Trajectory Mapping and Applications to Data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

The problem of creating synoptic maps from asynoptically gathered trace gas data has prompted the development of a number of schemes. Most notable among these schemes are the Kalman filter, the Salby-Fourier technique, and constituent reconstruction. This paper explores a new technique called trajectory mapping. Trajectory mapping creates synoptic maps from asynoptically gathered data by advecting measurements backward or forward in time using analyzed wind fields. A significant portion of this work is devoted to an analysis of errors in synoptic trajectory maps associated with the calculation of individual parcel trajectories. In particular, we have considered (1) calculational errors; (2) uncertainties in the values and locations of constituent measurements, (3) errors incurred by neglecting diabatic effects, and (4) sensitivity to differences in wind field analyses. These studies reveal that the global fields derived from the advection of large numbers of measurements are relatively insensitive to the errors in the individual trajectories. The trajectory mapping technique has been successfully applied to a variety of problems. In this paper, the following two applications demonstrate the usefulness of the technique: an analysis of dynamical wave-breaking events and an examination of Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite data accuracy

Chance Encounter with a Stratospheric Kerosene Rocket Plume from Russia over California

During a routine ER-2 aircraft high-altitude test flight on April 18, 1997, an unusual aerosol cloud was detected at 20 km altitude near the California coast at about 370 degrees N latitude. Not visually observed by the ER-2 pilot, the cloud was characterized bv high concentration of soot and sulfate aerosol in a region over 100 km in horizontal extent indicating that the source of the plume was a large hydrocarbon fueled vehicle, most likely a launch vehicle powered only by rocket motors burning liquid oxygen and kerosene. Two Russian Soyuz rockets could conceivably have produced the plume. The first was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on April 6th; the second was launched from Plesetsk, Russia on April 9. Air parcel trajectory calculations and long-lived tracer gas concentrations in the cloud indicate that the Baikonur rocket launch is the most probable source of the plume. The parcel trajectory calculations do not unambiguously trace the transport of the Soyuz plume from Asia to North America, illustrating serious flaws in the point-to-point trajectory calculations. This chance encounter represents the only measurement of the stratospheric effects of emissions from a rocket powered exclusively with hydrocarbon fuel

Development of an exercise intervention for the prevention of musculoskeletal shoulder problems after breast cancer treatment : the prevention of shoulder problems trial (UK PROSPER)

Background Musculoskeletal shoulder problems are common after breast cancer treatment. There is some evidence to suggest that early postoperative exercise is safe and may improve shoulder function. We describe the development and delivery of a complex intervention for evaluation within a randomised controlled trial (RCT), designed to target prevention of musculoskeletal shoulder problems after breast cancer surgery (The Prevention of Shoulder Problems Trial; PROSPER). Methods A pragmatic, multicentre RCT to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of best practice usual care versus a physiotherapy-led exercise and behavioural support intervention in women at high risk of shoulder problems after breast cancer treatment. PROSPER will recruit 350 women from approximately 15 UK centres, with follow-up at 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome is shoulder function at 12 months; secondary outcomes include postoperative pain, health related quality of life, adverse events and healthcare resource use. A multi-phased approach was used to develop the PROSPER intervention which was underpinned by existing evidence and modified for implementation after input from clinical experts and women with breast cancer. The intervention was tested and refined further after qualitative interviews with patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer; a pilot RCT was then conducted at three UK clinical centres. Discussion The PROSPER intervention incorporates three main components: shoulder-specific exercises targeting range of movement and strength; general physical activity; and behavioural strategies to encourage adherence and support exercise behaviour. The final PROSPER intervention is fully manualised with clear, documented pathways for clinical assessment, exercise prescription, use of behavioural strategies, and with guidance for treatment of postoperative complications. This paper adheres to TIDieR and CERT recommendations for the transparent, comprehensive and explicit reporting of complex interventions. Trial registration: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number: ISRCTN 35358984

An Analysis of Tropical Transport: Influence of the Quasi-biennial Oscillation

An analysis of over 4 years of Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) measurements of CH4, HF, O3, and zonal wind are used to study the influence of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) on constituent transport in the tropics. At the equator, spectral analysis of the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) observations reveals QBO signals in constituent and temperature fields at altitudes between 20 and 45 km. Between these altitudes, the location of the maximum QBO amplitude roughly corresponds with the location of the largest vertical gradient in the constituent field. Thus, at 40 km where CH4 and HF have strong vertical gradients, QBO signals are correspondingly large, while at lower altitudes where the vertical gradients are weak, so are the QBO variations. Similarly, ozone, which is largely under dynamical control below 30 km in the tropics, has a strong QBO signal in the region of sharp vertical gradients (∼28 km) below the ozone peak. Above 35 km, annual and semi-annual variations are also found to be important components of the variability of long-lived tracers. Therefore, above 30 km, the variability in CH4 and HF at the equator is represented by a combination of semiannual, annual, and QBO timescales. A one-dimensional vertical transport model is used to further investigate the influence of annual and QBO variations on tropical constituent fields. QBO-induced vertical motions are calculated from observed high resolution Doppler imager (HRDI) zonal winds at the equator, while the mean annually varying tropical ascent rate is obtained from the Goddard two-dimensional model. Model simulations of tropical CH4 confirm the importance of both the annual cycle and the QBO in describing the HALOE CH4 observations above 30 km. Estimates of the tropical ascent rate and the variation due to the annual cycle and QBO are also discussed

Abuse and Diversion of Buprenorphine Sublingual Tablets and Film

Buprenorphine abuse is common worldwide. Rates of abuse and diversion of three sublingual buprenorphine formulations (single ingredient tablets; naloxone combination tablets and film) were compared. Data were obtained from the Researched Abuse, Diversion, and Addiction-Related Surveillance (RADARS) System Poison Center, Drug Diversion, Opioid Treatment (OTP), Survey of Key Informants\u27 Patients (SKIP), and College Survey Programs through December 2012. To control for drug availability, event ratios (rates) were calculated quarterly, based on the number of patients filling prescriptions for each formulation ( unique recipients of a dispensed drug, URDD) and averaged and compared using negative binomial regression. Abuse rates in the OTP, SKIP, and College Survey Programs were greatest for single ingredient tablets, and abuse rates in the Poison Center Program and illicit diversion rates were greatest for the combination tablets. Combination film rates were significantly less than rates for either tablet formulation in all programs. No geographic pattern could be discerned

Inorganic chlorine partitioning in the summer lower stratosphere: Modeled and measured [ClONO_2]/[HCl] during POLARIS

We examine inorganic chlorine (Cl_y,) partitioning in the summer lower stratosphere using in situ ER-2 aircraft observations made during the Photochemistry of Ozone Loss in the Arctic Region in Summer (POLARIS) campaign. New steady state and numerical models estimate [ClONO_2]/[HCl] using currently accepted photochemistry. These models are tightly constrained by observations with OH (parameterized as a function of solar zenith angle) substituting for modeled HO_2 chemistry. We find that inorganic chlorine photochemistry alone overestimates observed [ClONO_2]/[HCl] by approximately 55–60% at mid and high latitudes. On the basis of POLARIS studies of the inorganic chlorine budget, [ClO]/[ClONO_2], and an intercomparison with balloon observations, the most direct explanation for the model-measurement discrepancy in Cl_y, partitioning is an error in the reactions, rate constants, and measured species concentrations linking HCl and ClO (simulated [ClO]/[HCl] too high) in combination with a possible systematic error in the ER-2 ClONO_2 measurement (too low). The high precision of our simulation (±15% 1σ for [ClONO_2]/[HCl], which is compared with observations) increases confidence in the observations, photolysis calculations, and laboratory rate constants. These results, along with other findings, should lead to improvements in both the accuracy and precision of stratospheric photochemical models

A study protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility trial of an intervention to increase activity and reduce sedentary behaviour in people with severe mental illness: Walking fOR Health (WORtH) Study

Abstract Background People with severe mental illness (SMI) are less physically active and more sedentary than healthy controls, contributing to poorer physical health outcomes in this population. There is a need to understand the feasibility and acceptability, and explore the effective components, of health behaviour change interventions targeting physical activity and sedentary behaviour in this population in rural and semi-rural settings. Methods This 13-week randomised controlled feasibility trial compares the Walking fOR Health (WORtH) multi-component behaviour change intervention, which includes education, goal-setting and self-monitoring, with a one-off education session. It aims to recruit 60 inactive adults with SMI via three community mental health teams in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Primary outcomes are related to feasibility and acceptability, including recruitment, retention and adherence rates, adverse events and qualitative feedback from participants and clinicians. Secondary outcome measures include self-reported and accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour, anthropometry measures, physical function and mental wellbeing. A mixed-methods process evaluation will be undertaken. This study protocol outlines changes to the study in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion This study will address the challenges and implications of remote delivery of the WORtH intervention due to the COVID-19 pandemic and inform the design of a future definitive randomised controlled trial if it is shown to be feasible. Trial registration The trial was registered on clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT04134871 ) on 22 October 2019

The counter-propagating Rossby-wave perspective on baroclinic instability. Part III: Primitive-equation disturbances on the sphere

Baroclinic instability of perturbations described by the linearized primitive quations, growing on steady zonal jets on the sphere, can be understood in terms of the interaction of pairs of counter-propagating Rossby waves (CRWs). The CRWs can be viewed as the basic components of the dynamical system where the Hamiltonian is the pseudoenergy and each CRW has a zonal coordinate and pseudomomentum. The theory holds for adiabatic frictionless flow to the extent that truncated forms of pseudomomentum and pseudoenergy are globally conserved. These forms focus attention on Rossby wave activity. Normal mode (NM) dispersion relations for realistic jets are explained in terms of the two CRWs associated with each unstable NM pair. Although derived from the NMs, CRWs have the conceptual advantage that their structure is zonally untilted, and can be anticipated given only the basic state. Moreover, their zonal propagation, phase-locking and mutual interaction can all be understood by ‘PV-thinking’ applied at only two ‘home-bases’—potential vorticity (PV) anomalies at one home-base induce circulation anomalies, both locally and at the other home-base, which in turn can advect the PV gradient and modify PV anomalies there. At short wavelengths the upper CRW is focused in the mid-troposphere just above the steering level of the NM, but at longer wavelengths the upper CRW has a second wave-activity maximum at the tropopause. In the absence of meridional shear, CRW behaviour is very similar to that of Charney modes, while shear results in a meridional slant with height of the air-parcel displacement-structures of CRWs in sympathy with basic-state zonal angular-velocity surfaces. A consequence of this slant is that baroclinically growing eddies (on jets broader than the Rossby radius) must tilt downshear in the horizontal, giving rise to up-gradient momentum fluxes that tend to accelerate the barotropic component of the jet

Partitioning of the reactive nitrogen reservoir in the lower sratosphere of the southern hemisphere: Observations and modeling

Measurements of nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and total reactive nitrogen (NOy = NO + NO2 + NO3 + HNO3 + ClONO2 + 2N2O5 + ...) were made during austral fall, winter, and spring 1994 as part of the NASA Airborne Southern Hemisphere Ozone Experiment/Measurements for Assessing the Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft mission. Comparisons between measured NO2 values and those calculated using a steady state (SS) approximation are presented for flights at mid and high latitudes. The SS results agree with the measurements to within 8%, suggesting that the kinetic rate coefficients and calculated NO2 photolysis rate used in the SS approximation are reasonably accurate for conditions in the lower stratosphere. However, NO2 values observed in the Concorde exhaust plume were significantly less than SS values. Calculated NO2 photolysis rates showed good agreement with values inferred from solar flux measurements, indicating a strong self-consistency in our understanding of UV radiation transmission in the lower stratosphere. Model comparisons using a full diurnal, photochemical steady state model also show good agreement with the NO and NO2 measurements, suggesting that the reactions affecting the partitioning of the NO2 reservoir are well understood in the lower stratosphere