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

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At least 577 records · Page 32
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

An Overview of Regional Experiments on Biomass Burning Aerosols and Related Pollutants in Southeast Asia: From BASE-ASIA and the Dongsha Experiment to 7-SEAS

By modulating the Earth-atmosphere energy, hydrological and biogeochemical cycles, and affecting regional-to-global weather and climate, biomass burning is recognized as one of the major factors affecting the global carbon cycle. However, few comprehensive and wide-ranging experiments have been conducted to characterize biomass-burning pollutants in Southeast Asia (SEA) or assess their regional impact on meteorology, the hydrological cycle, the radiative budget, or climate change. Recently, BASEASIA (Biomass-burning Aerosols in South-East Asia: Smoke Impact Assessment) and the 7-SEAS (7- South-East Asian Studies) Dongsha Experiment were conducted during the spring seasons of 2006 and 2010 in northern SEA, respectively, to characterize the chemical, physical, and radiative properties of biomass-burning emissions near the source regions, and assess their effects. This paper provides an overview of results from these two campaigns and related studies collected in this special issue, entitled Observation, modeling and impact studies of biomass burning and pollution in the SE Asian Environment. This volume includes 28 papers, which provide a synopsis of the experiments, regional weatherclimate, chemical characterization of biomass-burning aerosols and related pollutants in source and sink regions, the spatial distribution of air toxics (atmospheric mercury and dioxins) in source and remote areas, a characterization of aerosol physical, optical, and radiative properties, as well as modeling and impact studies. These studies, taken together, provide the first relatively complete dataset of aerosol chemistry and physical observations conducted in the sourcesink region in the northern SEA, with particular emphasis on the marine boundary layer and lower free troposphere (LFT). The data, analysis and modeling included in these papers advance our present knowledge of source characterization of biomass-burning pollutants near the source regions as well as the physical and chemical processes along transport pathways. In addition, we raise key questions to be addressed by a coming deployment during springtime 2013 in northern SEA, named 7-SEASBASELInE (Biomass-burning Aerosols Stratocumulus Environment: Lifecycles and Interactions Experiment). This campaign will include a synergistic approach for further exploring many key atmospheric processes (e.g., complex aerosol-cloud interactions) and impacts of biomass burning on the surface-atmosphere energy budgets during the lifecycles of biomass burning emissions.

aerosol/biomass burning↗
DOE OSTI2025

Confronting Large‐Eddy Simulations With Stereo Camera Data by Means of Reconstructed Hemispheric Cloud Size Distributions

High-resolution hemispheric camera images at a meteorological site in western Germany are used to analyze the multi-dimensional spatial characteristics of continental cumulus cloud fields, and to evaluate Large-Eddy Simulations on this aspect. Traditional non-hemispheric cloud-detecting instruments provide additional reference data. The main model-observation comparison focuses on cloud size distributions (CSDs), employing two methods: (a) directly using three-dimensional model fields, direct CSDs, and (b) using rendered hemispheric images of the model fields as produced by a camera simulator based on path-tracing. In the latter method, both the real and rendered images are used to three-dimensionally reconstruct the cloud fields, yielding hemispheric CSDs. Advantages of hemispheric comparisons over more classic approaches include (a) fair comparisons between model and data, and (b) full use of the enhanced resolutions and hemispheric spatial coverage of the camera imagery. Basic evaluation of the simulations demonstrates good agreement on thermodynamic structure and its diurnal cycle. Cloud heights and cloud cover are intercompared between the model, camera data and other instrumentation, providing insight into their structural differences. A consistent alignment is found between the hemispheric CSDs from both the model and the cameras. Power law fits reveal structurally lower exponents in hemispheric CSDs compared to non-hemispheric CSDs, which particularly caution against directly comparing hemispheric CSDs to non-hemispheric distributions. This result is robust for sample size and fitting method. These findings inform future use of hemispheric camera systems for studying cumulus cloud field morphology and model evaluation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling dark- and light-induced crystal structures and single-crystal optical absorption spectra of ruthenium-based complexes that undergo SO 2 -linkage photoisomerization

A family of coordination complexes of the type [Ru(SO 2 )(NH 3 ) 4 X] m+ Y n – (m, n = 1 or 2) exhibit optical switching capabilities in their single-crystal states. This striking effect is caused by the light-induced formation of SO 2 -linkage photoisomers, which are metastable if kept at suitably cool temperatures. We modeled the dark- and light-induced states of these large crystalline complexes via plane-wave (PW)- and molecular-orbital (MO)-based density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT in order to calculate their structural and optical properties; the calculated results are compared with experimental data. We show that the PW-DFT-based periodic models replicate the structural properties of these complexes more effectively than the MO-DFT-based molecular-fragment models, observing only small deviations in key bond lengths relative to the experimentally derived crystal structures. The periodic models were also found to more effectively simulate trends seen in experimental optical absorption spectra, with optical absorbance and coverage of the visible region increasing with the formation of the photoinduced geometries. The contribution of the metastable photoisomeric species more heavily focuses on the lower-energy end of the spectra. Spectra generated from the molecular-fragment models are limited by the geometry of the fragment used and the number of excited-state roots considered in those calculations. In general, periodic models outperform the molecular-fragment models owing to their ability to better appreciate the periodic phenomena that are present in these crystalline materials as opposed to MO approaches, which are finite methods. We thus demonstrate that PW-DFT-based periodic models should be considered as a more than viable method for simulating the optical and electronic properties of these single-crystal optical switches.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1987

The use of atmospheric measurements to constrain model predictions of ozone change from chlorine perturbations

Atmospheric photochemistry models have been used to predict the sensitivity of the ozone layer to various perturbations. These same models also predict concentrations of chemical species in the present day atmosphere which can be compared to observations. Model results for both present day values and sensitivity to perturbation depend upon input data for reaction rates, photodissociation rates, and boundary conditions. A method of combining the results of a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis with the existing set of present atmospheric species measurements is developed. The method is used to examine the range of values for the sensitivity of ozone to chlorine perturbations that is possible within the currently accepted ranges for input data. It is found that model runs which predict ozone column losses much greater than 10 percent as a result of present fluorocarbon fluxes produce concentrations and column amounts in the present atmosphere which are inconsistent with the measurements for ClO, HCl, NO, NO2, and HNO3.

Douglass, Anne R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The quiet time polar cap - DE 1 observations and conceptual model

A conceptual merging model of the magnetosphere is developed which explains DE-1 observations on polar cap plasmas and waves made during a quiet period with a northward IMF when multiple adjacent regions of sunward and antisunward convection were observed. The model involves dayside merging both at high latitudes on open field lines (the usual northward IMF merging) and at lower latitudes on closed field lines. The ratio between the merged flux produced by the high-latitude merging to that produced by the lower-latitude merging increases as the IMF becomes more northward.

Burch, J. L.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Arctic-associated increased fluctuations of midlatitude winter temperature in the 1.5° and 2.0° warmer world

In recent decades, the interior regions of Eurasia and North America have experienced several unprecedentedly cold winters despite the global surface air temperature increases. One possible explanation of these increasing extreme cold winters comes from the so-called Warm Arctic Cold Continent (WACC) pattern, reflecting the effects of the amplified Arctic warming in driving the circulation change over surrounding continents. This study analyzed reanalysis data and model experiments forced by different levels of anthropogenic forcing. It is found that WACC exists on synoptic scales in observations, model’s historical and even future runs. In the future, the analysis suggests a continued presence of WACC but with a slightly weakened cold extreme due to the overall warming. Warm Arctic events under the warmer climate will be associated with not only a colder continent in East Asia but also a warmer continent, depending on the teleconnection process that is also complicated by the warmer Arctic. Such an increasingly association suggests a reduction in potential predictability of the midlatitude winter anomalies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

First direct measurement of the 13 $\mathrm{N(α, ρ)}$ 16 $\mathrm{O}$ reaction relevant for core-collapse supernovae nucleosynthesis

We report that understanding the explosion mechanism of a core-collapse supernova (CCSN) is important to accurately model CCSN scenarios for different progenitor stars using model-observation comparisons. The uncertainties of various nuclear reaction rates relevant for CCSN scenarios strongly affect the accuracy of these stellar models. Out of these reactions, the 13 N(α, p) 16 O reaction has been found to affect various stages of a CCSN at varying temperatures. This work presents the first direct measurement of the 13 N(α, p) 16 O reaction performed using a 34.6 MeV beam of radioactive 13 N ions and the active-target detector MUSIC (MUlti-Sampling Ionization Chamber) at Argonne National Laboratory. The resulting total 13 N(α, p) 16 O reaction cross sections from this measurement in the center-of-mass energy range of 3.26 - 6.02 MeV are presented and compared with calculations using the Hauser-Feshbach formalism. Uncertainties in the reaction rate have been dramatically reduced at CCSN temperatures.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Contrasting Stratospheric Smoke Mass and Lifetime From 2017 Canadian and 2019/2020 Australian Megafires: Global Simulations and Satellite Observations

Stratospheric injections of carbonaceous aerosols and combustion gases by extreme wildfires have become increasingly common. Recent “megafires,” particularly large and intense fires, delivered particulate burdens to the lower stratosphere comparable to those of moderate volcanic eruptions. The 2017 Canadian megafire generated four large Pyrocumulonimbi (pyroCbs), injecting up to ≈0.3 Tg of smoke in the lower stratosphere. Even more extreme, the 2019/2020 Australian event produced a pyroCb activity resulting in stratospheric smoke intrusions of ≈1 Tg. To understand their contrasting behavior, we present global climate simulations of the atmospheric response to these events, applying smoke burdens informed by remote observations. Model outcomes, compared to satellite data of smoke transport, reproduce reasonably well the initial plume rise, at 0.2–0.3 km/day, attaining heights of ≈20 km in Canada and above 30 km in Australia. Global dispersal of the plume occurs within about 3 weeks in both cases, consistent with observations. Smoke removal timescales, ≈5 months for the Canadian megafire, agree with remote measurements. During the Australian megafire, observations indicate stratospheric injections three times as large, and models predict comparatively longer smoke lifetimes, ≈16 months. After the latter event, atmospheric optical depths and radiative cooling achieved values close to those measured following the Pinatubo eruption. Sensitivity tests of model assumptions indicate, in accord with prior studies, that smoke burden, injection heights, and black carbon content can determine plume evolution and possible climate impacts. An empirical relation between peak heights of stratospheric plumes and lifetimes is derived that can help assess megafire impacts on the stratosphere, climate and the Earth system

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2015

Demonstration of Broadband Contrast at 1.2 Lambda/D for the EXCEDE Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization Coronagraph

The proposed coronagraph instrument on the EXCEDE (EXoplanetary Circumstellar Environments and Disk Explorer) mission study uses a Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph architecture to enable high-contrast imaging of circumstellar debris disks and giant planets at angular separations as close in as the habitable zone of nearby host stars. We report on the experimental results obtained in the vacuum chamber at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in 10 percent broadband light centered about 650 nanometers, with a median contrast of 1 x 10 (sup -5) between 1.2 and 2.0 lambda /D simultaneously with 3 x 10 (sup -7) contrast between 2 and 11 =D between 2 and 11 lambda/D for a single-sided dark hole using a deformable mirror (DM) upstream of the PIAA coronagraph. The results are stable and repeatable as demonstrated by three measurements runs with DM settings set from scratch and maintained on the best 90 percent out of the 1000 collected frames. We compare the reduced experimental data with simulation results from modeling observed experimental limits; performance is consistent with uncorrected low-order modes not estimated by the Low Order Wavefront Sensor (LOWFS). Modeled sensitivity to bandwidth and residual tip/tilt modes is well-matched to the experiment.

Wavefront control↗
DOE OSTI2025

Updating and Refining BISON TRISO Assessment

Several advanced reactor concepts consider tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel in their designs. To support the advanced reactor industry, the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing modeling and simulation capabilities within the BISON fuel performance code. Assessment of these capabilities against available experi- mental data, such as the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program, is essential in instilling confidence in the code predictions. Associated uncertainties in model inadequacy, experimental measurements, and manufacturing are also of importance. This report discusses the updating and standardization of the existing assessment suite in BISON for TRISO fuel performance analysis. The cases considered the AGR-1, AGR-2, and AGR-3/4 experimental programs. The report also includes a preliminary investigation into the sources of model inadequacy associated with silver (Ag) release fractions using the AGR-2 Compact 2-1-2 as a case study. The results indicate that uncertainties in the operating temperatures supplied to the model and the form of those temperature conditions (spatially averaged versus spatially resolved) both affect Ag release predictions. This suggests that previously observed model inadequacy can be attributed to both physical models and the operating conditions supplied to them. These findings will be leveraged to guide development of assessment cases for additional experiments and refinement of physical models for behaviors that potentially influence Ag release, such as palladium penetration.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS1973

A representation of Jacchia's thermospheric models in spherical harmonics

The Jacchia models are represented in terms of spherical harmonic functions. This representation has the advantages of ease of comparison with theoretical and other observational models and data, mathematical analyticity and relative simplicity. The symmetry properties of the models are emphasized by this representation and some physical characteristics like the increase of the amplitude of the diurnal density variation with decreasing solar activity become more apparent.

Blum, P.↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Study of Pulse Shape Evolution and X-Ray Reprocessing in Her X-1

This study focused on the pulse shape evolution and spectral properties of the X-ray binary Her X-1 with regard to the well known 35-day cycle of Her X-1. A follow-up set of RXTE observations has been conducted in RXTE AO-2 phase and the two observation sets are being analyzed together. We presented results of early analysis of pulse shape evolution in "Proceedings of the Fourth Compton Symposium". More advanced analysis was presented at the HEAD meeting in November, 1997 in Estes Park, Colorado. A related study of the 35-day cycle using RXTE/ASM data, which laid out the overall picture within which the more detailed PCA observations could be placed has also been conducted. The results of this study have been published. A pair of papers on the detailed pulse evolution and the spectral/color evolution are currently being prepared for publication. Some of the significant results of this study have been a confirmation of the detailed pulse profile changes at the end of the Main High state in HerX-1 first observed by GINGA, observations of the pulse evolution in several Short High states which agree with the pulse evolution pattern predicted using a disk occultation model, observation of a systematic lengthening of the eclipse egress during the Main High state of the 35-day phase and observation of a new type of extended eclipse ingress during which pulsations cease to observed during the Short High state.

Cushman, Paula P.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Synergy of Observations and Dynamo Models to Understand and Predict Solar Activity Cycles

The long-standing problem of understanding the evolution of the global magnetic fields that drive solar activity through different temporal scales is becoming more tractable because, in addition to 400 years of sunspot records, we now have almost 4 solar cycles of magnetic field observations. These observations allow us to discern physical connections between dynamo model variables and observations using data assimilation analysis. In particular, the Ensemble Kalman Filter approach takes into account uncertainties in both observations and modeling and allows us to make reliable forecasts of solar cycle activity cycles by using a relatively simple non-linear dynamical model of the solar dynamo. To expand this approach for more complex 2D and 3D dynamo modeling, it is necessary to decompose the observed synoptic magnetograms into poloidal and toroidal field components. In this presentation I will present initial results on magnetogram decomposition and assimilation of magnetogram data into dynamo modeling.

Synergy↗
NASA NTRS2018

Synergy of Observations and Dynamo Models to Understand and Predict Solar Activity Cycles

The long-standing problem of understanding the evolution of the global magnetic fields that drive solar activity through different temporal scales is becoming more tractable because, in addition to 400 years of sunspot records, we now have almost 4 solar cycles of magnetic field observations. These observations allow us to discern physical connections between dynamo model variables and observations using data assimilation analysis. In particular, the Ensemble Kalman Filter approach takes into account uncertainties in both observations and modeling and allows us to make reliable forecasts of solar cycle activity by using a relatively simple non-linear dynamical model of the solar dynamo. To expand this approach for more complex 2D and 3D dynamo modeling, it is necessary to decompose the observed synoptic magnetograms into poloidal and toroidal field components. In this presentation I will present initial results on magnetogram decomposition and assimilation of magnetogram data into dynamo modeling.

Kitiashvili, Irina N.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Report of the International Ozone Trends Panel 1988, volume 2

Chapters on the following topics are presented: trends in stratospheric temperature; theory and observations- model simulations of the period 1955-1985; trends in source gases; trends in stratospheric minor constituents; trends in aerosol abundances and distribution; and observations and theories related to antarctic ozone.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1997

Cloud Radiation Forcings and Feedbacks: General Circulation Model Tests and Observational Validation

Using an atmospheric general circulation model (the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Model: CCM2), the effects on climate sensitivity of several different cloud radiation parameterizations have been investigated. In addition to the original cloud radiation scheme of CCM2, four parameterizations incorporating prognostic cloud water were tested: one version with prescribed cloud radiative properties and three other versions with interactive cloud radiative properties. The authors' numerical experiments employ perpetual July integrations driven by globally constant sea surface temperature forcings of two degrees, both positive and negative. A diagnostic radiation calculation has been applied to investigate the partial contributions of high, middle, and low cloud to the total cloud radiative forcing, as well as the contributions of water vapor, temperature, and cloud to the net climate feedback. The high cloud net radiative forcing is positive, and the middle and low cloud net radiative forcings are negative. The total net cloud forcing is negative in all of the model versions. The effect of interactive cloud radiative properties on global climate sensitivity is significant. The net cloud radiative feedbacks consist of quite different shortwave and longwave components between the schemes with interactive cloud radiative properties and the schemes with specified properties. The increase in cloud water content in the warmer climate leads to optically thicker middle- and low-level clouds and in turn to negative shortwave feedbacks for the interactive radiative schemes, while the decrease in cloud amount simply produces a positive shortwave feedback for the schemes with a specified cloud water path. For the longwave feedbacks, the decrease in high effective cloudiness for the schemes without interactive radiative properties leads to a negative feedback, while for the other cases, the longwave feedback is positive. These cloud radiation parameterizations are empirically validated by using a single-column diagnostic model. together with measurements from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program and from the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Combined Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment. The inclusion of prognostic cloud water produces a notable improvement in the realism of the parameterizations, as judged by these observations. Furthermore, the observational evidence suggests that deriving cloud radiative properties from cloud water content and microphysical characteristics is a promising route to further improvement.

Lee,Wan-Ho↗
NASA NTRS1993

Dispersed ion structures at the poleward edge of the auroral oval: Low-altitude observations and numerical modeling

We have compared the AUREOL 3 (A3) observations of auroral ion precipitation, particularly ion beams, with the results from the global kinetic model of magnetotail plasma of Ashour-Abdalla et al. (1993). We have identified 101 energetic keV H(+) velocity dispersed precipitating ion structures (VDIS) with fluxes above 10(exp -3) ergs./sq cm./s in the A3 record between the end of 1981 and mid-1984. These beams display a systematic increase in energy with increasing latitude and were observed in a narrow region within less than 1 deg in latitude of the polar cap boundary. The VDIS are the most distinctive feature in the auroral zone of the plasma sheet boundary layer. We report first on a statistical analysis of the possible ralationships between magnetic activity or substorm phase and the VDIS properties. Our particle simulations of the precipitating ions have been extended by using a series of modified versions of the Tsyganenko (1989) magnetic field model and by varying the cross-magnetosphere electric field. In the simulations, plasma from a mantle source is subject to strong nonlinear acceleration, forming beams which flow along the PSBL. Only 3 to 4% of these beams precipitate into the ionosphere to form the VDIS while the majority return to the equatorial plane after mirroring and form the thermalized central plasma sheet. The final energy and the dispersion of the beams in the model depend on the amplitude of the cross-tail electric field. Two unsual observations of low-energy (less than 5 keV) O(+) VDIS, shifted by 4 deg 5 deg in invariant latitude equatorward of H(+) VDIS are analyzed in detail. The sparsity of such O(+) events and the absence of the changes in the flux and frequency of occurrence indicate a solar wind origin for the plasma. Finally, large-scale kinetic modeling, even with its simplifications and assumptions (e.g., static magnetic field, solar wind source), reproduces low-altitude auroral ion features fairly well; it may therefore be presented as an appropriate framework into which data on energization and transport of the hot plasma, obtained in the equatorial plane, could be inserted in the near future.

Bosqued, J. M.↗