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At least 559 records · Page 31

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NASA NTRS1991

An overview of the first results on the solar array passive LDEF experiment (sample), AO171

Space environmental effects were visibly obvious on components of experiment AO171 which contained solar cells, composites, polymeric thin films, solar reflectors, protective coatings, metals, paints , and elastomers. Micrometeoroid/space debris impacts were observed on all experiment elements. Luminescence of polyimide, silicone, and polyurethane materials occurred under black light examination. Outgassing of RTV511 occurred mainly as a result of insufficient thermal vacuum bakeout. Solar cell degradation was predominantly below 10 percent. Elastomers lost mass and discolored; composites showed evidence of atomic oxygen attack, and unprotected thin polymer films eroded away.

Whitaker, Ann F.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Oxychlorine Detection in Gale Crater, Mars and Implications for past Environmental Conditions

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover has detected oxychlorine compounds such as perchlorate or chlorate in Gale Crater samples. Two potential pathways for oxychlorine formation on Mars are UV-induced interaction between chlorine and metal oxides or atmospheric oxygen and radiolysis of Cl-containing surface materials by galactic cosmic rays, with the chlorine being volcanically derived in both cases. Oxychlorine compounds are identified by a diagnostic release of O2 at temperatures <600 °C and an HCl release from ~350-850 °C during sample pyrolysis. Of the 16 samples analyzed by SAM as of July 2018, 12 have contained oxychlorine compounds, including all four scooped samples and 8 of the 12 drilled samples.

Archer, P. Douglas, Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2019

Oxychlorine Detection in Gale Crater, Mars and Implications for Past Environmental Conditions

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has analyzed 3 scooped samples and 15 drilled samples since landing in 2012. Oxychlorine compounds (perchlorate/chlorate) were detected in the first 9 drilled samples but have not been detected in the last 6, starting with the Oudam sample in the Hartmann’s Valley member of the Murray formation (Table 1). Scooped samples have all contained detectable oxychlorine. These results suggest that oxychlorine formation and preservation spans the geologic record on Mars but has not been uniform spatially or temporally.

Archer, P. D., Jr.↗

DOE OSTI2018

Genome-reconstruction for eukaryotes from complex natural microbial communities

Microbial eukaryotes are integral components of natural microbial communities, and their inclusion is critical for many ecosystem studies, yet the majority of published metagenome analyses ignore eukaryotes. In order to include eukaryotes in environmental studies, we propose a method to recover eukaryotic genomes from complex metagenomic samples. A key step for genome recovery is separation of eukaryotic and prokaryotic fragments. We developed a k-mer-based strategy, EukRep, for eukaryotic sequence identification and applied it to environmental samples to show that it enables genome recovery, genome completeness evaluation, and prediction of metabolic potential. We used this approach to test the effect of addition of organic carbon on a geyser-associated microbial community and detected a substantial change of the community metabolism, with selection against almost all candidate phyla bacteria and archaea and for eukaryotes. Near complete genomes were reconstructed for three fungi placed within the Eurotiomycetes and an arthropod. While carbon fixation and sulfur oxidation were important functions in the geyser community prior to carbon addition, the organic carbon-impacted community showed enrichment for secreted proteases, secreted lipases, cellulose targeting CAZymes, and methanol oxidation. We demonstrate the broader utility of EukRep by reconstructing and evaluating relatively high-quality fungal, protist, and rotifer genomes from complex environmental samples. This approach opens the way for cultivation-independent analyses of whole microbial communities.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2017

Microbial Characteristics of ISS Environmental Surfaces

The microbiome of environmental surfaces from the International Space Station were characterized in order to examine the relationship to crew and hardware maintenance. The Microbial Observatory (ISS-MO) experiment generated a microbial census of ISS environments using advanced molecular microbial community analyses along with traditional culture-based methods. Since the “omics” methodologies generated an extensive microbial census, significant insights into spaceflight-induced changes in the populations of beneficial and/or potentially harmful microbes were gained. Surface samples were collected from several ISS surface locations from three flight opportunities, and were returned to Earth via the Soyuz TMA-14M or the Space X Dragon capsule. In addition to cultivation methods, viable microbial burden, iTag-based sequencing, and metagenome analyses were carried out. The cultivable microbial bioburden differed by location and sampling event. Exploring the ISS environmental microbiome revealed presence of opportunistic pathogens and antibiotic resistant microbes. Genes involved in ATP binding cassette transporters, two component systems, and beta-lactam resistance were among a diverse set of metabolic and genetic information processing pathways. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 50 ISS strains exhibiting resistance to various antibiotics was carried out. The antibiotic resistant genes deduced from the WGS were compared with the resistomes generated directly from the gene pool of the environmental samples. Two unique Aspergillus fumigatus strains isolated from the ISS were characterized and compared to the experimentally established clinical isolates Af293 and CEA10. A virulence assessment in a neutrophil-deficient larval zebrafish model of invasive aspergillosis indicated that both ISSFT-021 and IF1SW-F4 were significantly more lethal compared to Af293 and CEA10. The findings from this Environmental “Omics” project should be exploited to enhance human health and well-being of a closed system. In other words, the ISS-MO research aims to "translate" findings in fundamental research into medical practice (pathogen detection) and meaningful health outcomes (countermeasure development).

Perry, Jay↗

DOE OSTI2026

Citywide indoor air sampling mirrors wastewater and clinical for environmental surveillance of respiratory viruses

Wastewater surveillance of respiratory pathogens can provide timely estimates of viral activity and disease trends in a population. Indoor air surveillance could be used similarly with some advantages but remains largely unvalidated at the community -scale. Here, an indoor air surveillance program was employed as part of public health environmental surveillance in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Ten air samplers were placed in healthcare and congregate living settings across the city. Weekly air samples were evaluated for influenza A, influenza B, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS -CoV-2 over two respiratory virus seasons (2023 -2025). Citywide, aggregated air sample positivity and viral load were closely correlated with local clinical case and wastewater surveillance data across all respiratory viruses. Virus trends in air data often preceded clinical and wastewater, although this varied across pathogens and respiratory virus seasons. Further, whole -genome sequencing of SARS -CoV-2 showed close correlation of variant proportions across all datasets. At the building -scale, air samples obtained from a single sampling device provided efficient respiratory virus surveillance, with respiratory pathogen levels mirroring citywide clinical surveillance data. These data demonstrate that air surveillance can provide respiratory virus case and variant trend data at a building or community -scale, serving as an alternative or complementary tool for public health environmental surveillance.

Wilton, Rosemarie↗

DOE OSTI2012

False-Negative Rate and Recovery Efficiency Performance of a Validated Sponge Wipe Sampling Method

Recovery of spores from environmental surfaces varies due to sampling and analysis methods, spore size and characteristics, surface materials, and environmental conditions. Tests were performed to evaluate a new, validated sponge wipe method using Bacillus atrophaeus spores. Testing evaluated the effects of spore concentration and surface material on recovery efficiency (RE), false-negative rate (FNR), limit of detection (LOD), and their uncertainties. Ceramic tile and stainless steel had the highest mean RE values (48.9 and 48.1%, respectively). Faux leather, vinyl tile, and painted wood had mean RE values of 30.3, 25.6, and 25.5, respectively, while plastic had the lowest mean RE (9.8%). Results show roughly linear dependences of RE and FNR on surface roughness, with smoother surfaces resulting in higher mean REs and lower FNRs. REs were not influenced by the low spore concentrations tested (3.10x10^-3 to 1.86 CFU/cm^2). Stainless steel had the lowest mean FNR (0.123), and plastic had the highest mean FNR (0.479). The LOD90 (>1 CFU detected 90% of the time) varied with surface material, from 0.015 CFU/cm^2 on stainless steel up to 0.039 on plastic. It may be possible to improve sampling results by considering surface roughness in selecting sampling locations and interpreting spore recovery data. Further, FNR values (calculated as a function of concentration and surface material) can be used presampling to calculate the numbers of samples for statistical sampling plans with desired performance and postsampling to calculate the confidence in characterization and clearance decisions.

Anthrax↗

DOE OSTI2012

A Monte Carlo Technique to Estimate Emissions from R&D Facilities

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) operates multidisciplinary laboratory Research and Development (R&D) facilities for the U. S. Department of Energy and sampled air chemical emissions from some of these facilities from 1998 until 2008. Although sampling was not required for environmental compliance, PNNL conducted sampling to provide data to compare estimated release fractions to those used for emissions estimates and to verify that methods used to determine compliance with air regulations and permits conservatively predict actual emissions. Sampling also identifies and quantifies air toxics emitted to compare with compliance limits established by the State. The sampling data provides a unique opportunity to quantify emissions and investigate factors potentially impacting emissions. Previous work using this data set include a paper by Woodruff, Benar, and McCarthy1 who summarized the compliance approach used by PNNL and described sampling and analytical measurements for the first sampling campaigns. Conclusions reported in the paper were that none of the measurements of the target compounds exceeded a State acceptable source impact level (ASIL)2 even using significant overestimation factors, and that an average release fraction calculated from the data provided reasonable validation of the factor used in compliance assessments. Other reports using the data include the following: • A metric was developed by Ballinger, Duchsherer, and Metoyer3 to compare chemical signatures. The analysis found similarities in chemical signatures from three of the buildings but a markedly different signature from the fourth building. • A method was developed and used on the data to rank the chemical compounds that present the greatest risk to a potential downstream receptor and to determine whether the sampling parameters and detection limits provided sufficient resolution to verify compliance at potential receptor locations.4 • The stack data from one of the buildings was analyzed using a statistical technique called Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) to identify the number and composition of major contributing sources to measured stack concentrations.5 In this analysis, a method is described that uses a Monte Carlo technique to produce a distribution of emission estimates from the measured data. The method is applied to one of the chemicals previously identified as more significant than others using the ranking process.4 Variations on the method are investigated and compared to determine their effects on the emission estimates.

Laboratory, air chemical emissions, volatile organ↗

DOE OSTI2012

Rapid Determination Of Radiostrontium In Large Soil Samples

A new method for the determination of radiostrontium in large soil samples has been developed at the Savannah River Environmental Laboratory (Aiken, SC, USA) that allows rapid preconcentration and separation of strontium in large soil samples for the measurement of strontium isotopes by gas flow proportional counting. The need for rapid analyses in the event of a Radiological Dispersive Device (RDD) or Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) event is well-known. In addition, the recent accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in March, 2011 reinforces the need to have rapid analyses for radionuclides in environmental samples in the event of a nuclear accident. The method employs a novel pre-concentration step that utilizes an iron hydroxide precipitation (enhanced with calcium phosphate) followed by a final calcium fluoride precipitation to remove silicates and other matrix components. The pre-concentration steps, in combination with a rapid Sr Resin separation using vacuum box technology, allow very large soil samples to be analyzed for {sup 89,90}Sr using gas flow proportional counting with a lower method detection limit. The calcium fluoride precipitation eliminates column flow problems typically associated with large amounts of silicates in large soil samples.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

DOE OSTI2018

Chicago Area Waterway System Microbiome Research

This report summarizes the research conducted by Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) for the first five years (2013-2017) of a seven-year study with emphasis on the impact of disinfection (2016-2017) on the microbial community of the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). The study examines microbial communities following disinfection of secondary treated effluents at the T.J. O’Brien (UV) and Calumet (chlorine and dechlorination) Water Reclamation Plants (WRPs) and the phased implementation of the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP). The Thornton Composite Reservoir (TCR) was completed in 2015. It provides 7.9 billion gallons of storage and since its completion has captured more than 11.0 billion gallons of combined stormwater and sewage from Calumet WRP that would otherwise overflow into CAWS in rainy weather. In addition to the effects of TARP and disinfection, we present an analysis of potential sources of the microbes found in the CAWS and the results of 16S rRNA amplicon gene sequencing which was used to characterize microbial community variability as a function of location, season, and environmental conditions. A total of 2,077 samples were collected from 2013 to 2017 from WRPs and CAWS and analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. The whole microbial community composition using all the genetic material in the environmental sample was characterized using 16S rRNA gene-based analysis, while functional subsystem attributes of these microbial communities were characterized using shotgun metagenomics. We used a Bayesian statistical tool, SourceTracker 2.0 to determine the likely sources of microbes found in CAWS by sampling location and sampling period.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2017

Sampling and Analysis Plan for Supplemental Environmental Project: Aquatic Life Surveys

As part of a settlement agreement for nuclear waste incidents in 2014, several supplemental environment projects (SEPs) were initiated at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) between the U.S. Department of Energy and the state of New Mexico. One SEP from this agreement consists of performing aquatic life surveys and will be used to assess the applicability of using generic ambient water-quality criteria (AWQC) for aquatic life. AWQC are generic criteria developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cover a broad range of aquatic species and are not unique to a specific region or state. AWQC are established by a composition of toxicity data, called species sensitivity distributions (SSDs), and are determined by LC50 (lethal concentration of 50% of the organisms studied) acute toxicity experiments for chemicals of interest. It is of interest to determine whether aquatic species inhabiting waters on the Pajarito Plateau are adequately protected using the current generic AWQC. The focus of this study will determine which aquatic species are present in ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial waters within LANL boundaries and from reference waters adjacent to LANL. If the species identified from these waters do not generally represent species used in the SSDs, then SSDs may need to be modified and AWQC may need to be updated. This sampling and analysis plan details the sampling methodology, surveillance locations, temporal scheduling, and analytical approaches that will be used to complete aquatic life surveys. A significant portion of this sampling and analysis plan was formalized by referring to Appendix E: SEP Aquatic Life Surveys DQO (Data Quality Objectives).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Phosphorus sorption and its environmental predictors across pantropical forest soils sampled over the past decade

Tropical forest productivity is frequently constrained by soil phosphorus (P) availability, yet global Land Surface Model (LSM), which are used to simulate ecosystem processes, still represent P cycling in tropical regions only in a limited way, largely because of scarce observational data. Phosphorus adsorption and desorption of dissolved inorganic P to and from soil minerals (hereafter termed sorption), is an important process for predicting how much P is available to plants. This dataset was created to improve predictions of soil P sorption in tropical soils by identifying the isotherm equation that best describes pantropical soils. It includes raw measurements of environmental variables, such as soil properties and climate, together with P sorption data collected from 40 forest soil pits from 9 Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) sites across 7 tropical countries during 2018-2022. The data are organized by site, country, and continent. Each site may include several soil pits. For each pit, P sorption was measured across a range of soil P concentrations to build sorption isotherm curves, typically with about 6 to 8 measurements per curve. While sorbed P varies across these concentration levels, the other environmental variables remain constant at the plot level.

Aluminum oxide↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Analysis of Volatile Compounds from CO2 Removal Systems

One of the primary concerns when designing CO2 scrubber systems that will be integrated with a Sabatier reactor to produce water and methane is the amount of water released from the scrubber. Because the gas stream entering a Sabatier reactor must be compressed, water entering the reactor can condense and compromise the integrity of the system, thus rendering its valuable conversion capability useless. When the Johnson Space Center Environmental Chemistry Laboratory was tasked to develop an assay to quantify the water concentration in air samples from CO2 scrubbers, additional testing was also performed to see if any other compounds were being concentrated on the scrubbers. It was thought that the efficiency of the scrubber systems could be quantified by comparing the differences in samples from the ambient air on the International Space Station (ISS) to the exit gas of the scrubber. As this analysis was carried out, it became evident that the concentrations of certain volatile compounds were higher in the samples from the scrubbers than they were in nominal environmental samples. This meant these compounds were being retained and concentrated on the scrubber beds. Based on this finding, concerns were raised about their potential for these compounds to poison the Sabatier reactor. Further investigation was required to identify these compounds due to their high concentrations and unique matrix of the CO2 scrubber exhaust. This paper describes these events as well as the process that was developed to identify the volatile compounds that increased. An examination of how much the certain compounds can be concentrated by the scrubber systems is also included.

Volatiles↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Analysis of Volatile Compounds From CO2 Removal Systems

Volatiles↗

DOE OSTI2017

Vibrational spectroscopy for imaging single microbial cells in complex biological samples

Here, vibrational spectroscopy is increasingly used for the rapid and non-destructive imaging of environmental and medical samples. Both Raman and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) imaging have been applied to obtain detailed information on the chemical composition of biological materials, ranging from single microbial cells to tissues. Due to its compatibility with methods such as stable isotope labeling for the monitoring of cellular activities, vibrational spectroscopy also holds considerable power as a tool in microbial ecology. Chemical imaging of undisturbed biological systems (such as live cells in their native habitats) presents unique challenges due to the physical and chemical complexity of the samples, potential for spectral interference, and frequent need for real-time measurements. This Mini Review provides a critical synthesis of recent applications of Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy for characterizing complex biological samples, with a focus on developments in single-cell imaging. We also discuss how new spectroscopic methods could be used to overcome current limitations of singlecell analyses. Given the inherent complementarity of Raman and FT-IR spectroscopic methods, we discuss how combining these approaches could enable us to obtain new insights into biological activities either in situ or under conditions that simulate selected properties of the natural environment.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2016

Effects of sample design and landscape features on a measure of environmental heterogeneity

Environmental heterogeneity, an important influence on organisms and ecological processes, can be quantified by the variance of an environmental characteristic over all locations within a study extent. However on landscapes with autocorrelation and gradient patterns, estimating this variance from a sample of locations may lead to errors that cannot be corrected with statistical techniques. We analytically derived the relative expected sampling error of sample designs on landscapes with particular gradient pattern and autocorrelation features. We applied this closed-form approach to temperature observations from an existing study. The expected heterogeneity differed, both in magnitude and direction, amongst sample designs over the study site's likely range of autocorrelation and gradient features. We conducted a simulation study to understand the effects of (i) landscape variability and (ii) design variability on an average sampling error. On 10 000 simulated landscapes with varying gradient and autocorrelation features, we compared estimates of variance from a variety of structured and random sample designs. While gradient patterns and autocorrelation cause large errors for some designs, others yield near-zero average sampling error. Sample location spacing is a key factor in sample design performance. Random designs have larger range of possible sampling errors than structured designs due to the potential for sample arrangements that over- and under-sample certain areas of the landscape. Furthermore, when implementing a new sample design to quantify environmental heterogeneity via variance, we recommend using a simple structured design with appropriate sample spacing. For existing designs, we recommend calculating the relative expected sampling error via our analytical derivation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Sample Identifiers and Metadata to Support Data Management and Reuse in Multidisciplinary Ecosystem Sciences

Physical samples are foundational entities for research across biological, Earth, and environmental sciences. Data generated from sample-based analyses are not only the basis of individual studies, but can also be integrated with other data to answer new and broader-scale questions. Ecosystem studies increasingly rely on multidisciplinary team-science to study climate and environmental changes. While there are widely adopted conventions within certain domains to describe sample data, these have gaps when applied in a multidisciplinary context. In this study, we reviewed existing practices for identifying, characterizing, and linking related environmental samples. We then tested practicalities of assigning persistent identifiers to samples, with standardized metadata, in a pilot field test involving eight United States Department of Energy projects. Participants collected a variety of sample types, with analyses conducted across multiple facilities. We address terminology gaps for multidisciplinary research and make recommendations for assigning identifiers and metadata that supports sample tracking, integration, and reuse. Furthermore, our goal is to provide a practical approach to sample management, geared towards ecosystem scientists who contribute and reuse sample data.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Measurement and Reporting Guidelines for Solar Mirror Aging Tests Using Xenon Arc Lamp Exposure (XALE)

This technical report provides a guideline for accelerated aging tests on solar reflectors. Solar reflectors must have a high durability, with goal lifespans reaching 30 years. To test and develop state-of-the-art solar reflectors, relevant durability tests must be conducted. Existing guidelines for materials testing include isothermal testing, humidity testing, corrosion, etc., but many tests do not specify to include solar irradiance or address its relevance to solar reflector durability. The guideline focuses on test design and reporting guidelines for using Xenon Arc Lamp Exposure (XALE). The XALE environmental chambers can subject samples to a combination of relevant environmental factors including concentrated solar irradiance, heat, humidity, and weathering cycles. The guideline is meant to provide information on developing relevant test conditions, exposure times, reflectance characterization procedures, and data reporting.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗