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At least 181 records · Page 10

Spatiotemporal evolution of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice

Melt ponds on sea ice play an important role in the Arctic climate system. Their presence alters the partitioning of solar radiation: decreasing reflection, increasing absorption and transmission to the ice and ocean, and enhancing melt. The spatiotemporal properties of melt ponds thus modify ice albedo feedbacks and the mass balance of Arctic sea ice. The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition presented a valuable opportunity to investigate the seasonal evolution of melt ponds through a rich array of atmosphere-ice-ocean measurements across spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we characterize the seasonal behavior and variability in the snow, surface scattering layer, and melt ponds from spring melt to autumn freeze-up using in situ surveys and auxiliary observations. We compare the results to satellite retrievals and output from two models: the Community Earth System Model (CESM2) and the Marginal Ice Zone Modeling and Assimilation System (MIZMAS). During the melt season, the maximum pond coverage and depth were 21% and 22 ± 13 cm, respectively, with distribution and depth corresponding to surface roughness and ice thickness. Compared to observations, both models overestimate melt pond coverage in summer, with maximum values of approximately 41% (MIZMAS) and 51% (CESM2). This overestimation has important implications for accurately simulating albedo feedbacks. During the observed freeze-up, weather events, including rain on snow, caused high-frequency variability in snow depth, while pond coverage and depth remained relatively constant until continuous freezing ensued. Both models accurately simulate the abrupt cessation of melt ponds during freeze-up, but the dates of freeze-up differ. MIZMAS accurately simulates the observed date of freeze-up, while CESM2 simulates freeze-up one-to-two weeks earlier. This work demonstrates areas that warrant future observation-model synthesis for improving the representation of sea-ice processes and properties, which can aid accurate simulations of albedo feedbacks in a warming climate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

FTICR-MS, Sensor, and Environmental Data from 5 Streams Impacted by the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire Associated with: "Spatiotemporal controls on the delivery of dissolved organic matter to streams following a wildfire"

This data package is associated with the publication "Spatiotemporal Controls on the Delivery of Dissolved Organic Matter to Streams Following a Wildfire" submitted to Geophysical Research Letters (Roebuck et al., 2022). The study aims to understand storm induced transport of pyrogenic materials to streams impacted by varying degrees of burn severity. Time series samples (24 samples in 1-hour intervals) were collected at 5 sites within the McKenzie River Watershed (Oregon, USA) whose catchment were each completely engulfed by the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. The samples were collected in November 2020 during the first major storm pulse following the conclusion of the wildfire. Samples were characterized for dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and by ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. In situ turbidity data also collected.This data package contains 4 primary folders that include the following: 1) Metadata, 2) EnvData (Environmental Data), 3) SensorData, and 4) FTICR_SupportingData. The package contains a single file-level metadata (flmd) file. Each primary folder also contains individual data dictionaries (dd) to define and provide descriptors of column/row headers and data flags. The FTICR_SupportingData, folder 4, contains raw, unprocessed FTICR-MS Data files in addition to a csv containing processed FTICR-MS data. This package contains the following file types: csv, xml, pdf.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Spatiotemporal Downscaling Model for Solar Irradiance Forecast Using Nearest-Neighbor Random Forest and Gaussian Process

Accurate solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity estimation requires high-resolution, site-specific solar irradiance data to account for localized variability. However, global datasets, such as the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB), provide regional averages that fail to capture the fine-scale fluctuations critical for large-scale grid integration. This limitation is particularly relevant in the context of increasing distributed energy resources (DERs) penetration, such as rooftop PV. Additionally, it is critical to the implementation of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 2222, which facilitates DER participation in U.S. bulk power markets. To address this challenge, this study evaluates Nearest-Neighbor Random Forest (NNRF) and Nearest-Neighbor Gaussian Process (NNGP) models for spatiotemporal downscaling of global solar irradiance data. By leveraging historical irradiance and meteorological data, these models incorporate spatial, temporal, and feature-based correlations to enhance local irradiance predictions. The NNRF model, a machine-learning approach, prioritizes computational efficiency and predictive accuracy, while the NNGP model offers a level of interpretability and prediction uncertainty by numerically quantifying correlations and dependencies in the data. Model validation was conducted using day-ahead predictions. The results showed that the average Goodness of Fit (GoF) of the NNRF model of 90.61% across all eight sites outperformed the GoF of the NNGP of 85.88%. Additionally, the computational speed of NNRF was 2.5 times faster than the NNGP. Finally, the NNGP displayed polynomial scaling while the NNRF scaled linearly with increasing number of nearest neighbors. Additional validation of the model on five sites in Puerto Rico further confirmed the superiority of the NNRF model over the NNGP model. These findings highlight the robustness and computational efficiency of NNRF for large-scale solar irradiance downscaling, making it a strong candidate for improving PV capacity estimation and real-time electricity market integration for DERs.

Asiedu, Shadrack (ORCID:0009000646004826)↗

Laser-Plasma Spatiotemporal Cyanide Spectroscopy and Applications

This article reports new measurements of laser-induced plasma hypersonic expansion measurements of diatomic molecular cyanide (CN). Focused, high-peak-power 1064 nm Q-switched radiation of the order of 1 TW/cm 2 generated optical breakdown plasma in a cell containing a 1:1 molar gas mixture of N 2 and CO 2 at a fixed pressure of 1.1 × 10 5 Pascal and in a 100 mL/min flow of the mixture. Line-of-sight (LOS) analysis of recorded molecular spectra indicated the outgoing shockwave at expansion speeds well in excess of Mach 5. Spectra of atomic carbon confirmed increased electron density near the shockwave, and, equally, molecular CN spectra revealed higher excitation temperature near the shockwave. Results were consistent with corresponding high-speed shadowgraphs obtained by visualization with an effective shutter speed of 5 nanoseconds. In addition, LOS analysis and the application of integral inversion techniques allow inferences about the spatiotemporal plasma distribution.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

LIGHT-bgcArgo-1.0: using synthetic float capabilities in E3SMv2 to assess spatiotemporal variability in ocean physics and biogeochemistry

Since their advent over 2 decades ago, autonomous Argo floats have revolutionized the field of oceanography, and, more recently, the addition of biogeochemical and biological sensors to these floats has greatly improved our understanding of carbon, nutrient, and oxygen cycling in the ocean. While Argo floats offer unprecedented horizontal, vertical, and temporal coverage of the global ocean, uncertainties remain about whether Argo sampling frequency and density capture the true spatiotemporal variability in physical, biogeochemical, and biological properties. As the true distributions of, e.g., temperature or oxygen are unknown, these uncertainties remain difficult to address with Argo floats alone. Numerical models with synthetic observing systems offer one potential avenue to address these uncertainties. Here, we implement synthetic biogeochemical Argo floats into the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2), which build on the Lagrangian In Situ Global High-Performance Particle Tracking (LIGHT) module in E3SMv2 (E3SMv2-LIGHT-bgcArgo-1.0). Since the synthetic floats sample the model fields at model run time, the end user defines the sampling protocol ahead of any model simulation, including the number and distribution of synthetic floats to be deployed, their sampling frequency, and the prognostic or diagnostic model fields to be sampled. Using a 6-year proof-of-concept simulation, we illustrate the utility of the synthetic floats in different case studies. In particular, we quantify the impact of (i) sampling density on the float-derived detection of deep-ocean change in temperature or oxygen and on float-derived estimates of phytoplankton phenology, (ii) sampling frequency and sea-ice cover on float trajectory lengths and hence float-derived estimates of current velocities, and (iii) short-term variability in ecosystem stressors on estimates of their seasonal variability.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Spatiotemporal dynamics and optical vortices in a photorefractive phase-conjugate resonator

A truncated modal expansion approach is used to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of a phase-conjugate resonator as a function of Bragg detuning. The numerical results reveal a rich variety of behaviors. Emphasis is given to the spatial distribution of optical vortices, their trajectories and their relationship to the beam's spatial coherence. The limitations of the model are discussed and experimental results are presented for comparison with the model's predictions and assessment of its soundness.

Liu, Siuying Raymond↗

Spatiotemporal chaos near the onset of cellular growth during thin-film solidification of a binary alloy

Thin-film solidification experiments with a succinonitrile-acetone alloy are used to observe the long time-scale dynamics of cellular crystal growth at growth rates only slightly above the critical value VC = Vc(lambda sub c) for the onset of morphological instability. Under these conditions only very small amplitude cells are observed with wavelengths near the value predicted by linear stability theory lambda = lambda sub c. At long times, microstructures with wavelengths significantly finer than lambda suc c form by nucleation at defects across the interface. These interfaces do not have a unique microstructure, but seem to exhibit spatiotemporal chaos on a long time scale caused by the continual birth and death of cells by tip splitting and cell annihilation in grooves.

Lee, J. T. C.↗

Spatiotemporal features of early neuronogenesis differ in wild-type and albino mouse retina

In albino mammals, lack of pigment in the retinal pigment epithelium is associated with retinal defects, including poor visual acuity from a photoreceptor deficit in the central retina and poor depth perception from a decrease in ipsilaterally projecting retinal fibers. Possible contributors to these abnormalities are reported delays in neuronogenesis (Ilia and Jeffery, 1996) and retinal maturation (Webster and Rowe, 1991). To further determine possible perturbations in neuronogenesis and/or differentiation, we used cell-specific markers and refined birth dating methods to examine these events during retinal ganglion cell (RGC) genesis in albino and pigmented mice from embryonic day 11 (E11) to E18. Our data indicate that relative to pigmented mice, more ganglion cells are born in the early stages of neuronogenesis in the albino retina, although the initiation of RGC genesis in the albino is unchanged. The cellular organization of the albino retina is perturbed as early as E12. In addition, cell cycle kinetics and output along the nasotemporal axis differ in retinas of albino and pigmented mice, both absolutely, with the temporal aspect of the retina expanded in albino, and relative to the position of the optic nerve head. Finally, blocking melanin synthesis in pigmented eyecups in culture leads to an increase in RGC differentiation, consistent with a role for melanin formation in regulating RGC neuronogenesis. These results point to spatiotemporal defects in neuronal production in the albino retina, which could perturb expression of genes that specify cell fate, number, and/or projection phenotype.

NASA Discipline Developmental Biology↗

Two-dimensional spatiotemporal coding of linear acceleration in vestibular nuclei neurons

Response properties of vertical (VC) and horizontal (HC) canal/otolith-convergent vestibular nuclei neurons were studied in decerebrate rats during stimulation with sinusoidal linear accelerations (0.2-1.4 Hz) along different directions in the head horizontal plane. A novel characteristic of the majority of tested neurons was the nonzero response often elicited during stimulation along the "null" direction (i.e., the direction perpendicular to the maximum sensitivity vector, Smax). The tuning ratio (Smin gain/Smax gain), a measure of the two-dimensional spatial sensitivity, depended on stimulus frequency. For most vestibular nuclei neurons, the tuning ratio was small at the lowest stimulus frequencies and progressively increased with frequency. Specifically, HC neurons were characterized by a flat Smax gain and an approximately 10-fold increase of Smin gain per frequency decade. Thus, these neurons encode linear acceleration when stimulated along their maximum sensitivity direction, and the rate of change of linear acceleration (jerk) when stimulated along their minimum sensitivity direction. While the Smax vectors were distributed throughout the horizontal plane, the Smin vectors were concentrated mainly ipsilaterally with respect to head acceleration and clustered around the naso-occipital head axis. The properties of VC neurons were distinctly different from those of HC cells. The majority of VC cells showed decreasing Smax gains and small, relatively flat, Smin gains as a function of frequency. The Smax vectors were distributed ipsilaterally relative to the induced (apparent) head tilt. In type I anterior or posterior VC neurons, Smax vectors were clustered around the projection of the respective ipsilateral canal plane onto the horizontal head plane. These distinct spatial and temporal properties of HC and VC neurons during linear acceleration are compatible with the spatiotemporal organization of the horizontal and the vertical/torsional ocular responses, respectively, elicited in the rat during linear translation in the horizontal head plane. In addition, the data suggest a spatially and temporally specific and selective otolith/canal convergence. We propose that the central otolith system is organized in canal coordinates such that there is a close alignment between the plane of angular acceleration (canal) sensitivity and the plane of linear acceleration (otolith) sensitivity in otolith/canal-convergent vestibular nuclei neurons.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗

Spatiotemporal Path-Matching for Comparisons Between Ground- Based and Satellite Lidar Measurements

The spatiotemporal sampling differences between ground-based and satellite lidar data can contribute to significant errors for direct measurement comparisons. Improvement in sample correspondence is examined by the use of radiosonde wind velocity to vary the time average in ground-based lidar data to spatially match coincident satellite lidar measurements. Results are shown for the 26 February 2004 GLAS/ICESat overflight of a ground-based lidar stationed at NASA GSFC. Statistical analysis indicates that improvement in signal correlation is expected under certain conditions, even when a ground-based observation is mismatched in directional orientation to the satellite track.

Berkoff, Timothy A.↗

Mercury Toolset for Spatiotemporal Metadata

Mercury (http://mercury.ornl.gov) is a set of tools for federated harvesting, searching, and retrieving metadata, particularly spatiotemporal metadata. Version 3.0 of the Mercury toolset provides orders of magnitude improvements in search speed, support for additional metadata formats, integration with Google Maps for spatial queries, facetted type search, support for RSS (Really Simple Syndication) delivery of search results, and enhanced customization to meet the needs of the multiple projects that use Mercury. It provides a single portal to very quickly search for data and information contained in disparate data management systems, each of which may use different metadata formats. Mercury harvests metadata and key data from contributing project servers distributed around the world and builds a centralized index. The search interfaces then allow the users to perform a variety of fielded, spatial, and temporal searches across these metadata sources. This centralized repository of metadata with distributed data sources provides extremely fast search results to the user, while allowing data providers to advertise the availability of their data and maintain complete control and ownership of that data. Mercury periodically (typically daily) harvests metadata sources through a collection of interfaces and re-indexes these metadata to provide extremely rapid search capabilities, even over collections with tens of millions of metadata records. A number of both graphical and application interfaces have been constructed within Mercury, to enable both human users and other computer programs to perform queries. Mercury was also designed to support multiple different projects, so that the particular fields that can be queried and used with search filters are easy to configure for each different project.

Wilson, Bruce E.↗

Adaptive Sampling of Spatiotemporal Phenomena with Optimization Criteria

This work was designed to find a way to optimally (or near optimally) sample spatiotemporal phenomena based on limited sensing capability, and to create a model that can be run to estimate uncertainties, as well as to estimate covariances. The goal was to maximize (or minimize) some function of the overall uncertainty. The uncertainties and covariances were modeled presuming a parametric distribution, and then the model was used to approximate the overall information gain, and consequently, the objective function from each potential sense. These candidate sensings were then crosschecked against operation costs and feasibility. Consequently, an operations plan was derived that combined both operational constraints/costs and sensing gain. Probabilistic modeling was used to perform an approximate inversion of the model, which enabled calculation of sensing gains, and subsequent combination with operational costs. This incorporation of operations models to assess cost and feasibility for specific classes of vehicles is unique.

Chien, Steve A.↗

Spatiotemporal Interpolation of Elevation Changes Derived from Satellite Altimetry for Jakobshavn Isbrae, Greenland

Estimation of ice sheet mass balance from satellite altimetry requires interpolation of point-scale elevation change (dHdt) data over the area of interest. The largest dHdt values occur over narrow, fast-flowing outlet glaciers, where data coverage of current satellite altimetry is poorest. In those areas, straightforward interpolation of data is unlikely to reflect the true patterns of dHdt. Here, four interpolation methods are compared and evaluated over Jakobshavn Isbr, an outlet glacier for which widespread airborne validation data are available from NASAs Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM). The four methods are ordinary kriging (OK), kriging with external drift (KED), where the spatial pattern of surface velocity is used as a proxy for that of dHdt, and their spatiotemporal equivalents (ST-OK and ST-KED).

Jakobshavn Isbrae↗

Spatiotemporal Prediction of Fine Particulate Matter Using High-Resolution Satellite Images in the Southeastern US 2003-2011

Numerous studies have demonstrated that fine particulate matter (PM(sub 2.5), particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in aerodynamic diameter) is associated with adverse health outcomes. The use of ground monitoring stations of PM(sub 2.5) to assess personal exposure, however, induces measurement error. Land-use regression provides spatially resolved predictions but land-use terms do not vary temporally. Meanwhile, the advent of satellite-retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) products have made possible to predict the spatial and temporal patterns of PM(sub 2.5) exposures. In this paper, we used AOD data with other PM(sub 2.5) variables, such as meteorological variables, land-use regression, and spatial smoothing to predict daily concentrations of PM(sub 2.5) at a 1 sq km resolution of the Southeastern United States including the seven states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Florida for the years from 2003 to 2011. We divided the study area into three regions and applied separate mixed-effect models to calibrate AOD using ground PM(sub 2.5) measurements and other spatiotemporal predictors. Using 10-fold cross-validation, we obtained out of sample R2 values of 0.77, 0.81, and 0.70 with the square root of the mean squared prediction errors of 2.89, 2.51, and 2.82 cu micrograms for regions 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The slopes of the relationships between predicted PM2.5 and held out measurements were approximately 1 indicating no bias between the observed and modeled PM(sub 2.5) concentrations. Predictions can be used in epidemiological studies investigating the effects of both acute and chronic exposures to PM(sub 2.5). Our model results will also extend the existing studies on PM(sub 2.5) which have mostly focused on urban areas because of the paucity of monitors in rural areas.

PM2.5↗

Distributed Spatiotemporal Motion Planning for Spacecraft Swarms in Cluttered Environments

This paper focuses on trajectory planning for spacecraft swarms in cluttered environments, like debris fields or the asteroid belt. Our objective is to reconfigure the spacecraft swarm to a desired formation in a distributed manner while minimizing fuel and avoiding collisions among themselves and with obstacles. In our prior work we proposed a novel distributed guidance algorithm for spacecraft swarms in static environments. In this paper, we present the Multi-Agent Moving-Obstacles Spherical Expansion and Sequential Convex Programming (MAMO SE-SCP) algorithm that extends our prior work to include spatiotemporal constraints such as time-varying, moving obstacles and desired time-varying terminal positions. In the MAMO SE-SCP algorithm, each agent uses a spherical-expansion-based sampling algorithm to cooperatively explore the time-varying environment, a distributed assignment algorithm to agree on the terminal position for each agent, and a sequential-convex-programming-based optimization step to compute the locally-optimal trajectories from the current location to the assigned time-varying terminal position while avoiding collision with other agents and moving obstacles. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed distributed algorithm can be used by a spacecraft swarm to achieve a time-varying, desired formation around an object of interest in a dynamic environment with many moving and tumbling obstacles.

Bandyopadhyay, Saptarshi↗

Understanding the Impact of Meteorological Spatiotemporal Variability on Distant Focusing Overpressure Risk

Since the 1950s, the amplification of blast energy from explosions has been understood to be a significant hazard to public safety at launch ranges. Historically, the risk assessment of the Distant Focusing Overpressure (DFO) hazard started with a single temperature and wind profile (e.g., a radiosonde launch) as input to acoustic 1-D ray tracing models. By analyzing rays propagation and performing ray tracing, population centers under high DFO risk can be identified. Although this method is useful, less is known about how the blast waves can be focused when the spatiotemporal variability of the input profiles are considered. In summary, this work aims to consider how realistic atmospheric boundary layer variability (e.g., turbulence, land-surface contrasts) may affect blast waves propagation and focusing and, as a result, DFO risk assessment results.

Blumberg, W. Greg↗

Eastern Washington Disasters: Integrating NASA Earth Observations to Analyze Spatiotemporal Distributions of Lightning-Caused Wildfires in Eastern Washington

According to the Washington Department of Natural Resources, roughly 36% of large fires in the state since 2010 were caused by lightning. General trends also show a greater increase in the number of lightning-ignited fires over the last three decades. The NASA DEVELOP Eastern Washington Disasters team partnered with The Nature Conservancy’s Washington Chapter to analyze the relationship between lightning strikes and wildfire events in Eastern Washington, with an emphasis on Kittitas and Yakima Counties. Using the International Space Station Lightning Imaging Sensor, the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager vegetation moisture index, and Washington Department of Natural Resources historical fire data, the team generated a lightning-caused fire vulnerability index for 2001-2019. Climatology maps of lightning, wildfire, and vegetation moisture of the study area, along with an Esri ArcGIS StoryMap, further communicated project findings. The project results demonstrated that spatiotemporal patterns of lightning-ignited wildfires in Eastern Washington can be useful to inform land management practices and better predict areas that may be more vulnerable to these events.

Disasters↗

Eastern Washington Disasters: Integrating NASA Earth Observations to Analyze Spatiotemporal Distributions of Lightning-Caused Wildfires in Eastern Washington

According to the Washington Department of Natural Resources, roughly 36% of large fires in the statesince 2010 were caused by lightning. General trends also show a greater increase in the number of lightning-ignited fires over the last three decades. The NASA DEVELOP Eastern Washington Disasters team partnered with The Nature Conservancy’s Washington Chapter to analyze the relationship between lightning strikes and wildfire events in Eastern Washington, with an emphasis on Kittitas and Yakima Counties. Using the International Space Station Lightning Imaging Sensor, the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager vegetation moisture index, and Washington Department of Natural Resources historical fire data, the team generated a lightning-caused fire vulnerability index for 2001-2019. Climatology maps of lightning, wildfire, and vegetation moisture of the study area, along with an Esri ArcGIS StoryMap, further communicated project findings. The project results demonstrated that spatiotemporal patterns of lightning-ignited wildfires in Eastern Washington can be useful to inform land management practices and better predict areas that may be more vulnerable to these events.

Disasters↗