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At least 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

WHONDRS River Corridor Sediment and Water Geochemistry and In Situ Sensor Data from 7 Perennial and 7 Intermittent Streams across San Antonio, Texas (v3)

This dataset supports a broader study examining the effects of intermittency on sediment respiration. The dataset provides sediment and surface water geochemistry and in situ sensor data from 7 perennial and 7 intermittent streams in San Antonio, Texas. Each stream/site was visited both in summer during base flow (July-September 2023) and winter during peak flow (January-February 2024). Related data were collected and will be published separately in collaboration with A. Veach. The data package was originally published in April 2025. It was updated in June 2025 (v2; modified and new files) and September 2025 (v3; modified files). See the change history section in the readme for more details. For details on how to navigate data packages generated by this project, see https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/PNNLRiverCorridorSFA/About. This dataset is comprised of two folders of field photos and videos, one folder of raw Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) data and one main data folder containing (1) file-level metadata; (2) data dictionary; (3) field metadata; (4) readme; (5) international generic sample number (IGSN) mapping file; (6) field protocol; (7) a subfolder with sample data; and (8) a subfolder with sensor data. The sample data subfolder contains (1) surface water and sediment dissolved organic carbon (DOC, measured as non-purgeable organic carbon, NPOC) data and averages; (2) surface water and sediment total nitrogen data and averages; (3) sediment grain size data; (4) sediment iron (II) data and averages; (5) wet sediment mass, dry sediment mass, water mass, and wet sediment volume in incubation and sediment ICR vials; (7) sediment incubation respiration rate data and averages; (8) normalized respiration rate data and averages; (9) methods codes; (10) sediment percent carbon and nitrogen; (11) sediment X-ray diffraction (XRD) data; (12) gravimetric moisture and averages; (13) a subfolder with sediment incubation respiration data, scripts, and plots; (14) surface water and sediment FTICR methods; and (15) a subfolder of 9.4 Tesla (9.4T) FTICR-MS data. This folder contains five subfolders, one containing the sediment .xml data files, one containing the water .xml files, one containing the sediment CoreMS output files, one containing the water CoreMS output files, and the other containing instructions and scripts for processing the files in CoreMS (https://github.com/EMSL-Computing/CoreMS). The sensor data subfolder contains (1) a subfolder with miniDOT dissolved oxygen and temperature data and plots; (2) miniDOT dissolved oxygen and temperature summary data; and (3) miniDOT installation methods. All files are .csv, .pdf, .R, .xml, .d, .html, .Rmd, .py, .cal, .json, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .mov, or .mp4. CORRECTION: The data processing methods for FTICR described in “v3_WHONDRS_AV1_Methods_Codes.csv” mistakenly indicate that users should process the data in Formultitude. The corrected description should read: “Both unprocessed and processed data are provided to allow users flexibility in data processing. Instructions and scripts for processing the data using CoreMS are included.” CORRECTION: Carbon and nitrogen content are reported as percentages. The current column headers "01395_C_percent_per_mg" and "01397_N_percent_per_mg" are incorrect. These should read "01395_C_percent" and "01397_N_percent" and will be corrected in the next version of this data package.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Method to Preserve Wetland Roots and Rhizospheres for Elemental Imaging

Roots extensively interact with their soil environment but visualizing such interactions between roots and the surrounding rhizosphere is challenging. The rhizosphere chemistry of wetland plants is particularly challenging to capture because of steep oxygen gradients from the roots to the bulk soil. Here a protocol is described that effectively preserves root structure and rhizosphere chemistry of wetland plants through slam-freezing and freeze drying. Slam-freezing, where the sample is frozen between copper blocks pre-cooled with liquid nitrogen, minimizes root damage and sample distortion that can occur with flash-freezing while still minimizing chemical speciation changes. While sample distortion is still possible, the ability to obtain multiple samples quickly and with minimal cost increases the potential to obtain satisfactory samples and optimizes imaging time. The data show that this method is successful in preserving reduced arsenic species in rice roots and rhizospheres associated with iron plaques. This method can be adopted for studies of plant-soil relationships in a wide variety of wetland environments that span concentration ranges from trace-element cycling to phytoremediation applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Using geochemical indicators to distinguish high biogeochemical activity in floodplain soils and sediments, Science of the Total Environment: Dataset

Data associated with analysis of sediment samples collected in the East River watershed and Rifle floodplain sites, CO. Samples were collected and analyzed as part of two student MS theses at Colorado School of Mines (Kenwell and Prugue) over a time period ranging from 2012 to 2015. Analyses include total organic carbon, leachable Fe and Mn, and total microbial DNA; all analyses performed at Colorado School of Mines. Methods: Samples were collected from core during a drilling campaign at the Rifle Site. Samples were collected every 1.5 m. At the East River site soil and sediment samples were collected using hand-augered bulk density sampler. Collected samples were stored at -20C until analysis. Samples were thawed in an anaerobic chamber and subsampled for extractions and DNA analysis. Samples for DNA analysis were freeze-dried, the remaining sample was oven dried and ground to 0.991 cm for TOC and leaching analysis. TOC analysis was performed on duplicate samples using a CM 5014 Coulometer (UIC, Joliet, IL, USA). Two chemical extractions were performed: hydroxylamine (HA) extraction of Fe and Mn adapted from Lovley et al., 1987 and synthetic precipitation (ppt) leaching adapted from EPA method 1312 (EPA, 1994) . For theHA extraction 3g of wet sediment was mixed with 150 mL of 0.5 N HCl in one bottle and another 3 g of sediment was mixed with 150 mL of 0.25 N hydroxylamine hydrochloride in 0.5 N HCl. Extraction were performed for 24 hours at room temperature after which samples of the liquid were removed and filtered to 0.45 micron and analyzed by ICP-AES. HA-reducible iron and manganese concentrations were determined by difference between the two extractions. For ppt leaches, a 60:40 sulfuric:nitric acid mixture was added to Milliq water to a pH of 4.2 and combined with sediment in a 20:1 mass ratio of acid to sediment. The extraction was performed for 18 hours at room temperature after which the samples of the liquid were removed and filtered to 0.45 micron and analyzed by ICP-AES. DNA was sampled from sediment using a PowerSoil DNA Isolation Kit and extractions were performed according to manufactured instuctions with one adjustment, a 1 minute bead beating replaced the 10 minute vortexing step. Extracted DNA was stored at -20C. Quantitative PCR was performed in triplicate on a Roche LightCycler 480 system and working curves were created by amplifying environmental samples with primers and bead purifying them with Agencourt AMPure XP. Analysis was performed with a Qubit 2.0 Fluorometer and Qubit dsDNA High Sensitivity Assay Kit with results converted to copies using the URI Genomics and Sequencing Center converter (Staroscik, 2004). Additional method details can be found in Kenwell et al., 2016. Lovley, D.R., Phillips, E.J.P. (1987). Rapid assay for microbially reducible ferric iron in aquatic sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 53(7), 1536-1540. Staroscik, A. (2004). Calculator for determining the number of copies of a template. URI Genomics & Sequencing Center. <http://cels.uri.edu/gsc/cndna.html>. EPA. (1994). Method 1312: Synthetic precipitation leaching procedure.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Compressional wave velocity and effective stress in unsaturated soil: Potential application for monitoring moisture conditions in vadose zone sediments

Compressional seismic (P-wave) velocities were measured experimentally at different water potentials and confining pressure states using a variety of sediments collected from the US Department of Energy Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. P-wave velocity was measured in variably saturated sediments using ultrasonic piezoelectric transducers and water potential was measured with a heat dissipation sensor. We propose a model to relate changes in P-wave velocity to soil stress conditions using an effective stress formulation that includes capillary stress as well as adsorptive stress. We show that compressional wave velocities can be related to water potential and confining stress using a model with five fitted parameters. A single set of parameters provides an excellent fit to data acquired from all of the sediment samples. Under very dry conditions, corresponding to low water potentials, water flow occurs in adsorptive thin films associated with very low unsaturated hydraulic conductivities. The results presented here suggest the utility of seismic methods for establishing low water potential and flow conditions within variably saturated Hanford formation sediments and providing feedback on the performance of mitigation efforts such as soil desiccation and surface infiltration barriers. Seismic methods can provide minimally invasive, three-dimensional information on relevant flow conditions in vadose zone sediments as well as changes that occur over time.

Linneman, Dorothy C.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Aluminizing on the High-Temperature Oxidation Behavior of an Alumina-Forming Austenitic Stainless Steel

Due to their excellent oxidation resistance and creep resistance at elevated temperatures, alumina forming austenitic (AFA) stainless steels have emerged as potential alloys for high temperature applications. In this study, a Reactive Air Aluminizing (RAA) method was used to aluminize the surface of AFA25 stainless steel. The high temperature oxidation behavior of both as-received and aluminized AFA25 was investigated at 850 °C in dry air. The mass gain per unit area was higher for the aluminized AFA25 than for the as-received material. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), performed on the oxide scales following the high temperature oxidation tests, confirmed the formation of alumina scale on both as-received and aluminized AFA. However, the aluminized alloy exhibited a thicker alumina scale on the surface, as well as more extensive penetration of the scale into the subsurface region of the alloy.

Rashidi, S.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Compositional analysis of biomass reference materials: Results from an interlaboratory study

Biomass compositional methods are used to compare different lignocellulosic feedstocks, to measure component balances around unit operations and to determine process yields and therefore the economic viability of biomass-to-biofuel processes. Four biomass reference materials (RMs NIST 8491–8494) were prepared and characterized, via an interlaboratory comparison exercise in the early 1990s to evaluate biomass summative compositional methods, analysts, and laboratories. Having common, uniform, and stable biomass reference materials gives the opportunity to assess compositional data compared to other analysts, to other labs, and to a known compositional value. The expiration date for the original characterization of these RMs was reached and an effort to assess their stability and recharacterize the reference values for the remaining material using more current methods of analysis was initiated. We sent samples of the four biomass RMs to 11 academic, industrial, and government laboratories, familiar with sulfuric acid compositional methods, for recharacterization of the component reference values. In this work, we have used an expanded suite of analytical methods that are more appropriate for herbaceous feedstocks, to recharacterize the RMs’ compositions. We report the median values and the expanded uncertainty values for the four RMs on a dry-mass, whole-biomass basis. The original characterization data has been recalculated using median statistics to facilitate comparisons with this data. We found improved total component closures for three out of the four RMs compared to the original characterization, and the total component closures were near 100 %, which suggests that most components were accurately measured and little double counting occurred. Here, the major components were not statistically different in the recharacterization which suggests that the biomass materials are stable during storage and that additional components, not seen in the original characterization, were quantified here.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Visualization and prediction of supercritical CO 2 distribution in sandstones during drainage: An in situ synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography study

Pore-scale distribution of supercritical CO 2 (scCO 2 ) exerts significant control on a variety of key hydrologic as well as geochemical processes, including residual trapping and dissolution. Despite such importance, only a small number of experiments have directly characterized the three-dimensional distribution of scCO 2 in geologic materials during the invasion (drainage) process. Here, we present a study which couples dynamic high-resolution synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography imaging of a scCO 2 /brine system at in situ pressure/temperature conditions with quantitative pore-scale modeling to allow direct validation of a pore-scale description of scCO2 distribution. The experiment combines high-speed synchrotron radiography with tomography to characterize the brine saturated sample, the scCO 2 breakthrough process, and the partially saturated state of a sandstone sample from the Domengine Formation, a regionally extensive unit within the Sacramento Basin (California, USA). The availability of a 3D dataset allowed us to examine correlations between grains and pores morphometric parameters and the actual distribution of scCO 2 in the sample, including the examination of the role of small-scale sedimentary structure on CO2 distribution. The segmented scCO 2 /brine volume was also used to validate a simple computational model based on the local thickness concept, able to accurately simulate the distribution of scCO 2 after drainage. The same method was also used to simulate Hg capillary pressure curves with satisfactory results when compared to the measured ones. Finally, this predictive approach, requiring only a tomographic scan of the dry sample, proved to be an effective route for studying processes related to CO 2 invasion structure in geological samples at the pore scale.

3D quantitative morphometric analysis↗
DOE OSTI2010

Grain growth and microstructural evolution of yttrium aluminum garnet nanocrystallites during calcination process

An yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) precursor precipitate was synthesized by urea method using yttria (Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}) and aluminum nitrate (Al(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}.9H{sub 2}O) as raw materials. The fresh wet precipitate was dried by supercritical carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) fluid and the resulting powder was calcined at temperatures from 600 to 1600 {sup o}C. Crystallization of YAG was detected at 800 {sup o}C, and completed at 900 {sup o}C. HRTEM images of the YAG product obtained above 900 {sup o}C revealed crystallographically specific oriented attachment along the [1 1 2] direction. Based on the observation of the particle morphology a possible growth mechanism of YAG nanoparticles was presented. The fast increase on the average crystallite size of YAG at temperatures from 900 to 1300 {sup o}C is attributed to the crystallographically specific oriented attachment growth process. As the growth process proceeds at higher temperatures, oriented attachment based growth becomes less important because of the increase on particle size, and the self-integration assisted by the Ostwald ripening becomes dominant.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Seismic response of vertical dry storage casks under three-dimensional earthquake motions

Ensuring the long-term seismic safety of dry storage casks (DSCs) is becoming increasingly critical as these systems evolve from temporary to de facto permanent repositories for spent nuclear fuels. Traditional seismic soil–structure interaction (SSI) assessment methods use one-dimensional deconvolution or simplified boundary conditions to model incident waves. Although computationally appealing, simplifying assumptions may alter the seismic risk by neglecting the full complexity of three-dimensional (3D) wave propagation effects. To address this challenge, this paper introduces a novel high-fidelity computational framework that leverages the Domain Reduction Method (DRM) with perfectly matched layers (PML) to accurately transfer complex, 3D seismic wavefields from regional-scale fault-rupture simulations into local-scale finite element models of DSCs. Using broadband, physics-based ground motions from a generic M w 7.0 strike-slip event, both single-cask and multi-cask configurations were investigated under near- and far-field conditions. Emphasis is placed on capturing complex SSI, spatial variability in the ground motion, and nonlinear phenomena such as cask rocking and sliding. Numerical results demonstrate that near-field conditions, where forward directivity and fling-step effects dominate, lead to significantly higher DSC rocking and sliding. Far-field cases, by contrast, generally exhibit modest responses. Incorporating SSI tends to amplify or alter DSC response spectra and introduce response variability, which underscores the need for site-specific evaluations and robust modeling approaches to ensure the seismic integrity of DSCs in interim spent fuel storage installations.

Das, Tonmoy↗
DOE OSTI2025

Risk Assessment in a Chemical Laboratory Following an Explosive Incident Involving a Novel Diazonium Compound: Retrospective Analysis and Lessons Learned

Diazonium compounds are synthetically useful in the production of dyes and textiles, however they are highly explosive under dry conditions. Explosion prevention becomes more difficult when new diazonium compounds are synthesized, because while some syntheses include a counterion to increase their stability, this is not always a reliable method to prevent an explosive incident. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the explosiveness of different diazonium compounds, it is important to understand how to safely clean up after an incident and how to determine when it is safe to return a laboratory to typical operational use, particularly when the incident involves a novel compound where a standard does not exist for instrument calibration. Here, an explosive event is discussed involving the synthesis of 4-bromo-benzenediazonium-2-carboxylate. Following the explosive incident and 3-step cleanup, which involved a precautionary neutralization step, samples were collected from the fume hood where the incident occurred. Because the incident involved an unstable, novel compound that is not commercially available and was deemed unsafe to resynthesize for instrument calibration, we assessed the risk of further explosion by analyzing for the stable decomposition products. Mass spectrometry analysis confirmed that the residue in the fume hood contained 5-bromosalicylic acid, a decomposition product of 4-bromo-benzenediazonium-2-carboxylate. Samples were taken from multiple points in the fume hood and analyzed to estimate the spatial distribution of the decomposition product. Based on this analysis, we inferred that the primary decomposition product was far more abundant than residual energetic, indicating the energetic had been consumed or neutralized to a trace quantity where the risk of further explosion was low. Furthermore, the steps presented here─specifically, initial neutralization and then analyzing the spatial distribution of expected decomposition products to assess risk when a novel explosive material is detonated in a confined space─were our approach to assess further risk following an explosion due to a novel diazonium compound without the need for any further handling or resynthesis of the energetic. Here, we present our approach and critically analyze these steps by discussing retrospective lessons learned and alternative analytical approaches.

Computer simulations↗
DOE OSTI2017

Silver-Loaded Aluminosilicate Aerogels As Iodine Sorbents

Here, in this paper, aluminosilicate aerogels were used as scaffolds for silver nanoparticles to capture I 2 (g). The starting materials for these scaffolds included Na–Al–Si-O and Al–Si–O aerogels, both synthesized from metal alkoxides. The Ag 0 particles were added by soaking the aerogels in aqueous AgNO 3 solutions followed by drying and Ag + reduction under H 2 /Ar to form Ag 0 crystallites within the aerogel matrix. In some cases, aerogels were thiolated with 3-(mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane as an alternative method for binding Ag + . During the Ag + -impregnation steps, for the Na–Al–Si-O aerogels, Na was replaced with Ag, and for the Al–Si–O aerogels, Si was replaced with Ag. The Ag-loading of thiolated versus nonthiolated Na–Al–Si–O aerogels was comparable at ~35 atomic %, whereas the Ag-loading in unthiolated Al–Si–O aerogels was significantly lower at ~7 atomic % after identical treatment. Iodine loadings in both thiolated and unthiolated Ag 0 -functionalized Na–Al–Si–O aerogels were >0.5 m I m s –1 (denoting the mass of iodine captured per starting mass of the sorbent) showing almost complete utilization of the Ag through chemisorption to form AgI. Iodine loading in the thiolated and Ag 0 -functionalized Al–Si–O aerogel was 0.31 m I m s –1 . The control of Ag uptake over solution residence time and [Ag] demonstrates the ability to customize the Ag-loading in the base sorbent to regulate the loading capacity of iodine.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Insight into Sulfur Reactions in Li–S Batteries

Understanding and controlling the sulfur reduction species (Li2Sx, 1 ≤ x ≤ 8) under realistic battery conditions are essential for the development of advanced practical Li–S cells that can reach their full theoretical capacity. However, it has been a great challenge to probe the sulfur reduction intermediates and products because of the lack of methods. This work employed various ex situ and in situ methods to study the mechanism of the Li–S redox reactions and the properties of Li2Sx and Li2S. Synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction analysis used to characterize dry powder deposits from lithium polysulfide solution suggests that the new crystallite phase may be lithium polysulfides. The formation of Li2S crystallites with a polyhedral structure was observed in cells with both the conventional (LiTFSI) electrolyte and polysulfide-based electrolyte. In addition, an in situ transmission electron microscopy experiment observed that the lithium diffusion to sulfur during discharge preferentially occurred at the sulfur surface and formed a solid Li2S crust. This may be the reason for the capacity fade in Li–S cells (as also suggested by EIS experiment in Supporting Information). The results can be a guide for future studies and control of the sulfur species and meanwhile a baseline for approaching the theoretical capacity of the Li–S battery.

Coulombic efficiency↗
DOE OSTI2016

Formation of blade and slot die coated small molecule multilayers for OLED applications studied theoretically and by XPS depth profiling

Slot die coaters especially designed for low material consumption and doctor blades were used to process small molecule solutions for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Optimum process parameters were developed for the large-scale coating techniques to generate stable single and multiple layers only a few nanometers thick. Achieving a multilayer architecture for solution-processed OLEDs is the most challenging step. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy sputter depth profiling was performed to determine defined interfaces between coated organic layers. Commercially available small molecules NPB (N,N’-Di(1-naphthyl)-N,N’-diphenyl-(1,1’-biphenyl)-4,4’-diamine) and BAlq (Bis(8-hdroxy-2methylquinoline)-(4-phenylphenoxy)aluminum), originally developed for vacuum deposition, were used as hole, respectively electron transport material. Defined double-layers were processed with both scalable coating methods using the orthogonal solvent approach. The use of non-orthogonal solvents resulted in complete intermixing of the material. The results are explained by calculations of solubilities and simulating drying and diffusion kinetics of the small molecule solutions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Telecommunication-wavelength two-dimensional photonic crystal cavities in a thin single-crystal diamond membrane

We demonstrate two-dimensional photonic crystal cavities operating at telecommunication wavelengths in a single-crystal diamond membrane. We use a high-optical-quality and thin (~300 nm) diamond membrane, supported by a polycrystalline diamond frame, to realize fully suspended two-dimensional photonic crystal cavities with a high theoretical quality factor of ~8 × 10 6 and a relatively small mode volume of ~2(λ/n) 3 . The cavities are fabricated in the membrane using electron-beam lithography and vertical dry etching. We observe cavity resonances over a wide wavelength range spanning the telecommunication O- and S-bands (1360–1470 nm) with Q factors of up to ~1800. Our method paves the way for on-chip diamond nanophotonic applications in the telecommunication-wavelength range.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Oilwell Conversion (Well API 121913310501) to Geothermal Heat Storage Well for Flexible Electricity Storage

Geothermal growth is limited by a lack of geographically dispersed high-temperature thermal resources and high initial upfront investment in characterization and well construction. This project intended to address the challenges of energy supply intermittency and enhance grid resilience, reliability, and energy security by storing energy provided from currently available renewable resources in the subsurface to harvest it a later time during at-peak energy demand. This project intended to improve geothermal adoption, reduce initial project risk, and improve price competitiveness through utilizing existing oil and gas infrastructure such as non-productive wells, non-economic fields, dry holes, and orphaned wells. The project also intended to address the lack of geographically dispersed thermal resources and enhance grid resilience, reliability, and energy security by introducing an economical method for storing energy from currently available renewable resources in the subsurface for usage during at-peak energy demand. During this research, the project furthered the understanding of the feasibility of utilizing abandoned oil and gas wells as geothermal heat storage wells. The project team investigated the heat storage and hydrogeological characteristics of subsurface reservoirs in the Illinois Basin to evaluate their response to heat injection for determining the evolution of temperature profiles and heat losses over time using existing and available data sets. The project team then performed modeling and simulation to evaluate the heat losses of returning fluids during heat extraction. The outputs were used to select an optimal candidate reservoir and location in Southern Illinois. The team designed and performed a small-scale field test in an existing oil well to refine the model and to demonstrate the permitting and regulatory pathways necessary for the conversion of oil and gas assets to geothermal use. The field test also serves as a proof of concept and can guide the procedures for future research and implementation. Additionally, the project team, conducted initial market research and customer discovery to develop a go to market strategy for an Advanced Geothermal Energy Storage (AGES) system. The project team in this research also identified the parameters to be refined in future research, to improve the current go to market strategy economic model. To this end several subject matter experts were also identified to assist in future research with geothermal infrastructure setup, energy storage policy and law, energy storage market demand, potential siting based on demand etc. Future research will involve further sophistication of the site commercial modeling, implementing a larger-scale test, and further refinement of the thermodynamic modeling/simulation process. The output will be lifecycle costs and economics suitable for comparison to alternative approaches from a validated full-scale demonstration for venture capital investment into this technology. The project successfully demonstrated the ability to leverage existing oilfield infrastructure, permits, and land access and leasing agreements, to enable geothermal storage projects to come online faster and cheaper than a greenfield development could. This technology could allow for greater energy independence and security through long-term energy storage solutions. The longer duration allows for greater storage for renewables currently limited by hours-long storage durations of lithium-ion. The AGES system would support the growth of renewable energy farms, and provide greater opportunities for a cleaner energy infrastructure.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1989

Study Of Phase Separation In Glass

Report describes an experimental study of effect of hydroxide content on phase separation in soda/silica glasses. Ordinary and gel glasses melted at 1,565 degree C, and melts stirred periodically. "Wet" glasses produced by passing bubbles of N2 saturated with water through melts; "dry" glasses prepared in similar manner, except N2 dried before passage through melts. Analyses of compositions of glasses performed by atomic-absorption and index-of-refraction measurements. Authors conclude hydroxide speeds up phase separation, regardless of method (gel or ordinary) by which glass prepared. Eventually helps material scientists to find ways to control morphology of phase separation.

Neilson, George F.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Evaluation of Tropospheric Water Vapor Simulations from the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project

Simulations of humidity from 28 general circulation models for the period 1979-88 from the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project are compared with observations from radiosondes over North America and the globe and with satellite microwave observations over the Pacific basin. The simulations of decadal mean values of precipitable water (W) integrated over each of these regions tend to be less moist than the real atmosphere in all three cases; the median model values are approximately 5% less than the observed values. The spread among the simulations is larger over regions of high terrain, which suggests that differences in methods of resolving topographic features are important. The mean elevation of the North American continent is substantially higher in the models than is observed, which may contribute to the overall dry bias of the models over that area. The authors do not find a clear association between the mean topography of a model and its mean W simulation, however, which suggests that the bias over land is not purely a matter of orography. The seasonal cycle of W is reasonably well simulated by the models, although over North America they have a tendency to become moister more quickly in the spring than is observed. The interannual component of the variability of W is not well captured by the models over North America. Globally, the simulated W values show a signal correlated with the Southern Oscillation index but the observations do not. This discrepancy may be related to deficiencies in the radiosonde network, which does not sample the tropical ocean regions well. Overall, the interannual variability of W, as well as its climatology and mean seasonal cycle, are better described by the median of the 28 simulations than by individual members of the ensemble. Tests to learn whether simulated precipitable water, evaporation, and precipitation values may be related to aspects of model formulation yield few clear signals, although the authors find, for example, a tendency for the few models that predict boundary layer depth to have large values of evaporation and precipitation. Controlled experiments, in which aspects of model architecture are systematically varied within individual models, may be necessary to elucidate whether and how model characteristics influence simulations.

Gaffen, Dian J.↗