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At least 181 records · Page 10

Relationships between 6.7 micrometer imagery and radiosonde-derived parameters

The relationships between water vapor images and various thermodynamic and kinematic patterns derived from ground-based data obtained on March 6-7, 1982 are investigated. The synoptic-scale characteristics of the observed image streaks are studied. Water vapor budgets were calculated from sonde data. Variations in black body temperatures are analyzed using water vapor budgets. The data reveal that the observed warm image streaks are caused by subsidence and horizontal flux divergence of vapor.

Stewart, Michael R.↗

Ozone over McMurdo Station, Antarctica, austral spring 1986 - Altitude profiles for the middle and upper stratosphere

In the austral spring of 1986, a program of measurements of the ozone altitude profile (for the z values between 25 and 55 km), relevant to an understanding of the ozone hole, was conducted at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The measurements were performed using ground-based millimeter-wave spectrometry. It was found that the ozone mixing ratio peaked at altitudes ranging from 28 to 34 km, with peak values between 5 and 9 ppm by volume. During the period between September 12 and October 29, the ozone mixing ratio decreased, with great variability, by about 15 percent at 25 km, with no significant decrease at higher altitudes. The observation of the depletion occurring only below 25 km is consistent with ozone-sonde observations during previous years.

Connor, Brian J.↗

The UW digital ozonesonde: Characteristics and flow rate calibration

During the austral springs of 1986 and 1987, a series of balloon soundings were conducted to characterize the temporal and vertical development of Antarctic ozone depletion using the electrochemical concentration cell method (ECC). An important part of this study was to perform correlative studies between ozone and aerosol particles. In order to facilitate these simultaneous measurements, a digital ozonesonde system was developed to interface with aerosol counters. The ozone measurements will be described herein. The ozonesonde modification was accomplished by converting the current output of the sonde to a frequency and adding this digital signal to the serial data stream of a Vaisala Corporation RS-80 radiosonde under microprocessor control. A number of advantages over the standard ozonesonde system currently in use are noted.

Harder, J. W.↗

Total ozone, ozone vertical distributions, and stratospheric temperatures at South Pole, Antarctica, in 1986 and 1987

Seventy-six electrochemical cell (ECC) ozonesondes were flown at South Pole, Antarctica, during 1987 in a continuing program to document year-round changes in Antarctica ozone that are dynamically and photochemically induced. Dobson spectrophotometer total ozone observations were also made. For the twilight months of March and September when Dobson instrument observations cannot be made at South Pole, total ozone amounts were deduced from the ECC ozonesonde soundings. ECC sonde total ozone data obtained during the polar night (April to August), supplemented the sparse total ozone data obtained from Dobson instrument moon observations. Similar ozone profile and total ozone observations were made at South Pole in 1986.

Komhyr, W. D.↗

Near UV atmospheric absorption measurements from the DC-8 aircraft during the 1987 airborne Antarctic ozone experiment

During the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment from 28 August to 30 September 1987 near UV zenith scattered sky measurements were made over Antarctic from the NASA DC-8 aircraft using a one third m spectrograph equipped with a diode-array detector. Scattered sky light data in the wavelength range 348 nm to 388 nm was spectrally analyzed for O3, NO2, OClO, and BrO column abundances. Slant column abudances of O3, NO2, OClO and BrO were determined, using a computer algorithm of non-linear and linear least square correlation of Antarctic scattered sky spectra to laboratory absorption cross section data. Using measured vertical electrochemical sonde ozone profiles from Palmer, Halley Bay, and the South Pole Stations the slant columns of O3 were converted into vertical column abundances. The vertical column amounts of NO2, OClO, and BrO were derived using vertical profiles calculated by a chemical model appropriate for Antarctica. NO2 vertical column abundances show steep latitudinal decrease with increasing latitude for all 13 flights carried out during the mission. In the regions where NO2 abudances are low, OClO and BrO were observed. The spatial and temporal vertical column abundances of these species are discussed in the context of the chemistry and dynamics in the antarctic polar vortex during the austral spring.

Wahner, A.↗

Dehydration in the lower Antarctic stratosphere in late winter and spring

The history of minimum temperatures at 50 and 70 mb is examined from NMC, UK Met 0 and ECMWF analyses. MSU channel 24 data are similarly inspected. South Pole sonde data are used to calculate saturation humidity mixing ratio as a function of altitude and time throughout 1987. Saturation with respect to ice could be maintained for water mixing ratios of 3.5 ppmv for a period of about 80 days from mid-June to mid-September. Dehydration to mixing ratios of 1 ppmv or less was possible sporadically. Data from the ER-2 flights between 53 S and 72 S are used in conjunction with particle size measurements and air parcel trajectories to demonstrate the dehydration occurring over Antarctica. Water mixing ratios at the latitude of Punta Arenas (53 S), in conjunction with tracer measurements and trajectory analysis, show that at potential temperatures from about 325 to 400 K, the dryness (less than 3 ppmv) had its origin over Antarctica rather than in the tropics. Water mixing ratios within the Antarctic vortex varied from 1.5 to 3.8 ppmv, with a strong isentropic gradient being evident in the region of high potential vorticity gradients.

Kelly, K. K.↗

Brewer spectrophotometer measurements in the Canadian Arctic

In the winters of 1987 and 1988 measurements were conducted with the Brewer Spectrophotometer at Alert (82.5 N) and Resolute (74.5 N). The measurements were conducted as part of our Canadian Program to search for an Arctic Ozone Hole (CANOZE). Ozone measurements were conducted in the months of December, January and February using the moon as a light source. The total ozone measurements will be compared with ozonesonde profiles, from ECC sondes, flown once per week from Alert and Resolute. A modified Brewer Spectrophotometer was used in a special study to search for chlorine dioxide at Alert in March 1987. Ground based observations at Saskatoon in February and at Alert in March 1987 failed to detect any measureable chlorine dioxide. Interference from another absorbing gas, which we speculate may be nitrous acid, prevented the measurements at the low levels of chlorine dioxide detected in the Southern Hemisphere by Solomon et al.

Kerr, J. B.↗

Comparisons of satellite ozone data in the lower stratosphere for 1978/1979

Lower stratospheric zonal mean O3 distributions are compared in both hemispheres from the Nimbus 7 Solar Backscattered Ultraviolet (SBUV) and Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) data sets. Generally there is very good agreement with regard to individual profile shape and magnitude and with their longitudinal variability about the zonal mean. When the data are considered in terms of Umkehr layer amounts, there are subtle but significant differences in the respective meridional O3 gradients and their variations with time which are probably related to a changing O3 optical depth and constants to an assumed profile climatology in the retrieval. Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) satellite O3 results are presented which tend to split the differences between SBUV and LIMS. Additional comparisons with electrochemical concentration cell sonde and Mastsonde O3 profiles are presented in order to sort out the more noticeable differences.

Remsberg, Ellis E.↗

Evidence of the mid-latitude impact of Antarctic ozone depletion

Record low ozone values found over Australia and New Zealand during December 1987 following the record low Antarctic values of October 1987 are analyzed. The sudden decline of ozone amounts in midmonth rule out photochemical effects as a cause and permit the underlying processes to be investigated on a case study basis. Using data from ozone sondes, radiosondes, the Nimbus-7 total ozone mapping spectrometer, and meteorological analyses from the National Meteorological Center, it is argued that these low values resulted from transport of ozone-poor air from higher latitudes. Thus, it seems that the chemical destruction of ozone over Antarctica in early spring is having an impact on lower latitudes.

Atkinson, Roger J.↗

Stratospheric ozone measurements from the 1985 MAP/GLOBUS NO(x) campaign

Nine experiments obtained stratospheric ozone measurements during the fall 1985 Middle Atmosphere Program (MAP) Global Budget of Stratospheric Trace Constituents (GLOBUS) NO(x) campaign. Measurements are grouped into four sets from four air masses and compared. Agreement between individual experiments and weighted mean profiles is generally within 10 percent and within absolute accuracies. Dobson Umkehr values in layer 5 differ by more than absolute accuracies from weighted mean profiles. Brewer sonde values for one data set are outside absolute accuracies near the ozone peak. Solar UV occultation measurements are 30-35 percent less than the weighted mean profile and outside absolute accuracies. Measurements from the Exospheric Satellite backscattered ultraviolet experiment, not previously compared with other techniques, agree within 10-15 percent of weighted mean profiles. Results of the campaign are generally consistent with those of four previous intercomparison campaigns.

Robbins, D.↗

Dehydration in the lower Antarctic stratosphere during late winter and early spring, 1987

The history of minimum temperatures at 50 and 70 mb is examined from NMC, UK Met O and ECMWF analyses. MSU channel 24 data are similarly inspected. South Pole sonde data are used to calculate saturation humidity mixing ratio as a function of altitude and time throughout 1987. Saturation with respect to ice could be maintained for water mixing ratios of 3.5 ppmv for a period of about 80 days from mid-June to mid-September. Dehydration to mixing ratios of 1 ppmv or less was possible sporadically. Data from the ER-2 flights between 53 S and 72 S are used in conjunction with particle size measurements and air parcel trajectories to demonstrate the dehydration occurring over Antarctica. Water mixing ratios at the latitude of Punta Arens (53 S), in conjunction with tracer measurements and trajectory analysis, show that at potential temperatures from about 325 to 400 K, the dryness (less than 3 ppmv) had its origin over Antarctica rather than in the tropics. Water mixing ratios within the Antarctic vortex varied from 1.5 to 3.8 ppmv, with a strong isentropic gradient being evident in the region of high potential vorticity gradients.

Kelly, K. K.↗

Intercomparison of ozone measurements over Antarctica

Measurements of the abundances of ozone over Antarctica in August and September 1987 obtained during the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment are intercompared. These measurements of ozone concentrations and total column abundance were obtained by three satellite instruments, two IR and one UV column-measuring instruments aboard the DC-8, one in situ DC-8, and two in situ ER-2 instruments, an upward looking lidar aboard the DC-8, and ozone sondes from four sites in Antarctica. This paper presents a summary of the ozone data, using the data and accuracies given by the individual investigators in the individual papers in this issue, without any attempt to critically review or evaluate the data. In general, very good agreement (within about 10-20 percent, limited by natural variability) among the various techniques was found, with no systematic biases detected. These observations confirm the low ozone amounts reported in the Antarctic stratosphere.

Margitan, J. J.↗

Ozone measurements from the Balloon Intercomparison Campaign

Measurements of the Balloon Intercomparison Campaign (BIC), conducted during fall, 1982 (BIC-1) and summer, 1983 (BIC-2), are reported. Results of five remote and two in situ techniques agree (with a few exceptions) within 95-percent confidence level uncertainties and generally within 15 percent above 20 km. Weighted mean profiles, which best represent conditions during the campaign, are used as a comparison standard. Accuracies of experiments indicated by BIC generally confirm estimated uncertainties for ECC sondes, UV photometry, and microwave emission experiments, are somewhat better for far-IR emission and IR absorption experiments, and are somewhat worse for IR emission and solar UV absorption experiments. The large collection of BIC measurements confirms a problem reported earlier with current theoretical modeling of ozone near 40 km.

Robbins, D.↗

Analysis of tethered balloon, ceilometer and class sounding data taken on San Nicolas Island during the FIRE project

During the FIRE Marine Stratocumulus Program on San Nicolas Island, Colorado State University (CSU) and the British Meteorological Office (BMO) operated separate instrument packages on the NASA tethered balloon. The CSU package contained instrumentation for the measurement of temperature, pressure, humidity, cloud droplet concentration, and long and short wave radiation. Eight research flights, performed between July 7 and July 14, are summarized. An analysis priority to the July 7, 8 and 11 flights was assigned for the purposes of comparing the CSU and BMO data. Results are presented. In addition, CSU operated a laser ceilometer for the determination of cloud base, and a CLASS radiosonde site which launched 69 sondes. Data from all of the above systems are being analyzed.

Schubert, Wayne H.↗

Three-dimensional simulations of wintertime ozone variability in the lower stratosphere

The evolution of ozone has been calculated for the winters of 1979 and 1989 using winds derived from the stratospheric data assimilation system STRATAN. The ozone fields calculated using this technique are found to compare well with satellite-measured fields for simulations of 2-3 months. This paper presents comparisons of model fields with both satellite and sonde measurements to verify that stratospheric transport processes are properly represented by this modeling technique. Attention is focused on the Northern Hemisphere middle and high latitudes at the 10-hPa level and below, where transport processes are most important to the ozone distribution. First-order quantities and derived budgets from both the model and satellite data are presented. By sampling the model with a limb-viewing satellite and then Kalman filtering the 'observations' of the model, it is shown that transient subplanetary-scale features that are essential to the ozone budget are missed by the satellite system.

Rood, Richard B.↗

The dynamics of the HSCT environment

Assessments of the impact of aircraft engine exhausts on stratospheric ozone levels are currently limited to 2D zonally-averaged models which, while completely representing chemistry, involve high parameterization of transport processes. Prospective 3D models under development by NASA-Goddard will use winds from a data-assimilation procedure; the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere behavior of one such model has been verified by direct comparison of model simulations with satellite, balloon, and sonde measurements. Attention is presently given to the stratosphere/troposphere exchange and nonzonal distribution of aircraft engine exhaust.

Douglass, Anne R.↗

Ground-based lidar measurements of stratospheric ozone. The NASA/GSFC stratospheric ozone lidar trailer experiment STROZ LITE

The major research objective is the measurement of high precision vertical profiles of ozone between 20-40 kilometers. The precision is such that the instrument should be capable of detecting a small trend (on the order of less that 1 percent per year) over a 5-10 year period. Temperature was measured between 30 and 365 km. The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) mobile lidar was installed at Table Mountain and a comparison between it and the permanent Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) lidar was made over the course of about 3 weeks. The lidars agreed very well between 20 and 40 km, and under certain conditions up to 45-47 km. There were several anomalies that both lidars followed very well. Agreement with Rocket Ozonesonde (ROCOZ) and electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) sondes was also very good.

Mcgee, Thomas J.↗

The NDSC Primary Site at the Observatoire De Haute-provence: Ozone and Aerosols Observations (1986-1992)

The primary site of the newly implemented Network for Detection of Stratospheric Changes (NDSC) includes three main sites in the alpine regions of southern Europe. At one of these observatories, a coherent set of experimental systems has been established to monitor on a long-term basis ozone, aerosols, minor constituents, and temperature vertical distributions in the troposphere and stratosphere. Such techniques include several lidar systems, balloon-borne sondes and ultraviolet visible spectrometry. Lidar measurements of stratospheric aerosols are performed on a routine basis, since 1980. These include the vertical distribution of the extinction and backscattering coefficients from the tropopause. Recently, measurements performed following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, have allowed researchers to follow the time evolution of the aerosol cloud in middle latitude regions.

Megie, G.↗