Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Validation Of The Aura Microwave Limb Sounder Hnomeasurements, M L. Santee, A Lambert, W G. Read, N J. Livesey, R E. Cofield, D T. Cuddy, W H. Daffer, B J. Drouin, L Froidevaux, R A. Fuller, R F. Jarnot, B W. Knosp, G L. Manney, V S. Perun, W V. Snyder, P C. Stek, R P. Thurstans, P A. Wagner, J W. Waters, G Muscari, R L. De Zafra, Jack E. Dibb, D W. Fahey, P J. Popp, T P. Marcy, K W. Jucks, G C. Toon, R A. Stachnik, P F. Bernath, C D. Boone, K A. Walker, J Urban, D Murtagh

Earth Sciences

We assess the quality of the version 2.2 (v2.2) HNO₃ measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Earth Observing System Aura satellite. The MLS HNO₃ product has been greatly improved over that in the previous version (v1.5), with smoother profiles, much more realistic behavior at the lowest retrieval levels, and correction of a high bias caused by an error in one of the spectroscopy files used in v1.5 processing. The v2.2 HNO₃ data are scientifically useful over the range 215 to 3.2 hPa, with single-profile precision of ∼0.7 ppbv throughout. Vertical resolution is 3–4 km …

Total Depletion Of Hg° In The Upper Troposphere-Lower Stratosphere, R. Talbot, Huiting Mao, Jack E. Dibb, M A. Avery

Earth Sciences

Our current understanding of atmospheric mercury lacks fundamental details. Gas phase elemental mercury (Hg°) was measured aboard the NASA DC-8 research aircraft during the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment-Phase B (INTEX-B) conducted in spring 2006 over the North Pacific. Our data confirm efficient chemical cycling of Hg° in the tropopause region and show that it is strongly anti-correlated with O₃ there, yielding a tropospheric-stratospheric mixing curve of ∼−0.20 ppqv Hg°/ppbv O₃. In addition, we found frequent total depletion of Hg° in upper tropospheric (8–12 km) air masses impacted by stratospheric influence. When O₃ mixing ratios were >300 …

Predicting Magnetospheric Dynamics With A Coupled Sun‐To‐Earth Model: Challenges And First Results, V. G. Merkin, M. J. Owens, Harlan E. Spence, W. J. Hughes, J. M. Quinn

Physics & Astronomy

[1] Results from the first Sun-to-Earth coupled numerical model developed at the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling are presented. The model simulates physical processes occurring in space spanning from the corona of the Sun to the Earth's ionosphere, and it represents the first step toward creating a physics-based numerical tool for predicting space weather conditions in the near-Earth environment. Two 6- to 7-d intervals, representing different heliospheric conditions in terms of the three-dimensional configuration of the heliospheric current sheet, are chosen for simulations. These conditions lead to drastically different responses of the simulated magnetosphere-ionosphere system, emphasizing, on the one …

Shake & Bake: Dual-Use Chemicals, Contexts, And The Illegality Of American White Phosphorus Attacks In Iraq, Joseph D. Tessier

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “On November 29, 2005, in a Department of Defense press conference with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Pace stated that white phosphorus “is a legitimate tool of the military,” and can be used for illumination, smoke, and incendiary purposes. Incredibly, the Department of Defense released an addendum to the press conference clarifying that white phosphorus was not used as an incendiary weapon. According to General Pace, “it was well within the law of war to use white phosphorus . . . for marking and screening.” This was …

Separation Of Spatial And Temporal Structure Of Auroral Particle Precipitation, A. Boudouridis, Harlan E. Spence

Physics & Astronomy

[1] Knowledge of the dominant temporal and spatial scales of auroral features is instrumental in understanding the various mechanisms responsible for auroral particle precipitation. Single spacecraft data always suffer from temporal/spatial ambiguity. In an effort to separate the temporal and spatial variations of the aurora, we use electron and ion precipitation data from two co-orbiting satellites, F6 and F8 of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). The two spacecraft have almost identical polar orbits with a small difference in period. As a result the time difference between the two measurements varies with time. We use two statistical tools in order …

A Summer Time Series Of Particulate Carbon In The Air And Snow At Summit, Greenland, Gayle S.W. Hagler, M Bergin, Eugene A. Smith, Jack E. Dibb

Earth Sciences

Carbonaceous particulate matter is ubiquitous in the lower atmosphere, produced by natural and anthropogenic sources and transported to distant regions, including the pristine and climate-sensitive Greenland Ice Sheet. During the summer of 2006, ambient particulate carbonaceous compounds were characterized on the Greenland Ice Sheet, including the measurement of particulate organic (OC) and elemental (EC) carbon, particulate water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), particulate absorption coefficient (σ_ap), and particle size-resolved number concentration (PM_0.1–1.0). Additionally, parallel ∼50-day time series of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC), and elemental carbon (EC) were quantified at time increments of 4–24 …

Relationship Of Marine Information Overlays (Mios) To Current/Future Iho Standards, Lee Alexander, Michael Huet

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Ais Binary Messages, Domain Examples And A Case For A Xml Message Definition Language, Schwehr Kurt

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Encoding Ais Binary Messages In Xml Format For Providing Hydrographic-Related Information, Schwehr Kurt, Lee Alexander

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

A specification is proposed to enable hydrographic and maritime safety agencies to encode AIS messages using Extensible Markup Language (XML). It specifies the order, length, and type of fields contained in ITU-R.M.1371-1. A XML schema validates the message definitions, and a XSLT style sheet produces reference documentation in 'html' format. AIS binary messages in XML are an effective means to communicate dynamic and real-time port/waterway information. For example, tidal information can be continuously broadcast to maritime users and applied to a "tide-aware" ENC. The XML format aligns with the type of data encapsulation planned for the IHO Geospatial Standard for …

Design Optimization And Performance Capabilities Of The Fast Neutron Imaging Telescope (Fnit), U Bravar, P J. Bruillard, E O. Fluckiger, Jason S. Legere, John R. Macri, A L. Mackinnon, Procheta Mallik, Mark L. Mcconnell, M R. Moser, B Pirard, James M. Ryan, R S. Woolf

Space Science Center

We describe the design optimization process and performance characterization of a next generation neutron telescope, with imaging and energy measurement capabilities, sensitive to neutrons in the 1-20 MeV energy range. The response of the Fast Neutron Imaging Telescope (FNIT), its efficiency in neutron detection, energy resolution and imaging capabilities were characterized through a combination of lab tests and Monte Carlo simulations. Monte Carlo simulations, together with experimental data, are also being used in the development and testing of the image reconstruction algorithm. FNIT was initially conceived to study solar neutrons as a candidate instrument for the Inner Heliosphere Sentinel (IHS) …

Using Lax Scintillator In A New Low-Background Compton Telescope, James M. Ryan, Peter F. Bloser, John R. Macri, Mark L. Mcconnell

Space Science Center

The ability of Compton telescopes to perform imaging and spectroscopy in space depends directly on the speed and energy resolution of the calorimeter detectors in the telescope. The calorimeter detectors flown on space-borne or balloon-borne Compton telescopes have included NaI(Tl), CsI(Na), HPGe and liquid organic scintillator. By employing LaX scintillators for the calorimeter, one can take advantage of the unique speed and resolving power of the material to improve the instrument sensitivity and simultaneously enhance its spectroscopic performance and thus its imaging performance. We present a concept for a space-borne Compton telescope that employs LaX as a calorimeter and estimate …

U.S. Law Of The Sea Cruise To Map The Foot Of The Slope And 2500-M Isobath Of The U.S. Arctic Ocean Margin. Cruise Report For 2007, Larry A. Mayer, Andy Armstrong

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

USCGC Icebreaker Healy (WAGB-20) U.S. Law of the Sea cruise to map the foot of the slope and 2500-m isobath of the US Arctic Ocean margin

CRUISES HE-0703

August 17 to September 15, 2007

Barrow, AK to Barrow, AK

A Burst Chasing X-Ray Polarimeter, Joanne E. Hill, Scott Barthelmy, J Kevin Black, Philip Deines-Jones, Keith Jahoda, Takanori Sakamoto, Philip Kaaret, Mark L. Mcconnell, Peter F. Bloser, John R. Macri, Jason S. Legere, James M. Ryan, Billy R. Smith Jr, Bing Zhang

Space Science Center

Gamma-ray bursts are one of the most powerful explosions in the universe and have been detected out to distances of almost 13 billion light years. The exact origin of these energetic explosions is still unknown but the resulting huge release of energy is thought to create a highly relativistic jet of material and a power-law distribution of electrons. There are several theories describing the origin of the prompt GRB emission that currently cannot be distinguished. Measurements of the linear polarization would provide unique and important constraints on the mechanisms thought to drive these powerful explosions. We present the design of …

Marine Ship Automatic Identification System (Ais) For Enhanced Coastal Security Capabilities: An Oil Spill Tracking Application, Kurt Schwehr, Philip A. Mcgillivary

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

National and international trade via shipping is already significant, and expected to continue increasing rapidly over the next decade. Both more ships and larger ships will contribute to this trade, includingships from countries with less rigorous shipping maintenance and inspection standards than the United States, and less strict pollution monitoring regulations. Changes in ship traffic management protocols have been implemented in recent years in the U.S. to minimize damage to coastlines, particularly near sensitive or protected marine environments. For example, to reduce risk to coastal resources off central California, shipping lanes for larger vessels were moved further offshore to allow …

Acoustic Positioning And Tracking In Portsmouth Harbour, New Hampshire, Michelle Weirathmueller, Thomas C. Weber, Val E. Schmidt, Glenn Mcgillicuddy, Larry A. Mayer, Lloyd C. Huff

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire, is frequently used as a testing area for multibeam and sidescan sonars, and is the location of numerous ground-truthing studies. Having the ability to accurately position underwater sensors is an important aspect of this type of work. However, underwater positioning in Portsmouth Harbor is challenging. It is relatively shallow, approximately one kilometer wide with depths of less than 25 meters. There is mixing between fresh river water and seawater, which is intensified by high currents and strong tides. This causes a very complicated spatial and temporal sound speed structure. Solutions that use the time-of-arrival of an …

Enhancement Of Underwater Video Mosaics For Post-Processing, Yuri Rzhanov, Fan Gu

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Mosaics of seafloor created from still images or video acquired underwater have proved to be useful for construction of maps of forensic and archeological sites, species' abundance estimates, habitat characterization, etc. Images taken by a camera mounted on a stable platform are registered (at first pair-wise and then globally) and assembled in a high resolution visual map of the surveyed area. While this map is usually sufficient for a human orientation and even quantitative measurements, it often contains artifacts that complicate an automatic post-processing (for example, extraction of shapes for organism counting, or segmentation for habitat characterization). The most prominent …

Particulate And Water-Soluble Carbon Measured In Recent Snow At Summit, Greenland, Gayle S.W. Hagler, M Bergin, Eugene A. Smith, Jack E. Dibb, Casey Anderson, Eric J. Steig

Earth Sciences

Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), waterinsoluble particulate organic carbon (WIOC), and particulate elemental carbon (EC) were measured simultaneously for the first time on the Greenland Ice Sheet in surface snow and in a 3-meter snow pit. Snow pit concentrations reveal that, on average, WSOC makes up the majority (89%) of carbonaceous species, followed by WIOC (10%) and EC (1%). The enhancement of OC relative to EC (ratio 99:1) in Greenland snow suggests that, along with atmospheric particulate matter, gaseous organics contribute to snow-phase OC. Comparison of summer surface snow concentrations in 2006 with past summer snow pit layers (2002 – 2005) …

Impact Of Multiscale Dynamical Processes And Mixing On The Chemical Composition Of The Upper Troposphere And Lower Stratosphere During The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment–North America, T D. Fairlie, Melody A. Avery, R B. Pierce, J Al-Saadi, Jack E. Dibb, G W. Sachse

Earth Sciences

We use high-frequency in situ observations made from the DC8 to examine fine-scale tracer structure and correlations observed in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere during INTEX-NA. Two flights of the NASA DC-8 are compared and contrasted. Chemical data from the DC-8 flight on 18 July show evidence for interleaving and mixing of polluted and stratospheric air masses in the vicinity of the subtropical jet in the upper troposphere, while on 2 August the DC-8 flew through a polluted upper troposphere and a lowermost stratosphere that showed evidence of an intrusion of polluted air. We compare data from both flights …

An Overview Of Snow Photochemistry: Evidence, Mechanisms And Impacts, A M. Grannas, A E. Jones, Jack E. Dibb, M Ammann, Cort Anastasio, H J. Beine, M Bergin, J Bottenheim, C S. Boxe, G Carver, G Chen, J H. Crawford, Florent Domine, M M. Frey, M I. Guzman, D E. Heard, D Helmig, M R. Hoffmann, R E. Honrath, L Gregory Huey, Manuel Hutterli, H W. Jacobi, P Klan, Barry Lefer, J Mcconnell, J Plane, R Sander, J Savarino, P B. Shepson, W R. Simpson, J R. Sodeau, R Von Glasow, R Weller, E W. Wolff, T Zhu

Earth Sciences

It has been shown that sunlit snow and ice plays an important role in processing atmospheric species. Photochemical production of a variety of chemicals has recently been reported to occur in snow/ice and the release of these photochemically generated species may significantly impact the chemistry of the overlying atmosphere. Nitrogen oxide and oxidant precursor fluxes have been measured in a number of snow covered environments, where in some cases the emissions significantly impact the overlying boundary layer. For example, photochemical ozone production (such as that occurring in polluted mid-latitudes) of 3-4 ppbv/day has been observed at South Pole, due to …

U.S. Law Of The Sea Cruise To Map The Foot Of The Slope And 2500-M Isobath Of The Florida Escarpment And Sigsbee Escarpment, Northern Gulf Of Mexico Continental Marg. Cruise Report, James V. Gardner

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

U.S. Law of the Sea cruise to map the foot of the slope and 2500-m isobath of the Florida Escarpment and Sigsbee Escarpment, northern Gulf of Mexico continental margin

CRUISE NR07-1

Mobile, AL to Mobile, AL

June 21, 2007 to July 8, 2007

Future Impacts Of Fresh Water Resource Management: Sensitivity Of Coastal Deltas, Charles J. Vorosmarty, Jason P. Ericson, S Lawrence Dingman, Larry G. Ward

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

We present an assessment of contemporary and future effective sealevel rise (ESLR) using a sample of 40 deltas distributed worldwide. For any delta, ESLR is a net rate defined by eustatic sea-level rise, natural gross rates of fluvial sediment deposition and subsidence, and accelerated subsidence due to groundwater and hydrocarbon extraction. Present-day ESLR, estimated from geospatial data and a simple model of deltaic dynamics, ranges from 0.5 to 12.5 mm year-1. Reduced accretion of fluvial sediment from upstream siltation of reservoirs and freshwater consumptive irrigation losses are primary determinants of ESLR in nearly 70% of the deltas, while for only …

Exploiting Full-Waveform Lidar Data And Multiresolution Wavelet Analysis For Vertical Object Detection And Recognition, Christopher Parrish

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

A current challenge in performing airport obstruction surveys using airborne lidar is lack of reliable, automated methods for extracting and attributing vertical objects from the lidar data. This paper presents a new approach to solving this problem, taking advantage of the additional data provided byfull-waveform systems. The procedure entails first deconvolving and georeferencing the lidar waveformdata to create dense, detailed point clouds in which the vertical structure of objects, such as trees, towers, and buildings, is well characterized. The point clouds are then voxelized to produce high-resolution volumes of lidar intensity values, and a 3D wavelet decomposition is computed. Verticalobject …

Summertime Influence Of Asian Pollution In The Free Troposphere Over North America, Q Liang, L Jaegle, R C. Hudman, S Turquety, D J. Jacob, Melody A. Avery, E V. Browell, G W. Sachse, D R. Blake, William H. Brune, Xinrong Ren, Ronald C. Cohen, Jack E. Dibb, A Fried, H Fuelberg, M Porter, B J. Heikes, Greg Huey, H B. Singh, Paul Wennberg

Earth Sciences

We analyze aircraft observations obtained during INTEX-A (1 July to 14 August 2004) to examine the summertime influence of Asian pollution in the free troposphere over North America. By applying correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) to the observations between 6 and 12 km, we find dominant influences from recent convection and lightning (13% of observations), Asia (7%), the lower stratosphere (7%), and boreal forest fires (2%), with the remaining 71% assigned to background. Asian air masses are marked by high levels of CO, O3, HCN, PAN, C2H2, C6H6, methanol, and SO4 2 –. The partitioning of NOy species …

Biomass Burning And Pollution Aerosol Over North America: Organic Components And Their Influence On Spectral Optical Properties And Humidification Response, A D. Clarke, Cameron Mcnaughton, V Kapustin, Yohei Shinozuka, S G. Howell, Jack E. Dibb, J Zhou, B Anderson, V Brekhovskikh, H Turner, M Pinkerton

Earth Sciences

Thermal analysis of aerosol size distributions provided size resolved volatility up to temperatures of 400°C during extensive flights over North America (NA) for the INTEX/ICARTT experiment in summer 2004. Biomass burning and pollution plumes identified from trace gas measurements were evaluated for their aerosol physiochemical and optical signatures. Measurements of soluble ionic mass and refractory black carbon (BC) mass, inferred from light absorption, were combined with volatility to identify organic carbon at 400°C (VolatileOC) and the residual or refractory organic carbon, RefractoryOC. This approach characterized distinct constituent mass fractions present in biomass burning and pollution plumes every 5–10 min. Biomass …

Chemical Data Assimilation Estimates Of Continental U.S. Ozone And Nitrogen Budgets During The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment-North America, R B. Pierce, T Schaack, J Al-Saadi, T D. Fairlie, Chieko Kittaka, Gretchen Lingenfelser, M Natarajan, J R. Olson, Amber Soja, Tom Zapotocny, A Lenzen, M A. Avery, James Stobie, Donald Johnson, Melody A. Avery, G W. Sachse, A M. Thompson, Ronald C. Cohen, Jack E. Dibb, J Crawford, Didier Rault, Randall Martin, Jim Szykman, Jack Fishman

Earth Sciences

Global ozone analyses, based on assimilation of stratospheric profile and ozone column measurements, and NOy predictions from the Real-time Air Quality Modeling System (RAQMS) are used to estimate the ozone and NOy budget over the continental United States during the July-August 2004 Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment-North America (INTEX-A). Comparison with aircraft, satellite, surface, and ozonesonde measurements collected during INTEX-A show that RAQMS captures the main features of the global and continental U.S. distribution of tropospheric ozone, carbon monoxide, and NOy with reasonable fidelity. Assimilation of stratospheric profile and column ozone measurements is shown to have a positive impact on the …

Improving Regional Ozone Modeling Through Systematic Evaluation Of Errors Using The Aircraft Observations During The International Consortium For Atmospheric Research On Transport And Transformation, M Mena-Carrasco, Youhua Tang, Gregory R. Carmichael, Tianfeng Chai, Narisara Thongbongchoo, J Elliott Campbell, S Kulkarni, Larry Horowitz, Jeffrey Vukovich, Melody A. Avery, William H. Brune, Jack E. Dibb, L K. Emmons, F Flocke, Glen Sachse, David Tan, R E. Shetter, R. Talbot, David G. Streets, D R. Blake

Earth Sciences

During the operational phase of the ICARTT field experiment in 2004, the regional air quality model STEM showed a strong positive surface bias and a negative upper troposphere bias (compared to observed DC-8 and WP-3 observations) with respect to ozone. After updating emissions from NEI 1999 to NEI 2001 (with a 2004 large point sources inventory update), and modifying boundary conditions, low-level model bias decreases from 11.21 to 1.45 ppbv for the NASA DC-8 observations and from 8.26 to −0.34 for the NOAA WP-3. Improvements in boundary conditions provided by global models decrease the upper troposphere negative ozone bias, while …

Reactive Nitrogen Distribution And Partitioning In The North American Troposphere And Lowermost Stratosphere, H B. Singh, L Salas, D Herlth, R Koyler, M A. Avery, J H. Crawford, R B. Pierce, Glen Sachse, D R. Blake, Ronald C. Cohen, T H. Bertram, A E. Perring, Paul J. Wooldridge, Jack E. Dibb, L Gregory Huey, R C. Hudman, S Turquety, L K. Emmons, F Flocke, Youhua Tang, Gregory R. Carmichael, Larry Horowitz

Earth Sciences

A comprehensive group of reactive nitrogen species (NO, NO₂, HNO₃, HO₂NO₂, PANs, alkyl nitrates, and aerosol-NO₃⁻) were measured over North America during July/August 2004 from the NASA DC-8 platform (0.1–12 km). Nitrogen containing tracers of biomass combustion (HCN and CH₃CN) were also measured along with a host of other gaseous (CO, VOC, OVOC, halocarbon) and aerosol tracers. Clean background air as well as air with influences from biogenic emissions, anthropogenic pollution, biomass combustion, convection, lightning, and the stratosphere was sampled over the continental United States, the Atlantic, …

Surface And Lightning Sources Of Nitrogen Oxides Over The United States: Magnitudes, Chemical Evolution, And Outflow, R C. Hudman, D J. Jacob, S Turquety, Eric M. Leibensperger, L T. Murray, S Wu, A B. Gilliland, M A. Avery, T H. Bertram, William H. Brune, Ronald C. Cohen, Jack E. Dibb, F Flocke, A Fried, J S. Holloway, J A. Neuman, R Orville, A E. Perring, Xinrong Ren, G W. Sachse, H B. Singh, Aaron L. Swanson, Paul J. Wooldridge

Earth Sciences

We use observations from two aircraft during the ICARTT campaign over the eastern United States and North Atlantic during summer 2004, interpreted with a global 3-D model of tropospheric chemistry (GEOS-Chem) to test current understanding of regional sources, chemical evolution, and export of NOx. The boundary layer NOx data provide top-down verification of a 50% decrease in power plant and industry NOx emissions over the eastern United States between 1999 and 2004. Observed NOx concentrations at 8–12 km altitude were 0.55 ± 0.36 ppbv, much larger than in previous U.S. aircraft campaigns (ELCHEM, SUCCESS, SONEX) though consistent with data from …

Linking Images And Sound In A 3d Museum Exhibit Demonstration, Briana M. Sullivan, Colin Ware, Matthew D. Plumlee

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Lateral And Top Boundary Conditions On Regional Air Quality Prediction: A Multiscale Study Coupling Regional And Global Chemical Transport Models, Youhua Tang, Gregory R. Carmichael, Narisara Thongbongchoo, Tianfeng Chai, Larry Horowitz, R B. Pierce, J Al-Saadi, G G. Pfister, Jeffrey Vukovich, Melody A. Avery, Glen Sachse, Thomas B. Ryerson, J S. Holloway, E L. Atlas, F Flocke, Rodney J. Weber, L Gregory Huey, Jack E. Dibb, David G. Streets, William H. Brune

Earth Sciences

The sensitivity of regional air quality model to various lateral and top boundary conditions is studied at 2 scales: a 60 km domain covering the whole USA and a 12 km domain over northeastern USA. Three global models (MOZART-NCAR, MOZART-GFDL and RAQMS) are used to drive the STEM-2K3 regional model with time-varied lateral and top boundary conditions (BCs). The regional simulations with different global BCs are examined using ICARTT aircraft measurements performed in the summer of 2004, and the simulations are shown to be sensitive to the boundary conditions from the global models, especially for relatively long-lived species, like CO …