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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.

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At least 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Temporal Variability in Reservoir Surface Area Is an Important Source of Uncertainty in GHG Emission Estimates

Ebullitive methane (CH 4 ) emissions in lentic ecosystems tend to concentrate at river-lake interfaces and within shallow littoral zones. However, inconsistent definitions of the littoral zone and static representations of the lake or reservoir surface area contribute to major uncertainties in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions estimates, particularly in reservoirs with large water-level fluctuations. This study examines temporal variation in littoral and total surface areas of US reservoirs and demonstrates how different methods and data sources lead to discrepencies in reservoir GHG emissions at large scales and over time. We also explore variability in remotely sensed water occurrence according to maximum surface area, reservoir purposes, and hydrologic regions. Notably, the largest relative variability in surface area is exhibited by small reservoirs with a maximum surface area <1 km 2 and non-hydroelectric reservoirs. Additionally, we use a case study of measured CH 4 emissions from the southeastern United States (Douglas Reservoir) to illustrate the effects of varying surface area on reservoir-wide GHG estimates. Upscaled CH 4 emissions in Douglas Reservoir differed by nearly two-fold depending on the source of total surface area data and whether estimates accounted for seasonal fluctuations in surface area. During seasonal drawdown in Douglas Reservoir, relative littoral area varies non-linearly; periods of lower pool elevation (and thus larger relative littoral area) likely contribute disproportionately high CH 4 emission rates compared to the commonly sampled summer season when water levels are at full-pool elevation. Improved GHG monitoring and upscaling techniques require accounting for temporal variability in reservoir surface extent and littoral area.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

LATTE: open-source, high-performance traveltime computation, tomography and source location in acoustic and elastic media

Traveltime-based tomography and source location are fundamental approaches for imaging subsurface structures and understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of seismicity from local to global scales. We present an open-source, high-performance framework integrating eikonal equation solvers and adjoint-state theory for traveltime computation, velocity tomography, source location and joint tomography-location in 2-D/3-D acoustic and elastic media. We introduce novel regularization schemes based on total generalized p-variation, structural similarity and multitask machine learning to enhance the fidelity and interpretability of inverted models and source locations. Key features of our implementation also include the ability to leverage both absolute-difference and double-difference traveltime misfits for high-fidelity velocity tomography and source parameter estimation; support for traveltime computation and inversion in diverse 2-D/3-D scenarios with arbitrary source and receiver distributions; and a perturbation-based optimal step-size estimation method to reduce computational costs. In addition, our implementation employs shared-memory and distributed-memory parallelization to provide an efficient solution for traveltime computation, tomography, and source location. In conclusion, we validate the efficacy and accuracy of our approach through multiple synthetic data examples.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Soil nutrients affect biomass allocation at the individual tree level in Populus_deltoides

The allocation of carbon (C) to tree roots has implication for forest productivity and soil C storage. Here, we elucidated the factors affecting absolute and relative production of resource-acquiring absorptive fine roots (AFR) and other tree organs. We assessed soil properties, leaf (Leaves), stem and branch (Stem-Br), coarse root (CR), transport fine root (TFR), and AFR biomass, production, and allocation and leaf litterfall and AFR and TFR turnover for 12 trees in a youngPopulus deltoides plantation. On a biomass basis, standing crop of AFRs was significantly related to that of TFRs, but both were independent of biomass of leaves, CRs and Stem-Brs. Production (standing crop + turnover) as a proportion of total biomass (allocation) highlighted significant relationships between AFR%, TFR%, and tree and soil characteristics. AFR% and TFR% were negatively correlated with Stem-Br%, Leaf%, and total tree production. Spatial variation in soil nutrient gradients altered allocation withinP. deltoides.AFR% and TFR% were negatively correlated with CEC, N, and Ca but positively correlated with soil P, Fe, and Na. Stem-Br% was positively correlated with CEC and soil N but negatively correlated with P. AFR and TFR growth and death are tightly coupled at the individual tree level. AFR allocation, but not standing biomass, is highly correlated with allocation to leaves, suggesting tight regulation of the growth of these two resource-acquiring organs. Lower soil N and Ca increased allocation to AFRs at the cost of leaves, whereas allocation to AFRs and leaves increased with soil P. Such changes in response to soil P may control whole-tree production in the current study.

Biomass allocation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Earth as a Proxy Exoplanet: Deconstructing and Reconstructing Spectrophotometric Light Curves

Point-source spectrophotometric (single-point) light curves of Earth-like planets contain a surprising amount of information about the spatial features of those worlds. Spatially resolving these light curves is important for assessing time-varying surface features and the existence of an atmosphere, which in turn is critical to life on Earth and significant for determining habitability on exoplanets. Given that Earth is the only celestial body confirmed to harbor life, treating it as a proxy exoplanet by analyzing time-resolved spectral images provides a benchmark in the search for habitable exoplanets. The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) provides such an opportunity, with observations of ∼5000 full-disk sunlit Earth images each year at 10 wavelengths with high temporal frequency. We disk-integrate these spectral images to create single-point light curves and decompose them into principal components (PCs). Using machine-learning techniques to relate the PCs to six preselected spatial features, we find that the first and fourth PCs of the single-point light curves, contributing ∼83.23% of the light-curve variability, contain information about low and high clouds, respectively. Surface information relevant to the contrast between land and ocean reflectance is contained in the second PC, while individual land subtypes are not easily distinguishable (<0.1% total light-curve variation). We build an Earth model by systematically altering the spatial features to derive causal relationships to the PCs. This model can serve as a baseline for analyzing Earth-like exoplanets and guide wavelength selection and sampling strategies for future observations.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1973

Measurements of geomagnetically trapped alpha particles, 1968-1970. I - Quiet time distributions

Results of observations of geomagnetically trapped alpha particles over the energy range from 1.18 to 8 MeV performed with the aid of the Injun 5 polar-orbiting satellite during the period from September 1968 to May 1970. Following a presentation of a time history covering this entire period, a detailed analysis is made of the magnetically quiet period from Feb. 11 to 28, 1970. During this period the alpha particle fluxes and the intensity ratio of alpha particles to protons attained their lowest values in approximately 20 months; the alpha particle intensity versus L profile was most similar to the proton profile at the same energy per nucleon interval; the intensity ratio was nearly constant as a function of L in the same energy per nucleon representation, but rose sharply with L when computed in the same total energy interval; the variation of alpha particle intensity with B suggested a steep angular distribution at small equatorial pitch angles, while the intensity ratio showed little dependence on B; and the alpha particle spectral parameter showed a markedly different dependence on L from the equivalent one for protons.

Krimigis, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Electrostatic field changes and recovery curves produced by Florida lightning

Preliminary data on electric field changes produced by cloud-to-ground lightning and the subsequent field recoveries are presented. Both single-station and multiple-station observations were made. There is large variation in the data: total charge transfers range from 10 to 30 C and beyond, electric-field recovery times vary by a factor of 2 or more, and initial charge heights occur over a large interval. Only distance and angle dependencies are somewhat predictable, and then only in a few cases. Thus the field recovery mechanism is not a simple one.

Jacobson, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Effects of surface temperature and Reynolds number on heat transfer to the Shuttle Orbiter leeward fuselage

Heat-transfer data obtained at hypersonic shock tunnel conditions and three-dimensional flow field computations were used to study the influence of surface temperature and Reynolds number on the heating experienced by the leeward fuselage area of the Space Shuttle Orbiter configuration. The basic results of this study indicate that systematic variations in the average total enthalpy within a boundary layer (as obtained through controlled nonadiabatic processes) has an influence on the heat transfer to downstream areas which can be correlated; even in three-dimensional separated flow areas. Specifically, the average separated-flow Stanton number for the fuselage leeward surface is shown to be moderately dependent on the windward-wall to free-stream total temperature ratio.

Bertin, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Interhemispheric survey of minor upper atmospheric constituents during October - November 1976

The CV-990 aircraft coordinated several flights with a NASA U-2 aircraft, NOAA ground station measurements in Alaska, Hawaii, and American Samoa, and with Australian and New Zealand ground stations, aircraft, and a balloon experiment in the Southern hemisphere. Data were obtained for species including ozone, total ozone, the oxides of nitrogen, the chlorofluoromethanes, water vapor, nitric acid, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride, Aitken nuclei, ammonia, aerosols, temperatures, and winds. Individual experiment results and selected analyses are presented. The experimental data include total column densities, latitude variations, interhemisphere differences, and vertical profiles.

Gauntner, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Ion beam divergence characteristics of two-grid accelerator systems

The first comprehensive experimental investigation of two-grid accelerator systems is presented. A wide range of geometrical grid parameters and grid set operating conditions were investigated for their effect on ion beam divergence. Ion beam divergence was found to depend most strongly on normalized perveance per hole, grid separation ratio, net-to-total accelerating voltage ratio, and discharge-to-total accelerating voltage ratio variations. The graphical results contained herein provide guidelines for the design of ion accelerator systems. A general ion beam divergence angle correlation was developed to permit approximate beam divergence estimates, at parametric values other than those tested, of present grid set designs. Although argon was the main test gas used in this study, it is shown that the results are applicable to other propellants as well.

Aston, G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Characteristics of primary electric propulsion systems

The use of advanced electric propulsion systems is expected to provide cost and performance benefits for future energetic space missions. A methodology to predict the characteristics of advanced electric propulsion systems was developed and programmed for computer calculations to allow evaluation of a broad set of technology and mission assumptions. The impact on overall thrust system characteristics was assessed for variations of propellant type, total accelerating voltage, thruster area, specific impulse, and power system approach. The data may be used both to provide direction to technology emphasis and allow for preliminary estimates of electric propulsion system properties for a wide variety of applications.

Byers, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Anticorrelation of X-ray bright points with sunspot number, 1970-1978

Soft X-ray observations of the solar corona over the period 1970-1978 show that the number of small short-lived bipolar magnetic features (X-ray bright points) varies inversely with the sunspot index. During the entire period from 1973 to 1978 most of the magnetic flux emerging at the solar surface appeared in the form of bright points. In 1970, near the peak of solar cycle 20, the contributions from bright points and from active regions appear to be approximately equal. These observations strongly support an earlier suggestion that the solar cycle may be characterized as an oscillator in wave-number space with relatively little variation in the average total rate of flux emergence.

Golub, L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Rate constant for the reaction of hydroxyl radical with formaldehyde over the temperature range 228-362 K

Absolute rate constants for the reaction OH ? H2CO measured over the temperature range 228-362 K using the flash photolysis-resonance fluorescence technique are given. The results are independent of variations in H2CO concentration, total pressure Ar concentration, and flash intensity (i.e., initial OH concentration). The rate constant is found to be invariant with temperature in this range, the best representation being k sub 1 = (1.05 ? or - 0.11) x 10 to the 11th power cu cm molecule(-1) s(-1) where the error is two standard deviations. This result is compared with previous absolute and relative determinations of k sub 1. The reaction is also discussed from a theoretical point of view.

Stief, L. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Characteristics of primary electric propulsion systems

The use of advanced electric propulsion systems will provide cost and performance benefits for future energetic space missions. A methodology to predict the characteristics of advanced electric propulsion systems was developed and programmed for computer calculations to allow evaluation of a broad set of technology and mission assumptions. The impact on overall thrust system characteristics was assessed for variations of propellant type, total accelerating voltage, thruster area, specific impulse, and power system approach. The data may be used both to provide direction to technology emphasis and allow for preliminary estimates of electric propulsion system properties for a wide variety of application.

Byers, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Rate constant for the reaction of hydroxyl radical with formaldehyde over the temperature range 228-362 K

Absolute rate constants for the reaction OH + H2CO have been measured over the temperature range 228-362 K using the flash photolysis-resonance fluorescence technique. The results were independent of variations in forbidden H2CO, total pressure of forbidden Ar and flash intensity (i.e., initial forbidden OH). The rate constant was found to be invariant with temperature in this range, the best representation being k1 = (1.05 + or - 0.11) x 10 to the -11th cu cm/molecule sec where the error is two standard deviations. This result is compared with previous absolute and relative determinations of k1. The reaction is also discussed from a theoretical point of view.

Stief, L. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The reaction NH2 + PH3 yields NH3 + PH2 - Absolute rate constant measurement and implication for NH3 and PH3 photochemistry in the atmosphere of Jupiter

The rate constant is measured over the temperature interval 218-456 K using the technique of flash photolysis-laser-induced fluorescence. NH2 radicals are produced by the flash photolysis of ammonia highly diluted in argon, and the decay of fluorescent NH2 photons is measured by multiscaling techniques. For each of the five temperatures employed in the study, the results are shown to be indepenent of variations in PH3 concentration, total pressure (argon), and flash intensity. It is found that the rate constant results are best represented for T between 218 and 456 K by the expression k = (1.52 + or - 0.16) x 10 to the -12th exp(-928 + or - 56/T) cu cm per molecule per sec; the error quoted is 1 standard deviation. This is the first determination of the rate constant for the reaction NH2 + PH3. The data are compared with an estimate made in order to explain results of the radiolysis of NH3-PH3 mixtures. The Arrhenius parameters determined here for NH2 + PH3 are then contrasted with those for the corresponding reactions of H and OH with PH3.

Bosco, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The reaction NH2 + PH3 yields NH3 + PH2: Absolute rate constant measurement and implication for NH3 and PH3 photochemistry in the atmosphere of Jupiter

The rate constant is measured over the temperature interval 218-456 K using the technique of flash photolysis-laser-induced fluorescence. NH2 radicals are produced by the flash photolysis of ammonia highly diluted in argon, and the decay of fluorescent NH2 photons is measured by multiscaling techniques. For each of the five temperatures employed in the study, the results are shown to be independent of variations in PH3 concentration, total pressure (argon), and flash intensity. It is found that the rate constant results are best represented for T between 218 and 456 K by the expression k = (1.52 + or - 0.16) x 10 to the -12th exp(-928 + or - 56/T) cu cm per molecule per sec; the error quoted is 1 standard deviation. This is the first determination of the rate constant for the reaction NH2 + PH3. The data are compared with an estimate made in order to explain results of the radiolysis of NH3-PH3 mixtures. The Arrhenius parameters determined here for NH2 + PH3 are then constrasted with those for the corresponding reactions of H and OH with PH3.

Bosco, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Upper limit on solar interior rotation

Individual 5-min p-mode oscillations of spherical harmonic degree 0-2 and radial order 16-26 are revealed by the Solar Maximum Mission Spacecraft's Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor power spectra for total solar irradiance flux variation. Rotationally split p-, g- and f-modes have been identified in the temporal power spectrum of Bos and Hill's (1983) limb-darkening data, and from these splittings, two rotational curves have been deduced which imply a solar gravitational quadrupole moment sufficiently large to preclude agreement between general relativity and planetary motion observations.

Woodard, M.↗