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At least 37 records · Page 2

Equations for the kinetic modeling of supersonically flowing electrically excited lasers

The equations for the kinetic modeling of a supersonically flowing electrically excited laser system are presented. The work focuses on the use of diatomic gases, in particular carbon monoxide mixtures. The equations presented include the vibrational rate equation which describes the vibrational population distribution, the electron, ion and electronic level rate equations, the gasdynamic equations for an ionized gas in the presence of an applied electric field, and the free electron Boltzmann equation including flow and gradient coupling terms. The model developed accounts for vibration-vibration collisions, vibration-translation collisions, electron-molecule inelastic excitation and superelastic de-excitation collisions, charge particle collisions, ionization and three body recombination collisions, elastic collisions, and radiative decay, all of which take place in such a system. A simplified form of the free electron Boltzmann equation is developed and discussed with emphasis placed on its coupling with the supersonic flow. A brief description of a possible solution procedure for the set of coupled equations is then discussed.

Lind, R. C.↗

Bacterial volatile organic compound specialists in the phycosphere

Abstract Labile dissolved organic carbon in the surface oceans accounts for about one-fourth of carbon produced through photosynthesis and turns over on average every 3 days, fueling one of the largest engines of microbial heterotrophic production on the planet. Volatile organic compounds are poorly constrained components of dissolved organic carbon. Here, we detected 72 m/z signals, corresponding to unique volatile organic compounds, including petroleum hydrocarbons, totaling ~18.5 nM in the culture medium of a model diatom. In five cocultures with bacteria adapted to grow with this diatom, 1–59 m/z signals were depleted. Two of the most active volatile organic compound consumers, Marinobacter and Roseibium, contained more genes encoding volatile organic compound oxidation proteins, and attached to the diatom, suggesting volatile organic compound specialism. With nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry and stable isotope labeling, we confirmed that Marinobacter incorporated carbon from benzene, one of the depleted m/z signals detected in the co-culture. Diatom gross carbon production increased by up to 29% in the presence of volatile organic compound consumers, indicating that volatile organic compound consumption by heterotrophic bacteria in the phycosphere—a region of rapid organic carbon oxidation that surrounds phytoplankton cells—could impact global rates of gross primary production.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗

A re-examination of the mechanism of whiting events: A new role for diatoms in Fayetteville Green Lake (New York, USA)

Whiting events—the episodic precipitation of fine-grained suspended calcium carbonates in the water column—have been documented across a variety of marine and lacustrine environments. Whitings likely are a major source of carbonate muds, a constituent of limestones, and important archives for geochemical proxies of Earth history. While several biological and physical mechanisms have been proposed to explain the onset of these precipitation events, no consensus has been reached thus far. Fayetteville Green Lake (New York, USA) is a meromictic lake that experiences annual whitings. Materials suspended in the water column collected through the whiting season were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. Whitings in Fayetteville Green Lake are initiated in the spring within the top few meters of the water column, by precipitation of fine amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) phases nucleating on microbial cells, as well as on abundant extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) frequently associated with centric diatoms. Whiting particles found in the summer consist of 5–7 μm calcite grains forming aggregates with diatoms and EPS. Simple calculations demonstrate that calcite particles continuously grow over several days, then sink quickly through the water column. In the late summer, partial calcium carbonate dissolution is observed deeper in the water column. Settling whiting particles, however, reach the bottom of the lake, where they form a major constituent of the sediment, along with diatom frustules. The role of diatoms and associated EPS acting as nucleation surfaces for calcium carbonates is described for the first time here as a potential mechanism participating in whitings at Fayetteville Green Lake. This mechanism may have been largely overlooked in other whiting events in modern and ancient environments.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Determination of Combustion Product Radicals in a Hydrocarbon Fueled Rocket Exhaust Plume

The identification of metallic effluent materials in a rocket engine exhaust plume indicates the health of the engine. Since 1989, emission spectroscopy of the plume of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) has been used for ground testing at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC). This technique allows the identification and quantification of alloys from the metallic elements observed in the plume. With the prospect of hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engines, such as Rocket Propellant 1 (RP-1) or methane (CH4) fueled engines being considered for use in future space flight systems, the contributions of intermediate or final combustion products resulting from the hydrocarbon fuels are of great interest. The effect of several diatomic molecular radicals, such as Carbon Dioxide , Carbon Monoxide, Molecular Carbon, Methylene Radical, Cyanide or Cyano Radical, and Nitric Oxide, needs to be identified and the effects of their band systems on the spectral region from 300 nm to 850 nm determined. Hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engines will play a prominent role in future space exploration programs. Although hydrogen fuel provides for higher engine performance, hydrocarbon fuels are denser, safer to handle, and less costly. For hydrocarbon-fueled engines using RP-1 or CH4 , the plume is different from a hydrogen fueled engine due to the presence of several other species, such as CO2, C2, CO, CH, CN, and NO, in the exhaust plume, in addition to the standard H2O and OH. These species occur as intermediate or final combustion products or as a result of mixing of the hot plume with the atmosphere. Exhaust plume emission spectroscopy has emerged as a comprehensive non-intrusive sensing technology which can be applied to a wide variety of engine performance conditions with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Stennis Space Center researchers have been in the forefront of advancing experimental techniques and developing theoretical approaches in order to bring this technology to a more mature stage.

Langford, Lester A.↗

Final Report: Enhanced Algal Production of CA for Improved Atmospheric Delivery of CO2 To Ponds

Technologies that enable direct-air-capture (DAC) of CO2 and eliminate the need for a CO2 capture, storage, and distribution system would significantly reduce the cost of algal production, and greatly increase the volume of algae biomass that can be produced by enabling algae farms to be located anywhere. Such technologies include cultivation under high alkalinity/high pH conditions, which increase the driving force for CO2 absorption, and development of genetic tools and genetically engineered strains to decorate the surface of the algae with carbonic anhydrase (CA), enable secretion of CA by the algae, or more generally boost the performance of the carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM).

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Opacity probability distribution functions for electronic systems of CN and C2 molecules including their stellar isotopic forms.

The basis and techniques are presented for generating opacity probability distribution functions for the CN molecule (red and violet systems) and the C2 molecule (Swan, Phillips, Ballik-Ramsay systems), two of the more important diatomic molecules in the spectra of carbon stars, with a view to including these distribution functions in equilibrium model atmosphere calculations. Comparisons to the CO molecule are also shown. T he computation of the monochromatic absorption coefficient uses the most recent molecular data with revision of the oscillator strengths for some of the band systems. The total molecular stellar mass absorption coefficient is established through fifteen equations of molecular dissociation equilibrium to relate the distribution functions to each other on a per gram of stellar material basis.

Querci, F.↗

Impact of Growth Phase, Pigment Adaptation, and Climate Change Conditions on the Cellular Pigment and Carbon Content of Fifty‐One Phytoplankton Isolates

Owing to their importance in aquatic ecosystems, the demand for models that estimate phytoplankton biomass and community composition in the global ocean has increased over the last decade. Moreover, the impacts of climate change, including elevated carbon dioxide (CO2), increased stratification, and warmer sea surface temperatures, will likely shape phytoplankton community composition in the global ocean. Chemotaxonomic methods are useful for modeling phytoplankton community composition from marker pigments normalized to chlorophyll a (Chl a). However, photosynthetic pigments, particularly Chl a, are sensitive to nutrient and light conditions. Cellular carbon is less sensitive, so using carbon biomass instead may provide an alternative approach. To this end, cellular pigment and carbon concentrations were measured in 51 strains of globally relevant, cultured phytoplankton. Pigment-to-Chl a and pigment-to-carbon ratios were computed for each strain. For 25 strains, measurements were taken during two growth phases. While some differences between growth phases were observed, they did not exceed within class differences. Multiple strains of Amphidinium carterae, Ditylum brightwellii and Heterosigma akashiwo were measured to determine whether time in culture influenced pigment and carbon composition. No appreciable trends in cellular pigment or carbon content were observed. Lastly, the potential impact of climate change conditions on the pigment ratios was assessed using a multistressor experiment that included increased mean light, temperature, and elevated pCO2 on three species: Thalassiosira oceanica, Ostreococcus lucimarinus, and Synechococcus. The largest differences were observed in the pigment-to-carbon ratios, while the marker pigments largely covaried with Chl a. The implications of these observations to chemotaxonomic applications are discussed.

Pigments↗

Design of Ru-Ni diatomic sites for efficient alkaline hydrogen oxidation

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells are limited by the slow kinetics of alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). Here, we establish HOR catalytic activities of single-atom and diatomic sites as a function of *H and *OH binding energies to screen the optimal active sites for the HOR. As a result, the Ru-Ni diatomic one is identified as the best active center. Guided by the theoretical finding, we subsequently synthesize a catalyst with Ru-Ni diatomic sites supported on N-doped porous carbon, which exhibits excellent catalytic activity, CO tolerance, and stability for alkaline HOR and is also superior to single-site counterparts. In situ scanning electrochemical microscopy study validates the HOR activity resulting from the Ru-Ni diatomic sites. Furthermore, in situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy and computational studies unveil a synergistic interaction between Ru and Ni to promote the molecular H 2 dissociation and strengthen OH adsorption at the diatomic sites, and thus enhance the kinetics of HOR.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Biochemical Composition of Dissolved Organic Matter Released During Experimental Diatom Blooms

An axenic culture of Skeletonema costatum was grown to late-log phase to examine the molecular weight distribution and the biochemical composition of high molecular weight dissolved organic matter released in the absence of actively growing bacteria. A second culture was grown in a 5 m(exp 3) mesocosm and placed in darkness for a period of 51 days to examine the impact of phytoplankton bloom dynamics and microbial decomposition on dissolved (DOM) and particulate organic matter (POM) composition. DOM was separated using tangential-flow ultrafiltration into three nominal size fractions: LDOM (less than 1 kDa DOM), HDOM (1-30 kDa) and VHDOM (30 kDa-0.2 micron) and characterized. Both axenic and mesocosm diatom blooms released 28-33% of net primary production as dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In the axenic culture, HDOM and LDOM each comprised about half of the diatom-released DOC with less than l% as VHDOM. Diatoms from both experiments released carbohydrate-rich high molecular weight DOM. Much of the axenic diatom-released high molecular weight DOC could be chemically characterized (61% of HDOM and 78% of VHDOM) with carbohydrates as the primary component (45% of HDOM and 55% of VHDOM). Substantial amounts of hydrolyzable amino acids (16% of HDOM and 22% of VHDOM) and small amounts of lipids (less than 1%) were also released. Proportions of recognizable biochemical components in DOM produced in the mesocosm bloom were lower compared to the axenic culture. The presence of bacterial fatty acids and peptidoglycan-derived D-amino acids within high molecular weight fractions from the mesocosm bloom revealed that bacteria contributed a variety of macromolecules to DOM during the growth and decay of the diatom bloom. Release of significant amounts of DOC by diatoms demonstrates that DOM excretion is an important component of phytoplankton primary production. Similarities in high molecular weight DOM composition in marine waters and diatom cultures highlight the importance of phytoplankton to DOM composition in the ocean.

Mannino, Antonio↗

Establishing fluvial silicon regimes and their stability across the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract Fluvial silicon (Si) plays a critical role in controlling primary production, water quality, and carbon sequestration through supporting freshwater and marine diatom communities. Geological, biogeochemical, and hydrological processes, as well as climate and land use, dictate the amount of Si exported by streams. Understanding Si regimes—the seasonal patterns of Si concentrations—can help identify processes driving Si export. We analyzed Si concentrations from over 200 stream sites across the Northern Hemisphere to establish distinct Si regimes and evaluated how often sites moved among regimes over their period of record. We observed five distinct regimes across diverse stream sites, with nearly 60% of sites exhibiting multiple regime types over time. Our results indicate greater spatial and interannual variability in Si seasonality than previously recognized and highlight the need to characterize the watershed and climate variables that affect Si cycling across diverse ecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Long-Term Changes in Concentration and Yield of Riverine Dissolved Silicon From the Poles to the Tropics

Riverine exports of silicon (Si) influence global carbon cycling through the growth of marine diatoms, which account for ~25% of global primary production. Climate change will likely alter river Si exports in biome-specific ways due to interacting shifts in chemical weathering rates, hydrologic connectivity, and metabolic processes in aquatic and terrestrial systems. Nonetheless, factors driving long-term changes in Si exports remain unexplored at local, regional, and global scales. We evaluated how concentrations and yields of dissolved Si (DSi) changed over the last several decades of rapid climate warming using long-term data sets from 60 rivers and streams spanning the globe (e.g., Antarctic, tropical, temperate, boreal, alpine, Arctic systems). We show that widespread changes in river DSi concentration and yield have occurred, with the most substantial shifts occurring in alpine and polar regions. The magnitude and direction of trends varied within and among biomes, were most strongly associated with differences in land cover, and were often independent of changes in river discharge. These findings indicate that there are likely diverse mechanisms driving change in river Si biogeochemistry that span the land-water interface, which may include glacial melt, changes in terrestrial vegetation, and river productivity. Finally, trends were often stronger in months outside of the growing season, particularly in temperate and boreal systems, demonstrating a potentially important role of shifting seasonality for the flux of Si from rivers. Our results have implications for the timing and magnitude of silica processing in rivers and its delivery to global oceans.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Carbonate Biogenic Structures in Storrs Lake, Bahamas

Storr's Lake, an inland hypersaline lake on San Salvador Island, Bahamas, contains calcium carbonate-rich lithified mats of filamentous microorganisms, diatoms, associated photosynthetic and chemotrophic bacteria, and trapped sediment. In addition, 16S rRNA analysis indicates the presence of five sulfur-reducing genera of bacteria. These microbes are potential modern-day analogs to some ancient stromatolitic structures. The goals of this study are to identify unique compositional and biogenic features, possibly correlating some of these with some of the sulfate-reducing bacteria. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Byrne, Monica↗

Remote Sensing of Diatom Bloom Succession

Marine diatoms are major biogeochemical and ecological “influencers” that contribute to a large fraction of the carbon export and supplying fisheries (Falkowski 2015). The fluxes of carbon transfer to the food web or to the deep ocean vary according to the stage of a diatom bloom (Du Toit 2018). Stages can be determined using inherent optical properties that reflect their physiological state, such as the chlorophyll fluorescence to particulate backscattering ratio (ChlF/b(sub bp), Cetinic et al. 2015). Identifying the bloom stage can potentially improve biogeochemical models of carbon export and fishery management. However, it is not yet possible to adequately determine the stage of phytoplankton blooms using satellites. Satellite-derived remote sensing reflectance R(sub rs)(𝜆) allow for remote identification of diatom blooms in the open ocean (Sathyendranath et al. 2004), and there are techniques to estimate the fluorescence quantum yield (𝜑) that, when high, can indicate the nutrient limitation that often takes place when blooms start to senesce (Behrenfeld et al. 2009). The goal of this study is to use the ratio between the normalized fluorescence line height from R(sub rs)(𝜆) (nFLH) and the particulate backscattering (b(sub bp)(443)) provided by satellites to identify exponentially growing and senescent diatom blooms from space.

Lange, Priscila K.↗

Biodiversity and Stoichiometric Plasticity Increase Pico‐Phytoplankton Contributions to Marine Net Primary Productivity and the Biological Pump

Earth System Models generally predict increasing upper ocean stratification from 21st century warming, which will cause a decrease in the vertical nutrient flux forcing declines in marine net primary productivity (NPP) and carbon export. Recent advances in quantifying marine ecosystem carbon to nutrient stoichiometry have identified large latitudinal and biome variability, with low-latitude oligotrophic systems harboring pico-sized phytoplankton exhibiting large phosphorus to carbon cellular plasticity. The climate forced changes in nutrient flux stoichiometry and phytoplankton community composition are thus likely to alter the ocean's biogeochemical response and feedback with the carbon-climate system. We have added three pico-phytoplankton functional types within the Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling component of the Community Earth System Model while incorporating variable cellular phosphorus to carbon stoichiometry for all represented phytoplankton types. The model simulates Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus populations that dominate the productivity and sinking carbon export of the tropical and subtropical ocean, and pico-eukaryote populations that contribute significantly to productivity and export within the subtropical to mid-latitude transition zone, with the western subtropical regions of each basin supporting the most P-poor stoichiometries. Subtropical gyre recirculation regions along the poleward flanks of surface western boundary currents are identified as regional hotspots of enhanced carbon export exhibiting C-rich/P-poor stoichiometry, preferentially inhabited by pico-eukaryotes and diatoms. Collectively, pico-phytoplankton contribute ∼58% of global NPP and ∼46% of global particulate organic carbon export below 100 m through direct and ecosystem processing pathways. Biodiversity and cellular nutrient plasticity in marine pico-phytoplankton combine to increase their contributions to ocean productivity and the biological carbon pump.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗