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NASA NTRS1976

Flight of a UV spectrophotometer aboard Galileo 2, the NASA Convair 990 aircraft

An ultraviolet interference-filter spectrophotometer (UVS) fabricated for aircraft-borne use on the DOT Climatic Impact Assessment Program (CIAP) has been successfully tested in a series of flights on the NASA Convair 990, Galileo II. UV flux data and the calculated total ozone above the flight path are reported for several of the flights. Good agreement is obtained with the total ozone as deducted by integration of an ozone sonde vertical profile obtained at Wallops Island, Virginia near the time of a CV-990 underpass. Possible advantages of use of the UVS in the NASA Global Atmospheric Sampling Program are discussed.

Sellers, B.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Analysis of atmospheric ozone measurements made from a B-747 airliner during March 1975

Measurements of atmospheric ozone in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere made during March 1975 as part of the NASA Global Atmospheric Sampling Program are reported and analyzed. The interrelationships between the ozone mixing ratio and geographical and meteorological parameters are examined in several case studies. The ozone data correlate well with the difference between the flight altitude and the height of the tropopause, as obtained from National Meteorological Center gridded data. The distribution of ozone mixing ratios with latitude at an altitude of 11 + or - 0.5 km shows a poleward increase and large variability at latitudes greater than 30 deg N in agreement with published mean ozone levels from the North American ozone sonde network.

Holdeman, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1981

RAWINPROC: Computer program for decommutating, interpreting, and interpolating Rawinsonde meteorological balloon sounding data

The FORTRAN computer program RAWINPROC accepts output from NASA Wallops computer program METPASS1; and produces input for NASA computer program 3.0.0700 (ECC-PRD). The three parts together form a software system for the completely automatic reduction of standard RAWINSONDE sounding data. RAWINPROC pre-edits the 0.1-second data, including time-of-day, azimuth, elevation, and sonde-modulated tone frequency, condenses the data according to successive dwells of the tone frequency, decommutates the condensed data into the proper channels (temperature, relative humidity, high and low references), determines the running baroswitch contact number and computes the associated pressure altitudes, and interpolates the data appropriate for input to ACC-PRD.

Staffanson, F. L.↗

NASA NTRS1982

LIMS Instrument Package (LIP) balloon experiment: Nimbus 7 satellite correlative temperature, ozone, water vapor, and nitric acid measurements

The Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) LIP balloon experiment was used to obtain correlative temperature, ozone, water vapor, and nitric acid data at altitudes between 10 and 36 kilometers. The performance of the LIMS sensor flown on the Nimbus 7 Satellite was assessed. The LIP consists of the modified electrochemical concentration cell ozonesonde, the ultraviolet absorption photometric of ozone, the water vapor infrared radiometer sonde, the chemical absorption filter instrument for nitric acid vapor, and the infrared radiometer for nitric acid vapor. The limb instrument package (LIP), its correlative sensors, and the resulting data obtained from an engineering and four correlative flights are described.

Lee, R. B., III↗

NASA NTRS1982

Equatorial ozone characteristics as measured at Natal (5.9 deg S, 35.2 deg W)

Ozone density profiles obtained through electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) sonde measurements at Natal were analyzed. Time variations, as expected, are small. Outstanding features of the data are tropospheric densities substantially higher than those measured at other stations, and also a total ozone content that is higher than the averages given by satellite measurements.

Kirchhoff, V. W. J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Southeastern Virginia Urban Plume Study design considerations and measurement results

The Southeastern Virginia Urban Plume Study is intended to provide a testing ground for NASA remote sensors designed for urban and regional scale monitoring of air quality phenomena. The air quality experiments it has conducted have incorporated surface, airborne, sonde and balloon platforms which measured air quality and meteorology parameters, with emphasis on photochemically produced O3 and its primary precursors upwind, above, and downwind of the Hampton Roads area urban complex. The results from three years of experiments have shown that such different meteorological conditions as blue/broken skies, high/moderate temperatures and low/high winds have a direct impact on the degree of downwind aging of the summer urban O3 airmass. In 1979, the urban plume was traced at aging times of 0.5, 1.5, and 5 hr.

Mcdougal, D. S.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Optimal preparation of the ECC ozonesonde

The ECC background current was identified as the removal of residual tri-iodide (iodine) as the cell approaches equilibrium. The altitude dependence of this source of the background current is expected to be only slowly changed in the troposphere with a more rapid decrease in the stratosphere. Oxygen does not play a role in the background current except in the unlikely situation where the electrodes have had all forms of iodine removed from them and the electrodes have not re-equilibrated with the sonde solutions before use. A solution mass transport parameter in the ECC was identified and its altitude dependence determined. The mass transport of tri-iodide dominates in the chemical transduction of ozone to electrical signal. The effect of the mass transport on the ECC background current is predicted. An electrochemical model of the ECC has been developed to predict the response of the ECC to various ozone vertical profiles. The model corresponds very closely to the performance of the ECC in the laboratory. Based on this model, an ECC with no background current is predicted to give total ozone values within 1% of the correct value, although the vertical profile may be in error by as much as + or - 15%.

Thornton, D. C.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Ozone density measurements in the troposphere and stratosphere of Natal

Ozone densitities were measured in the troposphere and stratosphere of Natal using ECC sondes launches on balloons. The data analyzed so far show tropospheric densities and total ozone contents larger than expected.

Kirchhoff, V. W. J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1982

SAGE - European ozonesonde comparison

Between February and December 1979, 30 correlative comparisons were conducted of ozone profiles derived from the satellite sensor SAGE and those derived from balloon-borne ozonesondes launched in Europe. The mean absolute differences between SAGE and the European sondes when ozone mixing ratio is used as the basis of comparison are listed, and ozone comparisons made at four stations in Europe are plotted as ozone mixing ratio versus altitude. The agreement is considered quite reasonable. Also shown is an April 2, 1979 Garmisch comparison where the time and space differences were very small. The agreement is found to be remarkable. For example, the ratio of SAGE to ozonesonde values at 13 out of 17 levels between 12.5 and 28.5 km lies in the range 0.92-1.06.

Reiter, R.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Sampling theory for asynoptic satellite observations. I Space-time spectra, resolution, and aliasing. II - Fast Fourier synoptic mapping

An evaluation of the information content of asynoptic data taken in the form of nadir sonde and limb scan observations is presented, and a one-to-one correspondence is established between the alias-free data and twice-daily synoptic maps. Attention is given to space and time limitations of sampling and the orbital geometry is discussed. The sampling pattern is demonstrated to determine unique space-time spectra at all wavenumbers and frequencies. Spectral resolution and aliasing are explored, while restrictions on sampling and information content are defined. It is noted that irregular sampling at high latitudes produces spurious contamination effects. An Asynoptic Sampling Theorem is thereby formulated, as is a Synoptic Retrieval Theorem, in the second part of the article. In the latter, a procedure is developed for retrieving the unique correspondence between the asymptotic data and the synoptic maps. Applications examples are provided using data from the Nimbus-6 satellite.

Salby, M. L.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Vertical density and temperature structure over northern Europe

Vertical profiles of upper-atmosphere temperature and density over northern Europe constructed from data obtained in November and December 1980, as part of the Energy Budget Campaign, are presented and discussed. Temperature sondes, passive spheres, accelerometers, mass and IR spectrometers, and density gauges were rocket launched from ESRANGE, Sweden and Andoya, Norway; the data are combined with ground measurements to construct 20-120-km-altitude profiles for night periods of severe, moderate, and minimal geomagnetic storm activity. The profiles are compared with each other and with the 1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere (USSA). In the temperature profiles, increased geomagnetic activity is associated with lower temperatures and flattened profiles in the stratopause region, and higher temperatures in the 70-90-km range. The density profiles show a variation of less than about 15 percent, except for a 25-percent range for the moderate-geomagnetic-activity period. The inferred wavelengths and periods are those expected for internal gravity waves at this altitude, and the divergence from USSA is accounted for by season and latitude dependence.

Philbrick, C. R.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Ozone profile intercomparison based on simultaneous observations between 20 and 40 km

The vertical distribution of stratospheric ozone has been simultaneously measured by means of five different instruments carried on the same balloon payload. The launches were performed from Gap during the intercomparison campaign conducted in June 1981 in southern France. Data obtained between altitudes of 20 and 40 km are compared and discussed. Vertical profiles deduced from Electrochemical Concentration Cell sondes launched from the same location by small balloons and from short Umkehr measurements made at Mt Chiran (France) are also included in this comparison. Systematic differences of the order of 20 percent between ozone profiles deduced from solar u.v. absorption and in situ techniques are found.

Aimedieu, P.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Equatorial ozone characteristics as measured at Natal (5.9 deg S, 35.2 deg W)

Kirchhoff, V. W. J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Dynamics of two-year cosmic ray variations inferred from the data of spacecraft and stratospheric measurements and from the neutron monitor data in 1959-1981

The two year cosmic ray variations are studied using the spacecraft measurements of 1967 to 1976, the sonde measurements at high latitudes in the stratosphere (Murmansk, Mirny), and the neutron monitor data of 1959 to 1981. The two year variations are most pronounced from 1967 to 1975. An anticorrelation is observed between the two year variations in cosmic rays and in geomagnetic activity.

Charakhchyan, T. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Radiosonde pressure sensor performance - Evaluation using tracking radars

The standard balloon-borne radiosonde employed for synoptic meteorology provides vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, and humidity as a function of elapsed time. These parameters are used in the hypsometric equation to calculate the geopotential altitude at each sampling point during the balloon's flight. It is important that the vertical location information be accurate. The present investigation was conducted with the objective to evaluate the altitude determination accuracy of the standard radiosonde throughout the entire balloon profile. The tests included two other commercially available pressure sensors to see if they could provide improved accuracy in the stratosphere. The pressure-measuring performance of standard baroswitches, premium baroswitches, and hypsometers in balloon-borne sondes was correlated with tracking radars. It was found that the standard and premium baroswitches perform well up to about 25 km altitude, while hypsometers provide more reliable data above 25 km.

Parsons, C. L.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Density and temperature structure over northern Europe

During the Energy Budget Campaign, a number of profiles of the density and temperature were obtained to study the structure and variability of the atmosphere. The measurements were made using rocketborne instrumentation launched from Esrange, Sweden, and Andoya Rocket Range, Norway, during November and December 1980. The techniques included meteorological temperature sondes, passive falling sphere, accelerometer instrumented falling spheres, density gauges, mass spectrometers and infrared emission experiments. The instruments provided data covering the altitude range from 20 to 150 km. The measurements were made during periods which have been grouped into three categories by level of geomagnetic activity. Analysis has been made to compare the results and to examine the wave features and variations in the vertical profiles for scales ranging between hundreds of meters and tens of kilometers. Most of the features observed fit qualitatively within the range expected for internal gravity waves. However, the features in the profiles during one of the measurement periods are unusual and may be due to aurorally generated shock waves. The geomagnetic storm conditions caused temperature increases in the lower thermosphere which maximized in the 120-140 km region.

Philbrick, C. R.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Balloon-borne observation of Aitken nuclei in the Antarctic stratosphere and troposphere

Aitken nuclei (0.002 or = r or = 0.1 microns in the atmosphere are produced through gas-to-particle conversion processes, and they grow in size by heterogeneous nucleation processes and others to produce larger aerosol particles. In the study of global background aerosol pollution, full knowledge of such aerosol processes in the clean atmosphere is essentially required. In this sense, it is important to examine the behavior of aerosols in a clean atmosphere which is not contaminated directly by aerosols and gases emitted from the Earth's surface. The Antarctic atmosphere is thought to be such a clean atmosphere. From an extensive surface observation of aerosols carried out at Syowa Station (69 deg 00'S, 39 deg 35'E) Antarctica, it has been revealed that various phenomena relating to long-range transport of trace constituents and/or photochemical processes resulting in production or growth of aerosol particles are clearly observed in Antarctica. This paper gives a preliminary report of observations made by balloon-borne Aitken nuclei sonde in 1983, at Syowa Station.

Ito, T.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Results from the Balloon Ozone Intercomparison Campaign (BOIC)

In the Balloon Ozone Intercomparison Campaign (BOIC), several in situ UV absorption photometers, two solar UV absorption photometers, electrochemical sondes, and a mass spectrometer were intercompared in three flight missions. Concurrent data from Umkehr and satellite observations are also intercompared. The National Bureau of Standards provided a 'standard' ozone source for intercomparing the in situ instruments and ground pressure. Preliminary findings indicate that the standard deviation of the sensitivities among 17 instruments against the NBS reference was about 11 percent. These differences appear in flight at the lower levels and change at higher altitudes, indicating height-dependent errors. The difference among five in-situ UV photometers flown together ranged by plus or minus 8 percent during ascent to about 41 km. During float at 42 km, the difference nearly doubled. During descent, the difference decreased to about 4 percent, which is much closer to the expected accuracy of these instruments. Results from UV solar radiometers have been systematically higher than those from UV photometers by 15 to 20 percent - a very important disagreement that needs to be resolved.

Hilsenrath, E.↗