Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 10 of 12 items for
- Author or Editor: Colm Sweeney x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Abstract
This work describes the AirCore, a simple and innovative atmospheric sampling system. The AirCore used in this study is a 150-m-long stainless steel tube, open at one end and closed at the other, that relies on positive changes in ambient pressure for passive sampling of the atmosphere. The AirCore evacuates while ascending to a high altitude and collects a sample of the ambient air as it descends. It is sealed upon recovery and measured with a continuous analyzer for trace gas mole fraction. The AirCore tubing can be shaped into a variety of configurations to accommodate any sampling platform; for the testing done in this work it was shaped into a 0.75-m-diameter coil. Measurements of CO2 and CH4 mole fractions in laboratory tests indicate a repeatability and lack of bias to better than 0.07 ppm (one sigma) for CO2 and 0.4 ppb for CH4 under various conditions. Comparisons of AirCore data with flask data from aircraft flights indicate a standard deviation of differences of 0.3 ppm and 5 ppb for CO2 and CH4, respectively, with no apparent bias. Accounting for longitudinal mixing, the expected measurement resolution for CO2 is 110 m at sea level, 260 m at 8000 m, and 1500 m at 20 000 m ASL after 3 h of storage, decreasing to 170, 390, and 2300 m, after 12 h. Validation tests confirm that the AirCore is a robust sampling device for many species on a variety of platforms, including balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and aircraft.
Abstract
This work describes the AirCore, a simple and innovative atmospheric sampling system. The AirCore used in this study is a 150-m-long stainless steel tube, open at one end and closed at the other, that relies on positive changes in ambient pressure for passive sampling of the atmosphere. The AirCore evacuates while ascending to a high altitude and collects a sample of the ambient air as it descends. It is sealed upon recovery and measured with a continuous analyzer for trace gas mole fraction. The AirCore tubing can be shaped into a variety of configurations to accommodate any sampling platform; for the testing done in this work it was shaped into a 0.75-m-diameter coil. Measurements of CO2 and CH4 mole fractions in laboratory tests indicate a repeatability and lack of bias to better than 0.07 ppm (one sigma) for CO2 and 0.4 ppb for CH4 under various conditions. Comparisons of AirCore data with flask data from aircraft flights indicate a standard deviation of differences of 0.3 ppm and 5 ppb for CO2 and CH4, respectively, with no apparent bias. Accounting for longitudinal mixing, the expected measurement resolution for CO2 is 110 m at sea level, 260 m at 8000 m, and 1500 m at 20 000 m ASL after 3 h of storage, decreasing to 170, 390, and 2300 m, after 12 h. Validation tests confirm that the AirCore is a robust sampling device for many species on a variety of platforms, including balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and aircraft.
Abstract
Surface water partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) variations in Drake Passage are examined using decade-long underway shipboard measurements. North of the Polar Front (PF), the observed pCO2 shows a seasonal cycle that peaks annually in August and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)–forced variations are significant. Just south of the PF, pCO2 shows a small seasonal cycle that peaks annually in February, reflecting the opposing effects of changes in SST and DIC in the surface waters. At the PF, the wintertime pCO2 is nearly in equilibrium with the atmosphere, leading to a small sea-to-air CO2 flux.
These observations are used to evaluate eight available Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 (CMIP5), Earth system models (ESMs). Six ESMs reproduce the observed annual-mean pCO2 values averaged over the Drake Passage region. However, the model amplitude of the pCO2 seasonal cycle exceeds the observed amplitude of the pCO2 seasonal cycle because of the model biases in SST and surface DIC. North of the PF, deep winter mixed layers play a larger role in pCO2 variations in the models than they do in observations. Four ESMs show elevated wintertime pCO2 near the PF, causing a significant sea-to-air CO2 flux. Wintertime winds in these models are generally stronger than the satellite-derived winds. This not only magnifies the sea-to-air CO2 flux but also upwells DIC-rich water to the surface and drives strong equatorward Ekman currents. These strong model currents likely advect the upwelled DIC farther equatorward, as strong stratification in the models precludes subduction below the mixed layer.
Abstract
Surface water partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) variations in Drake Passage are examined using decade-long underway shipboard measurements. North of the Polar Front (PF), the observed pCO2 shows a seasonal cycle that peaks annually in August and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)–forced variations are significant. Just south of the PF, pCO2 shows a small seasonal cycle that peaks annually in February, reflecting the opposing effects of changes in SST and DIC in the surface waters. At the PF, the wintertime pCO2 is nearly in equilibrium with the atmosphere, leading to a small sea-to-air CO2 flux.
These observations are used to evaluate eight available Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 (CMIP5), Earth system models (ESMs). Six ESMs reproduce the observed annual-mean pCO2 values averaged over the Drake Passage region. However, the model amplitude of the pCO2 seasonal cycle exceeds the observed amplitude of the pCO2 seasonal cycle because of the model biases in SST and surface DIC. North of the PF, deep winter mixed layers play a larger role in pCO2 variations in the models than they do in observations. Four ESMs show elevated wintertime pCO2 near the PF, causing a significant sea-to-air CO2 flux. Wintertime winds in these models are generally stronger than the satellite-derived winds. This not only magnifies the sea-to-air CO2 flux but also upwells DIC-rich water to the surface and drives strong equatorward Ekman currents. These strong model currents likely advect the upwelled DIC farther equatorward, as strong stratification in the models precludes subduction below the mixed layer.
Abstract
The implementation and accuracy of a low-rate (~1 Hz) horizontal wind measurement system is described for a fixed-wing aircraft without modification to the airframe. The system is based on a global positioning system (GPS) compass that provides aircraft heading and a ground-referenced velocity, which, when subtracted from the standard true airspeed, provides estimates of the horizontal wind velocity. A series of tests was performed flying “L”-shaped patterns above the boundary layer, where the winds were assumed to be horizontally homogeneous over the area bounded by the flight (approximately 25 km2). Four headings were flown at each altitude at a constant airspeed. Scaling corrections for both heading and airspeed were found by minimizing the variance in the 1-s wind measurements; an upper limit to the error was then computed by calculating the variance of the corrected wind measurements on each of the four headings. A typical uncertainty found in this manner tends to be less than 0.2 m s−1. The measurement system described herein is inexpensive and relatively easy to implement on single-engine aircraft.
Abstract
The implementation and accuracy of a low-rate (~1 Hz) horizontal wind measurement system is described for a fixed-wing aircraft without modification to the airframe. The system is based on a global positioning system (GPS) compass that provides aircraft heading and a ground-referenced velocity, which, when subtracted from the standard true airspeed, provides estimates of the horizontal wind velocity. A series of tests was performed flying “L”-shaped patterns above the boundary layer, where the winds were assumed to be horizontally homogeneous over the area bounded by the flight (approximately 25 km2). Four headings were flown at each altitude at a constant airspeed. Scaling corrections for both heading and airspeed were found by minimizing the variance in the 1-s wind measurements; an upper limit to the error was then computed by calculating the variance of the corrected wind measurements on each of the four headings. A typical uncertainty found in this manner tends to be less than 0.2 m s−1. The measurement system described herein is inexpensive and relatively easy to implement on single-engine aircraft.
Abstract
The impact of changes in shortwave radiation penetration depth on the global ocean circulation and heat transport is studied using the GFDL Modular Ocean Model (MOM4) with two independent parameterizations that use ocean color to estimate the penetration depth of shortwave radiation. Ten to eighteen percent increases in the depth of 1% downwelling surface irradiance levels results in an increase in mixed layer depths of 3–20 m in the subtropical and tropical regions with no change at higher latitudes. While 1D models have predicted that sea surface temperatures at the equator would decrease with deeper penetration of solar irradiance, this study shows a warming, resulting in a 10% decrease in the required restoring heat flux needed to maintain climatological sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The decrease in the restoring heat flux is attributed to a slowdown in heat transport (5%) from the Tropics and an increase in the temperature of submixed layer waters being transported into the equatorial regions. Calculations were made using a simple relationship between mixed layer depth and meridional mass transport. When compared with model diagnostics, these calculations suggest that the slowdown in heat transport is primarily due to off-equatorial increases in mixed layer depths. At higher latitudes (5°–40°), higher restoring heat fluxes are needed to maintain sea surface temperatures because of deeper mixed layers and an increase in storage of heat below the mixed layer. This study offers a way to evaluate the changes in irradiance penetration depths in coupled ocean–atmosphere GCMs and the potential effect that large-scale changes in chlorophyll a concentrations will have on ocean circulation.
Abstract
The impact of changes in shortwave radiation penetration depth on the global ocean circulation and heat transport is studied using the GFDL Modular Ocean Model (MOM4) with two independent parameterizations that use ocean color to estimate the penetration depth of shortwave radiation. Ten to eighteen percent increases in the depth of 1% downwelling surface irradiance levels results in an increase in mixed layer depths of 3–20 m in the subtropical and tropical regions with no change at higher latitudes. While 1D models have predicted that sea surface temperatures at the equator would decrease with deeper penetration of solar irradiance, this study shows a warming, resulting in a 10% decrease in the required restoring heat flux needed to maintain climatological sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The decrease in the restoring heat flux is attributed to a slowdown in heat transport (5%) from the Tropics and an increase in the temperature of submixed layer waters being transported into the equatorial regions. Calculations were made using a simple relationship between mixed layer depth and meridional mass transport. When compared with model diagnostics, these calculations suggest that the slowdown in heat transport is primarily due to off-equatorial increases in mixed layer depths. At higher latitudes (5°–40°), higher restoring heat fluxes are needed to maintain sea surface temperatures because of deeper mixed layers and an increase in storage of heat below the mixed layer. This study offers a way to evaluate the changes in irradiance penetration depths in coupled ocean–atmosphere GCMs and the potential effect that large-scale changes in chlorophyll a concentrations will have on ocean circulation.
A stratospheric trace gas measurement program using balloon-based sonde and AirCore sampler techniques is proposed as a way to monitor the strength of the stratospheric mean meridional or Brewer–Dobson circulation. Modeling work predicts a strengthening of the Brewer–Dobson circulation in response to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations; such a change will likely impact tropospheric climate. Because the strength of the Brewer–Dobson circulation is an unmeasureable quantity, trace gas measurements are used to infer characteristics of the circulation. At present, stratospheric trace gas measurements are sporadic in time and/or place, primarily associated with localized aircraft or balloon campaigns or relatively short-lived satellite instruments. This program would consist of regular trace gas profile measurements taken at multiple latitudes covering tropical, midlatitude, and polar regimes. The program would make use of the relatively low-cost AirCore and sonde techniques, allowing more frequent measurements given the significantly lower cost than with current techniques. The program will provide a means of monitoring changes in the strength and redistribution of the stratospheric circulation. The goals are to monitor the strength of the Brewer–Dobson circulation and to improve understanding of the reasons for stratospheric circulation changes, ultimately resulting in more realistic model predictions of climate change for the coming decades.
A stratospheric trace gas measurement program using balloon-based sonde and AirCore sampler techniques is proposed as a way to monitor the strength of the stratospheric mean meridional or Brewer–Dobson circulation. Modeling work predicts a strengthening of the Brewer–Dobson circulation in response to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations; such a change will likely impact tropospheric climate. Because the strength of the Brewer–Dobson circulation is an unmeasureable quantity, trace gas measurements are used to infer characteristics of the circulation. At present, stratospheric trace gas measurements are sporadic in time and/or place, primarily associated with localized aircraft or balloon campaigns or relatively short-lived satellite instruments. This program would consist of regular trace gas profile measurements taken at multiple latitudes covering tropical, midlatitude, and polar regimes. The program would make use of the relatively low-cost AirCore and sonde techniques, allowing more frequent measurements given the significantly lower cost than with current techniques. The program will provide a means of monitoring changes in the strength and redistribution of the stratospheric circulation. The goals are to monitor the strength of the Brewer–Dobson circulation and to improve understanding of the reasons for stratospheric circulation changes, ultimately resulting in more realistic model predictions of climate change for the coming decades.
Abstract
Linkages between atmospheric, ecological, and biogeochemical variables in the changing Arctic are analyzed using long-term measurements near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Two key variables are the date when snow disappears in spring, as determined primarily by atmospheric dynamics, precipitation, air temperature, winter snow accumulation, and cloud cover, and the date of onset of snowpack in autumn that is additionally influenced by ocean temperature and sea ice extent. In 2015 and 2016 the snow melted early at Utqiaġvik owing mainly to anomalous warmth during May of both years attributed to atmospheric circulation patterns, with 2016 having the record earliest snowmelt. These years are discussed in the context of a 115-yr snowmelt record at Utqiaġvik with a trend toward earlier melting since the mid-1970s (–2.86 days decade–1, 1975–2016). At nearby Cooper Island, where a colony of seabirds, black guillemots, have been monitored since 1975, timing of egg laying is correlated with Utqiaġvik snowmelt with 2015 and 2016 being the earliest years in the 42-yr record. Ice out at a nearby freshwater lagoon is also correlated with Utqiaġvik snowmelt. The date when snow begins to accumulate in autumn at Utqiaġvik shows a trend toward later dates (+4.6 days decade–1, 1975–2016), with 2016 being the latest on record. The relationships between the lengthening snow-free season and regional phenology, soil temperatures, fluxes of gases from the tundra, and to regional sea ice conditions are discussed. Better understanding of these interactions is needed to predict the annual snow cycles in the region at seasonal to decadal scales and to anticipate coupled environmental responses.
Abstract
Linkages between atmospheric, ecological, and biogeochemical variables in the changing Arctic are analyzed using long-term measurements near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Two key variables are the date when snow disappears in spring, as determined primarily by atmospheric dynamics, precipitation, air temperature, winter snow accumulation, and cloud cover, and the date of onset of snowpack in autumn that is additionally influenced by ocean temperature and sea ice extent. In 2015 and 2016 the snow melted early at Utqiaġvik owing mainly to anomalous warmth during May of both years attributed to atmospheric circulation patterns, with 2016 having the record earliest snowmelt. These years are discussed in the context of a 115-yr snowmelt record at Utqiaġvik with a trend toward earlier melting since the mid-1970s (–2.86 days decade–1, 1975–2016). At nearby Cooper Island, where a colony of seabirds, black guillemots, have been monitored since 1975, timing of egg laying is correlated with Utqiaġvik snowmelt with 2015 and 2016 being the earliest years in the 42-yr record. Ice out at a nearby freshwater lagoon is also correlated with Utqiaġvik snowmelt. The date when snow begins to accumulate in autumn at Utqiaġvik shows a trend toward later dates (+4.6 days decade–1, 1975–2016), with 2016 being the latest on record. The relationships between the lengthening snow-free season and regional phenology, soil temperatures, fluxes of gases from the tundra, and to regional sea ice conditions are discussed. Better understanding of these interactions is needed to predict the annual snow cycles in the region at seasonal to decadal scales and to anticipate coupled environmental responses.
Abstract
Changes in atmospheric CO2 variability during the twenty-first century may provide insight about ecosystem responses to climate change and have implications for the design of carbon monitoring programs. This paper describes changes in the three-dimensional structure of atmospheric CO2 for several representative concentration pathways (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5) using the Community Earth System Model–Biogeochemistry (CESM1-BGC). CO2 simulated for the historical period was first compared to surface, aircraft, and column observations. In a second step, the evolution of spatial and temporal gradients during the twenty-first century was examined. The mean annual cycle in atmospheric CO2 was underestimated for the historical period throughout the Northern Hemisphere, suggesting that the growing season net flux in the Community Land Model (the land component of CESM) was too weak. Consistent with weak summer drawdown in Northern Hemisphere high latitudes, simulated CO2 showed correspondingly weak north–south and vertical gradients during the summer. In the simulations of the twenty-first century, CESM predicted increases in the mean annual cycle of atmospheric CO2 and larger horizontal gradients. Not only did the mean north–south gradient increase due to fossil fuel emissions, but east–west contrasts in CO2 also strengthened because of changing patterns in fossil fuel emissions and terrestrial carbon exchange. In the RCP8.5 simulation, where CO2 increased to 1150 ppm by 2100, the CESM predicted increases in interannual variability in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes of up to 60% relative to present variability for time series filtered with a 2–10-yr bandpass. Such an increase in variability may impact detection of changing surface fluxes from atmospheric observations.
Abstract
Changes in atmospheric CO2 variability during the twenty-first century may provide insight about ecosystem responses to climate change and have implications for the design of carbon monitoring programs. This paper describes changes in the three-dimensional structure of atmospheric CO2 for several representative concentration pathways (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5) using the Community Earth System Model–Biogeochemistry (CESM1-BGC). CO2 simulated for the historical period was first compared to surface, aircraft, and column observations. In a second step, the evolution of spatial and temporal gradients during the twenty-first century was examined. The mean annual cycle in atmospheric CO2 was underestimated for the historical period throughout the Northern Hemisphere, suggesting that the growing season net flux in the Community Land Model (the land component of CESM) was too weak. Consistent with weak summer drawdown in Northern Hemisphere high latitudes, simulated CO2 showed correspondingly weak north–south and vertical gradients during the summer. In the simulations of the twenty-first century, CESM predicted increases in the mean annual cycle of atmospheric CO2 and larger horizontal gradients. Not only did the mean north–south gradient increase due to fossil fuel emissions, but east–west contrasts in CO2 also strengthened because of changing patterns in fossil fuel emissions and terrestrial carbon exchange. In the RCP8.5 simulation, where CO2 increased to 1150 ppm by 2100, the CESM predicted increases in interannual variability in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes of up to 60% relative to present variability for time series filtered with a 2–10-yr bandpass. Such an increase in variability may impact detection of changing surface fluxes from atmospheric observations.
Abstract
The Atmospheric Carbon and Transport (ACT)-America NASA Earth Venture Suborbital Mission set out to improve regional atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) inversions by exploring the intersection of the strong GHG fluxes and vigorous atmospheric transport that occurs within the midlatitudes. Two research aircraft instrumented with remote and in situ sensors to measure GHG mole fractions, associated trace gases, and atmospheric state variables collected 1,140.7 flight hours of research data, distributed across 305 individual aircraft sorties, coordinated within 121 research flight days, and spanning five 6-week seasonal flight campaigns in the central and eastern United States. Flights sampled 31 synoptic sequences, including fair-weather and frontal conditions, at altitudes ranging from the atmospheric boundary layer to the upper free troposphere. The observations were complemented with global and regional GHG flux and transport model ensembles. We found that midlatitude weather systems contain large spatial gradients in GHG mole fractions, in patterns that were consistent as a function of season and altitude. We attribute these patterns to a combination of regional terrestrial fluxes and inflow from the continental boundaries. These observations, when segregated according to altitude and air mass, provide a variety of quantitative insights into the realism of regional CO2 and CH4 fluxes and atmospheric GHG transport realizations. The ACT-America dataset and ensemble modeling methods provide benchmarks for the development of atmospheric inversion systems. As global and regional atmospheric inversions incorporate ACT-America’s findings and methods, we anticipate these systems will produce increasingly accurate and precise subcontinental GHG flux estimates.
Abstract
The Atmospheric Carbon and Transport (ACT)-America NASA Earth Venture Suborbital Mission set out to improve regional atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) inversions by exploring the intersection of the strong GHG fluxes and vigorous atmospheric transport that occurs within the midlatitudes. Two research aircraft instrumented with remote and in situ sensors to measure GHG mole fractions, associated trace gases, and atmospheric state variables collected 1,140.7 flight hours of research data, distributed across 305 individual aircraft sorties, coordinated within 121 research flight days, and spanning five 6-week seasonal flight campaigns in the central and eastern United States. Flights sampled 31 synoptic sequences, including fair-weather and frontal conditions, at altitudes ranging from the atmospheric boundary layer to the upper free troposphere. The observations were complemented with global and regional GHG flux and transport model ensembles. We found that midlatitude weather systems contain large spatial gradients in GHG mole fractions, in patterns that were consistent as a function of season and altitude. We attribute these patterns to a combination of regional terrestrial fluxes and inflow from the continental boundaries. These observations, when segregated according to altitude and air mass, provide a variety of quantitative insights into the realism of regional CO2 and CH4 fluxes and atmospheric GHG transport realizations. The ACT-America dataset and ensemble modeling methods provide benchmarks for the development of atmospheric inversion systems. As global and regional atmospheric inversions incorporate ACT-America’s findings and methods, we anticipate these systems will produce increasingly accurate and precise subcontinental GHG flux estimates.
Abstract
The current generation of coupled climate models run at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) as part of the Climate Change Science Program contains ocean components that differ in almost every respect from those contained in previous generations of GFDL climate models. This paper summarizes the new physical features of the models and examines the simulations that they produce. Of the two new coupled climate model versions 2.1 (CM2.1) and 2.0 (CM2.0), the CM2.1 model represents a major improvement over CM2.0 in most of the major oceanic features examined, with strikingly lower drifts in hydrographic fields such as temperature and salinity, more realistic ventilation of the deep ocean, and currents that are closer to their observed values. Regional analysis of the differences between the models highlights the importance of wind stress in determining the circulation, particularly in the Southern Ocean. At present, major errors in both models are associated with Northern Hemisphere Mode Waters and outflows from overflows, particularly the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea.
Abstract
The current generation of coupled climate models run at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) as part of the Climate Change Science Program contains ocean components that differ in almost every respect from those contained in previous generations of GFDL climate models. This paper summarizes the new physical features of the models and examines the simulations that they produce. Of the two new coupled climate model versions 2.1 (CM2.1) and 2.0 (CM2.0), the CM2.1 model represents a major improvement over CM2.0 in most of the major oceanic features examined, with strikingly lower drifts in hydrographic fields such as temperature and salinity, more realistic ventilation of the deep ocean, and currents that are closer to their observed values. Regional analysis of the differences between the models highlights the importance of wind stress in determining the circulation, particularly in the Southern Ocean. At present, major errors in both models are associated with Northern Hemisphere Mode Waters and outflows from overflows, particularly the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea.
