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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 919 records · Page 51

Mojo: MLIR-based Performance-Portable HPC Science Kernels on GPUs for the Python Ecosystem

We explore the performance and portability of the novel Mojo language for scientific computing workloads on GPUs. As the first language based on the LLVM’s Multi-Level Intermediate Representation (MLIR) compiler infrastructure, Mojo aims to close performance and productivity gaps by combining Python’s interoperability and CUDA-like syntax for compile-time portable GPU programming. We target four scientific workloads: a seven-point stencil (memory-bound), BabelStream (memory-bound), miniBUDE (compute-bound), and Hartree–Fock (compute-bound with atomic operations); and compare their performance against vendor baselines on NVIDIA H100 and AMD MI300A GPUs. We show that Mojo’s performance is competitive with CUDA and HIP for memory-bound kernels, whereas gaps exist on AMD GPUs for atomic operations and for fast-math compute-bound kernels on both AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. Although the learning curve and programming requirements are still fairly low-level, Mojo can close significant gaps in the fragmented Python ecosystem in the convergence of scientific computing and AI.

Godoy, William [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000225905178)↗

Land-Management Options for Greenhouse Gas Removal and Their Impacts on Ecosystem Services and the Sustainable Development Goals

Land-based greenhouse gas removal (GGR) options include afforestation/reforestation, wetland restoration, soil carbon sequestration, biochar, terrestrial enhanced weathering and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. We assess the opportunities and risks associated with these options through the lens of their potential impacts on ecosystems services (Nature’s Contributions to People; NCPs) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We find that all land-based GGRs options contribute positively to at least some NCPs and SDGs. Wetland restoration and soil carbon sequestration almost exclusively deliver positive impacts. A few GGR options, such as afforestation, BECCS and biochar potentially impact negatively on some NCPs and SDGs, particularly when implemented at scale, largely through competition for land. For those that present risks, or are least well understood more research is required, and demonstration projects need to proceed with caution. For options that present low risks and provide co-benefits, implementation can proceed more rapidly following “no regrets” principles.

greenhouse gas removal, Carbon Dioxide Removal, CD↗

Metabolic dependencies govern microbial syntrophies during methanogenesis in an anaerobic digestion ecosystem

Methanogenesis, a biological process mediated by complex microbial communities, has attracted great attention due to its contribution to global warming and potential in biotechnological applications. The current study unveiled the core microbial methanogenic metabolisms in anaerobic vessel ecosystems by applying combined genome-centric metagenomics and metatranscriptomics. Here, we demonstrate that an enriched natural system, fueled only with acetate, could support a bacteria-dominated microbiota employing a multi-trophic methanogenic process. Moreover, significant changes, in terms of microbial structure and function, were recorded after the system was supplemented with additional H 2 . Methanosarcina thermophila, the predominant methanogen prior to H 2 addition, simultaneously performed acetoclastic, hydrogenotrophic, and methylotrophic methanogenesis. The methanogenic pattern changed after the addition of H 2 , which immediately stimulated Methanomicrobia-activity and was followed by a slow enrichment of Methanobacteria members. Interestingly, the essential genes involved in the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway were not expressed in bacterial members. The high expression of a glycine cleavage system indicated the activation of alternative metabolic pathways for acetate metabolism, which were reconstructed in the most abundant bacterial genomes. Moreover, as evidenced by predicted auxotrophies, we propose that specific microbes of the community were forming symbiotic relationships, thus reducing the biosynthetic burden of individual members. These results provide new information that will facilitate future microbial ecology studies of interspecies competition and symbiosis in methanogenic niches.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Data for "Field-scale Evaluation of Ecosystem Service Benefits of Bioenergy Switchgrass"

Purpose-grown perennial herbaceous species are nonfood crops specifically cultivated for bioenergy production and have the potential to secure bioenergy feedstock resources while enhancing ecosystem services. This study assessed soil greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and N2O), nitrate (NO3-N) leaching reduction potential, evapotranspiration (ET), and water-use efficiency (WUE) of bioenergy switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) in comparison to corn ( Zea mays L.). The study was conducted on field-scale plots in Urbana, IL, during the 2020–2022 growing seasons. Switchgrass was established in 2020 and urea-fertilized at 56 kg N ha−1 year−1. Corn management followed best management practices for the US Midwest, including no-till and 202 kg N ha−1 year−1 fertilization, applied as urea–ammonium nitrate (32%). Our results showed lower direct N2O emissions in switchgrass compared to corn. Although soil CO2 emissions did not differ significantly during the establishment year, emissions in subsequent years were over 50% higher in switchgrass than in corn, likely due to increased belowground biomass, which was over five times higher in switchgrass. Nitrate-N leaching decreased as the switchgrass stand matured, reaching 80% lower than in corn by the third year. Differences in ET and WUE between corn and switchgrass were not significant; however, results indicate a trend toward reduced WUE in switchgrass under drought, driven by lower aboveground biomass production. Our study demonstrates that switchgrass can be implemented at a commercial scale without negatively impacting the hydrological cycle, while potentially reducing N losses through nitrate-N leaching and soil N2O emissions, and enhancing belowground C storage.

field data↗

Compositional stability of peat in ecosystem-scale warming mesocosms

Peatlands historically have acted as a C sink because C-fixation rates exceeded the rate of heterotrophic decomposition. Under future warmer conditions predicted for higher latitudes, however, that balance may shift towards higher rates of heterotrophic respiration leading to the release of previously stored C as CO 2 and CH 4 . The Spruce and Peatlands Response Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment is designed to test the response of peatlands to climate forcing using a series of warmed enclosures in combination with peat below-ground heating from 0 to +9°C above ambient conditions. This experimental design allowed a test of chemical changes occurring within peatland soils following five years of warming. We analyzed samples in the uppermost 2m of peat using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) to quantify the relative abundance of carbohydrate and aromatic compounds in the peat. The peat soils were subjected to deep peat heating (DPH) beginning in June of 2014 followed by whole ecosystem warming (WEW) in August of 2015. We found that the relative amounts of labile and recalcitrant chemical compound groups across the full peat depth interval did not significantly change after five years of exposure to warming. This appears the case even though previous studies have shown that net C losses and loss of bulk peat mass to be instability over that time period. Results suggest that the current store of carbon in peatlands are largely compositionally stable leading to no changes the in the ratio of chemical moieties on the initial four-year timescale of this experiment.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Data and scripts associated with the manuscript "A Hydrogeophysical Framework to Assess Infiltration During a Simulated Ecosystem-Scale Flooding Experiment”

This package contains the data and scripts used in "A hydrogeophysical framework to assess infiltration during a simulated ecosystem-scale flooding experiment" (Adebayo et al., 2023). The Geophysics folder contains two subfolders containing Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) datasets acquired between August 23 and August 26, 2021. The GPR subfolder contains raw data (Tempest_Project.GPZ) and processed results using the Sensors and Software EKKO Project software. The ERI subfolder contains two additional subfolders named Static and Timelapse. The Static subfolder contains background resistivity datasets acquired before infiltration, both raw and inverted results using the ResIpy code. The Timelapse subfolder contains repeated resistivity datasets acquired during infiltration on two profiles, along with raw and inverted results using the ResIpy code. The Flow model folder contains ATS model simulation files. The Geophysics-informed subfolder contains simulation datasets for two profiles generated using information from the geophysics data. The National_database-informed subfolder contains simulation datasets for two profiles generated using information from a national soil database. Each subfolder contains initial simulation results, multiple ensembles, and final simulation files. The Sensitivity_analysis folder contains the observation files exported from the flow model, notebooks used in running the code, and sensitivity analysis results showing the sensitivity of different parameters over a 48-hour period. We used mutual information-based global sensitivity analysis for the sensitivity analysis, following Jiang et al., 2022. This study shows a novel approach that integrates geophysical data with hydrological modeling to understand subsurface flow during coastal flooding.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Experimental Soil Warming Impacts Soil Moisture and Plant Water Stress and Thereby Ecosystem Carbon Dynamics (Blodgett, CA)

This dataset contains data on daily soil temperature, moisture and flux, and soil carbon stock and root biomass across a soil profile down to 100 cm depth at Blodgett Forest Research Station, CA, USA. These data were generated to determine if modeling of an experimental soil warming of 4C showed increased soil CO2 emissions and changes in bulk soil carbon stocks with depth consistent with field observations, as part of the study: Riley et al. (2025) Experimental Soil Warming Impacts Soil Moisture and Plant Water Stress and Thereby Ecosystem Carbon Dynamics in Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems. This research was performed within the framework of the TES Belowground Biogeochemistry SFA project, in particular association with a 1 m-deep experimental soil heating experiment at the University of California Blodgett Forest Research Station, California (120 ° 39′40′′W; 38 ° 54′43′′N). Continuous data were collected at the plot level, and bulk soil carbon and root biomass were sampled once a year from each plot from 0-100 cm, in 10 cm intervals. Measurements relevant to the current study include soil temperature and soil volumetric water content measured continuously at multiple depths in the top meter; fine root biomass and SOC stocks measured from annual soil cores. Soil flux was continuously monitored using a LI-8100 Automated CO2 Flux System in conjunction with the LI-8150 Multiplexer (Licor, Nebraska, USA). Soil flux was determined using SoilFluxPro software, with flux values showing an R² fit of less than 0.9 being excluded from the analysis. Data were collected from each paired plot (1-3): one control (C) and one heated (H).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

COMPASS-FME Terrestrial Ecosystem Manipulation to Probe the Effects of Storm Treatments (TEMPEST) Soil Greenhouse Gas Fluxes 04/2020-06/2024

Both raw and processed data measured using a LI-COR 7810 Greenhouse Gas Analyzer in the TEMPEST experiment, part of COMPASS-FME (https://compass.pnnl.gov/FME/COMPASSFME), at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. This ecosystem-scale experiment probes the effects of saltwater versus freshwater flooding in a coastal deciduous forest.The data consist of both concentrations and fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane measured using static chambers on the soil surface, approximately every two weeks from early 2020 to mid 2024. Some of the measurement points are controls, and some subject to root-exclusion techniques; all measurements are embedded in the TEMPEST control, freshwater, and saltwater plots (see Hopple et al. 2023). These data were generated to understand changing soil greenhouse gas (CO2 and CH4) production and consumption. File types are comma-separated value (.csv) for data, and markdown (.md) for supplementary information.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Soil microbial ecology and microbiome-metabolite linkages improve understanding of ecosystem states along terrestrial-aquatic interfaces

These data are from Bandopadhyay et al., "Soil microbial ecology and microbiome-metabolite linkages improve understanding of ecosystem states along terrestrial-aquatic interfaces". This study aims to understand the soil microbial ecology along terrestrial-aquatic interfaces of a freshwater and estuarine region and how it relates to organic matter. We analyzed soil microbial (16S rRNA gene) and organic matter (Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, FTICR-MS) composition from upland (forested), transition (stressed forest), and wetland positions at three sites in each of the Lake Erie (freshwater) and Chesapeake Bay (estuarine) regions. This dataset includes 16S rRNA gene amplicon data (only processed file types included here) and organic matter composition from FTICR-MS data (raw and processed files included here) from upland (forested), transition (stressed forest), and wetland positions at three sites in each of the Lake Erie and Chesapeake Bay regions. These sites are part of the COMPASS-FME project (https://compass.pnnl.gov/FME/COMPASSFME). File formats and software needed to access files: 16S rRNA gene amplicon data: These files follow the format reported here https://ess-dive.gitbook.io/amplicon-sequencing-reporting-format#updates-in-v1.0.1. As per this format, there are four file types reported: 1. Taxon tables (also called sequence-by-sample or OTU (operational taxonomic unit)/ESV (exact sequence variant) tables) : available in a .txt file format and accessible using TextEdit or MS Excel. 2. Representative sequences (also called consensus sequences) : available in a .fasta format and accessible using TextEdit. 3. Sequencing metadata : available in a MS Excel workbook file format and CSV file format 4. Bioinformatic metadata : available in a MS Excel workbook file format and CSV file format FTICR-MS data: 1. Raw data converted to a processed file with intensities of the peaks in the given samples : available in a MS Excel CSV file format 2. Processed file used in analyses and visualizations (appended as icr_long_) : available in a MS Excel CSV file format 3. Metadata file for ICR features (appended as icr_meta) : available in a MS Excel CSV file format

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

ELM model simulations of Plum Island Ecosystems LTER low marsh site 2018-2020

Model simulations using the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) land model (ELM) with improved capabilities to represent vegetation response to salinity and inundation. The simulations were conducted for a tidal salt marsh at Plum Island Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site near Rowley, Massachusetts, USA; the site is a low marsh dominated by Spartina alterniflora. The model was forced with site-specific meteorology, salinity and tidal cycles from 2018-2020. Four sets of model simulations are included and described below:1. Parameterization of the salinity response function. These simulations tested different combinations of values for optimal salinity and salinity tolerance.2. Model evaluation. This comparison conducted simulations using the default model, the salinity function only, the submergence function only, and both the salinity and submergence functions. 3. Salinity scenarios. These simulations used the 2018 salinity input data varied by -5 to +10 ppt salinity.4. Water level scenarios. These simulations used the tide height varied by -10 to +50 cm. These simulations were used to demonstrate how the salinity and submergence functions better represent carbon uptake by tidal salt marshes.The data package includes netCDF files used as forcing files for tide height and salinity, one for each year 2018-2020 at observed salinity concentrations, and an additional three forcing files in which salinity concentrations were varied 5 ppt lower, 5 ppt higher, and 10 ppt higher than the measured 2018 time series. Also included are python scripts for creating forcing files, plain text parameter and command files for running simulations, model outputs in netCDF format, and python scripts for visualizing outputs. Code for the modified E3SM model is archived in Sulman et al 2023 at doi:10.15485/1991625. More detail about files is provided in the README.md file.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

EXCHANGE Campaign Degradation (ECD): Understanding Decomposition Dynamics Across Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes Coastal Ecosystems

The EXploration of Coastal Hydrobiogeochemistry Across a Network of Gradients and Experiments (EXCHANGE) Degradation Experiment (EXCHANGE-D) is an in situ experiment designed to assess organic matter decomposition rates across coastal terrestrial-aquatic interfaces (TAIs), from coastal uplands through transition zones to wetlands. Through a network of partner scientists and coastal sites, we are testing how environmental gradients shape decomposition and carbon dynamics across terrestrial-aquatic interfaces. Using standardized tea bag substrates deployed across a network of diverse coastal sites, we compare decomposition rates at different fresh- and salt-water TAIs to develop transferable knowledge that improves the representation of organic matter degradation in coastal ecosystem models. For more information, please see https://compass.pnnl.gov/FME/EXCHANGE. This is Version 1 of the data package, which includes: ecd_README.pdf flmd.csv dd.csv ecd_soil_weom_L2.csv ecd_soil_ph_conductivity_L2.csv ecd_soil_gwc_L2.csv ecd_soil_teabag_degradation_L2.csv ecd_readme.pdf

coastal soils↗

AmeriFlux US-GCE Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Flux Tower

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-GCE Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Flux Tower. Site Description - Spartina alterniflora-dominated salt marsh on the interior of Sapelo Island, a barrier island on the Georgia Coast. The GCE-LTER research program was initiated in September 2000, and the eddy covariance flux tower was deployed in the salt marsh in July 2013. Septmber - March has North-northeast winds has SURFACE_HOMOGENEITY of 270m.

Mishra, Deepak [University of Georgia]↗

kokkos-fft: A shared-memory FFT for the Kokkos ecosystem

kokkos-fft provides a unified, performance-portable interface for Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) within the Kokkos ecosystem (C. Trott et al., 2021). It seamlessly integrates with leading local FFT libraries including FFTW, cuFFT, rocFFT, and oneMKL. Designed for simplicity and efficiency, kokkos-fft offers a user experience akin to numpy.fft for in-place and out-of-place transforms, while leveraging the raw speed of vendor-optimized libraries. A demonstration solving 2D Hasegawa-Wakatani turbulence with the Fourier spectral method illustrates how kokkos-fft can deliver significant speedups over Python-based alternatives without drastically increasing code complexity, empowering researchers to perform high-performance FFTs simply and effectively.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Modeled and Measured Ecosystem Respiration in Maize-Soybean Systems Over 10 Years

Crop residue is an abundant resource for the potential production of biofuels, but a better understanding of its use on net carbon emissions must be developed to mitigate climate change. This analysis combines two established crop growth models (Hybrid-Maize and Soysim) with a simple soil and crop residue respiration model to estimate daily ecosystem respiration (ERe) from maize and soybean; ERe was estimated to be the sum of CO 2 emissions from the oxidation of the growing crop, crop residue, and soil organic carbon (SOC). Model-estimated CO 2 fluxes from irrigated continuous maize and irrigated maize–soybean cropping systems in eastern Nebraska were compared with tower eddy covariance measurements of CO 2 fluxes from 2001 to 2010 from those fields. Modeled C emissions closely estimated measured seasonal patterns of CO 2 dynamics and measured daily ERe ( R 2 : 0.87, 0.84). Measured and modeled annual ERe values were also compared and better agreement was found in maize compared to soybean. As there are limited comparisons of modeled soil emissions with eddy covariance measured CO 2 fluxes, this study is important for the validation of these types of models and to support their potential use in quantifying emissions from crop residue for biofuels.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Final Report “Physiological, demographic, competitive and biogeochemical controls on the response of California’s ecosystems to environmental change”

The Loma Ridge Global Change Experiment is a large, well-replicated water and nitrogen input manipulation in the Santa Ana Mountain foothills that operated with DOE support from 2006 to 2015. The experiment considers the effects of increased and decreased water input and increased N input on two adjacent ecosystem types: California Annual Grassland (GL), which is dominated by exotic, Eurasian grasses and forbs, and Coastal Sage Shrubland (CSS), which is dominated by native, drought deciduous, perennial shrubs. The experiment proceeded in two phases: "Phase I Severe treatment", and "Phase II Return to ambient". Phase I showed very rapid change in species composition or ANPP with altered water or N input (low resistance), whereas Phase II showed a very rapid return to initial conditions once ambient water or N input were restored (high resilience). The severe drought treatment killed most of the shrubs in the dry plots and opened the canopy to herbaceous species, but this damage was ephemeral, and the shrubland community is recovering through the mechanisms and patterns that more typically mediate recovery from crown fire. The pattern of low resistance and high resilience carries implications for other "global change experiments", which have often also seen large and rapid treatment effects (low resistance), but have less frequently considered the subsequent recovery or resilience of the system.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Pajarito Aerosol Couplings to Ecosystems (PACE) Field Campaign Report

Laboratory (LANL) worked on the Pajarito Aerosol Couplings to Ecosystems (PACE) intensive operational period (IOP). PACE’s primary goal was to demonstrate routine Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS) field operations and improve instrumental and operational performance. LANL operated the instruments efficiently and effectively with remote guidance by the instrument mentors. This was the first time a complex suite of instruments had been operated under the ARM model and it proved to be a very successful and cost-effective model to build upon.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program: Restoration Design Challenges for Topographic Mounds, Channel Outlets, and Reed Canarygrass

The purpose of this study was to provide science-based information to practitioners and managers of restoration projects in the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP) regarding aspects of restoration techniques that currently pose known challenges and uncertainties. The CEERP is a program of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Portland District, in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service and five estuary sponsors implementing restoration. The estuary sponsors are Columbia Land Trust, Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce, Cowlitz Tribe, Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The scope of the research conducted during federal fiscal year 2015 included three aspects of hydrologic reconnection that were selected based on available scientific information and feedback from restoration practitioners during project reviews: the design of mounds (also called hummocks, peninsulas, or berms); the control of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinaceae); and aspects of channel network design related to habitat connectivity for juvenile salmonids.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Fluxes of CO 2 , CH 4 , CO, BVOCs, NOx, and O 3 in an Old Growth Amazonian Forest: Ecosystem Processes, Carbon Cycle, Atmospheric Chemistry, and Feedbacks on Climate

A comprehensive, merged data set of trace gases (NO, NO 2 , CO 2 , CH 4 and O 3 ) along with has been tabulated and subjected to meticulous quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC). The merged data set is being submitted to the ARM website dedicated to the Green Ocean Experiment: https://www.arm.gov/research/campaigns/amf2014goamazon Analysis using the final data set is in progress to determine the magnitudes of the fluxes for CH 4 , H 2 O, CO 2 , O 3 , NO x , sensible and latent heat, momentum, and their seasonal variations. Here are summary statements, from the discussion above: Total NO fluxes were calculated following Keller et al., 1986. A vertical gradient is established in the mixing ratio of NO because it is emitted at the soil surface and mixed upward in the atmosphere (see above). Once in the atmosphere, the NO reacts rapidly with O 3 to produce NO 2 (NO + O 3 → NO 2 + O 2 ). Therefore, if the vertical profiles of the mixing ratios of NO and O 3 are known, the surface flux of NO may be determined. If any other reaction removes NO (e.g., deposition on leaves), FNO should estimate the lower limit to the NO flux from the soil in this forest. Our preliminary results show fluxes of NO averaged 133 x 10 9 molecules cm -2 s -1 , a factor of 4 higher than fluxes previously observed in white sand soils in the Amazon, and a factor of 3 to 14 higher than fluxes observed for yellow clay soils (Bakwin et al., 1990 and references therein). The soil in the km 67 site is predominately oxisol with pockets of sandy ultisols, both having low reduced nutrient contents, mostly due to efficient microorganism decomposition and acid leaching by rain water. Oxisols contain both oxidized and reduced forms of nitrogen, of which concentrations vary independently of leaching (Jordan et al., 1982), with most part of the cycling processes occurring in the top layers. Methane fluxes showed no statistical difference between 2015 wet and dry seasons, and the forest at this site appear to be a methane sink throughout the year. The vertical profiles suggest that if a methane source exists in this forest, it might be in the canopy. Next steps include modeling and analysis using the Master Chemical Mechanism (Jenkin et al., 1997; Saunders et al., 2003 (A/B); http://mcm.leeds.ac.uk/MCM/) and the Ecosystem Demography-2 (ED-2) model. A final manuscript with the results from this work is in preparation and expected to be submitted for publication within the next several months. Publications to date are listed below.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗