SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “SALAMANDER”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

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

24 records · Page 2

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2021

Arroyo Mocho Habitat Suitability Assessment for Sensitive Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish

Sequoia Ecological Consulting, Inc. (Sequoia) has prepared this habitat suitability assessment for the purpose of assessing current habitat suitability and evaluating the potential presence of special-status species at and near the Arroyo Mocho Pumping Station (Arroyo Mocho). The Study Area is located 7.5 miles southeast of the City of Livermore in Alameda County, California. Our analysis provides a description of presence and habitat suitability for special-status reptiles, amphibians, and fish within the Study Area and identifies potential conservation measures. Special-status animals are designated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). This analysis focuses on California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense), California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii), western pond turtle (Emys marmorata), Alameda whipsnake (Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus), Coast horned lizard (Phrynosoma blainvilli), and central California coast distinct population segment (DPS) steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), per the request of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Status of Federally Listed Threatened and Endangered Species at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) contains suitable habitat for three species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): Mexican spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis lucida ), Jemez Mountains salamander ( Plethodon neomexicanus ), and southwestern willow flycatcher ( Empidonax traillii extimus ). LANL biologists have documented two other species nearby and manage them for any potential impacts. These species are the western distinct population segment of the yellow-billed cuckoo ( Coccyzus americanus ) and the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse ( Zapus hudsonius luteus ).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

NECTURUS MACULOSUS (Common Mudpuppy). NESTING

Common Mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus maculosus) are the most widespread and wellstudied of the Proteidae, ranging from northern Georgia into eastern Canada and west to the Great Plains. Despite this extensive range, most of our knowledge of life history traits for mudpuppies is based on studies occurring in the northern half of its range, specifically the Great Lakes region. Little is known regarding life history traits in the southern portion of its range. In Tennessee, N. maculosus is thought to occur statewide in permanent streams, rivers, and likely in reservoirs and lakes. Literature suggests that parturition and nest-guarding in N. maculosus maculosus occurs in late winter through spring, but there are no published observations to verify this in Tennessee (Pasachnik and Niemiller 2011. In Niemiller and Reynolds [eds.], The Amphibians of Tennessee, pp. 231-233. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee). Here, we report four observations of N. maculosus maculosus nests that were discovered while conducting snorkel surveys and lifting cover objects opportunistically for aquatic salamanders from 2011 to 2017, and approximate timing of laying in three river tributaries to the Tennessee River.

Nelson, Stephen K.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Thermomechanics coupling to Monte Carlo particle transport on unstructured mesh geometries using Cardinal

Geometry deformation due to thermal expansion influences neutron transport in many systems. Studying this phenomenon involves coupling models for neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and solid mechanics. To enable high fidelity modeling of these coupled physics, new capabilities were introduced in Cardinal, coupling OpenMC Monte Carlo particle transport models with MOOSE thermomechanical physics on unstructured moving-mesh geometries. In this work, we present a fully open-source capability leveraging on-the-fly mesh skinning to automatically regenerate OpenMC geometry, which allows multiphysics feedback from temperature, density, and geometry changes. The new capability is verified using an analytic benchmark slab problem, which couples S 2 neutron transport with thermal conduction, convective boundary conditions, Doppler-broadened cross sections, and nonlinear thermal expansion effects along the heated slab. Cardinal reproduces the analytic solutions for the neutron flux, heating, k eff , and temperature with demonstrated convergence in various error terms including mesh resolution and cross section temperature library spacing. For the nominal benchmark conditions and with a fine mesh, maximum relative errors for neutron flux, temperature, and heating are lower than 1%, while errors in integral quantities such as k eff and slab length are within 1 pcm and 48 µm, respectively. This work (i) presents a new numerical approach to thermomechanics coupling with OpenMC models, (ii) is the first (to our knowledge) to utilize a mechanical partial differential equation (PDE) solution to solve the (Griesheimer and Kooreman, 2022) analytic benchmark, and (iii) develops this verified capability within an open-source package.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Restoration of Geographically Isolated Wetlands: An Amphibian-Centric Review of Methods and Effectiveness

Geographically isolated wetlands provide a critical habitat for pond-breeding amphibians, a taxa of broad conservation concern. Global wetland loss and degradation has made restoration essential for amphibian conservation. Restoration goals typically include recovering the wetlands’ physiochemical, hydrological, and ecological functions. However, for pond-breeding amphibians, successful restoration should also result in sustained populations, which is difficult to assess and infrequently reported. In this paper, we review the available evidence that restoration of geographically isolated wetlands promotes pond-breeding amphibian occupancy and population persistence. We provide an overview of restoration practices addressing hydrology, vegetation, and ecological processes within these unique environments and across spatial scales. We then summarize the evidence, and discuss the limitations, for evaluating successful restoration within the context of amphibian conservation across these categories. Finally, we provide recommendations for researchers and practitioners to leverage prior successes and establish systematic data collection and dissemination. Moving restoration of wetlands for amphibian conservation forward will require more robust data collection and reporting.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Lessons Learned from Open-Source Software Training Toward Expanding the Fusion Workforce

Within the United States (U.S.), the Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE) Collaboratives seek to accelerate fusion technology development through wide-ranging community-driven research activities that bring together industry, laboratories, research institutes, and academia. Increasing the maturity of key components and systems for future fusion power plants (FPPs) toward commercialization, will, by necessity, increase the need for knowledgeable engineers, designers, and researchers in industry capable of integrating and further improving these technologies within industry FPP concepts. Further, various modeling and simulation packages support these programs and are under-development within them to drive design iteration and the development of FPP digital twins. To derive the greatest benefit from model output and capabilities, training these same specialists will be vital. Thus, the development of effective and accessible software onboarding and professional development opportunities focused on fusion will be key to keeping the pace of growth high in the coming decade and beyond. A similar need exists within the advanced fission reactor community, driven by an ever-growing need for carbon-free baseload power for industrial and data center applications. Within the U.S. and around the world, several open-source packages and frameworks exist to support this endeavor, and two we will highlight here are the Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework and OpenMC. These packages, notably, are also being utilized in the FIRE Collaboratives program. In this presentation, we will highlight the lessons learned from over 30 years of combined software development and training experience, focused on developing strong technical software foundations within the nuclear workforce, from students to professional engineers & scientists. We will connect this experience to present and emerging needs in the fusion energy community, and, finally, will outline possible paths forward to develop a large, robust, global fusion workforce.

70 - PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗