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At least 217 records · Page 12

The Critical Role of the Routing Scheme in Simulating Peak River Discharge in Global Hydrological Models

Global hydrological models (GHMs) have been applied to assess global flood hazards, but their capacity to capture the timing and amplitude of peak river discharge which is crucial in flood simulations has traditionally not been the focus of examination. Here we evaluate to what degree the choice of river routing scheme affects simulations of peak discharge and may help to provide better agreement with observations. To this end we use runoff and discharge simulations of nine GHMs forced by observational climate data (1971-2010) within the ISIMIP2a (Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project phase 2a) project. The runoff simulations were used as input for the global river routing model CaMa-Flood (Catchment-based Macro-scale Floodplain). The simulated daily discharge was compared to the discharge generated by each GHM using its native river routing scheme. For each GHM both versions of simulated discharge were compared to monthly and daily discharge observations from 1701 GRDC (Global Runoff Data Centre) stations as a benchmark. CaMa-Flood routing shows a general reduction of peak river discharge and a delay of about two to three weeks in its occurrence, likely induced by the buffering capacity of floodplain reservoirs. For a majority of river basins, discharge produced by CaMa-Flood resulted in a better agreement with observations. In particular, maximum daily discharge was adjusted, with a multi-model averaged reduction in bias over about two-thirds of the analysed basin area. The increase in agreement was obtained in both managed and near-natural basins. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of routing scheme choice in peak discharge simulation, where CaMa-Flood routing accounts for floodplain storage and backwater effects that are not represented in most GHMs. Our study provides important hints that an explicit parameterisation of these processes may be essential in future impact studies.

peak river discharge↗

Performance data of the new free-piston shock tunnel at GALCIT

The new free-piston shock tunnel has been partially calibrated, and a range of operating conditions has been found. A large number of difficulties were encountered during the shake-down period, of which the ablation of various parts was the most severe. Solutions to these problems were found. The general principles of high-enthalpy simulation are outlined, and the parameter space covered by T5 is given. Examples of the operating data show that, with care, excellent repeatability may be obtained. The temporal uniformity of the reservoir pressure is very good, even at high enthalpy, because it is possible to operate at tailored-interface and tuned-piston conditions over the whole enthalpy range. Examples of heat transfer and Pitot-pressure measurements are also presented.

Hornung, Hans G.↗

Prognostic simulations of mixed-phase clouds with model AC-1D v1.0: the impact of aerosol types and freezing parameterizations on ice crystal budgets

Mixed-phase clouds at high latitudes contribute to the uncertainty in predicting cloud feedbacks and climate sensitivity, mainly due to the complexity of microphysical processes that influence the partitioning between the supercooled liquid and ice phases, and hence, cloud radiative effects on regional scales. Particularly in Arctic mixed-phase clouds, the activation of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) from various aerosol populations remains a leading source of uncertainty. We developed an aerosol-cloud one-dimensional (AC-1D) model, which provides a novel framework to prognostically treat INP and ice crystal budgets while explicitly accounting for polydisperse and multicomponent aerosol that activate INPs following different freezing parameterizations. The AC-1D model is informed by large-eddy simulations to probe the impact of INP representation on predicted ice crystal number concentrations (N i ) and ice crystal budgets in mixed-phase Arctic stratus. We apply three immersion freezing (IMF) parameterizations, two time-independent (singular) and one time-dependent (classical nucleation theory), to predict the evolution of the INP reservoir and resulting ice crystal budget from polydisperse mineral dust, organic (humic-like substances), and sea spray aerosol particle size distributions. Our analysis focuses on how variations in aerosol number concentration and cloud system parameters such as cloud cooling rate, cloud-top entrainment rate, and ice crystal fall speed influence the INP reservoir and ice crystal budgets. Furthermore, this study investigates the competitive ice nucleation dynamics in mixed aerosol environments and provides a process-level quantification of the INP budget terms, which directly controls ice crystal budgets. For all studied case scenarios, the aerosol types and associated particle size distributions significantly impact INP and N i , and the choice between a time-dependent and a singular freezing description yields orders-of-magnitude differences in the predicted INP and N i over the 10 h simulation time, reflecting typical cloud lifetimes. Our results show that the influence of cloud cooling, INP entrainment, and sedimentation varies significantly depending on the chosen freezing parameterization. These findings underscore the critical need for robust IMF parameterizations and precise cloud system observations to enhance the accuracy of models in predicting mixed-phase cloud structure and evolution.

Arctic clouds↗

Aitken Mode Aerosols Buffer Decoupled Mid‐Latitude Boundary Layer Clouds Against Precipitation Depletion

Aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions are a leading source of uncertainty in estimating climate sensitivity. Remote marine boundary layers where accumulation mode (~100–400 nm diameter) aerosol concentrations are relatively low are very susceptible to aerosol changes. These regions also experience heightened Aitken mode aerosol (~10–100 nm) concentrations associated with ocean biology. Aitken aerosols may significantly influence cloud properties and evolution by replenishing cloud condensation nuclei and droplet number lost through precipitation (i.e., Aitken buffering). We use a large-eddy simulation with an Aitken-mode enabled microphysics scheme to examine the role of Aitken buffering in a mid-latitude decoupled boundary layer cloud regime observed on 15 July 2017 during the Aerosol and Cloud Experiments in the Eastern North Atlantic flight campaign: cumulus rising into stratocumulus under elevated Aitken concentrations (~100–200 mg -1 ). In situ measurements are used to constrain and evaluate this case study. Our simulation accurately captures observed aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions and reveals time-evolving processes driving regime development and evolution. Aitken activation into the accumulation mode in the cumulus layer provides a reservoir for turbulence and convection to carry accumulation aerosols into the drizzling stratocumulus layer above. Further Aitken activation occurs aloft in the stratocumulus layer. Together, these activation events buffer this cloud regime against precipitation removal, reducing cloud break-up and associated increases in heterogeneity. We examine cloud evolution sensitivity to initial aerosol conditions. With halved accumulation number, Aitken aerosols restore accumulation concentrations, maintain droplet number similar to original values, and prevent cloud break-up. Without Aitken aerosols, precipitation-driven cloud break-up occurs rapidly. In this regime, Aitken buffering sustains brighter, more homogeneous clouds for longer.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A Boundary Element Model for Assessing Large‐Scale Pressurization in Faulted Geological Storage Systems

Assessing large-scale pressurization at the regional scale—a possible outcome of large subsurface storage applications such as wastewater injection and geological carbon sequestration—presents significant computational challenges. These challenges are particularly pronounced when accounting for complex geologic structures with multiple reservoir and caprock layers, fault zones, and wells. This study introduces a computationally efficient model that integrates single-phase semi-analytical solutions with a boundary element (BE) approach. The model simulates pressure propagation in multilayered 3D systems, including vertical faults, caprock, basement, and confining units. We apply this new model to a representative scenario involving CO 2 injection near a partially sealing fault with verification against an independent two-phase flow model. Results demonstrate that our model accurately captures far-field pressure responses and that, outside the CO 2 plume zone, pressure predictions from single-phase and two-phase models are nearly identical. This supports the use of single-phase models like ours for efficient estimation of far-field pressure changes. Additionally, we demonstrate its effectiveness at a large scale, incorporating multiple wells and faults. With its ability to represent multiple wells, fault zones, and geological heterogeneity, our model is well suited for assessments of basin-scale pressurization. Its computational efficiency also makes it a promising tool for integration with optimization frameworks aimed at designing and managing injection strategies in faulted storage systems.

Cihan, A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (↗

Spatiotemporal Energy Cascade in Three-Dimensional Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

We present a new scale decomposition method to investigate turbulence in wavenumber-frequency space. Using 3D magnetohydrodynamic turbulence simulations, we show that magnetic fluctuations with time scales longer than the nonlinear time exhibit an inverse cascade toward even smaller frequencies. Low frequency magnetic fluctuations support turbulence, acting as an energy reservoir that is converted into plasma kinetic energy, the latter cascading toward large wavenumbers and frequencies, where it is dissipated. Our results shed new light on the spatiotemporal properties of turbulence, potentially explaining the origin and role of low frequency turbulent fluctuations in the solar wind.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A basic code for the prediction of transient three-dimensional turbulent flowfields

A primitive pressure-velocity finite difference code has been developed to predict transient three-dimensional turbulent flow. The code is a simplified yet effective prediction procedure for use by persons with little experience in computational fluid dynamics, and into which user-oriented complexities can easily be added. The method is based on the transient two-dimensional Los Alamos SOLA prediction technique for laminar flows. Turbulence is simulated by means of a two-equation turbulence model; species diffusion and buoyancy are also included. Two applications of the code are presented to local destratification near the release structure of a reservoir and to the deflection of a jet entering normally into a uniform cross-flow. Predicted results exhibit good agreement with experimental data, showing that a useful characterization of fully three-dimensional flows is now available.

Busnaina, A. A.↗

An impact-induced terrestrial atmosphere and iron-water reactions during accretion of the Earth

Shock wave data and theoretical calculations were used to derive models of an impact-generated terrestrial atmosphere during accretion of the Earth. The models showed that impacts of infalling planetesimals not only provided the entire budget of terrestrial water but also led to a continuous depletion of near-surface layers of water-bearing minerals of their structural water. This resulted in a final atmospheric water reservoir comparable to the present day total water budget of the Earth. The interaction of metallic iron with free water at the surface of the accreting Earth is considered. We carried out model calcualtions simulating these processes during accretion. It is assumed that these processes are the prime source of the terrestrial FeO component of silicates and oxides. It is demonstrated that the iron-water reaction would result in the absence of atmospheric/hydrospheric water, if homogeneous accretion is assumed. In order to obtain the necessary amount of terrestrial water, slightly heterogeneous accretion with initially 36 wt% iron planetesimals, as compared with a homogeneous value of 34 wt% is required.

Lange, M. A.↗

Sources and geochemical evolution of cyanide and formaldehyde

The major source of cyanide has, in current paleoatmospheric models, been assumed to be the reaction of photodissociated thermospheric nitrogen with a limiting supply of stratospheric methane. Formaldehyde may be produced with more ease from an atmosphere of carbon dioxide as the dominant carbon species, and from carbonate in solution or sorbed in double layer hydroxide minerals. Potentially more important sources for cyanide and other carbon containing molecules are the partially photoprotected northern and southern auroral ovals where continuous currents reaching several mega-amperes induce ion-molecule reactions, extending into the lower stratosphere. In simulated environments of this kind, the cyanide ion is known to be produced from oxidized carbon species potentially more abundant than methane. Rainout of cyanide and formaldehyde place them in two different geochemical reaction reservoirs. In the anoxic Archean hydrosphere, about 1mM in Fe2(+), the cyanide ion would have been efficiently converted to the stable ferrocyanide complex Fe(CN) sub 6(4-), protecting it from the commonly considered fate of decomposition by hydrolysis, and eventually incorporating it in pyroaurite type minerals, most efficiently in green rust where it converts to insoluble ferriferrocyanide, prussian blue.

Arrhenius, G.↗

A path to intelligent watersheds: coordinating the data to decision pipeline

Operations of multi-reservoir systems are challenged in-part by the interplay of complex physical processes functioning within the watershed. The employment of intelligent systems can be of aid by linking environmental sensing, information technology, data analytics, simulation and decision support to achieve a data-to-decision flow of information. A further challenge is that watershed resources are managed for multiple purposes requiring some level of coordination among numerous resource managers, asset operators and users. System intelligence in this context relies on shared community platforms (data portals, community models), and coordinated communication between decision makers. Opportunities to enrich watershed intelligence has been the subject of a roadmapping exercise for the Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office which has relied on broad stakeholder engagement. Initial phases of engagement involved personal interviews and a series of virtual group meetings, which focused on identifying opportunities to improve the intelligence of the physical infrastructure within our watersheds—examples of feedback include improved sensing of snowpack and runoff, data standards for facilitated data sharing, and better forecasting tools. The latter phase of engagement involved the conduct of a case study in the Upper Colorado River basin where key stakeholders were interviewed to map how their decisions are informed by intelligence from other basin stakeholders. Our presentation will highlight the interdisciplinary flow of information in complex watershed systems and identify physical and institutional opportunities toward the strategic operation of water infrastructure.

Colorado River↗

Assimilation of NASA’s Airborne Snow Observatory Snow Measurements for Improved Hydrological Modeling: A Case Study Enabled by the Coupled LIS/WRF-Hydro System

he NASA LIS/WRF-Hydro system is a coupled modeling framework that combines the modeling and data assimilation (DA) capabilities of the NASA Land Information System (LIS) with the multi-scale surface hydrological modeling capabilities of the WRF-Hydro model, both of which are widely used in both operations and research. This coupled modeling framework builds on the linkage between land surface models (LSMs), which simulate surface boundary conditions in atmospheric models, and distributed hydrologic models, which simulate horizontal surface and sub-surface flow, adding new land DA capabilities. In the present study, we employ this modeling framework in the Tuolumne River basin in central California. We demonstrate the added value of the assimilation of NASA Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates in the Tuolumne basin. This analysis is performed in both LIS as an LSM column model and LIS/WRF-Hydro, with hydrologic routing. Results demonstrate that ASO DA in the basin reduced snow bias by as much as 30% from an open-loop (OL) simulation compared to three independent datasets. It also reduces downstream streamflow runoff biases by as much as 40%, and improves streamflow skill scores in both wet and dry years. Analysis of soil moisture and evapotranspiration (ET) also reveals the impacts of hydrologic routing from WRF-Hydro in the simulations, which would otherwise not be resolved in an LSM column model. By demonstrating the beneficial impact of SWE DA on the improving streamflow forecasts, the article outlines the importance of such observational inputs for reservoir operations and related water management applications.

Hydrologic modeling↗

Assimilation of NASA's Airborne Snow Observatory Snow Measurements for Improved Hydrological Modeling: A Case Study Enabled by the Coupled LIS/WRF-Hydro System

The NASA LIS/WRF-Hydro system is a coupled modeling framework that combines the modeling and data assimilation (DA) capabilities of the NASA Land Information System (LIS) with the multi-scale surface hydrological modeling capabilities of the WRF-Hydro model, both of which are widely used in both operations and research. This coupled modeling framework builds on the linkage between land surface models (LSMs), which simulate surface boundary conditions in atmospheric models, and distributed hydrologic models, which simulate horizontal surface and sub-surface flow, adding new land DA capabilities. In the present study, we employ this modeling framework in the Tuolumne River basin in central California. We demonstrate the added value of the assimilation of NASA Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates in the Tuolumne basin. This analysis is performed in both LIS as an LSM column model and LIS/WRF-Hydro, with hydrologic routing. Results demonstrate that ASO DA in the basin reduced snow bias by as much as 30% from an open-loop (OL) simulation compared to three independent datasets. It also reduces downstream streamflow runoff biases by as much as 40%, and improves streamflow skill scores in both wet and dry years. Analysis of soil moisture and evapotranspiration (ET) also reveals the impacts of hydrologic routing from WRF-Hydro in the simulations, which would otherwise not be resolved in an LSM column model. By demonstrating the beneficial impact of SWE DA on the improving streamflow forecasts, the article outlines the importance of such observational inputs for reservoir operations and related water management applications.

Timothy M. Lahmers↗

EXERGETIC: De-Risking Next-Generation Resilient Geothermal Hybrids via At-Scale Evaluation Using Virtual Emulation Digital Twin Environment for Efficient Operation

The DOE-GTO-funded project, award number 5.1.2.12, entitled "EXERGETIC - De-risking Next Generation Resilient Geothermal Hybrids via at-Scale Evaluation Using a Virtual Emulation Digital Twin Environment for Efficient Operation," advances the solution to these challenges by developing and validating a geothermal co-emulation environment implemented at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)'s Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) platform. This framework enables the de-risking of next-generation geothermal and geothermal hybrid systems through high-fidelity modeling, real-time digital emulation, advanced control strategies, and techno-economic assessment. The project focused on geothermal hybrid configurations that integrate geothermal power plants with concentrated solar power and underground thermal energy storage, enabling enhanced efficiency, flexibility, and grid support capabilities. The main goal of this project was the development of a geothermal digital co-emulation environment to demonstrate the technical and economic value of geothermal hybrid systems and their contribution to grid stability and flexibility. The EXERGETIC framework combined physics-based models, controls, and real assets at ARIES, including digital real-time simulators (DRTS), a 20-MW-scale controllable grid interface (CGI), and a 2-MW conventional generator. Detailed transient models were developed for the key subsystems of a hybrid geothermal plant, including parabolic trough solar collectors, reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES), and a binary Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant. The ORC model explicitly captured thermal inertia and off-design operation and integrated control strategies to dynamically respond to electric load profiles. The models were validated against published experimental and numerical studies, demonstrating strong agreement and confirming the accuracy and robustness of the modeling approach. The resulting digital twin represents geothermal-solar-storage systems at multiple scales (1 MW to 100 MW) and enables realistic emulation of grid-connected operation. The control architecture allows the geothermal resource to provide stable baseload generation, while solar and stored thermal energy supply flexible, dispatchable support during periods of high demand or variable grid conditions. A key contribution of the EXERGETIC project is the demonstration that geothermal hybrid systems can be designed to be active grid assets rather than passive baseload generators. Using the ARIES platform, the digital twin was evaluated under multiple grid scenarios, including load following, voltage support at the distribution level, and frequency response at the transmission level. Results show that hybrid geothermal systems can respond effectively to dynamic grid conditions, providing inertia-like behavior, primary frequency support, and voltage regulation through coordinated control. In addition to the performance and grid services capability analysis of geothermal and hybrid geothermal systems, the EXERGETIC project also focused on scalability and techno-economic analysis of geothermal hybrid plants. In particular, for the scalability analysis, machine-learning (ML)-based surrogate models were trained using data generated from the geothermal digital twin under different grid-connected scenarios and plant capacities. These ML models demonstrated strong interpolation and extrapolation capabilities across plant sizes, accurately reproducing both steady-state and transient responses with very low errors. Regarding the techno-economic analysis, plant performance results were integrated with cost models for hybrid geothermal systems, and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) was used as the main economic metric to evaluate system performance across a range of system capacities, solar shares, solar multiples, and storage durations. Results indicate that economies of scale significantly reduce geothermal LCOE as plant capacity increases, with large-scale systems (25-100 MW) achieving substantially lower costs than small plants. Hybridization with solar thermal energy and storage further improves economic performance by increasing capacity utilization and enabling flexible dispatch. In addition, thermal storage plays a critical role in reducing LCOE by maximizing geothermal, solar, and stored energy resources. In summary, the results from this project demonstrate that geothermal hybrid systems represent a promising alternative for increasing the energy conversion efficiency of geothermal technologies, contributing to the preservation of geothermal resources, and supporting the transition of geothermal plants from traditional baseload resources into flexible, resilient, and cost-competitive energy conversion technologies.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Calibration of Axisymmetric and Quasi-1D Solvers for High Enthalpy Nozzles

The proposed paper will present a numerical investigation of the flow characteristics and boundary layer development in the nozzles of high enthalpy shock tunnel facilities used for hypersonic propulsion testing. The computed flow will be validated against existing experimental data. Pitot pressure data obtained at the entrance of the test cabin will be used to validate the numerical simulations. It is necessary to accurately model the facility nozzles in order to characterize the test article flow conditions. Initially the axisymmetric nozzle flow will be computed using a Navier Stokes solver for a range of reservoir conditions. The calculated solutions will be compared and calibrated against available experimental data from the DLR HEG piston-driven shock tunnel and the 16-inch shock tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center. The Reynolds number is assumed to be high enough at the throat that the boundary layer flow is assumed turbulent at this point downstream. The real gas affects will be examined. In high Mach number facilities the boundary layer is thick. Attempts will be made to correlate the boundary layer displacement thickness. The displacement thickness correlation will be used to calibrate the quasi-1D codes NENZF and LSENS in order to provide fast and efficient tools of characterizing the facility nozzles. The calibrated quasi-1D codes will be implemented to study the effects of chemistry and the flow condition variations at the test section due to small variations in the driver gas conditions.

Papadopoulos, P. E.↗

Lithium Circuit Test Section Design and Fabrication

The Early Flight Fission - Test Facilities (EFF-TF) team has designed and built an actively pumped lithium flow circuit. Modifications were made to a circuit originally designed for NaK to enable the use of lithium that included application specific instrumentation and hardware. Component scale freeze/thaw tests were conducted to both gain experience with handling and behavior of lithium in solid and liquid form and to supply anchor data for a Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP) model that was modified to include the physics for freeze/thaw transitions. Void formation was investigated. The basic circuit components include: reactor segment, lithium to gas heat exchanger, electromagnetic (EM) liquid metal pump, load/drain reservoir, expansion reservoir, instrumentation, and trace heaters. This paper will discuss the overall system design and build and the component testing findings.

Godfroy, Thomas↗

Projections of Future Sea Level Contributions from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets: Challenges Beyond Dynamical Ice Sheet Modeling

As Earth's climate warms, rising sea levels are becoming a great concern. Providing substantiated and well-informed guidance on the amount and rate of future sea level rise is important, but remains challenging. Observations of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets-Earth's largest freshwater reservoirs-reveal their ongoing, rapid, and complex changes in response to an evolving climate. The improved understanding of ice sheet behavior resulting from observations is driving the development of ice sheet models, and is allowing better simulation of past, present, and future ice sheet evolution. However, insight into future changes requires a better understanding of how ice sheets interact with other components of the Earth system and associated feedbacks. As climate models start to include dynamical ice sheet components, our understanding of such interactions and the feedback mechanisms will advance. These new developments in ice sheet modeling and their implementation in climate models are timely, as observations indicate an accelerating contribution of ice sheets to sea level rise.

ice sheet model↗

Evaluation of Matthews-WLR-CH4: A New Wetland, Lake, and Reservoir Methane Emissions Data Set

Methane (CH4) is emitted from a variety of sources, both natural and anthropogenic, and is the second most important greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. Natural wetlands are the largest single contributor to annual global CH4 emissions and other inland water sources, such as lakes and reservoirs, produce CH4 but have received less attention. These emission sources are among the most uncertain components of the global CH4 cycle. These uncertainties stem from numerous issues, including the vast variability in these ecosystems and the sensitivity of CH4 emissions to interannual climate variations. Existing CH4 emission models display large differences in wetland spatial extent and include simplified, or lack all together, wetland-type classifications. Furthermore, CH4 emissions from lakes and reservoirs are typically combined with wetlands, or ignored, on a regional and global scale. Our NASA Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Science (IDS) study is focused on developing a suite of data sets on wetlands, lakes, and reservoirs (WLR) including global distributions of types, CH4-centric classifications, and daily CH4 emission rates (hereafter Matthews-WLR-CH4). This project is unique in that it comprises source-independent emission data for WLR, the first spatially-explicit data set of lake and reservoir CH4 emissions, and wetland emissions comprising numerous different wetland-type classifications.The focus of this study is to perform the initial evaluation of the wetland and lake CH4 emissions data from Matthews-WLR-CH4. This evaluation will focus on the domain of North America and include: 1) estimates of the contribution of wetland and lake sources to total CH4 emissions and atmospheric mixing ratios, 2) comparisons of wetland fraction and CH4 emissions to a suite of existing models (e.g., Wetland and Wetland CH4 Inter-comparison of Models Project (WETCHIMP), Global Carbon Project (GCP)), and 3) an accuracy assessment with in situ airborne and tower-based atmospheric CH4 observations when the Matthews-WLR-CH4 emissions are implemented in forward and inverse CarbonTracker-Lagrange (CT-L) CH4 model simulations. Here we will present the new Matthews-WLR-CH4 wetland and lake CH4 emissions data, the initial evaluation of these products, and the path forward for our project.

Reservoir↗

Gigaton commercial-scale carbon storage and mineralization potential in stacked Columbia River basalt reservoirs

This work presents a detailed supercritical CO 2 storage resource estimation for the stacked basalt reservoirs in the Grande Ronde Basalt of the Columbia River Basalt Group in eastern Washington and Oregon. The assessment aims to derisk the commercialization potential of geologic carbon storage in basalt by leveraging both structural and mineralization trapping of CO 2 in basalt. The structural closures formed by anticlinal ridges and synclinal valleys in Yakima Fold Belt are excellent physical traps to accommodate injected supercritical CO 2 . Rigorous hydraulic testing, well logs and simulation results from the Wallula Basalt Pilot #1 well showed the occurrence of 17 suitable permeable injection zones (up to 2,496 mD) intercalated with dense seals (~2.6E-10 mD) in the Grand Ronde Basalt. In addition, geochemical studies showed fast reactions between supercritical CO 2 and dissolved basalt minerals to form stable carbonates. In conclusion, our calculation indicates up to 40 gigatons (P90) of mineralization storage resources exist in the Grande Ronde Basalt reservoirs.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗