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At least 91 records · Page 5

Passive Water Assurance Delivery System

This report provides an analysis and evaluation of proposed design improvements to the internal water delivery system of NASA’s passive vegetable growing system. The VEGGIE system is designed to provide fresh vegetables and psychological benefits for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Preliminary testing conducted by NASA for the VEGGIE system revealed flaws in the water delivery system. In these tests, the interface between the plants and the water reservoir failed to provide passive water delivery through the system both in microgravity experiments and experiments conducted on Earth. Our team’s goal was to fix this interface such that water can be passively delivered from the water reservoir to the plant rooting pillows to grow vegetative crops from seed to harvest. The system requirements outlined by NASA include: minimal total mass, on-demand passive water delivery, same dimensions as existing fixtures, minimal pressure on system to prevent leaking, zero mold growth, minimal swelling or clogging for non-flammable capillary materials, pressure stabilization between the water reservoir and plant pillow bags, even dispersal of water during initial priming, minimal bubble obstruction of capillary interface, maximum gas availability to plant roots, growth in a mixed artificial media (50:50 Arcillite:Fafard #2), and to avoid overwatering and drought conditions for plants. The major proposed design improvements are to use a single-interface capillary cord design to directly connect the water reservoir to the plant-rooting pillows, and to alter the water reservoir to model a propellant management device (PMD) in order to ensure consistent and long term watering for the VEGGIE system. The plant rooting pillow required minimal changes outside of replacing the capillary mat on the bottom of the pillow with O-ring insertion points the single-interface capillary system. - Research was conducted to determine which materials are able to uptake water through capillary action to grow Outredgeous Lettuce plants from seed to harvest. The primary requirements to be met by the team's design and evaluation of the capillary interface were: continuous passive watering for 90 days using non-flammable capillary materials and a peak water delivery rate of 30 mL/hr./0.15 m 2 . The results of the team's experimentation showed that the capillary material Nomex displayed the highest capillary water delivery potential with a maximum flow rate of 3.6 mL/hr. The Nomex capillary systems were the only capillary material to consistently grow Outredgeous Lettuce plants from seed to harvest, and displayed the highest average flow rate for multiple experiment sets. The Nomex material was previously incorporated into the VEGGIE system using a matted version of the capillary material, though the team recommends using a cord configuration in the single-interface capillary system for greater system stability. Nomex has proven to be a promising material, as it has passed both health and fire standards for use aboard the International Space Station. PMDs are made of materials that utilize surface tension and adhesive forces to overcome adverse accelerations to improve stability and ensure fluid delivery. PMDs are typically used in fuel tanks to ensure fuel delivery. The team recommends using a sponge PMD in order to mitigate bubble obstruction, decrease system weight, and ensure reliable water delivery to the capillary interface. The PMD water reservoir requires a rigid water reservoir and a vent tube for pressure stabilization. Since PMD’s cannot be tested in 1-G (Earth conditions), further theoretical modeling and testing is required for the proposed water reservoir design. The intent of this proposed system is to passively water plants in microgravity, though the technology is not limited to microgravity applications. The testing at The Ohio State University has proven that the design is highly effective on Earth, demonstrating that it could serve as a simple water delivery system in home and office applications. This would make vegetative crops more accessible in all indoor applications, thereby improving indoor air quality and occupant comfort. Additionally, this technology has great potential to be utilized in greenhouse plant production, cutting back on more sophisticated watering system energy and time requirements.

Alexandria Jensen↗

Solar hot water system installed at Day's Inn Motel, Savannah, Georgia

The Solar System was designed to provide 50 percent of the total Domestic Hot Water (DHW) demand. Liquid Flat Plate Collectors (900 square feet) are used for the collector subsystem. The collector subsystem is closed loop, using 50 percent Ethylene Glycol solution antifreeze for freeze protection. The 1,000 gallon fiber glass storage tank contains two heat exchangers. One of the heat exchangers heats the storage tank with the collector solar energy. The other heat exchanger preheats the cold supply water as it passes through on the way to the Domestic Hot Water (DHW) tank heaters. Electrical energy supplements the solar energy for the DHW. The Collector Mounting System utilizes guy wires to structurally tie the collector array to the building.

Source record↗

Electrolyzer Exergy Analysis for an Environmental Control and Life Support System

An exergy based analysis of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is conducted to assess its overall performance. Exergy is chosen as a measure of performance because it accounts for both the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The exergy efficiency of a system is first defined as the total exergy destroyed by the system relative to the total exergy input to the system. To determine the ECLSS exergy efficiency, the system is divided into constituent subsystems which in turn are divided into assemblies and components. Based on this system decomposition, exergy balances are derived for each assembly or component. Exergy balances and supporting calculations are implemented in MATLAB® code. The major subsystems of the ECLSS considered in this analysis include the Atmosphere Revitalization Subsystem (ARS), Atmosphere Control and Supply Subsystem (ACS), Temperature and Humidity Control Subsystem (THC), Water Recovery and Management Subsystem (WRM), and Waste Management Subsystem (WM). This paper focuses on the ARS and its constituent assemblies and components. Exergy efficiency of the ARS and its constituent assemblies and components is first presented. The Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA), an assembly within the ARS, is then highlighted because the exergy destruction by the OGA is a large magnitude contributor to the overall exergy destruction of the ECLSS. The OGA produces oxygen to meet the crew's metabolic demand via water electrolysis in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. The exergy destruction of the OGA's PEM electrolyzer is a function of the amount of oxygen produced, which determines the necessary current density and voltage drop across the PEM electrolyzer. In addition, oxygen production in the PEM electrolyzer requires deviation from the Nernst potential, presenting trade-offs between the exergy efficiency and critical life support functions. The results of parametric studies of PEM electrolyzer performance are presented with an emphasis on the impacts of polarization and operational conditions on exergy efficiency.

Chow, Raymond↗

Analyzing water resources

Report on water resources discusses problems in water measurement demand, use, and availability. Also discussed are sensing accuracies, parameter monitoring, and status of forecasting, modeling, and future measurement techniques.

Source record↗

Motel DHW Retrofit--Dallas, Texas

Solar-energy system designed to provide 65% of total domestic-hot-water (DHW) demands for 100-room motel in Dallas, Texas is subject of a report now available. System is retrofit, and storage-tank size was limited to 1,000 gallons (3,785 1) by size of room where it is located.

Source record↗

MAPIR: An Airborne Polarmetric Imaging Radiometer in Support of Hydrologic Satellite Observations

In this age of dwindling water resources and increasing demands, accurate estimation of water balance components at every scale is more critical to end users than ever before. Several near-term Earth science satellite missions are aimed at global hydrologic observations. The Marshall Airborne Polarimetric Imaging Radiometer (MAPIR) is a dual beam, dual angle polarimetric, scanning L band passive microwave radiometer system developed by the Observing Microwave Emissions for Geophysical Applications (OMEGA) team at MSFC to support algorithm development and validation efforts in support of these missions. MAPIR observes naturally-emitted radiation from the ground primarily for remote sensing of land surface brightness temperature from which we can retrieve soil moisture and possibly surface or water temperature and ocean salinity. MAPIR has achieved Technical Readiness Level 6 with flight heritage on two very different aircraft, the NASA P-3B, and a Piper Navajo.

Laymon, C.↗

Constraints and Potentials of Future Irrigation Water Availability on Agricultural Production Under Climate Change

Freshwater availability is relevant to almost all socioeconomic and environmental impacts of climate and demographic change and their implications for sustainability. We compare ensembles of water supply and demand projections driven by ensemble output from five global climate models. Our results suggest reasons for concern. Direct climate impacts to maize, soybean, wheat, and rice involve losses of 400–2,600 Pcal (8–43% of present-day total). Freshwater limitations in some heavily irrigated regions could necessitate reversion of 20–60 Mha of cropland from irrigated to rainfed management, and a further loss of 600–2,900 Pcal. Freshwater abundance in other regions could help ameliorate these losses, but substantial investment in infrastructure would be required. We compare ensembles of water supply and demand projections from 10 global hydrological models and six global gridded crop models. These are produced as part of the Inter-Sectoral Impacts Model Intercomparison Project, with coordination from the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project, and driven by outputs of general circulation models run under representative concentration pathway 8.5 as part of the Fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Models project that direct climate impacts to maize, soybean, wheat, and rice involve losses of 400–1,400 Pcal (8–24% of present-day total) when CO2 fertilization effects are accounted for or 1,400–2,600 Pcal (24–43%) otherwise. Freshwater limitations in some irrigated regions (western United States; China; and West, South, and Central Asia) could necessitate the reversion of 20–60 Mha of cropland from irrigated to rainfed management by end-of-century, and a further loss of 600–2,900 Pcal of food production. In other regions (northern/eastern United States, parts of South America, much of Europe, and South East Asia) surplus water supply could in principle support a net increase in irrigation, although substantial investments in irrigation infrastructure would be required.

agriculture↗

Solar heating for a restaurant--North Little Rock, Arkansas

Hot water consumption of large building affects solar-energy system design. Continual demand for hot water at restaurant makes storage less important than at other sites. Storage capacity of system installed in December 1979 equals estimated daily hot-water requirement. Report describes equipment specifications and modifications to existing building heating and hot water systems.

Source record↗

In-Space Cryogenic Propellant Depot Potential Commercial and Exploration Applications

The key goals and objectives for an In-Space Cryogenic Propellant Depot are to support a safe, reliable, affordable and effective future human and robotic space exploration initiative. Previous studies have been conducted at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to determine technical requirements and feasibility for exploration and commercial potential of an in-space cryogenic propellant depot in low-Earth-orbit (LEO), low-Lunar orbit (LLO) and/or on the lunar surface. Results indicate that in-space cryogenic propellant depots are technically feasible given continued technology development and that there is a substantial growing market that depots could support. Systems studies showed that the most expensive part of transferring payloads to geo-synchronous-orbit (GEO) is the fuel. A cryogenic propellant production and storage depot stationed in LEO could lower the cost of missions to GEO and beyond. Propellant production separates water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. This process requires large amounts of power which is enabled by Space Solar Power technologies. Recent analysis indicate that in the coming decades there could be a significant demand for water-based propellants from Earth, moon, or asteroid resources if in-space transfer vehicles (upper stages) transitioned to reusable systems using water based propellants. This type of strategic planning move could create a substantial commercial market for space resources development, and ultimately lead toward significant commercial infrastructure development within the Earth-Moon system.

Howell, Joe T.↗

Space Resource Requirements for Future In-Space Propellant Production Depots

In 2000 and 2001 studies were conducted at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center on the technical requirements and commercial potential for propellant production depots in low Earth orbit (LEO) to support future commercial, NASA, and other Agency missions. Results indicate that propellant production depots appear to be technically feasible given continued technology development, and there is a substantial growing market that depots could support. Systems studies showed that the most expensive part of transferring payloads to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) is the fuel. A cryogenic propellant production and storage depot stationed in LEO could lower the cost of missions to GEO and beyond. Propellant production separates water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. This process utilizes large amounts of power, therefore a depot derived from advanced space solar power technology was defined. Results indicate that in the coming decades there could be a significant demand for water-based propellants from Earth, moon, or asteroid resources if in-space transfer vehicles (upper stages) transitioned to reusable systems using water based propellants. This type of strategic planning move could create a substantial commercial market for space resources development, and ultimately lead toward significant commercial infrastructure development within the Earth-Moon system.

Smitherman, David↗

Mitigation of Biofouling in Plant Watering Systems Using AgXX, a Novel Surface Treatment

The development of plant growth systems with high yields and low maintenance for food production is a key focus area for NASA. One of the remaining technical challenges is keeping the plant watering systems clean without affecting plant growth, requiring consumables, or demanding crew time. Plant watering systems, such as the one onboard the International Space Station (ISS), provide a nutrient rich environment for biofilm formation. Frequent maintenance is necessary to prevent biofouling, which currently requires crew time and a mechanical means of cleaning. Better solutions are needed. The current ISS practices for biofilm mitigation in the water recovery and distribution system include the use of biocides (silver ion or iodine) along with regular maintenance (e.g. flushing, filter replacement). These biocide-based strategies could be problematic for plant watering systems, such as in Ohalo, the Exploration Garden, and the APH, due to incompatibilities of the biocides with plants. We propose the application of AgXX, a novel antifouling surface treatment that meets the above requirements. This paper will report on an initial study that was completed to determine whether AgXX would be effective in a plant nutrient solution, and whether it would negatively impact plant growth in a hydroponics-type system.

Tesia D. Irwin↗

An Integrated Hydrological and Water Management Study of the Entire Nile River System - Lake Victoria to Nile Delta

The Nile basin River system spans 3 million km(exp 2) distributed over ten nations. The eight upstream riparian nations, Ethiopia, Eretria, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Tanzania and Kenya are the source of approximately 86% of the water inputs to the Nile, while the two downstream riparian countries Sudan and Egypt, presently rely on the river's flow for most of the their needs. Both climate and agriculture contribute to the complicated nature of Nile River management: precipitation in the headwaters regions of Ethiopia and Lake Victoria is variable on a seasonal and inter-annual basis, while demand for irrigation water in the arid downstream region is consistently high. The Nile is, perhaps, one of the most difficult trans-boundary water issue in the world, and this study would be the first initiative to combine NASA satellite observations with the hydrologic models study the overall water balance in a to comprehensive manner. The cornerstone application of NASA's Earth Science Research Results under this project are the NASA Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) and the USDA Atmosphere-land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model. These two complementary research results are methodologically independent methods for using NASA observations to support water resource analysis in data poor regions. Where an LDAS uses multiple sources of satellite data to inform prognostic simulations of hydrological process, ALEXI diagnoses evapotranspiration and water stress on the basis of thermal infrared satellite imagery. Specifically, this work integrates NASA Land Data Assimilation systems into the water management decision support systems that member countries of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD, located in Nairobi, Kenya) use in water resource analysis, agricultural planning, and acute drought response to support sustainable development of Nile Basin water resources. The project is motivated by the recognition that accurate, frequent, and spatially distributed estimates of the water balance are necessary for effective water management. This creates a challenge for watersheds that are large, include data poor regions, and/or span multiple nations. All of these descriptors apply to the Nile River basin, yet successful management of the Nile is critical for development and political stability in the region. For this reason, improved hydrological data to support cooperative water management in the Nile basin is a priority for USAID, the US State Department, the World Bank and other international organizations. In this project, the U.S. based research team is working with partners at RCMRD, Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), and their member national-level agencies to develop satellite-based land cover maps, satellite-derived evapotranspiration estimates (using the ALEXI algorithm), and NASA's Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) customized to match identified information needs. The cornerstone applied sciences product of the project is the development of a customized "Nile LDAS" that will produce optimal estimates of hydrological states and fluxes, as vetted against the in situ observations of NBI and RCMRD member organizations and independent satellite-derived hydrological estimates. Nile LDAS will be applied to improve the reliability of emerging Decision Support Systems in applications that include drought monitoring, reservoir management, and irrigation planning. The end-users such as RCMRD, NBI, Ethiopian and Kenya Meteorological and Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNet) will be the eventual benefactors of this work. There will be a capacity building process involving the above end-user organizations and transfer the models and the results for these organizations to execute for future use. The team has already initiated this study and the early results of first years' work are shown. The plan is to complete this work by late 2013.

Habib, Shahid↗

Global irrigation contribution to wheat and maize yield

Irrigation is the largest sector of human water use and an important option for increasing crop production and reducing drought impacts. However, the potential for irrigation to contribute to global crop yields remains uncertain. Here, we quantify this contribution for wheat and maize at global scale by developing a Bayesian framework integrating empirical estimates and gridded global crop models on new maps of the relative difference between attainable rainfed and irrigated yield (ΔY). At global scale, ΔY is 34 ± 9% for wheat and 22 ± 13% for maize, with large spatial differences driven more by patterns of precipitation than that of evaporative demand. Comparing irrigation demands with renewable water supply, we find 30–47% of contemporary rainfed agriculture of wheat and maize cannot achieve yield gap closure utilizing current river discharge, unless more water diversion projects are set in place, putting into question the potential of irrigation to mitigate climate change impacts.

Irrigation↗

Openet: Applications of Satellite-Based Evapotranspiration Data for Water Resources Management in the Western United States

Advancing water security in overallocated river basins globally requires consistent and reproducible information on consumptive use of water that can anchor the development of data-driven solutions to the challenge of balancing water supply and demand. OpenET is a fully automated system for field-scale (30 m), satellite-based mapping of evapotranspiration (ET) at daily, monthly and annual timesteps. OpenET currently provides spatially contiguous data throughout the 23 westernmost states in the continental US, and includes both current information as well as multi-year timeseries of ET. The OpenET consortium has implemented an ensemble of satellite-based ET models (ALEXI/DisALEXI, eeMETRIC, PT-JPL, geeSEBAL, SIMS and SSEBop) on Google Earth Engine, which provides a shared computing platform for collaboration on processing of data from Landsat and other satellites, land cover and meteorological inputs, leading to increased consistency and accuracy across the ensemble of models. Earth Engine also facilitates hosting and distribution of data via open data collections and an application programming interface. We provide updates on the OpenET framework, open data services and data access tools, approach to geographic expansion, recent accuracy assessments, and describe how a user-driven design approach has facilitated successful applications of OpenET data for a wide range of water resource management activities. Applications to date include: use of ET data to improve quantification of ET and consumptive use in Oregon, Utah and the Upper Colorado River Basin; streamlining of water use reporting requirements in the California Delta; support for calculation of water budgets for the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in California; and integration into decision support tools for irrigation management. The use cases demonstrate how satellite-derived ET data that are easily accessed and seen as broadly accepted can accelerate adoption of innovative water management practices at scale, and support advances in the sustainability of water supplies. Uptake and use of data by the OpenET science community has also led to advances in our understanding of the impacts of landcover change, irrigation intensification and wildfire events on hydrology and the water security.

Applications↗

Vegetation Monitoring Optimization with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Evapotranspiration Using Remote Sensing Measurements and Land Surface Models Over East Africa

The majority of people in East Africa rely on the agro-pastoral system for their livelihood, which is highly vulnerable to droughts and flooding. Agro-pastoral droughts are endemic to the region and are considered the main natural hazard that contributes to food insecurity. Drought begins with rainfall deficit, gradually leading to soil moisture deficit, higher land surface temperature, and finally impacts to vegetation growth. Therefore, monitoring vegetation conditions is essential in understanding the progression of drought, potential effects on food security, and providing early warning information needed for drought mitigation decisions. Because vegetation processes couple the land and atmosphere, monitoring of vegetation conditions requires consideration of both water provision and demand. While there is consensus in using either the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) or evapotranspiration(ET) for vegetation monitoring, a comprehensive assessment optimizing the use of both has not yet been done. Moreover, the evaluation methods for understanding the relationships between NDVI and ET for vegetation monitoring are also limited. Taking these gaps into account we have developed a framework to optimize vegetation monitoring using both NDVI and ET by identifying where they perform the best by using triple collocation and cross-correlation methods. We estimated the random error structure in Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI; ET from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model; and ET from land surface models (LSMs). LSM ET and SSEBop ET have been found to be better indicators for vegetation monitoring during extreme drought events, while NDVI could provide better information on vegetation condition during wetter than normal conditions. The random error structures of these variables suggest that LSM ET is most likely to provide important information for vegetation monitoring over low and high ends of the vegetation fraction areas. Over moderate vegetative areas, any of these variables could provide important vegetation information for drought characterization and food security assessments. While this study provides a framework for optimizing vegetation monitoring for drought and food security assessments over East Africa, the framework can be adopted to optimize vegetation monitoring over any other drought and food insecure region of the world.

triple collocation↗

Projected Changes to Hydroclimate Seasonality in the Continental United States

Future changes to the hydrological cycle are projected in a warming world, and any shifts in drought risk may prove extremely consequential for natural and human systems. In addition to long-term moistening, drying, or warming trends, perturbations to the annual cycle of regional hydroclimate variables may also have substantial impacts. We analyze projected changes in several hydroclimate variables across the continental United States, along with shifts in the amplitude and phase of their annual cycles. We find that even in regions where no robust change in the annual mean is expected, coherent changes to the annual cycle are projected. In particular, we identify robust regional phase shifts toward earlier arrival of peak evaporation in the northern regions, and peak runoff and total soil moisture in the western regions. Changes in the amplitude of the annual cycle of total and surface soil moisture are also projected, and reflect changes to the annual cycle in surface water supply and demand. Whether changes become detectable above the background noise of internal variability depends strongly on the future scenario considered, and significant changes to the annual cycle are largely avoided in the lowest-forcing scenario.

drought↗

Financial feasibility of water conservation in agriculture

Global water use for food production needs to be reduced to remain within planetary boundaries, yet the financial feasibility of crucial measures to reduce water use is poorly quantified. Here, we introduce a novel method to compare the costs of water conservation measures with the added value that reallocation of water savings might generate if used for expansion of irrigation. Based on detailed water accounting through the use of a high-resolution hydrology-crop model, we modify the traditional cost curve approach with an improved estimation of demand, increasing marginal cost per water conservation measure combination and add a correction to control for impacts on downstream water availability. We apply the method to three major river basins in the Indo-Gangetic plain (Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra), a major global food producing region but increasingly water stressed. Our analysis shows that at basin level only about 10% (Brahmaputra) to just over 20% (Indus and Ganges) of potential water savings would be realised; the equilibrium price for water is too low to make the majority of water conservation measures cost effective. The associated expansion of irrigated area is moderate, about 7% in the Indus basin, 5% in the Ganges and negligible in the Brahmaputra, but farmers' gross profit increases more substantially, by 11%. Increasing the volumetric cost of irrigation water influences supply and demand in a similar way and has little influence on water reallocation. Controlling for the impact on return flows is important and more than halves the amount of water available for reallocation.

Geography / Land Utilization↗

Florida Agriculture - Utilizing TRMM to Analyze Sea Breeze Thunderstorm Patterns During El Nino Southern Oscillations and Their Effects Upon Available Fresh Water for South Florida Agricultural Planning and Management

This project utilizes Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Landsat satellite data to assess the impact of sea breeze precipitation upon areas of agricultural land use in southern Florida. Water is a critical resource to agriculture, and the availability of water for agricultural use in Florida continues to remain a key issue. Recent projections of statewide water use by 2020 estimate that 9.3 billion gallons of water per day will be demanded, and agriculture represents 47% of this demand (Bronson 2003). Farmers have fewer options for water supplies than public users and are often limited to using available supplies from surface and ground water sources which depend in part upon variable weather patterns. Sea breeze thunderstorms are responsible for much of the rainfall delivered to Florida during the wet season (May-October) and have been recognized as an important overall contributor of rainfall in southern Florida (Almeida 2003). TRMM satellite data was used to analyze how sea breeze-induced thunderstorms during El Nino and La Nina affected interannual patterns of precipitation in southern Florida from 1998-2009. TRMM's Precipitation Radar and Microwave Imager provide data to quantify water vapor in the atmosphere, precipitation rates and intensity, and the distribution of precipitation. Rainfall accumulation data derived from TRMM and other microwave sensors were used to analyze the temporal and spatial variations of rainfall during each phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Through the use of TRMM and Landsat, slight variations were observed, but it was determined that neither sea breeze nor total rainfall patterns in South Florida were strongly affected by ENSO during the study period. However, more research is needed to characterize the influence of ENSO on summer weather patterns in South Florida. This research will provide the basis for continued observations and study with the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission.

Billiot, Amanda↗