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Improved Peatland Hydrology and L-Band Microwave Radiative Transfer Modeling in Version 7 of the SMAP Level-4 Soil Moisture Data Assimilation Product

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission Level-4 Soil Moisture (L4_SM) product provides global, 9-km resolution, 3-hourly surface (0-5 cm) and root-zone (0-100 cm) soil moisture from April 2015 to present with a mean latency of 2.5 days from the time of observation. The L4_SM estimates are derived from the assimilation of SMAP L-band (1.4 GHz) brightness temperature (Tb) observations into the NASA Catchment land surface model. The recently released Version 7 of L4_SM comprises two key advances. First, the Catchment model now includes the recently developed PEATCLSM hydrology module for peatlands and uses an updated global map of peatlands. Second, revised parameters are used in the L-band radiative transfer model that converts the simulated soil moisture and temperature estimates into Tb predictions for use in the radiance-based L4_SM analysis. Specifically, the L-band scattering albedo, soil roughness, and vegetation opacity climatology are obtained from the SMAP Level-2 dual-channel soil moisture retrieval product. In this presentation, we examine the improvements gained with the model and parameter changes. In peatlands, the dynamics of water table depth, surface soil moisture and evapotranspiration are considerably improved in L4_SM Version 7 over Version 6 when evaluated against in situ measurements. These improvements are also manifested in smaller Tb observation-minus-forecast residuals.

SMAP↗

GMAO OSSE Framework in Support of PBL Mission Science

The planetary boundary layer is the bottom layer of the troposphere where most of human activities take place. Atmospheric pollutants are capped by the temperature inversion layer in PBL. The thickness of PBL, ranging from tens of meter to several kilometer, affects pollutant dispersion and air quality. The thickness of PBL typically shows a strong diurnal cycle but it is difficult to model and predict its change because complicated dynamic and thermodynamic processes involved with air-surface exchange of temperature and moisture, convective mixing, surface friction, topography, advection and radiation heating and cooling influence the PBL height. Various parameterization schemes for PBL were developed but the underlying processes of PBL are neither clearly understood nor represented in NWP models and adding large uncertainty into weather and climate predictions. There are no systematic global observations to provide information on thermodynamic structure of PBL and efforts to explore new spaceborne instruments and measurement techniques are growing. This study aims to develop a PBL OSSE framework leveraging existing GMAO’s OSSE system that utilizes GEOS data assimilation and global forecast model (1) to evaluate existing and potential new observation types for the PBL structure analysis and prediction and (2) to test sensitivity of PBL parameterization schemes to PBL forecasts.

Min-Jeong Kim↗

Scoping Analysis of Pebble-Bed Reactors for the Destruction of the Transuranic Inventory of LWR Spent Nuclear Fuel

With the forecasted increase in the construction and operation of nuclear reactors, there will be a corresponding increase in the quantity of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) that requires long-term storage. In SNF, transuranic isotopes contribute the most to the long-term radiotoxicity of the fuel and pose a proliferation risk. One option that has been explored to address these issues is the removal of the transuranic isotopes from SNF and the conversion of these isotopes into transuranic fuel (TRU fuel). Here, this work sought to determine how effective a micro-modular Pebble-Bed High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (PB-HTGR); the 10-MW High Temperature Gas-cooled Test Reactor (HTR-10); and a salt-cooled small-modular pebble-bed reactor (PBR), i.e. the generic Fluoride-cooled High-temperature Reactor (gFHR), are at reducing the inventory of transuranic isotopes while still maintaining the intrinsic safety features of the PBR designs, such as negative temperature coefficients of reactivity. Optimized pebble designs utilizing TRU fuel were found for both reactors through the adjustment for the packing fraction of fuel in each pebble. The Axial Zone Equilibrium Modeling (A-ZEM) method was used in this work to help select the optimized pebble design. Once an optimized pebble design was selected and an equilibrium model was produced, the results from the deep burn (DB) HTR-10 and gFHR designs were compared to the results of two models from the literature. While both the DB gFHR and the DB HTR-10 were able to reduce the weapons-usable transuranic inventory, the performance of these reactors did not match that of the small-modular PB-HTGRs in the literature. Therefore, a need was identified for further refinement of the gFHR design using TRU fuel, as the results for this model were more promising than those of the DB HTR-10, which was strongly limited by the high leakage intrinsic to micro-modular PB-HTGRs.

Transuranic fuel↗

Life of a Six-Hour Hurricane

Hurricane Claudette developed from a weak vortex in 6 h as deep convection shifted from downshear into the vortex center, despite ambient vertical wind shear exceeding 10 m/s. Six hours later it weakened to a tropical storm, and 12 h after the hurricane stage a circulation center could not be found at 850 hPa by aircraft reconnaissance. At hurricane strength the vortex contained classic structure seen in intensifying hurricanes, with the exception of 7-12 C dewpoint depressions in the lower troposphere upshear of the center. These extended from the 100-km radius to immediately adjacent to the eyewall, where equivalent potential temperature gradients reached 6 K/km. The dry air was not present prior to intensification, suggesting that it was associated with vertical shear-induced subsidence upshear of the developing storm. It is argued that weakening of the vortex was driven by cooling associated with the mixing of dry air into the core, and subsequent evaporation and cold downdrafts. Evidence suggests that this mixing might have been enhanced by eyewall instabilities after the period of rapid deepening. The existence of a fragile, small, but genuinely hurricane-strength vortex at the surface for 6 h presents difficult problems for forecasters. Such a "temporary hurricane" in strongly sheared flow might require a different warning protocol than longer-lasting hurricane vortices in weaker shear.

Shelton, Kay L.↗

Impacts of the Mount Pinatubo eruption on ENSO in the GEOS seasonal-to-subseasonal forecasting system

The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991 introduced a perturbation of the Earth's global energy budget by increasing the stratospheric aerosol loading by an order of magnitude, with effects on the global climate. In this presentation we analyze the effects of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption on the seasonal forecast performed with Goddard Earth Observing System Seasonal-to Subseasonal (GEOS-S2S) system, an Earth System Model that includes an interactive ocean and a bulk aerosol model coupled to radiation. We performed 10-member ensembles for the year after the eruption (June 1991-May 1992) at ~0.5 horizontal resolution, with and without the inclusion of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. In GEOS-S2S, the eruption leads to ta strengthening of El Nino peaking in January 1992. The strengthening is mainly due to the weakening of the trade winds, which is caused by a attening of the temperature gradient across the Pacic due to a differential response to the volcanic forcing between the central and eastern Pacic (ocean-dynamical thermostat). This response largely depends on the assumed size for the volcanic aerosols. Indeed, we performed simulations assuming a volcanic aerosol effective radius of 0.35 m (similar to tropospheric aerosol, and the default in GEOS) and 0.6 m (closer to observations of volcanic aerosol from Pinatubo-sized eruptions). We nd that in the latter case the tropical radiative forcing is lower, since smaller aerosols scatter shortwave radiation more eciently than larger ones. Accordingly, the impact on ENSO is not statistically signicant when a larger and more realistic particle radius is assumed.

Aquila, Valentina↗

Evaluating Twenty-Year Trends in Earth’s Energy Flows from Observations and Reanalyses

Satellite, reanalysis, and ocean in situ data are analyzed to evaluate regional, hemispheric and global mean trends in Earth’s energy fluxes during the first twenty years of the 21st century. Regional trends in net top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), ECMWF Reanalysis 5 (ERA5), and a model similar to ERA5 with prescribed sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice differ markedly, particularly over the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where CERES observes large positive trends. Hemispheric and global mean net TOA flux trends for the two reanalyses are smaller than CERES, and their climatological means are half those of CERES in the southern hemisphere (SH) and more than nine times larger in the northern hemisphere (NH). The regional trend pattern of the divergence of total atmospheric energy transport (TEDIV) over ocean determined using ERA5 analyzed fields is similar to that inferred from the difference between TOA and surface fluxes from ERA5 short-term forecasts. There is also agreement in the trend pattern over ocean for surface fluxes inferred as a residual between CERES net TOA flux and ERA5 analysis TEDIV and surface fluxes obtained directly from ERA5 forecasts. Robust trends are observed over the Gulf Stream associated with enhanced surface-to-atmosphere transfer of heat. Within the ocean, larger trends in ocean heating rate are found in the NH than the SH after 2005, but the magnitude of the trend varies greatly among datasets.

Norman G Loeb↗

ENVISAT Land Surface Processes

This is a progress report of the 2nd phase of the project ENVISAT- Land Surface Processes, which has a 3-year scope. In this project, preparative research is carried out aiming at the retrieval of land surface characteristics from the ENVISAT sensors MERIS and AATSR, for assimilation into a system for Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). Where in the 1st phase a number of first shot experiments were carried out (aiming at gaining experience with the retrievals and data assimilation procedures), the current 2nd phase has put more emphasis on the assessment and improvement of the quality of the retrieved products. The forthcoming phase will be devoted mainly to the data assimilation experiments and the assessment of the added value of the future ENVISAT products for NWP forecast skill. Referring to the retrieval of albedo, leaf area index and atmospheric corrections, preliminary radiative transfer calculations have been carried out that should enable the retrieval of these parameters once AATSR and MERIS data become available. However, much of this work is still to be carried out. An essential part of work in this area is the design and implementation of software that enables an efficient use of MODTRAN(sub 4) radiative transfer code, and during the current project phase familiarization with these new components has been achieved. Significant progress has been made with the retrieval of component temperatures from directional ATSR-images, and the calculation of surface turbulent heat fluxes from these data. The impact of vegetation cover on the retrieved component temperatures appears manageable, and preliminary comparison of foliage temperature to air temperatures were encouraging. The calculation of surface fluxes using the SEBI concept,which includes a detailed model of the surface roughness ratio, appeared to give results that were in reasonable agreement with local measurements with scintillometer devices. The specification of the atmospheric boundary conditions appears a crucial component, and the use of first guess estimates from the RACMO models partially explains the success. Earlier data assimilation experiments with directional surface temperatures have been analysed a bit further and were also compared to results obtained from directly modeling the surface roughness ratio. Results between these calculations and the data assimilation results appeared well comparable, but a full test in which the surface roughness model is allowed to play a free role during the data assimilation process has yet to be carried out. A considerable number of tasks that have yet to be carried out during Phase 3 has been formulated.

vandenHurk, B. J. J. M.↗

The Role of the Heavy Ions in the Generation of EMIC Waves

The effect of EMIC waves, generated by a positive ion temperature anisotropy on Earth s RC dynamics is one of the best known examples of wave-particle interaction in the magnetosphere and the most controversial mechanism of RC losses. Under certain conditions, relativistic electrons with energy greater than or equal to 1 MeV can be removed from the outer RB by EMIC wave scattering during a magnetic storm much faster than by any other loss mechanisms. That is why the calculation of EMIC waves are very critical part of the LWS program. Systematic studies of magnetosphere-plasmasphere-ionosphere coupling are needed in order to provide EMIC waves forecast on a global scale and include WPI processes in the RB modeling. To quantify the EMIC wave effects on the RC-ion and RB-electron dynamics, a self-consistent theoretical description of the ions, electrons, and EMIC waves should be employed in future RB studies. This talk will emphasize the role of the heavy ions in the EMIC waves formation on a global scale and their nonlinear coupling with lower hybrid waves.

Khazanov, G. V.↗

Microphysics and Radiation Effect of Dust on Saharan Air Layer: An HS3 Case Study

A Saharan air layer (SAL) event associated with a nondeveloping African easterly wave (AEW) over the main development region of the eastern Atlantic was sampled by the NASA Global Hawk aircraft on 24-25 August 2013 during the NASA Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) campaign and was simulated with the NASA Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) Model. Airborne, ground-based, and spaceborne measurements were used to evaluate the model performance. The microphysical and radiative effects of dust and other aerosols on the SAL structure and environment were investigated with the factor-separation method. The results indicate that relative to a simulation without dust-radiative and microphysical impacts, Saharan dust and other aerosols heated the SAL air mainly through shortwave heating by the direct aerosol-radiation (AR) effect, resulting in a warmer (up to 0.6 K) and drier (up to 5% RH reduction) SAL and maintaining the strong temperature inversion at the base of the SAL in the presence of predominant longwave cooling. Radiative heating of the dust accentuated a vertical circulation within the dust layer, in which air rose (sank) in the northern (southern) portions of the dust layer. Furthermore, above and to the south of the dust layer, both the microphysical and radiative impacts of dust tended to counter the vertical motions associated with the Hadley circulation, causing a small weakening and southward shift of convection in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and reduced anvil cloud to the north. Changes in moisture and cloud/precipitation hydrometeors were largely driven by the dust induced changes in vertical motion. Dust strengthened the African easterly jet by up to ~1ms(exp -1) at the southern edge of the jet, primarily through the AR effect, and produced modest increases in vertical wind shear within and in the vicinity of the dust layer. These modulations of the SAL and AEW environment clearly contributed to the nondevelopment of this AEW.

Tao, Zhining↗

Observing System Simulation Experiments Investigating Atmospheric Motion Vectors and Radiances from a Constellation of 4–5-μm Infrared Sounders

A set of observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) was performed to investigate the utility of a constellation of passive infrared spectrometers, strategically designed with the aim of deriving the three-dimensional retrievals of the horizontal wind via atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) from instruments with the spectral resolution of an infrared sounder. The instrument and constellation designs were performed in the context of the Midwave Infrared Sounding of Temperature and humidity in a Constellation for Winds (MISTiC Winds). The Global Modeling and Assimilation Office OSSE system, which includes a full suite of operational meteorological observations, served as the control. To illustrate the potential impact of this observing strategy, two experiments were performed by adding the new simulated observations to the control. First, perfect (error free) simulated AMVs and radiances were assimilated. Second, the data were made imperfect by adding realistic modeled errors to the AMVs and radiances that were assimilated. The experimentation showed beneficial impacts on both the mass and wind fields, as based on analysis verification, forecast verification, and the assessment of the observations using the forecast sensitivity to observation impact (FSOI) metric. In all variables and metrics, the impacts of the imperfect observations were smaller than those of the perfect observations, although much of the positive benefit was retained. The FSOI metric illustrated two key points. First, the largest impacts were seen in the middle troposphere AMVs, which is a targeted capability of the constellation strategy. Second, the addition of modeled errors showed that the assimilation system was unable to fully exploit the 4.3-μm carbon dioxide absorption radiances.

Will McCarty↗

Recent Advances in Improvement of Forecast Skill and Understanding Climate Processes Using AIRS Version-5 Products

AIRS/AMSU is the state of the art infrared and microwave atmospheric sounding system flying aboard EOS Aqua. These observations, covering the period September 2002 until the present, have been analyzed using the AIRS Science Team Version-5 retrieval algorithm. AIRS is a high spectral resolution infrared grating spectrometer with spect,ral coverage from 650 per centimeter extending to 2660 per centimeter, with low noise and a spectral resolving power of 2400. A brief overview of the AIRS Version-5 retrieval procedure will be presented, including the AIRS channels used in different steps in the retrieval process. Many researchers have used these products to make significant advances in both climate and weather applications. Recent significant results of these experiments will be presented, including results showing that 1) assimilation of AIRS Quality Controlled temperature profiles into a General Circulation Model (GCM) significantly improves the ability to predict storm tracks of intense precipitation events; and 2) anomaly time-series of Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) computed using AIRS sounding products closely match those determined from the CERES instrument, and furthermore explain that the phenomenon that global and especially tropical mean OLR have been decreasing since September 2002 is a result of El Nino/La Nina oscillations during this period.

Susskind, Joel↗

Improving energy efficiency while reducing anthropogenic heat from buildings: how retrofits influence the building stock and urban microclimate in Los Angeles

Anthropogenic heat (AH) from buildings contributes to urban overheating, especially during heat waves, yet building retrofit studies usually evaluate energy savings without assessing impacts on AH. This study quantifies how common building retrofit measures affect both building energy use and AH emissions across the City of Los Angeles. Using a bottom-up urban building energy modeling framework coupled with high-resolution local weather from the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Building Effect Parameterization (WRF-BEP), we evaluate eleven retrofit measures and two multi-measure retrofit packages. HVAC and LED lighting retrofits provide the largest city-wide annual site energy savings, while roof coating is most effective for reducing AH. A package optimized for energy savings reduces summer site energy use by about 32% (2.3 TWh), while a package incorporating AH-focused measures reduces the total AH by over 50% (137 PJ) with minimal difference in energy savings. The AH-aware package produces substantially greater urban cooling, reducing mean near-surface air temperature by up to 0.62 ℃ and peak temperature by up to 3.79 ℃. These results show that retrofit strategies selected only for energy savings may overlook major opportunities for urban heat mitigation. The study provides a framework for integrating AH into building retrofit planning and urban heat resilience policy.

Anthropogenic heat↗

Increased salinity decreases annual gross primary productivity at a Northern California brackish tidal marsh

Tidal marshes sequester 11.4–87.0 Tg C yr –1 globally, but climate change impacts can threaten the carbon capture potential of these ecosystems. Tidal marshes occur across a wide range of salinity, with brackish marshes (0.5–18 ppt (parts per thousand)) dominating global tidal marsh extents. A diverse mix of freshwater- and saltwater-tolerant plant and microbial communities has led researchers to predict that carbon cycling in brackish wetlands may be less sensitive to changes in salinity than fresh- or saltwater wetlands. Rush Ranch, a well-monitored brackish tidal wetland of the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, experiences highly variable annual salinity regimes. Within a five-year period (2014–2018), Rush Ranch experienced particularly extreme drought-induced salinization during the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons. During drought years, tidal channel salinity rose from a 15 year baseline of 4.7 ppt to growing season peaks of 10.3 ppt and 12.5 ppt. Continuous eddy covariance data from 2014 to 2018 demonstrate that during drought summers, gross primary productivity (GPP) decreased by 24%, whereas ecosystem respiration remained similar among all five years. Stepwise linear regression revealed that salinity, not air temperature or tidal height, was the dominant driver of annual GPP. A random forest model trained to predict GPP based on environmental data from low salinity years (i.e. naive to salinization) significantly over predicted GPP in drought years. When growing season salinities were doubled, annual estimates of net ecosystem exchange of CO 2 decreased by up to 30%. These results provide ecosystem-scale evidence that increased salinity influences CO 2 fluxes dominantly through reductions in GPP. This relationship provides a starting point for incorporating the effect of changes in salinity in wetland carbon models, which could improve wetland carbon forecasting and management for climate resilience.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Harnessing stratospheric diffusion barriers for enhanced climate geoengineering

Stratospheric sulfate aerosol geoengineering is a proposed method to temporarily intervene in the climate system to increase the reflectance of shortwave radiation and reduce mean global temperature. In previous climate modeling studies, choosing injection locations for geoengineering aerosols has, thus far, only utilized the average dynamics of stratospheric wind fields instead of accounting for the essential role of time-varying material transport barriers in turbulent atmospheric flows. Here we conduct the first analysis of sulfate aerosol dispersion in the stratosphere, comparing what is now a standard fixed-injection scheme with time-varying injection locations that harness short-term stratospheric diffusion barriers. We show how diffusive transport barriers can quickly be identified, and we provide an automated injection location selection algorithm using short forecast and reanalysis data. Within the first 7 d days of transport, the dynamics-based approach is able to produce particle distributions with greater global coverage than fixed-site methods with fewer injections. Additionally, this enhanced dispersion slows aerosol microphysical growth and can reduce the effective radii of aerosols up to 200–300 d after injection. While the long-term dynamics of aerosol dispersion are accurately predicted with transport barriers calculated from short forecasts, the long-term influence on radiative forcing is more difficult to predict and warrants deeper investigation. Statistically significant changes in radiative forcing at timescales beyond the forecasting window showed mixed results, potentially increasing or decreasing forcing after 1 year when compared to fixed injections. We conclude that future feasibility studies of geoengineering should consider the cooling benefits possible by strategically injecting sulfate aerosols at optimized time-varying locations. Our method of utilizing time-varying attracting and repelling structures shows great promise for identifying optimal dispersion locations, and radiative forcing impacts can be improved by considering additional meteorological variables.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Simulation experiments for testing the assimilation of geostationary satellite temperature retrievals into a numerical prediction model

A simulation experiment is presented which tests a procedure that assimilates temperature soundings from geostationary satellites using a method developed by Gal-Chen (1983). The simulation is used to decide whether the increased temporal resolution of geostationary satellite data can be used to improve numerical simulation of a baroclinically unstable wave, and to assess the impact of gaps in the satellite sounding fields on the model simulations. Background information on the simulation experiment is presented, including discussion of the variational approach utilized, the numerical model, updating procedures, and control run. The simulation results indicate that, for the case of a baroclinically unstable wave, considerable improvements in the short-range forecast may be realized if geostationary satellite data are inserted with a frequency near 1 hr during a 6 hr analysis cycle compared with a single insertion.

Gal-Chen, T.↗

Observing System Simulation Experiments Investigating Atmospheric Motion Vectors and Radiances from a Constellation of 4-5 μm Infrared Sounders

A set of Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) was performed to investigate the utility of a constellation of passive infrared spectrometers, strategically designed with the aim of deriving the three-dimensional retrievals of the horizontal wind via atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) from instruments with the spectral resolution of an infrared sounder. The instrument and constellation designs were performed in the context of the Midwave Infrared Sounding of Temperature and humidity in a Constellation for Winds, or MISTiC Winds. The Global Modeling and Assimilation Office OSSE system, which includes a full suite of operational meteorological observations, served as the control. To illustrate the potential impact of this observing strategy, two experiments were performed by adding the new simulated observations to the control. First, perfect (error-free) simulated AMVs and radiances were assimilated. Second, the data were made imperfect by adding realistic modeled errors to the AMVs and radiances that were assimilated. The experimentation showed beneficial impacts on both the mass and wind fields, as based on analysis verification, forecast verification, and the assessment of the observations using the Forecast Sensitivity to Observation Impact (FSOI) metric. In all variables and metrics, the impacts of the imperfect observations were smaller than those of the perfect observations, though much of the positive benefit was retained. The FSOI metric illustrated two key points. First, the largest impacts were seen in the middle troposphere AMVs, which is a targeted capability of the constellation strategy. Second, the addition of modeled errors showed that the assimilation system was unable to fully exploit the 4.3 μm carbon dioxide absorption radiances.

Will McCarty↗

Efficient Super-Resolution of Near-Surface Climate Modeling Using the Fourier Neural Operator

Downscaling methods are critical in efficiently generating high-resolution atmospheric data. However, state-of-the-art statistical or dynamical downscaling techniques either suffer from the high computational cost of running a physical model or require high-resolution data to develop a downscaling tool. Here, we demonstrate a recently proposed zero-shot super-resolution method, the Fourier neural operator (FNO), to efficiently perform downscaling without the need for high-resolution data. Because the FNO learns dynamics in Fourier space, FNO is a resolution-invariant emulator; it can be trained at a coarse resolution and produces emulation at any high resolution. We applied FNO to downscale a 4-km resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model simulation of near-surface heat-related variables over the Great Lakes region. The FNO is driven by the atmospheric forcings, and topographic features used in the WRF model at the same resolution. We incorporated a physics-constrained loss in FNO by using the Clausius-Clapeyron relation to better constrain the relations among the emulated states. Trained on merely 600 WRF snapshots at 4-km resolution, the FNO shows comparable performance with a widely used convolutional network, U-Net, achieving averaged modified Kling-Gupta Efficiency of 0.88 and 0.94 on the test dataset for temperature and pressure, respectively. We then employed the FNO to produce 1-km emulations to reproduce the fine climate features. Further, by taking the WRF simulation as ground truth, we show consistent performances at the two resolutions, suggesting the reliability of FNO in producing high-resolution dynamics. Our study demonstrates the potential of using FNO for zero-shot super-resolution in generating first-order estimation on atmospheric modeling.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Study of atmospheric parameters measurements using MM-wave radar in synergy with LITE-2

The Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment, (LITE), has been developed, designed, and built by NASA Langley Research Center, to be flown on the space shuttle 'Discovery' on September 9, 1994. Lidar, which stands for light detecting and ranging, is a radar system that uses short pulses of laser light instead of radio waves in the case of the common radar. This space-based lidar offers atmospheric measurements of stratospheric and tropospheric aerosols, the planetary boundary layer, cloud top heights, and atmospheric temperature and density in the 10-40 km altitude range. A study is being done on the use, advantages, and limitations of a millimeterwave radar to be utilized in synergy with the Lidar system, for the LITE-2 experiment to be flown on a future space shuttle mission. The lower atmospheric attenuation, compared to infrared and optical frequencies, permits the millimeter-wave signals to penetrate through the clouds and measure multi-layered clouds, cloud thickness, and cloud-base height. These measurements would provide a useful input to radiation computations used in the operational numerical weather prediction models, and for forecasting. High power levels, optimum modulation, data processing, and high antenna gain are used to increase the operating range, while space environment, radar tradeoffs, and power availability are considered. Preliminary, numerical calculations are made, using the specifications of an experimental system constructed at Georgia Tech. The noncoherent 94 GHz millimeter-wave radar system has a pulsed output with peak value of 1 kW. The backscatter cross section of the particles to be measured, that are present in the volume covered by the beam footprint, is also studied.

Andrawis, Madeleine Y.↗