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Browell, Edward V.

Publications and source records attributed to Browell, Edward V..

At least 37 records · Page 2
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NASA NTRS2005

Denitrification in the Arctic mid-winter 2004/2005 observed by airborne submillimeter radiometry

We present measurements of unusually low mixing ratios of HNO3 in the exceptionally cold Arctic vortex of late-January and early-February 2005. The measurements were obtained by the airborne submillimeter radiometer ASUR during the polar aura validation experiment (PAVE). The distribution of HNO3 inside the vortex reaches minima below 4 ppbv around 22 km altitude and maxima above 13 ppbv around 16 km altitude, with a considerable spatial variability.

measurements↗
NASA NTRS2005

Impact of CAMEX-4 Data Sets for Hurricane Forecasts using a Global Model

This study explores the impact on hurricane data assimilation and forecasts from the use of dropsondes and remote-sensed moisture profiles from the airborne Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) system. We show that the use of these additional data sets, above those from the conventional world weather watch, has a positive impact on hurricane predictions. The forecast tracks and intensity from the experiments show a marked improvement compared to the control experiment where such data sets were excluded. A study of the moisture budget in these hurricanes showed enhanced evaporation and precipitation over the storm area. This resulted in these data sets making a large impact on the estimate of mass convergence and moisture fluxes, which were much smaller in the control runs. Overall this study points to the importance of high vertical resolution humidity data sets for improved model results. We note that the forecast impact from the moisture profiling data sets for some of the storms is even larger than the impact from the use of dropwindsonde based winds.

Kamineni, Rupa↗
NASA NTRS2004

Observational Evidence Against Mountain-Wave Generation of Ice Nuclei as a Prerequisite for the Formation of Three Solid Nitric Acid Polar Stratospheric Clouds Observed in the Arctic in Early December 1999

A number of recently published papers suggest that mountain-wave activity in the stratosphere, producing ice particles when temperatures drop below the ice frost point, may be the primary source of large NAT particles. In this paper we use measurements from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar-orbiting satellites to map out regions of ice clouds produced by stratospheric mountain-wave activity inside the Arctic vortex. Lidar observations from three DC-8 flights in early December 1999 show the presence of solid nitric acid (Type Ia or NAT) polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). By using back trajectories and superimposing the position maps on the AVHRR cloud imagery products, we show that these observed NAT clouds could not have originated at locations of high-amplitude mountain-wave activity. We also show that mountain-wave PSC climatology data and Mountain Wave Forecast Model 2.0 (MWFM-2) raw hemispheric ray and grid box averaged hemispheric wave temperature amplitude hindcast data from the same time period are in agreement with the AVHRR data. Our results show that ice cloud formation in mountain waves cannot explain how at least three large scale NAT clouds were formed in the stratosphere in early December 1999.

MOUNTAIN WAVES↗
NASA NTRS2002

Airborne DIAL Ozone and Aerosol Trends Observed at High Latitudes Over North America from February to May 2000

Ozone (O3) and aerosol scattering ratio profiles were obtained from airborne lidar measurements on thirty-eight aircraft flights over seven aircraft deployments covering the latitudes of 40 deg.-85 deg.N between 4 February and 23 May 2000 as part of the TOPSE (Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox) field experiment. The remote and in situ O3 measurements were used together to produce a vertically-continuous O3 profile from near the surface to above the tropopause. Ozone, aerosol, and potential vorticity (PV) distributions were used together to identify the presence of pollution plumes and stratospheric intrusions. The number of observed pollution plumes was found to increase into the spring along with a significant increase in aerosol loading. Ozone was found to increase in the middle free troposphere (4-6 km) at high latitudes (60 deg.-85 deg. N) by an average of 4.3 ppbv/mo from about 55 ppbv in early February to over 72 ppbv in mid-May. The average aerosol scattering ratios in the same region increased at an average rate of 0.37/mo from about 0.35 to over 1.7. Ozone and aerosol scattering were highly correlated over entire field experiment. Based on the above results and the observed aircraft in-situ measurements, it was estimated that stratospherically-derived O3 accounted for less than 20% of the observed increase in mid tropospheric O3 at high latitudes. The primary cause of the observed O3 increase was found to be the photochemical production of O3 in pollution plumes.

Hair, Jonathan W.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Large-Scale Air Mass Characteristics Observed Over the Remote Tropical Pacific Ocean During March-April 1999: Results from PEM-Tropics B Field Experiment

Eighteen long-range flights over the Pacific Ocean between 38 S to 20 N and 166 E to 90 W were made by the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the NASA Pacific Exploratory Mission (PEM) Tropics B conducted from March 6 to April 18, 1999. Two lidar systems were flown on the DC-8 to remotely measure vertical profiles of ozone (O3), water vapor (H2O), aerosols, and clouds from near the surface to the upper troposphere along their flight track. In situ measurements of a wide range of gases and aerosols were made on the DC-8 for comprehensive characterization of the air and for correlation with the lidar remote measurements. The transition from northeasterly flow of Northern Hemispheric (NH) air on the northern side of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) to generally easterly flow of Southern Hemispheric (SH) air south of the ITCZ was accompanied by a significant decrease in O3, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and aerosols and an increase in H2O. Trajectory analyses indicate that air north of the ITCZ came from Asia and/or the United States, while the air south of the ITCZ had a long residence time over the Pacific, perhaps originating over South America several weeks earlier. Air south of the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) came rapidly from the west originating over Australia or Africa. This air had enhanced O3 and aerosols and an associated decrease in H2O. Average latitudinal and longitudinal distributions of O3 and H2O were constructed from the remote and in situ O3 and H2O data, and these distributions are compared with results from PEM-Tropics A conducted in August-October 1996. During PEM-Tropics B, low O3 air was found in the SH across the entire Pacific Basin at low latitudes. This was in strong contrast to the photochemically enhanced O3 levels found across the central and eastern Pacific low latitudes during PEM-Tropics A. Nine air mass types were identified for PEM-Tropics B based on their O3, aerosols, clouds, and potential vorticity characteristics. The data from each flight were binned by altitude according to air mass type, and these results showed the relative observational frequency of the different air masses as a function of altitude in seven regions over the Pacific. The average chemical composition of the major air mass types was determined from in situ measurements in the NH and SH, and these results provided insight into the origin, lifetime, and chemistry of the air in these regions.

Browell, Edward V.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Observation of Pollution Plume Capping by a Tropopause Fold

Airborne lidar measurements reveal a case in which a layer of high-ozone air extruding from a tropopause fold appears to cap a pollution plume and force it to spread out in the lower troposphere. The morphology of the high-ozone layer resembles a three-dimensional model of tropopause fold evolution that produces a low-altitude potential vorticity tube. This is a mechanism that can complete the irreversible transfer of air from the stratosphere, and can also affect pollution levels at the surface if the capping layer reaches the top of the boundary layer.

Cho, John Y. N.↗
NASA NTRS2001

An Assessment of the Ozone Loss During the 1999-2000 SOLVE Arctic Campaign

Ozone observations from ozonesondes, the lidars aboard the DC-8, in situ ozone measurements from the ER-2, and satellite ozone measurements from Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement III (POAM) were used to assess ozone loss during the Sage III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) 1999-2000 Arctic campaign. Two methods of analysis were used. In the first method a simple regression analysis is performed on the ozonesonde and POAM measurements within the vortex. In the second method, the ozone measurements from all available ozone data were injected into a free running diabatic trajectory model and carried forward in time from December 1 to March 15. Vortex ozone loss was then estimated by comparing the ozone values of those parcels initiated early in the campaign with those parcels injected later in the campaign. Despite the variety of observational techniques used during SOLVE, the measurements provide a fairly consistent picture. Over the whole vortex, the largest ozone loss occurs between 550 and 400 K potential temperatures (approximately 23-16 km) with over 1.5 ppmv lost by March 15, the end of the SOLVE mission period. An ozone loss rate of 0.04-0.05 ppmv/day was computed for March 15. Ozonesondes launched after March 15 suggest that an additional 0.5 ppmv or more ozone was lost between March 15 and April 1. The small disagreement between ozonesonde and POAM analysis of January ozone loss is found to be due to biases in vortex sampling. POAM makes most of its solar occultation measurements at the vortex edge during January 2000 which bias samples toward air parcels that have been exposed to sunlight and likely do experience ozone loss. Ozonesonde measurements and the trajectory technique use observations that are more distributed within the interior of the vortex. Thus the regression analysis of the POAM measurements tends to overestimate mid-winter vortex ozone loss. Finally, our loss calculations are broadly consistent with other loss computations using ER-2 tracer data and MLS satellite data, but we find no evidence for the 1992 high mid-January loss reported using the Match technique.

Schoeberl, Mark R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Airborne UV DIAL Measurements of Ozone and Aerosols

The NASA Langley Research Center's airborne UV Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system measures vertical profiles of ozone and aerosols above and below the aircraft along its flight track. This system has been used in over 20 airborne field missions designed to study the troposphere and stratosphere since 1980. Four of these missions involved tropospheric measurement programs in the Pacific Ocean with two in the western North Pacific and two in the South Pacific. The UV DIAL system has been used in these missions to study such things as pollution outflow, long-range transport, and stratospheric intrusions; categorize the air masses encountered; and to guide the aircraft to altitudes where interesting features can be studied using the in situ instruments. This paper will highlight the findings with the UV DIAL system in the Pacific Ocean field programs and introduce the mission planned for the western North Pacific for February-April 2001. This will be an excellent opportunity for collaboration between the NASA airborne mission and those with ground-based War systems in Asia Pacific Rim countries to make a more complete determination of the transport of air from Asia to the western Pacific.

Grant, William B.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Discriminating Type 1a and 1b PSCs in Satellite Data

We explore the use of satellite observations in discriminating types of PSCs and their ramifications. Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs), which form in the winter polar vortex, have been identified as effecting ozone loss. One major result from the recent SOLVE mission is in-situ evidence of the existence of very large particles that contain nitric acid. These particles are consistent with Type la PSCs. The significance of this finding is that these large particles will have appreciable sedimentation velocities, taking nitric acid out of the stratospheric regions, causing denitrification. Since nitric acid typically mitigates ozone loss, denitrification leads to increased ozone loss. Type lb PSCs are smaller and do not sediment to any appreciable degree. Satellite measurements are made continuously throughout the winter, and offer more global coverage than in situ measurements. Thus, it would very useful to be able to discriminate PSC types from satellite measurements. Our long-term goals are to better understand the formation mechanisms and effects of PSCs. Discriminating PSC type using satellite data will give us a very important tool in this effort. A multi-wavelength analysis of POAM aerosol extinction during SOLVE has revealed differences in the radiative characteristics of PSC events. We explore the use of POAM observations to discriminate between Type la and lb Pscs. A trajectory model is used to simulate PSC la and lb particles. Calculated radiative properties act as a guide for discriminating the satellite occultation measurements. Aircraft based PSC observations are-used as confirmation of these observations.

Strawa, Anthony W.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Lidar Measurements of Relative Humidity and Ice Supersaturation in the Upper Troposphere

We compute upper tropospheric relative humidity profiles using water vapor profiles measured by an airborne DIAL and a ground-based Raman lidar. LASE water vapor and MTP temperature profiles acquired from the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the recent Pacific Exploratory Mission Tropics B (PEM Tropics B) field mission in the tropical Pacific and the SAGE-III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) in the Arctic as well as water vapor profiles derived from the ground-based DOE ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) CART Raman lidar are used. Comparisons of the lidar water vapor measurements with available in situ measurements show reasonable agreement for water vapor mixing ratios above 0.05 g/kg. Relative humidity frequency distributions computed using LASE data indicate that ice supersaturation occurred about 5-11% of the time when temperatures were below -35 C. While a higher frequency of ice supersaturation was observed during SOLVE, higher peak values of relative humidity were observed during PEM Tropics B. The relative humidity fields associated with cirrus clouds are also examined.

Ferrare, Richard A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Atmospheric Chemical Transport Based on High Resolution Model- Derived Winds: A Case Study

Flight 10 of NASA's Subsonic Assessment (SASS) Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide Experiment (SONEX) extended southwest of Lajes, Azores. A variety of chemical signatures were encountered. These signatures are examined in detail, relating them to meteorological data from a high resolution numerical model having horizontal grid spacing of 30 and 90 km and 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 transition 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 arriving at locations of these signatures are related to locations of cloud-to-ground lightning. Results show that the trajectories pass through 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 arriving at 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 chemical transition layer is described. Its chemical signature is intermediate to those of lightning and continental pollution. Trajectories arriving in this layer pass between the trajectories of the lightning and pollution signatures. Thus, they probably are impacted by both sources.

Hannan, John R.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Observations of Convective and Dynamical Instabilities in Tropopause Folds and their Contribution to Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange

With aircraft-mounted in-situ and remote sensing instruments for dynamical, thermal. and chemical measurements, we studied two cases of tropopause folding. In both folds we found Kelvin-Helmholtz billows with horizontal wavelength of about 900 m and thickness of about 120 m. In one case the instability was effectively mixing the bottomside of the fold, leading to the transfer of stratospheric air into the troposphere. Also we discovered in both cases small-scale secondary ozone maxima shortly after the aircraft ascended past the topside of the fold that corresponded to regions of convective instability. We interpreted this phenomenon as convectively breaking gravity waves. Therefore, we posit that convectively breaking gravity waves acting on tropopause folds must be added to the list of important irreversible mixing mechanisms leading to stratosphere-troposphere exchange.

Cho, John Y. N.↗
NASA NTRS1998

LASE measurements of aerosols and water vapor during TARFOX

The TARFOX (Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment) intensive field campaign was designed to reduce uncertainties in estimates of the effects of anthropogenic aerosols on climate by measuring direct radiative effects and the optical, physical, and chemical properties of aerosols [1]. TARFOX was conducted off the East Coast of the United States between July 10-31, 1996. Ground, aircraft, and satellite-based sensors measured the sensitivity of radiative fields at various atmospheric levels to aerosol optical properties (i.e., optical thickness, phase function, single-scattering albedo) and to the vertical profile of aerosols. The LASE (Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment) instrument, which was flown on the NASA ER-2 aircraft, measured vertical profiles of total scattering ratio and water vapor during a series of 9 flights. These profiles were used in real-time to help direct the other aircraft to the appropriate altitudes for intensive sampling of aerosol layers. We have subsequently used the LASE aerosol data to derive aerosol backscattering and extinction profiles. Using these aerosol extinction profiles, we derived estimates of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and compared these with measurements of AOT from both ground and airborne sun photometers and derived from the ATSR-2 (Along Track and Scanning Radiometer 2) sensor on ERS-2 (European Remote Sensing Satellite-2). We also used the water vapor mixing ratio profiles measured simultaneously by LASE to derive precipitable water vapor and compare these to ground based measurements.

Ferrare, Richard A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Global tropospheric ozone investigations

Ozone (O3) is one of the most important trace gases in the troposphere, and it is responsible for influencing many critical chemical and radiative processes. Ozone contributes to the formation of the hydroxyl radical (OH), which is central to most chemical reactions in the lower atmosphere, and it absorbs UV, visible, and infrared radiation which affects the energy budget and atmospheric temperatures. In addition, O3 can be used as a tracer of atmospheric pollution and stratosphere troposphere exchange. At elevated concentrations, O3 can also produce detrimental biological and human health effects. The US National Research Council (NRC) Board on Sustainable Development reviewed the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) [NRC, 1995], and it identified tropospheric chemistry as one of the high priority areas for the USGCRP in the next decade. The NRC identified the following specific challenges in tropospheric chemistry. Although we understand the reason for the high levels of 03 over several regions of the world, we need to better establish the distribution of O3 in the troposphere in order to document and understand the changes in the abundance of global tropospheric O3. This information is needed to quantify the contribution of O3 to the Earth' s radiative balance and to understand potential impacts on the health of the biosphere. Having recognized the importance of particles in the chemistry of the stratosphere, we must determine how aerosols and clouds affect the chemical processes in the troposphere. This understanding is essential to predict the chemical composition of the atmosphere and to assess the resulting forcing effects in the climate system. We must determine if the self-cleansing chemistry of the atmosphere is changing as a result of human activities. This information is required to predict the rate at which pollutants are removed from the atmosphere. Over nearly two decades, airborne Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) systems have been used in over fifteen major field experiments conducted all over the world to address important atmospheric processes affecting the amount and distribution of 03 and aerosols across the troposphere. This paper discusses some of these wide-ranging field experiments and their results and presents a direction for future global studies of O3 and aerosols from space.

Browell, Edward V.↗
NASA NTRS1998

LASE measurements of convective boundary layer development during SGP97

The Southern Great Plains 1997 (SGP97) field experiment was conducted in Oklahoma during June-July 1997 to validate the models used for computing remote soil moisture using measurements by microwave radiometers. One of the objectives of SGP97 was to examine the effect of soil moisture on the evolution of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) and clouds over the Southern Great Plains (SGP) during the warm season. The LASE (Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment) airborne DIAL (Differential Absorption Lidar) system, which was flown autonomously on the NASA ER-2 aircraft during previous missions, was reconfigured to fly on the NASA P3 research aircraft. During SGP97 LASE was used to study the morning evolution of the ABL, particularly as manifested in the development of the convective boundary layer, and to study the influence of soil moisture variations on the development of ABL. The ABL development is strongly influenced by the surface energy budget, which is in turn influenced by soil moisture, mesoscale meteorology, clouds, and solar insolation. LASE data acquired during this mission are being used to study the ABL water vapor budget, the development of the ABL, spatial and temporal variabilities in the ABL, and the meteorological factors that influence the ABL development. This field experiment also permitted comparisons of LASE water vapor measurements with water vapor profiles acquired by radiosondes launched at the DOE (Department of Energy) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plain (SGP) site and at NASA/Wallops Flight Facility, as well as with measurements from other SGP97 aircraft.

Ismail, Syed↗
NASA NTRS1998

Chemistry and dynamics of the lower troposphere over North America and the North Atlantic Ocean in fall 1997 observed using an airborne UV DIAL system

The NASA Langley Research Center's airborne UV Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system participated in the Subsonic Assessment, Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide Experiment (SONEX) mission from October 13 to November 12, 1997. The purpose of the mission was to study the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere in and near the North Atlantic flight corridor to better understand this region of the atmosphere and how civilian air travel in the corridor might be affecting the atmospheric chemistry. Bases of operations included NASA Ames, California (37.4 deg N, 122.1 deg W); Bangor, Maine (44.8 deg N, 68.8 deg W); Shannon, Ireland (52.7 deg N, 8.9 deg W); and Lajes, Terceira Island, Azores (38.8 deg N, 27.1 deg W). Since the UV DIAL system observes in the nadir as well as the zenith, aerosol and ozone data were obtained from near the Earth's surface to the lower stratosphere. A number of interesting features were noted relating to both chemistry and dynamics of the troposphere, which are reported here.

Grant, William B.↗
NASA NTRS1998

LASE validation experiment: preliminary processing of relative humidity from LASE derived water vapor in the middle to upper troposphere

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.

Brackett, Vincent G.↗