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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.

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At least 199 records · Page 11

AI for Extreme Volcanic Climate Forcing and Feedback Forecasting in the 21st century

Our paradigm-shifting framework will apply machine learning and perform physical analysis of contemporary volcanoes to develop sound forecasts of extreme eruptions in the 21stcentury and their abrupt drying and cooling impacts on the warming climate. We will also bridge climate data driven regression models and earth system model output to trace teleconnections that exacerbate regional impacts such as Arctic amplification and western US droughts.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

AI for Extreme Volcanic Climate Forcing and Feedback Forecasting in the 21st century

Focal Areas: Our paradigm-shifting framework will apply machine learning and perform physical analysis of contemporary volcanoes to develop sound forecasts of extreme eruptions in the 21st century and their abrupt drying and cooling impacts on the warming climate. We will also bridge climate data driven regression models and earth system model output to trace teleconnections that exacerbate regional impacts such as Arctic amplification and western US droughts.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Rethink hydrologic modeling framework with AI integrating multi-processes across scales

The proposed work is to develop a new hydrologic modeling framework that leverages vast amount earth and human system observational data, AI technologies, and data-driven information flows to improve predictability of hydrologic system that involves hydrologic, terrestrial, and biogeochemical processes and their interactions with the human and atmosphere systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The Usage of Observing System Simulation Experiments and Reinforcement Learning to Optimize Experimental Design and Operation

Various organizations regularly conduct field campaigns across the globe designed to probe and improve atmospheric process understanding. However, these campaigns are mostly designed ad-hoc, and rely on anecdotes and knowledge of what was successful in previous campaigns. Such ad-hoc experiment design results in sub-optimal instrument siting and operation strategies. Inadequate targeted data collection of extreme weather is a major limitation to Earth and Environmental Systems Science Division (EESSD)’s goals of data model integration (4.5.3), which limits the knowledge gained through the collected observations, holding back significant advances in predictability. While advances in instrument design are always chipping away at these limitations, we are not optimally utilizing the instrumentation we currently possess.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Coast-Urban-Rural Atmospheric Gradient Experiment

Accurately representing the climate and weather variability within cities and providing well-tested representations of the impacts of urban systems on the atmospheric environment are challenges for current earth system models (ESMs). Field data for testing and developing these models are critical to addressing these limitations. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility will support a field campaign aimed at understanding how different surface-atmosphere interactions around a city are influencing its climate. The Coast-Urban-Rural Atmospheric Gradient Experiment (CoURAGE) is expected to operate from December 2024 to November 2025 in and around Baltimore, Maryland. With its aging infrastructure, growing susceptibility to heat and flooding, and ongoing issues with air and water pollution, Baltimore is characteristic of many large industrial cities in the Eastern United States. ARM, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility, plans to deploy one of its three mobile observatories at Morgan State University’s Clifton Park site in downtown Baltimore. Ancillary ARM sites are also planned for rural Maryland, northwest of the city; and to the southern end of Kent Island in Chesapeake Bay. Data from CoURAGE will complement measurements from the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC), one of four DOE Urban Integrated Field Laboratories that will operate in cities across the United States to study urban climate change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A global DSCOVR/EPIC-based hourly/daily shortwave radiation/PAR dataset

Accurate characterization of the global downward shortwave (SW) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is fundamental for Earth system modeling and global change research. Combined with a machine-learning method, we used the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) data onboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) to generate the global SW/PAR dataset at both hourly and daily temporal scales and 0.1degree×0.1degree spatial resolution. Covering a period from June, 2015 to June (about 4 years), 2019, the dataset consists of total SW/PAR and their direct and diffuse components. Our dataset will be valuable for understanding the diurnal cycles and seasonal patterns of ecosystem processes, as well as the solar energy utilizations

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Middle Kittanning Coal Waste and Underclay as an Alternative Rare Earth Elements Feedstock

In order to secure domestic sources of rare earth elements (REE) from coal related materials, there must be validation of representative feedstocks. Actively producing coal mines that target the Middle Kittanning coal seam in the Appalachian Basin were compiled. These mines were cross-referenced with publicly available geochemical data such as the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Mapping Resources Initiative geochemical data along with samples evaluated and characterized by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). This work evaluated the extent of elevated Middle Kittanning underclay concentrations of REE in comparison to other underclay formations. Therefore, further up-scaling of research associated with the separation and extraction of REE and other critical minerals can be beneficial to utilizing domestic REE supplies for various technology sectors, to include energy, biomedical, and defense. Numerous current active mines targeting the Middle Kittanning coal seam represent a geographically significant opportunity for shared feedstocks and collaborations to further understand the role of Middle Kittanning underclay as a critical mineral feedstock.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Enriched Background Isotope Study (EBIS): Analysis of 14C-Enriched Carbon Cycle in Soils and Litter at Forested Oak Ridge and AmeriFlux Sites, 2001-2011

These data provide a record of the multi-year, multi-institutional Enriched Background Isotope Studies (EBIS) projects that ran from 2000 through 2011. Elevated levels of 14C enriched CO2 in the air and soil atmosphere as well as leaf, stem, and root tissues were observed on the Oak Ridge Reservations (ORR) during the summer of 1999, and were attributed to local incinerator activities on and/or near the ORR (Trumbore et al. 2002). The isolated enrichment of the background levels of 14C in local forest ecosystem represented a unique opportunity to study unresolved carbon cycling processes such as the contribution of leaf versus root litter contributions to soil carbon accumulation, the rate of vertical transport of carbon into deep soil storage pools, and the differential contribution of physicochemical versus faunal driven processes to soil carbon cycling and sequestration. Leaf litter from the local enriched forest was transplanted to selected sites on the ORR and to selected AmeriFlux study sites to study soil C cycling across a range of soils and climates. The EBIS research projects provide data on C flux from litter sources to mineral soil sinks for United States eastern hardwood forests necessary for testing process hypotheses and judging efficacy of soil C cycling models. Experimental results from this study are being used to parameterize and refine existing carbon dynamics models, the quantification of the long-term fate of ecosystem carbon inputs and as a means to judge the potential for ecosystem carbon sequestration via enhance litter inputs to soil. EBIS observations support conclusions that intra- and inter-annual soil carbon cycling in hardwood forest soils should be characterized as a least a two-compartment system where surface leaf-litter and belowground root turnover represent primary carbon sources for organic-layer and mineral-soil carbon cycles, respectively. EBIS experiments were conducted to complete enriched litterfall maniplations in upland forests on Ultisol and Inceptisol soils of the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. We also collected additional14C-enriched materials for new experimental applications, and applied those materials to multiple AmeriFlux sites over a range of climatic, edaphic and biological conditions. The research provided data for addressing DOE's goal of understanding mechanisms controlling C flux, and for the improvement of models to be applied to policy discussions regarding the safe levels of greenhouse gases for the earth's system. There are 5 data files provided in comma separated (*.csv) format for vegetation, field litter, soil and air [C] and C isotope data from the EBIS studies and associated environmental data.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Analysis of Selected Publicly Available Geothermal Exploration Data Gaps

As part of a United States Department of Energy (DOE) supported retrospective analysis of DOE's Play Fairway Analysis (PFA) projects, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) compiled and analyzed publicly available geothermal exploration datasets to identify and highlight data gaps in areas prospective for hosting geothermal resources. The analysis was intended to understand the existing geographic coverage of selected datasets commonly utilized both by the PFA projects and geothermal developers during resource assessments including geologic mapping, temperature gradient drilling, and aeromagnetic, gravimetric, and lidar surveys. Results indicate that broad areas of the western United States estimated to have geothermal potential lack sufficient geologic and geophysical coverage necessary for even regional resource exploration. The study directly informed the recent Geoscience Data Acquisition for Western Nevada, or GeoDAWN - which united DOE's Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) of the U.S. Department of the Interior to assist U.S. needs for energy and critical minerals. The study also has the potential to inform public investment in further data acquisition for characterization of the Earth both for geothermal and other natural resource assessments.

data↗

Methods for the robust computation of the long-period seismic spectrum of broad-band arrays

SUMMARY We describe array methods to search for low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) signals in long-period seismic data using Fourier analysis. This is motivated by published results that find evidence of solar free oscillations in the Earth's seismic hum. Previous work used data from only one station. In this paper, we describe methods for computing spectra from array data. Arrays reduce noise level through averaging and provide redundancy that we use to distinguish coherent signal from a random background. We describe two algorithms for calculating a robust spectrum from seismic arrays, an algorithm that automatically removes impulsive transient signals from data, a jackknife method for estimating the variance of the spectrum, and a method for assessing the significance of an entire spectral band. We show examples of their application to data recorded by the Homestake Mine 3-D array in Lead, SD and the Piñon Flats PY array. These are two of the quietest small aperture arrays ever deployed in North America. The underground Homestake data has exceptionally low noise, and the borehole sensors of the PY array also have very low noise, making these arrays well suited to finding very weak signals. We find that our methods remove transient signals effectively from the data so that even low-SNR signals in the seismic background can be found and tested. Additionally, we find that the jackknife variance estimate is comparable to the noise floor, and we present initial evidence for solar g-modes in our data through the T2 test, a multivariate generalization of Student's t-test.

Caton, Ross C.↗

Aboveground Biomass Estimation Using NISAR Simulated ALOS-2 Time Series Data

Aboveground biomass (AGB) is a critical parameter to better understand the global carbon cycle and to develop sustainable forest management. However, a large uncertainty prevails. L-band SAR data have demonstrated strong potential to accurately retrieve AGB over low-biomass regions (<100 Mg ha-1). The upcoming NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission will collect data at L- and S-band over earth’s landmass with a repeat period of 12 days, allowing us to have ample data for monitoring biomass and its dynamics. One of the key science requirements of the mission is to produce annual AGB maps at 1-ha resolution with RMS accuracy of 20 Mg/ha for 80 percentage of area over low-biomass regions in Calibration/Validation sites. The NISAR biomass algorithm will generate AGB maps based on the parameterization of semi-empirical model along with NISAR time-series dual pol data (HH and HV). To calibrate and validate the model for mission requirements, the mission will use reference estimates of AGB produced from ground inventory plots and airborne LiDAR data collected over selected sites distributed across different global ecoregions. This paper presents the initial results of the calibration/validation of the NISAR AGB retrieval algorithm over the Lenoir Landing (LENO), Alabama, USA site using NISAR simulated ALOS-2 time series data. Five multi-temporal dual-pol HH and HV NISAR Simulated ALOS 2 data collections were used as input to assess the performance of the model. The model AGB retrieval results shows that the NISAR model was able to achieve RMS accuracy within 20 Mg/ha.

Ramachandran, Naveen [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, C↗

Elucidating and predicting the dynamic evolution of water and land systems due to natural and energy-related forcings

Focal Area(s): 3. Insight gleaned from complex data (both observed and simulated) using AI, big data analytics, and other advanced methods, including explainable AI and physics- or knowledge-guided AI; & 1. Data acquisition and assimilation enabled by machine learning, AI, and advanced methods including experimental/network design/optimization, unsupervised learning (including deep learning), and hardware-related efforts involving AI (e.g., edge computing). Science Challenge: Interactions between water, land, and energy systems are complex and occur on a variety of scales, ranging from local to basinal to regional. Accurately predicting the behavior of ground water and surface water systems for 5-10 years and beyond requires an understanding of the current system and the ability to model both the natural system at scale and human-induced forcings related to energy and other activities. Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) combined with modern compilation and integration efforts for U.S. groundwater and surface water systems present potential solutions to bolstering detailed physics-based models of these systems. Big data tied with ML and physics-based modeling can drive breakthroughs in understanding the earth system, but research is often impeded by data access (e.g., privacy issues), quality, formats, gaps, multi-source, multi-scale, integration, and spatiotemporal challenges. Effective integration of real data and simulated (synthetic) data that fill gaps is critical. Overcoming these complex data and model integration challenges will enable a transformational approach to acquiring enhanced understanding of environmental systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Multi-campaign ship and aircraft observations of marine cloud condensation nuclei and droplet concentrations

In situ marine cloud droplet number concentrations (CDNCs), cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and CCN proxies, based on particle sizes and optical properties, are accumulated from seven field campaigns: ACTIVATE; NAAMES; CAMP 2 EX; ORACLES; SOCRATES; MARCUS; and CAPRICORN2. Each campaign involves aircraft measurements, ship-based measurements, or both. Measurements collected over the North and Central Atlantic, Indo-Pacific, and Southern Oceans, represent a range of clean to polluted conditions in various climate regimes. With the extensive range of environmental conditions sampled, this data collection is ideal for testing satellite remote detection methods of CDNC and CCN in marine environments. Remote measurement methods are vital to expanding the available data in these difficult-to-reach regions of the Earth and improving our understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions. The data collection includes particle composition and continental tracers to identify potential contributing CCN sources. Several of these campaigns include High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) and polarimetric imaging measurements and retrievals that will be the basis for the next generation of space-based remote sensors and, thus, can be utilized as satellite surrogates.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A Unified Data Infrastructure for Biological and Environmental Research: A Report from the BER Advisory Committee

The Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science supports large-scale data generation efforts across its two divisions: Biological Systems Science and Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences. These efforts include user facilities in atmospheric radiation measurements, genomics, metabolomics, proteomics, compute, and imaging. In addition, BER supports the development of plant-based fuels; research in biosystems design, environmental microbiomes, and atmospheric systems; energy flux monitoring; climate-based ecosystem experiments; pathogen biopreparedness; and modeling of climate, urban interfaces, and interactions between people and energy resources. For data access, BER supports community data services at its user facilities, along with specialized data initiatives for Earth and environmental science, climate modeling, genomic and microbial analysis, and multisector dynamics modeling.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Perspectives on AI Architectures and Co-design for Earth System Predictability

Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research (BER), and Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) programs organized and held the Artificial Intelligence for Earth System Predictability (AI4ESP) workshop series. From this workshop, a critical conclusion that the DOE BER and ASCR community came to is the requirement to develop a new paradigm for Earth system predictability focused on enabling artificial intelligence (AI) across the field, laboratory, modeling, and analysis activities, called model experimentation (ModEx). BER’s ModEx is an iterative approach that enables process models to generate hypotheses. The developed hypotheses inform field and laboratory efforts to collect measurement and observation data, which are subsequently used to parameterize, drive, and test model (e.g., process based) predictions. A total of 17 technical sessions were held in this AI4ESP workshop series. This paper discusses the topic of the AI Architectures and Codesign session and associated outcomes. The AI Architectures and Codesign session included two invited talks, two plenary discussion panels, and three breakout rooms that covered specific topics, including 1) DOE high-performance computing (HPC) systems, 2) cloud HPC systems, and 3) edge computing and Internet of Things (IoT). We also provide forward-looking ideas and perspectives on potential research in this codesign area that can be achieved by synergies with the other 16 session topics. These ideas include topics such as 1) reimagining codesign, 2) data acquisition to distribution, 3) heterogeneous HPC solutions for integration of AI/ML and other data analytics like uncertainty quantification with Earth system modeling and simulation, and 4) AI-enabled sensor integration into Earth system measurements and observations. Such perspectives are a distinguishing aspect of this paper.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Integrating continuous atmospheric boundary layer and tower-based flux measurements to advance understanding of land-atmosphere interactions

The atmospheric boundary layer mediates the exchange of energy, matter, and momentum between the land surface and the free troposphere, integrating a range of physical, chemical, and biological processes and is defined as the lowest layer of the atmosphere (ranging from a few meters to 3 km). In this review, we investigate how continuous, automated observations of the atmospheric boundary layer can enhance the scientific value of co-located eddy covariance measurements of land-atmosphere fluxes of carbon, water, and energy, as are being made at FLUXNET sites worldwide. We highlight four key opportunities to integrate tower-based flux measurements with continuous, long-term atmospheric boundary layer measurements: (1) to interpret surface flux and atmospheric boundary layer exchange dynamics and feedbacks at flux tower sites, (2) to support flux footprint modelling, the interpretation of surface fluxes in heterogeneous terrain, and quality control of eddy covariance flux measurements, (3) to support regional-scale modeling and upscaling of surface fluxes to continental scales, and (4) to quantify land-atmosphere coupling and validate its representation in Earth system models. Adding a suite of atmospheric boundary layer measurements to eddy covariance flux tower sites, and supporting the sharing of these data to tower networks, would allow the Earth science community to address new emerging research questions, better interpret ongoing flux tower measurements, and would present novel opportunities for collaborations between FLUXNET scientists and atmospheric and remote sensing scientists.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The use of seismic spatial gradients in a single layer neural network for seismic source discrimination: proof of concept

This report describes a proof-of-concept method of seismic source discrimination using seismic gradiometry and a common machine learning technique. The tests described here are purely numerical, using synthetic seismic data and well understood mathematical techniques. The primary innovation described here is the application of a richer seismic data set derived from seismic gradiometry. Seismic gradiometry is a method to estimate the time variable spatial gradient of the wavefield to compute various wavefield attributes such as slowness, dynamic strain, and rotational motions. With the addition of these wavefield attributes, we are afforded up to twenty "compo- nents" of time series data measured at a single point on, or in, the Earth. This is in direct contrast to conventional three-component seismic data collected at several locations using a seismic network. Using the gradiometrically-derived wavefield components directly in a single-layer neural network, I show that it is possible to discriminate between three common seismic source types (earthquakes, explosions, and opening fractures) for various noise conditions and gradiometry configurations.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Multiparameter Constraints on Empirical Infrasound Period-Yield Relations for Bolides and Implications for Planetary Defense

How effective are methods for estimating bolide energies from infrasound signal period-yield relationships? A single global period–energy relation can obscure significant variability introduced by parameters such as the atmospheric Doppler wind profile and the bolide’s energy deposition profile as a function of altitude. Bolide speed, entry angle, burst altitude, and multiepisode fragmentation may all play a role in defining the detected period of the shockwave. By leveraging bolide light-curve data from the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, we re-examined the period–energy relation as a function of these parameters. Through a bootstrap approach, we show that various event subsets can deviate from widely cited period–energy models and we identify which specific conditions most strongly reshape the period–energy scaling. The results define both the fidelity and reliability of period–energy relations when no additional data beyond the infrasound record is available and improve the outcome when supporting data from bolide trajectories and light curves are included. Ultimately, these findings expand the scope of earlier models, providing a nuanced and robust framework for infrasound-only yield estimation under a range of bolide scenarios.

Planetary science↗