Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Annual Meeting of the Four Corners Section of the APS
Volume 55, Number 9
Friday–Saturday, October 15–16, 2010; Ogden, Utah
Session D4: Atmospheric Physics |
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Chair: John Armstrong, Weber State University Room: 321 |
Friday, October 15, 2010 3:30PM - 3:42PM |
D4.00001: Tomographic Imaging of Noctilucent Clouds Vern Hart, Timothy Doyle, Brent Carruth, Yucheng Zhao, Michael Taylor Ever since their relatively recent discovery and classification, the occurrence of noctilucent clouds has been increasing in frequency and extent. For this reason the clouds themselves have been identified by atmospheric scientists as a possible gauge for measuring the effects of global climate change. The field of atmospheric tomography provides for interesting new ways to measure and explore these clouds and other mesospheric phenomena. The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) is a recent satellite mission launched by NASA for the very purpose of studying noctilucent clouds. We present the tomographic methods and algorithms used to effectively create image reconstructions of data taken by cameras onboard the AIM satellite. The unique imaging geometry belonging to satellite measurements of this type will be discussed along with its tomographic properties. Synthetically created data will also be presented for the purpose of validating reconstruction methods. Actual reconstructions of the AIM satellite data will be presented and compared to aerial images of the clouds taken by onboard cameras. We will analyze the images and discuss their importance to the study of noctilucent clouds as well as the need for future data collection and interpretation of this type. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 15, 2010 3:42PM - 3:54PM |
D4.00002: Atmospheric Research -- Sensors and Science in the Stratosphere John E. Sohl, John C. Armstrong, Shane L. Larson HARBOR (High Altitude Reconnaissance Balloon for Outreach and Research) is a program in which scientific payloads are designed, constructed, and flown by students using weather balloons to reach the edge of space. Ten flights have been completed involving over forty high school and college students. Students work together to build sensor and flight systems and to analyze the resulting data. Measurements include temperature, wind, turbulence, humidity, particulates, gas concentrations, balloon and flight dynamics, etc. The HARBOR program provides a mission oriented structure that is based on aerospace industry standards. As a result, a positive employment track record is becoming established with program graduates. Similar results are being observed in graduate school applications. HARBOR is now being expanded to include tethered and short duration flights. Tethered flights at elementary schools will allow us to do air quality measurements and involve primary students in science. A new collaboration will study atmospheric inversion layers using short flights with smaller payloads that will be jettisoned at lower altitudes and quickly recovered. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 15, 2010 3:54PM - 4:06PM |
D4.00003: Integrating multi-station radio and electric field measurements to understand lightning Richard Sonnenfeld By correlating the arrival-times of radio-frequency pulses emitted as a lightning leader breaks down air, an excellent three-dimensional, time dependent representation of a growing lightning channel can be realized. This technology has been refined and is referred to as a ``lightning mapping array'' (LMA). Significantly, the LMA images lightning channels inside of clouds which had hitherto been difficult to understand. Electric field measurements, on the other hand, clearly show when the breakdown of a lightning channel has lead to significant transport of charge from cloud to ground or one part of a cloud to another. The measurements are rich in detail, but were hard to intrepret before the lightning mapping array illuminated the location of the channel so clearly. Over the past three years, we have developed a network of electric field measurement systems, the Langmuir Electric Field Array (LEFA), and this summer marks the first time that sufficient stations have been deployed to independently determine the location and quantity of charge transported by a lightning flash. Initial analyses from summer 2010 storms will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 15, 2010 4:06PM - 4:18PM |
D4.00004: High Altitude Balloon Flight Path Prediction and Site Selection Based On Computer Simulations Joel Linford Interested in the upper atmosphere, Weber State University Physics department has developed a High Altitude Reconnaissance Balloon for Outreach and Research team, also known as HARBOR. HARBOR enables Weber State University to take a variety of measurements from ground level to altitudes as high as 100,000 feet. The flight paths of these balloons can extend as long as 100 miles from the launch zone, making the choice of where and when to fly critical. To ensure the ability to recover the packages in a reasonable amount of time, days and times are carefully selected using computer simulations limiting flight tracks to approximately 40 miles from the launch zone. The computer simulations take atmospheric data collected by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to plot what flights might have looked like in the past, and to predict future flights. Using these simulations a launch zone has been selected in Duchesne Utah, which has hosted eight successful flights over the course of the last three years, all of which have been recovered. Several secondary launch zones in western Wyoming, Southern Idaho, and Northern Utah are also being considered. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 15, 2010 4:18PM - 4:30PM |
D4.00005: High Altitude Balloon Real-time Landing Prediction Robert Eckel With the success of Weber State University's high altitude balloon program, HARBOR, missions become more complex and payloads of higher value, the importance of being able to recover the payload quickly after landing has increased. By expanding the functionality of Weber State's \emph{Multi-Sensor Array}, combined with an amateur radio terminal node controller, we will be able to accurately predict the landing zone while in flight. Analysis of previous flights indicates that velocity vector projections on a plane tangential to the earth's surface remain fairly constant at any given altitude during the ascent and descent. By differentiating position data from GPS and other instruments during the ascent, the descent profile can be integrated to produce an accurate landing position. This prediction is then able to be sent down wirelessly over existing ham radio infrastructure to plot the predicted landing zone in navigation and mapping software in real time. [Preview Abstract] |
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