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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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In this paper, we discuss the effects of atmospheric fluctuations on PFF performance, steps taken to reduce the strength of these fluctuations, and simulations showing how part of the PFF error maybe filtered out with the use of a Kalman filter.
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As countries take action to mitigate global warming, both by ratifying the UNFCCC Paris Agreement and enacting the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to manage hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), it is important to consider the relative importance of the pertinent greenhouse gases (GHGs), the distinct structure of their atmospheric impacts, and how the timing of potential GHG regulations would affect future changes in atmospheric temperature and ozone. Chemistry-climate model simulations demonstrate that HFCs could contribute substantially to anthropogenic climate change by the mid-21st century, particularly in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere i.e., global average warming up to 0.19K at 80hPa. Three HFC mitigation scenarios demonstrate the benefits of taking early action in avoiding future atmospheric change: more than 90 of the climate change impacts of HFCs can be avoided if emissions stop by 2030.
As countries take action to mitigate global warming, both by ratifying theUNFCCCParis Agreement and enacting the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to manage hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), it is important to consider the relative importance of the pertinent greenhouse gases and the distinct structure of their atmospheric impacts, and how the timing of potential greenhouse gas regulations would affect future changes in atmospheric temperature and ozone. HFCs should be explicitly considered in upcoming climate and ozone assessments, since chemistry-climate model simulations demonstrate that HFCs could contribute substantially to anthropogenic climate change by the mid- 21st century, particularly in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere i.e., global average warming up to 0.19 Kat 80 hPa. The HFCmitigation scenarios described in this study demonstrate the benefits of taking early action in avoiding future atmospheric change: more than 90% of the climate change impacts of HFCs can be avoided if emissions stop by 2030.
This document is the presentation to be given at the 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers Earth and Space Conference to examine the concept of using electrostatic precipitation for Martian atmospheric dust mitigation of the intakes of in-situ resource utilization reactors.
The Mars 2020 and Mars Sample Return missions expected to fly to Mars within the next ten years will each include an In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) system. They convert carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into consumable oxygen at 1% and 20% of the rate required by a full scale human exploration Mars mission, respectively. The ISRU systems will need to draw in the surrounding atmosphere at a rate of 110L/min and 550L/min, respectively, in order to meet their oxygen production goals. Over the duration of each respective mission, a total atmospheric dust mass of 4.86g and 243g will be drawn into each system, respectively. Ingestion of large quantities of dust may interfere with ISRU operations, so a dust mitigation device will be required. The atmospheric volume and dust mass flow rates above will be utilized to simulate Martian environmental conditions in a laboratory electrostatic precipitator being developed to provide active dust mitigation support for atmospheric ISRU systems such as these.
Global warming alters surface water availability (precipitation minus evapotranspiration, P–E) and hence freshwater resources. However, the influence of land–atmosphere feedbacks on future P–E changes and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we demonstrate that soil moisture (SM) strongly impacts future P–E changes, especially in drylands, by regulating evapotranspiration and atmospheric moisture inflow. Using modelling and empirical approaches, we find a consistent negative SM feedback on P–E, which may offset ~60% of the decline in dryland P–E otherwise expected in the absence of SM feedbacks. The negative feedback is not caused by atmospheric thermodynamic responses to declining SM; rather, reduced SM, in addition to limiting evapotranspiration, regulates atmospheric circulation and vertical ascent to enhance moisture transport into drylands. This SM effect is a large source of uncertainty in projected dryland P–E changes, underscoring the need to better constrain future SM changes and improve the representation of SM–atmosphere processes in models.
A second generation electrostatic precipitator for use in the Martian environment has been developed by the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This new system was designed to be modular and has three interchangeable test sections, each with a variety of replaceable high voltage electrodes, enabling optimization of the dust collection efficiency of the precipitator. It has the ability to maintain an increased atmospheric flow rate and provide more accurate dust delivery into the test section than was available in the previous prototypes. A majority of the controls for the system are provided by a software package developed to maintain a constant flow rate, low pressure, and electrode current to enable long duration performance characterization. This allows for testing of the technology in a relevant environment similar to those expected to be found in an atmospheric In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) plant on Mars.
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High-fidelity optical propagation through the atmosphere is essential for free-space optical technologies, including laser-based remote sensing and optical communication. However, atmospheric turbulence severely distorts beams and compromises system performance. In this work, we employ hypergeometric-Gaussian (HyGG) vortex beams as probes to characterize and mitigate atmospheric turbulence. Using over 250,000 experimental and simulated frames, we show that refining the power spectrum density (PSD) can reduce numerical prediction errors by up to 79.8%. Concurrently, experimental observations supported by numerical simulations demonstrate that HyGG beams exhibit superior turbulence resilience across multiple metrics compared to conventional Gaussian beams, particularly in their ability to withstand over 5 times stronger turbulence while maintaining similar intensity fluctuations. These dual investigations, on both turbulence mitigation and robust beam solutions, converge to form a unified strategy for enhancing free-space optical system performance. Collectively, our findings provide new insights into light–turbulence interactions and highlight the practical utility of vortex beams under atmospheric conditions.
To assess the environmental impact of decomposing gas hydrates, this project characterized the atmospheric emission and ocean acidification associated with seafloor-released methane along the U.S. Atlantic Margin. This project leveraged the newly discovered seafloor seeps in this region, many of which are located near the landward limit of gas hydrate stability, to investigate the fate and environmental impact of methane once released from the seafloor. Several research directions were pursued during these investigations. First, high-spatial resolution surface surveys were conducted to characterize the degree to which sea-to-air emission of methane is correlated with acoustically detected seafloor bubble emissions. Second, the natural isotopic signatures of both radiocarbon and δ 13 C were measured throughout the water column to observe if seafloor-released methane was detected in surface waters or if it was replaced by a different source. Third, the extent of methane oxidation in the water column was constrained to assess the ability of this process to mitigate atmospheric methane emissions. Fourth, since aerobic methane oxidation ultimately converts methane to carbon dioxide, the extent of ocean acidification relating to this process was assessed. Ultimately, this project was conducted in four stages. Stage one involved preparations for the research expedition along the U.S. Atlantic Margin. This involved calibrating, modifying, and validating equipment needed for sample and data collection in this unique environment. Stage two involved executing the at-sea science. This research was conducted from 25 August to 5 September 2017 on the R/V Hugh R. Sharp. This expedition left from Lewes, Delaware and investigated the continental slope from approximately this latitude down to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Third, any samples unanalyzed on the research vessel were returned to the laboratory and measured. Fourth, the data were interpreted, and publications and presentations were prepared.
Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is a controlled radical polymerization method that enables the synthesis of tailored polymeric materials with low dispersity, highlighting its immense potential for green fabrication of advanced materials. However, its broader implementation is limited by challenges in product isolation, maintaining catalyst activity, and mitigating atmospheric sensitivity arising from oxygen-sensitive metal catalysts. Here, gelatin hydrogels (GHs) are introduced as a soft “reactor” matrix for interfacial ATRP, operating with minimal metal-catalyst loading while exhibiting possibly an organoreductive behavior. This strategy leverages activator regeneration via electron transfer through a ligand–metal charge-transfer (LMCT) mechanism to reduce oxidized metal catalysts within the GH network. Polymerization is evaluated by growing polymer brushes at an active interface formed between GHs swollen in monomer solution and an initiating surface, and sequential growth experiments confirmed that GH-mediated ATRP preserves living character. Under UV illumination, LMCT is activated, producing polymers both at the desired interface and within the GH bulk. UV–Vis spectroscopy revealed active reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) along with concentration-dependent complex formation, indicating dynamic coordination chemistry within the hydrogel. The redox-active arginine- and glutamic acid-rich gelatin backbone coordinates and reduces the metal center, enabling ATRP at ppm-level catalyst concentrations. While polymerization proceeds in GH-Cu(II) reactors, adding external mobile ligands to the GH results in longer polymer brushes. Here, the results reported here are exploratory. More experiments are needed to characterize polymer brush growth in GHs and compare it to conventional surface-initiated polymerization in solution.
Previous strain development efforts for cyanobacteria have failed to achieve the necessary productivities needed to support economic biofuel production. We proposed to develop CRISPR Engineering for Rapid Enhancement of Strains (CERES). We developed genetic and computational tools to enable future high-throughput screening of CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) libraries in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, including: (1) Operon- SEQer: an ensemble of algorithms for predicting operon pairs using RNA-seq data, (2) experimental characterization and machine learning prediction of gRNA design rules for CRISPRi, and (3) a shuttle vector for gene expression. These tools lay the foundation for CRISPR library screening to develop cyanobacterial strains that are optimized for growth or metabolite production under a wide range of environmental conditions. The optimization of cyanobacterial strains will directly advance U.S. energy and climate security by enabling domestic biofuel production while simultaneously mitigating atmospheric greenhouse gases through photoautotrophic fixation of carbon dioxide.
Archaea and bacteria with the capacity to utilize one-carbon (C1) molecules as carbon and energy sources are widespread across the planet and are important players in many biogeochemical processes. As such, they occupy an array of diverse anaerobic and aerobic niches and perform unique metabolisms that enable the utilization of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), formate (HCOOH), methanol (CH 3 OH), and methane (CH 4 ) for growth. Several industrial processes have been developed that leverage these microbes for the targeted conversion of anthropogenic waste gases that contain C1 molecules, including natural gas (CH 4 ), anaerobic digestion-derived biogas (CH 4 and CO 2 ), industrial flue gas (CO 2 and CO), and syngas (CO 2 , CO, and H 2 ) (Figure 1). Further, there is increasing interest in electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to CO, CH 4 , and intermediates with increased solubility compared to gaseous C1 molecules (formate and methanol) using electrons derived from renewable sources like wind, solar, or hydrothermal systems to mitigate atmospheric greenhouse gas. Thus, C1-utilizing microbes will likely play an integral role in biotechnologies that are part of a sustainable, circular bioeconomy. However, fundamental knowledge gaps into the metabolism and physiology of these microbes exist that limit their utility as biocatalysts for carbon-efficient biomanufacturing. This special topic presents studies focused on the fundamental aspects of C1 metabolism in diverse microbial systems with the ability to convert anthropogenic greenhouse gases into valuable products.
To mitigate atmospheric errors caused by the troposphere, which is a limiting error source for spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) imaging, a tropospheric correction method has been developed using data from the European Centre for Medium- Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the Global Positioning System (GPS). The ECMWF data was interpolated using a Stretched Boundary Layer Model (SBLM), and ground-based GPS estimates of the tropospheric delay from the Southern California Integrated GPS Network were interpolated using modified Gaussian and inverse distance weighted interpolations. The resulting Zenith Total Delay (ZTD) correction maps have been evaluated, both separately and using a combination of the two data sets, for three short-interval InSAR pairs from Envisat during 2006 on an area stretching from northeast from the Los Angeles basin towards Death Valley. Results show that the root mean square (rms) in the InSAR images was greatly reduced, meaning a significant reduction in the atmospheric noise of up to 32 percent. However, for some of the images, the rms increased and large errors remained after applying the tropospheric correction. The residuals showed a constant gradient over the area, suggesting that a remaining orbit error from Envisat was present. The orbit reprocessing in ROI_pac and the plane fitting both require that the only remaining error in the InSAR image be the orbit error. If this is not fulfilled, the correction can be made anyway, but it will be done using all remaining errors assuming them to be orbit errors. By correcting for tropospheric noise, the biggest error source is removed, and the orbit error becomes apparent and can be corrected for
Custom coherent architectures can provide many advantages for FSO communications systems through co-development of integrated photonics, ASIC-or FPGA-based DSP algorithms, and system design to mitigate atmospheric turbulence and reduce pointing requirements.
We report on the design, development, and testing of our high-power broadband optical modem supporting NASA’s crewed Artemis-2 mission. The O2O modem will be mounted in the crewed Orion module and provide a broadband 505,000 km bi-directional optical link back to earth while en route to the moon. The full-duplex modem consists of a high-power optical transmitter and receiver optimized for serially-concatenated pulse-position modulation (SCPPM). The transmitter is a master-oscillator power-amplifier optical architecture using efficient cladding-pumped amplification in erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber. The transmitter outputs up to 1 W at ≈1550 nm (limited for eye safety) and supports 6 different user-rates ranging from 20.39 Mb/s to 260.95 Mb/s using PPM16 and PPM32 modulation formats. The optical receiver supports two user-rates: 10.19 Mb/s and 20.39 Mb/s with both rates employing PPM32. The narrowband receiver filtering is optimized to simultaneously accept four separate wavelength channels to mitigate atmospherics through spatial diversity. A configurable interleaver provides additional protection against atmospherics-based signal fading and a powerful soft-decision error correction scheme enables highly sensitive detection. The measured sensitivities at the two bit-rates are -73.8 and -71.8dBm, respectively. The architecture was designed for reliable operation in space, featuring automatic hardware interlocks, pump sparing for the amplifiers, and autonomous operation of all internal hardware and software control loops. The protoflight unit (PFU) was put through rigorous environmental testing which included pyroshock, vibration, electromagnetic interference/compatibility, and thermal-vacuum testing. The modem successfully passed all the environmental screening and has been declared at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6.
Globally, we are facing an emerging climate crisis, with impacts to be notably felt in semiarid regions across the world. Cultivation of drought-adapted succulent plants has been suggested as a nature-based solution that could: (i) reduce land degradation, (ii) increase agricultural diversification and provide both economic and environmentally sustainable income through derived bioproducts and bioenergy, (iii) help mitigate atmospheric CO 2 emissions and (iv) increase soil sequestration of CO 2 . Identifying where succulents can grow and thrive is an important prerequisite for the advent of a sustainable alternative ‘bioeconomy’. Here, we first explore the viability of succulent cultivation in Africa under future climate projections to 2100 using species distribution modelling to identify climatic parameters of greatest importance and regions of environmental suitability. Minimum temperatures and temperature variability are shown to be key controls in defining the theoretical distribution of three succulent species explored, and under both current and future SSP5 8.5 projections, the conditions required for the growth of at least one of the species are met in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. These results are supplemented with an analysis of potentially available land for alternative succulent crop cultivation. In total, up to 1.5 billion ha could be considered ecophysiologically suitable and available for succulent cultivation due to projected declines in rangeland biomass and yields of traditional crops. These findings may serve to highlight new opportunities for farmers, governments and key stakeholders in the agriculture and energy sectors to invest in sustainable bioeconomic alternatives that deliver on environmental, social and economic goals.