Greenhouse effect and altitude gradients over the Alps – by surface longwave radiation measurements and model calculated LOR

Summary The greenhouse effect has been investigated predominantly with satellite measurements, but more than 90% of the greenhouse radiative flux affecting Earths surface temperature and humidity originates from a 1000 meter layer above the surface. Here we show that substantial improvements on surface longwave radiation measurements and very good agreement with radiative transfer model calculations allow the clear-sky greenhouse effect be determined with measured surface longwave radiation and calculated longwave outgoing radiation at the top of the atmosphere. The cloud radiative forcing is determined by measured net longwave fluxes and added to the clear-sky greenhouse effect to determine the all-sky greenhouse effect. Longwave radiation measurements at different altitudes were used to determine the clear-sky and all-sky annual and seasonal greenhouse effect and altitude gradients over the Alps. Linear altitude gradients are measured for clear-sky situations, whereas the all-sky greenhouse effect is strongly influenced by varying, cloud amounts at different altitudes. Large diurnal and seasonal variations show the importance of surface heating and cooling effects and demonstrate the strong coupling of the greenhouse effect to surface temperature and humidity.     

Integrated Deep Soil N and Groundwater Isotope Investigation of N Sources Captured by Municipal Wells

Identification of major nitrate sources that adversely impact groundwater quality in municipal well capture zones in areas of emerging nitrate contamination is essential to minimize leaching and prevent exceedance of the nitrate drinking water standard. Vertical profiles of nitrate leachate in deep soils provide an estimate of the amount of nitrate in transit beneath irrigated, row-cropped fields; depths of peak leachate; and the approximate rate of downward movement. Profiles of pore-water soil-nitrate concentrations in thick 60-feet (~18 m), fine-textured soils near Hastings, Nebraska clearly indicate that considerably more nitrate leached beneath furrow-irrigated than center-pivot irrigated fields. Peak leaching appeared to correlate with recorded periods of poor weather conditions during some growing seasons and may best be controlled by “spoon feeding” fertilizer to the crop through the sprinkler irrigation system at times of nutrient need. The presence of trace levels of atrazine and deethylatrazine to 60 feet (18 m) in core samples indicates that larger, more complex anthropogenic molecules also leach through the fine-textured soils. The light δ¹⁵N_NO3 values in the surficial groundwater beneath fertilized and irrigated cropland indicate that ammonium fertilizer is a major N source and suggest that the natural soil-N contribution is negligible. δ¹⁵N_NO3 values were most enriched in irrigation wells located within municipal well capture zones downgradient of a large feedlot. Dual isotope method (DIM) δ¹⁵N_NO3 and δ¹⁸O_NO3 values suggest that the Hastings’ municipal wells farther downgradient are contaminated with a mixture of nitrate from manure and commercial ammonium-based fertilizer. DIM values indicate an absence of denitrification, which has implications for long-term management of the water resources.     

Intercomparison of measurements of bulk snow density and water equivalent of snow cover with snow core samplers: Instrumental bias and variability induced by observers

Manually collected snow data are often considered as ground truth for many applications such as climatological or hydrological studies. However, there are many sources of uncertainty that are not quantified in detail. For the determination of water equivalent of snow cover (SWE), different snow core samplers and scales are used, but they are all based on the same measurement principle. We conducted two field campaigns with 9 samplers commonly used in observational measurements and research in Europe and northern America to better quantify uncertainties when measuring depth, density and SWE with core samplers. During the first campaign, as a first approach to distinguish snow variability measured at the plot and at the point scale, repeated measurements were taken along two 20 m long snow pits. The results revealed a much higher variability of SWE at the plot scale (resulting from both natural variability and instrumental bias) compared to repeated measurements at the same spot (resulting mostly from error induced by observers or very small scale variability of snow depth). The exceptionally homogeneous snowpack found in the second campaign permitted to almost neglect the natural variability of the snowpack properties and focus on the separation between instrumental bias and error induced by observers. Reported uncertainties refer to a shallow, homogeneous tundra-taiga snowpack less than 1 m deep (loose, mostly recrystallised snow and no wind impact). Under such measurement conditions, the uncertainty in bulk snow density estimation is about 5% for an individual instrument and is close to 10% among different instruments. Results confirmed that instrumental bias exceeded both the natural variability and the error induced by observers, even in the case when observers were not familiar with a given snow core sampler.     

Grim4-C1, -C2p: combination solutions of the global earth gravity field

On the basis of the GRIM4-S1 satellite-only Earth gravity model, being accomplished in a common effort by DGFI and GRGS, a combination solution, called GRIM4-C1, has been derivcd using 1° × 1° mean gravity anomalies and 1° × 1° Seasat altimeter derived mean geoid undulations. In the meantime improvements could be achieved by incorporating more tracking data (GEOSAT, SPOT2-DORIS) into the solution, resulting in the two new parallel versions, the satellite-only gravity model GRIM4-S2 and the combined solution GRIM4-C2p (preliminary). All GRIM4 Earth gravity models cover the spectral gravitational constituents complete up to degree and order 50.In this report the emphasis is on the discussion of the combined gravity models: combination and estimation techniques, capabilities for application in precise satellite orbit computation and accuracies in long wavelength geoid representation. It is shown that with the new generation of global gravity models general purpose satellite-only models are no longer inferior to combination solutions if applied to satellite orbit restitution.     

Displaced non-Keplerian orbits using impulsive thrust

This paper investigates new families of displaced, highly non-Keplerian orbits in the two-body problem and artificial equilibria in the circular restricted three-body problem. The families of orbits presented extend prior work by using periodic impulses to generate displaced orbits rather than continuous thrust. The new displaced orbits comprise a sequence of individual Keplerian arcs whose intersection is continuous in position, with discontinuities in velocity removed using impulses. For frequent impulses the new families of orbits approximate continuous thrust non-Keplerian orbits found in previous studies. To generate approximations to artificial equilibria in the circular restricted three-body problem, periodic impulses are used to generate a sequence of connected three-body arcs which begin and terminate at a fixed position in the rotating frame of reference. Again, these families of orbits reduce to the families of artificial equilibria found using continuous thrust.     

Radiocarbon dating suitability of aquatic plant macrofossils

Paleolimnological and plant physiological literature were reviewed to determine which types of aquatic plant macrofossils are suitable for radiocarbon dating, with a particular focus on the uptake of reservoir-aged dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) by emergent plants. Submerged aquatic plants utilize large amounts of DIC and are clearly not suitable for radiocarbon dating. Under certain environmental conditions, some emergent aquatic plants can metabolize DIC in quantities large enough to introduce old-carbon error to radiocarbon dates acquired from their remains (plant macrofossils). Over 300 plant macrofossil images are included in the online resource Tool for Microscopic Identification; http://tmi.laccore.umn.edu) along with guidance on identification and suitability for radiocarbon dating.     

Numerical simulations of a Mars geodesy network experiment: Effect of orbiter angular momentum desaturation on Mars' rotation estimation

The scientific objectives of a geodetic experiment based on a network of landers, such as NEIGE (NEtlander Ionosphere and Geodesy Experiment) are to improve the current knowledge of Mars' interior and atmosphere dynamics. Such a network science experiment allows monitoring the motions of the Martian rotation axis with a precision of a few centimeters (or milli-arc-seconds (mas)) over annual and sub-annual periods. Thereto, besides radio tracking of a Mars orbiter from the Earth, radio Doppler shifts between this orbiter and several landers at the planet's surface will be performed. From the analysis of these radio Doppler data, it is possible to reconstruct the orbiter motion and Mars' orientation in space. The errors on the orbit determination (position and velocity of the orbiter) have an impact on the geodetic parameters determination from the Doppler shifts and must be removed from the signal in order to achieve a high enough accuracy. In this paper, we perform numerical simulations of the two Doppler signals involved in such an experiment to estimate the impact of the spacecraft angular momentum desaturations on the determination of Mars' orientation variations. The attitude control of the orbiter needs such desaturation maneuvers regularly repeated. They produce velocity variations that must be taken into account when determining the orbit. For our simulations, we use a priori models of the Martian rotation and introduce the spacecraft velocity variations induced by each desaturation event. By a least-squares adjustment of the simulated Doppler signals, we then estimate the orbiter velocity variations and the parameters of the Mars' rotation model. We show that these velocity variations are ill resolved when the spacecraft is not tracked, therefore requiring a near-continuous tracking from the Earth to accurately determine the orbit. In such conditions we show that only 15- of lander-orbiter tracking per week allows recovering Mars' orientation parameters with a precision of a few mas over a period of 1 Martian year.     

Martian gravity field model and its time variations from MGS and Odyssey data

We present results of several years of research and data processing aimed at modelling the Mars gravity field and its longest wavelength time variations. The new solution includes tracking data from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) from 1998 to 2006 (end of mission) and from Mars Odyssey from 2002 to the spring of 2008; this is the longest analyzed data set from these two orbiter missions as compared to previous works. The new model has been obtained by a team working in Europe, independently from the works of groups at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), also with totally independent software. Observations consist in two and three-way Doppler measurements (also one way for MGS), and range tracking data collected by the Deep Space Network and have been processed in 4 day arcs, taking into account all disturbing forces of gravitational and non-gravitational origins; for each arc the state vector, drag and solar pressure model multiplying factors, and angular momentum dump parameters are adjusted. The static field (MGGM08A) is represented in spherical harmonics up to degree and order 95 and is very close to previously published models (in terms of spectral components and also over specific features); correlations with the global Mars topography are established and apparent depths of compensation by degree are derived. Lumped zonal harmonics of degree two and three are solved for every 10 days, exhibiting variations in line with previous results (including authors’ ones); the work also shows the difficulty of finding clean signatures (annual and semi-annual) for the zonal coefficient of second degree. The k₂ Love number is also derived from the ensemble of data, as well as from subsets of them; values between 0.110 and 0.130 are found, which are consistent with the existence of a Martian fluid core of significant radius.     

Artificial halo orbits for low-thrust propulsion spacecraft

We consider periodic halo orbits about artificial equilibrium points (AEP) near to the Lagrange points L ₁ and L ₂ in the circular restricted three body problem, where the third body is a low-thrust propulsion spacecraft in the Sun–Earth system. Although such halo orbits about artificial equilibrium points can be generated using a solar sail, there are points inside L ₁ and beyond L ₂ where a solar sail cannot be placed, so low-thrust, such as solar electric propulsion, is the only option to generate artificial halo orbits around points inaccessible to a solar sail. Analytical and numerical halo orbits for such low-thrust propulsion systems are obtained by using the Lindstedt Poincaré and differential corrector method respectively. Both the period and minimum amplitude of halo orbits about artificial equilibrium points inside L ₁ decreases with an increase in low-thrust acceleration. The halo orbits about artificial equilibrium points beyond L ₂ in contrast show an increase in period with an increase in low-thrust acceleration. However, the minimum amplitude first increases and then decreases after the thrust acceleration exceeds 0.415 mm/s². Using a continuation method, we also find stable artificial halo orbits which can be sustained for long integration times and require a reasonably small low-thrust acceleration 0.0593 mm/s².