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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.

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At least 109 records · Page 6

Modeling of Atom Interferometer Accelerometer

This report presents the theoretical effort to model and simulate the atom-interferometer accelerometer operating in a highly mobile environment. Multitudes of non-idealities may occur in such a rapidly-changing environment with a large acceleration whose amplitude and direction both change quickly. We studied the undesired effect of high mobility in the atom-interferometer accelerator in a detailed model and a simulator. The undesired effects include the atom cloud's movement during Raman pulses, the Doppler effect due to the relative movement between the atom-cloud and the supporting platform, the finite atom cloud temperature, and the lateral movement of the atom cloud. We present the relevant feed-forward mitigation strategies for each identified non-ideality to neutralize the impact and obtain accurate acceleration measurements.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Analytical Functions for 200 West Pump-and-Treat SCADA Sensor Data

Historical operations at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site included disposal of waste fluids to the subsurface in the 200 West Area on the Hanford Central Plateau. Subsequent infiltration of fluids has resulted in groundwater contamination with carbon tetrachloride, nitrate, uranium, technetium-99, and other contaminants. A pump-and-treat (P&T) system, with an extraction/injection well network and an aboveground treatment plant, was implemented as part of interim and final remedies in the 200 West area. The HYPATIA single-page web application (part of the SOCRATES suite) is being developed to provide access to and analysis of chemistry and treatment facility sensor data for this 200 West P&T system. For the web application, analytical algorithms were developed to perform summing, differencing, smoothing, outlier detection, change-point detection, mass flow rate, and injectivity calculations on the data. Candidate algorithms were identified and tested, with the best-performing algorithms then assembled for implementation in HYPATIA. Because HYPATIA is hosted on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing platform, algorithms were implemented in a back-end AWS Lambda function that can be called by the HYPATIA front end. The Lambda function applies the requested data processing to specified data via functions written in R, Python, and JavaScript. Development, testing, and review of the data analysis algorithms was completed under an NQA-1 quality program. This new HYPATIA functionality will provide information to support site decisions regarding P&T system performance and optimization.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Toward Drilling the Perfect Geothermal Well: An International Research Coordination Network for Geothermal Drilling Optimization Supported by Deep Machine Learning and Cloud Based Data Aggregation

The EDGE project, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office under award DE-EE0008793, established a data-driven framework for improving the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and reliability of geothermal well drilling. The project focused on developing scalable data infrastructure, advanced machine learning and probabilistic models, and integrated analytics tools to support continuous drilling optimization. A central objective was to reduce geothermal drilling costs by up to seventy percent while minimizing the risk of well failure through predictive diagnostics and adaptive planning. Over the project period, a comprehensive data repository was designed and deployed, incorporating records from over one hundred geothermal wells across varied geological settings. This repository supported both structured and unstructured data and adhered to FAIR data principles, enabling provenance tracking, quality control, and standardized metadata. The project introduced automated ingestion pipelines and a cloud-hosted platform that facilitated access to raw, processed, and derived datasets. This infrastructure served as the foundation for model development and analysis. Machine learning workflows were developed to predict key drilling metrics including rate of penetration, non-productive time, and total drilling costs. Self-organizing maps and dimensionality reduction methods were used to uncover operational patterns and outliers, while supervised learning algorithms such as random forests and deep neural networks were applied to forecast performance outcomes. The models were validated on heterogeneous datasets from both U.S. and Icelandic fields, demonstrating variable but significant predictive accuracy. The results indicated that finer temporal resolution, inclusion of lithological data, and consistency in operational annotations could substantially improve model performance. The project also implemented process mining techniques to reconstruct state-transition models from drilling event logs. These models enabled the identification of deviations from optimal workflows and provided insights into recurring failure modes. Analysis of non-productive time highlighted the impact of equipment failures, geological challenges, and human factors, offering opportunities for targeted mitigation strategies. The EDGE Dashboard was developed as a web-based expert system integrating data visualization, model outputs, and user-driven queries. It provided an accessible interface for operators to explore historical data, evaluate predicted outcomes, and compare drilling scenarios. Initial feedback from project partners suggested that the dashboard could serve as a foundation for more advanced advisory and optimization tools. Overall, the EDGE project demonstrated the feasibility and value of applying modern data science techniques to geothermal drilling. It delivered a set of interoperable tools and models that can support more efficient, lower-risk well development. The findings point toward a viable path for transitioning from advisory analytics to semi-autonomous drilling systems, contingent on continued collaboration, expanded datasets, and field validation. The project results have immediate relevance for drilling operations, data management practices, and future geothermal R&D efforts aimed at achieving reliable, cost-competitive geothermal energy at scale.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Development of a High Resolution Weather Forecast Model for Mesoamerica Using the NASA Nebula Cloud Computing Environment

Over the past two years, scientists in the Earth Science Office at NASA fs Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have explored opportunities to apply cloud computing concepts to support near real ]time weather forecast modeling via the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Collaborators at NASA fs Short ]term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center and the SERVIR project at Marshall Space Flight Center have established a framework that provides high resolution, daily weather forecasts over Mesoamerica through use of the NASA Nebula Cloud Computing Platform at Ames Research Center. Supported by experts at Ames, staff at SPoRT and SERVIR have established daily forecasts complete with web graphics and a user interface that allows SERVIR partners access to high resolution depictions of weather in the next 48 hours, useful for monitoring and mitigating meteorological hazards such as thunderstorms, heavy precipitation, and tropical weather that can lead to other disasters such as flooding and landslides. This presentation will describe the framework for establishing and providing WRF forecasts, example applications of output provided via the SERVIR web portal, and early results of forecast model verification against available surface ] and satellite ]based observations.

Molthan, Andrew L.↗

GC11H _ 0998: A spatial pattern analysis of forest loss in the Madre de Dios region, Peru

Previous studies have quantified the extension of gold mining activities and associated it with forest loss in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. This study uses Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) in a cloud-computing platform to map forest loss within and outside key land tenure areas in this region, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) and Landsat 8 Operational land Imager (OLI) Surface Reflectance data were utilized spanning 2013 and 2017 and spectral unmixing was performed to identify patterns of forest loss for each year. Planet Scope and RapidEye imagery were used to conduct an accuracy assessment and to identify potential drivers.

Puzzi Nicolau, Andrea↗

Integrating Cloud-Based Workflows in Continental-Scale Cropland Extent Classification

Accurate information on cropland spatial distribution is required for global-scale assessments and agricultural land use policies. Cloud computing platforms such as Google Earth Engine (GEE) provide unprecedented opportunities for large-scale classifications of Landsat data. We developed a novel method to fuse pixel-based random forest classification of continental-scale Landsat data on GEE and an object-based segmentation approach known as recursive hierarchical segmentation (RHSeg). Using our fusion method, we produced a continental-scale cropland extent map for North America at 30m spatial resolution for the nominal year 2010. The total cropland area for North America was estimated at 275.18 million hectares (Mha). The overall accuracies of the map are>90% across the continent. This map also compares well with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) cropland data layer (CDL), Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) annual crop inventory (ACI), and the Mexican government agency Servicio de Informacion Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP)'s agricultural boundaries. Furthermore, our map compared well with sub-country statistics including state-wise and county-wise cropland statistics in regression models resulting in R2 > 0.84. This key contribution paves the way for more detailed products such as crop intensity, crop type, and crop irrigation, and provides a method for creating high-resolution cropland extent maps for other countries where spatial information about croplands are not as prevalent.

Massey, Richard↗

A Spatial Pattern Analysis of Forest Loss in the Madre de Dios Region, Peru

Previous studies have quantified the expansion of gold mining-related forest loss (Espejo et al., 2018; Asner et al., 2017; Swenson et al., 2011) in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. This study uses Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) in a cloud-computing platform to map general forest loss within and outside key land tenure areas in this region. Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) Surface Reflectance data were utilized spanning 2013 and 2018 and spectral unmixing was performed to identify patterns of forest loss for each year. Planet Scope and RapidEye imagery were used to conduct an accuracy assessment and to identify potential drivers.

Puzzi Nicolau, Andrea↗

Air Traffic Management TestBed Simulation Architect: User's Guide

The Air Traffic Management (ATM) TestBed is a Platform as a Service that is being developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to help design, configure, integrate, run, and monitor air traffic simulations. The platform provides cloud services including back-end big-data analytics tools, on-demand computing resource management, data storage, and communication middleware. The ATM TestBed reduces the time to test concepts and technologies, supports interactions among various concepts such as human-in-the-loop and automation-in-the-loop simulations, and enables collaborative simulations by sharing technologies and tools in the ATM community. The Simulation Architect application provides a graphical user interface tool for designing traffic scenarios and simulations using blocks representing components and links representing message channels linking them. This guide describes a high-level user interface design of Simulation Architect and provides information for a new user to compose traffic scenarios and simulations.

Software User Guide↗

Evaluating Combinations of Sentinel-2 Data and Machine-Learning Algorithms for Mangrove Mapping in West Africa

Creating a national baseline for natural resources, such as mangrove forests, and monitoring them regularly often requires a consistent and robust methodology. With freely available satellite data archives and cloud computing resources, it is now more accessible to conduct such large-scale monitoring and assessment. Yet, few studies examine the reproducibility of such mangrove monitoring frameworks, especially in terms of generating consistent spatial extent. Our objective was to evaluate a combination of image processing approaches to classify mangrove forests along the coast of Senegal and The Gambia. We used freely available global satellite data (Sentinel-2), and cloud computing platform (Google Earth Engine) to run two machine learning algorithms, random forest (RF), and classification and regression trees (CART). We calibrated and validated the algorithms using 800 reference points collected using high-resolution images. We further re-ran 10 iterations for each algorithm, utilizing unique subsets of the initial training data. While all iterations resulted in thematic mangrove maps with over 90% accuracy, the mangrove extent ranges between 827-2807 km2 for Senegal and 245-1271 km2 for The Gambia with one outlier for each country. We further report "Places of Agreement" (PoA) to identify areas where all iterations for both methods agree (506.6 km2 and 129.6 km2 for Senegal and The Gambia, respectively), thus have a high confidence in predicting mangrove extent. While we acknowledge the time- and cost-effectiveness of such methods for the landscape managers, we recommend utilizing them with utmost caution, as well as post-classification on-the-ground checks, especially for decision making.

Mondal, Pinki↗

EED-2 Contract Final Report

This EED-2 contract provides for development and sustaining engineering of software and hardware systems that provide science data management for the ESDIS Project. A major activity under this contract will be for evolution and development engineering of the EOSDIS Core System (ECS), Earthdata platform, Common Metadata Repository (CMR), NASA-Compliant General Application Platform (NGAP) cloud environment, and other EOSDIS elements that provide the common capabilities and infrastructure of EOSDIS.

EOSDIS↗

Towards A Flexible Data Fusion Tool Incorporating Model, Satellite, Regulatory Monitor and Low-Cost Sensor Data for Air Quality Estimation and Forecasting

Air quality managers, researchers, and concerned community scientists around the world have a variety of sources for air quality information, ranging from traditional regulatory monitoring networks and atmospheric chemistry models to remote sensing data products and low-cost sensor networks. However, the ability to incorporate data from these disparate sources and synthesize a comprehensive overview of the local air quality situation remains a considerable barrier for many end-users. This presentation will outline a tool, currently in development, which will address this need using a flexible data fusion approach. The tool will make use of air quality forecast model outputs (primarily from the NASA GEOS-CF composition forecast modeling system), satellite remote sensing data (from instruments including MODIS, VIIRS, TROPOMI, plus TEMPO for the US when available), and in-situ data from official regulatory and/or low-cost networks where these are available. The ability to incorporate data from low-cost sensor networks will be a key feature of the tool; it will make use of other available data sources to calibrate the low-cost sensor data on a regional scale, then use these calibrated low-cost sensor data for localized updating to resolve finer-scale air quality patterns. Development of this tool is taking place with the help of national and international partners and end-user groups, coordinated through the US EPA and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The tool is being developed on the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform to facilitate integration of diverse data sources and free access by a broad community of end-users. Stewardship of the tool will be passed to US EPA and UNEP to support future activities with end-users in the US and around the world, and the tool itself will remain freely accessible. We hope that this tool will lower the barrier to entry for various user groups worldwide, including community scientists, who struggle to integrate disparate data sources to gain insight into their local air quality situations. This presentation will cover the early stages of the development of the tool, including the underlying methods and some pilot case studies in integrating low-cost sensor data.

global models↗

Real World Applications of AI/ML in Optimizing Airspace Operations

As National Airspace System (NAS) is going through the Digital Transformation journey, data science and analytics methods can significantly contribute to improving the traditional physics-based decision-making tools. The adoption of AI/ML methods will not only help accelerate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s vision of Info-centric NAS but also contribute to the overall objective of sustainable aviation. AI/ML can improve the ground and airspace operations by enhancing the accuracy of current decision-making tools used by the airlines and the FAA to manage traffic on the ground and in the air. Huge amount of data that gets collected during a flight. AI/ML methods can extract information from this data and provide valuable insights to make better operational decisions. NASA has partnered with the FAA and commercial airlines such as American and Southwest Airlines on this effort and has successfully demonstrated the benefits of using ML in real world environment by reducing delays and optimizing ground operations at the US airports. In 2022 itself, NASA demonstrated real-world benefits (over 24K lbs. of fuel savings, over 76.6K lbs. CO2 emission savings, and several hours of delay savings) by deploying ML based prediction models to optimize ground operations at Dallas/Fort Worth International and Dallas Love Field Airports in Texas. These tools are being deployed on the cloud for broader deployment, adaptability, and scalability. NASA is developed a reference implementation of the cloud-based platform to significantly lower the bar to development and distribution of these digital services for aviation. In this talk, I will share information about the Digital Information Platform project, the novel AI/ML based approaches used for optimizing ground operations and the opportunities to partner with NASA on these demonstrations.

air traffic management↗

A Global Land Cover Training Dataset From 1984 to 2020

State-of-the-art cloud computing platforms such as Google Earth Engine (GEE) enable regional-to-global land cover and land cover change mapping with machine learning algorithms. However, collection of high-quality training data, which is necessary for accurate land cover mapping, remains costly and labor-intensive. To address this need, we created a global database of nearly 2 million training units spanning the period from 1984 to 2020 for seven primary and nine secondary land cover classes. Our training data collection approach leveraged GEE and machine learning algorithms to ensure data quality and biogeographic representation. We sampled the spectral-temporal feature space from Landsat imagery to efficiently allocate training data across global ecoregions and incorporated publicly available and collaborator-provided datasets to our database. To reflect the underlying regional class distribution and post-disturbance landscapes, we strategically augmented the database. We used a machine learning-based cross-validation procedure to remove potentially mis-labeled training units. Our training database is relevant for a wide array of studies such as land cover change, agriculture, forestry, hydrology, urban development, among many others.

Radost Stanimirova↗

Assessment of Cloud Fraction Derived from a New Geostationary Satellite Cloud Retrieval Algorithm for CERES and Progress Towards Cross-platform Continuity

For over two decades The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) project has produced long-term records of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and surface irradiances for detecting changes in the Earth’s radiation budget and advancing understanding of how clouds contribute to those changes. Accurate characterization of the spatial and temporal distributions of clouds are a critical component for producing CERES datasets. The CERES Cloud Working Group (CWG) derives cloud properties from both geostationary (GEO) and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite sensors in order to provide complete global coverage at hourly temporal resolution. However, the use of multiple sensors to provide this spatiotemporal coverage throughout a long-term record presents some challenges, because the various sensors generally have different spectral band characteristics (e.g., spectral band width and response) and spatial resolution. These differences can result in spatial artifacts at the coverage boundary between two sensors or temporal artifacts when one sensor replaces another in the record. For the upcoming Edition 5 release of CERES products, the CWG is developing cloud retrieval algorithms which utilize only spectral bands common to most modern passive satellite radiometers and account for differences in spectral width and response. The goal with this approach is to provide global cloud properties for CERES with greater cross-platform consistency than the previous Edition 4 products and thus mitigate artifacts which are evident at the interface of two sensors. This study focuses on retrieval of total cloud fraction from various GEO sensors, and we use Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) observations to assess the accuracy of total cloud fraction derived from the various sensors. The Edition 5 cloud mask algorithm depends on estimates of cloud-free TOA spectral radiances to differentiate clear and cloudy conditions, and CALIOP is used to assess the accuracy of those estimates when cloud-free conditions are indeed observed.

CALIOP↗

TPSAS-NF1676L-10863-DND

One important aspect of successful climate monitoring is satellite calibration. There is at least a 25-year of operational geostationary (GEO) record available for climate studies, if properly calibrated. The Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS) project is another effort to provide the climate community consistent calibration across multiple platforms. Also, the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project, provides consistent GEO retrieved cloud properties and derived broadband fluxes across multiple platforms. This year GSICS is focusing on geostationary visible channel calibration. The GSICS strategy is to use multiple approaches, such as cross-calibrating the GEO radiances against MODIS as a reference, deep convective clouds as bright stable targets, deserts, sun-glint, stars, moon and other model based calibration methods. Each of these methods is independent of each other and can assess the stability of the GEO visible instrument with differing uncertainties. This study focuses on the inter-calibration of the GEO radiances against MODIS as a reference by using collocated, and coincident ray-matched radiances. The advantage of the ray-matching technique is that it provides a full dynamic range of radiances to check the linearity of the GEO visible instrument. This presentation will focus on the technique, some error analysis, comparisons with other methods, and an approach to inter-calibrate historical GEOs before MODIS.

D R Doelling↗