SOARS Manuscripts
Papers and posters by protégés in the Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research (SOARS) program, dating back to the program's start in 1996.
Displaying 476–500 of 501 results
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Mexico City is plagued with both high ozone and aerosol concentrations. Ozone absorbs radiation in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, and aerosols can both absorb and scatter radiation in the UV spectrum. Urban chemistry models have largely neglected pollution effects on radiation. The Tropospheric Ultr…
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Investigation of convective instability in the Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean-Ice Model (CAOIM)(opens in new tab)
This study examines the conditions necessary to produce a self-sustaining convective instability in the ocean using the coupled atmosphere-ocean-ice model (CAOIM). This one dimensional coupled model is used to examine the likelihood of producing such an oscillation under varying salinity perturbatio… -
The effect of cloud properties on the acidity of cloud droplets(opens in new tab)
Gas and aqueous chemistry was incorporated into a adiabatic parcel model to study the effects of cloud properties on the acidity of cloud droplets. Philadelphia and Los Angeles heavily polluted atmospheres were used as control environments. The results show that in-cloud oxidation is more important … -
Computation of Fekete points in a triangular domain(opens in new tab)
We implement a quasi-Newton algorithm to compute Fekete points in a triangular domain. With this algorithm we reproduced known results approximately ten times faster than previous computations. This reduction of computation time can lead to an increased number of computations and the uncovering of F… -
The impact of cloud inhomogeneities on radiative transfer(opens in new tab)
Fluctuation in microphysical properties of Arctic Stratus was observed over different length scales. Liquid water content and effective radius data was implemented into a one-dimensional radiative transfer model and was processed for thin, medium, and thick clouds. Calculated standard deviations of … -
El Niño/Southern Oscillation effects at the equatorial tropopause(opens in new tab)
Aerosol extinction data from the Halogen Occultation Experiment(HALOE), on the UARS satellite was used to examine the effects of El Niño by inspecting cloud distributions near the tropopause. Eastward longitudinal centroid values were calculated for the years 1994-1997 between pressure levels of 46h… -
The relationship between precipitation and flood damage(opens in new tab)
In the United States there has been a steady increase in flood-related damages during recent decades. Experts have provided various explanations of the primary contributors to the increased economic damage including: climate change, increased flood plain development, and flood policies. Although it … -
The atmospheric tide: Detergents of the upper atmosphere -- just add water and stir vigorously(opens in new tab)
Atmospheric tides are global scale oscillations observed in all regions of the atmosphere. A previously developed numerical model, the Global-Scale Wave Model (GSWM) (Hagan, 1993) simulates the diurnal and semidiurnal tides from the ground to 120 km and beyond. We compared GSWM tidal simulations to … -
The role of UV radiation in smog formation: Contrasts between Mexico City and Amsterdam(opens in new tab)
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation drives the chemistry of the troposphere by photolyzing molecules into more reactive species. A numerical simulation using the Tropospheric Ultraviolet-Visible (TUV) model version 3.6 and the Master Mechanism (MM) of the Gas Phase Chemistry model version 2.2 contrasted the … -
Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) - A model learning community and mentoring program for promoting racial and gender equity in the atmospheric and related sciences(opens in new tab)
The Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) program, established in 1995 by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in partnership with the National Science Foundation, addresses the severe underrepresentation of African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Ame… -
Sensitivity analysis of a tropospheric chemistry model using the adjoint method(opens in new tab)
Tropospheric chemistry models must be simplified to study the various processes which govern their behavior and to obtain a better understanding of their interdependence. The process of improving models involves comparing model derived results with observed data and performing sensitivity analysis, … -
Non-methane hydrocarbon emissions from biogenic sources: One peace of a whole(opens in new tab)
Biogenic and anthropogenic hydrocarbon emissions are precursors to tropospheric ozone and smog. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has dealt with the issue of volatile organic carbons (VOCs) by regulating anthropogenic emissions of organic solvent and gasoline evaporation. Unfortunately … -
Analysis of an ocean general circulation model simulation of the Campanian (80 Ma): Comparison to proxies for ocean temperature from the geologic record(opens in new tab)
An Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM), forced by a simulation of Campanian (80 Ma) climate using the Global ENvironmental and Ecological Simulation of Interactive Systems (GENESIS) Global Climate Model, was compared to proxies for ocean temperature found in the Late Cretaceous geologic record. F… -
A comparison of vapor pressure estimates from MTCLIMv3 and CLIMSIM(opens in new tab)
Plant productivity is strongly dependent upon moisture. Ecosystem models estimate the moisture content in the air from measurements or vapor pressure. Realistic vapor pressure values allow these models to more accurately estimate plant productivity. Observational measurements of vapor pressure are r… -
The effect of climate change on corn yield In the Susquehanna River basin of Pennsylvania.(opens in new tab)
Agriculture is one of the biggest economic sectors in the economy vulnerable to climate change. Previous projections of agricultural changes have been based on climate data from coarse resolution general circulation models (GCMs) which are inaccurate at the regional scale. The present study uses an … -
Forecast verification by a research aircraft.(opens in new tab)
One important element of airplane safety is knowing the conditions in which it is unsafe 10 fly. The hazardous effects of supercooled liquid water freezing on aircraft are well-known. The National Centers for Environmetal Prediction (NCEP) mesoscale Eta model produces routine operational forecasts o… -
Influence of ozone depletion on atmospheric tides(opens in new tab)
We examine the effects of large-scale regional ozone depletion on atmospheric tides. We focus on a Northern Hemisphere depletion and we introduce an Antarctic depletion for comparison. In addition, we look briefly at the influence of a long-term global-scale depletion to put our results in context w… -
Ozone and carbon diooxide surface fluxes during CASES97.(opens in new tab)
Understanding the budgets of the chemical species that result from anthropogenic activities can aid in the proper characterization of interactions between the surface of the earth and boundary layer. To effectively maintain and monitor the budgets requires the calculation of surface fluxes. Ozone(0₃… -
Production of nitrous oxide (N₂O) in the soil.(opens in new tab)
Nitrous oxide ( N₂0 ) flux from the soil with a wide range of soil moisture and soil temperature were measured in two Boulder parks. These measurements were conducted for seven days during the summer of 1996 at Scott Carpenter Park and North Boulder Park in Boulder, Colorado. The emission of nitrous… -
The use of dual-polarization techniques in precipitation estimation(opens in new tab)
Expressing the intensity of rainfall is a difficult problem because rainfall is produced by atmospheric processes that operate and interact on a wide range of time and space scales. It has been suggested that dual-polarization techniques be utilized to provide a more accurate estimate of rainfall. M… -
Parameter optimization of a predator-prey model using a gradient technique.(opens in new tab)
The Latka-Volterra predator-prey model consists of two equations and three parameters. By first assigning random values to the three parameters, and then comparing the resulting data to a second set of data, we wish to recover the parameters used to form the second set of data. In order to do this, … -
Simulated Arctic vegetation during the Holocene.(opens in new tab)
The Equilibrium Vegetation Ecology Model (EVE) has been coupled to the Global Environmental and Ecological Simulation of Interactive Systems (GENESIS) model version 2.0 to predict vegetation patterns during the Holocene. GMT polar maps of biomes and life-forms were made for comparison to reconstruct… -
Sensitivity of a short range forecast to initial and boundary conditions.(opens in new tab)
Modem numerical weather prediction models must be necessarily specified initial and boundary conditions as basic state vectors. Errors in these conditions affect the model forecast at verification time. An adjoint model efficiently determines where these errors have the greatest impact on the foreca… -
Acid fertilization of moss in forest decline.(opens in new tab)
This report describes the implications of acid rain in enhancing moss growth and the connection to forest dieback. This work is based on a holistic successional model which views succession as a developmental process culminating in climax peatland communities. Based on this model, the hypothesis is … -
Observation of CH₄ in the stratosphere and troposphere in the California and Colorado regions for summer 1996.(opens in new tab)
Whole-air samples have been collected from the stratosphere and troposphere from two different aircraft. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) P3 aircraft took samples from the Denver, Colorado area, while the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ER-2 took sample…