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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 73 records · Page 4

The Connected Isotopic Water Cycle in the Community Earth System Model Version 1

Because of the pervasive role of water in the Earth system, the relative abundances of stable isotopologues of water are valuable for understanding atmospheric, oceanic, and biospheric processes, and for interpreting paleoclimate proxy reconstructions. Isotopologues are transported by both largescale and turbulent flows, and the ratio of heavy to light isotopologues changes due to fractionation that can accompany condensation and evaporation processes. Correctly predicting the isotopic distributions requires resolving the relationships between largescale ocean and atmospheric circulation and smallerscale hydrological processes, which can be accomplished within a coupled climate modeling framework. Here we present the water isotopeenabled version of the Community Earth System Model version 1 (iCESM1), which simulates global variations in water isotopic ratios in the atmosphere, land, ocean, and sea ice. In a transient Last Millennium simulation covering the 850-2005 period, iCESM1 correctly captures the latetwentiethcentury structure of δ(exp 18)O and δD over the global oceans, with more limited accuracy over land. The relationship between salinity and seawater δ(exp 18)O is also well represented over the observational period, including interbasin variations. We illustrate the utility of coupled, isotopeenabled simulations using both Last Millennium simulations and freshwater hosing experiments with iCESM1. Closing the isotopic mass balance between all components of the coupled model provides new confidence in the underlying depiction of the water cycle in CESM, while also highlighting areas where the underlying hydrologic balance can be improved. The iCESM1 is poised to be a vital community resource for ongoing model development with both modern and paleoclimate applications.

Brady, E.↗

Unraveling the Threads of Environmental Justice in Critical Mineral Extraction: A Framework for Regionalized Life Cycle Data

As we transition to a more sustainable energy system, the extraction and processing of critical minerals becomes increasingly important. However, these industries often raise concerns about environmental and social impacts, particularly in disadvantaged communities. To address these concerns, our research focuses on regionalizing environmental life cycle data to connect it with communities affected by mineral extraction. A framework was developed for collecting life cycle background data that supports the Justice40 Toolset, a market-based approach to evaluating net benefits and costs of critical mineral material recovery pathways. A goal was to alleviate public skepticism around mineral extraction processes, including secondary and unconventional feedstocks, by highlighting both environmental and social impacts. To achieve this, computational analysis and geospatial data science techniques were employed, such as within-scale and across-scale methods and proxy dataset usage. By doing so, we were able to develop a framework for identifying and disaggregating data down to regions small enough to support Justice40 goals. Our approach not only provides valuable tools fo insight into the environmental implications of mineral extraction but also helps policymakers evaluate the social impacts on local communities. This research contributes to a more just and equitable transition to a sustainable energy system, ensuring that marginalized voices are heard in decision-making process.

Davis, Tyler [NETL Site Support Contractor, Nation↗

City-Wide Distributed Roof-Top Photovoltaic System Adoption Forecast, Grid Impact Simulation, & Neighborhood Microgrid Contribution Assessment

The adoption of distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems grew significantly in recent years. Market projections anticipate future growth for both residential and commercial installations. To understand grid impacts associated with distributed PV, useful hosting capacity studies require accurate representations of the spatial distribution of PV adoptions. Prediction of PV locations and numbers depends on median income data, building use zoning maps, and permit records to understand existing trends and predict future adoption rates and locations throughout an entire city. Using the PV adoption data, advanced and realistic simulations were performed to capture the distributed PV impacts on the grid. Also, using graph theory community detection hundreds of neighborhood microgrids can be discovered for the entire city by identifying densely connected loads that are sparsely connected to other communities. Then, based on the PV adoption predictions, this work identified the contribution of PV within each of the newly discovered graph theory defined microgrid communities.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

NSI operations center

The NASA Science Internet (NSI) Network Operations Staff is responsible for providing reliable communication connectivity for the NASA science community. As the NSI user community expands, so does the demand for greater interoperability with users and resources on other networks (e.g., NSFnet, ESnet), both nationally and internationally. Coupled with the science community's demand for greater access to other resources is the demand for more reliable communication connectivity. Recognizing this, the NASA Science Internet Project Office (NSIPO) expands its Operations activities. By January 1990, Network Operations was equipped with a telephone hotline, and its staff was expanded to six Network Operations Analysts. These six analysts provide 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week coverage to assist site managers with problem determination and resolution. The NSI Operations staff monitors network circuits and their associated routers. In most instances, NSI Operations diagnoses and reports problems before users realize a problem exists. Monitoring of the NSI TCP/IP Network is currently being done with Proteon's Overview monitoring system. The Overview monitoring system displays a map of the NSI network utilizing various colors to indicate the conditions of the components being monitored. Each node or site is polled via the Simple Network Monitoring Protocol (SNMP). If a circuit goes down, Overview alerts the Network Operations staff with an audible alarm and changes the color of the component. When an alert is received, Network Operations personnel immediately verify and diagnose the problem, coordinate repair with other networking service groups, track problems, and document problem and resolution into a trouble ticket data base. NSI Operations offers the NSI science community reliable connectivity by exercising prompt assessment and resolution of network problems.

Zanley, Nancy L.↗

Demystifying Solar in WAP

Over the last two years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has identified the pathways for implementing solar in the Weatherization Assistance Program and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and practices for successful implementation. Learn about successful implementation models from around the network and the new resources that can give you a head start in planning solar into your program, including a demonstration of tools to help evaluate solar potential and cost-effectiveness at the household level, as well as a new tool from the U.S. Department of Energy National Community Solar Partnership to help connect households receiving LIHEAP assistance to community solar subscriptions that guarantee energy bill savings.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,SOLAR ENERGY↗

Warming and disturbance alter soil microbiome diversity and function in a northern forest ecotone

ABSTRACT The response to global change by soil microbes is set to affect important ecosystem processes. These impacts could be most immediate in transitional zones, such as the temperate-boreal forest ecotone, yet previous work in these forests has primarily focused on specific subsets of microbial taxa. Here, we examined how bacterial and fungal communities respond to simulated above- and below-ground warming under realistic field conditions in closed and open canopy treatments in Minnesota, USA. Our results show that warming and canopy disturbance shifted bacterial and fungal community structure as dominant bacterial and fungal groups differed in the direction and intensity of their responses. Ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungal communities with greater connectivity (higher prevalence of strongly interconnected taxa based on pairwise co-occurrence relationships) were more resistant to compositional change. Warming effects on soil enzymes involved in the hydrolytic and oxidative liberation of carbon from plant cell walls and nutrients from organic matter were most strongly linked to fungal community responses, although community structure–function relationships differed between fungal guilds. Collectively, these findings indicate that warming and disturbance will influence the composition and function of microbial communities in the temperate-boreal ecotone, and fungal responses are particularly important to understand for predicting future ecosystem functioning.

Microbiology↗

DOE BSSD Performance Management Metrics Report Q2

The vision of the National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC) centers on the concept of connecting data, people, and ideas to advance microbiome innovation and discovery. Building data infrastructure, while key to NMDC’s ability to execute on our vision, can only go so far in creating scientific impact. By fostering strong community partnerships and developing a set of robust community outreach and training programs, we are able to turn our products – the Submission Portal, NMDC EDGE, and the Data Portal – into tools that empower the scientific community. Our multi-pronged community building approach spans individual researchers, research teams, consortia and scientific societies, and institutions and federal agencies. To foster a collaborative and inclusive community-centered environment, we have identified three strategic objectives to promote an inclusive and connected community: (1) recognize and support the diverse research needs and perspectives of the microbiome research community; (2) promote best practices across the microbiome community, from researchers to funders, through community-driven practices (FAIR, CARE, and TRUST); and (3) build a microbiome ecosystem that enables scientific discovery and innovation across stakeholders. These strategic objectives allow our team to focus on impact across a diverse range of activities, from launching the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbiome Data Prize to supporting the Ambassador and Champions programs fostering learning and building a collaborative network. We broadly communicate our work through social media (X/Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram), The Microbiome Standard (our quarterly newsletter), and Annual Reports. All our work is underpinned by a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as articulated in our Action Plan that tracks progress towards key metrics. A core component of our engagement strategy is user research. User research ensures the Submission Portal, NMDC EDGE, Data Portal, and the new Field Notes mobile app are designed with and for the scientific community. Our user research efforts consist of asking researchers exploratory questions to collect information on researcher priorities, methodologies, and perceptions to ensure that we are aware of the current state of microbiome research. Our usability testing provides researchers with prototypes or test environments of the NMDC products, and we capture valuable information on how users interact with the products to make improvements. Given the diverse nature of microbiome work, we acknowledge that we are not aware of all pressing data challenges and thus rely on the research community to help us identify the most important issues to prioritize. To date, we have conducted 24 interviews and one beta-testing call with 10 participants across all NMDC products, which have generated 321 insights and 120 action items. Herein, we describe the ways we engage with the microbiome research community to advance the NMDC mission.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Antarctic lake viromes reveal potential virus associated influences on nutrient cycling in ice-covered lakes

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) of Antarctica are a mosaic of extreme habitats which are dominated by microbial life. The MDVs include glacial melt holes, streams, lakes, and soils, which are interconnected through the transfer of energy and flux of inorganic and organic material via wind and hydrology. For the first time, we provide new data on the viral community structure and function in the MDVs through metagenomics of the planktonic and benthic mat communities of Lakes Bonney and Fryxell. Viral taxonomic diversity was compared across lakes and ecological function was investigated by characterizing auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) and predicting viral hosts. Our data suggest that viral communities differed between the lakes and among sites: these differences were connected to microbial host communities. AMGs were associated with the potential augmentation of multiple biogeochemical processes in host, most notably with phosphorus acquisition, organic nitrogen acquisition, sulfur oxidation, and photosynthesis. Viral genome abundances containing AMGs differed between the lakes and microbial mats, indicating site specialization. Using procrustes analysis, we also identified significant coupling between viral and bacterial communities (p = 0.001). Finally, host predictions indicate viral host preference among the assembled viromes. Collectively, our data show that: (i) viruses are uniquely distributed through the McMurdo Dry Valley lakes, (ii) their AMGs can contribute to overcoming host nutrient limitation and, (iii) viral and bacterial MDV communities are tightly coupled.

Microbiology↗

Evaluation Challenges for the Application of Extended Reality Devices in Medicine

Augmented and virtual reality devices are being actively investigated and implemented for a wide range of medical uses. However, significant gaps in the evaluation of these medical devices and applications hinder their regulatory evaluation. Addressing these gaps is critical to demonstrating the devices’ safety and effectiveness. We outline the key technical and clinical evaluation challenges discussed during the US Food and Drug Administration’s public workshop, “Medical Extended Reality: Toward Best Evaluation Practices for Virtual and Augmented Reality in Medicine” and future directions for evaluation method development. Evaluation challenges were categorized into several key technical and clinical areas. Finally, we highlight current efforts in the standards communities and illustrate connections between the evaluation challenges and the intended uses of the medical extended reality (MXR) devices. Participants concluded that additional research is needed to assess the safety and effectiveness of MXR devices across the use cases.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Editorial for Special Issue: Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings—Part 2

This issue of the ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities (JESBC) is fully dedicated to peer-reviewed papers specific to technologies and applications of Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs). As defined by a series of publications by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and outlined in Part 1 of the editorial of JESBC August 2020 issue, GEBs are efficient, connected, smart, and flexible buildings. This GEB special issue covers some technologies and applications for grid-connected buildings and communities. Some of technologies included in the special issue are dynamic insulation systems for building envelopes, building integrated fuel cells, and rooftop PV systems. Furthermore, the issue outlines the designs and cost-benefits of net-zero energy (NZE) buildings and carbon neutral communities in the United States.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

EDX ClaiMM

EDX ClaiMM is a centralized data & analytical platform designed to revolutionize U.S. critical minerals and materials (CMM) activities. By providing a robust digital infrastructure, ClaiMM will accelerate the combination, leveraging, and rapid utilization of vital data, advanced tools, and cutting-edge research advancements in CMM. This adaptive digital research hub connects the CMM community to essential knowledge products and offers access to interoperable datasets, databases, models, software, and tools from the National Energy Technology’s (NETL’s) Energy Data eXchange (EDX) and other authoritative sources, serving both public and private sectors. EDX ClaiMM delivers AI-informed solutions to address fundamental knowledge gaps and fosters the innovation of new techniques for enhanced characterization and recovery of CMMs within the U.S. By leveraging cloud-hosted, scalable digital infrastructure, ClaiMM meets public–private applied energy needs. It equips the CMM community with priority digital resources that harness on-site and cloud compute capabilities, enabling big data storage, advanced processing, analytics, and visualization.

Critical Materials; Critical Minerals; Rare Earth ↗

Building a Field: The Future of Astronomy with Gravitational Waves

Harnessing the sheer discovery potential of GW Astronomy will require bold, deliberate,and sustained efforts to train and develop the requisite workforce. The next decaderequires a strategic plan to build - from the ground up - a robust, open, andwell-connected GW Astronomy community with deep participation from traditionalastronomers, physicists, data scientists, and instrumentalists. This basic infrastructure issorely needed as an enabling foundation for research. We outline a set ofrecommendations for funding agencies, universities, and professional societies to helpbuild a thriving, diverse, and inclusive new field.

Holley-Bockelman, Kelly↗

Aero Fair Presentation

Diversity and Inclusion Outreach event to promote STEM, NASA, and Aeronautics to underrepresented middle school students in the Bay Area. Connect with the community. Engage with students to showcase NASA Ames Aeronautics and spark interest in a STEM education.

Aero Fair↗

Aero Fair 2022

Diversity and Inclusion Outreach event to promote STEM, NASA, and Aeronautics to underrepresented middle school students in the Bay Area. Connect with the community. Engage with students to showcase NASA Ames Aeronautics and spark interest in a STEM education.

Aero Fair 2022↗

Aero Fair 2022

Diversity and Inclusion Outreach event to promote STEM, NASA, and Aeronautics to underrepresented middle school students in the Bay Area. Connect with the community. Engage with students to showcase NASA Ames Aeronautics and spark interest in a STEM education.

Aero Fair 2022↗

National Community Solar Partnership Credit Ready Solar Initiative

This fact sheet discusses the Credit Ready Solar Initiative, which will leverage working groups, technical assistance, training, and strategic partnerships to build a pipeline of credit-ready community solar projects and broad access to a community solar marketplace that connects owners, developers, lenders, and philanthropy to support more equitable deployment of community solar.

solar, solar energy, community solar, national com↗

Research Connections: Career and Research Journeys from the SMP Community. Association for Women in Mathematics Series

This book aims to provide perspectives on important questions that undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics ask themselves. Each chapter gives readers a taste of a different mathematician’s work, presented with enough background material that an advanced undergraduate or early graduate student can understand the key ideas of the research. Each mathematical contribution is prefaced by a short biography of the mathematician who wrote the chapter, to give the reader a connection to the author and provide examples of paths from undergraduate education, through graduate school and beyond.

mathematics, research, biographies↗

Comparison of Microbial Profiling and Tracer Testing for the Characterization of Injector-Producer Interwell Connectivities

Insufficient understanding of the microbial communities and associated microbial processes in geological reservoirs hinders the utilization of this rich data source for improved resource management. In this study, along with four interwell tracer tests at a 1478-m deep fractured crystalline-rock aquifer, we analyzed the microbial communities in the injected and produced water by high-throughput sequencing. The microbial community similarities across boreholes during an interwell flow scenario frequently encountered in reservoir development was explored. Despite the significant tracer recoveries (~30%) in all tracer tests and the cumulatively >100,000 L of exogenous water (carrying exogenous microbes) injected into the 10-m-scale reservoir, the overall structure of produced-fluid microbiome did not increasingly resemble that of the injectate. However, producers with better connectivity with the injector (based on tracer test results) did have more amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) that overlapped with those in the injectate. We identified possible drivers behind our observations and verified the practicality of repeated microbial sampling in the context of reservoir characterization and long-term monitoring. We highlight that injector-producer microbial profiling could provide insights on the relative connectivities across different producers with a given injector, and that the associated logistical needs may be comparable or even less than that of classic tracer tests.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗