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At least 973 records · Page 54

Influence of particle size on NIR spectroscopic characterization of sorghum biomass for the biofuel industry

NIR spectroscopy is a rapid and accurate green technology for high-throughput biomass characterization, including sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), a promising energy crop for the biofuel industry. This study assessed the influence of particle size on NIR spectroscopic analysis (wavelength range: 867–2535 nm) of sorghum biomass composition. Grown under field conditions, a total of 113 types of genetically diverse sorghum accessions were dried, ground, and sieved (<250, 250–600, 600–850, and > 850 µm particle size) for developing partial least square regression (PLSR) prediction models for moisture, ash, extractive, glucan, xylan, acid-soluble lignin (ASL), acid-insoluble lignin (AIL), and total lignin (ASL + AIL). Overall, smaller particle sizes provided better model performance, while no single particle size provided the best performance for all the selected components. With only 9 selected bands and 4 latent variables (LVs), the best PLSR model was obtained for moisture with particle size of 600–850 µm with the square root of the coefficient of determination (R) of 0.85, the ratio of prediction to deviation (RPD) of 2.2, and the root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.46 % in external validation. Similar model performances were also obtained for ash, extractive, glucan, and xylan. This study showed that size reduction could effectively improve NIR spectroscopic analysis for lipid-producing sorghum biomass for the biofuel industry.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Impact of duration and missing data on the long-term photovoltaic degradation rate estimation

Accurate quantification of photovoltaic (PV) system degradation rate (R D ) is essential for lifetime yield predictions. Although R D is a critical parameter, its estimation lacks a standardized methodology that can be applied on outdoor field data. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of time period duration and missing data on R D by analyzing the performance of different techniques applied to synthetic PV system data at different linear R D patterns and known noise conditions. The analysis includes the application of different techniques to a 10-year synthetic dataset of a crystalline Silicon PV system, with emulated degradation levels and imputed missing data. Here, the analysis demonstrated that the accuracy of ordinary least squares (OLS), year-on-year (YOY), autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and robust principal component analysis (RPCA) techniques is affected by the evaluation duration with all techniques converging to lower R D deviations over the 10-year evaluation, apart from RPCA at high degradation levels. Moreover, the estimated R D is strongly affected by the amount of missing data. Filtering out the corrupted data yielded more accurate R D results for all techniques. It is proven that the application of a change-point detection stage is necessary and guidelines for accurate R D estimation are provided.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Generation and validation of comprehensive synthetic weather histories using auto-regressive moving-average models

As energy system design moves to more complex methods of optimization including machine learning there is a significant need for more weather data than is available. One method to solve this is using synthetic data models such as the auto-regressive moving-average (ARMA) model which has been frequently utilized to create such data. This paper looks at extending the ARMA algorithm to generate solar components through the use of clearsky detrending, maintaining vector relationships and by leveraging physical relationships. The method for the creation of entirely synthetic weather data files including key weather variables for energy system analysis is presented. Furthermore, a detailed comparison of energy system simulations utilizing both real and synthetic data is made using NREL’s System Advisor Model. Whilst good agreement is made for the solar variables, and other weather variables, ARMA methods often fail to capture the standard deviation and skew of annual weather distributions. Vector-ARMA is shown to maintain correlations between variables and thus generate data sets that perform similarly in energy system design. Here, it is finally shown that the ARMA method fails to preserve day-today correlations in weather variables and thus over-predicts optimal energy storage by 21% for a residential solar application.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Wind-induced torsion of parabolic trough collectors in operation

Parabolic trough collector (PTC) systems, a type of concentrating solar power (CSP), use parabolic mirrors to reflect the sun's rays toward an absorber tube to heat the fluid inside. PTCs track the sun throughout the day and are sensitive to angular misalignment, which reduces optical performance. Torsion of the PTC, exacerbated by wind loading, contributes to angular misalignment, which has been quantified by previous studies using numerical simulations and experimental tests. However, angular misalignment due to torsion and wind loading has not yet been studied in an operational plant, which can experience more extreme and variable conditions. This study characterizes the angular misalignment due to torsion at three rows of the Nevada Solar One CSP plant and investigates the influence of wind loading. These findings reveal substantial torsion along the PTC support structure that depends on wind conditions and orientation. Strong winds perpendicular to the PTCs increase the median angular displacement of the outermost row by up to 18 mrad and increase the standard deviation by up to 8 mrad when compared to weak wind conditions. These findings can inform enhanced PTC design, controls and modeling that will improve the performance, reliability and bankability of future CSP plants.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

How “hot” are hotspots: Statistically localizing the high-activity areas on soil and rhizosphere images

The topic of microbial hotspots in soil requires not only visualizing their spatial distribution and biochemical analyses, but also statistical approaches to identify these hotspots and separate them from the surrounding activities (background). We hypothesized that each hotspot type (e.g. enzyme activities in the rhizosphere, root exudation, localization of herbicide accumulation) is a result of local process driven by biotic and/or abiotic factors, and the process rates in the hotspots are much faster than those in the soil background. We further hypothesized that the background and hotspot activities in soil belong to different statistical distributions. Consequently, hotspot determination should be based on statistical separation of activities significantly higher than the background. We analyzed for the statistical distributions of grey values on three groups of published images: 1) 14 C images of carbon input by roots into the rhizosphere, 2) 14 C glyphosate accumulation in the plant, and 3) zymogram of leucine aminopeptidase activity in rooted soil. The two Gaussian distributions were fit (the first representing the background, the second the hotspots) to the distribution of grey values in the images, the parameters (means and standard deviations, SD) of the fitted distributions were calculated, and the background was removed. Thus, we identified hotspots as areas outside of the Mean+2SD image intensity (corresponding to the upper ~ 2.5% of activity, being over 97.5% of background values) and finally, visualized images of solely hotspot locations. Finally, these results were compared with previously used decisions on hotspot intensity thresholding (i.e. Top-25% and 17 standard thresholding approaches in ImageJ) and discussed the advantages of the Mean+2SD as well as Mean+3SD approaches. These advantages include: i) simple unification of the thresholding approach for several imaging methods with various principles of activity distribution, ii) identification of hotspots with various activity levels, iii) analysis of “time-specific” hotspots in temporal sequences of images. Compared with 17 standard thresholding methods, we concluded that objectively elucidating and separating the hotspots should be based on statistical distribution analysis, e.g. using the Mean+2SD or Mean+3SD approaches. Furthermore, this simple Mean+2SD approach delivered suitable results for three groups of images and so, helps to understand the processes responsible for the highest activities and elucidate hotspots.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

A phenology- and trend-based approach for accurate mapping of sea-level driven coastal forest retreat

The rapid replacement of upland forest by encroaching marshland is a striking manifestation of global sea-level rise (SLR). Timely and high-resolution information on the location and extent of transition forest (the ecotone between upland forest and marsh where tree mortality due to seawater intrusion begins) is fundamental to understanding the processes and patterns of SLR-driven landscape reorganization. Despite its significance, accurate characterization of salt-impacted transition forest remains challenging due to the complexity of coastal environments, scarcity of ground-truth data, and the lack of effective mapping algorithms. Here we use the full archive of Landsat images between 1984 and 2021 to investigate the spectral, temporal, and phenological characteristics of transition forest, and develop a robust framework for monitoring coastal vegetation shifts in the mid-Atlantic U.S., a global SLR hotspot. Here, we found that transition forest exhibits strong negative NDVI trends and a deviation of land surface phenology from marsh and upland forest that distinguishes itself from surrounding vegetation. By integrating temporal trends and land surface phenology, our results demonstrate superior discrimination between marsh and coastal forests to existing map products (e.g. NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program, National Land Cover Database) that allows a reliable identification of the coastal treeline. We applied the approach to map regional land cover in 1985, 2000 and 2020 (overall classification accuracy >92%) and found that the area of coastal forest decreased by 22.0% from 1985 to 2020, the majority of which transitioned to marshland (92.3%, 5.3 × 10 3 ha). Based upon fine-scale patterns of coastal transgression, we created a practical workflow for spatially explicit quantification of forest retreat rates. Concurrent with rising sea level, coastal forests migrated upslope from 0.63 (± 0.27) m above sea level in 1985 to 0.78 (± 0.32) m above sea level in 2020, and horizontal forest retreat rates accelerated from 3.1 (range of 0–36) m yr -1 during 1985–2000 to 4.7 (0–55) m yr -1 during 2001–2020. As SLR continues to accelerate, our study may serve as a scalable solution for consistent tracking of coastal landscape evolution that is urgently needed for sustainable forest and wetland management.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Field-scale dynamics of planting dates in the US Corn Belt from 2000 to 2020

Crop planting dates are a dynamic feature of agricultural systems that respond to short- and long-term climate signals, crop and cultivar selection, and technology changes. Planting date records are essential for yield gap analyses, accurate crop modeling, and tracking farmer adaptations to weather and climate change. Although planting dates have high variation at local scales due to heterogeneity in farm resources and decision-making, available long-term data on planting dates is largely restricted to aggregated regional statistics or, at best, satellite-derived datasets with limited spatiotemporal extent and at resolutions unable to distinguish individual fields (> 250 m). Here, we generated retrospective annual field-scale (30 m) planting date maps for both maize and soybeans spanning 2000-2020 across a 12 state region in the United States Corn Belt based on Landsat satellite data and a large ground sample of over 28,000 maize and soybean fields. Using training data from 2015-2020 for model selection, we found that planting date predictions improved with harmonic regression of Landsat data and additional annual weather covariates. The preferred random forests model approximately doubled performance compared to a null model based on state median planting dates, capturing 47% of field-level variation for maize (mean absolute error, MAE = 7.4 days) and 44% for soybeans (MAE = 7.5 days) against held-out ground truth test data for 2008-2014. We also evaluated the full 2000-2020 dataset with state agricultural statistics, finding strong agreement with median planting dates for maize (R 2 = 0.76, MAE = 4.4 days) and slightly lower agreement for soybeans (R 2 = 0.65, MAE = 5.4 days) when aggregated to the state level. We then used this new dataset to analyze environmental determinants of planting dates at a finer-scale than previously possible, controlling for unobserved variation at the sub-state district level. We found that during 2000-2020, each standard deviation increase in rainfall delayed planting by ~ 2.5 days, and fields with higher soil productivity ratings tended to be planted earlier. We did not find meaningful trends over the last two decades in planting dates for maize or soybeans, in contrast to trends towards earlier planting dates late last century and predicted for this period in climate adaptation studies. We hypothesize increases in early season rainfall may have inhibited these shifts towards earlier planting. Remotely sensed planting dates will be a useful tool for yield gap analyses, crop simulation modeling, and ongoing assessment of climate adaptation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Divergent urbanization-induced impacts on global surface urban heat island trends since 1980s

Urbanization experiences different speeds and forms under diverse development stages across the globe. However, urbanization-induced impacts on long-term surface urban heat island intensity (I s ) trends across global cities and the regulators of such impacts remain understudied. Here we estimate interannual trends in daytime I s (i.e., urban-rural differences in surface temperatures) across 511 major cities for 1985 –2020 using annual averages calculated by using reconstructed land surface temperature data derived from more than >250,000 Landsat thermal images. Our study reveals that the global mean I s growth rate is 0.156 °C/decade. We further examine I s change associated with per 1% impervious land growth (denoted as ß) in each city throughout the research period and during different periods. The global mean ß is 0.018 ± 0.025 °C/% (mean ± 1 standard deviation) for the whole period, with greater values in humid than in arid climates; and the ß may change during different periods, e.g., it has more than tripled when urban impervious land exceeds 30%, indicating the spatiotemporally divergent impacts of urbanization on Is trends across global cities. The spatial variations in ß across global cities are well correlated with rural vegetation abundance and precipitation but not with urban population. Among these three factors, rural vegetation abundance possesses the greatest standardized regression coefficient of partial least-squares model, signifying the critical role of biome background in regulating ß. Furthermore, the finding implies that future urbanization over densely vegetated regions should be more carefully and strategically planned due to the greater urbanization-induced surface warming effect.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Abiotic influences on continuous conifer forest structure across a subalpine watershed

Understanding the abiotic drivers of high-elevation forest physiognomy is essential for forecasting how mountain ecosystems will respond to emerging environmental pressures. Most prior studies of these relationships have relied on small samples of the full landscape, resulting in limited power to detect dominant covariates and their interactions. Here we report the first evaluation of abiotic influences on a complement of accurate, wall-to-wall estimates of conifer forest structure and composition at the watershed scale. In a subalpine conifer domain in the Colorado Rocky Mountains (USA), we developed a novel method for deriving stand structure metrics from waveform LiDAR data, which showed high fidelity with field inventory. We quantified the relationships between structural and compositional metrics and climate, topographic, edaphic, and geologic factors. Our results showed that peak snow water equivalent (SWE), snow disappearance rate, and elevation explained most of the variation in forest structure. The highest stand density, basal area, maximum canopy height, and quadratic mean diameter occurred in sites with SWE around one standard deviation below mean, but with long snow residence times. Stand density decreased linearly with elevation, while other metrics peaked between 3000 m and 3200 m. Substrate properties had weaker influence. Continuous mapping of through-canopy forest structure enabled our novel findings of the dominant role of snowpack in explaining structural and compositional variation, and of elevation thresholds. Our reproducible approach facilitates assessment of forest-topoclimate relationships in other conifer-dominated landscapes and improves understanding of the baseline patterns controlling forest structure, which is needed for predicting long-term ecological change.

forest ecology↗

Analysis of liquid petroleum using a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instrument

Here, a prototype analyzer for the direct LIBS analysis of nebulized liquid samples was developed and tested, particularly for the analysis of petroleum, organic solvents and aqueous solutions. The LIBS analyzer requires about 750 µl of liquid sample, 1 liter of N 2 gas, and 10 s of the analysis time to record 100 spectra. The limits of detection in oil and solvent are as low as 0.01–0.04 ppm for Li, Mg, and Cu. They increase for the difficult elements, such as Pb and Hg (7-10 ppm), Cl (250 ppm), and S (~0.7%). The relative standard deviation of measuring 100 ppm vanadium in oil and solvent was 1.5%. The LIBS detection limits and repeatability are better than required by the standard method ASTM D5185 for the analysis of lubricating oils in ICP-OES. Several petroleum samples were analyzed by LIBS and the quantitative results for V, Ni, and Fe compared to the ICP-OES data. Light crude oils can be nebulized and analyzed directly. Medium crude oils require minimal dilution at least 1:1, otherwise errors of determination become large. Presumably, utilization of the internal standard and chemometrics can be useful to correct for the matrix effects. In addition to the trace element analysis, the LIBS prototype demonstrated ability to measure the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio in organic liquid samples. Several unidentified features were observed in the carbon spectrum. Their possible origin is discussed.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Real-time monitoring of trace noble gases using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy—An investigation of the impact of bulk gas on plasma properties and sensitivity

The impact of Ar and He bulk gases on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) real-time monitoring of trace Xe and Kr was assessed. LIBS is being developed as a monitoring tool for measuring noble gas transport in molten salt systems, in which traditional sensors may face challenges associated with radiation, corrosive materials, and/or mixed phases. The plasma temperature and electron densities of LIBS plasmas were measured in both static and various flowing Ar and He streams (0–5 L min −1 ). The use of an Ar bulk gas resulted in higher plasma temperature, greater electron densities by an order of magnitude, and extended plasma lifetime compared with when He bulk gas was used. Gas flow rate was found to have little impact on plasma temperature; however, its effect on electron density was significant, indicating the need to consider flow rate–specific models. Matrix effects on emission peaks were reported for both bulk gases. Due to these matrix effects, multivariate models were developed for Xe and Kr ranging from 0 to 700 ppm in both bulk gases. Although the predictive behavior was similar (root mean square error of prediction ranging from 11.1 to 20.6 ppm), the limits of detection were superior in He (Xe: 22.9 ppm, Kr: 30.4 ppm). Furthermore, these models were employed in demonstrative real-time tests (>1 h), which showed strong predictive precision (relative standard deviation <5 %) regardless of the bulk gas. Ultimately, this study provides a guide for the considerations required when developing gaseous LIBS models for real-time monitoring.

Gas flow effects↗

Spectral emission characteristics near 646 nm and plasma properties of laser-induced plasma of gaseous uranium hexafluoride

We present a detailed investigation of the temporal evolution of line and continuum emissions in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) of gaseous uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ), focusing on the spectral region near 646 nm. Spectral emission features, signal-to-background ratios (SBRs) of selected uranium lines, and spectral linewidths were examined under varying UF 6 pressures (15–60 Torr) and laser pulse energies (10–60 mJ). Higher pressures and pulse energies enhanced continuum emission and reduced SBRs but did not cause significant spectral congestion. Additional studies with the use of different laser systems, including nanosecond-pulsed Nd:YAG lasers (at fundamental and various harmonics) and a femtosecond-pulsed Ti:sapphire laser, revealed long-lived plasma continua in all cases. This persistent continuum is attributed to a pseudo-continuum from overlapping molecular emissions, as its intensity scales linearly with electron number density, deviating from the expected quadratic dependence of classical ion–electron interactions for free-free and free-bound continuum emission. Based on plasma persistence time, SBR, U II/U I intensity ratios, and electronic excitation temperature, no fundamental advantage was found for femtosecond-pulsed lasers over conventional nanosecond-pulsed ones for UF 6 enrichment assay with direct LIBS measurement.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy↗

A decreasing carbon allocation to belowground autotrophic respiration in global forest ecosystems

Belowground autotrophic respiration (RAsoil) depends on carbohydrates from photosynthesis flowing to roots and rhizospheres, and is one of the most important but least understood components in forest carbon cycling. Carbon allocation plays an important role in forest carbon cycling and reflects forest adaptation to changing environmental conditions. However, carbon allocation to RAsoil has not been fully examined at the global scale. To fill this knowledge gap, first, the spatio-temporal patterns of RAsoil from 1981 to 2017 were predicted by a Random Forest (RF) algorithm using the most updated Global Soil Respiration Database (v5) with global environmental variables; second, carbon allocation from photosynthesis to RAsoil (CAB), was calculated as the ratio of RAsoil to gross primary production; and its temporal and spatial patterns were assessed in global forest ecosystems. . Globally, mean RAsoil from forests was 8.9 ± 0.08 Pg C yr-1 (mean ± standard deviation) from 1981 to 2017 with strong spatial variabilities. Temporally, RAsoil increased at a rate of 0.0059 Pg C yr-2, paralleling broader soil respiration changes and indicating increasing carbon respired by roots. Mean CAB was 0.243 ± 0.016 and decreased over time. The temporal trend of CAB varied greatly in space, reflecting uneven responses of CAB to environmental changes. This study is the first attempt to predict global CAB and analyze its temporal and spatial patterns. With the linkage of carbon use efficiency, the developed CAB offers an completely independent approach to quantify global aboveground autotropic respiration spatially and temporally, which could provide crucial insights into carbon flux partition and global carbon cycling under climate change.

Tang, Xiaolu↗

Zr 3 Mn 3 Sn 4 Ga: A new hetero-kagome bilayer antiferromagnet

Here, we report the magnetic and electrical transport properties of single-crystalline Zr 3 Mn 3 Sn 4 Ga, featuring two distinct kagome lattices: a non-magnetic breathing Zr 3 Sn 4 lattice and a magnetic intact Mn 3 Ga lattice. The material undergoes an antiferromagnetic phase transition at T N = 87 K, with neutron diffraction confirming commensurate ordering characterized by k = (1/3,1/3,0). Transport measurements show metallic behavior, a resistivity anomaly near T N , and 12% magnetoresistance at 2 K under 9 T. Deviations from the conventional second-order power law, along with negative magnetoresistance and nonlinear Hall slope variations near T N , suggest strong magneto-electronic coupling. Resonant photoemission spectroscopy identifies Zr 4d and Mn 3d orbitals as dominant contributors to the valence band, linking the material’s unique electronic properties to its kagome layers. Zr 3 Mn 3 Sn 4 Ga offers a valuable platform to study interactions between magnetism and topological electronic bands in hetero-kagome systems using the co- existence of magnetic and non-magnetic kagome layers and its tunable electronic structure.

Crystal structure↗

A surprising proliferation of detwinning in β -tin at extreme loading rates

Integrating data from dynamic compression experiments of condensed matter across three national laboratories has led to insight and quantitative calibration of materials strength over decades of loading rate. For many materials, a single strength model (such as PTW) is sufficient to capture the flow-stress strain rate relationship which is monotonic. Here, we show here that β -tin, a tetragonal metal, exhibits dramatic deviations from this behavior. Naive fitting to a single PTW model is insufficient to capture the behavior; indeed, such resulting inferred flow stress versus strain exhibits a non-monotonic behavior. We suggest a resolution to this by proposing that in β -tin there are important Bauschinger effects arising from favorable conditions for twinning and detwinning. A simple yield surface model when paired with PTW hardening captures the experimental data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Larger than uncorrelated vacancy diffusion contributions in chemically disordered crystalline materials

Arising from a variational approach to compute diffusion coefficients, we introduce “superkinetic kinosons”, which are contributions to the diffusion flux of mobile defects and atomic species by single jump mechanisms that can exceed their uncorrelated values. In vacancy-mediated diffusion in crystalline random and high entropy materials, these contributions primarily arise from intermittent jumps of slow moving atoms that remove the vacancy out of correlation traps and enable a quantification of such effects on the diffusion coefficients. They can be significant contributors to diffusion, even when faster moving atoms have infinite percolation networks. Furthermore, their existence and importance provide fundamental insights about underlying aspects of vacancy diffusion such as formation of localized correlation traps and deviation of vacancy diffusion from percolation behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A first principles approach for determining solute effect on electrical resistivity of Aluminum solid solution

There are no general approaches for predicting the effect of solutes on electrical resistivity changes in aluminum (Al) solid solutions. Here, we introduce a first principles-based approach for predicting temperature-dependent electrical resistivity of Al solid solutions. A combination of electronic structure methods was applied to calculate electronic scattering effects on chemical disorder and temperature induced atomic vibrations or phonons. Our calculations are validated by contrasting experimental resistivity measurements for two elements in Al solid solution: at 0.3 at. % concentration, Sn (an sp-valence solute) increases the residual resistivity by 0.2 μΩ·m, whereas Zr (a d-valence solute) causes a 2.5 μΩ·m increase. This trend may deviate for solute elements in Al that form semiconductors in pure state, like Si. Our findings provide an understanding of the role of valence electron character of solute atoms in determining electrical resistivity of Al alloys.

Samolyuk, German [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000168778255)↗

Response to the comments on creep-induced elemental redistribution at grain boundaries of 304L stainless steel – An experimental evidence for diffusional creep mechanisms

Sandström and He reanalyzed our 304L creep data (Acta Materialia 121137, 2025) at 10 MPa/750 °C and proposed that: (i) primary dislocation creep dominates based on the ϕ -model; (ii) measured creep rates deviate from published 304H data and Coble creep predictions using literature grain boundary (GB) diffusivity; and (iii) creep-induced elemental redistribution (CIER) could be explained by dislocation emission/absorption (DEAA) and GB creep (GBC), as opposed to diffusional creep. Here, in this response, we propose that: (i) the creep behavior at 15 MPa/750 °C—for which we demonstrated CIER—is only partially captured by the ϕ -model; (ii) direct comparison between 304L and 304H creep data is inappropriate due to carbides in 304H, and Coble creep predictions estimated from CALPHAD-based bulk diffusivity span experimental rates; and (iii) CIER exhibits distinct fingerprint for diffusional creep characterized by anisotropy and stress orientation dependence whereas neither DEAA nor GBC have been mechanistically substantiated.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗