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Results for “ATMOSPHERIC EMISSION”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Atmospheric emissions and trends of nitrous oxide deduced from 10 years of ALE-GAGE data

Long-term measurements of nitrous oxide (N2O) obtained during the Atmospheric Lifetime Experiment (ALE) and the Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (GAGE) for a period from 1978 to 1988 are presented and interpreted. It is observed that the average concentration in the Northern Hemisphere is 0.75 +/- 0.16 ppbv higher than in the Southern Hemisphere and that the global average linear trend in N2O lies in the range from 0.25 to 0.31 percent/year. The measured trends and latitudinal distributions are shown to be consistent with the hypothesis that stratospheric photodissociation is the major atmospheric sink for N2O, while the cause of the N2O trend is suggested to be a combination of a growing tropical source and a growing Northern mid-latitude source. A 10-year average global N2O emission rate of (20.5 +/- 2.4) x 10 to the 12th g N2O/year is deduced from the ALE/GAGE data.

Prinn, R.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Atmospheric emission photometric imaging

A dual-channel video system mounted on a stabilized two-axis gimbal system (mounted on the pallet) with associated optics and data handling electronics described the low light flux observations are required for: (1) investigating ionospheric transport processes by observing Mg+ ions; (2) supporting magnetospheric electron bounce experiments; (3) measuring electron cross sections for selected atmospheric species; (4) detecting small particle contamination; and (5) studying natural auroras.

Mende, S. B.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The global characteristics of atmosphere emissions in the lower thermosphere and their aeronomic implications

The green line of atomic oxygen and the Herzberg bands of molecular oxygen as observed from the OGO-4 airglow photometer are discussed in terms of their spatial and temporal distributions and their relation to the atomic oxygen content in the lower thermosphere. Daily maps of the distribution of emissions show considerable structure (cells, patches, and bands) with appreciable daily changes. When data are averaged over periods of several days in length, the resulting patterns have occasional tendencies to follow geomagnetic parallels. The Seasonal variations are characterized by maxima in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in October, with the Northern Hemisphere having substantially higher emission rates. Formulae are derived relating the vertical column emission rates of the green line and the Herzberg bands to the atomic oxygen peak density. Global averages for the time period for these data (August 1967 to January 1968), when converted to maximum atomic oxygen densities near 95 km, have a range of 2.0 x 10 to the 11th power/cu cm 2.7 x 10 to the 11th power/cu cm.

Reed, E. I.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The global characteristics of atmospheric emissions in the lower thermosphere and their aeronomic implications

The green line (555.7 nm) of atomic oxygen and the Herzberg bands of molecular oxygen (measured between 250 and 280 nm) as observed from the Ogo 4 airglow photometer from August 1967 through January 1968 are discussed in terms of their spatial and temporal distributions and their relation to the atomic oxygen content in the lower thermosphere. Daily maps of the distribution of emissions show considerable structure (cells, patches, and bands) with appreciable changes from day to day. When data are averaged over periods of several days in length, the resulting patterns have only occasional tendencies to follow geomagnetic parallels. The seasonal variation is characterized by maxima in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in October, the Northern Hemisphere having substantially higher emission rates. These maxima tend to move toward the poles, leaving very low values of emission at low latitudes in December and January. Noting the similarity of the atomic oxygen profiles in the lower thermosphere to the profile of a Chapman distribution, formulae are derived relating the vertical column emission rates of the green line and the Herzberg bands to the atomic oxygen peak density.

Reed, E. I.↗
NASA NTRS1991

High-resolution studies of atmospheric IR emission spectra

Atmospheric emission spectra obtained with two different spectrometer systems are presented. The first system (the BOMEM Michelson interferometer) is designed for emission work. Spectra were obtained under adverse conditions in the Antarctic, and are still of good absolute accuracy. The second system (a modified Bruker Instruments IFS120 very high spectral resolution interferometer) demonstrates the sensitivity that can be achieved even at higher spectral resolution. This system shows that mid-IR atmospheric emission spectra can be obtained with a good SNR in a reasonable length of time at a relatively high resolution. A properly designed high resolution system should achieve high accuracy, sensitivity, and resolution, thereby permitting measurements of many atmospheric constituents when solar spectra cannot be obtained.

Murcray, F. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Research on atmospheric volcanic emissions - An overview

Atmospheric abundances and the geochemical cycle of certain volatile compounds and elements may be largely influenced or entirely controlled by magmatic sources. However, better estimates of the magnitude and variability of volcanic emissions are required if the importance of this natural source of atmospheric constituents and the resulting effect on atmospheric chemistry are to be elucidated. The project 'Research on Atmospheric Volcanic Emissions' (RAVE) is concerned with the improvement of knowledge of both geological and chemical phenomena attending these emissions by means of comprehensive instrumentation on board a research aircraft making simultaneous measurements of plume constituents. A description is presented of the equipment and the procedures used in the RAVE field study of Mt. St. Helens' plume. An overview of the results is also provided.

Friend, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Remote sensing of trace constituents from atmospheric infrared emission and absorption spectra

Atmospheric infrared emission and absorption spectra obtained from aircraft and balloon-borne spectrometers are presented. From such spectra, mixing ratio vs altitude profiles are derived for several minor constituents. Recent results for HNO3, CF2Cl2, CFCl3, and HF are presented. In addition, the feasibility of infrared detection of other trace constituents, such as HCl, HF, NH3, NO and SO2, against the rest of the atmospheric background is studied. From this study, made on a line-by-line basis for 'state of the art' airborne spectrometers, potential spectral features for detection of the trace constituents are isolated.

Barker, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS2014

HEMCO v1.0: A Versatile, ESMF-Compliant Component for Calculating Emissions in Atmospheric Models

We describe the Harvard-NASA Emission Component version 1.0 (HEMCO), a stand-alone software component for computing emissions in global atmospheric models. HEMCO determines emissions from different sources, regions, and species on a user-defined grid and can combine, overlay, and update a set of data inventories and scale factors, as specified by the user through the HEMCO configuration file. New emission inventories at any spatial and temporal resolution are readily added to HEMCO and can be accessed by the user without any preprocessing of the data files or modification of the source code. Emissions that depend on dynamic source types and local environmental variables such as wind speed or surface temperature are calculated in separate HEMCO extensions. HEMCO is fully compliant with the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) environment. It is highly portable and can be deployed in a new model environment with only few adjustments at the top-level interface. So far, we have implemented HEMCO in the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) Earth system model (ESM) and in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM). By providing a widely applicable framework for specifying constituent emissions, HEMCO is designed to ease sensitivity studies and model comparisons, as well as inverse modeling in which emissions are adjusted iteratively. The HEMCO code, extensions, and the full set of emissions data files used in GEOS-Chem are available at http: //wiki.geos-chem.org/HEMCO.

GEOS-5↗
NASA NTRS2016

Planning, Implementation, and Scientific Goals of the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) Field Missions

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.

Toon, Owen B.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Measuring the spectral emissivity of thermal protection materials during atmospheric reentry simulation

Hypersonic spacecraft reentering the earth's atmosphere encounter extreme heat due to atmospheric friction. Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials shield the craft from this searing heat, which can reach temperatures of 2900 F. Various thermophysical and optical properties of TPS materials are tested at the Johnson Space Center Atmospheric Reentry Materials and Structures Evaluation Facility, which has the capability to simulate critical environmental conditions associated with entry into the earth's atmosphere. Emissivity is an optical property that determines how well a material will reradiate incident heat back into the atmosphere upon reentry, thus protecting the spacecraft from the intense frictional heat. This report describes a method of measuring TPS emissivities using the SR5000 Scanning Spectroradiometer, and includes system characteristics, sample data, and operational procedures developed for arc-jet applications.

Marble, Elizabeth↗
NASA NTRS1974

Measurements of trace constituents from atmospheric infrared emission and absorption spectra, a feasibility study

The feasibility of detecting eight trace constituents (CH4, HCl, HF, HNO3, NH3, NO, NO2 and SO2) against the rest of the atmospheric background at various altitudes from infrared emission and absorption atmospheric spectra was studied. Line-by-line calculations and observational data were used to establish features that can be observed in the atmospheric spectrum due to each trace constituent. Model calculations were made for experimental conditions which approximately represent state of the art emission and absorption spectrometers.

Goldman, A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Calculation of space station infrared irradiance from atmosphere-induced emissions

The excitation mechanisms and radiance estimates over the 1 to 10 micron region for CO2(v), H2O(v), CO(v), OH(v), NO2(2B-2A) and N2(B3 pi - A3 sigma) are discussed. The infrared irradiance of the Space Station at an altitude of 460 km was estimated. The surface material was presumed to be non-carbonaceous and inert. The determined number densities of the various gases relevant to the Space Station from both ambient and outgassing sources are presented. A model for the production of and emission from the infrared active molecules was constructed that considers two classes of production processes: (1) gas phase excitation of molecules in the near Station environment by collision with ambient flux; and (2) surface processes that lead to molecular excitation. A composite spectrum of all major emitting species shows that the observed irradiance is non-uniform over the 1 to 8 micron region. The comparison of predicted irradiance with the zodiacal background indicates that the Space Station infrared background from atmosphere-induced emissions may be a problem of consequence.

Fraser, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Measurements of constituents of interest in the photochemistry of the ozone layer using infrared techniques

Infrared solar spectra and infrared atmospheric emission spectra were obtained from the ground, from aircraft and from balloons. The initial detection of most stratospheric molecules was achieved by the solar spectral technique because better resolution helps remove interference from other molecules. Because the sun is an intense source of radiation, the resolution which can be obtained with good signal-to-noise, is greater than with atmospheric emission spectroscopy. Data are generally taken using a method that enhances the number of molecules in the optical path i.e. at large solar zenith angles for solar spectra and at low elevation angles for atmospheric emission spectra. The search for molecules which are predicted to be present but which, the detection of a molecule known to be present from other measurement techniques but observed for the first time in infrared solar spectra, and some further data on the variability of HNO3 are discussed.

Murcray, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Topside observation of gravity waves

The AEPI (Atmospheric Emissions Photometric Imager) experiment on the ATLAS-1 shuttle mission (launched March 24, 1992) imaged the earth night airglow emission in O2 Atmospheric (0,0) bands, at 762.0 nm. Earthward views of O2 A bands show structure from gravity waves which exhibit extended horizontal structure with horizontal wavelenghts on the order of 50-100 km. These observations of the O2 A (0,0) bands are particularly interesting since in this wavelength the lower atmosphere absorbs all the earth-reflected emissions and most of the spectrally diffuse backgrounds. Herein we present observations of gravity waves using a topside airglow imaging technique.

Mende, S. B.↗