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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

Quadrennial International Ozone Symposium, Boulder, CO, August 4-9, 1980, Proceedings. Volumes 1 & 2

Recent developments in observational techniques are examined, taking into account a review of some unresolved problems in the measurement/estimation of total ozone and the vertical ozone profile, the sensitivity of Dobson total ozone estimations to wavelength band calibration uncertainties, errors in Dobson total measurements arising from aerosol attenuation, and optical stop and focussing effects in the Dobson instrument. Other subjects considered are related to total ozone observations, tropospheric ozone, upper air ozone observations, observations of trace gases in the atmosphere, ozone photochemistry and directly related photochemical models, the interaction of ozone and atmospheric circulation, ozone effects on climate, and solar activity and ozone variations. Programs and recommendations involving ozone theory and observations are also discussed, giving attention to current problems of ozone chemistry, the upper atmosphere research satellite program, a French contribution to ozone related studies, and ozone and the middle atmosphere program.

London, J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Calculations of atmospheric transmittance in the 11 micrometer window for estimating skin temperature from VISSR infrared brightness temperatures

An algorithm for calculating the atmospheric transmittance in the 10 to 20 micro m spectral band from a known temperature and dewpoint profile, and then using this transmittance to estimate the surface (skin) temperature from a VISSR observation in the 11 micro m window is presented. Parameterizations are drawn from the literature for computing the molecular absorption due to the water vapor continuum, water vapor lines, and carbon dioxide lines. The FORTRAN code is documented for this application, and the sensitivity of the derived skin temperature to variations in the model's parameters is calculated. The VISSR calibration uncertainties are identified as the largest potential source of error.

Chesters, D.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Osmium coated diffraction grating in the Space Shuttle environment - Performance

Samples coated with osmium were flown on the early Shuttle test flights, and on the return of these samples, the osmium coating was found to have disappeared, evidently due to the oxidation of the material in the atomic oxygen atmosphere. An instrument flown on the Spacelab 1 mission comprised an array of five spectrometers covering the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to near-IR wavelengths. The EUV spectrometer contained an osmium-coated reflective grating located fairly deep within the instruments. Here, results of an assessment of the reflectivity and stability of the osmium surface over the course of the ten-day mission are reported. It is concluded that the osmium reflective coating remained stable relative to the spectrometer coated with MgF2 over the course of the mission. In addition, the ratio of sensitivity of these two spectrometers did not change in any major way from the time of the laboratory calibration until the time of flight two years later. Any changes are within the 50-percent calibration uncertainty.

Torr, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The orbit of Pluto's satellite

Nineteen speckle interferometric observations of the Pluto system have been used to improve the determination of the orbital elements for Pluto's satellite. Calibration uncertainties appear to be the dominant source of error, but the observation of a partial occultation of the satellite by Pluto has been used to constrain the orbit solution. The orbital period is found to be in excellent agreement with the rotational period of the planet, reinforcing the belief that the system is completely tidally evolved. The orbital radius and period imply a total mass for the system of 6.8 + or - 0.5 x 10 to the -9th solar masses. Density constraints place an upper limit of 3615 + or - 90 km on the diameter of Pluto, while observations of the first mutual events establish a crude lower limit of about 2800 km.

Tholen, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

IRAS observations of the zodiacal background

IRAS sky survey measurements are used to constrain a model for the interplanetary dust emission. Efforts to date, although hampered somewhat by calibration uncertainties, indicate that the cloud is inclined to the ecliptic by approximately 1.7 deg, with its line of ascending nodes at 70 deg ecliptic longitude. The data is well fit by a dust density distribution presently described in cloud symmetry plane coordinates, where the dust has a gray emissivity and an equilibrium temperature at 1 AU of 280 K.

Good, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Bolometric albedos and diurnal temperatures of the brightest regions on Io

Cylindrical maps of the locations and estimated Bond albedos of the brightest regions on the Io surface have been constructed on the basis of Voyager data; the albedos are then rescaled to correct for radiometric calibration uncertainties. The highest surface albedos are found to be only moderately higher than the Bond albedo of Io as a whole. The brightest regions include two bright patches southeast of the Maui and Amirani active vents, as well as a large equatorial field of high-albedo material and a lone bright patch at high northern latitudes. These maps indicate that Io's albedos are strongly latitude-dependent.

Simonelli, Damon P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The Hubble constant

The Hubble constant is the constant of proportionality between recession velocity and distance in the expanding universe. It is a fundamental property of cosmology that sets both the scale and the expansion age of the universe. It is determined by measurement of galaxy radial velocities and distances. Although there has been considerable progress in the development of new techniques for the measurements of galaxy distances, both calibration uncertainties and debates over systematic errors remain. Current determinations still range over nearly a factor of 2; the higher values favored by most local measurements are not consistent with many theories of the origin of large-scale structure and stellar evolution.

Huchra, John P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

COBE differential microwave radiometers - Calibration techniques

The COBE spacecraft was launched November 18, 1989 UT carrying three scientific instruments into earth orbit for studies of cosmology. One of these instruments, the Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR), is designed to measure the large-angular-scale temperature anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation at three frequencies (31.5, 53, and 90 GHz). This paper presents three methods used to calibrate the DMR. First, the signal difference between beam-filling hot and cold targets observed on the ground provides a primary calibration that is transferred to space by noise sources internal to the instrument. Second, the moon is used in flight as an external calibration source. Third, the signal arising from the Doppler effect due to the earth's motion around the barycenter of the solar system is used as an external calibration source. Preliminary analysis of the external source calibration techniques confirms the accuracy of the currently more precise ground-based calibration. Assuming the noise source behavior did not change from the ground-based calibration to flight, a 0.1-0.4 percent relative and 0.7-2.5 percent absolute calibration uncertainty is derived, depending on radiometer channel.

Bennett, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Aerosol Retrievals over the Ocean using Channel 1 and 2 AVHRR Data: A Sensitivity Analysis and Preliminary Results

This paper outlines the methodology of interpreting channel 1 and 2 AVHRR radiance data over the oceans and describes a detailed analysis of the sensitivity of monthly averages of retrieved aerosol parameters to the assumptions made in different retrieval algorithms. The analysis is based on using real AVHRR data and exploiting accurate numerical techniques for computing single and multiple scattering and spectral absorption of light in the vertically inhomogeneous atmosphere-ocean system. We show that two-channel algorithms can be expected to provide significantly more accurate and less biased retrievals of the aerosol optical thickness than one-channel algorithms and that imperfect cloud screening and calibration uncertainties are by far the largest sources of errors in the retrieved aerosol parameters. Both underestimating and overestimating aerosol absorption as well as the potentially strong variability of the real part of the aerosol refractive index may lead to regional and/or seasonal biases in optical thickness retrievals. The Angstrom exponent appears to be the most invariant aerosol size characteristic and should be retrieved along with optical thickness as the second aerosol parameter.

Mishchenko, Michael I.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Estimates of Spectral UV Irradiance from Earth Probe TOMS: Comparisons with Ground-Based Measurements

Estimates of the spectral UV flux incident on the Earth's surface are calculated based on total column ozone and cloud optical thickness determined from the Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) satellite data. Spectral fluxes are calculated between 300 and 325 nanometers using a weighting function similar to the measured function of the Brewer Spectrophotometer. Comparisons of the TOMS-derived values with ground-based Brewer Spectrophotometer measurements at 3 locations from the Canadian Brewer network (Toronto, Saskatoon and Saturna Island) and 3 locations from the United States EPA network (Boston, Gaithersburg, and Boulder) show reasonably good agreement over a variety of clear and cloudy conditions. Some systematic differences are apparent, particularly when snow/ice is present and the TOMS instrument cannot distinguish between clouds and snow covered ground, thus leading to an underestimation of UV flux. The presence of absorbing aerosols near the ground or sub-pixel clouds can also lead to significant errors. There are also possible errors in the Brewer data due to radiometric calibration uncertainties and uncorrected cosine response.

Labow, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Global Aerosol Climatology Project: An Update

This paper outlines the methodology of interpreting channe1 1 and 2 AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) radiance data over the oceans and describes a detailed analysis of the sensitivity of monthly averages of retrieved aerosol parameters to the assumptions made in different retrieval algorithms. The analysis is based on using real AVHRR data and exploiting accurate numerical techniques for computing single and multiple scattering and spectral absorption of light in the vertically inhomogeneous atmospheric-ocean system. We show that two-channel algorithms can be expected tp provide significantly more biased retrievals of the aerosol optical thickness than one-channel algorithms and that imperfect cloud screening and calibration uncertainties are by far the largest sources of errors in the retrieved aerosol parameters. Both underestimating and overestimating aerosol absorption as well as the potentially strong variability of the real part of the aerosol refractive index may lead to regional and/or seasonal biases in optical thickness retrievals. The Angstrom exponent appears to be the most invariant aerosol size characteristic and should be retrieved along with optical thickness as the second aerosol parameter.

Mishchenko, Michael I.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Aerosol Profile Retrievals from Integrated Dual Wavelengths Space Lidar ESSP3-CENA and Spectral Radiance MODIS Data

The ESSP3-CENA space mission (formally PICASSO-CENA) will provide continues global observations with a two wavelength lidar. The attenuated backscattering coefficients measured by the lidar, have valuable information about the vertical distribution of aerosol particles and their sizes. However the information cannot be mapped into unique aerosol physical properties. Infinite number of physical solutions with different attenuations through the atmosphere can reconstruct the same two wavelength backscattered profile measured from space. Spectral radiance measured by MODIS simultaneously with the ESSP3 data can constrain the problem and resolve this ambiguity to a large extent. Sensitivity study shows that inversion of the integrated MODIS+ESSP3 data can derive the vertical profiles of the fine and coarse modes mixed in the same atmospheric column in the presence of moderate calibration uncertainties and electronic noise (approx. 10%). We shall present the sensitivity study and results from application of the technique to measurements in the SAFARI-2000 and SHADE experiments.

Kaufman, Yoram↗
NASA NTRS2001

Exploring a Black Body Source as an Absolute Radiometric Calibration Standard and Comparison with a NIST Traced Lamp Standard

Radiometric calibration of the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) is required for the scientific research and application objectives pursued with the spectroscopic measurements. Specifically calibration is required for: inter-comparison of AVIRIS data measured at different locations and at different times; analysis of AVIRIS data with data measured by other instruments; and analysis of AVIRIS data in conjunction with computer models. The primary effect of radiometric calibration is conversion of AVIRIS instrument response values (digitized numbers, or DN) to units of absolute radiance. For example, a figure shows the instrument response spectrum measured by AVIRIS over a portion of Rogers Dry Lake, California, and another figure shows the same spectrum calibrated to radiance. Only the calibrated spectrum may be quantitatively analyzed for science research and application objectives. Since the initial development of the AVIRIS instrument-radiometric calibration has been based upon a 1000-W irradiance lamp with a calibration traced to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). There are several advantages to this irradiance-lamp calibration approach. First, the considerable effort of NIST backs up the calibration. Second, by changing the distance to the lamp, the output can closely span the radiance levels measured by AVIRIS. Third, this type of standard is widely used. Fourth, these calibrated lamps are comparatively inexpensive. Conversely, there are several disadvantages to this approach as well. First, the lamp is not a primary standard. Second, the lamp output characteristics may change in an unknown manner through time. Third, it is difficult to assess, constrain, or improve the calibration uncertainty delivered with the lamp. In an attempt to explore the effect and potentially address some of these disadvantages a set of analyses and measurements comparing an irradiance lamp with a black-body source have been completed. This research is ongoing, and the current set of measurements, analyses, and results are presented in this paper.

Green, Robert O.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Evolution of Iron K Alpha Line Emission in the Black Hole Candidate GX 339-4

GX 339-4 was regularly monitored with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer during a period (in 1999) when its X-ray flux decreased significantly (from 4.26 x 10(exp -10) to 7.6 x 10(exp -12) ergs in the 3-20 keV band), as the source settled into the 'off state.' Our spectral analysis revealed the presence of a prominent iron K alpha line in the observed spectrum of the source for all observations. The line shows an interesting evolution: it is centered at approx. 6.4 keV when the measured flux is above 5 x 10(exp -1) ergs per sq cm/s but is shifted to approx. 6.7 keV at lower fluxes. The equivalent width of the line appears to increase significantly toward lower fluxes, although it is likely to be sensitive to calibration uncertainties. While the fluorescent emission of neutral or mildly ionized iron atoms in the accretion disk can perhaps account for the 6.4 keV line, as is often invoked for black hole candidates, it seems difficult to understand the 6.7 keV line with this mechanism because the disk should be less ionized at lower fluxes (unless its density changes drastically). On the other hand, the 6.7 keV line might be due to a recombination cascade of hydrogen- or helium-like iron ions in an optically thin, highly ionized plasma. We discuss the results in the context of proposed accretion models.

Feng, Y. X.↗
NASA NTRS2006

MSG SEVIRI Applications for Weather and Climate: Cloud Properties and Calibrations

SEVIRI data are cross-calibrated against the corresponding Aqua and Terra MODIS channels. Compared to Terra MODIS, no significant trends are evident in the 0.65, 0.86, and 1.6 micron channel gains between May 2004 and May 2006, indicating excellent stability in the solar-channel sensors. On average, the corresponding Terra reflectances are 12, 14, and 1% greater than the their SEVIRI counterparts. The Terra 3.8- micron channel brightness temperatures T are 7 and 4 K greater than their SEVIRI counterparts during day and night, respectively. The average differences between T for MODIS and SEVIRI 8.6, 10.8, 12.0, and 13.3- micron channels are between 0.5 and 2 K. The cloud properties are being derived hourly over Europe and, in initial comparisons, agree well with surface observations. Errors caused by residual calibration uncertainties, terminator conditions, and inaccurate temperature and humidity profiles are still problematic. Future versions will address those errors and the effects of multilayered clouds.

Minnis, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS2006

Correcting STIS CCD Point-Source Spectra for CTE Loss

We review the on-orbit spectroscopic observations that are being used to characterize the Charge Transfer Efficiency (CTE) of the STIS CCD in spectroscopic mode. We parameterize the CTE-related loss for spectrophotometry of point sources in terms of dependencies on the brightness of the source, the background level, the signal in the PSF outside the standard extraction box, and the time of observation. Primary constraints on our correction algorithm are provided by measurements of the CTE loss rates for simulated spectra (images of a tungsten lamp taken through slits oriented along the dispersion axis) combined with estimates of CTE losses for actual spectra of spectrophotometric standard stars in the first order CCD modes. For point-source spectra at the standard reference position at the CCD center, CTE losses as large as 30% are corrected to within approx.1% RMS after application of the algorithm presented here, rendering the Poisson noise associated with the source detection itself to be the dominant contributor to the total flux calibration uncertainty.

Goudfrooij, Paul↗
NASA NTRS2006

Precision Fe K-Alpha and Fe K-Beta Line Spectroscopy of the Seyfert 1.9 Galaxy NGC 2992 with Suzaku

We present detailed time-averaged X-ray spectroscopy in the 0.5-10 keV band of the Seyfert 1.9 galaxy NGC 2992 with the Suzaku X-ray Imaging Spectrometers (XIS). The source had a factor approximately 3 higher 2-10 keV flux (approximately 1.2 x l0(exp -11) erg per square cm per s) than the historical minimum and a factor approximately 7 less than the historical maximum. The XIS spectrum of NGC 2992 can be described by several components. There is a primary continuum, modeled as a power-law with a photon index of Gamma = 1.57(sup +0.06) (sup -0.03) that is obscured by a Compton-thin absorber with a column density of 8.01(sup +0.6) (sup -0.5)x l0 (exp 21) per square cm. . There is another, weaker, unabsorbed power-law component (modeled with the same slope as the primary), that is likely to be due to the primary continuum being electron-scattered into our line-of-sight by a region extended on a scale of hundreds of parsecs. We measure the Thomson depth of the scattering zone to be Tau = 0.072 +/- 0.021. An optically-thin thermal continuum emission component, which probably originates in the same extended region, is included in the model and yields a temperature and luminosity of KT = 0.656(sup +0.088) (sup -0.0.61) keV and approximately 1.2 +/- 0.4 x l0 (exp 40) erg per s respectively. We detect an Fe K emission complex which we model with broad and narrow lines and we show that the intensities of the two components are decoupled at a confidence level > 3 sigma. The broad Fe K alpha line has an equivalent width of 118(sup +32) (sup -61) eV and could originate in an accretion disk (with inclination angle greater than approximately 30 deg) around the putative central black hole. The narrow Fe K alpha line has an equivalent width of 1632(sup +47) (sup -26) eV and is unresolved (FWHM < 4630 km per s) and likely originates in distant matter. The absolute flux in the narrow line implies that the column density out of the line-of-sight could be much higher than measured in the line-of-sight, and that the mean (historically-averaged) continuum luminosity responsible for forming the line could be a factor of several higher than that measured from the data. We also detect the Fe K Beta line (corresponding to the narrow Fe K alpha line) with a high signal-to-noise ratio and describe a new robust method to constrain the ionization state of Fe responsible for the Fe K alpha and Fe K Beta lines that does not require any knowledge of possible gravitational and Doppler energy shifts affecting the line energies. For the distant line-emitting matter (e. g. the putative obscuring torus) we deduce that the predominant ionization state is lower than Fe VIII (at 99% confidence), conservatively taking into account residual calibration uncertainties in the XIS energy scale and theoretical and experimental uncertainties in the Fe K fluorescent line energies. From the limits on a possible Compton-reflection continuum it is likely that the narrow Fe K alpha and Fe K Beta lines originate in a Compton-thin structure.

Yaqoob, Tahir↗