Simulating the global transport of nitrogen oxides emissions from aircraft

With the atmosphere general circulation model ECHAM the passive transport of NO_x emitted from global subsonic air traffic and the NO_x concentration change due to these emissions are investigated. The source of NO_x is prescribed according to an aircraft emission data base. The sink of NO_x is parameterized as an exponential decay process with globally constant lifetime. Simulations in perpetual January and July modes are performed. Both the resulting mean and the standard deviation of the NO_x mass mixing ratio are analysed. In January horizontal dispersion is more pronounced and vertical mixing is smaller than in July. In both cases the resulting quasi-stationary fields of the mass mixing ratio display a pronounced zonal asymmetry. The variability accounts up to 30% of the mean field.     

Evaluation of infrared emission spectra of aircraft exhaust with the FitFas software

A Fourier transform spectrometer was used to measure infrared spectra of the exhaust gas of an aircraft’s jet engine. The measured spectra were modelled by use of the program FASCODE. For this simulation, the inhomogeneous gas mixture is divided into several homogenous layers which are characterized by their geometrical extents, temperatures, pressures and chemical compositions. To obtain values for the temperatures and the CO, NO, H₂O and CO₂ concentrations of the layers a nonlinear least-squares algorithm was implemented. The program (FITFAS) not only changes the parameters to find the minimum of the squared differences between measurement and calculation; it also provides the variances and covariances of the parameters. Thus information is obtained to which parameters (besides the interesting ones) must be fitted (or be accurately known). It also tells us whether or not another spectral interval is more suitable for the determination of a specific parameter.     

Stratospheric methane and nitrogen dioxide from infrared spectra

Values of the mixing ratio by volume of stratospheric NO₂ and CH₄ deduced from infrared spectra taken by means of balloon-borne spectrometers are presented. Possible evidence for the presence of formaldehyde in the stratosphere is also given.     

Dynamics of aircraft exhaust plumes in the jet-regime

A computational model describing the two-dimensional, turbulent mixing of a single jet of exhaust gas from aircraft engines with the ambient atmosphere is presented. The underlying assumptions and governing equations are examined and supplemented by a discussion of analytical solutions. As an application, the jet dynamics of a B747-400 aircraft engine in cruise and its dependence on key parameters is investigated in detail. The computer code for this dynamical model is computationally fast and can easily be coupled to complex chemical and microphysical models in order to perform comprehensive studies of atmospheric effects from aircraft exhaust emissions in the jet regime.     

Chemical composition and photochemical reactivity of exhaust from aircraft turbine engines

Assessment of the environmental impact of aircraft emissions is required by planners and policy makers. Seveal areas of concern are: 1. exposure of airport workers and urban residents to toxic chemicals emitted when the engines operate at low power (idle and taxi) on the ground; 2. contributions to urban photochemical air pollution of aircraft volatile organic and nitrogen oxides emissions from operations around airports; and 3. emissions of nitrogen oxides and particles during high-altitude operation. The environmental impact of chemicals emitted from jet aircraft turbine engines has not been firmly established due to lack of data regarding emission rates and identities of the compounds emitted. This paper describes an experimental study of two different aircraft turbine engines designed to determine detailed organic emissions, as well as emissions of inorganic gases. Emissions were measured at several engine power settings. Measurements were made of detailed organic composition from C₁ through C₁₇, CO, CO₂, NO, NO _x , and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Measurements were made using a multi-port sampling pro be positioned directly behind the engine in the exhaust exit plane. The emission measurements have been used to determine the organic distribution by carbon number and the distribution by compound class at each engine power level. The sum of the organic species was compared with an independent measurement of total organic carbon to assess the carbon mass balance. A portion of the exhaust was captured and irradiated in outdoor smog chambers to assess the photochemical reactivity of the emissions with respect to ozone formation. The reactivity of emissions from the two engines was apportioned by chemical compound class.     

Modelling exhaust plume mixing in the near field of an aircraft

A simplified approach has been applied to analyse the mixing and entrainment processes of the engine exhaust through their interaction with the vortex wake of an aircraft. Our investigation is focused on the near field, extending from the exit nozzle until about 30 s after the wake is generated, in the vortex phase. This study was performed by using an integral model and a numerical simulation for two large civil aircraft: a two-engine Airbus 330 and a four-engine Boeing 747. The influence of the wing-tip vortices on the dilution ratio (defined as a tracer concentration) shown. The mixing process is also affected by the buoyancy effect, but only after the jet regime, when the trapping in the vortex core has occurred. In the early wake, the engine jet location (i.e. inboard or outboard engine jet) has an important influence on the mixing rate. The plume streamlines inside the vortices are subject to distortion and stretching, and the role of the descent of the vortices on the maximum tracer concentration is discussed. Qualitative comparison with contrail photograph shows similar features. Finally, tracer concentration of inboard engine centreline of B-747 are compared with other theoretical analyses and measured data.     

用于地震调查的航空红外遥感实时传输系统研究

该系统提供了航空红外遥感资料的袢时采集和传输，为及时开展地震野外调查工作提供了一个有力的手段。该系统由红外传感器系统、机载站图像和数据实时处理系统、机载站通信系统、转发站通信系统、地面站接收系统、地面站图像和数据实时处理系统组成。     

On the behavior of nitrogen oxides in the stratosphere

A summary is presented of the relative importance of the principal aeronomic processes determining the vertical distribution of NO–NO₂ in the stratosphere. Formation and destruction of nitric oxide are considered with transport processes for steady-state conditions. Estimates of the vertical distribution of NO _x are made for extreme conditions of the eddy diffusion coefficient. It is pointed out that NO is determined by the values which are adopted for its photodissociation coefficient which is related to the absorption of solar radiation in the Schumann-Runge bands of molecular oxygen.     

Greenhouse effects of aircraft emissions as calculated by a radiative transfer model

With a radiative transfer model, assessments are made of the radiative forcing in northern mid-latitudes due to aircraft emissions up to 1990. Considered are the direct climate effects from the major combustion products carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, water vapor and sulphur dioxide, as well as the indirect effect of ozone production from NO_x emissions. Our study indicates a local radiative forcing at the tropopause which should be negative in summer (-0.5 to 0.0 W/m²) and either negative or positive in winter (-0.3 to 0.2 W/m²). To these values the indirect effect of contrails has to be added, which for the North Atlantic Flight Corridor covers the range -0.2 to 0.3 W/m² in summer and 0.0 to 0.3 W/m² in winter. Apart from optically dense non-aged contrails during summer, negative forcings are due to solar screening by sulphate aerosols. The major positive contributions come from contrails, stratospheric water vapor in winter and ozone in summer. The direct effect of NO₂ is negligible and the contribution of CO₂ is relatively small.     

The production and distribution of nitrogen oxides in the lower stratosphere

Pure and Applied Geophysics -     

Analysis of auroral infrared emissions observed during the ELIAS experiment

The ELIAS (Earth Limb Infrared Atmospheric Structure) experiment was flown from the Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska in 1983 and successfully monitored visible and infrared emissions from an IBC III⁺ aurora. Measurements were performed in both staring and scanning modes over several hundred seconds. The data for short- and mid-wave infrared regions have been analyzed in terms of auroral excitation of the NO and NO⁺ vibrational bands. Auroral excitation efficiencies and kinetic implications are presented.     

A model for accurately calculating hyper-spectral,middle-shortwave infrared radiative transfer for remote sensing

Although the calculation of radiative transfer in the middle-shortwave infrared band is important in the field of optical remote sensing, studies in this area of research are rare in China. Both solar reflection and atmospheric emission should be considered when calculating radiative transfer in the middle-shortwave infrared band. This paper presents a new radiative transfer model based on the doubling and adding method. The new model uses approximate calculations of direct solar reflection,multiple scattering, and thermal emissions for a finitely thin atmospheric layer and considers both the solar and thermal sources of radiation. To verify its accuracy, the calculation results produced by the model for four typical scenarios(single layer at night,multi-layer aerosols, double-layer with ice and water clouds, and multi-layer with clouds and aerosols) were compared with those of the DISORT model. With the exception of a few channels, the absolute deviation between the two models was less than2×10~(-6) K. For the same calculation, the computation speed of the new model was approximately two to three times faster than that of the DISORT model. Sensitivity studies were performed to evaluate the error resulting from using simplified calculation methods in the new model. The results obtained in this study indicated that atmospheric thermal emission made a significant contribution to the measured radiance in the strong-absorption band(2230–2400 cm~(-1)), whereas solar radiation could be neglected in this region. However, neglecting solar radiation in the window region(2400–2580 cm~(-1)) introduced error on the order of dozens of K. Employing the average-layer temperature method simplified the calculation of thermal radiation but caused a larger error in the strong-absorption band than in the window region. In the doubling and adding method, the calculation error decreased as the value used for minimum optical thickness decreased. Under the condition of satisfying the requirement of calculation precision, we can consider using the layer-average temperature radiation method and selecting a relative larger minimum optical thickness value to improve the calculation efficiency. The new radiative calculation model proposed herein can be used in the simulation, inversion, and assimilation of middle-shortwave infrared measurements by hyper-spectral satellite instruments.     

On the effect of emissions from aircraft engines on the state of the atmosphere

Emissions from aircraft engines include carbon dioxide, water vapour, nitrogen oxides, sulphur components and various other gases and particles. Such emissions from high-flying global civil subsonic air traffic may cause anthropogenic climate changes by an increase of ozone and cloudiness in the upper troposphere, and by an enhanced greenhouse effect. The absolute emissions by air traffic are small (a few percent of the total) compared to surface emissions. However, the greenhouse effect of emitted water and of nitrogen oxides at cruise altitude is potentially large compared to that of the same emissions near the earth’s surface because of relatively large residence times at flight altitudes, low background concentrations, low temperature, and large radiative efficiency. Model computations indicate that emission of nitrogen oxides has doubled the background concentration in the upper troposphere between 40○N and 60○N. Models also indicate that this causes an increase of ozone by about 5-20%. Regionally, the observed annual mean change in cloudiness is 0.4%. It is estimated that the resultant greenhouse effect of changes in ozone and thin cirrus cloud cover causes a climatic surface temperature change of 0.01-0.1 K. These temperature changes are small compared to the natural variability. Recent research indicates that the emissions at cruise altitude may increase the amount of stratospheric aerosols and polar stratospheric clouds and thereby have an impact on the atmospheric environment. Air traffic is increasing about 5-6% per year, fuel consumption by about 3%, hence the effects of the related emissions are expected to grow. This paper surveys the state of knowledge and describes several results from recent and ongoing research.     

基于GPRS的多频激电仪远程测控系统

针对多频激电仪中接收机对发送机和控制器无法进行智能远程控制的现状,开发了一套基于GPRS的多频激电仪远程测控系统.该系统由通信模块、上位机和下位机组成.通信模块由3块插入SIM卡的DTU组成,它通过短信方式完成远程数据传输功能,实现上位机和下位机之间的数据通信.上位机作为本系统的主动站,负责发起连接,对下位机进行状态监测和功能控制.下位机作为从动站,等待上位机的连接,并执行上位机的各种控制命令,在发生紧急事件的时候能主动向上位机报警.3个模块在该系统中相互协调,共同完成系统的各项功能.试验表明,该控制系统能够正常工作,在野外工作时能降低劳动强度,提高工作效率.     

Compliance of Royal Naval ships with nitrogen oxide emissions legislation

Nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions from marine diesel engines pose a hazard to human health and the environment. From 2021, demanding emissions limits are expected to be applied to sea areas that the Royal Navy (RN) accesses. We analyze how these future constraints affect the choice of NO_x abatement systems for RN ships, which are subject to more design constraints than civilian ships. A weighted matrix approach is used to facilitate a quantitative assessment.     

XCO2 satellite retrieval experiments in short-wave and infrared spectra with SCIATRAN model for Sahara Desert

The spectra of O_2 A-band(0.76 μm) and CO_2 near-infrared emissions(1.6 μm) are simulated by the SCIATRAN radiative transfer model(V3.1.23), and compared with those observed by GOSAT-FTS(Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite-Fourier Transform Spectrometer). Systematic deviations between the observed and simulated spectra are found to exist,especially for the O_2 A-band. The discrepancies are characterized by their mean differences averaged over the observed spectral ranges. A correction is applied to the observed GOSAT-FTS L1B(V141.141) spectra by scaling the spectral intensity measured by TANSO-FTS(Thermal and Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observation Fourier Transform Spectrometer) onboard GOSAT.The average columnar CO_2 concentrations(XCO_2) are retrieved from the observed and the corrected GOSAT-FTS spectra by using the SCIATRAN inversion algorithm. Compared with the GOSAT-FTS L2 XCO_2 data products retrieved from the observed spectra of GOSAT-FTS, the SCIATRAN retrievals from the corrected spectra show a much better agreement, with the relative error less than 1%. But the results of GOSAT TANSO-FTS(V161.160) show smaller residuals than GOSAT TANSO-FTS(V141.141) without mean residual correction. The results indicate that the mean residual correction would increase the precision of XCO_2 retrieval for spectra with systematic deviations.     

Box and Gaussian plume models of the exhaust composition evolution of subsonic transport aircraft in- and out of the flight corridor

A box and a Gaussian plume model including gas-phase photochemistry and with plume dispersion parameters estimated from the few available plume observations are proposed and used for evaluation of photochemical transformations of exhausts from a single subsonic transport aircraft. The effects of concentration inhomogeneities in the plume cross section on the photochemical sources and sinks in the plume are analyzed for various groups of compounds. The influence of these inhomogeneities on the rate and on the mass of ambient air entrainment into the plume are studied also by comparing the box and the Gaussian plume model simulations during the first hours of their life. Due to the enterance of HO_X and NO_X from ambient air into the plume with rates varying from the wind shear and turbulence conditions, the rate of emitted NOX oxidation in the plume is dependent on these and also on the background concentration levels of HO_X and NO_X.     

Application of improved discrepancy principle in inversion of atmosphere infrared remote sensing

With the use of techniques in nonlinear problems, the IDP (improved discrepancy principle) method has been proposed and applied to the optimal smooth factor (parameterγ) in the inversion process of atmosphere profiles from satellite observation. This method has also been used to inverse atmospheric parameters from the observation of new generation geostationary operational environmental satellite (GOES-8). Results show that this method is more accurate than that in use.