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Analysis of satellite-derived ozone and water vapor measurementsResearch under this grant has involved analyses of satellite-derived measurements of water vapor and total ozone. Upper tropospheric water vapor data from the Nimbus 7 temperature-humidity infrared radiometer (THIR) 6.7 micron channel were analyzed by Fourier transformation to provide wavenumber spectra for a case of an upper level system over Europe. The power law spectrum for horizontal scales from 60 to several hundred km suggests that when convective cloud energy sources are not present, the enstrophy-cascading process (with variance proportional to the minus three power of wavenumber) may hold to much smaller scales than previously thought. Several investigations of the middle atmosphere (stratosphere and mesosphere) were also conducted. Slow atmospheric oscillations with periods of 1-2 months were investigated in total ozone measurements and in ionospheric data. Using one-point correlation maps and total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) data, strong statistical evidence was found for the planetary-scale oscillations at these periods. A dipole-like pattern in the tropical equatorial Indian ocean-western Pacific region was documented, along with wavetrain-like patterns emanating into the extratropics. While attempting to follow the oscillations upward above stratosphere, oscillations were studied in ionospheric data (D-region radio wave absorption, in the upper mesosphere, around 80-90 km altitude). Cross-spectral analyses with solar flux data revealed that much of the observed 1-2 month variance in the ionospheric D-region was well correlated to solar variations. Further research has involved investigations of the photochemical lifetime of greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide. Using Nimbus 7 satellite data, a new analysis technique was employed to determine the lifetime of these gases in situ in the upper stratosphere. The lifetimes are found to be in good agreement with theoretical estimates.
Document ID
19940014764
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Contractor Report (CR)
Authors
Stanford, John L.
(Iowa State Univ. of Science and Technology Ames, IA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
September 30, 1992
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
NASA-CR-193810
NAS 1.26:193810
Accession Number
94N19237
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-1060
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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