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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Sensor Recommendations for Long Term Monitoring of the F-Area Seepage Basins

In mid-2018, a new paradigm for long-term monitoring was developed after of decade of applied research projects funded by the Department of Energy’s office of Environmental Management Technology Development program. The program at SRNL was focused on transitioning complex environmental waste sites from active to passive remediations strategies. A key result of these studies was that the use of enhanced attenuation approaches at radiologically contaminated sites will result in the creation of secondary source areas in the subsurface that will require monitoring for decades. Alternative monitoring approaches are being developed and tested at the Savannah River Site’s F-Area Hazardous Waste Management Facility, the new paradigm provides innovative solutions that will significantly lower costs of monitoring through the coupling of data collection, machine learning and deterministic groundwater modeling. The foundation of this approach is a well-optimized network of sensors for measuring hydrogeochemical master variables that control, and therefore act as indicators of groundwater contaminant transport. By monitoring changes in the controlling master variables over time arising from geological and environmental shifts, predictive modelling can assist with identifying new strategies for ensuring regulatory requirements are met if trends toward conditions for potential remobilization of attenuated contaminants are detected. In this report, we evaluated commercially available single parameter sensor platforms (e.g., temperature/depth) and configurable multi-parameter sensor platforms (e.g., pH, oxidation-reduction potential, temperature, depth, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity). Each was scored using an optimization function based on how well the system supports the proposed long-term monitoring paradigm, in general, and the site-specific conditions at F-Area, in particular. Several viable sensor systems were identified. Of these, a combined platform including the In-Situ Aqua TROLL 500 multi-parameter sensor platform and the In-Situ temperature/depth sensor had the highest rating and was identified as the most suitable candidate for installation and monitoring of the master variables and potentiometric surface that control groundwater contaminant plumes emanating from the F-Area Seepage Basins. The discussion of recommended potential deployment locations builds upon recommendations made by Denham et al (2019).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1981

Use of aerial photography in determining land use and streamflow relationships on small developing watersheds

Using aerial photographs dating back to 1937, the historical trends of five land use classes (crop, forest, open field, urban and suburban) are determined. The relationships between these and various flow regime parameters are investigated. Annual runoff is found to be 7.5 inches greater now than in the year 1932. It is also found that growing season runoff increased by 3.5 inches during the same period. This increase is approximately equivalent to 160 area inches of excess runoff during the 45-year period of observation. The increase in runoff is found to be positively correlated with the percent basin area in the urban, suburban and open field land use classes. A negative correlation is established with forest and crop land. Although poor correlations are found with high flow, low flow, flow interval and flow date data, it is thought that a more precise quantification of land use or a smaller basin area may possibly have yielded more positive results for streamflow timing data.

Owe, M.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Extraction and utilization of space acquired physiographic data for water resources development

ERTS-1 satellite imagery was evaluated as a means of providing useful watershed physiography information. From these data physiographic parameters such as drainage basin area and shape, drainage density, stream length and sinuosity, and the percentage of a watershed occupied by major land use types were obtained in three study areas. The study areas were: (1) Southwestern Wisconsin; (2) Eastern Colorado, and (3) portions of the Middle Atlantic States. Using ERTS-1 imagery at 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 scales it was found that drainage basin area and shape and stream sinuosity were comparable (within 10%) in all study areas to physiographic measurements derived from conventional topographic maps at the same scales.

Rango, A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Analysis of Ancient Fluvial Patterns on the Surface of Mars

This project involves the study of ancient fluvial patterns on the surface of Mars, including raised curvilinear features (RCFs) and negative relief channels. It requires the use of geological images provided by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to determine how water shaped the surface of Mars in the form of rivers, lakes and/or oceans approximately 3.5 billion years ago, during the Noachian period. The role of the intern is to examine the images and record the corresponding measurements of ancient river systems in an Excel spreadsheet to assist in determining the Noachian water cycle on Mars. Resources used to make these measurements include the Arena software, hand-drawn sketch maps, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and the images provided by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Context Imager (CTX) returns black and white images at a resolution of six meters per pixel. The camera can take images with a width of 30 km and a length of 160 km. Seventeen images were observed in total. Images are analyzed and notes are taken concerning their terminal deposits, stream ordering and drainage pattern. The Arena software is utilized to make the images more visible by allowing control of contrast and magnification. Once the image is adjusted, measurements: length, average width, drainage basin area, sinuous ridge area are recorded, at a magnification of one, through using the line segment and polygon tools. After an image has been analyzed and measured, a sketch map is drawn in order to clearly identify the various segments, basins and terminal deposits the intern observed. Observations are used to further classify the fluvial patterns; their drainage pattern is defined as dendritic, parallel, trellis, rectangular, radial, centripetal, deranged or discordant. Once observational notes are completed, mathematical relations are used to determine drainage density, stream frequency, theoretic basin area and sinuosity index. These data will be added to a larger data set that will yield a comprehensive view of early Mars drainage systems. The data obtained from the work conducted will be used to characterize the nature and behavior of water on the surface of Mars. Thorough understanding of the Martian water cycle will serve as biologically significant information. Through working on this project, I acquired insight into the study of planet Mars, and skills in the Arena software as well as the organization of a vast amount of data.

Jethani, Henna↗
DOE OSTI2026

Mark-18A Target Material Recovery Program: Initial Hot Startup

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has been tasked by the National Nuclear Security Administration to recover highly valued isotopes from irradiated Mark-18A (Mk-18A) targets. The Savannah River Site (SRS) has sixty-five Mk-18A targets available for the recovery of the high valued materials. The Mk-18A targets were manufactured with Pu-242 then irradiated under high neutron flux in K-Reactor at the SRS from 1968 to 1978. The sixty-five Mk-18A targets are currently stored in the SRS L-Area Basin and will be removed one at a time and individually transported to SRNL. Upon receipt at SRNL, the Mk-18A target material will be removed from the confinement, dissolved, chemically separated, and calcined to a stable oxide. The flowsheet is designed to recover the plutonium as well as the trivalent actinides. The original targets were manufactured with varying quantities of Pu-242, ranging from 5.2 grams to 121.5 grams. Taking a graded approach to process start up, the lowest loaded target (FT-80-03) was selected as the first target to be received and processed at SRNL. As operational experience and knowledge is gained from processing targets, higher loaded targets will be selected for processing to increase the quantities of valuable isotopes recovered. Due to dose concerns, the receipt and processing of the Mk-18A targets is performed in the SRNL Shielded Cells Facility. The targets are stored in a double J-can confinement in the L-Area Basin. A specially designed cask was procured for transport of the targets from L-Area to SRNL. Once received at SRNL, the targets are loaded into the back of Cell 7 and resized as they enter the cell. The resized targets (1/4 length) are then processed one at a time through the following processes: caustic dissolution and filtration, acidic dissolution and filtration, elutable Reillex anion exchange, diglycolamide (DGA) resin extraction, and DGA calcination. This processing results in two product streams. The first is an aqueous plutonium solution which is removed from the shielded cells and taken to a glovebox for further purification and conversion to an oxide. The second is a calcined oxide product containing the Am and Cm as well as other lanthanide fission products which is removed from the shielded cells using a bagless transfer system. Both materials are packaged for shipment to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This paper will discuss the operating experience, lessons learned, and results from initial process hot startup.

Armstrong, Christopher [Savannah River National La↗
NASA NTRS2020

Satellite Gravimetry Improves Seasonal Streamflow Forecast Initialization in Africa

West Africa is one of the poorest regions in the world and highly vulnerable to extreme hydrological events due to the lack of reliable monitoring and forecast systems. For the first time, we demonstrate that initial hydrological conditions informed by satellite-based terrestrial water storage (TWS) estimates improve seasonal streamflow forecasts. TWS variability detected by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites is assimilated into a land surface model during 2003–2016 and used to initialize 6-month hindcasts (i.e., forecasts of past events) during West Africa's wet seasons. We find that GRACE data assimilation (DA) generally increases groundwater and soil moisture storage in the region, resulting in increased evapotranspiration and reduced total runoff. Total runoff is particularly lower at the headwaters of the Niger River, positively impacting streamflow simulations and hindcast initializations. Compared to simulations without GRACE-DA, hindcasts are notably improved at locations draining from large basin areas, in particular, over the Niger River basin, which is consistent with GRACE's coarse spatial resolution. The long memory of groundwater and deep soil moisture, two main TWS components updated by GRACE-DA, is reflected in prolonged improvements in the streamflow hindcasts. Model accuracy at Niamey, Niger, the most populated city where streamflow observations are available, improved up to 33% during the flood season. These new findings directly contribute to ongoing developments in food security, flood potential forecast, and water-related disaster warning systems for Africa.

Augusto Getirana↗
NASA NTRS1974

Advances in water resources monitoring from space

Nimbus-5 observations indicate that over the oceans the total precipitable water in a column of atmosphere can be estimated to within + or - 10%, the liquid water content of clouds can be estimated to within + or - 25%, areas of precipitation can be delineated, and broad estimates of the precipitation rate obtained. ERTS-1 observations permit the measurement of snow covered area to within a few percent of drainage basin area and snowline altitudes can be estimated to within 60 meters. Surface water areas as small as 1 hectare can be inventoried over large regions such as playa lakes region of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico. In addition, changes in land use on water-sheds occurring as a result of forest fires, urban development, clear cutting, or strip mining can be rapidly obtained.

Salomonson, V. V.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Highland Valley Networks and Ephemeral Lake Basins, Libya Montes, SW Isidis Basin Margin

This summarizes the analysis of geology and surface engineering criteria for an area on the southwestern border of Isidis Planitia. In this area basin plains adjoin volcanic plains of Syrtis Major Planum and dissected ancient highlands of Libya Montes. Previously three general categories of landing site have been discussed for this area: scarp-like terrain along the western margin of Isidis Planitia, marginal ridged plains, and terminus of a significant valley network basin draining Libya Montes. On the basis of geologic mapping and reconnaissance around the southwest perimeter, the plains marginal slopes adjacent to Libya Montes appear to best satisfy the thematic, geologic, and engineering goals and constraints of the Mars Surveyor program.

Crumpler, L. S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Monitoring land use and degradation using satellite and airborne data

In July 1990 AVIRIS and AIRSAR data were collected over the Manix Basin Area of the Mojave Desert to study land degradation in an arid area where centerpivot irrigation had been in use. The Manix Basin is located NE of Barstow, California, along Interstate-15 at 34 deg 57 min N 116 deg 35 min W. This region was covered by a series of lakes during the Late Pleistocence and Early Holocene. Beginning in the 1960's, areas were cleared of the native creosote bush-dominated plant community to be used for agricultural purposes. Starting in 1972 fields have been abandoned due to the increased cost of electricity needed to pump the irrigation water, with some fields abandoned as recently as 1988 and 1992. These circumstances provide a time series of abandoned fields which provide the possibility of studying the processes which act on agricultural fields in arid regions when they are abandoned. Ray et al. reported that polarimetric SAR (AIRSAR) could detect that the concentric circular planting furrows plowed on these fields persists for a few years after abandonment and then disappear over time and that wind ripples which form on these fields over time due to wind erosion can be detected with polarimetric radar. Ray et al. used Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) bandpasses to generate NDVI images of the Manix Basin which showed that the fields abandoned for only a few years had higher NDVI's than the undisturbed desert while the fields abandoned for a longer time had NDVI levels lower than that of the undisturbed desert. The purpose of this study is to use a fusion of a time series of satellite data with airborne data to provide a context for the airborne data. The satellite data time series will additionally help to validate the observation and analysis of time-dependent processes observed in the single AVIRIS image of fields abandoned for different periods of time.

Ray, Terrill W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Geologic utility of improved orbital measurement capabilities in reference to non-renewable resources

Spectral and spatial characteristics necessary for future orbital remote sensing systems are defined. The conclusions are based on the past decade of experience in exploring for non-renewable resources with reference to data from ground, aircraft, and orbital systems. Two principle areas of investigation are used in the discussion: a structural interpretation in a basin area for hydrocarbon exploration, and a discrimination of altered areas in the Cuprite district in Nevada.

Stewart, H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Lithologic mapping in a sedimentary environment using multipolarization SAR images

Multipolarization Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data from the NASA/JPL aircraft SAR were used in conjunction with LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM), Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS), and Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) data as part of a three-year research program to evaluate the utility of remote sensing measurements for analysis of sedimentary basins. The purpose of this research effort is to construct stratigraphic columns, map variations in the lithology, geometry, and structure of sedimentary rocks in the Wind River/Bighorn Basin area, Wyoming, and to integrate remote sensing data with conventional rain models of basin formation and evolution.

Evans, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2017

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↗
NASA NTRS2015

Vegetation Cover Change in the Upper Kings River Basin of the Sierra Nevada Detected Using Landsat Satellite Image Analysis

The Sierra Nevada of California is a region where large wildfires have been suppressed for over a century. A detailed geographic record of recent changes in vegetation cover across the Sierra Nevada remains a gap that can be filled with satellite remote sensing data. Results from Landsat image analysis over the past 25 years in the Upper Kings River basin showed that consistent, significant increases in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) have not extended above 2000 m elevation, where cold temperatures presumably limit the growing season. Moreover, mean increases in NDVI since 1986 at elevations below 2000 m (which cover about half of the total basin area) have not exceeded 9%, even in the most extreme precipitation yearly comparisons. NDVI has decreased significantly at elevations above 2000 m throughout the basin in relatively wet year comparisons since the mid-1980s. These findings conflict with any assumptions that ET fluxes and river flows downstream could have been markedly altered by vegetation change over most of the Upper Kings River basin in recent decades.

normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)↗
NASA NTRS1971

Assessment of the Impact of the California Water Project in Southern California

As the California State Water Project progresses and enters operation, it is suggested that changes in land use which may be monitored and anlayzed by remote sensing techniques will follow suite. Progress in each of these areas of research and automated mapping techniques to monitor these changes is presented for two specific regions: (1) the Perris Valley surrounding the future Lake Perris; and (2) the Sheep Creek Fan-Mirage Basin area of the Mojave Desert.

Bowden, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Water Stress in Global Transboundary River Basins: Significance of Upstream Water Use on Downstream Stress

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analyzed in many of these international river basins, this has not been systematically done at the global scale using coherent and comparable datasets. In this study, we aim to assess the change in downstream water stress due to upstream water use in the world's transboundary river basins. Water stress was first calculated considering only local water use of each sub-basin based on country-basin mesh, then compared with the situation when upstream water use was subtracted from downstream water availability. Wefound that water stress was generally already high when considering only local water use, affecting 0.95-1.44 billion people or 33%-51% of the population in transboundary river basins. After accounting for upstream water use, stress level increased by at least 1 percentage-point for 30-65 sub-basins, affecting 0.29-1.13 billion people. Altogether 288 out of 298 middle-stream and downstream sub-basin areas experienced some change in stress level. Further, we assessed whether there is a link between increased water stress due to upstream water use and the number of conflictive and cooperative events in the transboundary river basins, as captured by two prominent databases. No direct relationship was found. This supports the argument that conflicts and cooperation events originate from a combination of different drivers, among which upstream-induced water stress may play a role. Our findings contribute to better understanding of upstream-downstream dynamics in water stress to help address water allocation problems.

Water↗
NASA NTRS1975

An operational application of satellite snow cover observations, northwest United States

LANDSAT-1 imagery showing extent of snow cover was collected and is examined for the 1973 and 1974 snowmelt seasons for three Columbia River Basins. Snowlines were mapped and the aerial snow cover was determined using satellite data. Satellite snow mapping products were compared products from conventional information sources (computer programming and aerial photography was used). Available satellite data were successfully analyzed by radiance thresholding to determine snowlines and the attendant snow-covered area. Basin outline masks, contour elevation masks, and grid overlays were utilized as satellite data interpretation aids. Verification of the LANDSAT-1 data was generally good although there were exceptions. A major problem was lack of adequate cloud-free satellite imagery of high resolution and determining snowlines in forested areas.

Dillard, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Vertical movement in mare basins - Relation to mare emplacement, basin tectonics, and lunar thermal history

A hypothesis is developed that the spatial and temporal distributions of linear rilles and mare ridges in the mare regions of the moon are the products of two superposed stress systems: a local stress due to lithospheric loading by basalt fill in the mare basin, and a global thermal stress due to the thermal history of the lunar interior. Quantitative models for stress in the Serenitatis basin area, including the global thermal stress associated with lunar thermal history, are presented and used to account for the spatial distribution, the orientations, and the formation times of rilles and ridges in that region. The models provide a simple explanation for the localization of the most recent eruption sites of mare basalt magmas to mare basin edges.

Solomon, S. C.↗