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NASA NTRS1989

Sources of gravitational waves

Sources of low frequency gravitational radiation are reviewed from an astrophysical point of view. Cosmological sources include the formation of massive black holes in galactic nuclei, the capture by such holes of neutron stars, the coalescence of orbiting pairs of giant black holes, and various means of producing a stochastic background of gravitational waves in the early universe. Sources local to our Galaxy include various kinds of close binaries and coalescing binaries. Gravitational wave astronomy can provide information that no other form of observing can supply; in particular, the positive identification of a cosmological background originating in the early universe would be an event as significant as was the detection of the cosmic microwave background.

Schutz, Bernard F.↗

DOE OSTI2026

A Review on Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide: Sorbent Materials, Process Engineering, Industrial Scale-Up, and Future Perspectives

The relentless accumulation of anthropogenic greenhouse gases has driven atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to approximately 426 ppm, necessitating the aggressive deployment of negative-emission technologies to achieve net zero by 2050. Direct air capture (DAC) offers a scalable, location-independent approach to atmospheric carbon removal; however, it is fundamentally constrained by the significant thermodynamic barriers associated with capturing CO 2 from ultradilute ambient conditions, requiring minimum thermodynamic energy inputs substantially higher than those for postcombustion point sources. This comprehensive review critically examines the technological landscape of DAC, focusing on the interdependent triad of sorbent material design, contactor engineering, and regeneration thermodynamics. We evaluate the fundamental boundaries of adsorption, emphasizing that an optimal adsorption enthalpy and isosteric heat of adsorption must balance the high CO 2 uptake capacity with the energetic penalties of sorbent regeneration. A systematic, comparative analysis of state-of-the-art sorbents is presented, encompassing mesoporous silicas, zeolites, carbon-based materials (CBMs), metal−organic frameworks (MOFs), porous organic polymers (POPs), and polymeric membranes. Special attention is devoted to surface functionalization strategies, particularly amine grafting and impregnation, which transition capture mechanisms from physisorption to chemisorption to enhance selectivity under ambient moisture and low partial pressures. Furthermore, we assess the operational merits of various reactor configurations, including gas−solid, gas−liquid, and membrane contactors, alongside regeneration cycles such as temperature, vacuum, pressure, and moisture swing adsorption. Finally, the review bridges fundamental materials science with industrial application by chronicling the scale-up milestones of pioneering entities and providing a strategic roadmap for advancing DAC technology readiness levels toward global deployment.

Adsorption↗

DOE OSTI2022

Mineral-hydrogel composites for mitigating harmful algal bloom and supplying phosphorous for photo-biorefineries

Harmful algal blooms (HAB) are a major environmental concern in eutrophic aquatic systems. To mitigate HABs and recover the phosphorus that drives algal growth, this study developed hydrogel composites seeded with calcium phosphate and wollastonite particles, which first adsorb phosphate (P) and then precipitate it as calcium phosphate. Using a fast-growing cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus 2973, as a model microalga, we found that the mineral-hydrogel composites reduced dissolved P in BG11 media from 5.1 mg/L to 0.31 mg/L, initially reducing the biomass growth rate by up to 73 % and ultimately reducing the total biomass concentration by 75 %. When applied to municipal wastewater and agricultural run-off, the composites removed 96 % and 91 % of the dissolved P, respectively. Moreover, when the recovered P-enriched composites were reused as a slow-release bio-compatible fertilizer in a photobioreactor, they effectively supported algal growth without blocking light and interfering with photosynthesis. The P-enriched composites could tune the P concentration in the culture medium and significantly promote algal lipid accumulation. Finally, this study demonstrates the mineral-hydrogel composites' potential to treat point sources of P pollution and subsequently facilitate photoautotrophic biofuel production as a nutrient, effectively recycling the captured P.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Reducing Economy-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Electrofuels and Biofuels as the Grid Decarbonizes

Biofuels and electrofuels have the potential to complement electrification in speeding greenhouse gas emissions reductions, especially in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. Concentrated waste CO 2 streams that can be used as a feedstock for electrofuels, however, may become less available as the share of renewable electricity increases and industries undergo decarbonization. Here, we conduct an analysis with detailed treatment of biofuels and electrofuels to probe their role in decarbonizing multiple industrial sectors and transportation. We examine how the changing availability of CO 2 could affect electrofuel production and the potential role of direct air capture in stabilizing the supply of CO 2 . The results indicate that biofuels could fulfill 12% of the total final energy demand across all U.S. sectors in 2050. Using seven industrial source points of CO 2 available in 2050, 15,388 PJ of electrofuels could be produced, which amounts to 25% of the total final energy demand. This result holds even upon decarbonization that requires direct air capture to boost the CO 2 supply. Biofuels and e-fuels have the potential to reduce economy-wide GHG emissions by 7 and 21% beyond electrification alone. However, electricity consumption and land use grow markedly with decarbonization at scale.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Optimal CO2 Transport and Storage Cost Screening: Application Example

Poster on “Optimal CO2 Transport and Storage Cost Screening: Application Example” for the CCUS 2025 conference held in Houston, Texas March 3-5, 2025. A major challenge to commercial scale CCS deployment from the perspective of coal and natural gas-fired power plants is understanding cost-optimal CO2 transport and viable geologic storage options. This study demonstrates unique workflows, using NETL-developed, publicly-available models and tools, to efficiently estimate optimal CO2 transport and storage (T&S) costs for each of the CO2 sources in NETL’s Carbon Capture Retrofit Databases (CCRD) for Electricity Generating Units. The results demonstrate the impact of cost-drivers on optimal T&S, and trends in optimal T&S data, based on real point sources that could be retrofitted with CO2 source technologies.

application example↗

DOE OSTI2026

Quantifying atmospheric carbon removal at pulp and paper mills: a life cycle assessment across system boundaries

The pulp and paper industry is a promising yet underexplored platform for large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) due to its use of biogenic feedstocks and production of concentrated CO 2 emissions from point sources. This study presents the first comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of retrofitting an amine-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) system into a representative virgin kraft pulp and paper mill in the Southeastern U.S. We evaluate carbon removal across five system configurations, applying both static and dynamic LCA methods under multiple functional units: CO 2 captured, biomass input, and paper output. Results show that CCS retrofits can convert a conventional mill from a net emitter into a net carbon sink, with total removal efficiencies from 17% to 92% (metric tonnes of CO 2 removed per metric tonne of CO 2 available for removal under selected boundary conditions). When carbon removal is normalized to the quantity of biogenic CO 2 captured—a narrow, gate-to-gate system boundary that considers only CCS facility emissions—removal efficiencies reached as high as 92%. The use of such narrow boundaries aligns with precedents in traditional LCA methodology, where gate-to-gate assessments are commonly applied to isolate process-level performance and allocate emissions accordingly, providing a consistent basis for comparison across technologies. Under broader cradle-to-grave boundaries—which begin tracking carbon at the point of its physical removal from the atmosphere via photosynthesis in the forest, and extend to include upstream forest operations, mill-wide emissions, and downstream product decomposition—efficiencies declined, ranging from 17% to 46% under static assumptions and dropping to 12% when accounting for dynamic biogenic carbon fluxes over time. These results underscore how system boundary definitions influence reported outcomes, while also illustrating the complementary roles of narrow and broad perspectives for different decision-making contexts.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Best-case scenarios for neutrino capture experiments

A direct discovery of the cosmic neutrino background would bring to a closure the searches for relic left-over radiation predicted by the Hot Big Bang cosmology. Recently, the KATRIN experiment put a limit on the local relic neutrino overdensity with respect to the cosmological predicted average value at η ≲ 10 11 [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 129 (2022) 011806]. In this work, we first examine to what extent such values of η are conceivable. We show that even under cavalier assumptions, a cosmic origin of η ≳ 10 4 seems out of reach (with the caveat of forming bound objects under a new force,) but find that a hypothetical local source of low-energy neutrinos could achieve η ~ 10 11 . Second, when such values are considered, we point out that the experimental signature in KATRIN and other neutrino-capture experiments changes, contrary to what has hitherto been assumed. Our results are model-independent and maximally accommodating as they only assume the Pauli exclusion principle. As intermittent physics target in the quest for C ν B detection, we identify an experimental sensitivity to η ~ 10 4 for which conceivable sources exist; to resolve the effect of a degenerate Fermi gas for such overdensity an energy resolution of 10 meV is required.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

TEACHING AN OLD ACCELERATOR NEW TRICKS

The Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) has been a National User Facility since 1985. In that time, many of the systems that help operators retrieve, modify, and store beamline parameters have not kept pace with the advancement of technology. Development of a new method of storing and retrieving beamline parameters resulted in the testing and installation of a time-series database as a potential replacement for the traditional relational database. InfluxDB was selected due to its self-hosted Open-Source version availability as well as the simplicity of installation and setup. A program was written to periodically gather all accelerator parameters in the control system and store them in the time-series database. This resulted in over 13,000 distinct data points, captured at 5-minute intervals. A second test captured 35 channels on a 1-minute cadence. Graphing of the captured data is being done on Grafana, an Open-Source version is available that co-exists well with InfluxDB as the back-end. Grafana made visualizing the data simple and flexible. The testing has allowed for the use of modern graphing tools to generate new insights into operating the accelerator, as well as opened the door to building large data sets suitable for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning applications.

Novak, D.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Inadvertent Hatchery Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Discovered in Native Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi Habitat: A Cautionary Tale

Abstract Fish hatcheries across North America release billions of fish into the wild every year to augment harvest opportunities in sport, commercial, and tribal fisheries, as well as to recover depressed populations. Despite these benefits, wild fish populations may be negatively affected when hatchery fish compete and/or hybridize with native species. Native Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi have decreased by 90% across their historic range; however, the Flathead River in Montana is a rangewide stronghold for these imperiled fish. The primary threat to Westslope Cutthroat Trout is hybridization with invasive Rainbow Trout O. mykiss, which leads to hybrid swarm formation and genomic extinction. We collected Rainbow Trout in Mill Creek, a tributary of the Flathead River, downstream from a hatchery that produces the species, and used otolith 87Sr/86Sr to determine whether individual fish were inadvertently introduced from the hatchery. Differences in 87Sr/86Sr among water samples from Mill Creek and the marine-derived hatchery food provided high-classification accuracy to determine the natal origins of Mill Creek Rainbow Trout. We found that 83 of the 106 Rainbow Trout collected (78%) were of hatchery origin. Otolith microstructure analysis indicated these fish had been in Mill Creek for ~1–32 weeks prior to capture. Our results illustrate the utility of otolith 87Sr/86Sr to identify hatchery fish in natural habitats and point to a source of invasive Rainbow Trout that pose conservation risks to native fishes in the drainage.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2018

A New Global Anthropogenic SO2 Emission Inventory for the Last Decade: A Mosaic of Satellite-Derived and Bottom-Up Emissions

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite sensor have been used to detect emissions from large point sources. Emissions from over 400 sources have been quantified individually based on OMI observations, accounting for about a half of total reported anthropogenic SO2 emissions. Here we report a newly developed emission inventory, OMI-HTAP, by combining these OMI-based emission estimates and the conventional bottom-up inventory, HTAP, for smaller sources that OMI is not able to detect. OMI-HTAP includes emissions from OMI-detected sources that are not captured in previous leading bottom-up inventories, enabling more accurate emission estimates for regions with such missing sources. In addition, our approach offers the possibility of rapid updates to emissions from large point sources that can be detected by satellites. Our methodology applied to OMI-HTAP can also be used to merge improved satellite-derived estimates with other multi-year bottom-up inventories, which may further improve the accuracy of the emission trends. OMI-HTAP SO2 emissions estimates for Persian Gulf, Mexico, and Russia are 59%, 65%, and 56% larger than HTAP estimates, respectively, in year 2010. We have evaluated the OMI-HTAP inventory by performing simulations with the Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS-5) model. The GEOS-5 simulated SO2 concentrations driven by both HTAP and OMI-HTAP were compared against in situ measurements. We focus for the validation on year 2010 for which HTAP is most valid and for which a relatively large number of in situ measurements are available. Results show that the OMI-HTAP inventory improves the agreement between the model and observations, in particular over the US, with the normalized mean bias decreasing from 0.41 (HTAP) to -0.03 (OMI-HTAP) for year 2010. Simulations with the OMI-HTAP inventory capture the worldwide major trends of large anthropogenic SO2 emissions that are observed with OMI. Correlation coefficients of the observed and modelled surface SO2 in 2014 increase from 0.16 (HTAP) to 0.59 (OMI-HTAP) and the normalized mean bias dropped from 0.29 (HTAP) to 0.05 (OMI-HTAP), when we updated 2010 HTAP emissions with 2014 OMI-HTAP emissions in the model.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2)↗

DOE OSTI2023

Panorama 360 (Final Report)

This is the final technical report for the DOE-funded Panorama 360 project. Panorama 360 provided a resource for the collection, analysis, and sharing of performance data about end-to-end scientific workflows executing on DOE facilities. The work focused on workflows that include experimental data generation at DOE facilities. The main activities of Panorama 360 include the development of: 1. A distributed repository that stores different types of workflow execution data (e.g., point and time series performance traces at fine- and coarse-grained levels); 2. A set of open-source data capture, curation, and publishing tools fully integrated with a state-of-the-art workflow management system that automates data ingestion to the repository and enables users to discover, query, and process data from the repository; 3. A set of analysis algorithms and machine learning based tools to perform analysis and characterization of the gathered data, which can be used to detect anomalous performance or system faults; and 4. Best practices and recommendations for workflow evaluation, analysis, execution, and architectures.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Panorama 360 (Final Report)

This final technical report from the lead institution, USC grant #DE-SC0012636, serves as the final technical report for collaborative institution UNC-CH grant #DE-SC0012390. The goal was to develop a repository and associated capabilities for data collection, ingestion, and analysis for a broad class of DOE applications that span experimental and simulation science workflows. In particular, this work focuses on workflows that include experimental data generation at DOE facilities. The main activities of Panorama 360 include the development of: (1) A distributed repository that stores different types of workflow execution data (e.g., point and time series performance traces at fine- and coarse-grained levels); (2) A set of open-source data capture, curation, and publishing tools fully integrated with a state-of-the-art workflow management system that automates data ingestion to the repository and enables users to discover, query, and process data from the repository; (3) A set of analysis algorithms and machine learning based tools to perform analysis and characterization of the gathered data, which can be used to detect anomalous performance or system faults; and (4) Best practices and recommendations for workflow evaluation, analysis, execution, and architectures.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Observation of Trace Gases Seasonal Variability in the Marine Boundary Layer over the Atlantic Ocean during the ACTIVATE Field Campaign

High resolution in-situ measurements of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapor (H2O) were made onboard the NASA HU-25 aircraft during the ACTIVATE (Aerosol Cloud meteorology Interactions oVer the western Atlantic Experiment) campaign during 2020 and 2021 in different seasons (winter through summer) over the mid-latitude western Atlantic Ocean. As most of the flights focused on the marine boundary layer (MBL) during the campaign, these trace gas observations are an excellent data set to examine seasonal variability of trace gas background values in the MBL without the influence of localized point sources. We will describe the variability of these trace gases in the MBL background by filtering out concentrated point sources using back trajectory analysis along with trace gas ratios. Additionally, the ocean is a significant sink of anthropogenic CO2 capturing about one quarter of total anthropogenic carbon. By looking at the MBL CO2 variation as a function of season, we discuss observed changes in CO2 uptake over the ocean. These high accuracy observations of trace gas backgrounds in the MBL along with characterizing seasonal effects on oceanic sequestering of anthropogenic CO2 will improve the understanding of seasonal variations and change in climate and inverse modelling over the ocean.

Yonghoon Choi↗

DOE OSTI2020

Measurements of proton capture in the A=100–110 mass region: Constraints on the In 111 (γ,p)/(γ,n) branching point relevant to the γ process

The γ process is an explosive astrophysical scenario, which is thought to be the primary source of the rare proton-rich stable p nuclei. However, current γ-process models remain insufficient in describing the observed p-nuclei abundances, with disagreements up to two orders of magnitude. A sensitivity study has identified 111 In as a model-sensitive (γ,p)/(γ,n) branching point within the γ process. Constraining the involved reaction rates may have a significant impact on the predicted p-nuclei abundances. Here we report on measurements of the cross sections for 102 Pd (p,γ) 103 Ag, 108 Cd (p,γ) 109 In, and 110 Cd (p,γ) 111 In reactions for proton laboratory energies 3–8 MeV using the high efficiency total absorption spectrometer and the γ-summing technique. These measurements were used to constrain Hauser-Feshbach parameters used in talys 1.9, which constrains the 111 In(γ,p) 110 Cd and 111 In(γ,n) 110 Ag reaction rates. The newly constrained reaction rates indicate that the 111 In(γ,p)/(γ,n) branching point occurs at a temperature of 2.71 ± 0.05 GK, well within the temperature range relevant to the γ process. These findings differ significantly from previous studies and may impact the calculated abundances.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Mapping existing wellbore locations to compare technical risks between onshore and offshore CCS activities in Texas

Carbon dioxide capture and geologic storage (CCS; geologic sequestration) is a promising technology for reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere from industrial point sources. Aspects of CCS have been investigated for over two decades, and many large- and small-scale geologic storage field demonstration projects are now underway globally. Interest in offshore CCS has been increasing in recent years (e.g., European Union, Australia, Japan, and the United States). Deep geologic storage in offshore settings is analogous to onshore CCS activities in many respects (i.e., geologic and geotechnical aspects), but is distinct from previously explored seabed sediment CO 2 storage) or deep marine dissolution). Given the large subsurface geologic storage volumes available in offshore settings, much discussion of offshore CCS is focused on the benefits and risks of such activity compared to onshore settings. Similar to onshore settings, existing (legacy) wells likely present the most direct migration pathway and largest risk of noncontainment in offshore settings. As part of current studies to evaluate geologic storage options in offshore settings along the Texas coast and greater Gulf of Mexico (GoM), mapping of the geographic distribution and ages of wells in a region containing coastal counties and extending 30 miles offshore Texas indicates that both well spatial density and well age decrease moving from onshore to offshore. Results suggest reduced risk of leakage owing to more rigorous and documented well completion and abandonment practices for these generally younger wells (although many are decades old). A result of decreased well density is that larger areas are available for leasing for CCS projects that avoid legacy wells altogether (> 1 mile from any existing well). The one-mile designation is used as an arbitrary convention, and while it is recognized that this is smaller than a typical area of review (AoR) for permitting, each site will have a different AoR radius for consideration. Finally, the combination of large subsurface storage volumes under control of a single landowner and reduced risks from legacy wells makes offshore CCS attractive in the GoM.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS1986

Semi-implicit and fully implicit shock-capturing methods for hyperbolic conservation laws with stiff source terms

Some numerical aspects of finite-difference algorithms for nonlinear multidimensional hyperbolic conservation laws with stiff nonhomogenous (source) terms are discussed. If the stiffness is entirely dominated by the source term, a semi-implicit shock-capturing method is proposed provided that the Jacobian of the soruce terms possesses certain properties. The proposed semi-implicit method can be viewed as a variant of the Bussing and Murman point-implicit scheme with a more appropriate numerical dissipation for the computation of strong shock waves. However, if the stiffness is not solely dominated by the source terms, a fully implicit method would be a better choice. The situation is complicated by problems that are higher than one dimension, and the presence of stiff source terms further complicates the solution procedures for alternating direction implicit (ADI) methods. Several alternatives are discussed. The primary motivation for constructing these schemes was to address thermally and chemically nonequilibrium flows in the hypersonic regime. Due to the unique structure of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors for fluid flows of this type, the computation can be simplified, thus providing a more efficient solution procedure than one might have anticipated.

Yee, H. C.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Dependence of Adaptive Cross-correlation Algorithm Performance on the Extended Scene Image Quality

Recently, we reported an adaptive cross-correlation (ACC) algorithm to estimate with high accuracy the shift as large as several pixels between two extended-scene sub-images captured by a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. It determines the positions of all extended-scene image cells relative to a reference cell in the same frame using an FFT-based iterative image-shifting algorithm. It works with both point-source spot images as well as extended scene images. We have demonstrated previously based on some measured images that the ACC algorithm can determine image shifts with as high an accuracy as 0.01 pixel for shifts as large 3 pixels, and yield similar results for both point source spot images and extended scene images. The shift estimate accuracy of the ACC algorithm depends on illumination level, background, and scene content in addition to the amount of the shift between two image cells. In this paper we investigate how the performance of the ACC algorithm depends on the quality and the frequency content of extended scene images captured by a Shack-Hatmann camera. We also compare the performance of the ACC algorithm with those of several other approaches, and introduce a failsafe criterion for the ACC algorithm-based extended scene Shack-Hatmann sensors.

wave-front sensing and control↗

NASA NTRS2015

The Prediction of Scattered Broadband Shock-Associated Noise

A mathematical model is developed for the prediction of scattered broadband shock-associated noise. Model arguments are dependent on the vector Green's function of the linearized Euler equations, steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions, and the two-point cross-correlation of the equivalent source. The equivalent source is dependent on steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions of the jet flow, that capture the nozzle geometry and airframe surface. Contours of the time-averaged streamwise velocity component and turbulent kinetic energy are examined with varying airframe position relative to the nozzle exit. Propagation effects are incorporated by approximating the vector Green's function of the linearized Euler equations. This approximation involves the use of ray theory and an assumption that broadband shock-associated noise is relatively unaffected by the refraction of the jet shear layer. A non-dimensional parameter is proposed that quantifies the changes of the broadband shock-associated noise source with varying jet operating condition and airframe position. Scattered broadband shock-associated noise possesses a second set of broadband lobes that are due to the effect of scattering. Presented predictions demonstrate relatively good agreement compared to a wide variety of measurements.

Miller, Steven A. E.↗