Vlasov simulation in multiple spatial dimensions

A long-standing challenge encountered in modeling plasma dynamics is achieving practical Vlasov equation simulation in multiple spatial dimensions over large length and time scales. While direct multi-dimension Vlasov simulation methods using adaptive mesh methods [J. W. Banks et al., Physics of Plasmas 18, no. 5 (2011): 052102; B. I. Cohen et al., November 10, 2010, http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2010.DPP.NP9.142] have recently shown promising results, in this paper we present an alternative, the Vlasov Multi Dimensional (VMD) model, that is specifically designed to take advantage of solution properties in regimes when plasma waves are confined to a narrow cone, as may be the case for stimulated Raman scatter in large optic f# laser beams. Perpendicular grid spacing large compared to a Debye length is then possible without instability, enabling an order 10 decrease in required computational resources compared to standard particle in cell (PIC) methods in 2D, with another reduction of that order in 3D. Further advantage compared to PIC methods accrues in regimes where particle noise is an issue. VMD and PIC results in a 2D model of localized Langmuir waves are in qualitative agreement

Tenant involvement in the housing development process

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1984.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Bibliography: leaves 68-69.by William David Fried.M.C.P

Developing a real-time translator from neural signals to text: An articulatory phonetics approach

New developments in brain-computer interfaces (BCI) harness machine learning to decode spoken language from electrocorticographic (ECoG) and local field potential (LFP) signals. Orienting to signals associated with motor movements that produce articulatory features improves phoneme detection quality: individual phonemes share features, but possess a unique feature set; classification by feature set allows for a finer distinction between neural signals. Data indicates vowels are more detectable, consonants have greater detection accuracy, place of articulation informs precision, and manner of articulation affects recall. Findings have implications for the multisensory integration of speech and the role of motor imagery in phonemic neural representations

Evaluation of simulated O-3 production efficiency during the KORUS-AQ campaign: Implications for anthropogenic NOx emissions in Korea

We examine O3 production and its sensitivity to precursor gases and boundary layer mixing in Korea by using a 3-D global chemistry transport model and extensive observations during the KORea-US cooperative Air Quality field study in Korea, which occurred in May–June 2016. During the campaign, observed aromatic species onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft, especially toluene, showed high mixing ratios of up to 10 ppbv, emphasizing the importance of aromatic chemistry in O3 production. To examine the role of VOCs and NOx in O3 chemistry, we first implement a detailed aromatic chemistry scheme in the model, which reduces the normalized mean bias of simulated O3 mixing ratios from –26% to –13%. Aromatic chemistry also increases the average net O3 production in Korea by 37%. Corrections of daytime PBL heights, which are overestimated in the model compared to lidar observations, increase the net O3 production rate by ~10%. In addition, increasing NOx emissions by 50% in the model shows best performance in reproducing O3 production characteristics, which implies that NOx emissions are underestimated in the current emissions inventory. Sensitivity tests show that a 30% decrease in anthropogenic NOx emissions in Korea increases the O3 production efficiency throughout the country, making rural regions ~2 times more efficient in producing O3 per NOx consumed. Simulated O3 levels overall decrease in the peninsula except for urban and other industrial areas, with the largest increase (~6 ppbv) in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA). However, with simultaneous reductions in both NOx and VOCs emissions by 30%, O3 decreases in most of the country, including the SMA. This implies the importance of concurrent emission reductions for both NOx and VOCs in order to effectively reduce O3 levels in Korea

Higher measured than modeled ozone production at increased NOx levels in the Colorado Front Range

Abstract. Chemical models must correctly calculate the ozone formation rate, P(O3), to accurately predict ozone levels and to test mitigation strategies. However, air quality models can have large uncertainties in P(O3) calculations, which can create uncertainties in ozone forecasts, especially during the summertime when P(O3) is high. One way to test mechanisms is to compare modeled P(O3) to direct measurements. During summer 2014, the Measurement of Ozone Production Sensor (MOPS) directly measured net P(O3) in Golden, CO, approximately 25 km west of Denver along the Colorado Front Range. Net P(O3) was compared to rates calculated by a photochemical box model that was constrained by measurements of other chemical species and that used a lumped chemical mechanism and a more explicit one. Median observed P(O3) was up to a factor of 2 higher than that modeled during early morning hours when nitric oxide (NO) levels were high and was similar to modeled P(O3) for the rest of the day. While all interferences and offsets in this new method are not fully understood, simulations of these possible uncertainties cannot explain the observed P(O3) behavior. Modeled and measured P(O3) and peroxy radical (HO2 and RO2) discrepancies observed here are similar to those presented in prior studies. While a missing atmospheric organic peroxy radical source from volatile organic compounds co-emitted with NO could be one plausible solution to the P(O3) discrepancy, such a source has not been identified and does not fully explain the peroxy radical model–data mismatch. If the MOPS accurately depicts atmospheric P(O3), then these results would imply that P(O3) in Golden, CO, would be NOx-sensitive for more of the day than what is calculated by models, extending the NOx-sensitive P(O3) regime from the afternoon further into the morning. These results could affect ozone reduction strategies for the region surrounding Golden and possibly other areas that do not comply with national ozone regulations. Thus, it is important to continue the development of this direct ozone measurement technique to understand P(O3), especially under high-NOx regimes

Characterization of soluble bromide measurements and a case study of BrO observations during ARCTAS

A focus of the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) mission was examination of bromine photochemistry in the spring time high latitude troposphere based on aircraft and satellite measurements of bromine oxide (BrO) and related species. The NASA DC-8 aircraft utilized a chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS) to measure BrO and a mist chamber (MC) to measure soluble bromide. We have determined that the MC detection efficiency to molecular bromine (Br2), hypobromous acid (HOBr), bromine oxide (BrO), and hydrogen bromide (HBr) as soluble bromide (Br−) was 0.9±0.1, 1.06+0.30/−0.35, 0.4±0.1, and 0.95±0.1, respectively. These efficiency factors were used to estimate soluble bromide levels along the DC-8 flight track of 17 April 2008 from photochemical calculations constrained to in situ BrO measured by CIMS. During this flight, the highest levels of soluble bromide and BrO were observed and atmospheric conditions were ideal for the space-borne observation of BrO. The good agreement (R2 = 0.76; slope = 0.95; intercept = −3.4 pmol mol−1) between modeled and observed soluble bromide, when BrO was above detection limit (\u3e2 pmol mol−1) under unpolluted conditions (NOmol−1), indicates that the CIMS BrO measurements were consistent with the MC soluble bromide and that a well characterized MC can be used to derive mixing ratios of some reactive bromine compounds. Tropospheric BrO vertical column densities (BrOVCD) derived from CIMS BrO observations compare well with BrOTROPVCD from OMI on 17 April 2008

Surface and lightning sources of nitrogen oxides over the United States: Magnitudes, chemical evolution, and outflow

We use observations from two aircraft during the ICARTT campaign over the eastern United States and North Atlantic during summer 2004, interpreted with a global 3-D model of tropospheric chemistry (GEOS-Chem) to test current understanding of regional sources, chemical evolution, and export of NOx. The boundary layer NOx data provide top-down verification of a 50% decrease in power plant and industry NOx emissions over the eastern United States between 1999 and 2004. Observed NOx concentrations at 8–12 km altitude were 0.55 ± 0.36 ppbv, much larger than in previous U.S. aircraft campaigns (ELCHEM, SUCCESS, SONEX) though consistent with data from the NOXAR program aboard commercial aircraft. We show that regional lightning is the dominant source of this upper tropospheric NOx and increases upper tropospheric ozone by 10 ppbv. Simulating ICARTT upper tropospheric NOx observations with GEOS-Chem requires a factor of 4 increase in modeled NOx yield per flash (to 500 mol/ flash). Observed OH concentrations were a factor of 2 lower than can be explained from current photochemical models, for reasons that are unclear. A NOy-CO correlation analysis of the fraction f of North American NOx emissions vented to the free troposphere as NOy (sum of NOx and its oxidation products) shows observed f = 16 ± 10% and modeled f = 14 ± 9%, consistent with previous studies. Export to the lower free troposphere is mostly HNO3 but at higher altitudes is mostly PAN. The model successfully simulates NOy export efficiency and speciation, supporting previous model estimates of a large U.S. anthropogenic contribution to global tropospheric ozone through PAN export

An analysis of fast photochemistry over high northern latitudes during spring and summer using in-situ observations from ARCTAS and TOPSE

Observations of chemical constituents and meteorological quantities obtained during the two Arctic phases of the airborne campaign ARCTAS (Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites) are analyzed using an observationally constrained steady state box model. Measurements of OH and HO2 from the Penn State ATHOS instrument are compared to model predictions. Forty percent of OH measurements below 2 km are at the limit of detection during the spring phase (ARCTAS-A). While the median observed-to-calculated ratio is near one, both the scatter of observations and the model uncertainty for OH are at the magnitude of ambient values. During the summer phase (ARCTAS-B), model predictions of OH are biased low relative to observations and demonstrate a high sensitivity to the level of uncertainty in NO observations. Predictions of HO2 using observed CH2O and H2O2 as model constraints are up to a factor of two larger than observed. A temperature-dependent terminal loss rate of HO2 to aerosol recently proposed in the literature is shown to be insufficient to reconcile these differences. A comparison of ARCTAS-A to the high latitude springtime portion of the 2000 TOPSE campaign (Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox) shows similar meteorological and chemical environments with the exception of peroxides; observations of H2O2 during ARCTAS-A were 2.5 to 3 times larger than those during TOPSE. The cause of this difference in peroxides remains unresolved and has important implications for the Arctic HOx budget. Unconstrained model predictions for both phases indicate photochemistry alone is unable to simultaneously sustain observed levels of CH2O and H2O2; however when the model is constrained with observed CH2O, H2O2 predictions from a range of rainout parameterizations bracket its observations. A mechanism suitable to explain observed concentrations of CH2O is uncertain. Free tropospheric observations of acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) are 2–3 times larger than its predictions, though constraint of the model to those observations is sufficient to account for less than half of the deficit in predicted CH2O. The box model calculates gross O3 formation during spring to maximize from 1–4 km at 0.8 ppbv d−1, in agreement with estimates from TOPSE, and a gross production of 2–4 ppbv d−1 in the boundary layer and upper troposphere during summer. Use of the lower observed levels of HO2 in place of model predictions decreases the gross production by 25–50%. Net O3 production is near zero throughout the ARCTAS-A troposphere, and is 1–2 ppbv in the boundary layer and upper altitudes during ARCTAS-B