Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Data From: How Uncertainty In The Neutral Wind Limits The Accuracy Of Ionospheric Modeling And Forecasting, Michael David, Jan Sojka, Robert W. Schunk

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Output files from runs of the TDIM ionospheric model used for the figures and calculations in the article in JGR Space Physics.

Global Stratospheric Measurements Of The Isotopologues Of Methane From The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer, Eric M. Buzan, Chris A. Beale, Chris. D. Boone, Peter F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

This paper presents an analysis of observations of methane and its two major isotopologues, CH₃D and ¹³CH₄, from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite between 2004 and 2013. Additionally, atmospheric methane chemistry is modeled using the Whole Atmospheric Community Climate Model (WACCM). ACE retrievals of methane extend from 6 km for all isotopologues to 75 km for ¹²CH₄, 35 km for CH₃D, and 50 km for ¹³CH₄. While total methane concentrations retrieved from ACE agree well with the model, values of δD-CH₄ and δ¹³C-CH …

Detailed Source-Specific Molecular Composition Of Ambient Aerosol Organic Matter Using Ultrahigh Resolution Mass Spectrometry And H Nmr, Amanda S. Willoughby, Andrew S. Wozniak, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Organic aerosols (OA) are universally regarded as an important component of the atmosphere that have far-ranging impacts on climate forcing and human health. Many of these impacts are related to OA molecular characteristics. Despite the acknowledged importance, current uncertainties related to the source apportionment of molecular properties and environmental impacts make it difficult to confidently predict the net impacts of OA. Here we evaluate the specific molecular compounds as well as bulk structural properties of total suspended particulates in ambient OA collected from key emission sources (marine, biomass burning, and urban) using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (UHR-MS) and proton nuclear …

Upper Tropospheric Water Vapour Variability At High Latitudes- Part 1: Influence Of The Annular Modes, Christopher E. Sioris, Jason Zou, David A. Plummer, Chris D. Boone, C. Thomas Mcelroy, Patrick E. Sheese, Omid Moeini, Peter F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Seasonal and monthly zonal medians of water vapour in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) are calculated for both Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) instruments for the northern and southern high-latitude regions (60-90° N and 60-90°S). Chosen for the purpose of observing high-latitude processes, the ACE orbit provides sampling of both regions in 8 of 12 months of the year, with coverage in all seasons. The ACE water vapour sensors, namely MAESTRO (Measurements of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation) and the Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) are currently the only satellite instruments that can probe from …

Mipas Imk/Iaa Cfc-11 (Ccl3f) And Cfc-12 (Ccl2f2) Measurements: Accuracy, Precision And Long-Term Stability, E. Eckert, A. Laeng, S. Lossow, S. Kellmann, G. Stiller, T. Von Clarmann, N. Glatthor, M. Hopfner, M. Kiefer, H. Oelhaf, P. F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Profiles of CFC-11 (CCl₃F) and CFC-12 (CCl₂F₂) of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) aboard the European satellite Envisat have been retrieved from versions MIPAS/4.61 to MI-PAS/4.62 and MIPAS/5.02 to MIPAS/5.06 level-1b data using the scientific level-2 processor run by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA). These profiles have been compared to measurements taken by the balloon-borne cryosampler, Mark IV (MkIV) and MIPAS-Balloon (MIPAS-B), the airborne MIPAS-STRatospheric aircraft (MIPAS-STR), the satellite-borne Atmospheric Chemistry …

Study Of No2 Photolysis Rate Coefficients For The Paso Del Norte Region, Pema Wangchuk

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The photolysis of nitrogen dioxide is one of the most influential chemical processes in the formation of photochemical air pollution. In this study, we compared simulated and measured nitrogen dioxide photolysis rate coefficients (J_(NO_2 )) for the Paso Del Norte (PdN) region. The Tropospheric Ultraviolet-Visible (TUV) radiation transfer model was used to calculate J_(NO_2 ) values. The measurements of hemi-spherically integrated, spectrally resolved solar photon flux between the wavelengths 400 and 700 nm were used to obtain the photolysis rate coefficients for ã??NOã??_2. Results are presented for a selected episode on July, 2015. The work investigated the use of measured …

Improved Prediction Of Severe Thunderstorms Over The Indian Monsoon Region Using High-Resolution Soil Moisture And Temperature Initialization, K. K. Osuri, R. Nadimpalli, U. C. Mohanty, F. Chen, M. Rajeevan, Dev Niyogi

Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Faculty Publications

The hypothesis that realistic land conditions such as soil moisture/soil temperature (SM/ST) can significantly improve the modeling of mesoscale deep convection is tested over the Indian monsoon region (IMR). A high resolution (3 km foot print) SM/ST dataset prepared from a land data assimilation system, as part of a national monsoon mission project, showed close agreement with observations. Experiments are conducted with (LDAS) and without (CNTL) initialization of SM/ST dataset. Results highlight the significance of realistic land surface conditions on numerical prediction of initiation, movement and timing of severe thunderstorms as compared to that currently being initialized by climatological fields …

Earthkam In The Classroom: Enhanced Stem Learning Through Earth Observations, Angela Burke

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Characteristics Of Tornado Debris Signatures In The 30 June-1 July 2014 Quasi-Linear Convective System Tornado Outbreak, Adam Clayton

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

A Polarimetric Radar Analysis Of The March 31, 2016 Supercell, Kaitlyn Pate, Sarah M. Stough

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Utility Of Imaging Radar For Identifying White Sand Vegetation Structure, Jessica Rosenqvist

Dissertations and Theses

White sand vegetation communities are wide spread across South America; found in Peru, Venezuela, Brazilian Amazon and Guyana. They are distributed in patches ranging from <1 km2 to greater than tens of square kilometers and their origins and locations are still not well understood. The communities are related to a variety of factors (soil type, flooding, nutrient content and fire); hence a precise definition for the ecosystem is still not fully defined. Nevertheless, the result of these variations creates a unique environment for endemic plant and animal species to thrive. Furthermore, analysis of these areas has been very scattered and identification of local white sand areas (<1 km2) have not been accomplished. In addition, identification of these locations has currently only used optical satellite imagery (Landsat, MODIS). Hence, in this project, we have attempted to use synthetic aperture radar to create a classification system to locate the white sand vegetation systems. The goal is to be able to apply this method to identify white sand vegetation distribution across South America. The region of focus for this thesis has been in Aracá, a large white sand area located in Brazil in the State of Amazonas. Due to the lack of ground reference data, a classified map by Capurucho et al. (2013), generated using Landsat data, was used as a comparison and reference. JAXA’s ALOS-1 PALSAR (L-band), ESA’s Sentinel-1A (C-band) and NASA’s SRTM sensors were used for land classification. As microwave signals penetrate clouds and haze, the advantage of using sensors with this wavelength allows for an unobstructed coverage of the landscape all year round. Different combinations of polarizations and wavelengths were used during the analysis to try and separate the white sand vegetation from water and terra firme forest. The resulting classification images showed a 30% agreement with the classification map by Capurucho et al. It is important to note, that this number is in fact an agreement percentage as the map used was a classification image and coarse in resolution (due to the lack of reference data). Therefore, this value does not imply a bad classification. Future work will include time-series data, precise ground reference points and data from other sensors such as ALOS-2 PALSAR, to improve the classification accuracy.

Evidence For The Drainage Of A Superglacial Lake As The Source Of Seismic Waves Recorded At A Regional Distance, Erik J. Orantes

Dissertations and Theses

Surface melting during the summer leads to the formation of lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet surface, known as supraglacial lakes. Some of these lakes drain through cracks in their beds and release the water into the ice sheet. Previous studies suggest that some of the water reaches the bedrock, enabling basal sliding, which could potentially increase glacial discharge (Sundal et al., 2009). Das et al. (2008) showed that supraglacial lake drainage can be accompanied by seismic activity, but little work has been done on the regional detection of such waves. The present study analyzes seismic data for the period …

Regional Variations Of Optimal Sowing Dates Of Maize For The Southwestern U.S., Boksoon Myoung, Seung Hee Kim, Jinwon Kim, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Sowing date (SD) is sensitive to regional climate characteristics; thus, it is critical to systematically examine the effects of SD on crop yields for various temperature regimes. We performed a sensitivity study of SD for maize in the southwestern U.S. using the regionally extended version of the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) model. The model was run utilizing North American Regional Reanalysis at a 32 km resolution from 1991 to 2011, with an irrigation threshold at 95% of the soil water-holding capacity. Two types of SD optimizations maximizing yield potential (Yp), varying spatially or interannually, revealed that the optimal SD …

Intermittency Of Gravity Wave Momentum Flux In The Mesopause Region Observed With An All-Sky Airglow Imager, Bing Cao, Alan Z. Liu

Publications

The intermittency of gravity wave momentum flux (MF) near the OH airglow layer (∼87 km) in the mesopause region is investigated for the first time using observation of all-sky airglow imager over Maui, Hawaii (20.7∘N, 156.3∘W), and Cerro Pachón, Chile (30.3∘S, 70.7∘W). At both sites, the probability density function (pdf) of gravity wave MF shows two distinct distributions depending on the magnitude of the MF. For MF smaller (larger) than ∼16 m2 s−2 (0.091 mPa), the pdf follows a lognormal (power law) distribution. The intermittency represented by the Bernoulli proxy and the percentile ratio shows that gravity waves have higher …

First Measurement Of Horizontal Wind And Temperature In The Lower Thermosphere (105–140 Km) With A Na Lidar At Andes Lidar Observatory, Alan Liu, Yafang Guo, Fabia A. Vargas, Gary Swenson,

Publications

We report the first measurement of nighttime atmospheric temperature and horizontal wind profiles in the lower thermosphere up to 140 km with the Na lidar at Andes Lidar Observatory in Cerro Pachón, Chile (30.25°S, 70.74°W), when enhanced thermospheric Na was observed. Temperature and horizontal wind were derived up to 140 km using various resolutions, with the lowest resolution of about 2.7 hr and 15 km above 130 km. Thus, the measurements span 60 km in vertical, more than double the traditional 25 km. On the night of 17 April 2015, the horizontal wind magnitude in the thermosphere exceeds 150 ms−1, …

Evidence Of The Excitation Of A Ring-Like Gravity Wave In The Mesosphere Over The Andes Lidar Observatory, Fabio Vargas, Gary Swenson,, Alan Liu, Dominique Pautet

Publications

On 23 March 2012, our all-sky imager recorded a concentric, ring-like gravity wave pattern. The wave arose within the area covered by images of both OH and O(1S) nightglow emissions taken at the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO), Chile (30.3°S, 70.7°W). We have estimated the observed and intrinsic parameters of the event and located the wave source within the lower mesosphere altitude range using a reverse ray tracing method. By the analysis of GOES and LIS satellite images, we have not found evidence of neither convective nor lightning activity nearby ALO, indicating that the source of the ring-like wave …

Turbulence And Overturning Gravity Wave Effects Deduced From Mesospheric Na Density Between 100-105 Km At Andes Lidar Observatory, Chile, Alan Z. Liu, Channing P. Philbrick, Gary R. Swenson, Fabio A. Vargas

Publications

Atmospheric turbulence activity in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region is determined from narrowband Na lidar measurements obtained over 27 nights between 85-105 km altitude at the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) in Cerro Pachón, Chile (30.3ºS, 70.7ºW). Photocount perturbations in the applicable spectral subrange are used as a tracer of turbulence activity. Mean altitude profiles reveal a log-scale linear increase in turbulence perturbation amplitude above 95 km. The observed trend is compared against global mean constituent transport profiles derived from SABER and SCIAMACHY satellite borne measurements.

Chemical Transport Of Neutral Atmospheric Constituents By Waves And Turbulence: Theory And Observations, Chester S. Gardner, Alan Liu

Publications

Vertical chemical transport occurs when the density fluctuations of a species, caused by perturbations of its chemistry, are strongly correlated with the vertical wind fluctuations. Chemical transport can exceed dynamical and eddy transport of chemically active species. Theoretical expressions are derived for the chemical fluxes and transport velocities and used to characterize the vertical transport of mesospheric O3 and meteoric Na and Fe between 85 and 100 km. Chemical transport is dependent on the intrinsic frequency spectrum of the temperature fluctuations and on the chemical cutoff periods of the species. For O3 only high-frequency fluctuations contribute to chemical transport because …

Southern Hemisphere Summer Mesopause Responses To El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Tao Li, Natalia Calvo, Jia Yue, James Russell Iii, Alan Liu

Publications

In the Southern Hemisphere (SH) polar region, satellite observations reveal a significant uppermesosphere cooling and a lower-thermosphere warming during warm ENSO events in December. An opposite pattern is observed in the tropical mesopause region. The observed upper-mesosphere cooling agrees with a climate model simulation. Analysis of the simulation suggests that enhanced planetary wave (PW) dissipation in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) high-latitude stratosphere during El Niño strengthens the Brewer–Dobson circulation and cools the equatorial stratosphere. This increases the magnitude of the SH stratosphere meridional temperature gradient and thus causes the anomalous stratospheric easterly zonal wind and early breakdown of the SH …

Fine Particulate Air Pollution And Hospital Emergency Room Visits For Respiratory Disease In Urban Areas In Beijing, China, In 2013, Qin Xu, Xia Li, Shuo Wang, Chao Wang, Fangfang Huang, Qi Gao, Lijuan Wu, Lixin Tao, Jin Guo, Wei Wang, Xiuhua Guo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Heavy fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) air pollution occurs frequently in China. However, epidemiological research on the association between short-term exposure to PM_2.5 pollution and respiratory disease morbidity is still limited. This study aimed to explore the association between PM_2.5 pollution and hospital emergency room visits (ERV) for total and cause-specific respiratory diseases in urban areas in Beijing. Methods Daily counts of respiratory ERV from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2013, were obtained from ten general hospitals located in urban areas in Beijing. Concurrently, data on PM_2.5 were collected from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, …

Laboratory Measurements Of Contact Nucleation By Mineral Dusts, Bacteria, And Soluble Salts, Joseph Niehaus

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

We present results from experiments that emulate atmospheric ice nucleation by aerosols. We have refined experimental techniques to improve measurements of ice forming nuclei in the contact mode. Our results show that atmospherically relevant dusts such as kaolinite, feldspar, rhyolitic ash, and Arizona Test Dust have efficiencies in the contact mode that are higher than the immersion mode. Experiments with bacteria show that biological material has the potential to contribute significantly to ice concentrations, but has large variability. By choosing a soluble compound as an ice nucleus, we are able to place bounds on the timescale for contact freezing and …

Testing Lidar-Radar Derived Drop Sizes Against In Situ Measurements, Mary Amanda Shaw

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

How well can a co-located lidar and radar retrieve a drop size distribution in drizzling clouds? To answer, we mimic scattering from a laboratory cloud to retrieve a lidar-radar effective diameter. Using only the shape parameter of the gamma-distributed drops, the mean diameter of the drops can be estimated from lidar-radar effective diameter to within a few percent of the true mean. In practice, the shape parameter of the gamma distribution is not known. To set bounds, mean diameters were calculated from the lidar-radar effective diameter using a range of in situ measured gamma shape parameters. The estimated means varied …

Comparison Of Coincident Rayleigh-Scatter And Sodium Resonance Lidar Temperature Measurements From The Mesosphere-Lower-Thermosphere Region, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Neal R. Criddle, Tao Yuan

All Physics Faculty Presentations

There are relatively few instruments that have the capabilities to make near continuous measurements of the mesosphere-lower-thermosphere (MLT) region. Rayleigh scatter and resonance lidars, particularly sodium resonance lidar, have been the two dominant ground-based techniques for acquiring mesosphere and MLT vertical temperature profiles, respectively, for more than two decades. With these measurements, the dynamics (gravity waves, tides) and long-term temperature trends (upper atmosphere cooling) of the MLT region can be studied. The Utah State University (USU; 41.7º N, 111.8º W) campus hosts a unique upper atmospheric observatory which houses both a high-power, large-aperture Rayleigh lidar and a sodium resonance Doppler …

Comparison Of Coincident Rayleigh-Scatter And Sodium Resonance Lidar Temperature Measurements From The Mesosphere-Lower-Thermosphere Region, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Neal R. Criddle, Tao Yuan

All Physics Faculty Publications

There are relatively few instruments that have the capabilities to make near continuous measurements of the mesosphere-lower-thermosphere (MLT) region. Rayleigh scatter and resonance lidars, particularly sodium resonance lidar, have been the two dominant ground-based techniques for acquiring mesosphere and MLT vertical temperature profiles, respectively, for more than two decades. With these measurements, the dynamics (gravity waves, tides) and long-term temperature trends (upper atmosphere cooling) of the MLT region can be studied. The Utah State University (USU; 41.7º N, 111.8º W) campus hosts a unique upper atmospheric observatory which houses both a high-power, large-aperture Rayleigh lidar and a sodium resonance Doppler …

Dynamics Of Density Cavities Generated By Frictional Heating: Formation, Distortion, And Instability, M. D. Zettergren, J. L. Semeter, H. Dahlgren

Publications

A simulation study of the generation and evolution of mesoscale density cavities in the polar ionosphere is conducted using a time-dependent, nonlinear, quasi-electrostatic model. The model demonstrates that density cavities, generated by frictional heating, can form in as little as 90 s due to strong electric fields of ∼120 mV/m, which are sometimes observed near auroral zone and polar cap arcs. Asymmetric density cavity features and strong plasma density gradients perpendicular to the geomagnetic field are naturally generated as a consequence of the strong convection and finite extent of the auroral feature. The walls of the auroral density cavities are …

Three-Dimensional Wind Speed And Flux Measurements Over A Rain-Fed Soybean Field Using Orthogonal And Non-Orthogonal Sonic Anemometer Designs, Taylor Thomas

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The eddy covariance method for estimating fluxes of trace gases, energy and momentum in the constant flux layer above a plant canopy fundamentally relies on accurate measurements of the vertical wind speed. This wind speed is typically measured using a three-dimensional ultrasonic anemometer. Previous studies comparing anemometers with orthogonal transducer sets to those with non-orthogonal transducer sets suggest differences in measured 3D wind speed components, particularly for a vertical component. These differences, attributed to additional flow distortion caused by the non-orthogonal transducer arrangement and support structure, directly affect fluxes of trace gases, energy and momentum. A field experiment was conducted …

Umphlett Qci 2015, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Late Hard Freeze

Late Freezes Extended Growing Season

Warm Fall Delays Bird Migrations

Monitoring Water Resources Across the Basin

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Evaluation Of Large‑Scale Meteorological Patterns Associated With Temperature Extremes In The Narccap Regional Climate Model Simulations, Paul C. Loikith, Duane E. Waliser, Huikyo Lee, J. David Neelin, Benjamin Lintner, Seth Mcginnis, Linda Mears, Jinwon Kim

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Large-scale meteorological patterns (LSMPs) associated with temperature extremes are evaluated in a suite of regional climate model (RCM) simulations contributing to the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program. LSMPs are characterized through composites of surface air temperature, sea level pressure, and 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies concurrent with extreme temperature days. Six of the seventeen RCM simulations are driven by boundary conditions from reanalysis while the other eleven are driven by one of four global climate models (GCMs). Four illustrative case studies are analyzed in detail. Model fidelity in LSMP spatial representation is high for cold winter extremes near …

Validation Of The Global Distribution Of Co2 Volume Mixing Ratio In The Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere From Saber, L. Rezac, Y. Jian, J. Yue, J. M. Russell Iii, A. Kutepov, R. Garcia, K. Walker, P. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on board the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite has been measuring the limb radiance in 10 broadband infrared channels over the altitude range from ~ 400 km to the Earth's surface since 2002. The kinetic temperatures and CO₂ volume mixing ratios (VMRs) in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere have been simultaneously retrieved using SABER limb radiances at 15 and 4.3 μm under nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) conditions. This paper presents results of a validation study of the SABER CO₂ VMRs obtained with a two-channel, self-consistent …

Utilizing Humidity And Temperature Data To Advance Monitoring And Prediction Of Meteorological Drought, Ali Behrangi, Paul C. Loikith, Eric J. Fetzer, Hai M. Nguyen, Stephanie L. Granger

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

The fraction of land area over the Continental United States experiencing extreme hot and dry conditions has been increasing over the past several decades, consistent with expectation from anthropogenic climate change. A clear concurrent change in precipitation, however, has not been confirmed. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD), combining temperature and humidity, is utilized here as an indicator of the background atmospheric conditions associated with meteorological drought. Furthermore, atmospheric conditions associated with warm season drought events are assessed by partitioning associated VPD anomalies into the temperature and humidity components. This approach suggests that the concurrence of anomalously high temperature and low humidity …