Non-thermal plasma observations using EISCAT: Aspect angle dependence

Recent observations with the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar have shown large rises in dayside, auroral plasma velocities (>2 km s^{−1}) over a wide range of latitudes and lasting about an hour. These are larger than the neutral thermal speed, and allow, for the first time, observations of a non-thermal plasma over a range of observing angles, revealing a clear angular dependence. The observed ion temperature anisotropy, deduced by assuming a Maxwellian line-of-sight ion velocity distribution, is at least 1.75, which exceeds the theoretical value for a bi-Maxwellian based on a realistic ion-neutral collision model. The aspect angle dependence of the signal spectra also indicates non-Maxwellian plasma.

Surface chemistry of alanine on Ni{111}

The adsorption of L-alanine on Ni{111} has been studied as a 10 model of enantioselective heterogeneous catalysts. Synchrotron-based X-ray 11 photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure 12 (NEXAFS) spectroscopy were used to determine the chemical state, bond 13 coordination, and out-of-plane orientation of the molecule on the surface. 14 Alanine adsorbs in anionic and zwitterionic forms between 250 and ≈320 K. 15 NEXAFS spectra exhibit a strong angular dependence of the π* resonance 16 associated with the carboxylate group, which is compatible with two distinct 17 orientations with respect to the surface corresponding to the bidentate and 18 tridentate binding modes. Desorption and decomposition begin together at 19 ≈300 K, with decomposition occurring in a multistep process up to ≈450 K. Comparison with previous studies of amino acid 20 adsorption on metal surfaces shows that this is among the lowest decomposition temperatures found so far and lower than typical 21 temperatures used for hydrogenation reactions where modified Ni catalysts are used.

A sodar for profiling in a spatially inhomogeneous urban environment

The urban boundary layer, above the canopy, is still poorly understood. One of the challenges is obtaining data by sampling more than a few meters above the rooftops, given the spatial and temporal inhomogeneities in both horizontal and vertical. Sodars are generally useful tools for ground-based remote sensing of winds and turbulence, but rely on horizontal homogeneity (as do lidars) in building up 3-component wind vectors from sampling three or more spatially separated volumes. The time taken for sound to travel to a typical range of 200 m and back is also a limitation. A sodar of radically different design is investigated, aimed at addressing these problems. It has a single vertical transmitted sound pulse. Doppler shifted signals are received from a number of volumes around the periphery of the transmitted beam with microphones which each having tight angular sensitivity at zenith angles slightly off-vertical. The spatial spread of sampled volumes is therefore smaller. By having more receiver microphones than a conventional sodar, the effect of smaller zenith angle is offset. More rapid profiling is also possible with a single vertical transmitted beam, instead of the usual multiple beams.A prototype design is described, together with initial field measurements. It is found that the beam forming using a single dish antenna and the drift of the sound pulse downwind both give rise to reduced performance compared with expectations. It is concluded that, while the new sodar works in principle, the compromises arising in the design mean that the expected advantages have not been realized

Improved information about the vertical location and extent of monolayer clouds from POLDER3 measurements in the oxygen A-band

This paper describes new advances in the exploitation of oxygen A-band measurements from POLDER3 sensor onboard PARASOL, satellite platform within the A-Train. These developments result from not only an account of the dependence of POLDER oxygen parameters to cloud optical thickness τ and to the scene's geometrical conditions but also, and more importantly, from the finer understanding of the sensitivity of these parameters to cloud vertical extent. This sensitivity is made possible thanks to the multidirectional character of POLDER measurements. In the case of monolayer clouds that represent most of cloudy conditions, new oxygen parameters are obtained and calibrated from POLDER3 data colocalized with the measurements of the two active sensors of the A-Train: CALIOP/CALIPSO and CPR/CloudSat. From a parameterization that is (μs, τ) dependent, with μs the cosine of the solar zenith angle, a cloud top oxygen pressure (CTOP) and a cloud middle oxygen pressure (CMOP) are obtained, which are estimates of actual cloud top and middle pressures (CTP and CMP). Performances of CTOP and CMOP are presented by class of clouds following the ISCCP classification. In 2008, the coefficient of the correlation between CMOP and CMP is 0.81 for cirrostratus, 0.79 for stratocumulus, 0.75 for deep convective clouds. The coefficient of the correlation between CTOP and CTP is 0.75, 0.73, and 0.79 for the same cloud types. The score obtained by CTOP, defined as the confidence in the retrieval for a particular range of inferred value and for a given error, is higher than the one of MODIS CTP estimate. Scores of CTOP are the highest for bin value of CTP superior in numbers. For liquid (ice) clouds and an error of 30 hPa (50 hPa), the score of CTOP reaches 50% (70%). From the difference between CTOP and CMOP, a first estimate of the cloud vertical extent h is possible. A second estimate of h comes from the correlation between the angular standard deviation of POLDER oxygen pressure σPO2 and the cloud vertical extent. This correlation is studied in detail in the case of liquid clouds. It is shown to be spatially and temporally robust, except for clouds above land during winter months. The analysis of the correlation's dependence on the scene's characteristics leads to a parameterization providing h from σPO2. For liquid water clouds above ocean in 2008, the mean difference between the actual cloud vertical extent and the one retrieved from σPO2 (from the pressure difference) is 5 m (−12 m). The standard deviation of the mean difference is close to 1000 m for the two methods. POLDER estimates of the cloud geometrical thickness obtain a global score of 50% confidence for a relative error of 20% (40%) of the estimate for ice (liquid) clouds over ocean. These results need to be validated outside of the CALIPSO/CloudSat track.

Inferences about pressures and vertical extension of cloud layers from POLDER3/PARASOL measurements in the oxygen A-band

We present new inferences about cloud vertical structures from multidirectionnal measurements in the oxygen A-band. The analysis of collocated data provided by instruments onboard satellite platforms within the A-Train, as well as simulations have shown that for monolayered clouds, the cloud oxygen pressure PO2PO2 derived from the POLDER3 instrument was sensitive to the cloud vertical structure in two ways: First, PO2PO2 is actually close to the pressure of the geometrical middle of cloud and we propose a method to correct it to get the cloud top pressure (CTP), and then to obtain the cloud geometrical extent. Second, for the liquid water clouds, the angular standard deviation σPO2σPO2 of PO2PO2 is correlated with the geometrical extent of cloud layers, which makes possible a second estimation of the cloud geometrical thickness. The determination of the vertical location of cloud layers from passive measurements, eventually completed from other observations, would be useful in many applications for which cloud macrophysical properties are needed

Sensitivity of resolved and parameterized surface drag to changes in resolution and parameterization

The relative contribution of resolved and parameterized surface drag towards balancing the atmospheric angular momentum flux convergence (AMFC), and their sensitivity to horizontal resolution and parameterization, are investigated in an atmospheric model. This sensitivity can be difficult to elucidate in free-running climate models, in which the AMFC varies with changing climatologies and, as a result, the relative contributions of surface terms balancing the AMFC also vary. While the sensitivity question has previously been addressed using short-range forecasts, we demonstrate that a nudging framework is an effective method for constraining the AMFC. The Met Office Unified Model is integrated at three horizontal resolutions ranging from 130 km (N96) to 25 km (N512) while relaxing the model’s wind and temperature fields towards the ERAinterim reanalysis within the altitude regions of maximum AMFC. This method is validated against short range forecasts and good agreement is found. These experiments are then used to assess the fidelity of the exchange between parameterized and resolved orographic torques with changes in horizontal resolution. Although the parameterized orographic torque reduces substantially with increasing horizontal resolution, there is little change in resolved orographic torque over 20N to 50N. The tendencies produced by the nudging routine indicate that the additional drag at lower horizontal resolution is excessive. When parameterized orographic blocking is removed at the coarsest of these resolutions, there is a lack of compensation, and even compensation of the opposite sense, by the boundary layer and resolved torques which is particularly pronounced over 20N to 50N. This study demonstrates that there is strong sensitivity in the behaviour of the resolved and parameterized surface drag over this region.