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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Horne et al. (2026) supporting files - WRF-LES model outputs for a summer heatwave event on June 2025 in Baltimore, MD

Brief Description Shown is the supporting information for Horne et al. (2026). These files include all outputs from the WRF model simulations and the observational datasets used for comparison in the study. Scripts are provided so users can recreate the manuscript's figures using the provided observational and modeling data. For more information regarding the study, please contact the primary author of the associated manuscript, Jason Horne. Horne, J. P., Pan, Y., Davis, K. J., Waugh, D., Ahlswede, B. J., Prince, N. E. (2026). Simulating near-surface environments in urban neighborhoods using WRF-LES: A case study of classic atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) during a heatwave event JAMES.

atmosphere↗
NASA NTRS1974

Some new aspects on the superrotation of the thermosphere

The motion of the thermosphere with a rotational velocity between 10 and 20 per cent in excess of the earth's rotational velocity has been deduced by King-Hele and his co-workers from the change of the inclination of satellite orbits. To date, no completely satisfactory explanation of the observations has been presented. In this paper, it is shown that in the thermosphere there exists a small diurnal mean driving force in the eastward direction. This force has not previously been considered in analyses of superrotation. A critical review of the observations and a theoretical analysis that takes account of both equinox and solstice conditions is presented. In the lower height region, where the great majority of observations were made, it is possible to achieve agreement between observations and a dynamical model. Additional observational data are needed in the isothermal region for a more complete analysis.

Blum, P. W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Major flattening of the distant geomagnetic tail

The development of a magnetotail cross section model is examined. The characteristics of the model are described. The flux content and magnetic field component are evaluated. The model predictions for the magnetotail are compared with observations. The model predicts insignificant flattening in the near-earth magnetotail, and sizable flattening in the deep and the distant magnetotail caused by the anisotropic magnetic pressure of magnetosheath field lines. Correlation between the model and observations for the distant magnetotail, magnetopause occurrence, and the magnetopause attitude is observed.

Sibeck, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The Mach number of the cosmic flow - A critical test for current theories

A new cosmological, self-contained test using the ratio of mean velocity and the velocity dispersion in the mean flow frame of a group of test objects is presented. To allow comparison with linear theory, the velocity field must first be smoothed on a suitable scale. In the context of linear perturbation theory, the Mach number M(R) which measures the ratio of power on scales larger than to scales smaller than the patch size R, is independent of the perturbation amplitude and also of bias. An apparent inconsistency is found for standard values of power-law index n = 1 and cosmological density parameter Omega = 1, when comparing values of M(R) predicted by popular models with tentative available observations. Nonstandard models based on adiabatic perturbations with either negative n or small Omega value also fail, due to creation of unacceptably large microwave background fluctuations.

Ostriker, Jeremiah P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A model of Saturn's magnetic field based on all available data

A model of Saturn's magnetic field, called Saturn Pioneer Voyager (SPV), is developed on the basis of an analysis of three sets of data: those from the Pioneer 11, the Voyager 1, and the Voyager 2 magnetometers. It is shown that the SPV model fits the data observed between 1.3 and 8.0 Saturn radii from the planet's center with a 1.13 percent weighted rms average of the percent differences between the observed and modeled fields, which is substantially better than the fits yielded by any of the previous models.

Davis, Leverett, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Benchmark Comparison of Dual- and Quad-Core Processor Linux Clusters with Two Global Climate Modeling Workloads

This viewgraph presentation details the science and systems environments that NASA High End computing program serves. Included is a discussion of the workload that is involved in the processing for the Global Climate Modeling. The Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) is a system of models integrated using the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF). The GEOS-5 system was used for the Benchmark tests, and the results of the tests are shown and discussed. Tests were also run for the Cubed Sphere system, results for these test are also shown.

McGalliard, James↗
NASA NTRS2014

Amazon Forests Maintain Consistent Canopy Structure and Greenness During the Dry Season

The seasonality of sunlight and rainfall regulates net primary production in tropical forests. Previous studies have suggested that light is more limiting than water for tropical forest productivity, consistent with greening of Amazon forests during the dry season in satellite data.We evaluated four potential mechanisms for the seasonal green-up phenomenon, including increases in leaf area or leaf reflectance, using a sophisticated radiative transfer model and independent satellite observations from lidar and optical sensors. Here we show that the apparent green up of Amazon forests in optical remote sensing data resulted from seasonal changes in near-infrared reflectance, an artefact of variations in sun-sensor geometry. Correcting this bidirectional reflectance effect eliminated seasonal changes in surface reflectance, consistent with independent lidar observations and model simulations with unchanging canopy properties. The stability of Amazon forest structure and reflectance over seasonal timescales challenges the paradigm of light-limited net primary production in Amazon forests and enhanced forest growth during drought conditions. Correcting optical remote sensing data for artefacts of sun-sensor geometry is essential to isolate the response of global vegetation to seasonal and interannual climate variability.

dry season↗
NASA NTRS2017

A Comparison of Results from NASA's Meteoroid Engineering Model to the LDEF Cratering Record

NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) has provided an extensive record of the meteoroid environment in low Earth orbit. LDEF's combination of fixed orientation, large collecting area, and long lifetime imposes constraints on the absolute flux of potentially hazardous meteoroids. The relative impact rate on each of LDEF's fourteen surfaces arises from the underlying velocity distribution and directionality of the meteoroid environment. For the first time, we model the meteoroid environment encountered by LDEF over its operational lifetime using NASA's Meteoroid Engineering Model Release 2 (MEMR2) and compare the model results with the observed craters of potentially hazardous meteoroids (i.e. crater diameters larger than approximately 0.75 mm). We discuss the extent to which the observations and model agree and how the impact rates across all of the LDEF surfaces may be utilized to help calibrate future versions of MEM.

Ehlert, S.↗
NASA NTRS2017

A Comparison of Results From NASA's Meteoroid Engineering Model to the LDEF Cratering Record

NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) has provided an extensive record of the meteoroid environment in Low Earth Orbit. LDEF's combination of fixed orientation, large collecting area, and long lifetime imposes constraints on the absolute flux of potentially hazardous meteoroids. The relative impact rate on each of LDEF's fourteen surfaces arises from the underlying velocity distribution and directionality of the meteoroid environment. For the first time, we model the meteoroid environment encountered by LDEF over its operational lifetime using NASA's Meteoroid Engineering Model Release 2 (MEMR2) and compare the model results with the observed craters of potentially hazardous meteoroids (i.e. crater diameters larger than approximately 0.6 mm). We discuss the extent to which the observations and model agree and how the impact rates across all of the LDEF surfaces may suggest improvements to the underlying assumptions that go into future versions of MEM.

Ehlert, S.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluation of simulated soil carbon dynamics in Arctic-Boreal ecosystems

Given the magnitude of soil carbon stocks in northern ecosystems, and the vulnerability of these stocks to climate warming, land surface models must accurately represent soil carbon dynamics in these regions. We evaluate soil carbon stocks and turnover rates, and the relationship between soil carbon loss with soil temperature and moisture, from an ensemble of eleven global land surface models. We focus on the region of NASA's Arctic-Boreal vulnerability experiment (ABoVE) in North America to inform data collection and model development efforts. Models exhibit an order of magnitude difference in estimates of current total soil carbon stocks, generally under- or overestimating the size of current soil carbon stocks by greater than 50 PgC. We find that a model's soil carbon stock at steady-state in 1901 is the prime driver of its soil carbon stock a hundred years later—overwhelming the effect of environmental forcing factors like climate. The greatest divergence between modeled and observed soil carbon stocks is in regions dominated by peat and permafrost soils, suggesting that models are failing to capture the frozen soil carbon dynamics of permafrost regions. Using a set of functional benchmarks to test the simulated relationship of soil respiration to both soil temperature and moisture, we find that although models capture the observed shape of the soil moisture response of respiration, almost half of the models examined show temperature sensitivities, or Q10 values, that are half of observed. Significantly, models that perform better against observational constraints of respiration or carbon stock size do not necessarily perform well in terms of their functional response to key climatic factors like changing temperature. This suggests that models may be arriving at the right result, but for the wrong reason. The results of this work can help to bridge the gap between data and models by both pointing to the need to constrain initial carbon pool sizes, as well as highlighting the importance of incorporating functional benchmarks into ongoing, mechanistic modeling activities such as those included in ABoVE.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1992

Cloud-to-stratosphere lightning discharges - A radio emission model

Recent observations of rare cloud-to-stratospheric lightning discharges suggest the events are inherently 'slow-rising', with the emitted energy reaching peak values in about 10 milliseconds. Applying a dipole radiation model, it is demonstrated that the emitted radio wave energy from such slow-rising events is strongest below about 50 Hz, and possesses a significant rolloff at higher frequencies. In the analysis, various current distributions are considered in order to determine the effect on the radio spectrum. Near 10 kHz, the emission from cloud-to-stratospheric lightning is significantly reduced as compared to the typical cloud-to-ground return stroke, with amplitudes as much as 50 dB lower. This result may explain the lack of detection of VLF signals from recently observed long-lasting discharge events.

Farrell, W. M.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluating seasonal and regional distribution of snowfall in regional climate model simulations in the Arctic

In this study, we investigate how the regional climate model HIRHAM5 reproduces the spatial and temporal distribution of Arctic snowfall when compared to CloudSat satellite observations during the examined period of 2007–2010. For this purpose, both approaches, i.e., the assessments of the surface snowfall rate (observation-to-model) and the radar reflectivity factor profiles (model-to-observation), are carried out considering spatial and temporal sampling differences. The HIRHAM5 model, which is constrained in its synoptic representation by nudging to ERA-Interim, represents the snowfall in the Arctic region well in comparison to CloudSat products. The spatial distribution of the snowfall patterns is similar in both identifying the southeastern coast of Greenland and the North Atlantic corridor as regions gaining more than twice as much snowfall as the Arctic average, defined here for latitudes between 66 and 81°N. Excellent agreement (difference less than 1%) in the Arctic-averaged annual snowfall rate between HIRHAM5 and CloudSat is found, whereas ERA-Interim reanalysis shows an underestimation of 45% and significant deficits in the representation of the snowfall rate distribution. From the spatial analysis, it can be seen that the largest differences in the mean annual snowfall rates are an overestimation near the coastlines of Greenland and other regions with large orographic variations as well as an underestimation in the northern North Atlantic Ocean. To a large extent, the differences can be explained by clutter contamination, blind zone or higher resolution of CloudSat measurements, but clearly HIRHAM5 overestimates the orographic-driven precipitation. The underestimation of HIRHAM5 within the North Atlantic corridor south of Svalbard is likely connected to a poor description of the marine cold air outbreaks which could be identified by separating snowfall into different circulation weather type regimes. By simulating the radar reflectivity factor profiles from HIRHAM5 utilizing the Passive and Active Microwave TRAnsfer (PAMTRA) forward-modeling operator, the contribution of individual hydrometeor types can be assessed. Looking at a latitude band at 72–73°N, snow can be identified as the hydrometeor type dominating radar reflectivity factor values across all seasons. The largest differences between the observed and simulated reflectivity factor values are related to the contribution of cloud ice particles, which is underestimated in the model, most likely due to the small sizes of the particles. The model-to-observation approach offers a promising diagnostic when improving cloud schemes, as illustrated by comparison of different schemes available for HIRHAM5.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2008

X-Ray Source Motions and Their Implications for Flare Models

RHESSI observations have revealed a downward contraction of solar flare loops followed by upward expansion. In some flares a pair of above-the-looptop sources is observed, one just above the top of the cooler flare loops and the other a discrete source well above the looptops characterized by an effective temperature gradient increasing toward lower altitudes. In one flare the higher, temperature-inverted coronal source sped outward at a speed consistent with that of a coronal mass ejection associated with the flare. In some flares with minimal preheating (early impulsive flares), nonthermal X-ray sources have been observed to propagate downward and then upward along the legs of the flare loop. I will discuss the implications of all of these X-ray source motions for flare models, and their use as diagnostics of the evolution of the physical conditions in flares.

Holman, Gordon D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The beam-driven chromospheric evaporation model of solar flares - A model not supported by observations from nonimpulsive large flares

Most large solar flares exhibit hard X-ray emission which is usually impulsive, as well as thermal soft X-ray emission, which is gradual. The beam-driven chromospheric evaporation model of solar flares was proposed to explain the origin of the soft X-ray emitting flare plasma. A careful evaluation of the issue under discussion reveals contradictions between predictions from the theoretical chromospheric evaporation model and actual observations from a set of large X- and M-type flares. It is shown that although the soft X-ray and hard X-ray emissions are a result of the same flare, one is not a result of the other.

Feldman, U.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Comparison of tropical pacific temperature and current simulations with two vertical mixing schemes embedded in an ocean general circulation model and reference to observations

The Pacanowski-Philander (PP) and Mellor-Yamada (MY) parameterization models of vertical mixing by turbulent processes were embedded in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory high-resolution ocean general circulation model of the tropical Pacific Ocean. All other facets of the numerical simulations were the same. Simulations were made for the 1987-1988 period. At the equator the MY simulation produced near-surface temperatures more uniform with depth, a deeper thermocline, a deeper core speed of the Equatorial Undercurrent, and a South Equatorial Current with greater vertical thickness compared with that computed with the PP method. Along 140 deg W, between 5 deg N and 10 deg N, both simulations were the same. Moored buoy current and temperature observations had been recorded by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory at three sites (165 deg E, 140 deg W, 110 deg W) along the equator and at three sites (5 deg N, 7 deg N, 9 deg N) along 140 deg W. Simulated temperatures were lower than those observed in the near-surface layer and higher than those observed in the thermocline. Temperature simulations were in better agreement with observations compared to current simulations. At the equator, PP current and temperature simulations were more representative of the observations than MY simulations.

Halpern, David↗
NASA NTRS1979

A method of evaluating quantitative magnetospheric field models by an angular parameter alpha

The paper introduces an angular parameter, termed alpha, which represents the angular difference between the observed, or model, field and the internal model field. The study discusses why this parameter is chosen and demonstrates its usefulness by applying it to both observations and models. In certain areas alpha is more sensitive than delta-B (the difference between the magnitude of the observed magnetic field and that of the earth's internal field calculated from a spherical harmonic expansion) in expressing magnetospheric field distortions. It is recommended to use both alpha and delta-B in comparing models with observations.

Sugiura, M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Early stages of solar flares - Current status of our understanding and opportunities for future observations

Current models of the energy release and transport mechanisms occurring in solar flares are updated to include the input from data collected with the SMM satellite. The new data cover numerous solar flares observed in X-ray and gamma ray bands over a 6 yr period, combined with data from the Japanese Hinori satellite in 1981-82 and ground-based radio observations. The 300 keV gamma ray data have been instrumental in revealing a 152-158 day period in the frequency of solar flares. Recent analysis has indicated that the periodicity is connected to the rotational spectrum of g-modes in the sun. Other data have shown that hard X-rays are emitted from the footpoints and interactions among coronal magnetic loops, where electron acceleration processes occur that are not well understood. The footpoint emission appear in impulsive events, while the interaction emissions are connected with gradual flares.

Dennis, B. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

An adaptive tracking observer for failure-detection systems

The design problem of adaptive observers applied to linear, constant and variable parameters, multi-input, multi-output systems, is considered. It is shown that, in order to keep the observer's (or Kalman filter) false-alarm rate (FAR) under a certain specified value, it is necessary to have an acceptable proper matching between the observer (or KF) model and the system parameters. An adaptive observer algorithm is introduced in order to maintain desired system-observer model matching, despite initial mismatching and/or system parameter variations. Only a properly designed adaptive observer is able to detect abrupt changes in the system (actuator, sensor failures, etc.) with adequate reliability and FAR. Conditions for convergence for the adaptive process were obtained, leading to a simple adaptive law (algorithm) with the possibility of an a priori choice of fixed adaptive gains. Simulation results show good tracking performance with small observer output errors and accurate and fast parameter identification, in both deterministic and stochastic cases.

Sidar, M.↗