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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Status and results from the CUORE experiment

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a tonne-scale cryogenic experiment located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso that exploits bolometric technique to search for neutrinoless double beta decay [0$vββ$] of 130 Te. The detector consists of a segmented array of 988 natural TeO 2 cubic crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers. The detector construction was completed in August 2016 and data taking started in Spring 2017. Here, we present a brief description of the bolometric technique for rare events search and the CUORE detector, then we concentrate on the data analysis results. In this respect, we focus on the procedure for data processing and on the first 0$vββ$ results we obtained from a total TeO 2 exposure of 86.3 kg · yr. Next, we illustrate the main background sources and the CUORE background model, from which we obtain the most precise measurement of 130 Te 2$vββ$ half-life to date. Finally, we discuss the improvements achieved with 2018 and 2019 detector optimization campaigns and the current perspectives of our experiment.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

In Search of a Cost-Effective Approach for Estimating Dam Passage Survival

Abstract Passage of downstream-migrating fishes through hydropower dams poses a management issue in rivers throughout the world. As such, regulations have been enacted at many locales to understand and limit fish losses by requiring dam passage survival estimation. However, limiting estimates of survival to the dam and immediate tailrace presents a challenge to researchers. In this study, two alternative release–recapture methods were used to estimate dam passage survival of juvenile salmonids through Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River, Washington, in 2018. One approach, the virtual/paired-release (ViPRe) model, was extensively used in the Columbia–Snake River basin at federally operated hydroelectric dams during 2010–2014. This existing approach uses three releases of tagged smolts to isolate dam passage survival, defined as survival from the upstream dam face to the tailrace mixing zone 1–2 km downstream of the dam. An alternative approach, the virtual release/dead-fish correction (ViRDCt) model, uses one live-release group paired with a release of dead tagged fish at the dam to estimate the same survival parameter. The alternative estimation approaches were tested on two spring out-migrating stocks, yearling Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss, and on a summer out-migrating stock of subyearling Chinook Salmon. The alternative estimates for these stocks were all within 1 SE. However, the ViRDCt model produced survival estimates with SEs that were 59% smaller than those of the existing ViPRe model and did so using 42% fewer tagged fish and one less downstream acoustic detection array. Because of the reduced sample size, nearly US$540,000 less in tag costs and 4,000 fewer labor-hours were required to implement the ViRDCt model compared to the ViPRe model. As such, the ViRDCt model represents a cost-effective and precise approach to characterizing dam passage survival.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessing Carbon Properties in Coastal Waters with a New Observing System Testbed

Large rainfall events over land can lead to a substantial flux of carbon and nutrients to estuaries and the coastal ocean. In the mid-Atlantic on the east coast of North America (35° - 42° N), these events often happen due to tropical storm activity as well as less predictable anomalously large midlatitude storms or abrupt spring snow melt runoff. Storms can directly impact the coastal carbon cycle via export of carbon from land to sea, while also stimulating phytoplankton production due to the influx of nutrients to the coastal ocean. To assess the impact of high precipitation and river flow events on the coastal carbon cycle, we have integrated multiple observing platforms in an analytical framework to dynamically observe carbon-related properties. The new observing system testbed (NOS-T) allows for an estimate of phytoplankton and organic carbon stocks in the surface ocean, with a goal of providing near real time analytical capability. A case study of high river discharge in the mid-Atlantic in the summer and fall of 2018 and 2021 were used to examine how riverine carbon manifests along the land-estuary-ocean continuum particularly in Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Bay was chosen as the study site because of long term monitoring by the Chesapeake Bay Program and a robust and well-developed regional biogeochemical modeling system, the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Forecast System (CBEFS), that is publicly available. There is also new capability in Chesapeake Bay to combine hyperspectral radiometric data from the Aerosol Robotic Network site that is online in 2022 with in-water observations of optical properties. Precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Measurement IMERG data set was used to establish triggering criteria for storm carbon flux observation. USGS and in-water carbon data were used to establish statistical models to estimate the mass flux of organic carbon into Chesapeake Bay using measured river discharge. The year 2018 was examined as there was record rainfall and near record river flow in the late summer. The CBEFS modeling was compared with in-water estimates of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to assess the model’s ability to capture storm fluxes of carbon to the ecosystem. Multiple satellite platforms were also used to assess how remote sensing using passive Earth orbiting sensors can be used to observe carbon in this complex coastal region. A set of recommendations have been established to improve sensing capability to measure aquatic carbon during storm events. A unique challenge in these dynamic inland waters is how rapidly carbon fluxes can evolve in space and time, with many sources contributing to the water leaving reflectance that satellites can observe. To improve our ability to quantify carbon stocks and fluxes in near real time, a suite of satellite sensors and high-resolution modeling capability is needed, all supplemented by in situ monitoring. Future inclusion of in-water observations that would be deployed when the system reaches triggering criteria, as well as taskable orbital instruments, will improve estimates of ocean carbon properties and provide the ability to calculate major carbon stocks and fluxes in near real time following episodic storm events.

land-ocean continuum↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advanced eLectrical Bus (ALBus) CubeSat: From Build to Flight

The Advanced eLectrical Bus (ALBus) CubeSat project is a technology demonstration mission of a 3-U CubeSat with an advanced, digitally controlled electrical power system capability and novel use of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) technology for reliable deployable solar array mechanisms. The objective of the project was to advance the state of power management and distribution (PMAD) capabilities to enable future missions requiring flexible and reliable power systems with higher output power capabilities. The goals of the mission were to demonstrate 100W distribution to a target electrical load, respond to continuous and fast transient power requirements, and show reliable deployment of solar arrays and antennas utilizing re-settable SMA mechanisms. The power distribution function of the ALBus PMAD system is unique in the total power to target load capability. Power is distributed from batteries to provide 100W of power directly to a resistive load. The deployable solar arrays utilize NASA Glenn Research Center’s Nickel-Titanium-Palladium-Platinum high-temperature SMAs for the retention and release mechanism, and a super-elastic binary NiTi alloy for the hinge component. The deployable solar array hinge design features the utilization of SMA material properties for a dual purpose. First, the hinge uses the super-elastic SMA properties to provide the spring force to deploy the arrays. Second, the electrical conductivity properties of the SMA enables the design to provide clean conduits for power transfer from the deployable arrays to the power management system. This eliminates the need for electrical harnesses between the arrays and the PMAD system in the ALBus system design. The uniqueness of the SMA retention and release mechanism design is the ability to reset the mechanism and reuse the same hardware. This allow functional tests of the mechanisms before flight with no degradation of performance and flying the hardware that is tested. The project launched as part of the CubeSat Launch Initiative Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) XIX mission on Rocket Lab’s Electron in December 2018. This paper summarizes the final launched design of ALBus and lessons learned from the technology and overall project from development through flight.

Deboshri Sadhukhan↗
DOE OSTI2021

Processes contributing to cloud dissipation and formation events on the North Slope of Alaska

Abstract. Clear-sky periods across the high latitudes have profound impacts on the surface energy budget and lower atmospheric stratification; however an understanding of the atmospheric processes leading to low-level cloud dissipation and formation events is limited. A method to identify clear periods at Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, during a 5-year period (2014–2018) is developed. A suite of remote sensing and in situ measurements from the high-latitude observatory are analyzed; we focus on comparing and contrasting atmospheric properties during low-level (below 2 km) cloud dissipation and formation events to understand the processes controlling clear-sky periods. Vertical profiles of lidar backscatter suggest that aerosol presence across the lower atmosphere is relatively invariant during the periods bookending clear conditions, which suggests that a sparsity of aerosol is not frequently a cause for cloud dissipation on the North Slope of Alaska. Further, meteorological analysis indicates two active processes ongoing that appear to support the formation of low clouds after a clear-sky period: namely, horizontal advection, which was dominant in winter and early spring, and quiescent air mass modification, which was dominant in the summer. During summer, the dominant mode of cloud formation is a low cloud or fog layer developing near the surface. This low cloud formation is driven largely by air mass modification under relatively quiescent synoptic conditions. Near-surface aerosol particles concentrations changed by a factor of 2 around summer formation events. Thermodynamic adjustment and increased aerosol presence under quiescent atmospheric conditions are hypothesized as important mechanisms for fog formation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dynamic global vegetation models underestimate net CO 2 flux mean and inter-annual variability in dryland ecosystems

Despite their sparse vegetation, dryland regions exert a huge influence over global biogeochemical cycles because they cover more than 40% of the world surface (Schimel 2010 Science 327 418–9). It is thought that drylands dominate the inter-annual variability (IAV) and long-term trend in the global carbon (C) cycle (Poulter et al 2014 Nature 509 600–3, Ahlstrom et al 2015 Science 348 895–9, Zhang et al 2018 Glob. Change Biol. 24 3954–68). Projections of the global land C sink therefore rely on accurate representation of dryland C cycle processes; however, the dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) used in future projections have rarely been evaluated against dryland C flux data. Here, we carried out an evaluation of 14 DGVMs (TRENDY v7) against net ecosystem exchange (NEE) data from 12 dryland flux sites in the southwestern US encompassing a range of ecosystem types (forests, shrub- and grasslands). We find that all the models underestimate both mean annual C uptake/release as well as the magnitude of NEE IAV, suggesting that improvements in representing dryland regions may improve global C cycle projections. Across all models, the sensitivity and timing of ecosystem C uptake to plant available moisture was at fault. Spring biases in gross primary production (GPP) dominate the underestimate of mean annual NEE, whereas models' lack of GPP response to water availability in both spring and summer monsoon are responsible for inability to capture NEE IAV. Errors in GPP moisture sensitivity at high elevation forested sites were more prominent during the spring, while errors at the low elevation shrub and grass-dominated sites were more important during the monsoon. We propose a range of hypotheses for why model GPP does not respond sufficiently to changing water availability that can serve as a guide for future dryland DGVM developments. Our analysis suggests that improvements in modeling C cycle processes across more than a quarter of the Earth's land surface could be achieved by addressing the moisture sensitivity of dryland C uptake.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Investigating spatial variability of aerosol, cloud condensation nuclei, and ice nucleating particles in mountainous terrain

The ASR-supported Surface Atmosphere Integrated field Laboratory (SAIL) in the East River Watershed (ERW) of the Upper Colorado River Basin in southwestern Colorado ran from fall 2021 to spring 2023. Two monitoring sites were deployed in the East River Watershed as part of SAIL. The two sites were the Aerosol Observation System (AOS) located on Crested Butte Ski Mountain, and the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF-2), located at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of aerosols in complex, mountainous terrain, Handix Scientific deployed SAIL-Net, a distributed network of six measurement nodes spanning the domain of the SAIL research area from October 2021 to July 2023. Each node measured aerosol particles between 140 nm and 3.4 μm in diameter using a small particle counter (POPS, (Gao et al., 2016)), CNN using a miniature CCN counter (CloudPuck), and INP using the Time-Resolved Aerosol Filter Sampler (TRAPS, Creamean et al. (2018)). Our approach was similar to other studies that aimed to better characterize and understand aerosols and gas-phase pollutants using networks of lower-cost sensors (Caubel et al., 2019; Kelly et al., 2021; Asher et al., 2022). Such studies have identified neighborhood-level variations in pollutant concentrations (Schneider et al., 2017; Popoola et al., 2018; Caubel et al., 2019). Small-scale variations such as this are poorly represented in models and poorly measured by a single monitoring system (Caubel et al., 2019). Previous work has shown the representation error (the ability of measurements to represent a larger area) increases with complex orography, leading to decreases in model accuracy (Schutgens et al., 2017). The overall goal of SAIL-Net was to improve our understanding of the variability of aerosol in ERW, thus increasing our knowledge of aerosol-cloud interactions in this region and informing the usefulness of distributed networks of measurements for future studies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2020

Arctic Ocean Primary Productivity: The Response of Marine Algae to Climate Warming and Sea Ice Decline

Autotrophic single-celled algae living in sea ice (ice algae) and water column (phytoplankton) are the main primary producers in the Arctic Ocean. Through photosynthesis, they transform dissolved inorganic carbon into organic material. Consequently, primary production provides a key ecosystem service by providing energy to the entire food web in the oceans. Primary productivity is strongly dependent upon light availability and the presence of nutrients, and thus is highly seasonal in the Arctic. The melting and retreat of sea ice during spring are strong drivers of primary production in the Arctic Ocean and its adjacent shelf seas, owing to enhanced light availability and stratification (Barber et al. 2015; Leu et al. 2015; Ardyna et al. 2017). Recent studies have emphasized that primary production occurs under lower light conditions and earlier in the seasonal cycle than previously recognized (Randelhoff et al. 2020). Other studies suggest that increased nutrient supply have also influenced overall production (Henley et al. 2020; Lewis et al. 2020). Furthermore, while declines in Arctic sea ice extent over the past several decades (see essay Sea Ice) have contributed substantially to shifts in primary productivity throughout the Arctic Ocean, the response of primary production to sea ice loss has been both seasonally and spatially variable (e.g., Tremblay et al. 2015; Hill et al. 2018). Here we present satellite-based estimates of algal chlorophyll-a (occurring in all species of phytoplankton), based on ocean color, and subsequently provide calculated primary production estimates. These results are shown for ocean areas with less than 10% sea ice concentration and, therefore, do not include production by sea ice algae or under-ice phytoplankton blooms, which can be significant (e.g., Lalande et al. 2019).

K. E. Frey↗
DOE OSTI2025

Investigating Spatial Variability of Aerosol, Cloud Condensation Nuclei, and Ice Nucleating Particles in Mountainous Terrain Field Campaign Report

The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric System Research (ASR)-supported Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign in the East River Watershed (ERW) of the Upper Colorado River Basin in southwestern Colorado ran from fall 2021 to spring 2023. Two monitoring sites were deployed in the ERW as part of SAIL. The two sites were the Aerosol Observation System (AOS) located on Crested Butte Ski Mountain, and the second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2), located at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of aerosols in complex, mountainous terrain, Handix Scientific deployed SAIL-Net, a distributed network of six measurement nodes spanning the domain of the SAIL research area from October 2021 to July 2023. Each node measured aerosol particles between 140 nm and 3.4 μm in diameter using a small portable optical particle spectrometer (POPS; Gao et al. 2016), cloud condensation nuclei (CNN) using a miniature CCN counter (CloudPuck), and ice nucleating particles (INP) using the time-resolved aerosol filter sampler (TRAPS; Creamean et al. 2018). Our approach was similar to other studies that aimed to better characterize and understand aerosols and gas-phase pollutants using networks of lower-cost sensors (Caubel et al. 2019, Kelly et al. 2021, Asher et al. 2022). Such studies have identified neighborhood-level variations in pollutant concentrations (Schneider et al. 2017, Popoola et al. 2018, Caubel et al. 2019). Small-scale variations such as this are poorly represented in models and poorly measured by a single monitoring system (Caubel et al. 2019). Previous work has shown the representation error (the ability of measurements to represent a larger area) increases with complex orography, leading to decreases in model accuracy (Schutgens et al. 2017). The overall goal of SAIL-Net was to improve our understanding of the variability of aerosol in the ERW, thus increasing our knowledge of aerosol-cloud interactions in this region and informing the usefulness of distributed networks of measurements for future studies. We met this goal by answering the following science questions: 1. What is the aerosol temporal variability, and how does aerosol inhomogeneity vary seasonally? Is there significant seasonal variability in sources, or are short-term meteorological conditions the most important determining factor in sources for cloud nuclei? 2. What is the aerosol spatial variability? What are the aerosol characteristics at cloud base, presumably the particles most representative of those acting as cloud nuclei? 3. How should measurement networks be designed to capture aerosol-cloud interactions, and what do they need to measure? Can a single measurement site accurately represent aerosol properties in regions of complex terrain? SAIL-Net consisted of six measurement nodes spread across the ERW near Crested Butte, Colorado. The primary objective in site placement was to select locations that captured the vertical variation in aerosol properties while also spanning the domain of the SAIL campaign. The elevation of the sites ranged from roughly 2750 m along the valley floor of the ERW to approximately 3500 m near the top of Crested Butte Mountain, which is one of the taller peaks in the ERW. The farthest distance between sites was 14 km, while the closest two sites were approximately 1 km apart. Two of the sites were collocated with the ARM SAIL sites; our instruments sat on top of one of the trailers at AOS and another one of our sites was located in a meadow just above AMF2.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2014

OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go (TAG) Mission Design for Asteroid Sample Collection

The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is a NASA New Frontiers mission launching in September 2016 to rendezvous with the near-Earth asteroid Bennu in October 2018. After several months of proximity operations to characterize the asteroid, OSIRIS-REx flies a Touch-And-Go (TAG) trajectory to the asteroid's surface to collect at least 60 g of pristine regolith sample for Earth return. This paper provides mission and flight system overviews, with more details on the TAG mission design and key events that occur to safely and successfully collect the sample. An overview of the navigation performed relative to a chosen sample site, along with the maneuvers to reach the desired site is described. Safety monitoring during descent is performed with onboard sensors providing an option to abort, troubleshoot, and try again if necessary. Sample collection occurs using a collection device at the end of an articulating robotic arm during a brief five second contact period, while a constant force spring mechanism in the arm assists to rebound the spacecraft away from the surface. Finally, the sample is measured quantitatively utilizing the law of conservation of angular momentum, along with qualitative data from imagery of the sampling device. Upon sample mass verification, the arm places the sample into the Stardust-heritage Sample Return Capsule (SRC) for return to Earth in September 2023.

OSIRIS-REX TOUCH-AND-GO (TAG) MISSION DESIGN FOR A↗
NASA NTRS2021

Weekly Mapping of Sea Ice Freeboard in the Ross Sea from ICESat-2

NASA’s ICESat-2 has been providing sea ice freeboard measurements across the polar regions since October 2018. In spite of the outstanding spatial resolution and precision of ICESat-2, the spatial sparsity of the data can be a critical issue for sea ice monitoring. This study employs a geostatistical approach (i.e., ordinary kriging) to characterize the spatial autocorrelation of the ICESat-2 freeboard measurements (ATL10) to estimate weekly freeboard variations in 2019 for the entire Ross Sea area, including where ICESat-2 tracks are not directly available. Three variogram models (exponential, Gaussian, and spherical) are compared in this study. According to the cross-validation results, the kriging-estimated freeboards show correlation coefficients of 0.56–0.57, root mean square error (RMSE) of ~0.12 m, and mean absolute error (MAE) of ~0.07 m with the actual ATL10 freeboard measurements. In addition, the estimated errors of the kriging interpolation are low in autumn and high in winter to spring, and low in southern regions and high in northern regions of the Ross Sea. The effective ranges of the variograms are 5–10 km and the results from the three variogram models do not show significant differences with each other. The southwest (SW) sector of the Ross Sea shows low and consistent freeboard over the entire year because of the frequent opening of wide polynya areas generating new ice in this sector. However, the southeast (SE) sector shows large variations in freeboard, which demonstrates the advection of thick multiyear ice from the Amundsen Sea into the Ross Sea. Thus, this kriging-based interpolation of ICESat-2 freeboard can be used in the future to estimate accurate sea ice production over the Ross Sea by incorporating other remote sensing data.

Satellite altimeter↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assessing the large-scale drivers of precipitation in the northeastern United States via linear orthogonal decomposition

This study examines the linear orthogonal modes associated with monthly precipitation in the northeastern United States, from CESM1 LENS (35 ensemble members, 1979–2005) and two reanalysis datasets (ERA5, 1950–2018 and NOAA-CIRES-DOE 20CRv3, 1950–2015). Calendar months are aggregated together, and any linear trends in data are removed. Using region-averaged precipitation anomaly time series and monthly anomalies for several global 2D atmospheric fields, a linear orthogonal decomposition method is implemented to iteratively extract time series (based on field and geographic location) of absolute maximum correlation. Linear modes associated with this method are then projected onto the full set of 2D fields to provide physical insight into the mechanisms involved in generating precipitation. In this region, the first mode is associated with vapor transport from the Atlantic seaboard, the second mode is characterized by westward vapor transport associated with extratropical cyclones, and the third mode captures vapor transport from the Gulf of Mexico during the fall and winter. However, the third mode is less robust in the spring and summer. Results are generally consistent across the datasets, and applying multiple linear regression with the linear modes to predict the precipitation anomalies produces R-squared values of around 0.54–0.65 for CESM1 LENS, and around 0.58–0.88 for reanalysis, with the lowest values generally in the spring and late summer. The influence of low-frequency climate variability on the modes is considered for CESM1 LENS, and the modes in late winter can be predicted with some success via a combination of several, prominent large-scale teleconnection patterns.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Decadal Survey Observing System for Aerosols, Clouds, Convection, and Precipitation (ACCP): The Atmosphere Observing System

The observing system to be described today arose from NASA’s recent Earth Science Decadal Survey. In 2018, NASA funded a 2.5-year study to identify key science requirements and potential architecture solutions to address 2 of the 5 decadal survey recommended designated observables: aerosols and clouds, convection, and precipitation (or ACCP). A set of architectures was recommended to NASA HQ earlier this year, leading to a new mission that we have named the Atmosphere Observing System, or AOS, although that name may eventually change. In this presentation, when I refer to ACCP, I am speaking about the recent 2-year study and when I refer to AOS I am speaking of the new mission currently in its mission concept development phase. I will provide some background on the decadal survey and how it led to the ACCP and AOS goals. I will describe the architecture that was recommended to NASA HQ and summarize current activities as we work toward our mission concept review next spring.

Scott A. Braun↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Enhanced Monitoring and Forecasting of South Asian Air Quality Episodes with Multi-Sensor Satellite Products and Dispersion Modeling

Air pollution and particulates represent a serious environmental, public health, and overarching societal concern in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region of south-central Asia, especially during the boreal winter and spring months. Frequent contributors to poor air quality of the region include dust and particulate matter transport from the Middle East region and western India, persistent nocturnal fog and smog during the stable dry monsoon months, and biomass burning during the pre-monsoon months of boreal spring. Nocturnal and multi-day persistent stable fog and smog events can occur during the stable conditions of the dry monsoon months that lead to hazardous visibility reductions (e.g., at major airports such as Delhi, India)and poor air quality, particularly in urban corridors.Our project goal is therefore to design and implement a robust air quality and chemistry observation and modeling system using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) and the Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) models. This system effectively assimilates aerosol and trace gas retrievals from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites to advance the monitoring and prediction capabilities of air quality and visibility reductions throughout the HKH region. For this presentation, we highlight several[multi-spectral] geostationary satellite products and dispersion modeling capabilities being developed and implemented for improved situational awareness and forecasting of air quality episodes.Launched in December 2018, the Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI) aboard the Geostationary-Korean Multi-Purpose Satellite-2A (GEO-KOMPSAT-2A, or GK2A) provides 16 channels of multi-spectral information similar to the U.S. GOES-16/17 satellites. Proven community recipes for generating multi-spectral Red-Green-Blue (RGB) composite products to detect specific meteorological phenomena are applied to the AMI data for the HKH region. We implemented four such RGB products consisting of truecolor with Rayleigh correction to aid in smoke detection; dust RGB for monitoring larger particulate matter; nighttime microphysics for fog/smog detection;and natural color fire RGB and the shortwave 3.8 micron channel for fire hot-spot detection.We additionally configured HYSPLIT for dust/sand dispersion and concentration forecasts over HKH. The HYSPLIT dispersion simulations are initially being conducted with two different methodologies: (1) dust/sand lofting based on initializing plume releases from visual inspection of the dust RGB imagery; and (2) dust/sand release and dispersion using the internal HYSPLIT algorithm that determines lofting from input wind speeds and prescribed land use. The goal is to develop a near real-time HYSPLIT modeling solution for routinely simulating the transport and dispersion of dust plumes across the HKH region. This presentation illustrates these products and capabilities for various use cases from the 2019 to 2021 period, highlighting a particularly unhealthy episode during late March 2021 across Nepal.

Remote Sensing↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Seismic Signature of a High-Energy Density Physics Laboratory and Its Potential for Measuring Time-Dependent Velocity Structure

The Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories is a pulsed power facility for high-energy density physics experiments that can shock materials to extreme temperatures and pressures through a focused energy release of up to ~ 25 MJ in < 100 nanoseconds. It has been in operation for more than two decades and conducts up to ~ 100 experiments, or “shots,” per year. Based on a set of 74 known shot times from 2018, we determined that Z Machine shots produce detectable ~ 3–17 Hz ground motion 12 km away at the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory, New Mexico (ANMO), borehole seismograph, with peak signal at ~ 7 Hz. The known shot waveforms were used to create a three-component template, leading to the detection of 2339 Z Machine shots since 1998 through single-station cross-correlation. Local seismic magnitude estimates range from local magnitude (M L ) —2 to —1.3 and indicate that only a small fraction of the shot energy is transmitted by seismic phases observable at 12 km distance. The most recent major facility renovation, which was intended to decrease mechanical dissipation, is associated with an abrupt decrease in observed seismic amplitudes at ANMO despite stable maximum shot energy. The highly repetitive impulsive sources are well suited to coda-wave interferometry to investigate time-dependent velocity structures. Relative velocity variations (dv/v) show an annual cycle with amplitude of ~ 0.2%. Local minima are observed in the late spring, and dv/v increases through the summer monsoon rainfall, possibly reflecting patchy saturation as rainfall infiltrates near the eastern edge of the Albuquerque basin. Importantly, the cumulative results demonstrate that forensic seismology can provide insight into long-term operation of facilities such as pulsed-power laboratories, and that their recurring signals may be valuable for studies of time-dependent structure

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2023

Spatial and Temporal Characterization of Cyanobacteria Blooms in the Mississippi Sound and Their Relationship to the Bonnet Carré Spillway Openings

During the spring and summer of 2019, an unprecedented cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom (cyanoHAB) was responsible for beach advisories on 25 beaches along the Mississippi Sound for over 3 months. Due to the preceding heavy rainfall and flooding within the Mississippi River watershed, for the first time in history, the Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS) opened twice in one year during 2019. The coastal cyanoHAB coincided with the second BCS opening. The main objectives of this study were: (1) to investigate the potential for using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ocean color standard Cyanobacteria Index (CIcyano) algorithm to characterize the spatial and temporal extent of the 2019 cyanoHAB; (2) to couple the CIcyano data with river discharge, salinity, and modeled-wind data to study the conditions leading to the cyanoHAB and factors aiding the advection and persistence of the bloom within the Mississippi Sound, including a possible relationship to the BCS; (3) to further investigate the relationship with the BCS by repeating the methods using data from 2018, which was a year when the BCS was opened but no evidence of cyanoHABs was reported along the Mississippi coast. Weekly means and monthly frequency CIcyano images, river discharge, salinity, and modeled-wind data from February to September of 2018 and 2019 were analyzed, which coincide with three BCS openings. In March 2018, a cyanobacteria bloom was observed within Lake Pontchartrain coinciding with the BCS opening; however, the month-long bloom was contained to the lake. Two distinct cyanoHABs were observed in 2019 and both blooms were advected into the Mississippi Sound, and likely contributed to the 3-month-long beach water advisories of 2019 along the Mississippi coastline. From March to mid-July 2019, salinity at stations within the Mississippi Sound was consistently near zero indicating high levels of freshwater. During that time, winds were predominantly northwestward, preventing the BCS waters from flushing into the Mississippi Shelf and resulting in BCS waters remaining longer within the estuarine lakes and Mississippi Sound. Although the BCS had an undeniable impact on the presence of the coastal cyanoHAB of 2019, other variables including wind direction, water flow, mixing, and persistence of freshwater within the Sound can determine the intensity and extent of the cyanoHABs. Coupling in situ phytoplankton information from freshwater water bodies to the marine continuum along with water flow, wind data, and satellite imagery could help identify cyanoHABs at early stages and forecast their trajectory and potential impacts on coastal areas.

Bonnet Carré Spillway↗
NASA NTRS2018

A Quick Summary of IMERG Versions and Features

This talk will summarize the shifts in IMERG (Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement)) from Version 03 to 04 in early Spring 2016, and to Version 05 in late Summer 2017. For example, Version 04 replaced approximate pre-launch calibrations with GPM Core Observatory-based calibrations, while Version 05 introduced improved estimates for the primary GPM instrument products (DPR, GMI, and Combined Instrument). In Version 04 the IR estimates were routinely calibrated to the passive microwave estimates. As analysis showed that the Combined Instrument estimates (the IMERG calibration standard) tend to be biased high over land and low over ocean at higher latitudes, in Version 04 we climatologically calibrated IMERG to the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) monthly Satellite-Gauge product, except in low- and mid-latitude ocean regions. This calibration leaves the relative time series intact, and only adjusts the mean of the entire series. In Version 05 the primary GPM instrument products have reduced biases, but calibration to GPCP continues to be necessary to achieve the most realistic estimates. Finally, retrospective processing back into the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) era is expected in early 2018, after which the legacy TMPA (TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis) dataset will be retired.

Huffman, George J.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Sources of Formaldehyde in U.S. Oil and Gas Production Regions

We analyzed observational and model data to study the sources of formaldehyde over oil and gas production regions and to investigate how these observations may be used to constrain oil and gas VOC emissions. The analysis of aircraft and satellite data consistently found that formaldehyde over oil and gas production regions during spring and summer is mostly formed by the photooxidation of precursor VOCs. Formaldehyde columns over the Permian basin, one of the largest oil and gas producing regions in the United States, are correlated with production locations. Formaldehyde simulations by the atmospheric chemistry and transport model WRF-Chem, which included oil and gas NOx and VOC emissions from the fuel-based oil and gas inventory, were in very good agreement with TROPOMI satellite measurements. Sensitivity studies illustrated that VOCs released from oil and gas activities are important precursors to formaldehyde, but other sources of VOCs contribute as well, and that the formation of secondary formaldehyde is highly sensitive to NOx. We also investigated the ability of the chemical mechanism used in WRF-Chem to represent formaldehyde formation from oil and gas hydrocarbons by comparing against the Master Chemical Mechanism. Further, our work provides estimates of primary formaldehyde emissions from oil and gas production activities, with per basin averages ranging from 0.07 kg h -1 to 2.2 kg h -1 in 2018. A separate estimate for natural gas flaring found that flaring emissions could contribute 5% to 12% to the total primary formaldehyde emissions for the Permian basin in 2018.

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