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At least 901 records · Page 50
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Understanding aerosol properties in convective outflows during TRACER

Convective outflow boundaries commonly form across the southeastern U.S., often originating from storms initiated along sea-breeze fronts. As outflows spread, merge, and collide, they frequently trigger secondary convection in air masses already modified by primary storm outflow. This resulting air mass carries a distinctive aerosol population, which can influence the development of secondary convective cells. During the U.S. DOE TRACER field campaign in summer 2022, we investigated how outflows affect aerosol size, composition, and hygroscopicity across Greater Houston, Texas. Using a novel detection algorithm, we identified and verified 72 outflow boundaries from surface meteorological observations. In the relatively simple continental environment northwest of Houston, a common relationship emerged between CCN-inferred hygroscopicity (κ) and size-resolved aerosol concentrations. The κ of aerosols typically decreased in size ranges where aerosol concentrations increased following outflow passage and increased where concentrations decreased. In contrast, at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement’s (ARM) fixed site in La Porte, Texas, the aerosol response depended on outflow direction, shaped by concentrated industrial and shipping activity to the north and south/southeast along the Houston Ship Channel. Concurrent size distribution and composition changes suggested case-specific variability in κ, with either reinforcing or offsetting effects. Outflows passing over industrial/shipping sectors often promoted less hygroscopic aerosol populations while cleaner residential outflows often favored more hygroscopic aerosol populations. These results highlight key aerosol changes following outflow passage, providing a foundation for improved understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions related to secondary convection initiation along or in the wake of outflow boundaries.

Thompson, Seth A. [Texas A & M Univ., College Stat↗
DOE OSTI2020

Shifting modes of iron sulfidization at the onset of OAE-2 drive regional shifts in pyrite δ 34 S records

We report total reduced inorganic S isotope ratios (δ 34 S CRS ) shift toward more negative values across much of the southern North Atlantic just before the onset of the Cenomanian-Turonian Ocean Anoxic Event (OAE-2). At the same time, there is no parallel isotopic change in the significantly larger pool of kerogen (organic) S, which indicates that the distribution and S-isotope composition of sulfide in the environment likely did not drive the change in δ 34 S CRS . Here, we investigate possible explanations for the negative shift in δ 34 S CRS values and their divergence from organic S by isolating iron sulfides for morphological identification and grain-specific isotopic analysis using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). In pre- and syn-OAE-2 sedimentary rocks from Demerara Rise, we find four distinct morphologies of iron sulfides: pyrite framboids (1–20 μm diameter), irregular pyrite aggregates (1–38 μm diameter), large cemented pyrite aggregates (~60 μm diameter), and irregular and cemented aggregates of the pyrite polymorph marcasite (1–45 μm diameter). These different textural groups have distinct S-isotopic compositions that are largely consistent through the onset of OAE-2. As such, the secular change in bulk δ 34 S CRS values likely reflects the changing proportions of these phases stratigraphically across OAE-2. All textural groups feature resolvable intra-grain δ 34 S variability, suggesting that the environments in which they formed were characterized by dynamic sulfide δ 34 S values and/or by partial closed-system distillation. We use grain-specific δ 34 S distributions to rule out shoaling of the chemocline within the sediments as a mechanism for the observed decrease in δ 34 S CRS . Instead, we propose that changes in the reactivity of the iron species delivered to Demerara Rise over the ~200 kyr leading up to the onset of OAE-2 impacted the relative contributions of pyrite with S-isotope signatures reflecting the water column, shallow sediments, and deeper sediments to the bulk sedimentary δ 34 S CRS value. Specifically, the change in iron reactivity at the onset of OAE-2 favored the production of 34 S-depleted large, cemented aggregates and framboids at the expense of more 34 S-enriched irregular aggregates. Our results underscore that bulk δ 34 S CRS measurements integrate multiple reduced phases that form via distinct reaction mechanisms and potentially in different parts of the depositional environment. Grain-specific SIMS analyses dramatically enrich our ability to interpret pyrite isotopic patterns in the geologic record.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Uranium Immobility in Tims Branch Wetland

The objective of this study was to address an item identified by the Low-Level Waste Disposal Facility Federal Review Group (LFRG) panel during their review of the Savannah River Site’s Composite Analysis. Their concern was that the Tims Branch wetland, which has elevated levels of uranium (U) originating from site operations between 1952 to 1985, may be a secondary source term, posing a human health risk. This report briefly describes three studies dealing with: 1) quantifying the mass of U remaining in the wetland, 2) quantifying the tendency of U to release from Tims Branch sediment, and 3) describing the distribution of U in aqueous and suspended solids in Tims Branch water during episodic storm events. The Tims Branch wetland has been extremely effective for the last 50 years at immobilizing U released to the system. A detailed map including 270,000 gamma spectra of the U distribution in the wetland indicated that 84% of the initial 43,500 kg U introduced in the system remain there after 50 years (Kaplan et al., 2020). The effectiveness of immobilizing U is supported by stream water measurements collected over the last several decades indicating that U concentrations have been consistently below drinking water regulatory limits (i.e., the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level, 30 pg/L (SRNS, 2019)). Furthermore, using contaminated Tims Branch sediments, in situ desorption Kd values (ratio of U sediment/U Water) were extremely high, ranging from 104to 106 L/kg, suggesting the U is strongly bound to these wetland sediments. Finally, a detailed study of Tims Branch stream water properties during episodic rain events indicated that essentially all the U transported in this stream was associated with suspended solids (Batson et al., 1996). Together these findings indicate that the Tims Branch wetland is extremely effective in its present state at immobilizing U and that the small masses of U released downstream will be predominantly in association with suspended solids.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1981

HR 4511 - A probable Cepheid with a supergiant-like hot companion

IUE observations have shown HR 4511 to have an early B-type companion with a strong stellar wind. Fitting the energy distribution of the system from far-UV to middle-IR yields a difference of about 3.2 mag at the V passband. Since HR 4511 is in the small cluster Stock 14 and has M(V) = -7.8, M(V) for the secondary is about -4.6, which is only slightly more luminous than the known BO.5 III and B1 stars at the turnoff point. This implies an inconsistency between the deduced luminosity of the secondary and the nature of its UV spectrum, which mimics stars of considerably greater luminosity. It is suggested that the secondary may have been observed in a brief stage between core and shell H burning.

Parsons, S. B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Bounds on intergalactic compact objects from observations of compact radio sources

The constraints that can be imposed on the cosmic density of uniformly distributed intergalactic compact objects in the mass range of 10 million to 1 billion solar masses, using VLBI observations of compact radio sources. A compact object at a sufficiently small angular separation from a compact radio source produces a deamplified and inverted secondary image. No such cases are known. Using published maps of compact radio sources and assuming an Einstein-de Sitter cosmology, a density parameter for mass in this range greater than 0.4 is excluded at the 99.7 percent confidence level. Observations using the VLBA should allow one to exclude or discover a density parameter greater than about 0.001 for compact objects in the mass range of 0.1-100 solar masses.

Kassiola, Aggeliki↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Oxygen isotopic mapping of a clast in fragment C0002 from asteroid Ryugu

The samples of Ryugu returned by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft have mineralogy similar to CI chondrites and are dominated by secondary phases(e.g., phyllosilicates, carbonates, magnetite, sulfides) from extensive parent body aqueous alteration. Anhydrous minerals such as olivine, pyroxene, and spinel are rare and exist in phyllosilicate-rich clasts [2-4]. Oxygen isotopic studies of these minerals have shown a bimodal distribution with both 16O-rich and 16O-poor grains. In this study, we conducted NanoSIMS isotopic mapping of a clast found in a fragment of a C0002 grain from Chamber C, which may have derived from the asteroid sub-surface, to characterize small primary minerals

A N Nguyen↗
DOE OSTI2024

Calcined Polyethyleneimine-Coated Optical Fibers for Distributed pH Monitoring at High Pressures and Temperatures

In the oil and gas, CO2 sequestration, H2 subsurface storage, and geothermal energy sectors, subsurface pH measurements are critical for monitoring the geochemical conditions and estimating potential corrosion rates of wellbore systems. Real-time pH measurements in these conditions are vital for detecting and predicting corrosion deterioration of wellbore components that may jeopardize the safety and continued operation of wellbore systems. Previous tests using metal oxide-based coatings (TiO2) provided strong responses at elevated temperatures and moderate pressure stability but provided poor differentiation between acidic and alkaline solutions. Building off the pH responsiveness of the TiO2 surface and known pH sensitivity of amine-based polymers, a coating based on the secondary amine polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI) was developed. As the polymer itself is highly water soluble and easily removed by aqueous solutions, the sensor coating was treated with a high temperature (500 °C) calcination procedure in air to convert it into a more stable oxidized coating capable of withstanding hot aqueous solutions without dissolving while retaining linear pH sensitivity from pH values between 2 and 11. The sensor performance was measured using optical transmission measurements in solutions of various pHs and using optical backscatter reflectometry for distributed pH sensing demonstration in wellbore-relevant pressures (up to 1,000 psi) and temperatures (80 °C).

Shumski, Alexander↗
DOE OSTI2025

Galaxy-multiplet clustering from DESI DR2

We present an efficient estimator for higher-order galaxy clustering using small groups of nearby galaxies, or multiplets. Using the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) sample from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Data Release 2, we identify galaxy multiplets as discrete objects and measure their cross-correlations with the general galaxy field. Our results show that the multiplets exhibit stronger clustering bias as they trace more massive dark matter halos than individual galaxies. When comparing the observed clustering statistics with the mock catalogs generated from the N-body simulation AbacusSummit, we find that the mocks underpredict multiplet clustering despite reproducing the galaxy two-point auto-correlation reasonably well. This discrepancy indicates that the standard Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD) model is insufficient to describe the properties of galaxy multiplets, revealing the greater constraining power of this higher-order statistic on galaxy-halo connection and the possibility that multiplets are specific to additional assembly bias. We demonstrate that incorporating secondary biases into the HOD model improves agreement with the observed multiplet statistics, specifically by allowing galaxies to preferentially occupy halos in denser environments. Our results highlight the potential of utilizing multiplet clustering, beyond traditional two-point correlation measurements, to break degeneracies in models describing the galaxy-dark matter connection.

cosmology↗
DOE OSTI2021

Improving I/O Performance for Exascale Applications through Online Data Layout Reorganization

The applications being developed within the U.S. Exascale Computing Project (ECP) to run on imminent Exascale computers will generate scientific results with unprecedented fidelity and record turn-around time. Many of these codes are based on particle-mesh methods and use advanced algorithms, especially dynamic load-balancing and mesh-refinement, to achieve high performance on Exascale machines. Yet, as such algorithms improve parallel application efficiency, they raise new challenges for I/O logic due to their irregular and dynamic data distributions. Thus, while the enormous data rates of Exascale simulations already challenge existing file system write strategies, the need for efficient read and processing of generated data introduces additional constraints on the data layout strategies that can be used when writing data to secondary storage. We review these I/O challenges and introduce two online data layout reorganization approaches for achieving good tradeoffs between read and write performance. We demonstrate the benefits of using these two approaches for the ECP particle-in-cell simulation WarpX, which serves as a motif for a large class of important Exascale applications. Here, we show that by understanding application I/O patterns and carefully designing data layouts we can increase read performance by more than 80 percent.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Technical Learning and Integration of Interns in Advanced Protection Lab Space: Enhancements to Testbed and Experiments to Improve Workflows for Producing Datasets

This report presents a successful technical learning integration of student interns in the Advanced Protection Laboratory space, located in the Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center (GRID-C) at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The Advanced Protection Laboratory was created for the primary goal of supporting DOE’s research projects and technical staff at ORNL. As a secondary goal, the space was used for collaborating with ORNL’s intern programs, providing support to the lab’s mentors and student interns. In 2024, three student interns spent a summer in the Advanced Protection lab space and were involved in the DarkNet Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) project. The students had a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience with communication and protective relay equipment focused on information technology, data analytics, and cybersecurity. Experiences in the lab space with real equipment and software integration offer education and professional development for students, which is especially important because of a need in the energy industry to recruit highly skilled power and communication engineers.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

A dictionary learning algorithm for compression and reconstruction of streaming data in preset order

There has been an emerging interest in developing and applying dictionary learning (DL) to process massive datasets in the last decade. Many of these efforts, however, focus on employing DL to compress and extract a set of important features from data, while considering restoring the original data from this set a secondary goal. On the other hand, although several methods are able to process streaming data by updating the dictionary incrementally as new snapshots pass by, most of those algorithms are designed for the setting where the snapshots are randomly drawn from a probability distribution. In this paper, we present a new DL approach to compress and denoise massive dataset in real time, in which the data are streamed through in a preset order (instances are videos and temporal experimental data), so at any time, we can only observe a biased sample set of the whole data. Here, our approach incrementally builds up the dictionary in a relatively simple manner: if the new snapshot is adequately explained by the current dictionary, we perform a sparse coding to find its sparse representation; otherwise, we add the new snapshot to the dictionary, with a Gram-Schmidt process to maintain the orthogonality. To compress and denoise noisy datasets, we apply the denoising to the snapshot directly before sparse coding, which deviates from traditional dictionary learning approach that achieves denoising via sparse coding. Compared to full-batch matrix decomposition methods, where the whole data is kept in memory, and other mini-batch approaches, where unbiased sampling is often assumed, our approach has minimal requirement in data sampling and storage: i) each snapshot is only seen once then discarded, and ii) the snapshots are drawn in a preset order, so can be highly biased. Through experiments on climate simulations and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) data, we demonstrate that the proposed approach performs competitively to those methods in data reconstruction and denoising.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1974

Some new results on electron transport in the atmosphere

The penetration, diffusion and slowing down of electrons in a semiinfinite air medium has been studied by the Monte Carlo method. The results are applicable in the atmosphere at altitudes up to 300 km. Most of the results pertain to monoenergetic electron beams, with energies between 2 keV and 2 MeV, injected into the atmosphere at a height of 300 km, either vertically downwards or with a pitch-angle distribution isotropic over the downward hemisphere. Some results were also obtained for various initial pitch angles between 0 and 90 deg. Information has been generated concerning the backscattering of electrons from the atmosphere, the altitude dependence of energy deposition by electrons and by secondary bremsstrahlung, and the evolution of electron flux spectra as function of the atmospheric depth.

Berger, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Experimental investigation of the flow on the suction side of a thin Delta wing

Surface oil flow patterns were photographed and pressure distribution measurements were carried out on a sharp edged delta wing of aspect ratio lambda = 1.0 in order to determine the influence of Reynolds number and of vortex breakdown on the flow on the suction side of the wing. The formation of the secondary vortex occurs due to separation of a laminar boundary layer in the front part of the wing and due to separation of a turbulent boundary layer in the rear part of the wing. In the case of turbulent separation, the secondary separation line is closer to the wing leading edge than in the laminar case. The position of the transition depends on the Reynolds number and on the angle of incidence. The breakdown of a vortex above the wing leads to a kink in the secondary separation line.

Hummel, D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Multifrequency observations of a solar microwave burst with two-dimensional spatial resolution

Frequency-agile interferometry observations using three baselines and the technique of frequency synthesis were used to obtain two-dimensional positions of multiple microwave sources at several frequency ranges in a solar flare. Source size and brightness temperature spectra were obtained near the peak of the burst. The size spectrum shows that the source size decreases rapidly with increasing frequency, but the brightness temperature spectrum can be well-fitted by gyrosynchrotron emission from a nonthermal distribution of electrons with power-law index of 4.8. The spatial structure of the burst showed several characteristics in common with primary/secondary bursts discussed by Nakajima et al. (1985). A source of coherent plasma emission at low frequencies is found near the secondary gyrosynchrotron source, associated with the leader spots of the active region.

Gary, Dale E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

On the scale of surface features in hypersonic swept shock boundary-layer interactions

A parametric study of a Mach 8 fin-induced shock interaction with a turbulent boundary layer was performed in a shock tunnel using surface oil-dot visualization and surface pressure measurements. The study showed that the interaction was separated and secondary separation was detected for the strongest cases studied. Although the inviscid shock wave was close to the fin, the interaction was spread over large angular extents. The interaction showed inception to conical symmetry at the highest shock strengths. Additionally, the surface pressure distribution showed an extensive plateau region, with no distinct dip associated with strongly separated interactions. Between the fin and the inviscid shock, the surface pressure rose rapidly but did not approach the downstream inviscid shock, the surface pressure rose rapidly but did not approach the downstream inviscid value.

Pace, E. G.↗
NASA NTRS1995

The isotopic composition of iron-group galactic cosmic rays

Results from studies of the isotopic composition of iron group elements in the galactic cosmic radiation are reviewed, emphasizing recently reported measurements from the ISEE-3 spacecraft. The observed isotope distributions for the elements Ti through Mn are in good agreement with those expected for a propagated solar-like source composition, with the possible exception of an enhanced abundance of Ti-50. It is found that a significant fraction of the radioactive secondary nuclide Mn-54 has decayed, indicating a confinement time of iron group cosmic rays in the galaxy of at least 2 Myr. The source ratio Fe-54/Fe-56 is found to be consistent with the solar value, but the ratio Ni-60/Ni-58 is greater than solar by a factor of 2.8+/-1.0. The measured abundance of Co-59 is significantly greater than the calculated secondary contribution, suggesting that this nuclide has been produced in the source regions by the electron capture decay of Ni-59 and implying a time delay between nucleosynthesis and acceleration approximately greater than 10(exp 5) yr.

Wiedenbeck, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Constraints on galactic distributions of gamma-ray burst sources from BATSE observations

The paradigm that gamma-ray bursts originate from Galactic sources is studied in detail using the angular and intensity distributions observed by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). Monte Carlo models of gamma-ray burst spatial distributions and luminosity functions are used to simulate bursts, which are then folded through mathematical models of BATSE selection effects. The observed and computed angular intensity distributions are analyzed using modifications of standard statistical homogeneity and isotropy studies. Analysis of the BATSE angular and intensity distributions greatly constrains the origins and luminosities of burst sources. In particular, it appears that no single population of sources confined to a Galactic disk, halo, or localized spiral arm satisfactorily explains BATSE observations and that effects of the burst luminosity function are secondary when considering such models. One family of models that still satisfies BATSE observations comprises sources located in an extended spherical Galactic corona. Coronal models are limited to small ranges of burst luminosity and core radius, and the allowed parameter space for such models shrinks with each new burst BATSE observes. Multiple-population models of bursts are found to work only if (1) the primary population accounts for the general isotropy and inhomogeneity seen in the BATSE observations and (2) secondary populations either have characteristics similar to the primary population or contain numbers that are small relative to the primary population.

Hakkila, Jon↗
DOE OSTI2020

Uncovering Uranium Isotopic Heterogeneity of Fuel Pellets from the Fifth Collaborative Materials Exercise of the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group

In 2017, the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (ITWG) organized their fifth 37 Collaborative Materials Exercise (CMX-5). The exercise samples were two uranium dioxide fuel pellets 38 manufactured from the same starting materials by different processes to have similar bulk isotopic 39 composition, but different spatial uranium isotopic distributions. Sets of identical materials were sent to 40 all participating laboratories, who then utilized their existing nuclear forensic capabilities to 41 independently analyse fuel pellets and identify similarities and differences of the materials’ 42 characteristics. The analytical methods used to probe the fuel pellets included ex situ, such as sectioning 43 or breaking up the pellets and analyzing dissolved pieces using inductively coupled plasma mass 44 spectrometry (ICP-MS), analyzing particles collected from intact or fragmented pellets by secondary ion 45 mass spectrometry (SIMS), as well as in situ methods, such as laser ablation coupled with ICP-MS, 46 autoradiography and nanoSIMS. In this paper we present the results of these independent analyses and 47 compare the capabilities of those nuclear forensic analytical methods to uncover details of the isotopic 48 heterogeneity of uranium fuel pellets.

Nuclear Forensic Analysis of Uranium Fuel Pellets,↗