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At least 55 records · Page 3

REE Partitioning in Lunar Minerals

Rare earth elements (REE) are an extremely useful tool in modeling lunar magmatic processes. Here we present the first experimentally derived plagioclase/melt partition coefficients in lunar compositions covering the entire suite of REE. Positive europium anomalies are ubiquitous in the plagioclase-rich rocks of the lunar highlands, and complementary negative Eu anomalies are found in most lunar basalts. These features are taken as evidence of a large-scale differentiation event, with crystallization of a global-scale lunar magma ocean (LMO) resulting in a plagioclase flotation crust and a mafic lunar interior from which mare basalts were subsequently derived. However, the extent of the Eu anomaly in lunar rocks is variable. Fagan and Neal [1] reported highly anorthitic plagioclase grains in lunar impact melt rock 60635,19 that displayed negative Eu anomalies as well as the more usual positive anomalies. Indeed some grains in the sample are reported to display both positive and negative anomalies. Judging from cathodoluminescence images, these anomalies do not appear to be associated with crystal overgrowths or zones.

Rapp, J. F.↗

Marine and land active-source seismic investigation of geothermal potential, tectonic structure, and earthquake hazards in Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Amy Eisses, Annie M. Kell, Graham Kent, Neal W. Driscoll, Robert E. Karlin, Robert L. Baskin, John N. Louie, Kenneth D. Smith, Sathish Pullammanappallil, 2011, Marine and land active-source seismic investigation of geothermal potential, tectonic structure, and earthquake hazards in Pyramid Lake, Nevada: presented at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Dec. 5-9, abstract NS14A-08.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Marine and land active-source seismic investigation of geothermal potential, tectonic structure, and earthquake hazards in Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Amy Eisses, Annie M. Kell, Graham Kent, Neal W. Driscoll, Robert E. Karlin, Robert L. Baskin, John N. Louie, Kenneth D. Smith, Sathish Pullammanappallil, 2011, Marine and land active-source seismic investigation of geothermal potential, tectonic structure, and earthquake hazards in Pyramid Lake, Nevada: presented at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Dec. 5-9, abstract NS14A-08.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Marine and land active-source seismic imaging of mid-Miocene to Holocene-aged faulting near geothermal prospects at Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Amy Eisses, Annie Kell, Graham Kent, Neal Driscoll, Robert Karlin, Rob Baskin, John Louie, and Satish Pullammanappallil, 2011, Marine and land active-source seismic imaging of mid-Miocene to Holocene-aged faulting near geothermal prospects at Pyramid Lake, Nevada: presented at Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting, San Diego, Oct. 23-26.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Marine and land active-source seismic imaging of mid-Miocene to Holocene-aged faulting near geothermal prospects at Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Amy Eisses, Annie Kell, Graham Kent, Neal Driscoll, Robert Karlin, Rob Baskin, John Louie, and Satish Pullammanappallil, 2011, Marine and land active-source seismic imaging of mid-Miocene to Holocene-aged faulting near geothermal prospects at Pyramid Lake, Nevada: Geothermal Resources Council Transactions, 35, 7 pp. Preprint at http://crack.seismo.unr.edu/geothermal/Eisses-GRCpaper-sm.pdf The Pyramid Lake fault zone lies within a vitally important area of the northern Walker Lane where not only can transtension can be studied through a complex arrangement of strike-slip and normal faults but also geothermal activity can be examined in the extensional regime for productivity. This study used advanced and economical seismic methods in attempt to develop the Paiute Tribe’s geothermal reservoir and to expand upon the tectonics and earthquake hazard knowledge of the area. 500 line-kilometers of marine CHIRP data were collected on Pyramid Lake combined with 27 kilometers of vibrator seismic on-land data from the northwest side of the basin were collected in 2010 that highlighted two distinct phases of faulting. Preliminary results suggest that the geothermal fluids in the area are controlled by the late Pleistoceneto Holocene-aged faults and not through the mid-Miocene-aged conduits as originally hypothesized.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

EFRC 10@10: Developing the Next Generation of Scientific Talent: Erin Ratcliff

Erin Ratcliff studied chemistry, mathematics, and statistics as an undergraduate at St. Olaf College in Minnesota and then completed a doctorate in physical chemistry at Iowa State University. That breadth of knowledge combined with her enthusiasm, drive, and ability to communicate were what convinced Regents Professor Neal Armstrong to offer her a postdoctoral position in his laboratory at the University of Arizona. One of her first tasks there was to help with the application for what became an Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), the Center for Interface Science: Solar Electric Materials, focused on thin-film solar cell materials. When the grant came through, Armstrong created a position for Erin as a research scientist for the Center.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Air Classification of Forest Residue for Tissue and Ash Separation Efficiency

The goal of this Case Study was to evaluate the performance of air classification of logging residues toward meeting conversion CMAs for carbon and ash contents, as compared to the static status quo Base Case system in which the residues are first dried and then ground in a hammer mill with a 6 mm screen and fines less than 1.18 mm are removed. Also considered were moisture and ash impacts on throughput and Overall Operating Effectiveness (OOE), as well as delivered feedstock cost and minimum fuel selling price (MFSP). Laboratory data on the impacts of fan speed and moisture content on the separation efficiency of soil ash, needles and bark from white wood were received from FCIC Subtask 5.2: Preprocessing, High Temperature Conversion Preprocessing (Jordan Klinger and Tiasha Bhattacharjee, INL). Average throughput and energy consumption data were obtained from the Bioenergy Feedstock National User Facility (BFNUF) (Neal Yancey, INL) for the same air classifier. These data were utilized to develop the necessary response surface equations to perform throughput analysis using discrete event simulation. Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium. Because the Base Case status quo system utilizes drying prior to grinding, we modeled the Case Study with drying prior to air classification and subsequent grinding of the separated white wood to isolate the individual quality and cost impacts of air classification relative to the Base Case system.

CMA↗

The role of environmental driving factors in historical and projected carbon dynamics of wetland ecosystems in Alaska

Abstract Wetlands are critical terrestrial ecosystems in Alaska, covering ~177,000 km 2 , an area greater than all the wetlands in the remainder of the United States. To assess the relative influence of changing climate, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration, and fire regime on carbon balance in wetland ecosystems of Alaska, a modeling framework that incorporates a fire disturbance model and two biogeochemical models was used. Spatially explicit simulations were conducted at 1‐km resolution for the historical period (1950–2009) and future projection period (2010–2099). Simulations estimated that wetland ecosystems of Alaska lost 175 Tg carbon (C) in the historical period. Ecosystem C storage in 2009 was 5,556 Tg, with 89% of the C stored in soils. The estimated loss of C as CO 2 and biogenic methane (CH 4 ) emissions resulted in wetlands of Alaska increasing the greenhouse gas forcing of climate warming. Simulations for the projection period were conducted for six climate change scenarios constructed from two climate models forced under three CO 2 emission scenarios. Ecosystem C storage averaged among climate scenarios increased 3.94 Tg C/yr by 2099, with variability among the simulations ranging from 2.02 to 4.42 Tg C/yr. These increases were driven primarily by increases in net primary production (NPP) that were greater than losses from increased decomposition and fire. The NPP increase was driven by CO 2 fertilization (~5% per 100 parts per million by volume increase) and by increases in air temperature (~1% per °C increase). Increases in air temperature were estimated to be the primary cause for a projected 47.7% mean increase in biogenic CH 4 emissions among the simulations (~15% per °C increase). Ecosystem CO 2 sequestration offset the increase in CH 4 emissions during the 21st century to decrease the greenhouse gas forcing of climate warming. However, beyond 2100, we expect that this forcing will ultimately increase as wetland ecosystems transition from being a sink to a source of atmospheric CO 2 because of (1) decreasing sensitivity of NPP to increasing atmospheric CO 2 , (2) increasing availability of soil C for decomposition as permafrost thaws, and (3) continued positive sensitivity of biogenic CH 4 emissions to increases in soil temperature.

Lyu, Zhou↗

Benchmarking Uranyl Peroxide Capsule Chemistry in Organic Media

Uranyl peroxide capsules are a recent addition to polyoxometalate (POM) chemistry. Ten years of development has ensued only in water, while transition metal POMs are commonly exploited in aqueous and organic media, controlled by counterions or ligation to render the clusters hydrophilic or hydrophobic. Here, new uranyl POM behavior is recognized in organic media, including (1) stabilization and immobilization of encapsulated hydrophilic countercations, identified by Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, (2) formation of new cluster species upon phase transfer, (3) extraction of uranyl clusters from different starting materials including simulated spent nuclear fuel, (4) selective phase transfer of one cluster type from a mixture, and (5) phase transfer of clusters from both acidic and alkaline media. The capsule morphology of the uranyl POMs renders accurate characterization by X‐ray scattering, including the distinction of geometrically similar clusters. Compositional analysis of the aqueous phase post‐extraction provided a quantitative determination of the ion exchange process that enables transfer of the clusters into the organic phase. Preferential partitioning of uranyl POMs into organic media presents new frontiers in metal ion behavior and chemical reactions in the confined space of the cluster capsules in hydrophobic media, as well as the reactivity of clusters at the organic/aqueous interface.

Neal, Harrison A.↗

Effect of Synthesis Method Using Varying Types of Micropore Level Sulfur Infiltration on Electrochemical Performance in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

The role of physically restrained, noncrystalline sulfur species in rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries is examined by electrochemical and high‐resolution material characterizations. Carbon–sulfur composites are created by melting and sublimation of sulfur in an isochoric reactor via the autogenic process. These noncrystalline sulfur cathodes demonstrate a high specific capacity of ≈1000 Ah kg −1 after 100 cycles with a gravimetric current of 557 A kg −1 . Interestingly, this high‐performance sulfur allotrope lacks a long‐range structural order: high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction, performed at the Advanced Photon Source, indicates the lack of crystalline (i.e., orthorhombic or monoclinic) sulfur in the nanoscale domain. Electrochemical and material characterizations suggest that noncrystalline sulfur is a consequence of synthesis and not necessarily evidence of electrochemical efficacy. Rather, a high rate capacity depends on sulfur distribution, in turn, controlled by synthesis pathway. At higher sulfur content, the performance of carbon–sulfur composites is limited by the available surface area in which crystalline sulfur coincides with reduced gravimetric capacity and greater charge transport impedance, suggesting suboptimal sulfur containment.

Dysart, Arthur Dence↗

Validation of the first LiDAR wind resource assessment buoy system offshore the Northeast United States

The US offshore wind industry is maturing with several projects in various stages of development. These projects require site wind and environmental data before and during operation. Conventional techniques such as fixed-bottom meteorological towers present economical and permitting challenges for the US. Floating Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) buoys offer significant advantages including reduced costs, less permitting, and reusability. This paper presents the validation of the first floating LiDAR buoy in Northeast US waters. The buoy, named DeepCLiDAR, includes a LiDAR, ecological monitoring sensors, and metocean sensors. A three-phase LiDAR validation plan was executed, and its results are presented. The objective of the validation plan was to verify the accuracy of measurements made by the LiDAR buoy in wave environments against an unmoving reference wind measurement. Due to a lack of reference met masts, the use of a LiDAR on land as a baseline reference was implemented for validation. Comparison to a reference LiDAR instead of a traditional meteorological tower was a unique approach required in the Northeast US waters due to the absence of a reference fixed-bottom meteorological tower in the region at the time of this study. The testing included a comparison of wind speed measurements made by the buoy deployed 15 km offshore from the mainland and a land-based reference LiDAR located on a nearby island. This paper presents the methodology and results of this program, which indicate favorable agreement. This was the first such validation program in the Northeast USA which is now seeing rapid development of offshore wind.

17 WIND ENERGY↗