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DOE OSTI2021

Resource Occurrence and Productivity in Existing and Proposed Wind Energy Lease Areas on the Northeast US Shelf

States in the Northeast United States have the ambitious goal of producing more than 22 GW of offshore wind energy in the coming decades. The infrastructure associated with offshore wind energy development is expected to modify marine habitats and potentially alter the ecosystem services. Species distribution models were constructed for a group of fish and macroinvertebrate taxa resident in the Northeast US Continental Shelf marine ecosystem. These models were analyzed to provide baseline context for impact assessment of lease areas in the Middle Atlantic Bight designated for renewable wind energy installations. Using random forest machine learning, models based on occurrence and biomass were constructed for 93 species providing seasonal depictions of their habitat distributions. We developed a scoring index to characterize lease area habitat use for each species. Subsequently, groups of species were identified that reflect varying levels of lease area habitat use ranging across high, moderate, low, and no reliance on the lease area habitats. Among the species with high to moderate reliance were black sea bass ( Centropristis striata ), summer flounder ( Paralichthys dentatus ), and Atlantic menhaden ( Brevoortia tyrannus ), which are important fisheries species in the region. Potential for impact was characterized by the number of species with habitat dependencies associated with lease areas and these varied with a number of continuous gradients. Habitats that support high biomass were distributed more to the northeast, while high occupancy habitats appeared to be further from the coast. There was no obvious effect of the size of the lease area on the importance of associated habitats. Model results indicated that physical drivers and lower trophic level indicators might strongly control the habitat distribution of ecologically and commercially important species in the wind lease areas. Therefore, physical and biological oceanography on the continental shelf proximate to wind energy infrastructure development should be monitored for changes in water column structure and the productivity of phytoplankton and zooplankton and the effects of these changes on the trophic system.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Consistent BGK Model with Velocity-Dependent Collision Frequency for Gas Mixtures

Abstract We derive a multi-species BGK model with velocity-dependent collision frequency for a non-reactive, multi-component gas mixture. The model is derived by minimizing a weighted entropy under the constraint that the number of particles of each species, total momentum, and total energy are conserved. We prove that this minimization problem admits a unique solution for very general collision frequencies. Moreover, we prove that the model satisfies an H-Theorem and characterize the form of equilibrium.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Limits on non-relativistic matter during Big-bang nucleosynthesis

Big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) probes the cosmic mass-energy density at temperatures ~10 MeV to ~100 keV. Here, we consider the effect of a cosmic matter-like species that is non-relativistic and pressureless during BBN. Such a component must decay; doing so during BBN can alter the baryon-to-photon ratio, η, and the effective number of neutrino species. We use light element abundances and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) constraints on η and N ν to place constraints on such a matter component. We find that electromagnetic decays heat the photons relative to neutrinos, and thus dilute the effective number of relativistic species to N eff < 3 for the case of three Standard Model neutrino species. Intriguingly, likelihood results based on Planck CMB data alone find N ν = 2.800 ± 0.294, and when combined with standard BBN and the observations of D and 4 He give N ν = 2.898 ± 0.141. While both results are consistent with the Standard Model, we find that a nonzero abundance of electromagnetically decaying matter gives a better fit to these results. Our best-fit results are for a matter species that decays entirely electromagnetically with a lifetime τ X = 0.89 sec and pre-decay density that is a fraction ξ = (ρ X /ρ rad |10 MeV = 0.0026 of the radiation energy density at 10 MeV; similarly good fits are found over a range where ξτ X 1/2 is constant. On the other hand, decaying matter often spoils the BBN+CMB concordance, and we present limits in the (τ X ,ξ) plane for both electromagnetic and invisible decays. For dark (invisible) decays, standard BBN (i.e. ξ = 0) supplies the best fit. We end with a brief discussion of the impact of future measurements including CMB-S4.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2010

Multi-Fluid Block-Adaptive-Tree Solar Wind Roe-Type Upwind Scheme: Magnetospheric Composition and Dynamics During Geomagnetic Storms, Initial Results

The magnetosphere contains a significant amount of ionospheric O{+}, particularly during geomagnetically active times. The presence of ionospheric plasma in the magnetosphere has a notable impact on magnetospheric composition and processes. We present a new multifluid MHD version of the BATS-R-US model of the magnetosphere to track the fate and consequences of ionospheric outflow. The multi-fluid MHD equations are presented as are the novel techniques for overcoming the formidable challenges associated with solving them. Our new model is then applied to the May 4, 1998 and March 31, 2001 geomagnetic storms. The results are juxtaposed with traditional single- fluid MHD and multispecies MHD simulations from a previous study, thereby allowing us to assess the benefits of using a more complex model with additional physics. We find that our multi-fluid MHD model (with outflow) gives comparable results to the multi-species MHD model (with outflow), including a more strongly negative Dst, reduced CPCP, and a drastically improved magnetic field at geosynchronous orbit, as compared to single-fluid MHD with no outflow. Significant differences in composition and magnetic field are found between the multi-species and multi-fluid approach further away from the Earth. We further demonstrate the ability to explore pressure and bulk velocity differences between H{+} and O(+}, which is not possible when utilizing the other techniques considered.

Gkocer, A.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Computational Prediction of Pressure and Thermal Environments in the Flame Trench With Launch Vehicles

One of the key objectives for the development of the 21st Century Space Launch Com- plex is to provide the exibility needed to support evolving launch vehicles and spacecrafts with enhanced range capacity. The launch complex needs to support various proprietary and commercial vehicles with widely di erent needs. The design of a multi-purpose main ame de ector supporting many di erent launch vehicles becomes a very challenging task when considering that even small geometric changes may have a strong impact on the pressure and thermal environment. The physical and geometric complexity encountered at the launch site require the use of state-of-the-art Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools to predict the pressure and thermal environments. Due to harsh conditions encountered in the launch environment, currently available CFD methods which are frequently employed for aerodynamic and ther- mal load predictions in aerospace applications, reach their limits of validity. This paper provides an in-depth discussion on the computational and physical challenges encountered when attempting to provide a detailed description of the ow eld in the launch environ- ment. Several modeling aspects, such as viscous versus inviscid calculations, single-species versus multiple-species ow models, and calorically perfect gas versus thermally perfect gas, are discussed. The Space Shuttle and the Falcon Heavy launch vehicles are used to study di erent engine and geometric con gurations. Finally, we provide a discussion on traditional analytical tools which have been used to provide estimates on the expected pressure and thermal loads.

thermal↗

NASA NTRS2011

Calcium in Mercury's Exosphere: Modeling MESSENGER Data

Mercury is surrounded by a surface-bounded exosphere comprised of atomic species including hydrogen, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and likely oxygen. Because it is collisionless. the exosphere's composition represents a balance of the active source and loss processes. The Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) on the MErcury Surface. Space ENvironment. GEochemistry. and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft has made high spatial-resolution observations of sodium, calcium, and magnesium near Mercury's surface and in the extended, anti-sunward direction. The most striking feature of these data has been the substantial differences in the spatial distribution of each species, Our modeling demonstrates that these differences cannot be due to post-ejection dynamics such as differences in photo-ionization rate and radiation pressure. but instead point to differences in the source mechanisms and regions on the surface from which each is ejected. The observations of calcium have revealed a strong dawn/dusk asymmetry. with the abundance over the dawn hemisphere significantly greater than over the dusk. To understand this asymmetry, we use a Monte Carlo model of Mercury's exosphere that we developed to track the motions of exospheric neutrals under the influence of gravity and radiation pressure. Ca atoms can be ejected directly from the surface or produced in a molecular exosphere (e.g., one consisting of CaO). Particles are removed from the system if they stick to the surface or escape from the model region of interest (within 15 Mercury radii). Photoionization reduces the final weighting given to each particle when simulating the Ca radiance. Preliminary results suggest a high temperature ( I-2x 10(exp 4) K) source of atomic Ca concentrated over the dawn hemisphere. The high temperature is consistent with the dissociation of CaO in a near-surface exosphere with scale height <= 100 km, which imparts 2 eV to the freshly produced Ca atom. This source region and energy are consistent with data from the three MESSENGER flybys; whether this holds true for the data obtained in orbit is under investigation.

Burger, Matthew H.↗

NASA NTRS2023

Drought-Tolerant Succulent Plants as an Alternative Crop Under Future Global Warming Scenarios in Sub-Saharan Africa

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.

agriculture↗

DOE OSTI2021

Root traits explain plant species distributions along climatic gradients yet challenge the nature of ecological trade-offs

Ecological theory is built on trade-offs, where trait differences among species evolved as adaptations to different environments. Trade-offs are often assumed to be bidirectional, where opposite ends of a gradient in trait values confer advantages in different environments. However, unidirectional benefits could be widespread if extreme trait values confer advantages at one end of an environmental gradient, whereas a wide range of trait values are equally beneficial at the other end. Here, we show that root traits explain species occurrences along broad gradients of temperature and water availability, but model predictions only resembled trade-offs in two out of 24 models. Forest species with low specific root length and high root tissue density (RTD) were more likely to occur in warm climates but species with high specific root length and low RTD were more likely to occur in cold climates. Unidirectional benefits were more prevalent than trade-offs: for example, species with large-diameter roots and high RTD were more commonly associated with dry climates, but species with the opposite trait values were not associated with wet climates. Directional selection for traits consistently occurred in cold or dry climates, whereas a diversity of root trait values were equally viable in warm or wet climates. Explicit integration of unidirectional benefits into ecological theory is needed to advance our understanding of the consequences of trait variation on species responses to environmental change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Building a genome-based understanding of bacterial pH preferences

The environmental preferences of many microbes remain undetermined. This is the case for bacterial pH preferences, which can be difficult to predict a priori despite the importance of pH as a factor structuring bacterial communities in many systems. We compiled data on bacterial distributions from five datasets spanning pH gradients in soil and freshwater systems (1470 samples), quantified the pH preferences of bacterial taxa across these datasets, and compiled genomic data from representative bacterial taxa. While taxonomic and phylogenetic information were generally poor predictors of bacterial pH preferences, we identified genes consistently associated with pH preference across environments. We then developed and validated a machine learning model to estimate bacterial pH preferences from genomic information alone, a model that could aid in the selection of microbial inoculants, improve species distribution models, or help design effective cultivation strategies. More generally, we demonstrate the value of combining biogeographic and genomic data to infer and predict the environmental preferences of diverse bacterial taxa.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS1991

Two-dimensional model calculation of fluorine-containing reservoir species in the stratosphere

Two-dimensional model calculations have been carried out of the distributions of the fluorine-containing reservoir species HF, CF2O, and CFClO. HF constitutes the largest fluorine reservoir in the stratosphere, but CF2O also makes an important contribution to the inorganic fluorine budget. CFClO amounts are most important in the tropical lower stratosphere. HF amounts increase with altitude throughout the stratosphere, while those of CF2O and CFClO fall off above their mixing ratio peaks due to photolysis. The model is in good qualitative agreement with observed vertical profiles of HF and CF2O but tends to underestimate the total column of HF. The calculated CFClO distribution is in good agreement with the very limited data. The disagreement in the HF columns is likely due to small inaccuracies in the model's treatment of lower stratospheric photolysis of chlorofluorocarbons. The model results support the suggestion that CF2O may be heterogeneously converted to HF on the surface of polar stratospheric cloud particles. The model results also suggest that the quantum yield for photolysis of CF2O is near unity.

Kaye, Jack A.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Latitudinal distribution of the sources of carbon monoxide in the troposphere

A vertically and zonally averaged model of the troposphere has been constructed which calculates photochemical interactions and diffusive North-South transport of trace species. The model can be used to calculate the latitudinal distribution of the source function of a species if its concentration distribution is known. This procedure has been applied to carbon monoxide and large sources have been found outside the industrialized belt in the Northern Hemisphere.

Hameed, S.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Seasonal changes in occupancy and activity patterns in native Collared Peccary and non-native wild pig and Common Warthog in southern Texas, the United States

Abstract Southern Texas, USA, is home to native collared peccaries (Dicotyles tajacu) and introduced populations of invasive wild pigs (generally Sus scrofa × domesticus hybrids) and non-native African warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus). Although these ecologically similar mammals co-occur in this region, the potential impacts of invasive suids on collared peccaries are poorly understood. We examined co-occupancy and activity pattern overlap of collared peccaries, wild pigs, and warthogs across 3 seasons (fall, winter, and spring) using remote camera data collected from Chaparral Wildlife Management Area, Cotulla, Texas (November 2020 to June 2021). Using activity pattern analyses and single and 2-species occupancy models incorporating habitat and climate characteristics, we found evidence of extensive spatial overlap between all species pairs and varying degrees of temporal overlap depending on species pairs and season. Collared peccaries and wild pigs displayed moderate temporal overlap across all seasons. Collared peccaries appeared to alter fall activity in the presence of wild pigs to be active earlier in the morning and less active during the day. Collared peccaries and warthogs had low-to-moderate temporal overlap (low in fall, winter; moderate in spring). Wild pigs and warthogs had low temporal overlap (fall, spring) and wild pigs appeared to alter activity in the presence of warthogs (fall), becoming less active during the day during peak warthog activity. Overall, our results suggest that peccary, wild pig, and warthog interactions and activity are dynamic and vary seasonally according to the ecology and preferred environmental conditions of each species. Given the potential for interspecific competition and disease transmission with Collared Peccary and other native wildlife, resource partitioning between wild pigs and warthogs needs to be further examined to aid in effective management strategies.

Kupferman, Caitlin A. (ORCID:0009000953554860)↗

DOE OSTI2021

SUPCRTNE Thermodynamic Database Engine

This progress report (Level 4 Milestone Number M4SF-21LL010301052) summarizes research conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) within the Argillite Activity Number SF-21LL01030105. LLNL is leading efforts in the development of thermodynamic databases in support of the Spent Fuel and Waste Science Technology (SFWST) program. Thermodynamic models provide the basis for understanding the stability of solid phases and speciation of aqueous species and modeling the evolution of repository conditions. The LLNL effort is being performed in coordination with other US database development efforts. The effort includes a review of available thermochemical databases and a path forward for database integration. International coordination with the NEA-TDB is supported through crystalline international work package.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2024

Numerical study on aerosol sampling in a nuclear facility duct with a 90-degree elbow

Due to the challenging design requirements, elbows are often unavoidable in duct configuration, and these 90-degree bends introduce swirl, velocity variations, recirculation, and secondary flow. These disturbances make it difficult for nuclear facilities to meet particle sampling standards. A series of numerical analyses are conducted to track aerosols in a nuclear facility duct having a 90-degree elbow with the assistance of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A turbulence model, a continuity, and a momentum, a discrete phase model, and species transport equations are solved simultaneously to track aerosols in the duct. The effect of turbulence models, turbulent dispersion models, droplet drag model, aerosol amount, aerosol spray configuration, guide vanes, and mixers are investigated. Simulation results are analyzed per relevant testing codes such as DOE-HDBK-1169, ASME AG1, ISO 14644-3, ACGIH, and ANSI/HPS N13.1.

Han, Kai [Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS),↗

NASA NTRS2009

Theoretical Modeling of Interstellar Chemistry

The chemistry of complex interstellar organic molecules will be described. Gas phase processes that may build large carbon-chain species in cold molecular clouds will be summarized. Catalytic reactions on grain surfaces can lead to a large variety of organic species, and models of molecule formation by atom additions to multiply-bonded molecules will be presented. The subsequent desorption of these mixed molecular ices can initiate a distinctive organic chemistry in hot molecular cores. The general ion-molecule pathways leading to even larger organics will be outlined. The predictions of this theory will be compared with observations to show how possible organic formation pathways in the interstellar medium may be constrained. In particular, the success of the theory in explaining trends in the known interstellar organics, in predicting recently-detected interstellar molecules, and, just as importantly, non-detections, will be discussed.

Charnley, Steven↗

NASA NTRS1989

Conservation equations and physical models for hypersonic air flows in thermal and chemical nonequilibrium

The conservation equations for simulating hypersonic flows in thermal and chemical nonequilibrium and details of the associated physical models are presented. These details include the curve fits used for defining thermodynamic properties of the 11 species air model, curve fits for collision cross sections, expressions for transport properties, the chemical kinetics models, and the vibrational and electronic energy relaxation models. The expressions are formulated in the context of either a two or three temperature model. Greater emphasis is placed on the two temperature model in which it is assumed that the translational and rotational energy models are in equilibrium at the translational temperature, T, and the vibrational, electronic, and electron translational energy modes are in equilibrium at the vibrational temperature, T sub v. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors associated with the Jacobian of the flux vector are also presented in order to accommodate the upwind based numerical solutions of the complete equation set.

Peter A. Gnoffo↗

NASA NTRS2007

Modeling Evaporation of Drops of Different Kerosenes

A mathematical model describes the evaporation of drops of a hydrocarbon liquid composed of as many as hundreds of chemical species. The model is intended especially for application to any of several types of kerosenes commonly used as fuels. The concept of continuous thermodynamics, according to which the chemical composition of the evaporating multicomponent liquid is described by use of a probability distribution function (PDF). However, the present model is more generally applicable than is its immediate predecessor.

Bellan, Josette↗

NASA NTRS2006

Following the Water: the Evolution of Ice-forming Regions in the Early Solar Nebula

The abundances of water-vapor and water-ice during the first ten million years of the protoplanetary solar nebula are simulated using a new condensation/sublimation model. This study builds on a "snow line" model reported in ApJ 627 L153 (2005); it uses a simple phenomenological model where water vapor molecules evolve from solar atomic abundance and eventually condenses to ice at colder points in the nebula once the water-vapor partial pressure exceeds a value determined by the phase diagram for water. The synthesis of water vapor from elementary species is modeled with a chemical network consisting of about 400 species and 4000 reactions. The evolution of the icy zone (and its relative abundance of solid ice) is traced from a limited region in the early hotter disk to its final state at the time when the gas is expelled and a planetary system begins to form. Possible effects of this dynamic motion on disk chemistry and organic molecule formation are also described.

Davis, Sanford S.↗