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At least 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Southern Ocean Climate and Sea Ice Anomalies Associated with the Southern Oscillation

The anomalies in the climate and sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean and their relationships with the Southern Oscillation (SO) are investigated using a 17-year of data set from 1982 through 1998. We correlate the polar climate anomalies with the Southern Oscillation index (SOI) and examine the composites of these anomalies under the positive (SOI > 0), neutral (0 > SOI > -1), and negative (SOI < -1) phases of SOL The climate data set consists of sea-level pressure, wind, surface air temperature, and sea surface temperature fields, while the sea ice data set describes its extent, concentration, motion, and surface temperature. The analysis depicts, for the first time, the spatial variability in the relationship of the above variables and the SOL The strongest correlation between the SOI and the polar climate anomalies are found in the Bellingshausen, Amundsen and Ross sea sectors. The composite fields reveal anomalies that are organized in distinct large-scale spatial patterns with opposing polarities at the two extremes of SOI, and suggest oscillating climate anomalies that are closely linked to the SO. Within these sectors, positive (negative) phases of the SOI are generally associated with lower (higher) sea-level pressure, cooler (warmer) surface air temperature, and cooler (warmer) sea surface temperature in these sectors. Associations between these climate anomalies and the behavior of the Antarctic sea ice cover are clearly evident. Recent anomalies in the sea ice cover that are apparently associated with the SOI include: the record decrease in the sea ice extent in the Bellingshausen Sea from mid- 1988 through early 199 1; the relationship between Ross Sea SST and ENSO signal, and reduced sea ice concentration in the Ross Sea; and, the shortening of the ice season in the eastern Ross Sea, Amundsen Sea, far western Weddell Sea, and the lengthening of the ice season in the western Ross Sea, Bellingshausen Sea and central Weddell Sea gyre over the period 1988-1994. Four ENSO episodes over the last 17 years contributed to a negative mean in the SOI (-0.5). In each of these episodes, significant retreats in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Sea were observed providing direct confirmation of the impact of SO on the Antarctic sea ice cover.

Kwok, R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A global low order spectral model designed for climate sensitivity studies

A two level, global, spectral model using pressure as a vertical coordinate is developed. The system of equations describing the model is nonlinear and quasi-geostrophic. A moisture budget is calculated in the lower layer only with moist convective adjustment between the two layers. The mechanical forcing of topography is introduced as a lower boundary vertical velocity. Solar forcing is specified assuming a daily mean zenith angle. On land and sea ice surfaces a steady state thermal energy equation is solved to calculate the surface temperature. Over the oceans the sea surface temperatures are prescribed from the climatological average of January. The model is integrated to simulate the January climate.

Hanna, A. F.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The relationship between mixed Rossby-gravity waves and convection in a general circulation model

We investigate the relationship between mixed Rossby-gravity waves (MRGWs) and convection in a general circulation model. The experiments described are performed in a general circulation model with the lower boundary set to that of an ocean surface everywhere. Several experiments are run varying the convective parameterization scheme (using either a modified Kuo scheme or a moist convective adjustment scheme) and varying the tropical sea surface temperatures (specified to be zonally symmetric in all cases), thereby changing the location of the modeled intertropical convergence zones (ITCZs). The appearance of a robust MRGW occurs when the sea surface temperature is such that two ITCZs straddle the equator. The particular sea surface temperature distribution used and the parameterization scheme for convection also affect the structure and strength of the modeled MRGW. The vertical structure of MRGWs is analyzed in the experiment in which this wave mode is the most energetic. We show that MRGWs of several different zonal length scales exist in the troposphere in association with convection; however, it is only the longer length scales which can be discerned in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.

Hess, Peter G.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Understanding Monsoonal Water Cycle Changes in a Warmer Climate in E3SMv1 Using a Normalized Gross Moist Stability Framework

Abstract One of the grand challenges of climate science is understanding the changes of the tropical rain belts and monsoon systems owing to CO 2 ‐induced warming. A promising path forward links the fluxes of energy and moisture to tropical circulation features. To this end, we make use of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 1, where the divergence of moist static energy and moisture have been calculated online, and employ a normalized gross moist stability (NGMS) diagnostic framework to understand the linkages between changes in the flow of energy and moisture within the monsoons. We focus on the Asian Summer Monsoon system and utilize a series of atmosphere‐land and atmosphere‐land‐ocean simulations to understand the connection between fluxes and monsoons. Uncoupled simulations with prescribed sea surface temperatures indicate that decreases in NGMS over land are important in explaining precipitation increases in response to both sea surface temperature and CO 2 increases. In fully coupled experiments, NGMS decreases remain an important contributor to the increase in P‐E, but the coupled simulations highlight the importance of consistent ocean and land responses in interpreting the monsoon changes. This study indicates that transient eddy fluxes play an important role in NGMS decreases and that a time‐mean view of the monsoon circulations is insufficient to quantify the link between future changes in the fluxes of energy and moisture. Compensation between dynamic and thermodynamic components of vertical moist static energy advection occurs, with the thermodynamic contribution dominating. The compensation is shown to be sensitive to relative humidity, with higher relative humidity leading to a stronger thermodynamic component.

Harrop, Bryce E.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Modeling of Wind Direction Signals in Polarimetric Sea Surface Brightness Temperatures

There is an increasing interest in the applications of polarimetric microwave radiometers for ocean wind remote sensing. Aircraft and spaceborne radiometers have found significant wind direction signals in sea surface brightness temperatures. It is not yet understood what physical scattering mechanisms produce the observed wind direction dependence. Some theories are examined along with the available data.

Ocean↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Characterizing Wildfires in Western US.: A Cloud-based Case Study for Interdisciplinary Research using NASA Resources

This presentation will demonstrate a case study of interdisciplinary research done in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform, in addition to in the local machine. We conduct data analysis next to data by leveraging various cloud-based data in NASA Earthdata Cloud, which are distributed by different missions/NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), and cloud computing resources at NASA. For instance, we directly access multiple datasets stored in the AWS Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets using a Python Jupyter notebook through a JupyterHub interface hosted in AWS (without having to download data), and conduct data analysis next to data in the cloud. We will also show how to share the research results following Open Source policy. This case study characterizes the change in wildfire events in the western United States during the past 20 years. In particular, we focus on the wildfires in California in 2021, one of the most severe wildfire years occurring in the most recent 20 years in California. We will analyze the possible causes of wildfires, such as drought conditions and climate variability, and examine the impacts of wildfires on air quality and atmospheric composition, and on land cover. We will examine the data distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC), including aerosols and meteorological data from the NASA Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2), precipitation from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and Global Precipitation Climate Project (GPCP), and aerosol index from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). We also utilize the data distributed by the Physical Oceanography (PO) DAAC, such as Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data from the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST), and the data distributed by Land Processes (LP) DAAC, such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).

Xiaohua Pan↗
NASA NTRS2000

An Assessment of the Predictability of Northern Winter Seasonal Means with the NSIPP 1 AGCM

This atlas assesses the predictability of January-February-March (JFM) means using version 1 of the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project Atmospheric General Circulation Model (the NSIPP 1 AGCM). The AGCM is part of the NSIPP coupled atmosphere-land-ocean model. For these results, the atmosphere was run uncoupled from the ocean, but coupled with an interactive land model. The results are based on 20 ensembles of nine JFM hindcasts for the period 1980-1999, with sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice specified from observations. The model integrations were started from initial atmospheric conditions (taken from NCEP/NCAR reanalyses) centered on December 15. The analysis focuses on 200 mb height, precipitation, surface temperature, and sea-level pressure. The results address issues of both predictability and forecast skill. Various signal-to-noise measures are computed to demonstrate the potential for skillful prediction on seasonal time scales under the assumption of a perfect model and perfectly known oceanic boundary forcings. The results show that the model produces a realistic ENSO response in both the tropics and extratropics.

Suarez, Max J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ice Sheet and Ice Shelf Freshwater Forcing of the NASA GISS ModelE GCM

Recent mass loss from ice sheets and ice shelves is now persistent and prolonged enough that it impacts downstream oceanographic conditions. To demonstrate this, we use an ensemble of coupled GISS-E2.1-G (a CMIP6 model) simulations forced with historical estimates of anomalous freshwater, in addition to other climate forcings, from 1990 through 2019. In this ensemble there are detectable differences in zonal-mean sea surface temperatures (SST) and sea ice in the Southern Ocean, and in regional sea level around Antarctica and in the western North Atlantic. These impacts mostly improve the model's representation of historical changes, including reversing the forced trends in Southern Ocean surface temperature and Antarctic sea ice. The changes in SST may have implications for estimates of the SST pattern effect on climate sensitivity and for cloud feedbacks. We conclude that the changes are sufficiently large that model groups should strive to include more accurate estimates of these drivers in all-forcing historical simulations in future coupled model intercomparisons.

Ice sheet↗
NASA NTRS2013

On the Current Trend of Tropical Cyclone Activity and the Lengthening of the Tropical Cyclone Season in the North Atlantic Basin

In this TP, the trend in North Atlantic basin TC activity, especially as related to the determination of the length of season (LOS) and its possible association with warming surface-air and sea-surface temperature, is revisited. In particular, examined are: (1) the trend in TC activity for the yearly intervals 1945-1965, 1966-1994, and 1995-2012 for TCs having duration NSD greater or equal to 0.25 day, less than 2 days, greater than or equal to 2 days, greater than or equal to 4 days, and greater than or equal to 8 days; (2) the latitudinal and longitudinal genesis locations of the short-lived TC (defined herein as those TCs having duration NSD less than 2 days) for the three yearly intervals; (3) the first storm day (FSD), last storm day (LSD), and LOS based on TCs having duration NSD greater than or equal to 0.25 day and NSD greater than or equal to 2 days; (4) the relationship between FSD, LSD, and LOS for TCs having duration NSD greater than or equal to 0.25 day and NSD greater than or equal to 2 days; (5) the surface-air and sea-surface temperature, wind, and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during the interval 1945-2012; (6) the relationship of FSD, LSD, and LOS against surface-air and sea-surface temperature, wind, and the NAO; (7) the relationship of TC activity against surface-air and sea-surface temperature, wind, and the NAO; and (8) the relationship of TC activity against FSD and LOS. This TP represents an update to an earlier study by Wilson concerning the length of the yearly hurricane season.

Wilson, Robert M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Mid-latitude model analysis of solar radiation, the upper layers of the sea, and seasonal climate

A simplified, time-dependent energy balance climate model is run at the latitude belt 40-50 deg N. The model solves for the temperatures of the land, air, and 12 vertical oceanic layers, and it includes a wind stirred mixed layer. A change in model ocean optical turbidity from relatively clear (Jerlov 1) to particle rich (Jerlov III) conditions decreases the effective thickness of the oceanic layer in which heat is stored seasonally and increases the seasonal variation of sea surface temperature by 2-3 C. A decrease in the liquid water content of clouds by a factor of 4 warms the model climate and increases the seasonal variation of sea surface temperatures by 2-3 C. A 2-3 C change in the seasonal variation of sea surface temperature is also obtained by varying oceanic mixing through a factor of 2 change in the surface wind speed.

Charlock, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS2017

GEOS-5 Seasonal Forecast System

Ensembles of numerical forecasts based on perturbed initial conditions have long been used to improve estimates of both weather and climate forecasts. The Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5 AOGCM) Seasonal-to-Interannual Forecast System has been used routinely by the GMAO since 2008, the current version since 2012. A coupled reanalysis starting in 1980 provides the initial conditions for the 9 month experimental forecasts. Once a month, sea surface temperature from a suite of 11 ensemble forecasts is contributed to the North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME) consensus project, which compares and distributes seasonal forecasts of ENSO events. Since June 2013, GEOS-5 forecasts of the Arctic sea-ice distribution were provided to the Sea-Ice Outlook project. The seasonal forecast output data includes surface fields, atmospheric and ocean fields, as well as sea ice thickness and area, and soil moisture variables. The current paper aims to document the characteristics of the GEOS-5 seasonal forecast system and to highlight forecast biases and skills of selected variables (sea surface temperature, air temperature at 2 m, precipitation and sea ice extent) to be used as a benchmark for the future GMAO seasonal forecast systems and to facilitate comparison with other global seasonal forecast systems.

GEOS-5↗
NASA NTRS2021

Sensitivity of Wide Bandwidth Radiometer for Remote Sensing of Ocean Salinity

Passive microwave remote sensing of sea surface salinity from space is currently being done with measurements in the 27 MHz wide spectral window at 1.413 GHz (L-band) protected for passive use. Modern L-band instruments, such as the radiometers on SMOS and Aquarius, have demonstrated the feasibility of monitoring surface salinity from space, and they have also demonstrated the need for better accuracy, especially in cold water. Proposals to improve accuracy have largely involved adding measurement at more frequencies. For example, adding lower frequencies to improve the sensitivity to salinity in cold water and adding higher frequencies to enable simultaneous retrieval of sea surface temperature which is needed in the retrieval of salinity. These strategies involve trade-offs, some obvious such as the effects of interference from anthropogenic sources of radio frequency radiation (RFI) when operating outside the protected band and the loss of spatial resolution at lower frequencies. But, some are more subtle and arise because of the dependence of the retrieval of salinity on other parameters of the ocean surface, in particular, water temperature and roughness (wind speed). The effect of these interdependencies on the potential accuracy of salinity remote sensing in the frequency range 0.3 – 3.0 GHz is examined here to gain insight into the potential for future wide bandwidth instruments for remote sensing of salinity and the optimization of their design. There is benefit including the low frequencies, especially for cold water, but a danger of increased error including frequencies above 1.5 - 2.0 GHz depending on temperature.

Microwave Remote Sensing↗
NASA NTRS2014

File Specification for the 7-km GEOS-5 Nature Run, Ganymed Release Non-Hydrostatic 7-km Global Mesoscale Simulation

This document describes the gridded output files produced by a two-year global, non-hydrostatic mesoscale simulation for the period 2005-2006 produced with the non-hydrostatic version of GEOS-5 Atmospheric Global Climate Model (AGCM). In addition to standard meteorological parameters (wind, temperature, moisture, surface pressure), this simulation includes 15 aerosol tracers (dust, sea-salt, sulfate, black and organic carbon), O3, CO and CO2. This model simulation is driven by prescribed sea-surface temperature and sea-ice, daily volcanic and biomass burning emissions, as well as high-resolution inventories of anthropogenic sources. A description of the GEOS-5 model configuration used for this simulation can be found in Putman et al. (2014). The simulation is performed at a horizontal resolution of 7 km using a cubed-sphere horizontal grid with 72 vertical levels, extending up to to 0.01 hPa (approximately 80 km). For user convenience, all data products are generated on two logically rectangular longitude-latitude grids: a full-resolution 0.0625 deg grid that approximately matches the native cubed-sphere resolution, and another 0.5 deg reduced-resolution grid. The majority of the full-resolution data products are instantaneous with some fields being time-averaged. The reduced-resolution datasets are mostly time-averaged, with some fields being instantaneous. Hourly data intervals are used for the reduced-resolution datasets, while 30-minute intervals are used for the full-resolution products. All full-resolution output is on the model's native 72-layer hybrid sigma-pressure vertical grid, while the reduced-resolution output is given on native vertical levels and on 48 pressure surfaces extending up to 0.02 hPa. Section 4 presents additional details on horizontal and vertical grids. Information of the model surface representation can be found in Appendix B. The GEOS-5 product is organized into file collections that are described in detail in Appendix C. Additional details about variables listed in this file specification can be found in a separate document, the GEOS-5 File Specification Variable Definition Glossary. Documentation about the current access methods for products described in this document can be found on the GEOS-5 Nature Run portal: http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/projects/G5NR. Information on the scientific quality of this simulation will appear in a forthcoming NASA Technical Report Series on Global Modeling and Data Assimilation to be available from http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/pubs/tm/.

GEOS-5↗
NASA NTRS2007

Cooling of the North Atlantic by Saharan Dust

Using aerosol optical depth, sea surface temperature, top-of-the-atmosphere solar radiation flux, and oceanic mixed-layer depth from diverse data sources that include NASA satellites, NCEP reanalysis, in situ observations, as well as long-term dust records from Barbados, we examine the possible relationships between Saharan dust and Atlantic sea surface temperature. Results show that the estimated anomalous cooling pattern of the Atlantic during June 2006 relative to June 2005 due to attenuation of surface solar radiation by Saharan dust remarkably resemble observations, accounting for approximately 30-40% of the observed change in sea surface temperature. Historical data analysis show that there is a robust negative correlation between atmospheric dust loading and Atlantic SST consistent with the notion that increased (decreased) Saharan dust is associated with cooling (warming) of the Atlantic during the early hurricane season (July- August-September).

Lau, K. M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

How strong is ocean mixing in the Pacific Ocean cold tongue, and does it matter?

Microstructure observations within the Pacific Ocean cold tongue reveal that strong surface boundary layer turbulence often penetrates into the thermocline producing hundreds of W/m^2 of downward heat transport during nighttime and early morning. Hence, it has been suggested that ocean turbulent mixing contributes significantly to the sea-surface temperature budget and modulates air-sea interaction on a wide range of timescales with consequences for global climate and weather. However, most observations of ocean microstructure in the cold tongue are from 0 N,140 W. In this presentation, I will attempt to characterize ocean mixing at and beyond 0 N,140 W using models. Questions to be addressed include: 1) can we model ocean mixing at 0 N,140 W? And 2) how does ocean mixing vary in space and time beyond 0 N,140 W? Finally, 3) how does ocean mixing compare to the air-sea heat flux in the sea-surface temperature budget? Results will be derived from existing observations at 0 N, 140 W and a new hierarchy of regional ocean process simulations including a 20-year-long submesoscale-permitting regional model and month-long turbulence-permitting large eddy simulations embedded in a regional model.

Strong↗
NASA NTRS2015

File Specification for the MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero): MODIS AOD Assimilation based on a MERRA Replay

This document describes the gridded output files produced by the Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS-5) Goddard Aerosol Assimilation System (GAAS) from July 2002 through December 2014. The MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero) is produced with the hydrostatic version of the GEOS-5 Atmospheric Global Climate Model (AGCM). In addition to standard meteorological parameters (wind, temperature, moisture, surface pressure), this simulation includes 15 aerosol tracers (dust, sea-salt, sulfate, black and organic carbon), ozone, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. This model simulation is driven by prescribed sea-surface temperature and sea-ice, daily volcanic and biomass burning emissions, as well as high-resolution inventories of anthropogenic emission sources. Meteorology is replayed from the MERRA Reanalysis.

GAAS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Infrared Thermometer Instrument Handbook

The infrared thermometer (IRT) is a ground-based radiation pyrometer that provides measurements of the brightness temperature of the scene in its field of view. The ground IRT (sometimes referred to as the upwelling instrument) lens has a wide field of view for measuring the radiating temperature of the ground surface. It measures in a narrow range of the infrared band, details of which can be found in Table 2. It provides data to the user averaged to 1-minute resolution. The infrared thermometer for sea-surface temperature (IRTSST) is a ship-based radiation pyrometer that provides measurements of the temperature of the sea surface. The upwelling infrared emission is determined with two different IRTs for over-ocean field campaigns and the data is at 1-second temporal resolution. The IRTs are mounted at heights varying between 2 and 42 m above the ground, oriented so the mounting platform and other human made objects are not in the field of view, and also to ensure that the ground and vegetation cover are representative of the local area. The Heitronics IRT is generally mounted inside a small enclosure, and the Apogee IRT is shielded by a cylindrical enclosure that is part of the design from the manufacturer.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS2010

Analysis of Atmosphere-Ocean Surface Flux Feedbacks in Recent Satellite and Model Reanalysis Products

Recent investigations have examined observations in an attempt to determine when and how the ocean forces the atmosphere, and vice versa. These studies focus primarily on relationships between sea surface temperature anomalies and the turbulent and radiative surface heat fluxes. It has been found that both positive and negative feedbacks, which enhance or reduce sea surface temperature anomaly amplitudes, can be generated through changes in the surface boundary layer. Consequent changes in sea surface temperature act to change boundary layer characteristics through changes in static stability or turbulent fluxes. Previous studies over the global oceans have used coarse-resolution observational and model products such as ICOADS and the NCEP Reanalysis. This study focuses on documenting the atmosphere ocean feedbacks that exist in recently produced higher resolution products, namely the SeaFlux v1.0 product and the NASA Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). It has been noted in recent studies that evidence of oceanic forcing of the atmosphere exists on smaller scales than the usually more dominant atmospheric forcing of the ocean, particularly in higher latitudes. It is expected that use of these higher resolution products will allow for a more comprehensive description of these small-scale ocean-atmosphere feedbacks. The SeaFlux intercomparisons have revealed large scatter between various surface flux climatologies. This study also investigates the uncertainty in surface flux feedbacks based on several of these recent satellite based climatologies

Roberts, J. Brent↗