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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential

Forests are a substantial terrestrial carbon sink, but anthropogenic changes in land use and climate have considerably reduced the scale of this system. Remote-sensing estimates to quantify carbon losses from global forests are characterized by considerable uncertainty and we lack a comprehensive ground-sourced evaluation to benchmark these estimates. Here we combine several ground-sourced and satellite-derived approaches to evaluate the scale of the global forest carbon potential outside agricultural and urban lands. Despite regional variation, the predictions demonstrated remarkable consistency at a global scale, with only a 12% difference between the ground-sourced and satellite-derived estimates. At present, global forest carbon storage is markedly under the natural potential, with a total deficit of 226 Gt (model range = 151–363 Gt) in areas with low human footprint. Most (61%, 139 Gt C) of this potential is in areas with existing forests, in which ecosystem protection can allow forests to recover to maturity. The remaining 39% (87 Gt C) of potential lies in regions in which forests have been removed or fragmented. Although forests cannot be a substitute for emissions reductions, our results support the idea that the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of diverse forests offer valuable contributions to meeting global climate and biodiversity targets.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluation of an autonomous acoustic surveying technique for grassland bird communities in Nebraska

Monitoring trends in wildlife communities is integral to making informed land management decisions and applying conservation strategies. Birds inhabit most niches in every environment and because of this they are widely accepted as an indicator species for environmental health. Traditionally, point counts are the common method to survey bird populations, however, passive acoustic monitoring approaches using autonomous recording units have been shown to be cost-effective alternatives to point count surveys. Advancements in automatic acoustic classification technologies, such as BirdNET, can aid in these efforts by quickly processing large volumes of acoustic recordings to identify bird species. While the utility of BirdNET has been demonstrated in several applications, there is little understanding of its effectiveness in surveying declining grassland birds. We conducted a study to evaluate the performance of BirdNET to survey grassland bird communities in Nebraska by comparing this automated approach to point count surveys. We deployed ten autonomous recording units from March through September 2022: five recorders in row-crop fields and five recorders in perennial grassland fields. During this study period, we visited each site three times to conduct point count surveys. We compared focal grassland bird species richness between point count surveys and the autonomous recording units at two different temporal scales and at six different confidence thresholds. Total species richness (focal and non-focal) for both methods was also compared at five different confidence thresholds using species accumulation curves. The results from this study demonstrate the usefulness of BirdNET at estimating long-term grassland bird species richness at default confidence scores, however, obtaining accurate abundance estimates for uncommon bird species may require validation with traditional methods.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2009

Modeling Bird Migration under Climate Change: A Mechanistic Approach

How will migrating birds respond to changes in the environment under climate change? What are the implications for migratory success under the various accelerated climate change scenarios as forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change? How will reductions or increased variability in the number or quality of wetland stop-over sites affect migratory bird species? The answers to these questions have important ramifications for conservation biology and wildlife management. Here, we describe the use of continental scale simulation modeling to explore how spatio-temporal changes along migratory flyways affect en-route migration success. We use an individually based, biophysical, mechanistic, bird migration model to simulate the movement of shorebirds in North America as a tool to study how such factors as drought and wetland loss may impact migratory success and modify migration patterns. Our model is driven by remote sensing and climate data and incorporates important landscape variables. The energy budget components of the model include resting, foraging, and flight, but presently predation is ignored. Results/Conclusions We illustrate our model by studying the spring migration of sandpipers through the Great Plains to their Arctic breeding grounds. Why many species of shorebirds have shown significant declines remains a puzzle. Shorebirds are sensitive to stop-over quality and spacing because of their need for frequent refueling stops and their opportunistic feeding patterns. We predict bird "hydrographs that is, stop-over frequency with latitude, that are in agreement with the literature. Mean stop-over durations predicted from our model for nominal cases also are consistent with the limited, but available data. For the shorebird species simulated, our model predicts that shorebirds exhibit significant plasticity and are able to shift their migration patterns in response to changing drought conditions. However, the question remains as to whether this behavior can be maintained over increasing and sustained environmental change. Also, the problem is much more complex than described by the current processes captured in our model. We have taken some important and interesting steps, and our model does demonstrate how local scale information about individual stop-over sites can be linked into the migratory flyway as a whole. We are incorporating additional, species specific, mechanistic processes to better reflect different climate change scenarios

Smith, James A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Historic Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Mato Grosso, Brazil: 1. Source Data Uncertainties

Historic carbon emissions are an important foundation for proposed efforts to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation and enhance forest carbon stocks through conservation and sustainable forest management (REDD+). The level of uncertainty in historic carbon emissions estimates is also critical for REDD+, since high uncertainties could limit climate benefits from mitigation actions. Here, we analyzed source data uncertainties based on the range of available deforestation, forest degradation, and forest carbon stock estimates for the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso during 1990-2008. Results: Deforestation estimates showed good agreement for multi-year trends of increasing and decreasing deforestation during the study period. However, annual deforestation rates differed by >20% in more than half of the years between 1997-2008, even for products based on similar input data. Tier 2 estimates of average forest carbon stocks varied between 99-192 Mg C/ha, with greatest differences in northwest Mato Grosso. Carbon stocks in deforested areas increased over the study period, yet this increasing trend in deforested biomass was smaller than the difference among carbon stock datasets for these areas. Conclusions: Patterns of spatial and temporal disagreement among available data products provide a roadmap for future efforts to reduce source data uncertainties for estimates of historic forest carbon emissions. Specifically, regions with large discrepancies in available estimates of both deforestation and forest carbon stocks are priority areas for evaluating and improving existing estimates. Full carbon accounting for REDD+ will also require filling data gaps, including forest degradation and secondary forest, with annual data on all forest transitions.

Morton, Douglas C.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Data Acquisition, Management, and Analysis in Support of the Audiology and Hearing Conservation and the Orbital Debris Program Office

My internship at Johnson Space Center, Houston TX comprised of working simultaneously in the Space Life Science Directorate (Clinical Services Branch, SD3) in Audiology and Hearing Conservation and in the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Sciences Directorate in the Orbital Debris Program Office (KX). The purpose of the project done to support the Audiology and Hearing Conservation Clinic (AuHCon) is to organize and analyze auditory test data that has been obtained from tests conducted onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and in Johnson Space Center's clinic. Astronauts undergo a special type of auditory test called an On-Orbit Hearing Assessment (OOHA), which monitors hearing function while crewmembers are exposed to noise and microgravity during long-duration spaceflight. Data needed to be formatted to assist the Audiologist in studying, analyzing and reporting OOHA results from all ISS missions, with comparison to conventional preflight and post-flight audiometric test results of crewmembers. Orbital debris is the #1 threat to manned spacecraft; therefore NASA is investing in different measurement techniques to acquire information on orbital debris. These measurements are taken with telescopes in different parts of the world to acquire brightness variations over time, from which size, rotation rates and material information can be determined for orbital debris. Currently many assumptions are taken to resolve size and material from observed brightness, therefore a laboratory (Optical Measurement Center) is used to simulate the space environment and acquire information of known targets suited to best model the orbital debris population. In the Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) telescopic data were acquired and analyzed to better assess the orbital debris population.

Dicken, Todd↗
NASA NTRS2015

Airborne Lidar-Based Estimates of Tropical Forest Structure in Complex Terrain: Opportunities and Trade-Offs for REDD+

Background: Carbon stocks and fluxes in tropical forests remain large sources of uncertainty in the global carbon budget. Airborne lidar remote sensing is a powerful tool for estimating aboveground biomass, provided that lidar measurements penetrate dense forest vegetation to generate accurate estimates of surface topography and canopy heights. Tropical forest areas with complex topography present a challenge for lidar remote sensing. Results: We compared digital terrain models (DTM) derived from airborne lidar data from a mountainous region of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil to 35 ground control points measured with survey grade GNSS receivers. The terrain model generated from full-density (approx. 20 returns/sq m) data was highly accurate (mean signed error of 0.19 +/-0.97 m), while those derived from reduced-density datasets (8/sq m, 4/sq m, 2/sq m and 1/sq m) were increasingly less accurate. Canopy heights calculated from reduced-density lidar data declined as data density decreased due to the inability to accurately model the terrain surface. For lidar return densities below 4/sq m, the bias in height estimates translated into errors of 80-125 Mg/ha in predicted aboveground biomass. Conclusions: Given the growing emphasis on the use of airborne lidar for forest management, carbon monitoring, and conservation efforts, the results of this study highlight the importance of careful survey planning and consistent sampling for accurate quantification of aboveground biomass stocks and dynamics. Approaches that rely primarily on canopy height to estimate aboveground biomass are sensitive to DTM errors from variability in lidar sampling density.

Airborne lidar↗
NASA NTRS2024

Atmospheric CO 2 Emissions and Ocean Acidification From Bottom-Trawling

Trawling the seafloor can disturb carbon that took millennia to accumulate, but the fate of that carbon and its impact on climate and ecosystems remains unknown. Using satellite-inferred fishing events and carbon cycle models, we find that 55-60% of trawling-induced aqueous CO 2 is released to the atmosphere over 7-9 years. Using recent estimates of bottom trawling’s impact on sedimentary carbon, we found that between 1996-2020 trawling could have released, at the global scale, up to 0.34-0.37 Pg CO 2 yr -1 to the atmosphere, and locally altered water pH in some semi-enclosed and heavy trawled seas. Our results suggest that the management of bottom-trawling efforts could be an important climate solution.

climate mitigation↗
NASA NTRS2022

Cryogenic Spray Quenching of A Simulated Propellant Storage Tank Wall With Heat Transfer Enhancement By A Thin-Film Coating and Flow Pulsing in Microgravity

Human space exploration to the Moon, Mars, and possibly asteroids is NASA’s biggest challenge for the new millennium. One of the critical elements to this mission is the effective, sufficient, and reliable supply of cryogenic propellant fluids. Future lower-earth-orbiting (LEO) propellant fuel depots and human-carrying orbital transfer spacecraft flying to the moon and Mars will have to utilize the high thrust and high efficiency of liquid cryogenic chemical propulsion or nuclear thermal propulsion. Efficient in-space tank-to-tank propellant transfer (propellant fuel depot to orbital transfer spacecraft) of cryogenic propellants is an enabling technology for the planned Crewed Mars Surface Mission. The transfer of cryogenic propellants in space, however, has yet to be accomplished, solely due to the unavailability of cryogenic quenching heat transfer data during chilldown (quenching) and filling of the propellant receiver tank in reduced gravity and microgravity as liquid propellant cannot be stored in a required liquid state until the tank is quenched down to the liquid temperature. Therefore, highly energy efficient thermal-fluid management breakthrough concepts to conserve and minimize the cryogen consumption during propellant transfer have become the focus of research and engineering development, especially for the deep-space mission to Mars. In this paper, we introduce such concepts and demonstrate their feasibility for cryogenic storage tank chilldown in parabolic flights under a simulated space microgravity condition. In order to maximize the storage tank chilldown efficiency for the least amount of cryogen consumption, the technology adopted included cryogenic spray cooling, Teflon thin-film coating of the simulated tank surface, and spray flow pulsing. The completed flight experiments successfully demonstrated that spray cooling is the most efficient cooling method for the tank chilldown in microgravity. In microgravity, Teflon coating alone can improve the efficiency up to 72% and the efficiency can be improved up to 59% by flow pulsing alone. However, Teflon coating together with flow pulsing was found to substantially enhance the chilldown efficiency in microgravity for up to 113%.

spray↗
DOE OSTI2020

Energy Demand Management in Buildings Using PCM-Integrated Wall

The buildings in the United States annually consume nearly 40% of total U.S. energy consumption and approximately 75% of U.S. electricity consumption. Almost half of the total U.S. energy consumption in buildings is attributed to the space conditioning through Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. Utilizing thermal energy storage in buildings, particularly integrating phase change material (PCM) in the walls, has been reported to be an effective method of managing the space heating and cooling loads. This presentation covers an in-depth discussion on the integration of a PCM to building walls, the key conditions required for effective utilization of the PCM, and effect of the PCM transition temperature and the PCM location on energy-saving potential of the PCM-integrated wall.

building↗
DOE OSTI2023

Sodium Components Maintenance Shop (SCMS) Carbonation Vessel – Partial HWMA/RCRA Closure Certification Report

This report documents the Hazardous Waste Management Act (HWMA)/ Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Partial Closure Certification of the Sodium Components Maintenance Shop (SCMS) Carbonation Vessel. The HWMA/RCRA Closure followed the multi step review and evaluation closure process identified in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) HWMA/RCRA Partial Permit Closure Plan, October 1, 2015. This closure certification report documents that the SCMS Carbonation Vessel was removed from the SCMS, packaged as hazardous waste and stored for future treatment and disposal, and therefore has met the closure performance standards in accordance with the Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory Materials and Fuels Complex HWMA/RCRA Partial Permit Closure Plan (EPA No. ID4890008952, October 1, 2015).

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2024

SEED Platform for Building Performance Standards Implementation Guide (Spanish Translation)

This guide provides an overview of the Standard Energy Efficiency Data (SEED) Platform. The SEED Platform developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to provide a low-cost, user-friendly tool for jurisdictions to launch and manage energy benchmarking and Building Performance Standard (BPS) programs. It has been translated into Spanish. This is the Spanish translation of NREL/FS-5500-90691.

benchmarking↗
DOE OSTI2024

SEED Platform for Building Performance Standards Implementation Guide (French Translation)

This guide provides an overview of the Standard Energy Efficiency Data (SEED) Platform. The SEED Platform developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to provide a low-cost, user-friendly tool for jurisdictions to launch and manage energy benchmarking and Building Performance Standard (BPS) programs. It has been translated into Spanish. This is the French translation of NREL/FS-5500-90691.

benchmarking↗
DOE OSTI2024

SEED Platform for Building Performance Standards Implementation Guide (Arabic Translation)

This guide provides an overview of the Standard Energy Efficiency Data (SEED) Platform. The SEED Platform developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to provide a low-cost, user-friendly tool for jurisdictions to launch and manage energy benchmarking and Building Performance Standard (BPS) programs. It has been translated into Spanish. This is the Arabic translation of NREL/FS-5500-90691.

benchmarking↗
DOE OSTI2024

SEED Platform for Building Performance Standards Implementation Guide (Mandarin Translation)

This guide provides an overview of the Standard Energy Efficiency Data (SEED) Platform. The SEED Platform developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to provide a low-cost, user-friendly tool for jurisdictions to launch and manage energy benchmarking and Building Performance Standard (BPS) programs. It has been translated into Spanish. This is the Mandarin translation of NREL/FS-5500-90691.

benchmarking↗
DOE OSTI2024

Best Practices for Smart Grid-Interactive Efficient Building Ready Performance Contracts

Grid-interactive efficient building (GEB) measures reduce costs and optimize energy use for additional grid services by coordinating building energy loads and providing continuous demand management. Incorporating GEB energy conservation measures (ECMs) in performance contracts is reliant upon multiple factors. These factors include site selection with utility tariffs and incentives favorable to GEB, the identification of GEB as a priority in the initial stages of the contracting process, integration of GEB within comprehensive performance contracts with multiple other ECMs, and careful consideration of GEB measurement and verification (M&V) for energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) and performance assurance for utility energy service contracts (UESCs).

building energy loads↗
NASA NTRS2004

NASA LCLUC Program: An Integrated Forest Monitoring System for Central Africa

Central Africa has the second largest unfragmented block of tropical rain forest in the world; it is also one of the largest carbon and biodiversity reservoirs. With nearly one-third of the forest currently allocated for logging, the region is poised to undergo extensive land-use change. Through the mapping of the forests, our Integrated Forest Monitoring System for Central Africa (INFORMS) project aims to monitor habitat alteration, support biodiversity conservation, and promote better land-use planning and forest management. Designed as an interdisciplinary project, its goal is to integrate data acquired from satellites with field observations from forest inventories, wildlife surveys, and socio-economic studies to map and monitor forest resources. This project also emphasizes on collaboration and coordination with international, regional, national, and local partners-including non-profit, governmental, and commercial sectors. This project has been focused on developing remote sensing products for the needs of forest conservation and management, insuring that research findings are incorporated in forest management plans at the national level. The societal impact of INFORMS can be also appreciated through the development of a regional remote sensing network in central Africa. With a regional office in Kinshasa, (www.OSFAC.org), the contribution to the development of forest management plans for 1.5 million hectares of forests in northern Republic of Congo (www.tt-timber.com), and the monitoring of park encroachments in the Albertine region (Uganda and DRC) (www.albertinerift.org).

Laporte, Nadine↗