Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “cloud ice”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

Observational Evidence of Aerosol Enhancement of Lightning Activity and Convective Invigoration

Lightning activity over the West Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines is usually much less frequent than over the nearby maritime continents. However, in 2005 the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) aboard the TRMM satellite observed anomalously high lightning activity in that area. In the same year the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measured anomalously high aerosol loading. The high aerosol loading was traced to volcanic activity, and not to any factor linked to meteorology, disentangling the usual convolution between aerosols and meteorology. We show that in general lightning activity is tightly correlated with aerosol loadings at both inter-annual and biweekly time scales. We estimate that a approximately 60% increase in aerosol loading leads to more than 150% increase in lightning flashes. Aerosols increase lightning activity through modification of cloud microphysics. Cloud ice particle sizes are reduced and cloud glaciation is delayed to colder temperature when aerosol loading is increased. TRMM precipitation radar measurements indicate that anomalously high aerosol loading is associated with enhanced cloud mixed phase activity and invigorated convection over the maritime ocean. These observed associations between aerosols, cloud microphysics, morphology and lightning activity are not related to meteorological variables or ENSO events. The results have important implications for understanding the variability of lightning and resulting aerosol-chemistry interactions.

Yuan, Tianle↗
NASA NTRS2014

Ticosonde CFH at Costa Rica: A Seasonal Climatology of Tropical UT-LS Water Vapor and Inter-Comparisons with MLS and CALIPSO

Balloon sonde measurements of tropical water vapor using the Cryogenic Frostpoint Hygrometer were initiated in Costa Rica in July 2005 and have continued to the present day. Over the nine years through July 2014, the Ticosonde program has launched 174 CFH payloads, representing the longest-running and most extensive single-site balloon dataset for tropical water vapor. In this presentation we present a seasonal climatology for water vapor and ozone at Costa Rica and examine the frequency of upper tropospheric supersaturation with comparisons to cloud fraction and cloud ice water content observations from the Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) on the CALIPSO mission. We then make a critical comparison of these data to water vapor measurements from the MLS instrument on board Aura in light of recently published work for other sites. Finally, we examine time series of 2-km altitude averages in the upper troposphere-lower stratosphere at Costa Rica in light of anomalies and trends seen in various large-scale indices of tropical water vapor.

water vapor↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Exploring Radiation, Water and Energy Closure in Key Deep Tropical Regions Over the Last 3 Decades

The closure of global energy and water budgets at various time scales depends heavily upon the on the processes of water and energy exchange in the deep tropics. A key process observed is the change in convection regimes from disorganized convection to organized deep convection. During these periods an imbalance in key tropical regions is observed of water budget terms between observations and atmospheric reanalysis systems, implying that processes are not simulated well. For instance, periods of imbalance in the water budget may be at least partly attributed to precipitation estimates due to the transition between cloud and precipitation systems in which ice cloud affects microwave radar estimates (Lietmann-Niimi et al. 2024, submitted). A recent paper by Hsaio et al (2023, pre-published version) found that the transition process is characterized by wind shear and longwave cloud radiative feedback signatures as well. This is just one example how these processes also affect the radiative fluxes and thus the energy budget at the TOA. In this presentation, we assess the net radiative budget and components in the deep tropics by comparing multiple data products (GEWEX SRB Rel4IP, CERES EBAF/SYN1deg Ed4.2, ISSCP FH, etc.) and describing the temporal variability of energy balance terms across the deep tropics for the period from 1988 to near present in six key oceanic regions. These six key tropical oceanic regions are West Indian Ocean, the south Indian Ocean east, tropical western, central and eastern Pacific Ocean, and Tropical Atlantic Ocean. In these regions we assess the sensitivity of the fluxes as a function of fluctuations in cloud types in response to various larger scale atmospheric processes (e.g. El Niño, Indian Ocean Dipole). We assess this variability of the radiative flux anomalies (including the net TOA, surface and the atmospheric divergence fluxes) against water vapor divergence, cloud properties (include ISCCP “Weather States, Tselioudis et al. 2021) and larger scale wind shear to assess the uncertainties of energy closure in these regions. These are contrasted against the modeled radiative fluxes from ERA-5 and MERRA-2. Ocean buoy measurements of radiative fluxes are utilized to help assess data radiative flux uncertainty over the nearly 40 year period. In general, the variability for overlap periods of these various data products agrees well, but there are significant differences in the net fluxes that vary according to the rendering of surface, atmospheric, aerosol and cloud properties. These differences also affect closure terms and inferences on systematic uncertainties within the observational estimates. We conclude with recommendations for continuing work

Radiation budget↗
NASA NTRS2013

The GLAS Standard Data Products Specification--Level 2, Version 9

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is the primary instrument for the ICESat (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) laser altimetry mission. ICESat was the benchmark Earth Observing System (EOS) mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. From 2003 to 2009, the ICESat mission provided multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It also provided topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.This document defines the Level-2 GLAS standard data products. This document addresses the data flow, interfaces, record and data formats associated with the GLAS Level 2 standard data products. The term standard data products refers to those EOS instrument data that are routinely generated for public distribution. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDIC) distribute these products. Each data product has a unique Product Identification code assigned by the Senior Project Scientist. The Level 2 Standard Data Products specifically include those derived geophysical data values (i.e., ice sheet elevation, cloud height, vegetation height, etc.). Additionally, the appropriate correction elements used to transform the Level 1A and Level 1B Data Products into Level 2 Data Products are included. The data are packaged with time tags, precision orbit location coordinates, and data quality and usage flags.

Lee, Jeffrey E.↗
DOE OSTI2025

A radar view of ice microphysics and turbulence in Arctic cloud systems

Ice microphysical processes are inherently complex because of their sensitivity to temperature and humidity, the diversity of ice crystal habits, and their interaction with supercooled liquid water (SCL) and turbulence. Long-term surface-based radar observations have been systematically used to unravel the different processes that affect ice particle growth. In this study, we present a statistical analysis of 6.5 years of Ka-band radar observations in Arctic cloud systems, combined with thermodynamic profiles derived from radiosonde measurements. For the first time, ice particle growth and sublimation – diagnosed from vertical gradients of radar reflectivity and mean Doppler velocity – are systematically mapped across a broad range of temperature and moisture conditions. These vertical gradients correspond closely to saturation levels relative to ice and exhibit a strong temperature dependence in supersaturated regions. Notably, distinct signatures near −15 °C are indicative of dendritic growth. Turbulence, quantified via the eddy dissipation rate (EDR), is most frequently observed in regions containing SCL. The co-occurrence of SCL and elevated turbulence results in significantly enhanced ice particle growth compared to conditions in which either is present alone. This work provides new observational constraints that are critical for improving the representation of ice microphysics in atmospheric models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2010

Ten Years of Cloud Optical and Microphysical Retrievals from MODIS

The MODIS cloud optical properties algorithm (MOD06/MYD06 for Terra and Aqua MODIS, respectively) has undergone extensive improvements and enhancements since the launch of Terra. These changes have included: improvements in the cloud thermodynamic phase algorithm; substantial changes in the ice cloud light scattering look up tables (LUTs); a clear-sky restoral algorithm for flagging heavy aerosol and sunglint; greatly improved spectral surface albedo maps, including the spectral albedo of snow by ecosystem; inclusion of pixel-level uncertainty estimates for cloud optical thickness, effective radius, and water path derived for three error sources that includes the sensitivity of the retrievals to solar and viewing geometries. To improve overall retrieval quality, we have also implemented cloud edge removal and partly cloudy detection (using MOD35 cloud mask 250m tests), added a supplementary cloud optical thickness and effective radius algorithm over snow and sea ice surfaces and over the ocean, which enables comparison with the "standard" 2.1 11m effective radius retrieval, and added a multi-layer cloud detection algorithm. We will discuss the status of the MOD06 algorithm and show examples of pixellevel (Level-2) cloud retrievals for selected data granules, as well as gridded (Level-3) statistics, notably monthly means and histograms (lD and 2D, with the latter giving correlations between cloud optical thickness and effective radius, and other cloud product pairs).

Platnick, Steven↗
DOE OSTI2020

A New Method for Ice-Ice Aggregation in the Adaptive Habit Model

In this paper, a novel methodology for modeling ice-ice aggregation is presented. This methodology combines a modified hydrodynamic collection algorithm with bulk aggregate characteristic information from an offline simulator that collects ice particles, namely, the Ice Particle and Aggregate Simulator, and has been implemented into the Adaptive Habit Microphysics scheme in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model. Aggregates, or snow, are formed via collection of cloud ice particles, where initial ice characteristics and the resulting geometry determine aggregate characteristics. Upon implementation, idealized squall-line simulations are performed to examine the new methodology in comparison with commonly used bulk microphysics schemes. It is found that the adaptive habit aggregation parameterization develops snow and reduces ice mass and number concentrations compared to other schemes. The development of aggregates through the new methodology cascades into other interesting effects, including enhancements in ice and snow growth, as well as homogeneous freezing. Further microphysical analyses reveal varying sensitivities, where snow processes are most sensitive to the new parameterization, followed by ice, then cloud, rain, and graupel processes. Further, the new scheme results in enhancements in surface precipitation due to the persistence of snow at lower altitudes. This persistence is a result of shape-dependent melting and sublimation, increasing the residence time. Moreover, these low-level enhancements are reflected in increases in radar reflectivity at the surface and its spatial distribution. Finally, the ability to predict snow shape and density allows for the simulation of polarimetric radar quantities, resulting in signature enhancements compared to schemes that do not consider spatial and temporal variations in snow shape and density.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1987

Stability relationship for water droplet crystallization with the NASA Lewis icing spray

In order to produce small droplets for icing cloud simulation, high pressure air atomizing nozzles are used. For certain icing testing applications, median drop sizes as small as 5 mm are needed, which require air atomizing pressures greater than 3000 kPa. Isentropic expansion of the ambient temperature atomizing air to atmospheric pressure can result in air stream temperatures of -160 C which results in ice crystals forming in the cloud. To avoid such low temperatures, it is necessary to heat the air and water to high initial temperatures. An icing spray research program was conducted to map the temperatures below which ice crystals form. A soot slide technique was used to determine the presence of crystals in the spray.

Marek, C. John↗
NASA NTRS1988

Stability relationship for water droplet crystallization with the NASA Lewis icing spray nozzle

In order to produce small droplets for icing cloud simulation, high pressure air atomizing nozzles are used. For certain icing testing applications, median drop sizes as small as 5 mm are needed, which require air atomizing pressures greater than 3000 kPa. Isentropic expansion of the ambient temperature atomizing air to atmospheric pressure can result in air stream temperatures of -160 C which results in ice crystals forming in the cloud. To avoid such low temperatures, it is necessary to heat the air and water to high initial temperatures. An icing spray research program was conducted to map the temperatures below which ice crystals form. A soot slide technique was used to determine the presence of crystals in the spray.

Marek, C. John↗
NASA NTRS2016

Applications for ICESat-2 Data

NASA;s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission, scheduled to launch no later than April 2018 (and currently slated for October 2017), is being developed to continue the multiyear observations of the earths surface elevation, ice, and clouds started by ICESat. To increase the use of the satellite data after launch, the ICESat-2 mission invested in an applications program aimed at innovatively applying the data in a variety of fields. The program provides a framework for building a broad and well-defined user community during the prelaunch period to maximize the use of data products after launch and to provide early insight into the range of potential uses of the mission data. Ideas and research on how altimetry data will be used for decision making arise from the end users; there-fore, the ICESat-2 mission is extending itself through its applications program.

Brown, Molly E.↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Demonstration of a Light Extinction Tomography System at the NASA Glenn Research Center's Icing Research Tunnel

A prototype light extinction tomography system has been developed for acquiring real-time in-situ icing cloud uniformity and density measurements in the NASA Glenn Research Center's Icing Research Tunnel (IRT). These measurements are currently obtained through periodic manual calibrations of the IRT. These calibrations are time consuming and assume that cloud uniformity and density does not greatly vary between the periodic calibrations. It is envisioned that the new light extinction tomography system will provide the means to make these measurements in-situ in real-time and minimize the need for these manual calibrations. This new system uses the principle of light extinction tomography to measure the spray density and distribution in the test section. The prototype system was installed and successfully demonstrated in the Icing Research Tunnel in early 2018. Data sets were acquired for several standard spray and simulated fault conditions to assess system capability and sensitivity. This paper will describe the prototype light extinction system, the theory behind it, and the results of the demonstration test that was conducted in the IRT.

Test Facility↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Demonstration of a Light Extinction Tomography System at the NASA Glenn Research Center's Icing Research Tunnel

A prototype light extinction tomography system has been developed for acquiring real-time in-situ icing cloud uniformity and density measurements in the NASA Glenn Research Center's Icing Research Tunnel (IRT). These measurements are currently obtained through periodic manual calibrations of the IRT. These calibrations are time consuming and assume that cloud uniformity and density does not greatly vary between the periodic calibrations. It is envisioned that the new light extinction tomography system will provide the means to make these measurements in-situ in real-time and minimize the need for these manual calibrations. This new system uses the principle of light extinction tomography to measure the spray density and distribution in the test section. The prototype system was installed and successfully demonstrated in the Icing Research Tunnel in early 2018. Data sets were acquired for several standard spray and simulated fault conditions to assess system capability and sensitivity. This paper will describe the prototype light extinction system, the theory behind it, and the results of the demonstration test that was conducted in the IRT.

Tomography↗
NASA NTRS2007

An Improved Algorithm for Retrieving Surface Downwelling Longwave Radiation from Satellite Measurements

Zhou and Cess [2001] developed an algorithm for retrieving surface downwelling longwave radiation (SDLW) based upon detailed studies using radiative transfer model calculations and surface radiometric measurements. Their algorithm linked clear sky SDLW with surface upwelling longwave flux and column precipitable water vapor. For cloudy sky cases, they used cloud liquid water path as an additional parameter to account for the effects of clouds. Despite the simplicity of their algorithm, it performed very well for most geographical regions except for those regions where the atmospheric conditions near the surface tend to be extremely cold and dry. Systematic errors were also found for scenes that were covered with ice clouds. An improved version of the algorithm prevents the large errors in the SDLW at low water vapor amounts by taking into account that under such conditions the SDLW and water vapor amount are nearly linear in their relationship. The new algorithm also utilizes cloud fraction and cloud liquid and ice water paths available from the Cloud and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) single scanner footprint (SSF) product to separately compute the clear and cloudy portions of the fluxes. The new algorithm has been validated against surface measurements at 29 stations around the globe for Terra and Aqua satellites. The results show significant improvement over the original version. The revised Zhou-Cess algorithm is also slightly better or comparable to more sophisticated algorithms currently implemented in the CERES processing and will be incorporated as one of the CERES empirical surface radiation algorithms.

Zhou, Yaping↗
NASA NTRS2006

An Improved Algorithm for Retrieving Surface Downwelling Longwave Radiation from Satellite Measurements

Retrieving surface longwave radiation from space has been a difficult task since the surface downwelling longwave radiation (SDLW) are integrations from radiation emitted by the entire atmosphere, while those emitted from the upper atmosphere are absorbed before reaching the surface. It is particularly problematic when thick clouds are present since thick clouds will virtually block all the longwave radiation from above, while satellites observe atmosphere emissions mostly from above the clouds. Zhou and Cess developed an algorithm for retrieving SDLW based upon detailed studies using radiative transfer model calculations and surface radiometric measurements. Their algorithm linked clear sky SDLW with surface upwelling longwave flux and column precipitable water vapor. For cloudy sky cases, they used cloud liquid water path as an additional parameter to account for the effects of clouds. Despite the simplicity of their algorithm, it performed very well for most geographical regions except for those regions where the atmospheric conditions near the surface tend to be extremely cold and dry. Systematic errors were also found for areas that were covered with ice clouds. An improved version of the algorithm was developed that prevents the large errors in the SDLW at low water vapor amounts. The new algorithm also utilizes cloud fraction and cloud liquid and ice water paths measured from the Cloud and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellites to separately compute the clear and cloudy portions of the fluxes. The new algorithm has been validated against surface measurements at 29 stations around the globe for the Terra and Aqua satellites. The results show significant improvement over the original version. The revised Zhou-Cess algorithm is also slightly better or comparable to more sophisticated algorithms currently implemented in the CERES processing. It will be incorporated in the CERES project as one of the empirical surface radiation algorithms.

Zhou, Yaping↗
NASA NTRS2017

Updates on Modeling the Water Cycle with the NASA Ames Mars Global Climate Model

Global Circulation Models (GCMs) have made steady progress in simulating the current Mars water cycle. It is now widely recognized that clouds are a critical component that can significantly affect the nature of the simulated water cycle. Two processes in particular are key to implementing clouds in a GCM: the microphysical processes of formation and dissipation, and their radiative effects on heating/ cooling rates. Together, these processes alter the thermal structure, change the dynamics, and regulate inter-hemispheric transport. We have made considerable progress representing these processes in the NASA Ames GCM, particularly in the presence of radiatively active water ice clouds. We present the current state of our group's water cycle modeling efforts, show results from selected simulations, highlight some of the issues, and discuss avenues for further investigation.­

Global Circulation Models (GCMs)↗
NASA NTRS2013

The GLAS Science Algorithm Software (GSAS) Detailed Design Document Version 6

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is the primary instrument for the ICESat (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) laser altimetry mission. ICESat was the benchmark Earth Observing System (EOS) mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. From 2003 to 2009, the ICESat mission provided multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It also provided topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.This document describes the detailed design of GLAS Science Algorithm Software (GSAS). The GSAS is used to create the ICESat GLAS standard data products. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDIC) distribute these products. The document contains descriptions, flow charts, data flow diagrams, and structure charts for each major component of the GSAS. The purpose of this document is to present the detailed design of the GSAS. It is intended as a reference source to assist the maintenance programmer in making changes that fix or enhance the documented software.

Lee, Jeffrey E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

The GLAS Standard Data Products Specification-Level 1, Version 9

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is the primary instrument for the ICESat (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) laser altimetry mission. ICESat was the benchmark Earth Observing System (EOS) mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. From 2003 to 2009, the ICESat mission provided multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It also provided topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.This document defines the Level-1 GLAS standard data products. This document addresses the data flow, interfaces, record and data formats associated with the GLAS Level 1 standard data products. GLAS Level 1 standard data products are composed of Level 1A and Level 1B data products. The term standard data products refers to those EOS instrument data that are routinely generated for public distribution. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDIC) distribute these products. Each data product has a unique Product Identification code assigned by the Senior Project Scientist. GLAS Level 1A and Level 1B Data Products are composed from those Level 0 data that have been reformatted or transformed to corrected and calibrated data in physical units at the full instrument rate and resolution.

Lee, Jeffrey E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

The GLAS Standard Data Products Specification-Data Dictionary, Version 1.0

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is the primary instrument for the ICESat (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) laser altimetry mission. ICESat was the benchmark Earth Observing System (EOS) mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. From 2003 to 2009, the ICESat mission provided multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It also provided topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.This document contains the data dictionary for the GLAS standard data products. It details the parameters present on GLAS standard data products. Each parameter is defined with a short name, a long name, units on product, type of variable, a long description and products that contain it. The term standard data products refers to those EOS instrument data that are routinely generated for public distribution. These products are distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDIC).

Lee, Jeffrey E.↗