Water vapor measurements by Raman lidar during the ARM 1997 Water Vapor Intensive Observation Period

Water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, as it is the most active infrared absorber and emitter of radiation, and it also plays an important role in energy transport and cloud formation. Accurate, high resolution measurements of this variable are critical in order to improve the understanding of these processes and thus their ability to model them. Because of the importance of water vapor, the Department of Energy`s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program initiated a series of three intensive operating periods (IOPs) at its Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site in northern Oklahoma. The goal of these IOPs is to improve and validate the state-of-the-art capabilities in measuring water vapor. To date, two of the planned three IOPs have occurred: the first was in September of 1996, with an emphasis on the lowest kilometer, while the second was conducted from September--October 1997 with a focus on both the upper troposphere and lowest kilometer. The ARM CART site is the home of several different water vapor measurement systems. These systems include a Raman lidar, a microwave radiometer, a radiosonde launch site, and an instrumented tower. During these IOPs, additional instrumentation was brought to the site to augment the normal measurements in the attempt to characterize the CART instruments and to address the need to improve water vapor measurement capabilities. Some of the instruments brought to the CART site include a scanning Raman lidar system from NASA/GSFC, additional microwave radiometers from NOAA/ETL, a chilled mirror that was flown on a tethersonde and kite system, and dewpoint hygrometer instruments flow on the North Dakota Citation. This paper will focus on the Raman lidar intercomparisons from the second IOP

CART and GSFC Raman lidar measurements of atmospheric aerosol backscattering and extinction profiles for EOS validation and ARM radiation studies

The aerosol retrieval algorithms used by the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) sensors on the Earth Observing Satellite (EOS) AM-1 platform operate by comparing measured radiances with tabulated radiances that have been computed for specific aerosol models. These aerosol models are based almost entirely on surface and/or column averaged measurements and so may not accurately represent the ambient aerosol properties. Therefore, to validate these EOS algorithms and to determine the effects of aerosols on the clear-sky radiative flux, the authors have begun to evaluate the vertical variability of ambient aerosol properties using the aerosol backscattering and extinction profiles measured by the Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Raman Lidars. Using the procedures developed for the GSFC Scanning Raman Lidar (SRL), the authors have developed and have begun to implement algorithms for the CART Raman Lidar to routinely provide profiles of aerosol extinction and backscattering during both nighttime and daytime operations. Aerosol backscattering and extinction profiles are computed for both lidar systems using data acquired during the 1996 and 1997 Water Vapor Intensive Operating Periods (IOPs). By integrating these aerosol extinction profiles, they derive measurements of aerosol optical thickness and compare these with coincident sun photometer measurements. They also use these measurements to measure the aerosol extinction/backscatter ratio S{sub a} (i.e. lidar ratio). Furthermore, they use the simultaneous water vapor measurements acquired by these Raman lidars to investigate the effects of water vapor on aerosol optical properties

Structural Roles of TiO2 in CaF2-SiO2-CaO-TiO2 Submerged Arc Welding Fluxes

A series of fused CaF2-SiO2-CaO-based fluxes geared towards submerged arc welding has been prepared with incremental TiO2 additions. Through systematic investigation on physical properties, quantitative relationship between TiO2 content and corresponding structural information has been established, and the roles played by TiO2 have been profiled. It is found that TiO2 has been introduced into the silicate network by acting as network-former, increasing the degree of polymerization while lowering the strength of the flux.The National Natural Science Foundation of China, Newton Advanced Fellowship by the Royal Society , Special Fund for Key Program of Science and Technology of Liaoning Province, Research Fund for Central Universities, Xingliao Talents Program and State Key Laboratory of Metal Material for Marine Equipment and Application.http://link.springer.com/journal/116632021-08-20am2021Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineerin

Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

International audienceOn 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg(2) at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta