WorldWideScience

Sample records for surface-atmosphere feedback mechanism

  1. A Mechanism for Land-Atmosphere Feedback Involving Planetary Wave Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koster, Randal D.; Chang, Yehui; Schubert, Siegfried D.

    2014-01-01

    While the ability of land surface conditions to influence the atmosphere has been demonstrated in various modeling and observational studies, the precise mechanisms by which land-atmosphere feedback occurs are still largely unknown particularly the mechanisms that allow land moisture state in one region to affect atmospheric conditions in another. Such remote impacts are examined here in the context of atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations, leading to the identification of one potential mechanism: the phase-locking and amplification of a planetary wave through the imposition of a spatial pattern of soil moisture at the land surface. This mechanism, shown here to be relevant in the AGCM, apparently also operates in nature, as suggested by supporting evidence found in reanalysis data.

  2. Negative feedback mechanism for the long-term stabilization of earth's surface temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1981-01-01

    We suggest 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, and surface temperature, in turn, depends on carbon dioxide partial pressure through the green effect. Although the quantitative details of this mechanism are speculative, it appears able partially to stabilize earth's surface temperature against the steady increase of solar luminosity believed to have occured since the origin of the solar system

  3. Surface and top-of-atmosphere radiative feedback kernels for CESM-CAM5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pendergrass, Angeline G.; Conley, Andrew; Vitt, Francis M.

    2018-02-01

    Radiative kernels at the top of the atmosphere are useful for decomposing changes in atmospheric radiative fluxes due to feedbacks from atmosphere and surface temperature, water vapor, and surface albedo. Here we describe and validate radiative kernels calculated with the large-ensemble version of CAM5, CESM1.1.2, at the top of the atmosphere and the surface. Estimates of the radiative forcing from greenhouse gases and aerosols in RCP8.5 in the CESM large-ensemble simulations are also diagnosed. As an application, feedbacks are calculated for the CESM large ensemble. The kernels are freely available at https://doi.org/10.5065/D6F47MT6" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.5065/D6F47MT6, and accompanying software can be downloaded from https://github.com/apendergrass/cam5-kernels" target="_blank">https://github.com/apendergrass/cam5-kernels.

  4. The vertical distribution of climate forcings and feedbacks from the surface to top of atmosphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Previdi, Michael [Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY (United States); Liepert, Beate G. [NorthWest Research Associates, Redmond, WA (United States)

    2012-08-15

    The radiative forcings and feedbacks that determine Earth's climate sensitivity are typically defined at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) or tropopause, yet climate sensitivity itself refers to a change in temperature at the surface. In this paper, we describe how TOA radiative perturbations translate into surface temperature changes. It is shown using first principles that radiation changes at the TOA can be equated with the change in energy stored by the oceans and land surface. This ocean and land heat uptake in turn involves an adjustment of the surface radiative and non-radiative energy fluxes, with the latter being comprised of the turbulent exchange of latent and sensible heat between the surface and atmosphere. We employ the radiative kernel technique to decompose TOA radiative feedbacks in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report climate models into components associated with changes in radiative heating of the atmosphere and of the surface. (We consider the equilibrium response of atmosphere-mixed layer ocean models subjected to an instantaneous doubling of atmospheric CO{sub 2}). It is shown that most feedbacks, i.e., the temperature, water vapor and cloud feedbacks, (as well as CO{sub 2} forcing) affect primarily the turbulent energy exchange at the surface rather than the radiative energy exchange. Specifically, the temperature feedback increases the surface turbulent (radiative) energy loss by 2.87 W m{sup -2} K{sup -1} (0.60 W m{sup -2} K{sup -1}) in the multimodel mean; the water vapor feedback decreases the surface turbulent energy loss by 1.07 W m{sup -2} K{sup -1} and increases the surface radiative heating by 0.89 W m{sup -2} K{sup -1}; and the cloud feedback decreases both the turbulent energy loss and the radiative heating at the surface by 0.43 and 0.24 W m{sup -2} K{sup -1}, respectively. Since changes to the surface turbulent energy exchange are dominated in the global mean sense by changes in surface evaporation, these results serve to highlight

  5. Inter-annual variabilities in biogeophysical feedback of terrestrial ecosystem to atmosphere using a land surface model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, C.; Hong, S.; Jeong, H. M.; Jeon, J.

    2017-12-01

    Biogeophysical processes of terrestrial ecosystem such as water vapor and energy flux are the key features to understand ecological feedback to atmospheric processes and thus role of terrestrial ecosystem in climate system. For example, it has been recently known that the ecological feedback through water vapor and energy flux results in regulating regional weathers and climates which is one of the fundamental functions of terrestrial ecosystem. In regional scale, water vapor flux has been known to give negative feedback to atmospheric warming, while energy flux from the surface has been known to positive feedback. In this study, we explored the inter-annual variabilities in these two biogeophysical features to see how the climate regulating functions of terrestrial ecosystem have been changed with climate change. We selected a land surface model involving vegetation dynamics that is forced by atmospheric data from NASA including precipitation, temperature, wind, surface pressure, humidity, and incoming radiations. From the land surface model, we simulated 60-year water vapor and energy fluxes from 1961 to 2010, and calculates feedbacks of terrestrial ecosystem as in radiation amount into atmosphere. Then, we analyzed the inter-annual variabilities in the feedbacks. The results showed that some mid-latitude areas showing very high variabilities in precipitation showed higher positive feedback and/or lower negative feedback. These results suggest deterioration of the biogeophyisical factor of climate regulating function over those regions.

  6. Methane Feedback on Atmospheric Chemistry: Methods, Models, and Mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Christopher D.

    2018-04-01

    The atmospheric methane (CH4) chemical feedback is a key process for understanding the behavior of atmospheric CH4 and its environmental impact. This work reviews how the feedback is defined and used, then examines the meteorological, chemical, and emission factors that control the feedback strength. Geographical and temporal variations in the feedback are described and explained by HOx (HOx = OH + HO2) production and partitioning. Different CH4 boundary conditions used by models, however, make no meaningful difference to the feedback calculation. The strength of the CH4 feedback depends on atmospheric composition, particularly the atmospheric CH4 burden, and is therefore not constant. Sensitivity tests show that the feedback depends very weakly on temperature, insolation, water vapor, and emissions of NO. While the feedback strength has likely remained within 10% of its present value over the industrial era and likely will over the twenty-first century, neglecting these changes biases our understanding of CH4 impacts. Most environmental consequences per kg of CH4 emissions, including its global warming potential (GWP), scale with the perturbation time, which may have grown as much as 40% over the industrial era and continues to rise.

  7. Land–atmosphere feedbacks amplify aridity increase over land under global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, Alexis; Findell, Kirsten; Lintner, Benjamin; Giannini, Alessandra; Seneviratne, Sonia I.; van den Hurk, Bart; Lorenz, Ruth; Pitman, Andy; Hagemann, Stefan; Meier, Arndt; Cheruy, Frédérique; Ducharne, Agnès; Malyshev, Sergey; Milly, Paul C. D.

    2016-01-01

    The response of the terrestrial water cycle to global warming is central to issues including water resources, agriculture and ecosystem health. Recent studies indicate that aridity, defined in terms of atmospheric supply (precipitation, P) and demand (potential evapotranspiration, Ep) of water at the land surface, will increase globally in a warmer world. Recently proposed mechanisms for this response emphasize the driving role of oceanic warming and associated atmospheric processes. Here we show that the aridity response is substantially amplified by land–atmosphere feedbacks associated with the land surface’s response to climate and CO2 change. Using simulations from the Global Land Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (GLACE)-CMIP5 experiment, we show that global aridity is enhanced by the feedbacks of projected soil moisture decrease on land surface temperature, relative humidity and precipitation. The physiological impact of increasing atmospheric CO2 on vegetation exerts a qualitatively similar control on aridity. We reconcile these findings with previously proposed mechanisms by showing that the moist enthalpy change over land is unaffected by the land hydrological response. Thus, although oceanic warming constrains the combined moisture and temperature changes over land, land hydrology modulates the partitioning of this enthalpy increase towards increased aridity.

  8. Sea ice-albedo climate feedback mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schramm, J.L.; Curry, J.A. [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Ebert, E.E. [Bureau of Meterology Research Center, Melbourne (Australia)

    1995-02-01

    The sea ice-albedo feedback mechanism over the Arctic Ocean multiyear sea ice is investigated by conducting a series of experiments using several one-dimensional models of the coupled sea ice-atmosphere system. In its simplest form, ice-albedo feedback is thought to be associated with a decrease in the areal cover of snow and ice and a corresponding increase in the surface temperature, further decreasing the area cover of snow and ice. It is shown that the sea ice-albedo feedback can operate even in multiyear pack ice, without the disappearance of this ice, associated with internal processes occurring within the multiyear ice pack (e.g., duration of the snow cover, ice thickness, ice distribution, lead fraction, and melt pond characteristics). The strength of the ice-albedo feedback mechanism is compared for several different thermodynamic sea ice models: a new model that includes ice thickness distribution., the Ebert and Curry model, the Mayjut and Untersteiner model, and the Semtner level-3 and level-0 models. The climate forcing is chosen to be a perturbation of the surface heat flux, and cloud and water vapor feedbacks are inoperative so that the effects of the sea ice-albedo feedback mechanism can be isolated. The inclusion of melt ponds significantly strengthens the ice-albedo feedback, while the ice thickness distribution decreases the strength of the modeled sea ice-albedo feedback. It is emphasized that accurately modeling present-day sea ice thickness is not adequate for a sea ice parameterization; the correct physical processes must be included so that the sea ice parameterization yields correct sensitivities to external forcing. 22 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

  9. Regionally strong feedbacks between the atmosphere and terrestrial biosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Julia K.; Konings, Alexandra G.; Alemohammad, Seyed Hamed; Berry, Joseph; Entekhabi, Dara; Kolassa, Jana; Lee, Jung-Eun; Gentine, Pierre

    2017-06-01

    The terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere interact through a series of feedback loops. Variability in terrestrial vegetation growth and phenology can modulate fluxes of water and energy to the atmosphere, and thus affect the climatic conditions that in turn regulate vegetation dynamics. Here we analyse satellite observations of solar-induced fluorescence, precipitation, and radiation using a multivariate statistical technique. We find that biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks are globally widespread and regionally strong: they explain up to 30% of precipitation and surface radiation variance in regions where feedbacks occur. Substantial biosphere-precipitation feedbacks are often found in regions that are transitional between energy and water limitation, such as semi-arid or monsoonal regions. Substantial biosphere-radiation feedbacks are often present in several moderately wet regions and in the Mediterranean, where precipitation and radiation increase vegetation growth. Enhancement of latent and sensible heat transfer from vegetation accompanies this growth, which increases boundary layer height and convection, affecting cloudiness, and consequently incident surface radiation. Enhanced evapotranspiration can increase moist convection, leading to increased precipitation. Earth system models underestimate these precipitation and radiation feedbacks mainly because they underestimate the biosphere response to radiation and water availability. We conclude that biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks cluster in specific climatic regions that help determine the net CO2 balance of the biosphere.

  10. A soil moisture-rainfall feedback mechanism. 1. Theory and observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eltahir, E.A.B.

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents a hypothesis regarding the fundamental role of soil moisture conditions in land-atmosphere interactions. We propose that wet soil moisture conditions over any large region should be associated with relatively large boundary layer moist static energy, which favors the occurrence of more rainfall. Since soil moisture conditions themselves reflect past occurrence of rainfall, the proposed hypothesis implies a positive feedback mechanism between soil moisture and rainfall. This mechanism is based on considerations of the energy balance at the land-atmosphere boundary, in contrast to similar mechanisms that were proposed in the past and that were based on the concepts of water balance and precipitation recycling. The control of soil moisture on surface albedo and Bowen ratio is the fundamental basis of the proposed soil moisture-rainfall feedback mechanism. The water content in the upper soil layer affects these two important properties of the land surface such that both variables decrease with any increase in the water content of the top soil layer. The direct effect of soil moisture on surface albedo implies that wet soil moisture conditions enhance net solar radiation. The direct effect of soil moisture on Bowen ratio dictates that wet soil moisture conditions would tend to enhance net terrestrial radiation at the surface through cooling of surface temperature, reduction of upwards emissions of terrestrial radiation, and simultaneous increase in atmospheric water vapor content and downwards flux of terrestrial radiation. Thus, under wet soil moisture conditions, both components of net radiation are enhanced, resulting in a larger total flux of heat from the surface into the boundary layer. This total flux represents the sum of the corresponding sensible and latent heat fluxes. Simultaneously, cooling of surface temperature should be associated with a smaller sensible heat flux and a smaller depth of the boundary layer

  11. Local land-atmosphere feedbacks limit irrigation demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decker, Mark; Ma, Shaoxiu; Pitman, Andy

    2017-05-01

    Irrigation is known to influence regional climate but most studies forecast and simulate irrigation with offline (i.e. land only) models. Using south eastern Australia as a test bed, we demonstrate that irrigation demand is fundamentally different between land only and land-atmosphere simulations. While irrigation only has a small impact on maximum temperature, the semi-arid environment experiences near surface moistening in coupled simulations over the irrigated regions, a feedback that is prevented in offline simulations. In land only simulations that neglect the local feedbacks, the simulated irrigation demand is 25% higher and the standard deviation of the mean irrigation rate is 60% smaller. These local-scale irrigation-driven feedbacks are not resolved in coarse-resolution climate models implying that use of these tools will overestimate irrigation demand. Future studies of irrigation demand must therefore account for the local land-atmosphere interactions by using coupled frameworks, at a spatial resolution that captures the key feedbacks.

  12. Land-Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE) Science Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wulfmeyer, Volker [University of Hohenheim; Turner, David [NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory

    2016-07-01

    The Land-Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE; pronounced “la-fey”) deploys several state-of-the-art scanning lidar and remote sensing systems to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. These instruments will augment the ARM instrument suite in order to collect a data set for studying feedback processes between the land surface and the atmosphere. The novel synergy of remote-sensing systems will be applied for simultaneous measurements of land-surface fluxes and horizontal and vertical transport processes in the atmospheric convective boundary layer (CBL). The impact of spatial inhomogeneities of the soil-vegetation continuum on land-surface-atmosphere (LSA) feedback will be studied using the scanning capability of the instrumentation. The time period of the observations is August 2017, because large differences in surface fluxes between different fields and bare soil can be observed, e.g., pastures versus fields where the wheat has already been harvested. The remote sensing system synergy will consist of three components: 1) The SGP water vapor and temperature Raman lidar (SRL), the SGP Doppler lidar (SDL), and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) water vapor differential absorption lidar (DIAL) (NDIAL) mainly in vertical staring modes to measure mean profiles and gradients of moisture, temperature, and horizontal wind. They will also measure profiles of higher-order turbulent moments in the water vapor and wind fields and profiles of the latent heat flux. 2) A novel scanning lidar system synergy consisting of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) High-Resolution Doppler lidar (HRDL), the University of Hohenheim (UHOH) water-vapor differential absorption lidar (UDIAL), and the UHOH temperature Raman lidar (URL). These systems will perform coordinated range-height indicator (RHI) scans from just above the canopy level to the

  13. Uncertainty in the ocean-atmosphere feedbacks associated with ENSO in the reanalysis products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Arun; Hu, Zeng-Zhen [NCEP/NWS/NOAA, Climate Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD (United States)

    2012-08-15

    The evolution of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability can be characterized by various ocean-atmosphere feedbacks, for example, the influence of ENSO related sea surface temperature (SST) variability on the low-level wind and surface heat fluxes in the equatorial tropical Pacific, which in turn affects the evolution of the SST. An analysis of these feedbacks requires physically consistent observational data sets. Availability of various reanalysis data sets produced during the last 15 years provides such an opportunity. A consolidated estimate of ocean surface fluxes based on multiple reanalyses also helps understand biases in ENSO predictions and simulations from climate models. In this paper, the intensity and the spatial structure of ocean-atmosphere feedback terms (precipitation, surface wind stress, and ocean surface heat flux) associated with ENSO are evaluated for six different reanalysis products. The analysis provides an estimate for the feedback terms that could be used for model validation studies. The analysis includes the robustness of the estimate across different reanalyses. Results show that one of the ''coupled'' reanalysis among the six investigated is closer to the ensemble mean of the results, suggesting that the coupled data assimilation may have the potential to better capture the overall atmosphere-ocean feedback processes associated with ENSO than the uncoupled ones. (orig.)

  14. Evaluating Land-Atmosphere Moisture Feedbacks in Earth System Models With Spaceborne Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levine, P. A.; Randerson, J. T.; Lawrence, D. M.; Swenson, S. C.

    2016-12-01

    We have developed a set of metrics for measuring the feedback loop between the land surface moisture state and the atmosphere globally on an interannual time scale. These metrics consider both the forcing of terrestrial water storage (TWS) on subsequent atmospheric conditions as well as the response of TWS to antecedent atmospheric conditions. We designed our metrics to take advantage of more than one decade's worth of satellite observations of TWS from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) along with atmospheric variables from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), and Clouds and the Earths Radiant Energy System (CERES). Metrics derived from spaceborne observations were used to evaluate the strength of the feedback loop in the Community Earth System Model (CESM) Large Ensemble (LENS) and in several models that contributed simulations to Phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). We found that both forcing and response limbs of the feedback loop were generally stronger in tropical and temperate regions in CMIP5 models and even more so in LENS compared to satellite observations. Our analysis suggests that models may overestimate the strength of the feedbacks between the land surface and the atmosphere, which is consistent with previous studies conducted across different spatial and temporal scales.

  15. Temporal Arctic longwave surface emissivity feedbacks in the Community Earth System Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, C.; Feldman, D.; Huang, X.; Flanner, M.; Yang, P.; Chen, X.

    2017-12-01

    We have investigated how the inclusion of realistic and consistent surface emissivity in both land-surface and atmospheric components of the CESM coupled-climate model affects a wide range of climate variables. We did this by replacing the unit emissivity values in RRTMG_LW for water, fine-grained snow, and desert scenes with spectral emissivity values, and by replacing broadband emissivity values in surface components with the Planck-curve weighted counterparts. We find that this harmonized treatment of surface emissivity within CESM can be important for reducing high-latitude temperature biases. We also find that short-term effects of atmospheric dynamics and spectral information need to be considered to understand radiative effects in higher detail, and are possible with radiative kernels computed for every grid and time point for the entire model integration period. We find that conventional climatological feedback calculations indicate that sea-ice emissivity feedback is positive in sign, but that the radiative effects of the difference in emissivity between frozen and unfrozen surfaces exhibit seasonal dependence. Furthermore, this seasonality itself exhibits meridional asymmetry due to differences in sea-ice response to climate forcing between the Arctic and the Antarctic. In the Arctic, this seasonal, temporally higher order analysis exhibits increasing outgoing surface emissivity radiative response in a warming climate. While the sea-ice emissivity feedback and seasonal sea-ice emissivity radiative response amplitudes are a few percent of surface albedo feedbacks, the feedback analysis methods outlined in this work demonstrate that spatially and temporally localized feedback analysis can give insight into the mechanisms at work on those scales which differ in amplitude and sign from conventional climatological analyses. We note that the inclusion of this realistic physics leads to improved agreement between CESM model results and Arctic surface

  16. Simulated effect of calcification feedback on atmospheric CO2 and ocean acidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Han; Cao, Long

    2016-01-01

    Ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO2 reduces pH and saturation state of calcium carbonate materials of seawater, which could reduce the calcification rate of some marine organisms, triggering a negative feedback on the growth of atmospheric CO2. We quantify the effect of this CO2-calcification feedback by conducting a series of Earth system model simulations that incorporate different parameterization schemes describing the dependence of calcification rate on saturation state of CaCO3. In a scenario with SRES A2 CO2 emission until 2100 and zero emission afterwards, by year 3500, in the simulation without CO2-calcification feedback, model projects an accumulated ocean CO2 uptake of 1462 PgC, atmospheric CO2 of 612 ppm, and surface pH of 7.9. Inclusion of CO2-calcification feedback increases ocean CO2 uptake by 9 to 285 PgC, reduces atmospheric CO2 by 4 to 70 ppm, and mitigates the reduction in surface pH by 0.003 to 0.06, depending on the form of parameterization scheme used. It is also found that the effect of CO2-calcification feedback on ocean carbon uptake is comparable and could be much larger than the effect from CO2-induced warming. Our results highlight the potentially important role CO2-calcification feedback plays in ocean carbon cycle and projections of future atmospheric CO2 concentrations. PMID:26838480

  17. Atmospheric radiative feedbacks associated with transient climate change and climate variability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Colman, Robert A.; Power, Scott B. [Bureau of Meteorology, Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, GPO Box 1289, Melbourne, VIC (Australia)

    2010-06-15

    This study examines in detail the 'atmospheric' radiative feedbacks operating in a coupled General Circulation Model (GCM). These feedbacks (defined as the change in top of atmosphere radiation per degree of global surface temperature change) are due to responses in water vapour, lapse rate, clouds and surface albedo. Two types of radiative feedback in particular are considered: those arising from century scale 'transient' warming (from a 1% per annum compounded CO{sub 2} increase), and those operating under the model's own unforced 'natural' variability. The time evolution of the transient (or 'secular') feedbacks is first examined. It is found that both the global strength and the latitudinal distributions of these feedbacks are established within the first two or three decades of warming, and thereafter change relatively little out to 100 years. They also closely approximate those found under equilibrium warming from a 'mixed layer' ocean version of the same model forced by a doubling of CO{sub 2}. These secular feedbacks are then compared with those operating under unforced (interannual) variability. For water vapour, the interannual feedback is only around two-thirds the strength of the secular feedback. The pattern reveals widespread regions of negative feedback in the interannual case, in turn resulting from patterns of circulation change and regions of decreasing as well as increasing surface temperature. Considering the vertical structure of the two, it is found that although positive net mid to upper tropospheric contributions dominate both, they are weaker (and occur lower) under interannual variability than under secular change and are more narrowly confined to the tropics. Lapse rate feedback from variability shows weak negative feedback over low latitudes combined with strong positive feedback in mid-to-high latitudes resulting in no net global feedback - in contrast to the dominant negative low

  18. A global hybrid coupled model based on atmosphere-SST feedbacks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cimatoribus, Andrea A.; Drijfhout, Sybren S. [Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt (Netherlands); Dijkstra, Henk A. [Utrecht University, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht, Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2012-02-15

    A global hybrid coupled model is developed, with the aim of studying the effects of ocean-atmosphere feedbacks on the stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The model includes a global ocean general circulation model and a statistical atmosphere model. The statistical atmosphere model is based on linear regressions of data from a fully coupled climate model on sea surface temperature both locally and hemispherically averaged, being the footprint of Atlantic meridional overturning variability. It provides dynamic boundary conditions to the ocean model for heat, freshwater and wind-stress. A basic but consistent representation of ocean-atmosphere feedbacks is captured in the hybrid coupled model and it is more than 10 times faster than the fully coupled climate model. The hybrid coupled model reaches a steady state with a climate close to the one of the fully coupled climate model, and the two models also have a similar response (collapse) of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to a freshwater hosing applied in the northern North Atlantic. (orig.)

  19. Observed Local Soil Moisture-Atmosphere Feedbacks within the Context of Remote SST Anomalies: Lessons From Recent Droughts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tawfik, A. B.; Dirmeyer, P.; Lawrence, D. M.

    2015-12-01

    The existence and possible transition from positive to negative soil moisture-atmosphere feedbacks is explored in this presentation using collocated flux tower measurements (Ameriflux) and atmospheric profiles from reanalysis. The focus is on the series of physical processes that lead to these local feedbacks connecting remote sea surface temperature changes (SST anomalies) to local soil moisture and boundary layer responses. Seasonal and Agricultural droughts are particularly useful test beds for examining these feedback processes because they are typically characterized by prolonged stretches of rain-free days followed by some termination condition. To quantify the full process-chain across these distinct spatial scales, complimentary information from several well-established land-atmosphere coupling metrics are used including, but not limited to, Mixing Diagram approaches, Soil Moisture Memory, and the Heated Condensation Framework. Preliminary analysis shows that there may be transitions from negative and positive soil moisture-atmosphere feedbacks as droughts develop. This is largely instigated by persistent atmospheric forcing that initially promotes increased surface latent heat flux, which limits boundary layer depth and dry air entrainment. However, if stagnant synoptic conditions continue eventually soil moisture is depleted to the point of shutting off surface latent heat flux producing deep boundary layers and increased dry air entrainment thus deepening drought stress. A package of standardized Fortran 90 modules called the Coupling Metrics Toolkit (CoMeT; https://github.com/abtawfik/coupling-metrics) used to calculate these land-atmosphere coupling metrics is also briefly presented.

  20. Updating representation of land surface-atmosphere feedbacks in airborne campaign modeling analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, M.; Carmichael, G. R.; Crawford, J. H.; Chan, S.; Xu, X.; Fisher, J. A.

    2017-12-01

    An updated modeling system to support airborne field campaigns is being built at NASA Ames Pleiades, with focus on adjusting the representation of land surface-atmosphere feedbacks. The main updates, referring to previous experiences with ARCTAS-CARB and CalNex in the western US to study air pollution inflows, include: 1) migrating the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) coupled land surface model from Noah to improved/more complex models especially Noah-MP and Rapid Update Cycle; 2) enabling the WRF land initialization with suitably spun-up land model output; 3) incorporating satellite land cover, vegetation dynamics, and soil moisture data (i.e., assimilating Soil Moisture Active Passive data using the ensemble Kalman filter approach) into WRF. Examples are given of comparing the model fields with available aircraft observations during spring-summer 2016 field campaigns taken place at the eastern side of continents (KORUS-AQ in South Korea and ACT-America in the eastern US), the air pollution export regions. Under fair weather and stormy conditions, air pollution vertical distributions and column amounts, as well as the impact from land surface, are compared. These help identify challenges and opportunities for LEO/GEO satellite remote sensing and modeling of air quality in the northern hemisphere. Finally, we briefly show applications of this system on simulating Australian conditions, which would explore the needs for further development of the observing system in the southern hemisphere and inform the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (https://www.nespurban.edu.au) modelers.

  1. Estimating radiative feedbacks from stochastic fluctuations in surface temperature and energy imbalance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proistosescu, C.; Donohoe, A.; Armour, K.; Roe, G.; Stuecker, M. F.; Bitz, C. M.

    2017-12-01

    Joint observations of global surface temperature and energy imbalance provide for a unique opportunity to empirically constrain radiative feedbacks. However, the satellite record of Earth's radiative imbalance is relatively short and dominated by stochastic fluctuations. Estimates of radiative feedbacks obtained by regressing energy imbalance against surface temperature depend strongly on sampling choices and on assumptions about whether the stochastic fluctuations are primarily forced by atmospheric or oceanic variability (e.g. Murphy and Forster 2010, Dessler 2011, Spencer and Braswell 2011, Forster 2016). We develop a framework around a stochastic energy balance model that allows us to parse the different contributions of atmospheric and oceanic forcing based on their differing impacts on the covariance structure - or lagged regression - of temperature and radiative imbalance. We validate the framework in a hierarchy of general circulation models: the impact of atmospheric forcing is examined in unforced control simulations of fixed sea-surface temperature and slab ocean model versions; the impact of oceanic forcing is examined in coupled simulations with prescribed ENSO variability. With the impact of atmospheric and oceanic forcing constrained, we are able to predict the relationship between temperature and radiative imbalance in a fully coupled control simulation, finding that both forcing sources are needed to explain the structure of the lagged-regression. We further model the dependence of feedback estimates on sampling interval by considering the effects of a finite equilibration time for the atmosphere, and issues of smoothing and aliasing. Finally, we develop a method to fit the stochastic model to the short timeseries of temperature and radiative imbalance by performing a Bayesian inference based on a modified version of the spectral Whittle likelihood. We are thus able to place realistic joint uncertainty estimates on both stochastic forcing and

  2. Dynamic Mesoscale Land-Atmosphere Feedbacks in Fragmented Forests in Amazonia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rastogi, D.; Baidya Roy, S.

    2011-12-01

    This paper investigates land-atmosphere feedbacks in disturbed rainforests of Amazonia. Deforestation along the rapidly expanding highways and road network has created the unique fishbone land cover pattern in Rondonia, a state in southwestern Amazonia. Numerical experiments and observations show that sharp gradients in land cover due to the fishbone heterogeneity triggers mesoscale circulations. These circulations significantly change the spatial pattern of local hydrometeorology, especially convection, clouds and precipitation. The primary research question now is can these changes in local hydrometeorology affect vegetation growth in the clearings. If so, that would be a clear indication that land-atmosphere feedbacks can affect vegetation recovery in fragmented forests. A computationally-efficient modeling tool consisting of a mesoscale atmospheric model dynamically coupled with a plant growth model has been specifically developed to identify the atmospheric feedback pathways. Preliminary experiments focus on the seasonal-scale feedbacks during the dry season. Results show that temperature, incoming shortwave and precipitation are the three primary drivers through which the feedbacks operate. Increasing temperature increases respiratory losses generating a positive feedback. Increased cloud cover reduces incoming PAR and photosynthesis, resulting in a positive feedback. Increased precipitation reduces water stress and promotes growth resulting in a negative feedback. The net effect is a combination of these 3 feedback loops. These findings can significantly improve our understanding of ecosystem resiliency in disturbed tropical forests.

  3. An analytical model for soil-atmosphere feedback

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaefli, B.; Van der Ent, R.J.; Woods, R.; Savenije, H.H.G.

    2012-01-01

    Soil-atmosphere feedback is a key for understanding the hydrological cycle and the direction of potential system changes. This paper presents an analytical framework to study the interplay between soil and atmospheric moisture, using as input only the boundary conditions at the upstream end of

  4. Soil frost-induced soil moisture precipitation feedback and effects on atmospheric states

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagemann, Stefan; Blome, Tanja; Ekici, Altug; Beer, Christian

    2016-04-01

    Permafrost or perennially frozen ground is an important part of the terrestrial cryosphere; roughly one quarter of Earth's land surface is underlain by permafrost. As it is a thermal phenomenon, its characteristics are highly dependent on climatic factors. The impact of the currently observed warming, which is projected to persist during the coming decades due to anthropogenic CO2 input, certainly has effects for the vast permafrost areas of the high northern latitudes. The quantification of these effects, however, is scientifically still an open question. This is partly due to the complexity of the system, where several feedbacks are interacting between land and atmosphere, sometimes counterbalancing each other. Moreover, until recently, many global circulation models (GCMs) and Earth system models (ESMs) lacked the sufficient representation of permafrost physics in their land surface schemes. Within the European Union FP7 project PAGE21, the land surface scheme JSBACH of the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology ESM (MPI-ESM) has been equipped with the representation of relevant physical processes for permafrost studies. These processes include the effects of freezing and thawing of soil water for both energy and water cycles, thermal properties depending on soil water and ice contents, and soil moisture movement being influenced by the presence of soil ice. In the present study, it will be analysed how these permafrost relevant processes impact large-scale hydrology and climate over northern hemisphere high latitude land areas. For this analysis, the atmosphere-land part of MPI-ESM, ECHAM6-JSBACH, is driven by prescribed observed SST and sea ice in an AMIP2-type setup with and without the newly implemented permafrost processes. Results show a large improvement in the simulated discharge. On one hand this is related to an improved snowmelt peak of runoff due to frozen soil in spring. On the other hand a subsequent reduction of soil moisture leads to a positive

  5. The Abundance of Atmospheric CO{sub 2} in Ocean Exoplanets: a Novel CO{sub 2} Deposition Mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levi, A.; Sasselov, D. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Podolak, M., E-mail: amitlevi.planetphys@gmail.com [Dept. of Geosciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978 (Israel)

    2017-03-20

    We consider super-Earth sized planets which have a water mass fraction large enough to form an external mantle composed of high-pressure water-ice polymorphs and also lack a substantial H/He atmosphere. We consider such planets in their habitable zone, so that their outermost condensed mantle is a global, deep, liquid ocean. For these ocean planets, we investigate potential internal reservoirs of CO{sub 2}, the amount of CO{sub 2} dissolved in the ocean for the various saturation conditions encountered, and the ocean-atmosphere exchange flux of CO{sub 2}. We find that, in a steady state, the abundance of CO{sub 2} in the atmosphere has two possible states. When wind-driven circulation is the dominant CO{sub 2} exchange mechanism, an atmosphere of tens of bars of CO{sub 2} results, where the exact value depends on the subtropical ocean surface temperature and the deep ocean temperature. When sea-ice formation, acting on these planets as a CO{sub 2} deposition mechanism, is the dominant exchange mechanism, an atmosphere of a few bars of CO{sub 2} is established. The exact value depends on the subpolar surface temperature. Our results suggest the possibility of a negative feedback mechanism, unique to water planets, where a reduction in the subpolar temperature drives more CO{sub 2} into the atmosphere to increase the greenhouse effect.

  6. Effects of shrub and tree cover increase on the near-surface atmosphere in northern Fennoscandia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. H. Rydsaa

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Increased shrub and tree cover in high latitudes is a widely observed response to climate change that can lead to positive feedbacks to the regional climate. In this study we evaluate the sensitivity of the near-surface atmosphere to a potential increase in shrub and tree cover in the northern Fennoscandia region. We have applied the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF model with the Noah-UA land surface module in evaluating biophysical effects of increased shrub cover on the near-surface atmosphere at a fine resolution (5.4 km  ×  5.4 km. Perturbation experiments are performed in which we prescribe a gradual increase in taller vegetation in the alpine shrub and tree cover according to empirically established bioclimatic zones within the study region. We focus on the spring and summer atmospheric response. To evaluate the sensitivity of the atmospheric response to inter-annual variability in climate, simulations were conducted for two contrasting years, one warm and one cold. We find that shrub and tree cover increase leads to a general increase in near-surface temperatures, with the highest influence seen during the snowmelt season and a more moderate effect during summer. We find that the warming effect is stronger in taller vegetation types, with more complex canopies leading to decreases in the surface albedo. Counteracting effects include increased evapotranspiration, which can lead to increased cloud cover, precipitation, and snow cover. We find that the strength of the atmospheric feedback is sensitive to snow cover variations and to a lesser extent to summer temperatures. Our results show that the positive feedback to high-latitude warming induced by increased shrub and tree cover is a robust feature across inter-annual differences in meteorological conditions and will likely play an important role in land–atmosphere feedback processes in the future.

  7. Regional seasonal warming anomalies and land-surface feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coffel, E.; Horton, R. M.

    2017-12-01

    Significant seasonal variations in warming are projected in some regions, especially central Europe, the southeastern U.S., and central South America. Europe in particular may experience up to 2°C more warming during June, July, and August than in the annual mean, enhancing the risk of extreme summertime heat. Previous research has shown that heat waves in Europe and other regions are tied to seasonal soil moisture variations, and that in general land-surface feedbacks have a strong effect on seasonal temperature anomalies. In this study, we show that the seasonal anomalies in warming are also due in part to land-surface feedbacks. We find that in regions with amplified warming during the hot season, surface soil moisture levels generally decline and Bowen ratios increase as a result of a preferential partitioning of incoming energy into sensible vs. latent. The CMIP5 model suite shows significant variability in the strength of land-atmosphere coupling and in projections of future precipitation and soil moisture. Due to the dependence of seasonal warming on land-surface processes, these inter-model variations influence the projected summertime warming amplification and contribute to the uncertainty in projections of future extreme heat.

  8. Reaction Mechanisms on Multiwell Potential Energy Surfaces in Combustion (and Atmospheric) Chemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osborn, David L.

    2017-01-01

    Chemical reactions occurring on a potential energy surface with multiple wells are ubiquitous in low temperature combustion and the oxidation of volatile organic compounds in earth’s atmosphere. The rich variety of structural isomerizations that compete with collisional stabilization make characterizing such complex-forming reactions challenging. This review describes recent experimental and theoretical advances that deliver increasingly complete views of their reaction mechanisms. New methods for creating reactive intermediates coupled with multiplexed measurements provide many experimental observables simultaneously. Automated methods to explore potential energy surfaces can uncover hidden reactive pathways, while master equation methods enable a holistic treatment of both sequential and well-skipping pathways. Our ability to probe and understand nonequilibrium effects and reaction sequences is increasing. These advances provide the fundamental science base for predictive models of combustion and the atmosphere that are crucial to address global challenges.

  9. Reaction Mechanisms on Multiwell Potential Energy Surfaces in Combustion (and Atmospheric) Chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osborn, David L.

    2017-05-01

    Chemical reactions occurring on a potential energy surface with multiple wells are ubiquitous in low-temperature combustion and in the oxidation of volatile organic compounds in Earth's atmosphere. The rich variety of structural isomerizations that compete with collisional stabilization makes characterizing such complex-forming reactions challenging. This review describes recent experimental and theoretical advances that deliver increasingly complete views of their reaction mechanisms. New methods for creating reactive intermediates coupled with multiplexed measurements provide many experimental observables simultaneously. Automated methods to explore potential energy surfaces can uncover hidden reactive pathways, and master equation methods enable a holistic treatment of both sequential and well-skipping pathways. Our ability to probe and understand nonequilibrium effects and reaction sequences is increasing. These advances provide the fundamental science base for predictive models of combustion and the atmosphere that are crucial to address global challenges.

  10. Drought and Heat Waves: The Role of SST and Land Surface Feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubert, Siegfried

    2011-01-01

    Drought occurs on a wide range of time scales, and within a variety of different types of regional climates. At the shortest time scales it is often associated with heat waves that last only several weeks to a few months but nevertheless can have profound detrimental impacts on society (e.g., heat-related impacts on human health, desiccation of croplands, increased fire hazard), while at the longest time scales it can extend over decades and can lead to long term structural changes in many aspects of society (e.g., agriculture, water resources, wetlands, tourism, population shifts). There is now considerable evidence that sea surface temperatures (SSTs) play a leading role in the development of drought world-wide, especially at seasonal and longer time scales, though land-atmosphere feedbacks can also play an important role. At shorter (subseasonal) time scales, SSTs are less important, but land feedbacks can play a critical role in maintaining and amplifying the atmospheric conditions associated with heat waves and short-term droughts. This talk reviews our current understanding of the physical mechanisms that drive precipitation and temperature variations on subseasonal to centennial time scales. This includes an assessment of predictability, prediction skill, and user needs at all time scales.

  11. Instability and breakdown of the coral-algae symbiosis upon exceedence of the interglacial pCO2 threshold (>260 ppmv): the "missing" Earth-System feedback mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooldridge, Scott A.

    2017-12-01

    Changes in the atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 ( pCO2) leads to predictable impacts on the surface ocean carbonate system. Here, the importance of atmospheric pCO2 <260 ppmv is established for the optimum performance (and stability) of the algal endosymbiosis employed by a key suite of tropical reef-building coral species. Violation of this symbiotic threshold is revealed as a prerequisite for major historical reef extinction events, glacial-interglacial feedback climate cycles, and the modern decline of coral reef ecosystems. Indeed, it is concluded that this symbiotic threshold enacts a fundamental feedback mechanism needed to explain the characteristic dynamics (and drivers) of the coupled land-ocean-atmosphere carbon cycle of the Earth System since the mid-Miocene, some 25 million yr ago.

  12. Strong atmospheric chemistry feedback to climate warming from Arctic methane emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isaksen, Ivar S.A.; Gauss, Michael; Myhre, Gunnar; Walter Anthony, Katey M.; Ruppel, Carolyn

    2011-01-01

    The magnitude and feedbacks of future methane release from the Arctic region are unknown. Despite limited documentation of potential future releases associated with thawing permafrost and degassing methane hydrates, the large potential for future methane releases calls for improved understanding of the interaction of a changing climate with processes in the Arctic and chemical feedbacks in the atmosphere. Here we apply a “state of the art” atmospheric chemistry transport model to show that large emissions of CH4 would likely have an unexpectedly large impact on the chemical composition of the atmosphere and on radiative forcing (RF). The indirect contribution to RF of additional methane emission is particularly important. It is shown that if global methane emissions were to increase by factors of 2.5 and 5.2 above current emissions, the indirect contributions to RF would be about 250% and 400%, respectively, of the RF that can be attributed to directly emitted methane alone. Assuming several hypothetical scenarios of CH4 release associated with permafrost thaw, shallow marine hydrate degassing, and submarine landslides, we find a strong positive feedback on RF through atmospheric chemistry. In particular, the impact of CH4 is enhanced through increase of its lifetime, and of atmospheric abundances of ozone, stratospheric water vapor, and CO2 as a result of atmospheric chemical processes. Despite uncertainties in emission scenarios, our results provide a better understanding of the feedbacks in the atmospheric chemistry that would amplify climate warming.

  13. An intercomparison between the surface heat flux feedback in five coupled models, COADS and the NCEP reanalysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frankignoul, C.; Kestenare, E. [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Institute Pierre-Simon Laplace, Laboratoire d' Oceanographie Dynamique et de Climatologie, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Botzet, M. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Carril, A.F. [Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Bologna (Italy); Drange, H. [Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen (Norway); Pardaens, A. [Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, Met Office (United Kingdom); Terray, L.; Sutton, R. [Department of Meteorology, University of Reading (United Kingdom)

    2004-04-01

    The surface heat flux feedback is estimated in the Atlantic and the extra-tropical Indo-Pacific, using monthly heat flux and sea surface temperature anomaly data from control simulations with five global climate models, and it is compared to estimates derived from COADS and the NCEP reanalysis. In all data sets, the heat flux feedback is negative nearly everywhere and damps the sea surface temperature anomalies. At extra-tropical latitudes, it is strongly dominated by the turbulent fluxes. The radiative feedback can be positive or negative, depending on location and season, but it remains small, except in some models in the tropical Atlantic. The negative heat flux feedback is strong in the mid-latitude storm tracks, exceeding 40 W m{sup -2} K{sup -1} at place, but in the Northern Hemisphere it is substantially underestimated in several models. The negative feedback weakens at high latitudes, although the models do not reproduce the weak positive feedback found in NCEP in the northern North Atlantic. The main differences are found in the tropical Atlantic where the heat flux feedback is weakly negative in some models, as in the observations, and strongly negative in others where it can exceed 30 W m{sup -2} K{sup -1} at large scales, in part because of a strong contribution of the radiative fluxes, in particular during spring. A comparison between models with similar atmospheric or oceanic components suggests that the atmospheric model is primarily responsible for the heat flux feedback differences at extra-tropical latitudes. In the tropical Atlantic, the ocean behavior plays an equal role. The differences in heat flux feedback in the tropical Atlantic are reflected in the sea surface temperature anomaly persistence, which is too small in models where the heat flux damping is large. A good representation of the heat flux feedback is thus required to simulate climate variability realistically. (orig.)

  14. Cloud-radiation interactions - Effects of cirrus optical thickness feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somerville, Richard C. J.; Iacobellis, Sam

    1987-01-01

    The paper is concerned with a cloud-radiation feedback mechanism which may be an important component of the climate changes expected from increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other trace greenhouse gases. A major result of the study is that cirrus cloud optical thickness feedbacks may indeed tend to increase the surface warming due to trace gas increases. However, the positive feedback from cirrus appears to be generally weaker than the negative effects due to lower clouds. The results just confirm those of earlier research indicating that the net effect of cloud optical thickness feedbacks may be a negative feedback which may substantially (by a factor of about 2) reduce the surface warming due to the doubling of CO2, even in the presence of cirrus clouds.

  15. The Greenhouse Effect and Climate Feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Covey, C.; Haberle, R. M.; McKay, C. P.; Titov, D. V.

    This chapter reviews the theory of the greenhouse effect and climate feedback. It also compares the theory with observations, using examples taken from all four known terrestrial worlds with substantial atmospheres: Venus, Earth, Mars, and Titan. The greenhouse effect traps infrared radiation in the atmosphere, thereby increasing surface temperature. It is one of many factors that affect a world's climate. (Others include solar luminosity and the atmospheric scattering and absorption of solar radiation.) A change in these factors — defined as climate forcing — may change the climate in a way that brings other processes — defined as feedbacks — into play. For example, when Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide increases, warming the surface, the water vapor content of the atmosphere increases. This is a positive feedback on global warming because water vapor is itself a potent greenhouse gas. Many positive and negative feedback processes are significant in determining Earth's climate, and probably the climates of our terrestrial neighbors.

  16. Feedback mechanisms between snow and atmospheric mercury: Results and observations from field campaigns on the Antarctic plateau.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spolaor, Andrea; Angot, Hélène; Roman, Marco; Dommergue, Aurélien; Scarchilli, Claudio; Vardè, Massimiliano; Del Guasta, Massimo; Pedeli, Xanthi; Varin, Cristiano; Sprovieri, Francesca; Magand, Olivier; Legrand, Michel; Barbante, Carlo; Cairns, Warren R L

    2018-04-01

    The Antarctic Plateau snowpack is an important environment for the mercury geochemical cycle. We have extensively characterized and compared the changes in surface snow and atmospheric mercury concentrations that occur at Dome C. Three summer sampling campaigns were conducted between 2013 and 2016. The three campaigns had different meteorological conditions that significantly affected mercury deposition processes and its abundance in surface snow. In the absence of snow deposition events, the surface mercury concentration remained stable with narrow oscillations, while an increase in precipitation results in a higher mercury variability. The Hg concentrations detected confirm that snowfall can act as a mercury atmospheric scavenger. A high temporal resolution sampling experiment showed that surface concentration changes are connected with the diurnal solar radiation cycle. Mercury in surface snow is highly dynamic and it could decrease by up to 90% within 4/6 h. A negative relationship between surface snow mercury and atmospheric concentrations has been detected suggesting a mutual dynamic exchange between these two environments. Mercury concentrations were also compared with the Br concentrations in surface and deeper snow, results suggest that Br could have an active role in Hg deposition, particularly when air masses are from coastal areas. This research presents new information on the presence of Hg in surface and deeper snow layers, improving our understanding of atmospheric Hg deposition to the snow surface and the possible role of re-emission on the atmospheric Hg concentration. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Self-amplified Amazon forest loss due to vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks

    OpenAIRE

    Zemp, Delphine Clara; Schleussner, Carl Friedrich; Barbosa, Henrique M J; Hirota, Marina; Montade, Vincent; Sampaio, Gilvan; Staal, Arie; Wang-Erlandsson, L.; Rammig, Anja

    2017-01-01

    Reduced rainfall increases the risk of forest dieback, while in return forest loss might intensify regional droughts. The consequences of this vegetation–atmosphere feedback for the stability of the Amazon forest are still unclear. Here we show that the risk of self-amplified Amazon forest loss increases nonlinearly with dry-season intensification. We apply a novel complexnetwork approach, in which Amazon forest patches are linked by observation-based atmospheric water fluxes. ...

  18. Atmosphere-ocean feedbacks in a coastal upwelling system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, J. M. R.; Peliz, A.; Caldeira, R. M. A.; Miranda, P. M. A.

    2018-03-01

    The COAWST (Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport) modelling system is used in different configurations to simulate the Iberian upwelling during the 2012 summer, aiming to assess the atmosphere-ocean feedbacks in the upwelling dynamics. When model results are compared with satellite measurements and in-situ data, two-way coupling is found to have a moderate impact in data-model statistics. A significant reinforcement of atmosphere-ocean coupling coefficients is, however, observed in the two-way coupled run, and in the WRF and ROMS runs forced by previously simulated SST and wind fields, respectively. The increasing in the coupling coefficient is associated with slight, but potentially important changes in the low-level coastal jet in the atmospheric marine boundary layer. While these results do not imply the need for fully coupled simulations in many applications, they show that in seasonal numerical studies such simulations do not degrade the overall model performance, and contribute to produce better dynamical fields.

  19. Planetary Surface-Atmosphere Interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrison, J. P.; Bak, E.; Finster, K.; Gunnlaugsson, H. P.; Holstein-Rathlou, C.; Knak Jensen, S.; Nørnberg, P.

    2013-09-01

    Planetary bodies having an accessible solid surface and significant atmosphere, such as Earth, Mars, Venus, Titan, share common phenomenology. Specifically wind induced transport of surface materials, subsequent erosion, the generation and transport of solid aerosols which leads both to chemical and electrostatic interaction with the atmosphere. How these processes affect the evolution of the atmosphere and surface will be discussed in the context of general planetology and the latest laboratory studies will be presented.

  20. Mechanisms available for cooling plants’ surfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prokhorov Alexey Anatolievich

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The essay briefly touches upon the main mechanisms to cool down the plats’ surfaces that lead to condensation of atmospheric moisture; methods for experimental verification of these mechanisms are presented therein.

  1. Projected Regime Shift in Arctic Cloud and Water Vapor Feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yonghua; Miller, James R.; Francis, Jennifer; Russel, Gary L.

    2011-01-01

    The Arctic climate is changing faster than any other large-scale region on Earth. A variety of positive feedback mechanisms are responsible for the amplification, most of which are linked with changes in snow and ice cover, surface temperature (T(sub s)), atmospheric water vapor (WV), and cloud properties. As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, air temperature and water vapor content also increase, leading to a warmer surface and ice loss, which further enhance evaporation and WV. Many details of these interrelated feedbacks are poorly understood, yet are essential for understanding the pace and regional variations in future Arctic change. We use a global climate model (Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Atmosphere-Ocean Model) to examine several components of these feedbacks, how they vary by season, and how they are projected to change through the 21st century. One positive feedback begins with an increase in T(sub s) that produces an increase in WV, which in turn increases the downward longwave flux (DLF) and T(sub s), leading to further evaporation. Another associates the expected increases in cloud cover and optical thickness with increasing DLF and T(sub s). We examine the sensitivities between DLF and other climate variables in these feedbacks and find that they are strongest in the non-summer seasons, leading to the largest amplification in Ts during these months. Later in the 21st century, however, DLF becomes less sensitive to changes in WV and cloud optical thickness, as they cause the atmosphere to emit longwave radiation more nearly as a black body. This regime shift in sensitivity implies that the amplified pace of Arctic change relative to the northern hemisphere could relax in the future.

  2. Land-Surface-Atmosphere Coupling in Observations and Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alan K Betts

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available The diurnal cycle and the daily mean at the land-surface result from the coupling of many physical processes. The framework of this review is largely conceptual; looking for relationships and information in the coupling of processes in models and observations. Starting from the surface energy balance, the role of the surface and cloud albedos in the shortwave and longwave fluxes is discussed. A long-wave radiative scaling of the diurnal temperature range and the night-time boundary layer is summarized. Several aspects of the local surface energy partition are presented: the role of soilwater availability and clouds; vector methods for understanding mixed layer evolution, and the coupling between surface and boundary layer that determines the lifting condensation level. Moving to larger scales, evaporation-precipitation feedback in models is discussed; and the coupling of column water vapor, clouds and precipitation to vertical motion and moisture convergence over the Amazon. The final topic is a comparison of the ratio of surface shortwave cloud forcing to the diabatic precipitation forcing of the atmosphere in ERA-40 with observations.

  3. Carbon–climate feedbacks accelerate ocean acidification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. J. Matear

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Carbon–climate feedbacks have the potential to significantly impact the future climate by altering atmospheric CO2 concentrations (Zaehle et al. 2010. By modifying the future atmospheric CO2 concentrations, the carbon–climate feedbacks will also influence the future ocean acidification trajectory. Here, we use the CO2 emissions scenarios from four representative concentration pathways (RCPs with an Earth system model to project the future trajectories of ocean acidification with the inclusion of carbon–climate feedbacks. We show that simulated carbon–climate feedbacks can significantly impact the onset of undersaturated aragonite conditions in the Southern and Arctic oceans, the suitable habitat for tropical coral and the deepwater saturation states. Under the high-emissions scenarios (RCP8.5 and RCP6, the carbon–climate feedbacks advance the onset of surface water under saturation and the decline in suitable coral reef habitat by a decade or more. The impacts of the carbon–climate feedbacks are most significant for the medium- (RCP4.5 and low-emissions (RCP2.6 scenarios. For the RCP4.5 scenario, by 2100 the carbon–climate feedbacks nearly double the area of surface water undersaturated with respect to aragonite and reduce by 50 % the surface water suitable for coral reefs. For the RCP2.6 scenario, by 2100 the carbon–climate feedbacks reduce the area suitable for coral reefs by 40 % and increase the area of undersaturated surface water by 20 %. The sensitivity of ocean acidification to the carbon–climate feedbacks in the low to medium emission scenarios is important because recent CO2 emission reduction commitments are trying to transition emissions to such a scenario. Our study highlights the need to better characterise the carbon–climate feedbacks and ensure we do not underestimate the projected ocean acidification.

  4. Carbon-climate feedbacks accelerate ocean acidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matear, Richard J.; Lenton, Andrew

    2018-03-01

    Carbon-climate feedbacks have the potential to significantly impact the future climate by altering atmospheric CO2 concentrations (Zaehle et al. 2010). By modifying the future atmospheric CO2 concentrations, the carbon-climate feedbacks will also influence the future ocean acidification trajectory. Here, we use the CO2 emissions scenarios from four representative concentration pathways (RCPs) with an Earth system model to project the future trajectories of ocean acidification with the inclusion of carbon-climate feedbacks. We show that simulated carbon-climate feedbacks can significantly impact the onset of undersaturated aragonite conditions in the Southern and Arctic oceans, the suitable habitat for tropical coral and the deepwater saturation states. Under the high-emissions scenarios (RCP8.5 and RCP6), the carbon-climate feedbacks advance the onset of surface water under saturation and the decline in suitable coral reef habitat by a decade or more. The impacts of the carbon-climate feedbacks are most significant for the medium- (RCP4.5) and low-emissions (RCP2.6) scenarios. For the RCP4.5 scenario, by 2100 the carbon-climate feedbacks nearly double the area of surface water undersaturated with respect to aragonite and reduce by 50 % the surface water suitable for coral reefs. For the RCP2.6 scenario, by 2100 the carbon-climate feedbacks reduce the area suitable for coral reefs by 40 % and increase the area of undersaturated surface water by 20 %. The sensitivity of ocean acidification to the carbon-climate feedbacks in the low to medium emission scenarios is important because recent CO2 emission reduction commitments are trying to transition emissions to such a scenario. Our study highlights the need to better characterise the carbon-climate feedbacks and ensure we do not underestimate the projected ocean acidification.

  5. Atmospheric feedbacks in North Africa from an irrigated, afforested Sahara

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemena, Tronje Peer; Matthes, Katja; Martin, Thomas; Wahl, Sebastian; Oschlies, Andreas

    2018-06-01

    Afforestation of the Sahara has been proposed as a climate engineering method to sequester a substantial amount of carbon dioxide, potentially effective to mitigate climate change. Earlier studies predicted changes in the atmospheric circulation system. These atmospheric feedbacks raise questions about the self-sustainability of such an intervention, but have not been investigated in detail. Here, we investigate changes in precipitation and circulation in response to Saharan large-scale afforestation and irrigation with NCAR's CESM-WACCM Earth system model. Our model results show a Saharan temperature reduction by 6 K and weak precipitation enhancement by 267 mm/year over the Sahara. Only 26% of the evapotranspirated water re-precipitates over the Saharan Desert, considerably large amounts are advected southward to the Sahel zone and enhance the West African monsoon (WAM). Different processes cause circulation and precipitation changes over North Africa. The increase in atmospheric moisture leads to radiative cooling above the Sahara and increased high-level cloud coverage as well as atmospheric warming above the Sahel zone. Both lead to a circulation anomaly with descending air over the Sahara and ascending air over the Sahel zone. Together with changes in the meridional temperature gradient, this results in a southward shift of the inner-tropical front. The strengthening of the Tropical easterly jet and the northward displacement of the African easterly jet is associated with a northward displacement and strengthening of the WAM precipitation. Our results suggest complex atmospheric circulation feedbacks, which reduce the precipitation potential over an afforested Sahara and enhance WAM precipitation.

  6. Self-amplified Amazon forest loss due to vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zemp, Delphine Clara; Schleussner, Carl Friedrich; Barbosa, Henrique M J; Hirota, Marina; Montade, Vincent; Sampaio, Gilvan; Staal, Arie; Wang-Erlandsson, L.; Rammig, Anja

    2017-01-01

    Reduced rainfall increases the risk of forest dieback, while in return forest loss might intensify regional droughts. The consequences of this vegetation-atmosphere feedback for the stability of the Amazon forest are still unclear. Here we show that the risk of self-amplified Amazon forest loss

  7. Adsorption and wetting mechanisms at the surface of aqueous hydrocarbon solutions as a possible source of atmospheric pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadiki, M.; Quentel, F.; Elleouet, C.; Olier, R.; Privat, M.

    2006-01-01

    Hydrocarbons in solutions have been the subject of very few investigations despite their relevance, in particular, in situations where environmental mechanisms are involved. We present, here, a synthesis of several studies conducted within our laboratory about the adsorption, at the water surface, of benzene and cyclohexane from under-saturated solutions. The co-adsorption of lead nitrate is also evidenced, though it does not adsorb in absence of organic molecules in the surface. Most of the data reported here were collected from series of measurements made with a very uncommon method: the bubble column; this technique, though being very time-demanding and lacking of user-friendliness, proved its usefulness and relevance in the study of such weakly adsorbable, surface-tension inactive compounds. The study of mixtures is simple and requires no model, which is precious in environmental research. The gathered data demonstrate that, through mechanical mechanisms such as bubbling, co-adsorption can lead to the passing from water to the atmosphere of harmful non-soluble, poorly surface-active, components. (authors)

  8. Do state-of-the-art CMIP5 ESMs accurately represent observed vegetation-rainfall feedbacks? Focus on the Sahel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Notaro, M.; Wang, F.; Yu, Y.; Mao, J.; Shi, X.; Wei, Y.

    2017-12-01

    The semi-arid Sahel ecoregion is an established hotspot of land-atmosphere coupling. Ocean-land-atmosphere interactions received considerable attention by modeling studies in response to the devastating 1970s-90s Sahel drought, which models suggest was driven by sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies and amplified by local vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks. Vegetation affects the atmosphere through biophysical feedbacks by altering the albedo, roughness, and transpiration and thereby modifying exchanges of energy, momentum, and moisture with the atmosphere. The current understanding of these potentially competing processes is primarily based on modeling studies, with biophysical feedbacks serving as a key uncertainty source in regional climate change projections among Earth System Models (ESMs). In order to reduce this uncertainty, it is critical to rigorously evaluate the representation of vegetation feedbacks in ESMs against an observational benchmark in order to diagnose systematic biases and their sources. However, it is challenging to successfully isolate vegetation's feedbacks on the atmosphere, since the atmospheric control on vegetation growth dominates the atmospheric feedback response to vegetation anomalies and the atmosphere is simultaneously influenced by oceanic and terrestrial anomalies. In response to this challenge, a model-validated multivariate statistical method, Stepwise Generalized Equilibrium Feedback Assessment (SGEFA), is developed, which extracts the forcing of a slowly-evolving environmental variable [e.g. SST or leaf area index (LAI)] on the rapidly-evolving atmosphere. By applying SGEFA to observational and remotely-sensed data, an observational benchmark is established for Sahel vegetation feedbacks. In this work, the simulated responses in key atmospheric variables, including evapotranspiration, albedo, wind speed, vertical motion, temperature, stability, and rainfall, to Sahel LAI anomalies are statistically assessed in Coupled Model

  9. Positive feedback between increasing atmospheric CO2 and ecosystem productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelfand, I.; Hamilton, S. K.; Robertson, G. P.

    2009-12-01

    Increasing atmospheric CO2 will likely affect both the hydrologic cycle and ecosystem productivity. Current assumptions that increasing CO2 will lead to increased ecosystem productivity and plant water use efficiency (WUE) are driving optimistic predictions of higher crop yields as well as greater availability of freshwater resources due to a decrease in evapotranspiration. The plant physiological response that drives these effects is believed to be an increase in carbon uptake either by (a) stronger CO2 gradient between the stomata and the atmosphere, or by (b) reduced CO2 limitation of enzymatic carboxylation within the leaf. The (a) scenario will lead to increased water use efficiency (WUE) in plants. However, evidence for increased WUE is mostly based on modeling studies, and experiments producing a short duration or step-wise increase in CO2 concentration (e.g. free-air CO2 enrichment). We hypothesize that the increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration is having a positive effect on ecosystem productivity and WUE. To investigate this hypothesis, we analyzed meteorological, ANPP, and soil CO2 flux datasets together with carbon isotopic ratio (13C/12C) of archived plant samples from the long term ecological research (LTER) program at Kellogg Biological Station. The datasets were collected between 1989 and 2007 (corresponding to an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration of ~33 ppmv at Mauna Loa). Wheat (Triticum aestivum) samples taken from 1989 and 2007 show a significant decrease in the C isotope discrimination factor (Δ) over time. Stomatal conductance is directly related to Δ, and thus Δ is inversely related to plant intrinsic WUE (iWUE). Historical changes in the 13C/12C ratio (δ13C) in samples of a perennial forb, Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), taken from adjacent successional fields, indicate changes in Δ upon uptake of CO2 as well. These temporal trends in Δ suggest a positive feedback between the increasing CO2 concentration in the

  10. Climate change feedbacks on future oceanic acidification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNeil, Ben I.; Matear, Richard J.

    2007-01-01

    Oceanic anthropogenic CO 2 uptake will decrease both the pH and the aragonite saturation state (Oarag) of seawater leading to an oceanic acidification. However, the factors controlling future changes in pH and Oarag are independent and will respond differently to oceanic climate change feedbacks such as ocean warming, circulation and biological changes. We examine the sensitivity of these two CO 2 -related parameters to climate change feedbacks within a coupled atmosphere-ocean model. The ocean warming feedback was found to dominate the climate change responses in the surface ocean. Although surface pH is projected to decrease relatively uniformly by about 0.3 by the year 2100, we find pH to be insensitive to climate change feedbacks, whereas Oarag is buffered by ∼15%. Ocean carbonate chemistry creates a situation whereby the direct pH changes due to ocean warming are almost cancelled by the pH changes associated with dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations changes via a reduction in CO 2 solubility from ocean warming. We show that the small climate change feedback on future surface ocean pH is independent to the amount of ocean warming. Our analysis therefore implies that future projections of surface ocean acidification only need to consider future atmospheric CO 2 levels, not climate change induced modifications in the ocean

  11. Modelling land surface fluxes of CO2 in response to climate change and nitrogen deposition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kristina; Ambelas Skjøth, Carsten; Geels, Camilla

    Climate change, land use variations, and impacts of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition represent uncertainties for the prediction of future greenhouse gas exchange between land surfaces and the atmosphere as the mechanisms describing nutritional effects are not well developed in climate...... climate feedback mechanisms of CO2 between changes in management, land use practise, and climate change....

  12. Spring soil moisture-precipitation feedback in the Southern Great Plains: How is it related to large-scale atmospheric conditions?

    KAUST Repository

    Su, Hua

    2014-02-22

    The Southern Great Plains (SGP) has been shown as a region of significant soil moisture-precipitation (S-P) coupling. However, how strong evapotranspiration (ET) can affect regional precipitation remains largely unclear, impeding a full grasp of the S-P feedback in that area. The current study seeks to unravel, in a spring month (April), the potential role played by large-scale atmospheric conditions in shaping S (ET)-P feedback. Our regional climate modeling experiments demonstrate that the presence of anomalous low (high) pressure and cyclonic (anticyclonic) flows at the upper/middle troposphere over the relevant areas is associated with strongest (minimum) positive S-P feedback in the SGP. Their impacts are interpreted in terms of large-scale atmospheric dynamical disturbance, including the intensity and location of synoptic eddies. Further analyses of the vertical velocity fields corroborate these interpretations. In addition, the relationship between lower tropospheric moisture conditions (including winds) and feedback composites is evaluated. Key Points The S-P feedback strength in SGP in April varies inter-annually The atmospheric dynamic features affect significantly the feedback strength composite moisture conditions are related to atmospheric circulation structure ©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

  13. Spring soil moisture-precipitation feedback in the Southern Great Plains: How is it related to large-scale atmospheric conditions?

    KAUST Repository

    Su, Hua; Yang, Zong-Liang; Dickinson, Robert E.; Wei, Jiangfeng

    2014-01-01

    The Southern Great Plains (SGP) has been shown as a region of significant soil moisture-precipitation (S-P) coupling. However, how strong evapotranspiration (ET) can affect regional precipitation remains largely unclear, impeding a full grasp of the S-P feedback in that area. The current study seeks to unravel, in a spring month (April), the potential role played by large-scale atmospheric conditions in shaping S (ET)-P feedback. Our regional climate modeling experiments demonstrate that the presence of anomalous low (high) pressure and cyclonic (anticyclonic) flows at the upper/middle troposphere over the relevant areas is associated with strongest (minimum) positive S-P feedback in the SGP. Their impacts are interpreted in terms of large-scale atmospheric dynamical disturbance, including the intensity and location of synoptic eddies. Further analyses of the vertical velocity fields corroborate these interpretations. In addition, the relationship between lower tropospheric moisture conditions (including winds) and feedback composites is evaluated. Key Points The S-P feedback strength in SGP in April varies inter-annually The atmospheric dynamic features affect significantly the feedback strength composite moisture conditions are related to atmospheric circulation structure ©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

  14. Elevated atmospheric CO2 negatively impacts photosynthesis through radiative forcing and physiology-mediated climate feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Peng; Zhuang, Qianlai; Ciais, Philippe; Welp, Lisa; Li, Wenyu; Xin, Qinchuan

    2017-02-01

    Increasing atmospheric CO2 affects photosynthesis involving directly increasing leaf carboxylation rates, stomatal closure, and climatic effects. The direct effects are generally thought to be positive leading to increased photosynthesis, while its climatic effects can be regionally positive or negative. These effects are usually considered to be independent from each other, but they are in fact coupled through interactions between land surface exchanges of gases and heat and the physical climate system. In particular, stomatal closure reduces evapotranspiration and increases sensible heat emissions from ecosystems, leading to decreased atmospheric moisture and precipitation and local warming. We use a coupled earth system model to attribute the influence of the increase in CO2 on gross primary productivity (GPP) during the period of 1930-2011. In our model, CO2 radiative effects cause climate change that has only a negligible effect on global GPP (a reduction of 0.9 ± 2% during the last 80 years) because of opposite responses between tropical and northern biomes. On the other hand, CO2 physiological effects on GPP are both positive, by increased carboxylation rates and water use efficiency (7.1 ± 0.48% increase), and negative, by vegetation-climate feedback reducing precipitation, as a consequence of decreased transpiration and increased sensible heat in areas without water limitation (2.7 ± 1.76% reduction).When considering the coupled atmosphere-vegetation system, negative climate feedback on photosynthesis and plant growth due to the current level of CO2 opposes 29-38% of the gains from direct fertilization effects.

  15. Can climate sensitivity be estimated from short-term relationships of top-of-atmosphere net radiation and surface temperature?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin Bing; Min Qilong; Sun Wenbo; Hu Yongxiang; Fan, Tai-Fang

    2011-01-01

    Increasing the knowledge in climate radiative feedbacks is critical for current climate studies. This work focuses on short-term relationships between global mean surface temperature and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) net radiation. The relationships may be used to characterize the climate feedback as suggested by some recent studies. As those recent studies, an energy balance model with ocean mixed layer and both radiative and non-radiative heat sources is used here. The significant improvement of current model is that climate system memories are considered. Based on model simulations, short-term relationship between global mean surface temperature and TOA net radiation (or the linear striation feature as suggested by previous studies) might represent climate feedbacks when the system had no memories. However, climate systems with the same short-term feedbacks but different memories would have a similar linear striation feature. This linear striation feature reflects only fast components of climate feedbacks and may not represent the total climate feedback even when the memory length of climate systems is minimal. The potential errors in the use of short-term relationships in estimations of climate sensitivity could be big. In short time scales, fast climate processes may overwhelm long-term climate feedbacks. Thus, the climate radiative feedback parameter obtained from short-term data may not provide a reliable estimate of climate sensitivity. This result also suggests that long-term observations of global surface temperature and TOA radiation are critical in the understanding of climate feedbacks and sensitivities.

  16. Verification of land-atmosphere coupling in forecast models, reanalyses and land surface models using flux site observations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dirmeyer, Paul A; Chen, Liang; Wu, Jiexia; Shin, Chul-Su; Huang, Bohua; Cash, Benjamin A; Bosilovich, Michael G; Mahanama, Sarith; Koster, Randal D; Santanello, Joseph A; Ek, Michael B; Balsamo, Gianpaolo; Dutra, Emanuel; Lawrence, D M

    2018-02-01

    We confront four model systems in three configurations (LSM, LSM+GCM, and reanalysis) with global flux tower observations to validate states, surface fluxes, and coupling indices between land and atmosphere. Models clearly under-represent the feedback of surface fluxes on boundary layer properties (the atmospheric leg of land-atmosphere coupling), and may over-represent the connection between soil moisture and surface fluxes (the terrestrial leg). Models generally under-represent spatial and temporal variability relative to observations, which is at least partially an artifact of the differences in spatial scale between model grid boxes and flux tower footprints. All models bias high in near-surface humidity and downward shortwave radiation, struggle to represent precipitation accurately, and show serious problems in reproducing surface albedos. These errors create challenges for models to partition surface energy properly and errors are traceable through the surface energy and water cycles. The spatial distribution of the amplitude and phase of annual cycles (first harmonic) are generally well reproduced, but the biases in means tend to reflect in these amplitudes. Interannual variability is also a challenge for models to reproduce. Our analysis illuminates targets for coupled land-atmosphere model development, as well as the value of long-term globally-distributed observational monitoring.

  17. ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS OF TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANETS OVER A WIDE RANGE OF ORBITAL AND ATMOSPHERIC PARAMETERS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaspi, Yohai [Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl st., 76100, Rehovot (Israel); Showman, Adam P., E-mail: yohai.kaspi@weizmann.ac.il [Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, 1629 University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2015-05-01

    The recent discoveries of terrestrial exoplanets and super-Earths extending over a broad range of orbital and physical parameters suggest that these planets will span a wide range of climatic regimes. Characterization of the atmospheres of warm super-Earths has already begun and will be extended to smaller and more distant planets over the coming decade. The habitability of these worlds may be strongly affected by their three-dimensional atmospheric circulation regimes, since the global climate feedbacks that control the inner and outer edges of the habitable zone—including transitions to Snowball-like states and runaway-greenhouse feedbacks—depend on the equator-to-pole temperature differences, patterns of relative humidity, and other aspects of the dynamics. Here, using an idealized moist atmospheric general circulation model including a hydrological cycle, we study the dynamical principles governing the atmospheric dynamics on such planets. We show how the planetary rotation rate, stellar flux, atmospheric mass, surface gravity, optical thickness, and planetary radius affect the atmospheric circulation and temperature distribution on such planets. Our simulations demonstrate that equator-to-pole temperature differences, meridional heat transport rates, structure and strength of the winds, and the hydrological cycle vary strongly with these parameters, implying that the sensitivity of the planet to global climate feedbacks will depend significantly on the atmospheric circulation. We elucidate the possible climatic regimes and diagnose the mechanisms controlling the formation of atmospheric jet streams, Hadley and Ferrel cells, and latitudinal temperature differences. Finally, we discuss the implications for understanding how the atmospheric circulation influences the global climate.

  18. ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS OF TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANETS OVER A WIDE RANGE OF ORBITAL AND ATMOSPHERIC PARAMETERS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaspi, Yohai; Showman, Adam P.

    2015-01-01

    The recent discoveries of terrestrial exoplanets and super-Earths extending over a broad range of orbital and physical parameters suggest that these planets will span a wide range of climatic regimes. Characterization of the atmospheres of warm super-Earths has already begun and will be extended to smaller and more distant planets over the coming decade. The habitability of these worlds may be strongly affected by their three-dimensional atmospheric circulation regimes, since the global climate feedbacks that control the inner and outer edges of the habitable zone—including transitions to Snowball-like states and runaway-greenhouse feedbacks—depend on the equator-to-pole temperature differences, patterns of relative humidity, and other aspects of the dynamics. Here, using an idealized moist atmospheric general circulation model including a hydrological cycle, we study the dynamical principles governing the atmospheric dynamics on such planets. We show how the planetary rotation rate, stellar flux, atmospheric mass, surface gravity, optical thickness, and planetary radius affect the atmospheric circulation and temperature distribution on such planets. Our simulations demonstrate that equator-to-pole temperature differences, meridional heat transport rates, structure and strength of the winds, and the hydrological cycle vary strongly with these parameters, implying that the sensitivity of the planet to global climate feedbacks will depend significantly on the atmospheric circulation. We elucidate the possible climatic regimes and diagnose the mechanisms controlling the formation of atmospheric jet streams, Hadley and Ferrel cells, and latitudinal temperature differences. Finally, we discuss the implications for understanding how the atmospheric circulation influences the global climate

  19. Antarctic Ice Sheet Discharge Driven by Atmosphere-Ocean Feedbacks Across the Last Glacial Termination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fogwill, C. J.; Turney, C. S.; Golledge, N. R.; Etheridge, D. M.; Rubino, M.; Thornton, D.; Baker, A.; Weber, M. E.; Woodward, J.; van Ommen, T. D.; Moy, A. D.; Davies, S. M.; Bird, M. I.; Winter, K.; Munksgaard, N.; Menviel, L.; Rootes, C.; Vohra, J.; Rivera, A.; Cooper, A.

    2016-12-01

    Reconstructing the dynamic response of the Antarctic ice sheets to warming during the Last Glacial Termination (LGT; 18,000-11,650 yrs ago) allows us to identify ice-climate feedbacks that could improve future projections1,2. Whilst the sequence of events during this period are reasonably well-known, relatively poor chronological control has precluded precise alignment of ice, atmospheric and marine records2, making it difficult to assess relationships between Antarctic ice-sheet dynamics, climate change and sea-level rise3-5. Here we present results from a highly-resolved `horizontal ice core'6,7 from the Weddell Sea Embayment, which records millennial-scale ice-sheet dynamics across this extensive sector of Antarctica. Counterintuitively, we find ice-sheet surface drawdown of 600 m across the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR; 14,600-12,700 yrs ago)5, with stabilisation during the subsequent millennia of atmospheric warming. Earth system and ice-sheet modelling highlights that this response was likely sustained by strong ocean-ice feedbacks4,8; however, the drivers remain uncertain. Given the coincidence of the ice-sheet changes recorded with marked shifts in atmospheric circulation9,10,11we suggest that millennial-scale Antarctic ice-sheet behaviour was initiated and sustained by global atmospheric teleconnections across the LGT. This has important ramifications ice-sheet stability under contemporary climate change, with changing atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. 1 Collins, M. et al. in Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. 2 Weber, M. E. et al. Nature 510, 134-138, (2014). 3 Weaver, A. J., et al., Science 299, 1709-1713, (2003). 4 Golledge, N. R. et al. Nat Commun 5, (2014). 5 Pedro, J. B. et al. Nature Geosci9. 51-55 (2015). 6 Turney, C. S. M. et al. Journal of Quaternary Science 28, 697-704 (2013). 7 Winter, K. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett.43. 5. 2019-2026 (2016). 8 Menviel, L., A. et al., Quaternary Science Reviews 30, 1155-1172 (2011). 9 Hogg

  20. Adapting observationally based metrics of biogeophysical feedbacks from land cover/land use change to climate modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Liang; Dirmeyer, Paul A

    2016-01-01

    To assess the biogeophysical impacts of land cover/land use change (LCLUC) on surface temperature, two observation-based metrics and their applicability in climate modeling were explored in this study. Both metrics were developed based on the surface energy balance, and provided insight into the contribution of different aspects of land surface change (such as albedo, surface roughness, net radiation and surface heat fluxes) to changing climate. A revision of the first metric, the intrinsic biophysical mechanism, can be used to distinguish the direct and indirect effects of LCLUC on surface temperature. The other, a decomposed temperature metric, gives a straightforward depiction of separate contributions of all components of the surface energy balance. These two metrics well capture observed and model simulated surface temperature changes in response to LCLUC. Results from paired FLUXNET sites and land surface model sensitivity experiments indicate that surface roughness effects usually dominate the direct biogeophysical feedback of LCLUC, while other effects play a secondary role. However, coupled climate model experiments show that these direct effects can be attenuated by large scale atmospheric changes (indirect feedbacks). When applied to real-time transient LCLUC experiments, the metrics also demonstrate usefulness for assessing the performance of climate models and quantifying land–atmosphere interactions in response to LCLUC. (letter)

  1. The Impact of Observed Vegetation Changes on Land–Atmosphere Feedbacks During Drought

    KAUST Repository

    Meng, X. H.; Evans, J. P.; McCabe, Matthew

    2014-01-01

    Simulated feedbacks between vegetation fraction, soil moisture, and drought over southeast Australia were also investigated. Results indicate that vegetation fraction changes lag precipitation reductions by 6–8 months in nonarid regions. With the onset of the 2002 drought, a potential fast physical mechanism was found to play a positive role in the soil moisture–precipitation feedback, while a slow biological mechanism provides a negative feedback in the soil moisture–precipitation interaction on a longer time scale. That is, in the short term, a reduction in soil moisture leads to a reduction in the convective potential and, hence, precipitation, further reducing the soil moisture. If low levels of soil moisture persist long enough, reductions in vegetation cover and vigor occur, reducing the evapotranspiration and thus reducing the soil moisture decreases and dampening the fast physical feedback. Importantly, it was observed that these feedbacks are both space and time dependent.

  2. Precipitation Dynamics and Feedback mechanisms of the Arabian Desert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burger, Roelof; Kucera, Paul; Piketh, Stuart; Axisa, Duncan; Chapman, Michael; Krauss, Terry; Ghulam, Ayman

    2010-05-01

    The subtropical Arabian desert extends across the entire Peninsula. The Arabian desert finds itself in the downward branch of the Hadley cell with persistent subsidence. This stabilizes the atmosphere and lowers the relative humidity. The result is a strongly capped convective boundary layer and an extremely dry mid troposphere. Most of the area experience very little rainfall, generally below 100 mm per year, resulting in the largest uninterrupted sand desert in the world. However, local factors such as an unbroken 1000 km escarpment along the Red Sea, rocky mountains between 2000 and 3000 m, and gravel plains cut by wadis, causes micro climates with significant altered precipitation characteristics. Altitude oases with annual rainfall between 200 mm and 500 mm are found on the Asir mountains in the south west and over the Jebel Akdhar mountains on the Gulf coast of Oman. This region receives most of its rainfall in the Northern Hemisphere summer driven by a monsoon trough and the ITCZ. During summer, moist surface winds from the Red Sea converges with dry easterlies triggering convection along the Asir escarpment on a daily basis. Clear mornings grow into a layer of Altocumulus stratiformis cumulogenites by noon, which usually last until sunset. This cloud deck interacts with large severe convective cells which grow to the top of the troposphere by mid afternoon. The north experience a mediterranean climate with eastward propagating midlatitude cyclones causing wintertime rainfall. Characteristic cloud bands form over the northern interior. Vertically layered embedded convective cells that are not coupled with the surface propagate on north easterly tracks. This result in another oasis with annual rainfall exceeding 200 mm. Surface based convection causes isolated thunderstorms during spring and early summer, but cloud bases increase as the season progress until the evaporating downdraft causes dust storms. In-situ measurements, WRF model runs, radiosonde ascends

  3. Study on the surface oxidation of uranium in different gaseous atmospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiaoling; Fu Yibei; Xie Renshou

    1996-03-01

    The studying for the surface oxidation of uranium and oxide by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and the surface oxidation of uranium in different gaseous atmospheres such as O 2 , H 2 , CO, CO 2 , H 2 O(v) and air were reviewed. The surface oxidation of uranium is greatly influenced by a number of parameters including atmospheric temperature, pressure, diffusion of adsorbed gas atoms through the oxide layer, surface and interface chemical component, and defect structure and electron nature of the oxide layer. The initial oxidation mechanism and kinetics have been discussed. Suggestions for future work have also been presented. (32 refs., 7 figs., 5 tabs.)

  4. Recent slowdown of atmospheric CO2 amplification due to vegetation-climate feedback over northern lands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Z.; Xia, J.; Ahlström, A.; Rinke, A.; Koven, C.; Hayes, D. J.; Ji, D.; Zhang, G.; Krinner, G.; Chen, G.; Dong, J.; Liang, J.; Moore, J.; Jiang, L.; Yan, L.; Ciais, P.; Peng, S.; Wang, Y.; Xiao, X.; Shi, Z.; McGuire, A. D.; Luo, Y.

    2017-12-01

    The enhanced vegetation growth by climate warming plays a pivotal role in amplifying the seasonal cycle of atmospheric CO2 at northern high latitudes since 1960s1-3. It remains unclear that whether this mechanism is still robust since 1990s, because a paused vegetation growth increase4,5 and weakened temperature control on CO2 uptake6,7 have been detected during this period. Here, based on in-situ atmospheric CO2 concentration records above northern 50o N, we found a slowdown of the atmospheric CO2 amplification from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s. This phenomenon is associated with the pause of vegetation greening trend and slowdown of spring warming. We further showed that both the vegetation greenness and its growing season length are positively correlated to spring but not autumn temperature from 1982 to 2010 over the northern lands. However, the state-of-art terrestrial biosphere models produce positive responses of gross primary productivity to both spring and autumn warming. These findings emphasize the importance of vegetation-climate feedback in shaping the atmospheric CO2 seasonality, and call for an improved carbon-cycle response to non-uniform seasonal warming at high latitudes in current models.

  5. 78 FR 13057 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection; IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-26

    ... Information Collection Activities; Information Collection; IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism AGENCY: Office of... previously approved information collection requirement regarding IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism. DATES... Collection 3090- 0285, IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism, by any of the following methods: Regulations.gov...

  6. Arctic cloud-climate feedbacks: On relationships between Arctic clouds, sea ice, and lower tropospheric stability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, P. C.; Boeke, R.; Hegyi, B.

    2017-12-01

    Arctic low clouds strongly affect the Arctic surface energy budget. Through this impact Arctic low clouds influence other important aspects of the Arctic climate system, namely surface and atmospheric temperature, sea ice extent and thickness, and atmospheric circulation. Arctic clouds are in turn influenced by these Arctic climate system elements creating the potential for Arctic cloud-climate feedbacks. To further our understanding of the potential for Arctic cloud-climate feedbacks, we quantify the influence of atmospheric state on the surface cloud radiative effect (CRE). In addition, we quantify the covariability between surface CRE and sea ice concentration (SIC). This paper builds on previous research using instantaneous, active remote sensing satellite footprint data from the NASA A-Train. First, the results indicate significant differences in the surface CRE when stratified by atmospheric state. Second, a statistically insignificant covariability is found between CRE and SIC for most atmospheric conditions. Third, we find a statistically significant increase in the average surface longwave CRE at lower SIC values in fall. Specifically, a +3-5 W m-2 larger longwave CRE is found over footprints with 0% versus 100% SIC. Because systematic changes on the order of 1 W m-2 are sufficient to explain the observed long-term reductions in sea ice extent, our results indicate a potentially significant amplifying sea ice-cloud feedback that could delay the fall freeze-up and influence the variability in sea ice extent and volume, under certain meteorological conditions. Our results also suggest that a small change in the frequency of occurrence of atmosphere states may yield a larger Arctic cloud feedback than any cloud response to sea ice.

  7. A dynamical stabilizer in the climate system: a mechanism suggested by a simple model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bates, J. R.

    1999-05-01

    involve inter-zone coupling and have coefficients dependent on the values of the equilibrium fluxes and the sensitivity of the angular momentum transport. Analytical solutions for the perturbations are obtained. These provide criteria for the stability of the equilibrium climate. If the evaporative feedback on SST perturbations is omitted, the equilibrium climate is unstable due to the influence of the water vapour/infrared radiative feedback, which dominates over the effects of the sensible heat and ocean heat transport feedbacks. The inclusion of evaporation gives a negative feedback which is of sufficient strength to stabilize the system. The stabilizing mechanism involves wind and humidity factors in the evaporative fluxes that are of comparable magnitude. Both factors involve the angular momentum transport. In including angular momentum and calculating the surface fluxes explicitly, the model presented here differs from the many simple climate models based on the Budyko Sellers formulation. In that formulation, an atmospheric energy balance equation is used to eliminate surface fluxes in favour of top-of-the-atmosphere radiative fluxes and meridional atmospheric energy transports. In the resulting models, infrared radiation appears as a stabilizing influence on SST perturbations and the dynamical stabilizing mechanism found here cannot be identified.

  8. Mechanical feedback coordinates cell wall expansion and assembly in yeast mating morphogenesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    The shaping of individual cells requires a tight coordination of cell mechanics and growth. However, it is unclear how information about the mechanical state of the wall is relayed to the molecular processes building it, thereby enabling the coordination of cell wall expansion and assembly during morphogenesis. Combining theoretical and experimental approaches, we show that a mechanical feedback coordinating cell wall assembly and expansion is essential to sustain mating projection growth in budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Our theoretical results indicate that the mechanical feedback provided by the Cell Wall Integrity pathway, with cell wall stress sensors Wsc1 and Mid2 increasingly activating membrane-localized cell wall synthases Fks1/2 upon faster cell wall expansion, stabilizes mating projection growth without affecting cell shape. Experimental perturbation of the osmotic pressure and cell wall mechanics, as well as compromising the mechanical feedback through genetic deletion of the stress sensors, leads to cellular phenotypes that support the theoretical predictions. Our results indicate that while the existence of mechanical feedback is essential to stabilize mating projection growth, the shape and size of the cell are insensitive to the feedback. PMID:29346368

  9. Effects of ozone-vegetation coupling on surface ozone air quality via biogeochemical and meteorological feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadiq, Mehliyar; Tai, Amos P. K.; Lombardozzi, Danica; Martin, Maria Val

    2017-02-01

    Tropospheric ozone is one of the most hazardous air pollutants as it harms both human health and plant productivity. Foliage uptake of ozone via dry deposition damages photosynthesis and causes stomatal closure. These foliage changes could lead to a cascade of biogeochemical and biogeophysical effects that not only modulate the carbon cycle, regional hydrometeorology and climate, but also cause feedbacks onto surface ozone concentration itself. In this study, we implement a semi-empirical parameterization of ozone damage on vegetation in the Community Earth System Model to enable online ozone-vegetation coupling, so that for the first time ecosystem structure and ozone concentration can coevolve in fully coupled land-atmosphere simulations. With ozone-vegetation coupling, present-day surface ozone is simulated to be higher by up to 4-6 ppbv over Europe, North America and China. Reduced dry deposition velocity following ozone damage contributes to ˜ 40-100 % of those increases, constituting a significant positive biogeochemical feedback on ozone air quality. Enhanced biogenic isoprene emission is found to contribute to most of the remaining increases, and is driven mainly by higher vegetation temperature that results from lower transpiration rate. This isoprene-driven pathway represents an indirect, positive meteorological feedback. The reduction in both dry deposition and transpiration is mostly associated with reduced stomatal conductance following ozone damage, whereas the modification of photosynthesis and further changes in ecosystem productivity are found to play a smaller role in contributing to the ozone-vegetation feedbacks. Our results highlight the need to consider two-way ozone-vegetation coupling in Earth system models to derive a more complete understanding and yield more reliable future predictions of ozone air quality.

  10. Effect of increased ionization on the atmospheric electric field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boeck, W.L.

    1980-01-01

    This study is a review of atmospheric electrical theory with the purpose of predicting the atmospheric electrical effects of increased ionization caused by radioactive inert gases. A time-independent perturbation model for the global atmospheric electric circuit precdicts that the electric field at the sea surface would be reduced to about 76% of its unperturbed value by a surface 85 Kr concentration of 3 nCi/m 3 . The electric field at a typical land station is predicted to be about 84% of its unperturbed value. Some scientists have suggested that the atmospheric electric field is part of a closed electrical feedback loop. The present model does not include such a closed feedback loop and may underestimate the total effects. This model is also useful for interpreting atmospheric electrical responses to natural fluctuations in the cosmic-ray component of background radiation

  11. Distributed force feedback in the spinal cord and the regulation of limb mechanics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, T Richard

    2018-03-01

    This review is an update on the role of force feedback from Golgi tendon organs in the regulation of limb mechanics during voluntary movement. Current ideas about the role of force feedback are based on modular circuits linking idealized systems of agonists, synergists, and antagonistic muscles. In contrast, force feedback is widely distributed across the muscles of a limb and cannot be understood based on these circuit motifs. Similarly, muscle architecture cannot be understood in terms of idealized systems, since muscles cross multiple joints and axes of rotation and further influence remote joints through inertial coupling. It is hypothesized that distributed force feedback better represents the complex mechanical interactions of muscles, including the stresses in the musculoskeletal network born by muscle articulations, myofascial force transmission, and inertial coupling. Together with the strains of muscle fascicles measured by length feedback from muscle spindle receptors, this integrated proprioceptive feedback represents the mechanical state of the musculoskeletal system. Within the spinal cord, force feedback has excitatory and inhibitory components that coexist in various combinations based on motor task and integrated with length feedback at the premotoneuronal and motoneuronal levels. It is concluded that, in agreement with other investigators, autogenic, excitatory force feedback contributes to propulsion and weight support. It is further concluded that coexistent inhibitory force feedback, together with length feedback, functions to manage interjoint coordination and the mechanical properties of the limb in the face of destabilizing inertial forces and positive force feedback, as required by the accelerations and changing directions of both predator and prey.

  12. Study of gain-coupled distributed feedback laser based on high order surface gain-coupled gratings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Feng; Qin, Li; Chen, Yongyi; Jia, Peng; Chen, Chao; Cheng, LiWen; Chen, Hong; Liang, Lei; Zeng, Yugang; Zhang, Xing; Wu, Hao; Ning, Yongqiang; Wang, Lijun

    2018-03-01

    Single-longitudinal-mode, gain-coupled distributed feedback (DFB) lasers based on high order surface gain-coupled gratings are achieved. Periodic surface metal p-contacts with insulated grooves realize gain-coupled mechanism. To enhance gain contrast in the quantum wells without the introduction of effective index-coupled effect, groove length and depth were well designed. Our devices provided a single longitudinal mode with the maximum CW output power up to 48.8 mW/facet at 971.31 nm at 250 mA without facet coating, 3dB linewidth (39 dB). Optical bistable characteristic was observed with a threshold current difference. Experimentally, devices with different cavity lengths were contrasted on power-current and spectrum characteristics. Due to easy fabrication technique and stable performance, it provides a method of fabricating practical gain-coupled distributed feedback lasers for commercial applications.

  13. Surface roughening of ground fused silica processed by atmospheric inductively coupled plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xin, Qiang; Li, Na; Wang, Jun; Wang, Bo; Li, Guo; Ding, Fei; Jin, Huiliang

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The morphology evolution of ground fused silica, processed by atmospheric plasma, was investigated experimentally. • The roughness development results from opening and coalescing of the plasma-etched cracks. • The shapes of grain-like etched pits are the results of the adjacent cracks coalescing with one another. • The descent of the pits density is due to some smaller etched pits that are swallowed up by larger pits. • Leading role in surface smoothing is laterally etching away the side walls of the intersecting pits. - Abstract: Subsurface damage (SSD) is a defect that is inevitably induced during mechanical processes, such as grinding and polishing. This defect dramatically reduces the mechanical strength and the laser damage thresholds of optical elements. Compared with traditional mechanical machining, atmospheric pressure plasma processing (APPP) is a relatively novel technology that induces almost no SSD during the processing of silica-based optical materials. In this paper, a form of APPP, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), is used to process fused silica substrates with fluorocarbon precursor under atmospheric pressure. The surface morphology evolution of ICP-processed substrates was observed and characterized by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the roughness evolves with the etching depth, and the roughness evolution is a single-peaked curve. This curve results from the opening and the coalescing of surface cracks and fractures. The coalescence procedure of these microstructures was simulated with two common etched pits on a polished fused silica surface. Understanding the roughness evolution of plasma-processed surface might be helpful in optimizing the optical fabrication chain that contains APPP

  14. Surface roughening of ground fused silica processed by atmospheric inductively coupled plasma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xin, Qiang; Li, Na; Wang, Jun; Wang, Bo, E-mail: bradywang@hit.edu.cn; Li, Guo; Ding, Fei; Jin, Huiliang

    2015-06-30

    Highlights: • The morphology evolution of ground fused silica, processed by atmospheric plasma, was investigated experimentally. • The roughness development results from opening and coalescing of the plasma-etched cracks. • The shapes of grain-like etched pits are the results of the adjacent cracks coalescing with one another. • The descent of the pits density is due to some smaller etched pits that are swallowed up by larger pits. • Leading role in surface smoothing is laterally etching away the side walls of the intersecting pits. - Abstract: Subsurface damage (SSD) is a defect that is inevitably induced during mechanical processes, such as grinding and polishing. This defect dramatically reduces the mechanical strength and the laser damage thresholds of optical elements. Compared with traditional mechanical machining, atmospheric pressure plasma processing (APPP) is a relatively novel technology that induces almost no SSD during the processing of silica-based optical materials. In this paper, a form of APPP, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), is used to process fused silica substrates with fluorocarbon precursor under atmospheric pressure. The surface morphology evolution of ICP-processed substrates was observed and characterized by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the roughness evolves with the etching depth, and the roughness evolution is a single-peaked curve. This curve results from the opening and the coalescing of surface cracks and fractures. The coalescence procedure of these microstructures was simulated with two common etched pits on a polished fused silica surface. Understanding the roughness evolution of plasma-processed surface might be helpful in optimizing the optical fabrication chain that contains APPP.

  15. Support surface related changes in feedforward and feedback control of standing posture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohapatra, Sambit; Kukkar, Komal K; Aruin, Alexander S

    2014-02-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of different support surfaces on feedforward and feedback components of postural control. Nine healthy subjects were exposed to external perturbations applied to their shoulders while standing on a rigid platform, foam, and wobble board with eyes open or closed. Electrical activity of nine trunk and leg muscles and displacements of the center of pressure were recorded and analyzed during the time frames typical of feedforward and feedback postural adjustments. Feedforward control of posture was characterized by earlier activation of anterior muscles when the subjects stood on foam compared to a wobble board or a firm surface. In addition, the magnitude of feedforward muscle activity was the largest when the foam was used. During the feedback control, anterior muscles were activated prior to posterior muscles irrespective of the nature of surface. Moreover, the largest muscle activity was seen when the supporting surface was foam. Maximum CoP displacement occurred when subjects were standing on a rigid surface. Altering support surface affects both feedforward and feedback components of postural control. This information should be taken into consideration in planning rehabilitation interventions geared towards improvement of balance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Impact of atmospheric model resolution on simulation of ENSO feedback processes: a coupled model study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua, Lijuan; Chen, Lin; Rong, Xinyao; Su, Jingzhi; Wang, Lu; Li, Tim; Yu, Yongqiang

    2018-03-01

    This study examines El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related air-sea feedback processes in a coupled general circulation model (CGCM) to gauge model errors and pin down their sources in ENSO simulation. Three horizontal resolutions of the atmospheric component (T42, T63 and T106) of the CGCM are used to investigate how the simulated ENSO behaviors are affected by the resolution. We find that air-sea feedback processes in the three experiments mainly differ in terms of both thermodynamic and dynamic feedbacks. We also find that these processes are simulated more reasonably in the highest resolution version than in the other two lower resolution versions. The difference in the thermodynamic feedback arises from the difference in the shortwave-radiation (SW) feedback. Due to the severely (mildly) excessive cold tongue in the lower (higher) resolution version, the SW feedback is severely (mildly) underestimated. The main difference in the dynamic feedback processes lies in the thermocline feedback and the zonal-advection feedback, both of which are caused by the difference in the anomalous thermocline response to anomalous zonal wind stress. The difference in representing the anomalous thermocline response is attributed to the difference in meridional structure of zonal wind stress anomaly in the three simulations, which is linked to meridional resolution.

  17. Assessing the influence of groundwater and land surface scheme in the modelling of land surface-atmosphere feedbacks over the FIFE area in Kansas, USA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Morten Andreas Dahl; Højmark Rasmussen, Søren; Drews, Martin

    2016-01-01

    The land surface-atmosphere interaction is described differently in large scale surface schemes of regional climate models and small scale spatially distributed hydrological models. In particular, the hydrological models include the influence of shallow groundwater on evapotranspiration during dry...... by HIRHAM simulated precipitation. The last two simulations include iv) a standard HIRHAM simulation, and v) a fully coupled HIRHAM-MIKE SHE simulation locally replacing the land surface scheme by MIKE SHE for the FIFE area, while HIRHAM in standard configuration is used for the remaining model area...

  18. Forcings and feedbacks in the GeoMIP ensemble for a reduction in solar irradiance and increase in CO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huneeus, Nicolas; Boucher, Olivier; Alterskjær, Kari; Cole, Jason N. S.; Curry, Charles L.; Ji, Duoying; Jones, Andy; Kravitz, Ben; Kristjánsson, Jón Egill; Moore, John C.; Muri, Helene; Niemeier, Ulrike; Rasch, Phil; Robock, Alan; Singh, Balwinder; Schmidt, Hauke; Schulz, Michael; Tilmes, Simone; Watanabe, Shingo; Yoon, Jin-Ho

    2014-05-01

    The effective radiative forcings (including rapid adjustments) and feedbacks associated with an instantaneous quadrupling of the preindustrial CO2 concentration and a counterbalancing reduction of the solar constant are investigated in the context of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). The forcing and feedback parameters of the net energy flux, as well as its different components at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and surface, were examined in 10 Earth System Models to better understand the impact of solar radiation management on the energy budget. In spite of their very different nature, the feedback parameter and its components at the TOA and surface are almost identical for the two forcing mechanisms, not only in the global mean but also in their geographical distributions. This conclusion holds for each of the individual models despite intermodel differences in how feedbacks affect the energy budget. This indicates that the climate sensitivity parameter is independent of the forcing (when measured as an effective radiative forcing). We also show the existence of a large contribution of the cloudy-sky component to the shortwave effective radiative forcing at the TOA suggesting rapid cloud adjustments to a change in solar irradiance. In addition, the models present significant diversity in the spatial distribution of the shortwave feedback parameter in cloudy regions, indicating persistent uncertainties in cloud feedback mechanisms.

  19. CGILS: Results from the First Phase of an International Project to Understand the Physical Mechanisms of Low Cloud Feedbacks in Single Column Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Minghua; Bretherton, Christopher S.; Blossey, Peter N.; Austin, Phillip H.; Bacmeister, Julio T.; Bony, Sandrine; Brient, Florent; Cheedela, Suvarchal K.; Cheng, Anning; DelGenio, Anthony; hide

    2013-01-01

    1] CGILS-the CFMIP-GASS Intercomparison of Large Eddy Models (LESs) and single column models (SCMs)-investigates the mechanisms of cloud feedback in SCMs and LESs under idealized climate change perturbation. This paper describes the CGILS results from 15 SCMs and 8 LES models. Three cloud regimes over the subtropical oceans are studied: shallow cumulus, cumulus under stratocumulus, and well-mixed coastal stratus/stratocumulus. In the stratocumulus and coastal stratus regimes, SCMs without activated shallow convection generally simulated negative cloud feedbacks, while models with active shallow convection generally simulated positive cloud feedbacks. In the shallow cumulus alone regime, this relationship is less clear, likely due to the changes in cloud depth, lateral mixing, and precipitation or a combination of them. The majority of LES models simulated negative cloud feedback in the well-mixed coastal stratus/stratocumulus regime, and positive feedback in the shallow cumulus and stratocumulus regime. A general framework is provided to interpret SCM results: in a warmer climate, the moistening rate of the cloudy layer associated with the surface-based turbulence parameterization is enhanced; together with weaker large-scale subsidence, it causes negative cloud feedback. In contrast, in the warmer climate, the drying rate associated with the shallow convection scheme is enhanced. This causes positive cloud feedback. These mechanisms are summarized as the "NESTS" negative cloud feedback and the "SCOPE" positive cloud feedback (Negative feedback from Surface Turbulence under weaker Subsidence-Shallow Convection PositivE feedback) with the net cloud feedback depending on how the two opposing effects counteract each other. The LES results are consistent with these interpretations

  20. Short structured feedback training is equivalent to a mechanical feedback device in two-rescuer BLS: a randomised simulation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavo, Noemi; Goliasch, Georg; Nierscher, Franz Josef; Stumpf, Dominik; Haugk, Moritz; Breckwoldt, Jan; Ruetzler, Kurt; Greif, Robert; Fischer, Henrik

    2016-05-13

    Resuscitation guidelines encourage the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) feedback devices implying better outcomes after sudden cardiac arrest. Whether effective continuous feedback could also be given verbally by a second rescuer ("human feedback") has not been investigated yet. We, therefore, compared the effect of human feedback to a CPR feedback device. In an open, prospective, randomised, controlled trial, we compared CPR performance of three groups of medical students in a two-rescuer scenario. Group "sCPR" was taught standard BLS without continuous feedback, serving as control. Group "mfCPR" was taught BLS with mechanical audio-visual feedback (HeartStart MRx with Q-CPR-Technology™). Group "hfCPR" was taught standard BLS with human feedback. Afterwards, 326 medical students performed two-rescuer BLS on a manikin for 8 min. CPR quality parameters, such as "effective compression ratio" (ECR: compressions with correct hand position, depth and complete decompression multiplied by flow-time fraction), and other compression, ventilation and time-related parameters were assessed for all groups. ECR was comparable between the hfCPR and the mfCPR group (0.33 vs. 0.35, p = 0.435). The hfCPR group needed less time until starting chest compressions (2 vs. 8 s, p feedback or by using a mechanical audio-visual feedback device was similar. Further studies should investigate whether extended human feedback training could further increase CPR quality at comparable costs for training.

  1. Comparing the CarbonTracker and TM5-4DVar data assimilation systems for CO2 surface flux inversions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Babenhauserheide, A.; Basu, S.; Peters, W.

    2015-01-01

    Data assimilation systems allow for estimating surface fluxes of greenhouse gases from atmospheric concentration measurements. Good knowledge about fluxes is essential to understand how climate change affects ecosystems and to characterize feedback mechanisms. Based on assimilation of more than one

  2. Comparing the CarbonTracker and TM5-4DVar data assimilation systems for CO2 surface flux inversions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Babenhauserheide, A.; Basu, S.; Houweling, S.; Peters, W.; Butz, A.

    2015-01-01

    Data assimilation systems allow for estimating surface fluxes of greenhouse gases from atmospheric concentration measurements. Good knowledge about fluxes is essential to understand how climate change affects ecosystems and to characterize feedback mechanisms. Based on the assimilation of more than

  3. Impact of bio-physical feedbacks on the tropical climate in coupled and uncoupled GCMs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jong-Yeon; Kug, Jong-Seong; Seo, Hyodae; Bader, Jürgen

    2014-10-01

    The bio-physical feedback process between the marine ecosystem and the tropical climate system is investigated using both an ocean circulation model and a fully-coupled ocean-atmosphere circulation model, which interact with a biogeochemical model. We found that the presence of chlorophyll can have significant impact on the characteristics of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), including its amplitude and asymmetry, as well as on the mean state. That is, chlorophyll generally increases mean sea surface temperature (SST) due to the direct biological heating. However, SST in the eastern equatorial Pacific decreases due to the stronger indirect dynamical response to the biological effects outweighing the direct thermal response. It is demonstrated that this biologically-induced SST cooling is intensified and conveyed to other tropical-ocean basins when atmosphere-ocean coupling is taken into account. It is also found that the presence of chlorophyll affects the magnitude of ENSO by two different mechanisms; one is an amplifying effect by the mean chlorophyll, which is associated with shoaling of the mean thermocline depth, and the other is a damping effect derived from the interactively-varying chlorophyll coupled with the physical model. The atmosphere-ocean coupling reduces the biologically-induced ENSO amplifying effect through the weakening of atmospheric feedback. Lastly, there is also a biological impact on ENSO which enhances the positive skewness. This skewness change is presumably caused by the phase dependency of thermocline feedback which affects the ENSO magnitude.

  4. Synthesis and surface engineering of nanomaterials by atmospheric-pressure microplasmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenna, J.; Patel, J.; Mitra, S.; Soin, N.; Švrček, V.; Maguire, P.; Mariotti, D.

    2011-11-01

    Two different atmospheric pressure microplasma systems are discussed and used for the synthesis and surface engineering of a range of nanomaterials. Specifically a gas-phase approach from vaporized tetramethylsilane has been used to synthesize silicon carbide nanoparticles with diameters below 10 nm. A different microplasma system that interfaces with a liquid solution has then been used for the synthesis of surfactant-free electrically stabilized gold nanoparticles with varying size. A similar microplasma-liquid system has been finally successfully used to tailor surface properties of silicon nanoparticles and to reduce graphene oxide into graphene. The synthesis and surface engineering mechanisms are also discussed.

  5. A review of measurement and modelling results of particle atmosphere-surface exchange

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pryor, Sara; Gallagher, M.; Sievering, H.

    2008-01-01

    Atmosphere-surface exchange represents one mechanism by which atmospheric particle mass and number size distributions are modified. Deposition velocities (upsilon(d)) exhibit a pronounced dependence on surface type, due in part to turbulence structure (as manifest in friction velocity), with minima...... agreement between models and observations is found over less-rough surfaces though those data also imply substantially higher surface collection efficiencies than were originally proposed and are manifest in current models. We review theorized dependencies for particle fluxes, describe and critique model...... of approximately 0.01 and 0.2 cm s(-1) over grasslands and 0.1-1 cm s(-1) over forests. However, as noted over 20 yr ago, observations over forests generally do not support the pronounced minimum of deposition velocity (upsilon(d)) for particle diameters of 0.1-2 mu m as manifest in theoretical predictions. Closer...

  6. Facial Feedback Mechanisms in Autistic Spectrum Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stel, Marielle; van den Heuvel, Claudia; Smeets, Raymond C.

    2008-01-01

    Facial feedback mechanisms of adolescents with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) were investigated utilizing three studies. Facial expressions, which became activated via automatic (Studies 1 and 2) or intentional (Study 2) mimicry, or via holding a pen between the teeth (Study 3), influenced corresponding emotions for controls, while individuals…

  7. Model test study of evaporation mechanism of sand under constant atmospheric condition

    OpenAIRE

    CUI, Yu Jun; DING, Wenqi; SONG, Weikang

    2014-01-01

    The evaporation mechanism of Fontainebleau sand using a large-scale model chamber is studied. First, the evaporation test on a layer of water above sand surface is performed under various atmospheric conditions, validating the performance of the chamber and the calculation method of actual evaporation rate by comparing the calculated and measured cumulative evaporations. Second,the evaporation test on sand without water layer is conducted under constant atmospheric condition. Both the evoluti...

  8. Feedback Regulation of Intracellular Hydrostatic Pressure in Surface Cells of the Lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Junyuan; Sun, Xiurong; White, Thomas W.; Delamere, Nicholas A.; Mathias, Richard T.

    2015-01-01

    In wild-type lenses from various species, an intracellular hydrostatic pressure gradient goes from ∼340 mmHg in central fiber cells to 0 mmHg in surface cells. This gradient drives a center-to-surface flow of intracellular fluid. In lenses in which gap-junction coupling is increased, the central pressure is lower, whereas if gap-junction coupling is reduced, the central pressure is higher but surface pressure is always zero. Recently, we found that surface cell pressure was elevated in PTEN null lenses. This suggested disruption of a feedback control system that normally maintained zero surface cell pressure. Our purpose in this study was to investigate and characterize this feedback control system. We measured intracellular hydrostatic pressures in mouse lenses using a microelectrode/manometer-based system. We found that all feedback went through transport by the Na/K ATPase, which adjusted surface cell osmolarity such that pressure was maintained at zero. We traced the regulation of Na/K ATPase activity back to either TRPV4, which sensed positive pressure and stimulated activity, or TRPV1, which sensed negative pressure and inhibited activity. The inhibitory effect of TRPV1 on Na/K pumps was shown to signal through activation of the PI3K/AKT axis. The stimulatory effect of TRPV4 was shown in previous studies to go through a different signal transduction path. Thus, there is a local two-legged feedback control system for pressure in lens surface cells. The surface pressure provides a pedestal on which the pressure gradient sits, so surface pressure determines the absolute value of pressure at each radial location. We speculate that the absolute value of intracellular pressure may set the radial gradient in the refractive index, which is essential for visual acuity. PMID:26536260

  9. Quantifying the ice-albedo feedback through decoupling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kravitz, B.; Rasch, P. J.

    2017-12-01

    The ice-albedo feedback involves numerous individual components, whereby warming induces sea ice melt, inducing reduced surface albedo, inducing increased surface shortwave absorption, causing further warming. Here we attempt to quantify the sea ice albedo feedback using an analogue of the "partial radiative perturbation" method, but where the governing mechanisms are directly decoupled in a climate model. As an example, we can isolate the insulating effects of sea ice on surface energy and moisture fluxes by allowing sea ice thickness to change but fixing Arctic surface albedo, or vice versa. Here we present results from such idealized simulations using the Community Earth System Model in which individual components are successively fixed, effectively decoupling the ice-albedo feedback loop. We isolate the different components of this feedback, including temperature change, sea ice extent/thickness, and air-sea exchange of heat and moisture. We explore the interactions between these different components, as well as the strengths of the total feedback in the decoupled feedback loop, to quantify contributions from individual pieces. We also quantify the non-additivity of the effects of the components as a means of investigating the dominant sources of nonlinearity in the ice-albedo feedback.

  10. Lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling as governing mechanism for preseismic short-term events in atmosphere and ionosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Molchanov

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a general concept of mechanisms of preseismic phenomena in the atmosphere and ionosphere. After short review of observational results we conclude: 1. Upward migration of fluid substrate matter (bubble can lead to ousting of the hot water/gas near the ground surface and cause an earthquake (EQ itself in the strength-weakened area; 2. Thus, time and place of the bubble appearance could be random values, but EQ, geochemistry anomaly and foreshocks (seismic, SA and ULF electromagnetic ones are casually connected; 3. Atmospheric perturbation of temperature and density could follow preseismic hot water/gas release resulting in generation of atmospheric gravity waves (AGW with periods in a range of 6–60min; 4. Seismo-induced AGW could lead to modification of the ionospheric turbulence and to the change of over-horizon radio-wave propagation in the atmosphere, perturbation of LF waves in the lower ionosphere and ULF emission depression at the ground.

  11. Global climate feedbacks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Manowitz, B.

    1990-10-01

    The important physical, chemical, and biological events that affect global climate change occur on a mesoscale -- requiring high spatial resolution for their analysis. The Department of Energy has formulated two major initiatives under the US Global Change Program: ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurements), and CHAMMP (Computer Hardware Advanced Mathematics and Model Physics). ARM is designed to use ground and air-craft based observations to document profiles of atmospheric composition, clouds, and radiative fluxes. With research and models of important physical processes, ARM will delineate the relationships between trace gases, aerosol and cloud structure, and radiative transfer in the atmosphere, and will improve the parameterization of global circulation models. The present GCMs do not model important feedbacks, including those from clouds, oceans, and land processes. The purpose of this workshop is to identify such potential feedbacks, to evaluate the uncertainties in the feedback processes (and, if possible, to parameterize the feedback processes so that they can be treated in a GCM), and to recommend research programs that will reduce the uncertainties in important feedback processes. Individual reports are processed separately for the data bases.

  12. Cloud CCN feedback

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudson, J.G.

    1992-01-01

    Cloud microphysics affects cloud albedo precipitation efficiency and the extent of cloud feedback in response to global warming. Compared to other cloud parameters, microphysics is unique in its large range of variability and the fact that much of the variability is anthropogenic. Probably the most important determinant of cloud microphysics is the spectra of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) which display considerable variability and have a large anthropogenic component. When analyzed in combination three field observation projects display the interrelationship between CCN and cloud microphysics. CCN were measured with the Desert Research Institute (DRI) instantaneous CCN spectrometer. Cloud microphysical measurements were obtained with the National Center for Atmospheric Research Lockheed Electra. Since CCN and cloud microphysics each affect the other a positive feedback mechanism can result

  13. Climate mitigation from vegetation biophysical feedbacks during the past three decades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeng, Zhenzhong [Peking Univ., Beijing (China); Piao, Shilong [Peking Univ., Beijing (China); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China); Li, Laurent Z. X. [Sorbonne Univ. Paris (France); Zhou, Liming [State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States); Ciais, Philippe [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Wang, Tao [Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China); Li, Yue [Peking Univ., Beijing (China); Lian, Xu [Peking Univ., Beijing (China); Wood, Eric F. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Friedlingstein, Pierre [Univ. of Exeter (United Kingdom); Mao, Jiafu [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Estes, Lyndon D. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Clark Univ., Worcester, MA (United States); Myneni, Ranga B. [Boston Univ., MA (United States); Peng, Shushi [Peking Univ., Beijing (China); Shi, Xiaoying [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Seneviratne, Sonia I. [ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Wang, Yingping [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Aspendale, VIC (Australia)

    2017-05-22

    The surface air temperature response to vegetation changes has been studied for the extreme case of land-cover change; yet, it has never been quantified for the slow but persistent increase in leaf area index (LAI) observed over the past 30 years (Earth greening). We isolate the fingerprint of increasing LAI on surface air temperature using a coupled land–atmosphere global climate model prescribed with satellite LAI observations. Furthermore, we found that the global greening has slowed down the rise in global land-surface air temperature by 0.09 ± 0.02 °C since 1982. This net cooling effect is the sum of cooling from increased evapotranspiration (70%), changed atmospheric circulation (44%), decreased shortwave transmissivity (21%), and warming from increased longwave air emissivity (-29%) and decreased albedo (-6%). The global cooling originated from the regions where LAI has increased, including boreal Eurasia, Europe, India, northwest Amazonia, and the Sahel. Increasing LAI did not, but, significantly change surface air temperature in eastern North America and East Asia, where the effects of large-scale atmospheric circulation changes mask local vegetation feedbacks. Overall, the sum of biophysical feedbacks related to the greening of the Earth mitigated 12% of global land-surface warming for the past 30 years.

  14. Surface diffuse discharge mechanism of well-aligned atmospheric pressure microplasma arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Ren-Wu; Li Jiang-Wei; Chen Mao-Dong; Zhang Xian-Hui; Liu Dong-Ping; Yang Si-Ze; Zhou Ru-Sen; Zhuang Jin-Xing; Ostrikov, Kostya

    2016-01-01

    A stable and homogeneous well-aligned air microplasma device for application at atmospheric pressure is designed and its electrical and optical characteristics are investigated. Current-voltage measurements and intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) images show that the well-aligned air microplasma device is able to generate a large-area and homogeneous discharge at the applied voltages ranging from 12 kV to 14 kV, with a repetition frequency of 5 kHz, which is attributed to the diffusion effect of plasma on dielectric surface. Moreover, this well-aligned microplasma device may result in the uniform and large-area surface modification of heat-sensitive PET polymers without damage, such as optimization in hydrophobicity and biocompatibility. In the biomedical field, the utility of this well-aligned microplasma device is further testified. It proves to be very efficient for the large-area and uniform inactivation of E. coli cells with a density of 10 3 /cm 2 on LB agar plate culture medium, and inactivation efficiency can reach up to 99% for 2-min treatment. (paper)

  15. Self-amplified Amazon forest loss due to vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemp, Delphine Clara; Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Hirota, Marina; Montade, Vincent; Sampaio, Gilvan; Staal, Arie; Wang-Erlandsson, Lan; Rammig, Anja

    2017-03-01

    Reduced rainfall increases the risk of forest dieback, while in return forest loss might intensify regional droughts. The consequences of this vegetation-atmosphere feedback for the stability of the Amazon forest are still unclear. Here we show that the risk of self-amplified Amazon forest loss increases nonlinearly with dry-season intensification. We apply a novel complex-network approach, in which Amazon forest patches are linked by observation-based atmospheric water fluxes. Our results suggest that the risk of self-amplified forest loss is reduced with increasing heterogeneity in the response of forest patches to reduced rainfall. Under dry-season Amazonian rainfall reductions, comparable to Last Glacial Maximum conditions, additional forest loss due to self-amplified effects occurs in 10-13% of the Amazon basin. Although our findings do not indicate that the projected rainfall changes for the end of the twenty-first century will lead to complete Amazon dieback, they suggest that frequent extreme drought events have the potential to destabilize large parts of the Amazon forest.

  16. Translation of Land Surface Model Accuracy and Uncertainty into Coupled Land-Atmosphere Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santanello, Joseph A.; Kumar, Sujay; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Harrison, Kenneth W.; Zhou, Shuija

    2012-01-01

    Land-atmosphere (L-A) Interactions playa critical role in determining the diurnal evolution of both planetary boundary layer (PBL) and land surface heat and moisture budgets, as well as controlling feedbacks with clouds and precipitation that lead to the persistence of dry and wet regimes. Recent efforts to quantify the strength of L-A coupling in prediction models have produced diagnostics that integrate across both the land and PBL components of the system. In this study, we examine the impact of improved specification of land surface states, anomalies, and fluxes on coupled WRF forecasts during the summers of extreme dry (2006) and wet (2007) land surface conditions in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. The improved land initialization and surface flux parameterizations are obtained through the use of a new optimization and uncertainty estimation module in NASA's Land Information System (US-OPT/UE), whereby parameter sets are calibrated in the Noah land surface model and classified according to a land cover and soil type mapping of the observation sites to the full model domain. The impact of calibrated parameters on the a) spinup of the land surface used as initial conditions, and b) heat and moisture states and fluxes of the coupled WRF Simulations are then assessed in terms of ambient weather and land-atmosphere coupling along with measures of uncertainty propagation into the forecasts. In addition, the sensitivity of this approach to the period of calibration (dry, wet, average) is investigated. Finally, tradeoffs of computational tractability and scientific validity, and the potential for combining this approach with satellite remote sensing data are also discussed.

  17. Translation of Land Surface Model Accuracy and Uncertainty into Coupled Land-Atmosphere Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santanello, J. A.; Kumar, S.; Peters-Lidard, C. D.; Harrison, K. W.; Zhou, S.

    2012-12-01

    Land-atmosphere (L-A) interactions play a critical role in determining the diurnal evolution of both planetary boundary layer (PBL) and land surface heat and moisture budgets, as well as controlling feedbacks with clouds and precipitation that lead to the persistence of dry and wet regimes. Recent efforts to quantify the strength of L-A coupling in prediction models have produced diagnostics that integrate across both the land and PBL components of the system. In this study, we examine the impact of improved specification of land surface states, anomalies, and fluxes on coupled WRF forecasts during the summers of extreme dry (2006) and wet (2007) land surface conditions in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. The improved land initialization and surface flux parameterizations are obtained through the use of a new optimization and uncertainty estimation module in NASA's Land Information System (LIS-OPT/UE), whereby parameter sets are calibrated in the Noah land surface model and classified according to a land cover and soil type mapping of the observation sites to the full model domain. The impact of calibrated parameters on the a) spinup of the land surface used as initial conditions, and b) heat and moisture states and fluxes of the coupled WRF simulations are then assessed in terms of ambient weather and land-atmosphere coupling along with measures of uncertainty propagation into the forecasts. In addition, the sensitivity of this approach to the period of calibration (dry, wet, average) is investigated. Finally, tradeoffs of computational tractability and scientific validity, and the potential for combining this approach with satellite remote sensing data are also discussed.

  18. Seasonal features of atmospheric surface-layer characteristics over a tropical coastal station in Southern India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hari Prasad, K.B.R.R.; Srinivas, C.V.; Baskaran, R.; Venkatraman, B.

    2016-01-01

    Dispersion of air-borne effluents occurs in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) where turbulence is the main physical processes. In the surface layer of ABL, the mechanical (shear) generation of turbulence exceeds the buoyant generation or consumption of turbulence. In this layer, under steady state and horizontally homogeneous conditions various forces in the governing equation can be neglected and one can apply Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory (MOST) to estimate the turbulent fluxes and other surface layer variables. Understanding the turbulent characteristics of the surface layer is vital for modeling of turbulent diffusion in regional numerical weather and pollution dispersion models. The objective of this study is to verify the validity of the MOST at the coastal site Kalpakkam under various atmospheric stability conditions with respect to different seasons for modeling atmospheric dispersion of radioactive effluents

  19. Confounding factors in determining causal soil moisture-precipitation feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuttle, Samuel E.; Salvucci, Guido D.

    2017-07-01

    Identification of causal links in the land-atmosphere system is important for construction and testing of land surface and general circulation models. However, the land and atmosphere are highly coupled and linked by a vast number of complex, interdependent processes. Statistical methods, such as Granger causality, can help to identify feedbacks from observational data, independent of the different parameterizations of physical processes and spatiotemporal resolution effects that influence feedbacks in models. However, statistical causal identification methods can easily be misapplied, leading to erroneous conclusions about feedback strength and sign. Here, we discuss three factors that must be accounted for in determination of causal soil moisture-precipitation feedback in observations and model output: seasonal and interannual variability, precipitation persistence, and endogeneity. The effect of neglecting these factors is demonstrated in simulated and observational data. The results show that long-timescale variability and precipitation persistence can have a substantial effect on detected soil moisture-precipitation feedback strength, while endogeneity has a smaller effect that is often masked by measurement error and thus is more likely to be an issue when analyzing model data or highly accurate observational data.

  20. Influence of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment on surface properties of PBO fiber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Ruiyun; Pan Xianlin; Jiang Muwen; Peng Shujing; Qiu Yiping

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► PBO fibers were treated with atmospheric pressure plasmas. ► When 1% of oxygen was added to the plasma, IFSS increased 130%. ► Increased moisture regain could enhance plasma treatment effect on improving IFSS with long treatment time. - Abstract: In order to improve the interfacial adhesion property between PBO fiber and epoxy, the surface modification effects of PBO fiber treated by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) in different time, atmosphere and moisture regain (MR) were investigated. The fiber surface morphology, functional groups, surface wettability for control and plasma treated samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle measurements, respectively. Meanwhile, the fiber interfacial shear strength (IFSS), representing adhesion property in epoxy, was tested using micro-bond pull-out test, and single fiber tensile strength was also tested to evaluate the mechanical performance loss of fibers caused by plasma treatment. The results indicated that the fiber surface was etched during the plasma treatments, the fiber surface wettability and the IFSS between fiber and epoxy had much improvement due to the increasing of surface energy after plasma treatment, the contact angle decreased with the treatment time increasing, and the IFSS was improved by about 130%. The processing atmosphere could influence IFSS significantly, and moisture regains (MR) of fibers also played a positive role on improving IFSS but not so markedly. XPS analysis showed that the oxygen content on fiber surface increased after treatment, and C=O, O-C=O groups were introduced on fiber surface. On the other hand, the observed loss of fiber tensile strength caused by plasma treatment was not so remarkable to affect the overall performance of composite materials.

  1. The Impact of Observed Vegetation Changes on Land–Atmosphere Feedbacks During Drought

    KAUST Repository

    Meng, X. H.

    2014-04-01

    Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived vegetation fraction data were used to update the boundary conditions of the advanced research Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to assess the influence of realistic vegetation cover on climate simulations in southeast Australia for the period 2000–08. Results show that modeled air temperature was improved when MODIS data were incorporated, while precipitation changes little with only a small decrease in the bias. Air temperature changes in different seasons reflect the variability of vegetation cover well, while precipitation changes have a more complicated relationship to changes in vegetation fraction. Both MODIS and climatology-based simulation experiments capture the overall precipitation changes, indicating that precipitation is dominated by the large-scale circulation, with local vegetation changes contributing variations around these. Simulated feedbacks between vegetation fraction, soil moisture, and drought over southeast Australia were also investigated. Results indicate that vegetation fraction changes lag precipitation reductions by 6–8 months in nonarid regions. With the onset of the 2002 drought, a potential fast physical mechanism was found to play a positive role in the soil moisture–precipitation feedback, while a slow biological mechanism provides a negative feedback in the soil moisture–precipitation interaction on a longer time scale. That is, in the short term, a reduction in soil moisture leads to a reduction in the convective potential and, hence, precipitation, further reducing the soil moisture. If low levels of soil moisture persist long enough, reductions in vegetation cover and vigor occur, reducing the evapotranspiration and thus reducing the soil moisture decreases and dampening the fast physical feedback. Importantly, it was observed that these feedbacks are both space and time dependent.

  2. Case study of feedbacks and synergisms in a double CO2 experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitchell, C.S.; Potter, G.L.; Ellsaesser, H.W.; Walton, J.J.

    1981-01-01

    A method is described for analyzing the feedback and synergistic comtributions of temperature water vapor, cloud cover, surface albedo and CO 2 to the change in the radiation balance at the top of the atmosphere due to a perturbation in an annual-averaged zonal atmospheric climate model. The method is illustrated through analysis of a double CO 2 experiment with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Statistical Dynamical Model (LLNL SDM). The method provides insight into the sensitivity of the model to feedback changes in individual parameters and how each parameter influences the effects of the others

  3. Movement goals and feedback and feedforward control mechanisms in speech production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkell, Joseph S

    2012-09-01

    Studies of speech motor control are described that support a theoretical framework in which fundamental control variables for phonemic movements are multi-dimensional regions in auditory and somatosensory spaces. Auditory feedback is used to acquire and maintain auditory goals and in the development and function of feedback and feedforward control mechanisms. Several lines of evidence support the idea that speakers with more acute sensory discrimination acquire more distinct goal regions and therefore produce speech sounds with greater contrast. Feedback modification findings indicate that fluently produced sound sequences are encoded as feedforward commands, and feedback control serves to correct mismatches between expected and produced sensory consequences.

  4. Enhancement of vegetation-rainfall feedbacks on the Australian summer monsoon by the Madden-Julian Oscillation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Notaro, Michael

    2018-01-01

    A regional climate modeling analysis of the Australian monsoon system reveals a substantial modulation of vegetation-rainfall feedbacks by the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), both of which operate at similar sub-seasonal time scales, as evidence that the intensity of land-atmosphere interactions is sensitive to the background atmospheric state. Based on ensemble experiments with imposed modification of northern Australian leaf area index (LAI), the atmospheric responses to LAI anomalies are composited for negative and positive modes of the propagating MJO. In the regional climate model (RCM), northern Australian vegetation feedbacks are characterized by evapotranspiration (ET)-driven rainfall responses, with the moisture feedback mechanism dominating over albedo and roughness feedback mechanisms. During November-April, both Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and RCM data reveal MJO's pronounced influence on rainfall patterns across northern Australia, tropical Indian Ocean, Timor Sea, Arafura Sea, and Gulf of Carpentaria, with the MJO dominating over vegetation feedbacks in terms of regulating monsoon rainfall variability. Convectively-active MJO phases support an enhancement of positive vegetation feedbacks on monsoon rainfall. While the MJO imposes minimal regulation of ET responses to LAI anomalies, the vegetation feedback-induced responses in precipitable water, cloud water, and rainfall are greatly enhanced during convectively-active MJO phases over northern Australia, which are characterized by intense low-level convergence and efficient precipitable water conversion. The sub-seasonal response of vegetation-rainfall feedback intensity to the MJO is complex, with significant enhancement of rainfall responses to LAI anomalies in February during convectively-active MJO phases compared to minimal modulation by the MJO during prior and subsequent calendar months.

  5. Push-Pull and Feedback Mechanisms Can Align Signaling System Outputs with Inputs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Steven S; Peria, William J; Yu, Richard C; Colman-Lerner, Alejandro; Brent, Roger

    2016-11-23

    Many cell signaling systems, including the yeast pheromone response system, exhibit "dose-response alignment" (DoRA), in which output of one or more downstream steps closely matches the fraction of occupied receptors. DoRA can improve the fidelity of transmitted dose information. Here, we searched systematically for biochemical network topologies that produced DoRA. Most networks, including many containing feedback and feedforward loops, could not produce DoRA. However, networks including "push-pull" mechanisms, in which the active form of a signaling species stimulates downstream activity and the nominally inactive form reduces downstream activity, enabled perfect DoRA. Networks containing feedbacks enabled DoRA, but only if they also compared feedback to input and adjusted output to match. Our results establish push-pull as a non-feedback mechanism to align output with variable input and maximize information transfer in signaling systems. They also suggest genetic approaches to determine whether particular signaling systems use feedback or push-pull control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Regular network model for the sea ice-albedo feedback in the Arctic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller-Stoffels, Marc; Wackerbauer, Renate

    2011-03-01

    The Arctic Ocean and sea ice form a feedback system that plays an important role in the global climate. The complexity of highly parameterized global circulation (climate) models makes it very difficult to assess feedback processes in climate without the concurrent use of simple models where the physics is understood. We introduce a two-dimensional energy-based regular network model to investigate feedback processes in an Arctic ice-ocean layer. The model includes the nonlinear aspect of the ice-water phase transition, a nonlinear diffusive energy transport within a heterogeneous ice-ocean lattice, and spatiotemporal atmospheric and oceanic forcing at the surfaces. First results for a horizontally homogeneous ice-ocean layer show bistability and related hysteresis between perennial ice and perennial open water for varying atmospheric heat influx. Seasonal ice cover exists as a transient phenomenon. We also find that ocean heat fluxes are more efficient than atmospheric heat fluxes to melt Arctic sea ice.

  7. Land-Atmosphere Interactions in Cold Environments (LATICE): The role of Atmosphere - Biosphere - Cryosphere - Hydrosphere interactions in a changing climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkhart, J. F.; Tallaksen, L. M.; Stordal, F.; Berntsen, T.; Westermann, S.; Kristjansson, J. E.; Etzelmuller, B.; Hagen, J. O.; Schuler, T.; Hamran, S. E.; Lande, T. S.; Bryn, A.

    2015-12-01

    Climate change is impacting the high latitudes more rapidly and significantly than any other region of the Earth because of feedback processes between the atmosphere and the underlying surface. A warmer climate has already led to thawing of permafrost, reducing snow cover and a longer growing season; changes, which in turn influence the atmospheric circulation and the hydrological cycle. Still, many studies rely on one-way coupling between the atmosphere and the land surface, thereby neglecting important interactions and feedbacks. The observation, understanding and prediction of such processes from local to regional and global scales, represent a major scientific challenge that requires multidisciplinary scientific effort. The successful integration of earth observations (remote and in-situ data) and model development requires a harmonized research effort between earth system scientists, modelers and the developers of technologies and sensors. LATICE, which is recognized as a priority research area by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo, aims to advance the knowledge base concerning land atmosphere interactions and their role in controlling climate variability and climate change at high northern latitudes. The consortium consists of an interdisciplinary team of experts from the atmospheric and terrestrial (hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere) research groups, together with key expertise on earth observations and novel sensor technologies. LATICE addresses critical knowledge gaps in the current climate assessment capacity through: Improving parameterizations of processes in earth system models controlling the interactions and feedbacks between the land (snow, ice, permafrost, soil and vegetation) and the atmosphere at high latitudes, including the boreal, alpine and artic zone. Assessing the influence of climate and land cover changes on water and energy fluxes. Integrating remote earth observations with in-situ data and

  8. Atmospheric-pressure plasma activation and surface characterization on polyethylene membrane separator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tseng, Yu-Chien; Li, Hsiao-Ling; Huang, Chun

    2017-01-01

    The surface hydrophilic activation of a polyethylene membrane separator was achieved using an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet. The surface of the atmospheric-pressure-plasma-treated membrane separator was found to be highly hydrophilic realized by adjusting the plasma power input. The variations in membrane separator chemical structure were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Chemical analysis showed newly formed carbonyl-containing groups and high surface concentrations of oxygen-containing species on the atmospheric-pressure-plasma-treated polymeric separator surface. It also showed that surface hydrophilicity primarily increased from the polar component after atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment. The surface and pore structures of the polyethylene membrane separator were examined by scanning electron microscopy, revealing a slight alteration in the pore structure. As a result of the incorporation of polar functionalities by atmospheric-pressure plasma activation, the electrolyte uptake and electrochemical impedance of the atmospheric-pressure-plasma-treated membrane separator improved. The investigational results show that the separator surface can be controlled by atmospheric-pressure plasma surface treatment to tailor the hydrophilicity and enhance the electrochemical performance of lithium ion batteries.

  9. The Atmosphere and Climate of Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullock, M. A.; Grinspoon, D. H.

    Venus lies just sunward of the inner edge of the Sun's habitable zone. Liquid water is not stable. Like Earth and Mars, Venus probably accreted at least an ocean's worth of water, although there are alternative scenarios. The loss of this water led to the massive, dry CO2 atmosphere, extensive H2SO4 clouds (at least some of the time), and an intense CO2 greenhouse effect. This chapter describes the current understanding of Venus' atmosphere, established from the data of dozens of spacecraft and atmospheric probe missions since 1962, and by telescopic observations since the nineteenth century. Theoretical work to model the temperature, chemistry, and circulation of Venus' atmosphere is largely based on analogous models developed in the Earth sciences. We discuss the data and modeling used to understand the temperature structure of the atmosphere, as well as its composition, cloud structure, and general circulation. We address what is known and theorized about the origin and early evolution of Venus' atmosphere. It is widely understood that Venus' dense CO2 atmosphere is the ultimate result of the loss of an ocean to space, but the timing of major transitions in Venus' climate is very poorly constrained by the available data. At present, the bright clouds allow only 20% of the sunlight to drive the energy balance and therefore determine conditions at Venus' surface. Like Earth and Mars, differential heating between the equator and poles drives the atmospheric circulation. Condensable species in the atmosphere create clouds and hazes that drive feedbacks that alter radiative forcing. Also in common with Earth and Mars, the loss of light, volatile elements to space produces long-term changes in composition and chemistry. As on Earth, geologic processes are most likely modifying the atmosphere and clouds by injecting gases from volcanos as well as directly through chemical reactions with the surface. The sensitivity of Venus' atmospheric energy balance is quantified in

  10. Influence of surface nudging on climatological mean and ENSO feedbacks in a coupled model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Jieshun; Kumar, Arun

    2018-01-01

    Studies have suggested that surface nudging could be an efficient way to reconstruct the subsurface ocean variability, and thus a useful method for initializing climate predictions (e.g., seasonal and decadal predictions). Surface nudging is also the basis for climate models with flux adjustments. In this study, however, some negative aspects of surface nudging on climate simulations in a coupled model are identified. Specifically, a low-resolution version of the NCEP Climate Forecast System, version 2 (CFSv2L) is used to examine the influence of nudging on simulations of climatological mean and on the coupled feedbacks during ENSO. The effect on ENSO feedbacks is diagnosed following a heat budget analysis of mixed layer temperature anomalies. Diagnostics of the climatological mean state indicates that, even though SST biases in all ocean basins, as expected, are eliminated, the fidelity of climatological precipitation, surface winds and subsurface temperature (or the thermocline depth) could be highly ocean basin dependent. This is exemplified by improvements in the climatology of these variables in the tropical Atlantic, but degradations in the tropical Pacific. Furthermore, surface nudging also distorts the dynamical feedbacks during ENSO. For example, while the thermocline feedback played a critical role during the evolution of ENSO in a free simulation, it only played a minor role in the nudged simulation. These results imply that, even though the simulation of surface temperature could be improved in a climate model with surface nudging, the physics behind might be unrealistic.

  11. Quantum enhanced feedback cooling of a mechanical oscillator using nonclassical light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schäfermeier, Clemens; Kerdoncuff, Hugo; Hoff, Ulrich B; Fu, Hao; Huck, Alexander; Bilek, Jan; Harris, Glen I; Bowen, Warwick P; Gehring, Tobias; Andersen, Ulrik L

    2016-11-29

    Laser cooling is a fundamental technique used in primary atomic frequency standards, quantum computers, quantum condensed matter physics and tests of fundamental physics, among other areas. It has been known since the early 1990s that laser cooling can, in principle, be improved by using squeezed light as an electromagnetic reservoir; while quantum feedback control using a squeezed light probe is also predicted to allow improved cooling. Here we show the implementation of quantum feedback control of a micro-mechanical oscillator using squeezed probe light. This allows quantum-enhanced feedback cooling with a measurement rate greater than it is possible with classical light, and a consequent reduction in the final oscillator temperature. Our results have significance for future applications in areas ranging from quantum information networks, to quantum-enhanced force and displacement measurements and fundamental tests of macroscopic quantum mechanics.

  12. Pluto's surface composition and atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, L. A.; Gladstone, R.; Summers, M. E.; Strobel, D. F.; Kammer, J.; Hinson, D. P.; Grundy, W. M.; Cruikshank, D. P.; Protopapa, S.; Schmitt, B.; Stern, A.; Weaver, H. A., Jr.; Olkin, C.; Ennico Smith, K.

    2017-12-01

    New Horizons studied Pluto's N2-dominated neutral atmosphere through radio (at 4.2 cm with the REX radio experiment), solar and stellar occultations and airglow (at 52-187 nm with the Alice ultraviolet spectrograph), and imaging (with the LORRI and MVIC visible-wavelength cameras). It studied the plasma environment and solar wind interaction with in situ instruments (PEPPSI and SWAP). Contemporaneous observations of Pluto's atmosphere from Earth included a ground-based stellar occultation and ALMA observations of gaseous CO and HCN. Joint analysis of these datasets reveal a variable boundary layer; a stable lower atmosphere; radiative heating and cooling; haze production and hydrocarbon chemistry; diffusive equilibrium; and slower-than-expected escape. New Horizons studied Pluto's surface composition with the LEISA near-infrared spectral imager from 1.25 to 2.5 micron. Additional compositional information at higher spatial resolution came from the MVIC 4-channel color imager, which included a channel centered at 0.89 micron specifically designed to detect solid CH4. These instruments allow mapping of the volatiles N2, CO, and CH4, the surface expression of the H2O bedrock, and the dark, reddish material presumed to be tholins. These observations reveal a large equatorial basin (informally named Sptunik Planitia), filled with N2 ice with minor amounts of CO and CH4, surrounded by hills of CH4 and H2O ice. Broadly speaking, composition outside of Sptunik Planitia follows latitudinal banding, with dark, mainly volatile free terrains near the equator, with N2, CO, and CH4 at mid-northern latitudes, and mainly CH4 at high northern latitudes. Deviations from these broad trends are seen, and point to complex surface-atmosphere interactions at diurnal, seasonal, perennial, and million-year timescales.

  13. Dynamic aspects of the tubuloglomerular feedback mechanism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holstein-Rathlou, N H

    1992-01-01

    Tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) is an important intrarenal regulatory mechanism, which acts to stabilize renal blood flow, GFR, and the tubular flow rate. The anatomical basis for this negative feedback system is the Juxtaglomerular Apparatus (JGA). This is located at the point of contact between...... of the TGF, and to use this knowledge in elucidating the role of the TGF system in the autoregulation of renal blood flow. Further, by comparing the dynamic characteristics of TGF between hypertensive and normotensive rats, to identify possible alterations in renal function that could play a role...... in the etiology and pathogenesis of hypertension. Anesthesia and surgery are unavoidable complications in experimental work in animals. It is shown that the anesthetics commonly used in micropuncture experiments in rats have different effects on various aspects of renal function, e.g. GFR, sodium excretion...

  14. Abiotic mechanism for the formation of atmospheric nitrous oxide from ammonium nitrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubasinghege, Gayan; Spak, Scott N; Stanier, Charles O; Carmichael, Gregory R; Grassian, Vicki H

    2011-04-01

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas and a primary cause of stratospheric ozone destruction. Despite its importance, there remain missing sources in the N2O budget. Here we report the formation of atmospheric nitrous oxide from the decomposition of ammonium nitrate via an abiotic mechanism that is favorable in the presence of light, relative humidity and a surface. This source of N2O is not currently accounted for in the global N2O budget. Annual production of N2O from atmospheric aerosols and surface fertilizer application over the continental United States from this abiotic pathway is estimated from results of an annual chemical transport simulation with the Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ). This pathway is projected to produce 9.3(+0.7/-5.3) Gg N2O annually over North America. N2O production by this mechanism is expected globally from both megacities and agricultural areas and may become more important under future projected changes in anthropogenic emissions.

  15. Impact of land use changes on surface feedbacks in sudanian region of West Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohard, J. M.; Galle, S.; Mamadou, O.; Peugeot, C.; Seghieri, J.; Kounouhewa, B.; Awanou, N. C.

    2014-12-01

    In West Africa, surface atmosphere exchanges have been found to impact both regional and local features of the Monsoon. At local scale the spatial patterns of Evaporative Fraction can drive the trajectories of mesoscale convective systems. Under Sudanian climate a mean of ~80% of the precipitation return to atmosphere through evapotranspiration but this important amount and its dynamics may vary with the vegetation cover. In consequence, any land use or climate changes can lead to modifications on the surface feedbacks and thus on both the atmospheric and the continental water cycle. In West Africa, Sudanian regions are submitted to a ~3% demographical increase per year, which leads to regular deforestation to the benefit of cultivated areas. This study aims at quantifying the changes in evapotranspiration regime caused by such a land use change under Sudanian climate. Within the framework of The AMMA-CATCH observatory, energy and water vapor fluxes were investigated in west Africa since 2007. Herein, a pluri-annual (2007 - 2010) energy budget of a clear forest and a cultivated area located in northern Benin are analysed. Results show that evapotranspiration rates over the sudanian forest are higher than those of cultivated area, because of agricultural practice and water availability for trees. After harvest, the residual vegetation is burned to bring nutriment to soil and to clean the landscape around the villages. Thus, during the dry season, the cultivated areas are bare. At the same time, a significant evapotranspiration is measured over the forest area despite the lack of precipitations. The deep root system of such vegetation allow the trees to get access to water during the dry season. During the rainy season, a significant difference in evapotransiration rates are also observed. These differences lead to a large deficit of water vapor that returns to the atmosphere and will significantly change the continental water cycle when forests will be replaced by

  16. A comparison of atmospheric composition using the Carbon Bond and Regional Atmospheric Chemistry MechanismsChemistry Mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    We incorporate the recently developed Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (version 2, RACM2) into the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system for comparison with the existing 2005 Carbon Bond mechanism with updated toluene chemistry (CB05TU). Compared to CB05TU, RAC...

  17. Fire feedbacks over geological time and the evolution of atmospheric oxygen concentration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, B.; Belcher, C.; Lenton, T. M.

    2017-12-01

    During the 4.5 billion year history of the Earth, the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere has risen from trace levels to today's 21%. Yet over the last 400 million years, O2 concentration appears to have remained within a relatively narrow range (around 15% - 30%), despite dramatic changes in the nature of global biogeochemical cycling. This stability has been crucial for continued animal evolution, and is thought to have arisen through feedbacks between oxygen, wildfire and plant productivity: the strong oxygen- dependence of fire initiation and spread means that global photosynthetic primary productivity is suppressed when oxygen levels are high, and enhanced when levels are low. We present biogeochemical modelling of the long term carbon and oxygen cycles, which aims to capture the operation of the wildfire feedback alongside other key processes. We find that wildfire can effectively stabilize long term oxygen concentrations, but that the nature of this feedback has changed as plant evolution has provided different fuels. Specifically, the evolution of early angiosperms during the Cretaceous period provided new understory fuels that more easily facilitated crown and canopy fires. Adding these dynamics to our model produces a more stable system over long timescales, and the model predicts that oxygen concentration has declined towards the present day - a prediction that is supported by other independent estimates.

  18. 78 FR 36190 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-17

    ... Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism AGENCY: Office... to review and approve a previously approved information collection requirement regarding IT Dashboard... identified by Information Collection 3090- 0285, IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism, by any of the following...

  19. Study of tropical clouds feedback to a climate warming as simulated by climate models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brient, Florent

    2012-01-01

    The last IPCC report affirms the predominant role of low cloud-radiative feedbacks in the inter-model spread of climate sensitivity. Understanding the mechanisms that control the behavior of low-level clouds is thus crucial. However, the complexity of coupled ocean-atmosphere models and the large number of processes potentially involved make the analysis of this response difficult. To simplify the analysis and to identify the most critical controls of cloud feedbacks, we analyze the cloud response to climate change simulated by the IPSL-CM5A model in a hierarchy of configurations. A comparison between three model configurations (coupled, atmospheric and aqua-planet) using the same physical parametrizations shows that the cloud response to global warming is dominated by a decrease of low clouds in regimes of moderate subsidence. Using a Single Column Model, forced by weak subsidence large-scale forcing, allows us to reproduce the vertical cloud profile predicted in the 3D model, as well as its response to climate change (if a stochastic forcing is added on vertical velocity). We analyze the sensitivity of this low-cloud response to external forcing and also to uncertain parameters of physical parameterizations involved on the atmospheric model. Through a moist static energy (MSE) budget, we highlight several mechanisms: (1) Robust: Over weak subsidence regimes, the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship predicts that a warmer atmosphere leads to a increase of the vertical MSE gradient, resulting on a strengthening of the import of low-MSE from the free atmosphere into the cloudy boundary layer. The MSE budget links changes of vertical advection and cloud radiative effects. (2) Physics Model Dependent: The coupling between shallow convection, turbulence and cloud schemes allows the intensification of low-MSE transport so that cloud radiative cooling becomes 'less necessary' to balance the energy budget (Robust positive low cloud-radiative feedback for the model). The

  20. Vegetation-climate feedback causes reduced precipitation in CMIP5 regional Earth system model simulation over Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Minchao; Smith, Benjamin; Schurgers, Guy; Lindström, Joe; Rummukainen, Markku; Samuelsson, Patrick

    2013-04-01

    Terrestrial ecosystems have been demonstrated to play a significant role within the climate system, amplifying or dampening climate change via biogeophysical and biogeochemical exchange with the atmosphere and vice versa (Cox et al. 2000; Betts et al. 2004). Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change and studies of vegetation-climate feedback mechanisms on Africa are still limited. Our study is the first application of A coupled Earth system model at regional scale and resolution over Africa. We applied a coupled regional climate-vegetation model, RCA-GUESS (Smith et al. 2011), over the CORDEX Africa domain, forced by boundary conditions from a CanESM2 CMIP5 simulation under the RCP8.5 future climate scenario. The simulations were from 1961 to 2100 and covered the African continent at a horizontal grid spacing of 0.44°. RCA-GUESS simulates changes in the phenology, productivity, relative cover and population structure of up to eight plant function types (PFTs) in response to forcing from the climate part of the model. These vegetation changes feedback to simulated climate through dynamic adjustments in surface energy fluxes and surface properties. Changes in the net ecosystem-atmosphere carbon flux and its components net primary production (NPP), heterotrophic respiration and emissions from biomass burning were also simulated but do not feedback to climate in our model. Constant land cover was assumed. We compared simulations with and without vegetation feedback switched "on" to assess the influence of vegetation-climate feedback on simulated climate, vegetation and ecosystem carbon cycling. Both positive and negative warming feedbacks were identified in different parts of Africa. In the Sahel savannah zone near 15°N, reduced vegetation cover and productivity, and mortality caused by a deterioration of soil water conditions led to a positive warming feedback mediated by decreased evapotranspiration and increased sensible heat flux between vegetation and

  1. A large ozone-circulation feedback and its implications for global warming assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abraham, N. Luke; Maycock, Amanda C.; Braesicke, Peter; Gregory, Jonathan M.; Joshi, Manoj M.; Osprey, Annette; Pyle, John A.

    2014-01-01

    State-of-the-art climate models now include more climate processes which are simulated at higher spatial resolution than ever1. Nevertheless, some processes, such as atmospheric chemical feedbacks, are still computationally expensive and are often ignored in climate simulations1,2. Here we present evidence that how stratospheric ozone is represented in climate models can have a first order impact on estimates of effective climate sensitivity. Using a comprehensive atmosphere-ocean chemistry-climate model, we find an increase in global mean surface warming of around 1°C (~20%) after 75 years when ozone is prescribed at pre-industrial levels compared with when it is allowed to evolve self-consistently in response to an abrupt 4×CO2 forcing. The difference is primarily attributed to changes in longwave radiative feedbacks associated with circulation-driven decreases in tropical lower stratospheric ozone and related stratospheric water vapour and cirrus cloud changes. This has important implications for global model intercomparison studies1,2 in which participating models often use simplified treatments of atmospheric composition changes that are neither consistent with the specified greenhouse gas forcing scenario nor with the associated atmospheric circulation feedbacks3-5. PMID:25729440

  2. Effects of feedback reliability on feedback-related brain activity: A feedback valuation account.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ernst, Benjamin; Steinhauser, Marco

    2018-04-06

    Adaptive decision making relies on learning from feedback. Because feedback sometimes can be misleading, optimal learning requires that knowledge about the feedback's reliability be utilized to adjust feedback processing. Although previous research has shown that feedback reliability indeed influences feedback processing, the underlying mechanisms through which this is accomplished remain unclear. Here we propose that feedback processing is adjusted by the adaptive, top-down valuation of feedback. We assume that unreliable feedback is devalued relative to reliable feedback, thus reducing the reward prediction errors that underlie feedback-related brain activity and learning. A crucial prediction of this account is that the effects of feedback reliability are susceptible to contrast effects. That is, the effects of feedback reliability should be enhanced when both reliable and unreliable feedback are experienced within the same context, as compared to when only one level of feedback reliability is experienced. To evaluate this prediction, we measured the event-related potentials elicited by feedback in two experiments in which feedback reliability was varied either within or between blocks. We found that the fronto-central valence effect, a correlate of reward prediction errors during reinforcement learning, was reduced for unreliable feedback. But this result was obtained only when feedback reliability was varied within blocks, thus indicating a contrast effect. This suggests that the adaptive valuation of feedback is one mechanism underlying the effects of feedback reliability on feedback processing.

  3. Exploration of Venus' Deep Atmosphere and Surface Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaze, L. S.; Amato, M.; Garvin, J. B.; Johnson, N. M.

    2017-01-01

    Venus formed in the same part of our solar system as Earth, apparently from similar materials. Although both planets are about the same size, their differences are profound. Venus and Earth experienced vastly different evolutionary pathways resulting in unexplained differences in atmospheric composition and dynamics, as well as in geophysical processes of the planetary surfaces and interiors. Understanding when and why the evolutionary pathways of Venus and Earth diverged is key to understanding how terrestrial planets form and how their atmospheres and surfaces evolve. Measurements made in situ, within the near-surface or surface environment, are critical to addressing unanswered questions. We have made substantial progress modernizing and maturing pressure vessel technologies to enable science operations in the high temperature and pressure near-surface/surfaceenvironment of Venus.

  4. Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and its consequences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lockwood, J G

    1982-09-16

    The effects of increasing CO/sub 2/ concentrations in the atmosphere are estimated using general circulation models (GCMs), which have the ability to portray many of the nonlinear feedback processes which serve to regulate atmospheric (and hence climatic) changes. GCMs predict that a doubling of atmospheric CO/sub 2/ would result in a 2-3 k increase of globally averaged surface air temperature. The largest warming will occur in the winter in high latitudes. Detection studies are now being directed towards isolating those parts of observed climate fluctuations that are attributable to increasing atmospheric CO/sub 2/. (KRM)

  5. Noble Gas Surface Flux Simulations And Atmospheric Transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carrigan, Charles R. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Sun, Yunwei [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Simpson, Matthew D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2017-09-30

    Signatures from underground nuclear explosions or UNEs are strongly influenced by the containment regime surrounding them. The degree of gas leakage from the detonation cavity to the surface obviously affects the magnitude of surface fluxes of radioxenon that might be detected during the course of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty On-Site Inspection. In turn, the magnitude of surface fluxes will influence the downwind detectability of the radioxenon atmospheric signature from the event. Less obvious is the influence that leakage rates have on the evolution of radioxenon isotopes in the cavity or the downwind radioisotopic measurements that might be made. The objective of this letter report is to summarize our attempt to better understand how containment conditions affect both the detection and interpretation of radioxenon signatures obtained from sampling at the ground surface near an event as well as at greater distances in the atmosphere. In the discussion that follows, we make no attempt to consider other sources of radioactive noble gases such as natural backgrounds or atmospheric contamination and, for simplicity, only focus on detonation-produced radioxenon gases. Summarizing our simulations, they show that the decay of radioxenon isotopes (e.g., Xe-133, Xe-131m, Xe-133m and Xe-135) and their migration to the surface following a UNE means that the possibility of detecting these gases exists within a window of opportunity. In some cases, seeps or venting of detonation gases may allow significant quantities to reach the surface and be released into the atmosphere immediately following a UNE. In other release scenarios – the ones we consider here – hours to days may be required for gases to reach the surface at detectable levels. These release models are most likely more characteristic of “fully contained” events that lack prompt venting, but which still leak gas slowly across the surface for periods of months.

  6. A Sulfur Dioxide Climate Feedback on Early Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halevy, I.; Pierrehumbert, R. T.; Schrag, D. P.

    2007-12-01

    Reconciling evidence for persistent liquid water during the late Noachian with our understanding of the evolution of the Martian atmosphere and of solar luminosity remains a challenge, despite several decades of research. An optically-thicker atmosphere to supply the necessary radiative forcing would result in the existence of a carbon cycle similar to Earth's, where the release of CO2 from volcanoes is balanced by burial of calcium carbonate through silicate weathering reactions that remove protons and release alkalinity to surface waters. Existence of such a carbon cycle on Mars, even for tens of millions of years, would yield carbonate sediments in far greater abundance than has been observed, as well as residual clay minerals. The high concentration of sulfur in Martian soils and rocks indicates that Martian volcanic emissions contained abundant sulfur volatiles in addition to CO2. However, the atmospheric and aquatic chemistry of SO2 under the reducing conditions of early Mars, in contrast with the presently oxidizing and biologically-catalyzed Earth, has not been thoroughly examined. We argue that these conditions may have allowed atmospheric concentrations of SO2 high enough to augment a thick CO2-H2O greenhouse. Furthermore, early Martian climate may have been stabilized by a feedback mechanism involving SO2 and the solubility of sulfite minerals instead of CO2 and the solubility of carbonates. We present the results of a one-dimensional radiative-convective model, demonstrating the radiative importance of SO2 to the planetary energy budget. We also use a simple geochemical model to show that the presence of SO2 in the early Martian atmosphere would have dominated the aquatic chemistry on the planet's surface, and may provide an explanation for how water could have persisted for millions of years without forming massive carbonate sediments, yet allowing the formation of clay minerals.

  7. Detecting vegetation-precipitation feedbacks in mid-Holocene North Africa from two climate models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Yi; Notaro, Michael; Liu, Zhengyu; Gallimore, Robert; Levis, Samuel; Kutzbach, John E.

    2008-03-31

    Using two climate-vegetation model simulations from the Fast Ocean Atmosphere Model (FOAM) and the Community Climate System Model (CCSM, version 2), we investigate vegetation-precipitation feedbacks across North Africa during the mid-Holocene. From mid-Holocene snapshot runs of FOAM and CCSM2, we detect a negative feedback at the annual timescale with our statistical analysis. Using the Monte- Carlo bootstrap method, the annual negative feedback is further confirmed to be significant in both simulations. Additional analysis shows that this negative interaction is partially caused by the competition between evaporation and transpiration in North African grasslands. Furthermore, we find the feedbacks decrease with increasing timescales, and change signs from positive to negative at increasing timescales in FOAM. The proposed mechanism for this sign switch is associated with the different persistent timescales of upper and lower soil water contents, and their interactions with vegetation and atmospheric precipitation.

  8. Ultrasound enhanced plasma surface modification at atmospheric pressure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kusano, Yukihiro; Singh, Shailendra Vikram; Norrman, Kion

    and the material surface, and thus many reactive species generated in the plasma can reach the surface before inactivated, and be efficiently utilized for surface modification. In the present work polyester plates are treated using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and a gliding arc at atmospheric pressure......Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment can be highly enhanced by simultaneous high-power ultrasonic irradiation onto the treating surface. It is because ultrasonic waves with a sound pressure level (SPL) above approximately 140 dB can reduce the thickness of a boundary gas layer between the plasma...... irradiation, the water contact angle dropped markedly, and tended to decrease furthermore at higher power. The ultrasonic irradiation during the plasma treatment consistently improved the wettability. Oxygen containing polar functional groups were introduced at the surface by the plasma treatment...

  9. Surface modification of polylactic acid films by atmospheric pressure plasma treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudryavtseva, V. L.; Zhuravlev, M. V.; Tverdokhlebov, S. I.

    2017-09-01

    A new approach for the modification of polylactic acid (PLA) materials using atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) is described. PLA films plasma exposure time was 20, 60, 120 s. The surface morphology and wettability of the obtained PLA films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the sitting drop method. The atmospheric pressure plasma increased the roughness and surface energy of PLA film. The wettability of PLA has been improved with the application of an atmospheric plasma surface treatment. It was shown that it is possible to obtain PLA films with various surface relief and tunable wettability. Additionally, we demonstrated that the use of cold atmospheric pressure plasma for surface activation allows for the immobilization of bioactive compounds like hyaluronic acid (HA) on the surface of obtained films. It was shown that composite PLA-HA films have an increased long-term hydrophilicity of the films surface.

  10. Acoustic tomography in the atmospheric surface layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Ziemann

    Full Text Available Acoustic tomography is presented as a technique for remote monitoring of meteorological quantities. This method and a special algorithm of analysis can directly produce area-averaged values of meteorological parameters. As a result consistent data will be obtained for validation of numerical atmospheric micro-scale models. Such a measuring system can complement conventional point measurements over different surfaces. The procedure of acoustic tomography uses the horizontal propagation of sound waves in the atmospheric surface layer. Therefore, to provide a general overview of sound propagation under various atmospheric conditions a two-dimensional ray-tracing model according to a modified version of Snell's law is used. The state of the crossed atmosphere can be estimated from measurements of acoustic travel time between sources and receivers at different points. Derivation of area-averaged values of the sound speed and furthermore of air temperature results from the inversion of travel time values for all acoustic paths. Thereby, the applied straight ray two-dimensional tomographic model using SIRT (simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique is characterised as a method with small computational requirements, satisfactory convergence and stability properties as well as simple handling, especially, during online evaluation.

    Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (turbulence; instruments and techniques.

  11. Role of the Soil Thermal Inertia in the short term variability of the surface temperature and consequences for the soil-moisture temperature feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheruy, Frederique; Dufresne, Jean-Louis; Ait Mesbah, Sonia; Grandpeix, Jean-Yves; Wang, Fuxing

    2017-04-01

    A simple model based on the surface energy budget at equilibrium is developed to compute the sensitivity of the climatological mean daily temperature and diurnal amplitude to the soil thermal inertia. It gives a conceptual framework to quantity the role of the atmospheric and land surface processes in the surface temperature variability and relies on the diurnal amplitude of the net surface radiation, the sensitivity of the turbulent fluxes to the surface temperature and the thermal inertia. The performances of the model are first evaluated with 3D numerical simulations performed with the atmospheric (LMDZ) and land surface (ORCHIDEE) modules of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) climate model. A nudging approach is adopted, it prevents from using time-consuming long-term simulations required to account for the natural variability of the climate and allow to draw conclusion based on short-term (several years) simulations. In the moist regions the diurnal amplitude and the mean surface temperature are controlled by the latent heat flux. In the dry areas, the relevant role of the stability of the boundary layer and of the soil thermal inertia is demonstrated. In these regions, the sensitivity of the surface temperature to the thermal inertia is high, due to the high contribution of the thermal flux to the energy budget. At high latitudes, when the sensitivity of turbulent fluxes is dominated by the day-time sensitivity of the sensible heat flux to the surface temperature and when this later is comparable to the thermal inertia term of the sensitivity equation, the surface temperature is also partially controlled by the thermal inertia which can rely on the snow properties; In the regions where the latent heat flux exhibits a high day-to-day variability, such as transition regions, the thermal inertia has also significant impact on the surface temperature variability . In these not too wet (energy limited) and not too dry (moisture-limited) soil moisture (SM

  12. Improving Hydrophobicity of Glass Surface Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Treatment in Atmospheric Air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Zhi; Qiu Yuchang; Wang Hui; Kuffel, E

    2007-01-01

    Non-thermal plasmas under atmospheric pressure are of great interest in industrial applications, especially in material surface treatment. In this paper, the treatment of a glass surface for improving hydrophobicity using the non-thermal plasma generated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure in ambient air is conducted, and the surface properties of the glass before and after the DBD treatment are studied by using contact angle measurement, surface resistance measurement and wet flashover voltage tests. The effects of the applied voltage and time duration of DBD on the surface modification are studied, and the optimal conditions for the treatment are obtained. It is found that a layer of hydrophobic coating is formed on the glass surface after spraying a thin layer of silicone oil and undergoing the DBD treatment, and the improvement of hydrophobicity depends on DBD voltage and treating time. It seems that there exists an optimum treating time for a certain applied voltage of DBD during the surface treatment. The test results of thermal aging and chemical aging show that the hydrophobic layer has quite stable characteristics. The interaction mechanism between the DBD plasma and the glass surface is discussed. It is concluded that CH 3 and large molecule radicals can react with the radicals in the glass surface to replace OH, and the hydrophobicity of the glass surface is improved accordingly

  13. Directional mass transport in an atmospheric pressure surface barrier discharge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickenson, A; Morabit, Y; Hasan, M I; Walsh, J L

    2017-10-25

    In an atmospheric pressure surface barrier discharge the inherent physical separation between the plasma generation region and downstream point of application reduces the flux of reactive chemical species reaching the sample, potentially limiting application efficacy. This contribution explores the impact of manipulating the phase angle of the applied voltage to exert a level of control over the electrohydrodynamic forces generated by the plasma. As these forces produce a convective flow which is the primary mechanism of species transport, the technique facilitates the targeted delivery of reactive species to a downstream point without compromising the underpinning species generation mechanisms. Particle Imaging Velocimetry measurements are used to demonstrate that a phase shift between sinusoidal voltages applied to adjacent electrodes in a surface barrier discharge results in a significant deviation in the direction of the plasma induced gas flow. Using a two-dimensional numerical air plasma model, it is shown that the phase shift impacts the spatial distribution of the deposited charge on the dielectric surface between the adjacent electrodes. The modified surface charge distribution reduces the propagation length of the discharge ignited on the lagging electrode, causing an imbalance in the generated forces and consequently a variation in the direction of the resulting gas flow.

  14. Atmospheric oxidation mechanism of toluene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Runrun; Pan, Shanshan; Li, Yun; Wang, Liming

    2014-06-26

    The atmospheric oxidation mechanism of toluene initiated by OH radical addition is investigated by quantum chemistry calculations at M06-2X, G3MP2-RAD, and ROCBS-QB3 levels and by kinetics calculation by using transition state theory and unimolecular reaction theory coupled with master equation (RRKM-ME). The predicted branching ratios are 0.15, 0.59, 0.05, and 0.14 for OH additions to ipso, ortho, meta, and para positions (forming R1-R4 adducts), respectively. The fate of R2, R4, and R1 is investigated in detail. In the atmosphere, R2 reacts with O2 either by irreversible H-abstraction to form o-cresol (36%), or by reversible recombination to R2-1OO-syn and R2-3OO-syn, which subsequently cyclize to bicyclic radical R2-13OO-syn (64%). Similarly, R4 reacts with O2 with branching ratios of 61% for p-cresol and 39% for R4-35OO-syn, while reaction of R1 and O2 leads to R1-26OO-syn. RRKM-ME calculations show that the reactions of R2/R4 with O2 have reached their high-pressure limits at 760 Torr and the formation of R2-16O-3O-s is only important at low pressure, i.e., 5.4% at 100 Torr. The bicyclic radicals (R2-13OO-syn, R4-35OO-syn, and R1-26OO-syn) will recombine with O2 to produce bicyclic alkoxy radicals after reacting with NO. The bicyclic alkoxy radicals would break the ring to form products methylglyoxal/glyoxal (MGLY/GLY) and their corresponding coproducts butenedial/methyl-substituted butenedial as proposed in earlier studies. However, a new reaction pathway is found for the bicyclic alkoxy radicals, leading to products MGLY/GLY and 2,3-epoxybutandial/2-methyl-2,3-epoxybutandial. A new mechanism is proposed for the atmospheric oxidation mechanism of toluene based on current theoretical and previous theoretical and experimental results. The new mechanism predicts much lower yield of GLY and much higher yield of butenedial than other atmospheric models and recent experimental measurements. The new mechanism calls for detection of proposed products 2

  15. Quantifying uncertainties of permafrost carbon–climate feedbacks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. J. Burke

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The land surface models JULES (Joint UK Land Environment Simulator, two versions and ORCHIDEE-MICT (Organizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems, each with a revised representation of permafrost carbon, were coupled to the Integrated Model Of Global Effects of climatic aNomalies (IMOGEN intermediate-complexity climate and ocean carbon uptake model. IMOGEN calculates atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2 and local monthly surface climate for a given emission scenario with the land–atmosphere CO2 flux exchange from either JULES or ORCHIDEE-MICT. These simulations include feedbacks associated with permafrost carbon changes in a warming world. Both IMOGEN–JULES and IMOGEN–ORCHIDEE-MICT were forced by historical and three alternative future-CO2-emission scenarios. Those simulations were performed for different climate sensitivities and regional climate change patterns based on 22 different Earth system models (ESMs used for CMIP3 (phase 3 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, allowing us to explore climate uncertainties in the context of permafrost carbon–climate feedbacks. Three future emission scenarios consistent with three representative concentration pathways were used: RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Paired simulations with and without frozen carbon processes were required to quantify the impact of the permafrost carbon feedback on climate change. The additional warming from the permafrost carbon feedback is between 0.2 and 12 % of the change in the global mean temperature (ΔT by the year 2100 and 0.5 and 17 % of ΔT by 2300, with these ranges reflecting differences in land surface models, climate models and emissions pathway. As a percentage of ΔT, the permafrost carbon feedback has a greater impact on the low-emissions scenario (RCP2.6 than on the higher-emissions scenarios, suggesting that permafrost carbon should be taken into account when evaluating scenarios of heavy mitigation and stabilization

  16. Follower-Centered Perspective on Feedback: Effects of Feedback Seeking on Identification and Feedback Environment

    OpenAIRE

    Gong, Zhenxing; Li, Miaomiao; Qi, Yaoyuan; Zhang, Na

    2017-01-01

    In the formation mechanism of the feedback environment, the existing research pays attention to external feedback sources and regards individuals as objects passively accepting feedback. Thus, the external source fails to realize the individuals’ need for feedback, and the feedback environment cannot provide them with useful information, leading to a feedback vacuum. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of feedback-seeking by different strategies on the supervisor-feedback environme...

  17. Potential feedbacks between snow cover, soil moisture and surface energy fluxes in Southern Norway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brox Nilsen, Irene; Tallaksen, Lena M.; Stordal, Frode

    2017-04-01

    the evapotranspiration and sensible heat fluxes increased. In sim 2, they decreased because of lower net energy. The ground heat flux decreased in sim1 and increased in sim2. Large increases were seen in runoff, both surface and underground runoff, during the first weeks of sim2 (from mid May), but the timing of snowmelt was only slightly affected. This study contributes to a greater understanding of land-atmosphere interactions in a wet, temperate climate, in particular the role of snow cover (and snowmelt) and its feedback to the atmosphere.

  18. Adhesion enhancement of Al coatings on carbon/epoxy composite surfaces by atmospheric plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coulon, J.F.; Tournerie, N.; Maillard, H.

    2013-01-01

    Adhesion strengths between aluminium thin film coatings and manufactured carbon/epoxy composite surfaces were measured by assessing fracture tensile strengths using pull-off tests. The effect of the substrate roughness (nm to μm) of these composite surfaces on adhesion was studied by examining the surface free energies and adhesion strengths. The adhesion strengths of the coatings varied significantly. To improve the coating adhesion, each composite surface was treated with atmospheric plasma prior to deposition, which resulted in an increase in the surface free energy from approximately 40 mJ/m 2 to 70 mJ/m 2 because the plasma pretreatment led to the formation of hydrophilic C-O and C=O bonds on the composite surfaces, as demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The adhesion strengths of the coatings were enhanced for all surface roughnesses studied. In our study, the effect of mechanical adhesion due to roughness was separated from the effect of modifying the chemical bonds with plasma activation. The adhesion ability of the pure resin was relatively weak. Increasing the surface roughness largely improved the adhesion of the resin surface. Plasma treatment of the pure resin also increased the surface adhesion. Our study shows that plasma activation effectively enhances the adhesion of manufactured composites, even when the surface roughness is on the order of microns. The ageing of the surface activation was also investigated, and the results demonstrate that atmospheric plasma has potential for use in the pretreatment of composite materials.

  19. ASSESSING RADIATION PRESSURE AS A FEEDBACK MECHANISM IN STAR-FORMING GALAXIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrews, Brett H.; Thompson, Todd A.

    2011-01-01

    Radiation pressure from the absorption and scattering of starlight by dust grains may be an important feedback mechanism in regulating star-forming galaxies. We compile data from the literature on star clusters, star-forming subregions, normal star-forming galaxies, and starbursts to assess the importance of radiation pressure on dust as a feedback mechanism, by comparing the luminosity and flux of these systems to their dust Eddington limit. This exercise motivates a novel interpretation of the Schmidt law, the L IR -L' CO correlation, and the L IR -L' HCN correlation. In particular, the linear L IR -L' HCN correlation is a natural prediction of radiation pressure regulated star formation. Overall, we find that the Eddington limit sets a hard upper bound to the luminosity of any star-forming region. Importantly, however, many normal star-forming galaxies have luminosities significantly below the Eddington limit. We explore several explanations for this discrepancy, especially the role of 'intermittency' in normal spirals-the tendency for only a small number of subregions within a galaxy to be actively forming stars at any moment because of the time dependence of the feedback process and the luminosity evolution of the stellar population. If radiation pressure regulates star formation in dense gas, then the gas depletion timescale is 6 Myr, in good agreement with observations of the densest starbursts. Finally, we highlight the importance of observational uncertainties, namely, the dust-to-gas ratio and the CO-to-H 2 and HCN-to-H 2 conversion factors, that must be understood before a definitive assessment of radiation pressure as a feedback mechanism in star-forming galaxies.

  20. Surface-atmosphere decoupling limits accumulation at Summit, Greenland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berkelhammer, Max; Noone, David C; Steen-Larsen, Hans Christian; Bailey, Adriana; Cox, Christopher J; O'Neill, Michael S; Schneider, David; Steffen, Konrad; White, James W C

    2016-04-01

    Despite rapid melting in the coastal regions of the Greenland Ice Sheet, a significant area (~40%) of the ice sheet rarely experiences surface melting. In these regions, the controls on annual accumulation are poorly constrained owing to surface conditions (for example, surface clouds, blowing snow, and surface inversions), which render moisture flux estimates from myriad approaches (that is, eddy covariance, remote sensing, and direct observations) highly uncertain. Accumulation is partially determined by the temperature dependence of saturation vapor pressure, which influences the maximum humidity of air parcels reaching the ice sheet interior. However, independent proxies for surface temperature and accumulation from ice cores show that the response of accumulation to temperature is variable and not generally consistent with a purely thermodynamic control. Using three years of stable water vapor isotope profiles from a high altitude site on the Greenland Ice Sheet, we show that as the boundary layer becomes increasingly stable, a decoupling between the ice sheet and atmosphere occurs. The limited interaction between the ice sheet surface and free tropospheric air reduces the capacity for surface condensation to achieve the rate set by the humidity of the air parcels reaching interior Greenland. The isolation of the surface also acts to recycle sublimated moisture by recondensing it onto fog particles, which returns the moisture back to the surface through gravitational settling. The observations highlight a unique mechanism by which ice sheet mass is conserved, which has implications for understanding both past and future changes in accumulation rate and the isotopic signal in ice cores from Greenland.

  1. Predictable 'meta-mechanisms' emerge from feedbacks between transpiration and plant growth and cannot be simply deduced from short-term mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tardieu, François; Parent, Boris

    2017-06-01

    Growth under water deficit is controlled by short-term mechanisms but, because of numerous feedbacks, the combination of these mechanisms over time often results in outputs that cannot be deduced from the simple inspection of individual mechanisms. It can be analysed with dynamic models in which causal relationships between variables are considered at each time-step, allowing calculation of outputs that are routed back to inputs for the next time-step and that can change the system itself. We first review physiological mechanisms involved in seven feedbacks of transpiration on plant growth, involving changes in tissue hydraulic conductance, stomatal conductance, plant architecture and underlying factors such as hormones or aquaporins. The combination of these mechanisms over time can result in non-straightforward conclusions as shown by examples of simulation outputs: 'over production of abscisic acid (ABA) can cause a lower concentration of ABA in the xylem sap ', 'decreasing root hydraulic conductance when evaporative demand is maximum can improve plant performance' and 'rapid root growth can decrease yield'. Systems of equations simulating feedbacks over numerous time-steps result in logical and reproducible emergent properties that can be viewed as 'meta-mechanisms' at plant level, which have similar roles as mechanisms at cell level. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. CLIMATE CHANGE. Long-term climate forcing by atmospheric oxygen concentrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poulsen, Christopher J; Tabor, Clay; White, Joseph D

    2015-06-12

    The percentage of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere varied between 10% and 35% throughout the Phanerozoic. These changes have been linked to the evolution, radiation, and size of animals but have not been considered to affect climate. We conducted simulations showing that modulation of the partial pressure of oxygen (pO2), as a result of its contribution to atmospheric mass and density, influences the optical depth of the atmosphere. Under low pO2 and a reduced-density atmosphere, shortwave scattering by air molecules and clouds is less frequent, leading to a substantial increase in surface shortwave forcing. Through feedbacks involving latent heat fluxes to the atmosphere and marine stratus clouds, surface shortwave forcing drives increases in atmospheric water vapor and global precipitation, enhances greenhouse forcing, and raises global surface temperature. Our results implicate pO2 as an important factor in climate forcing throughout geologic time. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  3. Dry deposition of submicron atmospheric aerosol over water surfaces in motion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nevenick, Calec

    2013-01-01

    Whether by chronic or accidental releases, the impact of a nuclear installation on the environment mainly depends on atmospheric transfers; and as the accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima show, affect the contamination of surfaces and impacts in the medium and long-term on the environment and the population. In this context, this work focuses on the characterization and modeling of dry deposition of submicron aerosols on liquid surfaces in motion such as rivers. Unlike wet deposition which is conditioned by washout and rainout (rain and clouds), dry deposition is a phenomenon that depends entirely on the characteristics of aerosols, receiving surfaces, and air flow. In practice, the evaluation of dry deposition is based on the estimation of flux modeling as the product of particle concentration and deposition velocity which can vary over several orders of magnitude depending on the receiving surfaces (forest, snow, urban, grassland...). This topic is motivated by the virtual non-existence of studies on the mechanisms of dry deposition on continental water systems such as rivers; and respect for submicron aerosols. They have the lowest deposition efficiencies and filtration and the longer residence time in the atmosphere. In addition, they are potentially the most dangerous to living beings because they can penetrate deeper into the airway. Due to the lack of data on the dry deposition of submicron aerosols on a liquid surface in motion, the approach was based on two axes: 1) the acquisition of experimental deposition velocities and 2) the analysis and interpretation of results through modeling. The experiments were performed with uranine aerosols released into the IOA wind tunnel (Interface Ocean Atmosphere) of the Institute for Research on Non Equilibrium Phenomena which is configured to study the coupling between the air flow and water. These experiments have given many dry deposition velocities for different configurations characterized according to wind

  4. Dry deposition of submicron atmospheric aerosol over water surfaces in motion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calec, Nevenick

    2013-01-01

    Whether by chronic or accidental releases, the impact of a nuclear installation on the environment mainly depends on atmospheric transfers; and as the accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima show, affect the contamination of surfaces and impacts in the medium and long-term on the environment and the population. In this context, this work focuses on the characterization and modeling of dry deposition of submicron aerosols on liquid surfaces in motion such as rivers. Unlike wet deposition which is conditioned by washout and rainout (rain and clouds), dry deposition is a phenomenon that depends entirely on the characteristics of aerosols, receiving surfaces, and air flow. In practice, the evaluation of dry deposition is based on the estimation of flux modeling as the product of particle concentration and deposition velocity which can vary over several orders of magnitude depending on the receiving surfaces (forest, snow, urban, grassland..). This topic is motivated by the virtual non-existence of studies on the mechanisms of dry deposition on continental water systems such as rivers; and respect for submicron aerosols. They have the lowest deposition efficiencies and filtration and the longer residence time in the atmosphere. In addition, they are potentially the most dangerous to living beings because they can penetrate deeper into the airway. Due to the lack of data on the dry deposition of submicron aerosols on a liquid surface in motion, the approach was based on two axes: 1) the acquisition of experimental deposition velocities and 2) the analysis and interpretation of results through modeling. The experiments were performed with uranine aerosols released into the IOA wind tunnel (Interface Ocean Atmosphere) of the Institute for Research on Non Equilibrium Phenomena which is configured to study the coupling between the air flow and water. These experiments have given many dry deposition velocities for different configurations characterized according to wind

  5. Atmosphere-Ocean Variations in the Indo-Pacific Sector during ENSO Episodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Ngar-Cheung; Nath, Mary Jo

    2003-01-01

    The influences of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on air-sea interaction in the Indian-western Pacific (IWP) Oceans have been investigated using a general circulation model. Observed monthly sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the deep tropical eastern/central Pacific (DTEP) have been inserted in the lower boundary of this model through the 1950-99 period. At all maritime grid points outside of DTEP, the model atmosphere has been coupled with an oceanic mixed layer model with variable depth. Altogether 16 independent model runs have been conducted.Composite analysis of selected ENSO episodes illustrates that the prescribed SST anomalies in DTEP affect the surface atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns in IWP through displacements of the near-equatorial Walker circulation and generation of Rossby wave modes in the subtropics. Such atmospheric responses modulate the surface fluxes as well as the oceanic mixed layer depth, and thereby establish a well-defined SST anomaly pattern in the IWP sector several months after the peak in ENSO forcing in DTEP. In most parts of the IWP region, the net SST tendency induced by atmospheric changes has the same polarity as the local composite SST anomaly, thus indicating that the atmospheric forcing acts to reinforce the underlying SST signal.By analyzing the output from a suite of auxiliary experiments, it is demonstrated that the SST perturbations in IWP (which are primarily generated by ENSO-related atmospheric changes) can, in turn, exert notable influences on the atmospheric conditions over that region. This feedback mechanism also plays an important role in the eastward migration of the subtropical anticyclones over the western Pacific in both hemispheres.

  6. On the Feed-back Mechanism of Chinese Stock Markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Shu Quan; Ito, Takao; Zhang, Jianbo

    Feed-back models in the stock markets research imply an adjustment process toward investors' expectation for current information and past experiences. Error-correction and cointegration are often used to evaluate the long-run relation. The Efficient Capital Market Hypothesis, which had ignored the effect of the accumulation of information, cannot explain some anomalies such as bubbles and partial predictability in the stock markets. In order to investigate the feed-back mechanism and to determine an effective model, we use daily data of the stock index of two Chinese stock markets with the expectational model, which is one kind of geometric lag models. Tests and estimations of error-correction show that long-run equilibrium seems to be seldom achieved in Chinese stock markets. Our result clearly shows the common coefficient of expectations and fourth-order autoregressive disturbance exist in the two Chinese stock markets. Furthermore, we find the same coefficient of expectations has an autoregressive effect on disturbances in the two Chinese stock markets. Therefore the presence of such feed-back is also supported in Chinese stock markets.

  7. The Role of Arctic Soils in the Permafrost – Climate Feedback

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richter, A.

    2016-01-01

    The total organic carbon pool in arctic and boreal permafrost soils has been estimated to be about 1,760 Petagram (10"1"5 g) C, more than twice today’s atmospheric C pool and about half of the global soil carbon. A significant proportion of this C pool may be vulnerable to climate warming through permafrost thawing and subsequent decomposition by microorganisms. Thus, it has been suggested that permafrost soils may become a future source of CO_2 and CH_4 to the atmosphere and lead to a strong positive feedback to global warming (up to + 0.5 °C until 2200). I will present results from several projects that aimed at understanding the mechanisms behind the permafrost-climate feedback, by identifying the major soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization mechanisms of permafrost SOM. I will address a range of different mechanisms by which SOM can be protected from decomposition, such as unfavourable temperature and moisture regimes, physical protection by formation of organo-mineral associations and chemical recalcitrance of SOM. I will focus, however, on energy and nutrient constraints of heterotrophic microbial communities and their role in SOM decomposition. I will then show that the physiology of the tiniest organisms on Earth will ultimately determine the vulnerability of the global permafrost carbon pool and thus the global permafrost-climate feedback. (author)

  8. Investigation of Reactivity Feedback Mechanism of Axial and Radial Expansion Effect of Metal-Fueled Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seong, Seung-Hwan; Choi, Chi-Woong; Jeong, Tae-Kyung; Ha, Gi-Seok

    2015-01-01

    The major inherent reactivity feedback models for a ceramic fuel used in a conventional light water reactor are Doppler feedback and moderator feedback. The metal fuel has these two reactivity feedback mechanisms previously mentioned. In addition, the metal fuel has two more reactivity feedback models related to the thermal expansion phenomena of the metal fuel. Since the metal fuel has a good capability to expand according to the temperature changes of the core, two more feedback mechanisms exist. These additional two feedback mechanism are important to the inherent safety of metal fuel and can make metal-fueled SFR safer than oxide-fueled SFR. These phenomena have already been applied to safety analysis on design extended condition. In this study, the effect of these characteristics on power control capability was examined through a simple load change operation. The axial expansion mechanism is induced from the change of the fuel temperature according to the change of the power level of PGSFR. When the power increases, the fuel temperatures in the metal fuel will increase and then the reactivity will decrease due to the axial elongation of the metal fuel. To evaluate the expansion effect, 2 cases were simulated with the same scenario by using MMS-LMR code developed at KAERI. The first simulation was to analyze the change of the reactor power according to the change of BOP power without the reactivity feedback model of the axial and radial expansion of the core during the power transient event. That is to say, the core had only two reactivity feedback mechanism of Doppler and coolant temperature

  9. Productivity feedback did not terminate the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Torfstein

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM occurred approximately 55 million years ago, and is one of the most dramatic abrupt global warming events in the geological record. This warming was triggered by the sudden release of thousands of gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere and is widely perceived to be the best analogue for current anthropogenic climate change. Yet, the mechanism of recovery from this event remains controversial. A massive increase in the intensity of the marine biological pump ("productivity feedback" has been suggested to cause a drawdown of atmospheric CO2 and subsequent carbon sequestration in the ocean. A re-evaluation of the "productivity feedback hypothesis", based on biogenic barium mass accumulation rates (Ba-MARs for a site in the Southern Ocean, finds that any increase in export production lagged the initial carbon release by at least ~70 000 years. This implies that export production did not facilitate rapid removal of excess carbon from the atmosphere. Thus, the most likely mechanism for carbon removal appears to be silicate weathering, which occurred at much slower rates than previously assumed.

  10. Reflectance of Antarctic surfaces from multispectral radiometers: The correction of atmospheric effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zibordi, G.; Maracci, G.

    1993-01-01

    Monitoring reflectance of polar icecaps has relevance in climate studies. In fact, climate changes produce variations in the morphology of ice and snow covers, which are detectable as surface reflectance change. Surface reflectance can be retrieved from remotely sensed data. However, absolute values independent of atmospheric turbidity and surface altitude can only be obtained after removing masking effects of the atmosphere. An atmospheric correction model, accounting for surface and sensor altitudes above sea level, is described and validated through data detected over Antarctic surfaces with a Barnes Modular Multispectral Radiometer having bands overlapping those of the Landsat Thematic Mapper. The model is also applied in a sensitivity analysis to investigate error induced in reflectance obtained from satellite data by indeterminacy in optical parameters of atmospheric constituents. Results show that indeterminacy in the atmospheric water vapor optical thickness is the main source of nonaccuracy in the retrieval of surface reflectance from data remotely sensed over Antarctic regions

  11. Vegetation-climate feedbacks modulate rainfall patterns in Africa under future climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Minchao; Schurgers, Guy; Rummukainen, Markku; Smith, Benjamin; Samuelsson, Patrick; Jansson, Christer; Siltberg, Joe; May, Wilhelm

    2016-07-01

    Africa has been undergoing significant changes in climate and vegetation in recent decades, and continued changes may be expected over this century. Vegetation cover and composition impose important influences on the regional climate in Africa. Climate-driven changes in vegetation structure and the distribution of forests versus savannah and grassland may feed back to climate via shifts in the surface energy balance, hydrological cycle and resultant effects on surface pressure and larger-scale atmospheric circulation. We used a regional Earth system model incorporating interactive vegetation-atmosphere coupling to investigate the potential role of vegetation-mediated biophysical feedbacks on climate dynamics in Africa in an RCP8.5-based future climate scenario. The model was applied at high resolution (0.44 × 0.44°) for the CORDEX-Africa domain with boundary conditions from the CanESM2 general circulation model. We found that increased tree cover and leaf-area index (LAI) associated with a CO2 and climate-driven increase in net primary productivity, particularly over subtropical savannah areas, not only imposed important local effect on the regional climate by altering surface energy fluxes but also resulted in remote effects over central Africa by modulating the land-ocean temperature contrast, Atlantic Walker circulation and moisture inflow feeding the central African tropical rainforest region with precipitation. The vegetation-mediated feedbacks were in general negative with respect to temperature, dampening the warming trend simulated in the absence of feedbacks, and positive with respect to precipitation, enhancing rainfall reduction over the rainforest areas. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for vegetation-atmosphere interactions in climate projections for tropical and subtropical Africa.

  12. Controlling the surface termination of NdGaO3 (110): the role of the gas atmosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavallaro, Andrea; Harrington, George F; Skinner, Stephen J; Kilner, John A

    2014-07-07

    In this work the effect of gas atmosphere on the surface termination reconstruction of single crystal NdGaO3 (110) (NGO) during thermal annealing was analyzed. Using Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS) it has been possible to study the chemical composition of the first atomic layer of treated NGO single crystal samples. NGO has been analyzed both as-received and after a specific thermal treatment at 1000 °C under different gas fluxes (argon, nitrogen, static air, synthetic air, nitrogen plus 5% hydrogen and wet synthetic air respectively). Thermal annealing of perovskite single crystals, as already reported in the literature, is used to obtain a fully A-cation surface termination. Nevertheless the effect of the gas-atmosphere on this process has not been previously reported. By the use of sequential low energy Ar(+) sputtering combined with the primary ion LEIS analysis, the reconstruction of the outermost atomic layers has allowed the clarification of the mechanism of NGO neodymium surface enrichment. It is proposed that the gallium at the surface is submitted to a reduction/evaporation mechanism caused by low oxygen partial pressure and/or high water pressure in the vector gas. Below the first surface atomic layers of an as-received NGO single-crystal a gallium-rich phase has also been observed.

  13. Atmospheric water vapor transport: Estimation of continental precipitation recycling and parameterization of a simple climate model. M.S. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brubaker, Kaye L.; Entekhabi, Dara; Eagleson, Peter S.

    1991-01-01

    The advective transport of atmospheric water vapor and its role in global hydrology and the water balance of continental regions are discussed and explored. The data set consists of ten years of global wind and humidity observations interpolated onto a regular grid by objective analysis. Atmospheric water vapor fluxes across the boundaries of selected continental regions are displayed graphically. The water vapor flux data are used to investigate the sources of continental precipitation. The total amount of water that precipitates on large continental regions is supplied by two mechanisms: (1) advection from surrounding areas external to the region; and (2) evaporation and transpiration from the land surface recycling of precipitation over the continental area. The degree to which regional precipitation is supplied by recycled moisture is a potentially significant climate feedback mechanism and land surface-atmosphere interaction, which may contribute to the persistence and intensification of droughts. A simplified model of the atmospheric moisture over continents and simultaneous estimates of regional precipitation are employed to estimate, for several large continental regions, the fraction of precipitation that is locally derived. In a separate, but related, study estimates of ocean to land water vapor transport are used to parameterize an existing simple climate model, containing both land and ocean surfaces, that is intended to mimic the dynamics of continental climates.

  14. Atmospheric effect on the ground-based measurements of broadband surface albedo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Manninen

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Ground-based pyranometer measurements of the (clear-sky broadband surface albedo are affected by the atmospheric conditions (mainly by aerosol particles, water vapour and ozone. A new semi-empirical method for estimating the magnitude of the effect of atmospheric conditions on surface albedo measurements in clear-sky conditions is presented. Global and reflected radiation and/or aerosol optical depth (AOD at two wavelengths are needed to apply the method. Depending on the aerosol optical depth and the solar zenith angle values, the effect can be as large as 20%. For the cases we tested using data from the Cabauw atmospheric test site in the Netherlands, the atmosphere caused typically up to 5% overestimation of surface albedo with respect to corresponding black-sky surface albedo values.

  15. Single-mode surface plasmon distributed feedback lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karami Keshmarzi, Elham; Tait, R Niall; Berini, Pierre

    2018-03-29

    Single-mode surface plasmon distributed feedback (DFB) lasers are realized in the near infrared using a two-dimensional non-uniform long-range surface plasmon polariton structure. The surface plasmon mode is excited onto a 20 nm-thick, 1 μm-wide metal stripe (Ag or Au) on a silica substrate, where the stripe is stepped in width periodically, forming a 1st order Bragg grating. Optical gain is provided by optically pumping a 450 nm-thick IR-140 doped PMMA layer as the top cladding, which covers the entire length of the Bragg grating, thus creating a DFB laser. Single-mode lasing peaks of very narrow linewidth were observed for Ag and Au DFBs near 882 nm at room temperature. The narrow linewidths are explained by the low spontaneous emission rate into the surface plasmon lasing mode as well as the high quality factor of the DFB structure. The lasing emission is exclusively TM polarized. Kinks in light-light curves accompanied by spectrum narrowing were observed, from which threshold pump power densities can be clearly identified (0.78 MW cm-2 and 1.04 MW cm-2 for Ag and Au DFB lasers, respectively). The Schawlow-Townes linewidth for our Ag and Au DFB lasers is estimated and very narrow linewidths are predicted for the lasers. The lasers are suitable as inexpensive, recyclable and highly coherent sources of surface plasmons, or for integration with other surface plasmon elements of similar structure.

  16. Nanocapillary Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet: A Tool for Ultrafine Maskless Surface Modification at Atmospheric Pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motrescu, Iuliana; Nagatsu, Masaaki

    2016-05-18

    With respect to microsized surface functionalization techniques we proposed the use of a maskless, versatile, simple tool, represented by a nano- or microcapillary atmospheric pressure plasma jet for producing microsized controlled etching, chemical vapor deposition, and chemical modification patterns on polymeric surfaces. In this work we show the possibility of size-controlled surface amination, and we discuss it as a function of different processing parameters. Moreover, we prove the successful connection of labeled sugar chains on the functionalized microscale patterns, indicating the possibility to use ultrafine capillary atmospheric pressure plasma jets as versatile tools for biosensing, tissue engineering, and related biomedical applications.

  17. Nocturnal surface ozone enhancement over Portugal during winter: Influence of different atmospheric conditions

    KAUST Repository

    Kulkarni, Pavan S.

    2016-09-24

    Four distinct nocturnal surface ozone (NSO) enhancement events were observed, with NSO concentration exceeding 80μg/m3, at multiple ozone (O3) monitoring stations (32 sites) in January, November and December between year 2000–2010, in Portugal. The reasonable explanation for the observed bimodal pattern of surface ozone with enhanced NSO concentration during nighttime has to be transport processes, as the surface ozone production ceases at nighttime. Simultaneous measurements of O3 at multiple stations during the study period in Portugal suggest that horizontal advection alone cannot explain the observed NSO enhancement. Thus, detailed analysis of the atmospheric conditions, simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, were performed to evaluate the atmospheric mechanisms responsible for NSO enhancement in the region. Simulations revealed that each event occurred as a result of one or the combination of different atmospheric processes such as, passage of a cold front followed by a subsidence zone; passage of a moving surface trough, with associated strong horizontal wind speed and vertical shear; combination of vertical and horizontal transport at the synoptic scale; formation of a low level jet with associated vertical mixing below the jet stream. The study confirmed that large-scale flow pattern resulting in enhanced vertical mixing in the nocturnal boundary layer, plays a key role in the NSO enhancement events, which frequently occur over Portugal during winter months. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

  18. Nocturnal surface ozone enhancement over Portugal during winter: Influence of different atmospheric conditions

    KAUST Repository

    Kulkarni, Pavan S.; Dasari, Hari Prasad; Sharma, Ashish; Bortoli, D.; Salgado, Rui; Silva, A.M.

    2016-01-01

    Four distinct nocturnal surface ozone (NSO) enhancement events were observed, with NSO concentration exceeding 80μg/m3, at multiple ozone (O3) monitoring stations (32 sites) in January, November and December between year 2000–2010, in Portugal. The reasonable explanation for the observed bimodal pattern of surface ozone with enhanced NSO concentration during nighttime has to be transport processes, as the surface ozone production ceases at nighttime. Simultaneous measurements of O3 at multiple stations during the study period in Portugal suggest that horizontal advection alone cannot explain the observed NSO enhancement. Thus, detailed analysis of the atmospheric conditions, simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, were performed to evaluate the atmospheric mechanisms responsible for NSO enhancement in the region. Simulations revealed that each event occurred as a result of one or the combination of different atmospheric processes such as, passage of a cold front followed by a subsidence zone; passage of a moving surface trough, with associated strong horizontal wind speed and vertical shear; combination of vertical and horizontal transport at the synoptic scale; formation of a low level jet with associated vertical mixing below the jet stream. The study confirmed that large-scale flow pattern resulting in enhanced vertical mixing in the nocturnal boundary layer, plays a key role in the NSO enhancement events, which frequently occur over Portugal during winter months. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

  19. How mechanical context and feedback jointly determine the use of mechanical variables in length perception by dynamic touch

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Menger, Rudmer; Withagen, Rob

    Earlier studies have revealed that both mechanical context and feedback determine what mechanical invariant is used to perceive length by dynamic touch. In the present article, the authors examined how these two factors jointly constrain the informational variable that is relied upon. Participants

  20. How mechanical context and feedback jointly determine the use of mechanical variables in length perception by dynamic touch

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Menger, Rudmer; Withagen, Rob

    2009-01-01

    Earlier studies have revealed that both mechanical context and feedback determine what mechanical invariant is used to perceive length by dynamic touch. In the present article, the authors examined how these two factors jointly constrain the informational variable that is relied upon. Participants

  1. Surface cleaning of metal wire by atmospheric pressure plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamura, T.; Buttapeng, C.; Furuya, S.; Harada, N.

    2009-01-01

    In this study, the possible application of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma for the annealing of metallic wire is examined and presented. The main purpose of the current study is to examine the surface cleaning effect for a cylindrical object by atmospheric pressure plasma. The experimental setup consists of a gas tank, plasma reactor, and power supply with control panel. The gas assists in the generation of plasma. Copper wire was used as an experimental cylindrical object. This copper wire was irradiated with the plasma, and the cleaning effect was confirmed. The result showed that it is possible to remove the tarnish which exists on the copper wire surface. The experiment reveals that atmospheric pressure plasma is usable for the surface cleaning of metal wire. However, it is necessary to examine the method for preventing oxidization of the copper wire.

  2. Effect of Mechanical Alloying Atmospheres and Oxygen Concentration on Mechanical Properties of ODS Ferritic Steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noh, Sanghoon; Choi, Byoungkwon; Han, Changhee; Kim, Kibaik; Kang, Sukhoon; Chun, Youngbum; Kim, Taekyu

    2013-01-01

    Finely dispersed nano-oxide particles with a high number density in the homogeneous grain matrix are essential to achieve superior mechanical properties at high temperatures, and these unique microstructures can be obtained through the mechanical alloying (MA) and hot consolidation process. The microstructure and mechanical property of ODS steel significantly depends on its powder property and the purity after the MA process. These contents should be carefully controlled to improve the mechanical property at elevated temperature. In particular, appropriate the control of oxygen concentration improves the mechanical property of ODS steel at high temperature. An effective method is to control the mechanical alloying atmosphere by high purity inert gas. In the present study, the effects of mechanical alloying atmospheres and oxygen concentration on the mechanical property of ODS steel were investigated. ODS ferritic alloys were fabricated in various atmospheres, and the HIP process was used to investigate the effects of MA atmospheres and oxygen concentration on the microstructure and mechanical property. ODS ferritic alloys milled in an Ar-H 2 mixture, and He is effective to reduce the excess oxygen concentration. The YH 2 addition made an extremely reduced oxygen concentration by the internal oxygen reduction reaction and resulted in a homogeneous microstructure and superior creep strength

  3. Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Cleaning of Contaminated Surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hicks, Robert F.; Herrmann, Hans W.

    2003-01-01

    The objective of this work is to demonstrate a practical, atmospheric pressure plasma tool for the surface decontamination of radioactive waste. Decontamination of radioactive materials that have accumulated on the surfaces of equipment and structures is a challenging and costly undertaking for the US Department of Energy. Our technology shows great potential for accelerating this clean up effort

  4. Are atmospheric surface layer flows ergodic?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Chad W.; Katul, Gabriel G.; Froidevaux, Martin; Simeonov, Valentin; Parlange, Marc B.

    2013-06-01

    The transposition of atmospheric turbulence statistics from the time domain, as conventionally sampled in field experiments, is explained by the so-called ergodic hypothesis. In micrometeorology, this hypothesis assumes that the time average of a measured flow variable represents an ensemble of independent realizations from similar meteorological states and boundary conditions. That is, the averaging duration must be sufficiently long to include a large number of independent realizations of the sampled flow variable so as to represent the ensemble. While the validity of the ergodic hypothesis for turbulence has been confirmed in laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations for idealized conditions, evidence for its validity in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL), especially for nonideal conditions, continues to defy experimental efforts. There is some urgency to make progress on this problem given the proliferation of tall tower scalar concentration networks aimed at constraining climate models yet are impacted by nonideal conditions at the land surface. Recent advancements in water vapor concentration lidar measurements that simultaneously sample spatial and temporal series in the ASL are used to investigate the validity of the ergodic hypothesis for the first time. It is shown that ergodicity is valid in a strict sense above uniform surfaces away from abrupt surface transitions. Surprisingly, ergodicity may be used to infer the ensemble concentration statistics of a composite grass-lake system using only water vapor concentration measurements collected above the sharp transition delineating the lake from the grass surface.

  5. Investigation of Titan's surface and atmosphere photometric functions using the Cassini/VIMS instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornet, Thomas; Altobelli, Nicolas; Rodriguez, Sébastien; Maltagliati, Luca; Le Mouélic, Stéphane; Sotin, Christophe; Brown, Robert; Barnes, Jason; Buratti, Bonnie; Baines, Kevin; Clark, Roger; Nicholson, Phillip

    2015-04-01

    After 106 flybys spread over 10 years, the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument acquired 33151 hyperspectral cubes pointing at the surface of Titan on the dayside. Despite this huge amount of data available for surface studies, and due to the strong influence of the atmosphere (methane absorption and haze scattering), Titan's surface is only visible with VIMS in 7 spectral atmospheric windows centred at 0.93, 1.08, 1.27, 1.59, 2.01, 2.7-2.8 and 5 microns. Atmospheric scattering and absorption effects dominate Titan's spectrum at wavelengths shorter than 3 microns, while the 5 micron window, almost insensitive to the haze scattering, only presents a reduced atmospheric absorption contribution to the signal recorded by VIMS. In all cases, the recorded I/F represents an apparent albedo, which depends on the atmospheric contributions and the surface photometry at each wavelength. We therefore aim to determine real albedo values for Titan's surface by finding photometric functions for the surface and the atmosphere that could be used as a basis for empirical corrections or Radiative Transfer calculations. After updating the navigation of the VIMS archive, we decomposed the entire VIMS data set into a MySQL relational database gathering the viewing geometry, location, time (season) and I/F (for pure atmosphere and surface-atmosphere images) for each pixel of the 33151 individual VIMS cubes. We then isolated all the VIMS pixels where Titan's surface has been repeatedly imaged at low phase angles (< 20 degrees) in order to characterize phase curves for the surface at 5 microns and for the atmosphere. Among these, the T88 flyby appears noteworthy, with a "Emergence-Phase Function (EPF)"-type observation: 25 cubes acquired during the same flyby, over the same area (close to Tortola Facula, in relatively dark terrains), at a constant incidence and with varying emergence and phase (from 0 to 60 degrees) angles. The data clearly exhibit an increase

  6. Microbial contributions to climate change through carbon cycle feedbacks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardgett, Richard D; Freeman, Chris; Ostle, Nicholas J

    2008-08-01

    There is considerable interest in understanding the biological mechanisms that regulate carbon exchanges between the land and atmosphere, and how these exchanges respond to climate change. An understanding of soil microbial ecology is central to our ability to assess terrestrial carbon cycle-climate feedbacks, but the complexity of the soil microbial community and the many ways that it can be affected by climate and other global changes hampers our ability to draw firm conclusions on this topic. In this paper, we argue that to understand the potential negative and positive contributions of soil microbes to land-atmosphere carbon exchange and global warming requires explicit consideration of both direct and indirect impacts of climate change on microorganisms. Moreover, we argue that this requires consideration of complex interactions and feedbacks that occur between microbes, plants and their physical environment in the context of climate change, and the influence of other global changes which have the capacity to amplify climate-driven effects on soil microbes. Overall, we emphasize the urgent need for greater understanding of how soil microbial ecology contributes to land-atmosphere carbon exchange in the context of climate change, and identify some challenges for the future. In particular, we highlight the need for a multifactor experimental approach to understand how soil microbes and their activities respond to climate change and consequences for carbon cycle feedbacks.

  7. Effects of mechanical feedback on the stability of cardiac scroll waves: A bidomain electro-mechanical simulation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colli Franzone, P; Pavarino, L F; Scacchi, S

    2017-09-01

    In this work, we investigate the influence of cardiac tissue deformation on re-entrant wave dynamics. We have developed a 3D strongly coupled electro-mechanical Bidomain model posed on an ideal monoventricular geometry, including fiber direction anisotropy and stretch-activated currents (SACs). The cardiac mechanical deformation influences the bioelectrical activity with two main mechanical feedback: (a) the geometric feedback (GEF) due to the presence of the deformation gradient in the diffusion coefficients and in a convective term depending on the deformation rate and (b) the mechano-electric feedback (MEF) due to SACs. Here, we investigate the relative contribution of these two factors with respect to scroll wave stability. We extend the previous works [Keldermann et al., Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 299, H134-H143 (2010) and Hu et al., PLoS One 8(4), e60287 (2013)] that were based on the Monodomain model and a simple non-selective linear SAC, while here we consider the full Bidomain model and both selective and non-selective components of SACs. Our simulation results show that the stability of cardiac scroll waves is influenced by MEF, which in case of low reversal potential of non-selective SACs might be responsible for the onset of ventricular fibrillation; GEF increases the scroll wave meandering but does not determine the scroll wave stability.

  8. Triton: Scattering models and surface/atmosphere constraints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, W.R.

    1989-01-01

    Modeling of Triton's spectrum indicates a bright scattering layer of optical depth τ≅3 overlying an optically deep layer of CH 4 with high absorption and little scattering. UV absorption in the spectrum indicates τ≅0.3 of red-yellow haze, although some color may also arise from complex organics partially visible on the surface. An analysis of this and other (spectro)photometric evidence indicates that Triton most likely has a bright surface, which was partially visible in 1977-1980. Geometric albedo p=0.62 +0.18 -0.12 , radius r = 1480 ± 180 km, and temperature T = 48 ± 6 K. With scattering optical depths of 0.3-3 and ∼1-10 mb of N 2 , a Mars-like atmospheric density and surface visibility pertain. Imaging with the 0.62μm CH 4 filter of the Voyager 2 wide angle camera could show ∼20% contrast between the average surface and clean exposures of CH 4 ice (which is not limited to the polar caps). Low far-infrared atmospheric opacity will in principle allow the detection of thermal gradients in the surface caused by optically transmitting but infrared opaque CH 4 and N 2 ice

  9. Severe Pollution in China Amplified by Atmospheric Moisture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tie, Xuexi; Huang, Ru-Jin; Cao, Junji; Zhang, Qiang; Cheng, Yafang; Su, Hang; Chang, Di; Pöschl, Ulrich; Hoffmann, Thorsten; Dusek, Uli; Li, Guohui; Worsnop, Douglas R; O'Dowd, Colin D

    2017-11-17

    In recent years, severe haze events often occurred in China, causing serious environmental problems. The mechanisms responsible for the haze formation, however, are still not well understood, hindering the forecast and mitigation of haze pollution. Our study of the 2012-13 winter haze events in Beijing shows that atmospheric water vapour plays a critical role in enhancing the heavy haze events. Under weak solar radiation and stagnant moist meteorological conditions in winter, air pollutants and water vapour accumulate in a shallow planetary boundary layer (PBL). A positive feedback cycle is triggered resulting in the formation of heavy haze: (1) the dispersal of water vapour is constrained by the shallow PBL, leading to an increase in relative humidity (RH); (2) the high RH induces an increase of aerosol particle size by enhanced hygroscopic growth and multiphase reactions to increase particle size and mass, which results in (3) further dimming and decrease of PBL height, and thus further depressing of aerosol and water vapour in a very shallow PBL. This positive feedback constitutes a self-amplification mechanism in which water vapour leads to a trapping and massive increase of particulate matter in the near-surface air to which people are exposed with severe health hazards.

  10. Vegetation-climate feedback causes reduced precipitation and tropical rainforest cover in CMIP5 regional Earth system model simulation over Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, M.; Smith, B.; Samuelsson, P.; Rummukainen, M.; Schurgers, G.

    2012-12-01

    We applied a coupled regional climate-vegetation model, RCA-GUESS (Smith et al. 2011), over the CORDEX Africa domain, forced by boundary conditions from a CanESM2 CMIP5 simulation under the RCP8.5 future climate scenario. The simulations were from 1961 to 2100 and covered the African continent at a horizontal grid spacing of 0.44°. RCA-GUESS simulates changes in the phenology, productivity, relative cover and population structure of up to eight plant function types (PFTs) in response to forcing from the climate part of the model. These vegetation changes feed back to simulated climate through dynamic adjustments in surface energy fluxes and surface properties. Changes in the net ecosystem-atmosphere carbon flux and its components net primary production (NPP), heterotrophic respiration and emissions from biomass burning were also simulated but do not feed back to climate in our model. Constant land cover was assumed. We compared simulations with and without vegetation feedback switched "on" to assess the influence of vegetation-climate feedback on simulated climate, vegetation and ecosystem carbon cycling. Both positive and negative warming feedbacks were identified in different parts of Africa. In the Sahel savannah zone near 15°N, reduced vegetation cover and productivity, and mortality caused by a deterioration of soil water conditions led to a positive warming feedback mediated by decreased evapotranspiration and increased sensible heat flux between vegetation and the atmosphere. In the equatorial rainforest stronghold region of central Africa, a feedback syndrome characterised by reduced plant production and LAI, a dominance shift from tropical trees to grasses, reduced soil water and reduced rainfall was identified. The likely underlying mechanism was a decline in evaporative water recycling associated with sparser vegetation cover, reminiscent of Earth system model studies in which a similar feedback mechanism was simulated to force dieback of tropical

  11. Turbulent transport in the atmospheric surface layer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tagesson, Torbern [Dept. of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund Univ., Lund (Sweden)

    2012-04-15

    In the modelling of transport and accumulation of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 (C-14) in the case of a potential release from a future repository of radioactive waste, it is important to describe the transport of the isotope in the atmosphere. This report aims to describe the turbulent transport within the lower part of the atmosphere; the inertial surface layer and the roughness sublayer. Transport in the inertial surface layer is dependent on several factors, whereof some can be neglected under certain circumstances. Under steady state conditions, fully developed turbulent conditions, in flat and horizontal homogeneous areas, it is possible to apply an eddy diffusivity approach for estimating vertical transport of C. The eddy diffusivity model assumes that there is proportionality between the vertical gradient and the transport of C. The eddy diffusivity is depending on the atmospheric turbulence, which is affected by the interaction between mean wind and friction of the ground surface and of the sensible heat flux in the atmosphere. In this report, it is described how eddy diffusivity of the inertial surface layer can be estimated from 3-d wind measurements and measurements of sensible heat fluxes. It is also described how to estimate the eddy diffusivity in the inertial surface layer from profile measurements of temperature and wind speed. Close to the canopy, wind and C profiles are influenced by effects of the surface roughness; this section of the atmosphere is called the roughness sublayer. Its height is up to {approx}3 times the height of the plant canopy. When the mean wind interacts with the canopy, turbulence is not only produced by shear stress and buoyancy, it is additionally created by wakes, which are formed behind the plants. Turbulence is higher than it would be over a flat surface, and the turbulent transport is hereby more efficient. Above the plant canopy, but still within the roughness sublayer, a function that compensates for the effect

  12. Turbulent transport in the atmospheric surface layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tagesson, Torbern

    2012-04-01

    In the modelling of transport and accumulation of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 (C-14) in the case of a potential release from a future repository of radioactive waste, it is important to describe the transport of the isotope in the atmosphere. This report aims to describe the turbulent transport within the lower part of the atmosphere; the inertial surface layer and the roughness sublayer. Transport in the inertial surface layer is dependent on several factors, whereof some can be neglected under certain circumstances. Under steady state conditions, fully developed turbulent conditions, in flat and horizontal homogeneous areas, it is possible to apply an eddy diffusivity approach for estimating vertical transport of C. The eddy diffusivity model assumes that there is proportionality between the vertical gradient and the transport of C. The eddy diffusivity is depending on the atmospheric turbulence, which is affected by the interaction between mean wind and friction of the ground surface and of the sensible heat flux in the atmosphere. In this report, it is described how eddy diffusivity of the inertial surface layer can be estimated from 3-d wind measurements and measurements of sensible heat fluxes. It is also described how to estimate the eddy diffusivity in the inertial surface layer from profile measurements of temperature and wind speed. Close to the canopy, wind and C profiles are influenced by effects of the surface roughness; this section of the atmosphere is called the roughness sublayer. Its height is up to ∼3 times the height of the plant canopy. When the mean wind interacts with the canopy, turbulence is not only produced by shear stress and buoyancy, it is additionally created by wakes, which are formed behind the plants. Turbulence is higher than it would be over a flat surface, and the turbulent transport is hereby more efficient. Above the plant canopy, but still within the roughness sublayer, a function that compensates for the effect of

  13. Estimating the Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance contribution to future sea level rise using the regional atmospheric climate model MAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    X. Fettweis

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available To estimate the sea level rise (SLR originating from changes in surface mass balance (SMB of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS, we present 21st century climate projections obtained with the regional climate model MAR (Modèle Atmosphérique Régional, forced by output of three CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 general circulation models (GCMs. Our results indicate that in a warmer climate, mass gain from increased winter snowfall over the GrIS does not compensate mass loss through increased meltwater run-off in summer. Despite the large spread in the projected near-surface warming, all the MAR projections show similar non-linear increase of GrIS surface melt volume because no change is projected in the general atmospheric circulation over Greenland. By coarsely estimating the GrIS SMB changes from GCM output, we show that the uncertainty from the GCM-based forcing represents about half of the projected SMB changes. In 2100, the CMIP5 ensemble mean projects a GrIS SMB decrease equivalent to a mean SLR of +4 ± 2 cm and +9 ± 4 cm for the RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios respectively. These estimates do not consider the positive melt–elevation feedback, although sensitivity experiments using perturbed ice sheet topographies consistent with the projected SMB changes demonstrate that this is a significant feedback, and highlight the importance of coupling regional climate models to an ice sheet model. Such a coupling will allow the assessment of future response of both surface processes and ice-dynamic changes to rising temperatures, as well as their mutual feedbacks.

  14. Smith-Purcell Distributed Feedback Laser

    CERN Document Server

    Kipnis, D; Gover, A

    2005-01-01

    Smith-Purcell radiation is the emission of electromagnetic radiation by an electron beam passing next to an optical grating. Recently measurement of relatively intense power of such radiation was observed in the THz-regime [1]. To explain the high intensity and the super-linear dependence on current beyond a threshold it was suggested that the radiating device operated in the high gain regime, amplifying spontaneous emission (ASE) [1,2]. We contest this interpretation and suggest an alternative mechanism. According to our interpretation the device operates as a distributed feedback (DFB) laser oscillator, in which a forward going surface wave, excited by the beam on the grating surface, is coupled to a backward going surface wave by a second order Bragg reflection process. This feedback process produces a saturated oscillator. We present theoretical analysis of the proposed process, which fits the reported experimental results, and enables better design of the radiation device, operating as a Smith-Purcell DF...

  15. Formation of hydrophobic coating on glass surface using atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma in ambient air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang, Z; Qiu, Y; Kuffel, E

    2004-01-01

    Non-thermal plasmas under atmospheric pressure are of great interest in material surface processing because of their convenience, effectiveness and low cost. In this paper, the treatment of a glass surface for improving hydrophobicity using a non-thermal plasma generated by a dielectric barrier corona discharge (DBCD) with a needle array-to-plane electrode arrangement in atmospheric air is conducted, and the surface properties of the glass before and after the DBCD treatment are studied using contact angle measurement, surface resistance measurement and the wet flashover voltage test. The effects of the plasma dose (the product of average discharge power and treatment time) of DBCD on the surface modification are studied, and the mechanism of interaction between the plasma and glass surface is discussed. It is found that a layer of hydrophobic coating is formed on the glass surface through DBCD treatment, and the improvement of hydrophobicity depends on the plasma dose of the DBCD. It seems that there is an optimum plasma dose for the surface treatment. The test results of thermal ageing and chemical ageing show that the hydrophobic layer has quite stable characteristics

  16. An eddy covariance system to characterize the atmospheric surface layer and turbulent latent heat fluxes over a debris-covered Himalayan glacier.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Litt, Maxime; Steiner, Jakob F.; Stigter, Emmy E.; Immerzeel, Walter; Shea, Joseph Michael

    2017-04-01

    Over debris-covered glaciers, water content variations in the debris layer can drive significant changes in its thermal conductivity and significantly impact melt rates. Since sublimation and evaporation are favoured in high-altitude conditions, e.g., low atmospheric pressure and high wind speeds, they are expected to strongly influence the water balance of the debris-layer. Dedicated latent heat fluxes measurements at the debris surface are essential to characterize the debris heat conductivity in order to assess underlying ice melt. Furthermore, the contribution of the turbulent fluxes in the surface energy balance over debris covered glacier remains uncertain since they are generally evaluated through similarity methods which might not be valid in complex terrain. We present the first results of a 15-day eddy-covariance experiment installed at the end of the monsoon (September-October) on a 3-m tower above the debris-covered Lirung glacier in Nepal. The tower also included measurements of the 4 radiation components. The eddy covariance measurements allowed for the characterization of the turbulence in the atmospheric surface layer, as well as the direct measurements of evaporation, sublimation and turbulent sensible heat fluxes. The experiment helps us to evaluate the contribution of turbulent fluxes to the surface energy balance over this debris-covered glacier, through a precise characterization of the overlying turbulent atmospheric surface layer. It also helps to study the role of the debris-layer water content changes through evaporation and sublimation and its feedback on heat conduction in this layer. The large observed turbulent fluxes play a significant role in the energy balance at the debris surface and significantly influence debris moisture, conductivity and subsequently underlying ice melt.

  17. Exploring Scintillometry in the Stable Atmospheric Surface Layer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartogensis, O.K.

    2006-01-01

    The main objective of this thesis is to investigate observation methods of heat and momentum exchange and key variables that characterise turbulence in the atmospheric stable surface layer (SSL), a layer defined as the lower part of the stable boundary layer (SBL) where surface fluxes do not change

  18. Impacts of Local Soil Moisture Anomalies on the Atmospheric Circulation and on Remote Surface Meteorological Fields During Boreal Summer: A Comprehensive Analysis over North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koster, Randal D.; Chang, Yehui; Wang, Hailan; Schubert, Siegfried D.

    2016-01-01

    We perform a series of stationary wave model (SWM) experiments in which the boreal summer atmosphere is forced, over a number of locations in the continental U.S., with an idealized diabatic heating anomaly that mimics the atmospheric heating associated with a dry land surface. For localized heating within a large portion of the continental interior, regardless of the specific location of this heating, the spatial pattern of the forced atmospheric circulation anomaly (in terms of 250-mb eddy streamfunction) is largely the same: a high anomaly forms over west central North America and a low anomaly forms to the east. In supplemental atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments, we find similar results; imposing soil moisture dryness in the AGCM in different locations within the US interior tends to produce the aforementioned pattern, along with an associated near-surface warming and precipitation deficit in the center of the continent. The SWM-based and AGCM-based patterns generally agree with composites generated using reanalysis and precipitation gauge data. The AGCM experiments also suggest that dry anomalies imposed in the lower Mississippi Valley have remote surface impacts of particularly large spatial extent, and a region along the eastern half of the US-Canada border is particularly sensitive to dry anomalies in a number of remote areas. Overall, the SWM and AGCM experiments support the idea of a positive feedback loop operating over the continent: dry surface conditions in many interior locations lead to changes in atmospheric circulation that act to enhance further the overall dryness of the continental interior.

  19. Coupled evolution of the atmospheres and interiors of planets and satellites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schubert, G.; Turcotte, D.L.; Solomon, S.C.; Sleep, N.H.

    1989-01-01

    The evolution of a planetary atmosphere can be powerfully influenced by the planetary interior's function as both a source and a sink of atmospheric constituents; the interior can in turn be strongly influenced by the atmosphere because the mechanism of interior heat loss depends on a volatile content for which the atmosphere can serve both as sink and source. The dependence of mantle rheology on volatile content could furnish a feedback mechanism tending to keep regassing/degassing in balance, thereby maintaining a relatively constant atmospheric mass. Consideration of the abundances of radiogenic and nonradiogenic noble gases in the earth's atmosphere, and of the fluxes of these gases from the mantle, support a large degassing event early on, followed by a decrease in degassing efficiency with time and relatively inefficient outgassing over most of geologic time

  20. Feedback Conversations: Creating Feedback Dialogues with a New Textual Tool for Industrial Design Student Feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, Mathias; van Diggelen, Migchiel

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, the authors describe how a study of a large database of written university teacher feedback in the department of Industrial Design led to the development of a new conceptual framework for feedback and the design of a new feedback tool. This paper focuses on the translation of related work in the area of feedback mechanisms for…

  1. Modeling the Space-Time Destiny of Pan-Arctic Permafrost DOC in a Global Land Surface Model: Feedback Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowring, S.; Lauerwald, R.; Guenet, B.; Zhu, D.; Ciais, P.

    2017-12-01

    Most global climate models do not represent the unique permafrost soil environment and its respective processes. This significantly contributes to uncertainty in estimating their responses, and that of the planet at large, to warming. Here, the production, transport and atmospheric release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from high-latitude permafrost soils into inland waters and the ocean is explicitly represented for the first time in the land surface component (ORCHIDEE-MICT) of a CMIP6 global climate model (IPSL). This work merges two models that are able to mechanistically simulate complex processes for 1) snow, ice and soil phenomena in high latitude environments, and 2) DOC production and lateral transport through soils and the river network, respectively, at 0.5° to 2° resolution. The resulting model is subjected to a wide range of input forcing data, parameter testing and contentious feedback phenomena, including microbial heat generation as the active layer deepens. We present results for the present and future Pan-Arctic and Eurasia, with a focus on the Lena and Mackenzie River basins, and show that soil DOC concentrations, their riverine transport and atmospheric evasion are reasonably well represented as compared to observed stocks, fluxes and seasonality. We show that most basins exhibit large increases in DOC transport and riverine CO2 evasion across the suite of RCP scenarios to 2100. We also show that model output is strongly influenced by choice of input forcing data. The riverine component of what is known as the `boundless carbon cycle' is little-recognized in global climate modeling. Hydrological mobilization to the river network results either in sedimentary settling or atmospheric `evasion', presently amounting to 0.5-1.8 PgC yr-1. Our work aims at filling in these knowledge gaps, and the response of these DOC-related processes to thermal forcing. Potential feedbacks owing to such a response are of particular relevance, given the magnitude

  2. Regional impacts of climate change and atmospheric CO2 on future ocean carbon uptake: A multi-model linear feedback analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Roy Tilla; Bopp Laurent; Gehlen Marion; Schneider Birgitt; Cadule Patricia; Frölicher Thomas; Segschneider Jochen; Tijputra Jerry; Heinze Christoph; Joos Fortunat

    2011-01-01

    The increase in atmospheric CO2 over this century depends on the evolution of the oceanic air–sea CO2 uptake which will be driven by the combined response to rising atmospheric CO2 itself and climate change. Here the future oceanic CO2 uptake is simulated using an ensemble of coupled climate–carbon cycle models. The models are driven by CO2 emissions from historical data and the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2 high emission scenario. A linear feedback analysis successfully sep...

  3. Impacts of Atmosphere-Ocean Coupling on Southern Hemisphere Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Feng; Newman, Paul; Pawson, Steven

    2013-01-01

    Climate in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) has undergone significant changes in recent decades. These changes are closely linked to the shift of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) towards its positive polarity, which is driven primarily by Antarctic ozone depletion. There is growing evidence that Antarctic ozone depletion has significant impacts on Southern Ocean circulation change. However, it is poorly understood whether and how ocean feedback might impact the SAM and climate change in the SH atmosphere. This outstanding science question is investigated using the Goddard Earth Observing System Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean-Chemistry Climate Model(GEOS-AOCCM).We perform ensemble simulations of the recent past (1960-2010) with and without the interactive ocean. For simulations without the interactive ocean, we use sea surface temperatures and sea ice concentrations produced by the interactive ocean simulations. The differences between these two ensemble simulations quantify the effects of atmosphere-ocean coupling. We will investigate the impacts of atmosphere-ocean coupling on stratospheric processes such as Antarctic ozone depletion and Antarctic polar vortex breakup. We will address whether ocean feedback affects Rossby wave generation in the troposphere and wave propagation into the stratosphere. Another focuson this study is to assess how ocean feedback might affect the tropospheric SAM response to Antarctic ozone depletion

  4. The Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) contribution to CMIP6.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Mark J.; Andrews, Timothy; Bodas-Salcedo, Alejandro; Bony, Sandrine; Bretherton, Christopher S.; Chadwick, Robin; Chepfer, Helene; Douville, Herve; Good, Peter; Kay, Jennifer E.; hide

    2017-01-01

    The primary objective of CFMIP is to inform future assessments of cloud feedbacks through improved understanding of cloud-climate feedback mechanisms and better evaluation of cloud processes and cloud feedbacks in climate models. However, the CFMIP approach is also increasingly being used to understand other aspects of climate change, and so a second objective has now been introduced, to improve understanding of circulation, regional-scale precipitation, and non-linear changes. CFMIP is supporting ongoing model inter-comparison activities by coordinating a hierarchy of targeted experiments for CMIP6, along with a set of cloud-related output diagnostics. CFMIP contributes primarily to addressing the CMIP6 questions 'How does the Earth system respond to forcing?' and 'What are the origins and consequences of systematic model biases?' and supports the activities of the WCRP Grand Challenge on Clouds, Circulation and Climate Sensitivity. A compact set of Tier 1 experiments is proposed for CMIP6 to address this question: (1) what are the physical mechanisms underlying the range of cloud feedbacks and cloud adjustments predicted by climate models, and which models have the most credible cloud feedbacks? Additional Tier 2 experiments are proposed to address the following questions. (2) Are cloud feedbacks consistent for climate cooling and warming, and if not, why? (3) How do cloud-radiative effects impact the structure, the strength and the variability of the general atmospheric circulation in present and future climates? (4) How do responses in the climate system due to changes in solar forcing differ from changes due to CO2, and is the response sensitive to the sign of the forcing? (5) To what extent is regional climate change per CO2 doubling state-dependent (non-linear), and why? (6) Are climate feedbacks during the 20th century different to those acting on long-term climate change and climate sensitivity? (7) How do regional climate responses (e.g. in precipitation

  5. A two-dimensional atmospheric chemistry modeling investigation of Earth's Phanerozoic O3 and near-surface ultraviolet radiation history

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harfoot, Michael B. J.; Beerling, David J.; Lomax, Barry H.; Pyle, John A.

    2007-04-01

    We use the Cambridge two-dimensional (2-D) chemistry-radiation transport model to investigate the implications for column O3 and near-surface ultraviolet radiation (UV), of variations in atmospheric O2 content over the Phanerozoic (last 540 Myr). Model results confirm some earlier 1-D model investigations showing that global annual mean O3 column increases monotonically with atmospheric O2. Sensitivity studies indicate that changes in temperature and N2O exert a minor influence on O3 relative to O2. We reconstructed Earth's O3 history by interpolating the modeled relationship between O3 and O2 onto two Phanerozoic O2 histories. Our results indicate that the largest variation in Phanerozoic column O3 occurred between 400 and 200 Myr ago, corresponding to a rise in atmospheric O2 to ˜1.5 times the present atmospheric level (PAL) and subsequent fall to ˜0.5 PAL. The O3 response to this O2 decline shows latitudinal differences, thinning most at high latitudes (30-40 Dobson units (1 DU = 0.001 atm cm) at 66°N) and least at low latitudes (5-10 DU at 9°N) where a "self-healing" effect is evident. This O3 depletion coincides with significant increases in the near-surface biologically active UV radiation at high latitudes, +28% as weighted by the Thimijan spectral weighting function. O3 and UV changes were exacerbated when we incorporated a direct feedback of the terrestrial biosphere on atmospheric chemistry, through enhanced N2O production as the climate switched from an icehouse to a greenhouse mode. On the basis of a summary of field and laboratory experimental evidence, we suggest that these UV radiation increases may have exerted subtle rather than catastrophic effects on ecosystem processes.

  6. Stepping towards new parameterizations for non-canonical atmospheric surface-layer conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calaf, M.; Margairaz, F.; Pardyjak, E.

    2017-12-01

    Representing land-atmosphere exchange processes as a lower boundary condition remains a challenge. This is partially a result of the fact that land-surface heterogeneity exists at all spatial scales and its variability does not "average" out with decreasing scales. Such variability need not rapidly blend away from the boundary thereby impacting the near-surface region of the atmosphere. Traditionally, momentum and energy fluxes linking the land surface to the flow in NWP models have been parameterized using atmospheric surface layer (ASL) similarity theory. There is ample evidence that such representation is acceptable for stationary and planar-homogeneous flows in the absence of subsidence. However, heterogeneity remains a ubiquitous feature eliciting appreciable deviations when using ASL similarity theory, especially in scalars such moisture and air temperature whose blending is less efficient when compared to momentum. The focus of this project is to quantify the effect of surface thermal heterogeneity with scales Ο(1/10) the height of the atmospheric boundary layer and characterized by uniform roughness. Such near-canonical cases describe inhomogeneous scalar transport in an otherwise planar homogeneous flow when thermal stratification is weak or absent. In this work we present a large-eddy simulation study that characterizes the effect of surface thermal heterogeneities on the atmospheric flow using the concept of dispersive fluxes. Results illustrate a regime in which the flow is mostly driven by the surface thermal heterogeneities, in which the contribution of the dispersive fluxes can account for up to 40% of the total sensible heat flux. Results also illustrate an alternative regime in which the effect of the surface thermal heterogeneities is quickly blended, and the dispersive fluxes provide instead a quantification of the flow spatial heterogeneities produced by coherent turbulent structures result of the surface shear stress. A threshold flow

  7. Atmospheric weighting functions and surface partial derivatives for remote sensing of scattering planetary atmospheres in thermal spectral region: general adjoint approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ustinov, Eugene A.

    2005-01-01

    An approach to formulation of inversion algorithms for remote sensing in the thermal spectral region in the case of a scattering planetary atmosphere, based on the adjoint equation of radiative transfer (Ustinov (JQSRT 68 (2001) 195; JQSRT 73 (2002) 29); referred to as Papers 1 and 2, respectively, in the main text), is applied to the general case of retrievals of atmospheric and surface parameters for the scattering atmosphere with nadir viewing geometry. Analytic expressions for corresponding weighting functions for atmospheric parameters and partial derivatives for surface parameters are derived. The case of pure atmospheric absorption with a scattering underlying surface is considered and convergence to results obtained for the non-scattering atmospheres (Ustinov (JQSRT 74 (2002) 683), referred to as Paper 3 in the main text) is demonstrated

  8. Surface Modification of Polyethylene Films using Atmospheric

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr A.B.Ahmed

    An atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is used to increase the wettability of ... contact angle between the water droplet and the polymer surface. The polymer films used in this ... W of RF power from the generator. The distance between ...

  9. New positive feedback mechanism between boundary layer meteorology and secondary aerosol formation during severe haze events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Quan; Jia, Xingcan; Quan, Jiannong; Li, Jiayun; Li, Xia; Wu, Yongxue; Chen, Dan; Wang, Zifa; Liu, Yangang

    2018-04-17

    Severe haze events during which particulate matter (PM) increases quickly from tens to hundreds of microgram per cubic meter in 1-2 days frequently occur in China. Although it has been known that PM is influenced by complex interplays among emissions, meteorology, and physical and chemical processes, specific mechanisms remain elusive. Here, a new positive feedback mechanism between planetary boundary layer (PBL), relative humidity (RH), and secondary PM (SPM) formation is proposed based on a comprehensive field experiment and model simulation. The decreased PBL associated with increased PM increases RH by weakening the vertical transport of water vapor; the increased RH in turn enhances the SPM formation through heterogeneous aqueous reactions, which further enhances PM, weakens solar radiation, and decreases PBL height. This positive feedback, together with the PM-Radiation-PBL feedback, constitutes a key mechanism that links PM, radiation, PBL properties (e.g. PBL height and RH), and SPM formation, This mechanism is self-amplifying, leading to faster PM production, accumulation, and more severe haze pollution.

  10. Ocean Heat Uptake Slows 21st Century Surface Warming Driven by Extratropical Cloud Feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frey, W.; Maroon, E.; Pendergrass, A. G.; Kay, J. E.

    2017-12-01

    Equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS), the warming in response to instantaneously doubled CO2, has long been used to compare climate models. In many models, ECS is well correlated with warming produced by transient forcing experiments. Modifications to cloud phase at high latitudes in a state-of-the-art climate model, the Community Earth System Model (CESM), produce a large increase in ECS (1.5 K) via extratropical cloud feedbacks. However, only a small surface warming increase occurs in a realistic 21st century simulation including a full-depth dynamic ocean and the "business as usual" RCP8.5 emissions scenario. In fact, the increase in surface warming is only barely above the internal variability-generated range in the CESM Large Ensemble. The small change in 21st century warming is attributed to subpolar ocean heat uptake in both hemispheres. In the Southern Ocean, the mean-state circulation takes up heat while in the North Atlantic a slowdown in circulation acts as a feedback to slow surface warming. These results show the importance of subpolar ocean heat uptake in controlling the pace of warming and demonstrate that ECS cannot be used to reliably infer transient warming when it is driven by extratropical feedbacks.

  11. Land surface albedo and vegetation feedbacks enhanced the millennium drought in south-east Australia

    KAUST Repository

    Evans, Jason P.; Meng, Xianhong; McCabe, Matthew

    2017-01-01

    In this study, we have examined the ability of a regional climate model (RCM) to simulate the extended drought that occurred throughout the period of 2002 through 2007 in south-east Australia. In particular, the ability to reproduce the two drought peaks in 2002 and 2006 was investigated. Overall, the RCM was found to reproduce both the temporal and the spatial structure of the drought-related precipitation anomalies quite well, despite using climatological seasonal surface characteristics such as vegetation fraction and albedo. This result concurs with previous studies that found that about two-thirds of the precipitation decline can be attributed to the El Ninõ–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Simulation experiments that allowed the vegetation fraction and albedo to vary as observed illustrated that the intensity of the drought was underestimated by about 10ĝ% when using climatological surface characteristics. These results suggest that in terms of drought development, capturing the feedbacks related to vegetation and albedo changes may be as important as capturing the soil moisture–precipitation feedback. In order to improve our modelling of multi-year droughts, the challenge is to capture all these related surface changes simultaneously, and provide a comprehensive description of land surface–precipitation feedback during the droughts development.

  12. Land surface albedo and vegetation feedbacks enhanced the millennium drought in south-east Australia

    KAUST Repository

    Evans, Jason P.

    2017-01-24

    In this study, we have examined the ability of a regional climate model (RCM) to simulate the extended drought that occurred throughout the period of 2002 through 2007 in south-east Australia. In particular, the ability to reproduce the two drought peaks in 2002 and 2006 was investigated. Overall, the RCM was found to reproduce both the temporal and the spatial structure of the drought-related precipitation anomalies quite well, despite using climatological seasonal surface characteristics such as vegetation fraction and albedo. This result concurs with previous studies that found that about two-thirds of the precipitation decline can be attributed to the El Ninõ–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Simulation experiments that allowed the vegetation fraction and albedo to vary as observed illustrated that the intensity of the drought was underestimated by about 10ĝ% when using climatological surface characteristics. These results suggest that in terms of drought development, capturing the feedbacks related to vegetation and albedo changes may be as important as capturing the soil moisture–precipitation feedback. In order to improve our modelling of multi-year droughts, the challenge is to capture all these related surface changes simultaneously, and provide a comprehensive description of land surface–precipitation feedback during the droughts development.

  13. Impacts of Aerosol Direct Effects on the South Asian climate: Assessment of Radiative Feedback Processes Using Model Simulations and Satellite/surface Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, S.; Gautam, R.; Lau, W. K.; Tsay, S.; Sun, W.; Kim, K.; Chern, J.; Colarco, P. R.; Hsu, N. C.; Lin, N.

    2011-12-01

    Current assessment of aerosol radiative effect is hindered by our incomplete knowledge of aerosol optical properties, especially absorption, and our current inability to quantify physical and microphysical processes. In this research, we investigate direct aerosol radiative effect over heavy aerosol loading areas (e.g., Indo-Gangetic Plains, South/East Asia) and its feedbacks on the South Asian climate during the pre-monsoon season (March-June) using the Purdue Regional Climate Model (PRCM) with prescribed aerosol data derived by the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS-5). Our modeling domain covers South and East Asia (60-140E and 0-50N) with spatial resolutions of 45 km in horizontal and 28 layers in vertical. The model is integrated from 15 February to 30 June 2008 continuously without nudging (i.e., only forced by initial/boundary conditions). Two numerical experiments are conducted with and without the aerosol-radiation effects. Both simulations are successful in reproducing the synoptic patterns on seasonal-to-interannual time scales and capturing a pre-monsoon feature of the northward rainfall propagation over Indian region in early June which shown in Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observation. Preliminary result suggests aerosol-radiation interactions mainly alter surface-atmosphere energetics and further result in an adjustment of the vertical temperature distribution in lower atmosphere (below 700 hPa). The modifications of temperature and associated rainfall and circulation feedbacks on the regional climate will be discussed in the presentation. In addition to modeling study, we will also present the most recent results on aerosol properties, regional aerosol absorption, and radiative forcing estimation based on NASA's operational satellite and ground-based remote sensing. Observational results show spatial gradients in aerosol loading and solar absorption accounting over Indo-Gangetic Plains during the pre-monsoon season. The

  14. Modelling land surface - atmosphere interactions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Søren Højmark

    representation of groundwater in the hydrological model is found to important and this imply resolving the small river valleys. Because, the important shallow groundwater is found in the river valleys. If the model does not represent the shallow groundwater then the area mean surface flux calculation......The study is investigates modelling of land surfaceatmosphere interactions in context of fully coupled climatehydrological model. With a special focus of under what condition a fully coupled model system is needed. Regional climate model inter-comparison projects as ENSEMBLES have shown bias...... by the hydrological model is found to be insensitive to model resolution. Furthermore, this study highlights the effect of bias precipitation by regional climate model and it implications for hydrological modelling....

  15. Application of current guidelines for chest compression depth on different surfaces and using feedback devices: a randomized cross-over study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schober, P; Krage, R; Lagerburg, V; Van Groeningen, D; Loer, S A; Schwarte, L A

    2014-04-01

    Current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)-guidelines recommend an increased chest compression depth and rate compared to previous guidelines, and the use of automatic feedback devices is encouraged. However, it is unclear whether this compression depth can be maintained at an increased frequency. Moreover, the underlying surface may influence accuracy of feedback devices. We investigated compression depths over time and evaluated the accuracy of a feedback device on different surfaces. Twenty-four volunteers performed four two-minute blocks of CPR targeting at current guideline recommendations on different surfaces (floor, mattress, 2 backboards) on a patient simulator. Participants rested for 2 minutes between blocks. Influences of time and different surfaces on chest compression depth (ANOVA, mean [95% CI]) and accuracy of a feedback device to determine compression depth (Bland-Altman) were assessed. Mean compression depth did not reach recommended depth and decreased over time during all blocks (first block: from 42 mm [39-46 mm] to 39 mm [37-42 mm]). A two-minute resting period was insufficient to restore compression depth to baseline. No differences in compression depth were observed on different surfaces. The feedback device slightly underestimated compression depth on the floor (bias -3.9 mm), but markedly overestimated on the mattress (bias +12.6 mm). This overestimation was eliminated after correcting compression depth by a second sensor between manikin and mattress. Strategies are needed to improve chest compression depth, and more than two providers should alternate with chest compressions. The underlying surface does not necessarily adversely affect CPR performance but influences accuracy of feedback devices. Accuracy is improved by a second, posterior, sensor.

  16. Land-atmosphere feedbacks in EURO-CORDEX: analysis and impact on the precipitation recycling in a changing climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardoso, Rita M.; Soares, Pedro M. M.; Rios, Alexandre; Trigo, Ricardo M.

    2017-04-01

    Land-atmosphere interactions are known to play a key role on climate and are expected to be critical to understand its evolution as a consequence of climate change. These land-air feedbacks are of utmost importance in those regions and periods when the intensity of evapotranspiration is high and, at the same time, controlled by soil moisture availability. In the Mediterranean Basin, the amount of rainfall coming from evapotranspiration over land represents a relevant fraction of the total precipitation in the year. Furthermore, many of these areas are affected by water limitations and are expected to be more sensitive to the impact of climate change along the upcoming decades. The latent and sensible heat fluxes in the Euro-CORDEX simulations (0.11 and 0.44) are the starting point for an assessment of the expected changes in the surface evapotranspiration and evaporative fraction (EF) in a changing climate. The changes in the heat fluxes and EF between 2071-2100 and 1971-2000 exhibit a large spread. The majority of the models forecast an increase in EF in Scandinavia and a decrease in the Mediterranean and Iberia. The WRF model, is also used to explore 3D land-atmosphere coupling over the different regions within the European CORDEX domain, at 0.44 horizontal resolution and for a high resolution domain (9km) over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). We start our analysis by computing the recycling ratio, for the hindcast (1989-2009), through the method of Eltahir and Bras, as a first approach to quantify the intensity of land-atmosphere feedbacks and their impact on the rainfall regime. This method, much more accurate than analytical Integral Moisture Budget recycling models, allows us to explore the spatial distribution of recycling over Europe and therefore focus our analysis on the most sensitive regions. The highest recycling ratio occurs in central and eastern Europe in late spring and summer; where the percentage of precipitation from evapotranspiration is higher than

  17. A Method of Retrieving BRDF from Surface-Reflected Radiance Using Decoupling of Atmospheric Radiative Transfer and Surface Reflection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Radkevich

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Bi-directional reflection distribution function (BRDF defines anisotropy of the surface reflection. It is required to specify the boundary condition for radiative transfer (RT modeling used in aerosol retrievals, cloud retrievals, atmospheric modeling, and other applications. Ground based measurements of reflected radiance draw increasing attention as a source of information about anisotropy of surface reflection. Derivation of BRDF from surface radiance requires atmospheric correction. This study develops a new method of retrieving BRDF on its whole domain, making it immediately suitable for further atmospheric RT modeling applications. The method is based on the integral equation relating surface-reflected radiance, BRDF, and solutions of two auxiliary atmosphere-only RT problems. The method requires kernel-based BRDF. The weights of the kernels are obtained with a quickly converging iterative procedure. RT modeling has to be done only one time before the start of iterative process.

  18. Robust non-local effects of ocean heat uptake on radiative feedback and subtropical cloud cover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, B. E. J.

    2016-02-01

    Much recent work has pointed to the limitations of the global mean planetary energy budget as a useful diagnostic tool for understanding transient climate response, because the climate sensitivity (or radiative feedback) governing the relationships between ocean heat content, surface temperature and top-of-atmosphere energy imbalance depends sensitively on timescale, spatial pattern and nature of the climate forcing. Progress has been made by treating the slowly-evolving (and spatially complex) pattern of ocean heat uptake as a quasi-equilibrium forcing on the "fast" components of the climate system: the atmospheric radiative-dynamical processes that link air-sea heat exchange to the top-of-atmosphere energy budget. Differences between these feedbacks and those on CO2 radiative forcing can be expressed as an "efficacy" of ocean heat uptake. We use idealized slab ocean GCMs forced by prescribed steady energy sinks limited to specific latitude bands (representing heat exchange with the deep ocean) to quantify how (and why) the efficacy depends on the spatial pattern of ocean heat uptake. By repeating the experiment across several independent GCMs we identify robust and non-robust aspects of the response. We find that the efficacy of sub-polar heat uptake is 3 to 4 times larger than the efficacy of tropical heat uptake. Radiative kernel analysis allows an accurate partition into feedbacks due to temperature, water vapor and clouds. We find large and robust differences in clear-sky lapse rate feedbacks, associated with robust differences in large-scale atmospheric circulation and stratification driven by ocean heat uptake. A more novel and surprising result is the robustness across several independent GCMs of the differences in subtropical low cloud feedback (positive under high-latitude uptake, strongly negative under tropical uptake). We trace these robust differences to thermodynamic constraints associated with lower-tropospheric stability and boundary layer

  19. Development of a smart backboard system for real-time feedback during CPR chest compression on a soft back support surface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gohier, Francis; Dellimore, Kiran; Scheffer, Cornie

    2013-01-01

    The quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is often inconsistent and frequently fails to meet recommended guidelines. One promising approach to address this problem is for clinicians to use an active feedback device during CPR. However, one major deficiency of existing feedback systems is that they fail to account for the displacement of the back support surface during chest compression (CC), which can be important when CPR is performed on a soft surface. In this study we present the development of a real-time CPR feedback system based on an algorithm which uses force and dual-accelerometer measurements to provide accurate estimation of the CC depth on a soft surface, without assuming full chest decompression. Based on adult CPR manikin tests it was found that the accuracy of the estimated CC depth for a dual accelerometer feedback system is significantly better (7.3% vs. 24.4%) than for a single accelerometer system on soft back support surfaces, in the absence or presence of a backboard. In conclusion, the algorithm used was found to be suitable for a real-time, dual accelerometer CPR feedback application since it yielded reasonable accuracy in terms of CC depth estimation, even when used on a soft back support surface.

  20. Impact of optical feedback on current-induced polarization behavior of 1550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Tao; Wu, Zheng-Mao; Xie, Yi-Yuan; Wu, Jia-Gui; Tang, Xi; Fan, Li; Panajotov, Krassimir; Xia, Guang-Qiong

    2013-06-01

    Polarization switching (PS) between two orthogonal linearly polarized fundamental modes is experimentally observed in commercial free-running 1550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) (Raycan). The characteristics of this PS are strongly modified after introducing a polarization-preserved (PP) or polarization-orthogonal (PO) optical feedback. Under the case that the external cavity is approximately 30 cm, the PP optical feedback results in the PS point shifting toward a lower injection current, and the region within which the two polarization modes coexist is enlarged with the increase of the PP feedback strength. Under too-strong PP feedback levels, the PS disappears. The impact of PO optical feedback on VCSEL polarization behavior is quite similar to that of PP optical feedback, but larger feedback strength is needed to obtain similar results.

  1. Multitechnique characterisation of 304L surface states oxidised at high temperature in steam and air atmospheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mamede, Anne-Sophie, E-mail: anne-sophie.mamede@ensc-lille.fr [University Lille, CNRS, ENSCL, Centrale Lille, University Artois, UMR 8181 – UCCS – Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide, F-59000 Lille (France); Nuns, Nicolas, E-mail: nicolas.nuns@univ-lille1.fr [University Lille, CNRS, ENSCL, Centrale Lille, University Artois, UMR 8181 – UCCS – Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide, F-59000 Lille (France); Cristol, Anne-Lise, E-mail: anne-lise.cristol@ec-lille.fr [University Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, Arts et Métiers Paris Tech, FRE 3723 – LML – Laboratoire de Mécanique de Lille, F-59000 Lille (France); Cantrel, Laurent, E-mail: laurent.cantrel@irsn.fr [Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, PSN-RES, Cadarache, Saint Paul lez Durance, 13115 (France); Laboratoire de Recherche Commun IRSN-CNRS-Lille 1: «Cinétique Chimique, Combustion, Réactivité» (C3R), Cadarache, Saint Paul lez Durance, 13115 (France); Souvi, Sidi, E-mail: sidi.souvi@irsn.fr [Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, PSN-RES, Cadarache, Saint Paul lez Durance, 13115 (France); Laboratoire de Recherche Commun IRSN-CNRS-Lille 1: «Cinétique Chimique, Combustion, Réactivité» (C3R), Cadarache, Saint Paul lez Durance, 13115 (France); and others

    2016-04-30

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Mutitechnique characterisation of oxidised 304L. • Oxidation at high temperature under steam and air conditions of 304L stainless steel. • Chromium and manganese oxides formed in the outer layer. • Oxide profiles differ in air or steam atmosphere. - Abstract: In case of a severe accident occurring in a nuclear reactor, surfaces of the reactor coolant system (RCS), made of stainless steel (304L) rich in Cr (>10%) and Ni (8–12%), are oxidised. Fission products (FPs) are released from melt fuel and flow through the RCS. A part of them is deposited onto surfaces either by vapour condensation or by aerosol deposition mechanisms. To be able to understand the nature of interactions between these FPs and the RCS surfaces, a preliminary step is to characterize the RSC surface states in steam and air atmosphere at high temperatures. Pieces of 304L stainless steel have been treated in a flow reactor at two different temperatures (750 °C and 950 °C) for two different exposition times (24 h and 72 h). After surfaces analysing by a unique combination of surface analysis techniques (XPS, ToF-SIMS and LEIS), for 304L, the results show a deep oxide scale with multi layers and the outer layer is composed of chromium and manganese oxides. Oxide profiles differ in air or steam atmosphere. Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} oxide is observed but in minor proportion and in all cases no nickel is detected near the surface. Results obtained are discussed and compared with the literature data.

  2. Atmospheric methane from organic carbon mobilization in sedimentary basins — The sleeping giant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kroeger, K. F.; di Primio, R.; Horsfield, B.

    2011-08-01

    The mass of organic carbon in sedimentary basins amounts to a staggering 10 16 t, dwarfing the mass contained in coal, oil, gas and all living systems by ten thousand-fold. The evolution of this giant mass during subsidence and uplift, via chemical, physical and biological processes, not only controls fossil energy resource occurrence worldwide, but also has the capacity for driving global climate: only a tiny change in the degree of leakage, particularly if focused through the hydrate cycle, can result in globally significant greenhouse gas emissions. To date, neither climate models nor atmospheric CO 2 budget estimates have quantitatively included methane from thermal or microbial cracking of sedimentary organic matter deep in sedimentary basins. Recent estimates of average low latitude Eocene surface temperatures beyond 30 °C require extreme levels of atmospheric CO 2. Methane degassing from sedimentary basins may be a mechanism to explain increases of atmospheric CO 2 to values as much as 20 times higher than pre-industrial values. Increased natural gas emission could have been set in motion either by global tectonic processes such as pulses of activity in the global alpine fold belt, leading to increased basin subsidence and maturation rates in the prolific Jurassic and Cretaceous organic-rich sediments, or by increased magmatic activity such as observed in the northern Atlantic around the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. Increased natural gas emission would have led to global warming that was accentuated by long lasting positive feedback effects through temperature transfer from the surface into sedimentary basins. Massive gas hydrate dissociation may have been an additional positive feedback factor during hyperthermals superimposed on long term warming, such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). As geologic sources may have contributed over one third of global atmospheric methane in pre-industrial time, variability in methane flux from sedimentary

  3. Global observations and modeling of atmosphere-surface exchange of elemental mercury: a critical review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Wei; Lin, Che-Jen; Wang, Xun; Sommar, Jonas; Fu, Xuewu; Feng, Xinbin

    2016-04-01

    Reliable quantification of air-surface fluxes of elemental Hg vapor (Hg0) is crucial for understanding mercury (Hg) global biogeochemical cycles. There have been extensive measurements and modeling efforts devoted to estimating the exchange fluxes between the atmosphere and various surfaces (e.g., soil, canopies, water, snow, etc.) in the past three decades. However, large uncertainties remain due to the complexity of Hg0 bidirectional exchange, limitations of flux quantification techniques and challenges in model parameterization. In this study, we provide a critical review on the state of science in the atmosphere-surface exchange of Hg0. Specifically, the advancement of flux quantification techniques, mechanisms in driving the air-surface Hg exchange and modeling efforts are presented. Due to the semi-volatile nature of Hg0 and redox transformation of Hg in environmental media, Hg deposition and evasion are influenced by multiple environmental variables including seasonality, vegetative coverage and its life cycle, temperature, light, moisture, atmospheric turbulence and the presence of reactants (e.g., O3, radicals, etc.). However, the effects of these processes on flux have not been fundamentally and quantitatively determined, which limits the accuracy of flux modeling. We compile an up-to-date global observational flux database and discuss the implication of flux data on the global Hg budget. Mean Hg0 fluxes obtained by micrometeorological measurements do not appear to be significantly greater than the fluxes measured by dynamic flux chamber methods over unpolluted surfaces (p = 0.16, one-tailed, Mann-Whitney U test). The spatiotemporal coverage of existing Hg0 flux measurements is highly heterogeneous with large data gaps existing in multiple continents (Africa, South Asia, Middle East, South America and Australia). The magnitude of the evasion flux is strongly enhanced by human activities, particularly at contaminated sites. Hg0 flux observations in East

  4. RADIATIVE AND MOMENTUM-BASED MECHANICAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS FEEDBACK IN A THREE-DIMENSIONAL GALAXY EVOLUTION CODE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Ena; Ostriker, Jeremiah P.; Naab, Thorsten; Johansson, Peter H.

    2012-01-01

    We study the growth of black holes (BHs) in galaxies using three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations with new implementations of the momentum mechanical feedback, and restriction of accreted elements to those that are gravitationally bound to the BH. We also include the feedback from the X-ray radiation emitted by the BH, which heats the surrounding gas in the host galaxies, and adds radial momentum to the fluid. We perform simulations of isolated galaxies and merging galaxies and test various feedback models with the new treatment of the Bondi radius criterion. We find that overall the BH growth is similar to what has been obtained by earlier works using the Springel, Di Matteo, and Hernquist algorithms. However, the outflowing wind velocities and mechanical energy emitted by winds are considerably higher (v w ∼ 1000-3000 km s –1 ) compared to the standard thermal feedback model (v w ∼ 50-100 km s –1 ). While the thermal feedback model emits only 0.1% of BH released energy in winds, the momentum feedback model emits more than 30% of the total energy released by the BH in winds. In the momentum feedback model, the degree of fluctuation in both radiant and wind output is considerably larger than in standard treatments. We check that the new model of BH mass accretion agrees with analytic results for the standard Bondi problem.

  5. Atmospheric statistical dynamic models. Climate experiments: albedo experiments with a zonal atmospheric model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Potter, G.L.; Ellsaesser, H.W.; MacCracken, M.C.; Luther, F.M.

    1978-06-01

    The zonal model experiments with modified surface boundary conditions suggest an initial chain of feedback processes that is largest at the site of the perturbation: deforestation and/or desertification → increased surface albedo → reduced surface absorption of solar radiation → surface cooling and reduced evaporation → reduced convective activity → reduced precipitation and latent heat release → cooling of upper troposphere and increased tropospheric lapse rates → general global cooling and reduced precipitation. As indicated above, although the two experiments give similar overall global results, the location of the perturbation plays an important role in determining the response of the global circulation. These two-dimensional model results are also consistent with three-dimensional model experiments. These results have tempted us to consider the possibility that self-induced growth of the subtropical deserts could serve as a possible mechanism to cause the initial global cooling that then initiates a glacial advance thus activating the positive feedback loop involving ice-albedo feedback (also self-perpetuating). Reversal of the cycle sets in when the advancing ice cover forces the wave-cyclone tracks far enough equatorward to quench (revegetate) the subtropical deserts

  6. A closed-loop analysis of the tubuloglomerular feedback mechanism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holstein-Rathlou, N H

    1991-01-01

    The tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) mechanism is of importance in the regulation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). A second mechanism of potential importance is the change in proximal pressure caused by a change, for example, in the rate of proximal fluid reabsorption. The quantitative contrib...... and the late proximal flow rate, with changes in the proximal pressure of lesser importance. Furthermore, under closed-loop conditions the operating point for the TGF mechanism is at or close to the point of maximal sensitivity....... nl/min in steps of 5 nl/min. The open-loop gain (OLG) was 3.1 (range 1.5-9.9, n = 13) at the unperturbed tubular flow rate, and decreased as the tubular flow rate was either increased or decreased. The proximal pressure increased by 0.21 +/- 0.03 mmHg per unit increase in late proximal flow rate (nl...

  7. Investigation of surface treatment of conductive wire in cylindrical atmospheric pressure plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye Rubin; Kagohashi, Tsutomu; Zheng Wei

    2009-01-01

    Polyethylene insulated electric wire was treated in He and Ar dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric pressure plasmas generated in a quartz tube wound with tubular electrodes. The wire was put penetrating through the high voltage and the grounded electrodes, improving the discharge and facilitating uniform surface treatment. In this work, the influences of conductivity of the wire on the effects of surface treatment and discharge behavior were investigated. Surface properties of the wire samples were analyzed by means of surface energy measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In order to reveal the mechanism for treating the conductive wire, I-V discharge waveforms were measured and time-resolved plasma images were taken. It was demonstrated that the conductive wire was involved in the discharge process, reducing the breakdown voltage significantly and enhancing the discharge. It shows that the discharge mode was strongly dependent on the conductivity of a wire. Intensive surface discharges developed along the conductive wire were found to be mainly responsible for noticeable improvement in the treatment effect.

  8. Solving for the Surface: An Automated Approach to THEMIS Atmospheric Correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, A. J.; Salvatore, M. R.; Smith, R.; Edwards, C. S.; Christensen, P. R.

    2013-12-01

    Here we present the initial results of an automated atmospheric correction algorithm for the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument, whereby high spectral resolution Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) data are queried to generate numerous atmospheric opacity values for each THEMIS infrared image. While the pioneering methods of Bandfield et al. [2004] also used TES spectra to atmospherically correct THEMIS data, the algorithm presented here is a significant improvement because of the reduced dependency on user-defined inputs for individual images. Additionally, this technique is particularly useful for correcting THEMIS images that have captured a range of atmospheric conditions and/or surface elevations, issues that have been difficult to correct for using previous techniques. Thermal infrared observations of the Martian surface can be used to determine the spatial distribution and relative abundance of many common rock-forming minerals. This information is essential to understanding the planet's geologic and climatic history. However, the Martian atmosphere also has absorptions in the thermal infrared which complicate the interpretation of infrared measurements obtained from orbit. TES has sufficient spectral resolution (143 bands at 10 cm-1 sampling) to linearly unmix and remove atmospheric spectral end-members from the acquired spectra. THEMIS has the benefit of higher spatial resolution (~100 m/pixel vs. 3x5 km/TES-pixel) but has lower spectral resolution (8 surface sensitive spectral bands). As such, it is not possible to isolate the surface component by unmixing the atmospheric contribution from the THEMIS spectra, as is done with TES. Bandfield et al. [2004] developed a technique using atmospherically corrected TES spectra as tie-points for constant radiance offset correction and surface emissivity retrieval. This technique is the primary method used to correct THEMIS but is highly susceptible to inconsistent results if great care in the

  9. Surface kinetics for catalytic combustion of hydrogen-air mixtures on platinum at atmospheric pressure in stagnation flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeda, H.; Sato, J.; Williams, F. A.

    1995-03-01

    Experimental studies of the combustion of premixed hydrogen-air mixtures impinging on the surface of a heated platinum plate at normal atmospheric pressure were performed and employed to draw inferences concerning surface reaction mechanisms and rate parameters applicable under practical conditions of catalytic combustion. Plate and gas temperatures were measured by thermocouples, and concentration profiles of major stable species in the gas were measured by gas-chromatographic analyses of samples withdrawn by quartz probes. In addition, ignition and extinction phenomena were recorded and interpreted with the aid of a heat balance at the surface and a previous flow-field analysis of the stagnation-point boundary layer. From the experimental and theoretical results, conclusions were drawn concerning the surface chemical-kinetic mechanisms and values of the elementary rate parameters that are consistent with the observations. In particular, the activation energy for the surface oxidation step H + OH → H 2O is found to be appreciably less at these high surface coverages than in the low-coverage limit.

  10. Monitoring Top-of-Atmosphere Radiative Energy Imbalance for Climate Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Bing; Chambers, Lin H.; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Minnis, Patrick

    2009-01-01

    Large climate feedback uncertainties limit the prediction accuracy of the Earth s future climate with an increased CO2 atmosphere. One potential to reduce the feedback uncertainties using satellite observations of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative energy imbalance is explored. Instead of solving the initial condition problem in previous energy balance analysis, current study focuses on the boundary condition problem with further considerations on climate system memory and deep ocean heat transport, which is more applicable for the climate. Along with surface temperature measurements of the present climate, the climate feedbacks are obtained based on the constraints of the TOA radiation imbalance. Comparing to the feedback factor of 3.3 W/sq m/K of the neutral climate system, the estimated feedback factor for the current climate system ranges from -1.3 to -1.0 W/sq m/K with an uncertainty of +/-0.26 W/sq m/K. That is, a positive climate feedback is found because of the measured TOA net radiative heating (0.85 W/sq m) to the climate system. The uncertainty is caused by the uncertainties in the climate memory length. The estimated time constant of the climate is large (70 to approx. 120 years), implying that the climate is not in an equilibrium state under the increasing CO2 forcing in the last century.

  11. Summer U.S. Surface Air Temperature Variability: Controlling Factors and AMIP Simulation Biases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrifield, A.; Xie, S. P.

    2016-02-01

    This study documents and investigates biases in simulating summer surface air temperature (SAT) variability over the continental U.S. in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP). Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and multivariate regression analyses are used to assess the relative importance of circulation and the land surface feedback at setting summer SAT over a 30-year period (1979-2008). In observations, regions of high SAT variability are closely associated with midtropospheric highs and subsidence, consistent with adiabatic theory (Meehl and Tebaldi 2004, Lau and Nath 2012). Preliminary analysis shows the majority of the AMIP models feature high SAT variability over the central U.S., displaced south and/or west of observed centers of action (COAs). SAT COAs in models tend to be concomitant with regions of high sensible heat flux variability, suggesting an excessive land surface feedback in these models modulate U.S. summer SAT. Additionally, tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) play a role in forcing the leading EOF mode for summer SAT, in concert with internal atmospheric variability. There is evidence that models respond to different SST patterns than observed. Addressing issues with the bulk land surface feedback and the SST-forced component of atmospheric variability may be key to improving model skill in simulating summer SAT variability over the U.S.

  12. Acoustic-gravity waves generated by atmospheric and near-surface sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunitsyn, Viacheslav E.; Kholodov, Alexander S.; Krysanov, Boris Yu.; Andreeva, Elena S.; Nesterov, Ivan A.; Vorontsov, Artem M.

    2013-04-01

    Numerical simulation of the acoustic-gravity waves (AGW) generated by long-period oscillations of the Earth's (oceanic) surface, earthquakes, explosions, thermal heating, seiches, and tsunami is carried out. Wavelike disturbances are quite frequent phenomena in the atmosphere and ionosphere. These events can be caused by the impacts from space and atmosphere, by oscillations of the Earth'as surface and other near-surface events. These wavelike phenomena in the atmosphere and ionosphere appear as the alternating areas of enhanced and depleted density (in the atmosphere) or electron concentration (in the ionosphere). In the paper, AGW with typical frequencies of a few hertz - millihertz are analyzed. AGW are often observed after the atmospheric perturbations, during the earthquakes, and some time (a few days to hours) in advance of the earthquakes. Numerical simulation of the generation of AGW by long-period oscillations of the Earth's and oceanic surface, earthquakes, explosions, thermal heating, seiches, and tsunami is carried out. The AGW generated by the near-surface phenomena within a few hertz-millihertz frequency range build up at the mid-atmospheric and ionospheric altitudes, where they assume their typical spatial scales of the order of a few hundred kilometers. Oscillations of the ionospheric plasma within a few hertz-millihertz frequency range generate electromagnetic waves with corresponding frequencies as well as travelling ionospheric irregularities (TIDs). Such structures can be successfully monitored using satellite radio tomography (RT) techniques. For the purposes of RT diagnostics, 150/400 MHz transmissions from low-orbiting navigational satellites flying in polar orbits at the altitudes of about 1000 km as well as 1.2-1.5 GHz signals form high-orbiting (orbital altitudes about 20000 km) navigation systems like GPS/GLONASS are used. The results of experimental studies on generation of wavelike disturbances by particle precipitation are presented

  13. Impacts of Aerosol Direct Effects on the South Asian Climate: Assessment of Radiative Feedback Processes Using Model Simulations and Satellite/Surface Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Sheng-Hsiang; Gautam, Ritesh; Lau, William K. M.; Tsay, Si-Chee; Sun, Wen-Yih; Kim, Kyu-Myong; Chern, Jiun-Dar; Hsu, Christina; Lin, Neng-Huei

    2011-01-01

    Current assessment of aerosol radiative effect is hindered by our incomplete knowledge of aerosol optical properties, especially absorption, and our current inability to quantify physical and microphysical processes. In this research, we investigate direct aerosol radiative effect over heavy aerosol loading areas (e.g., Indo-Gangetic Plains, South/East Asia) and its feedbacks on the South Asian climate during the pre-monsoon season (March-June) using the Purdue Regional Climate Model (PRCM) with prescribed aerosol data derived by the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS-5). Our modeling domain covers South and East Asia (60-140E and 0-50N) with spatial resolutions of 45 km in horizontal and 28 layers in vertical. The model is integrated from 15 February to 30 June 2008 continuously without nudging (i.e., only forced by initial/boundary conditions). Two numerical experiments are conducted with and without the aerosol-radiation effects. Both simulations are successful in reproducing the synoptic patterns on seasonal-to-interannual time scales and capturing a pre-monsoon feature of the northward rainfall propagation over Indian region in early June which shown in Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observation. Preliminary result suggests aerosol-radiation interactions mainly alter surface-atmosphere energetics and further result in an adjustment of the vertical temperature distribution in lower atmosphere (below 700 hPa). The modifications of temperature and associated rainfall and circulation feedbacks on the regional climate will be discussed in the presentation.

  14. Insights in time dependent cross compartment sensitivities from ensemble simulations with the fully coupled subsurface-land surface-atmosphere model TerrSysMP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schalge, Bernd; Rihani, Jehan; Haese, Barbara; Baroni, Gabriele; Erdal, Daniel; Haefliger, Vincent; Lange, Natascha; Neuweiler, Insa; Hendricks-Franssen, Harrie-Jan; Geppert, Gernot; Ament, Felix; Kollet, Stefan; Cirpka, Olaf; Saavedra, Pablo; Han, Xujun; Attinger, Sabine; Kunstmann, Harald; Vereecken, Harry; Simmer, Clemens

    2017-04-01

    Currently, an integrated approach to simulating the earth system is evolving where several compartment models are coupled to achieve the best possible physically consistent representation. We used the model TerrSysMP, which fully couples subsurface, land surface and atmosphere, in a synthetic study that mimicked the Neckar catchment in Southern Germany. A virtual reality run at a high resolution of 400m for the land surface and subsurface and 1.1km for the atmosphere was made. Ensemble runs at a lower resolution (800m for the land surface and subsurface) were also made. The ensemble was generated by varying soil and vegetation parameters and lateral atmospheric forcing among the different ensemble members in a systematic way. It was found that the ensemble runs deviated for some variables and some time periods largely from the virtual reality reference run (the reference run was not covered by the ensemble), which could be related to the different model resolutions. This was for example the case for river discharge in the summer. We also analyzed the spread of model states as function of time and found clear relations between the spread and the time of the year and weather conditions. For example, the ensemble spread of latent heat flux related to uncertain soil parameters was larger under dry soil conditions than under wet soil conditions. Another example is that the ensemble spread of atmospheric states was more influenced by uncertain soil and vegetation parameters under conditions of low air pressure gradients (in summer) than under conditions with larger air pressure gradients in winter. The analysis of the ensemble of fully coupled model simulations provided valuable insights in the dynamics of land-atmosphere feedbacks which we will further highlight in the presentation.

  15. Surface-Atmosphere Connections on Titan: A New Window into Terrestrial Hydroclimate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faulk, Sean

    This dissertation investigates the coupling between the large-scale atmospheric circulation and surface processes on Titan, with a particular focus on methane precipitation and its influence on surface geomorphology and hydrology. As the only body in the Solar System with an active hydrologic cycle other than Earth, Titan presents a valuable laboratory for studying principles of hydroclimate on terrestrial planets. Idealized general circulation models (GCMs) are used here to test hypotheses regarding Titan's surface-atmosphere connections. First, an Earth-like GCM simulated over a range of rotation rates is used to evaluate the effect of rotation rate on seasonal monsoon behavior. Slower rotation rates result in poleward migration of summer rain, indicating a large-scale atmospheric control on Titan's observed dichotomy of dry low latitudes and moist high latitudes. Second, a Titan GCM benchmarked against observations is used to analyze the magnitudes and frequencies of extreme methane rainstorms as simulated by the model. Regional patterns in these extreme events correlate well with observed geomorphic features, with the most extreme rainstorms occurring in mid-latitude regions associated with high alluvial fan concentrations. Finally, a planetary surface hydrology scheme is developed and incorporated into a Titan GCM to evaluate the roles of surface flow, subsurface flow, infiltration, and groundmethane evaporation in Titan's climate. The model reproduces Titan's observed surface liquid and cloud distributions, and reaches an equilibrium state with limited interhemispheric transport where atmospheric transport is approximately balanced by subsurface transport. The equilibrium state suggests that Titan's current hemispheric surface liquid asymmetry, favoring methane accumulation in the north, is stable in the modern climate.

  16. The Effect of Bond Albedo on Venus' Atmospheric and Surface Temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullock, M. A.; Limaye, S. S.; Grinspoon, D. H.; Way, M.

    2017-12-01

    In spite of Venus' high planetary albedo, sufficient solar energy reaches the surface to drive a powerful greenhouse effect. The surface temperature is three times higher than it would be without an atmosphere. However, the details of the energy balance within Venus' atmosphere are poorly understood. Half of the solar energy absorbed within the clouds, where most of the solar energy is absorbed, is due to an unknown agent. One of the challenges of modeling Venus' atmosphere has been to account for all the sources of opacity sufficient to generate a globally averaged surface temperature of 735 K, when only 2% of the incoming solar energy is deposited at the surface. The wavelength and spherically integrated albedo, or Bond albedo, has typically been cited as between 0.7 and 0.82 (Colin 1983). Yet, recent photometry of Venus at extended phase angles between 2 and 179° indicate a Bond albedo of 0.90 (Mallama et al., 2006). The authors note an increase in cloud top brightness at phase angles fixed. Figure 1b (right). Venus surface temperature as Bond Albedo changes. Radiative-convective equilibrium models predict the correct globally averaged surface temperature at a=0.81. Calculations here show that a Bond albedo of a=0.9 would yield a surface temperature of 666.4 K, about 70 K too low, unless there is additional thermal absorption within the atmosphere that is not understood. Colin, L.,, Venus, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1983, pp 10-26. Mallama, A., et al., 2006. Icarus. 182, 10-22.

  17. Integrated climate and hydrology modelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Morten Andreas Dahl

    To ensure optimal management and sustainable strategies for water resources, infrastructures, food production and ecosystems there is a need for an improved understanding of feedback and interaction mechanisms between the atmosphere and the land surface. This is especially true in light of expected...... global warming and increased frequency of extreme events. The skill in developing projections of both the present and future climate depends essentially on the ability to numerically simulate the processes of atmospheric circulation, hydrology, energy and ecology. Previous modelling efforts of climate...... and hydrology models to more directly include the interaction between the atmosphere and the land surface. The present PhD study is motivated by an ambition of developing and applying a modelling tool capable of including the interaction and feedback mechanisms between the atmosphere and the land surface...

  18. The theory of the interaction of atmospheric aerosol with underlying surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buikov, M.V.

    1993-01-01

    The interaction of wind with underlying surfaces through resuspension makes a great contribution to the total amount of atmospheric aerosols. The dry deposition process results in cleaning of the atmosphere and contamination of near-surface air layers of soil and vegetation. This paper examines the theory leading to an exact solution of the problem of turbulent transportation of pollution taking into account resuspension and dry-deposition. This may be useful for the interpretation of observational data and for the improvement of calculation methods to describe aerosol exchange at surfaces in air. (author)

  19. Near 7-day response of ocean bottom pressure to atmospheric surface pressure and winds in the northern South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Kun; Zhu, Xiao-Hua; Zhao, Ruixiang

    2018-02-01

    Ocean bottom pressures, observed by five pressure-recording inverted echo sounders (PIESs) from October 2012 to July 2014, exhibit strong near 7-day variability in the northern South China Sea (SCS) where long-term in situ bottom pressure observations are quite sparse. This variability was strongest in October 2013 during the near two years observation period. By joint analysis with European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) data, it is shown that the near 7-day ocean bottom pressure variability is closely related to the local atmospheric surface pressure and winds. Within a period band near 7 days, there are high coherences, exceeding 95% significance level, of observed ocean bottom pressure with local atmospheric surface pressure and with both zonal and meridional components of the wind. Ekman pumping/suction caused by the meridional component of the wind in particular, is suggested as one driving mechanism. A Kelvin wave response to the near 7-day oscillation would propagate down along the continental slope, observed at the Qui Nhon in the Vietnam. By multiple and partial coherence analyses, we find that local atmospheric surface pressure and Ekman pumping/suction show nearly equal influence on ocean bottom pressure variability at near 7-day periods. A schematic diagram representing an idealized model gives us a possible mechanism to explain the relationship between ocean bottom pressure and local atmospheric forcing at near 7-day periods in the northern SCS.

  20. Titan Coupled Surface/Atmosphere Retrievals

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, R. A.; Pitman, K. M.

    2009-05-01

    Titan's thick haze obscures its surface at visible wavelengths and hinders surface photometric studies in the near-infrared. The large vertical extent of the haze produces two effects which require radiative transfer analysis beyond the capability of plane-parallel multi-scatter models. Haze aerosols extend to altitudes above 500 km and require a spherical-shell RT algorithm close to the limb or terminator. Even near nadir viewing, horizontal scattering at spatial scales less than a few hundred km requires a code capable of simulating the adjacency effect. The adjacency effect will reduce contrast more for small spatial scales than for large spatial scales, and the amount of contrast reduction depends on many factors (haze optical thickness, vertical distribution, single scattering albedo, scattering geometry, spatial scale). Titan's haze is strongly forward scattering even near 1-µm wavelength and many RT codes do a poor job. Fortunately the problem is more tractable at longer wavelengths. We show how data from the Cassini VIMS and ISS instruments can be used to understand surface contrast and atmospheric haze properties.

  1. Investigating the Feedback Path in a Jet-Surface Resonant Interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaman, Khairul; Fagan, Amy; Bridges, James; Brown, Cliff

    2015-01-01

    A resonant interaction between an 8:1 aspect ratio rectangular jet and flat-plates, placed parallel to the jet, is addressed in this study. For certain relative locations of the plates, the resonance takes place with accompanying audible tones. Even when the tone is not audible the sound pressure level spectra is often marked by conspicuous peaks. The frequencies of the spectral peaks, as functions of the streamwise length of the plate and its relative location to the jet as well as the jet Mach number, are explored in an effort of understand the flow mechanism. It is demonstrated that the tones are not due to a simple feedback between the plates trailing edge and the nozzle exit; the leading edge also comes into play in determining the frequency. An acoustic feedback path, involving diffraction from the leading edge, appears to explain the frequencies of some of the spectral peaks.

  2. Finding Positive Feedback Loops in Environmental Models: A Mathematical Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheikholeslami, R.; Razavi, S.

    2016-12-01

    Dynamics of most earth and environmental systems are generally governed by interactions between several hydrological (e.g., soil moisture and precipitation), geological (e.g., and erosion), geochemical (e.g., nutrient loading), and atmospheric (e.g., temperature) processes which operate on a range of spatio-temporal scales. These interactions create numerous feedback mechanisms with complex behaviours, and their understanding and representation can vary depending on the scale in space and/or time at which the system is analyzed. One of the most crucial characteristics of such complex systems is the existence of positive feedback loops. The presence of positive feedbacks may increase complexity, accelerate change, or trigger multiple stable states in the underlying dynamical system. Furthermore, because of the inherent non-linearity, it is often very difficult to obtain a general idea of their complex dynamics. Feedback loops in environmental systems have been well recognized and qualitatively discussed. With a quantitative/mathematical view, in this presentation, we address the question of how the positive feedback loops can be identified/implemented in environmental models. We investigate the nature of different feedback mechanisms and dynamics of simple example case studies that underlie fundamental processes such as vegetation, precipitation and soil moisture. To do this, we apply the concept of "interaction graph" from mathematics which is built from the Jacobian matrix of the dynamical system. The Jacobian matrix contains information on how variations of one state variable depends on variations of other variables, and thus can be used to understand the dynamical possibilities of feedback mechanisms in the underlying system. Moreover, this study highlights that there are some situations where the existence of positive feedback loops can cause multiple stable states, and thereby regime shifts in environmental systems. Systems with multiple stable states are

  3. Deep and Surface Processing of Instructor's Feedback in an Online Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Kun; Ge, Xun; Law, Victor

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the characteristics of deep and surface approaches to learning in online students' responses to instructor's qualitative feedback given to a multi-stage, ill-structured design project. Further, the study examined the relationships between approaches to learning and two learner characteristics: epistemic beliefs (EB) and…

  4. A New Top-Down Decadal Constraint on Black Carbon Emissions over Asia - Capturing The Influence of Widespread and Regularly Occurring Fires and Urbanization: Greater Atmospheric Loading and Variability, Larger Impacts on Radiative Forcing at the Surface and in the Atmosphere, and Possible Feedback Mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, J. B.

    2014-12-01

    A global top-down study of Black Carbon (BC) Emissions has found that sources are considerably higher than present day emissions datasets, with most of this underestimation stemming from the rapidly developing areas of East and Southeast Asia. An additional source in these regions is the frequent and sometimes annual influence of extreme biomass burning events, which emit additional BC and other aerosols into the atmosphere. An additional top-down study has shown that the emissions of BC from these biomass burning events in Southeast Asia contribute an additional 30% increase in the annual average BC emissions, and an additional 110% increase during the highest fire year. One important reason for this underestimation is that many of these source regions do not appear as fires, due to missing MODIS overpasses, intense cloud cover, and low fire temperatures at the wet surface. These new temporally and spatially varying emissions of BC are run in a state-of-the art combined model of aerosol physics, chemistry, and general circulation, including urban scale chemical processing and core/shell aerosol mixture impacts on radiation. The results reveal that this new dataset matches in space, time, and magnitude, an array of observations (remotely sensed, ground, and column) far better than other emission datasets: IPCC SRES, AEROCOM, BOND, and GFED. The modeled mean atmospheric extinction and loading are both much higher and more variable than previous modelling efforts, leading to a larger negative surface radiative forcing. At the same time, atmospheric absorption is enhanced and more variable, leading to intense atmospheric heating, with the average impact from 1.0-1.5 W/m2. This has impacts on the vertical stability in the source areas, and leads to changes in the dynamics such as a shifting of the ITCZ, reducing light precipitation and increasing strong convection. To support this, a bit of measurement-based evidence presented for each of these phenomena.

  5. Simulating carbon exchange using a regional atmospheric model coupled to an advanced land-surface model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ter Maat, H.W.; Hutjes, R.W.A.; Miglietta, F.; Gioli, B.; Bosveld, F.C.; Vermeulen, A.T.; Fritsch, H.

    2010-08-01

    This paper is a case study to investigate what the main controlling factors are that determine atmospheric carbon dioxide content for a region in the centre of The Netherlands. We use the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS), coupled with a land surface scheme simulating carbon, heat and momentum fluxes (SWAPS-C), and including also submodels for urban and marine fluxes, which in principle should include the dominant mechanisms and should be able to capture the relevant dynamics of the system. To validate the model, observations are used that were taken during an intensive observational campaign in central Netherlands in summer 2002. These include flux-tower observations and aircraft observations of vertical profiles and spatial fluxes of various variables.

  6. Effects of high-temperature gas dealkalization on surface mechanical properties of float glass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senturk, Ufuk

    The surface topography, and the near-surface structure and mechanical property changes on float glass, that was treated in atmospheres containing SOsb2, HCl, and 1,1 difluoroethane (DFE) gases, at temperatures in the glass transition region, were studied. Structure was investigated using surface sensitive infrared spectroscopy techniques (attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and diffuse reflectance (DRIFT)) and the topography was evaluated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results obtained from the two FTIR methods were in agreement with each other. Mechanical property characteristics of the surface were determined by measuring microhardness using a recording microindentation set-up. A simple analysis performed on the three hardness calculation methods-LVH, LVHsb2, and Lsb2VH-indicated that LVH and LVHsb2 are less effected by measurement errors and are better suited for the calculation of hardness. Contact damage characteristics of the treated glass was also studied by monitoring the crack initiation behavior during indentation, using acoustic emission. The results of the studies, aiming for the understanding of the structure, topography, and hardness property changes indicate that the treatment parameters-temperature, time, and treatment atmosphere conditions-are significant factors influencing these properties. The analysis of these results suggest a relation to exist between the three properties. This relation is used in understanding the surface mechanical properties of the treated float glasses. The difference in the thermal expansion coefficients between the dealkalized surface and bulk, the nature of surface structure changes, structural relaxation, surface water content, and glass transformation temperature are identified as the major factors having an influence on the properties. A model connecting these features is suggested. A difference in the structure, hardness, and topography on the air and tin sides of float glass is also shown to exist. The

  7. Sterilization of Surfaces with a Handheld Atmospheric Pressure Plasma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hicks, Robert; Habib, Sara; Chan, Wai; Gonzalez, Eleazar; Tijerina, A.; Sloan, Mark

    2009-10-01

    Low temperature, atmospheric pressure plasmas have shown great promise for decontaminating the surfaces of materials and equipment. In this study, an atmospheric pressure, oxygen and argon plasma was investigated for the destruction of viruses, bacteria, and spores. The plasma was operated at an argon flow rate of 30 L/min, an oxygen flow rate of 20 mL/min, a power density of 101.0 W/cm^3 (beam area = 5.1 cm^2), and at a distance from the surface of 7.1 mm. An average 6log10 reduction of viable spores was obtained after only 45 seconds of exposure to the reactive gas. By contrast, it takes more than 35 minutes at 121^oC to sterilize anthrax in an autoclave. The plasma properties were investigated by numerical modeling and chemical titration with nitric oxide. The numerical model included a detailed reaction mechanism for the discharge as well as for the afterglow. It was predicted that at a delivered power density of 29.3 W/cm^3, 30 L/min argon, and 0.01 volume% O2, the plasma generated 1.9 x 10^14 cm-3 O atoms, 1.6 x 10^12 cm-3 ozone, 9.3 x 10^13 cm-3 O2(^1δg), and 2.9 x 10^12 cm-3 O2(^1σ^+g) at 1 cm downstream of the source. The O atom density measured by chemical titration with NO was 6.0 x 10^14 cm-3 at the same conditions. It is believe that the oxygen atoms and the O2(^1δg) metastables were responsible for killing the anthrax and other microorganisms.

  8. Surface modification of electrospun PVA/chitosan nanofibers by dielectric barrier discharge plasma at atmospheric pressure and studies of their mechanical properties and biocompatibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Punamshree; Ojah, Namita; Kandimalla, Raghuram; Mohan, Kiranjyoti; Gogoi, Dolly; Dolui, Swapan Kumar; Choudhury, Arup Jyoti

    2018-03-22

    In this paper, surface of electrospun PVA/Cs nanofibers is modified using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma and the relationship between the observed mechanical properties and biocompatibility of the nanofibers and plasma-induced surface properties is discussed. Plasma treatment of electrospun PVA/Cs nanofibers is carried out with both inert (argon, Ar) and reactive (oxygen, O 2 ) gases at atmospheric pressure. Incorporation of oxygen-containing polar functional groups on the surface of Ar-plasma treated (PVA/Cs/Ar) and O 2 -plasma treated (PVA/Cs/O 2 ) nanofibers and increase in surface roughness contribute to the improvement of surface wettability and the decrease of contact angle with water of the nanofibers. Both PVA/Cs/Ar and PVA/Cs/O 2 nanofibers show high tensile strength (11.6-15.6%) and Young's modulus (33.8-37.3%) as compared to the untreated one. Experimental results show that in terms of haemolytic activity the PVA/Cs/Ar and PVA/Cs/O 2 nanofibers do not cause structural changes of blood cells and meet the biocompatibility requirements for blood-contacting polymeric materials. MTT cell viability results further reveals improvement in biocompatibility of PVA/Cs nanofibers after Ar and O 2 plasma treatment. The results suggest that DBD plasma treated electrospun PVA/Cs nanofibers have the potential to be used as wound dressing and scaffolds for tissue engineering. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Surface Propensity of Atmospherically Relevant Amino Acids Studied by XPS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mocellin, Alexandra; Gomes, Anderson Herbert de Abreu; Araújo, Oscar Cardoso; de Brito, Arnaldo Naves; Björneholm, Olle

    2017-04-27

    Amino acids constitute an important fraction of the water-soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) compounds in aerosols and are involved in many processes in the atmosphere. In this work, we applied X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to study aqueous solutions of four amino acids, glycine, alanine, valine, and methionine, in their zwitterionic forms. We found that amino acids with hydrophilic side chains and smaller size, GLY and ALA, tend to stay in the bulk of the liquid, while the hydrophobic and bigger amino acids, VAL and MET, are found to concentrate more on the surface. We found experimental evidence that the amino acids have preferential orientation relative to the surface, with the hydrophobic side chain being closer to the surface than the hydrophilic carboxylate group. The observed amino acid surface propensity has implications in atmospheric science as the surface interactions play a central role in cloud droplet formation, and they should be considered in climate models.

  10. The impact of climate and composition on playa surface roughness: Investigation of atmospheric mineral dust emission mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tollerud, H. J.; Fantle, M. S.

    2011-12-01

    Atmospheric mineral dust has a wide range of impacts, including the transport of elements in geochemical cycles, health hazards from small particles, and climate forcing via the reflection of sunlight from dust particles. In particular, the mineral dust component of climate forcing is one of the most uncertain elements in the IPCC climate forcing summary. Mineral dust is also an important component of geochemical cycles. For instance, dust inputs to the ocean potentially affect the iron cycle by stimulating natural iron fertilization, which could then modify climate via the biological pump. Also dust can transport nutrients over long distances and fertilize nutrient-poor regions, such as island ecosystems or the Amazon rain forest. However, there are still many uncertainties in quantifying dust emissions from source regions. One factor that influences dust emission is surface roughness and texture, since a weak, unconsolidated surface texture is more easily ablated by wind than a strong, hard crust. We are investigating the impact of processes such as precipitation, groundwater evaporation, and wind on surface roughness in a playa dust source region. We find that water has a significant influence on surface roughness. We utilize ESA's Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument to measure roughness in the playa. A map of roughness indicates where the playa surface is smooth (on the scale of centimeters) and potentially very strong, and where it is rough and might be more sensitive to disturbance. We have analyzed approximately 40 ASAR observations of the Black Rock Desert from 2007-2011. In general, the playa is smoother and more variable over time relative to nearby areas. There is also considerable variation within the playa. While the playa roughness maps changed significantly between summers and between observations during the winters, over the course of each summer, the playa surface maintained essentially the same roughness pattern. This suggests that

  11. Atmosphere-surface interactions over polar oceans and heterogeneous surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vihma, T.

    1995-12-31

    Processes of interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and the planetary surface have been studied with special emphasis on polar ocean surfaces: the open ocean, leads, polynyas and sea ice. The local exchange of momentum, heat and moisture has been studied experimentally both in the Weddell Sea and in the Greenland Sea. Exchange processes over heterogeneous surfaces are addressed by modelling studies. Over a homogeneous surface, the local turbulent fluxes can be reasonably well estimated using an iterative flux-profile scheme based on the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. In the Greenland Sea, the near-surface air temperature and the generally small turbulent fluxes over the open ocean were affected by the sea surface temperature fronts. Over the sea ice cover in the Weddell Sea, the turbulent sensible heat flux was generally downwards, and together with an upward oceanic heat flux through the ice it compensated the heat loss from the surface via long-wave radiation. The wind dominated on time scales of days, while the current became important on longer time scales. The drift dynamics showed apparent spatial differences between the eastern and western regions, as well as between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the rest of the Weddell Sea. Inertial motion was present in regions of low ice concentration. The surface heterogeneity, arising e.g. from roughness or temperature distribution, poses a problem for the parameterization of surface exchange processes in large-scale models. In the case of neutral flow over a heterogeneous terrain, an effective roughness length can be used to parameterize the roughness effects

  12. Atmosphere-surface interactions over polar oceans and heterogeneous surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vihma, T

    1996-12-31

    Processes of interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and the planetary surface have been studied with special emphasis on polar ocean surfaces: the open ocean, leads, polynyas and sea ice. The local exchange of momentum, heat and moisture has been studied experimentally both in the Weddell Sea and in the Greenland Sea. Exchange processes over heterogeneous surfaces are addressed by modelling studies. Over a homogeneous surface, the local turbulent fluxes can be reasonably well estimated using an iterative flux-profile scheme based on the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. In the Greenland Sea, the near-surface air temperature and the generally small turbulent fluxes over the open ocean were affected by the sea surface temperature fronts. Over the sea ice cover in the Weddell Sea, the turbulent sensible heat flux was generally downwards, and together with an upward oceanic heat flux through the ice it compensated the heat loss from the surface via long-wave radiation. The wind dominated on time scales of days, while the current became important on longer time scales. The drift dynamics showed apparent spatial differences between the eastern and western regions, as well as between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the rest of the Weddell Sea. Inertial motion was present in regions of low ice concentration. The surface heterogeneity, arising e.g. from roughness or temperature distribution, poses a problem for the parameterization of surface exchange processes in large-scale models. In the case of neutral flow over a heterogeneous terrain, an effective roughness length can be used to parameterize the roughness effects

  13. Eastern equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature annual cycle in the Kiel climate model: simulation benefits from enhancing atmospheric resolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wengel, C.; Latif, M.; Park, W.; Harlaß, J.; Bayr, T.

    2018-05-01

    A long-standing difficulty of climate models is to capture the annual cycle (AC) of eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) sea surface temperature (SST). In this study, we first examine the EEP SST AC in a set of integrations of the coupled Kiel Climate Model, in which only atmosphere model resolution differs. When employing coarse horizontal and vertical atmospheric resolution, significant biases in the EEP SST AC are observed. These are reflected in an erroneous timing of the cold tongue's onset and termination as well as in an underestimation of the boreal spring warming amplitude. A large portion of these biases are linked to a wrong simulation of zonal surface winds, which can be traced back to precipitation biases on both sides of the equator and an erroneous low-level atmospheric circulation over land. Part of the SST biases also is related to shortwave radiation biases related to cloud cover biases. Both wind and cloud cover biases are inherent to the atmospheric component, as shown by companion uncoupled atmosphere model integrations forced by observed SSTs. Enhancing atmosphere model resolution, horizontal and vertical, markedly reduces zonal wind and cloud cover biases in coupled as well as uncoupled mode and generally improves simulation of the EEP SST AC. Enhanced atmospheric resolution reduces convection biases and improves simulation of surface winds over land. Analysis of a subset of models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) reveals that in these models, very similar mechanisms are at work in driving EEP SST AC biases.

  14. 78 FR 70076 - Aging Management of Internal Surfaces, Fire Water Systems, Atmospheric Storage Tanks, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-22

    ... Systems, Atmospheric Storage Tanks, and Corrosion Under Insulation AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission... Internal Surfaces, Fire Water Systems, Atmospheric Storage Tanks, and Corrosion Under Insulation.'' This LR... related to internal surface aging effects, fire water systems, atmospheric storage tanks, and corrosion...

  15. Characteristics of meter-scale surface electrical discharge propagating along water surface at atmospheric pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffer, Petr; Sugiyama, Yuki; Hosseini, S Hamid R; Akiyama, Hidenori; Lukes, Petr; Akiyama, Masahiro

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports physical characteristics of water surface discharges. Discharges were produced by metal needle-to-water surface geometry, with the needle electrode driven by 47 kV (FWHM) positive voltage pulses of 2 µ s duration. Propagation of discharges along the water surface was confined between glass plates with 2 mm separation. This allowed generation of highly reproducible 634 mm-long plasma filaments. Experiments were performed using different atmospheres: air, N 2 , and O 2 , each at atmospheric pressure. Time- and spatially-resolved spectroscopic measurements revealed that early spectra of discharges in air and nitrogen atmospheres were dominated by N 2 2nd positive system. N 2 radiation disappeared after approx. 150 ns, replaced by emissions from atomic hydrogen. Spectra of discharges in O 2 atmosphere were dominated by emissions from atomic oxygen. Time- and spatially-resolved emission spectra were used to determine temperatures in plasma. Atomic hydrogen emissions showed excitation temperature of discharges in air to be about 2  ×  10 4 K. Electron number densities determined by Stark broadening of the hydrogen H β line reached a maximum value of ∼10 18 cm −3 just after plasma initiation. Electron number densities and temperatures depended only slightly on distance from needle electrode, indicating formation of high conductivity leader channels. Direct observation of discharges by high speed camera showed that the average leader head propagation speed was 412 km · s −1 , which is substantially higher value than that observed in experiments with shorter streamers driven by lower voltages. (paper)

  16. Ultrasound enhanced plasma surface modification at atmospheric pressure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kusano, Yukihiro; Singh, Shailendra Vikram; Norrman, Kion

    2012-01-01

    Efficiency of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment can be highly enhanced by simultaneous high power ultrasonic irradiation onto the treating surface. It is because ultrasonic waves with a sound pressure level (SPL) above ∼140 dB can reduce the thickness of a boundary gas layer between the plasma...... arc at atmospheric pressure to study adhesion improvement. The effect of ultrasonic irradiation with the frequency diapason between 20 and 40 kHz at the SPL of ∼150 dB was investigated. After the plasma treatment without ultrasonic irradiation, the wettability was significantly improved...

  17. Influence of radioactivity on surface charging and aggregation kinetics of particles in the atmosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yong-Ha; Yiacoumi, Sotira; Lee, Ida; McFarlane, Joanna; Tsouris, Costas

    2014-01-01

    Radioactivity can influence surface interactions, but its effects on particle aggregation kinetics have not been included in transport modeling of radioactive particles. In this research, experimental and theoretical studies have been performed to investigate the influence of radioactivity on surface charging and aggregation kinetics of radioactive particles in the atmosphere. Radioactivity-induced charging mechanisms have been investigated at the microscopic level, and heterogeneous surface potential caused by radioactivity is reported. The radioactivity-induced surface charging is highly influenced by several parameters, such as rate and type of radioactive decay. A population balance model, including interparticle forces, has been employed to study the effects of radioactivity on particle aggregation kinetics in air. It has been found that radioactivity can hinder aggregation of particles because of similar surface charging caused by the decay process. Experimental and theoretical studies provide useful insights into the understanding of transport characteristics of radioactive particles emitted from severe nuclear events, such as the recent accident of Fukushima or deliberate explosions of radiological devices.

  18. Surface energy exchanges along a tundra-forest transition and feedbacks to climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beringer, J.; Chapin, F. S.; Thompson, Catharine Copass; McGuire, A.D.

    2005-01-01

    Surface energy exchanges were measured in a sequence of five sites representing the major vegetation types in the transition from arctic tundra to forest. This is the major transition in vegetation structure in northern high latitudes. We examined the influence of vegetation structure on the rates of sensible heating and evapotranspiration to assess the potential feedbacks to climate if high-latitude warming were to change the distribution of these vegetation types. Measurements were made at Council on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, at representative tundra, low shrub, tall shrub, woodland (treeline), and boreal forest sites. Structural differences across the transition from tundra to forest included an increase in the leaf area index (LAI) from 0.52 to 2.76, an increase in canopy height from 0.1 to 6.1 m, and a general increase in canopy complexity. These changes in vegetation structure resulted in a decrease in albedo from 0.19 to 0.10 as well as changes to the partitioning of energy at the surface. Bulk surface resistance to water vapor flux remained virtually constant across sites, apparently because the combined soil and moss evaporation decreased while transpiration increased along the transect from tundra to forest. In general, sites became relatively warmer and drier along the transect with the convective fluxes being increasingly dominated by sensible heating, as evident by an increasing Bowen ratio from 0.94 to 1.22. The difference in growing season average daily sensible heating between tundra and forest was 21 W m-2. Fluxes changed non-linearly along the transition, with both shrubs and trees substantially enhancing heat transfer to the atmosphere. These changes in vegetation structure that increase sensible heating could feed back to enhance warming at local to regional scales. The magnitude of these vegetation effects on potential high-latitude warming is two to three times greater than suggested by previous modeling studies. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All

  19. Surface modification of polyethylene films using atmospheric ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is used to increase the wettability of polyethylene polymer films. Reduction in contact angle from 94.32 to 58.33 degrees was measured for treatment times of 1 - 5 seconds. Contact angle reductions of PE as a function of treatment time with APPJ and PE surface at various oxygen ...

  20. Modeling land-surface/atmosphere dynamics for CHAMMP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutowski, W.J. Jr.

    1993-01-01

    Project progress is described on a DOE CHAMP project to model the land-surface/atmosphere coupling in a heterogeneous environment. This work is a collaboration between scientists at Iowa State University and the University of New Hampshire. Work has proceeded in two areas: baseline model coupling and data base development for model validation. The core model elements (land model, atmosphere model) have been ported to the Principal Investigator's computing system and baseline coupling has commenced. The initial target data base is the set of observations from the FIFE field campaign, which is in the process of being acquired. For the remainder of the project period, additional data from the region surrounding the FIFE site and from other field campaigns will be acquired to determine how to best extrapolate results from the initial target region to the rest of the globe. In addition, variants of the coupled model will be used to perform experiments examining resolution requirements and coupling strategies for land-atmosphere coupling in a heterogeneous environment

  1. The role of feedbacks in Antarctic sea ice change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feltham, D. L.; Frew, R. C.; Holland, P.

    2017-12-01

    The changes in Antarctic sea ice over the last thirty years have a strong seasonal dependence, and the way these changes grow in spring and decay in autumn suggests that feedbacks are strongly involved. The changes may ultimately be caused by atmospheric warming, the winds, snowfall changes, etc., but we cannot understand these forcings without first untangling the feedbacks. A highly simplified coupled sea ice -mixed layer model has been developed to investigate the importance of feedbacks on the evolution of sea ice in two contrasting regions in the Southern Ocean; the Amundsen Sea where sea ice extent has been decreasing, and the Weddell Sea where it has been expanding. The change in mixed layer depth in response to changes in the atmosphere to ocean energy flux is implicit in a strong negative feedback on ice cover changes in the Amundsen Sea, with atmospheric cooling leading to a deeper mixed layer resulting in greater entrainment of warm Circumpolar Deep Water, causing increased basal melting of sea ice. This strong negative feedback produces counter intuitive responses to changes in forcings in the Amundsen Sea. This feedback is absent in the Weddell due to the complete destratification and strong water column cooling that occurs each winter in simulations. The impact of other feedbacks, including the albedo feedback, changes in insulation due to ice thickness and changes in the freezing temperature of the mixed layer, were found to be of secondary importance compared to changes in the mixed layer depth.

  2. Whirlwinds and hairpins in the atmospheric surface layer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oncley, Steven P.; Hartogensis, O.K.; Tong, Chenning

    2016-01-01

    Vortices in the atmospheric surface layer are characterized using observations at unprecedented resolution from a fixed array of 31 turbulence sensors. During the day, these vortices likely are dust devils, though no visual observations are available for confirmation. At night, hairpin vortices

  3. Atmospheric pressure plasma surface modification of carbon fibres

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kusano, Yukihiro; Løgstrup Andersen, Tom; Michelsen, Poul

    2008-01-01

    Carbon fibres are continuously treated with dielectric barrier discharge plasma at atmospheric pressure in various gas conditions for adhesion improvement in mind. An x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis indicated that oxygen is effectively introduced onto the carbon fibre surfaces by He, He...

  4. Mechanics of active surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salbreux, Guillaume; Jülicher, Frank

    2017-09-01

    We derive a fully covariant theory of the mechanics of active surfaces. This theory provides a framework for the study of active biological or chemical processes at surfaces, such as the cell cortex, the mechanics of epithelial tissues, or reconstituted active systems on surfaces. We introduce forces and torques acting on a surface, and derive the associated force balance conditions. We show that surfaces with in-plane rotational symmetry can have broken up-down, chiral, or planar-chiral symmetry. We discuss the rate of entropy production in the surface and write linear constitutive relations that satisfy the Onsager relations. We show that the bending modulus, the spontaneous curvature, and the surface tension of a passive surface are renormalized by active terms. Finally, we identify active terms which are not found in a passive theory and discuss examples of shape instabilities that are related to active processes in the surface.

  5. Generation of synthetic surface electromyography signals under fatigue conditions for varying force inputs using feedback control algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venugopal, G; Deepak, P; Ghosh, Diptasree M; Ramakrishnan, S

    2017-11-01

    Surface electromyography is a non-invasive technique used for recording the electrical activity of neuromuscular systems. These signals are random, complex and multi-component. There are several techniques to extract information about the force exerted by muscles during any activity. This work attempts to generate surface electromyography signals for various magnitudes of force under isometric non-fatigue and fatigue conditions using a feedback model. The model is based on existing current distribution, volume conductor relations, the feedback control algorithm for rate coding and generation of firing pattern. The result shows that synthetic surface electromyography signals are highly complex in both non-fatigue and fatigue conditions. Furthermore, surface electromyography signals have higher amplitude and lower frequency under fatigue condition. This model can be used to study the influence of various signal parameters under fatigue and non-fatigue conditions.

  6. Using an atmospheric boundary layer model to force global ocean models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abel, Rafael; Böning, Claus

    2014-05-01

    Current practices in the atmospheric forcing of ocean model simulations can lead to unphysical behaviours. The problem lies in the bulk formulation of the turbulent air-sea fluxes in the conjunction with a prescribed, and unresponsive, atmospheric state (as given by reanalysis products). This can have impacts both on mesoscale processes as well as on the dynamics of the large-scale circulation. First, a possible local mismatch between the given atmospheric state and evolving sea surface temperature (SST) signatures can occur, especially for mesoscale features such as frontal areas, eddies, or near the sea ice edge. Any ocean front shift or evolution of mesoscale anomalies results in excessive, unrealistic surface fluxes due to the lack of atmospheric adaptation. Second, a subtle distortion in the sensitive balance of feedback processes being critical for the thermohaline circulation. Since the bulk formulations assume an infinite atmospheric heat capacity, resulting SST anomalies are strongly damped even on basin-scales (e.g. from trends in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation). In consequence, an important negative feedback is eliminated, rendering the system excessively susceptible to small anomalies (or errors) in the freshwater fluxes. Previous studies (Seager et al., 1995, J. Clim.) have suggested a partial forcing issue remedy that aimed for a physically more realistic determination of air-sea fluxes by allowing some (thermodynamic) adaptation of the atmospheric boundary layer to SST changes. In this study a modernized formulation of this approach (Deremble et al., 2013, Mon. Weather Rev.; 'CheapAML') is implemented in a global ocean-ice model with moderate resolution (0.5°; ORCA05). In a set of experiments we explore the solution behaviour of this forcing approach (where only the winds are prescribed, while atmospheric temperature and humidity are computed), contrasting it with the solution obtained from the classical bulk formulation with a non

  7. Statistical and dynamical assessment of land-ocean-atmosphere interactions across North Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Yan

    North Africa is highly vulnerable to hydrologic variability and extremes, including impacts of climate change. The current understanding of oceanic versus terrestrial drivers of North African droughts and pluvials is largely model-based, with vast disagreement among models in terms of the simulated oceanic impacts and vegetation feedbacks. Regarding oceanic impacts, the relative importance of the tropical Pacific, tropical Indian, and tropical Atlantic Oceans in regulating the North African rainfall variability, as well as the underlying mechanism, remains debated among different modeling studies. Classic theory of land-atmosphere interactions across the Sahel ecotone, largely based on climate modeling experiments, has promoted positive vegetation-rainfall feedbacks associated with a dominant surface albedo mechanism. However, neither the proposed positive vegetation-rainfall feedback with its underlying albedo mechanism, nor its relative importance compared with oceanic drivers, has been convincingly demonstrated up to now using observational data. Here, the multivariate Generalized Equilibrium Feedback Assessment (GEFA) is applied in order to identify the observed oceanic and terrestrial drivers of North African climate and quantify their impacts. The reliability of the statistical GEFA method is first evaluated against dynamical experiments within the Community Earth System Model (CESM). In order to reduce the sampling error caused by short data records, the traditional GEFA approach is refined through stepwise GEFA, in which unimportant forcings are dropped through stepwise selection. In order to evaluate GEFA's reliability in capturing oceanic impacts, the atmospheric response to a sea-surface temperature (SST) forcing across the tropical Pacific, tropical Indian, and tropical Atlantic Ocean is estimated independently through ensembles of dynamical experiments and compared with GEFA-based assessments. Furthermore, GEFA's performance in capturing terrestrial

  8. Intercomparison of oceanic and atmospheric forced and coupled mesoscale simulations Part I: Surface fluxes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Josse

    1999-04-01

    Full Text Available A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model has been coupled with a mesoscale oceanic model. The case study is a four-day simulation of a strong storm event observed during the SEMAPHORE experiment over a 500 × 500 km2 domain. This domain encompasses a thermohaline front associated with the Azores current. In order to analyze the effect of mesoscale coupling, three simulations are compared: the first one with the atmospheric model forced by realistic sea surface temperature analyses; the second one with the ocean model forced by atmospheric fields, derived from weather forecast re-analyses; the third one with the models being coupled. For these three simulations the surface fluxes were computed with the same bulk parametrization. All three simulations succeed well in representing the main oceanic or atmospheric features observed during the storm. Comparison of surface fields with in situ observations reveals that the winds of the fine mesh atmospheric model are more realistic than those of the weather forecast re-analyses. The low-level winds simulated with the atmospheric model in the forced and coupled simulations are appreciably stronger than the re-analyzed winds. They also generate stronger fluxes. The coupled simulation has the strongest surface heat fluxes: the difference in the net heat budget with the oceanic forced simulation reaches on average 50 Wm-2 over the simulation period. Sea surface-temperature cooling is too weak in both simulations, but is improved in the coupled run and matches better the cooling observed with drifters. The spatial distributions of sea surface-temperature cooling and surface fluxes are strongly inhomogeneous over the simulation domain. The amplitude of the flux variation is maximum in the coupled run. Moreover the weak correlation between the cooling and heat flux patterns indicates that the surface fluxes are not responsible for the whole cooling and suggests that the response of the ocean mixed layer

  9. Intercomparison of oceanic and atmospheric forced and coupled mesoscale simulations Part I: Surface fluxes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Giordani

    Full Text Available A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model has been coupled with a mesoscale oceanic model. The case study is a four-day simulation of a strong storm event observed during the SEMAPHORE experiment over a 500 × 500 km2 domain. This domain encompasses a thermohaline front associated with the Azores current. In order to analyze the effect of mesoscale coupling, three simulations are compared: the first one with the atmospheric model forced by realistic sea surface temperature analyses; the second one with the ocean model forced by atmospheric fields, derived from weather forecast re-analyses; the third one with the models being coupled. For these three simulations the surface fluxes were computed with the same bulk parametrization. All three simulations succeed well in representing the main oceanic or atmospheric features observed during the storm. Comparison of surface fields with in situ observations reveals that the winds of the fine mesh atmospheric model are more realistic than those of the weather forecast re-analyses. The low-level winds simulated with the atmospheric model in the forced and coupled simulations are appreciably stronger than the re-analyzed winds. They also generate stronger fluxes. The coupled simulation has the strongest surface heat fluxes: the difference in the net heat budget with the oceanic forced simulation reaches on average 50 Wm-2 over the simulation period. Sea surface-temperature cooling is too weak in both simulations, but is improved in the coupled run and matches better the cooling observed with drifters. The spatial distributions of sea surface-temperature cooling and surface fluxes are strongly inhomogeneous over the simulation domain. The amplitude of the flux variation is maximum in the coupled run. Moreover the weak correlation between the cooling and heat flux patterns indicates that the surface fluxes are not responsible for the whole cooling and suggests that the response of the ocean mixed layer

  10. Marine Atmospheric Surface Layer and Its Application to Electromagnetic Wave Propagation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Q.

    2015-12-01

    An important application of the atmospheric surface layer research is to characterize the near surface vertical gradients in temperature and humidity in order to predict radar and radio communication conditions in the environment. In this presentation, we will give an overview of a new research initiative funded under the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Multi-University Research Initiative (MURI): the Coupled Air-Sea Processes and EM Ducting Research (CASPER). The objective is to fully characterize the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) as an electromagnetic (EM) propagation environment with the emphasis of spatial and temporal heterogeneities and surface wave/swell effects, both of which contravene the underlying assumptions of Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory (MOST) used in coupled environmental forecast models. Furthermore, coastal variability in the inversion atop the MABL presents a challenge to forecast models and also causes practical issues in EM prediction models. These issues are the target of investigation of CASPER. CASPER measurement component includes two major field campaigns: CASPER-East (2015 Duck, NC) and CASPER-West (2018 southern California). This presentation will show the extensive measurements to be made during the CASPER -East field campaign with the focus on the marine atmospheric surface layer measurements with two research vessels, two research aircraft, surface flux buoy, wave gliders, ocean gliders, tethered balloons, and rawinsondes. Unlike previous research on the marine surface layer with the focus on surface fluxes and surface flux parameterization, CASPER field campaigns also emphasize of the surface layer profiles and the validation of the surface layer flux-profile relationship originally derived over land surfaces. Results from CASPER pilot experiment and preliminary results from CASPER-East field campaign will be discussed.

  11. Land Surface Model (LSM 1.0) for Ecological, Hydrological, Atmospheric Studies

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The NCAR LSM 1.0 is a land surface model developed to examine biogeophysical and biogeochemical land-atmosphere interactions, especially the effects of land surfaces...

  12. Impact of air-sea drag coefficient for latent heat flux on large scale climate in coupled and atmosphere stand-alone simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Olivier; Braconnot, Pascale; Marti, Olivier; Gential, Luc

    2018-05-01

    The turbulent fluxes across the ocean/atmosphere interface represent one of the principal driving forces of the global atmospheric and oceanic circulation. Despite decades of effort and improvements, representation of these fluxes still presents a challenge due to the small-scale acting turbulent processes compared to the resolved scales of the models. Beyond this subgrid parameterization issue, a comprehensive understanding of the impact of air-sea interactions on the climate system is still lacking. In this paper we investigates the large-scale impacts of the transfer coefficient used to compute turbulent heat fluxes with the IPSL-CM4 climate model in which the surface bulk formula is modified. Analyzing both atmosphere and coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (AGCM, OAGCM) simulations allows us to study the direct effect and the mechanisms of adjustment to this modification. We focus on the representation of latent heat flux in the tropics. We show that the heat transfer coefficients are highly similar for a given parameterization between AGCM and OAGCM simulations. Although the same areas are impacted in both kind of simulations, the differences in surface heat fluxes are substantial. A regional modification of heat transfer coefficient has more impact than uniform modification in AGCM simulations while in OAGCM simulations, the opposite is observed. By studying the global energetics and the atmospheric circulation response to the modification, we highlight the role of the ocean in dampening a large part of the disturbance. Modification of the heat exchange coefficient modifies the way the coupled system works due to the link between atmospheric circulation and SST, and the different feedbacks between ocean and atmosphere. The adjustment that takes place implies a balance of net incoming solar radiation that is the same in all simulations. As there is no change in model physics other than drag coefficient, we obtain similar latent heat flux

  13. Boundary layer stability and Arctic climate change: a feedback study using EC-Earth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bintanja, R.; Linden, E.C. van der; Hazeleger, W. [Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt (Netherlands)

    2012-12-15

    Amplified Arctic warming is one of the key features of climate change. It is evident in observations as well as in climate model simulations. Usually referred to as Arctic amplification, it is generally recognized that the surface albedo feedback governs the response. However, a number of feedback mechanisms play a role in AA, of which those related to the prevalent near-surface inversion have received relatively little attention. Here we investigate the role of the near-surface thermal inversion, which is caused by radiative surface cooling in autumn and winter, on Arctic warming. We employ idealized climate change experiments using the climate model EC-Earth together with ERA-Interim reanalysis data to show that boundary-layer mixing governs the efficiency by which the surface warming signal is 'diluted' to higher levels. Reduced vertical mixing, as in the stably stratified inversion layer in Arctic winter, thus amplifies surface warming. Modelling results suggest that both shortwave - through the (seasonal) interaction with the sea ice feedback - and longwave feedbacks are affected by boundary-layer mixing, both in the Arctic and globally, with the effect on the shortwave feedback dominating. The amplifying effect will decrease, however, with climate warming because the surface inversion becomes progressively weaker. We estimate that the reduced Arctic inversion has slowed down global warming by about 5% over the past 2 decades, and we anticipate that it will continue to do so with ongoing Arctic warming. (orig.)

  14. Load speed regulation in compliant mechanical transmission systems using feedback and feedforward control actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raul, P R; Dwivedula, R V; Pagilla, P R

    2016-07-01

    The problem of controlling the load speed of a mechanical transmission system consisting of a belt-pulley and gear-pair is considered. The system is modeled as two inertia (motor and load) connected by a compliant transmission. If the transmission is assumed to be rigid, then using either the motor or load speed feedback provides the same result. However, with transmission compliance, due to belts or long shafts, the stability characteristics and performance of the closed-loop system are quite different when either motor or load speed feedback is employed. We investigate motor and load speed feedback schemes by utilizing the singular perturbation method. We propose and discuss a control scheme that utilizes both motor and load speed feedback, and design an adaptive feedforward action to reject load torque disturbances. The control algorithms are implemented on an experimental platform that is typically used in roll-to-roll manufacturing and results are shown and discussed. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Physical modeling of emergency emission in the atmosphere (experimental investigation of Lagrangian turbulence characteristics in the surface and boundary layer of the atmosphere)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garger, E.K.

    2013-01-01

    Results of diffusion experiments simulating emergency emission in the surface and boundary layers of the atmosphere are presented. Interpretation of measurements in the surface layer of the atmosphere had been conducted on the basis of the Lagrangian similarity hypothesis., Results of measurements in the boundary layer of the atmosphere are interpreted with use of the homogeneous turbulence theory. Regimes of turbulent diffusion from land and low sources of admixtures predicted by the Lagrangian similarity hypothesis for various conditions of thermal stratification in the surface layer of the atmosphere are experimentally confirmed. Universal empirical constants for these regimes are received that allows to use their in practice. Calculation diffusion parameters and concentrations of an admixture from various sources in the surface layer of the atmosphere by model is presented. Results of calculation on this model are compared to independent measurements of mass concentration of a admixture in horizontal and vertical planes. Results of simultaneous measurements Eulerian and Lagrangian turbulence characteristics for various diffusion times in the boundary layer of the atmosphere have allowed to estimate turbulence time scales in Lagrangian variables for conditions close to neutral thermal stratification. The monograph is intended for scientists and students engaged in the field of meteorology, physics of the atmosphere and pollution air control, services of radiation and ecological safety

  16. The Diversity of Cloud Responses to Twentieth-Century Sea Surface Temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvers, L. G.; Paynter, D.; Zhao, M.

    2017-12-01

    Clouds play a crucial role in determining the magnitude of the global temperature response to forcing. Previous work has shown strong connections between cloud feedbacks and climate change, and between these feedbacks and changing patterns of surface temperature. We show that strong variability of the climate feedback parameter is present in three GFDL atmospheric general circulation models (AM2.1, AM3, AM4) over the twentieth century. This variability is highly correlated with the global mean cloud radiative effect (CRE) and low-cloud cover (LCC) anomalies. The decadal variability is characterized by a period of high climate sensitivity (1925-1955) and a period of low climate sensitivity (1975-2005). Observed trends of surface temperature also show distinct differences over these two periods. Although it is the SST that drives the atmospheric response, the estimated inversion strength (EIS) is necessary to reproduce the changing LCC field. During both periods, trends of EIS are shown to closely mirror trends of LCC over much of the globe, not only in the typical stratocumulus regions. Trends of the shortwave CRE (SWCRE), LCC, and the EIS are analyzed in particular geographic regions. All of these regions show a consistent relationship between LCC, SWCRE, and EIS, as well as significant differences between the two time periods. This study uses a 15 member ensemble of amip-piForcing simulations from 1870 -2005. These experiments are driven by observed SST patterns and hold greenhouse gases and other atmospheric forcing agents fixed at constant pre-industrial levels. This allows for a clean analysis of how clouds respond to changing patterns of SST and the resulting influence on the climate feedback parameter. The cloudy response of the atmosphere to changing SST patterns is critical in driving the variability of the climate feedback parameter during periods of both high and low climate sensitivity.

  17. Permafrost degradation and methane: low risk of biogeochemical climate-warming feedback

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Xiang; Adam Schlosser, C; Sokolov, Andrei; Anthony, Katey Walter; Zhuang Qianlai; Kicklighter, David

    2013-01-01

    Climate change and permafrost thaw have been suggested to increase high latitude methane emissions that could potentially represent a strong feedback to the climate system. Using an integrated earth-system model framework, we examine the degradation of near-surface permafrost, temporal dynamics of inundation (lakes and wetlands) induced by hydro-climatic change, subsequent methane emission, and potential climate feedback. We find that increases in atmospheric CH 4 and its radiative forcing, which result from the thawed, inundated emission sources, are small, particularly when weighed against human emissions. The additional warming, across the range of climate policy and uncertainties in the climate-system response, would be no greater than 0.1 ° C by 2100. Further, for this temperature feedback to be doubled (to approximately 0.2 ° C) by 2100, at least a 25-fold increase in the methane emission that results from the estimated permafrost degradation would be required. Overall, this biogeochemical global climate-warming feedback is relatively small whether or not humans choose to constrain global emissions. (letter)

  18. Solid tumors are poroelastic solids with a chemo-mechanical feedback on growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambrosi, D; Pezzuto, S; Riccobelli, D; Stylianopoulos, T; Ciarletta, P

    2017-12-01

    The experimental evidence that a feedback exists between growth and stress in tumors poses challenging questions. First, the rheological properties (the "constitutive equations") of aggregates of malignant cells are still a matter of debate. Secondly, the feedback law (the "growth law") that relates stress and mitotic-apoptotic rate is far to be identified. We address these questions on the basis of a theoretical analysis of in vitro and in vivo experiments that involve the growth of tumor spheroids. We show that solid tumors exhibit several mechanical features of a poroelastic material, where the cellular component behaves like an elastic solid. When the solid component of the spheroid is loaded at the boundary, the cellular aggregate grows up to an asymptotic volume that depends on the exerted compression. Residual stress shows up when solid tumors are radially cut, highlighting a peculiar tensional pattern. By a novel numerical approach we correlate the measured opening angle and the underlying residual stress in a sphere. The features of the mechanobiological system can be explained in terms of a feedback of mechanics on the cell proliferation rate as modulated by the availability of nutrient, that is radially damped by the balance between diffusion and consumption. The volumetric growth profiles and the pattern of residual stress can be theoretically reproduced assuming a dependence of the target stress on the concentration of nutrient which is specific of the malignant tissue.

  19. Modeling Turbulence Generation in the Atmospheric Surface and Boundary Layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-10-01

    hydrostatic equation: dP dz = −ρa g −→ ∫ ZI 0 ρa dz = − 1 g ∫ dP = + 1 g [P (0)− P (ZI)]. (6.14) The pressure at the surface is... surface pressure is estimated, we can compute a vertical pressure profile using the hydrostatic equation and a selected temperature profile based on dP... surface -layer atmosphere. By surface layer what is intended is a layer of foliage plus the surface itself. That is, a flat ground surface that

  20. Influence of stripping and cooling atmospheres on surface properties and corrosion of zinc galvanizing coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasakau, K.A.; Giner, I.; Vree, C.; Ozcan, O.; Grothe, R.; Oliveira, A.; Grundmeier, G.; Ferreira, M.G.S.; Zheludkevich, M.L.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Stripping/cooling atmosphere affects surfaces chemical composition of Zn and Zn-Al-Mg galvanized coatings. • Higher peel forces of model adhesive films were obtained on zinc alloys samples prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. • Localized corrosion attack originates at grain boundaries on Zn galvanized coating. • Visible dissolution of MgZn_2 phase was observed by in situ AFM only at binary eutectics and not at ternary ones. - Abstract: In this work the influence of stripping/cooling atmospheres used after withdrawal of steel sheet from Zn or Zn-alloy melt on surface properties of Zn (Z) and Zn-Al-Mg (ZM) hot-dip galvanizing coatings has been studied. The aim was to understand how the atmosphere (composed by nitrogen (N_2) or air) affects adhesion strength to model adhesive and corrosive behaviour of the galvanized substrates. It was shown that the surface chemical composition and Volta potential of the galvanizing coatings prepared under the air or nitrogen atmosphere are strongly influenced by the atmosphere. The surface chemistry Z and ZM surfaces prepared under N_2 contained a higher content of metal atoms and a richer hydroxide density than the specimens prepared under air atmosphere as assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The induced differences on the microstructure of the galvanized coatings played a key role on the local corrosion induced defects as observed by means of in situ Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Peel force tests performed on the substrates coated by model adhesive films indicate a higher adhesive strength to the surfaces prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained results have been discussed in terms of the microstructure and surface chemical composition of the galvanizing coatings.

  1. Surface analysis of 316 stainless steel treated with cold atmospheric plasma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Williams, David F., E-mail: david.williams@surrey.ac.uk [Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University Of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); TWI Ltd Granta Park Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6AL (United Kingdom); Kellar, Ewen J.C. [TWI Ltd Granta Park Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6AL (United Kingdom); Jesson, David A.; Watts, John F. [Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University Of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)

    2017-05-01

    Highlights: • Reduction in carbon contamination from ∼80 at.% to 40 at.% after 15 s treatment. • Associated carbon thickness reduction from 4.5 nm to 0.5 nm. • Area treated by torch has a diameter of 11 mm measured using imaging XPS. - Abstract: The surface of 316 stainless steel has been modified using cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) to increase the surface free energy (by cleaning the and chemically activating the surface)IN preparation for subsequent processes such as painting, coating or adhesive bonding. The analyses carried out, on CAP treated 316 stainless steel surfaces, includes X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), imaging XPS (iXPS), and surface free energy (SFE) analysis using contact angle measurements. The CAP treatment is shown to increase the SFE of as-received 316 stainless steel from ∼39 mJ m{sup −1} to >72 mJ m{sup −1} after a short exposure to the plasma torch. This was found to correlate to a reduction in adventitious carbon, as determined by XPS analysis of the surface. The reduction from ∼90 at% to ∼30% and ∼39 at%, after being plasma treated for 5 min and 15 s respectively, shows that the process is relatively quick at changing the surface. It is suggested that the mechanism that causes the increase in surface free energy is chain scission of the hydrocarbon contamination triggered by free electrons in the plasma plume followed by chemical functionalisation of the metal oxide surface and some of the remaining carbon contamination layer.

  2. Experience feedback of operational events of the control rod assembly and its drive mechanism in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Hong; Xiao Zhi; Tao Shusheng; Zheng Lixin; Chen Zhaolin

    2013-01-01

    Seventeen operational events of the control rod assembly and its drive mechanism are collected from 1992 to 2012 important nuclear operational events and feedback in referred nuclear power plants. After investigated and classified, several important issues, such as the impact of control rod swell and fuel assembly distortion, control rod drive mechanism leakage, and the control system reliability of control rod, are emphatically analyzed. Some suggestions of experience feedback are proposed. (authors)

  3. Influence of stripping and cooling atmospheres on surface properties and corrosion of zinc galvanizing coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasakau, K. A.; Giner, I.; Vree, C.; Ozcan, O.; Grothe, R.; Oliveira, A.; Grundmeier, G.; Ferreira, M. G. S.; Zheludkevich, M. L.

    2016-12-01

    In this work the influence of stripping/cooling atmospheres used after withdrawal of steel sheet from Zn or Zn-alloy melt on surface properties of Zn (Z) and Zn-Al-Mg (ZM) hot-dip galvanizing coatings has been studied. The aim was to understand how the atmosphere (composed by nitrogen (N2) or air) affects adhesion strength to model adhesive and corrosive behaviour of the galvanized substrates. It was shown that the surface chemical composition and Volta potential of the galvanizing coatings prepared under the air or nitrogen atmosphere are strongly influenced by the atmosphere. The surface chemistry Z and ZM surfaces prepared under N2 contained a higher content of metal atoms and a richer hydroxide density than the specimens prepared under air atmosphere as assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The induced differences on the microstructure of the galvanized coatings played a key role on the local corrosion induced defects as observed by means of in situ Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Peel force tests performed on the substrates coated by model adhesive films indicate a higher adhesive strength to the surfaces prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained results have been discussed in terms of the microstructure and surface chemical composition of the galvanizing coatings.

  4. Studying Titan's surface photometry in the 5 microns atmospheric window with the Cassini/VIMS instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornet, T.; Altobelli, N.; Sotin, C.; Le Mouelic, S.; Rodriguez, S.; Philippe, S.; Brown, R. H.; Barnes, J. W.; Buratti, B. J.; Baines, K. H.; Clark, R. N.; Nicholson, P. D.

    2014-12-01

    Due to the influence of methane gas and a thick aerosols haze in the atmosphere, Titan's surface is only visible in 7 spectral atmospheric windows centered at 0.93, 1.08, 1.27, 1.59, 2.01, 2.7-2.8 and 5 microns with the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). The 5 microns atmospheric window constitutes the only one being almost insensitive to the haze scattering and which presents only a reduced atmospheric absorption contribution to the signal recorded by the instrument. Despite these advantages leading to the almost direct view of the surface, the 5 microns window is also the noisiest spectral window of the entire VIMS spectrum (an effect highly dependent on the time exposure used for the observations), and it is not totally free from atmospheric contributions, enough to keep "artefacts" in mosaics of several thousands of cubes due to atmospheric and surface photometric effects amplified by the very heterogeneous viewing conditions between each Titan flyby. At first order, a lambertian surface photometry at 5 microns has been used as an initial parameter in order to estimate atmospheric opacity and surface photometry in all VIMS atmospheric windows and to determine the albedo of the surface, yet unknown, both using radiative transfer codes on single cubes or empirical techniques on global hyperspectral mosaics. Other studies suggested that Titan's surface photometry would not be uniquely lambertian but would also contain anisotropic lunar-like contributions. In the present work, we aim at constraining accurately the surface photometry of Titan and residual atmospheric absorption effects in this 5 microns window using a comprehensive study of relevant sites located at various latitudes. Those include bright and dark (dunes) terrains, 5-microns bright terrains (Hotei Regio and Tui Regio), the Huygens Landing Site and high latitudes polar lakes and seas. The VIMS 2004 to 2014 database, composed of more than 40,000 hyperspectral cubes acquired on

  5. Atmospheric and surface properties of Mars obtained by infrared spectroscopy on Mariner 9

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conrath, B.; Curran, R.; Hanel, R.; Kunde, V.; Maguire, W.; Pearl, J.; Pirraglia, J.; Welker, J.; Burke, T.

    1973-01-01

    The infrared spectroscopy experiment on Mariner 9 obtained data over much of Mars. Interpretation of the thermal emission of Mars in terms of atmospheric temperatures, wind fields and dynamics, surface temperatures, surface pressure and topography, mineral composition, and minor atmospheric constituents including isotopic ratios, as well as a search for unexpected phenomena are reported.

  6. Intercomparison of oceanic and atmospheric forced and coupled mesoscale simulations. Part I: Surface fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Josse, P.; Caniaux, G.; Giordani, H.; Planton, S.

    1999-04-01

    A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model has been coupled with a mesoscale oceanic model. The case study is a four-day simulation of a strong storm event observed during the SEMAPHORE experiment over a 500 × 500 km2 domain. This domain encompasses a thermohaline front associated with the Azores current. In order to analyze the effect of mesoscale coupling, three simulations are compared: the first one with the atmospheric model forced by realistic sea surface temperature analyses; the second one with the ocean model forced by atmospheric fields, derived from weather forecast re-analyses; the third one with the models being coupled. For these three simulations the surface fluxes were computed with the same bulk parametrization. All three simulations succeed well in representing the main oceanic or atmospheric features observed during the storm. Comparison of surface fields with in situ observations reveals that the winds of the fine mesh atmospheric model are more realistic than those of the weather forecast re-analyses. The low-level winds simulated with the atmospheric model in the forced and coupled simulations are appreciably stronger than the re-analyzed winds. They also generate stronger fluxes. The coupled simulation has the strongest surface heat fluxes: the difference in the net heat budget with the oceanic forced simulation reaches on average 50 Wm-2 over the simulation period. Sea surface-temperature cooling is too weak in both simulations, but is improved in the coupled run and matches better the cooling observed with drifters. The spatial distributions of sea surface-temperature cooling and surface fluxes are strongly inhomogeneous over the simulation domain. The amplitude of the flux variation is maximum in the coupled run. Moreover the weak correlation between the cooling and heat flux patterns indicates that the surface fluxes are not responsible for the whole cooling and suggests that the response of the ocean mixed layer to the atmosphere is

  7. Kinetics and mechanism of heterogeneous oxidation of sulfur dioxide by ozone on surface of calcium carbonate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Li

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Sulfate particles play a key role in the air quality and the global climate, but the heterogeneous formation mechanism of sulfates on surfaces of atmospheric particles is not well established. Carbonates, which act as a reactive component in mineral dust due to their special chemical properties, may contribute significantly to the sulfate formation by heterogeneous processes. This paper presents a study on the oxidation of SO2 by O3 on CaCO3 particles. Using Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS, the formation of sulfite and sulfate on the surface was identified, and the roles of O3 and water in oxidation processes were determined. The results showed that in the presence of O3, SO2can be oxidized to sulfate on the surface of CaCO3 particles. The reaction is first order in SO2 and zero order in O3. The reactive uptake coefficient for SO2 [(0.6–9.8×1014 molecule cm-3] oxidation by O3 [(1.2–12×1014 molecule cm-3] was determined to be (1.4±0.3×10-7 using the BET area as the reactive area and (7.7±1.6×10-4 using the geometric area. A two-stage mechanism that involves adsorption of SO2 followed by O3 oxidation is proposed and the adsorption of SO2 on the CaCO3 surface is the rate-determining step. The proposed mechanism can well explain the experiment results. The atmospheric implications were explored based on a box model calculation. It was found that the heterogeneous reaction might be an important pathway for sulfate formation in the atmosphere.

  8. Quantification of climatic feedbacks on the Caspian Sea level variability and impacts from the Caspian Sea on the large-scale atmospheric circulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arpe, Klaus; Tsuang, Ben-Jei; Tseng, Yu-Heng; Liu, Xin-Yu; Leroy, Suzanne A. G.

    2018-05-01

    With a fall of the Caspian Sea level (CSL), its size gets smaller and therefore the total evaporation over the sea is reduced. With a reduced evaporation from the sea, the fall of the CSL is weakened. This creates a negative feedback as less evaporation leads to less water losses of the Caspian Sea (CS). On the other hand, less evaporation reduces the water in the atmosphere, which may lead to less precipitation in the catchment area of the CS. The two opposite feedbacks are estimated by using an atmospheric climate model coupled with an ocean model only for the CS with different CS sizes while keeping all other forcings like oceanic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and leaf area index the same from a global climate simulation. The investigation is concentrated on the medieval period because at that time the CSL changed dramatically from about - 30 to - 19 m below the mean ocean sea level, partly man-made. Models used for simulating the last millennium are not able to change the size of the CS dynamically so far. When results from such simulations are used to investigate the CSL variability and its causes, the present study should help to parameterize its feedbacks. A first assumption that the total evaporation from the CS will vary with the size of the CS (number of grid points representing the sea) is generally confirmed with the model simulations. The decrease of grid points from 15 to 14, 10, 8 or 7 leads to a decrease of evaporation to 96, 77, 70 and 54%. The lower decrease than initially expected from the number of grid points (93, 67, 53 and 47%) is probably due to the fact that there would also be some evaporation at grid points that run dry with a lower CSL but a cooling of the CS SST with increasing CS size in summer may be more important. The reduction of evaporation over the CS means more water for the budget of the whole catchment of the CS (an increase of the CSL) but from the gain through reduced evaporation over the CS, only 70% is found to remain in

  9. Effects of atmospheric variability on energy utilization and conservation. Final report, 1 November 1976--31 October 1977

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reiter, E.R.; Dreiseitl, E.; Johnson, G.R.; Leong, H.H.; Macdonald, B.C.; Somervell, W.L. Jr.; Starr, A.M.; Timbre, K.O.

    1978-02-01

    A space-heating energy-consumption model for Greeley, Colorado for the winter of 1976-77 was within 98.9 percent of actual natural gas consumption for that city. Modeling of Cheyenne, Wyoming, including the testing of a new statistical scheme to develop the building census required by the energy consumption model, has progressed to the point where reliable natural gas consumption estimates can be made with the model for that community. A detailed study of temperature and surface wind patterns in and near the city of Greeley, Colorado revealed that, at times, an urban heat island effect is present, in spite of the relatively small size of that town. Various feedback mechanisms between the oceans and the atmosphere were examined. Several of these mechanisms appear to be the cause of the interannual variability of the atmosphere's general circulation and of climatic changes on a time scale of several tens of years. A recent cooling trend in the North Pacific north of 40/sup 0/N, and sea-surface temperature fluctuations with an irregular periodicity of 2 to 4 years superimposed upon this trend were studied. To advance regional long-range forecasting skills January temperature anomalies over the eastern United States were correlated with flow patterns over the U.S. and Canada.

  10. Surface - atmosphere exchange of ammonia over grazed pasture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Plantaz, M.A.H.G.

    1998-01-01

    This thesis deals with the exchange of ammonia between the atmosphere and grazed pasture in an area of intensive livestock breeding. The term exchange is used because gaseous ammonia can be taken up (dry deposition) as well as released (emission) by this type of surface.
    Ammonia exchange

  11. High cloud variations with surface temperature from 2002 to 2015: Contributions to atmospheric radiative cooling rate and precipitation changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Run; Liou, Kuo-Nan; Su, Hui; Gu, Yu; Zhao, Bin; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Liu, Shaw Chen

    2017-05-01

    The global mean precipitation is largely constrained by atmospheric radiative cooling rates (Qr), which are sensitive to changes in high cloud fraction. We investigate variations of high cloud fraction with surface temperature (Ts) from July 2002 to June 2015 and compute their radiative effects on Qr using the Fu-Liou-Gu plane-parallel radiation model. We find that the tropical mean (30°S-30°N) high cloud fraction decreases with increasing Ts at a rate of about -1.0 ± 0.34% K-1 from 2002 to 2015, which leads to an enhanced atmospheric cooling around 0.86 W m-2 K-1. On the other hand, the northern midlatitudes (30°N-60°N) high cloud fraction increases with surface warming at a rate of 1.85 ± 0.65% K-1 and the near-global mean (60°S-60°N) high cloud fraction shows a statistically insignificant decreasing trend with increasing Ts over the analysis period. Dividing high clouds into cirrus, cirrostratus, and deep convective clouds, we find that cirrus cloud fraction increases with surface warming at a rate of 0.32 ± 0.11% K-1 (0.01 ± 0.17% K-1) for the near-global mean (tropical mean), while cirrostratus and deep convective clouds decrease with surface warming at a rate of -0.02 ± 0.18% K-1 and -0.33 ± 0.18% K-1 for the near-global mean and -0.64 ± 0.23% K-1 and -0.37 ± 0.13% K-1 for the tropical mean, respectively. High cloud fraction response to feedback to Ts accounts for approximately 1.9 ± 0.7% and 16.0 ± 6.1% of the increase in precipitation per unit surface warming over the period of 2002-2015 for the near-global mean and the tropical mean, respectively.

  12. Mechanism of protective action of surface carbide layers on titanium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chukalovskaya, T.V.; Chebotareva, N.P.; Tomashov, N.D.

    1990-01-01

    The protective action of surface carbide layer on titanium produced in methane atmosphere at 1000 deg C and under 6.7 kPa pressure in H 2 SO 4 solutions is studied through comparison of microsection metallographic specimens prior to and after corrosion testing (after specimen activation); through comparison of anodic characteristics after partial stripping of the layer up to its complete stripping; through analysis of the behaviour of Ti-TiC galvanic couple, and through investigation of corresponding corrosion diagrams under test conditions. It is shown that screening protective mechanism is primarily got involved in highly agressive media (high temperature and concentration of solution), and in less agressive environment the protection of titanium with carbide layer is primarily ensured by electrochemical mechanism

  13. Decomposing Shortwave Top-of-Atmosphere Radiative Flux Variability in Terms of Surface and Atmospheric Contributions Using CERES Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loeb, N. G.; Wong, T.; Wang, H.

    2017-12-01

    Earth's climate is determined by the exchange of radiant energy between the Sun, Earth and space. The absorbed solar radiation (ASR) fuels the climate system, providing the energy required for atmospheric and oceanic motions, while the system cools by emitting outgoing longwave (LW) radiation to space. A central objective of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) is to produce a long-term global climate data record of Earth's radiation budget along with the associated atmospheric and surface properties that influence it. CERES data products utilize a number of data sources, including broadband radiometers measuring incoming and reflected solar radiation and OLR, polar orbiting and geostationary spectral imagers, meteorological, aerosol and ozone assimilation data, and snow/sea-ice maps based on microwave radiometer data. Here we use simple diagnostic model of Earth's albedo and CERES Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Ed4.0 data for March 2000-February 2016 to quantify interannual variations in SW TOA flux associated with surface albedo and atmospheric reflectance and transmittance variations. Surface albedo variations account for cloud properties over the Arctic Ocean.

  14. Impacts of Cosmic Dust on Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plane, John M. C.; Flynn, George J.; Määttänen, Anni; Moores, John E.; Poppe, Andrew R.; Carrillo-Sanchez, Juan Diego; Listowski, Constantino

    2018-02-01

    Recent advances in interplanetary dust modelling provide much improved estimates of the fluxes of cosmic dust particles into planetary (and lunar) atmospheres throughout the solar system. Combining the dust particle size and velocity distributions with new chemical ablation models enables the injection rates of individual elements to be predicted as a function of location and time. This information is essential for understanding a variety of atmospheric impacts, including: the formation of layers of metal atoms and ions; meteoric smoke particles and ice cloud nucleation; perturbations to atmospheric gas-phase chemistry; and the effects of the surface deposition of micrometeorites and cosmic spherules. There is discussion of impacts on all the planets, as well as on Pluto, Triton and Titan.

  15. Role of atmosphere-ocean interactions in supermodeling the tropical Pacific climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Mao-Lin; Keenlyside, Noel; Bhatt, Bhuwan C.; Duane, Gregory S.

    2017-12-01

    The supermodel strategy interactively combines several models to outperform the individual models comprising it. A key advantage of the approach is that nonlinear improvements can be achieved, in contrast to the linear weighted combination of individual unconnected models. This property is found in a climate supermodel constructed by coupling two versions of an atmospheric model differing only in their convection scheme to a single ocean model. The ocean model receives a weighted combination of the momentum and heat fluxes. Optimal weights can produce a supermodel with a basic state similar to observations: a single Intertropical Convergence zone (ITCZ), with a western Pacific warm pool and an equatorial cold tongue. This is in stark contrast to the erroneous double ITCZ pattern simulated by both of the two stand-alone coupled models. By varying weights, we develop a conceptual scheme to explain how combining the momentum fluxes of the two different atmospheric models affects equatorial upwelling and surface wind feedback so as to give a realistic basic state in the tropical Pacific. In particular, we propose a mechanism based on the competing influences of equatorial zonal wind and off-equatorial wind stress curl in driving equatorial upwelling in the coupled models. Our results show how nonlinear ocean-atmosphere interaction is essential in combining these two effects to build different sea surface temperature structures, some of which are realistic. They also provide some insight into observed and modelled tropical Pacific climate.

  16. Influence of stripping and cooling atmospheres on surface properties and corrosion of zinc galvanizing coatings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yasakau, K.A., E-mail: kyasakau@ua.pt [Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Giner, I. [Universität Paderborn, Fakultät NW—Department Chemie, Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, Warburger Strasse 100, D-33098 Paderborn (Germany); Vree, C. [Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, GmbH Division Surface Technology, Eisenhüttenstrasse 99, 38239 Salzgitter (Germany); Ozcan, O.; Grothe, R. [Universität Paderborn, Fakultät NW—Department Chemie, Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, Warburger Strasse 100, D-33098 Paderborn (Germany); Oliveira, A. [Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Grundmeier, G. [Universität Paderborn, Fakultät NW—Department Chemie, Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, Warburger Strasse 100, D-33098 Paderborn (Germany); Ferreira, M.G.S. [Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Zheludkevich, M.L. [Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Department of Corrosion and Surface Technology, Institute of Materials Research Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Max-Planck Str. 1, 21502 Geesthacht (Germany)

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • Stripping/cooling atmosphere affects surfaces chemical composition of Zn and Zn-Al-Mg galvanized coatings. • Higher peel forces of model adhesive films were obtained on zinc alloys samples prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. • Localized corrosion attack originates at grain boundaries on Zn galvanized coating. • Visible dissolution of MgZn{sub 2} phase was observed by in situ AFM only at binary eutectics and not at ternary ones. - Abstract: In this work the influence of stripping/cooling atmospheres used after withdrawal of steel sheet from Zn or Zn-alloy melt on surface properties of Zn (Z) and Zn-Al-Mg (ZM) hot-dip galvanizing coatings has been studied. The aim was to understand how the atmosphere (composed by nitrogen (N{sub 2}) or air) affects adhesion strength to model adhesive and corrosive behaviour of the galvanized substrates. It was shown that the surface chemical composition and Volta potential of the galvanizing coatings prepared under the air or nitrogen atmosphere are strongly influenced by the atmosphere. The surface chemistry Z and ZM surfaces prepared under N{sub 2} contained a higher content of metal atoms and a richer hydroxide density than the specimens prepared under air atmosphere as assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The induced differences on the microstructure of the galvanized coatings played a key role on the local corrosion induced defects as observed by means of in situ Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Peel force tests performed on the substrates coated by model adhesive films indicate a higher adhesive strength to the surfaces prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained results have been discussed in terms of the microstructure and surface chemical composition of the galvanizing coatings.

  17. Computational studies of atmospherically-relevant chemical reactions in water clusters and on liquid water and ice surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerber, R Benny; Varner, Mychel E; Hammerich, Audrey D; Riikonen, Sampsa; Murdachaew, Garold; Shemesh, Dorit; Finlayson-Pitts, Barbara J

    2015-02-17

    CONSPECTUS: Reactions on water and ice surfaces and in other aqueous media are ubiquitous in the atmosphere, but the microscopic mechanisms of most of these processes are as yet unknown. This Account examines recent progress in atomistic simulations of such reactions and the insights provided into mechanisms and interpretation of experiments. Illustrative examples are discussed. The main computational approaches employed are classical trajectory simulations using interaction potentials derived from quantum chemical methods. This comprises both ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) and semiempirical molecular dynamics (SEMD), the latter referring to semiempirical quantum chemical methods. Presented examples are as follows: (i) Reaction of the (NO(+))(NO3(-)) ion pair with a water cluster to produce the atmospherically important HONO and HNO3. The simulations show that a cluster with four water molecules describes the reaction. This provides a hydrogen-bonding network supporting the transition state. The reaction is triggered by thermal structural fluctuations, and ultrafast changes in atomic partial charges play a key role. This is an example where a reaction in a small cluster can provide a model for a corresponding bulk process. The results support the proposed mechanism for production of HONO by hydrolysis of NO2 (N2O4). (ii) The reactions of gaseous HCl with N2O4 and N2O5 on liquid water surfaces. Ionization of HCl at the water/air interface is followed by nucleophilic attack of Cl(-) on N2O4 or N2O5. Both reactions proceed by an SN2 mechanism. The products are ClNO and ClNO2, precursors of atmospheric atomic chlorine. Because this mechanism cannot result from a cluster too small for HCl ionization, an extended water film model was simulated. The results explain ClNO formation experiments. Predicted ClNO2 formation is less efficient. (iii) Ionization of acids at ice surfaces. No ionization is found on ideal crystalline surfaces, but the process is efficient on

  18. Feedback and efficient behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandro Casal

    Full Text Available Feedback is an effective tool for promoting efficient behavior: it enhances individuals' awareness of choice consequences in complex settings. Our study aims to isolate the mechanisms underlying the effects of feedback on achieving efficient behavior in a controlled environment. We design a laboratory experiment in which individuals are not aware of the consequences of different alternatives and, thus, cannot easily identify the efficient ones. We introduce feedback as a mechanism to enhance the awareness of consequences and to stimulate exploration and search for efficient alternatives. We assess the efficacy of three different types of intervention: provision of social information, manipulation of the frequency, and framing of feedback. We find that feedback is most effective when it is framed in terms of losses, that it reduces efficiency when it includes information about inefficient peers' behavior, and that a lower frequency of feedback does not disrupt efficiency. By quantifying the effect of different types of feedback, our study suggests useful insights for policymakers.

  19. An Artificial Immune System with Feedback Mechanisms for Effective Handling of Population Size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Shangce; Wang, Rong-Long; Ishii, Masahiro; Tang, Zheng

    This paper represents a feedback artificial immune system (FAIS). Inspired by the feedback mechanisms in the biological immune system, the proposed algorithm effectively manipulates the population size by increasing and decreasing B cells according to the diversity of the current population. Two kinds of assessments are used to evaluate the diversity aiming to capture the characteristics of the problem on hand. Furthermore, the processing of adding and declining the number of population is designed. The validity of the proposed algorithm is tested for several traveling salesman benchmark problems. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm when compared with the traditional genetic algorithm and an improved clonal selection algorithm.

  20. Reassessing the atmospheric oxidation mechanism of toluene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Yuemeng; Zhao, Jun; Terazono, Hajime; Misawa, Kentaro; Levitt, Nicholas P.; Li, Yixin; Lin, Yun; Peng, Jianfei; Wang, Yuan; Duan, Lian; Pan, Bowen; Zhang, Fang; Feng, Xidan; An, Taicheng; Marrero-Ortiz, Wilmarie; Secrest, Jeremiah; Zhang, Annie L.; Shibuya, Kazuhiko; Molina, Mario J.; Zhang, Renyi

    2017-08-01

    Photochemical oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons leads to tropospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, with profound implications for air quality, human health, and climate. Toluene is the most abundant aromatic compound under urban environments, but its detailed chemical oxidation mechanism remains uncertain. From combined laboratory experiments and quantum chemical calculations, we show a toluene oxidation mechanism that is different from the one adopted in current atmospheric models. Our experimental work indicates a larger-than-expected branching ratio for cresols, but a negligible formation of ring-opening products (e.g., methylglyoxal). Quantum chemical calculations also demonstrate that cresols are much more stable than their corresponding peroxy radicals, and, for the most favorable OH (ortho) addition, the pathway of H extraction by O2 to form the cresol proceeds with a smaller barrier than O2 addition to form the peroxy radical. Our results reveal that phenolic (rather than peroxy radical) formation represents the dominant pathway for toluene oxidation, highlighting the necessity to reassess its role in ozone and SOA formation in the atmosphere.

  1. Simulating carbon exchange using a regional atmospheric model coupled to an advanced land-surface model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. W. Ter Maat

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a case study to investigate what the main controlling factors are that determine atmospheric carbon dioxide content for a region in the centre of The Netherlands. We use the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS, coupled with a land surface scheme simulating carbon, heat and momentum fluxes (SWAPS-C, and including also submodels for urban and marine fluxes, which in principle should include the dominant mechanisms and should be able to capture the relevant dynamics of the system. To validate the model, observations are used that were taken during an intensive observational campaign in central Netherlands in summer 2002. These include flux-tower observations and aircraft observations of vertical profiles and spatial fluxes of various variables.

    The simulations performed with the coupled regional model (RAMS-SWAPS-C are in good qualitative agreement with the observations. The station validation of the model demonstrates that the incoming shortwave radiation and surface fluxes of water and CO2 are well simulated. The comparison against aircraft data shows that the regional meteorology (i.e. wind, temperature is captured well by the model. Comparing spatially explicitly simulated fluxes with aircraft observed fluxes we conclude that in general latent heat fluxes are underestimated by the model compared to the observations but that the latter exhibit large variability within all flights. Sensitivity experiments demonstrate the relevance of the urban emissions of carbon dioxide for the carbon balance in this particular region. The same tests also show the relation between uncertainties in surface fluxes and those in atmospheric concentrations.

  2. Adhesive Stretchable Printed Conductive Thin Film Patterns on PDMS Surface with an Atmospheric Plasma Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chun-Yi; Liao, Ying-Chih

    2016-05-11

    In this study, a plasma surface modification with printing process was developed to fabricate printed flexible conductor patterns or devices directly on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface. An atmospheric plasma treatment was first used to oxidize the PDMS surface and create a hydrophilic silica surface layer, which was confirmed with photoelectron spectra. The plasma operating parameters, such as gas types and plasma powers, were optimized to obtain surface silica layers with the longest lifetime. Conductive paste with epoxy resin was screen-printed on the plasma-treated PDMS surface to fabricate flexible conductive tracks. As a result of the strong binding forces between epoxy resin and the silica surface layer, the printed patterns showed great adhesion on PDMS and were undamaged after several stringent adhesion tests. The printed conductive tracks showed strong mechanical stability and exhibited great electric conductivity under bending, twisting, and stretching conditions. Finally, a printed pressure sensor with good sensitivity and a fast response time was fabricated to demonstrate the capability of this method for the realization of printed electronic devices.

  3. Atmospheric degradation mechanism of organic sulfur compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Benter, T; Arsene, C

    2002-02-01

    In the present work a detailed product study has been performed on the OH radical initiated oxidation of dimethyl sulphide and dimethyl sulphoxide, under different conditions of temperature, partial pressure of oxygen and NO{sub x} concentration, in order to better define the degradation mechanism of the above compounds under conditions which prevail in the atmosphere. (orig.)

  4. Global desertification: Drivers and feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Odorico, Paolo; Bhattachan, Abinash; Davis, Kyle F.; Ravi, Sujith; Runyan, Christiane W.

    2013-01-01

    Desertification is a change in soil properties, vegetation or climate, which results in a persistent loss of ecosystem services that are fundamental to sustaining life. Desertification affects large dryland areas around the world and is a major cause of stress in human societies. Here we review recent research on the drivers, feedbacks, and impacts of desertification. A multidisciplinary approach to understanding the drivers and feedbacks of global desertification is motivated by our increasing need to improve global food production and to sustainably manage ecosystems in the context of climate change. Classic desertification theories look at this process as a transition between stable states in bistable ecosystem dynamics. Climate change (i.e., aridification) and land use dynamics are the major drivers of an ecosystem shift to a “desertified” (or “degraded”) state. This shift is typically sustained by positive feedbacks, which stabilize the system in the new state. Desertification feedbacks may involve land degradation processes (e.g., nutrient loss or salinization), changes in rainfall regime resulting from land-atmosphere interactions (e.g., precipitation recycling, dust emissions), or changes in plant community composition (e.g., shrub encroachment, decrease in vegetation cover). We analyze each of these feedback mechanisms and discuss their possible enhancement by interactions with socio-economic drivers. Large scale effects of desertification include the emigration of “environmental refugees” displaced from degraded areas, climatic changes, and the alteration of global biogeochemical cycles resulting from the emission and long-range transport of fine mineral dust. Recent research has identified some possible early warning signs of desertification, which can be used as indicators of resilience loss and imminent shift to desert-like conditions. We conclude with a brief discussion on some desertification control strategies implemented in different

  5. Atmospheric boundary layer response to sea surface temperatures during the SEMAPHORE experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giordani, Hervé; Planton, Serge; Benech, Bruno; Kwon, Byung-Hyuk

    1998-10-01

    The sensitivity of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) subjected to sea surface temperatures (SST) during the Structure des Echanges Mer-Atmosphere, Proprietes des Heterogeneites Oceaniques: Recherche Experimentale (SEMAPHORE) experiment in 1993 has been studied. Atmospheric analyses produced by the Action de Recherche, Petite Echelle, Grande Echelle (ARPEGE) operational model at the French meteorological weather service assimilated data sets collected between October 7 and November 17, 1993, merged with the Global Telecommunication System (GTS) data. Analyses were validated against independent data from aircraft instruments collected along a section crossing the Azores oceanic front, not assimilated into the model. The responses of the mean MABL in the aircraft cross section to changes in SST gradients of about 1°C/100 km were the presence of an atmospheric front with horizontal gradients of 1°C/100 km and an increase of the wind intensity from the cold to the warm side during an anticyclonic synoptic situation. The study of the spatiotemporal characteristics of the MABL shows that during 3 days of an anticyclonic synoptic situation the SST is remarkably stationary because it is principally controlled by the Azores ocean current, which has a timescale of about 10 days. However, the temperature and the wind in the MABL are influenced by the prevailing atmospheric conditions. The ocean does not appear to react to the surface atmospheric forcing on the timescale of 3 days, whereas the atmospheric structures are modified by local and synoptic-scale advection. The MABL response appears to be much quicker than that of the SSTs. The correlation between the wind and the thermal structure in the MABL is dominated by the ageostrophic and not by the geostrophic component. In particular, the enhancement of the wind on either side of the SST front is mainly due to the ageostrophic component. Although the surface heat fluxes are not the only cause of ageostrophy, the

  6. Atmospheric pressure plasma jet's characterization and surface wettability driven by neon transformer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elfa, R. R.; Nafarizal, N.; Ahmad, M. K.; Sahdan, M. Z.; Soon, C. F.

    2017-03-01

    Atmospheric pressure plasma driven by Neon transformer power supply argon is presented in this paper. Atmospheric pressure plasma system has attracted researcher interest over low pressure plasma as it provides a flexibility process, cost-efficient, portable device and vacuum-free device. Besides, another golden key of this system is the wide promising application in the field of work cover from industrial and engineering to medical. However, there are still numbers of fundamental investigation that are necessary such as device configuration, gas configuration and its effect. Dielectric barrier discharge which is also known as atmospheric pressure plasma discharge is created when there is gas ionization process occur which enhance the movement of atom and electron and provide energetic particles. These energetic particles can provide modification and cleaning property to the sample surface due to the bombardment of the high reactive ion and radicals to the sample surface. In order to develop atmospheric pressure plasma discharge, a high voltage and high frequency power supply is needed. In this work, we used a neon transformer power supply as the power supply. The flow of the Ar is feed into 10 mm cylinder quartz tube with different treatment time in order to investigate the effect of the plasma discharge. The analysis of each treatment time is presented by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and water contact angle (WCA) measurement. The increase of gas treatment time shows increases intensity of reactive Ar and reduces the angle of water droplets in water contact angle. Treatment time of 20 s microslide glass surface shows that the plasma needle discharges have modified the sample surface from hydrophilic surface to superhydrophilic surface. Thus, this leads to another interesting application in reducing sample surface adhesion to optimize productivity in the industry of paintings, semiconductor and more.

  7. Mechanism of Runaway Electron Generation at Gas Pressures from a Few Atmospheres to Several Tens of Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zubarev, N. M.; Ivanov, S. N.

    2018-04-01

    The mechanism of runaway electron generation at gas pressures from a few atmospheres to several tens of atmospheres is proposed. According to this mechanism, the electrons pass into the runaway mode in the enhanced field zone that arises between a cathode micropoint—a source of field-emission electrons—and the region of the positive ion space charge accumulated near the cathode in the tails of the developing electron avalanches. As a result, volume gas ionization by runaway electrons begins with a time delay required for the formation of the enhanced field zone. This process determines the delay time of breakdown. The influence of the gas pressure on the formation dynamics of the space charge region is analyzed. At gas pressures of a few atmospheres, the space charge arises due to the avalanche multiplication of the very first field-emission electron, whereas at pressures of several tens of atmospheres, the space charge forms as a result of superposition of many electron avalanches with a relatively small number of charge carriers in each.

  8. Trends in land surface phenology and atmospheric CO2 seasonality in the Northern Hemisphere terrestrial ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonsamo, A.; Chen, J. M.

    2017-12-01

    Northern terrestrial ecosystems have shown global warming-induced advances in start, delays in end, and thus increased lengths of growing season and gross photosynthesis in recent decades. The tradeoffs between seasonal dynamics of two opposing fluxes, CO2 uptake through photosynthesis and release through respiration, determine the influence of the terrestrial ecosystems on the atmospheric CO2 concentration and 13C/12C isotope ratio seasonality. Atmospheric CO2 and 13C/12C seasonality is controlled by vegetation phenology, but is not identical because growth will typically commence some time before and terminate some time after the net carbon exchange changes sign in spring and autumn, respectively. Here, we use 34-year satellite normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) observations to determine how changes in vegetation productivity and phenology affect both the atmospheric CO2 and 13C/12C seasonality. Differences and similarities in recent trends of CO2 and 13C/12C seasonality and vegetation phenology will be discussed. Furthermore, we use the NDVI observations, and atmospheric CO2 and 13C/12C data to show the trends and variability of the timing of peak season plant activity. Preliminary results show that the peak season plant activity of the Northern Hemisphere extra-tropical terrestrial ecosystems is shifting towards spring, largely in response to the warming-induced advance of the start of growing season. Besides, the spring-ward shift of the peak plant activity is contributing the most to the increasing peak season productivity. In other words, earlier start of growing season is highly linked to earlier arrival of peak of season and higher NDVI. Changes in the timing of peak season plant activity are expected to disrupt the synchrony of biotic interaction and exert strong biophysical feedbacks on climate by modifying the surface albedo and energy budget.

  9. Air/surface exchange processes of mercury and their linkage to atmospheric pools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahlmann, Enno; Ebinghaus, Ralf

    2001-01-01

    The atmospheric mercury cycle is strongly linked to the terrestrial, aquatic and biologic cycle of mercury via air/surface exchange processes. In order to quantify mercury fluxes from and to the atmosphere to predict local and regional source contributions the methods for flux measurements as well as the physicochemical factors controlling air/surface exchange processes must be assessed. We will describe methods for the determination of mercury and mercury species in ambient air which are basic for investigation of air/surface exchange processes. Further on we will describe approaches for studying the physicochemical factors controlling this processes by using a new laboratory flux measurement system. (author)

  10. Hydrophilic surface modification of coronary stent using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet for endothelialization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Jae Won; Bae, In-Ho; Park, Dae Sung; Lee, So-Youn; Jang, Eun-Jae; Lim, Kyung-Seob; Park, Jun-Kyu; Kim, Ju Han; Jeong, Myung Ho

    2018-03-01

    The first two authors contributed equally to this study. Bioactivity and cell adhesion properties are major factors for fabricating medical devices such as coronary stents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the advantages of atmospheric-pressure plasma jet in enhancing the biocompatibility and endothelial cell-favorites. The experimental objects were divided into before and after atmospheric-pressure plasma jet treatment with the ratio of nitrogen:argon = 3:1, which is similar to air. The treated surfaces were basically characterized by means of a contact angle analyzer for the activation property on their surfaces. The effect of atmospheric-pressure plasma jet on cellular response was examined by endothelial cell adhesion and XTT analysis. It was difficult to detect any changeable morphology after atmospheric-pressure plasma jet treatment on the surface. The roughness was increased after atmospheric-pressure plasma jet treatment compared to nonatmospheric-pressure plasma jet treatment (86.781 and 7.964 nm, respectively). The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that the surface concentration of the C-O groups increased slightly from 6% to 8% after plasma activation. The contact angle dramatically decreased in the atmospheric-pressure plasma jet treated group (22.6 ± 15.26°) compared to the nonatmospheric-pressure plasma jet treated group (72.4 ± 15.26°) ( n = 10, p atmospheric-pressure plasma jet on endothelial cell migration and proliferation was 85.2% ± 12.01% and 34.2% ± 2.68%, respectively, at 7 days, compared to the nonatmospheric-pressure plasma jet treated group (58.2% ± 11.44% in migration, n = 10, p atmospheric-pressure plasma jet method. Moreover, the atmospheric-pressure plasma jet might affect re-endothelialization after stenting.

  11. Surface layer conditions of the atmosphere over western Bay of Bengal during Monex

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Anto, A.F.; Rao, L.V.G.; Somayajulu, Y.K.

    Based on surface meteorological data and wave data collected from 2 stations in the western Bay of Bengal in July 1979, surface layer (SL) conditions of the atmosphere for different situations of surface circulations and the associated sea surface...

  12. On the diurnal ranges of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    (Solomon and Jin 2005). The diurnal change in. SST has also been examined to study the possible feedbacks on the atmosphere (Clayson and Chen. 2002; Bernie et al 2007). Solar heating of the sea surface in low-wind conditions can lead to the development of a stable warm layer of a few meters thickness at the surface.

  13. Global neural dynamic surface tracking control of strict-feedback systems with application to hypersonic flight vehicle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Bin; Yang, Chenguang; Pan, Yongping

    2015-10-01

    This paper studies both indirect and direct global neural control of strict-feedback systems in the presence of unknown dynamics, using the dynamic surface control (DSC) technique in a novel manner. A new switching mechanism is designed to combine an adaptive neural controller in the neural approximation domain, together with the robust controller that pulls the transient states back into the neural approximation domain from the outside. In comparison with the conventional control techniques, which could only achieve semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded stability, the proposed control scheme guarantees all the signals in the closed-loop system are globally uniformly ultimately bounded, such that the conventional constraints on initial conditions of the neural control system can be relaxed. The simulation studies of hypersonic flight vehicle (HFV) are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed global neural DSC design.

  14. NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Ocean Near Surface Atmospheric Properties, Version 2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Ocean Surface Bundle (OSB) Climate Data Record (CDR) consist of three parts: sea surface temperature; near-surface wind speed, air temperature, and specific...

  15. The evolution of different forms of sociality: behavioral mechanisms and eco-evolutionary feedback.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel J van der Post

    Full Text Available Different forms of sociality have evolved via unique evolutionary trajectories. However, it remains unknown to what extent trajectories of social evolution depend on the specific characteristics of different species. Our approach to studying such trajectories is to use evolutionary case-studies, so that we can investigate how grouping co-evolves with a multitude of individual characteristics. Here we focus on anti-predator vigilance and foraging. We use an individual-based model, where behavioral mechanisms are specified, and costs and benefits are not predefined. We show that evolutionary changes in grouping alter selection pressures on vigilance, and vice versa. This eco-evolutionary feedback generates an evolutionary progression from "leader-follower" societies to "fission-fusion" societies, where cooperative vigilance in groups is maintained via a balance between within- and between-group selection. Group-level selection is generated from an assortment that arises spontaneously when vigilant and non-vigilant foragers have different grouping tendencies. The evolutionary maintenance of small groups, and cooperative vigilance in those groups, is therefore achieved simultaneously. The evolutionary phases, and the transitions between them, depend strongly on behavioral mechanisms. Thus, integrating behavioral mechanisms and eco-evolutionary feedback is critical for understanding what kinds of intermediate stages are involved during the evolution of particular forms of sociality.

  16. Temporal and Spatial Variabilities of Japan Sea Surface Temperature and Atmospheric Forcings

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Chu, Peter C; Chen, Yuchun; Lu, Shihua

    1998-01-01

    ...) and surface air temperature (SAT) data during 1982-1994 and the National Center for Atmospheric Research surface wind stress curl data during 1982-1989 to investigate the Japan Sea SST temporal and spatial variabilities...

  17. Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean

    KAUST Repository

    Arrieta, J M; Duarte, Carlos M.; Sala, M. Montserrat; Dachs, Jordi

    2016-01-01

    Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

  18. Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrieta, Jesús M; Duarte, Carlos M; Sala, M Montserrat; Dachs, Jordi

    2015-01-01

    Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

  19. Out of thin air: Microbial utilization of atmospheric gaseous organics in the surface ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesus M Arrieta

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 to 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidising marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

  20. Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean

    KAUST Repository

    Arrieta, Jesus

    2016-01-20

    Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

  1. Variability in modeled cloud feedback tied to differences in the climatological spatial pattern of clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siler, Nicholas; Po-Chedley, Stephen; Bretherton, Christopher S.

    2018-02-01

    Despite the increasing sophistication of climate models, the amount of surface warming expected from a doubling of atmospheric CO_2 (equilibrium climate sensitivity) remains stubbornly uncertain, in part because of differences in how models simulate the change in global albedo due to clouds (the shortwave cloud feedback). Here, model differences in the shortwave cloud feedback are found to be closely related to the spatial pattern of the cloud contribution to albedo (α) in simulations of the current climate: high-feedback models exhibit lower (higher) α in regions of warm (cool) sea-surface temperatures, and therefore predict a larger reduction in global-mean α as temperatures rise and warm regions expand. The spatial pattern of α is found to be strongly predictive (r=0.84) of a model's global cloud feedback, with satellite observations indicating a most-likely value of 0.58± 0.31 Wm^{-2} K^{-1} (90% confidence). This estimate is higher than the model-average cloud feedback of 0.43 Wm^{-2} K^{-1}, with half the range of uncertainty. The observational constraint on climate sensitivity is weaker but still significant, suggesting a likely value of 3.68 ± 1.30 K (90% confidence), which also favors the upper range of model estimates. These results suggest that uncertainty in model estimates of the global cloud feedback may be substantially reduced by ensuring a realistic distribution of clouds between regions of warm and cool SSTs in simulations of the current climate.

  2. Atmospheric stability analysis over statically and dynamically rough surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maric, Emina; Metzger, Meredith; Singha, Arindam; Sadr, Reza

    2011-11-01

    The ratio of buoyancy flux to turbulent kinetic energy production in the atmospheric surface layer is investigated experimentally for air flow over two types of surfaces characterized by static and dynamic roughness. In this study, ``static'' refers to the time-invariant nature of naturally-occurring roughness over a mud/salt playa; while, ``dynamic'' refers to the behavior of water waves along an air-water interface. In both cases, time-resolved measurements of the momentum and heat fluxes were acquired from synchronized 3D sonic anemometers mounted on a vertical tower. Field campaigns were conducted at two sites, representing the ``statically'' and ``dynamically'' rough surfaces, respectively: (1) the SLTEST facility in Utah's western desert, and (2) the new Doha airport in Qatar under construction along the coast of the Persian Gulf. Note, at site 2, anemometers were located directly above the water by extension from a tower secured to the end of a 1 km-long pier. Comparisons of the Monin-Obukhov length, flux Richardson number, and gradient Richardson number are presented, and discussed in the context of the observed evolution of the turbulent spectra in response to diurnal variations of atmospheric stability. Supported by the Qatar National Research Fund.

  3. Relative importance of nitrate and sulfate aerosol production mechanisms in urban atmospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Middleton, P.; Kiang, C.S.

    1979-01-01

    The relative importance of the various sulfate and nitrate aerosol production mechanisms is calculated for different atmospheric conditions. The calculation scheme used to determine the rates of nitrate and sulfate production, based on the concept that vapor transfer to the aerosols and nitrate and sulfate formation within the aerosols are coupled kinetic processes, considers sulfate formation by ozone and hydrogen peroxide oxidation and catalytic oxidation in the presence of soot, iron and manganese of sulfite solutions and sulfuric acid condensation and nitrate formation by the liquid-phase oxidation of dissolved nitrogen oxides for different initial gas concentrations and particle compositions and sizes. It is found that sulfate production is higher under daytime conditions, primarily proceeding by mechanisms involving sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide, while at night oxidation processes on the surface of the aerosol film are more important. Nitrate tends to decrease nighttime sulfate production due to an increase in aerosol acidity and nitrate production is found to be higher under nighttime conditions and in the winter

  4. Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Role of Surface Wettability and Edge Effect

    KAUST Repository

    Jin, Yong; Zhang, Lianbin; Wang, Peng

    2017-01-01

    Atmospheric water is emerging as an important potable water source. The present work experimentally and theoretically investigates water condensation and collection on flat surfaces with contrasting contact angles and contact angle hysteresis (CAH

  5. Climate/chemistry feedbacks and biogenic emissions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pyle, John A; Warwick, Nicola; Yang, Xin; Young, Paul J; Zeng, Guang

    2007-07-15

    The oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere is affected by anthropogenic emissions and is projected to change in the future. Model calculations indicate that the change in surface ozone at some locations could be large and have significant implications for human health. The calculations depend on the precise scenarios used for the anthropogenic emissions and on the details of the feedback processes included in the model. One important factor is how natural biogenic emissions will change in the future. We carry out a sensitivity calculation to address the possible increase in isoprene emissions consequent on increased surface temperature in a future climate. The changes in ozone are significant but depend crucially on the background chemical regime. In these calculations, we find that increased isoprene will increase ozone in the Northern Hemisphere but decrease ozone in the tropics. We also consider the role of bromine compounds in tropospheric chemistry and consider cases where, in a future climate, the impact of bromine could change.

  6. Titan Ice and Dust Experiment (TIDE): Detection and Analysis of Compounds of Interest to Astrobiology in the Lower Atmosphere and Surface of Titan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kojiro, Daniel R.; Holland Paul M.; Stimac, Robert M.; Kaye, William J.; Takeruchi, Noreshige

    2004-01-01

    The Titan Orbiter Aerorover Mission (TOAM) is a proposed concept for the Solar System Exploration Visions Mission, Titan Explorer, a follow-on to the Cassini-Huygens mission. TOAM would use a Titan polar orbiter and a lighter-than-air aerorover to investigate the surface and atmosphere of Titan. Astrobiology issues will be addressed though TOAM investigations including, for example: Distribution and composition of organics (atmospheric, aerosol, surface); Organic chemical processes, their chemical context and energy sources; and Seasonal variations and interactions of the atmosphere and surface. The TIDE instrument will perform in-situ analyses to obtain comprehensive and sensitive molecular and elemental assays of volatile organics in the atmosphere, oceans and surface. TIDE chemical analyses are conducted by a Gas Chromatograph-Ion Mobility Spectrometer (GC-IMS). This TIDE GC-IMS was a component of the mini-Cometary Ice and Dust Experiment (mini-CIDEX) developed for the chemical analysis of a cometary environment. Both the GC and helium IMS of mini-CIDEX have been further developed to better meet the analytical and operational requirements of the TOAM. application. A Micro-ElectroMechanical System (MEMS) GC and Mini-Cell helium IMS are under development to replace their respective mini-CIDEX components, providing similar or advanced analytical capabilities.

  7. Atlantic multidecadal oceanic variability and its influence on the atmosphere in a climate model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Msadek, Rym; Frankignoul, Claude [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 6, LOCEAN/IPSL, Paris (France)

    2009-07-15

    The mechanisms controlling the decadal to multidecadal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) and its influence on the atmosphere are investigated using a control simulation with the IPSL-CM4 climate model. The multidecadal fluctuations of the MOC are mostly driven by deep convection in the subpolar gyre, which occurs south of Iceland in the model. The latter is primarily influenced by the anomalous advection of salinity due to changes in the East Atlantic Pattern (EAP), which is the second mode of atmospheric variability in the North Atlantic region. The North Atlantic Oscillation is the dominant mode, but it plays a secondary role in the MOC fluctuations. During summer, the MOC variability is shown to have a significant impact on the atmosphere in the North Atlantic-European sector. The MOC influence is due to an interhemispheric sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly with opposite signs in the two hemispheres but largest amplitude in the northern one. The SST pattern driven by the MOC mostly resembles the model Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and bears some similarity with the observed one. It is shown that the AMO reflects both the MOC influence and the local atmospheric forcing. Hence, the MOC influence on climate is best detected using lagged relations between climatic fields. The atmospheric response resembles the EAP, in a phase that might induce a weak positive feedback on the MOC. (orig.)

  8. Multiple climate regimes in an idealized lake-ice-atmosphere model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugiyama, Noriyuki; Kravtsov, Sergey; Roebber, Paul

    2018-01-01

    In recent decades, the Laurentian Great Lakes have undergone rapid surface warming with the summertime trends substantially exceeding the warming rates of surrounding land. Warming of the deepest (Lake Superior) was the strongest, and that of the shallowest (Lake Erie)—the weakest of all lakes. To investigate the dynamics of accelerated lake warming, we considered single-column and multi-column thermodynamic lake-ice models coupled to an idealized two-layer atmosphere. The variable temperature of the upper atmospheric layer—a proxy for the large-scale atmospheric forcing—consisted, in the most general case, of a linear trend mimicking the global warming and atmospheric interannual variability, both on top of the prescribed seasonal cycle of the upper-air temperature. The atmospheric boundary layer of the coupled model exchanged heat with the lake and exhibited lateral diffusive heat transports between the adjacent atmospheric columns. In simpler single-column models, we find that, for a certain range of periodic atmospheric forcing, each lake possesses two stable equilibrium seasonal cycles, which we call "regimes"—with and without lake-ice occurrence in winter and with corresponding cold and warm temperatures in the following summer, respectively, all under an identical seasonally varying external forcing. Deeper lakes exhibit larger differences in their summertime surface water temperature between the warm and cold regimes, due to their larger thermal and dynamical inertia. The regime behavior of multi-column coupled models is similar but more complex, and in some cases, they admit more than two stable equilibrium seasonal cycles, with varying degrees of wintertime ice-cover. The simulated lake response to climate change in the presence of the atmospheric noise rationalizes the observed accelerated warming of the lakes, the correlation between wintertime ice cover and next summer's lake-surface temperature, as well as higher warming trends of the

  9. Atmospheric sensitivity to land surface changes: comparing the impact of albedo, roughness, and evaporative resistance on near-surface air temperature using an idealized land model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lague, M. M.; Swann, A. L. S.; Bonan, G. B.

    2017-12-01

    Past studies have demonstrated how changes in vegetation can impact the atmosphere; however, it is often difficult to identify the exact physical pathway through which vegetation changes drive an atmospheric response. Surface properties (such as vegetation color, or height) control surface energy fluxes, which feed back on the atmosphere on both local and global scales by modifying temperatures, cloud cover, and energy gradients. Understanding how land surface properties influence energy fluxes is crucial for improving our understanding of how vegetation change - past, present, and future - impacts the atmosphere, global climate, and people. We explore the sensitivity of the atmosphere to perturbations of three land surface properties - albedo, roughness, and evaporative resistance - using an idealized land model coupled to an Earth System Model. We derive a relationship telling us how large a change in each surface property is required to drive a local 0.1 K change in 2m air temperature. Using this idealized framework, we are able to separate the influence on the atmosphere of each individual surface property. We demonstrate that the impact of each surface property on the atmosphere is spatially variable - that is, a similar change in vegetation can have different climate impacts if made in different locations. This analysis not only improves our understanding of how the land system can influence climate, but also provides us with a set of theoretical limits on the potential climate impact of arbitrary vegetation change (natural or anthropogenic).

  10. Sea-ice, clouds and atmospheric conditions in the arctic and their interactions as derived from a merged C3M data product

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nag, Bappaditya

    The polar regions of the world constitute an important sector in the global energy balance. Among other effects responsible for the change in the sea-ice cover like ocean circulation and ice-albedo feedback, the cloud-radiation feedback also plays a vital role in modulation of the Arctic environment. However the annual cycle of the clouds is very poorly represented in current global circulation models. This study aimed to explore the atmospheric conditions in the Arctic on an unprecedented spatial coverage spanning 70°N to 80°N through the use of a merged data product, C3MData (derived from NASA's A-Train Series). The following three topics provide outline on how this dataset can be used to accomplish a detailed analysis of the Arctic environment and provide the modelling community with first information to update their models aimed at better forecasts. (1)The three properties of the Arctic climate system to be studied using the C3MData are sea-ice, clouds, and the atmospheric conditions. The first topic is to document the present states of the three properties and also their time evolutions or their seasonal cycles. (2)The second topic is aimed at the interactions or the feedbacks processes among the three properties. For example, the immediate alteration in the fluxes and the feedbacks arising from the change in the sea-ice cover is investigated. Seasonal and regional variations are also studied. (3)The third topics is aimed at the processes in native spatial resolution that drive or accompany with sea ice melting and sea ice growth. Using a composite approach based on a classification due to surface type, it is found that limitation of the water vapour influx from the surface due to change in phase at the surface featuring open oceans or marginal sea-ice cover to complete sea-ice cover is a major determinant in the modulation of the atmospheric moisture. The impact of the cloud-radiative effects in the Arctic is found to vary with sea-ice cover and seasonally

  11. Surface modification of polyester synthetic leather with tetramethylsilane by atmospheric pressure plasma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kan, C.W., E-mail: tccwk@polyu.edu.hk [Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon (Hong Kong); Kwong, C.H. [Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon (Hong Kong); Ng, S.P. [Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong)

    2015-08-15

    Highlights: • Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment improved surface performance of polyester synthetic leather with tetramethylsilane. • XPS and FTIR confirmed the deposition of organosilanes on the sample's surface. • Contact angle increases to 138° after plasma treatment. - Abstract: Much works have been done on synthetic materials but scarcely on synthetic leather owing to its surface structures in terms of porosity and roughness. This paper examines the use of atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) treatment for improving the surface performance of polyester synthetic leather by use of a precursor, tetramethylsilane (TMS). Plasma deposition is regarded as an effective, simple and single-step method with low pollution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirm the deposition of organosilanes on the sample's surface. The results showed that under a particular combination of treatment parameters, a hydrophobic surface was achieved on the APP treated sample with sessile drop static contact angle of 138°. The hydrophobic surface is stable without hydrophilic recovery 30 days after plasma treatment.

  12. Surface modification of polyester synthetic leather with tetramethylsilane by atmospheric pressure plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kan, C.W.; Kwong, C.H.; Ng, S.P.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment improved surface performance of polyester synthetic leather with tetramethylsilane. • XPS and FTIR confirmed the deposition of organosilanes on the sample's surface. • Contact angle increases to 138° after plasma treatment. - Abstract: Much works have been done on synthetic materials but scarcely on synthetic leather owing to its surface structures in terms of porosity and roughness. This paper examines the use of atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) treatment for improving the surface performance of polyester synthetic leather by use of a precursor, tetramethylsilane (TMS). Plasma deposition is regarded as an effective, simple and single-step method with low pollution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirm the deposition of organosilanes on the sample's surface. The results showed that under a particular combination of treatment parameters, a hydrophobic surface was achieved on the APP treated sample with sessile drop static contact angle of 138°. The hydrophobic surface is stable without hydrophilic recovery 30 days after plasma treatment

  13. Can feedback analysis be used to uncover the physical origin of climate sensitivity and efficacy differences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieger, Vanessa S.; Dietmüller, Simone; Ponater, Michael

    2017-10-01

    Different strengths and types of radiative forcings cause variations in the climate sensitivities and efficacies. To relate these changes to their physical origin, this study tests whether a feedback analysis is a suitable approach. For this end, we apply the partial radiative perturbation method. Combining the forward and backward calculation turns out to be indispensable to ensure the additivity of feedbacks and to yield a closed forcing-feedback-balance at top of the atmosphere. For a set of CO2-forced simulations, the climate sensitivity changes with increasing forcing. The albedo, cloud and combined water vapour and lapse rate feedback are found to be responsible for the variations in the climate sensitivity. An O3-forced simulation (induced by enhanced NOx and CO surface emissions) causes a smaller efficacy than a CO2-forced simulation with a similar magnitude of forcing. We find that the Planck, albedo and most likely the cloud feedback are responsible for this effect. Reducing the radiative forcing impedes the statistical separability of feedbacks. We additionally discuss formal inconsistencies between the common ways of comparing climate sensitivities and feedbacks. Moreover, methodical recommendations for future work are given.

  14. Two-component feedback loops and deformed mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tourigny, David S.

    2015-01-01

    It is shown that a general two-component feedback loop can be viewed as a deformed Hamiltonian system. Some of the implications of using ideas from theoretical physics to study biological processes are discussed. - Highlights: • Two-component molecular feedback loops are viewed as q-deformed Hamiltonian systems. • Deformations are reversed using Jackson derivatives to take advantage of working in the Hamiltonian limit. • New results are derived for the particular examples considered. • General deformations are suggested to be associated with a broader class of biological processes

  15. Formation control of marine surface craft: a Lagrangian approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ihle, Ivar-Andre F.; Jouffroy, Jerome; Fossen, Thor I.

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents a method for formation control of marine surface craft inspired by Lagrangian mechanics. The desired formation configuration and response of the marine surface craft are given as a set of constraints in analytical mechanics. Thus, constraints forces arise and feedback from...

  16. Impact of atmospheric and terrestrial CO2 feedbacks on fertilization-induced marine carbon uptake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oschlies, A.

    2009-08-01

    The sensitivity of oceanic CO2 uptake to alterations in the marine biological carbon pump, such as brought about by natural or purposeful ocean fertilization, has repeatedly been investigated by studies employing numerical biogeochemical ocean models. It is shown here that the results of such ocean-centered studies are very sensitive to the assumption made about the response of the carbon reservoirs on the atmospheric side of the sea surface. Assumptions made include prescribed atmospheric pCO2, an interactive atmospheric CO2 pool exchanging carbon with the ocean but not with the terrestrial biosphere, and an interactive atmosphere that exchanges carbon with both oceanic and terrestrial carbon pools. The impact of these assumptions on simulated annual to millennial oceanic carbon uptake is investigated for a hypothetical increase in the C:N ratio of the biological pump and for an idealized enhancement of phytoplankton growth. Compared to simulations with interactive atmosphere, using prescribed atmospheric pCO2 overestimates the sensitivity of the oceanic CO2 uptake to changes in the biological pump, by about 2%, 25%, 100%, and >500% on annual, decadal, centennial, and millennial timescales, respectively. The smaller efficiency of the oceanic carbon uptake under an interactive atmosphere is due to the back flux of CO2 that occurs when atmospheric CO2 is reduced. Adding an interactive terrestrial carbon pool to the atmosphere-ocean model system has a small effect on annual timescales, but increases the simulated fertilization-induced oceanic carbon uptake by about 4%, 50%, and 100% on decadal, centennial, and millennial timescales, respectively, for pCO2 sensitivities of the terrestrial carbon storage in the middle range of the C4MIP models (Friedlingstein et al., 2006). For such sensitivities, a substantial fraction of oceanic carbon uptake induced by natural or purposeful ocean fertilization originates, on timescales longer than decades, not from the atmosphere

  17. Changing surface-atmosphere energy exchange and refreezing capacity of the lower accumulation area, West Greenland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charalampidis, C.; van As, D.; Box, J. E.; van den Broeke, M. R.; Colgan, W. T.; Doyle, S. H.; Hubbard, A. L.; MacFerrin, M.; Machguth, H.; Smeets, C. J. P. P.

    2015-11-01

    We present 5 years (2009-2013) of automatic weather station measurements from the lower accumulation area (1840 m a.s.l. - above sea level) of the Greenland ice sheet in the Kangerlussuaq region. Here, the summers of 2010 and 2012 were both exceptionally warm, but only 2012 resulted in a strongly negative surface mass budget (SMB) and surface meltwater run-off. The observed run-off was due to a large ice fraction in the upper 10 m of firn that prevented meltwater from percolating to available pore volume below. Analysis reveals an anomalously low 2012 summer-averaged albedo of 0.71 (typically ~ 0.78), as meltwater was present at the ice sheet surface. Consequently, during the 2012 melt season, the ice sheet surface absorbed 28 % (213 MJ m-2) more solar radiation than the average of all other years. A surface energy balance model is used to evaluate the seasonal and interannual variability of all surface energy fluxes. The model reproduces the observed melt rates as well as the SMB for each season. A sensitivity analysis reveals that 71 % of the additional solar radiation in 2012 was used for melt, corresponding to 36 % (0.64 m) of the 2012 surface lowering. The remaining 64 % (1.14 m) of surface lowering resulted from high atmospheric temperatures, up to a +2.6 °C daily average, indicating that 2012 would have been a negative SMB year at this site even without the melt-albedo feedback. Longer time series of SMB, regional temperature, and remotely sensed albedo (MODIS) show that 2012 was the first strongly negative SMB year, with the lowest albedo, at this elevation on record. The warm conditions of recent years have resulted in enhanced melt and reduction of the refreezing capacity in the lower accumulation area. If high temperatures continue, the current lower accumulation area will turn into a region with superimposed ice in coming years.

  18. The fundamental role of ecological feedback mechanisms for the adaptive management of seagrass ecosystems - a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Paul S; Eklöf, Johan S; van Katwijk, Marieke M; O'Brien, Katherine R; de la Torre-Castro, Maricela; Boström, Christoffer; Bouma, Tjeerd J; Krause-Jensen, Dorte; Unsworth, Richard K F; van Tussenbroek, Brigitta I; van der Heide, Tjisse

    2017-08-01

    Seagrass meadows are vital ecosystems in coastal zones worldwide, but are also under global threat. One of the major hurdles restricting the success of seagrass conservation and restoration is our limited understanding of ecological feedback mechanisms. In these ecosystems, multiple, self-reinforcing feedbacks can undermine conservation efforts by masking environmental impacts until the decline is precipitous, or alternatively they can inhibit seagrass recovery in spite of restoration efforts. However, no clear framework yet exists for identifying or dealing with feedbacks to improve the management of seagrass ecosystems. Here we review the causes and consequences of multiple feedbacks between seagrass and biotic and/or abiotic processes. We demonstrate how feedbacks have the potential to impose or reinforce regimes of either seagrass dominance or unvegetated substrate, and how the strength and importance of these feedbacks vary across environmental gradients. Although a myriad of feedbacks have now been identified, the co-occurrence and likely interaction among feedbacks has largely been overlooked to date due to difficulties in analysis and detection. Here we take a fundamental step forward by modelling the interactions among two distinct above- and belowground feedbacks to demonstrate that interacting feedbacks are likely to be important for ecosystem resilience. On this basis, we propose a five-step adaptive management plan to address feedback dynamics for effective conservation and restoration strategies. The management plan provides guidance to aid in the identification and prioritisation of likely feedbacks in different seagrass ecosystems. © 2016 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

  19. Estimations of climate sensitivity based on top-of-atmosphere radiation imbalance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Lin

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Large climate feedback uncertainties limit the accuracy in predicting the response of the Earth's climate to the increase of CO2 concentration within the atmosphere. This study explores a potential to reduce uncertainties in climate sensitivity estimations using energy balance analysis, especially top-of-atmosphere (TOA radiation imbalance. The time-scales studied generally cover from decade to century, that is, middle-range climate sensitivity is considered, which is directly related to the climate issue caused by atmospheric CO2 change. The significant difference between current analysis and previous energy balance models is that the current study targets at the boundary condition problem instead of solving the initial condition problem. Additionally, climate system memory and deep ocean heat transport are considered. The climate feedbacks are obtained based on the constraints of the TOA radiation imbalance and surface temperature measurements of the present climate. In this study, the TOA imbalance value of 0.85 W/m2 is used. Note that this imbalance value has large uncertainties. Based on this value, a positive climate feedback with a feedback coefficient ranging from −1.3 to −1.0 W/m2/K is found. The range of feedback coefficient is determined by climate system memory. The longer the memory, the stronger the positive feedback. The estimated time constant of the climate is large (70~120 years mainly owing to the deep ocean heat transport, implying that the system may be not in an equilibrium state under the external forcing during the industrial era. For the doubled-CO2 climate (or 3.7 W/m2 forcing, the estimated global warming would be 3.1 K if the current estimate of 0.85 W/m2 TOA net radiative heating could be confirmed. With accurate long-term measurements of TOA radiation, the analysis method suggested by this study provides a great potential in the

  20. Future projections of the Greenland ice sheet energy balance driving the surface melt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Franco

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, simulations at 25 km resolution are performed over the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, using the regional climate model MAR forced by four RCP scenarios from three CMIP5 global circulation models (GCMs, in order to investigate the projected changes of the surface energy balance (SEB components driving the surface melt. Analysis of 2000–2100 melt anomalies compared to melt results over 1980–1999 reveals an exponential relationship of the GrIS surface melt rate simulated by MAR to the near-surface air temperature (TAS anomalies, mainly due to the surface albedo positive feedback associated with the extension of bare ice areas in summer. On the GrIS margins, the future melt anomalies are preferentially driven by stronger sensible heat fluxes, induced by enhanced warm air advection over the ice sheet. Over the central dry snow zone, the surface albedo positive feedback induced by the increase in summer melt exceeds the negative feedback of heavier snowfall for TAS anomalies higher than 4 °C. In addition to the incoming longwave flux increase associated with the atmosphere warming, GCM-forced MAR simulations project an increase of the cloud cover decreasing the ratio of the incoming shortwave versus longwave radiation and dampening the albedo feedback. However, it should be noted that this trend in the cloud cover is contrary to that simulated by ERA-Interim–forced MAR for recent climate conditions, where the observed melt increase since the 1990s seems mainly to be a consequence of more anticyclonic atmospheric conditions. Finally, no significant change is projected in the length of the melt season, which highlights the importance of solar radiation absorbed by the ice sheet surface in the melt SEB.

  1. The importance of wind-flux feedbacks during the November CINDY-DYNAMO MJO event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley Dellaripa, Emily; Maloney, Eric; van den Heever, Susan

    2015-04-01

    High-resolution, large-domain cloud resolving model (CRM) simulations probing the importance of wind-flux feedbacks to Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) convection are performed for the November 2011 CINDY-DYNAMO MJO event. The work is motivated by observational analysis from RAMA buoys in the Indian Ocean and TRMM precipitation retrievals that show a positive correlation between MJO precipitation and wind-induced surface fluxes, especially latent heat fluxes, during and beyond the CINDY-DYNAMO time period. Simulations are done using Colorado State University's Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). The domain setup is oceanic and spans 1000 km x 1000 km with 1.5 km horizontal resolution and 65 stretched vertical levels centered on the location of Gan Island - one of the major CINDY-DYNAMO observation points. The model is initialized with ECMWF reanalysis and Aqua MODIS sea surface temperatures. Nudging from ECMWF reanalysis is applied at the domain periphery to encourage realistic evolution of MJO convection. The control experiment is run for the entire month of November so both suppressed and active, as well as, transitional phases of the MJO are modeled. In the control experiment, wind-induced surface fluxes are activated through the surface bulk aerodynamic formula and allowed to evolve organically. Sensitivity experiments are done by restarting the control run one week into the simulation and controlling the wind-induced flux feedbacks. In one sensitivity experiment, wind-induced surface flux feedbacks are completely denied, while in another experiment the winds are kept constant at the control simulations mean surface wind speed. The evolution of convection, especially on the mesoscale, is compared between the control and sensitivity simulations.

  2. Mechanical tearing of graphene on an oxidizing metal surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    George, Lijin; Gupta, Aparna; Shaina, P R; Jaiswal, Manu; Gupta, Nandita Das

    2015-01-01

    Graphene, the thinnest possible anticorrosion and gas-permeation barrier, is poised to transform the protective coatings industry for a variety of surface applications. In this work, we have studied the structural changes of graphene when the underlying copper surface undergoes oxidation upon heating. Single-layer graphene directly grown on a copper surface by chemical vapour deposition was annealed under ambient atmosphere conditions up to 400 °C. The onset temperature of the surface oxidation of copper is found to be higher for graphene-coated foils. Parallel arrays of graphene nanoripples are a ubiquitous feature of pristine graphene on copper, and we demonstrate that these form crucial sites for the onset of the oxidation of copper, particularly for ∼0.3–0.4 μm ripple widths. In these regions, the oxidation proceeds along the length of the nanoripples, resulting in the formation of parallel stripes of oxidized copper regions. We demonstrate from temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy that the primary defect formation process in graphene involves boundary-type defects rather than vacancy or sp"3-type defects. This observation is consistent with a mechanical tearing process that splits graphene into small polycrystalline domains. The size of these is estimated to be sub-50 nm. (paper)

  3. Mechanical tearing of graphene on an oxidizing metal surface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Lijin; Gupta, Aparna; Shaina, P R; Das Gupta, Nandita; Jaiswal, Manu

    2015-12-11

    Graphene, the thinnest possible anticorrosion and gas-permeation barrier, is poised to transform the protective coatings industry for a variety of surface applications. In this work, we have studied the structural changes of graphene when the underlying copper surface undergoes oxidation upon heating. Single-layer graphene directly grown on a copper surface by chemical vapour deposition was annealed under ambient atmosphere conditions up to 400 °C. The onset temperature of the surface oxidation of copper is found to be higher for graphene-coated foils. Parallel arrays of graphene nanoripples are a ubiquitous feature of pristine graphene on copper, and we demonstrate that these form crucial sites for the onset of the oxidation of copper, particularly for ∼0.3-0.4 μm ripple widths. In these regions, the oxidation proceeds along the length of the nanoripples, resulting in the formation of parallel stripes of oxidized copper regions. We demonstrate from temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy that the primary defect formation process in graphene involves boundary-type defects rather than vacancy or sp(3)-type defects. This observation is consistent with a mechanical tearing process that splits graphene into small polycrystalline domains. The size of these is estimated to be sub-50 nm.

  4. Surface-Atmosphere Moisture Interactions in the Frozen Ground Regions of Eurasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Trent W; Frauenfeld, Oliver W

    2016-01-18

    Climate models simulate an intensifying Arctic hydrologic cycle in response to climatic warming, however the role of surface-atmosphere interactions from degrading frozen ground is unclear in these projections. Using Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data in high-latitude Eurasia, we examine long-term variability in surface-atmosphere coupling as represented by the statistical relationship between surface evaporative fraction (EF) and afternoon precipitation. Changes in EF, precipitation, and their statistical association are then related to underlying permafrost type and snow cover. Results indicate significant positive trends in July EF in the Central Siberian Plateau, corresponding to significant increases in afternoon precipitation. The positive trends are only significant over continuous permafrost, with non-significant or negative EF and precipitation trends over isolated, sporadic, and discontinuous permafrost areas. Concurrently, increasing EF and subsequent precipitation are found to coincide with significant trends in May and June snowmelt, which potentially provides the moisture source for the observed enhanced latent heating and moisture recycling in the region. As climate change causes continuous permafrost to transition to discontinuous, discontinuous to sporadic, sporadic to isolated, and isolated permafrost disappears, this will also alter patterns of atmospheric convection, moisture recycling, and hence the hydrologic cycle in high-latitude land areas.

  5. Observing and Modeling the Surface Scattering Layer of First-Year Arctic Sea Ice

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Moritz, Richard; Light, Bonnie

    2007-01-01

    ...) radiation by sea ice. The partitioning of shortwave radiation into components backscattered to the atmosphere, absorbed by the ice, and transmitted to the ocean is central to the ice-albedo feedback mechanism, the mean...

  6. Application of computational fluid mechanics to atmospheric pollution problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, R. J.; Liaw, G. S.; Smith, R. E.

    1986-01-01

    One of the most noticeable effects of air pollution on the properties of the atmosphere is the reduction in visibility. This paper reports the results of investigations of the fluid dynamical and microphysical processes involved in the formation of advection fog on aerosols from combustion-related pollutants, as condensation nuclei. The effects of a polydisperse aerosol distribution, on the condensation/nucleation processes which cause the reduction in visibility are studied. This study demonstrates how computational fluid mechanics and heat transfer modeling can be applied to simulate the life cycle of the atmosphereic pollution problems.

  7. Use of Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jet for Polymer Surface Modification: An Overview

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuettner, Lindsey A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-03-16

    Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets (APPJs) are playing an increasingly important role in materials processing procedures. Plasma treatment is a useful tool to modify surface properties of materials, especially polymers. Plasma reacts with polymer surfaces in numerous ways thus the type of process gas and plasma conditions must be explored for chosen substrates and materials to maximize desired properties. This report discusses plasma treatments and looks further into atmospheric-pressure plasma jets and the effects of gases and plasma conditions. Following the short literature review, a general overview of the future work and research at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is discussed.

  8. The Role of Surface Energy Exchange for Simulating Wind Inflow: An Evaluation of Multiple Land Surface Models in WRF for the Southern Great Plains Site Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wharton, Sonia [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Simpson, Matthew [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Osuna, Jessica [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Newman, Jennifer [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Biraud, Sebastien [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2016-05-01

    The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to investigate choice of land surface model (LSM) on the near-surface wind profile, including heights reached by multi-megawatt wind turbines. Simulations of wind profiles and surface energy fluxes were made using five LSMs of varying degrees of sophistication in dealing with soil-plant-atmosphere feedbacks for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility in Oklahoma. Surface-flux and wind-profile measurements were available for validation. The WRF model was run for three two-week periods during which varying canopy and meteorological conditions existed. The LSMs predicted a wide range of energy-flux and wind-shear magnitudes even during the cool autumn period when we expected less variability. Simulations of energy fluxes varied in accuracy by model sophistication, whereby LSMs with very simple or no soil-plant-atmosphere feedbacks were the least accurate; however, the most complex models did not consistently produce more accurate results. Errors in wind shear also were sensitive to LSM choice and were partially related to the accuracy of energy flux data. The variability of LSM performance was relatively high, suggesting that LSM representation of energy fluxes in the WRF model remains a significant source of uncertainty for simulating wind turbine inflow conditions.

  9. Light reflection from a rough liquid surface including wind-wave effects in a scattering atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salinas, Santo V.; Liew, S.C.

    2007-01-01

    Visible and near-IR images of the ocean surface, taken from remote satellites, often contain important information of near-surface or sub-surface processes, which occur on, or over the ocean. Remote measurements of near surface winds, sea surface temperature and salinity, ocean color and underwater bathymetry, all, one way or another, depend on how well we understand sea surface roughness. However, in order to extract useful information from our remote measurements, we need to construct accurate models of the transfer of solar radiation inside the atmosphere as well as, its reflection from the sea surface. To approach this problem, we numerically solve the radiative transfer equation (RTE) by implementing a model for the atmosphere-ocean system. A one-dimensional atmospheric radiation model is solved via the widely known doubling and adding method and the ocean body is treated as a boundary condition to the problem. The ocean surface is modeled as a rough liquid surface which includes wind interaction and wave states, such as wave age. The model can have possible applications to the retrieval of wind and wave states, such as wave age, near a Sun glint region

  10. An improved ENSO simulation by representing chlorophyll-induced climate feedback in the NCAR Community Earth System Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Xianbiao; Zhang, Rong-Hua; Gao, Chuan; Zhu, Jieshun

    2017-12-07

    The El Niño-Southern oscillation (ENSO) simulated in the Community Earth System Model of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR CESM) is much stronger than in reality. Here, satellite data are used to derive a statistical relationship between interannual variations in oceanic chlorophyll (CHL) and sea surface temperature (SST), which is then incorporated into the CESM to represent oceanic chlorophyll -induced climate feedback in the tropical Pacific. Numerical runs with and without the feedback (referred to as feedback and non-feedback runs) are performed and compared with each other. The ENSO amplitude simulated in the feedback run is more accurate than that in the non-feedback run; quantitatively, the Niño3 SST index is reduced by 35% when the feedback is included. The underlying processes are analyzed and the results show that interannual CHL anomalies exert a systematic modulating effect on the solar radiation penetrating into the subsurface layers, which induces differential heating in the upper ocean that affects vertical mixing and thus SST. The statistical modeling approach proposed in this work offers an effective and economical way for improving climate simulations.

  11. Influence of tropical atmospheric variability on Weddell Sea deep water convection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleppin, H.

    2016-02-01

    Climate reconstructions from ice core records in Greenland and Antarctica have revealed a series of abrupt climate transitions, showing a distinct relationship between northern and southern hemisphere climate during the last glacial period. The recent ice core records from West Antarctica (WAIS) point towards an atmospheric teleconnection as a possible trigger for the interhemispheric climate variability (Markle et al., 2015). An unforced simulation of the Community Climate System Model, version 4 (CCSM4) reveals Greenland warming and cooling events, caused by stochastic atmospheric forcing, that resemble Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles in pattern and magnitude (Kleppin et al., 2015). Anti-phased temperature changes in the Southern Hemisphere are small in magnitude and have a spatially varying pattern. We argue that both north and south high latitude climate variability is triggered by changes in tropical atmospheric deep convection in the western tropical Pacific. The atmospheric wave guide provides a fast communication pathway connecting the deep tropics and the polar regions. In the Southern Hemisphere this is manifested as a distinct pressure pattern over West Antarctica. These altered atmospheric surface conditions over the convective region can lead to destabilization of the water column and thus to convective overturning in the Weddell Sea. However, opposed to what is seen in the Northern Hemisphere no centennial scale variability can establish, due to the absence of a strong feedback mechanism between ocean, atmosphere and sea ice. Kleppin, H., Jochum, M., Otto-Bliesner, B., Shields, C. A., & Yeager, S. (2015). Stochastic Atmospheric Forcing as a Cause of Greenland Climate Transitions. Journal of Climate, (2015). Markle, B. and Coauthors (2015, April). Atmospheric teleconnections between the tropics and high southern latitudes during millennial climate change. In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 17, p. 2569).

  12. Effect of water table dynamics on land surface hydrologic memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Min-Hui; Famiglietti, James S.

    2010-11-01

    The representation of groundwater dynamics in land surface models has received considerable attention in recent years. Most studies have found that soil moisture increases after adding a groundwater component because of the additional supply of water to the root zone. However, the effect of groundwater on land surface hydrologic memory (persistence) has not been explored thoroughly. In this study we investigate the effect of water table dynamics on National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Land Model hydrologic simulations in terms of land surface hydrologic memory. Unlike soil water or evapotranspiration, results show that land surface hydrologic memory does not always increase after adding a groundwater component. In regions where the water table level is intermediate, land surface hydrologic memory can even decrease, which occurs when soil moisture and capillary rise from groundwater are not in phase with each other. Further, we explore the hypothesis that in addition to atmospheric forcing, groundwater variations may also play an important role in affecting land surface hydrologic memory. Analyses show that feedbacks of groundwater on land surface hydrologic memory can be positive, negative, or neutral, depending on water table dynamics. In regions where the water table is shallow, the damping process of soil moisture variations by groundwater is not significant, and soil moisture variations are mostly controlled by random noise from atmospheric forcing. In contrast, in regions where the water table is very deep, capillary fluxes from groundwater are small, having limited potential to affect soil moisture variations. Therefore, a positive feedback of groundwater to land surface hydrologic memory is observed in a transition zone between deep and shallow water tables, where capillary fluxes act as a buffer by reducing high-frequency soil moisture variations resulting in longer land surface hydrologic memory.

  13. Multiple greenhouse gas feedbacks from the land biosphere under future climate change scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocker, Benjamin; Roth, Raphael; Joos, Fortunat; Spahni, Renato; Steinacher, Marco; Zaehle, Soenke; Bouwman, Lex; Xu-Ri, Xu-Ri; Prentice, Colin

    2013-04-01

    Atmospheric concentrations of the three important greenhouse gases (GHG) CO2, CH4, and N2O are mediated by processes in the terrestrial biosphere. The sensitivity of terrestrial GHG emissions to climate and CO2 contributed to the sharp rise in atmospheric GHG concentrations since preindustrial times and leads to multiple feedbacks between the terrestrial biosphere and the climate system. The strength of these feedbacks is determined by (i) the sensitivity of terrestrial GHG emissions to climate and CO2 and (ii) the greenhouse warming potential of the respective gas. Here, we quantify feedbacks from CO2, CH4, N2O, and land surface albedo in a consistent and comprehensive framework based on a large set of simulations conducted with an Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity. The modeled sensitivities of CH4 and N2O emissions are tested, demonstrating that independent data for non-land (anthropogenic, oceanic, etc.) GHG emissions, combined with simulated emissions from natural and agricultural land reproduces historical atmospheric budgets within their uncertainties. 21st-century scenarios for climate, land use change and reactive nitrogen inputs (Nr) are applied to investigate future GHG emissions. Results suggest that in a business-as-usual scenario, terrestrial N2O emissions increase from 9.0 by today to 9.8-11.1 (RCP 2.6) and 14.2-17.0 TgN2O-N/yr by 2100 (RCP 8.5). Without anthropogenic Nr inputs, the amplification is reduced by 24-32%. Soil CH4 emissions increase from 221 at present to 228-245 in RCP 2.6 and to 303-343 TgCH4/yr in RCP 8.5, and the land becomes a net source of C by 2100 AD. Feedbacks from land imply an additional warming of 1.3-1.5°C by 2300 in RCP 8.5, 0.4-0.5°C of which are due to N2O and CH4. The combined effect of multiple GHGs and albedo represents an increasingly positive total feedback to anthropogenic climate change with positive individual feedbacks from CH4, N2O, and albedo outweighing the diminishing negative feedback from CO2

  14. Multidecadal Variability in Surface Albedo Feedback Across CMIP5 Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Adam; Flanner, Mark; Perket, Justin

    2018-02-01

    Previous studies quantify surface albedo feedback (SAF) in climate change, but few assess its variability on decadal time scales. Using the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Version 5 (CMIP5) multimodel ensemble data set, we calculate time evolving SAF in multiple decades from surface albedo and temperature linear regressions. Results are meaningful when temperature change exceeds 0.5 K. Decadal-scale SAF is strongly correlated with century-scale SAF during the 21st century. Throughout the 21st century, multimodel ensemble mean SAF increases from 0.37 to 0.42 W m-2 K-1. These results suggest that models' mean decadal-scale SAFs are good estimates of their century-scale SAFs if there is at least 0.5 K temperature change. Persistent SAF into the late 21st century indicates ongoing capacity for Arctic albedo decline despite there being less sea ice. If the CMIP5 multimodel ensemble results are representative of the Earth, we cannot expect decreasing Arctic sea ice extent to suppress SAF in the 21st century.

  15. Venus surface peeking through the atmosphere - gaining a global perspective on the surface composition through near infrared observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helbert, J.; Dyar, M. D.; Maturilli, A.; D'Amore, M.; Ferrari, S.; Mueller, N. T.; Smrekar, S. E.

    2017-12-01

    Venus is the most Earth-like of the terrestrial planets, though very little is known about its surface composition. Thanks to recent advances in laboratory spectroscopy and spectral analysis techniques, this is about to change. Although the atmosphere prohibits observations of the surface with traditional imaging techniques over much of the EM spectral range, five transparent windows between 0.86 µm and 1.18 µm occur in the atmosphere's CO2 spectrum. New high temperature laboratory spectra from the Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory at DLR show that spectra in these windows are highly diagnostic for surface mineralogy [1]. The Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) [2] builds on these recent advances. It is proposed for NASA's Venus Origins Explorer where a radar will provided the needed high-resolution altimetry and ESA's EnVision would provide stereo topography instead. VEM is the first flight instrument specially designed to focus solely on mapping Venus' surface using the windows around 1 µm. Operating in situ from Venus orbit, VEM will provide a global map of composition as well as redox state of the surface, enabling a comprehensive picture of surface-atmosphere interaction on Venus. VEM will return a complex data set containing surface, atmospheric, cloud, and scattering information. Total planned data volume for a typical mission scenario exceeds 1TB. Classical analysis techniques have been successfully used for VIRTIS on Venus Express [3-5] and could be employed with the VEM data. However, application of machine learning approaches to this rich dataset is vastly more efficient, as has already been confirmed with laboratory data. Binary classifiers [6] demonstrate that at current best estimate errors, basalt spectra are confidently discriminated from basaltic andesites, andesites, and rhyolite/granite. Applying the approach of self-organizing maps to the increasingly large set of laboratory measurements allows searching for additional mineralogical indicators

  16. Process-based modeling of silicate mineral weathering responses to increasing atmospheric CO2 and climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banwart, Steven A.; Berg, Astrid; Beerling, David J.

    2009-12-01

    A mathematical model describes silicate mineral weathering processes in modern soils located in the boreal coniferous region of northern Europe. The process model results demonstrate a stabilizing biological feedback mechanism between atmospheric CO2 levels and silicate weathering rates as is generally postulated for atmospheric evolution. The process model feedback response agrees within a factor of 2 of that calculated by a weathering feedback function of the type generally employed in global geochemical carbon cycle models of the Earth's Phanerozoic CO2 history. Sensitivity analysis of parameter values in the process model provides insight into the key mechanisms that influence the strength of the biological feedback to weathering. First, the process model accounts for the alkalinity released by weathering, whereby its acceleration stabilizes pH at values that are higher than expected. Although the process model yields faster weathering with increasing temperature, because of activation energy effects on mineral dissolution kinetics at warmer temperature, the mineral dissolution rate laws utilized in the process model also result in lower dissolution rates at higher pH values. Hence, as dissolution rates increase under warmer conditions, more alkalinity is released by the weathering reaction, helping maintain higher pH values thus stabilizing the weathering rate. Second, the process model yields a relatively low sensitivity of soil pH to increasing plant productivity. This is due to more rapid decomposition of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) under warmer conditions. Because DOC fluxes strongly influence the soil water proton balance and pH, this increased decomposition rate dampens the feedback between productivity and weathering. The process model is most sensitive to parameters reflecting soil structure; depth, porosity, and water content. This suggests that the role of biota to influence these characteristics of the weathering profile is as important, if not

  17. Forcings and feedbacks by land ecosystem changes on climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betts, R. A.

    2006-12-01

    Vegetation change is involved in climate change through both forcing and feedback processes. Emissions of CO{2} from past net deforestation are estimated to have contributed approximately 0.22 0.51 Wm - 2 to the overall 1.46 Wm - 2 radiative forcing by anthropogenic increases in CO{2} up to the year 2000. Deforestation-induced increases in global mean surface albedo are estimated to exert a radiative forcing of 0 to -0.2 Wm - 2, and dust emissions from land use may exert a radiative forcing of between approximately +0.1 and -0.2 Wm - 2. Changes in the fluxes of latent and sensible heat due to tropical deforestation are simulated to have exerted other local warming effects which cannot be quantified in terms of a Wm - 2 radiative forcing, with the potential for remote effects through changes in atmospheric circulation. With tropical deforestation continuing rapidly, radiative forcing by surface albedo change may become less useful as a measure of the forcing of climate change by changes in the physical properties of the land surface. Although net global deforestation is continuing, future scenarios used for climate change prediction suggest that fossil fuel emissions of CO{2} may continue to increase at a greater rate than land use emissions and therefore continue to increase in dominance as the main radiative forcing. The CO{2} rise may be accelerated by up to 66% by feedbacks arising from global soil carbon loss and forest dieback in Amazonia as a consequence of climate change, and Amazon forest dieback may also exert feedbacks through changes in the local water cycle and increases in dust emissions.

  18. Quality assessment of atmospheric surface fields over the Baltic Sea from an ensemble of regional climate model simulations with respect to ocean dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. E. Markus Meier

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Climate model results for the Baltic Sea region from an ensemble of eight simulations using the Rossby Centre Atmosphere model version 3 (RCA3 driven with lateral boundary data from global climate models (GCMs are compared with results from a downscaled ERA40 simulation and gridded observations from 1980-2006. The results showed that data from RCA3 scenario simulations should not be used as forcing for Baltic Sea models in climate change impact studies because biases of the control climate significantly affect the simulated changes of future projections. For instance, biases of the sea ice cover in RCA3 in the present climate affect the sensitivity of the model's response to changing climate due to the ice-albedo feedback. From the large ensemble of available RCA3 scenario simulations two GCMs with good performance in downscaling experiments during the control period 1980-2006 were selected. In this study, only the quality of atmospheric surface fields over the Baltic Sea was chosen as a selection criterion. For the greenhouse gas emission scenario A1B two transient simulations for 1961-2100 driven by these two GCMs were performed using the regional, fully coupled atmosphere-ice-ocean model RCAO. It was shown that RCAO has the potential to improve the results in downscaling experiments driven by GCMs considerably, because sea surface temperatures and sea ice concentrations are calculated more realistically with RCAO than when RCA3 has been forced with surface boundary data from GCMs. For instance, the seasonal 2 m air temperature cycle is closer to observations in RCAO than in RCA3 downscaling simulations. However, the parameterizations of air-sea fluxes in RCAO need to be improved.

  19. Atmospheric Oxidation Mechanism of Furfural Initiated by Hydroxyl Radicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xiaocan; Wang, Liming

    2017-05-04

    Furfural is emitted into the atmosphere because of its potential applications as an intermediate to alkane fuels from biomass, industrial usages, and biomass burning. The kinetic and mechanistic information on the furfural chemistry is necessary to assess the fate of furfural in the atmosphere and its impact on the air quality. Here we studied the atmospheric oxidation mechanisms of furfural initiated by the OH radicals using quantum chemistry and kinetic calculations. The reaction of OH and furfural was initiated mainly by OH additions to C 2 and C 5 positions, forming R2 and R5 adducts, which could undergo rapid ring-breakage to form R2B and R5B, respectively. Our calculations showed that these intermediate radicals reacted rather slowly with O 2 under the atmospheric conditions because the additions of O 2 to these radicals are only slightly exothermic and highly reversible. Alternatively, these radicals would react directly with O 3 , NO 2 , HO 2 /RO 2 , etc. Namely, the atmospheric oxidation of furfural would unlikely result in ozone formation. Under typical atmospheric conditions, the main products in OH-initiated furfural oxidation include 2-oxo-3-pentene-1,5-dialdehyde, 5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone, 4-oxo-2- butenoic acid, and 2,5-furandione. These compounds will likely stay in the gas phase and are subject to further photo-oxidation.

  20. Cleaning of niobium surface by plasma of diffuse discharge at atmospheric pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarasenko, V. F.; Erofeev, M. V.; Shulepov, M. A.; Ripenko, V. S.

    2017-07-01

    Elements composition of niobium surface before and after plasma treatment by runaway electron preionized diffuse discharge was investigated in atmospheric pressure nitrogen flow by means of an Auger electron spectroscopy. Surface characterizations obtained from Auger spectra show that plasma treatment by diffuse discharge after exposure of 120000 pulses provides ultrafine surface cleaning from carbon contamination. Moreover, the surface free energy of the treated specimens increased up to 3 times, that improve its adhesion property.

  1. Simulation of bulk aerosol direct radiative effects and its climatic feedbacks in South Africa using RegCM4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tesfaye, M.; Botai, J.; Sivakumar, V.; Mengistu Tsidu, G.; Rautenbach, C. J. deW.; Moja, Shadung J.

    2016-05-01

    In this study, 12 year runs of the Regional Climate Model (RegCM4) have been used to analyze the bulk aerosol radiative effects and its climatic feedbacks in South Africa. Due to the geographical locations where the aerosol potential source regions are situated and the regional dynamics, the South African aerosol spatial-distribution has a unique feature. Across the west and southwest areas, desert dust particles are dominant. However, sulfate and carbonaceous aerosols are primarily distributed over the east and northern regions of the country. Analysis of the Radiative Effects (RE) shows that in South Africa the bulk aerosols play a role in reducing the net radiation absorbed by the surface via enhancing the net radiative heating in the atmosphere. Hence, across all seasons, the bulk aerosol-radiation-climate interaction induced statistically significant positive feedback on the net atmospheric heating rate. Over the western and central parts of South Africa, the overall radiative feedbacks of bulk aerosol predominantly induces statistically significant Cloud Cover (CC) enhancements. Whereas, over the east and southeast coastal areas, it induces minimum reductions in CC. The CC enhancement and RE of aerosols jointly induce radiative cooling at the surface which in turn results in the reduction of Surface Temperature (ST: up to -1 K) and Surface Sensible Heat Flux (SSHF: up to -24 W/m2). The ST and SSHF decreases cause a weakening of the convectively driven turbulences and surface buoyancy fluxes which lead to the reduction of the boundary layer height, surface pressure enhancement and dynamical changes. Throughout the year, the maximum values of direct and semi-direct effects of bulk aerosol were found in areas of South Africa which are dominated by desert dust particles. This signals the need for a strategic regional plan on how to reduce the dust production and monitoring of the dust dispersion as well as it initiate the need of further research on different

  2. Real-time feedback on knee abduction moment does not improve frontal-plane knee mechanics during jump landings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaulieu, M L; Palmieri-Smith, R M

    2014-08-01

    Excessive knee abduction loading is a contributing factor to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a double-leg landing training program with real-time visual feedback improves frontal-plane mechanics during double- and single-leg landings. Knee abduction angles and moments and vertical ground reaction forces (GRF) of 21 recreationally active women were quantified for double- and single-leg landings before and after the training program. This program consisted of two sessions of double-leg jump landings with real-time visual feedback on knee abduction moments for the experimental group and without real-time feedback for the control group. No significant differences were found between training groups. In comparison with pre-training data, peak knee abduction moments decreased 12% post-training for both double- and single-leg landings; whereas peak vertical GRF decreased 8% post-training for double-leg landings only, irrespective of training group. Real-time feedback on knee abduction moments, therefore, did not significantly improve frontal-plane knee mechanics during landings. The effect of the training program on knee abduction moments, however, transferred from the double-leg landings (simple task) to single-leg landings (more complex task). Consequently, ACL injury prevention efforts may not need to focus on complex tasks during which injury occurs. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Atmospheric and oceanic impacts of Antarctic glaciation across the Eocene-Oligocene transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, A T; Farnsworth, A; Lunt, D J; Lear, C H; Markwick, P J

    2015-11-13

    The glaciation of Antarctica at the Eocene-Oligocene transition (approx. 34 million years ago) was a major shift in the Earth's climate system, but the mechanisms that caused the glaciation, and its effects, remain highly debated. A number of recent studies have used coupled atmosphere-ocean climate models to assess the climatic effects of Antarctic glacial inception, with often contrasting results. Here, using the HadCM3L model, we show that the global atmosphere and ocean response to growth of the Antarctic ice sheet is sensitive to subtle variations in palaeogeography, using two reconstructions representing Eocene and Oligocene geological stages. The earlier stage (Eocene; Priabonian), which has a relatively constricted Tasman Seaway, shows a major increase in sea surface temperature over the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean in response to the ice sheet. This response does not occur for the later stage (Oligocene; Rupelian), which has a more open Tasman Seaway. This difference in temperature response is attributed to reorganization of ocean currents between the stages. Following ice sheet expansion in the earlier stage, the large Ross Sea gyre circulation decreases in size. Stronger zonal flow through the Tasman Seaway allows salinities to increase in the Ross Sea, deep-water formation initiates and multiple feedbacks then occur amplifying the temperature response. This is potentially a model-dependent result, but it highlights the sensitive nature of model simulations to subtle variations in palaeogeography, and highlights the need for coupled ice sheet-climate simulations to properly represent and investigate feedback processes acting on these time scales. © 2015 The Author(s).

  4. Perceived Insider Status and Feedback Reactions: A Dual Path of Feedback Motivation Attribution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weijiong Wu

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Many studies have evaluated how the characteristics of feedback receiver, feedback deliverer and feedback information influence psychological feedback reactions of the feedback receiver while largely neglecting that feedback intervention is a kind of social interaction process. To address this issue, this study proposes that employees’ perceived insider status (PIS, as a kind of employee-organization relationship, could also influence employees’ reactions to supervisory feedback. In particular, this study investigates the influence of PIS focusing on affective and cognitive feedback reactions, namely feedback satisfaction and feedback utility. Surveys were conducted in a machinery manufacturing company in the Guangdong province of China. Samples were collected from 192 employees. Data analysis demonstrated that PIS and feedback utility possessed a U-shaped relationship, whereas PIS and feedback satisfaction exhibited positively linear relationships. The analysis identified two kinds of mediating mechanisms related to feedback satisfaction and feedback utility. Internal feedback motivation attribution partially mediated the relationship between PIS and feedback satisfaction but failed to do the same with respect to the relationship between PIS and feedback utility. In contrast, external feedback motivation attribution partially mediated the relationship between PIS and feedback utility while failing to mediate the relationship between PIS and feedback satisfaction. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of the findings are discussed at the end of the paper.

  5. Titania may produce abiotic oxygen atmospheres on habitable exoplanets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narita, Norio; Enomoto, Takafumi; Masaoka, Shigeyuki; Kusakabe, Nobuhiko

    2015-09-10

    The search for habitable exoplanets in the Universe is actively ongoing in the field of astronomy. The biggest future milestone is to determine whether life exists on such habitable exoplanets. In that context, oxygen in the atmosphere has been considered strong evidence for the presence of photosynthetic organisms. In this paper, we show that a previously unconsidered photochemical mechanism by titanium (IV) oxide (titania) can produce abiotic oxygen from liquid water under near ultraviolet (NUV) lights on the surface of exoplanets. Titania works as a photocatalyst to dissociate liquid water in this process. This mechanism offers a different source of a possibility of abiotic oxygen in atmospheres of exoplanets from previously considered photodissociation of water vapor in upper atmospheres by extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light. Our order-of-magnitude estimation shows that possible amounts of oxygen produced by this abiotic mechanism can be comparable with or even more than that in the atmosphere of the current Earth, depending on the amount of active surface area for this mechanism. We conclude that titania may act as a potential source of false signs of life on habitable exoplanets.

  6. Metal and metalloid foliar uptake by various plant species exposed to atmospheric industrial fallout: Mechanisms involved for lead

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schreck, E., E-mail: eva.schreck@ensat.fr [Universite de Toulouse (France); INP, UPS (France); EcoLab (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement) (France); ENSAT, Avenue de l' Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France); CNRS (France); EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France); Foucault, Y. [Universite de Toulouse (France); INP, UPS (France); EcoLab (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement) (France); ENSAT, Avenue de l' Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France); CNRS (France); EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France); STCM, Societe de Traitements Chimiques des Metaux, 30 Avenue de Fondeyre 31200 Toulouse (France); Sarret, G. [ISTerre (UMR 5275), Universite J. Fourier and CNRS, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble cedex 9 (France); Sobanska, S. [LASIR (UMR CNRS 8516), Universite de Lille 1, Bat. C5, 59655 Villeneuve d' Ascq cedex (France); Cecillon, L. [ISTerre (UMR 5275), Universite J. Fourier and CNRS, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble cedex 9 (France); Castrec-Rouelle, M. [Universite Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC-Paris 6), Bioemco (Biogeochimie et Ecologie des Milieux Continentaux), Site Jussieu, Tour 56, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris cedex 05 (France); Uzu, G. [Laboratoire d' Aerologie (UMR 5560), OMP, UPS 14, Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse (France); GET (UMR 5563), IRD, 14, Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse (France); Dumat, C. [Universite de Toulouse (France); INP, UPS (France); EcoLab (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement) (France); ENSAT, Avenue de l' Agrobiopole, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France); CNRS (France); EcoLab, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France)

    2012-06-15

    Fine and ultrafine metallic particulate matters (PMs) are emitted from metallurgic activities in peri-urban zones into the atmosphere and can be deposited in terrestrial ecosystems. The foliar transfer of metals and metalloids and their fate in plant leaves remain unclear, although this way of penetration may be a major contributor to the transfer of metals into plants. This study focused on the foliar uptake of various metals and metalloids from enriched PM (Cu, Zn, Cd, Sn, Sb, As, and especially lead (Pb)) resulting from the emissions of a battery-recycling factory. Metal and metalloid foliar uptake by various vegetable species, exhibiting different morphologies, use (food or fodder) and life-cycle (lettuce, parsley and rye-grass) were studied. The mechanisms involved in foliar metal transfer from atmospheric particulate matter fallout, using lead (Pb) as a model element was also investigated. Several complementary techniques (micro-X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry) were used to investigate the localization and the speciation of lead in their edible parts, i.e. leaves. The results showed lead-enriched PM on the surface of plant leaves. Biogeochemical transformations occurred on the leaf surfaces with the formation of lead secondary species (PbCO{sub 3} and organic Pb). Some compounds were internalized in their primary form (PbSO{sub 4}) underneath an organic layer. Internalization through the cuticle or penetration through stomata openings are proposed as two major mechanisms involved in foliar uptake of particulate matter. - Graphical abstract: Overall picture of performed observations and mechanisms potentially involved in lead foliar uptake. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Foliar uptake of metallic particulate matter (PM) is of environmental and health concerns. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The leaf morphology influences the adsorption

  7. High-resolution surface analysis for extended-range downscaling with limited-area atmospheric models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Separovic, Leo; Husain, Syed Zahid; Yu, Wei; Fernig, David

    2014-12-01

    High-resolution limited-area model (LAM) simulations are frequently employed to downscale coarse-resolution objective analyses over a specified area of the globe using high-resolution computational grids. When LAMs are integrated over extended time frames, from months to years, they are prone to deviations in land surface variables that can be harmful to the quality of the simulated near-surface fields. Nudging of the prognostic surface fields toward a reference-gridded data set is therefore devised in order to prevent the atmospheric model from diverging from the expected values. This paper presents a method to generate high-resolution analyses of land-surface variables, such as surface canopy temperature, soil moisture, and snow conditions, to be used for the relaxation of lower boundary conditions in extended-range LAM simulations. The proposed method is based on performing offline simulations with an external surface model, forced with the near-surface meteorological fields derived from short-range forecast, operational analyses, and observed temperatures and humidity. Results show that the outputs of the surface model obtained in the present study have potential to improve the near-surface atmospheric fields in extended-range LAM integrations.

  8. AIRS Observations Based Evaluation of Relative Climate Feedback Strengths on a GCM Grid-Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molnar, G. I.; Susskind, J.

    2012-12-01

    Climate feedback strengths, especially those associated with moist processes, still have a rather wide range in GCMs, the primary tools to predict future climate changes associated with man's ever increasing influences on our planet. Here, we make use of the first 10 years of AIRS observations to evaluate interrelationships/correlations of atmospheric moist parameter anomalies computed from AIRS Version 5 Level-3 products, and demonstrate their usefulness to assess relative feedback strengths. Although one may argue about the possible usability of shorter-term, observed climate parameter anomalies for estimating the strength of various (mostly moist processes related) feedbacks, recent works, in particular analyses by Dessler [2008, 2010], have demonstrated their usefulness in assessing global water vapor and cloud feedbacks. First, we create AIRS-observed monthly anomaly time-series (ATs) of outgoing longwave radiation, water vapor, clouds and temperature profile over a 10-year long (Sept. 2002 through Aug. 2012) period using 1x1 degree resolution (a common GCM grid-scale). Next, we evaluate the interrelationships of ATs of the above parameters with the corresponding 1x1 degree, as well as global surface temperature ATs. The latter provides insight comparable with more traditional climate feedback definitions (e. g., Zelinka and Hartmann, 2012) whilst the former is related to a new definition of "local (in surface temperature too) feedback strengths" on a GCM grid-scale. Comparing the correlation maps generated provides valuable new information on the spatial distribution of relative climate feedback strengths. We argue that for GCMs to be trusted for predicting longer-term climate variability, they should be able to reproduce these observed relationships/metrics as closely as possible. For this time period the main climate "forcing" was associated with the El Niño/La Niña variability (e. g., Dessler, 2010), so these assessments may not be descriptive of longer

  9. Tunable Coupling to a Mechanical Oscillator Circuit Using a Coherent Feedback Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Kerckhoff

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available We demonstrate a fully cryogenic microwave feedback network composed of modular superconducting devices connected by transmission lines and designed to control a mechanical oscillator that is coupled to one of the devices. The network features an electromechanical device and a tunable controller that coherently receives, processes, and feeds back continuous microwave signals that modify the dynamics and readout of the mechanical state. While previous electromechanical systems represent some compromise between efficient control and efficient readout of the mechanical state, as set by the electromagnetic decay rate, the tunable controller produces a closed-loop network that can be dynamically and continuously tuned between both extremes much faster than the mechanical response time. We demonstrate that the microwave decay rate may be modulated by at least a factor of 10 at a rate greater than 10^{4} times the mechanical response rate. The system is easy to build and suggests that some useful functions may arise most naturally at the network level of modular, quantum electromagnetic devices.

  10. A Useful Tool for Atmospheric Correction and Surface Temperature Estimation of Landsat Infrared Thermal Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivalland, Vincent; Tardy, Benjamin; Huc, Mireille; Hagolle, Olivier; Marcq, Sébastien; Boulet, Gilles

    2016-04-01

    Land Surface temperature (LST) is a critical variable for studying the energy and water budgets at the Earth surface, and is a key component of many aspects of climate research and services. The Landsat program jointly carried out by NASA and USGS has been providing thermal infrared data for 40 years, but no associated LST product has been yet routinely proposed to community. To derive LST values, radiances measured at sensor-level need to be corrected for the atmospheric absorption, the atmospheric emission and the surface emissivity effect. Until now, existing LST products have been generated with multi channel methods such as the Temperature/Emissivity Separation (TES) adapted to ASTER data or the generalized split-window algorithm adapted to MODIS multispectral data. Those approaches are ill-adapted to the Landsat mono-window data specificity. The atmospheric correction methodology usually used for Landsat data requires detailed information about the state of the atmosphere. This information may be obtained from radio-sounding or model atmospheric reanalysis and is supplied to a radiative transfer model in order to estimate atmospheric parameters for a given coordinate. In this work, we present a new automatic tool dedicated to Landsat thermal data correction which improves the common atmospheric correction methodology by introducing the spatial dimension in the process. The python tool developed during this study, named LANDARTs for LANDsat Automatic Retrieval of surface Temperature, is fully automatic and provides atmospheric corrections for a whole Landsat tile. Vertical atmospheric conditions are downloaded from the ERA Interim dataset from ECMWF meteorological organization which provides them at 0.125 degrees resolution, at a global scale and with a 6-hour-time step. The atmospheric correction parameters are estimated on the atmospheric grid using the commercial software MODTRAN, then interpolated to 30m resolution. We detail the processing steps

  11. HEATING MECHANISMS IN THE LOW SOLAR ATMOSPHERE THROUGH MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN CURRENT SHEETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ni, Lei; Lin, Jun [Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650011 (China); Roussev, Ilia I. [Division of Geosciences, National Science Foundation Arlington, Virginia (United States); Schmieder, Brigitte, E-mail: leini@ynao.ac.cn [Observatoire de Paris, LESIA, Meudon (France)

    2016-12-01

    We simulate several magnetic reconnection processes in the low solar chromosphere/photosphere; the radiation cooling, heat conduction and ambipolar diffusion are all included. Our numerical results indicate that both the high temperature (≳8 × 10{sup 4} K) and low temperature (∼10{sup 4} K) magnetic reconnection events can happen in the low solar atmosphere (100–600 km above the solar surface). The plasma β controlled by plasma density and magnetic fields is one important factor to decide how much the plasma can be heated up. The low temperature event is formed in a high β magnetic reconnection process, Joule heating is the main mechanism to heat plasma and the maximum temperature increase is only several thousand Kelvin. The high temperature explosions can be generated in a low β magnetic reconnection process, slow and fast-mode shocks attached at the edges of the well developed plasmoids are the main physical mechanisms to heat the plasma from several thousand Kelvin to over 8 × 10{sup 4} K. Gravity in the low chromosphere can strongly hinder the plasmoid instability and the formation of slow-mode shocks in a vertical current sheet. Only small secondary islands are formed; these islands, however, are not as well developed as those in the horizontal current sheets. This work can be applied to understand the heating mechanism in the low solar atmosphere and could possibly be extended to explain the formation of common low temperature Ellerman bombs (∼10{sup 4} K) and the high temperature Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) bombs (≳8 × 10{sup 4}) in the future.

  12. Chaos synchronization in vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser based on rotated polarization-preserved optical feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazhan, Salam; Ghassemlooy, Zabih; Busawon, Krishna

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, the influence of the rotating polarization-preserved optical feedback on the chaos synchronization of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is investigated experimentally. Two VCSELs' polarization modes (XP) and (YP) are gradually rotated and re-injected back into the VCSEL. The anti-phase dynamics synchronization of the two polarization modes is evaluated using the cross-correlation function. For a fixed optical feedback, a clear relationship is found between the cross-correlation coefficient and the polarization angle θp. It is shown that high-quality anti-phase polarization-resolved chaos synchronization is achieved at higher values of θp. The maximum value of the cross-correlation coefficient achieved is -0.99 with a zero time delay over a wide range of θp beyond 65° with a poor synchronization dynamic at θp less than 65°. Furthermore, it is observed that the antiphase irregular oscillation of the XP and YP modes changes with θp. VCSEL under the rotating polarization optical feedback can be a good candidate as a chaotic synchronization source for a secure communication system.

  13. Investigation of efficiency of electric drive control system of excavator traction mechanism based on feedback on load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuznetsov, N. K.; Iov, I. A.; Iov, A. A.

    2018-05-01

    The article presents the results of a study of the efficiency of the electric drive control system of the traction mechanism of a dragline based on the use of feedback on load in the traction cable. The investigations were carried out using a refined electromechanical model of the traction mechanism, which took into account not only the elastic elements of the gearbox, the backlashes in it and the changes in the kinematic parameters of the mechanism during operation, but also the mechanical characteristics of the electric drive and the features of its control system. By mathematical modeling of the transient processes of the electromechanical system, it is shown that the introduction of feedback on the load in the elastic element allows one to reduce the dynamic loads in the traction mechanism and to limit the elastic oscillations of the actuating mechanism in comparison with the standard control system. Fixed as a general decrease in the dynamic load of the nodes of traction mechanism in the modes of loading and latching of the bucket, and a decrease the operating time of the mechanism at maximum load. At the same time, undesirable phenomena in the operation of the electric drive were also associated with the increase in the recovery time of the steady-state value of the speed of the actuating mechanism under certain operating conditions, which can lead to a decrease in the reliability of the mechanical part and the productivity of the traction mechanism.

  14. The role of clouds in the surface energy balance over the Amazon forest

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eltahir, E.A.B.; Humphries, E.J. Jr.

    1998-01-01

    Deforestation in the Amazon region will initially impact the energy balance at the land surface through changes in land cover and surface hydrology. However, continuation of this human activity will eventually lead to atmospheric feedbacks, including changes in cloudiness which may play an important role in the final equilibrium of solar and terrestrial radiation at the surface. In this study, the different components of surface radiation over an undisturbed forest in the Amazon region are computed using data from the Amazon region micrometerological experiment (ARME). Several measures of cloudiness are defined: two estimated from the terrestrial radiation measurements, and one from the solar radiation measurements. The sensitivity of the surface fluxes of solar and terrestrial radiation to natural variability in cloudiness is investigated to infer the potential role of the cloudiness feedback in the surface energy balance. The results of this analysis indicate that a 1% decrease in cloudiness would increase net solar radiation by ca. 1.6 W/m 2 . However, the overall magnitude of this feedback, due to total deforestation of the Amazon forest, is likely to be of the same order as the magnitude of the decrease in net solar radiation due to the observed increase in surface albedo following deforestation. Hence, the total change in net solar radiation is likely to have a negligible magnitude. In contrast to this conclusion, we find that terrestrial radiation is likely to be more strongly affected; reduced cloudiness will decrease net terrestrial radiation; a 1% decrease in cloudiness induces a reduction in net terrestrial radiation of ca. 0.7 W/m 2 ; this process augments the similar effects of the predicted warming and drying in the boundary layer. Due to the cloudiness feedback, the most significant effect of large-scale deforestation on the surface energy balance is likely to be in the modification of the terrestrial radiation field rather than the classical albedo

  15. Near-Surface Effects of Free Atmosphere Stratification in Free Convection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mellado, Juan Pedro; Heerwaarden, van C.C.; Garcia, Jade Rachele

    2016-01-01

    The effect of a linear stratification in the free atmosphere on near-surface properties in a free convective boundary layer (CBL) is investigated by means of direct numerical simulation. We consider two regimes: a neutral stratification regime, which represents a CBL that grows into a residual

  16. Hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces fabricated using atmospheric pressure cold plasma technology: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitrakellis, Panagiotis; Gogolides, Evangelos

    2018-04-01

    Hydrophobic surfaces are often used to reduce wetting of surfaces by water. In particular, superhydrophobic surfaces are highly desired for several applications due to their exceptional properties such as self-cleaning, anti-icing, anti-friction and others. Such surfaces can be prepared via numerous methods including plasma technology, a dry technique with low environmental impact. Atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) has recently attracted significant attention as lower-cost alternative to low-pressure plasmas, and as a candidate for continuous rather than batch processing. Although there are many reviews on water-repellent surfaces, and a few reviews on APP technology, there are hardly any review works on APP processing for hydrophobic and superhydrohobic surface fabrication, a topic of high importance in nanotechnology and interface science. Herein, we critically review the advances on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surface fabrication using APP technology, trying also to give some perspectives in the field. After a short introduction to superhydrophobicity of nanostructured surfaces and to APPs we focus this review on three different aspects: (1) The atmospheric plasma reactor technology used for fabrication of (super)hydrophobic surfaces. (2) The APP process for hydrophobic surface preparation. The hydrophobic surface preparation processes are categorized methodologically as: a) activation, b) grafting, c) polymerization, d) roughening and hydrophobization. Each category includes subcategories related to different precursors used. (3) One of the most important sections of this review concerns superhydrophobic surfaces fabricated using APP. These are methodologically characterized as follows: a) single step processes where micro-nano textured topography and low surface energy coating are created at the same time, or b) multiple step processes, where these steps occur sequentially in or out of the plasma. We end the review with some perspectives in the field. We

  17. Characteristics of meter-scale surface electrical discharge propagating along water surface at atmospheric pressure

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hoffer, Petr; Sugiyama, Y.; Hosseini, S.H.R.; Akiyama, H.; Lukeš, Petr; Akiyama, M.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 49, č. 41 (2016), č. článku 415202. ISSN 0022-3727 Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : water surface * spectroscopy * high-speed photography * pulsed plasma discharge * Atmospheric-pressure plasmas * electric discharges * liquids * water Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 2.588, year: 2016 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/49/41/415202

  18. Characteristics of meter-scale surface electrical discharge propagating along water surface at atmospheric pressure

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hoffer, Petr; Sugiyama, Y.; Hosseini, S.H.R.; Akiyama, H.; Lukeš, Petr; Akiyama, M.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 49, č. 41 (2016), č. článku 415202. ISSN 0022-3727 Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : water surface * spectroscopy * high-speed photography * pulsed plasma discharge * Atmospheric - pressure plasmas * electric discharges * liquids * water Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 2.588, year: 2016 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/49/41/415202

  19. Surface Treatment of PET Nonwovens with Atmospheric Plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Shufang

    2013-01-01

    In this study, polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) nonwovens are treated using an atmospheric plasma and the effects of the treatment time, treatment power and discharge distance on the ability of water-penetration into the nonwovens are investigated. The result indicates that the method can improve the wettability of PET nonwovens remarkably, but the aging decay of the sample's wettability is found to be notable as a function of the storage time after treatment due to the internal rotation of the single bond of surface macromolecules. As shown by SEM and XPS analysis, the etching and surface reaction are significant, and water-penetration weight is found to increase remarkably with the increasing power. This variation can be attributed to momentum transfer and enhanced higher-energy particle excitation.

  20. Surface treatment of polyethylene terephthalate film using atmospheric pressure glow discharge in air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Zhi; Qiu Yuchang; Wang Hui

    2004-01-01

    Non-thermal plasmas under atmospheric pressure are of great interest in polymer surface processing because of their convenience, effectiveness and low cost. In this paper, the treatment of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film surface for improving hydrophilicity using the non-thermal plasma generated by atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) in air is conducted. The discharge characteristics of APGD are shown by measurement of their electrical discharge parameters and observation of light-emission phenomena, and the surface properties of PET before and after the APGD treatment are studied using contact angle measurement, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is found that the APGD is homogeneous and stable in the whole gas gap, which differs from the commonly filamentary dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). A short time (several seconds) APGD treatment can modify the surface characteristics of PET film markedly and uniformly. After 10 s APGD treatment, the surface oxygen content of PET surface increases to 39%, and the water contact angle decreases to 19 degree, respectively. (authors)

  1. Human Water Use Impacts on the Strength of the Continental Sink for Atmospheric Water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keune, Jessica; Sulis, Mauro; Kollet, Stefan; Siebert, Stefan; Wada, Yoshihide

    2018-05-01

    In the hydrologic cycle, continental landmasses constitute a sink for atmospheric moisture as annual terrestrial precipitation commonly exceeds evapotranspiration. Simultaneously, humans intervene in the hydrologic cycle and pump groundwater to sustain, for example, drinking water and food production. Here we use a coupled groundwater-to-atmosphere modeling platform, set up over the European continent, to study the influence of groundwater pumping and irrigation on the net atmospheric moisture import of the continental landmasses, which defines the strength of the continental sink. Water use scenarios are constructed to account for uncertainties of atmospheric feedback during the heatwave year 2003. We find that human water use induces groundwater-to-atmosphere feedback, which potentially weaken the continental sink over arid watersheds in southern Europe. This feedback is linked to groundwater storage, which suggests that atmospheric feedbacks to human water use may contribute to drying of watersheds, thereby raising water resources and socio-economic concerns beyond local sustainability considerations.

  2. The CaM Kinase CMK-1 Mediates a Negative Feedback Mechanism Coupling the C. elegans Glutamate Receptor GLR-1 with Its Own Transcription.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin J Moss

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Regulation of synaptic AMPA receptor levels is a major mechanism underlying homeostatic synaptic scaling. While in vitro studies have implicated several molecules in synaptic scaling, the in vivo mechanisms linking chronic changes in synaptic activity to alterations in AMPA receptor expression are not well understood. Here we use a genetic approach in C. elegans to dissect a negative feedback pathway coupling levels of the AMPA receptor GLR-1 with its own transcription. GLR-1 trafficking mutants with decreased synaptic receptors in the ventral nerve cord (VNC exhibit compensatory increases in glr-1 mRNA, which can be attributed to increased glr-1 transcription. Glutamatergic transmission mutants lacking presynaptic eat-4/VGLUT or postsynaptic glr-1, exhibit compensatory increases in glr-1 transcription, suggesting that loss of GLR-1 activity is sufficient to trigger the feedback pathway. Direct and specific inhibition of GLR-1-expressing neurons using a chemical genetic silencing approach also results in increased glr-1 transcription. Conversely, expression of a constitutively active version of GLR-1 results in decreased glr-1 transcription, suggesting that bidirectional changes in GLR-1 signaling results in reciprocal alterations in glr-1 transcription. We identify the CMK-1/CaMK signaling axis as a mediator of the glr-1 transcriptional feedback mechanism. Loss-of-function mutations in the upstream kinase ckk-1/CaMKK, the CaM kinase cmk-1/CaMK, or a downstream transcription factor crh-1/CREB, result in increased glr-1 transcription, suggesting that the CMK-1 signaling pathway functions to repress glr-1 transcription. Genetic double mutant analyses suggest that CMK-1 signaling is required for the glr-1 transcriptional feedback pathway. Furthermore, alterations in GLR-1 signaling that trigger the feedback mechanism also regulate the nucleocytoplasmic distribution of CMK-1, and activated, nuclear-localized CMK-1 blocks the feedback pathway. We

  3. Forcing Mechanisms for the Variations of Near-surface Temperature Lapse Rates along the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau (HTP) and Their Surroundings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kattel, D. B.; Yao, T.; Ullah, K.; Islam, G. M. T.

    2016-12-01

    This study investigates the monthly characteristics of near-surface temperature lapse rates (TLRs) (i.e., governed by surface energy balance) based on the 176 stations 30-year (1980 to 2010) dataset covering a wide range of topography, climatic regime and relief (4801 m) in the HTP and its surroundings. Empirical analysis based on techniques in thermodynamics and hydrostatic system were used to obtain the results. Steepest TLRs in summer is due to strong dry convection and shallowest in winter is due to inversion effect is the general pattern of TLR that reported in previous studies in other mountainous region. Result of this study reports a contrast variation of TLRs from general patterns, and suggest distinct forcing mechanisms in an annual cycle. Shallower lapse rate occurs in summer throughout the regions is due to strong heat exchange process within the boundary layer, corresponding to the warm and moist atmospheric conditions. There is a systematic differences of TLRs in winter between the northern and southern slopes the Himalayas. Steeper TLRs in winter on the northern slopes is due to intense cooling at higher elevations, corresponding to the continental dry and cold air surges, and considerable snow-temperature feedback. The differences in elevation and topography, as well as the distinct variation of turbulent heating and cooling, explain the contrast TLRs (shallower) values in winter on the southern slopes. Distinct diurnal variations of TLRs and its magnitudes between alpine, dry, humid and coastal regions is due to the variations of adiabatic mixing during the daytime in the boundary layer i.e., associated with the variations in net radiations, elevation, surface roughness and sea surface temperature. The findings of this study is useful to determine the temperature range for accurately modelling in various field such as hydrology, glaciology, ecology, forestry, agriculture, as well as inevitable for climate downscaling in complex mountainous terrain.

  4. Global Stability in Dynamical Systems with Multiple Feedback Mechanisms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Morten; Vinther, Frank; Ottesen, Johnny T.

    2016-01-01

    A class of n-dimensional ODEs with up to n feedbacks from the n’th variable is analysed. The feedbacks are represented by non-specific, bounded, non-negative C1 functions. The main result is the formulation and proof of an easily applicable criterion for existence of a globally stable fixed point...

  5. Characteristics of Eurasian snowmelt and its impacts on the land surface and surface climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Kunhui; Lau, Ngar-Cheung

    2018-03-01

    The local hydrological and climatic impacts of Eurasian snowmelt are studied using advanced land surface and atmospheric data. It is found that intense melting of snow is located at mid-high latitudes in April and May. Snowmelt plays an important role in determining the seasonal cycles of surface runoff and soil moisture (SM). Specifically, melting is accompanied by sharp responses in surface runoff and surface SM while the impacts are delayed for deeper-layer of soil. This is particularly significant in the western sector of Eurasia. On interannual timescales, the responses of various surface parameters to snowmelt in the same month are rather significant. However, the persistence of surface SM anomalies is weak due to the strong soil evaporation anomalies and surplus of surface energy for evaporation. Strong impacts on the sensible heat flux, planetary boundary layer height and precipitation in the next month following the melting of snow are identified in west Russia and Siberia. Downward propagation of surface SM anomalies is observed and a positive evaporation-convection feedback is identified in west Russia. However, the subsequent impacts on the local convective precipitation in late spring-summer and its contribution to the total precipitation are seemingly weak. The atmospheric water vapor convergence has strong control over the total precipitation anomalies. Overall, snowmelt-produced SM anomalies are not found to significantly impact the late spring-summer local climate anomalies in Northern Eurasia. Therefore, the delayed remote-responses of atmospheric circulation and climate to the melting of Eurasian snow may be only possible near the melting period.

  6. Competing reactions of selected atmospheric gases on Fe3O4 nanoparticles surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eltouny, N; Ariya, Parisa A

    2014-11-14

    Heterogeneous reactions on atmospheric aerosol surfaces are increasingly considered important in understanding aerosol-cloud nucleation and climate change. To understand potential reactions in polluted atmospheres, the co-adsorption of NO2 and toluene to magnetite (Fe3O4i.e. FeO·Fe2O3) nanoparticles at ambient conditions was investigated for the first time. The surface area, size distribution, and morphology of Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterized by BET method and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Adsorption isotherms, collected by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection, showed that the presence of NO2 decreased the adsorption of toluene. The analyses of the surface chemical composition of Fe3O4 by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveal that, upon the addition of NO2, the surface is oxidized and a contribution at 532.5 ± 0.4 eV in the O1s spectrum appears, showing that NO2 likely competes with toluene by dissociating on Fe(2+) sites and forming NO3(-). Different competing effects were observed for oxidized Fe3O4; oxidation occurred when exposed solely to NO2, whereas, the mixture of toluene and NO2 resulted in a reduction of the surface i.e. increased Fe(2+)/Fe(3+). Analyses by time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry further suggest toluene reacts with Fe(3+) sites forming oxygenated organics. Our results indicate that on reduced magnetite, NO2 is more reactive and competes with toluene; in contrast, on oxidized Fe3O4, toluene is more reactive. Because magnetite can assume a range of oxidation ratios in the environment, different competing interactions between pollutants like NO2 and toluene could influence atmospheric processes, namely, the formation of Fe(2+) and the formation of atmospheric oxidants.

  7. Amplification of ABA biosynthesis and signaling through a positive feedback mechanism in seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nonogaki, Mariko; Sall, Khadidiatou; Nambara, Eiji; Nonogaki, Hiroyuki

    2014-05-01

    Abscisic acid is an essential hormone for seed dormancy. Our previous study using the plant gene switch system, a chemically induced gene expression system, demonstrated that induction of 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED), a rate-limiting ABA biosynthesis gene, was sufficient to suppress germination in imbibed Arabidopsis seeds. Here, we report development of an efficient experimental system that causes amplification of NCED expression during seed maturation. The system was created with a Triticum aestivum promoter containing ABA responsive elements (ABREs) and a Sorghum bicolor NCED to cause ABA-stimulated ABA biosynthesis and signaling, through a positive feedback mechanism. The chimeric gene pABRE:NCED enhanced NCED and ABF (ABRE-binding factor) expression in Arabidopsis Columbia-0 seeds, which caused 9- to 73-fold increases in ABA levels. The pABRE:NCED seeds exhibited unusually deep dormancy which lasted for more than 3 months. Interestingly, the amplified ABA pathways also caused enhanced expression of Arabidopsis NCED5, revealing the presence of positive feedback in the native system. These results demonstrated the robustness of positive feedback mechanisms and the significance of NCED expression, or single metabolic change, during seed maturation. The pABRE:NCED system provides an excellent experimental system producing dormant and non-dormant seeds of the same maternal origin, which differ only in zygotic ABA. The pABRE:NCED seeds contain a GFP marker which enables seed sorting between transgenic and null segregants and are ideal for comparative analysis. In addition to its utility in basic research, the system can also be applied to prevention of pre-harvest sprouting during crop production, and therefore contributes to translational biology. © 2014 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Observational study of atmospheric surface layer and coastal weather in northern Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samanta, Dhrubajyoti; Sadr, Reza

    2016-04-01

    Atmospheric surface layer is the interaction medium between atmosphere and Earth's surface. Better understanding of its turbulence nature is essential in characterizing the local weather, climate variability and modeling of turbulent exchange processes. The importance of Middle East region, with its unique geographical, economical and weather condition is well recognized. However, high quality micrometeorological observational studies are rare in this region. Here we show experimental results from micrometeorological observations from an experimental site in the coastal region of Qatar during August-December 2015. Measurements of winds are obtained from three sonic anemometers installed on a 9 m tower placed at Al Ghariyah beach in northern Qatar (26.08 °N, 51.36 °E). Different surface layer characteristics is analyzed and compared with earlier studies in equivalent weather conditions. Monthly statistics of wind speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity and heat index are made from concurrent observations from sonic anemometer and weather station to explore variations with surface layer characteristics. The results also highlights potential impact of sea breeze circulation on local weather and atmospheric turbulence. The observed daily maximum temperature and heat index during morning period may be related to sea breeze circulations. Along with the operational micrometeorological observation system, a camera system and ultrasonic wave measurement system are installed recently in the site to study coastline development and nearshore wave dynamics. Overall, the complete observational set up is going to provide new insights about nearshore wind dynamics and wind-wave interaction in Qatar.

  9. Extended-range high-resolution dynamical downscaling over a continental-scale spatial domain with atmospheric and surface nudging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husain, S. Z.; Separovic, L.; Yu, W.; Fernig, D.

    2014-12-01

    Extended-range high-resolution mesoscale simulations with limited-area atmospheric models when applied to downscale regional analysis fields over large spatial domains can provide valuable information for many applications including the weather-dependent renewable energy industry. Long-term simulations over a continental-scale spatial domain, however, require mechanisms to control the large-scale deviations in the high-resolution simulated fields from the coarse-resolution driving fields. As enforcement of the lateral boundary conditions is insufficient to restrict such deviations, large scales in the simulated high-resolution meteorological fields are therefore spectrally nudged toward the driving fields. Different spectral nudging approaches, including the appropriate nudging length scales as well as the vertical profiles and temporal relaxations for nudging, have been investigated to propose an optimal nudging strategy. Impacts of time-varying nudging and generation of hourly analysis estimates are explored to circumvent problems arising from the coarse temporal resolution of the regional analysis fields. Although controlling the evolution of the atmospheric large scales generally improves the outputs of high-resolution mesoscale simulations within the surface layer, the prognostically evolving surface fields can nevertheless deviate from their expected values leading to significant inaccuracies in the predicted surface layer meteorology. A forcing strategy based on grid nudging of the different surface fields, including surface temperature, soil moisture, and snow conditions, toward their expected values obtained from a high-resolution offline surface scheme is therefore proposed to limit any considerable deviation. Finally, wind speed and temperature at wind turbine hub height predicted by different spectrally nudged extended-range simulations are compared against observations to demonstrate possible improvements achievable using higher spatiotemporal

  10. Protein destruction by a helium atmospheric pressure glow discharge: Capability and mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng, X. T.; Shi, J. J.; Kong, M. G.

    2007-01-01

    Biological sterilization represents one of the most exciting applications of atmospheric pressure glow discharges (APGD). Despite the fact that surgical instruments are contaminated by both microorganisms and proteinaceous matters, sterilization effects of APGD have so far been studied almost exclusively for microbial inactivation. This work presents the results of a detailed investigation of the capability of a helium-oxygen APGD to inactivate proteins deposited on stainless-steel surfaces. Using a laser-induced fluorescence technique for surface protein measurement, a maximum protein reduction of 4.5 logs is achieved by varying the amount of the oxygen admixture into the background helium gas. This corresponds to a minimum surface protein of 0.36 femtomole/mm 2 . It is found that plasma reduction of surface-borne protein is through protein destruction and degradation, and that its typically biphasic reduction kinetics is influenced largely by the thickness profile of the surface protein. Also presented is a complementary study of possible APGD protein inactivation mechanisms. By interplaying the protein inactivation kinetics with optical emission spectroscopy, it is shown that the main protein-destructing agents are excited atomic oxygen (via the 777 and 844 nm emission channels) and excited nitride oxide (via the 226, 236, and 246 nm emission channels). It is also demonstrated that the most effective protein reduction is achieved possibly through a synergistic effect between atomic oxygen and nitride oxide. This study is a useful step toward a full confirmation of the efficacy of APGD as a sterilization technology for surgical instruments contaminated by prion proteins

  11. Block backstepping design of nonlinear state feedback control law for underactuated mechanical systems

    CERN Document Server

    Rudra, Shubhobrata; Maitra, Madhubanti

    2017-01-01

    This book presents a novel, generalized approach to the design of nonlinear state feedback control laws for a large class of underactuated mechanical systems based on application of the block backstepping method. The control law proposed here is robust against the effects of model uncertainty in dynamic and steady-state performance and addresses the issue of asymptotic stabilization for the class of underactuated mechanical systems. An underactuated system is defined as one for which the dimension of space spanned by the configuration vector is greater than that of the space spanned by the control variables. Control problems concerning underactuated systems currently represent an active field of research due to their broad range of applications in robotics, aerospace, and marine contexts. The book derives a generalized theory of block backstepping control design for underactuated mechanical systems, and examines several case studies that cover interesting examples of underactuated mechanical systems. The math...

  12. Feedbacks stablizing wetland geometry on a pattened landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, X.; Heffernan, J. B.; Murray, A. B.

    2017-12-01

    Karst morphology is highly varied across different climatic and geologic regions of the world. Big Cypress National Preserve in SW Florida, features regularly distributed wetland depressions, located on exposed limestone bedrock. In this study, we explored the development of wetland depressions over the past 10kyrs of landscape formation. Specifically, we are interested in (1) whether the wetland depressions on the landscape have reached equilibrium size, and (2) if so, what are feedback mechanisms that contributed to stabilizing these depressions. We hypothesized three stabilizing feedback mechanisms. HYP1: increased size of depressions reduces landscape hydrological connectivity, which resulted in reduced landscape capacity to export dissolution products, hence lower weathering rate. HYP2: expansion of depression area increases tree biomass within the depression, which increased average evapotranspiration (ET) within the dome. The greater difference of ET rate between depression and upland leads to a lower water table in the depression. As a result, more subsurface water, carrying dissolved calcium, flows from catchment to depression. With lower export capacity and more calcium moving into the depression zones, rate of calcite precipitation increases, which lowers net weathering rate. HYP3: increasingly thicker sediment cover in the wetland depression over time decreases chemical transport capacity. This lowers both transport of CO2 from shallower soil to bedrock and transport of dissolution products from bedrock to surface. Both of these processes reduce bedrock-weathering rate. We built a 3-D numerical simulation model that partitioned the relative importance of different mechanisms. Preliminary results show that (1) there is an equilibrium size for wetland depressions for both radius and depth dimension; (2) current depressions are formed by coalescence of several nearby small depressions during development; (3) the soil cover feedback (HYP3) is the major

  13. Key features of the IPSL ocean atmosphere model and its sensitivity to atmospheric resolution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marti, Olivier; Braconnot, P.; Bellier, J.; Brockmann, P.; Caubel, A.; Noblet, N. de; Friedlingstein, P.; Idelkadi, A.; Kageyama, M. [Unite Mixte CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, IPSL/LSCE, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Dufresne, J.L.; Bony, S.; Codron, F.; Fairhead, L.; Grandpeix, J.Y.; Hourdin, F.; Musat, I. [Unite Mixte CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique-ENS-UPCM, IPSL/LMD, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Benshila, R.; Guilyardi, E.; Levy, C.; Madec, G.; Mignot, J.; Talandier, C. [unite mixte CNRS-IRD-UPMC, IPLS/LOCEAN, Paris Cedex 05 (France); Cadule, P.; Denvil, S.; Foujols, M.A. [Institut Pierre Simon Laplace des Sciences de l' Environnement (IPSL), Paris Cedex 05 (France); Fichefet, T.; Goosse, H. [Universite Catholique de Louvain, Institut d' Astronomie et de Geophysique Georges Lemaitre, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Krinner, G. [Unite mixte CNRS-UJF Grenoble, LGGE, BP96, Saint-Martin-d' Heres (France); Swingedouw, D. [CNRS/CERFACS, Toulouse (France)

    2010-01-15

    This paper presents the major characteristics of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model. The model components and the coupling methodology are described, as well as the main characteristics of the climatology and interannual variability. The model results of the standard version used for IPCC climate projections, and for intercomparison projects like the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP 2) are compared to those with a higher resolution in the atmosphere. A focus on the North Atlantic and on the tropics is used to address the impact of the atmosphere resolution on processes and feedbacks. In the North Atlantic, the resolution change leads to an improved representation of the storm-tracks and the North Atlantic oscillation. The better representation of the wind structure increases the northward salt transports, the deep-water formation and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. In the tropics, the ocean-atmosphere dynamical coupling, or Bjerknes feedback, improves with the resolution. The amplitude of ENSO (El Nino-Southern oscillation) consequently increases, as the damping processes are left unchanged. (orig.)

  14. Climate change feedbacks on future oceanic acidification

    OpenAIRE

    McNeil, Ben I.; Matear, Richard J.

    2011-01-01

    Oceanic anthropogenic CO2 uptake will decrease both the pH and the aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) of seawater leading to an oceanic acidification. However, the factors controlling future changes in pH and Ωarag are independent and will respond differently to oceanic climate change feedbacks such as ocean warming, circulation and biological changes. We examine the sensitivity of these two CO2-related parameters to climate change feedbacks within a coupled atmosphere-ocean model. The ocean ...

  15. Plasma penetration depth and mechanical properties of atmospheric plasma-treated 3D aramid woven composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, X.; Yao, L.; Xue, J.; Zhao, D.; Lan, Y.; Qian, X.; Wang, C.X.; Qiu, Y.

    2008-01-01

    Three-dimensional aramid woven fabrics were treated with atmospheric pressure plasmas, on one side or both sides to determine the plasma penetration depth in the 3D fabrics and the influences on final composite mechanical properties. The properties of the fibers from different layers of the single side treated fabrics, including surface morphology, chemical composition, wettability and adhesion properties were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurement and microbond tests. Meanwhile, flexural properties of the composites reinforced with the fabrics untreated and treated on both sides were compared using three-point bending tests. The results showed that the fibers from the outer most surface layer of the fabric had a significant improvement in their surface roughness, chemical bonding, wettability and adhesion properties after plasma treatment; the treatment effect gradually diminished for the fibers in the inner layers. In the third layer, the fiber properties remained approximately the same to those of the control. In addition, three-point bending tests indicated that the 3D aramid composite had an increase of 11% in flexural strength and 12% in flexural modulus after the plasma treatment. These results indicate that composite mechanical properties can be improved by the direct fabric treatment instead of fiber treatment with plasmas if the fabric is less than four layers thick

  16. Coupled atmosphere and land-surface assimilation of surface observations with a single column model and ensemble data assimilation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rostkier-Edelstein, Dorita; Hacker, Joshua P.; Snyder, Chris

    2014-05-01

    Numerical weather prediction and data assimilation models are composed of coupled atmosphere and land-surface (LS) components. If possible, the assimilation procedure should be coupled so that observed information in one module is used to correct fields in the coupled module. There have been some attempts in this direction using optimal interpolation, nudging and 2/3DVAR data assimilation techniques. Aside from satellite remote sensed observations, reference height in-situ observations of temperature and moisture have been used in these studies. Among other problems, difficulties in coupled atmosphere and LS assimilation arise as a result of the different time scales characteristic of each component and the unsteady correlation between these components under varying flow conditions. Ensemble data-assimilation techniques rely on flow dependent observations-model covariances. Provided that correlations and covariances between land and atmosphere can be adequately simulated and sampled, ensemble data assimilation should enable appropriate assimilation of observations simultaneously into the atmospheric and LS states. Our aim is to explore assimilation of reference height in-situ temperature and moisture observations into the coupled atmosphere-LS modules(simultaneously) in NCAR's WRF-ARW model using the NCAR's DART ensemble data-assimilation system. Observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) are performed using the single column model (SCM) version of WRF. Numerical experiments during a warm season are centered on an atmospheric and soil column in the South Great Plains. Synthetic observations are derived from "truth" WRF-SCM runs for a given date,initialized and forced using North American Regional Reanalyses (NARR). WRF-SCM atmospheric and LS ensembles are created by mixing the atmospheric and soil NARR profile centered on a given date with that from another day (randomly chosen from the same season) with weights drawn from a logit-normal distribution. Three

  17. Transient eddy feedback and low-frequency variability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robinson, W.A.

    1994-01-01

    Superposed on any externally driven secular climatic change are fluctuations that arise from the internal nonlinear dynamics of the climate system. These internally generated variations may involve interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean, as in the case of El Nino, or they may arise from the dynamics of the atmosphere alone. Here we discuss the dynamics of interactions between transient eddies and lower-frequency motions in the atmosphere. The interactions between more transient and more persistent motions can be divided into two types. Nonlinear interactions among the transient motions can act as an essentially random source of low-frequency motion. The idea that the low-frequencies respond in a linear way to stochastic forcing from higher frequencies has been applied to the generation of planetary waves and to the forcing of changes in global angular momentum. In addition to stochastic coupling, there are systematic interactions, denoted feedbacks, through which the persistent motions modulate their own forcing by the transient eddies. This paper discusses the dynamics of these feedbacks

  18. Improved adhesion of Ag NPs to the polyethylene terephthalate surface via atmospheric plasma treatment and surface functionalization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Tao; Liu, Yong; Zhu, Yan; Yang, De-Quan; Sacher, Edward

    2017-07-01

    Ag nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely applied, as important antibacterial materials, on textile and polymer surfaces. However, their adhesion to nonreactive polymer surfaces is generally too weak for many applications. Here, we propose a two-step process, atmospheric plasma treatment followed by a surface chemical modification process, which enhances their adhesion to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surfaces. We found that, compared to either plasma treatments or surface chemical functionalizations, alone, this combination greatly enhanced their adhesion. The plasma treatment resulted in an increase of active sites (sbnd OH, sbnd CHdbnd O and COOH) at the PET surface, permitting increased bonding to 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), whose sbnd NH2 groups were then able to form a bonding complex with the Ag NPs.

  19. Interacting with the biomolecular solvent accessible surface via a haptic feedback device

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hayward Steven

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background From the 1950s computer based renderings of molecules have been produced to aid researchers in their understanding of biomolecular structure and function. A major consideration for any molecular graphics software is the ability to visualise the three dimensional structure of the molecule. Traditionally, this was accomplished via stereoscopic pairs of images and later realised with three dimensional display technologies. Using a haptic feedback device in combination with molecular graphics has the potential to enhance three dimensional visualisation. Although haptic feedback devices have been used to feel the interaction forces during molecular docking they have not been used explicitly as an aid to visualisation. Results A haptic rendering application for biomolecular visualisation has been developed that allows the user to gain three-dimensional awareness of the shape of a biomolecule. By using a water molecule as the probe, modelled as an oxygen atom having hard-sphere interactions with the biomolecule, the process of exploration has the further benefit of being able to determine regions on the molecular surface that are accessible to the solvent. This gives insight into how awkward it is for a water molecule to gain access to or escape from channels and cavities, indicating possible entropic bottlenecks. In the case of liver alcohol dehydrogenase bound to the inhibitor SAD, it was found that there is a channel just wide enough for a single water molecule to pass through. Placing the probe coincident with crystallographic water molecules suggests that they are sometimes located within small pockets that provide a sterically stable environment irrespective of hydrogen bonding considerations. Conclusion By using the software, named HaptiMol ISAS (available from http://www.haptimol.co.uk, one can explore the accessible surface of biomolecules using a three-dimensional input device to gain insights into the shape and water

  20. Feedback mechanisms in the climate system affecting future levels of carbon dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kellogg, W.W.

    1983-01-01

    The rate of increase of concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide depends on the consumption of fossil fuels (the major source of 'new' carbon dioxide) and the natural sinks for this trace constituent, primarily the oceans and the biosphere. (It is now fairly well established that the biosphere cannot be a major source, as has been claimed.) The rate of operation of these sinks depends on several factors determined by the state of the climate system, and they will therefore presumably change as the greenhouse effect of increasing carbon dioxide warms the earth. Five specific feedback loops are discussed, two of which are positive (amplifying the rate of increase), two are weakly negative (damping the rate of increase), and one is indeterminate but probably positive. It is concluded that it would be well to be prepared for the possibility that carbon dioxide may increase faster than predicted by models based on the current or past state of the climate system

  1. Neural cryptography with feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruttor, Andreas; Kinzel, Wolfgang; Shacham, Lanir; Kanter, Ido

    2004-04-01

    Neural cryptography is based on a competition between attractive and repulsive stochastic forces. A feedback mechanism is added to neural cryptography which increases the repulsive forces. Using numerical simulations and an analytic approach, the probability of a successful attack is calculated for different model parameters. Scaling laws are derived which show that feedback improves the security of the system. In addition, a network with feedback generates a pseudorandom bit sequence which can be used to encrypt and decrypt a secret message.

  2. Feedback System Control Optimized Electrospinning for Fabrication of an Excellent Superhydrophobic Surface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jian; Liu, Chuangui; Wang, Boqian; Ding, Xianting

    2017-10-13

    Superhydrophobic surface, as a promising micro/nano material, has tremendous applications in biological and artificial investigations. The electrohydrodynamics (EHD) technique is a versatile and effective method for fabricating micro- to nanoscale fibers and particles from a variety of materials. A combination of critical parameters, such as mass fraction, ratio of N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) to Tetrahydrofuran (THF), inner diameter of needle, feed rate, receiving distance, applied voltage as well as temperature, during electrospinning process, to determine the morphology of the electrospun membranes, which in turn determines the superhydrophobic property of the membrane. In this study, we applied a recently developed feedback system control (FSC) scheme for rapid identification of the optimal combination of these controllable parameters to fabricate superhydrophobic surface by one-step electrospinning method without any further modification. Within five rounds of experiments by testing totally forty-six data points, FSC scheme successfully identified an optimal parameter combination that generated electrospun membranes with a static water contact angle of 160 degrees or larger. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging indicates that the FSC optimized surface attains unique morphology. The optimized setup introduced here therefore serves as a one-step, straightforward, and economic approach to fabricate superhydrophobic surface with electrospinning approach.

  3. In vivo argon laser vascular welding using thermal feedback: open and closed loop patency and collagen crosslinking

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Small, W., LLNL

    1997-02-28

    An in vivo study of vascular welding with a fiber-delivered argon laser was conducted using a canine model. Longitudinal arteriotomies and venotomies were treated on femoral vein and artery. Laser energy was delivered to the vessel wall via a 400 {micro}m optical fiber. The surface temperature at the center of the laser spot was monitored in real time using a hollow glass optical fiber-based two-color infrared thermometer. The surface temperature was limited by either a room-temperature saline drip or direct feedback control of the laser using a mechanical shutter to alternately pass and block the laser. Acute patency was evaluated either visually (leak/no leak) or by in vivo burst pressure measurements. Biochemical assays were performed to investigate the possible laser-induced formation or destruction of enzymatically mediated covalent crosslinks between collagen molecules. Viable welds were created both with and without the use of feedback control. Tissues maintained at 50 C using feedback control had an elevated crosslink count compared to controls, while those irradiated without feedback control experienced a decrease. Differences between the volumetric heating associated with open and closed loop protocols may account for the different effects on collagen crosslinks. Covalent mechanisms may play a role in argon laser vascular fusion.

  4. Modeling terrestrial gamma ray flashes produced by relativistic feedback discharges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ningyu; Dwyer, Joseph R.

    2013-05-01

    This paper reports a modeling study of terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) produced by relativistic feedback discharges. Terrestrial gamma ray flashes are intense energetic radiation originating from the Earth's atmosphere that has been observed by spacecraft. They are produced by bremsstrahlung interactions of energetic electrons, known as runaway electrons, with air atoms. An efficient physical mechanism for producing large fluxes of the runaway electrons to make the TGFs is the relativistic feedback discharge, where seed runaway electrons are generated by positrons and X-rays, products of the discharge itself. Once the relativistic feedback discharge becomes self-sustaining, an exponentially increasing number of relativistic electron avalanches propagate through the same high-field region inside the thundercloud until the electric field is partially discharged by the ionization created by the discharge. The modeling results indicate that the durations of the TGF pulses produced by the relativistic feedback discharge vary from tens of microseconds to several milliseconds, encompassing all durations of the TGFs observed so far. In addition, when a sufficiently large potential difference is available in thunderclouds, a self-propagating discharge known as the relativistic feedback streamer can be formed, which propagates like a conventional positive streamer. For the relativistic feedback streamer, the positive feedback mechanism of runaway electron production by the positrons and X-rays plays a similar role as the photoionization for the conventional positive streamer. The simulation results of the relativistic feedback streamer show that a sequence of TGF pulses with varying durations can be produced by the streamer. The relativistic streamer may initially propagate with a pulsed manner and turn into a continuous propagation mode at a later stage. Milliseconds long TGF pulses can be produced by the feedback streamer during its continuous propagation. However

  5. Abrasive wear mechanisms and surface layer structure of refractory materials after mechanical working

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milman, Y.V.; Lotsko, D.V.

    1989-01-01

    The mechanisms of abrasive wear and surface layer structure formation after different kinds of mechanical working are considered in terms of fracture and plastic deformation mechanisms for various refractory materials. The principles for classification of abrasive wear mechanisms are proposed, the four types of wear mechanisms are distinguished for various combinations of fractures and plastic deformation types. The concept of characteristic deformation temperature t * (knee temperature) is used. Detailed examples are given of investigating the surface layer structures in grinded crystals of sapphire and molybdenum. The amorphisation tendency of the thinnest surface layer while mechanical polishing is discussed separately. 19 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs. (Author)

  6. EXACT SOLUTION TO FINITE TEMPERATURE SFDM: NATURAL CORES WITHOUT FEEDBACK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robles, Victor H.; Matos, T.

    2013-01-01

    Recent high-quality observations of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies have shown that their dark matter (DM) halos prefer flat central density profiles. However, the standard cold dark matter model simulations predict a more cuspy behavior. One mechanism used to reconcile the simulations with the observed data is the feedback from star formation. While this mechanism may be successful in isolated dwarf galaxies, its success in LSB galaxies remains unclear. Additionally, the inclusion of too much feedback in the simulations is a double-edged sword—in order to obtain a cored DM distribution from an initially cuspy one, the feedback recipes usually require one to remove a large quantity of baryons from the center of the galaxies; however, some feedback recipes produce twice the number of satellite galaxies of a given luminosity and with much smaller mass-to-light ratios from those that are observed. Therefore, one DM profile that produces cores naturally and that does not require large amounts of feedback would be preferable. We find both requirements to be satisfied in the scalar field dark matter model. Here, we consider that DM is an auto-interacting real scalar field in a thermal bath at temperature T with an initial Z 2 symmetric potential. As the universe expands, the temperature drops so that the Z 2 symmetry is spontaneously broken and the field rolls down to a new minimum. We give an exact analytic solution to the Newtonian limit of this system, showing that it can satisfy the two desired requirements and that the rotation curve profile is no longer universal.

  7. Atmospheric radiation measurement program facilities newsletter, September 2001.; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holdridge, D. J.

    2001-01-01

    responsible for the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. According to the EPA, the burning of fossil fuels for cars and trucks, the heating of homes and businesses, and the operation of power plants account for approximately 98% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. The increase of greenhouse gases will, theoretically, enhance the greenhouse effect by trapping more of the heat energy emitted by Earth's surface, thus increasing the surface temperatures on a global scale. Scientists expect that the global average surface temperature could rise 1-4.5 F in the next 50 years and as much as 10 F in the next century. Global warming could potentially have harmful effects on human health, water resources, forests, agriculture, wildlife, and coastal areas. A few degrees of warming might lead to more frequent and severe heat waves, worsened air pollution with adverse effects on human respiratory health, and wider spread of tropical disease such as malaria. The world's hydrologic cycle might be affected by an increase in evaporation and, thus, in precipitation. An increase in evaporation will increase atmospheric water vapor, a significant natural greenhouse gas. The increase in water vapor might further enhance the global warming caused by the greenhouse effect. This is known as a positive feedback. The increase in water vapor could also change the amount of clouds present in the atmosphere, which could reduce temperatures in a negative feedback. Many interrelated factors affect the global climate and are responsible for climate change. Predicting the outcome of the interactions among the many factors is not easy, but it must be addressed. The ARM Program is taking a lead in this effort by collecting vast amounts of data whose analysis will improve our forecasting models for both daily weather and long-term climate. For more information on the ARM Program, please visit our web site at www.arm.gov

  8. Clouds, radiation, and the diurnal cycle of sea surface temperature in the tropical Western Pacific

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Webster, P.J.; Clayson, C.A.; Curry, J.A. [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

    1996-04-01

    In the tropical Western Pacific (TWP) Ocean, the clouds and the cloud-radiation feedback can only be understood in the context of air/sea interactions and the ocean mixed layer. Considerable interest has been shown in attempting to explain why sea surface temperature (SST) rarely rises above 30{degrees}C, and gradients of the SST. For the most part, observational studies that address this issue have been conducted using monthly cloud and SST data, and the focus has been on intraseasonal and interannual time scales. For the unstable tropical atmosphere, using monthly averaged data misses a key feedback between clouds and SST that occurs on the cloud-SST coupling time scale, which was estimated to be 3-6 days for the unstable tropical atmosphere. This time scale is the time needed for a change in cloud properties, due to the change of ocean surface evaporation caused by SST variation, to feed back to the SST variation, to feed back to the SST through its effect on the surface heat flux. This paper addresses the relationship between clouds, surface radiation flux and SST of the TWP ocean over the diurnal cycle.

  9. Geometry of surfaces a practical guide for mechanical engineers

    CERN Document Server

    Radzevich, Stephen P

    2012-01-01

    Presents an in-depth analysis of geometry of part surfaces and provides the tools for solving complex engineering problems Geometry of Surfaces: A Practical Guide for Mechanical Engineers is a comprehensive guide to applied geometry of surfaces with focus on practical applications in various areas of mechanical engineering. The book is divided into three parts on Part Surfaces, Geometry of Contact of Part Surfaces and Mapping of the Contacting Part Surfaces. Geometry of Surfaces: A Practical Guide for Mechanical Engineers combines differential geometry and gearing theory and presents new developments in the elementary theory of enveloping surfaces. Written by a leading expert of the field, this book also provides the reader with the tools for solving complex engineering problems in the field of mechanical engineering. Presents an in-depth analysis of geometry of part surfaces Provides tools for solving complex engineering problems in the field of mechanical engineering Combines differential geometry an...

  10. Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Role of Surface Wettability and Edge Effect

    KAUST Repository

    Jin, Yong

    2017-06-23

    Atmospheric water is emerging as an important potable water source. The present work experimentally and theoretically investigates water condensation and collection on flat surfaces with contrasting contact angles and contact angle hysteresis (CAH) to elucidate their roles on water mass collection efficiency. The experimental results indicate that a hydrophilic surface promotes nucleation and individual droplets growth, and a surface with a low CAH tends to let a smaller droplet to slide down, but the overall water mass collection efficiency is independent of both surface contact angle and CAH. The experimental results agree well with our theoretical calculations. During water condensation, a balance has to be struck between single droplet growth and droplet density on a surface so as to maintain a constant water droplet surface coverage ratio, which renders the role of both surface wettability and hysteresis insignificant to the ultimate water mass collection. Moreover, water droplets on the edges of a surface grow much faster than those on the non-edge areas and thus dominate the contribution to the water mass collection by the entire surface, directly pointing out the very important role of edge effect on water condensation and collection.

  11. Gaze stabilization in chronic vestibular-loss and in cerebellar ataxia: interactions of feedforward and sensory feedback mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sağlam, M; Lehnen, N

    2014-01-01

    During gaze shifts, humans can use visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive feedback, as well as feedforward mechanisms, for stabilization against active and passive head movements. The contributions of feedforward and sensory feedback control, and the role of the cerebellum, are still under debate. To quantify these contributions, we increased the head moment of inertia in three groups (ten healthy, five chronic vestibular-loss and nine cerebellar-ataxia patients) while they performed large gaze shifts to flashed targets in darkness. This induces undesired head oscillations. Consequently, both active (desired) and passive (undesired) head movements had to be compensated for to stabilize gaze. All groups compensated for active and passive head movements, vestibular-loss patients less than the other groups (P feedforward mechanisms substantially contribute to gaze stabilization. Proprioception alone is not sufficient (gain 0.2). Stabilization against active and passive head movements was not impaired in our cerebellar ataxia patients.

  12. Mechanisms of diurnal precipitation over the US Great Plains: a cloud resolving model perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Myong-In; Choi, Ildae; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Kang, In-Sik

    2010-02-01

    The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer

  13. Role of Surface Energy Exchange for Simulating Wind Turbine Inflow: A Case Study in the Southern Great Plains, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia Wharton

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF model is used to investigate choice of land surface model (LSM on the near surface wind profile, including heights reached by multi-megawatt (MW wind turbines. Simulations of wind profiles and surface energy fluxes were made using five LSMs of varying degrees of sophistication in dealing with soil–plant–atmosphere feedbacks for the Department of Energy (DOE Southern Great Plains (SGP Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM Central Facility in Oklahoma, USA. Surface flux and wind profile measurements were available for validation. WRF was run for three, two-week periods covering varying canopy and meteorological conditions. The LSMs predicted a wide range of energy flux and wind shear magnitudes even during the cool autumn period when we expected less variability. Simulations of energy fluxes varied in accuracy by model sophistication, whereby LSMs with very simple or no soil–plant–atmosphere feedbacks were the least accurate; however, the most complex models did not consistently produce more accurate results. Errors in wind shear were also sensitive to LSM choice and were partially related to energy flux accuracy. The variability of LSM performance was relatively high suggesting that LSM representation of energy fluxes in WRF remains a large source of model uncertainty for simulating wind turbine inflow conditions.

  14. The role of soil moisture in land surface-atmosphere coupling: climate model sensitivity experiments over India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Charles; Turner, Andrew

    2015-04-01

    It is generally acknowledged that anthropogenic land use changes, such as a shift from forested land into irrigated agriculture, may have an impact on regional climate and, in particular, rainfall patterns in both time and space. India provides an excellent example of a country in which widespread land use change has occurred during the last century, as the country tries to meet its growing demand for food. Of primary concern for agriculture is the Indian summer monsoon (ISM), which displays considerable seasonal and subseasonal variability. Although it is evident that changing rainfall variability will have a direct impact on land surface processes (such as soil moisture variability), the reverse impact is less well understood. However, the role of soil moisture in the coupling between the land surface and atmosphere needs to be properly explored before any potential impact of changing soil moisture variability on ISM rainfall can be understood. This paper attempts to address this issue, by conducting a number of sensitivity experiments using a state-of-the-art climate model from the UK Meteorological Office Hadley Centre: HadGEM2. Several experiments are undertaken, with the only difference between them being the extent to which soil moisture is coupled to the atmosphere. Firstly, the land surface is fully coupled to the atmosphere, globally (as in standard model configurations); secondly, the land surface is entirely uncoupled from the atmosphere, again globally, with soil moisture values being prescribed on a daily basis; thirdly, the land surface is uncoupled from the atmosphere over India but fully coupled elsewhere; and lastly, vice versa (i.e. the land surface is coupled to the atmosphere over India but uncoupled elsewhere). Early results from this study suggest certain 'hotspot' regions where the impact of soil moisture coupling/uncoupling may be important, and many of these regions coincide with previous studies. Focusing on the third experiment, i

  15. Atmospheric teleconnection influence on North American land surface phenology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dannenberg, Matthew P.; Wise, Erika K.; Janko, Mark; Hwang, Taehee; Kolby Smith, W.

    2018-03-01

    Short-term forecasts of vegetation activity are currently not well constrained due largely to our lack of understanding of coupled climate-vegetation dynamics mediated by complex interactions between atmospheric teleconnection patterns. Using ecoregion-scale estimates of North American vegetation activity inferred from remote sensing (1982-2015), we examined seasonal and spatial relationships between land surface phenology and the atmospheric components of five teleconnection patterns over the tropical Pacific, north Pacific, and north Atlantic. Using a set of regression experiments, we also tested for interactions among these teleconnection patterns and assessed predictability of vegetation activity solely based on knowledge of atmospheric teleconnection indices. Autumn-to-winter composites of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) were strongly correlated with start of growing season timing, especially in the Pacific Northwest. The two leading modes of north Pacific variability (the Pacific-North American, PNA, and West Pacific patterns) were significantly correlated with start of growing season timing across much of southern Canada and the upper Great Lakes. Regression models based on these Pacific teleconnections were skillful predictors of spring phenology across an east-west swath of temperate and boreal North America, between 40°N-60°N. While the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was not strongly correlated with start of growing season timing on its own, we found compelling evidence of widespread NAO-SOI and NAO-PNA interaction effects. These results suggest that knowledge of atmospheric conditions over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans increases the predictability of North American spring phenology. A more robust consideration of the complexity of the atmospheric circulation system, including interactions across multiple ocean basins, is an important step towards accurate forecasts of vegetation activity.

  16. Fluid mechanics of environmental interfaces

    CERN Document Server

    Gualtieri, Carlo

    2012-01-01

    Preface Preface of the first editionBiographies of the authors Part one - Preliminaries1. Environmental fluid mechanics: Current issues and future outlook B. Cushman-Roisin, C. Gualtieri & D.T. MihailovicPart two - Processes at atmospheric interfaces2. Point source atmospheric diffusionB. Rajkovic, I. Arsenic & Z. Grsic3. Air-sea interaction V. Djurdjevic & B. Rajkovic4. Modelling of flux exchanges between heterogeneous surfaces and atmosphere D.T. Mihailovic & D. Kapor5. Desert dust uptake-transport and deposition mechanisms - impacts of dust on radiation, clouds and precipitation G. Kallos, P. Katsafados & C. SpyrouPart three - Processes at water interfaces6. Gas-transfer at unsheared free-surfaces C. Gualtieri & G. Pulci Doria7. Advective diffusion of air bubbles in turbulent water flows H. Chanson8. Exchanges at the bed sediments-water column interface F.A. Bombardelli & P.A. Moreno9. Surface water and streambed sediment interaction: The hyporheic exchange D. Tonina10. Environm...

  17. Aeroassisted orbital maneuvering using Lyapunov optimal feedback control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grantham, Walter J.; Lee, Byoung-Soo

    1987-01-01

    A Liapunov optimal feedback controller incorporating a preferred direction of motion at each state of the system which is opposite to the gradient of a specified descent function is developed for aeroassisted orbital transfer from high-earth orbit to LEO. The performances of the Liapunov controller and a calculus-of-variations open-loop minimum-fuel controller, both of which are based on the 1962 U.S. Standard Atmosphere, are simulated using both the 1962 U.S. Standard Atmosphere and an atmosphere corresponding to the STS-6 Space Shuttle flight. In the STS-6 atmosphere, the calculus-of-variations open-loop controller fails to exit the atmosphere, while the Liapunov controller achieves the optimal minimum-fuel conditions, despite the + or - 40 percent fluctuations in the STS-6 atmosphere.

  18. Impact of Optimized Land Surface Parameters on the Land-Atmosphere Coupling in WRF Simulations of Dry and Wet Extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, S.; Santanello, J. A.; Peters-Lidard, C. D.; Harrison, K.

    2011-12-01

    Land-atmosphere (L-A) interactions play a critical role in determining the diurnal evolution of both planetary boundary layer (PBL) and land surface temperature and moisture budgets, as well as controlling feedbacks with clouds and precipitation that lead to the persistence of dry and wet regimes. Recent efforts to quantify the strength of L-A coupling in prediction models have produced diagnostics that integrate across both the land and PBL components of the system. In this study, we examine the impact of improved specification of land surface states, anomalies, and fluxes on coupled WRF forecasts during the summers of extreme dry (2006) and wet (2007) conditions in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. The improved land initialization and surface flux parameterizations are obtained through the use of a new optimization and uncertainty module in NASA's Land Information System (LIS-OPT), whereby parameter sets are calibrated in the Noah land surface model and classified according to the land cover and soil type mapping of the observations and the full domain. The impact of the calibrated parameters on the a) spinup of land surface states used as initial conditions, and b) heat and moisture fluxes of the coupled (LIS-WRF) simulations are then assessed in terms of ambient weather, PBL budgets, and precipitation along with L-A coupling diagnostics. In addition, the sensitivity of this approach to the period of calibration (dry, wet, normal) is investigated. Finally, tradeoffs of computational tractability and scientific validity (e.g.,. relating to the representation of the spatial dependence of parameters) and the feasibility of calibrating to multiple observational datasets are also discussed.

  19. Surface preparation for high purity alumina ceramics enabling direct brazing in hydrogen atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cadden, Charles H.; Yang, Nancy Yuan Chi; Hosking, Floyd M.

    2001-01-01

    The present invention relates to a method for preparing the surface of a high purity alumina ceramic or sapphire specimen that enables direct brazing in a hydrogen atmosphere using an active braze alloy. The present invention also relates to a method for directly brazing a high purity alumina ceramic or sapphire specimen to a ceramic or metal member using this method of surface preparation, and to articles produced by this brazing method. The presence of silicon, in the form of a SiO.sub.2 -containing surface layer, can more than double the tensile bond strength in alumina ceramic joints brazed in a hydrogen atmosphere using an active Au-16Ni-0.75 Mo-1.75V filler metal. A thin silicon coating applied by PVD processing can, after air firing, produce a semi-continuous coverage of the alumina surface with a SiO.sub.2 film. Room temperature tensile strength was found to be proportional to the fraction of air fired surface covered by silicon-containing films. Similarly, the ratio of substrate fracture versus interface separation was also related to the amount of surface silicon present prior to brazing. This process can replace the need to perform a "moly-manganese" metallization step.

  20. Clustering mechanism of oxocarboxylic acids involving hydration reaction: Implications for the atmospheric models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ling; Kupiainen-Määttä, Oona; Zhang, Haijie; Li, Hao; Zhong, Jie; Kurtén, Theo; Vehkamäki, Hanna; Zhang, Shaowen; Zhang, Yunhong; Ge, Maofa; Zhang, Xiuhui; Li, Zesheng

    2018-06-01

    The formation of atmospheric aerosol particles from condensable gases is a dominant source of particulate matter in the boundary layer, but the mechanism is still ambiguous. During the clustering process, precursors with different reactivities can induce various chemical reactions in addition to the formation of hydrogen bonds. However, the clustering mechanism involving chemical reactions is rarely considered in most of the nucleation process models. Oxocarboxylic acids are common compositions of secondary organic aerosol, but the role of oxocarboxylic acids in secondary organic aerosol formation is still not fully understood. In this paper, glyoxylic acid, the simplest and the most abundant atmospheric oxocarboxylic acid, has been selected as a representative example of oxocarboxylic acids in order to study the clustering mechanism involving hydration reactions using density functional theory combined with the Atmospheric Clusters Dynamic Code. The hydration reaction of glyoxylic acid can occur either in the gas phase or during the clustering process. Under atmospheric conditions, the total conversion ratio of glyoxylic acid to its hydration reaction product (2,2-dihydroxyacetic acid) in both gas phase and clusters can be up to 85%, and the product can further participate in the clustering process. The differences in cluster structures and properties induced by the hydration reaction lead to significant differences in cluster formation rates and pathways at relatively low temperatures.

  1. Mesoscale modeling of smoke radiative feedback over the Sahel region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Z.; Wang, J.; Ichoku, C. M.; Ellison, L.; Zhang, F.; Yue, Y.

    2013-12-01

    This study employs satellite observations and a fully-coupled meteorology-chemistry-aerosol model, Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) to study the smoke radative feedback on surface energy budget, boundary layer processes, and atmospheric lapse rate in February 2008 over the Sahel region. The smoke emission inventories we use come from various sources, including but not limited to the Fire Locating and Modeling of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE) developed by NRL and the Fire Energetic and Emissions Research (FEER) developed by NASA GSFC. Model performance is evaluated using numerous satellite and ground-based datasets: MODIS true color images, ground-based Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) measurements from AERONET, MODIS AOD retrievals, and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar data with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) atmospheric backscattering and extinction products. Specification of smoke injection height of 650 m in WRF-Chem yields aerosol vertical profiles that are most consistent with CALIOP observations of aerosol layer height. Statistically, 5% of the CALIPSO valid measurements of aerosols in February 2008 show aerosol layers either above the clouds or between the clouds, reinforcing the importance of the aerosol vertical distribution for quantifying aerosol impact on climate in the Sahel region. The results further show that the smoke radiative feedbacks are sensitive to assumptions of black carbon and organic carbon ratio in the particle emission inventory. Also investigated is the smoke semi-direct effect as a function of cloud fraction.

  2. Surface ozone concentrations in Europe: Links with the regional-scale atmospheric circulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, T. D.; Kelly, P. M.; Low, P. S.; Pierce, C. E.

    1992-06-01

    Daily surface ozone observations from 1978 (1976 for some analyses) to 1988 for Bottesford (United Kingdom), Cabauw, Kloosterburen (The Netherlands), Hohenpeissenberg, Neuglobsow, Hamburg, and Arkona (Germany) are used to analyze links between surface ozone variations and the atmospheric circulation. A daily Europe-wide synoptic classification highlights marked differences between surface ozone/meteorology relationships in summer and winter. These relationships are characterized by correlations between daily surface ozone concentrations at each station and a local subregional surface pressure gradient (a wind speed index). Although there are geographical variations, which are explicable in terms of regional climatology, there are distinct annual cycles. In summer, the surface ozone/wind speed relationship exhibits the expected negative sign; however, in winter, the relationship is, in the main, strongly positive, especially at those stations which are more influenced by the vigorous westerlies. Spring and autumn exhibit negative, positive, or transitional (between summer and winter) behavior, depending on geographical position. It is suggested that these relationships reflect the importance of vertical exchange from the free troposphere to the surface in the nonsummer months. Composite surface pressure patterns and surface pressure anomaly (from the long-term mean) patterns associated with high surface ozone concentrations on daily and seasonal time scales are consistent with the surface ozone/wind speed relationships. Moreover, they demonstrate that high surface ozone concentrations, in a climatological time frame, can be associated with mean surface pressure patterns which have a synoptic reality and are robust. Such an approach may be useful in interpreting past variations in surface ozone and may help to isolate the effect of human activity. It is also possible that assessments can be made of the effect of projected future changes in the atmospheric circulation

  3. Radioisotope Stirling Engine Powered Airship for Atmospheric and Surface Exploration of Titan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colozza, Anthony J.; Cataldo, Robert L.

    2014-01-01

    The feasibility of an advanced Stirling radioisotope generator (ASRG) powered airship for the near surface exploration of Titan was evaluated. The analysis did not consider the complete mission only the operation of the airship within the atmosphere of Titan. The baseline airship utilized two ASRG systems with a total of four general-purpose heat source (GPHS) blocks. Hydrogen gas was used to provide lift. The ASRG systems, airship electronics and controls and the science payload were contained in a payload enclosure. This enclosure was separated into two sections, one for the ASRG systems and the other for the electronics and payload. Each section operated at atmospheric pressure but at different temperatures. The propulsion system consisted of an electric motor driving a propeller. An analysis was set up to size the airship that could operate near the surface of Titan based on the available power from the ASRGs. The atmospheric conditions on Titan were modeled and used in the analysis. The analysis was an iterative process between sizing the airship to carry a specified payload and the power required to operate the electronics, payload and cooling system as well as provide power to the propulsion system to overcome the drag on the airship. A baseline configuration was determined that could meet the power requirements and operate near the Titan surface. From this baseline design additional trades were made to see how other factors affected the design such as the flight altitude and payload mass and volume.

  4. Self-consistent nonlocal feedback theory for electrocatalytic swimmers with heterogeneous surface chemical kinetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nourhani, Amir; Crespi, Vincent H.; Lammert, Paul E.

    2015-06-01

    We present a self-consistent nonlocal feedback theory for the phoretic propulsion mechanisms of electrocatalytic micromotors or nanomotors. These swimmers, such as bimetallic platinum and gold rods catalyzing decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution, have received considerable theoretical attention. In contrast, the heterogeneous electrochemical processes with nonlocal feedback that are the actual "engines" of such motors are relatively neglected. We present a flexible approach to these processes using bias potential as a control parameter field and a locally-open-circuit reference state, carried through in detail for a spherical motor. While the phenomenological flavor makes meaningful contact with experiment easier, required inputs can also conceivably come from, e.g., Frumkin-Butler-Volmer kinetics. Previously obtained results are recovered in the weak-heterogeneity limit and improved small-basis approximations tailored to structural heterogeneity are presented. Under the assumption of weak inhomogeneity, a scaling form is deduced for motor speed as a function of fuel concentration and swimmer size. We argue that this form should be robust and demonstrate a good fit to experimental data.

  5. Friction and Adhesion Forces of Bacillus thuringiensis Spores on Planar Surfaces in Atmospheric Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kweon, Hyojin [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Yiacoumi, Sotira [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Tsouris, Costas [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2011-11-07

    The kinetic friction force and the adhesion force of Bacillus thuringiensis spores on planar surfaces in atmospheric systems were studied using atomic force microscopy. The influence of relative humidity (RH) on these forces varied for different surface properties including hydrophobicity, roughness, and surface charge. The friction force of the spore was greater on a rougher surface than on mica, which is atomically flat. As RH increases, the friction force of the spores decreases on mica whereas it increases on rough surfaces. The influence of RH on the interaction forces between hydrophobic surfaces is not as strong as for hydrophilic surfaces. The friction force of the spore is linear to the sum of the adhesion force and normal load on the hydrophobic surface. In conclusion, the poorly defined surface structure of the spore and the adsorption of contaminants from the surrounding atmosphere are believed to cause a discrepancy between the calculated and measured adhesion forces.

  6. Self-Management of Patient Body Position, Pose, and Motion Using Wide-Field, Real-Time Optical Measurement Feedback: Results of a Volunteer Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parkhurst, James M.; Price, Gareth J.; Sharrock, Phil J.; Jackson, Andrew S.N.; Stratford, Julie; Moore, Christopher J.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: We present the results of a clinical feasibility study, performed in 10 healthy volunteers undergoing a simulated treatment over 3 sessions, to investigate the use of a wide-field visual feedback technique intended to help patients control their pose while reducing motion during radiation therapy treatment. Methods and Materials: An optical surface sensor is used to capture wide-area measurements of a subject's body surface with visualizations of these data displayed back to them in real time. In this study we hypothesize that this active feedback mechanism will enable patients to control their motion and help them maintain their setup pose and position. A capability hierarchy of 3 different level-of-detail abstractions of the measured surface data is systematically compared. Results: Use of the device enabled volunteers to increase their conformance to a reference surface, as measured by decreased variability across their body surfaces. The use of visual feedback also enabled volunteers to reduce their respiratory motion amplitude to 1.7 ± 0.6 mm compared with 2.7 ± 1.4 mm without visual feedback. Conclusions: The use of live feedback of their optically measured body surfaces enabled a set of volunteers to better manage their pose and motion when compared with free breathing. The method is suitable to be taken forward to patient studies

  7. Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jet Surface Treatment for Use in Improving Adhesion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuettner, Lindsey Ann [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-09-06

    Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets (APPJs) are a method of plasma treatment that plays an important role in material processing and modifying surface properties of materials, especially polymers. Gas plasmas react with polymer surfaces in numerous ways such as oxidation, radical formation, degradation, and promotion of cross-linking. Because of this, gas and plasma conditions can be explored for chosen processes to maximize desired properties. The purpose of this study is to investigate plasma parameters in order to modify surface properties for improved adhesion between aluminum and epoxy substrates using two types of adhesives. The background, results to date, and future work will be discussed.

  8. Enhanced Surface Warming and Accelerated Snow Melt in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau Induced by Absorbing Aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, William K.; Kim, Maeng-Ki; Kim, Kyu-Myong; Lee, Woo-Seop

    2010-01-01

    Numerical experiments with the NASA finite-volume general circulation model show that heating of the atmosphere by dust and black carbon can lead to widespread enhanced warming over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and accelerated snow melt in the western TP and Himalayas. During the boreal spring, a thick aerosol layer, composed mainly of dust transported from adjacent deserts and black carbon from local emissions, builds up over the Indo-Gangetic Plain, against the foothills of the Himalaya and the TP. The aerosol layer, which extends from the surface to high elevation (approx.5 km), heats the mid-troposphere by absorbing solar radiation. The heating produces an atmospheric dynamical feedback the so-called elevated-heat-pump (EHP) effect, which increases moisture, cloudiness, and deep convection over northern India, as well as enhancing the rate of snow melt in the Himalayas and TP. The accelerated melting of snow is mostly confined to the western TP, first slowly in early April and then rapidly from early to mid-May. The snow cover remains reduced from mid-May through early June. The accelerated snow melt is accompanied by similar phases of enhanced warming of the atmosphere-land system of the TP, with the atmospheric warming leading the surface warming by several days. Surface energy balance analysis shows that the short-wave and long-wave surface radiative fluxes strongly offset each other, and are largely regulated by the changes in cloudiness and moisture over the TP. The slow melting phase in April is initiated by an effective transfer of sensible heat from a warmer atmosphere to land. The rapid melting phase in May is due to an evaporation-snow-land feedback coupled to an increase in atmospheric moisture over the TP induced by the EHP effect.

  9. Enhanced surface warming and accelerated snow melt in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau induced by absorbing aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lau, William K M; Kim, Maeng-Ki; Lee, Woo-Seop; Kim, Kyu-Myong

    2010-01-01

    Numerical experiments with the NASA finite-volume general circulation model show that heating of the atmosphere by dust and black carbon can lead to widespread enhanced warming over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and accelerated snow melt in the western TP and Himalayas. During the boreal spring, a thick aerosol layer, composed mainly of dust transported from adjacent deserts and black carbon from local emissions, builds up over the Indo-Gangetic Plain, against the foothills of the Himalaya and the TP. The aerosol layer, which extends from the surface to high elevation (∼5 km), heats the mid-troposphere by absorbing solar radiation. The heating produces an atmospheric dynamical feedback-the so-called elevated-heat-pump (EHP) effect, which increases moisture, cloudiness, and deep convection over northern India, as well as enhancing the rate of snow melt in the Himalayas and TP. The accelerated melting of snow is mostly confined to the western TP, first slowly in early April and then rapidly from early to mid-May. The snow cover remains reduced from mid-May through early June. The accelerated snow melt is accompanied by similar phases of enhanced warming of the atmosphere-land system of the TP, with the atmospheric warming leading the surface warming by several days. Surface energy balance analysis shows that the short-wave and long-wave surface radiative fluxes strongly offset each other, and are largely regulated by the changes in cloudiness and moisture over the TP. The slow melting phase in April is initiated by an effective transfer of sensible heat from a warmer atmosphere to land. The rapid melting phase in May is due to an evaporation-snow-land feedback coupled to an increase in atmospheric moisture over the TP induced by the EHP effect.

  10. Large scale atmospheric tropical circulation changes and consequences during global warming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gastineau, G.

    2008-01-01

    The changes of the tropical large scale circulation during climate change can have large impacts on human activities. In a first part, the meridional atmospheric tropical circulation was studied in the different coupled models. During climate change, we find, on the one hand, that the Hadley meridional circulation and the subtropical jet are significantly shifted poleward, and on the other hand, that the intensity of the tropical circulation weakens. The slow down of the atmospheric circulation results from the dry static stability changes affecting the tropical troposphere. Secondly, idealized simulations are used to explain the tropical circulation changes. Ensemble simulation using the model LMDZ4 are set up to study the results from the coupled model IPSLCM4. The weakening of the large scale tropical circulation and the poleward shift of the Hadley cells are explained by both the uniform change and the meridional gradient change of the sea surface temperature. Then, we used the atmospheric model LMDZ4 in an aqua-planet configuration. The Hadley circulation changes are explained in a simple framework by the required poleward energy transport. In a last part, we focus on the water vapor distribution and feedback in the climate models. The Hadley circulation changes were shown to have a significant impact on the water vapour feedback during climate change. (author)

  11. Net land-atmosphere flows of biogenic carbon related to bioenergy: towards an understanding of systemic feedbacks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haberl, Helmut

    2013-07-01

    The notion that biomass combustion is carbon neutral vis-a-vis the atmosphere because carbon released during biomass combustion is absorbed during plant regrowth is inherent in the greenhouse gas accounting rules in many regulations and conventions. But this 'carbon neutrality' assumption of bioenergy is an oversimplification that can result in major flaws in emission accounting; it may even result in policies that increase, instead of reduce, overall greenhouse gas emissions. This commentary discusses the systemic feedbacks and ecosystem succession/land-use history issues ignored by the carbon neutrality assumption. Based on recent literature, three cases are elaborated which show that the C balance of bioenergy may range from highly beneficial to strongly detrimental, depending on the plants grown, the land used (including its land-use history) as well as the fossil energy replaced. The article concludes by proposing the concept of GHG cost curves of bioenergy as a means for optimizing the climate benefits of bioenergy policies.

  12. Multiple greenhouse-gas feedbacks from the land biosphere under future climate change scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocker, Benjamin D.; Roth, Raphael; Joos, Fortunat; Spahni, Renato; Steinacher, Marco; Zaehle, Soenke; Bouwman, Lex; Xu-Ri; Prentice, Iain Colin

    2013-07-01

    Atmospheric concentrations of the three important greenhouse gases (GHGs) CO2, CH4 and N2O are mediated by processes in the terrestrial biosphere that are sensitive to climate and CO2. This leads to feedbacks between climate and land and has contributed to the sharp rise in atmospheric GHG concentrations since pre-industrial times. Here, we apply a process-based model to reproduce the historical atmospheric N2O and CH4 budgets within their uncertainties and apply future scenarios for climate, land-use change and reactive nitrogen (Nr) inputs to investigate future GHG emissions and their feedbacks with climate in a consistent and comprehensive framework. Results suggest that in a business-as-usual scenario, terrestrial N2O and CH4 emissions increase by 80 and 45%, respectively, and the land becomes a net source of C by AD 2100. N2O and CH4 feedbacks imply an additional warming of 0.4-0.5°C by AD 2300; on top of 0.8-1.0°C caused by terrestrial carbon cycle and Albedo feedbacks. The land biosphere represents an increasingly positive feedback to anthropogenic climate change and amplifies equilibrium climate sensitivity by 22-27%. Strong mitigation limits the increase of terrestrial GHG emissions and prevents the land biosphere from acting as an increasingly strong amplifier to anthropogenic climate change.

  13. A Study of Atmospheric Plasma Treatment on Surface Energetics of Carbon Fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Soo Jin; Chang, Yong Hwan; Moon, Cheol Whan; Suh, Dong Hack; Im, Seung Soon; Kim, Yeong Cheol

    2010-01-01

    In this study, the atmospheric plasma treatment with He/O 2 was conducted to modify the surface chemistry of carbon fibers. The effects of plasma treatment parameters on the surface energetics of carbon fibers were experimentally investigated with respect to gas flow ratio, power intensity, and treatment time. Surface characteristics of the carbon fibers were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Zeta-potential, and contact angle measurements. The results indicated that oxygen plasma treatment led to a large amount of reactive functional groups onto the fiber surface, and these groups can form together as physical intermolecular bonding to improve the surface wettability with a hydrophilic polymer matrix

  14. Mechanisms of Diurnal Precipitation over the United States Great Plains: A Cloud-Resolving Model Simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, M.-I.; Choi, I.; Tao, W.-K.; Schubert, S. D.; Kang, I.-K.

    2010-01-01

    The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer heating.

  15. Impact of two chemistry mechanisms fully coupled with mesoscale model on the atmospheric pollutants distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arteta, J.; Cautenet, S.; Taghavi, M.; Audiffren, N.

    Air quality models (AQM) consist of many modules (meteorology, emission, chemistry, deposition), and in some conditions such as: vicinity of clouds or aerosols plumes, complex local circulations (mountains, sea breezes), fully coupled models (online method) are necessary. In order to study the impact of lumped chemical mechanisms in AQM simulations, we examine the ability of both different chemical mechanisms: (i) simplified: Condensed Version of the MOdèle de Chimie Atmosphérique 2.2 (CV-MOCA2.2), and (ii) reference: Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Model (RACM), which are coupled online with the Regional Atmospheric Modeling Systems (RAMS) model, on the distribution of pollutants. During the ESCOMPTE experiment (Expérience sur Site pour COntraindre les Modèles de Pollution et de Transport d'Emissions) conducted over Southern France (including urban and industrial zones), Intensive observation periods (IOP) characterized by various meteorological and mixed chemical conditions are simulated. For both configurations of modeling, numerical results are compared with surface measurements (75 stations) for primary (NO x) and secondary (O 3) species. We point out the impact of the two different chemical mechanisms on the production of species involved in the oxidizing capacity such as ozone and radicals within urban and industrial areas. We highlight that both chemical mechanisms produce very similar results for the main pollutants (NO x and O 3) in three-dimensional (3D) distribution, despite large discrepancies in 0D modeling. For ozone concentration, we found sometimes small differences (5-10 ppb) between the mechanisms under study according to the cases (polluted or not). The relative difference between the two mechanisms over the whole domain is only -7% for ozone from CV-MOCA 2.2 versus RACM. When the order of magnitude is needed rather than an accurate estimate, a reduced mechanism is satisfactory. It has the advantage of running faster (four times less than CPU

  16. ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR WAVES IN PLANETS WITH ATMOSPHERIC SUPERROTATION. II. LAMB, SURFACE, AND CENTRIFUGAL WAVES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peralta, J.; López-Valverde, M. A.; Imamura, T.; Read, P. L.; Luz, D.; Piccialli, A.

    2014-01-01

    This paper is the second in a two-part study devoted to developing tools for a systematic classification of the wide variety of atmospheric waves expected on slowly rotating planets with atmospheric superrotation. Starting with the primitive equations for a cyclostrophic regime, we have deduced the analytical solution for the possible waves, simultaneously including the effect of the metric terms for the centrifugal force and the meridional shear of the background wind. In those cases where the conditions for the method of the multiple scales in height are met, these wave solutions are also valid when vertical shear of the background wind is present. A total of six types of waves have been found and their properties were characterized in terms of the corresponding dispersion relations and wave structures. In this second part, we study the waves' solutions when several atmospheric approximations are applied: Lamb, surface, and centrifugal waves. Lamb and surface waves are found to be quite similar to those in a geostrophic regime. By contrast, centrifugal waves turn out to be a special case of Rossby waves that arise in atmospheres in cyclostrophic balance. Finally, we use our results to identify the nature of the waves behind atmospheric periodicities found in polar and lower latitudes of Venus's atmosphere

  17. ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR WAVES IN PLANETS WITH ATMOSPHERIC SUPERROTATION. II. LAMB, SURFACE, AND CENTRIFUGAL WAVES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peralta, J.; López-Valverde, M. A. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía, 18008 Granada (Spain); Imamura, T. [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 3-1-1, Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Read, P. L. [Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford (United Kingdom); Luz, D. [Centro de Astronomia e Astrofísica da Universidade de Lisboa (CAAUL), Observatório Astronómico de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisboa (Portugal); Piccialli, A., E-mail: peralta@iaa.es [LATMOS, UVSQ, 11 bd dAlembert, 78280 Guyancourt (France)

    2014-07-01

    This paper is the second in a two-part study devoted to developing tools for a systematic classification of the wide variety of atmospheric waves expected on slowly rotating planets with atmospheric superrotation. Starting with the primitive equations for a cyclostrophic regime, we have deduced the analytical solution for the possible waves, simultaneously including the effect of the metric terms for the centrifugal force and the meridional shear of the background wind. In those cases where the conditions for the method of the multiple scales in height are met, these wave solutions are also valid when vertical shear of the background wind is present. A total of six types of waves have been found and their properties were characterized in terms of the corresponding dispersion relations and wave structures. In this second part, we study the waves' solutions when several atmospheric approximations are applied: Lamb, surface, and centrifugal waves. Lamb and surface waves are found to be quite similar to those in a geostrophic regime. By contrast, centrifugal waves turn out to be a special case of Rossby waves that arise in atmospheres in cyclostrophic balance. Finally, we use our results to identify the nature of the waves behind atmospheric periodicities found in polar and lower latitudes of Venus's atmosphere.

  18. New Ion-Nucleation Mechanism Relevant for the Earth's Atmosphere

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marsh, N.D.; Svensmark, Henrik; Pedersen, Jens Olaf Pepke

    Experimental studies of ultra-fine aerosol nucleation in clean atmospheric air, containing trace amounts of ozone, sulphur dioxide, and water vapour suggest that the production rate of critical clusters is sensitive to ionisation. To assess this sensitivity numerical simulations of the initial...... stages of particle coagulation and condensation have been performed and compared with the experimental results. The simulations indicate that a stable distribution of sub 3nm particles exists that cannot be detected using standard techniques for measuring atmospheric aerosol, and that the nucleation rate...... of critical clusters generating this distribution is a function of the number of ions present. This provides a set of boundary conditions, which constrain the properties of a possible microphysical mechanism. The role of ions in the nucleation process of critical clusters provides a source for new aerosol...

  19. Study on the characteristics of barrier free surface discharge driven by repetitive nanosecond pulses at atmospheric pressure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lei, Pang; Qiaogen, Zhang [State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Kun, He [China Electric Power Research Institute, Beijing 100192 (China); Chunliang, Liu [State Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China)

    2016-05-15

    Nanosecond pulsed plasma has an enormous potential in many applications. In this paper, the characteristics of barrier free nanosecond pulsed surface discharge are investigated by the use of an actuator with a strip-strip film electrode configuration, including the effect of electrode width and the gap distance on the plasma morphology and electrical characteristics at atmospheric pressure. It was found that it is relative easier to generate a quasi uniform discharge with a thinner electrode width and a smaller gap distance. The underlying physical mechanism was also discussed. Besides that, the influence of airflow on repetitive pulsed surface discharge was examined. By comparing to the discharge produced by two different pulse waveforms in airflows, we found that the discharge driven by a faster pulse behaves more stable. Finally, a model was developed to analyze the interaction of the airflow and the discharge channels.

  20. Atmospheric Chemistry Over Southern Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatebe, Charles K.; Levy, Robert C.; Thompson, Anne M.

    2011-01-01

    campaigns such as Transport and Atmospheric Chemistry Near the Equator-Atlantic (TRACE-A), Southern African Fire-Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI-92), and Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000). Since those large international efforts, satellites have matured enough to enable quantifiable measurements of regional land surface, atmosphere, and ocean. In addition, global and chemical transport models have also been advanced to incorporate various data. Thus, the timing of the workshop was right for a full-fledged re-assessment of the chemistry, physics, and socio-economical impacts caused by pollution in the region, including a characterization of sources, deposition, and feedbacks with climate change.

  1. Screening models for releases of radionuclides to atmosphere, surface water, and ground -- Work sheets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    Three levels of screening for the atmospheric transport pathways and two levels for surface water are presented. The ground has only one screening level. Level 1 is the simplest approach and incorporates a high degree of conservatism. The estimate of the effective dose for this level assumes a concentration based upon the radionuclide concentration at the point of emission to the environment, i.e., at the stack for atmospheric emissions, at the end of the effluent pipe for liquid effluent releases, and at a well because of the buried radioactive material. Levels 2 and 3 are presented for atmospheric releases, and Level 2 for surface water releases only and are more detailed and correspondingly less conservative. Level 2 screening accounts for dispersion in the atmosphere and in surface waters and combines all recognized pathways into the screening factor. For the atmospheric pathway, Level 3 screening includes more definitive pathways analysis. Should the user be found in compliance on the basis of Level 1 screening, no further calculations are required. If the user fails Level 1, the user proceeds to the next level and checks for compliance. This process is repeated until the user passes screening (is in compliance) or no further screening levels exist. If the user fails the final level, professional assistance should be obtained in environmental radiological assessment. Work sheets are designed to lead the user through screening in a step-by-step manner until compliance is demonstrated or it is determined that more sophisticated methods or expertise are needed. Flow diagrams are provided as a guide to identify key steps in the screening process

  2. New method for model coupling using Stampi. Application to the coupling of atmosphere model (MM5) and land-surface model (SOLVEG)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagai, Haruyasu

    2003-12-01

    A new method to couple atmosphere and land-surface models using the message passing interface (MPI) was proposed to develop an atmosphere-land model for studies on heat, water, and material exchanges around the land surface. A non-hydrostatic atmospheric dynamic model of Pennsylvania State University and National Center for Atmospheric Research (PUS/NCAR-MM5) and a detailed land surface model (SOLVEG) including the surface-layer atmosphere, soil, and vegetation developed at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) are used as the atmosphere and land-surface models, respectively. Concerning the MPI, a message passing library named Stampi developed at JAERI that can be used between different parallel computers is used. The models are coupled by exchanging calculation results by using MPI on their independent parallel calculations. The modifications for this model coupling are easy, simply adding some modules for data exchanges to each model code without changing each model's original structure. Moreover, this coupling method is flexible and allows the use of independent time step and grid interval for each model. (author)

  3. Developing 360 degree feedback system for KINS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, In Soo; Cheon, B. M.; Kim, T. H.; Ryu, J. H. [Chungman National Univ., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2003-12-15

    This project aims to investigate the feasibility of a 360 degree feedback systems for KINS and to design guiding rules and structures in implementing that systems. Literature survey, environmental analysis and questionnaire survey were made to ensure that 360 degree feedback is the right tool to improve performance in KINS. That review leads to conclusion that more readiness and careful feasibility review are needed before implementation of 360 degree feedback in KINS. Further the project suggests some guiding rules that can be helpful for successful implementation of that system in KINS. Those include : start with development, experiment with one department, tie it to a clear organization's goal, train everyone involve, make sure to try that system in an atmosphere of trust.

  4. Developing 360 degree feedback system for KINS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, In Soo; Cheon, B. M.; Kim, T. H.; Ryu, J. H.

    2003-12-01

    This project aims to investigate the feasibility of a 360 degree feedback systems for KINS and to design guiding rules and structures in implementing that systems. Literature survey, environmental analysis and questionnaire survey were made to ensure that 360 degree feedback is the right tool to improve performance in KINS. That review leads to conclusion that more readiness and careful feasibility review are needed before implementation of 360 degree feedback in KINS. Further the project suggests some guiding rules that can be helpful for successful implementation of that system in KINS. Those include : start with development, experiment with one department, tie it to a clear organization's goal, train everyone involve, make sure to try that system in an atmosphere of trust

  5. Stellar feedback in galaxies and the origin of galaxy-scale winds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkins, Philip F.; Quataert, Eliot; Murray, Norman

    2012-04-01

    Feedback from massive stars is believed to play a critical role in driving galactic super-winds that enrich the intergalactic medium and shape the galaxy mass function, mass-metallicity relation and other global galaxy properties. In previous papers, we have introduced new numerical methods for implementing stellar feedback on sub-giant molecular cloud (sub-GMC) through galactic scales in numerical simulations of galaxies; the key physical processes include radiation pressure in the ultraviolet through infrared, supernovae (Type I and Type II), stellar winds ('fast' O star through 'slow' asymptotic giant branch winds), and H II photoionization. Here, we show that these feedback mechanisms drive galactic winds with outflow rates as high as ˜10-20 times the galaxy star formation rate. The mass-loading efficiency (wind mass-loss rate divided by the star formation rate) scales roughly as ? (where Vc is the galaxy circular velocity), consistent with simple momentum-conservation expectations. We use our suite of simulations to study the relative contribution of each feedback mechanism to the generation of galactic winds in a range of galaxy models, from Small Magellanic Cloud like dwarfs and Milky Way (MW) analogues to z˜ 2 clumpy discs. In massive, gas-rich systems (local starbursts and high-z galaxies), radiation pressure dominates the wind generation. By contrast, for MW-like spirals and dwarf galaxies the gas densities are much lower and sources of shock-heated gas such as supernovae and stellar winds dominate the production of large-scale outflows. In all of our models, however, the winds have a complex multiphase structure that depends on the interaction between multiple feedback mechanisms operating on different spatial scales and time-scales: any single feedback mechanism fails to reproduce the winds observed. We use our simulations to provide fitting functions to the wind mass loading and velocities as a function of galaxy properties, for use in cosmological

  6. Forcing of global ocean models using an atmospheric boundary layer model: assessing consequences for the simulation of the AMOC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abel, Rafael; Boening, Claus

    2015-04-01

    Current practice in the atmospheric forcing of ocean model simulations can lead to unphysical behaviours. The problem lies in the bulk formulation of the turbulent air-sea fluxes in conjunction with a prescribed, and unresponsive, atmospheric state as given, e.g., by reanalysis products. This forcing formulation corresponds to assuming an atmosphere with infinite heat capacity, and effectively damps SST anomalies even on basin scales. It thus curtails an important negative feedback between meridional ocean heat transport and SST in the North Atlantic, rendering simulations of the AMOC in such models excessively sensitive to details in the freshwater fluxes. As a consequence, such simulations are known for spurious drift behaviors which can only partially controlled by introducing some (and sometimes strong) unphysical restoring of sea surface salinity. There have been several suggestions during the last 20 years for at least partially alleviating the problem by including some simplified model of the atmospheric boundary layer (AML) which allows a feedback of SST anomalies on the near-surface air temperature and humidity needed to calculate the surface fluxes. We here present simulations with a simple, only thermally active AML formulation (based on the 'CheapAML' proposed by Deremble et al., 2013) implemented in a global model configuration based on NEMO (ORCA05). In a suite of experiments building on the CORE-bulk forcing methodology, we examine some general features of the AML-solutions (in which only the winds are prescribed) in comparison to solutions with a prescribed atmosperic state. The focus is on the North Atlantic, where we find that the adaptation of the atmospheric temperature the simulated ocean state can lead to strong local modifications in the surface heat fluxes in frontal regions (e.g., the 'Northwest Corner'). We particularly assess the potential of the AML-forcing concept for obtaining AMOC-simulations with reduced spurious drift, without

  7. Corticocortical feedback increases the spatial extent of normalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nassi, Jonathan J; Gómez-Laberge, Camille; Kreiman, Gabriel; Born, Richard T

    2014-01-01

    Normalization has been proposed as a canonical computation operating across different brain regions, sensory modalities, and species. It provides a good phenomenological description of non-linear response properties in primary visual cortex (V1), including the contrast response function and surround suppression. Despite its widespread application throughout the visual system, the underlying neural mechanisms remain largely unknown. We recently observed that corticocortical feedback contributes to surround suppression in V1, raising the possibility that feedback acts through normalization. To test this idea, we characterized area summation and contrast response properties in V1 with and without feedback from V2 and V3 in alert macaques and applied a standard normalization model to the data. Area summation properties were well explained by a form of divisive normalization, which computes the ratio between a neuron's driving input and the spatially integrated activity of a "normalization pool." Feedback inactivation reduced surround suppression by shrinking the spatial extent of the normalization pool. This effect was independent of the gain modulation thought to mediate the influence of contrast on area summation, which remained intact during feedback inactivation. Contrast sensitivity within the receptive field center was also unaffected by feedback inactivation, providing further evidence that feedback participates in normalization independent of the circuit mechanisms involved in modulating contrast gain and saturation. These results suggest that corticocortical feedback contributes to surround suppression by increasing the visuotopic extent of normalization and, via this mechanism, feedback can play a critical role in contextual information processing.

  8. The "Physical feedbacks of Arctic PBL, Sea ice, Cloud and AerosoL (PASCAL)" campaign during the Arctic POLARSTERN expedition PS106 in spring 2017.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macke, A.

    2017-12-01

    The Polar regions are important components in the global climate system. The widespread surface snow and ice cover strongly impacts the surface energy budget, which is tightly coupled to global atmospheric and oceanic circulations. The coupling of sea ice, clouds and aerosol in the transition zone between Open Ocean and sea ice is the focus of the PASCAL investigations to improve our understanding of the recent dramatic reduction in Arctic sea-ice. A large variety of active/passive remote sensing, in-situ-aerosol observation, and spectral irradiance measurements have been obtained during the German research icebreaker POLARSTERN expedition PS106, and provided detailed information on the atmospheric spatiotemporal structure, aerosol and cloud chemical and microphysical properties as well as the resulting surface radiation budget. Nearly identical measurements at the AWIPEV Base (German - French Research Base) in Ny-Ålesund close to the Open Ocean and collocated airborne activities of the POLAR 5 and POLAR 6 AWI aircraft in the framework of the ACLOUD project have been carried out in parallel. The airborne observations have been supplemented by observations of the boundary layer structure (mean and turbulent quantities) from a tethered balloon reaching up to 1500 m, which was operated at an ice floe station nearby POLARSTERN for two weeks. All observational activities together with intense modelling at various scales are part of the German Collaborative Research Cluster TR 172 "Arctic Amplification" that aims to provide an unprecedented picture of the complex Arctic weather and climate system. The presentation provides an overview of the measurements on-board POLARSTERN and on the ice floe station during PASCAL from May 24 to July 21 2017. We conclude how these and future similar measurements during the one-year ice drift of POLARSTERN in the framework of MOSAiC help to reduce uncertainties in Arctic aerosol-cloud interaction, cloud radiative forcing, and surface/atmosphere

  9. Designing feedback: multimodality and specificity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ludden, Geke Dina Simone; Sugiyama, Kazuo

    2013-01-01

    Now that many of us carry around devices that are equipped with sensors (e.g., smartphones with accelerometers) we can use these sensors to measure behavior. The data thus captured can be used to give someone feedback about this behavior. These feedback mechanisms are often used in so called smart

  10. Terrestrial biogeochemical feedbacks in the climate system: from past to future

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arneth, A.; Harrison, S. P.; Zaehle, S.; Tsigaridis, K; Menon, S; Bartlein, P.J.; Feichter, J; Korhola, A; Kulmala, M; O' Donnell, D; Schurgers, G; Sorvari, S; Vesala, T

    2010-01-05

    The terrestrial biosphere plays a major role in the regulation of atmospheric composition, and hence climate, through multiple interlinked biogeochemical cycles (BGC). Ice-core and other palaeoenvironmental records show a fast response of vegetation cover and exchanges with the atmosphere to past climate change, although the phasing of these responses reflects spatial patterning and complex interactions between individual biospheric feedbacks. Modern observations show a similar responsiveness of terrestrial biogeochemical cycles to anthropogenically-forced climate changes and air pollution, with equally complex feedbacks. For future conditions, although carbon cycle-climate interactions have been a major focus, other BGC feedbacks could be as important in modulating climate changes. The additional radiative forcing from terrestrial BGC feedbacks other than those conventionally attributed to the carbon cycle is in the range of 0.6 to 1.6 Wm{sup -2}; all taken together we estimate a possible maximum of around 3 Wm{sup -2} towards the end of the 21st century. There are large uncertainties associated with these estimates but, given that the majority of BGC feedbacks result in a positive forcing because of the fundamental link between metabolic stimulation and increasing temperature, improved quantification of these feedbacks and their incorporation in earth system models is necessary in order to develop coherent plans to manage ecosystems for climate mitigation.

  11. Reduced calcification of marine plankton in response to increased atmospheric CO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riebesell, U; Zondervan, I; Rost, B; Tortell, P D; Zeebe, R E; Morel, F M

    2000-09-21

    The formation of calcareous skeletons by marine planktonic organisms and their subsequent sinking to depth generates a continuous rain of calcium carbonate to the deep ocean and underlying sediments. This is important in regulating marine carbon cycling and ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange. The present rise in atmospheric CO2 levels causes significant changes in surface ocean pH and carbonate chemistry. Such changes have been shown to slow down calcification in corals and coralline macroalgae, but the majority of marine calcification occurs in planktonic organisms. Here we report reduced calcite production at increased CO2 concentrations in monospecific cultures of two dominant marine calcifying phytoplankton species, the coccolithophorids Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica. This was accompanied by an increased proportion of malformed coccoliths and incomplete coccospheres. Diminished calcification led to a reduction in the ratio of calcite precipitation to organic matter production. Similar results were obtained in incubations of natural plankton assemblages from the north Pacific ocean when exposed to experimentally elevated CO2 levels. We suggest that the progressive increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations may therefore slow down the production of calcium carbonate in the surface ocean. As the process of calcification releases CO2 to the atmosphere, the response observed here could potentially act as a negative feedback on atmospheric CO2 levels.

  12. The role of land surface dynamics in glacial inception: a study with the UVic Earth System Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meissner, K.J.; Weaver, A.J.; Matthews, H.D. [School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria (Canada); Cox, P.M. [Hadley Centre, Meteorological Office, Bracknell (United Kingdom)

    2003-12-01

    The first results of the UVic Earth System Model coupled to a land surface scheme and a dynamic global vegetation model are presented in this study. In the first part the present day climate simulation is discussed and compared to observations. We then compare a simulation of an ice age inception (forced with 116 ka BP orbital parameters and an atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration of 240 ppm) with a preindustrial run (present day orbital parameters, atmospheric [CO{sub 2}] = 280 ppm). Emphasis is placed on the vegetation's response to the combined changes in solar radiation and atmospheric CO{sub 2} level. A southward shift of the northern treeline as well as a global decrease in vegetation carbon is observed in the ice age inception run. In tropical regions, up to 88% of broadleaf trees are replaced by shrubs and C{sub 4} grasses. These changes in vegetation cover have a remarkable effect on the global climate: land related feedbacks double the atmospheric cooling during the ice age inception as well as the reduction of the meridional overturning in the North Atlantic. The introduction of vegetation related feedbacks also increases the surface area with perennial snow significantly. (orig.)

  13. Ice/Bedrock Feedbacks as a Principle Contributor to Glacial-Interglacial Oscillations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimmel, J.; Lee, K.; Jackson, C. H.

    2014-12-01

    Since the mid-Pleistocene, the oscillation between glacial and interglacial climate states occurs with a period of approximately 100 kyr. Each cycle is comprised of a slow glaciation with a subsequent rapid deglaciation. While the solar forcing is clearly an important driver for these transitions, the power spectrum of the solar forcing is quite different from the subsequent climate response and, in general, does not have a noticeable correlation with global ice volume. Instead, previous studies have shown that internal climate processes and their interactions (e.g., CO2, water vapor, isostatic bed response) play a significant role in producing these global climate cycles. The rapid retreat of large ice sheets at the start of an interglacial is often attributed to the interaction between surface and atmospheric processes. While calving is thought to amplify this retreat, it is not typically considered a principle driver of the ice sheet response. Our study investigates the potential for ice/bedrock feedbacks to be a principle contributor in shaping the glacial-interglacial climate oscillation -- particularly the rapid deglaciation that precedes an interglacial. The ice sheet model we develop includes a piecewise linear ice/bedrock feedback while atmospheric and surface processes are taken to be as simple as possible. Due to the long timescale of the bedrock response and the rapid mass loss due to calving, the model ice sheet exhibits rapid deglaciation from a stable maximum when it retreats through an overdeepening. However, ice sheet advance is also shown to be as rapid unless a more complex bedrock response is considered. In particular, we show that a forebulge created by the displacement of the mantle adds a new stable branch to the volume/equilibrium line bifurcation diagram that results in slower growth of the ice sheet during glaciation.

  14. Atmospheric Surface Layer Characterization: Preliminary Desert Lapse Rate Study 22-25 August 2000

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Elliott, Doyle

    2003-01-01

    Results of the August 2000 Desert Lapse Rate (DLR) Experiment are presented. The DLR Experiment was performed to document the night-to-day transition effects on the desert Atmospheric Surface Layer (ASL...

  15. Soft pneumatic actuator skin with piezoelectric sensors for vibrotactile feedback

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harshal Arun Sonar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The latest wearable technologies demand more intuitive and sophisticated interfaces for communication, sensing, and feedback closer to the body. Evidently, such interfaces require flexibility and conformity without losing their functionality even on rigid surfaces. Although there has been various research efforts in creating tactile feedback to improve various haptic interfaces and master-slave manipulators, we are yet to see a comprehensive device that can both supply vibratory actuation and tactile sensing. This paper describes a soft pneumatic actuator (SPA based, SPA-skin prototype that allows bidirectional tactile information transfer to facilitate simpler and responsive wearable interface. We describe the design and fabrication of a 1.4 mm-thick vibratory SPA - skin that is integrated with piezoelectric sensors. We examine in detail the mechanical performance compared to the SPA model and the sensitivity of the sensors for the application in vibrotactile feedback. Experimental findings show that this ultra-thin SPA and the unique integration process of the discrete lead zirconate titanate (PZT based piezoelectric sensors achieve high resolution of soft contact sensing as well as accurate control on vibrotactile feedback by closing the control loop.

  16. A simple reactivity feedback model accounting for radial core expansion effects in the liquid metal fast reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwon, Young Min; Lee, Yong Bum; Chang, Won Pyo; Haha, Do Hee

    2002-01-01

    The radial core expansion due to the structure temperature rise is one of major negative reactivity insertion mechanisms in metallic fueled reactor. Thermal expansion is a result of both the laws of nature and the particular core design and it causes negative reactivity feedback by the combination of increased core volume captures and increased core surface leakage. The simple radial core expansion reactivity feedback model developed for the SSC-K code was evaluated by the code-to-code comparison analysis. From the comparison results, it can be stated that the radial core expansion reactivity feedback model employed into the SSC-K code may be reasonably accurate in the UTOP analysis

  17. A simple reactivity feedback model accounting for radial core expansion effects in the liquid metal fast reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwon, Young Min; Lee, Yong Bum; Chang, Won Pyo; Haha, Do Hee [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    2002-10-01

    The radial core expansion due to the structure temperature rise is one of major negative reactivity insertion mechanisms in metallic fueled reactor. Thermal expansion is a result of both the laws of nature and the particular core design and it causes negative reactivity feedback by the combination of increased core volume captures and increased core surface leakage. The simple radial core expansion reactivity feedback model developed for the SSC-K code was evaluated by the code-to-code comparison analysis. From the comparison results, it can be stated that the radial core expansion reactivity feedback model employed into the SSC-K code may be reasonably accurate in the UTOP analysis.

  18. UV laser ablation of silicon carbide ring surfaces for mechanical seal applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daurelio, Giuseppe; Bellosi, Alida; Sciti, Diletta; Chita, Giuseppe; Allegretti, Didio; Guerrini, Fausto

    2000-02-01

    Silicon carbide ceramic seal rings are treated by KrF excimer laser irradiation. Surface characteristics, induced by laser treatment, depend upon laser fluence, the number of laser pulses, their energy and frequency, the rotation rate of the ring and the processing atmosphere. It was ascertained that silicon carbide has to be processed under an inert atmosphere to avoid surface oxidation. Microstructural analyses of surface and cross section of the laser processed samples showed that the SiC surface is covered by a scale due to the melting/resolidification processes. At high fluence there are no continuous scales on the surfaces; materials is removed by decomposition/vaporization and the ablation depth is linearly dependent on the number of pulses. Different surface morphologies are observed. The evolution of surface morphology and roughness is discussed with reference to compositions, microstructure and physical and optical properties of the ceramic material and to laser processing parameters. Preliminary results on tribological behavior of the treated seals are reported.

  19. Fast feedback in classroom practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Emmett, K.M.; Klaassen, K.; Eijkelhof, H.

    2009-01-01

    In this article we describe one application of the fast feedback method (see Berg 2003 Aust. Sci. Teach. J. 28–34) in secondary mechanics education. Two teachers tried out a particular sequence twice, in consecutive years, once with and once without the use of fast feedback. We found the method to

  20. An instrument to measure turbulent eddy fluxes in the atmosphere of Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    S. Rafkin; D. Banfield; R. Dissly; J. Silver; A. Stanton; E. Wilkinson; W. Massman; J. Ham

    2012-01-01

    Turbulent eddies in the planetary boundary layer of the terrestrial planet atmospheres are the primary mechanism by which energy, momentum, gasses, and aerosols are exchanged between the surface and the atmosphere [1]. The importance of eddies has long been recognized by the Earth atmospheric science community, and turbulent theory for Earth has a long history with a...

  1. Feedbacks between air pollution and weather, part 2: Effects on chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makar, P. A.; Gong, W.; Hogrefe, C.; Zhang, Y.; Curci, G.; Žabkar, R.; Milbrandt, J.; Im, U.; Balzarini, A.; Baró, R.; Bianconi, R.; Cheung, P.; Forkel, R.; Gravel, S.; Hirtl, M.; Honzak, L.; Hou, A.; Jiménez-Guerrero, P.; Langer, M.; Moran, M. D.; Pabla, B.; Pérez, J. L.; Pirovano, G.; San José, R.; Tuccella, P.; Werhahn, J.; Zhang, J.; Galmarini, S.

    2015-08-01

    Fully-coupled air-quality models running in ;feedback; and ;no-feedback; configurations were compared against each other and observation network data as part of Phase 2 of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative. In the ;no-feedback; mode, interactions between meteorology and chemistry through the aerosol direct and indirect effects were disabled, with the models reverting to climatologies of aerosol properties, or a no-aerosol weather simulation, while in the ;feedback; mode, the model-generated aerosols were allowed to modify the models' radiative transfer and/or cloud formation processes. Annual simulations with and without feedbacks were conducted for domains in North America for the years 2006 and 2010, and for Europe for the year 2010. Comparisons against observations via annual statistics show model-to-model variation in performance is greater than the within-model variation associated with feedbacks. However, during the summer and during intense emission events such as the Russian forest fires of 2010, feedbacks have a significant impact on the chemical predictions of the models. The aerosol indirect effect was usually found to dominate feedbacks compared to the direct effect. The impacts of direct and indirect effects were often shown to be in competition, for predictions of ozone, particulate matter and other species. Feedbacks were shown to result in local and regional shifts of ozone-forming chemical regime, between NOx- and VOC-limited environments. Feedbacks were shown to have a substantial influence on biogenic hydrocarbon emissions and concentrations: North American simulations incorporating both feedbacks resulted in summer average isoprene concentration decreases of up to 10%, while European direct effect simulations during the Russian forest fire period resulted in grid average isoprene changes of -5 to +12.5%. The atmospheric transport and chemistry of large emitting sources such as plumes from forest fires and large cities

  2. Initiation Processes of the Tropical Intraseasonal Variability Simulated in an Aqua-Planet Experiment: What is the Intrinsic Mechanism for MJO Onset?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takasuka, Daisuke; Satoh, Masaki; Miyakawa, Tomoki; Miura, Hiroaki

    2018-04-01

    To understand the intrinsic onset mechanism of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), we simulated a set of initiation processes of MJO-like disturbances in 10 year aqua-planet experiments using a global atmospheric model with a 56 km horizontal mesh and an explicit cloud scheme. Under a condition with a zonally nonuniform sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropics, we reproduced MJO-like disturbances over the western warm pool region. The lagged-composite analysis of detected MJO-like disturbances clarifies the time sequence of three-dimensional dynamic and moisture fields prior to the onset. We found that midtropospheric moistening, a condition that is favorable for deep convection, is particularly obvious in the initiation region 5-9 days before onset. The moistening is caused by two-dimensional horizontal advection due to cross-equatorial shallow circulations associated with mixed Rossby-gravity waves, as well as anomalous poleward flows of a negative Rossby response to suppressed convection. When the midtroposphere is sufficiently moistened, lower tropospheric signals of circumnavigating Kelvin waves trigger active convection. The surface latent heat flux (LHF) feedback contributes to the initial stages of convective organization, while the cloud-radiation feedback contributes to later stages. Sensitivity experiments suggest that circumnavigating Kelvin waves regulate the period of MJO-like disturbances because of efficient convective triggering and that the LHF feedback contributes to rapid convective organization. However, the experiments also reveal that both conditions are not necessary for the existence of MJO-like disturbances. Implications for the relevance of these mechanisms for MJO onset are also discussed.

  3. Progress in Understanding Land-Surface-Atmosphere Coupling from LBA Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alan K Betts

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available LBA research has deepened our understanding of the role of soil water storage, clouds and aerosols in land-atmosphere coupling. We show how the reformulation of cloud forcing in terms of an effective cloud albedo per unit area of surface gives a useful measure of the role of clouds in the surface energy budget over the Amazon. We show that the diurnal temperature range has a quasi-linear relation to the daily mean longwave cooling; and to effective cloud albedo because of the tight coupling between the near-surface climate, the boundary layer and the cloud field. The coupling of surface and atmospheric processes is critical to the seasonal cycle: deep forest rooting systems make water available throughout the year, whereas in the dry season the shortwave cloud forcing is reduced by regional scale subsidence, so that more light is available for photosynthesis. At sites with an annual precipitation above 1900 mm and a dry season length less than 4 months, evaporation rates increased in the dry season, coincident with increased radiation. In contrast, ecosystems with precipitation less than 1700 mm and a longer dry season showed clear evidence of reduced evaporation in the dry season coming from water stress. In all these sites, the seasonal variation of the effective cloud albedo is a major factor in determining the surface available energy. Dry season fires add substantial aerosol to the atmosphere. Aerosol scattering and absorption both reduce the total downward surface radiative flux, but increase the diffuse/direct flux ratio, which increases photosynthetic efficiency. Convective plumes produced by fires enhance the vertical transport of aerosols over the Amazon, and effectively inject smoke aerosol and gases directly into the middle troposphere with substantial impacts on mid- tropospheric dispersion. In the rainy season in Rondônia, convection in low-level westerly flows with low aerosol content resembles oceanic convection with

  4. Feedback system for divertor impurity seeding based on real-time measurements of surface heat flux in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunner, D.; Burke, W.; Kuang, A. Q.; LaBombard, B.; Lipschultz, B.; Wolfe, S.

    2016-02-01

    Mitigation of the intense heat flux to the divertor is one of the outstanding problems in fusion energy. One technique that has shown promise is impurity seeding, i.e., the injection of low-Z gaseous impurities (typically N2 or Ne) to radiate and dissipate the power before it arrives to the divertor target plate. To this end, the Alcator C-Mod team has created a first-of-its-kind feedback system to control the injection of seed gas based on real-time surface heat flux measurements. Surface thermocouples provide real-time measurements of the surface temperature response to the plasma heat flux. The surface temperature measurements are inputted into an analog computer that "solves" the 1-D heat transport equation to deliver accurate, real-time signals of the surface heat flux. The surface heat flux signals are sent to the C-Mod digital plasma control system, which uses a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) algorithm to control the duty cycle demand to a pulse width modulated piezo valve, which in turn controls the injection of gas into the private flux region of the C-Mod divertor. This paper presents the design and implementation of this new feedback system as well as initial results using it to control divertor heat flux.

  5. Adaptive all the way down: building responsive materials from hierarchies of chemomechanical feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grinthal, Alison; Aizenberg, Joanna

    2013-09-07

    A living organism is a bundle of dynamic, integrated adaptive processes: not only does it continuously respond to constant changes in temperature, sunlight, nutrients, and other features of its environment, but it does so by coordinating hierarchies of feedback among cells, tissues, organs, and networks all continuously adapting to each other. At the root of it all is one of the most fundamental adaptive processes: the constant tug of war between chemistry and mechanics that interweaves chemical signals with endless reconfigurations of macromolecules, fibers, meshworks, and membranes. In this tutorial we explore how such chemomechanical feedback - as an inherently dynamic, iterative process connecting size and time scales - can and has been similarly evoked in synthetic materials to produce a fascinating diversity of complex multiscale responsive behaviors. We discuss how chemical kinetics and architecture can be designed to generate stimulus-induced 3D spatiotemporal waves and topographic patterns within a single bulk material, and how feedback between interior dynamics and surface-wide instabilities can further generate higher order buckling and wrinkling patterns. Building on these phenomena, we show how yet higher levels of feedback and spatiotemporal complexity can be programmed into hybrid materials, and how these mechanisms allow hybrid materials to be further integrated into multicompartmental systems capable of hierarchical chemo-mechano-chemical feedback responses. These responses no doubt represent only a small sample of the chemomechanical feedback behaviors waiting to be discovered in synthetic materials, and enable us to envision nearly limitless possibilities for designing multiresponsive, multifunctional, self-adapting materials and systems.

  6. Biotic and Biogeochemical Feedbacks to Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torn, M. S.; Harte, J.

    2002-12-01

    Feedbacks to paleoclimate change are evident in ice core records showing correlations of temperature with carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. Such feedbacks may be explained by plant and microbial responses to climate change, and are likely to occur under impending climate warming, as evidenced by results of ecosystem climate manipulation experiments and biometeorological observations along ecological and climate gradients. Ecosystems exert considerable influence on climate, by controlling the energy and water balance of the land surface as well as being sinks and sources of greenhouse gases. This presentation will focus on biotic and biogeochemical climate feedbacks on decadal to century time scales, emphasizing carbon storage and energy exchange. In addition to the direct effects of climate on decomposition rates and of climate and CO2 on plant productivity, climate change can alter species composition; because plant species differ in their surface properties, productivity, phenology, and chemistry, climate-induced changes in plant species composition can exert a large influence on the magnitude and sign of climate feedbacks. We discuss the effects of plant species on ecosystem carbon storage that result from characteristic differences in plant biomass and lifetime, allocation to roots vs. leaves, litter quality, microclimate for decomposition and the ultimate stabilization of soil organic matter. We compare the effect of species transitions on transpiration, albedo, and other surface properties, with the effect of elevated CO2 and warming on single species' surface exchange. Global change models and experiments that investigate the effect of climate only on existing vegetation may miss the biggest impacts of climate change on biogeochemical cycling and feedbacks. Quantification of feedbacks will require understanding how species composition and long-term soil processes will change under global warming. Although no single approach, be it experimental

  7. Calorimetric investigation on mechanically activated storage energy mechanism of sphalerite and pyrite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao Zhongliang; Chen Qiyuan; Yin Zhoulan; Hu Huiping; Wu Daoxin

    2005-01-01

    The structural changes of mechanically activated sphalerite and pyrite under different grinding conditions were determined by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), laser particle size analyzer and elemental analysis. The storage energy of mechanically activated sphalerite and pyrite was measured by a calorimetric method. A thermochemical cycle was designed so that mechanically activated and non-activated minerals reached the same final state when dissolved in the same oxidizing solvent. The results show that the storage energy of mechanically activated sphalerite and pyrite rises with increased in grinding time, and reaches a maximum after a certain grinding period. The storage energy of mechanically activated pyrite decreases when heated under inert atmosphere. The storage energy of mechanically activated sphalerite and pyrite remains constant when treated below 573 K under inert atmosphere. The percentage of the storage energy caused by surface area increase during mechanical activation decreases with increasing grinding time. These results support our opinion that the mechanically activated storage energy of sphalerite is closely related to lattice distortions, and the mechanically activated storage energy of pyrite is mainly caused by the formation of reactive sites on the surface

  8. Global Validation of MODIS Atmospheric Profile-Derived Near-Surface Air Temperature and Dew Point Estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Famiglietti, C.; Fisher, J.; Halverson, G. H.

    2017-12-01

    This study validates a method of remote sensing near-surface meteorology that vertically interpolates MODIS atmospheric profiles to surface pressure level. The extraction of air temperature and dew point observations at a two-meter reference height from 2001 to 2014 yields global moderate- to fine-resolution near-surface temperature distributions that are compared to geographically and temporally corresponding measurements from 114 ground meteorological stations distributed worldwide. This analysis is the first robust, large-scale validation of the MODIS-derived near-surface air temperature and dew point estimates, both of which serve as key inputs in models of energy, water, and carbon exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere. Results show strong linear correlations between remotely sensed and in-situ near-surface air temperature measurements (R2 = 0.89), as well as between dew point observations (R2 = 0.77). Performance is relatively uniform across climate zones. The extension of mean climate-wise percent errors to the entire remote sensing dataset allows for the determination of MODIS air temperature and dew point uncertainties on a global scale.

  9. Study on the surface reaction of uranium metal in hydrogen atmosphere with XPS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiaolin; Fu Yibei; Xie Renshou; Zuo Changming; Zhao Chunpei; Chen Hong

    1998-01-01

    The surface reactions of uranium metal in hydrogen atmosphere at 25 degree C and 200 degree C and effects of temperature and carbon monoxide to the hydriding reaction have been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The reaction between H 2 and uranium metal at 25 degree C leads to the further oxidation of surface layer of metal due to traces of water vapor. At 200 degree C, it may lead to the hydriding reaction of uranium and the hydriding increases with increasing exposure to H 2 in the initial stages. The U4f 7/2 binding energy of UH 3 has been found to be 378.6 eV. Investigation indicates carbon monoxide inhibits both the hydriding reaction and oxidation on the condition of H 2 -CO atmosphere

  10. Small surface wave discharge at atmospheric pressure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kiss' ovski, Zh; Kolev, M; Ivanov, A; Lishev, St; Koleva, I, E-mail: kissov@phys.uni-sofia.b [Faculty of Physics, Sofia University, BG-1164 Sofia (Bulgaria)

    2009-09-21

    A small surface wave driven source produces plasma at atmospheric pressure. Microwave power at frequency 2.45 GHz is coupled with the source and a discharge is ignited at power levels below 10 W. The coaxial exciter of the surface waves has a length of 10 mm because its dielectric is a high permittivity discharge tube. The plasma source operates as a plasma jet in the case of plasma columns longer than the tube length. The source maintains stable plasma columns over a wide range of neutral gas flow and applied power in continuous and pulse regimes. An additional advantage of this source is the discharge self-ignition. An electron temperature of T{sub e} {approx} 1.9 eV and a density of n{sub e} {approx} 3.9 x 10{sup 14} cm{sup -3} are estimated by the probe diagnostics method. The emission spectra in the wavelength range 200-1000 nm under different experimental conditions are analysed and they prove the applicability of the source for analytical spectroscopy. The dependences of column length, reflected power and plasma parameters on the gas flow and the input power are discussed. (fast track communication)

  11. Estimations of Atmospheric Conditions for Input to the Radar Performance Surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-12-01

    distribution is unlimited 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This study addresses the support of non- acoustic ASW operations by...BLANK v ABSTRACT This study addresses the support of non- acoustic ASW operations by timely atmospheric and ocean surface descriptions on features...24 Figure 12. Infrared Radiation Pyrometers , model KT15.82, Wintronics 2007

  12. Comparison of three ice cloud optical schemes in climate simulations with community atmospheric model version 5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Wenjie; Peng, Yiran; Wang, Bin; Yi, Bingqi; Lin, Yanluan; Li, Jiangnan

    2018-05-01

    A newly implemented Baum-Yang scheme for simulating ice cloud optical properties is compared with existing schemes (Mitchell and Fu schemes) in a standalone radiative transfer model and in the global climate model (GCM) Community Atmospheric Model Version 5 (CAM5). This study systematically analyzes the effect of different ice cloud optical schemes on global radiation and climate by a series of simulations with a simplified standalone radiative transfer model, atmospheric GCM CAM5, and a comprehensive coupled climate model. Results from the standalone radiative model show that Baum-Yang scheme yields generally weaker effects of ice cloud on temperature profiles both in shortwave and longwave spectrum. CAM5 simulations indicate that Baum-Yang scheme in place of Mitchell/Fu scheme tends to cool the upper atmosphere and strengthen the thermodynamic instability in low- and mid-latitudes, which could intensify the Hadley circulation and dehydrate the subtropics. When CAM5 is coupled with a slab ocean model to include simplified air-sea interaction, reduced downward longwave flux to surface in Baum-Yang scheme mitigates ice-albedo feedback in the Arctic as well as water vapor and cloud feedbacks in low- and mid-latitudes, resulting in an overall temperature decrease by 3.0/1.4 °C globally compared with Mitchell/Fu schemes. Radiative effect and climate feedback of the three ice cloud optical schemes documented in this study can be referred for future improvements on ice cloud simulation in CAM5.

  13. Evaluation of mechanism of cold atmospheric pressure plasma assisted polymerization of acrylic acid on low density polyethylene (LDPE) film surfaces: Influence of various gaseous plasma pretreatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramkumar, M. C.; Pandiyaraj, K. Navaneetha; Arun Kumar, A.; Padmanabhan, P. V. A.; Uday Kumar, S.; Gopinath, P.; Bendavid, A.; Cools, P.; De Geyter, N.; Morent, R.; Deshmukh, R. R.

    2018-05-01

    Owing to its exceptional physiochemical properties, low density poly ethylene (LDPE) has wide range of tissue engineering applications. Conversely, its inadequate surface properties make LDPE an ineffectual candidate for cell compatible applications. Consequently, plasma-assisted polymerization with a selected precursor is a good choice for enhancing its biocompatibility. The present investigation studies the efficiency of plasma polymerization of acrylic acid (AAC) on various gaseous plasma pretreated LDPE films by cold atmospheric pressure plasma, to enhance its cytocompatibility. The change in chemical composition and surface topography of various gaseous plasma pretreated and acrylic deposited LDPE films has been assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The changes in hydrophilic nature of surface modified LDPE films were studied by contact angle (CA) analysis. Cytocompatibility of the AAC/LDPE films was also studied in vitro, using RIN-5F cells. The results acquired by the XPS and AFM analysis clearly proved that cold atmospheric pressure (CAP) plasma assisted polymerization of AAC enhances various surface properties including carboxylic acid functional group density and increased surface roughness on various gaseous plasma treated AAC/LDPE film surfaces. Moreover, contact angle analysis clearly showed that the plasma polymerized samples were hydrophilic in nature. In vitro cytocompatibility analysis undoubtedly validates that the AAC polymerized various plasma pretreated LDPE films surfaces stimulate cell distribution and proliferation compared to pristine LDPE films. Similarly, cytotoxicity analysis indicates that the AAC deposited various gaseous plasma pretreated LDPE film can be considered as non-toxic as well as stimulating cell viability significantly. The cytocompatible properties of AAC polymerized Ar + O2 plasma pretreated LDPE films were found to be more pronounced compared to the other plasma pretreated

  14. Insight into Chemistry on Cloud/Aerosol Water Surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Jie; Kumar, Manoj; Francisco, Joseph S; Zeng, Xiao Cheng

    2018-05-15

    Cloud/aerosol water surfaces exert significant influence over atmospheric chemical processes. Atmospheric processes at the water surface are observed to follow mechanisms that are quite different from those in the gas phase. This Account summarizes our recent findings of new reaction pathways on the water surface. We have studied these surface reactions using Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations. These studies provide useful information on the reaction time scale, the underlying mechanism of surface reactions, and the dynamic behavior of the product formed on the aqueous surface. According to these studies, the aerosol water surfaces confine the atmospheric species into a specific orientation depending on the hydrophilicity of atmospheric species or the hydrogen-bonding interactions between atmospheric species and interfacial water. As a result, atmospheric species are activated toward a particular reaction on the aerosol water surface. For example, the simplest Criegee intermediate (CH 2 OO) exhibits high reactivity toward the interfacial water and hydrogen sulfide, with the reaction times being a few picoseconds, 2-3 orders of magnitude faster than that in the gas phase. The presence of interfacial water molecules induces proton-transfer-based stepwise pathways for these reactions, which are not possible in the gas phase. The strong hydrophobicity of methyl substituents in larger Criegee intermediates (>C1), such as CH 3 CHOO and (CH 3 ) 2 COO, blocks the formation of the necessary prereaction complexes for the Criegee-water reaction to occur at the water droplet surface, which lowers their proton-transfer ability and hampers the reaction. The aerosol water surface provides a solvent medium for acids (e.g., HNO 3 and HCOOH) to participate in reactions via mechanisms that are different from those in the gas and bulk aqueous phases. For example, the anti-CH 3 CHOO-HNO 3 reaction in the gas phase follows a direct reaction between anti-CH 3 CHOO and HNO 3

  15. Corticocortical feedback increases the spatial extent of normalization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nassi, Jonathan J.; Gómez-Laberge, Camille; Kreiman, Gabriel; Born, Richard T.

    2014-01-01

    Normalization has been proposed as a canonical computation operating across different brain regions, sensory modalities, and species. It provides a good phenomenological description of non-linear response properties in primary visual cortex (V1), including the contrast response function and surround suppression. Despite its widespread application throughout the visual system, the underlying neural mechanisms remain largely unknown. We recently observed that corticocortical feedback contributes to surround suppression in V1, raising the possibility that feedback acts through normalization. To test this idea, we characterized area summation and contrast response properties in V1 with and without feedback from V2 and V3 in alert macaques and applied a standard normalization model to the data. Area summation properties were well explained by a form of divisive normalization, which computes the ratio between a neuron's driving input and the spatially integrated activity of a “normalization pool.” Feedback inactivation reduced surround suppression by shrinking the spatial extent of the normalization pool. This effect was independent of the gain modulation thought to mediate the influence of contrast on area summation, which remained intact during feedback inactivation. Contrast sensitivity within the receptive field center was also unaffected by feedback inactivation, providing further evidence that feedback participates in normalization independent of the circuit mechanisms involved in modulating contrast gain and saturation. These results suggest that corticocortical feedback contributes to surround suppression by increasing the visuotopic extent of normalization and, via this mechanism, feedback can play a critical role in contextual information processing. PMID:24910596

  16. The impacts of the atmospheric annular mode on the AMOC and its feedback in an idealized experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santis, Wlademir; Aimola, Luis; Campos, Edmo J. D.; Castellanos, Paola

    2018-03-01

    The interdecadal variability of the atmospheric and oceanic meridional overturning circulation is studied, using a coupled model with two narrow meridional barriers representing the land and a flat bottomed Aquaplanet. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis are used in the atmospheric and oceanic meridional overturning cells, revealing the atmospheric interdecadal variability is dominated by an annular mode, in both hemispheres, which introduces in the ocean a set of patterns of variability. The most energetic EOFs in the ocean are the barotropic responses from the annular mode. The interaction between the heat anomalies, due to the barotropic response, and the thermohaline circulation of each basin leads to a resonance mechanism that feeds back to the atmospheric forcing, modulating the annular mode spectrum. Besides the barotropic response, the annular mode introduces anomalies of salinity and temperature in the subtropical Atlantic that affects its upper buoyancy. These anomalies are incorporated within the ocean circulation and advected until the areas of deep sinking in the northern Atlantic, impacting on its overturning circulation as well.

  17. The actual structure of eBay’s feedback mechanism and early evidence on the effect of recent changes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klein, T.J.; Lambertz, C.; Spagnalo, G.; Stahl, K.O.

    2009-01-01

    eBay’s feedback mechanism is considered crucial to establishing and maintaining trust on the world’s largest trading platform. Yet, there is confusion among users about its exact institutional details, which changed substantially in May 2007. Most importantly, buyers now have the possibility to

  18. Radiation Feedback in ULIRGs: Are Photons Movers and Shakers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Shane W.; Jiang, Yan-Fei; Stone, James M.; Murray, Norman

    2014-12-01

    We perform multidimensional radiation hydrodynamics simulations to study the impact of radiation forces on atmospheres composed of dust and gas. Our setup closely follows that of Krumholz & Thompson, assuming that dust and gas are well-coupled and that the radiation field is characterized by blackbodies with temperatures >~ 80 K, as might be found in ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). In agreement with previous work, we find that Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities develop in radiation supported atmospheres, leading to inhomogeneities that limit momentum exchange between radiation and dusty gas, and eventually providing a near balance of the radiation and gravitational forces. However, the evolution of the velocity and spatial distributions of the gas differs significantly from previous work, which utilized a less accurate flux-limited diffusion (FLD) method. Our variable Eddington tensor simulations show continuous net acceleration of the gas and never reach a steady state. In contrast, our FLD results show little net acceleration of the gas and settle into a quasi-steady, turbulent state with low velocity dispersion. The discrepancies result primarily from the inability of FLD to properly model the variation of the radiation field around structures that are less than a few optical depths across. We consider the effect of varying the optical depth and study the differences between two-dimensional and three-dimensional runs. We conclude that radiation feedback remains a plausible mechanism for driving high-Mach number turbulence in ULIRGs with sufficiently high optical depths. We discuss implications for observed systems and galactic-scale numerical simulations of feedback.

  19. Maskless Surface Modification of Polyurethane Films by an Atmospheric Pressure He/O2 Plasma Microjet for Gelatin Immobilization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Man Zhang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available A localized maskless modification method of polyurethane (PU films through an atmospheric pressure He/O2 plasma microjet (APPμJ was proposed. The APPμJ system combines an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ with a microfabricated silicon micronozzle with dimension of 30 μm, which has advantages of simple structure and low cost. The possibility of APPμJ in functionalizing PU films with hydroxyl (–OH groups and covalent grafting of gelatin for improving its biocompatibility was demonstrated. The morphologies and chemical compositions of the modified surface were analyzed by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS. The fluorescent images show the modified surface can be divided into four areas with different fluorescence intensity from the center to the outside domain. The distribution of the rings could be controlled by plasma process parameters, such as the treatment time and the flow rate of O2. When the treatment time is 4 to 5 min with the oxygen percentage of 0.6%, the PU film can be effectively local functionalized with the diameter of 170 μm. In addition, the modification mechanism of PU films by the APPμJ is investigated. The localized polymer modified by APPμJ has potential applications in the field of tissue engineering.

  20. Effects of sintering atmosphere on the physical and mechanical properties of modified BOF slag glass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Wen-bin; Li, Yu; Cang, Da-qiang; Zhou, Yuan-yuan; Fan, Yong

    2014-05-01

    This study proposes an efficient way to utilize all the chemical components of the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag to prepare high value-added glass-ceramics. A molten modified BOF slag was converted from the melting BOF slag by reducing it and separating out iron component in it, and the modified BOF slag was then quenched in water to form glasses with different basicities. The glasses were subsequently sintered in the temperature range of 600-1000°C in air or nitrogen atmosphere for 1 h. The effects of different atmospheres on the physical and mechanical properties of sintered samples were studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by conducting experiment on evaluating the sintering shrinkage, water absorption and bulk density. It is found that the kinetics of the sintering process is significantly affected by sintering atmosphere. In particular, compared with sintering in air atmosphere, sintering in N2 atmosphere promotes the synergistic growth of pyroxene and melilite crystalline phases, which can contribute to better mechanical properties and denser microstructure.

  1. Mechanism and degree of chemical elements effect on atmosphere corrosion resistance of steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vu Din' Vuj

    1991-01-01

    It follows from the proposed regression equations that falourable effect of chemical elements on steel resistance to atmospheric corrosion is determined by their ability to increase interatom bond stability in iron crystal lattice and form corrosion products with high protection properties. Element positive influence on steel corrosion resistance decreases in the following order: S, P, Si, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, C in semiurban tropical atmosphere and S, Mn, Sr, Cu, Ni, Cr in coastal atmosphere. In the latter case C increases corrosion in a greater degree as compared to P. Small ammounts of Mo decrease steel resistance in semiurban atmosphere and almost do not influence it in the coastal one. Possible mechanisms of individual element influence on steel corrosion resistance are considered

  2. Surface modification of nanofibrillated cellulose films by atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Siró, Istvan; Kusano, Yukihiro; Norrman, Kion

    2013-01-01

    of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment, the water contact angle of NFC films increased and the values were comparable with those of PLA films. On the other hand, surface chemical characterization revealed inhomogeneity of the plasma treatment and limited improvement in adhesion between NFC and PLA films...

  3. Development of Innovative Technology to Provide Low-Cost Surface Atmospheric Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kucera, Paul; Steinson, Martin

    2016-04-01

    Accurate and reliable real-time monitoring and dissemination of observations of surface weather conditions is critical for a variety of societal applications. Applications that provide local and regional information about temperature, precipitation, moisture, and winds, for example, are important for agriculture, water resource monitoring, health, and monitoring of hazard weather conditions. In many regions in Africa (and other global locations), surface weather stations are sparsely located and/or of poor quality. Existing stations have often been sited incorrectly, not well-maintained, and have limited communications established at the site for real-time monitoring. The US National Weather Service (NWS) International Activities Office (IAO) in partnership with University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has started an initiative to develop and deploy low-cost weather instrumentation in sparsely observed regions of the world. The goal is to provide observations for environmental monitoring, and early warning alert systems that can be deployed at weather services in developing countries. Instrumentation is being designed using innovative new technologies such as 3D printers, Raspberry Pi computing systems, and wireless communications. The initial effort is focused on designing a surface network using GIS-based tools, deploying an initial network in Zambia, and providing training to Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD) staff. The presentation will provide an overview of the project concepts, design of the low cost instrumentation, and initial experiences deploying a surface network deployment in Zambia.

  4. Evaluation of a Regional Atmospheric Model Using Measurements of Surface Heat Exchange Processes from a Site in Antarctica

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lipzig, N.P.M. van; Meijgaard, E. van; Oerlemans, J.

    1999-01-01

    A regional atmospheric climate model with a horizontal grid spacing of 55 km has been used to simulate the Antarctic atmosphere during an austral summer period. ECMWF reanalyses were used to force the atmospheric prognostic variables from the lateral boundaries. Sea surface temperatures and the sea

  5. Evaluating Carbon Sequestration and Solar Forcing Feedbacks Resulting from North American Afforestation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mykleby, P.; Snyder, P. K.; Twine, T. E.

    2013-12-01

    The planting of trees and forests has long been accepted as a practical and efficient method to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Assertive measures are now needed to ensure that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) do not continue to rise and cause additional planetary warming. However, recent studies have detected inadvertent biophysical feedbacks associated with land cover changes, especially in higher northern latitudes. The changes in surface reflectivity that occur when converting a lighter, more reflective surface, such as a grassland or bare soil, into a darker conifer forest, can result in surface warming due to the forest absorbing more shortwave radiation. This warming counteracts the cooling effect resulting from a reduction in atmospheric CO2 with increased vegetation productivity. This effect is further intensified in the higher northern latitudes where snow cover is prevalent during the long winter; the planting of trees can significantly decrease the reflectivity compared with white snow. The goal of this study is to determine whether the amount of carbon sequestered exceeds the carbon equivalent of the radiative forcing due to the change in surface reflectivity. This study uses the IBIS dynamic vegetation model with modified carbon dynamics for conifer forests validated with numerous Ameriflux and Fluxnet Canada field sites with varying stand ages and species compositions. We present results of model performance based on validation of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and net radiation observations. Results from this study will be used to assess not only the net effect of conifer forest establishment on the long term carbon storage, but also the duration of time that a given location would remain a carbon sink during the lifetime of the forest. Only then, can policymakers begin to discuss the efficacy of afforestation as a sound climate mitigation strategy.

  6. Sterilization and decontamination of surfaces using atmospheric pressure plasma discharges

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garate, E.; Gornostaeva, O.; Alexeff, I.; Kang, W.L.

    1999-07-01

    The goal of the program is to demonstrate that an atmospheric pressure plasma discharge can rapidly and effectively sterilize or decontaminate surfaces that are contaminated with model biological and chemical warfare agents. The plasma is produced by corona discharge from an array of pins and a ground plane. The array is constructed so that various gases, like argon or helium, can be flowed past the pins where the discharge is initiated. The pin array can be biased using either DC. AC or pulsed discharges. the work done to date has focused on the sterilization of aluminum, polished steel and tantalum foil metal coupons, about 2 cm on a side and 2 mm thick, which have been inoculated with up to 10{sup 6} spores per coupon of Bacillus subtilis var niger or Bascillus stearothermorphilus. Results indicate that 5 minute exposures to the atmospheric pressure plasma discharge can reduce the viable spore count by 4 orders of magnitude. The atmospheric pressure discharge is also effective in decomposing organic phosphate compounds that are stimulants for chemical warfare agents. Details of the decomposition chemistry, by-product formation, and electrical energy consumption of the system will be discussed.

  7. Surface modification of polyester synthetic leather with tetramethylsilane by atmospheric pressure plasma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kan, C. W.; Kwong, C. H.; Ng, S. P.

    2015-08-01

    Much works have been done on synthetic materials but scarcely on synthetic leather owing to its surface structures in terms of porosity and roughness. This paper examines the use of atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) treatment for improving the surface performance of polyester synthetic leather by use of a precursor, tetramethylsilane (TMS). Plasma deposition is regarded as an effective, simple and single-step method with low pollution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirm the deposition of organosilanes on the sample's surface. The results showed that under a particular combination of treatment parameters, a hydrophobic surface was achieved on the APP treated sample with sessile drop static contact angle of 138°. The hydrophobic surface is stable without hydrophilic recovery 30 days after plasma treatment.

  8. Learning from Feedback: Spacing and the Delay-Retention Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Troy A.; Kimball, Daniel R.

    2010-01-01

    Most modern research on the effects of feedback during learning has assumed that feedback is an error correction mechanism. Recent studies of feedback-timing effects have suggested that feedback might also strengthen initially correct responses. In an experiment involving cued recall of trivia facts, we directly tested several theories of…

  9. Intercomparison of the seasonal cycle of tropical surface stress in 17 AMIP atmospheric general circulation models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saji, N.H.; Goswami, B.N. [Indian Inst. of Sci., Bangalore (India). Centre for Atmos. and Oceanic Sci.

    1997-08-01

    The mean state of the tropical atmosphere is important as the nature of the coupling between the ocean and the atmosphere depends nonlinearly on the basic state of the coupled system. The simulation of the annual cycle of the tropical surface wind stress by 17 atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) is examined and intercompared. The models considered were part of the atmospheric model intercomparison project (AMIP) and were integrated with observed sea surface temperature (SST) for the decade 1979-1988. Several measures have been devised to intercompare the performance of the 17 models on global tropical as well as regional scales. Within the limits of observational uncertainties, the models under examination simulate realistic tropical area-averaged zonal and meridional annual mean stresses. This is a noteworthy improvement over older generation low resolution models which were noted for their simulation of surface stresses considerably weaker than the observations. The models also simulate realistic magnitudes of the spatial distribution of the annual mean surface stress field and are seen to reproduce realistically its observed spatial pattern. Similar features are observed in the simulations of the annual variance field. The models perform well over almost all the tropical regions apart from a few. Of these, the simulations over Somali are interesting. Over this region, the models are seen to underestimate the annual mean zonal and meridional stresses. There is also wide variance between the different models in simulating these quantities. 44 refs.

  10. Computer-Generated Feedback on Student Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ware, Paige

    2011-01-01

    A distinction must be made between "computer-generated scoring" and "computer-generated feedback". Computer-generated scoring refers to the provision of automated scores derived from mathematical models built on organizational, syntactic, and mechanical aspects of writing. In contrast, computer-generated feedback, the focus of this article, refers…

  11. Mechanical properties of ion implanted ceramic surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burnett, P.J.

    1985-01-01

    This thesis investigates the mechanisms by which ion implantation can affect those surface mechanical properties of ceramics relevant to their tribological behaviour, specifically hardness and indentation fracture. A range of model materials (including single crystal Si, SiC, A1 2 0 3 , Mg0 and soda-lime-silica glass) have been implanted with a variety of ion species and at a range of ion energies. Significant changes have been found in both low-load microhardness and indentation fracture behaviour. The changes in hardness have been correlated with the evolution of an increasingly damaged and eventually amorphous thin surface layer together with the operation of radiation-, solid-solution- and precipitation-hardening mechanisms. Compressive surface stresses have been shown to be responsible for the observed changes in identation fracture behaviour. In addition, the levels of surface stress present have been correlated with the structure of the surface layer and a simple quantitative model proposed to explain the observed stress-relief upon amorphisation. Finally, the effects of ion implantation upon a range of polycrystalline ceramic materials has been investigated and the observed properties modifications compared and contrasted to those found for the model single crystal materials. (author)

  12. Comparing the performance of coupled soil-vegetation-atmosphere models at two contrasting field sites in South-West Germany

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gayler, S.; Wöhling, T.; Priesack, E.; Wizemann, H.-D.; Wulfmeyer, V.; Ingwersen, J.; Streck, T.

    2012-04-01

    The soil moisture, the energy balance at the land surface and the state of the lower atmosphere are closely linked by complex feedback processes. The vegetation acts as the interface between soil and atmosphere and plays an important role in this coupled system. Consequently, a consistent description of the fluxes of water, energy and carbon is a prerequisite for analyzing many problems in soil-, plant- and atmospheric research. To better understand the complex interplay of the involved processes, many numerical and physics-based soil-plant-atmosphere simulation models were developed during the last decades. As these models have been developed for different purposes, the degree of complexity in describing individual feedback processes can vary considerably. In models designed to predict soil moisture, for example, plants are often sufficiently represented by a simple sink term. If these models are calibrated, sometimes only one state variable and the corresponding calibration data type is used, e.g. soil water contents or pressure heads. In this case, vegetation properties and feedbacks between soil moisture, plant growth and stomatal conductivity are neglected to a large extent. Some crop models, in turn, pay little attention to modeling soil water transport. In a coupled soil-vegetation-atmosphere model, however, the interface between soil and atmosphere has to be consistent in all directions. As different data types such as soil moisture, leaf area development and evapotranspiration may contain contrasting information about the system under consideration, the fitting of such a model to a single data type may result in a poor agreement to another data type. The trade-off between the fittings to different data types can thereby be caused by structural inadequacies in the model or by errors in input and calibration data. In our study, we compare the Community Land Model CLM (version 3.5, offline mode) with different agricultural crop models to analyze the adequacy

  13. Sensing surface mechanical deformation using active probes driven by motor proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, Daisuke; Nitta, Takahiro; Kabir, Arif Md. Rashedul; Sada, Kazuki; Gong, Jian Ping; Konagaya, Akihiko; Kakugo, Akira

    2016-01-01

    Studying mechanical deformation at the surface of soft materials has been challenging due to the difficulty in separating surface deformation from the bulk elasticity of the materials. Here, we introduce a new approach for studying the surface mechanical deformation of a soft material by utilizing a large number of self-propelled microprobes driven by motor proteins on the surface of the material. Information about the surface mechanical deformation of the soft material is obtained through changes in mobility of the microprobes wandering across the surface of the soft material. The active microprobes respond to mechanical deformation of the surface and readily change their velocity and direction depending on the extent and mode of surface deformation. This highly parallel and reliable method of sensing mechanical deformation at the surface of soft materials is expected to find applications that explore surface mechanics of soft materials and consequently would greatly benefit the surface science. PMID:27694937

  14. Surface chemical changes of atmospheric pressure plasma treated rabbit fibres important for felting process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Štěpánová, Vlasta, E-mail: vstepanova@mail.muni.cz [Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno (Czech Republic); Slavíček, Pavel; Stupavská, Monika; Jurmanová, Jana [Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno (Czech Republic); Černák, Mirko [Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno (Czech Republic); Department of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina F2, 842 48 Bratislava (Slovakia)

    2015-11-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Rabbit fibres plasma treatment is an effective method for fibres modification. • Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment is able to affect fibres properties. • Surface changes on fibres after plasma treatment were analysed via SEM, ATR-FTIR, XPS. • Significant increase of fibres wettability after plasma treatment was observed. • Plasma treatment at atmospheric pressure can replace the chemical treatment of fibres. - Abstract: We introduce the atmospheric pressure plasma treatment as a suitable procedure for in-line industrial application of rabbit fibres pre-treatment. Changes of rabbit fibre properties due to the plasma treatment were studied in order to develop new technology of plasma-based treatment before felting. Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge (DCSBD) in ambient air at atmospheric pressure was used for plasma treatment. Scanning electron microscopy was used for determination of the fibres morphology before and after plasma treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used for evaluation of reactive groups. The concentration of carbon decreased and conversely the concentration of nitrogen and oxygen increased after plasma treatment. Aging effect of plasma treated fibres was also investigated. Using Washburn method the significant increase of fibres wettability was observed after plasma treatment. New approach of pre-treatment of fibres before felting using plasma was developed. Plasma treatment of fibres at atmospheric pressure can replace the chemical method which consists of application of strong acids on fibres.

  15. Atmospheres and surfaces of small bodies and dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schaller E.L.

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs are icy relics orbiting the sun beyond Neptune left over from the planetary accretion disk. These bodies act as unique tracers of the chemical, thermal, and dynamical history of our solar system. Over 1000 Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs and centaurs (objects with perihelia between the giant planets have been discovered over the past two decades. While the vast majority of these objects are small ( 6-meter telescopes, have allowed for the first detailed studies of their surfaces and atmospheres. Visible and near-infrared spectroscopy of KBOs and centaurs has revealed a great diversity of surface compositions. Only the largest and coldest objects are capable of retaining volatile ices and atmospheres. Knowledge of the dynamics, physical properties, and collisional history of objects in the Kuiper belt is important for understanding solar system formation and evolution.

  16. Adjoint Methods for Adjusting Three-Dimensional Atmosphere and Surface Properties to Fit Multi-Angle Multi-Pixel Polarimetric Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, William G.; Cairns, Brian; Bal, Guillaume

    2014-01-01

    This paper derives an efficient procedure for using the three-dimensional (3D) vector radiative transfer equation (VRTE) to adjust atmosphere and surface properties and improve their fit with multi-angle/multi-pixel radiometric and polarimetric measurements of scattered sunlight. The proposed adjoint method uses the 3D VRTE to compute the measurement misfit function and the adjoint 3D VRTE to compute its gradient with respect to all unknown parameters. In the remote sensing problems of interest, the scalar-valued misfit function quantifies agreement with data as a function of atmosphere and surface properties, and its gradient guides the search through this parameter space. Remote sensing of the atmosphere and surface in a three-dimensional region may require thousands of unknown parameters and millions of data points. Many approaches would require calls to the 3D VRTE solver in proportion to the number of unknown parameters or measurements. To avoid this issue of scale, we focus on computing the gradient of the misfit function as an alternative to the Jacobian of the measurement operator. The resulting adjoint method provides a way to adjust 3D atmosphere and surface properties with only two calls to the 3D VRTE solver for each spectral channel, regardless of the number of retrieval parameters, measurement view angles or pixels. This gives a procedure for adjusting atmosphere and surface parameters that will scale to the large problems of 3D remote sensing. For certain types of multi-angle/multi-pixel polarimetric measurements, this encourages the development of a new class of three-dimensional retrieval algorithms with more flexible parametrizations of spatial heterogeneity, less reliance on data screening procedures, and improved coverage in terms of the resolved physical processes in the Earth?s atmosphere.

  17. Neuromechanical Control for Hexapedal Robot Walking on Challenging Surfaces and Surface Classification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xiong, Xiaofeng; Wörgötter, Florentin; Manoonpong, Poramate

    2014-01-01

    The neuromechanical control principles of animal locomotion provide good insights for the development of bio-inspired legged robots for walking on challenging surfaces. Based on such principles, we developed a neuromechanical controller consisting of a modular neural network (MNN) and of virtual...... agonist–antagonist muscle mechanisms (VAAMs). The controller allows for variable compliant leg motions of a hexapod robot, thereby leading to energy-efficient walking on different surfaces. Without any passive mechanisms or torque and position feedback at each joint, the variable compliant leg motions...... are achieved by only changing the stiffness parameters of the VAAMs. In addition, six surfaces can be also classified by observing the motor signals generated by the controller. The performance of the controller is tested on a physical hexapod robot. Experimental results show that it can effectively walk...

  18. Closed-loop mechanical ventilation for lung injury: a novel physiological-feedback mode following the principles of the open lung concept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwaiberger, David; Pickerodt, Philipp A; Pomprapa, Anake; Tjarks, Onno; Kork, Felix; Boemke, Willehad; Francis, Roland C E; Leonhardt, Steffen; Lachmann, Burkhard

    2018-06-01

    Adherence to low tidal volume (V T ) ventilation and selected positive end-expiratory pressures are low during mechanical ventilation for treatment of the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Using a pig model of severe lung injury, we tested the feasibility and physiological responses to a novel fully closed-loop mechanical ventilation algorithm based on the "open lung" concept. Lung injury was induced by surfactant washout in pigs (n = 8). Animals were ventilated following the principles of the "open lung approach" (OLA) using a fully closed-loop physiological feedback algorithm for mechanical ventilation. Standard gas exchange, respiratory- and hemodynamic parameters were measured. Electrical impedance tomography was used to quantify regional ventilation distribution during mechanical ventilation. Automatized mechanical ventilation provided strict adherence to low V T -ventilation for 6 h in severely lung injured pigs. Using the "open lung" approach, tidal volume delivery required low lung distending pressures, increased recruitment and ventilation of dorsal lung regions and improved arterial blood oxygenation. Physiological feedback closed-loop mechanical ventilation according to the principles of the open lung concept is feasible and provides low tidal volume ventilation without human intervention. Of importance, the "open lung approach"-ventilation improved gas exchange and reduced lung driving pressures by opening atelectasis and shifting of ventilation to dorsal lung regions.

  19. Surface modification for biomedical purposes utilizing dielectric barrier discharges at atmospheric pressure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gessner, Cordula; Bartels, Volker; Betker, Tanja; Matucha, Ulrike; Penache, Cristina; Klages, Claus-Peter

    2004-07-01

    Using dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) at atmospheric pressure, glass or polymer surfaces were equipped with epoxide groups or amino groups by plasma deposition from suitable monomers or - in case of polymers - DBD treatment in nitrogen-containing gases. Functional group densities have been estimated using absorption and fluorescence measurements or by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Amino group densities are comparable or even larger than those of aminosilylated surfaces. Fluorescence-labeled streptavidin has been used to investigate the binding capacity of surfaces equipped with covalently bound biotin molecules, starting either from epoxide or from amino groups. As an example of a Plasma Printing process, the generation of an array amino-functionalized spots, 400-{mu}m in diameter on a polymer surface by local deposition from aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane is demonstrated.

  20. Arctic atmospheric preconditioning: do not rule out shortwave radiation just yet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedlar, J.

    2017-12-01

    Springtime atmospheric preconditioning of Arctic sea ice for enhanced or buffered sea ice melt during the subsequent melt year has received considerable research focus in recent years. A general consensus points to enhanced poleward atmospheric transport of moisture and heat during spring, effectively increasing the emission of longwave radiation to the surface. Studies have essentially ruled out the role of shortwave radiation as an effective preconditioning mechanism because of the relatively weak incident solar radiation and high surface albedo from sea ice and snow during spring. These conclusions, however, are derived primarily from atmospheric reanalysis data, which may not always represent an accurate depiction of the Arctic climate system. Here, observations of top of atmosphere radiation from state of the art satellite sensors are examined and compared with reanalysis and climate model data to examine the differences in the spring radiative budget over the Arctic Ocean for years with extreme low/high ice extent at the end of the ice melt season (September). Distinct biases are observed between satellite-based measurements and reanalysis/models, particularly for the amount of shortwave radiation trapped (warming effect) within the Arctic climate system during spring months. A connection between the differences in reanalysis/model surface albedo representation and the albedo observed by satellite is discussed. These results suggest that shortwave radiation should not be overlooked as a significant contributing mechanism to springtime Arctic atmospheric preconditioning.

  1. RF atmospheric plasma jet surface treatment of paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawlat, Joanna; Terebun, Piotr; Kwiatkowski, Michał; Diatczyk, Jaroslaw

    2016-09-01

    A radio frequency RF atmospheric pressure plasma jet was used to enhance the wettability of cellulose-based paper of 90 g m-2 and 160 g m-2 grammage as a perspective platform for antibiotic sensitivity tests. Helium and argon were the carrier gases for oxygen and nitrogen; pure water and rapeseed oil were used for goniometric tests. The influence of the flow rate and gas type, the power of the discharge, and distance from the nozzle was examined. The surface structure was observed using an optical microscope. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra were investigated in order to determine whether cellulose degradation processes occurred. The RF plasma jet allowed us to decrease the surface contact angle without drastic changes in other features of the tested material. Experiments confirmed the significant influence of the distance between the treated sample and reactor nozzle, especially for treatment times longer than 15 s due to the greater concentration of reactive species at the surface of the sample, which decreases with distance—and their accumulation effect with time. The increase of discharge power plays an important role in decreasing the surface contact angle for times longer than 10 s. Higher power had a positive effect on the amount of generated active particles and facilitated the ignition of discharge. However, a too high value can cause a rise in temperature of the material and heat-caused damage.

  2. Atmospheric Constraints on the Surface UV Environment of Mars at 3.9 Ga Relevant to Prebiotic Chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranjan, Sukrit; Wordsworth, Robin; Sasselov, Dimitar D.

    2017-08-01

    Recent findings suggest that Mars may have been a clement environment for the emergence of life and may even have compared favorably to Earth in this regard. These findings have revived interest in the hypothesis that prebiotically important molecules or even nascent life may have formed on Mars and been transferred to Earth. UV light plays a key role in prebiotic chemistry. Characterizing the early martian surface UV environment is key to understanding how Mars compares to Earth as a venue for prebiotic chemistry. Here, we present two-stream, multilayer calculations of the UV surface radiance on Mars at 3.9 Ga to constrain the surface UV environment as a function of atmospheric state. We explore a wide range of atmospheric pressures, temperatures, and compositions that correspond to the diversity of martian atmospheric states consistent with available constraints. We include the effects of clouds and dust. We calculate dose rates to quantify the effect of different atmospheric states on UV-sensitive prebiotic chemistry. We find that, for normative clear-sky CO2-H2O atmospheres, the UV environment on young Mars is comparable to young Earth. This similarity is robust to moderate cloud cover; thick clouds (τcloud ≥ 100) are required to significantly affect the martian UV environment, because cloud absorption is degenerate with atmospheric CO2. On the other hand, absorption from SO2, H2S, and dust is nondegenerate with CO2, meaning that, if these constituents build up to significant levels, surface UV fluence can be suppressed. These absorbers have spectrally variable absorption, meaning that their presence affects prebiotic pathways in different ways. In particular, high SO2 environments may admit UV fluence that favors pathways conducive to abiogenesis over pathways unfavorable to it. However, better measurements of the spectral quantum yields of these pathways are required to evaluate this hypothesis definitively.

  3. Plasma surface treatment of Cu by nanosecond-pulse diffuse discharges in atmospheric air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, ZHANG; Jintao, QIU; Fei, KONG; Xingmin, HOU; Zhi, FANG; Yu, YIN; Tao, SHAO

    2018-01-01

    Nanosecond-pulse diffuse discharges could provide high-density plasma and high-energy electrons at atmospheric pressure. In this paper, the surface treatment of Cu by nanosecond-pulse diffuse discharges is conducted in atmospheric air. Factors influencing the water contact angle (WCA), chemical composition and microhardness, such as the gap spacing and treatment time, are investigated. The results show that after the plasma surface treatment, the WCA considerably decreases from 87° to 42.3°, and the surface energy increases from 20.46 mJ m-2 to 66.28 mJ m-2. Results of energy dispersive x-ray analysis show that the concentration of carbon decreases, but the concentrations of oxygen and nitrogen increase significantly. Moreover, the microhardness increases by approximately 30% after the plasma treatment. The aforementioned changes on the Cu surface indicate the plasma surface treatment enhances the hydrophilicity and microhardness, and it cleans the carbon and achieves oxidization on the Cu surface. Furthermore, by increasing the gap spacing and treatment time, better treatment effects can be obtained. The microhardness in the case of a 2.5 cm gap is higher than that in the case of a 3 cm gap. More oxygen and nitrogen species appear on the Cu surface for the 2.5 cm gap treatment than for the 3 cm gap treatment. The WCA significantly decreases with the treatment time when it is no longer than 90 s, and then it reaches saturation. In addition, more oxygen-containing and nitrogen-containing groups appear after extended plasma treatment time. They contribute to the improvement of the hydrophilicity and oxidation on the Cu surface.

  4. Comparing daily temperature averaging methods: the role of surface and atmosphere variables in determining spatial and seasonal variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernhardt, Jase; Carleton, Andrew M.

    2018-05-01

    The two main methods for determining the average daily near-surface air temperature, twice-daily averaging (i.e., [Tmax+Tmin]/2) and hourly averaging (i.e., the average of 24 hourly temperature measurements), typically show differences associated with the asymmetry of the daily temperature curve. To quantify the relative influence of several land surface and atmosphere variables on the two temperature averaging methods, we correlate data for 215 weather stations across the Contiguous United States (CONUS) for the period 1981-2010 with the differences between the two temperature-averaging methods. The variables are land use-land cover (LULC) type, soil moisture, snow cover, cloud cover, atmospheric moisture (i.e., specific humidity, dew point temperature), and precipitation. Multiple linear regression models explain the spatial and monthly variations in the difference between the two temperature-averaging methods. We find statistically significant correlations between both the land surface and atmosphere variables studied with the difference between temperature-averaging methods, especially for the extreme (i.e., summer, winter) seasons (adjusted R2 > 0.50). Models considering stations with certain LULC types, particularly forest and developed land, have adjusted R2 values > 0.70, indicating that both surface and atmosphere variables control the daily temperature curve and its asymmetry. This study improves our understanding of the role of surface and near-surface conditions in modifying thermal climates of the CONUS for a wide range of environments, and their likely importance as anthropogenic forcings—notably LULC changes and greenhouse gas emissions—continues.

  5. Impact of biogenic emissions on feedbacks in the climate system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krüger, Olaf

    2017-04-01

    Impact of biogenic emissions on feedbacks in the climate system Bio-geophysical feedback between marine or continental ecosystems and the atmosphere potentially can alter climate change. A prominent feedback loop which is under discussion since 1983 bases on the emission of biologically produced gases - molecular oxygen, sulphur containing compounds and possibly isoprene, supersaturated in oceanic waters - into the marine troposphere. These by-products of phytoplankton metabolism lead to aerosol production and procure sustained influence on climate via modulation of cloud optical properties. In this contribution some findings related to the above mentioned climate processes are presented with special emphasis on marine ecosystems. A comparison of marine and continental ecosystems is made and different processes with major impact on feedbacks in the climate system are discussed.

  6. Incorporating JULES into NASA's Land Information System (LIS) and Investigations of Land-Atmosphere Coupling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santanello, Joseph

    2011-01-01

    NASA's Land Information System (LIS; lis.gsfc.nasa.gov) is a flexible land surface modeling and data assimilation framework developed over the past decade with the goal of integrating satellite- and ground-based observational data products and advanced land surface modeling techniques to produce optimal fields of land surface states and fluxes. LIS features a high performance and flexible design, and operates on an ensemble of land surface models for extension over user-specified regional or global domains. The extensible interfaces of LIS allow the incorporation of new domains, land surface models (LSMs), land surface parameters, meteorological inputs, data assimilation and optimization algorithms. In addition, LIS has also been demonstrated for parameter estimation and uncertainty estimation, and has been coupled to the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale model. A visiting fellowship is currently underway to implement JULES into LIS and to undertake some fundamental science on the feedbacks between the land surface and the atmosphere. An overview of the LIS system, features, and sample results will be presented in an effort to engage the community in the potential advantages of LIS-JULES for a range of applications. Ongoing efforts to develop a framework for diagnosing land-atmosphere coupling will also be presented using the suite of LSM and PBL schemes available in LIS and WRF along with observations from the U. S .. Southern Great Plains. This methodology provides a potential pathway to study factors controlling local land-atmosphere coupling (LoCo) using the LIS-WRF system, which will serve as a testbed for future experiments to evaluate coupling diagnostics within the community.

  7. RHIC 10 Hz global orbit feedback system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michnoff, R.; Arnold, L.; Carboni, L.; Cerniglia, P.; Curcio, A.; DeSanto, L.; Folz, C.; Ho, C.; Hoff, L.; Hulsart, R.; Karl, R.; Luo, Y.; Liu, C.; MacKay, W.; Mahler, G.; Meng, W.; Mernick, K.; Minty, M.; Montag, C.; Olsen, R.; Piacentino, J.; Popken, P.; Przybylinski, R.; Ptitsyn, V.; Ritter, J.; Schoenfeld, R.; Thieberger, P.; Tuozzolo, J.; Weston, A.; White, J.; Ziminski, P.; Zimmerman, P.

    2011-01-01

    Vibrations of the cryogenic triplet magnets at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) are suspected to be causing the horizontal beam perturbations observed at frequencies around 10 Hz. Several solutions to counteract the effect have been considered in the past, including a local beam feedback system at each of the two experimental areas, reinforcing the magnet base support assembly, and a mechanical servo feedback system. However, the local feedback system was insufficient because perturbation amplitudes outside the experimental areas were still problematic, and the mechanical solutions are very expensive. A global 10 Hz orbit feedback system consisting of 36 beam position monitors (BPMs) and 12 small dedicated dipole corrector magnets in each of the two 3.8 km circumference counter-rotating rings has been developed and commissioned in February 2011. A description of the system architecture and results with beam will be discussed.

  8. The Diversity of Cloud Responses to Twentieth Century Sea Surface Temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvers, Levi G.; Paynter, David; Zhao, Ming

    2018-01-01

    Low-level clouds are shown to be the conduit between the observed sea surface temperatures (SST) and large decadal fluctuations of the top of the atmosphere radiative imbalance. The influence of low-level clouds on the climate feedback is shown for global mean time series as well as particular geographic regions. The changes of clouds are found to be important for a midcentury period of high sensitivity and a late century period of low sensitivity. These conclusions are drawn from analysis of amip-piForcing simulations using three atmospheric general circulation models (AM2.1, AM3, and AM4.0). All three models confirm the importance of the relationship between the global climate sensitivity and the eastern Pacific trends of SST and low-level clouds. However, this work argues that the variability of the climate feedback parameter is not driven by stratocumulus-dominated regions in the eastern ocean basins, but rather by the cloudy response in the rest of the tropics.

  9. CARVE Measurements of Atmospheric Methane Concentrations and Emissions in Arctic and Boreal Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, C. E.; Miller, J. B.; Chang, R. Y.; Sweeney, C.; Karion, A.; Wofsy, S. C.; Henderson, J.; Eluszkiewicz, J.; Mountain, M.; Oechel, W. C.

    2013-12-01

    The Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) is a NASA Earth Ventures (EV-1) investigation designed to quantify correlations between atmospheric and surface state variables for the Alaskan terrestrial ecosystems through intensive seasonal aircraft campaigns, ground-based observations, and analysis sustained over a 5-year mission. CARVE bridges critical gaps in our knowledge and understanding of Arctic ecosystems, linkages between the Arctic hydrologic and terrestrial carbon cycles, and the feedbacks from fires and thawing permafrost. We present CARVE airborne measurements of spatial and temporal patterns in atmospheric CH4 concentrations and estimated surface-atmosphere emissions for Arctic and Boreal Alaska. Continuous in situ CH4, CO2 and CO data are supplemented by periodic whole air flask samples from which 13CH4 and non-methane hydrocarbons are used to assess the relative contributions of wetlands, fossil fuel combustion, and oil and gas production to the observed CH4 signals. The CARVE project has also initiated monthly 14CH4 sampling at Barrow, AK (BRW) and the CARVE Tower in Fox, AK (CRV) to evaluate seasonal changes in the fraction of old carbon being mobilized via methanogenesis.

  10. Investigation of internal feedback in hearing aids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis, Lars

    2009-01-01

    with vibroacoustic transmission from the receiver to the microphones often occur during the use of hearing aids. This transmission causes feedback at certain critical gain levels where it produces a loud uncomfortable squealing. Consequently feedback often constitutes the limiting factor for the maximum obtainable...... gain in the hearing aid and it therefore represents a critical design problem. Feedback in hearing aids is usually divided into external and internal feedback. External feedback is caused by the leakage of sound from the ear canal whereas internal feedback is due to transmission of sound and vibrations...... internally in the hearing aid. As a result of reducing the size of hearing aids, manufacturers have experienced an increase in internal feedback problems. The main objective of the present thesis is therefore to examine the vibroacoustic mechanisms responsible for internal feedback in hearing aids...

  11. Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cox, P.M.; Betts, R.A.; Jones, C.D.; Spall, S.A.; Totterdell, I.J.

    2000-01-01

    The continued increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide due to anthropogenic emissions is predicted to lead to significant changes in climate. About half of the current emissions are being absorbed by the ocean and by land ecosystems, but this absorption is sensitive to climate as well as to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, creating a feedback loop. General circulation models have generally excluded the feedback between climate and the biosphere, using static vegetation distributions and CO 2 concentrations from simple carbon-cycle models that do not include climate change. Here we present results from a fully coupled, three-dimensional carbon-climate model, indicating that carbon-cycle feedbacks could significantly accelerate climate change over the twenty-first century. We find that under a 'business as usual' scenario, the terrestrial biosphere acts as an overall carbon sink until about 2050, but turns into a source thereafter. By 2100, the ocean uptake rate of 5 Gt C yr -1 is balanced by the terrestrial carbon source, and atmospheric CO 2 concentrations are 250 p.p.m.v. higher in our fully coupled simulation than in uncoupled carbon models, resulting in a global-mean warming of 5.5 K, as compared to 4 K without the carbon-cycle feedback. (author)

  12. Atmospheric radiation measurement program facilities newsletter, June 2002.; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holdridge, D. J.

    2002-01-01

    ARM Intensive Operational Period Scheduled to Validate New NASA Satellite-Beginning in July, all three ARM sites (Southern Great Plains[SGP], North Slope of Alaska, and Tropical Western Pacific; Figure 1) will participate in the AIRS Validation IOP. This three-month intensive operational period (IOP) will validate data collected by the satellite-based Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) recently launched into space. On May 4, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Aqua, the second spacecraft in the Earth Observing System (EOS) series. The EOS satellites monitor Earth systems including land surfaces, oceans, the atmosphere, and ice cover. The first EOS satellite, named Terra, was launched in December 1999. The second EOS satellite is named Aqua because its primary focus is understanding Earth's water cycle through observation of atmospheric moisture, clouds, temperature, ocean surface, precipitation, and soil moisture. One of the instruments aboard Aqua is the AIRS, built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA agency. The AIRS Validation IOP complements the ARM mission to improve understanding of the interactions of clouds and atmospheric moisture with solar radiation and their influence on weather and climate. In support of satellite validation IOP, ARM will launch dedicated radiosondes at all three ARM sites while the Aqua satellite with the AIRS instrument is orbiting overhead. These radiosonde launches will occur 45 minutes and 5 minutes before selected satellite overpasses. In addition, visiting scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will launch special radiosondes to measure ozone and humidity over the SGP site. All launches will generate ground-truth data to validate satellite data collected simultaneously. Data gathered daily by ARM meteorological and solar radiation instruments will complete the validation data sets. Data from Aqua-based instruments, including AIRS, will aid in weather forecasting, climate modeling, and

  13. Accurate feedback of chest compression depth on a manikin on a soft surface with correction for total body displacement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beesems, Stefanie G.; Koster, Rudolph W.

    2014-01-01

    TrueCPR is a new real-time compression depth feedback device that measures changes in magnetic field strength between a back pad and a chest pad. We determined its accuracy with a manikin on a test bench and on various surfaces. First, calibration and accuracy of the manikin and TrueCPR was verified

  14. Atmosphere and ocean dynamics: contributors to the European Little Ice Age?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palastanga, V.; Schrier, G. van der; Weber, S.L. [Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), P.O. Box 201, De Bilt (Netherlands); Kleinen, T. [University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom); Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg (Germany); Briffa, K.R.; Osborn, T.J. [University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom)

    2011-03-15

    The role of a reduction in the Atlantic meridional overturning and that of a persistently negative North Atlantic Oscillation in explaining the coldness of the European Little Ice Age (LIA) has been assessed in two sets of numerical experiments. These experiments are performed using an intermediate complexity climate model and a full complexity GCM. The reduction in the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) of ca. 25% is triggered by a conventional fresh-water hosing set-up. A persistently negative NAO winter circulation, at NAO-index value -0.5, is imposed using recently developed data-assimilation techniques applicable on paleoclimatic timescales. The hosing experiments lead to a reduction in oceanic meridional heat transport and cooler sea-surface temperatures. Next to a direct cooling effect on European climate, the change in ocean surface temperatures feedback on the atmospheric circulation modifying European climate significantly. The data-assimilation experiments showed a reduction of winter temperatures over parts of Europe, but there is little persistence into the summer season. The output of all model experiments are compared to reconstructions of winter and summer temperature based on the available temperature data for the LIA period. This demonstrates that the hypothesis of a persistently negative NAO as an explanation for the European LIA does not hold. The hosing experiments do not clearly support the hypothesis that a reduction in the MOC is the primary driver of LIA climate change. However, a reduction in the Atlantic overturning might have been a cause of the European LIA climate, depending on whether there is a strong enough feedback on the atmospheric circulation. (orig.)

  15. Atmospheric Oxidation Mechanism and Kinetic Studies for OH and NO3 Radical-Initiated Reaction of Methyl Methacrylate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Gao

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The mechanism for OH and NO3 radical-initiated oxidation reactions of methyl methacrylate (MMA was investigated by using density functional theory (DFT molecular orbital theory. Geometrical parameters of the reactants, intermediates, transition states, and products were fully optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p level. Detailed oxidation pathways were presented and discussed. The rate constants were deduced by the canonical variational transition-state (CVT theory with the small-curvature tunneling (SCT correction and the multichannel Rice-Ramspergere-Kassele-Marcus (RRKM theory, based on the potential energy surface profiles over the general atmospheric temperature range of 180–370 K. The calculated results were in reasonable agreement with experimental measurement.

  16. The effects of downwelling radiance on MER surface spectra: the evil that atmospheres do

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolff, M.; Ghosh, A.; Arvidson, R.; Christensen, P.; Guinness, E.; Ruff, S.; Seelos, F.; Smith, M.; Athena Science

    2004-11-01

    While it may not be surprising to some that downwelling radiation in the martian atmosphere may contribute a non-negligible fraction of the radiance for a given surface scene, others remain shocked and surprised (and often dismayed) to discover this fact; particularly with regard to mini-TES observations. Naturally, the relative amplitude of this sky ``contamination'' is often a complicated function of meteorological conditions, viewing geometry, surface properties, and (for the IR) surface temperature. Ideally, one would use a specialized observations to mimic the actual hemispherical-directional nature of the problem. Despite repeated attempts to obtain Pancam complete sky observations and mini-TES sky octants, such observations are not available in the MER observational database. As a result, one is left with the less-enviable, though certainly more computationally intensive, task of connecting point observations (radiance and derived meteorological parameters) to a hemispherical integral of downwelling radiance. Naturally, one must turn to a radiative transfer analysis, despite oft-repeated attempts to assert otherwise. In our presentation, we offer insight into the conditions under which one must worry about atmospheric removal, as well as semi-empirical approaches (based upon said radiative transfer efforts) for producing the correction factors from the available MER atmospheric observations. This work is proudly supported by the MER program through NASA/JPL Contract No. 1242889 (MJW), as well as the contracts for the co-authors.

  17. Impact of improved Greenland ice sheet surface representation in the NASA GISS ModelE2 GCM on simulated surface mass balance and regional climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, P. M.; LeGrande, A. N.; Fischer, E.; Tedesco, M.; Kelley, M.; Schmidt, G. A.; Fettweis, X.

    2017-12-01

    Towards achieving coupled simulations between the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) ModelE2 general circulation model (GCM) and ice sheet models (ISMs), improvements have been made to the representation of the ice sheet surface in ModelE2. These include a sub-grid-scale elevation class scheme, a multi-layer snow model, a time-variable surface albedo scheme, and adjustments to parameterization of sublimation/evaporation. These changes improve the spatial resolution and physical representation of the ice sheet surface such that the surface is represented at a level of detail closer to that of Regional Climate Models (RCMs). We assess the impact of these changes on simulated Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) surface mass balance (SMB). We also compare ModelE2 simulations in which winds have been nudged to match the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA-Interim reanalysis with simulations from the Modèle Atmosphérique Régionale (MAR) RCM forced by the same reanalysis. Adding surface elevation classes results in a much higher spatial resolution representation of the surface necessary for coupling with ISMs, but has a negligible impact on overall SMB. Implementing a variable surface albedo scheme increases melt by 100%, bringing it closer to melt simulated by MAR. Adjustments made to the representation of topography-influenced surface roughness length in ModelE2 reduce a positive bias in evaporation relative to MAR. We also examine the impact of changes to the GrIS surface on regional atmospheric and oceanic climate in coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations with ModelE2, finding a general warming of the Arctic due to a warmer GrIS, and a cooler North Atlantic in scenarios with doubled atmospheric CO2 relative to pre-industrial levels. The substantial influence of changes to the GrIS surface on the oceans and atmosphere highlight the importance of including these processes in the GCM, in view of potential feedbacks between the ice sheet

  18. Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Cleaning of Contaminated Surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hicks, Robert F.; Selwyn, Gary S.

    2001-01-01

    Project was to develop a low-cost, environmentally benign technology for the decontamination and decommissioning of transuranic waste. With the invention of the atmospheric-pressure plasma jet the goal was achieved. This device selectively etches heavy metals from surfaces, rendering objects radiation free and suitable for decommissioning. The volatile reaction products are captured on filters, which yields a tremendous reduction in the volume of the waste. Studies on tantalum, a surrogate material for plutonium, have shown that etch rate of 6.0 microns per minute can be achieved under mild conditions. Over the past three years, we have made numerous improvements in the design of the plasma jet. It may now be operated for hundreds of hours and not undergo any degradation in performance. Furthermore, small compact units have been developed, which are easily deployed in the field

  19. Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Cleaning of Contaminated Surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert F. Hicks; Gary S. Selwyn

    2001-01-09

    Project was to develop a low-cost, environmentally benign technology for the decontamination and decommissioning of transuranic waste. With the invention of the atmospheric-pressure plasma jet the goal was achieved. This device selectively etches heavy metals from surfaces, rendering objects radiation free and suitable for decommissioning. The volatile reaction products are captured on filters, which yields a tremendous reduction in the volume of the waste. Studies on tantalum, a surrogate material for plutonium, have shown that etch rate of 6.0 microns per minute can be achieved under mild conditions. Over the past three years, we have made numerous improvements in the design of the plasma jet. It may now be operated for hundreds of hours and not undergo any degradation in performance. Furthermore, small compact units have been developed, which are easily deployed in the field.

  20. Doppler lidar investigation of wind turbine wake characteristics and atmospheric turbulence under different surface roughness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhai, Xiaochun; Wu, Songhua; Liu, Bingyi

    2017-06-12

    Four field experiments based on Pulsed Coherent Doppler Lidar with different surface roughness have been carried out in 2013-2015 to study the turbulent wind field in the vicinity of operating wind turbine in the onshore and offshore wind parks. The turbulence characteristics in ambient atmosphere and wake area was analyzed using transverse structure function based on Plane Position Indicator scanning mode. An automatic wake processing procedure was developed to determine the wake velocity deficit by considering the effect of ambient velocity disturbance and wake meandering with the mean wind direction. It is found that the turbine wake obviously enhances the atmospheric turbulence mixing, and the difference in the correlation of turbulence parameters under different surface roughness is significant. The dependence of wake parameters including the wake velocity deficit and wake length on wind velocity and turbulence intensity are analyzed and compared with other studies, which validates the empirical model and simulation of a turbine wake for various atmosphere conditions.