Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

A Comparison Of Small- And Medium-Scale Gravity Wave Interactions In The Linear And Nonlinear Limits, C. J. Heale, J. B. Snively

Publications

A 2-D numerical model is used to compare interactions between small-scale (SS) (25 km horizontal wavelength, 10 min period) and medium-scale (MS, 250 km horizontal wavelength, 90 min period) gravity waves (GWs) in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere within three different limits. First, the MS wave is specified as a static, horizontally homogeneous ambient atmospheric feature; second, a linear interaction is investigated between excited, time-dependent SS and MS waves, and third, a fully nonlinear interaction at finite amplitudes is considered. It is found that the finite-amplitude wave interactions can cause SS wave breaking aligned with the phase fronts of the …

The General Aviation Pilot Preflight Weather Planning: Weather Products Usability & Limitations, Jayde King, Yolanda Ortiz, Nicholas Defilippis, Thomas A. Guinn, Beth Blickensderfer, Thomas Robert

General Aviation Weather Display Interpretation

Over the last 30 years, a large percentage of weather-related aviation accidents have occurred under General Aviation (GA) operations (FAA, 2010; Fultz & Ashley, 2016; AOPA, 2008).

• Novice Private Pilots VFR into IMC
• High Risk For Incurring Fatality

Aviation Weather Challenges

1. Difficult to interpret Aviation Weather Products
2. Pilot's Decision Making Biases and Errors
3. GA Pilots' Lack of Aviation Weather Experience

Recommissioning Reddi: Reviving A Doppler Asymmetric Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer For Observing Thermospheric Winds, Robert Kallio

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The REd-line DASH Demonstration Instrument (REDDI) was designed to prove that a Doppler Asymmetric Spatial Heterodyne (DASH) spectrometer could be used to accurately measure thermospheric winds by observing the Doppler shift of the 630nm emission of oxygen in the thermosphere. In 2015, we began a project to redesign the input optics of REDDI to repurpose the instrument from a demonstration unit to a long duration instrument. Integration of REDDI into the INSpIRe (Investigating Near-Space Interaction Regions) trailer at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), Daytona Beach, began in 2016 with assembly of the new input optics in 2017. REDDI and INSpIRe will …

Quantitative Examination And Comparison Of Altimetry Rules-Of-Thumb For General Aviation, Thomas A. Guinn

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

General aviation rules of thumb (ROTs) for density altitude and true altitude are examined and developed. Both ROTs originate from the same basic principle of hydrostatic balance, but differ significantly in the assumptions made regarding the atmospheric temperature profile. While the ROT for DA assumes a standard atmospheric vertical temperature lapse rate, the ROT for true altitude requires information regarding the observed layer-mean temperature of the atmosphere. Since the layer-mean temperature between the aircraft and the surface is typically unknown, it must be inferred from the temperature at a single level by again assuming a linear lapse rate. This method …

Maritime Object Detection, Tracking, And Classification Using Lidar And Vision-Based Sensor Fusion, David John Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Autonomous Surface Vehicles have the capability of replacing dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs in the maritime field. However, few successful ASV systems exist today, as there is a need for greater sensing capabilities. Furthermore, a successful ASV system requires object detection and recognition capabilities to enable autonomous navigation and situational awareness. This thesis demonstrates an application of LiDAR sensors in maritime environments for object detection, classification, and camera sensor fusion. This is accomplished through the integration of a high-fidelity GPS/INS system, 3D LiDAR sensors, and a pair of cameras. After rotating LiDAR returns into a global reference frame, they are …

The Extratropical Transition Of Tropical Cyclones. Part I: Cyclonic Evolution And Direct Impacts, Clark Evans, Kimberly M. Wood, Sim D. Aberson, Heather M. Archambault, Shawn M. Milrad, Lance F. Bosart, Et Al.

Publications

Extratropical transition (ET) is the process by which a tropical cyclone, upon encountering a baroclinic environment and reduced sea surface temperature at higher latitudes, transforms into an extratropical cyclone. This process is influenced by, and influences, phenomena from the tropics to the midlatitudes and from the meso- to the planetary scales to extents that vary between individual events. Motivated in part by recent high-impact and/or extensively observed events such as North Atlantic Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and western North Pacific Typhoon Sinlaku in 2008, this review details advances in understanding and predicting ET since the publication of an earlier review …

The Capabilities Of The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-16 (Goes-16), Brandon M. Kane

Student Works

This report investigates the capability of the new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-16 (GOES-16) satellite to display 16 channels of the electromagnetic spectrum, to produce images at a higher resolution at increased intervals, and to detect and display lightning. This report also discusses the main instrumentation aboard the new geostationary satellite and how it aids in creating accurate data collection, which in turn, produces quicker weather forecasts and warnings. The 16 different channels produced by the Advanced Baseline Imager aboard the new satellite are analyzed in detail as to the functions and wavelengths on which the channels operate. The image resolution …

Ionospheric Gravity Waves Driven By Oceanic Gravity Waves In Resonance: A Modeling Study In Search Of Their Spectra, Michael P. Hickey, Yonghui Yu

Publications

Ionospheric observations associated with the 2011 Tohoku tsunami have revealed gravity waves having spectral characteristics that depend on their proximity to the epicenter. There is a preponderance of medium-scale waves in the vicinity of the epicenter, a significant bifurcation into short- and long-period waves over the Hawaiian archipelago, and a narrow and rich spectrum of waves over the West Coast and inland of the United States (U.S.). Guided by these previous observations, we consider wave sources as triads of nonlinearly interacting oceanic gravity waves, whose wave parameters satisfy resonant conditions. These waves are simulated using a 2-D nonlinear model describing …

Mobile Radar As An Undergraduate Education And Research Tool: The Erau C-Breese Field Experience With The Doppler On Wheels, Shawn M. Milrad, Christopher G. Herbster

Publications

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Convective-Boundary Research Engaging Educational Student Experiences (ERAU C-BREESE) was an 18-day National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded educational Doppler on Wheels (DOW) deployment through the Center for Severe Weather Research in May 2015. ERAU C-BREESE had three primary areas of focus: meteorological field observations and research, undergraduate experiential learning, and local community outreach. ERAU undergraduate meteorology students had the unique opportunity to forecast for, collect, and analyze field measurements of sea-breeze processes and convection. The scientific objectives of ERAU C-BREESE were to forecast, observe, and analyze central Florida sea-breeze processes and thunderstorms by combining a DOW with more traditional …

Secondary Gravity Wave Generation Over New Zealand During The Deepwave Campaign, Katrina Bossert, Christopher G. Kruse, Christopher J. Heale, David C. Fritts, Bifford P. Williams, Jonathan B. Snively, Pierre-Dominique Pautet, Michael J. Taylor

Publications

Multiple events during the Deep Propagating Gravity Wave Experiment measurement program revealed mountain wave (MW) breaking at multiple altitudes over the Southern Island of New Zealand. These events were measured during several research flights from the National Science Foundation/National Center for Atmospheric Research Gulfstream V aircraft, utilizing a Rayleigh lidar, an Na lidar, and an Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper simultaneously. A flight on 29 June 2014 observed MWs with horizontal wavelengths of ~80–120 km breaking in the stratosphere from ~10 to 50 km altitude. A flight on 13 July 2014 observed a horizontal wavelength of ~200–240 km MW extending from …

Effects Of Graphical Weather Information Versus Textual Weather Information On Situation Awareness In Meteorology, Stefan Melendez M.S.A., Andrew Dattel Ph.D., Christopher Herbster Ph.D., Debbie Schaum M.A., Andrey Babin

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Prior to a flight, pilots gather meteorological information in order to assess the weather conditions pertaining to their flight and to make decisions based on it. This information can come in various formats, such as text and graphical weather information. Research has shown that people have varying learning preferences and that most people prefer visual learning to verbal learning (i.e., graphical over text). It is hypothesized that this difference in learning preference can affect the way pilots interpret and apply the information they obtain prior to their flight. The researcher hypothesizes that graphical weather information has a greater, more positive …

First Na Lidar Measurements Of Turbulence Heat Flux, Thermal Diffusivity, And Energy Dissipation Rate In The Mesopause Region, Yafang Guo, Alan Z. Liu, Chester S. Gardner

Publications

Turbulence is ubiquitous in the mesopause region, where the atmospheric stability is low and wave breaking is frequent. Measuring turbulence is challenging in this region and is traditionally done by rocket soundings and radars. In this work, we show for the first time that the modern Na wind/temperature lidar located at Andes Lidar Observatory in Cerro Pachón, Chile, is able to directly measure the turbulence perturbations in temperature and vertical wind between 85 and 100 km. Using 150 h of lidar observations, we derived the frequency (ω) and vertical wave number (m) spectra for both gravity …

Ab Initio Computation Of Radiative Properties Of Monatomic Hydrogen, Fanny Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

With renewed interest in planetary atmospheric entry, descent, and landing, NASA has noted a need for improved physics modeling in computational fluid dynamics. Uncertainty in experimental data used in radiation heat transfer computations leads to “over-engineering” of entry body heat shields, at large weight and cost penalties. There is interest in developing hypersonic thermophysics models from the known “first principles” of physics.

A method for computing high temperature gas emissivity and absorptivity from quantum mechanics principles is developed. The Schroedinger wave equation is cast as a discretized matrix eigenvalue problem which is solved using the ERAU parallel supercomputer. The numerical …

Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling: A Global Perspective Of Reconnection In The Magnetotail, Miles Thomas Bengtson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

We present a case study of the 25 December 2015 substorm which occurred between 08:15 and 08:45 Universal Time. During this interval, fast particle flows and field geometry consistent with magnetic reconnection were detected in the mid-tail region. An ejected plasmoid was observed by the lunar-orbiting Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) probes and corresponding dipolarization signature was observed by the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft earthward of the reconnection site, which was determined to be approximately -33 RE. Ground signatures indicative of substorm activity were also observed …

Investigation Of The 2013 Alberta Flood From Weather And Climate Perspectives, Bernardo Teufel, G. T. Diro, K. Whan, S. M. Milrad, Et Al.

Publications

During 19–21 June 2013 a heavy precipitation event affected southern Alberta and adjoining regions, leading to severe flood damage in numerous communities and resulting in the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history. This flood was caused by a combination of meteorological and hydrological factors, which are investigated from weather and climate perspectives with the fifth generation Canadian Regional Climate Model. Results show that the contribution of orographic ascent to precipitation was important, exceeding 30% over the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Another contributing factor was evapotranspiration from the land surface, which is found to have acted as an important moisture …

Effects Of Graphical Weather Information Versus Textual Weather Information On Situation Awareness In Meteorology, Stefan Melendez

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Prior to a flight, pilots gather meteorological information to assess the weather conditions pertaining to their flight and to make decisions based on it. This information can come in various formats, such as text and graphical weather information. Research has shown that people have varying learning preferences and that most people prefer visual learning to verbal learning (i.e., graphical over text). It is hypothesized that this difference in learning preference can affect the way pilots interpret and apply the information they obtain prior to their flight. The researcher hypothesizes that graphical weather information has a greater, more positive impact on …

Cirrus Cloud Microphysics Over Darwin, Australia, Dorothea Ivanova, Matthew Johnson

Publications

Ice clouds, crucial to the understanding of both short - and long - term climate trends, are poorly represented in global climate models (GCMs). Cirrus clouds, one of the largest uncertainties in the global radiation budget, have been inadequately studied at low latitudes. Parameterizations exist for mid - latitude and tropical cirrus ( Ivanova et al. 2001; McFarquhar et al. 1997). Due to climate sensitivity in the GCM with respect to cloud input, without robust parameterizations of cirrus clouds, the GCM is inaccurate over most output fields, including radiative forcing, temperature, albedo, and heat flux (Yao and Del Genio 1999). …

Simultaneous Upward And Downward Propagating Inertia-Gravity Waves In The Mlt Observed At Andes Lidar Observatory, Kai Ming Hung, Alan Z. Liu, Shao Dong Zhang, Fan Yi, Chun Ming Huang, Yun Gong, Quan Gan, Et Al.

Publications

Based on the temperature and zonal and meridional winds observed with an Na lidar at Andes Lidar Observatory (30.3°S, 70.7°W) on the night of 20–21 July 2015, we report simultaneous upward and downward propagating inertia-gravity waves (IGWs) in the mesosphere/lower stratosphere (MLT). The ground-based periods of the upward and downward IGWs are about 5.4 h and 4.8 h, respectively. The horizontal and vertical wavelengths are about 935 km and 10.9 km for the 5.4 h IGW and about 1248 km and 22 km for the 4.8 h IGW, respectively. Hodograph analyses indicate that the 5.4 h IGW propagates in the …

Nonlinear Ionospheric Responses To Large-Amplitude Infrasonic-Acoustic Waves Generated By Undersea Earthquakes, M. D. Zettergren, J. B. Snively, A. Komjathy, O. P. Verkhoglyadova

Publications

Numerical models of ionospheric coupling with the neutral atmosphere are used to investigate perturbations of plasma density, vertically integrated total electron content (TEC), neutral velocity, and neutral temperature associated with large-amplitude acoustic waves generated by the initial ocean surface displacements from strong undersea earthquakes. A simplified source model for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake is constructed from estimates of initial ocean surface responses to approximate the vertical motions over realistic spatial and temporal scales. Resulting TEC perturbations from modeling case studies appear consistent with observational data, reproducing pronounced TEC depletions which are shown to be a consequence of the impacts of …

Numerical Modeling Of A Multiscale Gravity Wave Event And Its Airglow Signatures Over Mount Cook, New Zealand, During The Deepwave Campaign, C. J. Heale, K. Bossert, J. B. Snively, D. C. Fritts, P. -D. Pautet, M. J. Taylor

Publications

A 2-D nonlinear compressible model is used to simulate a large-amplitude, multiscale mountain wave event over Mount Cook, NZ, observed as part of the Deep Propagating Gravity Wave Experiment (DEEPWAVE) campaign and to investigate its observable signatures in the hydroxyl (OH) layer. The campaign observed the presence of a �x = 200 km mountain wave as part of the 22nd research flight with amplitudes of >20 K in the upper stratosphere that decayed rapidly at airglow heights. Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) showed the presence of small-scale (25–28 km) waves within the warm phase of the large mountain wave. The …

Wiggle 3d Displays Of Weather Data, Frederick R. Mosher

Publications

Weather is a time varying 3-dimensional phenomena, but the displays of weather data are inherently 2-dimensional. Since weather phenomena at one level can impact the weather at another level, it would be desirable to view weather on a 3D volume type of display. Initially weather displays were on paper and currently weather information is displayed on computer screens. The human mind can interpret 3D volume information in a number of ways. Having two eyes, the brain can detect the parallax differences between the images for the left eye being slightly different from the right eye. Objects that are closer to …

Anisotropic Fluid Modeling Of Ionospheric Upflow: Effects Of Low‐Altitude Anisotropy And Thermospheric Winds, M. R. Burleigh, M. Zettergren

Publications

A new anisotropic fluid model is developed to describe ionospheric upflow responses to magnetospheric forcing by electric fields and broadband ELF waves at altitudes of 90–2500 km. This model is based on a bi‐Maxwellian ion distribution and solves time‐dependent, nonlinear equations of conservation of mass, momentum, parallel energy, and perpendicular energy for six ion species important to E, F, and topside ionospheric regions. It includes chemical and collisional interactions with the neutral atmosphere, photoionization, and electron impact ionization. This model is used to examine differences between isotropic and anisotropic descriptions of ionospheric upflow driven by DC electric fields, …

Forecasting The Air Race Classic: Lessons In Interdisciplinary Aviation Weather Support And Decision-Making, Shawn M. Milrad, Debbie Schaum

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The Air Race Classic (ARC) is an all-female Visual Flight Rules air race held each June. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach (ERAU-DB) has had primarily student race teams participate and frequently place strongly in the ARC since 1996. The ERAU-DB Meteorology Program has provided successful weather support to ERAU-DB race team(s) for the past decade, including as the terminus host institution in 2016. In 2014, the weather support was formalized as a three-credit interdisciplinary summer course, incorporating a mix of aeronautical science (pilot), dispatch, and meteorology students. Using concepts of service and experiential learning, the ARC course has successfully integrated …

Broadening Traditional Aviation Meteorology Education To Support Spaceflight Operations, Thomas A. Guinn, Nicholas J. Stapleton, Katherine A. Winters, Bradley M. Muller, Debbie M. Schaum

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The purpose of this paper is to examine the expansion of traditional aviation meteorology education necessary to support the growing commercial space-operations industry. While spaceflight meteorological considerations do overlap with those of traditional aviation operations, there are notable differences schools must address for appropriate education and training of both meteorologists and operators. These include knowledge of increased weather sensitivities, space-weather impacts, triggered lightning, triboelectrification, and high-resolution vertical wind-profile analyses. An added challenge in the educational process is the more limited amount of publicly available weather and space-weather products necessary to support spaceflight education. Furthermore, in comparison with traditional aviation meteorology, …

Dynamical Processes Of Gravity Waves Propagation And Dissipation, And Statistical Characteristics Of Their Momentum Flux In The Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere, Bing Cao

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) (⇠80–110 km) is dominated by abundant atmospheric waves, of which gravity waves are one of the least understood due to large varieties in wave characteristics as well as potential sources. Gravity waves play an important role in the atmosphere by influencing the thermal balance and helping to drive the global circulation. But due to their sub-grid scale, the effects of gravity waves in General Circulation Models (GCMs) are mostly parameterized. The investigations of gravity waves in this dissertation are from two perspectives: the dynamical processes of gravity wave propagation and dissipation in the MLT …

On The Interaction Between Gravity Waves And Atmospheric Thermal Tides, Ryan Matthew Agner

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Gravity waves and thermal tides are two of the most important dynamical features of the atmosphere. They are both generated in the lower atmosphere and propagate upward transporting energy and momentum to the upper atmosphere. This dissertation focuses on the interaction of these waves in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region of the atmosphere using both observational data and Global Circulation Model (GCMs). The first part of this work focuses on observations of gravity wave interactions with the tides using both LIDAR data at the Star Fire Optical Range (SOR, 35_N, 106.5_W) and a meteor radar data at the …

Gravity Wave And Turbulence Transport In The Mesopause Region, Yafang Guo

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Vertical transport due to dissipating gravity waves and turbulence in the mesopause region (85-100 km) are analyzed with observational data obtained from a narrow-band sodium wind/temperature lidar located at Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO), Cerro Pach´on (30.25 S, 70.73 W), Chile. The Na lidar at ALO has been in regular operation since 2010. The upgrade of the lidar system in May 2014 resulted in great improvements of the signal levels, which enabled data acquisition of high temporal and vertical resolutions reaching 6 s and 25 m. Traditional data processing utilizes signals at lower resolutions, typically at 60 s and 500 m, …

Spatial And Temporal Variability In Mlt Turbulence Inferred From In Situ And Ground-Based Observations During The Wadis-1 Sounding Rocket Campaign, Boris Strelnikov, Arthur Szewczyk, Irina Strelnikova, Ralph Latteck, Gerd Baumgarten, Franz-Josef Lübken, Et. Al.

Publications

In summer 2013 the WADIS-1 sounding rocket campaign was conducted at the Andøya Space Center (ACS) in northern Norway (69° N, 16° E). Among other things, it addressed the question of the variability in mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT) turbulence, both in time and space. A unique feature of the WADIS project was multi-point turbulence sounding applying different measurement techniques including rocket-borne ionization gauges, VHF MAARSY radar, and VHF EISCAT radar near Tromsø. This allowed for horizontal variability to be observed in the turbulence field in the MLT at scales from a few to 100 km. We found that the turbulence dissipation …

Ionospheric Signatures Of Gravity Waves Produced By The 2004 Sumatra And 2011 Tohoku Tsunamis: A Modeling Study, Michael P. Hickey, Yonghui Yu, Wenqing Wang

Publications

Ionospheric fluctuations inferred from observations of total electron content have previously been attributed to tsunamis and have confirmed the strong coupling between Earth’s ocean and ionosphere via atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs). To further advance our understanding of this wave coupling process we employ a linear full-wave model and a nonlinear time-dependent model to examine the ionospheric response to the AGW perturbations induced by the 2004 Sumatra and the 2011 Tohoku tsunamis. In the 2004 case, our modeling analyses reveal that one component of the propagating AGWs becomes dynamically unstable in the E-region ionosphere at a range exceeding 2000 km in …

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite- R Series (Goes-R) 2016, Paige N. Dixon

Student Works

This is a report on the first NOAA GOES-R satellite, launched on November 19th, 2016. This report will cover some of the details of the GOES-R project, as well as discuss the collaborations that made the project possible. This document will also detail some of the new satellite’s capabilities including geostationary lightning detection, and space weather monitoring, and will focus on real-world application of such technology. Additionally, this report will list some of the current and projected GOES-R products, and the potential benefits if testing proves successful.