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NASA NTRS2008

Development and Evaluation of a High Sensitivity DIAL System for Profiling Atmospheric CO2

A ground-based 2-micron Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) CO2 profiling system for atmospheric boundary layer studies and validation of space-based CO2 sensors is being developed and tested at NASA Langley Research Center as part of the NASA Instrument Incubator Program. To capture the variability of CO2 in the lower troposphere a precision of 1-2 ppm of CO2 (less than 0.5%) with 0.5 to 1 km vertical resolution from near surface to free troposphere (4-5 km) is one of the goals of this program. In addition, a 1% (3 ppm) absolute accuracy with a 1 km resolution over 0.5 km to free troposphere (4-5 km) is also a goal of the program. This DIAL system leverages 2-micron laser technology developed under NASA's Laser Risk Reduction Program (LRRP) and other NASA programs to develop new solid-state laser technology that provides high pulse energy, tunable, wavelength-stabilized, and double-pulsed lasers that are operable over pre-selected temperature insensitive strong CO2 absorption lines suitable for profiling of lower tropospheric CO2. It also incorporates new high quantum efficiency, high gain, and relatively low noise phototransistors, and a new receiver/signal processor system to achieve high precision DIAL measurements. This presentation describes the capabilities of this system for atmospheric CO2 and aerosol profiling. Examples of atmospheric measurements in the lidar and DIAL mode will be presented.

Ismail, Syed↗
NASA NTRS2011

Ares I-X Test Flight Reference Trajectory Development

Ares I-X was the first test flight of NASA's Constellation Program's Ares I crew launch vehicle. Ares I is a two stage to orbit launch vehicle that provides crew access to low Earth orbit for NASA's future manned exploration missions. The Ares I first stage consists of a Shuttle solid rocket motor (SRM) modified to include an additional propellant segment and a liquid propellant upper stage with an Apollo J2X engine modified to increase its thrust capability. The modified propulsion systems were not available for the first test flight, thus the test had to be conducted with an existing Shuttle 4 segment reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM) and an inert Upper Stage. The test flight's primary objective was to demonstrate controllability of an Ares I vehicle during first stage boost and the ability to perform a successful separation. In order to demonstrate controllability, the Ares I-X ascent control algorithms had to maintain stable flight throughout a flight environment equivalent to Ares I. The goal of the test flight reference trajectory development was to design a boost trajectory using the existing RSRM that results in a flight environment equivalent to Ares I. A trajectory similarity metric was defined as the integrated difference between the Ares I and Ares I-X Mach versus dynamic pressure relationships. Optimization analyses were performed that minimized the metric by adjusting the inert upper stage weight and the ascent steering profile. The sensitivity of the optimal upper stage weight and steering profile to launch month was also investigated. A response surface approach was used to verify the optimization results. The analyses successfully defined monthly ascent trajectories that matched the Ares I reference trajectory dynamic pressure versus Mach number relationship to within 10% through Mach 3.5. The upper stage weight required to achieve the match was found to be feasible and varied less than 5% throughout the year. The paper will discuss the flight test requirements, provide Ares I-X vehicle background, discuss the optimization analyses used to meet the requirements, present analysis results, and compare the reference trajectory to the reconstructed flight trajectory.

Starr, Brett R.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Sensitivity Studies for Assimilated Ozone Profiles

An ozone data assimilation system at the NASA/Goddard Data Assimilation Office (DAO) produces three-dimensional global ozone fields. They are obtained by assimilating ozone retrieved from the Solar Backscatter UltraViolet/2 (SBUV/2) instrument and the Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (EP TOMS) measurements into an off-line parameterized chemistry and transport model. In this talk we focus on the quality of lower stratospheric assimilated ozone profiles. Ozone in the lower stratosphere plays a key role in the forcing of climate. A biased ozone field in this region will adversely impact calculations of the stratosphere-troposphere exchange and, when used as a first guess in retrievals, the values determined from satellite observations. The SBUV/2 ozone data have a coarse vertical resolution with increased uncertainty below the ozone maximum, and TOMS provides only total ozone columns. Thus, the assimilated ozone profiles in the lower stratosphere are only weakly constrained by the incoming SBUV and TOMS data. Consequently, the assimilated ozone distribution should be sensitive to changes in inputs to the statistical analysis scheme. We investigate the sensitivity of assimilated ozone profiles to changes in a variety of system inputs: TOMS and SBUV/2 data selection, forecast and observations error covariance models, inclusion or omission of a parameterized chemistry model, and different versions of DAO assimilated wind fields used to drive the transport model. Comparisons of assimilated ozone fields with independent observations, primarily ozone sondes, are used to determine the impact of each of these changes.

Stajner, Ivanka↗
NASA NTRS1980

A model of CO-CH4 global transport/chemistry. II - Preliminary calculation by 1 dimensional model

Calculations of the one-dimensional CO-CH4 transport/chemistry model were performed to investigate the sensitivity of the OH vertical profile to various factors. The boundary conditions at the earth's surface and the tropopause are discussed. The results show that the liquid-phase or soil-phase resistance dominates the mass transfer of both CO and CH4 between the atmosphere and the earth's surface. At the tropopause, the CO and CH4 fluxes are set approximately equal to the value at the previous time step in the numerical calculation. Photolysis rate coefficients that increase with altitude modified the OH vertical profile so that the maximum value was at midtroposphere altitudes. Increasing the CO concentration caused a decrease of the OH concentration, and the OH profile was very sensitive to the NO(x) profiles. The calculated OH profiles are compared with those from other investigations and also with some available measurements. Although the available measurements of the OH profiles are limited, the calculated OH profiles agree fairly well with them.

Kitada, T.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Community-level physiological profiling performed with an oxygen-sensitive fluorophore in a microtiter plate

Community-level physiological profiling based upon fluorometric detection of oxygen consumption was performed on hydroponic rhizosphere and salt marsh litter samples by using substrate levels as low as 50 ppm with incubation times between 5 and 24 h. The rate and extent of response were increased in samples acclimated to specific substrates and were reduced by limiting nitrogen availability in the wells.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
NASA NTRS1981

Sensitivity analysis of the Space Shuttle to ascent wind profiles

This paper presents a parametric sensitivity analysis of the Space Shuttle Ascent flight to the wind profile. Engineering systems parameters are obtained by flight simulations using wind profile models and samples of detailed (Jimsphere) wind profile measurements. The wind models used are the synthetic vector wind model, with and without the design gust, and a model of the vector wind change with respect to time. From these comparison analyses an insight is gained on the contribution of winds to ascent subsystems flight parameters.

Smith, O. E.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Topological reaction rate measurements related to scoffing

A ball-on-plate (both consisting of hardened M-50 steel) sliding elastohydrodynamic contact was run with trimethylolpropane triheptanoate (TMPTH) with and without tricresyl phosphate (TCP). The contact area of the plate was optically profiled with a phase-locked interference microscope (PLIM) both before and after exposure to alcoholic hydrochloric acid. As scuffing was approached, the profile within the contact region changed more rapidly after the acid treatment; after scuffing, it assumed a constant high value. A metallurgical phase found in the scuff mark was apparently responsible for the high reactivity. The microscopic profile changes (sensitivity, + or - 3 nm (+ or - A) in depth) involved primarily the small asperities (radius, 3 microns); the larger ones were unaffected. Soaking the steel in TCP smoothed the fine structure of the surface profile but increased its reactivity toward alcoholic hydrochloric acid before sliding was started. Thus it would appear that PLIM examination could be used for screening potentially scuff-resistant materials.

Lauer, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Topological reaction rate measurements related to scuffing

A ball-on-plate (both consisting of hardened M-50 steel) sliding elastohydrodynamic contact was run with trimethylolpropane triheptanoate (TMPTH) with and without tricresyl phosphate (TCP). The contact area of the plate was optically profiled with a phase-locked interference microscope (PLIM) both before and after exposure to alcoholic hydrochloric acid. As scuffing was approached, the profile within the contact region changed more rapidly after the acid treatment; after scuffing, it assumed a constant high value. A metallurgical phase found in the scuff mark was apparently responsible for the high reactivity. The microscopic profile changes (sensitivity, + or - 3 nm (+ or - A) in depth) involved primarily the small asperities (radius, 3 microns); the larger ones were unaffected. Soaking the steel in TCP smoothed the fine structure of the surface profile but increased its reactivity toward alcoholic hydrochloric acid before sliding was started. Thus it would appear that PLIM examination could be used for screening potentially scuff-resistant materials.

Lauer, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Processing of Icy Mantles in Protostellar Envelopes

The 4.5-4.8 micron spectral region provides two potential diagnostics of radiative or thermal processing of interstellar ices in the environs of embedded stars in molecular clouds. A broad absorption feature centered at 4.62 micron is seen in the spectra of several young stellar objects (YSO's) and attributed to C-N triple bonds in a nitrile or isonitrile. As CN-bearing solids in the laboratory are produced by energetic radiative processing of ices containing nitrogen, detection of this feature in YSO's is taken as evidence for (1) the presence of nitrogen in the unprocessed cloud ices, and (2) evolution of the ice in the vicinity of the embedded source. The adjacent feature at 4.67 micron, identified with solid CO, provides not only quantitative information on CO itself but also indirect evidence for the presence of other species; its position and profile are sensitive to the molecular environment of the CO molecules in the ice mantle, and may be used to constrain both the composition and thermal/radiative history of the ice. One important example is the possibility to detect CO2, which is produced easily in the laboratory by UV irradiation of CO-rich or CH3OH-rich ices. CO embedded in a CO2 matrix gives a characteristic spectral signature distinct from other CO-bearing mixtures investigated to date. We have obtained CO absorption profiles of three young stellar objects in order to investigate their ice mantle composition.

Chiar, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

The Aqua-planet Experiment (APE): Response to Changed Meridional SST Profile

This paper explores the sensitivity of Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM) simulations to changes in the meridional distribution of sea surface temperature (SST). The simulations are for an aqua-planet, a water covered Earth with no land, orography or sea- ice and with specified zonally symmetric SST. Simulations from 14 AGCMs developed for Numerical Weather Prediction and climate applications are compared. Four experiments are performed to study the sensitivity to the meridional SST profile. These profiles range from one in which the SST gradient continues to the equator to one which is flat approaching the equator, all with the same maximum SST at the equator. The zonal mean circulation of all models shows strong sensitivity to latitudinal distribution of SST. The Hadley circulation weakens and shifts poleward as the SST profile flattens in the tropics. One question of interest is the formation of a double versus a single ITCZ. There is a large variation between models of the strength of the ITCZ and where in the SST experiment sequence they transition from a single to double ITCZ. The SST profiles are defined such that as the equatorial SST gradient flattens, the maximum gradient increases and moves poleward. This leads to a weakening of the mid-latitude jet accompanied by a poleward shift of the jet core. Also considered are tropical wave activity and tropical precipitation frequency distributions. The details of each vary greatly between models, both with a given SST and in the response to the change in SST. One additional experiment is included to examine the sensitivity to an off-equatorial SST maximum. The upward branch of the Hadley circulation follows the SST maximum off the equator. The models that form a single precipitation maximum when the maximum SST is on the equator shift the precipitation maximum off equator and keep it centered over the SST maximum. Those that form a double with minimum on the equatorial maximum SST shift the double structure off the equator, keeping the minimum over the maximum SST. In both situations only modest changes appear in the shifted profile of zonal average precipitation. When the upward branch of the Hadley circulation moves into the hemisphere with SST maximum, the zonal average zonal, meridional and vertical winds all indicate that the Hadley cell in the other hemisphere dominates.

AGCM↗
NASA NTRS1975

CO observations of the expanding envelope of IRC plus 10216

High-sensitivity emission profiles were observed for the transition of C12O16 and C13O16 towards IRC + or - 10216. It appears that the spherically symmetric uniform mass-outflow model proposed by Morris is necessary to describe the line profiles. The outflow appears to be slightly accelerated, having a velocity of 15 km/sec at the edges of the CO cloud, compared with 12 km/sec for the more centrally confined molecules.

Kuiper, T. B. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Solution of the comoving-frame equation of transfer in spherically symmetric flows. V - Multilevel atoms

The coupled radiative transfer and statistical equilibrium equations for multilevel ionic structures in the atmospheres of early-type stars are solved. Both lines and continua are treated consistently; the treatment is applicable throughout a transonic wind, and allows for the presence of background continuum sources and sinks in the transfer. An equivalent-two-level-atoms approach provides the solution for the equations. Calculations for simplified He (+)-like model atoms in parameterized isothermal wind models indicate that subordinate line profiles are sensitive to the assumed mass-loss rate, and to the assumed structure of the velocity law in the atmospheres.

Mihalas, D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

An f/35 submillimeter photometer for the NASA infrared telescope facility

The design and performance of an f/35 submillimeter photometer are discussed. It is noted that the instrument provides for both broad- and medium-width passbands between 350 microns and 2 mm and for beam sizes between 28 arcsec and 100 arcsec FWHM. Under good atmospheric conditions, a broad-band 400 micron sensitivity of approximately 1.5 Jy is found to be obtainable in one hour. A description is given of the photometer's support housing, submillimeter radiometer, and electronics and data-handling system. In evaluating the performance, attention is given to sensitivity, beam profiles, and the effect of changes in the aperture on the signal.

Whitcomb, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Quadrennial International Ozone Symposium, Boulder, CO, August 4-9, 1980, Proceedings. Volumes 1 & 2

Recent developments in observational techniques are examined, taking into account a review of some unresolved problems in the measurement/estimation of total ozone and the vertical ozone profile, the sensitivity of Dobson total ozone estimations to wavelength band calibration uncertainties, errors in Dobson total measurements arising from aerosol attenuation, and optical stop and focussing effects in the Dobson instrument. Other subjects considered are related to total ozone observations, tropospheric ozone, upper air ozone observations, observations of trace gases in the atmosphere, ozone photochemistry and directly related photochemical models, the interaction of ozone and atmospheric circulation, ozone effects on climate, and solar activity and ozone variations. Programs and recommendations involving ozone theory and observations are also discussed, giving attention to current problems of ozone chemistry, the upper atmosphere research satellite program, a French contribution to ozone related studies, and ozone and the middle atmosphere program.

London, J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Lyman alpha radiation in external galaxies

The Ly alpha line of atomic hydrogen is often a luminous component of the radiation emitted by distant galaxies. Except for those galaxies which have a substantial central source of non-stellar ionizing radiation, most of the Ly alpha radiation emitted by galaxies is generated within regions of the interstellar medium which are photoionized by starlight. Conversely, much of the energy radiated by photoionized regions is carried by the Ly alpha line. Only hot, massive stars are capable of ionizing hydrogen in the interstellar medium which surrounds them, and because such stars are necessarily short-lived, Ly alpha emission traces regions of active star formation. Researchers argue that the strength of the Ly alpha emission observed from external galaxies may be used to estimate quantitatively the dust content of the emitting region, while the Ly alpha line profile is sensitive to the presence of shock waves. Interstellar dust particles and shock waves are intimately associated with the process of star formation in two senses. First, both dust particles and shock waves owe their existence to stellar activity; second, they may both serve as agents which facilitate the formation of stars, shocks by triggering gravitational instabilities in the interstellar gas that they compress, and dust by shielding star-forming molecular clouds from the ionizing and dissociative effects of external UV radiation. By using Ly alpha observations as a probe of the dust content in diffuse gas at high redshift, we might hope to learn about the earliest epochs of star formation.

Neufeld, David A.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Lidar Remote Sensing for Industry and Environment Monitoring

Contents include the following: 1. Keynote paper: Overview of lidar technology for industrial and environmental monitoring in Japan. 2. lidar technology I: NASA's future active remote sensing mission for earth science. Geometrical detector consideration s in laser sensing application (invited paper). 3. Lidar technology II: High-power femtosecond light strings as novel atmospheric probes (invited paper). Design of a compact high-sensitivity aerosol profiling lidar. 4. Lasers for lidars: High-energy 2 microns laser for multiple lidar applications. New submount requirement of conductively cooled laser diodes for lidar applications. 5. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds I: Lidar monitoring of clouds and aerosols at the facility for atmospheric remote sensing (invited paper). Measurement of asian dust by using multiwavelength lidar. Global monitoring of clouds and aerosols using a network of micropulse lidar systems. 6. Troposphere aerosols and clouds II: Scanning lidar measurements of marine aerosol fields at a coastal site in Hawaii. 7. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds III: Formation of ice cloud from asian dust particles in the upper troposphere. Atmospheric boundary layer observation by ground-based lidar at KMITL, Thailand (13 deg N, 100 deg. E). 8. Boundary layer, urban pollution: Studies of the spatial correlation between urban aerosols and local traffic congestion using a slant angle scanning on the research vessel Mirai. 9. Middle atmosphere: Lidar-observed arctic PSC's over Svalbard (invited paper). Sodium temperature lidar measurements of the mesopause region over Syowa Station. 10. Differential absorption lidar (dIAL) and DOAS: Airborne UV DIAL measurements of ozone and aerosols (invited paper). Measurement of water vapor, surface ozone, and ethylene using differential absorption lidar. 12. Space lidar I: Lightweight lidar telescopes for space applications (invited paper). Coherent lidar development for Doppler wind measurement from the International Space Station. 13. Space lidar II: Using coherent Doppler lidar to estimate river discharge. 14. Poster session: Lidar technology, optics for lidar. Laser for lidar. Middle atmosphere observations. Tropospheric observations (aerosols, clouds). Boundary layer, urban pollution. Differential absorption lidar. Doppler lidar. and Space lidar.

Singh, Upendra N.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Spectra of High-Ionization Seyfert 1 Galaxies: Implications for the Narrow-Line Region

We present line profiles and profile parameters for the Narrow-Line Regions (NLRs) of six Seyfert 1 galaxies with high-ionization lines: MCG 8-11-11, Mrk 79, Mrk 704, Mrk 841, NGC 4151, and NGC 5548. The sample was chosen primarily with the goal of obtaining high-quality [Fe VII] lambda6087 and, when possible, [Fe X] lambda6374 profiles to determine if these lines are more likely formed in a physically distinct 'coronal line region' or are formed throughout the NLR along with lines of lower critical density (n(sub cr)) and/or Ionization Potential (IP). We discuss correlations of velocity shift and width with n(sub cr) and IP. In some objects, lines of high IP and/or n(sub cr) are systematically broader than those of low IP/n(sub cr). Of particular interest, however, are objects that show no correlations of line width with either IP or n(sub cr). In these objects, lines of high and low IP/n(sub cr), are remarkably similar, which is difficult to reconcile with the classical picture of the NLR, in which lines of high and low IP/n(sub cr) are formed in physically distinct regions. We argue for similar spatial extents for the flux in lines with similar profiles. Here, as well as in a modeling-oriented companion paper, we develop further an idea suggested by Moore & Cohen that objects that do and do not show line width correlations with IP/n(sub cr) can both be explained in terms of a single NLR model with only a small difference in the cloud column density distinguishing the two types of object. Overall, our objects do not show correlations between the Full Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM) and IP and/or n(sub cr). The width must be defined by a parameter that is sensitive to extended profile wings in order for the correlations to result. We present models in which FWHM correlations with IP and/or n(sub cr) result only after simulating the lower spectral resolution used in previous observational studies. The models that simulate the higher spectral resolution of our observational study produce line width correlations only if the width is defined by a parameter that is more sensitive to extended profile wings than is the FWHM. Our sample of six objects is in effect augmented by incorporating the larger sample (16 objects) of Veilleux into some of our discussion. This paper focuses on new interpretations of NLR emission-line spectra and line profiles that stem directly from the observations. Paper 2 focuses on modeling and complements this paper by illustrating explicitly the effects that spatial variations in electron density, ionization parameter, and column density have on model profiles. By comparing model profiles with the observed profiles presented here, as well as with those presented by Veilleux, Paper 2 yields insight into how the electron density, ionization parameter, and column density likely vary throughout the NLR.

Moore, David↗