Marine Boundary Layer Cloud Condensation Nuclei Bias Over the Southern Ocean: Comparisons Between the Community Atmosphere Model 6 and Field Observations
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
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Experience with Rucio in the wider HEP community
Managing the data of scientific projects is an increasingly complicated challenge, which was historically met by developing experiment-specific solutions. However, the ever-growing data rates and requirements of even small experiments make this approach very difficult, if not prohibitive. In recent years, the scientific data management system Rucio has evolved into a successful open-source project that is now being used by many scientific communities and organisations. Rucio is incorporating the contributions and expertise of many scientific projects and is offering common features useful to a diverse re-search community. This article describes the recent experiences in operating Rucio, as well as contributions to the project, by ATLAS, Belle II, CMS, ES-CAPE, IGWN, LDMX, Folding@Home, and the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
Social network structure and the spread of complex contagions from a population genetics perspective
Ideas, behaviors, and opinions spread through social networks. If the probability of spreading to a new individual is a non-linear function of the fraction of the individuals’ affected neighbors, such a spreading process becomes a “complex contagion”. This non-linearity does not typically appear with physically spreading infections, but instead can emerge when the concept that is spreading is subject to game theoretical considerations (e.g. for choices of strategy or behavior) or psychological effects such as social reinforcement and other forms of peer influence (e.g. for ideas, preferences, or opinions). Here we study how the stochastic dynamics of such complex contagions are affected by the underlying network structure. Motivated by simulations of complex contagions on real social networks, we present a framework for analyzing the statistics of contagions with arbitrary non-linear adoption probabilities based on the mathematical tools of population genetics. The central idea is to use an effective lower-dimensional diffusion process to approximate the statistics of the contagion. This leads to a tradeoff between the effects of ”selection” (microscopic tendencies for an idea to spread or die out), random drift, and network structure. Our framework illustrates intuitively several key properties of complex contagions: stronger community structure and network sparsity can significantly enhance the spread, while broad degree distributions dampen the effect of selection compared to random drift. Finally, we show that some structural features can exhibit critical values that demarcate regimes where global contagions become possible for networks of arbitrary size. Our results draw parallels between the competition of genes in a population and memes in a world of minds and ideas. Our tools provide insight into the spread of information, behaviors, and ideas via social influence, and highlight the role of macroscopic network structure in determining their fate.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
Beneficial Use Impairments, Degradation of Aesthetics, and Human Health: A Review
In environmental programs and blue/green space development, improving aesthetics is a common goal. There is broad interest in understanding the relationship between ecologically sound environments that people find aesthetically pleasing and human health. However, to date, few studies have adequately assessed this relationship, and no summaries or reviews of this line of research exist. Therefore, we undertook a systematic literature review to determine the state of science and identify critical needs to advance the field. Keywords identified from both aesthetics and loss of habitat literature were searched in PubMed and Web of Science databases. After full text screening, 19 studies were included in the review. Most of these studies examined some measure of greenspace/bluespace, primarily proximity. Only one study investigated the impacts of making space quality changes on a health metric. The studies identified for this review continue to support links between green space and various metrics of health, with additional evidence for blue space benefits on health. No studies to date adequately address questions surrounding the beneficial use impairment degradation of aesthetics and how improving either environmental quality (remediation) or ecological health (restoration) efforts have impacted the health of those communities.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
Green buffers near industrial plants, examples in Jefferson County TX
Green buffers between industrial plants and residential areas have multiple purposes in mitigating air pollution and protecting the environment. This study focuses on providing information on examples of green space development by industries near residential areas in Jefferson County, Texas. One represents a full buffer where residences were totally removed, another is a partial buffer where some residences were removed in a neighborhood and the third represents vegetation of a formerly industrial facility. Additional estimates on benefits of buffer spaces with respect to a pollutant plume are also considered. The study used geospatial and property data from 1966 to 2020. The transition from a residential area to a full or partial buffers highlights possible mitigation of air pollution impacts while serving additional functions, such as boosting stormwater infiltration and improving the aesthetic attractiveness of the area. The transformation from oil tanks to forested space may display the potential for environmental remediation, but not all spaces are suitable for fully forested buffers, as safety and other limitations should be considered. With the analysis of the classic Plume Equation insights can be provided regarding the possible impact of green buffers on ground-level pollutant concentrations. The calculations for atmospheric stability classes A-F and for various stack heights provide an understanding of how different conditions may affect the pollutant concentrations. The presence of a green buffer can play a crucial role in controlling ground-level pollution concentrations and reduce a community’s perception of risk.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Effects of red imported fire ant ( Solenopsis invicta ) control on carrion use by vertebrate scavengers
Carrion is an important resource, and competition for carrion by microbial, invertebrate, and vertebrate scavenging communities is great. In particular, carrion is important to facultative and obligate vertebrate scavengers globally, and these species provide an irreplaceable ecological service by efficiently removing carcasses, which potentially harbor pathogens, from the environment. Although vertebrates efficiently acquire carcasses, they compete intensively with invertebrate and microbial communities, especially during warmer months when invertebrate and microbial activity peaks. The presence of invasive invertebrates may further exacerbate competition among scavenging groups; however, little is known about how invasive invertebrates can influence invertebrate scavenger dynamics and ultimately competition with vertebrate scavengers. The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta; RIFA) is an invasive species of particular interest in North America, as it is a dominant predator and decomposer throughout much their range. We hypothesized that in areas where abundant, RIFA can outcompete vertebrates for carrion resources, altering nutrient cycling and food web dynamics. We tested this hypothesis by experimentally excluding RIFA from rabbit carcasses and found strong seasonal effects in our data; however, surprisingly, we found no effect of RIFA control on vertebrate scavenging efficiency, rates of carcass detection, carcass persistence, or the richness of local scavengers. Rather, we observed a highly efficient vertebrate scavenging community that assimilated 87.4% of carcasses during our study. Furthermore, this high rate of vertebrate scavenging efficiency was maintained in both control (93.0%) and RIFA treatment (81.8%) sites, suggesting presence of abundant RIFA populations did not limit vertebrate acquisition of carrion. Future research should focus on the interactions of RIFA with the remaining invertebrate scavenging community to further investigate whether RIFA impact the assimilation of carrion resources within invertebrate communities.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
Shrub and sedge rhizosphere communities display distinct affinities toward exudates and soil organic matter degradation: a quantitative stable isotope probing analysis
Warming temperatures are accelerating permafrost thaw and changing tundra vegetation, where woody shrubs are displacing sedges. Shrubs, such as Betula nana, and sedges, such as Eriophorum vaginatum, exhibit distinct life strategies including unique root-associated, or rhizosphere microbial communities. As permafrost thaws it unlocks previously unavailable carbon and nutrient sources resulting in deeper roots and a translocation of rhizosphere communities. Because permafrost microbial communities contain lower diversity and biomass than rhizosphere communities, the coalescence of rhizosphere and permafrost microbial communities could alter soil organic matter (SOM) degradation rates and increase greenhouse gas emissions. To identify metabolic strategies across distinct rhizosphere and permafrost microbial communities we conducted an isotope tracing incubation experiment. We inoculated thawed permafrost with shrub and sedge rhizosphere communities while adding exudates or water daily and compared this to an uninoculated control. After 46 days, we spiked samples with 18O enriched water or 13C enriched exudates and measured isotope incorporation into microbial DNA with quantitative stable isotope probing (qSIP). Our results indicate that exudate additions had little effect on uninoculated permafrost communities but the addition of exudates and rhizosphere inoculants had a compounding effect on respiration rates. We found that soils inoculated with shrub rhizosphere communities contained a mixture of exudate and SOM degraders while soils inoculated with sedge rhizosphere communities contained mainly SOM degraders. Finally, we found that individual microbial taxa exhibited maximum growth rates under specific combinations of microbial inoculant communities and exudate addition treatments. Our results reveal that microbial niches are strongly influenced by substrate preferences and community context, and suggest that a reduction in sedges and an expansion of shrubs may provide a mechanism by which permafrost carbon losses are mitigated through corresponding shifts in microbial communities and their substrate preferences.
Schaefer, Sean R [Natural Resources and Earth Syst↗
High impact of bacterial predation on cyanobacteria in soil biocrusts
Diverse bacteria lead a life as pathogens or predators of other bacteria in many environments. However, their impact on emerging ecological processes in natural settings remains to be assessed. Here we describe a novel type of obligate, intracellular predatory bacterium of widespread distribution that preys on soil cyanobacteria in biocrusts. The predator, Candidatus Cyanoraptor togatus, causes localized, cm-sized epidemics that are visible to the naked eye, obliterates cyanobacterial net primary productivity, and severely impacts crucial biocrust properties like nitrogen cycling, dust trapping and moisture retention. The combined effects of high localized morbidity and areal incidence result in decreases approaching 10% of biocrust productivity at the ecosystem scale. Our findings show that bacterial predation can be an important loss factor shaping not only the structure but also the function of microbial communities.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
Data from: "Soil moisture mediates alpine life form and community productivity responses to warming"
This dataset contains values that were used to support conclusions drawn in the publication “Soil moisture mediates alpine life form and community productivity responses to warming”, originally published in 2016 by Winkler et al. All data were collected in the alpine site of the Alpine Treeline Warming Experiment (ATWE), located on Niwot Ridge, in the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA. The file types in this archive include comma-separated-values (.csv) files, and two types of geospatial files: .kml and shapefiles (.shp). The csv files can be opened by R, Microsoft Excel, or any simple text editor software. The geospatial files can be opened by Google Earth/Google Maps, and the ESRI shapefiles can be opened by geographic information systems softwares that can read shapefiles, including ESRI’s ArcGIS Desktop suite, and QGIS.Climate warming is expected to alter primary production and community composition in alpine systems around the globe. Whether production will increase in response to warming in the absence of additional precipitation remains underexplored. We experimentally warmed an alpine plant community on Niwot Ridge, Colorado to test whether warming increases or decreases productivity of multiple plant life form groups and the entire plant community. We also provided supplemental water to a subset of plots to alleviate potential drying effects of warming. We predicted alpine community above-ground productivity would increase in response to warming only when combined with supplemental water to limit soil drying. We also predicted plant life form groups would vary in their responses and would like buffer changes in community productivity.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Developing in-situ capabilities for synchrotron light source relevant to PNNL mission research areas
The main objective of the proposed research is to engage synchrotron light source capabilities to address the critical mission areas at PNNL. We have carried out Multi-model chemical analysis and imaging to unravel the role of surface chemistry during realistic heterogeneous interfacial processes - through a close collaboration that will help BES and BER research projects. In particular, we performed the following activities to understand role of surface chemistry on metal and oxide reactivity and metal ion transfer across oxide surface and aqueous solutions: 1) Perform light source experiments utilizing samples generated at PNNL; 2) Develop early career PNNL scientists utilizing light sources; 3) Build collaborations with ALS scientists in developing new in-situ capabilities; 4) Complete AMBER capabilities in collaboration with ALS scientists and make those available to the scientific community including PNNL scientists.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Abstract for CRADA between Mati Car bon PBC and NETL
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will assist Mati Carbon PBC (participant) in the design and execution of their community benefits plan (CBP) for scaling Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in Arkansas. ERW involves spreading finely crushed rocks in agricultural fields to speed up the dissolution and release of certain minerals that amend soil acidity, replenish soil nutrients, and simultaneously converting CO 2 from the atmosphere to Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC). ERW not only removes CO 2 from the atmosphere but also has the potential to generate co-benefits for famers through cost reductions and increased crop yields. The collaboration between NETL and Mati Carbon, PBC (participant) will entail a detailed review of the economic, environmental and community impact of ERW in agricultural settings. This review will guide all project related decisions. It will provide a better understanding of the scale of these potential co-benefits and quantify community needs that ERW can address.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Towards Resilient Near Real-Time Analysis Workflows in Fusion Energy Science
Nuclear fusion holds the promise of an endless source of energy. Several research experiments across the world and joint modeling and simulation efforts between the nuclear physics and high performance computing communities are actively preparing the operation of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Both experimental reactors and their simulated counterparts generate data that must be analyzed quickly and in a resilient way to support decision making for the configuration of subsequent runs or prevent a catastrophic failure. However, the cost if the traditional techniques used to improve the resilience of analysis workflows, i.e., replicating datasets and computational tasks, becomes prohibitive with explosion of the volume of data produced by modern instruments and simulations. Therefore, we advocate in this paper for an alternate approach based on data reduction and data streaming. The rationale is that by allowing for a reasonable, controlled, and guaranteed loss of accuracy it becomes possible to transfer smaller amounts of data, shorten the execution time of analysis workflows, and lower the cost of replication to increase resilience. We develop our research and development roadmap towards resilient near real-time analysis workflows in fusion energy science and present early results showing that data streaming and data reduction is a promising way to speed up the execution and improve the resilience of analysis workflows.
Suter, Fred↗
Bioactive exometabolites drive maintenance competition in simple bacterial communities
During prolonged resource limitation, bacterial cells can persist in metabolically active states of non-growth. These maintenance periods, such as those experienced in stationary phase, can include upregulation of secondary metabolism and release of exometabolites into the local environment. As resource limitation is common in many environmental microbial habitats, we hypothesized that neighboring bacterial populations employ exometabolites to compete or cooperate during maintenance and that these exometabolite-facilitated interactions can drive community outcomes. Here, we evaluated the consequences of exometabolite interactions over the stationary phase among three environmental strains: Burkholderia thailandensis E264, Chromobacterium subtsugae ATCC 31532, and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. We assembled them into synthetic communities that only permitted chemical interactions. We compared the responses (transcripts) and outputs (exometabolites) of each member with and without neighbors. We found that transcriptional dynamics were changed with different neighbors and that some of these changes were coordinated between members. The dominant competitor B. thailandensis consistently upregulated biosynthetic gene clusters to produce bioactive exometabolites for both exploitative and interference competition. These results demonstrate that competition strategies during maintenance can contribute to community-level outcomes. It also suggests that the traditional concept of defining competitiveness by growth outcomes may be narrow and that maintenance competition could be an additional or alternative measure.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
The biogeography of soil and airborne fungi in the Southwestern USA in relation to climate and vegetation
To assess how fungal dispersal might respond to climate change, we examined how climate and geography influence the regional distribution of fungi in soil and air. Specifically, we hypothesized that neighboring fungal communities should be more similar than distant communities (i.e. spatially autocorrelated) and that fungal dispersal should be more limited in soil than in air. We collected soil and air samples from 60 sites across five states in the Southwestern USA. Then, we sequenced the ITS2 region to identify fungal taxa in each sample. Next, we used distance-based redundancy analysis to partition variation in fungal community composition between climate variables and spatial structure. Fungi were indeed spatially autocorrelated. Moreover, precipitation, maximum vapor pressure deficit, and soil moisture were significantly related to fungal community composition in soils. In comparison, only precipitation was significantly related to community composition in the air. After accounting for climate, the strength of spatial autocorrelation did not differ significantly in soilborne versus airborne fungi. Dispersal limitation was evident in soilborne fungi at short distances (<100 km) and was not observed at any distance in airborne fungi. Altogether, climate may influence which fungal taxa are present in soil and air, and fungi could feasibly wind disperse over regional scales.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Effects of water recirculation on microalgae assemblage and corresponding sustainability of the photobioreactor cultivation system
An algae photobioreactor (APB) was used to determine the effect of water recirculation on the growth of algal assemblage. CO 2 in the flue gas from a power plant was the carbon source. Boiler water was used as the source water. The results showed that microalgae cultivation under recirculation conditions was stable over a period of four months. Biomass productivities during the 1st through 4th months of recirculation (0.26, 0.23, 0.20, and 0.18 g L –1 d –1 , respectively) were not significantly different than freshwater (0.22 g L –1 d –1 ). Furthermore, the relationship between eukaryotic and bacterial domains in the assemblage remained consistent throughout the four months of recirculation (80.7, 87.1, 83.1, and 82.1%, respectively, and 19.2, 12.8, 16.9, and 17.8%, respectively). This was not significantly different than the abundance of each domain in the control freshwater cultivation (83.7% eukaryotic and 16.2% bacterial). A 1 m 3 photobioreactor was then envisioned for a mass, energy, and exergy analysis to evaluate the water recirculation on sustainability of the culture system. The mass balance analysis concluded that 98% reduction in water usage, 25% reduction in nitrogen, and 12.5% reduction in phosphorus could be achieved during cultivation operating under recirculation for one year, while maintaining biomass productivity of 1.2 kg wet algal biomass and sequestration of 0.4 kg CO 2 per day. Furthermore, the exergy balance analysis concluded that without considering solar irradiation, the culture with water recirculation greatly enhanced the rational exergy efficiency, which represents a more sustainable cultivation system for CO 2 capture and utilization.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
Target development using the method of High-Intensity Vibrational Powder Plating (HIVIPP) at the Center for Accelerator Target Science (CATS) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
One of the primary goals of the Center for Accelerator Target Science (CATS) is to provide targets and foils in support of the ATLAS User Facility and the Low-Energy community at large. While a wide array of target production techniques are available at CATS, new methods that must be explored invariably arise. One such technique, the High-Intensity Vibrational Powder Plating (HIVIPP), was first reported in 1997 by Isao Sugai. It was developed to produce targets and stripper foils that were difficult to make by standard methods. At Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), we have successfully constructed and tested a simple system for this purpose. We have produced targets of carbon and titanium on various metal backings using the HIVIPP method. We are currently in the exciting phase of exploring the production of other elements, including isotopically enriched and radioactive material. This work is in progress and will be further detailed with specific examples.
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
Of Actors, Cities and Energy Systems: Advancing the Transformative Potential of Urban Electrification
The electrification of transportation and the integration of electric vehicles (EVs) with buildings connected to clean grids has been touted as one of the key solutions to the global decarbonization challenge. Cities are on the frontlines of current and future electrification, as they depend on and drive electricity generation, distribution, and use. City actors also occupy a central role in the actions to enable electrification to support energy transitions in efficient, equitable, environmentally sound, and resilient ways. Currently, however, research and development on the interactions between actors, cities and energy systems is predominantly conducted in disciplinary siloes. This topical review analyzes the transformational potential of urban electrification. It focuses on efforts to electrify transportation and integrate EVs with buildings connected to a clean grid. We find that actions in these area are driving change; they are adopted by wealthier populations and on an experimental basis by specific communities. Their larger-scale growth is constrained by institutional, behavioral, and infrastructural factors. We also find that existing siloed disciplinary approaches are often incompatible with advancing holistic research. To achieve that, divergent communities of scholars need to come together to integrate their research and create broader perspectives. Through incorporation of the social sciences, these perspectives need to consider the societal limits and potentials brought to bear by human behavior and decision making. Only then can urban electrification be understood as the empirically rich and socially complex topic that it is. And only with this understanding will innovations and smart policy actions be able to tap into the transformational potential of urban electrification.
cities↗
Section 3 Reporting: Preserve America
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a multidisciplinary laboratory with seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 37 R&D 100 Awards, and countless advances in science and technology. For over 75 years, the Laboratory has played a leading role in the Department of Energy (DOE) Science and Technology mission and continues to contribute to the DOE’s missions in energy resources, environmental quality, and national security. The Laboratory is operated and managed by Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA), which was founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, and Battelle, a non-profit applied science and technology organization. BNL is committed to longstanding partnerships with researchers, academic institutions, industry, students, teachers, and the surrounding community. BNL is located near the center of Suffolk County on Long Island, New York within Brookhaven Township, about 60 miles east of New York City. Most of BNL’s principal facilities are located near the center of the 5,265-acre (8.23 square mile) site (Figure 1). The developed area encompasses approximately 1,820 acres, consisting of: ▪ 500 acres originally developed by the Army (as part of WW II Camp Upton) and still used for offices and other operational buildings. ▪ 200 acres occupied by large, specialized research facilities. ▪ 520 acres occupied by outlying facilities, such as the Sewage Treatment Plant, research agricultural fields, housing facilities, and fire breaks. ▪ 400 acres of roads, parking lots, and connecting areas. ▪ 200 acres developed for the Long Island Solar Farm. The balance of the site, approximately 3,400 acres, is largely wooded and represents a native pine barrens ecosystem. In November 2000, DOE set aside 530 acres of undeveloped land at BNL as the Upton Ecological and Research Reserve. The Upton Reserve preserves this portion of the pine barrens ecosystem and provides an area for ecological research and education activities.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗