#### Sample records for earth surface temperatures

1. Soil moisture from temperature measurements at the Earth's surface, update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welker, J. E.

1984-01-01

Soil moisture budgets at the Earth's surface were investigated based on soil and atmospheric temperature variations. A number of data sets were plotted and statistically analyzed in order to accentuate the existence and the characteristics of mesoscale soil temperature extrema variations and their relations to other parameters. The correlations between diurnal temperature extrema for air and soil in drought and non-drought periods appear to follow different characteristic patterns, allowing an inference of soil moisture content from temperature data. The recovery of temperature extrema after a precipitation event also follows a characteristic power curve rise between two limiting values which is an indicator of evaporation rates. If these indicators are applied universally to regional temperature data, soil moisture content or drought conditions can be inferred directly from temperature measurements.

2. Retrieval of surface temperature by remote sensing. [of earth surface using brightness temperature of air pollutants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gupta, S. K.; Tiwari, S. N.

1976-01-01

A simple procedure and computer program were developed for retrieving the surface temperature from the measurement of upwelling infrared radiance in a single spectral region in the atmosphere. The program evaluates the total upwelling radiance at any altitude in the region of the CO fundamental band (2070-2220 1/cm) for several values of surface temperature. Actual surface temperature is inferred by interpolation of the measured upwelling radiance between the computed values of radiance for the same altitude. Sensitivity calculations were made to determine the effect of uncertainty in various surface, atmospheric and experimental parameters on the inferred value of surface temperature. It is found that the uncertainties in water vapor concentration and surface emittance are the most important factors affecting the accuracy of the inferred value of surface temperature.

3. Spatiotemporal correlation structure of the Earth's surface temperature

Fredriksen, Hege-Beate; Rypdal, Kristoffer; Rypdal, Martin

2015-04-01

We investigate the spatiotemporal temperature variability for several gridded instrumental and climate model data sets. The temporal variability is analysed by estimating the power spectral density and studying the differences between local and global temperatures, land and sea, and among local temperature records at different locations. The spatiotemporal correlation structure is analysed through cross-spectra that allow us to compute frequency-dependent spatial autocorrelation functions (ACFs). Our results are then compared to theoretical spectra and frequency-dependent spatial ACFs derived from a fractional stochastic-diffusive energy balance model (FEBM). From the FEBM we expect both local and global temperatures to have a long-range persistent temporal behaviour, and the spectral exponent (β) is expected to increase by a factor of two when going from local to global scales. Our comparison of the average local spectrum and the global spectrum shows good agreement with this model, although the FEBM has so far only been studied for a pure land planet and a pure ocean planet, respectively, with no seasonal forcing. Hence it cannot capture the substantial variability among the local spectra, in particular between the spectra for land and sea, and for equatorial and non-equatorial temperatures. Both models and observation data show that land temperatures in general have a low persistence, while sea surface temperatures show a higher, and also more variable degree of persistence. Near the equator the spectra deviate from the power-law shape expected from the FEBM. Instead we observe large variability at time scales of a few years due to ENSO, and a flat spectrum at longer time scales, making the spectrum more reminiscent of that of a red noise process. From the frequency-dependent spatial ACFs we observe that the spatial correlation length increases with increasing time scale, which is also consistent with the FEBM. One consequence of this is that longer-lasting structures must also be wider in space. The spatial correlation length is also observed to be longer for land than for sea. The climate model simulations studied are mainly CMIP5 control runs of length 500-1000 yr. On time scales up to several centuries we do not observe that the difference between the local and global spectral exponents vanish. This also follows from the FEBM and shows that the dynamics is spatiotemporal (not just temporal) even on these time scales.

4. Heat capacity mapping mission. [satellite for earth surface temperature measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Price, J. C.

1978-01-01

A Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM), part of a series of Applications Explorers Missions, is designed to provide data on surface heating as a response to solar energy input. The data is obtained by a two channel scanning radiometer, with one channel covering the visible and near-IR band between 0.5 and 1.1 micrometers, and the other covering the thermal-IR between 10.5 and 12.5 micrometers. The temperature range covered lies between 260 and 340 K, in 0.3 deg steps, with an accuracy at 280 K of plus or minus 0.5 K. Nominal altitude is 620 km, with a ground swath 700 km wide.

5. Satellite Derived Earth Surface Temperatures: a Crop Assessment Tool.

Crosiar, Christy Lynn

The data for this research consist of the following: 23 days of NOAA/AVHRR satellite data; AgRISTARS enumerator data (or ground truth data) for 26 counties in three midwestern states (Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota) and radiosonde observations for nine upper air stations, producing an 8 state coverage. The objectives of this research are threefold: (1) to develop a regression model to estimate maximum shelter temperature, (2) to develop a method to assess crop conditions and (3) to determine the variability within a scan line due to changes in optical depth and/or scan angle. The regression model uses three independent variables derived from satellite data to predict maximum shelter temperature. The first independent variable is the satellite's first estimate of temperature, the channel 4 effective temperature. The second independent variable is the difference in the amount of radiation received by the satellite's two thermal channels (4 and 5) serving as a measure of the water vapor in the atmosphere. The third independent variable, path length, uses the pixel position within the scan line to calculate the viewing angle from nadir. This approach resulted in a good R^2 of.65. Three reasons to explain why this R ^2 is not stronger are as follows: (1) a known temperature difference between satellite and shelter temperature, (2) unregistered satellite data--the latitude and longitude of the satellite data are not the location of the shelter and (3) comparison of an area averaged temperature (satellite data) to a point source (shelter) measurement are two different values. The second objective is using satellite data, during the heading and flowering period, combined with the ground truth data or the enumerator data obtained through the AgRISTARS program to determine crop stress. Using two regression models, two satellite temperature indices are used as predictors of a ratio in yield. Statistically significant relationships exist for soybeans and sunflowers. The third objective of this research is a study of a change of scan angle. Two relevant outcomes of this part of the research are: (1) more of the scan line is usable, and (2) the satellite temperature channel is independent of scan angle and sun position and therefore, satellite temperature data require little or no preprocessing.

6. EU Surface Temperature for All Corners of Earth - the EUSTACE project

Rayner, Nick; Auchmann, Renate; Bessembinder, Janette; Brönnimann, Stefan; Brugnara, Yuri; Carrea, Laura; Ghent, Darren; Good, Elizabeth; Herring, Katie; Høyer, Jacob; Kennedy, John; Klein Tank, Albert; Lindgren, Finn; Morice, Colin; Merchant, Chris; Remedios, John; Stephens, Ag; Tonboe, Rasmus

2015-04-01

Day-to-day variations in surface air temperature affect society in many ways; however, daily surface air temperature measurements are not available everywhere. A global daily analysis cannot be achieved with measurements made in situ alone, so incorporation of satellite retrievals is needed. To achieve this, we must develop an understanding of the relationships between traditional (land and marine) surface air temperature measurements and retrievals of surface skin temperature from satellite measurements, i.e. Land Surface Temperature, Ice Surface Temperature, Sea Surface Temperature and Lake Surface Water Temperature. These relationships can be derived either empirically or with the help of a physical model. Here we discuss the science needed to produce a fully-global daily analysis (or ensemble of analyses) of surface air temperature on the centennial scale, integrating different ground-based and satellite-borne data types. Information contained in the satellite retrievals would be used to create globally-complete fields in the past, using statistical models of how surface air temperature varies in a connected way from place to place. As the data volumes involved are considerable, such work would need to include partnerships with statisticians and computer scientists to enable the development of new "Big Data" analysis methods. To achieve this, the EUSTACE project will: • provide new, consistent, multi-component estimates of uncertainty in satellite retrievals of surface skin temperature; • identify inhomogeneities in daily surface air temperature measurement series from meteorological stations and correct for these over Europe; • estimate surface air temperature over all surfaces of Earth from surface skin temperature retrievals from satellites; • use new statistical techniques to provide information on higher spatial and temporal scales than currently available, making optimum use of the information in data-rich eras. EUSTACE will undertake this work between January 2015 and June 2018. An overview will be given of the challenges faced, together with information on how interested users can become involved.

7. Global relationships among the earth's radiation budget, cloudiness, volcanic aerosols, and surface temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ardanuy, Philip E.; Kyle, H. L.; Hoyt, Douglas

1992-01-01

Global relationships among the earth's radiation budget, cloudiness, solar constant, volcanic aerosols, and surface temperature are analyzed using data obtained by the Nimbus-7 spacecraft. It was found that these parameters were interrelated on interannual time scales, demonstrating that the interannual variability in the earth's climate (i.e., radiation budget) is detectable and observable by current spaceborne instruments. The degree of global interannual variation is on the order of tenths of percent.

8. Global relationships among the earth's radiation budget, cloudiness, volcanic aerosols, and surface temperature

SciTech Connect

Ardanuy, P.E.; Kyle, H.L.; Hoyt, D. NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD )

1992-10-01

Global relationships among the earth's radiation budget, cloudiness, solar constant, volcanic aerosols, and surface temperature are analyzed using data obtained by the Nimbus-7 spacecraft. It was found that these parameters were interrelated on interannual time scales, demonstrating that the interannual variability in the earth's climate (i.e., radiation budget) is detectable and observable by current spaceborne instruments. The degree of global interannual variation is on the order of tenths of percent. 41 refs.

9. The faint young sun problem. [in regulating surface temperature of early earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kasting, James F.; Grinspoon, David H.

1991-01-01

It is shown that the faint young sun problem was most likely solved by an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration in the earth's atmosphere brought about by the CO2 geochemical cycle. Because the loss process for atmospheric CO2 requires liquid water, and because the earth is continually resupplying atmospheric CO2 by carbonate metamorphism, the surface temperature should never have fallen below the point at which the ocean would freeze. Indeed, the early earth may have been quite warm if carbonate metamorphism was faster and if the continents were originally smaller, so that silicate weathering was inhibited.

10. The Surface Temperatures of the Earth: Steps towards Integrated Understanding of Variability and Change

Matthiesen, Stephan; Merchant, Chris; Rayner, Nick; Remedios, John; Høyer, Jacob L.; Jones, Phil; Olesen, Folke; Roquet, Hervé; Sobrino, José; Thorne, Peter

2013-04-01

Surface temperature is a key aspect of weather and climate, relevant to human health, agriculture and leisure, ecosystem services, infrastructure development and economic activity. In a community-based activity, the EarthTemp Network brought together 55 researchers from 5 continents to improve the interaction between scientific communities who focus on particular domains, to exploit the strengths of different observing systems and to better meet the needs of different communities. The Network idenitified key needs for progress towards meeting societal needs for surface temperature understanding and information, which will be reviewed and discussed in this contribution. A "whole-Earth" perspective is required with more integrated, collaborative approaches to observing and understanding Earth's various surface temperatures. It is necessary to build understanding of the relationships of different surface temperatures, where presently inadequate, and undertake large-scale systematic intercomparisons. Datasets need to be easier to obtain and exploit for a wide constituency of users, with the differences and complementarities communicated in readily understood terms, and realistic and consistent uncertainty information. Steps are also recommended to curate and make available data that are presently inaccessible, develop new observing systems and build capacities to accelerate progress in the accuracy and usability of surface temperature datasets.

11. A brief introduction to BNU-HESM1.0 and its earth surface temperature simulations

Yang, Shili; Dong, Wenjie; Chou, Jieming; Feng, Jinming; Yan, Xiaodong; Wei, Zhigang; Yuan, Wenping; Guo, Yan; Tang, Yanli; Hu, Jiacong

2015-12-01

Integrated assessment models and coupled earth system models both have their limitations in understanding the interactions between human activity and the physical earth system. In this paper, a new human-earth system model, BNU-HESM1.0, constructed by combining the economic and climate damage components of the Dynamic Integrated Model of Climate Change and Economy to the BNU-ESM model, is introduced. The ability of BNU-HESM1.0 in simulating the global CO2 concentration and surface temperature is also evaluated. We find that, compared to observation, BNU-HESM1.0 underestimates the global CO2 concentration and its rising trend during 1965-2005, due to the uncertainty in the economic components. However, the surface temperature simulated by BNU-HESM1.0 is much closer to observation, resulting from the overestimates of surface temperature by the original BNU-ESM model. The uncertainty of BNU-ESM falls within the range of present earth system uncertainty, so it is the economic and climate damage component of BNU-HESM1.0 that needs to be improved through further study. However, the main purpose of this paper is to introduce a new approach to investigate the complex relationship between human activity and the earth system. It is hoped that it will inspire further ideas that prove valuable in guiding human activities appropriate for a sustainable future climate.

12. Effects of increased CO2 concentrations on surface temperature of the early earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuhn, W. R.; Kasting, J. F.

1983-01-01

It is pointed out that enhanced levels of CO2 in the atmosphere could have provided the necessary warming to maintain the temperature above freezing. The processes that have been proposed for these larger amounts of CO2 are increased tectonic activity, a decrease in the solubility of CO2 in the oceans, rock weathering, and sediment deposition. It is shown here that large CO2 concentrations are necessary to maintain the early earth's surface temperature at approximately today's level. A thousand times the present atmospheric level of CO2 in the atmosphere would yield a temperature of 292 K, whereas a 100-fold increase in CO2 concentration would give a temperature of 284 K. The surface warming is highly dependent on the amount of water vapor and clouds, and knowledge of both of these during the early history of the earth is scant.

13. Controls of CO2 sources and sinks in the earth scale surface ocean - Temperature and nutrients

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volk, Tyler; Liu, Zhongze

1988-01-01

Several regions in the ocean in which disequilibrium persists on an annual avarage between CO2 in the surface water and the overlying atmosphere were examined using various models in which CO2 does cycle in a steady state at which sources (ocean outgassing) and sinks (ingassing) are in balance. The relative values of the surface temperature and surface nutrients, the two major contributors to the CO2 source and/or sink properties, are determined. Results from models with two ocean surfaces indicate that the sink in the north Atlantic and the sources in the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific are all dominated by the global temperature patterns. Results from ocean models with three surface zones show that, in the equatorial Pacific, the temperature control is responsible for over 50 percent (and, possibly, for almost 70 percent) of the CO2 outgassing, with the balance coming from the earth scale surface nutrient structure.

14. A negative feedback mechanism for the long-term stabilization of the earth's surface temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, J. C. G.; Hays, P. B.; Kasting, J. F.

1981-01-01

It is suggested that the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is buffered, over geological time scales, by a negative feedback mechanism, in which the rate of weathering of silicate minerals (followed by deposition of carbonate minerals) depends on surface temperature, which in turn depends on the carbon dioxide partial pressure through the greenhouse effect. Although the quantitative details of this mechanism are speculative, it appears able to partially stabilize the earth's surface temperature against the steady increase of solar luminosity, believed to have occurred since the origin of the solar system.

15. Possible contribution of surface temperature variation to the radiocarbon concentration in the Earth's atmosphere

Ogurtsov, M. G.; Dergachev, V. A.; Koudriavtsev, I. V.; Nagovitsyn, Yu. A.; Ostryakov, V. M.

2015-12-01

Data on the cosmogenic isotope (14C) concentration in the Earth's atmosphere are widely used to reconstruct solar activity in past epochs. However, the concentration of this isotope in the atmosphere (Δ14C) and tree rings can also be affected by climatic factors. The possible effect of the variations in the Earth's surface temperature on atmospheric 14C in the time interval from 1511 to 1954 is considered in the work. It was shown that the agreement between the Δ14C calculated curves and the experimental curve can be improved if the effect of temperature variations on (a) the radiocarbon exchange rate between the atmosphere and ocean and (b) atmospheric CO2 is taken into account. Further research trends are discussed.

16. What Is the Atmosphere’s Effect on Earth's Surface Temperature?

Zeng, Xubin

2010-04-01

It is frequently stated in textbooks and scholarly articles that the surface temperature of Earth is 33°C warmer than it would be without the atmosphere and that this difference is due to the greenhouse effect. This Forum shows that the atmosphere effect leads to warming of only 20°C. This new conclusion requires a revision to all of the relevant literature in K-12, undergraduate, and graduate education material and to science papers and reports. The greenhouse effect on Earth's surface temperature is well understood qualitatively and is regarded as basic knowledge about Earth's climate and climate change. The 33°C warming has been used to quantify the greenhouse effect of greenhouse gases, or of greenhouse gases and clouds, in K-12 educational material (e.g., http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/greenhouse.html), undergraduate freshman introductory textbooks on weather and climate [e.g., Ahrens, 2008], and graduate textbooks on climate [e.g., Peixoto and Oort, 1992]. Some textbooks and various other publications have less stringently attributed the warming to the greenhouse effect [e.g., Wallace and Hobbs, 2006; Le Treut et al., 2007; American Meteorological Society, 2000].

17. Radiative forcing of earth's surface temperature over the past 2009 years

Friend, A. D.

2010-12-01

Recently available datasets and global climate model (GCM) simulations are used to estimate earth's mean annual radiative forcing and surface temperature response due to ten agents over the past 2009 yr. A simple energy budget model (EBM) is calibrated against the GCM and used to assess the implications of the forcings for the evolution of the global mean surface temperature. The EBM is fairly skillful at reproducing the recent instrumental record, but with about 0.1 oC lower overall increase than observed over 1880-2009. The fit is improved if negative forcings such as due to tropospheric aerosols are reduced, or positive forcings such as greenhouse gases or solar irradiance are increased. Simulated centennial temperature variability over the past two millenia is less variable than some proxy-based estimates, with the Maunder Minimum anomaly approximately -0.3 oC compared to the 1961-1990 mean. A representation of the global carbon cycle is introduced into the model, with atmospheric CO2 dynamics predicted from net surface fluxes. Constraints from the observational record of atmospheric CO2 on terrestrial and marine surface CO2 flux responses to temperature and CO2 are inferred, and conclusions drawn of relevance to studies of future climate-carbon coupling.

18. Earth System Science at NASA: Teleconnections Between Sea Surface Temperature and Epidemics in Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meeson, Blanche W.

2000-01-01

The research carried out in the Earth Sciences in NASA and at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center will be the focus of the presentations. In addition, one research project that links sea surface temperature to epidemics in Africa will be highlighted. At GSFC research interests span the full breath of disciplines in Earth Science. Branches and research groups focus on areas as diverse as planetary geomagnetics and atmospheric chemistry. These organizations focus on atmospheric sciences (atmospheric chemistry, climate and radiation, regional processes, atmospheric modeling), hydrological sciences (snow, ice, oceans, and seasonal-to-interannual prediction), terrestrial physics (geology, terrestrial biology, land-atmosphere interactions, geophysics), climate modeling (global warming, greenhouse gases, climate change), on sensor development especially using lidar and microwave technologies, and on information technologies, that enable support of scientific and technical research.

19. South Pacific Decadal Variability Since the 1790s and Changes in Earth Surface Temperature

Linsley, B. K.; Wu, H. C.; Dassie, E. P.; Schrag, D. P.

2014-12-01

20. Comment on “What Is the Atmosphere's Effect on Earth's Surface Temperature?”

Stanhill, Gerald

2010-11-01

A recent Forum pointed out an important, widespread error in the calculation of the atmosphere's role in raising the surface temperature of the Earth above its radiative equilibrium [Zeng, 2010]. Unfortunately, by using the inaccurate and misleading terms “greenhouse effect” and “greenhouse gases,” this Forum continues to spread an even more widespread and ancient error. The error in using the greenhouse as a model for the Earth's atmosphere is that heating of the air within a greenhouse is caused by the structure's suppression of convective heat exchange with the outside air and not by the structure's reduction of longwave radiation exchange with space. There is evidence that Joseph Fourier, to whom the phrase “greenhouse effect” is often attributed, realized this in 1827 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fourier). The correct explanation of the heating of the air within a greenhouse was experimentally demonstrated a century ago [Wood, 1909] and by quantitative analysis a half century later [Businger, 1963].

1. Relationship Between the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Measurements and Surface Temperatures of Selected Ocean Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pandey, Dhirendra, K.; Lee, Robert B., III; Brown, Shannon B.; Paden, Jack; Spence, Peter L.; Thomas, Susan; Wilson, Robert S.; Al-Hajjah, Aiman

2001-01-01

Clear sky longwave radiances and fluxes are compared with the sea surface temperatures for three oceanic regions: Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) measurements were obtained by the three thermistor bolometers: total channel which measures the radiation arising from the earth-atmosphere system between 0.3 - greater than 100 micrometers; the window channel which measures the radiation from 8-12 micrometers; and the shortwave channel which measures the reflected energy from 0.3 - less than 5.0 micrometers. These instruments have demonstrated measurement precisions of approximately 0.3% on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) between ground and on-orbit sensor calibrations. In this work we have used eight months of clear sky earth-nadir-view radiance data starting from January 1998 through August 1998. We have found a very strong correlation of 0.97 between the CERES window channel's weekly averaged unfiltered spectral radiance values at satellite altitude (350 km) and the corresponding weekly averaged sea surface temperature (SST) data covering all the oceanic regions. Such correlation can be used in predicting the sea surface temperatures using the present CERES Terra's window channel radiances at satellite altitude very easily.

2. Analyzing earth's surface data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barr, D. J.; Elifrits, C. D.

1979-01-01

Manual discusses simple inexpensive image analysis technique used to interpret photographs and scanner of data of Earth's surface. Manual is designed for those who have no need for sophisticated computer-automated analysis procedures.

3. Response of Earth's surface temperature to radiative forcing over A.D. 1-2009

Friend, A. D.

2011-07-01

An energy balance model (EBM) of the annual global mean surface temperature is described and calibrated to the sensitivity and temporal dynamics of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies modelE global climate model (GCM). The effective radiative forcings of 10 agents are estimated over the past 2009 years and used as inputs to the model. Temperatures are relatively stable from around A.D. 300 until a "Medieval Climate Anomaly" starting around A.D. 1050. This is ended by a massive volcanic eruption in A.D. 1258, which initiates a multicentury era of low and relatively variable global mean temperatures, including a "Little Ice Age" A.D. 1588-1720. This era only ends at the beginning of the 20th century. The model estimate of forced centennial variability is smaller than the observed variability in reconstructions over the past two millennia. Also, the default parameterization results in less warming than observed over A.D. 1910-1944. Prediction uncertainty in the pre-industrial era is dominated by solar forcing, with the climate feedback factor and volcanic aerosols also playing important roles. In contrast, prediction uncertainty post-A.D. 1750 is much higher and dominated by uncertainties in direct and indirect aerosol and land use forcings. Improving estimates of these will greatly increase our ability to attribute observed temperature variability to contemporary forcings.

4. Effects of temperature-dependent molecular absorption coefficients on the thermal infrared remote sensing of the earth surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wan, Zhengming; Dozier, Jeff

1992-01-01

The effect of temperature-dependent molecular absorption coefficients on thermal infrared spectral signatures measured from satellite sensors is investigated by comparing results from the atmospheric transmission and radiance codes LOWTRAN and MODTRAN and the accurate multiple scattering radiative transfer model ATRAD for different atmospheric profiles. The sensors considered include the operational NOAA AVHRR and two research instruments planned for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS): MODIS-N (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer-Nadir-Mode) and ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer). The difference in band transmittance is as large as 6 percent for some thermal bands within atmospheric windows and more than 30 percent near the edges of these atmospheric windows. The effect of temperature-dependent molecular absorption coefficients on satellite measurements of sea-surface temperature can exceed 0.6 K. Quantitative comparison and factor analysis indicate that more accurate measurements of molecular absorption coefficients and better radiative transfer simulation methods are needed to achieve SST accuracy of 0.3 K, as required for global numerical models of climate, and to develop land-surface temperature algorithms at the 1-K accuracy level.

5. A Unified and Coherent Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) Earth System Data Record (ESDR) for Earth Science Research

Hulley, G. C.; Guillevic, P. C.; Hook, S. J.; Hain, C.; Pinker, R. T.; Borbas, E. E.; Knuteson, R. O.; Anderson, M. C.

2014-12-01

NASA has identified a major need to develop long-term, consistent products valid across multiple missions, with well-defined uncertainty statistics addressing specific Earth science questions. These types of data sets are termed Earth System Data Records (ESDRs) and are defined as long-term, well calibrated and validated data records for Earth Science research. Land surface temperature and emissivity (LST&E) data have been identified as an important ESDR by NASA and many other international organizations, e.g. GCOS. LST&E data are essential for a wide variety of surface-atmosphere studies, from calculating the evapotranspiration of plant canopies to retrieving atmospheric water vapor. LST&E products are currently generated from sensors in low Earth orbit (LEO) such as the NASA-EOS MODIS instruments on the Terra and Aqua satellites as well as from sensors in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) such as GOES. Sensors in LEO orbits provide global coverage at moderate spatial resolutions (~1-km) but more limited temporal coverage (twice-daily), while sensors in GEO orbits provide more frequent measurements (hourly) at lower spatial resolutions (~3-4 km) over a geographically restricted area. LST&E products from these instruments are currently produced using different emissivities, atmospheric correction, and algorithmic approaches, and usually do not include a full set of uncertainty metrics. NASA has recognized this general lack of consistency between science products and has identified the need to develop long-term, consistent, and calibrated data and products that are valid across multiple missions and satellite sensors. We address this problem by generating three self-consistent LST&E ESDRs from 2000-2018 with well defined uncertainties; 1) a unified global LEO LST-ESDR at 1-km spatial resolution and resampled to daily, 8-day and monthly time-steps; 2) a unified N. and S. America GEO LST-ESDR at 5-km spatial resolution and resampled to hourly temporal resolution; 3) a unified global Emissivity-ESDR at 5-km spatial resolution and monthly temporal resolution. Initial results and methodologies will be discussed, including validation and inter-comparisons with heritage products.

6. Rare Earth Optical Temperature Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chubb, Donald L. (Inventor); Jenkins, Phillip (Inventor)

2004-01-01

A rare earth optical temperature sensor is disclosed for measuring high temperatures. Optical temperature sensors exist that channel emissions from a sensor to a detector using a light pipe. The invention uses a rare earth emitter to transform the sensed thermal energy into a narrow band width optical signal that travels to a detector using a light pipe. An optical bandpass filter at the detector removes any noise signal outside of the band width of the signal from the emitter.

7. Characterizing an Integrated Annual Global Measure of the Earth's Maximum Land Surface Temperatures from 2003 to 2012 Reveals Strong Biogeographic Influences

Mildrexler, D. J.; Zhao, M.; Running, S. W.

2014-12-01

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a good indicator of the surface energy balance because it is determined by interactions and energy fluxes between the atmosphere and the ground. The variability of land surface properties and vegetation densities across the Earth's surface changes these interactions and gives LST a unique biogeographic influence. Natural and human-induced disturbances modify the surface characteristics and alter the expression of LST. This results in a heterogeneous and dynamic thermal environment. Measurements that merge these factors into a single global metric, while maintaining the important biophysical and biogeographical factors of the land surface's thermal environment are needed to better understand integrated temperature changes in the Earth system. Using satellite-based LST we have developed a new global metric that focuses on one critical component of LST that occurs when the relationship between vegetation density and surface temperature is strongly coupled: annual maximum LST (LSTmax). A 10 year evaluation of LSTmax histograms that include every 1-km pixel across the Earth's surface reveals that this integrative measurement is strongly influenced by the biogeographic patterns of the Earth's ecosystems, providing a unique comparative view of the planet every year that can be likened to the Earth's thermal maximum fingerprint. The biogeographical component is controlled by the frequency and distribution of vegetation types across the Earth's land surface and displays a trimodal distribution. The three modes are driven by ice covered polar regions, forests, and hot desert/shrubland environments. In ice covered areas the histograms show that the heat of fusion results in a convergence of surface temperatures around the melting point. The histograms also show low interannual variability reflecting two important global land surface dynamics; 1) only a small fraction of the Earth's surface is disturbed in any given year, and 2) when considered at the global scale, the positive and negative climate forcings resulting from the aggregate effects of the loss of vegetation to disturbances and the regrowth from natural succession are roughly in balance. Changes in any component of the histogram can be tracked and would indicate a major change in the Earth system.

8. Our contaminated atmosphere: The danger of climate change, phases 1 and 2. [effect of atmospheric particulate matter on surface temperature and earth's radiation budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cimorelli, A. J.; House, F. B.

1974-01-01

9. Surface Temperature Data Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, James; Ruedy, Reto

2012-01-01

Small global mean temperature changes may have significant to disastrous consequences for the Earth's climate if they persist for an extended period. Obtaining global means from local weather reports is hampered by the uneven spatial distribution of the reliably reporting weather stations. Methods had to be developed that minimize as far as possible the impact of that situation. This software is a method of combining temperature data of individual stations to obtain a global mean trend, overcoming/estimating the uncertainty introduced by the spatial and temporal gaps in the available data. Useful estimates were obtained by the introduction of a special grid, subdividing the Earth's surface into 8,000 equal-area boxes, using the existing data to create virtual stations at the center of each of these boxes, and combining temperature anomalies (after assessing the radius of high correlation) rather than temperatures.

10. Climate change stored below the earths surface

SciTech Connect

Cermak, V.; Safanda, J.; Kresl, M.

1997-12-31

Earths subsurface has a certain capability to remember what has happened on its surface tens to hundreds (or even thousands) years ago. Long-term climate changes accompanied by variations in tile mean annual temperature determine tile soil temperature, the time variations of which then propagate downwards with an attenuated amplitude and delayed phase. Ground surface temperature (GST) history, reflecting the past climate, can thus be evaluated by analysing its excursions left on the present-day temperature-depth T(z) distribution measured by precise temperature logging in the boreholes. Whereas the depths of several hundred metres may still keep and reveal a reliable record oil the climate of the past several centuries, tile uppermost layer of 100-150 in presents a plentiful archive of the recent global warming. Several characteristic examples of extracted climate recollections from holes all over the world will be resented and discussed.

11. Investigating the recent apparent hiatus in surface temperature increases: 1. Construction of two 30-member Earth System Model ensembles

Outten, Stephen; Thorne, Peter; Bethke, Ingo; Seland, Øyvind

2015-09-01

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, along with numerous studies since, has suggested that the apparent global warming hiatus results from some combination of natural variability and changes to external forcings. Herein the external forcings for greenhouse gases (GHGs), long-lived trace gases, volcanic and tropospheric aerosols, and solar irradiance have been replaced in the Norwegian Earth System Model using recent observational estimates. The potential impact of these alternative forcings, and by residual the internally generated variability, is examined through two 30-member ensembles covering the period 1980 to 2012. The Reference ensemble uses the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 historical forcings extended with the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) scenario, while the Sensitivity ensemble uses the alternative forcings. Over the hiatus period defined herein as 1998-2012, all of the forcings show some change between the Sensitivity and Reference experiments and have a combined net forcing change of -0.03 W m-2. The GHG forcing is 0.012 W m-2 higher in the Sensitivity forcings. The alternative solar forcing differs from the Reference forcing by -0.08 W m-2, the same as the alternative volcanic forcing that was based on the latest estimates from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Anthropogenic aerosol emissions were replaced using the EU-EclipseV4a data set and produce a mean forcing change of 0.11 W m-2 over the period. Part 1 details the creation of the two 30-member ensembles and their characterization for parameters of particular relevance to the explanation of the hiatus. A detailed investigation of the two resulting ensembles global surface temperature behavior is given in Part 2, along with comparisons to observational data sets.

12. Rare Earth Optical Temperature Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chubb, Donald L.; Wolford, David S.

2000-01-01

A new optical temperature sensor suitable for high temperatures (greater than 1700 K) and harsh environments is introduced. The key component of the sensor is the rare earth material contained at the end of a sensor that is in contact with the sample being measured. The measured narrow wavelength band emission from the rare earth is used to deduce the sample temperature. A simplified relation between the temperature and measured radiation was verified experimentally. The upper temperature limit of the sensor is determined by material limits to be approximately 2000 C. The lower limit, determined by the minimum detectable radiation, is found to be approximately 700 K. At high temperatures 1 K resolution is predicted. Also, millisecond response times are calculated.

13. Microwave antenna temperature of the earth from geostationary orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Njoku, E. G.; Smith, E. K.

1985-01-01

The microwave antenna temperature of the earth has been computed for the case of a communication satellite antenna viewing the earth from geostationary orbit. An earth-coverage beam is assumed and detailed computations are performed to account for varying land-ocean fractions within the field of view. Emission characteristics of the earth's atmosphere and surface are used with an accurate radiative transfer program to compute observed brightness temperatures. Values of 250 to 290 K commonly used for antenna temperature in satellite communication noise calculations are found to be over-conservative estimates, with more realistic values lying in the 60-240 K range depending on frequency and subsatellite longitude. These values also depend on assumptions concerning antenna beam coverage. Variations in atmospheric and surface conditions, and variations in antenna beam shape (as distinct from coverage), affect the computed results by less than about 10 K.

14. Platinum in Earth surface environments

Reith, F.; Campbell, S. G.; Ball, A. S.; Pring, A.; Southam, G.

2014-04-01

Platinum (Pt) is a rare precious metal that is a strategic commodity for industries in many countries. The demand for Pt has more than doubled in the last 30 years due to its role in the catalytic conversion of CO, hydrocarbons and NOx in modern automobiles. To explore for new Pt deposits, process ores and deal with ecotoxicological effects of Pt mining and usage, the fundamental processes and pathways of Pt dispersion and re-concentration in surface environments need to be understood. Hence, the aim of this review is to develop a synergistic model for the cycling of Pt in Earth surface environments. This is achieved by integrating the geological/(biogeo)chemical literature, which focuses on naturally occurring Pt mobility around ore deposits, with the environmental/ecotoxicological literature dealing with anthropogenic Pt dispersion. In Pt deposits, Pt occurs as sulfide-, telluride- and arsenide, native metal and alloyed to other PGEs and iron (Fe). Increased mining and utilization of Pt combined with the burning of fossil fuels have led to the dispersion of Pt-containing nano- and micro-particles. Hence, soils and sediments in industrialized areas, urban environments and along major roads are now commonly Pt enriched. Platinum minerals, nuggets and anthropogenic particles are transformed by physical and (bio)geochemical processes. Complexation of Pt ions with chloride, thiosulfate, ammonium, cyanide, low- and high molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs and HMWOAs) and siderophores can facilitate Pt mobilization. Iron-oxides, clays, organic matter and (micro)biota are known to sequester Pt-complexes and -particles. Microbes and plants are capable of bioaccumulating and reductively precipitating mobile Pt complexes. Bioaccumulation can lead to toxic effects on plants and animals, including humans. (Bio)mineralization in organic matter-rich sediments can lead to the formation of secondary Pt particles and -grains. Ultimately, Pt is enriched in oceanic sediments, where Pt is commonly concentrated in manganese (Mn) oxides. When these sediments are subducted, Pt re-enters the magmatic cycle. In conclusion, this review demonstrates that geological, geochemical as well as biological and most recently anthropological processes are strongly interlinked in driving the cycling of Pt in surface environments.

15. Global Surface Temperature Change

Hansen, J.; Ruedy, R.; Sato, M.; Lo, K.

2010-12-01

We update the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) analysis of global surface temperature change, compare alternative analyses, and address questions about perception and reality of global warming. Satellite-observed night lights are used to identify measurement stations located in extreme darkness and adjust temperature trends of urban and periurban stations for nonclimatic factors, verifying that urban effects on analyzed global change are small. Because the GISS analysis combines available sea surface temperature records with meteorological station measurements, we test alternative choices for the ocean data, showing that global temperature change is sensitive to estimated temperature change in polar regions where observations are limited. We use simple 12 month (and n 12) running means to improve the information content in our temperature graphs. Contrary to a popular misconception, the rate of warming has not declined. Global temperature is rising as fast in the past decade as in the prior 2 decades, despite year-to-year fluctuations associated with the El Nio-La Nia cycle of tropical ocean temperature. Record high global 12 month running mean temperature for the period with instrumental data was reached in 2010.

16. Quantitative Modeling of Earth Surface Processes

Pelletier, Jon D.

This textbook describes some of the most effective and straightforward quantitative techniques for modeling Earth surface processes. By emphasizing a core set of equations and solution techniques, the book presents state-of-the-art models currently employed in Earth surface process research, as well as a set of simple but practical research tools. Detailed case studies demonstrate application of the methods to a wide variety of processes including hillslope, fluvial, aeolian, glacial, tectonic, and climatic systems. Exercises at the end of each chapter begin with simple calculations and then progress to more sophisticated problems that require computer programming. All the necessary computer codes are available online at www.cambridge.org/9780521855976. Assuming some knowledge of calculus and basic programming experience, this quantitative textbook is designed for advanced geomorphology courses and as a reference book for professional researchers in Earth and planetary science looking for a quantitative approach to Earth surface processes.

17. More details...
18. Initiation of clement surface conditions on the earliest Earth.

PubMed

Sleep, N H; Zahnle, K; Neuhoff, P S

2001-03-27

In the beginning the surface of the Earth was extremely hot, because the Earth as we know it is the product of a collision between two planets, a collision that also created the Moon. Most of the heat within the very young Earth was lost quickly to space while the surface was still quite hot. As it cooled, the Earth's surface passed monotonically through every temperature regime between silicate vapor to liquid water and perhaps even to ice, eventually reaching an equilibrium with sunlight. Inevitably the surface passed through a time when the temperature was around 100 degrees C at which modern thermophile organisms live. How long this warm epoch lasted depends on how long a thick greenhouse atmosphere can be maintained by heat flow from the Earth's interior, either directly as a supplement to insolation, or indirectly through its influence on the nascent carbonate cycle. In both cases, the duration of the warm epoch would have been controlled by processes within the Earth's interior where buffering by surface conditions played little part. A potentially evolutionarily significant warm period of between 10(5) and 10(7) years seems likely, which nonetheless was brief compared to the vast expanse of geological time. PMID:11259665

19. Sea Surface Temperature

EPA Science Inventory

This indicator presents global mean sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies from 1880 to 2010. SST is a critical physical attribute of marine and coastal ecosystems that directly affects biological and physical process rates, water column stability, and the presence and health...

20. Influence of land-surface evapotranspiration on the earth's climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shukla, J.; Mintz, Y.

1982-01-01

Land-surface evapotranspiration is shown to strongly influence global fields of rainfall, temperature and motion by calculations using a numerical model of the atmosphere, confirming the general belief in the importance of evapotranspiration-producing surface vegetation for the earth's climate. The current version of the Goddard Laboratory atmospheric general circulation model is used in the present experiment, in which conservation equations for mass, momentum, moisture and energy are expressed in finite-difference form for a spherical grid to calculate (1) surface pressure field evolution, and (2) the wind, temperature, and water vapor fields at nine levels between the surface and a 20 km height.

21. The surface of near-Earth asteroids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffmann, Martin

1991-01-01

The surfaces of near-Earth asteroids are expected to differ significantly from those of large objects like the moon because of their different origin and evolution. A selection of such objects for an extensive procurement of material will also be made on criteria like the surface roughness and the rotation rate with respect to the surface gravity. From the currently known distribution of near-Earth asteroid rotation rates it is shown that a significant fraction of them is rotating near their escape velocities. The determination of macroscopic surface roughness from rotation light curves under an assumption of a fractal surface geometry is discussed. Much information is expected from the variation of harmonic expansions of the light curves with the phase angle.

1. Estimation of Surface Air Temperature from MODIS 1km Resolution Land Surface Temperature Over Northern China

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, Suhung; Leptoukh, Gregory G.; Gerasimov, Irina

2010-01-01

Surface air temperature is a critical variable to describe the energy and water cycle of the Earth-atmosphere system and is a key input element for hydrology and land surface models. It is a very important variable in agricultural applications and climate change studies. This is a preliminary study to examine statistical relationships between ground meteorological station measured surface daily maximum/minimum air temperature and satellite remotely sensed land surface temperature from MODIS over the dry and semiarid regions of northern China. Studies were conducted for both MODIS-Terra and MODIS-Aqua by using year 2009 data. Results indicate that the relationships between surface air temperature and remotely sensed land surface temperature are statistically significant. The relationships between the maximum air temperature and daytime land surface temperature depends significantly on land surface types and vegetation index, but the minimum air temperature and nighttime land surface temperature has little dependence on the surface conditions. Based on linear regression relationship between surface air temperature and MODIS land surface temperature, surface maximum and minimum air temperatures are estimated from 1km MODIS land surface temperature under clear sky conditions. The statistical errors (sigma) of the estimated daily maximum (minimum) air temperature is about 3.8 C(3.7 C).

2. The Human Transformation of the Earth's Surface.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Neil

1996-01-01

Reviews the tremendous transformation that human beings have wrought on the earth's surface from the Holocene to the present. Traces this transformation through various stages: the emergence and development of agriculture, agricultural impact and land degradation, ecological and political imperialism, industrialization, and environmental…

3. Thermal inertia mapping. [for lithologic materials in earth surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahle, A. B.; Gillespie, A. R.; Goetz, A. F. H.; Addington, J. D.

1975-01-01

A thermal model of the earth's surface has been developed and used to determine the thermal inertia of a test site in the Mojave Desert, California. The model, which includes meteorological heating terms as well as radiation and conduction heating terms, is used with remotely sensed surface temperature data to determine thermal inertia of materials. The thermal inertia is displayed in image form, and can aid in the differentiation of the various lithologic materials in the test site.

4. Gravity increased by lunar surface temperature

Keene, James

2013-04-01

Quantitatively large effects of lunar surface temperature on apparent gravitational force measured by lunar laser ranging (LLR) and lunar perigee may challenge widely accepted theories of gravity. LLR data grouped by days from full moon shows the moon is about 5 percent closer to earth at full moon compared to 8 days before or after full moon. In a second, related result, moon perigees were least distant in days closer to full moon. Moon phase was used as proxy independent variable for lunar surface temperature. The results support the prediction by binary mechanics that gravitational force increases with object surface temperature.

5. Earth Rise as Seen From Lunar Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1969-01-01

This incredible image of the Earth rise was taken during lunar orbit by the Apollo 11 mission crew in July of 1969. The first manned lunar mission, Apollo 11 launched aboard a Saturn V launch vehicle from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The 3-man crew aboard the flight consisted of Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot. Carrying astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., the Lunar Module (LM) 'Eagle' was the first crewed vehicle to land on the Moon. Astronaut Collins piloted the Command Module in a parking orbit around the Moon. The LM landed on the moon's surface in the region known as Mare Tranquilitatis (the Sea of Tranquility). The crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material which was returned to Earth for analysis. The surface exploration was concluded in 2½ hours. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished. The Saturn V launch vehicle was developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun.

6. Surface and atmosphere parameter maps from earth-orbiting radiometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gloersen, P.

1976-01-01

Earlier studies have shown that an earth-orbiting electrically scanned microwave radiometer (ESMR) is capable of inferring the extent, concentration, and age of sea ice; the extent, concentration, and thickness of lake ice; rainfall rates over oceans; surface wind speeds over open water; particle size distribution in the deep snow cover of continental ice sheets; and soil moisture content in unvegetated fields. Most other features of the surface of the earth and its atmosphere require multispectral imaging techniques to unscramble the combined contributions of the atmosphere and the surface. Multispectral extraction of surface parameters is analyzed on the basis of a pertinent equation in terms of the observed brightness temperature, the emissivity of the surface which depends on wavelength and various parameters, the sensible temperature of the surface, and the total atmospheric opacity which is also wavelength dependent. Implementation of the multispectral technique is examined. Properties of the surface of the earth and its atmosphere to be determined from a scanning multichannel microwave radiometer are tabulated.

7. Earth surface sensing in the '90's

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elachi, Charles

1986-01-01

Advances in Earth sensor technology and data handling techniques are reviewed. These will allow the acquisition of high resolution images over a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum (from microwave to optical) with sufficient spectral resolution to permit detailed analysis of the surface chemical, thermal, and physical properties. When combined with the topography, this will allow the user to analyze the full data set in a perspective view that enhances interpretation capability.

8. On Similarities Between the Earth Rotation and Temperature Changes

Zotov, L. V.

Earths rotation reflects processes in the atmosphere, ocean, Earths interior. The similarities between the global temperature oscillations and Earths rotation speed changes are well known, but still are not explained. We also have found similarities between ~ 20-year temperature oscillations, Chandler excitation envelope and cycle of regression of the Moon orbital nodes. In this short article we want to attract attention to this fact.

9. Spaceborne radar observation of the earth surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elachi, C.

1981-01-01

Seasat SAR images are being analyzed to determine the potential of spaceborne radars for earth resources and ocean surface observation. Examples are presented for a variety of applications in structural mapping, lithological classification, soil moisture detection, polar ice motion monitoring and ocean features observation. These examples are briefly discussed with emphasis on the future research needed to further the capability of radar sensors, by themselves or in combination with other sensors. A brief discussion is then given on the spaceborne sensors which are required and planned to meet these needs.

10. Did surface temperatures constrain microbial evolution?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartzman, D.; McMenamin, M.; Volk, T.

1993-01-01

The proposition that glaciation may not have occurred before the Cenozoic--albeit not yet a consensus position--nevertheless raises for reconsideration the surface temperature history of the earth. Glacial episodes, from the Huronian (2.3 billion years ago; BYA) through the late Paleozoic (320 to 250 million years ago; MYA) have been critical constraints on estimation of the upper bounds of temperature (Crowley 1983, Kasting and Toon 1989). Once removed, few if any constraints on the upper temperature limit other than life remain. Walker (1982) recognized that life provides an upper limit to temperature in the Precambrian. We propose a more radical concept: the upper temperature limit for viable growth of a given microbial group corresponds to the actual surface temperature at the time of the group's first appearance. In particular, we propose here that two major evolutionary developments--the emergence of cyanobacteria and aerobic eukaryotes--can be used to determine surface temperature in the Precambrian, and that only subsequent cooling mediated by higher plants and then angiosperms permitted what may possibly be the earth's first glaciation in the late Cenozoic.

11. The international surface temperature initiative

Thorne, P. W.; Lawrimore, J. H.; Willett, K. M.; Allan, R.; Chandler, R. E.; Mhanda, A.; de Podesta, M.; Possolo, A.; Revadekar, J.; Rusticucci, M.; Stott, P. A.; Strouse, G. F.; Trewin, B.; Wang, X. L.; Yatagai, A.; Merchant, C.; Merlone, A.; Peterson, T. C.; Scott, E. M.

2013-09-01

The aim of International Surface Temperature Initiative is to create an end-to-end process for analysis of air temperature data taken over the land surface of the Earth. The foundation of any analysis is the source data. Land surface air temperature records have traditionally been stored in local, organizational, national and international holdings, some of which have been available digitally but many of which are available solely on paper or as imaged files. Further, economic and geopolitical realities have often precluded open sharing of these data. The necessary first step therefore is to collate readily available holdings and augment these over time either through gaining access to previously unavailable digital data or through data rescue and digitization activities. Next, it must be recognized that these historical measurements were made primarily in support of real-time weather applications where timeliness and coverage are key. At almost every long-term station it is virtually certain that changes in instrumentation, siting or observing practices have occurred. Because none of the historical measures were made in a metrologically traceable manner there is no unambiguous way to retrieve the true climate evolution from the heterogeneous raw data holdings. Therefore it is desirable for multiple independent groups to produce adjusted data sets (so-called homogenized data) to adequately understand the data characteristics and estimate uncertainties. Then it is necessary to benchmark the performance of the contributed algorithms (equivalent to metrological software validation) through development of realistic benchmark datasets. In support of this, a series of successive benchmarking and assessment cycles are envisaged, allowing continual improvement while avoiding over-tuning of algorithms. Finally, a portal is proposed giving access to related data-products, utilizing the assessment results to provide guidance to end-users on which product is the most suited to their needs. Recognizing that the expertise of the metrological community has been under-utilized historically in such climate data analysis problems, the governance of the Initiative includes significant representation from the metrological community. We actively welcome contributions from interested parties to any relevant aspects of the Initiative work.

12. Reducing greenhouses and the temperature history of earth and Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sagan, C.

1977-01-01

It has been suggested that NH3 and other reducing gases were present in the earth's primitive atmosphere, enhancing the global greenhouse effect; data obtained through isotopic archeothermometry support this hypothesis. Computations have been applied to the evolution of surface temperatures on Mars, considering various bolometric albedos and compositions. The results are of interest in the study of Martian sinuous channels which may have been created by aqueous fluvial errosion, and imply that clement conditions may have previously occurred on Mars, and may occur in the future.

13. Quantifying the Lack of Consistency between Climate Model Projections and Observations of the Evolution of the Earth's Average Surface Temperature since the Mid-20th Century

Michaels, P. J.; Knappenberger, P. C.

2014-12-01

Recent climate change literature has been dominated by studies which show that the equilibrium climate sensitivity is better constrained than the latest estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA) and that the best estimate of the climate sensitivity is considerably lower than the climate model ensemble average. From the recent literature, the central estimate of the equilibrium climate sensitivity is ~2°C, while the climate model average is ~3.2°C, or an equilibrium climate sensitivity that is some 40% lower than the model average.To the extent that the recent literature produces a more accurate estimate of the equilibrium climate sensitivity than does the climate model average, it means that the projections of future climate change given by both the IPCC and NCA are, by default, some 40% too large (too rapid) and the associated (and described) impacts are gross overestimates.A quantitative test of climate model performance can be made by comparing the range of model projections against observations of the evolution of the global average surface temperature since the mid-20th century. Here, we perform such a comparison on a collection of 108 model runs comprising the ensemble used in the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report and find that the observed global average temperature evolution for all trend lengths (with one exception) since 1986 is less than 97.5% of the model distribution, meaning that the observed trends are significantly different from the average trend simulated by climate models. For periods approaching 40 years in length, the observed trend lies outside of (below) the range that includes 95% of all climate model simulations.We conclude that at the global scale, this suite of climate models has failed. Treating them as mathematical hypotheses, which they are, means that it is the duty of scientists to, unfortunately, reject their predictions in lieu of those with a lower climate sensitivity. Unless (or until) the collection of climate models can be demonstrated to accurately capture observed characteristics of known climate changes, policymakers should avoid basing any decisions upon projections made from them. Further, those policies which have already be established using projections from these climate models should be revisited.

14. Surface Temperature Assimilation in Land Surface Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lakshmi, Venkataraman

1999-01-01

This paper examines the utilization of surface temperature as a variable to be assimilated in offline land surface hydrological models. Comparisons between the model computed and satellite observed surface temperatures have been carried out. The assimilation of surface temperature is carried out twice a day (corresponding to the AM and PM overpass of the NOAA10) over the Red-Arkansas basin in the Southwestern United States (31 degs 50 sec N - 36 degrees N, 94 degrees 30 seconds W - 104 degrees 3 seconds W) for a period of one year (August 1987 to July 1988). The effect of assimilation is to reduce the difference between the surface soil moisture computed for the precipitation and/or shortwave radiation perturbed case and the unperturbed case compared to no assimilation.

15. Surface Temperature Assimilation in Land Surface Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lakshmi, Venkataraman

1997-01-01

This paper examines the utilization of surface temperature as a variable to be assimilated in offline land surface hydrological models. Comparisons between the model computed and satellite observed surface temperatures have been carried out. The assimilation of surface temperature is carried out twice a day (corresponding to the AM and PM overpass of the NOAA10) over the Red- Arkansas basin in the Southwestern United States (31 deg 50 min N - 36 deg N, 94 deg 30 min W - 104 deg 30 min W) for a period of one year (August 1987 to July 1988). The effect of assimilation is to reduce the difference between the surface soil moisture computed for the precipitation and/or shortwave radiation perturbed case and the unperturbed case compared to no assimilation.

16. Contamination of optical surfaces in Earth orbit

Kinser, Donald L.; Weller, Robert A.; Mendenhall, M. H.; Wiedlocher, D. E.; Nichols, R.; Tucker, D.; Whitaker, A.

1992-01-01

Glass and glass ceramic samples exposed to the low earth orbit environment for approximately 5.5 years on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) were found to display limited degradation in optical transmission. Commercial optical quality fused silica samples display decreases in transmission in the 200 to 400 nm wavelength region, and this degradation appears to be a consequence of surface contamination. The contamination, found only on internal surfaces of samples, was measured by medium energy backscattering spectrometry and found to be primarily carbon. Additional thin film contamination by a species with atomic mass near 64, which was present at the level of about 8 x 10 exp 14/sq. cm has not been identified. These observations are consistent with the interpretation that organic binders used in the black absorbing paint (Chem Glaze Z-306) inside the sample holding tray were concentrated in the vicinity of the samples and photolytically cracked by solar UV radiation. The resulting decomposition products were deposited on the interior sample surface and gave rise to the optical transmission loss. No detectable contamination was observed on the external or space exposed surface of the samples. No measurable damage was detected which could be attributed to the direct action of gamma or UV radiation on the glass samples. These results emphasize the need for special precautions in the preparation of spacecraft carrying precision optical components on long duration missions.

17. HCMM satellite to take earth's temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The heat capacity mapping mission (HCMM), a low cost modular spacecraft built for the Applications Explorer Missions (AEM), was designed to allow scientists to determine the feasibility of using day/night thermal infrared remote sensor-derived data to: (1) discriminate various rock types and locate mineral resources; (2) measure and monitor surface soil moisture changes; (3) measure plant canopy temperatures at frequent intervals to determine transpiration of water and plant stress; and (4) measure urban heat islands. The design of the spacecraft (AEM-A), its payload, launch vehicle, orbit, and data collection and processing methods are described. Projects in which the HCMM data will be applied by 12 American and 12 foreign investigators are summarized.

18. Flexible Multiplexed Surface Temperature Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daryabeigi, Kamran; Dillon-Townes, L. A.; Johnson, Preston B.; Ash, Robert L.

1995-01-01

Unitary array of sensors measures temperatures at points distributed over designated area on surface. Useful in measuring surface temperatures of aerodynamic models and thermally controlled objects. Made of combination of integrated-circuit microchips and film circuitry. Temperature-sensing chips scanned at speeds approaching 10 kHz. Operating range minus 40 degrees C to 120 degrees C. Flexibility of array conforms to curved surfaces. Multiplexer eliminates numerous monitoring cables. Control of acquisition and recording of data effected by connecting array to microcomputers via suitable interface circuitry.

19. Geodiversity of the Earth's surface and environment

Lastochkin, Alexander; Zhirov, Andrey; Boltramovich, Sergei

2014-05-01

Geologic and geographic objects can be successfully systemized based on the mathematical theories of diversity and sets. This can give us a clear understanding of the nomenclature of the Earth's surface: its elements, forms, as well as their combinations and structures. All these surface structural units are closely related to elementary landscapes, or geotops (other elementary locations such as biotops, lythotops, edafotops, hydrotops, climatops, and etc. can also be considered). Both surface structural units and corresponding geotops should be studied on two systematic levels: 1) the morphological one that provides us with the taxonomic (by unit size) and meronomic (by unit complexity) information, and 2) the dynamical one that allows working out various interpretations: geo-flows and their influence on the Earth's surface (including new formation and complete destruction of elements and forms), sustainability of geodiversity, etc. At the present time, the dynamical level is in a process of defining clear criteria and developing relevant classification. The morphological level has in turn three sub-levels: a) relief elements, b) landforms (geomorphosystems), and c) regions (super-geomorphosystems). The entire set of two-dimensional surface elements comprises 52 variants (elementary surfaces) and more than 2,700 three-dimensional geotops. Each of the geotops is characterized by four different exposures: gravitational (hypso- and bathymetric position, steepness, vertical and horizontal curvature), insolational (dip azimuth of the location), circulating (orientation against prevailing flows - frontal, rear or flank position), and anthropogenic ones. The most contrasting geotops are tied to the upper (tops, crests and their adjacent areas) and lower (bottoms, thalwegs and their adjacent areas) relief elements. Slope elements (faces, cliffs, terraces, and feet) serve as the linking areas and determine not the diversity as such but, first of all, commonalities of the territory. The second morphological level - landforms - comprises 145 variants of geomorphosystems. They are classified according to the sign and shape in plan and profile, inner structure presented by vector lines (circle, ellipse, hyperbola, parabola, and lattice figures), outer structure presented by contours (isometric, brachy-, hemi-, bilateral, and linear ones), as well as their determinants and dominants. The determinants (in the number of 18) are the elements - mainly structural lines - that determine the whole landform (ridge, valley, trough, swell, volcanic cone, etc.); elementary surfaces dominating the landform serve as its dominants (37). The third morphological level - geomorphologic regions - reflects geodiversity of a larger scale. It follows to a certain extent the classification on the first, elementary, level but is also supplemented with the analysis of extended symmetry and anisotropy carried out on a geomorphologic map. All abovementioned fundamentals in a much more detailed way can be easily found in the monograph by Alexander Lastochkin "General theory of geosystems" (St. Petersburg, 2011, in Russian) and in the "Geomorphologic Atlas of the Antarctic" (St. Petersburg, 2012 - in Russian; 2013 - in English) produced by the team of authors.

20. NEO-SURFACE: Near-Earth Objects --- SURvey oF Asteroids Close to the Earth

Dotto, E.; Perna, D.; Ieva, S.; Barucci, M.; Bernardi, F.; Fornasier, S.; Brucato, J.; De Luise, F.; Perozzi, E.; Micheli, M.; Rossi, A.

2014-07-01

Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) form a continuously replenished population of asteroids and dead comets that cross the Earth's orbit while orbiting the Sun. Our present knowledge of their physical properties is rather limited, especially for what concerns faint and newly-discovered objects, of which we have physical information for less than 10 % of the population. The most frequent technique to obtain physical characterizations of NEOs is the optical/NIR spectroscopy: by analyzing the object's spectral features, it is possible to detect minerals and compounds (e.g., silicates, organics, and products of aqueous-alteration processes) present on its surface, to put constraints on the thermal evolution (maximum temperature reached, aqueous alteration vs. thermal metamorphism), as well as to establish possible links with objects belonging to other populations of small bodies (e.g., main-belt asteroids, and comets) and with meteorites. In order to increase the present knowledge of the physical properties of NEOs, we are carrying out a survey called NEO-SURFACE: Near Earth Objects --- SURvey oF Asteroids Close to the Earth (http://www.oa-roma.inaf.it/planet/NEOSurface.html). We perform V+NIR spectroscopy and photometry focusing our effort, first, on NEOs with possible close approaches with the Earth (PHAs, the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids), and, second, on NEOs easily accessible for future rendezvous space missions. In cases of NEOs causing an impact hazard, physical parameters are fundamental in order to estimate their response to non-gravitational forces (mainly to the Yarkovsky effect) and therefore model their future dynamical evolution. For suitable targets for space missions, the physical characterization is needed to guarantee both the technical feasibility and the high scientific return of the mission. The results collected until now will be presented and discussed.

1. Influence of slip-surface geometry on earth-flow deformation, Montaguto earth flow, southern Italy

Guerriero, Luigi; Coe, Jeffrey A.; Revellino, Paola; Grelle, Gerardo; Pinto, Felice; Guadagno, Francesco M.

2014-08-01

We investigated relations between slip-surface geometry and deformational structures and hydrologic features at the Montaguto earth flow in southern Italy between 1954 and 2010. We used 25 boreholes, 15 static cone-penetration tests, and 22 shallow-seismic profiles to define the geometry of basal- and lateral-slip surfaces; and 9 multitemporal maps to quantify the spatial and temporal distribution of normal faults, thrust faults, back-tilted surfaces, strike-slip faults, flank ridges, folds, ponds, and springs. We infer that the slip surface is a repeating series of steeply sloping surfaces (risers) and gently sloping surfaces (treads). Stretching of earth-flow material created normal faults at risers, and shortening of earth-flow material created thrust faults, back-tilted surfaces, and ponds at treads. Individual pairs of risers and treads formed quasi-discrete kinematic zones within the earth flow that operated in unison to transmit pulses of sediment along the length of the flow. The locations of strike-slip faults, flank ridges, and folds were not controlled by basal-slip surface topography but were instead dependent on earth-flow volume and lateral changes in the direction of the earth-flow travel path. The earth-flow travel path was strongly influenced by inactive earth-flow deposits and pre-earth-flow drainages whose positions were determined by tectonic structures. The implications of our results that may be applicable to other earth flows are that structures with strikes normal to the direction of earth-flow motion (e.g., normal faults and thrust faults) can be used as a guide to the geometry of basal-slip surfaces, but that depths to the slip surface (i.e., the thickness of an earth flow) will vary as sediment pulses are transmitted through a flow.

2. The Temperature of the Earth in 2020

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, James; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

In spite of the confusion in the public discourse about global warming, there is no doubt that the Earth has been warming for the past century. The chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere is complex, and it is sometimes difficult to claim cause-and-effect with certainty. Nevertheless, the evidence seems clear that CO2 and non-CO2 forcings such as methane and air pollution are causally related to this warming trend. Our dependence on fossil fuels make it difficult to expect that massive reductions in CO2 will be feasible in the near-term, however. In this talk I will consider the evidence for global warming, the extent to which we can extrapolate current trends into the future if no changes in global policy are introduced, and those near-term policies that might be realistically introduced to significantly affect those trends.

3. How much have variations in the meridional overturning circulation contributed to sea surface temperature trends since 1850? A study with the EC-Earth global climate model

Schmith, Torben; Yang, Shuting; Gleeson, Emily; Semmler, Tido

2014-05-01

The surface of the worlds' oceans has been warming since the beginning of industrialisation mainly due to larger atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. In addition to that multidecadal SST variations of internal origin exist. Evidence points to the North Atlantic Ocean as exhibiting the strongest multidecadal SST variations and that these variations are connected to the overturning circulation. In this work we investigate the extent to which these internal multidecadal variations have contributed to enhancing or diminishing the trend induced by the external radiative forcing globally and in the North Atlantic. We do so in a model study where we combine the analysis of a long control simulation with constant forcing corresponding to preindustrial conditions and an ensemble of simulations with historical forcing from 1850 until 2005. First we note that global SST trends calculated from the different historical simulations are similar, while there is a large disagreement between the North Atlantic SST trends. Then we analyse the control simulation, where we identify a relationship between SST anomalies and anomalies in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) for multidecadal and longer time scales. This relationship enables us to extract the AMOC-related SST variability from each individual member of the ensemble of historical simulations and then to calculate the SST trends with the AMOC-related variability excluded. For the global SST trends this causes only a little difference while SST trends with AMOC related variability excluded for the North Atlantic show closer agreement than with the AMOC-related variability included. From this we conclude that AMOC variability contributed significantly to North Atlantic SST trends since the mid 19th century.

4. Superconductivity above the lowest Earth temperature in pressurized sulfur hydride

Bianconi, Antonio; Jarlborg, Thomas

2015-11-01

A recent experiment has shown a macroscopic quantum coherent condensate at 203 K, about 19 degrees above the coldest temperature recorded on the Earth surface, 184 K (-89.2 ^\\circ \\text{C}, -128.6 ^\\circ \\text{F}) in pressurized sulfur hydride. This discovery is relevant not only in material science and condensed matter but also in other fields ranging from quantum computing to quantum physics of living matter. It has given the start to a gold rush looking for other macroscopic quantum coherent condensates in hydrides at the temperature range of living matter 200c <400 \\text{K} . We present here a review of the experimental results and the theoretical works and we discuss the Fermiology of \\text{H}3\\text{S} focusing on Lifshitz transitions as a function of pressure. We discuss the possible role of the shape resonance near a neck disrupting Lifshitz transition, in the Bianconi-Perali-Valletta (BPV) theory, for rising the critical temperature in a multigap superconductor, as the Feshbach resonance rises the critical temperature in Fermionic ultracold gases.

5. Trends in Surface Temperature from AIRS.

Ruzmaikin, A.; Aumann, H. H.

2014-12-01

To address possible causes of the current hiatus in the Earth's global temperature we investigate the trends and variability in the surface temperature using retrievals obtained from the measurements by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and its companion instrument, the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), onboard of Aqua spacecraft in 2002-2014. The data used are L3 monthly means on a 1x1degree spatial grid. We separate the land and ocean temperatures, as well as temperatures in Artic, Antarctic and desert regions. We find a monotonic positive trend for the land temperature but not for the ocean temperature. The difference in the regional trends can help to explain why the global surface temperature remains almost unchanged but the frequency of occurrence of the extreme events increases under rising anthropogenic forcing. The results are compared with the model studies. This work was supported by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

6. Rare Earth Doped High Temperature Ceramic Selective Emitters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chubb, Donald L.; Pal, AnnaMarie; Patton, Martin O.; Jenkins, Phillip P.

1999-01-01

As a result of their electron structure, rare earth ions in crystals at high temperature emit radiation in several narrow bands rather than in a continuous blackbody manner. This study develops a spectral emittance model for films of rare earth containing materials. Although there are several possible rare earth doped high temperature materials, this study was confined to rare earth aluminum garnets. Good agreement between experimental and theoretical spectral emittances was found for erbium, thulium and erbium-holmium aluminum garnets. Spectral emittances of these films are sensitive to temperature differences across the film. Emitter efficiency is also a sensitive function of temperature. For thulium aluminum garnet the efficiency is 0.38 at 1700 K but only 0.19 at 1262 K.

7. New constraints on equatorial temperatures during a Late Neoproterozoic snowball Earth glaciation

Ewing, Ryan C.; Eisenman, Ian; Lamb, Michael P.; Poppick, Laura; Maloof, Adam C.; Fischer, Woodward W.

2014-11-01

Intense glaciation during the end of Cryogenian time (∼635 million years ago) marks the coldest climate state in Earth history - a time when glacial deposits accumulated at low, tropical paleolatitudes. The leading idea to explain these deposits, the snowball Earth hypothesis, predicts globally frozen surface conditions and subfreezing temperatures, with global climate models placing surface temperatures in the tropics between -20 °C and -60 °C. However, precise paleosurface temperatures based upon geologic constraints have remained elusive and the global severity of the glaciation undetermined. Here we make new geologic observations of tropical periglacial, aeolian and fluvial sedimentary structures formed during the end-Cryogenian, Marinoan glaciation in South Australia; these observations allow us to constrain ancient surface temperatures. We find periglacial sand wedges and associated deformation suggest that ground temperatures were sufficiently warm to allow for ductile deformation of a sandy regolith. The wide range of deformation structures likely indicate the presence of a paleoactive layer that penetrated 2-4 m below the ground surface. These observations, paired with a model of ground temperature forced by solar insolation, constrain the local mean annual surface temperature to within a few degrees of freezing. This temperature constraint matches well with our observations of fluvial deposits, which require temperatures sufficiently warm for surface runoff. Although this estimate coincides with one of the coldest near sea-level tropical temperatures in Earth history, if these structures represent peak Marinaon glacial conditions, they do not support the persistent deep freeze of the snowball Earth hypothesis. Rather, surface temperatures near 0 °C allow for regions of seasonal surface melting, atmosphere-ocean coupling and possible tropical refugia for early metazoans. If instead these structures formed during glacial onset or deglaciation, then they have implications for the timescale and character for the transition into or out of a snowball state.

8. The impacts of climate change on terrestrial Earth surface systems

Knight, Jasper; Harrison, Stephan

2013-01-01

National and international policy initiatives have focused on reducing carbon emissions as a means by which to limit future climate warming. Much less attention has been paid by policymakers to monitoring, modelling and managing the impacts of climate change on the dynamics of Earth surface systems, including glaciers, rivers, mountains and coasts. This is a critical omission, however, as Earth surface systems provide water and soil resources, sustain ecosystem services and strongly influence biogeochemical climate feedbacks in ways that are as yet uncertain. We argue that there is a significant policy gap regarding the management of Earth surface systems' impacts under climate change that needs to be closed to facilitate the sustainability of cross-national Earth surface resource use. It is also a significant challenge to the scientific community to better understand Earth surface systems' sensitivity to climate forcing.

9. Global surface temperatures and the atmospheric electrical circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Price, Colin

1993-01-01

To monitor future global temperature trends, it would be extremely useful if parameters nonlinearly related to surface temperature could be found, thereby amplifying any warming signal that may exist. Evidence that global thunderstorm activity is nonlinearly related to diurnal, seasonal and interannual temperature variations is presented. Since global thunderstorm activity is also well correlated with the earth's ionospheric potential, it appears that variations of ionospheric potential, that can be measured at a single location, may be able to supply valuable information regarding global surface temperature fluctuations. The observations presented enable a prediction that a 1 percent increase in global surface temperatures may result in a 20 percent increase in ionospheric potential.

10. Method for measuring surface temperature

DOEpatents

Baker, Gary A.; Baker, Sheila N.; McCleskey, T. Mark

2009-07-28

The present invention relates to a method for measuring a surface temperature using is a fluorescent temperature sensor or optical thermometer. The sensor includes a solution of 1,3-bis(1-pyrenyl)propane within a 1-butyl-1-1-methyl pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquid solvent. The 1,3-bis(1-pyrenyl)propane remains unassociated when in the ground state while in solution. When subjected to UV light, an excited state is produced that exists in equilibrium with an excimer. The position of the equilibrium between the two excited states is temperature dependent.

11. Earth Surface Patterns in 200 Years (Invited)

Werner, B.

2009-12-01

What kinds of patterns will characterize Earth's surface in 200 years? This question is addressed using a complex systems dynamical framework for distinct levels of description in a hierarchy, in which time scale and spatial extent increase and number of variables decrease with level, and in which levels are connected nonlinearly to each other via self-organization and slaving and linearly to the external environment. Self-organized patterns linking the present to 200 years in the future must be described dynamically on a level with a time scale of centuries. Human-landscape coupling will play a prominent role in the formation of these patterns as population peaks and interactions become nonlinear over these time scales. Three related examples illustrate this approach. First, the response of human-occupied coastlines to rising sea level. Coastlines in wealthy regions develop a spatially varying boom and bust pattern, with response amplified by structures meant to delay the effects of sea level rise. Coastlines in economically disadvantaged regions experience a subdued response, with populations developing a culture of displacement that minimizes human-landscape interactions in a context of scarce resources. Second, the evolution of nation-state borders with degrading ecosystems, declining resource availability and increasing transportation costs. The maintenance of strong borders as selective filtration systems (goods, capital and people) is based on a cost-benefit analysis in which the economic benefits accruing from long distance, globalized resource exploitation are weighed against policing and infrastructure costs. As costs rise above benefits, borders fragment, with a transition to local barriers and conflicts, and mobile peoples moving to resources. Third, trends in urbanization and development of megacities under economic and environmental stress. The pattern of rapid growth of megacities through inward migration, with displaced people occupying high-risk urban landscapes such as flood plains or steep slopes and existing on the margins of the formal economic system, switches to outmigration as precarious slum dwellers respond to human-induced natural disasters, crumbling infrastructure and economic decline. Inefficient foraging along outward migration pathways from the urban center drives positive feedbacks that propel a radiating pattern and eventually lead to dispersal. These anticipated patterns represent a fragmentation of economic and power concentrations and networks, and localization of the presently globalized coupled human-landscape system. Long-time-scale models illustrating the fragmentation process and prospects for model testing will be discussed. Supported by the Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics Program of the US National Science Foundation.

12. Taking the temperature of Earth's hottest crust

Korhonen, F. J.; Clark, C.; Brown, M.; Taylor, R. J. M.

2014-12-01

The limitations of conventional thermobarometry and petrogenetic grids for determining the peak P- T conditions of granulites are well known. These limitations have been overcome during the past decade with the calibration of single mineral thermometers, particularly Al-in-orthopyroxene, Zr-in-rutile and Ti-in-zircon, and the increased use of P- T pseudosection thermobarometry. Most recent studies of ultrahigh temperature (UHT) granulites (those formed at >900 °C) have used one or other of these methods to argue for peak metamorphic temperatures up to or beyond 1000 °C. Since models for the thermal evolution of orogens generally do not predict such extreme temperatures it is important to confirm their veracity. Here we combine in a single study single mineral thermometry with P- T pseudosection thermobarometry to provide a robust determination of peak temperature and tight constraints on the retrograde P- T path for one UHT granulite locality in the Eastern Ghats Province. This is the first study to apply the most recent update of the internally consistent thermodynamic dataset of Holland and Powell (2011) and the re-parameterized a- x models of White et al. (2014) and Wheller and Powell (2014) to UHT granulites. For two samples, we report Zr-in-rutile temperatures of >1000 °C and Ti-in-zircon temperatures of ∼900 °C, supported by Al-in-orthopyroxene temperatures of ∼900 °C, that correspond closely to those estimated using P- T pseudosections for conditions at the thermal peak and at the solidus on the retrograde P- T path, respectively. The P- T path is counter-clockwise in common with other UHT granulite localities in the Eastern Ghats Province. By demonstrating that UHT metamorphism at T > 1000 °C is real we provide a robust constraint that must be met by geodynamic models for the development of ultrahot orogens.

13. Deep drilling; Probing beneath the earth's surface

SciTech Connect

Rosen, J.250

1991-06-01

This paper reports on boreholes from 4.5 to greater than 10 kilometers deep that are pushing back the boundaries of earth science as they yield information that is used to refine seismic surveys, chart the evolution of sedimentary basins and shield volcanos, and uncover important clues on the origin and migration of mantle-derived water and gas.

14. Mission to Earth: LANDSAT Views the World. [Color imagery of the earth's surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Short, N. M.; Lowman, P. D., Jr.; Freden, S. C.; Finch, W. A., Jr.

1976-01-01

The LANDSAT program and system is described. The entire global land surface of Earth is visualized in 400 color plates at a scale and resolution that specify natural land cultural features in man's familiar environments. A glossary is included.

15. Surface crystalline carbon temperature sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petrac, D.; Gatewood, J.; Mason, P.

1976-01-01

The described sensor has been used to measure small temperature changes in investigations related to the study of the properties of superfluid helium under zero-gravity conditions. The sensor requirements included high sensitivity, rapid response, small size, reproducibility, and ease of application to a test surface. In the preparation of the sensor a thin film of a commercially available carbon colloidal suspension is deposited on a substrate which must be electrically insulated or be covered with an insulating layer.

16. Earthing: health implications of reconnecting the human body to the Earth's surface electrons.

PubMed

Chevalier, Gaétan; Sinatra, Stephen T; Oschman, James L; Sokal, Karol; Sokal, Pawel

2012-01-01

Environmental medicine generally addresses environmental factors with a negative impact on human health. However, emerging scientific research has revealed a surprisingly positive and overlooked environmental factor on health: direct physical contact with the vast supply of electrons on the surface of the Earth. Modern lifestyle separates humans from such contact. The research suggests that this disconnect may be a major contributor to physiological dysfunction and unwellness. Reconnection with the Earth's electrons has been found to promote intriguing physiological changes and subjective reports of well-being. Earthing (or grounding) refers to the discovery of benefits-including better sleep and reduced pain-from walking barefoot outside or sitting, working, or sleeping indoors connected to conductive systems that transfer the Earth's electrons from the ground into the body. This paper reviews the earthing research and the potential of earthing as a simple and easily accessed global modality of significant clinical importance. PMID:22291721

17. MODIS Global Sea Surface Temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Every day the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measures sea surface temperature over the entire globe with high accuracy. This false-color image shows a one-month composite for May 2001. Red and yellow indicates warmer temperatures, green is an intermediate value, while blues and then purples are progressively colder values. The new MODIS sea surface temperature product will be particularly useful in studies of temperature anomalies, such as El Nino, as well as research into how air-sea interactions drive changes in weather and climate patterns. In the high resolution image, notice the amazing detail in some of the regional current patterns. For instance, notice the cold water currents that move from Antarctica northward along South America's west coast. These cold, deep waters upwell along an equatorial swath around and to the west of the Galapagos Islands. Note the warm, wide currents of the Gulf Stream moving up the United States' east coast, carrying Caribbean warmth toward Newfoundland and across the Atlantic toward Western Europe. Note the warm tongue of water extending from Africa's east coast to well south of the Cape of Good Hope. MODIS was launched in December 1999 aboard NASA's Terra satellite. For more details on this and other MODIS data products, please see NASA Unveils Spectacular Suite of New Global Data Products from MODIS. Image courtesy MODIS Ocean Group, NASA GSFC, and the University of Miami

18. Solar flare intermittency and the earth's temperature anomalies.

PubMed

Scafetta, Nicola; West, Bruce J

2003-06-20

We argue that Earth's short-term temperature anomalies and the solar flare intermittency are linked. The analysis is based upon the study of the scaling of both the spreading and the entropy of the diffusion generated by the fluctuations of the temperature time series. The joint use of these two methods evidences the presence of a Lévy component in the temporal persistence of the temperature data sets that corresponds to the one that would be induced by the solar flare intermittency. The mean monthly temperature data sets cover the period from 1856 to 2002. PMID:12857233

19. NASA's Space Lidar Measurements of Earth and Planetary Surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abshire, James B.

2010-01-01

A lidar instrument on a spacecraft was first used to measure planetary surface height and topography on the Apollo 15 mission to the Moon in 1971, The lidar was based around a flashlamp-pumped ruby laser, and the Apollo 15-17 missions used them to make a few thousand measurements of lunar surface height from orbit. With the advent of diode pumped lasers in the late 1980s, the lifetime, efficiency, resolution and mass of lasers and space lidar all improved dramatically. These advances were utilized in NASA space missions to map the shape and surface topography of Mars with > 600 million measurements, demonstrate initial space measurements of the Earth's topography, and measured the detailed shape of asteroid. NASA's ICESat mission in Earth orbit just completed its polar ice measurement mission with almost 2 billion measurements of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, and demonstrated measurements to Antarctica and Greenland with a height resolution of a few em. Space missions presently in cruise phase and in operation include those to Mercury and a topographic mapping mission of the Moon. Orbital lidar also have been used in experiments to demonstrate laser ranging over planetary distances, including laser pulse transmission from Earth to Mars orbit. Based on the demonstrated value of the measurements, lidar is now the preferred measurement approach for many new scientific space missions. Some missions planned by NASA include a planetary mission to measure the shape and dynamics of Europa, and several Earth orbiting missions to continue monitoring ice sheet heights, measure vegetation heights, assess atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and to map the Earth surface topographic heights with 5 m spatial resolution. This presentation will give an overview of history, ongoing work, and plans for using space lidar for measurements of the surfaces of the Earth and planets.

20. Estimating ultraviolet radiation at the earth's surface

Nunez, Manuel; Forgan, Bruce; Roy, Colin

1994-03-01

Surface ultraviolet (UV) irradiance depends not only on stratospheric ozone amounts, but also varies with time and date, latitude, cloud amount and aerosol load. Any assessment of the effect of stratospheric ozone depletion on surface UV irradiance must take into consideration all of the above parameters. Measurements in the UV-B region may be accomplished using filter and detector combinations which mimic a biological response curve. However there are uncertainties such as in determining the exact filter response and in the cosine error of the detector. The UV-A region lacks a strong ozone absorption band and approaches which relate measured UV-A irradiance to measured global irradiance show promise. Theoretical models have been derived which calculate spectral UV irradiance in cloudless and cloudy conditions. Results show that cloud transmissivities increase as wavelength increases; however, there is a strong dependence on cloud type. In the absence of surface observations of clouds, satellite data may be used to map UV-A and UV-B irradiance in a region, and this approach is illustrated using two specific examples.

1. Pressure and temperature induced elastic properties of rare earth chalcogenides

Shriya, S.; Singh, N.; Sapkale, R.; Varshney, M.; Varshney, Dinesh

2016-05-01

The pressure and temperature dependent mechanical properties as Young modulus, Thermal expansion coefficient of rare earth REX (RE = La, Pr, Eu; X = O, S, Se, and Te) chalcogenides are studied. The rare earth chalcogenides showed a structural phase transition (B1-B2). Pressure dependence of Young modulus discerns an increase in pressure inferring the hardening or stiffening of the lattice as a consequence of bond compression and bond strengthening. Suppressed Young modulus as functions of temperature infers the weakening of the lattice results in bond weakening in REX. Thermal expansion coefficient demonstrates that REX (RE = La, Pr, Eu; X = O, S, Se, and Te) chalcogenides is mechanically stiffened, and thermally softened on applied pressure and temperature.

2. Geophysical, petrological and mineral physics constraints on Earth's surface topography

Guerri, Mattia; Cammarano, Fabio; Tackley, Paul J.

2015-04-01

Earth's surface topography is controlled by isostatically compensated density variations within the lithosphere, but dynamic topography - i.e. the topography due to adjustment of surface to mantle convection - is an important component, specially at a global scale. In order to separate these two components it is fundamental to estimate crustal and mantle density structure and rheological properties. Usually, crustal density is constrained from interpretation of available seismic data (mostly VP profiles) based on empirical relationships such those in Brocher [2005]. Mantle density structure is inferred from seismic tomography models. Constant coefficients are used to interpret seismic velocity anomalies in density anomalies. These simplified methods are unable to model the effects that pressure and temperature variations have on mineralogical assemblage and physical properties. Our approach is based on a multidisciplinary method that involves geophysical observables, mineral physics constraints, and petrological data. Mantle density is based on the thermal interpretation of global seismic tomography models assuming various compositional structures, as in Cammarano et al. [2011]. We further constrain the top 150 km by including heat-flow data and considering the thermal evolution of the oceanic lithosphere. Crustal density is calculated as in Guerri and Cammarano [2015] performing thermodynamic modeling of various average chemical compositions proposed for the crust. The modeling, performed with the code PerpleX [Connolly, 2005], relies on the thermodynamic dataset from Holland and Powell [1998]. Compressional waves velocity and crustal layers thickness from the model CRUST 1.0 [Laske et al., 2013] offer additional constrains. The resulting lithospheric density models are tested against gravity (GOCE) data. Various crustal and mantle density models have been tested in order to ascertain the effects that uncertainties in the estimate of those features have on the modeled topography. We also test several viscosity models, either radially symmetric, the V1 profile from Mitrovica and Forte [2004], or more complex laterally varying structures. All the property fields are expanded in spherical harmonics, until degree 24, and implemented in the code StagYY [Tackley, 2008] to perform mantle instantaneous flow modeling and compute surface topography and gravitational field. Our results show the importance of constraining the crustal and mantle density structure relying on a multidisciplinary approach that involves experimentally robust thermodynamic datasets. Crustal density field has a strong effect on the isostatic component of topography. The models that we test, CRUST 1.0 and those in Guerri and Cammarano [2015], produce strong differences in the computed isostatic topography, in the range ±600 m. For the lithospheric mantle, relying on experimentally robust material properties constraints is necessary to infer a reliable density model that takes into account chemical heterogeneities. This approach is also fundamental to correctly interpret seismic models in temperature, a crucial parameter, necessary to determine the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, where static effects on topography leave place to dynamic ones. The comparison between results obtained with different viscosity fields, either radially symmetric or vertically and laterally varying, shows how lateral viscosity variations affect the results, in particular the modeled geoid, at different wavelengths. References: Brocher, T. M. (2005), Empirical Relations between Elastic Wavespeeds and Density in the Earth's Crust, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 95(6), 2081-2092. Cammarano, F., P. J. Tackley, and L. Boschi (2011), Seismic, petrological and geodynamical constraints on thermal and compositional structure of the upper mantle: global thermochemical models, Geophys. J. Int. Connolly, J. A. D. (2005), Computation of phase equilibria by linear programming: A tool for geodynamic modeling and its application to subduction zone decarbonation, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (236), 524-541. Guerri, M., and F. Cammarano (2015), On the effects of chemical composition, water and temperature on physical properties of the Earth's continental crust, submitted to Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystem. Holland, T. J. B., and R. Powell (1998), An internally consistent thermodynamic data set for phases of petrological interest, J. metamorphic Geol., 16(309-343). Laske, G., G. Masters, Z. Ma, and M. E. Pasyanos (2013), CRUST1.0: An updated global model of Earth's crust, in EGU General Assembly 2013, edited, Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vienna. Mitrovica, J. X., and A. M. Forte (2004), A new inference of mantle viscosity based upon joint inversion of convection and glacial isostatic adjustment data, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 225, 177-189. Tackley, P. J. (2008), Modelling compressible mantle convection with large viscosity contrasts in a three-dimensional spherical shell using the yin-yang grid, Phys. Earth Planet. Int.

3. Isotope fractionation in surface ionization ion source of alkaline-earth iodides

SciTech Connect

Suzuki, T.; Kanzaki, C.; Nomura, M.; Fujii, Y.

2012-02-15

The relationship between the isotope fractionation of alkaline-earth elements in the surface ionization ion source and the evaporation filament current, i.e., filament temperature, was studied. It was confirmed that the isotope fractionation depends on the evaporation filament temperature; the isotope fractionation in the case of higher temperature of filament becomes larger. The ionization and evaporation process in the surface ionization ion source was discussed, and it was concluded that the isotope fractionation is suppressed by setting at the lower temperature of evaporation filament because the dissociations are inhibited on the evaporation filament.

4. Historical Landsat data comparisons: illustrations of the Earth's changing surface

USGS Publications Warehouse

U.S. Geological Survey

1995-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) EROS Data Center (EDC) has managed the Landsat data archive for more than two decades. This archive provides a rich collection of information about the Earth's land surface. Major changes to the surface of the planet can be detected, measured, and analyzed using Landsat data. The effects of desertification, deforestation, pollution, cataclysmic volcanic activity, and other natural and anthropogenic events can be examined using data acquired from the Landsat series of Earth-observing satellites. The information obtainable from the historical and current Landsat data play a key role in studying surface changes through time. This document provides an overview of the Landsat program and illustrates the application of the data to monitor changes occurring on the surface of the Earth. To reveal changes that have taken place within the past 20 years, pairs and triplicates of images were constructed from the Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) and thematic mapper (TM) sensors. Landsat MSS data provide a historical record of the Earth's land surface from the early 1970's to the early 1990's. Landsat TM data provide land surface information from the early 1980's to the present.

5. A study of surface temperatures, clouds and net radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhuria, Harbans

1994-01-01

The study is continuing and it is focused on examining seasonal relationships between climate parameters such as the surface temperatures, the net radiation and cloud types and amount on a global basis for the period February 1985 to January 1987. The study consists of an analysis of the combined Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program (ISCCP) products. The main emphasis is on obtaining the information about the interactions and relationships of Earth Radiation Budget parameters, cloud and temperature information. The purpose is to gain additional qualitative and quantitative insight into the cloud climate relationship.

6. Metadata for numerical models of deep Earth and Earth surface processes

Kelbert, A.; Peckham, S. D.

2014-12-01

Model metadata aims to provide an unambiguous and complete description of a numerical model that would allow an end user scientist an immediate snapshot of the pertinent physical laws, assumptions, and numerical approximations. A rigorous metadata format that allows machine parsing of this information also makes it possible for model coupling frameworks to provide automatic and reliable semantic matching of input and output variables when models are coupled. Model metadata hinges in part on a controlled vocabulary that consists of human- and machine-readable terms that are unambiguously defined across modeling domains. The Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS) Standard Names are a set of generic naming conventions that have been used to generate a self-consistent controlled vocabulary for surface dynamics processes. As part of the NSF's EarthCube "Earth System Bridge" project, we extend the rich controlled vocabulary of CSDMS standard names to solid Earth modeling domains, including geodynamics, seismology, magnetotellurics, and petrology. We proceed to create a standard for Model Coupling Metadata (MCM) that is flexible enough to serve both the surface dynamics modeling community, and the deep Earth process modelers, thus bridging CSDMS and the Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics (CIG) communities with a common semantic network. Here, we focus on our progress towards establishing an MCM standard for numerical models of solid Earth and Earth surface processes, and on the tools that facilitate creation and maintenance of such metadata. In development of the MCM standard, we leverage the Common Information Model (CIM) of the climate modeling community, as well as the NSF-funded EarthCube GeoSoft project.

7. Estimation of ground surface temperatures from borehole temperature data

Wang, Kelin

1992-02-01

To infer past climatic changes from temperatures measured in boreholes, one must obtain reliable estimates of ground surface temperature (GST) histories from these data. This paper presents a method that uses a Bayesian inverse technique to estimate the GST in the Fourier frequency domain. By assuming the a priori GST to be stationary, with a prescribed standard deviation and a cutoff period, the time series is constrained to be bounded and smooth. Because accounting for conductivity variations with depth is crucial to the estimation of GST, a layered Earth medium has been used, for which the forward analytical solution of one-dimensional heat conduction is available. Borehole data from Flin Flon and Lac Dufault in Canada are inverted with this method. The Flin Flon hole, logged to a depth of 2900 m, provides an opportunity to study long-term GST variations, and the estimated GST from this hole shows some effects of deglaciation at the end of Pleistocene. At Lac Dufault, similar GSTs were obtained independently from three holes ranging from 550 to 900 m, and hence the results are considered more reliable. In the Lac Dufault GSTs, there is a warm period centered about 1000 years BP and a cold period about 400 years B.P., confirming the presence of the Little Climatic Optimum and the Little Ice Age, respectively. The Flin Flon result does not show the Little Climatic Optimum, and the Little Ice Age occurs about 100-200 years earlier. However, in both locations, the GSTs show another brief cold period around the turn of the century followed by rapid warming until 1940-1950, in good agreement with the trend of northern hemisphere surface air temperatures.

8. Determination of land surface skin temperatures and surface air temperature and humidity from TOVS HIRS2/MSU data

Lakshmi, Venkataraman; Susskind, Joel; Choudhury, Bhaskar J.

Global climate models operate at scales that are compatible with satellite observations of the earth surface. It is very useful to use retrieved satellite data for the purposes of comparisons with models for validation and calibration. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the TOVS Pathfinder Path A data set is useful for the study of land surface process/dynamics for contrasting climatic regions and the relationships between different surface variables. The results show that anomalies of the diurnal difference of surface skin temperature are related to the anomalies of the monthly precipitation with increasing precipitation anomalies corresponding with decreasing diurnal skin surface temperature difference anomalies. This follows our understanding that increased surface wetness leads to increased evapotranspiration and reduced diurnal (pm minus am) surface skin temperature differences.

9. Gas-Surface Interactions in Low-Earth Orbit

Moe, Kenneth; Moe, Mildred M.

2011-05-01

When the space age began, some aerodynamicists expected that the surfaces of spacecraft would be cleaned by desorption in the high vacuum of space; while others, familiar with experiments on engineering surfaces, believed that satellite surfaces would be contaminated. During subsequent decades, satellite evidence has accumulated, showing that surfaces in low-Earth orbit are contaminated by adsorbed atomic oxygen and its reaction products. These contaminants cause accommodation coefficients to be high, and the angular distribution of reemitted molecules to be nearly diffuse. These surface conditions must be considered in calculating satellite drag coefficients in free-molecular flow. We describe the experimental and theoretical developments which have led to these conclusions.

10. Atmospheric CO2: Principal Control Knob Governing Earth's Temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lacis, Andrew A.; Schmidt, Gavin A.; Rind, David; Ruedy, Reto A.

2010-01-01

Ample physical evidence shows that carbon dioxide (CO2) is the single most important climate-relevant greenhouse gas in Earth s atmosphere. This is because CO2, like ozone, N2O, CH4, and chlorofluorocarbons, does not condense and precipitate from the atmosphere at current climate temperatures, whereas water vapor can and does. Noncondensing greenhouse gases, which account for 25% of the total terrestrial greenhouse effect, thus serve to provide the stable temperature structure that sustains the current levels of atmospheric water vapor and clouds via feedback processes that account for the remaining 75% of the greenhouse effect. Without the radiative forcing supplied by CO2 and the other noncondensing greenhouse gases, the terrestrial greenhouse would collapse, plunging the global climate into an icebound Earth state.

11. Atmospheric CO2: principal control knob governing Earth's temperature.

PubMed

Lacis, Andrew A; Schmidt, Gavin A; Rind, David; Ruedy, Reto A

2010-10-15

Ample physical evidence shows that carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is the single most important climate-relevant greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere. This is because CO(2), like ozone, N(2)O, CH(4), and chlorofluorocarbons, does not condense and precipitate from the atmosphere at current climate temperatures, whereas water vapor can and does. Noncondensing greenhouse gases, which account for 25% of the total terrestrial greenhouse effect, thus serve to provide the stable temperature structure that sustains the current levels of atmospheric water vapor and clouds via feedback processes that account for the remaining 75% of the greenhouse effect. Without the radiative forcing supplied by CO(2) and the other noncondensing greenhouse gases, the terrestrial greenhouse would collapse, plunging the global climate into an icebound Earth state. PMID:20947761

12. On the average temperature of airless spherical bodies and the magnitude of Earth's atmospheric thermal effect.

PubMed

Volokin, Den; ReLlez, Lark

2014-01-01

The presence of atmosphere can appreciably warm a planet's surface above the temperature of an airless environment. Known as a natural Greenhouse Effect (GE), this near-surface Atmospheric Thermal Enhancement (ATE) as named herein is presently entirely attributed to the absorption of up-welling long-wave radiation by greenhouse gases. Often quoted as 33 K for Earth, GE is estimated as a difference between planet's observed mean surface temperature and an effective radiating temperature calculated from the globally averaged absorbed solar flux using the Stefan-Boltzmann (SB) radiation law. This approach equates a planet's average temperature in the absence of greenhouse gases or atmosphere to an effective emission temperature assuming ATE ≡ GE. The SB law is also routinely employed to estimating the mean temperatures of airless bodies. We demonstrate that this formula as applied to spherical objects is mathematically incorrect owing to Hölder's inequality between integrals and leads to biased results such as a significant underestimation of Earth's ATE. We derive a new expression for the mean physical temperature of airless bodies based on an analytic integration of the SB law over a sphere that accounts for effects of regolith heat storage and cosmic background radiation on nighttime temperatures. Upon verifying our model against Moon surface temperature data provided by the NASA Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, we propose it as a new analytic standard for evaluating the thermal environment of airless bodies. Physical evidence is presented that Earth's ATE should be assessed against the temperature of an equivalent airless body such as the Moon rather than a hypothetical atmosphere devoid of greenhouse gases. Employing the new temperature formula we show that Earth's total ATE is ~90 K, not 33 K, and that ATE = GE + TE, where GE is the thermal effect of greenhouse gases, while TE > 15 K is a thermodynamic enhancement independent of the atmospheric infrared back radiation. It is concluded that the contribution of greenhouse gases to Earth's ATE defined as GE = ATE - TE might be greater than 33 K, but will remain uncertain until the strength of the hereto identified TE is fully quantified by future research. PMID:26034697

13. Solar activity, cosmic rays, and earth temperature reconstructions for the past two millennia. Part 1. Analysis of temperature reconstructions

Dergachev, V. A.

2015-01-01

The data on a change in the Earth's surface temperature during the time interval of the past 2000 years, which were obtained using the instrumental, historical, and indirect methods, were reviewed and analyzed. In addition, data on borehole termometry were analyzed, and it was shown that this method can be used to reconstruct long-term trends in climate change, which is among the main causes of differences in interpreting indirect data on long timescales (several hundred and thousand years).

14. Earthlike planets: Surfaces of Mercury, Venus, earth, moon, Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, B.; Malin, M. C.; Greeley, R.

1981-01-01

The surfaces of the earth and the other terrestrial planets of the inner solar system are reviewed in light of the results of recent planetary explorations. Past and current views of the origin of the earth, moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars are discussed, and the surface features characteristic of the moon, Mercury, Mars and Venus are outlined. Mechanisms for the modification of planetary surfaces by external factors and from within the planet are examined, including surface cycles, meteoritic impact, gravity, wind, plate tectonics, volcanism and crustal deformation. The origin and evolution of the moon are discussed on the basis of the Apollo results, and current knowledge of Mercury and Mars is examined in detail. Finally, the middle periods in the history of the terrestrial planets are compared, and future prospects for the exploration of the inner planets as well as other rocky bodies in the solar system are discussed.

15. In hot water: effects of temperature-dependent interiors on the radii of water-rich super-Earths

2016-02-01

16. In hot water: effects of temperature-dependent interiors on the radii of water-rich super-Earths

2016-05-01

17. Towards Monitoring Satellite Land Surface Temperature Production

Yu, P.; Yu, Y.; Liu, Y.; Wang, Z.; Zhang, X.

2014-12-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is of fundamental importance to the net radiation budget at the Earth surface and to monitoring the state of crops and vegetation, as well as an important indicator of both the greenhouse effect and the energy flux between the atmosphere and the land. Since its launch on October 28, 2011, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite has been continuously providing data for LST production; intensive validation and calibration of the LST data have been conducted since then. To better monitor the performance of the S-NPP LST product and evaluate different retrieval algorithms for potential improvement, a near-real-time monitoring system has been developed and implemented. The system serves as a tool for both the routine monitoring and the deep-dive researches. It currently consists of two major components: the global cross-satellite LST comparisons between S-NPP/VIIRS and MODIS/AQUA, and the LST validation with respect to in-situ observations from SURFRAD network. Results about cross-satellite comparisons, satellite-in situ LST validation, and evaluation of different retrieval algorithms are routinely generated and published through an FTP server of the system ftp. The results indicate that LST from the S-NPP is comparable to that from MODIS. A few case studies using this tool will be analyzed and presented.

18. A Low Temperature Limit for Life on Earth

PubMed Central

Clarke, Andrew; Morris, G. John; Fonseca, Fernanda; Murray, Benjamin J.; Price, Hannah C.

2013-01-01

There is no generally accepted value for the lower temperature limit for life on Earth. We present empirical evidence that free-living microbial cells cooling in the presence of external ice will undergo freeze-induced desiccation and a glass transition (vitrification) at a temperature between −10°C and −26°C. In contrast to intracellular freezing, vitrification does not result in death and cells may survive very low temperatures once vitrified. The high internal viscosity following vitrification means that diffusion of oxygen and metabolites is slowed to such an extent that cellular metabolism ceases. The temperature range for intracellular vitrification makes this a process of fundamental ecological significance for free-living microbes. It is only where extracellular ice is not present that cells can continue to metabolise below these temperatures, and water droplets in clouds provide an important example of such a habitat. In multicellular organisms the cells are isolated from ice in the environment, and the major factor dictating how they respond to low temperature is the physical state of the extracellular fluid. Where this fluid freezes, then the cells will dehydrate and vitrify in a manner analogous to free-living microbes. Where the extracellular fluid undercools then cells can continue to metabolise, albeit slowly, to temperatures below the vitrification temperature of free-living microbes. Evidence suggests that these cells do also eventually vitrify, but at lower temperatures that may be below −50°C. Since cells must return to a fluid state to resume metabolism and complete their life cycle, and ice is almost universally present in environments at sub-zero temperatures, we propose that the vitrification temperature represents a general lower thermal limit to life on Earth, though its precise value differs between unicellular (typically above −20°C) and multicellular organisms (typically below −20°C). Few multicellular organisms can, however, complete their life cycle at temperatures below ∼−2°C. PMID:23840425

19. Clouds, surface temperature, and the tropical and subtropical radiation budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhuria, Harbans L.; Kyle, H. Lee

1980-01-01

Solar energy drives both the Earth's climate and biosphere, but the absorbed energy is unevenly distributed over the Earth. The tropical regions receive excess energy which is then transported by atmospheric and ocean currents to the higher latitudes. All regions at a given latitude receive the same top of the atmosphere solar irradiance (insolation). However, the net radiation received from the Sun in the tropics and subtropics varies greatly from one region to another depending on local conditions. Over land, variations in surface albedo are important. Over both land and ocean, surface temperature, cloud amount, and cloud type are also important. The Nimbus-7 cloud and Earth radiation budget (ERB) data sets are used to examine the affect of these parameters.

20. Comparisons of borehole temperature-depth profiles and surface air temperatures in the northern plains of the USA

Harris, Robert N.; Gosnold, William D.

1999-08-01

Temperature-depth profiles measured in boreholes contain a record of temperature changes at the Earth's surface. The degree to which these profiles and surface air temperature records track each other is quantitatively assessed for the northern plains of the USA. Surface air temperature records are used as a forcing function to generate synthetic transient temperature profiles which are compared with transient temperatures derived from borehole temperature-depth data. These comparisons indicate that surface air and ground temperatures are correlated. Furthermore, these comparisons yield a long-term mean temperature tied to the meteorological record which provides a context for interpreting contemporary warming trends. Our results indicate that warming recorded in surface air temperature time series represents a positive departure above baseline temperature estimates.

1. Solar turbulence in earth's global and regional temperature anomalies.

PubMed

Scafetta, Nicola; Grigolini, Paolo; Imholt, Timothy; Roberts, Jim; West, Bruce J

2004-02-01

This paper presents a study of the influence of solar activity on the earth's temperature. In particular, we focus on the repercussion of the fluctuations of the solar irradiance on the temperature of the Northern and Southern hemispheres as well as on land and ocean regions. While solar irradiance data are not directly analyzed, we make use of a published solar irradiance reconstruction for long-time-scale fluctuations, and for short-time-scale fluctuations we hypothesize that solar irradiance and solar flare intermittency are coupled in such a way that the solar flare frequency fluctuations are stochastically equivalent to those of the solar irradiance. The analysis is based upon wavelet multiresolution techniques and scaling analysis methods for processing time series. The limitations of the correlation analysis applied to the short-time-scale fluctuations are discussed. The scaling analysis uses both the standard deviation and the entropy of the diffusion generated by the temperature signals. The joint use of these two scaling methods yields evidence of a Lévy component in the temporal persistence of the temperature fluctuations within the temporal range from a few weeks to a few years. This apparent Lévy persistence of the temperature fluctuations is found, by using an appropriate model, to be equivalent to the Lévy scaling of the solar flare intermittency. The mean monthly temperature data sets cover the period from 1856 to 2002. PMID:14995555

2. Microclimatic Temperature Relationships over Different Surfaces.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Thomas B.

1991-01-01

Describes a study of temperature variations over different surfaces in an urban campus setting. Explains that researchers sampled temperatures over grass, bare soil, gravel, concrete, and blacktop. Reports that grassy areas registered the highest morning temperatures and lowest afternoon temperatures. (SG)

3. A much warmer Earth surface for most of geologic time: implications to biotic weathering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartzman, D. W.; McMenamin, M.

1993-01-01

The authors present two scenarios for the temperature history of Earth. One scenario is conventional, the other relies on a warmer history. Both scenarios include surface cooling determined by the evolution of the biosphere and are similar until the Proterozoic period. The warmer scenario requires a higher plant/lichen terrestrial biota to increase weathering intensity. Justification for a warmer surface includes period temperatures from the oxygen isotope record of coexisting phosphates and cherts, an upper limit of 58 degrees C from primary gypsum precipitation, and the lack of fractionation of sulfur isotopes between sulfide and sulfates in Archean sediments.

4. Stratospheric Temperatures and Water Loss from Moist Greenhouse Atmospheres of Earth-like Planets

Kasting, James F.; Chen, Howard; Kopparapu, Ravi K.

2015-11-01

A radiative-convective climate model is used to calculate stratospheric temperatures and water vapor concentrations for ozone-free atmospheres warmer than that of modern Earth. Cold, dry stratospheres are predicted at low surface temperatures, in agreement with recent 3D calculations. However, at surface temperatures above 350 K, the stratosphere warms and water vapor becomes a major upper atmospheric constituent, allowing water to be lost by photodissociation and hydrogen escape. Hence, a moist greenhouse explanation for loss of water from Venus, or some exoplanet receiving a comparable amount of stellar radiation, remains a viable hypothesis. Temperatures in the upper parts of such atmospheres are well below those estimated for a gray atmosphere, and this factor should be taken into account when performing inverse climate calculations to determine habitable zone boundaries using 1D models.

5. Role of surface temperature in fluorocarbon plasma-surface interactions

SciTech Connect

Nelson, Caleb T.; Overzet, Lawrence J.; Goeckner, Matthew J.

2012-07-15

This article examines plasma-surface reaction channels and the effect of surface temperature on the magnitude of those channels. Neutral species CF{sub 4}, C{sub 2}F{sub 6}, and C{sub 3}F{sub 8} are produced on surfaces. The magnitude of the production channel increases with surface temperature for all species, but favors higher mass species as the temperature is elevated. Additionally, the production rate of CF{sub 2} increases by a factor of 5 as the surface temperature is raised from 25 Degree-Sign C to 200 Degree-Sign C. Fluorine density, on the other hand, does not change as a function of either surface temperature or position outside of the plasma glow. This indicates that fluorine addition in the gas-phase is not a dominant reaction. Heating reactors can result in higher densities of depositing radical species, resulting in increased deposition rates on cooled substrates. Finally, the sticking probability of the depositing free radical species does not change as a function of surface temperature. Instead, the surface temperature acts together with an etchant species (possibly fluorine) to elevate desorption rates on that surface at temperatures lower than those required for unassisted thermal desorption.

6. Applications of surface analytical techniques in Earth Sciences

Qian, Gujie; Li, Yubiao; Gerson, Andrea R.

2015-03-01

This review covers a wide range of surface analytical techniques: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM), photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM), dynamic and static secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), atomic force microscopy (AFM). Others that are relatively less widely used but are also important to the Earth Sciences are also included: Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). All these techniques probe only the very top sample surface layers (sub-nm to several tens of nm). In addition, we also present several other techniques i.e. Raman microspectroscopy, reflection infrared (IR) microspectroscopy and quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy (QEMSCAN) that penetrate deeper into the sample, up to several μm, as all of them are fundamental analytical tools for the Earth Sciences. Grazing incidence synchrotron techniques, sensitive to surface measurements, are also briefly introduced at the end of this review. (Scanning) transmission electron microscopy (TEM/STEM) is a special case that can be applied to characterisation of mineralogical and geological sample surfaces. Since TEM/STEM is such an important technique for Earth Scientists, we have also included it to draw attention to the capability of TEM/STEM applied as a surface-equivalent tool. While this review presents most of the important techniques for the Earth Sciences, it is not an all-inclusive bibliography of those analytical techniques. Instead, for each technique that is discussed, we first give a very brief introduction about its principle and background, followed by a short section on approaches to sample preparation that are important for researchers to appreciate prior to the actual sample analysis. We then use examples from publications (and also some of our known unpublished results) within the Earth Sciences to show how each technique is applied and used to obtain specific information and to resolve real problems, which forms the central theme of this review. Although this review focuses on applications of these techniques to study mineralogical and geological samples, we also anticipate that researchers from other research areas such as Material and Environmental Sciences may benefit from this review.

7. Phisicochemistry of alkaline-earth metals oxides surface

Ekimova, Irina; Minakova, Tamara; Ogneva, Tatyana

2016-01-01

The surface state of alkaline-earth metals and magnesium oxides obtained by means of commercial and laboratory ways has been studied in this paper. A complex of methods has been used for identification, determination of a phase composition and morphology of the samples. The high basic character of surface centres has been shown with the help of pH-metry and adsorption of indicators methods. Acid-basic parameters (pHt, pHiis, etc.) can be used for the estimation of a general acid-basic state of metal oxides samples surface and for the supposition about different nature and strength of acid-basic centres as well as for the initial control in the process of acid basic properties of solid oxides surface properties evaluation.

8. Determining the source characteristics of explosions near the Earth's surface

Pasyanos, Michael E.; Ford, Sean R.

2015-05-01

We present a method to determine source characteristics of explosions near the Earth's surface. The technique accounts for the reduction in amplitudes as the explosion depth approaches the free surface and less energy is coupled into the ground. We apply the method to the Humming Roadrunner series of shallow explosions in New Mexico where the yields and depths are known. Knowledge of the material properties is needed for both source coupling/excitation and the free surface effect. Although there is the expected trade-off between depth and yield, the estimated yields are close to the known values when the depth is constrained to the free surface. We then apply the method to a regionally recorded explosion in Syria. We estimate an explosive yield less than the 60 t claimed by sources in the open press. The modifications to the method allow us to apply the technique to new classes of events.

9. Assimilation of Surface Temperature in Land Surface Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lakshmi, Venkataraman

1998-01-01

Hydrological models have been calibrated and validated using catchment streamflows. However, using a point measurement does not guarantee correct spatial distribution of model computed heat fluxes, soil moisture and surface temperatures. With the advent of satellites in the late 70s, surface temperature is being measured two to four times a day from various satellite sensors and different platforms. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate use of satellite surface temperature in (a) validation of model computed surface temperatures and (b) assimilation of satellite surface temperatures into a hydrological model in order to improve the prediction accuracy of soil moistures and heat fluxes. The assimilation is carried out by comparing the satellite and the model produced surface temperatures and setting the "true"temperature midway between the two values. Based on this "true" surface temperature, the physical relationships of water and energy balance are used to reset the other variables. This is a case of nudging the water and energy balance variables so that they are consistent with each other and the true" surface temperature. The potential of this assimilation scheme is demonstrated in the form of various experiments that highlight the various aspects. This study is carried over the Red-Arkansas basin in the southern United States (a 5 deg X 10 deg area) over a time period of a year (August 1987 - July 1988). The land surface hydrological model is run on an hourly time step. The results show that satellite surface temperature assimilation improves the accuracy of the computed surface soil moisture remarkably.

10. Radiometric surface temperature components for row crops

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Land surface temperature is a boundary condition often used in assessing soil moisture status and energy exchange from the soil-vegetation-atmosphere interface. For row crops having incomplete canopy cover, the radiometric surface temperature is a composite of sunlit and shaded vegetation and substr...

11. Sea surface temperature measurements with AIRS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aumann, H.

2003-01-01

The comparison of global sea surface skin temperature derived from cloud-free AIRS super window channel at 2616 cm-1 (sst2616) with the Real-Time Global Sea Surface Temperature for September 2002 shows surprisingly small standard deviation of 0.44K.

12. COMPARISON OF LAND SURFACE EMISSIVITY AND RADIOMETRIC TEMPERATURE DERIVED FROM MODIS AND ASTER SENSORS

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

This study compares surface emissivity and radiometric temperature products derived using data collected with the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER) sensors, on the Earth Observation System (EOS) - Terra satel...

13. Titan Surface Temperatures from Cassini CIRS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, Donald E.; Flasar, F.M.; Kundle, V.G.; Samuelson, R.E.; Pearl, J.C.; Nixon, C.A.; Carlson, R.C.; Mamoutkine, A.A.; Brasunas, J.C.; Guandique, E.; Achterberg, R.K.; Bjoraker, M.H.; Romani, P.N.; Segura, M.E.; Albright, S.A.; Elliott, M.H.; Tingley, J.S.; Calcutt, S.; Coustenis, A.; Bezard, B.; Courtin, R.

2008-01-01

Thermal radiation from the surface of Titan reaches space through a spectral window at 19-microns wavelength. After removing the effects of the atmosphere, measurement of this radiance gives the brightness temperature of the surface. The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) has made such measurements during the Cassini prime mission. These observations cover a wide range of emission angles, thereby constraining the contributions from atmospheric radiance and opacity. With the more complete latitude coverage and much larger dataset, we have been able to improve upon the original results from Voyager IRIS. CIRS measures an equatorial surface brightness temperature, averaged over longitude, of 93.7 +/- 0.6 K. This agrees with the HASI temperature at the Huygens landing site. The latitude dependence of surface brightness temperature exhibits an approximately 2 K decrease toward the South Pole and 3 K decrease toward the North Pole. The lower surface temperatures seen at high latitudes are consistent with conditions expected for lake formation.

14. Profiles of electron temperature and Bz along Earth's magnetotail

Artemyev, A. V.; Petrukovich, A. A.; Nakamura, R.; Zelenyi, L. M.

2013-06-01

We study the electron temperature distribution and the structure of the current sheet along the magnetotail using simultaneous observations from THEMIS spacecraft. We perform a statistical study of 40 crossings of the current sheet when the three spacecraft THB, THC, and THD were distributed along the tail in the vicinity of midnight with coordinates XB \\in [-30 RE, -20 RE], XC \\in [-20 RE, -15 RE], and XD ~ -10 RE. We obtain profiles of the average electron temperature \\mlab Te\\mrab and the average magnetic field \\mlab Bz\\mrab along the tail. Electron temperature and \\mlab Bz\\mrab increase towards the Earth with almost the same rates (i.e., ratio \\mlab Te\\mrab/\\mlab Bz\\mrab ≈ 2 keV/7 nT is approximately constant along the tail). We also use statistics of 102 crossings of the current sheet from THB and THC to estimate dependence of Te and Bz distributions on geomagnetic activity. The ratio \\mlab Te \\mrab/\\mlab Bz\\mrab depends on geomagnetic activity only slightly. Additionally we demonstrate that anisotropy of the electron temperature \\mlab T∥/T⊥\\mrab ≈ 1.1 is almost constant along the tail for X \\in [-30 RE, -10 RE].

15. Earth encounters as the origin of fresh surfaces on near-Earth asteroids.

PubMed

Binzel, Richard P; Morbidelli, Alessandro; Merouane, Sihane; Demeo, Francesca E; Birlan, Mirel; Vernazza, Pierre; Thomas, Cristina A; Rivkin, Andrew S; Bus, Schelte J; Tokunaga, Alan T

2010-01-21

Telescopic measurements of asteroids' colours rarely match laboratory reflectance spectra of meteorites owing to a 'space weathering' process that rapidly reddens asteroid surfaces in less than 10(6) years. 'Unweathered' asteroids (those having spectra matching the most commonly falling ordinary chondrite meteorites), however, are seen among small bodies the orbits of which cross inside Mars and the Earth. Various explanations have been proposed for the origin of these fresh surface colours, ranging from collisions to planetary encounters. Less reddened asteroids seem to cross most deeply into the terrestrial planet region, strengthening the evidence for the planetary-encounter theory, but encounter details within 10(6) years remain to be shown. Here we report that asteroids displaying unweathered spectra (so-called 'Q-types') have experienced orbital intersections closer than the Earth-Moon distance within the past 5 x 10(5) years. These Q-type asteroids are not currently found among asteroids showing no evidence of recent close planetary encounters. Our results substantiate previous work: tidal stress, strong enough to disturb and expose unweathered surface grains, is the most likely dominant short-term asteroid resurfacing process. Although the seismology details are yet to be worked out, the identification of rapid physical processes that can produce both fresh and weathered asteroid surfaces resolves the decades-long puzzle of the difference in colour of asteroids and meteorites. PMID:20090748

16. Effect of surface temperature on microparticle-surface adhesion

Vallabh, Chaitanya Krishna Prasad; Stephens, James D.; Cetinkaya, Cetin

2015-07-01

The effect of surface temperature on the adhesion properties of the bond between a substrate and a single micro-particle is investigated in a non-contact/non-invasive manner by monitoring the rolling/rocking motion dynamics of acoustically excited single microparticles. In the current work, a set of experiments were performed to observe the change in the rocking resonance frequency of the particles with the change of surface temperature. At various substrate surface temperature levels, the work-of-adhesion values of the surface-particle bond are evaluated from the resonance frequencies of the rocking motion of a set of microparticles driven by an orthogonal ultrasonic surface acoustic wave field. The dependence of adhesion bonds of a microparticle and the substrate on the surface temperature has been clearly demonstrated by the performed experiments. It was also observed and noted that the relative humidity plays a vital role in the rolling behavior of particles.

17. Multiscale Analysis of SAR from the Earth Surface

Redondo, J. M.; Tarquis, A.; Matulka, A.; Platonov, A.

2009-04-01

The use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to investigate the earth's surface provides a wealth of useful information. Here we will discuss some recent fractal and multi-fractal techniques used to identify oil spills and the dynamic state of the Ocean as well as the mountain structures in the solid earth. It is important both in the Ocean and in the Atmosphere to be able to parametrize mixing at the Rossby Deformation Radius scale (i.e. most energetic eddy scale) to aid in the prediction of pollutant dispersion. Results presented here aim to identify different SAR signatures and at the same time provide calibrations for the different local configurations that allow to predict the behaviour of different tracers in the sea surface, in the atmosphere or in the earth. We also compare different SAR images of the Eastern Pyrenees, evaluating the changes in structure as a function of average height. The multiple correlations between HH HV VV polarizations and the images are used to calculate the fractal dimension with the Box- Counting method. The distribution of the boxes is accomplished systematically for each SAR intensity level, the intersection of these boxes with the images gives N( ) boxes with a non void intersection, which may be compared with the standard multifractal formalism.

18. Global distribution of Earth's surface shortwave radiation budget

Hatzianastassiou, N.; Matsoukas, C.; Fotiadi, A.; Pavlakis, K. G.; Drakakis, E.; Hatzidimitriou, D.; Vardavas, I.

2005-07-01

19. Pyrometric Gas and Surface Temperature Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fralick, Gustave; Ng, Daniel

1999-01-01

A multiwavelength pyrometer possessing advantages over the one- and two-wavelength designs is described. Results of its application to surface temperature measurements of ceramics is presented. Also described is a probe suitable for gas temperature measurements to temperatures > 2600 K. The design of the probe includes a multiwavelength pyrometer with fiber optic input.

20. Mapping the downwelling atmospheric radiation at the Earth's surface: A research strategy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raschke, E.

1986-01-01

A strategy is presented along with background material for determining downward atmospheric radiation at the Earth's surface on a regional scale but over the entire globe, using available information on the temperature and humidity of the air near the ground and at cloud base altitudes. Most of these parameters can be inferred from satellite radiance measurements. Careful validation of the derived radiances will be required using ground-based direct measurements of radiances, to avoid systematic biases of these derived field quantities.

1. Upscaling and downscaling of land surface fluxes with surface temperature

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key surface boundary condition that is significantly correlated to surface flux partitioning between latent and sensible heat. The spatial and temporal variation in LST is driven by radiation, wind, vegetation cover and roughness as well as soil moisture status ...

2. On possible search of cometary material on the Earth surface

Churyumov, K. I.; Vidmachenko, A. P.; Steklov, A. F.

2015-09-01

There are about 15 major meteor showers. Therefore, in the near-Earth space are moving meteoroids, which are fragments of asteroids and comet nuclei. When entering the atmosphere at a speed of 11-72 km/s they are heated and illuminated. This often leads to Fireball phenomena [1]. Founded on the Earth surface meteorites have reflow bark. The bark is a good thermal insulator. Because of this, inside the meteorite saved even such minerals, which are usually not withstand intense heat (gypsum, etc.) We propose [2], that to study the nature of cometary nuclei and of the chemical composition of their primary substance, must be carefully examined samples of meteoritic matter. The larger the size of such a sample, the greater chances that has not changed the original structure and chemical composition of the material from which it was formed during the formation of planetesimals in the Solar System. Therefore, to find the primary cometary material here on Earth, and not fly for millions of kilometers into space. That is, in the study of the chemical nature of such meteorites in their composition can be detected even substances which in modern ground conditions are natural organic nutrient compounds: saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids, nitrogenous compounds, etc. From statistical studies it is clear that the progenitors of most meteor showers are precisely the cometary nuclei [2], with a loose structure. References. [1] Churyumov K. I., Vidmachenko A. P., Steklov A. F., Steklov E. A. Three bright bolides in Kiev sky on 29 March 2013 // Conference Â«Meteoroids 2013Â». Program and abstracts. 26-30 Aug. 2013, Poznan;, Poland P. 77. [2] Vidmachenko A. P., Steklov A. F. The study of cometary material on the surface of the Earth // Astronomical Schools Report. - 2013. V. 9, No 2., p.146-148.

3. Global distribution of Earth's surface shortwave radiation budget

Hatzianastassiou, N.; Matsoukas, C.; Fotiadi, A.; Pavlakis, K. G.; Drakakis, E.; Hatzidimitriou, D.; Vardavas, I.

2005-11-01

4. A Unified and Coherent Land Surface Emissivity Earth System Data Record

Knuteson, R. O.; Borbas, E. E.; Hulley, G. C.; Hook, S. J.; Anderson, M. C.; Pinker, R. T.; Hain, C.; Guillevic, P. C.

2014-12-01

Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) data are essential for a wide variety of studies from calculating the evapo-transpiration of plant canopies to retrieving atmospheric water vapor. LST&E products are generated from data acquired by sensors in low Earth orbit (LEO) and by sensors in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO). Although these products represent the same measure, they are produced at different spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions using different algorithms. The different approaches used to retrieve the temperatures and emissivities result in discrepancies and inconsistencies between the different products. NASA has identified a major need to develop long-term, consistent, and calibrated data and products that are valid across multiple missions and satellite sensors. This poster will introduce the land surface emissivity product of the NASA MEASUREs project called A Unified and Coherent Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) Earth System Data Record (ESDR). To develop a unified high spectral resolution emissivity database, the MODIS baseline-fit emissivity database (MODBF) produced at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the ASTER Global Emissivity Database (ASTER GED) produced at JPL will be merged. The unified Emissivity ESDR will be produced globally at 5km in mean monthly time-steps and for 12 bands from 3.6-14.3 micron and extended to 417 bands using a PC regression approach. The poster will introduce this data product. LST&E is a critical ESDR for a wide variety of studies in particular ecosystem and climate modeling.

Colman, R. A.

2015-04-01

Climate radiative feedbacks are traditionally defined at top of atmosphere (TOA); however, strong radiative feedbacks also occur at the surface, with profound effect on the surface heat budget and hydrological cycle. "Rapid responses" to radiative forcing also occur and may also be expected to affect the surface. This study evaluates surface radiation changes, using a combined Partial Radiative Perturbation-Gregory approach, under abrupt increases in CO2 in a climate model. We find significant surface rapid radiative response from changes in clouds, relative humidity, and latent heat flux. As surface temperature increases, strong water vapor feedback exceeds net cooling from atmospheric and surface temperature changes, resulting in increased surface evaporation. Feedbacks from clouds are smaller, with complex horizontal and vertical structures. Surface longwave feedback structures differ widely from those of the TOA and are dominated by lower troposphere changes. Lapse rate, cloud, and albedo feedbacks are small equatorward of around 50° of latitude but stronger at high latitudes. The approach here allows precise evaluation of the rich structure of surface radiative feedbacks.

6. High temperature heat pipe experiments in low earth orbit

SciTech Connect

Woloshun, K.; Merrigan, M.A.; Sena, J.T.; Critchley, E.

1993-02-01

Although high temperature, liquid metal heat pipe radiators have become a standard component on most high power space power system designs, there is no experimental data on the operation of these heat pipes in a zero gravity or micro-gravity environment. Experiments to benchmark the transient and steady state performance of prototypical heat pipe space radiator elements are in preparation for testing in low earth orbit. It is anticipated that these heat pipes will be tested aborad the Space Shuttle in 1995. Three heat pipes will be tested in a cargo bay Get Away Special (GAS) canister. The heat pipes are SST/potassium, each with a different wick structure; homogeneous, arterial, and annular gap, the heat pipes have been designed, fabricated, and ground tested. In this paper, the heat pipe designs are specified, and transient and steady-state ground test data are presented.

7. Titan's Surface Temperatures Measured by Cassini CIRS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, Donald E.; Flasar, F. M.; Kundle, V. G.; Samuelson, R. E.; Pearl, J. C.; Nixon, C. A.; Carlson, R. C.; Mamoutkine, A. A.; Brasunas, J. C.; Guandique, E.; Arhterberg, R. K.; Bjoraker, G. L.; Romani, P. N.; Segura, M. E.; Albright, S. A.; Elliott, M. H.; Tingley, J. S.; Calcutt, S.; Coustenis, A.; Bezard, B.; Courtin, R.

2008-01-01

A large fraction of 19-micron thermal radiation from the surface of Titan reaches space through a spectral window of low atmospheric opacity. The emergent radiance, after removing the effect of the atmosphere, gives the brightness temperature of the surface. This atmospheric window is covered by the far-infrared channel of the Composite Infrared spectrometer1 (CIRS) on Cassini. In mapping Titan surface temperatures, CIRS is able to improve upon results of Voyager IRIS, by taking advantage of improved latitude coverage and a much larger dataset. Observations are from a wide range of emission angles and thereby provide constraints on the atmospheric opacity and radiance that are used to derive the surface temperature. CIRS finds an average equatorial surface brightness temperature of 93.7+/-0.6 K, virtually identical to the HASI temperature at the Huygens landing site. Mapping in latitude shows that the surface temperature decreases toward the poles by about 2 K in the south and 3 K in the north. This surface temperature distribution is consistent with the formation of lakes seen at high latitudes on Titan.

8. Middle Pliocene sea surface temperatures: A global reconstruction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dowsett, H.; Barron, J.; Poore, R.

1996-01-01

Identification and analyses of Pliocene marine microfossils from 64 globally distributed stratigraphic sequences have been used to produce a middle Pliocene sea surface temperature reconstruction of the Earth. This reconstruction shows little or no change from current conditions in low latitude regions and significant warming of the ocean surface at mid and higher latitudes of both hemispheres. This pattern of warming is consistent with terrestrial records and suggests a combination of enhanced meridional ocean heat transport and enhanced greenhouse effect were responsible for the middle Pliocene warmth.

9. Large-scale earth surface thermal radiative features in space observation

Yang, Fan; Han, Yuge; Xuan, Yimin

2015-08-01

It is necessary to complete the earth thermal radiative modeling, since it is the most important background in space infrared observation. A new method was proposed to calculate the earth thermal infrared radiation combined with remote sensing technology. The simplified model also was proposed when the solar radiative impact is neglected properly. The practical split-window algorithm was used to retrieve the global surface temperature from MODIS data products. Integrated with MODTRAN code to calculate the atmospheric radiation and transmittance, the earth thermal infrared features were calculated in typical months. Moreover the radiance dependence on viewing angle was discussed. Through the comparison with CERES measurement results, this model has been proved effective and practicable, and that it would have a further application in space thermal environment analysis or space infrared observation technology.

10. Transport of radon and thoron at the earth's surface

SciTech Connect

Schery, S.D.

1991-06-15

This report covers progress under the current funding period Jan. 1, 1991 to Jan. 1, 1992 and presents the continuation proposal for Jan. 1, 1992 to Jan. 1, 1993. The previous progress report was submitted in May 1990, so activities during the last half of 1990 will also be included. Major activities over the last year have centered on the study of disequilibrium of radon progeny near the earth's surface and the sources of thoron in indoor air. In addition, we have carried out supplemental measurements of radon sorption coefficients in porous materials focusing on the physical mechanism of sorption.

11. A simple thermal model of the earth's surface for geologic mapping by remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahle, A. B.

1977-01-01

Thermal inertia of the earth's surface can be used in geologic mapping as a complement to surface reflectance data as provided by Landsat. Thermal inertia cannot be determined directly but must be inferred from radiation temperature measurements (by thermal IR sensors) made at various times in the diurnal cycle, combined with a model of the surface heating processes. A model is developed which differs from those created previously for this purpose, because it includes sensible and latent heating. Tests of this model using field data indicate that it accurately determines the surface heating. When the model is used with field measurements of meteorological variables and is combined with remotely sensed temperature data, a thermal inertia image can be produced.

12. Publications of the Western Earth Surface Processes Team, 1999

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stone, Paul; Powell, Charles L.

2000-01-01

The Western Earth Surfaces Processes Team (WESPT) of the U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Division (USGS, GD), conducts geologic mapping and related topical earth- science studies in the western United States. This work is focused on areas where modern geologic maps and associated earth-science data are needed to address key societal and environmental issues such as ground-water quality, potential geologic hazards, and land-use decisions. Areas of primary emphasis currently include southern California, the San Francisco Bay region, and the Pacific Northwest. The team has its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, and maintains field offices at several other locations in the western United States. The results of research conducted by the WESPT are released to the public as a variety of databases, maps, text reports, and abstracts, both through the internal publication system of the USGS and in diverse external publications such as scientific journals and books. This report lists publications of the WESPT released in 1999 as well as additional 1997 and 1998 publications that were not included in the previous list (USGS Open-file Report 99-302). Most of the publications listed were authored or coauthored by WESPT staff. The list also includes some publications authored by non-USGS cooperators with the WESPT, as well as some authored by USGS staff outside the WESPT in cooperation with WESPT projects.

13. Estimation of Surface Air Temperature Over Central and Eastern Eurasia from MODIS Land Surface Temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, Suhung; Leptoukh, Gregory G.

2011-01-01

Surface air temperature (T(sub a)) is a critical variable in the energy and water cycle of the Earth.atmosphere system and is a key input element for hydrology and land surface models. This is a preliminary study to evaluate estimation of T(sub a) from satellite remotely sensed land surface temperature (T(sub s)) by using MODIS-Terra data over two Eurasia regions: northern China and fUSSR. High correlations are observed in both regions between station-measured T(sub a) and MODIS T(sub s). The relationships between the maximum T(sub a) and daytime T(sub s) depend significantly on land cover types, but the minimum T(sub a) and nighttime T(sub s) have little dependence on the land cover types. The largest difference between maximum T(sub a) and daytime T(sub s) appears over the barren and sparsely vegetated area during the summer time. Using a linear regression method, the daily maximum T(sub a) were estimated from 1 km resolution MODIS T(sub s) under clear-sky conditions with coefficients calculated based on land cover types, while the minimum T(sub a) were estimated without considering land cover types. The uncertainty, mean absolute error (MAE), of the estimated maximum T(sub a) varies from 2.4 C over closed shrublands to 3.2 C over grasslands, and the MAE of the estimated minimum Ta is about 3.0 C.

14. Titan's Surface Temperatures from Cassini CIRS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, Donald E.; Cottini, Valeria; Nixon, Conor A.

2010-01-01

The surface brightness temperature of Titan can be measured from Cassini through a spectral window at 19 microns where the atmosphere is low in opacity. The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini observes this wavelength in its far-infrared channel. Because the Cassini tour has provided global coverage and a range of viewing geometries, CIRS has been able to go beyond the earlier flyby results of Voyager IRIS Near the equator, CIRS measures the zonally-averaged surface brightness temperature to be 917 K, very close to the temperature found at the surface by Huygens. Latitude maps show that Titan's surface temperatures drop off by about 2 K toward the south and by about 3 K toward the north. This temperature distribution is consistent with Titan's late northern winter when the data were taken. As the seasons progress, CIRS is continuing to search for corresponding changes in the temperatures of the surface and lower atmosphere. CIRS is also extending global mapping to both latitude and longitude to look for correlations between surface temperatures and geological features.

15. The electromagnetic fields under, on and over Earth surface as when, where and how'' earthquake precursor

Mavrodiev, S.

2003-04-01

It is given an attempt for statistical estimation of "when" earthquake prediction for Balkan- Black Sea region using the geomagnetic field signal. The preliminary test of the approach for England (Hartland), Turkey (Kandilli) and India (Alibag) regions is presented. The research step by step program for creating "when, where and how" earthquake prediction region Network system on the basis of the experimental data for geomagnetic field, electro-potential distribution in the Earth crust and atmosphere, temperature Earth crust distribution, gravitational anomaly map, season and day independent temperature depth distribution, water sources parameters (debit, temperature, chemical composition, radioactivity), gas emissions, ionosphere condition parameters, Earth radiation belt, Sun wind, crust parameters (strain, deformation, displacement) and biological precursors is proposed. The achievements of tidal potential modeling of Earth surface with included ocean and atmosphere tidal influences, many component correlation analysis and the nonlinear inverse problem methods in fluids dynamics and Maxwell equations are crucial. The today almost real time technologies GIS for archiving, analysis, visualization and interpretation of the data and non-inear inverse problem methods for building theoretical models for the parameter behaviors, correlations and dynamics have to be used.

16. Radiometric and equivalent isothermal surface temperatures

Crago, Richard D.

1998-11-01

The analytical solution for the heat flux from an anisothermal canopy developed from K theory by Brutsaert and Sugita [1996] (hereinafter referred to as B&S) has been extended to provide a parameterization of the difference between the radiometric and the equivalent isothermal surface temperature. The latter is the isothermal temperature at which a canopy would give the correct sensible heat flux if the sensible heat roughness length z0h was given its theoretical, isothermal value derived by B&S. A parameterization of the canopy temperature seen by a radiometer is developed which incorporates the same foliage temperature profile as that used by B&S. From this the weighting fraction (i.e., the fraction of canopy top versus canopy bottom temperature "seen" by the radiometer) can be derived, as can an equation for the view zenith angle at which the radiometric and equivalent isothermal surface temperatures are the same. Field data indicate that multiangle radiometric surface temperatures alone cannot determine the three unknowns describing the foliage temperature profile. Several strategies to overcome this problem are outlined. The parameterization may eventually help to interpret remotely sensed infrared surface temperatures and to improve estimates of sensible heat flux and evapotranspiration, but comprehensive field testing is still needed.

17. Effect of Surface Sublayer on Surface Skin Temperature and Fluxes.

Zeng, Xubin; Dickinson, Robert E.

1998-04-01

The surface sublayer is the layer of air adjacent to the surface where the transfer of momentum and heat by molecular motion becomes important. Equations are derived to incorporate this surface sublayer (or the variable ratio of the roughness length for momentum over that for heat, zo/zoh) over bare soil into a commonly used formulation for aerodynamic transfer coefficients. Along with the consideration of the laminar layer around vegetation leaves in the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS), these equations provide a consistent approach for the computation of surface fluxes over bare soil or vegetated surface.Qualitative and quantitative analyses show that the surface sublayer tends to substantially increase the surface skin temperature for a given sensible heat flux and decrease the heat flux for a given surface versus air temperature difference. Using a climate model output as the atmospheric forcing data for BATS over a semiarid region, it is also found that the surface sublayer significantly increases the monthly and July-averaged hourly surface skin temperature and decreases surface sensible heat and net radiation fluxes.Comparison with limited observations of zo/zoh also suggests that the same (or different) exchange coefficients should be used over bare soil and vegetated portions in a grid box for dense canopies (e.g., grassland or forest) [or sparse canopies (e.g., semiarid regions)].

18. Modeling surface temperature distributions in forest landscapes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holbo, H. R.; Luvall, J. C.

1989-01-01

A model of the frequency distributions of the spatial variability in surface temperature is presented. Surface temperature data are obtained from two daytime and two nighttime flights of the Thermal IR Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) over forest land in western Oregon in August, 1985. The temperature values are corrected for atmospheric attenuation and thermal radiation emission with the LOWTRAN-6 algorithm. The temperature distributions were modeled with a two-parameter beta probability density distribution and the fit of the model was evaluated by comparison with the TIMS data set. Use of the model's parameters to identify and classify surface types shows good discrimination among various surfaces for the daytime images, with less distinct discrimination for the nighttime images.

19. Near-surface air temperature and snow skin temperature comparison from CREST-SAFE station data with MODIS land surface temperature data

Pérez Díaz, C. L.; Lakhankar, T.; Romanov, P.; Muñoz, J.; Khanbilvardi, R.; Yu, Y.

2015-08-01

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a key variable (commonly studied to understand the hydrological cycle) that helps drive the energy balance and water exchange between the Earth's surface and its atmosphere. One observable constituent of much importance in the land surface water balance model is snow. Snow cover plays a critical role in the regional to global scale hydrological cycle because rain-on-snow with warm air temperatures accelerates rapid snow-melt, which is responsible for the majority of the spring floods. Accurate information on near-surface air temperature (T-air) and snow skin temperature (T-skin) helps us comprehend the energy and water balances in the Earth's hydrological cycle. T-skin is critical in estimating latent and sensible heat fluxes over snow covered areas because incoming and outgoing radiation fluxes from the snow mass and the air temperature above make it different from the average snowpack temperature. This study investigates the correlation between MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST data and observed T-air and T-skin data from NOAA-CREST-Snow Analysis and Field Experiment (CREST-SAFE) for the winters of 2013 and 2014. LST satellite validation is imperative because high-latitude regions are significantly affected by climate warming and there is a need to aid existing meteorological station networks with the spatially continuous measurements provided by satellites. Results indicate that near-surface air temperature correlates better than snow skin temperature with MODIS LST data. Additional findings show that there is a negative trend demonstrating that the air minus snow skin temperature difference is inversely proportional to cloud cover. To a lesser extent, it will be examined whether the surface properties at the site are representative for the LST properties within the instrument field of view.

20. Urban aerosol effects on surface insolation and surface temperature

Jin, M.; Burian, S. J.; Remer, L. A.; Shepherd, M. J.

2007-12-01

Urban aerosol particulates may play a fundamental role in urban microclimates and city-generated mesoscale circulations via its effects on energy balance of the surface. Key questions that need to be addressed include: (1) How do these particles affect the amount of solar energy reaching the surface and resulting surface temperature? (2) Is the effect the same in all cities? and (3) How does it vary from city to city? Using NASA AERONET in-situ observations, a radiative transfer model, and a regional climate mode (MM5), we assess aerosol effects on surface insolation and surf ace temperature for dense urban-polluted regions. Two big cities, one in a developing country (Beijing, P.R. China) and another in developed country (New York City, USA), are selected for inter-comparison. The study reveals that aerosol effects on surface temperature depends largely on aerosols' optical and chemical properties as well as atmosphere and land surface conditions, such as humidity and land cover. Therefore, the actual magnitudes of aerosol effects differ from city to city. Aerosol measurements from AERONET show both average and extreme cases for aerosol impacts on surface insolation. In general, aerosols reduce surface insolation by 30Wm-2. Nevertheless, in extreme cases, such reduction can exceed 100 Wm-2. Consequently, this reduces surface skin temperature 2-10C in an urban environment.

1. Seasonal Changes in Surface Temperatures on Titan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, D. E.; Cottini, V.; Nixon, C. A.

2010-01-01

The surface brightness temperatures on Titan have been measured by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) aboard Cassini during the period spanning late northern winter through vernal equinox. CIRS observes radiance from the surface through a spectral window at 19 microns where the atmosphere has an opacity minimum [I]. CIRS is now seeing a shift in the latitudinal distribution of temperatures froth a distinctly warmer south to a more symmetrical north -south pattern, similar to that found by Voyager IRIS [2,3] at the time of the previous vernal equinox. Near the equator the temperatures remain close to the 93.7 K value found at the surface by Huygens [4]. From the equator to the poles the temperature gradients are 2-3 K. When compared with predictions froth general circulation models [5] the measured temperatures and their seasonal changes constrain the possible types of surface material. As Cassini continues through Titan's northern spring CiRS will extend its, global coverage to took for correlations between surface temperatures and albedo and to search for diurnal temperature variations

2. Surface Energy, Surface Debye Temperature and Specific Heat of Nanocrystals

Michailov, M.; Avramov, I.

2012-12-01

The present study provides insight into the role of surface free energy and surface Debye temperatures in the specific heat of nanocrystals. In the case of small phases, consisted of comparable number of bulk and surface atoms, the variation of heat capacity with respect to that of infinitely large phase is significant. This effect, not accounted for in the Debye model is due to the substantial impact of interface energy of clusters. Here, in the framework of classical Gibbs thermodynamics, we introduce surface heat capacity that accounts for surface free energy contribution. Defined as a difference, between surface and bulk terms, the excess heat capacity reveals temperature gap and size limits of nanoclusters where the contribution of surface energy is essential. Considering the role of surface Debye temperatures, we evaluate the deviation of specific heat for nanoclusters having different surface atomic density and surface orientation. Being in agreement with recent experimental findings, the present model opens up a way to predict basic, size-dependent thermodynamic properties of nanocomposite systems.

3. Simulations of ultra-long wavelength interferometers in Earth orbit and on the lunar surface

Zhang, Mo; Huang, Mao-Hai; Yan, Yi-Hua

2015-03-01

We present simulations of interferometers in Earth orbit and on the lunar surface to guide the design and optimization of space-based ultra-long wavelength missions, such as those pioneered by China's Chang'e Program. We choose parameters and present simulations using simulated data to identify inter-dependencies and constraints on science and engineering parameters. A regolith model is created for the lunar surface array simulation, and the results show that the lunar regolith will have an undesirable effect on the observations. We estimate data transmission requirements, calculate sensitivities for both cases, and discuss the trade-off between brightness temperature sensitivity and angular resolution for the Earth orbit array case.

4. Towards Imaging the Earth's Surface in 4 Dimensions

Peltzer, G.

2002-12-01

In the seventies, the first generation of Landsat images allowed scientists to map active faults over continents and in some cases to determine direction of motion. In the eighties, 10m-resolution SPOT satellite images provided the means to measure lateral offsets of geomorphic features along faults, helping to determine long-term rates of slip on faults. In the nineties, spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems and advances in the technique of radar interferometry (InSAR) brought spatially continuous observations of the Earth's surface displacement field at the sub-cm level over broad areas, opening a new era in geodesy from space. Totally new insights into earthquakes, volcanic activity, ice flow, and human-induced ground subsidence are resulting. For seismology and tectonics, InSAR data have been invaluable to characterize specific sub-surface processes including poro-elastic rebound, after-slip, and visco-elastic relaxation after large earthquakes, characterization of the depth distribution of fault creep along the Hayward fault and the southern section of the San Andreas fault, non-linear elasticity of the crust from the surface displacement field of the M7.6, Tibet, 1997 earthquake, triggered creep on adjacent faults after the 1999 Hector Mine, California earthquake, and 8 years of transient creep along the Blackwater fault in the Eastern California Shear Zone. In the Los Angeles area, joint analysis of spatially continuous InSAR data and temporally continuous GPS data allows characterization of processes occurring at various temporal and spatial scales. In particular allowing discrimination between seasonal subsidence above acquifers, oil field subsidence, and long-term tectonic strain accumulation along faults and folds. These major advances in Earth science have been demonstrated only in a few areas using the data from the European ERS satellites and the Japanese JERS satellite, both of which were designed for purposes other than InSAR. A dedicated mission, designed specifically for interferometry, would greatly expand applications of InSAR with improved coherence over vegetated areas, better orbit control and determination, frequent revisit time, and multi-look direction. Such a system is an integral part of Earthscope and will open space geodesy to the continuous surveillance of the Earth's surface, globally, and in 3 dimensions.

5. Surface modification of high temperature iron alloys

DOEpatents

Park, Jong-Hee

1995-01-01

A method and article of manufacture of a coated iron based alloy. The method includes providing an iron based alloy substrate, depositing a silicon containing layer on the alloy surface while maintaining the alloy at a temperature of about 700.degree. C.-1200.degree. C. to diffuse silicon into the alloy surface and exposing the alloy surface to an ammonia atmosphere to form a silicon/oxygen/nitrogen containing protective layer on the iron based alloy.

6. Surface modification of high temperature iron alloys

DOEpatents

Park, J.H.

1995-06-06

A method and article of manufacture of a coated iron based alloy are disclosed. The method includes providing an iron based alloy substrate, depositing a silicon containing layer on the alloy surface while maintaining the alloy at a temperature of about 700--1200 C to diffuse silicon into the alloy surface and exposing the alloy surface to an ammonia atmosphere to form a silicon/oxygen/nitrogen containing protective layer on the iron based alloy. 13 figs.

7. High temperature langasite surface acoustic wave sensors

Zheng, Peng

2011-12-01

High temperature sensors are a key enabling technology for advanced control and optimization of many industry processes. This thesis reports on the development of the langasite surface acoustic wave (SAW) temperature and oxygen sensors for sensing applications in high temperature, harsh environments. The conductivity-based surface acoustic wave sensor was selected for the high temperature oxygen sensing application in this work. A series of finite element simulations of surface acoustic wave propagation in langasite SAW devices were performed to understand the effect of sensing and spacer layer on the sensor sensitivity. Langasite SAW sensors with Pt/Ti as the IDT metallization, and ZnO and SiO2 as the oxygen sensing layer and spacer layer materials, respectively, were designed, fabricated and packaged for high temperature sensing applications. Langasite SAW temperature sensors were tested successfully from room temperature up to 700 C in wireless mode and 900 C in wired mode. The ZnO/langasite SAW oxygen sensors were tested in wired mode and showed effective oxygen sensing response up to 700 C. A multi-sensor with both temperature and oxygen sensing capability was also designed and tested. Understanding the input characteristic of the transducer is important when designing the SAW sensor for wireless operation. Langasite SAW device IDT transducers were characterized in frequency domain at room temperature. Conductance loss caused by the finite resistance of Pt electrode finger was observed and investigated.

8. Surface temperature measurement of turbine disks

Wu, Hongdao; Qu, Yuwu; Li, Xungguang; Du, Shengqin

1993-01-01

A new method of temperature measurement with a single-wire thermocouple - slip ring system is introduced to measure the surface temperature of the turbine disks in the turbojet engines, and the accuracy of this method is considered. In this case, the limited channels of the slip ring are fully utilized and the measured surface temperatures of the disk are actual and believable enough. The problems in its application, such as the installation of the thermocouples, the cooling of the slip ring, and the balance of the turbine rotor with this system, are discussed briefly.

9. Robust comparison of climate models with observations using blended land air and ocean sea surface temperatures

Cowtan, Kevin; Hausfather, Zeke; Hawkins, Ed; Jacobs, Peter; Mann, Michael E.; Miller, Sonya K.; Steinman, Byron A.; Stolpe, Martin B.; Way, Robert G.

2015-08-01

The level of agreement between climate model simulations and observed surface temperature change is a topic of scientific and policy concern. While the Earth system continues to accumulate energy due to anthropogenic and other radiative forcings, estimates of recent surface temperature evolution fall at the lower end of climate model projections. Global mean temperatures from climate model simulations are typically calculated using surface air temperatures, while the corresponding observations are based on a blend of air and sea surface temperatures. This work quantifies a systematic bias in model-observation comparisons arising from differential warming rates between sea surface temperatures and surface air temperatures over oceans. A further bias arises from the treatment of temperatures in regions where the sea ice boundary has changed. Applying the methodology of the HadCRUT4 record to climate model temperature fields accounts for 38% of the discrepancy in trend between models and observations over the period 1975-2014.

10. Analysis of Curiosity surface temperature Data

Audouard, J.; Piqueux, S.; Poulet, F.; Vincendon, M.; Gondet, B.

2015-10-01

Since its landing in August 2012 in Gale crater, the rover Curiosity of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) NASA mission has performed many measurements to characterize its surroundings according to its science objectives [1]. In this work, we analyse the first year of data recorded by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) instrumental suite [2], and specifically by its Ground Temperature Sensor (GTS) which measures the temperature of the surface [3].The temperature of the Martian surface is a complex function of the surface specific thermophysical properties (thermal inertia and albedo) and of the heterogeneity of the surface (horizontal mixing, and/or vertical heterogeneity, both expected on Mars). Using an Energy Balance model, we perform an analysis of GTS first year of data.

11. UV 380 nm Reflectivity of the Earth's Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herman, J. R.; Celarier, E.; Larko, D.

2000-01-01

The 380 nm radiance measurements of TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) have been converted into a global data set of daily (1979 to 1992) Lambert equivalent reflectivities R of the Earth's surface and boundary layer (clouds, aerosols, surface haze, and snow/ice). Since UV surface reflectivity is between 2 and 8% for both land and water during all seasons of the year (except for ice and snow cover), reflectivities larger than the surface value indicates the presence of clouds, haze, or aerosols in the satellite field of view. Statistical analysis of 14 years of daily data show that most snow/ice-free regions of the Earth have their largest fraction of days each year when the reflectivity is low (R less than 10%). The 380 nm reflectivity data shows that the true surface reflectivity is 2 to 3% lower than the most frequently occurring reflectivity value for each TOMS scene. The most likely cause of this could be a combination of frequently occurring boundary-layer water or aerosol haze. For most regions, the observation of extremely clear conditions needed to estimate the surface reflectivity from space is a comparatively rare occurrence. Certain areas (e.g., Australia, southern Africa, portions of northern Africa) are cloud-free more than 80% of the year, which exposes these regions to larger amounts of UV radiation than at comparable latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Regions over rain-forests, jungle areas, Europe and Russia, the bands surrounding the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and many ocean areas have significant cloud cover (R greater than 15%) more than half of each year. In the low to middle latitudes, the areas with the heaviest cloud cover (highest reflectivity for most of the year) are the forest areas of northern South America, southern Central America, the jungle areas of equatorial Africa, and high mountain regions such as the Himalayas or the Andes. The TOMS reflectivity data show the presence of large nearly clear ocean areas and the effects of the major ocean currents on cloud production.

12. Earth's core-mantle boundary - Results of experiments at high pressures and temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knittle, Elise; Jeanloz, Raymond

1991-01-01

Laboratory experiments document that liquid iron reacts chemically with silicates at high pressures (above 2.4 x 10 to the 10th Pa) and temperatures. In particular, (Mg,Fe)SiO3 perovskite, the most abundant mineral of earth's lower mantle, is expected to react with liquid iron to produce metallic alloys (FeO and FeSi) and nonmetallic silicates (SiO2 stishovite and MgSiO3 perovskite) at the pressures of the core-mantle boundary, 14 x 10 to the 10th Pa. The experimental observations, in conjunction with seismological data, suggest that the lowermost 200 to 300 km of earth's mantle, the D-double-prime layer, may be an extremely heterogeneous region as a result of chemical reactions between the silicate mantle and the liquid iron alloy of earth's core. The combined thermal-chemical-electrical boundary layer resulting from such reactions offers a plausible explanation for the complex behavior of seismic waves near the core-mantle boundary and could influence earth's magnetic field observed at the surface.

13. Publications of Western Earth Surface Processes Team 2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Powell, II, Charles,(compiler); Graymer, R.W.

2002-01-01

The Western Earth Surface Processes Team (WESPT) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts geologic mapping and related topical earth-science studies in the Western United States. This work is focused on areas where modern geologic maps and associated earth-science data are needed to address key societal and environmental issues, such as ground-water quality, landslides and other potential geologic hazards, and land-use decisions. Areas of primary emphasis in 2001 included southern California, the San Francisco Bay region, the Pacific Northwest, and the Las Vegas urban corridor. The team has its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, and maintains smaller field offices at several other locations in the Western United States. The results of research conducted by the WESPT are released to the public as a variety of databases, maps, text reports, and abstracts, both through the internal publication system of the USGS and in diverse external publications such as scientific journals and books. This report lists publications of the WESPT released in 2001, as well as additional 1999 and 2000 publications that were not included in the previous list (USGS Open-File Report 00–215 and USGS Open-File Report 01–198). Most of the publications listed were authored or coauthored by WESPT staff. The list also includes some publications authored by non-USGS cooperators with the WESPT, as well as some authored by USGS staff outside the WESPT in cooperation with WESPT projects. Several of the publications listed are available on the World Wide Web; for these, URL addresses are provided. Many of these web publications are USGS Open-File Reports that contain large digital databases of geologic map and related information.

14. Publications of the Western Earth Surface Processes Team 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Powell, Charles L.; Stone, Paul

2001-01-01

The Western Earth Surface Processes Team (WESP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts geologic mapping and related topical earth science studies in the western United States. This work is focused on areas where modern geologic maps and associated earth-science data are needed to address key societal and environmental issues such as ground-water quality, potential geologic hazards, and land-use decisions. Areas of primary emphasis in 2000 included southern California, the San Francisco Bay region, the Pacific Northwest, the Las Vegas urban corridor, and selected National Park lands. The team has its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, and maintains smaller field offices at several other locations in the western United States. The results of research conducted by the WESPT are released to the public as a variety of databases, maps, text reports, and abstracts, both through the internal publication system of the USGS and in diverse external publications such as scientific journals and books. This report lists publications of the WESPT released in 2000 as well as additional 1999 publications that were not included in the previous list (USGS Open-file Report 00-215). Most of the publications listed were authored or coauthored by WESPT staff. The list also includes some publications authored by non-USGS cooperators with the WESPT, as well as some authored by USGS staff outside the WESPT in cooperation with WESPT projects. Several of the publications listed are available on the World Wide Web; for these, URL addresses are provided. Many of these Web publications are USGS open-file reports that contain large digital databases of geologic map and related information.

15. GISS Analysis of Surface Temperature Changes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, J.; Ruedy, R.; Glascoe, J.; Sato, M.

1999-01-01

We describe the current GISS analysis of surface temperature change based primarily on meteorological station measurements. The global surface temperature in 1998 was the warmest in the period of instrumental data. The rate of temperature change is higher in the past 25 years than at any previous time in the period of instrumental data. The warmth of 1998 is too large and pervasive to be fully accounted for by the recent El Nino, suggesting that global temperature may have moved to a higher level, analogous to the increase that occurred in the late 1970s. The warming in the United States over the past 50 years is smaller than in most of the world, and over that period there is a slight cooling trend in the Eastern United States and the neighboring Atlantic ocean. The spatial and temporal patterns of the temperature change suggest that more than one mechanism is involved in this regional cooling.

16. Observations of TEC fluctuations from an explosion on the Earths surface

SciTech Connect

Massey, R.S.; Carlos, R.C.; Jacobson, A.R.; Wu, G.

1994-09-01

The authors report observations of perturbations in the ionosphere total electron content (TEC) caused by acoustic waves propagating from a large chemical explosion in souther New Mexico at the earths surface. Fluctuations in TEC were measured by two arrays of receivers that monitor the phase of the 136 MHz beacons on two geostationary satellites. One array, located in northern New Mexico, observed fluctuations in the region where acoustic waves from the blast impinged directly on the ionosphere, while the second array, in Texas, was located to observe fluctuations caused by ducted acoustic waves. The TEC disturbance at the New Mexico array had an amplitude of about 2 {times} 10{sup 14} m{sup {minus}2} (more than 10 times the array noise level), while the amplitude at the Texas array, at a range of 900 km, was only a few times the instrumental noise level. Noise background analysis shows that the probability that a comparable or larger response at the New Mexico array might have been caused by a background noise event was less than 1%. The corresponding probability for the Texas array was 3%.

17. Progress of Space Studies of the Earth Surface, Meteorology, and Climate 1992- 1993

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halpern, D.

1993-01-01

This report briefly summarizes the progress made by satellite-dependent systems that are necessary to accomplish global earth monitoring and associated studies of the interactions between the earth's atmosphere, land surface, and ocean.

18. Seasonal Changes in Titan's Surface Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennins, Donald E.; Cottini, V.; Nixon, C. A.; Flasar, F. M.; Kunde, V. G.; Samuelson, R. E.; Romani, P. N.; Hesman, B. E.; Carlson, R. C.; Gorius, N. J. P.; Coustenis, A.; Tokano, T.

2011-01-01

Seasonal changes in Titan's surface brightness temperatures have been observed by Cassini in the thermal infrared. The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) measured surface radiances at 19 micron in two time periods: one in late northern winter (Ls = 335d eg) and another centered on northern spring equinox (Ls = 0 deg). In both periods we constructed pole-to-pole maps of zonally averaged brightness temperatures corrected for effects of the atmosphere. Between late northern winter and northern spring equinox a shift occurred in the temperature distribution, characterized by a warming of approximately 0.5 K in the north and a cooling by about the same amount in the south. At equinox the polar surface temperatures were both near 91 K and the equator was 93.4 K. We measured a seasonal lag of delta Ls approximately 9 in the meridional surface temperature distribution, consistent with the post-equinox results of Voyager 1 as well as with predictions from general circulation modeling. A slightly elevated temperature is observed at 65 deg S in the relatively cloud-free zone between the mid-latitude and southern cloud regions.

19. SEASONAL CHANGES IN TITAN'S SURFACE TEMPERATURES

SciTech Connect

Jennings, D. E.; Cottini, V.; Nixon, C. A.; Flasar, F. M.; Kunde, V. G.; Samuelson, R. E.; Romani, P. N.; Hesman, B. E.; Carlson, R. C.; Gorius, N. J. P.; Coustenis, A.; Tokano, T.

2011-08-10

Seasonal changes in Titan's surface brightness temperatures have been observed by Cassini in the thermal infrared. The Composite Infrared Spectrometer measured surface radiances at 19 {mu}m in two time periods: one in late northern winter (LNW; L{sub s} = 335 deg.) and another centered on northern spring equinox (NSE; L{sub s} = 0 deg.). In both periods we constructed pole-to-pole maps of zonally averaged brightness temperatures corrected for effects of the atmosphere. Between LNW and NSE a shift occurred in the temperature distribution, characterized by a warming of {approx}0.5 K in the north and a cooling by about the same amount in the south. At equinox the polar surface temperatures were both near 91 K and the equator was at 93.4 K. We measured a seasonal lag of {Delta}L{sub S} {approx} 9{sup 0} in the meridional surface temperature distribution, consistent with the post-equinox results of Voyager 1 as well as with predictions from general circulation modeling. A slightly elevated temperature is observed at 65{sup 0} S in the relatively cloud-free zone between the mid-latitude and southern cloud regions.

20. Climatic change by cloudiness linked to the spatial variability of sea surface temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otterman, J.

1975-01-01

An active role in modifying the earth's climate is suggested for low cloudiness over the circumarctic oceans. Such cloudiness, linked to the spatial differences in ocean surface temperatures, was studied. The temporal variations from year to year of ocean temperature patterns can be pronounced and therefore, the low cloudiness over this region should also show strong temporal variations, affecting the albedo of the earth and therefore the climate. Photographs are included.

1. Laboratory investigations: Low Earth orbit environment chemistry with spacecraft surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cross, Jon B.

1990-01-01

Long-term space operations that require exposure of material to the low earth orbit (LEO) environment must take into account the effects of this highly oxidative atmosphere on material properties and the possible contamination of the spacecraft surroundings. Ground-based laboratory experiments at Los Alamos using a newly developed hyperthermal atomic oxygen (AO) source have shown that not only are hydrocarbon based materials effected but that inorganic materials such as MoS2 are also oxidized and that thin protective coatings such as Al2O3 can be breached, producing oxidation of the underlying substrate material. Gas-phase reaction products, such as SO2 from oxidation of MoS2 and CO and CO2 from hydrocarbon materials, have been detected and have consequences in terms of spacecraft contamination. Energy loss through gas-surface collisions causing spacecraft drag has been measured for a few select surfaces and has been found to be highly dependent on the surface reactivity.

2. Fast descent routes from within or near the stratosphere to Earth's surface

Itoh, H.; Narazaki, Y.

2015-12-01

By using high concentrations of 7Be as an indicator, we clarify fast descent routes from within or near the stratosphere to Earth's surface, with the study site being in Fukuoka, Japan. Most routes arise from high latitudes through the following processes. First, the descent associated with a tropopause fold occurs, followed by southward movement with slow descent at the rear side of a strong trough. Because this motion occurs along an isentropic surface, the descending air parcels nearly conserve the potential temperature. As an extension, a strong descent associated with a sharp drop in the isentropic-surface height occurs at the south edge of the trough; this transports air parcels to low altitudes. This process involves irreversible phenomena such as filamentation and cutoff of potential vorticity. Finally, upon meeting appropriate near-surface disturbances, parcels at low altitudes are transported to Earth's surface. In some cases, parcels descend within mid-latitudes. In such routes, because the potential temperature is much higher at high altitudes than at low altitudes, strong descent with conservation of the potential temperature is impossible, and the potential temperature decreases. In these cases, the entire flow does not move downward; instead, only part of the flow in a diffluent field descends. When parcels descend, they push low isentropic surfaces, and their potential temperature decreases upon mixing with parcels having low potential temperature in the lower layers. The prevalence of the high-latitude route is explained as follows. In the mid-latitude route, because parcels at high and relatively low altitudes mix, the high concentrations of 7Be included in high-altitude parcels are difficult to maintain. Therefore, for parcels to arrive at low altitudes in the mid-latitude while maintaining high concentrations of 7Be, i.e., conserving the potential temperature, their area of origin should be high altitudes in high latitudes where the potential temperature is almost the same as that in the arrival area. Moreover, the initial descent must occur, because parcels cannot descend in the stratosphere when moving from high to mid-latitudes; parcels must already have descended from the stratosphere to the troposphere in high latitudes for effective descent with the movement to mid-latitudes. In spring, tropopause folds are frequent in high latitudes, disturbances in the southward transport of parcels are strong, and disturbances occur by which parcels descend to the surface. Therefore, high concentrations of 7Be occur most frequently in spring.

3. Spatial correlations of interdecadal variation in global surface temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mann, Michael E.; Park, Jeffrey

1993-01-01

We have analyzed spatial correlation patterns of interdecadal global surface temperature variability from an empirical perspective. Using multitaper coherence estimates from 140-yr records, we find that correlations between hemispheres are significant at about 95 percent confidence for nonrandomness for most of the frequency band in the 0.06-0.24 cyc/yr range. Coherence estimates of pairs of 100-yr grid-point temperature data series near 5-yr period reveal teleconnection patterns consistent with known patterns of ENSO variability. Significant correlated variability is observed near 15 year period, with the dominant teleconnection pattern largely confined to the Northern Hemisphere. Peak-to-peak Delta-T is at about 0.5 deg, with simultaneous warming and cooling of discrete patches on the earth's surface. A global average of this pattern would largely cancel.

4. Earthquake Lights: Time-dependent Earth Surface - Ionosphere Coupling Model

2012-12-01

Co-seismic luminescence, commonly referred to as Earthquake lights (EQLs), is an atmospheric luminous phenomenon occurring during strong earthquakes and lasting from a fraction of a second to a few minutes [e.g., Derr, J. S., Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 63, 2177, 1973; St-Laurent, F., et al., Phys. Chem. Earth, 31, 305, 2006; Herauld and Lira, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 1025, 2011]. Laboratory experiments of Freund, F. T., et al. [JGR, 105, 11001, 2000; JASTP, 71, 1824, 2009, and references therein] demonstrate that rocks subjected to stress force can generate electric currents. During earthquakes these currents can deliver significant amounts of net positive charge to the ground-air interface leading to enhancements in the electric field and corona discharges around ground objects [Freund et al., 2009]. The eyewitness reports [Herauld and Lira, 2011] indicate similarities of the blue glow observed during EQLs to St. Elmo's fire observed during thunderstorms around wing tips of airplanes or around the tall masts of sailing ships [e.g., Wescott, E.M., et al., GRL, 23, 3687, 1996]. Recent work indicates that the vertical currents induced in the stressed rock can map to ionospheric altitudes and create 10s of % variations in the total electron content in the Earth's ionosphere above the earthquake active region [Kuo, C. L., et al., JGR, 116, A10317, 2011]. The magnitudes of the vertical currents estimated by Kuo et al. [2011] based on work by Freund et al. [2009] range from 0.01 to 10 μA/m2. In this talk we report results from a new time-dependent model allowing to calculate currents induced in the ambient atmosphere and corona currents under application of vertical stressed rock currents with arbitrary time variation. We will report test results documenting the model performance under conditions: (1) relaxation toward the classic global electric circuit conditions in fair weather regions when ionosphere is maintained at 300 kV with respect to the ground; (2) relaxation toward the steady state conditions when the earth-air surface charge is maintained by balance of the current induced by stressed rock and ambient atmospheric current [Kuo et al., 2011]; and (3) a 2 min duration model episode in which the stressed rock current reaches value of 0.4 μA/m2 producing electric fields at the ground on the order of 0.5 kV/cm leading to an additional injection of positive corona current. One of the interesting results of this modeling is that the reduced electric field (i.e., field normalized by air density) remains low at the ground-air interface due to the injection of the positive corona charge and at high altitudes due to the naturally high conductivity of the Earth's atmosphere. At the intermediate altitudes in clear air above earthquake region the reduced electric field can dynamically reach values exceeding both relativistic (~2 kV/cm when scaled to the ground level) and conventional (~30 kV/cm ground value) breakdown thresholds. The exact geometry would depend on the spatial extent of the earthquake active region, ambient atmospheric conductivity and the time dynamics of the driving stress rock current. We suggest that the enhancements of the reduced electric field in clear air at high altitudes in the Earth atmosphere is a likely scenario leading to transient (sub-second duration) flashes some time observed during earthquakes [Herauld and Lira, 2011].

5. A map of the large day-night temperature gradient of a super-Earth exoplanet.

PubMed

Demory, Brice-Olivier; Gillon, Michael; de Wit, Julien; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Bolmont, Emeline; Heng, Kevin; Kataria, Tiffany; Lewis, Nikole; Hu, Renyu; Krick, Jessica; Stamenković, Vlada; Benneke, Björn; Kane, Stephen; Queloz, Didier

2016-04-14

Over the past decade, observations of giant exoplanets (Jupiter-size) have provided key insights into their atmospheres, but the properties of lower-mass exoplanets (sub-Neptune) remain largely unconstrained because of the challenges of observing small planets. Numerous efforts to observe the spectra of super-Earths--exoplanets with masses of one to ten times that of Earth--have so far revealed only featureless spectra. Here we report a longitudinal thermal brightness map of the nearby transiting super-Earth 55 Cancri e (refs 4, 5) revealing highly asymmetric dayside thermal emission and a strong day-night temperature contrast. Dedicated space-based monitoring of the planet in the infrared revealed a modulation of the thermal flux as 55 Cancri e revolves around its star in a tidally locked configuration. These observations reveal a hot spot that is located 41 ± 12 degrees east of the substellar point (the point at which incident light from the star is perpendicular to the surface of the planet). From the orbital phase curve, we also constrain the nightside brightness temperature of the planet to 1,380 ± 400 kelvin and the temperature of the warmest hemisphere (centred on the hot spot) to be about 1,300 kelvin hotter (2,700 ± 270 kelvin) at a wavelength of 4.5 micrometres, which indicates inefficient heat redistribution from the dayside to the nightside. Our observations are consistent with either an optically thick atmosphere with heat recirculation confined to the planetary dayside, or a planet devoid of atmosphere with low-viscosity magma flows at the surface. PMID:27027283

6. High-temperature Mars-to-Earth transfer of meteorite ALH84001

Min, Kyoungwon; Reiners, Peter W.

2007-08-01

Martian meteorites provide crucial insights into Martian evolution and interplanetary mass transfer, including the potential for exogenesis. ALH84001 is the oldest Martian meteorite discovered so far, and has been used to derive important conclusions about Martian surface temperatures and very low-temperature Mars-to-Earth transfer. To better constrain the thermal evolution and shock metamorphic history of ALH84001, we applied (U-Th)/He thermochronometry to single grains of phosphate (merrillite) from ALH84001. The (U-Th)/He ages of individual phosphate grains in ALH84001 range from 60 Ma to 1.8 Ga, with a weighted mean of ~830 Ma. This broad age distribution reflects multiple diffusion domains, and requires a relatively high-temperature resetting event younger than ˜ 60 Ma. These new data are combined with the published whole-rock (maskelynite as a main Ar reservoir) 40Ar/ 39Ar age spectra which show 5-8% fractional loss of radiogenic 40Ar since 4.0 Ga. He diffusion in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial apatite has a significantly higher activation energy (138 ˜ 184 kJ/mol) than Ar diffusion in maskelynite (75 kJ/mol), leading to an important "kinetic crossover" in fractional loss contours for these systems. Taken together, the phosphate (U-Th)/He and whole-rock 40Ar/ 39Ar ages require both very low surface temperatures on Mars, and one or more short-lived, high-temperature, shock events after 4.0 Ga. We suggest that the last shock event occurred with ejection of ALH84001 from Mars, and reached a peak temperature of approximately 400 °C. These results undermine the proposed low-temperature ejection hypothesis for ALH84001, but support long-lived extremely cold Martian surface temperatures.

7. A Study of Surface Temperatures, Clouds and Net Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhuria, Harbans

1996-01-01

This study focused on the seasonal relationships and interactions of climate parameters such as the surface temperatures, net radiation, long wave flux, short wave flux, and clouds on a global basis. Five years of observations (December 1984 to November 1989) from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program (ISCCP) were used to study both seasonal variations and interannual variations by use of a basic radiation budget equation. In addition, the study was extended to include an analysis of the cloud forcing due El-Nino's impact on the ERBE parameters.

8. Monitoring global monthly mean surface temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trenberth, Kevin E.; Christy, John R.; Hurrell, James W.

1992-01-01

The accuracy of the global surface air temperature (SST) estimates for a particular month over the past decade is assessed using all of the in situ observations available today. The sources of noise in the data, the numbers of observations, and the spatial coverage are appraised for the comparison with the climate signal, and different analyzed results are compared to determine their reproducibility. The data are further evaluated by comparing anomalies of near-global monthly mean surface temperatures with those of global satellite channel 2 microwave sounding unit temperatures for 144 months from 1979 to 1990. The results indicate that the inherent noise level in an SST observation is about 1.0 C, and this is compounded when the observation is made in regions of large temperature gradient.

9. Seasonal Surface Temperature Changes on Titan

Jennings, Donald E.; Cottini, Valeria; Nixon, Conor A.; Coustenis, Athena; Tokano, Tetsuya

2015-11-01

The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini has been measuring surface brightness temperatures on Titan since 2004 (Jennings et al. 2011; Cottini et al. 2012; Tan et al. 2015). Radiation from the surface reaches space through a window of minimum opacity in Titan’s atmosphere near 19 microns wavelength. We mapped surface temperatures in five time periods, each about 2 years, centered on solar longitudes Ls = 313°, 335°, 0°, 28° and 53° degrees. Using zonally-averaged spectra binned in 10-degree latitude intervals, we clearly see the seasonal progression of the pole-to-pole temperature distribution. Whereas peak temperatures in the vicinity of the Equator have been close to 94 K throughout the Cassini mission, early in the mission temperatures at the North Pole were as low as 90 K and at the South Pole were 92 K. Late in the mission the pattern has reversed: 92 K in the north and 90 K in the south. Over 2005 to 2014 the peak temperature moved in latitude from about 15 S to 15 N. We estimate a seasonal lag of 0.2 Titan month. In 2010 the temperature distribution was approximately symmetric north and south, agreeing with Voyager 1 from one Titan year earlier. The surface temperatures follow closely the predictions of Tokano (2005). Our measurements may indicate a lower thermal inertia in the south than in the north.Jennings, D.E. et al., ApJ Lett. 737, L15 (2011)Cottini, V. et al., 2012. Planet. Space Sci. 60, 62 (2012)Tan, S. P. et al., Icarus 250, 64 (2015)Tokano, T., Icarus 204, 619 (2005)

10. Bioeffectiveness of Cosmic Rays Near the Earth Surface

Belisheva, N. K.

2014-10-01

Experimental studies of the dynamics of morphological and functional state of the diverse biosystems (microflora, plant Maranta leuconeura Â«FascinatorÂ», cell cultures, human peripheral blood, the human body ) have shown that geocosmical agents modulated the functional state of biological systems Belisheva 2006; Belisheva et all 2007 ) . First time on the experimental data showed the importance of the increase in the fluxes of solar cosmic rays (CRs ) with high energies (Belisheva et all 2002; 2012; Belisheva, Lammer, Biernat, 2004) and galactic cosmic ray variations (Belisheva et al, 2005; 2006; Vinnichenko Belisheva, 2009 ) near the Earth surface for the functional state of biosystems. The evidence of the presence of the particles with high bioeffectiveness in the secondary cosmic rays was obtained by simulating the particle cascades in the atmosphere, performed by using Geant4 (Planetocosmics, based on the Monte Carlo code (Maurchev et al, 2011), and experimental data, where radiobiological effects of cosmic rays were revealed. Modeling transport of solar protons through the Earth's atmosphere, taking into account the angular and energy distributions of secondary particles in different layers of the atmosphere, allowed us to estimate the total neutron flux during three solar proton events, accompanied by an increase in the intensity of the nucleon component of secondary cosmic rays - Ground Level Enhancement GLE (43, 44, 45) in October 1989 (19, 22, 24 October). The results obtained by simulation were compared with the data of neutron monitors and balloon measurements made during solar proton events. Confirmation of the neutron fluxes near the Earth surface during the GLE (43, 44, 45) were obtained in the experiments on the cellular cultures (Belisheva et al. 2012). A direct evidence of biological effects of CR has been demonstrated in experiments with three cellular lines growing in culture during three events of Ground Level Enhancement (GLEs) in the neutron count rate detected by ground-based neutron monitor in October, 1989. Various phenomena associated with DNA lesion on the cellular level demonstrate coherent dynamics of radiation effects in all cellular lines coincident with the time of arrival of high-energy solar particles to the near-Earth space and with the main peak in GLE. These results were obtained in the course of six separate experiments, with partial overlapping of the time of previous and subsequent experiments, which started and finished in the quiet period of solar activity (SA).A significant difference between the values of multinuclear cells in all cellular lines in the quiet period and during GLE events indicates that the cause of radiation effects in the cell cultures is an exposure of cells to the secondary solar CR near the Earth's surface. Calculations of the total flux of particles with the greatest bioeffectiveness and ambient dose equivalent neutron fluxes in different energy ranges showed that taking into account the duration of all cases GLE (19, 22, 24 October 1989), the cellular cultures were irradiated by ambient dose equivalent equal 217 microSv cm^2, which corresponds to a little less than half of the radiation dose astronauts during the day in Earth orbit (Reitz et.all, 2005; Semkova et al, 2012) and more than the average dose received by pilots per flying hour in 1997 (2.96 mSv h -1) (Langner et all, 2004). These doses are sufficient to cause genetic damages as material for the variability and the subsequent evolution of biological systems. Results of experiments conducted on cellular cultures during a great solar proton events showed that the main damages of the genetic material in the cellular nuclei appeared with increasing of the spectral hardness of solar protons that corresponded to the arrival of the particles with energies > 850 MeV in the near Earth space. The analysis shows that the prevalence of certain forms of congenital malformations in children (CDF) at high latitudes was associated with increases in fluxes of CR and with solar proton events accompanied by GLE cases. Furthermore, the frequency of incidence of all forms of congenital malformations in children increased in the years with low solar activity associated with an increase in the intensity of Cosmic rays. We found that the incidence of certain diseases of children and adults in Arctic region were higher in the year with high intensity of cosmic rays ( Belisheva, Talykova, Melnik, 2011). The results show that the GLE cases, associated with increase in particle fluxes of hard energy spectrum, can trigger DNA damage in human cells, as in the case of cellular cultures during solar proton events. These results are of basic importance for the recognition of the biological effectiveness of the background fluctuations of Cosmic rays

11. Climate variability and relationships between top-of-atmosphere radiation and temperatures on Earth

Trenberth, Kevin E.; Zhang, Yongxin; Fasullo, John T.; Taguchi, Shoichi

2015-05-01

The monthly global and regional variability in Earth's radiation balance is examined using correlations and regressions between atmospheric temperatures and water vapor with top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave (OLR), absorbed shortwave (ASR), and net radiation (RT = ASR - OLR). Anomalous global mean monthly variability in the net radiation is surprisingly large, often more than ±1 W m-2, and arises mainly from clouds and transient weather systems. Relationships are strongest and positive between OLR and temperatures, especially over land for tropospheric temperatures, except in the deep tropics where high sea surface temperatures are associated with deep convection, high cold cloud tops and thus less OLR but also less ASR. Tropospheric vertically averaged temperatures (surface = 150 hPa) are thus negatively correlated globally with net radiation (-0.57), implying 2.18 ± 0.10 W m-2 extra net radiation to space for 1°C increase in temperature. Water vapor is positively correlated with tropospheric temperatures and thus also negatively correlated with net radiation; however, when the temperature dependency of water vapor is statistically removed, a significant positive feedback between water vapor and net radiation is revealed globally with 0.87 W m-2 less OLR to space per millimeter of total column water vapor. The regression coefficient between global RT and tropospheric temperature becomes -2.98 W m-2 K-1 if water vapor effects are removed, slightly less than expected from blackbody radiation (-3.2 W m-2 K-1), suggesting a positive feedback from clouds and other processes. Robust regional structures provide additional physical insights. The observational record is too short, weather noise too great, and forcing too small to make reliable estimates of climate sensitivity.

12. Sensitivity of surface temperature and atmospheric temperature to perturbations in the stratospheric concentration of ozone and nitrogen dioxide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramanathan, V.; Callis, L. B.; Boughner, R. E.

1976-01-01

A radiative-convective model is proposed for estimating the sensitivity of the atmospheric radiative heating rates and atmospheric and surface temperatures to perturbations in the concentration of O3 and NO2 in the stratosphere. Contribution to radiative energy transfer within the atmosphere from H2O, CO2, O3, and NO2 is considered. It is found that the net solar radiation absorbed by the earth-atmosphere system decreases with a reduction in O3; if the reduction of O3 is accompanied by an increase in NO2, there is a compensating effect due to solar absorption by NO2. The surface temperature and atmospheric temperature decrease with decreasing stratospheric O3. Another major conclusion is the strong sensitivity of surface temperature to the vertical distribution of O3 within the atmosphere. The results should be considered as reflecting the sensitivity of the proposed model rather than the sensitivity of the actual earth-atmosphere system.

13. Global map of solid Earth surface heat flow

Davies, J. Huw

2013-10-01

A global map of surface heat flow is presented on a 2 2 equal area grid. It is based on a global heat flow data set of over 38,000 measurements. The map consists of three components. First, in regions of young ocean crust (<67.7 Ma) the model estimate uses a half-space conduction model based on the age of the oceanic crust, since it is well known that raw data measurements are frequently influenced by significant hydrothermal circulation. Second, in other regions of data coverage the estimate is based on data measurements. At the map resolution, these two categories (young ocean, data covered) cover 65% of Earth's surface. Third, for all other regions the estimate is based on the assumption that there is a correlation between heat flow and geology. This assumption is assessed and the correlation is found to provide a minor improvement over assuming that heat flow would be represented by the global average. The map is made available digitally.

14. GISS Analysis of Surface Temperature Change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, J.; Ruedy, R.; Glascoe, J.; Sato, M.

1999-01-01

We describe the current GISS analysis of surface temperature change for the period 1880-1999 based primarily on meteorological station measurements. The global surface temperature in 1998 was the warmest in the period of instrumental data. The rate of temperature change was higher in the past 25 years than at any previous time in the period of instrumental data. The warmth of 1998 was too large and pervasive to be fully accounted for by the recent El Nino. Despite cooling in the first half of 1999, we suggest that the mean global temperature, averaged over 2-3 years, has moved to a higher level, analogous to the increase that occurred in the late 1970s. Warming in the United States over the past 50 years has been smaller than in most of the world, and over that period there was a slight cooling trend in the Eastern United States and the neighboring Atlantic Ocean. The spatial and temporal patterns of the temperature change suggest that more than one mechanism was involved in this regional cooling. The cooling trend in the United States, which began after the 1930s and is associated with ocean temperature change patterns, began to reverse after 1979. We suggest that further warming in the United States to a level rivaling the 1930s is likely in the next decade, but reliable prediction requires better understanding of decadal oscillations of ocean temperature.

15. Effects of skin surface temperature on photoplethysmograph.

PubMed

Jeong, In Cheol; Yoon, Hyungro; Kang, Hyunjeong; Yeom, Hojun

2014-01-01

Photoplethysmograph (PPG) has been widely used to investigate various cardiovascular conditions. Previous studies demonstrated effects of temperature of the measurement environment; however, an integrated evaluation has not been established in environments with gradual air temperature variation. The purpose of this study is to investigate variations and relationships of blood pressure (BP), PPG and cardiovascular parameters such as heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR), by changing skin surface temperature (SST). Local mild cooling and heating was conducted on 16 healthy subjects. The results showed that local SST changes affected Finometer blood pressures (Finger BP), PPG components and TPR, but not the oscillometric blood pressure (Central BP), HR, SV and CO, and indicated that temperature must be maintained and monitored to reliably evaluate cardiovascular conditions in temperature-varying environments. PMID:25516126

16. Observations of Lightning on Earth from the Lunar Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, S. J.; Buechler, D. E.; Christian, H. J., Jr.; Stahl, H. P.

2007-01-01

The NASA Optical Transient Detector (OTD) launched into a 70deg inclination orbit in April 1995 aboard the MicroLab-1 satellite and the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) launched into a 35deg inclination orbit in November 1997 (and still operating today) aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission have produced the most comprehensive global observations of lightning activity on Earth. The OTD collected data for 5-yr from an altitude of 740 km while the LIS, in its 10th year of operations, is still collecting data from its current altitude of 402 km. From these altitudes the OTD observes an individual storm within its field of view for approx.3 min and the LIS for approx.90 sec as the satellites orbit the earth. Figures 1-4 show the combined LIS/OTD distribution of lightning for day and night during the Northern Hemisphere warm season from April through August (Fig. 1,2) and the cool season from October through February (Fig. 3,4) as might be observed from the lunar surface (12-h daylight and 12-h nighttime observations). The day and night plots are for the twelve hour periods centered on local noon and midnight. The total viewtime of the global lightning activity is 200 hours or less, depending on latitude (Fig. 5). Most of the observed lightning occurs over the northern hemisphere land areas as reported in previous studies. More lightning activity is seen at the higher northern latitudes during the day. The greatest lightning maxima occurs in the southeastern US, during the day. The corresponding region at night shows much less lightning activity. In contrast, there is a maxima in lightning activity at night over the high Plains area of the U.S. This region had lower lightning rates during the daytime period. During the cold season, the southern hemisphere has significantly more lightning. The maxima in Central Africa is still present, and a secondary maxima is observed in South Africa. In South America, the maxima in Argentina occurs at night in association with large-scale mesoscale convective storm complexes. This is the region on the earth having the greatest frequency of extreme storms with flash rates exceeding 1000 flashes/min. daytime maxima is seen extending from Northern Argentina to Brazil. In the US., the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Coast states exhibit a maximum in lightning activity both day and night.

17. Publications of the Western Earth Surface Processes Team 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Powell, Charles, II,(compiler); Graymer, R.W.

2003-01-01

The Western Earth Surface Processes Team (WESPT) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts geologic mapping and related topical earth science studies in the western United States. This work is focused on areas where modern geologic maps and associated earth-science data are needed to address key societal and environmental issues such as ground-water quality, landslides and other potential geologic hazards, and land-use decisions. Areas of primary emphasis in 2001 included southern California, the San Francisco Bay region, the Pacific Northwest, and the Las Vegas urban corridor. The team has its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, and maintains smaller field offices at several other locations in the western United States. The results of research conducted by the WESPT are released to the public as a variety of databases, maps, text reports, and abstracts, both through the internal publication system of the USGS and in diverse external publications such as scientific journals and books. This report lists publications of the WESPT released in 2002 as well as additional 1998 and 2001 publications that were not included in the previous list (USGS Open-File Report 00-215, USGS Open-File Report 01-198, and USGS Open-File Report 02-269). Most of the publications listed were authored or coauthored by WESPT staff. The list also includes some publications authored by non-USGS cooperators with the WESPT, as well as some authored by USGS staff outside the WESPT in cooperation with WESPT projects. Several of the publications listed are available on the World Wide Web; for these, URL addresses are provided. Many of these web publications are USGS open-file reports that contain large digital databases of geologic map and related information. Information on ordering USGS publications can be found on the World Wide Web or by calling 1-888-ASK-USGS. The U.S. Geological Survey’s web server for geologic information in the western United States is located at http://geology.wr.usgs.gov. More information is available about the WESPT is available on-line at the team website.

18. 30 CFR 717.15 - Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. 717.15 Section 717.15 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STANDARDS § 717.15 Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. Excess rock and...

19. 30 CFR 717.15 - Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. 717.15 Section 717.15 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STANDARDS § 717.15 Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. Excess rock and...

20. 30 CFR 717.15 - Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. 717.15 Section 717.15 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STANDARDS § 717.15 Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. Excess rock and...

1. 30 CFR 717.15 - Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. 717.15 Section 717.15 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STANDARDS § 717.15 Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. Excess rock and...

2. 30 CFR 717.15 - Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. 717.15 Section 717.15 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STANDARDS § 717.15 Disposal of excess rock and earth materials on surface areas. Excess rock and...

3. DISAGGREGATION OF GOES LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURES USING SURFACE EMISSIVITY

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Accurate temporal and spatial estimation of land surface temperatures (LST) is important for modeling the hydrological cycle at field to global scales because LSTs can improve estimates of soil moisture and evapotranspiration. Using remote sensing satellites, accurate LSTs could be routine, but unfo...

4. A Rough Surface Model to Explain Surface Temperatures on Vesta

Palmer, Eric; Sykes, Mark V.

2014-11-01

We modeled the spatially resolved temperature of the surface of Vesta controlling for high resolution topography, Bond albedo and 1D thermal conduction. We determined a systematic difference between the temperatures measured by the Visual and Infrared spectrometer (VIR) and computer models.We analyzed a highly degraded crater that shows negligible variations in regolith gardening and albedo. Using this crater, where the only variation in temperature is based upon illumination conditions, we were able to calculate a correction factor, and ultimately identify a thermal model based on surface roughness. This requires that the grains are small enough to be illuminated individually but large enough that they do not thermally equilibrate.We will present a "rough-surface" thermal model that takes into account how irregular grains create sub-pixel variations in the thermal spectrum and describes the effect this has on the observed surface temperatures of Vesta. We have applied this method to the VIR observations of Vesta, which produced a high level of agreement between the model and the observations.

5. Concept of a space optoelectronic system for environmental monitoring of the near-earth space, atmosphere, and earth surface

Eltsov, Anatoli V.; Karasev, Vladimir I.; Kolotkov, Vjacheslav V.; Kondranin, Timothy V.

1997-06-01

The sharp increase of the man-induced pressure on the environment and hence the need to predict and monitor natural anomalies makes global monitoring of the ecosphere of planet Earth an issue of vital importance. The notion of the ecosphere covers three basic shells closely interacting with each other: the near-Earth space, the atmosphere and the Earth surface. In the near-Earth space (covering 100 to 2000 km altitudes) the primary objects of monitoring are: functioning artificial space objects, the fragments of their constructions or space rubbish (which by estimation amounts to 3.5 million pieces including 30,000 to 70,000 objects having dimensions sufficient for heavy damaging or even destroying functioning space objects) and objects of space origin (asteroids, meteorites and comets) whose trajectories come closely enough to the Earth. Maximum concentrations of space rubbish observed on orbits with altitudes of 800, 1000 and 1500 km and inclinations of 60 to 100 deg. are related in the first place to spacecraft launch requirements. Taking into account the number of launches implemented by different countries in the framework of their own space programs the probability of collision of functioning spacecraft with space rubbish may be estimation increase from (1.5 - 3.5)% at present to (15 - 40)% by 2020. Besides, registration of space radiation flow intensity and the solar activity is no less important in this space area. Subject to control in the atmosphere are time and space variations in temperature fields, humidity, tracing gas concentrations, first of all ozone and greenhouse gases, the state of the cloud cover, wind velocity, etc. The range of objects to be under environmental management of Earth surface is just as diverse and essentially should include the state of the surface and the near-surface layer of seas and oceans, internal reservoirs, the cryosphere and the land surface along with vegetation cover, natural resources and human activities. No matter how large the space (from several meters to hundreds of kilometers) and time (from an hour to several months) scales of the above monitoring might be there is a common dominating factor which could favor creation of a general- purpose observation and control system based on passive optoelectronic instrumentation of different levels of sophistication. This dominating factor refers to the possibility of obtaining information about the state of objects by way to recording parameters of radiation emitted by them in wavelengths of 250 nm to tens of microns. The fact that phenomena and processes occurring in the atmosphere are closely interrelated gives implications as to the structure of such a system which is supposed to be a common information network basically consisting of an orbiting constellation of a number of small-size spacecraft equipped with optoelectronic instrumentation of different complexity, and a ground segment to provide acquisition and processing of information about the status of every ecosphere shell including comprehensive thematic analysis. The existing domestic (based on the Meteor', Resurs-O', Okean', etc. spacecraft) and foreign (NOAA, SPOT, LANDSAT, ERS, etc.) space systems are designed for solution of only a limited number of atmosphere monitoring issues, namely those related to meteorology and studies of natural resources. As for the near-Earth space there are at present only ground facilities whose monitoring capabilities are also limited. It should be noted that in recent years in the USA similar activities have been in full swing targeted at creation of a system like the one mentioned above (the Earth Observation System). A system comprising four spacecraft of the NOAA series and a distributed ground network for receiving analog (with 4 km spatial resolution) and digital (with 1 km spatial resolution) multispectral data pertaining to the status of the atmosphere and the underlying surface is currently operational. This system presents some unique features which make it in several applications superior to existing counterparts. The issue of creation and use of similar systems is complex and costly and it can be solved under today's Russian circumstances only at government level by joint efforts of multiple scientific and production organizations. One advantageous approach consists in building the above-mentioned systems using space complexes which have been already developed or are under development.

6. Trends in Surface Temperature at High Latitudes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comiso, Josefino C.

2012-01-01

The earliest signal of a climate change is expected to be found in the polar regions where warming is expected to be amplified on account of ice-albedo feedbacks associated with the high reflectivity of snow and ice. Because of general inaccessibility, there is a general paucity of in situ data and hence the need to use satellite data to observe the large-scale variability and trends in surface temperature in the region. Among the most important sensors for monitoring surface temperature has been the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) which was first launched in 1978 and has provided continuous thermal infrared data since 1981. The top of the atmosphere data are converted to surface temperature data through various schemes that accounts for the unique atmospheric and surface conditions in the polar regions. Among the highest source of error in the data is cloud masking which is made more difficult in the polar region because of similar Signatures of clouds and snow lice covered areas. The availability of many more channels in the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) launched on board Terra satellite in December 1999 and on board Aqua in May 2002 (e.g., 36 visible and infrared channels compared to 5 for AVHRR) made it possible to minimize the error. Further capabilities were introduced with the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) which has the appropriate frequency channels for the retrieval of sea surface temperature (SST). The results of analysis of the data show an amplified warming in the Arctic region, compared with global warming. The spatial distribution of warming is, however, not uniform and during the last 3 decades, positive temperature anomalies have been most pronounced in North America, Greenland and the Arctic basin. Some regions of the Arctic such as Siberia and the Bering Sea surprisingly show moderate cooling but this may be because these regions were anomalously warm in the 1980s when the satellite record started. Also, the SST in the Arctic basin is observed to be anomalously high in 2007 when the perennial ice cover declined dramatically to its lowest extent. In the Antarctic, surface temperature trends are much more moderate with the most positive trends occurring in the Antarctic Peninsula and parts of Western Antarctica while some cooling are observed in the Antarctic Plateau and the Ross Sea. The trends in SST in the region is similar to global averages but precipitation from more evaporation may have a key role in the spatial distribution of surface temperature in the ice covered region

7. Hydrogen on Nickel Surfaces at Elevated Temperatures

Dillon, Lauren A.; Bongiorno, Angelo

2010-03-01

Density functional theory, force fields, and Monte-Carlo simulations are used to address the adsorption, dissociation, and migration processes at elevated temperatures of hydrogen at nickel surfaces, which are key steps controlling the electrokinetics of conventional Ni-based anodes in solid-oxide fuel cells. In agreement with previous studies, this work shows that the adsorption and dissociation steps consist of (almost) barrierless processes, leading to the prompt formation of protons confined energetically to the superficial region. The bulk and surface diffusion of a proton in nickel is then addressed by using a multiscale approach. An effective interatomic potential describing the hydrogen-nickel interaction is first derived from density functional theory calculations. Then, molecular dynamics and Monte-Carlo simulations are combined to study in detail the hydrogen diffusion pathways and rates at increasing temperatures in the bulk and on the surface of Ni particles of various size. This work shows that the structural and thus energetic disorder at the surface increases for increasing temperatures, leading to the appearance of an anomalous surface diffusivity and to an increase of bulk migration pathways.

8. Ground surface temperature and continental heat gain: Uncertainties from underground.

Beltrami, Hugo; Matharoo, Gurpreet S.; Smerdon, Jason E.

2015-04-01

Temperature changes at the Earth's surface propagate and are recorded underground as perturbations to the equilibrium thermal regime associated with heat flow from the Earth's interior. Interpretation of these downward propagating subsurface temperature anomalies in terms of surface climate is the central role of Borehole Climatology. Robust determination of the steady-state geothermal regime is nevertheless crucial for these efforts, because it is the reference against which climate induced subsurface temperature anomalies are estimated. Here we examine the effects of data noise on the determination of the subsurface steady-state geothermal regime and the subsequent impact on estimates of ground surface temperature (GST) history and heat gain. We perform sets of Monte Carlo experiments using 1000 Gaussian noise realizations and depth sections of 100 and 200 m as depth intervals for steady-state estimates, as well as a range of data sampling intervals from 10 m to 0.02 m. Results indicate that typical uncertainties for 50-year averages are on the order of +/- 0.02 K for the most recent 100-year period. These uncertainties grow with decreasing sampling interval reaching about +/- 0.1 K for a 10-m sampling interval under identical conditions and target period. Uncertainties increase for progressively older periods, reaching +/- 0.3 K at 500 years before present for a 10-m sampling interval. The uncertainties in reconstructed GST histories for the Northern Hemisphere for the most recent 50-yr period can reach a maximum of +/- 0.5 K in some areas. We suggest that continuous logging should be the preferred approach when measuring geothermal data for climate reconstructions, and that for those using the International Heat Flow Commission database for borehole climatology, the steady-state thermal conditions should be estimated from boreholes as deep as possible and using a large fitting depth range (~100 m).

9. Ground surface temperature and continental heat gain: uncertainties from underground

Beltrami, Hugo; Matharoo, Gurpreet S.; Smerdon, Jason E.

2015-01-01

Temperature changes at the Earth's surface propagate and are recorded underground as perturbations to the equilibrium thermal regime associated with the heat flow from the Earth's interior. Borehole climatology is concerned with the analysis and interpretation of these downward propagating subsurface temperature anomalies in terms of surface climate. Proper determination of the steady-state geothermal regime is therefore crucial because it is the reference against which climate-induced subsurface temperature anomalies are estimated. Here, we examine the effects of data noise on the determination of the steady-state geothermal regime of the subsurface and the subsequent impact on estimates of ground surface temperature (GST) history and heat gain. We carry out a series of Monte Carlo experiments using 1000 Gaussian noise realizations and depth sections of 100 and 200 m as for steady-state estimates depth intervals, as well as a range of data sampling intervals from 10 m to 0.02 m. Results indicate that typical uncertainties for 50 year averages are on the order of ±0.02 K for the most recent 100 year period. These uncertainties grow with decreasing sampling intervals, reaching about ±0.1 K for a 10 m sampling interval under identical conditions and target period. Uncertainties increase for progressively older periods, reaching ±0.3 K at 500 years before present for a 10 m sampling interval. The uncertainties in reconstructed GST histories for the Northern Hemisphere for the most recent 50 year period can reach a maximum of +/- 0.5 K in some areas. We suggest that continuous logging should be the preferred approach when measuring geothermal data for climate reconstructions, and that for those using the International Heat Flow Commission database for borehole climatology, the steady-state thermal conditions should be estimated from boreholes as deep as possible and using a large fitting depth range (˜100 m).

10. Seasonal Changes in Titan's Surface Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, Donald E.; Nixon, Conor A.; Cottini, Valeria

2011-01-01

Cassini's extended mission has provided the opportunity to search for seasonal variations on Titan. In particular, surface temperatures are expected to have shifted significantly in latitude during the completed portion of the mission. Spectra recorded by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) during the nominal mission (2004-08) and the Equinox mission. (2008-10) have already shown changes in temperature. CIRS has detected a seasonal shift in the latitudinal distribution of surface brightness temperatures by comparing zonal averages from two time segments, one period in late northern winter centered on L(sub s) approximately 335 deg and a second period centered on the equinox (L(sub s) approximately 0 deg.). The earlier period had a meridional distribution similar to that previously reported: 93.5 K at the equator, 91.7 K at 85 S and 899 K at 85 N. The newly measured distribution near equinox shows a cooling in the south and a warming in the north, both by about 0.5 K. We estimate that. the centroid of the distribution moved from approximately 16 S to 7 S between the two periods. This gives a seasonal lag behind insolation of delta L(sub s) approximately 13 deg. The CIRS equinox results are consistent with those of Voyager IRIS, which encountered Titan in November 1980, just following the previous northern equinox (L(sub s) = 10 deg.). When compared with predictions from general circulation models, seasonal variations of surface temperature can help constrain the identification of surface materials. Our measurements most closely match the case of a porous ice regolith treated by Tokano, but with some apparent differences between the northern and southern hemispheres. CIRS will extend its study of seasonal variations in surface temperature on Titan as Cassini continues through northern spring.

11. Anthropogenic Disturbance of Element Cycles at the Earth's Surface

Sen, I. S.; Peucker-Ehrenbrink, B.

2012-12-01

The extent to which humans are modifying Earth's surface chemistry can be quantified by comparing total anthropogenic element fluxes with their natural counterparts [1]. We determine anthropogenic mass transfer of 77 elements from mining, fossil fuel burning, biomass burning, construction activities, and human apportionment of terrestrial net primary productivity, and compared it to natural mass transfer from terrestrial and marine net primary productivity, riverine dissolved and suspended matter fluxes to the ocean, soil erosion, eolian dust, sea-salt spray, cosmic dust, volcanic emissions and - for helium - hydrodynamic escape from the Earth's atmosphere. In addition, we introduce an approach to correct for losses during industrial processing of elements belonging to geochemically coherent groups, and explicitly incorporated uncertainties of element mass fluxes through Monte Carlo simulations [2]. Our assessment indicates that anthropogenic fluxes of iridium, osmium, helium, gold, ruthenium, antimony, platinum, palladium, rhenium, rhodium and chromium are greater than the respective natural fluxes. For these elements mining is the major factor of human dominance, whereas petroleum burning strongly influence the surficial cycle of rhenium. Apart from these 11 elements there are 15 additional elements whose anthropogenic fluxes may surpass their corresponding natural fluxes. Anthropogenic fluxes of the remaining elements are smaller than their corresponding natural fluxes although a significant human influence is observed for all of them. For example, ~20% of the annual fluxes of C, N, and P can be attributed to human activities. Such disturbances, though small compared with natural fluxes, can significantly alter concentrations in near-surface reservoirs and affect ecosystems if they are sustained over time scales similar to or longer than the residence time of elements in the respective reservoir. Examples are the continuing input of CO2 to the atmosphere that has led to a 40% increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and the atmospheric redistribution of reactive nitrogen and accumulation in remote ecosystems. We note that if anthropogenic contributions to soil erosion and eolian dust are considered, anthropogenic fluxes of up to 62 elements may surpass their corresponding natural fluxes. [1] Klee and Graedel (2004), Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour., 29, p. 69-107 [2] Sen and Peucker-Ehrenbrink (2012), Environ. Sci. Technol., dx.doi.org/10.1021/es301261x

12. Accurate measurement of LED lens surface temperature

Perera, Indika U.; Narendran, Nadarajah; Liu, Yi-wei

2013-09-01

13. Global patterns in lake surface temperature trends

O'Reilly, C.; Sharma, S.; Gray, D.; Hampton, S. E.; Read, J. S.; Rowley, R.; McIntyre, P. B.; Lenters, J. D.; Schneider, P.; Hook, S. J.

2014-12-01

Temperature profoundly affects dynamics in the water bodieson which human societies depend worldwide. Even relatively small water temperature changes can alter lake thermal structure with implications for water level, nutrient cycling, ecosystem productivity, and food web dynamics. As air temperature increases with climate change and human land use transforms watersheds, rising water temperatures have been reported for individual lakes or regions, but a global synthesis is lacking; such a synthesis is foundational for understanding the state of freshwater resources. We investigated global patterns in lake surface water temperatures between 1985 and 2009 using in-situ and satellite data from 236 lakes. We demonstrate that lakes are warming significantly around the globe, at an average rate of 0.34 °C per decade. The breadth of lakes in this study allowed examination of the diversity of drivers across global lakes, and highlighted the importance of ice cover in determining the suite of morphological and climate drivers for lake temperature dynamics. These empirical results are consistent with modeled predictions of climate change, taking into account the extent to which water warming can be modulated by local environmental conditions and thus defy simple correlations with air temperature. The water temperature changes we report have fundamental importance for thermal structure and ecosystem functioning in global water resources; recognition of the extent to which lakes are currently in transition should have broad implications for regional and global models as well as for management.

14. Characterization and Correction of Aquarius Long Term Calibration Drift Using On-Earth Brightness Temperature Refernces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Shannon; Misra, Sidharth

2013-01-01

The Aquarius/SAC-D mission was launched on June 10, 2011 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Aquarius consists of an L-band radiometer and scatterometer intended to provide global maps of sea surface salinity. One of the main mission objectives is to provide monthly global salinity maps for climate studies of ocean circulation, surface evaporation and precipitation, air/sea interactions and other processes. Therefore, it is critical that any spatial or temporal systematic biases be characterized and corrected. One of the main mission requirements is to measure salinity with an accuracy of 0.2 psu on montly time scales which requires a brightness temperature stability of about 0.1K, which is a challenging requirement for the radiometer. A secondary use of the Aquarius data is for soil moisture applications, which requires brightness temperature stability at the warmer end of the brightness temperature dynamic range. Soon after launch, time variable drifts were observed in the Aquarius data compared to in-situ data from ARGO and models for the ocean surface salinity. These drifts could arise from a number of sources, including the various components of the retrieval algorithm, such as the correction for direct and reflected galactic emission, or from the instrument brightness temperature calibration. If arising from the brightness temperature calibration, they could have gain and offset components. It is critical that the nature of the drifts be understood before a suitable correction can be implemented. This paper describes the approach that was used to detect and characterize the components of the drift that were in the brightness temperature calibration using on-Earth reference targets that were independent of the ocean model.

15. Global modeling of fresh surface water temperature

Bierkens, M. F.; Eikelboom, T.; van Vliet, M. T.; Van Beek, L. P.

2011-12-01

Temperature determines a range of water physical properties, the solubility of oxygen and other gases and acts as a strong control on fresh water biogeochemistry, influencing chemical reaction rates, phytoplankton and zooplankton composition and the presence or absence of pathogens. Thus, in freshwater ecosystems the thermal regime affects the geographical distribution of aquatic species through their growth and metabolism, tolerance to parasites, diseases and pollution and life history. Compared to statistical approaches, physically-based models of surface water temperature have the advantage that they are robust in light of changes in flow regime, river morphology, radiation balance and upstream hydrology. Such models are therefore better suited for projecting the effects of global change on water temperature. Till now, physically-based models have only been applied to well-defined fresh water bodies of limited size (e.g., lakes or stream segments), where the numerous parameters can be measured or otherwise established, whereas attempts to model water temperature over larger scales has thus far been limited to regression type of models. Here, we present a first attempt to apply a physically-based model of global fresh surface water temperature. The model adds a surface water energy balance to river discharge modelled by the global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB. In addition to advection of energy from direct precipitation, runoff and lateral exchange along the drainage network, energy is exchanged between the water body and the atmosphere by short and long-wave radiation and sensible and latent heat fluxes. Also included are ice-formation and its effect on heat storage and river hydraulics. We used the coupled surface water and energy balance model to simulate global fresh surface water temperature at daily time steps on a 0.5x0.5 degree grid for the period 1970-2000. Meteorological forcing was obtained from the CRU data set, downscaled to daily values with ECMWF ERA40 re-analysis data. We compared our simulation results with daily temperature data from rivers and lakes (USGS, limited to the USA) and compared mean monthly temperatures with those recorded in the GEMS data set. Results show that the model is able to capture well the mean monthly surface temperature for the majority of the GEMS stations both in time as well as in space, while the inter-annual variability as derived from the USGS data was captured reasonably well. Results are poorest for the arctic rivers, possibly because the timing of ice-breakup is predicted too late in the year due to the lack of including a mechanical break-up mechanism. The spatio-temporal variation of water temperature reveals large temperature differences between water and atmosphere for the higher latitudes, while considerable lateral transport of heat can be observed for rivers crossing hydroclimatic zones such as the Nile, the Mississippi and the large rivers flowing into the Arctic. Overall, our model results show great promise for future projection of global fresh surface water temperature under global change.

16. Response of Soil Temperature to Climate Change in the CMIP5 Earth System Models

Phillips, C. L.; Torn, M. S.; Koven, C. D.

2014-12-01

Predictions of soil temperature changes are as critical to policy development and climate change adaptation as predictions of air temperature, but have received comparatively little attention. Soil temperature determines seed germination and growth of wild and agricultural plants, and impacts climate through both geophysical and carbon-cycle feedbacks. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5th Assessment Report does not report soil temperature predictions, but focuses instead on surface air temperatures, despite the fact that mean annual soil temperatures and mean surface air temperatures are often different from each other. Here we aim to fill this important knowledge gap by reporting soil temperature and moisture predictions for 15 earth system models (ESMs) that participated in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison 5 Project (CMIP5). Under the RCP 4.5 and 8.5 emissions scenarios, soil warming is predicted to almost keep pace with soil air warming, with about 10% less warming in soil than air, globally. The slower warming of soil compared to air is likely related to predictions of soil drying, with drier soils having reduced soil heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Mollisol soils, which are typically regarded as the most productive soil order for cultivating cereal crops, are anticipated to see warming in North America of 3.5 to 5.5 °C at the end of the 21st century (2080-2100) compared to 1986-2005. One impact of soil warming is likely to be an acceleration of germination timing, with the 3°C temperature threshold for wheat germination anticipated to advance by several weeks in Mollisol regions. Furthermore, soil warming at 1 m depth is predicted to be almost equivalent to warming at 1 cm depth in frost-free regions, indicating vulnerability of deep soil carbon pools to destabilization. To assess model performance we compare the models' predictions with observations of damping depth, and offsets between mean annual soil and air temperature for the historic period. We find ESMs generally predict warmer mean annual air temperature than soil, whereas observations show air temperatures are cooler or similar to soil temperatures in many locations. To improve future assessments of soil carbon, it is important to benchmark soil-air temperature linkages of global land models.

17. Global trends of measured surface air temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, James; Lebedeff, Sergej

1987-01-01

The paper presents the results of surface air temperature measurements from available meteorological stations for the period of 1880-1985. It is shown that the network of meteorological stations is sufficient to yield reliable long-term, decadal, and interannual temperature changes for both the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere, despite the fact that most stations are located on the continents. The results indicate a global warming of about 0.5-0.7 C in the past century, with warming of similar magnitude in both hemispheres. A strong warming trend between 1965 and 1980 raised the global mean temperature in 1980 and 1981 to the highest level in the period of instrumental records. Selected graphs of the temperature change in each of the eight latitude zones are included.

18. Ultraviolet radiation climatology of the Earths surface and lower atmosphere. Final report

SciTech Connect

1999-03-01

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the driving force of tropospheric chemistry and is furthermore detrimental to most living tissues. A three year modeling program was carried out to characterize the UV radiation in the lower atmosphere, with the objective of development a climatology of UV biologically active radiation, and of photo-dissociation reaction rates that are key to tropospheric chemistry. A comprehensive model, the Tropospheric Ultraviolet-Visible (TUV) model, was developed and made available to the scientific community. The model incorporates updated spectroscopic data, recent advances in radiative transfer theory, and allows flexible customization for the needs of different users. The TUV model has been used in conjunction with satellite-derived measurements of total atmospheric ozone and cloud amount, to develop a global climatology of UV radiation reaching the surface of the Earth. Initial validation studies are highly encouraging, showing that model predictions agree with direct measurements to ca. 5--10% at times when environmental conditions are well known, and to 10--30% for monthly averages when local environmental conditions can only be estimated remotely from satellite-based measurements. Additional validation studies are continuing.

19. Differences between near-surface equivalent temperature and temperature trends for the Eastern United States. Equivalent temperature as an alternative measure of heat content

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davey, C.A.; Pielke, R.A., Sr.; Gallo, K.P.

2006-01-01

There is currently much attention being given to the observed increase in near-surface air temperatures during the last century. The proper investigation of heating trends, however, requires that we include surface heat content to monitor this aspect of the climate system. Changes in heat content of the Earth's climate are not fully described by temperature alone. Moist enthalpy or, alternatively, equivalent temperature, is more sensitive to surface vegetation properties than is air temperature and therefore more accurately depicts surface heating trends. The microclimates evident at many surface observation sites highlight the influence of land surface characteristics on local surface heating trends. Temperature and equivalent temperature trend differences from 1982-1997 are examined for surface sites in the Eastern U.S. Overall trend differences at the surface indicate equivalent temperature trends are relatively warmer than temperature trends in the Eastern U.S. Seasonally, equivalent temperature trends are relatively warmer than temperature trends in winter and are relatively cooler in the fall. These patterns, however, vary widely from site to site, so local microclimate is very important. ?? 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

20. Changes in biologically active ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth's surface.

PubMed

Madronich, S; McKenzie, R L; Björn, L O; Caldwell, M M

1998-10-01

1. Amplification of surface temperature trends and variability in thetropical atmosphere

SciTech Connect

Santer, B.D.; Wigley, T.M.L.; Mears, C.; Wentz, F.J.; Klein,S.A.; Seidel, D.J.; Taylor, K.E.; Thorne, P.W.; Wehner, M.F.; Gleckler,P.J.; Boyle, J.S.; Collins, W.D.; Dixon, K.W.; Doutriaux, C.; Free, M.; Fu, Q.; Hansen, J.E.; Jones, G.S.; Ruedy, R.; Karl, T.R.; Lanzante, J.R.; Meehl, G.A.; Ramaswamy, V.; Russell, G.; Schmidt, G.A.

2005-08-11

The month-to-month variability of tropical temperatures is larger in the troposphere than at the Earth's surface. This amplification behavior is similar in a range of observations and climate model simulations, and is consistent with basic theory. On multi-decadal timescales, tropospheric amplification of surface warming is a robust feature of model simulations, but occurs in only one observational dataset. Other observations show weak or even negative amplification. These results suggest that either different physical mechanisms control amplification processes on monthly and decadal timescales, and models fail to capture such behavior, or (more plausibly) that residual errors in several observational datasets used here affect their representation of long-term trends.

2. Effect of microorganism on Greenland ice sheet surface temperature change

Shimada, R.; Takeuchi, N.; Aoki, T.

2012-12-01

Greenland ice sheet holds approximately 10% of the fresh water on earth. If it melts all, sea level rises about 7.2meter. It is reported that mass of Greenland ice sheet is decreasing with temperature rising of climate change. Melting of the coastal area is particularly noticeable. It is established that 4 to 23% of the sea level rising from 1993 to 2005 is caused by the melting of Greenland ice sheet. In 2010, amount of melting per year became the largest than the past. However many climate models aren't able to simulate the recent melting of snow and ice in the Arctic including Greenland. One of the possible causes is albedo reduction of snow and ice surface by light absorbing snow impurities such as black carbon and dust and by glacial microorganisms. But there are few researches for effect of glacial microorganism in wide area. So it is important to clarify the impact of glacial microorganisms in wide area. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effect of microorganism on Greenland ice sheet surface temperature change using satellite images of visible, near infrared and thermal infrared wavelength range and observation carried out in northwestern Greenland. We use MODIS Land Surface Temperature Product as ice sheet surface temperature. It estimates land surface temperature based on split window method using thermal infrared bands. MODIS data is bound to cover the whole of Greenland, and calculated the ratio of the temperature change per year. Analysis period is from December 2002 to November 2010. Results of calculating Greenland ice sheet surface temperature change using the MODIS data, our analysis shows that it is upward trend in the whole region. We find a striking upward trend in northern and western part of Greenland. The rate is 0.33±0.03 degree Celsius per a year from 47.5°W to 49°W. While in the coastal area from 49°W to 50.7°W, the rate is 0.26±0.06 degree Celsius per a year. This large upward trend area is the same area as dark region (Wientjes and Oerleman., 2010). It is considered that the cause of the dark region is Cryoconite on the glacier. So, it is considered that upward trends have relation to glacial microorganism including cryoconite. In the future, in order to clarify the relationship between temperature change and glacial microorganism, we will develop product to determine the quantity of glacial microorganism by satellite images.

3. Global surface air temperatures - Update through 1987

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, James; Lebedeff, Sergej

1988-01-01

Data from meteorological stations show that surface air temperatures in the 1980s are the warmest in the history of instrumental records. The four warmest years on record are all in the 1980s, with the warmest years in the analysis being 1981 and 1987. The rate of warming between the mid-1960s and the present is higher than that which occurrred in the previous period of rapid warming between the 1880s and 1940.

4. Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carr, M. H.

1984-01-01

The following aspects of the planet Earth are discussed: plate tectonics, the interior of the planet, the formation of the Earth, and the evolution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere. The Earth's crust, mantle, and core are examined along with the bulk composition of the planet.

5. Science Syllabus for Middle and Junior High Schools. Block D, The Earth's Changing Surface.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of General Education Curriculum Development.

This syllabus begins with a list of program objectives and performance criteria for the study of three general topic areas in earth science and a list of 22 science processes. Following this information is a listing of concepts and understandings for subtopics within the general topic areas: (1) the earth's surface--surface features, rock…

6. Science Syllabus for Middle and Junior High Schools. Block D, The Earth's Changing Surface.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of General Education Curriculum Development.

This syllabus begins with a list of program objectives and performance criteria for the study of three general topic areas in earth science and a list of 22 science processes. Following this information is a listing of concepts and understandings for subtopics within the general topic areas: (1) the earth's surface--surface features, rock

7. High temperature low friction surface coating

DOEpatents

Bhushan, Bharat

1980-01-01

A high temperature, low friction, flexible coating for metal surfaces which are subject to rubbing contact includes a mixture of three parts graphite and one part cadmium oxide, ball milled in water for four hours, then mixed with thirty percent by weight of sodium silicate in water solution and a few drops of wetting agent. The mixture is sprayed 12-15 microns thick onto an electro-etched metal surface and air dried for thirty minutes, then baked for two hours at 65.degree. C. to remove the water and wetting agent, and baked for an additional eight hours at about 150.degree. C. to produce the optimum bond with the metal surface. The coating is afterwards burnished to a thickness of about 7-10 microns.

8. Gravitational large bolides influence on the Earth's surface

Mikheeva, Anna; Khazanovitch-Wulff, Konstantin

2014-05-01

The authors consider the zones of elongate negative gravity anomalies that accompany some astroblemes and conclude that the formation of such "tails" associated with the energy influence of the asteroids. After analyzing the morphological elements of Popigai crater and concluding that the ballistic trajectory of Popigai cosmic body (CB) had orientation from SE to NW [1], the authors found that this direction corresponds to the position of the linear zone of negative gravity anomalies [2]. Earlier, in the analysis of this zone with using a gravity model EGM08, Czech researchers concluded that it was formed by the fall of three satellites of Popigai CB. However, traces of large impact events here are unknown and unlikely to be detected. Earlier analysis of the Russian Gravity maps 2010, scale 1:2500,000 [2], showed the presence of gravity tails for all large craters (D ≥ 15 km) produced by bodies for which we can assume a trajectory with a relatively low angle to the Earth's surface. However, the proven structures of large diameter are quite few in Russia. That is why it is important to check this pattern on a global scale. Indeed, the gravity imprints of CB trajectories show up in the new shaded model of "Global marine gravity" [3] for hundreds of astroblemes not specified in [2]. The data obtained can be an additional basis for definition of the CB trajectory direction along with other morphological elements of astroblemes considered by the authors earlier [4]. Furthermore, gravity can be useful to prove the impact origin of many less certain structures, such as submerged structures. Visual observation of submerged craters is difficult, and analysis of geophysical evidence in this case is simpler than the analysis of morphology. The surface gravity anomalies mimic round shape of craters and it can be assigned to the impact category in the presence of tails, even if in the absence of data, which can reveal rootless anomalies. Question "what are the linear tail zones of negative gravity anomalies and how were they formed" is waiting for his answer. Taking into account the often-observed bends of tail-shaped depressions, a more likely explanation would be in terms of gradual destruction of the body on its way through the atmosphere. As a result, there forms a chain of smaller fragments and particles after the body (the tail), which impacts a longer area of land. References 1. Khazanovitch-Wulff K.K., Mikheeva A.V. and Kuznetsov V.F. Structural elements of some astroblemes indicating directions of cosmic body trajectories // New Concepts in Global Tectonics JOURNAL, Volume 1, Number 3, p.11-19. September 2013. www.ncgt.org 2. Khazanovitch-Wulff K. K. and Mikheeva A. V. Negative gravity anomalies as the tails of astroblemes // NCGT Journal, v. 1, no. 2, p.4-15. June 2013. www.ncgt.org 3. Sandwell D.T., Smith W. H. F. Global marine gravity from retracked Geosat and ERS-1 altimetry: Ridge segmentation versus spreading rate. J. Geophys. Res., 2009. V.114, B01411. 4. Mikheeva A.V. The complete catalog of the Earth's impact structures - 2013. URL: labmpg.sscc.ru/impact/index1.html.

9. The Breath of Planet Earth: Atmospheric Circulation. Assimilation of Surface Wind Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atlas, Robert; Bloom, Stephen; Otterman, Joseph

2000-01-01

Differences in air pressure are a major cause of atmospheric circulation. Because heat excites the movement of atoms, warm temperatures cause, air molecules to expand. Because those molecules now occupy a larger space, the pressure that their weight exerts is decreased. Air from surrounding high-pressure areas is pushed toward the low-pressure areas, creating circulation. This process causes a major pattern of global atmosphere movement known as meridional circulation. In this form of convection, or vertical air movement, heated equatorial air rises and travels through the upper atmosphere toward higher latitudes. Air just above the equator heads toward the North Pole, and air just below the equator moves southward. This air movement fills the gap created where increased air pressure pushes down cold air. The ,cold air moves along the surface back toward the equator, replacing the air masses that rise there. Another influence on atmospheric. circulation is the Coriolis force. Because of the Earth's rotation, large-scale wind currents move in the direction of this axial spin around low-pressure areas. Wind rotates counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. just as the Earth's rotation affects airflow, so too does its surface. In the phenomenon of orographic lifting, elevated topographic features such as mountain ranges lift air as it moves up their surface.

10. Stratospheric Impact of Varying Sea Surface Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, Paul A.; Nash, Eric R.; Nielsen, Jon E.; Waugh, Darryn; Pawson, Steven

2004-01-01

The Finite-Volume General Circulation Model (FVGCM) has been run in 50 year simulations with the: 1) 1949-1999 Hadley Centre sea surface temperatures (SST), and 2) a fixed annual cycle of SSTs. In this presentation we first show that the 1949-1999 FVGCM simulation produces a very credible stratosphere in comparison to an NCEP/NCAR reanalysis climatology. In particular, the northern hemisphere has numerous major and minor stratospheric warming, while the southern hemisphere has only a few over the 50-year simulation. During the northern hemisphere winter, temperatures are both warmer in the lower stratosphere and the polar vortex is weaker than is found in the mid-winter southern hemisphere. Mean temperature differences in the lower stratosphere are shown to be small (less than 2 K), and planetary wave forcing is found to be very consistent with the climatology. We then will show the differences between our varying SST simulation and the fixed SST simulation in both the dynamics and in two parameterized trace gases (ozone and methane). In general, differences are found to be small, with subtle changes in planetary wave forcing that lead to reduced temperatures in the SH and increased temperatures in the NH.

11. A comparison of temperature and precipitation responses to different Earth radiation management geoengineering schemes

Crook, J. A.; Jackson, L. S.; Osprey, S. M.; Forster, P. M.

2015-09-01

Earth radiation management has been suggested as a way to rapidly counteract global warming in the face of a lack of mitigation efforts, buying time and avoiding potentially catastrophic warming. We compare six different radiation management schemes that use surface, troposphere, and stratosphere interventions in a single climate model in which we projected future climate from 2020 to 2099 based on RCP4.5. We analyze the surface air temperature responses to determine how effective the schemes are at returning temperature to its 1986-2005 climatology and analyze precipitation responses to compare side effects. We find crop albedo enhancement is largely ineffective at returning temperature to its 1986-2005 climatology. Desert albedo enhancement causes excessive cooling in the deserts and severe shifts in tropical precipitation. Ocean albedo enhancement, sea-spray geoengineering, cirrus cloud thinning, and stratospheric SO2 injection have the potential to cool more uniformly, but cirrus cloud thinning may not be able to cool by much more than 1 K globally. We find that of the schemes potentially able to return surface air temperature to 1986-2005 climatology under future greenhouse gas warming, none has significantly less severe precipitation side effects than other schemes. Despite different forcing patterns, ocean albedo enhancement, sea-spray geoengineering, cirrus cloud thinning, and stratospheric SO2 injection all result in large scale tropical precipitation responses caused by Hadley cell changes and land precipitation changes largely driven by thermodynamic changes. Widespread regional scale changes in precipitation over land are significantly different from the 1986-2005 climatology and would likely necessitate significant adaptation despite geoengineering.

12. Low earth orbiting Nadir Etalon Sounding Spectrometer instrument concept for temperature, moisture and trace species, LeoNESS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kumer, J. B.; Sterritt, L. W.; Roche, A. E.; Rosenberg, W. J.; Morrow, H. E.; Shenk, W. E.; Susskind, J.

1992-01-01

A concept for a low earth orbiting nadir etalon spectrometer sounder (LeoNESS) is described which can achieve retrieval of temperature, H2O, surface, boundary conditions, cloudiness, and trace species with an accuracy that meets or exceeds the AIRS specifications. Options employing 65-K and 30-K detectors are examined; the former may be implemented via passive radiative cooling. The concept, which is derived from the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer, has the potential for improving the horizontal and vertical resolution.

13. Long-term changes in net radiation at the Earth's surface: uncertainties and implications

Sheffield, Justin; Coccia, Gabriele; Siemann, Amanda; Wood, Eric

2014-05-01

Net radiation at the earth's surface plays a key role in terrestrial water, energy and carbon fluxes, but there is large uncertainty in its variation over decadal time scales. Globally, surface and satellite measurements indicate global dimming in solar radiation over many regions since the mid-20th century and then brightening over recent decades due to changes in cloudiness and aerosols. Changes in longwave radiation are driven by long-term increases in greenhouse gases and inter-annual variations in short-lived constituents such as dust and black carbon. These increases are partially offset, however, by increases in surface temperature. Current estimates of these components of the net radiation balance from satellite remote sensing are inconsistent because of inhomogeneities from changes in satellites, sensor calibration, retrieval algorithms, and so on, in addition to systematic biases. Estimates from direct ground observations are hampered by sparse spatial networks and often short-term records, and estimates based on denser networks of meteorological data are affected by errors in empirical radiation models. Some of the largest uncertainties are in the characterization of the global distribution and temporal changes in surface shortwave albedo and infrared emissivity, especially in regions with seasonal and patchy snow cover. This paper presents comparisons of legacy satellite-derived datasets (e.g. ISCCP, GEWEX/SRB) and recently developed datasets based on updated algorithms and homogenized data sources (e.g. NASA Princeton-Measures, HIRS) in the context of long-term changes in the net radiation balance at the earth's surface. We compare these with ground observations and empirical estimates based on meteorological data from in-situ sources and reanalysis. In particular we focus on the uncertainties in the magnitude and variation in surface albedo and emissivity, and their contribution to uncertainties in net radiation. We discuss the implications of these uncertainties on estimates of long-term changes in the terrestrial water cycle and trends in drought severity.

14. Heat flux calibration of a near earth spacecraft temperature alarm system in rarefied flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caruso, P. S., Jr.

1974-01-01

Description of the aerodynamic molecular beam testing performed on the near earth spacecraft temperature alarm system that is designed to provide in-flight temperature information useful for safeguarding scientific equipment during perigee maneuvers. The temperature/heat flux calibration results obtained are summarized.

15. Five Years of Monitoring Mars' Daytime Surface Temperatures (Animation)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Animation

This movie shows the daytime temperature of the surface of Mars as measured by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. These temperatures clearly show the growth and retreat of the martian northern and southern polar ice caps. The caps grow in winter and are composed of carbon dioxide ice with temperatures as low as minus 125 degrees Celsius (minus 195 degrees Fahrenheit). In the summer the caps retreat to relatively small areas around the poles. The movie also demonstrates the large difference in temperatures between the northern hemisphere's summer (beginning when solar longitude, or Ls, is 90 degrees) and the southern hemisphere's summer (beginning when Ls is 270 degrees). This difference is because the orbit of Mars around the Sun is more elliptical than Earth's orbit. As on Earth, a hemisphere's summer is when that hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, but on Mars, the planet's distance from the Sun varies much more than on Earth. Mars is closest to the Sun, and therefore warmest, during the southern summer season. In northern summer, when Mars' northern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, the planet is farther from the Sun.

Seasons on Mars are determined by the position of Mars in its orbit around the Sun. The position is measured in degrees of solar longitude (Ls) around the orbit, beginning at 0 degrees Ls at the northern spring equinox, progressing to 90 degrees Ls at the start of northern summer, 180 degrees Ls at the fall equinox, 270 degrees Ls at the start of northern winter, and finally back to 360 degrees, or 0 degrees, Ls at the spring equinox.

The Thermal Emission Spectrometer is operated by a team led at Arizona State University, Tempe. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

16. Calculating the temperature dependence of the specific heat for rare-earth arsenates

Sharipova, Z. M.; Kasenov, B. K.

1990-12-01

Equations have been derived for the temperature dependence of the specific heat for 14 rare-earth arsenates. The standard specific heats of some of them have also been calculated by Debye's and Ivanova's methods.

17. High-Temperature Sprayable Phosphor Coating Developed for Measuring Surface Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bencic, Timothy J.

2003-01-01

The use of phosphor thermography for noncontact temperature measurements in harsh environments has been proven over the last decade, but it has suffered from difficult application procedures such as vapor deposition or sputtering techniques. We have developed a high-temperature-sensitive paint that is easily applied with commercially available paint-spraying equipment and have successfully demonstrated it to temperatures up to 1500 C. Selected phosphors have also shown measurable signals to 1700 C, thus allowing a combination of phosphors to be used in high-temperature binders to make surface temperature measurements from ambient to over 1500 C. Phosphor thermography is an optical technique that measures the time response of fluorescence light, which is a function of the phosphor temperature. The phosphors are excited with short wavelength light (ultraviolet or blue), and they emit light at a longer wavelength. This technique has a benefit over other temperature measurements, such as thermocouples and infrared thermography, in difficult environments such as high blackbody backgrounds, vibration, flames, high electromagnetic noise, or where special windows may be needed. In addition, the sprayable phosphor paints easily cover large or complicated structures, providing full-surface information with a single measurement. Oak Ridge National Laboratories developed and tested the high-temperature binders and phosphors under the direction of the NASA Glenn Research Center. Refractory materials doped with rare earth metals were selected for their performance at high temperature. Survivability, adhesion, and material compatibility tests were conducted at high temperatures in a small furnace while the fluorescent response from the phosphors was being measured. A painted sample in a furnace with a clearly visible fluorescing dot excited by a pulsed laser is shown. Measuring the decay time of this fluorescence yields the surface temperature. One new paint was recently tested in a rocket test stand at Glenn. The floor of a square duct nozzle was painted, and full-field lifetime decay measurements were acquired for multiple firings of the rocket. Good agreement with predicted results was obtained, matching temperature gradients along the length of the nozzle and clearly showing shock structures. These good results were very satisfactory given that the measurements were made looking through the combustion plume. Infrared pyrometry was incapable of making the surface measurements because of the interference from the rocket exhaust, which contaminated the infrared signature.

18. The international surface temperature initiative's global land surface databank

Lawrimore, J. H.; Rennie, J.; Gambi de Almeida, W.; Christy, J.; Flannery, M.; Gleason, B.; Klein-Tank, A.; Mhanda, A.; Ishihara, K.; Lister, D.; Menne, M. J.; Razuvaev, V.; Renom, M.; Rusticucci, M.; Tandy, J.; Thorne, P. W.; Worley, S.

2013-09-01

The International Surface Temperature Initiative (ISTI) consists of an end-to-end process for land surface air temperature analyses. The foundation is the establishment of a global land surface Databank. This builds upon the groundbreaking efforts of scientists in the 1980s and 1990s. While using many of their principles, a primary aim is to improve aspects including data provenance, version control, openness and transparency, temporal and spatial coverage, and improved methods for merging disparate sources. The initial focus is on daily and monthly timescales. A Databank Working Group is focused on establishing Stage-0 (original observation forms) through Stage-3 data (merged dataset without quality control). More than 35 sources of data have already been added and efforts have now turned to development of the initial version of the merged dataset. Methods have been established for ensuring to the extent possible the provenance of all data from the point of observation through all intermediate steps to final archive and access. Databank submission procedures were designed to make the process of contributing data as easy as possible. All data are provided openly and without charge. We encourage the use of these data and feedback from interested users.

19. Is Air Temperature Enough to Predict Lake Surface Temperature?

Piccolroaz, S.; Toffolon, M.; Majone, B.

2014-12-01

Lake surface water (LST) is a key factor that controls most of the physical and ecological processes occurring in lakes. Reliable estimates are especially important in the light of recent studies, which revealed that inland water bodies are highly sensitive to climate, and are rapidly warming throughout the world. However, an accurate estimation of LST usually requires a significant amount of information that is not always available. In this work, we present an application of air2water, a lumped model that simulates LST as a function of air temperature only. In addition, air2water allows for a qualitative evaluation of the depth of the epilimnion during the annual stratification cycle. The model consists in a simplification of the complete heat budget of the well-mixed surface layer, and has a few parameters (from 4 to 8 depending on the version) that summarize the role of the different heat flux components. Model calibration requires only air and water temperature data, possibly covering sufficiently long historical periods in order to capture inter-annual variability and long-term trends. During the calibration procedure, the information included in input data is retrieved to directly inform model parameters, which can be used to classify the thermal behavior of the lake. In order to investigate how thermal dynamics are related to morphological features, the model has been applied to 14 temperate lakes characterized by different morphological and hydrological conditions, by different sources of temperature data (buoys, satellite), and by variable frequency of acquisition. A good agreement between observed and simulated LST has been achieved, with a RMSE in the order of 1°C, which is fully comparable to the performances of more complex process-based models. This application allowed for a deeper understanding of the thermal response of lakes as a function of their morphology, as well as for specific analyses as for example the investigation of the exceptional warming of Lake Superior in summer 1998.

20. Sea surface temperature - Observations from geostationary satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bates, J. J.; Smith, W. L.

1985-01-01

Multispectral image data acquired from the VISSR atmospheric sounder (VAS) on the geostationary GOES satellites were used to estimate sea surface temperatures (SST). A procedure was developed to screen VAS visible and infrared data for cloud-free regions for estimation of SST from the clear infrared radiances. A data set of matches between the VAS radiances and high quality buoy estimates of SST was produced. A linear regression analysis of these matches was performed to generate an empirical algorithm relating the VAS window channel brightness temperatures to the estimates of SST recorded by NOAA fixed environment buoys. Daily maps of SST during Hurricanes Alicia (1983) and Debbie (1982) demonstrated the ability of VAS to monitor air-sea interactions at high temporal and spatial scales.

1. Sea surface temperature variability: patterns and mechanisms.

PubMed

Deser, Clara; Alexander, Michael A; Xie, Shang-Ping; Phillips, Adam S

2010-01-01

Patterns of sea surface temperature (SST) variability on interannual and longer timescales result from a combination of atmospheric and oceanic processes. These SST anomaly patterns may be due to intrinsic modes of atmospheric circulation variability that imprint themselves upon the SST field mainly via surface energy fluxes. Examples include SST fluctuations in the Southern Ocean associated with the Southern Annular Mode, a tripolar pattern of SST anomalies in the North Atlantic associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation, and a pan-Pacific mode known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (with additional contributions from oceanic processes). They may also result from coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon in the tropical Indo-Pacific, the tropical Atlantic Niño, and the cross-equatorial meridional modes in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic. Finally, patterns of SST variability may arise from intrinsic oceanic modes, notably the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. PMID:21141660

2. A global monthly sea surface temperature climatology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shea, Dennis J.; Trenberth, Kevin E.; Reynolds, Richard W.

1992-01-01

The paper presents a new global 2 deg x 2 deg monthly sea surface temperature (SST) climatology, referred here to as the Shea-Trenberth-Reynolds (STR) climatology, which was derived by modifying a 1950-1979-based SST climatology from the Climate Analysis Center (CAC), by using data from the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set to improve the SST estimates in the regions of the Kuroshio and the Gulf Stream. A comparison of the STR climatology with the Alexander and Mobley SST climatology showed that the STR climatology is warmer in the Northern Hemisphere, and colder poleward of 45 deg S.

3. High temperature surface protection. [10 gas turbines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, S. R.

1978-01-01

Alloys of the MCrAlX type are the basis for high temperature surface protection systems in gas turbines. M can be one or more of Ni, Co, or Fe and X denotes a reactive metal added to enhance oxide scale adherence. The selection and formation as well as the oxidation, hot corrosion and thermal fatigue performance of MCrAlX coatings are discussed. Coatings covered range from simple aluminides formed by pack cementation to the more advanced physical vapor deposition overlay coatings and developmental plasma spray deposited thermal barrier coatings.

4. Periodic Analysis Between Solar Variability and the Earth's Temperature From Centuries to Ten Thousand Years

Zhao, X.; Feng, X. S.

2014-12-01

The global warming is one of the hottest topics for both scientists and the public at present. Strong evidences have shown that the global warming is related to the man-made increasing greenhouse gas levels. Besides the artificial factors, natural forces also contribute to the Earth's climate change. Among them, solar activity is an important ingredient of the natural driving forces of the Earth's climate. In this study, two data sets are adopted to investigate the periodicities of both solar activity and the variation of the Earth temperature as well as their correlations based on the wavelet analysis and cross correlation method. The first one is a directly measured data set covering centuries, while the second one is the reconstructed data during the past 11,000 years. The obtained results demonstrate that solar activity and the Earth's temperature have significant resonance cycles, and the Earth's temperature has periodic variations similar to those of solar activity. For centuries, these common periodicities include the 22-year cycle and the 50-year cycle. While for 11,000 years, they are the 200-year, 500-year, 1000-year, and 2000-year cycles. Correlation analysis reveals that the correlations between solar variability and the Earth's temperature are statistically significant. The correlation coefficient (C.C.) between the 11-year running averaged Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) and the ocean temperature is 0.88 during the past 133 years of global warming. While for 11,000 years, the C.C. between the 500-year running averages of sunspot number (SSN) and the Earth temperature (r=0.51, p=1%) is stronger than that between the temperature and the atmospheric CO2 concentration (r=0.35, p=10%). All these support that solar activity should have non-ignorable effects on the Earth's climate change, especially before the modern industrial time.

5. Data fusion with artificial neural networks (ANN) for classification of earth surface from microwave satellite measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lure, Y. M. Fleming; Grody, Norman C.; Chiou, Y. S. Peter; Yeh, H. Y. Michael

1993-01-01

A data fusion system with artificial neural networks (ANN) is used for fast and accurate classification of five earth surface conditions and surface changes, based on seven SSMI multichannel microwave satellite measurements. The measurements include brightness temperatures at 19, 22, 37, and 85 GHz at both H and V polarizations (only V at 22 GHz). The seven channel measurements are processed through a convolution computation such that all measurements are located at same grid. Five surface classes including non-scattering surface, precipitation over land, over ocean, snow, and desert are identified from ground-truth observations. The system processes sensory data in three consecutive phases: (1) pre-processing to extract feature vectors and enhance separability among detected classes; (2) preliminary classification of Earth surface patterns using two separate and parallely acting classifiers: back-propagation neural network and binary decision tree classifiers; and (3) data fusion of results from preliminary classifiers to obtain the optimal performance in overall classification. Both the binary decision tree classifier and the fusion processing centers are implemented by neural network architectures. The fusion system configuration is a hierarchical neural network architecture, in which each functional neural net will handle different processing phases in a pipelined fashion. There is a total of around 13,500 samples for this analysis, of which 4 percent are used as the training set and 96 percent as the testing set. After training, this classification system is able to bring up the detection accuracy to 94 percent compared with 88 percent for back-propagation artificial neural networks and 80 percent for binary decision tree classifiers. The neural network data fusion classification is currently under progress to be integrated in an image processing system at NOAA and to be implemented in a prototype of a massively parallel and dynamically reconfigurable Modular Neural Ring (MNR).

6. Modelling the rheology of MgO under Earth's mantle pressure, temperature and strain rates.

PubMed

Cordier, Patrick; Amodeo, Jonathan; Carrez, Philippe

2012-01-12

Plate tectonics, which shapes the surface of Earth, is the result of solid-state convection in Earth's mantle over billions of years. Simply driven by buoyancy forces, mantle convection is complicated by the nature of the convecting materials, which are not fluids but polycrystalline rocks. Crystalline materials can flow as the result of the motion of defects--point defects, dislocations, grain boundaries and so on. Reproducing in the laboratory the extreme deformation conditions of the mantle is extremely challenging. In particular, experimental strain rates are at least six orders of magnitude larger than in nature. Here we show that the rheology of MgO at the pressure, temperature and strain rates of the mantle is accessible by multiscale numerical modelling starting from first principles and with no adjustable parameters. Our results demonstrate that extremely low strain rates counteract the influence of pressure. In the mantle, MgO deforms in the athermal regime and this leads to a very weak phase. It is only in the lowermost lower mantle that the pressure effect could dominate and that, under the influence of lattice friction, a viscosity of the order of 10(21)-10(22) pascal seconds can be defined for MgO. PMID:22237109

7. Transport of radon and thoron at the earths surface. Progress report, 1 January 1991--1 January 1992

SciTech Connect

Schery, S.D.

1991-06-15

This report covers progress under the current funding period Jan. 1, 1991 to Jan. 1, 1992 and presents the continuation proposal for Jan. 1, 1992 to Jan. 1, 1993. The previous progress report was submitted in May 1990, so activities during the last half of 1990 will also be included. Major activities over the last year have centered on the study of disequilibrium of radon progeny near the earths surface and the sources of thoron in indoor air. In addition, we have carried out supplemental measurements of radon sorption coefficients in porous materials focusing on the physical mechanism of sorption.

8. Eye surface temperature detects stress response in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus).

PubMed

Ikkatai, Yuko; Watanabe, Shigeru

2015-08-01

Previous studies have suggested that stressors not only increase body core temperature but also body surface temperature in many animals. However, it remains unclear whether surface temperature could be used as an alternative to directly measure body core temperature, particularly in birds. We investigated whether surface temperature is perceived as a stress response in budgerigars. Budgerigars have been used as popular animal models to investigate various neural mechanisms such as visual perception, vocal learning, and imitation. Developing a new technique to understand the basic physiological mechanism would help neuroscience researchers. First, we found that cloacal temperature correlated with eye surface temperature. Second, eye surface temperature increased after handling stress. Our findings suggest that eye surface temperature is closely related to cloacal temperature and that the stress response can be measured by eye surface temperature in budgerigars. PMID:26103119

9. Modern average global sea-surface temperature

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schweitzer, Peter N.

1993-01-01

The data contained in this data set are derived from the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer Multichannel Sea Surface Temperature data (AVHRR MCSST), which are obtainable from the Distributed Active Archive Center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. The JPL tapes contain weekly images of SST from October 1981 through December 1990 in nine regions of the world ocean: North Atlantic, Eastern North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Agulhas, Indian, Southeast Pacific, Southwest Pacific, Northeast Pacific, and Northwest Pacific. This data set represents the results of calculations carried out on the NOAA data and also contains the source code of the programs that made the calculations. The objective was to derive the average sea-surface temperature of each month and week throughout the whole 10-year series, meaning, for example, that data from January of each year would be averaged together. The result is 12 monthly and 52 weekly images for each of the oceanic regions. Averaging the images in this way tends to reduce the number of grid cells that lack valid data and to suppress interannual variability.

10. Connecting Atlantic temperature variability and biological cycling in two earth system models

2014-05-01

Connections between the interdecadal variability in North Atlantic temperatures and biological cycling have been widely hypothesized. However, it is unclear whether such connections are due to small changes in basin-averaged temperatures indicated by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) Index, or whether both biological cycling and the AMO index are causally linked to changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We examine interdecadal variability in the annual and month-by-month diatom biomass in two Earth System Models with the same formulations of atmospheric, land, sea ice and ocean biogeochemical dynamics but different formulations of ocean physics and thus different AMOC structures and variability. In the isopycnal-layered ESM2G, strong interdecadal changes in surface salinity associated with changes in AMOC produce spatially heterogeneous variability in convection, nutrient supply and thus diatom biomass. These changes also produce changes in ice cover, shortwave absorption and temperature and hence the AMO Index. Off West Greenland, these changes are consistent with observed changes in fisheries and support climate as a causal driver. In the level-coordinate ESM2M, nutrient supply is much higher and interdecadal changes in diatom biomass are much smaller in amplitude and not strongly linked to the AMO index.

11. The effect of Mars surface and Phobos propellant production on Earth launch mass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Babb, Gus R.; Stump, William R.

1986-01-01

Fuel and oxidizer produced on the surface of Mars and on the Martian Moon Phobos can reduce the cumulative mass of fuel and oxidizer which must be launched to low Earth orbit for Mars exploration missions. A scenario in which ten conjunction class trajectory missions over a twenty year period land a surface base and propellant production facilities on the Martian surface and on Phobos was examined. Production of oxygen on Phobos provides the greatest benefit. If all the propellant for Mars operations and Earth return is produced at Phobos and on Mars, a 30% reduction in cumulative low Earth orbit mass can be achieved at the end of the 20 year period.

12. Applying Parallel Adaptive Methods with GeoFEST/PYRAMID to Simulate Earth Surface Crustal Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norton, Charles D.; Lyzenga, Greg; Parker, Jay; Glasscoe, Margaret; Donnellan, Andrea; Li, Peggy

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the use Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) in simulating the Crustal Dynamics of Earth's Surface. AMR simultaneously improves solution quality, time to solution, and computer memory requirements when compared to generating/running on a globally fine mesh. The use of AMR in simulating the dynamics of the Earth's Surface is spurred by future proposed NASA missions, such as InSAR for Earth surface deformation and other measurements. These missions will require support for large-scale adaptive numerical methods using AMR to model observations. AMR was chosen because it has been successful in computation fluid dynamics for predictive simulation of complex flows around complex structures.

13. Evidence for a high temperature differentiation in a molten earth: A preliminary appraisal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murthy, V. Rama

1992-01-01

If the earth were molten during its later stages of accretion as indicated by the present understanding of planetary accretion process, the differentiation that led to the formation of the core and mantle must have occurred at high temperatures in the range of 3000-5000 K because of the effect of pressure on the temperature of melting in the interior of the earth. This calls into question the use of low-temperature laboratory measurements of partition coefficients of trace elements to make inferences about earth accretion and differentiation. The low temperature partition coefficients cannot be directly applied to high temperature fractionations because partition coefficients refer to an equilibrium specific to a temperature for a given reaction, and must change in some proportion to exp 1/RT. There are no laboratory data on partition coefficients at the high temperatures relevant to differentiation in the interior of the earth, and an attempt to estimate high temperature distribution coefficients of siderophile elements was made by considering the chemical potential of a given element at equilibrium and how this potential changes with temperature, under some specific assumptions.

14. Surface Temperature Humidity Reference System Handbook - November 2005

SciTech Connect

MT Ritsche

2005-11-30

The Surface Temperature and Humidity Reference (SURTHREF) system is intended to provide accurate reference values of ambient temperature and relative humidity for comparison with radiosonde prelaunch values.

15. UV Surface Environment of Earth-like Planets Orbiting FGKM Stars through Geological Evolution

Rugheimer, S.; Segura, A.; Kaltenegger, L.; Sasselov, D.

2015-06-01

The UV environment of a host star affects the photochemistry in the atmosphere, and ultimately the surface UV environment for terrestrial planets and therefore the conditions for the origin and evolution of life. We model the surface UV radiation environment for Earth-sized planets orbiting FGKM stars in the circumstellar Habitable Zone for Earth through its geological evolution. We explore four different types of atmospheres corresponding to an early-Earth atmosphere at 3.9 Gyr ago and three atmospheres covering the rise of oxygen to present-day levels at 2.0 Gyr ago, 0.8 Gyr ago, and modern Earth. In addition to calculating the UV flux on the surface of the planet, we model the biologically effective irradiance, using DNA damage as a proxy for biological damage. We find that a pre-biotic Earth (3.9 Gyr ago) orbiting an F0V star receives 6 times the biologically effective radiation as around the early Sun and 3520 times the modern Earth-Sun levels. A pre-biotic Earth orbiting GJ 581 (M3.5 V) receives 300 times less biologically effective radiation, about 2 times modern Earth-Sun levels. The UV fluxes calculated here provide a grid of model UV environments during the evolution of an Earth-like planet orbiting a range of stars. These models can be used as inputs into photo-biological experiments and for pre-biotic chemistry and early life evolution experiments.

16. Development and evaluation of an Earth System Model with surface gravity waves

Qiao, Fangli; Song, Zhenya; Bao, Ying

2015-04-01

The critical role of oceanic surface waves in climate system is attracting more and more attention. We set up an Earth System Model, which is named as the First Institute of Oceanography-Earth System Model (FIO-ESM), composed of a coupled physical climate model and a coupled carbon cycle model. A surface wave model is introduced through including the nonbreaking wave-induced vertical mixing, which can improve the performance of climate model especially in the simulation of upper ocean mixed layer depth in the southern ocean, into the ocean general circulation model. The FIO-ESM is employed to conduct Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) experiments. The historical simulation of FIO-ESM's physical climate model for 1850-2005 shows that the simulated patterns of surface air temperature (SAT), rainfall, and El Ni~no-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) match those of the observations. Future projections under the four scenarios of RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5 are also conducted and the global averaged SAT in 2100 would be 0.007°C, 1.10°C, 1.85°C, and 3.92°C higher than that in 2005, respectively. The historical simulation and future projection under RCP8.5 with global carbon cycle show the SAT and atmospheric CO2 concentration are well reproduced in the historical period and the global averaged SAT would increase by 3.90°C in 2100, which is quite similar to the physical climate model's result. Further analysis shows surface wave makes projected SAT in RCP2.6 about 2°C cooler in the Arctic area and 2°C warmer in the southern ocean.

17. Impacts of Wind Farms on Local Land Surface Temperature

Zhou, L.; Tian, Y.; Baidya Roy, S.; Thorncroft, C.; Bosart, L. F.; Hu, Y.

2012-12-01

The U.S. wind industry has experienced a remarkably rapid expansion of capacity in recent years and this rapid growth is expected to continue in the future. While converting wind's kinetic energy into electricity, wind turbines modify surface-atmosphere exchanges and transfer of energy, momentum, mass and moisture within the atmosphere. These changes, if spatially large enough, may have noticeable impacts on local to regional weather and climate. Here we present observational evidence for such impacts based on analyses of satellite derived land surface temperature (LST) data at ~1.1 km for the period of 2003-2011 over a region in West-Central Texas, where four of the world's largest wind farms are located. Our results show a warming effect of up to 0.7 degrees C at nighttime for the 9-year period during which data was collected, over wind farms relative to nearby non wind farm regions and this warming is gradually enhanced with time, while the effect at daytime is small. The spatial pattern and magnitude of this warming effect couple very well with the geographic distribution of wind turbines and such coupling is stronger at nighttime than daytime and in summer than winter. These results suggest that the warming effect is very likely attributable to the development of wind farms. This inference is consistent with the increasing number of operational wind turbines with time during the study period, the diurnal and seasonal variations in the frequency of wind speed and direction distribution, and the changes in near-surface atmospheric boundary layer conditions due to wind farm operations. Figure 1: Nighttime land surface temperature (LST, C) differences between 2010 and 2003 (2010 minus 2003) in summer (June-July-August). Pixels with plus symbol have at least one wind turbine. A regional mean value (0.592 C) was removed to emphasize the relative LST changes at pixel level and so the resulting warming or cooling rate represents a change relative to the regional mean value. The LST data were derived from MODIS (Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer) instruments on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites. Note that LST measures the radiometric temperature of the Earth's surface itself - It has a larger diurnal variation than surface air temperature used in daily weather reports.

18. Changes in biologically active ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth's surface.

PubMed

2003-01-01

19. Satellite Sensed Skin Sea Surface Temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Donlon, Craig

1997-01-01

Quantitative predictions of spatial and temporal changes the global climate rely heavily on the use of computer models. Unfortunately, such models cannot provide the basis for climate prediction because key physical processes are inadequately treated. Consequently, fine tuning procedures are often used to optimize the fit between model output and observational data and the validation of climate models using observations is essential if model based predictions of climate change are to be treated with any degree of confidence. Satellite Sea Surface Temperature (SST) observations provide high spatial and temporal resolution data which is extremely well suited to the initialization, definition of boundary conditions and, validation of climate models. In the case of coupled ocean-atmosphere models, the SST (or more correctly the 'Skin' SST (SSST)) is a fundamental diagnostic variable to consider in the validation process. Daily global SST maps derived from satellite sensors also provide adequate data for the detection of global patterns of change which, unlike any other SST data set, repeatedly extend into the southern hemisphere extra-tropical regions. Such data are essential to the success of the spatial 'fingerprint' technique, which seeks to establish a north-south asymmetry where warming is suppressed in the high latitude Southern Ocean. Some estimates suggest that there is a greater than 80% chance of directly detecting significant change (97.5 % confidence level) after 10-12 years of consistent global observations of mean sea surface temperature. However, these latter statements should be qualified with the assumption that a negligible drift in the observing system exists and that biases between individual instruments required to derive a long term data set are small. Given that current estimates for the magnitude of global warming of 0.015 K yr(sup -1) - 0.025 K yr(sup -1), satellite SST data sets need to be both accurate and stable if such a warming trend is to be confidently detected. Some of these activities are focussed to develop and deploy instrumentation suitable for the collection of precise in situ measurements of the SSST which can be used to improve the accuracy of satellite measurements, while others develop techniques to generate improved global analyses of sea surface temperature using historical data.

20. Oxidation resistance of 9-12% Cr steels: effect of rare earth surface treatment

SciTech Connect

Dogan, Omer N.; Alman, David A.; Jablonski, Paul D.

2005-02-01

Medium Cr steels have been used in fossil fired power plants for many years because of their excellent high temperature stability and mechanical properties. The environment in a fossil fired power plant is extremely aggressive in terms of corrosion, especially oxidation. This is only accelerated as the operating temperature increases to 650C and beyond. For any new steel to be qualified for power plant use, in addition to adequate strength at the operating temperature, material wastage from all corrosion processes must be kept to a minimum acceptable level. The use of medium Cr steels provides a means to improve overall corrosion resistance. Three medium Cr are under development for use as high temperature power plant steels: 0.08C-(9-12)Cr-1.2Ni-0.7Mo-3.0Cu-3.0Co-0.5Ti. Oxidation tests were performed on the steels for times greater than 1000 hours in order to determine the oxidation kinetics and extent of material wastage. Also, rare earth oxides were incorporated into the outer surface layers of the steels to see if the oxidation resistance could be improved. These results will be compared to current power plant steels.

1. Effect of the Earth's surface topography on quasi-dynamic earthquake cycles

Ohtani, Makiko; Hirahara, Kazuro

2015-10-01

We take account of the effect of Earth's surface topography in quasi-dynamic earthquake cycle simulations using a boundary integral equation method. While we have so far assumed a homogeneous elastic half-space medium with a flat free surface, Earth's actual surface topography is complicated. Here, we constructed new slip response functions in half-space with an arbitrarily shaped surface topography in which we used slip response functions in full-space by introducing imaginary free surface cells in addition to embedded fault ones. By comparing analytical slip response functions in the case of a flat surface overlying half-space with the new ones, we developed a computationally efficient method for setting the Earth's surface region, which was divided into cells with the appropriate sizes depending on the fault source cell depth to maintain the computational accuracy. With these new slip response functions, we simulated simple interplate earthquake cycles in the region close to the Japan Trench, off Miyagi, Tohoku, in northeast Japan, which has the amplitude of 7 km in depth. Compared with the case where the flat surface level was set at the trench depth, the slip response functions for the case where actual seafloor topography was used had smaller amplitudes. Hence, the actual topography produces smaller recurrence times for earthquake cycles than that for the flat surface case. These effects of the actual Earth's surface topography mainly come from changes in the distance between the surface and the fault compared with the flat surface case. Changes in the slip response function also represent changes in the fault stiffness of the system. Considering the actual topography of the Earth's surface to be convex upwards as opposed to the flat, the fault stiffness becomes larger compared to the case of the flat Earth's surface. This leads to a change in the frictional instability, and sometime leads to the change in the way of rupture.

2. Temperature-dependent thermal diffusivity of the Earth's crust and implications for magmatism.

PubMed

Whittington, Alan G; Hofmeister, Anne M; Nabelek, Peter I

2009-03-19

The thermal evolution of planetary crust and lithosphere is largely governed by the rate of heat transfer by conduction. The governing physical properties are thermal diffusivity (kappa) and conductivity (k = kapparhoC(P)), where rho denotes density and C(P) denotes specific heat capacity at constant pressure. Although for crustal rocks both kappa and k decrease above ambient temperature, most thermal models of the Earth's lithosphere assume constant values for kappa ( approximately 1 mm(2) s(-1)) and/or k ( approximately 3 to 5 W m(-1) K(-1)) owing to the large experimental uncertainties associated with conventional contact methods at high temperatures. Recent advances in laser-flash analysis permit accurate (+/-2 per cent) measurements on minerals and rocks to geologically relevant temperatures. Here we provide data from laser-flash analysis for three different crustal rock types, showing that kappa strongly decreases from 1.5-2.5 mm(2) s(-1) at ambient conditions, approaching 0.5 mm(2) s(-1) at mid-crustal temperatures. The latter value is approximately half that commonly assumed, and hot middle to lower crust is therefore a much more effective thermal insulator than previously thought. Above the quartz alpha-beta phase transition, crustal kappa is nearly independent of temperature, and similar to that of mantle materials. Calculated values of k indicate that its negative dependence on temperature is smaller than that of kappa, owing to the increase of C(P) with increasing temperature, but k also diminishes by 50 per cent from the surface to the quartz alpha-beta transition. We present models of lithospheric thermal evolution during continental collision and demonstrate that the temperature dependence of kappa and C(P) leads to positive feedback between strain heating in shear zones and more efficient thermal insulation, removing the requirement for unusually high radiogenic heat production to achieve crustal melting temperatures. Positive feedback between heating, increased thermal insulation and partial melting is predicted to occur in many tectonic settings, and in both the crust and the mantle, facilitating crustal reworking and planetary differentiation. PMID:19295606

3. Sea surface temperatures from VAS MSI data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bates, J. J.

1984-01-01

A procedure is developed for estimating sea surface temperatures from multispectral image data acquired from the VISSR atmospheric sounder on the geostationary GOES satellites. Theoretical regression equations for two and three infrared window channels are empirically tuned using clear field of view satellite radiances matched with reports of SST from NOAA fixed environmental buoys. The empirical regression equations are then used to produce daily regional analyses of SST. Monthly mean SST's for the western North Atlantic and the eastern equatorial Pacific during March and July 1982 were produced for use in the SST Intercomparison Workshop Series. Workshop results showed VAS SST's have a scatter of 0.8-1.0 C and a slight warm bias with respect to the other measurements of SST. The VAS SST's show no discernible bias in the region of El Chichon volcanic aerosol cloud.

4. Middle Pliocene sea surface temperature variability

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dowsett, H.J.; Chandler, M.A.; Cronin, T. M.; Dwyer, G.S.

2005-01-01

Estimates of sea surface temperature (SST) based upon foraminifer, diatom, and ostracod assemblages from ocean cores reveal a warm phase of the Pliocene between about 3.3 and 3.0 Ma. Pollen records and plant megafossils, although not as well dated, show evidence for a warmer climate at about the same time. Increased greenhouse forcing and altered ocean heat transport are the leading candidates for the underlying cause of Pliocene global warmth. Despite being a period of global warmth, this interval encompasses considerable variability. Two new SST reconstructions are presented that are designed to provide a climatological error bar for warm peak phases of the Pliocene and to document the spatial distribution and magnitude of SST variability within the mid-Pliocene warm period. These data suggest long-term stability of low-latitude SST and document greater variability in regions of maximum warming. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.

5. Imaging the earth's magnetosphere - Effects of plasma flow and temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrido, D. E.; Smith, R. W.; Swift, D. S.; Akasofu, S.-I.

1991-01-01

The effects of Doppler shifting on the line centers of the magnetospheric O(+) cross section are investigated, and the resulting structure of the scattering rate as a function of bulk density is explained. Whereas the Doppler shifting frequently results in a decrease of the scattering rate, it is demonstrated that for certain drift speeds the overlap of the cross section and the solar intensity profile can lead to an increased rate, thus enhancing the relative brightness of the image above that obtained when v(p) is zero. Simulated images of the magnetosphere are obtained which are used to show quantitively how the magnetospheric image responds to variations in plasma drift speed and temperature. Changes in the brightness of the magnetospheric images also depend on the variability of the solar flux at 83.4 nm. In regions where there are plasma drifts, the brightness in the image is governed by the structure of the scattering rate, assuming a fixed temperature.

6. TWO SURFACE TEMPERATURE RETRIEVAL METHODS COMPARED OVER AGRICULTURAL LAND

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Accurate, spatially distributed surface temperatures are required for modeling evapotranspiration (ET) over agricultural fields under wide ranging conditions, including stressed and unstressed vegetation. Modeling approaches that use surface temperature observations, however, have the burden of esti...

7. Downscaling of land surface temperatures from SEVIRI

Bechtel, B.; Zaksek, K.

2013-12-01

Land surface temperature (LST) determines the radiance emitted by the surface and hence is an important boundary condition of the energy balance. In urban areas, detailed knowledge about the diurnal cycle in LST can contribute to understand the urban heat island (UHI). Although the increased surface temperatures compared to the surrounding rural areas (surface urban heat island, SUHI) have been measured by satellites and analysed for several decades, an operational SUHI monitoring is still not available due to the lack of sensors with appropriate spatiotemporal resolution. While sensors on polar orbiting satellites are still restricted to approx. 100 m spatial resolution and coarse temporal coverage (about 1-2 weeks), sensors on geostationary platforms have high temporal (several times per hour) and poor spatial resolution (>3 km). Further, all polar orbiting satellites have a similar equator crossing time and hence the SUHI can at best be observed at two times a day. A downscaling DS scheme for LST from the Spinning Enhanced Visible Infra-Red Imager (SEVIRI) sensor onboard the geostationary meteorological Meteosat 8 to spatial resolutions between 100 and 1000 m was developed and tested for Hamburg. Various data were tested as predictors, including multispectral data and derived indices, morphological parameters from interferometric SAR and multitemporal thermal data. All predictors were upscaled to the coarse resolution approximating the point spread function of SEVIRI. Then empirical relationships between the predictors and LST were derived which are then transferred to the high resolution domain, assuming they are scale invariant. For validation LST data from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) for two dates were used. Aggregated parameters from multi-temporal thermal data (in particular annual cycle parameters and principal components) proved particularly suitable. The results for the highest resolution of 100 m showed a high explained variance (R^2 = 0.71) and relatively low root mean square errors (RMSE = 2.2 K) for the ASTER scene and slightly higher errors (R^2 = 0.73, RMSE = 2.53) for the ETM+ scene. A considerable percentage of the error was systematic due to the different viewing geometry of the sensors (the high resolution LST was overestimated about 1.3 K for ASTER and 0.66 K for ETM+). This shows that DS of SEVIRI LST is possible up to a resolution of 100 m for urban areas and that multitemporal thermal data are particularly suitable as predictors. Further, the scheme was used to produce an entire diurnal cycle in high resolution. While essential characteristics of the diurnal cycle were well reproduced, certain artefacts resulting from the multitemporal predictors from different seasons (like phenology and different water surface temperatures) were generated. Eventually, the bias and its dependence on the viewing geometry and topography are currently investigated.

8. A map of the large day-night temperature gradient of a super-Earth exoplanet

Demory, Brice-Olivier; Gillon, Michael; de Wit, Julien; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Bolmont, Emeline; Heng, Kevin; Kataria, Tiffany; Lewis, Nikole; Hu, Renyu; Krick, Jessica; Stamenković, Vlada; Benneke, Björn; Kane, Stephen; Queloz, Didier

2016-04-01

Over the past decade, observations of giant exoplanets (Jupiter-size) have provided key insights into their atmospheres, but the properties of lower-mass exoplanets (sub-Neptune) remain largely unconstrained because of the challenges of observing small planets. Numerous efforts to observe the spectra of super-Earths—exoplanets with masses of one to ten times that of Earth—have so far revealed only featureless spectra. Here we report a longitudinal thermal brightness map of the nearby transiting super-Earth 55 Cancri e (refs 4, 5) revealing highly asymmetric dayside thermal emission and a strong day-night temperature contrast. Dedicated space-based monitoring of the planet in the infrared revealed a modulation of the thermal flux as 55 Cancri e revolves around its star in a tidally locked configuration. These observations reveal a hot spot that is located 41 ± 12 degrees east of the substellar point (the point at which incident light from the star is perpendicular to the surface of the planet). From the orbital phase curve, we also constrain the nightside brightness temperature of the planet to 1,380 ± 400 kelvin and the temperature of the warmest hemisphere (centred on the hot spot) to be about 1,300 kelvin hotter (2,700 ± 270 kelvin) at a wavelength of 4.5 micrometres, which indicates inefficient heat redistribution from the dayside to the nightside. Our observations are consistent with either an optically thick atmosphere with heat recirculation confined to the planetary dayside, or a planet devoid of atmosphere with low-viscosity magma flows at the surface.

9. Comparison of Continuous Wave CO2 Doppler Lidar Calibration using Earth Surface Targets in Laboratory and Airborne Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jarzembski, Maurice A.; Vandana, Srivastava

1999-01-01

Earth's surface signal was measured using a continuous wave 9.1 micron lidar over varying Californian terrain during a 1995 NASA airborne mission. These measurements were compared with laboratory backscatter measurements of various Earth surfaces giving good agreement, suggesting that the lidar efficiency can be estimated fairly well using Earth's surface signal.

10. Thermal algorithms analysis. [programming tasks supporting the development of a thermal model of the Earth's surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lien, T.

1981-01-01

The programming and analysis methods to support the development of a thermal model of the Earth's surface from detailed analysis of day/night registered data sets from the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission satellite are briefly described.

11. Low Temperature Surface Carburization of Stainless Steels

SciTech Connect

Collins, Sunniva R; Heuer, Arthur H; Sikka, Vinod K

2007-12-07

Low-temperature colossal supersaturation (LTCSS) is a novel surface hardening method for carburization of austenitic stainless steels (SS) without the precipitation of carbides. The formation of carbides is kinetically suppressed, enabling extremely high or colossal carbon supersaturation. As a result, surface carbon concentrations in excess of 12 at. % are routinely achieved. This treatment increases the surface hardness by a factor of four to five, improving resistance to wear, corrosion, and fatigue, with significant retained ductility. LTCSS is a diffusional surface hardening process that provides a uniform and conformal hardened gradient surface with no risk of delamination or peeling. The treatment retains the austenitic phase and is completely non-magnetic. In addition, because parts are treated at low temperature, they do not distort or change dimensions. During this treatment, carbon diffusion proceeds into the metal at temperatures that constrain substitutional diffusion or mobility between the metal alloy elements. Though immobilized and unable to assemble to form carbides, chromium and similar alloying elements nonetheless draw enormous amounts of carbon into their interstitial spaces. The carbon in the interstitial spaces of the alloy crystals makes the surface harder than ever achieved before by more conventional heat treating or diffusion process. The carbon solid solution manifests a Vickers hardness often exceeding 1000 HV (equivalent to 70 HRC). This project objective was to extend the LTCSS treatment to other austenitic alloys, and to quantify improvements in fatigue, corrosion, and wear resistance. Highlights from the research include the following: • Extension of the applicability of the LTCSS process to a broad range of austenitic and duplex grades of steels • Demonstration of LTCSS ability for a variety of different component shapes and sizes • Detailed microstructural characterization of LTCSS-treated samples of 316L and other alloys • Thermodynamic modeling to explain the high degree of carbon solubility possible in austenitic grades under the LTCSS process and experimental validation of model results • Corrosion testing to determine the corrosion resistance improvement possible from the LTCSS process • Erosion testing to determine the erosion resistance improvement possible from the LTCSS process • Wear testing to quantify the wear resistance improvement possible from the LTCSS process • Fatigue testing for quantifying the extent of improvement from the LTCSS process • Component treating and testing under simulated and in-line commercial operations XRD verified expanded austenite lattice, with no evidence of carbide precipitation. Carbon concentration profiles via Auger and electron dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) showed carbon levels in excess of 12 at. % in treated, type 316 SS. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of pulled-to-failure treated tensile specimens showed slip bands and no de-cohesion of the treated layer, verifying that the layer remains ductile. Compressive stresses in excess of 2 GPa (300 ksi) have been calculated at the surface of the case. Phase diagram (CALPHAD) (ThermoCalc) and Wagner dilute solution thermodynamic models were developed that calculate the solubility of carbon in austenite as a function of alloying content for the process time and temperature. Several commercial alloys have been modeled, and the model has been used to design experimental alloys with enhanced affinity for carbon solubility at treatment temperatures. Four experimental alloys were melted, rolled, and manufactured into test specimens, and the LTCSS treatment indicated successfully enhanced results and validated the predictions based on thermodynamic modeling. Electrochemical polarization curves show a 600 to 800 mV increase in pitting potential in treated (900-1000 mV) versus non-treated (200-300 mV) type 316 in chloride solutions. Treated 316L showed crevice-corrosion behavior similar to that of Ti-6Al-4V and Hastelloy C22. Cavitation tests showed significant increases in cavitation resistance for treated materials as compared to the non-treated materials. Standard ASTM pin-on-disk sliding friction and reciprocating friction wear tests also indicate significant enhancement in wear properties. Fatigue testing showed an order of magnitude improvement for treated versus non-treated Type 316 at the same maximum stress level (R = -1). The maximum stress at 107 cycles and the endurance stress for infinite life, improved by approximately 50%, from 30 to 45 ksi. The energy savings from this project is estimated at 21.8 trillion Btu/year by 2020. This energy savings will be associated with a CO2 reduction of 1.3 million ton/year. One application of this technology in a sludge pump of a cardboard recycling plant during the course of this project has resulted in an energy savings of 84. 106 Btu and cost savings of \$900.

12. Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Archuleta County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Archuleta Edition: First Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Archuleta County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4144691.792023 m Left: 285531.662851 m Right: 348694.182686 m Bottom: 4097005.210304 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

13. Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Routt County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Routt Edition: First Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Routt County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4501071.574000 m Left: 311351.975000 m Right: 359681.975000 m Bottom: 4447251.574000 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

14. Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Chaffee County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Chaffee Edition: First Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Chaffee County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4333432.368072 m Left: 366907.700763 m Right: 452457.816015 m Bottom: 4208271.566715 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

15. Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Garfield County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Garfield Edition: First Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Garfield County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4441550.552290 m Left: 271445.053363 m Right: 359825.053363 m Bottom: 4312490.552290 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

16. Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Dolored County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Dolores Edition: First Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Dolores County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4186234.213315 m Left: 212558.673056 m Right: 232922.811862 m Bottom: 4176781.467043 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

17. Techniques Deriving Land Cover and Earth Surface Deformation Information from Polarimetric SAR Interferometry- Final Report

Pottier, E.; Chen, E.; Li, Z.; Hong, W.; Xiang, M.; Li, Y.; Cloude, S. R.; Papathanassiou, K.; Zhang, L.; Li, X.

2013-01-01

In this paper we provide a summary of activities carried out under the DRAGON collaborative program in a project concerned with the application of Pol-InSAR to deriving land cover and Earth Surface deformation information. This project (ID. 5344) is based around four main scientific topics: Land Cover Analysis, Earth Surface Deformation Monitoring and DEM Extraction, Forest Vertical Structure Parameters Extraction and PolSARpro Software Development.

18. Temperature dependence of spin-lattice relaxation in rare-earth iron garnets

Dionne, Gerald F.; Fitch, George L.

2000-05-01

The spin-lattice relaxation rate in iron garnets containing ions of the rare-earth series features a peak in the temperature range from 30 to 100 K that is consistent throughout the group. This effect is important in microwave applications at liquid nitrogen temperatures because magnetic losses increase directly with the intrinsic ferrimagnetic resonance linewidth ΔH, which in turn is proportional to the relaxation rate τ-1. The decrease in X-band linewidth with lowering temperatures is accounted for by the Orbach exponential relation for τ-1 of individual paramagnetic rare-earth ions. To explain the decrease in ΔH above the peak, the Orbach function is multiplied by the magnetic exchange energy between the iron and rare-earth spins. Computations of the linewidth as a function of temperature for Dy3+, Ho3+, Er3+, and Yb3+ are made by utilizing the multiple sublattice molecular-field theory. By fitting theory to data, values are extracted for excited state energy splitting D that enters the exponent (-D/kT) of the Orbach function. Measurement data from high purity yttrium iron garnet also confirm that iron relaxation rates decrease monotonically with reducing temperatures, indicating that microwave magnetic loss at cryogenic temperatures can be reduced below room temperature values if offending rare-earth impurities are removed.

19. 30 CFR 18.23 - Limitation of external surface temperatures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Limitation of external surface temperatures. 18... and Design Requirements § 18.23 Limitation of external surface temperatures. The temperature of the external surfaces of mechanical or electrical components shall not exceed 150 °C. (302 °F.) under...

20. Remote Sensing of Earth's Surface and Atmosphere: Interdisciplinary Scientific Commission A of the COSPAR Plenary Meeting, 29th, Washington, DC, 28 Aug. - 5 Sep., 1992

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahle, A. B. (Editor); Njoku, E. J. (Editor); Palluroni, F. D. (Editor); Gillespie, A. R. (Editor); Hook, S. J. (Editor); Hayden, C. M. (Editor); Tsuchiya, K. (Editor); Dozier, J. (Editor)

1994-01-01

This conference reviewed the recent developments in remote monitoring of surface temperatures, which will be significant in future global change studies. Various techniques to derive surface temperature from existing and future remote sensing systems such as earth observing system (EOS) are discussed. Five sessions were held: (1) The nature of the problem of remote sensing of surface temperatures; (2) Surface temperature measurements from current satellites; (3) Modeling and surface observations of various techniques to measure temperature and/or emissivity, modeling of vegetation; (4) The effects of variable spectral emissivity from the determination of surface kinetic temperature using multispectral thermal infrared measurements; and (5) Future satellite systems including EOS/ASTER, EOS/MODIS-N, and EOS/AIRS.

1. Three modes of interdecadal trends in sea surface temperature and sea surface height

2013-12-01

2. Microwave emission and scattering from Earth surface and atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kong, J. A.; Lee, M. C.

1986-01-01

Nonlinear Electromagnetic (EM) wave interactions with the upper atmosphere were investigated during the period 15 December 1985 to 15 June 1986. Topics discussed include: the simultaneous excitation of ionospheric density irregularities and Earth's magnetic field fluctuations; the electron acceleration by Langmuir wave turbulence; and the occurrence of artificial spread F. The role of thermal effects in generating ionospheric irregularities by Whistler waves, intense Quasi-DC electric fields, atmospheric gravity waves, and electrojets was investigated. A model was developed to explain the discrete spectrum of the resonant ultralow frequency (ULF) waves that are commonly observed in the magnetosphere.

3. Magnetospheric sources. [from standpoint of effects at earth surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sugiura, M.

1974-01-01

Motions of the plasma and the energetic particles in the magnetosphere modify the earth's internal field. It is not possible to separate the fields produced by the magnetospheric sources from the field of internal terrestrial origin on the basis of magnetic field observations made on the ground. Such a separation requires an analysis in which data obtained with the aid of satellites are taken into account in addition to the values measured on the ground. Data of the magnetic field obtained by the satellite Ogo 5 are considered.

4. Tunguska phenomenon: Discharge processes near the earth's surface

2013-09-01

An investigation of the Tunguska cosmic body's epicenter showed that both dried trees and those that survived the catastrophe are marked with characteristic deteriorations. For the trees that survived near the epicenter (the distance is <4 km), cracks of up to 7 m in length are found on their stems. All the vegetation near the explosion epicenter has traces of uniform scorch that covered the trees even on the land parts isolated by water. On the background of this uniform scorch, a notable feature is carbonization that touched the tree tops and the earth-directed ends of broken branches. All tops of both living and dried trees in the central zone are burned and dead. Carbonization of tops and branch ends was observed up to a distance of 10-15 km from the epicenter; i.e., charge processes took place over an area of more than 500 km2 in size. Carbonized branch ends have a characteristic "bird's nail" shape, which has no analogs on the Earth. Similar deterioration is typical for the crater shape that obtains an anode during arc discharge combustion. It is supposed that the duration of these charge processes could be ≥1 min.

5. The S-193 radar altimeter experiment. [onboard Skylab for earth surface profile measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgoogan, J. T.; Miller, L. S.; Brown, G. S.; Hayne, G. S.

1974-01-01

The Skylab S-193 altimeter experiment utilizes a 10- and 100-ns pulse length, 13.9-GHz earth-pointed radar system to obtain earth-surface backscatter measurements from the Skylab spacecraft. Objectives of the experiment are to obtain precision measurements of surface profile for uses in geodesy, oceanography, and earth physics, and to measure radar-signal characteristics from an earth-orbit geometry to provide design information for future radar remote-sensors. The technical approach is that of measuring the power impulse response of the scattering surface. The hardware is designed to operate in five modes: waveform or impulse-response measurement and altitude determination; radar cross-section experiment; signal correlation experiment; 10-nsec pulse-compression evaluation; and nadir-seeker experiment.

6. Rare earth chalcogenides for use as high temperature thermoelectric materials

SciTech Connect

Michiels, J.

1996-01-02

In the first part of the thesis, the electric resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and Hall effect were measured in X{sub y}(Y{sub 2}S{sub 3}){sub 1-y} (X = Cu, B, or Al), for y = 0.05 (Cu, B) or 0.025-0.075 for Al, in order to determine their potential as high- temperature (HT)(300-1000 C) thermoelectrics. Results indicate that Cu, B, Al- doped Y{sub 2}S{sub 3} are not useful as HT thermoelectrics. In the second part, phase stability of {gamma}-cubic LaSe{sub 1.47-1.48} and NdSe{sub 1.47} was measured periodically during annealing at 800 or 1000 C for the same purpose. In the Nd selenide, {beta} phase increased with time, while the Nd selenide showed no sign of this second phase. It is concluded that the La selenide is not promising for use as HT thermoelectric due to the {gamma}-to-{beta} transformation, whereas the Nd selenide is promising.

7. VLBI using a telescope in Earth orbit. II - Brightness temperatures exceeding the inverse Compton limit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linfield, R. P.; Levy, G. S.; Ulvestad, J. S.; Edwards, C. D.; Dinardo, S. J.; Stavert, L. R.

1989-01-01

VLBI observations at 2.3 GHz were conducted using an antenna of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), in geosynchronous orbit, and two ground stations. Twenty-three of 24 sources were detected, on baselines as long as 2.15 earth diameters. These baseline lengths gave the interferometer much better sensitivity to high brightness temperatures than any earth-based observations. Brightness temperatures of 1-4 times the 10 to the 12th K inverse Compton limit were measured for 10 sources, suggesting bulk relativistic motion in these sources. Coherence values of approximately 85 percent for integration times of 360 s were obtained.

8. Implications of solar irradiance variability upon long-term changes in the Earth's atmospheric temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Robert B., III

1992-01-01

From 1979 through 1987, it is believed that variability in the incoming solar energy played a significant role in changing the Earth's climate. Using high-precision spacecraft radiometric measurements, the incoming total solar irradiance (total amount of solar power per unit area) and the Earth's mean, global atmospheric temperatures were found to vary in phase with each other. The observed irradiance and temperature changes appeared to be correlated with the 11-year cycle of solar magnetic activity. During the period from 1979 through 1985, both the irradiance and temperature decreased. From 1985 to 1987, they increased. The irradiance changed approximately 0.1 percent, while the temperature varied as much as 0.6 C. During the 1979-1987 period, the temperatures were forecasted to rise linearly because of the anthropogenic build-up of carbon dioxide and the hypothesized 'global warming', 'greenhouse effect', scenarios. Contrary to these scenarios, the temperatures were found to vary in a periodic manner in phase with the solar irradiance changes. The observed correlations between irradiance and temperature variabilily suggest that the mean, global temperature of the Earth may decline between 1990 and 1997 as solar magnetic activity decreases.

9. Relating Major Surface Processes to the Deep Earth — The Importance of the Miocene

Potter, P. E.; Szatmari, P.

2012-12-01

Many global scale tectonic, oceanic and climate changes began in the Tertiary with global tectonics as the underlying driving force and changed the world. In full flower by the beginning of the Middle Miocene around 16 Ma, these changes continued through the Late Miocene into the present so we can firmly say that most of our modern world, continental glaciations excepted, began in the Middle and Late Miocene. We summarize in a flow diagram how the major earth surface processes active in the Miocene are related to the Deep Earth as understood by recent advances in seismic tomography. This 11 Ma interval had two global orogenic zones, the Alpine-Tethyan orogen from Gibraltar across southern Asia into Vietnam and around the Pacific Rim, both crustal expressions of downwellings taking place, especially in the upper mantle. These downwellings are balanced by upwellings in the lower mantle in and on the rim of the African and Pacific superplumes, which are large, low-shear velocity provinces; part of the rising plumes originated from the most extensively melted regions of the core-mantle boundary layer, D", where heat flow from the outer core is highest. Together these up-and downwellings indicate that mantle convection extended, at least periodically, through the whole mantle and reflected lateral variations in convection and heat flow in the cooling and slowly crystallizing outer core. Correlation of mantle convection with surface features is most evident in the uppermost mantle whose dynamic topography is readily reflected by the subsidence and tilting of continents moving toward the downwelling zones. Because they are closely synchronous, these two orogenic belts had enormous consequences for the earth's surface, and because they are close to us in time, they are easy to study and sample. Thus the Miocene is ideal to study for both its many global intra connections and for their link to the Deep Earth. As these two orogenies developed, they changed a global warm water ocean into our present cooler, more fragmented system with a cooler atmosphere. Higher plateaus and uplifted mountains deflected jet streams, expanded rain shadows promoting desertification, favored initial mountain glaciation, and helped cool air temperatures. Upwelling was enhanced on both sides of the Pacific basin, silica production shifted from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, more mud and sand were brought to the ocean causing many passive margins to prograde, and hemipelagic mud became more abundant off continental margins. At the very end of the Miocene even the Mediterranean dried up, as it was isolated by the Alpine orogeny at Gibraltar. Onshore, epeirogenic uplift was widespread both in the interiors of the continents and along many of their margins. Active convergent margins changed continental tilts, completely altered some rivers, and formed new ones with new deltas, some on the other side of a continent. The above changes greatly altered the surface environment and induced many significant changes in flora and fauna and their distribution and have great economic importance. Many of the major geochemical cycles of the ocean and atmosphere also experienced major changes at this time. We posit that the generalizations ultimately emerging from the Miocene will apply to all the Phanerozoic and far back into the Precambrian and that are all tied to Deep Earth.

10. Validation of AIRS V6 Near Surface Air Temperature Over Ocean and Corresponding Sea Surface Temperature

Dang, H. V. T.; Lambrigtsen, B.; Manning, E. M.

2014-12-01

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) Version 6 (V6) with combined infrared and microwave (IR+MW) retrieval of near surface air temperature over ocean (NSAT) and sea surface skin temperature (SST) are compared to a network of moored buoys from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean/Triangle Trans-Ocean Buoy Network (TAO/TRITON), and the Pilot Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA), to determine accuracy and precision. AIRS IR+MW retrieval of SST and NSAT is influenced by the presence of thick clouds and this study documents its effects and the impact of the cloud cleared radiances on the retrieval. The first guess to the IR+MW retrieval, based on a neural network using most of the AIRS infrared and AMSU-A microwave spectrum, is able to get within range of buoy measurements and AIRS physical retrieval improves upon the first guess solution when cloud coverage is limited.

11. Study on Cr-rare Earth-boronizing of the Steel 45 at Low Temperature

Yuan, Xingdong; Xu, Bin; Caib, Yucheng

The Cr-Rare earth-boronized layers were fabricated on the steel 45 at 650°C for 6 h. The microstructure, phase composition, microhardness and tribological properties were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), microhardness tester and wear tester. The results showed the Cr-Rare earth-boronized layer was composed of single Fe2B phase. A sawtooth morphology was obtained in the Cr-Rare earth-boronized layer and the microstructure of the Cr-Rare earth-boronized layer was compact and dense. The thickness of the boride layer is about 23 μm. The boride tooth was thin and straight. The microhardness of the Cr-Rare earth-boronized layer was 1200HV∼1700HV, and first increased with the increase of distance from surface and then decreased when the distance from surface is longer than 7.5 μm. The hardness gradient of the boride layer is lessened. The wear resistance of steel 45 is greatly improved by Cr-Rare earth-boronizing.

12. Visible to infrared low temperature photoluminescence of rare earth doped bismuth germanate crystals.

PubMed

Canimoglu, A; Ayvacikli, M; Karabulut, Y; Karali, T; Can, N

2016-05-01

In this paper, the influence of a series of rare earth (Eu, Tm, Nd) and Cr ion doping on the optical properties of BGO was investigated by means of photoluminescence (PL) from visible to IR region in the 10-300K temperature range using different types of detectors, namely, photomultiplier tube (PMT), InGaAs (IGA), and Si. Several samples were investigated having dopants concentrations of 0.3wt%Nd, 0.4wt%Tm, 0.06wt% Cr and 3ppm Eu. The PL spectra of the samples showed different luminescence behaviour which is assigned to the 4f intra shell transition from rare earth ions. The temperature dependence of the PL from rare earth doped BGO crystals is also examined. PMID:26943903

13. Measured and modeled albedos of sea-ice surfaces with implications for Snowball Earth

Carns, Regina C.

The Snowball Earth episodes were extensive glaciations that occurred during the Neoproterozoic, between 600 and 800 million years ago, during which ice covered much or all of the oceans. These glaciations were a result of ice-albedo feedback, a process likely to occur on any Earthlike planet with oceans covering most of its surface. Modeling shows that sublimation would exceed precipitation over large regions of the ice-covered ocean on a Snowball planet; during the initial stages of the Snowball episode, these areas would be entirely covered by sea ice containing inclusions of brine, and sea ice could remain in smaller regions through the whole episode. At temperatures likely to prevail in the Snowball climate, sodium chloride precipitates within brine inclusions as the hydrated salt hydrohalite (NaCl·2H2O, also known as sodium chloride dehydrate). This work used field measurements, laboratory experiments and modeling to constrain the albedo of sea ice surfaces relevant to Snowball Earth. Field measurements of cold sea ice in McMurdo Sound show an increase in the albedo of natural sea ice with decreasing temperatures. Laboratory experiments on natural sea ice show that brine pockets can become supersaturated with respect to sodium chloride at low temperatures, creating a hysteresis in hydrohalite precipitation and dissolution. Experiments show this effect in laboratory-grown ice of several different compositions: grown from an NaCl solution, grown from artificial seawater, and grown from artificial seawater with added extracellular polysaccharides. Sufficiently cold sea ice in a region of net sublimation will eventually develop a lag deposit of salt as the ice sublimates away from precipitated hydrohalite in brine pockets. No sea ice on modern Earth stays cold and dry long enough for such a deposit to form, so we developed a method for measuring the albedo of ice surfaces in a cold-room laboratory. The method uses a dome with a diffusely reflecting interior surface to emulate the light from an overcast sky. We created a crust of hydrohalite and used this "albedo dome" method to measure albedo of the crust as it developed and dissolved. Using these measurements along with a radiative transfer code, we inferred the complex refractive index for hydrohalite and developed a parameterization for the albedo of hydrohalite crusts of any thickness. These results have implications for Earthlike exoplanets with sizable oceans, which would also be susceptible to ice-albedo feedback. The formation of hydrohalite in sub-eutectic sea ice and the development of a lag deposit in cold, dry conditions could intensify the positive feedback that leads to Snowball conditions. This work shows that the albedo of hydrohalite is much higher than that of snow in the near-infrared, which could make the formation of hydrohalite crusts particularly important to the climates of planets that orbit M-dwarf stars, which output a large fraction of their energy in the near-infrared.

14. Effects of inherent alkali and alkaline earth metallic species on biomass pyrolysis at different temperatures.

PubMed

Hu, Song; Jiang, Long; Wang, Yi; Su, Sheng; Sun, Lushi; Xu, Boyang; He, Limo; Xiang, Jun

2015-09-01

This work aimed to investigate effects of inherent alkali and alkaline earth metallic species (AAEMs) on biomass pyrolysis at different temperatures. The yield of CO, H2 and C2H4 was increased and that of CO2 was suppressed with increasing temperature. Increasing temperature could also promote depolymerization and aromatization reactions of active tars, forming heavier polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, leading to decrease of tar yields and species diversity. Diverse performance of inherent AAEMs at different temperatures significantly affected the distribution of pyrolysis products. The presence of inherent AAEMs promoted water-gas shift reaction, and enhanced the yield of H2 and CO2. Additionally, inherent AAEMs not only promoted breakage and decarboxylation/decarbonylation reaction of thermally labile hetero atoms of the tar but also enhanced thermal decomposing of heavier aromatics. Inherent AAEMs could also significantly enhance the decomposition of levoglucosan, and alkaline earth metals showed greater effect than alkali metals. PMID:26005925

15. Surface Temperature Measurement Using Hematite Coating

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bencic, Timothy J. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

Systems and methods that are capable of measuring temperature via spectrophotometry principles are discussed herein. These systems and methods are based on the temperature dependence of the reflection spectrum of hematite. Light reflected from these sensors can be measured to determine a temperature, based on changes in the reflection spectrum discussed herein.

16. Fibre Tip Sensors for Localised Temperature Sensing Based on Rare Earth-Doped Glass Coatings

PubMed Central

Schartner, Erik P.; Monro, Tanya M.

2014-01-01

We report the development of a point temperature sensor, based on monitoring upconversion emission from erbium:ytterbium-doped tellurite coatings on the tips of optical fibres. The dip coating technique allows multiple sensors to be fabricated simultaneously, while confining the temperature-sensitive region to a localised region on the end-face of the fibre. The strong response of the rare earth ions to changing temperature allows a resolution of 0.1–0.3 °C to be recorded over the biologically relevant range of temperatures from 23–39 °C. PMID:25407907

17. Fibre tip sensors for localised temperature sensing based on rare earth-doped glass coatings.

PubMed

Schartner, Erik P; Monro, Tanya M

2014-01-01

We report the development of a point temperature sensor, based on monitoring upconversion emission from erbium:ytterbium-doped tellurite coatings on the tips of optical fibres. The dip coating technique allows multiple sensors to be fabricated simultaneously, while confining the temperature-sensitive region to a localised region on the end-face of the fibre. The strong response of the rare earth ions to changing temperature allows a resolution of 0.1-0.3 °C to be recorded over the biologically relevant range of temperatures from 23-39 °C. PMID:25407907

18. Mapping permeability over the surface of the Earth

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gleeson, T.; Smith, L.; Moosdorf, N.; Hartmann, J.; Durr, H.H.; Manning, A.H.; Van Beek, L. P. H.; Jellinek, A. Mark

2011-01-01

Permeability, the ease of fluid flow through porous rocks and soils, is a fundamental but often poorly quantified component in the analysis of regional-scale water fluxes. Permeability is difficult to quantify because it varies over more than 13 orders of magnitude and is heterogeneous and dependent on flow direction. Indeed, at the regional scale, maps of permeability only exist for soil to depths of 1-2 m. Here we use an extensive compilation of results from hydrogeologic models to show that regional-scale (>5 km) permeability of consolidated and unconsolidated geologic units below soil horizons (hydrolithologies) can be characterized in a statistically meaningful way. The representative permeabilities of these hydrolithologies are used to map the distribution of near-surface (on the order of 100 m depth) permeability globally and over North America. The distribution of each hydrolithology is generally scale independent. The near-surface mean permeability is of the order of ???5 ?? 10-14 m2. The results provide the first global picture of near-surface permeability and will be of particular value for evaluating global water resources and modeling the influence of climate-surface-subsurface interactions on global climate change. Copyright ?? 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

19. Mapping permeability over the surface of the Earth

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gleeson, Tom; Smith, Leslie; Moosdorf, Nils; Hartmann, Jens; Durr, Hans H.; Manning, Andrew H.; van Beek, Ludovicus P. H.; Jellinek, A. Mark

2011-01-01

Permeability, the ease of fluid flow through porous rocks and soils, is a fundamental but often poorly quantified component in the analysis of regional-scale water fluxes. Permeability is difficult to quantify because it varies over more than 13 orders of magnitude and is heterogeneous and dependent on flow direction. Indeed, at the regional scale, maps of permeability only exist for soil to depths of 1-2 m. Here we use an extensive compilation of results from hydrogeologic models to show that regional-scale (>5 km) permeability of consolidated and unconsolidated geologic units below soil horizons (hydrolithologies) can be characterized in a statistically meaningful way. The representative permeabilities of these hydrolithologies are used to map the distribution of near-surface (on the order of 100 m depth) permeability globally and over North America. The distribution of each hydrolithology is generally scale independent. The near-surface mean permeability is of the order of -5 x 10-14 m2. The results provide the first global picture of near-surface permeability and will be of particular value for evaluating global water resources and modeling the influence of climate-surface-subsurface interactions on global climate change.

20. Thermodynamics of Minerals Stable Near the Earth's Surface

SciTech Connect

Navrotsky, Alexandra

2003-02-01

OAK B262 Research & Education Activities We are working on developing calorimetric techniques for sulfide minerals. We have completed calorimetric studies of (Na, K, H3O) jarosites, of Na and K jarosite -alunite solid solutions, and of Cr6+ - containing jarosites. We are now working on phases containing As and Pb. These studies are important to issues of heavy metal pollution in the environment. A number of postdocs, graduate students, and undergrads have participated in the research. We have active collaboration with Dirk Baron, faculty at California State University, Bakersfield. In a collaboration with Peter Burns, Notre Dame University, we are working on thermochemistry of U6+ minerals. Navrotsky has participated in a number of national workshops that are helping to define the interfaces between nanotechnology and earth/environmental science. Major Findings Our first finding on uranyl minerals shows that studtite, a phase containing structural peroxide ion, is thermodynamically unstable in the absence of a source of aqueous peroxide ion but is thermodynamically stable in contact with a solution containing peroxide concentrations expected for the radiolysis of water in contact with spent nuclear fuel. This work is in press in Science. We have a consistent thermodynamic data set for the (Na, K, H3O) (Al, Fe) jarosite, alunite minerals and for Cr6+ substituting for S6+ in jarosite. The latter phases represent one of the few solid sinks for trapping toxic Cr6+ in groundwater. Contributions within Discipline Better understanding of thermodynamic driving for and constraints on geochemical and environmental processes.

1. External forcing on air-surface temperature: Geographical distribution of sensitive climate zones

Barlyaeva, Tatiana V.

2013-03-01

In this paper we analyze the geographical distribution of the climate response to external forcing (solar, volcanic and geomagnetic) on the periods of 11 and 22 years. As a climate characteristic we use the data of the air-surface temperature (regional data sets). The analysis is performed by the wavelet phase/coherence technique which is applied to the solar (sunspot numbers), volcanic (Dust Veil Index), geomagnetic (C9-index) activities and the temperature data on interannual timescales for the common time interval covering most of the 20th century. Besides, we analyze the statistics of the temperature response to the solar and geomagnetic factors on the periods of 11 and 22 years for different geographical sectors. In particular, we find the existence of a combined forcing of solar and volcanic activity on the Earth temperature on the 11-year period in the second half of the 20th century over the globe, whereas a set of stations (mostly in North Atlantic) shows a coherence between solar activity and the Earth temperature on the 11-year periodicity even in absence of the combined effect; it was found that the maximal number of stations demonstrating statistically significant amplitudes of wavelet spectra corresponds to the wavelet cross-coherence between geomagnetic activity and the Earth air-surface temperature on the periods about 22 years during the time interval without intensive volcanic eruptions capable to change significantly the level of DVIGlobal.

2. 30 CFR 18.23 - Limitation of external surface temperatures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Limitation of external surface temperatures. 18.23 Section 18.23 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TESTING... and Design Requirements § 18.23 Limitation of external surface temperatures. The temperature of...

3. 30 CFR 18.23 - Limitation of external surface temperatures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Limitation of external surface temperatures. 18.23 Section 18.23 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TESTING... and Design Requirements § 18.23 Limitation of external surface temperatures. The temperature of...

4. 30 CFR 18.23 - Limitation of external surface temperatures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Limitation of external surface temperatures. 18.23 Section 18.23 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TESTING... and Design Requirements § 18.23 Limitation of external surface temperatures. The temperature of...

5. 30 CFR 18.23 - Limitation of external surface temperatures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Limitation of external surface temperatures. 18.23 Section 18.23 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TESTING... and Design Requirements § 18.23 Limitation of external surface temperatures. The temperature of...

6. High temperature radiator materials for applications in the low Earth orbital environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rutledge, Sharon K.; Banks, Bruce A.; Mirtich, Michael J.; Lebed, Richard; Brady, Joyce; Hotes, Deborah; Kussmaul, Michael

1987-01-01

Radiators must be constructed of materials which have high emittance in order to efficiently radiate heat from high temperature space power systems. In addition, if these radiators are to be used for applications in the low Earth orbital environment, they must not be detrimentally affected by exposure to atomic oxygen. Four materials selected as candidate radiator materials (304 stainless steel, copper, titanium-6% aluminum-4% vanadium (Ti-6%Al-4%V), and niobium-1% zirconium (Nb-1%Zr)) were surface modified by acid etching, heat treating, abrading, sputter texturing, electrochemical etching, and combinations of the above in order to improve their emittance. Combination treatment techniques with heat treating as the second treatment provided about a factor of two improvement in emittance for 304 stainless steel, Ti-6%Al-4%V, and Nb-1%Zr. A factor of three improvement in emittance occurred for discharge chamber sputter textured copper. Exposure to atomic oxygen in an RF plasma asher did not significantly change the emittance of those samples that had been heat treated as part of their texturing process. An evaluation of oxygen penetration is needed to understand how oxidation affects the mechanical properties of these materials when heat treated.

7. High temperature radiator materials for applications in the low Earth orbital environment

SciTech Connect

Rutledge, S.K.; Banks, B.A.; Mirtich, M.J.; Lebed, R.; Brady, J.; Hotes, D.; Kussmaul, M.

1994-09-01

Radiators must be constructed of materials which have high emittance in order to efficiently radiate heat from high temperature space power systems. In addition, if these radiators are to be used for applications in the low Earth orbital environment, they must not be detrimentally affected by exposure to atomic oxygen. Four materials selected as candidate radiator materials 304 stainless steel, copper, titanium-6% aluminum-4% vanadium (Ti-6%Al-4%V), and niobium-1% zirconium (Nb-1%Zr) were surface modified by acid etching, heat treating, abrading, sputter texturing, electrochemical etching, and combinations of the above in order to improve their emittance. Combination treatment techniques with heat treating as the second treatment provided about a factor of two improvement in emittance for 304 stainless steel, Ti-6%Al-4%V, and Nb-1%Zr. A factor of three improvement in emittance occurred for discharge chamber sputter textured copper. Exposure to atomic oxygen in RF plasma asher did not significantly change the emittance of those samples that had been heat treated as part of their texturing process. An evaluation of oxygen penetration is needed to understand how oxidation affects the mechanical properties of these materials when heat treated.

8. The etching process of boron nitride by alkali and alkaline earth fluorides under high pressure and high temperature

SciTech Connect

Guo, W.; Ma, H.A.; Jia, X.

2014-03-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Appropriate etch processes of hBN and cBN under HPHT are proposed. • The degree of the crystallization of hBN was decreased. • A special cBN growth mechanism with a triangular unit is proposed. • Plate-shape cBN crystals with large ratio of length to thickness were obtained. • A strategy provides useful guidance for controlling the cBN morphology. - Abstract: Some new etching processes of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and cubic boron nitride (cBN) under high pressure and high temperature in the presence of alkali and alkaline earth fluorides have been discussed. It is found that hBN is etched distinctly by alkali and alkaline earth fluorides and the morphology of hBN is significantly changed from plate-shape to spherical-shape. Based on the “graphitization index” values of hBN, the degree of the crystallization of hBN under high pressure and high temperature decreases in the sequence of LiF > CaF{sub 2} > MgF{sub 2}. This facilitates the formation of high-quality cBN single crystals. Different etch steps, pits, and islands are observed on cBN surface, showing the strong etching by alkali and alkaline earth fluorides and the tendency of layer-by-layer growth. A special layer growth mechanism of cBN with a triangular unit has been found. Furthermore, the morphologies of cBN crystals are apparently affected by a preferential surface etching of LiF, CaF{sub 2} and MgF{sub 2}. Respectively, the plate-shape and tetrahedral cBN crystals can be obtained in the presence of different alkali and alkaline earth fluorides.

9. LOUPE: Spectropolarimetry of the Earth from the surface of the Moon

Hoeijmakers, H. J.; Snik, F.; Stam, D. M.; Keller, C. U.

2014-04-01

We present our prototype for the LOUPE instrument: A small and robust imaging spectropolarimeter that can observe the Earth from the surface of the moon, with as primary objective to characterize the Earth's linear polarization spectrum throughout the Earth's daily rotation and monthly phase angle changes. The purpose of LOUPE is to provide benchmark data for future polarization observations of possibly habitable exoplanets. Our instrument concept has been proven to work in a laboratory setting, and efforts are being made to design and produce a flight model.

10. Fluid flow near the surface of earth's outer core

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bloxham, Jeremy; Jackson, Andrew

1991-01-01

This review examines the recent attempts at extracting information on the pattern of fluid flow near the surface of the outer core from the geomagnetic secular variation. Maps of the fluid flow at the core surface are important as they may provide some insight into the process of the geodynamo and may place useful constraints on geodynamo models. In contrast to the case of mantle convection, only very small lateral variations in core density are necessary to drive the flow; these density variations are, by several orders of magnitude, too small to be imaged seismically; therefore, the geomagnetic secular variation is utilized to infer the flow. As substantial differences exist between maps developed by different researchers, the possible underlying reasons for these differences are examined with particular attention given to the inherent problems of nonuniqueness.

11. Spatial patterns of radiative forcing and surface temperature response

Shindell, Drew T.; Faluvegi, Greg; Rotstayn, Leon; Milly, George

2015-06-01

Examination of effective radiative forcing (ERF), a measure of changes in Earth's energy balance, facilitates understanding the role of various drivers of climate change. For short-lived compounds, ERF can be highly inhomogeneous geographically. The relationship between the spatial patterns of ERF and surface temperature response is poorly characterized, however. We examine that relationship in the latest generation of global climate models. We find that the uneven distribution of historical aerosol, ozone, and land use forcing leads to substantial differences compared to the well-mixed greenhouse gases (WMGHG). There is a stronger response per unit global mean forcing to historical inhomogeneous forcing than to WMGHG both globally and in much of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) extratropics, in fairly good agreement with results inferred from observations. Our results indicate that the enhanced global mean response is attributable to the concentration of inhomogeneous forcing in the NH extratropics, where there is strongest sensitivity to forcing, rather than to processes specific to the inhomogeneous forcers. In many regions, inclusion of inhomogeneous forcing greatly increases the spread in historical temperature changes simulated by the models, suggesting that better forcing characterization could play an important role in improving modeling of decadal-scale regional climate change. Finally, incorporating observed temperatures, the results provide estimates of global historical aerosol forcing (-1.0 ± 0.4 W m-2) consistent with other studies (though with narrower uncertainties) and also provide constraints on NH and NH extratropical historical aerosol forcing (-1.4 ± 0.6 and -1.2 ± 0.6 W m-2, respectively) and aerosol + ozone forcing.

12. Technique for the Estimation of Surface Temperatures from Embedded Temperature Sensing for Rapid, High Energy Surface Deposition

SciTech Connect

Watkins, Tyson R.; Schunk, Peter Randall; Roberts, Scott A.

2014-07-01

Temperature histories on the surface of a body that has been subjected to a rapid, high-energy surface deposition process can be di#14;fficult to determine, especially if it is impossible to directly observe the surface or attach a temperature sensor to it. In this report, we explore two methods for estimating the temperature history of the surface through the use of a sensor embedded within the body very near to the surface. First, the maximum sensor temperature is directly correlated with the peak surface temperature. However, it is observed that the sensor data is both delayed in time and greatly attenuated in magnitude, making this approach unfeasible. Secondly, we propose an algorithm that involves fitting the solution to a one-dimensional instantaneous energy solution problem to both the sensor data and to the results of a one-dimensional CVFEM code. This algorithm is shown to be able to estimate the surface temperature {+-}~20#14;{degrees}C.

13. Surface Temperature Assimilation in the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Radakovich, Jon D.; daSilva, Arlindo; Houser, Paul R.; Atlas, Robert M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) is a global land parameterization that uses prescribed meteorology as forcing in order to determine regular gridded land surface states (temperature and moisture) and other properties (e.g. water and heat fluxes). In the present experiment, the assimilation of surface skin temperature is incorporated into the land parameterizations. The meteorological forcing was derived from the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-3) Data Assimilation System (DAS) for the full year of 1998 GLDAS can use several land parameterizations, but here we use the Mosaic land surface model and the Common Land Model (CLM). TOVS surface temperature observations are assimilated into GLDAS. The TOVS observations are less frequent that observations used in previous experiments (ISCCP). The purpose of this presentation is to evaluate the impact of the TOVS assimilation on both Mosaic and CLM. We will especially consider the impact of coarse temporal observations on the assimilation and bias correction.

14. Magnetic shielding in a low temperature torsion pendulum experiment. [superconducting cylinders for attenuation earth field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, P. R.

1979-01-01

A new type of ether drift experiment searches for anomalous torques on a permanent magnet. A torsion pendulum is used at liquid helium temperature, so that superconducting cylinders can be used to shield magnetic fields. Lead shields attenuate the earth's field, while Nb-Sn shields fastened to the pendulum contain the fields of the magnet. The paper describes the technique by which the earth's field can be reduced below 0.0001 G while simultaneously the moment of the magnet can be reduced by a factor 7 x 10 to the 4th.

15. Surface waves on the tailward flanks of the Earths magnetopause

SciTech Connect

Seon, J.; Frank, L.A.; Lazarus, A.J.

1995-07-01

Forty-three examples of ISEE 1 tailward flank side magnetopause crossings are examined and directly compared with upstream solar wind parameters. The crossings are classified into two groups. In the first group, a few sudden magnetopause crossings are observed, whereas repeated magnetopause crossings and oscillatory motions, often with boundary layer signatures, are observed in the second group. These distinctive characteristics of the two groups are interpreted in terms of the surface waves due to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. It is found that low solar wind speed tends to favor characteristics of the first group, whereas high solar wind speed yields those of the second group. However, no evident correlations between the groups and the interplanetary magnetic field directions are found. 60 refs., 14 figs.

16. The influence of global sea surface temperature variability on the large-scale land surface temperature

Tyrrell, Nicholas L.; Dommenget, Dietmar; Frauen, Claudia; Wales, Scott; Rezny, Mike

2015-04-01

In global warming scenarios, global land surface temperatures () warm with greater amplitude than sea surface temperatures (SSTs), leading to a land/sea warming contrast even in equilibrium. Similarly, the interannual variability of is larger than the covariant interannual SST variability, leading to a land/sea contrast in natural variability. This work investigates the land/sea contrast in natural variability based on global observations, coupled general circulation model simulations and idealised atmospheric general circulation model simulations with different SST forcings. The land/sea temperature contrast in interannual variability is found to exist in observations and models to a varying extent in global, tropical and extra-tropical bands. There is agreement between models and observations in the tropics but not the extra-tropics. Causality in the land-sea relationship is explored with modelling experiments forced with prescribed SSTs, where an amplification of the imposed SST variability is seen over land. The amplification of to tropical SST anomalies is due to the enhanced upper level atmospheric warming that corresponds with tropical moist convection over oceans leading to upper level temperature variations that are larger in amplitude than the source SST anomalies. This mechanism is similar to that proposed for explaining the equilibrium global warming land/sea warming contrast. The link of the to the dominant mode of tropical and global interannual climate variability, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), is found to be an indirect and delayed connection. ENSO SST variability affects the oceans outside the tropical Pacific, which in turn leads to a further, amplified and delayed response of.

17. Surface waves on the tailward flanks of the Earth's magnetopause

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seon, J.; Frank, L. A.; Lazarus, A. J.; Lepping, R. P.

1995-01-01

Forty-three examples of ISEE 1 tailward flank side magnetopause crossings are examined and directly compared with upstream solar wind parameters. The crossings are classified into two groups. In the first group, a few sudden magnetopause crossings are observed, whereas repeated magnetopause crossings and oscillatory motions, often with boundary layer signatures, are observed in the second group. These distinctive characteristics of the two groups are interpreted in terms of the surface waves due to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. It is found that low solar wind speed tends to favor characteristics of the first group, whereas high solar wind speed yields those of the second group. However, no evident correlations between the groups and the interplanetary magnetic field directions are found.

18. Temperature dependent droplet impact dynamics on flat and textured surfaces

SciTech Connect

Azar Alizadeh; Vaibhav Bahadur; Sheng Zhong; Wen Shang; Ri Li; James Ruud; Masako Yamada; Liehi Ge; Ali Dhinojwala; Manohar S Sohal

2012-03-01

Droplet impact dynamics determines the performance of surfaces used in many applications such as anti-icing, condensation, boiling and heat transfer. We study impact dynamics of water droplets on surfaces with chemistry/texture ranging from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic and across a temperature range spanning below freezing to near boiling conditions. Droplet retraction shows very strong temperature dependence especially for hydrophilic surfaces; it is seen that lower substrate temperatures lead to lesser retraction. Physics-based analyses show that the increased viscosity associated with lower temperatures can explain the decreased retraction. The present findings serve to guide further studies of dynamic fluid-structure interaction at various temperatures.

19. Temperature sensitive surfaces and methods of making same

DOEpatents

Liang, Liang [Richland, WA; Rieke, Peter C [Pasco, WA; Alford, Kentin L [Pasco, WA

2002-09-10

Poly-n-isopropylacrylamide surface coatings demonstrate the useful property of being able to switch charateristics depending upon temperature. More specifically, these coatings switch from being hydrophilic at low temperature to hydrophobic at high temperature. Research has been conducted for many years to better characterize and control the properties of temperature sensitive coatings. The present invention provides novel temperature sensitive coatings on articles and novel methods of making temperature sensitive coatings that are disposed on the surfaces of various articles. These novel coatings contain the reaction products of n-isopropylacrylamide and are characterized by their properties such as advancing contact angles. Numerous other characteristics such as coating thickness, surface roughness, and hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic transition temperatures are also described. The present invention includes articles having temperature-sensitve coatings with improved properties as well as improved methods for forming temperature sensitive coatings.

20. Downscaling MODIS Land Surface Temperature for Urban Public Health Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Crosson, William; Estes, Maurice, Jr.; Estes, Sue; Quattrochi, Dale; Johnson, Daniel

2013-01-01

This study is part of a project funded by the NASA Applied Sciences Public Health Program, which focuses on Earth science applications of remote sensing data for enhancing public health decision-making. Heat related death is currently the number one weather-related killer in the United States. Mortality from these events is expected to increase as a function of climate change. This activity sought to augment current Heat Watch/Warning Systems (HWWS) with NASA remotely sensed data, and models used in conjunction with socioeconomic and heatrelated mortality data. The current HWWS do not take into account intra-urban spatial variation in risk assessment. The purpose of this effort is to evaluate a potential method to improve spatial delineation of risk from extreme heat events in urban environments by integrating sociodemographic risk factors with estimates of land surface temperature (LST) derived from thermal remote sensing data. In order to further improve the consideration of intra-urban variations in risk from extreme heat, we also developed and evaluated a number of spatial statistical techniques for downscaling the 1-km daily MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST data to 60 m using Landsat-derived LST data, which have finer spatial but coarser temporal resolution than MODIS. In this paper, we will present these techniques, which have been demonstrated and validated for Phoenix, AZ using data from the summers of 2000-2006.

1. Downscaling MODIS Land Surface Temperature for Urban Public Health Applications

Al-Hamdan, M. Z.; Crosson, W. L.; Estes, M. G., Jr.; Estes, S. M.; Quattrochi, D. A.; Johnson, D.

2013-12-01

This study is part of a project funded by the NASA Applied Sciences Public Health Program, which focuses on Earth science applications of remote sensing data for enhancing public health decision-making. Heat related death is currently the number one weather-related killer in the United States. Mortality from these events is expected to increase as a function of climate change. This activity sought to augment current Heat Watch/Warning Systems (HWWS) with NASA remotely sensed data, and models used in conjunction with socioeconomic and heat-related mortality data. The current HWWS do not take into account intra-urban spatial variations in risk assessment. The purpose of this effort is to evaluate a potential method to improve spatial delineation of risk from extreme heat events in urban environments by integrating sociodemographic risk factors with land surface temperature (LST) estimates derived from thermal remote sensing data. In order to further improve the assessment of intra-urban variations in risk from extreme heat, we developed and evaluated a number of spatial statistical techniques for downscaling the 1-km daily MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST data to 60 m using Landsat-derived LST data, which have finer spatial but coarser temporal resolution than MODIS. We will present these techniques, which have been demonstrated and validated for Phoenix, AZ using data from the summers of 2000-2006.

2. Waveform synthesis of surface waves in a laterally heterogeneous earth by the Gaussian beam method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yomogida, K.; Aki, K.

1985-01-01

The present investigation is concerned with an application of the Gaussian beam method to surface waves in the laterally heterogeneous earth. The employed method has been developed for ray tracing and synthesizing seismograms of surface waves in cases involving the laterally heterogeneous earth. The procedure is based on formulations derived by Yomogida (1985). Vertical structure of the wave field is represented by the eigenfunctions of normal mode theory, while lateral variation is expressed by the parabolic equation as in two-dimensional acoustic waves or elastic body waves. It is demonstrated that a large-amplitude change can result from a slight perturbation in the phase velocity model.

3. Regulation of high sea surface temperatures: Linking the dynamics and thermodynamics

SciTech Connect

Waliser, D.E.

1996-12-31

Great interest has surrounded the issue of climate change associated with the observed anthropogenic increase in greenhouse gases, particularly as it relates to implied or predicted changes in the earths surface temperature. In response to this interest, significant attention has recently been directed towards understanding the mechanisms that act to provide an upper limit on surface temperatures, specifically sea surface temperatures (SST). Hypotheses have included the local negative feedback from surface latent heat flux, local SST-induced cloud shortwave feedbacks, and non-local influences from the large-scale circulation. The present study composites atmosphere and ocean conditions associated with ocean hot spots--regions having an area greater than 1 {times} 10{sup 6} km{sup 2} and an SST exceeding 29.75 C. The composite atmosphere includes surface flux parameters, cloud amounts, cloud radiative forcing, and analysis from the NMC and ECMWF weather forecasting systems. The composite ocean includes sea-level height and the temperature and velocity structures down to 720 meters from the NMC ocean forecasting system. These fields are composited for the months before, during and after the occurrences of hot spots in order to develop a four-dimensional picture of how the coupled ocean-atmosphere system limits present-day tropical SSTs to less than about 30 C.

4. Method for preparing high cure temperature rare earth iron compound magnetic material

DOEpatents

Huang, Yuhong; Wei, Qiang; Zheng, Haixing

2002-01-01

Insertion of light elements such as H,C, or N in the R.sub.2 Fe.sub.17 (R=rare earth metal) series has been found to modify the magnetic properties of these compounds, which thus become prospective candidates for high performance permanent magnets. The most spectacular changes are increases of the Curie temperature, T.sub.c, of the magnetization, M.sub.s, and of coercivity, H.sub.c, upon interstitial insertion. A preliminary product having a component R--Fe--C,N phase is produced by a chemical route. Rare earth metal and iron amides are synthesized followed by pyrolysis and sintering in an inert or reduced atmosphere, as a result of which, the R--Fe--C,N phases are formed. Fabrication of sintered rare earth iron nitride and carbonitride bulk magnet is impossible via conventional process due to the limitation of nitridation method.

5. Surface-atmosphere interactions on Titan compared with those on the pre-biotic Earth.

PubMed

Lunine, J I; McKay, C P

1995-03-01

The surface and atmosphere of Titan constitute a system which is potentially as complex as that of the Earth, with the possibility of precipitation, surface erosion due to liquids, chemistry in large surface or subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs, surface expressions of internal activity, and occasional major impacts leading to crustal melting. While none of the above have been observed as yet, the composition, density and thermal properties of Titan's atmosphere make it uniquely suited in the outer solar system as a place where such processes may occur. The one attribute of the Earth not expected on Titan is biological activity, which has had a profound effect on the evolution of the Earth's surface-atmosphere system. The earliest environment of Titan could have been warm enough for liquid ammonia-water solutions to exist on or near surface; pre-biotic organic processes may have taken place in such an environment. After a few hundred million years surface ammonia-water would have disappeared. Therefore, study of Titan through the Cassini-Huygens mission, planned for launch in 1997, primarily affords the opportunity to understand planet-wide surface-atmosphere interactions in the presence of fluids but in the absence of life. More speculative is the possibility that endogenic and exogenic heating continue to provide short-lived environments on Titan wherein pre-biotic organic processes in the presence of water happen. PMID:11539243

6. Surface-atmosphere interactions on Titan compared with those on the pre-biotic Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lunine, J. I.; Mckay, C. P.

1995-01-01

The surface and atmosphere of Titan constitute a system which is potentially as complex as that of the Earth, with the possibility of precipitation, surface erosion due to liquids, chemistry in large surface or subsurface hydrocarbon resevoirs, surface expressions of internal activity, and occasional major impacts leading to crustal melting. While none of the above have been observed as yet, the composition, density and thermal properties of Titan's atmosphere make it uniquely suited in the outer solar system as a place where such processes may occur. The one attribute of the Earth not expected on Titan is biological activity, which has had a profound effect on the evolution of the Earth's surface-atmosphere system. The earliest environment of Titan could have been warm enough for liquid ammonia-water solutions to exist on or near surface; pre-biotic organic processes may have taken place in such an environment. After a few hundred million years surface ammonia-water would have disappeard. Therefore, study of Titan through Cassini/Huygens mission, planned for launch in 1997, primarily affords the opportunity to understand planet-side surface-atmophsre interactions in the presence of fluids but in the absence of life. More speculative is the possibility that endogenic and exogenic heating continue to provide short-lived environments on Titan wherein pre-biotic organic processes in the presence of water happen.

7. Earth's Surface Displacements from the GPS Time Series

Haritonova, D.; Balodis, J.; Janpaule, I.; Morozova, K.

2015-11-01

The GPS observations of both Latvian permanent GNSS networks - EUPOS®-Riga and LatPos, have been collected for a period of 8 years - from 2007 to 2014. Local surface displacements have been derived from the obtained coordinate time series eliminating different impact sources. The Bernese software is used for data processing. The EUREF Permanent Network (EPN) stations in the surroundings of Latvia are selected as fiducial stations. The results have shown a positive tendency of vertical displacements in the western part of Latvia - station heights are increasing, and negative velocities are observed in the central and eastern parts. Station vertical velocities are ranging in diapason of 4 mm/year. In the case of horizontal displacements, site velocities are up to 1 mm/year and mostly oriented to the south. The comparison of the obtained results with data from the deformation model NKG_RF03vel has been made. Additionally, the purpose of this study is to analyse GPS time series obtained using two different data processing strategies: Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and estimation of station coordinates relatively to the positions of fiducial stations also known as Differential GNSS.

8. The warming trend of ground surface temperature in the Choshui Alluvial Fan, western central Taiwan

Chen, W.; Chang, M.; Chen, J.; Lu, W.; Huang, C. C.; Wang, Y.

2013-12-01

Heat storage in subsurface of the continents forms a fundamental component of the global energy budget and plays an important role in the climate system. Several researches revealed that subsurface temperatures were being increased to 1.8-2.8°C higher in mean ground surface temperature (GST) for some Asian cities where are experiencing a rapid growth of population. Taiwan is a subtropic-tropic island with densely populated in the coastal plains surrounding its mountains. We investigate the subsurface temperature distribution and the borehole temperature-depth profiles by using groundwater monitoring wells in years 2000 and 2010. Our data show that the western central Taiwan plain also has been experiencing a warming trend but with a higher temperatures approximately 3-4 °C of GST during the last 250 yrs. We suggest that the warming were mostly due to the land change to urbanization and agriculture. The current GSTs from our wells are approximately 25.51-26.79 °C which are higher than the current surface air temperature (SAT) of 23.65 °C. Data from Taiwan's weather stations also show 1-1.5 °C higher for the GST than the SAT at neighboring stations. The earth surface heat balance data indicate that GST higher than SAT is reasonable. More researches are needed to evaluate the interaction of GST and SAT, and how a warming GST's impact to the SAT and the climate system of the Earth.

9. Lag Relationships Involving Tropical Sea Surface Temperatures.

Lanzante, John R.

1996-10-01

A long historical record (100 yews) of monthly sea surface temperature anomalies from the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set was used to examined the lag relationships between different locations in the global Tropics. Application of complex principal component (CPC) analysis revealed that the leading mode captures ENSO-related quasi-cyclical warming and cooling in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The dominant features of this mode indicate that SST anomalies in the eastern Pacific lead those of the central Pacific. However, a somewhat weaker aspect of this mode also indicates that SST anomalies in the tropical Indian and western tropical North Atlantic Oceans vary roughly in concert with each other but lag behind those in the central and eastern Pacific. The stability of these lag relationships is indicated by the fact that the leading mode is quite similar in three different 30-year time periods.In order to further examine these relationships some simple indexes were formed as the average over several grid points in each of the four key areas suggested by the CPC analyses. Several different types of analyses including lag correlation, checking the correspondence between extrema, and visual examination of time series plots were used to confirm the relationships implied by the CPC spatial patterns. By aggregating the lag correlations over the three 30-year time periods and performing a Monte Carlo simulation the relationships were found to be statistically significant at the 1% level. Reasonable agreement in the pattern of lag correlations was found using a different SST dataset.Without aggregation of the lag correlations (i.e., considering each 30-year period separately) the area in the Pacific and Indian were consistently well related, but those involving the North Atlantic were more variable. The weaker correlations involving the Atlantic Ocean underscore the more tenuous nature of this remote relationship. While major ENSO-related swings in tropical Pacific SST are often followed by like variations in a portion of the Atlantic, there are times when there is either no obvious association or one of opposite sign. It may be that while ENSO variability tends to have an impact in the Atlantic, more localized factors can override this tendency. This may explain some of the contradictory statements found in the literature regarding such remote associations.In comparing the findings of this project with some studies that utilize very recent data (since about 1982) some discrepancies were noted. In particular, some studies have reported evidence of 1) an inverse relationship between SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific and those in the eastern tropical South Atlantic and 2) the appearance of ENSO-related SST anomalies in the central tropical Pacific prior to those in the eastern tropical Pacific. From a historical perspective both of these characteristics are unusual. Thus, the recent time period may merit special attention. However, it is important to stress that caution should be exercised in generalizing findings based only on this recent time period.

10. Surface energetics of alkaline-earth metal oxides: Trends in stability and adsorption of small molecules

Bajdich, Michal; Nørskov, Jens K.; Vojvodic, Aleksandra

2015-04-01

We present a systematic theoretical investigation of the surface properties, stability, and reactivity of rocksalt type alkaline-earth metal oxides including MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO. The accuracy of commonly used exchange-correlation density functionals (LDA, PBE, RPBE, PBEsol, BEEF-vdW, and hybrid HSE) and random-phase approximation (RPA) is evaluated and compared to existing experimental values. Calculated surface energies of the four most stable surface facets under vacuum conditions, the (100) surface, the metal and oxygen terminated octopolar (111), and the (110) surfaces, exhibit a monotonic increase in stability from MgO to BaO. On the MgO(100) surface, adsorption of CO, NO, and CH4 is characterized by physisorption while H2O chemisorbs, which is in agreement with experimental findings. We further use the on-top metal adsorption of CO and NO molecules to map out the surface energetics of each alkaline-earth metal oxide surface. The considered functionals all qualitatively predict similar adsorption energy trends. The ordering between the adsorption energies on different surface facets can be attributed to differences in the local geometrical surface structure and the electronic structure of the metal constituent of the alkaline-earth metal oxide. The striking observation that CO adsorption strength is weaker than NO adsorption on the (100) terraces as the period of the alkaline-earth metal in the oxide increases is analyzed in detail in terms of charge redistribution within the σ and π channels of adsorbates. Finally, we also present oxygen adsorption and oxygen vacancy formation energies in these oxide systems.

11. Temperature dependence of molecular atmospheric transmission function in field of 2--400 {micro}m and the earth radiation balance

SciTech Connect

Zakharov, V.I.; Gribanov, K.G.; Falko, M.V.; Golovko, V.F.; Chursin, A.A.; Nikitin, A.V.; Husson, N.; Scott, N.A.; Tyuterev, V.G.

1996-12-31

The global climate change problem becomes actual by the end of the 20th century. Its many important aspects are: the change of molecular composition of the earths atmosphere (in particular, the accumulation of CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4}, SO{sub 2} in the atmosphere), and the problem of ozone layer depletion. This paper is devoted to the investigation of fundamental mechanisms of the atmospheric transmission function influence, in the field of 2--400 mm and especially in the range of windows 8--13 mm and 3--4 mm, on the thermal balance of the earths atmosphere. The negative and positive feedbacks between the absorption of the outgoing heat radiation in the atmosphere and the heating of the earths surface have been considered. All the simulations of the infrared radiation transfer are based on spectral data from GEISA-92 data bank. Temperature dependence of molecular transmission function has been obtained and three steady states for earths radiation balance were shown to exist. A radiation balance regime, leading to closing of the atmospheric window 8--13 mm and development of the explosive greenhouse effect has been obtained and discussed in this paper.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luther, M. R.

1981-01-01

The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) is to fly on NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) and on NOAA F and NOAA G. Large spatial scale earth energy budget data will be derived primarily from measurements made by the ERBE nonscanning instrument (ERBE-NS). A description is given of a mathematical model capable of simulating the radiometric response of any of the ERBE-NS earth viewing channels. The model uses a Monte Carlo method to accurately account for directional distributions of emission and reflection from optical surfaces which are neither strictly diffuse nor strictly specular. The model computes radiation exchange factors among optical system components, and determines the distribution in the optical system of energy from an outside source. Attention is also given to an approach for implementing the model and results obtained from the implementation.

13. High temperature rare earth compounds: Synthesis, characterization and applications in device fabrication

Brewer, Joseph Reese

As the area of nanotechnology continues to grow, the development of new nanomaterials with interesting physical and electronic properties and improved characterization techniques are several areas of research that will be remain vital for continued improvement of devices and the understanding in nanoscale phenomenon. In this dissertation, the chemical vapor deposition synthesis of rare earth (RE) compounds is described in detail. In general, the procedure involves the vaporization of a REClx (RE = Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho) in the presence of hydride phase precursors such as decaborane and ammonia at high temperatures and low pressures. Unlike traditional single source precursor techniques such as metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, the materials produced are of extremely high chemical purity. The crystallographic orientation of as-synthesized rare earth hexaboride nanostructures and gadolinium nitride thin films was controlled by judicious choice of specific growth substrates and modeled by analyzing x-ray diffraction powder patterns and crystallographic models. The vapor-liquid-solid mechanism was used in combination with the chemical vapor deposition process to synthesize single crystalline rare earth hexaboride nanostructures. Unlike previously reported synthetic techniques to generate rare earth hexaborides, my synthesis provided control over the tip diameter of the nanomaterials, was applicable to all available rare earth metals and utilized a chemical scheme that was much less toxic. Furthermore, the synthesis provided the first ever doped rare earth hexaboride nanowires. The as produced materials showed excellent electronic properties and could be applicable to many different types of electronic applications. The rare earth hexaboride nanostructures were then implemented into two existing technologies to enhance their characterization capabilities. First, the rare earth hexaboride nanowires were used as a test material for the development of a TEM based local electrode atom probe tomography (LEAP) technique. The TEM based LEAP technique is the first to combine atomic resolution crystallographic imaging with angstrom scale 3D compositional mapping. This technique also provided some of the first quantitative compositional information of the rare earth hexaboride systems and is applicable to a wide range of nanowire materials. Second, due to the rigidity and excellent conductivity of the rare earth hexaborides, nanostructures were grown onto tungsten wires for the development of robust, oxidation resistant nanomanipulator electronic probes for semiconductor device failure analysis.

14. Estimation of surface heat flux and surface temperature during inverse heat conduction under varying spray parameters and sample initial temperature.

PubMed

2014-01-01

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the effects of inlet pressure, sample thickness, initial sample temperature, and temperature sensor location on the surface heat flux, surface temperature, and surface ultrafast cooling rate using stainless steel samples of diameter 27 mm and thickness (mm) 8.5, 13, 17.5, and 22, respectively. Inlet pressure was varied from 0.2 MPa to 1.8 MPa, while sample initial temperature varied from 600°C to 900°C. Beck's sequential function specification method was utilized to estimate surface heat flux and surface temperature. Inlet pressure has a positive effect on surface heat flux (SHF) within a critical value of pressure. Thickness of the sample affects the maximum achieved SHF negatively. Surface heat flux as high as 0.4024 MW/m(2) was estimated for a thickness of 8.5 mm. Insulation effects of vapor film become apparent in the sample initial temperature range of 900°C causing reduction in surface heat flux and cooling rate of the sample. A sensor location near to quenched surface is found to be a better choice to visualize the effects of spray parameters on surface heat flux and surface temperature. Cooling rate showed a profound increase for an inlet pressure of 0.8 MPa. PMID:24977219

15. Estimation of Surface Heat Flux and Surface Temperature during Inverse Heat Conduction under Varying Spray Parameters and Sample Initial Temperature

PubMed Central

Aamir, Muhammad; Liao, Qiang; Zhu, Xun; Aqeel-ur-Rehman; Wang, Hong

2014-01-01

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the effects of inlet pressure, sample thickness, initial sample temperature, and temperature sensor location on the surface heat flux, surface temperature, and surface ultrafast cooling rate using stainless steel samples of diameter 27 mm and thickness (mm) 8.5, 13, 17.5, and 22, respectively. Inlet pressure was varied from 0.2 MPa to 1.8 MPa, while sample initial temperature varied from 600°C to 900°C. Beck's sequential function specification method was utilized to estimate surface heat flux and surface temperature. Inlet pressure has a positive effect on surface heat flux (SHF) within a critical value of pressure. Thickness of the sample affects the maximum achieved SHF negatively. Surface heat flux as high as 0.4024 MW/m2 was estimated for a thickness of 8.5 mm. Insulation effects of vapor film become apparent in the sample initial temperature range of 900°C causing reduction in surface heat flux and cooling rate of the sample. A sensor location near to quenched surface is found to be a better choice to visualize the effects of spray parameters on surface heat flux and surface temperature. Cooling rate showed a profound increase for an inlet pressure of 0.8 MPa. PMID:24977219

16. A Low Temperature Route for the Synthesis of Rare Earth Transition Metal Borides and Their Hydrides

Kramp, S.; Febri, M.; Joubert, J. C.

1997-10-01

Synthesis of rare earth-based alloys by the ORD technique consists in the reduction of rare earth oxides in a melt of calcium under argon, and simultaneous diffusion-reaction of the just formed rare earth metal with the other elements. This method has been applied with success to numerous ternary borides containing transition metals such as the magnetic alloys Y2Co14B, LnCo4B, and YCo3B2. By using a small excess of Ca, boride particles grow in a viscous slurry media containing unreacted (melted) Ca and nanosize CaO particles. Single phase boride alloys can be obtained at 1000°C as loose micrometer-size particles of very high crystal quality as confirmed by the sharp diffraction peaks on the corresponding X-ray diagrams. Particles can be easily recovered by gentle washing in diluted weak acid solution, and dried under vacuum at room temperature. This rather low temperature technique is particularly adapted to the synthesis of incongruent melting phases, as well as for the alloys containing volatile rare earth elements (Sm, Yb, Tb,…).

17. Global shortwave energy budget at the earth's surface from ERBE observations

SciTech Connect

Breon, F.M.; Frouin, R. ); Gautier, C. )

1994-02-01

A method is proposed to compute the net solar (shortwave) irradiance at the earth's surface from Earth Radiation Budget Experiments (ERBE) data from S4 data (monthly averaged broadband planetary albedo). Net surface shortwave irradiance is obtained for the shortwave irradiance incident at the top of the atmosphere (known) by subtracting both the shortwave energy flux reflected by the earth-atmosphere system (measured) and the energy flux absorbed by the atmosphere (modeled). Precalculated atmospheric- and surface-dependent functions that characterize scattering and absorption in the atmosphere are used along with four surface types: ocean, vegetation, desert, snow/ice. Over the tropical Pacific Ocean, the estimates compare well with the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) B3 data. Over snow/ice, vegetation, and desert no comparison is made with other satellite-based estimates, but theoretical calculations using the discrete ordinate method suggest that over highly reflective surfaces (snow/ice, desert) the model may substantially overestimate the absorbed solar energy flux at the surface, especially when clouds are optically thick. The monthly surface shortwave irradiance fields produced for 1986 exhibit the main features characteristic of the earth's climate. Our values are generally higher than Esbensen and Kushnir's by as much as 80 W m[sup [minus]2] in the tropical oceans. The difference between clear-sky and actual irradiances normalized to top-of-atmosphere clear-sky irradiance is higher in the midlatitude regions of storm tracks than in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), suggesting the higher cloud coverage in midlatitudes is more effective at reducing surface shortwave irradiance than opaque, convective, sparser clouds in the ITCZ. Surface albedo estimates are realistic, generally not exceeding 0.06 in the ocean, as high as 0.9 in polar regions, and reaching 0.5 in the Sahara and Arabian deserts. 33 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs.

18. Comparison of land surface temperature measurements at NOAA CRN sites with airborne and satellite observations

Krishnan, P.; Kochendorfer, J.; Baker, B.; Dumas, E.; Meyers, T. P.; Guillevic, P.; Corda, S.; Muratore, J.; Martos, B.

2011-12-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key variable for studying global or regional land surface processes and the energy and water vapor exchange at the biosphere-atmosphere interface. In an effort to better quantify the spatial variability and overall representativeness of single-point surface temperature measurement being recorded at NOAA's Climate Reference Network (CRN) sites and to improve the accuracy of satellite land surface temperature measurements, airborne flight campaigns were conducted over two vegetated sites in Tennessee, USA during 2010 to 2011. During the campaign, multiple measurements of land surface temperature were made using Infra-Red temperature sensors at micrometeorological tower sites and onboard an instrumented Piper Navajo airborne research aircraft. In addition to this, coincident Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST observations, onboard the NASA Terra and Aqua Earth Observing System satellites were used. The aircraft-based and satellite based land surface temperature measurements were compared to in situ, tower based LST measurements. Preliminary results show good agreement between in situ, aircraft and satellite measurements.

19. Clouds not important for control of short-term surface temperatures

Schultz, Colin

2012-01-01

In two recent papers, R. W. Spencer and W. D. Braswell (Remote Sens., 3(8), 1603- 1613, doi:10.3390/rs3081603, 2011) (SB) and R. S. Lindzen and Y.-S. Choi (Asia Pac. J. Atmos. Sci., 47(4), 377-390, doi:10.1007/s13143-011-0023-x, 2011) (LC) argue that clouds act as a primary initiator of surface temperature changes in Earth's climate system. The two sets of authors reached this conclusion by developing a method that tries to determine the Earth's surface temperature by calculating how much energy is stored in the ocean's upper layers, how much of this heat is transferred to the rest of the climate system, how clouds affect the rate at which energy escapes Earth's atmosphere, and how the surface's energy flux changes with temperature. Both studies spurred substantial debate within the media and the public, with the research by SB causing the editor of the journal in which it was published to resign, claiming it should not have been accepted by the journal. Assessing the two studies, Dessler found what he suggests are a number of methodological errors.

20. Interaction of the lunar surface and dust grains with the solar wind and Earth magnetosphere

Vaverka, Jakub; Richterova, Ivana; Pavlu, Jiri; Safrankova, Jana; Nemecek, Zdenek

2015-04-01

Interaction of the lunar surface with the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere leads to it charging by several processes as photoemission, a collection of primary particles, and secondary electron emission. The parameters of a plasma environment strongly influence the charging processes because the energy of electrons and ions is significantly higher in the magnetosphere than in the solar wind, while the particle density is lower in the magnetosphere. Dominant charging currents depend on a lunar position relative to the Earth as well as on the Solar Zenith Angle which influences mainly the current of photoelectrons. The lunar surface potential varies from slightly positive to large negative values with respect to the surrounding plasma. A presence of dust levitating above the surface has been observed by several spacecraft and by astronauts during Apollo missions in the terminator area. We present model calculations of a temporal evolution of the lunar surface potential as well as potentials of dust grains above the surface using by the ARTEMIS data through one crossing of the Earth magnetosphere tail. We show that the lunar surface and levitating dust can be charged to different potentials under the same plasma conditions and we discuss a possibility of the dust grain levitation above the charged surface.

1. Impact of aerosol radiative effects on 2000-2010 surface temperatures

Gettelman, A.; Shindell, D. T.; Lamarque, J. F.

2015-10-01

Aerosol radiative forcing from direct and indirect effects of aerosols is examined over the recent past (last 10-15 years) using updated sulfate aerosol emissions in two Earth System Models with very different surface temperature responses to aerosol forcing. The hypothesis is that aerosol forcing and in particular, the impact of indirect effects of aerosols on clouds (Aerosol-Cloud Interactions, or ACI), explains the recent hiatus' in global mean surface temperature increases. Sulfate aerosol emissions increase globally from 2000 to 2005, and then decrease slightly to 2010. Thus the change in anthropogenic sulfate induced net global radiative forcing is small over the period. Regionally, there are statistically significant forcings that are similar in both models, and consistent with changes in simulated emissions and aerosol optical depth. Coupled model simulations are performed to look at impacts of the forcing on recent surface temperatures. Temperature response patterns in the models are similar, and reflect the regional radiative forcing. Pattern correlations indicate significant correlations between observed decadal surface temperature changes and simulated surface temperature changes from recent sulfate aerosol forcing in an equilibrium framework. Sulfate ACI might be a contributor to the spatial patterns of recent temperature forcing, but not to the global mean hiatus' itself.

2. Influence of lunar topography on simulated surface temperature

Zhiguo, Meng; Yi, Xu; Zhanchuan, Cai; Shengbo, Chen; Yi, Lian; Hang, Huang

2014-11-01

The surface temperature of the Moon is one of the essential parameters for the lunar exploration, especially to evaluate the Moon thermophysical features. The distribution of the temperature is heavily influenced by the Moon topography, which, however, is rarely studied in the state-of-art surface temperature models. Therefore, this paper takes the Moon topography into account to improve the surface temperature model, Racca model. The main parameters, such as slopes along the longitude and latitude directions, are estimated with the topography data from Chang'E-1 satellite and the Horn algorithm. Then the effective solar illumination model is then constructed with the slopes and the relative position to the subsolar point. Finally, the temperature distribution over the Moon surface is obtained with the effective illumination model and the improved Racca model. The results indicate that the distribution of the temperature is very sensitive to the fluctuation of the Moon surface. The change of the surface temperature is up to 150 K in some places compared to the result without considering the topography. In addition, the variation of the surface temperature increases with the distance from the subsolar point and the elevation, along both latitude and longitude directions. Furthermore, the simulated surface temperature coincides well with the brightness temperature in 37 GHz observed by the microwave sounder onboard Chang'E-2 satellite. The corresponded emissivity map not only eliminates the influence of the topography, but also hints the inherent properties of the lunar regolith just below the surface. Last but not the least, the distribution of the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) in the lunar pole area is also evaluated with the simulated surface temperature result.

3. Comparison of Continuous Wave CO2 Doppler Lidar Calibration Using Earth Surface Targets in Laboratory and Airborne Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jarzembski, Maurice A.; Srivastava, Vandana

1999-01-01

Routine backscatter, beta, measurements by an airborne or space-based lidar from designated earth surfaces with known and fairly uniform beta properties can potentially offer lidar calibration opportunities. This can in turn be used to obtain accurate atmospheric aerosol and cloud beta measurements on large spatial scales. This is important because achieving a precise calibration factor for large pulsed lidars then need not rest solely on using a standard hard target procedure. Furthermore, calibration from designated earth surfaces would provide an inflight performance evaluation of the lidar. Hence, with active remote sensing using lasers with high resolution data, calibration of a space-based lidar using earth's surfaces will be extremely useful. The calibration methodology using the earth's surface initially requires measuring beta of various earth surfaces simulated in the laboratory using a focused continuous wave (CW) CO2 Doppler lidar and then use these beta measurements as standards for the earth surface signal from airborne or space-based lidars. Since beta from the earth's surface may be retrieved at different angles of incidence, beta would also need to be measured at various angles of incidences of the different surfaces. In general, Earth-surface reflectance measurements have been made in the infrared, but the use of lidars to characterize them and in turn use of the Earth's surface to calibrate lidars has not been made. The feasibility of this calibration methodology is demonstrated through a comparison of these laboratory measurements with actual earth surface beta retrieved from the same lidar during the NASA/Multi-center Airborne Coherent Atmospheric Wind Sensor (MACAWS) mission on NASA's DC8 aircraft from 13 - 26 September, 1995. For the selected earth surface from the airborne lidar data, an average beta for the surface was established and the statistics of lidar efficiency was determined. This was compared with the actual lidar efficiency determined with the standard calibrating hard target.

4. High-temperature, reusable surface insulation system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

System is capable of withstanding extreme temperature environments ranging from -250 to 2300 F (116 K to 1543 K). System includes impervious, high-density, high-thermal-emittance outer coating which has low coefficient of thermal expansion matching that of insulation.

5. Estimation of soil moisture from diurnal surface temperature observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vandegriend, A. A.; Camillo, P. J.

1986-01-01

A coupled heat and moisture balance model was used to determine the thermal inertia of a grass covered top soil under different meteorological conditions. Relations between thermal inertia and soil moisture were established using the De Vries models for thermal conductivity and heat capacity to relate soil moisture and thermal inertia as a function of soil type. A sensitivity study of the surface roughness length and thermal inertia on diurnal surface temperature shows the necessity of focusing on the night time surface temperature rather than on the day time surface temperature, in order to estimate the soil moisture content of the top soil.

6. From dimming to brightening: decadal changes in solar radiation at Earth's surface.

PubMed

Wild, Martin; Gilgen, Hans; Roesch, Andreas; Ohmura, Atsumu; Long, Charles N; Dutton, Ellsworth G; Forgan, Bruce; Kallis, Ain; Russak, Viivi; Tsvetkov, Anatoly

2005-05-01

Variations in solar radiation incident at Earth's surface profoundly affect the human and terrestrial environment. A decline in solar radiation at land surfaces has become apparent in many observational records up to 1990, a phenomenon known as global dimming. Newly available surface observations from 1990 to the present, primarily from the Northern Hemisphere, show that the dimming did not persist into the 1990s. Instead, a widespread brightening has been observed since the late 1980s. This reversal is reconcilable with changes in cloudiness and atmospheric transmission and may substantially affect surface climate, the hydrological cycle, glaciers, and ecosystems. PMID:15879214

7. From Dimming to Brightening: Decadal Changes in Solar Radiation at Earth's Surface

SciTech Connect

Wild, Martin F.; Gilgen, Hans; Roesch, Andreas; Ohmura, Atsumu; Long, Charles N.; Dutton, Ellsworth G.; Forgan, B. W.; Kallis, A.; Russak, V.; Tsvetkov, Anatoly

2005-05-06

Variations in solar radiation incident at Earth's surface profoundly affect the human and terrestrial environment. A decline in solar radiation at land surfaces has become apparent in many observational records up to 1990, a phenomenon known as global dimming. Newly available surface observations from 1990 to the present, primarily from the Northern Hemisphere, show that the dimming did not persist into the 1990s. Instead, a widespread brightening has been observed since the late 1980s. This reversal is reconcilable with changes in cloudiness and atmospheric transmission and may substantially affect surface climate, the hydrological cycle, glaciers, and ecosystems.

8. Diel Surface Temperature Range Scales with Lake Size

PubMed Central

Woolway, R. Iestyn; Jones, Ian D.; Maberly, Stephen C.; French, Jon R.; Livingstone, David M.; Monteith, Donald T.; Simpson, Gavin L.; Thackeray, Stephen J.; Andersen, Mikkel R.; Battarbee, Richard W.; DeGasperi, Curtis L.; Evans, Christopher D.; de Eyto, Elvira; Feuchtmayr, Heidrun; Hamilton, David P.; Kernan, Martin; Krokowski, Jan; Rimmer, Alon; Rose, Kevin C.; Rusak, James A.; Ryves, David B.; Scott, Daniel R.; Shilland, Ewan M.; Smyth, Robyn L.; Staehr, Peter A.; Thomas, Rhian; Waldron, Susan; Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A.

2016-01-01

Ecological and biogeochemical processes in lakes are strongly dependent upon water temperature. Long-term surface warming of many lakes is unequivocal, but little is known about the comparative magnitude of temperature variation at diel timescales, due to a lack of appropriately resolved data. Here we quantify the pattern and magnitude of diel temperature variability of surface waters using high-frequency data from 100 lakes. We show that the near-surface diel temperature range can be substantial in summer relative to long-term change and, for lakes smaller than 3 km2, increases sharply and predictably with decreasing lake area. Most small lakes included in this study experience average summer diel ranges in their near-surface temperatures of between 4 and 7°C. Large diel temperature fluctuations in the majority of lakes undoubtedly influence their structure, function and role in biogeochemical cycles, but the full implications remain largely unexplored. PMID:27023200

9. The effect of ultrasonic post instrumentation on root surface temperature.

PubMed

Huttula, Andrew S; Tordik, Patricia A; Imamura, Glen; Eichmiller, Frederick C; McClanahan, Scott B

2006-11-01

This study measured root surface temperature changes when ultrasonic vibration, with and without irrigation, was applied to cemented endodontic posts. Twenty-six, extracted, single-rooted premolars were randomly divided into two groups. Root lengths were standardized, canals instrumented, obturated, and posts cemented into prepared spaces. Thermocouples were positioned at two locations on the proximal root surfaces. Samples were embedded in plaster and brought to 37 degrees C in a water bath. Posts were ultrasonically vibrated for 4 minutes while continuously measuring temperature. Two-way ANOVA compared effects of water coolant and thermocouple location on temperature change. Root surface temperatures were significantly higher (p < 0.001) when posts were instrumented dry. A trend for higher temperatures was observed at coronal thermocouples of nonirrigated teeth and at apical thermocouples of irrigated teeth (p = 0.057). Irrigation during post removal with ultrasonics had a significant impact on the temperature measured at the external root surface. PMID:17055912

10. Diel Surface Temperature Range Scales with Lake Size.

PubMed

Woolway, R Iestyn; Jones, Ian D; Maberly, Stephen C; French, Jon R; Livingstone, David M; Monteith, Donald T; Simpson, Gavin L; Thackeray, Stephen J; Andersen, Mikkel R; Battarbee, Richard W; DeGasperi, Curtis L; Evans, Christopher D; de Eyto, Elvira; Feuchtmayr, Heidrun; Hamilton, David P; Kernan, Martin; Krokowski, Jan; Rimmer, Alon; Rose, Kevin C; Rusak, James A; Ryves, David B; Scott, Daniel R; Shilland, Ewan M; Smyth, Robyn L; Staehr, Peter A; Thomas, Rhian; Waldron, Susan; Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A

2016-01-01

Ecological and biogeochemical processes in lakes are strongly dependent upon water temperature. Long-term surface warming of many lakes is unequivocal, but little is known about the comparative magnitude of temperature variation at diel timescales, due to a lack of appropriately resolved data. Here we quantify the pattern and magnitude of diel temperature variability of surface waters using high-frequency data from 100 lakes. We show that the near-surface diel temperature range can be substantial in summer relative to long-term change and, for lakes smaller than 3 km2, increases sharply and predictably with decreasing lake area. Most small lakes included in this study experience average summer diel ranges in their near-surface temperatures of between 4 and 7°C. Large diel temperature fluctuations in the majority of lakes undoubtedly influence their structure, function and role in biogeochemical cycles, but the full implications remain largely unexplored. PMID:27023200

11. Surface aerodynamic temperature modeling over rainfed cotton

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Evapotranspiration (ET) or latent heat flux (LE) can be spatially estimated as an energy balance (EB) residual for land surfaces using remote sensing inputs. The EB equation requires the estimation of net radiation (Rn), soil heat flux (G), and sensible heat flux (H). Rn and G can be estimated with ...

12. STS-53 view of OV-103's payload bay (PLB), the Moon, and Earth's surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

STS-53 view taken aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, captures the full moon backdropped against the blackness of space. The vertical tail points to the Earth's surface below. Also in the view is the payload bay (PLB) aft bulkhead and the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods.

13. AQUA AMSR-E Sea Surface Temperature

Gentemann, C. L.

2011-12-01

NASA's AQUA satellite carries the JAXA's Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E). The AQUA satellite was launched in May 2002 into a polar, sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 705 km, with a LECT of 1:30 AM/PM. AMSR-E has 12 channels corresponding to 6 frequencies; all except 23.8 GHz measure both vertical and horizontal polarizations. Geophysical retrievals of SST, wind speed, water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rain rates are calculated using a multi-stage linear regression algorithm derived through comprehensive radiative transfer model simulations. SST retrievals are prevented by rain, sun glint, near land emissions, and radio frequency interference due to geostationary satellite broadcasts. Since only a small number of retrievals are unsuccessful, almost complete global coverage is available daily. At high latitudes, where cloud cover regularly prevents infrared observations of SSTs, the microwave observations of SST provide a significant improvement to measurement capabilities. Validation of the datasets through comparison to the global drifting buoy networks yields mean biases of -0.02 K and standard deviations of 0.50 K. AMSR-E SSTs have been widely used for numerical weather prediction, ocean modeling, fisheries, and oceanographic research.

14. Surface tension of low-temperature aqueous solutions

SciTech Connect

Horibe, A.; Fukusako, S.; Yamada, M.

1996-03-01

Measurements of the surface tension have been carried out to determine the effects of both temperature and concentration on the surface tension of aqueous solutions of sodium chloride, propylene glycol, and ethylene glycol. A differential capillary-rise method was employed for the measurements. The results show that the surface tension of the ethylene glycol solution and the propylene glycol solution increases as the concentration of the solution decreases, while for the sodium chloride solution the surface tension increases monotonically as the concentration increases. The surface tension of the liquids was found to be an almost-linear function of temperature from 20{degrees}C to just above the freezing temperature. Equations for the surface tension of the three binary aqueous solutions as a function of temperature and concentration are presented.

15. Low temperature self-cleaning properties of superhydrophobic surfaces

Wang, Fajun; Shen, Taohua; Li, Changquan; Li, Wen; Yan, Guilong

2014-10-01

Outdoor surfaces are usually dirty surfaces. Ice accretion on outdoor surfaces could lead to serious accidents. In the present work, the superhydrophobic surface based on 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-Perfluorodecanethiol (PFDT) modified Ag/PDMS composite was prepared to investigate the anti-icing property and self-cleaning property at temperatures below freezing point. The superhydrophobic surface was deliberately polluted with activated carbon before testing. It was observed that water droplet picked up dusts on the cold superhydrophobic surface and took it away without freezing at a measuring temperature of -10 °C. While on a smooth PFDT surface and a rough surface base on Ag/PDMS composite without PFDT modification, water droplets accumulated and then froze quickly at the same temperature. However, at even lower temperature of -12 °C, the superhydrophobic surface could not prevent the surface water from icing. In addition, it was observed that the frost layer condensed from the moisture pay an important role in determining the low temperature self-cleaning properties of a superhydrophobic surface.

16. A simplified physically-based model to calculate surface water temperature of lakes from air temperature in climate change scenarios

Piccolroaz, S.; Toffolon, M.

2012-12-01

Modifications of water temperature are crucial for the ecology of lakes, but long-term analyses are not usually able to provide reliable estimations. This is particularly true for climate change studies based on Global Circulation Models, whose mesh size is normally too coarse for explicitly including even some of the biggest lakes on Earth. On the other hand, modeled predictions of air temperature changes are more reliable, and long-term, high-resolution air temperature observational datasets are more available than water temperature measurements. For these reasons, air temperature series are often used to obtain some information about the surface temperature of water bodies. In order to do that, it is common to exploit regression models, but they are questionable especially when it is necessary to extrapolate current trends beyond maximum (or minimum) measured temperatures. Moreover, water temperature is influenced by a variety of processes of heat exchange across the lake surface and by the thermal inertia of the water mass, which also causes an annual hysteresis cycle between air and water temperatures that is hard to consider in regressions. In this work we propose a simplified, physically-based model for the estimation of the epilimnetic temperature in lakes. Starting from the zero-dimensional heat budget, we derive a simplified first-order differential equation for water temperature, primarily forced by a seasonally varying external term (mainly related to solar radiation) and an exchange term explicitly depending on the difference between air and water temperatures. Assuming annual sinusoidal cycles of the main heat flux components at the atmosphere-lake interface, eight parameters (some of them can be disregarded, though) are identified, which can be calibrated if two temporal series of air and water temperature are available. We note that such a calibration is supported by the physical interpretation of the parameters, which provide good initial conditions. As a general result, the model allows one to obtain long-term series of estimated water temperatures, which can be valuably considered in climate change studies. The model has been applied to different lakes (Lake Baikal, Siberia; Lake Garda, Italy; Great Lakes, Canada and USA; Lake Mara, Canada) showing a noticeable agreement with the validation datasets and allowing for predictions of future trends of lake surface water temperature. Finally, it is worth noting that if the model is calibrated using air temperature series from climate models (global scale) and measured records of water temperature (lake scale), air temperatures are contemporaneously converted and downscaled. In conclusion, the model can be used as a downscaling tool, both for historical conditions and projected scenarios.

17. A plume model of transient diachronous uplift at the Earth's surface

Rudge, John F.; Shaw Champion, Max E.; White, Nicky; McKenzie, Dan; Lovell, Bryan

2008-03-01

Convection in the Earth's mantle appears to be strongly time-dependent on geological time scales. However, we lack direct observations which would help constrain the temporal variation of convection on time scales of 1-10 Ma. Recently, it has been demonstrated that transient uplift events punctuated the otherwise uniform thermal subsidence of sedimentary basins which fringe the Icelandic plume. In the Faroe-Shetland basin, three-dimensional seismic reflection surveys calibrated by well logs have been used to reconstruct a ˜ 55 million year old transient event. The minimum amount of uplift is 490 m, which grew and decayed within 2 Ma. This event has also been mapped 400 km further east in the North Sea basin, where peak uplift with an amplitude of 300 m occurred 0.3-1.6 Ma later. Neither observation can be explained by glacio-eustatic sea-level changes or by crustal shortening. We describe a simple fluid dynamical model which accounts for these transient and diachronous observations. In this model, we assume that the Icelandic plume was already in existence and that it had an axisymmetric geometry in which hot (e.g. 1400 °C) asthenospheric material flows away from a central conduit within a horizontal layer. A transient temperature anomaly introduced at the plume centre flows outward as an expanding annulus. Its geometry is calculated using radial flow between two parallel plates with a Poiseuille cross-stream velocity profile. The expanding annulus of hot asthenosphere generates transient isostatic uplift at the Earth's surface. Stratigraphic observations from both basins can be accounted for using a plume flux of 1.3 × 108 km3 Ma- 1 for a layer thickness of 100 km. Plume flux is broadly consistent with that required to account for Neogene (0-20 Ma) V-shaped ridges south of Iceland, although our transient temperature anomalies are larger. We suspect that the stratigraphic expression of transient convective behaviour is common and that a careful examination of appropriate records could yield important insights.

18. Dependence of the Runaway Threshold on Surface Water Distributions of Earth-like Planets

Nitta, A.

2014-12-01

Liquid water is one of the most important material not only for its large effect on planetary climate but also as a controlling factor of the habitability [e.g. Kasting et al., 1993]. Liquid water on the surface of a planet gets unstable and entirely vaporizes when the planet receives insolation above a certain critical value. In the following, the critical insolation is called the 'runaway threshold' [e.g. Kasting, 1988; Nakajima et al., 1992]. Recently, it is found that the runaway threshold strongly depends on the general circulation of the planetary atmosphere [Abe et al., 2011; Leconte et al., 2013; Wolf and Toon, 2014]. The planetary-scale surface water distribution is determined by the balance between the atmospheric water transport, which depends on the general circulation, and the surface water transport, which depends on the amount of water and topography. In the case of the Earth, large amount of sea water controls the surface water distribution. Generally, the atmospheric circulation transports water poleward, and in contrast, the surface waterflow homogenizes the distribution of surface water. When the surface waterflow is weak, surface water is localized around both poles. On the other hand, if the surface waterflow is strong, liquid water is found at any latitude. We call the former planet a 'land planet', and the latter planet an 'aqua planet'. Abe et al. [2011] discussed the difference of the runaway threshold between Earth-sized aqua and land planets using a 3-D model for the first time. They found that the surface water on a land planet is significantly more stable than that on an aqua planet against the large insolation. However, they discussed only 2 extreme cases of land and aqua planets. Here, we report results of numerical experiments to clarify the effect of waterflow on the runaway threshold of Earth-sized water planets with CCSR/NIES AGCM 5.4g [Numaguchi, 1999]. We assume the present Earth atmosphere with several simplifications. The strength of waterflow is expressed by the waterflow limit above which latitude the surface waterflow keeps a wet surface. Then, we found that the runaway threshold continuously varies with the waterflow limit from 180% of the present insolation at the Earth orbit (the case of extremely localized land planet), to 130% (aqua planet).

19. Possible rainfall reduction through reduced surface temperatures due to overgrazing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otterman, J.

1975-01-01

Surface temperature reduction in terrain denuded of vegetation (as by overgrazing) is postulated to decrease air convection, reducing cloudiness and rainfall probability during weak meteorological disturbances. By reducing land-sea daytime temperature differences, the surface temperature reduction decreases daytime circulation of thermally driven local winds. The described desertification mechanism, even when limited to arid regions, high albedo soils, and weak meteorological disturbances, can be an effective rainfall reducing process in many areas including most of the Mediterranean lands.

20. Mass Redistribution in the Core and Time-varying Gravity at the Earth's Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuang, Wei-Jia; Chao, Benjamin F.; Fang, Ming

2003-01-01

The Earth's liquid outer core is in convection, as suggested by the existence of the geomagnetic field in much of the Earth's history. One consequence of the convection is the redistribution of mass resulting from relative motion among fluid parcels with slightly different densities. This time dependent mass redistribution inside the core produces a small perturbation on the gravity field of the Earth. With our numerical dynamo solutions, we find that the mass redistribution (and the resultant gravity field) symmetric about the equator is much stronger than that anti-symmetric about the equator. In particular, J(sub 2) component is the strongest. In addition, the gravity field variation increases with the Rayleigh number that measures the driving force for the geodynamo in the core. With reasonable scaling from the current dynamo solutions, we could expect that at the surface of the Earth, the J(sub 2) variation from the core is on the order of l0(exp -16)/year relative to the mean (i.e. spherically symmetric) gravity field of the Earth. The possible shielding effect due to core-mantle boundary pressure variation loading is likely much smaller and is therefore negligible. Our results suggest that time-varying gravity field perturbation due to core mass redistribution may be measured with modem space geodetic observations, which will result a new means of detecting dynamical processes in the Earth's deep interior.

1. Offline land surface temperature assimilation in mumerical weather prediction output

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Land surface temperature plays an important role in land surface processes, and it is a key input to physically-based retrieval algorithms of important hydrological states and fluxes, such as soil moisture and evaporation. For this reason there are many independent estimates of land surface temperat...

2. Temperature Contours and Ghost Surfaces for Chaotic Magnetic Fields

SciTech Connect

Hudson, S. R.; Breslau, J.

2008-03-07

Steady state solutions for anisotropic heat transport in a chaotic magnetic field are determined numerically and compared to a set of 'ghost surfaces' -surfaces constructed via an action-gradient flow between the minimax and minimizing periodic orbits. The ghost surfaces are in remarkable agreement with the temperature contours.

3. Temperature Contours and Ghost-Surfaces for Chaotic Magnetic Fields

SciTech Connect

S.R. Hudson and J. Breslau

2008-01-31

Steady state solutions for anisotropic heat transport in a chaotic magnetic field are determined numerically and compared to a set of "ghost-surfaces", surfaces constructed via an action-gradient flow between the minimax and minimizing periodic orbits. The ghost-surfaces are in remarkable agreement with the temperature contours.

4. Mantle Dynamics of Super-Earth Extrasolar Planet under Extreme Temperature and Pressure Conditions Extreme Temperature and Pressure conditions

van den Berg, A. P.; Beebe, G.; Yuen, D. A.

2005-12-01

The recent discovery of an extrasolar planet with a mass 7.5 times that of the Earth has opened up new possibilities for planetary modelling because of the higher temperature T ( up to around 10,000 K ) and greater pressures P( up to 1,000 MPa ) involved. We have modelled the dynamics of this planet under these extreme conditions with an extended Boussinesq approximation , using a cartesian 2-D model. Rayleigh numbers of the order of 10**7 have been considered.Both the spinel to perovskite and perovskite to post-perovskite phase transitions have been accounted for, as well as temperature-dependent thermal conductivity, where the phonon, photon and electron thermal conductivities have been included because of the high T and P conditions. A strongly decreasing thermal expansivity for post-perovskite phase , varying by a factor of 20 across the super-earth mantle, has been included. These results reveal a tremendous difference in the style of mantle convection between constant and thermal conductivity models, all other parameters being kept the same. Temperature-dependent thermal conductivity, especially that of electron carriers, helps to develop obese plumes, even in the presence of a small value of thermal expansivity in the deep mantle, whereas weak convection is developed at the base of the mantle with constant thermal conductivity.

5. Spatial Patterns of Radiative Forcing and Surface Temperature Response

Shindell, D. T.

2014-12-01

Examination of radiative forcing (RF), a key measure of changes in the energy balance of the Earth, facilitates understanding of the role of various drivers of climate change. For short-lived compounds, the RF can be highly inhomogeneous geographically. The relationship between the spatial patterns of RF and climate response is poorly characterized, however. Here we examine the relationship between RF and surface temperature response in the latest generation of climate models. We find that the geographic distribution of historical changes in aerosol and ozone RF strongly influences the response, leading to substantial regional differences with respect to the response to quasi-uniform well-mixed greenhouse gases (WMGHG). In particular, the response in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) extratropics and tropics follows the forcing in those regions fairly closely. There is a stronger global sensitivity to historical aerosol plus ozone RF than to WMGHG RF with equivalent global mean value, as noted previously [D T Shindell, 2014] and a stronger response in much of the NH extratropics, especially in and downwind of industrialized areas. The enhanced response is shown to be particularly large over land plus polar ocean areas, where transient response occurs more rapidly and strong snow and ice albedo feedbacks operate. This response is not attributable to greater forcing over those regions, but rather appears to reflect a broad sensitivity of NH extratropical land areas to NH extratropical forcing. The models show substantial diversity in the enhancement of land+polar ocean response to aerosols plus ozone relative to WMGHG, and for ocean response some models show reduced sensitivity to aerosols plus ozone (though the multi-model mean shows an enhancement), suggesting that different representations of land and ocean adjustment timescales and regional heat transport contribute greatly to the differences in response to inhomogeneous forcing. In addition, areas with greatest variation across the CMIP5 models' simulations of historical surface temperature change are shown to correspond in most cases with areas where aerosol+ozone forcing has enhanced impact, suggesting that better characterization of those forcings could play an important role in improving modeling of regional climate change.

6. Estimation of Lunar Surface Temperatures: a Numerical Model

Bauch, K.; Hiesinger, H.; Helbert, J.

2009-04-01

7. Sea Ice Surface Temperature Product from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Key, Jeffrey R.; Casey, Kimberly A.; Riggs, George A.; Cavalieri, Donald J.

2003-01-01

Global sea ice products are produced from the Earth Observing System (EOS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board both the Terra and Aqua satellites. Daily sea ice extent and ice-surface temperature (IST) products are available at 1- and 4-km resolution. Validation activities have been undertaken to assess the accuracy of the MODIS IST product at the South Pole station in Antarctica and in the Arctic Ocean using near-surface air-temperature data from a meteorological station and drifting buoys. Results from the study areas show that under clear skies, the MODIS ISTs are very close to those of the near-surface air temperatures with a bias of -1.1 and -1.2 K, and an uncertainty of 1.6 and 1.7 K, respectively. It is shown that the uncertainties would be reduced if the actual temperature of the ice surface were reported instead of the near-surface air temperature. It is not possible to get an accurate IST from MODIS in the presence of even very thin clouds or fog, however using both the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) and the MODIS on the Aqua satellite, it may be possible to develop a relationship between MODIS-derived IST and ice temperature derived from the AMSR-E. Since the AMSR-E measurements are generally unaffected by cloud cover, they may be used to complement the MODIS IST measurements.

8. Radiation patterns of point sources situated close to structural interfaces and to the earth's surface

Jílek, Pert; Červený, Vlastislav

1996-03-01

The seismic wave field is considerably influenced by local structures close to the source and to the receiver. This applies to sources and receivers situated close to localized inhomogeneities, to structural interfaces, to the earth's surface, etc. In this paper we concentrate our attention mainly to the ray-theoretical radiation patterns of point sources situated close to the structural interfaces and to the earth's surface. In numerical modeling of high-frequency seismic wave fields by the ray method, the interaction of the source with the earth's surface has not usually been taken into account. The proposed procedure of the computation of the radiation patterns of point sources situated directly on structural interfaces and on the earth's surface is based on the zero-order approximation of the ray method, assuming that the length of the ray between the source and the receiver is long. The derived equations are extended to point sources located close to structural interface, to the earth's surface and to thin transition layers using the hybrid ray-reflectivity method, see Červený (1989). The thin layer need not be homogeneous; it may include an arbitrary inner layering (transition layers, laminas, etc.) The only requirement is for the layer to be thin. Roughly speaking, we require its thickness to be less than one quarter of the prevailing wavelength. The hybrid ray-reflectivity method describes well even certain non-ray effects (tunneling. S * waves, etc.). Explicit analytical expressions for radiation patterns for all above listed point sources are found. These expression have a local character and may be easily implemented into computer codes designed for the routine computation of ray amplitudes and synthetic ray seismograms in 2-D and 3-D, laterally varying isotropic layered and block structures by the ray method. Numerical examples of radiation patterns of P and S waves of point sources situated close to the earth's surface and to a thin low-velocity surface layer are presented and discussed. The explosive point source (center of dilatation) and the vertical and horizontal single force point sources are considered. It has been ascertained that the radiation patterns of point sources depend drastically on the depth of the source below the surface even if the depths vary within one quarter of the prevailing wavelength.

9. Application of radiometric surface temperature for surface energy balance estimation: John Monteith's contributions

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Over 25 years ago, Huband and Monteith paper’s investigating the radiative surface temperature and the surface energy balance of a wheat canopy, highlighted the key issues in computing fluxes with radiometric surface temperature. These included the relationship between radiometric and aerodynamic s...

10. Fourier power spectra of the geomagnetic field for circular paths on the Earth's surface.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alldredge, L.R.; Benton, E.R.

1986-01-01

The Fourier power spectra of geomagnetic component values, synthesized from spherical harmonic models, have been computed for circular paths on the Earth's surface. They are not found to be more useful than is the spectrum of magnetic energy outside the Earth for the purpose of separating core and crustal sources of the geomagnetic field. The Fourier power spectra of N and E geomagnetic components along nearly polar great circle paths exhibit some unusual characteristics that are explained by the geometric perspective of Fourier series on spheres developed by Yee. -Authors

11. Titan Surface Temperatures as Measured by Cassini CIRS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, Donald E.; Flasar, F.M.; Kunde, V.G.; Nixon, C.A.; Romani, P.N.; Samuelson, R.E.; Coustenis, A.; Courtin, R.

2009-01-01

Thermal radiation from the surface of Titan reaches space through a spectral window of low opacity at 19-microns wavelength. This radiance gives a measure of the brightness temperature of the surface. Composite Infrared Spectrometer' (CIRS) observations from Cassini during its first four years at Saturn have permitted latitude mapping of zonally averaged surface temperatures. The measurements are corrected for atmospheric opacity using the dependence of radiance on emission angle. With the more complete latitude coverage and much larger dataset of CIRS we have improved upon the original results from Voyager IRIS. CIRS measures the equatorial surface brightness temperature to be 93.7+/-0.6 K, the same as the temperature measured at the Huygens landing site. The surface brightness temperature decreases by 2 K toward the south pole and by 3 K toward the north pole. The drop in surface temperature between equator and north pole implies a 50% decrease in methane saturation vapor pressure and relative humidity; this may help explain the large northern lakes. The H2 mole fraction is derived as a by-product of our analysis and agrees with previous results. Evidence of seasonal variation in surface and atmospheric temperatures is emerging from CIRS measurements over the Cassini mission.

12. Comparison of two methods for contactless surface temperature measurement

Piasecka, Magdalena; Michalski, Dariusz; Strąk, Kinga

2016-03-01

The aim of the paper is to determine the temperature filed of the heating surface on the basis of temperature measurements taken by liquid crystal thermography and infrared thermography applied in boiling heat transfer research during FC-72 flow in minichannels, and to compare them. The essential part of the experimental stand is the test section with two parallel rectangular minichannels, each 1.7 mm deep, 24 mm wide and 360 mm long. It is possible to observe the channel surfaces through panes: of the first minichannel allows observing foil temperature changes on the plain side due to liquid crystal thermography (LCT), which required treating the foil surface with thermochromic liquid crystals, of the other minichannel enables detecting outer glass or foil surface temperature changes due to infrared thermography (IRT). Comparison of the results of the measurements are presented in graphical form as thermographs and as heating surface temperature vs. minichannel length. The differences between two sets of measurement data concerning the temperature of the heating surface obtained with LCT and IRT, were analyzed using: Pearson linear correlation coefficient, determination coefficient, Experimental Method Error and Method Accuracy. The comparative data analysis shows that similar values and distributions of the surface temperature were obtained from both techniques.

13. Radiometric Calibration of an Airborne CO2 Pulsed Doppler Lidar Using a Natural Earth Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cutten, Dean R.; Rothermel, Jeffry; Jarzembski, Maurice A.; Hardesty, R. Michael; Howell, James N.; Tratt, David M.; Srivastava, Vandana; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Radiometric calibration of an airborne CO2 pulsed Doppler lidar has been accomplished using surface retro-reflection signals from the White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA. Two circular passes were made at altitudes of 6.26 and 9.26 km. The computed calibration factors for both altitudes are in excellent agreement with the value derived from standard ground-based measurements involving a fixed sandpaper target of known reflectance. This finding corroborates a previous study that successfully calibrated an airborne continuous-wave Doppler lidar using a variety of natural Earth surfaces. The present results indicate that relatively uniform Earth-surface targets can be used for in-flight calibration of pulsed airborne, and, in principal, spaceborne lidars.

14. Radiometric calibration of an airborne CO2 pulsed Doppler lidar with a natural Earth surface

Cutten, Dean R.; Rothermel, Jeffry; Jarzembski, Maurice A.; Hardesty, R. Michael; Howell, James N.; Tratt, David M.; Srivastava, Vandana

2002-06-01

Radiometric calibration of an airborne CO2 pulsed Doppler lidar has been accomplished with surface retroreflection signals from the White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Two circular passes were made at altitudes of 6.3 and 9.3 km. The computed calibration factors for both altitudes are in excellent agreement with the value derived from standard ground-based measurements involving a fixed sandpaper target of known reflectance. This finding corroborates a previous study that successfully calibrated an airborne cw Doppler lidar with a variety of natural Earth surfaces. The present results indicate that relatively uniform Earth surface targets can be used for in-flight calibration of CO2 pulsed airborne and, in principal, other infrared lidars.

15. Radiometric calibration of an airborne CO2 pulsed Doppler lidar with a natural earth surface.

PubMed

Cutten, Dean R; Rothermel, Jeffry; Jarzembski, Maurice A; Hardesty, R Michael; Howell, James N; Tratt, David M; Srivastava, Vandana

2002-06-20

Radiometric calibration of an airborne CO2 pulsed Doppler lidar has been accomplished with surface retroreflection signals from the White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Two circular passes were made at altitudes of 6.3 and 9.3 km. The computed calibration factors for both altitudes are in excellent agreement with the value derived from standard ground-based measurements involving a fixed sandpaper target of known reflectance. This finding corroborates a previous study that successfully calibrated an airborne cw Doppler lidar with a variety of natural Earth surfaces. The present results indicate that relatively uniform Earth surface targets can be used for in-flight calibration of CO2 pulsed airborne and, in principal, other infrared lidars. PMID:12078677

16. Reproducibility of UAV-based earth surface topography based on structure-from-motion algorithms.

Clapuyt, François; Vanacker, Veerle; Van Oost, Kristof

2014-05-01

A representation of the earth surface at very high spatial resolution is crucial to accurately map small geomorphic landforms with high precision. Very high resolution digital surface models (DSM) can then be used to quantify changes in earth surface topography over time, based on differencing of DSMs taken at various moments in time. However, it is compulsory to have both high accuracy for each topographic representation and consistency between measurements over time, as DSM differencing automatically leads to error propagation. This study investigates the reproducibility of reconstructions of earth surface topography based on structure-from-motion (SFM) algorithms. To this end, we equipped an eight-propeller drone with a standard reflex camera. This equipment can easily be deployed in the field, as it is a lightweight, low-cost system in comparison with classic aerial photo surveys and terrestrial or airborne LiDAR scanning. Four sets of aerial photographs were created for one test field. The sets of airphotos differ in focal length, and viewing angles, i.e. nadir view and ground-level view. In addition, the importance of the accuracy of ground control points for the construction of a georeferenced point cloud was assessed using two different GPS devices with horizontal accuracy at resp. the sub-meter and sub-decimeter level. Airphoto datasets were processed with SFM algorithm and the resulting point clouds were georeferenced. Then, the surface representations were compared with each other to assess the reproducibility of the earth surface topography. Finally, consistency between independent datasets is discussed.

17. A Height Dependent Evaluation of Wind and Temperature over Europe in the CMIP5 Earth System Models

Devis, A.; Demuzere, M.; Van Lipzig, N. P. M.

2014-12-01

Global Circulation Models (GCMs) are commonly evaluated on their performance at pressure levels of 1000, 850 and 500hPa. However, due to their improved interaction with the surface and increasing resolution, the GCMs are getting more and more realistic in representing variables at lower levels. For downscaling practices this implies that the near-surface variables might become suitable as predictors in statistical models and might increase the added value of dynamical models. This work performs a height dependent evaluation of six of the Earth System Models (ESMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. The ESMs are evaluated on the representation of the Probability Density Functions (PDFs) of wind and temperature in the lowest 1.5km of the atmosphere over Europe, using ERA-Interim reanalysis data as the reference. Results indicate that apart from small-scale biases, the surface wind speed PDFs north of 45°N are well represented by all ESMs. Therefore they can be considered skillful inputs for statistical downscaling practices. In such a way statistical downscaling models might profit from predictors which are more closely related to the predictands. South of 45°N, winds are affected by a large-scale bias originating from errors in the representation of the large-scale circulation, especially during winter. For temperature, near-surface levels as well as upper-atmospheric levels are affected by small-scale and large-scale biases. The latter are adopted by the downscaling models, underlining the importance of model evaluation before downscaling. In general, the height-dependent near-surface evaluation approach that is adopted in this work, gives more insight in the origin of large-scale biases, defines up to which altitude ESMs are influenced by small-scale phenomena and determines the lowest levels for which temperature and wind speed PDFs are suitable input variables for downscaling models.

18. Ground-based measurement of surface temperature and thermal emissivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Owe, M.; Van De Griend, A. A.

1994-01-01

Motorized cable systems for transporting infrared thermometers have been used successfully during several international field campaigns. Systems may be configured with as many as four thermal sensors up to 9 m above the surface, and traverse a 30 m transect. Ground and canopy temperatures are important for solving the surface energy balance. The spatial variability of surface temperature is often great, so that averaged point measurements result in highly inaccurate areal estimates. The cable systems are ideal for quantifying both temporal and spatial variabilities. Thermal emissivity is also necessary for deriving the absolute physical temperature, and measurements may be made with a portable measuring box.

19. Theoretical estimation of surface Debye temperature of nano structured material

2016-05-01

The estimation of Debye temperature (TD) exploiting phonon is very important. In this work an attempt has been made to estimate TD for solids in a simple phenomenological approach. The ultimate goal is to estimate TD for nano structured material. The objective of this present work is to extend Debye model for nano-structured material and hence to extract the contribution to surface specific heat and surface Debye temperature. An empirical relation between TD and surface Debye temperature (TDS) is proposed. Lindemann melting criterion is also extended towards nano structure. The overall results obtained are compared and found to be in good agreement.

20. Topography, surface properties, and tectonic evolution. [of Venus and comparison with earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgill, G. E.; Warner, J. L.; Malin, M. C.; Arvidson, R. E.; Eliason, E.; Nozette, S.; Reasenberg, R. D.

1983-01-01

Differences in atmospheric composition, atmospheric and lithospheric temperature, and perhaps mantle composition, suggest that the rock cycle on Venus is not similar to the earth's. While radar data are not consistent with a thick, widespread and porous regolith like that of the moon, wind-transported regolith could be cemented into sedimentary rock that would be indistinguishable from other rocks in radar returns. The elevation spectrum of Venus is strongly unimodal, in contrast to the earth. Most topographic features of Venus remain enigmatic. Two types of tectonic model are proposed: a lithosphere too thick or buoyant to participate in convective flow, and a lithosphere which, in participating in convective flow, implies the existence of plate tectonics. Features consistent with earth-like plate tectonics have not been recognized.

1. Linking Surface Urban Heat Islands with Groundwater Temperatures.

PubMed

Benz, Susanne A; Bayer, Peter; Goettsche, Frank M; Olesen, Folke S; Blum, Philipp

2016-01-01

Urban temperatures are typically, but not necessarily, elevated compared to their rural surroundings. This phenomenon of urban heat islands (UHI) exists both above and below the ground. These zones are coupled through conductive heat transport. However, the precise process is not sufficiently understood. Using satellite-derived land surface temperature and interpolated groundwater temperature measurements, we compare the spatial properties of both kinds of heat islands in four German cities and find correlations of up to 80%. The best correlation is found in older, mature cities such as Cologne and Berlin. However, in 95% of the analyzed areas, groundwater temperatures are higher than land surface temperatures due to additional subsurface heat sources such as buildings and their basements. Local groundwater hot spots under city centers and under industrial areas are not revealed by satellite-derived land surface temperatures. Hence, we propose an estimation method that relates groundwater temperatures to mean annual land-surface temperatures, building density, and elevated basement temperatures. Using this method, we are able to accurately estimate regional groundwater temperatures with a mean absolute error of 0.9 K. PMID:26595444

2. Some environmental problems and their satellite monitoring. [anthropogenic modifications of earth surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otterman, J.

1975-01-01

Anthropogenic modification of the earth's surface is discussed in two problem areas: (1) land use changes and overgrazing, and how it affects albedo and land surface-atmosphere interactions, and (2) water and land surface pollution, especially oil slicks. A literature survey evidences the importance of these problems. The need for monitoring is stressed, and it is suggested that with some modifications to the sensors, ERTS (Landsat) series satellites can provide approximate monitoring information. The European Landsat receiving station in Italy will facilitate data collection for the tasks described.

3. Estimation of subsurface thermal structure using sea surface height and sea surface temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kang, Yong Q. (Inventor); Jo, Young-Heon (Inventor); Yan, Xiao-Hai (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A method of determining a subsurface temperature in a body of water is disclosed. The method includes obtaining surface temperature anomaly data and surface height anomaly data of the body of water for a region of interest, and also obtaining subsurface temperature anomaly data for the region of interest at a plurality of depths. The method further includes regressing the obtained surface temperature anomaly data and surface height anomaly data for the region of interest with the obtained subsurface temperature anomaly data for the plurality of depths to generate regression coefficients, estimating a subsurface temperature at one or more other depths for the region of interest based on the generated regression coefficients and outputting the estimated subsurface temperature at the one or more other depths. Using the estimated subsurface temperature, signal propagation times and trajectories of marine life in the body of water are determined.

4. Fault-rock magnetism from the earth surface trench closed to the Wenchuan Earthquake Surface Rupture Zone imply the different slip dynamics

Liu, D.; Li, H.; Lee, T. Q.; Sun, Z.

2014-12-01

The 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan Earthquake had induced two major earthquake surface rupture zones, including the Yingxiu-Beichuan earthquake fault (Y-B F.) and Guanxian-Anxian earthquake fault (G-A F.) earthquake surface rupture zones. This giant earthquake had caused great human and financial loss. After main shock, the Wenchuan earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling project (WFSD) was co-organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Land and Resources and China Bureau of Seismology, and this project focused on earthquake fault mechanics, earthquake slip process, fault physical and chemical characteristics, mechanical behavior, fluid behavior, fracture energy, and so on. In this study, the fault-rocks in the two trenches close to the two Wenchuan Earthquake surface rupture zone were used to discuss the earthquake slip dynamics, including the Bajiaomiao and Jiulong trenches along the Y-B F. and G-A F. earthquake surface rupture zones, respectively. This study also combined with the recent fault-rock magnetism from the earth surface and WFSD-1. The rock magnetism, from the Bajiaomiao trench and other previous researches, shows that the high susceptibility of the fault gouge along the Yingxiu-Beichuan earthquake fault zone was caused by the new-formed ferrimagnetic minerals, such as magnetite and hematite, so the Y-B F. had experienced high temperature and rapid speed thermal pressurization earthquake slip mechanism. The rock magnetism from the Jiulong trench implied that the slightly low average susceptibility of fault gouge was caused by high content of Fe-sulfides than that of fault breccia and Jurassic sandstones, which was possibly induced by earthquake process or earth surface process after the fault rocks exposed to the surface. If the high content of Fe-sulfides was induced by earthquake process, the G-A F. had experienced the low temperature and slow speed machanical lubrication earthquake slip mechanism. The different earthquake slip mechanism was possibly controlled by the deep structure of the two earthquake faults, such as the fault occurrence. The steep dip character of the Y-B F. could be easy to induce high temperature and rapid speed earthquake slip mechanism, while the low dip angle feature of the G-A F. could be easy to induce low temperature and slow speed earthquake slip mechanism.

5. Surface Temperatures on Titan; Changes During the Cassini Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, Donald E.; Cottini, Valeria; Nixon, Conor A.

2010-01-01

Surface brightness temperatures on Titan measured by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) aboard Cassini span the period from late northern winter to early spring. The CIRS observations cover all latitudes and can be used to study meridional changes with season. CIRS previously reported surface temperatures from 2004-2008 which were 93.7 K at the equator with decreases of 2 K toward the south pole and 3 K toward the north pole'. From a comparison of the equinox period with the earlier data, CIRS can now detect a seasonal shift in the latitudinal distribution of temperatures. Around the time of the equinox the meridional distribution was more symmetric about the equator than had been found earlier in the mission. The equatorial surface temperatures remained close to 94 K, but in the south the temperatures had decreased by about 0.5 K and in the north had increased by about 0.5 K. The CIRS equinox results are similar to what was seen near the previous vernal equinox by Voyager IRIS Z. The observed surface temperatures can help constrain the type of surface material by comparison with predictions from general circulation models. Of the three cases treated by Tokano t , our measurements most closely match a porous-ice regolith. As Cassini continues through Titan's northern spring CIRS will extend its temporal and spatial coverage and will continue to search for seasonal variations in surface temperature.

Hogan, Robin J.; Bozzo, Alessio

2015-06-01

Due to computational expense, the radiation schemes in many weather and climate models are called infrequently in time and/or on a reduced spatial grid. The former can lead to a lag in the diurnal cycle of surface temperature, while the latter can lead to large surface temperature errors at coastal land points due to surface fluxes computed over the ocean being used where the skin temperature and surface albedo are very different. This paper describes a computationally efficient solution to these problems, in which the surface longwave and shortwave fluxes are updated every time step and grid point according to the local skin temperature and albedo. In order that energy is conserved, it is necessary to compute the change to the net flux profile consistent with the changed surface fluxes. The longwave radiation scheme has been modified to compute also the rate of change of the profile of upwelling longwave flux with respect to the value at the surface. Then at each grid point and time step, the upwelling flux and heating-rate profiles are updated using the new value of skin temperature. The computational cost of performing approximate radiation updates in the ECMWF model is only 2% of the cost of the full radiation scheme, so increases the overall cost of the model by only of order 0.2%. Testing the new scheme by running daily 5 day forecasts over an 8 month period reveals significant improvement in 2 m temperature forecasts at coastal stations compared to observations.

7. Photoluminescence studies on rare earth titanates prepared by self-propagating high temperature synthesis method

Joseph, Lyjo K.; Dayas, K. R.; Damodar, Soniya; Krishnan, Bindu; Krishnankutty, K.; Nampoori, V. P. N.; Radhakrishnan, P.

2008-12-01

The laser-induced luminescence studies of the rare earth titanates (R 2Ti 2O 7) (R = La, Nd and Gd) using 355 nm radiation from an Nd:YAG laser are presented. These samples with submicron or nanometer size are prepared by the self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) method and there is no known fluorescence shown by these rare earths in the visible region. Hence, the luminescence transitions shown by the La 2Ti 2O 7 near 610 nm and Gd 2Ti 2O 7 near 767 nm are quite interesting. Though La 3+ ions with no 4f electrons have no electronic energy levels that can induce excitation and luminescence processes in the visible region, the presence of the Ti 3+ ions leads to luminescence in this region.

8. A framework for global diurnally-resolved observations of Land Surface Temperature

Ghent, D.; Remedios, J.; Pinnock, S.

2013-12-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is the radiative skin temperature of the land, and is one of the key parameters in the physics of land-surface processes on regional and global scales. Being a key boundary condition in land surface models, which determine the surface to atmosphere fluxes of heat, water and carbon; thus influencing cloud cover, precipitation and atmospheric chemistry predictions within Global models, the requirement for global diurnal observations of LST is well founded. Earth Observation satellites offer an opportunity to obtain global coverage of LST, with the appropriate exploitation of data from multiple instruments providing a capacity to resolve the diurnal cycle on a global scale. Here we present a framework for the production of global, diurnally resolved, data sets for LST which is a key request from users of LST data. We will show how the sampling of both geostationary and low earth orbit data sets could conceptually be employed to build combined, multi-sensor, pole-to-pole data sets. Although global averages already exist for individual instruments and merging of geostationary based LST is already being addressed operationally (Freitas, et al., 2013), there are still a number of important challenges to overcome. In this presentation, we will consider three of the issues still open in LST remote sensing: 1) the consistency amongst retrievals; 2) the clear-sky bias and its quantification; and 3) merging methods and the propagation of uncertainties. For example, the combined use of both geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) data, and both infra-red and microwave data are relatively unexplored but are necessary to make the most progress. Hence this study will suggest what is state-of-the-art and how considerable advances can be made, accounting also for recent improvements in techniques and data quality. The GlobTemperature initiative under the Data User Element of ESA's 4th Earth Observation Envelope Programme (2013-2017), which aims to support the wider uptake of global-scale satellite LST by the research and operational user communities, will be a particularly important element in the development and subsequent provision of global diurnal LST. This new project, with its emphasis on promoting the coherence and openness of interactions within the LST and user communities, will be well placed to deliver appropriate data, engage a wide audience and hence be a key promoter of LST research and development for the LST community. References Freitas, S.C., Trigo, I.F., Macedo, J., Barroso, C., Silva, R., & Perdigao, R., 2013, Land surface temperature from multiple geostationary satellites, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 34, 3051-3068.

9. A framework for global diurnally-resolved observations of Land Surface Temperature

Ghent, Darren; Remedios, John

2014-05-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is the radiative skin temperature of the land, and is one of the key parameters in the physics of land-surface processes on regional and global scales. Being a key boundary condition in land surface models, which determine the surface to atmosphere fluxes of heat, water and carbon; thus influencing cloud cover, precipitation and atmospheric chemistry predictions within Global models, the requirement for global diurnal observations of LST is well founded. Earth Observation satellites offer an opportunity to obtain global coverage of LST, with the appropriate exploitation of data from multiple instruments providing a capacity to resolve the diurnal cycle on a global scale. Here we present a framework for the production of global, diurnally resolved, data sets for LST which is a key request from users of LST data. We will show how the sampling of both geostationary and low earth orbit data sets could conceptually be employed to build combined, multi-sensor, pole-to-pole data sets. Although global averages already exist for individual instruments and merging of geostationary based LST is already being addressed operationally (Freitas, et al., 2013), there are still a number of important challenges to overcome. In this presentation, we will consider three of the issues still open in LST remote sensing: 1) the consistency amongst retrievals; 2) the clear-sky bias and its quantification; and 3) merging methods and the propagation of uncertainties. For example, the combined use of both geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) data, and both infra-red and microwave data are relatively unexplored but are necessary to make the most progress. Hence this study will suggest what is state-of-the-art and how considerable advances can be made, accounting also for recent improvements in techniques and data quality. The GlobTemperature initiative under the Data User Element of ESA's 4th Earth Observation Envelope Programme (2013-2017), which aims to support the wider uptake of global-scale satellite LST by the research and operational user communities, will be a particularly important element in the development and subsequent provision of global diurnal LST. References Freitas, S.C., Trigo, I.F., Macedo, J., Barroso, C., Silva, R., & Perdigao, R., 2013, Land surface temperature from multiple geostationary satellites, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 34, 3051-3068.

10. A physically based model of global freshwater surface temperature

Beek, Ludovicus P. H.; Eikelboom, Tessa; Vliet, Michelle T. H.; Bierkens, Marc F. P.

2012-09-01

Temperature determines a range of physical properties of water and exerts a strong control on surface water biogeochemistry. Thus, in freshwater ecosystems the thermal regime directly affects the geographical distribution of aquatic species through their growth and metabolism and indirectly through their tolerance to parasites and diseases. Models used to predict surface water temperature range between physically based deterministic models and statistical approaches. Here we present the initial results of a physically based deterministic model of global freshwater surface temperature. The model adds a surface water energy balance to river discharge modeled by the global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB. In addition to advection of energy from direct precipitation, runoff, and lateral exchange along the drainage network, energy is exchanged between the water body and the atmosphere by shortwave and longwave radiation and sensible and latent heat fluxes. Also included are ice formation and its effect on heat storage and river hydraulics. We use the coupled surface water and energy balance model to simulate global freshwater surface temperature at daily time steps with a spatial resolution of 0.5° on a regular grid for the period 1976-2000. We opt to parameterize the model with globally available data and apply it without calibration in order to preserve its physical basis with the outlook of evaluating the effects of atmospheric warming on freshwater surface temperature. We validate our simulation results with daily temperature data from rivers and lakes (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), limited to the USA) and compare mean monthly temperatures with those recorded in the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS) data set. Results show that the model is able to capture the mean monthly surface temperature for the majority of the GEMS stations, while the interannual variability as derived from the USGS and NOAA data was captured reasonably well. Results are poorest for the Arctic rivers because the timing of ice breakup is predicted too late in the year due to the lack of including a mechanical breakup mechanism. Moreover, surface water temperatures for tropical rivers were overestimated, most likely due to an overestimation of rainfall temperature and incoming shortwave radiation. The spatiotemporal variation of water temperature reveals large temperature differences between water and atmosphere for the higher latitudes, while considerable lateral transport of heat can be observed for rivers crossing hydroclimatic zones, such as the Nile, the Mississippi, and the large rivers flowing to the Arctic. Overall, our model results show promise for future projection of global surface freshwater temperature under global change.

11. Role of surface oxygen-to-metal ratio on the wettability of rare-earth oxides

Khan, Sami; Azimi, Gisele; Yildiz, Bilge; Varanasi, Kripa K.

2015-02-01

Hydrophobic surfaces that are robust can have widespread applications in drop-wise condensation, anti-corrosion, and anti-icing. Recently, it was shown that the class of ceramics comprising the lanthanide series rare-earth oxides (REOs) is intrinsically hydrophobic. The unique electronic structure of the rare-earth metal atom inhibits hydrogen bonding with interfacial water molecules resulting in a hydrophobic hydration structure where the surface oxygen atoms are the only hydrogen bonding sites. Hence, the presence of excess surface oxygen can lead to increased hydrogen bonding and thereby reduce hydrophobicity of REOs. Herein, we demonstrate how surface stoichiometry and surface relaxations can impact wetting properties of REOs. Using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and wetting measurements, we show that freshly sputtered ceria is hydrophilic due to excess surface oxygen (shown to have an O/Ce ratio of ˜3 and a water contact angle of ˜15°), which when relaxed in a clean, ultra-high vacuum environment isolated from airborne contaminants reaches close to stoichiometric O/Ce ratio (˜2.2) and becomes hydrophobic (contact angle of ˜104°). Further, we show that airborne hydrocarbon contaminants do not exclusively impact the wetting properties of REOs, and that relaxed REOs are intrinsically hydrophobic. This study provides insight into the role of surface relaxation on the wettability of REOs.

12. Role of surface oxygen-to-metal ratio on the wettability of rare-earth oxides

SciTech Connect

Khan, Sami; Varanasi, Kripa K.; Azimi, Gisele; Yildiz, Bilge

2015-02-09

Hydrophobic surfaces that are robust can have widespread applications in drop-wise condensation, anti-corrosion, and anti-icing. Recently, it was shown that the class of ceramics comprising the lanthanide series rare-earth oxides (REOs) is intrinsically hydrophobic. The unique electronic structure of the rare-earth metal atom inhibits hydrogen bonding with interfacial water molecules resulting in a hydrophobic hydration structure where the surface oxygen atoms are the only hydrogen bonding sites. Hence, the presence of excess surface oxygen can lead to increased hydrogen bonding and thereby reduce hydrophobicity of REOs. Herein, we demonstrate how surface stoichiometry and surface relaxations can impact wetting properties of REOs. Using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and wetting measurements, we show that freshly sputtered ceria is hydrophilic due to excess surface oxygen (shown to have an O/Ce ratio of ∼3 and a water contact angle of ∼15°), which when relaxed in a clean, ultra-high vacuum environment isolated from airborne contaminants reaches close to stoichiometric O/Ce ratio (∼2.2) and becomes hydrophobic (contact angle of ∼104°). Further, we show that airborne hydrocarbon contaminants do not exclusively impact the wetting properties of REOs, and that relaxed REOs are intrinsically hydrophobic. This study provides insight into the role of surface relaxation on the wettability of REOs.

13. Surface temperatures and glassy state investigations in tribology, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winer, W. O.; Sanborn, D. M.

1978-01-01

The research in this report is divided into two categories: (1) lubricant rheological behavior, and (2) thermal behavior of a simulated elastohydrodynamic contact. The studies of the lubricant rheological behavior consists of high pressure, low shear rate viscosity measurements, viscoelastic transition measurements, by volume dilatometry, dielectric transitions at atmospheric pressure and light scattering transitions. Lubricant shear stress-strain behavior in the amorphous glassy state was measured on several fluids. It appears clear from these investigations that many lubricants undergo viscoplastic transitions in typical EHD contacts and that the lubricant has a limiting maximum shear stress it can support which in turn will determine the traction in the contact except in cases of very low slide-roll ratio. Surface temperature measurements were made for a naphthenic mineral oil and a polyphenyl ether. The maximum surface temperature in these experiments was approximately symmetrical about the zero slide-roll ration except for absolute values of slide-roll ratio greater than about 0.9. Additional surface temperature measurements were made in contacts with rough surfaces where the composite surface roughness was approximately equal to the EHD film thickness. A regression analysis was done to obtain a predictive equation for surface temperatures as a function of pressure, sliding speed, and surface roughness. A correction factor for surface roughness effects to the typical flash temperature analysis was found.

14. Role of Surface Temperature Inversions in Arctic Amplification

Lesins, G. B.; Duck, T. J.; Drummond, J. R.

2010-12-01

Arctic surface temperatures are warming at a rate several times larger than the global average in a phenomenon called Arctic Amplification. Although a number of feedback mechanisms, including sea ice reduction, enhanced meridional heat transport and changing aerosol and cloud properties, have been proposed to explain the amplification, the role of low level atmospheric stability has not received as much attention. The Arctic atmospheric boundary layer typically possesses a surface-based temperature inversion that is particularly stable and deep during the winter half of the year. The presence of the inversion stratifies the boundary layer inhibiting the vertical transport of sensible and latent heats. Hence the surface temperature response to a perturbation in the downward radiative forcing is enhanced by the presence of a stable surface layer. By using the operational surface weather observations and tropospheric soundings it was found that the magnitude of the surface temperature warming from 1984 to 2007 at Eureka (80N, 86.2W), in the Canadian High Arctic, has a large seasonal dependence that is linked to the strength of the surface-based temperature inversion. The Arctic Amplification Factor at Eureka in this time period is ~5x. The enhanced warming in the presence of a stronger inversion is an important contributor to the Arctic amplification phenomenon. The inversion augments the amplification caused by forcing and feedback mechanisms associated with regional climate change. Partitioning the data set according to cloud cover and surface wind speeds helps to demonstrate more clearly the role of the inversion.

15. Combined land/sea surface-air-temperature trends, 1949-1972

SciTech Connect

Chen, R.S.

1982-04-01

A major deficiency in most previous studies of fluctuations in the earth's climate based on air temperature records has been the dearth of data from oceanic areas and the Southern Hemisphere. This study analyzes a unique collection of ship-based observations of surface air temperature assembled by the UK Meteorological Office in parallel with the station-based dataset developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research from the publications World Weather Records and Monthly Climatic Data for the World. Based on this much more geographically comprehensive database, it is concluded that, during the 24-year period 1949 to 1972, no statistically significant warming or cooling trends were evident in the time series of globally averaged surface air temperature measurements. However, temperature trends did vary latitudinally, with significant cooling in northern extra-tropical latitudes, no trend in equatorial latitudes, and significant but not homogeneous warming in southern extra-tropical latitudes. Time series of air temperatures over land and sea exhibited qualitatively similar behavior over the period 1949 to 1972, indicative of both the comparable quality of the two datasets and the probable lack of significant widespread bias in the land-based measurements due to urban development. The results of this study underscore the need for dense and geographically comprehensive measurements from both land and ocean areas and from both hemispheres in analyzing the global behavior of the earth's climate.

16. Surface phase separation and collapse of the stearate anion--alkaline earth cation complex.

PubMed

Patil, G S; Cornwell, D G

1977-01-01

The surface properties of fatty acid and fatty acid-alcohol mixtures were examined at 22-24 degrees C. At pH 12, sodium stearate forms a rigid surface film that generates an equilibrium spreading pressure of 16.5 dynes/cm. At pH 12, stearate-alkaline earth cation films collapse at the air-water interface and do not generate significant equilibrium spreading pressures. The rate of film collapse depends on the counterion decreasing in the sequence Ba2+ greater than Sr2+ greater than Ca2+. Stearate-stearyl alcohol mixtures form solid (condensed) films that are relatively stable and behave initially as homogeneous surfaces in their selectivities for counterions. Stearate-oleyl alcohol mixtures form fluid (expanded) films that are unstable. Lateral phase separations occur rapidly in fluid films and the stearate-alkaline earth cation phase collapses. The rate of film collapse in the fluid mixtures also depends on the counterion decreasing in the sequence Ba2+ greater than Ca2+. These surface properties suggest how a lipid anion may function as an ionophore in the translocation of alkaline earth cations. PMID:833501

17. Implications for Core Formation of the Earth from High Pressure-Temperature Au Partitioning Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Danielson, L. R.; Sharp, T. G.; Hervig, R. L.

2005-01-01

Siderophile elements in the Earth.s mantle are depleted relative to chondrites. This is most pronounced for the highly siderophile elements (HSEs), which are approximately 400x lower than chondrites. Also remarkable is the relative chondritic abundances of the HSEs. This signature has been interpreted as representing their sequestration into an iron-rich core during the separation of metal from silicate liquids early in the Earth's history, followed by a late addition of chondritic material. Alternative efforts to explain this trace element signature have centered on element partitioning experiments at varying pressures, temperatures, and compositions (P-T-X). However, first results from experiments conducted at 1 bar did not match the observed mantle abundances, which motivated the model described above, a "late veneer" of chondritic material deposited on the earth and mixed into the upper mantle. Alternatively, the mantle trace element signature could be the result of equilibrium partitioning between metal and silicate in the deep mantle, under P-T-X conditions which are not yet completely identified. An earlier model determined that equilibrium between metal and silicate liquids could occur at a depth of approximately 700 km, 27(plus or minus 6) GPa and approximately 2000 (plus or minus 200) C, based on an extrapolation of partitioning data for a variety of moderately siderophile elements obtained at lower pressures and temperatures. Based on Ni-Co partitioning, the magma ocean may have been as deep as 1450 km. At present, only a small range of possible P-T-X trace element partitioning conditions has been explored, necessitating large extrapolations from experimental to mantle conditions for tests of equilibrium models. Our primary objective was to reduce or remove the additional uncertainty introduced by extrapolation by testing the equilibrium core formation hypothesis at P-T-X conditions appropriate to the mantle.

18. Autonomous Flying Platforms for Atmospheric and Earth Surface Observations (APAESO) - A pioneering research facility in Cyprus

Lange, Manfred; Teller, Amit; Keleshis, Christos; Ioannou, Stelios; Philimis, Panayiotis; Lelieveld, Jos; Levin, Zev

2010-05-01

The use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) has increased dramatically in the recent decades. UASs are widely used for different civil applications such as land management, earth sciences, contaminant detection and monitoring and commercial use. The Autonomous Flying Platforms for Atmospheric and Earth Surface Observations project (APAESO) of the Energy, Environment and Water Research Center (EEWRC) at the Cyprus Institute is aimed at the dual purpose of carrying out atmospheric and earth-surface observations in the Mediterranean. The APAESO UAS platforms will provide the unique ability to produce 3D measurements for determining: physical, chemical and radiative atmospheric properties, aerosol and dust concentrations and atmospheric dynamics as well as 2D investigations into: surface morphology, vegetation and land use patterns, archaeological site reconnaissance, contaminant detection and ocean surface properties (biology, waves, currents) at high spatial resolution. Through a modular design philosophy, APAESO will be very adaptable for a variety of scientific investigations enabling scientific collaborations between the Cyprus Institute and national and international research organizations. The Cyprus Institute is currently procuring the "Cruiser", which is a medium size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that is capable of carrying a payload of up to 10 kg, fly to altitude of 5000 m AGL with an endurance of up to 10 hours. Within the next phase of the project, the "Cruiser" will be equipped with instruments for atmospheric and earth surface observations. The poster will present the different components of the project: the UAS platform, payload to be integrated and scientific challenges that we are about to tackle and solve.

19. Compensation for effects of ambient temperature on rare-earth doped fiber optic thermometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adamovsky, G.; Sotomayor, J. L.; Krasowski, M. J.; Eustace, J. G.

1989-01-01

Variations in ambient temperature have a negative effect on the performance of any fiber optic sensing system. A change in ambient temperature may alter the design parameters of fiber optic cables, connectors, sources, detectors, and other fiber optic components and eventually the performance of the entire system. The thermal stability of components is especially important in a system which employs intensity modulated sensors. Several referencing schemes have been developed to account for the variable losses that occur within the system. However, none of these conventional compensating techniques can be used to stabilize the thermal drift of the light source in a system based on the spectral properties of the sensor material. The compensation for changes in ambient temperature becomes especially important in fiber optic thermometers doped with rare earths. Different approaches to solving this problem are searched and analyzed.

20. Compensation for effects of ambient temperature on rare-earth doped fiber optic thermometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adamovsky, G.; Sotomayor, J. L.; Krasowski, M. J.; Eustace, J. G.

1990-01-01

Variations in ambient temperature have a negative effect on the performance of any fiber optic sensing system. A change in ambient temperature may alter the design parameters of fiber optic cables, connectors, sources, detectors, and other fiber optic components and eventually the performance of the entire system. The thermal stability of components is especially important in a system which employs intensity modulated sensors. Several referencing schemes have been developed to account for the variable losses that occur within the system. However, none of these conventional compensating techniques can be used to stabilize the thermal drift of the light source in a system based on the spectral properties of the sensor material. The compensation for changes in ambient temperature becomes especially important in fiber optic thermometers doped with rare earths. Different approaches to solving this problem are searched and analyzed.

1. Surface Tension Gradients Induced by Temperature: The Thermal Marangoni Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gugliotti, Marcos; Baptisto, Mauricio S.; Politi, Mario J.

2004-01-01

Surface tensions gradients were generated in a thin liquid film because of the local increase in temperature, for demonstration purposes. This is performed using a simple experiment and allows different alternatives for heat generation to be used.

2. LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE RETRIEVAL FROM MODIS AND GOES 8

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Land surface temperature (LST) and its diurnal variation are important observable characteristics when evaluating climate change, land-atmosphere energy exchange processes and the global hydrologic cycle. These characteristics are observable from satellite platforms using thermal infrared, but doin...

1999-06-01

4. Field spectroscopy sampling strategies for improved measurement of Earth surface reflectance

Mac Arthur, A.; Alonso, L.; Malthus, T. J.; Moreno, J. F.

2013-12-01

Over the last two decades extensive networks of research sites have been established to measure the flux of carbon compounds and water vapour between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere using eddy covariance (EC) techniques. However, contributing Earth surface components cannot be determined and (as the ';footprints' are spatially constrained) these measurements cannot be extrapolated to regional cover using this technique. At many of these EC sites researchers have been integrating spectral measurements with EC and ancillary data to better understand light use efficiency and carbon dioxide flux. These spectroscopic measurements could also be used to assess contributing components and provide support for imaging spectroscopy, from airborne or satellite platforms, which can provide unconstrained spatial cover. Furthermore, there is an increasing interest in ';smart' database and information retrieval systems such as that proposed by EcoSIS and OPTIMISE to store, analyse, QA and merge spectral and biophysical measurements and provide information to end users. However, as Earth surfaces are spectrally heterogeneous and imaging and field spectrometers sample different spatial extents appropriate field sampling strategies require to be adopted. To sample Earth surfaces spectroscopists adopt either single; random; regular grid; transect; or 'swiping' point sampling strategies, although little comparative work has been carried out to determine the most appropriate approach; the work by Goetz (2012) is a limited exception. Mac Arthur et al (2012) demonstrated that, for two full wavelength (400 nm to 2,500 nm) field spectroradiometers, the measurement area sampled is defined by each spectroradiometer/fore optic system's directional response function (DRF) rather than the field-of-view (FOV) specified by instrument manufacturers. Mac Arthur et al (2012) also demonstrated that each reflecting element within the sampled area was not weighted equally in the integrated measurement recorded. There were non-uniformities of spectral response with the spectral ';weighting' per wavelength interval being positionally dependent and unique to each spectroradiometer/fore optic system investigated. However, Mac Arthur et al (2012) did not provide any advice on how to compensate for these systematic errors or advise on appropriate sampling strategies. The work reported here will provide the first systematic study of the effect of field spectroscopy sampling strategies for a range of different Earth surface types. Synthetic Earth surface hyperspectral data cubes for each surface type were generated and convolved with a range of the spectrometer/fore optic system directional response functions generated by Mac Arthur et al 2013, to simulate spectroscopic measurements of Earth surfaces. This has enabled different field sampling strategies to be directly compared and their suitability for each measurement purpose and surface type to be assessed and robust field spectroscopy sampling strategy recommendations to be made. This will be particularly of interest to the carbon and water vapour flux communities and assist the development of sampling strategies for field spectroscopy from rotary-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which will aid acquiring measurements in the spatial domain, and generally further the use of field spectroscopy for quantitative Earth observation.

5. High temperature photoelectron emission and surface photovoltage in semiconducting diamond

SciTech Connect

Williams, G. T.; Cooil, S. P.; Roberts, O. R.; Evans, S.; Langstaff, D. P.; Evans, D. A.

2014-08-11

A non-equilibrium photovoltage is generated in semiconducting diamond at above-ambient temperatures during x-ray and UV illumination that is sensitive to surface conductivity. The H-termination of a moderately doped p-type diamond (111) surface sustains a surface photovoltage up to 700 K, while the clean (2 × 1) reconstructed surface is not as severely affected. The flat-band C 1s binding energy is determined from 300 K measurement to be 283.87 eV. The true value for the H-terminated surface, determined from high temperature measurement, is (285.2 ± 0.1) eV, corresponding to a valence band maximum lying 1.6 eV below the Fermi level. This is similar to that of the reconstructed (2 × 1) surface, although this surface shows a wider spread of binding energy between 285.2 and 285.4 eV. Photovoltage quantification and correction are enabled by real-time photoelectron spectroscopy applied during annealing cycles between 300 K and 1200 K. A model is presented that accounts for the measured surface photovoltage in terms of a temperature-dependent resistance. A large, high-temperature photovoltage that is sensitive to surface conductivity and photon flux suggests a new way to use moderately B-doped diamond in voltage-based sensing devices.

6. Surface temperature changes following the six major volcanic episodes between 1780 and 1980

Angell, J. K.; Korshover, J.

1985-09-01

The effects produced by volcanic eruptions on the surface temperature have been a matter of controversy for decades. The present investigation has the objective to examine volcanic eruptions individually to find out which eruptions have been followed by a cooling and which have not, taking into account possible reasons for this difference. The six volcanic episodes between 1780 and 1980 with the largest dust-veil indexes have been chosen. The variation in mean-annual surface temperature from ten years before to ten years after the eruption are considered. The events selected include the eruptions of Asama and Laki in 1783, Tambora in 1815, Coseguina in 1835, Krakatoa in 1883, Santa Maria, Soufriere, and Pelee in 1902, and Agung in 1963). It is found that, while volcanic eruptions certainly do not cause a warming of the earth's surface, the evidence that they cause cooling is not overly impressive either.

7. Global shortwave energy budget at the earth's surface from ERBE observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Breon, Francois-Marie; Frouin, Robert

1994-01-01

8. THERM Simulations of Window Indoor Surface Temperatures for Predicting Condensation

SciTech Connect

Kohler, Christian; Arasteh, Dariush; Mitchell, Robin

2001-05-18

As part of a ''round robin'' project, the performance of two wood windows and a Calibrated Transfer Standard was modeled using the THERM heat-transfer simulation program. The resulting interior surface temperatures can be used as input to condensation resistance rating procedures. The Radiation and Condensation Index features within THERM were used to refine the accuracy of simulation results. Differences in surface temperatures between the ''Basic'' calculations and those incorporating the Radiation and/or Condensation Index features are demonstrated and explained.

9. Sea Surface Temperature from EUMETSAT Including Sentinel-3 SLSTR

O'Carroll, Anne; Bonekamp, Hans; Montagner, Francois; Santacesaria, Vincenzo; Tomazic, Igor

2015-12-01

The paper gives an overview of sea surface temperature (SST) activities at EUMETSAT including information on SST planned from the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR). Operational oceanography activities within the Marine Applications group at EUMETSAT continue with a focus on SST, sea surface winds, sea-ice products, radiative fluxes, significant wave height and sea surface topography. These are achieved through the mandatory, optional and third-party programmes, and for some products with the EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea-Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF). Progress towards products from sea-ice surface temperature, ocean colour products, turbidity and aerosol optical depth over water continue. Information on oceanography products from EUMETSAT can be found through the product navigator (http://navigator.eumetsat.int). EUMETSAT have been collaborating with ESA for a number of years on the development of SST for SLSTR.

10. Surface temperature transients from pulsed laser heating of UO 2

Yagnik, S. K.; Olander, D. R.

1988-07-01

Surface heating of UO 2 by a pulsed laser was investigated theoretically and experimentally. Targets of solid uranium dioxide in vacuum were rapidly heated to peak temperatures of 3700 K, as measured by a fast-response automatic optical pyrometer. The measured target surface temperatures were compared with a one-dimensional heat transport model that accounts for conduction and melting in the solid and ablation and radiation from the surface. Congruent vaporization of UO 2 was assumed. The measured temporal and spatial characteristics of the laser beam as well as temperature-dependent physical and thermodynamic properties of UO 2 are used as input to the calculations. Agreement of the theory with the measurements was further validated by post-irradiation microscopic examination of the target surface. Additional tests were performed to assess qualitatively the attenuation of laser light and thermal radiation from the surface by the vapor blow-off from the target. This effect was found to be insignificant.

11. Surface Temperatures on Titan During Northern Winter and Spring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, D. E.; Cottini, V.; Nixon, C. A.; Achterberg, R. K.; Flasar, F. M.; Kunde ,V. G.; Romani, P. N.; Samuelson, R. E.; Mamoutkine, A.; Gorius, N. J. P.; Coustenis, A.; Tokano, T.

2016-01-01

Meridional brightness temperatures were measured on the surface of Titan during the 2004-2014 portion of the Cassini mission by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer. Temperatures mapped from pole to pole during five two year periods show a marked seasonal dependence. The surface temperature near the south pole over this time decreased by 2 K from 91.7 plus or minus 0.3 to 89.7 plus or minus 0.5 K while at the north pole the temperature increased by 1 K from 90.7 plus or minus 0.5 to 91.5 plus or minus 0.2 K. The latitude of maximum temperature moved from 19 S to 16 N, tracking the subsolar latitude. As the latitude changed, the maximum temperature remained constant at 93.65 plus or minus 0.15 K. In 2010 our temperatures repeated the north-south symmetry seen by Voyager one Titan year earlier in 1980. Early in the mission, temperatures at all latitudes had agreed with GCM predictions, but by 2014 temperatures in the north were lower than modeled by 1 K. The temperature rise in the north may be delayed by cooling of sea surfaces and moist ground brought on by seasonal methane precipitation and evaporation.

12. Surface Temperatures on Titan during Northern Winter and Spring

Jennings, D. E.; Cottini, V.; Nixon, C. A.; Achterberg, R. K.; Flasar, F. M.; Kunde, V. G.; Romani, P. N.; Samuelson, R. E.; Mamoutkine, A.; Gorius, N. J. P.; Coustenis, A.; Tokano, T.

2016-01-01

Meridional brightness temperatures were measured on the surface of Titan during the 2004-2014 portion of the Cassini mission by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer. Temperatures mapped from pole to pole during five two-year periods show a marked seasonal dependence. The surface temperature near the south pole over this time decreased by 2 K from 91.7 ± 0.3 to 89.7 ± 0.5 K while at the north pole the temperature increased by 1 K from 90.7 ± 0.5 to 91.5 ± 0.2 K. The latitude of maximum temperature moved from 19 S to 16 N, tracking the sub-solar latitude. As the latitude changed, the maximum temperature remained constant at 93.65 ± 0.15 K. In 2010 our temperatures repeated the north-south symmetry seen by Voyager one Titan year earlier in 1980. Early in the mission, temperatures at all latitudes had agreed with GCM predictions, but by 2014 temperatures in the north were lower than modeled by 1 K. The temperature rise in the north may be delayed by cooling of sea surfaces and moist ground brought on by seasonal methane precipitation and evaporation.

13. Surface Temperature Responses to Natural and Anthropogenic Influences: Past, Present, and Future

Lean, Judith

2010-02-01

Earth's surface temperature is highly variable. Regional and seasonal changes, which can exceed the global mean variations by an order of magnitude, arise from both natural and anthropogenic influences, On time scales of years to a decade, naturally induced surface temperature changes related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), volcanic aerosols and solar activity can dominate current anthropogenic warming of 0.2^oC per decade, especially in some locations. Knowledge of surface temperatures in the immediate future aids in energy usage, land management and crop productivity, tourism and public health. A multivariate analysis that decomposes the observed surface temperature record (globally, regionally and in different seasons) suggests that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases caused much (˜90%) of the long-term warming in the twentieth century. But declining global temperature since 1998, the warmest year on record, has produced wide-spread speculation that anthropogenic influences were not, in fact, the cause of the twentieth century warming or, if so, that their impact has now ceased. However, the exceptional warmth in 1998 was the result of a super'' El Nino. Subsequent global surface temperatures have not reach this level because cooling from La Nina events combined with declining solar brightness has countered much of the anthropogenic warming of the past 6 years. Using the best available estimates of future solar and anthropogenic influences we anticipate that global surface temperatures will increase 0.15^oC, from 2009 to 2014, at a rate 50% greater than predicted by IPCC. But as a result of declining solar activity in the subsequent five years, average temperature in 2019 is only 0.03^oC warmer than in 2014. A major volcanic eruption or a super ENSO would modify these projections, in ways that can be factored into the forecasts. )

14. Global Surface Temperature Change and Uncertainties Since 1861

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, Samuel S. P.; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The objective of this talk is to analyze the warming trend and its uncertainties of the global and hemi-spheric surface temperatures. By the method of statistical optimal averaging scheme, the land surface air temperature and sea surface temperature observational data are used to compute the spatial average annual mean surface air temperature. The optimal averaging method is derived from the minimization of the mean square error between the true and estimated averages and uses the empirical orthogonal functions. The method can accurately estimate the errors of the spatial average due to observational gaps and random measurement errors. In addition, quantified are three independent uncertainty factors: urbanization, change of the in situ observational practices and sea surface temperature data corrections. Based on these uncertainties, the best linear fit to annual global surface temperature gives an increase of 0.61 +/- 0.16 C between 1861 and 2000. This lecture will also touch the topics on the impact of global change on nature and environment. as well as the latest assessment methods for the attributions of global change.

15. Spatiotemporal relationships in the structure of the 80-year time series of observations of local surface air temperatures

Kurbasova, G. S.; Korsakova, S. P.; Rybalova, M. N.; Shlikar', G. N.

2012-06-01

A semipermanent solar flux arrives to Earth and ensures the observable level of illumination and the average surface temperature. Solar energy incoming to the Earth's surface is uneven and depends primarily on the Earth's position in orbit, the speed of its rotation, and local and regional conditions. The sharp increase in the global surface temperature over the past 30 years has been accompanied by corresponding changes in local climate characteristics that significantly affected the state of the environment and economy. In this work, we discuss the results of an analysis of the 80-year time series of observations of the local surface air temperatures at Nikitskii Garden, Hydrometeorological Center of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea with the goal of establishing spatial and temporal relationships with the global geophysical, atmospheric, and heliophysical processes. A model is constructed that approximates the experimental measurements of the surface air temperatures in the Nikitskii Garden section in 1930-2010 with a relative error of 9.8%. We discuss the extrapolation results of the annual average temperatures.

16. Higher Flux from the Young Sun as an Explanation for Warm Temperatures for Early Earth and Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sackmann, I.-Juliana

2001-01-01

Observations indicate that the Earth was at least warm enough for liquid water to exist as far back as 4 Gyr ago, namely, as early as half a billion years after the formation of the Earth; in fact, there is evidence suggesting that Earth may have been even warmer then than it is now. These relatively warm temperatures required on early Earth are in apparent contradiction to the dimness of the early Sun predicted by the standard solar models. This problem has generally been explained by assuming that Earth's early atmosphere contained huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), resulting in a large enough greenhouse effect to counteract the effect of a dimmer Sun. However, recent work places an upper limit of 0.04 bar on the partial pressure of CO2 in the period from 2.75 to 2.2 Gyr ago, based on the absence of siderite in paleosols; this casts doubt on the viability of a strong CO2 greenhouse effect on early Earth. The existence of liquid water on early Mars has been even more of a puzzle; even the maximum possible CO2 greenhouse effect cannot yield warm enough Martian surface temperatures. These problems can be resolved simultaneously for both Earth and Mars, if the early Sun was brighter than predicted by the standard solar models. This could be accomplished if the early Sun was slightly more massive than it is now, i.e., if the solar wind was considerably stronger in the past than at present. A slightly more massive young Sun would have left fingerprints on the internal structure of the present Sun. Today, helioseismic observations exist that can measure the internal structure of the Sun with very high precision. The task undertaken here was to compute solar models with the highest precision possible at this time, starting with slightly greater initial masses. These were evolved to the present solar age, where comparisons with the helioseismic observations could be made. Our computations also yielded the time evolution of the solar flux at the planets - a key input to the climates of early Earth and Mars. Early solar mass loss is not the only influence that can alter the internal structure of the present Sun. There are minor uncertainties in the physics of the solar models and in the key observed solar parameters that also affect the present Sun's internal structure. It was therefore imperative to obtain an understanding of the effects of these other uncertainties, in order to disentangle them from the fingerprints that might be left by early solar mass loss. From these considerations, our work was divided into two parts: (1) We first computed the evolution of standard solar models with input parameters varied within their uncertainties, to determine their effect on the observable helioseismic quantities; (2) We then computed non-standard solar models with higher initial masses to test against the helioseismological observations.

17. Remote sensing: Earth's surface and atmosphere; Proceedings of Workshop X and the Topical Meeting of the 26th COSPAR Plenary Meeting, Toulouse, France, June 30-July 11, 1986

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carter, W. D. (Editor); Arking, A. (Editor); Mccormick, M. P. (Editor); Raschke, E. (Editor)

1987-01-01

The present conference on space-based remote sensing of the earth's surface and atmosphere addresses the two broad issues of remote sensing activities of interest to developing countries and the results obtained to date by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project, the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment, and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE). Attention is given to the remote sensing of environmental factors affecting health, applications of satellite microwave radiometry, earth science missions for the NASA Space Station, and digitally produced Landsat map images. Also discussed are time-accumulated visible and IR histograms used as cloud cover descriptors, the estimation of the radiation budget's sensitivity to cloud variations, monitoring global surface temperature variations using cloud data sets, and an analysis of preliminary SAGE II data on ozone and NO2.

18. Mesoscale mapping of available solar energy at the earth's surface by use of satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hiser, H. W.; Senn, H. V.

1980-01-01

A method is presented for use of cloud images in the visual spectrum from the SMS/GOES geostationary satellites to determine the hourly distribution of sunshine on the mesoscale. Cloud coverage and density as a function of time of day and season are evaluated through the use of digital data processing techniques. Seasonal geographic distributions of cloud cover/sunshine are converted to joules of solar radiation received at the earth's surface through relationships developed from long-term measurements of these two parameters at six widely distributed stations. The technique can be used to generate maps showing the geographic distribution of total solar radiation on the mesoscale which is received at the earth's surface.

19. Rare-earth silicide thin films on the Si(111) surface

Sanna, S.; Dues, C.; Schmidt, W. G.; Timmer, F.; Wollschläger, J.; Franz, M.; Appelfeller, S.; Dähne, M.

2016-05-01

Rare-earth induced layered structures on the Si(111) surface are investigated by a combined approach consisting of ab initio thermodynamics, electron and x-ray diffraction experiments, angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy. Our density functional theory calculations predict the occurrence of structures with different periodicity, depending on the rare-earth availability. Microscopic structural models are assigned to the different silicide phases on the basis of stability criteria. The thermodynamically stable theoretical models are then employed to interpret the experimental results. The agreement between the simulated and measured scanning tunneling microscopy images validates the proposed structural models. The electronic properties of the surfaces are discussed on the basis of the calculated electronic band structure and photoelectron spectroscopy data.

20. Airflow resistivity instrument for in situ measurement on the earth's ground surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuckerwar, A. J.

1983-01-01

An airflow resistivity instrument features a novel specimen holder, especially designed for in situ measurement on the earth's ground surface. This capability eliminates the disadvantages of prior intrusive instruments, which necessitate the removal of a test specimen from the ground. A prototype instrument can measure airflow resistivities in the range 10-5000 cgs rayl/cm, at specimen depths up to 15.24 cm (6 in.), and at differential pressures up to 2490.8 dyn sq cm (1 in. H2O) across the specimen. Because of the close relationship between flow resistivity and acoustic impedance, this instrument should prove useful in acoustical studies of the earth's ground surface. Results of airflow resistivity measurements on an uncultivated grass field for varying values of moisture content are presented.

1. Profile of the ionizing radiation exposure between the Earth surface and free space

Dachev, Tsvetan P.

2013-09-01

Since 2000 scientists from the former Solar-Terrestrial Influences Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences contributed Bulgarian-build instruments to a number of experiments for measurements of the incoming space radiation fluxes and dose rates from the Earth surface up to the free space and 100 km Moon orbit. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the data obtained by different instruments on the ground and in aircraft, balloon, rocket, and on spacecraft. Dose rate, flux and specific dose (SD) data are analyzed, compared and plotted. The result is a unified picture how the different ionizing radiation sources contribute and build the space exposure altitudinal profile from the Earth surface to the free space.

2. Earth-atmosphere system and surface reflectivities in arid regions from LANDSAT multispectral scanner measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otterman, J.; Fraser, R. S.

1976-01-01

Programs for computing atmospheric transmission and scattering solar radiation were used to compute the ratios of the Earth-atmosphere system (space) directional reflectivities in the vertical direction to the surface reflectivity, for the four bands of the LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS). These ratios are presented as graphs for two water vapor levels, as a function of the surface reflectivity, for various sun elevation angles. Space directional reflectivities in the vertical direction are reported for selected arid regions in Asia, Africa and Central America from the spectral radiance levels measured by the LANDSAT MSS. From these space reflectivities, surface vertical reflectivities were computed applying the pertinent graphs. These surface reflectivities were used to estimate the surface albedo for the entire solar spectrum. The estimated albedos are in the range 0.34-0.52, higher than the values reported by most previous researchers from space measurements, but are consistent with laboratory measurements.

3. Earth materials and earth dynamics

SciTech Connect

Bennett, K; Shankland, T.

2000-11-01

In the project ''Earth Materials and Earth Dynamics'' we linked fundamental and exploratory, experimental, theoretical, and computational research programs to shed light on the current and past states of the dynamic Earth. Our objective was to combine different geological, geochemical, geophysical, and materials science analyses with numerical techniques to illuminate active processes in the Earth. These processes include fluid-rock interactions that form and modify the lithosphere, non-linear wave attenuations in rocks that drive plate tectonics and perturb the earth's surface, dynamic recrystallization of olivine that deforms the upper mantle, development of texture in high-pressure olivine polymorphs that create anisotropic velocity regions in the convecting upper mantle and transition zone, and the intense chemical reactions between the mantle and core. We measured physical properties such as texture and nonlinear elasticity, equation of states at simultaneous pressures and temperatures, magnetic spins and bonding, chemical permeability, and thermal-chemical feedback to better characterize earth materials. We artificially generated seismic waves, numerically modeled fluid flow and transport in rock systems and modified polycrystal plasticity theory to interpret measured physical properties and integrate them into our understanding of the Earth. This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

4. Earthshine Polarimetry to Extract Signatures of Earth-like Atmosphere and Surface

Takahashi, J.; Itoh, Y.; Akitaya, H.; Okazaki, A.; Kawabata, K.; Oasa, Y.; Isogai, M.; Niwa, T.

2013-12-01

We present the results of our polarimetric observations of Earthshine on the Moon. We have carried out two Earthshine polarimetry projects. The first one is comparison of Earthshine polarization from land- and ocean-dominant surfaces. Polarimetry may be a method to search a planet with a liquid surface because specular reflection from a liquid surface is expected to produce a greater polarization degree than reflection from a rough surface does. This project aims to evaluate the difference between Earthshine polarization contributed by reflection at a land-dominant surface and that by an ocean-dominant surface. As viewing from Japan, we can observe Earthshine with contribution from a land-dominant surface in waxing phases of the Moon, whereas we can study that from an ocean-dominant surface in the waning phases. We utilized the 60 cm reflecting telescope at the Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory located in Hyogo, Japan and the simultaneous imaging/spectrometric polarimeter which enables a simultaneous measurement of four polarized components with a single exposure. In a series of observations from May 2010 to March 2012, twelve data sets were obtained for the waxing phases and seven data sets for the waning. The observations were conducted in V band. The measured polarization degrees increased as the Earth phase approaches a quadrature phase. The maximum polarization degree was roughly 8 % for the both phases. Fitting with a function for Rayleigh scattering have yielded the polarization maximum of 7.70.4% and 8.40.7% for the waxing and waning phases, respectively. Although a larger value has been derived for the waning phases when the Earthshine is contributed by an ocean-dominant surface, the difference is not significant considering uncertainty of the result. The second project is optical spectropolarimetry of Earthshine for Earth phase angles ranging from 49 to 96. This project aims to derive the phase variation of polarization spectra of the Earth to find a signature pointing toward a distinctive characteristic of the Earth. The observations were conducted on March 9-13, 2011 (UT). We utilized the spectropolarimeter HBS mounted on the 1.88 m telescope at the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory located in Okayama, Japan. The wavelength coverage is 450-850 nm with a resolution of 6 nm. The observed Earthshine polarization degree spectra decreased with increasing wavelength at any phase. We have found that the phase dependence differed with the wavelengths; the maximum polarization for the V band wavelengths occurred at a phase angle of near 90, whereas that for longer wavelengths is reached at larger phase angles. This is interpreted as indicating that Earthshine polarization at shorter wavelengths is dominated by atmospheric Rayleigh scattering, whereas that at longer wavelengths has an increasingly effective contribution from the Earth surface reflection. The observed wavelength dependence in the phase angles of the maximum polarization for the Earth is suggested to be different from the other terrestrial planetary objects in the Solar System. Therefore our observational result might be a signature pointing toward a distinctive characteristic of the Earth: the atmosphere is scattering in the shorter wavelengths but transparent in the longer wavelengths.

5. Hydromagnetic Steady Flow of Maxwell Fluid over a Bidirectional Stretching Surface with Prescribed Surface Temperature and Prescribed Surface Heat Flux

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

This paper investigates the steady hydromagnetic three-dimensional boundary layer flow of Maxwell fluid over a bidirectional stretching surface. Both cases of prescribed surface temperature (PST) and prescribed surface heat flux (PHF) are considered. Computations are made for the velocities and temperatures. Results are plotted and analyzed for PST and PHF cases. Convergence analysis is presented for the velocities and temperatures. Comparison of PST and PHF cases is given and examined. PMID:23874523

6. SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF REMOTELY SENSED SURFACE TEMPERATURE AT FIELD SCALE

EPA Science Inventory

Bare soil surface temperatures (BST) and crop canopy temperatures (CCT) were collected from a 1-ha field in central Arizona using an infrared thermometer to determine whether they were spatially correlated. The measurements were taken from a two-dimensional random sampling patter...

7. An open source Bayesian Monte Carlo isotope mixing model with applications in Earth surface processes

Arendt, Carli A.; Aciego, Sarah M.; Hetland, Eric A.

2015-05-01

The implementation of isotopic tracers as constraints on source contributions has become increasingly relevant to understanding Earth surface processes. Interpretation of these isotopic tracers has become more accessible with the development of Bayesian Monte Carlo (BMC) mixing models, which allow uncertainty in mixing end-members and provide methodology for systems with multicomponent mixing. This study presents an open source multiple isotope BMC mixing model that is applicable to Earth surface environments with sources exhibiting distinct end-member isotopic signatures. Our model is first applied to new ?18O and ?D measurements from the Athabasca Glacier, which showed expected seasonal melt evolution trends and vigorously assessed the statistical relevance of the resulting fraction estimations. To highlight the broad applicability of our model to a variety of Earth surface environments and relevant isotopic systems, we expand our model to two additional case studies: deriving melt sources from ?18O, ?D, and 222Rn measurements of Greenland Ice Sheet bulk water samples and assessing nutrient sources from ?Nd and 87Sr/86Sr measurements of Hawaiian soil cores. The model produces results for the Greenland Ice Sheet and Hawaiian soil data sets that are consistent with the originally published fractional contribution estimates. The advantage of this method is that it quantifies the error induced by variability in the end-member compositions, unrealized by the models previously applied to the above case studies. Results from all three case studies demonstrate the broad applicability of this statistical BMC isotopic mixing model for estimating source contribution fractions in a variety of Earth surface systems.

8. IUS / TDRS-F drifts above the Earth's surface after STS-54 deployment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

The inertial upper stage (IUS) / Tracking and Data Relay Satellite F (TDRS-F) spacecraft combination drifts above the Earth's cloud-covered surface as Endeavour's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105's, orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engines are ignited to separate the orbiter from the IUS/TDRS. The IUS nozzle is pointed toward OV-105 with the TDRS, still in stowed configuration, barely visible on top of it. IUS/TDRS was deployed during STS-54's first day.

9. Magnetic excitations of rare earth atoms and clusters on metallic surfaces.

PubMed

Schuh, Tobias; Miyamachi, Toshio; Gerstl, Stefan; Geilhufe, Matthias; Hoffmann, Martin; Ostanin, Sergey; Hergert, Wolfram; Ernst, Arthur; Wulfhekel, Wulf

2012-09-12

Magnetic anisotropy and magnetization dynamics of rare earth Gd atoms and dimers on Pt(111) and Cu(111) were investigated with inelastic tunneling spectroscopy. The spin excitation spectra reveal that giant magnetic anisotropies and lifetimes of the excited states of Gd are nearly independent of the supporting surfaces and the cluster size. In combination with theoretical calculations, we argue that the observed features are caused by strongly localized character of 4f electrons in Gd atoms and clusters. PMID:22906055

10. Interactive Computing and Processing of NASA Land Surface Observations Using Google Earth Engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Molthan, Andrew; Burks, Jason; Bell, Jordan

2016-01-01

Google's Earth Engine offers a "big data" approach to processing large volumes of NASA and other remote sensing products. h\\ps://earthengine.google.com/ Interfaces include a Javascript or Python-based API, useful for accessing and processing over large periods of record for Landsat and MODIS observations. Other data sets are frequently added, including weather and climate model data sets, etc. Demonstrations here focus on exploratory efforts to perform land surface change detection related to severe weather, and other disaster events.

11. STAR Concept for Passive Microwave Temperature Sounding from Middle Earth Orbit (MeoSTAR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, William J.; Tanner, Alan B.; Lambrigtsen, Bjorn H.; Doiron, Terence A.; Piepmeier, Jeffrey R.; Ruf, Chris S.

2004-01-01

A future mission for a new microwave atmospheric temperature sounder radiometer in a Middle Earth Orbit (MEO) at 11,000 km altitude is described. The MeoSTAR design uses a stationary l-dimensional Synthetic Thinned Array Radiometer in the 50-60 GHz microwave sounding band, to provide a 'pushbroom' image as the satellite orbits. The advantage of this concept is an image with a high spatial resolution and a wide swath with no scanning antenna to disturb the visual and IR sensors on the same satellite.

12. Radar Backscatter Across the Gulf Stream Sea Surface Temperature Front

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nghiem, S. V.; Li, F. K.; Walsh, E. J.; Lou, S. H.

1998-01-01

Ocean backscatter signatures were measured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory airborne NUSCAT K(sub u)-band scatterometer across the Gulf Stream sea surface temperature front. The measurements were made during the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment (SWADE) off the coast of Virginia and Maryland in the winter of 1991.

13. Modeling stream temperature in the Anthropocene: An earth system modeling approach

Li, Hong-Yi; Ruby Leung, L.; Tesfa, Teklu; Voisin, Nathalie; Hejazi, Mohamad; Liu, Lu; Liu, Ying; Rice, Jennie; Wu, Huan; Yang, Xiaofan

2015-12-01

A new large-scale stream temperature model has been developed within the Community Earth System Model (CESM) framework. The model is coupled with the Model for Scale Adaptive River Transport (MOSART) that represents river routing and a water management model (WM) that represents the effects of reservoir operations and water withdrawals on flow regulation. The coupled models allow the impacts of reservoir operations and withdrawals on stream temperature to be explicitly represented in a physically based and consistent way. The models have been applied to the Contiguous United States driven by observed meteorological forcing. Including water management in the models improves the agreement between the simulated and observed streamflow at a large number of stream gauge stations. It is then shown that the model is capable of reproducing stream temperature spatiotemporal variation satisfactorily by comparing against the observed data from over 320 USGS stations. Both climate and water management are found to have important influence on the spatiotemporal patterns of stream temperature. Furthermore, it is quantitatively estimated that reservoir operation could cool down stream temperature in the summer low-flow season (August-October) by as much as 1˜2°C due to enhanced low-flow conditions, which have important implications to aquatic ecosystems. Sensitivity of the simulated stream temperature to input data and reservoir operation rules used in the WM model motivates future directions to address some limitations in the current modeling framework.

14. Modeling stream temperature in the Anthropocene: An earth system modeling approach

SciTech Connect

Li, Hongyi; Leung, Lai-Yung R.; Tesfa, Teklu K.; Voisin, Nathalie; Hejazi, Mohamad I.; Liu, Lu; Liu, Ying; Rice, Jennie S.; Wu, Huan; Yang, Xiaofan

2015-10-29

A new large-scale stream temperature model has been developed within the Community Earth System Model (CESM) framework. The model is coupled with the Model for Scale Adaptive River Transport (MOSART) that represents river routing and a water management model (WM) that represents the effects of reservoir operations and water withdrawals on flow regulation. The coupled models allow the impacts of reservoir operations and withdrawals on stream temperature to be explicitly represented in a physically based and consistent way. The models have been applied to the Contiguous United States driven by observed meteorological forcing. It is shown that the model is capable of reproducing stream temperature spatiotemporal variation satisfactorily by comparison against the observed streamflow from over 320 USGS stations. Including water management in the models improves the agreement between the simulated and observed streamflow at a large number of stream gauge stations. Both climate and water management are found to have important influence on the spatiotemporal patterns of stream temperature. More interestingly, it is quantitatively estimated that reservoir operation could cool down stream temperature in the summer low-flow season (August – October) by as much as 1~2oC over many places, as water management generally mitigates low flow, which has important implications to aquatic ecosystems. Sensitivity of the simulated stream temperature to input data and reservoir operation rules used in the WM model motivates future directions to address some limitations in the current modeling framework.

15. A Subbasin-based framework to represent land surface processes in an Earth System Model

SciTech Connect

Tesfa, Teklu K.; Li, Hongyi; Leung, Lai-Yung R.; Huang, Maoyi; Ke, Yinghai; Sun, Yu; Liu, Ying

2014-05-20

Realistically representing spatial heterogeneity and lateral land surface processes within and between modeling units in earth system models is important because of their implications to surface energy and water exchange. The traditional approach of using regular grids as computational units in land surface models and earth system models may lead to inadequate representation of lateral movements of water, energy and carbon fluxes, especially when the grid resolution increases. Here a new subbasin-based framework is introduced in the Community Land Model (CLM), which is the land component of the Community Earth System Model (CESM). Local processes are represented assuming each subbasin as a grid cell on a pseudo grid matrix with no significant modifications to the existing CLM modeling structure. Lateral routing of water within and between subbasins is simulated with the subbasin version of a recently-developed physically based routing model, Model for Scale Adaptive River Routing (MOSART). As an illustration, this new framework is implemented in the topographically diverse region of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The modeling units (subbasins) are delineated from high-resolution Digital Elevation Model while atmospheric forcing and surface parameters are remapped from the corresponding high resolution datasets. The impacts of this representation on simulating hydrologic processes are explored by comparing it with the default (grid-based) CLM representation. In addition, the effects of DEM resolution on parameterizing topography and the subsequent effects on runoff processes are investigated. Limited model evaluation and comparison showed that small difference between the averaged forcing can lead to more significant difference in the simulated runoff and streamflow because of nonlinear horizontal processes. Topographic indices derived from high resolution DEM may not improve the overall water balance, but affect the partitioning between surface and subsurface runoff. More systematic analyses are needed to determine the relative merits of the subbasin representation compared to the commonly used grid-based representation, especially when land surface models are approaching higher resolutions.

16. Bioprotection explored: the story of a little known earth surface process

Carter, N. E. A.; Viles, H. A.

2005-04-01

Bioprotection is identified as an earth surface process. However, it has been little studied, little acknowledged and yet may have major implications for the operation and management of geomorphic systems. Key early observations are traced back to Darwin's 'Voyage of the Beagle', Geikie in the natural environment and Watson for the built environment. Recent field observations and experimental work examining bioprotection are reviewed, with a specific focus on lichens and the landscape, as are its complex interactions with other processes. A conceptual model of bioprotection is presented for the case of an epilithic lichen on a limestone surface.

17. Measurement of transient surface temperatures during rubbing using infrared thermography

You, Tau; Yu, Jianwei; Yu, Xiaofen

2013-10-01

Infrared thermometer could provide IR radiance information to get the corresponding temperature as the machine is working. But the emissivity coefficient, which converts IR radiance to temperature, would vary with change of surface properties during rubbing, and this would bring dynamic error in measurement. In this study, we introduced a special tester, in the side of which compact IR thermometer are mounted. The thermometer enables us to measure contact surface temperature directly during tests of a rotating ring and a flat block which had a laser diode fixed under its contact surface. Based on Kirchhoff theory, the calculate model of the spectral emissivity is constructed. The normal emissivity at target region are measured through trigonometric ray consisted of InGaAsP laser source, PbSe detector and objective surface. So the temperature value from the IR thermometer could be corrected dynamically according to the real-time emissivity. The structure and the principle of the apparatus are described. The key technologies and the corresponding solution methods are briefly discussed. The error due to the rapid variations of emissivity value with change in contact conditions was shown, and it must be taken into consideration in radiometric temperature measurement in rubbing and could be especially useful in the verification of friction surface temperature predictions.

18. Measuring the Surface Temperature of the Cryosphere using Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorothy K.

2012-01-01

A general description of the remote sensing of cryosphere surface temperatures from satellites will be provided. This will give historical information on surface-temperature measurements from space. There will also be a detailed description of measuring the surface temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet using Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data which will be the focus of the presentation. Enhanced melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet has been documented in recent literature along with surface-temperature increases measured using infrared satellite data since 1981. Using a recently-developed climate data record, trends in the clear-sky ice-surface temperature (IST) of the Greenland Ice Sheet have been studied using the MODIS IST product. Daily and monthly MODIS ISTs of the Greenland Ice Sheet beginning on 1 March 2000 and continuing through 31 December 2010 are now freely available to download at 6.25-km spatial resolution on a polar stereographic grid. Maps showing the maximum extent of melt for the entire ice sheet and for the six major drainage basins have been developed from the MODIS IST dataset. Twelve-year trends of the duration of the melt season on the ice sheet vary in different drainage basins with some basins melting progressively earlier over the course of the study period. Some (but not all) of the basins also show a progressively-longer duration of melt. The consistency of this IST record, with temperature and melt records from other sources will be discussed.

19. Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Alamosa Saguache Edition: First Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4217727.601630 m Left: 394390.400264 m Right: 460179.841813 m Bottom: 4156258.036086 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

20. Surface plasmon enhanced photoluminescence from copper nanoparticles: Influence of temperature

SciTech Connect

Yeshchenko, Oleg A. Bondarchuk, Illya S.; Losytskyy, Mykhaylo Yu.

2014-08-07

Anomalous temperature dependence of surface plasmon enhanced photoluminescence from copper nanoparticles embedded in a silica host matrix has been observed. The quantum yield of photoluminescence increases as the temperature increases. The key role of such an effect is the interplay between the surface plasmon resonance and the interband transitions in the copper nanoparticles occurring at change of the temperature. Namely, the increase of temperature leads to the red shift of the resonance. The shift leads to increase of the spectral overlap of the resonance with photoluminescence band of copper as well as to the decrease of plasmon damping caused by interband transitions. Such mechanisms lead to the increase of surface plasmon enhancement factor and, consequently, to increase of the quantum yield of the photoluminescence.

1. Mathematical model of the metal mould surface temperature optimization

Mlynek, Jaroslav; Knobloch, Roman; Srb, Radek

2015-11-01

The article is focused on the problem of generating a uniform temperature field on the inner surface of shell metal moulds. Such moulds are used e.g. in the automotive industry for artificial leather production. To produce artificial leather with uniform surface structure and colour shade the temperature on the inner surface of the mould has to be as homogeneous as possible. The heating of the mould is realized by infrared heaters located above the outer mould surface. The conceived mathematical model allows us to optimize the locations of infrared heaters over the mould, so that approximately uniform heat radiation intensity is generated. A version of differential evolution algorithm programmed in Matlab development environment was created by the authors for the optimization process. For temperate calculations software system ANSYS was used. A practical example of optimization of heaters locations and calculation of the temperature of the mould is included at the end of the article.

2. Relationship between tree bark surface temperature and selected meteorological elements

Středa, Tomáš; Litschmann, Tomáš; Středová, Hana

2015-12-01

The results were obtained by measurements in 2014 and 2015 in an apple orchard in Starý Lískovec and Těšetice (South Moravia, Czech Republic, Central Europe) into fertile planting of apple trees. The results show that the bark surface temperature during the year slightly differs from the surrounding air temperature. In addition, it is in average a few tenths of a °C higher in the period before the onset of the vegetation and several tenths of a degree lower during vegetation. Causes of these differences appear to be associated with the flow of sap as well as with foliage. Although it can be reasonably assumed that the temperature of the bark surface on the south side will be significantly affected by the global radiation, our measurements did not demonstrate this dependency. It appears that the wind speed had significantly larger influence on the temperature differences in the non-vegetation period as at speeds over 3.5 m s-1, the drop of temperature is so significant that the bark surface is colder than the surrounding air. Comparison of the development of sums of daily and hourly effective temperatures above 10 °C has shown that where daily values do not show significant differences, hourly values differed so prominently that the calculated date of emergence of adult codling moth in the bark surface was approximately one week earlier than with the use of data for air temperatures.

3. Land Surface Temperature Measurements form EOS MODIS Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wan, Zhengming

1996-01-01

We have developed a physics-based land-surface temperature (LST) algorithm for simultaneously retrieving surface band-averaged emissivities and temperatures from day/night pairs of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data in seven thermal infrared bands. The set of 14 nonlinear equations in the algorithm is solved with the statistical regression method and the least-squares fit method. This new LST algorithm was tested with simulated MODIS data for 80 sets of band-averaged emissivities calculated from published spectral data of terrestrial materials in wide ranges of atmospheric and surface temperature conditions. Comprehensive sensitivity and error analysis has been made to evaluate the performance of the new LST algorithm and its dependence on variations in surface emissivity and temperature, upon atmospheric conditions, as well as the noise-equivalent temperature difference (NE(Delta)T) and calibration accuracy specifications of the MODIS instrument. In cases with a systematic calibration error of 0.5%, the standard deviations of errors in retrieved surface daytime and nighttime temperatures fall between 0.4-0.5 K over a wide range of surface temperatures for mid-latitude summer conditions. The standard deviations of errors in retrieved emissivities in bands 31 and 32 (in the 10-12.5 micrometer IR spectral window region) are 0.009, and the maximum error in retrieved LST values falls between 2-3 K. Several issues related to the day/night LST algorithm (uncertainties in the day/night registration and in surface emissivity changes caused by dew occurrence, and the cloud cover) have been investigated. The LST algorithms have been validated with MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) dada and ground-based measurement data in two field campaigns conducted in Railroad Valley playa, NV in 1995 and 1996. The MODIS LST version 1 software has been delivered.

4. Revised Atmospheric Angular Momentum Series Related to Earth's Variable Rotation under Consideration of Surface Topography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, Y. H.; Salstein, D. A.; Chen, J. L.

2006-01-01

The atmospheric angular momentum is closely related to variations in the Earth rotation. The atmospheric excitation function (AEF), or namely atmospheric effective angular momentum function, is introduced in studying the atmospheric excitation of the Earth's variable rotation. It may be separated into two portions, i.e, the "wind" terms due to the atmospheric motion relative to the mantle and the "pressure" terms due to the variations of atmospheric mass distribution evident through surface pressure changes. The AEF wind terms during the period of 1948-2004 are re-processed from the NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis 6-hourly wind and pressure fields. Some previous calculations were approximate, in that the wind terms were integrated from an isobaric lower boundary of 1000 hPa. To consider the surface topography effect, however, the AEF is computed by integration using the winds from the Earth's surface to 10 hPa, the top atmospheric model level, instead of from 1000 hPa. For these two cases, only a minor difference, equivalent to approx. 0.004 milliseconds in length-of-day variation, exists with respect to the axial wind term. However, considerable differences, equivalent to 5-6 milliarcseconds in polar motion, are found regarding equatorial wind terms. We further compare the total equatorial AEF (with and without the topographic effect) with the polar motion excitation function (PMEF) during the period of 1980-2003. The equatorial AEF gets generally closer to the PMEF, and improved coherences are found between them when the topography effect is included. Keywords: Atmospheric angular momentum, Atmospheric excitation function, Earth rotation, Topography, Wind, Pressure.

5. Magnetic ordering temperatures in rare earth metal dysprosium under ultrahigh pressures

SciTech Connect

Samudrala, Gopi K.; Tsoi, Georgiy M.; Weir, Samuel T.; Vohra, Yogesh K.

2014-04-03

Magnetic ordering temperatures in heavy rare earth metal Dysprosium (Dy) have been studied using an ultrasensitive electrical transport measurement technique in a designer diamond anvil cell to extreme conditions of pressure to 69 GPa and temperature to 10 K. Previous studies using magnetic susceptibility measurements at high pressures were only able to track magnetic ordering temperature till 7 GPa in the hexagonal close packed (hcp) phase of Dy. Our studies indicate that the magnetic ordering temperature shows an abrupt drop of 80 K at the hcp-Sm phase transition followed by a gradual decrease that continues till 17 GPa. This is followed by a rapid increase in the magnetic ordering temperatures in the double hexagonal close packed phase and finally leveling off in the distorted face centered cubic phase of Dy. Lastly, our studies reaffirm that 4f-shell remain localized in Dy and there is no loss of magnetic moment or 4f-shell delocalization for pressures up to 69 GPa.

6. Magnetic ordering temperatures in rare earth metal dysprosium under ultrahigh pressures

DOE PAGESBeta

Samudrala, Gopi K.; Tsoi, Georgiy M.; Weir, Samuel T.; Vohra, Yogesh K.

2014-04-03

Magnetic ordering temperatures in heavy rare earth metal Dysprosium (Dy) have been studied using an ultrasensitive electrical transport measurement technique in a designer diamond anvil cell to extreme conditions of pressure to 69 GPa and temperature to 10 K. Previous studies using magnetic susceptibility measurements at high pressures were only able to track magnetic ordering temperature till 7 GPa in the hexagonal close packed (hcp) phase of Dy. Our studies indicate that the magnetic ordering temperature shows an abrupt drop of 80 K at the hcp-Sm phase transition followed by a gradual decrease that continues till 17 GPa. This ismore » followed by a rapid increase in the magnetic ordering temperatures in the double hexagonal close packed phase and finally leveling off in the distorted face centered cubic phase of Dy. Lastly, our studies reaffirm that 4f-shell remain localized in Dy and there is no loss of magnetic moment or 4f-shell delocalization for pressures up to 69 GPa.« less

7. THE UTILITY OF HIGHER RESOLUTION SURFACE TEMPERATURE IMAGERY DERIVED FROM COARSER RESOLUTION VEGETATION INDEX-SURFACE TEMPERATURE DATA

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Routine estimation of the land surface energy balance of a region with satellite remote sensing of land surface temperature at high spatial resolutions (i.e., 100s of meters) has not been possible due to low frequency in repeated satellite coverage and cloud cover. More frequent coverage from weathe...

8. A new surface temperature measurement using infrared detector

Xie, Qingsheng; Liu, Wei; Leng, HanBing; Yi, Bo; Wang, Zefeng; Chen, Yaohong; Duan, Chengpeng

2015-02-01

This paper describe a research theoretically of the conversion result to the surface temperature based on long wave infrared detector, proposed a temperature measurement, then validate it by experiments. First, it introduces the constitution and measurement principle of the medical infrared thermal imager. Then, the conversion drift characteristic of infrared detect is described, the experimental data under variable environment is analyzed, and a temperature measurement and a drift compensation formula is proposed. Finally, some experiment with black body was accomplished. The results show the temperature error is under 0.3°C, confirm the validity of the measurement.

9. A Low Temperature Transfer of ALH84001 from Mars to Earth

Weiss, Benjamin P.; Kirschvink, Joseph L.; Baudenbacher, Franz J.; Vali, Hojatollah; Peters, Nick T.; Macdonald, Francis A.; Wikswo, John P.

2000-10-01

The ejection of material from Mars is thought to be caused by large impacts that would heat much of the ejecta to high temperatures. Images of the magnetic field of martian meteorite ALH84001 reveal a spatially heterogeneous pattern of magnetization associated with fractures and rock fragments. Heating the meteorite to 40°C reduces the intensity of some magnetic features, indicating that the interior of the rock has not been above this temperature since before its ejection from the surface of Mars. Because this temperature cannot sterilize most bacteria or eukarya, these data support the hypothesis that meteorites could transfer life between planets in the solar system.

10. Surface temperatures of insulated glazing units: Infrared thermography laboratory measurements

SciTech Connect

Griffith, B.T.; Tuerler, D.; Arasteh, D.

1995-12-01

Data are presented for the distribution of surface temperatures on the warm-side surface of seven different insulated glazing units. Surface temperatures are measured using infrared thermography and an external referencing technique. This technique allows detailed mapping of surface temperatures that is non-intrusive. The glazings were placed between warm and cold environmental chambers that were operated at conditions corresponding to standard design conditions for winter heating. The temperatures conditions are 2 1.1{degrees}C (70{degrees}F) and -17.8{degrees}C (0{degrees}F) on the warm and cold sides, respectively. Film coefficients varied somewhat with average conditions of about 7.6 W/m{sup 2}{circ}K (1.34 Btu/h-ft{sup 2}{circ}{degrees}F) for the warm-side and 28.9 W/m{sup 2}{circ}K (5.1 Btu/h{circ}ft{sup 2}{circ}{degrees}F) for the cold-side. Surface temperature data are plotted for the vertical distribution along the centerline of the IG and for the horizontal distribution along the centerline. This paper is part of larger collaborative effort that studied the same set of glazings.

11. Predicting Geomagnetically Induced Electric and Magnetic Fields at the Earth's Surface

Shepherd, S. G.; Shubitidze, F.; Lotko, W.; Wiltberger, M. J.; Lyon, J. G.; Viljanen, A.; Pulkkinen, A. A.

2002-05-01

The end result of a long chain of geomagnetic events beginning at the Sun is the induction of currents in conductors near the surface of the Earth. These so-called Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs) can cause serious effects to the technological systems in which they flow. We are developing an integrated space weather model to predict the occurrence of the large electric and magnetic fields associated with large GICs. Our model uses real-time data from the ACE satellite, the observed solar EUV flux, and the Lyon-Feder-Mobarry (LFM) global MHD code to calculate the current density distribution in the ionosphere above North America in near-real-time. Two internal models, the Complex Image Method (CIM) and a model that solves the full Maxewell's Equations using a Finite Difference Time Domain method (FDTD) are used with several different forms of the Earth's conductivity structure to calculate the electric and magnetic fields at the surface of the Earth. Our goal is to develop an integrated model that accurately predicts the occurrence of large GICs over North America with >15 min warning. The model is currently in the development and validation stages and we will show comparisons of the different internal models to calculations using the Biot-Savart law and to ground observations of the magnetic fields.

12. Displacements of the earth's surface due to atmospheric loading - Effects of gravity and baseline measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Van Dam, T. M.; Wahr, J. M.

1987-01-01

Atmospheric mass loads and deforms the earth's crust. By performing a convolution sum between daily, global barometric pressure data and mass loading Green's functions, the time dependent effects of atmospheric loading, including those associated with short-term synoptic storms, on surface point positioning measurements and surface gravity observations are estimated. The response for both an oceanless earth and an earth with an inverted barometer ocean is calculated. Load responses for near-coastal stations are significantly affected by the inclusion of an inverted barometer ocean. Peak-to-peak vertical displacements are frequently 15-20 mm with accompanying gravity perturbations of 3-6 micro Gal. Baseline changes can be as large as 20 mm or more. The perturbations are largest at higher latitudes and during winter months. These amplitudes are consistent with the results of Rabbel and Zschau (1985), who modeled synoptic pressure disturbances as Gaussian functions of radius around a central point. Deformation can be adequately computed using real pressure data from points within about 1000 km of the station. Knowledge of local pressure, alone, is not sufficient. Rabbel and Zschau's hypothesized corrections for these displacements, which use local pressure and the regionally averaged pressure, prove accurate at points well inland but are, in general, inadequate within a few hundred kilometers of the coast.

13. Low-Latency Lunar Surface Telerobotics from Earth-Moon Libration Points

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lester, Daniel; Thronson, Harley

2011-01-01

Concepts for a long-duration habitat at Earth-Moon LI or L2 have been advanced for a number of purposes. We propose here that such a facility could also have an important role for low-latency telerobotic control of lunar surface equipment, both for lunar science and development. With distances of about 60,000 km from the lunar surface, such sites offer light-time limited two-way control latencies of order 400 ms, making telerobotic control for those sites close to real time as perceived by a human operator. We point out that even for transcontinental teleoperated surgical procedures, which require operational precision and highly dexterous manipulation, control latencies of this order are considered adequate. Terrestrial telerobots that are used routinely for mining and manufacturing also involve control latencies of order several hundred milliseconds. For this reason, an Earth-Moon LI or L2 control node could build on the technology and experience base of commercially proven terrestrial ventures. A lunar libration-point telerobotic node could demonstrate exploration strategies that would eventually be used on Mars, and many other less hospitable destinations in the solar system. Libration-point telepresence for the Moon contrasts with lunar telerobotic control from the Earth, for which two-way control latencies are at least six times longer. For control latencies that long, telerobotic control efforts are of the "move-and-wait" variety, which is cognitively inferior to near real-time control.

14. Adsorption of rare earth elements onto Carrizo sand: Experimental investigations and modeling with surface complexation

Tang, Jianwu; Johannesson, Karen H.

2005-11-01

15. Earth survey applications division: Research leading to the effective use of space technology in applications relating to the Earth's surface and interior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, L. (Editor)

1980-01-01

Accomplishments and future plans are described for the following areas: (1) geology - geobotanical indicators and geopotential data; (2) modeling magnetic fields; (3) modeling the structure, composition, and evolution of the Earth's crust; (4) global and regional motions of the Earth's crust and earthquake occurrence; (5) modeling geopotential from satellite tracking data; (6) modeling the Earth's gravity field; (7) global Earth dynamics; (8) sea surface topography, ocean dynamics; and geophysical interpretation; (9) land cover and land use; (10) physical and remote sensing attributes important in detecting, measuring, and monitoring agricultural crops; (11) prelaunch studies using LANDSAT D; (12) the multispectral linear array; (13) the aircraft linear array pushbroom radiometer; and (14) the spaceborne laser ranging system.

16. Comparison of MODIS Land Surface Temperature and Air Temperature over the Continental USA Meteorological Stations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Ping; Bounoua, Lahouari; Imhoff, Marc L.; Wolfe, Robert E.; Thome, Kurtis

2014-01-01

The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Impervious Surface Area (ISA) and MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) are used in a spatial analysis to assess the surface-temperature-based urban heat island's (UHIS) signature on LST amplitude over the continental USA and to make comparisons to local air temperatures. Air-temperature-based UHIs (UHIA), calculated using the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) daily air temperatures, are compared with UHIS for urban areas in different biomes during different seasons. NLCD ISA is used to define urban and rural temperatures and to stratify the sampling for LST and air temperatures. We find that the MODIS LST agrees well with observed air temperature during the nighttime, but tends to overestimate it during the daytime, especially during summer and in nonforested areas. The minimum air temperature analyses show that UHIs in forests have an average UHIA of 1 C during the summer. The UHIS, calculated from nighttime LST, has similar magnitude of 1-2 C. By contrast, the LSTs show a midday summer UHIS of 3-4 C for cities in forests, whereas the average summer UHIA calculated from maximum air temperature is close to 0 C. In addition, the LSTs and air temperatures difference between 2006 and 2011 are in agreement, albeit with different magnitude.

17. An active thermal control surfaces experiment. [spacecraft temperature determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkes, D. R.; Brown, M. J.

1979-01-01

An active flight experiment is described that has the objectives to determine the effects of the low earth natural environment and the Shuttle induced environment on selected thermal control and optical surfaces. The optical and thermal properties of test samples will be measured in-situ using an integrating sphere reflectrometer and using calorimetric methods. This experiment has been selected for the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) flight which will be carried to orbit by the NASA Space Shuttle. The LDEF will remain in orbit to be picked up by a later Shuttle mission and returned for postflight evaluation.

18. Applications of thin-film thermocouples for surface temperature measurement

Martin, Lisa C.; Holanda, Raymond

1994-10-01

Thin film thermocouples provide a minimally intrusive means of measuring surface temperature in hostile, high temperature environments. Unlike wire thermocouples, thin films do not necessitate any machining of the surface, thereby leaving intact its structural integrity. Thin films are many orders of magnitude thinner than wire, resulting in less disruption to the gas flow and thermal patterns that exist in the operating environment. Thin film thermocouples have been developed for surface temperature measurement on a variety of engine materials. The sensors are fabricated in the NASA Lewis Research Center's Thin Film Sensor Lab, which is a Class 1000 Clean Room. The thermocouples are platinum-13% rhodium vs platinum and are fabricated by the sputtering process. Thin film-to-leadwire connections are made using the parallel-gap welding process. Thermocouples have been developed for use on superalloys, ceramics and ceramic composites, and intermetallics. Some applications of thin film thermocouples are: temperature measurement of Space Shuttle Main Engine turbine blade materials, temperature measurement in gas turbine engine testing of advanced materials, and temperature and heat flux measurements in a diesel engine. Fabrication of thin film thermocouples is described. Sensor durability, drift rate, and maximum temperature capabilities are addressed.

19. Applications of thin film thermocouples for surface temperature measurement

Martin, Lisa C.; Holanda, Raymond

1994-08-01

Thin film thermocouples provide a minimally intrusive means of measuring surface temperature in hostile, high temperature environments. Unlike wire thermocouples, thin films do not necessitate any machining of the surface, therefore leaving intact its structural integrity. Thin films are many orders of magnitude thinner than wire, resulting in less disruption to the gas flow and thermal patterns that exist in the operating environment. Thin film thermocouples have been developed for surface temperature measurement on a variety of engine materials. The sensors are fabricated in the NASA Lewis Research Center's Thin Film Sensor Lab, which is a class 1000 clean room. The thermocouples are platinum-13 percent rhodium versus platinum and are fabricated by the sputtering process. Thin film-to-leadwire connections are made using the parallel-gap welding process. Thermocouples have been developed for use on superalloys, ceramics and ceramic composites, and intermetallics. Some applications of thin film thermocouples are: temperature measurement of space shuttle main engine turbine blade materials, temperature measurement in gas turbine engine testing of advanced materials, and temperature and heat flux measurements in a diesel engine. Fabrication of thin film thermocouples is described. Sensor durability, drift rate, and maximum temperature capabilities are addressed.

20. Applications of Thin Film Thermocouples for Surface Temperature Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Lisa C.; Holanda, Raymond

1994-01-01

Thin film thermocouples provide a minimally intrusive means of measuring surface temperature in hostile, high temperature environments. Unlike wire thermocouples, thin films do not necessitate any machining of the surface, therefore leaving intact its structural integrity. Thin films are many orders of magnitude thinner than wire, resulting in less disruption to the gas flow and thermal patterns that exist in the operating environment. Thin film thermocouples have been developed for surface temperature measurement on a variety of engine materials. The sensors are fabricated in the NASA Lewis Research Center's Thin Film Sensor Lab, which is a class 1000 clean room. The thermocouples are platinum-13 percent rhodium versus platinum and are fabricated by the sputtering process. Thin film-to-leadwire connections are made using the parallel-gap welding process. Thermocouples have been developed for use on superalloys, ceramics and ceramic composites, and intermetallics. Some applications of thin film thermocouples are: temperature measurement of space shuttle main engine turbine blade materials, temperature measurement in gas turbine engine testing of advanced materials, and temperature and heat flux measurements in a diesel engine. Fabrication of thin film thermocouples is described. Sensor durability, drift rate, and maximum temperature capabilities are addressed.

1. Global fields of soil moisture and land surface evapotranspiration derived from observed precipitation and surface air temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mintz, Y.; Walker, G. K.

1993-01-01

The global fields of normal monthly soil moisture and land surface evapotranspiration are derived with a simple water budget model that has precipitation and potential evapotranspiration as inputs. The precipitation is observed and the potential evapotranspiration is derived from the observed surface air temperature with the empirical regression equation of Thornthwaite (1954). It is shown that at locations where the net surface radiation flux has been measured, the potential evapotranspiration given by the Thornthwaite equation is in good agreement with those obtained with the radiation-based formulations of Priestley and Taylor (1972), Penman (1948), and Budyko (1956-1974), and this provides the justification for the use of the Thornthwaite equation. After deriving the global fields of soil moisture and evapotranspiration, the assumption is made that the potential evapotranspiration given by the Thornthwaite equation and by the Priestley-Taylor equation will everywhere be about the same; the inverse of the Priestley-Taylor equation is used to obtain the normal monthly global fields of net surface radiation flux minus ground heat storage. This and the derived evapotranspiration are then used in the equation for energy conservation at the surface of the earth to obtain the global fields of normal monthly sensible heat flux from the land surface to the atmosphere.

2. Using 3D Printers to Model Earth Surface Topography for Increased Student Understanding and Retention

Thesenga, David; Town, James

2014-05-01

3. Development of the mechanical cryocooler system for the Sea Land Surface Temperature Radiometer

Camilletti, Adam; Burgess, Christopher; Donchev, Anton; Watson, Stuart; Weatherstone Akbar, Shane; Gamo-Albero, Victoria; Romero-Largacha, Victor; Caballero-Olmo, Gema

2014-11-01

The Sea Land Surface Temperature Radiometer is a dual view Earth observing instrument developed as part of the European Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme. It is scheduled for launch on two satellites, Sentinel 3A and 3B in 2014. The instrument detectors are cooled to below 85 K by two split Stirling Cryocoolers running in hot redundancy. These coolers form part of a cryocooler system that includes a support structure and drive electronics. Aspects of the system design, including control and reduction of exported vibration are discussed; and results, including thermal performance and exported vibration from the Engineering Model Cryooler System test campaign are presented.

4. Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Routt County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Warm Modeled Temperature Routt Edition: First Note: This “Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset differs from the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1σ and 2σ above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2σ temperatures contained in the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset. Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Routt County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature between 1σ and 2σ were considered ASTER modeled warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4501071.574000 m Left: 311351.975000 m Right: 359411.975000 m Bottom: 4447521.574000 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

5. Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Alamosa Saguache Edition: First Note: This “Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset differs from the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1σ and 2σ above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2σ temperatures contained in the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset. Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4217727.601630 m Left: 394390.400264 m Right: 460179.841813 m Bottom: 4156258.036086 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

6. Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Chaffee County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Chaffee Edition: First Note: This “Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset differs from the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1σ and 2σ above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2σ temperatures contained in the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset. Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Chaffee County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4333432.368072 m Left: 366907.700763 m Right: 452457.816015 m Bottom: 4208271.566715 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

7. Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Garfield County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Warm Modeled Temperature Garfield Edition: First Note: This “Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset differs from the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1σ and 2σ above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2σ temperatures contained in the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset. Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Garfield County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature between 1σ and 2σ were considered ASTER modeled warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4442180.552290 m Left: 268655.053363 m Right: 359915.053363 m Bottom: 4312490.552290 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

8. Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Archuleta County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Warm Modeled Temperature Archuleta Note: This “Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset differs from the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1σ and 2σ above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2σ temperatures contained in the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset. Edition: First Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Archuleta County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature between 1σ and 2σ were considered ASTER modeled warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4144825.235807 m Left: 285446.256851 m Right: 350577.338852 m Bottom: 4096962.250137 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

9. Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Dolores County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

SciTech Connect

Hussein, Khalid

2012-02-01

Citation Information: Originator: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Publication Date: 2012 Title: Very Warm Modeled Temperature Dolores Edition: First Note: This “Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset differs from the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1σ and 2σ above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2σ temperatures contained in the “Anomalous Surface Temperature” dataset. Publication Information: Publication Place: Earth Science & Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder Publisher: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Description: This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Dolores County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2σ were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Spatial Domain: Extent: Top: 4186234.213315 m Left: 212558.673056 m Right: 232922.811862 m Bottom: 4176781.467043 m Contact Information: Contact Organization: Earth Science &Observation Center (ESOC), CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder Contact Person: Khalid Hussein Address: CIRES, Ekeley Building Earth Science & Observation Center (ESOC) 216 UCB City: Boulder State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0216 Country: USA Contact Telephone: 303-492-6782 Spatial Reference Information: Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS’1984 Zone 13N False Easting: 500000.00000000 False Northing: 0.00000000 Central Meridian: -105.00000000 Scale Factor: 0.99960000 Latitude of Origin: 0.00000000 Linear Unit: Meter Datum: World Geodetic System ’1984 (WGS ’1984) Prime Meridian: Greenwich Angular Unit: Degree Digital Form: Format Name: Shape file

10. Method for Accurate Surface Temperature Measurements During Fast Induction Heating

Larregain, Benjamin; Vanderesse, Nicolas; Bridier, Florent; Bocher, Philippe; Arkinson, Patrick

2013-07-01

A robust method is proposed for the measurement of surface temperature fields during induction heating. It is based on the original coupling of temperature-indicating lacquers and a high-speed camera system. Image analysis tools have been implemented to automatically extract the temporal evolution of isotherms. This method was applied to the fast induction treatment of a 4340 steel spur gear, allowing the full history of surface isotherms to be accurately documented for a sequential heating, i.e., a medium frequency preheating followed by a high frequency final heating. Three isotherms, i.e., 704, 816, and 927°C, were acquired every 0.3 ms with a spatial resolution of 0.04 mm per pixel. The information provided by the method is described and discussed. Finally, the transformation temperature Ac1 is linked to the temperature on specific locations of the gear tooth.

11. The reliability of global and hemispheric surface temperature records

Jones, Philip

2016-03-01

The purpose of this review article is to discuss the development and associated estimation of uncertainties in the global and hemispheric surface temperature records. The review begins by detailing the groups that produce surface temperature datasets. After discussing the reasons for similarities and differences between the various products, the main issues that must be addressed when deriving accurate estimates, particularly for hemispheric and global averages, are then considered. These issues are discussed in the order of their importance for temperature records at these spatial scales: biases in SST data, particularly before the 1940s; the exposure of land-based thermometers before the development of louvred screens in the late 19th century; and urbanization effects in some regions in recent decades. The homogeneity of land-based records is also discussed; however, at these large scales it is relatively unimportant. The article concludes by illustrating hemispheric and global temperature records from the four groups that produce series in near-real time.

12. Land surface temperature measurements from EOS MODIS data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wan, Zhengming

1994-01-01

A generalized split-window method for retrieving land-surface temperature (LST) from AVHRR and MODIS data has been developed. Accurate radiative transfer simulations show that the coefficients in the split-window algorithm for LST must depend on the viewing angle, if we are to achieve a LST accuracy of about 1 K for the whole scan swath range (+/-55.4 deg and +/-55 deg from nadir for AVHRR and MODIS, respectively) and for the ranges of surface temperature and atmospheric conditions over land, which are much wider than those over oceans. We obtain these coefficients from regression analysis of radiative transfer simulations, and we analyze sensitivity and error by using results from systematic radiative transfer simulations over wide ranges of surface temperatures and emissivities, and atmospheric water vapor abundance and temperatures. Simulations indicated that as atmospheric column water vapor increases and viewing angle is larger than 45 deg it is necessary to optimize the split-window method by separating the ranges of the atmospheric column water vapor and lower boundary temperature, and the surface temperature into tractable sub-ranges. The atmospheric lower boundary temperature and (vertical) column water vapor values retrieved from HIRS/2 or MODIS atmospheric sounding channels can be used to determine the range where the optimum coefficients of the split-window method are given. This new LST algorithm not only retrieves LST more accurately but also is less sensitive than viewing-angle independent LST algorithms to the uncertainty in the band emissivities of the land-surface in the split-window and to the instrument noise.

13. High-Temperature Surface-Acoustic-Wave Transducer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhao, Xiaoliang; Tittmann, Bernhard R.

2010-01-01

Aircraft-engine rotating equipment usually operates at high temperature and stress. Non-invasive inspection of microcracks in those components poses a challenge for the non-destructive evaluation community. A low-profile ultrasonic guided wave sensor can detect cracks in situ. The key feature of the sensor is that it should withstand high temperatures and excite strong surface wave energy to inspect surface/subsurface cracks. As far as the innovators know at the time of this reporting, there is no existing sensor that is mounted to the rotor disks for crack inspection; the most often used technology includes fluorescent penetrant inspection or eddy-current probes for disassembled part inspection. An efficient, high-temperature, low-profile surface acoustic wave transducer design has been identified and tested for nondestructive evaluation of structures or materials. The development is a Sol-Gel bismuth titanate-based surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) sensor that can generate efficient surface acoustic waves for crack inspection. The produced sensor is very thin (submillimeter), and can generate surface waves up to 540 C. Finite element analysis of the SAW transducer design was performed to predict the sensor behavior, and experimental studies confirmed the results. One major uniqueness of the Sol-Gel bismuth titanate SAW sensor is that it is easy to implement to structures of various shapes. With a spray coating process, the sensor can be applied to surfaces of large curvatures. Second, the sensor is very thin (as a coating) and has very minimal effect on airflow or rotating equipment imbalance. Third, it can withstand temperatures up to 530 C, which is very useful for engine applications where high temperature is an issue.

14. CLARA-SAL: a global 28 yr timeseries of Earth's black-sky surface albedo

Riihelä, A.; Manninen, T.; Laine, V.; Andersson, K.; Kaspar, F.

2013-04-01

We present a novel 28 yr dataset of Earth's black-sky surface albedo, derived from AVHRR instruments. The dataset is created using algorithms to separately derive the surface albedo for different land use areas globally. Snow, sea ice, open water and vegetation are all treated independently. The product features corrections for the atmospheric effect in satellite-observed surface radiances, a BRDF correction for the anisotropic reflectance properties of natural surfaces, and a novel topography correction of geolocation and radiometric accuracy of surface reflectance observations over mountainous areas. The dataset is based on a homogenized AVHRR radiance timeseries. The product is validated against quality-controlled in situ observations of clear-sky surface albedo at various BSRN sites around the world. Snow and ice albedo retrieval validation is given particular attention using BSRN sites over Antarctica, Greenland Climate Network stations on the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), as well as sea ice albedo data from the SHEBA and Tara expeditions. The product quality is found to be comparable to other previous long-term surface albedo datasets from AVHRR.

15. CLARA-SAL: a global 28-yr timeseries of Earth's black-sky surface albedo

Riihelä, A.; Manninen, T.; Laine, V.; Andersson, K.; Kaspar, F.

2012-09-01

We present a novel 28-yr dataset of Earth's black-sky surface albedo, derived from AVHRR instruments. The dataset is created using algorithms to separately derive the surface albedo for different land use areas globally. Snow, sea ice, open water and vegetation are all treated independently. The product features corrections for the atmospheric effect in satellite-observed surface radiances, a BRDF correction for the anisotropic reflectance properties of natural surfaces, and a novel topography correction of geolocation and radiometric accuracy of surface reflectance observations over mountainous areas. The dataset is based on a homogenized AVHRR radiance timeseries. The product is validated against quality-controlled in situ observations of clear-sky surface albedo at various BSRN sites around the world. Snow and ice albedo retrieval validation is given particular attention using BSRN sites over Antarctica, Greenland Climate Network stations on the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), as well as sea ice albedo data from the SHEBA and Tara expeditions. The product quality is found to be comparable to other previous long-term surface albedo datasets from AVHRR.

16. Low-Temperature Oxidation Reactions and Cool Flames at Earth and Reduced Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearlman, Howard

1999-01-01

Non-isothermal studies of cool flames and low temperature oxidation reactions in unstirred closed vessels are complicated by the perturbing effects of natural convection at earth gravity. Buoyant convection due to self-heating during the course of slow reaction produces spatio-temporal variations in the thermal and thus specie concentration fields due to the Arrhenius temperature dependence of the reaction rates. Such complexities have never been quantitatively modeled and were the primary impetus for the development of CSTR's (continuously stirred tank reactors) 30 years ago. While CSTR's have been widely adopted since they offer the advantage of spatial uniformity in temperature and concentration, all gradients are necessarily destroyed along with any structure that may otherwise develop. Microgravity offers a unique environment where buoyant convection can be effectively minimized and the need for stirring eliminated. Moreover, eliminating buoyancy and the need for stirring eliminates complications associated with the induced hydrodynamic field whose influence on heat transport and hot spot formation, hence explosion limits, is not fully realized. The objective of this research is to quantitatively determine and understand the fundamental mechanisms that control the onset and evolution of low temperature reactions and cool flames in both static and flow reactors. Microgravity experiments will be conducted to obtain benchmark data on the structure (spatio-temporal temperature, concentration, flow fields), the dynamics of the chemical fronts, and the ignition diagrams (pressure vs. temperature). Ground-based experiments will be conducted to ascertain the role of buoyancy. Numerical simulations including detailed kinetics will be conducted and compared to experiment.

17. Determination of sea surface temperatures from microwave and IR data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rangaswamy, S.; Grover, J.

1982-01-01

Microwave measurements from the Nimbus 7 SMMR were used to derive the atmospheric precipitable water, which was then used to obtain the atmospheric correction for use with AVHRR thermal IR measurements to obtain sea surface temperature (SST). The resulting SST's were compared with the NOAA operational sea surface temperature measurements, and the two sets of measurements were found to be in reasonable agreement. The average residuals between the two sets of measurements was 0.15 K with the NOAA operational SST's being slightly greater.

18. Orientational order at finite temperature on curved surfaces

Brito, Carolina; Vitelli, Vincenzo; Dauchot, Olivier

2016-03-01

We study the effect of thermal fluctuations in the XY model on surfaces with unequal principal curvatures. Unlike Gaussian curvature that typically frustrates orientational order, the extrinsic curvature of the surface can act as a local field that promotes long-range order at low temperature. We find numerically that the transition from the high temperature isotropic phase to the true long-range ordered phase is characterized by critical exponents consistent with those of the flat space Ising model in two dimensions, up to finite size effects. Our results suggest a versatile strategy to achieve geometric control of liquid crystal order by suitable design of the underlying curvature of a substrate.

19. Japanese Whaling Ships' Sea Surface Temperatures 1946-84.

Mierzejewska, Anna W.; Wu, Zhongxiang; Newell, Reginald E.; Miyashita, Tomio

1997-03-01

Japanese whaling ship data, a homogeneous dataset mainly covering the southern high-latitude oceans, may be used to fill in gaps in recent sea surface temperature datasets, contributing a fair number of additional observations in this area. The Japanese whaling ship data are treated separately here for the period 1946-84, and they show no significant temperature changes during this period in the main fishing region of 60°-70°S or in the west Pacific warm pool.

20. Low temperature CO sensor based on cataluminescence from plasma-assisted catalytic oxidation on Ag doped alkaline-earth nanomaterials.

PubMed

Han, Jiaying; Han, Feifei; Ouyang, Jin; He, Lixin; Zhang, Yantu; Na, Na

2014-03-21

Based on cataluminescence from plasma-assisted catalytic oxidation, a low temperature CO sensor was fabricated. With Ag doped alkaline-earth catalyst as sensing element, air as discharge gas, carrier gas and oxidant supplier, significant cataluminescence was achieved at low temperature, demonstrating a potential low-consumption and portable sensor of CO. PMID:24519492

1. Calculations of microwave brightness temperature of rough soil surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mo, T.; Schmugge, T. J.; Wang, J. R.

1985-01-01

A model for simulating the brightness temperatures of soils with rough surfaces is developed. The surface emissivity of the soil media is obtained by the integration of the bistatic scattering coefficients for rough surfaces. The roughness of a soil surface is characterized by two parameters, the surface height standard deviation sigma and its horizontal correlation length l. The model calculations are compared to the measured angular variations of the polarized brightness temperatures at both 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. A nonlinear least-squares fitting method is used to obtain the values of delta and l that best characterize the surface roughness. The effect of shadowing is incorporated by introducing a function S(theta), which represents the probability that a point on a rough surface is not shadowed by other parts of the surface. The model results for the horizontal polarization are in excellent agreement with the data. However, for the vertical polarization, some discrepancies exist between the calculations and data, particularly at the 1.4 GHz frequency. Possible causes of the discrepancy are discussed.

2. Correlation between surface tension and critical temperatures of liquid metals.

PubMed

2006-12-15

The inter-relationship of surface tension sigma, molar volume V, and critical temperature Tc has been examined using experimental values for eighteen liquid metals. Hard-sphere diameters a correlate with the equation a(5/2) = 8.9733 x 10(-19) V (sigma/Tc)(1/4) - 1.0459 x 10(-25). Unknown Tc may be estimated using surface tension and liquid density values. PMID:17027015

3. Numerical Modeling of Nonlinear Acoustic-Gravity Wave Propagation from the Earth's Surface to the Upper Atmosphere

Gavrilov, Nikolai M.; Kshevetskii, Sergej P.

2014-05-01

Three-dimension algorithm for numerical simulation of vertical propagation and breaking of nonlinear acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs) from the Earth's surface to the upper atmosphere is developed. The 3D algorithm for hydrodynamic equation solution uses finite-difference analogues of basic conservation laws. This approach allows us to select physically correct generalized wave solutions of hydrodynamic equations. Horizontally moving periodical horizontal sinusoidal structures of vertical velocity on the Earth's surface serve as AGW sources in the model. The numerical simulation covers altitudes from the ground up to 500 km. Vertical profiles of the mean temperature, density, molecular viscosity and thermal conductivity are specified from standard models of the atmosphere. Calculations are made for different amplitudes, horizontal wavelengths and speeds of wave sources at the bottom of the atmosphere. When AGW amplitudes increase with height, waves may break down in the middle and upper atmosphere. After activating tropospheric wave sources, AGW very quickly (in a few minutes) may reach high altitudes up to 100 km and above. Instability and dissipation of wave energy may lead to formations of wave accelerations of the mean winds and to creations of wave-induced jet flows in the middle and upper atmosphere. Nonlinear interactions may lead to instabilities of the initial wave and to the creation of smaller-scale structures. These smaller inhomogeneities may increase temperature and wind gradients and enhance the wave energy dissipation. Thus, the increase in AGW amplitudes in the upper atmosphere may occur at a much slower pace than the increase in amplitudes of tropospheric wave sources. Acknowledgements This work was partially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

4. An analytic function of lunar surface temperature for exospheric modeling

Hurley, Dana M.; Sarantos, Menelaos; Grava, Cesare; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Retherford, Kurt D.; Siegler, Matthew; Greenhagen, Benjamin; Paige, David

2015-07-01

We present an analytic expression to represent the lunar surface temperature as a function of Sun-state latitude and local time. The approximation represents neither topographical features nor compositional effects and therefore does not change as a function of selenographic latitude and longitude. The function reproduces the surface temperature measured by Diviner to within ±10 K at 72% of grid points for dayside solar zenith angles of <80°, and at 98% of grid points for nightside solar zenith angles >100°. The analytic function is least accurate at the terminator, where there is a strong gradient in the temperature, and the polar regions. Topographic features have a larger effect on the actual temperature near the terminator than at other solar zenith angles. For exospheric modeling the effects of topography on the thermal model can be approximated by using an effective longitude for determining the temperature. This effective longitude is randomly redistributed with 1 sigma of 4.5°. The resulting "roughened" analytical model well represents the statistical dispersion in the Diviner data and is expected to be generally useful for future models of lunar surface temperature, especially those implemented within exospheric simulations that address questions of volatile transport.

5. An Analytic Function of Lunar Surface Temperature for Exospheric Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurley, Dana M.; Sarantos, Menelaos; Grava, Cesare; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Retherford, Kurt D.; Siegler, Matthew; Greenhagen, Benjamin; Paige, David

2014-01-01

We present an analytic expression to represent the lunar surface temperature as a function of Sun-state latitude and local time. The approximation represents neither topographical features nor compositional effects and therefore does not change as a function of selenographic latitude and longitude. The function reproduces the surface temperature measured by Diviner to within +/-10 K at 72% of grid points for dayside solar zenith angles of less than 80, and at 98% of grid points for nightside solar zenith angles greater than 100. The analytic function is least accurate at the terminator, where there is a strong gradient in the temperature, and the polar regions. Topographic features have a larger effect on the actual temperature near the terminator than at other solar zenith angles. For exospheric modeling the effects of topography on the thermal model can be approximated by using an effective longitude for determining the temperature. This effective longitude is randomly redistributed with 1 sigma of 4.5deg. The resulting ''roughened'' analytical model well represents the statistical dispersion in the Diviner data and is expected to be generally useful for future models of lunar surface temperature, especially those implemented within exospheric simulations that address questions of volatile transport.

6. Deriving Surface Soil Moisture from Medium Resolution VNIR/TIR Earth Observation Data combined with 1D simulation process model

Petropoulos, George P.; Carlson, Toby N.

2013-04-01

Earth Observation (EO) has played an imperative role in extending our abilities for obtaining information on the spatio-temporal distribution of surface soil moisture (SSM). A wide range of techniques have been proposed for this purpose, utilising spectral information acquired from remote sensing instruments operating in different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some of these methods have been based on the integration of satellite-derived estimates of Fractional Vegetation Cover (Fr) and Land Surface Temperature (Ts) in the form of a scatterplot domain, often combining simulations from land surface process model. In this work we present results from the evaluation of one such technique implemented using ENVISAT's Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) medium resolution sensor imagery and SimSphere land surface model. Validation of the derived SMC maps was undertaken in different sites in Europe representing a variety of climatic, topographic and environmental conditions, for which validated in-situ observations from diverse operational ground observational networks were available. Our results indicated a generally close agreement between the inverted SMC maps and the in-situ observations, with accuracies often comparable to previous studies implemented using different types of EO data. Comparisons of the derived SMC maps regionally against other satellite-derived products also showed largely an explainable distribution of SMC in relation to surface heterogeneity. The present work was conducted in the framework of the PROgRESSIon (Prototyping the Retrievals of Energy Fluxes and Soil Moisture Content) project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) Support to Science Element (STSE). The project aims at exploring the development of a series of prototype products for the estimation of turbulent heat fluxes and SMC derived from the synergy of SimSphere land surface model with EO observations from advanced technologically designed medium resolution ESA-funded or co-funded instruments. KEYWORDS: surface soil moisture, remote sensing, triangle, SimSphere, AATSR.

7. ESTIMATING SUBPIXEL SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND ENERGY FLUXES FROM THE VEGETATION INDEX-RADIOMETRIC TEMPERATURE RELATIONSHIP

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Routine (i.e., daily to weekly) monitoring of surface energy fluxes, particularly evapotranspiration (ET), using satellite observations of radiometric surface temperature has not been feasible at high pixel resolution because of the low frequency in satellite coverage over the region of interest (i...

8. Analysing the Effects of Different Land Cover Types on Land Surface Temperature Using Satellite Data

Şekertekin, A.; Kutoglu, Ş. H.; Kaya, S.; Marangoz, A. M.

2015-12-01

Monitoring Land Surface Temperature (LST) via remote sensing images is one of the most important contributions to climatology. LST is an important parameter governing the energy balance on the Earth and it also helps us to understand the behavior of urban heat islands. There are lots of algorithms to obtain LST by remote sensing techniques. The most commonly used algorithms are split-window algorithm, temperature/emissivity separation method, mono-window algorithm and single channel method. In this research, mono window algorithm was implemented to Landsat 5 TM image acquired on 28.08.2011. Besides, meteorological data such as humidity and temperature are used in the algorithm. Moreover, high resolution Geoeye-1 and Worldview-2 images acquired on 29.08.2011 and 12.07.2013 respectively were used to investigate the relationships between LST and land cover type. As a result of the analyses, area with vegetation cover has approximately 5 ºC lower temperatures than the city center and arid land., LST values change about 10 ºC in the city center because of different surface properties such as reinforced concrete construction, green zones and sandbank. The temperature around some places in thermal power plant region (ÇATES and ZETES) Çatalağzı, is about 5 ºC higher than city center. Sandbank and agricultural areas have highest temperature due to the land cover structure.

9. Revised atmospheric excitation function series related to Earth's variable rotation under consideration of surface topography
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