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017P%26SS..144...16M">Retrieval of Venus' cloud parameters from VIRTIS nightside spectra in the latitude band 25°-55°N</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Magurno, Davide; Maestri, Tiziano; Grassi, Davide; Piccioni, Giuseppe; Sindoni, Giuseppe 2017-09-01 Two years of data from the M-channel of the Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS), on board the European Space Agency mission Venus Express operating around the planet Venus, are analysed. Nocturnal data from a nadir viewpoint in the latitude band 25°N-55°N are selected for their configuration advantages and maximisation of the scene homogeneity. A reference model, and radiance spectrum, is defined based on average accepted values of the Venus main atmospheric and cloud parameters found in the literature. Extensive radiative transfer simulations are performed to provide a synthetic database of more than 10 000 VIRTIS radiances representing the natural variability of the system parameters (atmospheric temperature profile, cloud H2Osbnd H2SO4 solution concentration and vertical distribution, particle size distribution density and modal radius). A simulated-observed fitting algorithm of spectral radiances in window channels, based on a weighting procedure accounting for the latitudinal observed radiance variations, is used to derive the best atmosphere-cloud configuration for each observation. Results show that the reference Venus model does not adequately reproduce the observed VIRTIS spectra. In particular, the model accounting for a constant sulphuric acid concentration along the vertical extent of the clouds is never selected as a best fit. The 75%/96% and 84%/96% concentrations (the first values refer to the upper cloud layers and the second values to the lower ones) are the most commonly retrieved models representing more than 85% of the retrieved cases for any latitudinal band considered. It is shown that the assumption of stratified concentration of aqueous sulphuric acid allows to adequately fit the observed radiance, in particular the peak at 1.74 μm and around 4 μm. The analysis of the results concerning the microphysics suggests larger radii for the upper cloud layers in conjunction with a large reduction of their number density with respect to the reference standard. Considerable variation of the particle concentration in the Venus' atmosphere is retrieved for altitudes between 60 and 70 km. The retrieved models also suggest that lower cloud layers have smaller particle radii and larger number density than expected from the reference model. Latitudinal variations of microphysical and chemical parameters are also analysed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.A24B..01A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.A24B..01A">Aerosol Enhancements in the Upper Troposphere Over The Amazon Forest: Do Amazonian Clouds Produce Aerosols?</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Andreae, M. O.; Afchine, A.; Albrecht, R. I.; Artaxo, P.; Borrmann, S.; Cecchini, M. A.; Costa, A.; Dollner, M.; Fütterer, D.; Järvinen, E.; Klimach, T.; Konemann, T.; Kraemer, M.; Krüger, M. L.; Machado, L.; Mertes, S.; Pöhlker, C.; Poeschl, U.; Sauer, D. N.; Schnaiter, M.; Schneider, J.; Schulz, C.; Spanu, A.; Walser, A.; Weinzierl, B.; Wendisch, M. 2015-12-01 The German-Brazilian cooperative aircraft campaign ACRIDICON-CHUVA (Aerosol, Cloud, Precipitation, and Radiation Interactions and Dynamics of Convective Cloud Systems) on the German research aircraft HALO took place over the Amazon Basin in September/October 2014, with the objective of studying tropical deep convective clouds over the Amazon rainforest and their interactions with trace gases, aerosol particles, and atmospheric radiation. The aircraft was equipped with about 30 remote sensing and in-situ instruments for meteorological, trace gas, aerosol, cloud, precipitation, and solar radiation measurements. Fourteen research flights were conducted during this campaign. Observations during ACRIDICON-CHUVA showed high aerosol concentrations in the upper troposphere (UT) over the Amazon Basin, with concentrations after normalization to standard conditions often exceeding those in the boundary layer (BL). This behavior was consistent between several aerosol metrics, including condensation nuclei (CN), cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and chemical species mass concentrations. These UT aerosols were different in their composition and size distribution from the aerosol in the BL, making convective transport of particles unlikely as a source. The regions in the immediate outflow of deep convective clouds were found to be depleted in aerosol particles, whereas enhanced aerosol number and mass concentrations were found in UT regions that had experienced outflow from deep convection in the preceding 24-48 hours. This suggests that aerosol production takes place in the UT based on volatile and condensable material brought up by deep convection. Subsequently, downward mixing and transport of upper tropospheric aerosol may be a source of particles to the BL, where they increase in size by the condensation of biogenic volatile organic carbon (BVOC) oxidation products. This may be an important source of aerosol particles in the Amazonian BL, where aerosol nucleation and new particle formation has not been observed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006CosRe..44..349Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006CosRe..44..349Z">Exploration of Venus with the Venera-15 IR Fourier spectrometer and the Venus Express planetary Fourier spectrometer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zasova, L. V.; Moroz, V. I.; Formisano, V.; Ignatiev, N. I.; Khatuntsev, I. V. 2006-07-01 The infrared spectrometry of Venus in the range 6-45 μm allows one to sound the middle atmosphere of Venus in the altitude range 55-100 km and its cloud layer. This experiment was carried out onboard the Soviet automatic interplanetary Venera-15 station, where the Fourier spectrometer for this spectral range was installed. The measurements have shown that the main component of the cloud layer at all measured latitudes in the northern hemisphere is concentrated sulfuric acid (75-85%). The vertical profiles of temperature and aerosol were reconstructed in a self-consistent manner: the three-dimensional fields of temperature and zonal wind in the altitude range 55-100 km and aerosol at altitudes 55-70 km have been obtained, as well as vertical SO2 profiles and H2O concentration in the upper cloud layer. The solar-related waves at isobaric levels in the fields of temperature, zonal wind, and aerosol were investigated. This experiment has shown the efficiency of the method for investigation of the Venusian atmosphere. The Planetary Fourier Spectrometer has the spectral interval 0.9-45 μm and a spectral resolution of 1.8 cm-1. It will allow one to sound the middle atmosphere (55-100 km) of Venus and its cloud layer on the dayside, as well as the lower atmosphere and the planetary surface on the night side. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017BVol...79...39S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017BVol...79...39S">Settling-driven gravitational instabilities associated with volcanic clouds: new insights from experimental investigations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Scollo, Simona; Bonadonna, Costanza; Manzella, Irene 2017-06-01 Downward propagating instabilities are often observed at the bottom of volcanic plumes and clouds. These instabilities generate fingers that enhance the sedimentation of fine ash. Despite their potential influence on tephra dispersal and deposition, their dynamics is not entirely understood, undermining the accuracy of volcanic ash transport and dispersal models. Here, we present new laboratory experiments that investigate the effects of particle size, composition and concentration on finger generation and dynamics. The experimental set-up consists of a Plexiglas tank equipped with a removable plastic sheet that separates two different layers. The lower layer is a solution of water and sugar, initially denser than the upper layer, which consists of water and particles. Particles in the experiments include glass beads as well as andesitic, rhyolitic and basaltic volcanic ash. During the experiments, we removed the horizontal plastic sheet separating the two fluids. Particles were illuminated with a laser and filmed with a HD camera; particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to analyse finger dynamics. Results show that both the number and the downward advance speed of fingers increase with particle concentration in the upper layer, while finger speed increases with particle size but is independent of particle composition. An increase in particle concentration and turbulence is estimated to take place inside the fingers, which could promote aggregation in subaerial fallout events. Finally, finger number, finger speed and particle concentration were observed to decrease with time after the formation of fingers. A similar pattern could occur in volcanic clouds when the mass supply from the eruptive vent is reduced. Observed evolution of the experiments through time also indicates that there must be a threshold of fine ash concentration and mass eruption rate below which fingers do not form; this is also confirmed by field observations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20030022663&hterms=Influence+clouds+climate&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3DInfluence%2Bclouds%2Bclimate','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20030022663&hterms=Influence+clouds+climate&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3DInfluence%2Bclouds%2Bclimate">The Sun's Impact on Climate</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Cahalan, Robert 2002-01-01 We provide an overview of the impact of the Sun on the Earth atmosphere and climate system, focused on heating of Earth's atmosphere and oceans. We emphasize the importance of the spectral measurements of SIM and SOLSTICE- that we must know how solar variations are distributed over ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths, since these have separate characteristic influences on Earth's ozone layer, clouds, and upper layers of the oceans. Emphasis is also given to understanding both direct and indirect influences of the Sun on the Earth, which involve feedbacks between Earth's stratosphere, troposphere, and oceans, each with unique time scales, dynamics, chemistry, and biology, interacting non-linearly. Especially crucial is the role of all three phases of water on Earth, water vapor being the primary greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, the importance of trace gases such as CO2 arising from their absorption in the "water vapor window" at 800 - 1250/cm (12.5 to 8 microns). Melting of polar ice is one major response to the post-industrial global warming, enhanced due to "ice-albedo" feedback. Finally, water in liquid form has a major influence due to cloud albedo feedback, and also due to the oceans' absorption of solar radiation, particularly at visible wavelengths, through the visible "liquid water window" that allows penetration of visible light deep into the mixed layer, while nearby ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths do not penetrate past the upper centimeter ocean surface skin layer. A large fraction of solar energy absorbed by the oceans goes into the latent heat of evaporation. Thus the solar heating of the atmosphere-ocean system is strongly coupled through the water cycle of evaporation, cloud formation, precipitation, surface runoff and ice formation, to Earth's energy budget and climate, each different climate component responding to variations in different solar spectral bands, at ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelengths. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A33G2470N','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A33G2470N">Investigating the Use of a Simplified Aerosol Parameterization in Space-Based XCO2 Retrievals from OCO-2</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Nelson, R. R.; O'Dell, C. 2017-12-01 The primary goal of OCO-2 is to use hyperspectral measurements of reflected near-infrared sunlight to retrieve the column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of carbon dioxide (XCO2) with high accuracy. This is only possible for measurements of scenes nearly free of optically thick clouds and aerosols. As some cloud or aerosol contamination will always be present, the OCO-2 retrieval algorithm includes clouds and aerosols as retrieved properties in its state vector. Information content analyses demonstrate that there are only 2-6 pieces of information about aerosols in the OCO-2 radiances. However, the upcoming OCO-2 algorithm (B8) attempts to retrieve 9 aerosol parameters; this over-fitting can hinder convergence and produce multiple solutions. In this work, we develop a simplified cloud and aerosol parameterization that intelligently reduces the number of retrieved parameters to 5 by only retrieving information about two aerosol layers: a lower tropospheric layer and an upper tropospheric / stratospheric layer. We retrieve the optical depth of each layer and the height of the lower tropospheric layer. Each of these layers contains a mixture of fine and coarse mode aerosol. In comparisons between OCO-2 XCO2 estimates and validation sources including TCCON, this scheme performs about as well as the more complicated OCO-2 retrieval algorithm, but has the potential benefits of more interpretable aerosol results, faster convergence, less nonlinearity, and greater throughput. We also investigate the dependence of our results on the optical properties of the fine and coarse mode aerosol types, such as their effective radii and the environmental relative humidity. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFMNG23A1547G','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFMNG23A1547G">The vertical structure of Jupiter and Saturn zonal winds from nonlinear simulations of major vortices and planetary-scale disturbances</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Garcia-Melendo, E.; Legarreta, J.; Sanchez-Lavega, A. 2012-12-01 Direct measurements of the structure of the zonal winds of Jupiter and Saturn below the upper cloud layer are very difficult to retrieve. Except from the vertical profile at a Jupiter hot spot obtained from the Galileo probe in 1995 and measurements from cloud tracking by Cassini instruments just below the upper cloud, no other data are available. We present here our inferences of the vertical structure of Jupiter and Saturn zonal wind across the upper troposphere (deep down to about 10 bar level) obtained from nonlinear simulations using the EPIC code of the stability and interactions of large-scale vortices and planetary-scale disturbances in both planets. Acknowledgements: This work has been funded by Spanish MICIIN AYA2009-10701 with FEDER support, Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT-464-07 and UPV/EHU UFI11/55. [1] García-Melendo E., Sánchez-Lavega A., Dowling T.., Icarus, 176, 272-282 (2005). [2] García-Melendo E., Sánchez-Lavega A., Hueso R., Icarus, 191, 665-677 (2007). [3] Sánchez-Lavega A., et al., Nature, 451, 437- 440 (2008). [4] Sánchez-Lavega A., et al., Nature, 475, 71-74 (2011). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1989JAtS...46.1943R','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1989JAtS...46.1943R">Interactions among Radiation, Convection, and Large-Scale Dynamics in a General Circulation Model.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Randall, David A.; Harshvardhan; Dazlich, Donald A.; Corsetti, Thomas G. 1989-07-01 We have analyzed the effects of radiatively active clouds on the climate simulated by the UCLA/GLA GCM, with particular attention to the effects of the upper tropospheric stratiform clouds associated with deep cumulus convection, and the interactions of these clouds with convection and the large-scale circulation.Several numerical experiments have been performed to investigate the mechanisms through which the clouds influence the large-scale circulation. In the `NODETLQ' experiment, no liquid water or ice was detrained from cumulus clouds into the environment; all of the condensate was rained out. Upper level supersaturation cloudiness was drastically reduced, the atmosphere dried, and tropical outgoing longwave radiation increased. In the `NOANVIL' experiment, the radiative effects of the optically thich upper-level cloud sheets associated with deep cumulus convection were neglected. The land surface received more solar radiation in regions of convection, leading to enhanced surface fluxes and a dramatic increase in precipitation. In the `NOCRF' experiment, the longwave atmospheric cloud radiative forcing (ACRF) was omitted, paralleling the recent experiment of Slingo and Slingo. The results suggest that the ACRF enhances deep penetrative convection and precipitation, while suppressing shallow convection. They also indicate that the ACRF warms and moistens the tropical troposphere. The results of this experiment are somewhat ambiguous, however; for example, the ACRF suppresses precipitation in some parts of the tropics, and enhances it in others.To isolate the effects of the ACRF in a simpler setting, we have analyzed the climate of an ocean-covered Earth, which we call Seaworld. The key simplicities of Seaworld are the fixed boundary temperature with no land points, the lack of mountains, and the zonal uniformity of the boundary conditions. Results are presented from two Seaworld simulations. The first includes a full suite of physical parameterizations, while the second omits all radiative effects of the clouds. The differences between the two runs are, therefore, entirely due to the direct and indirect and indirect effects of the ACRF. Results show that the ACRF in the cloudy run accurately represents the radiative heating perturbation relative to the cloud-free run. The cloudy run is warmer in the middle troposphere, contains much more precipitable water, and has about 15% more globally averaged precipitation. There is a double tropical rain band in the cloud-free run, and a single, more intense tropical rain band in the cloudy run. The cloud-free run produces relatively weak but frequent cumulus convection, while the cloudy run produces relatively intense but infrequent convection. The mean meridional circulation transport nearly twice as much mass in the cloudy run. The increased tropical rising motion in the cloudy run leads to a deeper boundary layer and also to more moisture in the troposphere above the boundary layer. This accounts for the increased precipitable water content of the atmosphere. The clouds lead to an increase in the intensity of the tropical easterlies, and cause the midlatitude westerly jets to shift equatorward.Taken together, our results show that upper tropospheric clouds associated with moist convection, whose importance has recently been emphasized in observational studies, play a very complex and powerful role in determining the model results. This points to a need to develop more realistic parameterizations of these clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19730043657&hterms=layers+atmosphere&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dlayers%2Batmosphere','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19730043657&hterms=layers+atmosphere&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dlayers%2Batmosphere">Does spectroscopic evidence require two scattering layers in the Venus atmosphere.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Regas, J. L.; Boese, R. W.; Giver, L. P.; Miller, J. H. 1973-01-01 Comments on Hunt's (1972) conclusion that the phase variation of lines in the 7820- and 7883-A CO2 bands is due to the presence of two scattering layers in the Venusian atmosphere. It is shown that the increase of equivalent width with phase between 0 and 90 deg noted by Hunt in the data by Gray Young et al. (1971) does not necessarily require a two-layer model of scattering in the Venusian atmosphere and that this increase may be due to the strong backward lobe in the Venusian cloud phase function. Hunt, in a reply, notes that Regas et al. incorrectly use in their analysis Hansen's (1969) data which are for a homogeneous planetary atmosphere, while Hunt used an inhomogeneous model of the Venusian atmosphere. In addition, further evidence to support Hunt's claim for a multilayered structure of the upper Venusian clouds is presented. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_3");'>3</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li class="active">5</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_6");'>6</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_7");'>7</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_6" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li class="active">6</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_7");'>7</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_8");'>8</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="101"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080008148&hterms=Pollution&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3DPollution','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080008148&hterms=Pollution&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3DPollution">Study Pollution Impacts on Upper-Tropospheric Clouds with Aura, CloudSat, and CALIPSO Data</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Wu, Dong 2007-01-01 This viewgraph presentation reviews the impact of pollution on clouds in the Upper Troposphere. Using the data from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), CloudSat, CALIPSO the presentation shows signatures of pollution impacts on clouds in the upper troposphere. The presentation demonstrates the complementary sensitivities of MLS , CloudSat and CALIPSO to upper tropospheric clouds. It also calls for careful analysis required to sort out microphysical changes from dynamical changes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AMT....10.4067Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AMT....10.4067Z">A cloud-ozone data product from Aura OMI and MLS satellite measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Ziemke, Jerald R.; Strode, Sarah A.; Douglass, Anne R.; Joiner, Joanna; Vasilkov, Alexander; Oman, Luke D.; Liu, Junhua; Strahan, Susan E.; Bhartia, Pawan K.; Haffner, David P. 2017-11-01 Ozone within deep convective clouds is controlled by several factors involving photochemical reactions and transport. Gas-phase photochemical reactions and heterogeneous surface chemical reactions involving ice, water particles, and aerosols inside the clouds all contribute to the distribution and net production and loss of ozone. Ozone in clouds is also dependent on convective transport that carries low-troposphere/boundary-layer ozone and ozone precursors upward into the clouds. Characterizing ozone in thick clouds is an important step for quantifying relationships of ozone with tropospheric H2O, OH production, and cloud microphysics/transport properties. Although measuring ozone in deep convective clouds from either aircraft or balloon ozonesondes is largely impossible due to extreme meteorological conditions associated with these clouds, it is possible to estimate ozone in thick clouds using backscattered solar UV radiation measured by satellite instruments. Our study combines Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite measurements to generate a new research product of monthly-mean ozone concentrations in deep convective clouds between 30° S and 30° N for October 2004-April 2016. These measurements represent mean ozone concentration primarily in the upper levels of thick clouds and reveal key features of cloud ozone including: persistent low ozone concentrations in the tropical Pacific of ˜ 10 ppbv or less; concentrations of up to 60 pphv or greater over landmass regions of South America, southern Africa, Australia, and India/east Asia; connections with tropical ENSO events; and intraseasonal/Madden-Julian oscillation variability. Analysis of OMI aerosol measurements suggests a cause and effect relation between boundary-layer pollution and elevated ozone inside thick clouds over landmass regions including southern Africa and India/east Asia. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29456762','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29456762">A Cloud-Ozone Data Product from Aura OMI and MLS Satellite Measurements.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Ziemke, Jerald R; Strode, Sarah A; Douglass, Anne R; Joiner, Joanna; Vasilkov, Alexander; Oman, Luke D; Liu, Junhua; Strahan, Susan E; Bhartia, Pawan K; Haffner, David P 2017-01-01 Ozone within deep convective clouds is controlled by several factors involving photochemical reactions and transport. Gas-phase photochemical reactions and heterogeneous surface chemical reactions involving ice, water particles, and aerosols inside the clouds all contribute to the distribution and net production and loss of ozone. Ozone in clouds is also dependent on convective transport that carries low troposphere/boundary layer ozone and ozone precursors upward into the clouds. Characterizing ozone in thick clouds is an important step for quantifying relationships of ozone with tropospheric H 2 O, OH production, and cloud microphysics/transport properties. Although measuring ozone in deep convective clouds from either aircraft or balloon ozonesondes is largely impossible due to extreme meteorological conditions associated with these clouds, it is possible to estimate ozone in thick clouds using backscattered solar UV radiation measured by satellite instruments. Our study combines Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite measurements to generate a new research product of monthly-mean ozone concentrations in deep convective clouds between 30°S to 30°N for October 2004 - April 2016. These measurements represent mean ozone concentration primarily in the upper levels of thick clouds and reveal key features of cloud ozone including: persistent low ozone concentrations in the tropical Pacific of ~10 ppbv or less; concentrations of up to 60 pphv or greater over landmass regions of South America, southern Africa, Australia, and India/east Asia; connections with tropical ENSO events; and intra-seasonal/Madden-Julian Oscillation variability. Analysis of OMI aerosol measurements suggests a cause and effect relation between boundary layer pollution and elevated ozone inside thick clouds over land-mass regions including southern Africa and India/east Asia. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-ARC-1979-AC79-7081.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-ARC-1979-AC79-7081.html">ARC-1979-AC79-7081</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 1979-07-08 P-21747 C Range: 2,200,000 miles This image shows a region of the Jovian atmosphere from approximately 25Â° N to the equatorial region. The north temperate jet, at approximately 23Â° N, where the wind speed is about 150 meters per second, is seen as a dark brown line from the left-hand edge to the right-hand corner of the picture. The wispy clouds of the north equatorial belt appear as shades of brown. The lower right-hand corner of the image shows the brighter (white) clouds of the equatorial region. A small blue area is apparent near the lower edge, which corresponds to a region free of the upper clouds, where it is possible to penetrate to cloud layers approximately 60 kilometers below the visible surface. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-ARC-1979-A79-7081.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-ARC-1979-A79-7081.html">ARC-1979-A79-7081</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 1979-07-08 P-21747 BW Range: 2,200,000 miles This image shows a region of the Jovian atmosphere from approximately 25Â° N to the equatorial region. The north temperate jet, at approximately 23Â° N, where the wind speed is about 150 meters per second, is seen as a dark brown line from the left-hand edge to the right-hand corner of the picture. The wispy clouds of the north equatorial belt appear as shades of brown. The lower right-hand corner of the image shows the brighter (white) clouds of the equatorial region. A small blue area is apparent near the lower edge, which corresponds to a region free of the upper clouds, where it is possible to penetrate to cloud layers approximately 60 kilometers below the visible surface. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ACP....18..921A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ACP....18..921A">Aerosol characteristics and particle production in the upper troposphere over the Amazon Basin</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Andreae, Meinrat O.; Afchine, Armin; Albrecht, Rachel; Amorim Holanda, Bruna; Artaxo, Paulo; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Borrmann, Stephan; Cecchini, Micael A.; Costa, Anja; Dollner, Maximilian; Fütterer, Daniel; Järvinen, Emma; Jurkat, Tina; Klimach, Thomas; Konemann, Tobias; Knote, Christoph; Krämer, Martina; Krisna, Trismono; Machado, Luiz A. T.; Mertes, Stephan; Minikin, Andreas; Pöhlker, Christopher; Pöhlker, Mira L.; Pöschl, Ulrich; Rosenfeld, Daniel; Sauer, Daniel; Schlager, Hans; Schnaiter, Martin; Schneider, Johannes; Schulz, Christiane; Spanu, Antonio; Sperling, Vinicius B.; Voigt, Christiane; Walser, Adrian; Wang, Jian; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Wendisch, Manfred; Ziereis, Helmut 2018-01-01 Airborne observations over the Amazon Basin showed high aerosol particle concentrations in the upper troposphere (UT) between 8 and 15 km altitude, with number densities (normalized to standard temperature and pressure) often exceeding those in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude. The measurements were made during the German-Brazilian cooperative aircraft campaign ACRIDICON-CHUVA, where ACRIDICON stands for <q>Aerosol, Cloud, Precipitation, and Radiation Interactions and Dynamics of Convective Cloud Systems</q> and CHUVA is the acronym for <q>Cloud Processes of the Main Precipitation Systems in Brazil: A Contribution to Cloud Resolving Modeling and to the GPM (global precipitation measurement)</q>, on the German High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO). The campaign took place in September-October 2014, with the objective of studying tropical deep convective clouds over the Amazon rainforest and their interactions with atmospheric trace gases, aerosol particles, and atmospheric radiation. Aerosol enhancements were observed consistently on all flights during which the UT was probed, using several aerosol metrics, including condensation nuclei (CN) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations and chemical species mass concentrations. The UT particles differed sharply in their chemical composition and size distribution from those in the PBL, ruling out convective transport of combustion-derived particles from the boundary layer (BL) as a source. The air in the immediate outflow of deep convective clouds was depleted of aerosol particles, whereas strongly enhanced number concentrations of small particles (< 90 nm diameter) were found in UT regions that had experienced outflow from deep convection in the preceding 5-72 h. We also found elevated concentrations of larger (> 90 nm) particles in the UT, which consisted mostly of organic matter and nitrate and were very effective CCN. Our findings suggest a conceptual model, where production of new aerosol particles takes place in the continental UT from biogenic volatile organic material brought up by deep convection and converted to condensable species in the UT. Subsequently, downward mixing and transport of upper tropospheric aerosol can be a source of particles to the PBL, where they increase in size by the condensation of biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) oxidation products. This may be an important source of aerosol particles for the Amazonian PBL, where aerosol nucleation and new particle formation have not been observed. We propose that this may have been the dominant process supplying secondary aerosol particles in the pristine atmosphere, making clouds the dominant control of both removal and production of atmospheric particles. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1425079-aerosol-characteristics-particle-production-upper-troposphere-over-amazon-basin','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1425079-aerosol-characteristics-particle-production-upper-troposphere-over-amazon-basin">Aerosol characteristics and particle production in the upper troposphere over the Amazon Basin</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Andreae, Meinrat O.; Afchine, Armin; Albrecht, Rachel; ... 2018-01-25 Airborne observations over the Amazon Basin showed high aerosol particle concentrations in the upper troposphere (UT) between 8 and 15 km altitude, with number densities (normalized to standard temperature and pressure) often exceeding those in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude. The measurements were made during the German–Brazilian cooperative aircraft campaign ACRIDICON–CHUVA, where ACRIDICON stands for Aerosol, Cloud, Precipitation, and Radiation Interactions and Dynamics of Convective Cloud Systems and CHUVA is the acronym for Cloud Processes of the Main Precipitation Systems in Brazil: A Contribution to Cloud Resolving Modeling and to the GPM (globalmore » precipitation measurement), on the German High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO). The campaign took place in September–October 2014, with the objective of studying tropical deep convective clouds over the Amazon rainforest and their interactions with atmospheric trace gases, aerosol particles, and atmospheric radiation. Aerosol enhancements were observed consistently on all flights during which the UT was probed, using several aerosol metrics, including condensation nuclei (CN) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations and chemical species mass concentrations. The UT particles differed sharply in their chemical composition and size distribution from those in the PBL, ruling out convective transport of combustion-derived particles from the boundary layer (BL) as a source. The air in the immediate outflow of deep convective clouds was depleted of aerosol particles, whereas strongly enhanced number concentrations of small particles (< 90 nm diameter) were found in UT regions that had experienced outflow from deep convection in the preceding 5–72 h. We also found elevated concentrations of larger (> 90 nm) particles in the UT, which consisted mostly of organic matter and nitrate and were very effective CCN. Our findings suggest a conceptual model, where production of new aerosol particles takes place in the continental UT from biogenic volatile organic material brought up by deep convection and converted to condensable species in the UT. Subsequently, downward mixing and transport of upper tropospheric aerosol can be a source of particles to the PBL, where they increase in size by the condensation of biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) oxidation products. This may be an important source of aerosol particles for the Amazonian PBL, where aerosol nucleation and new particle formation have not been observed. We propose that this may have been the dominant process supplying secondary aerosol particles in the pristine atmosphere, making clouds the dominant control of both removal and production of atmospheric particles.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1425079','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1425079">Aerosol characteristics and particle production in the upper troposphere over the Amazon Basin</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Andreae, Meinrat O.; Afchine, Armin; Albrecht, Rachel Airborne observations over the Amazon Basin showed high aerosol particle concentrations in the upper troposphere (UT) between 8 and 15 km altitude, with number densities (normalized to standard temperature and pressure) often exceeding those in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude. The measurements were made during the German–Brazilian cooperative aircraft campaign ACRIDICON–CHUVA, where ACRIDICON stands for Aerosol, Cloud, Precipitation, and Radiation Interactions and Dynamics of Convective Cloud Systems and CHUVA is the acronym for Cloud Processes of the Main Precipitation Systems in Brazil: A Contribution to Cloud Resolving Modeling and to the GPM (globalmore » precipitation measurement), on the German High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO). The campaign took place in September–October 2014, with the objective of studying tropical deep convective clouds over the Amazon rainforest and their interactions with atmospheric trace gases, aerosol particles, and atmospheric radiation. Aerosol enhancements were observed consistently on all flights during which the UT was probed, using several aerosol metrics, including condensation nuclei (CN) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations and chemical species mass concentrations. The UT particles differed sharply in their chemical composition and size distribution from those in the PBL, ruling out convective transport of combustion-derived particles from the boundary layer (BL) as a source. The air in the immediate outflow of deep convective clouds was depleted of aerosol particles, whereas strongly enhanced number concentrations of small particles (< 90 nm diameter) were found in UT regions that had experienced outflow from deep convection in the preceding 5–72 h. We also found elevated concentrations of larger (> 90 nm) particles in the UT, which consisted mostly of organic matter and nitrate and were very effective CCN. Our findings suggest a conceptual model, where production of new aerosol particles takes place in the continental UT from biogenic volatile organic material brought up by deep convection and converted to condensable species in the UT. Subsequently, downward mixing and transport of upper tropospheric aerosol can be a source of particles to the PBL, where they increase in size by the condensation of biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) oxidation products. This may be an important source of aerosol particles for the Amazonian PBL, where aerosol nucleation and new particle formation have not been observed. We propose that this may have been the dominant process supplying secondary aerosol particles in the pristine atmosphere, making clouds the dominant control of both removal and production of atmospheric particles.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1025461-aerosol-concentration-size-distribution-measured-below-above-cloud-from-doe-during-vocals-rex','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1025461-aerosol-concentration-size-distribution-measured-below-above-cloud-from-doe-during-vocals-rex">Aerosol concentration and size distribution measured below, in, and above cloud from the DOE G-1 during VOCALS-REx</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Kleinman, L.I.; Daum, P. H.; Lee, Y.-N. 2011-06-21 During the VOCALS Regional Experiment, the DOE G-1 aircraft was used to sample a varying aerosol environment pertinent to properties of stratocumulus clouds over a longitude band extending 800 km west from the Chilean coast at Arica. Trace gas and aerosol measurements are presented as a function of longitude, altitude, and dew point in this study. Spatial distributions are consistent with an upper atmospheric source for O{sub 3} and South American coastal sources for marine boundary layer (MBL) CO and aerosol, most of which is acidic sulfate in agreement with the dominant pollution source being SO{sub 2} from Cu smeltersmore » and power plants. Pollutant layers in the free troposphere (FT) can be a result of emissions to the north in Peru or long range transport from the west. At a given altitude in the FT (up to 3 km), dew point varies by 40 C with dry air descending from the upper atmospheric and moist air having a BL contribution. Ascent of BL air to a cold high altitude results in the condensation and precipitation removal of all but a few percent of BL water along with aerosol that served as CCN. Thus, aerosol volume decreases with dew point in the FT. Aerosol size spectra have a bimodal structure in the MBL and an intermediate diameter unimodal distribution in the FT. Comparing cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) and pre-cloud aerosol (Dp > 100 nm) gives a linear relation up to a number concentration of {approx}150 cm{sup -3}, followed by a less than proportional increase in CDNC at higher aerosol number concentration. A number balance between below cloud aerosol and cloud droplets indicates that {approx}25% of aerosol in the PCASP size range are interstitial (not activated). One hundred and two constant altitude cloud transects were identified and used to determine properties of interstitial aerosol. One transect is examined in detail as a case study. Approximately 25 to 50% of aerosol with D{sub p} > 110 nm were not activated, the difference between the two approaches possibly representing shattered cloud droplets or unknown artifact. CDNC and interstitial aerosol were anti-correlated in all cloud transects, consistent with the occurrence of dry in-cloud areas due to entrainment or circulation mixing.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A41B0045H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A41B0045H">Photolysis frequency and cloud dynamics during DC3 and SEAC4RS</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hall, S. R.; Ullmann, K.; Madronich, S.; Hair, J. W.; Butler, C. F.; Fenn, M. A. 2013-12-01 Cloud shading plays a critical role in extending the lifetime of short-lived chemical species. During convection, photochemistry is reduced such that short-lived species may be transported from the boundary layer to the upper troposphere/ lower stratosphere. In the anvil outflow, shading continues within and below the cloud. However, near the highly scattering cloud top, the chemistry is greatly accelerated. In this rapidly evolving environment, accurate photolysis frequencies are required to study photochemical evolution of the complex composition. During the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3, 2012) and the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS, 2013) campaigns, photolysis frequencies were determined by measurement of spectrally resolved actinic flux by the Charge-coupled device Actinic Flux Spectroradiometer (CAFS) on the NASA DC-8 and the HIAPER Airborne Radiation Package (HARP) on the NCAR G-V aircraft. Vertical flight profiles allowed in situ characterization of the radiation environment. Input of geometrical cloud characteristics into the Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible (TUV) Radiation was used to constrain cloud optical depths for more spatially and temporally stable conditions. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A13C2067W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A13C2067W">Coupling of Clouds and Moisture Transport in Extratropical Cyclonic Systems and the Associated Atmospheric Heating (Q1) and Moisture Sink (Q2)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wong, S.; Naud, C. M.; Kahn, B. H.; Wu, L.; Fetzer, E. J. 2017-12-01 Different sectors in extratropical cyclonic systems (ETCs) exhibit various patterns in atmospheric moisture transport and provide an excellent test bed for studying coupling between cloud processes and large-scale circulation. Large-scale atmospheric moisture transport diagnosed from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 and cloud properties (cloud top pressure and optical depth, cloud effective radii and thermodynamic phase) from both the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) will be composited around Northern Hemispheric ETCs over ocean according to their stages of development. Atmospheric diabatic heating rates (Q1) and moisture sinks (Q2) are also inferred from the reanalysis winds, temperature, and specific humidity. Across the warm fronts, elevated convection in the pre-warm front regime is associated with frequent stratiform clouds with middle-to-upper tropospheric heating and lower tropospheric cooling, while upright convection in the warm front regime has frequent deep convective clouds with free-tropospheric heating and strong boundary layer cooling. Thinner stratiform and cirrus clouds are evident in the warm sector with top-heavy profiles of rising motion and diabatic heating. Moisture advection exhibits a sharp gradient across the cold fronts, with convection in the pre-cold front regime highly dependent on the stage of the ETC development. Heating in the boundary layers of the cold sector, polar-air intrusion, and pre-warm sector regimes depends on the amount of low-level clouds, which is again modulated by the stage of the ETC development. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080014857','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080014857">The Effect of Environmental Conditions on Tropical Deep Convective Systems Observed from the TRMM Satellite</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Lin, Bing; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Minnis, Patrick; Chambers, Lin H.; Xu, Kuan-Man; Hu, Yongxiang; Fan, Tai-Fang 2005-01-01 This study uses measurements of radiation and cloud properties taken between January and August 1998 by three Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) instruments, the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) scanner, the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), and the Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS), to evaluate the variations of tropical deep convective systems (DCS) with sea surface temperature (SST) and precipitation. This study finds that DCS precipitation efficiency increases with SST at a rate of approx. 2%/K. Despite increasing rainfall efficiency, the cloud areal coverage rises with SST at a rate of about 7%/K in the warm tropical seas. There, the boundary layer moisture supply for deep convection and the moisture transported to the upper troposphere for cirrus-anvil cloud formation increase by approx. 6.3%/K and approx. 4.0%/K, respectively. The changes in cloud formation efficiency, along with the increased transport of moisture available for cloud formation, likely contribute to the large rate of increasing DCS areal coverage. Although no direct observations are available, the increase of cloud formation efficiency with rising SST is deduced indirectly from measurements of changes in the ratio of DCS ice water path and boundary layer water vapor amount with SST. Besides the cloud areal coverage, DCS cluster effective sizes also increase with precipitation. Furthermore, other cloud properties, such as cloud total water and ice water paths, increase with SST. These changes in DCS properties will produce a negative radiative feedback for the earth's climate system due to strong reflection of shortwave radiation by the DCS. These results significantly differ from some previous hypothesized dehydration scenarios for warmer climates, and have great potential in testing current cloud-system resolving models and convective parameterizations of general circulation models. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004A%26A...414..335W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004A%26A...414..335W">Dust in brown dwarfs. III. Formation and structure of quasi-static cloud layers</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Woitke, P.; Helling, Ch. 2004-01-01 In this paper, first solutions of the dust moment equations developed in (Woitke & Helling \\cite{wh2003a}) for the description of dust formation and precipitation in brown dwarf and giant gas planet atmospheres are presented. We consider the special case of a static brown dwarf atmosphere, where dust particles continuously nucleate from the gas phase, grow by the accretion of molecules, settle gravitationally and re-evaporate thermally. Mixing by convective overshoot is assumed to replenish the atmosphere with condensable elements, which is necessary to counterbalance the loss of condensable elements by dust formation and gravitational settling (no dust without mixing). Applying a kinetic description of the relevant microphysical and chemical processes for TiO2-grains, the model makes predictions about the large-scale stratification of dust in the atmosphere, the depletion of molecules from the gas phase, the supersaturation of the gas in the atmosphere as well as the mean size and the mass fraction of dust grains as function of depth. Our results suggest that the presence of relevant amounts of dust is restricted to a layer, where the upper boundary (cloud deck) is related to the requirement of a minimum mixing activity (mixing time-scale τmix ≈ 10 6 s) and the lower boundary (cloud base) is determined by the thermodynamical stability of the grains. The nucleation occurs around the cloud deck where the gas is cool, strongly depleted, but nevertheless highly supersaturated (S ≫ 1). These particles settle gravitationally and populate the warmer layers below, where the in situ formation (nucleation) is ineffective or even not possible. During their descent, the particles grow and reach mean radii of ≈30 \\mum ... 400 \\mum at the cloud base, but the majority of the particles in the cloud layer remains much smaller. Finally, the dust grains sink into layers which are sufficiently hot to cause their thermal evaporation. Hence, an effective transport mechanism for condensable elements exists in brown dwarfs, which depletes the gas above and enriches the gas below the cloud base of a considered solid/liquid material. The dust-to-gas mass fraction in the cloud layer results to be approximately given by the mass fraction of condensable elements in the gas being mixed up. Only for artificially reduced mixing we find a self-regulation mechanism that approximately installs phase equilibrium (S ≈ 1) in a limited region around the cloud base. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A42F..03J','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A42F..03J">Small-scale variability in tropical tropopause layer humidity</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Jensen, E. J.; Ueyama, R.; Pfister, L.; Karcher, B.; Podglajen, A.; Diskin, G. S.; DiGangi, J. P.; Thornberry, T. D.; Rollins, A. W.; Bui, T. V.; Woods, S.; Lawson, P. 2016-12-01 Recent advances in statistical parameterizations of cirrus cloud processes for use in global models are highlighting the need for information about small-scale fluctuations in upper tropospheric humidity and the physical processes that control the humidity variability. To address these issues, we have analyzed high-resolution airborne water vapor measurements obtained in the Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment over the tropical Pacific between 14 and 20 km. Using accurate and precise 1-Hz water vapor measurements along approximately-level aircraft flight legs, we calculate structure functions spanning horizontal scales ranging from about 0.2 to 50 km, and we compare the water vapor variability in the lower (about 14 km) and upper (16-19 km) Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL). We also compare the magnitudes and scales of variability inside TTL cirrus versus in clear-sky regions. The measurements show that in the upper TTL, water vapor concentration variance is stronger inside cirrus than in clear-sky regions. Using simulations of TTL cirrus formation, we show that small variability in clear-sky humidity is amplified by the strong sensitivity of ice nucleation rate to supersaturation, which results in highly-structured clouds that subsequently drive variability in the water vapor field. In the lower TTL, humidity variability is correlated with recent detrainment from deep convection. The structure functions indicate approximately power-law scaling with spectral slopes ranging from about -5/3 to -2. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014Icar..229...71S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014Icar..229...71S">Numerical simulations of Jupiter’s moist convection layer: Structure and dynamics in statistically steady states</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Sugiyama, K.; Nakajima, K.; Odaka, M.; Kuramoto, K.; Hayashi, Y.-Y. 2014-02-01 A series of long-term numerical simulations of moist convection in Jupiter’s atmosphere is performed in order to investigate the idealized characteristics of the vertical structure of multi-composition clouds and the convective motions associated with them, varying the deep abundances of condensable gases and the autoconversion time scale, the latter being one of the most questionable parameters in cloud microphysical parameterization. The simulations are conducted using a two-dimensional cloud resolving model that explicitly represents the convective motion and microphysics of the three cloud components, H2O, NH3, and NH4SH imposing a body cooling that substitutes the net radiative cooling. The results are qualitatively similar to those reported in Sugiyama et al. (Sugiyama, K. et al. [2011]. Intermittent cumulonimbus activity breaking the three-layer cloud structure of Jupiter. Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L13201. doi:10.1029/2011GL047878): stable layers associated with condensation and chemical reaction act as effective dynamical and compositional boundaries, intense cumulonimbus clouds develop with distinct temporal intermittency, and the active transport associated with these clouds results in the establishment of mean vertical profiles of condensates and condensable gases that are distinctly different from the hitherto accepted three-layered structure (e.g., Atreya, S.K., Romani, P.N. [1985]. Photochemistry and clouds of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. In: Recent Advances in Planetary Meteorology. Cambridge Univ. Press, London, pp. 17-68). Our results also demonstrate that the period of intermittent cloud activity is roughly proportional to the deep abundance of H2O gas. The autoconversion time scale does not strongly affect the results, except for the vertical profiles of the condensates. Changing the autoconversion time scale by a factor of 100 changes the intermittency period by a factor of less than two, although it causes a dramatic increase in the amount of condensates in the upper troposphere. The moist convection layer becomes potentially unstable with respect to an air parcel rising from below the H2O lifting condensation level (LCL) well before the development of cumulonimbus clouds. The instability accumulates until an appropriate trigger is provided by the H2O condensate that falls down through the H2O LCL; the H2O condensate drives a downward flow below the H2O LCL as a result of the latent cooling associated with the re-evaporation of the condensate, and the returning updrafts carry moist air from below to the moist convection layer. Active cloud development is terminated when the instability is completely exhausted. The period of intermittency is roughly equal to the time obtained by dividing the mean temperature increase, which is caused by active cumulonimbus development, by the body cooling rate. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19870053048&hterms=nature+science&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3Dnature%2Bscience','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19870053048&hterms=nature+science&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3Dnature%2Bscience">Atmospheric science on the Galileo mission</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Hunten, D. M.; Colin, L.; Hansen, J. E. 1986-01-01 The atmospheric science goals of the Galileo mission, and instruments of the probe and orbiter are described. The current data available, and the goals of the Galileo mission concerning the chemical composition of the Jovian atmosphere; the thermal structure of the atmosphere; the nature of cloud particles and cloud layering; the radiative energy balance; atmospheric dynamics; and the upper atmosphere are discussed. The objectives and operations of the atmospheric structure instrument, neutral mass spectrometer, helium abundance interferometer, nephelometer, net flux radiometer, lightning and radio emission detector, solid state imaging system, NIR mapping spectrometer, photopolarimeter radiometer, and UV spectrometer are examined. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110007971&hterms=tropospheric+ozone&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Dtropospheric%2Bozone','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110007971&hterms=tropospheric+ozone&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Dtropospheric%2Bozone">Convective Distribution of Tropospheric Ozone and Tracers in the Central American ITCZ Region: Evidence from Observations During TC4</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Avery, Melody; Twohy, Cynthia; MCabe, David; Joiner, Joanna; Severance, Kurt; Atlas, Eliot; Blake, Donald; Bui, T. P.; Crounse, John; Dibb, Jack; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20110007971'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20110007971_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20110007971_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20110007971_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20110007971_hide"> 2010-01-01 During the Tropical Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling (TC4) experiment that occurred in July and August of 2007, extensive sampling of active convection in the ITCZ region near Central America was performed from multiple aircraft and satellite sensors. As part of a sampling strategy designed to study cloud processes, the NASA ER-2, WB-57 and DC-8 flew in stacked "racetrack patterns" in convective cells. On July 24, 2007, the ER-2 and DC-8 probed an actively developing storm and the DC-8 was hit by lightning. Case studies of this flight, and of convective outflow on August 5, 2007 reveal a significant anti-correlation between ozone and condensed cloud water content. With little variability in the boundary layer and a vertical gradient, low ozone in the upper troposphere indicates convective transport. Because of the large spatial and temporal variability in surface CO and other pollutants in this region, low ozone is a better convective indicator. Lower tropospheric tracers methyl hydrogen peroxide, total organic bromine and calcium substantiate the ozone results. OMI measurements of mean upper tropospheric ozone near convection show lower ozone in convective outflow. A mass balance estimation of the amount of convective turnover below the tropical tropopause transition layer (TTL) is 50%, with an altitude of maximum convective outflow located between 10 and 11 km, 4 km below the cirrus anvil tops. It appears that convective lofting in this region of the ITCZ is either a two-stage or a rapid mixing process, because undiluted boundary layer air is never sampled in the convective outflow. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19980018993','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19980018993">Upper-Tropospheric Winds Derived from Geostationary Satellite Water Vapor Observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Velden, Christopher S.; Hayden, Christopher M.; Nieman, Steven J.; Menzel, W. Paul; Wanzong, Steven; Goerss, James S. 1997-01-01 The coverage and quality of remotely sensed upper-tropospheric moisture parameters have improved considerably with the deployment of a new generation of operational geostationary meteorological satellites: GOES-8/9 and GMS-5. The GOES-8/9 water vapor imaging capabilities have increased as a result of improved radiometric sensitivity and higher spatial resolution. The addition of a water vapor sensing channel on the latest GMS permits nearly global viewing of upper-tropospheric water vapor (when joined with GOES and Meteosat) and enhances the commonality of geostationary meteorological satellite observing capabilities. Upper-tropospheric motions derived from sequential water vapor imagery provided by these satellites can be objectively extracted by automated techniques. Wind fields can be deduced in both cloudy and cloud-free environments. In addition to the spatially coherent nature of these vector fields, the GOES-8/9 multispectral water vapor sensing capabilities allow for determination of wind fields over multiple tropospheric layers in cloud-free environments. This article provides an update on the latest efforts to extract water vapor motion displacements over meteorological scales ranging from subsynoptic to global. The potential applications of these data to impact operations, numerical assimilation and prediction, and research studies are discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A23E0317D','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A23E0317D">Aerosol Activation Properties within and above Mixing Layer in the North China Plain</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Deng, Z.; Ran, L. 2013-12-01 Aerosol particles, serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), may modify the properties of clouds and have an impact on climate. The vertical distribution of aerosols and their activation properties is critical to quantify the effect of aerosols on clouds. An intensive field campaign, Vertical Observations of trace Gases and Aerosols in the North China Plain (VOGA-NCP 2013), was conducted in the North China Plain during the late July and early August 2013 to measure the vertical profiles of atmospheric components in this polluted region and estimate their effects on atmospheric environment and climate. Aerosols were measured with in-situ instruments and Lidar. Particularly, the aerosols were collected at 1000 m height with a 1 m3 bag sampler attached to a tethered balloon, and subsequently measured with combined scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and CCN counter. Comparisons of size-resolved activation ratios at ground level and 1000 m height showed that aerosols in upper atmosphere were not only less concentrated, but also less CCN-active than those at the surface. The difference in aerosol properties between upper atmosphere and the ground indicates that the analysis of impacts of aerosols on cloud might be misleading in heavily polluted region based on the relationship of cloud properties and surface aerosols or column without considering the vertical distribution of aerosol activation abilities. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..19.4168J','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..19.4168J">Shallow marine cloud topped boundary layer in atmospheric models</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Janjic, Zavisa 2017-04-01 A common problem in many atmospheric models is excessive expansion over cold water of shallow marine planetary boundary layer (PBL) topped by a thin cloud layer. This phenomenon is often accompanied by spurious light precipitation. The "Cloud Top Entrainment Instability" (CTEI) was proposed as an explanation of the mechanism controlling this process in reality thereby preventing spurious enlargement of the cloudy area and widely spread light precipitation observed in the models. A key element of this hypothesis is evaporative cooling at the PBL top. However, the CTEI hypothesis remains controversial. For example, a recent direct simulation experiment indicated that the evaporative cooling couldn't explain the break-up of the cloudiness as hypothesized by the CTEI. Here, it is shown that the cloud break-up can be achieved in numerical models by a further modification of the nonsingular implementation of the Mellor-Yamada Level 2.5 turbulence closure model (MYJ) developed at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Washington. Namely, the impact of moist convective instability is included into the turbulent energy production/dissipation equation if (a) the stratification is stable, (b) the lifting condensation level (LCL) for a particle starting at a model level is below the next upper model level, and (c) there is enough turbulent kinetic energy so that, due to random vertical turbulent motions, a particle starting from a model level can reach its LCL. The criterion (c) should be sufficiently restrictive because otherwise the cloud cover can be completely removed. A real data example will be shown demonstrating the ability of the method to break the spurious cloud cover during the day, but also to allow its recovery over night. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_4");'>4</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li class="active">6</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_7");'>7</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_8");'>8</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_7" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_6");'>6</a></li> <li class="active">7</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_8");'>8</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_9");'>9</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="121"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A52C..07J','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A52C..07J">Modeling of Shallow Marine Cloud Topped Boundary Layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Janjic, Z. 2017-12-01 A common problem in many atmospheric models is excessive expansion over cold water of shallow marine planetary boundary layer (PBL) topped by a thin cloud layer. This phenomenon is often accompanied by spurious light precipitation. The "Cloud Top Entrainment Instability" (CTEI) was proposed as an explanation of the mechanism controlling this process and thus preventing spurious enlargement of the cloudy area and widely spread light precipitation observed in the models. A key element of this hypothesis is evaporative cooling at the PBL top. However, the CTEI hypothesis remains controversial. For example, a recent direct simulation experiment indicated that the evaporative cooling couldn't explain the break-up of the cloudiness as hypothesized by the CTEI. Here, it is shown that the cloud break-up can be achieved in numerical models by a further modification of the nonsingular implementation of the nonsingular Mellor-Yamada Level 2.5 turbulence closure model (MYJ) developed at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Washington. Namely, the impact of moist convective instability is included into the turbulent energy production/dissipation equation if (a) the stratification is stable, (b) the lifting condensation level (LCL) for a particle starting at a model level is below the next upper model level, and (c) there is enough turbulent kinetic energy so that, due to random vertical turbulent motions, a particle starting from a model level can reach its LCL. The criterion (c) should be sufficiently restrictive because otherwise the cloud cover can be completely removed. A real data example will be shown demonstrating the ability of the method to break the spurious cloud cover during the day, but also to allow its recovery over night. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19770043512&hterms=coagulation&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dcoagulation','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19770043512&hterms=coagulation&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dcoagulation">The clouds of Venus. II - An investigation of the influence of coagulation on the observed droplet size distribution</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Rossow, W. B. 1977-01-01 An approximate numerical technique is used to investigate the influence of coagulation, sedimentation and turbulent motions on the observed droplet size distribution in the upper layers of the Venus clouds. If the cloud mass mixing ratio is less than 0.000001 at 250 K or the eddy diffusivity throughout the cloud is greater than 1,000,000 sq cm per sec, then coagulation is unimportant. In this case, the observed droplet size distribution is the initial size distribution produced by the condensation of the droplets. It is found that all cloud models with droplet formation near the cloud top (e.g., a photochemical model) must produce the observed droplet size distribution by condensation without subsequent modification by coagulation. However, neither meteoritic or surface dust can supply sufficient nucleating particles to account for the observed droplet number density. If the cloud droplets are formed near the cloud bottom, the observed droplet size distribution can be produced solely by the interaction of coagulation and dynamics; all information about the initial size distribution is lost. If droplet formation occurs near the cloud bottom, the lower atmosphere of Venus is oxidizing rather than reducing. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018APJAS.tmp....2S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018APJAS.tmp....2S">An evaluation of WRF microphysics schemes for simulating the warm-type heavy rain over the Korean peninsula</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Song, Hwan-Jin; Sohn, Byung-Ju 2018-01-01 The Korean peninsula is the region of distinctly showing the heavy rain associated with relatively low storm height and small ice water content in the upper part of cloud system (i.e., so-called warm-type heavy rainfall). The satellite observations for the warmtype rain over Korea led to a conjecture that the cloud microphysics parameterization suitable for the continental deep convection may not work well for the warm-type heavy rainfall over the Korean peninsula. Therefore, there is a growing need to examine the performance of cloud microphysics schemes for simulating the warm-type heavy rain structures over the Korean peninsula. This study aims to evaluate the capabilities of eight microphysics schemes in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model how warmtype heavy rain structures can be simulated, in reference to the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) reflectivity measurements. The results indicate that the WRF Double Moment 6-class (WDM6) scheme simulated best the vertical structure of warm-type heavy rain by virtue of a reasonable collisioncoalescence process between liquid droplets and the smallest amount of snow. Nonetheless the WDM6 scheme appears to have limitations that need to be improved upon for a realistic reflectivity structure, in terms of the reflectivity slope below the melting layer, discontinuity in reflectivity profiles around the melting layer, and overestimation of upper-level reflectivity due to high graupel content. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018APJAS..54..225S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018APJAS..54..225S">An Evaluation of WRF Microphysics Schemes for Simulating the Warm-Type Heavy Rain over the Korean Peninsula</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Song, Hwan-Jin; Sohn, Byung-Ju 2018-05-01 The Korean peninsula is the region of distinctly showing the heavy rain associated with relatively low storm height and small ice water content in the upper part of cloud system (i.e., so-called warm-type heavy rainfall). The satellite observations for the warm-type rain over Korea led to a conjecture that the cloud microphysics parameterization suitable for the continental deep convection may not work well for the warm-type heavy rainfall over the Korean peninsula. Therefore, there is a growing need to examine the performance of cloud microphysics schemes for simulating the warm-type heavy rain structures over the Korean peninsula. This study aims to evaluate the capabilities of eight microphysics schemes in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model how warm-type heavy rain structures can be simulated, in reference to the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) reflectivity measurements. The results indicate that the WRF Double Moment 6-class (WDM6) scheme simulated best the vertical structure of warm-type heavy rain by virtue of a reasonable collision-coalescence process between liquid droplets and the smallest amount of snow. Nonetheless the WDM6 scheme appears to have limitations that need to be improved upon for a realistic reflectivity structure, in terms of the reflectivity slope below the melting layer, discontinuity in reflectivity profiles around the melting layer, and overestimation of upper-level reflectivity due to high graupel content. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1203858-roles-wind-shear-different-vertical-levels-part-cloud-system-organization-properties','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1203858-roles-wind-shear-different-vertical-levels-part-cloud-system-organization-properties"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Chen, Qian; Fan, Jiwen; Hagos, Samson M. Understanding of critical processes that contribute to the organization of mesoscale convective systems is important for accurate weather forecast and climate prediction. In this study, we investigate the effects of wind shear at different vertical levels on the organization and properties of cloud systems using the Weather Research & Forecasting (WRF) model with a spectral-bin microphysical scheme. The sensitivity experiments are performed by increasing wind shear at the lower (0-5 km), middle (5-10 km), upper (> 10 km) and the entire troposphere, respectively, based on a control run for a mesoscale convective system (MCS) with weak wind shear. We findmore » that increasing wind shear at the both lower and middle vertical levels reduces the domain-accumulated precipitation and the occurrence of heavy rain, while increasing wind shear at the upper levels changes little on precipitation. Although increasing wind shear at the lower-levels is favorable for a more organized quasi-line system which leads to enlarged updraft core area, and enhanced updraft velocities and vertical mass fluxes, the precipitation is still reduced by 18.6% compared with the control run due to stronger rain evaporation induced by the low-level wind shear. Strong wind shear in the middle levels only produces a strong super-cell over a narrow area, leading to 67.3% reduction of precipitation over the domain. By increasing wind shear at the upper levels only, the organization of the convection is not changed much, but the increased cloudiness at the upper-levels leads to stronger surface cooling and then stabilizes the atmosphere and weakens the convection. When strong wind shear exists over the entire vertical profile, a deep dry layer (2-9 km) is produced and convection is severely suppressed. There are fewer very-high (cloud top height (CTH) > 15 km) and very-deep (cloud thickness > 15 km) clouds, and the precipitation is only about 11.8% of the control run. The changes in cloud microphysical properties further explain the reduction of surface rain by strong wind shear especially at the lower- and middle-levels. The insights obtained from this study help us better understand the cloud system organization and provide foundation for better parameterizing organized MCS.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1357404-cloud-feedback-mechanisms-representation-global-climate-models','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1357404-cloud-feedback-mechanisms-representation-global-climate-models">Cloud feedback mechanisms and their representation in global climate models</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Ceppi, Paulo; Brient, Florent; Zelinka, Mark D.; ... 2017-05-11 Cloud feedback—the change in top-of-atmosphere radiative flux resulting from the cloud response to warming—constitutes by far the largest source of uncertainty in the climate response to CO 2 forcing simulated by global climate models (GCMs). In this paper, we review the main mechanisms for cloud feedbacks, and discuss their representation in climate models and the sources of intermodel spread. Global-mean cloud feedback in GCMs results from three main effects: (1) rising free-tropospheric clouds (a positive longwave effect); (2) decreasing tropical low cloud amount (a positive shortwave [SW] effect); (3) increasing high-latitude low cloud optical depth (a negative SW effect). Thesemore » cloud responses simulated by GCMs are qualitatively supported by theory, high-resolution modeling, and observations. Rising high clouds are consistent with the fixed anvil temperature (FAT) hypothesis, whereby enhanced upper-tropospheric radiative cooling causes anvil cloud tops to remain at a nearly fixed temperature as the atmosphere warms. Tropical low cloud amount decreases are driven by a delicate balance between the effects of vertical turbulent fluxes, radiative cooling, large-scale subsidence, and lower-tropospheric stability on the boundary-layer moisture budget. High-latitude low cloud optical depth increases are dominated by phase changes in mixed-phase clouds. Finally, the causes of intermodel spread in cloud feedback are discussed, focusing particularly on the role of unresolved parameterized processes such as cloud microphysics, turbulence, and convection.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1357404','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1357404">Cloud feedback mechanisms and their representation in global climate models</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Ceppi, Paulo; Brient, Florent; Zelinka, Mark D. Cloud feedback—the change in top-of-atmosphere radiative flux resulting from the cloud response to warming—constitutes by far the largest source of uncertainty in the climate response to CO 2 forcing simulated by global climate models (GCMs). In this paper, we review the main mechanisms for cloud feedbacks, and discuss their representation in climate models and the sources of intermodel spread. Global-mean cloud feedback in GCMs results from three main effects: (1) rising free-tropospheric clouds (a positive longwave effect); (2) decreasing tropical low cloud amount (a positive shortwave [SW] effect); (3) increasing high-latitude low cloud optical depth (a negative SW effect). Thesemore » cloud responses simulated by GCMs are qualitatively supported by theory, high-resolution modeling, and observations. Rising high clouds are consistent with the fixed anvil temperature (FAT) hypothesis, whereby enhanced upper-tropospheric radiative cooling causes anvil cloud tops to remain at a nearly fixed temperature as the atmosphere warms. Tropical low cloud amount decreases are driven by a delicate balance between the effects of vertical turbulent fluxes, radiative cooling, large-scale subsidence, and lower-tropospheric stability on the boundary-layer moisture budget. High-latitude low cloud optical depth increases are dominated by phase changes in mixed-phase clouds. Finally, the causes of intermodel spread in cloud feedback are discussed, focusing particularly on the role of unresolved parameterized processes such as cloud microphysics, turbulence, and convection.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20050147503','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20050147503">Raman Lidar Measurements During the International H2O Project. 2; Instrument Comparisons and Case Studies</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Whiteman, D. N.; Demoz, B.; DiGirolamo, P.; Corner, J.; Veselovskii, I.; Evans, K.; Wang, Z.; Sabatino, D.; Schwemmer, G.; Gentry, B. 2005-01-01 The NASA/GSFC Scanning Raman Lidar (SRL) participated in the International H2O Project (IHOP) that occurred in May and June, 2002 in the midwestern part of the U. S. The SRL system configuration and methods of data analysis were described in part I of this paper. In this second part, comparisons of SRL water vapor measurements and those of chilled mirror radiosonde and LASE airborne water vapor lidar are performed. Two case studies are presented; one for daytime and one for nighttime. The daytime case study is of a convectively driven boundary layer event and is used to characterize the SRL water vapor random error characteristics. The nighttime case study is of a thunderstorm-generated cirrus cloud case that is studied in it s meteorological context. Upper tropospheric humidification due to precipitation from the cirrus cloud is quantified as is the cirrus cloud ice water content and particle depolarization ratio. These detailed cirrus cloud measurements are being used in a cirrus cloud modeling study. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19900037492&hterms=radioastronomy&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dradioastronomy','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19900037492&hterms=radioastronomy&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dradioastronomy">Upper limit set for level of lightning activity on Titan</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Desch, M. D.; Kaiser, M. L. 1990-01-01 Because optically thick cloud and haze layers prevent lightning detection at optical wavelength on Titan, a search was conducted for lightning-radiated signals (spherics) at radio wavelengths using the planetary radioastronomy instrument aboard Voyager 1. Given the maximum ionosphere density of about 3000/cu cm, lightning spherics should be detectable above an observing frequency of 500 kHz. Since no evidence for spherics is found, an upper limit to the total energy per flash in Titan lightning of about 10 to the 6th J, or about 1000 times weaker than that of typical terrestrial lightning, is inferred. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24419075','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24419075">Double blanket effect caused by two layers of black carbon aerosols escalates warming in the Brahmaputra River Valley.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Rahul, P R C; Bhawar, R L; Ayantika, D C; Panicker, A S; Safai, P D; Tharaprabhakaran, V; Padmakumari, B; Raju, M P 2014-01-14 First ever 3-day aircraft observations of vertical profiles of Black Carbon (BC) were obtained during the Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX) conducted on 30(th) August, 4(th) and 6(th) September 2009 over Guwahati (26° 11'N, 91° 44'E), the largest metropolitan city in the Brahmaputra River Valley (BRV) region. The results revealed that apart from the surface/near surface loading of BC due to anthropogenic processes causing a heating of 2 K/day, the large-scale Walker and Hadley atmospheric circulations associated with the Indian summer monsoon help in the formation of a second layer of black carbon in the upper atmosphere, which generates an upper atmospheric heating of ~2 K/day. Lofting of BC aerosols by these large-scale circulating atmospheric cells to the upper atmosphere (4-6 Km) could also be the reason for extreme climate change scenarios that are being witnessed in the BRV region. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ACPD...1325417C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ACPD...1325417C">Balloon-borne match measurements of mid-latitude cirrus clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Cirisan, A.; Luo, B. P.; Engel, I.; Wienhold, F. G.; Krieger, U. K.; Weers, U.; Romanens, G.; Levrat, G.; Jeannet, P.; Ruffieux, D.; Philipona, R.; Calpini, B.; Spichtinger, P.; Peter, T. 2013-10-01 Observations of persistent high supersaturations with respect to ice inside cirrus clouds are challenging our understanding of cloud microphysics and of climate feedback processes in the upper troposphere. Single measurements of a cloudy air mass provide only a snapshot from which the persistence of ice supersaturation cannot be judged. We introduce here the "cirrus match technique" to obtain information of the evolution of clouds and their saturation ratio. The aim of these coordinated balloon soundings is to analyze the same air mass twice. To this end the standard radiosonde equipment is complemented by a frost point hygrometer "SnowWhite" and a particle backscatter detector "COBALD" (Compact Optical Backscatter Aerosol Detector). Extensive trajectory calculations based on regional weather model COSMO forecasts are performed for flight planning and COSMO analyses are used as basis for comprehensive microphysical box modeling (with grid scale 2 km and 7 km, respectively). Here we present the results of matching a cirrus cloud to within 2-15 km, realized on 8 June 2010 over Payerne, Switzerland, and a location 120 km downstream close to Zurich. A thick cirrus was detected over both measurement sites. We show that in order to quantitatively reproduce the measured particle backscatter ratios, the small-scale temperature fluctuations not resolved by COSMO must be superimposed on the trajectories. The stochastic nature of the fluctuations is captured by ensemble calculations. Possibilities for further improvements in the agreement with the measured backscatter data are investigated by assuming a very slow mass accommodation of water on ice, the presence of heterogeneous ice nuclei, or a wide span of (spheroidal) particle shapes. However, the resulting improvements from microphysical refinements are moderate and comparable in magnitude with changes caused by assuming different regimes of temperature fluctuations for clear sky or cloudy sky conditions, highlighting the importance of a proper treatment of subscale fluctuations. The model yields good agreement with the measured backscatter over both sites and reproduces the measured saturation ratios with respect to ice over Payerne. Conversely, the 30% in-cloud supersaturation measured in a massive, 4-km thick cloud layer over Zurich cannot be reproduced, irrespective of the choice of meteorological or microphysical model parameters. The measured supersaturation can only be explained by either resorting to an unknown physical process, which prevents the ice particles from consuming the excess humidity, or - much more likely - by a measurement error, such as a contamination of the sensor housing of the SnowWhite hygrometer by a precipitation drop from a mixed phase cloud just below the cirrus layer or from some very slight rain in the boundary layer. This uncertainty calls for in-flight checks or calibrations of hygrometers under the extreme humidity conditions in the upper troposphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EGUGA..14..348A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EGUGA..14..348A">Detection of long duration cloud contamination in hyper-temporal NDVI imagery</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Ali, A.; de Bie, C. A. J. M.; Skidmore, A. K.; Scarrott, R. G. 2012-04-01 NDVI time series imagery are commonly used as a reliable source for land use and land cover mapping and monitoring. However long duration cloud can significantly influence its precision in areas where persistent clouds prevails. Therefore quantifying errors related to cloud contamination are essential for accurate land cover mapping and monitoring. This study aims to detect long duration cloud contamination in hyper-temporal NDVI imagery based land cover mapping and monitoring. MODIS-Terra NDVI imagery (250 m; 16-day; Feb'03-Dec'09) were used after necessary pre-processing using quality flags and upper envelope filter (ASAVOGOL). Subsequently stacked MODIS-Terra NDVI image (161 layers) was classified for 10 to 100 clusters using ISODATA. After classifications, 97 clusters image was selected as best classified with the help of divergence statistics. To detect long duration cloud contamination, mean NDVI class profiles of 97 clusters image was analyzed for temporal artifacts. Results showed that long duration clouds affect the normal temporal progression of NDVI and caused anomalies. Out of total 97 clusters, 32 clusters were found with cloud contamination. Cloud contamination was found more prominent in areas where high rainfall occurs. This study can help to stop error propagation in regional land cover mapping and monitoring, caused by long duration cloud contamination. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20010097159&hterms=thailand+industries&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dthailand%2Bindustries','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20010097159&hterms=thailand+industries&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dthailand%2Bindustries">Lidar Remote Sensing for Industry and Environment Monitoring</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Singh, Upendra N. (Editor); Itabe, Toshikazu (Editor); Sugimoto, Nobuo (Editor) 2000-01-01 Contents include the following: 1. Keynote paper: Overview of lidar technology for industrial and environmental monitoring in Japan. 2. lidar technology I: NASA's future active remote sensing mission for earth science. Geometrical detector consideration s in laser sensing application (invited paper). 3. Lidar technology II: High-power femtosecond light strings as novel atmospheric probes (invited paper). Design of a compact high-sensitivity aerosol profiling lidar. 4. Lasers for lidars: High-energy 2 microns laser for multiple lidar applications. New submount requirement of conductively cooled laser diodes for lidar applications. 5. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds I: Lidar monitoring of clouds and aerosols at the facility for atmospheric remote sensing (invited paper). Measurement of asian dust by using multiwavelength lidar. Global monitoring of clouds and aerosols using a network of micropulse lidar systems. 6. Troposphere aerosols and clouds II: Scanning lidar measurements of marine aerosol fields at a coastal site in Hawaii. 7. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds III: Formation of ice cloud from asian dust particles in the upper troposphere. Atmospheric boundary layer observation by ground-based lidar at KMITL, Thailand (13 deg N, 100 deg. E). 8. Boundary layer, urban pollution: Studies of the spatial correlation between urban aerosols and local traffic congestion using a slant angle scanning on the research vessel Mirai. 9. Middle atmosphere: Lidar-observed arctic PSC's over Svalbard (invited paper). Sodium temperature lidar measurements of the mesopause region over Syowa Station. 10. Differential absorption lidar (dIAL) and DOAS: Airborne UV DIAL measurements of ozone and aerosols (invited paper). Measurement of water vapor, surface ozone, and ethylene using differential absorption lidar. 12. Space lidar I: Lightweight lidar telescopes for space applications (invited paper). Coherent lidar development for Doppler wind measurement from the International Space Station. 13. Space lidar II: Using coherent Doppler lidar to estimate river discharge. 14. Poster session: Lidar technology, optics for lidar. Laser for lidar. Middle atmosphere observations. Tropospheric observations (aerosols, clouds). Boundary layer, urban pollution. Differential absorption lidar. Doppler lidar. and Space lidar. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018Icar..302..360S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018Icar..302..360S">Models of bright storm clouds and related dark ovals in Saturn's Storm Alley as constrained by 2008 Cassini/VIMS spectra</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Sromovsky, L. A.; Baines, K. H.; Fry, P. M. 2018-03-01 A 5° latitude band on Saturn centered near planetocentric latitude 36°S is known as "Storm Alley" because it has been for several extended periods a site of frequent lightning activity and associated thunderstorms, first identified by Porco et al. (2005). The thunderstorms appeared as bright clouds at short and long continuum wavelengths, and over a period of a week or so transformed into dark ovals (Dyudina et al., 2007). The ovals were found to be dark over a wide spectral range, which led Baines et al. (2009) to suggest the possibility that a broadband absorber such as soot produced by lightning could play a significant role in darkening the clouds relative to their surroundings. Here we show that an alternative explanation, which is that the clouds are less reflective because of reduced optical depth, provides an excellent fit to near infrared spectra of similar features obtained by the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) in 2008, and leads to a plausible scenario for cloud evolution. We find that the background clouds and the oval clouds are both dominated by the optical properties of a ubiquitous upper cloud layer, which has the same particle size in both regions, but about half the optical depth and physical thickness in the dark oval regions. The dark oval regions are also marked by enhanced emissions in the 5-μm window region, a result of lower optical depth of the deep cloud layer near 3.1-3.8 bar, presumably composed of ammonium hydrosulfide (NH4SH). The bright storm clouds completely block this deep thermal emission with a thick layer of ammonia (NH3) clouds extending from the middle of the main visible cloud layer probably as deep as the 1.7-bar NH3 condensation level. Other condensates might also be present at higher pressures, but are obscured by the NH3 cloud. The strong 3-μm spectral absorption that was displayed by Saturn's Great Storm of 2010-2011 (Sromovsky et al., 2013) is weaker in these storms because the contrast is muted by the overlying cloud deck that these less intense storms do not fully penetrate. Our speculated evolutionary scenario that seems consistent with these results is that deep convection produces lightning and bright clouds of large ammonia particles that rise up into the mid level of the overlying visible deck, pushing out the particles in that layer with the outflow at the top of the convective towers. When the convective pulse subsides, these large particles fall out of the column within a week or so, leaving behind less optical depth than background clouds, making them appear darker because they are less reflective. However, this simple picture does not explain all details of the phenomenon, e.g. the irregular morphology of the bright convective regions and the stable regular shapes of the dark ovals that are formed in their wake. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070034183&hterms=sedimentation+channels&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dsedimentation%2Bchannels','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070034183&hterms=sedimentation+channels&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dsedimentation%2Bchannels">Nitric Acid Uptake on Subtropical Cirrus Cloud Particles</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Popp, P. J.; Gao, R. S.; Marcy, T. P.; Fahey, D. W.; Hudson, P. K.; Thompson, T. L.; Kaercher, B.; Ridley, B. A.; Weinheimer, A. J.; Knapp, D. J.; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20070034183'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20070034183_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20070034183_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20070034183_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20070034183_hide"> 2004-01-01 The redistribution of HNO3 via uptake and sedimentation by cirrus cloud particles is considered an important term in the upper tropospheric budget of reactive nitrogen. Numerous cirrus cloud encounters by the NASA WB-57F high-altitude research aircraft during the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) were accompanied by the observation of condensed-phase HNO3 with the NOAA chemical ionization mass spectrometer. The instrument measures HNO3 with two independent channels of detection connected to separate forward and downward facing inlets that allow a determination of the amount of HNO3 condensed on ice particles. Subtropical cirrus clouds, as indicated by the presence of ice particles, were observed coincident with condensed-phase HNO3 at temperatures of 197-224 K and pressures of 122-224 hPa. Maximum levels of condensed-phase HNO3 approached the gas-phase equivalent of 0.8 ppbv. Ice particle surface coverages as high as 1.4 # 10(exp 14) molecules/ square cm were observed. A dissociative Langmuir adsorption model, when using an empirically derived HNO3 adsorption enthalpy of -11.0 kcal/mol, effectively describes the observed molecular coverages to within a factor of 5. The percentage of total HNO3 in the condensed phase ranged from near zero to 100% in the observed cirrus clouds. With volume-weighted mean particle diameters up to 700 ?m and particle fall velocities up to 10 m/s, some observed clouds have significant potential to redistribute HNO3 in the upper troposphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26691186','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26691186">Increase in upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric aerosol levels and its potential connection with Asian pollution.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Vernier, J-P; Fairlie, T D; Natarajan, M; Wienhold, F G; Bian, J; Martinsson, B G; Crumeyrolle, S; Thomason, L W; Bedka, K M 2015-02-27 Satellite observations have shown that the Asian Summer Monsoon strongly influences the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) aerosol morphology through its role in the formation of the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL). Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II solar occultation and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) lidar observations show that summertime UTLS Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) between 13 and 18 km over Asia has increased by three times since the late 1990s. Here we present the first in situ balloon measurements of aerosol backscatter in the UTLS from Western China, which confirm high aerosol levels observed by CALIPSO since 2006. Aircraft in situ measurements suggest that aerosols at lower altitudes of the ATAL are largely composed of carbonaceous and sulfate materials (carbon/sulfur elemental ratio ranging from 2 to 10). Back trajectory analysis from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization observations indicates that deep convection over the Indian subcontinent supplies the ATAL through the transport of pollution into the UTLS. Time series of deep convection occurrence, carbon monoxide, aerosol, temperature, and relative humidity suggest that secondary aerosol formation and growth in a cold, moist convective environment could play an important role in the formation of ATAL. Finally, radiative calculations show that the ATAL layer has exerted a short-term regional forcing at the top of the atmosphere of -0.1 W/m 2 in the past 18 years. Increase of summertime upper tropospheric aerosol levels over Asia since the 1990s Upper tropospheric enhancement also observed by in situ backscatter measurements Significant regional radiative forcing of -0.1 W/m 2 . </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21389127-influence-density-increase-evolution-kelvin-helmholtz-instability-vortices','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21389127-influence-density-increase-evolution-kelvin-helmholtz-instability-vortices">Influence of a density increase on the evolution of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and vortices</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Amerstorfer, U. V.; Erkaev, N. V.; Institute of Computational Modelling, 660036 Krasnoyarsk 2010-07-15 Results of two-dimensional nonlinear numerical simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability are presented. A boundary layer of a certain width is assumed, which separates the plasma in the upper layer from the plasma in the lower layer. A special focus is given on the influence of a density increase toward the lower layer. The evolution of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability can be divided into three different phases, namely, a linear growth phase at the beginning, followed by a nonlinear phase with regular structures of the vortices, and finally, a turbulent phase with nonregular structures. The spatial scales of the vortices aremore » about five times the initial width of the boundary layer. The considered configuration is similar to the situation around unmagnetized planets, where the solar wind (upper plasma layer) streams past the ionosphere (lower plasma layer), and thus the plasma density increases toward the planet. The evolving vortices might detach around the terminator of the planet and eventually so-called plasma clouds might be formed, through which ionospheric material can be lost. For the special case of a Venus-like planet, loss rates are estimated, which are of the order of estimated loss rates from observations at Venus.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.C41B0559S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.C41B0559S">Impact of Arctic sea-ice retreat on the recent change in cloud-base height during autumn</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Sato, K.; Inoue, J.; Kodama, Y.; Overland, J. E. 2012-12-01 Cloud-base observations over the ice-free Chukchi and Beaufort Seas in autumn were conducted using a shipboard ceilometer and radiosondes during the 1999-2010 cruises of the Japanese R/V Mirai. To understand the recent change in cloud base height over the Arctic Ocean, these cloud-base height data were compared with the observation data under ice-covered situation during SHEBA (the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean project in 1998). Our ice-free results showed a 30 % decrease (increase) in the frequency of low clouds with a ceiling below (above) 500 m. Temperature profiles revealed that the boundary layer was well developed over the ice-free ocean in the 2000s, whereas a stable layer dominated during the ice-covered period in 1998. The change in surface boundary conditions likely resulted in the difference in cloud-base height, although it had little impact on air temperatures in the mid- and upper troposphere. Data from the 2010 R/V Mirai cruise were investigated in detail in terms of air-sea temperature difference. This suggests that stratus cloud over the sea ice has been replaced as stratocumulus clouds with low cloud fraction due to the decrease in static stability induced by the sea-ice retreat. The relationship between cloud-base height and air-sea temperature difference (SST-Ts) was analyzed in detail using special section data during 2010 cruise data. Stratus clouds near the sea surface were predominant under a warm advection situation, whereas stratocumulus clouds with a cloud-free layer were significant under a cold advection situation. The threshold temperature difference between sea surface and air temperatures for distinguishing the dominant cloud types was 3 K. Anomalous upward turbulent heat fluxes associated with the sea-ice retreat have likely contributed to warming of the lower troposphere. Frequency distribution of the cloud-base height (km) detected by a ceilometer/lidar (black bars) and radiosondes (gray bars), and profiles of potential temperature (K) for (a) ice-free cases (R/V Mirai during September) and (b) ice-covered case (SHEBA during September 1998). (c) Vertical profiles of air temperature from 1000 hPa to 150 hPa (solid lines: observations north of 75°N, and dashed lines: the ERA-Interim reanalysis over 75-82.5°N, 150-170°W). Green, blue, and red lines denote profiles derived from observations by NP stations (the 1980s), SHEBA (1998), and the R/V Mirai (the 2000s), respectively. (d) Temperature trend calculated by the ERA-Interim reanalysis over the area. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070016544&hterms=Ackerman&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAuthor-Name%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DAckerman','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070016544&hterms=Ackerman&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAuthor-Name%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DAckerman">A Mission to Observe Ice in Clouds from Space</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ackerman, S.; O'CStarr, D.; Skofronick-Jackson, G.; Evans, F.; Wang, J. R.; Racette, P.; Norris, P.; daSilva, A.; Soden, B. 2006-01-01 To date there have been multiple satellite missions to observe and retrieve cloud top properties and the liquid in, and precipitation from, clouds. There are currently a few missions that attempt to measure cloud ice properties as a byproduct of other observations. However, we do not yet quantitatively understand the processes that control the water budget of the upper troposphere where ice is the predominant phase, and how these processes are linked to precipitation processes and the radiative energy budget. The ice in clouds either melts into rain or is detrained, and persists, as cirrus clouds affecting the hydrological and energy cycle, respectively. Fully modeling the Earth's climate and improving weather and climate forecasts requires accurate satellite measurements of various cloud properties at the temporal and spatial scales of cloud processes. The uncertainty in knowledge of these ice characteristics is reflected in the large discrepancies in model simulations of the upper tropospheric water budget. Model simulations are sensitive to the partition of ice between precipitation and outflow processes, i.e., to the parameterization of ice clouds and ice processes. This presentation will describe the Submillimeter-wave InfraRed Ice Cloud Experiment (SIRICE) concept, a satellite mission designed to acquire global Earth radiance measurements in the infrared and submillimeter-wave region (183-874 GHz). If successful, this mission will bridge the measurement gap between microwave sounders and shorter-wavelength infrared and visible sensors. The brightness temperatures at submillimeter-wave frequencies are especially sensitive to cirrus ice particle sizes (because they are comparable to the wavelength). This allows for more accurate ice water path estimates when multiple channels are used to probe into the cloud layers. Further, submillimeter wavelengths offer simplicity in the retrieval algorithms because they do not probe into the liquid and near surface portions of clouds, thus requiring only one term of the radiative transfer equation (ice scattering) to relate brightness temperatures to ice. Scientific justification and the SIRICE approach to measuring ice water path and particle size that span a range encompassing both the hydrologically active and radiatively active components of cloud systems will be presented. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ACP....14.7341C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ACP....14.7341C">Balloon-borne match measurements of midlatitude cirrus clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Cirisan, A.; Luo, B. P.; Engel, I.; Wienhold, F. G.; Sprenger, M.; Krieger, U. K.; Weers, U.; Romanens, G.; Levrat, G.; Jeannet, P.; Ruffieux, D.; Philipona, R.; Calpini, B.; Spichtinger, P.; Peter, T. 2014-07-01 Observations of high supersaturations with respect to ice inside cirrus clouds with high ice water content (> 0.01 g kg-1) and high crystal number densities (> 1 cm-3) are challenging our understanding of cloud microphysics and of climate feedback processes in the upper troposphere. However, single measurements of a cloudy air mass provide only a snapshot from which the persistence of ice supersaturation cannot be judged. We introduce here the "cirrus match technique" to obtain information about the evolution of clouds and their saturation ratio. The aim of these coordinated balloon soundings is to analyze the same air mass twice. To this end the standard radiosonde equipment is complemented by a frost point hygrometer, "SnowWhite", and a particle backscatter detector, "COBALD" (Compact Optical Backscatter AerosoL Detector). Extensive trajectory calculations based on regional weather model COSMO (Consortium for Small-Scale Modeling) forecasts are performed for flight planning, and COSMO analyses are used as a basis for comprehensive microphysical box modeling (with grid scale of 2 and 7 km, respectively). Here we present the results of matching a cirrus cloud to within 2-15 km, realized on 8 June 2010 over Payerne, Switzerland, and a location 120 km downstream close to Zurich. A thick cirrus cloud was detected over both measurement sites. We show that in order to quantitatively reproduce the measured particle backscatter ratios, the small-scale temperature fluctuations not resolved by COSMO must be superimposed on the trajectories. The stochastic nature of the fluctuations is captured by ensemble calculations. Possibilities for further improvements in the agreement with the measured backscatter data are investigated by assuming a very slow mass accommodation of water on ice, the presence of heterogeneous ice nuclei, or a wide span of (spheroidal) particle shapes. However, the resulting improvements from these microphysical refinements are moderate and comparable in magnitude with changes caused by assuming different regimes of temperature fluctuations for clear-sky or cloudy-sky conditions, highlighting the importance of proper treatment of subscale fluctuations. The model yields good agreement with the measured backscatter over both sites and reproduces the measured saturation ratios with respect to ice over Payerne. Conversely, the 30% in-cloud supersaturation measured in a massive 4 km thick cloud layer over Zurich cannot be reproduced, irrespective of the choice of meteorological or microphysical model parameters. The measured supersaturation can only be explained by either resorting to an unknown physical process, which prevents the ice particles from consuming the excess humidity, or - much more likely - by a measurement error, such as a contamination of the sensor housing of the SnowWhite hygrometer by a precipitation drop from a mixed-phase cloud just below the cirrus layer or from some very slight rain in the boundary layer. This uncertainty calls for in-flight checks or calibrations of hygrometers under the special humidity conditions in the upper troposphere. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_5");'>5</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_6");'>6</a></li> <li class="active">7</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_8");'>8</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_9");'>9</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_8" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_6");'>6</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_7");'>7</a></li> <li class="active">8</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_9");'>9</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_10");'>10</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="141"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008Icar..197..377K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008Icar..197..377K">High-resolution spectroscopy of Venus: Detection of OCS, upper limit to H 2S, and latitudinal variations of CO and HF in the upper cloud layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Krasnopolsky, Vladimir A. 2008-10-01 Venus was observed at 2.4 and 3.7 μm with a resolving power of 4×10 using the long-slit high-resolution spectrograph CSHELL at NASA IRTF. The observations were made along a chord that covered a latitude range of ± 60° at a local time near 8:00. The continuous reflectivity and limb brightening at 2.4 μm are fitted by the clouds with a single scattering albedo 1-a=0.01 and a pure absorbing layer with τ=0.09 above the clouds. The value of 1-a agrees with the refractive index of H 2SO 4 (85%) and the particle radius of 1 μm. The absorbing layer is similar to that observed by the UV spectrometer at the Pioneer Venus orbiter. However, its nature is puzzling. CO 2 was measured using its R32 and R34 lines. The retrieved product of the CO 2 abundance and airmass is constant at 1.9 km-atm along the instrument slit in the latitude range of ± 60°. The CO mixing ratio (measured using the P21 line) is rather constant at 70 ppm, and its variations of ˜10% may be caused by atmospheric dynamics. The observed value is higher than the 50 ppm retrieved previously from a spectrum of the full disk, possibly, because of some downward extension of the mesospheric morningside bulge of CO. The observations of the HF R3 line reveal a constant HF mixing ratio of 3.5±0.5 ppb within ± 60° of latitude, which is within the scatter in the previous measurements of HF. OCS has been detected for the first time at the cloud tops by summing 17 lines of the P-branch. The previous detections of OCS refer to the lower atmosphere at 30-35 km. The retrieved OCS mixing ratio varies with a scale height of 1 to 3 km. The mean OCS mixing ratio is ˜2 ppb at 70 km and ˜14 ppb at 64 km. Vertical motions in the atmosphere may change the OCS abundance. The detected OCS should significantly affect Venus' photochemistry. A sensitive search for H 2S using its line at 2688.93 cm -1 results in a 3 sigma upper limit of 23 ppb, which is more restrictive than the previous limit of 100 ppb. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008A%26A...485..547H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008A%26A...485..547H">Dust in brown dwarfs and extra-solar planets. I. Chemical composition and spectral appearance of quasi-static cloud layers</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Helling, Ch.; Woitke, P.; Thi, W.-F. 2008-07-01 Aims: Brown dwarfs are covered by dust cloud layers which cause inhomogeneous surface features and move below the observable τ = 1 level during the object's evolution. The cloud layers have a strong influence on the structure and spectral appearance of brown dwarfs and extra-solar planets, e.g. by providing high local opacities and by removing condensable elements from the atmosphere causing a sub-solar metalicity in the atmosphere. We aim at understanding the formation of cloud layers in quasi-static substellar atmospheres that consist of dirty grains composed of numerous small islands of different solid condensates. Methods: The time-dependent description is a kinetic model describing nucleation, growth and evaporation. It is extended to treat gravitational settling and is applied to the static-stationary case of substellar model atmospheres. From the solution of the dust moments, we determine the grain size distribution function approximately which, together with the calculated material volume fractions, provides the basis for applying effective medium theory and Mie theory to calculate the opacities of the composite dust grains. Results: The cloud particles in brown dwarfs and hot giant-gas planets are found to be small in the high atmospheric layers (a ≈ 0.01 μm), and are composed of a rich mixture of all considered condensates, in particular MgSiO3[s], Mg2SiO4[s] and SiO2[s]. As the particles settle downward, they increase in size and reach several 100 μm in the deepest layers. The more volatile parts of the grains evaporate and the particles stepwise purify to form composite particles of high-temperature condensates in the deeper layers, mainly made of Fe[s] and Al2O3[s]. The gas phase abundances of the elements involved in the dust formation process vary by orders of magnitudes throughout the atmosphere. The grain size distribution is found to be relatively broad in the upper atmospheric layers but strongly peaked in the deeper layers. This reflects the cessation of the nucleation process at intermediate heights. The spectral appearance of the cloud layers in the mid IR (7-20 μm) is close to a grey body with only weak broad features of a few percent, mainly caused by MgSiO3[s], and Mg2SiO4[s]. These features are, nevertheless, a fingerprint of the dust in the higher atmospheric layers that can be probed by observations. Conclusions: Our models predict that the gas phase depletion is much weaker than phase-equilibrium calculations in the high atmospheric layers. Because of the low densities, the dust formation process is incomplete there, which results in considerable amounts of left-over elements that might produce stronger and broader neutral metallic lines. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22518815-jupiter-exoplanet-uv-nir-transmission-spectrum-reveals-hazes-na-layer-possibly-stratospheric-sub-ice-clouds','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22518815-jupiter-exoplanet-uv-nir-transmission-spectrum-reveals-hazes-na-layer-possibly-stratospheric-sub-ice-clouds">JUPITER AS AN EXOPLANET: UV TO NIR TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM REVEALS HAZES, A Na LAYER, AND POSSIBLY STRATOSPHERIC H{sub 2}O-ICE CLOUDS</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Montañés-Rodríguez, Pilar; González-Merino, B.; Pallé, E. Currently, the analysis of transmission spectra is the most successful technique to probe the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres. However, the accuracy of these measurements is constrained by observational limitations and the diversity of possible atmospheric compositions. Here, we show the UV–VIS–IR transmission spectrum of Jupiter as if it were a transiting exoplanet, obtained by observing one of its satellites, Ganymede, while passing through Jupiter’s shadow, i.e., during a solar eclipse from Ganymede. The spectrum shows strong extinction due to the presence of clouds (aerosols) and haze in the atmosphere and strong absorption features from CH{sub 4}. More interestingly, themore » comparison with radiative transfer models reveals a spectral signature, which we attribute here to a Jupiter stratospheric layer of crystalline H{sub 2}O ice. The atomic transitions of Na are also present. These results are relevant for the modeling and interpretation of giant transiting exoplanets. They also open a new technique to explore the atmospheric composition of the upper layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA03832&hterms=knife&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dknife','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA03832&hterms=knife&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dknife">Galle Crater</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 2002-01-01 (Released 19 June 2002) The Science This image is of part of Galle Crater, located at 51.9S, 29.5W. This image was taken far enough south and late enough into the southern hemisphere fall to catch observe water ice clouds partially obscuring the surface. The most striking aspect of the surface is the dissected layered unit to the left in the image. Other areas also appear to have layering, but they are either more obscured by clouds or are less well defined on the surface. The layers appear to be mostly flat lying and layer boundaries appear as topographic lines would on a map, but there are a few areas where it appears that these layers have been deformed to some level. Other areas of the image contain rugged, mountainous terrain as well as a separate pitted terrain where the surface appears to be a separate unit from the mountains and the layered terrain. The Story Galle Crater is officially named after a German astronomer who, in 1846, was the first to observe the planet Neptune. It is better known, however, as the 'Happy Face Crater.' The image above focuses on too small an area of the crater to see its beguiling grin, but you can catch the rocky line of a 'half-smile' in the context image to the right (to the left of the red box). While water ice clouds make some of the surface harder to see, nothing detracts from the fabulous layering at the center left-hand edge of the image. If you click on the above image, the scalloped layers almost look as if a giant knife has swirled through a landscape of cake frosting. These layers, the rugged, mountains near them, and pits on the surface (upper to middle section of the image on the right-hand side) all create varying textures on the crater floor. With such different features in the same place, geologists have a lot to study to figure out what has happened in the crater since it formed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19940017171','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19940017171">Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE 3)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Mccormick, M. P. 1993-01-01 The proposed SAGE III instrument would be the principal source of data for global changes of stratospheric aerosols, stratospheric water vapor, and ozone profiles, and a contributing source of data for upper tropospheric water vapor, aerosols, and clouds. The ability to obtain such data has been demonstrated by the predecessor instrument, SAGE II, but SAGE III will be substantially more capable, as discussed below. The capabilities for monitoring the profiles of atmospheric constituents have been verified in detail, including ground-based validations, for aerosol, ozone, and water vapor. Indeed, because of its self-calibrating characteristics, SAGE II was an essential component of the international ozone trend assessments, and SAGE II is now proving to be invaluable in tracking the aerosols from Mt. Pinatubo. Although SAGE profiles generally terminate at the height of the first tropospheric cloud layer, it has been found that the measurements extend down to 3 km altitude more than 40 percent of the time at most latitudes. Thus, useful information can also be obtained on upper tropospheric aerosols, water vapor, and ozone. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19920006244','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19920006244">Trends in aerosol abundances and distributions</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Turco, R. P.; Mccormick, M. P.; Clancy, R. T.; Curran, R.; Deluisi, J.; Hamill, P.; Kent, G.; Rosen, J. M.; Toon, O. B.; Yue, G. 1989-01-01 The properties of aerosols that reside in the upper atmosphere are described. Special emphasis is given to the influence these aerosols have on ozone observation systems, mainly through radiative effects, and on ambient ozone concentrations, mainly through chemical effects. It has long been appreciated that stratospheric particles can interfere with the remote sensing of ozone distribution. The mechanism and magnitude of this interference are evaluated. Separate sections deal with the optical properties of upper atmospheric aerosols, long-term trends in stratospheric aerosols, perturbations of the stratospheric aerosol layer by volcanic eruptions, and estimates of the impacts that such particles have on remotely measured ozone concentrations. Another section is devoted to a discussion of the polar stratospheric clouds (PSC's). These unique clouds, recently discovered by satellite observation, are now thought to be intimately connected with the Antarctic ozone hole. Accordingly, interest in PSC's has grown considerably in recent years. This chapter describes what we know about the morphology, physical chemistry, and microphysics of PSC's. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920036929&hterms=rust&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Drust','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920036929&hterms=rust&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Drust">Electric field soundings through thunderstorms</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Marshall, Thomas C.; Rust, W. D. 1991-01-01 Twelve balloon soundings of the electric field in thunderstorms are reported. The maximum magnitude of E in the storms averaged 96 +/-28 kV/m, with the largest being 146 kV/m. The maximum was usually observed between vertically adjacent regions of opposite charge. Using a 1D approximation to Gauss' law, four to ten charge regions in the storms are inferred. The magnitude of the density in the charge regions varied between 0.2 and 13 nC/cu m. The vertical extent of the charge regions ranged from 130 to 2100 m. None of the present 12 storms had charge distributions that fit the long-accepted model of Simpson et al. (1937, 1941) of a lower positive charge, a main negative charge, and an upper positive charge. In addition to regions similar to the Simpson model, the present storms had screening layers at the upper and lower cloud boundaries and extra charge regions, usually in the lower part of the cloud. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20150000361','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20150000361">Global Free-tropospheric NO2 Abundances Derived Using a Cloud Slicing Technique from AURA OMI</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Choi, S.; Joiner, J.; Choi, Y.; Duncan, B.N.; Vasilkov, A.; Krotkov, N.; Bucsela, E.J. 2014-01-01 We derive free-tropospheric NO2 volume mixing ratios (VMRs) by applying a cloud-slicing technique to data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite. In the cloud-slicing approach, the slope of the above-cloud NO2 column versus the cloud scene pressure is proportional to the NO2 VMR. In this work, we use a sample of nearby OMI pixel data from a single orbit for the linear fit. The OMI data include cloud scene pressures from the rotational-Raman algorithm and above-cloud NO2 vertical column density (VCD) (defined as the NO2 column from the cloud scene pressure to the top of the atmosphere) from a differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) algorithm. We compare OMI-derived NO2 VMRs with in situ aircraft profiles measured during the NASA Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment Phase B (INTEX-B) campaign in 2006. The agreement is generally within the estimated uncertainties when appropriate data screening is applied. We then derive a global seasonal climatology of free-tropospheric NO2 VMR in cloudy conditions. Enhanced NO2 in the free troposphere commonly appears near polluted urban locations where NO2 produced in the boundary layer may be transported vertically out of the boundary layer and then horizontally away from the source. Signatures of lightning NO2 are also shown throughout low and middle latitude regions in summer months. A profile analysis of our cloud-slicing data indicates signatures of lightning-generated NO2 in the upper troposphere. Comparison of the climatology with simulations from the global modeling initiative (GMI) for cloudy conditions (cloud optical depth less than10) shows similarities in the spatial patterns of continental pollution outflow. However, there are also some differences in the seasonal variation of free-tropospheric NO2 VMRs near highly populated regions and in areas affected by lightning-generated NOx. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007PApGe.164.1397W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007PApGe.164.1397W">Marine Layer Stratus Study</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wells, Leonard A. 2007-06-01 The intent of this study is to develop a better understanding of the behavior of late spring through early fall marine layer stratus and fog at Vandenberg Air Force Base, which accounts for a majority of aviation forecasting difficulties. The main objective was to use L<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">eipper</Emphasis> (1995) study as a starting point to evaluate synoptic and mesoscale processes involved, and identify specific meteorological parameters that affected the behavior of marine layer stratus and fog. After identifying those parameters, the study evaluates how well the various weather models forecast them. The main conclusion of this study is that weak upper-air dynamic features work with boundary layer motions to influence marine layer behavior. It highlights the importance of correctly forecasting the surface temperature by showing how it ties directly to the wind field. That wind field, modified by the local terrain, establishes the low-level convergence and divergence pattern and the resulting marine layer cloud thicknesses and visibilities. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AMT....10.4135S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AMT....10.4135S">Global height-resolved methane retrievals from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) on MetOp</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Siddans, Richard; Knappett, Diane; Kerridge, Brian; Waterfall, Alison; Hurley, Jane; Latter, Barry; Boesch, Hartmut; Parker, Robert 2017-11-01 This paper describes the global height-resolved methane (CH4) retrieval scheme for the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) on MetOp, developed at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). The scheme precisely fits measured spectra in the 7.9 micron region to allow information to be retrieved on two independent layers centred in the upper and lower troposphere. It also uses nitrous oxide (N2O) spectral features in the same spectral interval to directly retrieve effective cloud parameters to mitigate errors in retrieved methane due to residual cloud and other geophysical variables. The scheme has been applied to analyse IASI measurements between 2007 and 2015. Results are compared to model fields from the MACC greenhouse gas inversion and independent measurements from satellite (GOSAT), airborne (HIPPO) and ground (TCCON) sensors. The estimated error on methane mixing ratio in the lower- and upper-tropospheric layers ranges from 20 to 100 and from 30 to 40 ppbv, respectively, and error on the derived column-average ranges from 20 to 40 ppbv. Vertical sensitivity extends through the lower troposphere, though it decreases near to the surface. Systematic differences with the other datasets are typically < 10 ppbv regionally and < 5 ppbv globally. In the Southern Hemisphere, a bias of around 20 ppbv is found with respect to MACC, which is not explained by vertical sensitivity or found in comparison of IASI to TCCON. Comparisons to HIPPO and MACC support the assertion that two layers can be independently retrieved and provide confirmation that the estimated random errors on the column- and layer-averaged amounts are realistic. The data have been made publically available via the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) data archive (Siddans, 2016). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A21I2260F','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A21I2260F">Characterizing the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer using in situ balloon measurements: the BATAL campaigns of 2014-2017</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Fairlie, T. D.; Vernier, J. P.; Deshler, T.; Pandit, A. K.; Ratnam, M. V.; Gadhavi, H. S.; Liu, H.; Natarajan, M.; Jayaraman, A.; Kumar, S.; Singh, A. K.; Stenchikov, G. L.; Wienhold, F.; Vignelles, D.; Bedka, K. M.; Avery, M. A. 2017-12-01 We present in situ balloon observations of the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL), a summertime accumulation of aerosols in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), associated with Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM). The ATAL was first revealed by CALIPSO satellite data, and has been linked with deep convection of boundary layer pollution into the UTLS. The ATAL has potential implications for regional cloud properties, radiative transfer, and chemical processes in the UTLS. The "Balloon measurements of the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (BATAL)" field campaigns to India and Saudi Arabia in were designed to characterize the physical and optical properties of the ATAL, to explore its composition, and its relationship with clouds in the UTLS. We launched 55 balloon flights from 4 locations, in summers 2014-2016. We return to India to make more balloon flights in summer 2017. Balloon payloads range from 500g to 50 kg, making measurements of meteorological parameters, ozone, water vapor, aerosol optical properties, concentration, volatility, and composition in the UTLS region. This project represents the most important effort to date to study UTLS aerosols during the ASM, given few in situ observations. We complement the in situ data presented with 3-d chemical transport simulations, designed to further explore the ATAL's chemical composition, the sensitivity of such to scavenging in parameterized deep convection, and the relative contribution of regional vs. rest-of-the-world pollution sources. The BATAL project has been a successful partnership between institutes in the US, India, Saudi Arabia, and Europe, and continues for the next 3-4 years, sponsored by the NASA Upper Atmosphere Research program. This partnership may provide a foundation for potential high-altitude airborne measurement studies during the ASM in the future. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010cosp...38.1517Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010cosp...38.1517Z">Structure of the middle atmosphere of Venus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zasova, Ludmila Middle atmosphere of Venus (55-100 km), its mesosphere, is the important layer of atmosphere, where 70 % of the solar energy is absorbed. Most of this absorption takes place in the upper clouds in the altitude range 58-68 km in the spectral range 0.32-0.5 µm. It leads to generation of the thermal tides, playing important role in support of the superrotation. In the frame of COSPAR model VIRA (ASR, 11,1985) the model of the thermal structure of the middle atmosphere was constructed for 5 latitude ranges, based mainly on the Pioneer Venus ORO and OIR data. Using Venera-15 Fourier Spectrometry data, which allow to retrieve the temperature and aerosol profiles in a self consistent way from each spectrum, we enable to update the model of the middle atmosphere, including the local time variation of the temperature for VIRA latitude ranges (Cosmic Research, 44, 4, 2006). From Venera-15 data it was shown that variation of temperature in the middle atmosphere is well described by thermal tides with harmonics 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 Venusian day, the amplitudes and phases of which depend on latitude and altitude. The model of the upper clouds (VIRA) may also be updated using Venera-15 data. It was shown that the main latitude trend is the decreasing of the upper cloud boundary from 68 km at low latitudes to 60-62 km at high latitudes. Local time variation has a solar related dependence: 1 and 1/2 day components were revealed. Venus Express continues to obtain a lot of data, which may be used for the improvement of the model of the middle atmosphere and the clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A23H..07L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A23H..07L">Probability Density Functions for the CALIPSO Lidar Version 4 Cloud-Aerosol Discrimination (CAD) Algorithm</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Liu, Z.; Kar, J.; Zeng, S.; Tackett, J. L.; Vaughan, M.; Trepte, C. R.; Omar, A. H.; Hu, Y.; Winker, D. M. 2017-12-01 In the CALIPSO retrieval algorithm, detection layers in the lidar measurements is followed by their classification as a "cloud" or "aerosol" using 5-dimensional probability density functions (PDFs). The five dimensions are the mean attenuated backscatter at 532 nm, the layer integrated total attenuated color ratio, the mid-layer altitude, integrated volume depolarization ratio and latitude. The new version 4 (V4) level 2 (L2) data products, released in November 2016, are the first major revision to the L2 product suite since May 2010. Significant calibration changes in the V4 level 1 data necessitated substantial revisions to the V4 L2 CAD algorithm. Accordingly, a new set of PDFs was generated to derive the V4 L2 data products. The V4 CAD algorithm is now applied to layers detected in the stratosphere, where volcanic layers and occasional cloud and smoke layers are observed. Previously, these layers were designated as `stratospheric', and not further classified. The V4 CAD algorithm is also applied to all layers detected at single shot (333 m) resolution. In prior data releases, single shot detections were uniformly classified as clouds. The CAD PDFs used in the earlier releases were generated using a full year (2008) of CALIPSO measurements. Because the CAD algorithm was not applied to stratospheric features, the properties of these layers were not incorporated into the PDFs. When building the V4 PDFs, the 2008 data were augmented with additional data from June 2011, and all stratospheric features were included. The Nabro and Puyehue-Cordon volcanos erupted in June 2011, and volcanic aerosol layers were observed in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The June 2011 data thus provides the stratospheric aerosol properties needed for comprehensive PDF generation. In contrast to earlier versions of the PDFs, which were generated based solely on observed distributions, construction of the V4 PDFs considered the typical optical and physical properties of feature subtypes, and thus provide a more comprehensive physical basis for discrimination. As a result of the changes made, the V4 CAD provides better performance and more reliable confidence levels. We describe the generation of V4 PDFs and present characterization and performance of the new CAD algorithm. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013EPSC....8..549T','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013EPSC....8..549T">Neptune Clouds and Methane, from Ground-Based Visible and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy with Adaptive Optics</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Tice, D. S.; Irwin, P. G. J.; Houghton, R. W. C.; Fletcher, L. N.; Clarke, F.; Hurley, J.; Thatte, N.; Tecza, M. 2013-09-01 Observations of Neptune were made in June/July 2012 with the SWIFT integral field spectrometer at the Palomar Observatory's 200-inch Hale Telescope. Spectral resolutions for observations between 0.65 μm and 1.0 μm were R ≥ 3250. Palomar's PALM-3000 adaptive optics system enabled images of the full Neptunian disc to be recorded at a spatial scale of 0.08"·pixel^-1 with a seeing of approximately 0.30" - 0.40". Retrievals of cloud properties and methane abundance in the highly dynamic atmosphere were obtained with the general-purpose retrieval tool, NEMESIS. The short wavelengths of the observations allowed for good characterisation of the scattering particles' optical properties in the many cloud and haze layers of the upper Neptunian atmosphere. A region of relatively low methane absorption and high collision-induced hydrogen quadrupole absorption at 825 nm further constrains spectral properties of clouds as distinguished from those of methane absorption. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1082591-radiative-heating-isccp-upper-level-cloud-regimes-its-impact-large-scale-tropical-circulation','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1082591-radiative-heating-isccp-upper-level-cloud-regimes-its-impact-large-scale-tropical-circulation">Radiative Heating of the ISCCP Upper Level Cloud Regimes and its Impact on the Large-scale Tropical Circulation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Li, Wei; Schumacher, Courtney; McFarlane, Sally A. 2013-01-31 Radiative heating profiles of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) cloud regimes (or weather states) were estimated by matching ISCCP observations with radiative properties derived from cloud radar and lidar measurements from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites at Manus, Papua New Guinea, and Darwin, Australia. Focus was placed on the ISCCP cloud regimes containing the majority of upper level clouds in the tropics, i.e., mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), deep cumulonimbus with cirrus, mixed shallow and deep convection, and thin cirrus. At upper levels, these regimes have average maximum cloud occurrences ranging from 30% tomore » 55% near 12 km with variations depending on the location and cloud regime. The resulting radiative heating profiles have maxima of approximately 1 K/day near 12 km, with equal heating contributions from the longwave and shortwave components. Upper level minima occur near 15 km, with the MCS regime showing the strongest cooling of 0.2 K/day and the thin cirrus showing no cooling. The gradient of upper level heating ranges from 0.2 to 0.4 K/(day∙km), with the most convectively active regimes (i.e., MCSs and deep cumulonimbus with cirrus) having the largest gradient. When the above heating profiles were applied to the 25-year ISCCP data set, the tropics-wide average profile has a radiative heating maximum of 0.45Kday-1 near 250 hPa. Column-integrated radiative heating of upper level cloud accounts for about 20% of the latent heating estimated by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR). The ISCCP radiative heating of tropical upper level cloud only slightly modifies the response of an idealized primitive equation model forced with the tropics-wide TRMM PR latent heating, which suggests that the impact of upper level cloud is more important to large-scale tropical circulation variations because of convective feedbacks rather than direct forcing by the cloud radiative heating profiles. However, the height of the radiative heating maxima and gradient of the heating profiles are important to determine the sign and patterns of the horizontal circulation anomaly driven by radiative heating at upper levels.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920050414&hterms=iris&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Diris','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920050414&hterms=iris&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Diris">The abundance and distribution of water vapor in the Jovian troposphere as inferred from Voyager IRIS observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Carlson, Barbara E.; Lacis, Andrew A.; Rossow, William B. 1992-01-01 The Voyager IRIS spectra of the Jovian North Equatorial Belt (NEB) hot spots are reanalyzed using a radiative transfer model which includes the full effects of anisotropic multiple scattering by clouds. The atmospheric model includes the three thermochemically predicted cloud layers, NH3, NH4SH, and H2O. Spectrally dependent cloud extinction is modeled using Mie theory and the refractive indices of NH3 ice, NH4SH ice, water, and H2O ice. The upper tropospheric temperature profile, gas abundances, height-dependent parahydrogen profile, and vertical distribution of NH3 cloud opacity are retrieved from an analysis of the far-infrared (180-1200/cm) IRIS observations. With these properties constrained, the 5-micron (1800-2300/cm) observations are analyzed to determine the atmospheric and cloud structure of the deeper atmosphere (P of greater than 1.5 bars). The results show that the abundance of water is at least 1.5 times solar with 2 times solar (0.00276 mixing ratio relative to H2) providing the best-fit to the Voyager IRIS hot spot observations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930033080&hterms=scala&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dscala','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930033080&hterms=scala&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dscala">Free tropospheric ozone production following entrainment of urban plumes into deep convection</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Pickering, Kenneth E.; Thompson, Anne M.; Scala, John R.; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Dickerson, Russell R.; Simpson, Joanne 1992-01-01 It is shown that rapid vertical transport of air from urban plumes through deep convective clouds can cause substantial enhancement of the rate of O3 production in the free troposphere. Simulation of convective redistribution and subsequent photochemistry of an urban plume from Oklahoma City during the 1985 PRESTORM campaign shows enhancement of O3 production in the free tropospheric cloud outflow layer by a factor of almost 4. In contrast, simulation of convective transport of an urban plume from Manaus, Brazil, into a prestine free troposphere during GTE/ABLE 2B (1987), followed by a photochemical simulation, showed enhancement of O3 production by a factor of 35. The reasons for the different enhancements are (1) intensity of cloud vertical motion; (2) initial boundary layer O3 precursor concentrations; and (3) initial amount of background free tropospheric NO(x). Convective transport of ozone precursors to the middle and upper troposphere allows the resulting O3 to spread over large geographic regions, rather than being confined to the lower troposphere where loss processes are much more rapid. Conversely, as air with lower NO descends and replaces more polluted air, there is greater O3 production efficiency per molecule of NO in the boundary layer following convective transport. As a result, over 30 percent more ozone could be produced in the entire tropospheric column in the first 24 hours following convective transport of urban plumes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012JGRD..11722202Y','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012JGRD..11722202Y">The effects of deep convection on the concentration and size distribution of aerosol particles within the upper troposphere: A case study</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Yin, Yan; Chen, Qian; Jin, Lianji; Chen, Baojun; Zhu, Shichao; Zhang, Xiaopei 2012-11-01 A cloud resolving model coupled with a spectral bin microphysical scheme was used to investigate the effects of deep convection on the concentration and size distribution of aerosol particles within the upper troposphere. A deep convective storm that occurred on 1 December, 2005 in Darwin, Australia was simulated, and was compared with available radar observations. The results showed that the radar echo of the storm in the developing stage was well reproduced by the model. Sensitivity tests for aerosol layers at different altitudes were conducted in order to understand how the concentration and size distribution of aerosol particles within the upper troposphere can be influenced by the vertical transport of aerosols as a result of deep convection. The results indicated that aerosols originating from the boundary layer can be more efficiently transported upward, as compared to those from the mid-troposphere, due to significantly increased vertical velocity through the reinforced homogeneous freezing of droplets. Precipitation increased when aerosol layers were lofted at different altitudes, except for the case where an aerosol layer appeared at 5.4-8.0 km, in which relatively more efficient heterogeneous ice nucleation and subsequent Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process resulted in more pronounced production of ice crystals, and prohibited the formation of graupel particles via accretion. Sensitivity tests revealed, at least for the cases considered, that the concentration of aerosol particles within the upper troposphere increased by a factor of 7.71, 5.36, and 5.16, respectively, when enhanced aerosol layers existed at 0-2.2 km, 2.2-5.4 km, and 5.4-8.0 km, with Aitken mode and a portion of accumulation mode (0.1-0.2μm) particles being the most susceptible to upward transport. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ApJ...858...66M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ApJ...858...66M">Synthesis of Molecular Oxygen via Irradiation of Ice Grains in the Protosolar Nebula</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Mousis, O.; Ronnet, T.; Lunine, J. I.; Maggiolo, R.; Wurz, P.; Danger, G.; Bouquet, A. 2018-05-01 Molecular oxygen has been detected in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko with a mean abundance of 3.80 ± 0.85% by the ROSINA mass spectrometer on board the Rosetta spacecraft. To account for the presence of this species in comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, it has been shown that the radiolysis of ice grain precursors of comets is a viable mechanism in low-density environments, such as molecular clouds. Here, we investigate the alternative possibility that the icy grains present in the midplane of the protosolar nebula were irradiated during their vertical transport between the midplane and the upper layers over a large number of cycles, as a result of turbulent mixing. Consequently, these grains spent a non-negligible fraction of their lifetime in the disk’s upper regions, where the irradiation by cosmic rays was strong. To do so, we used a coupled disk-transport-irradiation model to calculate the time evolution of the molecular oxygen abundance radiolytically produced in ice grains. Our computations show that, even if a significant fraction of the icy particles has followed a back and forth cycle toward the upper layers of the disk over tens of millions of years, a timespan far exceeding the formation timescale of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, the amount of produced molecular oxygen is at least two orders of magnitude lower than the Rosetta observations. We conclude that the most likely scenario remains the formation of molecular oxygen in low-density environments, such as the presolar cloud, prior to the genesis of the protosolar nebula. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20020057889','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20020057889">Observations and Parameterizations of Particle Size Distributions in Deep Tropical Cirrus and Stratiform Precipitation Clouds: Results from In-Situ Observations in TRMM Field Campaigns</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Bansemer, Aaron; Field, Paul R.; Durden, Stephen L.; Stith, Jeffrey L.; Dye, James E.; Hall, William; Grainger, Cedric A. 2002-01-01 In this study, we report on the evolution of particle size distributions (PSDs) and habits as measured during slow, Lagrangian-type spiral descents through deep subtropical and tropical cloud layers in Florida, Brazil, and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, most of which were precipitating. The objective of the flight patterns was to learn more about how the PSDs evolved in the vertical and to obtain information of the vertical structure of microphysical properties. New instrumentation yielding better information on the concentrations of particles in the size (D) range between 0.2 and 2 cm, as well as improved particle imagery, produced more comprehensive observations for tropical stratiform precipitation regions and anvils than have been available previously. Collocated radar observations provided additional information on the vertical structure of the cloud layers sampled. Most of the spirals began at cloud top, with temperatures (T) as low as -50 C, and ended at cloud base or below the melting layer (ML). The PSDs broadened from cloud top towards cloud base, with the largest particles increasing in size from several millimeters at cloud top to one centimeter or larger towards cloud base. Some continued growth was noted in the upper part of the ML. Concentrations of particles less than 1 mm in size decreased with decreasing height. The result was a consistent change in the PSDs in the vertical. Similarly, systematic changes in the size dependence of the particle cross-sectional area was noted with decreasing height. Aggregation-as ascertained from both the changes in the PSDs and evolution of particle habits as observed in high detail with the cloud particle imager (CPI) probe-was responsible for these trends. The PSDs were generally well-represented by gamma distributions of the form N = N0 gamma D microns e- lambda gamma D that were fitted to the PSDs over 1-km horizontal intervals throughout the spirals. The intercept (N0 gamma), slope (lambda gamma), and dispersion (microns) values were derived for each PSD. Exponential curves (N = N0e- lambdaD; micron = 0) were also fitted to the distributions. The lambda gamma values for given spirals varied systematically with temperature as did the values of lambda (exponential), and the data generally conformed to values found in previous studies involving exponential fits to size distributions in mid-latitude frontal and cirrus layers. Considerable variability often noted in the PSD properties during the loops of individual spirals was manifested primarily in large changes in N0 gamma and N0, but micron, lambda gamma and lambda remained fairly stable. Temperature is not found to be the sole factor controlling lambda gamma or lambda but is a primary one. Direct relationships were found between lambda gamma and N0 gamma or lambda gamma and micron for the gamma distributions and lambda and N0 for the exponential. The latter relationship was not found as distinctly in earlier studies; observed PSDs in this study had better fidelity with less scatter. The micron values changed monotonically with T over the range of temperatures and were directly related to N0 gamma or lambda gamma, thereby reducing the number of variables in the PSD functional equation to two. In the upper part of the ML, N0 and lambda continued to decrease, and in the lower part these values began to increase as the largest particles melted. We developed general expressions relating various bulk microphysical, radar, and radiative transfer-related variables to N0 gamma and lambda gamma, useful for both tropical and mid-latitude clouds. These relationships facilitate the specification of a number of bulk properties in cloud and climate models. The results presented in this paper apply best to temperatures between 0 and -40 C, for which the measured radar reflectivities fall in the range of 0 to 25 dBZe. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_6");'>6</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_7");'>7</a></li> <li class="active">8</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_9");'>9</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_10");'>10</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_9" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_7");'>7</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_8");'>8</a></li> <li class="active">9</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_10");'>10</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_11");'>11</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="161"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JASTP.172..117H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JASTP.172..117H">Is there a conclusive evidence on lightning-related effects on sporadic E layers?</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Haldoupis, Christos 2018-07-01 In recent years, there have been a few studies claiming that thunderstorm cloud-to-ground lightning discharges affect sporadic E layers existing over the storm. In this brief paper, we consider and critically evaluate the results of these studies in the context of our present knowledge on sporadic E layers and the coupling processes of thunderstorm and lightning wave energy into the upper atmosphere and lower ionosphere. It is shown that the reported findings and their implications raise questions and cast doubts, therefore the conclusions of the existing studies are not substantiated and thus need to be treated with caution. We reason that, the anticipated occurrence of lighting-related effects on midlatitude sporadic E lacks at present firm verification. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011AGUFM.P13A1647H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011AGUFM.P13A1647H">Dynamics of Venus' Southern hemisphere and South Polar Vortex from VIRTIS data obtained during the Venus Expres Mission</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hueso, R.; Garate-Lopez, I.; Sanchez-Lavega, A. 2011-12-01 The VIRTIS instrument onboard Venus Express observes Venus in two channels (visible and infrared) obtaining spectra and multi-wavelength images of the planet. The images have been used to trace the motions of the atmosphere at different layers of clouds [1-3]. We review the VIRTIS cloud image data and wind results obtained by different groups [1-3] and we present new results concerning the morphology and evolution of the South Polar Vortex at the upper and lower cloud levels with data covering the first 900 days of the mission. We present wind measurements of the South hemisphere obtained by cloud tracking individual cloud features and higher-resolution wind results of the polar region covering the evolution of the South polar vortex. The later were obtained by an image correlation algorithm run under human supervision to validate the data. We present day-side data of the upper clouds obtained at 380 and 980 nm sensitive to altitudes of 66-70 km, night-side data in the near infrared at 1.74 microns of the lower cloud (45-50 km) and day and night-side data obtained in the thermal infrared (wavelengths of 3.8 and 5.1 microns) which covers the dynamical evolution of Venus South Polar vortex at the cloud tops (66-70 km). We explore the different dynamics associated to the varying morphology of the vortex, its dynamical structure at different altitudes, the variability of the global wind data of the southern hemisphere and the interrelation of the polar vortex dynamics with the wind dynamics at subpolar and mid-latitudes. Acknowledgements: Work funded by Spanish MICIIN AYA2009-10701 with FEDER support and Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT-464-07. References [1] A. Sánchez-Lavega et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L13204, (2008). [2] D. Luz et al., Science, 332, 577-580 (2011). [3] R. Hueso, et al., Icarus doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.04.020 (2011) </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016JGRD..121..759B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016JGRD..121..759B">An analysis of five negative sprite-parent discharges and their associated thunderstorm charge structures</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Boggs, Levi D.; Liu, Ningyu; Splitt, Michael; Lazarus, Steven; Glenn, Chad; Rassoul, Hamid; Cummer, Steven A. 2016-01-01 In this study we analyze the discharge morphologies of five confirmed negative sprite-parent discharges and the associated charge structures of the thunderstorms that produced them. The negative sprite-parent lightning took place in two thunderstorms that were associated with a tropical disturbance in east central and south Florida. The first thunderstorm, which moved onshore in east central Florida, produced four of the five negative sprite-parent discharges within a period of 17 min, as it made landfall from the Atlantic Ocean. These negative sprite-parents were composed of bolt-from-the-blue (BFB), hybrid intracloud-negative cloud-to-ground (IC-NCG), and multicell IC-NCGs discharges. The second thunderstorm, which occurred inland over south Florida, produced a negative sprite-parent that was a probable hybrid IC-NCG discharge and two negative gigantic jets (GJs). Weakened upper positive charge with very large midlevel negative charge was inferred for both convective cells that initiated the negative-sprite-parent discharges. Our study suggests tall, intense convective systems with high wind shear at the middle to upper regions of the cloud accompanied by low cloud-to-ground (CG) flash rates promote these charge structures. The excess amount of midlevel negative charge results in these CG discharges transferring much more charge to ground than typical negative CG discharges. We find that BFB discharges prefer an asymmetrical charge structure that brings the negative leader exiting the upper positive charge region closer to the lateral positive screening charge layer. This may be the main factor in determining whether a negative leader exiting the upper positive region of the thundercloud forms a BFB or GJ. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFMSA33B1993R','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFMSA33B1993R">PoSSUM: Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Reimuller, J. D.; Fritts, D. C.; Thomas, G. E.; Taylor, M. J.; Mitchell, S.; Lehmacher, G. A.; Watchorn, S. R.; Baumgarten, G.; Plane, J. M. 2013-12-01 Project PoSSUM (www.projectpossum.org) is a suborbital research project leveraging imaging and remote sensing techniques from Reusable Suborbital Launch Vehicles (rSLVs) to gather critical climate data through use of the PoSSUM Observatory and the PoSSUM Aeronomy Laboratory. An acronym for Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere, PoSSUM grew from the opportunity created by the Noctilucent Cloud Imagery and Tomography Experiment, selected by the NASA Flight Opportunities Program as Experiment 46-S in March 2012. This experiment will employ an rSLV (e.g. the XCOR Lynx Mark II) launched from a high-latitude spaceport (e.g. Eielson AFB, Alaska or Kiruna, Sweden) during a week-long deployment scheduled for July 2015 to address critical questions concerning noctilucent clouds (NLCs) through flights that transition the cloud layer where the clouds will be under direct illumination from the sun. The 2015 Project PoSSUM NLC campaign will use the unique capability of rSLVs to address key under-answered questions pertaining to NLCs. Specifically, PoSSUM will answer: 1) What are the small-scale dynamics of NLCs and what does this tell us about the energy and momentum deposition from the lower atmosphere? 2) What is the seasonal variability of NLCs, mesospheric dynamics, and temperatures? 3) Are structures observed in the OH layer coupled with NLC structures? 4) How do NLCs nucleate? and 5) What is the geometry of NLC particles and how do they stratify? Instrumentation will include video and still-frame visible cameras (PoSSUMCam), infrared cameras, a mesospheric temperatures experiment, a depolarization LiDAR, a mesospheric density and temperatures experiment (MCAT), a mesospheric winds experiment, and a meteoric smoke detector (MASS). The instrument suite used on PoSSUM will mature through subsequent campaigns to develop an integrated, modular laboratory (the ';PoSSUM Observatory') that will provide repeatable, low cost, in-situ NLC and aeronomy observations as well as validate a method to serve the broader Earth Observation science, atmospheric science, and aeronomy communities. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20170003746','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20170003746">Overview of MPLNET Version 3 Cloud Detection</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Lewis, Jasper R.; Campbell, James; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Stewart, Sebastian A.; Haftings, Phillip 2016-01-01 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Micro Pulse Lidar Network, version 3, cloud detection algorithm is described and differences relative to the previous version are highlighted. Clouds are identified from normalized level 1 signal profiles using two complementary methods. The first method considers vertical signal derivatives for detecting low-level clouds. The second method, which detects high-level clouds like cirrus, is based on signal uncertainties necessitated by the relatively low signal-to-noise ratio exhibited in the upper troposphere by eye-safe network instruments, especially during daytime. Furthermore, a multitemporal averaging scheme is used to improve cloud detection under conditions of a weak signal-to-noise ratio. Diurnal and seasonal cycles of cloud occurrence frequency based on one year of measurements at the Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, Maryland) site are compared for the new and previous versions. The largest differences, and perceived improvement, in detection occurs for high clouds (above 5 km, above MSL), which increase in occurrence by over 5%. There is also an increase in the detection of multilayered cloud profiles from 9% to 19%. Macrophysical properties and estimates of cloud optical depth are presented for a transparent cirrus dataset. However, the limit to which the cirrus cloud optical depth could be reliably estimated occurs between 0.5 and 0.8. A comparison using collocated CALIPSO measurements at the Goddard Space Flight Center and Singapore Micro Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) sites indicates improvements in cloud occurrence frequencies and layer heights. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140011365','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140011365">RACORO Extended-Term Aircraft Observations of Boundary-Layer Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Vogelmann, Andrew M.; McFarquhar, Greg M.; Ogren, John A.; Turner, David D.; Comstock, Jennifer M.; Feingold, Graham; Long, Charles N.; Jonsson, Haflidi H.; Bucholtz, Anthony; Collins, Don R.; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20140011365'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20140011365_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20140011365_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20140011365_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20140011365_hide"> 2012-01-01 Small boundary-layer clouds are ubiquitous over many parts of the globe and strongly influence the Earths radiative energy balance. However, our understanding of these clouds is insufficient to solve pressing scientific problems. For example, cloud feedback represents the largest uncertainty amongst all climate feedbacks in general circulation models (GCM). Several issues complicate understanding boundary-layer clouds and simulating them in GCMs. The high spatial variability of boundary-layer clouds poses an enormous computational challenge, since their horizontal dimensions and internal variability occur at spatial scales much finer than the computational grids used in GCMs. Aerosol-cloud interactions further complicate boundary-layer cloud measurement and simulation. Additionally, aerosols influence processes such as precipitation and cloud lifetime. An added complication is that at small scales (order meters to 10s of meters) distinguishing cloud from aerosol is increasingly difficult, due to the effects of aerosol humidification, cloud fragments and photon scattering between clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009DPS....41.6302H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009DPS....41.6302H">Long-term Behaviour Of Venus Winds At Cloud Level From Virtis/vex Observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hueso, Ricardo; Peralta, J.; Sánchez-Lavega, A.; Pérez-Hoyos, S.; Piccioni, G.; Drossart, P. 2009-09-01 The Venus Express (VEX) mission has been in orbit to Venus for more than three years now. The VIRTIS instrument onboard VEX observes Venus in two channels (visible and infrared) obtaining spectra and multi-wavelength images of the planet. Images in the ultraviolet range are used to study the upper cloud at 66 km while images in the infrared (1.74 μm) map the opacity of the lower cloud deck at 48 km. Here we present an analysis of the overall dynamics of Venus’ atmosphere at both levels using observations that cover a large fraction of the VIRTIS dataset. We will present our latest results concerning the zonal winds, the overall stability in the lower cloud deck motions and the variability in the upper cloud. Meridional winds are also observed in the upper and lower cloud in the UV and IR images obtained with VIRTIS. While the upper clouds present a net meridional motion consistent with the upper branch of a Hadley cell the lower cloud present more irregular, variable and less intense motions in the meridional direction. Acknowledgements This work has been funded by Spanish MEC AYA2006-07735 with FEDER support and Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT-464-07. RH acknowledges a "Ramón y Cajal” contract from MEC. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015EGUGA..17.6008S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015EGUGA..17.6008S">An attempt to quantify aerosol-cloud effects in fields of precipitating trade wind cumuli</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Seifert, Axel; Heus, Thijs 2015-04-01 Aerosol indirect effects are notoriously difficult to understand and quantify. Using large-eddy simulations (LES) we attempt to quantify the impact of aerosols on the albedo and the precipitation formation in trade wind cumulus clouds. Having performed a set of large-domain Giga-LES runs we are able to capture the mesoscale self-organization of the cloud field. Our simulations show that self-organization is intrinsically tied to precipitation formation in this cloud regime making previous studies that did not consider cloud organization questionable. We find that aerosols, here modeled just as a perturbation in cloud droplet number concentration, have a significant impact on the transient behavior, i.e., how fast rain is formed and self-organization of the cloud field takes place. Though, for longer integration times, all simulations approach the same radiative-convective equilibrium and aerosol effects become small. The sensitivity to aerosols becomes even smaller when we include explicit cloud-radiation interaction as this leads to a much faster and more vigorous response of the cloud layer. Overall we find that aerosol-cloud interactions, like cloud lifetime effects etc., are small or even negative when the cloud field is close to equilibrium. Consequently, the Twomey effect does already provide an upper bound on the albedo effects of aerosol perturbations. Our analysis also highlights that current parameterizations that predict only the grid-box mean of the cloud field and do not take into account cloud organization are not able to describe aerosol indirect effects correctly, but overestimate them due to that lack of cloud dynamical and mesoscale buffering. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140011509','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140011509">Quantifying the Amount of Ice in Cold Tropical Cirrus Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Avery, Melody A.; Winker, David M.; Garnier, Anne; Lawson, R. Paul; Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Mo, Qixu; Schoeberl, Mark R.; Woods, Sarah; Lance, Sara; Young, Stuart A.; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20140011509'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20140011509_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20140011509_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20140011509_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20140011509_hide"> 2014-01-01 How much ice is there in the Tropical Tropopause layer, globally? How does one begin to answer that question? Clouds are currently the largest source of uncertainty in climate models, and the ice water content (IWC) of cold cirrus clouds is needed to understand the total water and radiation budgets of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS). The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite, originally a "pathfinder" mission only expected to last for three years, has now been operational for more than eight years. Lidar data from CALIPSO can provide information about how IWC is vertically distributed in the UT/LS, and about inter-annual variability and seasonal changes in cloud ice. However, cloud IWC is difficult to measure accurately with either remote or in situ instruments because IWC from cold cirrus clouds is derived from the particle cross-sectional area or visible extinction coefficient. Assumptions must be made about the relationship between the area, volume and density of ice particles with various crystal habits. Recently there have been numerous aircraft field campaigns providing detailed information about cirrus ice water content from cloud probes. This presentation evaluates the assumptions made when creating the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) global IWC data set, using recently reanalyzed aircraft particle probe measurements of very cold, thin TTL cirrus from the 2006 CR-AVE. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20020086300','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20020086300">Upper Tropospheric Ozone Between Latitudes 60S and 60N Derived from Nimbus 7 TOMS/THIR Cloud Slicing</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ziemke, Jerald R.; Chandra, Sushil; Bhartia, P. K. 2002-01-01 This study evaluates the spatial distributions and seasonal cycles in upper tropospheric ozone (pressure range 200-500 hPa) from low to high latitudes (60S to 60N) derived from the satellite retrieval method called "Cloud Slicing." Cloud Slicing is a unique technique for determining ozone profile information in the troposphere by combining co-located measurements of cloud-top, pressure and above-cloud column ozone. For upper tropospheric ozone, co-located measurements of Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) above-cloud column ozone, and Nimbus 7 Temperature Humidity Infrared Radiometer (THIR) cloud-top pressure during 1979-1984 were incorporated. In the tropics, upper tropospheric ozone shows year-round enhancement in the Atlantic region and evidence of a possible semiannual variability. Upper tropospheric ozone outside the tropics shows greatest abundance in winter and spring seasons in both hemispheres with largest seasonal and largest amounts in the NH. These characteristics are similar to lower stratospheric ozone. Comparisons of upper tropospheric column ozone with both stratospheric ozone and a proxy of lower stratospheric air mass (i.e., tropopause pressure) from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) suggest that stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) may be a significant source for the seasonal variability of upper tropospheric ozone almost everywhere between 60S and 60N except in low latitudes around 10S to 25N where other sources (e.g., tropospheric transport, biomass burning, aerosol effects, lightning, etc.) may have a greater role. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A24B..07A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A24B..07A">Aerosol Production and Growth in the Upper Troposphere over the Amazon Forest Observed during ACRIDICON-CHUVA</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Andreae, M. O.; Afchine, A.; Albrecht, R. I.; Artaxo, P.; Borrmann, S.; Cecchini, M. A.; Costa, A.; Fütterer, D.; Järvinen, E.; Klimach, T.; Konemann, T.; Kraemer, M.; Machado, L.; Mertes, S.; Pöhlker, C.; Pöhlker, M. L.; Poeschl, U.; Sauer, D. N.; Schnaiter, M.; Schneider, J.; Schulz, C.; Spanu, A.; Walser, A.; Wang, J.; Weinzierl, B.; Wendisch, M. 2016-12-01 Observations during ACRIDICON-CHUVA showed high aerosol concentrations in the upper troposphere (UT) over the Amazon Basin, with aerosol number concentrations after normalization to STP often exceeding those in the boundary layer (BL) by one or two orders of magnitude. The measurements were made during the German-Brazilian cooperative aircraft campaign ACRIDICON-CHUVA (Aerosol, Cloud, Precipitation, and Radiation Interactions and Dynamics of Convective Cloud Systems) on the German research aircraft HALO. The campaign took place over the Amazon Basin in September/October 2014, with the objective of studying tropical deep convective clouds over the Amazon rainforest and their interactions with trace gases, aerosol particles, and atmospheric radiation. Aerosol enhancements were consistently observed on all flights, using several aerosol metrics, including condensation nuclei (CN), cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and chemical species mass concentrations. These UT aerosols were different in their composition and size distribution from the aerosol in the BL, making convective transport of particles unlikely as a source. The regions in the immediate outflow of deep convective clouds were depleted in aerosol particles, whereas dramatically enhanced small (<90 nm diameter) aerosol number concentrations were found in UT regions that had experienced outflow from deep convection in the preceding 24-48 hours. We also found elevated concentrations of larger (>90 nm) particles in the UT, which consisted mostly of organic matter and nitrate and were very effective CCN. Our findings suggest that aerosol production takes place in the UT from volatile material brought up by deep convection, which is converted to condensable species in the UT. Subsequently, downward mixing and transport of upper tropospheric aerosol may be a source of particles to the BL, where they increase in size by the condensation of biogenic volatile organic carbon (BVOC) oxidation products. This may be an important source of aerosol particles in the Amazonian BL, where aerosol nucleation and new particle formation has not been observed. We propose that this may have been the dominant process supplying secondary aerosols in the pristine atmosphere, making clouds the dominant control of both removal and production of atmospheric particles. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19960051016','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19960051016">The 5-6 December 1991 FIRE IFO 2 Jet Stream Cirrus Case Study: Possible Influences of Volcanic Aerosols</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Sassen, Kenneth; Starr, David OC.; Mace, Gerald G.; Poellot, Michael R.; Melfi, S. H.; Eberhard, Wynn L.; Spinhirne, James D.; Eloranta, E. W.; Hagen, Donald E.; Hallett, John 1996-01-01 In presenting an overview of the cirrus clouds comprehensively studied by ground based and airborne sensors from Coffeyville, Kansas, during the 5-6 December 1992 First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) intensive field observation (IFO) case study period, evidence is provided that volcanic aerosols from the June 1991 Pinatubo eruptions may have significantly influenced the formation and maintenance of the cirrus. Following the local appearance of a spur of stratospheric volcanic debris from the subtropics, a series of jet streaks subsequently conditioned the troposphere through tropopause foldings with sulfur based particles that became effective cloud forming nuclei in cirrus clouds. Aerosol and ozone measurements suggest a complicated history of stratospheric-tropospheric exchanges embedded with the upper level flow, and cirrus cloud formation was noted to occur locally at the boundaries of stratospheric aerosol enriched layers that became humidified through diffusion, precipitation, or advective processes. Apparent cirrus cloud alterations include abnormally high ice crystal concentrations (up to approximately 600 L(exp. 1)), complex radial ice crystal types, and relatively large haze particles in cirrus uncinus cell heads at temperatures between -40 and -50 degrees C. Implications for volcanic-cirrus cloud climate effects and unusual (nonvolcanic) aerosol jet stream cirrus cloud formation are discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19760006576','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19760006576">Air motion determination by tracking humidity patterns in isentropic layers</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Mancuso, R. L.; Hall, D. J. 1975-01-01 Determining air motions by tracking humidity patterns in isentropic layers was investigated. Upper-air rawinsonde data from the NSSL network and from the AVE-II pilot experiment were used to simulate temperature and humidity profile data that will eventually be available from geosynchronous satellites. Polynomial surfaces that move with time were fitted to the mixing-ratio values of the different isentropic layers. The velocity components of the polynomial surfaces are part of the coefficients that are determined in order to give an optimum fitting of the data. In the mid-troposphere, the derived humidity motions were in good agreement with the winds measured by rawinsondes so long as there were few or no clouds and the lapse rate was relatively stable. In the lower troposphere, the humidity motions were unreliable primarily because of nonadiabatic processes and unstable lapse rates. In the upper troposphere, the humidity amounts were too low to be measured with sufficient accuracy to give reliable results. However, it appears that humidity motions could be used to provide mid-tropospheric wind data over large regions of the globe. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017PhDT........41W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017PhDT........41W">The Response of the Ocean Thermal Skin Layer to Air-Sea Surface Heat Fluxes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wong, Elizabeth Wing-See There is much evidence that the ocean is heating as a result of an increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere from human activities. GHGs absorb infrared radiation and re-emit infrared radiation back to the ocean's surface which is subsequently absorbed. However, the incoming infrared radiation is absorbed within the top micrometers of the ocean's surface which is where the thermal skin layer exists. Thus the incident infrared radiation does not directly heat the upper few meters of the ocean. We are therefore motivated to investigate the physical mechanism between the absorption of infrared radiation and its effect on heat transfer at the air-sea boundary. The hypothesis is that since heat lost through the air-sea interface is controlled by the thermal skin layer, which is directly influenced by the absorption and emission of infrared radiation, the heat flow through the thermal skin layer adjusts to maintain the surface heat loss, assuming the surface heat loss does not vary, and thus modulates the upper ocean heat content. This hypothesis is investigated through utilizing clouds to represent an increase in incoming longwave radiation and analyzing retrieved thermal skin layer vertical temperature profiles from a shipboard infrared spectrometer from two research cruises. The data are limited to night-time, no precipitation and low winds of less than 2 m/s to remove effects of solar radiation, wind-driven shear and possibilities of thermal skin layer disruption. The results show independence of the turbulent fluxes and emitted radiation on the incident radiative fluxes which rules out the immediate release of heat from the absorption of the cloud infrared irradiance back into the atmosphere through processes such as evaporation and increase infrared emission. Furthermore, independence was confirmed between the incoming and outgoing radiative flux which implies the heat sink for upward flowing heat at the air-sea interface is more-or-less fixed. The surplus energy, from absorbing increasing levels of infrared radiation, is found to adjust the curvature of the thermal skin layer such that there is a smaller gradient at the interface between the thermal skin layer and the mixed layer beneath. The vertical conduction of heat from the mixed layer to the surface is therefore hindered while the additional energy within the thermal skin layer is supporting the gradient changes of the skin layer's temperature profile. This results in heat beneath the thermal skin layer, which is a product of the absorption of solar radiation during the day, to be retained and cause an increase in upper ocean heat content. The accuracy of four published skin layer models were evaluated by comparison with the field results. The results show a need to include radiative effects, which are currently absent, in such models as they do not replicate the findings from the field data and do not elucidate the effects of the absorption of infrared radiation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20050176511&hterms=ammonium+sulfate&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dammonium%2Bsulfate','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20050176511&hterms=ammonium+sulfate&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dammonium%2Bsulfate">Individual Aerosol Particles from Biomass Burning in Southern Africa. 1; Compositions and Size Distributions of Carbonaceous Particles</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Posfai, Mihaly; Simonics, Renata; Li, Jia; Hobbs, Peter V.; Buseck, Peter R. 2003-01-01 Individual aerosol particles in smoke plumes from biomass fires and in regional hazes in southern Africa were studied using analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which allowed detailed characterization of carbonaceous particle types in smoke and determination of changes in particle properties and concentrations during smoke aging. Based on composition, morphology, and microstructure, three distinct types of carbonaceous particles were present in the smoke: organic particles with inorganic (K-salt) inclusions, tar ball particles, and soot. The relative number concentrations of organic particles were largest in young smoke, whereas tar balls were dominant in a slightly aged (1 hour) smoke from a smoldering fire. Flaming fires emitted relatively more soot particles than smoldering fires, but soot was a minor constituent of all studied plumes. Further aging caused the accumulation of sulfate on organic and soot particles, as indicated by the large number of internally mixed organic/sulfate and soot/sulfate particles in the regional haze. Externally mixed ammonium sulfate particles dominated in the boundary layer hazes, whereas organic/sulfate particles were the most abundant type in the upper hazes. Apparently, elevated haze layers were more strongly affected by biomass smoke than those within the boundary layer. Based on size distributions and the observed patterns of internal mixing, we hypothesize that organic and soot particles are the cloud-nucleating constituents of biomass smoke aerosols. Sea-salt particles dominated in the samples taken in stratus clouds over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Namibia, whereas a distinct haze layer above the clouds consisted of aged biomass smoke particles. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01186&hterms=methane+composition&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dmethane%2Bcomposition','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01186&hterms=methane+composition&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dmethane%2Bcomposition">Jupiter's Equatorial Region in the Two Methane Bands (Time set 2)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Mosaics of an equatorial 'hotspot' on Jupiter at 727 nanometers (top) and 889 nanometers (bottom). The mosaics cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers. The darker region near the center of each mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance.Light at 727 nanometers (nm) is moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane. This mosaic shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and upper tropospheric haze, with higher features enhanced in brightness over lower features. Light at 889 nm is strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane. This mosaic shows the features of a hazy cloud layer tens of kilometers above Jupiter's main visible cloud deck. This haze varies in height but appears to be present over the entire region. Small patches of very bright clouds may be similar to terrestrial thunderstorms. Together images at these wavelengths provide a three dimensional view of the cloud layers in Jupiter's atmosphere.North is at the top. The mosaics cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A23M..04W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A23M..04W">How do Greenhouse Gases Warm the Ocean? Investigation of the Response of the Ocean Thermal Skin Layer to Air-Sea Surface Heat Fluxes.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wong, E.; Minnett, P. J. 2016-12-01 There is much evidence that the ocean is heating due to an increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere from human activities. GHGs absorbs infrared (IR) radiation and re-emits the radiation back to the ocean's surface which is subsequently absorbed resulting in a rise in the ocean heat content. However, the incoming longwave radiation, LWin, is absorbed within the top micrometers of the ocean's surface, where the thermal skin layer (TSL) exists and does not directly heat the upper few meters of the ocean. We are therefore motivated to investigate the physical mechanism between the absorption of IR radiation and its effect on heat transfer at the air-sea boundary. The hypothesis is that since heat lost through the air-sea interface is controlled by the TSL, which is directly influenced by the absorption and emission of IR radiation, the heat flow through the TSL adjusts to maintain the surface heat loss, and thus modulates the upper ocean heat content. This hypothesis is investigated through utilizing clouds to represent an increase in LWin and analyzing retrieved TSL vertical profiles from a shipboard IR spectrometer from two research cruises. The data is limited to night-time, no precipitation and low winds of < 2 m/s to remove effects of solar radiation, wind-driven shear and possibilities of TSL disruption. The results show independence between the turbulent fluxes and radiative fluxes which rules out the immediate release of heat from the absorption of the cloud infrared irradiance back into the atmosphere through processes such as evaporation. Instead, we observe the surplus energy, from absorbing increasing levels of LWin, adjusts the curvature of the TSL such that there is a lower gradient at the interface between the TSL and the mixed layer. The release of heat stored within the mixed layer is therefore hindered while the additional energy within the TSL is cycled back into the atmosphere. This results in heat beneath the TSL, which is a product of the absorption of solar radiation during the day, to be retained and cause an increase in upper ocean heat content. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29904973','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29904973">Directional selection in the evolution of elongated upper canines in clouded leopards and sabre-toothed cats.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Harano, Tomohiro; Kutsukake, Nobuyuki 2018-06-14 Extremely developed or specialised traits such as the elongated upper canines of extinct sabre-toothed cats are often not analogous to those of any extant species, which limits our understanding of their evolutionary cause. However, an extant species may have undergone directional selection for a similar extreme phenotype. Among living felids, the clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa, has exceptionally long upper canines for its body size. We hypothesised that directional selection generated the elongated upper canines of clouded leopards in a manner similar to the process in extinct sabre-toothed cats. To test this, we developed an approach that compared the effect of directional selection among lineages in a phylogeny using a simulation of trait evolution and approximate Bayesian computation. This approach was applied to analyse the evolution of upper canine length in the Felidae phylogeny. Our analyses consistently showed directional selection favouring longer upper canines in the clouded leopard lineage and a lineage leading to the sabre-toothed cat with the longest upper canines, Smilodon. Most of our analyses detected an effect of directional selection for longer upper canines in the lineage leading to another sabre-toothed cat, Homotherium, although this selection may have occurred exclusively in the primitive species. In all the analyses, the clouded leopard and Smilodon lineages showed comparable directional selection. This implies that clouded leopards share a selection advantage with sabre-toothed cats in having elongated upper canines. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140012663','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140012663">Validation of the Two-Layer Model for Correcting Clear Sky Reflectance Near Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Wen, Guoyong; Marshak, Alexander; Evans, K. Frank; Vamal, Tamas 2014-01-01 A two-layer model was developed in our earlier studies to estimate the clear sky reflectance enhancement near clouds. This simple model accounts for the radiative interaction between boundary layer clouds and molecular layer above, the major contribution to the reflectance enhancement near clouds for short wavelengths. We use LES/SHDOM simulated 3D radiation fields to valid the two-layer model for reflectance enhancement at 0.47 micrometer. We find: (a) The simple model captures the viewing angle dependence of the reflectance enhancement near cloud, suggesting the physics of this model is correct; and (b) The magnitude of the 2-layer modeled enhancement agree reasonably well with the "truth" with some expected underestimation. We further extend our model to include cloud-surface interaction using the Poisson model for broken clouds. We found that including cloud-surface interaction improves the correction, though it can introduced some over corrections for large cloud albedo, large cloud optical depth, large cloud fraction, large cloud aspect ratio. This over correction can be reduced by excluding scenes (10 km x 10km) with large cloud fraction for which the Poisson model is not designed for. Further research is underway to account for the contribution of cloud-aerosol radiative interaction to the enhancement. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002165.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002165.html">Open-cell and closed-cell clouds off Peru</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 2010-04-27 2010/107 - 04/17 at 21 :05 UTC. Open-cell and closed-cell clouds off Peru, Pacific Ocean Resembling a frosted window on a cold winter's day, this lacy pattern of marine clouds was captured off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on April 19, 2010. The image reveals both open- and closed-cell cumulus cloud patterns. These cells, or parcels of air, often occur in roughly hexagonal arrays in a layer of fluid (the atmosphere often behaves like a fluid) that begins to "boil," or convect, due to heating at the base or cooling at the top of the layer. In "closed" cells warm air is rising in the center, and sinking around the edges, so clouds appear in cell centers, but evaporate around cell edges. This produces cloud formations like those that dominate the lower left. The reverse flow can also occur: air can sink in the center of the cell and rise at the edge. This process is called "open cell" convection, and clouds form at cell edges around open centers, which creates a lacy, hollow-looking pattern like the clouds in the upper right. Closed and open cell convection represent two stable atmospheric configurations — two sides of the convection coin. But what determines which path the "boiling" atmosphere will take? Apparently the process is highly chaotic, and there appears to be no way to predict whether convection will result in open or closed cells. Indeed, the atmosphere may sometimes flip between one mode and another in no predictable pattern. Satellite: Aqua NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team To learn more about MODIS go to: rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?latest NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_7");'>7</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_8");'>8</a></li> <li class="active">9</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_10");'>10</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_11");'>11</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_10" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_8");'>8</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_9");'>9</a></li> <li class="active">10</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_11");'>11</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_12");'>12</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="181"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017ACP....17..899A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017ACP....17..899A">Nocturnal low-level clouds over southern West Africa analysed using high-resolution simulations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Adler, Bianca; Kalthoff, Norbert; Gantner, Leonhard 2017-01-01 We performed a high-resolution numerical simulation to study the development of extensive low-level clouds that frequently form over southern West Africa during the monsoon season. This study was made in preparation for a field campaign in 2016 within the Dynamics-aerosol-chemistry-cloud interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) project and focuses on an area around the city of Savè in southern Benin. Nocturnal low-level clouds evolve a few hundred metres above the ground around the same level as a distinct low-level jet. Several processes are found to determine the spatio-temporal evolution of these clouds including (i) significant cooling of the nocturnal atmosphere caused by horizontal advection with the south-westerly monsoon flow during the first half of the night, (ii) vertical cold air advection due to gravity waves leading to clouds in the wave crests and (iii) enhanced convergence and upward motion upstream of existing clouds that trigger new clouds. The latter is caused by an upward shift of the low-level jet in cloudy areas leading to horizontal convergence in the lower part and to horizontal divergence in the upper part of the cloud layer. Although this single case study hardly allows for a generalisation of the processes found, the results added to the optimisation of the measurements strategy for the field campaign and the observations will be used to test the hypotheses for cloud formation resulting from this study. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.P43E2938J','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.P43E2938J">A Lab Based Method for Exoplanet Cloud and Aerosol Characterization</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Johnson, A. V.; Schneiderman, T. M.; Bauer, A. J. R.; Cziczo, D. J. 2017-12-01 The atmospheres of some smaller, cooler exoplanets, like GJ 1214b, lack strong spectral features. This may suggest the presence of a high, optically thick cloud layer and poses great challenges for atmospheric characterization, but there is hope. The study of extraterrestrial atmospheres with terrestrial based techniques has proven useful for understanding the cloud-laden atmospheres of our solar system. Here we build on this by leveraging laboratory-based, terrestrial cloud particle instrumentation to better understand the microphysical and radiative properties of proposed exoplanet cloud and aerosol particles. The work to be presented focuses on the scattering properties of single particles, that may be representative of those suspended in exoplanet atmospheres, levitated in an Electrodynamic Balance (EDB). I will discuss how we leverage terrestrial based cloud microphysics for exoplanet applications, the instruments for single and ensemble particle studies used in this work, our investigation of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) scattering across temperature dependent crystalline phase changes, and the steps we are taking toward the collection of scattering phase functions and polarization of scattered light for exoplanet cloud analogs. Through this and future studies we hope to better understand how upper level cloud and/or aerosol particles in exoplanet atmospheres interact with incoming radiation from their host stars and what atmospheric information may still be obtainable through remote observations when no spectral features are observed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140006171','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140006171">A 19-Month Climatology of Marine Aerosol-Cloud-Radiation Properties Derived From DOE ARM AMF Deployment at the Azores: Part I: Cloud Fraction and Single-Layered MBL Cloud Properties</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike; Kennedy, Aaron; Minnis, Patrick; Wood, Robert 2013-01-01 A 19-month record of total, and single-layered low (0-3 km), middle (3-6 km), and high (> 6 km) cloud fractions (CFs), and the single-layered marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties has been generated from ground-based measurements taken at the ARM Azores site between June 2009 and December 2010. It documents the most comprehensive and longest dataset on marine cloud fraction and MBL cloud properties to date. The annual means of total CF, and single-layered low, middle, and high CFs derived from ARM radar-lidar observations are 0.702, 0.271, 0.01 and 0.106, respectively. More total and single-layered high CFs occurred during winter, while single-layered low CFs were greatest during summer. The diurnal cycles for both total and low CFs are stronger during summer than during winter. The CFs are bimodally distributed in the vertical with a lower peak at approx. 1 km and higher one between 8 and 11 km during all seasons, except summer, when only the low peak occurs. The persistent high pressure and dry conditions produce more single-layered MBL clouds and fewer total clouds during summer, while the low pressure and moist air masses during winter generate more total and multilayered-clouds, and deep frontal clouds associated with midlatitude cyclones. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01116&hterms=false+information&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dfalse%2Binformation','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01116&hterms=false+information&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dfalse%2Binformation">False Color Mosaic of Jupiter's Belt-Zone Boundary</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 False-color mosaic of a belt-zone boundary near Jupiter's equator. The images that make up the four quadrants of this mosaic were taken within a few minutes of each other. Light at each of Galileo's three near-infrared wavelengths is displayed here mapped to the visible colors red, green, and blue. Light at 886 nanometers, strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane and scattered from clouds high in the atmosphere, is shown in red. Light at 732 nanometers, moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane, is shown in green. Light at 757 nanometers, scattered mostly from Jupiter's lower visible cloud deck, is shown in blue. The lower cloud deck appears bluish white, while the higher layer appears pinkish. The holes in the upper layer and their relationships to features in the lower cloud deck can be studied in the lower half of the mosaic. Galileo is the first spacecraft to image different layers in Jupiter's atmosphere.North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes -13 to +3 degrees and is centered at longitude 282 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on November 5th, 1996, at a range of 1.2 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AIPC.1810g0007S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AIPC.1810g0007S">Upper tropospheric cloud systems determined from IR Sounders and their influence on the atmosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Stubenrauch, Claudia; Protopapadaki, Sofia; Feofilov, Artem; Velasco, Carola Barrientos 2017-02-01 Covering about 30% of the Earth, upper tropospheric clouds play a key role in the climate system by modulating the Earth's energy budget and heat transport. Infrared Sounders reliably identify cirrus down to an IR optical depth of 0.1. Recently LMD has built global cloud climate data records from AIRS and IASI observations, covering the periods from 2003-2015 and 2008-2015, respectively. Upper tropospheric clouds often form mesoscale systems. Their organization and properties are being studied by (1) distinguishing cloud regimes within 2° × 2° regions and (2) applying a spatial composite technique on adjacent cloud pressures, which estimates the horizontal extent of the mesoscale cloud systems. Convective core, cirrus anvil and thin cirrus of these systems are then distinguished by their emissivity. Compared to other studies of tropical mesoscale convective systems our data include also the thinner anvil parts, which make out about 30% of the area of tropical mesoscale convective systems. Once the horizontal and vertical structure of these upper tropospheric cloud systems is known, we can estimate their radiative effects in terms of top of atmosphere and surface radiative fluxes and by computing their heating rates. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017Icar..286..134K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017Icar..286..134K">On the iron chloride aerosol in the clouds of Venus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Krasnopolsky, Vladimir A. 2017-04-01 Iron chloride in the Venus clouds is under discussion for three decades, and the saturated vapor pressure of this species is of crucial importance for its modeling. There is a great scatter in the published data, and the preferable results are by Rustad and Gregory (1983, J. Chem. Eng. Data 28, 151-155) and those based on thermodynamic parameters by Chase (1998, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data Monograph 9). Using these data, loss by coagulation with sulfuric acid, transport by eddy diffusion, and the Stokes precipitation, the model confirms conclusions of our early study (Krasnopolsky 1985, Planet. Space Sci. 33, 109-117) that FeCl3 in the Venus clouds (1) agrees with the near UV and blue reflectivity of Venus (Zasova et al. 1981, Adv. Space Res. 1, #9, 13-16), (2) was observed by the direct X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy, (3) explains the altitude profiles of the mode 1 aerosol in the middle and lower cloud layers and (4) the decrease in the NUV absorption below 60 km. Here we add to these conclusions that (5) the delivery of FeCl3 into the upper cloud layer and the production of sulfuric acid are just in proportion of 1: 100 by mass that is required to fit the observed NUV albedo. Furthermore, (6) the mode 1 and 2 particle sizes fit this proportion as well. Finally, (7) the required Fe2Cl6 mixing ratio is 17 ppbv in the atmosphere and the FeCl3 mole fraction is 19 ppbv in the Venus surface rocks. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20120011585','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20120011585">The Effects of an Absorbing Smoke Layer on MODIS Marine Boundary Layer Cloud Optical Property Retrievals and Radiative Forcing</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Meyer, Kerry; Platnick, Steven 2012-01-01 Clouds, aerosols, and their interactions are widely considered to be key uncertainty components in our current understanding of the Earth's atmosphere and radiation budget. The work presented here is focused on the quasi-permanent marine boundary layer . (MBL) clouds off the southern Atlantic coast of Africa and the effects on MODIS cloud optical property retrievals (MOD06) of an overlying absorbing smoke layer. During much of August and September, a persistent smoke layer resides over this region, produced from extensive biomass burning throughout the southern African savanna. The resulting absorption, which increases with decreasing wavelength, potentially introduces biases into the MODIS cloud optical property retrievals of the underlying MBL clouds. This effect is more pronounced in the cloud optical thickness retrievals, which over ocean are derived from the wavelength channel centered near 0.86 micron (effective particle size retrievals are derived from the longer-wavelength near-IR channels at 1.6, 2.1, and 3.7 microns). Here, the spatial distributions of the scalar statistics of both the cloud and aerosol layers are first determined from the CALIOP 5 km layer products. Next, the MOD06 look-up tables (LUTs) are adjusted by inserting an absorbing smoke layer of varying optical thickness over the cloud. Retrievals are subsequently performed for a subset of MODIS pixels collocated with the CALIOP ground track, using smoke optical thickness from the CALIOP 5km aerosol layer product to select the appropriate LUT. The resulting differences in cloud optical property retrievals due to the inclusion of the smoke layer in the LUTs will be examined. In addition, the direct radiative forcing of this smoke layer will be investigated from the perspective of the cloud optical property retrieval differences. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070020527&hterms=doi&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Ddoi%253A','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070020527&hterms=doi&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Ddoi%253A">Multidecadal Changes in Near-Global Cloud Cover and Estimated Cloud Cover Radiative Forcing</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Norris, Joel 2005-01-01 The first paper was Multidecadal changes in near-global cloud cover and estimated cloud cover radiative forcing, by J. R. Norris (2005, J. Geophys. Res. - Atmos., 110, D08206, doi: lO.l029/2004JD005600). This study examined variability in zonal mean surface-observed upper-level (combined midlevel and high-level) and low-level cloud cover over land during 1971-1 996 and over ocean during 1952-1997. These data were averaged from individual synoptic reports in the Extended Edited Cloud Report Archive (EECRA). Although substantial interdecadal variability is present in the time series, long-term decreases in upper-level cloud cover occur over land and ocean at low and middle latitudes in both hemispheres. Near-global upper-level cloud cover declined by 1.5%-sky-cover over land between 1971 and 1996 and by 1.3%-sky-cover over ocean between 1952 and 1997. Consistency between EECRA upper-level cloud cover anomalies and those from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) during 1984-1 997 suggests the surface-observed trends are real. The reduction in surface-observed upper-level cloud cover between the 1980s and 1990s is also consistent with the decadal increase in all-sky outgoing longwave radiation reported by the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (EMS). Discrepancies occur between time series of EECRA and ISCCP low-level cloud cover due to identified and probable artifacts in satellite and surface cloud data. Radiative effects of surface-observed cloud cover anomalies, called "cloud cover radiative forcing (CCRF) anomalies," are estimated based on a linear relationship to climatological cloud radiative forcing per unit cloud cover. Zonal mean estimated longwave CCRF has decreased over most of the globe. Estimated shortwave CCRF has become slightly stronger over northern midlatitude oceans and slightly weaker over northern midlatitude land areas. A long-term decline in the magnitude of estimated shortwave CCRF occurs over low-latitude land and ocean, but comparison with EMS all-sky reflected shortwave radiation during 1985-1997 suggests this decrease may be underestimated. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01193&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01193&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes">Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.This frame is a view to the southeast, from between the cloud layers and over the north center of the region. The tall white clouds in the lower cloud deck are probably much like large terrestrial thunderclouds. They may be regions where atmospheric water powers vertical convection over large horizontal distances.Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations.The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25.The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the lower cloud with an overlying thin haze.The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ galileo. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01194&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01194&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes">Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.This frame is a view to the west, from between the cloud layers and over the patchy white clouds to the east of the hotspot. This is probably an area where moist convection is occurring over large horizontal distances, similar to the atmosphere over the equatorial ocean on Earth. The clouds are high and thick, and are observed to change rapidly over short time scales.Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations.The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25.The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the lower cloud with an overlying thin haze.The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080006657','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080006657">Nitric Acid Particles in Cold Thick Ice Clouds Observed at Global Scale: Link with Lightning, Temperature, and Upper Tropospheric Water Vapor</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Chepfer, H.; Minnis, P.; Dubuisson, P.; Chiriaco, M.; Sun-Mack, S.; Riviere, E. D. 2007-01-01 Signatures of nitric acid particles (NAP) in cold thick ice clouds have been derived from satellite observations. Most NAP are detected in the Tropics (9 to 20% of clouds with T less than 202.5 K). Higher occurrences were found in the rare mid-latitudes very cold clouds. NAP occurrence increases as cloud temperature decreases and NAP are more numerous in January than July. Comparisons of NAP and lightning distributions show that lightning is the main source of the NOx, which forms NAP in cold clouds. Qualitative comparisons of NAP with upper tropospheric humidity distributions suggest that NAP play a role in the dehydration of the upper troposphere when the tropopause is colder than 195K. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007JGRD..112.5212C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007JGRD..112.5212C">Nitric acid particles in cold thick ice clouds observed at global scale: Link with lightning, temperature, and upper tropospheric water vapor</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Chepfer, H.; Minnis, P.; Dubuisson, P.; Chiriaco, M.; Sun-Mack, S.; RivièRe, E. D. 2007-03-01 Signatures of nitric acid particles (NAP) in cold thick ice clouds have been derived from satellite observations. Most NAP are detected in the tropics (9 to 20% of clouds with T < 202.5 K). Higher occurrences were found in the rare midlatitudes very cold clouds. NAP occurrence increases as cloud temperature decreases, and NAP are more numerous in January than July. Comparisons of NAP and lightning distributions show that lightning seems to be the main source of the NOx, which forms NAP in cold clouds over continents. Qualitative comparisons of NAP with upper tropospheric humidity distributions suggest that NAP may play a role in the dehydration of the upper troposphere when the tropopause is colder than 195 K. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007P%26SS...55.1936L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007P%26SS...55.1936L">Descent motions of the Huygens probe as measured by the Surface Science Package (SSP): Turbulent evidence for a cloud layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Lorenz, Ralph D.; Zarnecki, John C.; Towner, Martin C.; Leese, Mark R.; Ball, Andrew J.; Hathi, Brijen; Hagermann, Axel; Ghafoor, Nadeem A. L. 2007-11-01 The Huygens probe underwent vigorous short-period motions during its parachute descent through the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan in January 2005, at least some of which were excited by the Titan environment. Several sensors in the Huygens Surface Science Package (SSP) detect these motions, indicating the transition to the smaller stabilizer parachute, the changing probe spin rate, aerodynamic buffeting, and pendulum motions. Notably, in an altitude range of about 20-30 km where methane drops will freeze, the frequency content and statistical kurtosis of the tilt data indicate excitation by turbulent air motions like those observed in freezing clouds on Earth, supporting the suggestion of Tokano et al. [Tokano, T., McKay, C.P., Neubauer, F.M., Atreya, S.K., Ferri, F., Fulchignoni, M., Niemann, H.B. (2006a). Methane drizzle on Titan. Nature 442, 432-435] that the probe passed through such a cloud layer. Motions are weak below 20 km, suggesting a quiescent lower atmosphere with turbulent fluctuations of nominally <0.15 m/s (to within a factor of ˜2) but more violent motions in the upper troposphere may have been excited by turbulent winds with amplitudes of 1-2 m/s. Descent in part of the stratosphere (150-120 km) was smooth despite strong ambient wind (˜100 m/s), but known anomalies in the probe spin prevent investigation of turbulence in the known wind-shear layer from 60 to 100 km. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-sts109-345-032.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-sts109-345-032.html">Sunrise view taken by the STS-109 crew</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 2002-03-10 STS109-345-032 (1-12 March 2002) --- One of the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia photographed this west-looking view featuring the profile of the atmosphere and the setting sun. The shuttle was located over the Java Sea to the south of Kalimantan (Borneo) in Indonesia when this image was acquired. Visible to the right of the setting sun are cloud tops from some thunderstorms. The sun's reflection (bright spot over the setting sun) can be seen off the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20130000830','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20130000830">The View from the Top: CALIOP Ice Water Content in the Uppermost Layer of Tropical Cyclones</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Avery, Melody A.; Deng, Min; Garnier, Anne; Heymsfield, Andrew; Pelon, Jacques; Powell, Kathleen A.; Trepte, Charles R.; Vaughan, Mark A.; Winker, David M.; Young, Stuart 2012-01-01 NASA's CALIPSO satellite carries both the Cloud and Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR). The lidar is ideally suited to viewing the very top of tropical cyclones, and the IIR provides critical optical and microphysical information. The lidar and the IIR data work together to understand storm clouds since they are perfectly co-located, and big tropical cyclones provide an excellent complex target for comparing the observations. There is a lot of information from these case studies for understanding both the observations and the tropical cyclones, and we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what can be learned. Many tropical cyclone cloud particle measurements are focused on the middle and lower regions of storms, but characterization of cyclone interaction with the lowermost stratosphere at the upper storm boundary may be important for determining the total momentum and moisture transport budget, and perhaps for predicting storm intensity as well. A surprising amount of cloud ice is to be found at the very top of these big storms. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19990041082&hterms=dehydration&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Ddehydration','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19990041082&hterms=dehydration&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Ddehydration">Dehydration of the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere by Subvisible Cirrus Clouds Near the Tropical Tropopause</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Jensen, Eric J.; Toon, Owen B.; Pfister, Leonhard; Selkirk, Henry B. 1996-01-01 The extreme dryness of the lower stratosphere is believed to be caused by freeze-drying of air as it enters the stratosphere through the cold tropical tropopause. Previous investigations have been focused on dehydration occurring at the tops of deep convective cloud systems, However, recent observations of a ubiquitous stratiform cirrus cloud layer near the tropical tropopause suggest the possibility of dehydration as air is slowly lifted by large-scale motions, In this study, we have evaluated this possibility using a detailed ice cloud model. Simulations of ice cloud formation in the temperature minima of gravity waves (wave periods of 1 - 2 hours) indicate that large numbers of ice crystals will likely form due to the low temperatures and rapid cooling. As a result, the crystals do not grow larger than about 10 microns, fallspeeds are no greater than a few cm/s, and little or no precipitation or dehydration occurs. However, ice cloud's formed by large-scale vertical motions (with lifetimes of a day or more) should have,fever crystals and more time for crystal sedimentation to occur, resulting in water vapor depletions as large as 1 ppmv near the tropopause. We suggest that gradual lifting near the tropical tropopause, accompanied by formation of thin cirrus, may account for the dehydration. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018AIPC.1952b0045K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018AIPC.1952b0045K">Assessment of physical server reliability in multi cloud computing system</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kalyani, B. J. D.; Rao, Kolasani Ramchand H. 2018-04-01 Business organizations nowadays functioning with more than one cloud provider. By spreading cloud deployment across multiple service providers, it creates space for competitive prices that minimize the burden on enterprises spending budget. To assess the software reliability of multi cloud application layered software reliability assessment paradigm is considered with three levels of abstractions application layer, virtualization layer, and server layer. The reliability of each layer is assessed separately and is combined to get the reliability of multi-cloud computing application. In this paper, we focused on how to assess the reliability of server layer with required algorithms and explore the steps in the assessment of server reliability. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A12A..02Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A12A..02Z">Assessing cloud radiative effects on tropospheric photolysis rates and key oxidants during aircraft campaigns using satellite cloud observations and a global chemical transport model</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zhang, B.; Liu, H.; Crawford, J. H.; Chen, G.; Voulgarakis, A.; Fairlie, T. D.; Duncan, B. N.; Ham, S. H.; Kato, S.; Payer Sulprizio, M.; Yantosca, R. 2017-12-01 Clouds affect tropospheric photochemistry through modifying solar radiation that determines photolysis rates. Observational and modeling studies have indicated that photolysis rates are enhanced above and in the upper portion of cloud layers and are reduced below optically thick clouds due to their dominant backscattering effect. However, large uncertainties exist in the representation of cloud spatiotemporal (especially vertical) distributions in global models, which makes understanding of cloud radiative effects on tropospheric chemistry challenging. Our previous study using a global 3-D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) driven by various meteorological data sets showed that the radiative effects of clouds on photochemistry are more sensitive to the differences in the vertical distribution of clouds than to those in the magnitude of column cloud optical depths. In this work, we evaluate monthly mean cloud optical properties and distributions in the MERRA-2 reanalysis with those in C3M, a 3-D cloud data product developed at NASA Langley Research Center and merged from multiple A-Train satellite (CERES, CloudSat, CALIPSO, and MODIS) observations. We conduct tropospheric chemistry simulations for the periods of several aircraft campaigns, including ARCTAS (April, June-July, 2008), DC3 (May-June, 2012), and SEAC4RS (August-September, 2013) with GEOS-Chem driven by MERRA-2. We compare model simulations with and without constraints of cloud optical properties and distributions from C3M, and evaluate model photolysis rates (J[O1D] and J[NO2]) and key oxidants (e.g., OH and ozone) with aircraft profile measurements. We will assess whether the constraints provided by C3M improve model simulations of photolysis rates and oxidants as well as their variabilities. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/484534','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/484534">Boundary-layer cumulus over heterogeneous landscapes: A subgrid GCM parameterization. Final report, December 1991--November 1995</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Stull, R.B.; Tripoli, G. 1996-01-08 The authors developed single-column parameterizations for subgrid boundary-layer cumulus clouds. These give cloud onset time, cloud coverage, and ensemble distributions of cloud-base altitudes, cloud-top altitudes, cloud thickness, and the characteristics of cloudy and clear updrafts. They tested and refined the parameterizations against archived data from Spring and Summer 1994 and 1995 intensive operation periods (IOPs) at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) ARM CART site near Lamont, Oklahoma. The authors also found that: cloud-base altitudes are not uniform over a heterogeneous surface; tops of some cumulus clouds can be below the base-altitudes of other cumulus clouds; there is an overlap regionmore » near cloud base where clear and cloudy updrafts exist simultaneously; and the lognormal distribution of cloud sizes scales to the JFD of surface layer air and to the shape of the temperature profile above the boundary layer.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110014293','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110014293">Detection of Multi-Layer and Vertically-Extended Clouds Using A-Train Sensors</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Joiner, J.; Vasilkov, A. P.; Bhartia, P. K.; Wind, G.; Platnick, S.; Menzel, W. P. 2010-01-01 The detection of mUltiple cloud layers using satellite observations is important for retrieval algorithms as well as climate applications. In this paper, we describe a relatively simple algorithm to detect multiple cloud layers and distinguish them from vertically-extended clouds. The algorithm can be applied to coincident passive sensors that derive both cloud-top pressure from the thermal infrared observations and an estimate of solar photon pathlength from UV, visible, or near-IR measurements. Here, we use data from the A-train afternoon constellation of satellites: cloud-top pressure, cloud optical thickness, the multi-layer flag from the Aqua MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the optical centroid cloud pressure from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). For the first time, we use data from the CloudSat radar to evaluate the results of a multi-layer cloud detection scheme. The cloud classification algorithms applied with different passive sensor configurations compare well with each other as well as with data from CloudSat. We compute monthly mean fractions of pixels containing multi-layer and vertically-extended clouds for January and July 2007 at the OMI spatial resolution (l2kmx24km at nadir) and at the 5kmx5km MODIS resolution used for infrared cloud retrievals. There are seasonal variations in the spatial distribution of the different cloud types. The fraction of cloudy pixels containing distinct multi-layer cloud is a strong function of the pixel size. Globally averaged, these fractions are approximately 20% and 10% for OMI and MODIS, respectively. These fractions may be significantly higher or lower depending upon location. There is a much smaller resolution dependence for fractions of pixels containing vertically-extended clouds (approx.20% for OMI and slightly less for MODIS globally), suggesting larger spatial scales for these clouds. We also find higher fractions of vertically-extended clouds over land as compared with ocean, particularly in the tropics and summer hemisphere. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_8");'>8</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_9");'>9</a></li> <li class="active">10</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_11");'>11</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_12");'>12</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_11" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_9");'>9</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_10");'>10</a></li> <li class="active">11</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_12");'>12</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_13");'>13</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="201"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A54F..03M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A54F..03M">Investigating the influence of volcanic sulfate aerosol on cloud properties Along A-Train tracks</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Mace, G. G. 2017-12-01 Marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds are central actors in the climate system given their extensive coverage on the Earth's surface, their 1-way influence on the radiative balance (cooling), and their intimate coupling between air motions, anthropogenic and natural aerosol sources, and processes within the upper ocean mixed layer. Knowledge of how MBL shallow cumulus clouds respond to changes in aerosol is central to understanding how MBL clouds modulate the climate system. A frequent approach to investigating how sulfate aerosol influences MBL clouds has been to examine sulfate plumes extending downstream of active island volcanoes. This approach is challenging due to modification of the air motions in the plumes downstream of islands and due to the tendency of most researchers to examine only level-2 retrievals ignoring the actual data collected by sensors such as MODIS. Past studies have concluded that sulfate aerosols have large effects consistent with the 1st aerosol indirect effect (AIE). We reason that if such effects are as large as suggested in level-2 retrievals then evidence should also be present in the raw MODIS reflectance data as well as other data sources. In this paper we will build on our recently published work where we tested that hypothesis from data collected near Mount Kilauea during a 3-year period. Separating data into aerosol optical depth (A) quartiles, we found little support for a large 1st AIE response. We did find an unambiguous increase in sub 1km-scale cloud fraction with A. This increase in sub 1 km cloud fraction was entirely consistent with increased reflectance with increasing A that is used, via the level 2 retrievals, to argue for a large AIE response of MBL clouds. While the 1-km pixels became unambiguously brighter, that brightening was due to increased sub 1 km cloud fraction and not necessarily due to changes in pixel-level cloud microphysics. We also found that MBL cloud top heights increase as do surface wind speeds as aerosol increases while the radar reflectivity from CloudSat does not change implying that increased aerosols may have caused invigoration of the MBL clouds with little effect on precipitation. We have since expanded upon this initial analysis by exmaining data near other volcanic islands. These expanded results support our initial findings. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=GL-2002-001184&hterms=gift+bribe&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchany%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dgift%2Bbribe','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=GL-2002-001184&hterms=gift+bribe&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchany%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dgift%2Bbribe">AN INFRARED VIEW OF SATURN</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 2002-01-01 In honor of NASA Hubble Space Telescope's eighth anniversary, we have GIFt wrapped Saturn in vivid colors. Actually, this image is courtesy of the new Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS), which has taken its first peek at Saturn. The false-color image - taken Jan. 4, 1998 - shows the planet's reflected infrared light. This view provides detailed information on the clouds and hazes in Saturn's atmosphere. The blue colors indicate a clear atmosphere down to a main cloud layer. Different shadings of blue indicate variations in the cloud particles, in size or chemical composition. The cloud particles are believed to be ammonia ice crystals. Most of the northern hemisphere that is visible above the rings is relatively clear. The dark region around the south pole at the bottom indicates a big hole in the main cloud layer. The green and yellow colors indicate a haze above the main cloud layer. The haze is thin where the colors are green but thick where they are yellow. Most of the southern hemisphere (the lower part of Saturn) is quite hazy. These layers are aligned with latitude lines, due to Saturn's east-west winds. The red and orange colors indicate clouds reaching up high into the atmosphere. Red clouds are even higher than orange clouds. The densest regions of two storms near Saturn's equator appear white. On Earth, the storms with the highest clouds are also found in tropical latitudes. The smaller storm on the left is about as large as the Earth, and larger storms have been recorded on Saturn in 1990 and 1994. The rings, made up of chunks of ice, are as white as images of ice taken in visible light. However, in the infrared, water absorption causes various colorations. The most obvious is the brown color of the innermost ring. The rings cast their shadow onto Saturn. The bright line seen within this shadow is sunlight shining through the Cassini Division, the separation between the two bright rings. It is best observed on the left side, just above the rings. This view is possible due to a rare geometry during the observation. The next time this is observable from Earth will be in 2006. An accurate investigation of the ring's shadow also shows sunlight shining through the Encke Gap, a thin division very close to the outer edge of the ring system. Two of Saturn's satellites were recorded, Dione on the lower left and Tethys on the upper right. Tethys is just ending its transit across the disk of Saturn. They appear in different colors, yellow and green, indicating different conditions on their icy surfaces. Wavelengths: A color image consists of three exposures (or three film layers). For visible true-color images, the wavelengths of these three exposures are 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 micrometers for blue, green, and red light, respectively. This Saturn image was taken at longer infrared wavelengths of 1.0, 1.8, and 2.1 micrometers, displayed as blue, green, and red. Reflected sunlight is seen at all these wavelengths, since Saturn's own heat glows only at wavelengths above 4 micrometers. Image credit: Erich Karkoschka (University of Arizona), and NASA </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ACPD...1313191S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ACPD...1313191S">Cloud and boundary layer interactions over the Arctic sea-ice in late summer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Shupe, M. D.; Persson, P. O. G.; Brooks, I. M.; Tjernström, M.; Sedlar, J.; Mauritsen, T.; Sjogren, S.; Leck, C. 2013-05-01 Observations from the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS), in the central Arctic sea-ice pack in late summer 2008, provide a detailed view of cloud-atmosphere-surface interactions and vertical mixing processes over the sea-ice environment. Measurements from a suite of ground-based remote sensors, near surface meteorological and aerosol instruments, and profiles from radiosondes and a helicopter are combined to characterize a week-long period dominated by low-level, mixed-phase, stratocumulus clouds. Detailed case studies and statistical analyses are used to develop a conceptual model for the cloud and atmosphere structure and their interactions in this environment. Clouds were persistent during the period of study, having qualities that suggest they were sustained through a combination of advective influences and in-cloud processes, with little contribution from the surface. Radiative cooling near cloud top produced buoyancy-driven, turbulent eddies that contributed to cloud formation and created a cloud-driven mixed layer. The depth of this mixed layer was related to the amount of turbulence and condensed cloud water. Coupling of this cloud-driven mixed layer to the surface boundary layer was primarily determined by proximity. For 75% of the period of study, the primary stratocumulus cloud-driven mixed layer was decoupled from the surface and typically at a warmer potential temperature. Since the near-surface temperature was constrained by the ocean-ice mixture, warm temperatures aloft suggest that these air masses had not significantly interacted with the sea-ice surface. Instead, back trajectory analyses suggest that these warm airmasses advected into the central Arctic Basin from lower latitudes. Moisture and aerosol particles likely accompanied these airmasses, providing necessary support for cloud formation. On the occasions when cloud-surface coupling did occur, back trajectories indicated that these air masses advected at low levels, while mixing processes kept the mixed layer in equilibrium with the near-surface environment. Rather than contributing buoyancy forcing for the mixed-layer dynamics, the surface instead simply appeared to respond to the mixed-layer processes aloft. Clouds in these cases often contained slightly higher condensed water amounts, potentially due to additional moisture sources from below. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ACP....13.9379S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ACP....13.9379S">Cloud and boundary layer interactions over the Arctic sea ice in late summer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Shupe, M. D.; Persson, P. O. G.; Brooks, I. M.; Tjernström, M.; Sedlar, J.; Mauritsen, T.; Sjogren, S.; Leck, C. 2013-09-01 Observations from the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS), in the central Arctic sea-ice pack in late summer 2008, provide a detailed view of cloud-atmosphere-surface interactions and vertical mixing processes over the sea-ice environment. Measurements from a suite of ground-based remote sensors, near-surface meteorological and aerosol instruments, and profiles from radiosondes and a helicopter are combined to characterize a week-long period dominated by low-level, mixed-phase, stratocumulus clouds. Detailed case studies and statistical analyses are used to develop a conceptual model for the cloud and atmosphere structure and their interactions in this environment. Clouds were persistent during the period of study, having qualities that suggest they were sustained through a combination of advective influences and in-cloud processes, with little contribution from the surface. Radiative cooling near cloud top produced buoyancy-driven, turbulent eddies that contributed to cloud formation and created a cloud-driven mixed layer. The depth of this mixed layer was related to the amount of turbulence and condensed cloud water. Coupling of this cloud-driven mixed layer to the surface boundary layer was primarily determined by proximity. For 75% of the period of study, the primary stratocumulus cloud-driven mixed layer was decoupled from the surface and typically at a warmer potential temperature. Since the near-surface temperature was constrained by the ocean-ice mixture, warm temperatures aloft suggest that these air masses had not significantly interacted with the sea-ice surface. Instead, back-trajectory analyses suggest that these warm air masses advected into the central Arctic Basin from lower latitudes. Moisture and aerosol particles likely accompanied these air masses, providing necessary support for cloud formation. On the occasions when cloud-surface coupling did occur, back trajectories indicated that these air masses advected at low levels, while mixing processes kept the mixed layer in equilibrium with the near-surface environment. Rather than contributing buoyancy forcing for the mixed-layer dynamics, the surface instead simply appeared to respond to the mixed-layer processes aloft. Clouds in these cases often contained slightly higher condensed water amounts, potentially due to additional moisture sources from below. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19870008207','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19870008207">The ortho-para H2 distribution on Uranus: Constraints from the collision-induced 3-0 dipole band and 4-0 S(0) and S(1) quadrupole line profiles</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Baines, K. H.; Bergstralh, J. T. 1986-01-01 Recent high quality spectral observations have allowed the derivation of constraints on the atmospheric structure of Uranus. The present analysis, which is based on the detailed modeling of a broadband geometric albedo spectrum and high resolution observations of the H2 4-0 quadrupole and 6818.9-A CH4 features, yields (1) a family of models which parameterize an upper tropospheric haze layer, (2) a lower, optically infinite cloud at a given pressure level, (3) the cloud-level methane molar fraction, and (4) the mean ortho/para ratio in the visible atmosphere. The single scattering albedo of atmospheric aerosols exhibits a steep darkening between 5890 and 6040 A. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20050212444','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20050212444">A Hierarchical Modeling Study of the Interactions Among Turbulence, Cloud Microphysics, and Radiative Transfer in the Evolution of Cirrus Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Curry, Judith; Khvorostyanov, V. I. 2005-01-01 This project used a hierarchy of cloud resolving models to address the following science issues of relevance to CRYSTAL-FACE: What ice crystal nucleation mechanisms are active in the different types of cirrus clouds in the Florida area and how do these different nucleation processes influence the evolution of the cloud system and the upper tropospheric humidity? How does the feedback between supersaturation and nucleation impact the evolution of the cloud? What is the relative importance of the large-scale vertical motion and the turbulent motions in the evolution of the crystal size spectra? How does the size spectra impact the life-cycle of the cloud, stratospheric dehydration, and cloud radiative forcing? What is the nature of the turbulence and waves in the upper troposphere generated by precipitating deep convective cloud systems? How do cirrus microphysical and optical properties vary with the small-scale dynamics? How do turbulence and waves in the upper troposphere influence the cross-tropopause mixing and stratospheric and upper tropospheric humidity? The models used in this study were: 2-D hydrostatic model with explicit microphysics that can account for 30 size bins for both the droplet and crystal size spectra. Notably, a new ice crystal nucleation scheme has been incorporated into the model. Parcel model with explicit microphysics, for developing and evaluating microphysical parameterizations. Single column model for testing bulk microphysics parameterizations </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014DPS....4620406M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014DPS....4620406M">The Thermal Emission and Albedo of Super-Earths with Flat Transmission Spectra</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Morley, Caroline; Fortney, Jonathan; Marley, Mark 2014-11-01 Vast resources have been dedicated to characterizing the handful of planets with radii between Earth’s and Neptune’s that are accessible to current telescopes. Observations of their transmission spectra have been inconclusive and do not constrain the atmospheric composition. Here, we present a path forward for understanding this class of small planets: by understanding the thermal emission and reflectivity of small planets, we can break these degeneracies and constrain the atmospheric composition. Of the ~four small planets studied to date, all have radii in the near-IR consistent with being constant in wavelength. This suggests either that these planets all have higher mean molecular weight atmospheres than expected for hydrogen-dominated bulk compositions, or that the atmospheres of small planets are consistently enshrouded in thick hazes and clouds. For the particularly well-studied planet GJ 1214b, the measurements made using HST/WFC3 can rule out atmospheres with high mean molecular weights, leaving clouds as the sole explanation for the flat transmission spectrum. We showed in Morley et al. 2013 that these clouds and hazes can be made of salts and sulfides, which condense in the upper atmosphere of a cool H-rich atmosphere like GJ 1214b, or made of photochemical hazes such as soots, which result from methane photodissociation and subsequent carbon chemistry. Here, we explore how clouds thick enough to obscure the transmission spectrum change both thermal emission spectra and albedo spectra. These observations are complementary to transmission spectra measurements. Thermal emission probes deeper layers of the atmosphere, potentially below the high haze layer obscuring the transmission spectra; albedo spectra probe reflected starlight largely from the cloud particles themselves. Crucially, these complementary observations of planets with flat transmission spectra may allow us to break the degeneracies between cloud materials, cloud height and longitude, and bulk composition of the atmosphere. We make predictions for the observability of known planets for current and future telescopes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AAS...22512404M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AAS...22512404M">The Thermal Emission and Albedo of Super-Earths with Flat Transmission Spectra</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Morley, Caroline; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Marley, Mark 2015-01-01 Vast resources have been dedicated to characterizing the handful of planets with radii between Earth's and Neptune's that are accessible to current telescopes. Observations of their transmission spectra have been inconclusive and do not constrain the atmospheric composition. Here, we present a path forward for understanding this class of small planets: by understanding the thermal emission and reflectivity of small planets, we can break these degeneracies and constrain the atmospheric composition.Of the ~five small planets studied to date, four have radii in the near-IR consistent with being constant in wavelength. This suggests either that these planets all have higher mean molecular weight atmospheres than expected for hydrogen-dominated bulk compositions, or that the atmospheres of small planets are consistently enshrouded in thick hazes and clouds. For the particularly well-studied planet GJ 1214b, the measurements made using HST/WFC3 can rule out atmospheres with high mean molecular weights, leaving clouds as the sole explanation for the flat transmission spectrum. We showed in Morley et al. 2013 that these clouds and hazes can be made of salts and sulfides, which condense in the upper atmosphere of a cool H-rich atmosphere like GJ 1214b, or made of photochemical hazes such as soots, which result from methane photodissociation and subsequent carbon chemistry. Here, we explore how clouds thick enough to obscure the transmission spectrum change both thermal emission spectra and albedo spectra. These observations are complementary to transmission spectra measurements. Thermal emission probes deeper layers of the atmosphere, potentially below the high haze layer obscuring the transmission spectra; albedo spectra probe reflected starlight largely from the cloud particles themselves. Crucially, these complementary observations of planets with flat transmission spectra may allow us to break the degeneracies between cloud materials, cloud height and longitude, and bulk composition of the atmosphere. We make predictions for the observability of known planets for current and future telescopes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002cosp...34E1840P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002cosp...34E1840P">The role of meteoric smoke in the Earth s environment</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Plane, J. An average of about 120 tonnes of interplanetary dust is believed to enter the earth's atmosphere each day. At least 55% of this ablates completely into atoms and ions, mostly between 70 and 110 km. Meteoric ablation is the source of the layers of metal atoms (Na, Fe etc.) that occur globally in the upper mesosphere; these layers are observed routinely by ground-based resonance lidars. This paper is concerned with the subsequent fate of the meteoric metals, and other constituents such as sulfur. The laboratory programme at the University of East Anglia studies the reactions that metallic species are likely to undergo in this region of the atmosphere. The resulting rate coefficients and photolysis cross sections are then used in atmospheric models. Once these models can satisfactorily reproduce the characteristic features of the mesospheric metal layers (as is the case for Na and Fe), they can then be used to predict the condensation of metal-containing species (oxides, hydroxides, carbonates) into nanometer-sized dust particles, known as "meteoric smoke". This paper will discuss the role of this smoke in providing condensation nuclei for noctilucent clouds in the upper mesosphere, forming sulphuric acid particles in the stratospheric Junge layer, and fertilizing the Fe-deficient Southern Ocean. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930044342&hterms=condensation&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Dcondensation','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930044342&hterms=condensation&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Dcondensation">Cloud condensation nuclei near marine cumulus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Hudson, James G. 1993-01-01 Extensive airborne measurements of cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) spectra and condensation nuclei below, in, between, and above the cumulus clouds near Hawaii point to important aerosol-cloud interactions. Consistent particle concentrations of 200/cu cm were found above the marine boundary layer and within the noncloudy marine boundary layer. Lower and more variable CCN concentrations within the cloudy boundary layer, especially very close to the clouds, appear to be a result of cloud scavenging processes. Gravitational coagulation of cloud droplets may be the principal cause of this difference in the vertical distribution of CCN. The results suggest a reservoir of CCN in the free troposphere which can act as a source for the marine boundary layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140010896','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140010896">View-angle-dependent AIRS Cloudiness and Radiance Variance: Analysis and Interpretation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Gong, Jie; Wu, Dong L. 2013-01-01 Upper tropospheric clouds play an important role in the global energy budget and hydrological cycle. Significant view-angle asymmetry has been observed in upper-level tropical clouds derived from eight years of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) 15 um radiances. Here, we find that the asymmetry also exists in the extra-tropics. It is larger during day than that during night, more prominent near elevated terrain, and closely associated with deep convection and wind shear. The cloud radiance variance, a proxy for cloud inhomogeneity, has consistent characteristics of the asymmetry to those in the AIRS cloudiness. The leading causes of the view-dependent cloudiness asymmetry are the local time difference and small-scale organized cloud structures. The local time difference (1-1.5 hr) of upper-level (UL) clouds between two AIRS outermost views can create parts of the observed asymmetry. On the other hand, small-scale tilted and banded structures of the UL clouds can induce about half of the observed view-angle dependent differences in the AIRS cloud radiances and their variances. This estimate is inferred from analogous study using Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) radiances observed during the period of time when there were simultaneous measurements at two different view-angles from NOAA-18 and -19 satellites. The existence of tilted cloud structures and asymmetric 15 um and 6.7 um cloud radiances implies that cloud statistics would be view-angle dependent, and should be taken into account in radiative transfer calculations, measurement uncertainty evaluations and cloud climatology investigations. In addition, the momentum forcing in the upper troposphere from tilted clouds is also likely asymmetric, which can affect atmospheric circulation anisotropically. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015Icar..245..273W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015Icar..245..273W">Fresh clouds: A parameterized updraft method for calculating cloud densities in one-dimensional models</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wong, Michael H.; Atreya, Sushil K.; Kuhn, William R.; Romani, Paul N.; Mihalka, Kristen M. 2015-01-01 Models of cloud condensation under thermodynamic equilibrium in planetary atmospheres are useful for several reasons. These equilibrium cloud condensation models (ECCMs) calculate the wet adiabatic lapse rate, determine saturation-limited mixing ratios of condensing species, calculate the stabilizing effect of latent heat release and molecular weight stratification, and locate cloud base levels. Many ECCMs trace their heritage to Lewis (Lewis, J.S. [1969]. Icarus 10, 365-378) and Weidenschilling and Lewis (Weidenschilling, S.J., Lewis, J.S. [1973]. Icarus 20, 465-476). Calculation of atmospheric structure and gas mixing ratios are correct in these models. We resolve errors affecting the cloud density calculation in these models by first calculating a cloud density rate: the change in cloud density with updraft length scale. The updraft length scale parameterizes the strength of the cloud-forming updraft, and converts the cloud density rate from the ECCM into cloud density. The method is validated by comparison with terrestrial cloud data. Our parameterized updraft method gives a first-order prediction of cloud densities in a “fresh” cloud, where condensation is the dominant microphysical process. Older evolved clouds may be better approximated by another 1-D method, the diffusive-precipitative Ackerman and Marley (Ackerman, A.S., Marley, M.S. [2001]. Astrophys. J. 556, 872-884) model, which represents a steady-state equilibrium between precipitation and condensation of vapor delivered by turbulent diffusion. We re-evaluate observed cloud densities in the Galileo Probe entry site (Ragent, B. et al. [1998]. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 22891-22910), and show that the upper and lower observed clouds at ∼0.5 and ∼3 bars are consistent with weak (cirrus-like) updrafts under conditions of saturated ammonia and water vapor, respectively. The densest observed cloud, near 1.3 bar, requires unexpectedly strong updraft conditions, or higher cloud density rates. The cloud density rate in this layer may be augmented by a composition with non-NH4SH components (possibly including adsorbed NH3). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930029579&hterms=physical+activity&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Dphysical%2Bactivity','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930029579&hterms=physical+activity&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Dphysical%2Bactivity">Physical aging in comets</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Meech, Karen J. 1991-01-01 The question of physical aging in cometary nuclei is addressed in order to elucidate the relationship between the past conditions in the protosolar nebula and the present state of the cometary nucleus, and to understand the processes that will physically and chemically alter the nucleus as a function of time. Attention is given to some of the processes that might be responsible for causing aging in comets, namely, radiation damage in the upper layers of the nucleus during the long residences in the Oort cloud, processing from heating and collisions within the Oort cloud, loss of highly volatile species from the nucleus on the first passage through the inner solar system, buildup of a dusty mantle, which can eventually prohibit further sublimation, and a change in the porosity, and hence the thermal properties, of the nucleus. Recent observations suggest that there are distinct differences between 'fresh' Oort cloud comets and thermally processed periodic comets with respect to intrinsic brightness and rate of change of activity as a function of distance. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19950028643&hterms=marine+energy&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dmarine%2Benergy','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19950028643&hterms=marine+energy&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dmarine%2Benergy">Roles of drizzle in a one-dimensional third-order turbulence closure model of the nocturnal stratus-topped marine boundary layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Wang, Shouping; Wang, Qing 1994-01-01 This study focuses on the effects of drizzle in a one-dimensional third-order turbulence closure model of the nocturnal stratus-topped marine boundary layer. When the simulated drizzle rate is relatively small (maximum approximately equal to 0.6 mm/day), steady-state solutions are obtained. The boundary layer stabilizes essentially because drizzle causes evaporative cooling of the subcloud layer. This stabilization considerably reduces the buoyancy flux and turbulence kinetic energy below the stratus cloud. Thus, drizzle tends to decouple the cloud from the subcloud layer in the model, as suggested by many observational studies. In addition, the evaporation of drizzle in the subcloud layer creates small scattered clouds, which are likely to represent cumulus clouds, below the solid stratus cloud in the model. The sensitivity experiments show that these scattered clouds help maintain a coupled boundary layer. When the drizzle rate is relatively large (maximum approximately equal to 0.9 mm/day), the response of the model becomes transient with bursts in turbulent fluxes. This phenomenon is related to the formation of the scattered cloud layer below the solid stratus cloud. It appears that the model is inadequate to represent the heat and moisture transport by strong updrafts covering a small fractional area in cumulus convection. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19840043466&hterms=Grid&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3DGrid%2B2.0','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19840043466&hterms=Grid&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3DGrid%2B2.0">A nested-grid limited-area model for short term weather forecasting</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Wong, V. C.; Zack, J. W.; Kaplan, M. L.; Coats, G. D. 1983-01-01 The present investigation is concerned with a mesoscale atmospheric simulation system (MASS), incorporating the sigma-coordinate primitive equations. The present version of this model (MASS 3.0) has 14 vertical layers, with the upper boundary at 100 mb. There are 128 x 96 grid points in each layer. The earlier version of this model (MASS 2.0) has been described by Kaplan et al. (1982). The current investigation provides a summary of major revisions to that version and a description of the parameterization schemes which are presently included in the model. The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is considered, taking into account aspects of generalized similarity theory and free convection, the surface energy budget, the surface moisture budget, and prognostic equations for the depth h of the PBL. A cloud model is discussed, giving attention to stable precipitation, and cumulus convection. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20060018354&hterms=vertical+height&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dvertical%2Bheight','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20060018354&hterms=vertical+height&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dvertical%2Bheight">Height Distribution Between Cloud and Aerosol Layers from the GLAS Spaceborne Lidar in the Indian Ocean Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Hart, William D.; Spinhirne, James D.; Palm, Steven P.; Hlavka, Dennis L. 2005-01-01 The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), a nadir pointing lidar on the Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) launched in 2003, now provides important new global measurements of the relationship between the height distribution of cloud and aerosol layers. GLAS data have the capability to detect, locate, and distinguish between cloud and aerosol layers in the atmosphere up to 40 km altitude. The data product algorithm tests the product of the maximum attenuated backscatter coefficient b'(r) and the vertical gradient of b'(r) within a layer against a predetermined threshold. An initial case result for the critical Indian Ocean region is presented. From the results the relative height distribution between collocated aerosol and cloud shows extensive regions where cloud formation is well within dense aerosol scattering layers at the surface. Citation: Hart, W. D., J. D. Spinhime, S. P. Palm, and D. L. Hlavka (2005), Height distribution between cloud and aerosol layers from the GLAS spaceborne lidar in the Indian Ocean region, </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140000878','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140000878">The MJO Transition from Shallow to Deep Convection in CloudSat/CALIPSO Data and GISS GCM Simulations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> DelGenio, Anthony G.; Chen, Yonghua; Kim, Daehyun; Yao, Mao-Sung 2013-01-01 The relationship between convective penetration depth and tropospheric humidity is central to recent theories of the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO). It has been suggested that general circulation models (GCMs) poorly simulate the MJO because they fail to gradually moisten the troposphere by shallow convection and simulate a slow transition to deep convection. CloudSat and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) data are analyzed to document the variability of convection depth and its relation to water vapor during the MJO transition from shallow to deep convection and to constrain GCM cumulus parameterizations. Composites of cloud occurrence for 10MJO events show the following anticipatedMJO cloud structure: shallow and congestus clouds in advance of the peak, deep clouds near the peak, and upper-level anvils after the peak. Cirrus clouds are also frequent in advance of the peak. The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EarthObserving System (EOS) (AMSR-E) columnwater vapor (CWV) increases by;5 mmduring the shallow- deep transition phase, consistent with the idea of moisture preconditioning. Echo-top height of clouds rooted in the boundary layer increases sharply with CWV, with large variability in depth when CWV is between;46 and 68 mm. International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project cloud classifications reproduce these climatological relationships but correctly identify congestus-dominated scenes only about half the time. A version of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies Model E2 (GISS-E2) GCM with strengthened entrainment and rain evaporation that produces MJO-like variability also reproduces the shallow-deep convection transition, including the large variability of cloud-top height at intermediate CWV values. The variability is due to small grid-scale relative humidity and lapse rate anomalies for similar values of CWV. 1. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017ACP....17.3619G','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017ACP....17.3619G">Optical and geometrical properties of cirrus clouds in Amazonia derived from 1 year of ground-based lidar measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Gouveia, Diego A.; Barja, Boris; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Seifert, Patric; Baars, Holger; Pauliquevis, Theotonio; Artaxo, Paulo 2017-03-01 Cirrus clouds cover a large fraction of tropical latitudes and play an important role in Earth's radiation budget. Their optical properties, altitude, vertical and horizontal coverage control their radiative forcing, and hence detailed cirrus measurements at different geographical locations are of utmost importance. Studies reporting cirrus properties over tropical rain forests like the Amazon, however, are scarce. Studies with satellite profilers do not give information on the diurnal cycle, and the satellite imagers do not report on the cloud vertical structure. At the same time, ground-based lidar studies are restricted to a few case studies. In this paper, we derive the first comprehensive statistics of optical and geometrical properties of upper-tropospheric cirrus clouds in Amazonia. We used 1 year (July 2011 to June 2012) of ground-based lidar atmospheric observations north of Manaus, Brazil. This dataset was processed by an automatic cloud detection and optical properties retrieval algorithm. Upper-tropospheric cirrus clouds were observed more frequently than reported previously for tropical regions. The frequency of occurrence was found to be as high as 88 % during the wet season and not lower than 50 % during the dry season. The diurnal cycle shows a minimum around local noon and maximum during late afternoon, associated with the diurnal cycle of precipitation. The mean values of cirrus cloud top and base heights, cloud thickness, and cloud optical depth were 14.3 ± 1.9 (SD) km, 12.9 ± 2.2 km, 1.4 ± 1.1 km, and 0.25 ± 0.46, respectively. Cirrus clouds were found at temperatures down to -90 °C. Frequently cirrus were observed within the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), which are likely associated to slow mesoscale uplifting or to the remnants of overshooting convection. The vertical distribution was not uniform, and thin and subvisible cirrus occurred more frequently closer to the tropopause. The mean lidar ratio was 23.3 ± 8.0 sr. However, for subvisible cirrus clouds a bimodal distribution with a secondary peak at about 44 sr was found suggesting a mixed composition. A dependence of the lidar ratio with cloud temperature (altitude) was not found, indicating that the clouds are vertically well mixed. The frequency of occurrence of cirrus clouds classified as subvisible (τ < 0. 03) were 41.6 %, whilst 37.8 % were thin cirrus (0. 03 < τ < 0. 3) and 20.5 % opaque cirrus (τ > 0. 3). Hence, in central Amazonia not only a high frequency of cirrus clouds occurs, but also a large fraction of subvisible cirrus clouds. This high frequency of subvisible cirrus clouds may contaminate aerosol optical depth measured by sun photometers and satellite sensors to an unknown extent. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003JGRD..108.4796F','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003JGRD..108.4796F">Upper-tropospheric inversion and easterly jet in the tropics</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Fujiwara, M.; Xie, S.-P.; Shiotani, M.; Hashizume, H.; Hasebe, F.; VöMel, H.; Oltmans, S. J.; Watanabe, T. 2003-12-01 Shipboard radiosonde measurements revealed a persistent temperature inversion layer with a thickness of ˜200 m at 12-13 km in a nonconvective region over the tropical eastern Pacific, along 2°N, in September 1999. Simultaneous relative humidity measurements indicated that the thin inversion layer was located at the top of a very wet layer with a thickness of 3-4 km, which was found to originate from the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) to the north. Radiative transfer calculations suggested that this upper tropospheric inversion (UTI) was produced and maintained by strong longwave cooling in this wet layer. A strong easterly jet stream was also observed at 12-13 km, centered around 4°-5°N. This easterly jet was in the thermal wind balance, with meridional temperature gradients produced by the cloud and radiative processes in the ITCZ and the wet outflow. Furthermore, the jet, in turn, acted to spread inversions further downstream through the transport of radiatively active water vapor. This feedback mechanism may explain the omnipresence of temperature inversions and layering structures in trace gases in the tropical troposphere. Examination of high-resolution radiosonde data at other sites in the tropical Pacific indicates that similar UTIs often appear around 12-15 km. The UTI around 12-15 km may thus be characterized as one of the "climatological" inversions in the tropical troposphere, forming the lower boundary of the so-called tropical tropopause layer, where the tropospheric air is processed photochemically and microphysically before entering the stratosphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140009174','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140009174">Global Free Tropospheric NO2 Abundances Derived Using a Cloud Slicing Technique Applied to Satellite Observations from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Choi, S.; Joiner, J.; Choi, Y.; Duncan, B. N.; Bucsela, E. 2014-01-01 We derive free-tropospheric NO2 volume mixing ratios (VMRs) and stratospheric column amounts of NO2 by applying a cloud slicing technique to data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite. In the cloud-slicing approach, the slope of the above-cloud NO2 column versus the cloud scene pressure is proportional to the NO2 VMR. In this work, we use a sample of nearby OMI pixel data from a single orbit for the linear fit. The OMI data include cloud scene pressures from the rotational-Raman algorithm and above-cloud NO2 vertical column density (VCD) (defined as the NO2 column from the cloud scene pressure to the top-of-the-atmosphere) from a differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) algorithm. Estimates of stratospheric column NO2 are obtained by extrapolating the linear fits to the tropopause. We compare OMI-derived NO2 VMRs with in situ aircraft profiles measured during the NASA Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment Phase B (INTEX-B) campaign in 2006. The agreement is generally within the estimated uncertainties when appropriate data screening is applied. We then derive a global seasonal climatology of free-tropospheric NO2 VMR in cloudy conditions. Enhanced NO2 in the free troposphere commonly appears near polluted urban locations where NO2 produced in the boundary layer may be transported vertically out of the boundary layer and then horizontally away from the source. Signatures of lightning NO2 are also shown throughout low and middle latitude regions in summer months. A profile analysis of our cloud slicing data indicates signatures of uplifted and transported anthropogenic NO2 in the middle troposphere as well as lightning-generated NO2 in the upper troposphere. Comparison of the climatology with simulations from the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) for cloudy conditions (cloud optical thicknesses > 10) shows similarities in the spatial patterns of continental pollution outflow. However, there are also some differences in the seasonal variation of free-tropospheric NO2 VMRs near highly populated regions and in areas affected by lightning-generated NOx. Stratospheric column NO2 obtained from cloud slicing agrees well with other independently-generated estimates, providing further confidence in the free-tropospheric results. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_9");'>9</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_10");'>10</a></li> <li class="active">11</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_12");'>12</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_13");'>13</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_12" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_10");'>10</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_11");'>11</a></li> <li class="active">12</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_13");'>13</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_14");'>14</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="221"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19970026660','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19970026660">Global Single and Multiple Cloud Classification with a Fuzzy Logic Expert System</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Welch, Ronald M.; Tovinkere, Vasanth; Titlow, James; Baum, Bryan A. 1996-01-01 An unresolved problem in remote sensing concerns the analysis of satellite imagery containing both single and multiple cloud layers. While cloud parameterizations are very important both in global climate models and in studies of the Earth's radiation budget, most cloud retrieval schemes, such as the bispectral method used by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP), have no way of determining whether overlapping cloud layers exist in any group of satellite pixels. Coakley (1983) used a spatial coherence method to determine whether a region contained more than one cloud layer. Baum et al. (1995) developed a scheme for detection and analysis of daytime multiple cloud layers using merged AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) and HIRS (High-resolution Infrared Radiometer Sounder) data collected during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Cirrus 2 field campaign. Baum et al. (1995) explored the use of a cloud classification technique based on AVHRR data. This study examines the feasibility of applying the cloud classifier to global satellite imagery. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090001834&hterms=HISTOGRAM&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3DHISTOGRAM','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090001834&hterms=HISTOGRAM&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3DHISTOGRAM">CO Signatures in Subtropical Convective Clouds and Anvils During CRYSTAL-FACE: An Analysis of Convective Transport and Entertainment Using Observations and a Cloud-Resolving Model</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Lopez, Jimena P.; Fridlind, Ann M.; Jost, Hans-Jurg; Loewenstein, Max; Ackerman, Andrew S.; Campos, Teresa L.; Weinstock, Elliot M.; Sayres, David S.; Smith, Jessica B.; Pittman, Jasna V.; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20090001834'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20090001834_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20090001834_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20090001834_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20090001834_hide"> 2006-01-01 Convective systems are an important mechanism in the transport of boundary layer air into the upper troposphere. The Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) campaign, in July 2002, was developed as a comprehensive atmospheric mission to improve knowledge of subtropical cirrus systems and their roles in regional and global climate. In situ measurements of carbon monoxide (CO), water vapor (H20v), and total water (H20t) aboard NASA's . WB-57F aircraft and CO aboard the U.S. Navy's Twin Otter aircraft were obtained to study the role of convective transport. Three flights sampled convective outflow on 11, 16 and 29 July found varying degrees of CO enhancement relative to the fiee troposphere. A cloud-resolving model used the in situ observations and meteorological fields to study these three systems. Several methods of filtering the observations were devised here using ice water content, relative humidity with respect to ice, and particle number concentration as a means to statistically sample the model results to represent the flight tracks. A weighted histogram based on ice water content observations was then used to sample the simulations for the three flights. In addition, because the observations occurred in the convective outflow cirrus and not in the storm cores, the model was used to estimate the maximum CO within the convective systems. In general, anvil-level air parcels contained an estimated 20-40% boundary layer air in the analyzed storms. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20060050040&hterms=HISTOGRAM&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3DHISTOGRAM','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20060050040&hterms=HISTOGRAM&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3DHISTOGRAM">CO Signatures in Subtropical Convective Clouds and Anvils during CRYSTAL-FACE: An Analysis of Convective Transport and Entrainment using Observations and a Cloud-Resolving Model</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Lopez, Jimena P.; Fridlind, Ann M.; Jost, Hans-Juerg; Loewenstein, Max; Ackerman, Andrew S.; Campos, Teresa L.; Weinstock, Elliot M.; Sayres, David S.; Smith, Jessica B.; Pittman, Jasna V. 2006-01-01 Convective systems are an important mechanism in the transport of boundary layer air into the upper troposphere. The Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) campaign, in July 2002, was developed as a comprehensive atmospheric mission to improve knowledge of subtropical cirrus systems and their roles in regional and global climate. In situ measurements of carbon monoxide (CO), water vapor (H2Ov), and total water (H2Ot) aboard NASA's WB-57F aircraft and CO aboard the U.S. Navy's Twin Otter aircraft were obtained to study the role of convective transport. Three flights sampled convective outflow on 11, 16 and 29 July found varying degrees of CO enhancement relative to the free troposphere. A cloud-resolving model used the in situ observations and meteorological fields to study these three systems. Several methods of filtering the observations were devised here using ice water content, relative humidity with respect to ice, and particle number concentration as a means to statistically sample the model results to represent the flight tracks. A weighted histogram based on ice water content observations was then used to sample the simulations for the three flights. In addition, because the observations occurred in the convective outflow cirrus and not in the storm cores, the model was used to estimate the maximum CO within the convective systems. In general, anvil-level air parcels contained an estimated 20-40% boundary layer air in the analyzed storms. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JGRE..123..335T','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JGRE..123..335T">Three-Dimensional Structures of Thermal Tides Simulated by a Venus GCM</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Takagi, Masahiro; Sugimoto, Norihiko; Ando, Hiroki; Matsuda, Yoshihisa 2018-02-01 Thermal tides in the Venus atmosphere are investigated by using a GCM named as AFES-Venus. The three-dimensional structures of wind and temperature associated with the thermal tides obtained in our model are fully examined and compared with observations. The result shows that the wind and temperature distributions of the thermal tides depend complexly on latitude and altitude in the cloud layer, mainly because they consist of vertically propagating and trapped modes with zonal wave numbers of 1-4, each of which predominates in different latitudes and altitudes under the influence of mid- and high-latitude jets. A strong circulation between the subsolar and antisolar (SS-AS) points, which is equivalent to a diurnal component of the thermal tides, is superposed on the superrotation. The vertical velocity of SS-AS circulation is about 10 times larger than that of the zonal-mean meridional circulation (ZMMC) in 60-70 km altitudes. It is suggested that the SS-AS circulation could contribute to the material transport, and its upward motion might be related to the UV dark region observed in the subsolar and early afternoon regions in low latitudes. The terdiurnal and quaterdiurnal tides, which may be excited by the nonlinear interactions among the diurnal and semidiurnal tides in middle and high latitudes, are detected in the solar-fixed Y-shape structure formed in the vertical wind field in the upper cloud layer. The ZMMC is weak and has a complex structure in the cloud layer; the Hadley circulation is confined to latitudes equatorward of 30°, and the Ferrel-like one appears in middle and high latitudes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010EGUGA..12.4276H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010EGUGA..12.4276H">Venus winds at cloud level from VIRTIS during the Venus Express mission</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hueso, Ricardo; Peralta, Javier; Sánchez-Lavega, Agustín.; Pérez-Hoyos, Santiago; Piccioni, Giuseppe; Drossart, Pierre 2010-05-01 The Venus Express (VEX) mission has been in orbit to Venus for almost four years now. The VIRTIS instrument onboard VEX observes Venus in two channels (visible and infrared) obtaining spectra and multi-wavelength images of the planet. Images in the ultraviolet range are used to study the upper cloud at 66 km while images in the infrared (1.74 μm) map the opacity of the lower cloud deck at 48 km. Here we present our latest results on the analysis of the global atmospheric dynamics at these cloud levels using a large selection over the full VIRTIS dataset. We will show the atmospheric zonal superrotation at these levels and the mean meridional motions. The zonal winds are very stable in the lower cloud at mid-latitudes to the tropics while it shows different signatures of variability in the upper cloud where solar tide effects are manifest in the data. While the upper clouds present a net meridional motion consistent with the upper branch of a Hadley cell the lower cloud present almost null global meridional motions at all latitudes but with particular features traveling both northwards and southwards in a turbulent manner depending on the cloud morphology on the observations. A particular important atmospheric feature is the South Polar vortex which might be influencing the structure of the zonal winds in the lower cloud at latitudes from the vortex location up to 55°S. Acknowledgements This work has been funded by the Spanish MICIIN AYA2009-10701 with FEDER support and Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT-464-07. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993JApMe..32.1559N','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993JApMe..32.1559N">A Comparison of Several Techniques to Assign Heights to Cloud Tracers.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Nieman, Steven J.; Schmetz, Johannes; Menzel, W. Paul 1993-09-01 Satellite-derived cloud-motion vector (CMV) production has been troubled by inaccurate height assignment of cloud tracers, especially in thin semitransparent clouds. This paper presents the results of an intercomparison of current operational height assignment techniques. Currently, heights are assigned by one of three techniques when the appropriate spectral radiance measurements are available. The infrared window (IRW) technique compares measured brightness temperatures to forecast temperature profiles and thus infers opaque cloud levels. In semitransparent or small subpixel clouds, the carbon dioxide (CO2) technique uses the ratio of radiances from different layers of the atmosphere to infer the correct cloud height. In the water vapor (H2O) technique, radiances influenced by upper-tropospheric moisture and IRW radiances are measured for several pixels viewing different cloud amounts, and their linear relationship is used to extrapolate the correct cloud height. The results presented in this paper suggest that the H2O technique is a viable alternative to the CO2 technique for inferring the heights of semitransparent cloud elements. This is important since future National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) operations will have to rely on H20-derived cloud-height assignments in the wind field determinations with the next operational geostationary satellite. On a given day, the heights from the two approaches compare to within 60 110 hPa rms; drier atmospheric conditions tend to reduce the effectiveness of the H2O technique. By inference one can conclude that the present height algorithms used operationally at NESDIS (with the C02 technique) and at the European Satellite Operations Center (ESOC) (with their version of the H20 technique) are providing similar results. Sample wind fields produced with the ESOC and NESDIS algorithms using Meteosat-4 data show good agreement. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.A33J0279N','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.A33J0279N">Temporal variation of the cloud top height over the tropical Pacific observed by geostationary satellites</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Nishi, N.; Hamada, A. 2012-12-01 Stratiform clouds (nimbostratus and cirriform clouds) in the upper troposphere accompanied with cumulonimbus activity cover large part of the tropical region and largely affect the radiation and water vapor budgets there. Recently new satellites (CloudSat and CALIPSO) can give us the information of cloud height and cloud ice amount even over the open ocean. However, their coverage is limited just below the satellite paths; it is difficult to capture the whole shape and to trace the lifecycle of each cloud system by using just these datasets. We made, as a complementary product, a dataset of cloud top height and visible optical thickness with one-hour resolution over the wide region, by using infrared split-window data of the geostationary satellites (AGU fall meeting 2011) and released on the internet (http://database.rish.kyoto-u.ac.jp/arch/ctop/). We made lookup tables for estimating cloud top height only with geostationary infrared observations by comparing them with the direct cloud observation by CloudSat (Hamada and Nishi, 2010, JAMC). We picked out the same-time observations by MTSAT and CloudSat and regressed the cloud top height observation of CloudSat back onto 11μm brightness temperature (Tb) and the difference between the 11μm Tb and 12μm Tb. We will call our estimated cloud top height as "CTOP" below. The area of our coverage is 85E-155W (MTSAT2) and 80E-160W(MTSAT1R), and 20S-20N. The accuracy of the estimation with the IR split-window observation is the best in the upper tropospheric height range. We analyzed the formation and maintenance of the cloud systems whose top height is in the upper troposphere with our CTOP analysis, CloudSat 2B-GEOPROF, and GSMaP (Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation) precipitation data. Most of the upper tropospheric stratiform clouds have their cloud top within 13-15 km range. The cloud top height decreases slowly when dissipating but still has high value to the end. However, we sometimes observe that a little lower cloud top height (6-10 km) is kept within one-two days. A typical example is observed on 5 January 2011 in a dissipating cloud system with 1000-km scale. This cluster located between 0-10N just west of the International Date Line and moved westward with keeping relatively lower cloud top (6-10 km) over one day. This top height is lower than the ubiquitous upper-tropospheric stratiform clouds but higher than the so-called 'congestus cloud' whose top height is around 0C. CloudSat data show the presence of convective rainfall. It suggests that this cloud system continuously kept making new anvil clouds in a little lower height than usual. We examined the seasonal variation of the distribution of cloud systems with a little lower cloud top height (6-11 km) during 2010-11. The number of such cloud systems is not constant with seasons but frequently increased in some specific seasons. Over the equatorial ocean region (east of 150E), they were frequently observed during the northern winter. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20000114827','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20000114827">Tropical Convective Outflow and Near Surface Equivalent Potential Temperatures</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Folkins, Ian; Oltmans, Samuel J.; Thompson, Anne M.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor) 2000-01-01 We use clear sky heating rates to show that convective outflow in the tropics decreases rapidly with height between the 350 K and 360 K potential temperature surfaces (or between roughly 13 and 15 km). There is also a rapid fall-off in the pseudoequivalent potential temperature probability distribution of near surface air parcels between 350 K and 360 K. This suggests that the vertical variation of convective outflow in the upper tropical troposphere is to a large degree determined by the distribution of sub cloud layer entropy. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19830064488&hterms=1041&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3D%2526%25231041','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19830064488&hterms=1041&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3D%2526%25231041">Heavy thunderstorms observed over land by the Nimbus 7 scanning multichannel microwave radiometer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Spencer, R. W.; Olson, W. S.; Martin, D. W.; Weinman, J. A.; Santek, D. A.; Wu, R. 1983-01-01 Brightness temperatures obtained through examination of microwave data from the Nimbus 7 satellite are noted to be much lower than those expected on the strength of radiation emanating from rain-producing clouds. Very cold brightness temperature cases all coincided with heavy thunderstorm rainfall, with the cold temperatures being attributable to scattering by a layer of ice hydrometeors in the upper parts of the storms. It is accordingly suggested that brightness temperatures observed by satellite microwave radiometers can sometimes distinguish heavy rain over land. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA198195','DTIC-ST'); return false;" href="http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA198195">Technical Papers Presented at the Defense Nuclear Agency Global Effects Review Held in Santa Barbara, California on 7-9 April 1987. Volume 2</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.dtic.mil/">DTIC Science & Technology</a> 1987-05-19 Prescribed 341 Burn - Einfield, Zak, Mokler and Morrison 23. Measurements of Cloud Active Aerosol in Large Scale Fires - Hudson 356 24. Optical Depth...Cover A LAI change with I Leaf drop temperaturelseason STEMSilraio I R u plo oilS u r fa c e Surfctie %ooil temeraureUpper leyer wetness layer( du...Michigan can be attributed to an unforecast mesoscale region of cloudiness. The positive error region in western Tennessee and Kentucky is associated </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43B2454J','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43B2454J">Boundary Layer Thermodynamics and Cloud Microphysics for a Mixed Stratocumulus and Cumulus Cloud Field Observed during ACE-ENA</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Jensen, M. P.; Miller, M. A.; Wang, J. 2017-12-01 The first Intensive Observation Period of the DOE Aerosol and Cloud Experiments in the Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA) took place from 21 June through 20 July 2017 involving the deployment of the ARM Gulfstream-159 (G-1) aircraft with a suite of in situ cloud and aerosol instrumentation in the vicinity of the ARM Climate Research Facility Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) site on Graciosa Island, Azores. Here we present preliminary analysis of the thermodynamic characteristics of the marine boundary layer and the variability of cloud properties for a mixed cloud field including both stratiform cloud layers and deeper cumulus elements. Analysis combines in situ atmospheric state observations from the G-1 with radiosonde profiles and surface meteorology from the ENA site in order to characterize the thermodynamic structure of the marine boundary layer including the coupling state and stability. Cloud/drizzle droplet size distributions measured in situ are combined with remote sensing observations from a scanning cloud radar, and vertically pointing cloud radar and lidar provide quantification of the macrophysical and microphysical properties of the mixed cloud field. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002150.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002150.html">Open-cell and closed-cell clouds off Peru [detail</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 2017-12-08 2010/107 - 04/17 at 21 :05 UTC. Open-cell and closed-cell clouds off Peru, Pacific Ocean. To view the full fame of this image to go: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/4557497219/ Resembling a frosted window on a cold winter's day, this lacy pattern of marine clouds was captured off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on April 19, 2010. The image reveals both open- and closed-cell cumulus cloud patterns. These cells, or parcels of air, often occur in roughly hexagonal arrays in a layer of fluid (the atmosphere often behaves like a fluid) that begins to "boil," or convect, due to heating at the base or cooling at the top of the layer. In "closed" cells warm air is rising in the center, and sinking around the edges, so clouds appear in cell centers, but evaporate around cell edges. This produces cloud formations like those that dominate the lower left. The reverse flow can also occur: air can sink in the center of the cell and rise at the edge. This process is called "open cell" convection, and clouds form at cell edges around open centers, which creates a lacy, hollow-looking pattern like the clouds in the upper right. Closed and open cell convection represent two stable atmospheric configurations — two sides of the convection coin. But what determines which path the "boiling" atmosphere will take? Apparently the process is highly chaotic, and there appears to be no way to predict whether convection will result in open or closed cells. Indeed, the atmosphere may sometimes flip between one mode and another in no predictable pattern. Satellite: Aqua NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team To learn more about MODIS go to: rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?latest NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002AdSpR..29..243Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002AdSpR..29..243Z">Local time variations of the middle atmosphere of Venus: Solar-related structures</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zasova, L.; Khatountsev, I. V.; Ignatiev, N. I.; Moroz, V. I. Three-dimensional fields (latitude — altitude — local time) of temperature and aerosol in the upper clouds, obtained from the Venera-15 IR spectrometry data, were studied to search for the solar-related structures. The temperature variation at the isobaric levels vs. solar longitude was presented as a superposition of the cosines with periods of 1, 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4 Venusian days. At low latitudes the diurnal tidal component reaches a maximum above 0.2 mb (92km) level. At high latitudes it dominates at P> 50 mb (68 km) in the cold collar, being roughly twice as much as the semidiurnal one and passing through the maximum of 13 K at 400 mb (57 km). The semidiurnal tidal amplitude exceeds the diurnal one below 90 km (where its maximum locates near 83 km), and also in the upper clouds, above 58 km. At low latitudes the 1/3 days component predominates at 10 - 50 mb (68-76 km). In the upper clouds, where most of the solar energy, absorbed in the middle atmosphere, deposits, all four tidal components, including wavenumbers 3 and 4, have significant amplitudes. A position of the upper boundary of the clouds depends on local time in such a way that the lowest height of the clouds is observed in the morning at all selected latitude ranges. At low latitudes the highest position of the upper boundary of the clouds (at 1218 cm -1) is found at 8 - 9 PM, whereas the lowest one is near the morning terminator. At high latitudes the lowest position of the upper boundary of the clouds shifts towards the dayside being at 10:30 AM at 75° in the cold collar and the highest one shifts to 4 PM. The zonal mean altitude of the upper boundary of the clouds decreases from 69 km at 15° to 59 km at 75°. The diurnal tidal component has the highest amplitude in the cold collar (1.5 km). At low latitudes both amplitudes, diurnal and semidiurnal, reach the values 0.8 - 1 km. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AcAau.127..553K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AcAau.127..553K">Test study on the performance of shielding configuration with stuffed layer under hypervelocity impact</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Ke, Fa-wei; Huang, Jie; Wen, Xue-zhong; Ma, Zhao-xia; Liu, Sen 2016-10-01 In order to study the cracking and intercepting mechanism of stuffed layer configuration on the debris cloud and to develop stuffed layer configuration with better performance, the hypervelocity impact tests on shielding configurations with stuffed layer were carried out. Firstly, the hypervelocity impact tests on the shielding configuration with stuffed layer of 3 layer ceramic fibre and 3 layer aramid fibre were finished, the study results showed that the debris cloud generated by the aluminum sphere impacting bumper at the velocity of about 6.2 km/s would be racked and intercepted by the stuffed layer configuration efficiently when the ceramic fibre layers and aramid fibre layers were jointed together, however, the shielding performance would be declined when the ceramic fibre layers and aramid fibre layers were divided by some distance. The mechanism of stuffed layer racking and intercepting the debris cloud was analyzed according to the above test results. Secondly, based on the mechanism of the stuffed layer cracking and intercepint debirs cloud the hypervelocity impact tests on the following three stuffed layer structures with the equivalent areal density to the 1 mm-thick aluminum plate were also carried out to compare their performance of cracking and intercepting debris cloud. The mechanisms of stuffed layer racking and intercepting the debris cloud were validated by the test result. Thirdly, the influence of the stuffed layer position on the shielding performance was studied by the test, too. The test results would provide reference for the design of better performance shielding configuration with stuffed layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=SL4-138-3894&hterms=cultural+different&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Dcultural%2Bdifferent','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=SL4-138-3894&hterms=cultural+different&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Dcultural%2Bdifferent">View of portion of the northeastern United States as seen from Skylab</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1974-01-01 An oblique view of a portion of the northeastern United States (41.5N, 91.0W), as photographed from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit by one of the Skylab 4 crewmen. The entire area of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, southeastern New York, and southern New England can be examined in one view. Long Island, New York City, and the lower Hudson River Valley are readily seen in their regional framework. The Boston area, although blurred by clouds, is also included. The snow enhances the contrast, especially of terrain and cultural features. Different levels of clouds can be studied, especially the crossing layers of cirrus in the center of the photograph, with the lower cirrus trending north-south and the upper (probably associated with a jet steam) trending east-west. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20100033763','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20100033763">Relation of Cloud Occurrence Frequency, Overlap, and Effective Thickness Derived from CALIPSO and CloudSat Merged Cloud Vertical Profiles</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Kato, Seiji; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Miller, Walter F.; Rose, Fred G.; Chen, Yan; Minnis, Patrick; Wielicki, Bruce A. 2009-01-01 A cloud frequency of occurrence matrix is generated using merged cloud vertical profile derived from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR). The matrix contains vertical profiles of cloud occurrence frequency as a function of the uppermost cloud top. It is shown that the cloud fraction and uppermost cloud top vertical pro les can be related by a set of equations when the correlation distance of cloud occurrence, which is interpreted as an effective cloud thickness, is introduced. The underlying assumption in establishing the above relation is that cloud overlap approaches the random overlap with increasing distance separating cloud layers and that the probability of deviating from the random overlap decreases exponentially with distance. One month of CALIPSO and CloudSat data support these assumptions. However, the correlation distance sometimes becomes large, which might be an indication of precipitation. The cloud correlation distance is equivalent to the de-correlation distance introduced by Hogan and Illingworth [2000] when cloud fractions of both layers in a two-cloud layer system are the same. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01268&hterms=Dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DDark%2Bweb','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01268&hterms=Dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DDark%2Bweb">An Infrared View of Saturn</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1998-01-01 In honor of NASA Hubble Space Telescope's eighth anniversary, we have gift wrapped Saturn in vivid colors. Actually, this image is courtesy of the new Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS), which has taken its first peek at Saturn. The false-color image - taken Jan. 4, 1998 - shows the planet's reflected infrared light. This view provides detailed information on the clouds and hazes in Saturn's atmosphere.The blue colors indicate a clear atmosphere down to a main cloud layer. Different shadings of blue indicate variations in the cloud particles, in size or chemical composition. The cloud particles are believed to be ammonia ice crystals. Most of the northern hemisphere that is visible above the rings is relatively clear. The dark region around the south pole at the bottom indicates a big hole in the main cloud layer.The green and yellow colors indicate a haze above the main cloud layer. The haze is thin where the colors are green but thick where they are yellow. Most of the southern hemisphere (the lower part of Saturn) is quite hazy. These layers are aligned with latitude lines, due to Saturn's east-west winds.The red and orange colors indicate clouds reaching up high into the atmosphere. Red clouds are even higher than orange clouds. The densest regions of two storms near Saturn's equator appear white. On Earth, the storms with the highest clouds are also found in tropical latitudes. The smaller storm on the left is about as large as the Earth, and larger storms have been recorded on Saturn in 1990 and 1994.The rings, made up of chunks of ice, are as white as images of ice taken in visible light. However, in the infrared, water absorption causes various colorations. The most obvious is the brown color of the innermost ring. The rings cast their shadow onto Saturn. The bright line seen within this shadow is sunlight shining through the Cassini Division, the separation between the two bright rings. It is best observed on the left side, just above the rings. This view is possible due to a rare geometry during the observation. The next time this observable from Earth will be in 2006. An accurate investigation of the ring's shadow also shows sunlight shining through the Encke Gap, a thin division very close to the outer edge of the ring system.Two of Saturn's satellites were recorded, Dione on the lower left and Tethys on the upper right. Tethys is just ending its transit across the disk of Saturn. They appear in different colors, yellow and green, indicating different conditions on their icy surfaces.Wavelengths: A color image consists of three exposures (or three film layers). For visible true-color images, the wavelengths of these three exposures are 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 micrometers for blue, green, and red light, respectively. This Saturn image was taken at longer infrared wavelengths of 1.0, 1.8, and 2.1 micrometers, displayed as blue, green, and red. Reflected sunlight is seen at all these wavelengths, since Saturn's own heat glows only at wavelengths above 4 micrometers.The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Spaced Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/ </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013EGUGA..15.9650K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013EGUGA..15.9650K">Common Gamma-ray Glows above Thunderclouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kelley, Nicole; Smith, David; Dwyer, Joseph; Hazelton, Bryna; Grefenstette, Brian; Lowell, Alex; Splitt, Michael; Lazarus, Steven; Rassoul, Hamid 2013-04-01 Gamma-ray glows are continuous, long duration gamma- and x-ray emission seen coming from thunderclouds. The Airborne for Energetic Lightning Emissions (ADELE) observed 12 gamma-ray glows during its summer 2009 flight campaign over the areas of Colorado and Florida in the United States. For these glows we shall present their spectra, relationship to lightning activity and how their duration and size changes as a function of distance. Gamma-ray glows follow the relativistic runaway electron avalanche (RREA) spectrum and have been previously measured from the ground and inside the cloud. ADELE measured most glows as it flew above the screening layer of the cloud. During the brightest glow on August 21, 2009, we can show that we are flying directly into a downward facing relativistic runaway avalanche, indicative of flying between the upper positive and negative screening layer of the cloud. In order to explain the brightness of this glow, RREA with an electric field approaching the limit for relativistic feedback must be occurring. Using all 12 glows, we show that lightning activity diminishes during the onset of the glow. Using this along with the fact that glows occur as the field approaches the level necessary for feedback, we attempt to distinguish between two possibilities: that glows are evidence that RREA with feedback, rather than lightning, is sometimes the primary channel for discharging the cloud, or else that the overall discharging is still controlled by lightning, with glows simply appearing during times when a subsidence of lightning allows the field to rise above the threshold for RREA. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A54A..07W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A54A..07W">Trade cumulus clouds embedded in a deep regional haze: Results from Indian Ocean CARDEX experiment</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wilcox, E. M.; Thomas, R. M.; Praveen, P. S.; Pistone, K.; Bender, F.; Feng, Y.; Ramanathan, V. 2013-12-01 During the winter monsoon, trade cumulus clouds over the North Indian Ocean are embedded within a deep regional haze described as an atmospheric brown cloud. While the trade-cu clouds are largely confined to the marine boundary layer, the sooty brown cloud extends from the boundary layer to as high as 3 km; well above the tops of the cumulus. The boundary layer pollution is persistent and limits drizzle in the cumulus over a period of greater than a month at the Maldives Climate Observatory located at Hanimaadhoo Island. The elevated haze from 1 to 3 km altitude is episodic and strongly modulated by synoptic variability in the 700 hPa flow. The elevated plume enhances heating above the marine boundary layer through daytime absorption of sunlight by the haze particles. The interplay between the microphysical modification of clouds by boundary layer pollution and the episodic elevated heating by the atmospheric brown cloud are explored in in-situ observations from UAVs and surface remote sensing during the CARDEX field campaign of winter 2012 and supported by multi-year analysis of satellite remote sensing observations. These observations document the variability in pollution at the surface and above the marine boundary layer and the effects of pollution on the microphysics of the trade-cu clouds, the depth of the marine boundary layer, the liquid water path of trade-cu clouds, and the profile of turbulent moisture flux through the boundary layer. The consequences of these effects for the radiative forcing of regional climate will be discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFMGC21J..03W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFMGC21J..03W">Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations of Aerosol-Cloud Interactions Triggered by Strong Aerosol Emissions in the Arctic</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wang, H.; Kravitz, B.; Rasch, P. J.; Morrison, H.; Solomon, A. 2014-12-01 Previous process-oriented modeling studies have highlighted the dependence of effectiveness of cloud brightening by aerosols on cloud regimes in warm marine boundary layer. Cloud microphysical processes in clouds that contain ice, and hence the mechanisms that drive aerosol-cloud interactions, are more complicated than in warm clouds. Interactions between ice particles and liquid drops add additional levels of complexity to aerosol effects. A cloud-resolving model is used to study aerosol-cloud interactions in the Arctic triggered by strong aerosol emissions, through either geoengineering injection or concentrated sources such as shipping and fires. An updated cloud microphysical scheme with prognostic aerosol and cloud particle numbers is employed. Model simulations are performed in pure super-cooled liquid and mixed-phase clouds, separately, with or without an injection of aerosols into either a clean or a more polluted Arctic boundary layer. Vertical mixing and cloud scavenging of particles injected from the surface is still quite efficient in the less turbulent cold environment. Overall, the injection of aerosols into the Arctic boundary layer can delay the collapse of the boundary layer and increase low-cloud albedo. The pure liquid clouds are more susceptible to the increase in aerosol number concentration than the mixed-phase clouds. Rain production processes are more effectively suppressed by aerosol injection, whereas ice precipitation (snow) is affected less; thus the effectiveness of brightening mixed-phase clouds is lower than for liquid-only clouds. Aerosol injection into a clean boundary layer results in a greater cloud albedo increase than injection into a polluted one, consistent with current knowledge about aerosol-cloud interactions. Unlike previous studies investigating warm clouds, the impact of dynamical feedback due to precipitation changes is small. According to these results, which are dependent upon the representation of ice nucleation processes in the employed microphysical scheme, Arctic geoengineering/shipping could have substantial local radiative effects, but is unlikely to be effective as the sole means of counterbalancing warming due to climate change. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_10");'>10</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_11");'>11</a></li> <li class="active">12</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_13");'>13</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_14");'>14</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_13" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_11");'>11</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_12");'>12</a></li> <li class="active">13</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_14");'>14</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_15");'>15</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="241"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1281698-simulations-arctic-mixed-phase-clouds-forecasts-cam3-am2-pace','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1281698-simulations-arctic-mixed-phase-clouds-forecasts-cam3-am2-pace">Simulations of arctic mixed-phase clouds in forecasts with CAM3 and AM2 for M-PACE</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Xie, Shaocheng; Boyle, James; Klein, Stephen A.; ... 2008-02-27 [1] Simulations of mixed-phase clouds in forecasts with the NCAR Atmosphere Model version 3 (CAM3) and the GFDL Atmospheric Model version 2 (AM2) for the Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE) are performed using analysis data from numerical weather prediction centers. CAM3 significantly underestimates the observed boundary layer mixed-phase cloud fraction and cannot realistically simulate the variations of liquid water fraction with temperature and cloud height due to its oversimplified cloud microphysical scheme. In contrast, AM2 reasonably reproduces the observed boundary layer cloud fraction while its clouds contain much less cloud condensate than CAM3 and the observations. The simulation of themore » boundary layer mixed-phase clouds and their microphysical properties is considerably improved in CAM3 when a new physically based cloud microphysical scheme is used (CAM3LIU). The new scheme also leads to an improved simulation of the surface and top of the atmosphere longwave radiative fluxes. Sensitivity tests show that these results are not sensitive to the analysis data used for model initialization. Increasing model horizontal resolution helps capture the subgrid-scale features in Arctic frontal clouds but does not help improve the simulation of the single-layer boundary layer clouds. AM2 simulated cloud fraction and LWP are sensitive to the change in cloud ice number concentrations used in the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process while CAM3LIU only shows moderate sensitivity in its cloud fields to this change. Furthermore, this paper shows that the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process is important for these models to correctly simulate the observed features of mixed-phase clouds.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008JGRD..113.4211X','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008JGRD..113.4211X">Simulations of Arctic mixed-phase clouds in forecasts with CAM3 and AM2 for M-PACE</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Xie, Shaocheng; Boyle, James; Klein, Stephen A.; Liu, Xiaohong; Ghan, Steven 2008-02-01 Simulations of mixed-phase clouds in forecasts with the NCAR Atmosphere Model version 3 (CAM3) and the GFDL Atmospheric Model version 2 (AM2) for the Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE) are performed using analysis data from numerical weather prediction centers. CAM3 significantly underestimates the observed boundary layer mixed-phase cloud fraction and cannot realistically simulate the variations of liquid water fraction with temperature and cloud height due to its oversimplified cloud microphysical scheme. In contrast, AM2 reasonably reproduces the observed boundary layer cloud fraction while its clouds contain much less cloud condensate than CAM3 and the observations. The simulation of the boundary layer mixed-phase clouds and their microphysical properties is considerably improved in CAM3 when a new physically based cloud microphysical scheme is used (CAM3LIU). The new scheme also leads to an improved simulation of the surface and top of the atmosphere longwave radiative fluxes. Sensitivity tests show that these results are not sensitive to the analysis data used for model initialization. Increasing model horizontal resolution helps capture the subgrid-scale features in Arctic frontal clouds but does not help improve the simulation of the single-layer boundary layer clouds. AM2 simulated cloud fraction and LWP are sensitive to the change in cloud ice number concentrations used in the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process while CAM3LIU only shows moderate sensitivity in its cloud fields to this change. This paper shows that the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process is important for these models to correctly simulate the observed features of mixed-phase clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29789515','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29789515">A General Cross-Layer Cloud Scheduling Framework for Multiple IoT Computer Tasks.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Wu, Guanlin; Bao, Weidong; Zhu, Xiaomin; Zhang, Xiongtao 2018-05-23 The diversity of IoT services and applications brings enormous challenges to improving the performance of multiple computer tasks' scheduling in cross-layer cloud computing systems. Unfortunately, the commonly-employed frameworks fail to adapt to the new patterns on the cross-layer cloud. To solve this issue, we design a new computer task scheduling framework for multiple IoT services in cross-layer cloud computing systems. Specifically, we first analyze the features of the cross-layer cloud and computer tasks. Then, we design the scheduling framework based on the analysis and present detailed models to illustrate the procedures of using the framework. With the proposed framework, the IoT services deployed in cross-layer cloud computing systems can dynamically select suitable algorithms and use resources more effectively to finish computer tasks with different objectives. Finally, the algorithms are given based on the framework, and extensive experiments are also given to validate its effectiveness, as well as its superiority. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19980227689&hterms=clean+water&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dclean%2Bwater','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19980227689&hterms=clean+water&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dclean%2Bwater">LASE validation experiment: preliminary processing of relative humidity from LASE derived water vapor in the middle to upper troposphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Brackett, Vincent G.; Ismail, Syed; Browell, Edward V.; Kooi, Susan A.; Clayton, Marian B.; Ferrare, Richard A.; Minnis, Patrick; Getzewich, Brian J.; Staszel, Jennifer 1998-01-01 Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) is the first fully engineered, autonomous airborne DIAL (Differentials Absorption Lidar) system to measure water vapor, aerosols, and clouds throughout the troposphere. This system uses a double-pulsed Ti:sapphire laser, which is pumped by a frequency-doubled flashlamp-pumped Nd: YAG laser, to transmit light in the 815 mn absorption band of water vapor. LASE operates by locking to a strong water vapor line and electronically tuning to any spectral position on the absorption line to choose the suitable absorption cross-section for optimum measurements over a range of concentrations in the atmosphere. During the LASE Validation Experiment, which was conducted over Wallops Island during September, 1995, LASE operated on either the strong water line for measurements in middle to upper troposphere, or on the weak water line for measurements made in the middle to lower troposphere including the boundary layer. Comparisons with water vapor measurements made by airborne dew point and frost point hygrometers, NASA/GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) Raman Lidar, and radiosondes showed the LASE water vapor mixing ratio measurements to have an accuracy of better than 6% or 0.01 g/kg, whichever is larger, throughout the troposphere. In addition to measuring water vapor mixing ratio profiles, LASE simultaneously measures aerosol backscattering profiles at the off-line wavelength near 815 nm from which atmospheric scattering ratio (ASR) profiles are calculated. ASR is defined as the ratio of total (aerosol + molecular) atmospheric scattering to molecular scattering. Assuming a region with very low aerosol loading can be identified, such as that typically found just below the tropopause, then the ASR can be determined. The ASR profiles are calculated by normalizing the scattering in the region containing enhanced aerosols to the expected scattering by the "clean" atmosphere at that altitude. Images of the total ASR clearly depict cloud regions, including multiple cloud layers, thin upper level cirrus, etc., throughout the troposphere. New data products that are being derived from the LASE aerosol and water measurements include: 1) aerosol extinction coefficient, 2) aerosol optical thickness, 3) precipitable water vapor, and 4) relative humidity (RH). These products can be compared with airborne in-situ, and ground and satellite remote sensing measurements,. This paper presents a preliminary examination of RH profiles in the middle to upper troposphere that are generated from LASE measured water vapor mixing ratio profiles coupled with rawinsonde profiles of temperature and pressure. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFMAE13B..05P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFMAE13B..05P">Hypothesis on the Origin of Chaotic Pulse Train in Dart Leader</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Pu, Y.; Qie, X.; Sun, Z.; Jiang, R.; Liu, M.; Zhang, H. 2017-12-01 The origin of chaotic pulse train (CPT) during the dart leader propagation remains debatable. Based on previous observations, the `chaotic' dart leader is featured by chaotic electric fields, large charge transfer and high energetic radiation. In some cases, the cause of CPT was attributed to the concurrent branches or upward connecting leader. In this presentation, after carefully examining the simultaneous optical, electrical and VHF location data of triggered lightning in SHATLE and some results in other literature, we found the close relationship between the upper luminous leader segment and CPT. It is hypothesized that the CPT originates from the luminous corona zone around the upper leader channel beyond the leader tip. The fast, sufficient supply of negative charge from the cloud can result in a net negative charge layer around the ionized channel surface. Then new diffuse discharge can make a corona zone outside the channel and radiates in a chaotic way. The cloud charge reservoir and the speed of charge transfer, which can be indicated by the speed of the leader, are determinative to the generation of CPT. Using VHF location technique, we also estimated the speed evolution of the leader and link it with electric field change. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013PhDT........59G','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013PhDT........59G">Convective Cloud and Rainfall Processes Over the Maritime Continent: Simulation and Analysis of the Diurnal Cycle</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Gianotti, Rebecca L. The Maritime Continent experiences strong moist convection, which produces significant rainfall and drives large fluxes of heat and moisture to the upper troposphere. Despite the importance of these processes to global circulations, current predictions of climate change over this region are still highly uncertain, largely due to inadequate representation of the diurnally-varying processes related to convection. In this work, a coupled numerical model of the land-atmosphere system (RegCM3-IBIS) is used to investigate how more physically-realistic representations of these processes can be incorporated into large-scale climate models. In particular, this work improves simulations of convective-radiative feedbacks and the role of cumulus clouds in mediating the diurnal cycle of rainfall. Three key contributions are made to the development of RegCM3-IBIS. Two pieces of work relate directly to the formation and dissipation of convective clouds: a new representation of convective cloud cover, and a new parameterization of convective rainfall production. These formulations only contain parameters that can be directly quantified from observational data, are independent of model user choices such as domain size or resolution, and explicitly account for subgrid variability in cloud water content and nonlinearities in rainfall production. The third key piece of work introduces a new method for representation of cloud formation within the boundary layer. A comprehensive evaluation of the improved model was undertaken using a range of satellite-derived and ground-based datasets, including a new dataset from Singapore's Changi airport that documents diurnal variation of the local boundary layer height. The performance of RegCM3-IBIS with the new formulations is greatly improved across all evaluation metrics, including cloud cover, cloud liquid water, radiative fluxes and rainfall, indicating consistent improvement in physical realism throughout the simulation. This work demonstrates that: (1) moist convection strongly influences the near surface environment by mediating the incoming solar radiation and net radiation at the surface; (2) dissipation of convective cloud via rainfall plays an equally important role in the convectiveradiative feedback as the formation of that cloud; and (3) over parts of the Maritime Continent, rainfall is a product of diurnally-varying convective processes that operate at small spatial scales, on the order of 1 km. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, libraries.mit.edu/docs - docs@mit.edu) </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A21I2270U','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A21I2270U">Impact of convection on stratospheric humidity and upper tropospheric clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Ueyama, R.; Schoeberl, M. R.; Jensen, E. J.; Pfister, L.; Avery, M. A. 2017-12-01 The role of convection on stratospheric water vapor and upper tropospheric cloud fraction is investigated using two sets of complementary transport and microphysical models driven by MERRA-2 and ERA-Interim meteorological analyses: (1) computationally efficient ensembles of forward trajectories with simplified cloud microphysics, and (2) one-dimensional simulations with detailed microphysics along back trajectories. Convective influence along the trajectories is diagnosed based on TRMM/GPM rainfall products and geostationary infrared satellite cloud-top measurements, with convective cloud-top height adjusted to match the CloudSat, CALIPSO, and CATS measurements. We evaluate and constrain the model results by comparison with satellite observations (e.g., Aura MLS, CALIPSO CALIOP) and high-altitude aircraft campaigns (e.g., ATTREX, POSIDON). Convection moistens the lower stratosphere by approximately 10-15% and increases the cloud fraction in the upper troposphere by 35-50%. Convective moistening is dominated by the saturating effect of parcels; convectively-lofted ice has a negligible impact on lower stratospheric humidity. We also find that the highest convective clouds have a disproportionately large impact on stratospheric water vapor because stratospheric relative humidity is low. Implications of these model results on the role of convection on present and future climate will be discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014Icar..243...91H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014Icar..243...91H">Initial results from radio occultation measurements with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: A nocturnal mixed layer in the tropics and comparisons with polar profiles from the Mars Climate Sounder</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hinson, David P.; Asmar, Sami W.; Kahan, Daniel S.; Akopian, Varoujan; Haberle, Robert M.; Spiga, Aymeric; Schofield, John T.; Kleinböhl, Armin; Abdou, Wedad A.; Lewis, Stephen R.; Paik, Meegyeong; Maalouf, Sami G. 2014-11-01 The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) performs radio occultation (RO) measurements on selected orbits, generally once per day. We have retrieved atmospheric profiles from two subsets of data, yielding a variety of new results that illustrate the scientific value of the observations. One set of measurements sounded the tropics in northern summer at a local time ∼1 h before sunrise. Some of these profiles contain an unexpected layer of neutral stability with a depth of ∼4 km and a pressure at its upper boundary of ∼160 Pa. The mixed layer is bounded above by a temperature inversion and below by another strong inversion adjacent to the surface. This type of structure is observed near Gale Crater, in the Tharsis region, and at a few other locations, whereas profiles in Amazonis Planitia and Elysium Planitia show no sign of a detached mixed layer with an overlying inversion. We supplemented the measurements with numerical simulations by the NASA Ames Mars General Circulation Model, which demonstrate that water ice clouds can generate this distinctive type of temperature structure through their influence on radiative transfer at infrared wavelengths. In particular, the simulations predict the presence of a nocturnal cloud layer in the Tharsis region at a pressure of ∼150 Pa (∼10 km above the surface), and the nighttime radiative cooling at cloud level is sufficient to produce a temperature inversion above the cloud as well as convective instability below the cloud, consistent with the observations. The second set of measurements sounded mid-to-high northern latitudes in spring, when carefully coordinated observations by the MRO Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) are also available. The differences between the RO and MCS temperature profiles are generally consistent with the expected performance of the two instruments. Within this set of 21 comparisons the average temperature difference is less than 1 K where the aerosol opacities are smaller than 10-3km-1 , at pressures of 10-50 Pa, whereas it increases to ∼2 K where the aerosol opacities exceed this threshold, at pressures of 50-300 Pa. The standard deviation of the temperature difference is ∼2 K, independent of pressure. The second set of RO measurements also provides unique information about the stability of the annual CO2 cycle and the dynamics near the edge of the seasonal CO2 ice cap. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..1913484A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..1913484A">The evolution of nocturnal boundary-layer clouds in southern West Africa - a case study from DACCIWA</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Adler, Bianca; Kalthoff, Norbert; Babić, Karmen; Lohou, Fabienne; Dione, Cheikh; Lothon, Marie; Pedruzo-Bagazgoitia, Xabier 2017-04-01 During the monsoon season, the atmospheric boundary layer in southern West Africa is characterised by various kinds of low-level clouds which experience a distinct diurnal cycle. During the night, extensive low-level stratiform clouds frequently form with a cloud base often less than few hundred metres above ground. After sunrise the cloud base slowly starts rising and eventually a transition to convective clouds occurs. While the existence of the clouds is documented in satellite images and synoptic observations, little is known about the mechanisms controlling their evolution. To provide observational evidence, a field campaign was conducted in southern West Africa in June and July 2016 within the framework of the Dynamics-aerosol-chemistry-cloud interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) project. Comprehensive ground-based in situ and remote sensing measurements were performed at three different supersites in Ghana, Benin and Nigeria. In this contribution, we present the diurnal cycle of boundary-layer clouds for a typical day using data from a supersite at Savè in Benin. Due to the synergy of various instruments, we are able to obtain detailed information on the evolution of the clouds as well as on the boundary-layer structure with high temporal and vertical resolution. By combining ceilometer, cloud radar and microwave radiometer data we determined the cloud base, -depth and -density. The clouds form in the same layer as a nocturnal low-level jet (NLLJ), which we probe by sodar and UHF profiler. There is evidence for a strong link between the height and strength of the NLLJ and the density of the nocturnal clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00548&hterms=false+information&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dfalse%2Binformation','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00548&hterms=false+information&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dfalse%2Binformation">False Color Mosaic of Jupiter's Belt-Zone Boundary</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 This false color mosaic shows a belt-zone boundary near Jupiter's equator. The images that make up the four quadrants of this mosaic were taken within a few minutes of each other. Light at each of Galileo's three near-infrared wavelengths is displayed here in the visible colors red, green and blue. Light at 886 nanometers, strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane and scattered from clouds high in the atmosphere, is shown in red. Light at 732 nanometers, moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane, is shown in green. Light at 757 nanometers, scattered mostly from Jupiter's lower visible cloud deck, is shown in blue. The lower cloud deck appears bluish white, while the higher layer appears pinkish. The holes in the upper layer and their relationships to features in the lower cloud deck can be studied in the lower half of the mosaic. Galileo is the first spacecraft to image different layers in Jupiter's atmosphere.The edge of the planet runs along the right side of the mosaic. North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes -13 to +3 degrees and is centered at longitude 280 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on Nov. 5, 1996, at a range of 1.2 million kilometers by the solid state imaging (CCD) system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet, its largest moons and the Jovian magnetic environment. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000JAtS...57.2748N','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000JAtS...57.2748N">A Case Study of Ship Track Formation in a Polluted Marine Boundary Layer.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Noone, Kevin J.; Johnson, Doug W.; Taylor, Jonathan P.; Ferek, Ronald J.; Garrett, Tim; Hobbs, Peter V.; Durkee, Philip A.; Nielsen, Kurt; Öström, Elisabeth; O'Dowd, Colin; Smith, Michael H.; Russell, Lynn M.; Flagan, Richard C.; Seinfeld, John H.; de Bock, Lieve; van Grieken, René E.; Hudson, James G.; Brooks, Ian; Gasparovic, Richard F.; Pockalny, Robert A. 2000-08-01 A case study of the effects of ship emissions on the microphysical, radiative, and chemical properties of polluted marine boundary layer clouds is presented. Two ship tracks are discussed in detail. In situ measurements of cloud drop size distributions, liquid water content, and cloud radiative properties, as well as aerosol size distributions (outside-cloud, interstitial, and cloud droplet residual particles) and aerosol chemistry, are presented. These are related to remotely sensed measurements of cloud radiative properties.The authors examine the processes behind ship track formation in a polluted marine boundary layer as an example of the effects of anthropogenic particulate pollution on the albedo of marine stratiform clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A13C2080R','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A13C2080R">Changes in Clouds Under a Combined CO2 Increase and Solar Decrease</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Russotto, R. D.; Ackerman, T. P. 2017-12-01 The Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP) provides an excellent opportunity to study the response of clouds and the large-scale circulation to opposing solar and greenhouse gas forcings. This study analyzes changes in cloud fraction in 10 fully coupled atmosphere-ocean global climate models in GeoMIP Experiment G1, in which CO2 concentrations are quadrupled and the solar constant is reduced in order to keep global mean temperature at preindustrial levels. There is general agreement among the models that the area coverage of low clouds (below the 680 hPa pressure level) decreases in this experiment compared to preindustrial conditions over most ocean and vegetated land areas. This reduction in low cloud fraction is related to decreases in boundary layer inversion strength over the ocean, and to plant physiological responses to increased CO2. Mid-level clouds (680-440 hPa) and high clouds (< 440 hPa) are reduced over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the north and south of the ITCZ, while high clouds also increase over the center of the ITCZ. These changes are related to a weakening of the seasonal migration of the ITCZ in G1, which happens because the summer hemisphere is preferentially cooled by the solar reduction. To explore the link between clouds and the ITCZ migration, we examine changes in the seasonal cycle of cloud cover and in the instantaneous ITCZ width throughout the year. High cloud fraction increases in the global mean in most models, likely due to upper tropospheric cooling. An analysis of radiative effects using the Approximate Partial Radiation Perturbation method shows that, in the shortwave, cloud changes in G1 have a warming effect in most areas, mainly due to the reduction in low cloud fraction. This effect, along with the warming effect from the increase in high clouds, results in a larger solar reduction being necessary to compensate for the CO2 increase. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110011720&hterms=Asian&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3DAsian','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20110011720&hterms=Asian&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3DAsian">CALIPSO Detection of an Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Vemier, J.-P.; Thomason, L. W.; Kar, J. 2011-01-01 The first four years of the CALIPSO lidar measurements have revealed the existence of an aerosol layer at the tropopause level associated with the Asian monsoon season in June, July and August. This Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL) extends geographically from Eastern Mediterranean (down to North Africa) to Western China (down to Thailand), and vertically from 13 to 18 km. The Scattering Ratio inferred from CALIPSO shows values between 1.10. 1.15 on average with associated depolarization ratio of less than 5%. The Gaussian distribution of the points indicates that the mean value is statistically driven by an enhancement of the background aerosol level and not by episodic events such as a volcanic eruption or cloud contamination. Further satellite observations of aerosols and gases as well as field campaigns are urgently needed to characterize this layer, which is likely to be a significant source of non-volcanic aerosols for the global upper troposphere with a potential impact on its radiative and chemical balance </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20170008464','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20170008464">Seasonally Transported Aerosol Layers Over Southeast Atlantic are Closer to Underlying Clouds than Previously Reported</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Rajapakshe, Chamara; Zhang, Zhibo; Yorks, John E.; Yu, Hongbin; Tan, Qian; Meyer, Kerry; Platnick, Steven; Winker, David M. 2017-01-01 From June to October, low-level clouds in the southeast (SE) Atlantic often underlie seasonal aerosol layers transported from African continent. Previously, the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) 532 nm lidar observations have been used to estimate the relative vertical location of the above-cloud aerosols (ACA) to the underlying clouds. Here we show new observations from NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) lidar. Two seasons of CATS 1064 nm observations reveal that the bottom of the ACA layer is much lower than previously estimated based on CALIPSO 532 nm observations. For about 60% of CATS nighttime ACA scenes, the aerosol layer base is within 360 m distance to the top of the underlying cloud. Our results are important for future studies of the microphysical indirect and semidirect effects of ACA in the SE Atlantic region. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070020528&hterms=trend+reports&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dtrend%2Breports','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070020528&hterms=trend+reports&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dtrend%2Breports">Trends in Upper-Level Cloud Cover and Surface Divergence Over the Tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean Between 1952 And 1997</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Norris, Joel R. 2005-01-01 This study investigated the spatial pattern of linear trends in surface-observed upper-level (combined mid-level and High-level) cloud cover, precipitation, and surface divergence over the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean during 1952-1957. Cloud values were obtained from the Extended Edited Cloud Report Archive (EECRA), precipitation values were obtained from the Hulme/Climate Research Unit Data Set, and surface divergence was alternatively calculated from wind reported Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set and from Smith and Reynolds Extended Reconstructed sea level pressure data. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19750059055&hterms=microwaves+water+structure&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dmicrowaves%2Bwater%2Bstructure','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19750059055&hterms=microwaves+water+structure&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dmicrowaves%2Bwater%2Bstructure">Microwave boundary conditions on the atmosphere and clouds of Venus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Rossow, W. B.; Sagan, C. 1975-01-01 The dielectric properties of H2O/H2SO4 mixtures are deduced from the Debye equations and, for a well-mixed atmosphere, the structure of H2O and H2O/H2SO4 clouds is calculated. Various data on the planet together set an upper limit on the mixing ratio by number for H2O of about 0.001 in the lower Venus atmosphere, and for H2SO4 of about 0.00001. The polarization value of the real part of the refractive index of the clouds, the spectroscopic limits on the abundance of water vapor above the clouds, and the microwave data together set corresponding upper limits on H2O of approximately 0.0002 and on H2SO4 of approximately 0.000009. Upper limits on the surface density of total cloud constituents and of cloud liquid water are, respectively, about 0.1 g/sq cm and about 0.01 g/sq cm. The infrared opacities of 90 bars of CO2, together with the derived upper limits to the amounts of water vapor and liquid H2O/H2SO4, may be sufficient to explain the high surface temperatures through the greenhouse effect. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A31A0017E','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A31A0017E">Large Eddy Simulations of Continental Boundary Layer Clouds Observed during the RACORO Field Campaign</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Endo, S.; Fridlind, A. M.; Lin, W.; Vogelmann, A. M.; Toto, T.; Liu, Y. 2013-12-01 Three cases of boundary layer clouds are analyzed in the FAst-physics System TEstbed and Research (FASTER) project, based on continental boundary-layer-cloud observations during the RACORO Campaign [Routine Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility (AAF) Clouds with Low Optical Water Depths (CLOWD) Optical Radiative Observations] at the ARM Climate Research Facility's Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. The three 60-hour case study periods are selected to capture the temporal evolution of cumulus, stratiform, and drizzling boundary-layer cloud systems under a range of conditions, intentionally including those that are relatively more mixed or transitional in nature versus being of a purely canonical type. Multi-modal and temporally varying aerosol number size distribution profiles are derived from aircraft observations. Large eddy simulations (LESs) are performed for the three case study periods using the GISS Distributed Hydrodynamic Aerosol and Radiative Modeling Application (DHARMA) model and the WRF-FASTER model, which is the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model implemented with forcing ingestion and other functions to constitute a flexible LES. The two LES models commonly capture the significant transitions of cloud-topped boundary layers in the three periods: diurnal evolution of cumulus layers repeating over multiple days, nighttime evolution/daytime diminution of thick stratus, and daytime breakup of stratus and stratocumulus clouds. Simulated transitions of thermodynamic structures of the cloud-topped boundary layers are examined by balloon-borne soundings and ground-based remote sensors. Aircraft observations are then used to statistically evaluate the predicted cloud droplet number size distributions under varying aerosol and cloud conditions. An ensemble approach is used to refine the model configuration for the combined use of observations with parallel LES and single-column model simulations. See Lin et al. poster for single-column model investigation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010A%26A...521L..18V','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010A%26A...521L..18V">[CII] observations of H2 molecular layers in transition clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Velusamy, T.; Langer, W. D.; Pineda, J. L.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.; Yorke, H. W. 2010-10-01 We present the first results on the diffuse transition clouds observed in [CII] line emission at 158 μm (1.9 THz) towards Galactic longitudes near 340° (5 LOSs) & 20° (11 LOSs) as part of the HIFI tests and GOT C+ survey. Out of the total 146 [CII] velocity components detected by profile fitting we identify 53 as diffuse molecular clouds with associated 12CO emission but without 13CO emission and characterized by AV < 5 mag. We estimate the fraction of the [CII] emission in the diffuse HI layer in each cloud and then determine the [CII] emitted from the molecular layers in the cloud. We show that the excess [CII] intensities detected in a few clouds is indicative of a thick H2 layer around the CO core. The wide range of clouds in our sample with thin to thick H2 layers suggests that these are at various evolutionary states characterized by the formation of H2 and CO layers from HI and C+, respectively. In about 30% of the clouds the H2 column densities (“dark gas”) traced by the [CII] is 50% or more than that traced by 12CO emission. On the average ~25% of the total H2 in these clouds is in an H2 layer which is not traced by CO. We use the HI, [CII], and 12CO intensities in each cloud along with simple chemical models to obtain constraints on the FUV fields and cosmic ray ionization rates. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/902673-modification-atmospheric-boundary-layer-small-island-observations-from-nauru','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/902673-modification-atmospheric-boundary-layer-small-island-observations-from-nauru">Modification of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer by a Small Island: Observations from Nauru</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Matthews, Stuart; Hacker, Jorg M.; Cole, Jason N. 2007-03-01 Nauru, a small island in the tropical pacific, generates plumes of clouds that may grow to several hundred km length. This study uses observations to examine the mesoscale disturbance of the marine atmospheric boundary layer by the island that produces these cloud streets. Observations of the surface layer were made from two ships in the vicinity of Nauru and from instruments on the island. The structure of the atmospheric boundary layer over the island was investigated using aircraft flights. Cloud production over Nauru was examined using remote sensing instruments. During the day the island surface layer was warmer than themore » marine surface layer and wind speed was lower than over the ocean. Surface heating forced the growth of a thermal internal boundary layer, above which a street of cumulus clouds formed. The production of clouds resulted in reduced downwelling shortwave irradiance at the island surface. A plume of warm-dry air was observed over the island which extended 15 – 20 km downwind.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080006490','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080006490">A Fast Infrared Radiative Transfer Model for Overlapping Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Niu, Jianguo; Yang, Ping; Huang, Huang-Lung; Davies, James E.; Li, Jun; Baum, Bryan A.; Hu, Yong X. 2006-01-01 A fast infrared radiative transfer model (FIRTM2) appropriate for application to both single-layered and overlapping cloud situations is developed for simulating the outgoing infrared spectral radiance at the top of the atmosphere (TOA). In FIRTM2 a pre-computed library of cloud reflectance and transmittance values is employed to account for one or two cloud layers, whereas the background atmospheric optical thickness due to gaseous absorption can be computed from a clear-sky radiative transfer model. FIRTM2 is applicable to three atmospheric conditions: 1) clear-sky, 2) single-layered ice or water cloud, and 3) two simultaneous cloud layers in a column (e.g., ice cloud overlying water cloud). Moreover, FIRTM2 outputs the derivatives (i.e., Jacobians) of the TOA brightness temperature with respect to cloud optical thickness and effective particle size. Sensitivity analyses have been carried out to assess the performance of FIRTM2 for two spectral regions, namely the longwave (LW) band (587.3 - 1179.5/cm) and the short-to-medium wave (SMW) band (1180.1 - 2228.9/cm). The assessment is carried out in terms of brightness temperature differences (BTD) between FIRTM2 and the well-known discrete ordinates radiative transfer model (DISORT), henceforth referred to as BTD (F-D). The BTD (F-D) values for single-layered clouds are generally less than 0.8 K. For the case of two cloud layers (specifically ice cloud over water cloud), the BTD(F-D) values are also generally less than 0.8 K except for the SMW band for the case of a very high altitude (>15 km) cloud comprised of small ice particles. Note that for clear-sky atmospheres, FIRTM2 reduces to the clear-sky radiative transfer model that is incorporated into FIRTM2, and the errors in this case are essentially those of the clear-sky radiative transfer model. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_11");'>11</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_12");'>12</a></li> <li class="active">13</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_14");'>14</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_15");'>15</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_14" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_12");'>12</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_13");'>13</a></li> <li class="active">14</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_15");'>15</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_16");'>16</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="261"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AtmEn.113....1W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AtmEn.113....1W">Multi-sensor quantification of aerosol-induced variability in warm clouds over eastern China</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wang, Fu; Guo, Jianping; Zhang, Jiahua; Huang, Jingfeng; Min, Min; Chen, Tianmeng; Liu, Huan; Deng, Minjun; Li, Xiaowen 2015-07-01 Aerosol-cloud (AC) interactions remain uncharacterized due to difficulties in obtaining accurate aerosol and cloud observations. In this study, we quantified the aerosol indirect effects (AIE) on warm clouds over Eastern China based on near-simultaneous retrievals from MODIS/AQUA, CALIOP/CALIPSO, and CPR/CLOUDSAT between June 2006 and December 2010. The seasonality of aerosols from ground-based PM10 (aerosol particles with diameter of 10 μm or less) significantly differed from that estimated using MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD). This result was supported by the lower level frequency profile of aerosol occurrence from CALIOP, indicative of the significant role of CALIOP in the AC interaction. To focus on warm clouds, cloud layers with base (top) altitudes above 7 (10) km were excluded. The combination of CALIOP and CPR was applied to determine the exact position of warm clouds relative to aerosols out of the following six scenarios in terms of AC mixing states: 1) aerosol only (AO); 2) cloud only (CO); 3) single aerosol layer-single cloud layer (SASC); 4) single aerosol layer-double cloud layers (SADC); 5) double aerosol layers - single cloud layer (DASC); and 6) others. The cases with vertical distance between aerosol and cloud layer less (more) than 100 m (700 m) were marked mixed (separated), and the rest as uncertain. Results showed that only 8.95% (7.53%) belonged to the mixed (separated and uncertain) state among all of the collocated AC overlapping cases, including SASC, SADC, and DASC. Under mixed conditions, the cloud droplet effective radius (CDR) decreased with increasing AOD at moderate aerosol loading (AOD<0.4), and then became saturated at an AOD of around 0.5, followed by an increase in CDR with increasing AOD, known as boomerang shape. Under separated conditions, no apparent changes in CDR with AOD were observed. We categorized the AC dataset into summer- and winter-season subsets to determine how the boomerang shape varied with season. The response of CDR to AOD in summer exhibited similar but much more deepened boomerang shape, as compared with the all year round case. In contrast, CDR in winter did not follow the boomerang shape for its continued decreasing with increasing AOD, even after the saturation zone (AOD around 0.5) of a cloud droplet. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20140006010&hterms=vertical+height&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dvertical%2Bheight','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20140006010&hterms=vertical+height&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dvertical%2Bheight">Vertical Structure of Ice Cloud Layers From CloudSat and CALIPSO Measurements and Comparison to NICAM Simulations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ham, Seung-Hee; Sohn, Byung-Ju; Kato, Seiji; Satoh, Masaki 2013-01-01 The shape of the vertical profile of ice cloud layers is examined using 4 months of CloudSat and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) global measurements taken on January, April, July, and October 2007. Ice clouds are selected using temperature profiles when the cloud base is located above the 253K temperature level. The obtained ice water content (IWC), effective radius, or extinction coefficient profiles are normalized by their layer mean values and are expressed in the normalized vertical coordinate, which is defined as 0 and 1 at the cloud base and top heights, respectively. Both CloudSat and CALIPSO observations show that the maximum in the IWC and extinction profiles shifts toward the cloud bottom, as the cloud depth increases. In addition, clouds with a base reaching the surface in a high-latitude region show that the maximum peak of the IWC and extinction profiles occurs near the surface, which is presumably due to snow precipitation. CloudSat measurements show that the seasonal difference in normalized cloud vertical profiles is not significant, whereas the normalized cloud vertical profile significantly varies depending on the cloud type and the presence of precipitation. It is further examined if the 7 day Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) simulation results from 25 December 2006 to 1 January 2007 generate similar cloud profile shapes. NICAM IWC profiles also show maximum peaks near the cloud bottom for thick cloud layers and maximum peaks at the cloud bottom for low-level clouds near the surface. It is inferred that oversized snow particles in the NICAM cloud scheme produce a more vertically inhomogeneous IWC profile than observations due to quick sedimentation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19930010916','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19930010916">A modeling study of marine boundary layer clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Wang, Shouping; Fitzjarrald, Daniel E. 1993-01-01 Marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds are important components of the earth's climate system. These clouds drastically reduce the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the earth, but have little effect on the emitted infrared radiation on top of the atmosphere. In addition, these clouds are intimately involved in regulating boundary layer turbulent fluxes. For these reasons, it is important that general circulation models used for climate studies must realistically simulate the global distribution of the MBL. While the importance of these cloud systems is well recognized, many physical processes involved in these clouds are poorly understood and their representation in large-scale models remains an unresolved problem. The present research aims at the development and improvement of the parameterization of these cloud systems and an understanding of physical processes involved. This goal is addressed in two ways. One is to use regional modeling approach to validate and evaluate two-layer marine boundary layer models using satellite and ground-truth observations; the other is to combine this simple model with a high-order turbulence closure model to study the transition processes from stratocumulus to shallow cumulus clouds. Progress made in this effort is presented. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A13C0278S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A13C0278S">Tropical High Cloud Fraction Controlled by Cloud Lifetime Rather Than Clear-sky Convergence</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Seeley, J.; Jeevanjee, N.; Romps, D. M. 2016-12-01 Observations and simulations show a peak in cloud fraction below the tropopause. This peak is usually attributed to a roughly co-located peak in radiatively-driven clear-sky convergence, which is presumed to force convective detrainment and thus promote large cloud fraction. Using simulations of radiative-convective equilibrium forced by various radiative cooling profiles, we refute this mechanism by showing that an upper-tropospheric peak in cloud fraction persists even in simulations with no peak in clear-sky convergence. Instead, cloud fraction profiles seem to be controlled by cloud lifetimes — i.e., how long it takes for clouds to dissipate after they have detrained. A simple model of cloud evaporation shows that the small saturation deficit in the upper troposphere greatly extends cloud lifetimes there, while the large saturation deficit in the lower troposphere causes condensate to evaporate quickly. Since cloud mass flux must go to zero at the tropopause, a peak in cloud fraction emerges at a "sweet spot" below the tropopause where cloud lifetimes are long and there is still sufficient mass flux to be detrained. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19950036200&hterms=Skinner&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3DSkinner','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19950036200&hterms=Skinner&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3DSkinner">Incorporation of multiple cloud layers for ultraviolet radiation modeling studies</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Charache, Darryl H.; Abreu, Vincent J.; Kuhn, William R.; Skinner, Wilbert R. 1994-01-01 Cloud data sets compiled from surface observations were used to develop an algorithm for incorporating multiple cloud layers into a multiple-scattering radiative transfer model. Aerosol extinction and ozone data sets were also incorporated to estimate the seasonally averaged ultraviolet (UV) flux reaching the surface of the Earth in the Detroit, Michigan, region for the years 1979-1991, corresponding to Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) version 6 ozone observations. The calculated UV spectrum was convolved with an erythema action spectrum to estimate the effective biological exposure for erythema. Calculations show that decreasing the total column density of ozone by 1% leads to an increase in erythemal exposure by approximately 1.1-1.3%, in good agreement with previous studies. A comparison of the UV radiation budget at the surface between a single cloud layer method and a multiple cloud layer method presented here is discussed, along with limitations of each technique. With improved parameterization of cloud properties, and as knowledge of biological effects of UV exposure increase, inclusion of multiple cloud layers may be important in accurately determining the biologically effective UV budget at the surface of the Earth. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009JGRD..11412203S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009JGRD..11412203S">Processes that generate and deplete liquid water and snow in thin midlevel mixed-phase clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Smith, Adam J.; Larson, Vincent E.; Niu, Jianguo; Kankiewicz, J. Adam; Carey, Lawrence D. 2009-06-01 This paper uses a numerical model to investigate microphysical, radiative, and dynamical processes in mixed-phase altostratocumulus clouds. Three cloud cases are chosen for study, each of which was observed by aircraft during the fifth or ninth Complex Layered Cloud Experiment (CLEX). These three clouds are numerically modeled using large-eddy simulation (LES). The observed and modeled clouds consist of a mixed-phase layer with a quasi-adiabatic profile of liquid, and a virga layer below that consists of snow. A budget of cloud (liquid) water mixing ratio is constructed from the simulations. It shows that large-scale ascent/descent, radiative cooling/heating, turbulent transport, and microphysical processes are all significant. Liquid is depleted indirectly via depositional growth of snow (the Bergeron-Findeisen process). This process is more influential than depletion of liquid via accretional growth of snow. Also constructed is a budget of snow mixing ratio, which turns out to be somewhat simpler. It shows that snow grows by deposition in and below the liquid (mixed-phase) layer, and sublimates in the remainder of the virga region below. The deposition and sublimation are balanced primarily by sedimentation, which transports the snow from the growth region to the sublimation region below. In our three clouds, the vertical extent of the virga layer is influenced more by the profile of saturation ratio below the liquid (mixed-phase) layer than by the mixing ratio of snow at the top of the virga layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.P13F..03M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.P13F..03M">Simulation of the Upper Clouds and Hazes of Venus Using a Microphysical Cloud Model</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> McGouldrick, K. 2012-12-01 Several different microphysical and chemical models of the clouds of Venus have been developed in attempts to reproduce the in situ observations of the Venus clouds made by Pioneer Venus, Venera, and Vega descent probes (Turco et al., 1983 (Icarus 53:18-25), James et al, 1997 (Icarus 129:147-171), Imamura and Hashimoto, 2001 (J. Atm. Sci. 58:3597-3612), and McGouldrick and Toon, 2007 (Icarus 191:1-24)). The model of McGouldrick and Toon has successfully reproduced observations within the condensational middle and lower cloud decks of Venus (between about 48 and 57 km altitude, experiencing conditions similar to Earth's troposphere) and it now being extended to also simulate the microphysics occurring in the upper cloud deck (between altitudes of about 57 km and 70 km, experiencing conditions similar to Earth's stratosphere). In the upper clouds, aerosols composed of a solution of sulfuric acid in water are generated from the reservoir of available water vapor and sulfuric acid vapor that is photochemically produced. The manner of particle creation (e.g., activation of cloud condensation nuclei, or homogeneous or heterogeneous nucleation) is still incompletely understood, and the atmospheric environment has been measured to be not inconsistent with frozen aerosol particles (either sulfuric acid monohydrate or water ice). The material phase, viscosity, and surface tension of the aerosols (which are strongly dependent up on the local temperature and water vapor concentration) can affect the coagulation efficiencies of the aerosol, leading to variations in the size distributions, and other microphysical and radiative properties. Here, I present recent work exploring the effects of nucleation rates and coalescence efficiencies on the simulated Venus upper clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013EGUGA..15.6555S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013EGUGA..15.6555S">Convectively-generated gravity waves and clear-air turbulence (CAT)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Sharman, Robert; Lane, Todd; Trier, Stanley 2013-04-01 Upper-level turbulence is a well-known hazard to aviation that is responsible for numerous injuries each year, with occasional fatalities, and results in millions of dollars of operational costs to airlines each year. It has been widely accepted that aviation-scale turbulence that occurs in clear air (CAT) at upper levels (upper troposphere and lower stratosphere) has its origins in Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities induced by enhanced shears and reduced Richardson numbers associated with the jet stream and upper level fronts. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that gravity waves and gravity wave "breaking" also play a major role in instigating turbulence that affects aviation. Gravity waves and inertia-gravity waves may be produced by a variety of sources, but one major source that impacts aviation seems to be those produced by convection. The relation of convectively-induced gravity waves to turbulence outside the cloud (either above cloud or laterally away from cloud) is examined based on high resolution cloud-resolving simulations, both with and without cloud microphysics in the simulations. Results for both warm-season and cold-season cloud systems indicate that the turbulence in the clear air away from cloud is often caused by gravity wave production processes in or near the cloud which once initiated, are able to propagate away from the storm, and may eventually "break." Without microphysics of course this effect is absent and turbulence is not produced in the simulations. In some cases the convectively-induced turbulence may be many kilometers away from the active convection and can easily be misinterpreted as "clear-air turbulence" (CAT). This is a significant result, and may be cause for a reassessment of the working definition of CAT ("turbulence encountered outside of convective clouds", FAA Advisory Circular AC 00-30B, 1997). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080022439','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080022439">Statistical Analyses of Satellite Cloud Object Data From CERES. Part 4; Boundary-layer Cloud Objects During 1998 El Nino</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Xu, Kuan-Man; Wong, Takmeng; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Parker, Lindsay 2006-01-01 Three boundary-layer cloud object types, stratus, stratocumulus and cumulus, that occurred over the Pacific Ocean during January-August 1998, are identified from the CERES (Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System) single scanner footprint (SSF) data from the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite. This study emphasizes the differences and similarities in the characteristics of each cloud-object type between the tropical and subtropical regions and among different size categories and among small geographic areas. Both the frequencies of occurrence and statistical distributions of cloud physical properties are analyzed. In terms of frequencies of occurrence, stratocumulus clouds dominate the entire boundary layer cloud population in all regions and among all size categories. Stratus clouds are more prevalent in the subtropics and near the coastal regions, while cumulus clouds are relatively prevalent over open ocean and the equatorial regions, particularly, within the small size categories. The largest size category of stratus cloud objects occurs more frequently in the subtropics than in the tropics and has much larger average size than its cumulus and stratocumulus counterparts. Each of the three cloud object types exhibits small differences in statistical distributions of cloud optical depth, liquid water path, TOA albedo and perhaps cloud-top height, but large differences in those of cloud-top temperature and OLR between the tropics and subtropics. Differences in the sea surface temperature (SST) distributions between the tropics and subtropics influence some of the cloud macrophysical properties, but cloud microphysical properties and albedo for each cloud object type are likely determined by (local) boundary-layer dynamics and structures. Systematic variations of cloud optical depth, TOA albedo, cloud-top height, OLR and SST with cloud object sizes are pronounced for the stratocumulus and stratus types, which are related to systematic variations of the strength of inversion with cloud object sizes, produced by large-scale subsidence. The differences in cloud macrophysical properties over small regions are significantly larger than those of cloud microphysical properties and TOA albedo, suggesting a greater control of (local) large-scale dynamics and other factors on cloud object properties. When the three cloud object types are combined, the relative population among the three types is the most important factor for determining the cloud object properties in a Pacific transect where the transition of boundary-layer cloud types takes place. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA09346&hterms=fingerprints&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dfingerprints','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA09346&hterms=fingerprints&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dfingerprints">A Change in the Weather</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 2007-01-01 These two Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) images were acquired over the northern plains of Mars near one of the possible landing sites for NASA's Phoenix mission, set to launch in August 2007. The lower right image was acquired first, on Nov. 29, 2006, at 0720 UTC (2:20 a.m. EST), while the upper left image was acquired about one month later on Dec. 26, 2006, at 0030 UTC (or Dec. 25, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. EST). The CRISM data were taken in 544 colors covering the wavelength range from 0.36-3.92 micrometers, and show features as small as about 20 meters (66 feet) across. The images shown above are red-green-blue color composites using wavelengths 0.71, 0.6, and 0.53 micrometers, respectively (or infrared, red, and green light), and are overlain on a mosaic of Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visible data. Each image covers a region about 11 kilometers (6.6 miles) wide at its narrowest, and they overlap near 71.0 degrees north latitude, 252.8 degrees east longitude The Earth equivalent to the season and latitude of this site is late summer in northern Canada, above the Arctic Circle. At that season and latitude, Martian weather conditions are transitioning from summer with generally clear skies, occasional weather fronts, and infrequent dust storms, to an autumn with pervasive, thick water-ice clouds. The striking difference in the appearance of the images is caused by the seasonal development of water-ice clouds. The earlier (lower right) image is cloud-free, and surface features can clearly be seen - like the small crater in the upper left. However, the clouds and haze in the later (upper left) image make it hard to see the surface. There are variations in the thickness and spacing of the clouds, just like clouds on Earth. On other days when nearby sites were imaged, the cloud cover varied day-to-day, but as the seasons change the trend is more and thicker clouds. With the onset of autumn the clouds will gradually cover the area and, just as with autumn on Earth, the Martian day is getting shorter at these high northern latitudes. In a few more months this area will settle into winter darkness and be covered in a layer of frost and carbon dioxide snow. CRISM's mission: Find the spectral fingerprints of aqueous and hydrothermal deposits and map the geology, composition and stratigraphy of surface features. The instrument will also watch the seasonal variations in Martian dust and ice aerosols, and water content in surface materials -- leading to new understanding of the climate. The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) is one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Led by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the CRISM team includes expertise from universities, government agencies and small businesses in the United States and abroad. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19830013438','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19830013438">Cloud/climate sensitivity experiments</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Roads, J. O.; Vallis, G. K.; Remer, L. 1982-01-01 A study of the relationships between large-scale cloud fields and large scale circulation patterns is presented. The basic tool is a multi-level numerical model comprising conservation equations for temperature, water vapor and cloud water and appropriate parameterizations for evaporation, condensation, precipitation and radiative feedbacks. Incorporating an equation for cloud water in a large-scale model is somewhat novel and allows the formation and advection of clouds to be treated explicitly. The model is run on a two-dimensional, vertical-horizontal grid with constant winds. It is shown that cloud cover increases with decreased eddy vertical velocity, decreased horizontal advection, decreased atmospheric temperature, increased surface temperature, and decreased precipitation efficiency. The cloud field is found to be well correlated with the relative humidity field except at the highest levels. When radiative feedbacks are incorporated and the temperature increased by increasing CO2 content, cloud amounts decrease at upper-levels or equivalently cloud top height falls. This reduces the temperature response, especially at upper levels, compared with an experiment in which cloud cover is fixed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EOSTr..93R..16S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EOSTr..93R..16S">Clouds not important for control of short-term surface temperatures</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Schultz, Colin 2012-01-01 In two recent papers, R. W. Spencer and W. D. Braswell (Remote Sens., 3(8), 1603- 1613, doi:10.3390/rs3081603, 2011) (SB) and R. S. Lindzen and Y.-S. Choi (Asia Pac. J. Atmos. Sci., 47(4), 377-390, doi:10.1007/s13143-011-0023-x, 2011) (LC) argue that clouds act as a primary initiator of surface temperature changes in Earth's climate system. The two sets of authors reached this conclusion by developing a method that tries to determine the Earth's surface temperature by calculating how much energy is stored in the ocean's upper layers, how much of this heat is transferred to the rest of the climate system, how clouds affect the rate at which energy escapes Earth's atmosphere, and how the surface's energy flux changes with temperature. Both studies spurred substantial debate within the media and the public, with the research by SB causing the editor of the journal in which it was published to resign, claiming it should not have been accepted by the journal. Assessing the two studies, Dessler found what he suggests are a number of methodological errors. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16029854','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16029854">Active Raman sounding of the earth's water vapor field.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Tratt, David M; Whiteman, David N; Demoz, Belay B; Farley, Robert W; Wessel, John E 2005-08-01 The typically weak cross-sections characteristic of Raman processes has historically limited their use in atmospheric remote sensing to nighttime application. However, with advances in instrumentation and techniques, it is now possible to apply Raman lidar to the monitoring of atmospheric water vapor, aerosols and clouds throughout the diurnal cycle. Upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric measurements of water vapor using Raman lidar are also possible but are limited to nighttime and require long integration times. However, boundary layer studies of water vapor variability can now be performed with high temporal and spatial resolution. This paper will review the current state-of-the-art of Raman lidar for high-resolution measurements of the atmospheric water vapor, aerosol and cloud fields. In particular, we describe the use of Raman lidar for mapping the vertical distribution and variability of atmospheric water vapor, aerosols and clouds throughout the evolution of dynamic meteorological events. The ability of Raman lidar to detect and characterize water in the region of the tropopause and the importance of high-altitude water vapor for climate-related studies and meteorological satellite performance are discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19990102420&hterms=Influence+clouds+climate&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DInfluence%2Bclouds%2Bclimate','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19990102420&hterms=Influence+clouds+climate&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DInfluence%2Bclouds%2Bclimate">Modeled Impact of Cirrus Cloud Increases Along Aircraft Flight Paths</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Rind, David; Lonergan, P.; Shah, K. 1999-01-01 The potential impact of contrails and alterations in the lifetime of background cirrus due to subsonic airplane water and aerosol emissions has been investigated in a set of experiments using the GISS GCM connected to a q-flux ocean. Cirrus clouds at a height of 12-15km, with an optical thickness of 0.33, were input to the model "x" percentage of clear-sky occasions along subsonic aircraft flight paths, where x is varied from .05% to 6%. Two types of experiments were performed: one with the percentage cirrus cloud increase independent of flight density, as long as a certain minimum density was exceeded; the other with the percentage related to the density of fuel expenditure. The overall climate impact was similar with the two approaches, due to the feedbacks of the climate system. Fifty years were run for eight such experiments, with the following conclusions based on the stable results from years 30-50 for each. The experiments show that adding cirrus to the upper troposphere results in a stabilization of the atmosphere, which leads to some decrease in cloud cover at levels below the insertion altitude. Considering then the total effect on upper level cloud cover (above 5 km altitude), the equilibrium global mean temperature response shows that altering high level clouds by 1% changes the global mean temperature by 0.43C. The response is highly linear (linear correlation coefficient of 0.996) for high cloud cover changes between 0. 1% and 5%. The effect is amplified in the Northern Hemisphere, more so with greater cloud cover change. The temperature effect maximizes around 10 km (at greater than 40C warming with a 4.8% increase in upper level clouds), again more so with greater warming. The high cloud cover change shows the flight path influence most clearly with the smallest warming magnitudes; with greater warming, the model feedbacks introduce a strong tropical response. Similarly, the surface temperature response is dominated by the feedbacks, and shows little geographical relationship to the high cloud input. Considering whether these effects would be observable, changing upper level cloud cover by as little as 0.4% produces warming greater than 2 standard deviations in the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) channels 4, 2 and 2r, in flight path regions and in the subtropics. Despite the simplified nature of these experiments, the results emphasize the sensitivity of the modeled climate to high level cloud cover changes, and thus the potential ability of aircraft to influence climate by altering clouds in the upper troposphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A51D3075O','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A51D3075O">Investigating Terrain Effects on Nearshore Cloud Evolution in Deepwave through Time-Lapse Photogrammetry</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Osborne, T. C.; Billings, B. J. 2014-12-01 Stereo images of cloud patterns and nearshore waves upstream of the Southern Alps during the DEEPWAVE field campaign are presented through photogrammetric analysis. The photos highlighted in this case were taken in the afternoon of Friday, 13 June 2014. These photos were chosen because they may allow for focused analysis of terrain effects on cloud evolution. Stratocumulus and other cumuliform, as well as cirrus clouds were captured as the sun set over the Tasman Sea, one of the South Pacific Ocean's marginal seas. Breaks in the thin band of stratocumulus along the shoreline, as well as the total time for cloud layer dissipation are also of interest. A possible barrier jet causing the southward motion of the stratocumulus layer is also investigated. Views look northwest from Serpentine Road in Kumara Junction, South Island, New Zealand. An Integrated Sounding System (ISS) located at the Hokitika Airport was the primary source of vertical profiles. The upper air sounding closest to the shoot time and location, plotted from Hokitika's 11:05 UTC upsonde data, shows 10 mph NE winds near the surface. Images were taken on days with research flights over New Zealand from 2 June to 23 June 2014 to match DEEPWAVE objectives. On the night of 13 June 2014, NSF/NCAR's HIAPER GV research aircraft completed a flight from Christchurch over the South Island. This flight became known as Intensive Observing Period 3 (IOP 3) Sensitivity Flight. Methods applied in the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) by Grubišić and Grubišić (2007) were closely followed while capturing stereo photographic images. Two identical cameras were positioned with a separation baseline near 270 meters. Each camera was tilted upward approximately seven degrees and carefully positioned to capture parallel fields of view of the site. Developing clouds were captured using synchronized camera timers on a five second interval. Ultimately, cloud locations and measurements can be determined using the recorded GPS locations of the cameras. The Camera Calibration Toolbox available for MATLAB was used in order to perform these elaborate triangulation calculations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016EGUGA..18.5886K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016EGUGA..18.5886K">Chemistry and dynamics of the Arctic winter 2015/2016: Simulations with the Chemistry-Climate Model EMAC</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Khosrawi, Farahnaz; Kirner, Ole; Sinnhuber, Bjoern-Martin; Ruhnke, Roland; Hoepfner, Michael; Woiwode, Wolfgang; Oelhaf, Hermann; Santee, Michelle L.; Manney, Gloria L.; Froidevaux, Lucien; Murtagh, Donal; Braesicke, Peter 2016-04-01 Model simulations of the Arctic winter 2015/2016 were performed with the atmospheric chemistry-climate model ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) for the POLSTRACC (Polar Stratosphere in a Changing Climate) project. The POLSTRACC project is a HALO mission (High Altitude and LOng Range Research Aircraft) that aims to investigate the structure, composition and evolution of the Arctic Upper Troposphere Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) in a changing climate. Especially, the chemical and physical processes involved in Arctic stratospheric ozone depletion, transport and mixing processes in the UTLS at high latitudes, polar stratospheric clouds as well as cirrus clouds are investigated. The model simulations were performed with a resolution of T42L90, corresponding to a quadratic Gaussian grid of approximately 2.8°× 2.8° degrees in latitude and longitude, and 90 vertical layers from the surface up to 0.01 hPa (approx. 80 km). A Newtonian relaxation technique of the prognostic variables temperature, vorticity, divergence and surface pressure towards ECMWF data was applied above the boundary layer and below 10 hPa, in order to nudge the model dynamics towards the observed meteorology. During the Arctic winter 2015/2016 a stable vortex formed in early December, with a cold pool where temperatures reached below the Nitric Acid Trihydrate (NAT) existence temperature of 195 K, thus allowing Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) to form. The early winter has been exceptionally cold and satellite observations indicate that sedimenting PSC particles have lead to denitrification as well as dehydration of stratospheric layers. In this presentation an overview of the chemistry and dynamics of the Arctic winter 2015/2016 as simulated with EMAC will be given and comparisons to satellite observations such as e.g. Aura/MLS and Odin/SMR will be shown. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010ClDy...34..419L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010ClDy...34..419L">Mechanisms of diurnal precipitation over the US Great Plains: a cloud resolving model perspective</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Lee, Myong-In; Choi, Ildae; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Kang, In-Sik 2010-02-01 The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer heating. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110006891','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110006891">Mechanisms of Diurnal Precipitation over the United States Great Plains: A Cloud-Resolving Model Simulation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Lee, M.-I.; Choi, I.; Tao, W.-K.; Schubert, S. D.; Kang, I.-K. 2010-01-01 The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer heating. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A23K3391K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A23K3391K">Tropopause Inversion Layer and Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange in Baroclinic Life Cycles: The Role of Diabatic Processes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kunkel, D.; Hoor, P. M.; Wirth, V. 2014-12-01 Observations and model simulations of temperature and tracer profiles in the extratropical upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) show the presence of an inversion layer just above the thermal tropopause, i.e., the tropopause inversion layer (TIL), which is situated in a region affected by stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE). Moreover, from a dynamical perspective the extratropical UTLS is highly affected by baroclinic life cycles. Since both the TIL and STE emerge, amongst many other features, during simulated baroclinic life cycles, we study whether there is a relationship between the TIL and STE. We use the non-hydrostatic model COSMO in an idealized mid-latitude channel configuration to simulate baroclinic life cycles. In a first step contributions of individual diabatic processes from turbulence, radiation, and cloud microphysics to the formation of the TIL are analyzed. These results are compared to those from adiabatic simulations in which the TIL forms during the life cycles with the limitation of being less sharp than in observations. Furthermore, passive tropospheric and stratospheric tracers are used to identify STE. Regions of STE are then analyzed with respect to the temporal evolution of the static stability above the tropopause. The results suggest that radiative effects, especially from water vapor, have the largest additional contribution to the TIL formation, while additional individual effects of cloud microphysics are almost negligible. STE occurs in all diabatic simulations but its strength depends highly on how the underlying diabatic process can affect the thermal and dynamical structure in the tropopause region. Weak STE is found when considering cloud microphysics, while STE is stronger in case of using turbulence and radiation. Tropopause-based vertical profiles of the tropospheric tracers show in some cases similarities with observed tracer profiles of CO. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-iss038e036501.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-iss038e036501.html">Earth Observations taken by Expedition 38 crewmember</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 2014-01-28 ISS038-E-036501 (28 Jan. 2014) --- This wide field-of-view image photographed by an Expedition 38 crew member on the International Space Station shows an east-west swath of the southwestern Indian Ocean. Two remote islands, part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, appear in the center of the image. Possession Island (right center) and East Island (center) are both only 18 kilometers long. A smaller island, Ile aux Cochons (Pigs Island), lies 100 kilometers to the west. Each island has set up V-shaped trains of waves, like bow waves, as the air flows over the islands from the west (right to left). The bow-wave patterns are overlaid on the low regional stratus (blanket) cloud that is so common in the southern Indian Ocean at 50 degrees south latitude. This view was taken from more than 400 kilometers above the sea surface and reveals relationships that could not be readily understood by someone standing on one of the islands. For example, larger and higher islands produce larger waves. So the largest are being generated by Possession Island (934 meters above sea level at the highest point), and East Island, versus much smaller waves developed downwind of the tiny Ile de Pingouins (340 meters above sea level high, invisible below the cloud deck). Other patterns also can be detected. Waves in an upper layer can be seen casting shadows onto a lower layer (lower left). In the top half of the image the waves are making thicker and thinner zones in the clouds of the lower layer. Wave trains from Possession Island and Ile aux Cochons are interacting in a cross-hatch pattern (center). </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_12");'>12</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_13");'>13</a></li> <li class="active">14</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_15");'>15</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_16");'>16</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_15" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_13");'>13</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_14");'>14</a></li> <li class="active">15</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_16");'>16</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_17");'>17</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="281"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1340540','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1340540">Retrieval of Boundary Layer 3D Cloud Properties Using Scanning Cloud Radar and 3D Radiative Transfer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Marchand, Roger Retrievals of cloud optical and microphysical properties for boundary layer clouds, including those widely used by ASR investigators, frequently assume that clouds are sufficiently horizontally homogeneous that scattering and absorption (at all wavelengths) can be treated using one dimensional (1D) radiative transfer, and that differences in the field-of-view of different sensors are unimportant. Unfortunately, most boundary layer clouds are far from horizontally homogeneous, and numerous theoretical and observational studies show that the assumption of horizontal homogeneity leads to significant errors. The introduction of scanning cloud and precipitation radars at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) programmore » sites presents opportunities to move beyond the horizontally homogeneous assumption. The primary objective of this project was to develop a 3D retrieval for warm-phase (liquid only) boundary layer cloud microphysical properties, and to assess errors in current 1D (non-scanning) approaches. Specific research activities also involved examination of the diurnal cycle of hydrometeors as viewed by ARM cloud radar, and continued assessment of precipitation impacts on retrievals of cloud liquid water path using passive microwaves.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19790013548','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19790013548">Insitu aircraft verification of the quality of satellite cloud winds over oceanic regions</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Hasler, A. F.; Skillman, W. C. 1979-01-01 A five year aircraft experiment to verify the quality of satellite cloud winds over oceans using in situ aircraft inertial navigation system wind measurements is presented. The final results show that satellite measured cumulus cloud motions are very good estimators of the cloud base wind for trade wind and subtropical high regions. The average magnitude of the vector differences between the cloud motion and the cloud base wind is given. For cumulus clouds near frontal regions, the cloud motion agreed best with the mean cloud layer wind. For a very limited sample, cirrus cloud motions also most closely followed the mean wind in the cloud layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012APS..DFDH14001K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012APS..DFDH14001K">Validity of Molecular Tagging Velocimetry in a Cavitating Flow for Turbopump Analysis</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kuzmich, Kayla; Bohl, Doug 2012-11-01 This research establishes multi-phase molecular tagging velocimetry (MTV) use and explores its limitations. The flow conditions and geometry in the inducer of an upper stage liquid Oxygen (LOX)/LH2 engine frequently cause cavitation which decreases turbopump performance. Complications arise in performing experiments in liquid hydrogen and oxygen due to high costs, high pressures, extremely low fluid temperatures, the presence of cavitation, and associated safety risks. Due to the complex geometry and hazardous nature of the fluids, a simplified throat geometry with water as a simulant fluid is used. Flow characteristics are measured using MTV, a noninvasive flow diagnostic technique. MTV is found to be an applicable tool in cases of low cavitation. Highly cavitating flows reflect and scatter most of the laser beam disallowing penetration into the cavitation cloud. However, data can be obtained in high cavitation cases near the cloud boundary layer. Distribution A: Public Release, Public Affairs Clearance Number: 12654 </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120015403&hterms=jupiter&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Djupiter','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120015403&hterms=jupiter&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Djupiter">An Analysis of Cassini Observations Regarding the Structure of Jupiter's Equatorial Atmosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Choi, David S.; Simon-Miller, Amy A. 2012-01-01 A variety of intriguing atmospheric phenomena reside on both sides of Jupiter's equator. 5-micron bright hot spots and opaque plumes prominently exhibit dynamic behavior to the north, whereas compact, dark chevron-shaped features and isolated anticyclonic disturbances periodically occupy the southern equatorial latitudes. All of these phenomena are associated with the vertical and meridional perturbations of Rossby waves disturbing the mean atmospheric state. As previous observational analysis and numerical simulations have investigated the dynamics of the region, an examination of the atmosphere's vertical structure though radiative transfer analysis is necessary for improved understanding of this unique environment. Here we present preliminary analysis of a multispectral Cassini imaging data set acquired during the spacecraft's flyby of Jupiter in 2000. We evaluated multiple methane and continuum spectral channels at available viewing angles to improve constraints on the vertical structure of the haze and cloud layers comprising these interesting features. Our preliminary results indicate distinct differences in the structure for both hemispheres. Upper troposphere hazes and cloud layers are prevalent in the northern equatorial latitudes, but are not present in corresponding southern latitudes. Continued analysis will further constrain the precise structure present in these phenomena and the differences between them. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.A41O..02A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.A41O..02A">Cloud System Evolution in the Trades—CSET</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Albrecht, B. A.; Zuidema, P.; Bretherton, C. S.; Wood, R.; Ghate, V. P. 2015-12-01 The Cloud System Evolution in the Trades (CSET) study was designed to describe and explain the evolution of the boundary layer aerosol, cloud, and thermodynamic structures along trajectories within the north-Pacific trade-winds. The observational component of this study centered on 7 round-trips made by the NSF NCAR Gulfstream V (GV) between Sacramento, CA and Kona, Hawaii between 1 July and 15 August 2015. The CSET observing strategy used a Lagrangian approach to sample aerosol, cloud, and boundary layer properties upwind from the transition zone over the North Pacific and to resample these areas two days later. GFS forecast trajectories were used to plan the outbound flight to Hawaii and then updated forecast trajectories helped set the return flight plan two days later. Two key elements of the CSET observing system were the newly developed HIAPER Cloud Radar (HCR) and the HIAPER Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL). Together they provided unprecedented characterizations of aerosol, cloud and precipitation structures. A full suite of probes on the aircraft were used for in situ measurements of aerosol, cloud, precipitation, and turbulence properties during the low-level aircraft profiling portions of the flights. A wide range of boundary layer structures and aerosol, cloud, and precipitation conditions were observed during CSET. The cloud systems sampled included solid stratocumulus infused with smoke from Canadian wildfires, mesoscale (100-200 km) cloud-precipitation complexes, and patches of shallow cumuli in environments with accumulation mode aerosol concentrations of less than 50 cm-3. Ultra clean layers (UCLs with accumulation mode concentrations of less than 10 cm-3) were observed frequently near the top of the boundary layer and were often associated with shallow, gray (optically thin) layered clouds—features that are the subject of focused investigations by the CSET science team. The extent of aerosol, cloud, drizzle and boundary layer sampling that was made over open areas of the North Pacific along 2-day trajectories during CSET is unprecedented and will enable focused modeling studies of cloud system evolution and the role of aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions in that evolution. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19940017843','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19940017843">Analysis of the GOES 6.7 micrometer channel observations during FIRE 2</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Soden, B. J.; Ackerman, S. A.; Starr, David 1993-01-01 Clouds form in moist environments. FIRE Phase II Cirrus Implementation Plan (August, 1990) noted the need for mesoscale measurements of upper tropospheric water vapor content. These measurements are needed for initializing and verifying numerical weather prediction models and for describing the environment in which cirrus clouds develop and dissipate. Various instruments where deployed to measure the water vapor amounts of the upper troposphere during FIRE II (e.g. Raman lidar, CLASS sonds and new cryogenic frost hygrometer on-board aircraft). The formation, maintenance and dissipation of cirrus clouds involve the time variation of the water budget of the upper troposphere. The GOES 6.7 mu m radiance observations are sensitive to the upper tropospheric relative humidity, and therefore proved extremely valuable in planning aircraft missions during the field phase of FIRE II. Warm 6.7 mu m equivalent black body temperatures indicate a relatively dry upper troposphere and were associated with regions generally free of cirrus clouds. Regions that were colder, implying more moisture was available may or may not have had cirrus clouds present. Animation of a time sequence of 6.7 mu m images was particularly useful in planning various FIRE missions. The 6.7 mu m observations can also be very valuable in the verification of model simulations and describing the upper tropospheric synoptic conditions. A quantitative analysis of the 6.7 mu m measurement is required to successfully incorporate these satellite observations into describing the upper tropospheric water vapor budget. Recently, Soden and Bretherton (1993) have proposed a method of deriving an upper tropospheric humidity based on observations from the GOES 6.7 mu m observations. The method is summarized in the next section. In their paper they compare their retrieval method to radiance simulations. Observations were also compared to ECMWF model output to assess the model performance. The FIRE experiment provides a unique opportunity to further verify the GOES upper tropospheric relative humidity retrieval scheme by providing (1) aircraft observations to cross-validate the calibration of the GOES 6.7 mu m channel, (2) accurate upper tropospheric water vapor concentrations for verification, and (3) veritical variability of upper tropospheric water vapor. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20020080736&hterms=safari&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dsafari','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20020080736&hterms=safari&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dsafari">Cloud Physics Lidar Optical Measurements During the SAFARI-2000 Field Campaign</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Hlavka, Dennis L.; McGill, Matt; Hart, William D.; Spinhirne, James D.; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor) 2002-01-01 In this presentation, we will show new optical data processing results from the Cloud Physics War during SAFARI-2000. Retrieved products include aerosol and cloud layer location and identification, layer optical depths, vertical extinction profiles, and extinction-to-backscatter (S) ratios for 532 and 1064 nm. The retrievals will focus on the persistent and smoky planetary boundary layer and occasional elevated aerosol layers found in southern Africa during August and September 2000. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.A13H0283S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.A13H0283S">Monitoring Cirrus Clouds Using Lamp Observations in Association with Balloon-Borne Radiosonde Over Nainital: Few Case Studies</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Solanki, R.; Singh, N. 2012-12-01 Upper tropospheric clouds such as cirrus have been identified as one of the important regulator of the radiation balance of the earth atmospheric-system. Though the satellite observation provide valuable information on cirrus clouds, they have limitations on spectral, temporal and spatial coverage, hence the need for local remote sensing, such as LiDAR a leading technique for studying the characteristics and properties of cirrus clouds. The upgraded version of a micro pulse LiDAR popularly known as LiDAR for Atmospheric Measurements and Probing (LAMP) developed by National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) is operational since October 2011, at ARIES Nainital (29.4oN, 79.5oE, ~2 km above the mean sea level) a high altitude location in the central Himalayas. Regular observations are being carried out in order to study the vertical distribution of aerosols, clouds and boundary layer structure etc. Altitude profiles of range corrected photon count and derived aerosol back scatter coefficients have depicted the occurrence of high altitude cirrus clouds/ ice clouds in an altitude range of 7 to 11 Km. Among the total observations in 27% of the cases the occurrence of cirrus clouds were detected. The corresponding cloud parameters such as temperature (-59 0C), horizontal wind speed (26 m/s), vertical wind speed (24 m/s), Relative Humidity (61%), at a height (~9 Km) were measured with Radiosonde observations. The prevailing region for cirrus cloud is found to be highly turbulent, indicating the region of divergence followed by a convergence, showing the favorable conditions for cirrus cloud formation. Optical and geometrical characteristics of Cirrus clouds have been analyzed using LiDAR and radiosonde measurements. The temperature and thickness dependence of optical properties have also been studied. The results will be further substantiated with CALIPSO satellite and details will be discussed during the presentation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20000114838','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20000114838">"Cloud Slicing" : A New Technique to Derive Tropospheric Ozone Profile Information from Satellite Measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ziemke, J. R.; Chandra, S.; Bhartia, P. K.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor) 2000-01-01 A new technique denoted cloud slicing has been developed for estimating tropospheric ozone profile information. All previous methods using satellite data were only capable of estimating the total column of ozone in the troposphere. Cloud slicing takes advantage of the opaque property of water vapor clouds to ultraviolet wavelength radiation. Measurements of above-cloud column ozone from the Nimbus 7 total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) instrument are combined together with Nimbus 7 temperature humidity and infrared radiometer (THIR) cloud-top pressure data to derive ozone column amounts in the upper troposphere. In this study tropical TOMS and THIR data for the period 1979-1984 are analyzed. By combining total tropospheric column ozone (denoted TCO) measurements from the convective cloud differential (CCD) method with 100-400 hPa upper tropospheric column ozone amounts from cloud slicing, it is possible to estimate 400-1000 hPa lower tropospheric column ozone and evaluate its spatial and temporal variability. Results for both the upper and lower tropical troposphere show a year-round zonal wavenumber 1 pattern in column ozone with largest amounts in the Atlantic region (up to approx. 15 DU in the 100-400 hPa pressure band and approx. 25-30 DU in the 400-1000 hPa pressure band). Upper tropospheric ozone derived from cloud slicing shows maximum column amounts in the Atlantic region in the June-August and September-November seasons which is similar to the seasonal variability of CCD derived TCO in the region. For the lower troposphere, largest column amounts occur in the September-November season over Brazil in South America and also southern Africa. Localized increases in the tropics in lower tropospheric ozone are found over the northern region of South America around August and off the west coast of equatorial Africa in the March-May season. Time series analysis for several regions in South America and Africa show an anomalous increase in ozone in the lower troposphere around the month of March which is not observed in the upper troposphere. The eastern Pacific indicates weak seasonal variability of upper, lower, and total tropospheric ozone compared to the western Pacific which shows largest TCO amounts in both hemispheres around spring months. Ozone variability in the western Pacific is expected to have greater variability caused by strong convection, pollution and biomass burning, land/sea contrast and monsoon developments. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ACP....18.7329L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ACP....18.7329L">The impact of atmospheric stability and wind shear on vertical cloud overlap over the Tibetan Plateau</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Li, Jiming; Lv, Qiaoyi; Jian, Bida; Zhang, Min; Zhao, Chuanfeng; Fu, Qiang; Kawamoto, Kazuaki; Zhang, Hua 2018-05-01 Studies have shown that changes in cloud cover are responsible for the rapid climate warming over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) in the past 3 decades. To simulate the total cloud cover, atmospheric models have to reasonably represent the characteristics of vertical overlap between cloud layers. Until now, however, this subject has received little attention due to the limited availability of observations, especially over the TP. Based on the above information, the main aim of this study is to examine the properties of cloud overlaps over the TP region and to build an empirical relationship between cloud overlap properties and large-scale atmospheric dynamics using 4 years (2007-2010) of data from the CloudSat cloud product and collocated ERA-Interim reanalysis data. To do this, the cloud overlap parameter α, which is an inverse exponential function of the cloud layer separation D and decorrelation length scale L, is calculated using CloudSat and is discussed. The parameters α and L are both widely used to characterize the transition from the maximum to random overlap assumption with increasing layer separations. For those non-adjacent layers without clear sky between them (that is, contiguous cloud layers), it is found that the overlap parameter α is sensitive to the unique thermodynamic and dynamic environment over the TP, i.e., the unstable atmospheric stratification and corresponding weak wind shear, which leads to maximum overlap (that is, greater α values). This finding agrees well with the previous studies. Finally, we parameterize the decorrelation length scale L as a function of the wind shear and atmospheric stability based on a multiple linear regression. Compared with previous parameterizations, this new scheme can improve the simulation of total cloud cover over the TP when the separations between cloud layers are greater than 1 km. This study thus suggests that the effects of both wind shear and atmospheric stability on cloud overlap should be taken into account in the parameterization of decorrelation length scale L in order to further improve the calculation of the radiative budget and the prediction of climate change over the TP in the atmospheric models. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19910055075&hterms=increase+humidity&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dincrease%2Bhumidity','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19910055075&hterms=increase+humidity&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dincrease%2Bhumidity">Simulations of the effect of a warmer climate on atmospheric humidity</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Del Genio, Anthony D.; Lacis, Andrew A.; Ruedy, Reto A. 1991-01-01 Increases in the concentration of water vapor constitute the single largest positive feedback in models of global climate warming caused by greenhouse gases. It has been suggested that sinking air in the regions surrounding deep cumulus clouds will dry the upper troposphere and eliminate or reverse the direction of water vapor feedback. This hypothesis has been tested by performing an idealized simulation of climate change with two different versions of a climate model which both incorporate drying due to subsidence of clear air but differ in their parameterization of moist convection and stratiform clouds. Despite increased drying of the upper troposphere by cumulus clouds, upper-level humidity increases in the warmer climate because of enhanced upward moisture transport by the general circulation and increased accumulation of water vapor and ice at cumulus cloud tops. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JGRD..122.9280O','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JGRD..122.9280O">New insights about cloud vertical structure from CloudSat and CALIPSO observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Oreopoulos, Lazaros; Cho, Nayeong; Lee, Dongmin 2017-09-01 Active cloud observations from A-Train's CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites offer new opportunities to examine the vertical structure of hydrometeor layers. We use the 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR merged CloudSat-CALIPSO product to examine global aspects of hydrometeor vertical stratification. We group the data into major cloud vertical structure (CVS) classes based on our interpretation of how clouds in three standard atmospheric layers overlap and provide their global frequency of occurrence. The two most frequent CVS classes are single-layer (per our definition) low and high clouds that represent 53% of cloudy skies, followed by high clouds overlying low clouds, and vertically extensive clouds that occupy near-contiguously a large portion of the troposphere. The prevalence of these configurations changes seasonally and geographically, between daytime and nighttime, and between continents and oceans. The radiative effects of the CVS classes reveal the major radiative warmers and coolers from the perspective of the planet as a whole, the surface, and the atmosphere. Single-layer low clouds dominate planetary and atmospheric cooling and thermal infrared surface warming. We also investigate the consistency between passive and active views of clouds by providing the CVS breakdowns of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer cloud regimes for spatiotemporally coincident MODIS-Aqua (also on the A-Train) and CloudSat-CALIPSO daytime observations. When the analysis is expanded for a more in-depth look at the most heterogeneous of the MODIS cloud regimes, it ultimately confirms previous interpretations of their makeup that did not have the benefit of collocated active observations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010JGRD..115.0H28K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010JGRD..115.0H28K">Relationships among cloud occurrence frequency, overlap, and effective thickness derived from CALIPSO and CloudSat merged cloud vertical profiles</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kato, Seiji; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Miller, Walter F.; Rose, Fred G.; Chen, Yan; Minnis, Patrick; Wielicki, Bruce A. 2010-01-01 A cloud frequency of occurrence matrix is generated using merged cloud vertical profiles derived from the satellite-borne Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and cloud profiling radar. The matrix contains vertical profiles of cloud occurrence frequency as a function of the uppermost cloud top. It is shown that the cloud fraction and uppermost cloud top vertical profiles can be related by a cloud overlap matrix when the correlation length of cloud occurrence, which is interpreted as an effective cloud thickness, is introduced. The underlying assumption in establishing the above relation is that cloud overlap approaches random overlap with increasing distance separating cloud layers and that the probability of deviating from random overlap decreases exponentially with distance. One month of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) and CloudSat data (July 2006) support these assumptions, although the correlation length sometimes increases with separation distance when the cloud top height is large. The data also show that the correlation length depends on cloud top hight and the maximum occurs when the cloud top height is 8 to 10 km. The cloud correlation length is equivalent to the decorrelation distance introduced by Hogan and Illingworth (2000) when cloud fractions of both layers in a two-cloud layer system are the same. The simple relationships derived in this study can be used to estimate the top-of-atmosphere irradiance difference caused by cloud fraction, uppermost cloud top, and cloud thickness vertical profile differences. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.A11A0018W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.A11A0018W">Evaluating Lightning-generated NOx (LNOx) Parameterization based on Cloud Top Height at Resolutions with Partially-resolved Convection for Upper Tropospheric Chemistry Studies</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wong, J.; Barth, M. C.; Noone, D. C. 2012-12-01 Lightning-generated nitrogen oxides (LNOx) is an important precursor to tropospheric ozone production. With a meteorological time-scale variability similar to that of the ozone chemical lifetime, it can nonlinearly perturb tropospheric ozone concentration. Coupled with upper-air circulation patterns, LNOx can accumulate in significant amount in the upper troposphere with other precursors, thus enhancing ozone production (see attached figure). While LNOx emission has been included and tuned extensively in global climate models, its inclusions in regional chemistry models are seldom tested. Here we present a study that evaluates the frequently used Price and Rind parameterization based on cloud-top height at resolutions that partially resolve deep convection using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) over the contiguous United States. With minor modifications, the parameterization is shown to generate integrated flash counts close to those observed. However, the modeled frequency distribution of cloud-to-ground flashes do not represent well for storms with high flash rates, bringing into question the applicability of the intra-cloud/ground partitioning (IC:CG) formulation of Price and Rind in some studies. Resolution dependency also requires attention when sub-grid cloud-tops are used instead of the originally intended grid-averaged cloud-top. LNOx passive tracers being gathered by monsoonal upper tropospheric anticyclone. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017NatAs...1E.187P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017NatAs...1E.187P">Stationary waves and slowly moving features in the night upper clouds of Venus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Peralta, J.; Hueso, R.; Sánchez-Lavega, A.; Lee, Y. J.; Muñoz, A. García; Kouyama, T.; Sagawa, H.; Sato, T. M.; Piccioni, G.; Tellmann, S.; Imamura, T.; Satoh, T. 2017-08-01 At the cloud top level of Venus (65-70 km altitude) the atmosphere rotates 60 times faster than the underlying surface—a phenomenon known as superrotation1,2. Whereas on Venus's dayside the cloud top motions are well determined3,4,5,6 and Venus general circulation models predict the mean zonal flow at the upper clouds to be similar on both the day and nightside2, the nightside circulation remains poorly studied except for the polar region7,8. Here, we report global measurements of the nightside circulation at the upper cloud level. We tracked individual features in thermal emission images at 3.8 and 5.0 μm obtained between 2006 and 2008 by the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer-Mapper onboard Venus Express and in 2015 by ground-based measurements with the Medium-Resolution 0.8-5.5 Micron Spectrograph and Imager at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Infrared Telescope Facility. The zonal motions range from -110 to -60 m s-1, which is consistent with those found for the dayside but with larger dispersion6. Slow motions (-50 to -20 m s-1) were also found and remain unexplained. In addition, abundant stationary wave patterns with zonal speeds from -10 to +10 m s-1 dominate the night upper clouds and concentrate over the regions of higher surface elevation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43B2440X','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43B2440X">Overview of Boundary Layer Clouds Using Satellite and Ground-Based Measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Xi, B.; Dong, X.; Wu, P.; Qiu, S. 2017-12-01 A comprehensive summary of boundary layer clouds properties based on our few recently studies will be presented. The analyses include the global cloud fractions and cloud macro/micro- physical properties based on satellite measurements using both CERES-MODIS and CloudSat/Caliposo data products,; the annual/seasonal/diurnal variations of stratocumulus clouds over different climate regions (mid-latitude land, mid-latitude ocean, and Arctic region) using DOE ARM ground-based measurements over Southern great plain (SGP), Azores (GRW), and North slope of Alaska (NSA) sites; the impact of environmental conditions to the formation and dissipation process of marine boundary layer clouds over Azores site; characterizing Arctice mixed-phase cloud structure and favorable environmental conditions for the formation/maintainess of mixed-phase clouds over NSA site. Though the presentation has widely spread topics, we will focus on the representation of the ground-based measurements over different climate regions; evaluation of satellite retrieved cloud properties using these ground-based measurements, and understanding the uncertainties of both satellite and ground-based retrievals and measurements. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1996JGR...10123993P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1996JGR...10123993P">Convective transport of biomass burning emissions over Brazil during TRACE A</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Pickering, Kenneth E.; Thompson, Anne M.; Wang, Yansen; Tao, Wei-Kuo; McNamara, Donna P.; Kirchhoff, Volker W. J. H.; Heikes, Brian G.; Sachse, Glen W.; Bradshaw, John D.; Gregory, Gerald L.; Blake, Donald R. 1996-10-01 A series of large mesoscale convective systems that occurred during the Brazilian phase of GTE/TRACE A (Transport and Atmospheric Chemistry near the Equator-Atlantic) provided an opportunity to observe deep convective transport of trace gases from biomass burning. This paper reports a detailed analysis of flight 6, on September 27, 1992, which sampled cloud- and biomass-burning-perturbed regions north of Brasilia. High-frequency sampling of cloud outflow at 9-12 km from the NASA DC-8 showed enhancement of CO mixing ratios typically a factor of 3 above background (200-300 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) versus 90 ppbv) and significant increases in NOx and hydrocarbons. Clear signals of lightning-generated NO were detected; we estimate that at least 40% of NOx at the 9.5-km level and 32% at 11.3 km originated from lightning. Four types of model studies have been performed to analyze the dynamical and photochemical characteristics of the series of convective events. (1) Regional simulations for the period have been performed with the NCAR/Penn State mesoscale model (MM5), including tracer transport of carbon monoxide, initialized with observations. Middle-upper tropospheric enhancements of a factor of 3 above background are reproduced. (2) A cloud-resolving model (the Goddard cumulus ensemble (GCE) model) has been run for one representative convective cell during the September 26-27 episode. (3) Photochemical calculations (the Goddard tropospheric chemical model), initialized with trace gas observations (e.g., CO, NOx, hydrocarbons, O3) observed in cloud outflow, show appreciable O3 formation postconvection, initially up to 7-8 ppbv O3/d. (4) Forward trajectories from cloud outflow levels (postconvective conditions) put the ozone-producing air masses in eastern Brazil and the tropical Atlantic within 2-4 days and over the Atlantic, Africa, and the Indian Ocean in 6-8 days. Indeed, 3-4 days after the convective episode (September 30, 1992), upper tropospheric levels in the Natal ozone sounding show an average increase of ˜30 ppbv (3 Dobson units (DU) integrated) compared to the September 28 sounding. Our simulated net O3 production rates in cloud outflow are a factor of 3 or more greater than those in air undisturbed by the storms. Integrated over the 8- to 16-km cloud outflow layer, the postconvection net O3 production (˜5-6 DU over 8 days) accounts for ˜25% of the excess O3 (15-25 DU) over the South Atlantic. Comparison of TRACE A Brazilian ozonesondes and the frequency of deep convection with climatology [Kirchhoff et al., this issue] suggests that the late September 1992 conditions represented an unusually active period for both convection and upper tropospheric ozone formation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20020082884&hterms=Butterfly&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3DButterfly','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20020082884&hterms=Butterfly&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3DButterfly">Cloud Thickness from Offbeam Returns (THOR) Validation Campaign on NASA's P3B Over the ARM/SGP</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Cahalan, R. F.; Kolasinski, J.; McGill, M.; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor) 2002-01-01 Physical thickness of a cloud layer, sometimes multiple cloud layers, is a crucial controller of solar heating of the Earth- atmosphere system, which drives the convective processes that produce storm systems. Yet clouds of average optical thickness are opaque to conventional lidar, so their thickness is well estimated only by combining a lidar above and another below cloud, or a radar and lidar on the same side, dual facilities not widely available. Here we report initial observations of a new airborne multiple field of view lidar, capable of determining physical thickness of cloud layers from time signatures of off-beam returns from a I kHz micropulse lidar at 540 rim. For a single layer, the time delay of light returning from the outer diffuse halo of light surrounding the beam entry point, relative to the time delay at beam center, determines the cloud physical thickness. The delay combined with the pulse stretch gives the optical thickness. This halo method requires cloud optical thickness exceeding 2, and improves with cloud thickness, thus complimenting conventional lidar, which cannot penetrate thick clouds. Results are presented from March 25, 2002, when THOR flew a butterfly pattern over the ARM site at 8.3 km, above a thin ice cloud at 5 km, and a thick boundary-layer stratus deck with top at 1.3 km, as shown by THOR channel 1, and a base at about 0.3 km as shown by the ground-based MPL. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1252820-wind-speed-response-marine-non-precipitating-stratocumulus-clouds-over-diurnal-cycle-cloud-system-resolving-simulations','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1252820-wind-speed-response-marine-non-precipitating-stratocumulus-clouds-over-diurnal-cycle-cloud-system-resolving-simulations">Wind speed response of marine non-precipitating stratocumulus clouds over a diurnal cycle in cloud-system resolving simulations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Kazil, Jan; Feingold, Graham; Yamaguchi, Takanobu Observed and projected trends in large-scale wind speed over the oceans prompt the question: how do marine stratocumulus clouds and their radiative properties respond to changes in large-scale wind speed? Wind speed drives the surface fluxes of sensible heat, moisture, and momentum and thereby acts on cloud liquid water path (LWP) and cloud radiative properties. We present an investigation of the dynamical response of non-precipitating, overcast marine stratocumulus clouds to different wind speeds over the course of a diurnal cycle, all else equal. In cloud-system resolving simulations, we find that higher wind speed leads to faster boundary layer growth and strongermore » entrainment. The dynamical driver is enhanced buoyant production of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) from latent heat release in cloud updrafts. LWP is enhanced during the night and in the morning at higher wind speed, and more strongly suppressed later in the day. Wind speed hence accentuates the diurnal LWP cycle by expanding the morning–afternoon contrast. The higher LWP at higher wind speed does not, however, enhance cloud top cooling because in clouds with LWP ≳50 gm –2, longwave emissions are insensitive to LWP. This leads to the general conclusion that in sufficiently thick stratocumulus clouds, additional boundary layer growth and entrainment due to a boundary layer moistening arises by stronger production of TKE from latent heat release in cloud updrafts, rather than from enhanced longwave cooling. Here, we find that large-scale wind modulates boundary layer decoupling. At nighttime and at low wind speed during daytime, it enhances decoupling in part by faster boundary layer growth and stronger entrainment and in part because shear from large-scale wind in the sub-cloud layer hinders vertical moisture transport between the surface and cloud base. With increasing wind speed, however, in decoupled daytime conditions, shear-driven circulation due to large-scale wind takes over from buoyancy-driven circulation in transporting moisture from the surface to cloud base and thereby reduces decoupling and helps maintain LWP. Furthermore, the total (shortwave + longwave) cloud radiative effect (CRE) responds to changes in LWP and cloud fraction, and higher wind speed translates to a stronger diurnally averaged total CRE. However, the sensitivity of the diurnally averaged total CRE to wind speed decreases with increasing wind speed.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1252820-wind-speed-response-marine-non-precipitating-stratocumulus-clouds-over-diurnal-cycle-cloud-system-resolving-simulations','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1252820-wind-speed-response-marine-non-precipitating-stratocumulus-clouds-over-diurnal-cycle-cloud-system-resolving-simulations">Wind speed response of marine non-precipitating stratocumulus clouds over a diurnal cycle in cloud-system resolving simulations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Kazil, Jan; Feingold, Graham; Yamaguchi, Takanobu 2016-05-12 Observed and projected trends in large-scale wind speed over the oceans prompt the question: how do marine stratocumulus clouds and their radiative properties respond to changes in large-scale wind speed? Wind speed drives the surface fluxes of sensible heat, moisture, and momentum and thereby acts on cloud liquid water path (LWP) and cloud radiative properties. We present an investigation of the dynamical response of non-precipitating, overcast marine stratocumulus clouds to different wind speeds over the course of a diurnal cycle, all else equal. In cloud-system resolving simulations, we find that higher wind speed leads to faster boundary layer growth and strongermore » entrainment. The dynamical driver is enhanced buoyant production of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) from latent heat release in cloud updrafts. LWP is enhanced during the night and in the morning at higher wind speed, and more strongly suppressed later in the day. Wind speed hence accentuates the diurnal LWP cycle by expanding the morning–afternoon contrast. The higher LWP at higher wind speed does not, however, enhance cloud top cooling because in clouds with LWP ≳50 gm –2, longwave emissions are insensitive to LWP. This leads to the general conclusion that in sufficiently thick stratocumulus clouds, additional boundary layer growth and entrainment due to a boundary layer moistening arises by stronger production of TKE from latent heat release in cloud updrafts, rather than from enhanced longwave cooling. Here, we find that large-scale wind modulates boundary layer decoupling. At nighttime and at low wind speed during daytime, it enhances decoupling in part by faster boundary layer growth and stronger entrainment and in part because shear from large-scale wind in the sub-cloud layer hinders vertical moisture transport between the surface and cloud base. With increasing wind speed, however, in decoupled daytime conditions, shear-driven circulation due to large-scale wind takes over from buoyancy-driven circulation in transporting moisture from the surface to cloud base and thereby reduces decoupling and helps maintain LWP. Furthermore, the total (shortwave + longwave) cloud radiative effect (CRE) responds to changes in LWP and cloud fraction, and higher wind speed translates to a stronger diurnally averaged total CRE. However, the sensitivity of the diurnally averaged total CRE to wind speed decreases with increasing wind speed.« less </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_13");'>13</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_14");'>14</a></li> <li class="active">15</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_16");'>16</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_17");'>17</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_16" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_14");'>14</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_15");'>15</a></li> <li class="active">16</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_17");'>17</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_18");'>18</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="301"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA03407&hterms=Russia&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DRussia','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA03407&hterms=Russia&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DRussia">Smoke and Clouds over Russia</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 2001-01-01 Several mountain ranges and a portion of the Amur River are visible in this set of MISR images of Russia's far east Khabarovsk region. The images were acquired on May 13, 2001 during Terra orbit 7452. The view from MISR's 70-degree forward-looking camera is at the top left; the 26-degree forward-looking view is at the top right. The larger image at the bottom is a stereo 'anaglyph' created using the cameras at two intermediate angles. To view the stereo image in 3-D you need red/blue glasses with the red filter placed over your left eye. All of the images are oriented with north to the left to facilitate stereo viewing. Each image covers an area about 345 kilometers x 278 kilometers.The Amur River, in the upper right, and Lake Bolon, at the top center, are most prominent in the 26-degree view due to sunglint (mirror-like reflection of the Sun's rays by the water). The Amur River valley is a primary breeding ground for storks and cranes and a stopover for large numbers of migratory birds. About 20% of the Amur wetlands are protected by official conservation measures, but human development has converted large portions to agricultural uses. Other notable features in these images are several mountain chains, including the Badzhal'skiy to the left of center and the Bureiskiy in the lower left.Smoke plumes from several forest fires can be seen. They are especially apparent in the 70-degree view where the smoke's visibility is accentuated, in part, by the long slant path through the atmosphere. The largest plumes are in the lower left and upper right, with some smaller plumes above and to the right of the image centers. In the upper images the hazy region in the vicinity of these smaller plumes has the appearance of low-altitude smoke, but depth perception provided by the stereo anaglyph shows that it is actually a distinct layer of high-altitude cirrus clouds. Whether the cirrus is related to the fires is uncertain. It is possible, however, for the fires have to have heated the lower atmosphere enough to create bubbles of hot air. As such bubbles rise, they can force stable, nearly saturated air above to move even higher, triggering the formation of ice clouds. Visualization of other three-dimensional characteristics of the scene, such as the intermediate-altitude layer of cumulus clouds along the left side, is made possible by the stereo imagery.MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19800037204&hterms=convection+currents&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dconvection%2Bcurrents','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19800037204&hterms=convection+currents&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dconvection%2Bcurrents">Shallow convection on day 261 of GATE - Mesoscale arcs</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Warner, C.; Simpson, J.; Martin, D. W.; Suchman, D.; Mosher, F. R.; Reinking, R. F. 1979-01-01 Cloudy convection in the moist layer of a cloud cluster growing in the GATE ship array is examined. Analyses suggest that the moist layer was dominated by features of horizontal dimension roughly 40 km and lifetime roughly 2 h, with arc patterns triggered by dense downdraft air accompanying rainfall, and composed of many small cumulus clouds. Aircraft recorded data on thermodynamic quantities and winds, indicating that the arcs persisted as mesoscale circulations driven by the release of latent heat in the clouds, rather than being driven by the original density current at the surface. It is also suggested that the mesoscale cloud patterns of the moist layer play a primary role in heat transfer upward within this layer, and contribute to the forcing of showering midtropospheric clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014cosp...40E2426P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014cosp...40E2426P">16-year Climatology of Cirrus cloud properties using ground-based Lidar over Gadanki (13.45˚N, 79.18˚E)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Pandit, Amit Kumar; Raghunath, Karnam; Jayaraman, Achuthan; Venkat Ratnam, Madineni; Gadhavi, Harish Cirrus clouds are ubiquitous high level cold clouds predominantly consisting of ice-crystals. With their highest coverage over the tropics, these are one of the most vital and complex components of Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL) due to their strong radiative feedback and dehydration in upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) regions. The continuous changes in their coverage, position, thickness, and ice-crystal size and shape distributions bring uncertainties in the estimates of cirrus cloud radiative forcing. Long-term changes in the distribution of aerosols and water vapour in the TTL can influence cirrus properties. This necessitates long-term studies of tropical cirrus clouds, which are only few. The present study provides 16-year climatology of physical and optical properties of cirrus clouds observed using a ground-based Lidar located at Gadanki (13.45(°) N, 79.18(°) ˚E and 375 m amsl) in south-India. In general, cirrus clouds occurred for about 44% of the total Lidar observation time. Owing to the increased convective activities, the occurrence of cirrus clouds during the southwest-monsoon season is highest while it is lowest during the winter. Altitude distribution of cirrus clouds reveals that the peak occurrence was about 25% at 14.5 km. The most probable base and top height of cirrus clouds are 14 and 15.5 km, respectively. This is also reflected in the bulk extinction coefficient profile (at 532 nm) of cirrus clouds. These results are compared with the CALIPSO observations. Most of the time cirrus clouds are located within the TTL bounded by convective outflow level and cold-point tropopause. Cirrus clouds are thick during the monsoon season as compared to that during winter. An inverse relation between the thickness of cirrus clouds and TTL thickness is found. The occurrence of cirrus clouds at an altitude close to the tropopause (16 km) showed an increase of 8.4% in the last 16 years. Base and top heights of cirrus clouds also showed increase of 0.41 km and 0.56 km, respectively. These results are discussed in relation with the recent increase in the tropical tropopause altitude. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27702889','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27702889">Black carbon solar absorption suppresses turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Wilcox, Eric M; Thomas, Rick M; Praveen, Puppala S; Pistone, Kristina; Bender, Frida A-M; Ramanathan, Veerabhadran 2016-10-18 The introduction of cloud condensation nuclei and radiative heating by sunlight-absorbing aerosols can modify the thickness and coverage of low clouds, yielding significant radiative forcing of climate. The magnitude and sign of changes in cloud coverage and depth in response to changing aerosols are impacted by turbulent dynamics of the cloudy atmosphere, but integrated measurements of aerosol solar absorption and turbulent fluxes have not been reported thus far. Here we report such integrated measurements made from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the CARDEX (Cloud Aerosol Radiative Forcing and Dynamics Experiment) investigation conducted over the northern Indian Ocean. The UAV and surface data reveal a reduction in turbulent kinetic energy in the surface mixed layer at the base of the atmosphere concurrent with an increase in absorbing black carbon aerosols. Polluted conditions coincide with a warmer and shallower surface mixed layer because of aerosol radiative heating and reduced turbulence. The polluted surface mixed layer was also observed to be more humid with higher relative humidity. Greater humidity enhances cloud development, as evidenced by polluted clouds that penetrate higher above the top of the surface mixed layer. Reduced entrainment of dry air into the surface layer from above the inversion capping the surface mixed layer, due to weaker turbulence, may contribute to higher relative humidity in the surface layer during polluted conditions. Measurements of turbulence are important for studies of aerosol effects on clouds. Moreover, reduced turbulence can exacerbate both the human health impacts of high concentrations of fine particles and conditions favorable for low-visibility fog events. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=5081626','PMC'); return false;" href="https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=5081626">Black carbon solar absorption suppresses turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pmc">PubMed Central</a> Wilcox, Eric M.; Thomas, Rick M.; Praveen, Puppala S.; Pistone, Kristina; Bender, Frida A.-M.; Ramanathan, Veerabhadran 2016-01-01 The introduction of cloud condensation nuclei and radiative heating by sunlight-absorbing aerosols can modify the thickness and coverage of low clouds, yielding significant radiative forcing of climate. The magnitude and sign of changes in cloud coverage and depth in response to changing aerosols are impacted by turbulent dynamics of the cloudy atmosphere, but integrated measurements of aerosol solar absorption and turbulent fluxes have not been reported thus far. Here we report such integrated measurements made from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the CARDEX (Cloud Aerosol Radiative Forcing and Dynamics Experiment) investigation conducted over the northern Indian Ocean. The UAV and surface data reveal a reduction in turbulent kinetic energy in the surface mixed layer at the base of the atmosphere concurrent with an increase in absorbing black carbon aerosols. Polluted conditions coincide with a warmer and shallower surface mixed layer because of aerosol radiative heating and reduced turbulence. The polluted surface mixed layer was also observed to be more humid with higher relative humidity. Greater humidity enhances cloud development, as evidenced by polluted clouds that penetrate higher above the top of the surface mixed layer. Reduced entrainment of dry air into the surface layer from above the inversion capping the surface mixed layer, due to weaker turbulence, may contribute to higher relative humidity in the surface layer during polluted conditions. Measurements of turbulence are important for studies of aerosol effects on clouds. Moreover, reduced turbulence can exacerbate both the human health impacts of high concentrations of fine particles and conditions favorable for low-visibility fog events. PMID:27702889 </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160005031','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160005031">Insights on TTL Dehydration Mechanisms from Microphysical Modelling of Aircraft Observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ueyama, R.; Pfister, L.; Jensen, E. 2014-01-01 The Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL), a transition layer between the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in the tropics, serves as the entryway of various trace gases into the stratosphere. Of particular interest is the transport of water vapor through the TTL, as WV is an important greenhouse gas and also plays a significant role in stratospheric chemistry by affecting polar stratospheric cloud formation and the ozone budget. While the dominant control of stratospheric water vapor by tropical cold point temperatures via the "freeze-drying" process is generally well understood, the details of the TTL dehydration mechanisms, including the relative roles of deep convection, atmospheric waves and cloud microphysical processes, remain an active area of research. The dynamical and microphysical processes that influence TTL water vapor concentrations are investigated in simulations of cloud formation and dehydration along air parcel trajectories. We first confirm the validity of our Lagrangian models in a case study involving measurements from the Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX) flights over the central and eastern tropical Pacific in Oct-Nov 2011 and Jan-Feb 2013. ERA-Interim winds and seasonal mean heating rates from Yang et al. (2010) are used to advance parcels back in time from the flight tracks, and time-varying vertical profiles of water vapor along the diabatic trajectories are calculated in a one-dimensional cloud model as in Jensen and Pfister (2004) but with more reliable temperature field, wave and convection schemes. The simulated water vapor profiles demonstrate a significant improvement over estimates based on the Lagrangian Dry Point, agreeing well with aircraft observations when the effects of cloud microphysics, subgrid-scale gravity waves and convection are included. Following this approach, we examine the dynamical and microphysical control of TTL water vapor in the 30ºS-30ºN latitudinal belt and elucidate the dominant processes in the winter and summer seasons. Implications of the TTL dehydration processes for the regulation of global stratospheric humidity will be discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.U21D..01S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.U21D..01S">High Altitude Emissions of Black Carbon Aerosols: Potential Climate Implications</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Satheesh, S. K. 2017-12-01 Synthesizing a series of ground-based and airborne measurements of aerosols over the Indian region during summer and pre-monsoon seasons have revealed the persistence of elevated absorbing aerosol layers over most of the Indian region; more than 50% of which located above clouds. Subsequent, in situ measurements of black carbon (BC) using high-altitude balloons, showed surprising layers with high concentrations in the middle and upper troposphere even at an altitude of 8 to 10 kms. Simultaneous measurements of the vertical thermal structure have shown localized warming due to BC absorption leading to large reduction in lapse rate and sharp temperature inversion, which in turn increases the atmospheric stability. This aerosol-induced stable layer is conducive for maintaining the black carbon layer longer at that level, leading thereby to further solar absorption and subsequently triggering dry convection. These observations support the `solar escalator' concept through which absorption-warming-convection cycles lead to self-lifting of BC to upper troposphere or even to lower stratosphere under favorable conditions in a matter of a few days. Employing an on-line regional chemistry transport model (WRF-Chem), incorporating aircraft emissions, it is shown that emissions from high-flying aircrafts as the most likely source of these elevated black carbon layers. These in-situ injected particles, produce significant warming of the thin air in those heights and lift these layers to even upper tropospheric/lower stratospheric heights, aided by the strong monsoonal convection occurring over the region, which are known to overshoot the tropical tropopause leading to injection of tropospheric air mass (along with its constituent aerosols) into the stratosphere, especially during monsoon season when the tropical tropopause layer is known to be thinnest. These simulations are further supported by the CALIPSO space-borne LIDAR derived extinction coefficient profiles. Based on these, it is hypothesized that such intrusions of black carbon to lower stratosphere and its consequent longer residence time in the stratosphere, would have significant implications for stratospheric chemistry, considering the known ozone depleting potential of black carbon aerosols. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19890024235&hterms=astronomia+espacio&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dastronomia%2By%2Bespacio','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19890024235&hterms=astronomia+espacio&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dastronomia%2By%2Bespacio">On the origin of the Orion and Monoceros molecular cloud complexes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Franco, J.; Tenorio-Tagle, G.; Bodenheimer, P.; Rozyczka, M.; Mirabel, I. F. 1988-01-01 A detailed model for the origin of the Orion and Monoceros cloud complexes is presented, showing that a single high-velocity H I cloud-galaxy collision can explain their main observed features. The collision generates massive shocked layers, and self-gravity can then provide the conditions for the transformation of these layers into molecular clouds. The clouds formed by the collision maintain the motion of their parental shocked gas and reach positions located far away from the plane. According to this model, both the Orion and Monoceros complexes were formed some 60 million yr ago, when the original shocked layer was fragmented by Galactic tidal forces. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27816440','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27816440">Surface tension and quasi-emulsion of cavitation bubble cloud.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Bai, Lixin; Chen, Xiaoguang; Zhu, Gang; Xu, Weilin; Lin, Weijun; Wu, Pengfei; Li, Chao; Xu, Delong; Yan, Jiuchun 2017-03-01 A quasi-emulsion phenomenon of cavitation structure in a thin liquid layer (the thin liquid layer is trapped between a radiating surface and a hard reflector) is investigated experimentally with high-speed photography. The transformation from cloud-in-water (c/w) emulsion to water-in-cloud (w/c) emulsion is related to the increase of cavitation bubble cloud. The acoustic field in the thin liquid layer is analyzed. It is found that the liquid region has higher acoustic pressure than the cloud region. The bubbles are pushed from liquid region to cloud region by the primary Bjerknes forces. The rate of change of CSF increased with the increase of CSF. The cavitation bubbles on the surface of cavitation cloud are attracted by the cavitation bubbles inside the cloud due to secondary Bjerknes forces. The existence of surface tension on the interface of liquid region and cloud region is proved. The formation mechanism of disc-shaped liquid region and cloud region are analysed by surface tension and incompressibility of cavitation bubble cloud. Copyright Â© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01189&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01189&hterms=dry+eyes&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Ddry%2Beyes">Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.This frame is a view from above and to the south of the visualized area, showing the entire model. The entire region is overlain by a thin, transparent haze. In places the haze is high and thick, especially to the east (to the right of) the hotspot.Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations.The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25.The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the lower cloud with an overlying thin haze.The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ galileo. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2013-title14-vol4/pdf/CFR-2013-title14-vol4-part417-appG.pdf','CFR2013'); return false;" href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2013-title14-vol4/pdf/CFR-2013-title14-vol4-part417-appG.pdf">14 CFR Appendix G to Part 417 - Natural and Triggered Lightning Flight Commit Criteria</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionCfr.action?selectedYearFrom=2013&page.go=Go">Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR</a> 2013-01-01 ... all clouds in the specified volume, computed as follows: (i) The cloud base to be averaged is the..., height-integrated radar reflectivity (VAHIRR) of clouds, are used with the lightning flight commit... the purpose of this appendix: Anvil cloud means a stratiform or fibrous cloud formed by the upper... </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title14-vol4/pdf/CFR-2012-title14-vol4-part417-appG.pdf','CFR2012'); return false;" href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title14-vol4/pdf/CFR-2012-title14-vol4-part417-appG.pdf">14 CFR Appendix G to Part 417 - Natural and Triggered Lightning Flight Commit Criteria</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionCfr.action?selectedYearFrom=2012&page.go=Go">Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR</a> 2012-01-01 ... all clouds in the specified volume, computed as follows: (i) The cloud base to be averaged is the..., height-integrated radar reflectivity (VAHIRR) of clouds, are used with the lightning flight commit... the purpose of this appendix: Anvil cloud means a stratiform or fibrous cloud formed by the upper... </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title14-vol4/pdf/CFR-2014-title14-vol4-part417-appG.pdf','CFR2014'); return false;" href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title14-vol4/pdf/CFR-2014-title14-vol4-part417-appG.pdf">14 CFR Appendix G to Part 417 - Natural and Triggered Lightning Flight Commit Criteria</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionCfr.action?selectedYearFrom=2014&page.go=Go">Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR</a> 2014-01-01 ... all clouds in the specified volume, computed as follows: (i) The cloud base to be averaged is the..., height-integrated radar reflectivity (VAHIRR) of clouds, are used with the lightning flight commit... the purpose of this appendix: Anvil cloud means a stratiform or fibrous cloud formed by the upper... </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016GeoRL..43.3572S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016GeoRL..43.3572S">Tropical cloud buoyancy is the same in a world with or without ice</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Seeley, Jacob T.; Romps, David M. 2016-04-01 When convective clouds grow above the melting line, where temperatures fall below 0°C, condensed water begins to freeze and water vapor is deposited. These processes release the latent heat of fusion, which warms cloud air, and many previous studies have suggested that this heating from fusion increases cloud buoyancy in the upper troposphere. Here we use numerical simulations of radiative-convective equilibrium with and without ice processes to argue that tropical cloud buoyancy is not systematically higher in a world with fusion than in a world without it. This insensitivity results from the fact that the environmental temperature profile encountered by developing tropical clouds is itself determined by convection. We also offer a simple explanation for the large reservoir of convective available potential energy in the tropical upper troposphere that does not invoke ice. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01255&hterms=Dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3DDark%2Bweb','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01255&hterms=Dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3DDark%2Bweb">Hubble Provides Infrared View of Jupiter's Moon, Ring, and Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Probing Jupiter's atmosphere for the first time, the Hubble Space Telescope's new Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) provides a sharp glimpse of the planet's ring, moon, and high-altitude clouds.The presence of methane in Jupiter's hydrogen- and helium-rich atmosphere has allowed NICMOS to plumb Jupiter's atmosphere, revealing bands of high-altitude clouds. Visible light observations cannot provide a clear view of these high clouds because the underlying clouds reflect so much visible light that the higher level clouds are indistinguishable from the lower layer. The methane gas between the main cloud deck and the high clouds absorbs the reflected infrared light, allowing those clouds that are above most of the atmosphere to appear bright. Scientists will use NICMOS to study the high altitude portion of Jupiter's atmosphere to study clouds at lower levels. They will then analyze those images along with visible light information to compile a clearer picture of the planet's weather. Clouds at different levels tell unique stories. On Earth, for example, ice crystal (cirrus) clouds are found at high altitudes while water (cumulus) clouds are at lower levels.Besides showing details of the planet's high-altitude clouds, NICMOS also provides a clear view of the ring and the moon, Metis. Jupiter's ring plane, seen nearly edge-on, is visible as a faint line on the upper right portion of the NICMOS image. Metis can be seen in the ring plane (the bright circle on the ring's outer edge). The moon is 25 miles wide and about 80,000 miles from Jupiter.Because of the near-infrared camera's narrow field of view, this image is a mosaic constructed from three individual images taken Sept. 17, 1997. The color intensity was adjusted to accentuate the high-altitude clouds. The dark circle on the disk of Jupiter (center of image) is an artifact of the imaging system.This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/ </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUSMSA51B..03H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUSMSA51B..03H">Polarization Catastrophe Contributing to Rotation and Tornadic Motion in Cumulo-Nimbus Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Handel, P. H. 2007-05-01 When the concentration of sub-micron ice particles in a cloud exceeds 2.5E21 per cubic cm, divided by the squared average number of water molecules per crystallite, the polarization catastrophe occurs. Then all ice crystallites nucleated on aerosol dust particles align their dipole moments in the same direction, and a large polarization vector field is generated in the cloud. Often this vector field has a radial component directed away from the vertical axis of the cloud. It is induced by the pre-existing electric field caused by the charged screening layers at the cloud surface, the screening shell of the cloud. The presence of a vertical component of the magnetic field of the earth creates a density of linear momentum G=DxB in the azimuthal direction, where D=eE+P is the electric displacement vector and e is the vacuum permittivity. This linear momentum density yields an angular momentum density vector directed upward in the nordic hemisphere, if the polarization vector points away from the vertical axis of the cloud. When the cloud becomes colloidally unstable, the crystallites grow beyond the size limit at which they still could carry a large ferroelectric saturation dipole moment, and the polarization vector quickly disappears. Then the cloud begins to rotate with an angular momentum that has the same direction. Due to the large average number of water molecules in a crystallite, the polarization catastrophe (PC) is present in practically all clouds, and is compensated by masking charges. In cumulo-nimbus (thunder-) clouds the collapse of the PC is rapid, and the masking charges lead to lightning, and in the upper atmosphere also to sprites, elves, and blue jets. In stratus clouds, however, the collapse is slow, and only leads to reverse polarity in dissipating clouds (minus on the bottom), as compared with growing clouds (plus on the bottom, because of the excess polarization charge). References: P.H. Handel: "Polarization Catastrophe Theory of Cloud Electricity", J. Geophysical Research 90, 5857-5863 (1985). P.H. Handel and P.B. James: "Polarization Catastrophe Model of Static Electrification and Spokes in the B-Ring of Saturn", Geophys. Res. Lett. 10, 1-4 (1983). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017RaSc...52..559B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017RaSc...52..559B">A physics-based model for the ionization of samarium by the MOSC chemical releases in the upper atmosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Bernhardt, Paul A.; Siefring, Carl L.; Briczinski, Stanley J.; Viggiano, Albert; Caton, Ronald G.; Pedersen, Todd R.; Holmes, Jeffrey M.; Ard, Shaun; Shuman, Nicholas; Groves, Keith M. 2017-05-01 Atomic samarium has been injected into the neutral atmosphere for production of electron clouds that modify the ionosphere. These electron clouds may be used as high-frequency radio wave reflectors or for control of the electrodynamics of the F region. A self-consistent model for the photochemical reactions of Samarium vapor cloud released into the upper atmosphere has been developed and compared with the Metal Oxide Space Cloud (MOSC) experimental observations. The release initially produces a dense plasma cloud that that is rapidly reduced by dissociative recombination and diffusive expansion. The spectral emissions from the release cover the ultraviolet to the near infrared band with contributions from solar fluorescence of the atomic, molecular, and ionized components of the artificial density cloud. Barium releases in sunlight are more efficient than Samarium releases in sunlight for production of dense ionization clouds. Samarium may be of interest for nighttime releases but the artificial electron cloud is limited by recombination with the samarium oxide ion. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070032668&hterms=relationships&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DTitle%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Drelationships','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070032668&hterms=relationships&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DTitle%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3Drelationships">Relationships of Upper Tropospheric Water Vapor, Clouds and SST: MLS Observations, ECMWF Analyses and GCM Simulations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Su, Hui; Waliser, Duane E.; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Li, Jui-lin; Read, William G.; Waters, Joe W.; Tompkins, Adrian M. 2006-01-01 The relationships of upper tropospheric water vapor (UTWV), cloud ice and sea surface temperature (SST) are examined in the annual cycles of ECMWF analyses and simulations from 15 atmosphere-ocean coupled models which were contributed to the IPCC AR4. The results are compared with the observed relationships based on UTWV and cloud ice measurements from MLS on Aura. It is shown that the ECMWF analyses produce positive correlations between UTWV, cloud ice and SST, similar to the MLS data. The rate of the increase of cloud ice and UTWV with SST is about 30% larger than that for MLS. For the IPCC simulations, the relationships between UTWV, cloud ice and SST are qualitatively captured. However, the magnitudes of the simulated cloud ice show a considerable disagreement between models, by nearly a factor of 10. The amplitudes of the approximate linear relations between UTWV, cloud ice and SST vary by a factor up to 4. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JGRC..123.2475W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JGRC..123.2475W">The Response of the Ocean Thermal Skin Layer to Variations in Incident Infrared Radiation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wong, Elizabeth W.; Minnett, Peter J. 2018-04-01 Ocean warming trends are observed and coincide with the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere resulting from human activities. At the ocean surface, most of the incoming infrared (IR) radiation is absorbed within the top micrometers of the ocean's surface where the thermal skin layer (TSL) exists. Thus, the incident IR radiation does not directly heat the upper few meters of the ocean. This paper investigates the physical mechanism between the absorption of IR radiation and its effect on heat transfer at the air-sea boundary. The hypothesis is that given the heat lost through the air-sea interface is controlled by the TSL, the TSL adjusts in response to variations in incident IR radiation to maintain the surface heat loss. This modulates the flow of heat from below and hence controls upper ocean heat content. This hypothesis is tested using the increase in incoming longwave radiation from clouds and analyzing vertical temperature profiles in the TSL retrieved from sea-surface emission spectra. The additional energy from the absorption of increasing IR radiation adjusts the curvature of the TSL such that the upward conduction of heat from the bulk of the ocean into the TSL is reduced. The additional energy absorbed within the TSL supports more of the surface heat loss. Thus, more heat beneath the TSL is retained leading to the observed increase in upper ocean heat content. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20000070722','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20000070722">Comparison of Cirrus Cloud Models: A Project of the GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) Working Group on Cirrus Cloud Systems</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Starr, David O'C.; Benedetti, Angela; Boehm, Matt; Brown, Philip R. A.; Gierens, Klaus M.; Girard, Eric; Giraud, Vincent; Jakob, Christian; Jensen, Eric 2000-01-01 The GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS, GEWEX is the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment) is a community activity aiming to promote development of improved cloud parameterizations for application in the large-scale general circulation models (GCMs) used for climate research and for numerical weather prediction. The GCSS strategy is founded upon the use of cloud-system models (CSMs). These are "process" models with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to represent individual cloud elements, but spanning a wide range of space and time scales to enable statistical analysis of simulated cloud systems. GCSS also employs single-column versions of the parametric cloud models (SCMs) used in GCMs. GCSS has working groups on boundary-layer clouds, cirrus clouds, extratropical layer cloud systems, precipitating deep convective cloud systems, and polar clouds. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_14");'>14</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_15");'>15</a></li> <li class="active">16</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_17");'>17</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_18");'>18</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_17" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_15");'>15</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_16");'>16</a></li> <li class="active">17</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_18");'>18</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_19");'>19</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="321"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A43B0208W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A43B0208W">Contrasting Cloud Composition Between Coupled and Decoupled Marine Boundary Layer Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> WANG, Z.; Mora, M.; Dadashazar, H.; MacDonald, A.; Crosbie, E.; Bates, K. H.; Coggon, M. M.; Craven, J. S.; Xian, P.; Campbell, J. R.; AzadiAghdam, M.; Woods, R. K.; Jonsson, H.; Flagan, R. C.; Seinfeld, J.; Sorooshian, A. 2016-12-01 Marine stratocumulus clouds often become decoupled from the vertical layer immediately above the ocean surface. This study contrasts cloud chemical composition between coupled and decoupled marine stratocumulus clouds. Cloud water and droplet residual particle composition were measured in clouds off the California coast during three airborne experiments in July-August of separate years (E-PEACE 2011, NiCE 2013, BOAS 2015). Decoupled clouds exhibited significantly lower overall mass concentrations in both cloud water and droplet residual particles, consistent with reduced cloud droplet number concentration and sub-cloud aerosol (Dp > 100 nm) number concentration, owing to detachment from surface sources. Non-refractory sub-micrometer aerosol measurements show that coupled clouds exhibit higher sulfate mass fractions in droplet residual particles, owing to more abundant precursor emissions from the ocean and ships. Consequently, decoupled clouds exhibited higher mass fractions of organics, nitrate, and ammonium in droplet residual particles, owing to effects of long-range transport from more distant sources. Total cloud water mass concentration in coupled clouds was dominated by sodium and chloride, and their mass fractions and concentrations exceeded those in decoupled clouds. Conversely, with the exception of sea salt constituents (e.g., Cl, Na, Mg, K), cloud water mass fractions of all species examined were higher in decoupled clouds relative to coupled clouds. These results suggest that an important variable is the extent to which clouds are coupled to the surface layer when interpreting microphysical data relevant to clouds and aerosol particles. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120013397&hterms=asian+american&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dasian%2Bamerican','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120013397&hterms=asian+american&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dasian%2Bamerican">A Meteorological Overview of the TC4 Mission</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Pfister, L.; Selkirk, H. B.; Starr, D. O.; Rosenlof, K.; Newman, P. F. 2010-01-01 The TC4 mission in Central America during summer 2007 examined convective transport into the tropical Upper Troposphere/Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) and the evolution of cirrus clouds. The tropical tropopause layer (TTL) circulation is dominated by the Asian monsoon anticyclone and westward winds that stretch from the western Pacific into the Atlantic. During TC4, TTL westward flow over Central America was stronger than normal. Incidence of cold clouds over the Central American region was the third lowest out of 34 years sampled. The major factor was an incipient La Nina, specifically anomalously cold temperatures off the Pacific Coast of South America. Weakness in the low level Caribbean jet caused a shift in the coldest clouds from the Caribbean to the Pacific side of Central America. The character of tropopause temperature variability was that of upward propagating waves generated by local and nonlocal convection. These waves produced tropopause temperature variations of 3 K, with peak-to-peak variations of 8 K. At low levels in Central America, flow from the Sahara desert predominated; further south, the air came from the Amazon region. Convectively influenced air in the upper troposphere came from Central America, the northern Amazon region, the Atlantic ITCZ, and the North American monsoon. In the TTL, Asian and African convection affected the observed air masses. North of 10N in the Central American TTL, African and Asian convection may have contributed as much to the air masses as Central and South American convection. South of 8N, Asian and African convection had far less impact. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1351748','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1351748">Effects of environment forcing on marine boundary layer cloud-drizzle processes: MBL Cloud-Drizzle Processes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Wu, Peng; Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike Determining the factors affecting drizzle formation in marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds remains a challenge for both observation and modeling communities. To investigate the roles of vertical wind shear and buoyancy (static instability) in drizzle formation, ground-based observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program at the Azores are analyzed for two types of conditions. The type I clouds should last for at least five hours and more than 90% time must be non-drizzling, and then followed by at least two hours of drizzling periods while the type II clouds are characterized by mesoscale convection cellular (MCC) structures with drizzlemore » occur every two to four hours. By analyzing the boundary layer wind profiles (direction and speed), it was found that either directional or speed shear is required to promote drizzle production in the type I clouds. Observations and a recent model study both suggest that vertical wind shear helps the production of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), stimulates turbulence within cloud layer, and enhances drizzle formation near the cloud top. The type II clouds do not require strong wind shear to produce drizzle. The small values of lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and negative Richardson number ( Ri) in the type II cases suggest that boundary layer instability plays an important role in TKE production and cloud-drizzle processes. As a result, by analyzing the relationships between LTS and wind shear for all cases and all time periods, a stronger connection was found between LTS and wind directional shear than that between LTS and wind speed shear.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1351748-effects-environment-forcing-marine-boundary-layer-cloud-drizzle-processes-mbl-cloud-drizzle-processes','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1351748-effects-environment-forcing-marine-boundary-layer-cloud-drizzle-processes-mbl-cloud-drizzle-processes">Effects of environment forcing on marine boundary layer cloud-drizzle processes: MBL Cloud-Drizzle Processes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Wu, Peng; Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike; ... 2017-04-20 Determining the factors affecting drizzle formation in marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds remains a challenge for both observation and modeling communities. To investigate the roles of vertical wind shear and buoyancy (static instability) in drizzle formation, ground-based observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program at the Azores are analyzed for two types of conditions. The type I clouds should last for at least five hours and more than 90% time must be non-drizzling, and then followed by at least two hours of drizzling periods while the type II clouds are characterized by mesoscale convection cellular (MCC) structures with drizzlemore » occur every two to four hours. By analyzing the boundary layer wind profiles (direction and speed), it was found that either directional or speed shear is required to promote drizzle production in the type I clouds. Observations and a recent model study both suggest that vertical wind shear helps the production of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), stimulates turbulence within cloud layer, and enhances drizzle formation near the cloud top. The type II clouds do not require strong wind shear to produce drizzle. The small values of lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and negative Richardson number ( Ri) in the type II cases suggest that boundary layer instability plays an important role in TKE production and cloud-drizzle processes. As a result, by analyzing the relationships between LTS and wind shear for all cases and all time periods, a stronger connection was found between LTS and wind directional shear than that between LTS and wind speed shear.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20160003594&hterms=neither+deep+shallow&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dneither%2Bdeep%2Bshallow','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20160003594&hterms=neither+deep+shallow&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dneither%2Bdeep%2Bshallow">RACORO Continental Boundary Layer Cloud Investigations: 3. Separation of Parameterization Biases in Single-Column Model CAM5 Simulations of Shallow Cumulus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Lin, Wuyin; Liu, Yangang; Vogelmann, Andrew M.; Fridlind, Ann; Endo, Satoshi; Song, Hua; Feng, Sha; Toto, Tami; Li, Zhijin; Zhang, Minghua 2015-01-01 Climatically important low-level clouds are commonly misrepresented in climate models. The FAst-physics System TEstbed and Research (FASTER) Project has constructed case studies from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility's Southern Great Plain site during the RACORO aircraft campaign to facilitate research on model representation of boundary-layer clouds. This paper focuses on using the single-column Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (SCAM5) simulations of a multi-day continental shallow cumulus case to identify specific parameterization causes of low-cloud biases. Consistent model biases among the simulations driven by a set of alternative forcings suggest that uncertainty in the forcing plays only a relatively minor role. In-depth analysis reveals that the model's shallow cumulus convection scheme tends to significantly under-produce clouds during the times when shallow cumuli exist in the observations, while the deep convective and stratiform cloud schemes significantly over-produce low-level clouds throughout the day. The links between model biases and the underlying assumptions of the shallow cumulus scheme are further diagnosed with the aid of large-eddy simulations and aircraft measurements, and by suppressing the triggering of the deep convection scheme. It is found that the weak boundary layer turbulence simulated is directly responsible for the weak cumulus activity and the simulated boundary layer stratiform clouds. Increased vertical and temporal resolutions are shown to lead to stronger boundary layer turbulence and reduction of low-cloud biases. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1201337-racoro-continental-boundary-layer-cloud-investigations-separation-parameterization-biases-single-column-model-cam5-simulations-shallow-cumulus','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1201337-racoro-continental-boundary-layer-cloud-investigations-separation-parameterization-biases-single-column-model-cam5-simulations-shallow-cumulus">RACORO continental boundary layer cloud investigations. 3. Separation of parameterization biases in single-column model CAM5 simulations of shallow cumulus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Lin, Wuyin; Liu, Yangang; Vogelmann, Andrew M.; ... 2015-06-19 Climatically important low-level clouds are commonly misrepresented in climate models. The FAst-physics System TEstbed and Research (FASTER) project has constructed case studies from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility's Southern Great Plain site during the RACORO aircraft campaign to facilitate research on model representation of boundary-layer clouds. This paper focuses on using the single-column Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (SCAM5) simulations of a multi-day continental shallow cumulus case to identify specific parameterization causes of low-cloud biases. Consistent model biases among the simulations driven by a set of alternative forcings suggest that uncertainty in the forcing plays only amore » relatively minor role. In-depth analysis reveals that the model's shallow cumulus convection scheme tends to significantly under-produce clouds during the times when shallow cumuli exist in the observations, while the deep convective and stratiform cloud schemes significantly over-produce low-level clouds throughout the day. The links between model biases and the underlying assumptions of the shallow cumulus scheme are further diagnosed with the aid of large-eddy simulations and aircraft measurements, and by suppressing the triggering of the deep convection scheme. It is found that the weak boundary layer turbulence simulated is directly responsible for the weak cumulus activity and the simulated boundary layer stratiform clouds. Increased vertical and temporal resolutions are shown to lead to stronger boundary layer turbulence and reduction of low-cloud biases.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018MAP...tmp..274Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018MAP...tmp..274Z">Precursory strong-signal characteristics of the convective clouds of the Central Tibetan Plateau detected by radar echoes with respect to the evolutionary processes of an eastward-moving heavy rainstorm belt in the Yangtze River Basin</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zhao, Yang; Xu, Xiangde; Ruan, Zheng; Chen, Bin; Wang, Fang 2018-03-01 The integrated analysis of the data from a C-band frequency-modulated continuous-wave (C-FMCW) radar site in Naqu obtained during a rainstorm over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the data concerning the three-dimensional structure of the circulation of the precipitation system that occurred over the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin during the Third Tibetan Plateau (TP) Atmospheric Experiment from August 15th to 19th, 2014, was carried out. The changes in the echo intensity at the C-FMCW radar site in Naqu were of regional indicative significance for the characteristics of the whole-layer apparent heat source Q1 in local areas and the region of the adjacent river source area, including the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Lancang River (hereinafter referred to as the "source area of three rivers"), as well as to the vertical speeds due to the development of convection. This study indicates that the C-FMCW radar echo intensity of the plateau convection zone and the related power structures of the coupled dipole circulations in the middle layer of the atmosphere, as well as in the upper atmospheric level divergence and lower atmospheric level convergence, are important stimuli for convective clouds in this region. Furthermore, these radar data provided a physical image of the development and maintenance mechanisms of an eastward-moving heavy rainstorm belt. This study also shows that changes in the echo intensities at the C-FMCW radar site of Naqu can provide strong signals related to heavy rainstorm processes in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016EGUGA..1817058S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016EGUGA..1817058S">Gravitational Instabilities associated with volcanic clouds: new insights from experimental investigations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Scollo, Simona; Bonadonna, Costanza; Manzella, Irene 2016-04-01 Gravitational instabilities are often observed at the bottom of volcanic plumes and clouds generating fingers that propagate downward enhancing sedimentation of fine ash. Regardless of their potential influence on tephra dispersal and deposition, their dynamics is not completely understood, undermining the accuracy of volcanic ash transport and dispersal models. Here we present new laboratory experiments that investigate the effects of particle size, composition and concentration on finger dynamics and generation. The experimental set-up consists of a Plexiglas tank of 50 x 30.3 x 7.5 cm equipped with a removable banner for the partition of two separate layers. The lower partition is a solution of water and sugar and is therefore characterized by a higher density than the upper partition which is filled with water and particles. The upper layer is quiescent (unmixed experiments), or continually mixed using a rotary stirrer (mixed experiments). After removing the horizontal barrier that separates the two fluids, particles are illuminated with a 2W Nd-YAG laser named RayPower 2000 and filmed with a HD camera (1920x1080 pixels). Images are analysed by the Dynamic Studio Software (DANTEC) that is a tool for the acquisition and analysis of velocity and related properties of particles inside the fluids. Each particle that follows the flow and scatters light captured by the camera is analysed based on velocity vectors. Experiments are carried out in order to evaluate the main features of fingers (number, width and speed) as a function of particle type, size and initial concentration. Particles include Glass Beads (GB) with diameter < 32 μm, 45-63 μm, and 63-90 μm and Andesitic, Rhyolitic, and Basaltic Volcanic Ash with diameter < 32 μm, 45-63 μm, 63-90 μm, 90-125 μm, 125-180 μm and > 180 μm. Three initial particle concentrations in the upper layer were employed: 3 g/l, 4 g/l and 5 g/l. Results show that the number and the speed of fingers increases with particle concentration and the speed increases with particles size while it is independent on particle types. Finally, experiments point out that development of instability leads to particle aggregation inside the fingers. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4949710','PMC'); return false;" href="https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4949710">The near‐global mesospheric potassium layer: Observations and modeling</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pmc">PubMed Central</a> Dawkins, E. C. M.; Chipperfield, M. P.; Feng, W. 2015-01-01 Abstract The meteoric metal layers act as unique tracers of chemistry and dynamics in the upper atmosphere. Existing lidar studies from a few locations show that K exhibits a semiannual seasonality (winter and summer maxima), quite unlike the annual seasonality (winter maximum and summer minimum) seen with Na and Fe. This work uses spaceborne observations made with the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System instrument on the Odin satellite to retrieve the near‐global K layer for the first time. The satellite data (2004 to mid‐2013) are used to validate the implementation of a recently proposed potassium chemistry scheme in a whole atmosphere chemistry climate model, which provides a chemical basis for this semiannual seasonal behavior. The satellite and model data show that this semiannual seasonality is near global in extent, with the strongest variation at middle and high latitudes. The column abundance, centroid layer height, and root‐mean‐square width of the K layer are consistent with the limited available lidar record. The K data set is then used to investigate the impact of polar mesospheric clouds on the metal layers at high latitudes during summer. Finally, the occurrence frequency of sporadic K layers and their possible link to sporadic E layers are examined. PMID:27478716 </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A31I2296R','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A31I2296R">Effects of Overshooting Convection on the Tropical Tropopause Layer Temperature Structure and Trends</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Ramsay, H.; Sherwood, S. C.; Singh, M. 2017-12-01 A series of idealised cloud-resolving simulations are performed to investigate the impact of spatial/and or temporal inhomogeneity of tropical deep convection (in particular, convective overshoots that penetrate well into the tropical tropopause layer) on upper tropospheric/lower stratospheric (UTLS) temperature structure and trends under surface warming. Two sets of simulations are studied: one in which the sea surface temperature (SST) is increased uniformly, and a second in which convective updrafts are intensified periodically by specifying a diurnally-varying skin temperature. All simulations are run to radiative-convective equilibrium so as to capture the mean-state response at time scales of weeks to months. We discuss the implications of our results for the interpretation of observed and modelled trends in the UTLS, as well as the diurnal cycle of tropical deep convection. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20070022448','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20070022448">Marine Boundary Layer Cloud Properties From AMF Point Reyes Satellite Observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Jensen, Michael; Vogelmann, Andrew M.; Luke, Edward; Minnis, Patrick; Miller, Mark A.; Khaiyer, Mandana; Nguyen, Louis; Palikonda, Rabindra 2007-01-01 Cloud Diameter, C(sub D), offers a simple measure of Marine Boundary Layer (MBL) cloud organization. The diurnal cycle of cloud-physical properties and C(sub D) at Pt Reyes are consistent with previous work. The time series of C(sub D) can be used to identify distinct mesoscale organization regimes within the Pt. Reyes observation period. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19850003614','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19850003614">Clouds above the Martin Limb: Viking observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Martin, L. J.; Baum, W. A.; Wasserman, L. H.; Kreidl, T. J. 1984-01-01 Whenever Viking Orbiter images included the limb of Mars, they recorded one or more layers of clouds above the limb. The height above the limb and the brightness (reflectivity) of these clouds were determined in a selected group of these images. Normalized individual brightness profiles of three separate traverses across the limb of each image are shown. The most notable finding is that some of these clouds can be very high. Many reach heights of over 60 km, and several are over 70 km above the limb. Statistically, the reflectivity of the clouds increases with phase angle. Reflectivity and height both appear to vary with season, but the selected images spanned only one Martian year, so the role of seasons cannot be isolated. Limb clouds in red-filter images tend to be brighter than violet-filter images, but both season and phase appear to be more dominant factors. Due to the limited sample available, the possible influences of latitude and longitude are less clear. The layering of these clouds ranges from a single layer to five or more layers. Reflectivity gradients range from smooth and gentle to steep and irregular. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1342072','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1342072">Assessment of marine boundary layer cloud simulations in the CAM with CLUBB and updated microphysics scheme based on ARM observations from the Azores</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Zheng, Xue; Klein, S. A.; Ma, H. -Y. To assess marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud simulations in three versions of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM), three sets of short-term global hindcasts are performed and compared to Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) observations on Graciosa Island in the Azores from June 2009 to December 2010. Here, the three versions consist of CAM5.3 with default schemes (CAM5.3), CAM5.3 with Cloud Layers Unified By Binormals (CLUBB-MG1), and CAM5.3 with CLUBB and updated microphysics scheme (CLUBB-MG2). Our results show that relative to CAM5.3 default schemes, simulations with CLUBB better represent MBL cloud base height, the height of the major cloud layer, andmore » the daily cloud cover variability. CLUBB also better simulates the relationship of cloud fraction to cloud liquid water path (LWP) most likely due to CLUBB's consistent treatment of these variables through a probability distribution function (PDF) approach. Subcloud evaporation of precipitation is substantially enhanced in simulations with CLUBB-MG2 and is more realistic based on the limited observational estimate. Despite these improvements, all model versions underestimate MBL cloud cover. CLUBB-MG2 reduces biases in in-cloud LWP (clouds are not too bright) but there are still too few of MBL clouds due to an underestimate in the frequency of overcast scenes. Thus, combining CLUBB with MG2 scheme better simulates MBL cloud processes, but because biases remain in MBL cloud cover CLUBB-MG2 does not improve the simulation of the surface shortwave cloud radiative effect (CRE SW).« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1342072-assessment-marine-boundary-layer-cloud-simulations-cam-clubb-updated-microphysics-scheme-based-arm-observations-from-azores','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1342072-assessment-marine-boundary-layer-cloud-simulations-cam-clubb-updated-microphysics-scheme-based-arm-observations-from-azores">Assessment of marine boundary layer cloud simulations in the CAM with CLUBB and updated microphysics scheme based on ARM observations from the Azores</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Zheng, Xue; Klein, S. A.; Ma, H. -Y.; ... 2016-07-19 To assess marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud simulations in three versions of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM), three sets of short-term global hindcasts are performed and compared to Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) observations on Graciosa Island in the Azores from June 2009 to December 2010. Here, the three versions consist of CAM5.3 with default schemes (CAM5.3), CAM5.3 with Cloud Layers Unified By Binormals (CLUBB-MG1), and CAM5.3 with CLUBB and updated microphysics scheme (CLUBB-MG2). Our results show that relative to CAM5.3 default schemes, simulations with CLUBB better represent MBL cloud base height, the height of the major cloud layer, andmore » the daily cloud cover variability. CLUBB also better simulates the relationship of cloud fraction to cloud liquid water path (LWP) most likely due to CLUBB's consistent treatment of these variables through a probability distribution function (PDF) approach. Subcloud evaporation of precipitation is substantially enhanced in simulations with CLUBB-MG2 and is more realistic based on the limited observational estimate. Despite these improvements, all model versions underestimate MBL cloud cover. CLUBB-MG2 reduces biases in in-cloud LWP (clouds are not too bright) but there are still too few of MBL clouds due to an underestimate in the frequency of overcast scenes. Thus, combining CLUBB with MG2 scheme better simulates MBL cloud processes, but because biases remain in MBL cloud cover CLUBB-MG2 does not improve the simulation of the surface shortwave cloud radiative effect (CRE SW).« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920031384&hterms=marine+pollution&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dmarine%2Bpollution','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920031384&hterms=marine+pollution&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dmarine%2Bpollution">Optical properties of marine stratocumulus clouds modified by ship track effluents</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> King, Michael D.; Nakajima, Teruyuki; Radke, Lawrence F. 1990-01-01 Results are presented from multispectral radiation measurements made within a marine stratocumulus cloud layer modified by ship-track effluents. The measurements showed that, compared with nearby noncontaminated clouds not affected by pollution, the upwelling intensity field of the modified stratocumulus clouds increased at a nonabsorbing wavelength in the visible region and decreased in the NIR, where absorption by liquid water is significant. The observations are consistent with an increased optical thickness, a reduced effective radius of the cloud droplets, and a reduced absorption in the contaminated cloud layer compared to a noncontaminated cloud. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014PhDT.......498S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014PhDT.......498S">Investigation of marine stratocumulus under coupled and decoupled conditions over the arm Azores site</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Schwantes, Adam Christopher Stratocumuli are a type of low clouds composed of individual convective elements that together form a continuous layer of clouds. Stratocumuli cover large regions of the Earth's surface, which make them important components in the Earth's radiation budget. Stratocumuli strongly reflect solar shortwave radiation, while weakly affecting outgoing longwave radiation. This leads to a strong radiative cooling effect that affects the Earth's radiation budget. Therefore it is important to investigate the mechanisms that affect the longevity of stratocumuli, so that their impact on the Earth's radiation budget can be fully understood. One mechanism that is currently being studied as influencing the lifetime of such cloud layers is boundary layer/surface coupling. It has been shown than in some regions (i.e. the west coast of South America) stratocumuli tend to break up when the boundary layer is decoupled with the surface, because they are cut off from their moisture source. This study will investigate the macro- and micro-physical properties of stratocumuli when boundary layers are either coupled to or decoupled from the surface. This will help advance understanding of the effects these macro- and micro-physical properties have on the lifetime of stratocumuli under different boundary layer conditions. This study used the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (DOE ARM) mobile measurements facility (AMF) at the Azores site from June 2009 to December 2010. The measurements that were used include temperature profiles from radiosondes, cloud liquid water path (LWP) retrieved from the Microwave radiometer, and cloud base and top heights derived from W-band ARM Cloud Radar and lidar. Satellite images provided by the NASA Langley Research Center were also used to visually decipher cloud types over the region so that only single-layered stratocumuli cases are used in the study. To differentiate between coupled and decoupled cloud layers, two methods are used. The first method compares cloud base height and lifting condensation level (LCL) for surface air parcels. The second method uses potential temperature profiles to indicate whether a boundary layer is coupled or decoupled from the surface. The results from these two methods were then compared using select cases/samples when both methods classified a sample as coupled or decoupled. In this study, a total of seven coupled or decoupled cases (2-3 days long each) have been selected from the 19 month AMF dataset. Characteristics of the coupled and decoupled cases have been studied to identify similarities and differences. Furthermore, comparison results from this study have shown that there are similarities and differences between drizzling/non-drizzling stratocumulus clouds and decoupled/coupled stratocumulus clouds. Drizzling/decoupled stratocumuli tend to have higher LWP, cloud-droplet effective radius (re), cloud-top height, and cloud thickness values while non-drizzling/coupled stratocumuli have higher cloud-droplet number concentration (Nd) and cloud condensation nuclei concentration (NCCN) values. It was also determined that during daytime hours when stratocumuli are decoupled, they tend to be open cells, while coupled stratocumuli tend to be closed cells. Finally, decoupled nighttime stratocumuli were found to have higher LWPs compared to decoupled daytime stratocumuli, which resulted in the significant amount of heavy drizzle events occurring at night. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ClDy...50.1485K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ClDy...50.1485K">Cloud and radiative heating profiles associated with the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kim, Jinwon; Waliser, Duane E.; Cesana, Gregory V.; Jiang, Xianan; L'Ecuyer, Tristan; Neena, J. M. 2018-03-01 The cloud water content (CW) and radiative heating rate (QR) structures related to northward propagating boreal summer intraseasonal oscillations (BSISOs) are analyzed using data from A-train satellites in conjunction with the ERA-Interim reanalysis. It is found that the northward movement of CW- and QR anomalies are closely synchronized with the northward movement of BSISO precipitation maxima. Commensurate with the northward propagating BSISO precipitation maxima, the CW anomalies exhibit positive ice (liquid) CW maxima in the upper (middle/low) troposphere with a prominent tilting structure in which the low-tropospheric (upper-tropospheric) liquid (ice) CW maximum leads (lags) the BSISO precipitation maximum. The BSISO-related shortwave heating (QSW) heats (cools) the upper (low) troposphere; the longwave heating (QLW) cools (heats) the upper (middle/low) troposphere. The resulting net radiative heating (QRN), being dominated by QLW, cools (heats) the atmosphere most prominently above the 200 hPa level (below the 600 hPa level). Enhanced clouds in the upper and middle troposphere appears to play a critical role in increasing low-level QLW and QRN. The vertically-integrated QSW, QLW and QRN are positive in the region of enhanced CW with the maximum QRN near the latitude of the BSISO precipitation maximum. The bottom-heavy radiative heating anomaly resulting from the cloud-radiation interaction may act to strengthen convection. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.V21D..06J','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.V21D..06J">Why Did the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull Volcanic Eruption Cloud Last So Long?</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Jellinek, M.; Carazzo, G. 2013-12-01 The global economic consequences of the relatively small Eyjafjallajokull eruption in the spring of 2010 caught the world off guard. That the eruption cloud lasted for several months rather than weeks, efficiently disrupting air travel and the holiday plans of thousands of tourists, drew arguably more attention and a certainly garnered a highly emotional response. The longevity of this eruption cloud was touted to be "an anomaly". However, this anomaly nearly repeated itself the following year in the form of the 2011 Puyehue-Cordon Caulle eruption cloud. A major reason that the behavior of the 2010 Eyjafjallajokul cloud was surprising is that "standard" models for ash sedimentation (i.e., heavy particles fall out of the cloud faster than light particles) are incomplete. Observations of the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull, as well as the structure of atmospheric aerosol clouds from the 1991 Mt Pinatubo event, suggest that an additional key process in addition to particle settling is the production of internal layering. We use analog experiments on turbulent particle-laden umbrella clouds and simple models to show that this layering occurs where natural convection driven by particle sedimentation and the differential diffusion of primarily heat and fine particles give rise to a large scale instability leading to this layering. This 'particle diffusive convection' strongly influences cloud longevity where volcanic umbrella clouds are enriched in fine ash. More generally, volcanic cloud residence times will depend on ash fluxes related to both individual particle settling and diffusive convection. We discuss a new sedimentation model that includes both contributions to the particle flux and explains the the rate of change of particle concentration in the 1982 El Chichon, 1991 Mt Pinatubo and 1992 Mt Spurr ash-clouds. Examples of periodic layering in volcanic clouds compared with experiments in which periodic layering emerges as a result of buoyancy effects related to a particle-salt double diffusive instability. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ACP....18.3119M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ACP....18.3119M">Aerosol-cloud interactions in mixed-phase convective clouds - Part 1: Aerosol perturbations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Miltenberger, Annette K.; Field, Paul R.; Hill, Adrian A.; Rosenberg, Phil; Shipway, Ben J.; Wilkinson, Jonathan M.; Scovell, Robert; Blyth, Alan M. 2018-03-01 Changes induced by perturbed aerosol conditions in moderately deep mixed-phase convective clouds (cloud top height ˜ 5 km) developing along sea-breeze convergence lines are investigated with high-resolution numerical model simulations. The simulations utilise the newly developed Cloud-AeroSol Interacting Microphysics (CASIM) module for the Unified Model (UM), which allows for the representation of the two-way interaction between cloud and aerosol fields. Simulations are evaluated against observations collected during the COnvective Precipitation Experiment (COPE) field campaign over the southwestern peninsula of the UK in 2013. The simulations compare favourably with observed thermodynamic profiles, cloud base cloud droplet number concentrations (CDNC), cloud depth, and radar reflectivity statistics. Including the modification of aerosol fields by cloud microphysical processes improves the correspondence with observed CDNC values and spatial variability, but reduces the agreement with observations for average cloud size and cloud top height. Accumulated precipitation is suppressed for higher-aerosol conditions before clouds become organised along the sea-breeze convergence lines. Changes in precipitation are smaller in simulations with aerosol processing. The precipitation suppression is due to less efficient precipitation production by warm-phase microphysics, consistent with parcel model predictions. In contrast, after convective cells organise along the sea-breeze convergence zone, accumulated precipitation increases with aerosol concentrations. Condensate production increases with the aerosol concentrations due to higher vertical velocities in the convective cores and higher cloud top heights. However, for the highest-aerosol scenarios, no further increase in the condensate production occurs, as clouds grow into an upper-level stable layer. In these cases, the reduced precipitation efficiency (PE) dominates the precipitation response and no further precipitation enhancement occurs. Previous studies of deep convective clouds have related larger vertical velocities under high-aerosol conditions to enhanced latent heating from freezing. In the presented simulations changes in latent heating above the 0°C are negligible, but latent heating from condensation increases with aerosol concentrations. It is hypothesised that this increase is related to changes in the cloud field structure reducing the mixing of environmental air into the convective core. The precipitation response of the deeper mixed-phase clouds along well-established convergence lines can be the opposite of predictions from parcel models. This occurs when clouds interact with a pre-existing thermodynamic environment and cloud field structural changes occur that are not captured by simple parcel model approaches. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170003896&hterms=layer&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dlayer','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170003896&hterms=layer&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dlayer">MPLNET V3 Cloud and Planetary Boundary Layer Detection</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Lewis, Jasper R.; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Campbell, James R.; Haftings, Phillip C. 2016-01-01 The NASA Micropulse Lidar Network Version 3 algorithms for planetary boundary layer and cloud detection are described and differences relative to the previous Version 2 algorithms are highlighted. A year of data from the Goddard Space Flight Center site in Greenbelt, MD consisting of diurnal and seasonal trends is used to demonstrate the results. Both the planetary boundary layer and cloud algorithms show significant improvement of the previous version. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_15");'>15</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_16");'>16</a></li> <li class="active">17</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_18");'>18</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_19");'>19</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_18" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_16");'>16</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_17");'>17</a></li> <li class="active">18</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_19");'>19</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_20");'>20</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="341"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20040028003','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20040028003">Dynamic Turbulence Modelling in Large-eddy Simulations of the Cloud-topped Atmospheric Boundary Layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Kirkpatrick, M. P.; Mansour, N. N.; Ackerman, A. S.; Stevens, D. E. 2003-01-01 The use of large eddy simulation, or LES, to study the atmospheric boundary layer dates back to the early 1970s when Deardor (1972) used a three-dimensional simulation to determine velocity and temperature scales in the convective boundary layer. In 1974 he applied LES to the problem of mixing layer entrainment (Deardor 1974) and in 1980 to the cloud-topped boundary layer (Deardor 1980b). Since that time the LES approach has been applied to atmospheric boundary layer problems by numerous authors. While LES has been shown to be relatively robust for simple cases such as a clear, convective boundary layer (Mason 1989), simulation of the cloud-topped boundary layer has proved more of a challenge. The combination of small length scales and anisotropic turbulence coupled with cloud microphysics and radiation effects places a heavy burden on the turbulence model, especially in the cloud-top region. Consequently, over the past few decades considerable effort has been devoted to developing turbulence models that are better able to parameterize these processes. Much of this work has involved taking parameterizations developed for neutral boundary layers and deriving corrections to account for buoyancy effects associated with the background stratification and local buoyancy sources due to radiative and latent heat transfer within the cloud (see Lilly 1962; Deardor 1980a; Mason 1989; MacVean & Mason 1990, for example). In this paper we hope to contribute to this effort by presenting a number of turbulence models in which the model coefficients are calculated dynamically during the simulation rather than being prescribed a priori. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26102562','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26102562">Using the transit of Venus to probe the upper planetary atmosphere.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Reale, Fabio; Gambino, Angelo F; Micela, Giuseppina; Maggio, Antonio; Widemann, Thomas; Piccioni, Giuseppe 2015-06-23 During a planetary transit, atoms with high atomic number absorb short-wavelength radiation in the upper atmosphere, and the planet should appear larger during a primary transit observed in high-energy bands than in the optical band. Here we measure the radius of Venus with subpixel accuracy during the transit in 2012 observed in the optical, ultraviolet and soft X-rays with Hinode and Solar Dynamics Observatory missions. We find that, while Venus's optical radius is about 80 km larger than the solid body radius (the top of clouds and haze), the radius increases further by >70 km in the extreme ultraviolet and soft X-rays. This measures the altitude of the densest ion layers of Venus's ionosphere (CO2 and CO), useful for planning missions in situ, and a benchmark case for detecting transits of exoplanets in high-energy bands with future missions, such as the ESA Athena. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=GL-2002-001200&hterms=bright+hour&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dbright%2Bhour','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=GL-2002-001200&hterms=bright+hour&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dbright%2Bhour">HUBBLE FINDS MANY BRIGHT CLOUDS ON URANUS</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 2002-01-01 A recent Hubble Space Telescope view reveals Uranus surrounded by its four major rings and by 10 of its 17 known satellites. This false-color image was generated by Erich Karkoschka using data taken on August 8, 1998, with Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer. Hubble recently found about 20 clouds - nearly as many clouds on Uranus as the previous total in the history of modern observations. The orange-colored clouds near the prominent bright band circle the planet at more than 300 mph (500 km/h), according to team member Heidi Hammel (MIT). One of the clouds on the right-hand side is brighter than any other cloud ever seen on Uranus. The colors in the image indicate altitude. Team member Mark Marley (New Mexico State University) reports that green and blue regions show where the atmosphere is clear and sunlight can penetrate deep into Uranus. In yellow and grey regions the sunlight reflects from a higher haze or cloud layer. Orange and red colors indicate very high clouds, such as cirrus clouds on Earth. The Hubble image is one of the first images revealing the precession of the brightest ring with respect to a previous image [LINK to PRC97-36a]. Precession makes the fainter part of the ring (currently on the upper right-hand side) slide around Uranus once every nine months. The fading is caused by ring particles crowding and hiding each other on one side of their eight-hour orbit around Uranus. The blue, green and red components of this false-color image correspond to exposures taken at near-infrared wavelengths of 0.9, 1.1, and 1.7 micrometers. Thus, regions on Uranus appearing blue, for example, reflect more sunlight at 0.9 micrometer than at the longer wavelengths. Apparent colors on Uranus are caused by absorption of methane gas in its atmosphere, an effect comparable to absorption in our atmosphere which can make distant clouds appear red. Credit: Erich Karkoschka (University of Arizona) and NASA </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015P%26SS..113..347M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015P%26SS..113..347M">Rotational temperatures of Venus upper atmosphere as measured by SOIR on board Venus Express</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Mahieux, A.; Vandaele, A. C.; Robert, S.; Wilquet, V.; Drummond, R.; López Valverde, M. A.; López Puertas, M.; Funke, B.; Bertaux, J. L. 2015-08-01 SOIR is a powerful infrared spectrometer flying on board the Venus Express spacecraft since mid-2006. It sounds the Venus atmosphere above the cloud layer using the solar occultation technique. In the recorded spectra, absorption structures from many species are observed, among them carbon dioxide, the main constituent of the Venus atmosphere. Previously, temperature vertical profiles were derived from the carbon dioxide density retrieved from the SOIR spectra by assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. These profiles show a permanent cold layer at 125 km with temperatures of ~100 K, surrounded by two warmer layers at 90 and 140 km, reaching temperatures of ~200 K and 250-300 K, respectively. In this work, temperature profiles are derived from the SOIR spectra using another technique based on the ro-vibrational structure of carbon dioxide observed in the spectra. The error budget is extensively investigated. Temperature profiles obtained by both techniques are comparable within their respective uncertainties and they confirm the vertical structure previously determined from SOIR spectra. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20040171587&hterms=tropospheric+ozone&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dtropospheric%2Bozone','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20040171587&hterms=tropospheric+ozone&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dtropospheric%2Bozone">First Look at the Upper Tropospheric Ozone Mixing Ratio from OMI Estimated using the Cloud Slicing Technique</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Bhartia, Pawan K.; Ziemke, Jerry; Chandra, Sushil; Joiner, Joanna; Vassilkov, Alexandra; Taylor, Steven; Yang, Kai; Ahn, Chang-Woo 2004-01-01 The Cloud Slicing technique has emerged as a powerful tool for the study of ozone in the upper troposphere. In this technique one looks at the variation with cloud height of the above-cloud column ozone derived from the backscattered ultraviolet instruments, such as TOMS, to determine the ozone mixing ratio. For this technique to work properly one needs an instrument with relatively good horizontal resolution with very good signal to noise in measuring above-cloud column ozone. In addition, one needs the (radiatively) effective cloud pressure rather than the cloud-top pressure, for the ultraviolet photons received by a satellite instrument are scattered from inside the cloud rather than from the top. For this study we use data from the OMI sensor, which was recently launched on the EOS Aura satellite. OMI is a W-Visible backscattering instrument with a nadir pixel size of 13 x 24 km. The effective cloud pressure is derived from a new algorithm based on Rotational Raman Scattering and O2-O2, absorption in the 340-400 nm band of OMI. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010013812','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010013812">Comparison of Cirrus Cloud Models: A Project of the GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) Working Group on Cirrus Cloud Systems</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Starr, David OC.; Benedetti, Angela; Boehm, Matt; Brown, Philip R. A.; Gierens, Klaus M.; Girard, Eric; Giraud, Vincent; Jakob, Christian; Jensen, Eric; Khvorostyanov, Vitaly; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20010013812'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20010013812_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20010013812_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20010013812_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20010013812_hide"> 2000-01-01 The GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS, GEWEX is the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment) is a community activity aiming to promote development of improved cloud parameterizations for application in the large-scale general circulation models (GCMs) used for climate research and for numerical weather prediction (Browning et al, 1994). The GCSS strategy is founded upon the use of cloud-system models (CSMs). These are "process" models with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to represent individual cloud elements, but spanning a wide range of space and time scales to enable statistical analysis of simulated cloud systems. GCSS also employs single-column versions of the parametric cloud models (SCMs) used in GCMs. GCSS has working groups on boundary-layer clouds, cirrus clouds, extratropical layer cloud systems, precipitating deep convective cloud systems, and polar clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080006492','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20080006492">The Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Verlinde, J.; Harrington, J. Y.; McFarquhar, G. M.; Yannuzzi, V. T.; Avramov, A.; Greenberg, S.; Johnson, N.; Zhang, G.; Poellot, M. R.; Mather, J. H.; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20080006492'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20080006492_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20080006492_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20080006492_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20080006492_hide"> 2007-01-01 The Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE) was conducted September 27 through October 22, 2004 on the North Slope of Alaska. The primary objective was to collect a data set suitable to study interactions between microphysics, dynamics and radiative transfer in mixed-phase Arctic clouds. Observations taken during the 1997/1998 Surface Heat and Energy Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) experiment revealed that Arctic clouds frequently consist of one (or more) liquid layers precipitating ice. M-PACE sought to investigate the physical processes of these clouds utilizing two aircraft (an in situ aircraft to characterize the microphysical properties of the clouds and a remote sensing aircraft to constraint the upwelling radiation) over the Department of Energy s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) on the North Slope of Alaska. The measurements successfully documented the microphysical structure of Arctic mixed-phase clouds, with multiple in situ profiles collected in both single-layer and multi-layer clouds over two ground-based remote sensing sites. Liquid was found in clouds with temperatures down to -30 C, the coldest cloud top temperature below -40 C sampled by the aircraft. Remote sensing instruments suggest that ice was present in low concentrations, mostly concentrated in precipitation shafts, although there are indications of light ice precipitation present below the optically thick single-layer clouds. The prevalence of liquid down to these low temperatures could potentially be explained by the relatively low measured ice nuclei concentrations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070025113&hterms=Time+crystal&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DTime%2Bcrystal','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070025113&hterms=Time+crystal&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D50%26Ntt%3DTime%2Bcrystal">Formation of a Tropopause Cirrus Layer Observed over Florida during CRYSTAL-FACE</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Jensen, Eric; Pfister, Leonhard; Bui, Thaopaul; Weinheimer, Andrew; Weinstock, Elliot; Smith, Jessica; Pittman, Jasna; Baumgardner, Darrel; Lawson, Paul; McGill, Matthew J. 2005-01-01 On July 13, 2002 a widespread, subvisible tropopause cirrus layer occurred over the Florida region. This cloud was observed in great detail with the NASA Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) instrumentation, including in situ measurements with the WB-57 aircraft. In this paper, we use the 13 July cloud as a case study to evaluate the physical processes controlling the formation and evolution of tropopause cirrus layers. Microphysics measurements indicate that ice crystal diameters in the cloud layer ranged from about 7 to 50 microns, and the peak number mode was about 10-25 microns. In situ water vapor and temperature measurements in the cloud indicated supersaturation with respect to ice throughout, with ice saturation ratios as large as 1.8. Even when the ice surface area density was as high as about 500 sq microns/cu cm, ice supersaturations of 20-30% were observed. Trajectory analysis shows that the air sampled near the tropopause on this day generally came from the north and cooled considerably during the previous few days. Examination of infrared satellite imagery along air parcel back trajectories from the WB-57 flight track indicates that the tropopause cloud layer formation was, in general, not simply left over ice from recently generated anvil cirrus. Simulations of cloud formation using time-height curtains of temperature along the trajectory paths show that the cloud could have formed in situ near the tropopause as the air was advected into the south Florida region and cooled to unusually low temperatures. If we assume a high threshold for ice nucleation via homogeneous freezing of aqueous sulfate aerosols, the model reproduces the observed cloud structure, ice crystal size distributions, and ice supersaturation statistics. Inclusion of observed gravity wave temperature perturbations in the simulations is essential to reproduce the observed cloud properties. Without waves, crystal number densities are too low, crystal sizes are too large, and the crystals fall out too fast, leaving very little cloud persisting at the end of the simulations. In the cloud simulations, coincidence of high supersaturations and high surface areas can be produced by either recent nucleation or sedimentation of crystals into supersaturated layers. The agreement between model results and observed supersaturations is improved somewhat if we assume that the steady state relative humidity within cirrus at T<200 K is enhanced by about 30%. The WB-57 measurements and the model results suggest that the cloud layer irreversibly dehydrated air near the tropopause. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1197882-joint-retrievals-cloud-drizzle-marine-boundary-layer-clouds-using-ground-based-radar-lidar-zenith-radiances','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1197882-joint-retrievals-cloud-drizzle-marine-boundary-layer-clouds-using-ground-based-radar-lidar-zenith-radiances">Joint retrievals of cloud and drizzle in marine boundary layer clouds using ground-based radar, lidar and zenith radiances</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Fielding, M. D.; Chiu, J. C.; Hogan, R. J.; ... 2015-02-16 Active remote sensing of marine boundary-layer clouds is challenging as drizzle drops often dominate the observed radar reflectivity. We present a new method to simultaneously retrieve cloud and drizzle vertical profiles in drizzling boundary-layer cloud using surface-based observations of radar reflectivity, lidar attenuated backscatter, and zenith radiances. Specifically, the vertical structure of droplet size and water content of both cloud and drizzle is characterised throughout the cloud. An ensemble optimal estimation approach provides full error statistics given the uncertainty in the observations. To evaluate the new method, we first perform retrievals using synthetic measurements from large-eddy simulation snapshots of cumulusmore » under stratocumulus, where cloud water path is retrieved with an error of 31 g m −2. The method also performs well in non-drizzling clouds where no assumption of the cloud profile is required. We then apply the method to observations of marine stratocumulus obtained during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement MAGIC deployment in the northeast Pacific. Here, retrieved cloud water path agrees well with independent 3-channel microwave radiometer retrievals, with a root mean square difference of 10–20 g m −2.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ACP....14.8917B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ACP....14.8917B">Influence of corona discharge on the ozone budget in the tropical free troposphere: a case study of deep convection during GABRIEL</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Bozem, H.; Fischer, H.; Gurk, C.; Schiller, C. L.; Parchatka, U.; Koenigstedt, R.; Stickler, A.; Martinez, M.; Harder, H.; Kubistin, D.; Williams, J.; Eerdekens, G.; Lelieveld, J. 2014-09-01 Convective redistribution of ozone and its precursors between the boundary layer (BL) and the free troposphere (FT) influences photochemistry, in particular in the middle and upper troposphere (UT). We present a case study of convective transport during the GABRIEL campaign over the tropical rain forest in Suriname in October 2005. During one measurement flight the inflow and outflow regions of a cumulonimbus cloud (Cb) have been characterized. We identified a distinct layer between 9 and 11 km altitude with enhanced mixing ratios of CO, O3, HOx, acetone and acetonitrile. The elevated O3 contradicts the expectation that convective transport brings low-ozone air from the boundary layer to the outflow region. Entrainment of ozone-rich air is estimated to account for 62% (range: 33-91%) of the observed O3. Ozone is enhanced by only 5-6% by photochemical production in the outflow due to enhanced NO from lightning, based on model calculations using observations including the first reported HOx measurements over the tropical rainforest. The "excess" ozone in the outflow is most probably due to direct production by corona discharge associated with lightning. We deduce a production rate of 5.12 × 1028 molecules O3 flash-1 (range: 9.89 × 1026-9.82 × 1028 molecules O3 flash-1), which is at the upper limit of the range reported previously. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19990028248&hterms=McCormick&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3DMcCormick','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19990028248&hterms=McCormick&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3DMcCormick">A Study of the Vertical Structure of Tropical (20 deg S-20 deg N) Optically Thin Clouds from SAGE II Observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Wang, Pi-Huan; Minnis, Patrick; McCormick, M. Patrick; Kent, Geoffrey S.; Yue, Glenn K.; Young, David F.; Skeens, Kristi M. 1998-01-01 The tropical cloud data obtained by the satellite instrument of the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II from October 1984 to May 1991 have been used to study cloud vertical distribution, including thickness and multilayer structure, and to estimate cloud optical depth. The results indicate that the SAGE-II-observed clouds are generally optically thin clouds, corresponding to a range of optical depth between approximately 8 x 10(exp -4) and 3 x 10(exp -1) with a mean of about 0.035. Two-thirds are classified as subvisual cirrus and one-third thin cirrus. Clouds between 2- to 3-km thick occur most frequently. Approximately 30% of the SAGE II cloud measurements are isolated single-layer clouds, while 65% are high clouds contiguous with an underlying opaque cloud that terminates the SAGE II profile. Thin clouds above detached opaque clouds at altitudes greater than 6.5 km occur less often. Only about 3% of the SAGE II single-layer clouds are located above the tropopause, while 58% of the cloud layers never reach the tropopause. More than one-third of the clouds appear at the tropopause. This study also shows that clouds occur more frequently and extend higher above the tropopause over the western Pacific than than over the eastern Pacific, especially during northern winter. The uncertainty of the derived results due to the SAGE II sampling constraints, data processing, and cloud characteristics is discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1262439-thermodynamic-control-anvil-cloud-amount','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1262439-thermodynamic-control-anvil-cloud-amount"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Bony, Sandrine; Stevens, Bjorn; Coppin, David General circulation models show that as the surface temperature increases, the convective anvil clouds shrink. By analyzing radiative–convective equilibrium simulations, our work shows that this behavior is rooted in basic energetic and thermodynamic properties of the atmosphere: As the climate warms, the clouds rise and remain at nearly the same temperature, but find themselves in a more stable atmosphere; this enhanced stability reduces the convective outflow in the upper troposphere and decreases the anvil cloud fraction. By warming the troposphere and increasing the upper-tropospheric stability, the clustering of deep convection also reduces the convective outflow and the anvil cloud fraction.more » When clouds are radiatively active, this robust coupling between temperature, high clouds, and circulation exerts a positive feedback on convective aggregation and favors the maintenance of strongly aggregated atmospheric states at high temperatures. This stability iris mechanism likely contributes to the narrowing of rainy areas as the climate warms. Whether or not it influences climate sensitivity requires further investigation.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=AC79-7106&hterms=photo+image&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dphoto%2Bimage','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=AC79-7106&hterms=photo+image&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dphoto%2Bimage">Photographer : JPL Range : 3.4 million km This pair of images shows two of the long-lived white oval</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1979-01-01 Photographer : JPL Range : 3.4 million km This pair of images shows two of the long-lived white oval clouds which have resided in the Jovian southern hemisphere for nearly 40 years. The upper picture shows the cloud that is at a longitude west of the Great Red Spot, and the lower frame, the cloud at a longitude east of this feature. The third oval is currently just south of the Great Red Spot. The clouds show very similar internal structures. To the east of each of them, recirculation currents are clearly seen. In the lower frame, a similar structure is seen to the west of the cloud. Although a recirculation current is associated with the upper western region of the cloud, it is further away from this feature and not seen in the image. This photo was taken by Voyager 2. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004GeoRL..31.6128S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004GeoRL..31.6128S">Raman lidar measurement of water vapor and ice clouds associated with Asian dust layer over Tsukuba, Japan</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Sakai, Tetsu; Nagai, Tomohiro; Nakazato, Masahisa; Matsumura, Takatsugu 2004-03-01 The vertical distributions of particle extinction, backscattering, depolarization, and water vapor mixing ratio were measured using a Raman lidar over Tsukuba (36.1°N, 140.1°E), Japan, on 23-24 April 2001. Ice clouds associated with the Asian dust layer were observed at an altitude of ~6-9 km. The relative humidities in the cloud layer were close to the ice saturation values and the temperature at the top of the cloud layer was ~-35°C, suggesting that the Asian dust acted as ice nuclei at the high temperatures. The meteorological analysis suggested that the ice-saturated region was formed near the top of the dust layer where the moist air ascended in slantwise fashion above the cold-frontal zone associated with extratropical cyclone. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A43F0300L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A43F0300L">Using long-term ARM observations to evaluate Arctic mixed-phased cloud representation in the GISS ModelE GCM</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Lamer, K.; Fridlind, A. M.; Luke, E. P.; Tselioudis, G.; Ackerman, A. S.; Kollias, P.; Clothiaux, E. E. 2016-12-01 The presence of supercooled liquid in clouds affects surface radiative and hydrological budgets, especially at high latitudes. Capturing these effects is crucial to properly quantifying climate sensitivity. Currently, a number of CGMs disagree on the distribution of cloud phase. Adding to the challenge is a general lack of observations on the continuum of clouds, from high to low-level and from warm to cold. In the current study, continuous observations from 2011 to 2014 are used to evaluate all clouds produced by the GISS ModelE GCM over the ARM North Slope of Alaska site. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Global Weather State (GWS) approach reveals that fair-weather (GWS 7, 32% occurrence rate), as well as mid-level storm related (GWS 5, 28%) and polar (GWS 4, 14%) clouds, dominate the large-scale cloud patterns at this high latitude site. At higher spatial and temporal resolutions, ground-based cloud radar observations reveal a majority of single layer cloud vertical structures (CVS). While clear sky and low-level clouds dominate (each with 30% occurrence rate) a fair amount of shallow ( 10%) to deep ( 5%) convection are observed. Cloud radar Doppler spectra are used along with depolarization lidar observations in a neural network approach to detect the presence, layering and inhomogeneity of supercooled liquid layers. Preliminary analyses indicate that most of the low-level clouds sampled contain one or more supercooled liquid layers. Furthermore, the relationship between CVS and the presence of supercooled liquid is established, as is the relationship between the presence of supercool liquid and precipitation susceptibility. Two approaches are explored to bridge the gap between large footprint GCM simulations and high-resolution ground-based observations. The first approach consists of comparing model output and ground-based observations that exhibit the same column CVS type (i.e. same cloud depth, height and layering). Alternatively, the second approach consists of comparing model output and ground-based observations that exhibit the same large-scale GWS type (i.e. same cloud top pressure and optical depth patterns) where ground-based observations are associated to large-scale GWS every 3 hours using the closest satellite overpass. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19760009916','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19760009916">Jovian meterology: Large-scale moist convection without a lower boundary</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Gierasch, P. J. 1975-01-01 It is proposed that Jupiter's cloud bands represent large scale convection whose character is determined by the phase change of water at a level where the temperature is about 275K. It is argued that there are three important layers in the atmosphere: a tropopause layer where emission to space occurs; an intermediate layer between the tropopause and the water cloud base; and the deep layer below the water cloud. All arguments are only semi-quantitative. It is pointed out that these ingredients are essential to Jovian meteorology. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A51O..05O','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A51O..05O">Ultra-clean Layers (UCLs) and Low Albedo Clouds ("gray clouds") in the Marine Boundary Layer - CSET aircraft data, 2-D bin spectral cloud parcel model, large eddy simulation and satellite observations from CALIPSO, MODIS and COSMIC</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> O, K. T.; Wood, R.; Bretherton, C. S.; Eastman, R. M.; Tseng, H. H. 2016-12-01 During the 2015 Cloud System Evolution in the Trades (CSET) field program (CSET, Jul-Aug 2015, subtropical NE Pacific), the NSF/NCAR G-V aircraft frequently encountered ultra clean layers (hereafter UCLs) with extremely low accumulation mode aerosol (i.e. diameter da> 100nm) concentration (hereafter Na), and low albedo ( 0.2) warm clouds (termed "gray clouds" in our study) with low droplet concentration (hereafter Nd). The analysis of CSET aircraft data shows that (1) UCLs and gray clouds are mostly commonly found at a height of 1.5-2km, typically close to the top of the MBL, (2) UCLs and gray cloud coverage as high as 40-60% between 135W and 155W (i.e. Sc-Cu transition region) but occur very infrequently east of 130W (i.e. shallow, near-coastal stratocumulus region), and (3) UCLs and gray clouds exhibit remarkably low turbulence compared with non-UCL clear sky and clouds. It should be noted that most previous aircraft sampling of low clouds occurred close to the Californian coast, so the prevalence of UCLs and gray clouds has not been previously noted. Based on the analysis of aircraft data, we hypothesize that gray clouds result from detrainment of cloud close to the top of precipitating trade cumuli, and UCLs are remnants of these layers when gray clouds evaporates. The simulations in our study are performed using 2-D bin spectral cloud parcel model and version 6.9 of the System for Atmospheric Modeling (SAM). Our idealized simulations suggest that collision-coalescence plays a crucial role in reducing Nd such that gray clouds can easily form via collision-coalescence in layers detrained from the cloud top at trade cumulus regime, but can not form at stratocumulus regime. Upon evaporation of gray clouds, only few accumulation mode aerosols are returned to the clear sky, leaving horizontally-extensive UCLs (i.e. clean clear sky). Analysis of CSET flight data and idealized model simulations both suggest cloud top/PBL height may play an important role in the formation of UCLs and gray clouds. In our satellite observation study, the comparison between PBL height (from COSMIC and MODIS) and fraction of low optical depth cloud (from MODIS and CALIPSO) at NEP trade cumulus regime (20-35N, 140-155W) also suggest a strong positive correlation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20100002104&hterms=Deep+time&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3DDeep%2Btime','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20100002104&hterms=Deep+time&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3DDeep%2Btime">Relationships Between Tropical Deep Convection, Tropospheric Mean Temperature and Cloud-Induced Radiative Fluxes on Intraseasonal Time Scales</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ramey, Holly S.; Robertson, Franklin R. 2009-01-01 Intraseasonal variability of deep convection represents a fundamental mode of variability in the organization of tropical convection. While most studies of intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) have focused on the spatial propagation and dynamics of convectively coupled circulations, we examine the projection of ISOs on the tropically-averaged temperature and energy budget. The area of interest is the global oceans between 20oN/S. Our analysis then focuses on these questions: (i) How is tropospheric temperature related to tropical deep convection and the associated ice cloud fractional amount (ICF) and ice water path (IWP)? (ii) What is the source of moisture sustaining the convection and what role does deep convection play in mediating the PBL - free atmospheric temperature equilibration? (iii) What affect do convectively generated upper-tropospheric clouds have on the TOA radiation budget? Our methodology is similar to that of Spencer et al., (2007) with some modifications and some additional diagnostics of both clouds and boundary layer thermodynamics. A composite ISO time series of cloud, precipitation and radiation quantities built from nearly 40 events during a six-year period is referenced to the atmospheric temperature signal. The increase of convective precipitation cannot be sustained by evaporation within the domain, implying strong moisture transports into the tropical ocean area. While there is a decrease in net TOA radiation that develops after the peak in deep convective rainfall, there seems little evidence that an "Infrared Iris"- like mechanism is dominant. Rather, the cloud-induced OLR increase seems largely produced by weakened convection with warmer cloud tops. Tropical ISO events offer an accessible target for studying ISOs not just in terms of propagation mechanisms, but on their global signals of heat, moisture and radiative flux feedback processes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20100008485&hterms=Deep+time&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3DDeep%2Btime','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20100008485&hterms=Deep+time&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3DDeep%2Btime">Relationships Between Tropical Deep Convection, Tropospheric Mean Temperature and Cloud-Induced Radiative Fluxes on Intraseasonal Time Scales</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ramey, Holly S.; Robertson, Franklin R. 2010-01-01 Intraseasonal variability of deep convection represents a fundamental mode of variability in the organization of tropical convection. While most studies of intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) have focused on the spatial propagation and dynamics of convectively coupled circulations, we examine the projection of ISOs on the tropically-averaged temperature and energy budget. The area of interest is the global oceans between 20degN/S. Our analysis then focuses on these questions: (i) How is tropospheric temperature related to tropical deep convection and the associated ice cloud fractional amount (ICF) and ice water path (IWP)? (ii) What is the source of moisture sustaining the convection and what role does deep convection play in mediating the PBL - free atmospheric temperature equilibration? (iii) What affect do convectively generated upper-tropospheric clouds have on the TOA radiation budget? Our methodology is similar to that of Spencer et al., (2007) with some modifications and some additional diagnostics of both clouds and boundary layer thermodynamics. A composite ISO time series of cloud, precipitation and radiation quantities built from nearly 40 events during a six-year period is referenced to the atmospheric temperature signal. The increase of convective precipitation cannot be sustained by evaporation within the domain, implying strong moisture transports into the tropical ocean area. While there is a decrease in net TOA radiation that develops after the peak in deep convective rainfall, there seems little evidence that an "Infrared Iris"- like mechanism is dominant. Rather, the cloud-induced OLR increase seems largely produced by weakened convection with warmer cloud tops. Tropical ISO events offer an accessible target for studying ISOs not just in terms of propagation mechanisms, but on their global signals of heat, moisture and radiative flux feedback processes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090025402','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090025402">Convective and Stratiform Precipitation Processes and their Relationship to Latent Heating</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Tao, Wei-Kuo; Lang, Steve; Zeng, Xiping; Shige, Shoichi; Takayabu, Yukari 2009-01-01 The global hydrological cycle is central to the Earth's climate system, with rainfall and the physics of its formation acting as the key links in the cycle. Two-thirds of global rainfall occurs in the Tropics. Associated with this rainfall is a vast amount of heat, which is known as latent heat. It arises mainly due to the phase change of water vapor condensing into liquid droplets; three-fourths of the total heat energy available to the Earth's atmosphere comes from tropical rainfall. In addition, fresh water provided by tropical rainfall and its variability exerts a large impact upon the structure and motions of the upper ocean layer. An improved convective -stratiform heating (CSH) algorithm has been developed to obtain the 3D structure of cloud heating over the Tropics based on two sources of information: 1) rainfall information, namely its amount and the fraction due to light rain intensity, observed directly from the Precipitation Radar (PR) on board the TRMM satellite and 2) synthetic cloud physics information obtained from cloud-resolving model (CRM) simulations of cloud systems. The cloud simulations provide details on cloud processes, specifically latent heating, eddy heat flux convergence and radiative heating/cooling, that. are not directly observable by satellite. The new CSH algorithm-derived heating has a noticeably different heating structure over both ocean and land regions compared to the previous CSH algorithm. One of the major differences between new and old algorithms is that the level of maximum cloud heating occurs 1 to 1.5 km lower in the atmosphere in the new algorithm. This can effect the structure of the implied air currents associated with the general circulation of the atmosphere in the Tropics. The new CSH algorithm will be used provide retrieved heating data to other heating algorithms to supplement their performance. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_16");'>16</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_17");'>17</a></li> <li class="active">18</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_19");'>19</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_20");'>20</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_19" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_17");'>17</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_18");'>18</a></li> <li class="active">19</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_20");'>20</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="361"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090043020&hterms=convection&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dconvection','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090043020&hterms=convection&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dconvection">Intraseasonal Variations in Tropical Deep Convection, Tropospheric Mean Temperature and Cloud-Induced Radiative Fluxes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Ramey, Holly S.; Robertson, Franklin R. 2009-01-01 Intraseasonal variability of deep convection represents a fundamental mode of variability in the organization of tropical convection. While most studies of intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) have focused on the spatial propagation and dynamics of convectively coupled circulations, we examine the projection of ISOs on the tropically-averaged temperature and energy budget. The area of interest is the global oceans between 20oN/S. Our analysis then focuses on these questions: (i) How is tropospheric temperature related to tropical deep convection and the associated ice cloud fractional amount (ICF) and ice water path (IWP)? (ii) What is the source of moisture sustaining the convection and what role does deep convection play in mediating the PBL - free atmospheric temperature equilibration? (iii) What affect do convectively generated upper-tropospheric clouds have on the TOA radiation budget? Our methodology is similar to that of Spencer et al., (2007) with some modifications and some additional diagnostics of both clouds and boundary layer thermodynamics. A composite ISO time series of cloud, precipitation and radiation quantities built from nearly 40 events during a six-year period is referenced to the atmospheric temperature signal. The increase of convective precipitation cannot be sustained by evaporation within the domain, implying strong moisture transports into the tropical ocean area. While there is a decrease in net TOA radiation that develops after the peak in deep convective rainfall, there seems little evidence that an "Infrared Iris"- like mechanism is dominant. Rather, the cloud-induced OLR increase seems largely produced by weakened convection with warmer cloud tops. Tropical ISO events offer an accessible target for studying ISOs not just in terms of propagation mechanisms, but on their global signals of heat, moisture and radiative flux feedback processes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19960021048','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19960021048">Observation of Upper and Middle Tropospheric Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Cox, Stephen K. 1996-01-01 The goal of this research has been to identify and describe the properties of climatically important cloud systems critically important to understanding their effects upon satellite remote sensing and the global climate. These goals have been pursued along several different but complementary lines of investigation: the design, construction, testing and application of instrumentation; the collection of data sets during Intensive Field Observation periods; the reduction and analysis of data collected during IFO's; and completion of research projects specifically designed to address important and timely research objectives. In the first year covered by this research proposal, three papers were authored in the refereed literature which reported completed analyses of FIRE 1 IFO studies initiated under the previous NASA funding of this topic area. microphysical and radiative properties of marine stratocumulus cloud systems deduced from tethered balloon observations were reported from the San Nicolas Island site of the first FIRE marine stratocumulus experiment. Likewise, in situ observations of radiation and dynamic properties of a cirrus cloud layer were reported from first FIRE cirrus IFO based from Madison, Wisconsin. In addition, application techniques were under development for monitoring cirrus cloud systems using a 403 MHz Doppler wind profiler system adapted with a RASS (Radio Acoustic Sounding System) and an infrared interferometer system; these instrument systems were used in subsequent deployments for the FIRE 2 Parsons, Kansas and FIRE 2 Porto Santo, ASTEX expeditions. In November 1991 and in June 1992, these two systems along with a complete complement of surface radiation and meteorology measurements were deployed to the two sites noted above as anchor points for the respective IFO'S. Subsequent research activity concentrated on the interpretation and integration of the IFO analyses in the context of the radiative properties of cloud systems and our ability to remotely observe radiative, thermodynamic and dynamic properties of these cloud systems. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00890&hterms=dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Ddark%2Bweb','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00890&hterms=dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Ddark%2Bweb">Jupiter's Northern Hemisphere in Violet Light (Time Set 3)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Mosaic of Jupiter's northern hemisphere between 10 and 50 degrees latitude. Jupiter's atmospheric circulation is dominated by alternating eastward and westward jets from equatorial to polar latitudes. The direction and speed of these jets in part determine the color and texture of the clouds seen in this mosaic. Also visible are several other common Jovian cloud features, including large white ovals, bright spots, dark spots, interacting vortices, and turbulent chaotic systems. The north-south dimension of each of the two interacting vortices in the upper half of the mosaic is about 3500 kilometers. Light at 410 nanometers is affected by the sizes and compositions of cloud particles, as well as the trace chemicals that give Jupiter's clouds their colors. This mosaic shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and the hazy cloud layer above it.North is at the top. The images are projected on a sphere, with features being foreshortened towards the north. The planetary limb runs along the right edge of the mosaic. Cloud patterns appear foreshortened as they approach the limb. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on April 3, 1997, at a range of 1.4 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system (CCD) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A43B0199P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A43B0199P">Ultra-Parameterized CAM: Progress Towards Low-Cloud Permitting Superparameterization</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Parishani, H.; Pritchard, M. S.; Bretherton, C. S.; Khairoutdinov, M.; Wyant, M. C.; Singh, B. 2016-12-01 A leading source of uncertainty in climate feedback arises from the representation of low clouds, which are not resolved but depend on small-scale physical processes (e.g. entrainment, boundary layer turbulence) that are heavily parameterized. We show results from recent attempts to achieve an explicit representation of low clouds by pushing the computational limits of cloud superparameterization to resolve boundary-layer eddy scales relevant to marine stratocumulus (250m horizontal and 20m vertical length scales). This extreme configuration is called "ultraparameterization". Effects of varying horizontal vs. vertical resolution are analyzed in the context of altered constraints on the turbulent kinetic energy statistics of the marine boundary layer. We show that 250m embedded horizontal resolution leads to a more realistic boundary layer vertical structure, but also to an unrealistic cloud pulsation that cannibalizes time mean LWP. We explore the hypothesis that feedbacks involving horizontal advection (not typically encountered in offline LES that neglect this degree of freedom) may conspire to produce such effects and present strategies to compensate. The results are relevant to understanding the emergent behavior of quasi-resolved low cloud decks in a multi-scale modeling framework within a previously unencountered grey zone of better resolved boundary-layer turbulence. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A21O..01D','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A21O..01D">Effects of Environment Forcing on Marine Boundary Layer Cloud-Drizzle Processes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Dong, X. 2017-12-01 Determining the factors affecting drizzle formation in marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds remains a challenge for both observation and modeling communities. To investigate the roles of vertical wind shear and buoyancy (static instability) in drizzle formation, ground-based observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program at the Azores are analyzed for two types of conditions. The type I clouds should last for at least five hours and more than 90% time must be non-drizzling, and then followed by at least two hours of drizzling periods while the type II clouds are characterized by mesoscale convection cellular (MCC) structures with drizzle occur every two to four hours. By analyzing the boundary layer wind profiles (direction and speed), it was found that either directional or speed shear is required to promote drizzle production in the type I clouds. Observations and a recent model study both suggest that vertical wind shear helps the production of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), stimulates turbulence within cloud layer, and enhances drizzle formation near the cloud top. The type II clouds do not require strong wind shear to produce drizzle. The small values of lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and negative Richardson number (Ri) in the type II cases suggest that boundary layer instability plays an important role in TKE production and cloud-drizzle processes. By analyzing the relationships between LTS and wind shear for all cases and all time periods, a stronger connection was found between LTS and wind directional shear than that between LTS and wind speed shear. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4987798','PMC'); return false;" href="https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4987798">Thermodynamic control of anvil cloud amount</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pmc">PubMed Central</a> Bony, Sandrine; Stevens, Bjorn; Coppin, David; Becker, Tobias; Reed, Kevin A.; Voigt, Aiko 2016-01-01 General circulation models show that as the surface temperature increases, the convective anvil clouds shrink. By analyzing radiative–convective equilibrium simulations, we show that this behavior is rooted in basic energetic and thermodynamic properties of the atmosphere: As the climate warms, the clouds rise and remain at nearly the same temperature, but find themselves in a more stable atmosphere; this enhanced stability reduces the convective outflow in the upper troposphere and decreases the anvil cloud fraction. By warming the troposphere and increasing the upper-tropospheric stability, the clustering of deep convection also reduces the convective outflow and the anvil cloud fraction. When clouds are radiatively active, this robust coupling between temperature, high clouds, and circulation exerts a positive feedback on convective aggregation and favors the maintenance of strongly aggregated atmospheric states at high temperatures. This stability iris mechanism likely contributes to the narrowing of rainy areas as the climate warms. Whether or not it influences climate sensitivity requires further investigation. PMID:27412863 </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1262439-thermodynamic-control-anvil-cloud-amount','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1262439-thermodynamic-control-anvil-cloud-amount">Thermodynamic control of anvil cloud amount</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Bony, Sandrine; Stevens, Bjorn; Coppin, David; ... 2016-07-13 General circulation models show that as the surface temperature increases, the convective anvil clouds shrink. By analyzing radiative–convective equilibrium simulations, our work shows that this behavior is rooted in basic energetic and thermodynamic properties of the atmosphere: As the climate warms, the clouds rise and remain at nearly the same temperature, but find themselves in a more stable atmosphere; this enhanced stability reduces the convective outflow in the upper troposphere and decreases the anvil cloud fraction. By warming the troposphere and increasing the upper-tropospheric stability, the clustering of deep convection also reduces the convective outflow and the anvil cloud fraction.more » When clouds are radiatively active, this robust coupling between temperature, high clouds, and circulation exerts a positive feedback on convective aggregation and favors the maintenance of strongly aggregated atmospheric states at high temperatures. This stability iris mechanism likely contributes to the narrowing of rainy areas as the climate warms. Whether or not it influences climate sensitivity requires further investigation.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01248&hterms=four+seasons&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dfour%2Bseasons','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01248&hterms=four+seasons&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dfour%2Bseasons">Four Views of Mars in Northern Summer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Four faces of Mars as seen on March 30, 1997 are presented in this montage of NASA Hubble Space Telescope images. Proceeding in the order upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, lower-right, Mars has rotated about ninety degrees between each successive time step. For example the Tharsis volcanoes, which are seen (between 7:30 and 9 o'clock positions) in mid-morning in the UPPER-RIGHT view, are seen near the late afternoon edge of the planet (about 3 o'clock position) in the lower-left image. All of these color images are composed of individual red (673 nanometers), green (502 nm), and blue (410 nm) Planetary Camera exposures.Upper left: This view is centered on Ares Valles, where Pathfinder will land on July 4, 1997; the Valles Marineris canyon system stretches to the west across the lower left portion of the planet, while the bright, orangish desert of Arabia Planitia is to the east. The bright polar water-ice cap, surrounded by a dark ring of sand dunes, is obvious in the north; since it is northern summer and the pole is tilted toward us, the residual north polar cap is seen in its entirety in all four images. Acidalia Planitia, the prominent dark area fanning southward from the polar region, is thought to have a surface covered with dark sand. Numerous 'dark wind streaks' are visible to the south of Acidalia, resulting from wind-blown sand streaming out of the interiors of craters.Upper right: The Tharsis volcanos and associated clouds are prominent in the western half of this view. Olympus Mons, spanning 340 miles (550 km) across its base and reaching an elevation of 16 miles (25 km), extends through the cloud deck near the western limb, while (from the south) Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons are to the west of center. Valles Marineris stretches to the east, and the Pathfinder landing site is shrouded in clouds near the afternoon limb.Lower left: This relatively featureless sector of Mars stretches from the Elysium volcanic region in the west to the Tharsis volcanoes (shrouded by the bright clouds near the afternoon limb) in the east. The group of three dark specks just left of center are all that remain of Cerberus, a very prominent dark region during the Viking and Mariner 9 missions. This is an example of the remarkable large scale changes which can occur on Mars due to windblown dust: the former dark area has now been covered by a layer of bright dust, masking the underlying material.Lower right: The dark Syrtis Major region dominates this image. Syrtis Major is one of the most prominent dark features on Mars, and has been visible since ground-based observers first peered at Mars through telescopes. The bright cloud at 3 o'clock is associated with Elysium Mons. The bright bluish-white feature near the southern limb of the planet is Hellas, a 1,200 mile (2,000 km) diameter impact basin formed by the collision of a large body with Mars long ago. Hellas is covered with dry ice frost and clouds during this season (winter in the south).This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/ </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19900018926&hterms=balloon+tethered&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dballoon%2Btethered','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19900018926&hterms=balloon+tethered&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Dballoon%2Btethered">The radiation budget of stratocumulus clouds measured by tethered balloon instrumentation: Variability of flux measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Duda, David P.; Stephens, Graeme L.; Cox, Stephen K. 1990-01-01 Measurements of longwave and shortwave radiation were made using an instrument package on the NASA tethered balloon during the FIRE Marine Stratocumulus experiment. Radiation data from two pairs of pyranometers were used to obtain vertical profiles of the near-infrared and total solar fluxes through the boundary layer, while a pair of pyrgeometers supplied measurements of the longwave fluxes in the cloud layer. The radiation observations were analyzed to determine heating rates and to measure the radiative energy budget inside the stratocumulus clouds during several tethered balloon flights. The radiation fields in the cloud layer were also simulated by a two-stream radiative transfer model, which used cloud optical properties derived from microphysical measurements and Mie scattering theory. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFMAE31B0443B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFMAE31B0443B">A Modeling Study of the Spatial Structure of Electric Fields Generated by Electrified Clouds with Screening Layers</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Biagi, C. J.; Cummins, K. L. 2015-12-01 The growing possibility of inexpensive airborne observations of electric fields using one or more small UAVs increases the importance of understanding what can be determined about cloud electrification and associated electric fields outside cloud boundaries. If important information can be inferred from carefully selected flight paths outside of a cloud, then the aircraft and its instrumentation will be much cheaper to develop and much safer to operate. These facts have led us to revisit this long-standing topic using quasi-static, finite-element modeling inside and outside arbitrarily shaped clouds with a variety of internal charge distributions. In particular, we examine the effect of screening layers on electric fields outside of electrified clouds by comparing modeling results for charged clouds having electrical conductivities that are both equal to and lower than the surrounding clear air. The comparisons indicate that the spatial structure of the electric field is approximately the same regardless of the difference in the conductivities between the cloud and clear air and the formation of a screening layer, even for altitude-dependent electrical conductivities. This result is consistent with the numerical modeling results reported by Driscoll et al [1992]. The similarity of the spatial structure of the electric field outside of clouds with and without a screening layer suggests that "bulk" properties related to cloud electrification might be determined using measurements of the electric field at multiple locations in space outside the cloud, particularly at altitude. Finally, for this somewhat simplified model, the reduction in electric field magnitude outside the cloud due to the presence of a screening layer exhibits a simple dependence on the difference in conductivity between the cloud and clear air. These results are particularly relevant for studying clouds that are not producing lightning, such as developing thunderstorms and decaying anvils associated with mature storm systems.Driscoll K.T., R.J. Blakeslee, M.E. Baginski, 1992, A modeling study of the time-averaged electric currents in the vicinity of isolated thunderstorms, J. Geophys. Res., 97, D11, pp 11535-11551. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20030025274','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20030025274">Overlap Properties of Clouds Generated by a Cloud Resolving Model</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Oreopoulos, L.; Khairoutdinov, M. 2002-01-01 In order for General Circulation Models (GCMs), one of our most important tools to predict future climate, to correctly describe the propagation of solar and thermal radiation through the cloudy atmosphere a realistic description of the vertical distribution of cloud amount is needed. Actually, one needs not only the cloud amounts at different levels of the atmosphere, but also how these cloud amounts are related, in other words, how they overlap. Currently GCMs make some idealized assumptions about cloud overlap, for example that contiguous cloud layers overlap maximally and non-contiguous cloud layers overlap in a random fashion. Since there are difficulties in obtaining the vertical profile of cloud amount from observations, the realism of the overlap assumptions made in GCMs has not been yet rigorously investigated. Recently however, cloud observations from a relatively new type of ground radar have been used to examine the vertical distribution of cloudiness. These observations suggest that the GCM overlap assumptions are dubious. Our study uses cloud fields from sophisticated models dedicated to simulate cloud formation, maintenance, and dissipation called Cloud Resolving Models . These models are generally considered capable of producing realistic three-dimensional representation of cloudiness. Using numerous cloud fields produced by such a CRM we show that the degree of overlap between cloud layers is a function of their separation distance, and is in general described by a combination of the maximum and random overlap assumption, with random overlap dominating as separation distances increase. We show that it is possible to parameterize this behavior in a way that can eventually be incorporated in GCMs. Our results seem to have a significant resemblance to the results from the radar observations despite the completely different nature of the datasets. This consistency is encouraging and will promote development of new radiative transfer codes that will estimate the radiation effects of multi-layer cloud fields more accurately. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EntIS..11...17X','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EntIS..11...17X">The design of an m-Health monitoring system based on a cloud computing platform</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Xu, Boyi; Xu, Lida; Cai, Hongming; Jiang, Lihong; Luo, Yang; Gu, Yizhi 2017-01-01 Compared to traditional medical services provided within hospitals, m-Health monitoring systems (MHMSs) face more challenges in personalised health data processing. To achieve personalised and high-quality health monitoring by means of new technologies, such as mobile network and cloud computing, in this paper, a framework of an m-Health monitoring system based on a cloud computing platform (Cloud-MHMS) is designed to implement pervasive health monitoring. Furthermore, the modules of the framework, which are Cloud Storage and Multiple Tenants Access Control Layer, Healthcare Data Annotation Layer, and Healthcare Data Analysis Layer, are discussed. In the data storage layer, a multiple tenant access method is designed to protect patient privacy. In the data annotation layer, linked open data are adopted to augment health data interoperability semantically. In the data analysis layer, the process mining algorithm and similarity calculating method are implemented to support personalised treatment plan selection. These three modules cooperate to implement the core functions in the process of health monitoring, which are data storage, data processing, and data analysis. Finally, we study the application of our architecture in the monitoring of antimicrobial drug usage to demonstrate the usability of our method in personal healthcare analysis. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1329812','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1329812">Dynamics, thermodynamics, radiation, and cloudiness associated with cumulus-topped marine boundary layers</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Ghate, Virendra P.; Miller, Mark The overall goal of this project was to improve the understanding of marine boundary clouds by using data collected at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites, so that they can be better represented in global climate models (GCMs). Marine boundary clouds are observed regularly over the tropical and subtropical oceans. They are an important element of the Earth’s climate system because they have substantial impact on the radiation budget together with the boundary layer moisture, and energy transports. These clouds also have an impact on large-scale precipitation features like the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Because these clouds occur atmore » temporal and spatial scales much smaller than those relevant to GCMs, their effects and the associated processes need to be parameterized in GCM simulations aimed at predicting future climate and energy needs. Specifically, this project’s objectives were to (1) characterize the surface turbulent fluxes, boundary layer thermodynamics, radiation field, and cloudiness associated with cumulus-topped marine boundary layers; (2) explore the similarities and differences in cloudiness and boundary layer conditions observed in the tropical and trade-wind regions; and (3) understand similarities and differences by using a simple bulk boundary layer model. In addition to working toward achieving the project’s three objectives, we also worked on understanding the role played by different forcing mechanisms in maintaining turbulence within cloud-topped boundary layers We focused our research on stratocumulus clouds during the first phase of the project, and cumulus clouds during the rest of the project. Below is a brief description of manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals that describe results from our analyses.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018PASJ...70S..55W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018PASJ...70S..55W">Bipolar H II regions produced by cloud-cloud collisions</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Whitworth, Anthony; Lomax, Oliver; Balfour, Scott; Mège, Pierre; Zavagno, Annie; Deharveng, Lise 2018-05-01 We suggest that bipolar H II regions may be the aftermath of collisions between clouds. Such a collision will produce a shock-compressed layer, and a star cluster can then condense out of the dense gas near the center of the layer. If the clouds are sufficiently massive, the star cluster is likely to contain at least one massive star, which emits ionizing radiation, and excites an H II region, which then expands, sweeping up the surrounding neutral gas. Once most of the matter in the clouds has accreted onto the layer, expansion of the H II region meets little resistance in directions perpendicular to the midplane of the layer, and so it expands rapidly to produce two lobes of ionized gas, one on each side of the layer. Conversely, in directions parallel to the midplane of the layer, expansion of the H II region stalls due to the ram pressure of the gas that continues to fall towards the star cluster from the outer parts of the layer; a ring of dense neutral gas builds up around the waist of the bipolar H II region, and may spawn a second generation of star formation. We present a dimensionless model for the flow of ionized gas in a bipolar H II region created according to the above scenario, and predict the characteristics of the resulting free-free continuum and recombination-line emission. This dimensionless model can be scaled to the physical parameters of any particular system. Our intention is that these predictions will be useful in testing the scenario outlined above, and thereby providing indirect support for the role of cloud-cloud collisions in triggering star formation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01206&hterms=methane+composition&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dmethane%2Bcomposition','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01206&hterms=methane+composition&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dmethane%2Bcomposition">Jupiter's Equatorial Region in a Methane band (Time set 3)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Mosaic of Jupiter's equatorial region at 727 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 22,000 kilometers. Light at 727 nm is moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and upper-tropospheric haze, with higher features enhanced in brightness over lower features. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright oval in the upper right of the mosaic as well as the other smaller bright features are examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 19 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The planetary limb runs along the right edge of the image. Cloud patterns appear foreshortened as they approach the limb. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120013337&hterms=water+vapor&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dwater%2Bvapor','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120013337&hterms=water+vapor&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D70%26Ntt%3Dwater%2Bvapor">Detailed Structure of the Tropical Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere as Revealed by Balloon Sonde Observations of Water Vapor, Ozone, Temperature, and Winds During the NASA TCSP and TC4 Campaigns</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Selkirk, Henry B.; Vomel, Holger; Canossa, Jessica Maria Valverde; Pfister, Leonhard; Diaz, Jorge Andres; Fernandez, Walter; Amador, Jorge; Stolz, Werner; Peng, Grace S. 2010-01-01 We report on balloon sonde measurements of water vapor and ozone using the cryogenic frost point hygrometer and electrochemical concentration cell ozonesondes made at Alajuela, Costa Rica (10.0 N, 84.2 W) during two NASA airborne campaigns: the Tropical Convective Systems and Processes (TCSP) mission in July 2005 and the Tropical Composition, Clouds, and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4), July - August 2007. In both campaigns we found an upper troposphere that was frequently supersaturated but no evidence that deep convection had reached the tropopause. The balloon sondes were complemented by campaigns of 4 times daily high-resolution radiosondes from mid-June through mid-August in both years. The radiosonde data reveal vertically propagating equatorial waves that caused a large increase in the variability of temperature in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). These waves episodically produced cold point tropopauses (CPTs) above 18 km, yet in neither campaign was saturation observed above approx 380 K or 17 km. The averages of the water vapor minima below this level were 5.2 ppmv in TCSP and 4.8 ppmv in TC4, and the individual profile minima all lay at or above approx 360 K. The average minima in this 360 C380 K layer provide a better estimate of the effective stratospheric entry value than the average mixing ratio at the CPT. We refer to this upper portion of the TTL as the tropopause saturation layer and consider it to be the locus of the final dehydration of nascent stratospheric air. As such, it is the local equivalent to the tape head of the water vapor tape recorder. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00897&hterms=Dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3DDark%2Bweb','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00897&hterms=Dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3DDark%2Bweb">Jupiter's Northern Hemisphere in False Color (Time Set 3)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Mosaic of Jupiter's northern hemisphere between 10 and 50 degrees latitude. Jupiter's atmospheric circulation is dominated by alternating eastward and westward jets from equatorial to polar latitudes. The direction and speed of these jets in part determine the color and texture of the clouds seen in this mosaic. Also visible are several other common Jovian cloud features, including large white ovals, bright spots, dark spots, interacting vortices, and turbulent chaotic systems. The north-south dimension of each of the two interacting vortices in the upper half of the mosaic is about 3500 kilometers.This mosaic uses the Galileo imaging camera's three near-infrared wavelengths (756 nanometers, 727 nanometers, and 889 nanometers displayed in red, green, and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Light blue clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are deep, and white clouds are high and thick. The clouds and haze over the ovals are high, extending into Jupiter's stratosphere. Dark purple most likely represents a high haze overlying a clear deep atmosphere. Galileo is the first spacecraft to distinguish cloud layers on Jupiter.North is at the top. The images are projected on a sphere, with features being foreshortened towards the north. The planetary limb runs along the right edge of the mosaic. Cloud patterns appear foreshortened as they approach the limb. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on April 3, 1997, at a range of 1.4 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system (CCD) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080034466&hterms=nucleation&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dnucleation','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20080034466&hterms=nucleation&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dnucleation">Anvil Glaciation in a Deep Cumulus Updraught over Florida Simulated with the Explicit Microphysics Model. I: Impact of Various Nucleation Processes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Phillips, Vaughan T. J.; Andronache, Constantin; Sherwood, Steven C.; Bansemer, Aaron; Conant, William C.; Demott, Paul J.; Flagan, Richard C.; Heymsfield, Andy; Jonsson, Haflidi; Poellot, Micheal; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20080034466'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20080034466_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20080034466_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20080034466_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20080034466_hide"> 2005-01-01 Simulations of a cumulonimbus cloud observed in the Cirrus regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) with an advanced version of the Explicit Microphysics Model (EMM) are presented. The EMM has size-resolved aerosols and predicts the time evolution of sizes, bulk densities and axial ratios of ice particles. Observations by multiple aircraft in the troposphere provide inputs to the model, including observations of the ice nuclei and of the entire size distribution of condensation nuclei. Homogeneous droplet freezing is found to be the source of almost all of the ice crystals in the anvil updraught of this particular model cloud. Most of the simulated droplets that freeze to form anvil crystals appear to be nucleated by activation of aerosols far above cloud base in the interior of the cloud ("secondary" or "in cloud" droplet nucleation). This is partly because primary droplets formed at cloud base are invariably depleted by accretion before they can reach the anvil base in the updraught, which promotes an increase with height of the average supersaturation in the updraught aloft. More than half of these aerosols, activated far above cloud base, are entrained into the updraught of this model cloud from the lateral environment above about 5 km above mean sea level. This confirms the importance of remote sources of atmospheric aerosol for anvil glaciation. Other nucleation processes impinge indirectly upon the anvil glaciation by modifying the concentration of supercooled droplets in the upper levels of the mixed-phase region. For instance, the warm-rain process produces a massive indirect impact on the anvil crystal concentration, because it determines the mass of precipitation forming in the updraught. It competes with homogeneous freezing as a sink for cloud droplets. The effects from turbulent enhancement of the warm-rain process and from the nucleation processes on the anvil ice properties are assessed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1167155','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1167155">“Lidar Investigations of Aerosol, Cloud, and Boundary Layer Properties Over the ARM ACRF Sites”</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Ferrare, Richard; Turner, David 2015-01-13 Project goals; Characterize the aerosol and ice vertical distributions over the ARM NSA site, and in particular to discriminate between elevated aerosol layers and ice clouds in optically thin scattering layers; Characterize the water vapor and aerosol vertical distributions over the ARM Darwin site, how these distributions vary seasonally, and quantify the amount of water vapor and aerosol that is above the boundary layer; Use the high temporal resolution Raman lidar data to examine how aerosol properties vary near clouds; Use the high temporal resolution Raman lidar and Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) data to quantify entrainment in optically thinmore » continental cumulus clouds; and Use the high temporal Raman lidar data to continue to characterize the turbulence within the convective boundary layer and how the turbulence statistics (e.g., variance, skewness) is correlated with larger scale variables predicted by models.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?dirEntryId=47379&Lab=NERL&keyword=transformer&actType=&TIMSType=+&TIMSSubTypeID=&DEID=&epaNumber=&ntisID=&archiveStatus=Both&ombCat=Any&dateBeginCreated=&dateEndCreated=&dateBeginPublishedPresented=&dateEndPublishedPresented=&dateBeginUpdated=&dateEndUpdated=&dateBeginCompleted=&dateEndCompleted=&personID=&role=Any&journalID=&publisherID=&sortBy=revisionDate&count=50','EPA-EIMS'); return false;" href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?dirEntryId=47379&Lab=NERL&keyword=transformer&actType=&TIMSType=+&TIMSSubTypeID=&DEID=&epaNumber=&ntisID=&archiveStatus=Both&ombCat=Any&dateBeginCreated=&dateEndCreated=&dateBeginPublishedPresented=&dateEndPublishedPresented=&dateBeginUpdated=&dateEndUpdated=&dateBeginCompleted=&dateEndCompleted=&personID=&role=Any&journalID=&publisherID=&sortBy=revisionDate&count=50">MODELING NON-PRECIPITATING CUMULUS CLOUDS AS FLOW-THROUGH-REACTOR TRANSFORMER AND VENTING TRANSPORTER OF MIXED LAYER POLLUTANTS</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://oaspub.epa.gov/eims/query.page">EPA Science Inventory</a> A simple diagnostic model of cumulus convective clouds is developed and used in a sensitivity study to examine the extent to which the rate of change of mixed and cloud layer pollutant concentration is influenced by vertical transport and chemical transformation processes occurri... </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_17");'>17</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_18");'>18</a></li> <li class="active">19</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_20");'>20</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_20" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_18");'>18</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_19");'>19</a></li> <li class="active">20</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="381"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015EGUGA..1712318A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015EGUGA..1712318A">Studying the influence of temperature and pressure on microphysical properties of mixed-phase clouds using airborne measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Andreea, Boscornea; Sabina, Stefan; Sorin-Nicolae, Vajaiac; Mihai, Cimpuieru 2015-04-01 One cloud type for which the formation and evolution process is not well-understood is the mixed-phase type. In general mixed-phase clouds consist of liquid droplets and ice crystals. The temperature interval within both liquid droplets and ice crystals can potentially coexist is limited to 0 °C and - 40 °C. Mixed-phase clouds account for 20% to 30% of the global cloud coverage. The need to understand the microphysical characteristics of mixed-phase clouds to improve numerical forecast modeling and radiative transfer calculation is of major interest in the atmospheric community. In the past, studies of cloud phase composition have been significantly limited by a lack of aircraft instruments capable of discriminating between the ice and liquid phase for a wide range of particle sizes. Presently, in situ airborne measurements provide the most accurate information about cloud microphysical characteristics. This information can be used for verification of both numerical models and cloud remote-sensing techniques. The knowledge of the temperature and pressure variation during the airborne measurements is crucial in order to understand their influence on the cloud dynamics and also their role in the cloud formation processes like accretion and coalescence. Therefore, in this paper is presented a comprehensive study of cloud microphysical properties in mixed-phase clouds in focus of the influence of temperature and pressure variation on both, cloud dynamics and the cloud formation processes, using measurements performed with the ATMOSLAB - Airborne Laboratory for Environmental Atmospheric Research in property of the National Institute for Aerospace Research "Elie Carafoli" (INCAS). The airborne laboratory equipped for special research missions is based on a Hawker Beechcraft - King Air C90 GTx aircraft and is equipped with a sensors system CAPS - Cloud, Aerosol and Precipitation Spectrometer (30 bins, 0.51-50 µm) and a HAWKEYE cloud probe. The analyzed data in this work is acquired during 2 flight hours on the 23th of October 2014 in mixed clouds formations over Romania ( Craiova, Lat 44°19', Lon 23°48' ). The temperature variation during the cloud sounding was between -14 °C and -2 °C, with a maximum altitude in the cloud of 4863 m and a minimum altitude of 3353 m. In total 6 horizontal lines of 10 minutes each where performed recording ice crystal number concentrations (using the CIP - Cloud Imaging Probe) between 10 to 20 particles/cm3 outside the cloud layer and over 100 particles/cm3 inside the cloud layer and a number concentration of small droplets, aerosol and small ice crystals (using the CAS - Cloud Aerosol Spectrometer) between 150 particles/cm3 outside the cloud layer and 1600 particles/cm3 inside the cloud layer, this values confirms also the presence of IN (ice nuclei) in the atmosphere between the cloud layers. The results in respect with size distribution of cloud's particles and LWC show to be controlled by the temperature and pressure variations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A31A2136L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A31A2136L">StatisticAl Characteristics of Cloud over Beijing, China Obtained FRom Ka band Doppler Radar Observation</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> LIU, J.; Bi, Y.; Duan, S.; Lu, D. 2017-12-01 It is well-known that cloud characteristics, such as top and base heights and their layering structure of micro-physical parameters, spatial coverage and temporal duration are very important factors influencing both radiation budget and its vertical partitioning as well as hydrological cycle through precipitation data. Also, cloud structure and their statistical distribution and typical values will have respective characteristics with geographical and seasonal variation. Ka band radar is a powerful tool to obtain above parameters around the world, such as ARM cloud radar at the Oklahoma US, Since 2006, Cloudsat is one of NASA's A-Train satellite constellation, continuously observe the cloud structure with global coverage, but only twice a day it monitor clouds over same local site at same local time.By using IAP Ka band Doppler radar which has been operating continuously since early 2013 over the roof of IAP building in Beijing, we obtained the statistical characteristic of clouds, including cloud layering, cloud top and base heights, as well as the thickness of each cloud layer and their distribution, and were analyzed monthly and seasonal and diurnal variation, statistical analysis of cloud reflectivity profiles is also made. The analysis covers both non-precipitating clouds and precipitating clouds. Also, some preliminary comparison of the results with Cloudsat/Calipso products for same period and same area are made. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A41J..05C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A41J..05C">Aerosol-cloud feedbacks in a turbulent environment: Laboratory measurements representative of conditions in boundary layer clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Cantrell, W. H.; Chandrakar, K. K.; Karki, S.; Kinney, G.; Shaw, R. 2017-12-01 Many of the climate impacts of boundary layer clouds are modulated by aerosol particles. As two examples, their interactions with incoming solar and upwelling terrestrial radiation and their propensity for precipitation are both governed by the population of aerosol particles upon which the cloud droplets formed. In turn, clouds are the primary removal mechanism for aerosol particles smaller than a few micrometers and larger than a few nanometers. Aspects of these interconnected phenomena are known in exquisite detail (e.g. Köhler theory), but other parts have not been as amenable to study in the laboratory (e.g. scavenging of aerosol particles by cloud droplets). As a complicating factor, boundary layer clouds are ubiquitously turbulent, which introduces fluctuations in the water vapor concentration and temperature, which govern the saturation ratio which mediates aerosol-cloud interactions. We have performed laboratory measurements of aerosol-cloud coupling and feedbacks, using Michigan Tech's Pi Chamber (Chang et al., 2016). In conditions representative of boundary layer clouds, our data suggest that the lifetime of most interstitial particles in the accumulation mode is governed by cloud activation - particles are removed from the Pi Chamber when they activate and settle out of the chamber as cloud droplets. As cloud droplets are removed, these interstitial particles activate until the initially polluted cloud cleans itself and all particulates are removed from the chamber. At that point, the cloud collapses. Our data also indicate that smaller particles, Dp < ˜ 20 nm are not activated, but are instead removed through diffusion, enhanced by the fact that droplets are moving relative to the suspended aerosol. I will discuss results from both warm (i.e. liquid water only) and mixed phase clouds, showing that cloud and aerosol properties are coupled through fluctuations in the supersaturation, and that threshold behaviors can be defined through the use of the Dämkohler number, the ratio of the characteristic turbulence timescale to the cloud's microphysical response time. Chang, K., et al., 2016. A laboratory facility to study gas-aerosol-cloud interactions in a turbulent environment: The Π Chamber. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00203.1 </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ACPD...1318143B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ACPD...1318143B">Marine boundary layer cloud regimes and POC formation in an LES coupled to a bulk aerosol scheme</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Berner, A. H.; Bretherton, C. S.; Wood, R.; Muhlbauer, A. 2013-07-01 A large-eddy simulation (LES) coupled to a new bulk aerosol scheme is used to study long-lived regimes of aerosol-boundary layer cloud-precipitation interaction and the development of pockets of open cells (POCs) in subtropical stratocumulus cloud layers. The aerosol scheme prognoses mass and number concentration of a single log-normal accumulation mode with surface and entrainment sources, evolving subject to processing of activated aerosol and scavenging of dry aerosol by cloud and rain. The LES with the aerosol scheme is applied to a range of steadily-forced simulations idealized from a well-observed POC case. The long-term system evolution is explored with extended two-dimensional simulations of up to 20 days, mostly with diurnally-averaged insolation. One three-dimensional two-day simulation confirms the initial development of the corresponding two-dimensional case. With weak mean subsidence, an initially aerosol-rich mixed layer deepens, the capping stratocumulus cloud slowly thickens and increasingly depletes aerosol via precipitation accretion, then the boundary layer transitions within a few hours into an open-cell regime with scattered precipitating cumuli, in which entrainment is much weaker. The inversion slowly collapses for several days until the cumulus clouds are too shallow to efficiently precipitate. Inversion cloud then reforms and radiatively drives renewed entrainment, allowing the boundary layer to deepen and become more aerosol-rich, until the stratocumulus layer thickens enough to undergo another cycle of open-cell formation. If mean subsidence is stronger, the stratocumulus never thickens enough to initiate drizzle and settles into a steady state. With lower initial aerosol concentrations, this system quickly transitions into open cells, collapses, and redevelops into a different steady state with a shallow, optically thin cloud layer. In these steady states, interstitial scavenging by cloud droplets is the main sink of aerosol number. The system is described in a reduced two-dimensional phase plane with inversion height and boundary-layer average aerosol concentrations as the state variables. Simulations with a full diurnal cycle show similar evolutions, except that open-cell formation is phase-locked into the early morning hours. The same steadily-forced modeling framework is applied to the development and evolution of a POC and the surrounding overcast boundary layer. An initial aerosol perturbation applied to a portion of the model domain leads that portion to transition into open-cell convection, forming a POC. Reduced entrainment in the POC induces a negative feedback between areal fraction covered by the POC and boundary layer depth changes. This stabilizes the system by controlling liquid water path and precipitation sinks of aerosol number in the overcast region, while also preventing boundary-layer collapse within the POC, allowing the POC and overcast to coexist indefinitely in a quasi-steady equilibrium. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20020054347&hterms=dehydration&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Ddehydration','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20020054347&hterms=dehydration&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Ddehydration">Ice Cloud Formation and Dehydration in the Tropical Tropopause Layer</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Jensen, Eric; Pfister, Leonhard; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor) 2002-01-01 Stratospheric water vapor is important not only for its greenhouse forcing, but also because it plays a significant role in stratospheric chemistry. several recent studies have focused on the potential for dehydration due to ice cloud formation in air rising slowly through the tropical tropopause layer. Holton and Gettelman showed that temperature variations associated with horizontal transport of air in the tropopause layer can drive ice cloud formation and dehydration, and Gettelman et al. recently examined the cloud formation and dehydration along kinematic trajectories using simple assumptions about the cloud properties. In this study, we use a Lagrangian, one-dimensional cloud model to further investigate cloud formation and dehydration as air is transported horizontally and vertically through the tropical tropopause layer. Time-height curtains of temperature are extracted from meteorological analyses. The model tracks the growth and sedimentation of individual cloud particles. The regional distribution of clouds simulated in the model is comparable to the subvisible cirrus distribution indicated by SAGE II. The simulated cloud properties depend strongly on the assumed ice supersaturation threshold for ice nucleation. with effective nuclei present (low supersaturation threshold), ice number densities are high (0.1--10 cm(circumflex)-3), and ice crystals do not grow large enough to fall very far, resulting in limited dehydration. With higher supersaturation thresholds, ice number densities are much lower (less than 0.01 cm(circumflex)-3), and ice crystals grow large enough to fall substantially; however, supersaturated air often crosses the tropopause without cloud formation. The clouds typically do not dehydrate the air along trajectories down to the temperature minimum saturation mixing ratio. Rather the water vapor mixing ratio crossing the tropopause along trajectories is typically 10-50% larger than the saturation mixing ratio. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090012508','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090012508">Radiative Effects of African Dust and Smoke Observed from CERES and CALIOP Data</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Yorks, John E.; McGill, Matt; Rodier, Sharon; Vaughan, Mark; Xu, Yongxiang; Hlavka, Dennis 2009-01-01 Cloud and aerosol effects have a significant impact on the atmospheric radiation budget in the Tropical Atlantic because of the spatial and temporal extent of desert dust and smoke from biomass burning in the atmosphere. The influences of African dust and smoke aerosols on cloud radiative properties over the Tropical Atlantic Ocean were analyzed for the month of July for three years (2006-2008) using collocated data collected by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments on the CALIPSO and Aqua satellites. Aerosol layer height and type can be more accurately determined using CALIOP data, through parameters such as cloud and aerosol layer height, optical depth and depolarization ratio, than data from atmospheric imagers used in previous cloud-aerosol interaction studies. On average, clouds below 5 km had a daytime instantaneous shortwave (SW) radiative flux of 270.2 +/- 16.9 W/sq m and thin cirrus clouds had a SW radiative flux of 208.0 +/- 12.7 W/sq m. When dust aerosols interacted with clouds below 5 km, as determined from CALIPSO, the SW radiative flux decreased to 205.4 +/- 13.0 W/sq m. Similarly, smoke aerosols decreased the SW radiative flux of low clouds to a value of 240.0 +/- 16.6 W/sq m. These decreases in SW radiative flux were likely attributed to the aerosol layer height and changes in cloud microphysics. CALIOP lidar observations, which more accurately identify aerosol layer height than passive instruments, appear essential for better understanding of cloud-aerosol interactions, a major uncertainty in predicting the climate system. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A11I1999G','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A11I1999G">Satellite Data Analysis of Impact of Anthropogenic Air Pollution on Ice Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Gu, Y.; Liou, K. N.; Zhao, B.; Jiang, J. H.; Su, H. 2017-12-01 Despite numerous studies about the impact of aerosols on ice clouds, the role of anthropogenic aerosols in ice processes, especially over pollution regions, remains unclear and controversial, and has not been considered in a regional model. The objective of this study is to improve our understanding of the ice process associated with anthropogenic aerosols, and provide a comprehensive assessment of the contribution of anthropogenic aerosols to ice nucleation, ice cloud properties, and the consequent regional radiative forcing. As the first attempt, we evaluate the effects of different aerosol types (mineral dust, air pollution, polluted dust, and smoke) on ice cloud micro- and macro-physical properties using satellite data. We identify cases with collocated CloudSat, CALIPSO, and Aqua observations of vertically resolved aerosol and cloud properties, and process these observations into the same spatial resolution. The CALIPSO's aerosol classification algorithm determines aerosol layers as one of six defined aerosol types by taking into account the lidar depolarization ratio, integrated attenuated backscattering, surface type, and layer elevation. We categorize the cases identified above according to aerosol types, collect relevant aerosol and ice cloud variables, and determine the correlation between column/layer AOD and ice cloud properties for each aerosol type. Specifically, we investigate the correlation between aerosol loading (indicated by the column AOD and layer AOD) and ice cloud microphysical properties (ice water content, ice crystal number concentration, and ice crystal effective radius) and macro-physical properties (ice water path, ice cloud fraction, cloud top temperature, and cloud thickness). By comparing the responses of ice cloud properties to aerosol loadings for different aerosol types, we infer the role of different aerosol types in ice nucleation and the evolution of ice clouds. Our preliminary study shows that changes in the ice crystal effective radius with respect to AOD over Eastern Asia for the aerosol types of polluted continental and mineral dust look similar, implying that both air pollution and mineral dust could affect the microphysical properties of ice clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013EGUGA..1514012A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013EGUGA..1514012A">Influence of boundary-layer dynamics on pollen dispersion and viability</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Arritt, Raymond W.; Viner, Brian J.; Westgate, Mark E. 2013-04-01 Adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops has raised concerns that GM traits can accidentally cross into conventional crops or wild relatives through the transport of wind-borne pollen. In order to evaluate this risk it is necessary to account both for dispersion of the pollen grains and environmental influences on pollen viability. The Lagrangian approach is suited to this problem because it allows tracking the environmental temperature and moisture that pollen grains experience as they travel. Taking advantage of this capability we have combined a high-resolution version of the WRF meteorological model with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model to predict maize pollen dispersion and viability. WRF is used to obtain fields of wind, turbulence kinetic energy, temperature, and humidity which are then used as input to the Lagrangian dispersion model. The dispersion model in turn predicts transport of a statistical sample of a pollen cloud from source plants to receptors. We also use the three-dimensional temperature and moisture fields from WRF to diagnose changes in moisture content of the pollen grains and consequent loss of viability. Results show that turbulent motions in the convective boundary layer counteract the large terminal velocity of maize pollen grains and lift them to heights of several hundred meters, so that they can be transported long distances before settling to the ground. We also found that pollen lifted into the upper part of the boundary layer remains more viable than has been inferred using surface observations of temperature and humidity. This is attributed to the thermal and moisture structure that typifies the daytime atmospheric boundary layer, producing an environment of low vapor pressure deficit in the upper boundary layer which helps maintain pollen viability. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EntIS...6..165L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EntIS...6..165L">Integration of hybrid wireless networks in cloud services oriented enterprise information systems</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Li, Shancang; Xu, Lida; Wang, Xinheng; Wang, Jue 2012-05-01 This article presents a hybrid wireless network integration scheme in cloud services-based enterprise information systems (EISs). With the emerging hybrid wireless networks and cloud computing technologies, it is necessary to develop a scheme that can seamlessly integrate these new technologies into existing EISs. By combining the hybrid wireless networks and computing in EIS, a new framework is proposed, which includes frontend layer, middle layer and backend layers connected to IP EISs. Based on a collaborative architecture, cloud services management framework and process diagram are presented. As a key feature, the proposed approach integrates access control functionalities within the hybrid framework that provide users with filtered views on available cloud services based on cloud service access requirements and user security credentials. In future work, we will implement the proposed framework over SwanMesh platform by integrating the UPnP standard into an enterprise information system. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930044345&hterms=marine+pollution&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dmarine%2Bpollution','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930044345&hterms=marine+pollution&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dmarine%2Bpollution">Optical properties of marine stratocumulus clouds modified by ships</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> King, Michael D.; Radke, Lawrence F.; Hobbs, Peter V. 1993-01-01 Results are presented of an application of the diffusion domain method to multispectral solar radiation measurements obtained deep within a marine stratocumulus cloud layer modified by pollution from ships. In situ airborne measurements of the relative angular distribution of scattered radiation are compared to known asymptotic expressions for the intensity field deep within an optically thick cloud layer. Analytical expressions relating the ratio of the nadir-to-zenith intensities to surface reflectance, similarity parameter, and scaled optical depth beneath the aircraft flight level are used to analyze measurements obtained with the cloud absorption radiometer mounted on the University of Washington's C-131A research aircraft. It is shown that the total optical thickness of the cloud layer increased in the ship tracks, in contrast to the similarity parameter, which decreased. The decrease in absorption was a direct consequence of the reduction in cloud droplet size that occurred within the ship tracks. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JASTP.162....1C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JASTP.162....1C">Preface to special issue: Layered Phenomena in the Mesopause Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Chu, Xinzhao; Marsh, Daniel R. 2017-09-01 Historically, the Layered Phenomena in the Mesopause Region (LPMR) workshops have focused on studies of mesospheric clouds and their related science, including spectacular noctilucent clouds (NLCs), polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs), and polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs). This is because, in the pre-technology era, these high-altitude ( 85 km) clouds revealed the existence of substance above the 'normal atmosphere' - our near-space environment is not empty! The occurrence and nature of these clouds have commanded the attention of atmospheric and space scientists for generations. Modern technologies developed in the last 50 years have enabled scientists to significantly advance our understanding of these layered phenomena. Satellite observations expanded these studies to global scales, while lidar and radar observations from the ground enabled fine-scale studies. The launch of the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite in 2007 brought mesospheric cloud research to a more mature level. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1227577-role-ice-nuclei-recycling-maintenance-cloud-ice-arctic-mixed-phase-stratocumulus','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1227577-role-ice-nuclei-recycling-maintenance-cloud-ice-arctic-mixed-phase-stratocumulus">The role of ice nuclei recycling in the maintenance of cloud ice in Arctic mixed-phase stratocumulus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Solomon, Amy; Feingold, G.; Shupe, M. D. 2015-09-25 This study investigates the maintenance of cloud ice production in Arctic mixed-phase stratocumulus in large eddy simulations that include a prognostic ice nuclei (IN) formulation and a diurnal cycle. Balances derived from a mixed-layer model and phase analyses are used to provide insight into buffering mechanisms that maintain ice in these cloud systems. We find that, for the case under investigation, IN recycling through subcloud sublimation considerably prolongs ice production over a multi-day integration. This effective source of IN to the cloud dominates over mixing sources from above or below the cloud-driven mixed layer. Competing feedbacks between dynamical mixing andmore » recycling are found to slow the rate of ice lost from the mixed layer when a diurnal cycle is simulated. Furthermore, the results of this study have important implications for maintaining phase partitioning of cloud ice and liquid that determine the radiative forcing of Arctic mixed-phase clouds.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1227577-role-ice-nuclei-recycling-maintenance-cloud-ice-arctic-mixed-phase-stratocumulus','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1227577-role-ice-nuclei-recycling-maintenance-cloud-ice-arctic-mixed-phase-stratocumulus">The role of ice nuclei recycling in the maintenance of cloud ice in Arctic mixed-phase stratocumulus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Solomon, Amy; Feingold, G.; Shupe, M. D. This study investigates the maintenance of cloud ice production in Arctic mixed-phase stratocumulus in large eddy simulations that include a prognostic ice nuclei (IN) formulation and a diurnal cycle. Balances derived from a mixed-layer model and phase analyses are used to provide insight into buffering mechanisms that maintain ice in these cloud systems. We find that, for the case under investigation, IN recycling through subcloud sublimation considerably prolongs ice production over a multi-day integration. This effective source of IN to the cloud dominates over mixing sources from above or below the cloud-driven mixed layer. Competing feedbacks between dynamical mixing andmore » recycling are found to slow the rate of ice lost from the mixed layer when a diurnal cycle is simulated. Furthermore, the results of this study have important implications for maintaining phase partitioning of cloud ice and liquid that determine the radiative forcing of Arctic mixed-phase clouds.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1198577-joint-retrievals-cloud-drizzle-marine-boundary-layer-clouds-using-ground-based-radar-lidar-zenith-radiances','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1198577-joint-retrievals-cloud-drizzle-marine-boundary-layer-clouds-using-ground-based-radar-lidar-zenith-radiances">Joint retrievals of cloud and drizzle in marine boundary layer clouds using ground-based radar, lidar and zenith radiances</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Fielding, M. D.; Chiu, J. C.; Hogan, R. J.; ... 2015-07-02 Active remote sensing of marine boundary-layer clouds is challenging as drizzle drops often dominate the observed radar reflectivity. We present a new method to simultaneously retrieve cloud and drizzle vertical profiles in drizzling boundary-layer clouds using surface-based observations of radar reflectivity, lidar attenuated backscatter, and zenith radiances under conditions when precipitation does not reach the surface. Specifically, the vertical structure of droplet size and water content of both cloud and drizzle is characterised throughout the cloud. An ensemble optimal estimation approach provides full error statistics given the uncertainty in the observations. To evaluate the new method, we first perform retrievalsmore » using synthetic measurements from large-eddy simulation snapshots of cumulus under stratocumulus, where cloud water path is retrieved with an error of 31 g m -2. The method also performs well in non-drizzling clouds where no assumption of the cloud profile is required. We then apply the method to observations of marine stratocumulus obtained during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement MAGIC deployment in the Northeast Pacific. Here, retrieved cloud water path agrees well with independent three-channel microwave radiometer retrievals, with a root mean square difference of 10–20 g m -2.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19830033435&hterms=Cox&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3DCox%25E2%2580%2599s','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19830033435&hterms=Cox&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3DCox%25E2%2580%2599s">Numerical experiments on the role of radiative processes in the development and maintenance of upper level clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Starr, D. O'C.; Cox, S. K. 1981-01-01 A time-dependent, two-dimensional Eulerian model is presented whose purpose is to obtain more realistic parameterizations of extended high level cloudiness, and the results of a numerical experiment using the model are reported. The model is anelastic and the Bousinesque assumption is invoked. Unresolved subgrid scale processes are parameterized as eddy diffusion processes. Two phases of water are incorporated and equilibrium between them is assumed. The effects of infrared radiative processes are parametrically represented. Two simulations were conducted with identical initial conditions; in one of them, the radiation term was never turned on. The mean values of perturbation potential temperature at each level in the domain are plotted versus height after 15, 30, and 60 minutes of simulated time. The influence of the radiative term is seen to impose a cooling trend, leading to an increased generation of ice water and an increased generation of turbulent kinetic energy in the cloud layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-ARC-1989-AC89-0114-324.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-ARC-1989-AC89-0114-324.html">ARC-1989-AC89-0114-324</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 1989-02-28 Arctic Ozone Expedition Stavanger Norway These clouds in the polar regions north of Stravanger, Norway are representative of what are called 'Type 1' and Type 2' polar stratospheric clouds. Type 1 are seen in the lower portion and consist of cloud particles comprised of nitrogen trihydrates. Seen edge-on as in this view, they appear as a thin dark orange or brown layer. Multiple layering can be seen. The Type 2 clouds are above and consist mostly of water molecules frozen as ice. The size of the particles in Type 2 clouds, the water-ice clouds, are much larger than the particle size of the Type 1 clouds - which are on the order of the wavelength of light. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016JGRD..12111679W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016JGRD..12111679W">Contrasting cloud composition between coupled and decoupled marine boundary layer clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wang, Zhen; Mora Ramirez, Marco; Dadashazar, Hossein; MacDonald, Alex B.; Crosbie, Ewan; Bates, Kelvin H.; Coggon, Matthew M.; Craven, Jill S.; Lynch, Peng; Campbell, James R.; Azadi Aghdam, Mojtaba; Woods, Roy K.; Jonsson, Haflidi; Flagan, Richard C.; Seinfeld, John H.; Sorooshian, Armin 2016-10-01 Marine stratocumulus clouds often become decoupled from the vertical layer immediately above the ocean surface. This study contrasts cloud chemical composition between coupled and decoupled marine stratocumulus clouds for dissolved nonwater substances. Cloud water and droplet residual particle composition were measured in clouds off the California coast during three airborne experiments in July-August of separate years (Eastern Pacific Emitted Aerosol Cloud Experiment 2011, Nucleation in California Experiment 2013, and Biological and Oceanic Atmospheric Study 2015). Decoupled clouds exhibited significantly lower air-equivalent mass concentrations in both cloud water and droplet residual particles, consistent with reduced cloud droplet number concentration and subcloud aerosol (Dp > 100 nm) number concentration, owing to detachment from surface sources. Nonrefractory submicrometer aerosol measurements show that coupled clouds exhibit higher sulfate mass fractions in droplet residual particles, owing to more abundant precursor emissions from the ocean and ships. Consequently, decoupled clouds exhibited higher mass fractions of organics, nitrate, and ammonium in droplet residual particles, owing to effects of long-range transport from more distant sources. Sodium and chloride dominated in terms of air-equivalent concentration in cloud water for coupled clouds, and their mass fractions and concentrations exceeded those in decoupled clouds. Conversely, with the exception of sea-salt constituents (e.g., Cl, Na, Mg, and K), cloud water mass fractions of all species examined were higher in decoupled clouds relative to coupled clouds. Satellite and Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System-based reanalysis data are compared with each other, and the airborne data to conclude that limitations in resolving boundary layer processes in a global model prevent it from accurately quantifying observed differences between coupled and decoupled cloud composition. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1411907-single-column-model-simulations-subtropical-marine-boundary-layer-cloud-transitions-under-weakening-inversions-scm-simulations-cloud-transitions','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1411907-single-column-model-simulations-subtropical-marine-boundary-layer-cloud-transitions-under-weakening-inversions-scm-simulations-cloud-transitions">Single-Column Model Simulations of Subtropical Marine Boundary-Layer Cloud Transitions Under Weakening Inversions: SCM SIMULATIONS OF CLOUD TRANSITIONS</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Neggers, R. A. J.; Ackerman, A. S.; Angevine, W. M. Results are presented of the GASS/EUCLIPSE single-column model inter-comparison study on the subtropical marine low-level cloud transition. A central goal is to establish the performance of state-of-the-art boundary-layer schemes for weather and climate mod- els for this cloud regime, using large-eddy simulations of the same scenes as a reference. A novelty is that the comparison covers four different cases instead of one, in order to broaden the covered parameter space. Three cases are situated in the North-Eastern Pa- cific, while one reflects conditions in the North-Eastern Atlantic. A set of variables is considered that reflects key aspects of the transitionmore » process, making use of simple met- rics to establish the model performance. Using this method some longstanding problems in low level cloud representation are identified. Considerable spread exists among models concerning the cloud amount, its vertical structure and the associated impact on radia- tive transfer. The sign and amplitude of these biases differ somewhat per case, depending on how far the transition has progressed. After cloud breakup the ensemble median ex- hibits the well-known “too few too bright” problem. The boundary layer deepening rate and its state of decoupling are both underestimated, while the representation of the thin capping cloud layer appears complicated by a lack of vertical resolution. Encouragingly, some models are successful in representing the full set of variables, in particular the verti- cal structure and diurnal cycle of the cloud layer in transition. An intriguing result is that the median of the model ensemble performs best, inspiring a new approach in subgrid pa- rameterization.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.A53G0211T','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFM.A53G0211T">First UAV Measurements of Entrainment Layer Fluxes with Coupled Cloud Property Measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Thomas, R. M.; Praveen, P. S.; Wilcox, E. M.; Pistone, K.; Bender, F.; Ramanathan, V. 2012-12-01 This study details entrainment flux measurements made from a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) containing turbulent water vapor flux instrumentation (Thomas et al., 2012). The system was flown for 26 flights during the Cloud, Aerosol, Radiative forcing, Dynamics EXperiment (CARDEX) in the Maldives in March 2012 to study interrelationships between entrainment, aerosols, water budget, cloud microphysics and radiative fluxes in a trade wind cumulus cloud regime. A major advantage of using this lightweight, precision autopiloted UAV system with scientific telemetry is the ability to target small-scale features in the boundary layer, such as an entrainment layer, with minimal aircraft induced disruption. Results are presented from two UAVs flown in stacked formation: one UAV situated in-cloud measuring cloud-droplet size distribution spectra and liquid water content, and another co-located 100m above measuring turbulent properties and entrainment latent heat flux (λEE). We also show latent heat flux and turbulence measurements routinely made at the entrainment layer base and altitudes from the surface up to 4kft. Ratios of λEE to corresponding surface tower values (λES) display a bimodal frequency distribution with ranges 0.22-0.53 and 0.79-1.5, with occasional events >7. Reasons for this distribution are discussed drawing upon boundary layer and free tropospheric dynamics and meteorology, turbulence length scales, surface conditions, and cloud interactions. Latent heat flux profiles are combined with in-cloud UAV Liquid Water Content (LWC) data and surface based Liquid Water Path (LWP) and Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) measurements to produce observationally constrained vertical water budgets, providing insights into diurnal coupling of λEE and λES. Observed λEE, λES, water budgets, and cloud microphysical responses to entrainment are then contextualized with respect to measured aerosol loading profiles and airmass history. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016EGUGA..18.1046C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016EGUGA..18.1046C">Cloud and aerosol occurrences in the UTLS region across Pakistan during summer monsoon seasons using CALIPSO and CloudSat observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Chishtie, Farrukh 2016-04-01 As part of the A-train NASA constellation, Coudsat and CALIPSO provide an unprecedented vertical observation of clouds and aerosols. Using observational data from both of these satellites, we conduct a multi-year analysis from 2006-2014, of the UTLS (Upper Troposphere and the Lower Stratosphere) region. We map out cloud and aerosol occurrences in this region across Pakistan, specifically around the summer monsoon season. Over the past five years, Pakistan has faced tremendous challenges due to massive flooding as well as earlier brief monsoon seasons of low precipitation and short drought periods. Hence, this motivates the present study towards understanding the deep convective and related dynamics in this season which can possibly influence cloud and aerosol transport in the region. Further, while global studies are conducted, the goal of this study is to conduct a detailed study of cloud, aerosols and their interplay, across Pakistan. Due to a dearth of ground observations, this study provides a dedicated focus on the UTLS domain. Vertical profiling satellites in this region are deemed important as there are no ground observations being done. This is important as both the properties and dynamics of clouds and aerosols have to be studied in a wider context in order to better understand the monsoon season and its onset in this region. With the CALIPSO Vertical Feature Mask (VFM), Total Attenuated Backscatter (TAB) and Depolarization Ratio (DR) as well as the combined CloudSat's 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR (Radar-Lidar Cloud Geometrical Profile) and 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR (Radar-Lidar Cloud Classification) products, we find the presence of thin cirrus clouds in the UTLS region in the periods of June-September from the 2006-2014 period. There are marked differences in day observations as compared to night in both of these satellite retrievals, with the latter period finding more occurrences of clouds in the UTLS region. Dedicated CloudSat products 2B-CLDCLASS (cloud classification) and 2C-TAU (Cloud Optical Depth) further confirm the presence of sub-visual and thin cirrus clouds in the UTLS region, during the summer monsoon season. From CALIPSO observations, there is significant presence of aerosol layers before the onset of precipitation in the troposphere. This thickness ranges from 1-4 km, with increasing thickness observed the 2009-2014 period. Implications of these findings are detailed in this presentation. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_18");'>18</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_19");'>19</a></li> <li class="active">20</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_21" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_19");'>19</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_20");'>20</a></li> <li class="active">21</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_23");'>23</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="401"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..19.8612R','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..19.8612R">Developing Present-day Proxy Cases Based on NARVAL Data for Investigating Low Level Cloud Responses to Future Climate Change.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Reilly, Stephanie 2017-04-01 The energy budget of the entire global climate is significantly influenced by the presence of boundary layer clouds. The main aim of the High Definition Clouds and Precipitation for Advancing Climate Prediction (HD(CP)2) project is to improve climate model predictions by means of process studies of clouds and precipitation. This study makes use of observed elevated moisture layers as a proxy of future changes in tropospheric humidity. The associated impact on radiative transfer triggers fast responses in boundary layer clouds, providing a framework for investigating this phenomenon. The investigation will be carried out using data gathered during the Next-generation Aircraft Remote-sensing for VALidation (NARVAL) South campaigns. Observational data will be combined with ECMWF reanalysis data to derive the large scale forcings for the Large Eddy Simulations (LES). Simulations will be generated for a range of elevated moisture layers, spanning a multi-dimensional phase space in depth, amplitude, elevation, and cloudiness. The NARVAL locations will function as anchor-points. The results of the large eddy simulations and the observations will be studied and compared in an attempt to determine how simulated boundary layer clouds react to changes in radiative transfer from the free troposphere. Preliminary LES results will be presented and discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930060049&hterms=centaurus&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dcentaurus','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930060049&hterms=centaurus&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dcentaurus">Interactions of stars and interstellar matter in Scorpio Centaurus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> De Geus, E. J. 1992-01-01 The interaction of the stars in the Scorpio-Centaurus OB association with the ambient interstellar medium is investigated. Large H I loops in the fourth galactic quadrant are parts of expanding shells surrounding the subgroups of the association. The energy output of the original stellar population of the subgroups is calculated. Comparison with the kinetic energy of the shells shows that the energy output of the stars in the subgroups is sufficient to form the shells. The masses of the shells are consistent with those of giant molecular clouds GMCs, suggesting that the shells consist of swept-up, original GMC material. The influence of the expanding shell around the young Upper-Scorpius subgroup on the morphology of the Ophiuchus molecular clouds is investigated. The interaction of the shell with the Ophiuchus clouds accounts for the presence of a slow shock and for the shape of the elongated dark clouds connected to the Rho Oph dense cloud. The close passage of the trajectory of the runaway star Zeta Oph by the center of the Upper-Scorpius shell, combined with the time scale of formation of the shell, strongly suggests that the star has originated in the Upper-Scorpius subgroup. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011AMT.....4.2273S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011AMT.....4.2273S">Atmospheric influences on infrared-laser signals used for occultation measurements between Low Earth Orbit satellites</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Schweitzer, S.; Kirchengast, G.; Proschek, V. 2011-10-01 LEO-LEO infrared-laser occultation (LIO) is a new occultation technique between Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, which applies signals in the short wave infrared spectral range (SWIR) within 2 μm to 2.5 μm. It is part of the LEO-LEO microwave and infrared-laser occultation (LMIO) method that enables to retrieve thermodynamic profiles (pressure, temperature, humidity) and altitude levels from microwave signals and profiles of greenhouse gases and further variables such as line-of-sight wind speed from simultaneously measured LIO signals. Due to the novelty of the LMIO method, detailed knowledge of atmospheric influences on LIO signals and of their suitability for accurate trace species retrieval did not yet exist. Here we discuss these influences, assessing effects from refraction, trace species absorption, aerosol extinction and Rayleigh scattering in detail, and addressing clouds, turbulence, wind, scattered solar radiation and terrestrial thermal radiation as well. We show that the influence of refractive defocusing, foreign species absorption, aerosols and turbulence is observable, but can be rendered small to negligible by use of the differential transmission principle with a close frequency spacing of LIO absorption and reference signals within 0.5%. The influences of Rayleigh scattering and terrestrial thermal radiation are found negligible. Cloud-scattered solar radiation can be observable under bright-day conditions, but this influence can be made negligible by a close time spacing (within 5 ms) of interleaved laser-pulse and background signals. Cloud extinction loss generally blocks SWIR signals, except very thin or sub-visible cirrus clouds, which can be addressed by retrieving a cloud layering profile and exploiting it in the trace species retrieval. Wind can have a small influence on the trace species absorption, which can be made negligible by using a simultaneously retrieved or a moderately accurate background wind speed profile. We conclude that the set of SWIR channels proposed for implementing the LMIO method (Kirchengast and Schweitzer, 2011) provides adequate sensitivity to accurately retrieve eight trace species of key importance to climate and atmospheric chemistry (H2O, CO2, 13CO2, C18OO, CH4, N2O, O3, CO) in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region outside clouds under all atmospheric conditions. Two further species (HDO, H218O) can be retrieved in the upper troposphere. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JAMES...9.2385N','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017JAMES...9.2385N">Single-Column Model Simulations of Subtropical Marine Boundary-Layer Cloud Transitions Under Weakening Inversions</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Neggers, R. A. J.; Ackerman, A. S.; Angevine, W. M.; Bazile, E.; Beau, I.; Blossey, P. N.; Boutle, I. A.; de Bruijn, C.; Cheng, A.; van der Dussen, J.; Fletcher, J.; Dal Gesso, S.; Jam, A.; Kawai, H.; Cheedela, S. K.; Larson, V. E.; Lefebvre, M.-P.; Lock, A. P.; Meyer, N. R.; de Roode, S. R.; de Rooy, W.; Sandu, I.; Xiao, H.; Xu, K.-M. 2017-10-01 Results are presented of the GASS/EUCLIPSE single-column model intercomparison study on the subtropical marine low-level cloud transition. A central goal is to establish the performance of state-of-the-art boundary-layer schemes for weather and climate models for this cloud regime, using large-eddy simulations of the same scenes as a reference. A novelty is that the comparison covers four different cases instead of one, in order to broaden the covered parameter space. Three cases are situated in the North-Eastern Pacific, while one reflects conditions in the North-Eastern Atlantic. A set of variables is considered that reflects key aspects of the transition process, making use of simple metrics to establish the model performance. Using this method, some longstanding problems in low-level cloud representation are identified. Considerable spread exists among models concerning the cloud amount, its vertical structure, and the associated impact on radiative transfer. The sign and amplitude of these biases differ somewhat per case, depending on how far the transition has progressed. After cloud breakup the ensemble median exhibits the well-known "too few too bright" problem. The boundary-layer deepening rate and its state of decoupling are both underestimated, while the representation of the thin capping cloud layer appears complicated by a lack of vertical resolution. Encouragingly, some models are successful in representing the full set of variables, in particular, the vertical structure and diurnal cycle of the cloud layer in transition. An intriguing result is that the median of the model ensemble performs best, inspiring a new approach in subgrid parameterization. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01199&hterms=methane+composition&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dmethane%2Bcomposition','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01199&hterms=methane+composition&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D30%26Ntt%3Dmethane%2Bcomposition">Jupiter's Equatorial Region in a Methane band (Time set 1)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Mosaic of Jupiter's equatorial region at 727 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 22,000 kilometers. Light at 727 nm is moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and upper tropospheric haze, with higher features enhanced in brightness over lower features. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright oval in the upper right of the mosaic as well as the other smaller bright features are examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 19 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01210&hterms=methane+composition&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dmethane%2Bcomposition','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01210&hterms=methane+composition&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3Dmethane%2Bcomposition">Jupiter's Equatorial Region in a Methane band (Time set 4)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Mosaic of Jupiter's equatorial region at 727 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 22,000 kilometers. Light at 727 nm is moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and upper-tropospheric haze, with higher features enhanced in brightness over lower features. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright oval in the upper right of the mosaic as well as the other smaller bright features are examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 19 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..1915051L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..1915051L">Impact of Low Level Clouds on radiative and turbulent surface flux in southern West Africa</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> 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. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20150002137','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20150002137">Spectral Dependence of MODIS Cloud Droplet Effective Radius Retrievals for Marine Boundary Layer Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Zhang, Zhibo; Platnick, Steven E.; Ackerman, Andrew S.; Cho, Hyoun-Myoung 2014-01-01 Low-level warm marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds cover large regions of Earth's surface. They have a significant role in Earth's radiative energy balance and hydrological cycle. Despite the fundamental role of low-level warm water clouds in climate, our understanding of these clouds is still limited. In particular, connections between their properties (e.g. cloud fraction, cloud water path, and cloud droplet size) and environmental factors such as aerosol loading and meteorological conditions continue to be uncertain or unknown. Modeling these clouds in climate models remains a challenging problem. As a result, the influence of aerosols on these clouds in the past and future, and the potential impacts of these clouds on global warming remain open questions leading to substantial uncertainty in climate projections. To improve our understanding of these clouds, we need continuous observations of cloud properties on both a global scale and over a long enough timescale for climate studies. At present, satellite-based remote sensing is the only means of providing such observations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.A14A..06Y','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.A14A..06Y">Global Distribution and Vertical Structure of Clouds Revealed by CALIPSO</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Yi, Y.; Minnis, P.; Winker, D.; Huang, J.; Sun-Mack, S.; Ayers, K. 2007-12-01 Understanding the effects of clouds on Earth's radiation balance, especially on longwave fluxes within the atmosphere, depends on having accurate knowledge of cloud vertical location within the atmosphere. The Cloud- Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite mission provides the opportunity to measure the vertical distribution of clouds at a greater detail than ever before possible. The CALIPSO cloud layer products from June 2006 to June 2007 are analyzed to determine the occurrence frequency and thickness of clouds as functions of time, latitude, and altitude. In particular, the latitude-longitude and vertical distributions of single- and multi-layer clouds and the latitudinal movement of cloud cover with the changing seasons are examined. The seasonal variablities of cloud frequency and geometric thickness are also analyzed and compared with similar quantities derived from the Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) using the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) cloud retrieval algorithms. The comparisons provide an estimate of the errors in cloud fraction, top height, and thickness incurred by passive algorithms. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01496&hterms=missing+middle&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dmissing%2Bmiddle','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA01496&hterms=missing+middle&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dmissing%2Bmiddle">Jovian Dark Spot</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1998-01-01 A recently discovered black spot in Jupiter's clouds is darker than any feature ever before observed on the giant planet. The spot may be the result of a downward spiraling wind that blows away high clouds and reveals deeper, very dark cloud layers. These three panels depict the same area of Jupiter's atmosphere. A map of Jovian temperatures near 250 millibar pressure (top) panel is derived from the photopolarimeter-radiometer instrument on NASA's Galileo Jupiter orbiter. This map is compared with maps derived from images of the same area in visible light (middle panel)and thermal radiation sensitive to cloud-top temperatures (bottom panel).The single downward-pointing arrow in the top panel indicates the location of a warm area that corresponds to the position of a so-called 'black spot'(shown in the middle panel), a feature that is about a year old. Features this dark are rare on Jupiter. The bottom panel, sensitive to temperatures at Jupiter's cloud tops, shows this feature as a bright object, meaning that upper-level cold clouds are missing - allowing us to see deeper into Jupiter's warmer interior. The dark visible appearance of the feature than most likely represents the color of very deep clouds. The warm temperatures and cloud-free conditions imply that this feature is a region where dry upper-atmospheric gas is being forced to converge, is warmed up and then forced to descend, clearing out clouds. It is the opposite of wet, upwelling gas in areas such as Jupiter's Great Red Spot or white ovals. On the other hand, it is unlike the dry and relatively cloudless feature into which the Galileo probe descended in 1995, because that region had the same temperatures as its surroundings and did not appear nearly as dark as this new spot.The temperatures sampled by the photopolarimeter radiometer are near the top of Jupiter's troposphere, where wind motions control the atmosphere. The top row of arrows shows the location of temperature waves in a warm region of the atmosphere. These types of waves have never been seen before. What is interesting about these waves is both that they are 'channeled' within the warm band at the top of the panel, and that they appear to have no counterpart in the visible cloud structure. Thermal waves have already been seen in Jupiter that are independent of the cloud structure, but those waves were much larger in size. This is the first time Jupiter's temperatures have been mapped at a spatial resolution better than 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), allowing these waves to be detected.These maps include an area on Jupiter between approximately the equator and 40 degrees south latitude, covering about 60 degrees of longitude. They were taken in late September during the spacecraft's 17th orbit.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1409983-low-cloud-characteristics-over-tropical-western-pacific-from-arm-observations-cam5-simulations','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1409983-low-cloud-characteristics-over-tropical-western-pacific-from-arm-observations-cam5-simulations">Low-cloud characteristics over the tropical western Pacific from ARM observations and CAM5 simulations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Chandra, Arunchandra S.; Zhang, Chidong; Klein, Stephen A.; ... 2015-09-10 Here, this study evaluates the ability of the Community Atmospheric Model version 5 (CAM5) to reproduce low clouds observed by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) cloud radar at Manus Island of the tropical western Pacific during the Years of Tropical Convection. Here low clouds are defined as clouds with their tops below the freezing level and bases within the boundary layer. Low-cloud statistics in CAM5 simulations and ARM observations are compared in terms of their general occurrence, mean vertical profiles, fraction of precipitating versus nonprecipitating events, diurnal cycle, and monthly time series. Other types of clouds are included to putmore » the comparison in a broader context. The comparison shows that the model overproduces total clouds and their precipitation fraction but underestimates low clouds in general. The model, however, produces excessive low clouds in a thin layer between 954 and 930 hPa, which coincides with excessive humidity near the top of the mixed layer. This suggests that the erroneously excessive low clouds stem from parameterization of both cloud and turbulence mixing. The model also fails to produce the observed diurnal cycle in low clouds, not exclusively due to the model coarse grid spacing that does not resolve Manus Island. Lastly, this study demonstrates the utility of ARM long-term cloud observations in the tropical western Pacific in verifying low clouds simulated by global climate models, illustrates issues of using ARM observations in model validation, and provides an example of severe model biases in producing observed low clouds in the tropical western Pacific.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015ACPD...1521495K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015ACPD...1521495K">The tropopause inversion layer in baroclinic life cycles experiments: the role of diabatic and mixing processes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kunkel, D.; Hoor, P.; Wirth, V. 2015-08-01 Recent studies on the formation of a quasi-permanent layer of enhanced static stability above the thermal tropopause revealed the contributions of dynamical and radiative processes. Dry dynamics lead to the evolution of a tropopause inversion layer (TIL) which is, however, too weak compared to observations and thus diabatic contributions are required. In this study we aim to assess the importance of diabatic as well as mixing processes in the understanding of TIL formation at midlatitudes. The non-hydrostatic model COSMO is applied in an idealized mid-latitude channel configuration to simulate baroclinic life cycles. The effect of individual diabatic, i.e. related to humidity and radiation, and turbulent processes is studied first to estimate the additional contribution of these processes to dry dynamics. In a second step these processes are stepwise included in the model to increase the complexity and finally estimate the relative importance of each process. The results suggest that including turbulence leads to a weaker TIL than in a dry reference simulation. In contrast, the TIL evolves stronger when radiation is included but the temporal occurrence is still comparable to the reference. Using various cloud schemes in the model shows that latent heat release and consecutive increased vertical motions foster an earlier and stronger appearance of the TIL than in all other life cycles. Furthermore, updrafts moisten the upper troposphere and as such increase the radiative effect from water vapor. Particularly, this process becomes more relevant for maintaining the TIL during later stages of the life cycles. Increased convergence of the vertical wind induced by updrafts and by propagating and potentially dissipating inertia-gravity waves further contributes to the enhanced stability of the lower stratosphere. Furthermore, radiative feedback of ice clouds reaching up to the tropopause is identified to potentially further affect the strength of the TIL in the region of the cloud. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ACP....16..541K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ACP....16..541K">The tropopause inversion layer in baroclinic life-cycle experiments: the role of diabatic processes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kunkel, D.; Hoor, P.; Wirth, V. 2016-01-01 Recent studies on the formation of a quasi-permanent layer of enhanced static stability above the thermal tropopause revealed the contributions of dynamical and radiative processes. Dry dynamics leads to the evolution of a tropopause inversion layer (TIL), which is, however, too weak compared to observations and thus diabatic contributions are required. In this study we aim to assess the importance of diabatic processes in the understanding of TIL formation at midlatitudes. The non-hydrostatic model COSMO (COnsortium for Small-scale MOdelling) is applied in an idealized midlatitude channel configuration to simulate baroclinic life cycles. The effect of individual diabatic processes related to humidity, radiation, and turbulence is studied first to estimate the contribution of each of these processes to the TIL formation in addition to dry dynamics. In a second step these processes are stepwise included in the model to increase the complexity and finally estimate the relative importance of each process. The results suggest that including turbulence leads to a weaker TIL than in a dry reference simulation. In contrast, the TIL evolves stronger when radiation is included but the temporal evolution is still comparable to the reference. Using various cloud schemes in the model shows that latent heat release and consecutive increased vertical motions foster an earlier and stronger appearance of the TIL than in all other life cycles. Furthermore, updrafts moisten the upper troposphere and as such increase the radiative effect from water vapor. Particularly, this process becomes more relevant for maintaining the TIL during later stages of the life cycles. Increased convergence of the vertical wind induced by updrafts and by propagating inertia-gravity waves, which potentially dissipate, further contributes to the enhanced stability of the lower stratosphere. Finally, radiative feedback of ice clouds reaching up to the tropopause is identified to potentially further affect the strength of the TIL in the region of the clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19920009882','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19920009882">Upper-atmosphere Aerosols: Properties and Natural Cycles</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Turco, Richard P. 1992-01-01 The middle atmosphere is rich in its variety of particulate matter, which ranges from meteorite debris, to sulfate aerosols, to polar stratospheric ice clouds. Volcanic eruptions strongly perturb the stratospheric sulfate (Junge) layer. High-altitude 'noctilucent' ice clouds condense at the summer mesopause. The properties of these particles, including their composition, sizes, and geographical distribution, are discussed, and their global effects, including chemical, radiative, and climatic roles, are reviewed. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are composed of water and nitric acid in the form of micron-sized ice crystals. These particles catalyze reactions of chlorine compounds that 'activate' otherwise inert chlorine reservoirs, leading to severe ozone depletions in the southern polar stratosphere during austral spring. PSCs also modify the composition of the polar stratosphere through complex physiocochemical processes, including dehydration and denitrification, and the conversion of reactive nitrogen oxides into nitric acid. If water vapor and nitric acid concentrations are enhanced by high-altitude aircraft activity, the frequency, geographical range, and duration of PSCs might increase accordingly, thus enhancing the destruction of the ozone layer (which would be naturally limited in geographical extent by the same factors that confine the ozone hole to high latitudes in winter). The stratospheric sulfate aerosol layer reflects solar radiation and increases the planetary albedo, thereby cooling the surface and possibly altering the climate. Major volcanic eruptions, which increase the sulfate aerosol burden by a factor of 100 or more, may cause significant global climate anomalies. Sulfate aerosols might also be capable of activating stratospheric chlorine reservoirs on a global scale (unlike PCSs, which represent a localized polar winter phenomenon), although existing evidence suggests relatively minor perturbations in chlorine chemistry. Nevertheless, if atmospheric concentrations of chlorine (associated with anthropogenic use of chlorofluorocarbons) continue to increase by a factor of two or more in future decades, aircraft emissions of sulfur dioxide and water vapor may take on greater significance. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22661186-study-spherical-cores-toroidal-magnetic-field-configuration','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22661186-study-spherical-cores-toroidal-magnetic-field-configuration">The Study of Spherical Cores with a Toroidal Magnetic Field Configuration</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Gholipour, Mahmoud Observational studies of the magnetic fields in molecular clouds have significantly improved the theoretical models developed for the structure and evolution of dense clouds and for the star formation process as well. The recent observational analyses on some cores indicate that there is a power-law relationship between magnetic field and density in the molecular clouds. In this study, we consider the stability of spherical cores with a toroidal magnetic field configuration in the molecular clouds. For this purpose, we model a spherical core that is in magnetostatic equilibrium. Herein, we propose an equation of density structure, which is a modifiedmore » form of the isothermal Lane–Emden equation in the presence of the toroidal magnetic field. The proposed equation describes the effect of the toroidal magnetic field on the cloud structure and the mass cloud. Furthermore, we found an upper limit for this configuration of magnetic field in the molecular clouds. Then, the virial theorem is used to consider the cloud evolution leading to an equation in order to obtain the lower limit of the field strength in the molecular cloud. However, the results show that the field strength of the toroidal configuration has an important effect on the cloud structure, whose upper limit is related to the central density and field gradient. The obtained results address some regions of clouds where the cloud decomposition or star formation can be seen.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1167617-evaluation-suggested-improvements-wsm6-microphysics-wrf-arw-using-synthetic-observed-goes-imagery','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1167617-evaluation-suggested-improvements-wsm6-microphysics-wrf-arw-using-synthetic-observed-goes-imagery">Evaluation of and Suggested Improvements to the WSM6 Microphysics in WRF- ARW Using Synthetic and Observed GOES-13 Imagery</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Grasso, Lewis; Lindsey, Daniel T.; Lim, Kyo-Sun Synthetic satellite imagery can be employed to evaluate simulated cloud fields. Past studies have revealed that the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) WRF Single-Moment 6-class (WSM6) microphysics in WRF-ARW produces less upper level ice clouds within synthetic images compared to observations. Synthetic Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-13 imagery at 10.7 μm of simulated cloud fields from the 4 km National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) WRF-ARW is compared to observed GOES-13 imagery. Histograms suggest that too few points contain upper level simulated ice clouds. In particular, side-by-side examples are shown of synthetic and observed convective anvils. Such images illustrate the lackmore » of anvil cloud associated with convection produced by the NSSL WRF-ARW. A vertical profile of simulated hydrometeors suggests that too much cloud water mass may be converted into graupel mass, effectively reducing the main source of ice mass in a simulated anvil. Further, excessive accretion of ice by snow removes ice from an anvil by precipitation settling. Idealized sensitivity tests reveal that a 50% reduction of the conversion of cloud water mass to graupel and a 50% reduction of the accretion rate of ice by snow results in a significant increase in anvil ice of a simulated storm. Such results provide guidance as to which conversions could be reformulated, in a more physical manner, to increase simulated ice mass in the upper troposphere.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015EGUGA..17.8466K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015EGUGA..17.8466K">Impact of diabatic processes on the tropopause inversion layer formation in baroclinic life cycles</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kunkel, Daniel; Hoor, Peter; Wirth, Volkmar 2015-04-01 Observations of temperature profiles in the extratropical upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) show the presence of an inversion layer just above the thermal tropopause, i.e., the tropopause inversion layer (TIL). In recent studies both diabatic and adiabatic processes have been identified to contribute to the formation of this layer. In particular, adiabatic simulations indicate a TIL formation without the explicit simulation of diabatic, i.e. radiative or humidity related, processes after wave breaking during baroclinic life cycles. One goal of this study is to assess the additional contribution of diabatic processes to the formation and strength of the TIL in such life cycles. Moreover, since irreversible stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) is another inherent feature of baroclinic life cycles and a consequence of diabatic processes, we study whether there is a relationship between STE and TIL. We use the non-hydrostatic model COSMO in an idealized mid-latitude channel configuration to simulate baroclinic life cycles. In a first step contributions of individual diabatic processes from turbulence, radiation, and cloud microphysics to the formation of the TIL are analyzed. These results are compared to those from adiabatic simulations of baroclinic life cycles in which the TIL forms during the life cycle with the limitation of being less sharp than in observations. In a second step the combined effects of several diabatic processes are studied to further include interactions between these processes as well as to advance towards a more realistic model setup. The results suggest a much more vigorous development of the TIL due to microphysics and the release of latent heat. Moreover, radiative effects can foster an increase in static stability above the thermal tropopause when large gradients of either water vapor or cloud ice are present at the level of the tropopause. By additionally adding sub-grid scale turbulence, a co-location of high static stability and increased turbulent kinetic energy is found in the vicinity of cirrus clouds at the tropopause level. The potential relation between STE and high static stability is further discussed based on results from trajectory calculations and the distribution of passive tracers of tropospheric and stratospheric origin. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ACP....18.1475Y','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ACP....18.1475Y">Relating large-scale subsidence to convection development in Arctic mixed-phase marine stratocumulus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Young, Gillian; Connolly, Paul J.; Dearden, Christopher; Choularton, Thomas W. 2018-02-01 Large-scale subsidence, associated with high-pressure systems, is often imposed in large-eddy simulation (LES) models to maintain the height of boundary layer (BL) clouds. Previous studies have considered the influence of subsidence on warm liquid clouds in subtropical regions; however, the relationship between subsidence and mixed-phase cloud microphysics has not specifically been studied. For the first time, we investigate how widespread subsidence associated with synoptic-scale meteorological features can affect the microphysics of Arctic mixed-phase marine stratocumulus (Sc) clouds. Modelled with LES, four idealised scenarios - a stable Sc, varied droplet (Ndrop) or ice (Nice) number concentrations, and a warming surface (representing motion southwards) - were subjected to different levels of subsidence to investigate the cloud microphysical response. We find strong sensitivities to large-scale subsidence, indicating that high-pressure systems in the ocean-exposed Arctic regions have the potential to generate turbulence and changes in cloud microphysics in any resident BL mixed-phase clouds.Increased cloud convection is modelled with increased subsidence, driven by longwave radiative cooling at cloud top and rain evaporative cooling and latent heating from snow growth below cloud. Subsidence strengthens the BL temperature inversion, thus reducing entrainment and allowing the liquid- and ice-water paths (LWPs, IWPs) to increase. Through increased cloud-top radiative cooling and subsequent convective overturning, precipitation production is enhanced: rain particle number concentrations (Nrain), in-cloud rain mass production rates, and below-cloud evaporation rates increase with increased subsidence.Ice number concentrations (Nice) play an important role, as greater concentrations suppress the liquid phase; therefore, Nice acts to mediate the strength of turbulent overturning promoted by increased subsidence. With a warming surface, a lack of - or low - subsidence allows for rapid BL turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) coupling, leading to a heterogeneous cloud layer, cloud-top ascent, and cumuli formation below the Sc cloud. In these scenarios, higher levels of subsidence act to stabilise the Sc layer, where the combination of these two forcings counteract one another to produce a stable, yet dynamic, cloud layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A51A0017M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFM.A51A0017M">A multi-spectral approach to simultaneously retrieve above-cloud smoke optical depth and the optical and microphysical properties of underlying marine stratocumulus clouds using MODIS</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Meyer, K.; Platnick, S. E.; Zhang, Z. 2013-12-01 Clouds, aerosols, and their interactions are widely considered to be key uncertainty components in our current understanding of the Earth's atmosphere and radiation budget. The work presented here is focused on the quasi-permanent marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, which underlie a near-persistent smoke layer produced from extensive biomass burning throughout the southern African savanna during austral winter. The absorption of the above-cloud smoke layer, which increases with decreasing wavelength, can introduce biases into the standard MODIS cloud optical and microphysical property retrievals of the underlying MBL clouds. This effect is more pronounced in the cloud optical thickness retrievals, which over ocean are derived from the wavelength channel centered near 0.86 μm (effective particle size retrievals are derived from the short and mid-wave IR channels at 1.6, 2.1, and 3.7 μm). Here, a new method is introduced to simultaneously retrieve the above-cloud smoke aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the unbiased cloud optical thickness (COT) and effective radius (CER) using multiple MODIS spectral channels in the visible and near- and shortwave-infrared. Preliminary retrieval results are shown, as are comparisons with other A-Train sensors. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A12A..07M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A12A..07M">An imager-based multispectral retrieval of above-cloud absorbing aerosol optical depth and the optical and microphysical properties of underlying marine stratocumulus clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Meyer, K.; Platnick, S. E.; Zhang, Z. 2014-12-01 Clouds, aerosols, and their interactions are widely considered to be key uncertainty components in our current understanding of the Earth's atmosphere and radiation budget. The work presented here is focused on the quasi-permanent marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, which underlie a near-persistent smoke layer produced from extensive biomass burning throughout the southern African savanna during austral winter. The absorption of the above-cloud smoke layer, which increases with decreasing wavelength, can introduce biases into imager-based cloud optical and microphysical property retrievals of the underlying MBL clouds. This effect is more pronounced for cloud optical thickness retrievals, which are typically derived from the visible or near-IR wavelength channels (effective particle size retrievals are derived from short and mid-wave IR channels that are less affected by aerosol absorption). Here, a new method is introduced to simultaneously retrieve the above-cloud smoke aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the unbiased cloud optical thickness (COT) and effective radius (CER) using multiple spectral channels in the visible and near- and shortwave-IR. The technique has been applied to MODIS, and retrieval results and statistics, as well as comparisons with other A-Train sensors, are shown. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_19");'>19</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_20");'>20</a></li> <li class="active">21</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_23");'>23</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_22" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_20");'>20</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li class="active">22</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_23");'>23</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_24");'>24</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="421"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20150002800&hterms=Influence+clouds+climate&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3DInfluence%2Bclouds%2Bclimate','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20150002800&hterms=Influence+clouds+climate&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3DInfluence%2Bclouds%2Bclimate">Remote Sensing of Cloud Top Height from SEVIRI: Analysis of Eleven Current Retrieval Algorithms</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Hamann, U.; Walther, A.; Baum, B.; Bennartz, R.; Bugliaro, L.; Derrien, M.; Francis, P. N.; Heidinger, A.; Joro, S.; Kniffka, A.; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20150002800'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20150002800_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20150002800_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20150002800_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20150002800_hide"> 2014-01-01 The role of clouds remains the largest uncertainty in climate projections. They influence solar and thermal radiative transfer and the earth's water cycle. Therefore, there is an urgent need for accurate cloud observations to validate climate models and to monitor climate change. Passive satellite imagers measuring radiation at visible to thermal infrared (IR) wavelengths provide a wealth of information on cloud properties. Among others, the cloud top height (CTH) - a crucial parameter to estimate the thermal cloud radiative forcing - can be retrieved. In this paper we investigate the skill of ten current retrieval algorithms to estimate the CTH using observations from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) onboard Meteosat Second Generation (MSG). In the first part we compare ten SEVIRI cloud top pressure (CTP) data sets with each other. The SEVIRI algorithms catch the latitudinal variation of the CTP in a similar way. The agreement is better in the extratropics than in the tropics. In the tropics multi-layer clouds and thin cirrus layers complicate the CTP retrieval, whereas a good agreement among the algorithms is found for trade wind cumulus, marine stratocumulus and the optically thick cores of the deep convective system. In the second part of the paper the SEVIRI retrievals are compared to CTH observations from the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) instruments. It is important to note that the different measurement techniques cause differences in the retrieved CTH data. SEVIRI measures a radiatively effective CTH, while the CTH of the active instruments is derived from the return time of the emitted radar or lidar signal. Therefore, some systematic differences are expected. On average the CTHs detected by the SEVIRI algorithms are 1.0 to 2.5 kilometers lower than CALIOP observations, and the correlation coefficients between the SEVIRI and the CALIOP data sets range between 0.77 and 0.90. The average CTHs derived by the SEVIRI algorithms are closer to the CPR measurements than to CALIOP measurements. The biases between SEVIRI and CPR retrievals range from -0.8 kilometers to 0.6 kilometers. The correlation coefficients of CPR and SEVIRI observations vary between 0.82 and 0.89. To discuss the origin of the CTH deviation, we investigate three cloud categories: optically thin and thick single layer as well as multi-layer clouds. For optically thick clouds the correlation coefficients between the SEVIRI and the reference data sets are usually above 0.95. For optically thin single layer clouds the correlation coefficients are still above 0.92. For this cloud category the SEVIRI algorithms yield CTHs that are lower than CALIOP and similar to CPR observations. Most challenging are the multi-layer clouds, where the correlation coefficients are for most algorithms between 0.6 and 0.8. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the SEVIRI retrievals for boundary layer clouds. While the CTH retrieval for this cloud type is relatively accurate, there are still considerable differences between the algorithms. These are related to the uncertainties and limited vertical resolution of the assumed temperature profiles in combination with the presence of temperature inversions, which lead to ambiguities in the CTH retrieval. Alternative approaches for the CTH retrieval of low clouds are discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.epa.gov/scram/air-modeling-observational-meteorological-data','PESTICIDES'); return false;" href="https://www.epa.gov/scram/air-modeling-observational-meteorological-data">Air Modeling - Observational Meteorological Data</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/search.htm">EPA Pesticide Factsheets</a> Observed meteorological data for use in air quality modeling consist of physical parameters that are measured directly by instrumentation, and include temperature, dew point, wind direction, wind speed, cloud cover, cloud layer(s), ceiling height, </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A33N..01S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A33N..01S">Exploring The Relation Between Upper Tropospheric (UT) Clouds and Convection</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Stephens, G. L.; Stubenrauch, C. 2017-12-01 The importance of knowing the vertical transports of water vapor and condensate by atmospheric moist convection cannot be overstated. Vertical convective transports have wide-ranging influences on the Earth system, shaping weather, climate, the hydrological cycle and the composition of the atmosphere. These transports also influence the upper tropospheric cloudiness that exerts profound effects on climate. Although there are presently no direct observations to quantify these transports on the large scale, and there are no observations to constrain model assumptions about them, it might be possible to derive useful observations proxies of these transports and their influence. This talk will present results derived from a large community effort that has developed important observations data records that link clouds and convection. Steps to use these observational metrics to examine the relation between convection, UT clouds in both cloud and global scale models are exemplified and important feedbacks between high clouds, radiation and convection will be elucidated. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20040129620','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20040129620">A Study of Cirrus Clouds and Aerosols in the Upper Troposphere using Models and Satellite Data</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Bergstrom, Robert W. 2004-01-01 This report is the final report for the Cooperative Agreement NCC2-1213. It is a compilation of publications produced under this Cooperative Agreement and conference presentations. The tasks for the Aerosol Physical Chemistry Model for the Upper Troposphere include: Task 1: To compare APCM predictions against the SUCCESS data and other aircraft campaigns and to investigate the role of aerosol composition on cirrus cloud nucleation; Task 2: To study the seasonal evolution and spatial distribution of upper-tropospheric tropical and polar cirrus; Task 3: To investigate CLAES cirrus data with other complementary (TOGA-COARE and CEPEX) data. Tasks for Upper Tropospheric Cirrus Clouds include: Task 1: Assemble 3-hourly (or more frequent) meteorological satellite data fiom geostationary satellites to obtain a global, or nearly global, dataset of infiared brightness temperatures as a function of time for airborne experimental periods; Task 2: Explore methods to improve the cloud top altitude distributions calculated fiom meteorological satellite data. This will focus on linlung the 6.5 micron channel geostationary brightness temperatures and the 10.5 micron brightness temperatures; Task 3: Explore methods to differentiate convective fiom stratiform cloudiness; Task 4: Perform trajectory analyses using an existing trajectory modeling package that links the cloud data with air mass histories; Task 5: Apply techniques from tasks 1 through 4 to provide meteorological support to the CRYSTAL-FACE mission, both in its preparation and deployment phases. The report include four published articles and two slide presentations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170003247&hterms=survey&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dsurvey','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170003247&hterms=survey&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D60%26Ntt%3Dsurvey">Planning, Implementation, and Scientific Goals of the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) Field Missions</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Toon, Owen B.; Maring, Hal; Dibb, Jack; Ferrare, Richard A.; Jacob, Daniel J.; Jensen, Eric J.; Luo, Z. Johnny; Mace, Gerald G.; Pan, Laura L.; Pfister, Leonhard; <a style="text-decoration: none; " href="javascript:void(0); " onClick="displayelement('author_20170003247'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20170003247_show'); toggleEditAbsImage('author_20170003247_hide'); "> <img style="display:inline; width:12px; height:12px; " src="images/arrow-up.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20170003247_show"> <img style="width:12px; height:12px; display:none; " src="images/arrow-down.gif" width="12" height="12" border="0" alt="hide" id="author_20170003247_hide"> 2016-01-01 The Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) field mission based at Ellington Field, Texas, during August and September 2013 employed the most comprehensive airborne payload to date to investigate atmospheric composition over North America. The NASA ER-2, DC-8, and SPEC Inc. Learjet flew 57 science flights from the surface to 20 km. The ER-2 employed seven remote sensing instruments as a satellite surrogate and eight in situ instruments. The DC-8 employed 23 in situ and five remote sensing instruments for radiation, chemistry, and microphysics. The Learjet used 11 instruments to explore cloud microphysics. SEAC4RS launched numerous balloons, augmented Aerosol RObotic NETwork, and collaborated with many existing ground measurement sites. Flights investigating convection included close coordination of all three aircraft. Coordinated DC-8 and ER-2 flights investigated the optical properties of aerosols, the influence of aerosols on clouds, and the performance of new instruments for satellite measurements of clouds and aerosols. ER-2 sorties sampled stratospheric injections of water vapor and other chemicals by local and distant convection. DC-8 flights studied seasonally evolving chemistry in the Southeastern U.S., atmospheric chemistry with lower emissions of NOx and SO2 than in previous decades, isoprene chemistry under high and low NOx conditions at different locations, organic aerosols, air pollution near Houston and in petroleum fields, smoke from wildfires in western forests and from agricultural fires in the Mississippi Valley, and the ways in which the chemistry in the boundary layer and the upper troposphere were influenced by vertical transport in convective clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00889&hterms=dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Ddark%2Bweb','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00889&hterms=dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Ddark%2Bweb">Jupiter's Northern Hemisphere in a Methane Band (Time Set 3)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Mosaic of Jupiter's northern hemisphere between 10 and 50 degrees latitude. Jupiter's atmospheric circulation is dominated by alternating eastward and westward jets from equatorial to polar latitudes. The direction and speed of these jets in part determine the color and texture of the clouds seen in this mosaic. Also visible are several other common Jovian cloud features, including large white ovals, bright spots, dark spots, interacting vortices, and turbulent chaotic systems. The north-south dimension of each of the two interacting vortices in the upper half of the mosaic is about 3500 kilometers.Light at 889 nanometers is strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane. This mosaic shows the features of a hazy cloud layer tens of kilometers above Jupiter's main visible cloud deck. This haze varies in height but appears to be present over the entire region. Small patches of very bright clouds may be similar to terrestrial thunderstorms.North is at the top. The images are projected on a sphere, with features being foreshortened towards the north. The planetary limb runs along the right edge of the mosaic. Cloud patterns appear foreshortened as they approach the limb. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on April 3, 1997, at a range of 1.4 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system (CCD) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995JAtS...52.4159G','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995JAtS...52.4159G">Dynamical Structure and Turbulence in Cirrus Clouds: Aircraft Observations during FIRE.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Gultepe, I.; Starr, D. O'c. 1995-12-01 Aircraft data collected during the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Regional Experiment (FIRE)I are used to examine dynamical processes operating in cirrus cloud systems observed on 19 and 28 October 1986. Measurements from Lagrangian spiral soundings and constant-altitude flight legs are analyzed. Comparisons are made with observations in clear air. Each cirrus case contained a statically stable layer, a conditionally unstable or neutrally stratified layer (ice pseudoadiabatic) in which convection was prevalent, and a neutral layer in which convection was intermittent. The analysis indicates that a mixture of phenomena occurred including small-scale convective cells, gravity waves (2-9 km), quasi-two-dimensional waves (10-20 km), and larger two-dimensional mesoscale waves (100 km). The intermediate-scale waves, observed both in clear air and in the cloud systems, likely played an important role in the development of the cloud systems given the magnitude of the associated vertical air velocity. The spectra of perturbations of wind components for layers where convection was prevalent were characterized by a 5/3 power law dependence, while a 2/4 dependence was found at other levels in the cloud systems. A steeper spectral slope (3) was found in the more stable cloud-base layer on 19 October. Samples in clear air also showed a (2.4) dependence. Flight-leg-averaged eddy potential heat fluxes (H=±8 W m2) were comparable to observations in marine stratocumulus clouds. Calculated turbulence dissipation rates agree with previously published studies, which indicate a general enhancement within cloud systems (106 to 103 m2 s<IMG border="0" src="/charent/ISO_CHARACTERS_MIXED/LOWERCASE/minus.gif">3 in cloud versus values less than 0.5×10<IMG border="0" src="/charent/ISO_CHARACTERS_MIXED/LOWERCASE/minus.gif">6 m2 s<IMG border="0" src="/charent/ISO_CHARACTERS_MIXED/LOWERCASE/minus.gif">3 in clear air). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20170001667','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20170001667">First Transmitted Hyperspectral Light Measurements and Cloud Properties from Recent Field Campaign Sampling Clouds Under Biomass Burning Aerosol</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Leblanc, S.; Redemann, Jens; Shinozuka, Yohei; Flynn, Connor J.; Segal Rozenhaimer, Michal; Kacenelenbogen, Meloe Shenandoah; Pistone, Kristina Marie Myers; Schmidt, Sebastian; Cochrane, Sabrina 2016-01-01 We present a first view of data collected during a recent field campaign aimed at measuring biomass burning aerosol above clouds from airborne platforms. The NASA ObseRvations of CLouds above Aerosols and their intEractionS (ORACLES) field campaign recently concluded its first deployment sampling clouds and overlying aerosol layer from the airborne platform NASA P3. We present results from the Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research (4STAR), in conjunction with the Solar Spectral Flux Radiometers (SSFR). During this deployment, 4STAR sampled transmitted solar light either via direct solar beam measurements and scattered light measurements, enabling the measurement of aerosol optical thickness and the retrieval of information on aerosol particles in addition to overlying cloud properties. We focus on the zenith-viewing scattered light measurements, which are used to retrieve cloud optical thickness, effective radius, and thermodynamic phase of clouds under a biomass burning layer. The biomass burning aerosol layer present above the clouds is the cause of potential bias in retrieved cloud optical depth and effective radius from satellites. We contrast the typical reflection based approach used by satellites to the transmission based approach used by 4STAR during ORACLES for retrieving cloud properties. It is suspected that these differing approaches will yield a change in retrieved properties since light transmitted through clouds is sensitive to a different cloud volume than reflected light at cloud top. We offer a preliminary view of the implications of these differences in sampling volumes to the calculation of cloud radiative effects (CRE). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00895&hterms=dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Ddark%2Bweb','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=PIA00895&hterms=dark+web&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D90%26Ntt%3Ddark%2Bweb">Jupiter's Northern Hemisphere in False Color (Time Set 2)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> 1997-01-01 Mosaic of Jupiter's northern hemisphere between 10 and 50 degrees latitude. Jupiter's atmospheric circulation is dominated by alternating eastward and westward jets from equatorial to polar latitudes. The direction and speed of these jets in part determine the color and texture of the clouds seen in this mosaic. Also visible are several other common Jovian cloud features, including large white ovals, bright spots, dark spots, interacting vortices, and turbulent chaotic systems. The north-south dimension of each of the two interacting vortices in the upper half of the mosaic is about 3500 kilometers.This mosaic uses the Galileo imaging camera's three near-infrared wavelengths (756 nanometers, 727 nanometers, and 889 nanometers displayed in red, green, and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Light blue clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are deep, and white clouds are high and thick. The clouds and haze over the ovals are high, extending into Jupiter's stratosphere. Dark purple most likely represents a high haze overlying a clear deep atmosphere. Galileo is the first spacecraft to distinguish cloud layers on Jupiter.North is at the top. The images are projected on a sphere, with features being foreshortened towards the north. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on April 3, 1997, at a range of 1.4 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system (CCD) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA479787','DTIC-ST'); return false;" href="http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA479787">Predicting Hail Size Using Model Vertical Velocities</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.dtic.mil/">DTIC Science & Technology</a> 2008-03-01 updrafts from a simple cloud model using forecasted soundings . The models used MM5 model data coinciding with severe hail events collected from the...updrafts from a simple cloud model using forecasted soundings . The models used MM5 model data coinciding with severe hail events collected from the...determine their accuracy. Plus they are based primary on observed upper air soundings . Obtaining upper air soundings in proximity to convective </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AGUFM.U14A..05S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AGUFM.U14A..05S">Regional Simulations of Stratospheric Lofting of Smoke Plumes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Stenchikov, G. L.; Fromm, M.; Robock, A. 2006-12-01 The lifetime and spatial distribution of sooty aerosols from multiple fires that would cause major climate impact were debated in studies of climatic and environmental consequences of a nuclear war in the 1980s. The Kuwait oil fires in 1991 did not show a cumulative effect of multiple smoke plumes on large-scale circulation systems and smoke was mainly dispersed in the middle troposphere. However, recent observations show that smoke from large forest fires can be directly injected into the lower stratosphere by strong pyro-convective storms. Smoke plumes in the upper troposphere can be partially mixed into the lower stratosphere because of the same heating and lofting effect that was simulated in large-scale nuclear winter simulations with interactive aerosols. However nuclear winter simulations were conducted using climate models with grid spacing of more than 100 km, which do not account for the fine-scale dynamic processes. Therefore in this study we conduct fine-scale regional simulations of the aerosol plume using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) mesoscale model which was modified to account for radiatively interactive tracers. To resolve fine-scale dynamic processes we use horizontal grid spacing of 25 km and 60 vertical layers, and initiate simulations with the NCEP reanalysis fields. We find that dense aerosol layers could be lofted from 1 to a few km per day, but this critically depends on the optical depth of aerosol layer, single scatter albedo, and how fast the plume is being diluted. Kuwaiti plumes from different small-area fires reached only 5-6 km altitude and were probably diffused and diluted in the lower and middle troposphere. A plume of 100 km spatial scale initially developed in the upper troposphere tends to penetrate into the stratosphere. Short-term cloud resolving simulations of such a plume show that aerosol heating intensifies small-scale motions that tend to mix smoke polluted air into the lower stratosphere. Regional simulations allow us to more accurately estimate the rate of lifting and spreading of aerosol clouds. But they do not reveal any dynamic processes that could prevent heating and lofting of absorbing aerosols. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-sts072-727-059.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-sts072-727-059.html">Kimberley, Orange Free State, South Africa</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 1996-01-20 STS072-727-059 (11-20 Jan. 1996) --- Plains of the Orange Free State, South Africa are featured in this 70mm frame exposed from the Space Shuttle Endeavour. If the photograph is oriented with the largest clouds at the top edge, so that the cloud shadows fall to the upper right of each cloud, then north is to the top. The Vaal River flows along the top and through the upper left of the photograph; the reservoir of the Bloemhofdam on the Sand River can be seen between clouds at the upper right of the photograph. Kimberley can be seen as a gray smudge southeast of a contorted set of bends in the Vaal river (upper left center). With high magnification four dark dots, large open-pit mine shafts, can be seen within the gray smudge of the city. Kimberley, the capital of Northern Cape Province, was founded in 1878 after the discovery of diamonds in 1969 - 71, and reached by railway in 1885. Diamond mining and gem cutting remain prominent in the economy. The reddish soil and scattered salt pans (playa lakes) across the plateau suggest the semi-arid climate, suitable for cattle ranching. Reservoirs on most streams now provide water for the towns as well as irrigation for agriculture. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018AMT....11..593C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018AMT....11..593C">All-sky photogrammetry techniques to georeference a cloud field</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Crispel, Pierre; Roberts, Gregory 2018-01-01 In this study, we present a novel method of identifying and geolocalizing cloud field elements from a portable all-sky camera stereo network based on the ground and oriented towards zenith. The methodology is mainly based on stereophotogrammetry which is a 3-D reconstruction technique based on triangulation from corresponding stereo pixels in rectified images. In cases where clouds are horizontally separated, identifying individual positions is performed with segmentation techniques based on hue filtering and contour detection algorithms. Macroscopic cloud field characteristics such as cloud layer base heights and velocity fields are also deduced. In addition, the methodology is fitted to the context of measurement campaigns which impose simplicity of implementation, auto-calibration, and portability. Camera internal geometry models are achieved a priori in the laboratory and validated to ensure a certain accuracy in the peripheral parts of the all-sky image. Then, stereophotogrammetry with dense 3-D reconstruction is applied with cameras spaced 150 m apart for two validation cases. The first validation case is carried out with cumulus clouds having a cloud base height at 1500 m a.g.l. The second validation case is carried out with two cloud layers: a cumulus fractus layer with a base height at 1000 m a.g.l. and an altocumulus stratiformis layer with a base height of 2300 m a.g.l. Velocity fields at cloud base are computed by tracking image rectangular patterns through successive shots. The height uncertainty is estimated by comparison with a Vaisala CL31 ceilometer located on the site. The uncertainty on the horizontal coordinates and on the velocity field are theoretically quantified by using the experimental uncertainties of the cloud base height and camera orientation. In the first cumulus case, segmentation of the image is performed to identify individuals clouds in the cloud field and determine the horizontal positions of the cloud centers. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017DPS....4941824N','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017DPS....4941824N">A Numerical Study of Convection in a Condensing CO2 Atmosphere under Early Mars-Like Conditions</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Nakajima, Kensuke; Yamashita, Tatsuya; Odaka, Masatsugu; Sugiyama, Ko-ichiro; Ishiwatari, Masaki; Nishizawa, Seiya; Takahashi, Yoshiyuki O.; Hayashi, Yoshi-Yuki 2017-10-01 Cloud convection of a CO2 atmosphere where the major constituent condenses is numerically investigated under a setup idealizing a possible warm atmosphere of early Mars, utilizing a two-dimensional cloud-resolving model forced by a fixed cooling profile as a substitute for a radiative process. The authors compare two cases with different critical saturation ratios as condensation criteria and also examine sensitivity to number mixing ratio of condensed particles given externally.When supersaturation is not necessary for condensation, the entire horizontal domain above the condensation level is continuously covered by clouds irrespective of number mixing ratio of condensed particles. Horizontal-mean cloud mass density decreases exponentially with height. The circulations below and above the condensation level are dominated by dry cellular convection and buoyancy waves, respectively.When 1.35 is adopted as the critical saturation ratio, clouds appear exclusively as intense, short-lived, quasi-periodic events. Clouds start just above the condensation level and develop upward, but intense updrafts exist only around the cloud top; they do not extend to the bottom of the condensation layer. The cloud layer is rapidly warmed by latent heat during the cloud events, and then the layer is slowly cooled by the specified thermal forcing, and supersaturation gradually develops leading to the next cloud event. The periodic appearance of cloud events does not occur when number mixing ratio of condensed particles is large. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20050147502&hterms=aircraft+mass+properties&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Daircraft%2Bmass%2Bproperties','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20050147502&hterms=aircraft+mass+properties&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D10%26Ntt%3Daircraft%2Bmass%2Bproperties">Effective Radius of Ice Cloud Particle Populations Derived from Aircraft Probes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Schmitt, Carl; Bansemer, Aaron; vanZadelhoff, Gerd-Jan; McGill, Matthew J.; Twohy, Cynthia 2005-01-01 The effective radius(r(sub e)) is a crucial variable in representing the radiative properties of cloud layers in general circulation models. This parameter is proportional to the condensed water content (CWC) divided by the extinction (sigma). For ice cloud layers, parameterizations for r(sub e), have been developed from aircraft in-situ measurements 1) indirectly, using data obtained from particle spectrometer probes and assumptions or observations about particle shape and mass to get the ice water content (IWC) and area to get sigma, and recently 2) from probes that measure IWC and sigma directly. This study compares [IWC/sigma] derived from the two methods using data sets acquired from comparable instruments on two aircraft, one sampling clouds at mid-levels and the other at upper-levels during the CRYSTAL-FACE field program in Florida in 2002. The sigma and IWC derived by each method are compared and evaluated in different ways for each aircraft data set. Direct measurements of sigma exceed those derived indirectly by a factor of two to two and a half. The IWC probes, relying on ice sublimation, appear to measure accurately except when the IWC is high or the particles too large to sublimate completely during the short transit time through the probe. The IWC estimated from the particle probes are accurate when direct measurements are available to provide constraints and useful information in high IWC/large particle situations. Because of the discrepancy in sigma estimates between the direct and indirect approaches, there is a factor of 2 to 3 difference in [IWC/sigma] between them. Although there are significant uncertainties involved in its use, comparisons with several independent data sources suggest that the indirect method is the more accurate of the two approaches. However, experiments are needed to resolve the source of the discrepancy in sigma. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013IJAEO..24...22A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013IJAEO..24...22A">Detecting long-duration cloud contamination in hyper-temporal NDVI imagery</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Ali, Amjad; de Bie, C. A. J. M.; Skidmore, A. K. 2013-10-01 Cloud contamination impacts on the quality of hyper-temporal NDVI imagery and its subsequent interpretation. Short-duration cloud impacts are easily removed by using quality flags and an upper envelope filter, but long-duration cloud contamination of NDVI imagery remains. In this paper, an approach that goes beyond the use of quality flags and upper envelope filtering is tested to detect when and where long-duration clouds are responsible for unreliable NDVI readings, so that a user can flag those data as missing. The study is based on MODIS Terra and the combined Terra-Aqua 16-day NDVI product for the south of Ghana, where persistent cloud cover occurs throughout the year. The combined product could be assumed to have less cloud contamination, since it is based on two images per day. Short-duration cloud effects were removed from the two products through using the adaptive Savitzky-Golay filter. Then for each 'cleaned' product an unsupervised classified map was prepared using the ISODATA algorithm, and, by class, plots were prepared to depict changes over time of the means and the standard deviations in NDVI values. By comparing plots of similar classes, long-duration cloud contamination appeared to display a decline in mean NDVI below the lower limit 95% confidence interval with a coinciding increase in standard deviation above the upper limit 95% confidence interval. Regression analysis was carried out per NDVI class in two randomly selected groups in order to statistically test standard deviation values related to long-duration cloud contamination. A decline in seasonal NDVI values (growing season) were below the lower limit of 95% confidence interval as well as a concurrent increase in standard deviation values above the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval were noted in 34 NDVI classes. The regression analysis results showed that differences in NDVI class values between the Terra and the Terra-Aqua imagery were significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with the corresponding standard deviation values of the Terra imagery in case of all NDVI classes of two selected NDVI groups. The method successfully detects long-duration cloud contamination that results in unreliable NDVI values. The approach offers scientists interested in time series analysis a method of masking by area (class) the periods when pre-cleaned NDVI values remain affected by clouds. The approach requires no additional data for execution purposes but involves unsupervised classification of the imagery to carry out the evaluation of class-specific mean NDVI and standard deviation values over time. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002PhDT........93G','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002PhDT........93G">Synoptic-scale variability of arctic gravity wave activity during summer and potential impacts on the high latitude middle atmosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Gerrard, Andrew John Although the role of gravity waves in the global atmospheric circulation is generally understood, discussion of synoptic gravity wave activity, especially pertaining to high latitude summer environments, is lacking in the literature. Tropospherically generated gravity waves greatly contribute to the zonal drag necessary to induce meridional outflow and subsequent upwelling observed in the adiabatically cooled summer mesosphere, ultimately resulting in an environment conducive to mesospheric cloud formation. However, the very gravity wave activity responsible for this induced cooling is also believed to be a major source of variability on mesospheric clouds over shorter time scales, and this topic should be of considerable interest if such clouds are to be used as tracers of the global climate. It is therefore the purpose of this thesis to explore high latitude synoptic gravity wave activity and ultimately seek an understanding of the associated influence on overlaying summer mesospheric clouds. Another goal is to better understand and account for potential variability in high latitude middle and upper atmospheric measurements that can be directly associated with "weather conditions" at lower altitudes. These endeavors are addressed through Rayleigh/aerosol lidar data obtained from the ARCtic LIdar TEchnology (ARCLITE) facility located at Sondrestrom, Greenland (67°N, 310°E), global tropospheric and stratospheric analyses and forecasts, and the Gravity-wave Regional Or Global RAy Tracer (GROGRAT) model. In this study we are able to show that (a) the upper stratospheric gravity wave strength and the brightness of overlaying mesospheric clouds, as measured by representative field proxies, are negatively correlated over time scales of less than a day, (b) such upper stratospheric gravity wave variability is inversely related to mesospheric cloud variability on time scales of ˜1 to 4 hours, (c) gravity wave hindcasts faithfully reproduce experimental lidar observations taken over the month of August 1996, (d) the observed upper stratospheric gravity wave activity is shown to originate from regionalized, non-orographic sources in the troposphere, (e) such gravity wave activity can propagate through the middle atmosphere, potentially impacting overlaying mesospheric clouds, and (f) the forecasting of such upper stratospheric gravity wave activity, and therefore the corresponding mesospheric cloud activity, is feasible. In conclusion, the results herein provide additional evidence of gravity wave influence on mesospheric clouds, a step towards the forecasting of regional gravity wave activity, and ultimately a better understanding of synoptic gravity wave activity at high latitudes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AtmEn..50...66D','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AtmEn..50...66D">Raman lidar observations of a Saharan dust outbreak event: Characterization of the dust optical properties and determination of particle size and microphysical parameters</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Di Girolamo, Paolo; Summa, Donato; Bhawar, Rohini; Di Iorio, Tatiana; Cacciani, Marco; Veselovskii, Igor; Dubovik, Oleg; Kolgotin, Alexey 2012-04-01 The Raman lidar system BASIL was operational in Achern (Black Forest) between 25 May and 30 August 2007 in the framework of the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study (COPS). The system performed continuous measurements over a period of approx. 36 h from 06:22 UTC on 1 August to 18:28 UTC on 2 August 2007, capturing the signature of a severe Saharan dust outbreak episode. The data clearly reveal the presence of two almost separate aerosol layers: a lower layer located between 1.5 and 3.5 km above ground level (a.g.l.) and an upper layer extending between 3.0 and 6.0 km a.g.l. The time evolution of the dust cloud is illustrated and discussed in the paper in terms of several optical parameters (particle backscatter ratio at 532 and 1064 nm, the colour ratio and the backscatter Angström parameter). An inversion algorithm was used to retrieve particle size and microphysical parameters, i.e., mean and effective radius, number, surface area, volume concentration, and complex refractive index, as well as the parameters of a bimodal particle size distribution (PSD), from the multi-wavelength lidar data of particle backscattering, extinction and depolarization. The retrieval scheme employs Tikhonov's inversion with regularization and makes use of kernel functions for randomly oriented spheroids. Size and microphysical parameters of dust particles are estimated as a function of altitude at different times during the dust outbreak event. Retrieval results reveal the presence of a fine mode with radii of 0.1-0.2 μm and a coarse mode with radii of 3-5 μm both in the lower and upper dust layers, and the dominance in the upper dust layer of a coarse mode with radii of 4-5 μm. Effective radius varies with altitude in the range 0.1-1.5 μm, while volume concentration is found to not exceed 92 μm3 cm-3. The real and imaginary part of the complex refractive index vary in the range 1.4-1.6 and 0.004-0.008, respectively. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1166848-process-model-simulations-cloud-albedo-enhancement-aerosols-arctic','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1166848-process-model-simulations-cloud-albedo-enhancement-aerosols-arctic">Process-model Simulations of Cloud Albedo Enhancement by Aerosols in the Arctic</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Kravitz, Benjamin S.; Wang, Hailong; Rasch, Philip J. 2014-11-17 A cloud-resolving model is used to simulate the effectiveness of Arctic marine cloud brightening via injection of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). An updated cloud microphysical scheme is employed, with prognostic CCN and cloud particle numbers in both liquid and mixed-phase marine low clouds. Injection of CCN into the marine boundary layer can delay the collapse of the boundary layer and increase low-cloud albedo. Because nearly all of the albedo effects are in the liquid phase due to the removal of ice water by snowfall when ice processes are involved, albedo increases are stronger for pure liquid clouds than mixed-phase clouds.more » Liquid precipitation can be suppressed by CCN injection, whereas ice precipitation (snow) is affected less; thus the effectiveness of brightening mixed-phase clouds is lower than for liquid-only clouds. CCN injection into a clean regime results in a greater albedo increase than injection into a polluted regime, consistent with current knowledge about aerosol-cloud interactions. Unlike previous studies investigating warm clouds, dynamical changes in circulation due to precipitation changes are small.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFMGC21D0964V','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFMGC21D0964V">"Analysis of the multi-layered cloud radiative effects at the surface using A-train data"</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Viudez-Mora, A.; Smith, W. L., Jr.; Kato, S. 2017-12-01 Clouds cover about 74% of the planet and they are an important part of the climate system and strongly influence the surface energy budget. The cloud vertical distribution has important implications in the atmospheric heating and cooling rates. Based on observations by active sensors in the A-train satellite constellation, CALIPSO [Winker et. al, 2010] and CloudSat [Stephens et. al, 2002], more than 1/3 of all clouds are multi-layered. Detection and retrieval of multi-layer cloud physical properties are needed in understanding their effects on the surface radiation budget. This study examines the sensitivity of surface irradiances to cloud properties derived from satellite sensors. Surface irradiances were computed in two different ways, one using cloud properties solely from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the other using MODIS data supplemented with CALIPSO and CloudSat (hereafter CLCS) cloud vertical structure information [Kato et. al, 2010]. Results reveal that incorporating more precise and realistic cloud properties from CLCS into radiative transfer calculations yields improved estimates of cloud radiative effects (CRE) at the surface (CREsfc). The calculations using only MODIS cloud properties, comparisons of the computed CREsfc for 2-layer (2L) overcast CERES footprints, CLCS reduces the SW CRE by 1.5±26.7 Wm-2, increases the LW CRE by 4.1±12.7 Wm-2, and increases the net CREsfc by 0.9±46.7 Wm-2. In a subsequent analysis, we classified up to 6 different combinations of multi-layered clouds depending on the cloud top height as: High-high (HH), high-middle (HM), high-low (HL), middle-middle (MM), middle-low (ML) and low-low (LL). The 3 most frequent 2L cloud systems were: HL (56.1%), HM (22.3%) and HH (12.1%). For these cases, the computed CREsfc estimated using CLCS data presented the most significant differences when compared using only MODIS data. For example, the differences for the SW and Net CRE in the case HH was 12.3±47.3 Wm-2 and 16.0±48.45 Wm-2, respectively. For the case of HM, the LW CRE difference was -9.9±14.0 Wm-2. Kato, S., et al. (2010), J. Geophys. Res., 115. Stephens, G. L., et al. (2002), Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 83. Winker, D. M., et al., (2010),Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_20");'>20</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li class="active">22</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_23");'>23</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_24");'>24</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_23" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li class="active">23</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_24");'>24</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>25</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="441"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010hocc.book....3F','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010hocc.book....3F">Cloud Computing Fundamentals</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Furht, Borko In the introductory chapter we define the concept of cloud computing and cloud services, and we introduce layers and types of cloud computing. We discuss the differences between cloud computing and cloud services. New technologies that enabled cloud computing are presented next. We also discuss cloud computing features, standards, and security issues. We introduce the key cloud computing platforms, their vendors, and their offerings. We discuss cloud computing challenges and the future of cloud computing. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20040082171&hterms=cloud+technology&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3Dcloud%2Btechnology','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20040082171&hterms=cloud+technology&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D80%26Ntt%3Dcloud%2Btechnology">Use of Probability Distribution Functions for Discriminating Between Cloud and Aerosol in Lidar Backscatter Data</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Liu, Zhaoyan; Vaughan, Mark A.; Winker, Davd M.; Hostetler, Chris A.; Poole, Lamont R.; Hlavka, Dennis; Hart, William; McGill, Mathew 2004-01-01 In this paper we describe the algorithm hat will be used during the upcoming Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission for discriminating between clouds and aerosols detected in two wavelength backscatter lidar profiles. We first analyze single-test and multiple-test classification approaches based on one-dimensional and multiple-dimensional probability density functions (PDFs) in the context of a two-class feature identification scheme. From these studies we derive an operational algorithm based on a set of 3-dimensional probability distribution functions characteristic of clouds and aerosols. A dataset acquired by the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) is used to test the algorithm. Comparisons are conducted between the CALIPSO algorithm results and the CPL data product. The results obtained show generally good agreement between the two methods. However, of a total of 228,264 layers analyzed, approximately 5.7% are classified as different types by the CALIPSO and CPL algorithm. This disparity is shown to be due largely to the misclassification of clouds as aerosols by the CPL algorithm. The use of 3-dimensional PDFs in the CALIPSO algorithm is found to significantly reduce this type of error. Dust presents a special case. Because the intrinsic scattering properties of dust layers can be very similar to those of clouds, additional algorithm testing was performed using an optically dense layer of Saharan dust measured during the Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE). In general, the method is shown to distinguish reliably between dust layers and clouds. The relatively few erroneous classifications occurred most often in the LITE data, in those regions of the Saharan dust layer where the optical thickness was the highest. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A21C3034S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A21C3034S">A New Methodology for Simultaneous Multi-layer Retrievals of Ice and Liquid Water Cloud Properties</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Sourdeval, O.; Labonnote, L.; Baran, A. J.; Brogniez, G. 2014-12-01 It is widely recognized that the study of clouds has nowadays become one of the major concern of the climate research community. Consequently, a multitude of retrieval methodologies have been developed during the last decades in order to obtain accurate retrievals of cloud properties that can be supplied to climate models. Most of the current methodologies have proven to be satisfactory for separately retrieving ice or liquid cloud properties, but very few of them have attempted simultaneous retrievals of these two cloud types. Recent studies nevertheless show that the omission of one of these layers can have strong consequences on the retrievals and their accuracy. In this study, a new methodology that simultaneously retrieves the properties of ice and liquid clouds is presented. The optical thickness and the effective radius of up to two liquid cloud layers and the ice water path of one ice cloud layer are simultaneously retrieved, along with an accurate estimation of their uncertainties. Radiometric measurements ranging from the visible to the thermal infrared are used for performing the retrievals. In order to quantify the capabilities and limitations of our methodology, the results of a theoretical information content analysis are first presented. This analysis allows obtaining an a priori understanding of how much information should be expected on each of the retrieval parameters in different atmospheric conditions, and which set of channels is likely to provide this information. After such theoretical considerations, global retrievals corresponding to several months of A-Train data are presented. Comparisons of our retrievals with operational products from active and passive instruments are effectuated and show good global agreements. These comparisons are useful for validating our retrievals but also for testing how operational products can be influenced by multi-layer configurations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1984Icar...59..162B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1984Icar...59..162B">An upper limit to the abundance of lightning-produced amino acids in the Jovian water clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Bar-Nun, A.; Noy, N.; Podolak, M. 1984-08-01 The effect of excess hydrogen on the synthesis of amino acids by high-temperature shock waves in a hydrogen/methane/ammonia/water vapor mixture was studied experimentally. The energy efficiency results, together with the best estimate of the lightning energy dissipation rate on Jupiter from the Voyage data, were used to calculate an upper limit to the rate of amino acid production by lightning in Jovian water clouds. Using reasonable values for the eddy diffusion coefficients within and below the water clouds, the column abundance of lightning-produced amino acids in the clouds was estimated to be 6.2 x 10 to the -6th cm-am. Hence, concentration of amino acids in water droplets would be 8 x 10 to the -8th mole/liter. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170007341&hterms=Remote+sensing&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3DRemote%2Bsensing','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170007341&hterms=Remote+sensing&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D20%26Ntt%3DRemote%2Bsensing">Remote Sensing of Multiple Cloud Layer Heights Using Multi-Angular Measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Sinclair, Kenneth; Van Diedenhoven, Bastiaan; Cairns, Brian; Yorks, John; Wasilewski, Andrzej; Mcgill, Matthew 2017-01-01 Cloud top height (CTH) affects the radiative properties of clouds. Improved CTH observations will allow for improved parameterizations in large-scale models and accurate information on CTH is also important when studying variations in freezing point and cloud microphysics. NASAs airborne Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) is able to measure cloud top height using a novel multi-angular contrast approach. For the determination of CTH, a set of consecutive nadir reflectances is selected and the cross-correlations between this set and co-located sets at other viewing angles are calculated for a range of assumed cloud top heights, yielding a correlation profile. Under the assumption that cloud reflectances are isotropic, local peaks in the correlation profile indicate cloud layers. This technique can be applied to every RSP footprint and we demonstrate that detection of multiple peaks in the correlation profile allow retrieval of heights of multiple cloud layers within single RSP footprints. This paper provides an in-depth description of the architecture and performance of the RSPs CTH retrieval technique using data obtained during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC(exp. 4)RS) campaign. RSP retrieved cloud heights are evaluated using collocated data from the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL). The method's accuracy associated with the magnitude of correlation, optical thickness, cloud thickness and cloud height are explored. The technique is applied to measurements at a wavelength of 670 nm and 1880 nm and their combination. The 1880-nm band is virtually insensitive to the lower troposphere due to strong water vapor absorption. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ACP....16.8643J','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ACP....16.8643J">Aerosols, clouds, and precipitation in the North Atlantic trades observed during the Barbados aerosol cloud experiment - Part 1: Distributions and variability</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Jung, Eunsil; Albrecht, Bruce A.; Feingold, Graham; Jonsson, Haflidi H.; Chuang, Patrick; Donaher, Shaunna L. 2016-07-01 Shallow marine cumulus clouds are by far the most frequently observed cloud type over the Earth's oceans; but they are poorly understood and have not been investigated as extensively as stratocumulus clouds. This study describes and discusses the properties and variations of aerosol, cloud, and precipitation associated with shallow marine cumulus clouds observed in the North Atlantic trades during a field campaign (Barbados Aerosol Cloud Experiment- BACEX, March-April 2010), which took place off Barbados where African dust periodically affects the region. The principal observing platform was the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter (TO) research aircraft, which was equipped with standard meteorological instruments, a zenith pointing cloud radar and probes that measured aerosol, cloud, and precipitation characteristics.The temporal variation and vertical distribution of aerosols observed from the 15 flights, which included the most intense African dust event during all of 2010 in Barbados, showed a wide range of aerosol conditions. During dusty periods, aerosol concentrations increased substantially in the size range between 0.5 and 10 µm (diameter), particles that are large enough to be effective giant cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). The 10-day back trajectories showed three distinct air masses with distinct vertical structures associated with air masses originating in the Atlantic (typical maritime air mass with relatively low aerosol concentrations in the marine boundary layer), Africa (Saharan air layer), and mid-latitudes (continental pollution plumes). Despite the large differences in the total mass loading and the origin of the aerosols, the overall shapes of the aerosol particle size distributions were consistent, with the exception of the transition period.The TO was able to sample many clouds at various phases of growth. Maximum cloud depth observed was less than ˜ 3 km, while most clouds were less than 1 km deep. Clouds tend to precipitate when the cloud is thicker than 500-600 m. Distributions of cloud field characteristics (depth, radar reflectivity, Doppler velocity, precipitation) were well identified in the reflectivity-velocity diagram from the cloud radar observations. Two types of precipitation features were observed for shallow marine cumulus clouds that may impact boundary layer differently: first, a classic cloud-base precipitation where precipitation shafts were observed to emanate from the cloud base; second, cloud-top precipitation where precipitation shafts emanated mainly near the cloud tops, sometimes accompanied by precipitation near the cloud base. The second type of precipitation was more frequently observed during the experiment. Only 42-44 % of the clouds sampled were non-precipitating throughout the entire cloud layer and the rest of the clouds showed precipitation somewhere in the cloud, predominantly closer to the cloud top. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A33I0380Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.A33I0380Z">On the dominant impact of vertical moisture gradient on mesoscale cloud cellular organization of stratocumulus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zhou, X.; Ackerman, A. S.; Fridlind, A. M.; Kollias, P. 2016-12-01 Large-eddy simulations are performed to study the mechanisms of stratocumulus organization. Precipitation tends to increase horizontal cloud scales, but is not required for cloud mesoscale organization. A study of the terms in the prognostic equation for total water mixing ratio variance shows the critical impact of vertical moisture gradient on cloud scale. For precipitating clouds, the organization originates from the negative moisture gradient in the boundary layer resulting from evaporation of precipitation. This hypothesis is supported by simulations in which thermodynamics profiles are nudged to their initial well-mixed state, which reduces cloud scales. Cold pools effect are surprisingly found to respond to rather than determine the cloud mesoscale variability. For non-precipitating clouds, organization results from turbulent transport of moisture variance originating primarily from cloud top, where dry air is entrained into the boundary layer through convection driven by cloud top longwave (LW) cooling. Both LW cooling and a moisture gradient above cloud top are essential for the growth of mesoscale fluctuations. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20040074248&hterms=visa&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dvisa','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20040074248&hterms=visa&qs=N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAll%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntt%3Dvisa">Above-Cloud Precipitable Water Retrievals using the MODIS 0.94 micron Band with Applications for Multi-Layer Cloud Detection</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Platnick, S.; Wind, G. 2004-01-01 In order to perform satellite retrievals of cloud properties, it is important to account for the effect of the above-cloud atmosphere on the observations. The solar bands used in the operational MODIS Terra and Aqua cloud optical and microphysical algorithms (visible, NIR, and SWIR spectral windows) are primarily affected by water vapor, and to a lesser extent by well-mixed gases. For water vapor, the above-cloud column amount, or precipitable water, provides adequate information for an atmospheric correction; details of the vertical vapor distribution are not typically necessary for the level of correction required. Cloud-top pressure has a secondary effect due to pressure broadening influences. For well- mixed gases, cloud-top pressure is also required for estimates of above-cloud abundances. We present a method for obtaining above-cloud precipitable water over dark Ocean surfaces using the MODIS 0.94 pm vapor absorption band. The retrieval includes an iterative procedure for establishing cloud-top temperature and pressure, and is useful for both single layer water and ice clouds. Knowledge of cloud thermodynamic phase is fundamental in retrieving cloud optical and microphysical properties. However, in cases of optically thin cirrus overlapping lower water clouds, the concept of a single unique phase is ill- defined and depends, at least, on the spectral region of interest. We will present a method for multi-layer and multi-phase cloud detection which uses above-cloud precipitable water retrievals along with several existing MODIS operational cloud products (cloud-top pressure derived from a C02 slicing algorithm, IR and SWIR phase retrievals). Results are catagorized by whether the radiative signature in the MODIS solar bands is primarily that of a water cloud with ice cloud contamination, or visa-versa. Examples in polar and mid-latitude regions will be shown. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003JGRD..108.8399L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003JGRD..108.8399L">Black carbon in aerosol during BIBLE B</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Liley, J. Ben; Baumgardner, D.; Kondo, Y.; Kita, K.; Blake, D. R.; Koike, M.; Machida, T.; Takegawa, N.; Kawakami, S.; Shirai, T.; Ogawa, T. 2003-02-01 The Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment (BIBLE) A and B campaigns over the tropical western Pacific during springtime deployed a Gulfstream-II aircraft with systems to measure ozone and numerous precursor species. Aerosol measuring systems included a MASP optical particle counter, a condensation nucleus (CN) counter, and an absorption spectrometer for black carbon. Aerosol volume was very low in the middle and upper troposphere during both campaigns, and during BIBLE A, there was little aerosol enhancement in the boundary layer away from urban areas. In BIBLE B, there was marked aerosol enhancement in the lowest 3 km of the atmosphere. Mixing ratios of CN in cloud-free conditions in the upper troposphere were in general higher than in the boundary layer, indicating new particle formation from gaseous precursors. High concentrations of black carbon were observed during BIBLE B, with mass loadings up to 40 μg m-3 representing as much as one quarter of total aerosol mass. Strong correlations with hydrocarbon enhancement allow the determination of a black carbon emission ratio for the fires at that time. Expressed as elemental carbon, it is about 0.5% of carbon dioxide and 6% of carbon monoxide emissions from the same fires, comparable to methane production, and greater than that of other hydrocarbons. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002JGRD..107.8399L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002JGRD..107.8399L">Black carbon in aerosol during BIBLE B</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Liley, J. Ben; Baumgardner, D.; Kondo, Y.; Kita, K.; Blake, D. R.; Koike, M.; Machida, T.; Takegawa, N.; Kawakami, S.; Shirai, T.; Ogawa, T. 2002-02-01 The Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment (BIBLE) A and B campaigns over the tropical western Pacific during springtime deployed a Gulfstream-II aircraft with systems to measure ozone and numerous precursor species. Aerosol measuring systems included a MASP optical particle counter, a condensation nucleus (CN) counter, and an absorption spectrometer for black carbon. Aerosol volume was very low in the middle and upper troposphere during both campaigns, and during BIBLE A, there was little aerosol enhancement in the boundary layer away from urban areas. In BIBLE B, there was marked aerosol enhancement in the lowest 3 km of the atmosphere. Mixing ratios of CN in cloud-free conditions in the upper troposphere were in general higher than in the boundary layer, indicating new particle formation from gaseous precursors. High concentrations of black carbon were observed during BIBLE B, with mass loadings up to 40 μg m-3 representing as much as one quarter of total aerosol mass. Strong correlations with hydrocarbon enhancement allow the determination of a black carbon emission ratio for the fires at that time. Expressed as elemental carbon, it is about 0.5% of carbon dioxide and 6% of carbon monoxide emissions from the same fires, comparable to methane production, and greater than that of other hydrocarbons. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43B2445P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43B2445P">Low Cloud Feedback to Surface Warming in the World's First Global Climate Model with Explicit Embedded Boundary Layer Turbulence</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Parishani, H.; Pritchard, M. S.; Bretherton, C. S.; Wyant, M. C.; Khairoutdinov, M.; Singh, B. 2017-12-01 Biases and parameterization formulation uncertainties in the representation of boundary layer clouds remain a leading source of possible systematic error in climate projections. Here we show the first results of cloud feedback to +4K SST warming in a new experimental climate model, the ``Ultra-Parameterized (UP)'' Community Atmosphere Model, UPCAM. We have developed UPCAM as an unusually high-resolution implementation of cloud superparameterization (SP) in which a global set of cloud resolving arrays is embedded in a host global climate model. In UP, the cloud-resolving scale includes sufficient internal resolution to explicitly generate the turbulent eddies that form marine stratocumulus and trade cumulus clouds. This is computationally costly but complements other available approaches for studying low clouds and their climate interaction, by avoiding parameterization of the relevant scales. In a recent publication we have shown that UP, while not without its own complexity trade-offs, can produce encouraging improvements in low cloud climatology in multi-month simulations of the present climate and is a promising target for exascale computing (Parishani et al. 2017). Here we show results of its low cloud feedback to warming in multi-year simulations for the first time. References: Parishani, H., M. S. Pritchard, C. S. Bretherton, M. C. Wyant, and M. Khairoutdinov (2017), Toward low-cloud-permitting cloud superparameterization with explicit boundary layer turbulence, J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 9, doi:10.1002/2017MS000968. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014EGUGA..16.9690R','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014EGUGA..16.9690R">Aerosols increase upper tropospheric humidity over the North Western Pacific</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Riuttanen, Laura; Bister, Marja; John, Viju; Sundström, Anu-Maija; Dal Maso, Miikka; Räisänen, Jouni; de Leeuw, Gerrit; Kulmala, Markku 2014-05-01 Water vapour in the upper troposphere is highly important for the global radiative transfer. The source of upper tropospheric humidity is deep convection, and aerosol effects on them have got attention only recently. E.g., aerosol effects on deep convective clouds have been missing in general circulation models (Quaas et al., 2009). In deep convection, aerosol effect on cloud microphysics may lead to more ice precipitation and less warm rain (Khain et al., 2005), and thus more water vapour in upper troposphere (Bister & Kulmala, 2011). China outflow region over the Pacific Ocean was chosen as a region for a more detailed study, with latitudes 25-45 N and three longitude slots: 120-149 E, 150-179 E and 150-179 W. In this study, we used satellite measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and upper tropospheric humidity (UTH). AOD was obtained from the MODIS instrument onboard Terra satellite, that crosses the equator southward at 10:30 AM local solar time (Remer et al., 2005). UTH was obtained from a microwave humidity sounder (MHS) onboard MetOp-A satellite, with passing time at 9:30 PM local solar time. It measures relative humidity of a layer extending approximately from 500 to 200 hPa. We binned the AOD and UTH data according to daily rainfall product 3B42 from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. Binning the data according to the amount of precipitation gives us a new way to account for the possible aerosol invigoration effect on convection and to alleviate the contamination and causality problems in aerosol indirect effect studies. In this study, we show for the first time, based on satellite data, that there is a connection between upper tropospheric humidity and aerosols. Anthropogenic aerosols from China increase upper tropospheric humidity, which causes a significant positive local radiative forcing in libRadtran radiative transfer model (Mayer & Kylling, 2005). References: Bister, M. & Kulmala, M. (2011). Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 4577-4586. Khain, A., Rosenfeld, D. & Pokrovsky, A. (2005). Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 131, 2639-2663. Mayer, B. & Kylling, A. (2005). Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 1855-1877. Remer, L. A. et al. (2005). J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 947-973. Quaas, J. et al. (2009). Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 8697-8717. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JAMES..10..466W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JAMES..10..466W">The Sensitivity of Numerical Simulations of Cloud-Topped Boundary Layers to Cross-Grid Flow</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wyant, Matthew C.; Bretherton, Christopher S.; Blossey, Peter N. 2018-02-01 In mesoscale and global atmospheric simulations with large horizontal domains, strong horizontal flow across the grid is often unavoidable, but its effects on cloud-topped boundary layers have received comparatively little study. Here the effects of cross-grid flow on large-eddy simulations of stratocumulus and trade-cumulus marine boundary layers are studied across a range of grid resolutions (horizontal × vertical) between 500 m × 20 m and 35 m × 5 m. Three cases are simulated: DYCOMS nocturnal stratocumulus, BOMEX trade cumulus, and a GCSS stratocumulus-to-trade cumulus case. Simulations are performed with a stationary grid (with 4-8 m s-1 horizontal winds blowing through the cyclic domain) and a moving grid (equivalent to subtracting off a fixed vertically uniform horizontal wind) approximately matching the mean boundary-layer wind speed. For stratocumulus clouds, cross-grid flow produces two primary effects on stratocumulus clouds: a filtering of fine-scale resolved turbulent eddies, which reduces stratocumulus cloud-top entrainment, and a vertical broadening of the stratocumulus-top inversion which enhances cloud-top entrainment. With a coarse (20 m) vertical grid, the former effect dominates and leads to strong increases in cloud cover and LWP, especially as horizontal resolution is coarsened. With a finer (5 m) vertical grid, the latter effect is stronger and leads to small reductions in cloud cover and LWP. For the BOMEX trade cumulus case, cross-grid flow tends to produce fewer and larger clouds with higher LWP, especially for coarser vertical grid spacing. The results presented are robust to choice of scalar advection scheme and Courant number. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AMT.....7.2757C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AMT.....7.2757C">Comparing the cloud vertical structure derived from several methods based on radiosonde profiles and ground-based remote sensing measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Costa-Surós, M.; Calbó, J.; González, J. A.; Long, C. N. 2014-08-01 The cloud vertical distribution and especially the cloud base height, which is linked to cloud type, are important characteristics in order to describe the impact of clouds on climate. In this work, several methods for estimating the cloud vertical structure (CVS) based on atmospheric sounding profiles are compared, considering the number and position of cloud layers, with a ground-based system that is taken as a reference: the Active Remote Sensing of Clouds (ARSCL). All methods establish some conditions on the relative humidity, and differ in the use of other variables, the thresholds applied, or the vertical resolution of the profile. In this study, these methods are applied to 193 radiosonde profiles acquired at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains site during all seasons of the year 2009 and endorsed by Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) images, to confirm that the cloudiness conditions are homogeneous enough across their trajectory. The perfect agreement (i.e., when the whole CVS is estimated correctly) for the methods ranges between 26 and 64%; the methods show additional approximate agreement (i.e., when at least one cloud layer is assessed correctly) from 15 to 41%. Further tests and improvements are applied to one of these methods. In addition, we attempt to make this method suitable for low-resolution vertical profiles, like those from the outputs of reanalysis methods or from the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Global Telecommunication System. The perfect agreement, even when using low-resolution profiles, can be improved by up to 67% (plus 25% of the approximate agreement) if the thresholds for a moist layer to become a cloud layer are modified to minimize false negatives with the current data set, thus improving overall agreement. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AMTD....7.3681C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AMTD....7.3681C">Comparing the cloud vertical structure derived from several methods based on measured atmospheric profiles and active surface measurements</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Costa-Surós, M.; Calbó, J.; González, J. A.; Long, C. N. 2014-04-01 The cloud vertical distribution and especially the cloud base height, which is linked to cloud type, is an important characteristic in order to describe the impact of clouds on climate. In this work several methods to estimate the cloud vertical structure (CVS) based on atmospheric sounding profiles are compared, considering number and position of cloud layers, with a ground based system which is taken as a reference: the Active Remote Sensing of Clouds (ARSCL). All methods establish some conditions on the relative humidity, and differ on the use of other variables, the thresholds applied, or the vertical resolution of the profile. In this study these methods are applied to 193 radiosonde profiles acquired at the ARM Southern Great Plains site during all seasons of year 2009 and endorsed by GOES images, to confirm that the cloudiness conditions are homogeneous enough across their trajectory. The perfect agreement (i.e. when the whole CVS is correctly estimated) for the methods ranges between 26-64%; the methods show additional approximate agreement (i.e. when at least one cloud layer is correctly assessed) from 15-41%. Further tests and improvements are applied on one of these methods. In addition, we attempt to make this method suitable for low resolution vertical profiles, like those from the outputs of reanalysis methods or from the WMO's Global Telecommunication System. The perfect agreement, even when using low resolution profiles, can be improved up to 67% (plus 25% of approximate agreement) if the thresholds for a moist layer to become a cloud layer are modified to minimize false negatives with the current data set, thus improving overall agreement. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-PIA16837.html','SCIGOVIMAGE-NASA'); return false;" href="https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-PIA16837.html">Peering Deep into Jupiter Atmosphere</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://images.nasa.gov/">NASA Image and Video Library</a> 2013-03-14 The dark hot spot in this false-color image from NASA Cassini spacecraft is a window deep into Jupiter atmosphere. All around it are layers of higher clouds, with colors indicating which layer of the atmosphere the clouds are in. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..19.1872H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..19.1872H">Super-cooled liquid water topped sub-arctic clouds and precipitation - investigation based on combination of ground-based in-situ and remote-sensing observations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hirsikko, Anne; Brus, David; O'Connor, Ewan J.; Filioglou, Maria; Komppula, Mika; Romakkaniemi, Sami 2017-04-01 In the high and mid latitudes super-cooled liquid water layers are frequently observed on top of clouds. These layers are difficult to forecast with numerical weather prediction models, even though, they have strong influence on atmospheric radiative properties, cloud microphysical properties, and subsequently, precipitation. This work investigates properties of super-cooled liquid water layer topped sub-arctic clouds and precipitation observed with ground-based in-situ (cloud probes) and remote-sensing (a cloud radar, Doppler and multi-wavelength lidars) instrumentation during two-month long Pallas Cloud Experiment (PaCE 2015) in autumn 2015. Analysis is based on standard Cloudnet scheme supplemented with new retrieval products of the specific clouds and their properties. Combination of two scales of observation provides new information on properties of clouds and precipitation in the sub-arctic Pallas region. Current status of results will be presented during the conference. The authors acknowledge financial support by the Academy of Finland (Centre of Excellence Programme, grant no 272041; and ICINA project, grant no 285068), the ACTRIS2 - European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 654109, the KONE foundation, and the EU FP7 project BACCHUS (grant no 603445). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000JGR...105.3807H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000JGR...105.3807H">Atmospheric chemical transport based on high-resolution model-derived winds: A case study</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Hannan, John R.; Fuelberg, Henry E.; Thompson, Anne M.; Bieberbach, George; Knabb, Richard D.; Kondo, Yutaka; Anderson, Bruce E.; Browell, Edward V.; Gregory, Gerald L.; Sachse, Glen W.; Singh, Hanwant B. 2000-02-01 Flight 10 of NASA's Subsonic Assessment (SASS) Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide Experiment (SONEX) extended southwest of Lajes, Azores. A variety of chemical signatures was encountered. These signatures are examined in detail, relating them to meteorological data from a high-resolution numerical model having a horizontal grid spacing of 30 and 90 km with 26 vertical levels. The meteorological output at hourly intervals is used to create backward trajectories from the locations of the chemical signatures. Four major categories of chemical signatures are discussed: stratospheric, lightning, continental pollution, and a mixed chemical layer. The strong stratospheric signal is encountered just south of the Azores in a region of depressed tropopause height. Three chemical signatures at different altitudes in the upper troposphere are attributed to lightning. Backward trajectories from these signatures extend to locations of cloud-to-ground lightning. Specifically, results show that the trajectories pass over regions of lightning 1-2 days earlier over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the southeast coast of the United States. The lowest leg of the flight exhibits a chemical signature consistent with continental pollution. Trajectories from this signature are found to pass over the highly populated Northeast Corridor of the United States. Surface-based pollution apparently is lofted to the altitudes of the trajectories by convective clouds along the East Coast that did not contain lightning. Finally, a mixed layer is described. Its chemical signature is intermediate to those of lightning and continental pollution. Backward trajectories from this layer pass between the trajectories of the lightning and pollution signatures. Thus they likely are impacted by both sources. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4379907','PMC'); return false;" href="https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=4379907">The formation of a large summertime Saharan dust plume: Convective and synoptic-scale analysis</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pmc">PubMed Central</a> Roberts, A J; Knippertz, P 2014-01-01 Haboobs are dust storms produced by the spreading of evaporatively cooled air from thunderstorms over dusty surfaces and are a major dust uplift process in the Sahara. In this study observations, reanalysis, and a high-resolution simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting model are used to analyze the multiscale dynamics which produced a long-lived (over 2 days) Saharan mesoscale convective system (MCS) and an unusually large haboob in June 2010. An upper level trough and wave on the subtropical jet 5 days prior to MCS initiation produce a precipitating tropical cloud plume associated with a disruption of the Saharan heat low and moistening of the central Sahara. The restrengthening Saharan heat low and a Mediterranean cold surge produce a convergent region over the Hoggar and Aïr Mountains, where small convective systems help further increase boundary layer moisture. Emerging from this region the MCS has intermittent triggering of new cells, but later favorable deep layer shear produces a mesoscale convective complex. The unusually large size of the resulting dust plume (over 1000 km long) is linked to the longevity and vigor of the MCS, an enhanced pressure gradient due to lee cyclogenesis near the Atlas Mountains, and shallow precipitating clouds along the northern edge of the cold pool. Dust uplift processes identified are (1) strong winds near the cold pool front, (2) enhanced nocturnal low-level jet within the aged cold pool, and (3) a bore formed by the cold pool front on the nocturnal boundary layer. PMID:25844277 </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19980200996','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19980200996">Global Troposphere Experiment Project</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Bandy, Alan R.; Thornton, Donald C. 1997-01-01 For the Global Troposphere Experiment project Pacific Exploratory Measurements West B (PEM West B), we made determinations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with isotopically labelled internal standards. This technique provides measurements with precision of 1 part-per-trillion by volume below 20 pptv and 1% above 20 pptv. Measurement of DMS and SO2 were performed with a time cycle of 5-6 minutes with intermittent zero checks. The detection limits were about 1 pptv for SO2 and 2 pptv for DMS. Over 700 measurements of each compound were made in flight. Volcanic impacts on the upper troposphere were again found as a result of deep convection in the tropics. Extensive emission of SO2 from the Pacific Rim land masses were primarily observed in the lower well-mixed part of the boundary layer but also in the upper part of the boundary layer. Analyses of the SO2 data with aerosol sulfate, beryllium-7, and lead-210 indicated that SO2, contributed to half or more of the observed total oxidized sulfur (SO2 plus aerosol sulfate) in free tropospheric air. Cloud processing and rain appeared to be responsible for lower SO2 levels between 3 and 8.5 km than above or below this region. During both phases of PEM-West, dimethyl sulfide did not appear to be a major source of sulfur dioxide in the upper free troposphere over the western Pacific Ocean. In 1991 the sources Of SO2 at high altitude appeared to be both anthropogenic and volcanic with an estimated 1% being solely from DMS. The primary difference for the increase in the DMS source was the very low concentration of SO2 at high altitude. In the midlatitude region near the Asian land masses, DMS in the mixed layer was lower than in the tropical region of the western Pacific. Convective cloud systems near volcanoes in the tropical convergence in the western Pacific troposphere were a major source of SO2 at high altitudes during PEM-West B. High levels of SO2 were observed in several instances with large number concentrations of ultrafine CN above 9 km in the tropical convergence zone. Conversion of SO2, by OH to SO3 and subsequently to sulfuric acid may have been enhanced by lightning-produced NO levels exceeding 1 part per billion. Coupling of strong convection and volcanic sources of SO2 apparently is an important source of new particle formation at high altitude in the tropical convergence zone. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li class="active">23</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_24");'>24</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>25</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_24" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_23");'>23</a></li> <li class="active">24</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>25</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="461"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A11C1901D','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A11C1901D">Assessment of Changes in Cloud Microphysical Properties and Rainfall in the Southeast Atlantic During the ORACLES 2016 Deployment</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Diamond, M. S.; Dzambo, A.; L'Ecuyer, T.; Wood, R.; Durden, S. L.; Sy, O. O.; Tanelli, S.; Freitag, S.; Howell, S. G.; Smirnow, N.; Small Griswold, J. D.; Heikkila, A. 2017-12-01 Complex interactions between aerosol particles and clouds are the largest source of uncertainty in present-day radiative forcing and future projections of anthropogenic climate change. Unlike that of well-mixed greenhouse gases, the pattern of forcing for aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) is regionally heterogeneous; one region of particular interest is the southeast Atlantic Ocean (SEA) off the western coast of Africa. During the southern African biomass burning (BB) season from July to October, a persistent layer of BB aerosol has been observed overlying one of the world's three semi-permanent stratocumulus (Sc) cloud decks. The vertical distribution of smoke over the SEA region remains poorly understood, particularly how much BB aerosol mixes into the Sc deck, which alters the clouds' microphysical properties. To investigate the effects of BB aerosols over the SEA Sc deck, we utilize data from the Airborne Third Generation Precipitation Radar (APR-3), an assortment of cloud probes, the Hawaii Group for Environmental Aerosol Research (HIGEAR) nephelometer, and other in-situ instruments on the P-3 aircraft during NASA's ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) 2016 campaign. Nearly all clouds observed in this experiment have a cloud top altitude of 1.5 km or less, with cloud top reflectivities rarely exceeding -15 dBZ. Two representative flights, the Aug. 31 and Sept. 6 missions, have cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) values approximately between 250 and 350 per cubic centimeter (cc), with values exceeding 400/cc near the coast. Retrieved rainfall estimates suggest intermittent drizzle production occurs but rarely exceeds 0.1 mm h-1 further into the BB layer, and any drizzle production corresponds to CDNC values of approximately 300/cc or less. These two particular flights show that, when CDNC exceeds 400/cc, clouds drizzle less than 1% of the time. The distance between the Sc deck and BB layer is computed. Although a majority of cases show the Sc deck and BB layer are in contact, CDNC is not primarily controlled by this "gap" distance, suggesting that BB layer-Sc deck contact is not sufficient enough to explain cloud microphysical variability in the SEA region. Trajectory analyses of air masses are also presented to highlight underlying meteorological controls. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009EGUGA..1111120P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009EGUGA..1111120P">ACCURATE: Influence of Cloud Layers and Aerosol on Infrared Laser Occultation Signals for Sensing of Greenhouse Gases</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Proschek, V.; Schweitzer, S.; Emde, C.; Ladstädter, F.; Fritzer, J.; Kirchengast, G. 2009-04-01 ACCURATE (Atmospheric Climate and Chemistry in the UTLS Region And climate Trends Explorer), a new climate satellite concept, enables simultaneous measurement of profiles of greenhouse gases, isotopes, wind and thermodynamic variables from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. The measurement principle applied is a combination of the novel LEO-LEO infrared laser occultation (LIO) technique and the well-studied but not yet flown LEO-LEO microwave occultation (LMO) technique. As intrinsic to the space-borne occultation technique, the measurements are evenly distributed around the world, have high vertical resolution and high accuracy and are stable over long time periods. The LIO uses near-monochromatic signals in the short-wave infrared range (~2-2.5 m in the case of ACCURATE) which are absorbed by various trace species in the Earth's atmosphere. From signal transmission measurements, profiles of the concentration of the absorbing species can be derived given that temperature and pressure are accurately known from LMO. The current ACCURATE mission design is arranged for the measurement of six greenhouse gases (H2O, CO2, CH4, N2O, O3, CO) and four isotopes (13CO2, C18OO, HDO, H218O) with focus on the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region (UTLS, 5-35 km). Wind speed in line-of-sight can be derived from a line-symmetric transmission difference which is caused by wind-induced Doppler shift. By-products are information on cloud layering, aerosol extinction and scintillation strength. This contribution presents an overview on the ACCURATE mission design and the expected accuracy of retrieved atmospheric variables and further focuses on the influence of clouds and aerosols on propagating LIO signals. Special emphasis will be given to sub-visible cirrus clouds which are semi-transparent to infrared signals. A simple frequency dependent cloud extinction parametrization was included into the occultation propagation software EGOPS and evaluated against results of the advanced radiative transfer model libRadtran. Use of this parametrization also allows to separate the disturbance by clouds from other atmospheric influences on signal transmission. The influence of aerosols was investigated by means of an extinction model developed on the basis of SAGE (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment) measurements. The effects of different cases from background to volcanic aerosol levels are presented. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015ACPD...1525503C','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015ACPD...1525503C">Observations of high droplet number concentrations in Southern Ocean boundary layer clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Chubb, T.; Huang, Y.; Jensen, J.; Campos, T.; Siems, S.; Manton, M. 2015-09-01 Data from the standard cloud physics payload during the NSF/NCAR High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) campaigns provide a snapshot of unusual wintertime microphysical conditions in the boundary layer over the Southern Ocean. On 29 June 2011, the HIAPER sampled the boundary layer in a region of pre-frontal warm air advection between 58 and 48° S to the south of Tasmania. Cloud droplet number concentrations were consistent with climatological values in the northernmost profiles but were exceptionally high for wintertime in the Southern Ocean at 100-200 cm-3 in the southernmost profiles. Sub-micron (0.06<D<1 μm) aerosol concentrations for the southern profiles were up to 400 cm-3. Analysis of back trajectories and atmospheric chemistry observations revealed that while conditions in the troposphere were more typical of a clean remote ocean airmass, there was some evidence of continental or anthropogenic influence. However, the hypothesis of long range transport of continental aerosol fails to explain the magnitude of the aerosol and cloud droplet concentration in the boundary layer. Instead, the gale force surface winds in this case (wind speed at 167 m above sea level was >25 m s-1) were most likely responsible for production of sea spray aerosol which influenced the microphysical properties of the boundary layer clouds. The smaller size and higher number concentration of cloud droplets is inferred to increase the albedo of these clouds, and these conditions occur regularly, and are expected to increase in frequency, over windy parts of the Southern Ocean. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26905742','PUBMED'); return false;" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26905742">Developing Normal Turns-Amplitude Clouds for Upper and Lower Limbs.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed">PubMed</a> Jabre, Joe F; Nikolayev, Sergey G; Babayev, Michael B; Chindilov, Denis V; Muravyov, Anatoly Y 2016-10-01 Turns and amplitude analysis (T&A) is a frequently used method for automatic EMG interference pattern analysis. The T&A normal values have only been developed for a limited number of muscles. Our objective was to obtain normal T&A clouds for upper and lower extremity muscles for which no normal values exist in the literature. The T&A normative data using concentric needle electrodes were obtained from 68 men and 56 women aged 20 to 60 years. Normal upper and lower extremity T&A clouds were obtained and presented in this article. The T&A normal values collected in this study maybe used to detect neurogenic and myopathic abnormalities in men and women at low-to-moderate muscle contractions. The effect of turns-amplitude data obtained at high force level of muscle contraction and its potential to falsely show neurogenic abnormalities are discussed. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1054049-climatology-formation-tropical-midlevel-clouds-darwin-arm-site','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1054049-climatology-formation-tropical-midlevel-clouds-darwin-arm-site">Climatology and Formation of Tropical Midlevel Clouds at the Darwin ARM Site</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Riihimaki, Laura D.; McFarlane, Sally A.; Comstock, Jennifer M. A 4-yr climatology of midlevel clouds is presented from vertically pointing cloud lidar and radar measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) site at Darwin, Australia. Few studies exist of tropical midlevel clouds using a dataset of this length. Seventy percent of clouds with top heights between 4 and 8 km are less than 2 km thick. These thin layer clouds have a peak in cloud-top temperature around the melting level (0°C) and also a second peak around -12.5°C. The diurnal frequency of thin clouds is highest during the night and reaches a minimum around noon, consistent with variationmore » caused by solar heating. Using a 1.5-yr subset of the observations, the authors found that thin clouds have a high probability of containing supercooled liquid water at low temperatures: ~20% of clouds at -30°C, ~50% of clouds at -20°C, and ~65% of clouds at -10°C contain supercooled liquid water. The authors hypothesize that thin midlevel clouds formed at the melting level are formed differently during active and break monsoon periods and test this over three monsoon seasons. A greater frequency of thin midlevel clouds are likely formed by increased condensation following the latent cooling of melting during active monsoon periods when stratiform precipitation is most frequent. This is supported by the high percentage (65%) of midlevel clouds with preceding stratiform precipitation and the high frequency of stable layers slightly warmer than 0°C. In the break monsoon, a distinct peak in the frequency of stable layers at 0°C matches the peak in thin midlevel cloudiness, consistent with detrainment from convection.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A41J..03P','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A41J..03P">Efficacy of Cloud-Radiative Perturbations in Deep Open- and Closed-Cell Stratocumulus Clouds due to Aerosol Perturbations</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Possner, A.; Wang, H.; Caldeira, K.; Wood, R.; Ackerman, T. P. 2017-12-01 Aerosol-cloud interactions (ACIs) in marine stratocumulus remain a significant source of uncertainty in constraining the cloud-radiative effect in a changing climate. Ship tracks are undoubted manifestations of ACIs embedded within stratocumulus cloud decks and have proven to be a useful framework to study the effect of aerosol perturbations on cloud morphology, macrophysical, microphyiscal and cloud-radiative properties. However, so far most observational (Christensen et al. 2012, Chen et al. 2015) and numerical studies (Wang et al. 2011, Possner et al. 2015, Berner et al. 2015) have concentrated on ship tracks in shallow boundary layers of depths between 300 - 800 m, while most stratocumulus decks form in significantly deeper boundary layers (Muhlbauer et al. 2014). In this study we investigate the efficacy of aerosol perturbations in deep open and closed cell stratocumulus. Multi-day idealised cloud-resolving simulations are performed for the RF06 flight of the VOCALS-Rex field campaign (Wood et al. 2011). During this flight pockets of deep open and closed cells were observed in a 1410 m deep boundary layer. The efficacy of aerosol perturbations of varied concentration and spatial gradients in altering the cloud micro- and macrophysical state and cloud-radiative effect is determined in both cloud regimes. Our simulations show that a continued point source emission flux of 1.16*1011 particles m-2 s-1 applied within a 300x300 m2 gridbox induces pronounced cloud cover changes in approximately a third of the simulated 80x80 km2 domain, a weakening of the diurnal cycle in the open-cell regime and a resulting increase in domain-mean cloud albedo of 0.2. Furthermore, we contrast the efficacy of equal strength near-surface or above-cloud aerosol perturbations in altering the cloud state. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20000033817','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20000033817">Sensitivity of Cirrus Bidirectional Reflectance at MODIS Bands to Vertical Inhomogeneity of Ice Crystal Habits and Size Distribution</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Yang, P.; Gao, B.-C.; Baum, B. A.; Wiscombe, W.; Hu, Y.; Nasiri, S. L.; Soulen, P. F.; Heymsfield, A. J.; McFarquhar, G. M.; Miloshevich, L. M. 2000-01-01 A common assumption in satellite imager-based cirrus retrieval algorithms is that the radiative properties of a cirrus cloud may be represented by those associated with a specific ice crystal shape (or habit) and a single particle size distribution. However, observations of cirrus clouds have shown that the shapes and sizes of ice crystals may vary substantially with height within the clouds. In this study we investigate the sensitivity of the top-of-atmosphere bidirectional reflectances at two MODIS bands centered at 0.65 micron and 2.11 micron to the cirrus models assumed to be either a single homogeneous layer or three distinct but contiguous, layers. First, we define the single- and three-layer cirrus cloud models with respect to ice crystal habit and size distribution on the basis of in situ replicator data acquired during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE-II), held in Kansas during the fall of 1991. Subsequently, fundamental light scattering and radiative transfer theory is employed to determine the single scattering and the bulk radiative properties of the cirrus cloud. Regarding the radiative transfer computations, we present a discrete form of the adding/doubling principle by introducing a direct transmission function, which is computationally straightforward and efficient an improvement over previous methods. For the 0.65 micron band, at which absorption by ice is negligible, there is little difference between the bidirectional reflectances calculated for the one- and three-layer cirrus models, suggesting that the vertical inhomogeneity effect is relatively unimportant. At the 2.11 micron band, the bidirectional reflectances computed for both optically thin (tau = 1) and thick (tau = 10) cirrus clouds show significant differences between the results for the one- and three-layer models. The reflectances computed for the three-layer cirrus model are substantially larger than those computed for the single-layer cirrus. Finally, we find that cloud reflectance is very sensitive to the optical properties of the small crystals that predominate in the top layer of the three-layer cirrus model. It is critical to define the most realistic geometric shape for the small "quasi-spherical" ice crystals in the top layer for obtaining reliable single-scattering parameters and bulk radiative properties of cirrus. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010049377','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010049377">Analysis of Aircraft, Radiosonde and Radar Observations in Cirrus Clouds Observed During FIRE II: The Interactions Between Environmental Structure, Turbulence and Cloud Microphysical Properties</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Smith, Samantha A.; DelGenio, Anthony D. 1999-01-01 Ways to determine the turbulence intensity and the horizontal variability in cirrus clouds have been investigated using FIRE-II aircraft, radiosonde and radar data. Higher turbulence intensities were found within some, but not all, of the neutrally stratified layers. It was also demonstrated that the stability of cirrus layers with high extinction values decrease in time, possibly as a result of radiative destabilization. However, these features could not be directly related to each other in any simple manner. A simple linear relationship was observed between the amount of horizontal variability in the ice water content and its average value. This was also true for the extinction and ice crystal number concentrations. A relationship was also suggested between the variability in cloud depth and the environmental stability across the depth of the cloud layer, which requires further investigation. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015SPIE.9794E..2QW','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015SPIE.9794E..2QW">Cloud-based robot remote control system for smart factory</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Wu, Zhiming; Li, Lianzhong; Xu, Yang; Zhai, Jingmei 2015-12-01 With the development of internet technologies and the wide application of robots, there is a prospect (trend/tendency) of integration between network and robots. A cloud-based robot remote control system over networks for smart factory is proposed, which enables remote users to control robots and then realize intelligent production. To achieve it, a three-layer system architecture is designed including user layer, service layer and physical layer. Remote control applications running on the cloud server is developed on Microsoft Azure. Moreover, DIV+ CSS technologies are used to design human-machine interface to lower maintenance cost and improve development efficiency. Finally, an experiment is implemented to verify the feasibility of the program. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016JAMES...8.1565T','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016JAMES...8.1565T">Large-eddy simulation of subtropical cloud-topped boundary layers: 1. A forcing framework with closed surface energy balance</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Tan, Zhihong; Schneider, Tapio; Teixeira, João.; Pressel, Kyle G. 2016-12-01 Large-eddy simulation (LES) of clouds has the potential to resolve a central question in climate dynamics, namely, how subtropical marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds respond to global warming. However, large-scale processes need to be prescribed or represented parameterically in the limited-area LES domains. It is important that the representation of large-scale processes satisfies constraints such as a closed energy balance in a manner that is realizable under climate change. For example, LES with fixed sea surface temperatures usually do not close the surface energy balance, potentially leading to spurious surface fluxes and cloud responses to climate change. Here a framework of forcing LES of subtropical MBL clouds is presented that enforces a closed surface energy balance by coupling atmospheric LES to an ocean mixed layer with a sea surface temperature (SST) that depends on radiative fluxes and sensible and latent heat fluxes at the surface. A variety of subtropical MBL cloud regimes (stratocumulus, cumulus, and stratocumulus over cumulus) are simulated successfully within this framework. However, unlike in conventional frameworks with fixed SST, feedbacks between cloud cover and SST arise, which can lead to sudden transitions between cloud regimes (e.g., stratocumulus to cumulus) as forcing parameters are varied. The simulations validate this framework for studies of MBL clouds and establish its usefulness for studies of how the clouds respond to climate change. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A51D3062M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A51D3062M">WRF Model Simulations of Terrain-Driven Atmospheric Eddies in Marine Stratocumulus Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Muller, B. M.; Herbster, C. G.; Mosher, F. R. 2014-12-01 It is not unusual to observe atmospheric eddies in satellite imagery of the marine stratus and stratocumulus clouds that characterize the summertime weather of the California coastal region and near-shore oceanic environment. The winds of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) over the ocean interact with the high terrain of prominent headlands and islands to create order-10 km scale areas of swirling air that can contain a cloud-free eye, 180-degree wind reversals at the surface over a period of minutes, and may be associated with mixing and turbulence between the high-humidity air of the MABL and the much warmer and drier inversion layer air above. However, synoptic and even subsynoptic surface weather measurements, and the synoptic upper-air observing network are inadequate, or in some cases, completely unable, to detect and characterize the formation, movement, and even the existence of the eddies. They can literally slip between land-based surface observation locations, or stay over the near-shore ocean environment where there may be no surface meteorological measurements. This study presents Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model simulations of these small-scale, terrain-driven, atmospheric features in the MABL from cases detected in GOES satellite imagery. The purpose is to use model output to diagnose the formation mechanisms, sources of vorticity, and the air flow in and around the eddies. Satellite imagery is compared to simulated atmospheric variables to validate features generated within the model atmosphere, and model output is employed as a surrogate atmosphere to better understand the atmospheric characteristics of the eddies. Model air parcel trajectories are estimated to trace the movement and sources of the air contained in and around these often-observed, but seldom-measured features. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ERL....13e4018H','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ERL....13e4018H">Saharan dust plume charging observed over the UK</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Harrison, R. Giles; Nicoll, Keri A.; Marlton, Graeme J.; Ryder, Claire L.; Bennett, Alec J. 2018-05-01 A plume of Saharan dust and Iberian smoke was carried across the southern UK on 16th October 2017, entrained into an Atlantic cyclone which had originated as Hurricane Ophelia. The dust plume aloft was widely noticed as it was sufficiently dense to redden the visual appearance of the sun. Time series of backscatter from ceilometers at Reading and Chilbolton show two plumes: one carried upwards to 2.5 km, and another below 800 m into the boundary layer, with a clear slot between. Steady descent of particles at about 50 cm s‑1 continued throughout the morning, and coarse mode particles reached the surface. Plumes containing dust are frequently observed to be strongly charged, often through frictional effects. This plume passed over atmospheric electric field sensors at Bristol, Chilbolton and Reading. Consistent measurements at these three sites indicated negative plume charge. The lower edge plume charge density was (‑8.0 ± 3.3) nC m‑2, which is several times greater than that typical for stratiform water clouds, implying an active in situ charge generation mechanism such as turbulent triboelectrification. A meteorological radiosonde measuring temperature and humidity was launched into the plume at 1412 UTC, specially instrumented with charge and turbulence sensors. This detected charge in the boundary layer and in the upper plume region, and strong turbulent mixing was observed throughout the atmosphere’s lowest 4 km. The clear slot region, through which particles sedimented, was anomalously dry compared with modelled values, with water clouds forming intermittently in the air beneath. Electrical aspects of dust should be included in numerical models, particularly the charge-related effects on cloud microphysical properties, to accurately represent particle behaviour and transport. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AMT.....9..909F','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AMT.....9..909F">Synergy of stereo cloud top height and ORAC optimal estimation cloud retrieval: evaluation and application to AATSR</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Fisher, Daniel; Poulsen, Caroline A.; Thomas, Gareth E.; Muller, Jan-Peter 2016-03-01 In this paper we evaluate the impact on the cloud parameter retrievals of the ORAC (Optimal Retrieval of Aerosol and Cloud) algorithm following the inclusion of stereo-derived cloud top heights as a priori information. This is performed in a mathematically rigorous way using the ORAC optimal estimation retrieval framework, which includes the facility to use such independent a priori information. Key to the use of a priori information is a characterisation of their associated uncertainty. This paper demonstrates the improvements that are possible using this approach and also considers their impact on the microphysical cloud parameters retrieved. The Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) instrument has two views and three thermal channels, so it is well placed to demonstrate the synergy of the two techniques. The stereo retrieval is able to improve the accuracy of the retrieved cloud top height when compared to collocated Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), particularly in the presence of boundary layer inversions and high clouds. The impact of the stereo a priori information on the microphysical cloud properties of cloud optical thickness (COT) and effective radius (RE) was evaluated and generally found to be very small for single-layer clouds conditions over open water (mean RE differences of 2.2 (±5.9) microns and mean COD differences of 0.5 (±1.8) for single-layer ice clouds over open water at elevations of above 9 km, which are most strongly affected by the inclusion of the a priori). </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1167615-improving-subtropical-boundary-layer-cloudiness-ncep-gfs','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1167615-improving-subtropical-boundary-layer-cloudiness-ncep-gfs">Improving Subtropical Boundary Layer Cloudiness in the 2011 NCEP GFS</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Fletcher, J. K.; Bretherton, Christopher S.; Xiao, Heng 2014-09-23 The current operational version of National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecasting System (GFS) shows significant low cloud bias. These biases also appear in the Coupled Forecast System (CFS), which is developed from the GFS. These low cloud biases degrade seasonal and longer climate forecasts, particularly of short-wave cloud radiative forcing, and affect predicted sea surface temperature. Reducing this bias in the GFS will aid the development of future CFS versions and contributes to NCEP's goal of unified weather and climate modelling. Changes are made to the shallow convection and planetary boundary layer parameterisations to make them more consistentmore » with current knowledge of these processes and to reduce the low cloud bias. These changes are tested in a single-column version of GFS and in global simulations with GFS coupled to a dynamical ocean model. In the single-column model, we focus on changing parameters that set the following: the strength of shallow cumulus lateral entrainment, the conversion of updraught liquid water to precipitation and grid-scale condensate, shallow cumulus cloud top, and the effect of shallow convection in stratocumulus environments. Results show that these changes improve the single-column simulations when compared to large eddy simulations, in particular through decreasing the precipitation efficiency of boundary layer clouds. These changes, combined with a few other model improvements, also reduce boundary layer cloud and albedo biases in global coupled simulations.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/678753-one-dimensional-sectional-model-simulate-multicomponent-aerosol-dynamics-marine-boundary-layer-model-application','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/678753-one-dimensional-sectional-model-simulate-multicomponent-aerosol-dynamics-marine-boundary-layer-model-application">A one-dimensional sectional model to simulate multicomponent aerosol dynamics in the marine boundary layer 2. Model application</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Fitzgerald, James W.; Hoppel, William A.; Frick, Glendon M. 1998-07-01 The dynamics of aerosols in the marine boundary layer (MBL) are simulated with the marine boundary layer aerosol model (MARBLES), a one-dimensional, multicomponent sectional aerosol model [{ital Fitzgerald} {ital et al.}, this issue; {ital Gelbard} {ital et al.}, this issue]. First, to illustrate how the various aerosol processes influence the particle size distribution, the model was run with one or two processes operating on the same initial size distribution. Because of current interest in the effects of cloud processing of aerosols and exchange of aerosols with the free troposphere (FT) on marine aerosol size distributions, these two processes are examinedmore » in considerable detail. The simulations show that the effect of cloud processing (characteristic double-peaked size distribution) in the upper part of the MBL is manifested at the surface on a timescale that is much faster than changes due to exchange with the FT, assuming a typical exchange velocity of 0.6 cmthinsps{sup {minus}1}. The model predicts that the FT can be a significant source of particles for the MBL in the size range of the cloud-processing minimum, between the unactivated interstitial particles and the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) which have grown as a result of conversion of dissolved SO{sub 2} to sulfate in cloud droplets. The model was also used to simulate the evolution of the aerosol size distribution in an air mass advecting from the east coast of the United States out over the ocean for up to 10 days. The modification of a continental aerosol size distribution to one that is remote marine in character occurs on a timescale of 6{endash}8 days. Nucleation was not observed in the base case 10-day advection simulation which assumed rather typical meteorological conditions. However, significant nucleation was predicted under a more favorable (albeit, atypical) combination of conditions which included significant precipitation scavenging (5 mmthinsph{sup {minus}1} of rain for 12 hours), colder temperatures by 10thinsp{degree}C (283 K at the surface decreasing to 278 K at 1000 m) and a high DMS flux (40 {mu}molthinspm{sup {minus}2}thinspd{sup {minus}1}). In a test of model self initialization, long-term (8{endash}10 days) predictions of marine aerosol size distributions were found to be essentially independent of initial conditions. {copyright} 1998 American Geophysical Union« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016DPS....4850808B','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016DPS....4850808B">Accurate Spectral Fits of Jupiter's Great Red Spot: VIMS Visual Spectra Modelled with Chromophores Created by Photolyzed Ammonia Reacting with Acetyleneχ±</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Baines, Kevin; Sromovsky, Lawrence A.; Fry, Patrick M.; Carlson, Robert W.; Momary, Thomas W. 2016-10-01 We report results incorporating the red-tinted photochemically-generated aerosols of Carlson et al (2016, Icarus 274, 106-115) in spectral models of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS). Spectral models of the 0.35-1.0-micron spectrum show good agreement with Cassini/VIMS near-center-meridian and near-limb GRS spectra for model morphologies incorporating an optically-thin layer of Carlson (2016) aerosols at high altitudes, either at the top of the tropospheric GRS cloud, or in a distinct stratospheric haze layer. Specifically, a two-layer "crème brûlée" structure of the Mie-scattering Carlson et al (2016) chromophore attached to the top of a conservatively scattering (hereafter, "white") optically-thick cloud fits the spectra well. Currently, best agreement (reduced χ2 of 0.89 for the central-meridian spectrum) is found for a 0.195-0.217-bar, 0.19 ± 0.02 opacity layer of chromophores with mean particle radius of 0.14 ± 0.01 micron. As well, a structure with a detached stratospheric chromophore layer ~0.25 bar above a white tropospheric GRS cloud provides a good spectral match (reduced χ2 of 1.16). Alternatively, a cloud morphology with the chromophore coating white particles in a single optically- and physically-thick cloud (the "coated-shell model", initially explored by Carlson et al 2016) was found to give significantly inferior fits (best reduced χ2 of 2.9). Overall, we find that models accurately fit the GRS spectrum if (1) most of the optical depth of the chromophore is in a layer near the top of the main cloud or in a distinct separated layer above it, but is not uniformly distributed within the main cloud, (2) the chromophore consists of relatively small, 0.1-0.2-micron-radius particles, and (3) the chromophore layer optical depth is small, ~ 0.1-0.2. Thus, our analysis supports the exogenic origin of the red chromophore consistent with the Carlson et al (2016) photolytic production mechanism rather than an endogenic origin, such as upwelling of material from the depths of Jupiter. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003AdAtS..20..711Z','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003AdAtS..20..711Z">Dependence of Hurricane intensity and structures on vertical resolution and time-step size</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Zhang, Da-Lin; Wang, Xiaoxue 2003-09-01 In view of the growing interests in the explicit modeling of clouds and precipitation, the effects of varying vertical resolution and time-step sizes on the 72-h explicit simulation of Hurricane Andrew (1992) are studied using the Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU/NCAR) mesoscale model (i.e., MM5) with the finest grid size of 6 km. It is shown that changing vertical resolution and time-step size has significant effects on hurricane intensity and inner-core cloud/precipitation, but little impact on the hurricane track. In general, increasing vertical resolution tends to produce a deeper storm with lower central pressure and stronger three-dimensional winds, and more precipitation. Similar effects, but to a less extent, occur when the time-step size is reduced. It is found that increasing the low-level vertical resolution is more efficient in intensifying a hurricane, whereas changing the upper-level vertical resolution has little impact on the hurricane intensity. Moreover, the use of a thicker surface layer tends to produce higher maximum surface winds. It is concluded that the use of higher vertical resolution, a thin surface layer, and smaller time-step sizes, along with higher horizontal resolution, is desirable to model more realistically the intensity and inner-core structures and evolution of tropical storms as well as the other convectively driven weather systems. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..19.5166K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..19.5166K">Cloud level winds from UV and IR images obtained by VMC onboard Venus Express</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Khatuntsev, Igor; Patsaeva, Marina; Titov, Dmitri; Ignatiev, Nikolay; Turin, Alexander; Bertaux, Jean-Loup 2017-04-01 During eight years Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) [1] onboard the Venus Express orbiter has observed the upper cloud layer of Venus. The largest set of images was obtained in the UV (365 nm), visible (513 nm) and two infrared channels - 965 nm and 1010 nm. The UV dayside images were used to study the atmospheric circulation at the Venus cloud tops [2], [3]. Mean zonal and meridional profiles of winds and their variability were derived from cloud tracking of UV images. In low latitudes the mean retrograde zonal wind at the cloud top (67±2 km) is about 95 m/s with a maximum of about 102 m/s at 40-50°S. Poleward from 50°S the zonal wind quickly fades out with latitude. The mean poleward meridional wind slowly increases from zero value at the equator to about 10 m/s at 50°S. Poleward from this latitude, the absolute value of the meridional component monotonically decreases to zero at the pole. The VMC observations suggest clear diurnal signature in the wind field. They also indicate a long term trend for the zonal wind speed at low latitudes to increase from 85 m/s in the beginning of the mission to 110 m/s by the middle of 2012. The trend was explained by influence of the surface topography on the zonal flow [4]. Cloud features tracking in the IR images provided information about winds in the middle cloud deck (55±4 km). In the low and middle latitudes (5-65°S) the IR mean retrograde zonal velocity is about 68-70 m/s. In contrast to poleward flow at the cloud tops, equatorward motions dominate in the middle cloud with maximum speed of 5.8±1.2 m/s at latitude 15°S. The meridional speed slowly decreases to 0 at 65-70°S. At low latitudes the zonal and meridional speed demonstrate long term variations. Following [4] we explain the observed long term trend of zonal and meridional components by the influence of surface topography of highland region Aphrodite Terra on dynamic processes in the middle cloud deck through gravity waves. Acknowledgements: I.V. Khatuntsev, M.V. Patsaeva, N.I. Ignatiev, J.-L. Bertaux were supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation grant 14.W03.31.0017. References: [1] Markiewicz W. J. et al.: Venus Monitoring Camera for Venus Express // Planet. Space Sci., 55(12), 1701-1711. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2007.01.004, 2007. [2] Khatuntsev I.V. et al.: Cloud level winds from the Venus Express Monitoring Camera imaging // Icarus, 226, 140-158. 2013. [3] Patsaeva M.V. et al.: The relationship between mesoscale circulation and cloud morphology at the upper cloud level of Venus from VMC/Venus Express // Planet. Space Sci., 113(08), 100-108, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.01.013, 2015. [4] Bertaux J.-L. et al.: Influence of Venus topography on the zonal wind and UV albedo at cloud top level: The role of stationary gravity waves // J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 121, 1087-1101, doi:10.1002/2015JE004958, 2016. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.A34E..05K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.A34E..05K">Exploiting Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra of Mixed-Phase Clouds during ACCEPT Field Experiment to Identify Microphysical Processes</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kalesse, H.; Myagkov, A.; Seifert, P.; Buehl, J. 2015-12-01 Cloud radar Doppler spectra offer much information about cloud processes. By analyzing millimeter radar Doppler spectra from cloud-top to -base in mixed-phase clouds in which super-cooled liquid-layers are present we try to tell the microphysical evolution story of particles that are present by disentangling the contributions of the solid and liquid particles to the total radar returns. Instead of considering vertical profiles, dynamical effects are taken into account by following the particle population evolution along slanted paths which are caused by horizontal advection of the cloud. The goal is to identify regions in which different microphysical processes such as new particle formation (nucleation), water vapor deposition, aggregation, riming, or sublimation occurr. Cloud radar measurements are supplemented by Doppler lidar and Raman lidar observations as well as observations with MWR, wind profiler, and radio sondes. The presence of super-cooled liquid layers is identified by positive liquid water paths in MWR measurements, the vertical location of liquid layers (in non-raining systems and below lidar extinction) is derived from regions of high-backscatter and low depolarization in Raman lidar observations. In collocated cloud radar measurements, we try to identify cloud phase in the cloud radar Doppler spectrum via location of the Doppler peak(s), the existence of multi-modalities or the spectral skewness. Additionally, within the super-cooled liquid layers, the radar-identified liquid droplets are used as air motion tracer to correct the radar Doppler spectrum for vertical air motion w. These radar-derived estimates of w are validated by independent estimates of w from collocated Doppler lidar measurements. A 35 GHz vertically pointing cloud Doppler radar (METEK MIRA-35) in linear depolarization (LDR) mode is used. Data is from the deployment of the Leipzig Aerosol and Cloud Remote Observations System (LACROS) during the Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques (ACCEPT) field experiment in Cabauw, Netherlands in Fall 2014. There, another MIRA-35 was operated in simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception (STSR) mode for obtaining measurements of differential reflectivity (ZDR) and correlation coefficient ρhv. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992ApPhB..55..391S','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992ApPhB..55..391S">Formation of a knudsen layer in electronically induced desorption</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Sibold, D.; Urbassek, H. M. 1992-10-01 For intense desorption fluxes, particles desorbed by electronic transitions (DIET) from a surface into a vacuum may thermalize in the gas cloud forming above the surface. In immediate vicinity to the surface, however, a non-equilibrium layer (the Knudsen layer) exists which separates the recently desorbed, non-thermal particles from the thermalized gas cloud. We investigate by Monte Carlo computer simulation the time it takes to form a Knudsen layer, and its properties. It is found that a Knudsen layer, and thus also a thermalized gas cloud, is formed after around 200 mean free flight times of the desorbing particles, corresponding to a desorption of 20 monolayers. At the end of the Knudsen layer, the gas density will be higher, and the flow velocity and temperature smaller, than literature values indicate for thermal desorption. These data are of fundamental interest for the modeling of gas-kinetic and gas-dynamic effects in DIET. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_23");'>23</a></li> <li class="active">24</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>25</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page_25" class="hiddenDiv"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_23");'>23</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_24");'>24</a></li> <li class="active">25</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12"> <ol class="result-class" start="481"> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20150018351','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20150018351">Testing the Two-Layer Model for Correcting Clear Sky Reflectance near Clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Wen, Guoyong; Marshak, Alexander; Evans, Frank; Varnai, Tamas; Levy, Rob 2015-01-01 A two-layer model (2LM) was developed in our earlier studies to estimate the clear sky reflectance enhancement due to cloud-molecular radiative interaction at MODIS at 0.47 micrometers. Recently, we extended the model to include cloud-surface and cloud-aerosol radiative interactions. We use the LES/SHDOM simulated 3D true radiation fields to test the 2LM for reflectance enhancement at 0.47 micrometers. We find: The simple model captures the viewing angle dependence of the reflectance enhancement near cloud, suggesting the physics of this model is correct; the cloud-molecular interaction alone accounts for 70 percent of the enhancement; the cloud-surface interaction accounts for 16 percent of the enhancement; the cloud-aerosol interaction accounts for an additional 13 percent of the enhancement. We conclude that the 2LM is simple to apply and unbiased. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20120017005','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20120017005">Radiative Impacts of Cloud Heterogeneity and Overlap in an Atmospheric General Circulation Model</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Oreopoulos, L.; Lee, D.; Sud, Y. C.; Suarez, M. J. 2012-01-01 The radiative impacts of introducing horizontal heterogeneity of layer cloud condensate, and vertical overlap of condensate and cloud fraction are examined with the aid of a new radiation package operating in the GEOS-5 Atmospheric General Circulation Model. The impacts are examined in terms of diagnostic top-of-the-atmosphere shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) cloud radiative effect (CRE) calculations for a range of assumptions and parameter specifications about the overlap. The investigation is conducted for two distinct cloud schemes, the one that comes with the standard GEOS-5 distribution, and another which has been recently used experimentally for its enhanced GEOS-5 distribution, and another which has been recently used experimentally for its enhanced cloud microphysical capabilities; both are coupled to a cloud generator allowing arbitrary cloud overlap specification. We find that cloud overlap radiative impacts are significantly stronger for the operational cloud scheme for which a change of cloud fraction overlap from maximum-random to generalized results to global changes of SW and LW CRE of approximately 4 Watts per square meter, and zonal changes of up to approximately 10 Watts per square meter. This is because of fewer occurrences compared to the other scheme of large layer cloud fractions and of multi-layer situations with large numbers of atmospheric being simultaneously cloudy, conditions that make overlap details more important. The impact on CRE of the details of condensate distribution overlap is much weaker. Once generalized overlap is adopted, both cloud schemes are only modestly sensitive to the exact values of the overlap parameters. We also find that if one of the CRE components is overestimated and the other underestimated, both cannot be driven towards observed values by adjustments to cloud condensate heterogeneity and overlap alone. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010072068','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010072068">Cloud Overlapping Detection Algorithm Using Solar and IR Wavelengths With GOSE Data Over ARM/SGP Site</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Kawamoto, Kazuaki; Minnis, Patrick; Smith, William L., Jr. 2001-01-01 One of the most perplexing problems in satellite cloud remote sensing is the overlapping of cloud layers. Although most techniques assume a 1-layer cloud system in a given retrieval of cloud properties, many observations are affected by radiation from more than one cloud layer. As such, cloud overlap can cause errors in the retrieval of many properties including cloud height, optical depth, phase, and particle size. A variety of methods have been developed to identify overlapped clouds in a given satellite imager pixel. Baum el al. (1995) used CO2 slicing and a spatial coherence method to demonstrate a possible analysis method for nighttime detection of multilayered clouds. Jin and Rossow (1997) also used a multispectral CO2 slicing technique for a global analysis of overlapped cloud amount. Lin et al. (1999) used a combination infrared, visible, and microwave data to detect overlapped clouds over water. Recently, Baum and Spinhirne (2000) proposed 1.6 and 11 microns. bispectral threshold method. While all of these methods have made progress in solving this stubborn problem, none have yet proven satisfactory for continuous and consistent monitoring of multilayer cloud systems. It is clear that detection of overlapping clouds from passive instruments such as satellite radiometers is in an immature stage of development and requires additional research. Overlapped cloud systems also affect the retrievals of cloud properties over the ARM domains (e.g., Minnis et al 1998) and hence should identified as accurately as possible. To reach this goal, it is necessary to determine which information can be exploited for detecting multilayered clouds from operational meteorological satellite data used by ARM. This paper examines the potential information available in spectral data available on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imager and the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) used over the ARM SGP and NSA sites to study the capability of detecting overlapping clouds </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010110104','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010110104">Cloud Overlapping Detection Algorithm Using Solar and IR Wavelengths with GOES Data Over ARM/SGP Site</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Kawamoto, K.; Minnis, P.; Smith, W. L., Jr. 2001-01-01 One of the most perplexing problems in satellite cloud remote sensing is the overlapping of cloud layers. Although most techniques assume a one layer cloud system in a given retrieval of cloud properties, many observations are affected by radiation from more than one cloud layer. As such, cloud overlap can cause errors in the retrieval of many properties including cloud height, optical depth, phase, and particle size. A variety of methods have been developed to identify overlapped clouds in a given satellite imager pixel. Baum et al used CO2 slicing and a spatial coherence method to demonstrate a possible analysis method for nighttime detection of multilayered clouds. Jin and Rossow also used a multispectral CO2 slicing technique for a global analysis of overlapped cloud amount. Lin et al. used a combination infrared (IR), visible (VIS), and microwave data to detect overlapped clouds over water. Recently, Baum and Spinhirne proposed a 1.6 and 11 micron bispectral threshold method. While all of these methods have made progress in solving this stubborn problem none have yet proven satisfactory for continuous and consistent monitoring of multilayer cloud systems. It is clear that detection of overlapping clouds from passive instruments such as satellite radiometers is in an immature stage of development and requires additional research. Overlapped cloud systems also affect the retrievals of cloud properties over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) domains and hence should be identified as accurately as possible. To reach this goal, it is necessary to determine which information can be exploited for detecting multilayered clouds from operational meteorological satellite data used by ARM. This paper examines the potential information available in spectral data available on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imager and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) used over the ARM Program's Southern Great Plains (SGP), and North Slope of Alaska (NSA) sites to study the capability of detecting overlapping clouds. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..1913789G','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..1913789G">Investigation of aerosol effects on shallow marine convection - Lidar measurements during NARVAL-I and NARVAL-II</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Groß, Silke; Wirth, Martin; Gutleben, Manuel; Ewald, Florian; Kiemle, Christoph; Kölling, Tobias; Mayer, Bernhard 2017-04-01 Clouds and aerosols have a large impact on the Earth's radiation budget by scattering and absorption of solar and terrestrial radiation. Furthermore aerosols can modify cloud properties and distribution. Up to now no sufficient understanding in aerosol-cloud interaction and in climate feedback of clouds is achieved. Especially shallow marine convection in the trade wind regions show large uncertainties in climate feedback. Thus a better understanding of these shallow marine convective clouds and how aerosols affect these clouds, e.g. by changing the cloud properties and distribution, is highly demanded. During NARVAL-I (Next-generation airborne remote-sensing for validation studies) and NARVAL-II a set of active and passive remote sensing instruments, i.e. a cloud radar, an aerosol and water vapor lidar system, microwave radiometer, a hyper spectral imager (NARVAL-II only) and radiation measurements, were installed on the German research aircraft HALO. Measurements were performed out of Barbados over the tropical North-Atlantic region in December 2013 and August 2016 to study shallow trade wind convection as well as its environment in the dry and wet season. While no or only few aerosol layers were observed above the marine boundary layer during the dry season in December 2013, part of the measurement area was influenced by high aerosol load caused by long-range transport of Saharan dust during the NARVAL-II measurements in August 2016. Measurement flights during NARVAL-II were conducted the way that we could probed aerosol influenced regions as well as areas with low aerosol load. Thus the measurements during both campaigns provide the opportunity to investigate if and how the transported aerosol layers change the distribution and formation of the shallow marine convection by altering their properties and environment. In our presentation we will focus on the lidar measurements performed during NARVAL-I and NARVAL-II. We will give an overview of the measurements and of the general aerosol and cloud situation, and we will show first results how cloud properties and distribution of shallow marine convection change in the presence of lofted aerosol layers. In particular we will determine if aerosols modify horizontal cloud distribution and cloud top height distribution by looking on the correlations between aerosol load and cloud distribution, and we will investigate if and how the presence of the lofted aerosol layer changes the properties of the clouds, e.g. by acting as ice nuclei. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EP%26S...69..161M','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EP%26S...69..161M">Effects of variation in coagulation and photochemistry parameters on the particle size distributions in the Venus clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> McGouldrick, Kevin 2017-12-01 This paper explores the effects that variation in the coalescence efficiency of the Venus cloud particles can have on the structure of the Venus cloud. It is motivated by the acknowledgment of uncertainties in the measured parameters—and the assumptions made to account for them—that define our present knowledge of the particle characteristics. Specifically, we explore the consequence of allowing the coalescence efficiency of supercooled sulfuric acid in the upper clouds to tend to zero. This produces a cloud that occasionally exhibits an enhancement of small particles at altitude (similar to the upper hazes observed by Pioneer Venus and subsequently shown to be somewhat transient). This simulated cloud occasionally exhibits a rapid growth of particle size near cloud base, exhibiting characteristics similar to those seen in the controversial Mode 3 particles. These results demonstrate that a subset of the variations observed as near-infrared opacity variations in the lower and middle clouds of Venus can be explained by microphysical, in addition to dynamical, variations. Furthermore, the existence of a population of particles exhibiting less efficient coalescence efficiencies would support the likelihood of conditions suitable for charge exchange, hence lightning, in the Venus clouds. We recommend future laboratory studies on the coalescence properties of sulfuric acid under the range of conditions experienced in the Venus clouds. We also recommend future in situ measurements to better characterize the properties of the cloud particles themselves, especially composition and particle habits (shapes).[Figure not available: see fulltext. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120002052&hterms=remote+sensing+satellites&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dremote%2Bsensing%2Bsatellites','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120002052&hterms=remote+sensing+satellites&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Dremote%2Bsensing%2Bsatellites">Boundary Layer Remote Sensing with Combined Active and Passive Techniques: GPS Radio Occultation and High-Resolution Stereo Imaging (WindCam) Small Satellite Concept</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Mannucci, A.J.; Wu, D.L.; Teixeira, J.; Ao, C.O.; Xie, F.; Diner, D.J.; Wood, R.; Turk, Joe 2012-01-01 Objective: significant progress in understanding low-cloud boundary layer processes. This is the Single largest uncertainty in climate projections. Radio occultation has unique features suited to boundary layer remote sensing (1) Cloud penetrating (2) Very high vertical resolution (approximately 50m-100m) (3) Sensitivity to thermodynamic variables </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ClDy...50.3097F','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ClDy...50.3097F">The influence of extratropical cloud phase and amount feedbacks on climate sensitivity</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Frey, William R.; Kay, Jennifer E. 2018-04-01 Global coupled climate models have large long-standing cloud and radiation biases, calling into question their ability to simulate climate and climate change. This study assesses the impact of reducing shortwave radiation biases on climate sensitivity within the Community Earth System Model (CESM). The model is modified by increasing supercooled cloud liquid to better match absorbed shortwave radiation observations over the Southern Ocean while tuning to reduce a compensating tropical shortwave bias. With a thermodynamic mixed-layer ocean, equilibrium warming in response to doubled CO2 increases from 4.1 K in the control to 5.6 K in the modified model. This 1.5 K increase in equilibrium climate sensitivity is caused by changes in two extratropical shortwave cloud feedbacks. First, reduced conversion of cloud ice to liquid at high southern latitudes decreases the magnitude of a negative cloud phase feedback. Second, warming is amplified in the mid-latitudes by a larger positive shortwave cloud feedback. The positive cloud feedback, usually associated with the subtropics, arises when sea surface warming increases the moisture gradient between the boundary layer and free troposphere. The increased moisture gradient enhances the effectiveness of mixing to dry the boundary layer, which decreases cloud amount and optical depth. When a full-depth ocean with dynamics and thermodynamics is included, ocean heat uptake preferentially cools the mid-latitude Southern Ocean, partially inhibiting the positive cloud feedback and slowing warming. Overall, the results highlight strong connections between Southern Ocean mixed-phase cloud partitioning, cloud feedbacks, and ocean heat uptake in a climate forced by greenhouse gas changes. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19860018365','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19860018365">A model for the estimation of the surface fluxes of momentum, heat and moisture of the cloud topped marine atmospheric boundary layer from satellite measurable parameters. M.S. Thesis</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Allison, D. E. 1984-01-01 A model is developed for the estimation of the surface fluxes of momentum, heat, and moisture of the cloud topped marine atmospheric boundary layer by use of satellite remotely sensed parameters. The parameters chosen for the problem are the integrated liquid water content, q sub li, the integrated water vapor content, q sub vi, the cloud top temperature, and either a measure of the 10 meter neutral wind speed or the friction velocity at the surface. Under the assumption of a horizontally homogeneous, well-mixed boundary layer, the model calculates the equivalent potential temperature and total water profiles of the boundary layer along with the boundary layer height from inputs of q sub li, q sub vi, and cloud top temperature. These values, along with the 10m neutral wind speed or friction velocity and the sea surface temperature are then used to estimate the surface fluxes. The development of a scheme to parameterize the integrated water vapor outside of the boundary layer for the cases of cold air outbreak and California coastal stratus is presented. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008JGRD..113.4210A','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008JGRD..113.4210A">Influence of Saharan dust on cloud glaciation in southern Morocco during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Ansmann, A.; Tesche, M.; Althausen, D.; Müller, D.; Seifert, P.; Freudenthaler, V.; Heese, B.; Wiegner, M.; Pisani, G.; Knippertz, P.; Dubovik, O. 2008-02-01 Multiwavelength lidar, Sun photometer, and radiosonde observations were conducted at Ouarzazate (30.9°N, 6.9°W, 1133 m above sea level, asl), Morocco, in the framework of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) in May-June 2006. The field site is close to the Saharan desert. Information on the depolarization ratio, backscatter and extinction coefficients, and lidar ratio of the dust particles, estimates of the available concentration of atmospheric ice nuclei at cloud level, profiles of temperature, humidity, and the horizontal wind vector as well as backward trajectory analysis are used to study cases of cloud formation in the dust with focus on heterogeneous ice formation. Surprisingly, most of the altocumulus clouds that form at the top of the Saharan dust layer, which reaches into heights of 4-7 km asl and has layer top temperatures of -8°C to -18°C, do not show any ice formation. According to the lidar observations the presence of a high number of ice nuclei (1-20 cm-3) does not automatically result in the obvious generation of ice particles, but the observations indicate that cloud top temperatures must typically reach values as low as -20°C before significant ice production starts. Another main finding is that liquid clouds are obviously required before ice crystals form via heterogeneous freezing mechanisms, and, as a consequence, that deposition freezing is not an important ice nucleation process. An interesting case with cloud seeding in the free troposphere above the dust layer is presented in addition. Small water clouds formed at about -30°C and produced ice virga. These virga reached water cloud layers several kilometers below the initiating cloud cells and caused strong ice production in these clouds at temperatures as high as -12°C to -15°C. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/879253','DOE-PATENT-XML'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/879253">Long-Life Self-Renewing Solar Reflector Stack</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/doepatents">DOEpatents</a> Butler, Barry Lynn 1997-07-08 A long-life solar reflector includes a solar collector substrate and a base layer bonded to a solar collector substrate. The first layer includes a first reflective layer and a first acrylic or transparent polymer layer covering the first reflective layer to prevent exposure of the first reflective layer. The reflector also includes at least one upper layer removably bonded to the first acrylic or transparent polymer layer of the base layer. The upper layer includes a second reflective layer and a second acrylic or transparent polymer layer covering the second reflective layer to prevent exposure of the second reflective layer. The upper layer may be removed from the base reflective layer to expose the base layer, thereby lengthening the useful life of the solar reflector. A method of manufacturing a solar reflector includes the steps of bonding a base layer to a solar collector substrate, wherein the base reflective layer includes a first reflective layer and a first transparent polymer or acrylic layer covering the first reflective layer; and removably bonding a first upper layer to the first transparent polymer or acrylic layer of the base layer. The first upper layer includes a second reflective layer and a second transparent polymer or acrylic layer covering the second reflective layer to prevent exposure of the second reflective layer. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018GeoRL..45.4410L','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018GeoRL..45.4410L">The Impact of the Aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing on Deep Convection and Air Quality in the Pearl River Delta Region</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Liu, Z.; Yim, Steve H. L.; Wang, C.; Lau, N. C. 2018-05-01 Literature has reported the remarkable aerosol impact on low-level cloud by direct radiative forcing (DRF). Impacts on middle-upper troposphere cloud are not yet fully understood, even though this knowledge is important for regions with a large spatial heterogeneity of emissions and aerosol concentration. We assess the aerosol DRF and its cloud response in June (with strong convection) in Pearl River Delta region for 2008-2012 at cloud-resolving scale using an air quality-climate coupled model. Aerosols suppress deep convection by increasing atmospheric stability leading to less evaporation from the ground. The relative humidity is reduced in middle-upper troposphere due to induced reduction in both evaporation from the ground and upward motion. The cloud reduction offsets 20% of the aerosol DRF. The weaker vertical mixing further increases surface aerosol concentration by up to 2.90 μg/m3. These findings indicate the aerosol DRF impact on deep convection and in turn regional air quality. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A43L..05W','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014AGUFM.A43L..05W">Observation of Dust Aging Processes During Transport from Africa into the Caribbean - A Lagrangian Case Study</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Weinzierl, B.; Sauer, D. N.; Walser, A.; Dollner, M.; Reitebuch, O.; Gross, S.; Chouza, F.; Ansmann, A.; Toledano, C.; Freudenthaler, V.; Kandler, K.; Schäfler, A.; Baumann, R.; Tegen, I.; Heinold, B. 2014-12-01 Aerosol particles are regularly transported over long distances impacting air quality, health, weather and climate thousands of kilometers downwind of the source. During transport, particle properties are modified thereby changing the associated impact on the radiation budget. Although mineral dust is of key importance for the climate system many questions such as the change of the dust size distribution during long-range transport, the role of wet and dry removal mechanisms, and the complex interaction between mineral dust and clouds remain open. In June/July 2013, the Saharan Aerosol Long-range Transport and Aerosol-Cloud-Interaction Experiment (SALTRACE: http://www.pa.op.dlr.de/saltrace) was conducted to study the transport and transformation of Saharan mineral dust. Besides ground-based lidar and in-situ instruments deployed on Cape Verde, Barbados and Puerto Rico, the DLR research aircraft Falcon was equipped with an extended aerosol in-situ instrumentation, a nadir-looking 2-μm wind lidar and instruments for standard meteorological parameters. During SALTRACE, five large dust outbreaks were studied by ground-based, airborne and satellite measurements between Senegal, Cape Verde, the Caribbean, and Florida. Highlights included the Lagrangian sampling of a dust plume in the Cape Verde area on 17 June which was again measured with the same instrumentation on 21 and 22 June 2013 near Barbados. Between Cape Verde and Barbados, the aerosol optical thickness (500 nm) decreased from 0.54 to 0.26 and the stratification of the dust layers changed significantly from a rather homogenous structure near Africa to a 3-layer structure with embedded cumulus clouds in the Caribbean. In the upper part of the dust layers in the Caribbean, the aerosol properties were similar to the observations near Africa. In contrast, much more variability in the dust properties was observed between 0.7 and 2.5 km altitude probably due to interaction of the mineral dust with clouds. In our presentation, we show vertical profiles of dust size distributions, CCN and dust optical properties. Based on the Lagrangian measurements, we discuss the effects of dust aging processes during long-range transport. Special attention will be given on changes in fine and coarse mode size distribution and aerosol mixing state. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1043372-assessing-regional-scale-predictions-aerosols-marine-stratocumulus-interactions-during-vocals-rex-using-wrf-chem','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1043372-assessing-regional-scale-predictions-aerosols-marine-stratocumulus-interactions-during-vocals-rex-using-wrf-chem">Assessing regional scale predictions of aerosols, marine stratocumulus, and their interactions during VOCALS-REx using WRF-Chem</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Yang Q.; Lee Y.; Gustafson Jr., W. I. 2011-12-02 This study assesses the ability of the recent chemistry version (v3.3) of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-Chem) model to simulate boundary layer structure, aerosols, stratocumulus clouds, and energy fluxes over the Southeast Pacific Ocean. Measurements from the VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study Regional Experiment (VOCALS-REx) and satellite retrievals (i.e., products from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), and GOES-10) are used for this assessment. The Morrison double-moment microphysics scheme is newly coupled with interactive aerosols in the model. The 31-day (15 October-16 November 2008) WRF-Chem simulation with aerosol-cloud interactions (AERO hereafter) is also comparedmore » to a simulation (MET hereafter) with fixed cloud droplet number concentrations in the microphysics scheme and simplified cloud and aerosol treatments in the radiation scheme. The well-simulated aerosol quantities (aerosol number, mass composition and optical properties), and the inclusion of full aerosol-cloud couplings lead to significant improvements in many features of the simulated stratocumulus clouds: cloud optical properties and microphysical properties such as cloud top effective radius, cloud water path, and cloud optical thickness. In addition to accounting for the aerosol direct and semi-direct effects, these improvements feed back to the simulation of boundary-layer characteristics and energy budgets. Particularly, inclusion of interactive aerosols in AERO strengthens the temperature and humidity gradients within the capping inversion layer and lowers the marine boundary layer (MBL) depth by 130 m from that of the MET simulation. These differences are associated with weaker entrainment and stronger mean subsidence at the top of the MBL in AERO. Mean top-of-atmosphere outgoing shortwave fluxes, surface latent heat, and surface downwelling longwave fluxes are in better agreement with observations in AERO, compared to the MET simulation. Nevertheless, biases in some of the simulated meteorological quantities (e.g., MBL temperature and humidity) and aerosol quantities (e.g., underestimations of accumulation mode aerosol number) might affect simulated stratocumulus and energy fluxes over the Southeastern Pacific, and require further investigation. The well-simulated timing and outflow patterns of polluted and clean episodes demonstrate the model's ability to capture daily/synoptic scale variations of aerosol and cloud properties, and suggest that the model is suitable for studying atmospheric processes associated with pollution outflow over the ocean. The overall performance of the regional model in simulating mesoscale clouds and boundary layer properties is encouraging and suggests that reproducing gradients of aerosol and cloud droplet concentrations and coupling cloud-aerosol-radiation processes are important when simulating marine stratocumulus over the Southeast Pacific.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43B2458K','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AGUFM.A43B2458K">Lagrangian large eddy simulations of boundary layer clouds on ERA-Interim and ERA5 trajectories</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Kazil, J.; Feingold, G.; Yamaguchi, T. 2017-12-01 This exploratory study examines Lagrangian large eddy simulations of boundary layer clouds along wind trajectories from the ERA-Interim and ERA5 reanalyses. The study is motivated by the need for statistically representative sets of high resolution simulations of cloud field evolution in realistic meteorological conditions. The study will serve as a foundation for the investigation of biomass burning effects on the transition from stratocumulus to shallow cumulus clouds in the South-East Atlantic. Trajectories that pass through a location with radiosonde data (St. Helena) and which exhibit a well-defined cloud structure and evolution were identified in satellite imagery, and sea surface temperature and atmospheric vertical profiles along the trajectories were extracted from the reanalysis data sets. The System for Atmospheric Modeling (SAM) simulated boundary layer turbulence and cloud properties along the trajectories. Mean temperature and moisture (in the free troposphere) and mean wind speed (at all levels) were nudged towards the reanalysis data. Atmospheric and cloud properties in the large eddy simulations were compared with those from the reanalysis products, and evaluated with satellite imagery and radiosonde data. Simulations using ERA-Interim data and the higher resolution ERA5 data are contrasted. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1405931-influences-drizzle-stratocumulus-cloudiness-organization-influences-drizzle-cloudiness-stratocumulus-organization','SCIGOV-DOEP'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/pages/biblio/1405931-influences-drizzle-stratocumulus-cloudiness-organization-influences-drizzle-cloudiness-stratocumulus-organization">Influences of drizzle on stratocumulus cloudiness and organization [Influences of drizzle on cloudiness and stratocumulus organization</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/pages">DOE PAGES</a> Zhou, Xiaoli; Heus, Thijs; Kollias, Pavlos 2017-06-06 Large-eddy simulations are used to study the influence of drizzle on stratocumulus organization, based on measurements made as part of the Second Dynamics and Chemistry of the Marine Stratocumulus field study-II. Cloud droplet number concentration ( N c) is prescribed and considered as the proxy for different aerosol loadings. Our study shows that the amount of cloudiness does not decrease linearly with precipitation rate. An N c threshold is observed below which the removal of cloud water via precipitation efficiently reduces cloud depth, allowing evaporation to become efficient and quickly remove the remaining thin clouds, facilitating a fast transition frommore » closed cells to open cells. Using Fourier analysis, stratocumulus length scales are found to increase with drizzle rates. Raindrop evaporation below 300 m lowers the cloud bases and amplifies moisture variances in the subcloud layer, while it does not alter the horizontal scales in the cloud layer, suggesting that moist cold pool dynamic forcings are not essential for mesoscale organization of stratocumulus. Furthermore, the cloud scales are greatly increased when the boundary layer is too deep to maintain well mixed.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1405931','SCIGOV-STC'); return false;" href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1405931">Influences of drizzle on stratocumulus cloudiness and organization [Influences of drizzle on cloudiness and stratocumulus organization</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.osti.gov/search">DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)</a> Zhou, Xiaoli; Heus, Thijs; Kollias, Pavlos Large-eddy simulations are used to study the influence of drizzle on stratocumulus organization, based on measurements made as part of the Second Dynamics and Chemistry of the Marine Stratocumulus field study-II. Cloud droplet number concentration ( N c) is prescribed and considered as the proxy for different aerosol loadings. Our study shows that the amount of cloudiness does not decrease linearly with precipitation rate. An N c threshold is observed below which the removal of cloud water via precipitation efficiently reduces cloud depth, allowing evaporation to become efficient and quickly remove the remaining thin clouds, facilitating a fast transition frommore » closed cells to open cells. Using Fourier analysis, stratocumulus length scales are found to increase with drizzle rates. Raindrop evaporation below 300 m lowers the cloud bases and amplifies moisture variances in the subcloud layer, while it does not alter the horizontal scales in the cloud layer, suggesting that moist cold pool dynamic forcings are not essential for mesoscale organization of stratocumulus. Furthermore, the cloud scales are greatly increased when the boundary layer is too deep to maintain well mixed.« less </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19900018945','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19900018945">FIRE aircraft observations of horizontal and vertical transport in marine stratocumulus</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Paluch, Ilga R.; Lenschow, Donald H. 1990-01-01 A major goal of research on marine stratocumulus is to try to understand the processes that generate and dissipate them. One approach to studying this problem is to investigate the boundary layer structure in the vicinity of a transition from a cloudy to a cloud-free region to document the differences in structure on each side of the transition. Since stratiform clouds have a major impact on the radiation divergence in the boundary layer, the transition from a cloudy to a clear boundary layer is a region of large horizontal inhomogeneity in air temperature and turbulence intensity. This leads to a considerable difference in horizontal and vertical transports between the cloudy and cloud-free regions. Measurements are used from the NCAR Electra aircraft during flights 5 (7 July 1987) and 10 (18 July 1987) of FIRE for this purpose. Flight 5 coincided with a LANDSAT overflight, and was designed to investigate the transition across a well-defined N-S cloud boundary, since the LANDSAT image can document the cloud cover in considerable detail. Turbulence legs were flown about 60 km on both sides of the cloud boundary. Flight 10 was flown at night in an area of scattered small cumuli and broken cloud patches. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19890045056&hterms=rust&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Drust','NASA-TRS'); return false;" href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19890045056&hterms=rust&qs=Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchall%26Ntk%3DAll%26N%3D0%26No%3D40%26Ntt%3Drust">Electrical structure in two thunderstorm anvil clouds</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp">NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)</a> Marshall, Thomas C.; Rust, W. David; Winn, William P.; Gilbert, Kenneth E. 1989-01-01 Electrical structures in two thunderstorm anvil clouds (or 'anvils'), one in New Mexico, the other in Oklahoma, were investigated, using measurements of electric field by balloon-carried instruments and a one-dimensional model to calculate the time and spatial variations of electrical parameters in the clear air below the anvil. The electric field soundings through the two thunderstorm anvils showed similar charge structures; namely, negatively charged screening layers on the top and the bottom surfaces, a layer of positive charge in the interior, and one or two layers of zero charge. It is suggested that the positive charge originated in the main positive charge region normally found at high altitudes in the core of thunderclouds, and the negatively charged layers probably formed as screening layers, resulting from the discontinuity in the electrical conductivity at the cloud boundaries. </li> <li> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" onclick="trackOutboundLink('http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016SPIE.9879E..0HS','NASAADS'); return false;" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016SPIE.9879E..0HS">Lidar observation of transition of cirrus clouds over a tropical station Gadanki (13.45° N, 79.18° E): case studies</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html">NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)</a> Srinivasan, M. A.; Rao, C. Dhananjaya; Krishnaiah, M. 2016-05-01 The present study describes Mie lidar observations of the cirrus cloud passage showing transition between double thin layers into single thick and single thick layer into double thin layers of cirrus over Gadanki region. During Case1: 17 January 2007, Case4: 12 June 2007, Case5: 14 July 2007 and Case6: 24 July 2007 the transition is found to from two thin cirrus layers into single geometrically thick layer. Case2: 14 May 2007 and Case3: 15 May 2007, the transition is found to from single geometrically thick layer into two thin cirrus layers. Linear Depolarization Ratio (LDR) and Back Scatter Ration (BSR) are found to show similar variation with strong peaks during transition; both LDR and Cloud Optical Depth (COD) is found to show similar variation except during transition with strong peaks in COD which is not clearly found from LDR for the all cases. There is a significant weakening of zonal and meridional winds during Case1 which might be due to the transition from multiple to single thick cirrus indicating potential capability of thick cirrus in modulating the wind fields. There exists strong upward wind dominance contributed to significant ascent in cloud-base altitude thereby causing transition of multiple thin layers into single thick cirrus. </li> </ol> <div class="pull-right"> <ul class="pagination"> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_1");'>«</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_21");'>21</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_22");'>22</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_23");'>23</a></li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_24");'>24</a></li> <li class="active">25</li> <li><a href="#" onclick='return showDiv("page_25");'>»</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="footer-extlink text-muted" style="margin-bottom:1rem; text-align:center;">Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. 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Sample records for upper cloud layer