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Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission Products and Services at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)

On February 27, 2014, the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission was launched to provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow (http:pmm.nasa.govGPM). The GPM mission consists of an international network of satellites in which a GPM Core Observatory satellite carries both active and passive microwave instruments to measure precipitation and serve as a reference standard, to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of other research and operational satellites. The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) hosts and distributes GPM data within the NASA Earth Observation System Data Information System (EOSDIS). The GES DISC is home to the data archive for the GPM predecessor, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Over the past 16 years, the GES DISC has served the scientific as well as other communities with TRMM data and user-friendly services. During the GPM era, the GES DISC will continue to provide user-friendly data services and customer support to users around the world. GPM products currently and to-be available include the following:Level-1 GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and partner radiometer productsLevel-2 Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) GMI and partner productsLevel-3 daily and monthly productsIntegrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) products (early, late, and final) A dedicated Web portal (including user guides, etc.) has been developed for GPM data (http:disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.govgpm). Data services that are currently and to-be available include Google-like Mirador (http:mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov) for data search and access; data access through various Web services (e.g., OPeNDAP, GDS, WMS, WCS); conversion into various formats (e.g., netCDF, HDF, KML (for Google Earth), ASCII); exploration, visualization, and statistical online analysis through Giovanni (http:giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov); generation of value-added products; parameter and spatial subsetting; time aggregation; regridding; data version control and provenance; documentation; science support for proper data usage, FAQ, help desk; monitoring services (e.g. Current Conditions) for applications.

precipitation↗

Assessments of Physiology and Cognition in Hybrid-Reality Environments (APACHE)

NASA is planning to return to the Moon in the mid-2020s as a stepping stone to Mars missions in the 2030s. Spacewalks, or extravehicular activities (EVAs), performed on the Moon and Mars will differ in a variety of ways from those that have been performed in decades past. NASA has identified multiple risks to human health and performance associated with a crewed mission to Mars, especially those associated with exploration EVAs which are expected to be a primary mission activity. Crew may be expected to conduct up to 24 hours of EVA per person per week, where the likelihood of injury and/or mental mistakes are increased compared to ground-based training or current microgravity EVAs and the consequences of which can be catastrophic. Current test environments for exploration EVA research and technology development are large, costly facilities that are limited in their availability or capabilities. Spacesuit testing in a reduced gravity environment such as NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, while a good representation of the crew’s physical workload during exploration EVAs, typically has small datasets and is difficult to integrate physiological sensors or other types of crew performance measures. Meanwhile, scientific field-based testing such as NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies offers an operationally relevant environment for exploration EVAs, particularly for cognitive workload, but is also limited by small datasets, lack of a pressurized spacesuit, and obtrusive measures. The limitations of current analogs for exploration EVAs identify a need for a new test environment that can approximate both the physical and cognitive demands associated with exploration EVAs to enable rapid, controlled, and repeatable evaluations of human health and performance risks of exploration missions. In response, the Human Physiology, Performance, Protection, and Operations Laboratory (H-3PO) at NASA Johnson Space Center has developed a hybrid reality exploration EVA analog named the Assessments of Physiology And Cognition in Hybrid-reality Environments (APACHE) to address these limitations using a combination of virtual, physical, and hybrid reality techniques. The APACHE facility resides at NASA Johnson Space Center and serves as a large “sandbox” for EVA research and simulation. At its center is a roughly 15x20ft space surrounded by a 14” tall sandbox partially filled with lunar regolith simulant to emulate the physical feeling of walking on a planetary surface and to allow for simulated geology operations. Nearby, a curved passive treadmill (Skillmill Connect, Technogym, Fairfield, NJ) and an omnidirectional treadmill (Infinadeck, Infinadeck, Rocklin, CA) are included to enable exploration of these large virtual environments while also imposing the physical demands, representative timelines, and cognitive burdens required to navigate and traverse these distances during exploration EVA. A 6DOF motion platform is used to simulate rover operations and supports various human performance evaluations and associated risks. Lastly, APACHE can support two extravehicular (EV) crewmembers working in tandem. A computer workstation is located nearby and also supports an intravehicular (IV) crewmember as part of a full mission simulation. The IV crewmember has direct video and audio communication with the EV crew in VR to provide operational and procedural support. The software used in APACHE was created by the JSC Engineering Directorate, in partnership with Buendea, powered by a custom Unreal Engine 5 (UE5.3, Epic Games) project. APACHE currently utilizes the HTC Vive Pro Eye in a wireless configuration for VR simulations. There are two virtual environments that subjects can explore within APACHE, a Lunar and Martian surface. The virtual Lunar surface was created from LIDAR data of the Lunar South Pole to create roughly 16 sq km of explorable terrain. The virtual Martian surface contains roughly 400 sq km of explorable terrain derived from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter LIDAR data of the Jezero Crater. The immersion and related cognitive burdens of conducting a planetary EVA is simulated through a series of EVA-relevant tasks performed in the VR environment, using these high-fidelity visual representations. Additionally, APACHE includes biosensor driven informatics, such as real-time heart rate monitoring and/or derived values from model simulations, for active monitoring by the EV crew and added cognitive demand. A “Wizard of Oz” control panel enables test operators to activate contingency events such as simulated spacesuit malfunctions, loss of communications, and/or limited visibility. Embedded performance measures such as accuracy, completeness, and execution time have been developed for various exploration tasks to objectively quantify crew performance during an EVA and compare impacts to performance when different environmental stressors, both physical and cognitive, are added to or removed from the simulation. Additionally, validated cognitive and operational performance measures such as the Digit Symbol Substitution Task have been recreated and embedded in VR for direct and relatively unobtrusive measurement of motor perception. The APACHE environment currently supports multiple research studies at NASA. Examples include the CHAPEA project, a series of simulated year-long missions on Mars by a 4-person crew; and the CO2 Contingency Walk Back Study, an investigation of elevated CO2 exposure on crew performance during a contingency EVA scenario. APACHE also provides a test environment to support the development of the Crew State and Risk Model, which is a collection of individualized, mathematical models of crew physical and cognitive state; and the Personalized EVA Informatics and Decision Support system, an operational tool for flight controllers, and eventually a self-reliant Martian crew, to make biomedically-informed decisions in real-time to optimize the EVA planning and execution with respect to crew health and performance. Some technical challenges associated with developing the APACHE environment, as well as current limitations, include VR limitless natural walking with a hybrid spacesuit simulator, optimizing performance for wireless PC VR streaming while maintaining a high degree of visual fidelity, and the integration of various physiological (metabolic masks) and psychometric (eye tracking) sensors with the VR headset.

Human Performance↗

Design and Performance Evaluation of a UWB Communication and Tracking System for Mini-AERCam

NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is developing a low-volume, low-mass, robotic free-flying camera known as Mini-AERCam (Autonomous Extra-vehicular Robotic Camera) to assist the International Space Station (ISS) operations. Mini-AERCam is designed to provide astronauts and ground control real-time video for camera views of ISS. The system will assist ISS crewmembers and ground personnel to monitor ongoing operations and perform visual inspections of exterior ISS components without requiring extravehicular activity (EAV). Mini-AERCam consists of a great number of subsystems. Many institutions and companies have been involved in the R&D for this project. A Mini-AERCam ground control system has been studied at Texas A&M University [3]. The path planning and control algorithms that direct the motions of Mini-AERCam have been developed through the joint effort of Carnegie Mellon University and the Texas Robotics and Automation Center [5]. NASA JSC has designed a layered control architecture that integrates all functions of Mini-AERCam [8]. The research described in this report is part of a larger effort focused on the communication and tracking subsystem that is designed to perform three major tasks: 1. To transmit commands from ISS to Mini-AERCam for control of robotic camera motions (downlink); 2. To transmit real-time video from Mini-AERCam to ISS for inspections (uplink); 3. To track the position of Mini-AERCam for precise motion control. The ISS propagation environment is unique due to the nature of the ISS structure and multiple RF interference sources [9]. The ISS is composed of various truss segments, solar panels, thermal radiator panels, and modules for laboratories and crew accommodations. A tracking system supplemental to GPS is desirable both to improve accuracy and to eliminate the structural blockage due to the close proximity of the ISS which could at times limit the number of GPS satellites accessible to the Mini-AERCam. Ideally, the tracking system will be a passive component of the communication system which will need to operate in a time-varying multipath environment created as the robot camera moves over the ISS structure. In addition, due to many interference sources located on the ISS, SSO, LEO satellites and ground-based transmitters, selecting a frequency for the ISS and Mini-AERCam link which will coexist with all interferers poses a major design challenge. To meet all of these challenges, ultrawideband (UWB) radio technology is being studied for use in the Mini-AERCam communication and tracking subsystem. The research described in this report is focused on design and evaluation of passive tracking system algorithms based on UWB radio transmissions from mini-AERCam.

Barton, Richard J.↗

In Situ High-Temperature TEM Observation of Inconel Corrosion by Molten Chloride Salts with N 2 , O 2 , or H 2 O

Here, in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) diffraction and imaging techniques are used to monitor and quantify corrosion of Inconel-625 by pure molten chloride salts (MgCl 2 – NaCl – KCl) at 500 °C–800 °C in 1.0 atm inert N 2 or pure O2, or by salts which are controllably hydrated in a high vacuum chamber. The isothermal corrosion rate R in inert N 2 increases from 203 ± 30 μ m year –1 at 700 °C to 463 ± 30 μ m year –1 at 800 °C. An oxygen ambient causes a six-fold increase to R = 1261 ± 170 μ m year –1 at 700 °C. Salt hydration dramatically accelerates corrosion to R > 3 × 10 5 μ m year –1 at 700 °C while it leads to a more moderate R = 95 ± 20 and 486 ± 30 μ m year –1 at 500 °C and 600 °C, respectively. These isothermal corrosion rates indicate that the molten chloride corrosion is significantly accelerated by salt hydration at temperatures above 600 °C, where corrosion is aggravated by increased generation and solubility of corrosive HCl gases. Hence, to reduce rate of corrosion it is important to both avoid incorporation of H 2 O into the system at each stage and ensure proper flushing of the system before increasing the temperature beyond 600 °C. Compositional analysis of the corroded cells indicate that corrosion in O 2 ambient is dominated by oxidation of metals by O 2 gas dissolved in the chloride melt, but corrosion in H 2 O ambients is caused by chlorination of metals by dissolved HCl gas and MgOH + ions. So, to reduce rate of corrosion, steps should be taken to tailor chloride melt compositions that has low solubility for HCl and O 2 . All of our corroded samples exhibit passive-protective oxide layers of Cr, Mg, and Ni. In addition, distinct volatile compounds of Ni, Mo and Cr involving NiCl 2 , (Na,K) 2 MoO 4 and CrO 2 (OH) 2 are detected in N 2 , H 2 O, and O 2 ambients, respectively. We believe that corrosion acceleration can be minimized by minimizing formation of volatile by-products or promoting reactions that could convert these volatile compounds to solid phases, as these volatile compounds led to destruction of protective oxide layers.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Assessment of climate variability of the Greenland ice sheet: Integration of in situ and satellite data

The proposed research involves the application of multispectral satellite data in combination with ground truth measurements to monitor surface properties of the Greenland ice sheet which are essential for describing the energy and mass of the ice sheet. Several key components of the energy balance are parameterized using satellite data and in situ measurements. The analysis will be done for a ten year time period in order to get statistics on the seasonal and interannual variations of the surface processes and the climatology. Our goal is to investigate to what accuracy and over what geographic areas large scale snow properties and radiative fluxes can be derived based upon a combination of available remote sensing and meterological data sets. Data analysis showed the following results: (1)cloud classification based on longwave sky radiation revealed that overcast sky occurred for 25% of the time in winter, and for 15% in spring and summer respectively (winter and summer both show the same occurrence of clear sky of approximately 26%); (2) comparison of aerodynamic profile method with eddy correlation method to derive sensible and latent heat flux showed good agreement in the diurnal cycle and the turbulent fluxes were underestimated with the aerodynamic method by 10 - 30% as compared to the in situ eddy flux method; (3) the katabatic wind shows a distinct diurnal cycle with a maximum in the morning (7-9 h solar time) and a minimum in the later afternoon (18 h solar time); (4) snow grain size was modeled with a surface energy balance model (SNTHERM) and compared with in situ measurements. Sharp decreases in the modeled snow grain size, caused by accumulation events such as precipitation and deposition, could be verified with observational data; (4) radiative transfer modeling of firn supports our beliefs that the observed trends in 18 and 19 GHz passive microwave brightness temperatures are attributable to accumulation rate changes (modeling also indicates the above relationship is detectable because of the presence of depth hoar; (5) snow melt can be detected by a distinct signal in the passive microwave cross-polarized gradient ratio (19h-37v)/(19h+37v) and has been used for wet/dry snow classification; (6) top of the atmosphere (TOA) broadband albedos were derived from AVHRR visible and near infrared reflectances for the entire ice sheet from May 1990 - June 1991, and the highest albedo values are found along the southeast coast of the ice sheet which is consistent with the summer peak of precipitation due to onshore flow loaded with high water vapor content (TOA albedo values dropped to around 40% along the south-western coast during July and August due to bare ice surfaces); and (7) the net all-wave radiation balance at the top of the atmosphere is negative over the entire ice sheet except for the summer months - June-July-August (in June, the net radiation balance is slightly positive over the dry snow areas--15 W/m2).

Steffen, K.↗

High Temperature Wireless Communication And Electronics For Harsh Environment Applications

In order for future aerospace propulsion systems to meet the increasing requirements for decreased maintenance, improved capability, and increased safety, the inclusion of intelligence into the propulsion system design and operation becomes necessary. These propulsion systems will have to incorporate technology that will monitor propulsion component conditions, analyze the incoming data, and modify operating parameters to optimize propulsion system operations. This implies the development of sensors, actuators, and electronics, with associated packaging, that will be able to operate under the harsh environments present in an engine. However, given the harsh environments inherent in propulsion systems, the development of engine-compatible electronics and sensors is not straightforward. The ability of a sensor system to operate in a given environment often depends as much on the technologies supporting the sensor element as the element itself. If the supporting technology cannot handle the application, then no matter how good the sensor is itself, the sensor system will fail. An example is high temperature environments where supporting technologies are often not capable of operation in engine conditions. Further, for every sensor going into an engine environment, i.e., for every new piece of hardware that improves the in-situ intelligence of the components, communication wires almost always must follow. The communication wires may be within or between parts, or from the engine to the controller. As more hardware is added, more wires, weight, complexity, and potential for unreliability is also introduced. Thus, wireless communication combined with in-situ processing of data would significantly improve the ability to include sensors into high temperature systems and thus lead toward more intelligent engine systems. NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is presently leading the development of electronics, communication systems, and sensors capable of prolonged stable operation in harsh 500C environments. This has included world record operation of SiC-based transistor technology (including packaging) that has demonstrated continuous electrical operation at 500C for over 2000 hours. Based on SiC electronics, development of high temperature wireless communication has been on-going. This work has concentrated on maturing the SiC electronic devices for communication purposes as well as the passive components such as resistors and capacitors needed to enable a high temperature wireless system. The objective is to eliminate wires associated with high temperature sensors which add weight to a vehicle and can be a cause of sensor unreliability. This paper discusses the development of SiC based electronics and wireless communications technology for harsh environment applications such as propulsion health management systems and in Venus missions. A brief overview of the future directions in sensor technology is given including maturing of near-room temperature "Lick and Stick" leak sensor technology for possible implementation in the Crew Launch Vehicle program. Then an overview of high temperature electronics and the development of high temperature communication systems is presented. The maturity of related technologies such as sensor and packaging will also be discussed. It is concluded that a significant component of efforts to improve the intelligence of harsh environment operating systems is the development and implementation of high temperature wireless technology

Hunter, G. W.↗

Designing for Advanced Aerial Mobility: Human-Autonomy Teaming and In-Time System-Wide Safety Assurance

The continued growth of aviation shall require new innovative technologies and operational concepts to meet the ever-increasing demands on air transportation. The NASA Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) project focuses on emerging aviation markets, such as Urban Air Mobility (UAM). UAM is defined as “...a safe and efficient system for air passenger and cargo transportation within an urban area. It is inclusive of small package delivery and other urban unmanned aerial system services and supports a mix of onboard/ground-piloted and increasingly autonomous operations” ([1]). The AAM project emphasizes technology development and validating system-level concepts and solutions in coordination with other NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) projects to enable UAM metro- and micro-plex vertiport and airspace concepts of operations. The NASA AAM research portfolio includes the concepts of Remote Supervisor-in-Command (RSC) and Fleet and Airspace Manager (FAM) as possible human roles for consumer fleet providers. NASA research in RSC is focused on development of guidelines and standards for remote pilots/operators passively and actively controlling a large fleet of autonomous aircraft. For FAM, flight and ground system concepts and technologies to enable high density homogeneous operations at increased scale from vertiport(s), and coordination with other humans in the systems (e.g., UAM urban airspace manager, Air Traffic Control) are key research areas. The envisioned UAM operations are posited to require autonomous systems to enable functions ranging from fleet and resource management to vehicle control. Although automation has become increasingly sophisticated and ubiquitous in civil aviation, autonomy represents a significant evolution in automation, which has generally been limited in functional scope and capability. As autonomy takes on increasing responsibilities, humans and machines will be required to work together in new and different ways [2], rather than traditional design approaches focused on how machines (i.e., autonomy) can do the work of people. The emerging field of human-autonomy teaming (HAT) represents a comprehensive and prioritized research-driven approach to enable the success of future emerging aviation market applications through capabilities and principles that facilitate humans and machine working and thinking better together. The NASA Transformational Tools and Technologies (TTT) Autonomous System (AS) Sub-project was created to assist with the transition into higher levels of autonomy to enable new modes of air transportation, such as UAM. TTT-AS has identified HAT as a key research need to enable UAM while maintaining today’s ultra-safe aviation system safety levels. The latter challenge has been taken up by the NASA System-Wide Safety (SWS) Project, which recognizes that aviation safety, as it evolves, shall require new ways of thinking about safety to include integration of a wide-range of existing and new safety systems and practices, enhanced tools and technologies, increased access to data and data fusion, improved data analysis capabilities, enhanced in-time risk monitoring and detection, hazard prioritization and mitigation, safety assurance decision-support, and in-time integrated system analytics [3].The operational concept of UAM represents a variety of work that has been termed, “work-as-imagined” to characterize the idea that how people think that work is done and how work is actually done are often not the same [4]. To ensure design success and system safety, looking at “work-as-done” provides a comparative approach toward UAM concept and technology design through examination of corresponding analogs found today in aviation (e.g., on-demand operations) and other transportation domains (e.g., port operations). The paper shall discuss various alternative applications with specific focus on airline operation center (AOC) operations, and unmanned aerial system (UAS) command-and-control to inform scaled-versions of FAM and RSC, respectively, and with consideration of the national airspace system contextual environment. The tenets and principles of the HAT field and current NASA research efforts under the TTT-AS sub-project shall also be described. Finally, the SWS sub-project efforts to develop In-Time System-Wide Safety Assurance (ISSA) and In-Time Safety Management Systems (IASMS) are discussed in terms of how “in-time” safety assurance may be conceptualized for the on-demand mobility air taxi “work-as-imagined” operational concept [5]. As part of this effort, concepts from the emerging field of resilience engineering, are being studied. Traditional approaches to aviation safety have focused on what can go wrong and how to prevent it. Another approach to thinking about system safety should reflect not only “avoiding things that go wrong” (protective safety) but also “ensuring that things go right” (productive safety), that enables a system to exhibit the resilient performance [6] necessary for the success of the future aviation system emerging concepts of operations. The paper shall describe efforts focused on how productive safety and resilience may enable a more complete approach to system safety thinking and design of ISSA and IASMS for UAM. Future directions and research needs shall also be discussed.

resilience↗

DAISY Benchmark Performance Data

This repository contains the underlying data from benchmark experiments for Drifting Acoustic Instrumentation SYstems (DAISYs) in waves and currents described in "Performance of a Drifting Acoustic Instrumentation SYstem (DAISY) for Characterizing Radiated Noise from Marine Energy Converters" (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40722-024-00358-6). DAISYs consist of a surface expression connected to a hydrophone recording package by a tether. Both elements are instrumented to provide metadata (e.g., position, orientation, and depth). Information about how to build DAISYs is available at https://www.pmec.us/research-projects/daisy. The repository's primary content is three compressed archives (.zip format), each containing multiple MATLAB binary data files (.mat format). A table relating individual data files to figures in the paper, as well as the structure of each file, is included in the repository as a Word document (Data Description MHK-DR.docx). Most of the files contain time series information for a single DAISY deployment (file naming convention: [site]_DAISY_[Drift #].mat) consisting of processed hydrophone data and associated metadata. For a limited number of DAISY deployments, the hydrophone package was replaced with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (file naming convention: [site]_DAISY_[Drift #]_ADV.mat). Data were collected over several years at three locations: (1) Sequim Bay at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Marine & Coastal Research Laboratory (MCRL) in Sequim, WA, the energetic tidal channel in Admiralty Inlet, WA (Admiralty Inlet), and the U.S. Navy's Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) in Kaneohe, HI. Brief descriptions of data files at each location follow. - MCRL - (1) Drift #4 and #16 contrast the performance of a DAISY and a reference hydrophone (icListen HF Reson), respectively, in the quiescent interior of Sequim Bay (September 2020). (2) Drift #152 and #153 are velocity measurements for a drifting acoustic Doppler velocimeter in in the tidally-energetic entrance channel inside a flow shield and exposed to the flow, respectively (January 2018). (3) Two non-standard files are also included: DAISY_data.mat corresponds to a subset of a DAISY drift over an Adaptable Monitoring Package (AMP) and AMP_data.mat corresponds to approximately co-temporal data for a stationary hydrophone on the AMP (February 2019). - Admiralty Inlet - (1) Drift #1-12 correspond to tests with flow shielded DAISYs, unshielded DAISYs, a reference hydrophone, and drifting acoustic Doppler velocimeter with 5, 10, and 15 m tether lengths between surface expression and hydrophone recording package (July 2022). (2) Drift #13-20 correspond to tests of flow shielded DAISYs with three different tether materials (rubber cord, nylon line, and faired nylon line) in lengths of 5, 10, and 15 m (July 2022). - WETS - (1) Drift #30-32 correspond to tests with a heave plate incorporated into the tether (standard configuration for wave sites), rubber cord only, and rubber cord, but with a flow shielded hydrophone (November 2022). (2) Drift #49-58 and Drift #65-68 correspond to measurements around mooring infrastructure at the 60 m berth where time-delay-of-arrival localization was demonstrated for different DAISY arrangements and hydrophone depths (November 2022).

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

ICESat Observations of Inland Surface Water Stage, Slope, and Extent: a New Method for Hydrologic Monitoring

River discharge and changes in lake, reservoir and wetland water storage are critical terms in the global surface water balance, yet they are poorly observed globally and the prospects for adequate observations from in-situ networks are poor (Alsdorf et al., 2003). The NASA-sponsored Surface Water Working Group has established a framework for advancing satellite observations of river discharge and water storage changes which focuses on obtaining measurements of water surface height (stage), slope, and extent. Satellite laser altimetry, which can achieve centimeter-level elevation precision for single, small laser footprints, provides a method to obtain these inland water parameters and contribute to global water balance monitoring. Since its launch in January, 2003 the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), a NASA Earth Observing System mission, has achieved over 540 million laser pulse observations of ice sheet, ocean surface, land topography, and inland water elevations and cloud and aerosol height distributions. By recording the laser backscatter from 80 m diameter footprints spaced 175 m along track, ICESat acquires globally-distributed elevation profiles, using a 1064 nm laser altimeter channel, and cloud and aerosol profiles, using a 532 nm atmospheric lidar channel. The ICESat mission has demonstrated the following laser altimeter capabilities relevant to observations of inland water: (1) elevation measurements with a precision of 2 to 3 cm for flat surfaces, suitable for detecting river surface slopes along long river reaches or between multiple crossings of a meandering river channel, (2) from the laser backscatter waveform, detection of water surface elevations beneath vegetation canopies, suitable for measuring water stage in flooded forests, (3) single pulse absolute elevation accuracy of about 50 cm (1 sigma) for 1 degree sloped surfaces, with calibration work in progress indicating that a final accuracy of about 12 cm (1 sigma) will be achieved for clear atmosphere conditions, suitable for detection of stage changes through time, (4) ability to precisely point the spacecraft so as to position the laser profile on the Earth the surface with a cross-track accuracy of 50 m (1 sigma), enabling small water bodies and specific locations to be targeted and re-observed through time, (5) adequate signal levels from specular water surfaces up to 5 degrees off-nadir, enabling complete global access to any location on the Earth's surface from the ICESat repeat orbit by off-nadir pointing, and (6) day and night operation with successful laser ranging to the Earth's surface through thin to moderate cloud cover, enabling more frequent measurements than can be achieved by passive optical sensors. Here we illustrate these capabilities by showing ICESat observations through time for selected river and lake locations.

Harding, David J.↗

Large-scale space use of large juvenile and adult smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata: implications for management

The smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata is an endangered species endemic to the Atlantic Ocean. The only known viable populations occur in the USA along both coasts of Florida and in the western Bahamas. Little is known about habitat use and movement ecology of large juvenile and adult smalltooth sawfish. Although Critical Habitat — a management designation in the USA — has been identified for small juveniles, it has yet to be identified for these life stages. Between May 2016 and April 2019, we used passive acoustic telemetry and 3 large data sharing networks of receivers to track movements of 43 large juvenile and adult smalltooth sawfish. During this study, 24 females and 19 males were implanted with transmitters with estimated 4 or 10 yr battery lives. These tagged individuals were detected off the southeastern USA on 461 receivers ranging from off the coast of Brunswick, Georgia, to the lower Florida Keys, and along the Gulf coast to Apalachee Bay, Florida. Seasonal migrations were undertaken by 58% (43% mature; 57% immature) of the tagged individuals, with the remainder being apparent residents of their tagging locations. Tagged sawfish from both size classes and of both sexes migrated, which indicates that neither sex nor length is a predictor of whether a sawfish will migrate or not. Although both coasts of Florida were used for migration, most individuals consistently used the same coast when they migrated. The areas surrounding Boca Grande, Cape Canaveral, and the lower Florida Keys were heavily visited sites that could be further evaluated as potential Critical Habitat for these life stages. Understanding the movement patterns of this Critically Endangered species is essential for creating policies to protect areas important for promoting growth of the population.

Pristis pectinata Habitat use · Acoustic monitorin↗

Informing Improvements in Freeze/Thaw State Classification Using Subpixel Temperature

Freeze/thaw (FT) processes at the earth’s surface can have a considerable effect on global carbon, energy, and hydrologic cycles. Therefore, an accurate representation of FT is valuable to adequately monitor and model these processes. In this study, we assess the relationship between satellite-based FT products and modeled surface and soil temperatures over North America. In addition, hourly land surface temperature (LST) from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system is also compared to FT classifications. Utilizing the higher spatial resolution temperatures (5 km), we assess subgrid-scale variability and its relationship to coarser microwave FT classifications (>25 km). We also examine product agreement and subpixel characteristics across the land cover, climate, and topography. FT classifications are shown to vary widely depending on these variables, leading to an ambiguous definition of frozen and thawed states. Our results suggest that current products can characterize FT transitions with consistent subfreezing surface characteristics in far northern regions (>50 °N). However, uncertainty associated with FT classifications is shown to increase considerably as latitude decreases. Our results also suggest that fractional FT products, utilizing data inputs, such as LST, would provide a considerable improvement in mountainous regions with high intergrid cell heterogeneity, in regions characterized by ephemeral FT events (i.e., regions <40 °N), as well as during freeze and thaw onset periods. This study also provides insight to improving the representation of surface FT state by providing a clearer definition of the subpixel scale temperature characteristics that govern existing frozen classifications.

Earth observing systems↗

Conceptual Designs for Irradiation Creep Testing of SiC in HFIR

Understanding irradiation creep of nuclear fuel cladding is important to properly size the initial fuel-cladding gap and understand when pellet-cladding contact is expected to occur due to a combination of fuel swelling and cladding creep-down. Irradiation creep also plays a role in relaxing stresses that develop in-pile. Silicon carbide fiber–reinforced silicon carbide matrix (SiC/SiC) composites are the leading long-term accident-tolerant fuel cladding concept for light-water reactors (LWRs). Although some limited data are available regarding irradiation creep of the individual constituents (fibers, matrix), data regarding irradiation creep of SiC/SiC composites are currently insufficient. Additional data regarding irradiation creep compliance and the rupture lifetime (combination of creep and slow crack growth) are needed to understand material limitations. This work describes the design and development of two irradiation vehicles that are being pursued for testing SiC/SiC concepts in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). The first is a passive experiment, referred to as the PRECISE experiment, that leverages the constant coolant pressure of HFIR to compress a metallic bellows and provide a well-characterized load to drive creep in a SiC/SiC dog bone specimen. The total creep strain would be quantified post-irradiation by measuring dimensional changes of the specimen length as well as local dimensional changes within the gauge region. Non-stressed specimens would also be irradiated under the same conditions to provide an indication of dimensional changes due to radiation-induced swelling in the absence of creep. A second, more complex experiment, referred to as the INSITE experiment, is being designed in parallel that would use pneumatics to pressurize a metal bellows and linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs) to measure the specimen displacement in situ during irradiation. Such an experiment would provide significantly more data regarding the evolution of the creep compliance as a function of dose and applied stress within a single experiment but would require significantly more development time and cost to execute. The primary concern with the INSITE experiment is the accuracy, reliability, and expected lifetime of the LVDTs during irradiation at elevated temperatures. Efforts are being made to adjust the experiment design and operating procedure to limit LVDT temperatures and mitigate or otherwise compensate for uncertainties due to factors such as temperature fluctuations, creep in the surrounding structural materials, and drift of the LVDTs. This work describes the experiment designs, thermal and structural analysis that were performed to ensure that the desired temperature and stress conditions can be achieved, some initial sensitivity analyses to predict the evolution of the radiation-induced specimen displacements, and potential sources of uncertainty in the measurements. Out-of-pile testing is being performed in parallel to confirm that the test trains achieve the expected stress states in the specimens and do not result in prohibitive stress concentrators (e.g., in the grip regions) that might risk pre-mature failure. The PRECISE experiments are proceeding toward fabrication and assembly with HFIR insertion planned during fiscal year 2026. The INSITE experiment is progressing toward out-of-pile demonstrations, which will provide more conclusive evidence regarding the feasibility of executing these tests in HFIR or whether alternative displacement monitoring techniques may need to be considered.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Vegetation Warming Experiment: Landscape-scale digital camera imagery for vegetation phenology, Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska, 2020

Images captured using a StarDot NetCam SC phenocamera looking east from the top of the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) Sled Shed, Utqiagvik, Alaska. The camera was installed to remotely monitor plant phenology and operation of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) TEST group's ZPW (Zero Power Warming) chambers during the growing season of 2020. Images were captured from early spring (14 April) through to late fall (10 November). Snowmelt, vegetation growth and senescence, and snow accumulation were captured. Images (*.jpg) have been combined into *.zip format (1.9 GB) and the data package includes a metadata document with example fields of view from the camera (*.pdf).The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

An All-Solid-State, Room-Temperature, Heterodyne Receiver for Atmospheric Spectroscopy at 1.2 THz

Heterodyne receivers at submillimeter wavelengths have played a major role in astrophysics as well as Earth and planetary remote sensing. All-solid-state heterodyne receivers using both MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) Schottky-diode-based LO (local oscillator) sources and mixers are uniquely suited for long-term planetary missions or Earth climate monitoring missions as they can operate for decades without the need for any active cryogenic cooling. However, the main concern in using Schottky-diode-based mixers at frequencies beyond 1 THz has been the lack of enough LO power to drive the devices because 1 to 3 mW are required to properly pump Schottky diode mixers. Recent progress in HEMT- (high-electron-mobility- transistor) based power amplifier technology, with output power levels in excess of 1 W recently demonstrated at W-band, as well as advances in MMIC Schottky diode circuit technology, have led to measured output powers up to 1.4 mW at 0.9 THz. Here the first room-temperature tunable, all-planar, Schottky-diode-based receiver is reported that is operating at 1.2 THz over a wide (≈20%) bandwidth. The receiver front-end (see figure) consists of a Schottky-diode-based 540 to 640 GHz multiplied LO chain (featuring a cascade of W-band power amplifiers providing around 120 to 180 mW at W-band), a 200-GHz MMIC frequency doubler, and a 600-GHz MMIC frequency tripler, plus a biasable 1.2-THz MMIC sub-harmonic Schottky-diode mixer. The LO chain has been designed, fabricated, and tested at JPL and provides around 1 to 1.5 mW at 540 o 640 GHz. The sub-harmonic mixer consists of two Schottky diodes on a thin GaAs membrane in an anti-parallel configuration. An integrated metal insulator metal (MIM) capacitor has been included on-chip to allow dc bias for the Schottky diodes. A bias voltage of around 0.5 V/diode is necessary to reduce the LO power required down to the 1 to 1.5 mW available from the LO chain. The epilayer thickness and doping profiles have been specifically optimized to maximize the mixer performance beyond 1 THz. The measured DSB noise temperatures and conversion losses of the receiver are 2,000 to 3,500 K and 12 to 14 dB, respectively, at 120 K, and 4,000 to 6,000 K and 13 to 15 dB, respectively, at 300 K. These results establish the state-of-the-art for all-solid-state, all-planar heterodyne receivers at 1.2 THz operating at either room temperature or using passive cooling only. Since no cryogenic cooling is needed, the receiver is eminently suited to atmospheric heterodyne spectroscopy of the outer planets and their moons.

Siles, Jose V.↗

Version 8 of the SMAP Level-4 Soil Moisture Data Assimilation Product

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission Level-4 Soil Moisture (L4_SM) product provides global, 9-km resolution, 3-hourly surface (0-5 cm) and root-zone (0-100 cm) soil moisture from April 2015 to present with a mean latency of 2.5 days from the time of observation. The product is based on the assimilation of SMAP L-band (1.4 GHz) brightness temperature (Tb) observations into the NASA Catchment land surface model as the model is driven with observations-based precipitation forcing. This presentation discusses the improvements in the forthcoming Version 8 of L4_SM, including updates in the precipitation forcing, the Catchment model parameters, and the L-band microwave radiative transfer model (mwRTM). The precipitation observations used in L4_SM Version 8 outside of North America and the high latitudes are from the latest (Version 7) NASA Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (IMERG) products. Moreover, occasionally excessive precipitation rates in earlier versions of L4_SM along certain longitudes in North America were eliminated by a bug fix in the precipitation corrections algorithm. The Catchment model in L4_SM Version 8 uses climatological snow albedo values based on observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, replacing the look-up table parameterization of earlier versions. Additionally, corrected soil parameters were implemented for a small region in Argentina that had erroneously been classified as peat because of an error in the ancillary soil data. Finally, the mwRTM in L4_SM Version 8 uses the Mironov soil mixing approach and updated values of the L-band scattering albedo, soil roughness, and vegetation opacity climatology obtained from the latest (Release 19) SMAP Level-2 dual-channel soil moisture retrieval product. During the development of L4_SM Version 8, the change in the mwRTM parameterization resulted in a reduced unbiased RMSE of surface soil moisture when verified against in situ measurements. It also reduced the standard deviation of the Tb observation-minus-forecast residuals by ~0.15 K, highlighting the importance of the mwRTM for successful data assimilation. The bug fixes in the precipitation corrections algorithm and the Catchment model soil parameters in the Argentina region result in locally large improvements of the simulated land surface states. In summary, the ongoing refinements of the L4_SM product continue to improve its science quality and performance for global soil moisture monitoring

Rolf Reichle↗

Vegetation Warming Experiment: Landscape-scale digital camera imagery for vegetation phenology, Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska, 2022

Images captured using a StarDot NetCam SC phenocamera looking east from the top of the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) Sled Shed, Utqiaġvik, Alaska. The camera was installed to remotely monitor plant phenology across the site of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) TEST group's ZPW (Zero Power Warming) experiment (2017-2021) during the growing season of 2022. Images were recorded from late spring (18 May) through to mid fall (25 October). Snowmelt, vegetation growth and senescence, and snow accumulation were captured. Images were uploaded to the BNL FTP server every hour, at 10 minute intervals from 2022-07-01 until 2021-08-10, then hourly until the end of data collection on 2022-10-25. Images have been combined in *.tar.gz format (6 GB, 7367 jpg images). The data package includes a metadata document with example fields of view from each month of operation (*.pdf).The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Vegetation Warming Experiment: Landscape-scale digital camera imagery for vegetation phenology, Utqiagvik, Alaska, 2021

Images captured using a StarDot NetCam SC phenocamera looking east from the top of the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) Sled Shed, Utqiagvik, Alaska. The camera was installed to remotely monitor plant phenology and operation of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) TEST group's ZPW (Zero Power Warming) chambers during the growing season of 2021. Images were captured from early spring (1 April) through to mid fall (22 October). Snowmelt, vegetation growth and senescence, and snow accumulation were captured. Images were uploaded to the BNL FTP server every hour, then from 2021-07-09 images were recorded every 10 minutes until the end of data collection on 2021-10-22. Images have been combined in *.zip format (6.1 GB). Closer fields of view (northeasterly) were also captured using 4 Wingscapes TimelapseCam cameras mounted on a mast on the sled shed. These cameras were operated from 2021-06-19 to 2021-09-22, with images recorded every 30 minutes from 9:00 to 16:30 Alaska daylight time (AKDT, UTC-8). Individual jpg images from each camera have been combined in zip format. The data package includes a metadata document with example fields of view from each camera (*.pdf). The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

GPM Mission Overview and U.S. Science Status

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational sensors to provide "next-generation" precipitation products [1-2]. Water is fundamental to life on Earth. Knowing where and how much rain and snow falls globally is vital to understanding how weather and climate impact both our environment and Earth's water and energy cycles, including effects on agriculture, fresh water availability, and responses to natural disasters. Since rainfall and snowfall vary greatly from place to place and over time, satellites can provide more uniform observations of rain and snow around the globe than ground instruments, especially in areas where surface measurements are difficult. Relative to current global rainfall products, GPM data products will be characterized by: (l) more accurate instantaneous precipitation measurements (especially for light rain and cold-season solid precipitation), (2) more frequent sampling by an expanded constellation of domestic and international microwave radiometers including operational humidity sounders, (3) intercalibrated microwave brightness temperatures from constellation radiometers within a unified framework, and (4) physical-based precipitation retrievals from constellation radiometers using a common a priori cloud/hydrometeor database derived from GPM Core sensor measurements. The cornerstone of the GPM mission is the deployment of a Core Observatory in a unique 65 non-Sun-synchronous orbit to serve as a physics observatory and a reference standard to unify precipitation measurements by a constellation of dedicated and operational passive microwave sensors. The design of the GPM Core Observatory is an advancement of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)'s highly successful rain-sensing package. The Core Observatory will carry a Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a multichannel (l0-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). Since light rain and falling snow account for a significant fraction of precipitation occurrence in middle and high latitudes, the GPM instruments extend the capabilities of the TRMM sensors to detect falling snow, measure light rain, and provide, for the first time, quantitative estimates of microphysical properties of precipitation particles. The combined use of DPR and GMI measurements will place greater constraints on possible solutions to radiometer retrievals to improve the accuracy and consistency of precipitation retrievals from all constellation radiometers. The GMI uses 13 different microwave channels to observe energy from the different types of precipitation through clouds for estimating everything from heavy to light rain and for detecting falling snow. As the satellite passes over Earth, the GMI constantly scans a region 885 kilometers across. The Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation built the GMI under contract with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The DPR provides three-dimensional information about precipitation particles derived from reflected energy by these particles at different heights within the cloud system. The two frequencies of the DPR also allow the radar to infer the sizes of precipitation particles and offer insights into a storm's physical characteristics. The Ka-band frequen~y scans across a region of 125 kilometers and is nested within the wider scan of the Ku-band frequency of 245 kilometers. The Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) built the DPR. The Core Observatory satellite will fly at an altitude of 253 miles (407 kilometers) in a non-Sun-synchronous orbit that covers the Earth from 65 S to 65 N - from about the Antarctic Circle to the Arctic Circle. The GPM Core Observatory is being developed and tested at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Once complete, a Japanese H-lIA rocket will carry thPM Core Observatory into orbit from Tanegashima Island, Japan in 2014. The GPM constellation is envisioned to comprise 8 or more microwave sensors provided by partners, including both conical imagers and cross-track sounders. GPM is currently a partnership between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Additional partnerships are under development to include microwave radiometers on the French-Indian Megha-Tropiques satellite and U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, as well as humidity sounders or precipitation sensors on operational satellites such as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP), NOAA-NASA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellites, European MetOp satellites, and DMSP follow-on sensors. In addition, data from Chinese and Russian microwave radiometers may be available through international cooperation under the auspices of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Group on Earth Observations (GEO). GPM's next-generation global precipitation data will lead to scientific advances and societal benefits in the following areas: (1) Improved knowledge of the Earth's water cycle and its link to climate change (2) New insights into precipitation microphysics, storm structures and large-scale atmospheric processes (3) Better understanding of climate sensitivity and feedback processes (4) Extended capabilities in monitoring and predicting hurricanes and other extreme weather events (5) Improved forecasting capabilities for natural hazards, including floods, droughts and landslides. (6) Enhanced numerical prediction skills for weather and climate (7) Better agricultural crop forecasting and monitoring of freshwater resources. An overview of the GPM mission concept and science activities in the United States, together with an update on international collaborations in radiometer intercalibration and ground validation, will be presented.

Hou, Arthur Y.↗