SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “developing countries”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 775 records · Page 43

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2024

Georgia’s Potentials for Sustainable Intensification, Increasing Food Security and Rural Incomes

Increasing global demand for agricultural commodities spurs conversions of natural ecosystems. Sustainable intensification in areas of high yield gaps can contribute to reducing the impact of commodity production, while also supporting development, food security, and livelihoods. Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Georgia experienced one the highest losses of agricultural productivity among all former USSR countries and is now highly dependent on food imports. Closing yield gaps in Georgia through sustainable intensification has the potential to increase food self-sufficiency, support rural livelihoods, and strengthen food security and sovereignty. We estimated it’s potential for sustainable intensification on current agricultural areas to achieve self-sufficiency for wheat, maize, and barley. We found that crop yields can be doubled to tripled under high input production systems, using high-yielding varieties, optimized inputs, fertilizers, and pest control. Yet, self-sufficiency in wheat can only be reached if at least 60-80% of the potentially attainable yields are achieved and if land is optimally allocated between crops. To achieve such increases, farmers need access to and training for using different crop varieties, fertilizers, and pest and disease control practices and products. Intensification increases the risks to ecosystem services health and livelihoods, particularly raising equity concern. Yet, intensifying very low input systems is often found to be more sustainable, with high yield increases compared to limited impacts on the environment. The high employment in the agricultural sector in Georgia particularly provides opportunities to reduce poverty and increase livelihoods through increasing incomes and food security.

Florian Gollnow↗

DOE OSTI2025

Idaho National Laboratory’s Mobile Hot Cell Transportation: Engineering Solutions for Global Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources.

Title: Idaho National Laboratory’s Mobile Hot Cell Transportation: Engineering Solutions for Global Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources. Abstract: The Mobile Hot Cell (MHC), currently under development by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for the Off-Site Source Recovery Project (OSRP), is designed to help international partners meet the unique challenges of end-of-life radioactive material management. The MHC will provide a critical resource for countries that require assistance securing and disposing of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRS) and orphaned sources in challenging environments, allowing these sources to be secured against misuse and nefarious activities. The MHC is a rapidly deployable system for conditioning and preparing end-of-life radioactive sources for transportation or storage. It is designed to handle sources of up to 1,000 Ci Co-60 equivalent while maintaining full radiological and biological containment. It will be deployable within 48 hours of an alert, making it ideal for emergency situations. The MHC features an operational suite for control, support racks for electronics, pneumatics, and welding systems, and a modular robust steel structure providing radiological shielding and internal robotic support. This design allows configurations for multiple device types to be conditioned and the ability to safely manage routine issues such as leaking or damaged sources. The MHC has been designed with the transportation challenges of rapid deployment to difficult environments in mind. The system weighs approximately 150,000 pounds, with individual systems breaking down into pieces not exceeding 20,000 pounds. Components are to be transportable on standard 20ft ISO containers, with shielding shells on 20ft flat racks. It is estimated that a total of eight containers and flat racks will be required. The use of 20ft containers, as opposed to 40ft containers, minimizes the impact on less developed road infrastructures, enabling the MHC to be positioned in constrained environments such as hospital parking lots. The system’s modularity also allows for deployment using smaller equipment, such as a 10-ton boom truck or forklift, which is crucial given the potential logistical challenges in different countries. This transportation strategy, evaluated in collaboration with Utah State University, ensures the MHC can be deployed via ground, rail, sea, or air, addressing the primary concern of international transport logistics.

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Innovating the next generation of commercial smart building software

Nearly 30% of commercial building energy use is wasted due to equipment faults and HVAC controls problems. The result is increased emissions, compromised comfort and productivity, and less reliable coordination of building power needs with a clean grid. The energy impact alone represents $17 billion in potential savings. Today’s smart building software provides a robust solution to address these operational deficiencies. Energy management and information systems (EMIS) are saving up to 9% on average, with two-year paybacks. They are being incorporated into energy management processes, commissioning services, and utility programs. As effective as they are, two barriers prevent even deeper benefits; limited personnel to fix problems once they are identified, and the expense and time to manually implement changes in control systems. In partnership with the research community, the EMIS industry is developing new capabilities to overcome these barriers. Moving beyond siloed products for either fault detection and diagnostics, or optimal control, these new capabilities empower users to not only automatically identify faults, but also to push corrective action, and control improvements to their buildings. In this paper, several areas for enhancements are documented: ‘one-time’ correction of faults such as setpoints, schedules, and economizer lockouts; short-term active testing for automated proportional integral derivative (PID) loop tuning and functional testing; and continuous supervisory control for demand flexibility and year-round efficiency. Results are presented from a pair of partner implementations out of a dozen providers integrating these enhancements into their products, including field tests from across the country, and insights into operator acceptance and integration into operations and maintenance practices.

Casillas, Armando↗

DOE OSTI2024

MIXv2: a long-term mosaic emission inventory for Asia (2010–2017)

The MIXv2 Asian emission inventory is developed under the framework of the Model Inter-Comparison Study for Asia (MICS-Asia) Phase IV and produced from a mosaic of up-to-date regional emission inventories. We estimated the emissions for anthropogenic and biomass burning sources covering 23 countries and regions in East, Southeast and South Asia and aggregated emissions to a uniform spatial and temporal resolution for seven sectors: power, industry, residential, transportation, agriculture, open biomass burning and shipping. Compared to MIXv1, we extended the dataset to 2010–2017, included emissions of open biomass burning and shipping, and provided model-ready emissions of SAPRC99, SAPRC07, and CB05. A series of unit-based point source information was incorporated covering power plants in China and India. A consistent speciation framework for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) was applied to develop emissions by three chemical mechanisms. The total Asian emissions for anthropogenic/open biomass sectors in 2017 are estimated as follows: 41.6/1.1 Tg NO x , 33.2/0.1 Tg SO 2 , 258.2/20.6 Tg CO, 61.8/8.2 Tg NMVOC, 28.3/0.3 Tg NH 3 , 24.0/2.6 Tg PM 10 , 16.7/2.0 Tg PM 2.5 , 2.7/0.1 Tg BC (black carbon), 5.3/0.9 Tg OC (organic carbon), and 18.0/0.4 Pg CO 2 . The contributions of India and Southeast Asia were emerging in Asia during 2010–2017, especially for SO 2 , NH 3 and particulate matter. Gridded emissions at a spatial resolution of 0.1° with monthly variations are now publicly available. This updated long-term emission mosaic inventory is ready to facilitate air quality and climate model simulations, as well as policymaking and associated analyses.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2024

Low-Cost Sensor Performance Intercomparison, Correction Factor Development, and 2+ Years of Ambient PM2.5 Monitoring in Accra, Ghana

Particulate matter air pollution is a leading cause of global mortality, particularly in Asia and Africa. Addressing the high and wide-ranging air pollution levels requires ambient monitoring, but many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain scarcely monitored. To address these data gaps, recent studies have utilized low-cost sensors. These sensors have varied performance, and little literature exists about sensor intercomparison in Africa. By colocating 2 QuantAQ Modulair-PM, 2 PurpleAir PA-II SD, and 16 Clarity Node-S Generation II monitors with a reference-grade Teledyne monitor in Accra, Ghana, we present the first intercomparisons of different brands of low-cost sensors in Africa, demonstrating that each type of low-cost sensor PM2.5 is strongly correlated with reference PM2.5, but biased high for ambient mixture of sources found in Accra. When compared to a reference monitor, the QuantAQ Modulair-PM has the lowest mean absolute error at 3.04 μg/m3, followed by PurpleAir PA-II (4.54 μg/m3) and Clarity Node-S (13.68 μg/m3). We also compare the usage of 4 statistical or machine learning models (Multiple Linear Regression, Random Forest, Gaussian Mixture Regression, and XGBoost) to correct low-cost sensors data, and find that XGBoost performs the best in testing (R2: 0.97, 0.94, 0.96; mean absolute error: 0.56, 0.80, and 0.68 μg/m3 for PurpleAir PA-II, Clarity Node-S, and Modulair-PM, respectively), but tree-based models do not perform well when correcting data outside the range of the colocation training. Therefore, we used Gaussian Mixture Regression to correct data from the network of 17 Clarity Node-S monitors deployed around Accra, Ghana, from 2018 to 2021. We find that the network daily average PM2.5 concentration in Accra is 23.4 μg/m3, which is 1.6 times the World Health Organization Daily PM2.5 guideline of 15 μg/m3. While this level is lower than those seen in some larger African cities (such as Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo), mitigation strategies should be developed soon to prevent further impairment to air quality as Accra, and Ghana as a whole, rapidly grow.

Humidity↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative: Ensuring a Cohesive, Executable Strategy for Technology

Establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon allows NASA to develop and test new approaches, technologies, and systems that will enable us to function in other, more challenging environments. The Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII) was established in 2019 and has evolved into a key agency asset to spur technology development and provide risk reduction for lunar surface system development and flight demonstrations. LSII coordinates activities implemented through a combination of in-house activities, competitive programs, and public-private partnerships to create transformative technologies needed for lunar surface exploration. This paper will outline the LSII model used to develop a technology pipeline that will retire the primary technology hurdles in six capability areas. In-situ resource utilization technologies for collecting, processing, storing, and using material found or manufactured on the Moon. Surface power technologies that provide the capability for sustainable, continuous power throughout the day and night for lunar missions. Dust mitigation strategies that diminish lunar dust hazards on lunar surface systems such as cameras, solar panels, space suits, habitats, and instrumentation. Extreme environments technologies that enable systems to operate throughout the full range of lunar surface conditions, including lunar noon (up to 150 at the equator), night (down to - 180 at the equator), multiple day/night cycles, and in permanently shadowed regions (down to -250). Extreme access technologies that enable humans or robotic systems to access, navigate, and explore previously inaccessible lunar surface or subsurface areas. Excavation and construction technologies that will allow affordable, autonomous manufacturing or construction. We outline key results, including milestones and achievements related to the capability areas and outcomes from partnerships with the commercial sector. A key tenet of the LSII is the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), a collaboration across industry, academia, and government to successfully develop the transformative capabilities for lunar surface exploration. LSIC provides a forum for NASA to communicate technological requirements, needs, and opportunities and for the community to share existing capabilities and identify critical gaps with NASA. By working side by side with commercial enterprises and our international partners, NASA is able to combine the knowledge and expertise needed to explore the lunar surface and make technical advances that will feed technological and economic growth. Since its inception, LSII has engaged over 600 organizations across the United States and 46 countries to shape the technologies and systems needed to explore the lunar surface and stimulate a lunar surface economy.

Lunar↗

DOE OSTI2020

Exploring Renewable Energy Opportunities in Select Southeast Asian Countries: A Geospatial Analysis of the Levelized Cost of Energy of Utility-Scale Wind and Solar Photovoltaics

The costs of renewable energy-based electricity generation have fallen precipitously in recent years to levels that are increasingly competitive with traditional generation such as fossil fuel-based generation. As these costs become increasingly competitive, private developers, policymakers, and energy system planners are searching for opportunities to harness high-quality renewable energy resources. Developing economies are setting ambitious targets and exploring how cost-effective, grid-connected renewable energy options can help power economic growth and meet growing electricity demands. This includes the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that are determined to reach a target of 23% of renewable energy in the region's total primary energy supply by 2025. A critical gap to identifying opportunities and scaling up renewable energy is the lack of quality data and analyses to support decisions on the investment and deployment of renewables - including wind and solar photovoltaics (PV). This work supports decision making by providing high-quality data and spatial analysis of the cost of utility-scale wind and solar PV generation in select countries of Southeast Asia - specifically, the ASEAN member states. Generation costs are expressed as the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) - a commonly used metric that represents the net present value of the unit cost of electricity during the lifetime of a particular electricity generation technology. This is the first spatial estimate of LCOE for these technologies within the ASEAN member states - providing insights into the roles that renewable energy resource quality and other factors may play in generation costs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

A Supply Chain Road Map for Offshore Wind Energy in the United States

"A Supply Chain Road Map for Offshore Wind Energy in the United States" identifies pathways to developing a domestic offshore wind supply chain that can manufacture and deploy the major components needed to set the United States on a pathway to installing 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. The report estimates that this supply chain could require an investment of at least $\$$22.7 billion this decade to meet an annual demand for components, ports, and vessels in 2030. Although this is a considerable investment, it could allow the industry to install around $\$$100 billion worth of offshore wind this decade by reducing risk of delays due to global supply chain bottlenecks and creating a robust network of assets that will continue to be effective well beyond 2030. The United States would need at least 34 manufacturing facilities employing 10,000 workers, 39,000 jobs in the supporting supply chain, 10 marshaling ports, 4-6 dedicated wind turbine installation vessels, 4-6 dedicated heavy-lift vessels, and 4-8 U.S.-flagged specialized feeder barges to come online this decade to support an average annual deployment of 4-6 gigawatts offshore wind capacity per year. This supply chain could be developed in 6-9 years, but would require near-term decision making and efficient permitting and planning to strategically develop these resources by 2030. Additional investment and expansion would be required in the 2030s as the sector expands into new regions (such as the Gulf of Mexico) and new technologies (such as larger wind turbines and floating wind energy projects). Furthermore, the planning process needs to meaningfully engage with communities that will be impacted by supply chain expansion to achieve just outcomes and maximize benefits to these stakeholders, which will result in a more equitable and sustainable supply chain. While U.S. offshore wind has made significant progress in recent years, remaining supply chain challenges include uncertainty surrounding deployment and procurement timelines; a lack of port and vessel infrastructure; and limitations in the available workforce, supporting supplier networks, and energy justice best practices. However, many of these problems can be addressed through improved communication between key stakeholder groups, support from federal and state governments, and forward-thinking designs of supply chain assets to accommodate future technology changes for fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind. Although it is a significant task, developing these domestic capabilities represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute to a decarbonized energy future and also create massive economic benefits that are distributed throughout the country.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1990

Propulsion technology for National Aero-Space Plane

America's entrée in the world of hypersonics is spearheaded by the National Aero-Space Plane program. Although the concept of hypersonic flight at speeds above Mach 6 has been investigated before in many countries, the efforts begun in the 1960's in the United States did not result in a major new capability. Many valid principles were examined, a good data base was developed, but a demonstration was not pursued with the priorities assigned to the space program at that time. During the 1970's, our hypersonic effort dwindled to a few dedicated research efforts which refined propulsion, aerodynamics, and computational fluid dynamics principles. To make real progress in the 1980's, and beyond, a focus and a rekindled effort was needed. The National Aero-Space Plane program provides that focus of activities. Through the demonstration of single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) capabilities in a manned vehicle capable of normal aircraft-like operations, the United States seeks to revitalize our advanced hypersonics research, spearhead the rapid development of technology, and conclusively demonstrate through flight testing that the age of hypersonics has arrived. This paper briefly describes the growth of the National Aero-Space Plane program, its objectives, its National team organization, and the schedule now envisioned for the remainder of the program. The primary emphasis of the paper is National Aero-Space Plane propulsion technology. Key technical challenges are noted and a discussion of progress relative to those challenges associated with propulsion is presented.

Computational fluid dynamics↗

NASA NTRS2001

Sixth International Microgravity Combustion Workshop

This conference proceedings document is a compilation of papers presented orally or as poster displays to the Sixth International Microgravity Combustion Workshop held in Cleveland, Ohio on May 22-24, 2001. The purpose of the workshop is to present and exchange research results from theoretical and experimental work in combustion science using the reduced-gravity environment as a research tool. The results are contributed by researchers funded by NASA throughout the United States at universities, industry and government research agencies, and by researchers from international partner countries that are also participating in the microgravity combustion science research discipline. These research results are intended for use by public and private sector organizations for academic purposes, for the development of technologies needed for Human Exploration and Development of Space, and to improve Earth-bound combustion and fire-safety related technologies.

Sacksteder, Kurt↗

NASA NTRS2003

Post-flight Analysis of the Argon Filled Ion Chamber

Atmospheric ionizing radiation is a complex mixture of primary galactic and solar cosmic rays and a multitude of secondary particles produced in collision with air nuclei. The first series of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation (AIR) measurement flights on the NASA research aircraft ER-2 took place in June 1997. The ER-2 flight package consisted of fifteen instruments from six countries and were chosen to provide varying sensitivity to specific components. These AIR ER-2 flight measurements are to characterize the AIR environment during solar minimum to allow the continued development of environmental models of this complex mixture of ionizing radiation. This will enable scientists to study the ionizing radiation health hazard associated with the high-altitude operation of a commercial supersonic transport and to allow estimates of single event upsets for advanced avionics systems design. The argon filled ion chamber representing about 40 percent of the contributions to radiation risks are analyzed herein and model discrepancies for solar minimum environment are on the order of 5 percent and less. Other biologically significant components remain to be analyzed.

Tai, H.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Advances in Landslide Hazard Forecasting: Evaluation of Global and Regional Modeling Approach

A prototype global satellite-based landslide hazard algorithm has been developed to identify areas that exhibit a high potential for landslide activity by combining a calculation of landslide susceptibility with satellite-derived rainfall estimates. A recent evaluation of this algorithm framework found that while this tool represents an important first step in larger-scale landslide forecasting efforts, it requires several modifications before it can be fully realized as an operational tool. The evaluation finds that the landslide forecasting may be more feasible at a regional scale. This study draws upon a prior work's recommendations to develop a new approach for considering landslide susceptibility and forecasting at the regional scale. This case study uses a database of landslides triggered by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 over four countries in Central America: Guatemala, Honduras, EI Salvador and Nicaragua. A regional susceptibility map is calculated from satellite and surface datasets using a statistical methodology. The susceptibility map is tested with a regional rainfall intensity-duration triggering relationship and results are compared to global algorithm framework for the Hurricane Mitch event. The statistical results suggest that this regional investigation provides one plausible way to approach some of the data and resolution issues identified in the global assessment, providing more realistic landslide forecasts for this case study. Evaluation of landslide hazards for this extreme event helps to identify several potential improvements of the algorithm framework, but also highlights several remaining challenges for the algorithm assessment, transferability and performance accuracy. Evaluation challenges include representation errors from comparing susceptibility maps of different spatial resolutions, biases in event-based landslide inventory data, and limited nonlandslide event data for more comprehensive evaluation. Additional factors that may improve algorithm performance accuracy include incorporating additional triggering factors such as tectonic activity, anthropogenic impacts and soil moisture into the algorithm calculation. Despite these limitations, the methodology presented in this regional evaluation is both straightforward to calculate and easy to interpret, making results transferable between regions and allowing findings to be placed within an inter-comparison framework. The regional algorithm scenario represents an important step in advancing regional and global-scale landslide hazard assessment and forecasting.

Kirschbaum, Dalia B.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Haiti Agriculture II: Evaluating the Success of Reforestation Practices in Haiti

The Caribbean country of Haiti has an extensive history of deforestation and environmental degradation stemming from French colonization. Over the past 33 years, the Haiti Reforestation Partnership (HRP) and their partners, Comprehensive Development Program (CODEP), have planted approximately 15.52 million trees. However, these efforts lacked scientific guidance to ensure successful forest stand survival. The NASA DEVELOP team partnered with the HRP to create a habitat suitability model (HSM) by using PlanetScope and Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) imagery. The team also incorporated Landsat 8 and 9 OLI surface temperature, Centre National de L’Information Geo-Spatiale (CNIGS) Airborne Lidar, and ancillary datasets to analyze areas suitable for future reforestation efforts. The habitat model suggested locations with higher forest stand survival based on topography, soil health, climate, and feasibility to access suggested locations. We confirmed the HSM through a cross-analyzation of high enhanced vegetation index (EVI) values. Areas with lower EVI values and higher suitability based on the HSM were suggested for future planting as they lack well-established forest stands but have optimal conditions for growth. Through the creation of the HSM, the team provided the HRP with static maps of high suitability, a 3D printed elevation model, and a guidebook for animators. Additionally, the team provided a structured video highlighting the HRP’s efforts. Effective reforestation and better forest stand survival would help to achieve the goal of securing community food security. This would also serve as a guide to expand planting efforts into other locations and communities.

Kelli Roberts↗

NASA NTRS2001

Shuttle Safety Improvements

The Space Shuttle has been flying for over 20 years and based on the Orbiter design life of 100 missions it should be capable of flying at least 20 years more if we take care of it. The Space Shuttle Development Office established in 1997 has identified those upgrades needed to keep the Shuttle flying safely and efficiently until a new reusable launch vehicle (RLV) is available to meet the agency commitments and goals for human access to space. The upgrade requirements shown in figure 1 are to meet the program goals, support HEDS and next generation space transportation goals while protecting the country 's investment in the Space Shuttle. A major review of the shuttle hardware and processes was conducted in 1999 which identified key shuttle safety improvement priorities, as well as other system upgrades needed to reliably continue to support the shuttle miss ions well into the second decade of this century. The high priority safety upgrades selected for development and study will be addressed in this paper.

Henderson, Edward↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative: Ensuring a Cohesive, Executable Strategy for Technology Development

lunar, lunar surface, technology development, ISRU↗

DOE OSTI2023

Building Environmental Justice and Equity into the Development of Critical Mineral Industries

The global transition toward low-carbon energy not only means an increase in demand for clean electricity and renewable resources, but also an increase in demand for the critical minerals (CMs) and rare earth elements (REEs) that these technologies rely upon. Indeed, low-carbon energy technologies, such as those used for wind turbines and electric vehicle motors, require significantly more lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, and other CMs than fossil-based energy technologies. The growing demand for new forms of low- carbon energy will necessitate a proportional scale-up of CM and REE extraction and processing. Presently, the majority of extraction and processing activities for CMs and REEs are concentrated in very few countries, primarily in China and the Global South. CM and REE supply chain activities conducted in or controlled by these countries are commonly associated with widespread and well- documented human rights abuses and environmental degradation. As a result of concerns related to supply chain security, worker welfare, and the overall need for additional sources of CMs and REEs, governments worldwide have begun to explore policy pathways for the development of new supply chains. The development of new supply chains for CMs and REEs re s a multifold opportunity to accelerate the global deployment of low-carbon energy fleets, reduce global carbon emissions, build political resilience—and also to enhance policy objectives of environmental justice and equity in the clean energy transition. Fulfilling these policy objectives requires energy producers to navigate a maze of global supply chain policies designed to shape and accelerate the growth of new markets. In the United States, for instance, President Biden recently implemented fiscal and trade policies that incentivize both domestic and global reliance on U.S.-produced CMs and REEs, leveraging key relationships in Asia and Europe to ensure the accelerated buildout of the U.S. supply chain. The Biden Administration’s framework also emphasizes that new supply chains for CMs, REEs, and other low-carbon energy pathways must generate benefits for marginalized and disadvantaged communities, build energy equity, and contribute to the Biden Administration’s vision of environmental justice. present CM and REE supply chains include several stages, including mining, processing, transport, utilization, and disposal, each of which involves different environmental justice considerations and potential injustices. This study explores how technical innovation, paired with responsible community engagement and empowerment, can help inform the development of energy equity and environmental justice at all stages of new supply chains. The study highlights these opportunities on a broad scale. We also lend a specific focus to research at the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources that aims to guide the development of CM and REE industries in communities with high economic dependence on coal and other fossil fuel industries, identifying pathways to grow a U.S. domestic supply chain by producing CMs from coal, coal by-products, and coal waste streams. These production pathways represent a potential new supply for CMs across the U.S. and elsewhere, thereby enhancing national security and accelerating the widespread deployment of low-carbon energy technologies, while also generating alternative applications for remaining coal reserves and aiding in a just transition for rural energy-producing communities.

Gerace, Selena↗

DOE OSTI2020

Foreward: Advancing the U.S. Offshore Renewable Energy Industry through Marine Renewable and Offshore Wind Energy Development

Foreward to special issue of MTSJ Journal: Energy security … it’s what everyone is talking about, and for good reason. Against the backdrop of a changing climate in which nearly two-thirds of electricity generation is credited to fossil fuels (IEA, 2019a), countries around the world are diversifying their energy portfolios, suppliers, and energy routes to reduce vulnerabilities to energy security risks (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2020). Energy security concerns are related to fuel supply chains, electricity generation, transmission, distribution, energy market functionality, and energy system resiliency (DOE, 2017). These concerns demonstrate the need for well-functioning and competitive energy markets and diverse sources and routes of energy supply (DOE, 2017). In addition, environmental protection, efficiency and infrastructure improvements, energy innovation, emergency response, and resilience are also needed (DOE, 2017). Renewable energy generation is, and will continue to be, a major contributor in energy portfolio diversification, which will reduce reliance on foreign energy sources (IEA, 2019b; Aslantürk & Kiprizli, 2020) and support global decarbonization (Sims, 2004; Rockström et al., 2017; Arabzadeh et al., 2020).

marine renewable energy (MRE), offshore wind energ↗

NASA NTRS1993

Delimitation of terrestrial impact craters by way of pseudotachylytic rock distribution

The determination of the shape and size of terrestrial impact craters is problematic, yet is critical to understanding cratering mechanics and for scaling bolide mass, volume, and impact velocity with crater size and target response. The problem is particularly difficult in older geological terrains (e.g. Precambrian) which are more likely to have suffered post-impact deformation and hence distortion of the original structure and/or where weathering may have partly removed or obscured its original shape. Traditionally, a number of features are used to assist us in determining the shape and size of an impact structure. These include the following: (1) the occurrence of faults, especially those disposed concentrically relative to the crater--the outermost ring faults being interpreted as indicating a viable minimum diameter; and (2) the development of so-called breccias, some of which are also associated with faults (e.g. the Sudbury Breccia developed within the target rocks of the Sudbury Structure of Onta rio, Canada). 'Breccia' is not a satisfactory term because a number of breccia-types exist at impact sites (e.g. fall-back breccias and in-situ brecciated target material). Of relevance to crater diameter determination is the recognition of discrete zones and fault- and shock-related pseudotachylyte. Pseudotachylyte is a rock type comprising a fine-grained, usually dark matrix containing clasts of minerals and/or rock derived from the country rock target material. It origin is normally attributed to high-speed slip (including vibration) along a slip surface (i.e. fault) or to the passage of a shock wave through the host material. The clasts can occur as angular fragments (i.e. like a breccia), but are more commonly developed as rounded to sub-rounded fragments. Significantly, the scale of these pseudotachylytes can range from sub-millimeter thick veinlets to dyke-like bodies up to 1 km or more thick. It is the latter, larger occurrence which has been referred to as 'breccia.' The smaller-sized occurrence is generally not recognized in the field, nor is it traditionally associated with its larger counterpart.

Spray, John G.↗