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CERES Single Scanner Satellite Footprint, TOA, Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2-VIRSonly)

The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2001-07-01] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

CLOUD INFRARED EMISSIVITY↗

A model-independent data assimilation (MIDA) module and its applications in ecology

Abstract. Models are an important tool to predict Earth system dynamics. An accurate prediction of future states of ecosystems depends on not only model structures but also parameterizations. Model parameters can be constrained by data assimilation. However, applications of data assimilation to ecology are restricted by highly technical requirements such as model-dependent coding. To alleviate this technical burden, we developed a model-independent data assimilation (MIDA) module. MIDA works in three steps including data preparation, execution of data assimilation, and visualization. The first step prepares prior ranges of parameter values, a defined number of iterations, and directory paths to access files of observations and models. The execution step calibrates parameter values to best fit the observations and estimates the parameter posterior distributions. The final step automatically visualizes the calibration performance and posterior distributions. MIDA is model independent, and modelers can use MIDA for an accurate and efficient data assimilation in a simple and interactive way without modification of their original models. We applied MIDA to four types of ecological models: the data assimilation linked ecosystem carbon (DALEC) model, a surrogate-based energy exascale earth system model: the land component (ELM), nine phenological models and a stand-alone biome ecological strategy simulator (BiomeE). The applications indicate that MIDA can effectively solve data assimilation problems for different ecological models. Additionally, the easy implementation and model-independent feature of MIDA breaks the technical barrier of applications of data–model fusion in ecology. MIDA facilitates the assimilation of various observations into models for uncertainty reduction in ecological modeling and forecasting.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

A model-independent data assimilation (MIDA) module and its applications in ecology

Models are an important tool to predict Earth system dynamics. An accurate prediction of future states of ecosystems depends on not only model structures but also parameterizations. Model parameters can be constrained by data assimilation. However, applications of data assimilation to ecology are restricted by highly technical requirements such as model-dependent coding. To alleviate this technical burden, we developed a model-independent data assimilation (MIDA) module. MIDA works in three steps including data preparation, execution of data assimilation, and visualization. The first step prepares prior ranges of parameter values, a defined number of iterations, and directory paths to access files of observations and models. The execution step calibrates parameter values to best fit the observations and estimates the parameter posterior distributions. The final step automatically visualizes the calibration performance and posterior distributions. MIDA is model independent, and modelers can use MIDA for an accurate and efficient data assimilation in a simple and interactive way without modification of their original models. We applied MIDA to four types of ecological models: the data assimilation linked ecosystem carbon (DALEC) model, a surrogate-based energy exascale earth system model: the land component (ELM), nine phenological models and a stand-alone biome ecological strategy simulator (BiomeE). The applications indicate that MIDA can effectively solve data assimilation problems for different ecological models. Additionally, the easy implementation and model-independent feature of MIDA breaks the technical barrier of applications of data–model fusion in ecology. MIDA facilitates the assimilation of various observations into models for uncertainty reduction in ecological modeling and forecasting.

Earth system dynamics↗

A Pattern-Recognition-Based Ensemble Data Imputation Framework for Sensors from Building Energy Systems

Building operation data are important for monitoring, analysis, modeling, and control of building energy systems. However, missing data is one of the major data quality issues, making data imputation techniques become increasingly important. There are two key research gaps for missing sensor data imputation in buildings: the lack of customized and automated imputation methodology, and the difficulty of the validation of data imputation methods. In this paper, a framework is developed to address these two gaps. First, a validation data generation module is developed based on pattern recognition to create a validation dataset to quantify the performance of data imputation methods. Second, a pool of data imputation methods is tested under the validation dataset to find an optimal single imputation method for each sensor, which is termed as an ensemble method. The method can reflect the specific mechanism and randomness of missing data from each sensor. The effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated by 18 sensors from a real campus building. The overall accuracy of data imputation for those sensors improves by 18.2% on average compared with the best single data imputation method.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

CERES Single Scanner Satellite Footprint, TOA, Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) data in HDF (CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Edition1B)

The Single Scanner Footprint TOA/Surface Fluxes and Clouds (SSF) product contains one hour of instantaneous Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data for a single scanner instrument. The SSF combines instantaneous CERES data with scene information from a higher-resolution imager such as Visible/Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on TRMM or Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua. Scene identification and cloud properties are defined at the higher imager resolution and these data are averaged over the larger CERES footprint. For each CERES footprint, the SSF contains the number of cloud layers and for each layer the cloud amount, height, temperature, pressure, optical depth, emissivity, ice and liquid water path, and water particle size. The SSF also contains the CERES filtered radiances for the total, shortwave (SW), and window (WN) channels and the unfiltered SW, longwave (LW), and WN radiances. The SW, LW, and WN radiances at spacecraft altitude are converted to Top-of-the-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes based on the imager defined scene. These TOA fluxes are used to estimate surface fluxes. Only footprints with adequate imager coverage are included on CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1the SSF which is much less than the full set of footprints on the CERES ES-8 product. The following CERES SSF data sets are currently available: CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Subset_Edition1 CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A CER_SSF_TRMM-SIM-VIRS_Edition2_VIRSonly CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2A-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B-TransOps CER_SSF_TRMM-PFM-VIRS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition1A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2A CER_SSF_Terra-FM1-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Terra-FM2-MODIS_Edition2B CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta2 CER_SSF_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta2. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1998-01-01; Stop_Date=2005-03-31] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 hour; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Hourly - < Daily].

CLOUD LAYER AREA↗

CERES BiDirectional Scans (BDS) data in HDF (CER_BDS_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV)

Each BiDirectional Scans (BDS) data product contains twenty-four hours of Level-1b data for each CERES scanner instrument mounted on each spacecraft. The BDS includes samples taken in normal and short Earth scan elevation profiles in both fixed and rotating azimuth scan modes (including space, internal calibration, and solar calibration views). The BDS contains Level-0 raw (unconverted) science and instrument data as well as the geolocated converted science and instrument data. The BDS contains additional data not found in the Level-0 input file, including converted satellite position and velocity data, celestial data, converted digital status data, and parameters used in the radiance count conversion equations. The following CERES BDS data sets are currently available: CER_BDS_TRMM-PFM_Edition1 CER_BDS_Terra-FM1_Edition1 CER_BDS_Terra-FM2_Edition1 CER_BDS_Terra-FM1_Edition2 CER_BDS_Terra-FM2_Edition2 CER_BDS_Aqua-FM3_Edition1 CER_BDS_Aqua-FM4_Edition1 CER_BDS_Aqua-FM3_Edition2 CER_BDS_Aqua-FM4_Edition2 CER_BDS_Aqua-FM3_Edition1-CV CER_BDS_Aqua-FM4_Edition1-CV CER_BDS_Terra-FM1_Edition1-CV CER_BDS_Terra-FM2_Edition1-CV. [Location=GLOBAL] [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1997-12-27; Stop_Date=2005-03-30] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180] [Data_Resolution: Temporal_Resolution=1 day; Temporal_Resolution_Range=Daily - < Weekly].

SHORTWAVE DETECTOR OUTPUT↗

Vertically Resolved Analysis of the Madden-Julian Oscillation Highlights the Role of Convective Transport of Moist Static Energy

We simulate the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) over an aquaplanet with uniform surface temperature using the multiscale modeling framework (MMF) configuration of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM-MMF). The model produces MJO-like features that have a similar spatial structure and propagation behavior to the observed MJO. To explore the processes involved in the propagation and maintenance of these MJO-like features, we perform a vertically resolved moist static energy (MSE) analysis for the MJO (Yao et al., 2022, https://doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-20-0254.1). Unlike the column-integrated MSE analysis, our method emphasizes the local production of MSE variance and quantifies how individual physical processes amplify and propagate the MJO's characteristic vertical structure. We find that radiation, convection, and boundary layer (BL) processes all contribute to maintaining the MJO, balanced by the large-scale MSE transport. Furthermore, large-scale dynamics, convection, and BL processes all contribute to the propagation of the MJO, while radiation slows the propagation. Additionally, we perform mechanism-denial experiments to examine the role of radiation and associated feedbacks in simulating the MJO. We find that the MJO can still self-emerge and maintain its characteristic structures without radiative feedbacks. This study highlights the role of convective MSE transport in the MJO dynamics, which was overlooked in the column-integrated MSE analysis.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The Importance of Weather and Climate to Energy Systems: A Workshop on Next Generation Challenges in Energy–Climate Modeling

More than 80 international participants, representing weather, climate, and energy systems research, joined two 4-hour remote sessions to highlight and prioritize ongoing and future challenges in energy-climate modelling. The workshop had two primary goals: to build a deeper engagement across the “energy” and “climate” research communities, and to identify and begin to address the scientific challenges associated with modelling climate risk in energy systems.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

H2Integrate [SWR-23-31]

H2Integrate(H2I) is an open-source Python package for hybrid systems engineering design and technoeconomic analysis. It models and optimizes hybrid energy plants that produce electricity, hydrogen, ammonia, steel, and other products. H2Integrate is designed to be flexible and extensible, allowing users to create their own components and models for various energy systems. The tool currently includes distributed energy generation (wind, solar, wave, tidal), battery storage, hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and steel technologies. Other elements such as desalination systems, pipelines, compressors, and storage systems can also be included as developed by users. Some modeling capabilities in H2Integrate are provided by integrating existing tools, such as HOPP, PySAM, ORBIT, and ProFAST. The H2Integrate tool is built on top of NASA's OpenMDAO framework, which provides a powerful and flexible environment for modeling and optimization.

King, Jennifer [National Renewable Energy Laborato↗

Investigating coastal backwater effects and flooding in the coastal zone using a global river transport model on an unstructured mesh

Abstract. Coastal backwater effects are caused by the downstream water level increase as a result of elevated sea level, high river discharge and their compounding influence. Such effects have crucial impacts on floods in densely populated regions but have not been well represented in large-scale river models used in Earth system models (ESMs), partly due to model mesh deficiency and oversimplifications of river hydrodynamics. Using two mid-Atlantic river basins as a testbed, we perform the first attempt to simulate the backwater effects comprehensively over a coastal region using the MOSART river transport model under an ESM framework, i.e., Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) configured on a regionally refined unstructured mesh, with a focus on understanding the backwater drivers and their long-term variations. By including sea level variations at the river downstream boundary, the model performance in capturing backwaters is greatly improved. We also propose a new flood event selection scheme to facilitate the decomposition of backwater drivers into different components. Our results show that while storm surge is a key driver, the influence of extreme discharge cannot be neglected, particularly when the river drains to a narrow river-like estuary. Compound flooding, while not necessarily increasing the flood peaks, exacerbates the flood risk by extending the duration of multiple coastal and fluvial processes. Furthermore, our simulations and analysis highlight the increasing strength of backwater effects due to sea level rise and more frequent storm surge during 1990–2019. Thus, backwaters need to be properly represented in ESMs to improve the predictive understanding of coastal flooding.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Reinforcement Learning to Enhance Optimal Operation of Resilient Community Energy Systems

This paper presents a novel model-free multi-agent Reinforcement Learning (RL) control method to enhance the resilience of community energy systems in island mode, which coordinates multiple objectives without the necessity of identifying system models that require expert knowledge. Specifically, a community-level coordinator agent is designed to allocate renewable energy resources among different buildings, and multiple building-level agents are developed to optimize load schedules based on limited energy resources and requirements of building loads and occupants’ comfort. In a two-day evaluation, our RL approach demonstrated a similar performance against MPC without requiring system models and formulation of optimization problems as required in MPC.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION↗

Improving E3SM Land Model Photosynthesis Parameterization via Satellite SIF, Machine Learning, and Surrogate Modeling

The parameterization of key photosynthesis parameters is one of the key uncertain sources in modeling ecosystem gross primary productivity (GPP). Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) offers a good proxy for GPP since it marks the actual process of photosynthesis; while machine learning (ML) provides a robust approach to model the GPP-SIF relationship. Here, we trained the boosted regressing tree (BRT) and the Random Forest ML models with Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite SIF data and in situ GPP observations from 49 eddy covariance towers. These trained ML GPP-SIF models were fed into the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) Land Model (ELM) to generate ELM-simulated global SIF estimates, which were then benchmarked against satellite SIF observations with a surrogate modeling approach. Our results indicated good modeling performance of the ML-based GPP-SIF relationship. The ELM model when fed with the ML GPP-SIF models also can well predict the spatial-temporal variations in SIF. We also found high model accuracy for the surrogate modeling. Model parameter sensitivity analysis suggested that the fraction of leaf nitrogen in RuBisCO (flnr) is the most sensitive parameter to the SIF; other sensitive parameters include the Ball-Berry stomatal conductance slope (mbbopt) and the vcmax entropy (vcmaxse). The posterior uncertainty in simulated GPP was greatly reduced after benchmarking, and the model produced improved spatial patterns of mean GPP relative to FLUXCOM GPP. Our integrated approach provides a new avenue for improving land models and using remote-sensing SIF, which can be further improved in the future with more ground- and satellite-based observations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

An Integrated Modeling Framework for Sediment Dynamics During Urban Flooding: Application to Hurricane Harvey in Houston

Floodwater can mobilize and redistribute large volumes of sediment from upland to downstream urban areas, threatening infrastructure, water quality, and ecosystem health. However, existing modeling approaches often fail to capture sediment dynamics in urban floodplains due to the lack of integration between upland hydrological processes and riverine sediment transport. This study presents the first integrated modeling framework that couples the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) land component, which simulates runoff and hillslope erosion, with TELEMAC-GAIA, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport model. This framework enables the fully distributed, process-based simulation of high-resolution (as fine as 30 m) sediment dynamics from hillslopes to floodplains. Applied to a highly urbanized watershed in Houston during Hurricane Harvey, this framework reproduced observed water levels at 16 USGS gauges (median R 2 = 0.83 and KGE = 0.78), key sediment dynamics such as sediment transport and deposition processes, and reproduced spatial deposition patterns consistent with LiDAR-derived data. Based on the simulation, we estimate 8.0 million m 3 of event-scale sediment deposition, including 5.7 million m 3 trapped in the flood-control reservoirs and 2.3 million m 3 deposited along major channels and floodplains. Using a representative unit removal cost, this corresponds to an estimated dredging cost of $581 million for total deposition. These results provide a first-order, physically based quantification of Harvey-scale sediment impacts. This study provides a valuable tool for the holistic analysis of sediment dynamics triggered by extreme urban flooding, supporting flood-resilience planning. More broadly, it highlights the importance of integrating physically based hydrological processes for urban flooding and sediment research.

Hurricane Harvey↗

Characterization of Root Zone Soil Moisture and Herpetofaunal Biodiversity in the Southern Great Plains

(1) Goal: The scientific objective to the proposed research is to develop a proto-type downscaled (<1 km) version of the root-zone soil moisture product called SoilMERGE or SMERGE. This objective is linked as root zone soil moisture is a critical climate variable that has a more direct influence on plant growth than precipitation. Therefore, the developed downscaled version of SMERGE can be used as input into biodiversity informatic techniques (i.e., maximum entropy modeling) Development of downscaled SMERGE will be facilitated by Department of Energy (DOE) resources specifically data from the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility and modeling platforms such as the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

ILAMBv2.7 benchmarking results comparing E3SMv2.1 land-atmosphere coupled (BGCv2LNDATM) and stand alone land (ELM) simulations with CMIP6 emission driven historical simulations

This dataset contains land model benchmarking results for the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2.1 (E3SMv2.1), including outputs from both coupled biogeochemistry simulations and stand-alone land model simulations. These results are compared against several emission-driven historical simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Benchmarking was conducted using the International Land Model Benchmarking (ILAMB) package, version 2.7 (ILAMBv2.7). CMIP6 model outputs were sourced from the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF), while the E3SMv2.1 results were derived from raw model outputs. These outputs underwent processing steps such as time serialization, conservative regridding, and data standardization to ensure comparability. For spatial interpolation, the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) tool, ESMF_RegridWeightGen, was employed to generate regridding weights, enabling the transformation of E3SM’s native cubed-sphere grid to a regular latitude-longitude grid.

Feng, Sha [PNNL]↗

The E3SM version 1 single-column model

Abstract. The single-column model (SCM) functionality of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 1 (E3SMv1) is described in this paper. The E3SM SCM was adopted from the SCM used in the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) but has evolved significantly since then. We describe changes made to the aerosol specification in the SCM, idealizations, and developments made so that the SCM uses the same dynamical core as the full general circulation model (GCM) component. Based on these changes, we describe and demonstrate the seamless capability to “replay” a GCM column using the SCM. We give an overview of the E3SM case library and briefly describe which cases may serve as useful proxies for replicating and investigate some long-standing biases in the full GCM runs while demonstrating that the E3SM SCM is an efficient tool for both model development and evaluation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A method for transporting cloud-resolving model variance in a multiscale modeling framework

Abstract. An unphysical checkerboard pattern has recently been identified in the multiscale modeling framework configuration of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM-MMF) that is hypothesized to be associated with the inability of large-scale dynamics to transport fluctuations within the embedded cloud-resolving model (CRM) on the global grid. To address this issue, a method is presented to facilitate the large-scale transport of CRM variance in E3SM-MMF. Simulation results show that the method is effective at reducing the occurrence of unphysical checkerboard patterns on a range of timescales from days to years. This result is confirmed both subjectively through visual inspection and quantitatively with a previously developed pattern categorization technique. The CRM variance transport does not significantly alter the model climate, although it does tend to reduce temporal variance on fields associated with convection on the global grid.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Spatial patterns of snow distribution in the sub-Arctic

Abstract. The spatial distribution of snow plays a vital role in sub-Arctic and Arctic climate, hydrology, and ecology due to its fundamental influence on the water balance, thermal regimes, vegetation, and carbon flux. However, the spatial distribution of snow is not well understood, and therefore, it is not well modeled, which can lead to substantial uncertainties in snow cover representations. To capture key hydro-ecological controls on snow spatial distribution, we carried out intensive field studies over multiple years for two small (2017–2019; ∼ 2.5 km2) sub-Arctic study sites located on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. Using an intensive suite of field observations (> 22 000 data points), we developed simple models of the spatial distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) using factors such as topographic characteristics, vegetation characteristics based on greenness (normalized different vegetation index, NDVI), and a simple metric for approximating winds. The most successful model was random forest, using both study sites and all years, which was able to accurately capture the complexity and variability of snow characteristics across the sites. Approximately 86 % of the SWE distribution could be accounted for, on average, by the random forest model at the study sites. Factors that impacted year-to-year snow distribution included NDVI, elevation, and a metric to represent coarse microtopography (topographic position index, TPI), while slope, wind, and fine microtopography factors were less important. The characterization of the SWE spatial distribution patterns will be used to validate and improve snow distribution modeling in the Department of Energy's Earth system model and for improved understanding of hydrology, topography, and vegetation dynamics in the sub-Arctic and Arctic regions of the globe.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗