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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Water Technoeconomic Assessment Pipe-Parity Platform (WaterTAP3)

The Water Technoeconomic Assessment Pipe-Parity Platform (WaterTAP3) was developed under the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) to facilitate consistent technoeconomic assessments of desalination treatment trains. The WaterTAP3 is an analytically robust modeling tool that can be used to evaluate water technology cost, energy, environmental, and resiliency tradeoffs across different water sources, sectors, and scales. The model simulates steady-state water treatment train performance and costs including flow and constituent mass balance across unit processes, based on source water conditions, configurations of treatment technologies, and system-level techno-economic assumptions. Users can build a new treatment train by connecting any number of unit processes, specific for their context and system, or selecting a train from the treatment train library. The model contains various technical and cost parameter options for a range of treatment processes and a library of influent water quality characteristics for a variety of source waters and case studies. Users can customize water quality parameters to evaluate the technology performance in their context. The model can be set up for different assessment needs including simulation, optimization, and uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. The results from WaterTAP3 can help identify trade-offs among the different system performance metrics, with insight on how particular technologies or systems promote pipe-parity. The flexibility and comprehensive scope of the tool makes it a promising solution to industry-wide water technoeconomic evaluations, leading to more informed water investment decisions and technologies. As a user-friendly, open-source platform, WaterTAP3 can be used by industry, academia, policymakers, planners, and those with or without extensive analytical experience. A publicly available graphical user interface is currently under development.

Miara, Ariel↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modeling Streamflow and Sediment Transport Under Current and Future Climates at the West Valley Site - 20231

Performance Assessment models often require inputs representing specific hydrologic processes such as streamflow and sediment flux. This paper details the development of a process-level hydrologic model and its use in a Probabilistic Performance Assessment (PPA) system-level model for the West Valley Site in western New York. For this PPA model, a watershed model was developed using SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) and used to evaluate water and sediment fluxes in nearby streams draining the Site. A particular challenge of probabilistic modeling over long periods of time is scaling parameters appropriately so that outcomes are not grossly over- or underestimated. This challenge is especially important when the spatial and temporal scales of process and system level models differ. In this instance, the SWAT watershed model and GoldSim PPA model have similar spatial scales of stream reaches and sub-catchments within a single watershed (approximately hundreds to tens of thousands of square meters, but the temporal scales differ considerably. The SWAT model calculates streamflow and sediment transport rates at the daily scale, while the PPA model requires long-term average values that are applied over hundreds to thousands of year-long periods. As such, distributions of daily climatic parameters such as average precipitation rate, temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity were developed to force a transient SWAT model that captures the dynamic behavior of the watershed in response to daily changes in the weather. Output from the model, which includes stream flow (m{sup 3}/y) and sediment transport rate (Mg/y) is then averaged over a 100-year period as an approximation for the long-term average values which can be applied in GoldSim. A single SWAT model was run 5000 times with varying climatic inputs and deterministic soil, land use, and elevation data, and the range of outputs were compiled into a distribution which can be implemented stochastically into the PPA Model. Additionally, this paper includes a high-level discussion of how changes in future climate affect weather input distributions, and a summary of how those changes in weather affect the outcomes from the SWAT model and the inputs into the PPA model. In this analysis, future climate distributions were developed based on climate research documenting the expected changes to precipitation and temperature in western New York. The 5,000 SWAT simulations were then repeated with these future climate distributions, and the resulting output was implemented into the PPA Model as hydrologic conditions under a future climate. In the current version of the PPA Model, hydrologic parameters change linearly from the 'current climate' conditions to the 'future climate' conditions over a period of 100 years, after which they remain constant. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Spatially and Temporally Detailed Water and Carbon Footprints of U.S. Electricity Generation and Use

Electricity generation in the United States entails significant water usage and greenhouse gas emissions. However, accurately estimating these impacts is complex due to the intricate nature of the electric grid and the dynamic electricity mix. Existing methods to estimate the environmental consequences of electricity use often generalize across large regions, neglecting spatial and temporal variations in water usage and emissions. Consequently, electric grid dynamics, such as temporal fluctuations in renewable energy resources, are often overlooked in efforts to mitigate environmental impacts. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated the development of resilient energyshed management systems, requiring detailed information on the local electricity mix and its environmental impacts. This study supports DOE's goal by incorporating geographic and temporal variations in the electricity mix of the local electric grid to better understand the environmental impacts of electricity end users. We offer hourly estimates of the U.S. electricity mix, detailing fuel types, water withdrawal intensity, and water consumption intensity for each grid balancing authority through our publicly accessible tool, the Water Integrated Mapping of Power and Carbon Tracker (Water IMPACT). While our primary focus is on evaluating water intensity factors, our dataset and programming scripts for historical and real-time analysis also include evaluations of carbon dioxide (equivalence) intensity within the same modeling framework. This integrated approach offers a comprehensive understanding of the environmental footprint associated with electricity generation and use, enabling informed decision-making to effectively reduce Scope 2 water usage and emissions.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Transactive Electric Water Heater Agent: Design and Performance Evaluation

Electric water heaters (EWHs) are usually equipped with inbuilt thermostats to measure water temperature near the installed positions. Most of the existing EWHs have only two thermostats and often do not have water flow sensor installed. Estimation of state of heat energy (SOHE) inside the hot water tank, which is crucial for efficient control and operation of the EWH, under such imperfect system conditions is very challenging. This paper, therefore, designs a transactive EWH agent (TEWHA) to better estimate SOHE in presence of measurement errors and imperfect system knowledge. The TEWHA, built-in Python, approximates the EWH physics using limited measurements obtained from the ground truth GridLABD model. The performance of the TEWHA is validated against ground truth system for three scenarios: a) ideal condition where TEWHA has complete knowledge of the system, b) imperfect condition where TEWHA has incomplete system information, and c) noised condition where TEWHA measurements contain random errors. Finally, an optimization problem is formulated and solved to demonstrate how TEWHA could use the estimated and measured parameters for a transactive control of EWH. Index Terms—Demand flexibility

demand flexibility, distribution system, electric ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Two-Way Option Contracts That Facilitate Adaptive Water Reallocation in the Western United States

Many water markets in the western United States (U.S.) have the ability to reallocate water temporarily during drought, often as short-term water rights leases from lower value irrigated activities to higher value urban uses. Regulatory approval of water transfers, however, typically takes time and involves high transaction costs that arise from technical and legal analyses, discouraging short-term leasing. This leads municipalities to protect against drought-related shortfalls by purchasing large volumes of infrequently used permanent water rights. High transaction costs also result in municipal water rights rarely being leased back to irrigators in wet or normal years, reducing agricultural productivity. This research explores the development of a multi-year two-way option (TWO) contract that facilitates leasing from agricultural-to-urban users during drought and leasing from urban-to agricultural users during wet periods. The modeling framework developed to assess performance of the TWO contracts includes consideration of the hydrologic, engineered, and institutional systems governing the South Platte River Basin in Colorado where there is growing competition for water between municipalities (e.g., the city of Boulder) and irrigators. The modeling framework is built around StateMod, a network-based water allocation model used by state regulators to evaluate water rights allocations and potential rights transfers. Results suggest that the TWO contracts could allow municipalities to maintain supply reliability with significantly reduced rights holdings at lower cost, while increasing agricultural productivity in wet and normal years. Additionally, the TWO contracts provide irrigators with additional revenues via net payments of option fees from municipalities.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) Master Technology Roadmap

The National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) is a research consortium formed to accelerate transformative research in desalination and treatment to lower the cost and energy required to produce clean water from nontraditional water sources and realize a circular water economy. Prior to developing this master roadmap, a team of NAWI researchers and water professionals engaged in a detailed process of evaluating water uses, state-of-the-art technologies, emerging technologies and existing uses of desalination and advanced water technologies within five major water user categories in the United States. The resulting Water User Sector Roadmaps were complemented by a Baseline Analysis of a suite of representative treatment systems conducted by NAWI researchers working in collaboration with the hub’s Industrial Partners. This Master Roadmap, which synthesizes the findings from these different efforts as well as feedback from members of NAWI’s Research Advisory Council, serves as the basis for identifying NAWI’s research Areas of Interest (AOIs).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS2017

A Water Rich Mars Surface Mission Scenario

The surface of Mars once had abundant water flowing on its surface, but now there is a general perception that this surface is completely dry. Several lines of research have shown that there are sources of potentially large quantities of water at many locations on the surface, including regions considered as candidates for future human missions. Traditionally, system designs for these human missions are constrained to tightly recycle water and oxygen, and current resource utilization strategies involve ascent vehicle oxidizer production only. But the assumption of relatively abundant extant water may change this. Several scenarios were constructed to evaluate water requirements for human Mars expeditions to assess the impact to system design if locally produced water is available. Specifically, we have assessed water resources needed for 1) ascent vehicle oxidizer and fuel production, 2) open-loop water and oxygen life support requirements along with more robust usage scenarios, and 3) crew radiation protection augmentation. In this assessment, production techniques and the associated chemistry to transform Martian water and atmosphere into these useful commodities are identified, but production mass and power requirements are left to future analyses. The figure below illustrates the type of water need assessment performed and that will be discussed. There have been several sources of feedstock material discussed in recent literature that could be used to produce these quantities of water. This paper will focus on Mars surface features that resemble glacier-like forms on Earth. Several lines of evidence indicate that some of these features are in fact buried ice, likely remnants from an earlier ice age on Mars. This paper examines techniques and hardware systems used in the polar regions of Earth to access this buried ice and withdraw water from it. These techniques and systems will be described to illustrate options available. A technique known as a Rodriguez Well is assessed as a likely method for extracting water from these bodies of ice. The figure below is a sample of results from this assessment that will be discussed.

Hoffman, Stephen↗
NASA NTRS2017

Integrating Water Supply Constraints into Irrigated Agricultural Simulations of California

Simulations of irrigated croplands generally lack key interactions between water demand from plants and water supply from irrigation systems. We coupled the Water Evaluation and Planning system (WEAP) and Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) to link regional water supplies and management with field-level water demand and crop growth. WEAP-DSSAT was deployed and evaluated over Yolo County in California for corn, rice, and wheat. WEAP-DSSAT is able to reproduce the results of DSSAT under well-watered conditions and reasonably simulate observed mean yields, but has difficulty capturing yield interannual variability. Constraining irrigation supply to surface water alone reduces yields for all three crops during the 1987-1992 drought. Corn yields are reduced proportionally with water allocation, rice yield reductions are more binary based on sufficient water for flooding, and wheat yields are least sensitive to irrigation constraints as winter wheat is grown during the wet season.

Agriculture; Irrigation; Water Resources Managemen↗
NASA NTRS2022

Midwest Water Resources II: Evaluating Evapotranspiration with NASA Earth Observations and In Situ Observations to Understand Water Balance in Midwest Agriculture

Seasonal water variability in the midwestern United States extensively affects the agricultural community, as it impacts irrigation schedules, growing seasons, and overall ecosystem function. Evapotranspiration (ET) is a critical climatic variable in the water cycle and is used to evaluate spatiotemporal trends in drought and flood conditions. The NASA DEVELOP team partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Midwest Climate Hub, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Illinois State Water Survey, and Michigan State University to compare remotely sensed ET products with in situ observations from January 2001 through December 2020. Remotely sensed actual ET (aET) data were sourced from NASA’s Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and reference ET (refET) data were derived from the Gridded Surface Meteorological (gridMET) dataset. For in situ comparison, aET data were downloaded from the AmeriFlux database while refET data were collected from the Illinois Climate Network and Michigan State University’s Enviro-weather database. For a holistic assessment of ET, this project generated comparisons between remotely sensed and in situ observations, calculated descriptive statistics for validation between refET datasets, and spatially produced statistical validation maps regarding in situ sites. The temporal and spatial gaps of AmeriFlux data limited aET analysis. This comparative assessment of ET products across the Midwest can be used by project partners to assess regional water trends and guide future land management decisions.

Addison Pletcher↗
DOE OSTI2024

Wetlands Geoprocessor (v 1.0)

Wetlands have often been described as the “Earth’s kidneys” because wetlands have the ability filter pollutants and purify water. Based upon wetland storage capacity, average daily flow, and inflow nutrient loading this model estimates potential load reductions of nitrate and orthophosphate) from a constructed surface flow wetland (CW). The model relies upon equations, coefficients, and models provided by Cheng et al. 2020 and Cheng & Basu 2017. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus are important nutrients to ecosystems, but high concentrations can lead to water quality issues. Major sources of these nutrients come from agricultural areas where fertilizer is applied in large quantitates and/or animal waste is present. Excess nitrate and phosphorus may result in overgrowth of algae, which can decrease the dissolved oxygen in water, thereby harming and killing fish and other aquatic species. This model evaluates water purification results and estimates cost to install a surface flow constructed wetlands.

Davis, Cleve↗
DOE OSTI2025

Water Sorption Study of Various Polymers and Polymeric Composites

In the formulations of many composite materials, polymeric materials are often used as binder materials to enhance processability, functionality, and safety during manufacturing. For instance, poly(ester urethane), such as Estane® 5703, is used in the formulation of PBX 9501, and vinyl copolymer elastomer (VCE) is used in the formulation of VCE/filler compos ites. The stability of these binders directly impacts the overall stability and performance of their composites. Estane and VCE are prone to hydrolytic degradation, with water sorption behavior playing a significant role in their long-term stability and aging behavior. Hence, it is critical to study their water sorption behavior under various humidity and tempera ture conditions. To improve the accuracy and reduce labor-intensive work involved in water sorption experiments, an automated Dynamic Vapor Sorption (DVS) system was employed, which can generate large datasets. To efficiently process and analyze these datasets, Python scripts were developed. These scripts not only streamlined data processing, but also accu rately derived the Arrhenius parameters related to water diffusion and sorption properties for the tested materials. This approach offers a robust framework for evaluating water trans port and sorption processes in polymeric materials and adds valuable capabilities to future water sorption testing efforts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1977

Monitoring water quality by remote sensing

The author has identified the following significant results. A limited study was conducted to determine the applicability of remote sensing for evaluating water quality conditions in the San Francisco Bay and delta. Considerable supporting data were available for the study area from other than overflight sources, but short-term temporal and spatial variability precluded their use. The study results were not sufficient to shed much light on the subject, but it did appear that, with the present state of the art in image analysis and the large amount of ground truth needed, remote sensing has only limited application in monitoring water quality.

Brown, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Use of GRACE Terrestrial Water Storage Retrievals to Evaluate Model Estimates by the Australian Water Resources Assessment System

Terrestrial water storage (TWS) estimates retrievals from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission were compared to TWS modeled by the Australian Water Resources Assessment (AWRA) system. The aim was to test whether differences could be attributed and used to identify model deficiencies. Data for 2003 2010 were decomposed into the seasonal cycle, linear trends and the remaining de-trended anomalies before comparing. AWRA tended to have smaller seasonal amplitude than GRACE. GRACE showed a strong (greater than 15 millimeter per year) drying trend in northwest Australia that was associated with a preceding period of unusually wet conditions, whereas weaker drying trends in the southern Murray Basin and southwest Western Australia were associated with relatively dry conditions. AWRA estimated trends were less negative for these regions, while a more positive trend was estimated for areas affected by cyclone Charlotte in 2009. For 2003-2009, a decrease of 7-8 millimeter per year (50-60 cubic kilometers per year) was estimated from GRACE, enough to explain 6-7% of the contemporary rate of global sea level rise. This trend was not reproduced by the model. Agreement between model and data suggested that the GRACE retrieval error estimates are biased high. A scaling coefficient applied to GRACE TWS to reduce the effect of signal leakage appeared to degrade quantitative agreement for some regions. Model aspects identified for improvement included a need for better estimation of rainfall in northwest Australia, and more sophisticated treatment of diffuse groundwater discharge processes and surface-groundwater connectivity for some regions.

van Dijk, A. I. J. M.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Implications of Changes in Water Stress and Precipitation Extremes for Cocoa Production in Côte D'ivoire and Ghana

ABSTRACT Climate change induces high variability in drought patterns and extreme precipitation indices in rainfed cocoa farming, impacting cocoa production. This study evaluated water stress, meteorological and agricultural drought conditions, and critical extreme precipitation indices in the world's two largest cocoa‐producing nations from 1981 to 2022. The results revealed a significant reduction in total annual precipitation (PRCPTOT), in the last three decades, with the greatest decline in the 1991–2000 and 2011–2022 periods. Ghana experienced the most significant reduction up to 15% (200 mm/year) in the last decade, attributed to a substantial decrease in wet days number (RR1) up to 25 days per year, a reduction in maximum consecutive wet days (CWD) up to 6 days per year, and an increase in maximum consecutive dry days (CDD) up to 15 days per year. Moreover, there was a notable decline in the Simple Daily Intensity Index (SDII), with reductions of up to 4 mm/day in certain areas, contributing to increased drought frequency, severity, and duration. In the most recent decade (2011–2022), particularly during the extremely dry years of 2013 and 2015, cocoa‐growing regions in Ghana (GHA) and eastern Côte d'Ivoire (CIV) experienced prolonged agricultural drought expressed by soil moisture deficit, typically extending from May to September. Additionally, large portions of central and eastern Ghana, as well as northeastern Côte d'Ivoire experienced sustained water stress, with over three consecutive months of total monthly precipitation falling below 100 mm, negatively impacting cocoa productivity. The decrease in the yield in the range of 2.5% to 37% was noted in the dry years and the following years, varying according to the country depending on the severity of the drought. Sensitivity analysis highlights cocoa yield's responsiveness to drought and water stress, particularly in specific years when water stress occurred, such as 1984,1985, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2000, and 2008. Considering the observed trends in precipitation patterns and their impact on cocoa production, it is crucial to acknowledge the inherent uncertainty of future precipitation patterns due to climate change. To address this challenge effectively, our study underscores the importance of identifying and closely monitoring regions currently facing water stress, as determined by precipitation and drought indicators. Over the analysed period (1981–2022), we have noted shifts in the distribution of water‐stressed areas, highlighting the dynamic nature of this issue. Consequently, we advocate for a targeted approach to implement cocoa supplementary irrigation in consistently water‐stressed regions.

Obahoundje, Salomon [International Water Managemen↗
NASA NTRS1985

A FGGE water vapor wind data set

It has been recognized for some time that water vapor structure visible in infrared imagery offers a potential for obtaining motion vectors when several images are considered in sequence (Fischer et al., 1981). A study evaluating water vapor winds obtained from the VISSR atmospheric sounder (Stewart et al., 1985) has confirmed the viability of the approach. More recently, 20 data sets have been produced from METEOSAT water vapor imagery for the FGGE period of 10-25 November 1979. Where possible, two data sets were prepared for each day at 0000 and 1200 GMT and compared with rawinsondes over Europe, Africa, and aircraft observations over the oceans. Procedures for obtaining winds were, in general, similar to the earlier study. Motions were detected both by a single pixel tracking and a cross correlation method by using three images individually separated by one hour. A height assignment was determined by matching the measured brightness temperature to the temperature structure represented by the FGGE-IIIB analyses. Results show that the METEOSAT water vapor winds provide uniform horizontal coverage of mid-level flow over the globe with good accuracy.

Stewart, Tod R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

An evaluation of 685 nm fluorescence imagery of coastal waters

To evaluate the possible application of sunlight-illuminated fluorescence at 685 nm for remote sensing of phytoplankton concentrations, an ocean-color scanner is flown on an aircraft. The results of an analysis of the scanner data, obtained from a series of test flights conducted along the Elbe River and its estuary in the North Sea, show that 685 nm fluorescence is a promising remote-sensing method. The observation of a strong correlation between the fluorescence yields and the chlorophyll concentrations determined by the absorption method which uses the reflectance ratio of blue/green channels, is discussed. The two methods are compared and it is shown that the fluorescence method has an edge over the other due to the data-processing algorithm and its applicability for surveying bio-resources in all types of water. Photographs of the chlorophyll patterns are presented.

Kim, H. H.↗