Abstract
The assimilation of atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) provides important wind information to conventional data-lacking oceanic regions, where tropical cyclones spend most of their lifetimes. ...Three new AMV types, shortwave infrared (SWIR), clear-air water vapor (CAWV), and visible (VIS), are produced hourly by NOAA/NESDIS and are assimilated in operational NWP systems. The new AMV data types are added to the hourly infrared (IR) and cloud-top water vapor (CTWV) AMV data in the 2016 operational version of the HWRF Model. In this study, we update existing quality control (QC) procedures and add new procedures specific to tropical cyclone assimilation. We assess the impact of the three new AMV types on tropical cyclone forecasts by conducting assimilation experiments for 25 Atlantic tropical cyclones from the 2015 and 2016 hurricane seasons. Forecasts are analyzed by considering all tropical cyclones as a group and classifying them into strong/weak storm vortices based on their initial model intensity. Metrics such as track error, intensity error, minimum central pressure error, and storm size are used to assess the data impact from the addition of the three new AMV types. Positive impact is obtained for these metrics, indicating that assimilating SWIR-, CAWV-, and VIS-type AMVs are beneficial for tropical cyclone forecasting. Given the results presented here, the new AMV types were accepted into NOAA/NCEP’s operational HWRF for the 2017 hurricane season.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Hourly and 15 min GOES-16 and -17 atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) are evaluated using the 2020 version of the operational HWRF to assess their impact on tropical cyclone forecasting. The evaluation ...includes infrared (IR), visible (VIS), shortwave (SWIR), clear air, and cloud top water vapor (CAWV and CTWV) AMVs derived from the ABI imagery. Several changes are made to optimize the assimilation of these winds. The observational error profile is inflated to avoid overweighting of the AMVs. The range of allowable AMV wind speeds entering the assimilation system is increased to include larger wind speeds observed in tropical cyclones. Two data quality checks, commonly used for rejecting AMVs, namely QI and PCT1, have been removed. These changes resulted in a 20–40% increase in the number of AMVs assimilated. One additional change, specific to infrared AMVs, is narrowing the atmospheric layer where IR AMVs are rejected from 400–800 hPa to 400–600 hPa. The AMVs’ impact on forecast skill is assessed using storms from the North Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific, respectively. Overall, GOES-16 and -17 AMVs are beneficial for improving tropical cyclone forecasting. Positive analysis and forecast impact are obtained for track error, intensity error, minimum central pressure error, and storm size.
Comparisons between satellite-derived winds and collocated rawinsonde observations often show a pronounced slow speed bias at mid- and upper levels of the atmosphere. A leading cause of the slow ...speed bias is the improper assignment of the tracer to a height that is too high in the atmosphere. Height errors alone cannot fully explain the slow bias, however. Another factor influencing the speed bias is the size of the target window used in the tracking step. Tracking with a large target window can cause excessive averaging to occur and a smoothing of the instantaneous wind field. Conversely, if too small a window is specified, there is an increased risk of finding a false match. The authors have developed a new “nested tracking” approach that isolates the dominant local motion within a cloud scene and minimizes the smoothing of the motion estimate. A major advantage of the new approach is the ability to identify which pixels within the cloud scene are contributing to the tracking solution. Knowing which pixels contribute to the dominant motion allows for a more representative height to be derived, thereby directly linking the height assignment to the tracking process, which is an important goal for producers of global atmospheric motion vector (AMV) data. When compared with equivalent rawinsondes, the AMVs derived with the new approach show a considerable improvement in the speed bias and root-mean-square error over a control set of AMVs derived with more-conventional methods.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Toxicity of exhaust from combustion of petroleum diesel (B0), soy-based biodiesel (B100), or a 20% biodiesel/80% petrodiesel mix (B20) was compared in healthy and house dust mite (HDM)-allergic mice. ...Fuel emissions were diluted to target fine particulate matter (PM
2.5
) concentrations of 50, 150, or 500 μg/m
3
. Studies in healthy mice showed greater levels of neutrophils and MIP-2 in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid 2 h after a single 4-h exposure to B0 compared with mice exposed to B20 or B100. No consistent differences in BAL cells and biochemistry, or hematological parameters, were observed after 5 d or 4 weeks of exposure to any of the emissions. Air-exposed HDM-allergic mice had significantly increased responsiveness to methacholine aerosol challenge compared with non-allergic mice. Exposure to any of the emissions for 4 weeks did not further increase responsiveness in either non-allergic or HDM-allergic mice, and few parameters of allergic inflammation in BAL fluid were altered. Lung and nasal pathology were not significantly different among B0-, B20-, or B100-exposed groups. In HDM-allergic mice, exposure to B0, but not B20 or B100, significantly increased resting peribronchiolar lymph node cell proliferation and production of T
H
2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) and IL-17 in comparison with air-exposed allergic mice. These results suggest that diesel exhaust at a relatively high concentration (500 μg/m
3
) can induce inflammation acutely in healthy mice and exacerbate some components of allergic responses, while comparable concentrations of B20 or B100 soy biodiesel fuels did not elicit responses different from those caused by air exposure alone.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•An impact pathway framework traces the flow of plastics through the socioeconomic system.•We identify key policy entry points and associated policy instruments.•Policy instruments range from ...traditional market based to behavioral tools.•We produce a toolbox for policy design that is responsive to measurable indicators.•We apply the impact pathway and toolbox to make country-specific recommendations.
The polluting of marine ecosystems with plastics is both a global and a local problem with potentially severe consequences for wildlife, economic activity, and human health. It is a problem that originates in countries’ inability to adequately manage the growing flow of waste. We use an impact pathway framework to trace the flow of plastics through the socio-ecological system and identify the role of specific policy instruments in achieving behavioral changes to reduce marine plastic waste. We produce a toolbox for finding a policy that is suitable for different countries. We use the impact pathway and toolbox to make country-specific recommendations that reflect the reality in each of the selected countries.
Filopodia sense the extracellular environment and direct movement in many cell types, including neurons. Recent reports suggest that the transmembrane form of the widely expressed proteoglycan agrin ...(TM-agrin) regulates formation and stability of neuronal filopodia. In order to elucidate the mechanism by which TM-agrin regulates filopodia, we investigated the role of agrin's glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains in the induction of filopodia formation by TM-agrin over-expression in hippocampal neurons, and in the induction of filopodia-like processes in COS7 cells. Deletion of the GAG chains of TM-agrin sharply reduced formation of filopodia-like branched retraction fibers (BRFs) in COS7 cells, with deletion of the heparan sulfate GAG chains being most effective, and eliminated filopodia induction in hippocampal neurons. GAG chain deletion also reduced the activation of Cdc42 and Rac1 resulting from TM-agrin over-expression. Moreover, dominant-negative Cdc42 and Rac1 inhibited BRF formation. Lastly, over-expression of TM-agrin increased the adhesiveness of COS7 cells and this increase was reduced by deletion of the GAG chains. Our results suggest that TM-agrin regulates actin-based protrusions in large part through interaction of its GAG chains with extracellular or transmembrane proteins, leading to the activation of Cdc42 and Rac1.
Weaver et al utilize a severe thunderstorm case to demonstrate the relevance of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite rapid-scan imagery and sounder data in the short-range forecasting ...and nowcasting time frames. Two new satellite products are presented that are currently in the developmental phase.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
An assessment of GOES-8 imager data quality ELLROD, G. P; ACHUTUNI, R. V; DANIELS, J. M ...
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society,
11/1998, Letnik:
79, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-8 (GOES-8), the first in the GOES I-M series of advanced meteorological satellites was launched in April 1994 and became operational at 75 ...degrees W longitude the following year. GOES-8 features numerous improvements over prior GOES platforms such as 1) improved resolution in the infrared (IR) and water vapor bands, 2) reduced instrument noise, 3) 10-bit visible and IR digitization, 4) greater image frequency, 5) more spectral bands, and 6) an independent sounder. A qualitative and quantitative comparison of the imager data from GOES-8 and GOES-7 shows that imagery from the newer spacecraft is superior in most respects. Improvements in resolution and instrument noise on GOES-8 provide sharper, cleaner images that allow easier detection of significant meteorological or oceanographic features. Infrared temperature comparisons between GOES-8 and GOES-7 were within 0.5 degrees -2.0 degrees C for all IR bands, indicating consistency between the two spacecraft. Visible band albedos from GOES-8 were at least 50% greater than GOES-7 for a wide range of scenes, suggesting that output from the GOES-7 visible detectors had degraded since its launch in 1987. Products derived from GOES-8 imager data for observing fog at night, fire detection, heavy precipitation estimation, and upper-level winds based on cloud or water vapor motion have been shown to be superior to similar products from GOES-7. Early difficulties with image registration and IR striping were alleviated after the first year. Based on the performance of GOES-8, future spacecraft in the GOES I-M series can be expected to provide many years of useful service to meteorologists, oceanographers, and the environmental monitoring community.
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Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK