Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “value of Information”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10

Multiscale assessment of land surface phenology from harmonized Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2, PlanetScope, and PhenoCam imagery

As the spatial and temporal resolution of remotely sensed imagery has improved over the last four decades, algorithms for monitoring and mapping seasonal changes in surface properties have evolved rapidly. Most recently, the availability of daily PlanetScope imagery has created new opportunities for monitoring the land surface phenology (LSP) of terrestrial ecosystems at high spatial resolution. However, the quality and value of LSP information from PlanetScope imagery have not been systematically examined. In this paper, we evaluate the character and quality of LSP information derived from PlanetScope by comparing time series of vegetation indices and LSP metrics from PlanetScope to corresponding time series and LSP metrics derived from Harmonized Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 (HLS) imagery and PhenoCams at six sites that span a diverse range of land cover types and climate. Results show that vegetation index time series from all three data sources show high temporal correlation, and LSP metrics derived from HLS, PlanetScope, and PhenoCam show high agreement with negligible bias. Semi-variograms for phenometrics estimated from PlanetScope imagery indicate that the majority of spatial variance captured in PlanetScope phenometrics occurs well below the spatial resolution HLS imagery. At the same time, LSP metrics from HLS are most strongly correlated with the 50–75% quantiles of 3 m LSP metrics from PlanetScope. This indicates that HLS captures the average phenology at sub-pixel scale captured in PlanetScope imagery. Here, our results represent the first comprehensive comparison of LSP metrics estimated from PlanetScope and publicly available moderate spatial resolution imagery, and provide insights regarding: (1) the quality and character of LSP metrics derived from HLS and PlanetScope; and (2) the relative merits and trade-offs associated with the use of each data source for LSP studies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A Data Deposition Platform for Sharing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Data

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data are rarely deposited in open databases, leading to loss of critical scientific knowledge. Existing data reporting methods (images, tables, lists of values) contain less information than raw data, and are poorly standardized. Together, these issues limit FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) access to these data, which in turn creates barriers for compound dereplication and the development of new data-driven discovery tools. Existing NMR databases are either not designed for natural products data, or employ complex deposition interfaces that disincentivize deposition. Journals, including the Journal of Natural Products (JNP), are now requiring data submission as part of the publication process, creating the need for a streamlined, user-friendly mechanism to deposit and distribute NMR data. Recently, our team reported the development of the Natural Products Magnetic Resonance Database (NP-MRD; www.np-mrd.org). Here in this paper we present a new data deposition platform for the NP-MRD project that is designed to enable users to deposit NMR data for published or submitted manuscripts in under five minutes. This platform includes a suite of automated data extraction and standardization tools, together with a simple-to-use web-based interface and detailed error reporting to simplify the data deposition process and is available at www.np-mrd.org/submissions.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

Observation of a linked-loop quantum state in a topological magnet

Quantum phases can be classified by topological invariants, which take on discrete values capturing global information about the quantum state. Over the past decades, these invariants have come to play a central role in describing matter, providing the foundation for understanding superfluids, magnets, the quantum Hall effect, topological insulators, Weyl semimetals and other phenomena. Here we report an unusual linking-number (knot theory) invariant associated with loops of electronic band crossings in a mirror-symmetric ferromagnet. Using state-of-the-art spectroscopic methods, we directly observe three intertwined degeneracy loops in the material's three-torus, T 3 , bulk Brillouin zone. We find that each loop links each other loop twice. Through systematic spectroscopic investigation of this linked-loop quantum state, we explicitly draw its link diagram and conclude, in analogy with knot theory, that it exhibits the linking number (2, 2, 2), providing a direct determination of the invariant structure from the experimental data. Here we further predict and observe, on the surface of our samples, Seifert boundary states protected by the bulk linked loops, suggestive of a remarkable Seifert bulk-boundary correspondence. Our observation of a quantum loop link motivates the application of knot theory to the exploration of magnetic and superconducting quantum matter.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

SFCOMPO Database of Spent Nuclear Fuel Assay Data – the Next Frontier

SFCOMPO is the world’s largest database for measured spent nuclear fuel assay data. An international effort coordinated by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) resulted in a significant expansion of the database and its release online in 2017 as a downloadable application. The SFCOMPO Technical Review Group (TRG) was recently formed under the direction of NEA’s Nuclear Science Committee/Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety and was mandated to maintain and further coordinate the development of SFCOMPO. This TRG is currently focused on (1) critical evaluation of the experimental assay data by independent experts and (2) development of benchmarks and benchmark models that can be applied to validate burnup codes. This will improve the quality and documentation of the experimental datasets and enable their use by the international community to support code validation for design and safety analysis of spent nuclear fuel transportation, storage, and repository applications. It follows the precedent and draws on the experience gained from similar NEA efforts in the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project and the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiment Project. Ongoing SFCOMPO evaluations have served as a test bed to develop templates for documenting evaluations, develop review guidance, improve approaches for a global uncertainty analysis, and devise a strategy focused on providing practical information of highest value to the user community. The current effort, status, and associated challenges are discussed.

Ilas, Germina↗

Valuing Ecosystems in Equitable Energy Transition Planning

In this report we explore three areas of research and practice needed to scale clean energy sustainably: 1) advancing the predictive science to quantify positive and negative outcomes of energy development for the wellbeing of communities, environments, and disadvantaged groups; 2) scenario design using this science to shape renewable energy solutions for nation-wide decarbonization while delivering tangible, local benefits; and 3) participatory science-policy processes to understand what people want for the places where they live and work and how incorporating renewable energy can help or hinder their goals. Together these three components – quantifying social-ecological values, scenario design, and participatory processes – form the basis for a framework for valuing ecosystems to inform a more equitable energy transition.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

National Hydropower Fish Passage Database User's Guide and Methodology

Fish passage facilities are used to mitigate the impacts of hydropower dams on migratory fish in rivers, but information on the location, types, and characteristics of this infrastructure is incomplete at a national scale. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory partnered with federal agency and industry stakeholders to create the first national-scale database of fish passage infrastructure at U.S. hydropower developments. This database contains information of great value to a broad range of stakeholders; it includes fish passage facility engineering characteristics, targeted fish species, operational schedules, and costs. This data resource addresses a large gap in knowledge of the deployment of fish passage technology and is freely available to members of the hydropower community, including federal and state regulators and resource agencies, non-governmental organizations, industry, and other user groups to support project planning and regulatory (re)licensing activities. This database supports the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office objective to develop decision support tools and data resources that improve environmental performance and ensure hydropower’s long-term value to the American public.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Distributed Transient Safety Verification via Robust Control Invariant Sets: A Microgrid Application

Modern safety-critical energy infrastructures are increasingly operated in a hierarchical and modular control framework which allows for limited data exchange between the modules. In this context, it is important for each module to synthesize and communicate constraints on the values of exchanged information in order to assure system-wide safety. To ensure transient safety in inverter-based microgrids, we develop a set invariance-based distributed safety verification algorithm for each inverter module. Applying Nagumo's invariance condition, we construct a robust polynomial optimization problem to jointly search for safety-admissible set of control set-points and design parameters, under allowable disturbances from neighbors. We use sum-of-squares (SOS) programming to solve the verification problem and we perform numerical simulations using grid-forming inverters to illustrate the algorithm.

Bouvier, Jean-Baptiste H.↗

RockFlow: Fast Generation of Synthetic Source Rock Images Using Generative Flow Models

Image-based evaluation methods are a valuable tool for source rock characterization. The time and resources needed to obtain images has spurred development of machine-learning generative models to create synthetic images of pore structure and rock fabric from limited image data. While generative models have shown success, existing methods for generating 3D volumes from 2D training images are restricted to binary images and grayscale volume generation requires 3D training data. Shale characterization relies on 2D imaging techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and grayscale values carry important information about porosity, kerogen content, and mineral composition of the shale. Here, we introduce RockFlow, a method based on generative flow models that creates grayscale volumes from 2D training data. We apply RockFlow to baseline binary micro-CT image volumes and compare performance to a previously proposed model. We also show the extension of our model to 2D grayscale data by generating grayscale image volumes from 2D SEM and dual modality nanoscale shale images. The results show that our method underestimates the porosity and surface area on the binary baseline datasets but is able to generate realistic grayscale image volumes for shales. With improved binary data preprocessing, we believe that our model is capable of generating synthetic porous media volumes for a very broad class of rocks from shale to carbonates to sandstone.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Understanding the Reaction of Nuclear Graphite with Molecular Oxygen

A thorough understanding of oxidation is important when considering the health and integrity of graphite components in graphite reactors. For the next generation of graphite reactors, HTGRs specifically, an unlikely air ingress has been deemed significant enough to have made its way into the licensing applications of many international licensing bodies. While a substantial body of literature exists on nuclear graphite oxidation in the presence of molecular oxygen and significant efforts have been made to characterize oxidation kinetics of various grades, the value of existing information is somewhat limited. Often, multiple competing processes, including reaction kinetics, mass transfer, and microstructural evolution, are lumped together into a single rate expression that limits the ability to translate this information to different conditions. This article reviews the reaction of graphite with molecular oxygen in terms of the reaction kinetics, gas transport, and microstructural evolution of graphite. It also presents the foundations of a model for the graphite-molecular oxygen reaction system that is kinetically independent of graphite grade, and is capable of describing both the bulk and local oxidation rates under a wide range of conditions applicable to air-ingress.

J. Kane, Joshua↗

Eucalyptus – An Analysis Suite for Fault Trees with Uncertainty Quantification

Eucalyptus is a novel code developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to incorporate uncertainty quantification into Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). This tool addresses the challenge of imperfect knowledge in “grey-box” systems by allowing analysts to incorporate and propagate uncertainty from component-level assessments to system-level effects. Eucalyptus facilitates a consistent evaluation of the impact of subject matter expert judgment and knowledge gaps on overall system response by Monte Carlo generation of possible system fault trees, sampling probabilities of the existence of subsystems and components. Here, the code supports the specification of fault trees through text and allows export to various formats, including auto-generated images, easing analysis and reducing errors. It has undergone extensive verification testing, demonstrating its reliability and readiness for deployment, and leverages on-node parallelism for rapid analysis. Example analyses are shown that include the identification of system failure paths and quantification of the value of further information about system components.

Fault Tree Analysis↗

Progress in Development of Methods in Bone Densitometry

The effects of weightlessness and decreased activity on the astronaut's musculoskeletal system during prolonged space flight, missions are of concern to NASA. This problem was anticipated from the knowledge that human subjects lose significant quantities of calcium from the skeleton during periods of bedrest, immobilization, and water immersion. An accurate method of measurement of the changes in mineral content of the skeleton is required not only in the space program but also in the biological, medical, and dental fields for mineral metabolism studies and for studying various pathological conditions of the skeleton and teeth. This method is a difficult one requiring the coordinated efforts of physiologists, biophysicists, radiologists, and clinicians. The densitometry methods reported in this conference which have been used or are being developed include X-ray, beta excited X-rays, radioisotopes, sonic vibration, and neutron activation analysis Studies in the Gemini, Biosatellite, and Apollo flights use the X-ray bone densitometry method which requires making X-rays before and after the flights. An in-flight method of bone densitometry would be valuable, and use of radioisotope sources has been suggested. Many advances in bone densitometry have been made in the last five years, and the urgency of the requirement makes this working conference timely and valuable. In such a rapidly developing field with investigators working independently in a variety of scientific disciplines, a working conference is of great value in exchanging information and ideas, critically evaluating approaches and methods, and pointing out new research pathways.

DENSITOMETER↗

Alternating current losses in superconducting coils

Report examines relationship between coil loss and frequency and heat loss in coil as a function of the magnetic field H. Information is of value to manufacturers of superconducting magnets, motors and generators.

Wipf, S. L.↗

Protonospheric columnar electron content determination. I - Analysis.

A combination of phase-path length difference and Faraday rotation angle data obtained from geostationary satellite transmissions is used to determine the integration constant necessary to convert phase-path length difference information into absolute values of total slant columnar electron content. The total content thus determined, which is the sum of the ionospheric and protonospheric contents, is measured with uncertainties about one order of magnitude smaller than the value of the protonospheric content. It is thus, in principle, possible to determine the latter by subtracting from the measurement the so-called 'Faraday content.' This idea, proposed by several authors in the past, is critically examined in the present paper. It is impossible to totally eliminate the ionospheric contribution to the measurements; however, it is shown that the degree of elimination depends on the type of distribution of the longitudinal component of the geomagnetic field along the path of observation. Satisfactory minimization of the ionospheric contribution can be accomplished only under certain geometries of observation.

Almeida, O. G.↗

On the feasibility of benefit-cost analysis applied to remote sensing projects

The following step-wise procedure for making a benefit-cost analysis of using remote sensing techniques could be used either in the limited context of California water resources, or a context as broad as the making of integrated resource surveys of the entire earth resource complex on a statewide, regional, national, or global basis. (1) Survey all data collection efforts which can be accomplished by remote sensing techniques. (2) Carefully inspect the State of California budget and the Budget of the United States Government to find annual cost of data collection efforts. (3) Decide the extent to which remote sensing can obviate each of the collection efforts. (4) Sum the annual costs of all data collection which can be equivalently accomplished through remote sensing. (5) Decide what additional data could and would be collected through remote sensing. (6) Estimate the value of this information. It is not harmful to do a benefit-cost analysis so long as its severe limitations are recalled and it is supplemented with socio-economic impact studies.

Merewitz, L.↗

On the unification of geodetic leveling datums using satellite altimetry

Techniques are described for determining the height of Mean Sea Level (MSL) at coastal sites from satellite altimetry. Such information is of value in the adjustment of continental leveling networks. Numerical results are obtained from the 1977 GEOS-3 altimetry data bank at Goddard Space Flight Center using the Bermuda calibration of the altimeter. Estimates are made of the heights of MSL at the leveling datums for Australia and a hypothetical Galveston datum for central North America. The results obtained are in reasonable agreement with oceanographic estimates obtained by extrapolation. It is concluded that all gravity data in the Australian bank AUSGAD 76 and in the Rapp data file for central North America refer to the GEOS-3 altimeter geoid for 1976.0 with uncertainties which do not exceed + or - 0.1 mGal.

Mather, R. S.↗

Costs and benefits to industry of online literature searches

A description is given of a client survey conducted by the NASA Industrial Application Center, U.S.C., examining user-identified dollar costs and benefits of an online computerized literature search. Telephone interviews were conducted on a random sample of clients using a Denver Research Institute questionnaire. Of the total 159 clients surveyed, over 53% identified dollar benefits. A direct relationship between client dollars invested and benefits derived from the search was shown. The ratio of dollar benefit to investment dollar averaged 2.9 to 1. Precise data on the end user's evaluation of the dollar value of an information search are presented.

Jensen, R. J.↗

Technical and investigative support for high density digital satellite recording systems

Methods and results of examinations and tests conducted on magnetic recording tapes under consideration for a high density digital (HDDR) satellite recording system are described. The examinations and tests investigate the performance of tapes with respect to their physical, magnetic and electrical characteristics. The objective of the tests, the likely significance of typical results, and the importance of the characteristics under investigation to the application are included. Theoretical discussions of measurement methods are provided where appropriate. Methods and results are discussed; the results of some sections are tabulated together to facilitate their comparison. The conclusion of each test section relates the test results to their possible significance and attempts to correlate the results of that section with the results of other tests. Some of the sections analyze sources of error inherent in the measurement methods or relate the value of the information obtained to the objectives of the test or the overall purpose of the project.

Schultz, R. A.↗

Model reference adaptive attitude control of spacecraft using reaction wheels

A nonlinear model reference adaptive control law for large angle rotational maneuvers of spacecraft using reaction wheels in the presence of uncertainty is presented. The derivation of control law does not require any information on the values of the system parameters and the disturbance torques acting on the spacecraft. The controller includes a dynamic system in the feedback path. The control law is a nonlinear function of the attitude error, the rate of the attitude error, and the compensator state. Simulation results are prsented to show that large angle rotational maneuvers can be performed in spite of the uncertainty in the system.

Singh, Sahjendra N.↗