Constraining the 0-20 km Vertical Profile of Water Vapor in the Martian Atmosphere with MGS-TES Limb Sounding

Science.gov (United States)

McConnochie, T. H.; Smith, M. D.; McDonald, G. D.

2016-12-01

The vertical profile of water vapor in the lower atmosphere of Mars is a crucial but poorly-measured detail of the water cycle. Most of our existing water vapor data sets (e.g. Smith, 2002, JGR 107; Smith et al., 2009, JGR 114; Maltagliati et al., 2011, Icarus 213) rely on the traditional assumption of uniform mass mixing from the surface up to a saturation level, but GCM models (Richardson et al., 2002, JGR 107; Navarro et al., 2014, JGR 119) imply that this is not the case in at least some important seasons and locations. For example at the equator during northern summer the water vapor mixing ratio in aforementioned GCMs increases upwards by a factor of two to three in the bottom scale height. This might influence the accuracy of existing precipitable water column (PWC) data sets. Even if not, the correct vertical distribution is critical for determining the extent to which high-altitude cold trapping interferes with inter-hemispheric transport, and its details in the lowest scale heights will be a critical test of the accuracy of modeled water vapor transport. Meanwhile attempts to understand apparent interactions of water vapor with surface soils (e.g. Ojha et al. 2015, Nature Geoscience 8; Savijärvi et al., 2016, Icarus 265) need an estimate for the amount of water vapor in the boundary layer, and existing PWC data sets can't provide this unless the lower atmospheric vertical distribution is known or constrained. Maltagliati et al. (2013, Icarus 223) have obtained vertical profiles of water vapor at higher altitudes with SPICAM on Mars Express, but these are commonly limited to altitudes greater 20 km and they never extend below 10 km. We have previously used Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) limb-sounding to measure the vertical profile of water vapor (e.g. McConnochie and Smith, 2009, Fall AGU #P54B-06), but these preliminary results were clearly not quantitatively accurate in the lower atmosphere. We will present improved TES

Monitoring middle-atmospheric water vapor over Seoul by using a 22 GHz ground-based radiometer SWARA

Science.gov (United States)

Ka, Soohyun; de Wachter, Evelyn; Kaempfer, Niklaus; Oh, Jung Jin

2010-10-01

Water vapor is the strongest natural greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. It is most abundant in the troposphere at low altitudes, due to evaporation at the ocean surface, with maximum values of around 6 g/kg. The amount of water vapor reaches a minimum at tropopause level and increases again in the middle atmosphere through oxidation of methane and vertical transport. Water vapor has both positive and negative effects on global warming, and we need to study how it works on climate change by monitoring water vapor concentration in the middle atmosphere. In this paper, we focus on the 22 GHz ground-based radiometer called SWARA (Seoul Water vapor Radiometer) which has been operated at Sookmyung women's university in Seoul, Korea since Oct. 2006. It is a joint project of the University of Bern, Switzerland, and the Sookmyung Women's University of Seoul, South Korea. The SWARA receives 22.235 GHz emitted from water vapor spontaneously and converts down to 1.5 GHz with +/- 0.5 GHz band width in 61 kHz resolution. To represent 22.235 GHz water vapor spectrum precisely, we need some calibration methods because the signal shows very weak intensity in ~0.1 K on the ground. For SWARA, we have used the balancing and the tipping curve methods for a calibration. To retrieve the water vapor profile, we have applied ARTS and Qpack software. In this paper, we will present the calibration methods and water vapor variation over Seoul for the last 4 years.

Achieving uniform layer deposition by atmospheric-pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jae-Ok [Department of Plasma Engineering, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Woo Seok, E-mail: kang@kimm.re.kr [Department of Plasma Engineering, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Environment & Energy Mechanical Engineering, University of Science & Technology (UST), Daejeon 305-350 (Korea, Republic of); Hur, Min; Lee, Jin Young [Department of Plasma Engineering, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Song, Young-Hoon [Department of Plasma Engineering, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM), Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Environment & Energy Mechanical Engineering, University of Science & Technology (UST), Daejeon 305-350 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-12-31

This work investigates the use of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition under atmospheric pressure for achieving uniform layer formation. Electrical and optical measurements demonstrated that the counterbalance between oxygen and precursors maintained the homogeneous discharge mode, while creating intermediate species for layer deposition. Several steps of the deposition process of the layers, which were processed on a stationary stage, were affected by flow stream and precursor depletion. This study showed that by changing the flow streamlines using substrate stage motion uniform layer deposition under atmospheric pressure can be achieved. - Highlights: • Zirconium oxide was deposited by atmospheric-pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. • Homogeneous plasma was maintained by counterbalancing between discharge gas and precursors. • Several deposition steps were observed affected by the gas flow stream and precursor depletion. • Thin film layer was uniformly grown when the substrate underwent a sweeping motion.

Recent Advances in Atmospheric Vapor-Phase Deposition of Transparent and Conductive Zinc Oxide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Illiberi, A.; Poodt, P.; Roozeboom, F.

2014-01-01

The industrial need for high-throughput and low-cost ZnO deposition processes has triggered the development of atmospheric vapor-phase deposition techniques which can be easily applied to continuous, in-line manufacturing. While atmospheric CVD is a mature technology, new processes for the growth of

Mars atmospheric water vapor abundance: 1996-1997

Science.gov (United States)

Sprague, A. L.; Hunten, D. M.; Doose, L. R.; Hill, R. E.

2003-05-01

Measurements of martian atmospheric water vapor made throughout Ls = 18.0°-146.4° (October 3, 1996-July 12, 1997) show changes in Mars humidity on hourly, daily, and seasonal time scales. Because our observing program during the 1996-1997 Mars apparition did not include concomitant measurement of nearby CO 2 bands, high northern latitude data were corrected for dust and aerosol extinction assuming an optical depth of 0.8, consistent with ground-based and HST imaging of northern dust storms. All other measurements with airmass greater than 3.5 were corrected using a total optical depth of 0.5. Three dominant results from this data set are as follows: (1) pre- and post-opposition measurements made with the slit crossing many hours of local time on Mars' Earth-facing disk show a distinct diurnal pattern with highest abundances around and slightly after noon with low abundances in the late afternoon, (2) measurements of water vapor over the Mars Pathfinder landing site (Carl Sagan Memorial Station) on July 12, 1997, found 21 ppt μm in the spatial sector centered near 19° latitude, 36° longitude while abundances around the site varied from as low as 6 to as high as 28 ppt μm, and (3) water vapor abundance is patchy on hourly and daily time scales but follows the usual seasonal trends.

Influence of long-range transboundary transport on atmospheric water vapor mercury collected at the largest city of Tibet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Jie [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, Mikkeli FI 50130 (Finland); Kang, Shichang, E-mail: shichang.kang@lzb.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Tian, Lide [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Guo, Junming [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Zhang, Qianggong; Cong, Zhiyuan [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Sillanpää, Mika [Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, Mikkeli FI 50130 (Finland); and others

2016-10-01

Monsoon circulation is an important process that affects long-range transboundary transport of anthropogenic contaminants such as mercury (Hg). During the Indian monsoon season of 2013, a total of 92 and 26 atmospheric water vapor samples were collected at Lhasa, the largest city of the Tibet, for Hg and major ions analysis, respectively. The relatively low pH/high electronic conductivity values, together with the fact that NH{sub 4}{sup +} in atmospheric water vapor was even higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa, indicated the effects of anthropogenic perturbations through long-range transboundary atmospheric transport. Concentrations of Hg in atmospheric water vapor ranged from 2.5 to 73.7 ng L{sup −1}, with an average of 12.5 ng L{sup −1}. The elevated Hg and major ions concentrations, and electronic conductivity values were generally associated with weak acidic samples, and Hg mainly loaded with anthropogenic ions such as NH{sub 4}{sup +}. The results of principal component analysis and trajectory analysis suggested that anthropogenic emissions from the Indian subcontinent may have largely contributed to the determined Hg in atmospheric water vapor. Furthermore, our study reconfirmed that below-cloud scavenging contribution was significant for precipitation Hg in Lhasa, and evaluated that on average 74.1% of the Hg in precipitation could be accounted for by below-cloud scavenging. - Highlights: • The low pH/high electronic conductivity was found in atmospheric water vapor. • Anthropogenic NH{sub 4}{sup +} was higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa. • Elevated Hg and major ions levels were usually associated with weak acidic samples. • Hg in atmospheric water vapor was largely influenced by transboundary transport. • Below-cloud scavenging accounted for most Hg in precipitation.

Influence of long-range transboundary transport on atmospheric water vapor mercury collected at the largest city of Tibet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Jie; Kang, Shichang; Tian, Lide; Guo, Junming; Zhang, Qianggong; Cong, Zhiyuan; Sillanpää, Mika

2016-01-01

Monsoon circulation is an important process that affects long-range transboundary transport of anthropogenic contaminants such as mercury (Hg). During the Indian monsoon season of 2013, a total of 92 and 26 atmospheric water vapor samples were collected at Lhasa, the largest city of the Tibet, for Hg and major ions analysis, respectively. The relatively low pH/high electronic conductivity values, together with the fact that NH_4"+ in atmospheric water vapor was even higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa, indicated the effects of anthropogenic perturbations through long-range transboundary atmospheric transport. Concentrations of Hg in atmospheric water vapor ranged from 2.5 to 73.7 ng L"−"1, with an average of 12.5 ng L"−"1. The elevated Hg and major ions concentrations, and electronic conductivity values were generally associated with weak acidic samples, and Hg mainly loaded with anthropogenic ions such as NH_4"+. The results of principal component analysis and trajectory analysis suggested that anthropogenic emissions from the Indian subcontinent may have largely contributed to the determined Hg in atmospheric water vapor. Furthermore, our study reconfirmed that below-cloud scavenging contribution was significant for precipitation Hg in Lhasa, and evaluated that on average 74.1% of the Hg in precipitation could be accounted for by below-cloud scavenging. - Highlights: • The low pH/high electronic conductivity was found in atmospheric water vapor. • Anthropogenic NH_4"+ was higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa. • Elevated Hg and major ions levels were usually associated with weak acidic samples. • Hg in atmospheric water vapor was largely influenced by transboundary transport. • Below-cloud scavenging accounted for most Hg in precipitation.

Growth of aligned ZnO nanowires via modified atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Yuping; Li, Chengchen [Faculty of Science, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, 212013 (China); Chen, Mingming, E-mail: andychain@live.cn [Faculty of Science, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, 212013 (China); Yu, Xiao; Chang, Yunwei [Faculty of Science, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, 212013 (China); Chen, Anqi [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics & Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center (University Town), Guangzhou, 510006 (China); Zhu, Hai, E-mail: zhuhai5@mail.sysu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics & Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center (University Town), Guangzhou, 510006 (China); Tang, Zikang, E-mail: zktang@umac.mo [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics & Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center (University Town), Guangzhou, 510006 (China); The Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau (China)

2016-12-09

In this work, we report the growth of high-quality aligned ZnO nanowires via a facile atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The CVD reactor chamber used was more complicated than a conventional one due to the quartz boats loaded with sources (ZnO/C) and substrates being inserted into a semi-open quartz tube, and then placed inside the CVD reactor. The semi-open quartz tube played a very important role in growing the ZnO nanowires, and demonstrated that the transportation properties of Zn and O vapor differ from those in the conventional CVD reactor chamber. Aligned ZnO nanowires were successfully obtained, though they were only found at substrates located upstream. The very high crystalline quality of the obtained ZnO nanowires was demonstrated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and room temperature photoluminescence investigations. Such ZnO nanowires with high crystalline quality may provide opportunities for the fabrication of ZnO-based nano-devices in future. - Highlights: • High-quality aligned ZnO nanowires were obtained via modified chemical vapor deposition under atmospheric pressure. • The semi-open quartz tube plays very important roles in growing ZnO nanowires. • The transportation properties of Zn and O vapor differ from those in the conventional CVD reactor chamber.

Growth of aligned ZnO nanowires via modified atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Yuping; Li, Chengchen; Chen, Mingming; Yu, Xiao; Chang, Yunwei; Chen, Anqi; Zhu, Hai; Tang, Zikang

2016-01-01

In this work, we report the growth of high-quality aligned ZnO nanowires via a facile atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The CVD reactor chamber used was more complicated than a conventional one due to the quartz boats loaded with sources (ZnO/C) and substrates being inserted into a semi-open quartz tube, and then placed inside the CVD reactor. The semi-open quartz tube played a very important role in growing the ZnO nanowires, and demonstrated that the transportation properties of Zn and O vapor differ from those in the conventional CVD reactor chamber. Aligned ZnO nanowires were successfully obtained, though they were only found at substrates located upstream. The very high crystalline quality of the obtained ZnO nanowires was demonstrated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and room temperature photoluminescence investigations. Such ZnO nanowires with high crystalline quality may provide opportunities for the fabrication of ZnO-based nano-devices in future. - Highlights: • High-quality aligned ZnO nanowires were obtained via modified chemical vapor deposition under atmospheric pressure. • The semi-open quartz tube plays very important roles in growing ZnO nanowires. • The transportation properties of Zn and O vapor differ from those in the conventional CVD reactor chamber.

The effect of global-scale divergent circulation on the atmospheric water vapor transport and maintenance

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tsing-Chang

1988-01-01

The detection, distribution, and dynamics of atmospheric water on Earth was examined. How the high levels of water vapor and precipitation that occur over the tropics during the monsoon season result from the development of a strong divergent atmospheric circulation is discussed.

HTO deposition by vapor exchange between atmosphere and soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bunnenberg, C.

1989-01-01

HTO deposition to soils occurs by vapor exchange between atmosphere and soil-air, when the concentration gradient is directed downwards, and it is principally independent from simultaneous transport of H 2 O. In relatively dry top soil, which is frequently the case, as it tries to attain equilibrium with the air humidity, HTO diffuses into deeper soil driven by the same mechanisms that caused the deposition process. The resulting HTO profile is depending on the atmospheric supply and the soil physical conditions, and it is the source for further tritium pathways, namely root uptake by plants and reemission from soil back into the ground-level air. Simulation experiments with soil columns exposed to HTO labeled atmospheres have proved the theoretical expectation that under certain boundary conditions the HTO profile can be described by an error function. The key parameter is the effective diffusion coefficient, which in turn is a function of the sorption characteristics of the particular soil. (orig.) [de

Atmospheric pre-corrected differential absorption techniques to retrieve columnar water vapor: Application to AVIRIS 91/95 data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schlaepfer, D. [Univ. of Zuerich (Switzerland). Dept. of Geography; Borel, C.C. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); Keller, J. [Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen (Switzerland)] [and others

1996-03-01

Water vapor is one of the main forces for weather development as well as for mesoscale air transport processes. The monitoring of water vapor is therefore an important aim in remote sensing of the atmosphere. Current operational systems for water vapor detection use primarily the emission in the thermal infrared (AVHRR, GOES, ATSR, Meteosat) or in the microwave radiation bands (DMSP). The disadvantage of current satellite systems is either a coarse spatial (horizontal) resolution ranging from one to tens of kilometers or a limited insight into the lower atmosphere. Imaging spectrometry on the other hand measures total column water vapor contents at a high spatial horizontal resolution and has therefore the potential of filling these gaps. The sensors of the AVIRIS instrument are capable of acquiring hyperspectral data in 224 bands located in the visible and near infrared at 10 run resolution. This data includes information on constituents of the earth`s surface as well as of the atmosphere. The optical measurement of water vapor can be performed using sensor channels located in bands or lines of the absorption spectrum. The AVIRIS sensor has been used to retrieve water vapor and with less accuracy carbon dioxide, oxygen and ozone. To retrieve the water vapor amount, the so called differential absorption technique has been applied. The goal of this technique is to eliminate background factors by taking a ratio between channels within the absorption band and others besides the band. Various rationing methods on the basis of different channels and calculation techniques were developed. The influence of a trace gas of interest on the radiance at the sensor level is usually simulated by using radiative transfer codes. In this study, spectral transmittance and radiance are calculated by MODTRAN3 simulations with the new DISORT option. This work testS the best performing differential absorption techniques for imaging spectrometry of tropospheric water vapor.

Differential Absorption Measurements of Atmospheric Water Vapor with a Coherent Lidar at 2050.532 nm

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Grady J.; Dharamsi, Amin; Davis, Richard E.; Petros, Mulugeta; McCarthy, John C.

1999-01-01

Wind and water vapor are two major factors driving the Earth's atmospheric circulation, and direct measurement of these factors is needed for better understanding of basic atmospheric science, weather forecasting, and climate studies. Coherent lidar has proved to be a valuable tool for Doppler profiling of wind fields, and differential absorption lidar (DIAL) has shown its effectiveness in profiling water vapor. These two lidar techniques are generally considered distinctly different, but this paper explores an experimental combination of the Doppler and DIAL techniques for measuring both wind and water vapor with an eye-safe wavelength based on a solid-state laser material. Researchers have analyzed and demonstrated coherent DIAL water vapor measurements at 10 micrometers wavelength based on CO2 lasers. The hope of the research presented here is that the 2 gm wavelength in a holmium or thulium-based laser may offer smaller packaging and more rugged operation that the CO2-based approach. Researchers have extensively modeled 2 um coherent lasers for water vapor profiling, but no published demonstration is known. Studies have also been made, and results published on the Doppler portion, of a Nd:YAG-based coherent DIAL operating at 1.12 micrometers. Eye-safety of the 1.12 micrometer wavelength may be a concern, whereas the longer 2 micrometer and 10 micrometer systems allow a high level of eyesafety.

Determination of water vapor and aerosol densities in the tropospheric atmosphere from nitrogen and water vapor raman signals

CERN Document Server

Kim, D H; Lee, J M; Yeon, K H; Choi, S C

1998-01-01

A Raman lidar system has been developed for the measurement of the water-vapor mixing ratio and the aerosol backscatter and extinction coefficients. To suppress the elastic scattering from the XeCl excimer laser, an acetone edge filter and narrow-band interference filters are used. By using independently calculated backscatter and extinction coefficients, we calculate the lidar ratios (extinction coefficient divided by the backscatter coefficient). The obtained ratios between 30 and 50 sr explain the special characteristics of the aerosol existing in the atmosphere. These ratios are also used as important parameters in the lidar inversion program. We have also obtained the water-vapor mixing ratio and find that big differences exist between the ratios inside the boundary layer and those of other regions.

Multispectral atmospheric mapping sensor of mesoscale water vapor features

Science.gov (United States)

Menzel, P.; Jedlovec, G.; Wilson, G.; Atkinson, R.; Smith, W.

1985-01-01

The Multispectral atmospheric mapping sensor was checked out for specified spectral response and detector noise performance in the eight visible and three infrared (6.7, 11.2, 12.7 micron) spectral bands. A calibration algorithm was implemented for the infrared detectors. Engineering checkout flights on board the ER-2 produced imagery at 50 m resolution in which water vapor features in the 6.7 micron spectral band are most striking. These images were analyzed on the Man computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS). Ground truth and ancillary data was accessed to verify the calibration.

Atmospheric Pre-Corrected Differential Absorption Techniques to Retrieve Columnar Water Vapor: Application to AVIRIS 91/95 Data

Science.gov (United States)

Schlaepfer, Daniel; Borel, Christoph C.; Keller, Johannes; Itten, Klaus I.

1996-01-01

Water vapor is one of the main forces for weather development as well as for mesoscale air transport processes. The monitoring of water vapor is therefore an important aim in remote sensing of the atmosphere. Current operational systems for water vapor detection use primarily the emission in the thermal infrared (AVHRR, GOES, ATSR, Meteosat) or in the microwave radiation bands (DMSP). The disadvantage of current satellite systems is either a coarse spatial (horizontal) resolution ranging from one to tens of kilometers or a limited insight into the lower atmosphere. Imaging spectrometry on the other hand measures total column water vapor contents at a high spatial horizontal resolution and has therefore the potential of filling these gaps. The sensors of the AVIRIS instrument are capable of acquiring hyperspectral data in 224 bands located in the visible and near infrared at 10 nm resolution. This data includes the information on constituents of the earth's surface as well as of the atmosphere. The optical measurement of water vapor can be performed using sensor channels located in bands or lines of the absorption spectrum. The AVIRIS sensor has been used to retrieve water vapor and with less accuracy carbon dioxide, oxygen and ozone. To retrieve the water vapor amount, the so called differential absorption technique has been applied. The goal of this technique is to eliminate background factors by taking a ratio between channels within the absorption band and others besides the band. Various ratioing methods on the basis of different channels and calculation techniques were developed. The influence of a trace gas of interest on the radiance at the sensor level is usually simulated by using radiative transfer codes. In this study, the spectral transmittance and radiance are calculated by MODTRAN3 simulations with the new DISORT option. The objective of this work is to test the best performing differential absorption techniques for imaging spectrometry of

Seasonal and global behavior of water vapor in the Mars atmosphere: Complete global results of the Viking atmospheric water detector experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakosky, B.M.; Farmer, C.B.

1982-01-01

The water vapor content of the Mars atmosphere was measured from the Viking Orbiter Mars Atmospheric Water Detectors (MAWD) for a period of more than 1 Martian year, from June 1976 through April 1979. Results are presented in the form of global maps of column abundance for 24 periods throughout each Mars year. The data reduction incorporates spatial and seasonal variations in surface pressure and supplements earlier published versions of less complete data

Satellite- and ground-based observations of atmospheric water vapor absorption in the 940 nm region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albert, P.; Smith, K.M.; Bennartz, R.; Newnham, D.A.; Fischer, J.

2004-01-01

Ground-based measurements of direct absorption of solar radiation between 9000 and 13,000 cm -1 (770-1100 nm) with a spectral resolution of 0.05 cm -1 are compared with line-by-line simulations of atmospheric absorption based on different molecular databases (HITRAN 2000, HITRAN 99, HITRAN 96 and ESA-WVR). Differences between measurements and simulations can be reduced to a great amount by scaling the individual line intensities with spectral and database dependent scaling factors. Scaling factors are calculated for the selected databases using a Marquardt non-linear least-squares fit together with a forward model for 100 cm -1 wide intervals between 10,150 and 11,250 cm -1 as well as for the water vapor absorption channels of the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) onboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) ENVISAT platform and the Modular Optoelectronic Scanner (MOS) on the Indian IRSP-3 platform, developed by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). For the latter, the scaling coefficients are converted into correction factors for retrieved total columnar water vapor content and used for a comparison of MOS-based retrievals of total columnar atmospheric water vapor above cloud-free land surfaces with radio soundings. The scaling factors determined for 100 cm -1 wide intervals range from 0.85 for the ESA-WVR molecular database to 1.15 for HITRAN 96. The best agreement between measurements and simulations is achieved with HITRAN 99 and HITRAN 2000, respectively, using scaling factors between 0.9 and 1. The effects on the satellite-based retrievals of columnar atmospheric water vapor range from 2% (HITRAN 2000) to 12% (ESA-WVR)

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.

Tracking an atmospheric river in a warmer climate: from water vapor to economic impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Dominguez, Francina; Dall'erba, Sandy; Huang, Shuyi; Avelino, Andre; Mehran, Ali; Hu, Huancui; Schmidt, Arthur; Schick, Lawrence; Lettenmaier, Dennis

2018-03-01

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) account for more than 75 % of heavy precipitation events and nearly all of the extreme flooding events along the Olympic Mountains and western Cascade Mountains of western Washington state. In a warmer climate, ARs in this region are projected to become more frequent and intense, primarily due to increases in atmospheric water vapor. However, it is unclear how the changes in water vapor transport will affect regional flooding and associated economic impacts. In this work we present an integrated modeling system to quantify the atmospheric-hydrologic-hydraulic and economic impacts of the December 2007 AR event that impacted the Chehalis River basin in western Washington. We use the modeling system to project impacts under a hypothetical scenario in which the same December 2007 event occurs in a warmer climate. This method allows us to incorporate different types of uncertainty, including (a) alternative future radiative forcings, (b) different responses of the climate system to future radiative forcings and (c) different responses of the surface hydrologic system. In the warming scenario, AR integrated vapor transport increases; however, these changes do not translate into generalized increases in precipitation throughout the basin. The changes in precipitation translate into spatially heterogeneous changes in sub-basin runoff and increased streamflow along the entire Chehalis main stem. Economic losses due to stock damages increase moderately, but losses in terms of business interruption are significant. Our integrated modeling tool provides communities in the Chehalis region with a range of possible future physical and economic impacts associated with AR flooding.

Development and Validation of Water Vapor Tracers as Diagnostics for the Atmospheric Hydrologic Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Understanding of the local and remote sources of water vapor can be a valuable diagnostic in understanding the regional atmospheric hydrologic cycle. In the present study, we have implemented passive tracers as prognostic variables to follow water vapor evaporated in predetermined regions until the water tracer precipitates. The formulation of the sources and sinks of tracer water is generally proportional to the prognostic water vapor variable. Because all water has been accounted for in tracers, the water vapor variable provides the validation of the tracer water and the formulation of the sources and sinks. The tracers have been implemented in a GEOS General Circulation Model (GCM) simulation consisting of several summer periods to determine the source regions of precipitation for the United States and India. The recycling of water and interannual variability of the sources of water will be examined. Potential uses in GCM sensitivity studies, predictability studies and data assimilation will be discussed.

Water Vapor Tacers as Diagnostics of the Regional Atmospheric Hydrologic Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Understanding of the local and remote sources of water vapor can be a valuable diagnostic in understanding the regional atmospheric hydrologic cycle, especially in North America where moisture transport and local evaporation are important sources of water for precipitation. In the present study, we have implemented passive tracers as prognostic variables to follow water vapor evaporated in predetermined regions until the water tracer precipitates. All evaporative sources of water are accounted for by tracers, and the water vapor variable provides the validation of the tracer water and the formulation of the sources and sinks. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites General Circulation Model (GEOS GCM) is used to simulate several summer periods to determine the source regions of precipitation for the United States and India. Using this methodology, a detailed analysis of the recycling of water, interannual variability of the sources of water and links to the Great Plains low-level jet and North American monsoon will be presented. Potential uses in GCM sensitivity studies, predictability studies and data assimilation especially regarding the North American monsoon and GEWEX America Prediction Project (GAPP) will be discussed.

Rapid Chemical Vapor Infiltration of Silicon Carbide Minicomposites at Atmospheric Pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Petroski, Kenneth; Poges, Shannon; Monteleone, Chris; Grady, Joseph; Bhatt, Ram; Suib, Steven L

2018-02-07

The chemical vapor infiltration technique is one of the most popular for the fabrication of the matrix portion of a ceramic matrix composite. This work focuses on tailoring an atmospheric pressure deposition of silicon carbide onto carbon fiber tows using the methyltrichlorosilane (CH 3 SiCl 3 ) and H 2 deposition system at atmospheric pressure to create minicomposites faster than low pressure systems. Adjustment of the flow rate of H 2 bubbled through CH 3 SiCl 3 will improve the uniformity of the deposition as well as infiltrate the substrate more completely as the flow rate is decreased. Low pressure depositions conducted at 50 Torr deposit SiC at a rate of approximately 200 nm*h -1 , while the atmospheric pressure system presented has a deposition rate ranging from 750 nm*h -1 to 3.88 μm*h -1 . The minicomposites fabricated in this study had approximate total porosities of 3 and 6% for 10 and 25 SCCM infiltrations, respectively.

The Effect of Water Vapor on the Thermal Decomposition of Pyrite in N2 Atmosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nesrin BOYABAT

2009-03-01

Full Text Available In this study, the effect of water vapor on the thermal decomposition of pyrite mineral in nitrogen atmosphere has been investigated in a horizontal tube furnace. Temperature, time and water vapor concentration were used as experimental parameters. According to the data obtained at nitrogen/ water vapor environment, it was observed that the water vapor on the decomposition of pyrite increased the decomposition rate. The decomposition reaction is well represented by the "shrinking core" model and can be divided into two regions with different rate controlling step. The rate controlling steps were determined from the heat transfer through the gas film for the low conversions, while it was determined from the mass transfer through product ash layer for the high conversions. The activation energies of this gas and ash film mechanisms were found to be 77 and 81 kJ/mol-1, respectively.

Estimation of perceptible water vapor of atmosphere using artificial neural network, support vector machine and multiple linear regression algorithm and their comparative study

Science.gov (United States)

Shastri, Niket; Pathak, Kamlesh

2018-05-01

The water vapor content in atmosphere plays very important role in climate. In this paper the application of GPS signal in meteorology is discussed, which is useful technique that is used to estimate the perceptible water vapor of atmosphere. In this paper various algorithms like artificial neural network, support vector machine and multiple linear regression are use to predict perceptible water vapor. The comparative studies in terms of root mean square error and mean absolute errors are also carried out for all the algorithms.

Evaluating the skills of isotope-enabled general circulation models against in situ atmospheric water vapor isotope observations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steen-Larsen, Hans Christian; Risi, C.; Werner, M.

2017-01-01

The skills of isotope-enabled general circulation models are evaluated against atmospheric water vapor isotopes. We have combined in situ observations of surface water vapor isotopes spanning multiple field seasons (2010, 2011, and 2012) from the top of the Greenland Ice Sheet (NEEM site: 77.45°N......: 2014). This allows us to benchmark the ability to simulate the daily water vapor isotope variations from five different simulations using isotope-enabled general circulation models. Our model-data comparison documents clear isotope biases both on top of the Greenland Ice Sheet (1-11% for δ18O and 4...... boundary layer water vapor isotopes of the Baffin Bay region show strong influence on the water vapor isotopes at the NEEM deep ice core-drilling site in northwest Greenland. Our evaluation of the simulations using isotope-enabled general circulation models also documents wide intermodel spatial...

A parameterization for the absorption of solar radiation by water vapor in the earth's atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, W.-C.

1976-01-01

A parameterization for the absorption of solar radiation as a function of the amount of water vapor in the earth's atmosphere is obtained. Absorption computations are based on the Goody band model and the near-infrared absorption band data of Ludwig et al. A two-parameter Curtis-Godson approximation is used to treat the inhomogeneous atmosphere. Heating rates based on a frequently used one-parameter pressure-scaling approximation are also discussed and compared with the present parameterization.

Where do winds come from? A new theory on how water vapor condensation influences atmospheric pressure and dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Makarieva, A. M.; Gorshkov, V. G.; Sheil, D.; Nobre, A. D.; Li, B.-L.

2013-01-01

Phase transitions of atmospheric water play a ubiquitous role in the Earth's climate system, but their direct impact on atmospheric dynamics has escaped wide attention. Here we examine and advance a theory as to how condensation influences atmospheric pressure through the mass removal of water from the gas phase with a simultaneous account of the latent heat release. Building from fundamental physical principles we show that condensation is associated with a decline in air pressure in the lower atmosphere. This decline occurs up to a certain height, which ranges from 3 to 4 km for surface temperatures from 10 to 30 °C. We then estimate the horizontal pressure differences associated with water vapor condensation and find that these are comparable in magnitude with the pressure differences driving observed circulation patterns. The water vapor delivered to the atmosphere via evaporation represents a store of potential energy available to accelerate air and thus drive winds. Our estimates suggest that the global mean power at which this potential energy is released by condensation is around one per cent of the global solar power - this is similar to the known stationary dissipative power of general atmospheric circulation. We conclude that condensation and evaporation merit attention as major, if previously overlooked, factors in driving atmospheric dynamics.

Method and apparatus for simulating atmospheric absorption of solar energy due to water vapor and CO{sub 2}

Science.gov (United States)

Sopori, B.L.

1995-06-20

A method and apparatus for improving the accuracy of the simulation of sunlight reaching the earth`s surface includes a relatively small heated chamber having an optical inlet and an optical outlet, the chamber having a cavity that can be filled with a heated stream of CO{sub 2} and water vapor. A simulated beam comprising infrared and near infrared light can be directed through the chamber cavity containing the CO{sub 2} and water vapor, whereby the spectral characteristics of the beam are altered so that the output beam from the chamber contains wavelength bands that accurately replicate atmospheric absorption of solar energy due to atmospheric CO{sub 2} and moisture. 8 figs.

Validation of Atmospheric Water Vapor Derived from Ship-Borne GPS Measurements in the Chinese Bohai Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shi-Jie Fan

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric water vapor (AWV was investigated for the first time in the Chinese Bohai Sea using a Global Positioning System (GPS receiver aboard a lightweight (300-ton ship. An experiment was conducted to retrieve the AWV using the state-of-the-art GPS precise point positioning (PPP technique. The effects of atmospheric weighted mean temperature model and zenith wet delay constraint on GPS AWV estimates were discussed in the PPP estimation system. The GPS-derived precipitable water vapor (PWV and slant-path water vapor (SWV were assessed by comparing with those derived from the Fifth Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5. The results showed the PWV and SWV differences between those derived from both GPS and MM5 are 1.5 mm root mean square (RMS with a bias of 0.2 and 3.9 mm RMS with a bias of -0.7 mm respectively. These good agreements indicate that the GPS-derived AWV in dynamic environments has a comparable accuracy with that of the MM5 model. This suggests that high accuracy and high spatio-temporal resolution humidity fields can be obtained using GPS in the Chinese Bohai Sea, which offers significant potential for meteorological applications and climate studies in this region.

Atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) grown bi-layer graphene transistor characteristics at high temperature

KAUST Repository

Qaisi, Ramy M.; Smith, Casey; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2014-01-01

We report the characteristics of atmospheric chemical vapor deposition grown bilayer graphene transistors fabricated on ultra-scaled (10 nm) high-κ dielectric aluminum oxide (Al2O3) at elevated temperatures. We observed that the drive current increased by >400% as temperature increased from room temperature to 250 °C. Low gate leakage was maintained for prolonged exposure at 100 °C but increased significantly at temperatures >200 °C. These results provide important insights for considering chemical vapor deposition graphene on aluminum oxide for high temperature applications where low power and high frequency operation are required. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) grown bi-layer graphene transistor characteristics at high temperature

KAUST Repository

Qaisi, Ramy M.

2014-05-15

We report the characteristics of atmospheric chemical vapor deposition grown bilayer graphene transistors fabricated on ultra-scaled (10 nm) high-κ dielectric aluminum oxide (Al2O3) at elevated temperatures. We observed that the drive current increased by >400% as temperature increased from room temperature to 250 °C. Low gate leakage was maintained for prolonged exposure at 100 °C but increased significantly at temperatures >200 °C. These results provide important insights for considering chemical vapor deposition graphene on aluminum oxide for high temperature applications where low power and high frequency operation are required. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Verification of small-scale water vapor features in VAS imagery using high resolution MAMS imagery. [VISSR Atmospheric Sounder - Multispectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Menzel, Paul W.; Jedlovec, Gary; Wilson, Gregory

1986-01-01

The Multispectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor (MAMS), a modification of NASA's Airborne Thematic Mapper, is described, and radiances from the MAMS and the VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) are compared which were collected simultaneously on May 18, 1985. Thermal emission from the earth atmosphere system in eight visible and three infrared spectral bands (12.3, 11.2 and 6.5 microns) are measured by the MAMS at up to 50 m horizontal resolution, and the infrared bands are similar to three of the VAS infrared bands. Similar radiometric performance was found for the two systems, though the MAMS showed somewhat less attenuation from water vapor than VAS because its spectral bands are shifted to shorter wavelengths away from the absorption band center.

Effect of impact angle on vaporization

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, Peter H.

1996-09-01

Impacts into easily vaporized targets such as dry ice and carbonates generate a rapidly expanding vapor cloud. Laboratory experiments performed in a tenuous atmosphere allow deriving the internal energy of this cloud through well-established and tested theoretical descriptions. A second set of experiments under near-vacuum conditions provides a second measure of energy as the internal energy converts to kinetic energy of expansion. The resulting data allow deriving the vaporized mass as a function of impact angle and velocity. Although peak shock pressures decrease with decreasing impact angle (referenced to horizontal), the amount of impact-generated vapor is found to increase and is derived from the upper surface. Moreover, the temperature of the vapor cloud appears to decrease with decreasing angle. These unexpected results are proposed to reflect the increasing roles of shear heating and downrange hypervelocity ricochet impacts created during oblique impacts. The shallow provenance, low temperature, and trajectory of such vapor have implications for larger-scale events, including enhancement of atmospheric and biospheric stress by oblique terrestrial impacts and impact recycling of the early atmosphere of Mars.

The influence of water vapor on atmospheric exchange measurements with an ICOS* based Laser absorption analyzer

Science.gov (United States)

Bunk, Rüdiger; Quan, Zhi; Wandel, Matthias; Yi, Zhigang; Bozem, Heiko; Kesselmeier, Jürgen

2014-05-01

Carbonyl sulfide and carbon monoxide are both atmospheric trace gases of high interest. Recent advances in the field of spectroscopy have enabled instruments that measure the concentration of the above and other trace gases very fast and with good precision. Increasing the effective path length by reflecting the light between two mirrors in a cavity, these instruments reach impressive sensitivities. Often it is possible to measure the concentration of more than one trace gas at the same time. The OCS/CO2 Analyzer by LGR (Los Gatos Research, Inc.) measures the concentration of water vapor [H2O], carbonyl sulfide [COS], carbon dioxide [CO2] and carbon monoxide [CO] simultaneously. For that the cavity is saturated with light, than the attenuation of light is measured as in standard absorption spectroscopy. The instrument proved to be very fast with good precision and to be able to detect even very low concentrations, especially for COS (as low as 30ppt in the case of COS). However, we observed a rather strong cross sensitivity to water vapor. Altering the water vapor content of the sampled air with two different methods led to a change in the perceived concentration of COS, CO and CO2. This proved especially problematic for enclosure (cuvette) measurements, where the concentrations of one of the above species in an empty cuvette are compared to the concentration of another cuvette containing a plant whose exchange of trace gases with the atmosphere is of interest. There, the plants transpiration leads to a large difference in water vapor content between the cuvettes and that in turn produces artifacts in the concentration differences between the cuvettes for the other above mentioned trace gases. For CO, simultaneous measurement with a UV-Emission Analyzer (AL 5002, Aerolaser) and the COS/CO Analyzer showed good agreement of perceived concentrations as long as the sample gas was dry and an increasing difference in perceived concentration when the sample gas was

Tracking an atmospheric river in a warmer climate: from water vapor to economic impacts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Dominguez

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric rivers (ARs account for more than 75 % of heavy precipitation events and nearly all of the extreme flooding events along the Olympic Mountains and western Cascade Mountains of western Washington state. In a warmer climate, ARs in this region are projected to become more frequent and intense, primarily due to increases in atmospheric water vapor. However, it is unclear how the changes in water vapor transport will affect regional flooding and associated economic impacts. In this work we present an integrated modeling system to quantify the atmospheric–hydrologic–hydraulic and economic impacts of the December 2007 AR event that impacted the Chehalis River basin in western Washington. We use the modeling system to project impacts under a hypothetical scenario in which the same December 2007 event occurs in a warmer climate. This method allows us to incorporate different types of uncertainty, including (a alternative future radiative forcings, (b different responses of the climate system to future radiative forcings and (c different responses of the surface hydrologic system. In the warming scenario, AR integrated vapor transport increases; however, these changes do not translate into generalized increases in precipitation throughout the basin. The changes in precipitation translate into spatially heterogeneous changes in sub-basin runoff and increased streamflow along the entire Chehalis main stem. Economic losses due to stock damages increase moderately, but losses in terms of business interruption are significant. Our integrated modeling tool provides communities in the Chehalis region with a range of possible future physical and economic impacts associated with AR flooding.

What Good is Raman Water Vapor Lidar?

Science.gov (United States)

Whitman, David

2011-01-01

Raman lidar has been used to quantify water vapor in the atmosphere for various scientific studies including mesoscale meteorology and satellite validation. Now the international networks of NDACC and GRUAN have interest in using Raman water vapor lidar for detecting trends in atmospheric water vapor concentrations. What are the data needs for addressing these very different measurement challenges. We will review briefly the scientific needs for water vapor accuracy for each of these three applications and attempt to translate that into performance specifications for Raman lidar in an effort to address the question in the title of "What good is Raman water vapor Iidar."

Variations in stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in atmospheric water vapor in the marine boundary layer across a wide latitude range.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jingfeng; Xiao, Cunde; Ding, Minghu; Ren, Jiawen

2014-11-01

The newly-developed cavity ring-down laser absorption spectroscopy analyzer with special calibration protocols has enabled the direct measurement of atmospheric vapor isotopes at high spatial and temporal resolution. This paper presents real-time hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope data for atmospheric water vapor above the sea surface, over a wide range of latitudes spanning from 38°N to 69°S. Our results showed relatively higher values of δ(18)O and δ(2)H in the subtropical regions than those in the tropical and high latitude regions, and also a notable decreasing trend in the Antarctic coastal region. By combining the hydrogen and oxygen isotope data with meteoric water line and backward trajectory model analysis, we explored the kinetic fractionation caused by subsiding air masses and related saturated vapor pressure in the subtropics, and the evaporation-driven kinetic fractionation in the Antarctic region. Simultaneous observations of meteorological and marine variables were used to interpret the isotopic composition characteristics and influential factors, indicating that d-excess is negatively correlated with humidity across a wide range of latitudes and weather conditions worldwide. Coincident with previous studies, d-excess is also positively correlated with sea surface temperature and air temperature (Tair), with greater sensitivity to Tair. Thus, atmospheric vapor isotopes measured with high accuracy and good spatial-temporal resolution could act as informative tracers for exploring the water cycle at different regional scales. Such monitoring efforts should be undertaken over a longer time period and in different regions of the world. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Validation of GPS atmospheric water vapor with WVR data in satellite tracking mode

Science.gov (United States)

Shangguan, M.; Heise, S.; Bender, M.; Dick, G.; Ramatschi, M.; Wickert, J.

2015-01-01

Slant-integrated water vapor (SIWV) data derived from GPS STDs (slant total delays), which provide the spatial information on tropospheric water vapor, have a high potential for assimilation to weather models or for nowcasting or reconstruction of the 3-D humidity field with tomographic techniques. Therefore, the accuracy of GPS STD is important, and independent observations are needed to estimate the quality of GPS STD. In 2012 the GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences) started to operate a microwave radiometer in the vicinity of the Potsdam GPS station. The water vapor content along the line of sight between a ground station and a GPS satellite can be derived from GPS data and directly measured by a water vapor radiometer (WVR) at the same time. In this study we present the validation results of SIWV observed by a ground-based GPS receiver and a WVR. The validation covers 184 days of data with dry and wet humidity conditions. SIWV data from GPS and WVR generally show good agreement with a mean bias of -0.4 kg m-2 and an rms (root mean square) of 3.15 kg m-2. The differences in SIWV show an elevation dependent on an rms of 7.13 kg m-2 below 15° but of 1.76 kg m-2 above 15°. Nevertheless, this elevation dependence is not observed regarding relative deviations. The relation between the differences and possible influencing factors (elevation angles, pressure, temperature and relative humidity) are analyzed in this study. Besides the elevation, dependencies between the atmospheric humidity conditions, temperature and the differences in SIWV are found.

Water vapor retrieval over many surface types

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borel, C.C.; Clodius, W.C.; Johnson, J.

1996-04-01

In this paper we present a study of of the water vapor retrieval for many natural surface types which would be valuable for multi-spectral instruments using the existing Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio (CIBR) for the 940 nm water vapor absorption feature. An atmospheric code (6S) and 562 spectra were used to compute the top of the atmosphere radiance near the 940 nm water vapor absorption feature in steps of 2.5 nm as a function of precipitable water (PW). We derive a novel technique called ``Atmospheric Pre-corrected Differential Absorption`` (APDA) and show that APDA performs better than the CIBR over many surface types.

Retrieval Assimilation and Modeling of Atmospheric Water Vapor from Ground- and Space-Based GPS Networks: Investigation of the Global and Regional Hydrological Cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Dickey, Jean O.

1999-01-01

Uncertainty over the response of the atmospheric hydrological cycle (particularly the distribution of water vapor and cloudiness) to anthropogenic forcing is a primary source of doubt in current estimates of global climate sensitivity, which raises severe difficulties in evaluating its likely societal impact. Fortunately, a variety of advanced techniques and sensors are beginning to shed new light on the atmospheric hydrological cycle. One of the most promising makes use of the sensitivity of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to the thermodynamic state, and in particular the water vapor content, of the atmosphere through which the radio signals propagate. Our strategy to derive the maximum benefit for hydrological studies from the rapidly increasing GPS data stream will proceed in three stages: (1) systematically analyze and archive quality-controlled retrievals using state-of-the-art techniques; (2) employ both currently available and innovative assimilation procedures to incorporate these determinations into advanced regional and global atmospheric models and assess their effects; and (3) apply the results to investigate selected scientific issues of relevance to regional and global hydrological studies. An archive of GPS-based estimation of total zenith delay (TZD) data and water vapor where applicable has been established with expanded automated quality control. The accuracy of the GPS estimates is being monitored; the investigation of systematic errors is ongoing using comparisons with water vapor radiometers. Meteorological packages have been implemented. The accuracy and utilization of the TZD estimates has been improved by implementing a troposphere gradient model. GPS-based gradients have been validated as real atmospheric moisture gradients, establishing a link between the estimated gradients and the passage of weather fronts. We have developed a generalized ray tracing inversion scheme that can be used to analyze occultation data acquired from space

Behavior of UO2 and FISSIUM in sodium vapor atmosphere at temperatures up to 28000C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feuerstein, H.; Oschinski, J.

1986-11-01

In case of a HCDA a rubble bed of fuel debris may form under a sodium pool and reach high temperatures. An experimental technique was developed to study the behavior of fuel and fission products in out-of-pile tests in a sodium vapor atmosphere. Evaporation rates of UO 2 were measured up to 2800 0 C. The evaporation was found to be a complex process, depending on temperature and the 'active' surface. Evaporation restructures the surface of the samples, however no new 'active' surface is formed. UO 2 forms sometimes well shaped crystals and curious erosion products. The efficiency of the used condenser/filter lines was higher than 99.99%. In case of a HCDA all the evaporated substances will condense in the soidum pool. Thermal reduction of the UO 2 reduces the oxygen potential of the system. The final composition at 2500 0 C was found to be UO 1.95 . The only influence of the sodium vapor was found for the diffusion of UO 2 into the thoria of the crucible. Compared with experiments in an atmosphere of pure argon, the diffusion rate was reduced. (orig.) [de

Two dimensional radial gas flows in atmospheric pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Gwihyun; Park, Seran; Shin, Hyunsu; Song, Seungho; Oh, Hoon-Jung; Ko, Dae Hong; Choi, Jung-Il; Baik, Seung Jae

2017-12-01

Atmospheric pressure (AP) operation of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is one of promising concepts for high quality and low cost processing. Atmospheric plasma discharge requires narrow gap configuration, which causes an inherent feature of AP PECVD. Two dimensional radial gas flows in AP PECVD induces radial variation of mass-transport and that of substrate temperature. The opposite trend of these variations would be the key consideration in the development of uniform deposition process. Another inherent feature of AP PECVD is confined plasma discharge, from which volume power density concept is derived as a key parameter for the control of deposition rate. We investigated deposition rate as a function of volume power density, gas flux, source gas partial pressure, hydrogen partial pressure, plasma source frequency, and substrate temperature; and derived a design guideline of deposition tool and process development in terms of deposition rate and uniformity.

Comparison of time series of integrated water vapor measured using radiosonde, GPS and microwave radiometer at the CNR-IMAA Atmospheric Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Amato, Franceso; Rosoldi, Marco; Madonna, Fabio

2015-04-01

Information about the amount and spatial distribution of atmospheric water vapor is essential to improve our knowledge of weather forecasting and climate change. Water vapor is highly variable in space and time depending on the complex interplay of several phenomena like convection, precipitation, turbulence, etc. It remains one of the most poorly characterized meteorological parameters. Remarkable progress in using of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), in particular GPS, for the monitoring of atmospheric water vapor has been achieved during the last decades. Various studies have demonstrated that GPS could provide accurate water vapor estimates for the study of the atmosphere. Different GPS data processing provided within the scientific community made use of various tropospheric models that primarily differs for the assumptions on the vertical refractivity profiles and the mapping of the vertical delay with elevation angles. This works compares several models based on the use of surface meteorological data. In order to calculate the Integrated Water Vapour (IWV), an algorithm for calculating the zenith tropospheric delay was implemented. It is based upon different mapping functions (Niell, Saastamoinen, Chao and Herring Mapping Functions). Observations are performed at the Istituto di Metodologie per l'Analisi Ambientale (IMAA) GPS station located in Tito Scalo, Potenza (40.60N, 15.72E), from July to December 2014, in the framework of OSCAR project (Observation System for Climate Application at Regional scale). The retrieved values of the IWV using the GPS are systematically compared with the other estimation of IWV collected at CIAO (CNR-IMAA Atmospheric Observatory) using the other available measurement techniques. In particular, in this work the compared IWV are retrieved from: 1. a Trimble GPS antenna (data processed by the GPS-Met network, see gpsmet.nooa.gov); 2. a Novatel GPS antenna (data locally processed using a software developed at CIAO); 3

Atmospheric Pre-Corrected Differential Absorption Techniques to Retrieve Columnar Water Vapor: Theory and Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Borel, Christoph C.; Schlaepfer, Daniel

1996-01-01

Two different approaches exist to retrieve columnar water vapor from imaging spectrometer data: (1) Differential absorption techniques based on: (a) Narrow-Wide (N/W) ratio between overlapping spectrally wide and narrow channels; (b) Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio (CIBR) between a measurement channel and the weighted sum of two reference channels. (2) Non-linear fitting techniques which are based on spectral radiative transfer calculations. The advantage of the first approach is computational speed and of the second, improved retrieval accuracy. Our goal was to improve the accuracy of the first technique using physics based on radiative transfer. Using a modified version of the Duntley equation, we derived an "Atmospheric Pre-corrected Differential Absorption" (APDA) technique and described an iterative scheme to retrieve water vapor on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Next we compared both, the CIBR and the APDA using the Duntley equation for MODTRAN3 computed irradiances, transmissions and path radiance (using the DISORT option). This simulation showed that the CIBR is very sensitive to reflectance effects and that the APDA performs much better. An extensive data set was created with the radiative transfer code 6S over 379 different ground reflectance spectra. The calculated relative water vapor error was reduced significantly for the APDA. The APDA technique had about 8% (vs. over 35% for the CIBR) of the 379 spectra with a relative water vapor error of greater than +5%. The APDA has been applied to 1991 and 1995 AVIRIS scenes which visually demonstrate the improvement over the CIBR technique.

Atmospheric pre-corrected differential absorption techniques to retrieve columnar water vapor: Theory and simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borel, C.C.; Schlaepfer, D.

1996-03-01

Two different approaches exist to retrieve columnar water vapor from imaging spectrometer data: (1) Differential absorption techniques based on: (a) Narrow-Wide (N/W) ratio between overlapping spectrally wide and narrow channels (b) Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio (CIBR) between a measurement channel and the weighted sum of two reference channels; and (2) Non-linear fitting techniques which are based on spectral radiative transfer calculations. The advantage of the first approach is computational speed and of the second, improved retrieval accuracy. Our goal was to improve the accuracy of the first technique using physics based on radiative transfer. Using a modified version of the Duntley equation, we derived an {open_quote}Atmospheric Pre-corrected Differential Absorption{close_quote} (APDA) technique and described an iterative scheme to retrieve water vapor on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Next we compared both, the CIBR and the APDA using the Duntley equation for MODTRAN3 computed irradiances, transmissions and path radiance (using the DISORT option). This simulation showed that the CIBR is very sensitive to reflectance effects and that the APDA performs much better. An extensive data set was created with the radiative transfer code 6S over 379 different ground reflectance spectra. The calculated relative water vapor error was reduced significantly for the APDA. The APDA technique had about 8% (vs. over 35% for the CIBR) of the 379 spectra with a relative water vapor error of greater than {+-}5%. The APDA has been applied to 1991 and 1995 AVIRIS scenes which visually demonstrate the improvement over the CIBR technique.

Differential absorption lidar measurements of atmospheric water vapor using a pseudonoise code modulated AlGaAs laser. Thesis

Science.gov (United States)

Rall, Jonathan A. R.

1994-01-01

Lidar measurements using pseudonoise code modulated AlGaAs lasers are reported. Horizontal path lidar measurements were made at night to terrestrial targets at ranges of 5 and 13 km with 35 mW of average power and integration times of one second. Cloud and aerosol lidar measurements were made to thin cirrus clouds at 13 km altitude with Rayleigh (molecular) backscatter evident up to 9 km. Average transmitter power was 35 mW and measurement integration time was 20 minutes. An AlGaAs laser was used to characterize spectral properties of water vapor absorption lines at 811.617, 816.024, and 815.769 nm in a multipass absorption cell using derivative spectroscopy techniques. Frequency locking of an AlGaAs laser to a water vapor absorption line was achieved with a laser center frequency stability measured to better than one-fifth of the water vapor Doppler linewidth over several minutes. Differential absorption lidar measurements of atmospheric water vapor were made in both integrated path and range-resolved modes using an externally modulated AlGaAs laser. Mean water vapor number density was estimated from both integrated path and range-resolved DIAL measurements and agreed with measured humidity values to within 6.5 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Error sources were identified and their effects on estimates of water vapor number density calculated.

Removal of styrene vapor from atmospheric air using a pulsed corona discharge and UV-irridiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shvedchikov, A.P.; Belousova, E.V.; Polyakova, A.V.; Ponizovskii, A.Z.; Goncharov, V.A.

1993-01-01

The authors have investigated processes for removal of styrene vapor from atmospheric air (volume content 0.007-0.06%) upon exposure to UV radiation and dc and pulsed corona discharges. The authors have studied the dependence of the degree of purification on various parameters (flow rate, temperature, composition, pulse frequency). It has been shown that the purification rate increases when UV radiation is combined with the discharge. A possible mechanism for the purification process is considered

Sampling tritiated water vapor from the atmosphere by an active system using silica gel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herranz, M. [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics, E.T.S.I. de Bilbao, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Alameda de Urquijo, s/n 48013 Bilbao (Spain); Alegria, N., E-mail: natalia.alegria@ehu.es [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics, E.T.S.I. de Bilbao, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Alameda de Urquijo, s/n 48013 Bilbao (Spain); Idoeta, R.; Legarda, F. [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics, E.T.S.I. de Bilbao, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Alameda de Urquijo, s/n 48013 Bilbao (Spain)

2011-11-15

Among the different methods used to collect the tritiated water vapor (HTO) contained in the atmosphere, one of the most worldwide used is its collection using an air pump, which forces the air to pass through a dry silica gel trap. The silica gel is then distilled to remove the water collected, which is measured in a liquid scintillation counting system. In this paper, an analysis of the water collection efficiency of the silica gel has been done as a function of the temperatures involved, the dimensions of the pipe driving the air into the silica gel traps, the air volume passing through the trap and the flow rates used. Among the obtained conclusions, it can be pointed out that placing the traps inside a cooled container, the amount of silica gel needed to collect all the water contained in the air passing through these traps can be estimated using a weather forecast and a psychometric chart. To do this, and as thermal equilibrium between incoming and open air should be established, a suitable design of the sampling system is proposed. - Highlights: > To recollect the atmosphere air tritiated water vapor, an active system was used. > The system is an air pump and three traps with silica gel connected by a rubber pipe. > The silica gel retention depends on the meteorological conditions and the flow rate. > The amount of water collected and the mass of silica gel need were calculated, F.

Undoped and in-situ B doped GeSn epitaxial growth on Ge by atmospheric pressure-chemical vapor deposition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vincent, B.; Gencarelli, F.; Bender, H.

2011-01-01

In this letter, we propose an atmospheric pressure-chemical vapor deposition technique to grow metastable GeSn epitaxial layers on Ge. We report the growth of defect free fully strained undoped and in-situ B doped GeSn layers on Ge substrates with Sit contents up to 8%. Those metastable layers stay...

Kinetics and dynamics of nanosecond streamer discharge in atmospheric-pressure gas bubble suspended in distilled water under saturated vapor pressure conditions

KAUST Repository

Sharma, Ashish; Levko, Dmitry; Raja, Laxminarayan L; Cha, Min

2016-01-01

We perform computational studies of nanosecond streamer discharges generated in helium bubbles immersed in distilled water under atmospheric pressure conditions. The model takes into account the presence of water vapor in the gas bubble

Vaporization and thermodynamics of forsterite-rich olivine and some implications for silicate atmospheres of hot rocky exoplanets

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Gustavo C. C.; Jacobson, Nathan S.; Fegley, Bruce, Jr.

2017-06-01

We describe an experimental and theoretical study of olivine [Mg2SiO4 (Fo)-Fe2SiO4 (Fa)] vaporization. The vaporization behavior and thermodynamic properties of a fosterite-rich olivine (Fo95Fa5) have been explored by high-temperature Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry (KEMS) from 1750 to 2250 K. The gases observed (in order of decreasing partial pressure) are Fe, SiO, Mg, O2 and O. We measured the solidus temperature (∼2050 K), partial pressures of individual gases, the total vapor pressure, and thermodynamic activities and partial molar enthalpies of MgO, 'FeO', and SiO2 for the Fo95Fa5 olivine. The results are compared to other measurements and models of the olivine system. Our experimental data show olivine vaporizes incongruently. We discuss this system both as a psuedo-binary of Fo-Fa and a psuedo-ternary of MgO-'FeO'-SiO2. Iron/magnesium molar ratios in the sample before (∼0.05) and after (∼0.04) vaporization are consistent with the small positive deviations from ideality of fayalite (γ ∼ 1.17) in olivine of the composition studied (e.g., Nafziger and Muan, 1967). Our data for olivine + melt confirm prior theoretical models predicting fractional vaporization of Fe relative to Mg from molten silicates (Fegley and Cameron, 1987; Schaefer and Fegley, 2009; Ito et al., 2015). If loss of silicate atmospheres occurs from hot rocky exoplanets with magma oceans the residual planet may be enriched in magnesium relative to iron.

Visualization of Atmospheric Water Vapor Data for SAGE

Science.gov (United States)

Kung, Mou-Liang; Chu, W. P. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The goal of this project was to develop visualization tools to study the water vapor dynamics using the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment 11 (SAGE 11) water vapor data. During the past years, we completed the development of a visualization tool called EZSAGE, and various Gridded Water Vapor plots, tools deployed on the web to provide users with new insight into the water vapor dynamics. Results and experiences from this project, including papers, tutorials and reviews were published on the main Web page. Additional publishing effort has been initiated to package EZSAGE software for CD production and distribution. There have been some major personnel changes since Fall, 1998. Dr. Mou-Liang Kung, a Professor of Computer Science assumed the PI position vacated by Dr. Waldo Rodriguez who was on leave. However, former PI, Dr. Rodriguez continued to serve as a research adviser to this project to assure smooth transition and project completion. Typically in each semester, five student research assistants were hired and trained. Weekly group meetings were held to discuss problems, progress, new research direction, and activity planning. Other small group meetings were also held regularly for different objectives of this project. All student research assistants were required to submit reports for conference submission.

Investigating the Water Vapor Component of the Greenhouse Effect from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS)

Science.gov (United States)

Gambacorta, A.; Barnet, C.; Sun, F.; Goldberg, M.

2009-12-01

We investigate the water vapor component of the greenhouse effect in the tropical region using data from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS). Differently from previous studies who have relayed on the assumption of constant lapse rate and performed coarse layer or total column sensitivity analysis, we resort to AIRS high vertical resolution to measure the greenhouse effect sensitivity to water vapor along the vertical column. We employ a "partial radiative perturbation" methodology and discriminate between two different dynamic regimes, convective and non-convective. This analysis provides useful insights on the occurrence and strength of the water vapor greenhouse effect and its sensitivity to spatial variations of surface temperature. By comparison with the clear-sky computation conducted in previous works, we attempt to confine an estimate for the cloud contribution to the greenhouse effect. Our results compare well with the current literature, falling in the upper range of the existing global circulation model estimates. We value the results of this analysis as a useful reference to help discriminate among model simulations and improve our capability to make predictions about the future of our climate.

Time variant layer control in atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition based growth of graphene

KAUST Repository

Qaisi, Ramy M.; Smith, Casey; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2013-01-01

Graphene is a semi-metallic, transparent, atomic crystal structure material which is promising for its high mobility, strength and transparency - potentially applicable for radio frequency (RF) circuitry and energy harvesting and storage applications. Uniform (same number of layers), continuous (not torn or discontinuous), large area (100 mm to 200 mm wafer scale), low-cost, reliable growth are the first hand challenges for its commercialization prospect. We show a time variant uniform (layer control) growth of bi- to multi-layer graphene using atmospheric chemical vapor deposition system. We use Raman spectroscopy for physical characterization supported by electrical property analysis. © 2013 IEEE.

Time variant layer control in atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition based growth of graphene

KAUST Repository

Qaisi, Ramy M.

2013-04-01

Graphene is a semi-metallic, transparent, atomic crystal structure material which is promising for its high mobility, strength and transparency - potentially applicable for radio frequency (RF) circuitry and energy harvesting and storage applications. Uniform (same number of layers), continuous (not torn or discontinuous), large area (100 mm to 200 mm wafer scale), low-cost, reliable growth are the first hand challenges for its commercialization prospect. We show a time variant uniform (layer control) growth of bi- to multi-layer graphene using atmospheric chemical vapor deposition system. We use Raman spectroscopy for physical characterization supported by electrical property analysis. © 2013 IEEE.

Pursuing atmospheric water vapor retrieval through NDSA measurements between two LEO satellites: evaluation of estimation errors in spectral sensitivity measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Facheris, L.; Cuccoli, F.; Argenti, F.

2008-10-01

NDSA (Normalized Differential Spectral Absorption) is a novel differential measurement method to estimate the total content of water vapor (IWV, Integrated Water Vapor) along a tropospheric propagation path between two Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. A transmitter onboard the first LEO satellite and a receiver onboard the second one are required. The NDSA approach is based on the simultaneous estimate of the total attenuations at two relatively close frequencies in the Ku/K bands and of a "spectral sensitivity parameter" that can be directly converted into IWV. The spectral sensitivity has the potential to emphasize the water vapor contribution, to cancel out all spectrally flat unwanted contributions and to limit the impairments due to tropospheric scintillation. Based on a previous Monte Carlo simulation approach, through which we analyzed the measurement accuracy of the spectral sensitivity parameter at three different and complementary frequencies, in this work we examine such accuracy for a particularly critical atmospheric status as simulated through the pressure, temperature and water vapor profiles measured by a high resolution radiosonde. We confirm the validity of an approximate expression of the accuracy and discuss the problems that may arise when tropospheric water vapor concentration is lower than expected.

Three-dimensional vapor intrusion modeling approach that combines wind and stack effects on indoor, atmospheric, and subsurface domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Shirazi, Elham; Pennell, Kelly G

2017-12-13

Vapor intrusion (IV) exposure risks are difficult to characterize due to the role of atmospheric, building and subsurface processes. This study presents a three-dimensional VI model that extends the common subsurface fate and transport equations to incorporate wind and stack effects on indoor air pressure, building air exchange rate (AER) and indoor contaminant concentration to improve VI exposure risk estimates. The model incorporates three modeling programs: (1) COMSOL Multiphysics to model subsurface fate and transport processes, (2) CFD0 to model atmospheric air flow around the building, and (3) CONTAM to model indoor air quality. The combined VI model predicts AER values, zonal indoor air pressures and zonal indoor air contaminant concentrations as a function of wind speed, wind direction and outdoor and indoor temperature. Steady state modeling results for a single-story building with a basement demonstrate that wind speed, wind direction and opening locations in a building play important roles in changing the AER, indoor air pressure, and indoor air contaminant concentration. Calculated indoor air pressures ranged from approximately -10 Pa to +4 Pa depending on weather conditions and building characteristics. AER values, mass entry rates and indoor air concentrations vary depending on weather conditions and building characteristics. The presented modeling approach can be used to investigate the relationship between building features, AER, building pressures, soil gas concentrations, indoor air concentrations and VI exposure risks.

Water vapor profiling using microwave radiometry

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J. R.; Wilheit, T. T.

1988-01-01

Water vapor is one of the most important constituents in the Earth's atmosphere. Its spatial and temporal variations affect a wide spectrum of meteorological phenomena ranging from the formation of clouds to the development of severe storms. The passive microwave technique offers an excellent means for water vapor measurements. It can provide both day and night coverage under most cloud conditions. Two water vapor absorption features, at 22 and 183 GHz, were explored in the past years. The line strengths of these features differ by nearly two orders of magnitude. As a consequence, the techniques and the final products of water vapor measurements are also quite different. The research effort in the past few years was to improve and extend the retrieval algorithm to the measurements of water vapor profiles under cloudy conditions. In addition, the retrieval of total precipitable water using 183 GHz measurements, but in a manner analogous to the use of 22 GHz measurements, to increase measurement sensitivity for atmospheres of very low moisture content was also explored.

Reliability and degradation of oxide VCSELs due to reaction to atmospheric water vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Dafinca, Alexandru; Weidberg, Anthony R.; McMahon, Steven J.; Grillo, Alexander A.; Farthouat, Philippe; Ziolkowski, Michael; Herrick, Robert W.

2013-03-01

850nm oxide-aperture VCSELs are susceptible to premature failure if operated while exposed to atmospheric water vapor, and not protected by hermetic packaging. The ATLAS detector in CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has had approximately 6000 channels of Parallel Optic VCSELs fielded under well-documented ambient conditions. Exact time-to-failure data has been collected on this large sample, providing for the first time actual failure data at use conditions. In addition, the same VCSELs were tested under a variety of accelerated conditions to allow us to construct a more accurate acceleration model. Failure analysis information will also be presented to show what we believe causes corrosion-related failure for such VCSELs.

46 CFR 182.480 - Flammable vapor detection systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 100 GROSS TONS) MACHINERY INSTALLATION Specific Machinery Requirements § 182.480 Flammable vapor... permit calibration in a vapor free atmosphere. (g) Electrical connections, wiring, and components for a...

Governing atmospheric sinks: the architecture of entitlements in the global commons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jouni Paavola

2008-07-01

Full Text Available This article revisits key works on the management of common-pool resources under common property arrangements, in order to elicit a broader notion of collective ownership for analysing institutional arrangements that govern the use of large-scale environmental resources such as biodiversity and atmospheric sinks. The article proposes a model for analysing the institutional design of governance solutions which draws attention to 1 tiers and levels, 2 organisation of generic governance functions, and 3 formulation of specific institutional rules. The article exemplifies these analytical solutions by examining the emerging governance framework for global atmospheric sinks. The article indicates how crucial parts of the institutional framework for governing atmospheric sinks are still missing, a shortcoming which maintains the ‘‘tragedy of the commons’’ in their use. The article suggests that a workable governance solution for global atmospheric sinks has to 1 cap the use of atmospheric sinks; 2 provide for a more equitable benefit sharing; 3 provide for compensation of climate change impacts and assistance for adaptation to climate change impacts; and 4 create institutional solutions for enhancing participation in environmental decisions in order to guarantee progress in and legitimacy of the governance framework.

Water Vapor Remote Sensing Techniques: Radiometry and Solar Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Somieski, A.; Buerki, B.; Cocard, M.; Geiger, A.; Kahle, H.-G.

The high variability of atmospheric water vapor content plays an important role in space geodesy, climatology and meteorology. Water vapor has a strong influence on transatmospheric satellite signals, the Earth's climate and thus the weather forecasting. Several remote sensing techniques have been developed for the determination of inte- grated precipitable water vapor (IPWV). The Geodesy and Geodynamics Lab (GGL) utilizes the methods of Water Vapor Radiometry and Solar Spectrometry to quantify the amount of tropospheric water vapor and its temporal variations. The Water Vapor Radiometer (WVR) measures the radiation intensity of the atmosphere in a frequency band ranging from 20 to 32 GHz. The Solar Atmospheric MOnitoring Spectrome- ter (SAMOS) of GGL is designed for high-resolution measurements of water vapor absorption lines using solar radiation. In the framework of the ESCOMPTE (ExpÊrience sur Site pour COntraindre les Mod- Éles de Pollution atmosphÊrique et de Transport d'Emissions) field campaign these instruments have been operated near Marseille in 2001. They have aquired a long time series of integrated precipitable water vapor content (IPWV). The accuracy of IPWV measured by WVR and SAMOS is 1 kg/m2. Furthermore meteorological data from radiosondes were used to calculate the IPWV in order to provide comparisons with the results of WVR and SAMOS. The methods of Water Vapor Radiometry and So- lar Spectrometry will be discussed and first preliminary results retrieved from WVR, SAMOS and radiosondes during the ESCOMPTE field campaign will be presented.

Techniques for the generation and monitoring of vapors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, G.O.

1981-01-01

Controlled test atmospheres can be produced using a variety of techniques. Gases are usually generated by using flow dilution methods while vapors are produced by using solvent injection and vaporization, saturation, permeation and diffusion techniques. The resulting gas mixtures can be monitored and measured using flame ionization, photoionization, electrochemical and infrared analytical systems. An ideal system for the production of controlled test atmospheres would not only be able to generate controlled test atmospheres, but also monitor all pertinent environmental parameters, such as temperature, humidity, and air flow

Ground-Based Global Positioning System (GPS) Meteorology Integrated Precipitable Water Vapor (IPW)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Ground-Based Global Positioning System (GPS) Meteorology Integrated Precipitable Water Vapor (IPW) data set measures atmospheric water vapor using ground-based...

Accurate Laser Measurements of the Water Vapor Self-Continuum Absorption in Four Near Infrared Atmospheric Windows. a Test of the MT_CKD Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Campargue, Alain; Kassi, Samir; Mondelain, Didier; Romanini, Daniele; Lechevallier, Loïc; Vasilchenko, Semyon

2017-06-01

The semi empirical MT_CKD model of the absorption continuum of water vapor is widely used in atmospheric radiative transfer codes of the atmosphere of Earth and exoplanets but lacks of experimental validation in the atmospheric windows. Recent laboratory measurements by Fourier transform Spectroscopy have led to self-continuum cross-sections much larger than the MT_CKD values in the near infrared transparency windows. In the present work, we report on accurate water vapor absorption continuum measurements by Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) and Optical-Feedback-Cavity Enhanced Laser Spectroscopy (OF-CEAS) at selected spectral points of the transparency windows centered around 4.0, 2.1 and 1.25 μm. The temperature dependence of the absorption continuum at 4.38 μm and 3.32 μm is measured in the 23-39 °C range. The self-continuum water vapor absorption is derived either from the baseline variation of spectra recorded for a series of pressure values over a small spectral interval or from baseline monitoring at fixed laser frequency, during pressure ramps. In order to avoid possible bias approaching the water saturation pressure, the maximum pressure value was limited to about 16 Torr, corresponding to a 75% humidity rate. After subtraction of the local water monomer lines contribution, self-continuum cross-sections, C_{S}, were determined with a few % accuracy from the pressure squared dependence of the spectra base line level. Together with our previous CRDS and OF-CEAS measurements in the 2.1 and 1.6 μm windows, the derived water vapor self-continuum provides a unique set of water vapor self-continuum cross-sections for a test of the MT_CKD model in four transparency windows. Although showing some important deviations of the absolute values (up to a factor of 4 at the center of the 2.1 μm window), our accurate measurements validate the overall frequency dependence of the MT_CKD2.8 model.

Low temperature measurement of the vapor pressures of planetary molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, George F.

1989-01-01

Interpretation of planetary observations and proper modeling of planetary atmospheres are critically upon accurate laboratory data for the chemical and physical properties of the constitutes of the atmospheres. It is important that these data are taken over the appropriate range of parameters such as temperature, pressure, and composition. Availability of accurate, laboratory data for vapor pressures and equilibrium constants of condensed species at low temperatures is essential for photochemical and cloud models of the atmospheres of the outer planets. In the absence of such data, modelers have no choice but to assume values based on an educated guess. In those cases where higher temperature data are available, a standard procedure is to extrapolate these points to the lower temperatures using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. Last summer the vapor pressures of acetylene (C2H2) hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and cyanoacetylene (HC3N) was measured using two different methods. At the higher temperatures 1 torr and 10 torr capacitance manometers were used. To measure very low pressures, a technique was used which is based on the infrared absorption of thin film (TFIR). This summer the vapor pressure of acetylene was measured the TFIR method. The vapor pressure of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) was measured using capacitance manometers. Results for H2O agree with literature data over the common range of temperature. At the lower temperatures the data lie slightly below the values predicted by extrapolation of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. Thin film infrared (TFIR) data for acetylene lie significantly below the values predicted by extrapolation. It is hoped to bridge the gap between the low end of the CM data and the upper end of the TFIR data in the future using a new spinning rotor gauge.

The vertical distribution of Mars water vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, D. W.

1979-01-01

Analysis of observations made from the Viking 1 Orbiter indicates that the water vapor over the Viking 1 landing site is uniformly mixed with the atmosphere and not concentrated near the surface. The analysis incorporates the effects of atmospheric scattering and explains why previous earth-based observations showed a strong diurnal variation in water content. It also explains the lack of an early morning fog and removes the necessity of daily exchange of large amounts of water between the surface and the atmosphere. A water vapor volume mixing ratio of 1.5 x 10 to the -4th is inferred for the Viking 1 site in late summer.

Using JPSS Retrievals to Implement a Multisensor, Synoptic, Layered Water Vapor Product for Forecasters

Science.gov (United States)

Forsythe, J. M.; Jones, A. S.; Kidder, S. Q.; Fuell, K.; LeRoy, A.; Bikos, D.; Szoke, E.

2015-12-01

Forecasters have been using the NOAA operational blended total precipitable water (TPW) product, developed by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), since 2009. Blended TPW has a wide variety of uses related to heavy precipitation and flooding, such as measuring the amount of moisture in an atmospheric river originating in the tropics. But blended TPW conveys no information on the vertical distribution of moisture, which is relevant to a variety of forecast concerns. Vertical profile information is particularly lacking over the oceans for landfalling storms. A blended six-satellite, four-layer, layered water vapor product demonstrated by CIRA and the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT) in allows forecasters to see the vertical distribution of water vapor in near real-time. National Weather Service (NWS) forecaster feedback indicated that this new, vertically-resolved view of water vapor has a substantial impact on forecasts. This product uses NOAA investments in polar orbiting satellite sounding retrievals from passive microwave radiances, in particular, the Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MIRS). The product currently utilizes data from the NOAA-18 and -19 spacecraft, Metop-A and -B, and the Defense Meteorological Program (DMSP) F18 spacecraft. The sounding instruments onboard the Suomi-NPP and JPSS spacecraft will be cornerstone instruments in the future evolution of this product. Applications of the product to heavy rain cases will be presented and compared to commonly used data such as radiosondes and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) water vapor channel imagery. Research is currently beginning to implement advective blending, where model winds are used to move the water vapor profiles to a common time. Interactions with the NOAA Satellite Analysis Branch (SAB), National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) centers including the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) and Weather

ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index for water vapor transport: A forecast tool for atmospheric rivers and extreme precipitation

Science.gov (United States)

Lavers, David A.; Pappenberger, Florian; Richardson, David S.; Zsoter, Ervin

2016-11-01

In winter, heavy precipitation and floods along the west coasts of midlatitude continents are largely caused by intense water vapor transport (integrated vapor transport (IVT)) within the atmospheric river of extratropical cyclones. This study builds on previous findings that showed that forecasts of IVT have higher predictability than precipitation, by applying and evaluating the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Extreme Forecast Index (EFI) for IVT in ensemble forecasts during three winters across Europe. We show that the IVT EFI is more able (than the precipitation EFI) to capture extreme precipitation in forecast week 2 during forecasts initialized in a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phase; conversely, the precipitation EFI is better during the negative NAO phase and at shorter leads. An IVT EFI example for storm Desmond in December 2015 highlights its potential to identify upcoming hydrometeorological extremes, which may prove useful to the user and forecasting communities.

Morphology and properties of silica/novolac hybrid xerogels synthesized using sol–gel polymerization at solvent vapor-saturated atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seraji, Mohamad Mehdi; Seifi, Azadeh; Bahramian, Ahmad Reza

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Sol–gel polymerization in vapor of solvent saturated atmosphere is developed. • Highly porous novolac–silica hybrid xerogels are successfully synthesized. • Novolac–silica hybrid gel was dried in ambient condition with low shrinkage. • Required time for preparation of gel reduced from 5 days to about 5 h. • By incorporation of silica into the novolac xerogel structure, the pore size decreases. - Abstract: Highly porous novolac–silica hybrid xerogels were successfully synthesized via the novel method of sol–gel polymerization in solvent vapor-saturated atmosphere. This method removes the need for supercritical drying and yields the hybrid xerogels with reduced shrinkage in comparison with conventional sol–gel process. Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) was used as the precursor of silica-based inorganic phase. The chemical and structural characterization of the prepared hybrid xerogels were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, respectively. Thermal and mechanical properties of the hybrid samples were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and compressive strength analysis. The resultant hybrid xerogels show a nanostructured colloidal hybrid network with high porosity (above 80%) and low density (below 0.25 g cm −3 ). Si mapping images shows the good distribution of silica phase throughout the hybrid structure

Layered Black Phosphorus as a Selective Vapor Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayorga-Martinez, Carmen C; Sofer, Zdeněk; Pumera, Martin

2015-11-23

Black phosphorus is a layered material that is sensitive to the surrounding atmosphere. This is generally considered as a disadvantage, especially when compared to more stable layered compounds, such as graphite or MoS2. This sensitivity is now turned into an advantage. A vapor sensor that is based on layered black phosphorus and uses electrochemical impedance spectroscopy as the detection method is presented; the device selectively detects methanol vapor. The impedance phase measured at a constant frequency is used as a distinctive parameter for the selective quantification of methanol, and increases with the methanol concentration. The low detection limit of 28 ppm is well below the approved exposure limit of 200 ppm. The results are highly reproducible, and the vapor sensor is shown to be very selective in the presence of other vapors and to have long-term stability. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Atmospheric Pressure Spray Chemical Vapor Deposited CuInS2 Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, J. D.; Raffaelle, R. P.; Banger, K. K.; Smith, M. A.; Scheiman, D. A.; Hepp, A. F.

2002-01-01

Solar cells have been prepared using atmospheric pressure spray chemical vapor deposited CuInS2 absorbers. The CuInS2 films were deposited at 390 C using the single source precursor (PPh3)2CuIn(SEt)4 in an argon atmosphere. The absorber ranges in thickness from 0.75 - 1.0 micrometers, and exhibits a crystallographic gradient, with the leading edge having a (220) preferred orientation and the trailing edge having a (112) orientation. Schottky diodes prepared by thermal evaporation of aluminum contacts on to the CuInS2 yielded diodes for films that were annealed at 600 C. Solar cells were prepared using annealed films and had the (top down) composition of Al/ZnO/CdS/CuInS2/Mo/Glass. The Jsc, Voc, FF and (eta) were 6.46 mA per square centimeter, 307 mV, 24% and 0.35%, respectively for the best small area cells under simulated AM0 illumination.

Reactions of atmospheric vapors with lunar soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuller, E.L. Jr.; Agron, P.A.

1976-03-01

Detailed experimental data have been acquired for the hydration of the surfaces of lunar fines. Inert vapor adsorption has been employed to measure the surface properties (surface energy, surface area, porosity, etc.) and changes wrought in the hydration-dehydration processes. Plausible mechanisms have been considered and the predominant process involves hydration of the metamict metallosilicate surfaces to form a hydrated laminar structure akin to terrestrial clays. Additional credence for this interpretation is obtained by comparison to existing geochemical literature concerning terrestrial weathering of primary metallosilicates. The surface properties of the hydrated lunar fines are compared favorably to those of terrestrial clay minerals. In addition, experimental results are given to show that fresh disordered surfaces of volcanic sand react with water vapor in a manner virtually identical to the majority of the lunar fines. The results show that ion track etching and/or grain boundary attack are minor contributions in the weathering of lunar fines in the realm of our microgravimetric experimental conditions. 14 references

Evolution of the Water Vapor Plume over Eastern Europe during Summer 2010 Atmospheric Blocking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergei A. Sitnov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We present an analysis of water vapor (WV plume evolution over Eastern Europe (EE during atmospheric blocking in the summer of 2010, carried out on the basis of satellite (MODIS and MLS instruments, aerological, and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. The obtained results show that the development of blocking was accompanied by the development of a positive anomaly of total column water vapor (TCWV content over the northern part of EE. Local TCWV content from 28 July to 6 August 2010 reached 3.35 cm, a value that exceeded by 3.3 times its content before the block. The surplus of WV was mainly conditioned by the advection of WV due to transfer of moist air from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea into northern EE and also due to increased evaporation from the surface enriched with water due to increased temperature and wind. We hypothesize that the influx of latent heat in the block area can contribute to the energy supply of the blocking anticyclone and prolong the existence of block. Strong humidification of the troposphere and some dehumidification of the lower stratosphere during the block were accompanied by warming of the troposphere and cooling of the lower stratosphere.

Spectral model for clear sky atmospheric longwave radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Mengying; Liao, Zhouyi; Coimbra, Carlos F. M.

2018-04-01

An efficient spectrally resolved radiative model is used to calculate surface downwelling longwave (DLW) radiation (0 ∼ 2500 cm-1) under clear sky (cloud free) conditions at the ground level. The wavenumber spectral resolution of the model is 0.01 cm-1 and the atmosphere is represented by 18 non-uniform plane-parallel layers with pressure in each layer determined on a pressure-based coordinate system. The model utilizes the most up-to-date (2016) HITRAN molecular spectral data for 7 atmospheric gases: H2O, CO2, O3, CH4, N2O, O2 and N2. The MT_CKD model is used to calculate water vapor and CO2 continuum absorption coefficients. Longwave absorption and scattering coefficients for aerosols are modeled using Mie theory. For the non-scattering atmosphere (aerosol free), the surface DLW agrees within 2.91% with mean values from the InterComparison of Radiation Codes in Climate Models (ICRCCM) program, with spectral deviations below 0.035 W cm m-2. For a scattering atmosphere with typical aerosol loading, the DLW calculated by the proposed model agrees within 3.08% relative error when compared to measured values at 7 climatologically diverse SURFRAD stations. This relative error is smaller than a calibrated parametric model regressed from data for those same 7 stations, and within the uncertainty (+/- 5 W m-2) of pyrgeometers commonly used for meteorological and climatological applications. The DLW increases by 1.86 ∼ 6.57 W m-2 when compared with aerosol-free conditions, and this increment decreases with increased water vapor content due to overlap with water vapor bands. As expected, the water vapor content at the layers closest to the surface contributes the most to the surface DLW, especially in the spectral region 0 ∼ 700 cm-1. Additional water vapor content (mostly from the lowest 1 km of the atmosphere) contributes to the spectral range of 400 ∼ 650 cm-1. Low altitude aerosols ( ∼ 3.46 km or less) contribute to the surface value of DLW mostly in the

A systematic study of atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition growth of large-area monolayer graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lixin; Zhou, Hailong; Cheng, Rui; Chen, Yu; Lin, Yung-Chen; Qu, Yongquan; Bai, Jingwei; Ivanov, Ivan A; Liu, Gang; Huang, Yu; Duan, Xiangfeng

2012-01-28

Graphene has attracted considerable interest as a potential material for future electronics. Although mechanical peel is known to produce high quality graphene flakes, practical applications require continuous graphene layers over a large area. The catalyst-assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a promising synthetic method to deliver wafer-sized graphene. Here we present a systematic study on the nucleation and growth of crystallized graphene domains in an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) process. Parametric studies show that the mean size of the graphene domains increases with increasing growth temperature and CH 4 partial pressure, while the density of domains decreases with increasing growth temperature and is independent of the CH 4 partial pressure. Our studies show that nucleation of graphene domains on copper substrate is highly dependent on the initial annealing temperature. A two-step synthetic process with higher initial annealing temperature but lower growth temperature is developed to reduce domain density and achieve high quality full-surface coverage of monolayer graphene films. Electrical transport measurements demonstrate that the resulting graphene exhibits a high carrier mobility of up to 3000 cm 2 V -1 s -1 at room temperature.

Energy saving in crude oil atmospheric distillation columns by modifying the vapor feed inlet tray

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arjmand, M. [Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Graduate School of Chemical Engineering, Stockholm (Sweden); Moreno, L.; Liu, L. [Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Stockholm (Sweden)

2011-08-15

Optimization of a typical crude oil atmospheric distillation unit and reduction of energy conservation were carried out through modifying the implementation and change in the flash zone of the tower. A conventional procedure in such units involves the combination of liquid and vapor product of the prefractionation train surge drum upon introduction to the tower. However, it is theoretically illustrated and represented by simulation means that introducing the vapor feed into the upper stages of the distillation column separately can lead to an energy saving of 12.6 % in the condenser duty, an increased liquid-to-gas flow (L/G) at certain points of the column, and hence to a reduction in diameter and investment costs of new tower designs of approximately US$ 0.7 million a{sup -1}. The proposal can be put into practice without the need of additional equipments or additional cost of difficult rerouting the streams. An industrial case study of a steady-state crude oil distillation unit is given by simulation provision of AspenHysys trademark. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Detection of water vapor on Jupiter

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, H. P.; Fink, U.; Treffers, R.; Gautier, T. N., III

1975-01-01

High-altitude (12.4 km) spectroscopic observations of Jupiter at 5 microns from the NASA 91.5 cm airborne infrared telescope have revealed 14 absorptions assigned to the rotation-vibration spectrum of water vapor. Preliminary analysis indicates a mixing ratio about 1 millionth for the vapor phase of water. Estimates of temperature (greater than about 300 K) and pressure (less than 20 atm) suggest observation of water deep in Jupiter's hot spots responsible for its 5 micron flux. Model-atmosphere calculations based on radiative-transfer theory may change these initial estimates and provide a better physical picture of Jupiter's atmosphere below the visible cloud tops.

Evaluation of Vapor Pressure Estimation Methods for Use in Simulating the Dynamic of Atmospheric Organic Aerosols

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. J. Komkoua Mbienda

2013-01-01

Lee and Kesler (LK, and Ambrose-Walton (AW methods for estimating vapor pressures ( are tested against experimental data for a set of volatile organic compounds (VOC. required to determine gas-particle partitioning of such organic compounds is used as a parameter for simulating the dynamic of atmospheric aerosols. Here, we use the structure-property relationships of VOC to estimate . The accuracy of each of the aforementioned methods is also assessed for each class of compounds (hydrocarbons, monofunctionalized, difunctionalized, and tri- and more functionalized volatile organic species. It is found that the best method for each VOC depends on its functionality.

Diamond synthesis at atmospheric pressure by microwave capillary plasma chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hemawan, Kadek W.; Gou, Huiyang; Hemley, Russell J. [Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Rd., NW, Washington, DC 20015 (United States)

2015-11-02

Polycrystalline diamond has been synthesized on silicon substrates at atmospheric pressure, using a microwave capillary plasma chemical vapor deposition technique. The CH{sub 4}/Ar plasma was generated inside of quartz capillary tubes using 2.45 GHz microwave excitation without adding H{sub 2} into the deposition gas chemistry. Electronically excited species of CN, C{sub 2}, Ar, N{sub 2}, CH, H{sub β}, and H{sub α} were observed in the emission spectra. Raman measurements of deposited material indicate the formation of well-crystallized diamond, as evidenced by the sharp T{sub 2g} phonon at 1333 cm{sup −1} peak relative to the Raman features of graphitic carbon. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images reveal that, depending on the growth conditions, the carbon microstructures of grown films exhibit “coral” and “cauliflower-like” morphologies or well-facetted diamond crystals with grain sizes ranging from 100 nm to 10 μm.

Correction Technique for Raman Water Vapor Lidar Signal-Dependent Bias and Suitability for Water Wapor Trend Monitoring in the Upper Troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Whiteman, D. N.; Cadirola, M.; Venable, D.; Calhoun, M.; Miloshevich, L; Vermeesch, K.; Twigg, L.; Dirisu, A.; Hurst, D.; Hall, E.;

Airborne Lidar for Simultaneous Measurement of Column CO2 and Water Vapor in the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Upendra N.; Petros, Mulugeta; Refaat, Tamer F.; Antill, Charles W.; Remus, Ruben; Yu, Jirong

2016-01-01

The 2-micron wavelength region is suitable for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements due to the existence of distinct absorption feathers for the gas at this particular wavelength. For more than 20 years, researchers at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) have developed several high-energy and high repetition rate 2-micron pulsed lasers. This paper will provide status and details of an airborne 2-micron triple-pulse integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar. The development of this active optical remote sensing IPDA instrument is targeted for measuring both CO2 and water vapor (H2O) in the atmosphere from an airborne platform. This presentation will focus on the advancement of the 2-micron triple-pulse IPDA lidar development. Updates on the state-of-the-art triple-pulse laser transmitter will be presented including the status of seed laser locking, wavelength control, receiver telescope, detection system and data acquisition. Future plans for the IPDA lidar system for ground integration, testing and flight validation will also be presented.

A reference data set for validating vapor pressure measurement techniques: homologous series of polyethylene glycols

Science.gov (United States)

Krieger, Ulrich K.; Siegrist, Franziska; Marcolli, Claudia; Emanuelsson, Eva U.; Gøbel, Freya M.; Bilde, Merete; Marsh, Aleksandra; Reid, Jonathan P.; Huisman, Andrew J.; Riipinen, Ilona; Hyttinen, Noora; Myllys, Nanna; Kurtén, Theo; Bannan, Thomas; Percival, Carl J.; Topping, David

2018-01-01

To predict atmospheric partitioning of organic compounds between gas and aerosol particle phase based on explicit models for gas phase chemistry, saturation vapor pressures of the compounds need to be estimated. Estimation methods based on functional group contributions require training sets of compounds with well-established saturation vapor pressures. However, vapor pressures of semivolatile and low-volatility organic molecules at atmospheric temperatures reported in the literature often differ by several orders of magnitude between measurement techniques. These discrepancies exceed the stated uncertainty of each technique which is generally reported to be smaller than a factor of 2. At present, there is no general reference technique for measuring saturation vapor pressures of atmospherically relevant compounds with low vapor pressures at atmospheric temperatures. To address this problem, we measured vapor pressures with different techniques over a wide temperature range for intercomparison and to establish a reliable training set. We determined saturation vapor pressures for the homologous series of polyethylene glycols (H - (O - CH2 - CH2)n - OH) for n = 3 to n = 8 ranging in vapor pressure at 298 K from 10-7 to 5×10-2 Pa and compare them with quantum chemistry calculations. Such a homologous series provides a reference set that covers several orders of magnitude in saturation vapor pressure, allowing a critical assessment of the lower limits of detection of vapor pressures for the different techniques as well as permitting the identification of potential sources of systematic error. Also, internal consistency within the series allows outlying data to be rejected more easily. Most of the measured vapor pressures agreed within the stated uncertainty range. Deviations mostly occurred for vapor pressure values approaching the lower detection limit of a technique. The good agreement between the measurement techniques (some of which are sensitive to the mass

Assessment of water vapor content from MIVIS TIR data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Tramutoli

2006-06-01

Full Text Available The main objective of land remotely sensed images is to derive biological, chemical and physical parameters by inverting sample sets of spectral data. For the above aim hyperspectral scanners on airborne platform are a powerful remote sensing instrument for both research and environmental applications because of their spectral resolution and the high operability of the platform. Fine spectral information by MIVIS (airborne hyperspectral scanner operating in 102 channels ranging from VIS to TIR allows researchers to characterize atmospheric parameters and their effects on measured data which produce undesirable features on surface spectral signatures. These effects can be estimated (and remotely sensed radiances corrected if atmospheric spectral transmittance is known at each image pixel. Usually ground-based punctual observations (atmospheric sounding balloons, sun photometers, etc. are used to estimate the main physical parameters (like water vapor and temperature profiles which permit us to estimate atmospheric spectral transmittance by using suitable radiative transfer model and a specific (often too strong assumption which enable atmospheric properties measured only in very few points to be extended to the whole image. Several atmospheric gases produce observable absorption features, but only water vapor strongly varies in time and space. In this work the authors customize a self-sufficient «split-window technique» to derive (at each image pixel atmospheric total columnar water vapor content (TWVC using only MIVIS data collected by the fourth MIVIS spectrometer (Thermal Infrared band. MIVIS radiances have been simulated by means of MODTRAN4 radiative transfer code and the coefficients of linear regression to estimate TWVC from «split-windows» MIVIS radiances, based on 450 atmospheric water vapor profiles obtained by radiosonde data provided by NOAANESDIS. The method has been applied to produce maps describing the spatial variability of

Oxygen source-oriented control of atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition of VO2 for capacitive applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitra Vernardou

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Vanadium dioxides of different crystalline orientation planes have successfully been fabricated by chemical vapor deposition at atmospheric pressure using propanol, ethanol and O2 gas as oxygen sources. The thick a-axis textured monoclinic vanadium dioxide obtained through propanol presented the best electrochemical response in terms of the highest specific discharge capacity of 459 mAh g-1 with a capacitance retention of 97 % after 1000 scans under constant specific current of 2 A g-1. Finally, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy indicated that the charge transfer of Li+ through the vanadium dioxide / electrolyte interface was easier for this sample enhancing significantly its capacitance performance.

Cumulus convection and the terrestrial water-vapor distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Donner, Leo J.

1988-01-01

Cumulus convection plays a significant role in determining the structure of the terrestrial water vapor field. Cumulus convection acts directly on the moisture field by condensing and precipitating water vapor and by redistributing water vapor through cumulus induced eddy circulations. The mechanisms by which cumulus convection influences the terrestrial water vapor distribution is outlined. Calculations using a theory due to Kuo is used to illustrate the mechanisms by which cumulus convection works. Understanding of these processes greatly aids the ability of researchers to interpret the seasonal and spatial distribution of atmospheric water vapor by providing information on the nature of sources and sinks and the global circulation.

Airborne differential absorption lidar system for water vapor investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Browell, E. V.; Carter, A. F.; Wilkerson, T. D.

1981-01-01

Range-resolved water vapor measurements using the differential-absorption lidar (DIAL) technique is described in detail. The system uses two independently tunable optically pumped lasers operating in the near infrared with laser pulses of less than 100 microseconds separation, to minimize concentration errors caused by atmospheric scattering. Water vapor concentration profiles are calculated for each measurement by a minicomputer, in real time. The work is needed in the study of atmospheric motion and thermodynamics as well as in forestry and agriculture problems.

Monolithic microwave integrated circuit water vapor radiometer

Science.gov (United States)

Sukamto, L. M.; Cooley, T. W.; Janssen, M. A.; Parks, G. S.

1991-01-01

A proof of concept Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) Water Vapor Radiometer (WVR) is under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). WVR's are used to remotely sense water vapor and cloud liquid water in the atmosphere and are valuable for meteorological applications as well as for determination of signal path delays due to water vapor in the atmosphere. The high cost and large size of existing WVR instruments motivate the development of miniature MMIC WVR's, which have great potential for low cost mass production. The miniaturization of WVR components allows large scale deployment of WVR's for Earth environment and meteorological applications. Small WVR's can also result in improved thermal stability, resulting in improved calibration stability. Described here is the design and fabrication of a 31.4 GHz MMIC radiometer as one channel of a thermally stable WVR as a means of assessing MMIC technology feasibility.

大气水汽同位素组成的短期变异特征%Short-term variations of vapor isotope ratios reveal the influence of atmospheric processes

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张世春; 孙晓敏; 王建林; 于贵瑞; 温学发

2011-01-01

Stable isotopes of atmospheric water vapor reveal rich information on water movement and phase changes in the atmosphere. Here we presented two nearly continuous time-series of δD and δ18O of atmospheric water vapor (δv) measured at hourly intervals in surface air in Beijing and above a winter wheat canopy in Shijiazhuang using in-situ measurement technique. During the precipitation events, the δv values in both Beijing and Shijiazhuang were in the state of equilibrium with precipitation water, revealing the influence of precipitation processes. However, the δv departures from the equilibrium state were positively correlated with local relative humidity. Note that the δv tended to enrich in Beijing, but deplete in Shijiazhuang during the precipitation events, which mainly resulted from the influence of transpiration processes that enriched the δv in Shijiazhuang. On seasonal time-scale, the δvvalues were log-linear functions of water vapor mixing ratios in both Beijing and Shijiazhuang. The water vapor mixing ratio was an excellent predictor of the δv by the Rayleigh distillation mechanisms, indicating that air mass advection could also play an important role in determining the δv. On a diurnal time-scale, the δv reached the minimum in the early afternoon hours in Beijing which was closely related to the atmospheric processes of boundary layer entrainment. During the peak of growing season of winter wheat, however, the δv reached the minimum in the early morning, and increased gradually through the daytime, and reached the maximum in the late afternoon, which was responsible by the interaction between boundary layer entrainment and the local atmospheric processes, such as transpiration and dew formation. This study has the implications for the important role of vegetation in determining the surface δv and highlights the need to conduct δv measurement on short-term (e.g. diurnal) time scales.

Airborne differential absorption lidar system for measurements of atmospheric water vapor and aerosols

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Arlen F.; Allen, Robert J.; Mayo, M. Neale; Butler, Carolyn F.; Grossman, Benoist E.; Ismail, Syed; Grant, William B.; Browell, Edward V.; Higdon, Noah S.; Mayor, Shane D.;

Trends of total water vapor column above the Arctic from satellites observations

Science.gov (United States)

Alraddawi, Dunya; Sarkissian, Alain; Keckhut, Philippe; Bock, Olivier; Claud, Chantal; Irbah, Abdenour

2016-04-01

Atmospheric water vapor (H2O) is the most important natural (as opposed to man-made) greenhouse gas, accounting for about two-thirds of the natural greenhouse effect. Despite this importance, its role in climate and its reaction to climate change are still difficult to assess. Many details of the hydrological cycle are poorly understood, such as the process of cloud formation and the transport and release of latent heat contained in the water vapor. In contrast to other important greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, water vapor has a much higher temporal and spatial variability. Total precipitable water (TPW) or the total column of water vapor (TCWV) is the amount of liquid water that would result if all the water vapor in the atmospheric column of unit area were condensed. TCWV distribution contains valuable information on the vigor of the hydrological processes and moisture transport in the atmosphere. Measurement of TPW can be obtained based on atmospheric water vapor absorption or emission of radiation in the spectral range from UV to MW. TRENDS were found over the terrestrial Arctic by means of TCWV retrievals (using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) near-infrared (2001-2015) records). More detailed approach was made for comparisons with ground based instruments over Sodankyla - Finland (TCWV from: SCIAMACHY 2003-2011, GOME-2A 2007-2011, SAOZ 2003-2011, GPS 2003-2011, MODIS 2003-2011)

Vaporization of elemental mercury from pools of molten lead at low concentrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greene, G.A.; Finfrock, C.C.

2000-01-01

Should coolant accidentally be lost to the APT (Accelerator Production of Tritium) blanket and target, and the decay heat in the target be deposited in the surrounding blanket by thermal radiation, temperatures in the blanket modules could exceed structural limits and cause a physical collapse of the blanket modules into a non-coolable geometry. Such a sequence of unmitigated events could result in some melting of the APT blanket and create the potential for the release of mercury into the target-blanket cavity air space. Experiments were conducted which simulate such hypothetical accident conditions in order to measure the rate of vaporization of elemental mercury from pools of molten lead to quantify the possible severe accident source term for the APT blanket region. Molten pools of from 0.01% to 0.10% mercury in lead were prepared under inert conditions. Experiments were conducted, which varied in duration from several hours to as long as a month, to measure the mercury vaporization from the lead pools. The melt pools and gas atmospheres were held fixed at 340 C during the tests. Parameters which were varied in the tests included the mercury concentration, gas flow rate over the melt and agitation of the melt, gas atmosphere composition and the addition of aluminum to the melt. The vaporization of mercury was found to scale roughly linearly with the concentration of mercury in the pool. Variations in the gas flow rates were not found to have any effect on the mass transfer, however agitation of the melt by a submerged stirrer did enhance the mercury vaporization rate. The rate of mercury vaporization with an argon (inert) atmosphere was found to exceed that for an air (oxidizing) atmosphere by as much as a factor of from ten to 20; the causal factor in this variation was the formation of an oxide layer over the melt pool with the air atmosphere which served to retard mass transfer across the melt-atmosphere interface. Aluminum was introduced into the melt to

Microspectroscopic imaging of solution plasma: How do its physical properties and chemical species evolve in atmospheric-pressure water vapor bubbles?

Science.gov (United States)

Yui, Hiroharu; Banno, Motohiro

2018-01-01

In this article, we review the development of scientific instruments for obtaining information on the evolution of physical properties and chemical species of solution plasma (SP). When a pulsed high voltage is applied between electrodes immersed in an aqueous solution, SP is formed in water vapor bubbles transiently generated in the solution under atmospheric pressure. To clarify how SP emerges in water vapor bubbles and is sustained in solutions, an instrument with micrometer spatial resolution and nanosecond temporal resolution is required. To meet these requirements, a microscopic system with a custom-made optical discharge cell was newly developed, where the working distance between the SP and the microscopic objective lens was minimized. A hollow electrode equipped in the discharge cell also enabled us to control the chemical composition in water vapor bubbles. To study the spatial and temporal evolutions of chemical species in micrometer and nano- to microsecond regions, a streak camera with a spectrometer and a CCD detector with a time-gated electronic device were combined with the microscope system. The developed instrument is expected to contribute to providing a new means of developing new schemes for chemical reactions and material syntheses.

Water Vapor in the Middle Atmosphere of Venus from the Data of the Venera-15 IR Fourier Spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Ignat'ev, N. I.; Moroz, V. I.; Zasova, L. V.; Khatuntsev, I. V.

In 1983, the Fourier spectrometer experiment onboard Venera-15 returned spectra of IR radiation (6-50 micron) of the Venusian atmosphere which contained information about temperature, aerosols, and minor constituents, including water vapor. The currently available techniques of radiation-transfer modeling and the H2O-abundance reconstruction allowed us to reanalyze these data, and the most recent results of this analysis are presented here. Most of the measurements are in the range 5-15 ppm. Temporal and spatial variations of the water-vapor abundance were measured. The estimates of H2O abundance calculated from the spectra refer to a certain altitude approximately determined by the level where the optical depth tau in the aerosol continuum near the H2O bands region is close to unity. This altitude varies from 62.5 +/- 2 km at low latitudes to 56 +/- 2 km at high altitudes, but the mean measured water-vapor abundance is found to be roughly the same for both areas, about 10 ppm. At low and middle latitudes, the H2O mixing ratio is maximum on the dayside of the planet and minimum on the nightside. Although the direct reconstruction of the H2O vertical profile from the spectra failed, its indirect estimates confirming the decrease of the mixing ratio with altitude were obtained.

The Zugspitze radiative closure experiment for quantifying water vapor absorption over the terrestrial and solar infrared – Part 3: Quantification of the mid- and near-infrared water vapor continuum in the 2500 to 7800 cm−1 spectral range under atmospheric conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Reichert

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We present a first quantification of the near-infrared (NIR water vapor continuum absorption from an atmospheric radiative closure experiment carried out at the Zugspitze (47.42° N, 10.98° E; 2964 m a.s.l.. Continuum quantification is achieved via radiative closure using radiometrically calibrated solar Fourier transform infrared (FTIR absorption spectra covering the 2500 to 7800 cm−1 spectral range. The dry atmospheric conditions at the Zugspitze site (IWV 1.4 to 3.3 mm enable continuum quantification even within water vapor absorption bands, while upper limits for continuum absorption can be provided in the centers of window regions. Throughout 75 % of the 2500 to 7800 cm−1 spectral range, the Zugspitze results agree within our estimated uncertainty with the widely used MT_CKD 2.5.2 model (Mlawer et al., 2012. In the wings of water vapor absorption bands, our measurements indicate about 2–5 times stronger continuum absorption than MT_CKD, namely in the 2800 to 3000 cm−1 and 4100 to 4200 cm−1 spectral ranges. The measurements are consistent with the laboratory measurements of Mondelain et al. (2015, which rely on cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CDRS, and the calorimetric–interferometric measurements of Bicknell et al. (2006. Compared to the recent FTIR laboratory studies of Ptashnik et al. (2012, 2013, our measurements are consistent within the estimated errors throughout most of the spectral range. However, in the wings of water vapor absorption bands our measurements indicate typically 2–3 times weaker continuum absorption under atmospheric conditions, namely in the 3200 to 3400, 4050 to 4200, and 6950 to 7050 cm−1 spectral regions.

Atmospheric River Importance to Extratropical Climate and Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Nash, D.; Waliser, D. E.; Guan, B.; Ye, H.; Ralph, F. M.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) are narrow, long, water vapor rich corridors of the atmosphere that are responsible for over 90% of the poleward moisture transport across mid-latitudes and into high latitudes. This suggests a crucial role for ARs in helping establish the extra-tropical atmospheric water budget and hydroclimate variability. However, the contribution of ARs to the extra-tropical atmospheric water budget has yet to be quantified, including impacts on water vapor transport and storage, and precipitation. This study characterizes the roles of AR related atmospheric transport on combined and individual atmospheric water budget variables over extratropical regions of both hemispheres based on MERRA2 reanalysis products during 1997-2014. Results show that poleward water vapor transport related to ARs is strongly related to changes in water vapor storage and especially precipitation in higher latitudes in both hemispheres, with the relationship dependent on averaging period. For example, for the annual cycle climatology, both AR transport and local evaporation support the variation in precipitation. However, on monthly time scales, the water budget at higher latitudes tends to be dominated by the balance between AR transport and precipitation. On pentad and daily time scales, AR transport is related to both precipitation and water vapor storage changes. These results indicate the important role of the episodic, extreme moisture transports associated with ARs in helping establish the high latitude water and energy cycles, and associated hydroclimate.

Solvent-vapor-assisted imprint lithography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voicu, Nicoleta E.; Ludwigs, Sabine; Crossland, Edward J. W.; Andrew, Piers; Steiner, Ullrich

2007-01-01

Sub-micrometer features are replicated into high-molecular-weight polymer resists by using solvent-assisted nanoimprint lithography (see figure). By swelling the polymer in a controlled solvent-vapor atmosphere, millibar pressures and ambient temperatures are sufficient to achieve high-fidelity

Partitioning the effects of Global Warming on the Hydrological Cycle with Stable Isotopes in Water Vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Dee, S. G.; Russell, J. M.; Nusbaumer, J. M.; Konecky, B. L.; Buenning, N. H.; Lee, J. E.; Noone, D.

2016-12-01

General circulation models (GCMs) suggest that much of the global hydrological cycle's response to anthropogenic warming will be caused by increased lower-tropospheric water vapor concentrations and associated feedbacks. However, fingerprinting changes in the global hydrological cycle due to anthropogenic warming remains challenging. Held and Soden (2006) predicted that as lower-tropospheric water vapor increases, atmospheric circulation will weaken as climate warms to maintain the surface energy budget. Unfortunately, the strength of this feedback and the fallout for other branches of the hydrological cycle is difficult to constrain in situ or with GCMs alone. We demonstrate the utility of stable hydrogen isotope ratios in atmospheric water vapor to quantitatively trace changes in atmospheric circulation and convective mass flux in a warming world. We compare water isotope-enabled GCM experiments for control (present-day) CO2 vs. high CO2(2x, 4x) atmospheres in two GCMs, IsoGSM and iCAM5. We evaluate changes in the distribution of water vapor, vertical velocity (omega), and the stream function between these experiments in order to identify spatial patterns of circulation change over the tropical Pacific (where vertical motion is strong) and map the δD of water vapor associated with atmospheric warming. We also probe the simulations to isolate isotopic signatures associated with water vapor residence time, precipitation efficiency, divergence, and cloud physics. We show that there are robust mechanisms that moisten the troposphere and weaken convective mass flux, and that these mechanisms can be tracked using the δD of water vapor. Further, we find that these responses are most pronounced in the upper troposphere. These findings provide a framework to develop new metrics for the detection of global warming impacts to the hydrological cycle. Further, currently available satellite missions measure δD in the atmospheric boundary layer, the free atmosphere, or the

Condensation of vapor bubble in subcooled pool

Science.gov (United States)

Horiuchi, K.; Koiwa, Y.; Kaneko, T.; Ueno, I.

2017-02-01

We focus on condensation process of vapor bubble exposed to a pooled liquid of subcooled conditions. Two different geometries are employed in the present research; one is the evaporation on the heated surface, that is, subcooled pool boiling, and the other the injection of vapor into the subcooled pool. The test fluid is water, and all series of the experiments are conducted under the atmospheric pressure condition. The degree of subcooling is ranged from 10 to 40 K. Through the boiling experiment, unique phenomenon known as microbubble emission boiling (MEB) is introduced; this phenomenon realizes heat flux about 10 times higher than the critical heat flux. Condensation of the vapor bubble is the key phenomenon to supply ambient cold liquid to the heated surface. In order to understand the condensing process in the MEB, we prepare vapor in the vapor generator instead of the evaporation on the heated surface, and inject the vapor to expose the vapor bubble to the subcooled liquid. Special attention is paid to the dynamics of the vapor bubble detected by the high-speed video camera, and on the enhancement of the heat transfer due to the variation of interface area driven by the condensation.

Airborne Observations of Water Vapor Deuterium Excess in the Mid-Latitude Lower Troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Salmon, O. E.; Welp, L.; Shepson, P. B.; Stirm, B. H.

2017-12-01

Water vapor is responsible for over half of the natural atmospheric greenhouse effect. As global temperatures increase due to fossil fuel combustion, atmospheric water vapor concentrations are also expected to increase in positive feedback. Additionally, studies have shown that urban areas can influence humidity levels, and the frequency and intensity of precipitation events. It is thus important to understand anthropogenic modification of the hydrological cycle, particularly around urban areas, where over half of the world's population resides. Airborne measurements of water vapor isotopologues containing 2H and 18O were conducted to better understand processes influencing atmospheric moisture levels around urban areas. Airborne measurements were conducted around the Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.-Baltimore areas during afternoon hours in February and March 2016, using a Los Gatos Research Water Vapor Isotope Analyzer installed in Purdue University's experimental aircraft, the Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research. The measurements of 2H and 18O allow for the calculation of deuterium excess (= δ2H - 8*δ18O), which provides information about non-equilibrium processes, such as kinetic effects, air parcel mixing, and transpiration. There are few studies that have reported observations of deuterium excess above the surface level ( 100 m). During the measurement campaign, vertical profiles were frequently conducted from 300 m above the ground to an altitude of approximately 1.5 km, effectively characterizing water vapor isotope profiles spanning the boundary layer and lower free troposphere. Measurements probed the transition from planetary boundary layer air to free troposphere air to provide high resolution deuterium excess information across this interface. Processes such as Rayleigh distillation, atmospheric mixing, and surface fluxes potentially impacting water vapor deuterium excess through the boundary layer and free troposphere with be discussed.

Comparison of Indoor Mercury Vapor in Common Areas of Residential Buildings with Outdoor Levels in a Community Where Mercury Is Used for Cultural Purposes

Science.gov (United States)

Garetano, Gary; Gochfeld, Michael; Stern, Alan H.

2006-01-01

Elemental mercury has been imbued with magical properties for millennia, and various cultures use elemental mercury in a variety of superstitious and cultural practices, raising health concerns for users and residents in buildings where it is used. As a first step in assessing this phenomenon, we compared mercury vapor concentration in common areas of residential buildings versus outdoor air, in two New Jersey cities where mercury is available and is used in cultural practices. We measured mercury using a portable atomic absorption spectrometer capable of quantitative measurement from 2 ng/m3 mercury vapor. We evaluated the interior hallways in 34 multifamily buildings and the vestibule in an additional 33 buildings. Outdoor mercury vapor averaged 5 ng/m3; indoor mercury was significantly higher (mean 25 ng/m3; p < 0.001); 21% of buildings had mean mercury vapor concentration in hallways that exceeded the 95th percentile of outdoor mercury vapor concentration (17 ng/m3), whereas 35% of buildings had a maximum mercury vapor concentration that exceeded the 95th percentile of outdoor mercury concentration. The highest indoor average mercury vapor concentration was 299 ng/m3, and the maximum point concentration was 2,022 ng/m3. In some instances, we were able to locate the source, but we could not specifically attribute the elevated levels of mercury vapor to cultural use or other specific mercury releases. However, these findings provide sufficient evidence of indoor mercury source(s) to warrant further investigation. PMID:16393659

Improvement of Oil-Vapor Treatment Facility for Wolsong Unit 3,4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jeong Guk; Kwon, S. W.; Lee, H. S.

2009-11-01

With the purpose to minimize an oil-vapor discharge to the atmosphere and to be an environmentally friendly nuclear power plant by an improvement of mist eliminator for turbine lubricant system at Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3,4, this project - project name : Improvement of Oil-vapor Treatment Facility for Wolsong Unit 3,4 - was conducted for six months (from Apr. 15, 2009 to Oct. 14, 2009). This Project contains Oil-vapor Source and Environmental Regulation, Analysis on the Present Oil-vapor Treatment Facility, Improvement of Oil-vapor Treatment Facility, Test Facility Design, Fabrication, Installation, Test Operation, Evaluation of the Facility

Analysis of organic vapors with laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nozari, Hadi; Tavassoli, Seyed Hassan [Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G. C, 1983963113 Evin, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rezaei, Fatemeh, E-mail: fatemehrezaei@kntu.ac.ir [Department of Physics, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, 15875-4416 Shariati, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2015-09-15

In this paper, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is utilized in the study of acetone, ethanol, methanol, cyclohexane, and nonane vapors. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atomic emission spectra have been recorded following laser-induced breakdown of the organic vapors that are mixed with air inside a quartz chamber at atmospheric pressure. The plasma is generated with focused, Q-switched Nd:YAG radiation at the wavelength of 1064 nm. The effects of ignition and vapor pressure are discussed in view of the appearance of the emission spectra. The recorded spectra are proportional to the vapor pressure in air. The hydrogen and oxygen contributions diminish gradually with consecutive laser-plasma events without gas flow. The results show that LIBS can be used to characterize organic vapor.

Analysis of organic vapors with laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nozari, Hadi; Tavassoli, Seyed Hassan; Rezaei, Fatemeh

2015-01-01

In this paper, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is utilized in the study of acetone, ethanol, methanol, cyclohexane, and nonane vapors. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atomic emission spectra have been recorded following laser-induced breakdown of the organic vapors that are mixed with air inside a quartz chamber at atmospheric pressure. The plasma is generated with focused, Q-switched Nd:YAG radiation at the wavelength of 1064 nm. The effects of ignition and vapor pressure are discussed in view of the appearance of the emission spectra. The recorded spectra are proportional to the vapor pressure in air. The hydrogen and oxygen contributions diminish gradually with consecutive laser-plasma events without gas flow. The results show that LIBS can be used to characterize organic vapor

Accurate measurements and temperature dependence of the water vapor self-continuum absorption in the 2.1 μm atmospheric window

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ventrillard, I.; Romanini, D.; Mondelain, D.; Campargue, A.

2015-01-01

In spite of its importance for the evaluation of the Earth radiative budget, thus for climate change, very few measurements of the water vapor continuum are available in the near infrared atmospheric windows especially at temperature conditions relevant for our atmosphere. In addition, as a result of the difficulty to measure weak broadband absorption signals, the few available measurements show large disagreements. We report here accurate measurements of the water vapor self-continuum absorption in the 2.1 μm window by Optical Feedback Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (OF-CEAS) for two spectral points located at the low energy edge and at the center of the 2.1 μm transparency window, at 4302 and 4723 cm −1 , respectively. Self-continuum cross sections, C S , were retrieved with a few % relative uncertainty, from the quadratic dependence of the spectrum base line level measured as a function of water vapor pressure, between 0 and 16 Torr. At 296 K, the C S value at 4302 cm −1 is found 40% higher than predicted by the MT-CKD V2.5 model, while at 4723 cm −1 , our value is 5 times larger than the MT-CKD value. On the other hand, these OF-CEAS C S values are significantly smaller than recent measurements by Fourier transform spectroscopy at room temperature. The temperature dependence of the self-continuum cross sections was also investigated for temperatures between 296 K and 323 K (23-50 °C). The derived temperature variation is found to be similar to that derived from previous Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) measurements performed at higher temperatures, between 350 K and 472 K. The whole set of measurements spanning the 296-472 K temperature range follows a simple exponential law in 1/T with a slope close to the dissociation energy of the water dimer, D 0 ≈ 1100 cm −1

Optimization of band-pass filtering parameters of a Raman lidar detecting atmospheric water vapor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Kai-Fa; Hu, Shun-Xing; Wang, Ying-jian

2012-01-01

It is very important for daytime Raman lidar measurement of water vapor to determine the parameters of a band-pass filter, which are pertinent to the lidar signal to noise ratio (SNR). The simulated annealing (SA) algorithm method has an advantage in finding the extremum of a certain cost function. In this paper, the Raman spectrum of water vapor is simulated and then a first realization of a simulated annealing algorithm in the optimization of a band-pass filter of a Raman lidar system designed to detect daytime water vapor is presented. The simulated results indicate that the narrow band-pass filter has higher SNR than the wide filter does but there would be an increase in the temperature sensitivity of a narrowband Raman water vapor lidar in the upper troposphere. The numerical simulation indicates that the magnitude of the temperature dependent effect can reach 3.5% or more for narrow band-pass Raman water vapor measurements so it is necessary to consider a new water vapor Raman lidar equation that permits the temperature sensitivity of these equations to be confined to a single term. (paper)

Vapor-Driven Propulsion of Catalytic Micromotors

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Renfeng; Li, Jinxing; Rozen, Isaac; Ezhilan, Barath; Xu, Tailin; Christianson, Caleb; Gao, Wei; Saintillan, David; Ren, Biye; Wang, Joseph

2015-08-01

Chemically-powered micromotors offer exciting opportunities in diverse fields, including therapeutic delivery, environmental remediation, and nanoscale manufacturing. However, these nanovehicles require direct addition of high concentration of chemical fuel to the motor solution for their propulsion. We report the efficient vapor-powered propulsion of catalytic micromotors without direct addition of fuel to the micromotor solution. Diffusion of hydrazine vapor from the surrounding atmosphere into the sample solution is instead used to trigger rapid movement of iridium-gold Janus microsphere motors. Such operation creates a new type of remotely-triggered and powered catalytic micro/nanomotors that are responsive to their surrounding environment. This new propulsion mechanism is accompanied by unique phenomena, such as the distinct off-on response to the presence of fuel in the surrounding atmosphere, and spatio-temporal dependence of the motor speed borne out of the concentration gradient evolution within the motor solution. The relationship between the motor speed and the variables affecting the fuel concentration distribution is examined using a theoretical model for hydrazine transport, which is in turn used to explain the observed phenomena. The vapor-powered catalytic micro/nanomotors offer new opportunities in gas sensing, threat detection, and environmental monitoring, and open the door for a new class of environmentally-triggered micromotors.

Temperature dependence of InN growth on (0001) sapphire substrates by atmospheric pressure hydride vapor phase epitaxy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumagai, Yoshinao; Adachi, Hirokazu; Otake, Aya; Higashikawa, Yoshihiro; Togashi, Rie; Murakami, Hisashi; Koukitu, Akinori

2010-01-01

The temperature dependence of InN growth on (0001) sapphire substrates by atmospheric pressure hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) was investigated. N-polarity single-crystal InN layers were successfully grown at temperatures ranging from 400 to 500 C. The a and c lattice constants of InN layers grown at 450 C or below were slightly larger than those of InN layers grown above 450 C due to oxygen incorporation that also increased the carrier concentration. The optical absorption edge of the InN layer decreased from above 2.0 to 0.76 eV when the growth temperature was increased from 450 to 500 C. (copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

[Coordination effect between vapor water loss through plant stomata and liquid water supply in soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC): a review].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Li-Min; Qi, Hua; Luo, Xin-Lan; Zhang, Xuan

2008-09-01

Some important phenomena and behaviors concerned with the coordination effect between vapor water loss through plant stomata and liquid water supply in SPAC were discussed in this paper. A large amount of research results showed that plants show isohydric behavior when the plant hydraulic and chemical signals cooperate to promote the stomatal regulation of leaf water potential. The feedback response of stomata to the change of environmental humidity could be used to explain the midday depression of stomatal conductance and photosynthesis under drought condition, and also, to interpret the correlation between stomatal conductance and hydraulic conductance. The feed-forward response of stomata to the change of environmental humidity could be used to explain the hysteresis response of stomatal conductance to leaf-atmosphere vapor pressure deficit. The strategy for getting the most of xylem transport requires the rapid stomatal responses to avoid excess cavitation and the corresponding mechanisms for reversal of cavitation in short time.

The annual cycle of stratospheric water vapor in a general circulation model

Science.gov (United States)

Mote, Philip W.

1995-01-01

The application of general circulation models (GCM's) to stratospheric chemistry and transport both permits and requires a thorough investigation of stratospheric water vapor. The National Center for Atmospheric Research has redesigned its GCM, the Community Climate Model (CCM2), to enable studies of the chemistry and transport of tracers including water vapor; the importance of water vapor to the climate and chemistry of the stratosphere requires that it be better understood in the atmosphere and well represented in the model. In this study, methane is carried as a tracer and converted to water; this simple chemistry provides an adequate representation of the upper stratospheric water vapor source. The cold temperature bias in the winter polar stratosphere, which the CCM2 shares with other GCM's, produces excessive dehydration in the southern hemisphere, but this dry bias can be ameliorated by setting a minimum vapor pressure. The CCM2's water vapor distribution and seasonality compare favorably with observations in many respects, though seasonal variations including the upper stratospheric semiannual oscillation are generally too small. Southern polar dehydration affects midlatitude water vapor mixing ratios by a few tenths of a part per million, mostly after the demise of the vortex. The annual cycle of water vapor in the tropical and northern midlatitude lower stratosphere is dominated by drying at the tropical tropopause. Water vapor has a longer adjustment time than methane and had not reached equilibrium at the end of the 9 years simulated here.

Upper limits for absorption by water vapor in the near-UV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, Eoin M.; Wenger, John C.; Venables, Dean S.

2016-01-01

There are few experimental measurements of absorption by water vapor in the near-UV. Here we report the results of spectral measurements of water vapor absorption at ambient temperature and pressure from 325 nm to 420 nm, covering most tropospherically relevant short wavelengths. Spectra were recorded using a broadband optical cavity in the chemically controlled environment of an atmospheric simulation chamber. No absorption attributable to the water monomer (or the dimer) was observed at the 0.5 nm resolution of our system. Our results are consistent with calculated spectra and recent DOAS field observations, but contradict a report of significant water absorption in the near-UV. Based on the detection limit of our instrument, we report upper limits for the water absorption cross section of less than 5×10 −26 cm 2 molecule −1 at our instrument resolution. For a typical, indicative slant column density of 4×10 23 cm 2 , we calculate a maximum optical depth of 0.02 arising from absorption of water vapor in the atmosphere at wavelengths between 340 nm and 420 nm, with slightly higher maximum optical depths below 340 nm. The results of this work, together with recent atmospheric observations and computational results, suggest that water vapor absorption across most of the near-UV is small compared to visible and infrared wavelengths. - Highlights: • The absorption cross section of water vapor was studied from 325 to 420 nm. • The upper limit was 5×10 −26 cm 2 molecule −1 above 340 nm at 0.5 nm resolution. • Our result contradicts a recent report of appreciable absorption by water vapor.

Vapor pumps and gas-driven machines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillet, R.

1991-01-01

The vapor pump, patented in 1979 by Gaz de France, is an additional mass and heat exchanger which uses the combustion air of fuel-burning machines as an additional cold source. This cold source is preheated and, above all, humidified before reaching the burner, by means of the residual sensible and latent heat in the combustion products of the fuel-burning process. This final exchanger thus makes it possible, in many cases, to recover all the gross calorific value of natural gas, even when the combustion products leave the process at a wet temperature greater than 60 0 C, the maximum dew point of the products of normal combustion. Another significant advantage of the vapor pump being worth highlighting is the selective recycling of water vapor by the vapor pump which reduces the adiabatic combustion temperature and the oxygen concentration in the combustion air, two factors which lead to considerable reductions in nitrogen oxides formation, hence limiting atmospheric pollution. Alongside a wide range of configurations which make advantageous use of the vapor pump in association with gas-driven machines and processes, including gas turbines, a number of boiler plant installations are also presented [fr

Field campaign LINEX 96/1 - possibilities of water vapor observation in the free atmosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinhagen, H.; Dier, H.; Engelbart, D.; Goersdorf, U.; Lehmann, V.; Leiterer, U.; Neisser, J. [Deutscher Wetterdienst, Lindenberg (Germany). Meteorologisches Observatorium; Bakan, S. [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Meteorologisches Inst.; Boesenberg, J.; Jansen, F.; Wulfmeyer, V. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Fischer, J. [Freie Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Weltraumwissenschaften; Gendt, G. [GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (Germany); Gueldner, J. [Deutscher Wetterdienst, Potsdam (Germany). Meteorologisches Observatorium

1998-12-01

LINEX 96/1 was a field experiment to assess information content, accuracy, and availability for different remote sensing techniques measuring water vapor. An important goal of LINEX 96/1 was the test of a new differential absorption lidar (DIAL) developed by the MPI fuer meteorologie Hamburg. Comparisons of DIAL with rawinsonde and tethersonde measurements showed an excellent accuracy of the DIAL method in the determination of water vapor with high vertical and temporal resolution. The operation of the microwave radiometer WVR-1100 showed a high availability of water vapor and liquid water column content measurements except during rain. Microwave radiometers are reliable systems to measure the precipitable water vapor and liquid water content under unattended operational conditions with high accuracy and temporal resolution. Measurements of the water vapor column content by ground-based GPS receivers proved highly reliable. Comparisons with corresponding values of the microwave radiometer showed a bias less than 0.6 mm and a standard deviation less than 0.9 mm. The main problem of an operational use of this new information is that the evaluated data are not available in real-time because, at present, the data have to be postprocessed in a ground control center. During LINEX 96/1, possibilities for estimation of water vapor column content from sun and star photometer measurements were also demonstrated. The comparison of the precipitable water vapor content measurements of sun and star photometers, microwave radiometer, and rawinsondes RS 80 showed a good agreement. Unfortunately, the use of optical methods like sun and star photometers is restricted by cloudy conditions. 28 refs.

NIR-driven Moist Upper Atmospheres of Synchronously Rotating Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujii, Yuka; Del Genio, Anthony D.; Amundsen, David S.

2017-01-01

H 2 O is a key molecule in characterizing atmospheres of temperate terrestrial planets, and observations of transmission spectra are expected to play a primary role in detecting its signatures in the near future. The detectability of H 2 O absorption features in transmission spectra depends on the abundance of water vapor in the upper part of the atmosphere. We study the three-dimensional distribution of atmospheric H 2 O for synchronously rotating Earth-sized aquaplanets using the general circulation model (GCM) ROCKE-3D, and examine the effects of total incident flux and stellar spectral type. We observe a more gentle increase of the water vapor mixing ratio in response to increased incident flux than one-dimensional models suggest, in qualitative agreement with the climate-stabilizing effect of clouds around the substellar point previously observed in GCMs applied to synchronously rotating planets. However, the water vapor mixing ratio in the upper atmosphere starts to increase while the surface temperature is still moderate. This is explained by the circulation in the upper atmosphere being driven by the radiative heating due to absorption by water vapor and cloud particles, causing efficient vertical transport of water vapor. Consistently, the water vapor mixing ratio is found to be well-correlated with the near-infrared portion of the incident flux. We also simulate transmission spectra based on the GCM outputs, and show that for the more highly irradiated planets, the H 2 O signatures may be strengthened by a factor of a few, loosening the observational demands for a H 2 O detection.

High quality long-wavelength lasers grown by atmospheric organometallic vapor phase epitaxy using tertiarybutylarsine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, B.I.; Young, M.G.; Oron, M.; Koren, U.; Kisker, D.

1990-01-01

High quality long-wavelength InGaAsP/InP lasers were grown by atmospheric organometallic vapor phase epitaxy using tertiarybutylarsine (TBA) as a substitute for AsH 3 . Electrical and photoluminescence measurements on InGaAs and InGaAsP showed that TBA-grown material was at least as good as AsH 3 material in terms of suitability for lasers. From two wafers grown by TBA, current thresholds I th as low as 11 mA were obtained for a 2-μm-wide semi-insulating blocking planar buried heterostructure laser lasing near 1.3 μm wavelength. The differential quantum efficiencies η D were as high as 21%/facet with a low internal loss α=21 cm -1 . In addition I th as low as 18 mA and η D as high as 18% have been obtained for multiplequantum well lasers at 1.54 μm wavelength. These results show that TBA might be used to replace AsH 3 without compromising on laser performance

Science Plan for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-02-01

The purpose of this Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Plan is to articulate the scientific issues driving the ARM Program, and to relate them to DOE's programmatic objectives for ARM, based on the experience and scientific progress gained over the past five years. ARM programmatic objectives are to: (1) Relate observed radiative fluxes and radiances in the atmosphere, spectrally resolved and as a function of position and time, to the temperature and composition of the atmosphere, specifically including water vapor and clouds, and to surface properties, and sample sufficient variety of situations so as to span a wide range of climatologically relevant possibilities; (2) develop and test parameterizations that can be used to accurately predict the radiative properties and to model the radiative interactions involving water vapor and clouds within the atmosphere, with the objective of incorporating these parameterizations into general circulation models. The primary observational methods remote sending and other observations at the surface, particularly remote sensing of clouds, water vapor and aerosols

Vapor Phase Growth of High-Quality Bi-Te Compounds Using Elemental Bi and Te Sources: A Comparison Between High Vacuum and Atmospheric Pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Concepción, O.; Escobosa, A.; de Melo, O.

2018-03-01

Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3), traditionally used in the industry as thermoelectric material, has deserved much attention recently due to its properties as a topological insulator, a kind of material that might have relevant applications in spintronics or quantum computing, among other innovative uses. The preparation of high-quality material has become a very important technological task. Here, we compare the preparation of Bi2Te3 by physical vapor transport from the evaporation of elemental Bi and Te sources, under either low pressure or atmospheric pressure. The layers were characterized by different techniques to evaluate its structural properties. As a result, it is concluded that, as a consequence of the different transport regimes, films grown at atmospheric pressure present better crystal quality.

Physico-chemical mechanism for the vapors sensitivity of photoluminescent InP quantum dots

Science.gov (United States)

Prosposito, P.; De Angelis, R.; De Matteis, F.; Hatami, F.; Masselink, W. T.; Zhang, H.; Casalboni, M.

2016-03-01

InP/InGaP surface quantum dots are interesting materials for optical chemical sensors since they present an intense emission at room temperature, whose intensity changes rapidly and reversibly depending on the composition of the environmental atmosphere. We present here their emission properties by time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy investigation and we discuss the physico-chemical mechanism behind their sensitivity to the surrounding atmosphere. Photoluminescence transients in inert atmosphere (N2) and in solvent vapours of methanol, clorophorm, acetone and water were measured. The presence of vapors of clorophorm, acetone and water showed a very weak effect on the transient times, while an increase of up to 15% of the decay time was observed for methanol vapour exposure. On the basis of the vapor molecule nature (polarity, proticity, steric hindrance, etc.) and of the interaction of the vapor molecules with the quantum dots surface a sensing mechanism involving quantum dots non-radiative surface states is proposed.

Physico-chemical mechanism for the vapors sensitivity of photoluminescent InP quantum dots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prosposito, P.; De Angelis, R.; De Matteis, F.; Casalboni, M.; Hatami, F.; Masselink, W.T.; Zhang, H.

2016-01-01

InP/InGaP surface quantum dots are interesting materials for optical chemical sensors since they present an intense emission at room temperature, whose intensity changes rapidly and reversibly depending on the composition of the environmental atmosphere. We present here their emission properties by time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy investigation and we discuss the physico-chemical mechanism behind their sensitivity to the surrounding atmosphere. Photoluminescence transients in inert atmosphere (N 2 ) and in solvent vapours of methanol, chloroform, acetone and water were measured. The presence of vapors of chloroform, acetone and water showed a very weak effect on the transient times, while an increase of up to 15% of the decay time was observed for methanol vapour exposure. On the basis of the vapor molecule nature (polarity, proticity, steric hindrance, etc.) and of the interaction of the vapor molecules with the quantum dots surface a sensing mechanism involving quantum dots non-radiative surface states is proposed. (paper)

Vaporization of Samarium trichloride studied by thermogravimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esquivel, Marcelo R.; Pasquevich, Daniel M.

2003-01-01

In the present work, the vaporization reaction of SmCl 3 (l) obtained from the 'in situ' reaction of Sm 2 O 3 (s) and Cl 2 (g)-C(s) was studied by thermogravimetry under controlled atmosphere. The effects of both the temperature between 825 C degrees and 950 C degrees and the total flow gas on the vaporization rate of the following reaction: SmCl 3 (l) = SmCl 3 (g) were analyzed. The vaporization rate of the process was found to be independent of then total gas flow rate and highly dependent on the temperature. E ap calculation led to a value of 240 ± 10 kJ.mol -1 . A comparison between this value and that of the molar enthalpy of vaporization allow to the conclusion that the reaction occur in conditions near to equilibrium. The SmCl 3 identity was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). (author)

Pretreated Butterfly Wings for Tuning the Selective Vapor Sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Piszter, Gábor; Kertész, Krisztián; Bálint, Zsolt; Biró, László Péter

2016-09-07

Photonic nanoarchitectures occurring in the scales of Blue butterflies are responsible for their vivid blue wing coloration. These nanoarchitectures are quasi-ordered nanocomposites which are constituted from a chitin matrix with embedded air holes. Therefore, they can act as chemically selective sensors due to their color changes when mixing volatile vapors in the surrounding atmosphere which condensate into the nanoarchitecture through capillary condensation. Using a home-built vapor-mixing setup, the spectral changes caused by the different air + vapor mixtures were efficiently characterized. It was found that the spectral shift is vapor-specific and proportional with the vapor concentration. We showed that the conformal modification of the scale surface by atomic layer deposition and by ethanol pretreatment can significantly alter the optical response and chemical selectivity, which points the way to the efficient production of sensor arrays based on the knowledge obtained through the investigation of modified butterfly wings.

Combined rankine and vapor compression cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Radcliff, Thomas D.; Biederman, Bruce P.; Brasz, Joost J.

2005-04-19

An organic rankine cycle system is combined with a vapor compression cycle system with the turbine generator of the organic rankine cycle generating the power necessary to operate the motor of the refrigerant compressor. The vapor compression cycle is applied with its evaporator cooling the inlet air into a gas turbine, and the organic rankine cycle is applied to receive heat from a gas turbine exhaust to heat its boiler within one embodiment, a common condenser is used for the organic rankine cycle and the vapor compression cycle, with a common refrigerant, R-245a being circulated within both systems. In another embodiment, the turbine driven generator has a common shaft connected to the compressor to thereby eliminate the need for a separate motor to drive the compressor. In another embodiment, an organic rankine cycle system is applied to an internal combustion engine to cool the fluids thereof, and the turbo charged air is cooled first by the organic rankine cycle system and then by an air conditioner prior to passing into the intake of the engine.

Kinetics and dynamics of nanosecond streamer discharge in atmospheric-pressure gas bubble suspended in distilled water under saturated vapor pressure conditions

KAUST Repository

Sharma, Ashish

2016-09-08

We perform computational studies of nanosecond streamer discharges generated in helium bubbles immersed in distilled water under atmospheric pressure conditions. The model takes into account the presence of water vapor in the gas bubble for an accurate description of the discharge kinetics. We find that the dynamic characteristics of the streamer discharge are different at low and high positive trigger voltages with the axial streamer evolution dominant for low voltages and a surface hugging mode favored for high voltages. We also find a substantial difference in initiation, transition and evolution stages of discharge for positive and negative trigger voltages with the volumetric distribution of species in the streamer channel much more uniform for negative trigger voltages on account of the presence of multiple streamers. We observe that the presence of water vapor does not affect the breakdown voltage even for oversaturated conditions but significantly influences the composition of dominant species in the trail of the streamer as well as the flux of the dominant species on the bubble surface. © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.

NIR-driven Moist Upper Atmospheres of Synchronously Rotating Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujii, Yuka; Del Genio, Anthony D.; Amundsen, David S. [NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, NY (United States)

2017-10-20

H{sub 2}O is a key molecule in characterizing atmospheres of temperate terrestrial planets, and observations of transmission spectra are expected to play a primary role in detecting its signatures in the near future. The detectability of H{sub 2}O absorption features in transmission spectra depends on the abundance of water vapor in the upper part of the atmosphere. We study the three-dimensional distribution of atmospheric H{sub 2}O for synchronously rotating Earth-sized aquaplanets using the general circulation model (GCM) ROCKE-3D, and examine the effects of total incident flux and stellar spectral type. We observe a more gentle increase of the water vapor mixing ratio in response to increased incident flux than one-dimensional models suggest, in qualitative agreement with the climate-stabilizing effect of clouds around the substellar point previously observed in GCMs applied to synchronously rotating planets. However, the water vapor mixing ratio in the upper atmosphere starts to increase while the surface temperature is still moderate. This is explained by the circulation in the upper atmosphere being driven by the radiative heating due to absorption by water vapor and cloud particles, causing efficient vertical transport of water vapor. Consistently, the water vapor mixing ratio is found to be well-correlated with the near-infrared portion of the incident flux. We also simulate transmission spectra based on the GCM outputs, and show that for the more highly irradiated planets, the H{sub 2}O signatures may be strengthened by a factor of a few, loosening the observational demands for a H{sub 2}O detection.

Humidity: A review and primer on atmospheric moisture and human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Robert E; McGregor, Glenn R; Enfield, Kyle B

2016-01-01

Research examining associations between weather and human health frequently includes the effects of atmospheric humidity. A large number of humidity variables have been developed for numerous purposes, but little guidance is available to health researchers regarding appropriate variable selection. We examine a suite of commonly used humidity variables and summarize both the medical and biometeorological literature on associations between humidity and human health. As an example of the importance of humidity variable selection, we correlate numerous hourly humidity variables to daily respiratory syncytial virus isolates in Singapore from 1992 to 1994. Most water-vapor mass based variables (specific humidity, absolute humidity, mixing ratio, dewpoint temperature, vapor pressure) exhibit comparable correlations. Variables that include a thermal component (relative humidity, dewpoint depression, saturation vapor pressure) exhibit strong diurnality and seasonality. Humidity variable selection must be dictated by the underlying research question. Despite being the most commonly used humidity variable, relative humidity should be used sparingly and avoided in cases when the proximity to saturation is not medically relevant. Care must be taken in averaging certain humidity variables daily or seasonally to avoid statistical biasing associated with variables that are inherently diurnal through their relationship to temperature. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vaporization Studies of Olivine via Knudsen Effusion Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, G. C. C.; Jacobson, N. S.

2014-01-01

Olivine is the major mineral in the Earth's upper mantle occurring predominantly in igneous rocks and has been identified in meteorites, asteroids, the Moon and Mars. Among many other important applications in planetary and materials sciences, the thermodynamic properties of vapor species from olivine are crucial as input parameters in computational modelling of the atmospheres of hot, rocky exoplanets (lava planets). There are several weight loss studies of olivine vaporization in the literature and one Knudsen Effusion Mass Spectrometry (KEMS) study. In this study, we examine a forsterite-rich olivine (93% forsterite and 7% fayalite, Fo93Fa7) with KEMS to further understand its vaporization and thermodynamic properties.

Precipitable water and vapor flux between Belem and Manaus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, J.

1977-01-01

The water vapor flux and precipitable water was computated over the natural Amazon forest in the stretch between Belem and Manaus for 1972. The atmospheric branch of hidrological cycle theory was applied and the most significant conclusions on an annual basis are: Atlantic Ocean water vapor contributes 52% to the regional precipitation and is significant the role played by local evapotranspiration in the precipitation in the area; there were signs of the phenomenon of water vapor recycling nearly throughout the year. Evapotranspiration contributes to 48% of the precipitations in the area studied. The real evapotranspiration estimated by this method was 1,000mm year - 1 [pt

The atmosphere as a global commons : responsible caring and equitable sharing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hallman, D.G. [World Council of Churches, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2000-06-01

The World Council of Churches (WCC) views climate change issues from a theological and ethical perspective. This justice statement regarding climate change was prepared by the WCC in anticipation of the sixth session of the Conference of Parties (COP6) held in the Hague, Netherlands in November 2000. The statement presents the atmosphere as a global commons which envelops the Earth, nurturing and protecting life. Their statement urges that economic and political powers cannot be allowed to hinder the health of the atmosphere nor claim possession of it. The WCC pairs human responsibility with climate change and recognizes that the problem is caused largely by rich industrialized countries, the consequences of which will be suffered mostly by developing nations and by future generations. The statement emphasized that we must be held responsible for the destructive impact of our actions which are leading to climate change. The WCC argued that emissions trading under the Kyoto Protocol would violate the criterion of ecological effectiveness because it would not ensure a reduction in actual emissions. Trading mechanisms such as proposed under the Clean Development Mechanism would raise issues of equity and justice and would risk exacerbating inequities between rich and poor countries. The WCC made several recommendations for COP6. One of them was to refocus climate change negotiations on to options that meet the criteria of environmental effectiveness, equity, responsibility and economic efficiency with priority given to emissions reduction strategies in high per capita polluting countries. This statement also made reference to the use of a Global Atmospheric Commons Fund which would help impoverished countries to move towards a non-carbon economy focusing on renewable energy sources such as solar, biomass, wind and small scale hydroelectric.

Distant and Regional Atmospheric Circulation Influences Governing Integrated Water Vapor Transport and the Occurrence of Extreme Precipitation Events

Science.gov (United States)

Bosart, L. F.; Papin, P. P.; Bentley, A. M.

2017-12-01

This presentation will show how the evolution of the large-scale and regional-scale atmospheric circulation contributes to the occurrence of extreme precipitation events (EPEs). An EPE requires that tropospheric moisture flux convergence (MFC) and the associated removal of hydrometeors be balanced by moisture replenishment via integrated (water) vapor transport (IVT) to continuously replenish condensed moisture. Moisture source regions may be distant or regional. Distant moisture sources may require the interaction of lower- and upper-level jet streams with a pre-existing mobile atmospheric disturbance to produce sufficient lift to condense moisture. Pre-existing regional moisture sources may require frontal lifting the presence of MFC to condense moisture. In cases of long-range IVT, such as moisture from a western North Pacific typhoon being drawn poleward along an atmospheric river (AR) toward the west coast of North America, moisture may be transported 1000s of kilometers along a low-level jet before a combination of dynamic and orographic lift results in an EPE. Alternatively, in the case of a typical summer warm and humid air mass over the continental United States, unused moisture may exist for several days in this air mass before sufficient MFC associated with a thermally direct mesoscale frontal circulation can concentrate and condense the moisture. In this case, there may be no long-range IVT via ARs. Instead, the atmospheric circulations may evolve to produce sustained MFC associated with mesoscale frontal circulations, especially in the presence of complex terrain, to produce an EPE. During this presentation, examples of EPEs associated with long-range IVT and distant MFC versus EPEs associated with regional MFC and mesoscale frontal circulations will be illustrated.

An Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Setup to Investigate the Reactive Species Formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorbanev, Yury; Soriano, Robert; O'Connell, Deborah; Chechik, Victor

2016-11-03

Non-thermal atmospheric pressure ('cold') plasmas have received increased attention in recent years due to their significant biomedical potential. The reactions of cold plasma with the surrounding atmosphere yield a variety of reactive species, which can define its effectiveness. While efficient development of cold plasma therapy requires kinetic models, model benchmarking needs empirical data. Experimental studies of the source of reactive species detected in aqueous solutions exposed to plasma are still scarce. Biomedical plasma is often operated with He or Ar feed gas, and a specific interest lies in investigation of the reactive species generated by plasma with various gas admixtures (O2, N2, air, H2O vapor, etc.) Such investigations are very complex due to difficulties in controlling the ambient atmosphere in contact with the plasma effluent. In this work, we addressed common issues of 'high' voltage kHz frequency driven plasma jet experimental studies. A reactor was developed allowing the exclusion of ambient atmosphere from the plasma-liquid system. The system thus comprised the feed gas with admixtures and the components of the liquid sample. This controlled atmosphere allowed the investigation of the source of the reactive oxygen species induced in aqueous solutions by He-water vapor plasma. The use of isotopically labelled water allowed distinguishing between the species originating in the gas phase and those formed in the liquid. The plasma equipment was contained inside a Faraday cage to eliminate possible influence of any external field. The setup is versatile and can aid in further understanding the cold plasma-liquid interactions chemistry.

Condensation: Passenger Not Driver in Atmospheric Thermodynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jack Denur

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The second law of thermodynamics states that processes yielding work or at least capable of yielding work are thermodynamically spontaneous, and that those costing work are thermodynamically nonspontaneous. Whether a process yields or costs heat is irrelevant. Condensation of water vapor yields work and hence is thermodynamically spontaneous only in a supersaturated atmosphere; in an unsaturated atmosphere it costs work and hence is thermodynamically nonspontaneous. Far more of Earth’s atmosphere is unsaturated than supersaturated; based on this alone evaporation is far more often work-yielding and hence thermodynamically spontaneous than condensation in Earth’s atmosphere—despite condensation always yielding heat and evaporation always costing heat. Furthermore, establishment of the unstable or at best metastable condition of supersaturation, and its maintenance in the face of condensation that would wipe it out, is always work-costing and hence thermodynamically nonspontaneous in Earth’s atmosphere or anywhere else. The work required to enable supersaturation is most usually provided at the expense of temperature differences that enable cooling to below the dew point. In the case of most interest to us, convective weather systems and storms, it is provided at the expense of vertical temperature gradients exceeding the moist adiabatic. Thus, ultimately, condensation is a work-costing and hence thermodynamically nonspontaneous process even in supersaturated regions of Earth’s or any other atmosphere. While heat engines in general can in principle extract all of the work represented by any temperature difference until it is totally neutralized to isothermality, convective weather systems and storms in particular cannot. They can extract only the work represented by partial neutralization of super-moist-adiabatic lapse rates to moist-adiabaticity. Super-moist-adiabatic lapse rates are required to enable convection of saturated air

Water vapor measurements in the 0.94 micron absorption band - Calibration, measurements and data applications

Science.gov (United States)

Reagan, J. A.; Thome, K.; Herman, B.; Gall, R.

1987-01-01

This paper describes methods and presents results for sensing the columnar content of atmospheric water vapor via differential solar transmission measurements in and adjacent to the 0.94-micron water-vapor absorption band. Calibration and measurement techniques are presented for obtaining the water vapor transmission from the radiometer measurements. Models are also presented for retrieving the columnar water vapor amount from the estimated transmission. Example retrievals are presented for radiometer measurements made during the 1986 Arizona Monsoon Season to track temporal variations in columnar water vapor amount.

Pretreated Butterfly Wings for Tuning the Selective Vapor Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gábor Piszter

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Photonic nanoarchitectures occurring in the scales of Blue butterflies are responsible for their vivid blue wing coloration. These nanoarchitectures are quasi-ordered nanocomposites which are constituted from a chitin matrix with embedded air holes. Therefore, they can act as chemically selective sensors due to their color changes when mixing volatile vapors in the surrounding atmosphere which condensate into the nanoarchitecture through capillary condensation. Using a home-built vapor-mixing setup, the spectral changes caused by the different air + vapor mixtures were efficiently characterized. It was found that the spectral shift is vapor-specific and proportional with the vapor concentration. We showed that the conformal modification of the scale surface by atomic layer deposition and by ethanol pretreatment can significantly alter the optical response and chemical selectivity, which points the way to the efficient production of sensor arrays based on the knowledge obtained through the investigation of modified butterfly wings.

Development of a GPS buoy system for monitoring tsunami, sea waves, ocean bottom crustal deformation and atmospheric water vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Teruyuki; Terada, Yukihiro; Nagai, Toshihiko; Koshimura, Shun'ichi

2010-05-01

bottom positions with a few centimeters in accuracy. The system is now operational for more than ten sites along the Japanese coasts. Currently, however, the measurements are not continuous but have been done once to several times a year using a boat. If a GPS and acoustic system is placed on a buoy, ocean bottom position could be monitored in near real-time and continuous manner. This will allow us to monitor more detailed and short term crustal deformations at the sea bottom. Another application plan is for an atmospheric research. Previous researchers have shown that GPS is capable of measuring atmospheric water vapor through estimating tropospheric zenith delay measurements of GPS at the sea surface. Information of water vapor content and its temporal variation over sea surface will much contribute to weather forecast on land which has mostly been conducted only by land observations. Considering that the atmospheric mass moves from west to east in general in and around Japanese islands, information of water vapor together with other atmospheric data from an array of GPS buoy placed in the west of Japanese Islands, will much improve weather forecast. We try to examine if this is also feasible. As a conclusion of a series of GPS buoy experiments, we could assert that GPS buoy system will be a powerful tool to monitor ocean surface and much contribute to provide safe and secure life of people.

Responses of Sap Flux Density to Changing Atmospheric Humidity in Three Common Street Tree Species in Bangkok, Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pantana Tor-ngern

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Efficient water management in urban landscape is imperative under the projected increases in drought stress under future climate. Because different tree species have different stomatal regulations to prevent water loss under water limitation, comparative study of species-specific responses of water use to changing weather conditions will benefit selective planting of urban trees for sustainable urban greening management. Here, we performed a simple and short-term investigation of water use characteristics of three common street tree species in Bangkok, a major city in Southeast Asia. Species included Pterocarpus indicus (Pi, Swietenia macrophylla (Sm and Lagerstroemia speciosa (Ls. We used self-constructed heat dissipation probes to track water uptake rates, expressed as sap flux density (JS, in stems of potted trees and examined their diurnal variations with changing atmospheric humidity, represented by vapor pressure deficit (D. The results implied that two of the three species: Pi and Sm, may be selected for planting because their Js was less sensitive to changing D compared to Ls. The sap flux density of Ls increased more rapidly with rising D, implying higher sensitivity to drought in Ls, compared to the other two species. Nevertheless, further study on large trees and under longer period of investigation, covering both dry and wet seasons, is required to confirm this finding.

Tracking atmospheric boundary layer dynamics with water vapor D-excess observations

KAUST Repository

Parkes, Stephen; McCabe, Matthew; Griffiths, Alan; Wang, Lixin

2015-01-01

Stable isotope water vapor observations present a history of hydrological processes that have impacted on an air mass. Consequently, there is scope to improve our knowledge of how different processes impact on humidity budgets by determining

The atmosphere: Global commons to protect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obasi, G.O.P.

1996-01-01

One of the most important greenhouse gases is CO 2 , whose concentration in the atmosphere has increased from 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv) to 358ppmv in 1994, giving a general increase of over 27 per cent since pre-industrial times. This increase has been attributed largely to fossil fuel combustion. Significant increases have also been observed in atmospheric concentrations of the other greenhouse gases, including methane, nitrous oxide and global tropospheric ozone. Concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide have, for example, grown by 145 per cent and 15 per cent respectively since pre-industrial times. Such increases have been linked to the rapid world population growth, which has resulted in increasing demands for energy, food, water, shelter and other basic needs. Computer models indicate that the continued accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could result in global climate change and global warming. As some uncertainties still exists in the model predictions, it may take a few more years to uniquely separate human-induced climate change signals from natural climate variability in global climate trends

Mobile vapor recovery and vapor scavenging unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stokes, C.A.; Steppe, D.E.

1991-01-01

This patent describes a mobile anti- pollution apparatus, for the recovery of hydrocarbon emissions. It comprises a mobile platform upon which is mounted a vapor recovery unit for recovering vapors including light hydrocarbons, the vapor recovery unit having an inlet and an outlet end, the inlet end adapted for coupling to an external source of hydrocarbon vapor emissions to recover a portion of the vapors including light hydrocarbons emitted therefrom, and the outlet end adapted for connection to a means for conveying unrecovered vapors to a vapor scavenging unit, the vapor scavenging unit comprising an internal combustion engine adapted for utilizing light hydrocarbon in the unrecovered vapors exiting from the vapor recovery unit as supplemental fuel

Water vapor measurements at ALOMAR over a solar cycle compared with model calculations by LIMA

Science.gov (United States)

Hartogh, P.; Sonnemann, G. R.; Grygalashvyly, M.; Song, Li; Berger, U.; Lübken, F.-J.

2010-01-01

Microwave water vapor measurements between 40 and 80 km altitude over a solar cycle (1996-2006) were carried out in high latitudes at Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research (ALOMAR) (69.29°N, 16.03°E), Norway. Some smaller gaps and three interruptions of monitoring in the winters 1996/1997 and 2005/2006 and from spring 2001 to spring 2002 occurred during this period. The observations show a distinct year-to-year variability not directly related to solar Lyman-α radiation. In winter the water vapor mixing ratios in the upper domain were anticorrelated to the solar activity, whereas in summer, minima occurred in the years after the solar maximum in 2000/2001. In winter, sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) modulated the water vapor mixing ratios. Within the stratopause region a middle atmospheric water vapor maximum was observed, which results from the methane oxidation and is a regular feature there. The altitude of the maximum increased by approximately 5 km as summer approached. The largest mixing ratios were monitored in autumn. During the summer season a secondary water vapor maximum also occurred above 65 km most pronounced in late summer. The solar Lyman-α radiation impacts the water vapor mixing ratio particularly in winter above 65 km. In summer the correlation is positive below 70 km. The correlation is also positive in the lower mesosphere/stratopause region in winter due to the action of sudden stratospheric warmings, which occur more frequently under the condition of high solar activity and the enhancing the humidity. A strong day-to-day variability connected with planetary wave activity was found throughout the entire year. Model calculations by means of Leibniz-Institute Middle Atmosphere model (LIMA) reflect the essential patterns of the water vapor variation, but the results also show differences from the observations, indicating that exchange processes between the troposphere and stratosphere not modeled by LIMA could have

Blast from pressurized carbon dioxide released into a vented atmospheric chamber

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, P. M.; Gaathaug, A. V.; Bjerketvedt, D.; Vaagsaether, K.

2018-03-01

This study describes the blast from pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) released from a high-pressure reservoir into an openly vented atmospheric chamber. Small-scale experiments with pure vapor and liquid/vapor mixtures were conducted and compared with simulations. A motivation was to investigate the effects of vent size and liquid content on the peak overpressure and impulse response in the atmospheric chamber. The comparison of vapor-phase CO2 test results with simulations showed good agreement. This numerical code described single-phase gas dynamics inside a closed chamber, but did not model any phase transitions. Hence, the simulations described a vapor-only test into an unvented chamber. Nevertheless, the simulations reproduced the incident shock wave, the shock reflections, and the jet release inside the atmospheric chamber. The rapid phase transition did not contribute to the initial shock strength in the current test geometry. The evaporation rate was too low to contribute to the measured peak overpressure that was in the range of 15-20 kPa. The simulation results produced a calculated peak overpressure of 12 kPa. The liquid tests showed a significantly higher impulse compared to tests with pure vapor. Reducing the vent opening from 0.1 to 0.01 m2 resulted in a slightly higher impulse calculated at 100 ms. The influence of the vent area on the calculated impulse was significant in the vapor-phase tests, but not so clear in the liquid/vapor mixture tests.

Measurements of upper atmosphere water vapor made in situ with a new moisture sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Chleck, D.

1979-01-01

A new thin-film aluminum oxide sensor, Aquamax II, has been developed for the measurement of stratospheric and upper tropospheric water vapor levels. The sensor is briefly described with attention given to its calibration and performance. Data obtained from six balloon flights are presented; almost all the results show a constant water vapor mixing ratio, in agreement with other data from midlatitude regions.

Modeling UTLS water vapor: Transport/Chemistry interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulstad, Line

2005-01-01

This thesis was initially meant to be a study on the impact on chemistry and climate from UTLS water vapor. However, the complexity of the UTLS water vapor and its recent changes turned out to be a challenge by it self. In the light of this, the overall motivation for the thesis became to study the processes controlling UTLS water vapor and its changes. Water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas, involved in important climate feedback loops. Thus, a good understanding of the chemical and dynamical behavior of water vapor in the atmosphere is crucial for understanding the climate changes in the last century. Additionally, parts of the work was motivated by the development of a coupled climate chemistry model based on the CAM3 model coupled with the Chemical Transport Model Oslo CTM2. The future work will be concentrated on the UTLS water vapor impact on chemistry and climate. We are currently studying long term trends in UTLS water vapor, focusing on identification of the different processes involved in the determination of such trends. The study is based on natural as well as anthropogenic climate forcings. The ongoing work on the development of a coupled climate chemistry model will continue within our group, in collaboration with Prof. Wei-Chyung Wang at the State University of New York, Albany. Valuable contacts with observational groups are established during the work on this thesis. These collaborations will be continued focusing on continuous model validation, as well as identification of trends and new features in UTLS water vapor, and other tracers in this region. (Author)

Water vapor spectroscopy in the 815-nm wavelength region for Differential Absorption Lidar measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Ponsardin, Patrick; Browell, Edward V.

1995-01-01

The differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique was first applied to the remote measurement of atmospheric water vapor profiles from airborne platforms in 1981. The successful interpretation of the lidar profiles relies strongly on an accurate knowledge of specific water vapor absorption line parameters: line strength, pressure broadening coefficient, pressure-induced shift coefficient and the respective temperature-dependence factors. NASA Langley Research Center has developed and is currently testing an autonomous airborne water vapor lidar system: LASE (Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment). This DIAL system uses a Nd:YAG-pumped Ti:Sapphire laser seeded by a diode laser as a lidar transmitter. The tunable diode has been selected to operate in the 813-818 nm wavelength region. This 5-nm spectral interval offers a large distribution of strengths for temperature-insensitive water vapor absorption lines. In support of the LASE project, a series of spectroscopic measurements were conducted for the 16 absorption lines that have been identified for use in the LASE measurements. Prior to this work, the experimental data for this water vapor absorption band were limited - to our knowledge - to the line strengths and to the line positions.

Fuel Evaporation in an Atmospheric Premixed Burner: Sensitivity Analysis and Spray Vaporization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dávid Csemány

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Calculation of evaporation requires accurate thermophysical properties of the liquid. Such data are well-known for conventional fossil fuels. In contrast, e.g., thermal conductivity or dynamic viscosity of the fuel vapor are rarely available for modern liquid fuels. To overcome this problem, molecular models can be used. Currently, the measurement-based properties of n-heptane and diesel oil are compared with estimated values, using the state-of-the-art molecular models to derive the temperature-dependent material properties. Then their effect on droplet evaporation was evaluated. The critical parameters were liquid density, latent heat of vaporization, boiling temperature, and vapor thermal conductivity where the estimation affected the evaporation time notably. Besides a general sensitivity analysis, evaporation modeling in a practical burner ended up with similar results. By calculating droplet motion, the evaporation number, the evaporation-to-residence time ratio can be derived. An empirical cumulative distribution function is used for the spray of the analyzed burner to evaluate evaporation in the mixing tube. Evaporation number did not exceed 0.4, meaning a full evaporation prior to reaching the burner lip in all cases. As droplet inertia depends upon its size, the residence time has a minimum value due to the phenomenon of overshooting.

The ion mobility spectrometer for high explosive vapor detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, M.J.; Stimac, R.M.; Wernlund, R.F.

1984-01-01

The Phemto-Chem /SUP R/ Model 100 Ion Mobility Spectrometer (IMS) operates in air and measures a number of explosive vapors at levels as low as partsper-trillion in seconds. The theory and operation of this instrument is discussed. The IMS inhales the vapor sample in a current of air and generates characteristic ions which are separated by time-of -ion drift in the atmospheric pressure gas. Quantitative results, using a dilution tunnel and standard signal generator with TNT, nitroglycerine, ethylene glycol dinitrate, cyclohexanone, methylamine, octafluoronaphthalene and hexafluorobenzene, are given. Rapid sample treatment with sample concentrations, microprocessor signal readout and chemical identification, offer a realistic opportunity of rapid explosive vapor detection at levels down to 10 -14 parts by volume in air

Hazards to nuclear plants from off-site release of toxic vapors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hornyik, K.

1976-01-01

A method for the assessment of risk involved in shipping toxic compounds past nuclear power plants uses a postulated chain of events, starting with a traffic accident causing instantaneous release of the compound as vapor, and leading to incapacitation of control operators in the nuclear plant, described by deterministic and statistical models as appropriate to the respective event. Statistical treatment of relevant atmospheric conditions is a major improvement over more conservative assumptions commonly made in current analyses of this problem. Consequently, one obtains a substantial reduction in the estimated risk expressed in usual terms of the annual probability of an unacceptable event, in spite of the fact that no credit is taken for protective measures other than potential control room isolation

Study of natural energy system and downward atmospheric radiation. Part 1. Outline on measurement and result on downward atmospheric radiation; Shizen energy system to tenku hosharyo no kansoku kenkyu. 1. Kisho kansoku gaiyo to tenku hosharyo no kansoku kekka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohashi, K [Kogakuin University, Tokyo (Japan); Masuoka, Y [Yokogawa Architects and Engineers, Inc., Tokyo (Japan)

1996-10-27

For the study of a natural energy system taking advantage of radiation cooling, a simplified method for estimating downward atmospheric radiation quantities was examined, using observation records supplied from Hachioji City, Aerological Observatory in Tsukuba City, and four other locations. Downward atmospheric radiation quantities are closely related to partial vapor pressure in the atmosphere. Because partial vapor pressure changes according to the season, it was classified into two, for summer and for winter, and was referred to downward atmospheric radiation quantities for the establishment of their correlationships. Downward atmospheric radiation quantities were predicted on the basis of meteorological factors such as partial vapor pressure and free air temperature. Accuracy was examined of the simplified estimation equation for downward atmospheric radiation that had been proposed. A multiple regression analysis was carried out for calculating constants for the estimation equation, using partial vapor pressure, Stefan-Boltzmann constant, and free air dry-bulb absolute temperature, all closely correlated with atmospheric downward radiation quantities. Accuracy improved by time-based classification. At night, use of SAT (equivalent free air temperature) produced more accurate estimation. Though dependent upon local characteristics of the observation spot, the estimation equation works effectively. 10 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs.

How do organic vapors contribute to new-particle formation?

CERN Document Server

Donahue, Neil M; Chuang, Wayne; Riipinen, Ilona; Riccobono, Francesco; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Dommen, Josef; Baltensperger, Urs; Kulmala, Markku; Worsnop, Douglas R; Vehkamaki, Hanna

2013-01-01

Highly oxidised organic vapors can effectively stabilize sulphuric acid in heteronuclear clusters and drive new-particle formation. We present quantum chemical calculations of cluster stability, showing that multifunctional species can stabilize sulphuric acid and also present additional polar functional groups for subsequent cluster growth. We also model the multi-generation oxidation of vapors associated with secondary organic aerosol formation using a two-dimensional volatility basis set. The steady-state saturation ratios and absolute concentrations of extremely low volatility products are sufficient to drive new-particle formation with sulphuric acid at atmospherically relevant rates.

Evidence for extreme partitioning of copper into a magmatic vapor phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowenstern, J.B.; Mahood, G.A.; Rivers, M.L.; Sutton, S.R.

1991-01-01

The discovery of copper sulfides in carbon dioxide- and chlorine-bearing bubbles in phenocryst-hosted melt inclusions shows that copper resides in a vapor phase in some shallow magma chambers. Copper is several hundred times more concentrated in magmatic vapor than in coexisting pantellerite melt. The volatile behavior of copper should be considered when modeling the volcanogenic contribution of metals to the atmosphere and may be important in the formation of copper porphyry ore deposits

Continuous Water Vapor Profiles from Operational Ground-Based Active and Passive Remote Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, D. D.; Feltz, W. F.; Ferrare, R. A.

2000-01-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed site central facility near Lamont, Oklahoma, offers unique operational water vapor profiling capabilities, including active and passive remote sensors as well as traditional in situ radiosonde measurements. Remote sensing technologies include an automated Raman lidar and an automated Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI), which are able to retrieve water vapor profiles operationally through the lower troposphere throughout the diurnal cycle. Comparisons of these two water vapor remote sensing methods to each other and to radiosondes over an 8-month period are presented and discussed, highlighting the accuracy and limitations of each method. Additionally, the AERI is able to retrieve profiles of temperature while the Raman lidar is able to retrieve aerosol extinction profiles operationally. These data, coupled with hourly wind profiles from a 915-MHz wind profiler, provide complete specification of the state of the atmosphere in noncloudy skies. Several case studies illustrate the utility of these high temporal resolution measurements in the characterization of mesoscale features within a 3-day time period in which passage of a dryline, warm air advection, and cold front occurred.

Energy Savings Potential and RD&D Opportunities for Non-Vapor-Compression HVAC Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2014-03-01

While vapor-compression technologies have served heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) needs very effectively, and have been the dominant HVAC technology for close to 100 years, the conventional refrigerants used in vapor-compression equipment contribute to global climate change when released to the atmosphere. This Building Technologies Office report: --Identifies alternatives to vapor-compression technology in residential and commercial HVAC applications --Characterizes these technologies based on their technical energy savings potential, development status, non-energy benefits, and other factors affecting end-user acceptance and their ability to compete with conventional vapor-compression systems --Makes specific research, development, and deployment (RD&D) recommendations to support further development of these technologies, should DOE choose to support non-vapor-compression technology further.

Decomposition of atmospheric water content into cluster contributions based on theoretical association equilibrium constants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slanina, Z.

1987-01-01

Water vapor is treated as an equilibrium mixture of water clusters (H 2 O)/sub i/ using quantum-chemical evaluation of the equilibrium constants of water associations. The model is adapted to the conditions of atmospheric humidity, and a decomposition algorithm is suggested using the temperature and mass concentration of water as input information and used for a demonstration of evaluation of the water oligomer populations in the Earth's atmosphere. An upper limit of the populations is set up based on the water content in saturated aqueous vapor. It is proved that the cluster population in the saturated water vapor, as well as in the Earth's atmosphere for a typical temperature/humidity profile, increases with increasing temperatures

Method for the generation of variable density metal vapors which bypasses the liquidus phase

Science.gov (United States)

Kunnmann, Walter; Larese, John Z.

2001-01-01

The present invention provides a method for producing a metal vapor that includes the steps of combining a metal and graphite in a vessel to form a mixture; heating the mixture to a first temperature in an argon gas atmosphere to form a metal carbide; maintaining the first temperature for a period of time; heating the metal carbide to a second temperature to form a metal vapor; withdrawing the metal vapor and the argon gas from the vessel; and separating the metal vapor from the argon gas. Metal vapors made using this method can be used to produce uniform powders of the metal oxide that have narrow size distribution and high purity.

A FGGE water vapor wind data set

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Tod R.; Hayden, Christopher M.

1985-01-01

It has been recognized for some time that water vapor structure visible in infrared imagery offers a potential for obtaining motion vectors when several images are considered in sequence (Fischer et al., 1981). A study evaluating water vapor winds obtained from the VISSR atmospheric sounder (Stewart et al., 1985) has confirmed the viability of the approach. More recently, 20 data sets have been produced from METEOSAT water vapor imagery for the FGGE period of 10-25 November 1979. Where possible, two data sets were prepared for each day at 0000 and 1200 GMT and compared with rawinsondes over Europe, Africa, and aircraft observations over the oceans. Procedures for obtaining winds were, in general, similar to the earlier study. Motions were detected both by a single pixel tracking and a cross correlation method by using three images individually separated by one hour. A height assignment was determined by matching the measured brightness temperature to the temperature structure represented by the FGGE-IIIB analyses. Results show that the METEOSAT water vapor winds provide uniform horizontal coverage of mid-level flow over the globe with good accuracy.

Uptake of mercury vapor by wheat. An assimilation model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Browne, C.L.; Fang, S.C.

1978-01-01

Using a whole-plant chamber and 203 Hg-labeled mercury, a quantitative study was made of the effect of environmental parameters on the uptake, by wheat (Triticum aestivum), of metallic mercury vapor, an atmospheric pollutant. Factors were examined in relation to their influence on components of the gas-assimilation model, U(Hg) = (C/sub A' -- C/sub L')/(r/sub L.Hg/ + r/sub M.Hg/) where U(Hg) is the rate of mercury uptake per unit leaf surface, C/sub A'/ is the ambient mercury vapor concentration, C/sub L'/ is the mercury concentration at immobilization sites within the plant (assumed to be zero), r/sub L.Hg/ is the total leaf resistance to mercury vapor exchange, and r/sub M.Hg/ is a residual term to account for unexplained physical and biochemical resistances to mercury vapor uptake. Essentially all mercury vapor uptake was confined to the leaves. r/sub L.Hg/ was particularly influenced by illumination (0 to 12.8 klux), but unaffected by ambient temperature (17 to 33 0 C) and mercury vapor concentration (0 to 40 μg m -3 ). The principal limitation to mercury vapor uptake was r/sub M.Hg/, which was linearly related to leaf temperature, but unaffected by mercury vapor concentration and illumination, except for apparent high values in darkness. Knowing C/sub A'/ and estimating r/sub L.Hg/ and r/sub M.Hg/ from experimental data, mercury vapor uptake by wheat in light was accurately predicted for several durations of exposure using the above model

Atmospheric pressure photoionization using tunable VUV synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giuliani, A.; Giorgetta, J.-L.; Ricaud, J.-P.; Jamme, F.; Rouam, V.; Wien, F.; Laprévote, O.; Réfrégiers, M.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Coupling of an atmospheric pressure photoionization source with a vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) beamline. ► The set up allows photoionization up to 20 eV. ► Compared to classical atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI), our set up offers spectral purity and tunability. ► Allows photoionization mass spectrometry on fragile and hard to vaporize molecules. - Abstract: We report here the first coupling of an atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) source with a synchrotron radiation beamline in the vacuum ultra-violet (VUV). A commercial APPI source of a QStar Pulsar i from AB Sciex was modified to receive photons from the DISCO beamline at the SOLEIL synchrotron radiation facility. Photons are delivered at atmospheric pressure in the 4–20 eV range. The advantages of this new set up, termed SR-APPI, over classical APPI are spectral purity and continuous tunability. The technique may also be used to perform tunable photoionization mass spectrometry on fragile compounds difficult to vaporize by classical methods.

Development of an Airborne Micropulse Water Vapor DIAL

Science.gov (United States)

Nehrir, A. R.; Ismail, S.

2012-12-01

Water vapor plays a key role in many atmospheric processes affecting both weather and climate. Airborne measurements of tropospheric water vapor profiles have been a longstanding observational need to not only the active remote sensing community but also to the meteorological, weather forecasting, and climate/radiation science communities. Microscale measurements of tropospheric water vapor are important for enhancing near term meteorological forecasting capabilities while mesoscale and synopticscale measurements can lead to an enhanced understanding of the complex coupled feedback mechanisms between water vapor, temperature, aerosols, and clouds. To realize tropospheric measurements of water vapor profiles over the microscale-synopticscale areas of meteorological interest, a compact and cost effective airborne micropulse differential absorption lidar (DIAL) is being investigated using newly emerging semiconductor based laser technology. Ground based micropulse DIAL (MPD) measurements of tropospheric water vapor and aerosol profiles up to 6 km and 15 km, respectively, have been previously demonstrated using an all semiconductor based laser transmitter. The DIAL transmitter utilizes a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) configuration where two semiconductor seed lasers are used to seed a single pass traveling wave tapered semiconductor optical amplifier (TSOA), producing up to 7μJ pulse energies over a 1 μs pulse duration at a 10 kHz pulse repetition frequency (PRF). Intercomparisons between the ground based instrument measurements and radiosonde profiles demonstrating the MPD performance under varying atmospheric conditions will be presented. Work is currently ongoing to expand upon the ground based MPD concept and to develop a compact and cost effective system capable of deployment on a mid-low altitude aircraft such as the NASA Langley B200 King Air. Initial lab experiments show that a two-three fold increase in the laser energy compared to the ground

Measurement and correlation of (vapor + liquid) equilibrium data for {α-pinene + p-cymene + (S)-(−)-limonene} ternary system at atmospheric pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Lixia; Liao, Dankui; Yang, Zhengyu; Chen, Xiaopeng; Tong, Zhangfa

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The VLE data of (α-pinene + p-cymene) and (α-pinene + p-cymene + (S)-(−)-limonene) at atmospheric pressure were measured. ► The VLE data of binary system were correlated by four activity coefficient models. ► The ternary VLE data were predicted from binary parameters of the Liebermann–Fried model. ► The constant G 123 E counters plotted on the Roozeboom diagrams. -- Abstract: (Vapor + liquid) equilibrium (VLE) data for binary system of (α-pinene + p-cymene) and ternary system of {α-pinene + p-cymene + (S)-(−)-limonene} were measured at 100.7 kPa using the modified Ellis equilibrium still. The VLE data are thermodynamically consistent. Parameters of the binary system for the four solution models — Liebermann–Fried, Wilson, NRTL, and UNIQUAC — were calculated by referencing least squares method to minimize an objective function based on the total pressure. The ternary system data were predicted with the parameters of Liebermann–Fried model obtained from the pertinent binary systems. The predicted bubble-point temperature and the vapor composition for the ternary system were in good agreement with the experimental results. Smooth representations of the results are used to construct constant excess Gibbs free energy contours on Roozeboom diagrams

Sensitivity of a soil-plant-atmosphere model to changes in air temperature, dew point temperature, and solar radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luxmoore, R.J. (Oak Ridge National Lab.,TN); Stolzy, J.L.; Holdeman, J.T.

1981-01-01

Air temperature, dew point temperature and solar radiation were independently varied in an hourly soil-plant-atmosphere model in a sensitivity analysis of these parameters. Results suggested that evapotranspiration in eastern Tennessee is limited more by meteorological conditions that determine the vapor-pressure gradient than by the necessary energy to vaporize water within foliage. Transpiration and soil water drainage were very sensitive to changes in air and dew point temperature and to solar radiation under low atmospheric vapor-pressure deficit conditions associated with reduced air temperature. Leaf water potential and stomatal conductance were reduced under conditions having high evapotranspiration. Representative air and dew point temperature input data for a particular application are necessary for satisfactory results, whereas irradiation may be less well characterized for applications with high atmospheric vapor-pressure deficit. The effects of a general rise in atmospheric temperature on forest water budgets are discussed.

Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) Measurements of Atmospheric Water Vapor Utilizing Robotic Aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Ngoc; DeYoung, Russell J.; Prasad, Coorg R.; Laufer, Gabriel

1998-01-01

A new unpiloted air vehicle (UAV) based water vapor DIAL system will be described. This system is expected to offer lower operating costs, longer test duration and severe weather capabilities. A new high-efficiency, compact, light weight, diode-pumped, tunable Cr:LiSAF laser will be developed to meet the UAV payload weight and size limitations and its constraints in cooling capacity, physical size and payload. Similarly, a new receiver system using a single mirror telescope and an avalanche photo diode (APD) will be developed. Projected UAV parameters are expected to allow operation at altitudes up to 20 km, endurance of 24 hrs and speed of 400 km/hr. At these conditions measurements of water vapor at an uncertainty of 2-10% with a vertical resolution of 200 m and horizontal resolution of 10 km will be possible.

Mitigation Atmospheric Effects in Interferogram with Using Integrated Meris/modis Data and a Case Study Over Southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, X.; Zhang, P.; Sun, Z.

2018-04-01

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar(InSAR), as a space geodetictechnology, had been testified a high potential means of earth observation providing a method fordigital elevation model (DEM) and surface deformation monitoring of high precision. However, the accuracy of the interferometric synthetic aperture radar is mainly limited by the effects of atmospheric water vapor. In order to effectively measure topography or surface deformations by synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR), it is necessary to mitigate the effects of atmospheric water vapor on the interferometric signals. This paper analyzed the atmospheric effects on the interferogram quantitatively, and described a result of estimating Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) from the the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the ground-based GPS, compared the MERIS/MODIS PWV with the GPS PWV. Finally, a case study for mitigating atmospheric effects in interferogramusing with using the integration of MERIS and MODIS PWV overSouthern California is given. The result showed that such integration approach benefits removing or reducing the atmospheric phase contribution from the corresponding interferogram, the integrated Zenith Path Delay Difference Maps (ZPDDM) of MERIS and MODIS helps reduce the water vapor effects efficiently, the standard deviation (STD) of interferogram is improved by 23 % after the water vapor correction than the original interferogram.

Analysis of Saturn's Thermal Emission at 2.2-cm Wavelength: Spatial Distribution of Ammonia Vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Laraia, A. L.; Ingersoll, A. P.; Janssen, Michael A.; Gulkis, Samuel; Oyafuso, Fabiano A.; Allison, Michael D.

2013-01-01

This work focuses on determining the latitudinal structure of ammonia vapor in Saturn's cloud layer near 1.5 bars using the brightness temperature maps derived from the Cassini RADAR (Elachi et al., 2004) instrument, which works in a passive mode to measure thermal emission from Saturn at 2.2-cm wavelength. We perform an analysis of five brightness temperature maps that span epochs from 2005 to 2011, which are presented in a companion paper by Janssen et al. (2013a, this issue). The brightness temperature maps are representative of the spatial distribution of ammonia vapor, since ammonia gas is the only effective opacity source in Saturn's atmosphere at 2.2-cm wavelength. Relatively high brightness temperatures indicate relatively low ammonia relative humidity (RH), and vice versa. We compare the observed brightness temperatures to brightness temperatures computed using the Juno atmospheric microwave radiative transfer (JAMRT) program which includes both the means to calculate a tropospheric atmosphere model for Saturn and the means to carry out radiative transfer calculations at microwave frequencies. The reference atmosphere to which we compare has a 3x solar deep mixing ratio of ammonia (we use 1.352x10(exp -4) for the solar mixing ratio of ammonia vapor relative to H2; see Atreya, 2010) and is fully saturated above its cloud base. The maps are comprised of residual brightness temperatures-observed brightness temperature minus the model brightness temperature of the saturated atmosphere.

Retrieval of water vapor vertical distributions in the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere from SCIAMACHY limb measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Rozanov

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This study describes the retrieval of water vapor vertical distributions in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS altitude range from space-borne observations of the scattered solar light made in limb viewing geometry. First results using measurements from SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY aboard ENVISAT (Environmental Satellite are presented here. In previous publications, the retrieval of water vapor vertical distributions has been achieved exploiting either the emitted radiance leaving the atmosphere or the transmitted solar radiation. In this study, the scattered solar radiation is used as a new source of information on the water vapor content in the UTLS region. A recently developed retrieval algorithm utilizes the differential absorption structure of the water vapor in 1353–1410 nm spectral range and yields the water vapor content in the 11–25 km altitude range. In this study, the retrieval algorithm is successfully applied to SCIAMACHY limb measurements and the resulting water vapor profiles are compared to in situ balloon-borne observations. The results from both satellite and balloon-borne instruments are found to agree typically within 10 %.

Relative spectral absorption of solar radiation by water vapor and cloud droplets

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, R.; Ridgway, W. L.

1983-01-01

A moderate (20/cm) spectral resolution model which accounts for both the highly variable spectral transmission of solar radiation through water vapor within and above cloud, as well as the more slowly varying features of absorption and anisotropic multiple scattering by the cloud droplets, is presented. Results from this model as applied to the case of a typical 1 km thick stratus cloud in a standard atmosphere, with cloud top altitude of 2 km and overhead sun, are discussed, showing the relative importance of water vapor above the cloud, water vapor within the cloud, and cloud droplets on the spectral absorption of solar radiation.

Optical remote sensing of properties and concentrations of atmospheric trace constituents

Science.gov (United States)

Vladutescu, Daniela Viviana

The effect of human activities on the global climate may lead to large disturbances of the economic, social and political circumstances in the middle and long term. Understanding the dynamics of the Earth's climate is therefore of high importance and one of the major scientific challenges of our time. The estimation of the contribution of the Earth's climate system components needs observation and continuous monitoring of various atmospheric physical and chemical parameters. Temperature, water vapor and greenhouse gases concentration, aerosol and clouds loads, and atmospheric dynamics are parameters of particular importance in this respect. The quantification of the anthropogenic influence on the dynamics of these above-mentioned parameters is of crucial importance nowadays but still affected by significant uncertainties. In the present context of these huge uncertainties in our understanding of how these different atmospheric compounds contribute to the radiative forcing, a significant part of my research interest is related to the following topics: (1) Development of lidar (Light Detection and Ranging)-based remote sensing techniques for monitoring atmospheric compounds and processes; (2) Aerosols hygroscopic properties and atmospheric modeling; (3) Water vapor mixing ratio and relative humidity estimation in the troposphere; (4) Characterization of the long-range transported aerosols; (5) Ambient gases detection using Fourier Transform Interferometers (FTIR); (6) Design of inexpensive Fabry Perot Interferometer for visible and near infrared for land and ocean surface remote sensing applications. The lidar-based remote sensing measurement techniques for the monitoring of climate change parameters where implemented at the City College of the City University of New York (CCNY/CUNY) LIDAR station and are presented in the second section of the paper. The geographical location of the CCNY lidar station is 40.86N, -73.86W. Among the lidar retrievals one important

Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Silicate Vaporization

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Nathan S.; Costa, Gustavo C. C.

2015-01-01

Silicates are a common class of materials that are often exposed to high temperatures. The behavior of these materials needs to be understood for applications as high temperature coatings in material science as well as the constituents of lava for geological considerations. The vaporization behavior of these materials is an important aspect of their high temperature behavior and it also provides fundamental thermodynamic data. The application of Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry (KEMS) to silicates is discussed. There are several special considerations for silicates. The first is selection of an appropriate cell material, which is either nearly inert or has well-understood interactions with the silicate. The second consideration is proper measurement of the low vapor pressures. This can be circumvented by using a reducing agent to boost the vapor pressure without changing the solid composition or by working at very high temperatures. The third consideration deals with kinetic barriers to vaporization. The measurement of these barriers, as encompassed in a vaporization coefficient, is discussed. Current measured data of rare earth silicates for high temperature coating applications are discussed. In addition, data on magnesium-iron-silicates (olivine) are presented and discussed.

Low temperature carrier transport study of monolayer MoS{sub 2} field effect transistors prepared by chemical vapor deposition under an atmospheric pressure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Xinke, E-mail: xkliu@szu.edu.cn, E-mail: wujing026@gmail.com; He, Jiazhu; Tang, Dan; Lu, Youming; Zhu, Deliang; Liu, Wenjun; Cao, Peijiang; Han, Sun [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology of Ceramics, Nanshan District Key Lab for Biopolymer and Safety Evaluation, Shenzhen University, 3688 Nanhai Ave, Shenzhen 518060 (China); Liu, Qiang; Wen, Jiao; Yu, Wenjie [State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, CAS, 865 Chang Ning Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Liu, Wenjun [State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Department of Microelectronics, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433 (China); Wu, Jing, E-mail: xkliu@szu.edu.cn, E-mail: wujing026@gmail.com [Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, 117576 Singapore (Singapore); He, Zhubing [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, South University of Science and Technology of China, 1088 Xueyuan Road, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Ang, Kah-Wee [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, 117583 Singapore (Singapore)

2015-09-28

Large size monolayer Molybdenum disulphide (MoS{sub 2}) was successfully grown by chemical vapor deposition method under an atmospheric pressure. The electrical transport properties of the fabricated back-gate monolayer MoS{sub 2} field effect transistors (FETs) were investigated under low temperatures; a peak field effect mobility of 59 cm{sup 2}V{sup −1}s{sup −1} was achieved. With the assist of Raman measurement under low temperature, this work identified the mobility limiting factor for the monolayer MoS{sub 2} FETs: homopolar phonon scattering under low temperature and electron-polar optical phonon scattering at room temperature.

Numerical modeling of water-vapor transport during pre-storm and COHMEX

Science.gov (United States)

Djuric, Dusan

1986-01-01

Initial conditions are designed for numerical simulation of mesocale processes in the atmosphere using the Limited Area Mesoscale Prediction System (LAMPS) model. These initial conditions represent an idealized baroclinic wave in which the transport of water vapor can be simulated. The constructed atmosphere has two homogeneous air masses, polar front, polar jet stream and a stratosphere. All these simulate the basic structure of the earth's atmosphere. The hydrostatic and geostrophic balances make it possible to evaluate mutually consistent fields of wind and of the height of isobaric surfaces.

Interactions of methylamine and ammonia with atmospheric nucleation precursor H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and common organic acids: Thermodynamics and atmospheric implications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Y.; Jiang, L.; Bai, Z. [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Science, Beijing 100012 (China); Nadykto, A. B., E-mail: anadykto@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Science, Beijing 100012 (China); Department of Applied Mathematics, Moscow State University of Technology “STANKIN”, Vadkovsky per. 1, Moscow 127055 (Russian Federation); Atmospheric Science Research Center, State University of New York at Albany, 251 Fuller Road, Albany, NY 12203 (United States)

2016-06-08

Interactions of the two common atmospheric bases, ammonia (NH{sub 3}) and methylamine MA (CH{sub 3}NH{sub 2}), which are considered to be important stabilizers of binary clusters in the Earth’s atmosphere, with H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}, the key atmospheric precursor, and 14 common atmospheric organic acids (COA) (formic (CH{sub 2}O{sub 2}), acetic (C{sub 2}H{sub 4}O{sub 2}), oxalic (C{sub 2}H{sub 2}O{sub 4}), malonic (C{sub 3}H{sub 4}O{sub 4}), succinic (C{sub 4}H{sub 6}O{sub 4}), glutaric acid (C{sub 5}H{sub 8}O{sub 4}), adipic (C{sub 6}H{sub 10}O{sub 4}), benzoic (C{sub 6}H{sub 5}COOH), phenylacetic (C{sub 6}H{sub 5}CH{sub 2}COOH), pyruvic (C{sub 3}H{sub 4}O{sub 3}), maleic acid (C{sub 4}H{sub 4}O{sub 4}), malic (C{sub 4}H{sub 6}O{sub 5}), tartaric (C{sub 4}H{sub 6}O{sub 6}) and pinonic acid (C{sub 10}H{sub 16}O{sub 3})) have been studied using the composite high-accuracy G3MP2 method. The thermodynamic stability of mixed (COA) (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}), (COA)(B1) and (COA)(B2) dimers and (COA) (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}) (B1) and (COA) (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}) (B1) trimers, where B1 and B2 represent methylamine (CH{sub 3}NH{sub 2}) and ammonia (NH{sub 3}), respectively, have been investigated and their impacts on the thermodynamic stability of clusters containing H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} have been analyzed. It has been shown that in many cases the interactions of H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} with COA, ammonia and methylamine lead to the formation of heteromolecular dimers and trimers, which are certainly more stable than (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}){sub 2} and (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}){sub 3}. It has also been found that free energies of (COA) (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4})+ CH{sub 3}NH{sub 2}⇔(COA) (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4})(CH{sub 3}NH{sub 2}) reactions exceed 10-15 kcal mol{sup −1}. This is a clear indication that mixed trimers composed of COA, H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and methylamine are very stable and can thus serve as possible nucleation sites. The present study leads us to conclude that the interactions of COA coexisting with H

40 CFR 427.100 - Applicability; description of the vapor absorption subcategory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Applicability; description of the vapor absorption subcategory. 427.100 Section 427.100 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... materials from atmospheric emissions by means of wet scrubbers. ...

Water vapor differential absorption lidar development and evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Browell, E. V.; Wilkerson, T. D.; Mcllrath, T. J.

1979-01-01

A ground-based differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system is described which has been developed for vertical range-resolved measurements of water vapor. The laser transmitter consists of a ruby-pumped dye laser, which is operated on a water vapor absorption line at 724.372 nm. Part of the ruby laser output is transmitted simultaneously with the dye laser output to determine atmospheric scattering and attenuation characteristics. The dye and ruby laser backscattered light is collected by a 0.5-m diam telescope, optically separated in the receiver package, and independently detected using photomultiplier tubes. Measurements of vertical water vapor concentration profiles using the DIAL system at night are discussed, and comparisons are made between the water vapor DIAL measurements and data obtained from locally launched rawinsondes. Agreement between these measurements was found to be within the uncertainty of the rawinsonde data to an altitude of 3 km. Theoretical simulations of this measurement were found to give reasonably accurate predictions of the random error of the DIAL measurements. Confidence in these calculations will permit the design of aircraft and Shuttle DIAL systems and experiments using simulation results as the basis for defining lidar system performance requirements

Vapor pressures and enthalpies of vaporization of azides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verevkin, Sergey P.; Emel'yanenko, Vladimir N.; Algarra, Manuel; Manuel Lopez-Romero, J.; Aguiar, Fabio; Enrique Rodriguez-Borges, J.; Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C.G.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We prepared and measured vapor pressures and vaporization enthalpies of 7 azides. → We examined consistency of new and available in the literature data. → Data for geminal azides and azido-alkanes selected for thermochemical calculations. - Abstract: Vapor pressures of some azides have been determined by the transpiration method. The molar enthalpies of vaporization Δ l g H m of these compounds were derived from the temperature dependencies of vapor pressures. The measured data sets were successfully checked for internal consistency by comparison with vaporization enthalpies of similarly structured compounds.

Structural effect of ferrocenecarboxymethylated polymers on their electrical behavior under the exposure to methanol and acetone vapors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hachawee, Kosin; Lerdwijitjarud, Wanchai; Sittattrakul, Amnard; Sirivat, Anuvat

2008-01-01

Functionalized ferrocenecarboxymethylated polymers, i.e. poly(vinylbenzyl ferrocenecarboxymethylate) (PVBFCC), poly(vinylbenzyl ferrocenecarboxymethylate-co-ethoxyethylmethacrylate) with the mole ratio between vinylbenzyl ferrocenecarboxymethylate and ethoxyethylmethacrylate of 75:25 (Co-PVBFCC 75/25) and 50:50 (Co-PVBFCC 50/50), and ferrocenecarboxymethylated polysulfone (BPSFCC) were investigated for their electrical behavior under the vapors of methanol and acetone and nitrogen gas. Electrical conductivity responses of the four ferrocenecarboxymethylated polymers in the presence of lithium perchlorate were measured when they were exposed to nitrogen gas, and methanol and acetone vapors. Main factors that affect the electrical conductivity and sensitivity of these electroactive ferrocene polymers originate from the polymer structure and the type of the passing gas or vapor. Ferrocenecarboxymethylated polymers with higher degrees of substitution of ferrocene units possess good electrical conductivity under the atmosphere of mixed N 2 /methanol vapor, while ferrocenecarboxymethylated polymers with more flexible chain and/or larger free volumes give higher electrical conductivity under the atmosphere of mixed N 2 /acetone vapor. The gas or vapor molecule with higher polarity and smaller size enhances the electrical conductivity of the ferrocene polymers. Our results clearly indicate that the synthesized ferrocenecarboxymethylated polymers have potential to be used as methanol or acetone sensor materials

Temperature/pressure and water vapor sounding with microwave spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Muhleman, D. O.; Janssen, M. A.; Clancy, R. T.; Gulkis, S.; Mccleese, D. J.; Zurek, R.; Haberle, R. M.; Frerking, M.

1992-01-01

Two intense microwave spectra lines exist in the martian atmosphere that allow unique sounding capabilities: water vapor at 183 GHz and the (2-1) rotational line of CO at 230 GHz. Microwave spectra line sounding is a well-developed technique for the Earth's atmosphere for sounding from above from spacecraft and airplanes, and from below from fixed surface sites. Two simple instruments for temperature sounding on Mars (the CO line) and water vapor measurements are described. The surface sounder proposed for the MESUR sites is designed to study the boundary layer water vapor distribution and the temperature/pressure profiles with vertical resolution of 0.25 km up to 1 km with reduced resolution above approaching a scale height. The water channel will be sensitive to a few tenths of a micrometer of water and the temperature profile will be retrieved to an accuracy between 1 and 2 K. The latter is routinely done on the Earth using oxygen lines near 60 GHz. The measurements are done with a single-channel heterodyne receiver looking into a 10-cm mirror that is canned through a range of elevation angles plus a target load. The frequency of the receiver is sweep across the water and CO lines generating the two spectra at about 1-hr intervals throughout the mission. The mass and power for the proposed instrument are 2 kg and 5-8 W continuously. The measurements are completely immune to the atmospheric dust and ice particle loads. It was felt that these measurements are the ultimate ones to properly study the martian boundary layer from the surface to a few kilometers. Sounding from above requires an orbiting spacecraft with multichannel microwave spectrometers such as the instrument proposed for MO by a subset of the authors, a putative MESUR orbiter, and a proposed Discovery mission called MOES. Such an instrument can be built with less than 10 kg and use less than 15 W. The obvious advantage of this approach is that the entire atmosphere can be sounded for temperature and

Numerical modeling of a vaporizing multicomponent droplet

Science.gov (United States)

Megaridis, C. M.; Sirignano, W. A.

The fundamental processes governing the energy, mass, and momentum exchange between the liquid and gas phases of vaporizing, multicomponent liquid droplets have been investigated. The axisymmetric configuration under consideration consists of an isolated multicomponent droplet vaporizing in a convective environment. The model considers different volatilities of the liquid components, variable liquid properties due to variation of the species concentrations, and non-Fickian multicomponent gaseous diffusion. The bicomponent droplet model was employed to examine the commonly used assumptions of unity Lewis number in the liquid phase and Fickian gaseous diffusion. It is found that the droplet drag coefficients, the vaporization rates, and the related transfer numbers are not influenced by the above assumptions in a significant way.

Ground-based observations of Mars and Venus water vapor during 1972 and 1973

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barker, E.S.

1974-01-01

The Venus water vapor line at 8197.71 A has been monitored at several positions on the disk of Venus and at phase angles between 22 0 and 91 0 . Variations in the abundance have been found with both position and time. The total two-way transmission has varied from less than 5 to 77 μ of water vapor. Comparisons are made between water vapor abundance, presence of UV features and the CO 2 abundance determined from near simultaneous observations of CO 2 bands at the same position on the disk of Venus. The amount of Martian atmospheric water vapor has been monitored during the past two years at McDonald Observatory using the echelle coude scanner of the 272cm reflector. Two periods of the Martain year have been monitored. The first period was during and after the great 1971 dust storm (Lsub(s)=290 0 to 20 0 or summer in the southern hemisphere). The results obtained are compared to the Mariner 9 IRIS and Mars 3 observations made during the same period. During the second period (Lsub(s)=124 0 to 266 0 ) observations were made to follow the seasonal latitudinal and diurnal changes in the water abundance in the Martian atmosphere. Studies of the latitudinal and diurnal vapor distributions indicate the location of maximum and minimum abundances for this season are positively correlated with surface temperature variations. (Auth.)

Molecular absorption by atmospheric gases in the 100-1000 GHz region

Science.gov (United States)

Llewellyn-Jones, D. T.; Knight, R. J.

The two principal atmospheric absorbers in the near-mm wavelength region are oxygen and water vapor. In order to measure the degree of water vapor absorption with the required precision, a large untuned resonator was constructed, consisting of a copper cylindrical structure with a Q-value close to one million at 100 GHz. A comparison of observed absorption values with theoretical predictions show a marked discrepancy. Without laboratory measurements such as the present, existing atmospheric attenuation models are likely to be inaccurate and misleading, especially at the lower range of tropospheric temperatures.

"Super-Fog"--A Combination of Smoke and Water Vapor That Produces Zero Visibility over Roadways

Science.gov (United States)

Gary L. Achtemeier

2002-01-01

Forest and agricultural burning release chemical compounds and particulate matter into the atmosphere. Although most of this material contributes to visibility reductions through haze and provldes chemical constituents available for reactions with other atmospheric pollutants, there are occasions when smoke is entrapped locally and combines with water vapor to...

Formation and Evolution of the Atmosphere on Early Titan

Science.gov (United States)

Marounina, N.; Tobie, G.; Carpy, S.; Monteux, J.; Charnay, B.; Grasset, O.

2014-12-01

The mass and composition of Titan's massive atmosphere, which is dominated by N2 and CH4 at present, have probably varied all along its history owing to a combination of exogenous and endogenous processes. In a recent study, we investigated its fate during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) by modeling the competitive loss and supply of volatiles by cometary impacts and their consequences on the atmospheric balance. We examine the emergence of an atmosphere as well as the evolution of a primitive atmosphere of various sizes and compositions. By considering an impactor population characteristic of the LHB, we showed that an atmosphere with a mass equivalent to the present-day one cannot be formed during the LHB era. Our calculations indicated that the high-velocity impacts during the LHB led to a strong atmospheric erosion, so that the pre-LHB atmosphere should be 5 to 7 times more massive than at present (depending mostly on the albedo), in order to sustain an atmosphere equivalent to the present-day one. This implies that either a massive atmosphere was formed on Titan during its accretion or that the nitrogen-rich atmosphere was generated after the LHB.To investigate the primitive atmosphere of the satellite, we consider chemical exchanges of volatils between a global water ocean at Titan's surface, generated by impact heating during the accretion and an atmosphere. We are currently developing a liquid-vapor equilibrium model for various initial oceanic composition to investigate how a massive atmosphere may be generated during the satellite growth and how it may evolve toward a composition dominated by N2. More generally, our model address how atmosphere may be generated in water-rich objects, which may be common around other stars.

Site of water vapor absorption in the desert cockroach, Arenivaga investigata.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, M J

1977-01-01

The desert cockroach, Arenivaga investigata, can gain weight by absorption of water-vapor from unsaturated atmospheres above 82.5% relative humidity. Blocking the anus or the dorsal surface with wax does not prevent water vapor uptake, but interference with movements of the mouthparts or blocking the mouth with wax-prevents such uptake. Weight gains are associated with the protrusion from the mouth of two bladder-like extensions of the hypopharynx. During absorption these structures are warmer than the surrounding mouthparts, their surface temperature increasing with relative humidity. This suggests that the surfaces of the bladder-like structures function at least as sites for condensation of water vapor, but the precise location of its transfer into the hemolymph has not yet been identified. Images PMID:266217

Spectroscopy of the earth's atmosphere and interstellar medium

CERN Document Server

Rao, KN

1992-01-01

Spectroscopy of the Earth's Atmosphere and Interstellar Medium focuses on the characteristics of the electromagnetic spectrum of the Earth's atmosphere in the far-infrared and microwave regions. It discusses the modes of observation in field measurements and reviews the two techniques used in the spectral region. Organized into six chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the effect of water-vapor absorption, followed by a discussion on the two frequently used method for deriving atmospheric parameters from high-resolution infrared atmospheric spectra, namely, the equivalent width

ARIS-Campaign: intercomparison of three ground based 22 GHz radiometers for middle atmospheric water vapor at the Zugspitze in winter 2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Straub

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the Alpine Radiometer Intercomparison at the Schneefernerhaus (ARIS, which took place in winter 2009 at the high altitude station at the Zugspitze, Germany (47.42° N, 10.98° E, 2650 m. This campaign was the first direct intercomparison between three new ground based 22 GHz water vapor radiometers for middle atmospheric profiling with the following instruments participating: MIRA 5 (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, cWASPAM3 (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau and MIAWARA-C (Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern. Even though the three radiometers all measure middle atmospheric water vapor using the same rotational transition line and similar fundamental set-ups, there are major differences between the front ends, the back ends, the calibration concepts and the profile retrieval. The spectrum comparison shows that all three radiometers measure spectra without severe baseline artifacts and that the measurements are in good general agreement. The measurement noise shows good agreement to the values theoretically expected from the radiometer noise formula. At the same time the comparison of the noise levels shows that there is room for instrumental and calibration improvement, emphasizing the importance of low elevation angles for the observation, a low receiver noise temperature and an efficient calibration scheme.

The comparisons of the retrieved profiles show that the agreement between the profiles of MIAWARA-C and cWASPAM3 with the ones of MLS is better than 0.3 ppmv (6% at all altitudes. MIRA 5 has a dry bias of approximately 0.5 ppm (8% below 0.1 hPa with respect to all other instruments. The profiles of cWASPAM3 and MIAWARA-C could not be directly compared because the vertical region of overlap was too small. The comparison of the time series at different altitude levels show a similar evolution of the H₂O volume mixing ratio (VMR for the ground based

Source of temperature and pressure pulsations during sessile droplet evaporation into multicomponent atmospheres.

Science.gov (United States)

Persad, Aaron H; Sefiane, Khellil; Ward, Charles A

2013-10-29

During sessile droplet evaporation, studies with IR thermography and shadowgraphs have indicated temperature pulsations. We confirm those observations with microthermocouples, but microthermocouples also indicate temperature pulsations in the atmosphere of the droplet. The pressure in this atmosphere pulsated as well and was correlated with the temperature pulsations in the droplet. Also, we find that if a droplet evaporates into its own vapor, there are no temperature or pressure pulsations. The pulsations occur only if the droplet evaporates into an atmosphere with a component having a heat of solution with the droplet when it adsorbs-absorbs. None of the currently proposed mechanisms for the temperature pulsations provide an explanation for the coupling between the temperature pulsations in the droplet and the vapor-phase pressure pulsations, and for the absence of the pulsations when the system is single-component. As a mechanism for the pulsations, we propose that when a droplet is exposed to an atmosphere containing a component that has a heat of solution with the droplet, energy will be released from adsorption-absorption. This energy will cause pulsations in the evaporation flux, and these pulsations could cause the observed temperature and pressure pulsations. We examine this mechanism by showing that, if the measured temperature pulsations in a water droplet exposed to a methanol atmosphere are used as the input to a theory of evaporation kinetics (statistical rate theory), the pressure pulsations of the water vapor in the methanol atmosphere are predicted and agree with those measured with a quadrupole mass analyzer. When the inputs and outputs are reversed in the theory, we find that the temperature pulsations in the droplet are correctly predicted from the measured water vapor pulsations in the atmosphere.

Performances of an atmospheric tritium sampler and its application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Yoshikazu; Kahn, B.; Carter, M.W.

1983-01-01

A sampling system for atmospheric tritium in the form of water vapor, hydrogen and hydrocarbons was designed and built. The air was passed first through molecular sieve which adsorbed water vapor, then over palladium catalyst which oxidized hydrogen and adsorbed resulting water in situ, and finally over hot Hopcalite catalyst, which oxidized hydrocarbons and the resulting water was adsorbed on a following molecular sieve column. Three water samples were extracted from adsorbers and their tritium contents were measured by liquid scintillation counting. Performances of this sampler were examined for retrieval of tritiated water from molecular sieve, oxidation of hydrogen on palladium catalyst and oxidation of methane on Hopcalite. The portable sampler was applied to analyze tritium in a duct air of a heavy water moderated research reactor. More than 99% of total tritium was in vapor form. Trace amounts of tritiated hydrogen and hydrocarbon were also detected. This tritium sampler is applicable to detect all of atmospheric tritium as high as ten times of ambient levels. (author)

Heavy metal vaporization and abatement during thermal treatment of modified wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rio, S.; Verwilghen, C.; Ramaroson, J.; Nzihou, A.; Sharrock, P.

2007-01-01

This study examines the vaporization percentage and partitioning of heavy metals Cd, Pb and Zn during thermal treatment of wastes with added PVC, heavy metals or phosphate, and the efficiency of sorbents for removal of these metallic compounds in flue gas of an industrial solid waste incinerator. Firstly, vaporization experiments were carried out to determine the behavior of heavy metals during combustion under various conditions (type of waste, temperature, presence of chloride or phosphate ...). The experimental results show relatively high vaporization percentage of metallic compounds within fly ash and limestone matrix while heavy metals within sediments treated with phosphoric acid are less volatile. Vaporization of metals increases with increasing temperature and with chloride addition. The thermal behavior of the selected heavy metals and their removal by sorbents (sodium bicarbonate, activated carbon) was also studied in an industrial solid waste incinerator. These pilot scale experiments confirm that heavy metals are concentrated in fly ashes and cyclone residues, thus effectively controlling their release to the atmosphere

General well function for soil vapor extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Perina, Tomas

2014-04-01

This paper develops a well function applicable to extraction of groundwater or soil vapor from a well under the most common field test conditions. The general well function (Perina and Lee, 2006) [12] is adapted to soil vapor extraction and constant head boundary at the top. For groundwater flow, the general well function now applies to an extraction well of finite diameter with uniform drawdown along the screen, finite-thickness skin, and partially penetrating an unconfined, confined, and leaky aquifer, or an aquifer underneath a reservoir. With a change of arguments, the model applies to soil vapor extraction from a vadose zone with no cover or with leaky cover at the ground surface. The extraction well can operate in specified drawdown (pressure for soil vapor) or specified flowrate mode. Frictional well loss is computed as flow-only dependent component of the drawdown inside the extraction well. In general case, the calculated flow distribution is not proportional to screen length for a multiscreen well.

Biodegradation of vapor-phase toluene in unsaturated porous media: Column experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Ali M.; Wick, Lukas Y.; Harms, Hauke; Thullner, Martin

2016-01-01

Biodegradation of organic chemicals in the vapor phase of soils and vertical flow filters has gained attention as promising approach to clean up volatile organic compounds (VOC). The drivers of VOC biodegradation in unsaturated systems however still remain poorly understood. Here, we analyzed the processes controlling aerobic VOC biodegradation in a laboratory setup mimicking the unsaturated zone above a shallow aquifer. The setup allowed for diffusive vapor-phase transport and biodegradation of three VOC: non-deuterated and deuterated toluene as two compounds of highly differing biodegradability but (nearly) identical physical and chemical properties, and MTBE as (at the applied experimental conditions) non-biodegradable tracer and internal control. Our results showed for toluene an effective microbial degradation within centimeter VOC transport distances despite high gas-phase diffusivity. Degradation rates were controlled by the reactivity of the compounds while oxic conditions were found everywhere in the system. This confirms hypotheses that vadose zone biodegradation rates can be extremely high and are able to prevent the outgassing of VOC to the atmosphere within a centimeter range if compound properties and site conditions allow for sufficiently high degradation rates. - Highlights: • The column setup allows resolving vapor-phase VOC concentration gradients at cm scale resolution. • Vapor-phase and liquid-phase concentrations are measured simultaneously. • Isotopically labelled VOC was used as reference species of low biodegradability. • Biodegradation rates in the unsaturated zone can be very high and act at a cm scale. • Unsaturated material can be an effective bio-barrier avoiding biodegradable VOC emissions. - Microbial degradation activity can be sufficient to remove VOC from unsaturated porous media after a few centimeter of vapor-phase diffusive transport and mayeffectively avoid atmospheric emissions.

Atmospheric effects on the NDVI - Strategies for its removal. [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, Y. J.; Tanre, D.; Holben, B. N.; Markham, B.; Gitelson, A.

1992-01-01

The compositing technique used to derive global vegetation index (NDVI) from the NOAA AVHRR radiances reduces the residual effect of water vapor and aerosol on the NDVI. The reduction in the atmospheric effect is shown using a comprehensive measured data set for desert conditions, and a simulation for grass with continental aerosol. A statistical analaysis of the probability of occurrence of aerosol optical thickness and precipitable water vapor measured in different climatic regimes is used for this simulation. It is concluded that for a long compositing period (e.g., 27 days), the residual aerosol optical thickness and precipitable water vapor are usually too small to be corrected. For a 9-day compositing, the residual average aerosol effect may be about twice the correction uncertainty. For Landsat TM or Earth Observing System Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (EOS-MODIS) data, the newly defined atmospherically resistant vegetation index (ARVI) is more promising than possible direct atmospheric correction schemes, except for heavy desert dust conditions.

Development of an Airborne Triple-Pulse 2-Micron Integrated Path Differential Absorption Lidar (IPDA) for Simultaneous Airborne Column Measurements of Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapor in the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Upendra N.; Petros, Mulugeta; Refaat, Tamer F.; Yu, Jirong; Antill, Charles W.; Remus, Ruben

2016-01-01

This presentation will provide status and details of an airborne 2-micron triple-pulse integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar being developed at NASA Langley Research Center with support from NASA ESTO Instrument Incubator Program. The development of this active optical remote sensing IPDA instrument is targeted for measuring both atmospheric carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere from an airborne platform. This presentation will focus on the advancement of the 2-micron triple-pulse IPDA lidar development. Updates on the state-of-the-art triple-pulse laser transmitter will be presented including the status of seed laser locking, wavelength control, receiver and detector upgrades, laser packaging and lidar integration. Future plan for IPDA lidar system for ground integration, testing and flight validation will also be presented.

Atmospheric Circulations of Rocky Planets as Heat Engines

Science.gov (United States)

Koll, D. D. B.

2017-12-01

Rocky planets are extremely common in the galaxy and include Earth, Mars, Venus, and hundreds of exoplanets. To understand and compare the climates of these planets, we need theories that are general enough to accommodate drastically different atmospheric and planetary properties. Unfortunately, few such theories currently exist.For Earth, there is a well-known principle that its atmosphere resembles a heat engine - the atmosphere absorbs heat near the surface, at a hot temperature, and emits heat to space in the upper troposphere, at a cold temperature, which allows it to perform work and balance dissipative processes such as friction. However, previous studies also showed that Earth's hydrological cycle uses up a large fraction of the heat engine's work output, which makes it difficult to view other atmospheres as heat engines.In this work I extend the heat engine principle from Earth towards other rocky planets. I explore both dry and moist atmospheres in an idealized general circulation model (GCM), and quantify their work output using entropy budgets. First, I show that convection and turbulent heat diffusion are important entropy sources in dry atmospheres. I develop a scaling that accounts for its effects, which allows me to predict the strength of frictional dissipation in dry atmospheres. There are strong parallels between my scaling and so-called potential intensity theory, which is a seminal theory for understanding tropical cyclones on Earth. Second, I address how moisture affects atmospheric heat engines. Moisture modifies both the thermodynamic properties of air and releases latent heat when water vapor condenses. I explore the impact of both effects, and use numerical simulations to explore the difference between dry and moist atmospheric circulations across a wide range of climates.

Improving InSAR geodesy using Global Atmospheric Models

Science.gov (United States)

Jolivet, Romain; Agram, Piyush Shanker; Lin, Nina Y.; Simons, Mark; Doin, Marie-Pierre; Peltzer, Gilles; Li, Zhenghong

2014-03-01

Spatial and temporal variations of pressure, temperature, and water vapor content in the atmosphere introduce significant confounding delays in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations of ground deformation and bias estimates of regional strain rates. Producing robust estimates of tropospheric delays remains one of the key challenges in increasing the accuracy of ground deformation measurements using InSAR. Recent studies revealed the efficiency of global atmospheric reanalysis to mitigate the impact of tropospheric delays, motivating further exploration of their potential. Here we explore the effectiveness of these models in several geographic and tectonic settings on both single interferograms and time series analysis products. Both hydrostatic and wet contributions to the phase delay are important to account for. We validate these path delay corrections by comparing with estimates of vertically integrated atmospheric water vapor content derived from the passive multispectral imager Medium-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, onboard the Envisat satellite. Generally, the performance of the prediction depends on the vigor of atmospheric turbulence. We discuss (1) how separating atmospheric and orbital contributions allows one to better measure long-wavelength deformation and (2) how atmospheric delays affect measurements of surface deformation following earthquakes, and (3) how such a method allows us to reduce biases in multiyear strain rate estimates by reducing the influence of unevenly sampled seasonal oscillations of the tropospheric delay.

CONVECTION IN CONDENSIBLE-RICH ATMOSPHERES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, F. [Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Pierrehumbert, R. T., E-mail: fding@uchicago.edu [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom)

2016-05-01

Condensible substances are nearly ubiquitous in planetary atmospheres. For the most familiar case—water vapor in Earth’s present climate—the condensible gas is dilute, in the sense that its concentration is everywhere small relative to the noncondensible background gases. A wide variety of important planetary climate problems involve nondilute condensible substances. These include planets near or undergoing a water vapor runaway and planets near the outer edge of the conventional habitable zone, for which CO{sub 2} is the condensible. Standard representations of convection in climate models rely on several approximations appropriate only to the dilute limit, while nondilute convection differs in fundamental ways from dilute convection. In this paper, a simple parameterization of convection valid in the nondilute as well as dilute limits is derived and used to discuss the basic character of nondilute convection. The energy conservation properties of the scheme are discussed in detail and are verified in radiative-convective simulations. As a further illustration of the behavior of the scheme, results for a runaway greenhouse atmosphere for both steady instellation and seasonally varying instellation corresponding to a highly eccentric orbit are presented. The latter case illustrates that the high thermal inertia associated with latent heat in nondilute atmospheres can damp out the effects of even extreme seasonal forcing.

Quantitative liquid and vapor distribution measurements in evaporating fuel sprays using laser-induced exciplex fluorescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fansler, Todd D; Drake, Michael C; Gajdeczko, Boguslaw; Düwel, Isabell; Koban, Wieland; Zimmermann, Frank P; Schulz, Christof

2009-01-01

Fully quantitative two-dimensional measurements of liquid- and vapor-phase fuel distributions (mass per unit volume) from high-pressure direct-injection gasoline injectors are reported for conditions of both slow and rapid vaporization in a heated, high-pressure spray chamber. The measurements employ the coevaporative gasoline-like fluorobenzene (FB)/diethylmethylamine (DEMA)/hexane exciplex tracer/fuel system. In contrast to most previous laser-induced exciplex-fluorescence (LIEF) experiments, the quantitative results here include regions in which liquid and vapor fuel coexist (e.g. near the injector exit). A unique aspect is evaluation of both vapor- and liquid-phase distributions at varying temperature and pressure using only in situ vapor-phase fluorescence calibration measurements at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. This approach draws on recent extensive measurements of the temperature-dependent spectroscopic properties of the FB–DEMA exciplex system, in particular on knowledge of the quantum efficiencies of the vapor-phase and liquid-phase (exciplex) fluorescence. In addition to procedures necessary for quantitative measurements, we discuss corrections for liquid–vapor crosstalk (liquid fluorescence that overlaps the vapor-fluorescence bandpass), the unknown local temperature due to vaporization-induced cooling, and laser-sheet attenuation by scattering and absorption

High-Accuracy Measurements of Total Column Water Vapor From the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Robert R.; Crisp, David; Ott, Lesley E.; O'Dell, Christopher W.

2016-01-01

Accurate knowledge of the distribution of water vapor in Earth's atmosphere is of critical importance to both weather and climate studies. Here we report on measurements of total column water vapor (TCWV) from hyperspectral observations of near-infrared reflected sunlight over land and ocean surfaces from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). These measurements are an ancillary product of the retrieval algorithm used to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, with information coming from three highly resolved spectral bands. Comparisons to high-accuracy validation data, including ground-based GPS and microwave radiometer data, demonstrate that OCO-2 TCWV measurements have maximum root-mean-square deviations of 0.9-1.3mm. Our results indicate that OCO-2 is the first space-based sensor to accurately and precisely measure the two most important greenhouse gases, water vapor and carbon dioxide, at high spatial resolution [1.3 x 2.3 km(exp. 2)] and that OCO-2 TCWV measurements may be useful in improving numerical weather predictions and reanalysis products.

Surface measurements of upper tropospheric water vapor isotopic composition on the Chajnantor Plateau, Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Galewsky, Joseph; Rella, Christopher; Sharp, Zachary; Samuels, Kimberly; Ward, Dylan

2011-09-01

Simultaneous, real-time measurements of atmospheric water vapor mixing ratio and isotopic composition (δD and δ18O) were obtained using cavity ringdown spectroscopy on the arid Chajnantor Plateau in the subtropical Chilean Andes (elevation 5080 m or 550 hPa; latitude 23°S) during July and August 2010. The measurements show surface water vapor mixing ratio as low as 215 ppmv, δD values as low as -540‰, and δ18O values as low as -68‰, which are the lowest atmospheric water vapor δ values reported from Earth's surface. The results are consistent with previous measurements from the base of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) and suggest large-scale subsidence of air masses from the upper troposphere to the Earth's surface. The range of measurements is consistent with condensation under conditions of ice supersaturation and mixing with moister air from the lower troposphere that has been processed through shallow convection. Diagnostics using reanalysis data show that the extreme aridity of the Chajnantor Plateau is controlled by condensation in the upper tropical troposphere.

Investigation of deposition characteristics and properties of high-rate deposited silicon nitride films prepared by atmospheric pressure plasma chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kakiuchi, H.; Nakahama, Y.; Ohmi, H.; Yasutake, K.; Yoshii, K.; Mori, Y.

2005-01-01

Silicon nitride (SiN x ) films have been prepared at extremely high deposition rates by the atmospheric pressure plasma chemical vapor deposition (AP-PCVD) technique on Si(001) wafers from gas mixtures containing He, H 2 , SiH 4 and N 2 or NH 3 . A 150 MHz very high frequency (VHF) power supply was used to generate high-density radicals in the atmospheric pressure plasma. Deposition rate, composition and morphology of the SiN x films prepared with various deposition parameters were studied by scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy was also used to characterize the structure and the chemical bonding configurations of the films. Furthermore, etching rate with buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) solution, refractive index and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics were measured to evaluate the dielectric properties of the films. It was found that effective passivation of dangling bonds and elimination of excessive hydrogen atoms at the film-growing surface seemed to be the most important factor to form SiN x film with a dense Si-N network. The C-V curve of the optimized film showed good interface properties, although further improvement was necessary for use in the industrial metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) applications

Rapid synthesis of tantalum oxide dielectric films by microwave microwave-assisted atmospheric chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ndiege, Nicholas; Subramanian, Vaidyanathan; Shannon, Mark A.; Masel, Richard I.

2008-01-01

Microwave-assisted chemical vapor deposition has been used to generate high quality, high-k dielectric films on silicon at high deposition rates with film thicknesses varying from 50 nm to 110 μm using inexpensive equipment. Characterization of the post deposition products was performed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Film growth was determined to occur via rapid formation and accumulation of tantalum oxide clusters from tantalum (v) ethoxide (Ta(OC 2 H 5 ) 5 ) vapor on the deposition surface

STRATOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES AND WATER LOSS FROM MOIST GREENHOUSE ATMOSPHERES OF EARTH-LIKE PLANETS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kasting, James F.; Kopparapu, Ravi K. [Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801 (United States); Chen, Howard, E-mail: jfk4@psu.edu, E-mail: hwchen@bu.edu [Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215 (United States)

2015-11-01

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

STRATOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES AND WATER LOSS FROM MOIST GREENHOUSE ATMOSPHERES OF EARTH-LIKE PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2015-01-01

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

A semiempirical correlation between enthalpy of vaporization and saturation concentration for organic aerosol.

Science.gov (United States)

Epstein, Scott A; Riipinen, Ilona; Donahue, Neil M

2010-01-15

To model the temperature-induced partitioning of semivolatile organics in laboratory experiments or atmospheric models, one must know the appropriate heats of vaporization. Current treatments typically assume a constant value of the heat of vaporization or else use specific values from a small set of surrogate compounds. With published experimental vapor-pressure data from over 800 organic compounds, we have developed a semiempirical correlation between the saturation concentration (C*, microg m(-3)) and the heat of vaporization (deltaH(VAP), kJ mol(-1)) for organics in the volatility basis set. Near room temperature, deltaH(VAP) = -11 log(10)C(300)(*) + 129. Knowledge of the relationship between C* and deltaH(VAP) constrains a free parameter in thermodenuder data analysis. A thermodenuder model using our deltaH(VAP) values agrees well with thermal behavior observed in laboratory experiments.

Differential absorption and Raman lidar for water vapor profile measurements - A review

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, William B.

1991-01-01

Differential absorption lidar and Raman lidar have been applied to the range-resolved measurements of water vapor density for more than 20 years. Results have been obtained using both lidar techniques that have led to improved understanding of water vapor distributions in the atmosphere. This paper reviews the theory of the measurements, including the sources of systematic and random error; the progress in lidar technology and techniques during that period, including a brief look at some of the lidar systems in development or proposed; and the steps being taken to improve such lidar systems.

MODIS-derived atmospheric water vapor (AWV) content and its correlation to land use and land cover in Northeast China

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Kaishan; Wu, Junjie; Li, Lin; Wang, Zongming; Lu, Dongmei; Du, Jia; Zhang, Bai

2010-08-01

Atmospheric water vapor (AWV) content is closely related to precipitation that in turn has effects on the productivity of agricultural, forestry and range land. MODIS images have been used for AWV retrieval, and the method uses either two (0.841-0.876 μm and 0.915-0.965 μm) or three (0.841-0.876, 0.915-0.965 and 1.230-0-1.250 μm) MODIS channel ratios. We applied both methods to the MODIS data over Northeast China acquired from June to August, 2008 to retrieve AWV content, and the results were validated on ground observed data from 10 radio sonde stations characterized by various land cover. The bulk results indicate that the two-channel ratio outperformed the three-channel ratio based on the coefficient of determination R2 = 0.81 vs. 0.78. The validation results for individual land cover types also support this observation with R2 = 0.92 vs. 0.84 for woodland, 0.82 vs. 0.79 for cropland, 0.90 vs. 0.86 for grassland and 0.673 vs. 0.669 for urban areas. The spatial distribution of AWV derived using the two-channel ratio method was correlated to land-use classification data, and a high correlation was evident when other conditions were similar. With the exception of dry cropland, the amount of average water vapor content over different land use types demonstrates a consistent order: water-body > paddy-field > woodland > grassland > barren for the analyzed multi-temporal MODIS data. This order partially matches the evapotranspiration pattern of underlying surface, and future work is required for analyzing the association of the landscape pattern with AWV in the region.

Dermal Uptake of Organic Vapors Commonly Found in Indoor Air

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weschler, Charles J.; Nazaroff, William W

2014-01-01

Transdermal uptake directly from air is a potentially important yet largely overlooked pathway for human exposure to organic vapors indoors. We recently reported (Indoor Air 2012, 22, 356) that transdermal uptake directly from air could be comparable to or larger than intake via inhalation for many......, formaldehyde, and acrolein. Analysis of published experimental data for human subjects for twenty different organic compounds substantiates these model predictions. However, transdermal uptake rates from air have not been measured for the indoor organics that have the largest modeled ratios of dermal......-to-inhalation uptake; for such compounds, the estimates reported here require experimental verification. In accounting for total exposure to indoor organic pollutants and in assessing potential health consequences of such exposures, it is important to consider direct transdermal absorption from air....

The Relative Importance of Random Error and Observation Frequency in Detecting Trends in Upper Tropospheric Water Vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Whiteman, David N.; Vermeesch, Kevin C.; Oman, Luke D.; Weatherhead, Elizabeth C.

2011-01-01

Recent published work assessed the amount of time to detect trends in atmospheric water vapor over the coming century. We address the same question and conclude that under the most optimistic scenarios and assuming perfect data (i.e., observations with no measurement uncertainty) the time to detect trends will be at least 12 years at approximately 200 hPa in the upper troposphere. Our times to detect trends are therefore shorter than those recently reported and this difference is affected by data sources used, method of processing the data, geographic location and pressure level in the atmosphere where the analyses were performed. We then consider the question of how instrumental uncertainty plays into the assessment of time to detect trends. We conclude that due to the high natural variability in atmospheric water vapor, the amount of time to detect trends in the upper troposphere is relatively insensitive to instrumental random uncertainty and that it is much more important to increase the frequency of measurement than to decrease the random error in the measurement. This is put in the context of international networks such as the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN) and the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) that are tasked with developing time series of climate quality water vapor data.

Results of experimental study on detritiation of atmosphere in large space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Kazuhiro; Hayashi, Takumi; Iwai, Yasunori; Nishi, Masataka

2001-01-01

In order to obtain data on tritium removal from the atmosphere of a room, which is needed for designing a reliable effective atmosphere detritiation system in a fusion reactor and for detailed analysis on its safety, intentional tritium release experiments have been carried out in a controlled space called Caisson under various atmosphere conditions at the Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). In case there is no tritiated water vapor in the released tritium gas, tritium was ideally removed by constant ventilation in spite of atmospheric conditions and residence time. On the other hand, when tritiated water vapor existed in the released tritium, residual contamination on the wall of the Caisson was detected and it was found that it depended on the initial humidity in the Caisson. This tritium removal behavior was successfully analyzed by considering the adsorption and desorption reaction rates of tritiated water on the wall by the constant ventilation

A tentative detection of the 183-GHz water vapor line in the martian atmosphere: Constraints upon the H2O abundance and vertical distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Encrenaz, TH.; Lellouch, E.; Cernicharo, J.; Paubert, G.; Gulkis, S.

1995-01-01

The 183-GHz water vapor line was tentatively detected on Mars in January 1991, with the IRAM 30-m millimeter antenna, under extremely dry atmospheric conditions. The measurement refers to the whole disk. The spectral line, although marginally detected, can be fit with a constant H2O mixing ratio of 1.0 x 10(exp -5), which corresponds to a water abundance of 1 pr-microns; in any case, an upper limit of 3 pr-microns is inferred. This value is comparable to the very small abundances measured by Clancy (1992) 5 weeks before our observation and seems to imply both seasonal and long-term variations in the martian water cycle.

Millimeter-wave Radiometer for High Sensitivity Water Vapor Profiling in Arid Regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pazmany, Andrew

2006-11-09

Abstract - ProSensing Inc. has developed a G-band (183 GHz) water Vapor Radiometer (GVR) for long-term, unattended measurements of low concentrations of atmospheric water vapor and liquid water. Precipitable water vapor and liquid water path are estimated from zenith brightness temperatures measured from four double-sideband receiver channels, centered at 183.31 1, 3 and 7, and 14 GHz. A prototype ground-based version of the instrument was deployed at the DOE ARM program?s North Slope of Alaska site near Barrow AK in April 2005, where it collected data continuously for one year. A compact, airborne version of this instrument, packaged to operate from a standard 2-D PMS probe canister, has been tested on the ground and is scheduled for test flights in the summer of 2006. This paper presents design details, laboratory test results and examples of retrieved precipitable water vapor and liquid water path from measured brightness temperature data.

Measurement of vapor behavior in tight-lattice bundles by neutron radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kureta, Masatoshi; Akimoto, Hajime

2004-01-01

Three-dimensional and instantaneous void fractions in tight-lattice 7-rod and 14-rod bundles were measured by neutron radiography in order to make clear the flow behavior and to verify the advanced fine-mesh numerical analysis codes for the R and D of the Reduced-Moderation Water Reactors (RMWR). Time-averaged 3D void fraction distribution is evaluated with the spatial resolution of 0.1 - 0.2 mm using neutron tomography, and consecutive change of vapor behavior is observed quantitatively with time step of 1 ms using high-frame-rate neutron radiography (HFR-NR). In this paper, void fraction distribution and vapor behavior of flow boiling of water in tight-lattice rod bundles are focused on and discussed based on the obtained results. 'High void fraction spot', 'void drift phenomenon', and 'vapor chimney' were observed under atmospheric pressure conditions. Here, 'high void fraction spot' indicates that high void fraction regions are appeared between adjacent rods, narrow space, at/near point of net vapor generation region. 'Void drift' and 'vapor chimney' represent that high void fraction region moves to wide triangular space and is formed a vapor flow channel so-called 'vapor chimney'. It was confirmed from the time-averaged 3D data that void fraction in the center is higher than that in the periphery. On the other hand, it was found from the HFR-NR experiments that big vapor bubbles and/or cluster flow upward intermittently not only in the center but in the periphery of the channel and, therefore, point of net vapor generation is scattered statistically in wide region. (author)

Multi-scale organization of water vapor over low and mid-tropical Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Botai, OJ

2009-01-01

Full Text Available stream_source_info Botai_2009.pdf.txt stream_content_type text/plain stream_size 23192 Content-Encoding UTF-8 stream_name Botai_2009.pdf.txt Content-Type text/plain; charset=UTF-8 1 MULTI-SCALE ORGANIZATION OF WATER.... Integrated water vapor field and multiscale variations over China from GPS measurements. J. appl., Meteo., Climatol., 47, pp. 3008-3015 8. Johnsen K. P., 2003. GPS atmosphere sounding project- An innovative approach for the recovery of atmospheric...

Responses of epidermal cell turgor pressure and photosynthetic activity of leaves of the atmospheric epiphyte Tillandsia usneoides (Bromeliaceae) after exposure to high humidity.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Craig E; Rux, Guido; Herppich, Werner B

2013-01-01

It has been well-established that many epiphytic bromeliads of the atmospheric-type morphology, i.e., with leaf surfaces completely covered by large, overlapping, multicellular trichomes, are capable of absorbing water vapor from the atmosphere when air humidity increases. It is much less clear, however, whether this absorption of water vapor can hydrate the living cells of the leaves and, as a consequence, enhance physiological processes in such cells. The goal of this research was to determine if the absorption of atmospheric water vapor by the atmospheric epiphyte Tillandsia usneoides results in an increase in turgor pressure in leaf epidermal cells that subtend the large trichomes, and, by using chlorophyll fluorescence techniques, to determine if the absorption of atmospheric water vapor by leaves of this epiphyte results in increased photosynthetic activity. Results of measurements on living cells of attached leaves of this epiphytic bromeliad, using a pressure probe and of whole-shoot fluorescence imaging analyses clearly illustrated that the turgor pressure of leaf epidermal cells did not increase, and the photosynthetic activity of leaves did not increase, following exposure of the leaves to high humidity air. These results experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, that the absorption of water vapor following increases in atmospheric humidity in atmospheric epiphytic bromeliads is mostly likely a physical phenomenon resulting from hydration of non-living leaf structures, e.g., trichomes, and has no physiological significance for the plant's living tissues. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Importance Profiles for Water Vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Mapes, Brian; Chandra, Arunchandra S.; Kuang, Zhiming; Zuidema, Paquita

2017-11-01

Motivated by the scientific desire to align observations with quantities of physical interest, we survey how scalar importance functions depend on vertically resolved water vapor. Definitions of importance begin from familiar examples of water mass I m and TOA clear-sky outgoing longwave flux I OLR, in order to establish notation and illustrate graphically how the sensitivity profile or "kernel" depends on whether specific humidity S, relative humidity R, or ln( R) are used as measures of vapor. Then, new results on the sensitivity of convective activity I con to vapor (with implied knock-on effects such as weather prediction skill) are presented. In radiative-convective equilibrium, organized (line-like) convection is much more sensitive to moisture than scattered isotropic convection, but it exists in a drier mean state. The lesson for natural convection may be that organized convection is less susceptible to dryness and can survive and propagate into regions unfavorable for disorganized convection. This counterintuitive interpretive conclusion, with respect to the narrow numerical result behind it, highlights the importance of clarity about what is held constant at what values in sensitivity or susceptibility kernels. Finally, the sensitivities of observable radiance signals I sig for passive remote sensing are considered. While the accuracy of R in the lower free troposphere is crucial for the physical importance scalars, this layer is unfortunately the most difficult to isolate with passive remote sensing: In high emissivity channels, water vapor signals come from too high in the atmosphere (for satellites) or too low (for surface radiometers), while low emissivity channels have poor altitude discrimination and (in the case of satellites) are contaminated by surface emissions. For these reasons, active ranging (LiDAR) is the preferred observing strategy.

Computer modeling of the sensitivity of a laser water vapor sensor to variations in temperature and air speed

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, George F.

1994-01-01

Currently, there is disagreement among existing methods of determining atmospheric water vapor concentration at dew-points below -40 C. A major source of error is wall effects which result from the necessity of bringing samples into the instruments. All of these instruments also have response times on the order of seconds. NASA Langley is developing a water vapor sensor which utilizes the absorption of the infrared radiation produced by a diode laser to estimate water vapor concentration. The laser beam is directed through an aircraft window to a retroreflector located on an engine. The reflected beam is detected by an infrared detector located near the laser. To maximize signal to noise, derivative signals are analyzed. By measuring the 2f/DC signal and correcting for ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure and air speed (which results in a Doppler shifting of the laser beam), the water vapor concentration can be retrieved. Since this is an in situ measurement there are no wall effects and measurements can be made at a rate of more than 20 per second. This allows small spatial variations of water vapor to be studied. In order to study the sensitivity of the instrument to variations in temperature and air speed, a computer program which generated the 2f, 3f, 4f, DC and 2f/DC signals of the instrument as a function of temperature, pressure and air speed was written. This model was used to determine the effect of errors in measurement of the temperature and air speed on the measured water vapor concentration. Future studies will quantify the effect of pressure measurement errors, which are expected to be very small. As a result of these studied, a retrieval algorithm has been formulated, and will be applied to data taken during the PEM-West atmospheric science field mission. Spectroscopic studies of the water vapor line used by the instrument will be used to refine this algorithm. To prepare for these studies, several lasers have been studied to determine their

The development of GPS TroWav tool for atmospheric – terrestrial studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suparta, W

2014-01-01

We have developed an efficient tool to process dual-frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) signals and the surface meteorological data, called the Tropospheric Water Vapor (TroWav) program. TroWav is a stand-alone program to compute atmospheric precipitable water vapor (PWV). The source of the program is developed using Matlab TM and the graphical user interface for the system was developed using a Visual Basic. The algorithms of the program capable to compute satellite elevation angle, Zenith Tropospheric Delay (ZTD), Zenith Hydrostatic Delay (ZHD), Zenith Wet Delay (ZWD) and mapping function. The tool is very practical and useful for sustainable atmospheric management.

Atmospheric Hydrodeoxygenation of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis Vapor by MoO₃

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Guofeng; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Le, Duy Michael

2016-01-01

was not significant at temperatures below 400 °C. At 450 °C catalyst temperature and 93 vol % H2 concentration, the wood pyrolysis vapor was more active toward cracking forming gas species instead of performing the desired HDO forming hydrocarbons. The lignin pyrolysis vapor was more resistant to cracking and yielded...... 16.2 wt %daf organic liquid, while achieving 52% degree of deoxygenation at 450 °C catalyst temperature under 89 vol % H2 concentration. The corresponding energy recovery in the liquid phase was 23.5%. The spent catalyst showed two deactivation routes, coke formation and reduction of MoO3 to MoO2......, which is inactive in HDO. The catalyst experienced severe reduction at temperatures higher than 400 °C. The yields of coke relative to the fed biomass were in the range of 3–4 wt %daf for lignin and 5–6 wt %daf for wood. Compared to untreated bio-oil the upgraded lignin organic liquid showed improved...

Single-footprint retrievals of temperature, water vapor and cloud properties from AIRS

Science.gov (United States)

Irion, Fredrick W.; Kahn, Brian H.; Schreier, Mathias M.; Fetzer, Eric J.; Fishbein, Evan; Fu, Dejian; Kalmus, Peter; Wilson, R. Chris; Wong, Sun; Yue, Qing

2018-02-01

Single-footprint Atmospheric Infrared Sounder spectra are used in an optimal estimation-based algorithm (AIRS-OE) for simultaneous retrieval of atmospheric temperature, water vapor, surface temperature, cloud-top temperature, effective cloud optical depth and effective cloud particle radius. In a departure from currently operational AIRS retrievals (AIRS V6), cloud scattering and absorption are in the radiative transfer forward model and AIRS single-footprint thermal infrared data are used directly rather than cloud-cleared spectra (which are calculated using nine adjacent AIRS infrared footprints). Coincident MODIS cloud data are used for cloud a priori data. Using single-footprint spectra improves the horizontal resolution of the AIRS retrieval from ˜ 45 to ˜ 13.5 km at nadir, but as microwave data are not used, the retrieval is not made at altitudes below thick clouds. An outline of the AIRS-OE retrieval procedure and information content analysis is presented. Initial comparisons of AIRS-OE to AIRS V6 results show increased horizontal detail in the water vapor and relative humidity fields in the free troposphere above the clouds. Initial comparisons of temperature, water vapor and relative humidity profiles with coincident radiosondes show good agreement. Future improvements to the retrieval algorithm, and to the forward model in particular, are discussed.

Volatilization of multicomponent mixtures in soil vapor extraction applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bass, D.H.

1995-01-01

In soil vapor extraction (SVE) applications involving multicomponent mixtures, prediction of mass removal by volatilization as a function remediation extent is required to estimate remediation time and to size offgas treatment equipment. SVE is a commonly used remediation technology which volatilizes and enhances aerobic biodegradation of contamination adsorbed to vadose zone soils. SVE is often applied at sites contaminated with petroleum products, which are usually mixtures of many different compounds with vapor pressures spanning several orders of magnitude. The most volatile components are removed first, so the vapor pressure of the remaining contaminant continually decreases over the course of the remediation. A method for assessing how vapor pressure, and hence the rate of volatilization, of a multicomponent mixture changes over the course of a vapor extraction remedy has been developed. Each component is listed, alone, with its mass fraction in the mixture, in decreasing order of pure component vapor pressure (where component analyses are unavailable, model compounds can be used), For most petroleum distillates, the vapor pressure for each component plotted against the cumulative mass fraction of the component in the mixture on semilog coordinates will produce a straight line with a high correlation coefficient. This regression can be integrated to produce an expression for vapor pressure of the overall mixture as a function of extent or remediation

Vapor pressure and enthalpy of vaporization of aliphatic propanediamines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verevkin, Sergey P.; Chernyak, Yury

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We measured vapor pressure of four aliphatic 1,3-diamines. ► Vaporization enthalpies at 298 K were derived. ► We examined consistency of new and available data in the literature. ► A group-contribution method for prediction was developed. - Abstract: Vapor pressures of four aliphatic propanediamines including N-methyl-1,3-propanediamine (MPDA), N,N-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine (DMPDA), N,N-diethyl-1,3-propanediamine (DEPDA) and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-1,3-propanediamine (4MPDA) were measured using the transpiration method. The vapor pressures developed in this work and reported in the literature were used to derive molar enthalpy of vaporization values at the reference temperature 298.15 K. An internal consistency check of the enthalpy of vaporization was performed for the aliphatic propanediamines studied in this work. A group-contribution method was developed for the validation and prediction vaporization enthalpies of amines and diamines.

The chemical vapor deposition of zirconium carbide onto ceramic substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glass A, John Jr.; Palmisiano, Nick Jr.; Welsh R, Edward

1999-01-01

Zirconium carbide is an attractive ceramic material due to its unique properties such as high melting point, good thermal conductivity, and chemical resistance. The controlled preparation of zirconium carbide films of superstoichiometric, stoichiometric, and substoichiometric compositions has been achieved utilizing zirconium tetrachloride and methane precursor gases in an atmospheric pressure high temperature chemical vapor deposition system

Measuring the greenhouse effect and radiative forcing through the atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Philipona, Rolf; Kräuchi, Andreas; Brocard, Emmanuel

2013-04-01

In spite of a large body of existing measurements of incoming shortwave solar radiation and outgoing longwave terrestrial radiation at the Earth's surface and at the top of the atmosphere, there are few observations documenting how radiation profiles change through the atmosphere - information that is necessary to fully quantify the greenhouse effect of the Earth's atmosphere. Using weather balloons and specific radiometer equipped radiosondes, we continuously measured shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes from the surface of the Earth up to altitudes of 35 kilometers in the upper stratosphere. Comparing radiation profiles from night measurements with different amounts of water vapor, we show evidence of large greenhouse forcing. We show, that under cloud free conditions, water vapor increases with Clausius-Clapeyron ( 7% / K), and longwave downward radiation at the surface increases by 8 Watts per square meter per Kelvin. The longwave net radiation however, shows a positive increase (downward) of 2.4 Watts per square meter and Kelvin at the surface, which decreases with height and shows a similar but negative increase (upward) at the tropopause. Hence, increased tropospheric water vapor increases longwave net radiation towards the ground and towards space, and produces a heating of 0.42 Kelvin per Watt per square meter at the surface. References: Philipona et al., 2012: Solar and thermal radiation profiles and radiative forcing measured through the atmosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L13806, doi: 10.1029/2012GL052087.

Atmospheric Habitable Zones in Y Dwarf Atmospheres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yates, Jack S.; Palmer, Paul I. [School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom); Biller, Beth; Cockell, Charles S., E-mail: j.s.yates@ed.ac.uk [Centre for Exoplanet Science, University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)

2017-02-20

We use a simple organism lifecycle model to explore the viability of an atmospheric habitable zone (AHZ), with temperatures that could support Earth-centric life, which sits above an environment that does not support life. To illustrate our model, we use a cool Y dwarf atmosphere, such as WISE J085510.83–0714442.5, whose 4.5–5.2 μ m spectrum shows absorption features consistent with water vapor and clouds. We allow organisms to adapt to their atmospheric environment (described by temperature, convection, and gravity) by adopting different growth strategies that maximize their chance of survival and proliferation. We assume a constant upward vertical velocity through the AHZ. We found that the organism growth strategy is most sensitive to the magnitude of the atmospheric convection. Stronger convection supports the evolution of more massive organisms. For a purely radiative environment, we find that evolved organisms have a mass that is an order of magnitude smaller than terrestrial microbes, thereby defining a dynamical constraint on the dimensions of life that an AHZ can support. Based on a previously defined statistical approach, we infer that there are of the order of 10{sup 9} cool Y brown dwarfs in the Milky Way, and likely a few tens of these objects are within 10 pc from Earth. Our work also has implications for exploring life in the atmospheres of temperate gas giants. Consideration of the habitable volumes in planetary atmospheres significantly increases the volume of habitable space in the galaxy.

Water-Vapor Raman Lidar System Reaches Higher Altitude

Science.gov (United States)

Leblanc, Thierry; McDermid, I. Stewart

2010-01-01

A Raman lidar system for measuring the vertical distribution of water vapor in the atmosphere is located at the Table Mountain Facility (TMF) in California. Raman lidar systems for obtaining vertical water-vapor profiles in the troposphere have been in use for some time. The TMF system incorporates a number of improvements over prior such systems that enable extension of the altitude range of measurements through the tropopause into the lower stratosphere. One major obstacle to extension of the altitude range is the fact that the mixing ratio of water vapor in the tropopause and the lower stratosphere is so low that Raman lidar measurements in this region are limited by noise. Therefore, the design of the TMF system incorporates several features intended to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio. These features include (1) the use of 355-nm-wavelength laser pulses having an energy (0.9 J per pulse) that is high relative to the laser-pulse energy levels of prior such systems, (2) a telescope having a large aperture (91 cm in diameter) and a narrow field of view (angular width .0.6 mrad), and (3) narrow-bandpass (wavelength bandwidth 0.6 nm) filters for the water-vapor Raman spectral channels. In addition to the large-aperture telescope, three telescopes having apertures 7.5 cm in diameter are used to collect returns from low altitudes.

An exposure system for measuring nasal and lung uptake of vapors in rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahl, A.R.; Brookins, L.K.; Gerde, P. [National Inst. for Working Life, Solna (Sweden)

1995-12-01

Inhaled gases and vapors often produce biological damage in the nasal cavity and lower respiratory tract. The specific site within the respirator tract at which a gas or vapor is absorbed strongly influences the tissues at risk to potential toxic effects; to predict or to explain tissue or cell specific toxicity of inhaled gases or vapors, the sites at which they are absorbed must be known. The purpose of the work reported here was to develop a system for determining nose and lung absorption of vapors in rats, an animal commonly used in inhalation toxicity studies. In summary, the exposure system described allows us to measure in the rate: (1) nasal absorption and desorption of vapors; (2) net lung uptake of vapors; and (3) the effects of changed breathing parameters on vapor uptake.

Source reconciliation of atmospheric gas-phase and particle-phase pollutants during a severe photochemical smog episode.

Science.gov (United States)

Schauer, James J; Fraser, Matthew P; Cass, Glen R; Simoneit, Bernd R T

2002-09-01

A comprehensive organic compound-based receptor model is developed that can simultaneously apportion the source contributions to atmospheric gas-phase organic compounds, semivolatile organic compounds, fine particle organic compounds, and fine particle mass. The model is applied to ambient data collected at four sites in the south coast region of California during a severe summertime photochemical smog episode, where the model determines the direct primary contributions to atmospheric pollutants from 11 distinct air pollution source types. The 11 sources included in the model are gasoline-powered motor vehicle exhaust, diesel engine exhaust, whole gasoline vapors, gasoline headspace vapors, organic solvent vapors, whole diesel fuel, paved road dust, tire wear debris, meat cooking exhaust, natural gas leakage, and vegetative detritus. Gasoline engine exhaust plus whole gasoline vapors are the predominant sources of volatile organic gases, while gasoline and diesel engine exhaust plus diesel fuel vapors dominate the emissions of semivolatile organic compounds from these sources during the episode studied at all four air monitoring sites. The atmospheric fine particle organic compound mass was composed of noticeable contributions from gasoline-powered motor vehicle exhaust, diesel engine exhaust, meat cooking, and paved road dust with smaller but quantifiable contributions from vegetative detritus and tire wear debris. In addition, secondary organic aerosol, which is formed from the low-vapor pressure products of gas-phase chemical reactions, is found to be a major source of fine particle organic compound mass under the severe photochemical smog conditions studied here. The concentrations of secondary organic aerosol calculated in the present study are compared with previous fine particle source apportionment results for less intense photochemical smog conditions. It is shown that estimated secondary organic aerosol concentrations correlate fairly well with the

Vapor pressure and enthalpy of vaporization of linear aliphatic alkanediamines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pozdeev, Vasiliy A.; Verevkin, Sergey P.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We measured vapor pressure of diamines H 2 N-(CH 2 ) n -NH 2 with n = 3 to 12. → Vaporization enthalpies at 298 K were derived. → We examined consistency of new and available in the literature data. → Enthalpies of vaporization show linear dependence on numbers n. → Enthalpies of vaporization correlate linearly with Kovat's indices. - Abstract: Vapor pressures and the molar enthalpies of vaporization of the linear aliphatic alkanediamines H 2 N-(CH 2 ) n -NH 2 with n = (3 to 12) have been determined using the transpiration method. A linear correlation of enthalpies of vaporization (at T = 298.15 K) of the alkanediamines with the number n and with the Kovat's indices has been found, proving the internal consistency of the measured data.

Raman scattering temperature measurements for water vapor in nonequilibrium dispersed two-phase flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anastasia, C.M.; Neti, S.; Smith, W.R.; Chen, J.C.

1982-09-01

The objective of this investigation was to determine the feasibility of using Raman scattering as a nonintrusive technique to measure vapor temperatures in dispersed two-phase flow. The Raman system developed for this investigation is described, including alignment of optics and optimization of the photodetector for photon pulse counting. Experimentally obtained Raman spectra are presented for the following single- and two-phase samples: liquid water, atmospheric nitrogen, superheated steam, nitrogen and water droplets in a high void fraction air/water mist, and superheated water vapor in nonequilibrium dispersed flow

Method and apparatus for simulating atomospheric absorption of solar energy due to water vapor and CO.sub.2

Science.gov (United States)

Sopori, Bhushan L.

1995-01-01

A method and apparatus for improving the accuracy of the simulation of sunlight reaching the earth's surface includes a relatively small heated chamber having an optical inlet and an optical outlet, the chamber having a cavity that can be filled with a heated stream of CO.sub.2 and water vapor. A simulated beam comprising infrared and near infrared light can be directed through the chamber cavity containing the CO.sub.2 and water vapor, whereby the spectral characteristics of the beam are altered so that the output beam from the chamber contains wavelength bands that accurately replicate atmospheric absorption of solar energy due to atmospheric CO.sub.2 and moisture.

Irradiation of fish fillets: Relation of vapor phase reactions to storage quality

Science.gov (United States)

Spinelli, J.; Dollar, A.M.; Wedemeyer, G.A.; Gallagher, E.C.

1969-01-01

Fish fillets irradiated under air, nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon dioxide atmospheres developed rancidlike flavors when they were stored at refrigerated temperatures. Packing and irradiating under vacuum or helium prevented development of off-flavors during storage.Significant quantities of nitrate and oxidizing substances were formed when oxygen, nitrogen, or air were present in the vapor or liquid phases contained in a Pyrex glass model system exposed to ionizing radiation supplied by a 60Co source. It was demonstrated that the delayed flavor changes that occur in stored fish fillets result from the reaction of vapor phase radiolysis products and the fish tissue substrates.

Advancements in oxygen generation and humidity control by water vapor electrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Heppner, D. B.; Sudar, M.; Lee, M. C.

1988-01-01

Regenerative processes for the revitalization of manned spacecraft atmospheres or other manned habitats are essential for realization of long-term space missions. These processes include oxygen generation through water electrolysis. One promising technique of water electrolysis is the direct conversion of the water vapor contained in the cabin air to oxygen. This technique is the subject of the present program on water vapor electrolysis development. The objectives were to incorporate technology improvements developed under other similar electrochemical programs and add new ones; design and fabricate a mutli-cell electrochemical module and a testing facility; and demonstrate through testing the improvements. Each aspect of the water vapor electrolysis cell was reviewed. The materials of construction and sizing of each element were investigated analytically and sometime experimentally. In addition, operational considerations such as temperature control in response to inlet conditions were investigated. Three specific quantitative goals were established.

Absorption of Sunlight by Water Vapor in Cloudy Conditions: A Partial Explanation for the Cloud Absorption Anomaly

Science.gov (United States)

Crisp, D.

1997-01-01

The atmospheric radiative transfer algorithms used in most global general circulation models underestimate the globally-averaged solar energy absorbed by cloudy atmospheres by up to 25 W/sq m. The origin of this anomalous absorption is not yet known, but it has been attributed to a variety of sources including oversimplified or missing physical processes in these models, uncertainties in the input data, and even measurement errors. Here, a sophisticated atmospheric radiative transfer model was used to provide a more comprehensive description of the physical processes that contribute to the absorption of solar radiation by the Earth's atmosphere. We found that the amount of sunlight absorbed by a cloudy atmosphere is inversely proportional to the solar zenith angle and the cloud top height, and directly proportional to the cloud optical depth and the water vapor concentration within the clouds. Atmospheres with saturated, optically-thick, low clouds absorbed about 12 W/sq m more than clear atmospheres. This accounts for about 1/2 to 1/3 of the anomalous ab- sorption. Atmospheres with optically thick middle and high clouds usually absorb less than clear atmospheres. Because water vapor is concentrated within and below the cloud tops, this absorber is most effective at small solar zenith angles. An additional absorber that is distributed at or above the cloud tops is needed to produce the amplitude and zenith angle dependence of the observed anomalous absorption.

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.

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.

Chemical vapor deposited fiber coatings and chemical vapor infiltrated ceramic matrix composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kmetz, M.A.

1992-01-01

Conventional Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and Organometallic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) were employed to deposit a series of interfacial coatings on SiC and carbon yarn. Molybdenum, tungsten and chromium hexacarbonyls were utilized as precursors in a low temperature (350[degrees]C) MOCVD process to coat SiC yarn with Mo, W and Cr oxycarbides. Annealing studies performed on the MoOC and WOC coated SiC yarns in N[sub 2] to 1,000[degrees]C establish that further decomposition of the oxycarbides occurred, culminating in the formation of the metals. These metals were then found to react with Si to form Mo and W disilicide coatings. In the Cr system, heating in N[sub 2] above 800[degrees]C resulted in the formation of a mixture of carbides and oxides. Convention CVD was also employed to coat SiC and carbon yarn with C, Bn and a new interface designated BC (a carbon-boron alloy). The coated tows were then infiltrated with SiC, TiO[sub 2], SiO[sub 2] and B[sub 4]C by a chemical vapor infiltration process. The B-C coatings were found to provide advantageous interfacial properties over carbon and BN coatings in several different composite systems. The effectiveness of these different coatings to act as a chemically inert barrier layer and their relationship to the degree of interfacial debonding on the mechanical properties of the composites were examined. The effects of thermal stability and strength of the coated fibers and composites were also determined for several difference atmospheres. In addition, a new method for determining the tensile strength of the as-received and coated yarns was also developed. The coated fibers and composites were further characterized by AES, SEM, XPS, IR and X-ray diffraction analysis.

Space-Time Variations in Water Vapor as Observed by the UARS Microwave Limb Sounder

Science.gov (United States)

Elson, Lee S.; Read, William G.; Waters, Joe W.; Mote, Philip W.; Kinnersley, Jonathan S.; Harwood, Robert S.

1996-01-01

Water vapor in the upper troposphere has a significant impact on the climate system. Difficulties in making accurate global measurements have led to uncertainty in understanding water vapor's coupling to the hydrologic cycle in the lower troposphere and its role in radiative energy balance. The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is able to retrieve water vapor concentration in the upper troposphere with good sensitivity and nearly global coverage. An analysis of these preliminary retrievals based on 3 years of observations shows the water vapor distribution to be similar to that measured by other techniques and to model results. The primary MLS water vapor measurements were made in the stratosphere, where this species acts as a conserved tracer under certain conditions. As is the case for the upper troposphere, most of the stratospheric discussion focuses on the time evolution of the zonal mean and zonally varying water vapor. Stratospheric results span a 19-month period and tropospheric results a 36-month period, both beginning in October of 1991. Comparisons with stratospheric model calculations show general agreement, with some differences in the amplitude and phase of long-term variations. At certain times and places, the evolution of water vapor distributions in the lower stratosphere suggests the presence of meridional transport.

Examination of Organic Vapor Adsorption onto Alkali Metal and Halide Atomic Ions by using Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Maiβer, Anne; Hogan, Christopher J

2017-11-03

We utilize ion mobility mass spectrometry with an atmospheric pressure differential mobility analyzer coupled to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (DMA-MS) to examine the formation of ion-vapor molecule complexes with seed ions of K + , Rb + , Cs + , Br - , and I - exposed to n-butanol and n-nonane vapor under subsaturated conditions. Ion-vapor molecule complex formation is indicated by a shift in the apparent mobility of each ion. Measurement results are compared to predicted mobility shifts based upon the Kelvin-Thomson equation, which is commonly used in predicting rates of ion-induced nucleation. We find that n-butanol at saturation ratios as low as 0.03 readily binds to all seed ions, leading to mobility shifts in excess of 35 %. Conversely, the binding of n-nonane is not detectable for any ion for saturation ratios in the 0-0.27 range. An inverse correlation between the ionic radius of the initial seed and the extent of n-butanol uptake is observed, such that at elevated n-butanol concentrations, the smallest ion (K + ) has the smallest apparent mobility and the largest (I - ) has the largest apparent mobility. Though the differences in behavior of the two vapor molecules types examined and the observed effect of ionic seed radius are not accounted for by the Kelvin-Thomson equation, its predictions are in good agreement with measured mobility shifts for Rb + , Cs + , and Br - in the presence of n-butanol (typically within 10 % of measurements). © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Water Vapor, Temperature, and Ice Particles in Polar Mesosphere as Measured by SABER/TIMED and OSIRIS/Odin Instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Feofilov, A. G.; Petelina, S. V.; Kutepov, A. A.; Pesnell, W. D.; Goldberg, R. A.

2009-01-01

Although many new details on the properties of mesospheric ice particles that farm Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) and also cause polar mesospheric summer echoes have been recently revealed, certain aspects of mesospheric ice microphysics and dynamics still remain open. The detailed relation between PMC parameters and properties of their environment, as well as interseasonal and interhemispheric differences and trends in PMC properties that are possibly related to global change, are among those open questions. In this work, mesospheric temperature and water vapor concentration measured by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on board the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite are used to study the properties of PMCs with respect to the surrounding atmosphere. The cloud parameters, namely location, brightness, and altitude, are obtained from the observations made by the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imager System (OSIRIS) on the Odin satellite. About a thousand of simultaneous common volume measurements made by SABER and OSIRIS in both hemispheres from 2002 until 2008 are used. The correlation between PMC brightness (and occurrence rate) and temperatures at PMC altitudes and at the mesopause is analysed. The relation between PMC parameters, frost point temperature, and gaseous water vapor content in and below the cloud is also discussed. Interseasonal and interhemispheric differences and trends in the above parameters, as well as in PMC peak altitudes and mesopause altitudes are evaluated.

Assessing the Temperature Dependence of Narrow-Band Raman Water Vapor Lidar Measurements: A Practical Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Whiteman, David N.; Venable, Demetrius D.; Walker, Monique; Cardirola, Martin; Sakai, Tetsu; Veselovskii, Igor

2013-01-01

Narrow-band detection of the Raman water vapor spectrum using the lidar technique introduces a concern over the temperature dependence of the Raman spectrum. Various groups have addressed this issue either by trying to minimize the temperature dependence to the point where it can be ignored or by correcting for whatever degree of temperature dependence exists. The traditional technique for performing either of these entails accurately measuring both the laser output wavelength and the water vapor spectral passband with combined uncertainty of approximately 0.01 nm. However, uncertainty in interference filter center wavelengths and laser output wavelengths can be this large or larger. These combined uncertainties translate into uncertainties in the magnitude of the temperature dependence of the Raman lidar water vapor measurement of 3% or more. We present here an alternate approach for accurately determining the temperature dependence of the Raman lidar water vapor measurement. This alternate approach entails acquiring sequential atmospheric profiles using the lidar while scanning the channel passband across portions of the Raman water vapor Q-branch. This scanning is accomplished either by tilt-tuning an interference filter or by scanning the output of a spectrometer. Through this process a peak in the transmitted intensity can be discerned in a manner that defines the spectral location of the channel passband with respect to the laser output wavelength to much higher accuracy than that achieved with standard laboratory techniques. Given the peak of the water vapor signal intensity curve, determined using the techniques described here, and an approximate knowledge of atmospheric temperature, the temperature dependence of a given Raman lidar profile can be determined with accuracy of 0.5% or better. A Mathematica notebook that demonstrates the calculations used here is available from the lead author.

The Intrinsic Variability in the Water Vapor Saturation Ratio due to Turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, J. C.; Cantrell, W. H.; Chandrakar, K. K.; Kostinski, A. B.; Niedermeier, D.; Shaw, R. A.

2017-12-01

In the atmosphere, the concentration of water vapor plays an important role in Earth's weather and climate. The mean concentration of water vapor is key to its efficiency as a greenhouse gas; the fluctuations about the mean are important for heat fluxes near the surface of earth. In boundary layer clouds, fluctuations in the water vapor concentration are linked to turbulence. Conditions representative of boundary layer clouds are simulated in Michigan Tech's multiphase, turbulent reaction chamber, the ∏ chamber, where the boundary conditions are controlled and repeatable. Measurements for temperature and water vapor concentration were recorded under forced Rayleigh-Bénard convection. As expected, the distributions for temperature and water vapor concentration broaden as the turbulence becomes more vigorous. From these two measurements the saturation ratio can be calculated. The fluctuations in the water vapor concentration are more important to the variability in the saturation ratio than fluctuations in temperature. In a cloud, these fluctuations in the saturation ratio can result in some cloud droplets experiencing much higher supersaturations. Those "lucky" droplets grow by condensation at a faster rate than other cloud droplets. The difference in the droplet growth rate could contribute to a broadened droplet distribution, which leads to the onset of collision-coalescence. With more intense turbulence these effect will become more pronounced as the fluctuations about the mean saturation ratio become more pronounced.

Retrieval of water vapor vertical distributions in the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere from SCIAMACHY limb measurements

OpenAIRE

Rozanov, A.; Weigel, K.; Bovensmann, H.; Dhomse, S.; Eichmann, K.-U.; Kivi, R.; Rozanov, V.; Vömel, H.; Weber, M.; Burrows, J. P.

2011-01-01

This study describes the retrieval of water vapor vertical distributions in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) altitude range from space-borne observations of the scattered solar light made in limb viewing geometry. First results using measurements from SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY) aboard ENVISAT (Environmental Satellite) are presented here. In previous publications, the retrieval of water vapor vertical ...

VAPOR PRESSURES AND HEATS OF VAPORIZATION OF PRIMARY COAL TARS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eric M. Suuberg; Vahur Oja

1997-07-01

This project had as its main focus the determination of vapor pressures of coal pyrolysis tars. It involved performing measurements of these vapor pressures and from them, developing vapor pressure correlations suitable for use in advanced pyrolysis models (those models which explicitly account for mass transport limitations). This report is divided into five main chapters. Each chapter is a relatively stand-alone section. Chapter A reviews the general nature of coal tars and gives a summary of existing vapor pressure correlations for coal tars and model compounds. Chapter B summarizes the main experimental approaches for coal tar preparation and characterization which have been used throughout the project. Chapter C is concerned with the selection of the model compounds for coal pyrolysis tars and reviews the data available to us on the vapor pressures of high boiling point aromatic compounds. This chapter also deals with the question of identifying factors that govern the vapor pressures of coal tar model materials and their mixtures. Chapter D covers the vapor pressures and heats of vaporization of primary cellulose tars. Chapter E discusses the results of the main focus of this study. In summary, this work provides improved understanding of the volatility of coal and cellulose pyrolysis tars. It has resulted in new experimentally verified vapor pressure correlations for use in pyrolysis models. Further research on this topic should aim at developing general vapor pressure correlations for all coal tars, based on their molecular weight together with certain specific chemical characteristics i.e. hydroxyl group content.

Photoacoustic absorption spectra of atmospheric gases near 7603 cm-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawton, S.A.; Bragg, S.L.

1984-01-01

Absorption spectra of carbon monoxide, water vapor, memane, and ammonia are presented as part of an effort to determine absolute absorption cross sections for some atmospheric gases at the iodine laser wavelength

Vapor deposition in basaltic stalactites, Kilauea, Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, A. K.; Mohrig, D. C.; Welday, E. E.

Basaltic stalacties suspended from the ceiling of a large lava tube at Kilauea, Hawaii, have totally enclosed vesicles whose walls are covered with euhedral FeTi oxide and silicate crystals. The walls of the vesicles and the exterior surfaces of stalactites are Fe and Ti enriched and Si depleted compared to common basalt. Minerals in vesicles have surface ornamentations on crystal faces which include alkali-enriched, aluminosilicate glass(?) hemispheres. No sulfide-, chloride-, fluoride-, phosphate- or carbonate-bearing minerals are present. Minerals in the stalactites must have formed by deposition from an iron oxide-rich vapor phase produced by the partial melting and vaporization of wall rocks in the tube.

Atmospheric-water absorption features near 2.2 micrometers and their importance in high spectral resolution remote sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Kruse, F. A.; Clark, R. N.

1986-01-01

Selective absorption of electromagnetic radiation by atmospheric gases and water vapor is an accepted fact in terrestrial remote sensing. Until recently, only a general knowledge of atmospheric effects was required for analysis of remote sensing data; however, with the advent of high spectral resolution imaging devices, detailed knowledge of atmospheric absorption bands has become increasingly important for accurate analysis. Detailed study of high spectral resolution aircraft data at the U.S. Geological Survey has disclosed narrow absorption features centered at approximately 2.17 and 2.20 micrometers not caused by surface mineralogy. Published atmospheric transmission spectra and atmospheric spectra derived using the LOWTRAN-5 computer model indicate that these absorption features are probably water vapor. Spectral modeling indicates that the effects of atmospheric absorption in this region are most pronounced in spectrally flat materials with only weak absorption bands. Without correction and detailed knowledge of the atmospheric effects, accurate mapping of surface mineralogy (particularly at low mineral concentrations) is not possible.

Determination of the solid-liquid-vapor triple point pressure of carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haaland, D.M.

1976-01-01

A detailed experimental study of the triple point pressure of carbon using laser heating techniques has been completed. Uncertainties and conflict in previous investigations have been addressed and substantial data presented which places the solid-liquid-vapor carbon triple point at 107 +- 2 atmospheres. This is in agreement with most investigations which have located the triple point pressure between 100 and 120 atmospheres, but is in disagreement with recent low pressure carbon experiments. The absence of any significant polymorphs of carbon other than graphite suggests that the graphite-liquid-vapor triple point has been measured. Graphite samples were melted in a pressure vessel using a 400 W Nd:YAG continuous-wave laser focused to a maximum power density of approximately 80 kW/cm 2 . Melt was confirmed by detailed microstructure analysis and x-ray diffraction of the recrystallized graphite. Experiments to determine the minimum melt pressure of carbon were completed as a function of sample size, type of inert gas, and laser power density to asure that laser power densities were sufficient to produce melt at the triple point pressure of carbon, and the pressure of carbon at the surface of the sample was identical to the measured pressure of the inert gas in the pressure vessel. High-speed color cinematography of the carbon heating revealed the presence of a laser-generated vapor or particle plume in front of the sample. The existence of this bright plume pevented the measurement of the carbon triple point temperature

Water vapor mass balance method for determining air infiltration rates in houses

Science.gov (United States)

David R. DeWalle; Gordon M. Heisler

1980-01-01

A water vapor mass balance technique that includes the use of common humidity-control equipment can be used to determine average air infiltration rates in buildings. Only measurements of the humidity inside and outside the home, the mass of vapor exchanged by a humidifier/dehumidifier, and the volume of interior air space are needed. This method gives results that...

Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) Model - An Unified Concept for Earthquake Precursors Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Pulinets, S.; Ouzounov, D.

2010-01-01

The paper presents a conception of complex multidisciplinary approach to the problem of clarification the nature of short-term earthquake precursors observed in atmosphere, atmospheric electricity and in ionosphere and magnetosphere. Our approach is based on the most fundamental principles of tectonics giving understanding that earthquake is an ultimate result of relative movement of tectonic plates and blocks of different sizes. Different kind of gases: methane, helium, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide leaking from the crust can serve as carrier gases for radon including underwater seismically active faults. Radon action on atmospheric gases is similar to the cosmic rays effects in upper layers of atmosphere: it is the air ionization and formation by ions the nucleus of water condensation. Condensation of water vapor is accompanied by the latent heat exhalation is the main cause for observing atmospheric thermal anomalies. Formation of large ion clusters changes the conductivity of boundary layer of atmosphere and parameters of the global electric circuit over the active tectonic faults. Variations of atmospheric electricity are the main source of ionospheric anomalies over seismically active areas. Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) model can explain most of these events as a synergy between different ground surface, atmosphere and ionosphere processes and anomalous variations which are usually named as short-term earthquake precursors. A newly developed approach of Interdisciplinary Space-Terrestrial Framework (ISTF) can provide also a verification of these precursory processes in seismically active regions. The main outcome of this paper is the unified concept for systematic validation of different types of earthquake precursors united by physical basis in one common theory.

Emission, absorption and group delay of microwaves in the atmosphere in relation to water vapour content over the Indian subcontinent

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, A. K.; Gupta, A. K. D.; Karmakar, P. K.; Barman, S. D.; Bhattacharya, A. B.; Purkait, N.; Gupta, M. K. D.; Sehra, J. S.

1985-01-01

The advent of satellite communication for global coverage has apparently indicated a renewed interest in the studies of radio wave propagation through the atmosphere, in the VHF, UHF and microwave bands. The extensive measurements of atmosphere constituents, dynamics and radio meterological parameters during the Middle Atmosphere Program (MAP) have opened up further the possibilities of studying tropospheric radio wave propagation parameters, relevant to Earth/space link design. The three basic parameters of significance to radio propagation are thermal emission, absorption and group delay of the atmosphere, all of which are controlled largely by the water vapor content in the atmosphere, particular at microwave bands. As good emitters are also good absorbers, the atmospheric emission as well as the absorption attains a maximum at the frequency of 22.235 GHz, which is the peak of the water vapor line. The group delay is practically independent of frequency in the VHF, UHF and microwave bands. However, all three parameters exhibit a similar seasonal dependence originating presumably from the seasonal dependence of the water vapor content. Some of the interesting results obtained from analyses of radiosonde data over the Indian subcontinent collected by the India Meteorological Department is presented.

Vapor-liquid equilibrium thermodynamics of N2 + CH4 - Model and Titan applications

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, W. R.; Zollweg, John A.; Gabis, David H.

1992-01-01

A thermodynamic model is presented for vapor-liquid equilibrium in the N2 + CH4 system, which is implicated in calculations of the Titan tropospheric clouds' vapor-liquid equilibrium thermodynamics. This model imposes constraints on the consistency of experimental equilibrium data, and embodies temperature effects by encompassing enthalpy data; it readily calculates the saturation criteria, condensate composition, and latent heat for a given pressure-temperature profile of the Titan atmosphere. The N2 content of condensate is about half of that computed from Raoult's law, and about 30 percent greater than that computed from Henry's law.

Enthalpy of Vaporization and Vapor Pressures: An Inexpensive Apparatus

Science.gov (United States)

Battino, Rubin; Dolson, David A.; Hall, Michael A.; Letcher, Trevor M.

2007-01-01

A simple and inexpensive method to determine the enthalpy of vaporization of liquids by measuring vapor pressure as a function of temperature is described. The vapor pressures measured with the stopcock cell were higher than the literature values and those measured with the sidearm rubber septum cell were both higher and lower than literature…

Vertical distribution of water in the atmosphere of Venus - A simple thermochemical explanation

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, John S.; Grinspoon, David H.

1990-01-01

Several lines of evidence concerning the vertical abundance profile of water in the atmosphere of Venus lead to strikingly unusual distributions (the water vapor abundance decreases sharply in the immediate vicinity of the surface) or to serious conflicts in the profiles (different IR bands suggest water abundances that are discrepant by a factor of 2.5 to 10). These data sets can be reconciled if (1) water molecules associate with carbon dioxide and sulfur trioxide to make gaseous carbonic acid and sulfuric acid in the lower atmosphere, and (2) the discrepant 0.94-micrometer water measurements are due to gaseous sulfuric acid, requiring it to be a somewhat stronger absorber than water vapor in this wavelength region. A mean total water abundance of 50 + or - 20 parts/million and a near-surface free water vapor abundance of 10 + or - 4 parts/million are derived.

NASA Experiment on Tropospheric-Stratospheric Water Vapor Transport in the Intertropical Convergence Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Page, William A.

1982-01-01

The following six papers report preliminary results obtained from a field experiment designed to study the role of tropical cumulo-nimbus clouds in the transfer of water vapor from the troposphere to the stratosphere over the region of Panama. The measurements were made utilizing special NOAA enhanced IR satellite images, radiosonde-ozonesondes and a NASA U-2 aircraft carrying. nine experiments. The experiments were provided by a group of NASA, NOAA, industry, and university scientists. Measurements included atmospheric humidity, air and cloud top temperatures, atmospheric tracer constituents, cloud particle characteristics and cloud morphology. The aircraft made a total of eleven flights from August 30 through September 18, 1980, from Howard Air Force Base, Panama; the pilots obtained horizontal and vertical profiles in and near convectively active regions and flew around and over cumulo-nimbus towers and through the extended anvils in the stratosphere. Cumulo-nimbus clouds in the tropics appear to play an important role in upward water vapor transport and may represent the principal source influencing the stratospheric water vapor budget. The clouds provide strong vertical circulation in the troposphere, mixing surface air and its trace materials (water vapor, CFM's sulfur compounds, etc.) quickly up to the tropopause. It is usually assumed that large scale mean motions or eddy scale motions transport the trace materials through the tropopause and into the stratosphere where they are further dispersed and react with other stratospheric constituents. The important step between the troposphere and stratosphere for water vapor appears to depend upon the processes occurring at or near the tropopause at the tops of the cumulo-nimbus towers. Several processes have been sugested: (1) The highest towers penetrate the tropopause and carry water in the form of small ice particles directly into the stratosphere. (2) Water vapor from the tops of the cumulonimbus clouds is

Iron exclusion in rice genotypes as affected by different vapor pressure deficit conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ram Kumar Shrestha

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Root iron (Fe exclusion capacity of four lowland rice genotypes were evaluated in increasing rate of Fe2+ stresses (0, 500, 1000 and 1500 mg/L in growing medium under the conditions of low and high vapor pressure deficit. Rice root excluded significantly higher amount of iron under dry atmospheric condition (655 mg Fe/g root dry matter than moist atmospheric condition (118 mg Fe/g root dry matter. But their iron exclusion capacity reduced when they were gradually exposed to the higher levels of Fe stress. Tolerant genotype such as TOX3107 excluded more iron when they were exposed to dry atmospheric condition.

Vapor pressures and vaporization enthalpy of codlemone by correlation gas chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, Shannon M.; Harris, Harold H.; Chickos, James S.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The vaporization enthalpy of codlemone has been evaluated. • The vapor pressure of codlemone has been evaluated from T = (298.15 to T b ) K. • Vapor pressures for the 1-alkanols standards are available from T = (298.15 to 500) K. - Abstract: The vapor pressure and vaporization enthalpy of codlemone (trans, trans 8,10-dodecadien-1-ol), the female sex hormone of the codling moth is evaluated by correlation gas chromatography using a series of saturated primary alcohols as standards. A vaporization enthalpy of (92.3 ± 2.6) kJ · mol −1 and a vapor pressure, p/Pa = (0.083 ± 0.012) were evaluated at T = 298.15 K. An equation for the evaluation of vapor pressure from ambient temperature to boiling has been derived by correlation for codlemone. The calculated boiling temperature of T B = 389 K at p = 267 Pa is within the temperature range reported in the literature. A normal boiling temperature of T B = (549.1 ± 0.1) K is also estimated by extrapolation

The Annual Cycle of Water Vapor on Mars as Observed by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Michael D.; Vondrak, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Spectra taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) have been used to monitor the latitude, longitude, and seasonal dependence of water vapor for over one full Martian year (March 1999-March 2001). A maximum in water vapor abundance is observed at high latitudes during mid-summer in both hemispheres, reaching a maximum value of approximately 100 pr-micrometer in the north and approximately 50 pr-micrometer in the south. Low water vapor abundance (water vapor. The latitudinal and seasonal dependence of the decay of the northern summer water vapor maximum implies cross-equatorial transport of water to the southern hemisphere, while there is little or no corresponding transport during the decay of the southern hemisphere summer maximum. The latitude-longitude dependence of annually-averaged water vapor (corrected for topography) has a significant positive correlation with albedo and significant negative correlations with thermal inertia and surface pressure. Comparison of TES results with those retrieved from the Viking Orbiter Mars Atmospheric Water Detectors (MAWD) experiments shows some similar features, but also many significant differences. The southern hemisphere maximum observed by TES was not observed by MAWD and the large latitudinal gradient in annually-averaged water vapor observed by MAWD does not appear in the TES results.

Measurements of mesospheric water vapor in 1984 and 1985 - Results and implications for middle atmospheric transport

Science.gov (United States)

Bevilacqua, Richard M.; Schwartz, Philip R.; Wilson, William J.

1987-01-01

The detailed results of ground-based mesospheric water vapor measurements obtained by microwave spectroscopy at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from December 1984 to April 1985 (JPL 1984/85), and an overview of results obtained the previous year from April to June 1984 are presented. The JPL 1984/85 spectral data appeared to contain an instrumental baseline curvature which was bracketed and removed. In general, the JPL 1984/85 results are in good agreement with those of previous measurements. They indicate water vapor mixing ratios between 6 and 8 ppmv at 60 or 65 km and falling off steeply with height above this point to values of less than 2 ppmv at 80 km. In addition, there is a large amount of day-to-day variability indicated in the data. A major result of the study is that it is found that both the observed vertical gradient of water vapor mixing ratio and its seasonal variation are consistent with the hypothesis that vertical transport time scales are smaller, perhaps by an order of magnitude, than values currently used in both one- and two-dimensional photochemical/dynamical models.

Effects of ambient temperature and water vapor on chamber pressure and oxygen level during low atmospheric pressure stunning of poultry.

Science.gov (United States)

Holloway, Paul H; Pritchard, David G

2017-08-01

The characteristics of the vacuum used in a low atmospheric pressure stunning system to stun (render unconscious) poultry prior to slaughter are described. A vacuum chamber is pumped by a wet screw compressor. The vacuum pressure is reduced from ambient atmospheric pressure to an absolute vacuum pressure of ∼250 Torr (∼33 kPa) in ∼67 sec with the vacuum gate valve fully open. At ∼250 Torr, the sliding gate valve is partially closed to reduce effective pumping speed, resulting in a slower rate of decreasing pressure. Ambient temperature affects air density and water vapor pressure and thereby oxygen levels and the time at the minimum total pressure of ∼160 Torr (∼21 kPa) is varied from ∼120 to ∼220 sec to ensure an effective stun within the 280 seconds of each cycle. The reduction in total pressure results in a gradual reduction of oxygen partial pressure that was measured by a solid-state electrochemical oxygen sensor. The reduced oxygen pressure leads to hypoxia, which is recognized as a humane method of stunning poultry. The system maintains an oxygen concentration of air always reduces the oxygen concentrations to a value lower than in dry air. The partial pressure of water and oxygen were found to depend on the pump down parameters due to the formation of fog in the chamber and desorption of water from the birds and the walls of the vacuum chamber. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association.

A model for atmospheric brightness temperatures observed by the special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I)

Science.gov (United States)

Petty, Grant W.; Katsaros, Kristina B.

1989-01-01

A closed-form mathematical model for the atmospheric contribution to microwave the absorption and emission at the SSM/I frequencies is developed in order to improve quantitative interpretation of microwave imagery from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I). The model is intended to accurately predict upwelling and downwelling atmospheric brightness temperatures at SSM/I frequencies, as functions of eight input parameters: the zenith (nadir) angle, the integrated water vapor and vapor scale height, the integrated cloud water and cloud height, the effective surface temperature, atmospheric lapse rate, and surface pressure. It is shown that the model accurately reproduces clear-sky brightness temperatures computed by explicit integration of a large number of radiosonde soundings representing all maritime climate zones and seasons.

Petroleum Vapor Intrusion

Science.gov (United States)

One type of vapor intrusion is PVI, in which vapors from petroleum hydrocarbons such as gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel enter a building. Intrusion of contaminant vapors into indoor spaces is of concern.

Optoacoustic measurements of water vapor absorption at selected CO laser wavelengths in the 5-micron region

Science.gov (United States)

Menzies, R. T.; Shumate, M. S.

1976-01-01

Measurements of water vapor absorption were taken with a resonant optoacoustical detector (cylindrical pyrex detector, two BaF2 windows fitted into end plates at slight tilt to suppress Fabry-Perot resonances), for lack of confidence in existing spectral tabular data for the 5-7 micron region, as line shapes in the wing regions of water vapor lines are difficult to characterize. The measurements are required for air pollution studies using a CO laser, to find the differential absorption at the wavelengths in question due to atmospheric constituents other than water vapor. The design and performance of the optoacoustical detector are presented. Effects of absorption by ambient NO are considered, and the fixed-frequency discretely tunable CO laser is found suitable for monitoring urban NO concentrations in a fairly dry climate, using the water vapor absorption data obtained in the study.

Understanding the chemical vapor deposition of diamond: recent progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, J E; Mankelevich, Y A; Cheesman, A; Ma, Jie; Ashfold, M N R

2009-01-01

In this paper we review and provide an overview to the understanding of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of diamond materials with a particular focus on the commonly used microwave plasma-activated chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). The major topics covered are experimental measurements in situ to diamond CVD reactors, and MPCVD in particular, coupled with models of the gas phase chemical and plasma kinetics to provide insight into the distribution of critical chemical species throughout the reactor, followed by a discussion of the surface chemical process involved in diamond growth.

Climatic Analysis of Oceanic Water Vapor Transports Based on Satellite E-P Datasets

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Eric A.; Sohn, Byung-Ju; Mehta, Vikram

2004-01-01

Understanding the climatically varying properties of water vapor transports from a robust observational perspective is an essential step in calibrating climate models. This is tantamount to measuring year-to-year changes of monthly- or seasonally-averaged, divergent water vapor transport distributions. This cannot be done effectively with conventional radiosonde data over ocean regions where sounding data are generally sparse. This talk describes how a methodology designed to derive atmospheric water vapor transports over the world oceans from satellite-retrieved precipitation (P) and evaporation (E) datasets circumvents the problem of inadequate sampling. Ultimately, the method is intended to take advantage of the relatively complete and consistent coverage, as well as continuity in sampling, associated with E and P datasets obtained from satellite measurements. Independent P and E retrievals from Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) measurements, along with P retrievals from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) measurements, are used to obtain transports by solving a potential function for the divergence of water vapor transport as balanced by large scale E - P conditions.

Preface to the Special Issue on Climate-Chemistry Interactions: Atmospheric Ozone, Aerosols, and Clouds over East Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Chyung Wang and Jen-Ping Chen

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric radiatively-important chemical constituents (e.g., O3 and aerosols are important to maintain the radiation balance of the Earth-atmosphere climate system, and changes in their concentration due to both natural causes and anthropogenic activities will induce climate changes. The distribution of these constituents is sensitive to the state of the climate (e.g., temperature, moisture, wind, and clouds. Therefore, rises in atmospheric temperature and water vapor, and changes in circulation and clouds in global warming can directly affect atmospheric chemistry with subsequent implications for these constituents. Although many coupling mechanisms are identified, the net effect of all these impacts on climate change is not well understood. In particular, changes in water vapor and clouds associated with the hydrologic cycle contain significant uncertainties.

Vaporization of tungsten-metal in steam at high temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greene, G.A.; Finfrock, C.C.

2000-01-01

The vaporization of tungsten from the APT spallation target dominates the radiological source term for unmitigated target overheating accidents. Chemical reactions of tungsten with steam which persist to tungsten temperatures as low as 800 C result in the formation of a hydrated tungsten-oxide which has a high vapor pressure and is readily convected in a flowing atmosphere. This low-temperature vaporization reaction essentially removes the oxide film that forms on the tungsten-metal surface as soon as it forms, leaving behind a fresh metallic surface for continued oxidation and vaporization. Experiments were conducted to measure the oxidative vaporization rates of tungsten in steam as part of the effort to quantify the MT radiological source term for severe target accidents. Tests were conducted with tungsten rods (1/8 inch diameter, six inches long) heated to temperatures from approximately 700 C to 1350 C in flowing steam which was superheated to 140 C. A total of 19 experiments was conducted. Fifteen tests were conducted by RF induction heating of single tungsten rods held vertical in a quartz glass retort. Four tests were conducted in a vertically-mounted tube furnace for the low temperature range of the test series. The aerosol which was generated and transported downstream from the tungsten rods was collected by passing the discharged steam through a condenser. This procedure insured total collection of the steam along with the aerosol from the vaporization of the rods. The results of these experiments revealed a threshold temperature for tungsten vaporization in steam. For the two tests at the lowest temperatures which were tested, approximately 700 C, the tungsten rods were observed to oxidize without vaporization. The remainder of the tests was conducted over the temperature range of 800 C to 1350 C. In these tests, the rods were found to have lost weight due to vaporization of the tungsten and the missing weight was collected in the downstream condensate

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.

Modeling of spectral atmosphere transmission for infrared radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiecek, B.; Olbrycht, R.

2009-01-01

IR radiation transmission of the atmosphere is an important factor during the thermovision remote sensing and measurement. Transmission coefficient of the atmosphere depends on its content and it is attenuated mainly due to the vapor concentration. Every calibrated thermal camera should be equipped with the digital system which implements the transmission model of the atmosphere. The model presented in this work is based on Beer and Bouguer laws. The proposed simplified model of transmission atmosphere is suitable for implementation in the thermal cameras. A simple digital controller of the camera can calculate the transmission coefficient and correct the temperature measurement. The model takes in account both scattering and absorption due the quantum effects when the photons are interacting with the molecules. (author)

Evaluating Global Aerosol Models and Aerosol and Water Vapor Properties Near Clouds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, David, D.; Ferrare, Richard, A.

2011-07-06

The 'Evaluating Global Aerosol Models and Aerosol and Water Vapor Properties Near Clouds' project focused extensively on the analysis and utilization of water vapor and aerosol profiles derived from the ARM Raman lidar at the Southern Great Plains ARM site. A wide range of different tasks were performed during this project, all of which improved quality of the data products derived from the lidar or advanced the understanding of atmospheric processes over the site. These activities included: upgrading the Raman lidar to improve its sensitivity; participating in field experiments to validate the lidar aerosol and water vapor retrievals; using the lidar aerosol profiles to evaluate the accuracy of the vertical distribution of aerosols in global aerosol model simulations; examining the correlation between relative humidity and aerosol extinction, and how these change, due to horizontal distance away from cumulus clouds; inferring boundary layer turbulence structure in convective boundary layers from the high-time-resolution lidar water vapor measurements; retrieving cumulus entrainment rates in boundary layer cumulus clouds; and participating in a field experiment that provided data to help validate both the entrainment rate retrievals and the turbulent profiles derived from lidar observations.

Confirmatory research program: effects of atmospheric contaminants on commercial charcoals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bellamy, R.R.; Dietz, V.R.

1979-01-01

The increased use of activated charcoals in engineered-safety-feature and normal ventilation systems of nuclear power stations to continually remove radioiodine from flowing air prior to release to the environment has added importance to the question of the effect of atmospheric contaminants on the useful life of the charcoal. In January of 1977 the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) began an investigation to determine the extent to which atmospheric contaminants in ambient concentrations degrade the efficiency of various commercially-available charcoals for removing methyl iodide. The approach employed by NRL is two-fold. First, charcoal samples are exposed to unmodified outdoor air for periods of one to nine months, then examined for methyl iodide retention, increase in weight, and the pH of water extract. The atmospheric contaminants are identified by the NRL Air Quality Monitoring Station, and concentrations of the various contaminants (ozone, SO 2 , NO 2 , CO 2 , methane and total hydrocarbons) are also available. Second, additional charcoal samples are exposed to the same pollutants under controlled laboratory conditions in various pollutant combinations. Results indicate that the water vapor-charcoal interaction is an important factor in the degradation of the commercial charcoals. Laboratory results indicate the pollutant sulfur dioxide plus water vapor can result in significant charcoal deterioration, as did ozone plus water vapor. Conversely, carbon monoxide did not appear to affect the charcoal. Also, differences were observed for various charcoals

Climate Change Intensification of Horizontal Water Vapor Transport in CMIP5

Science.gov (United States)

Lavers, D. A.; Ralph, F. M.; Waliser, D. E.; Gershunov, A.; Dettinger, M. D.

2015-12-01

The global water cycle is hypothesized to intensify with a warming Earth's atmosphere. To determine associated hydrological changes, most previous research has used precipitation scenarios without considering changes to the horizontal water vapor transport (IVT). As few studies have analyzed the IVT, and given that many extreme precipitation and flood events are driven by intense water vapor transport, it is the aim of this study to investigate projected changes to global IVT. Furthermore, this approach can identify climatological changes to the IVT between water source and sink regions. Using 22 global circulation models from the Climate Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) we evaluate, globally, the mean, standard deviation, and the 95th percentile of IVT from the historical simulations (1979-2005) and two emissions scenarios (2073-2099); representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). This analysis is undertaken for December, January, and February (Boreal winter); and for June, July, and August (Austral winter). The CMIP5 historical multi-model mean has good agreement with the fields from the ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalysis, which provides confidence in the models' signal. In the future, under more extreme emissions (RCP8.5), multi-model mean IVT increases by 30-40% in the North Pacific and North Atlantic storm tracks and in the equatorial Pacific Ocean trade winds. The Arctic region has the largest relative IVT increase especially in Boreal winter. Analysis of low-altitude moisture and winds suggest that these projected changes are mainly due to higher atmospheric water vapor content.

Optimal Atmospheric Correction for Above-Ground Forest Biomass Estimation with the ETM+ Remote Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Hieu Cong; Jung, Jaehoon; Lee, Jungbin; Choi, Sung-Uk; Hong, Suk-Young; Heo, Joon

2015-07-31

The reflectance of the Earth's surface is significantly influenced by atmospheric conditions such as water vapor content and aerosols. Particularly, the absorption and scattering effects become stronger when the target features are non-bright objects, such as in aqueous or vegetated areas. For any remote-sensing approach, atmospheric correction is thus required to minimize those effects and to convert digital number (DN) values to surface reflectance. The main aim of this study was to test the three most popular atmospheric correction models, namely (1) Dark Object Subtraction (DOS); (2) Fast Line-of-sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes (FLAASH) and (3) the Second Simulation of Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S) and compare them with Top of Atmospheric (TOA) reflectance. By using the k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) algorithm, a series of experiments were conducted for above-ground forest biomass (AGB) estimations of the Gongju and Sejong region of South Korea, in order to check the effectiveness of atmospheric correction methods for Landsat ETM+. Overall, in the forest biomass estimation, the 6S model showed the bestRMSE's, followed by FLAASH, DOS and TOA. In addition, a significant improvement of RMSE by 6S was found with images when the study site had higher total water vapor and temperature levels. Moreover, we also tested the sensitivity of the atmospheric correction methods to each of the Landsat ETM+ bands. The results confirmed that 6S dominates the other methods, especially in the infrared wavelengths covering the pivotal bands for forest applications. Finally, we suggest that the 6S model, integrating water vapor and aerosol optical depth derived from MODIS products, is better suited for AGB estimation based on optical remote-sensing data, especially when using satellite images acquired in the summer during full canopy development.

Water vapor total column measurements using the Elodie Archive at Observatoire de Haute Provence from 1994 to 2004

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Sarkissian

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Water vapor total column measurements at Observatoire de Haute Provence (5°42´ E, +43°55´ N, south of France, were obtained using observations of astronomical objects made between July 1994 and December 2004 on the 193-cm telescope with the high-resolution spectrometer Elodie. Spectra of stars, nebulae, and other astronomical objects were taken regularly during 10 years. More than 18 000 spectra from 400 nm to 680 nm are available on-line in the Elodie Archive. This archive, usually explored by astronomers, contains information to study the atmosphere of the Earth. Water vapor absorption lines appear in the visible in delimited bands that astronomers often avoid for their spectral analysis. We used the Elodie Archive with two objectives: firstly, to retrieve seasonal variability and long-term trend of atmospheric water vapor, and secondly, to remove signatures in spectra for further astronomical or geophysical use. The tools presented here (the workflow, the interoperable Elodie Archive and the web service Tellodie are developed following, when possible, formats and standards recommended by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance.

Observing Tropospheric Water Vapor by Radio Occultation using the Global Positioning System

Science.gov (United States)

Kursinski, E. R.; Hajj, G. A.; Hardy, K. R.; Romans, L. J.; Schofield, J. T.

1995-01-01

Given the importance of water vapor to weather, climate and hydrology, global humidity observations from satellites are critical. At low latitudes, radio occultation observations of Earth's atmosphere using the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites allow water vapor profiles to be retrieved with accuracies of 10 to 20% below 6 to 7 km altitude and approx. 5% or better within the boundary layer. GPS observations provide a unique combination of accuracy, vertical resolution (less than or equal to 1 km) and insensitivity to cloud and aerosol particles that is well suited to observations of the lower troposphere. These characteristics combined with the inherent stability of radio occultation observations make it an excellent candidate for the measurement of long term trends.

Development of Raman-Mie lidar system for aerosol and water vapor profiling

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Qian; Wang, Zhenzhu; Xu, Jiwei; Tan, Min; Wu, Decheng; Xie, Chenbo; Liu, Dong; Wang, Yingjian

2018-03-01

Aerosol and water vapor are two important atmospheric parameters. The accurate quantification of diurnal variation of these parameters are very useful for environment assessment and climate change studies. A moveable, compact and unattended lidar system based on modular design is developed for aerosol extinction coefficients and water vapor mixing ratios measurements. In the southern suburbs of Beijing, the continuous observation was carried out by this lidar since the middle of the year of 2017. The lidar equipment is presented and the case study is also described in this paper. The observational results show that the lidar kept a very good status from the long-time continuous measurements which is suitable for networking especially in meteorological research field.

Preliminary analysis of a membrane-based atmosphere-control subsystem

Science.gov (United States)

Mccray, Scott B.; Newbold, David D.; Ray, Rod; Ogle, Kathryn

1993-01-01

Controlled ecological life supprot systems will require subsystems for maintaining the consentrations of atmospheric gases within acceptable ranges in human habitat chambers and plant growth chambers. The goal of this work was to develop a membrane-based atmosphere comntrol (MBAC) subsystem that allows the controlled exchange of atmospheric componets (e.g., oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor) between these chambers. The MBAC subsystem promises to offer a simple, nonenergy intensive method to separate, store and exchange atmospheric components, producing optimal concentrations of components in each chamber. In this paper, the results of a preliminary analysis of the MBAC subsystem for control of oxygen and nitrogen are presented. Additionally, the MBAC subsystem and its operation are described.

High-power laser radiation in atmospheric aerosols: Nonlinear optics of aerodispersed media

Science.gov (United States)

Zuev, V. E.; Zemlianov, A. A.; Kopytin, Iu. D.; Kuzikovskii, A. V.

The bulk of this book contains the results of investigations carried out at the Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch, USSR Academy of Science with the participation of the authors. The microphysical and optical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols are considered, taking into account light scattering by a single aerosol particle, light scattering by a system of particles, the scattering phase matrix, light scattering by clouds and fogs, light scattering by hazes, and scattering phase functions of polydispersed aerosols. Other topics studies are related to low-energy (subexplosive) effects of radiation on individual particles, the formation of clear zones in clouds and fogs due to the vaporization of droplets under regular regimes, self-action of a wave beam in a water aerosol under conditions of regular droplet vaporization, laser beam propagation through an explosively evaporating water-droplet aerosol, the propagation of high-power laser radiation through hazes, the ionization and optical breakdown in aerosol media, and laser monitoring of a turbid atmosphere using nonlinear effects.

Optimization of GPS water vapor tomography technique with radiosonde and COSMIC historical data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Ye

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The near-real-time high spatial resolution of atmospheric water vapor distribution is vital in numerical weather prediction. GPS tomography technique has been proved effectively for three-dimensional water vapor reconstruction. In this study, the tomography processing is optimized in a few aspects by the aid of radiosonde and COSMIC historical data. Firstly, regional tropospheric zenith hydrostatic delay (ZHD models are improved and thus the zenith wet delay (ZWD can be obtained at a higher accuracy. Secondly, the regional conversion factor of converting the ZWD to the precipitable water vapor (PWV is refined. Next, we develop a new method for dividing the tomography grid with an uneven voxel height and a varied water vapor layer top. Finally, we propose a Gaussian exponential vertical interpolation method which can better reflect the vertical variation characteristic of water vapor. GPS datasets collected in Hong Kong in February 2014 are employed to evaluate the optimized tomographic method by contrast with the conventional method. The radiosonde-derived and COSMIC-derived water vapor densities are utilized as references to evaluate the tomographic results. Using radiosonde products as references, the test results obtained from our optimized method indicate that the water vapor density accuracy is improved by 15 and 12 % compared to those derived from the conventional method below the height of 3.75 km and above the height of 3.75 km, respectively. Using the COSMIC products as references, the results indicate that the water vapor density accuracy is improved by 15 and 19 % below 3.75 km and above 3.75 km, respectively.

Raman lidar water vapor profiling over Warsaw, Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Stachlewska, Iwona S.; Costa-Surós, Montserrat; Althausen, Dietrich

2017-09-01

Water vapor mixing ratio and relative humidity profiles were derived from the multi-wavelength Raman PollyXT lidar at the EARLINET site in Warsaw, using the Rayleigh molecular extinction calculation based on atmospheric temperature and pressure from three different sources: i) the standard atmosphere US 62, ii) the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) model output, and iii) the WMO 12374 radiosoundings launched at Legionowo. With each method, 136 midnight relative humidity profiles were obtained for lidar observations from July 2013 to August 2015. Comparisons of these profiles showed in favor of the latter method (iii), but it also indicated that the other two data sources could replace it, if necessary. Such use was demonstrated for an automated retrieval of water vapor mixing ratio from dusk until dawn on 19/20 March 2015; a case study related to an advection of biomass burning aerosol from forest fires over Ukraine. Additionally, an algorithm that applies thresholds to the radiosounding relative humidity profiles to estimate macro-physical cloud vertical structure was used for the first time on the Raman lidar relative humidity profiles. The results, based on a subset of 66 profiles, indicate that below 6 km cloud bases/tops can be successfully obtained in 53% and 76% cases from lidar and radiosounding profiles, respectively. Finally, a contribution of the lidar derived mean relative humidity to cloudy conditions within the range of 0.8 to 6.2 km, in comparison to clear-sky conditions, was estimated.

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

Laser absorption spectroscopy of water vapor confined in nanoporous alumina: wall collision line broadening and gas diffusion dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Svensson, Tomas; Lewander, Märta; Svanberg, Sune

2010-08-02

We demonstrate high-resolution tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) of water vapor confined in nanoporous alumina. Strong multiple light scattering results in long photon pathlengths (1 m through a 6 mm sample). We report on strong line broadening due to frequent wall collisions (gas-surface interactions). For the water vapor line at 935.685 nm, the HWHM of confined molecules are about 4.3 GHz as compared to 2.9 GHz for free molecules (atmospheric pressure). Gas diffusion is also investigated, and in contrast to molecular oxygen (that moves rapidly in and out of the alumina), the exchange of water vapor is found very slow.

Dissolution kinetics of volatile organic compound vapors in water : An integrated experimental and computational study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

G. Mahmoodlu, Mojtaba; Pontedeiro, Elizabeth M.; Pérez Guerrero, Jesús S.; Raoof, Amir; Hassanizadeh, S. Majid; van Genuchten, Martinus Th

In this study we performed batch experiments to investigate the dissolution kinetics of trichloroethylene (TCE) and toluene vapors in water at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The batch systems consisted of a water reservoir and a connected headspace, the latter containing a small glass

A New U.S. West Coast Network of Atmospheric River Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

White, A. B.; Wilczak, J. M.; Ayers, T. E.; King, C. W.; Jordan, J. R.; Shaw, W. J.; Flaherty, J. E.; Morris, V. R.

2015-12-01

The West Coast of North America is the gateway to winter storms forming over the Pacific Ocean that deliver most of the precipitation and water supply to the region. Satellites are capable of detecting the concentrated water vapor in these storms (a.k.a. atmospheric rivers) over the oceans, but because of the complex emissivity of land surfaces, fail to do so over land. In addition, these storms often are accompanied by a baroclinically induced low-level jet that drives the moisture up the windward slopes of coastal and inland mountain ranges and produces orographically enhanced precipitation. To date, satellites cannot resolve this important feature. NOAA's Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT; hmt.noaa.gov) has developed the concept of an atmospheric river observatory (ARO); a collection of ground-based instruments capable of detecting and monitoring the water vapor transport in the low-level jet region. With funding provided by the California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Department of Energy, HMT has installed a picket fence of AROs along the U.S. West Coast. In addition, HMT has developed an award-winning water vapor flux tool that takes advantage of the data collected by the AROs to provide situational awareness and decision support for end users. This tool recently has been updated to include operational weather prediction output. The ARO network and water vapor flux tool will be described in this presentation.

Preparation of hafnium carbide by chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hertz, Dominique.

1974-01-01

Hard, adhesive coatings of single-phase hafnium carbide were obtained by chemical vapor reaction in an atmosphere containing hafnium tetrachloride, methane and a large excess of hydrogen. By varying the gas phase composition and temperature the zones of formation of the different solid phases were studied and the growth of elementary hafnium and carbon deposits evaluated separately. The results show that the mechanism of hafnium carbide deposition does not hardly involve phenomene of homogeneous-phase methane decomposition or tetrachloride reduction by hydrogen unless the atmosphere is very rich or very poor in methane with respect to tetrachloride. However, hydrogen acting inversely on these two reactions, affects the stoichiometry of the substance deposited. The methane decomposition reaction is fairly slow, the reaction leading to hafnium carbide deposition is faster and that of tetrachloride reduction by hydrogen is quite fast [fr

Water Vapor Tracers as Diagnostics of the Regional Hydrologic Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Numerous studies suggest that local feedback of surface evaporation on precipitation, or recycling, is a significant source of water for precipitation. Quantitative results on the exact amount of recycling have been difficult to obtain in view of the inherent limitations of diagnostic recycling calculations. The current study describes a calculation of the amount of local and remote geographic sources of surface evaporation for precipitation, based on the implementation of three-dimensional constituent tracers of regional water vapor sources (termed water vapor tracers, WVT) in a general circulation model. The major limitation on the accuracy of the recycling estimates is the veracity of the numerically simulated hydrological cycle, though we note that this approach can also be implemented within the context of a data assimilation system. In the WVT approach, each tracer is associated with an evaporative source region for a prognostic three-dimensional variable that represents a partial amount of the total atmospheric water vapor. The physical processes that act on a WVT are determined in proportion to those that act on the model's prognostic water vapor. In this way, the local and remote sources of water for precipitation can be predicted within the model simulation, and can be validated against the model's prognostic water vapor. As a demonstration of the method, the regional hydrologic cycles for North America and India are evaluated for six summers (June, July and August) of model simulation. More than 50% of the precipitation in the Midwestern United States came from continental regional sources, and the local source was the largest of the regional tracers (14%). The Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic regions contributed 18% of the water for Midwestern precipitation, but further analysis suggests that the greater region of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean may also contribute significantly. In most North American continental regions, the local source of precipitation is

Observation of Mountain Lee Waves with MODIS NIR Column Water Vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Lyapustin, A.; Alexander, M. J.; Ott, L.; Molod, A.; Holben, B.; Susskind, J.; Wang, Y.

2014-01-01

Mountain lee waves have been previously observed in data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) "water vapor" 6.7 micrometers channel which has a typical peak sensitivity at 550 hPa in the free troposphere. This paper reports the first observation of mountain waves generated by the Appalachian Mountains in the MODIS total column water vapor (CWV) product derived from near-infrared (NIR) (0.94 micrometers) measurements, which indicate perturbations very close to the surface. The CWV waves are usually observed during spring and late fall or some summer days with low to moderate CWV (below is approx. 2 cm). The observed lee waves display wavelengths from3-4 to 15kmwith an amplitude of variation often comparable to is approx. 50-70% of the total CWV. Since the bulk of atmospheric water vapor is confined to the boundary layer, this indicates that the impact of thesewaves extends deep into the boundary layer, and these may be the lowest level signatures of mountain lee waves presently detected by remote sensing over the land.

Experimental vapor-liquid equilibria data for binary mixtures of xylene isomers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.L. Rodrigues

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Separation of aromatic C8 compounds by distillation is a difficult task due to the low relative volatilities of the compounds and to the high degree of purity required of the final commercial products. For rigorous simulation and optimization of this separation, the use of a model capable of describing vapor-liquid equilibria accurately is necessary. Nevertheless, experimental data are not available for all binaries at atmospheric pressure. Vapor-liquid equilibria data for binary mixtures were isobarically obtained with a modified Fischer cell at 100.65 kPa. The vapor and liquid phase compositions were analyzed with a gas chromatograph. The methodology was initially tested for cyclo-hexane+n-heptane data; results obtained are similar to other data in the literature. Data for xylene binary mixtures were then obtained, and after testing, were considered to be thermodynamically consistent. Experimental data were regressed with Aspen Plus® 10.1 and binary interaction parameters were reported for the most frequently used activity coefficient models and for the classic mixing rules of two cubic equations of state.

Point of net vapor generation and vapor void fraction in subcooled boiling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saha, P.; Zuber, N.

1974-01-01

An analysis is presented directed at predicting the point of net vapor generation and vapor void fraction in subcooled boiling. It is shown that the point of net vapor generation depends upon local conditions--thermal and fluid dynamic. Thus, at low mass flow rates the net vapor generation is determined by thermal conditions, whereas at high mass flow rates the phenomenon is hydrodynamically controlled. Simple criteria are derived which can be used to predict these local conditions for net vapor generation. These criteria are used to determine the vapor void fraction is subcooled boiling. Comparison between the results predicted by this analysis and experimental data presently available shows good agreement for wide range of operating conditions, fluids and geometries. (U.S.)

Effects of Water Vapor on the Data Quality of the Stable Oxygen Isotopic Ratio of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, C. U.; White, J. W.; Vaughn, B.; Tans, P. P.; Pardo, L.

2007-12-01

The stable oxygen isotopic ratio of carbon dioxide can potentially track fundamental indicators of environmental change such as the balance between photosynthesis and respiration on regional to global scales. The Stable Isotope Laboratory (SIL) at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado at Boulder, has measured the stable isotopes of atmospheric carbon dioxide from more than 60 NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) air flask-sampling sites since the early 1990s. If air is sampled without drying, oxygen can exchange between carbon dioxide and water in the flasks, entirely masking the desired signal. An attempt to investigate how water vapor is affecting the δ18O signal is accomplished by comparing the SIL measurements with specific humidity, calculated from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) global integrated surface hourly temperature and dew point database, at the time of sampling. Analysis of sites where samples have been collected initially without drying, and subsequently with a drying kit, in conjunction with the humidity data, has led to several conclusions. Samples that initially appear isotopically unaltered, in that their δ18O values are within the expected range, are being subtly influenced by the water vapor in the air. At Bermuda and other tropical to semi-tropical sites, the 'wet' sampling values have a seasonal cycle that is strongly anti-correlated to the specific humidity, while the 'dry' values have a seasonal cycle that is shifted earlier than the specific humidity cycle by 1-2 months. The latter phasing is expected given the seasonal phasing between climate over the ocean and land, while the former is consistent with a small, but measurable isotope exchange in the flasks. In addition, we note that there is a strong (r > 0.96) correlation between the average specific humidity and the percent of rejected samples for 'wet' sampling. This presents an opportunity for determining a threshold of

Solid State Laser Technology Development for Atmospheric Sensing Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, James C.

1998-01-01

NASA atmospheric scientists are currently planning active remote sensing missions that will enable global monitoring of atmospheric ozone, water vapor, aerosols and clouds as well as global wind velocity. The measurements of these elements and parameters are important because of the effects they have on climate change, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, atmospheric transport and, in general, the health of the planet. NASA will make use of Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) and backscatter lidar techniques for active remote sensing of molecular constituents and atmospheric phenomena from advanced high-altitude aircraft and space platforms. This paper provides an overview of NASA Langley Research Center's (LaRC's) development of advanced solid state lasers, harmonic generators, and wave mixing techniques aimed at providing the broad range of wavelengths necessary to meet measurement goals of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise.

Characterization of a Compact Water Vapor Radiometer

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Ajay; Selina, Rob

2018-01-01

We report on laboratory test results of the Compact Water Vapor Radiometer (CWVR) prototype for the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), a five-channel design centered around the 22 GHz water vapor line. Fluctuations in perceptible water vapor cause fluctuations in atmospheric brightness emission, which are assumed to be proportional to phase fluctuations of the astronomical signal seen by an antenna. The design is intended to support empirical radiometric phase corrections for each baseline in the array.The dynamic range, channel isolation, and gain stability of the device were characterized. The device has a useful dynamic range of order 18 dB after calibration, and the CWVR channel isolation requirement of test, the diode detectors were operated in the square-law region, and a K-band noise diode was used as the broadband input power source to the CWVR over a period of 64 hours. Results indicate that the fluctuations in output counts are negatively correlated to the CWVR enclosure ambient temperature, with a change of ~ 405 counts per 1° C change in temperature.A correction for the CWVR ambient temperature makes a considerable improvement in stability for τ > 102.6 sec. With temperature corrections, the single channel and channel difference gain stability per channel is test results indicate that the CWVR meets required specifications for dynamic range, channel isolation, and gain stability in order to proceed with testing on a pair of VLA antennas.

Uptake of atmospheric tritium by market foods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Y.; Tanaka-Miyamoto, K.; Iwakura, T.

1992-01-01

In this paper uptake of tritium by market foods from tritiated water vapor in the air is investigated using cereals and beans purchased in Deep River, Canada. The concentrations of tissue free water tritium (TFWT) and organically bound tritium (OBT) range from 12 to 79% and from 10 to 38% respectively, of that estimated for atmospheric water vapor of the sampling month. The specific activity ratios of OBT to TFWT were constant for cereals, but variable for beans. The elevated OBT was shown to be the result of isotopic exchange of labile hydrogen by the fact that washing the foods with tritium free-water reduced their tritium contents to levels characteristic of their production sites

Operations and Maintenance Manual, Atmospheric Contaminant Sensor, Revision B.

Science.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC.

The sensor is a mass spectrometer system which continuously monitors the atmospheric constituents of hydrogen, water vapor, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, and monitors the Freons on a demand sampling basis. The manual provides a system description, operational procedures, and maintenance and troubleshooting instructions. Circuit diagrams…

Analysis of the retention of water vapor on silica gel; Analisis de la retencion del vapor de agua en silica gel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herranz, M.; Pinilla, J. L.; Alegria, N.; Idoeta, R.; Legarda, F.

2011-07-01

Among the various sampling systems tritium content in the atmosphere as water vapor, one of the most basic and, therefore, of widespread use in the environmental field, is the retention on silica gel. However, the behavior of the collection efficiency of silica gel under varying conditions of air temperature and relative humidity makes it difficult to define the amount of this necessary for proper completion of sampling, especially in situations of prolonged sampling. This paper presents partial results obtained in a study on the analysis of these efficiencies under normal conditions of sampling. (Author)

The vapor pressure and enthalpy of vaporization of M-xylene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rothenberg, S.J.; Seiler, F.A.; Bechtold, W.E.; Eidson, A.F.

1988-01-01

We measured the vapor pressure of m-xylene over the temperature range 273 to 293 deg K with a single-sided capacitance manometer. The enthalpy of vaporization was 42.2 ± 0.1 (SE) kj/ g·mol. Combining our own data with previously published data, we recommend using the values 42.0, 40.6, and 39.1 (± 0.1) (SE) kjg·mol for the enthalpy of vaporization of m-xylene at 300, 340, and 380 deg. K, respectively, and a value for the change in heat capacity on vaporization (ΔCpdeg.) of 35 ± 3 (SE) J/g·mol·K over the temperature range studied. (author)

Role of Stratospheric Water Vapor in Global Warming from GCM Simulations Constrained by MLS Observation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Y.; Stek, P. C.; Su, H.; Jiang, J. H.; Livesey, N. J.; Santee, M. L.

2014-12-01

Over the past century, global average surface temperature has warmed by about 0.16°C/decade, largely due to anthropogenic increases in well-mixed greenhouse gases. However, the trend in global surface temperatures has been nearly flat since 2000, raising a question regarding the exploration of the drivers of climate change. Water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Previous studies suggested that the sudden decrease of stratospheric water vapor (SWV) around 2000 may have contributed to the stall of global warming. Since 2004, the SWV observed by Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on Aura satellite has shown a slow recovery. The role of recent SWV variations in global warming has not been quantified. We employ a coupled atmosphere-ocean climate model, the NCAR CESM, to address this issue. It is found that the CESM underestimates the stratospheric water vapor by about 1 ppmv due to limited representations of the stratospheric dynamic and chemical processes important for water vapor variabilities. By nudging the modeled SWV to the MLS observation, we find that increasing SWV by 1 ppmv produces a robust surface warming about 0.2°C in global-mean when the model reaches equilibrium. Conversely, the sudden drop of SWV from 2000 to 2004 would cause a surface cooling about -0.08°C in global-mean. On the other hand, imposing the observed linear trend of SWV based on the 10-year observation of MLS in the CESM yields a rather slow surface warming, about 0.04°C/decade. Our model experiments suggest that SWV contributes positively to the global surface temperature variation, although it may not be the dominant factor that drives the recent global warming hiatus. Additional sensitivity experiments show that the impact of SWV on surface climate is mostly governed by the SWV amount at 100 hPa in the tropics. Furthermore, the atmospheric model simulations driven by observed sea surface temperature (SST) show that the inter-annual variation of SWV follows that of SST

Partitioning Water Vapor and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes using Correlation Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlon, T. M.

2008-12-01

A variety of methods are currently available to partition water vapor fluxes (into components of transpiration and direct evaporation) and carbon dioxide fluxes (into components of photosynthesis and respiration), using chambers, isotopes, and regression modeling approaches. Here, a methodology is presented that accounts for correlations between high-frequency measurements of water vapor (q) and carbon dioxide (c) concentrations being influenced by their non-identical source-sink distributions and the relative magnitude of their constituent fluxes. Flux-variance similarity assumptions are applied separately to the stomatal and the non-stomatal exchange, and the flux components are identified by considering the q-c correlation. Water use efficiency for the vegetation, and how it varies with respect to vapor pressure deficit, is the only input needed for this approach that uses standard eddy covariance measurements. The method is demonstrated using data collected over a corn field throughout a growing season. In particular, the research focuses on the partitioning of the water flux with the aim of improving how direct evaporation is handled in soil-vegetation- atmosphere transfer models over the course of wetting and dry-down cycles.

Characterization of InP/GaAs/Si structures grown by atmospheric pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pearton, S.J.; Short, K.T.; Macrander, A.T.; Abernathy, C.R.; Mazzi, V.P.; Haegel, N.M.; Al-Jassim, M.M.; Vernon, S.M.; Haven, V.E.

1989-01-01

The thickness dependence of material quality of InP-GaAs-Si structures grown by atmospheric pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition was investigated. The InP thickness was varied from 1--4 μm, and that of the GaAs from 0.1--4 μm. For a given thickness of InP, its ion channeling yield and x-ray peak width were essentially independent of the GaAs layer thickness. The InP x-ray peak widths were typically 400--440 arcsec for 4-μm-thick layers grown on GaAs. The GaAs x-ray widths in turn varied from 320--1000 arcsec for layer thicknesses from 0.1--4 μm. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy showed high defect densities at both the InP-GaAs and GaAs-Si interfaces. In 4-μm-thick InP layers the average threading dislocation density was in the range (3--8) x 10 8 cm -2 with a stacking fault density within the range (0.4--2) x 10 8 cm 2 . The He + ion channeling yield near the InP surface was similar to that of bulk InP (chi/sub min/∼4%), but rose rapidly toward the InP-GaAs heterointerface where it was typically around 50% for 1-μm-thick InP layers. All samples showed room-temperature luminescence, while at 4.4 K, exciton-related transitions, whose intensity was a function of the InP thickness, were observed

Measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide and water vapor in built-up urban areas in the Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad region in India using a portable tunable diode laser spectroscopy system.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Anirban; Sharma, Neetesh Kumar; Chakraborty, Arup Lal; Upadhyay, Abhishek

2017-11-01

This paper reports open-path in situ measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide at Gandhinagar (23.2156°N, 72.6369°E) and Ahmedabad (23.0225°N, 72.5714°E) in the heavily industrialized state of Gujarat in western India. Calibration-free second harmonic wavelength modulation spectroscopy (2f WMS) is used to carry out accurate and fully automated measurements. The mean values of the mole fraction of carbon dioxide at four locations were 438 ppm, 495 ppm, 550 ppm, and 740 ppm, respectively. These values are much higher than the current global average of 406.67 ppm. A 1 mW, 2004-nm vertical cavity surface-emitting laser is used to selectively interrogate the R16 transition of carbon dioxide at 2003.5 nm (4991.2585 cm -1 ). The 2f WMS signal corresponding to the gas absorption line shape is simulated using spectroscopic parameters available in the HITRAN database and relevant laser parameters that are extracted in situ from non-absorbing spectral wings of the harmonic signals. The mole fraction of carbon dioxide is extracted in real-time by a MATLAB program from least-squares fit of the simulated 2f WMS signal to the corresponding experimentally obtained signal. A 10-mW, 1392.54-nm distributed feedback laser is used at two of the locations to carry out water vapor measurements using direct absorption spectroscopy. This is the first instance of a portable tunable diode laser spectroscopy system being deployed in an urban location in India to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide and water vapor under varying traffic conditions. The measurements clearly demonstrate the need to adopt tunable diode laser spectroscopy for precise long-term monitoring of greenhouse gases in the Indian subcontinent.

Effect of carbon derivatives in sulfonated poly(etherimide)-liquid crystal polymer composite for methanol vapor sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Bag, Souvik; Rathi, Keerti; Pal, Kaushik

2017-05-01

A class of highly sensitive chemiresistive sensors is developed for methanol (MeOH) vapor detection in ambient atmosphere by introducing conductive nanofillers like carbon black, multi-wall carbon nanotubes, and reduced graphene oxide into sulfonated poly(etherimide) (PEI)/liquid crystal polymer (LCP) composite (sPEI-LCP). Polar composites are prepared by a sulfonation process for instantaneous enhancement in adsorption capability of the sensing films to the target analyte (MeOH). Sensing properties exhibit that polymer composite-based fabricated sensors are efficient for the detection of different concentration of methanol vapor from 300-1200 parts-per-million (ppm) at room temperature. The incorporation of nanofiller induces the dramatic change in sensing behavior of base composite film (sPEI-LCP). Thus, less mass fraction of nanofillers (i.e. 2 wt%) influences the nonlinear sensing behavior for the entire range of methanol vapor. The simple method and low fabrication cost of the prepared sensor are compelling reasons that methanol vapor sensor is suitable for environmental monitoring.

A Local Propagation for Vapor Explosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ochiai, M.; Bankoff, S.G.

1976-01-01

explosion can be made. Both theories postulate that spontaneous nucleation is a necessary requirement for vapor explosions. In the case of Freon-oil, which can be considered to be a 'well-wetted' system, this implies homogeneous nucleation. For metal-water systems, however, vapor-free heterogeneous nucleation may take place, in view of the unique surface properties of water. Indeed, for aqueous systems it is difficult to suppress very small pre-existing surface nuclei. The practical effect, however, is the same in that nucleation may occur in metal-water systems at liquid-liquid interfacial temperatures somewhat below the homogeneous nucleation temperature of water, but with comparable time scales and vapor pressures. Another important requirement common to both the splash and capture theories, as well as the Freon-oil data, is the necessity for film boiling to occur when the two liquids are initially mixed. This requirement is not satisfied by the sodium-UO 2 system, based on the Henry film bailing correlation. Rapid breakup therefore occurs as the two liquids are mixed, preventing a highly energetic interaction. Our current assessment, therefore, is that a sodium-UO 2 vapor explosion in a reactor environment is extremely unlikely

The microwave limb sounder for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, J. W.; Peckham, G. E.; Suttie, R. A.; Curtis, P. D.; Maddison, B. J.; Harwood, R. S.

1988-01-01

The Microwave Limb Sounder was designed to map the concentrations of trace gases from the stratosphere to the lower thermosphere, to improve understanding of the photochemical reactions which take place in this part of the atmosphere. The instrument will measure the intensity of thermal radiation from molecules in the atmosphere at frequencies corresponding to rotational absorption bands of chlorine monoxide, ozone, and water vapor. Molecular concentration profiles will be determined over a height range of 15 to 80 km (20 to 45 km for C10). The 57 deg inclination orbit proposed for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite will allow global coverage.

The vapor pressure and enthalpy of vaporization of M-xylene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rothenberg, S J; Seiler, F A; Bechtold, W E; Eidson, A F

1988-12-01

We measured the vapor pressure of m-xylene over the temperature range 273 to 293 deg K with a single-sided capacitance manometer. The enthalpy of vaporization was 42.2 {+-} 0.1 (SE) kj/ g{center_dot}mol. Combining our own data with previously published data, we recommend using the values 42.0, 40.6, and 39.1 ({+-} 0.1) (SE) kjg{center_dot}mol for the enthalpy of vaporization of m-xylene at 300, 340, and 380 deg. K, respectively, and a value for the change in heat capacity on vaporization ({delta}Cpdeg.) of 35 {+-} 3 (SE) J/g{center_dot}mol{center_dot}K over the temperature range studied. (author)

Selective laser vaporization of polypropylene sutures and mesh

Science.gov (United States)

Burks, David; Rosenbury, Sarah B.; Kennelly, Michael J.; Fried, Nathaniel M.

2012-02-01

Complications from polypropylene mesh after surgery for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) may require tedious surgical revision and removal of mesh materials with risk of damage to healthy adjacent tissue. This study explores selective laser vaporization of polypropylene suture/mesh materials commonly used in SUI. A compact, 7 Watt, 647-nm, red diode laser was operated with a radiant exposure of 81 J/cm2, pulse duration of 100 ms, and 1.0-mm-diameter laser spot. The 647-nm wavelength was selected because its absorption by water, hemoglobin, and other major tissue chromophores is low, while polypropylene absorption is high. Laser vaporization of ~200-μm-diameter polypropylene suture/mesh strands, in contact with fresh urinary tissue samples, ex vivo, was performed. Non-contact temperature mapping of the suture/mesh samples with a thermal camera was also conducted. Photoselective vaporization of polypropylene suture and mesh using a single laser pulse was achieved with peak temperatures of 180 and 232 °C, respectively. In control (safety) studies, direct laser irradiation of tissue alone resulted in only a 1 °C temperature increase. Selective laser vaporization of polypropylene suture/mesh materials is feasible without significant thermal damage to tissue. This technique may be useful for SUI procedures requiring surgical revision.

Enthalpy model for heating, melting, and vaporization in laser ablation

OpenAIRE

Vasilios Alexiades; David Autrique

2010-01-01

Laser ablation is used in a growing number of applications in various areas including medicine, archaeology, chemistry, environmental and materials sciences. In this work the heat transfer and phase change phenomena during nanosecond laser ablation of a copper (Cu) target in a helium (He) background gas at atmospheric pressure are presented. An enthalpy model is outlined, which accounts for heating, melting, and vaporization of the target. As far as we know, this is the first model th...

Combustion chemical vapor desposited coatings for thermal barrier coating systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hampikian, J.M.; Carter, W.B. [Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

1995-10-01

The new deposition process, combustion chemical vapor deposition, shows a great deal of promise in the area of thermal barrier coating systems. This technique produces dense, adherent coatings, and does not require a reaction chamber. Coatings can therefore be applied in the open atmosphere. The process is potentially suitable for producing high quality CVD coatings for use as interlayers between the bond coat and thermal barrier coating, and/or as overlayers, on top of thermal barrier coatings.

Diode-laser-based water vapor differential absorption lidar (DIAL) profiler evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Spuler, S.; Weckwerth, T.; Repasky, K. S.; Nehrir, A. R.; Carbone, R.

2012-12-01

We are in the process of evaluating the performance of an eye-safe, low-cost, diode-laser-based, water vapor differential absorption lidar (DIAL) profiler. This class of instrument may be capable of providing continuous water vapor and aerosol backscatter profiles at high vertical resolution in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) for periods of months to years. The technology potentially fills a national long term observing facility gap and could greatly benefit micro- and meso-meteorology, water cycle, carbon cycle and, more generally, biosphere-hydrosphere-atmosphere interaction research at both weather and climate variability time scales. For the evaluation, the Montana State University 3rd generation water vapor DIAL was modified to enable unattended operation for a period of several weeks. The performance of this V3.5 version DIAL was tested at MSU and NCAR in June and July of 2012. Further tests are currently in progress with Howard University at Beltsville, Maryland; and with the National Weather Service and Oklahoma University at Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. The presentation will include a comparison of DIAL profiles against meteorological "truth" at the aforementioned locations including: radiosondes, Raman lidars, microwave and IR radiometers, AERONET and SUOMINET systems. Instrument reliability, uncertainty, systematic biases, detection height statistics, and environmental complications will be evaluated. Performance will be judged in the context of diverse scientific applications that range from operational weather prediction and seasonal climate variability, to more demanding climate system process studies at the land-canopy-ABL interface. Estimating the extent to which such research and operational applications can be satisfied with a low cost autonomous network of similar instruments is our principal objective.

Atmospheric Chemistry of Micrometeoritic Organic Compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Kress, M. E.; Belle, C. L.; Pevyhouse, A. R.; Iraci, L. T.

2011-01-01

Micrometeorites approx.100 m in diameter deliver most of the Earth s annual accumulation of extraterrestrial material. These small particles are so strongly heated upon atmospheric entry that most of their volatile content is vaporized. Here we present preliminary results from two sets of experiments to investigate the fate of the organic fraction of micrometeorites. In the first set of experiments, 300 m particles of a CM carbonaceous chondrite were subject to flash pyrolysis, simulating atmospheric entry. In addition to CO and CO2, many organic compounds were released, including functionalized benzenes, hydrocarbons, and small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In the second set of experiments, we subjected two of these compounds to conditions that simulate the heterogeneous chemistry of Earth s upper atmosphere. We find evidence that meteor-derived compounds can follow reaction pathways leading to the formation of more complex organic compounds.

Disappearance of a detached vapor mass in subcooled water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inada, Shigeaki; Miyasaka, Yoshiki; Izumi, Ryotaro.

1986-01-01

Experiments on pool transition boiling of water under atmospheric pressure on a heated surface 10 mm in diameter were conducted for subcooling 15 - 50 K. The mass flux of condensation of a detached coalescent vapor bubble was experimentally estimated by a mathematical model based on the mass transfer mechanism of condensation. As a result, it is clarified that the mass flux of condensation of the detached bubble was influenced by the initial growing velocity of a vapor bubble immediately following the detached bubble. The disappearance velocity of the detached bubble defined as a ratio of the bubble diameter at the departure to the time required until the disappearance, is in the range 0.2 to 2.0 m/sec. The disappearance velocity is proportional to the initial growing velocity of the bubble, to the square of the heat flux of the heated surface and to the cube of the wall superheat, separately. (author)

Water vapor absorption spectra of the upper atmosphere /45-185 per cm/

Science.gov (United States)

Augason, G. C.; Mord, A. J.; Witteborn, F. C.; Erickson, E. F.; Swift, C. D.; Caroff, L. J.; Kunz, L. W.

1975-01-01

The far IR nighttime absorption spectrum of the earth's atmosphere above 14 km is determined from observations of the bright moon. The spectra were obtained using a Michelson interferometer attached to a 30-cm telescope aboard a high-altitude jet aircraft. Comparison with a single-layer model atmosphere implies a vertical column of 3.4 plus or minus 0.4 microns of precipitable water on 30 August 1971 and 2.4 plus or minus 0.3 microns of precipitable water on 6 January 1972.-

Solid vapor pressure for five heavy PAHs via the Knudsen effusion method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Jinxia; Suuberg, Eric M.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We report on vapor pressures and enthalpies of fusion and sublimation of five heavy PAHs. → Solid vapor pressures were measured using Knudsen effusion method. → Solid vapor pressures for benzo[b]fluoranthene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene have not been published in the open literature. → Reported subcooled liquid state vapor pressures may or may not lend themselves to correction to sublimation vapor pressure. → Subcooled liquid state vapor pressures might sometimes actually be closer to actual solid state sublimation vapor pressures. - Abstract: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are compounds resulting from incomplete combustion and many fuel processing operations, and they are commonly found as subsurface environmental contaminants at sites of former manufactured gas plants. Knowledge of their vapor pressures is the key to predict their fate and transport in the environment. The present study involves five heavy PAHs, i.e. benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[ghi]perylene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, and dibenz[a,h]anthracene, which are all as priority pollutants classified by the US EPA. The vapor pressures of these heavy PAHs were measured by using Knudsen effusion method over the temperature range of (364 to 454) K. The corresponding values of the enthalpy of sublimation were calculated from the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. The enthalpy of fusion for the five PAHs was also measured by using differential scanning calorimetry and used to convert earlier published sub-cooled liquid vapor pressure data to solid vapor pressure in order to compare with the present results. These adjusted values do not agree with the present measured actual solid vapor pressure values for these PAHs, but there is good agreement between present results and other earlier published sublimation data.

Selections from 2017: Atmosphere Around an Earth-Like Planet

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-12-01

Editors note:In these last two weeks of 2017, well be looking at a few selections that we havent yet discussed on AAS Nova from among the most-downloaded paperspublished in AAS journals this year. The usual posting schedule will resume in January.Detection of the Atmosphere of the 1.6 M Exoplanet GJ 1132 bPublished March2017Main takeaway:An atmosphere was detected around the roughly Earth-size exoplanet GJ 1132 b using a telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. A team of scientists led byJohn Southworth (Keele University) found features indicating the presence of an atmosphere in theobservationsof this 1.6-Earth-mass planet as it transits an M-dwarf host star. This is the lowest-mass planet with a detected atmosphere thus far.Why its interesting:M dwarfs are among the most common stars in our galaxy, and weve found manyEarth-sizeexoplanets in or near the habitable zones around M-dwarf hosts. But M dwarfs are also more magnetically active than stars like our Sun, suggesting that the planets in M-dwarfhabitable zones may not be able to support life due to stellar activity eroding their atmospheres. The detection of an atmosphere around GJ 1132 b suggests that some planets orbiting M dwarfsare able to retain their atmospheres which meansthat these planetsmay be an interesting place to search for life after all.How the atmosphere was detected:The measured planetary radius for GJ 1132 b as a function of the wavelength used to observe it. [Southworth et al. 2017]When measuring the radius of GJ 1132 b based on its transits, the authors noticed that the planet appeared to be largerwhen observed in some wavelengths than in others. This can beexplained if the planet has asurface radius of 1.4 Earth radii, overlaid by an atmosphere that extends out another few tenths of an Earth radius. The atmosphere, which may consist of water vapor or methane, is transparent to some wavelengths and absorbs others which is why the apparent size of the planet changes

Uranium isotope fractionation resulting from UF6 vapor distillation from containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hedge, W.D.; Turner, C.M.

1985-01-01

This empirical study for possible isotopic fractionation due to UF 6 vapor distillation from valved containers was performed to determine the effects of repeated vapor sampling. Four different experiments were performed, each of which varied by the method of measuring the isotopic contents and/or by the difference in temperature gradients as follows: The ratio of the parent UF 6 to the desublimed UF 6 collected at liquid nitrogen temperature and homogenized was measured by sampling the containers. The ratio of the parent UF 6 to the desublimed UF 6 collected at liquid nitrogen temperature and homogenized was measured by direct comparison to each other without subsampling. The ratio of the parent UF 6 to the desublimed UF 6 collected at liquid nitrogen and ice-water temperatures and homogenized was measured by indirect comparison to a common UF 6 reference material without subsampling. The ratio of the parent UF 6 to the desublimed UF 6 collected at liquid nitrogen temperature without homogenizing was measured by indirect comparison to a common UF 6 reference. Gas-phase, relative mass spectrometry was used for all isotopic measurements. Results of the study indicate that fractionation does occur. The U-235 isotope becomes more enriched in the parent container as the UF 6 is vaporized from it and desublimed into the receiving cylinder; i.e., the vaporized fraction is enriched in the U-238 isotope. The degree of fractionation indicates that the separation is due to the U-238 isotope of UF 6 having a higher vapor pressure than the U-235 isotope of UF 6 . 3 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs

Processes Controlling Water Vapor in the Winter Arctic Tropopause Region

Science.gov (United States)

Pfister, Leonhard; Selkirk, Henry B.; Jensen, Eric J.; Padolske, James; Sachse, Glen; Avery, Melody; Schoeberl, Mark R.; Mahoney, Michael J.; Richard, Erik

2002-01-01

This work describes transport and thermodynamic processes that control water vapor near the tropopause during the SAGE III-Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE), held during the Arctic 1999/2000 winter season. Aircraft-based water vapor, carbon monoxide, and ozone measurements were analyzed so as to establish how deeply tropospheric air mixes into the Arctic lowermost stratosphere and what the implications are for cloud formation and water vapor removal in this region of the atmosphere. There are three major findings. First, troposphere-to-stratosphere exchange extends into the Arctic stratosphere to about 13 km. Penetration is to similar levels throughout the winter, however, because ozone increases with altitude most rapidly in the early spring, tropospheric air mixes with the highest values of ozone in that season. The effect of this upward mixing is to elevate water vapor mixing ratios significantly above their prevailing stratospheric values of above 5ppmv. Second, the potential for cloud formation in the stratosphere is highest during early spring, with about 20% of the parcels which have ozone values of 300-350 ppbv experiencing ice saturation in a given 10 day period. Third, during early spring, temperatures at the troposphere are cold enough so that 5-10% of parcels experience relative humidities above 100%, even if the water content is as low as 5 ppmv. The implication is that during this period, dynamical processes near the Arctic tropopause can dehydrate air and keep the Arctic tropopause region very dry during early spring.

The Outsized Influence of a Primordial Lunar Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Saxena, Prabal; Elkins-Tanton, Linda T.; Petro, Noah; Mandell, Avi

2016-10-01

Immediately following formation of the moon, its surface was subject to radiative influences from the Lunar Magma Ocean, an early Earth that radiated like a mid type M Dwarf Star, and the early Sun. These contributions have been hypothesized to have produced a vapor pressure atmosphere on the Moon. We model the early atmosphere of the Moon using an atmospheric model originally developed for Io. We also use a magma ocean crystallization model that finds that heating from the early Earth delays crystallization of the Lunar Magma Ocean and contributes to a moderate pressure and collapsing metal-dominated atmosphere on the earthside of the Moon until lid formation. The atmosphere is characterized by maximum pressures ~1 bar and strong horizontal supersonic winds that decreased as the Moon's orbital separation increased. Crustal and other compositional asymmetries may have been influenced by this atmosphere. The atmosphere transported significant amounts of mass horizontally and may have been a source for present day depletions and heterogeneities of moderately volatile elements on the lunar surface.

Characterizations of arsenic-doped zinc oxide films produced by atmospheric metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weng, Li-Wei, E-mail: onlyway54@hotmail.com [Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung-Li 32023, Taiwan (China); Uen, Wu-Yih, E-mail: uenwuyih@ms37.hinet.net [Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung-Li 32023, Taiwan (China); Lan, Shan-Ming; Liao, Sen-Mao [Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung-Li 32023, Taiwan (China); Yang, Tsun-Neng; Wu, Chih-Hung; Hong, Hwe-Fen; Ma, Wei-Yang [Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, P.O. Box 3-11, Lungtan 32500, Taiwan (China); Shen, Chin-Chang [Chemical Engineering Division, Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Longtan Township, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan (China)

2013-07-15

p-type ZnO films were prepared by atmospheric metal-organic chemical vapor deposition technique using arsine (AsH{sub 3}) as the doping source. The electrical and optical properties of arsenic-doped ZnO (ZnO:As) films fabricated at 450–600 °C with various AsH{sub 3} flow rates ranging from 8 to 21.34 μmol/min were analyzed and compared. Hall measurements indicate that stable p-type ZnO films with hole concentrations varying from 7.2 × 10{sup 15} to 5.8 × 10{sup 18} cm{sup −3} could be obtained. Besides, low temperature (17 K) photoluminescence spectra of all ZnO:As films also demonstrate the dominance of the line related to the neutral acceptor-bound exciton. Moreover, the elemental identity and chemical bonding information for ZnO:As films were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Based on the results obtained, the effects of doping conditions on the mechanism responsible for the p-type conduction were studied. Conclusively, a simple technique to fabricate good-quality p-type ZnO films has been recognized in this work. Depositing the film at 550 °C with an AsH{sub 3} flow rate of 13.72 μmol/min is appropriate for producing hole concentrations on the order of 10{sup 17} cm{sup −3} for it. Ultimately, by increasing the AsH{sub 3} flow rate to 21.34 μmol/min for doping and depositing the film at 600 °C, ZnO:As films with a hole concentration over 5 × 10{sup 18} cm{sup −3} together with a mobility of 1.93 cm{sup 2}V{sup −1} s{sup −1} and a resistivity of 0.494 ohm-cm can be achieved.

Water vapor concentration dependence and temperature dependence of Li mass loss from Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} with excess Li and Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimozori, Motoki [Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Science, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan); Katayama, Kazunari, E-mail: kadzu@nucl.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Science, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan); Hoshino, Tsuyoshi [Breeding Functional Materials Development Group, Department of Blanket Systems Research, Rokkasho Fusion Institute, Sector of Fusion Research and Development, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-166 Obuch, Omotedate, Rokkasho-mura, Kamikita-gun, Aomori 039-3212 (Japan); Ushida, Hiroki; Yamamoto, Ryotaro; Fukada, Satoshi [Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Science, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Li mass loss from Li{sub 2.11}TiO{sub 3} increased proportionally to water vapor pressure. • Li mass loss from Li{sub 2.11}TiO{sub 3} at 600 °C was significantly smaller than expected. • Differences of Li mass loss behavior from Li{sub 2.11}TiO{sub 3} and Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4} were shown. - Abstract: In this study, weight reduction of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} with excess Li and Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4} at elevated temperatures under hydrogen atmosphere or water vapor atmosphere was investigated. The Li mass loss for the Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} at 900 °C was 0.4 wt% under 1000 Pa H{sub 2} atmosphere and 1.5 wt% under 50 Pa H{sub 2}O atmosphere. The Li mass loss for the Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} increased proportionally to the water vapor pressure in the range from 50 to 200 Pa at 900 °C and increased with increasing temperature from 700 to 900 °C although Li mass loss at 600 °C was significantly smaller than expected. It was found that water vapor concentration dependence and temperature dependence of Li mass loss for the Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} and the Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4} used in this work were quite different. Water vapor is released from the ceramic breeder materials into the purge gas due to desorption of adsorbed water and water formation reaction. The released water vapor possibly promotes Li mass loss with the formation of LiOH on the surface.

Describing the Components of the Water Transport in the Martian Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Montmessin, F.; Haberle, R. M.; forget, F.; Rannou, P.; Cabane, M.

2003-01-01

In this paper, we examine the meteorological components driving water transport in the Martian atmosphere. A particular emphasis is given to the role of residual mean circulation and water ice clouds in determining the geographical partitioning of water vapor and frost.

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program facilities newsletter, July 2001.; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holdridge, D. J.

2001-01-01

Global Warming and Methane-Global warming, an increase in Earth's near-surface temperature, is believed to result from the buildup of what scientists refer to as ''greenhouse gases.'' These gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, perfluorocarbons, hydrofluoro-carbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Greenhouse gases can absorb outgoing infrared (heat) radiation and re-emit it back to Earth, warming the surface. Thus, these gases act like the glass of a greenhouse enclosure, trapping infrared radiation inside and warming the space. One of the more important greenhouse gases is the naturally occurring hydrocarbon methane. Methane, a primary component of natural gas, is the second most important contributor to the greenhouse effect (after carbon dioxide). Natural sources of methane include wetlands, fossil sources, termites, oceans, fresh-waters, and non-wetland soils. Methane is also produced by human-related (or anthropogenic) activities such as fossil fuel production, coal mining, rice cultivation, biomass burning, water treatment facilities, waste management operations and landfills, and domesticated livestock operations (Figure 1). These anthropogenic activities account for approximately 70% of the methane emissions to the atmosphere. Methane is removed naturally from the atmosphere in three ways. These methods, commonly referred to as sinks, are oxidation by chemical reaction with tropospheric hydroxyl ion, oxidation within the stratosphere, and microbial uptake by soils. In spite of their important role in removing excess methane from the atmosphere, the sinks cannot keep up with global methane production. Methane concentrations in the atmosphere have increased by 145% since 1800. Increases in atmospheric methane roughly parallel world population growth, pointing to anthropogenic sources as the cause (Figure 2). Increases in the methane concentration reduce Earth's natural cooling efficiency by trapping more of the outgoing

Vapor pressure and vapor fractionation of silicate melts of tektite composition

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Louis S.; Carron, M.K.

1964-01-01

The total vapor pressure of Philippine tektite melts of approximately 70 per cent silica has been determined at temperatures ranging from 1500 to 2100??C. This pressure is 190 ?? 40 mm Hg at 1500??C, 450 ?? 50 mm at 1800??C and 850 ?? 70 mm at 2100?? C. Determinations were made by visually observing the temperature at which bubbles began to form at a constant low ambient pressure. By varying the ambient pressure, a boiling point curve was constructed. This curve differs from the equilibrium vapor pressure curve due to surface tension effects. This difference was evaluated by determining the equilibrium bubble size in the melt and calculating the pressure due to surface tension, assuming the latter to be 380 dyn/cm. The relative volatility from tektite melts of the oxides of Na, K, Fe, Al and Si has been determined as a function of temperature, total pressure arid roughly, of oxygen fugacity. The volatility of SiO2 is decreased and that of Na2O and K2O is increased in an oxygen-poor environment. Preliminary results indicate that volatilization at 2100??C under atmospheric pressure caused little or no change in the percentage Na2O and K2O. The ratio Fe3 Fe2 of the tektite is increased in ambient air at a pressure of 9 ?? 10-4 mm Hg (= 106.5 atm O2, partial pressure) at 2000??C. This suggests that tektites were formed either at lower oxygen pressures or that they are a product of incomplete oxidation of parent material with a still lower ferricferrous ratio. ?? 1964.

Using KrF ELA to Improve Gate-Stacked LaAlO₃/ZrO₂ Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide Thin-Film Transistors with Novel Atmospheric Pressure Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chien-Hung; Chang, Kow-Ming; Chen, Yi-Ming; Huang, Bo-Wen; Zhang, Yu-Xin; Wang, Shui-Jinn

2018-03-01

Atmospheric pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (AP-PECVD) technique and KrF excimer laser annealing (ELA) were employed for the fabrication of indium gallium zinc oxide thin-film transistors (IGZO-TFTs). Device with a 150 mJ/cm2 laser annealing densities demonstrated excellent electrical characteristics with improved on/off current ratio of 4.7×107, high channel mobility of 10 cm2/V-s, and low subthreshold swing of 0.15 V/dec. The improvements are attributed to the adjustment of oxygen vacancies in the IGZO channel to an appropriate range of around 28.3% and the reduction of traps at the high-k/IGZO interface.

Portable device for generation of ultra-pure water vapor feeds

Science.gov (United States)

Velin, P.; Stenman, U.; Skoglundh, M.; Carlsson, P.-A.

2017-11-01

A portable device for the generation of co-feeds of water vapor has been designed, constructed, and evaluated for flexible use as an add-on component to laboratory chemical reactors. The vapor is formed by catalytic oxidation of hydrogen, which benefits the formation of well-controlled minute concentrations of ultra-pure water. Analysis of the effluent stream by on-line mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirms that water vapor can be, with high precision, generated both rapidly and steadily over extended periods in the range of 100 ppm to 3 vol. % (limited by safety considerations) using a total flow of 100 to 1500 ml/min at normal temperature and pressure. Further, the device has been used complementary to a commercial water evaporator and mixing system to span water concentrations up to 12 vol. %. Finally, an operando diffuse reflective infrared Fourier transform spectroscopic measurement of palladium catalysed methane oxidation in the absence and presence of up to 1.0 vol. % water has been carried out to demonstrate the applicability of the device for co-feeding well-controlled low concentrations of water vapor to a common type of spectroscopic experiment. The possibilities of creating isotopically labeled water vapor as well as using tracer gases for dynamic experiments are discussed.

Advancements in water vapor electrolysis technology. [for Space Station ECLSS

Science.gov (United States)

Chullen, Cinda; Heppner, Dennis B.; Sudar, Martin

1988-01-01

The paper describes a technology development program whose goal is to develop water vapor electrolysis (WVE) hardware that can be used selectively as localized topping capability in areas of high metabolic activity without oversizing the central air revitalization system on long-duration manned space missions. The WVE will be used primarily to generate O2 for the crew cabin but also to provide partial humidity control by removing water vapor from the cabin atmosphere. The electrochemically based WVE interfaces with cabin air which is controlled in the following ranges: dry bulb temperature of 292 to 300 K; dew point temperature of 278 to 289 K; relative humidity of 25 to 75 percent; and pressure of 101 + or - 1.4 kPa. Design requirements, construction details, and results for both single-cell and multicell module testing are presented, and the preliminary sizing of a multiperson subsystem is discussed.

Microstructure of oxides in thermal barrier coatings grown under dry/humid atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Zhaohui; Guo Hongbo; Wang Juan; Abbas, Musharaf; Gong Shengkai

2011-01-01

Graphical abstract: The presence of water vapor promoted the formation of spinels in the TBC. Highlights: → Thermal barrier coatings are produced by electron beam physical vapour deposition. → Oxidation behaviour of the coatings at 1100 deg. C has been investigated in dry/humid O 2 . → Thermally grown oxides formed in the coatings are characterized. → The presence of water vapour promotes the formation of spinel in the TBCs. - Abstract: The microstructure of thermally grown oxide (TGO) in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) oxidized under dry/humid atmosphere at 1100 deg. C has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy. A thin and continuous oxide layer is formed in the as-deposited TBCs produced by electron beam physical vapor deposition. The TGO formed in dry atmosphere consists of an outer layer of fine α-alumina, zirconia grains and an inner layer of columnar α-alumina grains. However, a small amount of spinel is observed in the TGO under humid atmosphere. The presence of water vapour promotes the formation of spinel.

The role of ions in particle nucleation under atmospheric conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enghoff, Martin B.; Pedersen, J. O. P.; Bondo, T.

2008-01-01

Aerosol nucleation has been studied experimentally in purified, atmospheric air, containing trace amounts of water vapor, ozone, and sulfur dioxide. The results are compared with model calculations. It is found that an increase in ionization by a factor of 10 increases the production rate of stable...

Mass Spectrometric Identification of Si-O-H(g) Species from the Reaction of Silica with Water Vapor at Atmospheric Pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Opila, Elizabeth J.; Fox, Dennis S.; Jacobson, Nathan S.

1997-01-01

A high-pressure sampling mass spectrometer was used to detect the volatile species formed from SiO2 at temperatures between 1200C and 1400C in a flowing water vapor/oxygen gas mixture at 1 bar total pressure. The primary vapor species identified was Si(OH)4. The fragment ion Si(OH)3+,' was observed in quantities 3 to 5 times larger than the parent ion Si(OH)4+. The Si(OH)3+ intensity was found to have a small temperature dependence and to increase with the water vapor partial pressure as expected. In addition, SiO(OH)+ believed to be a fragment of SiO(OH)2, was observed. These mass spectral results were compared to the behavior of silicon halides.

Laser remote sensing of water vapor: Raman lidar development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldsmith, J.E.M.; Lapp, M.; Bisson, S.E.; Melfi, S.H.; Whiteman, D.N.; Ferrare, R.A.; Evans, K.D.

1994-01-01

The goal of this research is the development of a critical design for a Raman lidar system optimized to match ARM Program needs for profiling atmospheric water vapor at CART sites. This work has emphasized the development of enhanced daytime capabilities using Raman lidar techniques. This abstract touches briefly on the main components of the research program, summarizing results of the efforts. A detailed Raman lidar instrument model has been developed to predict the daytime and nighttime performance capabilities of Raman lidar systems. The model simulates key characteristics of the lidar system, using realistic atmospheric profiles, modeled background sky radiance, and lidar system parameters based on current instrument capabilities. The model is used to guide development of lidar systems based on both the solar-blind concept and the narrowband, narrow field-of-view concept for daytime optimization

Enthalpy of vaporization and vapor pressure of whiskey lactone and menthalactone by correlation gas chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simmons, Daniel; Chickos, James

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The vapor pressure and vaporization enthalpies of cis and trans-whiskey lactone have been evaluated. • Enthalpies of vaporization and vapor pressures of (+)-isomintlactone and (−)-mintlactone were also evaluated. • The sublimation enthalpy and corresponding vapor pressure of (+) -isomintlactone at T = 298.15 K is estimated. - Abstract: Enthalpies of vaporization at T = 298.15 K of cis and trans-whiskey lactone have been evaluated by correlation gas chromatography to be (68.4 ± 1.7) kJ·mol −1 and (67.5 ± 1.7) kJ·mol −1 , respectively. The enthalpies of vaporization of isomintlactone and mintlactone also evaluated by correlation gas chromatography have been found to have vaporization enthalpies of (74.2 ± 1.8) kJ·mol −1 and (73.2 ± 1.8) kJ·mol −1 respectively. The vapor pressures for cis and trans-whiskey lactone at T = 298.15 K have been evaluated as (1.5 ± 0.09) Pa and (2.0 ± 0.1) Pa using vapor pressures of a series of lactones as standards. Vapor pressures for isomintlactone and mintlactone were evaluated as (0.26 ± 0.012) Pa and (0.33 ± 0.02) Pa, respectively. Fusion and sublimation enthalpies for (+)-isomintlactone as well as the vapor pressure of the solid have been estimated.

Oxidation Products of Biogenic Emissions Contribute to Nucleation of Atmospheric Particles

CERN Document Server

Riccobono, Francesco; Baltensperger, Urs; Worsnop, Douglas R; Curtius, Joachim; Carslaw, Kenneth S; Wimmer, Daniela; Wex, Heike; Weingartner, Ernest; Wagner, Paul E; Vrtala, Aron; Viisanen, Yrjö; Vaattovaara, Petri; Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios; Tomé, Antonio; Stratmann, Frank; Stozhkov, Yuri; Spracklen, Dominick V; Sipilä, Mikko; Praplan, Arnaud P; Petäjä, Tuukka; Onnela, Antti; Nieminen, Tuomo; Mathot, Serge; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Laaksonen, Ari; Kvashin, Alexander N.; Kürten, Andreas; Kupc, Agnieszka; Keskinen, Helmi; Kajos, Maija; Junninen, Heikki; Hansel, Armin; Franchin, Alessandro; Flagan, Richard C; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Duplissy, Jonathan; Dunne, Eimear M; Downard, Andrew; David, André; Breitenlechner, Martin; Bianchi, Federico; Amorim, Antonio; Almeida, João; Rondo, Linda; Ortega, Ismael K; Dommen, Josef; Scott, Catherine E; Vrtala, Aron; Santos, Filipe D; Schallhart, Simon; Seinfeld, John H; Sipila, Mikko; Donahue, Neil M; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku

2014-01-01

Atmospheric new-particle formation affects climate and is one of the least understood atmospheric aerosol processes. The complexity and variability of the atmosphere has hindered elucidation of the fundamental mechanism of new-particle formation from gaseous precursors. We show, in experiments performed with the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber at CERN, that sulfuric acid and oxidized organic vapors at atmospheric concentrations reproduce particle nucleation rates observed in the lower atmosphere. The experiments reveal a nucleation mechanism involving the formation of clusters containing sulfuric acid and oxidized organic molecules from the very first step. Inclusion of this mechanism in a global aerosol model yields a photochemically and biologically driven seasonal cycle of particle concentrations in the continental boundary layer, in good agreement with observations.

Prediction model for initial point of net vapor generation for low-flow boiling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Qi; Zhao Hua; Yang Ruichang

2003-01-01

The prediction of the initial point of net vapor generation is significant for the calculation of phase distribution in sub-cooled boiling. However, most of the investigations were developed in high-flow boiling, and there is no common model that could be successfully applied for the low-flow boiling. A predictive model for the initial point of net vapor generation for low-flow forced convection and natural circulation is established here, by the analysis of evaporation and condensation heat transfer. The comparison between experimental data and calculated results shows that this model can predict the net vapor generation point successfully in low-flow sub-cooled boiling

Polybenzimidazole-based mixed membranes with exceptional high water vapor permeability and selectivity

KAUST Repository

Akhtar, Faheem Hassan

2017-09-13

Polybenzimidazole (PBI), a thermal and chemically stable polymer, is commonly used to fabricate membranes for applications like hydrogen recovery at temperatures of more than 300 °C, fuel cells working in a highly acidic environment, and nanofiltration in aggressive solvents. This report shows for the first time use of PBI dense membranes for water vapor/gas separation applications. They showed an excellent selectivity and high water vapor permeability. Incorporation of inorganic hydrophilic titanium-based nano-fillers into the PBI matrix further increased the water vapor permeability and water vapor/N2 selectivity. The most selective mixed matrix membrane with 0.5 wt% loading of TiO2 nanotubes yielded a water vapor permeability of 6.8×104 Barrer and a H2O/N2 selectivity of 3.9×106. The most permeable membrane with 1 wt% loading of carboxylated TiO2 nanoparticles had a 7.1×104 Barrer water vapor permeability and a H2O/N2 selectivity of 3.1×106. The performance of these membranes in terms of water vapor transport and selectivity is among the highest reported ones. The remarkable ability of PBI to efficiently permeate water versus other gases opens the possibility to fabricate membranes for dehumidification of streams in harsh environments. This includes the removal of water from high temperature reaction mixtures to shift the equilibrium towards products.

Polybenzimidazole-based mixed membranes with exceptional high water vapor permeability and selectivity

KAUST Repository

Akhtar, Faheem Hassan; Kumar, Mahendra; Villalobos, Luis Francisco; Shevate, Rahul; Vovusha, Hakkim; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo; Peinemann, Klaus-Viktor

2017-01-01

Polybenzimidazole (PBI), a thermal and chemically stable polymer, is commonly used to fabricate membranes for applications like hydrogen recovery at temperatures of more than 300 °C, fuel cells working in a highly acidic environment, and nanofiltration in aggressive solvents. This report shows for the first time use of PBI dense membranes for water vapor/gas separation applications. They showed an excellent selectivity and high water vapor permeability. Incorporation of inorganic hydrophilic titanium-based nano-fillers into the PBI matrix further increased the water vapor permeability and water vapor/N2 selectivity. The most selective mixed matrix membrane with 0.5 wt% loading of TiO2 nanotubes yielded a water vapor permeability of 6.8×104 Barrer and a H2O/N2 selectivity of 3.9×106. The most permeable membrane with 1 wt% loading of carboxylated TiO2 nanoparticles had a 7.1×104 Barrer water vapor permeability and a H2O/N2 selectivity of 3.1×106. The performance of these membranes in terms of water vapor transport and selectivity is among the highest reported ones. The remarkable ability of PBI to efficiently permeate water versus other gases opens the possibility to fabricate membranes for dehumidification of streams in harsh environments. This includes the removal of water from high temperature reaction mixtures to shift the equilibrium towards products.

Solid State Transmitters for Water Vapor and Ozone DIAL Systems, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We have developed a common architecture for laser transmitters that address requirements for water vapor as well as ground and airborne ozone lidar systems. Our...

Experiences of marijuana-vaporizer users.

Science.gov (United States)

Malouff, John M; Rooke, Sally E; Copeland, Jan

2014-01-01

Using a marijuana vaporizer may have potential harm-reduction advantages on smoking marijuana, in that the user does not inhale smoke. Little research has been published on use of vaporizers. In the first study of individuals using a vaporizer on their own initiative, 96 adults anonymously answered questions about their experiences with a vaporizer and their use of marijuana with tobacco. Users identified 4 advantages to using a vaporizer over smoking marijuana: perceived health benefits, better taste, no smoke smell, and more effect from the same amount of marijuana. Users identified 2 disadvantages: inconvenience of setup and cleaning and the time it takes to get the device operating for each use. Only 2 individuals combined tobacco in the vaporizer mix, whereas 15 combined tobacco with marijuana when they smoked marijuana. Almost all participants intended to continue using a vaporizer. Vaporizers seem to have appeal to marijuana users, who perceive them as having harm-reduction and other benefits. Vaporizers are worthy of experimental research evaluating health-related effects of using them.

Vapor Pressure Data and Analysis for Selected Organophosphorus Compounds, CMMP, DPMP, DMEP, and DEEP: Extrapolation of High-Temperature Data

Science.gov (United States)

2018-04-01

comparison. The correlation equations are presented using two common units systems , one with temperature given in kelvin (T) and pressure in pascal...This report documents vapor pressure data and correlations for four phosphonate ester compounds that have molecular structures similar to those of...Antoine equation Clausius–Clapeyron equation Enthalpy of vaporization Volatility Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) Vapor saturation Normal boiling

Pluto's atmosphere in 2015 from high-resolution spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Roe, Henry G.; Cook, Jason C.; Mace, Gregory N.; Holler, Bryan J.; Young, Leslie A.; McLane, Jacob N.; Jaffe, Daniel T.

2015-11-01

Pluto's thin N2/CH4 atmosphere is in vapor-pressure equilibrium with ices on its surface. The atmosphere evolves seasonally with the varying insolation pattern on Pluto's heterogenous surface, perhaps even largely freezing out to the surface during the coldest portion of Pluto's year. We use high-resolution (R≈25,000-50,000) near-infrared spectroscopy to resolve atmospheric methane absorption lines from Pluto's continuum spectra, as well as separate Pluto's atmospheric lines from the telluric spectrum. In addition to measuring the abundance and temperature of Pluto's atmospheric CH4, with broad wavelength coverage we are able to search for the inevitable products of N2/CH4 photochemistry. In 2015 we are undertaking an intensive campaign using NIRSPEC at Keck Observatory and IGRINS (Immersion Grating INfrared Spectrometer) at McDonald Observatory to coincide with the New Horizons Pluto encounter. We will report initial results from this 2015 campaign and compare the state of Pluto's atmosphere at the time of the New Horizons encounter with earlier years.

The Effect of Cirrus Clouds on Water Vapor Transport in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, L.; McCormick, M. P.; Anderson, J.

2017-12-01

Water vapor plays an important role in the Earth's radiation budget and stratospheric chemistry. It is widely accepted that a large percentage of water vapor entering the stratosphere travels through the tropical tropopause and is dehydrated by the cold tropopause temperature. The vertical transport of water vapor is also affected by the radiative effects of cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer. This latter effect of cirrus clouds was investigated in this research. The work focuses on the tropical and mid-latitude region (50N-50S). Water vapor data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and cirrus cloud data from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) instruments were used to investigate the relationship between the water vapor and the occurrence of cirrus cloud. A 10-degree in longitude by 10-degree in latitude resolution was chosen to bin the MLS and CALIPSO data. The result shows that the maximum water vapor in the upper troposphere (below 146 hPa) is matched very well with the highest frequency of cirrus cloud occurrences. Maximum water vapor in the lower stratosphere (100 hPa) is partly matched with the maximum cirrus cloud occurrence in the summer time. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Interpolated Outgoing Longwave Radiation data and NCEP-DOE Reanalysis 2 wind data were used also to investigate the relationship between the water vapor entering the stratosphere, deep convection, and wind. Results show that maximum water vapor at 100 hPa coincides with the northern hemisphere summer-time anticyclone. The effects from both single-layer cirrus clouds and cirrus clouds above the anvil top on the water vapor entering the stratosphere were also studied and will be presented.

Late Impacts and the Origins of the Atmospheres on the Terrestrial Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhopadhyay, S.; Stewart, S. T.; Lock, S. J.; Parai, R.; Tucker, J. M.

2014-12-01

Models for the origin of terrestrial atmospheres typically require an intricate sequence of events, including hydrodynamic escape, outgassing of mantle volatiles and late delivery. Here we discuss the origin of the atmospheres on the terrestrial planets in light of new ideas about the formation of the Moon, giant impact induced atmospheric loss and recent noble gas measurements. Our new measurements indicate that noble gases in the Earth's atmosphere cannot be derived from any combination of fractionation of a nebular-derived atmosphere followed by outgassing of deep or shallow mantle volatiles. While Ne in the mantle retains a nebular component, the present-day atmosphere has no memory of nebular gases. Rather, atmospheric noble gases have a close affinity to chondrites. On the other hand, Venus's atmosphere has 20 and 70 times higher abundance of 20Ne and 36Ar, respectively, and a 20Ne/22Ne ratio closer to the solar value than Earth's atmosphere. While the present atmosphere of Mars is significantly fractionated in the lighter noble gases due to long term atmospheric escape, the Kr isotopic ratios in Martian atmosphere are identical to solar. Thus, while Earth's atmosphere has no memory of accretion of nebular gases, atmospheres on both Venus and Mars preserve at least a component of nebular gases. To explain the above observations, we propose that a common set of processes operated on the terrestrial planets, and that their subsequent evolutionary divergence is simply explained by planetary size and the stochastic nature of giant impacts. We present geochemical observations and simulations of giant impacts to show that most of Earth's mantle was degassed and the outgassed volatiles were largely lost during the final sequence of giant impacts onto Earth. Earth's noble gases were therefore dominantly derived from late-accreting planetesimals. In contrast, Venus did not suffer substantial atmospheric loss by a late giant impact and retains a higher abundance of

Seasonal Water Transport in the Atmosphere of Mars: Applications of a Mars General Circulation Model Using Mars Global Surveyor Data

Science.gov (United States)

Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.; Bridger, Alison F. C.; Haberle, Robert M.

1999-01-01

This is a Final Report for a Joint Research Interchange (JRI) between NASA Ames Research Center and San Jose State University, Department of Meteorology. We present below a summary of progress made during the duration of this JRI. The focus of this JRI has been to investigate seasonal water vapor transport in the atmosphere of Mars and its effects on the planet's present climate. To this end, the primary task has been to adapt a new dynamical processor for the adiabatic tendencies of the atmospheric circulation into the NASA Ames Mars general circulation model (MGCM). Using identical boundary and initial conditions, several comparative tests between the new and old MGCMs have been performed and the nature of the simulated circulations have been diagnosed. With confidence that the updated version of the Ames MGCM produces quite similar mean and eddy circulation statistics, the new climate model is well poised as a tool to pursue fundamental questions related to the spatial and seasonal variations of atmospheric water vapor on Mars, and to explore exchanges of water with non-atmospheric reservoirs and transport within its atmosphere. In particular, the role of surface sources and sinks can be explored, the range of water-vapor saturation altitudes can be investigated, and plausible precipitation mechanisms can be studied, for a range of atmospheric dust loadings. Such future investigations can contribute to a comprehensive study of surface inventories, exchange mechanisms, and the relative importance of atmospheric transport Mars' water cycle. A listing of presentations made and manuscripts submitted during the course of this project is provided.

Efeito do vapor d'água na síntese pelo método do precursor polimérico da alumina contendo aditivos Effect of water vapor on the synthesis by the polymeric precursor method of alumina doped powders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. H. R. Castro

2005-12-01

Full Text Available A presença de H2O nos processos de síntese e transformação de fase da alumina tem usualmente função catalisadora, diminuindo as temperaturas dos processos e facilitando os possíveis rearranjos atômicos. Neste trabalho mostrou-se que o vapor de H2O durante a síntese pode não apenas acelerar os processos diminuindo as energias de ativação, mas também induzir diferentes formas de ação de aditivos. O estudo foi possível utilizando-se o método dos precursores poliméricos para a síntese dos pós, que permite um controle absoluto do teor de H2O na etapa de cristalização do material. Alumina contendo Mn ou Mg como aditivos foram sintetizadas na ausência de H2O e na presença de excesso controlado desta e fases diferentes para cada situação foram observadas. Uma explicação do fenômeno é descrita em função da dependência da cristalização da gama-Al2O3 na presença de H+ para compensação das vacâncias catiônicas.It is commonly accepted that the presence of H2O during the synthesis and phase transformation of alumina causes decreasing temperatures of these processes since it increases the atomic motilities. In addition to this general concept, in this work H2O vapor is also shown to play an important role on the influence of additives in alumina based systems. Alumina powders containing Mn or Mg were synthesized by the polymeric precursor method under H2O vapor or dry atmosphere during the crystallization stage. Each atmosphere promoted a different phase and an explanation for the phenomenon was given bases on the gamma-Al2O3 crystallization dependence on the H+ presence due to the required cationic vacancies compensations.

Transient response simulation of gas separation membrane module for an atmosphere detritiation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, Takahiko; Tanaka, Masahiro; Munakata, Kenzo; Yamamoto, Ichiro

2012-01-01

Transient response of a gas separation membrane module for the atmosphere detritiation system was numerically simulated with a mass transfer model. The module contains thousands of hollow fiber type polyimide membranes. The simulation model took into account permeation of water vapor through the dense layer of the membrane, diffusive transfer through the porous support layer and adsorption/desorption of water vapor into the matrix of the porous layer. The slow responses of the water vapor concentration in the retentate and the permeation rate were well reproduced by the present simulation, and transient changes in a follow fiber membrane were investigated in detail. The inventory and the mean residence time of water vapor at 303 K were estimated for the commercial membrane module (UMS-B2, Ube industries, Ltd.) as 5.7 × 10 −3 mol and 380 s, respectively.

Sorption and vapor transmission properties of uncompressed and compressed microcellular starch foam.

Science.gov (United States)

Glenn, Gregory M; Klamczynski, Artur P; Takeoka, Gary; Orts, William J; Wood, Delilah; Widmaier, Robert

2002-11-20

Microcellular starch foams (MCFs) are made by a solvent-exchange process and consist of a porous matrix with pores generally ranging from approximately 2 microm to submicrometer size. MCF may potentially be useful as a slow-release agent for volatile compounds because of its ability to sorb chemicals from the atmosphere and to absorb liquids into its porous structure, and because it can be compressed to form a starch plastic. MCF made of high-amylose corn and wheat starches was prepared with or without 2% (w/w) silicone oil (SO) or palmitic acid (PA). The MCF was loaded with 1% of various volatile compounds with vapor pressures ranging from 0.02 to 28 mm. The MCF depressed the vapor pressure from 0.37 to 37% compared to a control containing no MCF. Incorporating SO or PA in the matrix of the MCF had little effect on sorption of volatiles. Compressing MCF at 1.4, 6.9, and 69 MPa made a starch plastic with varying porosity. The vapor transmission rate of various volatile compounds through MCF was positively correlated to the vapor pressure of the test compound but was inversely proportional to the compression force used to form the starch plastic. The results indicate that uncompressed and compressed MCFs could be effective slow-release agents for a variety of volatile compounds, especially if used together.

Waste Tank Vapor Project: Tank vapor database development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seesing, P.R.; Birn, M.B.; Manke, K.L.

1994-09-01

The objective of the Tank Vapor Database (TVD) Development task in FY 1994 was to create a database to store, retrieve, and analyze data collected from the vapor phase of Hanford waste tanks. The data needed to be accessible over the Hanford Local Area Network to users at both Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) and Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). The data were restricted to results published in cleared reports from the laboratories analyzing vapor samples. Emphasis was placed on ease of access and flexibility of data formatting and reporting mechanisms. Because of time and budget constraints, a Rapid Application Development strategy was adopted by the database development team. An extensive data modeling exercise was conducted to determine the scope of information contained in the database. a A SUN Sparcstation 1000 was procured as the database file server. A multi-user relational database management system, Sybase reg-sign, was chosen to provide the basic data storage and retrieval capabilities. Two packages were chosen for the user interface to the database: DataPrism reg-sign and Business Objects trademark. A prototype database was constructed to provide the Waste Tank Vapor Project's Toxicology task with summarized and detailed information presented at Vapor Conference 4 by WHC, PNL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Oregon Graduate Institute. The prototype was used to develop a list of reported compounds, and the range of values for compounds reported by the analytical laboratories using different sample containers and analysis methodologies. The prototype allowed a panel of toxicology experts to identify carcinogens and compounds whose concentrations were within the reach of regulatory limits. The database and user documentation was made available for general access in September 1994

The vapor pressures of explosives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ewing, Robert G.; Waltman, Melanie J.; Atkinson, David A.; Grate, Jay W.; Hotchkiss, Peter

2013-01-05

The vapor pressures of many explosive compounds are extremely low and thus determining accurate values proves difficult. Many researchers, using a variety of methods, have measured and reported the vapor pressures of explosives compounds at single temperatures, or as a function of temperature using vapor pressure equations. There are large variations in reported vapor pressures for many of these compounds, and some errors exist within individual papers. This article provides a review of explosive vapor pressures and describes the methods used to determine them. We have compiled primary vapor pressure relationships traceable to the original citations and include the temperature ranges for which they have been determined. Corrected values are reported as needed and described in the text. In addition, after critically examining the available data, we calculate and tabulate vapor pressures at 25 °C.

Oxidation products of biogenic emissions contribute to nucleation of atmospheric particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Riccobono, Francesco; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Scott, Catherine E; Dommen, Josef; Ortega, Ismael K; Rondo, Linda; Almeida, João; Amorim, Antonio; Bianchi, Federico; Breitenlechner, Martin; David, André; Downard, Andrew; Dunne, Eimear M; Duplissy, Jonathan; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Flagan, Richard C; Franchin, Alessandro; Hansel, Armin; Junninen, Heikki; Kajos, Maija; Keskinen, Helmi; Kupc, Agnieszka; Kürten, Andreas; Kvashin, Alexander N; Laaksonen, Ari; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Mathot, Serge; Nieminen, Tuomo; Onnela, Antti; Petäjä, Tuukka; Praplan, Arnaud P; Santos, Filipe D; Schallhart, Simon; Seinfeld, John H; Sipilä, Mikko; Spracklen, Dominick V; Stozhkov, Yuri; Stratmann, Frank; Tomé, Antonio; Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios; Vaattovaara, Petri; Viisanen, Yrjö; Vrtala, Aron; Wagner, Paul E; Weingartner, Ernest; Wex, Heike; Wimmer, Daniela; Carslaw, Kenneth S; Curtius, Joachim; Donahue, Neil M; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku; Worsnop, Douglas R; Baltensperger, Urs

2014-05-16

Atmospheric new-particle formation affects climate and is one of the least understood atmospheric aerosol processes. The complexity and variability of the atmosphere has hindered elucidation of the fundamental mechanism of new-particle formation from gaseous precursors. We show, in experiments performed with the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber at CERN, that sulfuric acid and oxidized organic vapors at atmospheric concentrations reproduce particle nucleation rates observed in the lower atmosphere. The experiments reveal a nucleation mechanism involving the formation of clusters containing sulfuric acid and oxidized organic molecules from the very first step. Inclusion of this mechanism in a global aerosol model yields a photochemically and biologically driven seasonal cycle of particle concentrations in the continental boundary layer, in good agreement with observations. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Geostationary Satellite Observation of Precipitable Water Vapor Using an Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF based Reconstruction Technique over Eastern China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Man Sing Wong

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Water vapor, as one of the most important greenhouse gases, is crucial for both climate and atmospheric studies. Considering the high spatial and temporal variations of water vapor, a timely and accurate retrieval of precipitable water vapor (PWV is urgently needed, but has long been constrained by data availability. Our study derived the vertically integrated precipitable water vapor over eastern China using Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT data, which is in geostationary orbit with high temporal resolution. The missing pixels caused by cloud contamination were reconstructed using an Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF decomposition method over both spatial and temporal dimensions. GPS meteorology data were used to validate the retrieval and the reconstructed results. The diurnal variation of PWV over eastern China was analyzed using harmonic analysis, which indicates that the reconstructed PWV data can depict the diurnal cycle of PWV caused by evapotranspiration and local thermal circulation.

Patterns of Precipitation and Streamflow Responses to Moisture Fluxes during Atmospheric Rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Henn, B. M.; Wilson, A. M.; Asgari Lamjiri, M.; Ralph, M.

2017-12-01

Precipitation from landfalling atmospheric rivers (ARs) have been shown to dominate the hydroclimate of many parts of the world. ARs are associated with saturated, neutrally-stable profiles in the lower atmosphere, in which forced ascent by topography induces precipitation. Understanding the spatial and temporal variability of precipitation over complex terrain during AR-driven precipitation is critical for accurate forcing of distributed hydrologic models and streamflow forecasts. Past studies using radar wind profilers and radiosondes have demonstrated predictability of precipitation rates based on upslope water vapor flux over coastal terrain, with certain levels of moisture flux exhibiting the greatest influence on precipitation. Additionally, these relationships have been extended to show that streamflow in turn responds predictably to upslope vapor flux. However, past studies have focused on individual pairs of profilers and precipitation gauges; the question of how orographic precipitation in ARs is distributed spatially over complex terrain, at different topographic scales, is less well known. Here, we examine profiles of atmospheric moisture transport from radiosondes and wind profilers, against a relatively dense network of precipitation gauges, as well as stream gauges, to assess relationships between upslope moisture flux and the spatial response of precipitation and streamflow. We focus on California's Russian River watershed in the 2016-2017 cool season, when regular radiosonde launches were made at two locations during an active sequence of landfalling ARs. We examine how atmospheric water vapor flux results in precipitation patterns across gauges with different topographic relationships to the prevailing moisture-bearing winds, and conduct a similar comparison of runoff volume response from several unimpaired watersheds in the upper Russian watershed, taking into account antecedent soil moisture conditions that influence runoff generation. Finally

Vapor plume oscillation mechanisms in transient keyhole during tandem dual beam fiber laser welding

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xin; Zhang, Xiaosi; Pang, Shengyong; Hu, Renzhi; Xiao, Jianzhong

2018-01-01

Vapor plume oscillations are common physical phenomena that have an important influence on the welding process in dual beam laser welding. However, until now, the oscillation mechanisms of vapor plumes remain unclear. This is primarily because mesoscale vapor plume dynamics inside a millimeter-scale, invisible, and time-dependent keyhole are difficult to quantitatively observe. In this paper, based on a developed three-dimensional (3D) comprehensive model, the vapor plume evolutions in a dynamical keyhole are directly simulated in tandem dual beam, short-wavelength laser welding. Combined with the vapor plume behaviors outside the keyhole observed by high-speed imaging, the vapor plume oscillations in dynamical keyholes at different inter-beam distances are the first, to our knowledge, to be quantitatively analyzed. It is found that vapor plume oscillations outside the keyhole mainly result from vapor plume instabilities inside the keyhole. The ejection velocity at the keyhole opening and dynamical behaviors outside the keyhole of a vapor plume both violently oscillate with the same order of magnitude of high frequency (several kHz). Furthermore, the ejection speed at the keyhole opening and ejection area outside the keyhole both decrease as the beam distance increases, while the degree of vapor plume instability first decreases and then increases with increasing beam distance from 0.6 to 1.0 mm. Moreover, the oscillation mechanisms of a vapor plume inside the dynamical keyhole irradiated by dual laser beams are investigated by thoroughly analyzing the vapor plume occurrence and flow process. The vapor plume oscillations in the dynamical keyhole are found to mainly result from violent local evaporations and severe keyhole geometry variations. In short, the quantitative method and these findings can serve as a reference for further understanding of the physical mechanisms in dual beam laser welding and of processing optimizations in industrial applications.

Ground-based eye-safe networkable micro-pulse differential absorption and high spectral resolution lidar for water vapor and aerosol profiling in the lower troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Repasky, K. S.; Spuler, S.; Hayman, M. M.; Bunn, C. E.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric water vapor is a greenhouse gas that is known to be a significant driver of weather and climate. Several National Research Council (NRC) reports have highlighted the need for improved water vapor measurements that can capture its spatial and temporal variability as a means to improve weather predictions. Researchers at Montana State University (MSU) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have developed an eye-safe diode laser based micro-pulse differential absorption lidar (MP-DIAL) for water vapor profiling in the lower troposphere. The MP-DIAL is capable of long term unattended operation and is capable of monitoring water vapor in the lower troposphere in most weather conditions. Two MP-DIAL instruments are currently operational and have been deployed at the Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Experiment (FRAPPE), the Plains elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) experiment, the Perdigão experiment, and the Land Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE). For each of these field experiments, the MP-DIAL was run unattended and provided near-continuous water vapor profiles, including periods of bright daytime clouds, from 300 m above the ground level to 4 km (or the cloud base) with 150 m vertical resolution and 5 minute temporal resolution. Three additional MP-DIAL instruments are currently under construction and will result in a network of five eye-safe MP-DIAL instruments for ground based weather and climate research experiments. Taking advantage of the broad spectral coverage and modularity or the diode based architecture, a high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) measurement capabilities was added to the second MP-DIAL instrument. The HSRL capabilities will be operational during the deployment at the LAFE field experiment. The instrument architecture will be presented along with examples of data collected during recent field experiments.

Building blocks for ionic liquids: Vapor pressures and vaporization enthalpies of 1-(n-alkyl)-imidazoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emel'yanenko, Vladimir N.; Portnova, Svetlana V.; Verevkin, Sergey P.; Skrzypczak, Andrzej; Schubert, Thomas

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We measured vapor pressures of the 1-(n-alkyl)-imidazoles by transpiration method. → Variations on the alkyl chain length n were C 3 , C 5 -C 7 , and C 9 -C 10 . → Enthalpies of vaporization were derived from (p, T) dependencies. → Enthalpies of vaporization at 298.15 K were linear dependent on the chain length. - Abstract: Vapor pressures of the linear 1-(n-alkyl)-imidazoles with the alkyl chain C 3 , C 5 -C 7 , and C 9 -C 10 have been measured by the transpiration method. The molar enthalpies of vaporization Δ l g H m of these compounds were derived from the temperature dependencies of vapor pressures. A linear correlation of enthalpies of vaporization Δ l g H m (298.15 K) of the 1-(n-alkyl)-imidazoles with the chain length has been found.

Atmospheric River Development and Effects on Southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, S. M.; Carvalho, L. V.

2014-12-01

Throughout most of southern California (SCA) annual precipitation totals occur from relatively few storms per season. Any changes to storm frequency or intensity may dramatically impact the region, as its landscapes are prone to various rainfall-induced hazards including landslides and floods. These hazards become more frequent following drought or fire events, conditions also reliant on precipitation and common in SCA. Rainfall forecasts are especially difficult to determine as regional precipitation is affected by numerous phenomena. On synoptic timescales, atmospheric rivers (ARs) are one such phenomenon known to impact SCA rainfall. ARs are channels of high water vapor content found within the lower atmosphere that transport moisture towards midlatitudes. In areas with varying topography, ARs often produce high-intensity precipitation due to orographic forcing. Although much insight has been gained in understanding AR climatology affecting North America's western coast, the spatiotemporal characteristics and atmospheric forcings driving ARs to SCA need to be further addressed. The goal of this work is to understand the characteristics of ARs that impact SCA and to distinguish them from ARs that impact northern latitudes. We investigate AR characteristics as well as atmospheric features prior to plume initiation for ARs impacting different landfall regions along North America's western coast between 1998-2008. Dates of AR events are organized according to landfall region using total precipitable water (TPW) fields from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR). Additional CFSR fields are used to create anomaly composites of moist static energy, geopotential height, as well as upper-level zonal and low-level meridional winds for each landfall region on the day of and prior to AR occurrence. ARs that impact SCA display different TPW plume characteristics as well as wave train patterns throughout the AR

Interannual Variability in the Meridional Transport of Water Vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Judah L.; Salstein, David A.; Rosen, Richard D.

2000-01-01

The zonal-mean meridional transport of water vapor across the globe is evaluated using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP-NCAR) reanalysis for 1948-97. The shape of the meridional profile of the climatological mean transport closely resembles that of previous mean climate descriptions, but values tend to be notably larger than in climatologies derived from radiosonde-only-based analyses. The unprecedented length of the NCEP-NCAR dataset invites a focus on interannual variations in the zonal-mean moisture transport, and these results for northern winter are highlighted here. Although interannual variability in the transport is typically small at most latitudes, a significant ENSO signal is present, marked by a strengthening of water vapor transports over much of the winter hemisphere during warm events. Because of an increase in tropical sea surface temperatures and in the frequency of warm events relative to cold events in the latter half of the 50-yr record, this interannual signal projects onto an overall trend toward enhanced meridional moisture transports in the global hydrological cycle.

Occultations for probing atmosphere and climate

CERN Document Server

Foelsche, Ulrich; Steiner, Andrea

2004-01-01

Use of occultation methodology for observing the Earth's atmosphere and climate has become so broad as to comprise solar, lunar, stellar, navigation and satellite­ crosslink occultation methods. The atmospheric parameters obtained extend from the fundamental variables temperature, density, pressure, water vapor, and ozone via a multitude of trace gas species to particulate species such as aerosols and cloud liquid water. Ionospheric electron density is sensed as well. The methods all share the key properties of self-calibration, high accuracy and vertical resolution, global coverage, and (if using radio signals) all-weather capability. Occultation data are thus of high value in a wide range of fields including climate monitoring and research, atmospheric physics and chemistry, operational meteorology, and other fields such as space weather and planetary science. This wide area of variants and uses of the occultation method has led to a diversi­ fication of the occultation-related scientific community into a...

Water vapor changes under global warming and the linkage to present-day interannual variabilities in CMIP5 models

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Hanii; Su, Hui; Jiang, Jonathan H.

2016-12-01

The fractional water vapor changes under global warming across 14 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 simulations are analyzed. We show that the mean fractional water vapor changes under global warming in the tropical upper troposphere between 300 and 100 hPa range from 12.4 to 28.0 %/K across all models while the fractional water vapor changes are about 5-8 %/K in other regions and at lower altitudes. The "upper-tropospheric amplification" of the water vapor change is primarily driven by a larger temperature increase in the upper troposphere than in the lower troposphere per degree of surface warming. The relative contributions of atmospheric temperature and relative humidity changes to the water vapor change in each model vary between 71.5 to 131.8 % and 24.8 to -20.1 %, respectively. The inter-model differences in the water vapor change is primarily caused by differences in temperature change, except over the inter-tropical convergence zone within 10°S-10°N where the model differences due to the relative humidity change are significant. Furthermore, we find that there is generally a positive correlation between the rates of water vapor change for long-tem surface warming and those on the interannual time scales. However, the rates of water vapor change under long-term warming have a systematic offset from those on the inter-annual time scales and the dominant contributor to the differences also differs for the two time scales, suggesting caution needs to be taken when inferring long-term water vapor changes from the observed interannual variations.

Vapor pressure and enthalpy of vaporization of oil of catnip by correlation gas chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simmons, Daniel; Gobble, Chase; Chickos, James

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Vaporization enthalpies of the nepetalactones from oil of catnip have been evaluated. • Vapor pressures from T = (298.15 to 350) K have been evaluated. • Oil of catnip has a vapor pressure similar to DEET at T = 298.15 K. - Abstract: The vaporization enthalpy and vapor pressure of the two nepetalactones found in Nepeta cataria have been evaluated by correlation gas chromatography. Vaporization enthalpies at T = 298.15 K of {(68.0 ± 1.9) and (69.4 ± 1.9)} kJ ⋅ mol"−"1 have been derived for the minor diastereomer, (4aS,7S,7aS)-nepetalactone, and major one, (4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactone, respectively. Vapor pressures also at T = 298.15 K of p = (1.2 ± 0.04) Pa and (0.91 ± 0.03) Pa have been evaluated for the minor and the major stereoisomer. In addition to being of interest because of the remarkable effect it has on various felids, oil of catnip is also quite effective in repelling mosquitoes, comparable to diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET). The vapor pressures evaluated in this work suggest that the two stereoisomers have similar volatility to DEET at ambient temperatures.

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.

Investigation of the influence of atmospheric stability and turbulence on land-atmosphere exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Osibanjo, O.; Holmes, H.

2015-12-01

Surface energy fluxes are exchanged between the surface of the earth and the atmosphere and impact weather, climate, and air quality. The radiation from the sun triggers the surface-atmosphere interaction during the day as heat is transmitted to the surface and the surface heats the air directly above generating wind (i.e., thermal turbulence) that transports heat, moisture, and momentum in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). This process is impacted by greenhouse gasses (i.e., water vapor, carbon dioxide and other trace gases) that absorb heat emitted by the earth's surface. The concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gasses are increasing leading to changes in ABL dynamics as a result of the changing surface energy balance. The ABL processes are important to characterize because they are difficult to parameterize in global and regional scale atmospheric models. Empirical data can be collected using eddy covariance micrometeorological methods to measure turbulent fluxes (e.g., sensible heat, moisture, and CO2) and quantify the exchange between the surface and the atmosphere. The objective of this work is to calculate surface fluxes using observational data collected during one week in September 2014 from a monitoring site in Echo, Oregon. The site is located in the Columbia Basin with rolling terrain, irrigated farmland, and over 100 wind turbines. The 10m tower was placed in a small valley depression to isolate nighttime cold air pools. This work will present observations of momentum, sensible heat, moisture, and carbon dioxide fluxes from data collected at a sampling frequency of 10Hz at four heights. Atmospheric stability is determined using Monin-Obukov length and flux Richardson number, and the impact of stability on surface-atmosphere exchange is investigated. This work will provide a better understanding of surface fluxes and mixing, particularly during stable ABL periods, and the results can be used to compare with numerical models.

Recovery of atmospheric water vapor total column abundance from imaging spectrometer data around 940 nm - Sensitivity analysis and application to Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrere, V.; Conel, J.E.

1993-01-01

Two simple techniques to retrieve path precipitable water from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) high spectral resolution radiance data (Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio, CIBR, and Narrow/Wide ratio, N/W), using the 940 nm water absorption band, are compared. Since the shape and depth of the atmospheric water bands are influenced not only by the water present but also by surface (background) reflectance, atmospheric scattering, and instrument radiance by calibration, a sensitivity analysis was performed using the radiative transfer code LOWTRAN 7 to determine which one of these two approaches will provide a better estimate over land and water areas. The CIBR proved to be the technique less sensitive to perturbing effects, except for errors in visibility estimate. Both techniques were applied to AVIRIS radiance data acquired over Salton Sea, California. Resulting images confirmed that the used of a constant gray reflectance in the model led to a higher overestimation of the amount of water retrieved for N/W over vegetated areas. Validation was performed through comparison between an independent estimate of water vapor from concurrent Reagan sunphotometer measurements and AVIRIS estimates. Amounts retrieved using the N/W approach match more closely in situ measurements, even after adjusting model parameters for background reflectance, viewing geometry and type of aerosol at the site. The 13% underestimation observed for the CIBR was explained by small differences ΔL(λ i ) between AVIRIS and LOWTRAN 7 modeled radiances. Results from this study emphasizes the importance of accurate instrument calibration in flight and correct physical modeling of atmospheric absorptions

Investigating the Impact of Acetone Vapor Smoothing on the Strength and Elongation of Printed ABS Parts

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Harry; Kaweesa, Dorcas V.; Moore, Jacob; Meisel, Nicholas A.

2017-03-01

Acetone vapor smoothing is a chemical treatment that "melts" the surface of additively manufactured acrylonitrile butadiene styrene parts. The process fuses layers together and allows them to reform when vapor is removed, resulting in a smooth surface finish. Although commonly used to improve aesthetics, recent work has begun to investigate the effects of vapor smoothing on part strength. Nevertheless, most of this work has failed to take into account the anisotropic nature of printed parts. Prior research has shown that vapor smoothing reduces strength under best-case loading conditions, when the tensile load is parallel with the direction of the layers. In this article, the authors hypothesize that vapor smoothing may increase strength under nonoptimal loading conditions as a result of increased cohesion between layers and a reduction in stress concentrations. They use a design of experiments approach to identify the combined impact of printing and vapor smoothing parameters on part material properties.

Carbonyl Compounds Produced by Vaporizing Cannabis Oil Thinning Agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Troutt, William D; DiDonato, Matthew D

2017-11-01

Cannabis use has increased in the United States, particularly the use of vaporized cannabis oil, which is often mixed with thinning agents for use in vaporizing devices. E-cigarette research shows that heated thinning agents produce potentially harmful carbonyls; however, similar studies have not been conducted (1) with agents that are commonly used in the cannabis industry and (2) at temperatures that are appropriate for cannabis oil vaporization. The goal of this study was to determine whether thinning agents used in the cannabis industry produce potentially harmful carbonyls when heated to a temperature that is appropriate for cannabis oil vaporization. Four thinning agents (propylene glycol [PG], vegetable glycerin [VG], polyethylene glycol 400 [PEG 400], and medium chain triglycerides [MCT]) were heated to 230°C and the resulting vapors were tested for acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde. Each agent was tested three times. Testing was conducted in a smoking laboratory. Carbonyl levels were measured in micrograms per puff block. Analyses showed that PEG 400 produced significantly higher levels of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde than PG, MCT, and VG. Formaldehyde production was also significantly greater in PG compared with MCT and VG. Acrolein production did not differ significantly across the agents. PG and PEG 400 produced high levels of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde when heated to 230°C. Formaldehyde production from PEG 400 isolate was particularly high, with one inhalation accounting for 1.12% of the daily exposure limit, nearly the same exposure as smoking one cigarette. Because PG and PEG 400 are often mixed with cannabis oil, individuals who vaporize cannabis oil products may risk exposure to harmful formaldehyde levels. Although more research is needed, consumers and policy makers should consider these potential health effects before use and when drafting cannabis-related legislation.

Passive Sampler for Measurements of Atmospheric Nitric Acid Vapor (HNO3 Concentrations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej Bytnerowicz

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Nitric acid (HNO3 vapor is an important nitrogenous air pollutant responsible for increasing saturation of forests with nitrogen and direct injury to plants. The USDA Forest Service and University of California researchers have developed a simple and inexpensive passive sampler for monitoring air concentrations of HNO3. Nitric acid is selectively absorbed on 47-mm Nylasorb nylon filters with no interference from particulate NO3-. Concentrations determined with the passive samplers closely corresponded with those measured with the co-located honeycomb annular denuder systems. The PVC protective caps of standardized dimensions protect nylon filters from rain and wind and allow for reliable measurements of ambient HNO3 concentrations. The described samplers have been successfully used in Sequoia National Park, the San Bernardino Mountains, and on Mammoth Mountain in California.

Seasonal variations of water vapor in the tropical lower statosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Mote, Philip W.; Rosenlof, Karen H.; Holton, James R.; Harwood, Robert S.; Waters, Joe W.

1995-01-01

Measurments of stratospheric water vapor by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) show that in the tropical lower statosphere, low-frequency variations are closely related to the annual cycle in tropical tropopause temperatures. Tropical stratospheric air appears to retain information about the tropopause conditions it enconters for over a year as it rises through the stratosphere. A two-dimensional Lagrangian model is used to relate MLS measurements to the temperature that tropical air parcels encounter when crossing the 100 hPa surface.

Clouds in the Martian Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Määttänen, Anni; Montmessin, Franck

2018-01-01

Although resembling an extremely dry desert, planet Mars hosts clouds in its atmosphere. Every day somewhere on the planet a part of the tiny amount of water vapor held by the atmosphere can condense as ice crystals to form cirrus-type clouds. The existence of water ice clouds has been known for a long time, and they have been studied for decades, leading to the establishment of a well-known climatology and understanding of their formation and properties. Despite their thinness, they have a clear impact on the atmospheric temperatures, thus affecting the Martian climate. Another, more exotic type of clouds forms as well on Mars. The atmospheric temperatures can plunge to such frigid values that the major gaseous component of the atmosphere, CO2, condenses as ice crystals. These clouds form in the cold polar night where they also contribute to the formation of the CO2 ice polar cap, and also in the mesosphere at very high altitudes, near the edge of space, analogously to the noctilucent clouds on Earth. The mesospheric clouds are a fairly recent discovery and have put our understanding of the Martian atmosphere to a test. On Mars, cloud crystals form on ice nuclei, mostly provided by the omnipresent dust. Thus, the clouds link the three major climatic cycles: those of the two major volatiles, H2O and CO2; and that of dust, which is a major climatic agent itself.

Vapor pressures and vaporization enthalpy of (−) α-bisabolol and (dl) menthol by correlation gas chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keating, Leasa; Harris, Harold H.; Chickos, James S.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The vaporization enthalpy and vapor pressure of (−) α-bisabolol and (dl)-menthol have been measured as a function of temperature. • Vapor pressures, vaporization enthalpies and boiling temperatures have been compared to available literature data. • Vapor pressures of (l)-menthol are compared to (dl)-menthol. - Abstract: The vapor pressures and vaporization enthalpies of (−) α-bisabolol and (dl)-menthol, two GRAS chemicals (generally recognized as safe) are evaluated by correlation gas chromatography using a series of saturated primary alcohols as standards. Vaporization enthalpies of (96.6 ± 2.4) and (74.2 ± 2.8) kJ mol −1 and vapor pressures of p/Pa = (0.020 ± 0.003) and (4.5 ± 0.44) were evaluated at T = 298.15 K for (−) α-bisabolol and (dl)-menthol, respectively, and compared to literature values. The vapor pressures of both compounds from T = (298.15 to 500) K have been derived from correlations using vapor pressures of a series of 1-alkanols and corresponding gas chromatographic retention times at 10 K intervals. The results were fit to a second order polynomial. Calculated normal boiling temperatures of T B = (574.8 and 492.7) K are calculated for (−) α-bisabolol and (dl)-menthol, respectively. A normal boiling temperature of T B = (485.2, and 489.7) K has previously been reported for (dl)-menthol. Vapor pressures for both (l)-menthol and (dl)-menthol from a previous study and (dl)-menthol from this study are compared with literature values.

The Performance Improvement of N2 Plasma Treatment on ZrO2 Gate Dielectric Thin-Film Transistors with Atmospheric Pressure Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition IGZO Channel.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chien-Hung; Huang, Bo-Wen; Chang, Kow-Ming; Wang, Shui-Jinn; Lin, Jian-Hong; Hsu, Jui-Mei

2016-06-01

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the N2 plasma treatment for high-κ ZrO2 gate dielectric stack (30 nm) with indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). Experimental results reveal that a suitable incorporation of nitrogen atoms could enhance the device performance by eliminating the oxygen vacancies and provide an amorphous surface with better surface roughness. With N2 plasma treated ZrO2 gate, IGZO channel is fabricated by atmospheric pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (AP-PECVD) technique. The best performance of the AP-PECVD IGZO TFTs are obtained with 20 W-90 sec N2 plasma treatment with field-effect mobility (μ(FET)) of 22.5 cm2/V-s, subthreshold swing (SS) of 155 mV/dec, and on/off current ratio (I(on)/I(off)) of 1.49 x 10(7).

Temperature Dependences of Mechanisms Responsible for the Water-Vapor Continuum Absorption

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Qiancheng

2014-01-01

The water-vapor continuum absorption plays an important role in the radiative balance in the Earth's atmosphere. It has been experimentally shown that for ambient atmospheric conditions, the continuum absorption scales quadratically with the H2O number density and has a strong, negative temperature dependence (T dependence). Over the years, there have been three different theoretical mechanisms postulated: far-wings of allowed transition lines, water dimers, and collision-induced absorption. The first mechanism proposed was the accumulation of absorptions from the far-wings of the strong allowed transition lines. Later, absorption by water dimers was proposed, and this mechanism provides a qualitative explanation for the continuum characters mentioned above. Despite the improvements in experimental data, at present there is no consensus on which mechanism is primarily responsible for the continuum absorption.

Melting temperature, vapor density, and vapor pressure of molybdenum pentafluoride

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krause, Jr, R F; Douglas, T B [National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. (USA). Inst. for Materials Research

1977-12-01

A sample of MoF/sub 5/ was prepared by reaction of MoF/sub 6/(g) and Mo(c). Melting curves of temperature against time established the melting temperature at zero impurity to be 318.85 K, the enthalpy of fusion to be 6.1 kJ mol/sup -1/ (+ - 5 per cent), and the cryoscopic impurity of the sample to be 0.15 mole per cent. In the presence of MoF/sub 6/(g) which was added to suppress disproportionation, the vapor density of MoF/sub 5/ over the liquid was measured by the transpiration method at 343, 363, and 383 K, the total MoF/sub 5/ that evaporated being determined by permanganate titration. The total vapor pressure of MoF/sub 5/ oligomers over the liquid was measured by a simple static method at 373 and 392 K, while melting temperatures were taken alternately to monitor possible contamination of the sample. Although the vapor pressures were adjusted for disproportionation, solution of MoF/sub 6/ in MoF/sub 5/ (1), and wall adsorption of MoF/sub 6/ their percentage uncertainty is probably several times that of the vapor densities. A combination of the two properties indicates the average extent of association of the saturated vapor to be near 2, which is the value for the dimer species (MoF/sub 5/)/sub 2/.

Effect of Common Faults on the Performance of Different Types of Vapor Compression Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Zhimin; Domanski, Piotr A; Payne, W Vance

2016-04-05

The effect of faults on the cooling capacity, coefficient of performance, and sensible heat ratio, was analyzed and compared for five split and rooftop systems, which use different types of expansion devices, compressors and refrigerants. The study applied multivariable polynomial and normalized performance models, which were developed for the studied systems for both fault-free and faulty conditions based on measurements obtained in a laboratory under controlled conditions. The analysis indicated differences in responses and trends between the studied systems, which underscores the challenge to devise a universal FDD algorithm for all vapor compression systems and the difficulty to develop a methodology for rating the performance of different FDD algorithms.

Vapor-induced transfer of bacteria in the absence of mechanical disturbances

KAUST Repository

Ayoub, George M.

2014-09-01

Transfer of bacteria through water vapor generated at moderate temperatures (30-50. °C) in passive solar stills, has scarcely been reported. The objective of this research was to investigate whether bacteria in highly humid atmospheres can get transferred through water vapor in the absence of other transfer media to find their way to the distillate. To achieve this objective, passive solar reactors were chosen as the medium for experimentation, and distillation experiments were conducted by spiking a pure bacterial culture (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia or Enterococcus faecalis) in low mineralized water vs. highly mineralized water in the dark under moderate temperatures ranges (30-35. °C, 40-45. °C and 50-55. °C). Results showed that bacteria indeed get transferred with the vapor in stills when not exposed to solar U.V. radiation. The trends observed were adequately explained by a zero-modified Hurdle-Poisson model. The numbers of cultivable bacterial colonies transferred were bacterial size, water type and temperature dependent with highest transfers occurring in E. faecalis>. E. coli>. K. pneumonia at the 40. °C range in low mineralized water. Proper management strategies are recommended to achieve complete disinfection in solar stills. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Determination of the characteristics of an electric arc plasma contaminated by vapors from insulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbaoui, M.; Cheminat, B.

1991-01-01

An experimental study at atmospheric pressure carried out on plasma penetrated by vapors from different industrial insulators allowed the showing of the influence of the nature of the insulator upon the characteristics of the electric arc plasma; i.e., an increase of the temperature, electron density, electric field, and extinction velocity of the arc. Measurements have been made spectrometrically and by means of probes

Diatomaceous earth and activated bauxite used as granular sorbents for the removal of sodium chloride vapor from hot flue gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, S.H.D.; Swift, W.M.; Johnson, I.

1980-01-01

Diatomaceous earth and activated bauxite were tested as granular sorbents for use as filter media in granular-bed filters for the removal of gaseous alkali metal compounds from the hot (800/sup 0/C) flue gas of PFBC. Tests were performed at atmospheric pressure, using NaCl vapor transported in relatively dry simulated flue gas of PFBC. Either a fixed-bed combustor or a high-temperature sorption test rig was used. The effects of sorbent bed temperature, superficial gas velocity, gas hourly space velocity, and NaCl-vapor concentration in flue gas on the sorption behavior of these two sorbents and their ultimate sorption capacities were determined. Both diatomaceous earth and activated bauxite were found to be very effective in removing NaCl vapor from flue gas. Preliminary cost evaluations showed that they are economically attractive as granular sorbents for cleaning alkali vapor from simulated flue gas.

Diagnosing Atmospheric Influences on the Interannual 18O/16O Variations in Western U.S. Precipitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kei Yoshimura

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Many climate proxies in geological archives are dependent on the isotopic content of precipitation (δ18Op, which over sub-annual timescales has been linked to temperature, condensation height, atmospheric circulation, and post-condensation exchanges in the western U.S. However, many proxies do not resolve temporal changes finer than interannual-scales. This study explores causes of the interannual variations in δ18Op within the western U.S. Simulations with the Isotope-incorporated Global Spectral Model (IsoGSM revealed an amplifying influence of post-condensation exchanges (i.e., raindrop evaporation and vapor equilibration on interannual δ18Op variations throughout the western U.S. Mid-latitude and subtropical vapor tagging simulations showed that the influence of moisture advection on δ18Op was relatively strong in the Pacific Northwest, but weak over the rest of the western U.S. The vapor tags correlated well with interannual variations in the 18O/16O composition of vapor, an indication that isotopes in vapor trace atmospheric circulation. However, vertical-tagging simulations revealed a strong influence of condensation height on δ18Op in California. In the interior of the western U.S., a strong temperature effect was found only after annual mean temperatures were weighted by monthly precipitation totals. These multiple influences on δ18Op complicate interpretations of western U.S. climate proxies that are derived from isotopes in precipitation.

R-22 vapor explosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, R.P.; Armstrong, D.R.

1977-01-01

Previous experimental and theoretical studies of R-22 vapor explosions are reviewed. Results from two experimental investigations of vapor explosions in a medium scale R-22/water system are reported. Measurements following the drop of an unrestrained mass of R-22 into a water tank demonstrated the existence of two types of interaction behavior. Release of a constrained mass of R-22 beneath the surface of a water tank improved the visual resolution of the system thus allowing identification of two interaction mechansims: at low water temperatures, R-22/water contact would produce immediate violent boiling; at high water temperatures a vapor film formed around its R-22 as it was released, explosions were generated by a surface wave which initiated at a single location and propagated along the vapor film as a shock wave. A new vapor explosion model is proposed, it suggests explosions are the result of a sequence of three independent steps: an initial mixing phase, a trigger and growth phase, and a mature phase where a propagating shock wave accelerates the two liquids into a collapsing vapor layer causing a high velocity impact which finely fragments and intermixes the two liquids

Water vapor radiative effects on short-wave radiation in Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Vaquero-Martínez, Javier; Antón, Manuel; Ortiz de Galisteo, José Pablo; Román, Roberto; Cachorro, Victoria E.

2018-06-01

In this work, water vapor radiative effect (WVRE) is studied by means of the Santa Barbara's Disort Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model, fed with integrated water vapor (IWV) data from 20 ground-based GPS stations in Spain. Only IWV data recorded during cloud-free days (selected using daily insolation data) were used in this study. Typically, for SZA = 60.0 ± 0.5° WVRE values are around - 82 and - 66 Wm-2 (first and third quartile), although it can reach up - 100 Wm-2 or decrease to - 39 Wm-2. A power dependence of WVRE on IWV and cosine of solar zenith angle (SZA) was found by an empirical fit. This relation is used to determine the water vapor radiative efficiency (WVEFF = ∂WVRE/∂IWV). Obtained WVEFF values range from - 9 and 0 Wm-2 mm-1 (- 2.2 and 0% mm-1 in relative terms). It is observed that WVEFF decreases as IWV increases, but also as SZA increases. On the other hand, when relative WVEFF is calculated from normalized WVRE, an increase of SZA results in an increase of relative WVEFF. Heating rates were also calculated, ranging from 0.2 Kday-1 to 1.7 Kday-1. WVRE was also calculated at top of atmosphere, where values ranged from 4 Wm-2 to 37 Wm-2.

Waste storage in the vadose zone affected by water vapor condensation and leaching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cary, J.W.; Gee, G.W.; Whyatt, G.A.

1990-08-01

One of the major concerns associated with waste storage in the vadose zone is that toxic materials may somehow be leached and transported by advecting water down to the water table and reach the accessible environment through either a well or discharge to a river. Consequently, care is taken to provide barriers over and around the storage sites to reduce contact between infiltrating water and the buried waste form. In some cases, it is important to consider the intrusion of water vapor as well as water in the liquid phase. Water vapor diffuses through porous material along vapor pressure gradients. A slightly low temperature, or the presence of water-soluble components in the waste, favors water condensation resulting in leaching of the waste form and advection of water-soluble components to the water table. A simple analysis is presented that allows one to estimate the rate of vapor condensation as a function of waste composition and backfill materials. An example using a waste form surrounded by concrete and gravel layers is presented. The use of thermal gradients to offset condensation effects of water-soluble components in the waste form is discussed. Thermal gradients may be controlled by design factors that alter the atmospheric energy exchange across the soil surface or that interrupt the geothermal heat field. 7 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Dual effects of water vapor on ceria-supported gold clusters.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhimin; Li, Weili; Abroshan, Hadi; Ge, Qingjie; Li, Gao; Jin, Rongchao

2018-04-05

Atomically precise nanocatalysts are currently being intensely pursued in catalysis research. Such nanocatalysts can serve as model catalysts for gaining fundamental insights into catalytic processes. In this work we report a discovery that water vapor provokes the mild removal of surface long-chain ligands on 25-atom Au25(SC12H25)18 nanoclusters in a controlled manner. Using the resultant Au25(SC12H25)18-x/CeO2 catalyst and CO oxidation as a probe reaction, we found that the catalytic activity of cluster/CeO2 is enhanced from nearly zero conversion of CO (in the absence of water) to 96.2% (in the presence of 2.3 vol% H2O) at the same temperature (100 °C). The cluster catalysts exhibit high stability during the CO oxidation process under moisture conditions (up to 20 vol% water vapor). Water vapor plays a dual role in gold cluster-catalyzed CO oxidation. FT-IR and XPS analyses in combination with density functional theory (DFT) simulations suggest that the "-SC12H25" ligands are easier to be removed under a water vapor atmosphere, thus generating highly active sites. Moreover, the O22- peroxide species constitutes the active oxygen species in CO oxidation, evidenced by Raman spectroscopy analysis and isotope experiments on the CeO2 and cluster/CeO2. The results also indicate the perimeter sites of the interface of Au25(SC12H25)18-x/CeO2 to be active sites for catalytic CO oxidation. The controlled exposure of active sites under mild conditions is of critical importance for the utilization of clusters in catalysis.

Piezoelectric trace vapor calibrator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verkouteren, R. Michael; Gillen, Greg; Taylor, David W.

2006-01-01

The design and performance of a vapor generator for calibration and testing of trace chemical sensors are described. The device utilizes piezoelectric ink-jet nozzles to dispense and vaporize precisely known amounts of analyte solutions as monodisperse droplets onto a hot ceramic surface, where the generated vapors are mixed with air before exiting the device. Injected droplets are monitored by microscope with strobed illumination, and the reproducibility of droplet volumes is optimized by adjustment of piezoelectric wave form parameters. Complete vaporization of the droplets occurs only across a 10 deg. C window within the transition boiling regime of the solvent, and the minimum and maximum rates of trace analyte that may be injected and evaporated are determined by thermodynamic principles and empirical observations of droplet formation and stability. By varying solution concentrations, droplet injection rates, air flow, and the number of active nozzles, the system is designed to deliver--on demand--continuous vapor concentrations across more than six orders of magnitude (nominally 290 fg/l to 1.05 μg/l). Vapor pulses containing femtogram to microgram quantities of analyte may also be generated. Calibrated ranges of three explosive vapors at ng/l levels were generated by the device and directly measured by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). These data demonstrate expected linear trends within the limited working range of the IMS detector and also exhibit subtle nonlinear behavior from the IMS measurement process

GADEP Continuous PM2.5 mass concentration data, VIIRS Day Night Band SDR (SVDNB), MODIS Terra Level 2 water vapor profiles (infrared algorithm for atmospheric profiles for both day and night, NWS surface meteorological data

Science.gov (United States)

Data descriptions are provided at the following urls:GADEP Continuous PM2.5 mass concentration data - https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/documents/data_mart_welcome.htmlhttps://www3.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/files/ambient/pm25/qa/QA-Handbook-Vol-II.pdfVIIRS Day Night Band SDR (SVDNB) http://www.class.ngdc.noaa.gov/saa/products/search?datatype_family=VIIRS_SDRMODIS Terra Level 2 water vapor profiles (infrared algorithm for atmospheric profiles for both day and night -MOD0&_L2; http://modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov/MOD07_L2/index.html NWS surface meteorological data - https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/isdThis dataset is associated with the following publication:Wang, J., C. Aegerter, and J. Szykman. Potential Application of VIIRS Day/Night Band for Monitoring Nighttime Surface PM2.5 Air Quality From Space. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 124(0): 55-63, (2016).

Differential Absorption Radar: An Emerging Technology for Remote Sounding of Water Vapor Within Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Lebsock, M. D.; Millan Valle, L. F.; Cooper, K. B.; Siles, J.; Monje, R.

2017-12-01

We present the results of our efforts to build and demonstrate the first Differential Absorption Radar (DAR), which will provide unique capabilities to remotely sound for water vapor within cloudy and precipitating atmospheres. The approach leverages multiple radar channels located near the 183 GHz water vapor absorption feature to simultaneously derive microphysical and water vapor profiles. The DAR technique has the potential to neatly complement existing water vapor sounding techniques such as infrared and microwave sounding and GPS radio occultation. These precisions rival those of existing water vapor remote sensing instruments. The approach works best from above clouds because the water vapor burden and line width increases towards the Earth surface allowing increased sampling from the top-down compared with bottom-up. From an airborne or satellite platform channels can be selected that target either upper-tropospheric or lower-tropospheric clouds. Our theoretical studies suggest that the water vapor concentration can be retrieved to within 1-3 gm-3 and the column integrated water vapor can be retrieved to within 1 kgm-2. The high-frequency radar is only recently enabled by technological advances that have allowed us to demonstrate 0.5 W of continuous power near 183 GHz. We are currently developing an airborne DAR using a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) architecture with a quasi-optical duplexer providing 80 dB of transmit/receive isolation. A prototype of this instrument recently made the first ever range resolved DAR measurements of humidity out to several hundred meters during a light rain event at JPL. The spectral dependence of the attenuation was in excellent agreement with the predicted attenuation based on nearby weather stations, proving for the first time the feasibility of the concept. A major impediment to implementing DAR is the international regulation of radio-frequency transmissions below 300 GHz. The major roadblocks and potential

Fuel vapor pressure (FVAPRS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, R.E.

1979-04-01

A subcode (FVAPRS) is described which calculates fuel vapor pressure. This subcode was developed as part of the fuel rod behavior modeling task performed at EG and G Idaho, Inc. The fuel vapor pressure subcode (FVAPRS), is presented and a discussion of literature data, steady state and transient fuel vapor pressure equations and estimates of the standard error of estimate to be expected with the FVAPRS subcode are included

Study of the liquid vapor equilibrium in the bromine-hydrobromic acid-water system

Science.gov (United States)

Benizri, R.; Lessart, P.; Courvoisier, P.

1984-01-01

A glass ebullioscope was built and at atmospheric pressure, liquid-vapor equilibria relative to the Br2-HBr-H2O system, in the concentration range of interest for evaluation of the Mark 13 cycle was studied. Measurements were performed for the brome-azeotrope (HBr-H2O) pseudo-binary system and for the ternary system at temperatures lower than 125 C and in the bromine concentration range up to 13% wt.

A UV multifunctional Raman lidar system for the observation and analysis of atmospheric temperature, humidity, aerosols and their conveying characteristics over Xi'an

Science.gov (United States)

Yufeng, Wang; Qiang, Fu; Meina, Zhao; Fei, Gao; Huige, Di; Yuehui, Song; Dengxin, Hua

2018-01-01

To monitor the variability and the correlation of multiple atmospheric parameters in the whole troposphere and the lower stratosphere, a ground-based ultraviolet multifunctional Raman lidar system was established to simultaneously measure the atmospheric parameters in Xi'an (34.233°N, 108.911°E). A set of dichroic mirrors (DMs) and narrow-band interference filters (IFs) with narrow angles of incidence were utilized to construct a high-efficiency 5-channel polychromator. A series of high-quality data obtained from October 2013 to December 2015 under different weather conditions were used to investigate the functionality of the Raman lidar system and to study the variability of multiple atmospheric parameters in the whole stratosphere. Their conveying characteristics are also investigated using back trajectories with a hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory model (HYSPLIT). The lidar system can be operated efficiently under weather conditions with a cloud backscattering ratio of less than 18 and an atmospheric visibility of 3 km. We observed an obvious temperature inversion phenomenon at the tropopause height of 17-18 km and occasional temperature inversion layers below the boundary layer. The rapidly changing atmospheric water vapor is mostly concentrated at the lower troposphere, below ∼4-5 km, accounting for ∼90% of the total water vapor content at 0.5-10 km. The back trajectory analysis shows that the air flow from the northwest and the west mainly contributes to the transport of aerosols and water vapor over Xi'an. The simultaneous continuous observational results demonstrate the variability and correlation among the multiple atmospheric parameters, and the accumulated water vapor density in the bottom layer causes an increase in the aerosol extinction coefficient and enhances the relative humidity in the early morning. The long-term observations provide a large amount of reliable atmospheric data below the lower stratosphere, and can be

Water vapor in the spectrum of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b. I. The transit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCullough, P. R.; Crouzet, N.; Deming, D.; Madhusudhan, N.

2014-01-01

We report near-infrared spectroscopy of the gas giant planet HD 189733b in transit. We used the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (HST WFC3) with its G141 grism covering 1.1 μm to 1.7 μm and spatially scanned the image across the detector at 2'' s –1 . When smoothed to 75 nm bins, the local maxima of the transit depths in the 1.15 μm and 1.4 μm water vapor features are, respectively, 83 ± 53 ppm and 200 ± 47 ppm greater than the local minimum at 1.3 μm. We compare the WFC3 spectrum with the composite transit spectrum of HD 189733b assembled by Pont et al., extending from 0.3 μm to 24 μm. Although the water vapor features in the WFC3 spectrum are compatible with the model of non-absorbing, Rayleigh-scattering dust in the planetary atmosphere, we also re-interpret the available data with a clear planetary atmosphere. In the latter interpretation, the slope of increasing transit depth with shorter wavelengths from the near infrared, through the visible, and into the ultraviolet is caused by unocculted star spots, with a smaller contribution of Rayleigh scattering by molecular hydrogen in the planet's atmosphere. At relevant pressures along the terminator, our model planetary atmosphere's temperature is ∼700 K, which is below the condensation temperatures of sodium- and potassium-bearing molecules, causing the broad wings of the spectral lines of Na I and K I at 0.589 μm and 0.769 μm to be weak.

Water vapor in the spectrum of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b. I. The transit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCullough, P. R.; Crouzet, N. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Deming, D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Madhusudhan, N., E-mail: pmcc@stsci.edu [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States)

2014-08-10

We report near-infrared spectroscopy of the gas giant planet HD 189733b in transit. We used the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (HST WFC3) with its G141 grism covering 1.1 μm to 1.7 μm and spatially scanned the image across the detector at 2'' s{sup –1}. When smoothed to 75 nm bins, the local maxima of the transit depths in the 1.15 μm and 1.4 μm water vapor features are, respectively, 83 ± 53 ppm and 200 ± 47 ppm greater than the local minimum at 1.3 μm. We compare the WFC3 spectrum with the composite transit spectrum of HD 189733b assembled by Pont et al., extending from 0.3 μm to 24 μm. Although the water vapor features in the WFC3 spectrum are compatible with the model of non-absorbing, Rayleigh-scattering dust in the planetary atmosphere, we also re-interpret the available data with a clear planetary atmosphere. In the latter interpretation, the slope of increasing transit depth with shorter wavelengths from the near infrared, through the visible, and into the ultraviolet is caused by unocculted star spots, with a smaller contribution of Rayleigh scattering by molecular hydrogen in the planet's atmosphere. At relevant pressures along the terminator, our model planetary atmosphere's temperature is ∼700 K, which is below the condensation temperatures of sodium- and potassium-bearing molecules, causing the broad wings of the spectral lines of Na I and K I at 0.589 μm and 0.769 μm to be weak.

LASE measurements of water vapor and aerosol profiles during the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) field experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Nehrir, A. R.; Ferrare, R. A.; Kooi, S. A.; Butler, C. F.; Notari, A.; Hair, J. W.; Collins, J. E., Jr.; Ismail, S.

2015-12-01

The Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) system was deployed on the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the Plains Elevated Convection At Night (PECAN) field experiment, which was conducted during June-July 2015 over the central and southern plains. LASE is an active remote sensor that employs the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique to measure range resolved profiles of water vapor and aerosols above and below the aircraft. The DC-8 conducted nine local science flights from June 30- July 14 where LASE sampled water vapor and aerosol fields in support of the PECAN primary science objectives relating to better understanding nocturnal Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs), Convective Initiation (CI), the Low Level Jet (LLJ), bores, and to compare different airborne and ground based measurements. LASE observed large spatial and temporal variability in water vapor and aerosol distributions in advance of nocturnal MCSs, across bores resulting from MCS outflow boundaries, and across the LLJ associated with the development of MCSs and CI. An overview of the LASE data collected during the PECAN field experiment will be presented where emphasis will be placed on variability of water vapor profiles in the vicinity of severe storms and intense convection in the central and southern plains. Preliminary comparisons show good agreement between coincident LASE and radiosonde water vapor profiles. In addition, an advanced water vapor DIAL system being developed at NASA Langley will be discussed.

Vapor generation methods for explosives detection research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grate, Jay W.; Ewing, Robert G.; Atkinson, David A.

2012-12-01

The generation of calibrated vapor samples of explosives compounds remains a challenge due to the low vapor pressures of the explosives, adsorption of explosives on container and tubing walls, and the requirement to manage (typically) multiple temperature zones as the vapor is generated, diluted, and delivered. Methods that have been described to generate vapors can be classified as continuous or pulsed flow vapor generators. Vapor sources for continuous flow generators are typically explosives compounds supported on a solid support, or compounds contained in a permeation or diffusion device. Sources are held at elevated isothermal temperatures. Similar sources can be used for pulsed vapor generators; however, pulsed systems may also use injection of solutions onto heated surfaces with generation of both solvent and explosives vapors, transient peaks from a gas chromatograph, or vapors generated by s programmed thermal desorption. This article reviews vapor generator approaches with emphasis on the method of generating the vapors and on practical aspects of vapor dilution and handling. In addition, a gas chromatographic system with two ovens that is configurable with up to four heating ropes is proposed that could serve as a single integrated platform for explosives vapor generation and device testing. Issues related to standards, calibration, and safety are also discussed.

Measurement of Vapor Flow As an Important Source of Water in Dry Land Eco-Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Z.; He, Z.; Wang, Y.; Gao, Z.; Hishida, K.

2014-12-01

When the temperature of land surface is lower than that of air and deeper soils, water vapor gathers toward the ground surface where dew maybe formed depending on the prevailing dew point and wind speed. Some plants are able to absorb the dew and vapor flow while the soil can readily absorb both. Certain animals such as desert beetles and ants harvest the dew or fog for daily survival. Recently, it is also realized that the dew and vapor flow can be a life-saving amount of water for plant survival at the driest seasons of the year in arid and semi-arid regions. Researches are conducted to quantify the amount of near-surface vapor flow in arid and semi-arid regions in China and USA. Quantitative leaf water absorption and desorption functions were derived based on laboratory experiments. Results show that plant leaves absorb and release water at different speeds depending on species and varieties. The "ideal" native plants in the dry climates can quickly absorb water and slowly release it. This water-holding capacity of plant is characterized by the absorption and desorption functions derived for plant physiology and water balance studies. Field studies are conducted to measure the dynamic vapor flow movements from the atmosphere and the groundwater table to soil surface. Results show that dew is usually formed on soil and plant surfaces during the daily hours when the temperature gradients are inverted toward the soil surface. The amount of dew harvested using gravels on the soil surface was enough to support water melon agriculture on deserts. The vapor flow can be effectively intercepted by artificially seeded plants in semi-arid regions forming new forests. New studies are attempted to quantify the role of vapor flow for the survival of giant sequoias in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

Radio occultation studies of the Venus atmosphere with the Magellan spacecraft. 2: Results from the October 1991 experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Jon M.; Steffes, Paul G.; Hinson, David P.; Twicken, Joseph D.; Tyler, G. Leonard

1994-01-01

On October 5 and 6, 1991, three dual-frequency ingress radio occultation experiments were conducted at Venus during consecutive orbits of the Magellan spacecraft. The radio signals probed a region of the atmosphere near 65 deg N, with a solar zenith angle of 108 deg, reaching below 35 km at 3.6 cm, and below 34 km at 13 cm (above a mean radius of 6052 km). The high effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of the Magellan spacecraft and highly successful attitude maneuvers allowed these signals to probe deeper than any previous radio occultation experiment and also resulted in the most accurate thermal and sulfuric acid vapor abundance profiles ever obtained at Venus through radio occultation techniques. The performance of the spacecraft and the experiment design are discussed in an accompanying paper. Average electron density profiles retrieved from the data possess peaks between 2600 and 6000/cu cm, well below typical values of 10,000/cu cm retrieved in 1979 by Pioneer Venus at similar solar zenith angles. Other basic results include vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, and density in the neutral atmosphere, 13- and 3.6-cm absorpttivity, and H2SO4 (g) abundance below the main cloud layer. H2SO4 (g) becomes significant below 50 km, reaching peaks between 18 and 24 ppm near 39 km before dropping precipitously below 38 km. These sharp decreases confirm the thermal decomposition of sulfuric acid vapor below 39 km. Since the Venus atmosphere rotated approximately 10 deg between experiments, the data contain information about the horizontal variability of the atmosphere. All derived profiles exhibit significant variations from orbit to orbit, indicating the presence of dynamical processes between 33 and 200 km. In particular, the orbit-to-orbit variations in temperature and in H2SO4 (g) abundance appear to be correlated, suggesting that a common mechanism may be responsible for the observed spatial variations.

Low-Temperature Process for Atomic Layer Chemical Vapor Deposition of an Al2O3 Passivation Layer for Organic Photovoltaic Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hoonbae; Lee, Jihye; Sohn, Sunyoung; Jung, Donggeun

2016-05-01

Flexible organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have drawn extensive attention due to their light weight, cost efficiency, portability, and so on. However, OPV cells degrade quickly due to organic damage by water vapor or oxygen penetration when the devices are driven in the atmosphere without a passivation layer. In order to prevent damage due to water vapor or oxygen permeation into the devices, passivation layers have been introduced through methods such as sputtering, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD). In this work, the structural and chemical properties of Al2O3 films, deposited via ALCVD at relatively low temperatures of 109 degrees C, 200 degrees C, and 300 degrees C, are analyzed. In our experiment, trimethylaluminum (TMA) and H2O were used as precursors for Al2O3 film deposition via ALCVD. All of the Al2O3 films showed very smooth, featureless surfaces without notable defects. However, we found that the plastic flexible substrate of an OPV device passivated with 300 degrees C deposition temperature was partially bended and melted, indicating that passivation layers for OPV cells on plastic flexible substrates need to be formed at temperatures lower than 300 degrees C. The OPV cells on plastic flexible substrates were passivated by the Al2O3 film deposited at the temperature of 109 degrees C. Thereafter, the photovoltaic properties of passivated OPV cells were investigated as a function of exposure time under the atmosphere.

The vaporization enthalpy and vapor pressure of S (+)-methamphetamine at T = 298.15 K by correlation gas chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thornton, Melissa; Gobble, Chase; Chickos, James

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The vaporization enthalpy of (d)-methamphetamine was measured. • The vapor pressure of (d)-methamphetamine as a function of temperature was evaluated. • The vapor pressure of 4-benzylpiperidine as a function of temperature was evaluated. - Abstract: The vaporization enthalpy and vapor pressure of S (+)-methamphetamine is evaluated by correlation-gas chromatography. A vaporization enthalpy of (58.7 ± 4.3) kJ · mol −1 and a vapor pressure, p = (38 ± 9) Pa has been obtained using a variety of secondary aliphatic amines as standards. In addition, equations describing the vapor pressure temperature dependence are provided for standards and S (+)-methamphetamine covering the temperature range from T = 298.15 K to the boiling temperature. Boiling temperatures are reproduced within an interval of 8 K or less

Observation and particle simulation of vaporized W, Mo, and Be in PISCES-B plasma for vapor-shielding studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Ibano

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Interactions of Tungsten (W, Molybdenum (Mo, and Beryllium (Be vapors with a steady-state plasma were studied by the PISCES-B liner plasma experiments as well as Particle-In-Cell (PIC simulations for the understanding of vapor-shielding phenomena. Effective cooling of the plasma by laser-generated Be vapor was observed in PISCES-B. On the other hand, no apparent cooling was observed for W and Mo vapors. The PIC simulation explains these experimental observations of the difference between low-Z and high-Z vapors. Decrease of electron temperature due to the vapor ejection was observed in case of a simulation of the Be vapor. As for the W vapor, it was found that the plasma cooling is localized only near the wall at a higher electron density plasma (∼1019m−3. On the other hand, the appreciable plasma cooling can be observed in a lower density plasma (∼1018m−3 for the W vapor.

Enthalpy model for heating, melting, and vaporization in laser ablation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasilios Alexiades

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Laser ablation is used in a growing number of applications in various areas including medicine, archaeology, chemistry, environmental and materials sciences. In this work the heat transfer and phase change phenomena during nanosecond laser ablation of a copper (Cu target in a helium (He background gas at atmospheric pressure are presented. An enthalpy model is outlined, which accounts for heating, melting, and vaporization of the target. As far as we know, this is the first model that connects the thermodynamics and underlying kinetics of this challenging phase change problem in a self-consistent way.

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and characterization of ZnO materials

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Shangzu; Tompa, Gary S.; Hoerman, Brent; Look, David C.; Claflin, Bruce B.; Rice, Catherine E.; Masaun, Puneet

2006-04-01

Zinc oxide is attracting growing interest for potential applications in electronics, optoelectronics, photonics, and chemical and biochemical sensing, among other applications. We report herein our efforts in the growth and characterization of p- and n-type ZnO materials by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), focusing on recent nitrogen-doped films grown using diethyl zinc as the zinc precursor and nitric oxide (NO) as the dopant. Characterization results, including resistivity, Hall measurements, photoluminescence, and SIMS, are reported and discussed. Electrical behavior was observed to be dependent on illumination, atmosphere, and heat treatment, especially for p-type material.

FLUXNET: A new tool to study the temporal and spatial variability of ecosystem-scale carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy flux densities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baldocchi, D.; Falge, E.; Gu, L.

2001-01-01

FLUXNET is a global network of micrometeorological flux measurement site's that measure the exchanges of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy between the biosphere and atmosphere. At present over 140 sites are operating on a long-term and continuous basis. Vegetation under study includes...... of annual ecosystem carbon and water balances, to quantify the response of stand-scale carbon dioxide and water vapor flux densities to controlling biotic and abiotic factors, and to validate a hierarchy of soil-plant-atmosphere trace gas exchange models. Findings so far include 1) net CO2 exchange......, it provides infrastructure for compiling, archiving, and distributing carbon, water, and energy flux measurement, and meteorological, plant, and soil data to the science community. (Data and site information are available online at the FLUXNET Web site, http://www-eosdis.oml.gov/FLUXNTET/.) Second...

Satellite Retrieval of Atmospheric Water Budget over Gulf of Mexico- Caribbean Basin: Seasonal Variability

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Eric A.; Santos, Pablo; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This study presents results from a multi-satellite/multi-sensor retrieval system designed to obtain the atmospheric water budget over the open ocean. A combination of hourly-sampled monthly datasets derived from the GOES-8 5 Imager and the DMSP 7-channel passive microwave radiometer (SSM/I) have been acquired for the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean Sea basin. Whereas the methodology is being tested over this basin, the retrieval system is designed for portability to any open-ocean region. Algorithm modules using the different datasets to retrieve individual geophysical parameters needed in the water budget equation are designed in a manner that takes advantage of the high temporal resolution of the GOES-8 measurements, as well as the physical relationships inherent to the SSM/I passive microwave signals in conjunction with water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rainfall. The methodology consists of retrieving the precipitation, surface evaporation, and vapor-cloud water storage terms in the atmospheric water balance equation from satellite techniques, with the water vapor advection term being obtained as the residue needed for balance. Thus, we have sought to develop a purely satellite-based method for obtaining the full set of terms in the atmospheric water budget equation without requiring in situ sounding information on the wind profile. The algorithm is partly validated by first cross-checking all the algorithm components through multiple-algorithm retrieval intercomparisons. More fundamental validation is obtained by directly comparing water vapor transports into the targeted basin diagnosed from the satellite algorithm to those obtained observationally from a network of land-based upper air stations that nearly uniformly surround the basin. Total columnar atmospheric water budget results will be presented for an extended annual cycle consisting of the months of October-97, January-98, April-98, July-98, October-98, and January-1999. These results are used to emphasize

Fast Atmosphere-Ocean Model Runs with Large Changes in CO2

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Gary L.; Lacis, Andrew A.; Rind, David H.; Colose, Christopher; Opstbaum, Roger F.

2013-01-01

How does climate sensitivity vary with the magnitude of climate forcing? This question was investigated with the use of a modified coupled atmosphere-ocean model, whose stability was improved so that the model would accommodate large radiative forcings yet be fast enough to reach rapid equilibrium. Experiments were performed in which atmospheric CO2 was multiplied by powers of 2, from 1/64 to 256 times the 1950 value. From 8 to 32 times, the 1950 CO2, climate sensitivity for doubling CO2 reaches 8 C due to increases in water vapor absorption and cloud top height and to reductions in low level cloud cover. As CO2 amount increases further, sensitivity drops as cloud cover and planetary albedo stabilize. No water vapor-induced runaway greenhouse caused by increased CO2 was found for the range of CO2 examined. With CO2 at or below 1/8 of the 1950 value, runaway sea ice does occur as the planet cascades to a snowball Earth climate with fully ice covered oceans and global mean surface temperatures near 30 C.

Integration of thermo-vapor compressor with multiple-effect evaporator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharan, Prashant; Bandyopadhyay, Santanu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Energy integration of thermo-vapor compressor with multiple-effect evaporator. • Proposed a new methodology for optimal placement of thermo-vapor compressor. • Extended Pinch Analysis for overall energy conservation. • Obtained simultaneous reduction in evaporator area requirement and energy consumption with optimal integration. - Abstract: Thermo-vapor compressor (TVC) is used for compressing the low-pressure vapor with the help of the high-pressure motive steam, to produce the medium pressure vapor. A substantial portion of energy may be conserved by integrating TVC with the multiple-effect evaporator (MEE). The common practice in desalination industry is to compress the vapor produced in the last effect of a MEE using TVC to reduce the overall motive steam requirement. Such integration does not necessarily guarantee energy optimality. The objective of the present work is to optimally integrate TVC with a MEE system to maximize the gain output ratio (GOR). GOR is defined as the ratio of the mass flow rate of vapor produced in MEE to the mass flow rate of the motive steam supplied to TVC. GOR is the measure of the energy efficiency of MEE system. Using the principles of Pinch Analysis and techniques of mathematical optimization, a new methodology for integration of TVC with MEE is proposed in this paper. This is the first analytical methodology to optimally integrate TVC with MEE, avoiding multiple simulations of the overall system. A Theorem is proposed to directly calculate the optimal location of TVC suction position. The proposed methodology gives the designer the freedom to design an MEE-TVC with minimum energy consumption and without carrying out the detailed simulation of the entire system. The methodology is demonstrated through the illustrative case studies for concentrating corn glucose, and freshwater production through thermal desalination. In the case of corn glucose, the optimal integration of TVC with 2-effect MEE resulted in

Corrosion processes of physical vapor deposition-coated metallic implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Antunes, Renato Altobelli; de Oliveira, Mara Cristina Lopes

2009-01-01

Protecting metallic implants from the harsh environment of physiological fluids is essential to guaranteeing successful long-term use in a patient's body. Chemical degradation may lead to the failure of an implant device in two different ways. First, metal ions may cause inflammatory reactions in the tissues surrounding the implant and, in extreme cases, these reactions may inflict acute pain on the patient and lead to loosening of the device. Therefore, increasing wear strength is beneficial to the performance of the metallic implant. Second, localized corrosion processes contribute to the nucleation of fatigue cracks, and corrosion fatigue is the main reason for the mechanical failure of metallic implants. Common biomedical alloys such as stainless steel, cobalt-chrome alloys, and titanium alloys are prone to at least one of these problems. Vapor-deposited hard coatings act directly to improve corrosion, wear, and fatigue resistances of metallic materials. The effectiveness of the corrosion protection is strongly related to the structure of the physical vapor deposition layer. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the correlation between the structure of physical vapor deposition layers and the corrosion properties of metallic implants.

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.

Emerging Technologies and Synergies for Airborne and Space-Based Measurements of Water Vapor Profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Nehrir, Amin R.; Kiemle, Christoph; Lebsock, Mathew D.; Kirchengast, Gottfried; Buehler, Stefan A.; Löhnert, Ulrich; Liu, Cong-Liang; Hargrave, Peter C.; Barrera-Verdejo, Maria; Winker, David M.

2017-11-01

A deeper understanding of how clouds will respond to a warming climate is one of the outstanding challenges in climate science. Uncertainties in the response of clouds, and particularly shallow clouds, have been identified as the dominant source of the discrepancy in model estimates of equilibrium climate sensitivity. As the community gains a deeper understanding of the many processes involved, there is a growing appreciation of the critical role played by fluctuations in water vapor and the coupling of water vapor and atmospheric circulations. Reduction of uncertainties in cloud-climate feedbacks and convection initiation as well as improved understanding of processes governing these effects will result from profiling of water vapor in the lower troposphere with improved accuracy and vertical resolution compared to existing airborne and space-based measurements. This paper highlights new technologies and improved measurement approaches for measuring lower tropospheric water vapor and their expected added value to current observations. Those include differential absorption lidar and radar, microwave occultation between low-Earth orbiters, and hyperspectral microwave remote sensing. Each methodology is briefly explained, and measurement capabilities as well as the current technological readiness for aircraft and satellite implementation are specified. Potential synergies between the technologies are discussed, actual examples hereof are given, and future perspectives are explored. Based on technical maturity and the foreseen near-mid-term development path of the various discussed measurement approaches, we find that improved measurements of water vapor throughout the troposphere would greatly benefit from the combination of differential absorption lidar focusing on the lower troposphere with passive remote sensors constraining the upper-tropospheric humidity.

An Inequality Constrained Least-Squares Approach as an Alternative Estimation Procedure for Atmospheric Parameters from VLBI Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Halsig, Sebastian; Artz, Thomas; Iddink, Andreas; Nothnagel, Axel

2016-12-01

On its way through the atmosphere, radio signals are delayed and affected by bending and attenuation effects relative to a theoretical path in vacuum. In particular, the neutral part of the atmosphere contributes considerably to the error budget of space-geodetic observations. At the same time, space-geodetic techniques become more and more important in the understanding of the Earth's atmosphere, because atmospheric parameters can be linked to the water vapor content in the atmosphere. The tropospheric delay is usually taken into account by applying an adequate model for the hydrostatic component and by additionally estimating zenith wet delays for the highly variable wet component. Sometimes, the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) approach leads to negative estimates, which would be equivalent to negative water vapor in the atmosphere and does, of course, not reflect meteorological and physical conditions in a plausible way. To cope with this phenomenon, we introduce an Inequality Constrained Least Squares (ICLS) method from the field of convex optimization and use inequality constraints to force the tropospheric parameters to be non-negative allowing for a more realistic tropospheric parameter estimation in a meteorological sense. Because deficiencies in the a priori hydrostatic modeling are almost fully compensated by the tropospheric estimates, the ICLS approach urgently requires suitable a priori hydrostatic delays. In this paper, we briefly describe the ICLS method and validate its impact with regard to station positions.

Remote sensing of atmospheric water content from Bhaskara SAMIR data. [using statistical linear regression analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Gohil, B. S.; Hariharan, T. A.; Sharma, A. K.; Pandey, P. C.

1982-01-01

The 19.35 GHz and 22.235 GHz passive microwave radiometers (SAMIR) on board the Indian satellite Bhaskara have provided very useful data. From these data has been demonstrated the feasibility of deriving atmospheric and ocean surface parameters such as water vapor content, liquid water content, rainfall rate and ocean surface winds. Different approaches have been tried for deriving the atmospheric water content. The statistical and empirical methods have been used by others for the analysis of the Nimbus data. A simulation technique has been attempted for the first time for 19.35 GHz and 22.235 GHz radiometer data. The results obtained from three different methods are compared with radiosonde data. A case study of a tropical depression has been undertaken to demonstrate the capability of Bhaskara SAMIR data to show the variation of total water vapor and liquid water contents.

Atmospheric/climatic effects of aircraft emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pueschel, R.F.

1996-01-01

Exhaust emissions from aircraft include oxides of nitrogen (NO x ), water vapor (H 2 O), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and particles (soot and sulfates). These emissions are small compared to industrial/urban surface emissions. However, because (1) atmospheric residence times of exhaust constituents are longer at altitude, particularly in the stratosphere, than they are in the boundary layer, (2) their background concentrations at altitude are lower than those near the surface, (3) the radiation balance is the more sensitive to atmospheric trace constituents the colder the temperature aloft and (4) inter-hemispheric mixing of aircraft effluents is inhibited, aircraft emissions near and above the tropopause and polewards of 40 degrees latitude can be environmentally critical. That's why atmospheric/climatic effects of aircraft emissions have again received scientific, economic and political scrutiny in the last few years, motivated by growth of subsonic traffic at about 5% per year over the past two decades and the advent of a technologically feasible operation of a supersonic high speed commercial transport (HSCT) fleet

Satellite data sets for the atmospheric radiation measurement (ARM) program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shi, L.; Bernstein, R.L. [SeaSpace Corp., San Diego, CA (United States)

1996-04-01

This abstract describes the type of data obtained from satellite measurements in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program. The data sets have been widely used by the ARM team to derive cloud-top altitude, cloud cover, snow and ice cover, surface temperature, water vapor, and wind, vertical profiles of temperature, and continuoous observations of weather needed to track and predict severe weather.

Formation and evolution of the glow-like dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Starostin, S.A.; ElSabbagh, M.A.M.; Premkumar, P.A.; Vries, de H.W.; Paffen, R.M.J.; Creatore, M.; Sanden, van de M.C.M.

2008-01-01

Time resolved process of formation and evolution of the atmospheric pressure glow discharge was studied in the roll-to- roll plasma- enhanced chemical vapor deposition dielectric barrier discharge reactor operating in helium-free gas mixtures by means of fast ICCD imaging. It was observed that the

Passive vapor extraction feasibility study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohay, V.J.

1994-01-01

Demonstration of a passive vapor extraction remediation system is planned for sites in the 200 West Area used in the past for the disposal of waste liquids containing carbon tetrachloride. The passive vapor extraction units will consist of a 4-in.-diameter pipe, a check valve, a canister filled with granular activated carbon, and a wind turbine. The check valve will prevent inflow of air that otherwise would dilute the soil gas and make its subsequent extraction less efficient. The granular activated carbon is used to adsorb the carbon tetrachloride from the air. The wind turbine enhances extraction rates on windy days. Passive vapor extraction units will be designed and operated to meet all applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements. Based on a cost analysis, passive vapor extraction was found to be a cost-effective method for remediation of soils containing lower concentrations of volatile contaminants. Passive vapor extraction used on wells that average 10-stdft 3 /min air flow rates was found to be more cost effective than active vapor extraction for concentrations below 500 parts per million by volume (ppm) of carbon tetrachloride. For wells that average 5-stdft 3 /min air flow rates, passive vapor extraction is more cost effective below 100 ppm

LASE Measurements of Water Vapor, Aerosol, and Cloud Distributions in Saharan Air Layers and Tropical Disturbances

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail, Syed; Ferrare, Richard A.; Browell, Edward V.; Kooi, Susan A.; Dunion, Jason P.; Heymsfield, Gerry; Notari, Anthony; Butler, Carolyn F.; Burton, Sharon; Fenn, Marta;

Atmospheric water distribution in cyclones as seen with Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometers (SMMR)

Science.gov (United States)

Katsaros, K. B.; Mcmurdie, L. A.

1983-01-01

Passive microwave measurements are used to study the distribution of atmospheric water in midlatitude cyclones. The integrated water vapor, integrated liquid water, and rainfall rate are deduced from the brightness temperatures at microwave frequencies measured by the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMRR) flown on both the Seasat and Nimbus 7 satellites. The practical application of locating fronts by the cyclone moisture pattern over oceans is shown, and the relationship between the quantity of coastal rainfall and atmospheric water content is explored.

A heated vapor cell unit for dichroic atomic vapor laser lock in atomic rubidium.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarron, Daniel J; Hughes, Ifan G; Tierney, Patrick; Cornish, Simon L

2007-09-01

The design and performance of a compact heated vapor cell unit for realizing a dichroic atomic vapor laser lock (DAVLL) for the D(2) transitions in atomic rubidium is described. A 5 cm long vapor cell is placed in a double-solenoid arrangement to produce the required magnetic field; the heat from the solenoid is used to increase the vapor pressure and correspondingly the DAVLL signal. We have characterized experimentally the dependence of important features of the DAVLL signal on magnetic field and cell temperature. For the weaker transitions both the amplitude and gradient of the signal are increased by an order of magnitude.

A heated vapor cell unit for dichroic atomic vapor laser lock in atomic rubidium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCarron, Daniel J.; Hughes, Ifan G.; Tierney, Patrick; Cornish, Simon L.

2007-01-01

The design and performance of a compact heated vapor cell unit for realizing a dichroic atomic vapor laser lock (DAVLL) for the D 2 transitions in atomic rubidium is described. A 5 cm long vapor cell is placed in a double-solenoid arrangement to produce the required magnetic field; the heat from the solenoid is used to increase the vapor pressure and correspondingly the DAVLL signal. We have characterized experimentally the dependence of important features of the DAVLL signal on magnetic field and cell temperature. For the weaker transitions both the amplitude and gradient of the signal are increased by an order of magnitude

Continuous and simultaneous measurements of precipitation and vapor isotopes over two monsoon seasons during 2016-2017 in Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Jackisch, D.; He, S.; Ong, M. R.; Goodkin, N.

2017-12-01

Water isotopes are important tracers of climate dynamics and their measurement can provide valuable insights into the relationship between isotopes and atmospheric parameters and overall convective activities. While most studies provide data on daily or even monthly time scales, high-temporal in-situ stable isotope measurements are scarce, especially in the tropics. In this study, we presented δ18O and δ2H values in precipitation and vapor continuously and simultaneously measured using laser spectroscopy in Singapore during the 2016/2017 Northeast (NE) Asian monsoon and 2017 Southwest (SW) Asian monsoon. We found that δ-values of precipitation and vapor exhibit quite different patterns during individual events, although there is a significant correlation between the δ-values of precipitation and of vapor. δ-values in precipitation during individual precipitation events show a distinct V-shape pattern, with the lowest isotope values observed in the middle of the event. However, isotopes in water vapor mostly show an L-shape and are characterized by a gradual decrease with the onset of rainfall. The difference in δ-values of precipitation and vapor is generally constant during the early stage of the events but gradually increases near the end. It is likely that vapor and precipitation are closer to equilibrium at the early stage of a rain event, but diverge at the later stages. This divergence can be largely attributed to the evaporation of raindrops. We notice a frequent drop in d-excess of precipitation, whereas d-excess in vapor increases. In addition, a significant correlation exists between outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and isotopes in both precipitation and vapor, suggesting an influence of regional convective activity.

High temperature vapors science and technology

CERN Document Server

Hastie, John

2012-01-01

High Temperature Vapors: Science and Technology focuses on the relationship of the basic science of high-temperature vapors to some areas of discernible practical importance in modern science and technology. The major high-temperature problem areas selected for discussion include chemical vapor transport and deposition; the vapor phase aspects of corrosion, combustion, and energy systems; and extraterrestrial high-temperature species. This book is comprised of seven chapters and begins with an introduction to the nature of the high-temperature vapor state, the scope and literature of high-temp

Copper-vapor-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition of graphene on dielectric substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chao; Wu, Tianru; Wang, Haomin; Zhang, Xuefu; Shi, Zhiyuan; Xie, Xiaoming

2017-07-01

Direct synthesis of high-quality graphene on dielectric substrates is important for its application in electronics. In this work, we report the process of copper-vapor-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition of high-quality and large graphene domains on various dielectric substrates. The copper vapor plays a vital role on the growth of transfer-free graphene. Both single-crystal domains that are much larger than previous reports and high-coverage graphene films can be obtained by adjusting the growth duration. The quality of the obtained graphene was verified to be comparable with that of graphene grown on Cu foil. The progress reported in this work will aid the development of the application of transfer-free graphene in the future.

Estimated vapor pressure for WTP process streams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pike, J. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Poirier, M. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2015-01-01

Design assumptions during the vacuum refill phase of the Pulsed Jet Mixers (PJMs) in the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) equate the vapor pressure of all process streams to that of water when calculating the temperature at which the vacuum refill is reduced or eliminated. WTP design authority asked the authors to assess this assumption by performing calculations on proposed feed slurries to calculate the vapor pressure as a function of temperature. The vapor pressure was estimated for each WTP waste group. The vapor pressure suppression caused by dissolved solids is much greater than the increase caused by organic components such that the vapor pressure for all of the waste group compositions is less than that of pure water. The vapor pressure for each group at 145°F ranges from 81% to 98% of the vapor pressure of water. If desired, the PJM could be operated at higher temperatures for waste groups with high dissolved solids that suppress vapor pressure. The SO4 group with the highest vapor pressure suppression could be operated up to 153°F before reaching the same vapor pressure of water at 145°F. However, most groups would reach equivalent vapor pressure at 147 to 148°F. If any of these waste streams are diluted, the vapor pressure can exceed the vapor pressure of water at mass dilution ratios greater than 10, but the overall effect is less than 0.5%.

A new method for the determination of vaporization enthalpies of ionic liquids at low temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Verevkin, Sergey P; Zaitsau, Dzmitry H; Emelyanenko, Vladimir N; Heintz, Andreas

2011-11-10

A new method for the determination of vaporization enthalpies of extremely low volatile ILs has been developed using a newly constructed quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) vacuum setup. Because of the very high sensitivity of the QCM it has been possible to reduce the average temperature of the vaporization studies by approximately 100 K in comparison to other conventional techniques. The physical basis of the evaluation procedure has been developed and test measurements have been performed with the common ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [C(2)mim][NTf(2)] extending the range of measuring vaporization enthalpies down to 363 K. The results obtained for [C(2)mim][NTf(2)] have been tested for thermodynamic consistency by comparison with data already available at higher temperatures. Comparison of the temperature-dependent vaporization enthalpy data taken from the literature show only acceptable agreement with the heat capacity difference of -40 J K(-1) mol(-1). The method developed in this work opens also a new way to obtain reliable values of vaporization enthalpies of thermally unstable ionic liquids.

Vapor-induced transfer of bacteria in the absence of mechanical disturbances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayoub, G.M.; Dahdah, L.; Alameddine, I.; Malaeb, L.

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Study is first to investigate the possibility of transfer of bacteria through vapor. • Bacteria exhibited transfer in the absence of mechanical disturbances in reactors. • Gram positive smaller bacteria transferred more than gram negative larger bacteria. • Transfer probability increases at optimal growth temperature of mesophilic bacteria. • Salinity lowers bacterial survival and has synergistic effect with temperature. - Abstract: Transfer of bacteria through water vapor generated at moderate temperatures (30–50 °C) in passive solar stills, has scarcely been reported. The objective of this research was to investigate whether bacteria in highly humid atmospheres can get transferred through water vapor in the absence of other transfer media to find their way to the distillate. To achieve this objective, passive solar reactors were chosen as the medium for experimentation, and distillation experiments were conducted by spiking a pure bacterial culture (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia or Enterococcus faecalis) in low mineralized water vs. highly mineralized water in the dark under moderate temperatures ranges (30–35 °C, 40–45 °C and 50–55 °C). Results showed that bacteria indeed get transferred with the vapor in stills when not exposed to solar U.V. radiation. The trends observed were adequately explained by a zero-modified Hurdle–Poisson model. The numbers of cultivable bacterial colonies transferred were bacterial size, water type and temperature dependent with highest transfers occurring in E. faecalis > E. coli > K. pneumonia at the 40 °C range in low mineralized water. Proper management strategies are recommended to achieve complete disinfection in solar stills

Surface Chemistry and Tribology of Copper Surfaces in Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapor Environments

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-23

state that the copper brushes in the superconducting homopolar motor experience wear at rates greater than 3X10" wear /distance traveled when biased...positively. It has been found the motor operates best in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide and water vapor. The objective of our research therefore is...possible to prepare different chemical states of the Cu, as those produced in the motor electrodes under positive and negative bias. In situ XAS

A numerical investigation of vapor intrusion--the dynamic response of contaminant vapors to rainfall events.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Rui; Pennell, Kelly G; Suuberg, Eric M

2012-10-15

The U.S. government and various agencies have published guidelines for field investigation of vapor intrusion, most of which suggest soil gas sampling as an integral part of the investigation. Contaminant soil gas data are often relatively more stable than indoor air vapor concentration measurements, but meteorological conditions might influence soil gas values. Although a few field and numerical studies have considered some temporal effects on soil gas vapor transport, a full explanation of the contaminant vapor concentration response to rainfall events is not available. This manuscript seeks to demonstrate the effects on soil vapor transport during and after different rainfall events, by applying a coupled numerical model of fluid flow and vapor transport. Both a single rainfall event and seasonal rainfall events were modeled. For the single rainfall event models, the vapor response process could be divided into three steps: namely, infiltration, water redistribution, and establishment of a water lens atop the groundwater source. In the infiltration step, rainfall intensity was found to determine the speed of the wetting front and wash-out effect on the vapor. The passage of the wetting front led to an increase of the vapor concentration in both the infiltration and water redistribution steps and this effect is noted at soil probes located 1m below the ground surface. When the mixing of groundwater with infiltrated water was not allowed, a clean water lens accumulated above the groundwater source and led to a capping effect which can reduce diffusion rates of contaminant from the source. Seasonal rainfall with short time intervals involved superposition of the individual rainfall events. This modeling results indicated that for relatively deeper soil that the infiltration wetting front could not flood, the effects were damped out in less than a month after rain; while in the long term (years), possible formation of a water lens played a larger role in determining

Kinetics of a Criegee intermediate that would survive high humidity and may oxidize atmospheric SO2.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Hao-Li; Chao, Wen; Lin, Jim Jr-Min

2015-09-01

Criegee intermediates are thought to play a role in atmospheric chemistry, in particular, the oxidation of SO2, which produces SO3 and subsequently H2SO4, an important constituent of aerosols and acid rain. However, the impact of such oxidation reactions is affected by the reactions of Criegee intermediates with water vapor, because of high water concentrations in the troposphere. In this work, the kinetics of the reactions of dimethyl substituted Criegee intermediate (CH3)2COO with water vapor and with SO2 were directly measured via UV absorption of (CH3)2COO under near-atmospheric conditions. The results indicate that (i) the water reaction with (CH3)2COO is not fast enough (kH2O SO2 at a near-gas-kinetic-limit rate (kSO2 = 1.3 × 10(-10) cm(3) s(-1)). These observations imply a significant fraction of atmospheric (CH3)2COO may survive under humid conditions and react with SO2, very different from the case of the simplest Criegee intermediate CH2OO, in which the reaction with water dimer predominates in the CH2OO decay under typical tropospheric conditions. In addition, a significant pressure dependence was observed for the reaction of (CH3)2COO with SO2, suggesting the use of low pressure rate may underestimate the impact of this reaction. This work demonstrates that the reactivity of a Criegee intermediate toward water vapor strongly depends on its structure, which will influence the main decay pathways and steady-state concentrations for various Criegee intermediates in the atmosphere.

Practical Atmospheric Correction Algorithms for a Multi-Spectral Sensor From the Visible Through the Thermal Spectral Regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borel, C.C.; Villeneuve, P.V.; Clodium, W.B.; Szymenski, J.J.; Davis, A.B.

1999-04-04

Deriving information about the Earth's surface requires atmospheric corrections of the measured top-of-the-atmosphere radiances. One possible path is to use atmospheric radiative transfer codes to predict how the radiance leaving the ground is affected by the scattering and attenuation. In practice the atmosphere is usually not well known and thus it is necessary to use more practical methods. The authors will describe how to find dark surfaces, estimate the atmospheric optical depth, estimate path radiance and identify thick clouds using thresholds on reflectance and NDVI and columnar water vapor. The authors describe a simple method to correct a visible channel contaminated by a thin cirrus clouds.

New explicit equations for the accurate calculation of the growth and evaporation of hydrometeors by the diffusion of water vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, R. C.; Coen, J. L.

1992-01-01

The traditional explicit growth equation has been widely used to calculate the growth and evaporation of hydrometeors by the diffusion of water vapor. This paper reexamines the assumptions underlying the traditional equation and shows that large errors (10-30 percent in some cases) result if it is used carelessly. More accurate explicit equations are derived by approximating the saturation vapor-density difference as a quadratic rather than a linear function of the temperature difference between the particle and ambient air. These new equations, which reduce the error to less than a few percent, merit inclusion in a broad range of atmospheric models.

Scaling of water vapor in the meso-gamma (2-20km) and lower meso-beta (20-50km) scales from tall tower time series

Science.gov (United States)

Pressel, K. G.; Collins, W.; Desai, A. R.

2011-12-01

Deficiencies in the parameterization of boundary layer clouds in global climate models (GCMs) remains one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in climate change predictions. Many GCM cloud parameterizations, which seek to include some representation of subgrid-scale cloud variability, do so by making assumptions regarding the subgrid-scale spatial probability density function (PDF) of total water content. Properly specifying the form and parameters of the total water PDF is an essential step in the formulation of PDF based cloud parameterizations. In the cloud free boundary layer, the PDF of total water mixing ratio is equivalent to the PDF of water vapor mixing ratio. Understanding the PDF of water vapor mixing ratio in the cloud free atmosphere is a necessary step towards understanding the PDF of water vapor in the cloudy atmosphere. A primary challenge in empirically constraining the PDF of water vapor mixing ratio is a distinct lack of a spatially distributed observational dataset at or near cloud scale. However, at meso-beta (20-50km) and larger scales, there is a wealth of information on the spatial distribution of water vapor contained in the physically retrieved water vapor profiles from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder onboard NASA`s Aqua satellite. The scaling (scale-invariance) of the observed water vapor field has been suggested as means of using observations at satellite observed (meso-beta) scales to derive information about cloud scale PDFs. However, doing so requires the derivation of a robust climatology of water vapor scaling from in-situ observations across the meso- gamma (2-20km) and meso-beta scales. In this work, we present the results of the scaling of high frequency (10Hz) time series of water vapor mixing ratio as observed from the 447m WLEF tower located near Park Falls, Wisconsin. Observations from a tall tower offer an ideal set of observations with which to investigate scaling at meso-gamma and meso-beta scales requiring only the

Numberical Calculations of Atmospheric Conditions over Tibetan Plateau by Using WRF Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qian, Xuan; Yao, Yongqiang; Wang, Hongshuai; Liu, Liyong; Li, Junrong; Yin, Jia

2015-01-01

The wind field, precipitable water vapor are analyzed by using the mesoscale numerical model WRF over Tibetan Plateau, and the aerosol is analyzed by using WRF- CHEM model. The spatial and vertical distributions of the relevant atmospheric factors are summarized, providing truth evidence for selecting and further evaluating an astronomical site. It has been showed that this method could provide good evaluation of atmospheric conditions. This study serves as a further demonstration towards astro-climate regionalization, and provides with essential database for astronomical site survey over Tibetan Plateau. (paper)