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At least 613 records · Page 34

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DOE OSTI2025

TCCSP Site Characterization and Feasibility Report

The Tulare County Carbon Storage Project (TCCSP) focused on establishing the geological and commercial viability of a 50 million metric ton (MMT) carbon storage complex located in Tulare County, California. The geologic scope of work included collecting new and existing subsurface data, such as two-dimensional (2D) seismic data, advanced geophysical logs, core and fluid samples, and specialized core-analysis datasets, to support the integration and interpretation of findings from earlier tasks. These efforts contributed to the comprehensive feasibility study for commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) development at the TCCSP site and in the surrounding region. The TCCSP project team evaluated the feasibility of the Lower Monterey Group (Santa Margarita Sand Member or its equivalent), Temblor Formation sand members (Olcese, Jewett, Vedder), and Lodo-Martinez Zone (Domengine Sandstone, Walker Formation, Lodo Formation, and the Martinez Sand) to serve as commercial CCS reservoirs along with potential for the Upper Monterey Group (Reef Ridge, Antelope Members) and the Kreyenhagen Formation to vertically seal underlying reservoirs from shallow above-zones.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2024

LYNM PE1 Pre-Experiment A Site Characterization Report

Underground chemical explosive experiments such as LYNM PE1 generate large multi-phenomenological datasets, require complex site preparation and build out, and utilize cutting edge models and analysis techniques to analyze and simulate the explosion-induced signals. This wide range of outcomes makes it a necessity to thoroughly characterize the testbed in advance of experiments in a way that complements the wide suite of data being generated. Here, we present a broad overview of the site characterization work and data collection that was conducted before Experiment A, which is the first in a series of three PE1 experiments. This work includes, but is not limited to, geologic mapping, physical sample collection, analysis of material properties, geophysical borehole logging, and in-situ measurements. This information was collected by a large, dedicated team and was used to inform site construction, finalize instrumentation placement, generate Geologic Framework Models, feed pre-experiment predictions, and facilitate post-experiment data analysis.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

DOE OSTI2020

Southeast Regional CO 2 Utilization and Storage Acceleration Partnership (SECARB-USA): Preliminary Regional Assessment of Potential Storage Complexes, Including Capacities and Costs, Based on Application of NRAP and SCO2T (Deliverable 3.3) Storage Complexes

The Recipient will assist with the field validation of one or more risk assessment toolsets through: 1) collaborative research; 2) sharing of relevant datasets, information, and technical insights from field efforts; and 3) other modeling and simulation toolsets as they are developed. Collaborative research could include, but is not limited to: 1) demonstrating use of field data for improved leakage pathway characterization, uncertainty reduction, and risk management and uncertainty workflows; 2) testing and validation of a specific National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) tool using site specific data; and 3) improved modeling or reduced-order modeling of geophysical monitoring.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Ground-Truthing: Exploratory Borehole Characterization and Modeling to Verify and Expand Techno-Economic Evaluation of Earth Source Heat at Cornell U

This report documents the successful completion of DOE award DE-EE0009255: Ground- Truthing: Exploratory Borehole Characterization and Modeling to Verify and Expand Techno- Economic Evaluation of Earth Source Heat at Cornell University . Cornell University is evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of using deep direct-use (DDU) geothermal energy, referred to locally as Earth Source Heat (ESH), to serve as a renewable energy source for campus heating. To meet this objective, Cornell drilled an approximately 3-kilometer-deep exploratory borehole: the Cornell University Borehole Observatory (CUBO), or ESH-1. The team conducted an extensive suite of geophysical, hydrologic, thermal, mechanical, and geochemical measurements to evaluate subsurface conditions and geothermal development potential. This report summarizes the well drilling and testing tasks, findings, and conclusions.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Estimating the Total Value Proposition of Coal Fly Ash and Produced Water

Here we describe the total potential "sale" value of produced water and coal fly ash due to the mineral content they contain. Produced water is water that is co-produced during oil and gas operations. Coal fly ash is the solid powder that remains after coal is burned. Both coal fly ash and produced water matter partly because of they contain critical minerals that have economic value and could be extracted. Here we calculate the total potential value of all the mineral products, critical minerals and other products such as salts, so that we can gain a more complete economic outlook on both feedstocks. Poster presented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting held in New Orleans, Louisiana, December 15 to 19, 2025.

critical minerals, lithium, rare earth elements↗

DOE OSTI2026

Research Development and Partnership Pilot (RDPP): Developing plans and partnerships for incorporating tree reproduction to understand Earth system change

The goals for this Research Development and Partnership Pilot (RDPP) proposal were to i) learn about Department of Energy (DOE) research and use the PI’s expertise on patterns and environmental drivers of tree reproduction as a basis to make connections with individuals and research groups at DOE National Laboratories, and ii) to develop plans and form partnerships that will both enhance the PI’s research. The objectives of the proj ect were for the PI to i) participate in the Department of Energy's Office of Science program in Biological and Environmental Research training and outreach activities, ii) conduct directed fact-finding on Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division (EESSD) research projects and new partnerships with individuals and groups at National Laboratories, ii) conduct meetings with potential collaborators at National Laboratories to discuss EESSD-relevant research ideas, and iv) to develop a plan for future research efforts. During the period of the award, the objectives of the proposal were met, as the PI attended Environmental System Sciences meetings, American Geophysical Union meetings, SPRUCE experiment meetings, and visited the Oak Ridge National Lab. These activities led to increased understanding of the research being conducted by DOE scientists and the PI had meetings with potential collaborators to develop future research plans that leverage expertise at DOE and the research interests of the PI to increase understanding of the role of tree reproduction in future carbon allocation and in tree regeneration models in boreal ecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Alabama Carbon Storage: Bringing Data to the People

The Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama has proven potential for geologic carbon storage and current interest in the area for large carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects is high. Extensive CCS relevant data exist in the records of the Geological Survey of Alabama and State Oil and Gas Board of Alabama, however, most of this data is not publicly available or is scattered in separate databases, file cabinets, and tables in publications. The “Alabama Carbon Storage: Data Sharing and Engagement” (ACS-DSE) project seeks to accelerate the responsible development of large CCS projects in the Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama and offshore in state waters through a publicly accessible database of geologic carbon storage models and data across the region. The ACS-DSE draws on the over 150 years of geologic research and over 20 years of experience in CCS research to place relevant geologic, geophysical, and infrastructure data on a single web platform. Datasets available will include formation depths and elevations, geologic structures, reservoir properties, digital well logs (LAS files), existing penetrations, and geologic models. In addition to downloadable datasets, links to CCS related regulatory agencies and other sources of information will be included (for example, Class VI UIC permitting regulations and pipeline regulations). By making these datasets and models available in commonly used formats on a public website, the project will increase transparency in decision making and decrease the data acquisition time for industry.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2026

FY 2026 Midyear Report: Seismic Monitoring of Underground Vibration Sources Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing and Seismometers

Safeguards-relevant temporal changes in underground facilities can be observed using geophysical monitoring techniques. Seismic waves, in particular, provide valuable insights into subsurface activities and can serve as an important tool for detecting anomalous events that may indicate containment breaches at geological repositories. This midyear report summarizes ongoing efforts to automatically and rapidly detect and locate anomalous vibration signals that could be indicative of potential containment breaches. Previous work during FY25 focused on compiling continuous seismic datasets from two underground sites and developing a database of continuous waveforms and ground-truth event data derived from multiple sensing modalities. Building on this foundation, we are adapting anomaly detection and geolocation algorithms to explore methods for monitoring underground activities using two relatively low-maintenance sensing technologies: a dense surface geophone array deployed at the Pleasant Gap mine in Pennsylvania, and a three-dimensional fiber-optic cable array for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) installed in the subsurface at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota. This report summarizes work conducted during the first two quarters of FY26, during which we refined a dynamic power spectral density (PSD)-based detector, applied it independently to each geophone station, and then combined the per‑station detections with density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) to cluster events and produce spatial maps over a nine‑day interval. In addition, we outline plans for a field trial at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico to compare traditional seismic monitoring approaches with DAS techniques and to evaluate the benefits of combined data analysis. Activities during the past two quarters have included the preparation and submission of a Field Test Plan to WIPP for approval, as well as submission to headquarters for review and feedback.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Merged Aerosol Value-Added Product Report

The Merged Aerosol Value-Added Product (VAP) simplifies scientists’ use of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility aerosol data by performing several tedious, time-consuming tasks for the users. First, the VAP identifies the best data available when multiple datastreams exist for a single geophysical quantity so that ARM users do not have to research this for themselves. Second, the VAP consolidates multiple ARM aerosol datastreams into a single file for ARM data users so that they do not have to download, open, and read multiple files for their analysis. Next, the VAP transforms all measurements onto a common one-hour timestamp. The one-hour resolution matches the time resolution of the slowest instrument. Instruments with faster sampling rates than one measurement per hour are averaged over the time interval. Finally, the VAP reads the QA/QC variables and marks data with known issues as missing, so that users do not have to spend excessive time cleaning data. This includes incorporating Data Quality Reports (DQRs) that exist at the time when the VAP data is generated. DQRs are reports filed by instrument mentors or data users that indicate a problem with the output data of individual instruments.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Creation of Speed-of-Sound Inject Data for Technical Nuclear Forensics

Technical Nuclear Forensics (TNF) exercises simulate a detonation of a nuclear device within the United States, usually in a city. Speed-of-sound (SOS) phenomenology are the atmospheric overpressure and ground shock mechanical motions that are observed at over-pressure (air-blast and infrasound) and seismic sensors, respectively (Figure 1). Amplitudes of SOS data are related to the explosive yield (Kinney and Graham, 1985; Koper et al., 2002; Bonner et al., 2013ab; Ford et al., 2014, 2021; Templeton et al., 2018; Schnurr et al., 2020). Within the country, the United States Prompt Diagnostics System (USPDS) includes a network of geophysical sensors to capture such SOS signals. During the TNF exercise, the event data will be analyzed by the players who know nothing about the technical details of the source (e.g. location, yield, explosive). Specifically, they will use the Integrated Yield Determination Tool (IYDT) to estimate the yield and height-of-burst or depth-of-burial (HOB/DOB). The IYDT allows the user to measure features on the overpressure and seismic channels, evaluate the consistency of features and jointly estimate yield and HOB/DOB. For these exercises, SOS data are simulated for the location, emplacement and yield of the device and signals are propagated to the observing stations. This document describes the steps undertaken in the simulation, validation, preparation and verification of SOS signals for TNF exercises.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

DOE OSTI2026

De-Risking Exploration for Geothermal Plays in Magmatic Environments Through Open-Source Tools: An Open-Source Python Framework for 2D and 3D Play Fairway Analysis

The De-Risking Exploration for Geothermal Plays in Magmatic Environments (DEEPEN) project seeks to accelerate superhot geothermal development by reducing exploration risk through advanced open-source modeling tools. This work presents a novel Python-based framework, geoPFA, for conducting 2D and 3D play fairway analysis (PFA) tailored to superhot geothermal systems. Building on previous methodologies, the framework integrates thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical simulation outputs from TReactMech, resulting in improved representation of subsurface properties that are critical to superhot resource producibility. The workflow has been applied to the Nesjavellir field in Iceland, a candidate site for the third Iceland Deep Drilling Project's superhot production scenarios. This application demonstrates the value of modular, transparent, and extensible workflows for integrating geological, geophysical, and simulation-derived datasets in high-enthalpy environments. Preliminary results indicate favorable zones consistent with known hydrothermal activity and suggest possible upflow from the Hengill volcanic system. The geoPFA library is publicly available, offering a scalable and reproducible approach to geothermal exploration across varied geological contexts.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

geoPFA: A Python-Based Open-Source Software for 3D Geothermal PFA

This work presents a novel Python-based framework, geoPFA, for conducting 3D play fairway analysis (PFA) tailored to superhot geothermal systems. The workflow has been applied to the Nesjavellir field in Iceland, a candidate site for the third Iceland Deep Drilling Project's superhot production scenarios. This application demonstrates the value of modular, transparent, and extensible workflows for integrating geological, geophysical, and simulation-derived datasets in high-enthalpy environments. Preliminary results indicate favorable zones consistent with known hydrothermal activity. The geoPFA library will soon be publicly available, offering a scalable and reproducible approach to geothermal exploration across varied geological contexts.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

MultiPEM Toolbox: User Manual

This document explains use of the Multi-Phenomenology Explosion Monitoring (Multi PEM) Toolbox, a collection of R scripts for estimating the unknown device parameters of a new event with uncertainty quantification. The methodology and application used for il lustration in this user manual are published in Geophysical Journal International and fully documented in a Los Alamos National Laboratory technical report hereafter designated “WPA” for reference. Additional details on the application are found in a recent journal article. Two assessment types are available: rapid and complete.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Perfectly Matched Layers and Characteristic Boundaries in Lattice Boltzmann: Accuracy vs Cost

Artificial boundary conditions (BCs) play a ubiquitous role in numerical simulations of transport phenomena in several diverse fields, such as fluid dynamics, electromagnetism, acoustics, geophysics, and many more. They are essential for accurately capturing the behavior of physical systems whenever the simulation domain is truncated for computational efficiency purposes. Ideally, an artificial BC would allow relevant information to enter or leave the computational domain without introducing artifacts or unphysical effects. Boundary conditions designed to control spurious wave reflections are referred to as nonreflective boundary conditions (NRBCs). Another approach is given by the perfectly matched layers (PMLs), in which the computational domain is extended with multiple dampening layers, where outgoing waves are absorbed exponentially in time. Here, in this work, the definition of PML is revised in the context of the lattice Boltzmann method. The impact of adopting different types of BCs at the edge of the dampening zone is evaluated and compared, in terms of both accuracy and computational costs. It is shown that for sufficiently large buffer zones, PMLs allow stable and accurate simulations even when using a simple zeroth-order extrapolation BC. Moreover, employing PMLs in combination with NRBCs potentially offers significant gains in accuracy at a modest computational overhead, provided the parameters of the BC are properly tuned to match the properties of the underlying fluid flow.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2025

1 × 1 km maps of abundances of eight enzyme functional classes for soil C, N, and P cycling across the CONUS

This dataset includes eight 1 × 1 km maps of the abundances of eight enzyme functional classes (EFC) for soil C, N, and P cycling across the CONUS. These mappings are predicted by the machine learning model trained using metagenomics and the corresponding environmental data. This item corresponds to our article: Fan, C., Song, Y., Mishra, U., Gautam, S., & Mayes, M. A. (2025). Harnessing the Power of Machine Learning and Omics to Identify Environmental Regulation on Microbial Functional Composition for Soil C, N, and P Cycling. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 130(10).

1 × 1 km↗

DOE OSTI2025

Multiscale ACI Satellite Database

The SATELLITE_EAGLES_PNNL NetCDF dataset contains a suite of satellite- and reanalysis-derived atmospheric and surface parameters on a regular latitude–longitude grid. The dataset includes core geophysical fields such as land fraction, aerosol optical depth at multiple wavelengths (465, 550, 667, and 865 nm), sea surface temperature, estimated inversion strength, and various thermodynamic and dynamic quantities (e.g., relative humidity, vertical velocity, boundary-layer height, and surface fluxes) from both MERRA and ERA reanalysis products, provided as daily-mean and instantaneous values. A major component of the dataset consists of MODIS-retrieved cloud microphysical properties, including cloud droplet number concentration, cloud effective radius, optical thickness, and liquid water path, provided for three compositing regimes (“All,” “Q06,” and “G18”). Corresponding cloud-top parameters—temperature, height, and pressure—along with total and domain-mean cloud fraction fields are also included. The file further integrates additional satellite data from AMSR-E (for cloud water, rain water, and surface precipitation retrievals) and CERES (for top-of-atmosphere radiative fluxes, cloud fractions, and albedo). This dataset is designed to evaluate aerosol–cloud interactions in warm clouds, emphasizing the use of MODIS for deriving cloud droplet number concentration and liquid water path statistics. The complementary satellite and reanalysis fields are co-located and time-matched to the same instantaneous MODIS observations, enabling consistent comparisons between cloud properties, aerosol loading, and large-scale meteorological conditions. The dataset is recently featured in Christensen et al. (2025), Machine Learning Reveals Strong Grid-Scale Dependence in the Satellite Nd–LWP Relationship, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3850, 2025.

Christensen, Matthew [Pacific Northwest National L↗

DOE OSTI2025

Multiscale ACI Satellite Database

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Performance of synthetic DAS as a function of array geometry

Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) can record acoustic wavefields at high sampling rates and with dense spatial resolution difficult to achieve with seismometers. Using optical scattering induced by cable deformation, DAS can record strain fields with spatial resolution of a few meters. However, many experiments utilizing DAS have relied on unused, dark telecommunication fibers. As a result, the geophysical community has not fully explored DAS survey parameters to characterize the ideal array design. This limits our understanding of guiding principles in array design to deploy DAS effectively and efficiently in the field. A better quantitative understanding of DAS array behavior can improve the quality of the data recorded by guiding the DAS array design. Here we use steered response functions, which account for DAS fiber’s directional sensitivity, as well as beamforming and back-projection results from forward modelling calculations to assess the performance of varying DAS array geometries to record regional and local sources. A regular heptagon DAS array demonstrated improved capabilities for recording regional sources over other polygonal arrays, with potential improvements in recording and locating local sources. These results help reveal DAS array performance as a function of geometry and can guide future DAS deployments.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗