Engineering Papers⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Atlas, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Atlas, D..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

The TRMM Precipitation Radar: Opportunities and Challenges

Although studies on the feasibility of spaceborne weather radar date back to the 1960's, it was only with the launch of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Satellite in November 1997 that the first weather radar was placed into low earth orbit. The long delay between the initial concept and implementation was caused not only by the demanding requirements of active sensors such as mass, power, and reliability, but because of scientific and technological challenges. For example, the demand for adequate spatial resolution arises from the need to resolve the horizontal structure of convective storm cells and to avoid surface contamination of the rain return at off-nadir angles. To achieve a horizontal resolution on the order of 4 km from low earth orbit with a modest antenna size of 2 m requires the use of a much higher frequency (Ku-band) than those typically used for ground-based weather radars (S- and C-band). Higher frequencies are subject to higher attenuation. As Hitschfeld and Bordan (1954) showed in their classic paper, attenuation correction with a single-wavelength radar is inherently unstable at high attenuations unless the drop size distribution and the radar constant are known precisely. Since these conditions are seldom met, much work over the last decade has been devoted to formulating and testing alternative methods of attenuation correction. The operational method used in the TRMM radar processing is discussed in section 3 of the paper.

Meneghini, R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Experimental tests of methods for the measurement of rainfall rate using an airborne dual-wavelength radar

Several attenuation-based methods for estimating the rainfall rate were applied to measurements made by an airborne dual-wavelength radar operating at 0.87 cm, the K(a)-band, and at 3 cm, the X-band. These methods included the traditional Z-R methods, designated Z(X)-R and Z(K)-R for the X- and K(a) band wavelengths, respectively; single- and dual-wavelength surface reference techniques (SRT and DSRT, respectively); and standard dual-wavelength methods with and without range-averaging. As the primary sources of error for these methods are nearly independent, agreement among the rain rates obtained with these methods would lend confidence in the results. Correlation coefficients obtained between the rainfall rates with the Z(X)-R and DSRT methods were generally between 0.7 and 0.9. Good agreement among the methods occurred most often in stratiform rain for rain rates betwen a few mm/hr to about 15 mm/hr, i.e., where attenuation at the shorter wavelength is significant but not so severe as to result in a loss of signal.

Meneghini, R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The structure of the unstable marine boundary layer viewed by lidar and aircraft observations

The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) during a cold-air outbreak off the Atlantic coast between New York and Virginia on January 20, 1983 is characterized on the basis of airborne lidar observations, vertical soundings (potential temperature, vapor mixing ratio, relative humidity, and wind), and horizontal (770-m) temperature records. The data are presented in tables and graphs and analyzed in detail. The organization of the MABL is defined by 1-2-km-scale roll vortices with up and downdrafts of 2-4 m/s at 210 m; north-south orientation of the roll axes (parallel to the low-level winds); rising arms coinciding with updrafts rich in moisture, aerosols, and heat; and 150-200-m (peak-to-trough) undulations of the inversion. Consideration is given to problems inherent in the interpretation of lidar data for MABL studies.

Atlas, D.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Turbulence in a convective marine atmospheric boundary layer

The structure and kinetic energy budget of turbulence in the convective marine atmospheric boundary layer as observed by aircraft during a cold air outbreak have been studied using mixed layer scaling. The results are significantly different from those of previous studies under conditions closer to free convection. The normalized turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent transport are about twice those found during the Air Mass Transformation Experiment (AMTEX). This implies that for a given surface heating the present case is dynamically more active. The difference is mainly due to the greater importance of wind shear in the present case. This case is closer to the roll vortex regime, whereas AMTEX observed mesoscale cellular convection which is closer to free convection. Shear generation is found to provide a significant energy source, in addition to buoyancy production, to maintain a larger normalized turbulent kinetic energy and to balance a larger normalized dissipation. The interaction between turbulent pressure and divergence (i.e., pressure scrambling) is also found to transfer energy from the vertical to the horizontal components, and is expected to be stronger in roll vortices than in m esoscale cells. The sensible heat flux is found to fit well with a linear vertical profile in a clear or subcloud planetary boundary layer (PBL), in good agreement with the results of Lenschow et al., (1980). The heat flux ratio between the PBL top and the surface, derived from the linear fitted curve, is approximately -0.14, in good agreement with that derived from the lidar data for the same case. Near the PBL top, the heat flux profiles are consistent with those of Deardoff (1979) and Deardorff et al. (1980).

Chou, S.-H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Extinction of visible and infrared radiation in rain Comparison of theory and experiment

A critical review is given of the experimental and theoretical results concerning the measurement of rainfall using optical extinction, i.e., the attenuation of radiation with wavelength less than or equal to that of the infrared band. It is shown that rainfall rates found from an empirical relation involving optical extinction generally display average deviations without regard for sign of only 25 percent when compared with those measured by raingages directly beneath the optical beam. It is also shown that the differences between experimental and theoretical results can be explained in terms of variations of the shape of the raindrop size distribution, i.e., deviations from exponentiality.

Ulbrich, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Airborne Doppler radar velocity measurements of precipitation seen in ocean surface reflection

The use of airborne or spaceborne radars to observe precipitation simultaneously directly and in reflection could provide significant new opportunities for measuring the properties of the precipitation, wind field, and ocean surface. Atlas and Meneghini (1983) have proposed that the difference between direct and reflected precipitation echo intensities observed with a nadir-directed beam is a measure of two-way attenuation and thus of path average rain rate, taking into account an employment of direct and reflected echoes from very near the ocean surface to normalize for ocean surface scatter. In the present paper, some key meteorological and oceanographic research applications are illustrated, giving particular attention to airborne Doppler radar velocity measurements of the precipitation.

Atlas, D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Simultaneous ocean cross-section and rainfall measurements from space with a nadir-pointing radar

A method to determine simultaneously the rainfall rate and the normalized backscattering cross section of the surface was evaluated. The method is based on the mirror reflected power, p sub m which corresponds to the portion of the incident power scattered from the surface to the precipitation, intercepted by the precipitation, and again returned to the surface where it is scattered a final time back to the antenna. Two approximations are obtained for P sub m depending on whether the field of view at the surface is either much greater or much less than the height of the reflection layer. Since the dependence of P sub m on the backscattering cross section of the surface differs in the two cases, two algorithms are given by which the path averaged rain rate and normalized cross section are deduced. The detectability of P sub m, the relative strength of other contributions to the return power arriving simultaneous with P sub m, and the validity of the approximations used in deriving P sub m are discussed.

Meneghini, R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Remote sensing of air-sea interactions

A number of preliminary concepts for the measurement or inference of fluxes across the air-sea interface through remote sensing are proposed. All the methods are achievable from aircraft with state-of-the-art technology. Only one is now ready for space implementation. The focus is on cold outbreaks. Sensible (latent) heat flux is inferred from the difference between initial surface air temperature (vapor mixing ratio) and the downwind SST (and corresponding saturation mixing ratio). The downwind growth rate of the PBL as measured by lidar also provides estimates of surface heating and the cross-inversion entrainment velocity. The lidar also provides a measure of the depth of the inversion and its penetration by surface-forced convection; this permits estimates of the surface heat flux. Lidar and radiometric measurements of cloud top height and temperature provide means of deducing the temperature sounding downstream so that heating is computed with the aid of a known sounding upstream.

Atlas, D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The impact of scatterometer wind data on global weather forecasting

The impact of SEASAT-A scatterometer (SASS) winds on coarse resolution atmospheric model forecasts was assessed. The scatterometer provides high resolution winds, but each wind can have up to four possible directions. One wind direction is correct; the remainder are ambiguous or "aliases'. In general, the effect of objectively dealiased-SASS data was found to be negligible in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, the impact was larger and primarily beneficial when vertical temperature profile radiometer (VTPR) data was excluded. However, the inclusion of VTPR data eliminates the positive impact, indicating some redundancy between the two data sets.

Atlas, D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Determining soil moisture from geosynchronous satellite infrared data - A feasibility study

Numerical modelling results are reported from a pilot study investigating the feasibility of developing a technique for daily soil moisture measurement throughout the world, based on GOES infrared data. A detailed one-dimensional boundary layer-surface-soil model was used in order to determine which physical parameters observable from GOES are most sensitive to soil moisture, and which are most effected by seasonal changes, atmospheric effects and vegetation cover. The results of the sensitivity test show that the mid-morning differential of surface temperature with respect to absorbed solar radiation is optimally sensitive to soil moisture. A case study comparing model results with GOES infrared data confirms the sensitivity of this parameter to soil moisture and also confirms the applicability of the model to predicting area-averaged surface temperature changes. Model measurements of soil moisture are expected to be most accurate for dry or marginal agricultural areas where drought is common. Sources of error, including the advection of clouds, are examined and methods of minimizing error are discussed.

Wetzel, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The multiparameter remote measurement of rainfall

The measurement of rainfall by remote sensors is investigated. One parameter radar rainfall measurement is limited because both reflectivity and rain rate are dependent on at least two parameters of the drop size distribution (DSD), i.e., representative raindrop size and number concentration. A generating rain parameter diagram is developed which includes a third distribution parameter, the breadth of the DSD, to better specify rain rate and all possible remote variables. Simulations show the improvement in accuracy attainable through the use of combinations of two and three remote measurables. The spectrum of remote measurables is reviewed. These include path integrated techniques of radiometry and of microwave and optical attenuation. Previously announced in STAR as N82-33947

Atlas, D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Assessment of the contribution of differential polarization to improved rainfall measurements

A measurement technique employing the differential reflectivity factor Z(DR) and the horizontal polarization reflectivity factor Z(H) is the basis of the present study of the effects of variations in the shape or breadth of the drop size distribution (DSD) on rainfall parameters. Theoretical expressions are derived for rainfall rate, liquid water content W, and median volume diameter D(O) in terms of Z(DR), Z(H), and size distribution-dependent factors. The latter calculations assume backscattering cross sections for oblate, nonoscillating raindrops falling in still air with equilibrium shapes. These expressions are used to quantitatively assess the effects of changes in DSD breadth on values of R, W, and D(O) deduced from Z(DR) and Z(H).

Ulbrich, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A case for Gohrem - Geosynchronous orbit high resolution earth monitoring

Although the constant viewing geometry of the geostationary orbit simplifies quantitative monitoring of study areas, the high satellite altitude, in conjunction with the need for high spatial resolution, leads to large and complex sensors and spacecraft. State-of-the-art linear array detectors and a telescope of 1 m diameter and 10 m focal length can meet the requirements in question, which include a scan rate of the ground of at least 25 km/sec, the ability to cover a 150 X 150-km scene every several minutes, and an instantaneous field of view of 50 m in the visible portion of the spectrum and 1000 m in the IR.

Otterman, J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A case study on the application of geosynchronous satellite infrared data to estimate soil moisture

The use of GOES IR temperature data to estimate soil moisture content is discussed and demonstrated, modifying the procedure proposed by Wetzel et al. (1984) to provide for incorporation of independent measurements of vegetation biomass, geostrophic wind speed, and surface dewpoint. Data acquisition, processing, and the statistical approach employed are described; data for Kansas and Nebraska during a six-day period in July 1978 are analyzed; and a statistical relationship between observed surface temperature and antecedent precipitation index is established. The results are presented in tables, graphs, and maps, and the regression procedure is found to predict antecedent precipitation with statistically significant precision.

Woodward, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The influence of coastal shape on winter mesoscale air-sea interaction

In cold air outbreaks, the combination of coastal shape and sea surface isotherms has a profound effect in the establishment of mesoscale atmospheric circulation, due to differential heating resulting from both overwater path length and underlying sea surface temperature (SST) variations. Where coastal effects are dominant, a mesoscale front forms downstream of the point which marks the major bend in the coastline's orientation. The strength of the induced mesoscale circulation depends on the original contrast between the land air temperature and the SST. It is noted that where the coastline and the isotherm pattern are approximately normal to the mean boundary layer flow, and thermal contrast is sufficiently large, the cloud streets formed downstream will be convective in nature, and oriented with the axis of roll vortices along the wind direction.

Atlas, D.↗