bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Local Advection of Momentum, Heat, and Moisture during the Melt of Patchy Snow Covers
Authors: Liston Glen E. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
A numerical atmospheric boundary layer model, based on higher-order turbulence closure assumptions, is developed and used to simulate the local advection of momentum, heat, and moisture during the melt of patchy snow covers over a 10-km horizontal domain. The coupled model includes solution of the mass continuity equation, the horizontal and vertical momentum equations, an E−ε turbulence model, an energy equation, and a water vapor conservation equation. Atmospheric buoyancy is accounted for, and a land surface energy balance model is implemented at the lower boundary.
Model integrations indicate that advective processes occurring at local scales produce nonlinear horizontal variations in surface fluxes. Under conditions of the numerical experiments, the energy available to melt snow-covered regions has been found to increase by as much as 30% as the area of exposed vegetation increases upwind of the snow cover. The melt increase is found to vary in a largely linear fashion with decreasing snow-covered area for snow-covered areas greater than 25% and in a strongly nonlinear fashion below that value. Decreasing the ratio of patch size to total area, or increasing the patchiness, of the snow cover also leads to nonlinear increases in the energy available to melt the snow. In the limit of a snow cover composed of small patches, melt energy is found to increase linearly as the fractional snow-covered area decreases. In addition, for the purpose of computing grid-average surface fluxes during snowmelt in regional atmospheric models, the results of this study indicate that separate energy balance computations can be performed over the snow-covered and vegetation-covered regions, and the resulting fluxes can be weighted in proportion to the fractional snow cover to allocate the total energy flux partitioning within each surface grid cell.
Disaggregative Invariance of Daily Precipitation
Authors: Krzysztofowicz Roman , Pomroy Thomas A. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractDisaggregative invariance refers to stochastic independence between the total precipitation amount and its temporal disaggregation. This property is investigated herein for areal average and point precipitation amounts accumulated over a 24-h period and disaggregated into four 6-h subperiods. Statistical analyses of precipitation records from 1948 to 1993 offer convincing empirical evidence against the disaggregative invariance and in favor of the conditional disaggregative invariance, which arises when the total amount and its temporal disaggregation are conditioned on the timing of precipitation within the diurnal cycle.The property of conditional disaggregative invariance allows the modeler or the forecaster to decompose the problem of quantitative precipitation forecasting into three tasks: (i) forecasting the precipitation timing; (ii) forecasting the total amount, conditional on timing; and (iii) forecasting the temporal disaggregation, conditional on timing. Tasks (ii) and (iii) can be performed independently of one another, and this offers a formidable advantage for applications.
Rainfall Anomaly over the Lee Side of Mount Carmel (Israel) and the Associated Wind Field
Authors: Goldreich Yair , Freundlich Ariel , Alpert Pinhas 
Published: August 2010

AbstractYagur and other rain gauge stations located on the lee side of Mount Carmel in Israel experience much higher amounts of precipitation than those measured on the windward side of the mountain at a similar altitude and more rain than stations on the mountain itself. This phenomenon is consistently observed, and in the current study it is investigated primarily by means of simultaneous rain–wind observations and by using a two-dimensional simplified orographic model. Orographic model simulations suggest the existence of a flow disturbance at the lee of Mount Carmel, which might cause local rain enhancement. Results from the anemograph placed at Yagur, along with other wind measurements in the Carmel region, support the findings of this model. Observations depict the disturbed flow that occurred at the lee of Mount Carmel and was associated with rain enhancement. The channeled flow caused horizontal convergence, which is in accordance with the second hypothesis. Observations during the rainy periods indicate that the rain enhancement in Yagur is associated with the ridge-parallel flow on the lee side of the mountain. It is hypothesized that the horizontal convergence of the leeside flow with the flow over the mountain causes the local enhancement of precipitation.
Simulation of Nocturnal Drainage Flows Enhanced by Deep Canyons: The Rocky Flats Case
Authors: Varvayanni Melpomeni , Bartzis John G. , Catsaros Nicolas , Deligiannis Panagiotis , Elderkin Chuck E. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
The DELTA–ADREA (discretization with elements of triangle approach–atmospheric dispersion of pollutants over irregular terrain) numerical prediction model, developed at the National Center for Scientific Research Demokritos, is specifically designed to perform wind field calculations over terrains of high complexity. The numerical model has the capability to handle air–ground interaction processes by describing the ground-surface details while keeping the computation time at a reasonable level. The numerical model is applied here to a high-resolution topographical representation of the region surrounding the Rocky Flats Facility in Colorado, based on a digitized map consisting of approximately 4.8 × 106 points. Wind field calculations over the region are made using the atmospheric experimental data of 4 February 1991, collected by the participants within the Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain research program. The numerical predictions indicate strong drainage flows created at different altitudes with interaction between them, resulting in a quite complicated mesoscale wind field during nighttime. Available observations support the predicted flow features.
Variability of SO=4, Total Sulfate, NO−3, and Total Nitrate Scavenging Ratios for the Frontal Boundary Study
Authors: Davis W. E. , Thorp J. M. , Lee R. N. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
Precipitation and air concentration data collected during a U.S. Department of Energy–sponsored Frontal Boundary Study (FBS) were used to calculate scavenging ratios. The precipitation data were collected on a 100 km × 100 km surface grid containing 36 sampling sites, while the air concentration data were collected by aircraft. Radar and rawinsonde data were used to position the aircraft into the air mass feeding the precipitation. The coordination of the aircraft data with surface precipitation data allows the calculation of scavenging ratios. During the study, three out of seven events sampled allowed the calculation of scavenging ratios for SO=4, total sulfate, NO−3, and total nitrate. The 36 precipitation samplers allowed calculation of multiple scavenging ratios to represent an event. From these scavenging ratios, both a geometric mean and a geometric standard deviation of the scavenging ratio were calculated for each event. The geometric mean (geometric standard deviation) scavenging ratio for total sulfate is 6 × 104 (1.1) for 10 October 1989, 10 × 104 (1.5) for 16–17 October 1989, and 4 × 104 (1.3) for 31 October 1989. For SO=4 the scavenging ratios are 10 × 105 (1.1) for 10 October 1989, 4 × 105 (1.5) for 16–17 October 1989, and 3 × 105 (1.3) for 31 October 1989. The scavenging ratio for NO−3 is 3 × 106 (1.2) for 10 October 1989, 20 × 106 (1.4) for 16–17 October 1989, and 0.4 × 106 (1.5) for 31 October 1989. The scavenging ratio for total nitrate is 2 × 106 (1.2) for 10 October 1989, 2 × 106 (1.4) for 16–17 October 1989, and 0.2 × 106 (1.5) for 31 October 1989. The most important finding is the small variation of the numbers within the events as reflected in the geometric standard deviations. These values ranged from 1.1 to 1.5. Based on these results, a single scavenging ratio can be used on a 100 km × 100 km area with a minimum of error.
Two other results were found when comparing these scavenging ratios to total precipitation in the sampler. The comparison revealed that the variation in the scavenging ratio increased with decreasing total precipitation. The increase was up to a factor of 2 for less than 5 mm when compared with greater than 5 mm of total precipitation.
Remote Sounding of Multilayer Cirrus Cloud Systems Using AVHRR Data Collected during FIRE-II-IFO
Authors: Ou S. C. , Liou K. N. , Caudill T. R. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractSurface observations show that multilayer clouds frequently occur in frontal areas where cirrus clouds overlie boundary layer convective clouds or stratus clouds. In this paper, an algorithm is presented for the retrieval of cirrus cloud optical depths and ice crystal sizes in multilayer cloud systems based on the theory of radiative transfer and parameterizations. For the validation of the retrieval program, AVHRR data is analyzed for two dates during FIRE-II-IFO in which cirrus clouds overlie a layer of low stratus cloud. It is shown that the domain-averaged retrieved cloud temperatures are within the boundaries of cirrus clouds determined from the collocated replicator, radar, and lidar data. The retrieved ice crystal mean effective sizes and optical depths are also in general agreement with the values determined from the balloon-borne replicator and 2D probe data.
The Impact of Secondary Flow Systems on Air Pollution in the Area of São Paulo
Authors: Bischoff-Gauß I. , Kalthoff N. , Fiedler F. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe area between the Atlantic Ocean and São Paulo is highly polluted due to high emission rates at Cubatão, a city situated 15 km inland at a steep slope. It was expected that secondary circulations would develop caused by the land–sea contrast and strong orographic changes, which influence the transport and diffusion of air pollutants. In 1994–95, surface stations were operated and radiosonde ascents were performed to analyze the characteristic features of the land–sea-breeze circulation.The stations make evident a land–sea-breeze system that arrived in the suburbs of São Paulo in the early afternoon. The upslope winds favor the propagation of the sea breeze at the steep slope. During the measurement period, large-scale northwesterly winds prevailed that advected warm air from the plateau to the coastal area in the afternoon and resulted in a limitation of the boundary layer growth. The data were used to initialize a three-dimensional mesoscale model for calculation of the transport and deposition of SO2 emitted at Cubatão. The boundary layer height was found to be a limitation for vertical mixing of the air pollutants. However, a step between the coastal boundary layer and the boundary layer over the plateau causes SO2 to be vented into the free atmosphere at the slope and then transported toward the Atlantic Ocean with the large-scale northwesterly winds. Thus, over the coastal area, the SO2 concentrations in the free atmosphere were even higher than within the mixed layer. The deposition, summed up over a day, was calculated and found to be strongest at the slope and over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Estimation of Hydrometeor Profiles from Wideband Microwave Observations
Authors: Skofronick-Jackson Gail M. , Wang James R. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
Profiles of the microphysical properties of clouds and rain cells are essential in many areas of atmospheric research and operational meteorology. To enhance the understanding of the nonlinear and underconstrained relationships between cloud and hydrometeor microphysical profiles and passive microwave brightness temperatures, estimations of cloud profiles for an anvil region, a convective region, and an updraft region of an oceanic squall were performed. The estimations relied on comparisons between radiative transfer calculations of incrementally estimated microphysical profiles and concurrent dual-altitude wideband brightness temperatures from the 22 February 1993 flight during the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment. The wideband observations (10–220 GHz) are necessary for estimating cloud profiles reaching up to 20 km. The low frequencies enhance the rain and cloud water profiles, and the high frequencies are required to detail the higher-altitude ice microphysics. A microphysical profile was estimated for each of the three regions of the storm. Each of the three estimated profiles produced calculated brightness temperatures within ∼10 K of the observations. A majority of the total iterative adjustments were to the estimated profile’s frozen hydrometeor characteristics and were necessary to match the high-frequency calculations with the observations. This requirement indicates a need to validate cloud-resolving models using high frequencies. Some difficulties matching the 37-GHz observation channels on the DC-8 and ER-2 aircraft with the calculations simulated at the two aircraft heights (∼11 km and 20 km, respectively) were noted, and potential causes were presented.
Three Methods to Determine Profiles of Reflectivity from Volumetric Radar Data to Correct Precipitation Estimates
Authors: Vignal Bertrand , Galli Gianmario , Joss Jürg , Germann Urs 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe vertical variability of radar reflectivity reduces the reliability of precipitation estimation by radar, especially in complex orography. This important source of error can, at least partially, be corrected for, if the vertical profile of radar reflectivity (VPR) is known. This work addresses three ways to determine VPR from volumetric radar data for correcting precipitation estimates. The first way uses a climatological profile. The second method, operational in Switzerland, takes the actual weather conditions into account: a mean profile is estimated directly from volumetric radar data collected close to the radar. The third way determines the identified profile, taking the variability of the VPRs in space into account. This approach yields local estimates of the profile (on areas of about 20 km × 20 km) based on an inverse method. Two cases, a convective event and a stratiform event, are used to illustrate the three ways for determining the VPR, and the resulting improvement, verified with rain gauges. An enlarged dataset of nine cases shows that a correction based on a climatological profile already improves the accuracy of rain estimates by radar significantly: the fractional standard error (FSE) is reduced from the noncorrected 44% to 31%. By correcting with a single, mean profile (averaged over 1 h using real-time data), the FSE is further reduced from 31% to 25%. Last, the use of 70 locally identified profiles leads to best results (FSE = 23%). A higher improvement (lower FSE) is obtained for the stratiform rain event than for the convective case.
Assimilation of DMSP and TOVS Satellite Soundings in a Mesoscale Model
Authors: Powers Jordan G. , Gao Kun 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
A modeling investigation explores the impacts of the assimilation of satellite-retrieved soundings on forecast error in the Fifth-Generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5). Simulations of the period of the U.S. Air Force’s Contrail Experiment (18–29 September 1995) vary the initialization method and datasets assimilated, the performance of first-guess reanalysis, the imposition of quality control (QC) on the satellite data, and the frequency of the model update cycle. MM5 experiments employing four-dimensional data assimilation (FDDA) are compared with a control experiment without FDDA. In the former, combinations of conventional surface and radiosonde observations and retrieved temperature and moisture soundings from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and Television and Infrared Observation Satellite Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) satellite instruments are assimilated. Forecast error statistics for the experiments are computed and analyzed. It is found that for retrieved temperatures the DMSP and TOVS sounding datasets used have similar, reasonable accuracy, but for retrieved dewpoints they display significant, and more differing, errors. Overall, the TOVS retrievals obtained are of poorer quality than are the DMSP retrievals. Sensitivity tests reveal that imposing a QC filter on the satellite data prior to assimilation does improve the resultant MM5 simulations. With such QC, it is found that assimilating DMSP and TOVS soundings with the methods used can significantly improve the forecasts of both temperature and moisture variables in the MM5. Model performance, however, can still reflect the relative quality of the satellite retrievals assimilated, with the lower-error DMSP data yielding better simulations than do the TOVS data. Tests exploring the reanalysis of first-guess fields obtained from FDDA show that it does benefit the short-term (0–12 h) forecast but that significant gains diminish thereafter.
Lightning Rod Improvement Studies
Authors: Moore C. B. , Rison William , Mathis James , Aulich Graydon 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
Although lightning rods have long been used to limit damage from lightning, there are currently no American standards for the shape and form of these devices. Following tradition, however, sharp-tipped Franklin rods are widely installed despite evidence that, on occasion, lightning strikes objects in their vicinity. In recent tests of various tip configurations to determine which were preferentially struck by lightning, several hemispherically tipped, blunt rods were struck but none of the nearby, sharper rods were “hit” by lightning.
Measurements of the currents from the tips of lightning rods exposed to strong electric fields under negatively charged cloud bases show that the emissions consist of periodic ion charge bursts that act to reduce the strength of the local fields. After a burst of charge, no further emissions occur until that charge has moved away from the tip. Laboratory measurements of the emissions from a wide range of electrodes exposed to strong, normal-polarity thunderstorm electric fields show that positive ions are formed and move more readily over sharp-tipped electrodes than over blunter ones. From these findings, it appears that the electric field rates of intensification over sharp rods must be much greater than those over similarly exposed blunt rods for the initiation of upward-going leaders.
Calculations of the relative strengths of the electric fields above similarly exposed sharp and blunt rods show that although the fields, prior to any emissions, are much stronger at the tip of a sharp rod, they decrease more rapidly with distance. As a result, at a few centimeters above the tip of a 20-mm-diameter blunt rod, the strength of the field is greater than that over an otherwise similar, sharper rod at the same height. Since the field strength at the tip of a sharpened rod tends to be limited by the easy formation of ions in the surrounding air, the field strengths over blunt rods can be much stronger than those at distances greater than 1 cm over sharper ones.
The results of this study suggest that moderately blunt metal rods (with tip height–to–tip radius of curvature ratios of about 680:1) are better lightning strike receptors than are sharper rods or very blunt ones.
Model Calculations and Interferometer Measurements of Ice-Cloud Characteristics
Authors: Chung Sunggi , Ackerman Steven , van Delst Paul F. , Menzel W. Paul 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
This paper investigates the relationship between high–spectral resolution infrared (IR) radiances and the microphysical and macrophysical properties of cirrus clouds. Through use of radiosonde measurements of the atmospheric state at the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program site, high–spectral resolution IR radiances are calculated by combining trace gas absorption optical depths from a line-by-line radiative transfer model with the discrete ordinate radiative transfer (DISORT) method. The sensitivity of the high–spectral resolution IR radiances to particle size, ice-water path, cloud-top location, cloud thickness, and multilayered cloud conditions is estimated in a multitude of calculations.
DISORT calculations and interferometer measurements of cirrus ice cloud between 700 and 1300 cm−1 are compared for three different situations. The measurements were made with the High–Spectral Resolution Interferometer Sounder mounted on a National Aeronautics and Space Administration ER-2 aircraft flying at 20-km altitude during the Subsonic Aircraft Contrail and Cloud Effects Special Study (SUCCESS).
Near-Neutral Surface Layer Turbulence at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory Tower: Evidence of Increasing Vertical Turbulence with Height
Authors: Bowen Brent M. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
Wind and turbulence profiles were analyzed during breezy, near-neutral conditions at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory tower to quantify the effects of an abrupt 20- to 30-m increase in terrain located 3–5 km west of the tower. Results indicate that regional roughness length z0 is greatest and local z0 is smallest in sectors downwind of a long, shallow bluff, suggesting that distant, more complex, upwind terrain enhances horizontal turbulence but has little effect on local wind speed profiles. Turbulence parameter profiles are nearly constant up to 200 m above ground level (AGL), and friction velocity u∗ is nearly constant up to 150–200 m for simple fetch with z0 equal to 4 cm and near-surface wind speed approximately equal to 7 m s−1 at 10 m AGL. Horizontal turbulence parameters, however, increase by 50% to nearly 100% at all tower levels downwind of the distant terrain bluff when compared with those with simple fetch. The effect of the bluff on vertical turbulence increases with height. Although the effect on the 10-m standard deviation of vertical wind speed σw is negligible, the 200-m σw increases by about 0.5 m s−1, or about twice the 10-m value. The u∗ also increases by 16% to nearly 100% between the 10- and 200-m heights downwind of the bluff. Primarily because of the enhanced σw downwind of the bluff, atmospheric dispersion could be underestimated by factors of about 2.5, 2.0, and 1.3 at the 200-, 100-, and 50-m levels, respectively, if the vertical and transverse standard deviations of the wind angle fluctuations are estimated from 10-m values.