Inference of stratospheric temperature and moisture profiles from observations of the infrared horizon Final report

Stratospheric and mesospheric temperature and moisture profiles determined from infrared horizon observation

Techniques for obtaining regional radiation budgets from satellite radiometer observations, phase 4 and phase 5

A scheme was developed which divides the earth-atmosphere system into 2060 elemental areas. The regions previously described are defined in terms of these elemental areas which are fixed in size and position as the satellite moves. One method, termed the instantaneous technique, yields values of the radiant emittance (We) and the radiant reflectance (Wr) which the regions have during the time interval of a single satellite pass. The number of observations matches the number of regions under study and a unique solution is obtained using matrix inversion. The other method (termed the best fit technique), yields time averages of We and Wr for large time intervals (e.g., months, seasons). The number of observations in this technique is much greater than the number of regions considered, and an approximate solution is obtained by the method of least squares

Analyses of earth radiation budget data from unrestricted broadband radiometers on the ESSA 7 satellite

Six months of data from the wide-field-of-view low resolution infrared radiometers on the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) 7 satellite were analyzed. Earth emitted and earth reflected irradiances were computed at satellite altitude using data from a new in-flight calibration technique. Flux densitites and albedos were computed for the top of the earth's atmosphere. Monthly averages of these quantities over 100 latitude zones, each hemisphere, and the globe are presented for each month analyzed, and global distributions are presented for typical months. Emitted flux densities are generally lower and albedos higher than those of previous studies. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the ESSA 7 satellite was in a 3 p.m. Sun-synchronous orbit and some of the comparison data were obtained from satellites in 12 noon sun-synchronous orbits. The ESSA 7 detectors seem to smooth out spatial flux density variations more than scanning radiometers or wide-field-of-view fixed-plate detectors. Significant longitudinal and latitudinal variations of emitted flux density and albedo were identified in the tropics in a zone extending about + or - 25 deg in latitude

Techniques for computing regional radiant emittances of the earth-atmosphere system from observations by wide-angle satellite radiometers, phase 3

Radiometers on earth orbiting satellites measure the exchange of radiant energy between the earth-atmosphere (E-A) system and space at observation points in space external to the E-A system. Observations by wideangle, spherical and flat radiometers are analyzed and interpreted with regard to the general problem of the earth energy budget (EEB) and to the problem of determining the energy budget of regions smaller than the field of view (FOV) of these radiometers

'There is no such thing as a boring place': architecture and the built environment as a televisual experience

The essay will look at a number of documentaries that relate to architecture with a view to analysing and defining their characteristic visual strategies, modes of address, and the ways in which they relate to key issues of heritage, innovation and timely controversies over social contexts and use. It will consider the documentary traditions that programmes draw on, and how the characteristics of television shape the mediation of buildings and environments. It will take a particular interest in the part played by expert and polemical commentators, both in terms of their ideological import and their function as expert narrators, advocates and avatars

Calculation of disease dynamics in a population of households

Early mathematical representations of infectious disease dynamics assumed a single, large, homogeneously mixing population. Over the past decade there has been growing interest in models consisting of multiple smaller subpopulations (households, workplaces, schools, communities), with the natural assumption of strong homogeneous mixing within each subpopulation, and weaker transmission between subpopulations. Here we consider a model of SIRS (susceptible-infectious-recovered-suscep​tible) infection dynamics in a very large (assumed infinite) population of households, with the simplifying assumption that each household is of the same size (although all methods may be extended to a population with a heterogeneous distribution of household sizes). For this households model we present efficient methods for studying several quantities of epidemiological interest: (i) the threshold for invasion; (ii) the early growth rate; (iii) the household offspring distribution; (iv) the endemic prevalence of infection; and (v) the transient dynamics of the process. We utilize these methods to explore a wide region of parameter space appropriate for human infectious diseases. We then extend these results to consider the effects of more realistic gamma-distributed infectious periods. We discuss how all these results differ from standard homogeneous-mixing models and assess the implications for the invasion, transmission and persistence of infection. The computational efficiency of the methodology presented here will hopefully aid in the parameterisation of structured models and in the evaluation of appropriate responses for future disease outbreaks

Contributions to planetary meteorology Final report

Atmospheric circulation and climatology of Venus and Mar

A Pretest-Posttest Survey Study of Parent Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Occupational Performance Coaching on Caregiver-Child Play Occupations

Background: When the COVID-19 pandemic and telehealth was utilized, it was apparent that most client families did not have occupation-based play objects in the home due to having to drive 30 minutes to the closest store, difficulty affording toys, or did not know age-appropriate toys for their child. Purpose: The study explored home program education strategies, and the relationships between store access, socioeconomic status, and parental education levels on having age-appropriate play-based occupational items in the home. Theoretical Framework. Occupational Performance Coaching (OPC) is a coaching intervention that helps parents to recognize and implement changes for more successful occupational performance for themselves and their child (Graham et al., 2009). Methods. The study was a quantitative one group pretest/posttest design conducted one time a week for four weeks in 20-minute therapy sessions with the parent and their child. The parent was educated on a particular area of occupation, and framed with the three domains of OPC (Kraversky, 2019). Results. The increase in confidence in choosing a toy for addressing therapeutic goals was found to be statistically significant, and remainder of survey questions resulted in a positive result. However, parents marked that this study was very valuable to them, that they had improved interactions with their child, and had improved carryover of therapeutic goals. Conclusions: While only one pre/post question was statistically significant, it was significant in the fact that the post-tests show OPC was valuable to the parents and had the potential to be statistically significant with a larger participant group