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At least 91 records · Page 5

Comparison of vertical velocities analyzed by a numerical model and measured by a VHF wind profiler

The use of wind profilers for measuring vertical velocities in the troposphere and lower stratosphere is potentially of great interest for verification of forecasts, diagnosis of mesoscale circulations, and studies of wave motions. The studies of profiler vertical velocities to date have shown that the observed patterns of ascent and subsidence are reasonable when compared to the synoptic conditions. However, difficulties arise when a direct verification of the profiler vertical winds is sought. Since no other technique can measure the vertical velocities over the same height range and with the same claimed accuracy as the profilers, direct comparisons are impossible. The only alternative is to compare the measurements to analyzed vertical velocity fields. Here, researchers compare vertical measurements made with the SOUSY VHF radar over a period of 11 days at the beginning of November 1981 to the analyzed vertical velocities produced by the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) model for grid points near the radar site.

Larsen, M. F.↗

Effect of Horizontal-Tail Span and Vertical Location on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Unswept Tail Assembly in Sideslip

An investigation has been conducted in the Langley stability tunnel on a vertical-tail model with a stub fuselage in combination with various horizontal tails to determine the effect of horizontal-tail span and vertical location of the horizontal tail relative to the vertical tail on the aerodynamic characteristics of an unswept tail assembly in sideslip. The results of the investigation indicated that the induced loading carried by the horizontal tail produced a rolling moment about the point of attachment to the vertical tail which was strongly influenced by horizontal-tail span and vertical locations. The greatest effect of horizontal-tail span on the rolling-moment derivative of the complete tail assembly was obtained for horizontal-tail locations near the top of the vertical tail. Span loadings which were reduced to the static-stability derivatives were calculated for each configuration tested by applying the well-known finite-step method used for wings to the intersecting surfaces of the vertical and horizontal tails. The finite-step method provides a simple and effective means of investigating the span loadings of intersecting surfaces.

Riley, Donald R↗

Lightning Contribution to Improvement of Passive Microwave Vertical Structure and Rainfall Estimation

Joint observations from the TRMM mission are used to examine the contribution which lightning observations can make towards estimation of vertical structure and rainfall from passive microwave data. Passive microwave (TMI) observations are binned into distinct vertical structure categories based on cluster analysis of radar (PR) vertical profiles and convective/stratiform (C/S) classifiers. TMI rain estimates are high-biased relative to radar for stratiform and mixed convective/stratiform vertical structures and low-biased relative to radar for convective structures. Significant ambiguity exists in the TMI brightness temperature space between midlevel stratiform and convective profile types which are primary contributors to tropical rainfall. The ambiguity is worst for convective profile types with radar echo tops within and just above the mixed-phase region. The ability of TMI data (including all low and high frequency polarized brightness temperatures; 19V, 19H, 21V, 37V, 37H, 85V, 85H) to predict vertical structure is assessed. The incremental benefit of including TMI convective/stratiform (C/S) classifiers (both 85 GHz polarization and 19, 37 and 85 GHz texture-based) and LZS lightning observations is then considered. The use of all parameters (brightness temperatures, TMI C/S classifiers, lightning data, predicted vertical structure) to reduce TMI/PR rainfall estimate scatter is demonstrated. For both vertical structure and rainfall estimation, inclusion of C/S classifiers and lightning observations provide statistical skill improvements but do not completely alleviate critical midlevel profile C/S ambiguity and related rain estimate errors.

Boccippio, Dennis↗

Comparison of Vertical Surface Deformation Estimates Derived From Space-Based Gravimetry, Ground-Based GPS, and Model-Based Hydrologic Loading Over Snow-Dominated Watersheds in the United States

Spatiotemporal variability in Earth's terrestrial water storage (TWS) causes changes in surface deformation. The potential for using ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) vertical displacement observations for estimating TWS is explored through a comparison of vertical displacements derived from space-based gravimetric retrievals, ground-based GPS, and model-based hydrologic estimates. The study presented here focuses on two snow-dominated basins in the Western United States for the years 2003–2016. Seasonal variations are observed in the vertical displacements derived from all three data sets, and the variation is coherent with the changes in hydrologic loading. Good consistency is observed between any two of the three data sets with gravimetric retrievals and hydrologic model estimates providing the highest level of agreement (i.e., all examined stations with correlation coefficient R > 0.70). Vertical displacements derived from gravimetric retrievals and ground-based GPS yielded R > 0.70 for more than 89% of the stations. In addition, it is found that both GPS-derived and space-based, gravimetry-derived vertical displacements clearly reflected the impact of climate variation (i.e., heavy precipitation during 2010–2011 winter followed by prolonged drought). Vertical displacements derived from the hydrologic model highlighted the relatively large precipitation convergence phase during late 2010 to early 2011 at some stations but not the prolonged drought that followed. The results indicate that ground-based GPS observations of vertical displacement have the capability to capture variations in TWS changes, which can be systematically merged in conjunction with Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) into a land surface model to improve TWS estimates in a follow-up study.

Gaohong Yin↗

Decoupling in the Vertical Shape of HCHO During a Sea Breeze Event: the Effect on Trace Gas Satellite Retrievals and Column-to-Surface Translation

The effect of sea breeze circulation on stratification of the vertical formaldehyde (HCHO) concentration vertical profiles is explored using a regional atmospheric chemical transport model (CTM) for three synoptically stagnant days focused on the east coast of the U.S in June 2018. During this event, a significant thermal contrast between the Atlantic Ocean and the terrestrial regions (12–17 °C), observed by moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and well-captured by the WRF-CMAQ model (15–18 °C), is conducive to monsoon-like flow, perpendicular to the shorelines, carrying clean marine air masses over the land within a few hundreds of meters above the surface. In contrast, the westerly continental polluted air masses prevail in higher altitudes. These two conflicting flows result in atypical vertical shapes of HCHO concentrations increasing with altitude. This decoupling pattern is so pronounced that we observe total column HCHO negatively correlate with surface concentrations. Comparisons of an accredited global model, GEOS-CF, to surface wind measurements and MODIS skin temperature indicate its poor representation of the sea breeze timing and strength, resulting in GEOS-CF HCHO vertical shapes being drastically different from the WRF-CMAQ. Based on radiative transfer calculations, the differences in the vertical distribution of HCHO between the WRF-CMAQ and that of GEOS-CF in the first 3 km are sufficient to induce a 20–30% error in air mass factors (thus total vertical HCHO column abundances). Through an experiment involving converting HCHO total columns to surface mixing ratios, we demonstrate that GEOS-CF allocates noticeably more HCHO molecules (40–150%) to the surface layer due to the misrepresentation of the vertical shape of HCHO during the sea breeze event. It is known that a significant fraction of the human population lives in coastal areas prone to detrimental effects caused by air pollution, and elevated pollutant concentrations usually occur in synoptically stagnant atmospheric conditions when local circulation patterns come into play; accordingly, our experiments emphasize the importance of the effect a priori profiles can have on satellite-derived applications under such conditions. To ensure that the quantitative representation of satellite-based trace gas retrievals on a daily basis is trustworthy and useable for air quality applications, atmospheric models providing a priori profiles for satellite retrievals should be well-tuned to reproduce complex local circulation such as sea-land breezes.

sea breeze↗

Effective Selective Area Doping for GaN Vertical Power Transistors Enabled by Innovative Materials Engineering

GaN vertical power transistors have emerged as promising candidates for future high efficiency high power electronic applications, with the potential to outperform conventional GaN lateral power devices in terms of power, breakdown, and avalanche characteristics. However, the development of current GaN vertical power transistors is seriously hindered by the poor materials performance of selective area doped p-n junctions. A mechanistic understanding of these fundamental materials issues is essential in order to achieve high performance selective area doped p-n junctions and consequently to advance the GaN vertical power transistor technology. To address this challenge, we carried out a comprehensive research program that advance fundamental knowledge in the selective area doping for GaN materials, and which will lead to the development of high performance GaN vertical power transistors. First, we developed innovative fabrication processes, including novel surface etching, surface passivation, and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth, which provided enhanced opportunities for solving the unique challenges of selective area doping in GaN materials. Second, we performed a fundamental materials study using powerful characterization methods including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet (UV-), x-ray and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS/XPS/ARPES), electron holography, and cathodoluminescence (CL); Third, we investigated several related issues, including Mg incorporation, polarization effects in carrier transport, and non-ideal material effects, which have rarely been explored so far. At the end of this project, we successfully demonstrated (1) fundamental understanding of selective area etching, regrowth, and doping of GaN, and associated knowledge on defects, interface, and breakdown properties. (2) Effective etch and regrowth processing recipes to achieve etch/regrowth GaN p-n diodes with very low leakage of 3.5 nA at 600 V, which meets the ARPA-E target. (2) High performance vertical GaN p-n didoes and vertical junction termination extension (JTE) devices with breakdown voltage of ~ 2 kV, and breakdown electric field of ~ 3.5 MV/cm, which are close to the performance limit of GaN. The successful outcome has resulted in new fundamental understandings in the selective area doping and regrowth process for GaN, which will lead to groundbreaking GaN vertical transistors for high performance next generation power electronics.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Solvent Processing and Ionic Liquid-Enabled Long-Range Vertical Ordering in Block Copolymer Films with Enhanced Film Stability

Rapid and reliable processing methods for forming ordered block copolymer (BCP) materials with low defect density in a thin film geometry are required for many nanotechnology applications. Vertically aligned BCP structures, in particular, have applications ranging from nanolithography for electronics and photonics to nanoporous membranes for water remediation and novel batteries for flexible electronics. However, the attainment of nearly complete vertical orientational order of the BCP ordered phase remains challenging. Solvent-based techniques, such as direct immersion annealing (DIA) and solvent vapor annealing (SVA), have immense potential for these applications of BCP films, as it allows for tuning of their thermodynamic, structural, and chain mobility driven kinetic properties. We first demonstrate that DIA, using a judicious choice of binary solvent mixtures along with a relatively hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL), induces the rapid vertical ordering in polystyrene-b-polymethylmethacrylate (PS-PMMA) block copolymer in lamellar films. The IL establishes synergy to the binary solvent mixture of toluene and heptane to 1 create a near-neutral solvent environment for attaining the vertical microstructure of the BCP. Next, we show that IL can suppress the de-wetting of the PS-PMMA films to achieve long-range order using SVA in cylindrical films for long annealing times. Both vertical and horizontal morphology is attained in these films by selecting different solvent environments. Furthermore, attaining enhanced vertical and horizontal BCP structure with long-range defect-free order by tuning solvent quality and using additives like IL can render them useful for many nanotech applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Real-time observation of toroidal current redistributions induced by three-dimensional MHD phenomena triggering vertical displacement events in tokamak plasmas

Three-dimensional MHD instabilities, including edge-localized modes (ELMs) and internal reconnection events (IREs), have been observed to precipitate loss of vertical stability in tokamak plasmas, resulting in vertical displacement events (VDEs). This vertical destabilization can occur due to toroidal current redistributions and/or shape changes resulting from these phenomena. Using a recently introduced method for rapidly reconstructing the two-dimensional toroidal plasma current density profile in real-time, results are presented that demonstrate the specific current distribution changes that occur during ELMs (on KSTAR) and IREs (on MAST-U) that lead to loss of vertical control. The method most efficiently reconstructs the toroidal current density profile by doing so on a basis of principal components of historical profiles. These principal components isolate dominant current profile dynamics, improving interpretability, increasing speed, and reducing dimensionality of the profile computation. On KSTAR, this computation is executed in the real-time plasma control system at a rate of 10 kHz (limited by available CPU cycle times), allowing the current profile evolution to be assessed at several times over the course of each ELM event. Further, by incorporating the reconstructions into a novel vertical stability metric, the contribution of specific current profile dynamics to the loss of vertical stability can be assessed in real-time for VDE avoidance and improved understanding of the causal relationship between three-dimensional MHD phenomena and VDEs. The success of this method in approximating toroidal current density profiles from kinetic equilibrium reconstructions is also presented ($R^2=0.990$), along with its capability to produce other equilibrium quantities of interest in real-time at high time resolution.

edge-localized modes↗

The Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Project

The Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Project is one of six projects in the Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP) of the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The overarching goal of the RVLT Project is to develop and validate tools, technologies, and concepts to overcome key barriers for vertical lift vehicles. The project vision is to enable the next generation of vertical lift vehicles with aggressive goals for efficiency, noise, and emissions, to expand current capabilities and develop new commercial markets. The RVLT Project invests in technologies that support conventional, non-conventional, and emerging vertical-lift aircraft in the very light to heavy vehicle classes. Research areas include acoustic, aeromechanics, drive systems, engines, icing, hybrid-electric systems, impact dynamics, experimental techniques, computational methods, and conceptual design. The project research is executed at NASA Ames, Glenn, and Langley Research Centers; the research extensively leverages partnerships with the US Army, the Federal Aviation Administration, industry, and academia. The primary facilities used by the project for testing of vertical-lift technologies include the 14- by 22-Ft Wind Tunnel, Icing Research Tunnel, National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex, 7- by 10-Ft Wind Tunnel, Rotor Test Cell, Landing and Impact Research facility, Compressor Test Facility, Drive System Test Facilities, Transonic Turbine Blade Cascade Facility, Vertical Motion Simulator, Mobile Acoustic Facility, Exterior Effects Synthesis and Simulation Lab, and the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Complex. To learn more about the RVLT Project, please stop by booth #1004 or visit their website at https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/programs/aavp/rvlt.

NASA↗

Hyperbolic string vertices

The string vertices of closed string field theory are subsets of the moduli spaces of punctured Riemann surfaces that satisfy a geometric version of the Batalin-Vilkovisky master equation. We present a homological proof of existence of string vertices and their uniqueness up to canonical transformations. Using hyperbolic metrics on surfaces with geodesic boundaries we give an exact construction of string vertices as sets of surfaces with systole greater than or equal to L with L ≤ 2 arcsinh 1. Intrinsic hyperbolic collars prevent the appearance of short geodesics upon sewing. The surfaces generated by Feynman diagrams are naturally endowed with Thurston metrics: hyperbolic on the vertices and flat on the propagators. For the classical theory the length L is arbitrary and, as L → ∞hyperbolic vertices become the minimal-area vertices of closed string theory

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Ultra-Fast Vertical Ordering of Lamellar Block Copolymer Films on Unmodified Substrates

To utilize the full potential of block copolymer (BCP) thin films for use in technological devices ranging from ion conduction membranes, transistors to nanowire array antennas, rapid self- assembly of lamellar block copolymers (l-BCPs) with vertically oriented lamellar domains on a variety of unmodified substrates is needed. l-BCPs have an inherently larger interfacial area for transport compared to their cylindrical counterpart. Our observations demonstrate that the as-cast weakly ordered vertically oriented state of l-BCP films of polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) from directional evaporation of select solvents, act as “seed templates” for their ultra-fast evolution (~30 s) into well-ordered vertically oriented nanostructures, using a thermal gradient-based Cold Zone Annealing (CZA) technique. Furthermore, vertical lamellae are obtained on unmodified substrates, Quartz and Kapton, and the kinetics of l-BCP ordering is much faster by CZA as compared to the isotropic oven annealing. The rapid ordering kinetics of vertical l-BCPs is tested and found applicable to different molecular weights and film thicknesses ranging from 20 nm to 480 nm, which ultimately flip over to their equilibrium parallel morphology at upper limits of annealing times. This rapid ordering strategy for vertical orientation of l-BCPs using roll-to-roll compatible CZA would be highly relevant for fundamental studies of interfacial transport as well as for industrial applications from membranes to nanowires.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The Energy Exascale Earth System Model Simulations With High Vertical Resolution in the Lower Troposphere

Abstract General circulation models (GCMs) are typically run with coarse vertical resolution. For example, the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) has a vertical resolution of about 200 m in the boundary layer, which is far too coarse to resolve sharp gradients often found in the thermodynamic fields capping subtropical marine stratocumulus. In this article, we present a series of multiyear atmosphere only simulations of E3SM version 1 where we progressively increase the vertical resolution in the lower troposphere to scales approaching those often used in large eddy simulation (LES). We report marginal impacts in regards to the simulation of boundary layer clouds when vertical resolution is moderately increased, yet find significant positive impacts when the vertical resolution approaches that typically used in LES (∼10 m). In these experiments, there is a marked change in the simulated turbulence and thermodynamics which leads to more abundant marine stratocumulus. However, these simulations are burdened with excessive computational cost. They are also subject to degradations in overall climate metrics due to time step sensitivities and because some processes and parameterizations are sensitive to changes in the vertical resolution.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Regime-specific Cloud Vertical Overlap Characteristics from Radar and Lidar Observations at the ARM sites

Climate and numerical weather prediction models require assumptions to represent the vertical distribution of subgrid-scale clouds, which have radiative transfer implications. In this study, nearly 25 years of ground-based radar and lidar observations of vertical cloud profiles at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site are utilized to derive cloud vertical overlap characteristics from the Cloud Type (CLDTYPE) data product. Here, the cloud vertical overlap characteristics are further separated by cloud regime by considering seven cloud types (i.e., low cloud, congestus, deep convection, altocumulus, altostratus, cirrostratus, and cirrus) as well as periods of shallow cumulus. The decorrelation length scale (i.e., exponential transition from maximum to random overlap with layer separation) is found to vary by cloud regime, ranging between 0.04 km for cirrostratus paired with cirrus to 4.58 km for low cloud paired with cirrus at SGP. Cloud vertical overlap characteristics are also considered for other ARM sites including the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP), North Slope of Alaska (NSA), and Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) sites amongst other shorter term ARM deployments globally. The decorrelation length scale ranged globally from 1.03 km in the Arctic Ocean to 3.06 km in Manacapuru, Brazil. Globally, the decorrelation length scale by cloud regime exhibited similarities (e.g., for cirrus paired with cirrus) and differences (e.g., congestus paired with cirrus). The results could help inform development of cloud vertical overlap assumptions within operational numerical weather prediction models and potentially improve prediction of radiative fluxes for weather, climate, and renewable energy forecasting.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The vertical-velocity skewness in the atmospheric boundary layer without buoyancy and Coriolis effects

One of the main features of near-neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) turbulence is the positive vertical velocity skewness $Sk_w$ above the roughness sublayer or the buffer region in smooth-walls. The $Sk_w$ variations are receiving renewed interest in many climate-related parameterizations of the ABL given their significance to cloud formation and to testing sub-grid schemes for Large Eddy Simulations (LES). The vertical variations of $Sk_w$ are explored here using wind tunnel and flume experiments collected above smooth, rough, and permeable-walls in the absence of buoyancy and Coriolis effects. These laboratory experiments form a necessary starting point to probe the canonical structure of $Sk_w$ as they deal with a key limiting case (i.e., near-neutral conditions). Diagnostic models based on cumulant expansions, realizability constraints, and constant mass flux approach routinely employed in the convective boundary layer as well as prognostic models based on third-order budgets are used to explain variations in $Sk_w$ for the idealized laboratory conditions. The failure of flux-gradient relations to model $Sk_w$ from the gradients of the vertical velocity variance σ$_w^2$ are explained and corrections based on models of energy transport offered. Novel links between the diagnostic and prognostic models are also featured, especially for the inertial term in the third-order budget of the vertical velocity fluctuation. The co-spectral properties of w′/σ w vs w′ 2 /σ$_w^2$ are also presented for the first time to assess the dominant scales governing $Sk_w$ in the inner and outer layers, where w′ is the fluctuating vertical velocity and σ w is the vertical velocity standard deviation.>

Boundary layer flow↗

Demonstration of tokamak vertical stability control based on non-inductive Faraday-effect polarimetry measurements

Long-pulse or steady-state fusion reactors are envisioned to control vertical stability based on non-inductive measurements, i.e. that do not rely on temporal change of magnetic field. For the first time, vertical stability control using non-inductive Faraday-effect polarimetry measurements has been demonstrated. The Radial Interferometer-Polarimeter system on DIII-D is capable of microsecond resolution and was used to absolutely determine the vertical position of the plasma magnetic axis Z 0 . A vertical stability controller was developed to robustly stabilize diverted plasmas using Faraday-based measurements. The system was able to stabilize against vertical displacement events with growth rates up to 350 s -1 in elongated and elliptical plasma shapes, and instabilities with even higher growth rates are likely to be controllable with further improvements to controller tuning. Tests show that the Faraday-based controller remains effective and is capable of recovering from loss of control even when the plasma vertical position is far from the region where the linear model used to calculate Z 0 is most valid. Faraday control has also been activated during plasma ramp-up, demonstrating the robustness of the technique to larger systematic diagnostic uncertainty at low electron density.

Faraday-effect polarimetry↗

A Vertically Resolved Analysis of Radiative Feedbacks on Moist Static Energy Variance in Tropical Cyclones

Abstract A vertically resolved moist static energy (MSE) variance budget framework is used to diagnose processes associated with the development of tropical cyclones (TCs) in a general circulation model (GCM) under realistic boundary conditions. Previous studies have shown that interactions between radiation and MSE promote TC development. Here, we examine the vertical contributions of radiation and its interactions with MSE by performing several mechanism-denial experiments in which synoptic-scale radiative interactions are suppressed either in the boundary layer or in the free troposphere. Partly suppressing radiative interactions results in a reduction in global TC frequency. However, the magnitude of reduction and structure of the feedback depend on the intensity and structure of the TCs in these mechanism-denial experiments, indicating that both the magnitude and the vertical location of radiative interactions can impact global TC frequency. Using instantaneous 6-hourly outputs, an explicit computation reveals distinct spatial patterns of the advection term: the vertical component is positive in the mid- to upper troposphere, which reflects an upward transport of MSE by deep convection, whereas the horizontal component is positive in the boundary layer. These results illustrate the impact of the vertical distribution of radiative interactions and vertically varied contribution of the advection term in the development of TCs.

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences↗

Project Title: Adaptive Vertical Grid Enhancement for E3SM (Final Technical Report)

During the first phase of the project (2018/05-2021/05), we proved the hypothesis that, without tuning, high vertical resolution improves the representation of unresolved, parameterized low altitude clouds such as stratocumulus clouds in global climate models. We evaluated the effectiveness of the newly developed computational framework, Framework for Improvement by Vertical Enhancement (FIVE) by implementing it into E3SM. FIVE aims to improve representation of the target cloud, low level cloud for this project, with use of a locally high vertical resolution for computation of selected processes. FIVE was assessed via direct comparison among E3SM, E3SM-FIVE, and satellite data as well as a newly developed ensemble artificial neural network methodology. We demonstrated that E3SM-FIVE remarkably improves marine stratocumulus representation. To advance the FIVE methodology, we took a first step toward the adaptive vertical grid in the FIVE method by modifying the E3SM single column model. For future application of FIVE to the global storm resolving model with a few km horizontal grid resolution, we developed the vertical-meridional two-dimensional (2D) Hadley circulation model, which allows one to run simulations with much higher vertical resolution and significantly longer duration than current three-dimensional global storm resolving model. During the second phase of the project (2021/05-2023/11; period for this technical report), we sought a way to appropriately transform FIVE to a regionalized version of FIVE, which allows one to select locations with/without FIVE. In parallel, we demonstrated that E3SM-FIVE with a 25-km mesh significantly reduced the bias associated with coastal stratocumulus. Furthermore, we showed that the same improvement was able to be obtained with the use of both the Regional Refined Model (RRM) targeted to one of the stratocumulus regions with 25-km resolution and FIVE. We explored a new implementation strategy of FIVE with our 2D Hadley circulation model. In parallel we applied the 2D Hadley circulation model to study the double intertropical convergence zone bias with storm resolving model resolution and aerosol-cloud interactions within the Hadley circulation with near large eddy simulation resolution. Last, we have been investigating Arctic mixed-phase stratocumulus clouds with large eddy simulations in order to improve their representation in global models. During the course of the entire project, 6 journal articles were published, and 3 manuscripts are currently in preparation. We gave a total of 30 presentations at various domestic and international conferences. In addition we gave 6 seminar talks at universities and a national laboratory. E3SM- FIVE is available as a branch of E3SM.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Observations of mesoscale vertical velocities around frontal zones

Vertical velocity and reflectivity data obtained with a VHF Doppler radar over a 15-day period in October and November of 1981 are analyzed. Standard radiosonde data and surface observations were used to locate two occluded fronts, two warm fronts, and a cold front that passed the radar site. These fronts are also evident in the radar reflectivity data. Most studies of the vertical circulation patterns associated with mososcale systems have used precipitation and cloud formations as tracers. Unlike other observational techniques, the VHF radar permits the continuous measurement of the three-dimensional air velocity vector in time and height from a fixed location. With the beam in a vertically pointing position, signals are scattered from turbulent variations in the refractive index with half the scale of the radar wavelength and by regions with sudden changes in the refractive index associated with horizontally stratified layers. Generally, the strongest echoes occur at the maximum in the vertical gradient of refractivity, usually at the base of a temperature inversion, such as the tropopause. VHF radars can also be used to locate atmospheric fronts, which are characterized by static stability, large horizontal temperature gradients, large vorticities, and vertical wind shears. These radars can provide the velocity field data needed to study wave motions associated with fronts and compare the actual vertical circulation to theoretical predictions.

Dennis, T. S.↗