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At least 919 records · Page 51
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1977

The tropospheric-stratospheric polar vortex breakdown of January 1977

An extraordinary warming of the stratosphere in December-January 1976-77 was followed by tropospheric warming in the polar region and cooling in middle latitudes. During January 10-20, the associated polar anticyclone extended from the surface to 10 mb. Antecedents of the polar vortex breakdown are reviewed with the aid of results of zonal-harmonic analyses of planetary waves, for heights of the pressure surfaces (700-10 mb), temperature, and mean stratospheric temperature (the latter determined from satellite radiation measurements). Wave 1 in height and temperature played a dominant role in the stratosphere, attaining amplitudes of 1600 gpm and 25 C, respectively, at 10 mb. On the other hand, superposition of retrogressing wave 1 and quasi-stationary wave 2 in the height of the 300-mb surface, with individual amplitudes exceeding 300 gpm, is judged to have been an important factor in the overall development.

Quiroz, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Upper limits of the rate constants for the reactions of CFCl3/F-11/, CF2Cl2/F-12/, and N2O with OH - Estimates of corresponding lower limits to their tropospheric lifetimes

A discharge-flow system with resonance fluorescence detection of OH is used to study the reactions of CFCl3, CF2Cl2, and N2O with OH at temperatures up to 480 K. Little, if any reaction was found, with upper limits of 5, 6, and 4 x 10 to the -16th cu cm/s reported at 480 K for the three rate constants. A very simple model is used to calculate removal times exceeding 10,000 years for reaction with tropospheric OH.

Chang, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1977

A single field of view method for retrieving tropospheric temperature profiles from cloud-contaminated radiance data

The paper presents a method for retrieving single field of view tropospheric temperature profiles directly from cloud-contaminated radiance data through the use of auxiliary data such as observed shelter temperatures and estimated cloud-top height. A model was formulated to calculate cloud parameters for use with the radiative transport equation at an estimated cloud-top level. The cloud and temperature data are used in conjunction with real and simulated radiance data from NOAA satellites.

Hodges, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Global measurements of gaseous and aerosol trace species in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere from daily flights of 747 airliners

A description is given of the NASA Global Atmospheric Sampling Program (GASP), taking into account the onboard system which collects atmospheric data automatically, the extensive atmospheric measurement capability, and the data handling and distribution procedure. GASP was implemented to assess the environmental impact of aircraft exhaust emissions in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Global air quality data are to be obtained for a period of five to ten years. Measurements of pollutants not related to aircraft exhaust emissions, such as chlorofluoromethanes, are now included. GASP systems are operating on a United Airlines 747, two Pan Am 747s, and a Qantas Airways of Australia 747. Real-time, in-situ measurements are conducted of ozone, water vapor, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen. Chlorofluoromethanes are measured by laboratory analysis. Typical GASP data show significant changes in ozone, carbon monoxide, and water vapor related to crossings of the tropopause.

Perkins, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The natural and perturbed troposphere

A quantitative assessment of the chemical and climatic effects of industrial emissions into the atmosphere requires an understanding of the complex interactions of species within the atmosphere and of the atmosphere with other physical systems such as the oceans, lithosphere, and biosphere. The concentration of a particular species is determined by competition between various production and loss processes. The abundances of tropospheric gases are examined. The reactions of the members of the oxygen group are considered along with the models which have been developed to describe the involved relationships. Attention is also given to the natural carbon cycle, perturbations to the carbon cycle, the natural nitrogen cycle, perturbations to the nitrogen cycle, the hydrogen group, the sulfur group, and the halogen group.

Stewart, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The photochemical role of tropospheric nitrogen oxides

The role of nitrogen oxides in the tropospheric photochemical system is re-evaluated in the light of recent measurements of the rate constants for two key reactions. A model for nitrogen oxides is discussed which yields surface NO(x) (NO+NO2) levels approaching 1 ppb in NO(x) source regions but less than 0.1 ppb outside source regions. Applying the new rate coefficients implies increased radical concentrations and a more intense O3 and CO photochemistry. Even for densities of 0.1 ppb or less, NO(x) still leads to significant local O3 production and conversion of HO2 to OH. Unrealistic O3 profiles are obtained with the new rate coefficients for surface NO(x) densities of about 1 ppb, while reasonable agreement with observation is obtained with lower NO(x) densities. Feedback processes between CO, NO(x), OH, and CH4 are also discussed.

Chameides, W. L.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Effect of tropospheric aerosols upon atmospheric infrared cooling rates

An investigation has been made of the impact of wind-blown dust particles upon local climate of arid regions. The case of Northwest India is specifically considered, where a dense layer of dust persists for several months during the summer. In order to examine the effect of this dust layer on the infrared radiative flux and cooling rates, a method is presented for calculating the IR flux within a dusty atmosphere which allows the use of gaseous band models and is applicable in the limit of small single scattering albedo and pronounced forward scattering. The participating components of the atmosphere are assumed to be water vapor and spherical quartz particles only. The atmospheric window is partially filled by including the water vapor continuum bands for which empirically obtained transmission functions have been used. It is shown that radically different conclusions may be drawn on dust effects if the continuum absorption is not considered. The radiative transfer model, when applied to a dusty atmosphere, indicates that there is a moderate enhancement in the atmospheric greenhouse and a 10% increase in the mean IR radiative cooling rate, relative to the dust free case, within the lower troposphere. These results have been compared with previous work by other authors in the context of the possibility of dust layers inhibiting local precipitation.

Harshvardhan, MR.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Mesospheric heating due to intense tropospheric convection

A series of rocket measurements made twice daily at Wallops Island, Va., revealed a rapid heating of the mesosphere on the order of 10 K on days when thunderstorms or squall lines were in the area. This heating is explained as the result of frictional dissipation of vertically propagating internal gravity waves generated by intense tropospheric convection. Ray-tracing theory is used to determine the spectrum of gravity wave groups that actually reach mesospheric heights. This knowledge is used in an equation describing the spectral energy density of a penetrative convective element to calculate the fraction of the total energy initially available to excite those waves that do reach the level of heating. This value, converted into a vertical velocity, is used as the lower boundary condition for a multilayer model used to determine the detailed structure of the vertically propagating waves. The amount of frictional dissipation produced by the waves is calculated from the solutions of the frictionless model by use of a vertically varying eddy viscosity coefficient. The heating produced by the dissipation is then calculated from the thermodynamic equation.

Taylor, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Sensitivity of the predicted CO-OH-CH4 perturbation to tropospheric NOx concentrations

Measurements indicate that ambient NOx(NO + NO2) concentrations vary over at least an order of magnitude in the troposphere. Thus it is of interest to study atmospheric chemistry with NOx concentrations covering this range. In this paper we present steady state calculations which show that as NOx concentrations are increased from very low values, the hydroxyl radical concentration increases at first and then decreases. This change of behavior occurs at a concentration of NO2 of about 0.23 ppb in the model. Also, the response of the atmosphere to increased CO fluxes undergoes a qualitative change as a function of the concentration of NOx. At low levels of NOx concentration, an increase in CO fluxes into the atmosphere depletes the OH concentration and increases the concentrations of CH4 and H2, as reported in the literature. However, at high values of NOx concentration, increased CO fluxes give rise to an increase in the OH concentration and, consequently, a decrease in the concentrations of CH4 and H2.

Hameed, S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Tropospheric circulation and interplanetary magnetic sector boundaries followed by MeV proton streams

The MeV proton streams which Svestka et al. (1976) connected with certain sector boundary transits appear to select boundary transits associated with unusually active solar wind conditions. Changes in tropospheric circulation linked to the proton boundary transits were larger than those linked to other boundary transits observed during the same interval. This investigation of sector boundary transits also sheds light on the relationship between changes in solar wind velocity, density and magnetic field and terrestrial changes in the vorticity area index, geomagnetic activity, and cosmic ray flux at earth.

Wilcox, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The estimation of the propagation delay through the troposphere from microwave radiometer data

The uncertainity in propagation delay estimates is due primarily to tropospheric water, the total amount and vertical distribution of which is variable. Because water vapor both delays and attenuates microwave signals, the propagation delay, or wet path length, can be estimated from the microwave brightness temperature near the 22.235 GHz transition of water vapor. The data from a total of 240 radiosonde launches taken simultaneously were analyzed. Estimates of brightness temperature at 19 and 22 GHz and wet path length were made from these data. The wet path length in the zenith direction could be estimated from the surface water vapor density to an accuracy of 5 cm for the summer data and 2 cm for winter data. Using the brightness temperatures, the wet path could be estimated to an accuracy of 0.3 cm. Two dual frequency radiometers were refurbished in order to test these techniques. These radiometers were capable of measuring the difference in the brightness temperature at 30 deg elevation angle and at the zenith to an accuracy of about 1 K. In August 1975, 45 radiosondes were launched over an 11 day period. Brightness temperature measurements were made simultaneously at 19 and 22 GHz with the radiometers. The rms error for the estimation of wet path length from surface meteorological parameters was 3.2 cm, and from the radiometer brightness temperatures, 1.5 cm.

Moran, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Heterogeneous atmospheric reactions - Sulfuric acid aerosols as tropospheric sinks

The reaction probabilities of various atmospheric species incident on a bulk sulfuric acid surface are measured in order to determine the role of sulfuric acid aerosols as pollutant sinks. Reaction products and unreacted starting materials leaving a Knudsen cell flow reactor after collision at 300 K with a H2SO4 surface or a soot surface were detected by mass spectrometry. Significant collision reaction probabilities are observed on a H2SO4 surface for H2O2, HNO3, HO2NO2, ClONO2, N2O5, H2O and NH3, and on soot for NH3. Estimates of the contribution of heterogeneous reactions to pollutant removal under atmospheric conditions indicate that while aerosol removal in the stratosphere is insignificant (loss rate constants approximately 10 to the -10th/sec), heterogeneous reactions may be the dominant loss process for several tropospheric species (loss rate constant approximately 10 to the -5th/sec, comparable to photolysis rate constants).

Baldwin, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Dynamics of severe storms through the study of thermospheric-tropospheric coupling

Atmospheric acoustic-gravity waves associated with severe local thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes can be studied through the coupling between the thermosphere and the troposphere. Reverse group ray tracing computations of acoustic-gravity waves, observed by an ionospheric Doppler sounder array, show that the wave sources are in the neighborhood of storm systems and the waves are excited prior to the storms. It is suggested that the overshooting and ensuing collapse of convective turrets may be responsible for generating the acoustic-gravity waves observed. The results of this study also show that the study of wave-wave resonant interactions may be a potential tool for investigating the dynamical behavior of severe storm systems using ionospheric observations of atmospheric acoustic-gravity waves associated with severe storms.

Hung, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Latitudinal distribution of the sources of carbon monoxide in the troposphere

A vertically and zonally averaged model of the troposphere has been constructed which calculates photochemical interactions and diffusive North-South transport of trace species. The model can be used to calculate the latitudinal distribution of the source function of a species if its concentration distribution is known. This procedure has been applied to carbon monoxide and large sources have been found outside the industrialized belt in the Northern Hemisphere.

Hameed, S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Influence of the solar magnetic field on tropospheric circulation

The solar and interplanetary magnetic sector structure has its source in a large-scale photospheric magnetic field structure that is carried away from the sun by the solar wind to form a warped equatorial current sheet in the heliosphere; this current sheet makes one complete rotation past the earth in the solar rotation period of 27 days. Several advantages in using the heliospheric warped current sheet in sun-weather investigations are noted. Sun-weather analyses are described, where the time at which the warped current sheet is observed to be carried past the earth by the solar wind gives the phase information. Individual troughs crossing 180 deg longitude when the IMF is directed away from the sun are significantly larger than troughs crossing 180 deg longitude when the field is toward the sun. Possible physical mechanisms are identified, including an observed influence of the heliospheric current sheet on the vertical electric field in the troposphere.

Wilcox, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Vertical profiles of CO and CH4 in the lower and middle troposphere over the Eastern United States January 1978

Samples of tropospheric air were obtained over the Eastern United States during January of 1978. These samples were analyzed by gas chromatography using flame ionization detection to produce vertical profiles of carbon monoxide and methane from the surface to 8 km. The carbon monoxide mixing ratios at 35 deg N and 45 deg N agree with previously published values; however, the mixing ratio at 25 deg N was significantly lower than most published values. The methane mixing ratio was weakly dependent on latitude and has an average value of 1.64 ppm.

Reichle, H. G., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Scattering by nonspherical particles of size comparable to wavelength - A new semi-empirical theory and its application to tropospheric aerosols

A semiempirical theory is developed which is based on simple physical principles and comparisons with laboratory measurements. The ultimate utility of this approach rests on its ability to successfully reproduce the observed single-scattering phase function for a wide variety of particle shapes, sizes and refractive indices. This approximate theory is developed for evaluating the interaction of randomly oriented, nonspherical particles with the total intensity component of electromagnetic radiation. Mie theory is used when the particle size parameter x (ratio of particle circumference to wavelength) is less than some upper bound x sub zero (about 5). For x greater than x sub zero, the interaction is divided into three components: diffraction, external reflection and transmission. The application of the theory is illustrated by considering the influence of the shape of tropospheric aerosols on their contribution to the earth's global albedo.

Pollack, J. B.↗