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At least 91 records · Page 5

Typological representation of the offshore oceanographic environment along the Alaskan North Slope

Erosion and flooding impacts to Arctic coastal environments are intensifying with nearshore oceanographic conditions acting as a key environmental driver. Robust and comprehensive assessment of the nearshore oceanographic conditions require knowledge of the following boundary conditions: incident wave energy, water level, incident wind energy, ocean temperature and salinity, bathymetry, and shoreline orientation. The number of offshore oceanographic boundary conditions can be large, requiring a significant computational investment to reproduce nearshore conditions. This present study develops location-independent typologies to reduce the number of boundary conditions needed to assess nearshore oceanographic environments in both a Historical (2007–2019) and Future (2020–2040) timespan along the Alaskan North Slope. We used WAVEWATCH III® and Delft3D Flexible Mesh model output from six oceanographic sites located along a constant ~50 m bathymetric line spanning the Chukchi to Beaufort Seas. K-means clustering was applied to the energy-weighted joint-probability distribution of significant wave height (H s ) and peak period (T p ). Distributions of wave and wind direction, wind speed, and water level associated with location-independent centroids were assigned single values to describe a reduced order, typological rendition of offshore oceanographic conditions. Reanalysis data (e.g., ASRv2, ERA5, and GOFS) grounded the historical simulations while projected conditions were obtained from downscaled GFDL-CM3 forced under RCP8.5 conditions. Location-dependence for each site is established through the occurrence joint-probability distribution in the form of unique scaling factors representing the fraction of time that the typology would occupy over a representative year. As anticipated, these typologies show increasingly energetic ocean conditions in the future. They also enable computationally efficient simulation of the nearshore oceanographic environment along the North Slope of Alaska for better characterization of coastal processes (e.g., erosion, flooding, or sediment transport).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Efficient First-Order Algorithms for Large-Scale, Non-Smooth Maximum Entropy Models with Application to Wildfire Science

Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models are a class of statistical models that use the maximum entropy principle to estimate probability distributions from data. Due to the size of modern data sets, MaxEnt models need efficient optimization algorithms to scale well for big data applications. State-of-the-art algorithms for MaxEnt models, however, were not originally designed to handle big data sets; these algorithms either rely on technical devices that may yield unreliable numerical results, scale poorly, or require smoothness assumptions that many practical MaxEnt models lack. In this paper, we present novel optimization algorithms that overcome the shortcomings of state-of-the-art algorithms for training large-scale, non-smooth MaxEnt models. Our proposed first-order algorithms leverage the Kullback–Leibler divergence to train large-scale and non-smooth MaxEnt models efficiently. For MaxEnt models with discrete probability distribution of n elements built from samples, each containing m features, the stepsize parameter estimation and iterations in our algorithms scale on the order of O(mn) operations and can be trivially parallelized. Moreover, the strong ℓ1 convexity of the Kullback–Leibler divergence allows for larger stepsize parameters, thereby speeding up the convergence rate of our algorithms. To illustrate the efficiency of our novel algorithms, we consider the problem of estimating probabilities of fire occurrences as a function of ecological features in the Western US MTBS-Interagency wildfire data set. Our numerical results show that our algorithms outperform the state of the art by one order of magnitude and yield results that agree with physical models of wildfire occurrence and previous statistical analyses of wildfire drivers.

Physics↗

Biophotonic rogue waves in red blood cell suspensions

Rogue waves are ubiquitous in nature, appearing in a variety of physical systems ranging from acoustics, microwave cavities, optical fibers, and resonators to plasmas, superfluids, and Bose–Einstein condensates. Unlike nonlinear solitary waves, rogue waves are extreme events that can occur even without nonlinearity by, for example, spontaneous synchronization of waves with different spatial frequencies in a linear system. Here, we report the observation of rogue-wave-like events in human red blood cell (RBC) suspensions under weak light illumination, characterized by an abnormal L-shaped probability distribution. Such biophotonic extreme events arise mostly due to the constructive interference of Mie-scattered waves from the suspended RBCs, whose biconcave shape and mutable orientation give rise to a time-dependent random phase modulation to an incident laser beam. We numerically simulate the beam propagation through the colloidal suspensions with added disorder in both spatial and temporal domains to mimic random scattering due to Brownian motion. In addition, at high power levels, nonlinear beam self-focusing is also observed, leading to a dual-exponential probability distribution associated with the formation of multiple soliton-like spots. Such rogue wave events should also exist in environments with cells of other species such as swimming bacteria, and understanding of their underlying physics may lead to unexpected biophotonic applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Quantifying the impact of climate change on erosion - 20397

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is the owner of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC), a 1,351-ha (3,338-ac) site located approximately 48 km (30 mi) south of Buffalo, New York. In 1962, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) entered into Agreements with the Atomic Energy Commission and New York State to construct the first commercial reprocessing plant of nuclear fuel in the United States. NFS, a private company, built and operated the spent fuel reprocessing plant and waste disposal facilities, processing 640 Mg (metric tons, or 705 short tons) of spent nuclear fuel from 1966 to 1972 under an Atomic Energy Commission license. Nuclear fuel reprocessing operations ended in 1972 and never reopened, leaving behind radioactive and chemical wastes. Erosion can play an important role in the fate and transport of waste at sites where disposal of long-lived waste is anticipated. The statistical characterization of key processes related to erosion is essential to the understanding of site stability through time. One of the key processes governing erosion is extreme precipitation and it is critical that trends in the distribution of extreme precipitation events through time be represented. The evidence of climate change is increasingly well documented and projected impacts on extreme precipitation events should be incorporated in performance assessment studies when relevant. Not evaluating future climate states in a performance assessment is contradictory to good modeling practice. Specifically, excluding climate change limits development of modeling information that could aid in effective decision making. The current climate literature provides both observational evidence and climate model projections of climate trends and/or climate change in the late 20. and early 21. centuries for North America and the northeast United States. In this work, this information was used to assess the impacts of potential changes in climate on erosion processes. The goal was to understand how projections of future climate relate to the performance of the WNYNSC through time. In the first stage of this work multi-temporal historical aerial images were analyzed in conjunction with orthophotography and Lidar data to develop probability distributions for variables representing important erosion processes. The information from these analyses was then used in conjunction with simulated data from the West Valley Erosion Working Group (EWG). Analysis of EWG simulations provides estimates for the change in erosion rates through time that is driven by changes in climate. The time-varying rates of erosion change were applied to the historical aerial imagery data in order to inform time-varying rates of erosion that are driven by changes in climate. Ultimately, this process resulted in the identification of locations for features like gully heads using both the Lidar dataset and projection of the estimated location from the historical aerial photo under consideration back to the Lidar dataset. The distance between the estimate of the location from the historical image and that of the Lidar dataset was the estimated distance the feature has moved. This distance was then divided by the number of years between the Lidar dataset and the year of the historical aerial image of interest to get a rate of movement through time. This was done for several dozen points on each historical aerial image. The analyses from the EWG were used to characterize the relative impact of climate change on the erosion rates. This relative impact was quantified by comparing the LEM based estimates of erosion that were derived using historical climate data with LEM based estimates of erosion that were derived using projections of future climate. The relative increase in the erosion rates was then applied to the historical estimates of erosion derived from the analysis of the historical aerial imagery. This approach was used since the LEM-based estimated of the historical erosion rates from the past century have a bias towards underestimating erosion. This underestimation is hypothesized to be a consequence of an inability of the LEMs to account for the impacts of land-use change (i.e. deforestation) which had been shown to significantly increase erosion in similar Northern hardwood forest ecosystems. In summary, gully head retreat rate and gully widening rate were characterized using statistical probability distributions from the historical aerial image analysis. Simulated data from the EWG was used to estimate the climatically-driven changes in erosion rates through time. The changes through time from the EWG were applied to the gully head retreat rate and gully widening rate characterized using the historical aerial image analysis. This information can be used to inform PPA models to project future risks from a given site. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Dynamics of heavy quarks in strongly coupled $\mathcal{N}$ = 4 SYM plasma

We calculate the probability distribution P(k) for a heavy quark with velocity v propagating through strongly coupled N = 4 SYM plasma in the ’t Hooft limit (N c → ∞, λ = g 2 N c → ∞) at a temperature T to acquire a momentum k due to interactions with the plasma. This distribution encodes the well-known drag coefficient η D and the transverse and longitudinal momentum diffusion coefficients κ T and κ L . The jet quenching parameter $\hat{q}$ can be extracted from P(k) for v = 1. Going beyond these known Gaussian characteristics of P(k), our calculation determines all of the higher order and mixed moments to leading order in 1/$\sqrt{λ}$ for the first time. These non-Gaussian features of P(k) include qualitatively novel correlations between longitudinal energy loss and transverse momentum broadening at nonzero v. We show that all higher moments scale characteristically with an effective temperature of the boosted plasma in the heavy quark rest frame, and we demonstrate that these non-Gaussian characteristics can be sizable in magnitude and even dominant in physically relevant situations. We use these results to derive a Kolmogorov equation for the evolution of the probability distribution for the total momentum of a heavy quark that propagates through strongly coupled plasma. This evolution equation accounts for all higher order correlations between transverse momentum broadening and longitudinal energy loss, which we have calculated from first principles. It reduces to a Fokker-Planck equation when truncated to only include the effects of η D , κ T and κ L . Remarkably, while heavy quarks do not reach kinetic equilibrium with the plasma if evolved with this Fokker-Planck equation, by showing that the Boltzmann distribution is a static solution of the all-order Kolmogorov equation that we have derived we demonstrate that heavy quarks do reach kinetic equilibrium if evolved with this equation. Our results thus provide a dynamically complete framework for understanding the thermalization of a heavy quark that may be initially far from equilibrium in the strongly coupled N = 4 SYM plasma — as well as new insight into heavy quark transport and equilibration in quark-gluon plasma.

Holography and Hydrodynamics↗

Bayesian Monte Carlo Evaluation of Imperfect (n, 233 U) Data and Model

Conventional nuclear data evaluation methods using generalized linear least squares make the following assumptions: prior and posterior probability distribution functions (PDFs) of all model parameters and data are normal (Gaussian); the linear approximation is sufficiently accurate to minimize the cost function (even for nonlinear models); the model (e.g., of neutron cross section) and experimental data (including covariance data) are without defect and prior PDFs of parameters and measured data are known perfectly. Neglect of covariance between model parameters and measured data in conventional evaluations contributes to imperfections. These assumptions are inherent to the generalized linear least squares minimization method commonly used for resolved resonance region neutron cross section evaluations but are often not justified due to the presence of non-normal PDFs, nonlinear models (e.g., R-matrix formalism), and inherent imperfections in data and models (e.g., imperfect covariance data). Here, these assumptions are removed in a mathematical framework of Bayes’ theorem, which is implemented using the Metropolis-Hastings Monte Carlo method. Most importantly, new parameters are introduced to parameterize discrepancies between the theoretical model and measured data to quantify judgement about discrepancies or imperfections in a reproducible manner. An evaluation of 233U in the eV region using the ENDF-B/VIII.0 library and transmission data (Guber et al.) is presented, and posterior parameters are compared to those obtained by conventional evaluation methods. This example illustrates the effects of removing the most harmful assumption: that of model-data perfection.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

cdf_normalize

The code performs image intensity normalization. A new intensity normalization method is presented, which works well with images whose pixel intensity distribution follow a Gamma Probability Distribution. Some examples are provided to show the normalization effect. This new intensity normalization method is also compared to some other well-established intensity normalization methods.

Mundhenk, TerrellN.↗

Using Signal Clustering Similarity for Detecting CAN Masquerade Attacks

The computer code assumes that time series representing the physical signals of the vehicle have been extracted from the CAN bus. The main input of the computer code is the multivariate time series representation of the signals in the CAN bus. The computer code cluster these time series using agglomerative hierarchical clustering from benign and attack datasets. Based on this, it generates probability distributions from the similarity of the obtained clusters based in each scenario---benign and attack---using the CluSim method (https://github.com/Hoosier-Clusters/clusim). Finally, it compares how a new data collection compares with the previous distribution to provide and probability score for an intrusion.

Moriano, Pablo↗

Evaluation of Weakly Informed Priors for FLEX Data

On behalf of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has reviewed the development and use of “weakly informed prior” (WIP) probability distributions to obtain industry-wide failure probability and rate distributions for portable “FLEX” equipment, as documented in the Pressurized Water Reactor Owner’s Group (PWROG) report, FLEX Equipment Data Collection and Analysis (PWROG 18043-P) by MM Degonish. The review includes a description of the methods used by the PWROG analysts. It also includes an implementation of those methods for comparison purposes and an implementation of two constrained-noninformative (CN) distributions for further WIP comparisons. The report documents several issues that the review identified in the development of the WIP distributions. They relate to the quality and representativeness of the current portable “FLEX” component data, the choice of informed distributions for related installed components, and the lack of verification for the factors chosen to weaken the information from the installed components. Two errors occurred in the computations: the posterior distribution of the WIP was used to modify the WIP itself, resulting in a lack of independence between the WIP and the data; and an error was made in the conversion of WIP mean and variance values to beta distributions. The INL reviewers think the WIP distributions presented in the report are untenable for use in risk assessments at the present time because of these issues.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Approximate Boltzmann distributions in quantum approximate optimization

Approaches to compute or estimate the output probability distributions from the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) are needed to assess the likelihood it will obtain a quantum computational advantage. We analyze output from QAOA circuits solving 7200 random MaxCut instances, with $n$ = 14–23 qubits and depth parameter $p$ ≤ 12 and find that the average basis state probabilities follow approximate Boltzmann distributions: The average probabilities scale exponentially with their energy (cut value), with a peak at the optimal solution. Furthermore, we describe the rate of exponential scaling or effective temperature in terms of a series with a leading-order term $T$ ~ $C$ min /$n$ $\sqrt{p}$, with $C$ min the optimal solution energy. Using this scaling, we generate approximate output distributions with up to 38 qubits and find these give accurate accounts of important performance metrics in cases we can simulate exactly.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Simulated effect of edge plasma density parameters on lower hybrid wave scattering in EAST

The incorporation of lower hybrid (LH) wave spectrum broadening in the poloidal wavenumber (⁠k θ ) space at the last close field surface (LCFS) is reported to lead to better agreement of the modeled LH wave current profile with the experimental results [Baek et al., Nucl. Fusion 61, 106034 (2021)]. To further understand its underlying mechanism and find the possible influence factors, effects of wave scattering caused by drift-wave type density fluctuation on the probability distribution of the LH wave polar refractive index (⁠N θ ) at the LCFS are studied under density parameters in the scrape-off-layer. According to a scattering model [P. T. Bonoli and E. Ott, Phys Fluids 25(2), 359–375 (1982)], scattering probability and scattering angle distribution are two main factors that determine the degree of spectral broadening. Studies presented here show that the total scattering probability increases first and then decreases as the wave propagates toward a smaller normalized radius of poloidal magnetic flux (⁠ρ⁠). The degree of spectral broadening is found to depend on the density and density fluctuation together by changing the intensity and a proportion of the geometrical optics approximation term and the E×B drift term in the scattering model. Additionally, the fluctuation correlation length can significantly modify the probability distribution of N θ at the LCFS, which is found to significantly change the LH wave current profile.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Photometric redshifts for the S-PLUS Survey: Is machine learning up to the task?

The Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) is a novel project that aims to map the Southern Hemisphere using a twelve filter system, comprising five broad-band SDSS-like filters and seven narrow-band filters optimized for important stellar features in the local universe. In this paper we use the photometry and morphological information from the first S-PLUS data release (S-PLUS DR1) cross-matched to unWISE data and spectroscopic redshifts from Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR15. We explore three different machine learning methods (Gaussian Processes with GPz and two Deep Learning models made with TensorFlow) and compare them with the currently used template-fitting method in the S-PLUS DR1 to address whether machine learning methods can take advantage of the twelve filter system for photometric redshift prediction. Using tests for accuracy for both single-point estimates such as the calculation of the scatter, bias, and outlier fraction, and probability distribution functions (PDFs) such as the Probability Integral Transform (PIT), the Continuous Ranked Probability Score (CRPS) and the Odds distribution, we conclude that a deep-learning method using a combination of a Bayesian Neural Network and a Mixture Density Network offers the most accurate photometric redshifts for the current test sample. In conclusion, it achieves single-point photometric redshifts with scatter (σ NMAD ) of 0.023, normalized bias of -0.001, and outlier fraction of 0.64% for galaxies with r_auto magnitudes between 16 and 21.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Probabilistic Voltage Sensitivity Analysis to Quantify Impact of High PV Penetration on Unbalanced Distribution System

From an operational and planning perspective, it is important to quantify the impact of increasing penetration of photovoltaics on the distribution system. Most existing impact assessment studies are scenario-based where derived results are scenario specific and not generalizable. Moreover, stochasticity in the temporal behavior of spatially distributed PVs requires a large number of scenarios that increase with the size of the network and the level of penetration. Therefore, we propose a new computationally efficient analytical framework of voltage sensitivity analysis that allows for stochastic analysis of voltage change due to random changes in PV generation. We first derive an analytical approximation for voltage change at any node of the network due to change in power at other nodes in an unbalanced distribution network. The quality of this approximation is reinforced via bounds on the approximation error. Then, we derive the probability distribution of voltage change at a certain node due to random changes in power injections/consumptions at multiple locations of the network. The accuracy of the proposed PVSA is illustrated using a modified version of the IEEE 37 bus test system. As a result, the proposed PVSA can serve as a powerful tool for proactive monitoring/control and ease the computational burden associated with perturbation based cybersecurity mechanisms.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

A Eulerian three-fluid flow framework for the study of fuel dispersal behavior under loss-of-coolant accident conditions

As the nuclear industry explores new fuel designs to accommodate increased burnup, studying fuel behavior during loss-of-coolant accidents is essential for ensuring the safe operation of light-water reactors. Here, this study presents a computational model to simulate the intricate three-phase flow dynamics of fuel dispersal following cladding breach, where solid fuel particles and carrier fission gases interact with the surrounding liquid or gas medium. The model utilizes a Eulerian three-fluid framework to depict the phase interaction within interpenetrating continua, treating fragmented fuel as granular material. Closure relationships for bulk-flow properties of the solid phase and detailed interfacial exchange terms in high-temperature, high-speed gas-solid-liquid flow scenarios are proposed. The model was validated using adiabatic experimental results in the literature, focusing on characterizing fuel dispersal behavior during loss-of-coolant accidents conditions. Settlement characteristics of the solids, quantified by the probability distribution of equivalent particles, closely matched probability density functions reported in experimental studies. Key highlights of this study include the theoretical description of a coupled three-phase flow with phase change, interpretation of the high-pressure boundary conditions and insights into the transient behavior of gas-solid-liquid phase dynamics during a simulated high-speed dispersal event.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Asymptotic inconsistency of the cumulative algorithm for laser-induced damage probability analysis

The “cumulative algorithm” is a data analysis method that has been proposed to provide an objective, nonparametric determination of laser-induced damage probability as a function of fluence from experimental data that contain both damaged sites and undamaged sites (i.e., 1-on-1 or S-on-1 testing protocols). In this work, the limitations of this approach are explored by considering the asymptotic limit of a large number of test sites. It is shown that the cumulative algorithm does not converge to the true probability distribution and significantly underestimates the damage probability near the damage onset. Here, based on the results of this work, the cumulative algorithm is not recommended for accurate estimation of damage probability.

Computational methods↗

An Enhanced Computational Framework for Energy Storage Participation in Transmission Planning with Electricity Market Participation: Dynamic Market Participation Restriction Estimation

In the previous study and report, we developed a computational framework to explore the technical and economic viability of the dual use of pumped storage hydropower (PSH) for both transmission assets and market participation. The rationale for the dual-use application is to improve the resource utilization rate and reduce the cost recovery burden. A PSH-based transmission solution generally has a large capacity, which corresponds to a higher investment cost compared to a traditional line solution. Market participation may allow the PSH asset to offset part of its high investment cost. A critical question is whether it is economically and technically viable to allow dual use of a PSH-based transmission project without jeopardizing transmission system reliability. And a more specific follow-up question is how to improve market participation performance while maintaining transmission reliability. In this study, we extend the computational framework by updating the method to determine transmission service obligation requirements dynamically based on the possibility of the need for transmission service in operation. Specifically, we correlate the need for transmission service with the probability of thermal overloading on a monitored transmission line, which is essentially based on the probability distribution of power flow and its probability of exceeding the line rating based on system dispatch and operational uncertainties. In addition, the need depends on the level of risk that a system operator is willing to take. The higher the risk tolerance, the lower the requirement that the system operator would apply to the PSH project as a transmission asset. The requirements are updated every day before the PSH project determines its market participation strategy. With the updated transmission service requirements, it is expected that a PSH project can serve as a transmission asset when the transmission system is at risk and really needs it, while it can participate in a market with sufficient information and certain restrictions. In this way, the transmission service quality and market participation performance can both be improved.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Experimental investigation of probabilistic failure of SiC/SiC composite tubes under multiaxial loading

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the failure behavior of SiC fiber-reinforced SiC matrix (SiC/SiC) composite tubes under multiaxial loading. A new testing apparatus is designed to independently apply axial stress and internal pressure to SiC/SiC tubes. Acoustic emission (AE) is used to monitor the damage growth in the specimen. Based on the measured stress–strain response, a strain-based criterion is proposed to determine the proportional limit stress (PLS). The proposed strain-based criterion is compared with the PLS determined by the AE measurement. The PLS is determined for different loading ratios to form a multiaxial failure surface. By testing multiple replicates, the statistical variations of the PLS are determined. In conclusion, based on the experimental results, a mathematical model is developed to characterize the probability distribution of the PLS of SiC/SiC composites under multiaxial loading.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Aircraft Observations of Turbulence in Cloudy and Cloud-Free Boundary Layers Over the Western North Atlantic Ocean From ACTIVATE and Implications for the Earth System Model Evaluation and Development

This study examines boundary layer turbulence derived from high temporal resolution meteorological measurements from 40 research flights over the western North Atlantic Ocean during the 2020 deployments of ACTIVATE. Frequency distributions of various turbulent quantities reveal stronger turbulence during the winter deployment than in summer and for cloud‐topped than in cloud‐free boundary layers during the summer deployment. Maximum turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) is most often within cloud from observations in winter and summer, whereas it is mostly below cloud in both seasons by a global model turbulence parameterization. Further, bivariate frequency distributions are consistent with the bivariate Gaussian probability distribution functions assumed for the closure of higher‐order turbulence/shallow convection parameterizations used by some global models. Turbulence simulated by the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 and the Energy Exascale Earth System Model Atmosphere Model version 2 using such parameterizations is not as strong as observed, with more TKE going into vertical wind perturbations rather than into zonal wind perturbations as observed, suggesting that the treatment of turbulence in Earth system models still needs to be further improved.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗