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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

Morpheus Lander Testing Campaign

NASA s Morpheus Project has developed and tested a prototype planetary lander capable of vertical takeoff and landing designed to serve as a testbed for advanced spacecraft technologies. The Morpheus vehicle has successfully performed a set of integrated vehicle test flights including hot-fire and tether tests, ultimately culminating in an un-tethered "free-flight" This development and testing campaign was conducted on-site at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), less than one year after project start. Designed, developed, manufactured and operated in-house by engineers at JSC, the Morpheus Project represents an unprecedented departure from recent NASA programs and projects that traditionally require longer development lifecycles and testing at remote, dedicated testing facilities. This paper documents the integrated testing campaign, including descriptions of test types (hot-fire, tether, and free-flight), test objectives, and the infrastructure of JSC testing facilities. A major focus of the paper will be the fast pace of the project, rapid prototyping, frequent testing, and lessons learned from this departure from the traditional engineering development process at NASA s Johnson Space Center.

Hart, Jeremy J.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Considerations for a Proton Single Event Effects (SEE) Guideline

The intent of this document is to provide guidance on when and what type of -SEE tests should be performed on a device under test (OUT) based on orbit, technology, existing data, and application. It is NOT intended to provide a detailed guideline for how to perform proton SEE radiation tests on electronics.

LaBel, Kenneth A.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Updates to NASA’s Break-in-Prebreathe Rules Due to Type II Decompression Sickness Risk Considerations

INTRODUCTION. Investigation of a central neurological decompression sickness (DCS) case during ground testing at Johnson Space Center identified a break-in-prebreathe (BIP) 13 minutes prior to depressurization as the leading credible cause despite applicable prebreathe payback rules being followed. Applicable NASA rules, for ground and flight, directed 2:1 payback of breaks up to 10 mins in duration, regardless of when a break occurs relative to depress. Full restart of prebreathe is directed following breaks > 10 min. The adequacy of NASA’s BIP rules was evaluated prior to resuming hypobaric ground testing or ISS extravehicular activities. METHODS. The following information sources were reviewed prior to formulating recommendations: i) Type II DCS case report and investigation findings; ii) documented rationale for existing flight rules, iii) consultations with subject matter experts involved in definition of existing flight rules (several of whom had since left NASA), iv) relevant published literature, v) model estimates of tissue on-gassing and off-gassing, and vi) NASA’s operational experience with late breaks in prebreathe. RESULTS. NASA’s nominal prebreathe protocols are validated via extensive ground testing to ensure DCS risk is reduced to within acceptable limits. Conversely, there exists a paucity of data, no validated models, and limited documentation regarding BIP risk for NASA prebreathe protocols. Flight rules implemented for shuttle and later ISS are based primarily on expert opinion and an assumption of symmetric on-gassing and off-gassing, which would make 2:1 payback a conservative mitigation for a BIP. Assumption of exponential gas kinetics makes late breaks higher risk, or require greater payback, than earlier breaks. Two BIPs have occurred using the current ISS prebreathe protocol, each of which was followed by greater than 2:1 payback and at least 59 minutes of 100% O2 pre-depress. No DCS cases have been reported during shuttle or ISS EVA operations. DISCUSSION. Interim changes were implemented to protect against late breaks during ground and flight prebreathes by ensuring negligible difference in conservatively modeled ppN2 pre-depress compared to nominal validated protocols. Additional documentation and literature review as well as chamber test planning are ongoing with the objective of further ground and flight rule updates and validation of a BIP risk model.

Prebreathe↗
NASA NTRS2024

Updates to NASA’s Break-in-Prebreathe Rules Due to Type II Decompression Sickness Risk Considerations

INTRODUCTION. Investigation of a central neurological decompression sickness (DCS) case during ground testing at Johnson Space Center identified a break-in-prebreathe (BIP) 13 minutes prior to depressurization as the leading credible cause despite applicable prebreathe payback rules being followed. Applicable NASA rules, for ground and flight, directed 2:1 payback of breaks up to 10 mins in duration, regardless of when a break occurs relative to depress. Full restart of prebreathe is directed following breaks > 10 min. The adequacy of NASA’s BIP rules was evaluated prior to resuming hypobaric ground testing or ISS extravehicular activities. METHODS. The following information sources were reviewed prior to formulating recommendations: i) Type II DCS case report and investigation findings; ii) documented rationale for existing flight rules, iii) consultations with subject matter experts involved in definition of existing flight rules (several of whom had since left NASA), iv) relevant published literature, v) model estimates of tissue on-gassing and off-gassing, and vi) NASA’s operational experience with late breaks in prebreathe. RESULTS. NASA’s nominal prebreathe protocols are validated via extensive ground testing to ensure DCS risk is reduced to within acceptable limits. Conversely, there exists a paucity of data, no validated models, and limited documentation regarding BIP risk for NASA prebreathe protocols. Flight rules implemented for shuttle and later ISS are based primarily on expert opinion and an assumption of symmetric on-gassing and off-gassing, which would make 2:1 payback a conservative mitigation for a BIP. Assumption of exponential gas kinetics makes late breaks higher risk, or require greater payback, than earlier breaks. Two BIPs have occurred using the current ISS prebreathe protocol, each of which was followed by greater than 2:1 payback and at least 59 minutes of 100% O2 pre-depress. No DCS cases have been reported during shuttle or ISS EVA operations. DISCUSSION. Interim changes were implemented to protect against late breaks during ground and flight prebreathes by ensuring negligible difference in conservatively modeled ppN2 pre-depress compared to nominal validated protocols. Additional documentation and literature review as well as chamber test planning are ongoing with the objective of further ground and flight rule updates and validation of a BIP risk model.

Prebreathe↗
DOE OSTI2012

Improving landscape-level environmental impact evaluations.

New spatial data and advancements in GIS tools allow much more comprehensive and quantitative analyses of the large datasets required when making programmatic evaluations of the ecological effects of proposed activities that cover a large area or region. Understanding the environmental impacts of proposed human developments is critical to making appropriate siting decisions and designing mitigation strategies to reduce impacts on important resources. Impact analyses conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) or Environmental Assessments (EAs) are intended to determine the resource-specific impacts of proposed activities of federal agencies and their alternatives using the best available information. Impacts to ecological resources are often a primary focus of these analyses. Information used in NEPA analyses include some measure of the known or probable presence of plants and wildlife in the project area, with special emphasis placed on threatened, endangered, and other special-status species. Site-specific information pertaining to ecological resources is usually easier to obtain for small-scale activities such as a local facility, road, or transmission upgrade project, where the ability to conduct fieldwork is more often feasible. However, site-specific data is more difficult-and sometimes impossible-to obtain for proposed activities that could affect a large area or region. These types of analyses often are considered in programmatic NEPA documents, in which a federal agency evaluates the implementation of a broad program or plan. Under these programmatic evaluations, the exact location and size of developments are often not known. Because obtaining quantitative information for ecological resources at such large spatial scales is difficult, programmatic impact evaluations typically rely on sketchy or partial information such as recorded species occurrences, species ranges, and general habitat descriptions. However, new spatial data and improved GIS tools allow much more comprehensive and quantitative analyses using large, readily available datasets. The availability of large-scale regional data such as GAP land-cover models or species habitat suitability models, combined with more robust spatial analysis procedures available through ArcGIS for Desktop software, allowed the analysis of multiple datasets at large spatial scales. This enabled researchers to surpass previous qualitative evaluations by developing a more accurate and quantitative approach for determining the environmental impacts of human activities at larger spatial scales. These approaches, combined with the utility of ModelBuilder and operability of Python scripts in ArcGIS, allow a more timely and cost-effective synthesis of available spatial data for programmatic evaluations and add a quantitative basis to environmental decision making.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scoping Review of Global Offshore Geologic Carbon Storage Activities

This technical report documents an inventory of offshore geologic carbon storage (GCS) sites globally, with a focus on existing, operating international sites and those characterized in the United States, indicating the type and variety of GCS efforts. Regional overviews provide a high-level understanding of basin-scale geology and history of GCS globally. Key aspects documented in this review include geological formation types, depth, play style, project size, timeline, existing infrastructure, environmental challenges, and potential risks. This review also includes a summary of the regulatory frameworks globally, as well as environmental, social, and commercial considerations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Prototype Courthouse Building Energy Model: Building Characteristics and Energy Simulation Results

To coordinate commercial building energy research activities, the US Department of Energy uses a suite of commercial prototype building models, which includes 16 building types and covers 80% of US commercial floorspace. Efforts are underway to expand this suite by developing prototype models for additional building types, including a courthouse. Informed by building design guides, databases, documented projects, and personal communication with courthouse design experts, a 3-story, 4-courtroom, 69,324 ft 2 building was considered as the prototype courthouse to represent an average-sized courthouse in the United States. This report documents the building and system characteristics of the prototype courthouse model combined with climate-specific and construction vintage–specific requirements for the building envelope and systems from ASHRAE Standard 90.1. The energy simulation results are presented for 4 construction vintages (2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013) and 15 ASHRAE climate zones. To verify the energy simulation results, energy use statistics of existing courthouses from different building database are also presented. Based on the simulated energy use, the site energy use intensity of the prototype courthouse ranged from 45 to 159 kBtu/ft 2 compared with the average energy use intensity of 94.7 kBtu/ft 2 for the courthouse building type in the 2012 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) Data.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

Determine Operating Reactor to Use for the 2016 PCI Level 1 Milestone

The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) (CASL) Level 1 milestone to “Assess the analysis capability for core-wide [pressurized water reactor] PWR Pellet- Clad Interaction (PCI) screening and demonstrate detailed 3-D analysis on selected sub-region” (L1:CASL.P13.03) requires a particular type of nuclear power plant for the assessment. This report documents the operating reactor and cycles chosen for this assessment in completion of the physics integration (PHI) milestone to “Determine Operating Reactor to use for PCI L1 Milestone” (L3:PHI.CMD.P12.02). Watts Bar Unit 1 experienced (at least) one fuel rod failure in each of cycles 6 and 7, and at least one was deemed to be duty related rather than being primarily related to a manufacturing defect or grid effects. This brief report documents that the data required to model cycles 1–12 of Watts Bar Unit 1 using VERA-CS contains sufficient data to model the PHI portion of the PCI challenge problem. A list of additional data needs is also provided that will be important for verification and validation of the BISON results.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS1972

Manufacture and quality control of interconnecting wire hardnesses, Volume 1

A standard is presented for manufacture, installation, and quality control of eight types of interconnecting wire harnesses. The processes, process controls, and inspection and test requirements reflected are based on acknowledgment of harness design requirements, acknowledgment of harness installation requirements, identification of the various parts, materials, etc., utilized in harness manufacture, and formulation of a typical manufacturing flow diagram for identification of each manufacturing and quality control process, operation, inspection, and test. The document covers interconnecting wire harnesses defined in the design standard, including type 1, enclosed in fluorocarbon elastomer convolute, tubing; type 2, enclosed in TFE convolute tubing lines with fiberglass braid; type 3, enclosed in TFE convolute tubing; and type 5, combination of types 3 and 4. Knowledge gained through experience on the Saturn 5 program coupled with recent advances in techniques, materials, and processes was incorporated.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2022

Summer Greenland Blocking Diversity and Its Impact on the Surface Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet

The increase in Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) surface runoff since the turn of the century has been linked to a rise in Greenland blocking frequency. However, a range of synoptic patterns can be considered blocked flow and efforts that summarize all blocking types indiscriminately likely fail to capture consequential differences in GrIS response. To account for these differences, we employ ERA5 reanalysis to identify summer blocking using two independent blocking metrics: the Greenland Blocking Index (GBI) and the blocking index of Pelly and Hoskins (2003, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2003)060<0743:ANPOB>2.0.CO;2). We then conduct a self-organizing map analysis to objectively classify synoptic conditions during Greenland blocking episodes and identify three primary blocking types: (a) a high-amplitude Omega block, (b) a lower-amplitude, stationary summer ridge, and (c) a cyclonic wave breaking pattern. Using Modèle Atmosphérique Régional output, we document the spatiotemporal progression of the surface energy and mass balance for each blocking type. Relative to all blocking episodes, summer ridge patterns produce more melt over the southern ice sheet, Omega blocks produce more melt across the northern ice sheet, and cyclonic wave breaking patterns produce more melt in northeast Greenland. Our results indicate that the recent trend in summer Greenland blocking was largely driven by an increase in Omega patterns and suggest that Omega blocks have played a central role in the recent acceleration of GrIS mass loss. Furthermore, the GBI exhibited a relative bias toward Omega patterns, which may help explain why it has measured stronger trends in summer Greenland blocking than other blocking metrics.

atmospheric blocking↗
NASA NTRS2006

Data Model Management for Space Information Systems

The Reference Architecture for Space Information Management (RASIM) suggests the separation of the data model from software components to promote the development of flexible information management systems. RASIM allows the data model to evolve independently from the software components and results in a robust implementation that remains viable as the domain changes. However, the development and management of data models within RASIM are difficult and time consuming tasks involving the choice of a notation, the capture of the model, its validation for consistency, and the export of the model for implementation. Current limitations to this approach include the lack of ability to capture comprehensive domain knowledge, the loss of significant modeling information during implementation, the lack of model visualization and documentation capabilities, and exports being limited to one or two schema types. The advent of the Semantic Web and its demand for sophisticated data models has addressed this situation by providing a new level of data model management in the form of ontology tools. In this paper we describe the use of a representative ontology tool to capture and manage a data model for a space information system. The resulting ontology is implementation independent. Novel on-line visualization and documentation capabilities are available automatically, and the ability to export to various schemas can be added through tool plug-ins. In addition, the ingestion of data instances into the ontology allows validation of the ontology and results in a domain knowledge base. Semantic browsers are easily configured for the knowledge base. For example the export of the knowledge base to RDF/XML and RDFS/XML and the use of open source metadata browsers provide ready-made user interfaces that support both text- and facet-based search. This paper will present the Planetary Data System (PDS) data model as a use case and describe the import of the data model into an ontology tool. We will also describe the current effort to provide interoperability with the European Space Agency (ESA)/Planetary Science Archive (PSA) which is critically dependent on a common data model.

RDF↗
DOE OSTI2018

Pressure-induced isostructural phase transition and charge transfer in superconducting FeSe

Here, we present extensive investigations of the crystallographic phase diagram and electronic properties of the Fe-based superconductor FeSe under extreme conditions (high pressure (HP) and low temperature (LT)) by synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). An isostructural phase transition (Tetragonal (T) →high-pressure Tetragonal (T')) is discovered in FeSe at ~2.8 GPa based on the axial ratio c/a with finer pressure step as observed in Fe-As-based superconductor such as EuFe 2 As 2 . We also find a pressure-induced T' → MnP-type phase transition at 7.6 GPa in FeSe, which is consistent with the documented pressure-induced high-spin → low-spin transition (~6–7 GPa). These results reveal the pressure-induced structural phase transition sequence in FeSe at room temperature to be T → T' → T'+MnP-type at pressures of 0–10.6 GPa, enriching the crystallographic phase diagram. The HPLT XRD data also indicate that a sluggish structural phase transition ( Cmma → Pnma ) begins at 7.5 GPa, and these two phases coexist up to 26.5 GPa. The HP X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) measurement shows that E o of Se experiences a pressure-induced shift to high energy, evidencing strongly charge transfer between Fe and Se under high pressure. Our results shed lights on the correlation between crystallographic/electronic structure and superconductivity in this material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Data Processing Pipeline To Extract A Knowledge Graph From Sec Documents For Socio-technical Analysis Of Critical Infrastructure Influence

The code is written in Python and consists of the following pipeline that is implemented in Apache Airflow. This pipeline intends to understand the companies that are directly or indirectly involved with a type of critical infrastructure system at some point in that system's lifecycle. The pipeline takes a configuration file that specifies a list of initial companies to consider, a geographic region of interest (disk) expressed as a latitude/longitude point and distance, and a set of SEC form types from which to extract entities and relations. There are three main components to this pipeline as currently implemented: Social Network Extraction, Critical Infrastructure Network Extraction, and Inference and Fusion. First, Social Network Extraction, implemented as the `organizations_sec` component of the workflow graph queries the SEC EDGAR webservice using the list of initial companies from the configuration file. Given this, it extracts metadata that documents the number of each type of form for the given set of companies and their location. This forms metadata represents a catalog of data sources for the extracted social network knowledge graph. The pipeline then downloads these forms from the website and saves them in a build directory for further processing. These documents are then parsed for entities and relations. Second, the Critical Network Extraction component extracts entities and relations for a critical infrastructure sector. Currently, we focus on Electric Vehicle charging stations and this information is available via the Department of Energy (DOE) database on fueling stations maintained by NREL. Third, the Inference and Fusion component relates the social network graph to the critical infrastructure graph in order to understand the impact of a company within a geographic region. Relations include ownership of the EV Charging Station asset as well as maintenance/ownership of the EV payment networks. The fused network can be represented in many ways and currently we emit a knowledge graph.

Weaver, GabrielA.↗
DOE OSTI2026

2005 Tahoe Regional Household Travel Survey

The 2005 Tahoe Regional Household Travel Survey is a comprehensive survey of the travel patterns of households in the Tahoe Basin region of California and Nevada. The survey was conducted for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency over a four-month period, from June through September 2005. This collection contains two sets of travel data: 1) a survey of 1,220 permanent households within the Tahoe Basin region and 2) a subset survey of 125 seasonal households within the same area. The permanent resident dataset contains information about 2,732 household members, 2,471 vehicles, and 11,048 trips made during a 24-hour period. The seasonal resident subset features 726 trip observations and information about 229 household members and 185 vehicles. The survey relied on the willingness of study area residents to 1) provide demographic information about their household, its members, and its vehicles and 2) document all travel for each household member, regardless of age, over an assigned 24-hour period. During the recruitment phase, respondents were asked to provide detailed household information, including permanent or seasonal resident status, number of household occupants, type of dwelling unit, number of vehicles available to household members, as well as the year, body type, and fuel type of each vehicle. Survey participants received mailed travel logs to aid in documenting travel information for the 24-hour assessment period. Respondents were instructed to record their mode of transportation, trip purpose, number of passengers, departure and arrival times, activities at each trip destination, ride fare, and parking costs. Demographic information for this study includes age, gender, income, education, and employment status.

1Hz data↗
DOE OSTI2015

Impact of Different Standard Type A7A Drum Closure-Ring Practices on Gasket Contraction and Bolt Closure Distance– 15621

The Department of Energy, the Savannah River National Laboratory, several manufacturers of specification drums, and the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) are collaborating in the development of a guidance document for DOE contractors and vendors who wish to qualify containers to DOT 7A Type A requirements. Currently, the effort is focused on DOT 7A Type A 208-liter (55-gallons) drums with a standard 12-gauge bolted closure ring. The U.S. requirements, contained in Title 49, Part 178.350 “Specification 7A; general packaging, Type A specifies a competent authority review of the packaging is not required for the transport of (Class 7) radioactive material containing less than Type A quantities of radioactive material. For Type AF drums, a 4 ft. regulatory free drop must be performed, such that the drum “suffers maximum damage.” Although the actual orientation is not defined by the specification, recent studies suggest that maximum damage would result from a shallow angle top impact, where kinetic energy is transferred to the lid, ultimately causing heavy damage to the lid, or even worse, causing the lid to come off. Since each vendor develops closure recommendations/procedures for the drums they manufacture, key parameters applied to drums during closing vary based on vendor. As part of the initial phase of the collaboration, the impact of the closure variants on the ability of the drum to suffer maximum damage is investigated. Specifically, closure testing is performed varying: 1) the amount of torque applied to the closure ring bolt; and, 2) stress relief protocol, including: a) weight of hammer; and, b) orientation that the hammer hits the closure ring. After closure, the amount of drum lid gasket contraction and the distance that the closure bolt moves through the closure ring is measured.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Impact of different standard type A7A drum closure-ring practices on gasket contraction and bolt closure distance - 15621

The Department of Energy, the Savannah River National Laboratory, several manufacturers of specification drums, and the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) are collaborating in the development of a guidance document for DOE contractors and vendors who wish to qualify containers to DOT 7A Type A requirements. Currently, the effort is focused on DOT 7A Type A 208-liter (55-gallons) drums with a standard 12-gauge bolted closure ring. The U.S. requirements, contained in Title 49, Part 178.350 'Specification 7A; general packaging, Type A specifies a competent authority review of the packaging is not required for the transport of (Class 7) radioactive material containing less than Type A quantities of radioactive material. For Type AF drums, a 4 ft. regulatory free drop must be performed, such that the drum 'suffers maximum damage.' Although the actual orientation is not defined by the specification, recent studies suggest that maximum damage would result from a shallow angle top impact, where kinetic energy is transferred to the lid, ultimately causing heavy damage to the lid, or even worse, causing the lid to come off. Since each vendor develops closure recommendations/procedures for the drums they manufacture, key parameters applied to drums during closing vary based on vendor. As part of the initial phase of the collaboration, the impact of the closure variants on the ability of the drum to suffer maximum damage is investigated. Specifically, closure testing is performed varying: 1) the amount of torque applied to the closure ring bolt; and, 2) stress relief protocol, including: a) weight of hammer; and, b) orientation that the hammer hits the closure ring. After closure, the amount of drum lid gasket contraction and the distance that the closure bolt moves through the closure ring is measured. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Accelerated increase in the Arctic tropospheric warming events surpassing stratospheric warming events during winter: Accelerated Increase in Arctic Warming

In January 2016, a robust reversal of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) took place associated with a rapid tropospheric warming in the Arctic region; this was followed by the occurrence of a classic sudden stratospheric warming in March-April. The succession of these two distinct Arctic warming events provides a stimulating opportunity to examine their characteristics in terms of similarities and differences. Historical cases of these two types of Arctic warming were identified and validated based upon tropical linkages with the Madden-Julian Oscillation and El Niño as well as those documented in previous studies. Our results indicate a recent and accelerated increase in the tropospheric warming type versus a flat trend in stratospheric warming type. Given that tropospheric warming events occur twice as fast than the stratospheric warming type, the noted increase in the former implies further intensification in midlatitude winter weather extremes similar to those experienced in early 2016. Forced simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model suggest that the reduced Arctic sea ice contributes to the observed increase in the tropospheric warming events and associated impact on the anomalously cold Siberia.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Successional trajectories of rhizosphere bacterial communities over consecutive seasons

It is well known that rhizosphere microbiomes differ from those of surrounding soil, and yet we know little about how these root-associated microbial communities change through the growing season and between seasons. We analyzed the response of soil bacteria to roots of the common annual grass Avena fatua over two growing seasons using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Over the two periods of growth, the rhizosphere bacterial communities followed consistent successional patterns as plants grew, although the starting communities were distinct. Succession in the rhizosphere was characterized by a significant decrease in both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity relative to background soil communities, driven by reductions in both richness and evenness of the bacterial communities. Plant roots selectively stimulated the relative abundance of Alphaproteobacteria , Betaproteobacteria , and Bacteroidetes but reduced the abundance of Acidobacteria , Actinobacteria , and Firmicutes . Taxa that increased in relative abundance in the rhizosphere soil displayed phylogenetic clustering, suggesting some conservation and an evolutionary basis for the response of complex soil bacterial communities to the presence of plant roots. The reproducibility of rhizosphere succession and the apparent phylogenetic conservation of rhizosphere competence traits suggest adaptation of the indigenous bacterial community to this common grass over the many decades of its presence. We document the successional patterns of rhizosphere bacterial communities associated with a “wild” annual grass, Avena fatua , which is commonly a dominant plant in Mediterranean-type annual grasslands around the world; the plant was grown in its grassland soil. Most studies documenting rhizosphere microbiomes address “domesticated” plants growing in soils to which they are introduced. Rhizosphere bacterial communities exhibited a pattern of temporal succession that was consistent and repeatable over two growing seasons. There are few studies assessing the reproducibility over multiple seasons. Through the growing season, the rhizosphere community became progressively less diverse, likely reflecting root homogenization of soil microniches. Phylogenetic clustering of the rhizosphere dynamic taxa suggests evolutionary adaptation to Avena roots. The reproducibility of rhizosphere succession and the apparent phylogenetic conservation of rhizosphere competence traits suggest adaptation of the indigenous bacterial community to this common grass over the many decades of its presence.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗