In this article, we discuss the shape of ice water content (IWC) vertical profiles in high ice clouds and its effect on their radiative properties, both in short- and in long-wave bands (SW and LW). ...Based on the analysis of collocated satellite data, we propose a minimal set of primitive shapes (rectangular, isosceles trapezoid, lower and upper triangle), which represents the IWC profiles sufficiently well. About 75 % of all high-level ice clouds (P < 440 hPa) have an ice water path (IWP) smaller than 100 g m−2, with a 10 % smaller contribution from single layer clouds. Most IWC profiles (80 %) can be represented by a rectangular or isosceles trapezoid shape. However, with increasing IWP, the number of lower triangle profiles (IWC rises towards cloud base) increases, reaching up to 40 % for IWP values greater than 300 g m−2. The number of upper triangle profiles (IWC rises towards cloud top) is in general small and decreases with IWP, with the maximum occurrence of 15 % in cases of IWP less than 10 g m−2. We propose a statistical classification of the IWC shapes using IWP as a single parameter. We have estimated the radiative effects of clouds with the same IWP and with different IWC profile shapes for five typical atmospheric scenarios and over a broad range of IWP, cloud height, cloud vertical extent, and effective ice crystal diameter (De). We explain changes in outgoing LW fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) by the cloud thermal radiance while differences in TOA SW fluxes relate to the De vertical profile within the cloud. Absolute differences in net TOA and surface fluxes associated with these parameterized IWC profiles instead of assuming constant IWC profiles are in general of the order of 1–2 W m−2: they are negligible for clouds with IWP < 30 g m−2, but may reach 2 W m−2 for clouds with IWP > 300 W m−2.
By covering about 30 % of the Earth and by exerting a
strong greenhouse effect, high-level clouds play an important role in the
energy balance of our planet. Their warming and cooling effects within ...the
atmosphere strongly depend on their emissivity. The combination of cloud
data from two space-borne infrared sounders, the Atmospheric InfraRed
Sounder, AIRS, and the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer, IASI,
which observe the Earth four times per day, allows us to
investigate the diurnal variation of these high-level clouds by
distinguishing between high opaque, cirrus, and thin cirrus clouds. We
demonstrate that the diurnal phase and amplitude of high-level clouds can be
estimated from these measurements with an uncertainty of 1.5 h and 20 %,
respectively. By applying the developed methodology to AIRS and IASI cloud
observations for the period of 2008–2015, we obtained monthly geographical
distributions of diurnal phase and amplitude at a spatial resolution of
1∘ latitude ×1∘ longitude. In agreement with other
studies, the diurnal cycle of high-level clouds is the largest over land in
the tropics. At higher latitudes, their diurnal cycle is the largest during
the summer. For selected continental regions we found diurnal amplitudes of
cloud amount of about 7 % for high opaque clouds and for thin cirrus, and
9 % for cirrus. Over ocean, these values are 2 to 3 times smaller. The
diurnal cycle of tropical thin cirrus seems to be similar over land and over
ocean, with a minimum in the morning (09:00 LT) and a maximum during the night (01:00 LT). Tropical high opaque clouds have a maximum in the evening (21:00 LT over
land), a few hours after the peak of convective rain. This lag can be
explained by the fact that this cloud type includes not only the convective
cores, but also part of the thicker anvils. Tropical cirrus show maximum
coverage during the night (01:00 LT over land). This lag indicates that they are part
of the deep convective cloud systems. However, the peak local times also
vary regionally. We are providing a global monthly database of detected
diurnal cycle amplitude and phase for each of these three high-level cloud
types.
The kinetic temperature, Tk, and carbon dioxide, CO2 density, are key parameters that characterize the energetics and dynamics of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region. The Sounding of ...the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on-board the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite has been providing global, simultaneous measurements of limb radiance in 10 spectral channels continuously since late January 2002. In this paper we (1) present a methodology for a self-consistent simultaneous retrieval of temperature/pressure, Tk(p), and CO2 volume mixing ratio (VMR) from the broadband infrared limb measurements in the 15 and 4.3μm channels, and (2) qualitatively describe the first results on the CO2 VMR and Tk obtained from application of this technique to the SABER 15 and 4.3μm channels, including issues, which demand additional constraints to be applied.
The self-consistent two-channel retrieval architecture updates parameters at all altitudes simultaneously, and it is built upon iterative switching between two retrieval modules, one for CO2 and one for Tk. A detailed study of sensitivity, stability and convergence was carried out to validate the algorithm. The Tk/CO2 VMR distribution can be reliably retrieved without biases connected with this non-linear inverse problem starting with an initial guess as far as ±20% of CO2 VMR and ±15K from the solution (as global shift, or somewhat larger if only local deviations are considered).
In polar summer toward high latitudes the retrieved CO2 VMR profile shows a local peak around 90km. We discuss details of this feature and show that: (a) it is not an algorithm artifact or instability, (b) additional a priori constraints are needed in order to obtain a physical profile and to remove this peak, and (c) several possibilities are explored as to uncover the real cause of this feature, but no firm conclusion can be reached at this time.
This algorithm has been applied to all available daytime SABER measurements since 2002, and the first results of the mean CO2 VMR profiles and their distribution is discussed. In particular, the CO2 VMR profiles depart from a well mixed value at altitudes of 65–70km during equinoxes at high and mid-latitudes, but in the summer hemisphere solstice period the SABER data is more consistent with a well mixed VMR conditions extend up to 87–90km especially toward high latitudes.
•SABER 15 and 4.3μm channels are strongly coupled.•The 2-channel algorithm is stable and self-consistent.•Mean CO2 VMR profile appears to be well mixed up to 80–85km.•A CO2 90km peak in polar summer is a persistent but unexplained feature.•CO2 VMR decay depends on latitude and season.
We present geometry-based corrections to estimates of the Bjorken energy density in a broad range of heavy-ion collision energies (from RHIC to the LHC) considering non-circular shape of the nuclei ...overlap area in case of events selected in 0–5
centrality classes. We compare the updated Bjorken energy excitation function, obtained in our study for these very central
A
–
A
collisions, to the previously obtained ones. We also present and discuss the relevant energy dependencies of pion, kaon and proton contributions to the Bjorken energy density that are also estimated in our study.
Global cloud climatologies have been built from 13 years of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and 8 years of Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) observations, using an updated ...Clouds from Infrared Sounders (CIRS) retrieval. The CIRS software can handle any infrared (IR) sounder data. Compared to the original retrieval, it uses improved radiative transfer modelling, accounts for atmospheric spectral transmissivity changes associated with CO2 concentration and incorporates the latest ancillary data (atmospheric profiles, surface temperature and emissivities). The global cloud amount is estimated to be 0.67–0.70, for clouds with IR optical depth larger than about 0.1. The spread of 0.03 is associated with ancillary data. Cloud amount is partitioned into about 40 % high-level clouds, 40 % low-level clouds and 20 % mid-level clouds. The latter two categories are only detected in the absence of upper clouds. The A-Train active instruments, lidar and radar of the CALIPSO and CloudSat missions, provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the retrieved AIRS cloud properties. CIRS cloud height can be approximated either by the mean layer height (for optically thin clouds) or by the mean between cloud top and the height at which the cloud reaches opacity. This is valid for high-level as well as for low-level clouds identified by CIRS. IR sounders are particularly advantageous to retrieve upper-tropospheric cloud properties, with a reliable cirrus identification, day and night. These clouds are most abundant in the tropics, where high opaque clouds make up 7.5 %, thick cirrus 27.5 % and thin cirrus about 21.5 % of all clouds. The 5 % annual mean excess in high-level cloud amount in the Northern compared to the Southern Hemisphere has a pronounced seasonal cycle with a maximum of 25 % in boreal summer, in accordance with the moving of the ITCZ peak latitude, with annual mean of 4° N, to a maximum of 12° N. This suggests that this excess is mainly determined by the position of the ITCZ. Considering interannual variability, tropical cirrus are more frequent relative to all clouds when the global (or tropical) mean surface gets warmer. Changes in relative amount of tropical high opaque and thin cirrus with respect to mean surface temperature show different geographical patterns, suggesting that their response to climate change might differ.
Despite significant advances in atmospheric measurements and modeling, clouds' response to human-induced climate warming remains the largest source of uncertainty in model predictions of climate. The ...launch of the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite in 2006 started the era of long-term spaceborne optical active sounding of Earth's atmosphere, which continued with the CATS (Cloud-Aerosol Transport System) lidar on board the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015 and the Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument (ALADIN) lidar on board Aeolus in 2018. The next important step is the Atmospheric Lidar (ATLID) instrument from the EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) mission, expected to launch in 2024.
Interaction cross sections and charged pion spectra in p+C interactions at 31 GeV/c were measured with the large-acceptance NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. These data are required to improve ...predictions of the neutrino flux for the T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. A set of data collected during the first NA61/SHINE run in 2007 with an isotropic graphite target with a thickness of 4% of a nuclear interaction length was used for the analysis. The measured p+C inelastic and production cross sections are 257.2 {+-} 1.9 {+-} 8.9 and 229.3 {+-} 1.9 {+-} 9.0 mb, respectively. Inclusive production cross sections for negatively and positively charged pions are presented as functions of laboratory momentum in ten intervals of the laboratory polar angle covering the range from 0 up to 420 mrad. The spectra are compared with predictions of several hadron production models.
Representing about 30 % of the Earth's total cloud cover, upper tropospheric clouds play a crucial role in the climate system by modulating the Earth's energy budget and heat transport. When ...originating from convection, they often form organized systems. The high spectral resolution of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) allows reliable cirrus identification, both from day and nighttime observations. Tropical upper tropospheric cloud systems have been analyzed by using a spatial composite technique on the retrieved cloud pressure of AIRS data. Cloud emissivity is used to distinguish convective core, cirrus and thin cirrus anvil within these systems. A comparison with simultaneous precipitation data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer – Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) shows that, for tropical upper tropospheric clouds, a cloud emissivity close to 1 is strongly linked to a high rain rate, leading to a proxy to identify convective cores. Combining AIRS cloud data with this cloud system approach, using physical variables, provides a new opportunity to relate the properties of the anvils, including also the thinner cirrus, to the convective cores. It also distinguishes convective cloud systems from isolated cirrus systems. Deep convective cloud systems, covering 15 % of the tropics, are further distinguished into single-core and multi-core systems. Though AIRS samples the tropics only twice per day, the evolution of longer-living convective systems can be still statistically captured, and we were able to select relatively mature single-core convective systems by using the fraction of convective core area within the cloud systems as a proxy for maturity. For these systems, we have demonstrated that the physical properties of the anvils are related to convective depth, indicated by the minimum retrieved cloud temperature within the convective core. Our analyses show that the size of the systems does in general increase with convective depth, though for similar convective depth oceanic convective cloud systems are slightly larger than continental ones, in agreement with other observations. In addition, our data reveal for the first time that the fraction of thin cirrus over the total anvil area increases with the convective depth similarly for oceanic and continental convective systems. This has implications for the radiative feedbacks of anvils on convection which will be more closely studied in the future.
Measurements of
K
∗
(
892
)
0
resonance production via its
K
+
π
-
decay mode in inelastic
p+p
collisions at beam momenta 40 and 80
GeV
/
c
(
s
NN
=
8.8
and 12.3
GeV
) are presented. The data were ...recorded by the NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The
template
method was used to extract the
K
∗
(
892
)
0
signal. Transverse momentum and rapidity spectra were obtained. The mean multiplicities of
K
∗
(
892
)
0
mesons were found to be
(
35.1
±
1.3
(
stat
)
±
3.6
(
sys
)
)
·
10
-
3
at 40
GeV
/
c
and
(
58.3
±
1.9
(
stat
)
±
4.9
(
sys
)
)
·
10
-
3
at 80
GeV
/
c
. The NA61/SHINE results are compared with the
Epos1.99
and Hadron Resonance Gas models as well as with world data. The transverse mass spectra of
K
∗
(
892
)
0
mesons and other particles previously reported by NA61/SHINE were fitted within the Blast-Wave model. The transverse flow velocities are close to 0.1–0.2 of the speed of light and are significantly smaller than the ones determined in heavy nucleus-nucleus interactions at the same beam momenta.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Context. The thermal structure of Titan’s thermosphere is determined by the balance between several heating and cooling processes. These processes must be accurately modeled to correctly interpret ...the available measurements and enhance our understanding of the formation and evolution of this atmosphere. One of the most important thermospheric cooling process for Titan is emission in the HCN rotational band. Aims. We aim to determine the validity of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) for the HCN rotational distribution in the thermosphere of Titan and the impact of its breakdown on the HCN radiative cooling rate in the thermosphere. Methods. A general non-LTE radiative transfer code for rotational lines based on the accelerated lambda iteration (ALI) was used to calculate the excitation of HCN rotational levels in Titan’s atmosphere. These level populations were then used to calculate the associated cooling rate. Results. We show that the common assumption in the models of Titan’s thermospheric energy balance, namely the LTE distribution of rotational lines of HCN, is generally not valid above about 1100 km, or ~0.025 nbar, which will affect the derived thermospheric cooling rates. The effect of non-LTE is to reduce the cooling rate to 15% of the LTE value at around the exobase altitudes depending on the given density of HCN and collisional partners (N2, CH4, H2, and electrons). Since collision state-to-state quenching rates of HCN rotational levels are poorly known, a sensitivity analysis of our results to these rates is also presented.
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