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At least 1,009 records · Page 56
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

On the vertical distribution of water vapor in the Martian tropics

Although measurements of the column abundance of atmospheric water vapor on Mars have been made, measurements of its vertical distribution have not. How water is distributed in the vertical is fundamental to atmosphere-surface exchange processes, and especially to transport within the atmosphere. Several lines of evidence suggest that in the lowest several scale heights of the atmosphere, water vapor is nearly uniformly distributed. However, most of these arguments are suggestive rather than conclusive since they only demonstrate that the altitude to saturation is very high if the observed amount of water vapor is distributed uniformly. A simple argument is presented, independent of the saturation constraint, which suggests that in tropical regions, water vapor on Mars should be very nearly uniformly mixed on an annual and zonally averaged basis.

Haberle, Robert M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Measurements of the vertical profile of water vapor abundance in the Martian atmosphere from Mars Observer

An analysis is presented of the Pressure Modulator Infrared Radiometer (PMIRR) capabilities along with how the vertical profiles of water vapor will be obtained. The PMIRR will employ filter and pressure modulation radiometry using nine spectral channels, in both limb scanning and nadir sounding modes, to obtain daily, global maps of temperature, dust extinction, condensate extinction, and water vapor mixing ratio profiles as a function of pressure to half scale height or 5 km vertical resolution. Surface thermal properties will also be mapped, and the polar radiactive balance will be monitored.

Schofield, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Vertical profiles of heating derived from IR-based precipitation estimates during FGGE SOP-1

This paper examines a technique for retrieving from geostationary IR data the vertical profiles of heating and cooling due to moist diabatic processes. First, GOES IR imagery is used to estimate precipitation fields which are independent of fields inferred from residuals in heat budget analysis based on the FGGE level III-b data. Vertical distributions of the associated heating are then obtained using thermodynamic data from the level III-b analysis, one-dimensional cloud models, and the satellite-estimated precipitation. The technique was applied to infer heating in the South Pacific convergence zone during a portion of FGEE SOP-1, and the results were compared with heat-budget calculations made using the ECMWF analyses.

Robertson, Franklin R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

An improved method for determining the vertical ozone distribution using satellite measurements

A procedure was developed for determining vertical ozone distributions from spectral measurements of UV radiances diffusely reflected from the terrestrial atmosphere. In this procedure, the inversion method of Aruga and Igarashi (1976) is improved by incorporating the effects of multiple scattering and the lower boundary of the atmosphere. The improved inversion algorithm was tested using data of NIMBUS-4 backscattered UV experiments. The results indicate that by using this method, the vertical distributions of atmospheric ozone can be obtained with high accuracy over a wide range of altitude.

Aruga, Tadashi↗
NASA NTRS1989

The effects of window shape and reticle presence on performance in a vertical alignment task

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of selected interior work-station orientational cuing upon the ability to align a target image with local vertical in the frontal plane. Angular error from gravitational vertical in an alignment task was measured for 20 observers viewing through two window shapes (square, round), two initial orientations of a computer-generated space shuttle image, and the presence or absence of a stabilized optical alignment reticle. In terms of overall accuracy, it was found that observer error was significantly smaller for the square window and reticle-present conditions than for the round window and reticle-absent conditions. Response bias data reflected an overall tendency to undershoot and greater variability of response in the round window/no reticle condition. These results suggest that environmental cuing information, such as that provided by square window frames and alignment reticles, may aid in subjective orientation and increase accuracy of response in a Space Station proximity operations alignment task.

Rosenberg, Erika L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Low-latitude zonal and vertical ion drifts seen by DE 2

Horizontal and vertical ion drift data from the DE 2 spacecraft have been used to determine average zonal and vertical plasma flow (electric field) characteristics in the +/- 26-deg dip latitude region during a time of high solar activity. The 'average data' local time profile for an apex height bin centered at 400 km indicates westward plasma flow from 0600 to 1900 solar local time ((SLT) with a maximum westward velocity of 80 m/s in the early afternoon. There is a sharp change to eastward flow at approximately 1900 hours with an early evening peak of 170 m/s. A secondary nighttime maximum exists at 0430 SLT preceeding the reversal to westward flow. This profile is in good agreement with Jicamarca, Peru, radar measurements made under similar solar maximum conditions. Haramonic analysis indicates a net superrotation which is strongest at lower apex altitudes. The diurnal term is dominant, but higher order terms through the quatradiurnal are significant.

Coley, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Spanwise measurements of vertical components of atmospheric turbulence

Correlation and spectrum magnitude estimates are computed for vertical gust velocity measurements at the nose and wing tips of a NASA B-57B aircraft for six level flight, low speed and low altitude runs and are compared with those of the von Karman atmospheric turbulence model extended for spanwise relationships. The distance between the wing tips was 62.6 ft. Airspeeds ranged from about 330 to 400 ft/sec, heights above the ground ranged from near ground level to about 5250 ft. and gust velocity standard deviations ranged from 4.10 to 8.86 ft/sec. Integral scale lengths, determined by matching measured autocorrelation estimates with those of the model, ranged from 410 to 2050 ft. Digital signals derived from piezoelectric sensors provided continuous pressure and airspeed measurements. Some directional acceleration sensitivity of the sensors was eliminated by sensor orientation, and their performance was spectrally verified for the higher frequencies with supplemental onboard piezoresistive sensors. The model appeared to satisfactorily predict the trends of the measured cross-correlations and cross-spectrum magnitudes, particularly between the nose and wing tips. However, the measured magnitude estimates of the cross-spectra between the wing tips exceeded the predicted levels at the higher frequencies. Causes for the additional power across the wing tips were investigated. Vertical gust velocity components evaluated along and lateral to the flight path implied that the frozen-turbulence-field assumption is a suitable approximation.

Sleeper, Robert K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Critique of the vertical gradient of gravity

Growing interest in high precision studies of the Earth's gravitational field warrant a critical review of precision requirements to yield useful results. Several problems are now under consideration. All of these problems involve, more or less, the precise value of the vertical gradients of gravity. The principle conclusion from this review is that the essential absence of Free Air Vertical Gravity Gradient control and actual values of gravimeter calibrations require serious attention. Large errors in high topography on official published gravity maps also cannot be ignored.

Hammer, Sigmund↗
NASA NTRS1990

Verification of the naval oceanic vertical aerosol model during FIRE

The value of Naval Oceanic Vertical Aerosol Model (NOVAM) is illustrated for estimating the non-uniform and non-logarithmic extinction profiles, based on a severe test involving conditions close to and beyond the limits of applicability of NOVAM. A more comprehensive evaluation of NOVAM from the FIRE data is presented, which includes a clear-air case. For further evaluation more data are required on the vertical structure of the extinction in the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL), preferably for different meteorological conditions and in different geographic areas (e.g., ASTEX).

Davidson, K. L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Vertical-velocity skewness in the marine stratus-topped boundary layer

Vertical-velocity skewness, S(sub w), in a turbulent flow is important in several regards. S(sub w) is indicative of the structure of the motion when it is positive, updrafts are narrower and stronger than surrounding downdrafts, and vice versa. Aircraft measurements often suggest cool, narrow downdrafts at some distance below the stratus cloud top, indicating a negative S(sub w) (Nicholls and Leighton, 1986). This seems natural as the turbulence within the stratus-topped boundary layer (CTBL) is driven mainly by the radiative cooling at the cloud top (although sometimes surface heating can also play a major role). One expects intuitively (e.g., Nicolls, 1984) that, in the situations where cloud-top cooling and surface heating coexist, the turbulence statistics in the upper part of the CTBL are influenced more by the cloud-top cooling, while those in the lower part, more by the surface heating. Thus one expects negative S(sub w) in the upper part, and positive in the lower part, in this case. In contradistinction, large-eddy simulations (LES) of the CTBL show just the opposite: the S(sub w) is positive in the upper part and negative in the lower part of the layer. To understand the nature of vertical-velocity skewness, the simplest type of buoyancy-driven turbulence (turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection) is studied through direct numerical simulation.

Moeng, Chin-Hoh↗
NASA NTRS1990

Vertical motions in the Uranian atmosphere - An analysis of radio observations

The present, 6-cm radio map of Uranus indicates latitudinal features which may be due to vertical motions of the atmosphere. It appears in light of Voyager IR measurements as well as previously obtained radio data that these large-scale vertical motions, which have not undergone significant changes over the course of 8 years, extend from the 0.1- to the 45-bar levels; this span corresponds to a height of the order of 250 km. The latitudinal structures are believed to be primarily caused by horizontal variations of absorber abundances.

Hofstadter, Mark D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A comparison of vertical velocity in cirrus obtained from aircraft and lidar divergence measurements during FIRE

Techniques are presented to obtain vertical velocity in cirrus clouds from in situ aircraft lateral wind measurements and from ground-based remote Doppler lidar measurements. The approach used is to calculate w from the integral of the divergence of the horizontal velocity around a closed path. Divergence measurements from both aircraft and Doppler lidar are discussed. The principal errors in the calculation of w from aircraft lateral wind measurements are bias in the lateral wind, ground speed errors, and error due to vertical shear of the horizontal wind. For Doppler lidar measurements the principal errors are in the estimate of mean terminal velocity and the zeroth order coefficients of the Fourier series that is fitted to the data. The technique is applied to a cirrus cloud investigated during the FIRE (First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Regional Experiment) Cirrus Intensive Field Observation Program. The results indicate that the error in w is about + or - 14 cm/s from the aircraft technique; this can be reduced to about + or - 2 to 3 cm/s with technical improvements in both ground speed and lateral velocity measurements. The error in w from Doppler lidar measurements, which is about + or - 8 cm/s, can be reduced to about + or - 5 cm/s by improvements in the Doppler velocity measurements with technology that is currently available.

Gultepe, Ismail↗
NASA NTRS1990

Temporal and vertical distribution of acidity and ionic composition in clouds - Comparison between modeling results and observations

Cyclic temporal variations of pH and ionic concentration in sampled clouds which traversed the Mt. Mitchell State Park (North Carolina) site during the summers of 1986, 1987, and 1988 are reported. These clouds typically had a measured pH minimum during their initial and final stages. The cause of this basic cylic pattern is attributed to sampling at different vertical levels of the cloud. This is substantiated by visual observations made while sampling. The results also suggest that the measured pH patterns do not always exhibit minima during the formative and dissipative stages of the cloud, apparently in response to the underlying dynamical processes. The relationship between temporal pH measurements made at a stationary site to vertical cloud levels provides insights into the physical processes (e.g., nucleation scavenging near cloud base, dry air entrainment near cloud top) influencing the observed cloud-water chemistry on a real-time basis and would improve cloud chemistry models.

Defelice, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

An improved method for simultaneous determination of frictional pressure drop and vapor volume fraction in vertical flow boiling

The two-phase frictional pressure drop and vapor volume fraction in the vertical boiling and adiabatic flow of the refrigerant, R11, have been simultaneously measured by a liquid balancing column and differential magnetic reluctance pressure transducers. An account is given of the experimental apparatus and procedure, data acquisition and analysis, and error estimation employed. All values of two-phase multipliers evaluated on the basis of the measured frictional pressure drop data in vertical upflow fall in the range bounded by the predictions of the Chisholm correlation and the homogeneous model.

Klausner, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Flight evaluations of several hover control and display combinations for precise blind vertical landings

Several control and display concepts were evaluated on a variable-stability helicopter prior to future evaluations on a modified Harrier. The control and display concepts had been developed to enable precise hover maneuvers, station keeping, and vertical landings in simulated zero-visibility conditions and had been evaluated extensively in previous piloted simulations. Flight evaluations early in the program revealed several inadequacies in the display drive laws that were later corrected using an alternative design approach that integrated the control and display characteristics with the desired guidance law. While hooded, three pilots performed landing-pad captures followed by vertical landings with attitude-rate, attitude, and translation-velocity-command control systems. The latter control system incorporated a modified version of state-rate-feedback implicit-model following. Precise landing within 2 ft of the desired touchdown point were achieved.

Schroeder, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Some buffet response characteristics of a twin-vertical-tail configuration

A rigid, 1/6 size, full span model of an F-18 airplane was fitted with flexible vertical tails of two different levels of stiffness that were buffet tested in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. Vertical tail buffet response results that were obtained over the range of angles of attack from -10 to 40 degs, and over the range of Mach numbers from 0.30 to 0.95 are presented. These results indicate the following: (1) the response occurs in the first bending mode; (2) the response increases with increasing dynamic pressure, but changes in response are not linearly proportional to the changes in dynamic pressure; (3) the response is larger at M = 0.30 than it is at the higher Mach numbers; (4) the maximum intensity of the buffeting is described as heavy to severe using an assessment criteria proposed by another investigator; and (5) the data at different dynamic pressures and for the different tails correlate reasonably well using the buffet excitation parameter derived from the dynamic analysis of buffeting.

Cole, Stanley R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The detection of the electric field vertical distribution underneath thundercloud: Principle and applications

During the Florida 89 experiment at Kennedy Space Center, a new system was used in order to obtain the vertical distribution of the electric field underneath thunderstorms. It consists of a standard shutter field mill at ground level and five other field sensors suspended from a cable fastened to a tethered balloon located at an altitude of about 1000 meters. It also includes a reception station for telemetered information transmitted by sensors, a processing system in order to store data, and real time display on a screen to show the simultaneous field variations at each level along with the instantaneous electric field profile. The first results obtained show the great importance of the electric field vertical distribution. The field detected at a height of 600m reaches 65 kV/m while that at the surface does not exceed 5 kV/m. The field intensity in altitude is a better criterion for determining the right moment to launch a rocket devoted to flash triggering. Using Gauss's law, the simultaneous field variations at several levels are used in order to evaluate charge densities. Average values close to 1nC.m(-3) are calculated in layers up to 600 m. The calculation of different average charge densities leads to the characterization of the layer between cloud and ground just before the leader propagation in the case of cloud to ground flash.

Soula, Serge↗
NASA NTRS1990

Entrainment instability and vertical motion as causes of stratocumulus breakup

Entrainment instability is thought to be a cause of stratocumulus breakup. At the interface between the cloud and the overlying air, mixtures may form which are negatively buoyant because of cloud droplet evaporation. Quantities devised to predict breakup are obtained from aircraft observations and are tested against cloud observations from satellite. Often, the parameters indicate that breakup should occur but the clouds remain, sometimes for several days. One possible explanation for breakup is vertical motion from passing synoptic cyclones. Several cases suggest that breakup is associated with the downward vertical motion from the cold air advected behind an eastward moving cyclone.

Weaver, C. J.↗