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At least 433 records · Page 24

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2019

Redeployable Sensor Probe for In-Situ Lunar Resource Mapping from Small Landers

The use of in-situ resources in lunar regolith for production of propellant, life support, and construction (e.g. polar water ice, hydrogen, helium-3, and regolith minerals) will enable sustainable robotic and human space exploration and pave the way for commercialization of lunar exploration. Currently, the search for and characterization of resources on the Moon uses orbital datasets and local geological and geophysical surveys to map and characterize potential deposits. To develop efficient ISRU systems, it is essential to find, characterize, and map lunar resources in-situ, at local scales, using deployable, analytical payloads. We have developed a 3 kg, TRL4 scientific payload, MoonSHOT (Moon Subsurface Hydrogen Optical Tool), to characterize and map lunar resources from a small lander or rover.

Sobron, P.↗

NASA NTRS2017

An ISRU Propellant Production System to Fully Fuel a Mars Ascent Vehicle

ISRU of Mars resources was base lined in 2009 Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0, but only for Oxygen production using atmospheric CO2The Methane (LCH4) needed for ascent propulsion of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) would need to be brought from Earth. HOWEVER: Extracting water from the Martian Regolith enables the production of both Oxygen and Methane from Mars resources Water resources could also be used for other applications including: Life support, radiation shielding, plant growth, etc. Water extraction was not base lined in DRA5.0 due to perceived difficulties and complexity in processing regolith. The NASA Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) requested studies to look at the quantitative benefits and trades of using Mars water ISRU Phase 1: Examined architecture scenarios for regolith water retrieval. Completed October 2015Phase 2: Deep dive of one architecture concept to look at end-to-end system size, mass, power of a LCH4LO2 ISRU production system.Evolvable Mars CampaignPre-deployed Mars ascent vehicle (MAV)4 crew membersPropellants: Oxygen MethaneGenerate a system model to roll up mass power of a full ISRU system and enable parametric trade studies. Leverage models from previous studies and technology development programs Anchor with mass power performance from existing hardware. Whenever possible used reference-able (published) numbers for traceability.Modular approach to allow subsystem trades and parametric studies. Propellant mass needs taken from most recently published MAV study:Polsgrove, T. et al. (2015), AIAA2015-4416MAV engines operate at mixture ratios (oxygen: methane) between 3:1 and 3.5:1, whereas the Sabatier reactor produces at a 4:1 ratio. Therefore:Methane production is the driving requirement-Excess Oxygen will be produced.

Mars surface↗

DOE OSTI2020

Effect of dietary fiber fermentation on short‐chain fatty acid production and microbial composition in vitro

Abstract BACKGROUND The efficient utilization of fiber‐rich co‐products is important for optimizing feed resource utilization and animal health. This study was conducted to evaluate the fermentation characteristics of fiber‐rich co‐products, which had equal quantities of total dietary fiber (TDF), at different time points using batch in vitro methods. It considered their gas production, short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, and microbial composition. RESULTS The fermentation of wheat bran (WB) and oat bran (OB) showed higher and faster ( P < 0.05) gas and SCFA production than corn bran (CB), sugar beet pulp (SBP), and soybean hulls (SH). The α ‐diversity was higher in the CB, SBP, and SH groups than in the WB and OB groups ( P < 0.05). At the phylum level, OB and WB fermentation showed lower ( P < 0.05) relative abundance of Actinobacteria than the CB, SBP, and SH groups. At the genus level, OB and WB fermentation increased the Enterococcus population in comparison with the CB, SBP, and SH groups, whereas CB and SBP fermentation improved the relative abundance of the Christensenellaceae R‐7 group more than the WB, OB, and SH groups ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Overall, WB and OB were rapidly fermented by fecal microbiota, in contrast with SBP, SH, and CB. Fermentation of different fiber‐rich co‐products with an equal TDF content gives different responses in terms of microbial composition and SCFA production due to variations in their physicochemical properties and molecular structure. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

Bai, Yu↗

NASA NTRS2003

Software With Strong Ties to Space

TieFlow is a simple but powerful business process improvement solution. It can automate and simplify any generic or industry-specific work process, helping organizations to transform work inefficiencies and internal operations involving people, paper, and procedures into a streamlined, well-organized, electronicbased process. TieFlow increases business productivity by improving process cycle times. The software can expedite generic processes in the areas of product design and development, purchase orders, expense reports, benefits enrollment, budgeting, hiring, and sales. It can also shore up vertical market processes such as claims processing, loan application and processing, health care administration, contract management, and advertising agency traffic. The processes can be easily and rapidly captured in a graphical manner and enforced together with rules pertaining to assignments that need to be performed. Aside from boosting productivity, TieFlow also reduces organizational costs and errors. TieFlow was developed with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) assistance from Johnson. The SBIR support entitles all Federal Government agencies to utilize the TieFlow software technology free of charge. Tietronix emphasizes that TieFlow is an outstanding workflow resource that could produce dramatic productivity and cost improvements for all agencies, just as it has done and continues to do for NASA. The Space Agency is currently using the software throughout several mission-critical offices, including the Mission Operations Directorate and the Flight Director s Office, for worldwide participation of authorized users in NASA processes. At the Flight Director s Office, TieFlow allows personnel to electronically submit and review changes to the flight rules carried out during missions.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2014

Concepts of Operations for Asteroid Rendezvous Missions Focused on Resources Utilization

Several asteroids are the targets of international robotic space missions currently manifested or in the planning stage. This global interest reflects a need to study these celestial bodies for the scientific information they provide about our solar system, and to better understand how to mitigate the collision threats some of them pose to Earth. Another important objective of these missions is providing assessments of the potential resources that asteroids could provide to future space architectures. In this paper, we examine a series of possible mission operations focused on advancing both our knowledge of the types of asteroids suited for different forms of resource extraction, and the capabilities required to extract those resources for mission enhancing and enabling uses such as radiation protection, propulsion, life support, shelter and manufacturing. An evolutionary development and demonstration approach is recommended within the framework of a larger campaign that prepares for the first landings of humans on Mars. As is the case for terrestrial mining, the development and demonstration approach progresses from resource prospecting (understanding the resource, and mapping the 'ore body'), mining/extraction feasibility and product assessment, pilot operations, to full in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Opportunities to gather specific knowledge for ISRU via resource prospecting during science missions to asteroids are also examined to maximize the pace of development of needed ISRU capabilities and technologies for deep space missions.

radiation protection↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Data Integrity Challenges in NASA Giovanni

The Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (Giovanni) is an online tool developed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC), one of 12 NASA Science Mission Directorate Data Centers (DAACs) to analyze and visualize NASA remote sensing and model data without downloading data and software. As of this writing, over 2000 Earth satellite and model variables are available in Giovanni, including several well-known NASA satellite missions (e.g., TRMM, GPM) and projects (e.g., MERRA-2, GPCP). There are twenty-two plots provided by Giovanni that can be used to analyze, compare, and explore Earth data across disciplines. Results can be shared with colleagues and downloaded for further analysis. Giovanni has helped publish over 3000 referral papers over the years. As open science policies roll in, data integrity has become a major challenge for Giovanni and other tools. For integrity, both data and workflows must be transparent. FAIR-compliant data, including input, intermediate, and result products, as well as their associated statistics, metadata, and information, are needed. The NASA Data Product Development Guide for Data Producers provides a key resource on how to develop FAIR-compliant data products. Data quality information is also needed from data producers and analysis services like Giovanni. The workflow part is quite challenging and requires workflow management improvements, such as recording workflows and making them available to users. In this presentation, we will discuss the data integrity challenges in Giovanni.

data analysis, visualization↗

NASA NTRS2019

Earth Observations and Integrative Models in Support of Food and Water Security

Global food production depends upon many factors that Earth observing satellites routinely measure about water, energy, weather, and ecosystems. Increasingly sophisticated, publicly-available satellite data products can improve efficiencies in resource management and provide earlier indication of environmental disruption. Satellite remote sensing provides a consistent, long-term record that can be used effectively to detect large-scale features over time, such as a developing drought. Accuracy and capabilities have increased along with the range of Earth observations and derived products that can support food security decisions with actionable information. This paper highlights major capabilities facilitated by satellite observations and physical models that have been developed and validated using remotely-sensed observations. Although we primarily focus on variables relevant to agriculture, we also include a brief description of the growing use of Earth observations in support of aquaculture and fisheries.

Water Resources↗

NASA NTRS1992

Synergism of He-3 acquisition with lunar base evolution

Researchers have discovered that the lunar surface contains a valuable fusion fuel element that is relatively scarce on Earth. This element, He-3, originates from the solar wind that has bombarded the surface of the Moon over geologic time. Mining operations to recover this resource would allow the by-product acquisition of hydrogen, water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and nitrogen from the lunar surface with relatively minimal additional resource investment when compared to the costs to supply these resources from Earth. Two configurations for the He-3 mining system are discussed, and the impacts of these mining operations on a projected lunar base scenario are assessed. We conclude that the acquisition of He-3 is feasible with minimal advances in current state-of-the-art technologies and could support a terrestrial nuclear fusion power economy with the lowest hazard risk of any nuclear reaction known. Also, the availability of the by-products of He-3 acquisition from the Moon could significantly reduce the operational requirements of a lunar base and increase the commercialization potential of the base through consumable resupply of the lunar base itself, other components of the space infrastructure, and other space missions.

Crabb, T. M.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Chapter 8: Materials for Exploration Systems

Materials science and processing research in space can be thought of as a field of study that began with the sounding rocket experiments in the 1950s. Material science studies of the lunar surface materials returned during the Apollo missions enabled the study of lunar resource utilization. The study of materials science and processing in space continued with over 30 years of microgravity materials processing research which continues today in the International Space Station. These studies are the technical foundation that could enable lower cost human exploration through the use of in-situ propellant production, the production of energy from space resources, and the eventual establishment of a substantial portion of humanity living self sufficiently off Earth.

Curreri, Peter A.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Spectral Retrieval of Latent Heating Profiles from TRMM PR data: Moistening Estimates over Tropical Ocean Regions - Part 3

The global hydrological cycle is central to the Earth's climate system, with rainfall and the physics of precipitation formation acting as the key links in the cycle. Two-thirds of global rainfall occurs in the tropics with the associated latent heating (LH) accounting for threefourths of the total heat energy available to the Earth's atmosphere. In the last decade, it has been established that standard products of LH from satellite measurements, particularly TRMM measurements, would be a valuable resource for scientific research and applications. Such products would enable new insights and investigations concerning the complexities of convection system life cycles, the diabatic heating controls and feedbacks related to rne-sosynoptic circulations and their forecasting, the relationship of tropical patterns of LH to the global circulation and climate, and strategies for improving cloud parameterizations In environmental prediction models. However, the LH and water vapor profile or budget (called the apparent moisture sink, or Q2) is closely related. This paper presented the development of an algorithm for retrieving Q2 using 'TRMM precipitation radar. Since there is no direct measurement of LH and Q2, the validation of algorithm usually applies a method called consistency check. Consistency checking involving Cloud Resolving Model (CRM)-generated LH and 42 profiles and algorithm-reconstructed is a useful step in evaluating the performance of a given algorithm. In this process, the CRM simulation of a time-dependent precipitation process (multiple-day time series) is used to obtain the required input parameters for a given algorithm. The algorithm is then used to "~econsti-LKt~h"e heating and moisture profiles that the CRM simulation originally produced, and finally both sets of conformal estimates (model and algorithm) are compared each other. The results indicate that discrepancies between the reconstructed and CM-simulated profiles for Q2, especially at low levels, are larger than those for latent heat. Larger discrepancies in Q2 at low levels are due to moistening for non-precipitating region that algorithm cannot reconstruct. Nevertheless, the algorithm-reconstructed total Q2 profiles are in good agreement with the CRM-simulated ones.

Shige, S.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Retrieved Latent Heating from TRMM

Tao, Wei-Kuo↗

DOE OSTI2022

Root responses to elevated CO 2 , warming and irrigation in a semi-arid grassland: Integrating biomass, length and life span in a 5-year field experiment

Plant roots mediate the impacts of environmental change on ecosystems, yet knowledge of root responses to environmental change is limited because few experiments evaluate multiple environmental factors and their interactions. Inferences about root functions are also limited because root length dynamics are rarely measured. Using a 5-year experiment in a mixed-grass prairie, we report the responses of root biomass, length and life span to elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), warming, elevated CO 2 and warming combined, and irrigation. Root biomass was quantified using soil cores and root length dynamics were assessed using minirhizotrons. By comparing root dynamics with published results for soil resources and above-ground productivity, we provide mechanistic insights into how climate change might impact grassland ecosystems. In the upper soil layer, 0–15 cm depth, both irrigation and elevated CO 2 alone increased total root length by twofold, but irrigation decreased root biomass and elevated CO 2 had only small positive effects on root biomass. The large positive effects of irrigation and elevated CO 2 alone on total root length were due to increases in both root length production and root life span. The increased total root length and life span under irrigation and elevated CO 2 coincided with apparent shifts from water limitation of plant growth to nitrogen limitation. Warming alone had minimal effects on root biomass, length and life span in this shallow soil layer. Warming and elevated CO 2 combined increased root biomass and total root length by c. 25%, but total root length in this treatment was lower than expected if the effects of CO 2 and warming alone were additive. Treatment effects on total root length and root life span varied with soil depth and root diameter. Synthesis. Sub-additive effects of CO 2 and warming suggest studies of elevated CO 2 alone might overestimate the future capacity of grassland root systems to acquire resources. In this mixed-grass prairie, elevated CO 2 with warming stimulated total root length and root life span in deeper soils, likely enhancing plant access to more stable pools of growth-limiting resources, including water and phosphorus. Therefore, these root responses help explain previous observations of higher, and more stable, above-ground productivity in these projected climate conditions.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Advanced Microstructured BaTiO 3 -Embedded PVDF–HFP/PEO Film for Enhanced Triboelectric Interface in Self-Sufficient Energy Generation and Sensing

The global reliance on fossil fuels and natural gas has largely dominated the energy production field, but due to finite resource depletion and escalating greenhouse gas emissions, the immediate exploration of sustainable energy alternatives to mitigate climate change and ensure resource security has been a major concern. There has been extensive research into other more renewable methods of energy production, such as wind and hydropower. Of these current energy generation types, there are many areas of untapped potential from the mechanical movements generated ambiently not only in the large scale of power generation but also on a smaller scale. The piezoelectric and triboelectric effects are phenomena where these ambient mechanical movements can generate electrical energy. Developing a hybrid system that leverages both mechanical stress and surface charges presents an ideal opportunity to exploit these untapped energy sources. Producing a hybrid PVDF–HFP/PEO film with perovskite BaTiO 3 (BTO) enables ambient power harvesting from both mechanical movement and surface charge. The optimized cell produced a potential of up to 15 V and a current of 200 nA with a 68 kΩ resistor, a substantial increase from a base system with an average of 2.1 V and 40 nA. These hybrid TENGs offer significant potential for energy harvesting in small-scale applications, such as health monitoring devices and indicators in electric circuits.

Ybarra, Rigobert [University of Texas Rio Grande V↗

DOE OSTI2023

Perspectives on future research directions in green manufacturing for discrete products

With the increasing concern due to climate change caused by a higher atmospheric concentration of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases, reducing environmental impact is becoming more important for every part of society. Manufacturing is responsible for a significant amount of energy/material consumption and environmental burden and, therefore, has a great opportunity to reduce its impact through green manufacturing. Green manufacturing presents opportunities across the manufacturing enterprise to increase the efficient usage of energy and material resources. These opportunities include designing products to consume fewer materials and energy during manufacturing and use, incorporating more efficient manufacturing processes, streamlining and optimizing manufacturing schedules and plans, and circularizing products. The goal of this paper will be to provide a perspective from the authors on the opportunities that exist within green manufacturing for discrete products through a review of pertinent topics and future directions. The paper will focus on processes, manufacturing equipment, manufacturing systems, recovering value at a product’s end-of-life, and additional thoughts that include metrics and indicators, techno-economic assessment, and a discussion of efficiency and effectiveness. Key findings from this review include a need for social indicators and renewable energy considerations in scheduling and process planning, integrating Industry 4.0 into circular economy along with social and institutional dimensions, consistency in the ability to measure and conceptualize metrics and indicators, a detailed evaluation of the life cycle impacts and cost of Addit Manuf, and more human and environment-oriented considerations for smart manufacturing.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

NASA NTRS2012

Progress Made in Lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization Under NASA's Exploration Technology and Development Program

Incorporation of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and the production of mission critical consumables for 9 propulsion, power, and life support into mission architectures can greatly reduce the mass, cost, and risk of missions 10 leading to a sustainable and affordable approach to human exploration beyond Earth. ISRU and its products can 11 also greatly affect how other exploration systems are developed, including determining which technologies are 12 important or enabling. While the concept of lunar ISRU has existed for over 40 years, the technologies and systems 13 had not progressed much past simple laboratory proof-of-concept tests. With the release of the Vision for Space 14 Exploration in 2004 with the goal of harnessing the Moon.s resources, NASA initiated the ISRU Project in the 15 Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) to develop the technologies and systems needed to meet 16 this goal. In the five years of work in the ISRU Project, significant advancements and accomplishments occurred in 17 several important areas of lunar ISRU. Also, two analog field tests held in Hawaii in 2008 and 2010 demonstrated 18 all the steps in ISRU capabilities required along with the integration of ISRU products and hardware with 19 propulsion, power, and cryogenic storage systems. This paper will review the scope of the ISRU Project in the 20 ETDP, ISRU incorporation and development strategies utilized by the ISRU Project, and ISRU development and 21 test accomplishments over the five years of funded project activity.

Sanders, Gerald B.↗

NASA NTRS1990

NASA applications project in Miami County, Indiana

This project was designed to acquaint county government officials and their clientele with remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) products that contain information about land conditions and land use. The specific project objectives are: (1) to investigate the feasibility of using remotely sensed data to identify and quantify specific land cover categories and conditions for purposes of tax assessment, cropland area measurements, and land use evaluation; (2) to evaluate the use of remotely sensed data to assess soil resources and conditions which affect productivity; (3) to investigate the use of satellite remote sensing data as an aid in assessing soil management practices; and (4) to evaluate the market potential of products derived from the above projects.

Johannsen, Chris J.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Multi-Sourced Collaboration for the Production and Refining of Rare Elements and Critical Metals (Final Technical Report)

The project objective was to develop a feasible and cost-effective method for recovering rare earth elements (REEs) and critical materials (CMs) from coal and coal byproducts, resulting in high-purity individually separated REEs and CMs. The targeted REEs included Y, Pr, Nd, Gd, Dy, and Sm, with a purity of over 99.5%, while the CMs included Co, Mn, Ga, Sr, Li, Ni, Zn, and Ge, with a purity of over 90%. The project aimed to design a prototype facility capable of producing 1-3 tonnes/day of high-purity REO mixes. The work was divided into four designated circuits: 1) REE extraction and concentration, 2) REE separation and purification, 3) RE metal production, and 4) CM production. To achieve these goals, the project involved 11 tasks, including technology reviews, research, process flow diagram development, mass balance estimation, and preliminary technical-economic analysis. The project team included researchers from the University of Kentucky, University of Alabama and Virginia Tech as well as process specialists from Argonne National Laboratory. MP Materials provided technical support regarding rare earth markets and processing while Alliance Coal performed resource assessment. The project included a market analysis for Nd/Pr, Tb, Dy, Gd, Y, Co, Mn, Li, Sr, Ga, Ni, Zn, and Ge. These analyses provided insights into the supply and demand trends as well as historic and future projections of market price relative to purity requirements for these elements. Two coal resources were selected for the project: the West Kentucky No. 13 (Baker) Seam and an undisclosed lignite resource in the Illinois coal basin. The estimated quantities of REEs in these resources were calculated based on production samples and drilling data. It was estimated that there is adequate supply for an operation producing one metric ton daily of higher purity mixed rare earth oxides (MREO) for approximately 20 years at a site located in western Kentucky. In Circuit 1, project data was obtained from a pilot heap leach and REE concentration facility. It was concluded that the existing circuit, which generated a MREO concentrate, two types of CM mixed products, and Li- and Sr-containing waters, would be suitable feed for circuits 2-4. Data from the first-of-its-kind coal coarse refuse heap leach pilot pad played a crucial role in estimating reliable elemental concentrations of the pregnant leaching solution (PLS). The average total REE concentration in the PLS was found to be 28.6 ppm. In Circuit 2, several concepts were explored including a novel process referred to as solvent-assisted chromatography (SAC). This concept involved a novel columnar reactor that incorporated multiple mixer/settlers, thereby enabling the operation of counter-flowing aqueous and organic phases. Unfortunately, due to project time constraints, a complete fundamental modeling analysis could not be completed to fully evaluate the technology. Molten salt electrowinning was considered as an alternative for circuit 3 following circuit 2 purification circuit utilizing the novel SAC process. A mass and energy balance of Nd reduction to metal in a fluoride containing molten salt electrolyte was conducted. Comparisons were made with the current state of Asian molten salt electrorefining, and potential improvements in siphoning rare earth metals (REM) from the reactor were presented. A cost estimate was performed for the production of 1 tonne per day, which yielded a total of $2.29 million for the nine electrowinning (EW) cells required. The selected option for circuits 2 and 3 was a plasma distillation process, which initially separates rare earth elements (REEs) from other elements. This is followed by selective electrowinning in various ionic liquids. The selection was made on the basis of thermodynamic modeling and experimental data previously published by a project partner. The combination offers an innovative approach to integrated refining and RE metal production. For Circuit 4, an extensive literature review was conducted for the processing of the CMs. The ultimate decision was to utilize a combined plasma and ionic liquid process as well to produce individual high-purity concentrates of Zn, Ni, Co, Mn, and Mg. A separate flowsheet for Li and Sr was recommended, which would yield carbonates of these elements. Due to the lack of suitable experimental data at this time, a process recommendation could not be provided but several methods have been proposed for consideration. Lastly, a techno-economic analysis (TEA) was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the proposed process for further investigation. The TEA results revealed a capital expense (CapEx) of $737 million and an annual operational expense (OpEx) of $220 million. Due to the selected elements, the hypothetical heap leach pad can produce 1 metric tonne per day of REO equivalent, but a conscious decision was made to only treat targeted REEs, resulting in the production of 0.4 metric tonne of REM. An estimated annual revenue of $90.87 million was projected based on standard market pricing information provided by the funding agency. During the TEA, ten different modules were evaluated for costing purposes. The precipitation circuit was identified as the largest single operational expense, followed by the Mg/Mn process due to the amount of treated metal. In terms of capital expenditures, the heap leach process incurred the highest cost, followed by the Mg/Mn process. The scalability of the plasma process is a crucial consideration since the reactors cannot be scaled beyond the largest demonstrated size due to their reliance on surface area of the slag and vapor phase. The purity estimate for the REEs are generally 98%±2% to produce a metal. The purity level being lower than the project objective was due to the lack of specific experimental data needed to tighten the tolerance of the estimates. Based on literature and previous experience, the CMs are estimated as follows; Ga (95%+, metal), Sr (95%+, carbonate), Li (95%+, carbonate), Ni (98%±2%, metal), Zn (95%+, metal sponge), Ge (95%+, metal), Co (98%±2%, metal), and Mn (98%±2%, metal).

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2021

Introducing the GeoRePORT Resource Size Tool: Reporting on Geothermal Resource Size Estimations Using the Geothermal Resource Portfolio Optimization and Reporting Technique (GeoRePORT): Preprint

The Geothermal Resource Portfolio Optimization and Reporting Technique (GeoRePORT) was developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office to assist in identifying and pursuing long-term investment strategies through the development of a resource reporting protocol. The assessment protocols used in GeoRePORT allow for comparison of project attributes across locations and geological settings to understand the feasibility of geothermal development. This work introduces the Resource Size Tool, a new feature within the GeoRePORT package that compiles two independent methods for estimating geothermal resource size in terms of energy capacity in MW. Energy production potential for twenty-three case studies was estimated with the Resource Size Tool in order to 1) generate a reasonable range of resource size estimates for a particular geothermal field; 2) illustrate the advantages and limitations of each methodology (such as data input requirements, estimate accuracy and precision, and the appropriate circumstances of use); and 3) test the ability of the resource size tool to provide useful and accurate information for geothermal stakeholders. The tool employs two methods widely used in the geothermal industry: (1) USGS Volumetric and (2) Power Density. Results from our case studies show general overlap between these two methods in terms of resource size estimates; however, they also reveal key differences between the two approaches that should be considered when using such estimates to drive development. First, the two methods rely on different input parameters and therefore one method may be more appropriate and/or accurate for a given project than the other. Second, the Power Density method was found to generate wider ranges of resource size predictions, more consistently aligning with actual power production of the field but with larger scales of error; whereas the USGS Volumetric method predicts narrower ranges but tends to overestimate when compared to current MW production. Future work will refine variables used in the methods with input data from other sections of GeoRePORT and modify uncertainty levels based on the particular datasets used for a given project.

geological↗