Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Data scarcity”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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

At least 91 records · Page 5

A survey of He-3 enriched events between 1974 and 1978

In five years of observations between 1974 and 1978, at least 17 He-3 enriched events have been identified in the energy range 2 to 13 MeV/nucleon, with He-3/He-4 ratios ranging from less than 0.1 to greater than 4. The scarcity of H-2 in He-3 events found by other workers is confirmed in this data. Flattening of He-3 spectra relative to He-4 is identified in several of the events. Many but not all of the sampled events are found to have small H-1/He-4 ratios. A sum of the sampled events shows not only Fe enrichments but abundances enhanced relative to oxygen of all heavier elements. No substantial depletion of carbon is identified. A dependence of the enhancements in He-3 events on atomic number like that found in other Fe-enriched solar cosmic ray events suggests a common mechanism producing the enhancements.

Mcguire, R. E.↗

Uncertainty Assessment of Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics Prediction Capability

The present paper provides the background of a focused effort to assess uncertainties in predictions of heat flux and pressure in hypersonic flight (airbreathing or atmospheric entry) using state-of-the-art aerothermodynamics codes. The assessment is performed for four mission relevant problems: (1) shock turbulent boundary layer interaction on a compression corner, (2) shock turbulent boundary layer interaction due a impinging shock, (3) high-mass Mars entry and aerocapture, and (4) high speed return to Earth. A validation based uncertainty assessment approach with reliance on subject matter expertise is used. A code verification exercise with code-to-code comparisons and comparisons against well established correlations is also included in this effort. A thorough review of the literature in search of validation experiments is performed, which identified a scarcity of ground based validation experiments at hypersonic conditions. In particular, a shortage of useable experimental data at flight like enthalpies and Reynolds numbers is found. The uncertainty was quantified using metrics that measured discrepancy between model predictions and experimental data. The discrepancy data is statistically analyzed and investigated for physics based trends in order to define a meaningful quantified uncertainty. The detailed uncertainty assessment of each mission relevant problem is found in the four companion papers.

Bose, Deepak↗

Tethys Water Demand Data

U.S. water demand varies sharply by sector and region as land use, population, weather patterns, and economic activity co-evolve. High-resolution water demand data is required to capture these dynamics, support integrated energy-water-land modeling, and local-to-regional water scarcity assessments. This dataset contains gridded (1/8 degree), monthly, multi-sector water demand dataset for the contiguous United States (CONUS) covering 1980-2100 across eight future scenarios of human-Earth system change. The dataset covers irrigation, thermoelectric, municipal (public-supply and domestic), livestock, manufacturing, and mining demands, separately for withdrawals and consumption, and includes per-cell renewable vs. non-renewable water source attributions. The dataset is validated against the latest USGS 2010-2020 water-use data for the three largest water demand sectors (Domestic, Electricity, and Irrigation), with correlations ranging from 0.73-0.95 at the HUC6 scale. The two datasets largely agree on an aggregate basis with per-sector bias falling within +/-7%, but they disagree on the spatial allocation of water with individual HUC6 basins having normalized RMSE from 68-171% and median absolute percent difference from 37-86%. This dataset advances prior global products by combining state-resolved sectoral demands from GCAM-USA, future power-plant siting from the CERF model, and scenario-consistent high-resolution climate and population forcing data across the eight scenarios.

GCAM-USA↗

Evaluation ofthe Middle East and North Africa Land Data Assimilation System

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is dominated by dry, warm deserts, areas of dense population, and inefficient use of fresh water resources. Due to the scarcity, high intensity, and short duration of rainfall in the MENA, the region is prone to hydro climatic extremes that are realized by devastating floods and times of drought. However, given its widespread water stress and the considerable demand for water, the MENA remains relatively poorly monitored. This is due in part to the shortage of meteorological observations and the lack of data sharing between nations. As a result, the accurate monitoring of the dynamics of the water cycle in the MENA is difficult. The Land Data Assimilation System for the MENA region (MENA LDAS) has been developed to provide regional, gridded fields of hydrological states and fluxes relevant for water resources assessments. As an extension of the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), the MENA LDAS was designed to aid in the identification and evaluation of regional hydrological anomalies by synergistically combining the physically-based Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM) with observations from several independent data products including soil-water storage variations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and irrigation intensity derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). In this fashion, we estimate the mean and seasonal cycle of the water budget components across the MENA.

Bolten, John D.↗

A cold air outbreak over the Norwegian Sea observed with the Tiros-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I)

Until recently, the scarcity of meteorological observations over polar areas has limited studies of high latitude weather systems, but now data from polar orbiting satellites offer a new opportunity to observe and describe these systems. TOVS data were used successfully for delineating synoptic and subsynoptic systems since they provide the vertical temperature structure of the atmosphere: SSM/I observations have proved valuable for analyzing storms through water vapor and rain determinations. These positive results prompted us to analyze simultaneous TOVS and SSM/I observations obtained during a cold air outbreak over the Norwegian Sea. After a description of the instruments and the retrieval schemes, the mutually supporting information from these two independent instruments is discussed. Implications for the monitoring of polar lows are presented.

Claud, Chantal↗

A cold air outbreak over the Norwegian Sea observed with the Tiros-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I)

Until recently, the scarcity of meteorological observations over polar areas has limited studies of high-latitude weather systems, but now data from polar orbiting satellites offer a new opportunity to observe and describe these systems. TOVS data have been used successfully for delineating synoptic and subsynoptic systems, since they provide the vertical temperature structure of the atmosphere; SSM/I observations have proved valuable for analyzing storms through water vapor and rain determinations. These positive results prompted simultaneous analysis of TOVS and SSM/I observations obtained during a cold air outbreak over the Norwegian Sea. After a description of the instruments and the retrieval schemes, the mutually supporting information from these two independent instruments is discussed. Implications for the monitoring of polar lows are presented.

Claud, Chantal↗

Opportunistic Short‐Term Water Uptake Dynamics by Subalpine Trees Observed via In Situ Water Isotope Measurements

Abstract Variations in tree water sources are important to understand in semi‐arid ecosystems because climatic shifts towards lower snowpack and increased drought affect water availability in subalpine forests of the western US. Here, we use daily in situ measurements of stable isotopes ( 2 H & 18 O) in soil and tree stem water, soil matric potential and sap flow to study tree water uptake dynamics. We instrumented three soil profiles down to 90 cm, as well as three aspen and engelmann spruce trees near Gothic, Colorado, in the East River watershed. We observed the fate of natural isotopic variations in rainfall, soil, and plants from June to October 2022, and in August 2023 we conducted a 2 H labeled irrigation experiment. Our observations showed that all studied aspen trees compensated for water scarcity in the shallow soil by shifting the dominant water source at 60(±20) cm to ⅔ of uptake from 90 cm within a few days of a dry period. Both species relied on snowmelt stored in the subsoil to sustain transpiration. Intense rainfall caused the plant water uptake to shift partially to top soil layers within 2 days. Spruce transpiration was lower and relied more on snowmelt, because rainfall infiltration was low in the spruce stand due to high canopy interception. Our findings highlight the important role of snowmelt stored in the deep soil layers for subalpine forest drought response and the dominant fate of monsoonal rainfall to become transpiration rather than recharging groundwater and streams in the Upper Colorado River. Plain Language Summary There is a need to understand how trees in mountainous regions respond to dry conditions that lead to water scarcity, because climate projections suggest that such conditions will become more frequent in the future. Here we present a novel data set of measurements of daily stable isotopes of water across soil profiles and in tree stems of aspen and spruce. Our data show that when the upper soil dried out, aspen trees shifted to using water from deeper layers (beneath 60 cm) to keep transpiring. For spruce trees the uptake pattern is less clear, but both types of trees mainly used snowmelt stored in the deeper soil layers to survive the dry summer. After heavy rain, aspen and spruce trees switched to using water from the top 20 cm of soil. However, for spruce, only some rain reached the soil because the dense tree canopy intercepted it, so spruce trees stayed more dependent on snowmelt and used less water overall. This study shows how important deep snowmelt water is for helping forests survive dry periods and suggests that most summer rain is quickly used by trees rather than replenishing streams and groundwater in the headwaters of the Colorado River. Key Points Tree water resources changed within a few days from snow dominated to higher share of rainfall as soils wetted up after a dry period Compensatory plant water uptake by aspen from the deep layer (90 cm), while uptake from soil depths that became drier (60 cm) declined Strong differences between water sources and availability beneath aspen and spruce, respectively

Sprenger, Matthias↗

Dunes and microdunes on Venus: Why were so few found in the Magellan data?

A search through cycle 1, 2, and 3 Magellan radar data covering 98% of the surface of Venus revealed very few dunes. Only two possible dune fields and several areas that may contain microdunes smaller than the resolution of the images (75 m) were identified. The Aglaonice dune field was identified in the cycle 1 images by the specular returns characteristic of dune faces oriented perpendicular to the radar illumination. Cycle 1 and 2 data of the Fortuna-Meshkenet dune field indicate that there has been no noticeable movement of the dunes over an 8-month period. The dunes, which are oriented both parallel and perpendicular to the radar illumination, appear to be dark features on a brighter substrate. Bright and dark patches that were visible in either cycle 1 or 2 data, but not both, allowed identification of several regions in the southern part of Venus that may contain microdunes. The microdunes are associated with several parabolic crater deposits in the region and are probably similar to those formed in wind tunnel experiments under Venus-like conditions. Bragg scattering and/or subpixel relfections from the near-normal face on asymmetric microdunes may account for these bright and dark patches. Look-angle effects and the lack of sufficient sand-size particles seem to be most likely reasons so few dunes were identified in Magellan data. Insufficient wind speeds, thinness of sand cover, and difficulty in identifying isolated dunes may also be contributors to the scarcity of dunes.

Weitz, Catherine M.↗

Dunes and Microdunes on Venus: Why Were So Few Found in the Magellan Data?

A search through cycle 1, 2, and 3 Magellan radar data covering 98% of the surface of Venus revealed very few dunes. Only two possible dune fields and several areas that may contain microdunes smaller than the resolution of the images (75 m) were identified. The Aglaonice dune field was identified in the cycle I images by the specular returns characteristic of dune faces oriented perpendicular to the radar illumination. Cycle 1 and 2 data of the Fortuna-Meshkenet dune field indicate that there has been no noticeable movement of the dunes over an 8-month period. The dunes, which are oriented both parallel and perpendicular to the radar illumination, appear to be dark features on a brighter substrate. Bright and dark patches that were visible in either cycle 1 or 2 data, but not both, allowed identification of several regions in the southern part of Venus that may contain microdunes. The microdunes are associated with several parabolic crater deposits in the region and are probably similar to those formed in wind tunnel experiments under Venus-like conditions. Bragg scattering and/or subpixel reflections from the near-normal face on asymmetric microdunes may account for these bright and dark patches. Look-angle effects and the lack of sufficient sand-size particles seem to be the most likely reasons so few dunes were identified in Magellan data. Insufficient wind speeds, thinness of sand cover, and difficulty in identifying isolated dunes may also be contributors to the scarcity of dunes.

Weitz, Catherine M.↗

Empirical Indicators of Transmission Value in the Southeast United States

Concurrent differences in energy price between different parts of the electric grid are a key indicator of the value of additional transmission. In areas without a wholesale electricity market, such as the Southeast, an alternative indicator to price is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) system lambda data. This economic metric represents the minimized marginal production costs of thermal generators, including fuel and other variable operation and maintenance expenses. Balancing Authorities report a single system lambda for their entire balancing area. Most Southeastern lambdas exhibit sufficient price variation to support a transmission valuation analysis, although incomplete accounting of congestion costs or scarcity rents during peak load hours may underestimate the true value of transmission capacity. With transmission value defined as the annual average hourly absolute price difference between two regions and FERC’s system lambda data used as a price proxy, we find the following results in the Southeast region during 2012-2023 (reported in $\$2024$/MWh): Intra‐regional findings: Annual averages historically span $\$2$–$\$28$/MWh and average $\$12$/MWh in SERTP and span $\$4$–$\$19$/MWh and average $\$9$/MWh in FRCC, disregarding transmission value driven by anomalous data. The ranges of transmission value reported here are large, spanning an order of magnitude in some cases. Much of this variation is driven by year-to-year changes, with 2022 having a particularly high intra-regional transmission value due to elevated natural gas prices. Inter‐regional corridors: Annual average transmission values across three broader regions range from $\$6$ to $\$28$/MWh with a long-term average of $\$11$/MWh. Much of the transmission value is concentrated in a small portion of hours. Across all regions, severe weather—particularly polar vortex events in January 2018, February 2021, and December 2022—drives the largest price spreads. Seasonal patterns also emerge, with summer afternoons and fall mornings contributing consistently to transmission value, as for example between MISO and SOCO in 2023.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Future Opportunities and Challenges in Remote Sensing of Drought

The value of satellite remote sensing for drought monitoring was first realized more than two decades ago with the application of Normalized Difference Index (NDVI) data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) for assessing the effect of drought on vegetation. Other indices such as the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) were also developed during this time period, and applied to AVHRR NDVI and brightness temperature data for routine global monitoring of drought conditions. These early efforts demonstrated the unique perspective that global imagers such as AVHRR could provide for operational drought monitoring through their near-daily, global observations of Earth's land surface. However, the advancement of satellite remote sensing of drought was limited by the relatively few spectral bands of operational global sensors such as AVHRR, along with a relatively short period of observational record. Remote sensing advancements are of paramount importance given the increasing demand for tools that can provide accurate, timely, and integrated information on drought conditions to facilitate proactive decision making (NIDIS, 2007). Satellite-based approaches are key to addressing significant gaps in the spatial and temporal coverage of current surface station instrument networks providing key moisture observations (e.g., rainfall, snow, soil moisture, ground water, and ET) over the United States and globally (NIDIS, 2007). Improved monitoring capabilities will be particularly important given increases in spatial extent, intensity, and duration of drought events observed in some regions of the world, as reported in the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report (IPCC, 2007). The risk of drought is anticipated to further increase in some regions in response to climatic changes in the hydrologic cycle related to evaporation, precipitation, air temperature, and snow cover (Burke et al., 2006; IPCC, 2007; USGCRP, 2009). Numerous national, regional, and global efforts such as the Famine and Early Warning System (FEWS), National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), and Group on Earth Observations (GEO), as well as the establishment of regional drought centers (e.g., European Drought Observatory) and geospatial visualization and monitoring systems (e.g, NASA SERVIR) have been undertaken to improve drought monitoring and early warning systems throughout the world. The suite of innovative remote sensing tools that have recently emerged will be looked upon to fill important data and knowledge gaps (NIDIS, 2007; NRC, 2007) to address a wide range of drought-related issues including food security, water scarcity, and human health.

Wardlow, Brian D.↗

Re-Greening Sahel: 30 Years of Remote Sensing Data and Field Observations (Mali, Niger)

Desertification of the Sahel region has been debated for decades, while the concept of a "re-greening" Sahel appeared with satellite remote sensing data that allowed vegetation monitoring across wide regions and over increasingly long series of years (nowadays 30 years with the GIMMS-3g dataset). However, the scarcity of long-term field observations of vegetation in the Sahel prevents ground validation and deeper analysis of such trends. After assessing the consistency of the new GIMMS-3g NDVI product by comparison to three other AVHRR-NDVI datasets and MODIS NDVI, regional GIMMS-3g NDVI trends over 1981-2011 are analyzed. Trends are found positive and statistically significant almost everywhere in Sahel over the 1981-2011 period. Long-term field observations of the aboveground herbaceous layer mass have been collected within the Gourma region in Mali (1984-2011) and within the Fakara region in western Niger (1994-2011). These observations sample ecosystem and soil diversity, thus enabling estimation of averaged values representative of the Gourma and Fakara. NDVI measurements are found in good agreement with field observations, both over the Gourma and Fakara regions where re-greening and negative trends are observed respectively. A linear regression analysis performed between spatially averaged seasonal NDVI and a weighted average of field measurements explains 59% of the variability for the Gourma region over 1984-2011, and 38% for the Fakara region over 1994-2011. In the Gourma, which is a pastoral region, the re-greening trend is mainly observed over sandy soils, and attests for the ecosystem's resilience to the 1980s' drought, able to react to the more favorable rainfall of the 1990s and 2000s. However, contrasted changes in the landscape's functioning have occurred locally. An increase in erosion and run-off processes in association with decreasing or stable vegetation cover was observed over shallow soils, which occupy 30% of the area. In the agro-pastoral Fakara, the decreasing trends observed both from satellite NDVI and field assessments of herbaceous mass are hardly explained by rainfall. These results give confidence in the dominant positive trends in Sahelian greenness, but indicate that degradation trends can also be observed, both in situ and from satellite time series.

Sahel↗

A photometric study of Enceladus

We have supplemented Voyager imaging data from Enceladus (limited to phase angles of 13 deg-43 deg) with recent Earth-based CCD observations to obtain an improved determination of the Bond albedo, to construct an albedo map of the satellite, and to constrain parameters in Hapke's (1986) photometric equation. A major result is evidence of regional variations in the physical properties of Enceladus' surface. The average global photometric properties are described by single scattering albedo omega(sub 0) average = 0.998 +/- 0.001, macroscopic roughness parameter theta average = 6 +/- 1 deg, and Henyey-Greenstein asymmetry parameter g = -0.399 +/- 0.005. The value of theta average is smaller than the 14 deg found by fitting whole-disk data, which include all terrains on Enceladus. The opposition surge amplitude B(sub 0) = 0.21 +/- 0.07 and regolith compaction parameter h = 0.014 +/- 0.02 are loosely constrained by the scarcity of and uncertainty in near-opposition observations. From the solar phase curve we determine the geometric albedo of Enceladus p(sub v) = 0.99 +/- 0.06 and phase integral q = 0.92 +/- 0.05, which corresponds to a spherical albedo A = p(sub v)q = 0.91 +/- 0.1. Since the spectrum of Enceladus is fairly flat, we can approximate the Bond albedo A(sub B) with the spherical albedo. Our photometric analysis is summarized in terms of an albedo map which generally reproduces the satellite's observed lightcurve and indicates that normal reflectances range from 0.9 on the leading hemisphere to 1.4 on the trailing one. The albedo map also revels an albedo variation of 15% from longitudes 170 deg to 200 deg, corresponding to the boundary between the leading and trailing hemispheres.

Verbiscer, Anne J.↗

Fast and accurate calculation of EXAFS Debye-Waller factors in U⁢O2 using the dynamical matrix method

Theoretical modeling of bonding dynamics in metal oxides is required for predicting their thermal conductivity, catalytic activity, and mechanical properties. A primary challenge is the scarcity of experimental methods for validating theoretical predictions of these atomic-scale dynamics. This work presents a workflow that uses experimental extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data collected at high temperatures to validate an interatomic force field for uranium dioxide (UO2), an important model material. The validated force field is then used to drive computationally intensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and as input for the much faster dynamical matrix Debye-Waller (DMDW) method. The predicted values of the Debye-Waller factors from the DMDW calculations are in good agreement with those obtained from the MD simulations, with residual pair-specific differences attributable to quantum zero-point motion at low temperatures and lattice anharmonicity at high temperatures. We further show that theoretical EXAFS spectra constructed directly from DMDW-derived Debye-Waller factors reproduce the experimental data (at relatively low temperatures) with accuracy comparable to full MD-EXAFS, providing an additional validation of the choice of the potential. This study establishes a validated, rapid computational pathway for modeling bond dynamics, naturally incorporating quantum nuclear\\\\r\\\\nstatistics absent in classical simulations, which are essential for the mechanistic understanding of complex oxide materials.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

How does drought affect residential water demand and price elasticity?

Urban water scarcity is an important social and economic concern, particularly as the intensity, duration, and frequency of droughts is increasing in many regions. We consider whether drought induces changes to water demand and the price elasticity of demand for water that may last beyond a drought’s official end date. If drought shocks prompt long-term changes in water demand behavior, and these changes occur at broad geographic scale, they could have important implications for modeling adaptive responses to water scarcity. We assemble a novel dataset on residential water demand and pricing in the western United States to test empirically for effects of drought on water demand and price elasticity. We perform our analysis with aggregate quantity, price, and drought data, accounting for endogenous prices under increasing-block water tariffs and using both average and marginal water fees in estimating water demand functions. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that households may become less price-sensitive after exposure to drought. However, we find no systematic evidence of long-run, drought-related reductions in water demand, itself.

demand hardening↗

Water Information System Platforms Addressing Critical Societal Needs in the Mena Region

The MENA region includes 18 countries, the occupied Palestinian territories and Western Sahara. However, the region of interest for this study has a strategic interest in countries adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, which includes, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. The 90% of the water in the MENA region is used for the agriculture use. By the end of this century. this region is projected to experience an increase of 3 C to 5 C in mean temperatures and a 20% decline in precipitation (lPCC, 2007). Due to lower precipitation, water run-off is projected to drop by 20% to 30% in most of MENA by 2050 Reduced stream flow and groundwater recharge might lead to a reduction in water supply of 10% or greater by 2050. Therefore, per IPCC projections in temperature rise and precipitation decline in the region, the scarcity of water will become more acute with population growth, and rising demand of food in the region. Additionally, the trans boundary water issues will continue to plague the region in terms of sharing data for better management of water resources. Such pressing issues have brought The World Bank, USAID and NASA to jointly collaborate for establishing integrated, modern, up to date NASA developed capabilities for countries in the MENA region for addressing water resource issues and adapting to climate change impacts for improved decision making and societal benefit. This initiative was launched in October 2011 and is schedule to be completed by the end of2015.

Habib, Shahid↗

Evidence for widespread thermal acclimation of canopy photosynthesis

Plants acclimate to temperature by adjusting their photosynthetic capacity over weeks to months. However, most evidence for photosynthetic acclimation derives from leaf-scale experiments. Here we address the scarcity of evidence for canopy-scale photosynthetic acclimation by examining the correlation between maximum photosynthetic rates (A max,2,000 ) and growth temperature $(\overline{T_{air}})$ across a range of concurrent temperatures and canopy foliage quantity, using data from >200 eddy covariance sites. We detect widespread thermal acclimation of canopy-scale photosynthesis, demonstrated by enhanced A max,2,000 under higher $\overline{T_{air}}$, across flux sites with adequate water availability. A 14-day period is identified as the most relevant timescale for acclimation across all sites, with a range of 12-25 days for different plant functional types. The mean apparent thermal acclimation rate across all ecosystems is 0.41 (-0.38-1.04 for 5th-95th percentile range) µmol m -2 s -1 °C -1 , with croplands showing the largest acclimation rates and grasslands the lowest. Incorporating an optimality-based prediction of leaf photosynthetic capacities into a biochemical photosynthesis model is shown to improve the representation of thermal acclimation. Our results underscore the critical need for enhanced understanding and modelling of canopy-scale photosynthetic capacity to accurately predict plant responses to warmer growing seasons.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Behavioral Assessment of Spaceflight Effects on Neurocognitive Performance - Extent and Longevity

Exposure to the microgravity environment during a spaceflight mission impacts crewmembers' sensorimotor function. A study conducted by Bock et al. concluded that stress and scarcity of cognitive resources required for sensorimotor adaptation may be responsible for deficits during spaceflight. We are conducting this study to investigate the effects of spaceflight on the extent, longevity and neural bases of sensorimotor, cognitive, and neural changes. The data presented will focus on the behavioral measures that were collected pre-, in- and post -flight.

De Dios, Y.E.↗