Dam Neck Current Analysis Dam Neck, Virginia Beach, Virgina

Current records and meteorological records have been searched and interpreted to estimate some current related factors in the vicinity of Dam Neck, Virginia. The current data consists of approximately 30 day current meter records taken in summer 1973 and drogued buoy tracks recorded in autumn 1972. Estimated quantities include vector averaged current, maximum anticipated current associated with winter storms, tidal current ellipses, the seasons during which winter storms can be expected, and the keys to the end and beginning of the winter (stormy) season in any given year. A discussion of hurricanes is also included

The Response of Estuarine Circulation to Local Wind Events

An analysis of non-tidal estuarine circulation and local wind events was conducted employing wind and current records taken along the York River. Three distinct response conditions of non-tidal circulation to wind were observed. These conditions exhibited significant temporal and spatial variability. The first was typified by a positive two layer flow response to wind that was significant in the middle section of the York during the first six days of the study. The second exhibited a positive one layer flow response to wind that was significant in the upper section of the York during the last three days of the study, The third exhibited no statistically significant relation between current patterns and wind. This condition occurred near the mouth of the estuary, and it may indicate that the currents near the mouth respond more substantially to conditions in the adjacent· Chesapeake Bay than to those caused by local winds.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/1032/thumbnail.jp

On the Interpretation of Supernova Light Echo Profiles and Spectra

The light echo systems of historical supernovae in the Milky Way and local group galaxies provide an unprecedented opportunity to reveal the effects of asymmetry on observables, particularly optical spectra. Scattering dust at different locations on the light echo ellipsoid witnesses the supernova from different perspectives and the light consequently scattered towards Earth preserves the shape of line profile variations introduced by asymmetries in the supernova photosphere. However, the interpretation of supernova light echo spectra to date has not involved a detailed consideration of the effects of outburst duration and geometrical scattering modifications due to finite scattering dust filament dimension, inclination, and image point-spread function and spectrograph slit width. In this paper, we explore the implications of these factors and present a framework for future resolved supernova light echo spectra interpretation, and test it against Cas A and SN 1987A light echo spectra. We conclude that the full modeling of the dimensions and orientation of the scattering dust using the observed light echoes at two or more epochs is critical for the correct interpretation of light echo spectra. Indeed, without doing so one might falsely conclude that differences exist when none are actually present.Comment: 18 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Methanesulfonic Acid in Coastal Antarctic Snow Related to Sea‐ice Extent

Proxy records of biogenic sulfur gas obtained from ice cores suggest that variability in marine biogenic sulfur emissions may reflect changes in climate [Saigne and Legrand, 1987; Legrand et al., 1988, Legrand et al., 1991; Anderson and Charlson, 1991]. Increased sea‐ice extent has previously been proposed as one cause of relatively high methanesulfonic acid (MSA) in glacial‐age ice core samples [Gibson et al., 1990]. We have analyzed MSA, one of the oxidation products of the biogenic sulfur gas dimethylsulfide [Hatakeyama et al., 1985], from snowpit samples recovered from a coastal site in Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Time series of MSA correlate significantly with the longest continuous record available of Southern Ocean sea‐ice extent (two decades) [Jacka, 1990]

Admittance spectroscopy of CdTe/CdS solar cells subjected to varied nitric-phosphoric etching conditions

In this work we investigate the electric and structural properties of CdTe/CdS solar cells subjected to a nitric-phosphoric (NP) acid etching procedure, employed for the formation of a Te-rich layer before back contacting. The etching time is used as the only variable parameter in the study, while admittance spectroscopy is employed for the characterization of the cells' electric properties as well as for the analysis of the defect energy levels. Particular attention was also given to the characteristics of unetched devices and it is shown that despite the larger height of back-contact barrier such samples show well defined admittance spectra, as well as allow for extraction of as much as five defect levels in the range of 0.08-0.9 eV above the valence band. In contrast, admittance characteristics of the etched samples show a decrease of the number of the detectable trap levels with increasing etching time. (Hence it is usual for only one or two trap levels to be reported in the literature for finished devices.) The latter leads to the anomalous Arrhenius energy plots as well as the breakdown of low-frequency capacitance characteristics for samples etched with times larger than 30 s. The observed effects are attributed to physical thinning of the cells, the etching out of grain boundaries, and the tellurium enrichment of the CdTe surface by NP etching. We also perform analysis of the back-contact barrier height as extracted from dark I-V measurements at different temperatures. The dependence of this barrier height on NP etching time is compared with that of conversion efficiency, from which conclusions are drawn about both positive and negative effects of the nitric-phosphoric etch

On hydrogen bond correlations at high pressures

In situ high pressure neutron diffraction measured lengths of O H and H O pairs in hydrogen bonds in substances are shown to follow the correlation between them established from 0.1 MPa data on different chemical compounds. In particular, the conclusion by Nelmes et al that their high pressure data on ice VIII differ from it is not supported. For compounds in which the O H stretching frequencies red shift under pressure, it is shown that wherever structural data is available, they follow the stretching frequency versus H O (or O O) distance correlation. For compounds displaying blue shifts with pressure an analogy appears to exist with improper hydrogen bonds.Comment: 12 pages,4 figure

Simultaneous Retrieval of Multiple Aerosol Parameters Using a Multi-Angular Approach

Atmospheric aerosol particles, both natural and anthropogenic, are important to the earth's radiative balance through their direct and indirect effects. They scatter the incoming solar radiation (direct effect) and modify the shortwave reflective properties of clouds by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (indirect effect). Although it has been suggested that aerosols exert a net cooling influence on climate, this effect has received less attention than the radiative forcing due to clouds and greenhouse gases. In order to understand the role that aerosols play in a changing climate, detailed and accurate observations are a prerequisite. The retrieval of aerosol optical properties by satellite remote sensing has proven to be a difficult task. The difficulty results mainly from the tenuous nature and variable composition of aerosols. To date, with single-angle satellite observations, we can only retrieve reliably against dark backgrounds, such as over oceans and dense vegetation. Even then, assumptions must be made concerning the chemical composition of aerosols. In this investigation we examine the feasibility of simultaneous retrieval of multiple aerosol optical parameters using reflectances from a typical set of twelve angles observed by the French POLDER instrument. The retrieved aerosol optical parameters consist of asymmetry factor, single scattering albedo, surface albedo, and optical thickness

Simultaneous Retrieval of Multiple Aerosol Parameters Using a Multi-Angular Approach

Atmospheric aerosol particles, both natural and anthropogenic, are important to the earth's radiative balance through their direct and indirect effects. They scatter the incoming solar radiation (direct effect) and modify the shortwave reflective properties of clouds by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (indirect effect). Although it has been suggested that aerosols exert a net cooling influence on climate, this effect has received less attention than the radiative forcing due to clouds and greenhouse gases. In order to understand the role that aerosols play in a changing climate, detailed and accurate observations are a prerequisite. The retrieval of aerosol optical properties by satellite remote sensing has proven to be a difficult task. The difficulty results mainly from the tenuous nature and variable composition of aerosols. To date, with single-angle satellite observations, we can only retrieve reliably against dark backgrounds, such as over oceans and dense vegetation. Even then, assumptions must be made concerning the chemical composition of aerosols. The best hope we have for aerosol retrievals over bright backgrounds are observations from multiple angles, such as those provided by the MISR and POLDER instruments. In this investigation we examine the feasibility of simultaneous retrieval of multiple aerosol optical parameters using reflectances from a typical set of twelve angles observed by the French POLDER instrument. The retrieved aerosol optical parameters consist of asymmetry factor, single scattering albedo, surface albedo, and optical thickness

Aerosol Retrieval Using Synthetic Polder Multi-Angular Data

The POLarizations and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances (POLDER) instrument onboard the Japanese ADEOS satellite offers unique possibilities for the retrieval of aerosol parameters with its polarization and multi-angular capability. In this study we examine a technique that simultaneously retrieve multiple aerosol parameters, namely asymmetry factor, single scattering albedo, surface albedo, and optical thickness. using simulated POLDER reflectances. It is found that. over dark or bright surfaces, simultaneous retrieval of multiple parameters is indeed possible, but not over surfaces with intermediate reflectivity. Among the four parameters, the single-scattering albedo is retrieved with the best accuracy and is the least vulnerable when the reflectance value is subjected to a 0.1% white noise