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NASA NTRS2006

Structure of Highly Sheared Tropical Storm Chantal during CAMEX-4

Tropical Storm Chantal during August 2001 was a storm that failed to intensify over the few days prior to making landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula. An observational study of Tropical Storm Chantal is presented using a diverse dataset including remote and in situ measurements from the NASA ER-2 and DC-8 and the NOAA WP-3D N42RF aircraft and satellite. The authors discuss the storm structure from the larger-scale environment down to the convective scale. Large vertical shear (850-200-hPa shear magnitude range 8-15 m/s) plays a very important role in preventing Chantal from intensifying. The storm had a poorly defined vortex that only extended up to 5-6-km altitude, and an adjacent intense convective region that comprised a mesoscale convective system (MCS). The entire low-level circulation center was in the rain-free western side of the storm, about 80 km to the west-southwest of the MCS. The MCS appears to have been primarily the result of intense convergence between large-scale, low-level easterly flow with embedded downdrafts, and the cyclonic vortex flow. The individual cells in the MCS such as cell 2 during the period of the observations were extremely intense, with reflectivity core diameters of 10 km and peak updrafts exceeding 20 m/s. Associated with this MCS were two broad subsidence (warm) regions, both of which had portions over the vortex. The first layer near 700 hPa was directly above the vortex and covered most of it. The second layer near 500 hPa was along the forward and right flanks of cell 2 and undercut the anvil divergence region above. There was not much resemblance of these subsidence layers to typical upper-level warm cores in hurricanes that are necessary to support strong surface winds and a low central pressure. The observations are compared to previous studies of weakly sheared storms and modeling studies of shear effects and intensification. The configuration of the convective updrafts, low-level circulation, and lack of vertical coherence between the upper- and lower-level warming regions likely inhibited intensification of Chantal. This configuration is consistent with modeled vortices in sheared environments, which suggest the strongest convection and rain in the downshear left quadrant of the storm, and subsidence in the upshear right quadrant. The vertical shear profile is, however, different from what was assumed in previous modeling in that the winds are strongest in the lowest levels and the deep tropospheric vertical shear is on the order of 10-12 m/s.

Heymsfield, G. M.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Upper-tropospheric and lower-stratospheric dynamics associated with tropical cyclones as inferred from total ozone measurements

Total ozone associated with western Atlantic and Pacific tropical cyclones at different developmental stages is analyzed in an attempt to monitor the lower-stratospheric and upper-tropospheric mass adjustment processes associated with the tropical cyclone and its environment. The analysis is based on total ozone measurements obtained using the total ozone mapping spectrometer onboard the Nimbus-7. In order to study the total ozone within and surrounding the tropical cyclone, the storm is divided into four regions: the environment, the moat, the central dense overcast, and the eye. Tropical Cyclone Allen is used to discuss the total ozone features that are typical of other western Atlantic and Pacific storms. Western Pacific storms are emphasized in the discussion of the eye total ozone distribution.

Rodgers, Edward↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Improving the Time Resolution of Hyper-Spectral Infrared Sounding Observations With Trajectory Enhancement

Low Earth orbit (LEO) hyper-spectral infrared (IR) sounders have significant potential for characterizing the complex evolution of thermodynamic environments favorable for convective initiation and ongoing convection. The snapshots at fixed local times are unable to provide the temporal resolution needed to resolve the rapidly evolving convective environment. A novel methodology using trajectory modeling coupled with satellite soundings was developed to create proximity soundings near NCEI Storm Events to investigate differences in severe weather environments (Kalmus et al., 2019, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-18-0055.1). This methodology was recently extended to entire satellite swaths forward in time up to six hours into the future and was evaluated during NOAA’s Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) in a quasi-operational setting (Kahn et al., 2023, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-22-0204.1). This methodology is based on parcel forward-trajectory calculations from the satellite observing time to recreate future soundings of temperature and moisture at regularly gridded intervals in space and time. Using coincident Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) rainfall estimates, we show that convective available potential energy (CAPE) is increased and convective inhibition (CIN) is decreased at times and locations where convection initiated. This methodology was evaluated with ERA5 data sampled to mimic the satellite observing swaths (Richardson et al., 2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-97). Approximately 60–90% of the temporal and spatial variability in temperature and humidity is explained by parcel advection using trajectory modeling. This method will be applied to the multi-decadal LEO satellite record and could be used to examine capabilities of future satellite missions such as the GeoXO mission.

Emily Berndt↗

NASA NTRS2006

The Effects of Lightning NO(x) Production during the July 21 EULINOX Storm studied with a 3-D Cloud-scale Chemical Transport Model

The July 21,1998 thunderstonn observed during the European Lightning Nitrogen Oxides Project (EULINOX) project was simulated using the three-dimensional Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model. The simulation successfully reproduced a number of observed storm features including the splitting of the original cell into a southern cell which developed supercell characteristics, and a northern cell which became multicellular. Output from the GCE simulation was used to drive an offline cloud-scale chemical transport model which calculates tracer transport and includes a parameterization of lightning NO(x) production which uses observed flash rates as input. Estimates of lightning NO(x) production were deduced by assuming various values of production per intracloud and production per cloud-to-ground flash and comparing the results with in-cloud aircraft observations. The assumption that both types of flashes produce 360 moles of NO per flash on average compared most favorably with column mass and probability distribution functions calculated from observations. This assumed production per flash corresponds to a global annual lightning NOx source of 7 Tg N per yr. Chemical reactions were included in the model to evaluate the impact of lightning NO(x), on ozone. During the storm, the inclusion of lightning NOx in the model results in a small loss of ozone (on average less than 4 ppbv) at all model levels. Simulations of the chemical environment in the 24 hours following the storm show on average a small increase in the net production of ozone at most levels resulting from lightning NO(x), maximizing at approximately 5 ppbv per day at 5.5 km. Between 8 and 10.5 km, lightning NO(x) causes decreased net ozone production.

Ott, Lesley E.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Meteoroids and Meteor Storms: A Threat to Spacecraft

Robust system design is the best protection against meteoroid damage. Impacts by small meteoroids are common on satellite surfaces, but impacts by meteoroids large enough to damage well designed systems are very rare. Estimating the threat from the normal meteoroid environment is difficult. Estimates for the occasional "storm" are even more uncertain. Common sense precautions are in order for the 1999 Leonids, but wide-spread catastrophic damage is highly unlikely. Strong Leonid showers are also expected in 2000 and 2001, but these pose much less threat than 1999.

Anderson, B. Jeffrey↗

NASA NTRS2013

Tethered Satellites as an Enabling Platform for Operational Space Weather Monitoring Systems

Tethered satellites offer the potential to be an important enabling technology to support operational space weather monitoring systems. Space weather "nowcasting" and forecasting models rely on assimilation of near-real-time (NRT) space environment data to provide warnings for storm events and deleterious effects on the global societal infrastructure. Typically, these models are initialized by a climatological model to provide "most probable distributions" of environmental parameters as a function of time and space. The process of NRT data assimilation gently pulls the climate model closer toward the observed state (e.g., via Kalman smoothing) for nowcasting, and forecasting is achieved through a set of iterative semi-empirical physics-based forward-prediction calculations. Many challenges are associated with the development of an operational system, from the top-level architecture (e.g., the required space weather observatories to meet the spatial and temporal requirements of these models) down to the individual instruments capable of making the NRT measurements. This study focuses on the latter challenge: we present some examples of how tethered satellites (from 100s of m to 20 km) are uniquely suited to address certain shortfalls in our ability to measure critical environmental parameters necessary to drive these space weather models. Examples include long baseline electric field measurements, magnetized ionospheric conductivity measurements, and the ability to separate temporal from spatial irregularities in environmental parameters. Tethered satellite functional requirements are presented for two examples of space environment observables.

Gilchrist, Brian E.↗

NASA NTRS2011

The Roles of Transport and Wave-Particle Interactions on Radiation Belt Dynamics

Particle fluxes in the radiation belts can vary dramatically during geomagnetic active periods. Transport and wave-particle interactions are believed to be the two main types of mechanisms that control the radiation belt dynamics. Major transport processes include substorm dipolarization and injection, radial diffusion, convection, adiabatic acceleration and deceleration, and magnetopause shadowing. Energetic electrons and ions are also subjected to pitch-angle and energy diffusion when interact with plasma waves in the radiation belts. Important wave modes include whistler mode chorus waves, plasmaspheric hiss, electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves, and magnetosonic waves. We investigate the relative roles of transport and wave associated processes in radiation belt variations. Energetic electron fluxes during several storms are simulated using our Radiation Belt Environment (RBE) model. The model includes important transport and wave processes such as substorm dipolarization in global MHD fields, chorus waves, and plasmaspheric hiss. We discuss the effects of these competing processes at different phases of the storms and validate the results by comparison with satellite and ground-based observations. Keywords: Radiation Belts, Space Weather, Wave-Particle Interaction, Storm and Substorm

Fok, Mei-Ching↗

NASA NTRS2003

Large Scale Water Vapor Sources Relative to the October 2000 Piedmont Flood

Very intense mesoscale or synoptic-scale rainfall events can occasionally be observed in the Mediterranean region without any deep cyclone developing over the areas affected by precipitation. In these perplexing cases the synoptic situation can superficially look similar to cases in which very little precipitation occurs. These situations could possibly baffle the operational weather forecasters. In this article, the major precipitation event that affected Piedmont (Italy) between 13 and 16 October 2000 is investigated. This is one of the cases in which no intense cyclone was observed within the Mediterranean region at any time, only a moderate system was present, and yet exceptional rainfall and flooding occurred. The emphasis of this study is on the moisture origin and transport. Moisture and energy balances are computed on different space- and time-scales, revealing that precipitation exceeds evaporation over an area inclusive of Piedmont and the northwestern Mediterranean region, on a time-scale encompassing the event and about two weeks preceding it. This is suggestive of an important moisture contribution originating from outside the region. A synoptic and dynamic analysis is then performed to outline the potential mechanisms that could have contributed to the large-scale moisture transport. The central part of the work uses a quasi-isentropic water-vapor back trajectory technique. The moisture sources obtained by this technique are compared with the results of the balances and with the synoptic situation, to unveil possible dynamic mechanisms and physical processes involved. It is found that moisture sources on a variety of atmospheric scales contribute to this event. First, an important contribution is caused by the extratropical remnants of former tropical storm Leslie. The large-scale environment related to this system allows a significant amount of moisture to be carried towards Europe. This happens on a time- scale of about 5-15 days preceding the Piedmont event. Second, water-vapor intrusions from the African Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone and evaporation from the eastern Atlantic contribute on the 2-5 day time-scale. The large-scale moist dynamics appears therefore to be one important factor enabling a moderate Mediterranean cyclone to produce heavy precipitation. Finally, local evaporation from the Mediterranean, water-vapor recycling, and orographically-induced low-level convergence enhance and concentrate the moisture over the area where heavy precipitation occurs. This happens on a 12-72 hour time-scale.

Turato, Barbara↗

NASA NTRS2000

Solar Power System Evaluated for the Human Exploration of Mars

The electric power system is a crucial element of any mission for the human exploration of the Martian surface. The bulk of the power generated will be delivered to crew life support systems, extravehicular activity suits, robotic vehicles, and predeployed in situ resource utilization (ISRU) equipment. In one mission scenario, before the crew departs for Mars, the ISRU plant operates for 435 days producing liquefied methane and oxygen for ascent-stage propellants and water for crew life support. About 200 days after ISRU production is completed, the crew arrives for a 500-day surface stay. In this scenario, the power system must operate for a total of 1130 days (equivalent to 1100 Martian "sols"), providing 400 MW-hr of energy to the ISRU plant and up to 18 kW of daytime user power. A photovoltaic power-generation system with regenerative fuel cell (RFC) energy storage has been under study at the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. The conceptual power system is dominated by the 4000- m2 class photovoltaic array that is deployed orthogonally as four tent structures, each approximately 5 m on a side and 100-m long. The structures are composed of composite members deployed by an articulating mast, an inflatable boom, or rover vehicles, and are subsequently anchored to the ground. Array panels consist of thin polymer membranes with thin-film solar cells. The array is divided into eight independent electrical sections with solar cell strings operating at 600 V. Energy storage is provided by regenerative fuel cells based on hydrogen-oxygen proton exchange membrane technology. Hydrogen and oxygen reactants are stored in gaseous form at 3000 psi, and the water produced is stored at 14.7 psi. The fuel cell operating temperature is maintained by a 40-m2 deployable pumped-fluid loop radiator that uses water as the working fluid. The power management and distribution (PMAD) architecture features eight independent, regulated 600-Vdc channels. Power management and distribution power cables use various gauges of copper conductors with ethylene tetrafluoroethylene insulation. To assess power system design options and sizing, we developed a dedicated Fortran code to predict detailed power system performance and estimate system mass. This code also modeled the requisite Mars surface environments: solar insolation, Sun angles, dust storms, dust deposition, and thermal and ultraviolet radiation. Using this code, trade studies were performed to assess performance and mass sensitivities to power system design parameters (photovoltaic array geometry and orientation) and mission parameters (landing date and landing site latitude, terrain slope, and dust storm activity). Mission analysis cases were also run. Power results are shown in this graph for an analysis case with a September 1, 2012, landing date; 18.95 North latitude landing site; two seasonal dusts storms; and tent arrays. To meet user load requirements and the ISRU energy requirement, an 8-metric ton (MT) power system and 4000-m2 photovoltaic array area were required for the assumed advanced CuInS2 thin-film solar cell technology. In this figure, the top curve is the average daytime photovoltaic array power, the middle curve is average daytime user load power, and the bottom curve is nighttime power. At mission day 1, daytime user power exceeds 120 kW before falling off to 80 kW at the end of the mission. Throughout the mission, nighttime user power is set to the nighttime power requirement. In this analysis, "nighttime" is defined as the 13- to 15-hr period when array power output is below the daytime power requirement. During dust storms, power system capability falls off dramatically so that by mission day 900, a daily energy balance cannot be maintained. Under these conditions, the ISRU plant is placed in standby mode, and the regenerative fuel cell energy storage is gradually discharged to meet user loads.

Kerslake, Thomas W.↗

NASA NTRS2005

The Effect of Soil Hydraulic Properties vs. Soil Texture in Land Surface Models

This study focuses on the effect of Soil Hydraulic Property (SHP) selection on modeled surface fluxes following a rain storm in a semi-arid environment. SHPs are often defined based on a Soil Texture Class (STC). To examine the effectiveness of this approach, the Noah land surface model was run with each of 1306 soils in a large SHP database. Within most STCs, the outputs have a range of 350 W/m2 for latent and sensible heat fluxes, and 8K for surface temperature. The average difference between STC median values is only 100 W/m2 for latent and sensible heat. It is concluded that STC explains 5-15% of the variance in model outputs and should not be used to determine SHPs.

Gutmann, E. D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

In-flight environmental effects on airplane composite vertical fin caps

The NASA-Langley Storm Hazards Program has given attention to the effects of severe in-flight weather environments on composite structures, using an instrumented F-106B in storm penetration experiments. The vertical fin cap was chosen for the study of lightning strike attachments on composite structures of four different types: (1) glass/epoxy with flame-sprayed aluminum; (2) Kevlar/epoxy with aluminized glass cloth; (3) graphite-epoxy without lightning protection; and (4) unprotected graphite-epoxy with electrical isolation from the rest of the aircraft structure. Flight test results are evaluated.

Howell, William E.↗

NASA NTRS2022

Thermospheric Neutral Density Variation During the “SpaceX” Storm: Implications From Physics-Based Whole Geospace Modeling

The Starlink satellites launched on 3 February 2022 were lost before they fully arrived in their designated orbits. The loss was attributed to two moderate geomagnetic storms that occurred consecutively on February 3-4. We investigate the thermospheric neutral mass density variation during these storms with the Multiscale Atmosphere-Geospace Environment (MAGE) model, a first-principles, fully coupled geospace model. Simulated neutral density enhancements are validated by Swarm satellite measurements at the altitude of 400-500 km. Comparison with standalone TIEGCM and empirical NRLMSIS 2.0 and DTM-2012 models suggests better performance by MAGE in predicting the maximum density enhancement and resolving the gradual recovery process. Along the Starlink satellite orbit in the middle thermosphere (∼ 200 km altitude), MAGE predicts up to 150% density enhancement near the second storm peak while standalone TIEGCM, NRLMSIS 2.0 and DTM-2012 suggest only ∼ 50% increase. MAGE also suggests altitudinal, longitudinal, and latitudinal variability of storm-time percentage density enhancement due to height dependent Joule heating deposition per unit mass, thermospheric circulation changes, and travelling atmospheric disturbances. This study demonstrates that a moderate storm can cause substantial density enhancement in the middle thermosphere. Thermospheric mass density strongly depends on the strength, timing, and location of high-latitude energy input, which cannot be fully reproduced with empirical models. A physics-based, fully coupled geospace model that can accurately resolve the high-latitude energy input and its variability is critical to modeling the dynamic response of thermospheric neutral density during storm time.

Starlink↗

NASA NTRS2011

Radiation Belt Storm Probes: Resolving Fundamental Physics with Practical Consequences

The fundamental processes that energize, transport, and cause the loss of charged particles operate throughout the universe at locations as diverse as magnetized planets, the solar wind, our Sun, and other stars. The same processes operate within our immediate environment, the Earth's radiation belts. The Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission will provide coordinated two-spacecraft observations to obtain understanding of these fundamental processes controlling the dynamic variability of the near-Earth radiation environment. In this paper we discuss some of the profound mysteries of the radiation belt physics that will be addressed by RBSP and briefly describe the mission and its goals.

Ukhorskiy, Aleksandr Y.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Interactions of the plasma sheet with the lunar surface at the Apollo 14 site

Calculations of the magnetic shadow zones of lunar-based particle detectors are extended to include the effects of local remanent magnetic fields. At the Apollo 14 site, the local magnetic field is approximated as that of a dipole. Numerically calculated open and shadowed zones are shown to be in agreement with quiet-time plasma-sheet observations of the charged-particle lunar-environment experiment. An analysis of three storm-time observations indicates that magnetic shadowing can significantly alter the near-lunar-surface electrostatic potential distribution.

Reiff, P. H.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Data Assimilation Cycling for Weather Analysis

This software package runs the atmospheric model MM5 in data assimilation cycling mode to produce an optimized weather analysis, including the ability to insert or adjust a hurricane vortex. The program runs MM5 through a cycle of short forecasts every three hours where the vortex is adjusted to match the observed hurricane location and storm intensity. This technique adjusts the surrounding environment so that the proper steering current and environmental shear are achieved. MM5cycle uses a Cressman analysis to blend observation into model fields to get a more accurate weather analysis. Quality control of observations is also done in every cycle to remove bad data that may contaminate the analysis. This technique can assimilate and propagate data in time from intermittent and infrequent observations while maintaining the atmospheric field in a dynamically balanced state. The software consists of a C-shell script (MM5cycle.driver) and three FORTRAN programs (splitMM5files.F, comRegrid.F, and insert_vortex.F), and are contained in the pre-processor component of MM5 called "Regridder." The model is first initialized with data from a global model such as the Global Forecast System (GFS), which also provides lateral boundary conditions. These data are separated into single-time files using splitMM5.F. The hurricane vortex is then bogussed in the correct location and with the correct wind field using insert_vortex.F. The modified initial and boundary conditions are then recombined into the model fields using comRegrid.F. The model then makes a three-hour forecast. The three-hour forecast data from MM5 now become the analysis for the next short forecast run, where the vortex will again be adjusted. The process repeats itself until the desired time of analysis is achieved. This code can also assimilate observations if desired.

Tran, Nam↗

NASA NTRS2009

Weekly Cycle of Lightning: Evidence of Storm Invigoration by Pollution

We have examined summertime 1998 2009 U.S. lightning data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) to look for weekly cycles in lightning activity. As was found by Bell et al. (2008) for rain over the southeast U.S., there is a significant weekly cycle in afternoon lightning activity that peaks in the middle of the week there. The weekly cycle appears to be reduced over population centers. Lightning activity peaks on weekends over waters near the SE U.S. The statistical significance of weekly cycles over the western half of the country is generally small. We found no evidence of a weekly cycle of synoptic-scale forcing that might explain these patterns. The lightning behavior is entirely consistent with the explanation suggested by Bell et al. (2008) for the cycles in rainfall and other atmospheric data from the SE U.S., that aerosols can cause storms to intensify in humid, convectively unstable environments.

Bell, Thomas L.↗

NASA NTRS2011

SSC OCIO, IT SUMMIT 2011

The Stennis Space Center (SSC) Records Retention Facility is a centralized location for all SSC records, Records Management staff, and the SSC History Office. The building is a storm resistant facility and provides a secure environment for records housing. The Records Retention Facility was constructed in accordance with The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements for records storage, making it the first NARA compliant facility in the agency. Stennis Space Center's Records Retention Facility became operational in May 2010. The SSC Records Retention Facility ensures that the required federal records are preserved, managed and accessible to all interested personnel. The facility provides 20,000 cubic feet of records storage capacity for the purpose of managing the centers consolidated records within a central, protected environment. Records housed in the facility are in the form of paper, optical, film and magnetic media. Located within the SSC Records Retention Facility, the Records Management Office provides comprehensive records management services in the form of: a) Storage and life-cycle management of inactive records of all media types; b) Digitizing/scanning of records and documents; c) Non-textual/digital electronic records media storage, migration and transfer; d) Records Remediation.

Cottrell, Dinna L.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Earth Orbit Raise Design for the Artemis Mission

The Artemis mission is an extension of the Themis mission. The Themis mission1 consisted of five identical spacecraft in varying sized Earth orbits designed to make simultaneous measurements of the Earth's electric and magnetic environment. Themis was designed to observe geomagnetic storms resulting from solar wind's interaction with the Earth's magnetosphere. Themis was meant to answer the age old question of why the Earth's aurora can change rapidly on a global scale. The Themis spacecraft are spin stabilized with 20 meter long electric field booms as well as several shorter magnetometer booms. The goal of the Artemis2 mission extension is to deliver the field and particle measuring capabilities of two of the Themis spacecraft to the vicinity of the Moon. The Artemis mission required transferring two Earth orbiting Themis spacecraft on to two different low energy trans-lunar trajectories ultimately ending in lunar orbit. This paper describes the processes that resulted in successful orbit raise designs for both spacecraft.

spin stablized↗