Air‐Ice‐Ocean Coupling during a Strong Mid‐Winter Cyclone: Observing Coupled Dynamic Interactions across Scales
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Lanthanides are important to many technologies including magnets used in high efficiency traction motors. While common in the environment and industrial waste streams, lanthanides are often present at very low concentrations. This work demonstrates synergistic lanthanide recovery from an aqueous magnet leachate to single ppm concentrations using Na2SO4 addition and subsequent DME-FC treatment. It was found that combining DME-FC with low concentrations of Na2SO4 (~0.1 M) results in synergistic isolation of lanthanides while making use of Na2SO4, an excessive byproduct of hydrometallurgical metal production. Combined Na2SO4 + DME reduced lanthanide metal ion's (Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, and Ho) solubilities by 1,000 - 25,000x with final concentrations ranging from 2 ppm to 200 ppm. This can be compared to 0.1 M Na2SO4 alone providing a 10 - 200x reduction and DME providing a 100 - 1,500x reduction in lanthanide solubilities. Final solution concentrations of lanthanides were 99.8% lower than what could not be achieved with either individual process. The results also reveal different periodic trends in the solubility reduction for DME and Na2SO4.
The Irradiation Experiment Neutronics Analysis Department at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has implemented a new analysis workflow for experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). One key piece of this workflow is the Monte Carlo Constructor for ATR Fuel Elements, or MCCAFE. For each ATR operating cycle, the Reactor and Nuclear Safety Engineering (RNSE) Department first solves the core in eigenvalue mode and depletes the driver fuel materials. In a separate calculation, neutronics analysts model and deplete the materials of one or more irradiation experiments, usually in a series of fixed-source Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) models of the ATR for neutron transport calculations. It was desirable to use the results of the former calculations to inform the models of the latter. MCCAFE is a Python program developed using American Society of Mechanical Engineers Nuclear Quality Assurance-1 procedures at INL. Its purpose is to take the calculated results from the RNSE depletion solutions and the measured or projected operating parameters from the Nuclear Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) to generate fixed-source models of the ATR core at given points in time across one or more cycles.
When the Halden Boiling Water Reactor closed down in 2018, a need to restore the capability for in-reactor power ramp testing arose. Such testing is valuable for studying pellet-clad interaction phenomena in nuclear fuels. The data from these studies is of great interest to a number of research programs, including the accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) program at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). In 2022, Woolstenhulme et al. proposed several power ramp testing ideas using facilities at INL, including irradiation in the Transient Reactor Test Facility (better known as TREAT) and the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) [1]. Worrall et al. [2] and Labossiere-Hickman et al. [3] subsequently performed feasibility studies for the ATR testing options in 2023. This summary further investigates the three-pin trefoil design (Fig. 1) for the proposed ATF-2Ramp Experiment discussed in Labossiere-Hickman et al. [3]. ATF-2Ramp is designed to operate in the center flux trap (CFT) of the ATR during a powered axial locator mechanism (PALM) cycle: a short, variable-powered cycle with an asymmetric power distribution. Previously, it was shown that tailoring the thickness of the hafnium (Hf) neutron shields (“mini-shrouds”) surrounding each pin offered a degree of control sufficient to achieve the programmatic linear heat generation rate (LHGR) targets for ATF-2Ramp during the high-power period of a PALM cycle. New work involves shortening the experiment test train for consistency with the fuel pins in ATF-2D [4] and then shaping the axial power profile of the three test pins.
This presentation will cover grid integration and controls activities and capabilities at INL focusing on nuclear energy integration with details on microgrid capabilities.
POAM solar occultation observations from1994 to present are studied for the purpose of determining Type I PSC formation characteristics and winter-long evolution. This information is critical to an improved understanding and predictive capability of stratospheric ozone depletion. Solar occultation satellite observations of these clouds yields more continuous and wide-spread information than can be obtained from aircraft, balloon, or ground-based observations. This multi-winter PSC study is augmented by the use of our Type Ia/Ib discrimination scheme. Recent studies of PSC formation made with POAM observations and simulations during the 1999-2000 Arctic winter have shown characteristics that shed light on the formation mechanisms responsible for Type Ia solid phase PSCs. This study examines PSC observations from many years on a common basis to see if the characteristics observed & cuing the 1999-2000 Arctic winter ai-e observed in other years and if other characteristics can be identified. The results show that Type Ia PSCs form at the beginning of the winter, within several days of the fxst drop in temperature below TNAT, and peak early in the winter. Type Ia PSCs typically outnumber Ib PSCs over the winter, especially at the beginning of the winter. Type Ia and Ib PSC observations continue throughout the winter. Micro-physical models of PSC formation must match these observed characteristics. Some models predict that temperatures must be more 5 K below T-NAT for five days before significant freezing can occur. This is not seen in the POAM observations. Differences in PSC characte ristics between the first two Arctic winters (1 994- 1995 and 1995- 1 996) and later winters also suggest the influence of volcanic perturb ations on PSC formation. Type Ia and Ib PSC characteristics observed by POAM III and SAGE III for the 2002-2003 Arctic winter are compared.
Titan, after Venus, is the second example in the solar system of an atmosphere with a global cyclostrophic circulation. The origin and maintenance of these superrotating atmospheres is not well understood, but Titan has a strong seasonal modulation in the middle atmosphere, and the seasonal changes in the winds may offer clues. The pole in winter and early spring is characterized by temperatures 20-30 K cooler at 140-170 km than those at low latitudes, and strong circumpolar winds as high as 190 m/s at 200- 250 km. At these levels the polar region is characterized by enhanced concentrations of several organic gases, and also detectable condensates. All this suggests that the polar vortex provides a mixing barrier between winter polar and lower-latitude air masses, analogous to the polar ozone holes on Earth. Because the concentrations of organic gases increase with altitude in the middle atmosphere, the observed enhancements suggest subsidence over the winter pole. Consistent with this are the observed temperatures approximately 200 K at the winter-polar stratopause (280 km), making it the warmest part of the atmosphere. The warm stratopause likely results from adiabatic heating associated with the subsidence. Recent observations in late northern winter and early spring indicate that the warm anomaly at the winter-polar stratopause is weakening;. In contrast to the middle atmosphere, latitude contrasts in tropospheric temperatures are muted. During the northern winter season, they were approximately 5 K at the tropopause and 3 K or less near the surface, being coldest at high northern latitudes. This is understandable in terms of the long radiative relaxation times in the troposphere, compared to times that are much shorter than a season in the upper stratosphere and higher. Curiously, the transition between the small meridional contrast (and presumably seasonal variations) in temperatures observed in the troposphere and the large variations observed at higher altitudes occurs abruptly above 80 km. Here the temperatures in the lower stratosphere, generally increasing with altitude, exhibit a sudden drop with increasing altitude at high northern latitudes, producing the contrast between low and high northern winter latitudes in the upper stratosphere described above. While the radiative relaxation time associated with infrared gaseous coolants decreases with altitude in the stratosphere, the abrupt transition suggests the presence of an optically thick condensate at thermal-infrared wavelengths. Near the surface, temperature lapse rates are adiabatic over the lowest 2 km, with the suggestion of a nocturnal stable inversion over the lowest 200 m in radio-occultation soundings near the morning terminator. At mid and high latitudes in both winter and summer hemispheres, the profiles are more statically stable (i.e., subadiabatic). This is most pronounced in the winter hemisphere.
POAM solar occultation observations from 1994 to present are studied for the purpose of determining Type I PSC formation characteristics and winter-long evolution. This study examines PSC observations from many years on a common basis to see if characteristics can be identified. The results show that Type Ia PSCs form at the beginning of the winter, within several days of the first drop in temperature below T_NAT, and peak early in the winter. Type Ia PSCs typically out number Ib PSCs over the winter, especially at the beginning of the winter. Type Ia and Ib PSC observations continue throughout the winter. Micro-physical models of PSC formation must match these observed characteristics. Some models predict that temperatures must be more than 5 K below T_NAT for five days before significant freezing can occur. This is not seen in the POAM observations. Differences in PSC characteristics between the first two Arctic winters (1994-1995 and 1995-1996) and later winters also suggest the influence of volcanic perturbations on PSC formation. Type Ia and Ib PSC Characteristics observed by POAM III and SAGE III for the 2002-2003 Arctic winter are compared.
Climate uncertainty is intensifying the need for greater plasticity in carbohydrate reserve utilization to support winter survival and spring growth in woody perennials. In poplar, the single-copy SUT4, which encodes a tonoplast-localized sucrose transporter, and the SUT5/SUT6 genome duplicates, which encode plasma membrane-localized transporters, are expressed year-round, with SUT4 showing the highest expression during cool seasons. Given its role in vacuolar sucrose efflux and winter-predominant expression, SUT4 may play a key role in modulating seasonal carbohydrate dynamics. While SUT4-knockdown and knockout effects have been studied under greenhouse conditions, their impact under field conditions remains unexplored. Here, we report a field-based study comparing CRISPR knockout mutants of winter-expressed SUT4 and SUT5/SUT6 in Populus tremula x alba. We show that sut4, but not sut5/6, mutants exhibited earlier autumn leaf senescence, delayed spring bud flush, reduced stem growth, and altered sugar partitioning in winter xylem and bark relative to controls. After 2 years in the field, all genotypes flowered before leaf flush in early spring; however, sut4 mutants produced sterile ovules despite developing normal-looking catkins. Metabolic profiling revealed disrupted sucrose and raffinose dynamics in elongating sut4 catkins. This was accompanied by transcriptomic signatures of elevated stress and downregulation of proanthocyanidin biosynthesis and circadian clock genes. These findings highlight the critical role of SUT4 in coordinating sugar allocation, stress responses, and seasonal development in poplar.
Abstract. The MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition was the largest Arctic field campaign ever conducted. MOSAiC offered the unique opportunity to monitor and characterize aerosols and clouds with high vertical resolution up to 30 km height at latitudes from 80 to 90∘ N over an entire year (October 2019 to September 2020). Without a clear knowledge of the complex aerosol layering, vertical structures, and dominant aerosol types and their impact on cloud formation, a full understanding of the meteorological processes in the Arctic, and thus advanced climate change research, is impossible. Widespread ground-based in situ observations in the Arctic are insufficient to provide these required aerosol and cloud data. In this article, a summary of our MOSAiC observations of tropospheric aerosol profiles with a state-of-the-art multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar aboard the icebreaker Polarstern is presented. Particle optical properties, i.e., light-extinction profiles and aerosol optical thickness (AOT), and estimates of cloud-relevant aerosol properties such as the number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are discussed, separately for the lowest part of the troposphere (atmospheric boundary layer, ABL), within the lower free troposphere (around 2000 m height), and at the cirrus level close to the tropopause. In situ observations of the particle number concentration and INPs aboard Polarstern are included in the study. A strong decrease in the aerosol amount with height in winter and moderate vertical variations in summer were observed in terms of the particle extinction coefficient. The 532 nm light-extinction values dropped from >50 Mm−1 close to the surface to <5 Mm−1 at 4–6 km height in the winter months. Lofted, aged wildfire smoke layers caused a re-increase in the aerosol concentration towards the tropopause. In summer (June to August 2020), much lower particle extinction coefficients, frequently as low as 1–5 Mm−1, were observed in the ABL. Aerosol removal, controlled by in-cloud and below-cloud scavenging processes (widely suppressed in winter and very efficient in summer) in the lowermost 1–2 km of the atmosphere, seems to be the main reason for the strong differences between winter and summer aerosol conditions. A complete annual cycle of the AOT in the central Arctic could be measured. This is a valuable addition to the summertime observations with the sun photometers of the Arctic Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). In line with the pronounced annual cycle in the aerosol optical properties, typical CCN number concentrations (0.2 % supersaturation level) ranged from 50–500 cm−3 in winter to 10–100 cm−3 in summer in the ABL. In the lower free troposphere (at 2000 m), however, the CCN level was roughly constant throughout the year, with values mostly from 30 to 100 cm−3. A strong contrast between winter and summer was also given in terms of ABL INPs which control ice production in low-level clouds. While soil dust (from surrounding continents) is probably the main INP type during the autumn, winter, and spring months, local sea spray aerosol (with a biogenic aerosol component) seems to dominate the ice nucleation in the ABL during the summer months (June–August). The strong winter vs. summer contrast in the INP number concentration by roughly 2–3 orders of magnitude in the lower troposphere is, however, mainly caused by the strong cloud temperature contrast. A unique event of the MOSAiC expedition was the occurrence of a long-lasting wildfire smoke layer in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Our observations suggest that the smoke particles frequently triggered cirrus formation close to the tropopause from October 2019 to May 2020.
Northern winters since the 1991 launch of UARS are compared to earlier years (1978 -1991) with respect to the potential for formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds and for isolation of the north polar vortex. Daily NMC temperature minima at 465 K late in the winter of 1993-94 and again in December 1994 were the lowest values experienced during these times of the year (since 1978). Northern PV gradients were unusually strong in 1991-92 prior to late January and throughout the winter in both 1992-93 and 1994-95. Of all northern winters since 1978, 1994-95 with its early extended cold spell and persistently strong PV gradients most resembled the Antarctic winter lower stratosphere. Even so, temperatures was never as low, nor was the polar vortex as large, as during a typical southern winter. Judged by daily temperature minima and PV gradients at 465 K, meteorological conditions in the Arctic winter lower stratosphere during the UARS period were more conducive to vortex ozone loss by heterogeneous chemistry than in most previous winters since 1978-79.
This study quantifies and compares the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of renewable diesel (RD), sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and biodiesel (BD) produced from two U.S. canola production systems: 1) emerging intermediate winter canola, typically grown in double- or relay-cropping systems between the growing seasons of main crops, and 2) main canola, mostly spring canola but also including winter canola, which are grown as primary crops occupying the field for a full growing season. Using the Research and Development version of the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (R&D GREET) model and the most up-to-date life cycle inventory data─field trial data for intermediate winter canola (>37,000 acres) and recent national survey data for spring canola─this life cycle analysis (LCA) estimates the direct emissions from canola cultivation and harvest, the conversion of canola into fuels, fuel transportation, and combustion. In addition, we account for market-mediated emissions associated with a scenario of 0.5 billion gallons per year of spring canola-based biofuels, including induced land use change (ILUC), induced other crop (nonfeedstock) production changes, and induced livestock production changes. For intermediate winter canola, these market-mediated effects were not modeled, as ILUC is expected to be negligible due to its integration into existing rotations, and data are currently insufficient to reliably quantify other market-mediated changes. The estimated life cycle direct emissions of RD/SAF derived from intermediate winter canola and main spring canola are about 32 and 33 g of CO2-equivalent per megajoule of fuel (g CO 2 e/MJ), respectively. Corresponding emissions for BD from intermediate winter canola and main spring canola are about 30 and 31 g of CO 2 e/MJ, respectively. Farming is the dominant emissions source for both canola systems, with intermediate winter canola and main spring canola emitting about 19 and 20 g of CO 2 e/MJ, respectively. ILUC and other induced changes increase emissions of main spring canola-derived RD/SAF and BD by about 18 and 17 g of CO 2 e/MJ, respectively. These results indicate that the GHG emissions of biofuels produced from the two canola systems may differ substantially due to the different land use dynamics of the systems.
Land surface modeling provides the opportunity to investigate winter soil processes such as soil freezing and thawing over large domains. However, the variability in simulated winter soil characteristics among land surface models and forcing datasets is not well understood. In this study, a nine-member ensemble was employed to characterize the spatial and inter-annual variability of three winter soil characteristics, annual number of frozen days, annual minimum temperature and annual number of freeze-thaw cycles over North America during the water years 2010–2016. The ensemble, including three land surface model (JULES, Noah2.7.1 and Noah-MP) and three forcing datasets (ECMWF, GDAS and MERRA2), was developed through the Snow Ensemble Uncertainty Project (SEUP). In many regions, there was remarkably good agreement across the ensemble for the winter soil temperatures. However, the variability among the ensemble's annual number of frozen days, as quantified with standard deviation, exceeded 150 days at the northern Pacific coastline. While the differences among the ensemble members' annual minimum temperature were typically <3 °C, the differences exceeded 6 °C north of 50°N. The ensemble members generally agreed within one to three freeze-thaw cycles in mid latitude regions, Alaska, and the south and west coasts of the USA. High variability among the ensemble, more than six freeze-thaw cycles, occurred in the Great Plains, northern Pacific coastline, and along the Appalachian Mountains. Differences in winter soil temperature characteristics were more apparent among the LSMs rather than the meteorological forcing datasets. Except for maritime regions, the Noah2.7.1 members had the fewest annual number of frozen days and the least number of freeze-thaw cycles. Noah2.7.1 also had the coldest annual minimum temperatures except for ephemeral regions. Comparisons between in-situ observations and the SEUP estimates of winter soil characteristics revealed that the modeled frozen period was much longer than observed, that the modeled annual minimum temperatures were much colder than observed, and the modeled freeze-thaw cycles occurred more frequently than observed. Excluding the high latitude sites, the observed frozen period is less than two months with the minimum temperature above − 5 °C at most of the studied sites, while the ensemble members simulated, on average, a four month frozen period with − 10 °C minimum temperature. Errors in capturing snow during the accumulation period appear to impact differences in modeled versus observed soil temperature throughout the entire winter.
In this study the snow cover extent during the autumn months in both North America and Eurasia has been related to the ensuing winter temperature as measured at several locations near the center of each continent. The relationship between autumn snow cover and the ensuing winter temperatures was found to be much better for Eurasia than for North America. For Eurasia the average snow cover extent during the autumn explained as much as 52 percent of the variance in the winter (December-February) temperatures compared to only 12 percent for North America. However, when the average winter snow cover was correlated with the average winter temperature it was found that the relationship was better for North America than for Eurasia. As much as 46 percent of the variance in the winter temperature was explained by the winter snow cover in North America compared to only 12 percent in Eurasia.
Trajectory calculations using horizontal winds from the U.K. Meteorological Office data assimilation system and vertical velocities from a radiation calculation are used to simulate the three-dimensional motion of air through the stratospheric polar vortex for Northern Hemisphere (NH) and Southern Hemisphere (SH) winters since the launch of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). Throughout the winter, air from the upper stratosphere moves poleward and descends into the middle stratosphere. In the SH lower to middle stratosphere, strongest descent occurs near the edge of the polar vortex, with that edge defined by mixing characteristics. The NH shows a similar pattern in late winter, but in early winter strongest descent is near the center of the vortex, except when wave activity is particularly strong. Strong barriers to latitudinal mixing exist above about 420 K throughout the winter. Below this, the polar night jet is weak in early winter, so air descending below that level mixes between polar and middle latitudes. In late winter, parcels descend less and the polar night jet moves downward, so there is less latitudinal mixing. The degree of mixing in the lower stratosphere thus depends strongly on the position and evolution of the polar night jet and on the amount of descent experienced by the air parcels; these characteristics show considerable interannual variability in both hemispheres. The computed trajectories provide a three-dimensional picture of air motion during the final warming. Large tongues of air are drawn off the vortex and stretched into increasingly long and narrow tongues extending into low latitudes. This vortex erosion process proceeds more rapidly in the NH than in he SH. In the lower stratosphere, the majority of air parcels remain confined within a lingering region of strong potential vorticity gradients into December in the SH and April in the NH, well after the vortex breaks up in the midstratosphere.
Reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses were followed in 16 Antarctic expeditioners during winter-over isolation at two Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition stations. Delayed-type hypersensitivity skin testing was used as an indicator of the CMI response, which was evaluated two times before winter isolation and three times during isolation. At all five evaluation times, 8 or more of the 16 subjects had a diminished. CMI response. Diminished CMI was observed on every test occasion in 4/16 subjects; only 2/16 subjects exhibited normal CMI responses for all five tests. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to detect EBV DNA in saliva specimens collected before, after, and during the winter isolation. EBV DNA was present in 17% (111/642) of the saliva specimens; all 16 subjects shed EBV in their saliva on at least one occasion. The probability of EBV shedding increased (p=0.013) from 6% before or after winter isolation to 13% during the winter period. EBV appeared in saliva during the winter isolation more frequently (p<0.0005) when CMI responsiveness was diminished than when CMI status was normal. The findings indicate that the psychosocial, physical, and other stresses associated with working and living in physical isolation during the Antarctic winter results in diminished CMI and an accompanying increased reactivation and shedding of latent viruses.
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation and cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses were followed in 16 Antarctic expeditioners during winter-over isolation at 2 Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition stations. Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin testing was used as an indicator of the CMI response, that was evaluated 2 times before winter isolation and 3 times during isolation. At all 5 evaluation times, 8 or more of the 16 subjects had a diminished CMI response. Diminished DTH was observed on every test occasion in 4/16 subjects; only 2/16 subjects exhibited normal DTH responses for all 5 tests. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to detect EBV DNA in saliva specimens collected before, during, and after the winter isolation. EBV DNA was present in 17% (111/642) of the saliva specimens; all 16 subjects shed EBV in their saliva on at least 1 occasion. The probability of EBV shedding increased (P = 0.013) from 6% before or after winter isolation to 13% during the winter period. EBV appeared in saliva during the winter isolation more frequently (P < 0.0005) when DTH response was diminished than when DTH was normal. The findings indicate that the psychosocial, physical, and other stresses associated with working and living in physical isolation during the Antarctic winter result in diminished CMI and an accompanying increased reactivation and shedding of latent viruses.