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At least 235 records · Page 13
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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Release 2 Shortwave Daily Data in Native Format (SRB_REL2_SW_DAILY)

This data set contains upward and downward fluxes, photosynthetically active radiative flux, aerosol and cloud optical depth, cloud fraction, and solar zenith angle measured at three hourly intervals for each day for the entire globe between 07/01/1983 and 10/31/1995. These SW surface radiative parameters were derived with the Shortwave algorithm of the NASA World Climate Research Programme/Global Energy and Water-Cycle Experiment (WCRP/GEWEX) Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Project. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1983-07-01; Stop_Date=1998-07-26] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=1 degree; Longitude_Resolution=Ranges from 1 degree (tropics and subtropics) to 120 degrees (the poles).; Temporal_Resolution=daily; Temporal_Resolution_Range=daily].

ALL SKY SW SURFACE UPWARD FLUX↗
NASA NTRS2021

Accounting for the photochemical variation in stratospheric NO2 in the SAGE III/ISS solar occultation retrieval

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III has been operating on the International Space Station (ISS) since mid-2017. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) number density profiles are routinely retrieved from SAGE III/ISS solar occultation measurements in the middle atmosphere. Although NO2 density varies throughout the day due to photochemistry, the standard SAGE NO2 retrieval algorithm neglects these variations along the instrument’s line of sight by assuming that the number density has a constant gradient within a given vertical layer of the atmosphere. This assumption will result in a retrieval bias for a species like NO2 that changes rapidly across the terminator. In this work we account for diurnal variations in retrievals of NO2 from the SAGE III/ISS measurements, and we determine the impact of this algorithm improvement on the resulting NO2 number densities. The first step in applying the diurnal correction is to use publicly available SAGE III/ISS products to convert the retrieved number density profiles to optical depth profiles. The retrieval is then re-performed with a new matrix that applies photochemical scale factors for each point along the line of sight according to the changing solar zenith angle. In general NO2 that is retrieved by accounting for these diurnal variations is more than 10% lower than the standard algorithm below 30 km. This effect is greatest in winter at high latitudes and generally greater for sunrise occultations than sunset. Comparisons with coincident profiles from the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS) show that NO2 from SAGE III/ISS is generally biased high; however the agreement improves by up to 20% in the mid-stratosphere when diurnal variations are accounted for in the retrieval. We conclude that diurnal variations along the SAGE III/ISS line of sight are an important term to consider for NO2 analyses at altitudes below 30 km.

Stratospheric NO2↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Release 2 Shortwave 3 hourly Monthly Data in Native Format (SRB_REL2_SW_3HRLY_MONTHLY)

The SRB data include the average upward and downward fluxes, photosynthetically active radiative flux, aerosol and cloud optical depth, cloud fraction, and solar zenith angle at three hourly intervals for each day for the entire globe between 07/01/1983 and 10/31/1995. These parameters were derived with the Shortwave algorithm of the NASA World Climate Research Programme/Global Energy and Water-Cycle Experiment (WCRP/GEWEX) Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Project. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1983-07-01; Stop_Date=1998-07-26] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Latitude_Resolution=1 degree; Longitude_Resolution=Ranges from 1 degree (tropics and subtropics 120 degrees (the poles); Temporal_Resolution=3 hourly; Temporal_Resolution_Range=3 hourly].

AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH↗
NASA NTRS1971

Rocket measurements of ion and electron densities in the D- and lower E-regions near sunrise

Positive-ion and electron densities were measured in the 75 to 110 km altitude range with the aid of two rockets launched from White Sands near sunrise. The solar zenith angles were 91 and 79 deg respectively. The densities were derived from measurements made by an ion collector and from data obtained with a Faraday rotation technique capable of detecting electrons in the D-region. It has been found that in the 80-95 km altitude range, electron detachment from negative ions takes place mainly at zenith angles of less than 91 deg. The source of the high positive-ion density (N(+) approximately 700/cu cm) at an altitude of 75 km just before sunrise is presumed to be scattered Lyman alpha radiation which is ionizing nitric oxide.

Pedersen, A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Discrete ordinate theory of radiative transfer. 2: Scattering from maritime haze

Discrete ordinate theory was used to calculate the reflected and transmitted radiance of photons which have interacted with plane parallel maritime haze layers. The results are presented for three solar zenith angles, three values of the surface albedo, and a range of optical thicknesses from very thin to very thick. The diffuse flux at the lower boundary and the cloud albedo were tabulated. The forward peak and other features in the single scattered phase function caused the radiance in many cases to be very different from that for Rayleigh scattering. The variation of the radiance with both the zenith or nadir angle and the azimuthal angle is more marked, and the relative limb darkening under very thick layers is greater, for haze than for Rayleigh scattering. The downward diffuse flux at the lower boundary for A = O is always greater and the cloud albedo is always less for haze than for Rayleigh layers.

Kattawar, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Degree and plane of polarization of multiple scattered light. 1: Homogeneous cloud layers

The degree of polarization and the direction of the plane of polarization are calculated by a Monte Carlo method for homogeneous layers. Two solar zenith angles and a range of optical thicknesses up to 10 are considered. The results are compared with calculations for single scattered photons. For a given pair of incident and scattered directions, there are only two possible values for the direction of the plane of polarization differing by 90 deg for single scattering from spherical aerosols. The choice between these two values depends only on the sign of the element M(-) in the first row and second column of the scattering matrix in the I, Q, U, V representation. In most cases there is little change in the direction of the plane of polarization when multiple scattering is taken into account, so that this quantity can usually be predicted from a very simple trigonometric relationship to good accuracy. Measurements of the direction of the plane of polarization at appropriately chosen angles provides information about the size distribution of the scattering centers.

Kattawar, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Degree and plane of polarization of multiple scattered light. 2: Earth's atmosphere with aerosols

The degree of polarization, as well as the direction of the plane of polarization, were calculated by a Monte Carlo method for the reflected and transmitted photons from the earth's atmosphere. The solar photons were observed during multiple collisions with aerosols and the Rayleigh scattering centers in the atmosphere. The aerosol number density, as well as the ratio of aerosol to Rayleigh scattering, varies with height. The proportion of aerosol to Rayleigh scattering was appropriately chosen at each wavelength 0.4 microns and 0.7 microns; ozone absorption was included where appropriate. Three different aerosol number densities were used to study the effects of aerosol variations. Results are given for a solar zenith angle of 81.37 deg and a surface albedo of zero. The polarization of the reflected and transmitted photons was found to be sensitive to the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere at certain angles of observation.

Plass, G. N.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Radiometric ocean color surveys through a scattering atmosphere

A series of aircraft flights has been initiated to measure the spectral reflectance of ocean waters containing various concentrations of chlorophyll. The results of both the theoretical and experimental investigations indicate that satellite-borne radiometers can sense ocean color. However, the accuracy to which the chlorophyll concentration can be measured appears to be 0.1 to 0.4 mg/cu m depending upon solar zenith angles. These accuracies are less than desired by many of the oceanographers and an effort is being made to improve the quality of the chlorophyll concentration determination. Further measurements will be made in areas with higher chlorophyll concentration in order to better understand the relationship between chlorophyll concentration and ocean color. Also the effects of high water turbidity will be investigated.

Curran, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Estimation of total ozone from satellite measurements of backscattered ultraviolet earth radiance.

Total ozone is estimated from Nimbus IV satellite measurements of the attenuation of backscattered radiances at wavelengths between 3100 and 3400 A. A measurement of the backscattered radiance at 3800 A, outside the ozone absorption band, is used to determine an equivalent Lambert albedo for the cloud-ground-haze surface viewed by the instrument. The measured relative attenuation at two wavelengths is compared with such values precomputed for a series of standard ozone profiles and corrected for the equivalent Lambert albedo. Total ozone is obtained by interpolation. Two alternative methods are used to assign an equivalent Lambert albedo at the absorbing wavelengths. Total ozone values estimated by these methods are compared with the Dobson (ground-truth) data by linear regression. The available evidence suggests that the true standard error of the satellite data may be 0.015 atm-cm or less for solar zenith angles smaller than 60 deg.

Mateer, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Rocket measurements of ion and electron densities in the D-region during sunrise.

Results from two rockets launched near sunrise at White Sands, N. Mex., when positive ion and electron densities were measured in the D-region for solar zenith angles of 91 and 79 deg. The measurements cover the height range 80 to 110 km and complement previous vlf observations and rocket measurements of electron density. It is shown that the majority of negative ions in this height range are detached near to after ground sunrise. On the basis of these measurements it is possible to discuss electron affinity of negative ions and ion production functions during twilight.

Pedersen, A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Studies of positive-ion composition in the equatorial D-region ionosphere.

Evaluation of two daytime D-region positive-ion composition measurements performed at Thumba, India, for solar zenith angles of 53.2 and 27.8 deg. Comparison of upleg ram with downleg wake data shows a large increase in the concentration of heavy ions 48(+), NO(+) . H2O; 55(+), H3O(+) . (H2O)2; and M(+) greater than 65(+) for the downleg reduced shock condition. Peak concentrations of 48(+) and 55(+) occur at unit optical depth for Lyman alpha radiation. The ion 37(+), H3O(+) . H2O, is dominant for chi = 27.8 deg, but not for chi = 53.2 deg, consistent above 80 km with an origin from the X-ray production of O2(+). Laboratory measurements have shown that the ion, NO(+), can be transferred to heavy hydrates 48(+), 55(+), and M(+) greater than 65(+) by a reaction chain starting with NO(+) + X + M = NO(+) . X + M, where X can be O2, N2, CO2 or a combination of all three, depending on the rate of reaction. This chain, together with a similar reaction scheme starting with O2(+) and ending in 19(+), 37(+), and heavier clusters, is used to provide a consistent explanation for the hydrated ions observed in the D region.

Goldberg, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Vacuum ultraviolet spectra of the late twilight airglow.

Evaluation of sounding rocket spectra of the late twilight (solar-zenith angle of 120 deg) ultraviolet airglow between 1260 and 1900 A. The only observed features are O I 1304 and 1356. When the instrument looked at an elevation of 17 deg above the western horizon, the brightnesses were 70 and 33 rayleighs, respectively. The upper limits on the total intensity of the Lyman-Birge-Hopfield and Vegard-Kaplan systems of N2 were 26 plus or minus 26 and 55 plus or minus 55 rayleighs, respectively. An estimate shows that a large part of the O I emissions may be due to excitation by conjugate-point electrons.

Buckley, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Computed atmospheric effects on ERTS observations

The nadir radiances of many models of the earth atmosphere system were computed for a fixed solar zenith angle. These data indicate that the standard deviations of the multispectral scanner responses to changes in water vapor and aerosols would be small on a continental-wide basis.

Fraser, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Nighttime ion composition measurements at the geomagnetic equator

Two ion composition profiles, representative of the nighttime equatorial ionosphere between 90 km and 300 km, are presented. These profiles were obtained by two rocket-borne ion mass spectrometers on a single night for solar zenith angles of 112 deg and 165 deg. For both flights, the principal ion above 200 km is O(+). The downward drift of the atomic ions O(+) and N(+), coinciding with the postsunset lowering of the F2 peak, is observed through an enhancement of the density of O(+) at altitudes above 200 km and N(+) above 240 km. Below the drift region, O(+) and N(+) are observed in concentrations larger than expected. The NO(+) altitude distribution retains its shape throughout the night, and below 210 km, is the principal ion. The behavior of O2(+) can be explained by the O(+), electron density and theoretical neutral nitric oxide concentrations. Light metallic ions, including Mg(+), Na(+), and possibly Si(+), are observed to altitudes approaching 300 km and are affected by vertical drift.

Goldberg, R. A.↗