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Earth Science: Meteorological Studies
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RO#
17569 |
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Location
Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 |
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Advisor Information
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Pfister, Leonhard
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(650)604-3183
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pfister@telsci.arc.nasa.gov
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Research Area
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Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
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Keywords
Atmospheric trace constituents; Stratosphere; Troposphere; Tropopause; Climatology; Environmental models; Radiative transfer; Aerosols; Atmospheric radiation; Clouds; Meteorology; Atmospheric pressure; Atmospheric turbulence; |
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Description
In our comprehensive research program, we investigate the
meteorology of stratosphere-troposphere exchange, cross-jet
exchange, and mesoscale waves in the stratosphere by analyzing
aircraft data from a variety of field missions. These include
stratosphere-troposphere exchange field experiments in the tropics
and mid-latitudes, and field experiments in the northern and
southern polar regions aimed at examining polar depletion. We can
use the aircraft measurements of meteorological variables and trace
constituents (e.g., ozone, CO, nitrous oxide, all three wind
components, and temperature) at up to 5 Hz to study phenomena
ranging in scale from mesoscale waves (≈100 km) to turbulence.
Auxiliary data (radiosonde measurements, satellite imagery) are also
used to set the appropriate meteorological context for the smaller
scale phenomena.
The aircraft data analysis has led to a number of important
results, including (1) a conceptual model of cumulus cloud mass
transport into the stratosphere, (2) evidence of lower stratospheric
turbulent mixing induced by upward propagating waves, (3) evidence
for large-scale lateral mixing in the lower stratosphere above
tropopause folds, and (4) some of the best documented cases of
gravity waves induced by mountains and tropical convection. A
current topic of interest is using our meteorological satellite
ground station, satellite data archive, and image analysis system to
examine the role of clouds in tropical and mid-latitude
stratosphere-troposphere exchange.
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