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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 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Tropical root responses to global changes: A synthesis

Tropical ecosystems face escalating global change. These shifts can disrupt tropical forests' carbon (C) balance and impact root dynamics. Since roots perform essential functions such as resource acquisition and tissue protection, root responses can inform about the strategies and vulnerabilities of ecosystems facing present and future global changes. However, root trait dynamics are poorly understood, especially in tropical ecosystems. We analyzed existing research on tropical root responses to key global change drivers: warming, drought, flooding, cyclones, nitrogen (N) deposition, elevated (e) CO 2 , and fires. Based on tree species- and community-level literature, we obtained 266 root trait observations from 93 studies across 24 tropical countries. We found differences in the proportion of root responsiveness to global change among different global change drivers but not among root categories. In particular, we observed that tropical root systems responded to warming and eCO 2 by increasing root biomass in species-scale studies. Drought increased the root: shoot ratio with no change in root biomass, indicating a decline in aboveground biomass. Despite N deposition being the most studied global change driver, it had some of the most variable effects on root characteristics, with few predictable responses. Episodic disturbances such as cyclones, fires, and flooding consistently resulted in a change in root trait expressions, with cyclones and fires increasing root production, potentially due to shifts in plant community and nutrient inputs, while flooding changed plant regulatory metabolisms due to low oxygen conditions. The data available to date clearly show that tropical forest root characteristics and dynamics are responding to global change, although in ways that are not always predictable. This synthesis indicates the need for replicated studies across root characteristics at species and community scales under different global change factors.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mortality attributable to PM 2.5 from wildland fires in California from 2008 to 2018

In California, wildfire risk and severity have grown substantially in the last several decades. Research has characterized extensive adverse health impacts from exposure to wildfire-attributable fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), but few studies have quantified long-term outcomes, and none have used a wildfire-specific chronic dose-response mortality coefficient. Here, we quantified the mortality burden for PM 2.5 exposure from California fires from 2008 to 2018 using Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system wildland fire PM 2.5 estimates. We used a concentration-response function for PM 2.5 , applying ZIP code–level mortality data and an estimated wildfire-specific dose-response coefficient accounting for the likely toxicity of wildfire smoke. We estimate a total of 52,480 to 55,710 premature deaths are attributable to wildland fire PM 2.5 over the 11-year period with respect to two exposure scenarios, equating to an economic impact of $\$432$ to $\$456$ billion. These findings extend evidence on climate-related health impacts, suggesting that wildfires account for a greater mortality and economic burden than indicated by earlier studies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Fire and Drought Affect Multiple Aspects of Diversity in a Migratory Bird Stopover Community

Drought and high-severity, stand-replacing wildfires can have substantial impacts on the composition of avian communities, including stop-over communities during migration. An inextricable link exists between drought and wildfire, each operating and impacting across different timescales. Many studies have found nonlinear avian abundance trends in breeding community time series data that include pre- and post-fire observations, describing an initial decrease in abundance followed by rapid increases that can attenuate over time. Here, we use a fall bird-banding dataset to evaluate shifts in a drought-impacted avian community following wildfire from taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic perspectives. We looked at the community as a whole and also categorized birds as residents, migrants, and breeders to assess potential varying responses at the study site. We observed post-fire shifts in functional and phylogenetic diversity that corresponded to changes in vegetation. An influx of migratory insectivores post-fire drove much of the variation between pre- and post-fire avian communities and toward a more related, less phylogenetically dispersed community. A concurrent monsoon season drought was also associated with functional and phylogenetic diversity, highlighting the intertwined pulse press effects on avian communities. Overall, our results suggest that, although bird communities are immediately impacted by fire-driven resource changes, they can rebound over time, it is unclear how long-term drought may continue to shape the composition of these avian communities.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Burn severity and vegetation type control phosphorus concentration, molecular composition, and mobilization

Shifting phosphorus (P) dynamics after wildfires can have cascading impacts from terrestrial to aquatic environments. However, it is unclear whether shifts in P composition or P concentration are responsible for changes in P dynamics post-fire. We used laboratory leaching experiments of Douglas fir forest and sagebrush shrubland chars to examine how the potential mobility of P compounds is influenced by different burn severities. Burning produced a 6.9- and 29-fold increase in particulate P mobilization but a 3.8- and 30.5-fold decrease in aqueous P released for Douglas fir forest and sagebrush shrubland, respectively. The mechanisms driving particulate- and dissolved-phase P compound mobilization were contrasting. Phosphorus compound mobilization in the particulate phase was controlled by solid char total P concentrations, while the aqueous phase was driven by solubility changes of molecular species. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) on the solid chars indicated that organic orthophosphate monoester and diester species were thermally mineralized to inorganic P moieties with burning in both vegetation types, which decreases P solubility. This coincided with the production of calcium- and magnesium-bound inorganic P compounds. With increasing burn severity there were systematic shifts in P concentration and composition – higher-severity chars mobilized P compounds in the particulate phase, although the magnitude of change was vegetation-specific. Our results indicate a post-fire transformation to both the composition of the solid charred material and how P compounds are mobilized, which may influence its environmental cycling and fate.

31P solution-state NMR↗
DOE OSTI2026

Northwest Colorado Local Energy Analysis: October 2025 Results

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP) provided customized technical assistance to the Northwest Colorado region to assist in developing strategies that facilitate long-term economic benefits through locally driven energy planning and development. The region sought technical assistance to model alternatives energy projects in response to the expected retirement of coal-fired powers plant and associated coal mines by 2030. Northwest Colorado faces a potential economic gap due to the loss of tax revenue, labor income, and jobs within the region due to the impending closure of the Craig and Hayden Power Stations and related mining operations at Trapper and Colowyo mines.

08 HYDROGEN↗
NASA NTRS1986

Large volume water sprays for dispersing warm fogs

A new method for dispersing of warm fogs which impede visibility and alter schedules is described. The method uses large volume recycled water sprays to create curtains of falling drops through which the fog is processed by the ambient wind and spray-induced air flow; the fog droplets are removed by coalescence/rainout. The efficiency of this fog droplet removal process depends on the size spectra of the spray drops and optimum spray drop size is calculated as between 0.3-1.0 mm in diameter. Water spray tests were conducted in order to determine the drop size spectra and temperature response of sprays produced by commercially available fire-fighting nozzles, and nozzle array tests were utilized to study air flow patterns and the thermal properties of the overall system. The initial test data reveal that the fog-dispersal procedure is effective.

Keller, V. W.↗
NASA NTRS1924

Loss of the Dixmude

The causes of the destruction of the Dixmude are discussed and some conclusions are drawn. The author believes a gasoline fire instead of a lightning strike was probably responsible, but the public believes otherwise.

AIRSHIPS - DIXMUDE - ACCIDENTS (FR )↗
NASA NTRS2008

Climate Change Implications to Vegetation Production in Alaska

Investigation of long-term meteorological satellite data revealed statistically significant vegetation response to climate drivers of temperature, precipitation and solar radiation with exclusion of fire disturbance in Alaska. Abiotic trends were correlated to satellite remote sensing observations of normalized difference vegetation index to understand biophysical processes that could impact ecosystem carbon storage. Warming resulted in disparate trajectories for vegetation growth due to precipitation and photosynthetically active radiation variation. Interior spruce forest low lands in late summer through winter had precipitation deficit which resulted in extensive fire disturbance and browning of undisturbed vegetation with reduced post-fire recovery while Northern slope moist alpine tundra had increased production due to warmer-wetter conditions during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Coupled investigation of Alaska s vegetation response to warming climate found spatially dynamic abiotic processes with vegetation browning not a result from increased fire disturbance.

Neigh, Christopher S.R.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Why Near Real-time/Low Latency is Important to Monitor the Changing World

An essential factor for remote sensing data products in impacting decision making is latency, or the time between earth observation and data are available to users. In many applications areas, latency plays an important or even decisive role where low latency earth observations help people to make timely, data-based decisions. Within the open and free NASA resources, NASA’s Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth Observing System (EOS) (LANCE) supports users interested in monitoring a wide variety of natural and man-made phenomena using near real-time (NRT) data products that are made available much quicker than routine processing allows. The combination of all available LANCE satellite products provides global coverage at multiple times per day, which makes it possible to meet user needs in various areas of applications including water resources, agriculture, air quality, wildland fire and many other disasters monitoring and management. As one of the prime users of LANCE, NASA’s Earth Science Applied Sciences Program promotes the use of LANCE data products to demonstrate applications in decision making and facilitates the end-user feedback to the science team to improve data products. One of the most critical applications that we expect data to be processed as close to the user as possible is wildland file response and management. User feedback indicates that LANCE NRT fire data products within 3 hours latency would meet the needs of the wildland fire community. Other examples of earth science application areas for which low latency is particularly important include detecting volcanic eruptions, early warning of disasters, tracking extreme weather events, and monitoring air quality.

Tian Yao↗
DOE OSTI2020

Three Decades of Divergent Land Use and Plant Community Change Alters Soil C and N Content in Tallgrass Prairie

Frequent fire and grazing by megafauna are important determinants of tallgrass prairie plant community structure. However, fire suppression and removal of native grazers have altered these natural disturbance regimes and changed grassland plant communities with potential long-term consequences for soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage. We investigated multidecade changes in soil C and N pools in response to contrasting long-term burning and grazing treatments. Fire suppression with or without grazers and exclusion of grazers in annually burned prairie increased soil C content and shifted the δ 13 C signature of soil C over time, concomitant with changes in plant community composition. Soil δ 13 C values indicated that increased soil C content was associated with an increased contribution from plants using a C 3 photosynthetic pathway (i.e., woody shrubs) under fire suppression. Soil N content also increased when fire was suppressed, relative to frequently burned grassland, but the rate of increase was slower when grazers were present. Additionally, changes in δ 15 N values suggested that grazing increased the openness of the N cycle, presumably due to greater N losses. By coupling long-term fire and grazing treatments with plant community data and soil samples archived over three decades, we demonstrate that human-caused changes to natural disturbance regimes in a tallgrass prairie significantly alter soil C and N cycles through belowground changes associated with shifts in the plant community. Since natural disturbance regimes have been altered in grasslands across the world, our results are relevant for understanding the long-term biogeochemical consequences of these ongoing land use changes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Fire Front Detection and Tracking for Autonomous sUAS in STEReO

The Scalable Traffic Management Emergency Response Operations (STEReO) project aims to incorporate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into wildfire incident response to safely quicken response times, improve operator awareness, and scale-up aircraft operations.Autonomous UAS can be used to relieve human operators of dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks such as checking for re-ignitions and geo-locating fires. To geo-locate fires, the UAS must be able to detect whether a fire is present and also have the necessary information to stamp a location. Furthermore, the UAS should be able to track the fire front to determine the extent of the fire. This study presents a fire front detection and tracking methodology for an autonomous small UAS (sUAS). The methodology is evaluated in simulation.

Autonomous UAV,Wildfire,Detection,Tracking↗
NASA NTRS2003

Research Needs in Fire Safety for the Human Exploration and Utilization of Space: Proceedings and Research Plan

The purpose of the workshop documented in this publication was to bring together personnel responsible for the design and operations of the International Space Station (ISS) and the fire protection research community to review the current knowledge in fire safety relative to spacecraft. From this review, research needs were identified that were then used to formulate a research plan with specific objectives. In this document, I have attempted to capture the very informative and lively discussions that occurred in the plenary sessions and the working groups. I hope that it will be useful to readers and serve as a significant step in assuring fire protection for the crews of current and future spacecraft.

Ruff, Gary A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

International Space Station Integration of Automated Safing Responses

Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) functionality aboard the International Space Station (ISS) includes responding to various emergency conditions. The ISS requirements define three types of emergencies: fire, rapid depressurization, and hazardous or toxic atmosphere. The ISS has automatic integrated vehicle responses to each of these emergencies. These responses are designed to aid the crew in their response actions to the emergencies. This paper focuses on the integration of ISS responses to these three emergencies. It includes the ISS automatic integrated vehicle response and the initial crew response. Philosophies regarding the generic response to an on-orbit emergency are described. Software responses are defined for modules on orbit up to the addition of the Docking Compartment (DC1) in the assembly sequence. Possible future improvements are also described.

Curry, Kim↗
NASA NTRS1979

Microwave measurement of the solid propellant pressure-coupled response function

The results of an investigation are presented on the applicability of a microwave Doppler shift technique for directly determining propellant response functions over the desired frequency range. The investigation consisted of three phases. In Phase 1 the validity of the technique was established by comparing measured pressure-coupled response function data to existing data from T-burners and rotating valve tests. In Phase 2 a new microwave burner-pressure modulation system capable of achieving frequencies and mean chamber pressures of at least 1500 Hz and 10.5 MPa (1500 psia), respectively, was developed. During Phase 3 test firings are being carried out to define the frequency limit, response function resolution, and precision of the new design.

Strand, L. D.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Impingement effect of service module reaction control system engine plumes. Results of service module reaction control system plume model force field application to an inflight Skylab mission proximity operation situation with the inflight Skylab response

Plume impingement effects of the service module reaction control system thruster firings were studied to determine if previous flight experience would support the current plume impingement model for the orbiter reaction control system engines. The orbiter reaction control system is used for rotational and translational maneuvers such as those required during rendezvous, braking, docking, and station keeping. Therefore, an understanding of the characteristics and effects of the plume force fields generated by the reaction control system thruster firings were examined to develop the procedures for orbiter/payload proximity operations.

Lobb, J. D., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Wildfire-Power Grid Interactions: Feedback, Impacts, Monitoring, Modeling, and Mitigation Strategies

Wildfires are increasingly interacting with electric power systems through a two-way hazard chain: fires damage grid assets and trigger cascading outages, while grid faults can ignite new fires under hot, dry, and windy conditions. This review synthesizes the state of knowledge across five domains: (i) physical impacts of flames, heat, and smoke on lines, towers, insulators, and substations; (ii) power-infrastructure-initiated ignitions via conductor clash, high-impedance faults, and corona discharge; (iii) widespread blackouts and disproportionate societal impacts; (iv) multi-scale monitoring spanning laboratory tests, in-situ and grid-integrated sensors, and Earth observation; (v) coupled modeling that links fire behavior with grid operations; and (vi) technological and strategic mitigation pathways spanning prevention, response, and recovery. We integrate these domains into a novel 'feedback-aware' socio-technical framework. Through a longitudinal analysis (2005-2025) of global incidents, we identify that while vegetation contact remains the most frequent ignition source, aging infrastructure failure has emerged as a critical driver of catastrophic 'mega-fires'. We further identify persistent gaps, including limited interoperability of high-frequency grid and environmental data, scarce real-time data assimilation, and under-developed equity metrics for outage management. We conclude by outlining a research agenda to (1) deploy interoperable sensing architectures, (2) advance feedback-coupled fire-grid simulations, and (3) evaluate mitigation portfolios through techno-economic and fairness lenses. Recognizing wildfire-grid interactions as coupled socio-technical systems is essential for protecting infrastructure and communities and for ensuring reliable, sustainable electricity in a changing world.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2013

Guidelines of the Design of Electropyrotechnic Firing Circuit for Unmanned Flight and Ground Test Projects

The NASA Langley Research Center, Engineering Directorate, Electronic System Branch, is responsible for providing pyrotechnic support capabilities to Langley Research Center unmanned flight and ground test projects. These capabilities include device selection, procurement, testing, problem solving, firing system design, fabrication and testing; ground support equipment design, fabrication and testing; checkout procedures and procedure?s training to pyro technicians. This technical memorandum will serve as a guideline for the design, fabrication and testing of electropyrotechnic firing systems. The guidelines will discuss the entire process beginning with requirements definition and ending with development and execution.

Gonzalez, Guillermo A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Integrated thruster assembly program

The program is reported which has provided technology for a long life, high performing, integrated ACPS thruster assembly suitable for use in 100 typical flights of a space shuttle vehicle over a ten year period. The four integrated thruster assemblies (ITA) fabricated consisted of: propellant injector; a capacitive discharge, air gap torch type igniter assembly; fast response igniter and main propellant valves; and a combined regen-dump film cooled chamber. These flightweight 6672 N (1500 lb) thruster assemblies employed GH2/GO2 as propellants at a chamber pressure of 207 N/sq cm (300 psia). Test data were obtained on thrusted performance, thermal and hydraulic characteristics, dynamic response in pulsing, and cycle life. One thruster was fired in excess of 42,000 times.

Source record↗