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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2012

Using the VAHIRR Radar Algorithm to Investigate Lightning Cessation

Accurately determining the threat posed by lightning is a major area for improved operational forecasts. Most efforts have focused on the initiation of lightning within a storm, with far less effort spent investigating lightning cessation. Understanding both components, initiation and cessation, are vital to improving lightning safety. Few organizations actively forecast lightning onset or cessation. One such organization is the 45th Weather Squadron (45WS) for the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The 45WS has identified that charged anvil clouds remain a major threat of continued lightning and can greatly extend the window of a potential lightning strike. Furthermore, no discernable trend of total lightning activity has been observed consistently for all storms. This highlights the need for more research to find a robust method of knowing when a storm will cease producing lightning. Previous lightning cessation work has primarily focused on forecasting the cessation of cloud-to -ground lightning only. A more recent, statistical study involved total lightning (both cloud-to-ground and intracloud). Each of these previous works has helped the 45WS take steps forward in creating improved and ultimately safer lightning cessation forecasts. Each study has either relied on radar data or recommended increased use of radar data to improve cessation forecasts. The reasoning is that radar data is able to either directly or by proxy infer more about dynamical environment leading to cloud electrification and eventually lightning cessation. The authors of this project are focusing on a two ]step approach to better incorporate radar data and total lightning to improve cessation forecasts. This project will utilize the Volume Averaged Height Integrated Radar Reflectivity (VAHIRR) algorithm originally developed during the Airborne Field Mill II (ABFM II) research project. During the project, the VAHIRR product showed a trend of increasing values with increases in the electric field magnitude above 3 kV/m. An extreme value analysis showed that VAHIRR values less than or equal to 10 dBZ-km showed that the probability of having an electric field magnitude larger than 3 kV/m was less than one in ten thousand. VAHIRR also was found to be sensitive at indicating anvil clouds that posed a threat of initiating a lightning flash. This project seeks to use VAHIRR to analyze its utility as a lightning cessation tool, particularly dealing with the threat posed by detached anvils. The results from this project will serve as a baseline effectiveness of radar ]based lightning cessation algorithms. This baseline will be used in the second, and concurrent work by the co ]author fs who are developing a lightning cessation algorithm based on dual ]polarimetric radar data. Ultimately, an accurate method for identifying lightning cessation can save money on lost manpower time as well as greatly improve lightning safety.

Stano, Geoffrey T.↗
NASA NTRS1980

A preliminary assessment of the accuracy of selected meteorological parameters determined from Nimbus 6 satellite profile data

Published rms errors in rawinsonde data and discrepancies between satellite and rawinsonde profile data for temperature, dewpoint temperature, mixing ratio, and wind speed. Satellite rms errors were found to be 2 to 3 times as large as those for rawinsonde data. Gradients of the preceding parameters were computed for both rawinsonde and satellite data and compared with means and near extreme values computed from the AVE 2 and AVE 4 experiments. In all cases, it was found that satellite data can be used to determine with relatively good accuracy the near extreme gradients but not those whose value does not exceed the average. Synoptic charts were prepared to show that patterns of temperature could be determined with relatively good accuracy, while those of dew point were not as good as those for temperature. Winds represented by cloud motion vectors (satellite winds) were compared with rawinsonde winds, and it was found that large gaps exist in satellite values for a given pressure level and that errors in the satellite determined concluded that satellite profile data are very useful in synoptic analysis, particularly in data sparse regions as well as regions where near extreme gradients exist in the measured parameters.

Scoggins, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Ascent structural wind loads for the National Space Transportation System (NSTS)

An aerospace vehicle must withstand the design ascent structural load or be within any flight constraint to safely reach orbit. For the NSTS an assessment for flight readiness is made for each mission. This assessment for ascent loads and performance parameters is stated in terms of launch probability derived from samples of Jimsphere wind profiles. For the day of launch operations an allowance is made for the ascent load variability due to the wind profile variability over a 3.5-hour period. This is the current time period required to obtain a Jimsphere measurement and perform a complete load simulation prior to launch time. The load variability is derived from a sample of 3.5-hour Jimsphere wind profile pairs. It is applied as a conditional percentile value given the wind load at 3.5 hours prior to launch time. Probability models are used for these analyses. Application of the univariate, bivariate and conditional forms of the extreme value (Gumbel) probability distribution to the analysis of extreme wind speeds, wind shears and vehicle loads is described.

Smith, O. E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

IRAS observations of an optically selected sample of interacting galaxies

IRAS observations of a large, morphologically selected sample of strongly interacting disk-type galaxies have demonstrated that galaxy-galaxy collisions can lead to enhanced infrared emission, but not in all cases. Infrared luminosities of the interacting galaxies span a large range, but are about a factor of 2 higher, on average, than those of isolated disk galaxies. The data suggest the existence of a cutoff in blue luminosity, below which no galaxies show markedly enhanced infrared emission. Only the most strongly interacting systems in the sample show extreme values of infrared excess, suggesting that deep, interpenetrating collisions are necessary to drive infrared emission to extreme levels. Comparisons with optical indicators of star formation show that infrared excess and color temperatures correlate with the level of star-formation activity in the interacting galaxies. All interacting galaxies in our sample that exhibit an infrared excess and have higher than normal color temperatures also have optical indicators of high levels of star formation. It is not necessary to invoke processes other than star formation to account for the enhanced infrared luminosity in this sample of interacting galaxies.

Bushouse, Howard A.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Regional-Scale High-Latitude Extreme Geoelectric Fields Pertaining to Geomagnetically Induced Currents

Motivated by the needs of the high-voltage power transmission industry, we use data from the high-latitude IMAGE magnetometer array to study characteristics of extreme geoelectric fields at regional scales. We use 10-s resolution data for years 1993-2013, and the fields are characterized using average horizontal geoelectric field amplitudes taken over station groups that span about 500-km distance. We show that geoelectric field structures associated with localized extremes at single stations can be greatly different from structures associated with regionally uniform geoelectric fields, which are well represented by spatial averages over single stations. Visual extrapolation and rigorous extreme value analysis of spatially averaged fields indicate that the expected range for 1-in-100-year extreme events are 3-8 V/km and 3.4-7.1 V/km, respectively. The Quebec reference ground model is used in the calculations.

polar regions↗
NASA NTRS1972

Surface atmospheric extremes (Launch and transportation areas)

The effects of extreme values of surface and low altitude atmospheric parameters on space vehicle design, tests, and operations are discussed. Atmospheric extremes from the surface to 150 meters for geographic locations of interest to NASA are given. Thermal parameters (temperature and solar radiation), humidity, pressure, and atmospheric electricity (lighting and static) are presented. Weather charts and tables are included.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2004

On the Positive Bias of Peak Horizontal Velocity from an Idealized Doppler Profiler

In the presence of 3-D turbulence, peak horizontal velocity estimates from an idealized Doppler profiler are found to be positively biased due to an incomplete specification of the vertical velocity field. The magnitude of the bias was estimated by assuming that the vertical and horizontal velocities can be separated into average and perturbation values and that the vertical and horizontal velocity perturbations are normally distributed. Under these assumptions, properties of the Type-I Extreme Value Distribution for maxima, known as the Gumbel distribution, can be used to obtain an analytical solution of the bias. The bias depends on geometric properties of the profiler configuration, the variance in the horizontal velocity, and the unresolved variance in the vertical velocity. When these variances are normalized by the average horizontal velocity, the bias can be mapped as a simple function of the normalized variances.

Short, David A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Heat flow and heat generation in greenstone belts

Heat flow has been measured in Precambrian shields in both greenstone belts and crystalline terrains. Values are generally low, reflecting the great age and tectonic stability of the shields; they range typically between 30 and 50 mW/sq m, although extreme values of 18 and 79 mW/sq m have been reported. For large areas of the Earth's surface that are assumed to have been subjected to a common thermotectonic event, plots of heat flow against heat generation appear to be linear, although there may be considerable scatter in the data. The relationship is expressed as: Q = Q sub o + D A sub o in which Q is the observed heat flow, A sub o is the measured heat generation at the surface, Q sub o is the reduced heat flow from the lower crust and mantle, and D, which has the dimension of length, represents a scale depth for the distribution of radiogenic elements. Most authors have not used data from greenstone belts in attempting to define the relationship within shields, considering them unrepresentative and preferring to use data from relatively homogeneous crystalline rocks. A discussion follows.

Drury, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Analysis of extreme wind shear

New methods utilizing extreme value statistical theory are applied in the analysis of the largest wind component shear in a wind profile as a function of shear layer thickness and season. Seasonal variability of extreme shear decreases as the shear layer thickness decreases. Wind profile measurement system smoothing and its effect upon extreme wind shear statistics is simulated by application of digital low-pass filters to Jimsphere wind profiles.

Adelfang, Stanley I.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Lower mantle thermal structure deduced from seismic tomography, mineral physics and numerical modelling

The long-wavelength thermal anomalies in the lower mantle have been mapped out using several seismic tomographic models in conjunction with thermodynamic parameters derived from high-pressure mineral physics experiments. These parameters are the depth variations of thermal expansivity and of the proportionality factor between changes in density and seismic velocity. The giant plume-like structures in the lower mantle under the Pacific Ocean and Africa have outer fringes with thermal anomalies around 300-400 K, but very high temperatures are found in the center of the plumes near the base of the core-mantle boundary. These extreme values can exceed +1500 K and may reflect large hot thermal anomalies in the lower mantle, which are supported by recent measurements of high melting temperatures of perovskite and iron. Extremely cold anomalies, around -1500 K, are found for anomalies in the deep mantle around the Pacific rim and under South America. Numerical simulations show that large negative thermal anomalies in the mid-lower mantle have modest magnitudes of around -500 K. correlation pattern exists between the present-day locations of cold masses in the lower mantle and the sites of past subduction since the Cretaceous. Results from correlation analysis show that the slab mass-flux in the lower mantle did not conform to a steady-state nature but exhibited time-dependent behavior.

Cadek, O.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Analysis of wind perturbation activity for the NSTS launches

A method for statistical analysis of wind perturbation activity is proposed for application in NSTS prelaunch assessment of the wind environment. Methods for comparing day-of-launch wind perturbation standard deviations with historical data at the launch site are described. A statistical model based on the Gumbel extreme value distribution is developed for the largest vector and component perturbations in a wind profile as a function of high-pass filter cutoff wavelength. Application of the model is proposed for assessing extreme perturbations within prelaunch sequential Jimsphere wind profiles.

Adelfang, Stanley I.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Trend Estimates of AERONET-Observed and Model-Simulated AOTs Between 1993 and 2013

Recently, temporal changes in Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) have been investigated based on model simulations, satellite and ground-based observations. Most AOT trend studies used monthly or annual arithmetic means that discard details of the generally right-skewed AOT distributions. Potentially, such results can be biased by extreme values (including outliers). This study additionally uses percentiles (i.e., the lowest 5%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 95% of the monthly cumulative distributions fitted to Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET)-observed and ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC)-model simulated AOTs) that are less affected by outliers caused by measurement error, cloud contamination and occasional extreme aerosol events. Since the limited statistical representativeness of monthly percentiles and means can lead to bias, this study adopts the number of observations as a weighting factor, which improves the statistical robustness of trend estimates. By analyzing the aerosol composition of AERONET-observed and EMAC-simulated AOTs in selected regions of interest, we distinguish the dominant aerosol types and investigate the causes of regional AOT trends. The simulated and observed trends are generally consistent with a high correlation coefficient (R = 0.89) and small bias (slope+/-2(sigma) = 0.75 +/- 0.19). A significant decrease in EMAC-decomposed AOTs by water-soluble compounds and black carbon is found over the USA and the EU due to environmental regulation. In particular, a clear reversal in the AERONET AOT trend percentiles is found over the USA, probably related to the AOT diurnal cycle and the frequency of wildfires. In most of the selected regions of interest, EMAC-simulated trends are mainly attributed to the significant changes of the dominant aerosols; e.g., significant decrease in sea salt and water soluble compounds over Central America, increase in dust over Northern Africa and Middle East, and decrease in black carbon and organic carbon over Australia.

AERONET↗
NASA NTRS1994

Kinetic and thermodynamic properties of a convecting plasma in a two-dimensional dipole field

Charged particle guiding center motion is considered in the magnetic field of a two-dimensional ('line') dipole on which is superimposed a small, static, perpendicular electric field. The parallel equation of motion is that of a simple harmonic oscillator for cos theta, the cosine of magnetic colatitude theta. Equations for the perpendicular electric and magnetic drifts are derived as well as their bounce-averaged forms. The latter are solved to yield a bounce-averaged guiding center trajectory, which is the same as that obtained from conversation of magnetic moment mu, longitudinal invariant J, and total (kinetic plus electrostatic) energy K. The algebraic simplicity of the trajectory equations is also manifest in the forms of the invariants. An interesting result is that guiding centers drift in such a way that they preserve the values of their equatorial pitch angles and (equivalently) mirror latitudes. The most general Maxwellian form of the equilibrium one-particle distribution function f is constructed from the invariants, and spatially varying density and pressure moments, parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field, are identified. Much of the paper deals with the more restricted problem in which f is specified as a bi-Maxwellian over a straight line of finite length in the equatorial plane of the dipole and perpendicular to field lines. This might be thought of as specifying a cross-tail ion injection source; our formalism then describes the subsequent spatial development. The distribution away from the source is a scaled bi-Maxwellian but one that is cut off at large and small kinetic energies, which depend on position. Density and pressure components are reduced from the values they would have if the total content of individual flux tubes convected intact. The equatorial and meridional variations of density and pressure components are examined and compared systematically for the isotropic and highly anisotropic situations. There appears to be little qualitative difference due to anisotropy. An anisotropy measure is defined, and its spatial variation determined as a signature of possible MHD instability. Extreme values are found, larger than at the source, but the plasma beta in such regions is probably so low as to render the effect inconsequential energetically. Finally, the possible consequence of 'nonadia- batic' pressure profiles on electrostatic interchanges is considered, and a boundary delineating stabilizing and destabilizing regions determined.

Huang, T. S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Fe/Mn in olivine of carbonaceous meteorites

Olivines in primitive meteorites show a range of Fe/Mn both within one grain and among grains suggesting that they have recorded changing conditions during or after growth. Because olivine should be an early forming phase, Fe/Mn is used here to infer these earliest conditions. Initial Fe/Mn in cores of isolated, euhedral forsterite in both C2 and C3 meteorites ranges from 25 to 35 but differs at grain edge. Murchison (C2) forsterites show Fe/Mn approaching 1.0 at the grain edge while Ornans Fe/Mn is near 60 at grain edge. These values are lower than the matrix Fe/Mn for both meteorites and the distinct difference in zoning profile indicates different processes operating during and after grain growth. The Fe/Mn of bulk samples from a particular source such as the Moon is nearly constant. Individual samples show variation suggesting that there is some fractionation of Mn from Fe. Minerals have their individual ranges of Fe/Mn which has been used to recognize different types of olivine within one meteorite. Extreme values of Fe/Mn below 1.0 occur in forsterite from some IDP's, UOC matrix, and C1 meteorites. There are apparently no detailed studies of Fe/Mn variation within single olivine grains. Forsterite grains in C2 and C3 carbonaceous chondrites show complex zoning, and the nearly pure forsterites (Fo greater than approximately 99.5) have high levels of some minor elements including Ti, Al, V, and Sc. There is disagreement on the original source of these grains and both chondrule and vapor growth have been proposed. In addition, there is clear evidence that diffusion has affected the outer margins but in some cases the whole grain. Within the cores, the FeO range is limited, and if growing under constant conditions, the Fe/Mn should be near constant as there is little fractionation of Mn from Fe by forsterite. Additionally, there are apparently no co-crystallizing phases as evidenced by a lack of common inclusions in the forsterites. These observations are now followed by analyses of isolated olivine grains in C2 and C3 meteorites.

Steele, Ian M.↗
NASA NTRS2017

NuSTAR Observations of WISE J1036+0449, A Galaxy at Z Approx. 1 Obscured by Hot Dust

Hot dust-obscured galaxies (hot DOGs), selected from Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer's all-sky infrared survey, host some of the most powerful active galactic nuclei known and may represent an important stage in the evolution of galaxies. Most known hot DOGs are located at z > 1.5, due in part to a strong bias against identifying them at lower redshift related to the selection criteria. We present a new selection method that identifies 153 hot DOG candidates at z approx. 1, where they are significantly brighter and easier to study. We validate this approach by measuring a redshift z = 1.009 and finding a spectral energy distribution similar to that of higher-redshift hot DOGs for one of these objects, WISE J1036+0449 (L(BOL) approx. = 8 x 10(exp 46) erg/s). We find evidence of a broadened component in Mg II, which would imply a black hole mass of M(BH) approx. = 2 x 10(exp 8) Stellar Mass and an Eddington ratio of lambda(Edd) approx. = 2.7. WISE J1036+0449 is the first hot DOG detected by the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, and observations show that the source is heavily obscured, with a column density of N(H) approx. = (2-15) x 10(exp 23)/sq cm. The source has an intrinsic 2-10 keV luminosity of approx. 6 x 10(exp 44) erg/s, a value significantly lower than that expected from the mid-infrared X-ray correlation. We also find that other hot DOGs observed by X-ray facilities show a similar deficiency of X-ray flux. We discuss the origin of the X-ray weakness and the absorption properties of hot DOGs. Hot DOGs at z < or approx. 1 could be excellent laboratories to probe the characteristics of the accretion flow and of the X-ray emitting plasma at extreme values of the Eddington ratio.

galaxies↗
NASA NTRS1972

Jimsphere wind and turbulence exceedance statistic

Exceedance statistics of winds and gusts observed over Cape Kennedy with Jimsphere balloon sensors are described. Gust profiles containing positive and negative departures, from smoothed profiles, in the wavelength ranges 100-2500, 100-1900, 100-860, and 100-460 meters were computed from 1578 profiles with four 41 weight digital high pass filters. Extreme values of the square root of gust speed are normally distributed. Monthly and annual exceedance probability distributions of normalized rms gust speeds in three altitude bands (2-7, 6-11, and 9-14 km) are log-normal. The rms gust speeds are largest in the 100-2500 wavelength band between 9 and 14 km in late winter and early spring. A study of monthly and annual exceedance probabilities and the number of occurrences per kilometer of level crossings with positive slope indicates significant variability with season, altitude, and filter configuration. A decile sampling scheme is tested and an optimum approach is suggested for drawing a relatively small random sample that represents the characteristic extreme wind speeds and shears of a large parent population of Jimsphere wind profiles.

Adelfang, S. I.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Assessing Air-Sea Interaction in the Evolving NASA GEOS Model

In order to understand how the climate responds to variations in forcing, one necessary component is to understand the full distribution of variability of exchanges of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and ocean. Surface heat and moisture fluxes are critical to the generation and decay of many coupled air-sea phenomena. These mechanisms operate across a number of scales and contain contributions from interactions between the anomalous (i.e. non-mean), often extreme-valued, flux components. Satellite-derived estimates of the surface turbulent and radiative heat fluxes provide an opportunity to assess results from modeling systems. Evaluation of only time mean and variability statistics, however only provides limited traceability to processes controlling what are often regime-dependent errors. This work will present an approach to evaluate the representation of the turbulent fluxes at the air-sea interface in the current and evolving Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model. A temperature and moisture vertical profile-based clustering technique is used to identify robust weather regimes, and subsequently intercompare the turbulent fluxes and near-surface parameters within these regimes in both satellite estimates and GEOS-driven data sets. Both model reanalysis (MERRA) and seasonal-to-interannual coupled GEOS model simulations will be evaluated. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the distribution of the fluxes including extremes, and the representation of near-surface forcing variables directly related to their estimation. Results from these analyses will help identify the existence and source of regime-dependent biases in the GEOS model ocean surface turbulent fluxes. The use of the temperature and moisture profiles for weather-state clustering will be highlighted for its potential broad application to 3-D output typical of model simulations.

Clayson, Carol Anne↗
NASA NTRS1999

AKN 564: An Unusual Component in the X-ray Spectra of NLSy1 Galaxies

We present an ASCA observation of the narrow-line Seyfert l (NLSyl) Arakelian 564. The X-ray light curve shows rapid variability, but no evidence for energy-dependence to these variations, within the 0.6 - 10 keV bandpass. A strong (EW approximately 70 eV) spectral feature is observed close to 1 keV. A similar feature has been observed in TON S180, another member of the NLSyl class of objects, but has not been observed in broad-line Seyfert galaxies. The feature energy suggests a large contribution from Fe L-shell lines but its intensity is difficult to explain in terms of emission and/or absorption from photoionized gas. The models which predict most emission at 1 keV are characterized by extreme values of column density, Fe abundance and ionization parameter. Models based on gas in thermal equilibrium with kT approximately l keV provide an alternative parameterization of the soft spectrum. The latter may be interpreted as the hot intercloud medium, undergoing rapid cooling and producing strong Fe L-shell recombination lines. In all cases the physical conditions are rather different from those observed in broad-line Seyferts. The hard X-ray spectrum shows a broad and asymmetric Fe K(alpha) line of large equivalent width (approximately 550 eV) suggestive of significant emission from the inner accretion disk. The profile can be explained by a neutral disk viewed at approximately 60 deg to the line-of-sight, contrary to the hypothesis that NLSyls are viewed pole-on. The large EW of this line, the strong 1 keV emission and the strong optical Fe emission lines all suggest an extreme Fe abundance in this and perhaps other NLSyls.

Turner, T. J.↗