Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Modeling and Observations of Earth Systems”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 559 records · Page 31

Analysis of secondary organic aerosol simulation bias in the Community Earth System Model (CESM2.1)

Organic aerosol (OA) has been considered as one of the most important uncertainties in climate modeling due to the complexity in presenting its chemical production and depletion mechanisms. To better understand the capability of climate models and probe into the associated uncertainties in simulating OA, we evaluate the Community Earth System Model version 2.1 (CESM2.1) configured with the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 (CAM6) with comprehensive tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry representation (CAM6-Chem) through a long-term simulation (1988–2019) with observations collected from multiple datasets in the United States. We find that CESM generally reproduces the interannual variation and seasonal cycle of OA mass concentration at surface layer with a correlation of 0.40 compared to ground observations and systematically overestimates (69%) in summer and underestimates (-19%) in winter. Through a series of sensitivity simulations, we reveal that modeling bias is primarily related to the dominant fraction of monoterpene-formed secondary organic aerosol (SOA), and a strong positive correlation of 0.67 is found between monoterpene emission and modeling bias in the eastern US during summer. In terms of vertical profile, the model prominently underestimates OA and monoterpene concentrations by 37%–99% and 82%–99%, respectively, in the upper air (>500 m) as validated against aircraft observations. Our study suggests that the current volatility basis set (VBS) scheme applied in CESM might be parameterized with monoterpene SOA yields that are too high, which subsequently results in strong SOA production near the emission source area. We also find that the model has difficulty in reproducing the decreasing trend of surface OA in the southeastern US probably because of employing pure gas VBS to represent isoprene SOA which is in reality mainly formed through multiphase chemistry; thus, the influence of aerosol acidity and sulfate particle change on isoprene SOA formation has not been fully considered in the model. This study reveals the urgent need to improve the SOA modeling in climate models.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Urbanization exacerbates continental- to regional-scale warming

Urbanization is usually ignored when estimating past changes in large-scale climate and for future climate projections since cities historically covered a small fraction of the Earth’s surface. Here, by combining global land surface temperature observations with historical estimates of urban area, we demonstrate that the urban contribution to continental- to regional-scale warming has become non-negligible, especially for rapidly urbanizing regions and countries in Asia. Consequently, expected urban expansion over the next century suggests further increased urban influence on large-scale surface climate in the future (approximately 0.16 K for North America and Europe for high-emission scenario in 2100). Based on these results, also seen for air temperature, we argue that, in line with other forms of land use/land cover change, urbanization should be explicitly included in climate change assessments. This requires incorporation of dynamic urban extent and biophysics in current-generation Earth system models to quantify potential urban feedback on the climate system across scales.

Chakraborty, TC↗

L0 Data from the 2018 NGEE Arctic LiDAR and Imagery Unoccupied Aerial System Campaign at the Teller 27 Field Site, Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Airborne remote sensing data collected from Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL) heavy-lift unoccupied aerial system (UAS) hexacopter platform operated by NGEE Arctic scientists from the EES-14 group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. These data were collected in July 2018 at a field site near mile marker 27 along the Teller road between Nome, Alaska and Teller, Alaska. A DJI Matrice 600 Pro Airframe and Routescene UAV LiDARSystem was used to collect LiDAR data along 12 flight paths, and DJI Phantom 4 Advanced was used to collect optical red/green/blue (RGB) imagery at regular intervals along 5 flight paths. This data package contains unprocessed data products (processing level 0) including flight paths, raw photos, and raw lidar data files (*.kml, *.jpg, and *.lpd formats). Ancillary aircraft data, flight mission parameters, and general flight conditions are also included (see Supplemental Files, *.rinex, and *.rtcm3 files). NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research.- The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Achievement of the Planetary Defense Investigations of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission was the first to demonstrate asteroid deflection, and the mission's Level 1 requirements guided its planetary defense investigations. Here, we summarize DART's achievement of those requirements. On 2022 September 26, the DART spacecraft impacted Dimorphos, the secondary member of the Didymos near-Earth asteroid binary system, demonstrating an autonomously navigated kinetic impact into an asteroid with limited prior knowledge for planetary defense. Months of subsequent Earth-based observations showed that the binary orbital period was changed by –33.24 minutes, with two independent analysis methods each reporting a 1 σ uncertainty of 1.4 s. Dynamical models determined that the momentum enhancement factor, β , resulting from DART's kinetic impact test is between 2.4 and 4.9, depending on the mass of Dimorphos, which remains the largest source of uncertainty. Over five dozen telescopes across the globe and in space, along with the Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids, have contributed to DART's investigations. These combined investigations have addressed topics related to the ejecta, dynamics, impact event, and properties of both asteroids in the binary system. A year following DART's successful impact into Dimorphos, the mission has achieved its planetary defense requirements, although work to further understand DART's kinetic impact test and the Didymos system will continue. In particular, ESA's Hera mission is planned to perform extensive measurements in 2027 during its rendezvous with the Didymos–Dimorphos system, building on DART to advance our knowledge and continue the ongoing international collaboration for planetary defense.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Lagrangian perspective on tropical anvil cloud lifecycle in present and future climate

The evolution of tropical anvil clouds from their origin in deep convective cores to their slow decay determines the climatic effects of clouds in tropical convective regions. Despite the relevance of anvil clouds for climate and responses of clouds to global warming, processes dominating their evolution are not well understood. Currently available observational data reveal instantaneous snapshots of anvil cloud properties, but cannot provide a process-based perspective on anvil evolution. We therefore conduct simulations with the high resolution version of the Exascale Earth System Model in which we track mesoscale convective systems over the Tropical Western Pacific and compute trajectories that follow air parcels detrained from peaks of convective activity. With this approach we gain new insight into the anvil cloud evolution both in present day and future climate. Comparison with geostationary satellite data shows that the model is able to simulate maritime mesoscale convective systems reasonably well. Trajectory results indicate that anvil cloud lifetime is about 15 hours with no significant change in a warmer climate. The anvil ice mixing ratio is larger in a warmer climate due to a larger source of ice by detrainment and larger depositional growth leading to a more negative net cloud radiative effect along detrained trajectories. However, the increases in sources are counteracted by increases in sinks of ice, particularly snow formation and sedimentation. Furthermore, we find that the mean anvil cloud feedback along trajectories is positive and consistent with results from more traditional cloud feedback calculation methods.

climate, weather, mesocale cellular convection↗

The Imprint of Southern Ocean Storms on Modeled Surface Chlorophyll, Their Drivers and Satellite Biases

Southern Ocean (SO) phytoplankton chlorophyll is highly variable on sub-seasonal time scales. Although the SO is the windiest ocean basin globally, it is not conclusively understood how storms impact SO phytoplankton dynamics. Much of our existing knowledge stems from satellites, but biases due to data gaps from cloud cover and low solar angles remain unquantified. Here, we use ocean–sea-ice simulations with the Community Earth System Model to quantify the climatological 1997–2018 imprint of storms on chlorophyll and phytoplankton dynamics in the ice-free SO. Additionally, by comparing the full-field model output to synthetic satellite observations, we quantify sampling biases in satellite-derived estimates. We find that both the sign and the magnitude of the average surface chlorophyll imprint vary substantially across storms but last for at least 4 days after the storm passing. Based on our analysis, more than one third of the storms explain the majority of local non-seasonal chlorophyll variability, but satellite-derived storm imprints are often too large in magnitude. On the day of the storm passing, changes in vertical mixing predominantly cause surface chlorophyll anomalies, and reduced light availability due to enhanced cloud cover outweighs the enhanced nutrient availability due to entrainment. Interestingly, storms imprint differently on total net primary production than on surface chlorophyll, demonstrating the difficulty to derive carbon-cycle impacts from a surface-chlorophyll assessment. With SO future storm activity projected to increase, complementing satellite observations with other observing technologies, for example, profiling floats, is necessary to better constrain how storms impact biological carbon cycling in the SO.

Nissen, Cara [University of Colorado, Boulder, CO ↗

Vegetation heterogeneity reflects soil thermal state and surface soil displacement in a thawing permafrost landscape

Thawing permafrost has the potential to dramatically alter the physical and ecological structure of northern landscapes. Warming of the Arctic and subsequent degradation of permafrost have created a need to assess the stability and movement of soils on hillslopes and the potential impacts on ecosystem structure. In this work, we explore the relationships among vegetation heterogeneity, soil temperature, and soil surface displacements observed from 2019 to 2022 in a watershed in the discontinuous permafrost region on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. Vegetation heterogeneity was measured as the standard deviation (SD) of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 3 m PlanetScope satellite imagery around each soil temperature and active layer thickness observation. Locations of observations were clustered into three soil thermal groups, warm, intermediate, and cold, based on soil temperature and active layer thickness. Average annual horizontal surface displacements were significantly lower for soils within the warm thermal group (median = 0.033 m yr −1 ) compared to soils within the cold thermal group (median = 0.090 m yr −1 ; p < 0.001). Conversely, vegetation heterogeneity was significantly higher in the warm (median = 0.014 SD NDVI; p = 0.002) and intermediate (median = 0.015 SD NDVI; p = 0.002) groups compared with the cold thermal group (median = 0.012 SD NDVI), suggesting a warming-induced shift in vegetation community complexity. Because of the observed associations of ground surface displacement rates and vegetation heterogeneity with soil thermal state, we hypothesize that warming soil conditions induce changes in the rates and patterns of hillslope erosion due to an increase in surface movement as near-surface permafrost thaws, followed by a decrease as the permafrost table deepens and excess ice content diminishes. The transition to warm soils promotes surface ecosystem transformation, shifting the dominant vegetation at the site, given the warming climatic conditions of the region. We integrated our observations of soil temperature, vegetation heterogeneity, and soil surface displacements into a conceptual model that describes the co-evolution of hillslopes and vegetation in warming permafrost environments, which is currently unrepresented in earth system models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Using machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve model-data integrated earth system model predictions of water and carbon cycle extremes

The research proposed here focuses on improving the predictive power of the land component of earth system models (ESMs) using (1) model-data fusion enabled by machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), (2) predictive modeling through the combination of ML, AI, and big-data (comprising both model output and observations), and (3) insight of ESM structure and process mechanisms gleaned from complex data using ML and AI.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Development of A High-Resolution Dataset for Solar Resource Adequacy Studies

High-resolution, long-term solar dataset is essential for characterizing the variability of solar energy resources and for informing strategies that ensure grid reliability and resilience in grid systems with high levels of solar energy integration. We present the development of a new 4-km, hourly Earth system dataset for the contiguous United States (CONUS), using a statistical downscaling approach that integrates the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) with regional Earth system model projections. The new high-resolution Earth system dataset includes key variables - GHI, DNI, DHI, surface air temperature, and wind speed - under two future scenarios. Preliminary results show a reasonable agreement with NSRDB observations, with nBias less than 1% for GHI across CONUS. The dataset is expected to support in-depth analyses of extreme weather impacts and provide input to resource adequacy for future energy systems with diverse generation sources.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Using feature importance as an exploratory data analysis tool on Earth system models

Abstract. Machine learning (ML) models are commonly used to generate predictions, but these models can also support the discovery of new science. Generating accurate predictions necessitates that a model captures the structure of the underlying data. If the structure is properly extracted, ML could be a useful exploratory and evidential tool. In this paper, we present a case study that demonstrates the use of ML for exploratory data analysis (EDA) in the climate space. We apply the ML explainability method of spatiotemporal zeroed feature importance (stZFI) to understand how climate-variable associations evolve over space and time. Our analyses focus on data from ensembles of Earth system models (ESMs) which provide data on different climate states and conditions. We elect to work with ESM ensembles since they allow us to compare feature importance across alternative scenarios not available with observed data. The ensembles also account for natural variability so that we can distinguish between signal and noise due to natural climate variability when computing feature importance. The use of perturbed initial condition ensembles introduces variability mimicking the natural variability in the atmosphere; thus the signals emerging using feature importance (FI) can be evaluated against the natural variability in the climate system. For our analyses, we consider the 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo, which was a large stratospheric aerosol injection. We explore the climate pathway associated with the eruption from aerosols to radiation to temperature at both the near-surface and stratospheric levels. In addition to applying the method to data generated from two different ESMs, we apply stZFI to reanalysis data to compare the associations identified by stZFI. We show how stZFI tracks the importance of aerosol optical depth over time on forecasting temperatures. This case study illustrates usefulness of an ML tool (stZFI) for EDA on a well-studied climate exemplar.

Ries, Daniel (ORCID:0000000250294647)↗

Improving thermodynamic nudging in the E3SM Atmosphere Model version 2 (EAMv2): strategy and hindcast skills on weather systems

Nudging techniques are commonly employed to constrain atmospheric simulations toward observed states, facilitating model evaluation and sensitivity studies. However, if applied improperly – particularly to thermodynamic variables such as temperature and humidity – nudging can distort physical processes and introduce spurious biases, undermining the credibility of the simulations. This study presents an improved nudging implementation that applies vertically modulated tendencies to reduce adverse impacts on model physics. The framework is tested in version 2 of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (EAMv2) using a suite of hindcast simulations nudged toward ERA5 reanalysis. We systematically evaluate the individual and combined effects of nudging wind, temperature, and humidity fields on the model's ability to represent large-scale atmospheric states and high-impact weather systems. Results show that the revised strategy – particularly when nudging temperature and humidity at selected levels – enhances hindcast skill by improving agreement with ERA5 without degrading the hydrological cycle or precipitation processes. Additional improvements in surface temperature, outgoing longwave radiation, and precipitation biases are achieved through targeted nudging of land-surface variables. The proposed approach strengthens the representation of large-scale conditions relevant to tropical cyclones, atmospheric rivers, and extratropical cyclones in the low-resolution EAMv2. These findings demonstrate that carefully designed thermodynamic nudging, especially of temperature and humidity, improves the realism of constrained simulations and broadens the utility of nudged EAMv2 for atmospheric modeling, machine learning, and high-impact weather research.

Atmospheric river↗

Benchmarking soil moisture and its relationship to ecohydrologic variables in Earth System Models

Soil moisture (SM) is a key regulator of ecosystem biogeophysics, influencing plant water relations and land-atmosphere energy exchanges. We evaluate the representation of SM in 16 Earth System Models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) using the International Land Model Benchmarking (ILAMB) framework, focusing on surface (0–5, 0–10 cm) and rootzone (0–100 cm) depths, as well as key ecohydrological variables like gross primary productivity (GPP), leaf area index (LAI), and evapotranspiration (ET), and their coupling. Models are benchmarked against multiple observational and assimilated datasets to assess both state variables and cross-variable relationships. Surface SM is generally well represented (r > 0.87), while rootzone SM variability is systematically overestimated (normalized standard deviation > 1). ET shows strong agreement with observations (r > 0.9), whereas GPP and LAI exhibit larger inter-model spread. Skill in individual variables does not guarantee realistic SM–ecohydrology coupling, which varies strongly across models and depends on the reference dataset. Köppen-based regional analyses reveal strong regime dependence, with several models performing well in Tropical and Temperate regions but degrading in Continental (high-latitude) zones. Across both global and regional benchmarks, models cluster by land surface framework, indicating that structural choices in soil hydrology and soil–plant coupling exert a first-order control on performance. These results provide process-relevant benchmarks and suggest that improving the representation of vertical soil structure, rooting depth distributions, and soil–plant hydraulic coupling will be central to advancing soil moisture realism in next-generation Earth system models.

CMIP6↗

The Role of Leaf Area Changes Within Plant CO 2 Physiological Impacts on the Global Hydrological Cycle

Rising atmospheric CO 2 concentrations enhance greenhouse warming and drive changes to plant physiology, leading to innumerable climate impacts. This study explores the impacts of plant responses on hydrological cycling at 2x preindustrial CO 2 concentrations by analyzing simulations that isolate plant physiological effects using the Community Earth System Model versions 1 and 2. We find that leaf area growth increases canopy evaporation, which offsets transpiration declines, and dampens changes in global mean evapotranspiration, precipitation, and runoff in a CESM2 experiment with dynamic leaf area. These leaf area impacts are also evident in the differences between CESM1 and CESM2, with CESM2 better capturing observed leaf area magnitudes but potentially overestimating leaf area-CO 2 sensitivity, highlighting the importance of plant CO 2 physiology on hydrological cycle changes and the need to improve its representation in climate models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Characterizing Machine Learning I/O Workloads on Leadership Scale HPC Systems

High performance computing (HPC) is no longer solely limited to traditional workloads such as simulation and modeling. With the increase in the popularity of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) technologies, we are observing that an increasing number of HPC users are incorporating ML methods into their workflow and scientific discovery processes, across a wide spectrum of science domains such as biology, earth science, and physics. This gives rise to a diverse set of I/O patterns than the traditional checkpoint/restart-based HPC I/O behavior. The details of the I/O characteristics of such ML I/O workloads have not been studied extensively for large-scale leadership HPC systems. This paper aims to fill that gap by providing an in-depth analysis to gain an understanding of the I/O behavior of ML I/O workloads using darshan - an I/O characterization tool designed for lightweight tracing and profiling. We study the darshan logs of more than 23, 000 HPC ML I/O jobs over a time period of one year running on Summit - the second-fastest supercomputer in the world. This paper provides a systematic I/O characterization of ML I/O jobs running on a leadership scale supercomputer to understand how the I/O behavior differs across science domains and the scale of workloads, and analyze the usage of parallel file system and burst buffer by ML I/O workloads.

Paul, Arnab↗

A Comprehensive Chemistry Evaluation and Diagnostics Package for E3SM – ChemDyg Version 1.1.0

The Chemistry Evaluation and Diagnostics Package (ChemDyg) is an open-source tool designed for the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. ChemDyg facilitates routine evaluation, tailored development, and in-depth analysis of atmospheric chemistry through its modular architecture, allowing users to compare model outputs with observational data. Version 1.1.0 introduces a robust set of diagnostic capabilities, including climatology, time evolution of key tracers, diurnal and annual cycle analyses, and extensive budget diagnostics. These features help identify model discrepancies and enhance the representation of atmospheric chemistry in E3SM. Each self-contained diagnostic set includes dedicated scripts and documentation for ease of use. The interactive HTML output improves data accessibility, accelerating chemistry model development. Additionally, ChemDyg's flexible framework allows for customization, enabling users to create unique diagnostic sets for specific scientific contributions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Modeling Large Dust Aerosols in the Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2)

Dust aerosols have a wide size distribution from less than 0.1 to over 100 μm and dominate Earth's atmospheric aerosol mass. However, most Earth system models (ESMs) inadequately represent dust aerosols larger than 10 μm in diameter, limiting the accuracy of the simulated dust cycle and climate impacts. Here, we introduce a new modeling framework that captures the full observed size distribution of dust aerosols, incorporating recent advances into a mineral-resolved version of the Community ESM, while addressing known issues in previous versions. Comprehensive evaluation against diverse observations of bulk dust and component minerals demonstrates that the model reproduces the observed dust cycle across particle sizes. Incorporating the previously unrepresented large-dust fractions substantially alters dust budget estimates, highlighting potential changes in simulated climate impacts and underscoring the importance of comprehensive size-resolved dust modeling. Despite these advancements, uncertainties persist. Our results indicate that a size-dependent reduction in settling velocity is required to reproduce the observed dust size distribution downwind of source regions. Specifically, in the new model, the gravitational settling velocity of dust particles larger than 10 μm in diameter must be reduced by as much as 85% to achieve agreement with observations. This empirical reduction serves as a constraint on physics-based models of dust settling. Future developments should address misrepresented physical processes that hinder accurate modeling of the large dust aerosol transport. Expanding observational data sets covering the full-size distribution is also essential to better constrain the dust cycle and improve the representation of dust optical properties and climate effects.

Li, Longlei [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United Sta↗

Causal Interactions between Southern Ocean Polynyas and High-Latitude Atmosphere–Ocean Variability

Abstract Weddell Sea open-ocean polynyas have been observed to occasionally release heat from the deep ocean to the atmosphere, indicating that their sporadic appearances may be an important feature of high-latitude atmosphere–ocean variability. Yet, observations of the phenomenon are sparse and many standard-resolution models represent these features poorly, if at all. We use a fully coupled, synoptic-scale preindustrial control simulation of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SMv0-HR) to effectively simulate open-ocean polynyas and investigate their role in the climate system. Our approach employs statistical tests of Granger causality to diagnose local and remote drivers of, and responses to, polynya heat loss on interannual to decadal time scales. First, we find that polynya heat loss Granger causes a persistent increase in surface air temperature over the Weddell Sea, strengthening the local cyclonic wind circulation. Along with responding to polynyas, atmospheric conditions also facilitate their development. When the Southern Ocean experiences a rapid poleward shift in the circumpolar westerlies following a prolonged negative phase of the southern annular mode (SAM), Weddell Sea salinity increases, promoting density destratification and convection in the water column. Finally, we find that the reduction of surface heat fluxes during periods of full ice cover is not fully compensated by ocean heat transport into the high latitudes. This imbalance leads to a buildup of ocean heat content that supplies polynya heat loss. These results disentangle the complex, coupled climate processes that both enable the polynya’s existence and respond to it, providing insights to improve the representation of these highly episodic sea ice features in climate models.

Kaufman, Zachary S.↗

A Scalable Real-Time Data Assimilation Framework for Predicting Turbulent Atmosphere Dynamics

AI-based foundation models like FourCastNet, GraphCast are revolutionizing weather and climate predictions but are not yet ready for operational use. Their limitation lies in the absence of a data assimilation system to incorporate real-time Earth system observations, crucial for accurately forecasting events like tropical cyclones. To overcome these obstacles, we introduce a generic real-time data assimilation framework and demonstrate its end-to-end performance on the Frontier supercomputer. This framework comprises two primary modules: an ensemble score filter (EnSF), which significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art data assimilation method, and a vision transformer-based surrogate capable of real-time adaptation through the integration of observational data. We demonstrate both the strong and weak scaling of our framework up to 1024 GPUs on the Exascale supercomputer, Frontier. Our results not only illustrate the framework's exceptional scalability on high-performance computing systems, but also demonstrate the importance of supercomputers in real-time data assimilation for weather and climate predictions.

Lu, Dan↗