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Potential applications of LANDSAT remote sensing technology to worldwide resources management are discussed. Some concern is expressed regarding a potential threat to individual national security.
As part of a multiyear effort, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has dedicated resources to understand and identify cybersecurity weaknesses in distributed energy resources (DERs) by performing assessments. Due to a lack of standardization and rapidly increasing adoption of DERs, there is a critical need to address cybersecurity needs for DER systems in an interactive way. Furthermore, federal agencies, which are required to obtain an authority to operate, are challenged by the complexities of including their DERs. To help meet this need, in early 2020, NREL released the Distributed Energy Resources Cybersecurity Framework (DERCF) and accompanying Web application. This process is supported by the Risk Management Framework (RMF) developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This project, referred to as the DERCF RMF application, expands on the existing DERCF work to include methods that support walking a user through the seven RMF steps. The tool will be available for download at no cost from [link ]. The purpose of this paper is to describe the steps the DERCF team at NREL took to understand Steps 1-5 of the RMF process. Additionally, this document will identify future work on the first five steps as well as a plan for Steps 6 and 7.
Time, money, and, personnel are becoming increasingly scarce resources within government agencies due to a reduction in funding and the desire to demonstrate responsible economic efficiency. The ability of an organization to plan and schedule resources effectively can provide the necessary leverage to improve productivity, provide continuous support to all projects, and insure flexibility in a rapidly changing environment. Without adequate internal controls the organization is forced to rely on external support, waste precious resources, and risk an inefficient response to change. Management systems must be developed and applied that strive to maximize the utility of existing resources in order to achieve the goal of "faster, cheaper, better". An area of concern within NASA Langley Research Center was the scheduling, planning, and resource management of the Wind Tunnel Enterprise operations. Nine wind tunnels make up the Enterprise. Prior to this research, these wind tunnel groups did not employ a rigorous or standardized management planning system. In addition, each wind tunnel unit operated from a position of autonomy, with little coordination of clients, resources, or project control. For operating and planning purposes, each wind tunnel operating unit must balance inputs from a variety of sources. Although each unit is managed by individual Facility Operations groups, other stakeholders influence wind tunnel operations. These groups include, for example, the various researchers and clients who use the facility, the Facility System Engineering Division (FSED) tasked with wind tunnel repair and upgrade, the Langley Research Center (LaRC) Fabrication (FAB) group which fabricates repair parts and provides test model upkeep, the NASA and LARC Strategic Plans, and unscheduled use of the facilities by important clients. Expanding these influences horizontally through nine wind tunnel operations and vertically along the NASA management structure greatly increases the complexity of developing a model that can be used for successfully implementing a standardized management planning tool. The objective of this study was to implement an Integrated Wind Tunnel Planning System to improve the operations within the aeronautics testing and research group, in particular Wind Tunnel Enterprise. The study included following steps: Conducted literature search and expert discussions (NASA and Old Dominion University faculty), Performed environmental scan of NASA Langley wind tunnel operations as foundation for problem definition. Established operation requirements and evaluation methodologies. Examined windtunnel operations to map out the common characteristics, critical components, and system structure. Reviewed and evaluated various project scheduling and management systems for implementation, Evaluated and implemented "Theory of Constraints (TOC)" project scheduling methodology at NASA Langley wind tunnel operations together with NASA staff.
The day-to-day operators of today's aerospace systems work under increasing pressures to accomplish more with less. They work in operational systems which are complex, technology-based, and high-risk; in which incidents and accidents have far-reaching and costly consequences. For these and other reasons, there is concern that the safety net formerly built upon redundant systems and abundant resources may become overburdened. Although we know that human ingenuity can overcome incredible odds, human nature can also fail in unpredictable ways. Over the last 20 years, a large percentage of aviation accidents and incidents have been attributed to human errors rather than hardware or environmental factors alone. A class of errors have been identified which are not due to a lack of individual, technical competencies. Rather, they are due to the failure of teams to utilize readily available resources or information in a timely fashion. These insights began a training revolution in the aviation industry called Cockpit Resource Management, which later became known as Crew Resource Management (CRM) as its concepts and applications extended to teams beyond the flightdeck. Then, as now, communication has been a cornerstone in CRM training since crew coordination and resource management largely resides within information transfer processes--both within flightcrews, and between flightcrews and the ground operations teams that support them. The research I will describe takes its roots in CRM history as we began to study communication processes in order to discover symptoms of crew coordination problems, as well as strategies of effective crew management. On the one hand, communication is often the means or the tool by which team members manage their resources, solve problems, maintain situational awareness and procedural discipline. Conversely, it is the lack of planning and resource management, loss of vigilance and situational awareness, and non-standard communications that are implicated in accidents and incidents. NASA/Ames Crew Factors researchers have been developing a model of effective crew coordination in order to understand the sources of performance breakdowns, and to develop effective solutions and interventions. Because communication is a primary mechanism by which information is received and transmitted, and because it is observable behavior, we focus on these group processes in order to identify patterns of communication that distinguish effective from less effective crew performance. Since a prime objective is to develop training recommendations for enhancing communication skills, we interpret our findings in the context of relevant task and environmental conditions, role and procedural constraints, and the normal real-time parameters of flight operations. Another research objective is to consider how communication and coordination can be enhanced through design. For example, flight deck and hardware design as well as procedural and software design may greatly influence the efficiency with which crews communicate and coordinate their work. In addition, teams and tasks may be designed, organized, and trained so that team interactions with each other are based upon appropriately shared knowledge, procedures and situation awareness. In short, we are interested in enhancing communication practices through (1) the training of specific communication skills, and (2) the design of equipment, tasks, procedures, and teams that optimize smooth, unambiguous communication processes. Two examples of communication research will be described; one in aviation and one in space operations. The first example is a high-fidelity full mission simulation study which investigates the affect of flightdeck automation on crew coordination and communication (contrasting crew performance in the DC-9 vs. MD88). Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
An overview is given of the capabilities and functions of the resource management system (RIMS). It is a simple interactive DMS tool which allows users to build, modify, and maintain data management applications. The RIMS minimizes programmer support required to develop/maintain small data base applications. The RIMS also assists in bringing the United Information Services (UIS) budget system work inhouse. Information is also given on the relationship between the RIMS and the user community.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report. Results of an integrated study of earth resources in the state of California using ERTS-1 and supporting aircraft data are presented. Areas of investigation cover (1) regional agricultural surveys; (2) solving water resource management problems; (3) resource management in Northern California using ERTS-1 data; (4) analysis of river meanders; (5) assessment and monitoring change in west side of the San Joaquin Valley and central coastal zone of state; (6) assessment and monitoring of changes in Southern California environment; (7) digital handling and processing of ERTS-1 data; (8) use of ERTS-1 data in educational and applied research programs of the Agricultural Extension Service; and (9) identification, classification, and mapping of salt affected soils.
This presentation is a case study designed to teach the technique of close call investigation. Acronyms: CRM (Crew Resource Management); TEM (Threat and Error Management); ORM (Organizational Resource Management)
This presentation summarizes a high-resolution, forward-looking dataset of EV adoption, EV charging, and managed charging resource. Vehicle-level data are grounded in current adoption and charging patterns, and ~200,000 real-world vehicle-weeks of travel data covering all on-road segments (i.e., light-duty, transit and school buses, local, regional and long-haul medium- and heavy-duty). The data, which include multiple charging profiles per vehicle to bound flexibility, are then processed and aggregated to describe baseline charging and charge management resource by county, hour, year, scenario, and vehicle type. Coupled with one of four scenarios of how EV managed charging costs might evolve over time, the dataset enables a power sector capacity expansion model to select cost-optimal quantities of EV managed charging and supply-side resources to reliably satisfy demand. Five integration strategies: Baseline, Daytime and Flat (passive), Flex (active), and Stress (anti-strategy), illustrate how baseline charging and flexibility potential changes with EVSE build-out and charging preferences.
Concern for potential visual effects to historic Manhattan Project–era properties emerged early in the planning and consultation phase for the upcoming Energetic Materials Complex (EMC) construction project. In initial discussions with project managers and design team members, resource managers became aware of the need to consider potential impacts to the viewsheds of two nearby properties that are eligible for inclusion in the Manhattan Project National Historical Park (MAPR). Resource managers recognized that viewshed characteristics important to the integrity of the Concrete Bowl (Technical Area [TA-]06-0037) and the Quonset Hut (TA-22-0001) conceivably faced the prospect of lasting and irreversible visual impacts. A strategy to gather necessary data soon emerged. The approach presented to the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) on April 7, 2021, combined gathering baseline information from field visits with a geographic information system (GIS)-supported viewshed analysis. Accordingly, results from the viewshed analysis would help resource managers determine if a more comprehensive visual impact assessment (VIA) would be needed. If necessitated by the outcome of the GIS viewshed analysis, initial consultation with the SHPO specified the production of a VIA that would explore any potential visual adverse impacts to the Concrete Bowl and the Quonset Hut. Cultural resources and GIS specialists with the Laboratory performed a viewshed analysis shortly after consultation with the SHPO. The analysis indicated a high likelihood that at least one of the two Manhattan Project–era properties would experience at least a minimal level of visual impact and that a VIA would be needed. The resulting analysis provides a description of the undertaking, an account of the properties affected along with an evaluation of historical significance, an examination of potential visual impacts, and a determination of effect to the identified historic properties.
The emergence of distributed energy resources (DERs) has transformed the electric power sector and will likely have even more profound impacts on the future evolution of the United States energy sector as it modernizes and becomes more reliant upon complex informatics programming and systems to ensure that our power grid remains safe from malicious interference. To mitigate risks associated with the increased and diversified use of DERs, the Distributed Energy Resource Cybersecurity Framework (DER-CF) was developed in 2019. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory extended the scope of the DER-CF to include the RMF. To address the challenges faced by federal energy managers and energy system stakeholders in applying the RMF to DER systems, the Distributed Energy Resource Risk Manager (DER-RM) is a six-step process to proactively manage cybersecurity risk in a methodical manner. The DER-RM is independent of the DER-CF's existing assessment, allowing users to focus specifically on the RMF steps. The tools are targeted to different processes - DER-CF enables organizations to perform self-assessments to improve their cybersecurity posture, while DER-RM assists organizations in achieving compliance with specific requirements. This document provides an overview of the DER-RM. The RMF process outlined in this report serves as a guide to diagnose information and operational system threats, gather required materials to comply with industry standards, and document plans for achieving Authority to Operate. Using the DER-RM, federal agencies and other organizations can easily and intuitively follow the RMF process, manage the risks to their grid-edge infrastructure through the integration of their on-site DERs, and comply with appropriate requirements.
The legal aspects of resources management to regulate near-shore and shoreline area activities in the Chesapeake Bay are discussed. The need for information and acquisition in order to define the resources prior to developing legislation on resources management is explained. The steps which are followed in devising the regulatory legislation and enforcing its provisions are outlined.
Global demands to secure critical mineral supply chains and managing water resources require innovative resource management strategies. Subsurface basalt reservoirs offer a dual-purpose application, where CO2 enhanced critical metal recovery can be coupled with water remediation strategies for the extraction of economically important and environmentally relevant elements. This study utilizes static batch experiments conducted on Columbia River Basalt Group samples to evaluate long-term fluid–rock interactions relevant to coupled subsurface applications. Samples were reacted under elevated temperature and pressure conditions, for 296 and 4,061 days, providing a unique dataset to assess geochemical evolution, element partitioning, and aqueous chemistry over decadal timescales. The alteration was dominated by silicate, aluminosilicate, and oxide phases. Progressive hydrothermal alteration increased the cation exchange capacity through the formation of secondary minerals (e.g. clays and zeolites), influencing solute retention, ion exchange behavior, and aqueous chemistry. Grain-scale and bulk analyses revealed selective cation release and retention patterns, establishing a mechanistic baseline for predicting element mobility. These geochemical constraints inform the prospective use of CO2-enhanced metal recovery for critical resources (e.g. Co, Ni, Mn, Mg, Ti, Fe) and associated water-quality impacts, providing a foundation for the design and management of engineered fluid–rock systems in basalt reservoirs.
One of the major objectives of the Skylab Program was to investigate the feasibility of addressing the techniques of resource management through the use of remote sensors from a space platform. To accomplish these investigations, a package of broad-spectrum remote sensors was devised to investigate the extent to which surface features could be interpreted for potential use in understanding and managing the earth's resources. This paper will describe the total system capability needed to accomplish the resource management task; and, for a few specific examples, indicate how the results of EREP will contribute to the on-going development of the total resources system.
Organizations need a comprehensive approach to managing security and privacy risks, especially for energy resources that are becoming increasingly distributed. A tool by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) makes it possible to manage these risks and maintain the highest standards of cybersecurity. To simplify risk management for facilities and distributed energy resources, NREL has created the Distributed Energy Resource Risk Manager, an automated, user-friendly tool that helps navigate and implement one of the most widely trusted frameworks for information security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Risk Management Framework.
Flux is a framework for writing resource managers as well as a resource manager for HPC systems. It allows for hierarchical nesting and providing a portable interface for job scheduling across systems. The flux-k8s software provides an interface between Flux and Kubernetes so the two frameworks can use each other's functionality. The code is currently licensed under the LGPL-3.0 License, but we request to re-license the code to promote outside collaboration and community adoption.
An index of EREP photographs is provided along with information on how EREP data can be obtained. Suggestions are presented for possible utilization of the data in the following areas: land resource management; water resources; marine resources; landform surveys, geologic mapping, and mineral resources; agriculture, forest, and range resources; and environmental applications. It is intended to stimulate potential users to apply the data to their respective fields of interest.
The use of automated classification systems in the field of resource management and resource inventory is discussed. Applications of LANDSAT classification are outlined and include: energy load forecasting based upon land use inventories and change analysis, impact analysis of activities related to energy extraction, capability/suitability mapping in support of generation and substation location and transmission line routing, and assessment of solar energy potential in a highly urbanized setting where land values are high. It is found that the use of LANDSAT data is adequate for general inventories where few data categories are required, where resolution of data to around 150 acres minimum is required, and where no other complete imagery set can be obtained.
Earth remote sensing is a uniquely valuable tool for large-scale resource management, a task whose importance will likely increase world-wide through the foreseeable future. NASA research and engineering have virtually created the existing U.S. system, and will continue to push the frontiers, primarily through Earth Observing System (EOS) instruments, research, and data and information systems. It is the researchers' view that the near-term health of remote sensing applications also deserves attention; it seems important not to abandon the system or its clients. The researchers suggest that, like its Landsat predecessor, a successful Earth Observing System program is likely to reinforce pressure to 'manage' natural resources, and consequently, to create more pressure for Earth Observations Commercialization (EOCAP) type applications. The current applications programs, though small, are valuable because of their technical and commercial results, and also because they support a community whose contributions will increase along with our ability to observe the Earth from space.