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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

Determination of Total, Organic, and Inorganic Carbon in Biological Cultures and Liquid Fraction Process Samples

This procedure describes a method for analyzing dissolved and suspended total carbon, in organic and inorganic form in biological cultures, in the presence or absence of cells, and liquid fraction conversion process samples. This method calculates total organic carbon by subtraction of inorganic carbon, derived from sample acidification, from total dissolved carbon by combustion at 680°C with detection of derived gaseous CO 2 by a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor. The inclusion of details on a process step of heat treating biologically active samples before analysis can potentially halt biological activity, preserving carbon stores and allowing for accurate quantification of the carbon content at the time of sample collection.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1990

Evidence from carbon isotope measurements for diverse origins of sedimentary hydrocarbons

The organic matter found in sedimentary rocks must derive from many sources; not only from ancient primary producers but also from consumers and secondary producers. In all of these organisms, isotope effects can affect the abundance and distribution of 13C in metabolites. Here, by using an improved form of a previously described technique in which the effluent of a gas chromatograph is continuously analysed isotopically, we report evidence of the diverse origins of sedimentary organic matter. The record of 13C abundances in sedimentary carbonate and total organic carbon can be interpreted in terms of variations in the global carbon cycle. Our results demonstrate, however, that isotope variations within sedimentary organic mixtures substantially exceed those observed between samples of total organic carbon. Resolution of isotope variations at the molecular level offers a new and convenient means of refining views both of localized palaeoenvironments and of control mechanisms within the global carbon cycle.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2020

Genome-resolved metagenomics and metatranscriptomics of microbial communities in three meander-bound floodplain soils along the East River, Colorado.

This dataset comprises paired environmental and genomic data for soil samples collected across meander-bound floodplains G (ERMG), L (ERML) and Z (ERMZ). A total of 96 soil samples (32 per floodplain) from the ~ 10-25 cm layer were collected in September 2015, during base flow conditions. An additional 32 soil samples were collected from ERML in September 2016, including three samples from a depth just above the water table. A subset of samples (14) collected in 2016 were used for metatranscriptomics as well as metagenomics. The data package includes: 1) A spread sheet with sample names, location and depth by meander-bound floodplain. 2) Total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total carbon (TC = TOC + TIC), total nitrogen (TN), and the TOC to TN ratio (TOC:N) from 2015 subsamples. 3) Soil chemistry for 2016 subsamples. 4) A spread sheet with elevation, Easting, Northing, and topographic position index (TPI) for each site sampled in 2015. 5) A kml file, which can be viewed in Google Earth, with the locations of the 96 soil sampling sites along the East River Watershed Floodplain in Colorado. Metagenomics and metatranscriptomics data, as well as reconstructed genomes, are available elsewhere (see data package methods and bioRxiv preprint for links to the data). 6) Two sets of reconstructed genomes with overlapping members (see bioRxiv preprint for description and associated data). Metagenomes and metatranscriptomes are available elsewhere (see data package methods and bioRxiv preprint). To view tar.gz files, the following software can be used: https://www.gnu.org/software/tar/, https://www.7-zip.org/.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

WHONDRS Summer 2019 Sampling Campaign: Global River Corridor Sediment FTICR-MS, Dissolved Organic Carbon, Aerobic Respiration, Elemental Composition, Grain Size, Total Nitrogen and Organic Carbon Content, Bacterial Abundance, and Stable Isotopes (v10)

The WHONDRS Summer 2019 Sampling (S19S) Campaign collected samples in 97 globally distributed river corridor systems between July and September 2019. Surficial streambed sediments were collected at three locations within each site (upstream, midstream, and downstream). Surface water was collected at the downstream site. This dataset includes a portion of the data types produced from the sediment samples and does not include any results from the surface water. Surface water data can be found at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/view/doi:10.15485/1603775. The S19S campaign was designed with the science community to ask questions associated with links among core/transient metabolomes, microbial metabolism, biogeochemical function, and physical properties of watershed and river corridor systems. This data package was originally published in December 2020. It was updated in April 2021 (v2; modified files), May 2022 (v3; new and modified files), November 2022 (v4; new and modified files), January 2023 (v5 and v6; new and modified files), February 2023 (v7; new and modified files), August 2023 (v8; new and modified files), July 2025 (v9; new and modified files), and June 2026 (v10; new and modified files). Version 10 includes major restructuring of the files and their formats. See the change history in the readme for details. In addition to a readme, this data package also includes a file-level metadata (FLMD) file that describes each file and a data dictionary (DD) that describes all column/row headers and variable definitions. This dataset contains (1) readme, (2) data dictionary, (3) file level metadata, (4) sampling protocol, (5) a data checks report, (6) field metadata, (7) international generic sample number (IGSN) mapping file, (8) joint genome institute (JGI) mapping file, (9) a folder of site photos, and (10) a folder of sample data. The sample data folder contains (1) dissolved organic carbon (DOC, measured as non-purgeable organic carbon, NPOC) and FTICR methods; (2) respiration rates and normalized respiration rates calculated from laboratory sediment incubations, (3) X-ray fluorescence (XRF) elemental composition, (4) grain size distribution from the < 2 millimeter fraction of sediment, (5) total organic carbon and total nitrogen content, (6) bacterial abundance flow cytometry data, (7) sediment stable isotopes (C and N), (8) laboratory methods, (9) water and sediment mass and volume used in incubations, (10) a folder with code, inputs, and plots for the respiration rates, (11) a folder containing XRF data, (12) a folder containing unaligned, peak-picked high resolution characterization of dissolved organic matter from sediment via 12 Tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) through the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL; https://www.pnnl.gov/environmental-molecular-sciences-laboratory), (12) and a folder containing processed FTICR-MS data. All files are .msa, .txt, .spx, .xml, .csv, .pdf, .txt, .jpg, or .jpeg.

13C↗
DOE OSTI2023

Determination of Total, Organic, and Inorganic Carbon and Total Nitrogen in Biological Cultures and Liquid Fraction Process Samples: Laboratory Analytical Procedure (LAP)

This Laboratory Analytical Procedure (LAP) describes the quantitative determination of total organic carbon, inorganic carbon in whole suspended biological samples and in the cell-free supernatant, by combustion and CO 2 detection with a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) detector. This allows for distinct reporting of soluble and insoluble organic and inorganic carbon. In addition, this procedure covers the quantitative determination of soluble nitrogen in the cell-free supernatant.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Influence of soil depth, irrigation, and plant genotype on the soil microbiome, metaphenome, and carbon chemistry

ABSTRACT Climate change is causing an increase in drought in many soil ecosystems and a loss of soil organic carbon. Calcareous soils may partially mitigate these losses via carbon capture and storage. Here, we aimed to determine how irrigation-supplied soil moisture and perennial plants impact biotic and abiotic soil properties that underpin deep soil carbon chemistry in an unfertilized calcareous soil. Soil was sampled up to 1 m in depth from irrigated and planted field treatments and was analyzed using a suite of omics and chemical analyses. The soil microbial community composition was impacted more by irrigation and plant cover treatments than by soil depth. By contrast, metabolomes, lipidomes, and proteomes differed more with soil depth than treatments. Deep soil (>50 cm) had higher soil pH and calcium concentrations and higher levels of organic acids, bicarbonate, and triacylglycerides. By contrast, surface soil (0–5 cm) had higher concentrations of soil organic matter, organic carbon, oxidizable carbon, and total nitrogen. Surface soils also had higher amounts of sugars, sugar alcohols, phosphocholines, and proteins that reflect osmotic and oxidative stress responses. The lipidome was more responsive to perennial tall wheatgrass treatments compared to the metabolome or proteome, with a striking change in diacylglyceride composition. Permanganate oxidizable carbon was more consistently correlated to metabolites and proteins than soil organic and inorganic carbon and soil organic matter. This study reveals specific compounds that reflect differences in organic, inorganic, and oxidizable soil carbon fractions that are impacted by interactions between irrigation-supplied moisture and plant cover in calcareous soil profiles. IMPORTANCE Carbon is cycled through the air, plants, and belowground environment. Understanding soil carbon cycling in deep soil profiles will be important to mitigate climate change. Soil carbon cycling is impacted by water, plants, and soil microorganisms, in addition to soil mineralogy. Measuring biotic and abiotic soil properties provides a perspective of how soil microorganisms interact with the surrounding chemical environment. This study emphasizes the importance of considering biotic interactions with inorganic and oxidizable soil carbon in addition to total organic carbon in carbonate-containing soils for better informing soil carbon management decisions.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Interrelationships among methods of estimating microbial biomass across multiple soil orders and biomes: Supporting data

This dataset contains environmental and soil measurements from 18 different locations across the globe including the SPRUCE experiment site and multiple sampling depths, with 17 of these locations having samples processed between 2012-2013 and one location (SPRUCE) collected in 2021 and processed in 2022. Environmental measurements include: mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, and 30-day presampling temperature. Soil physicochemical measurements include: particle size analysis (PSA), pH, gravimetric moisture content (GMC), bulk soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), total organic C and N, C:N ratio, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Soil biological measurements include: microbial biomass carbon (MBC) measured through chloroform fumigation extraction (CFE), gene copy numbers (GCN) of bacteria, fungi, and archaea measured through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), DNA yield measured through Nanodrop spectrophotometry, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) of bacteria and fungi measured through PLFA analysis. This data set contains one file in comma separate (*.csv) format.

archaea gene copy number↗
NASA NTRS2005

Expert Water Quality Panel Review of Responses to the NASA Request for Information for the International Space Station On-Board Environmental Monitoring System

On August 9, 2003, NASA, with the cooperative support of the Vehicle Office of the International Space Station Program, the Advanced Human Support Technology Program, and the Johnson Space Center Habitability and Environmental Factors Office released a Request for Information, or RFI, to identify next-generation environmental monitoring systems that have demonstrated ability or the potential to meet defined requirements for monitoring air and water quality onboard the International Space Station. This report summarizes the review and analysis of the proposed solutions submitted to meet the water quality monitoring requirements. Proposals were to improve upon the functionality of the existing Space Station Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) and monitor additional contaminants in water samples. The TOCA is responsible for in-flight measurement of total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon, total carbon, pH, and conductivity in the Space Station potable water supplies. The current TOCA requires hazardous reagents to accomplish the carbon analyses. NASA is using the request for information process to investigate new technologies that may improve upon existing capabilities, as well as reduce or eliminate the need for hazardous reagents. Ideally, a replacement for the TOCA would be deployed in conjunction with the delivery of the Node 3 water recovery system currently scheduled for November 2007.

Fishman, Julianna L.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Performance Evaluation of the Operational Air Quality Monitor for Water Testing Aboard the International Space Station

In the history of manned spaceflight, environmental monitoring has relied heavily on archival sampling. For short missions, this type of sample collection was sufficient; returned samples provided a snapshot of the presence of chemical and biological contaminants in the spacecraft air and water. However, with the construction of the International Space Station (ISS) and the subsequent extension of mission durations, soon to be up to one year, the need for enhanced, real-time environmental monitoring became more pressing. The past several years have seen the implementation of several real-time monitors aboard the ISS, complemented with reduced archival sampling. The station air is currently monitored for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using gas chromatography-differential mobility spectrometry (Air Quality Monitor [AQM]). The water on ISS is analyzed to measure total organic carbon and biocide concentrations using the Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) and the Colorimetric Water Quality Monitoring Kit (CWQMK), respectively. The current air and water monitors provide important data, but the number and size of the different instruments makes them impractical for future exploration missions. It is apparent that there is still a need for improvements in environmental monitoring capabilities. One such improvement could be realized by modifying a single instrument to analyze both air and water. As the AQM currently provides quantitative, compound-specific information for target compounds present in air samples, and many of the compounds are also targets for water quality monitoring, this instrument provides a logical starting point to evaluate the feasibility of this approach. In this presentation, we will discuss our recent studies aimed at determining an appropriate method for introducing VOCs from water samples into the gas phase and our current work, in which an electro-thermal vaporization unit has been interfaced with the AQM to analyze target analytes at the relevant concentrations at which they are routinely detected in archival water samples from the ISS.

Wallace, William T.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Applying NIR and MIR spectroscopy for C and soil property prediction in northern cold-region ecosystems. Which approach works better?

Here, developing reliable predictions of soil attributes is necessary to understand northern cold-region climate-soil feedback. Calibration models using near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy were developed to predict eight commonly measured soil properties for 119 soil samples representing a range of vegetation types, parent materials, and soil types spanning >23° of latitude from southeast Alaska to the Canadian high Arctic. In order to obtain a more accurate prediction, this study compared the performance of linear and non-linear calibration techniques, including lasso regression (Lasso), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF) and classic partial least squares (PLS) to predict different soil properties of these soils. Comparing the four models, we noticed that their performance was quite similar for MIR overall, while NIR achieved better results with a PLS model for our dataset. PLS coupled with MIR showed a better performance for soil parameters, such as total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and clay (R-squared of 0.9, 0.81, 0.80, and 0.84) when compared with NIR (R-squared of 0.85, 0.72, 0.81 and 0.68). However, using either MIR or NIR spectroscopy, PLS predictions for bulk density (BD) and sand content were not accurate. The variable importance analysis based on the PLS model successfully estimated the relative contribution of wavelengths influencing soil property predictions most. Overall, TOC, TN, CEC and clay mineral predictions are closely related to the occurrence of specific spectral bands in the MIR region. For example, wavelengths at 2978 and 1761 cm -1 for TOC and TN, as well as at 3064 cm -1 for CEC, were selected as the most influential predictor variables. We demonstrated that MIR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for more extensive monitoring in soils of the northern cold climate region; however, NIR could be utilized for rapid estimates when the highest accuracy is not essential.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1991

Paleolakes and life on early Mars

Two distinct directions have begun to elucidate key parameters in the search for extinct life on Mars. Carbonate sediments, deposited about 10,000 years ago in association with biological activity, have been sampled from the paleolake beds of Lake Vanda and Meirs in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. These samples are being analyzed for simple biological signatures that remain in cold and dry paleolake sediments, namely microfossils, percent carbonate, and total organic carbon. Our second initiative is the study of Colour Lake, in the Canadian Arctic, that periodically maintains a perennial ice cover. Physical measurements started this year will be used to determine one end point for ice covered lake environments and will be compared to continuous measurements from Antarctic lakes started in November 1985. Interestingly, Colour Lake also supports benthic mat communities, but the low pH precludes carbonate deposition. This research will broaden our knowledge base for what conditions are necessary for ice covered lake formation and what biological signatures will remain in paleolake deposits.

Meyer, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Microbiological Characterization and Concerns of the International Space Station Internal Active Thermal Control System

Since January 1999, the chemical the International Space Station Thermal Control System (IATCS) and microbial state of (ISS) Internal Active fluid has been monitored by analysis of samples returned to Earth. Key chemical parameters have changed over time, including a drop in pH from the specified 9.5 +/- 0.5 ta = 58.4, an increase in the level of total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC) and dissolved nickel (Ni) in the fluid, and a decrease in the phosphate (PO,) level. In addition, silver (AS) ion levels in the fluid decreased rapidly as Ag deposited on internal metallic surfaces of the system. The lack of available Ag ions coupled with changes in the fluid chemistry has resulted in a favorable environment for microbial growth. Counts of heterotrophic bacteria have increased from less than 10 colony-forming units (CFUs)/l00 mL to l0(exp 6) to l0(exp 7) CFUs/100 mL. The increase of the microbial population is of concern because uncontrolled microbiological growth in the IATCS can contribute to deterioration in the performance of critical components within the system and potentially impact human health if opportunistic pathogens become established and escape into the cabin atmosphere. Micro-organisms can potentially degrade the coolant chemistry; attach to surfaces and form biofilms; lead to biofouling of filters, tubing, and pumps; decrease flow rates; reduce heat transfer; initiate and accelerate corrosion; and enhance mineral scale formation. The micro- biological data from the ISS IATCS fluid, and approaches to addressing the concerns, are summarized in this paper.

Roman, Monsi C.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Soyuz 22 Return Samples: Assessment of Air Quality Aboard the International Space Station

Three mini-grab sample containers (m-GSCs) were returned aboard Soyuz 22 because of concerns that new air pollutants were present in the air and these were getting into the water recovery system. The Total Organic Carbon Analyzer had been giving increasing readings of total organic carbon (TOC) in the potable water, and it was postulated that an increased load into the system was responsible. The toxicological assessment of 3 m-GSCs from the ISS is shown in Table 1. The recoveries of the 3 standards (as listed above) from the GSCs averaged 103, 95 and 76%, respectively. Recovery from formaldehyde control badges were 90 and 91%.

Jams, John T.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Soyuz 23 Return Samples: Assessment of Air Quality Aboard the International Space Station

Six mini-grab sample containers (m-GSCs) were returned aboard Soyuz 23 because of concerns that new air pollutants had been present in the air and these were getting into the water recovery system. The Total Organic Carbon Analyzer had been giving increasing readings of total organic carbon (TOC) in the potable water, and it was postulated that an increased load into the system was responsible. The TOC began to decline in late October, 2010. The toxicological assessment of 6 m-GSCs from the ISS is shown in Table 1. The recoveries of 13C-acetone, fluorobenzene, and chlorobenzene from the GSCs averaged 73, 82, and 59%, respectively. We are working to understand the sub-optimal recovery of chlorobenzene.

James, John T.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Characterization of Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) Product Water

The Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) is designed to sterilize and process wastes produced during space missions. Benefits of the HMC include reduction of biohazards to the crew, reduction in volume of wastes that would otherwise require storage, production of radiation shielding tiles, and recovery of water and other resources. Water reuse is critical onboard spacecrafts; it reduces the need for resupply missions and saves valuable storage space. The main sources of water in HMC batches are food, beverages, shampoo, disinfecting wipes, toothpaste, and diapers. Water reclaimed by the HMC was analyzed for concentrations of Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-­‐, NO2-­‐, Br-­‐, NO3-­‐, PO43-­‐, SO42-­‐, total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), % total solids, and pH. The data are discussed in relation to the current water input characteristics established for the International Space Station Water Processor Assembly system. Batches with higher than average amounts of food produced HMC product water with higher sulfate content, and batches with higher proportions of disinfectant wipes and food yielded HMC product water with higher ammonium concentration. We also compared theoretical chemical composition of HMC product water based on food labels and literature values to experimental results.

Heat Melt Compactor↗
DOE OSTI2022

“Tailing” Phenomenon During Polymer Propagation at The Milne Point Polymer Flood

Chemical flooding simulators traditionally assume that polymer retention follows the Langmuir isotherm, while fractional-flow calculations assume concentration-independent retention. Both models predict a delay in propagation of the polymer front (in proportion to the retention value), followed by a rapid rise in produced polymer concentration to the injected level. In contrast, laboratory retention studies for the Milne Point polymer flood (North Slope of Alaska) consistently show virtually no delay in polymer propagation, a rapid rise in produced polymer to 70-90% of the injected concentration, followed by produced concentration gradually approaching the injected value over many pore volumes. From a practical viewpoint, this behavior means that retention causes no significant delay in propagation of the polymer bank (and therefore the oil bank), but the effective viscosity and displacement efficiency are less than originally planned. This paper explores why this polymer “tailing” phenomenon occurs. During core floods, effluent was analyzed for brine-tracer concentration, viscosity, total organic carbon, and total nitrogen. The latter three items allowed three independent measures of polymer concentration and polymer retention. Experiments were performed with Milne Point core material, oil, brine, and conditions. Mechanistic experiments were also performed with packs of glass beads with controlled levels of various minerals. In Milne Point cores, the presence of the tailing phenomenon was not sensitive to flow rate, polymer concentration, core heterogeneity, or whether the core was preserved, cleaned of oil, or cleaned and resaturated with oil, or cleaned, re-saturated and aged with oil. The three independent measures of polymer concentration confirmed that the tailing phenomenon was not an artifact associated with polymer degradation or detection interferences. Tailing was also observed during mechanistic floods using glassbead packs when sufficient levels of illite or kaolinite were present. This observation was consistent with high levels of illite noted in Milne Point cores. The tailing was not noted during mechanistic floods that contained beads with montmorillonite, chlorite, calcium carbonate, dolomite, siderite, pyrite, or calcium sulfate. A model is proposed to account for the tailing phenomenon. This work suggests that mineralogy analysis (especially for illite and kaolinite) may reveal whether tailing should be accounted for during simulations of polymer propagation/retention in a given field application.

Seright, Randy↗
NASA NTRS1989

An isotopic study of biogeochemical relationships between carbonates and organic carbon in the Greenhorn Formation

Carbon-isotopic compositions of total carbonate, inoceramid carbonate, micritic carbonate, secondary cements, total organic carbon, and geoporphyrins have been measured in 76 different beds within a 17-m interval of a core through the Greenhorn Formation, an interbedded limestone and calcareous shale unit of Cretaceous age from the Western Interior Seaway of North America. Results are considered in terms of variations in the processes of primary production and in secondary processes. It is shown that the porphyrin isotopic record reflects primary isotopic variations more closely than the TOC isotopic record and that, in these sediments, TOC is enriched in C-13 relative to its primary precursor by 0.6 to 2.8 percent. This enrichment is attributed to isotope effects within the consumer foodweb and is associated with respiratory heterotrophy. Variation in this secondary enrichment are correlated with variations in the isotopic composition of marine carbonate.

Hayes, J. M.↗