Search results for "atmosphere"
showing 10 items of 673 documents
Sensitivity and mode spectrum of a frequency-output silicon pressure sensor
1988
The vibrational mode spectrum of a silicon vibrating pressure sensor is investigated. Particular attention is given to the analysis of the vibration shapes, quality factors and relative sensitivity of the resonance frequencies as a function of pressure. It is shown that a pressure sensitivity of a few parts per million at one atmosphere can be achieved. Some comments are also made regarding an improved design of the device.
Analysis of a strong wildfire event over Valencia (Spain) during Summer 2012 – Part 1: Aerosol microphysics and optical properties
2013
Abstract. The most intense wildfire experienced in Eastern Spain since 2004 happened in Valencia during summer 2012. Although the fire was mostly active during days 29–30 June, a longer temporal period (from 24 June to 4 July) was selected for this analysis. Column-integrated, vertical resolved and surface aerosol observations were performed continuously at the Burjassot station throughout the studied period. The aerosol optical depth at 500 nm shows values larger than 2 for the most intense part of the wildfire and an extremely high maximum of 8 was detected on 29 June. The simultaneous increase of the Ångström exponent was also observed, indicating the important contribution of small part…
Hidden information within series of measurements ? four examples from atmospheric science
1985
Whether in classical networks such as meteorological networks of in more recent ones of atmospheric chemistry, a wealth of data is at hand. These data have been evaluated in a manner depending on the purpose of the network. However, much more information is hidden in these time series and waits for discovery. Only the imagination of scientists is needed. Four examples are given which lead to new information about the atmospheric aerosol and the behaviour of the atmosphere. These examples are: “Atmospheric turbidity from sunshine recordings”, “Meteorological drainage area from the variance of observations”, “Location of point sources from air mass trajectories”, and “Total vertical ozone fro…
Primary biological aerosol particles in the atmosphere: a review
2012
Atmospheric aerosol particles of biological origin are a very diverse group of biological materials and structures, including microorganisms, dispersal units, fragments and excretions of biological organisms. In recent years, the impact of biological aerosol particles on atmospheric processes has been studied with increasing intensity, and a wealth of new information and insights has been gained. This review outlines the current knowledge on major categories of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP): bacteria and archaea, fungal spores and fragments, pollen, viruses, algae and cyanobacteria, biological crusts and lichens and others like plant or animal fragments and detritus. We give a…
Dynamics in the extratropical tropopause region: A case of transition between dynamically active and passive tracer advection?
2005
It is argued that certain aspects of tracer patterns and related stirring by the flow in the extratropical tropopause region can be understood in terms of a transition between dynamically active and passive tracer advection, called ‘active-to-passive tracer transition’. In the framework of surface quasi-geostrophic dynamics, a specific initial-value problem is defined and investigated. It features a gradual transition between the two paradigms of tracer advection and allows a clear interpretation thanks to the idealized nature of the model setup. Physical reasoning and anecdotal evidence from previous studies suggest that, at least in specific cases, this interpretation is relevant for the …
A Wind Tunnel and Theoretical Study of the Melting Behavior of Atmospheric Ice Particles. IV: Experiment and Theory for Snow Flakes
1990
Abstract An experiment in the Mainz vertical Cloud Tunnel is described in which natural and laboratory-made aggregates of snow crystals (snow flakes) were melted under free fall conditions in the vertical air stream of the tunnel, which was allowed to warm up at the rates experienced by falling snow flakes in the atmosphere. The variation of the fall mode, the fall velocity, and the percentage of ice melted, as a function of percentage of distance travelled for 99% melting was recorded by cinematography. The laboratory results were confirmed by the results of a theoretical heat transfer model which we developed for the melting of a snow flake. In this model a snow flake was idealized by an …
Interaction of radiation fog with tall vegetation
1999
Abstract A one-dimensional radiation fog model is presented. It is coupled with a second model to include the effects of tall vegetation. The fog model describes in detail the dynamics, thermodynamics, and microphysical structure of a fog, as well as the interactions with the atmospheric radiative transfer. A two-dimensional joint size distribution for the aerosol particles and activated fog droplets is used, the activation of aerosol particles is explicitly modeled. The implications of the presence of tall vegetation on the state of the atmosphere and on the evolution of radiation fog are stated. It is shown that the existence of tall vegetation impedes the evolution of radiation fog. The …
A one-dimensional simulation of the interaction between land surface processes and the atmosphere
1992
A one-dimensional soil-vegetation model is developed for future incorporation into a mesoscale model. The interaction of land surface processes with the overlying atmosphere is treated in terms of three coupled balance equations describing the energy and moisture transfer at the ground and the energy state of the vegetation layer. For a complete description of the interaction, the coupled processes of heat and moisture transport within the soil are included as a multilayer soil model. As model verification, successful reproductions of the observed energy fluxes over vegetated surfaces from the HAPEX-MOBILHY experiment in southwestern France and from the LOTREX-10E/HIBE88 field experiment in…
Measurement-based J(NO2) sensitivity in a cloudless atmosphere under low aerosol loading and high solar zenith angle conditions
2000
Abstract The comparison between measured and simulated photodissociation frequencies of NO 2 , J( NO 2 ) , in a cloudless atmosphere in a recent paper by Fruh et al., 2000 (Journal of Geophysical Research 105, 9843–9857) revealed an overestimation of J(NO2) near ground level by model calculations compared with measurements and an underestimation in the upper part of the aerosol layer. A possible reason for the disagreement is the changing sun position during the vertical ascent. To resolve this problem we carried out a sensitivity study varying the solar zenith angle of 74° by 1.4° (which corresponds to the change of sun position during the vertical flight patterns). This results in a consi…
Recovering Surface Temperature and Emissivity from Thermal Infrared Multispectral Data
1998
Abstract In 1992 Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data were acquired from the NASA C-130 aircraft over the Sahelian region of West Africa as part of the Hydrological and Atmospheric Pilot Experiment in the Sahel (HAPEX). TIMS measures the radiation from the surface modified by the atmosphere in six channels located between 8 mm and 12.5 μm in the thermal infrared. By using a variety of techniques it is possible to extract both the surface temperature and surface emissivity from the areas over which TIMS data were acquired. One such technique was tested with the data acquired during this experiment. Several TIMS images of both the east and west central sites on 2 and 4 September…