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At least 73 records · Page 4

Spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements across a PFAS-contaminated source zone

There is a pressing need for the development of field-scale, in situ screening technologies for assessing variations in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) concentrations in soils at former fire training and storage sites. Field-scale Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) geophysical measurements were acquired on a transect crossing an AFFF source zone. Soil samples were acquired from ten locations and used to determine variations in poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations in soils and soil texture. These samples were also used to create triplicate soil columns for laboratory-grade SIP measurements. Field and laboratory observations provide evidence that SIP measurements are sensitive to the concentration of AFFF constituents associated with the pore surface in soils. The phase of the SIP measurements on the laboratory samples was linearly correlated with total soil-sorbed PFAS concentration. The phase from the field SIP measurements was highest over the location of maximum PFAS concentration measured on the laboratory samples, although a significant correlation between field-measured phase and laboratory-measured total PFAS concentration was not established. The sensitivity of the SIP response to the removal of soil PFAS using a methanol wash procedure (total PFAS concentration drop of 366 ppb) adds evidence for the case for SIP characterization of AFFF source zones. The results of these studies suggest that SIP might be developed into a field-scale technology for rapid, indirect assessment of AFFF source zones. Such a technology could improve the effectiveness of AFFF source zone characterization at reduced costs.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Joint analysis of Dark Energy Survey Year 3 data and CMB lensing from SPT and P l a n c k . II. Cross-correlation measurements and cosmological constraints

Cross-correlations of galaxy positions and galaxy shears with maps of gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are sensitive to the distribution of large-scale structure in the Universe. Such cross-correlations are also expected to be immune to some of the systematic effects that complicate correlation measurements internal to galaxy surveys. We present measurements and modeling of the cross-correlations between galaxy positions and galaxy lensing measured in the first three years of data from the Dark Energy Survey with CMB lensing maps derived from a combination of data from the 2500 deg 2 SPT-SZ survey conducted with the South Pole Telescope and full-sky data from the Planck satellite. The CMB lensing maps used in this analysis have been constructed in a way that minimizes biases from the thermal Sunyaev Zel’dovich effect, making them well suited for cross-correlation studies. The total signal-to-noise of the cross-correlation measurements is 23.9 (25.7) when using a choice of angular scales optimized for a linear (nonlinear) galaxy bias model. Here we use the cross-correlation measurements to obtain constraints on cosmological parameters. For our fiducial galaxy sample, which consist of four bins of magnitude-selected galaxies, we find constraints of Ω m =0.272$^{+0.032}_{-0.052}$ and S 8 ≡σ8$\sqrt{Ω_m/0.3}$=0.736$^{+0.032}_{-0.028}$ (Ω m =0.245$^{+0.026}_{-0.044}$ and S 8 =0.734$^{+0.035}_{-0.028}$) when assuming linear (nonlinear) galaxy bias in our modeling. Considering only the cross-correlation of galaxy shear with CMB lensing, we find Ω m =0.270$^{+0.043}_{-0.061}$ and S 8 =0.740$^{+0.034}_{-0.029}$. Our constraints on S8 are consistent with recent cosmic shear measurements, but lower than the values preferred by primary CMB measurements from Planck.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Spectrometric Estimation of Total Nitrogen Concentration in Douglas-Fir Foliage

Spectral measurements of fresh and dehydrated Douglas-fir foliage, from trees cultivated under three fertilization treatments, were acquired with a laboratory spectrophotometer. The slope (first-derivative) of the fresh- and dry-leaf absorbance spectra at locations near known protein absorption features was strongly correlated with total nitrogen (TN) concentration of the foliage samples. Particularly strong correlation was observed between the first-derivative spectra in the 2150-2170 nm region and TN, reaching a local maximum in the fresh-leaf spectra of -0.84 at 2 160 nm. Stepwise regression was used to generate calibration equations relating first derivative spectra from fresh, dry/intact, and dry/ground samples to TN concentration. Standard errors of calibration were 1.52 mg g-1 (fresh), 1.33 (dry/intact), and 1.20 (dry/ground), with goodness-of-fit 0.94 and greater. Cross-validation was performed with the fresh-leaf dataset to examine the predictive capability of the regression method; standard errors of prediction ranged from 1.47 - 2.37 mg g(exp -1) across seven different validation sets, prediction goodness of fit ranged from .85-.94, and wavelength selection was fairly insensitive to the membership of the calibration set. All regressions in this study tended to select wavelengths in the 2100-2350 nm region, with the primary selection in the 2142-2172 nm region. The study provides positive evidence concerning the feasibility of assessing TN status of fresh-leaf samples by spectrometric means. We assert that the ability to extract biochemical information from fresh-leaf spectra is a necessary but insufficient condition regarding the use of remote sensing for canopy-level biochemical estimation.

Johnson, Lee F.↗

Remote sensing of total dry-matter accumulation in winter wheat

Red and photographic-infrared spectral data collected on 21 dates over the growing season with a hand-held radiometer were quantitatively correlated with total dry-matter accumulation in winter wheat. The spectral data were found to be highly related to vigor and condition of the plant canopy. Two periods of drought stress and subsequent recovery from it were readily apparent in the spectral data. Simple ratios of the spectral radiance data compensated for variations in solar intensities and, when integrated over the growing season, explained 79% of the variation in total above-ground accumulation of dry matter. A satellite system is proposed to provide large-area assessment of total dry accumulation or net primary production from terrestrial vegetation.

Tucker, C. J.↗

High-Speed Quantification of Pore-Scale Multiphase Flow of Water and Supercritical CO 2 in 2-D Heterogeneous Porous Micromodels: Flow Regimes and Interface Dynamics

The pore-scale flow of CO 2 and water in 2-D heterogeneous porous micromodels over a Ca range of nearly three orders of magnitude was explored experimentally. The porous geometry is a close reprint of real sandstone, and the experiments were performed under reservoir-relevant conditions (i.e., 8 MPa and 21°C), thus ensuring relevance to practical CO 2 operations. High-speed fluorescent microscopy and image processing were employed to achieve temporally and spatially resolved data, providing a unique view of the dynamics underlying this multiphase flow scenario. Under conditions relevant to CO 2 sequestration, final CO 2 saturation was found to decrease and increase logarithmically with Ca within the capillary and viscous-fingering regimes, respectively, with a minimum occurring during regime crossover. Specific interfacial length generally scales linearly with CO 2 saturation, with higher slopes noted at high Ca due to stronger viscous and inertial forces, as supported by direct pore-scale observations. Additionally, statistical analysis of the interfacial movements revealed that pore-scale events are controlled by their intrinsic dynamics at low Ca, but overrun by the bulk flow at high Ca. During postfront flow, while permeability is typically correlated with total CO 2 saturation in the porous domain (regardless of its mobility), the saturation of active CO 2 pathways in the current study correlated very well with permeability. This alternate approach to characterize relative permeability could serve to mitigate hysteresis in relative permeability curves. Taken together, these results provide unique insights that address inconsistent observations in the literature and previously unanswered questions about the underlying flow dynamics of this important multiphase flow scenario.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Water Vapor Tracers as Diagnostics of the Regional Hydrologic Cycle

Numerous studies suggest that local feedback of surface evaporation on precipitation, or recycling, is a significant source of water for precipitation. Quantitative results on the exact amount of recycling have been difficult to obtain in view of the inherent limitations of diagnostic recycling calculations. The current study describes a calculation of the amount of local and remote geographic sources of surface evaporation for precipitation, based on the implementation of three-dimensional constituent tracers of regional water vapor sources (termed water vapor tracers, WVT) in a general circulation model. The major limitation on the accuracy of the recycling estimates is the veracity of the numerically simulated hydrological cycle, though we note that this approach can also be implemented within the context of a data assimilation system. In the WVT approach, each tracer is associated with an evaporative source region for a prognostic three-dimensional variable that represents a partial amount of the total atmospheric water vapor. The physical processes that act on a WVT are determined in proportion to those that act on the model's prognostic water vapor. In this way, the local and remote sources of water for precipitation can be predicted within the model simulation, and can be validated against the model's prognostic water vapor. As a demonstration of the method, the regional hydrologic cycles for North America and India are evaluated for six summers (June, July and August) of model simulation. More than 50% of the precipitation in the Midwestern United States came from continental regional sources, and the local source was the largest of the regional tracers (14%). The Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic regions contributed 18% of the water for Midwestern precipitation, but further analysis suggests that the greater region of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean may also contribute significantly. In most North American continental regions, the local source of precipitation is correlated with total precipitation. There is a general positive correlation between local evaporation and local precipitation, but it can be weaker because large evaporation can occur when precipitation is inhibited. In India, the local source of precipitation is a small percentage of the precipitation owing to the dominance of the atmospheric transport of oceanic water. The southern Indian Ocean provides a key source of water for both the Indian continent and the Sahelian region.

Bosilovich, Michael G.↗

Calibration of a turbidity meter for making estimates of total suspended solids concentrations and beam attenuation coefficients in field experiments

Management of water resources such as a reservoir requires using analytical models which describe such parameters as the suspended sediment field. To select or develop an appropriate model requires making many measurements to describe the distribution of this parameter in the water column. One potential method for making those measurements expeditiously is to measure light transmission or turbidity and relate that parameter to total suspended solids concentrations. An instrument which may be used for this purpose was calibrated by generating curves of transmission measurements plotted against measured values of total suspended solids concentrations and beam attenuation coefficients. Results of these experiments indicate that field measurements made with this instrument using curves generated in this study should correlate with total suspended solids concentrations and beam attenuation coefficients in the water column within 20 percent.

Usry, J. W.↗

Remote sensing of total dry-matter accumulation in winter wheat

The author has identified the following significant results. Red and photographic-infrared spectral data collected on 21 dates over the growing season with a hand-held radiometer was quantitatively correlated with total dry-matter accumulation in winter wheat. The spectral data were found to be highly related to vigor and condition of the plant canopy. Two periods of drought stress and subsequent recovery from it were readily apparent in the spectral data. Simple ratios of the spectral data compensated for variations in solar intensities and, when integrated over the growing season, explained 79% of the variation in total above-ground accumulation of dry matter.

Tucker, C. J.↗

Assessing soybean leaf area and leaf biomass by spectral measurements

Red and photographic infrared spectral radiances were correlated with soybean total leaf area index, green leaf area index, chlorotic leaf area index, green leaf biomass, chlorotic leaf biomass, and total biomass. The most significant correlations were found to exist between the IR/red radiance ratio data and green leaf area index and/or green leaf biomass (r squared equals 0.85 and 0.86, respectively). These findings demonstrate that remote sensing data can supply information basic to soybean canopy growth, development, and status by nondestructive determination of the green leaf area or green leaf biomass.

Holben, B. N.↗

Spectral assessment of soybean leaf area and leaf biomass

Red and photographic infrared spectral radiance have been correlated with soybean total leaf area index, green leaf area index, chlorotic area index, green leaf biomass, chlorotic leaf biomass, and total biomass. The most significant correlations were found to exist between the spectral data and green leaf area index and/or green leaf biomass. These findings demonstrate that ground based remote sensing data can supply information basic to soybean canopy growth, development, and status by non-destructive determination of the green leaf area or green leaf biomass.

Holben, B. N.↗

Efficient Mass Estimate at the Core of Strong Lensing Galaxy Clusters Using the Einstein Radius

In the era of large surveys, yielding thousands of galaxy clusters, efficient mass proxies at all scales are necessary in order to fully utilize clusters as cosmological probes. At the cores of strong lensing clusters, the Einstein radius can be turned into a mass estimate. This efficient method has been routinely used in literature, in lieu of detailed mass models; however, its scatter, assumed to be similar to 30%, has not yet been quantified. Here, we assess this method by testing it against ray-traced images of cluster-scale halos from the Outer RimN-body cosmological simulation. We measure a scatter of 13.9% and a positive bias of 8.8% in M (<θ E ), with no systematic correlation with total cluster mass, concentration, or lens or source redshifts. We find that increased deviation from spherical symmetry increases the scatter; conversely, where the lens produces arcs that cover a large fraction of its Einstein circle, both the scatter and the bias decrease. While spectroscopic redshifts of the lensed sources are critical for accurate magnifications and time delays, we show that for the purpose of estimating the total enclosed mass, the scatter introduced by source redshift uncertainty is negligible compared to other sources of error. Finally, we derive and apply an empirical correction that eliminates the bias, and reduces the scatter to 10.1% without introducing new correlations with mass, redshifts, or concentration. Our analysis provides the first quantitative assessment of the uncertainties in M (<θ E ), and enables its effective use as a core mass estimator of strong lensing galaxy clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Effects of prolonged fasting on plasma cortisol and TH in postweaned northern elephant seal pups

Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) pups rely on the oxidation of fat stores as their primary source of energy during their 8- to 12-wk postweaning fast; however, potential endocrine mechanisms involved with this increased fat metabolism have yet to be examined. Therefore, 15 pups were serially blood sampled in the field during the first 7 wk of their postweaning fast to examine the changes in plasma concentrations of cortisol and thyroid hormones (TH), which are involved in fat metabolism in other mammals. Cortisol increased, indicating that it contributed to an increase in lipolysis. Increased total triiodothyronine (tT(3)) and thyroxine (tT(4)) may not reflect increased thyroid gland activity, but rather alterations in hormone metabolism. tT(3)-to-tT(4) ratio decreased, suggesting a decrease in thyroxine (T(4)) deiodination, whereas the negative correlation between total proteins and free T(4) suggests that the increase in free hormone is attributed to a decrease in binding globulins. Changes in TH are most similar to those observed during hibernation than starvation in mammals, suggesting that the metabolic adaptations to natural fasting are more similar to hibernation despite the fact these animals remain active throughout the fasting period.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗

Evolution of carbon isotopes, agglutinates, and the lunar regolith

Apollo 17 light-mantle soils and Apollo 15 Apennine Front soils are compared with respect to isotopic enrichment of C-13 and the maturity of the site. Analyses of soil-size fractions indicate that while the carbon concentration on particle surfaces remains relatively constant with increasing soil maturity, total surface-correlated carbon increases due to increasing total soil surface area. The role of agglutinates in the incorporation of surface-correlated carbon into aggregate grains is examined; agglutinates contain a major percentage of the carbon found in mature soil, and the volume-correlated carbon component in agglutinates apparently continues to increase after the surface-correlated carbon concentrations have reached a constant value. Constraints that may limit the carbon concentration in lunar soils to a value not greater than 300 micrograms/g are considered.

Desmarais, D. J.↗

Improving efficiency of semi‐direct møller–plesset second‐order perturbation methods through oversubscription on multiple nodes

The purpose of this work is to evaluate the efficacy of oversubscription, at the 1 n , 2 n , and 3 n levels for n physical cores, on semi‐direct MP2 methods within NWChem when using two and three Intel nodes. Semi‐direct MP2 energy and gradient calculations were performed on chemical systems ranging from 824 to 1626 basis functions using the cc‐pVDZ basis set. Wall times for semi‐direct MP2 energies were reduced by as much as 36% using two nodes and 44% using three nodes compared to no oversubscription. Total energy consumed by the CPU and DRAM was also reduced by as much as 12% using two nodes and as much as 20% using three nodes when oversubscribing. MP2 gradient wall times improved by as much as 16% using two nodes and 18% using three nodes compared to execution at the 1 n level; however, energy savings were insignificant. Intel performance‐counter data show a strong correlation between total wall time saved and less time spent in the idle state, indicating a more efficient use of the processors when oversubscribing. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fought, Ellie L.↗

A modified ATI technique for nowcasting convective rain volumes over areas

This paper explores the applicability of the area-time-integral (ATI) technique for the estimation of the growth portion only of a convective storm (while the rain volume is computed using the entire life history of the event) and for nowcasting the total rain volume of a convective system at the stage of its maximum development. For these purposes, the ATIs were computed from the digital radar data (for 1981-1982) from the North Dakota Cloud Modification Project, using the maximum echo area (ATIA) no less than 25 dBz, the maximum reflectivity, and the maximum echo height as the end of the growth portion of the convective event. Linear regression analysis demonstrated that correlations between total rain volume or the maximum rain volume versus ATIA were the strongest. The uncertainties obtained were comparable to the uncertainties which typically occur in rain volume estimates obtained from radar data employing Z-R conversion followed by space and time integration. This demonstrates that the total rain volume of a storm can be nowcasted at its maximum stage of development.

Makarau, Amos↗

Carotid Intima Media Thickness in the Astronaut Corps: Association to Spacecraft

Background: Carotid Intima Media Thickness (CIMT) has been demonstrated to be predictive of future cardiovascular events. Within various populations, radiation exposure, stress, and physical confinement have all been linked to an increased CIMT. Recent research discovered CIMT was significantly increased in ten long duration astronauts from pre-flight to four days post flight. The relationship between spaceflight and CIMT is not understood and trends in CIMT within the larger astronaut population are unknown. Methods: In 2010, CIMT was offered as part of the astronaut annual exam at the JSC Flight Medicine Clinic using a standardized CIMT screening protocol and professional sonographers. Between 2010 and 2016, CIMT measurements were collected on 213 NASA astronauts and payload specialists. The values used in this retrospective chart review are the mean of the CIMT from the right and left. Spaceflight exposure was categorized based on the total number of days spent in space at the time of the ground-based ultrasound (0, 1-29, 30-100, 101-200, ≥200). Linear regression with generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the association between spaceflight exposures and CIMT. Results: 530 studies were completed among 213 astronauts with a mean of 2.5 studies (range 1-6) per astronaut over the six year period. As in other populations, CIMT was significantly associated with age; however, gender was not. While there was no significant direct correlation between total spaceflight exposure and CIMT found, astronauts with 30-100 spaceflight days and astronauts with greater than 100 spaceflight days had significantly increased CIMT over astronauts who had never flown (p=0.002 and p=<0.0001 respectively) after adjustment for age. Conclusion: Further work is needed to fully understand CIMT and its association to spaceflight. Current occupational surveillance activities are under way to study CIMT values in conjunction with other cardiovascular risk factors among astronauts as compared to the general population.

Suffredini, John↗

The public health exposome and pregnancy-related mortality in the United States: a high-dimensional computational analysis

Racial inequities in maternal mortality in the U.S. continue to be stark. The 2015–2018, 4-year total population, county-level, pregnancy-related mortality ratio (PRM; deaths per 100,000 live births; National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), restricted use mortality file) was linked with the Public Health Exposome (PHE). Using data reduction techniques, 1591 variables were extracted from over 62,000 variables for use in this analysis, providing information on the relationships between PRM and the social, health and health care, natural, and built environments. Graph theoretical algorithms and Bayesian analysis were applied to PHE/PRM linked data to identify latent networks. PHE variables most strongly correlated with total population PRM were years of potential life lost and overall life expectancy. Population-level indicators of PRM were overall poverty, smoking, lack of exercise, heat, and lack of adequate access to food. In this high-dimensional analysis, overall life expectancy, poverty indicators, and health behaviors were found to be the strongest predictors of pregnancy-related mortality. This provides strong evidence that maternal death is part of a broader constellation of both similar and unique health behaviors, social determinants and environmental exposures as other causes of death.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Complex Correlation Calculation of e-H Total Cross Sections

Calculation of e-H total and elastic partial wave cross sections is being carried out using the complex correlation variational T-matrix method. In this preliminary study, elastic partial wave phase shifts are calculated with the correlation functions which are confined to be real. In that case the method reduces to the conventional optical potential approach with projection operators. The number of terms in the Hylleraas-type wave function for the S phase shifts is 95 while for the S it is 56, except for k=0.8 where it is 84. Our results, which are rigorous lower bounds, are given. They are seen to be in general agreement with those of Schwartz, but they are of 0 greater accuracy and outside of his error limits for k=0.3 and 0.4 for S. The main aim of this approach' is the application to higher energy scattering. By virtue of the complex correlation functions, the T matrix is not unitary so that elastic and total scattering cross sections are independent of each other. Our results will be compared specifically with those of Bray and Stelbovics.

Bhatia, A. K.↗