Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Plume transport”

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.

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

At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Spatiotemporal Analyses of Groundwater and Shoreline Cr(VI) Concentrations in the 100 Areas at Hanford

Cleanup efforts have been ongoing since the late 1990s to remediate contaminated waste sites and groundwater in the 100 Areas at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site. One of the primary contaminants of concern is hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), which was used as a corrosion inhibitor in cooling water for nuclear reactors that formerly operated along the shoreline of the Columbia River. Cleanup efforts have included 1) removal, treatment (as needed), and disposal of contaminated sediments; 2) in situ redox manipulation as a permeable reactive barrier; 3) pump-and-treat; 4) soil flushing; and 5) monitored natural attenuation. DOE’s annual groundwater monitoring reports document the significant reductions in Cr(VI) plume areas that have occurred over the past 10 years or more as a result of these cleanup efforts. The Record of Decision for the 100-HR-3 operable unit specified a cleanup level (CUL) for Cr(VI) in groundwater of 48 µg/L to protect human receptors, and a surface water CUL of 10 µg/L to protect aquatic organisms in the Columbia River. The Record of Decision did not specify point-of-compliance locations for the surface water CUL. Data for 2019 from the six groundwater operable units (OUs) in the 100 Areas indicate that the 48 μg/L groundwater CUL has been achieved in 100% of the wells in the 100-BC and 100-NR OUs, and in 89- 97% of the wells in the other OUs (100-KR, 100-HR-D, 100-HR-H, 100-FR). Data for 2019 indicate that 100% of the aquifer tubes monitored for Cr(VI) in the 100 Areas have concentrations below the 48 μg/L groundwater CUL. However, the 10 μg/L standard has not yet been consistently achieved for both inland groundwater monitoring wells and shoreline aquifer tubes. This report describes a series of data analyses performed to identify consistent relationships, if any, between inland well and shoreline Cr(VI) concentrations within the 100 Areas. To this end, select monitoring data for Cr(VI) measured in groundwater and aquifer tubes at the 100 Areas were analyzed for a 10-year period—2010 to 2019. Relationships between inland groundwater plumes and surface-water points of discharge in and along the Columbia River were examined through several analyses that included inland well and aquifer tube concentrations as a function of distance from the shoreline, evaluation of cumulative probability plots, trend analysis, correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and identification of plume trajectories for each of the 100 Areas. The analyses did not identify consistent relationships between inland groundwater Cr(VI) concentrations and shoreline concentrations within the 100 Areas due to several confounding factors influencing groundwater flow directions and Cr(VI) concentrations. The proximity of groundwater Cr(VI) plumes to the river, and the highly dynamic nature of the river, influence the transport behavior of the plumes and create challenges for quantifying attenuation of Cr(VI) between the inland monitoring wells and shoreline concentrations. Other factors contributing to temporal and spatial Cr(VI) concentrations, as supported by some of the data analyses, include the presence of vadose zone sources, variable sorption behavior, and complexities associated with Cr(VI) mass transfer between the upper and lower aquifers and their interactions with the river. Hence, monitoring to assess compliance with target CULs will need to be determined for each area individually since several factors influence Cr(VI) concentrations in the 100 Areas.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2020

Concerning the Interaction of A Transmitted Interplanetary Impulse With A Plasmaspheric Drainage Plume: First Results From 3-D Hybrid Kinetic Modeling

We present a new hybrid kinetic model to simulate the response of plasmaspheric drainage plumes to impulsive interplanetary pressure pulses. Since particle distributions attending the interplanetary pulses and in the drainage plume are non-Maxwellian, wave-particle interactions play a crucial role in energy transport within and outside the plumes. Finite gyroradius effects become important in mass loading of the transmitted impulse with the drainage plume ions. A forward-reverse shock structure develops from the initial step-like transmitted shock. First results show that the impulse causes strong deformations in the global structure of the plume. The anisotropic ion velocity distribution functions at the impulse front and inside the plume help us determine energy transport via wave-particle interactions throughout the Earth’s inner magnetosphere.

A S Lipatov↗
NASA NTRS1994

Numerical simulation of the interaction of transport, diffusion and chemical reactions in an urban plume

A model system is presented that takes into account the main physical and chemical processes on the regional scale here in an area of 100x100 sq km. The horizontal gridsize used is 2x2 sq km. For a case study, it is demonstrated how the model system can be used to separate the contributions of the processes advection, turbulent diffusion, and chemical reactions to the diurnal cycle of ozone. In this way, typical features which are visible in observations and are reproduced by the numerical simulations can be interpreted.

Vogel, Bernhard↗
NASA NTRS2015

Simulation of Wake Vortex Radiometric Detection via Jet Exhaust Proxy

This paper describes an analysis of the potential of an airborne hyperspectral imaging IR instrument to infer wake vortices via turbine jet exhaust as a proxy. The goal was to determine the requirements for an imaging spectrometer or radiometer to effectively detect the exhaust plume, and by inference, the location of the wake vortices. The effort examines the gas spectroscopy of the various major constituents of turbine jet exhaust and their contributions to the modeled detectable radiance. Initially, a theoretical analysis of wake vortex proxy detection by thermal radiation was realized in a series of simulations. The first stage used the SLAB plume model to simulate turbine jet exhaust plume characteristics, including exhaust gas transport dynamics and concentrations. The second stage used these plume characteristics as input to the Line By Line Radiative Transfer Model (LBLRTM) to simulate responses from both an imaging IR hyperspectral spectrometer or radiometer. These numerical simulations generated thermal imagery that was compared with previously reported wake vortex temperature data. This research is a continuation of an effort to specify the requirements for an imaging IR spectrometer or radiometer to make wake vortex measurements. Results of the two-stage simulation will be reported, including instrument specifications for wake vortex thermal detection. These results will be compared with previously reported results for IR imaging spectrometer performance.

Daniels, Taumi S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Ionization effects in three-dimensional solar granulation simulations

These numerical studies show that ionization influences both the transport and dynamical properties of compressible convection near the surface of the Sun. About two-thirds of the enthalpy transported by convective motions in the region of partial hydrogen ionization is carried as latent heat. The role of fast downflow plumes in total convective transport is substantially elevated by this contribution. Instability of the thermal boundary layer is strongly enhanced by temperature sensitive variations in the radiative properties of the fluid, and this provides a mechanism for plume initiation and cell fragmentation in the surface layers. As the plumes descend, temperature fluctuations and associated buoyancy forces are maintained because of the increased specific heat of the partially ionized material. This can result is supersonic vertical flows. At greater depths, ionization effects diminish, and the plumes are decelerated by significant entrainment of surrounding fluid.

Rast, Mark P.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Satellite-Based Assessment of Sediment Transport, Distribution and Resuspension Associated with the Atchafalaya River Discharge Plume

Tbe Atchafalaya River discharges over 80 x 10(exp 6) tons of sediment annually onto the broad shallow continental shelf of central and western Louisiana. Satellite imagery from the NOAA AVHRR and Terra MODIS are used in this paper to quantify suspended sediment concentrations and to assess sediment transport processes along the Louisiana shelf under varying conditions of river discharge and wind forcing. The image data reveal the maim sources of sediment, direction of transport amd regional extent of wind-wave resuspension. The prevailing easterly winds transport much of the suspended sediments westward toward the Chernier Plain in a well-defined mud stream. Westerly flow rates of 25-50 cm/s (21-43 km per day) have been measured, yielding a transit time of about 1.5-2.5 days from the mouth of Atchafalaya Bay to the Chernier Plain. Progradation rates along the Chernier Plain coast reach 50 m per year. The westward-flowing Atchafalaya "mud stream" is rapidly disrupted by westerly winds and northerly winds, which accompany frequent winter storms and less frequent tropical storms or hurricanes. During these events, the coastal current reverses and sediments are rapidly transported out of Atchafalaya Bay and offshore where substantial sedimentary deposits can also be found. Offshore sediment fluxes during storm events, in combination with wind-wave resuspension, can result in surface sediment "plumes" extending 70 km offshore and 150 km alongshore. Field measurements of suspended sediment concentrations, current and wind velocities, and directions are used to assess sediment transport processes on the shelf. These combined processes are extending the pro-delta deposits of the Atchafalaya-Wax Lake delta complex far onto the continental shelf and supplying sediments for a renewal era of progradation along tbe downdrift Chernier Plain coast.

Walker, Nan↗
DOE OSTI2020

Using a coupled dispersion model to estimate depletion of a tritium oxide plume by a forest

Tritium processing facilities may release tritium oxide (HTO) to the atmosphere which poses potential health risks to exposed co-located workers and to offsite individuals. Most radiological consequence analyses determine HTO dose by applying Gaussian plume models to simulate the transport of HTO. Within these models, deposition velocity is used to assess the sum of all deposition processes acting on the plume. While this may account for vegetative and soil uptake or respiration processes, it may currently lack inclusion of the complex interactions within heterogeneous forested environments. In this complex morphology, dispersion patterns are significantly altered by changing flow regimes above and below the forest canopy and by the transfer of plume material across the canopy boundary. To determine the effects of a heterogeneous forest canopy on an airborne HTO plume, a Gaussian plume model coupled with an advection-diffusion plume model was applied to estimate transport in the free atmosphere above the forest and within the forest canopy and understory. During 2012, wind speed and wind direction measurements taken at 5 heights, ranging from 2-m to 28-m, on an instrumented meteorological tower located in a loblolly pine forest at the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS), near Aiken, SC. From these measurements, model predictions were made over a full spectrum of meteorological conditions. Deposition and resuspension velocities were calculated based on the model-predicted flux of plume material across the top of the forest canopy. Additionally, net deposition velocity of the plume material was calculated as the difference between the deposition and resuspension velocities. The 1st and 5th percentile net deposition velocities were estimated to be 0.7 cm s-1 and 1.2 cm s-1, respectively.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
NASA NTRS1984

A dynamic model of Venus's gravity field

Unlike Earth, long wavelength gravity anomalies and topography correlate well on Venus. Venus's admittance curve from spherical harmonic degree 2 to 18 is inconsistent with either Airy or Pratt isostasy, but is consistent with dynamic support from mantle convection. A model using whole mantle flow and a high viscosity near surface layer overlying a constant viscosity mantle reproduces this admittance curve. On Earth, the effective viscosity deduced from geoid modeling increases by a factor of 300 from the asthenosphere to the lower mantle. These viscosity estimates may be biased by the neglect of lateral variations in mantle viscosity associated with hot plumes and cold subducted slabs. The different effective viscosity profiles for Earth and Venus may reflect their convective styles, with tectonism and mantle heat transport dominated by hot plumes on Venus and by subducted slabs on Earth. Convection at degree 2 appears much stronger on Earth than on Venus. A degree 2 convective structure may be unstable on Venus, but may have been stabilized on Earth by the insulating effects of the Pangean supercontinental assemblage.

Kiefer, W. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A dynamic model of Venus's gravity field

Unlike Earth, long wavelength gravity anomalies and topography correlate well on Venus. Venus's admittance curve from spherical harmonic degree 2 to 18 is inconsistent with either Airy or Pratt isostasy, but is consistent with dynamic support from mantle convection. A model using whole mantle flow and a high viscosity near surface layer overlying a constant viscosity mantle reproduces this admittance curve. On Earth, the effective viscosity deduced from geoid modeling increases by a factor of 300 from the asthenosphere to the lower mantle. These viscosity estimates may be biased by the neglect of lateral variations in mantle viscosity associated with hot plumes and cold subducted slabs. The different effective viscosity profiles for Earth and Venus may reflect their convective styles, with tectonism and mantle heat transport dominated by hot plumes on Venus and by subducted slabs on Earth. Convection at degree 2 appears much stronger on Earth than on Venus. A degree 2 convective structure may be unstable on Venus, but may have been stabilized on Earth by the insulating effects of the Pangean supercontinental assemblage.

Kiefer, W. S.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Detection of particulate air pollution plumes from major point sources using ERTS-1 imagery

The Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) launched by NASA in July 1972 has been providing thousands of high resolution multispectral images of interest to geographers, cartographers, hydrologists, and agroculturists. It has been found possible to detect the long-range (over 50 km) transport of suspected particulate plumes from the Chicago-Gary steel mill complex over Lake Michigan. The observed plumes are readily related to known steel mills, a cement plant, refineries, and fossil-fuel power plants. This has important ramifications when discussing the interregional transport of atmospheric pollutants. Analysis reveals that the Multispectral Scanner Band 5 (0.6 to 0.7 micrometer) provides the best overall contrast between the smoke and the underlying water surface.

Lyons, W. A.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Initial Uncertainty Analysis of Carbon Tetrachloride Contamination and Remediation in the Ringold A and Lower Mud Units at the Central Plateau

The long-term effectiveness of groundwater cleanup at the Hanford Site Central Plateau depends on predictive models that can capture key uncertainties in contaminant fate and transport. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ), a persistent and toxic compound, presents particular challenges due to variability in degradation rates, uncertainty in initial plume distribution, and subsurface heterogeneity. These uncertainties directly influence plume persistence, migration pathways, and remedy performance, and thus must be systematically evaluated to support long-term remediation planning. To address these gaps, a large-scale Monte Carlo analysis was conducted using the Plateau to River (P2R) model framework. The modeling approach parameterized three primary uncertainty factors: (1) degradation rate, (2) initial plume distribution, and (3) hydraulic conductivity. Degradation was represented as a first-order process, with half-lives ranging from 70 to 700 years. Initial plume distributions were created using a geostatistical simulation method (sgsim), which generates many equally plausible versions of how contaminants might be distributed underground. From this, 100 different scenarios were mapped onto the P2R grid. Variability in hydraulic conductivity was represented in a similar way, with 100 scenarios each for the Ringold Lower Mud and Ringold A units (layers 6 and 7), based on fitted exponential variograms and conditioned to well data. In total, more than 1000 realizations were simulated to assess plume behavior under uncertainty. Results demonstrate that degradation kinetics exert the strongest control over plume persistence: Shorter half-lives produced rapid mass reduction, while longer half-lives yielded persistent plumes with limited attenuation. A nonlinear response was observed, with steep mass reductions at half-lives greater than 200 years and near-linear declines beyond this threshold, reflecting interactions between degradation and pumping. The initial plume distribution strongly influenced early transport patterns, with broader sources generating larger plume footprints, although pump-and-treat operations constrained plume migration to managed areas. By comparison, hydraulic conductivity variability in the Ringold units had only a secondary influence, modifying spreading behavior without altering the dominant migration pathways governed by source configuration and hydraulic controls. Overall, the analysis highlights that uncertainty in degradation rate and initial plume configuration are the primary drivers of variability in plume predictions, while conductivity heterogeneity plays a limited role. These findings underscore the need for improved site-specific data on degradation processes and source characterization to enhance the reliability of long-term performance assessments and to better inform remedial decision-making at the Central Plateau.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1993

Comparison of FDNS liquid rocket engine plume computations with SPF/2

Prediction of a plume's shape and structure is essential to the evaluation of base region environments. The JANNAF standard plume flowfield analysis code SPF/2 predicts plumes well, but cannot analyze base regions. Full Navier-Stokes CFD codes can calculate both zones; however, before they can be used, they must be validated. The CFD code FDNS3D (Finite Difference Navier-Stokes Solver) was used to analyze the single plume of a Space Transportation Main Engine (STME) and comparisons were made with SPF/2 computations. Both frozen and finite rate chemistry models were employed as well as two turbulence models in SPF/2. The results indicate that FDNS3D plume computations agree well with SPF/2 predictions for liquid rocket engine plumes.

Kumar, G. N.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Influence of background sources and topographic resolution in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model on xenon plume characteristics at monitoring stations

For many atmospheric monitoring applications, networks of measurement sites—such as the radionuclide stations of the International Monitoring System—can be sparse. With measurement locations potentially hundreds to thousands of kilometers from a release it is important to quantify the effects of physical processes on transport and dispersion of plumes between source and measurement locations. This study addresses the effects of background sources and topography resolution near the release location of radionuclides. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with inline chemistry to investigate (1) how an additional, time-varying source of 133 Xe, such as an operational medical isotope production facility, contributes to activity concentration measurements at monitoring sites, and (2) how complex topography influences on atmospheric conditions near emission sources impact plume concentrations at varying distances from the source. Two 133 Xe emission sources, including (1) a high flux rate of short duration representing an explosive event, and (2) a variable and continuous background source, are simulated. The continuous background source contributes significantly to total 133 Xe concentrations at several monitoring stations. Further, a WRF simulation at 9 km horizontal resolution is compared with a nested grid simulation, where the innermost domain has a resolution of 1 km. Increased topographic resolution leads to an improved representation of plume responses to local winds, with topographic influences greatest at locations closest to the sources. Differences between the two domain resolutions decrease at greater distances from the sources, as plumes have time to spread and mix and are influenced by synoptic scale circulation patterns that are represented similarly in both simulations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2016

Evaluation of Modeled Vertical Distribution of Atmospheric SO2 and Sulfate in UTLS

We evaluated the vertical profiles of both SO2 and sulfate in the AEROCOM (Aerosol Model Intercomparison) Phase II participating models. SO2 and sulfate show significant concentration gradient in both horizontal and vertical directions. Both online and offline aerosol transport models show large difference in the vertical distribution of sulfur species from surface all the way up to lower stratosphere. Comparison with available aircraft measurements suggests models agree with observations well when SO2 concentration is high. For the volcanic plumes, the injection height and magnitude determines initial SO2 plume distribution and following transport pattern. At high altitude, where the background concentration of SO2 is often below the detection limit of the current aircraft instruments and satellite retrievals, modeled SO2 and sulfate concentration, lifetime, and budget, as well as their uncertainties can be difficult to be accurately quantified.

volcanic plumes↗
NASA NTRS1988

Propagation of vortex rings and starting plumes in high and low g

The propagation of vortex rings and starting plumes during crystal growth in supercooled solutions was investigated in variable gravity environment created by acceleration-deceleration routine of a NASA's KC-135 flight. A specially designed crystal growth cell was used to study convection around crystals growing in supersaturated solutions of Na2SO4 and NaCl aboard the NASA KC-135. The results of vertical velocity measurements have shown that a continuously fed plume attains a higher velocity than the individual vortex ring. The results also indicated that the vortex ring decelerates as it propagates, and slows down much more rapidly than the starting plume, indicating a less efficient transport. It is suggested that inertial effects and buoyancy effects on vortex and plume propagation can be separated in the controlled environment of a Space Station borne centrifuge.

Hallett, J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

HYSPLIT/MACCS Atmospheric Dispersion Model Technical Documentation and Benchmark Analysis

The nuclear accident consequence analysis code MACCS has traditionally modeled dispersion during downwind transport using a Gaussian plume segment model. MACCS is designed to estimate consequence measures such as air concentrations and ground depositions, radiological doses, and health and economic impacts on a statistical basis over the course of a year to produce annualaveraged output measures. The objective of this work is to supplement the Gaussian atmospheric transport and diffusion (ATD) model currently in MACCS with a new option using the HYSPLIT model. HYSPLIT/MACCS coupling has been implemented, with HYSPLIT as an alternative ATD option. The subsequent calculations in MACCS use the HYSPLIT-generated air concentration, and ground deposition values to calculate the same range of output quantities (dose, health effects, risks, etc.) that can be generated when using the MACCS Gaussian ATD model. Based on the results from the verification test cases, the implementation of the HYSPLIT/MACCS coupling is confirmed. This report contains technical details of the HYSPLIT/MACCS coupling and presents a benchmark analysis using the HYSPLIT/MACCS coupling system. The benchmark analysis, which involves running specific scenarios and sensitivity studies designed to examine how the results generated by the traditional MACCS Gaussian plume segment model compare to the new, higher fidelity HYSPLIT/MACCS modeling option, demonstrates the modeling results that can be obtained by using this new option. The comparisons provided herein can also help decision-makers evaluate the potential benefit of using results based on higher fidelity modeling with the additional computational burden needed to perform the calculations. Three sensitivity studies to investigate the potential impact of alternative modeling options, regarding 1) input meteorological data set, 2) method to estimate stability class, and 3) plume dispersion model for larger distances, on consequence results were also performed. The results of these analyses are provided and discussed in this report.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗