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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Radiokrypton unveils dual moisture sources of a deep desert aquifer

We report that in arid regions, groundwater is a vital resource that can also provide a long-term record of the regional water cycle. However, the use of groundwater as a paleoclimate proxy has been limited by the complex hydrology and the lack of appropriate chronometers to determine the recharge time without complication. Applying 81 Kr, a long-lived radioisotope tracer, we investigate the paleohydroclimate and subsurface water storage properties of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer in the Negev Desert, Israel. Based on the spatial distributions of stable isotopes and the abundance of 81 Kr, we resolve subsurface mixing and identify two distinct moisture sources of the recharge: one recent (<38 ky ago) from the Mediterranean and the other 361 ± 30 ky ago from the tropical Atlantic, both of which occurred under conditions of low orbital eccentricity comparable to that of the present. The recent recharge provided by the moisture from Mediterranean cyclones can be attributed to the southward shift of the storm track during the Last Glacial Maximum, and the earlier recharge can be attributed to moisture from the Atlantic delivered as tropical plumes under a climate colder than the present. Furthermore, the residence time of the latter reveals that tectonically active terrain can store groundwater for an unexpectedly long period, likely due to strongly attenuated groundwater flow across the fault zones. Lastly with this tracer, groundwater can now serve as a direct record of paleoprecipitation over land and of subsurface water storage from the mid-Pleistocene and onward.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Gasification Combined Heat and Power from Coal Fines

The goal of this final project report is to comprehensively summarize the work for public domain conducted on project DE-FE 0031520. In accordance with the Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO), the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UKy-CAER) (Recipient) has completed a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study 5 MWe polygeneration unit using the Coal Fields Regional Industrial Park in Hazard, Kentucky (KY) as a model location and using coal recovered from the adjacent Pads Branch Impoundment as feed. The scope of work is a thorough study that can be used as a template for the application of the proposed technology throughout Eastern KY and other coal communities nationwide. The Technology Design Basis was developed based on three elements: basic site characteristics; fuel feedstock; and environmental health and safety requirements. The Basic Engineering Design Elements include the preliminary process design (the process area descriptions; the Block Flow Diagram (BFD), Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) and Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), process simulation outputs and Heat and Mass Balance (H&MB) stream tables, the major process equipment and instrumentation lists which includes specifications and materials of construction); the cost estimate (capital cost estimate, operational cost estimate, and comparison with state-of-the-art commercial scale similar technologies, options to lower cost, construction cost and schedule estimate); and other supporting elements (guidelines for execution and management of the project), logistical summary, and balance of plant summary, the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) assessment; and a Social and Economic Impact (S&EI) assessment. All project milestones, deliverables and success criteria were met. The proposed 5 MWe polygeneration facility being fed from impoundment recovered coal has been shown to be technically feasible. Annual revenues are estimated at $\$ $2.4M from electricity, steam and hydrocarbon production; annual operating expenses are $\$ $5.2M ($\$ $2.9 M in operating expenses, and $\$ $2.4M in indirect expenses). The gasifier facility, as configured during the FEED, will lose money when operating under commercial operating conditions and terms. However, eight options improving the economics can be considered during the detailed design phase to make the facility profitable by taking advantage of the positive differential of revenue to variable operating costs, and reducing the influence of fixed operating costs. Coupled with the findings from the S&EI assessment estimating a total economic impact of $\$ $374M for the proposed polygeneration facility at >$\$ $1.5B, if three additional such projects are implemented, clearly positive economics are demonstrated. No EH&S issues are identified that would prohibit proceeding with the project, although permitting efforts are estimated to take 3-5 years.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2017

CLAS N* Excitation Results from Pion and Kaon Electroproduction

The study of the structure of excited nucleon $N^*$ states employing the electroproduction of exclusive reactions is an important avenue for exploring the nature of the non-perturbative strong interaction. The electrocouplings of $N^*$ states in the mass range below $W$=1.8~GeV have been determined from analyses of CLAS $\pi N$, $\eta N$, and $\pi \pi N$ data at four-momentum transfers $Q^2$ up to 5~GeV$^2$. The work has made it clear that consistent results from independent analyses of several exclusive channels with different couplings and non-resonant backgrounds but the same $N^*$ electroexcitation amplitudes, is essential to have confidence in the extracted results. In terms of hadronic couplings, many high-lying $N^*$ states preferentially decay through the $\pi \pi N$ channel, while couplings to $\pi N$ final states become rather small. The resonance parameters determined from $\pi N$ and $\pi \pi N$ electroproduction can be checked in independent studies of the $KY$ ($Y = \Lambda, \Sigma^0$) channels. Therefore, data from the $KY$ channels already measured with CLAS will play an important role in $N^*$ structure studies. These comparisons await the development of suitable reaction models. Starting in 2018, a program to study the structure of $N^*$ states in various exclusive electroproduction channels using the new CLAS12 spectrometer will get underway. These studies will probe the structure of $N^*$ states in the mass range up to $W$=3~GeV and $Q^2$ up to 12~GeV$^2$, thus providing a means to access $N^*$ structure information spanning a broad regime encompassing both low- and high-energy degrees of freedom.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1975

Use of LARS system for the quantitative determination of smoke plume lateral diffusion coefficients from ERTS images of Virginia

A technique for measuring smoke plume of large industrial sources observed by satellite using LARSYS is proposed. A Gaussian plume model is described, integrated in the vertical, and inverted to yield a form for the lateral diffusion coefficient, Ky. Given u, wind speed; y sub l, the horizontal distance of a line of constant brightness from the plume symmetry axis a distance x sub l, downstream from reference point at x=x sub 2, y=0, then K sub y = u ((y sub 1) to the 2nd power)/2 x sub 1 1n (x sub 2/x sub 1). The technique is applied to a plume from a power plant at Chester, Virginia, imaged August 31, 1973 by LANDSAT I. The plume bends slightly to the left 4.3 km from the source and estimates yield Ky of 28 sq m/sec near the source, and 19 sq m/sec beyond the bend. Maximum ground concentrations are estimated between 32 and 64 ug/cu m. Existing meteorological data would not explain such concentrations.

Blais, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Annual, orbital, and enigmatic variations in tropical oceanography recorded by the Equatorial Atlantic amplifier

Equatorial Atlantic surface waters respond directly to changes in zonal and meridional lower tropospheric winds forced by annual insolation. This mechanism has its maximum effect along the equatorial wave guide centered on 10 deg W. The result is to amplify even subtle tropical climate changes such that they are recorded by marked amplitude changes in the proxy signals. Model realizations, NCAR AGCM and OGCM for 0 Ka and 126 Ka (January and July), and paleoceanographic proxy data show that these winds are also forced by insolation changes at the orbital periods of precession and obliquity. Perhelion in boreal summer produces a strengthened monsoon, e.g., increase meridional and decrease zonal wind stress. This reduces oceanic Ekman divergence and thermocline/nutricline shallowing. The result, in the equatorial Atlantic, is reduced primary productivity and higher euphotic zone temperatures; vice versa for perihelion in boreal winter. Perihelion is controlled by precession. Thus, the dominant period in spectra from a stacked SST record (0-252 Ka BP) at the site of the equatorial Atlantic amplifier is 23 Ky (53 percent of the total variance). This precessional period is coherent (k = 0.920) and in phase with boreal summer insolation. Oscillations of shorter period are present in records from cores sited beneath the amplifier region. These occur between 12.5 and 74.5 Ka BP, when eccentricity modulation of precession is at a minimum. Within this time interval there are 21 cycles with mean periods of 3.0 plus or minus 0.5 Ky. Similar periods have been documented from high latitude regions, e.g., Greenland ice cores from Camp Century. The Camp Century signal in this same time interval contains 21 cycles. A subjective correlation was made between the Camp Century and the equatorial records; the signals were statistically similar, r = 0.722 and k = 0.960.

Mcintyre, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS1992

Evidence of orbital forcing in 510 to 530 million year old shallow marine cycles, Utah and western Canada

Spectral analyses of two sequences of shallow marine sedimentary cycles that were deposited between 510 and 530 million years ago were completed. One sequence is from Middle Cambrian rocks in southern Utah and the other is from Upper Cambrian rocks in the southern Canadian Rockies. In spite of the antiquity of these strata, and even though there are differences in the age, location, and cycle facies between the two sequences, both records have distinct spectral peaks with surprisingly similar periodicities. A null model constructed to test for significance of the spectral peaks and circulatory in the methodology indicates that all but one of the spectral peaks are significant at the 90 percent confidence level. When the ratios between the statistically significant peaks are measured, we find a consistent relation to orbital forcing; specifically, the spectral peak ratios in both the Utah and Canadian examples imply that a significant amount of the variance in the cyclic records is driven by the short eccentricity (approximately 109 ky) and by the precessional (approximately 21 ky) components of the Earth's orbital variations. Neither section contains a significant component of variance at the period of the obliquity cycle, however.

Bond, Gerard C.↗
NASA NTRS2008

The 2008 Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak: Overview of the Tornadoes and their Parent Storms

The cold-season Tornado outbreak that occurred over the Southeast on 5-6 February 2008 was significant for the following reasons: about 84 tornadoes were documented over a 15 h period between late afternoon on 5 February and early morning on 6 February 2008; a wide variety of parent storms were associated with the tornadoes; a total of five EF-4 tornadoes occurred, with two forming over Alabama during the early morning hours prior to sunrise; there was a significant lull period between the initial convective and the early morning activity over Alabama 10 hours later; and, a wide spectrum of storm types, ranging from isolated supercell storms to QLCS bow echoes, accompanied the tornadoes. The goal of this paper is to provide a general description of the outbreak including the distribution of tornadoes and supercell storms over the region, a detailed map of the tornado tracks, time series of tornadoes and parent storms, and general characteristics of all parent tornado storms. The total number of major storms (duration greater than 3 h, at least three tornadoes produced) was seven. Several noteworthy storms are described: a long track (198 km long) tornado and its parent storm over Arkansas; a prolific supercell storm persisted for 7-8 hours and produced 16 tornadoes from north-central Mississippi to southern KY; and, bow echo storms (QLCS's) were simultaneous over KY and produced 16 tornadoes.

Knupp, Kevin R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Capacity optimization of nuclear power integration to meet dynamic industrial demand

To decarbonize their industrial facilities, The Dow Chemical Company has collaborated with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to study the integration of nuclear power with an industrial chemical facility. Using Holistic Energy and Resource Optimization Network developed at INL for optimizing and analyzing integrated energy systems, a nuclear microreactor system was sized and evaluated for dynamic dispatch to Dow Silicones Corporation’s Carrollton, KY (USA) site for iloxane production. It was found that a 180 MW th system (12 × 15MW th ) with 75.1 MWh th of thermal energy storage could provide heat and power to the chemical facilities. In the process, this would reduce electricity imports by 99.9 % and reduce the Scope 1 and 2 emissions of the site by 292,100 tonnes CO 2 /yr (98.8 %). The primary novelty of this work is a first of a kind design and optimization of a microreactor powered integrated energy system to provide heat and power to a chemical plant using real plant data. This analysis will pave the way for future studies using dispatchable clean energy sources to reduce carbon emissions and commodity industries’ reliance on fossil fuels.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A renewed search for short-lived 126 Sn in the early Solar System: Hydride generation MC-ICPMS for high sensitivity Te isotopic analysis

Although there is limited direct evidence for supernova input into the nascent Solar System many models suggest it formed by the gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud that was triggered by a nearby supernova. Existing lines of evidence mostly in the form of short lived radionuclidespresent in the early Solar System are potentially consistent with this hypothesis but still allow for alternative explanations. Since the natural production of Sn-126 is thought to occur only in supernovae and this isotope has a short half-life (Sn-126 -> Te-126 t(1/2) = 235 ky) the discovery of extant Sn-126 would provide unequivocal proof of supernova input to the early Solar System. Previous attempts to quantify the initial abundance of Sn-126 by examining Sn-Te systematics in early solids have been hampered by difficulties in precisely measuring Te isotope ratios in these materials. Thus here we describe a novel technique that uses hydride generation to dramatically increase the ionization efficiency of Te-an approximately 30-fold increase over previous work. This introduction system when coupled to a MC-ICPMS enables highprecision Te isotopic analyses on samples with < 10 ng of Te. We used this technique to analyze Te from a unique set of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) that exhibit an exceptionally large range in Sn/Te ratios facilitating the search for the short-lived isotope Sn-126. This sample set shows no evidence of live Sn-126 implying at most minor input of supernova material during the time at which the CAIs formed. However based on the petrology of this sample set combined with the higher than expected concentrations of Sn and Te as well as the lack of nucleosynthetic anomalies in other isotopes of Te suggest that the bulk of the Sn and Te recovered from these particular refractory inclusions is not of primary origin and thus does not represent a primary signature of Sn-Te systematics of the protosolar nebula during condensation of CAIs or their precursors. Although no evidence of supernova input was found based on Sn-Te systematics in this sample set hydride generation represents a powerful tool that can now be used to further explore Te isotope systematics in less altered materials.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2015

Alkali metal – yttrium borohydrides: The link between coordination of small and large rare-earth

The system Li–A–Y–BH{sub 4} (A=K, Rb, Cs) is found to contain five new compounds and four further ones known from previous work on the homoleptic borohydrides. Crystal structures have been solved and refined from synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, thermal stability of new compounds have been investigated and ionic conductivity measured for selected samples. Significant coordination flexibility for Y{sup 3+} is revealed, which allows the formation of both octahedral frameworks and tetrahedral complex anions with the tetrahydroborate anion BH{sub 4} both as a linker and terminal ligand. Bi- and trimetallic cubic double-perovskites c-A{sub 3}Y(BH{sub 4}){sub 6} or c-A{sub 2}LiY(BH{sub 4}){sub 6} (A=Rb, Cs) form in all the investigated systems, with the exception of the Li–K–Y system. The compounds with the stoichiometry AY(BH{sub 4}){sub 4} crystallize in all investigated systems with a great variety of structure types which find their analog amongst metal oxides. In-situ formation of a new borohydride – closo-borane is observed during decomposition of all double perovskites. - Graphical abstract: The system Li–A–Y–BH{sub 4} (A=K, Rb, Cs) is found to contain five novel compounds and four further ones previously reported. Significant coordination flexibility of Y{sup 3+} is revealed, which can be employed to form both octahedral frameworks and tetrahedral complex anions, very different structural topologies. Versatility is also manifested in three different simultaneously occurring coordination modes of borohydrides for one metal cation, as proposed by DFT optimization of the monoclinic KY(BH{sub 4}){sub 4} structural model observed by powder diffraction. - Highlights: • The system Li-A-Y-BH{sub 4} (A=K, Rb, Cs) contains nine compounds in total. • Y{sup 3+} forms octahedral frameworks and tetrahedral complex anions. • Bi- and trimetallic double-perovskites crystallize in most systems. • Various AY(BH{sub 4}){sub 4} crystallize with structure types analogous to metal oxides. • Double-perovskites decompose and form a novel borohydride-closo-borane.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Mineral properties, microbes, transport, and plant-input profiles control vertical distribution and age of soil carbon stocks

The role of organo-mineral interactions, microbial dynamics, and vertical plant input profiles are hypothesized to be important in controlling soil organic matter (SOM) stocks and dynamics. In this paper, to test this hypothesis, we enhanced and applied a model (Biotic and Abiotic Model of SOM – BAMS1) that represents microbial dynamics and organo-mineral interactions integrated with a multiphase reactive transport solver for variably saturated porous media. The model represents aqueous chemistry, aqueous advection and diffusion, gaseous diffusion, sorption processes, bacterial and fungal activity, and archetypal monomer- and polymer-carbon substrate groups, including dead cell wall material. This model structure is fundamentally different, and produces different SOM dynamics, than the pseudo-first order relationships that are used in most site- and global-scale terrestrial SOM models. We simulated two grasslands, a seven-site chronosequence (~3.9–240 Ky) in Northern California, and a Russian Chernozem site where soils were sampled 100 years apart. We calibrated the model's vertically-resolved soil bulk specific surface area (SBSSA) using observed bulk SOM content, and then tested the model against observed Δ 14 C profiles. The modeled microbial processes, organo-mineral interactions, and vertical aqueous transport produced realistic vertically-resolved predictions of bulk SOM content, Δ 14 C values of SOM, lignin content, and fungi-to-aerobic bacteria biomass ratios. Using sensitivity analyses, we found that vertical carbon input profiles were important controls over the Δ 14 C depth distribution. Shallower carbon input profiles lead to older carbon at depth. In addition, the SBSSA was the dominant control over the magnitude and vertical distribution of SOM stocks. Finally, the findings of this study demonstrate the value of explicitly incorporating microbial activity, sorption, and vertical transport into land models to predict SOM dynamics.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Novel pneumoviruses (PnVs): Evolution and inflammatory pathology

A previous report of a novel pneumovirus (PnV) isolated from the respiratory tract of a dog described its significant homology to the rodent pathogen, pneumonia virus of mice (PVM). The original PnV–Ane4 pathogen replicated in and could be re-isolated in infectious state from mouse lung but elicited minimal mortality compared to PVM strain J3666. Here we assess phylogeny and physiologic responses to 10 new PnV isolates. The G/glycoprotein sequences of all PnVs include elongated amino-termini when compared to the characterized PVMs, and suggest division into groups A and B. While we observed significant differences in cytokine production and neutrophil recruitment to the lungs of BALB/c mice in response to survival doses (50 TCID{sub 50} units) of representative group A (114378-10-29-KY-F) and group B (7968-11-OK) PnVs, we observed no evidence for positive selection (dN>dS) among the PnV/PnV, PVM/PnV or PVM/PVM G/glycoprotein or F/fusion protein sequence pairs. - Highlights: • We consider ten novel isolates of the pneumovirus (PnV) first described by Renshaw and colleagues. • The G/glycoprotein sequences of all PnVs include elongated amino-termini when compared to PVM. • We detect cytokine production and neutrophil recruitment to the lungs of mice in response to PnV. • We observed no evidence for positive selection (dN>dS) among the gene sequence pairs.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Liquid balance monitoring inside conventional, Retrofit, and bio-reactor landfill cells

Highlights: • The Retrofit, Control, and As-Built cells received 48, 14, and 213 L Mg{sup −1} (liters of liquids per metric ton of waste). • The leachate collection system yielded 60, 57 and 198 L Mg{sup −1} from the Retrofit, Control, and As-Built cells. • The head on liner in all cells was below regulatory limits. • Measured moisture content of the waste samples was consistent with that calculated from accumulated liquid by balance. • The in-place saturated hydraulic conductivity of the MSW was calculated to be in the range of 10{sup −8} to 10{sup −7} m s{sup −1}. - Abstract: The Outer Loop landfill bioreactor (OLLB) in Louisville, KY, USA has been the site of a study to evaluate long-term bioreactor performance at a full-scale operational landfill. Three types of landfill units were studied including a conventional landfill (Control cell), a new landfill area that had an air addition and recirculation piping network installed as waste was being placed (As-Built cell), and a conventional landfill that was modified to allow for liquids recirculation (Retrofit cell). During the monitoring period, the Retrofit, Control, and As-Built cells received 48, 14, and 213 L Mg{sup −1} (liters of liquids per metric ton of waste), respectively. The leachate collection system yielded 60, 57 and 198 L Mg{sup −1} from the Retrofit, Control, and As-Built cells, respectively. The head on liner in all cells was below regulatory limits. In the Control and As-Built cells, leachate head on liner decreased once waste placement stopped. The measured moisture content of the waste samples was consistent with that calculated from the estimate of accumulated liquid by the liquid balance. Additionally, measurements on excavated solid waste samples revealed large spatial variability in waste moisture content. The degree of saturation in the Control cells decreased from 85% to 75%. The degree of saturation increased from 82% to 83% due to liquids addition in the Retrofit cells and decreased back to 80% once liquid addition stopped. In the As-Built cells, the degree of saturation increased from 87% to 97% during filling activities and then started to decrease soon after filling activities stopped to reach 92% at the end of the monitoring period. The measured leachate generation rates were used to estimate an in-place saturated hydraulic conductivity of the MSW in the range of 10{sup −8} to 10{sup −7} m s{sup −1} which is lower than previous reports. In the Control and Retrofit cells, the net loss in liquids, 43 and 12 L Mg{sup −1}, respectively, was similar to the measured settlement of 15% and 5–8% strain, respectively (Abichou et al., 2013). The increase in net liquid volume in the As-Built cells indicates that the 37% (average) measured settlement strain in these cells cannot be due to consolidation as the waste mass did not lose any moisture but rather suggests that settlement was attributable to lubrication of waste particle contacts, softening of flexible porous materials, and additional biological degradation.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

Combining spectroscopic and isotopic techniques gives a dynamic view of phosphorus cycling in soil

Current understanding of phosphorus (P) cycling in soils can be enhanced by integrating previously discrete findings concerning P speciation, exchange kinetics, and the underlying biological and geochemical processes. Here, we combine sequential extraction with P K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and isotopic methods ( 33 P and 18 O in phosphate) to characterize P cycling on a climatic gradient in Hawaii. We link P pools to P species and estimate the turnover times for commonly considered P pools. Dissolved P turned over in seconds, resin-extractable P in minutes, NaOH-extractable inorganic P in weeks to months, and HCl-extractable P in years to millennia. Furthermore, we show that in arid-zone soils, some primary mineral P remains even after 150 ky of soil development, whereas in humid-zone soils of the same age, all P in all pools has been biologically cycled. The integrative information we provide makes possible a more dynamic, process-oriented conceptual model of P cycling in soils.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ocean current patterns drive the worldwide colonization of eelgrass (Zostera marina)

Currents are unique drivers of oceanic phylogeography and thus determine the distribution of marine coastal species, along with past glaciations and sea-level changes. Here we reconstruct the worldwide colonization history of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.), the most widely distributed marine flowering plant or seagrass from its origin in the Northwest Pacific, based on nuclear and chloroplast genomes. We identified two divergent Pacific clades with evidence for admixture along the East Pacific coast. Two west-to-east (trans-Pacific) colonization events support the key role of the North Pacific Current. Time-calibrated nuclear and chloroplast phylogenies yielded concordant estimates of the arrival of Z. marina in the Atlantic through the Canadian Arctic, suggesting that eelgrass-based ecosystems, hotspots of biodiversity and carbon sequestration, have only been present there for ~243 ky (thousand years). Mediterranean populations were founded ~44 kya, while extant distributions along western and eastern Atlantic shores were founded at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (~19 kya), with at least one major refuge being the North Carolina region. The recent colonization and five- to sevenfold lower genomic diversity of the Atlantic compared to the Pacific populations raises concern and opportunity about how Atlantic eelgrass might respond to rapidly warming coastal oceans.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Reconstruction of the South Atlantic Subtropical Dipole index for the past 12,000 years from surface temperature proxy

Climate indices based on sea surface temperature (SST) can synthesize information related to physical processes that describe change and variability in continental precipitation from floods to droughts. The South Atlantic Subtropical Dipole index (SASD) is based on the distribution of SST in the South Atlantic and fits these criteria. It represents the dominant mode of variability of SST in the South Atlantic, which is modulated by changes in the position and intensity of the South Atlantic Subtropical High. Here we reconstructed an index of the South Atlantic Ocean SST (SASD-like) for the past twelve thousand years (the Holocene period) based on proxy-data. This has great scientific implications and important socio-economic ramifications because of its ability to infer variability of precipitation and moisture over South America where past climate data is limited. For the first time a reconstructed index based on proxy data on opposite sides of the SASD-like mode is able to capture, in the South Atlantic, the significant cold events in the Northern Hemisphere at 12.9–11.6 kyr BP and 8.6–8.0 ky BP. These events are related, using a transient model simulation, to precipitation changes over South America.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Acousto-optic modulators based on a KYW crystal

Two types of acousto-optic modulators based on new acousto-optic crystals KY(WO{sub 4}){sub 2} are developed and experimentally investigated. Their characteristics are compared with those of existing acousto-optic quartz modulators. It is shown that the new modulators provide an almost 10-fold efficiency gain, which eliminates the need for water cooling of such devices. (acouto-optics)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Acousto-optic modulators of high-power laser radiation on the basis of KGW and KYW crystals

Different modifications of acousto-optic modulators (AOMs) based on KG(WO{sub 4}){sub 2} (KGW) and KY(WO{sub 4}){sub 2} (KYW) crystals, designed for Q switching of high-power pulsed lasers, is developed and investigated. It is shown that AOMs based on these crystals are universal, can be combined with different lasers in the wavelength range of 1 – 3 μm, and have a high radiation resistance in the absence of antireflection coatings and light input at Brewster’s angle. The operation efficiency of KGW-based AOMs is experimentally demonstrated. Solid-state lasers based on Cr : Er : YSGG (λ = 2.78 μm), Cr : Yb : Ho : YSGG (λ = 2.87 μm), Cr : Tm : Ho : YSGG (λ = 2.09 μm), and Nd : YAG (λ = 1.064 μm) crystals with active acousto-optic Q switching, operating in the repetitively pulsed regime with a high beam quality and without surface destruction, are investigated. Lasing pulses (30 – 60)-ns long with energy up to 32 mJ at a repetition rate from 1 to 1000 Hz are obtained. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗