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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Identifications and classifications of human locomotion using Rayleigh-enhanced distributed fiber acoustic sensors with deep neural networks

Abstract This paper reports on the use of machine learning to delineate data harnessed by fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensors (DAS) using fiber with enhanced Rayleigh backscattering to recognize vibration events induced by human locomotion. The DAS used in this work is based on homodyne phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (φ-OTDR). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the DAS was enhanced using femtosecond laser-induced artificial Rayleigh scattering centers in single-mode fiber cores. Both supervised and unsupervised machine-learning algorithms were explored to identify people and specific events that produce acoustic signals. Using convolutional deep neural networks, the supervised machine learning scheme achieved over 76.25% accuracy in recognizing human identities. Conversely, the unsupervised machine learning scheme achieved over 77.65% accuracy in recognizing events and human identities through acoustic signals. Through integrated efforts on both sensor device innovation and machine learning data analytics, this paper shows that the DAS technique can be an effective security technology to detect and to identify highly similar acoustic events with high spatial resolution and high accuracies.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

First Measurement of Differential Charged Current Quasielastic-like $\nu_\mu$–Argon Scattering Cross Sections In Kinematic Imbalance Variables With The MicroBooNE Detector

We report the first measurement of flux-integrated multi-differential cross sections for charged-current events with muon neutrinos scattering on argon with solely a muon and a single proton in the final state as a function of kinematic imbalance variables. The measurement was carried out using the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory within the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detector with an exposure of 6.79 × 10 20 protons on target. Events were selected to enhance the contribution of charged-current mesonless interactions with one proton detected in the final state. The data discussed here are reported in terms of multidifferential cross sections in kinematic imbalance variables, which are generally sensitive to nuclear effects. The double-differential results in these variables can provide an excellent handle to disentagle specific nuclear aspects not easily isolated via single differential cross sections. Our results pave a path towards identifying regions of the phase-space where future interaction modeling development and Monte Carlo neutrino generator tuning efforts should concentrate. EVENT SELECTION Neutrino oscillation measurements aim to extract neutrino mixing angles, mass differences, the value of the chargeparity violating phase in the lepton sector, and to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model [1, 2]. For that to be achieved, an unprecedented understanding of neutrino-argon interactions is of utmost importance since a growing number of neutrino oscillation experiments employ Liquid Argon Time Projector Chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detectors [3–6]. The accuracy to which these experiments can extract neutrino oscillation parameters requires a good understanding of the neutrino energy. Experimentally, this energy is deduced from the measured kinetic energies of particles that are emitted following the neutrino interaction in the detector. The kinematic properties of such finalstate particles reflect complex dynamics due to nuclear and initial-state effects of the interaction [7]. However, certain categories of nuclear effects can be isolated by variables built specifically to characterize the degeneracy between such effects [8–10]. This note reports cross sections in kinematic variables sensitive to nuclear effects using events with one detected muon with momentum 0.1 < pµ < 1.2 GeV/c, and exactly one proton with 0.3 < pp < 1 GeV/c. This signal definition includes events with any number of protons below 300 MeV/c, neutrons at any momenta, and charged pions with momentum lower than 70 MeV/c. This choice is guided by the fact that their experimental signature of correlated muon-proton pairs is fairly straightforward to reconstruct [11–22]. Such events primarily originate from chargedcurrent (CC) neutrino-nucleon quasielastic (QE) scattering interactions where the neutrino removes a single intact nucleon from the nucleus without producing any additional particles. This definition can also include contributions from interactions that lead to the production of additional particles that are absent from the final state due to nuclear effects, such as pion absorption, or have momenta that are below the experimental detection threshold.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Metrics to Assess Lightning Context

The Integrated Nuclear Detonation Detection (iNDD) project seeks to develop two statistical constructs. The first will fuse operational data from Nuclear Detonation Detection (NDD) systems in order to determine whether a nuclear event has likely occurred; this is referred to as the “fused detector.” The assorted detection domains of NDD systems span independent regimes with uncorrelated backgrounds; for example, lightning is a background for satellite-based systems, while earthquakes are a background for seismic systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Investigating the contribution of grown new particles to cloud condensation nuclei with largely varying preexisting particles – Part 1: Observational data analysis

This study employed multiple techniques to investigate the contribution of grown new particles to the number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) at various supersaturation (SS) levels at a rural mountain site in the North China Plain from 29 June to 14 July 2019. On 8 new particle formation (NPF) days, the total particle number concentrations (N cn ) were 8.4 ± 6.1×10 3 cm -3 , which was substantially higher compared to 4.7 ± 2.6×10 3 cm -3 on non-NPF days. However, the CCN concentration (Nccn) at 0.2 % SS and 0.4 % SS on the NPF days was significantly lower than those observed on non-NPF days (p<0.05). This was due to the lower cloud activation efficiency of preexisting particles resulting from organic vapor condensation and smaller number concentrations of preexisting particles on NPF days. A case-by-case examination showed that the grown new particles only yielded a detectable contribution to N ccn at 0.4 % SS and 1.0 % SS during the NPF event on 1 July 2019, accounting for 12 % ± 11 % and 23 % ± 12 % of N ccn , respectively. The increased N ccn during two other NPF events and at 0.2 % SS on 1 July 2019 were detectable but determined mainly by varying preexisting particles rather than grown new particles. In addition, the hygroscopicity parameter values, concentrations of inorganic and organic particulate components, and surface chemical composition of different sized particles were analyzed in terms of chemical drivers to grow new particles. The results showed that the grown new particles via organic vapor condensation generally had no detectable contribution to N ccn but incidentally did. However, this conclusion was drawn from a small size of observational data, leaving more observations, particularly long-term observations and the growth of preexisting particles to the CCN required size, needed for further investigation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2019

OGLE-2018-BLG-0022: First Prediction of an Astrometric Microlensing Signal from a Photometric Microlensing Event

In this work, we present the analysis of the binary microlensing event OGLE-2018-BLG-0022 that is detected toward the Galactic bulge field. The dense and continuous coverage with the high-quality photometry data from ground-based observations combined with the space-based Spitzer observations of this long timescale event enables us to uniquely determine the masses M1=0.40 ± 0.05Me and M2=0.13 ± 0.01Me of the individual lens components. Because the lens-source relative parallax and the vector lens-source relative proper motion are unambiguously determined, we can likewise unambiguously predict the astrometric offset between the light centroid of the magnified images (as observed by the Gaia satellite) and the true position of the source. This prediction can be tested when the individual-epoch Gaia astrometric measurements are released.

Han, Cheongho↗
NASA NTRS2019

OGLE-2018-BLG-0022: First Prediction of an Astrometric Microlensing Signal from a Photometric Microlensing Event

In this work, we present the analysis of the binary microlensing event OGLE-2018-BLG-0022 that is detected toward the Galactic bulge field. The dense and continuous coverage with the high-quality photometry data from ground-based observations combined with the space-based Spitzer observations of this long timescale event enables us to uniquely determine the masses M 1 = 0.40 ± 0.05 M ⊙ and M 2 = 0.13 ± 0.01 M ⊙ of the individual lens components. Because the lens-source relative parallax and the vector lens-source relative proper motion are unambiguously determined, we can likewise unambiguously predict the astrometric offset between the light centroid of the magnified images (as observed by the Gaia satellite) and the true position of the source. This prediction can be tested when the individual-epoch Gaia astrometric measurements are released.

Cheongho Han↗
DOE OSTI2023

Early Alarm: Robust Event Analysis for Power Systems using 1-D Fully Convolutional Network

This work presents a novel deep learning model for early, accurate, and robust detection, recognition, and temporal localization of multi-type events in large-scale power systems. The proposed method develops a unified 1-D fully convolutional network (FCN) model that takes time series of raw frequency signals measured from a power system as input, extracts distinguishing features, and predicts at every temporal point in the time series if an event is happening and what the type of the event is. Compared to existing methods, the proposed model eliminates the necessity for hand-crafted feature extraction or complicated data pre-processing, can flexibly handle input signals of arbitrary length, and precisely infer the event occurrence time. Most importantly, the model is intentionally trained with incomplete patterns, such that it is more robust to partial features of an event which is common in real-world online recognition, resulting in early alarm for power system failures. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves superior performance to the state-of-the-art, and also shows strong robustness to noise and system oscillations.

Li, Chengcheng↗
DOE OSTI2020

Design and implementation of the new scintillation light detection system of ICARUS T600

ICARUS T600 is the far detector of the Short Baseline Neutrino program at Fermilab (U.S.A.), which foresees three Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers along the Booster Neutrino Beam line to search for LSND-like sterile neutrino signal. The T600 detector underwent a significant overhauling process at CERN, introducing new technological developments while maintaining the already achieved performances. The realization of a new liquid argon scintillation light detection system is a primary task of the detector overhaul. As the detector will be subject to a huge flux of cosmic rays, the light detection system should allow the 3D reconstruction of events contributing to the identification of neutrino interactions in the beam spill gate. The design and implementation of the new scintillation light detection system of ICARUS T600 is described.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS2012

Erratum: SDO-AIA Observation of Kelvin-helmholtz Instability in the Solar Corona

The first SDOAIA observation of the KelvinHelmholtz instability in the solar corona in the 2010 April 8 event was reported by Ofman Thompson (2010, 2011). Foullon et al. (2011), which was published prior to Ofman Thompson (2011), claimed the detection of the KelvinHelmholtz instability in a later event (2010 November 3), and should have been cited in Ofman Thompson (2011).

Kelvin-helmholtz instability↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bolide Light-curve Analysis and Discrimination Explorer (BLADE)

SAND2025-09601O Bolide Light-curve Analysis and Discrimination Explorer (BLADE) is a robust, high-fidelity framework designed to analyze the light curves of bolides—objects detected from space. It automates the identification of fragmentation events and energy release modes, using advanced techniques like Savitzky-Golay filtering, prominence-based peak detection, and gradient analysis. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Silber, Elizabeth [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), ↗
NASA NTRS2024

Launch Complex 39B, SWMU 009, 2023 Performance Monitoring and Air Sparge Expansion Construction Completion Report, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

The 2023 Performance Monitoring and Construction Completion Report (PM-CCR) presents the findings, observations, and results for Air Sparging (AS) operations and expansion activities, as well as sitewide groundwater monitoring for Launch Complex 39B (LC39B), Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 009, at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The reporting period for activities covered under this PM-CCR is from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. At LC39B, AS operations began in 2017 in the area west of the launch pad, in the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank area located northwest of the launch pad, and in an area outside of the perimeter fence to protect nearby Outstanding Florida Waters (OFW). The LC39B AS system was installed with 279 AS wells to depths ranging from 23 to 60 feet below land surface (bls), including the sump, correlating to top of screen depths ranging from 20 to 57 feet bls. In December 2022, a total of 22 AS wells were abandoned to support launch pad crane operations, and in November 2023, the system was expanded with five additional AS wells installed to 13 or 17 feet bls near the LOX tank. The remedial objective of the LC39B AS Interim Measure (IM) is to actively decrease concentrations of contaminants of concern (COCs) in groundwater, specifically trichloroethene (TCE), cis-1,2-Dichloroethene (cDCE), and vinyl chloride (VC), to less than their respective Natural Attenuation Default Concentrations (NADCs), so LC39B can transition into a Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) program. This PM-CCR presents the following information for LC39B: • AS system operations and maintenance (O&M) (Year 7 of operation) from January 2023 to December 2023, to include AS trailer relocation in March 2023 and subsequent replacement and re-start in June 2023. • Construction completion details for AS system expansion, which included installation of five new AS wells and one new monitoring well in November 2023. As part of expansion activities, soil samples were also collected for petroleum analysis; no exceedances were identified, and no further investigation for petroleum is warranted. • Performance monitoring results for groundwater sampling events conducted in May/June 2023 (30 wells) and November 2023 (31 wells) in the AS IM area and in the Low Concentration Plume (LCP) areas located north and east of the launch pad for volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis. • Sampling results for one monitoring well, LOX-IW0012S, which is sampled for aluminum on an annual basis (May/June 2023). This well was resampled in November 2023 for both total and dissolved aluminum. Due to a communication error with the laboratory, the May/June 2023 sample was analyzed for total aluminum only. • Groundwater sampling results for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) collected from seven monitoring wells during the May/June 2023 event to further investigate the Former Sewage Treatment Plant #6 and Percolation Pond area, west of the launch pad. O&M and performance monitoring results show that the AS system at LC39B is operating as designed and meeting performance criteria. Overall runtime was 45 percent (%) during the reporting period (January to December), but the operational runtime was 78% during the timeframe when the system could run (June to December). The most significant downtime contributor was post-launch crane operations following the Artemis launch on November 16, 2022, which lasted until June 2023. During that timeframe, the AS trailer at LC39B was relocated to another KSC remediation site (Wilson Corners) and was subsequently replaced with the AS trailer from the Paint & Oil Locker (POL) remediation site at KSC to resume AS system operations. Performance monitoring results in the AS IM and LCP areas continue to show reduction in COC concentrations over time when compared to baseline levels. In 2023, only one monitoring well (MW0048) detected a COC exceeding its NADC (VC at 740 micrograms per liter [µg/L]), which marks the baseline result for this new well installed during system expansion. Across the rest of the site, VC concentrations have declined or remained stable during the 2023 sampling events. Excluding MW0048, the highest VC result in 2023 was during the May/June sampling event with a concentration of 63 µg/L at MW0032, which is located near MW0048 and the AS expansion area by the LOX tank. TCE was detected in select monitoring wells in the IM area in 2023, but only two locations exceeded the State of Florida Groundwater Cleanup Target Level (GCTL): MW0032 (21 µg/L in May/June 2023 and 9.1 µg/L in November 2023) and MW0036 (5.0 µg/L in November 2023). MW0036 is also located near the LOX tank, on the north side, where the AS system is still operational (Zone Z4). cDCE and trans-1,2-dichloroethene concentrations were less than laboratory method detection limits or their respective GCTLs in all wells sampled in 2023. Near the OFW located northwest of the launch complex, all COC concentrations were less than laboratory method detection limits from monitoring wells (MW0039, MW0040, and LOXTA0002S) sampled in 2023. Aluminum results from LOX-IW0012S, which has been sampled routinely since 2006, detected a total aluminum concentration of 3,900 µg/L during the May/June 2023 sampling event. Results from the November 2023 event detected 5,700 µg/L for total aluminum and 5,500 µg/L for dissolved aluminum. These concentrations slightly decreased from the previous year but remain relatively consistent with historical detections. Aluminum will continue to be sampled on an annual basis at this well as results still exceed the GCTL of 200 µg/L and the Upper Limit of the KSC Background Concentration of 280 µg/L. PFAS results detected nine different PFAS compounds (out of 32 analyzed) from seven wells sampled. Two PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), currently have FDEP Provisional GCTLs of 70 nanograms per liter (ng/L). All seven samples collected resulted in concentrations less than the FDEP Provisional GCTLs for both PFAS compounds; no exceedances were observed. PFOS and PFOA also have assigned United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) of 4 nanograms per liter (ng/L). None of the PFOS results exceeded the USEPA MCLs. PFOA was detected in two samples above the USEPA MCL at concentrations of 5.8 ng/L (ECS-IW0009I) and 5.5 ng/L (ECS-IW0009S). Three other PFAS compounds, perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluoro-n-nonanoic acid (PFNA), and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (GenX), currently have USEPA MCLs of 10 ng/L. PFHxS, PFNA, and GenX were not detected at concentrations greater than their respective USEPA MCLs in any of the seven wells. PFAS compounds without FDEP Provisional GCTLs or USEPA MCLs were screened against USEPA RSLs. No other detections exceeded their respective USEPA RSLs. Additional PFAS sampling will be conducted as part of a future PFAS Site Assessment. Based on O&M activities and performance monitoring, the following is recommended for LC39B: • Continue with Year 8 AS system operation within Zone Z4, which includes the AS expansion area. Zone Z3, which has been off since 2018, should remain off as no rebound has been observed. Zones Z1 and Z2, which were turned off at the end of 2022, will remain shut down as monitoring well results have consistently been below GCTLs or have low-level detections with stable or decreasing trends (Meeting Minute 2402-M10, Decision 2402-D30). • Continue with performance monitoring in 2024 with the same monitoring well network as 2023, except with the addition of MW0048 in both semi-annual events. Baseline concentrations for this well were collected during the November 2023 performance monitoring event. Semi-annual sampling should be planned for the May 2024 and November 2024 timeframes (Meeting Minute 2402-M10, Decision 2402-D31). • Continue sampling monitoring well, LOX-IW0012S, for aluminum (total and dissolved) on an annual basis in May 2024. It is also recommended to re-develop this well prior to the next sampling event (Meeting Minute 2402-M10, Decision 2402-D32). The above recommendations for LC39B were presented at the February 2024 KSCRT Meeting, with Team consensus reached on the path forward. The contents of this PM-CCR were also presented at this meeting.

Deborah M Wilson↗
DOE OSTI2026

Lunar accelerometer network gravitational observatory (LANGO)

With ground-based interferometers detecting hundreds of gravitational-wave (GW) events, GW astronomy has continued to blossom. U.S. and European scientists are developing plans to construct third-generation ground-based interferometers. ESA has proceeded through the mission formulation phase of space-based interferometer in a lower-frequency band, 10 –4 –0.1 Hz. Despite all these exciting developments, there is still a missing frequency band, 0.1–10 Hz. This mid-frequency band is rich with interesting astrophysical events. Coalescence and merger of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) will occur in this frequency band. Coalescing stellar-mass BHs will pass through this frequency band days before they reach the frequency band of LIGO and Virgo. Detection of such signals would enable a mid-frequency detector to issue an advance notice to the high-frequency GW detectors, as well as to optical, x-ray and γ-ray telescopes. We propose Lunar Accelerometer Network Gravitational Observatory (LANGO) to detect GWs in this frequency band. In the first phase (LANGO 1), we propose to deploy four ambient-temperature (250 K) accelerometers in the tetrahedral or in a square configuration on the hemisphere facing the Earth. After successful operation at 250 K, LANGO would be upgraded to a cryogenic (4 K) version with over two orders of magnitude increased sensitivity (LANGO 2), with coherent rejection of seismic noise implemented. LANGO is a full-tensor detector, capable of determining the source direction and wave polarization. Each test mass (TM) is suspended as a pendulum with resonance frequency ∼ 0.01 Hz, thus is only weakly coupled to the lunar surface horizontally. LANGO is designed to detect the relative motion of globally separated, nearly free, TMs by using the Moon as a large quiet platform. LANGO 1 and 2 accelerometers aim at sensitivities ⩽ 10 –11 m s –2 Hz –1/2 and ⩽ 10 –13 m s –2 Hz –1/2 in the horizontal axes over the frequency band of 1 mHz–10 Hz, which yield GW sensitivities 1.1 x 10 -21 Hz -1/2 and 3.8 x 10 -24 Hz -1/2 at 1 Hz, respectively. The LANGO accelerometers will be 10 3 –10 5 times more sensitive than Apollo seismometers. With such sensitivity, LANGO will also make great contribution to the advancement of lunar geophysics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE) Electrometer Instrument Development

The Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE) is a joint venture between the University of Central Florida (UCF) Center for Microgravity Research (CMR) and the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) seeking to examine charged dust grain behavior in a microgravity environment. Two separate systems have been combined for this suborbital flight experiment: the COLLisions Into Dust Experiment (COLLIDE) developed by the UCF CMR and the Wheel Electrostatic Spectrometer (WES) developed by the NASA KSC ESPL. This combination will advance the understanding of the natural and induced charged grain behavior on the Moon, asteroids, and other low gravity bodies comprised of charged dust particles. COLLIDE retains granular material under vacuum in a shallow tray behind a metal door, which then opens and releases the particles into a larger open volume when microgravity is achieved. The experiment is observed with a high-speed camera, such that the motions of these particles can then be tracked so the kinematics of each grain may be analyzed. The original application for this apparatus was to study cratering events into granular beds, but electrostatic repulsion was detected in the early frames of the video data returned from completed experiments, so a re-flight with a focus on these events was proposed. Agitation of the grains during launch combined with the frictional charge transfer between the grains and the door as it slides open provides an opportunity to use this setup to observe material tribocharging and charged particle behaviors in microgravity. In this updated version, the charged particles released into the chamber will traverse through an electric field produced by high voltage parallel plates and their resulting trajectories will be determined by their net charges. WES was originally developed to characterize the triboelectric properties of the Martian regolith through the contact of a rover wheel with the surface as it rotates. Improvements were made upon this legacy system to develop a sensor suite that will be installed within the COLLIDE door to measure charge transferred between the granular material and insulating disks protruding through the door. These insulator disks span the triboelectric series so, as they slide across the particulate matter when the door opens, each will accumulate a charge consistent with its relative position to the grains within the series. This charge on each insulator is distributed between two capacitances in series with an electrometer amplifier returning an analog voltage proportional to the charge accumulated. Calibration of this system has been performed using applications of known charge to the inputs and characterization of the frictional charge transfer between various regolith simulants and the sensor insulators is currently being examined in the lab.

Electrostatics↗
NASA NTRS2019

GWTC-1: A Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog of Compact Binary Mergers Observedby LIGO and Virgo During the First and Second Observing Runs

We present the results from three gravitational-wave searches for coalescing compact binaries with component masses above1M during the first and second observing runs of the advanced gravitational-wave detector network. During the first observing run (O1), from September 12, 2015 to January 19, 2016, gravitational waves from three binary black hole mergers were detected. The second observing run (O2), which ran from November 30, 2016 to August 25, 2017, saw the first detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star in spiral, in addition to the observation of gravitational waves from a total of seven binary black hole mergers, four of which we report here for the first time: GW170729, GW170809, GW170818, and GW170823. For all significant gravitational-wave events, we provide estimates of the source properties. The detected binary black holes have total masses between18.6þ3.2−0.7M and 84.4þ15.8−11.1M and range in distance between 320þ120−110 and 2840þ1400−1360Mpc. No neutron star–black hole mergers were detected. In addition to highly significant gravitational-wave events, we also provide a list of marginal event candidates with an estimated false-alarm rate less than 1 per 30 days. From these results over the first two observing runs, which include approximately one gravitational-wave detection per 15 days of data searched, we infer merger rates at the 90% confidence intervals of 110−3840Gpc−3y−1 for binary neutron stars and 9.7−101Gpc−3y−1 for binary black holes assuming fixed population distributions and determine a neutron star–black hole merger rate 90% upper limit of 610Gpc−3y−1.

Astrophysics↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Highest-Energy Photons Seen by the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

During its nine-year lifetime, the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGBET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) detected 1506 cosmic photons with measured energy E>10 GeV. Of this number, 187 are found within a 1 deg of sources that are listed in the Third EGRET Catalog and were included in determining the detection likelihood, flux, and spectra of those sources. In particular, five detected EGRET pulsars are found to have events above 10 GeV, and together they account for 37 events. A pulsar not included in the Third EGRET Catalog has 2 events, both with the same phase and in one peak of the lower-energy gamma-ray light-curve. Most of the remaining 1319 events appear to be diffuse Galactic and extragalactic radiation based on the similarity of the their spatial and energy distributions with the diffuse model and in the E>100, MeV emission. No significant time clustering which would suggest a burst was detected.

Thompson, D. J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Observed and Projected Changes of Global Monsoons: Current Status and Future Perspectives

The global monsoon system, encompassing the Asian-Australian, African, and American monsoons, sustains two-thirds of the world’s population by regulating water resources and agriculture. Monsoon anomalies pose severe risks, including floods and droughts. Recent research associated with the implementation of the Global Monsoons Model Intercomparison Project under the umbrella of CMIP6 has advanced our understanding of its historical variability and driving mechanisms. Observational data reveal a 20th-century shift: increased rainfall pre-1950s, followed by aridification and partial recovery post-1980s, driven by both internal variability (e.g., Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation) and external forcings (greenhouse gases, aerosols), while ENSO drives interannual variability through ocean-atmosphere interactions. Future projections under greenhouse forcing suggest long-term monsoon intensification, though regional disparities and model uncertainties persist. Models indicate robust trends but struggle to quantify extremes, where thermodynamic effects (warming-induced moisture rise) uniformly boost heavy rainfall, while dynamical shifts (circulation changes) create spatial heterogeneity. Volcanic eruptions and proposed solar radiation modification (SRM) further complicate predictions: tropical eruptions suppress monsoons, whereas high-latitude events alter cross-equatorial flows, highlighting unresolved feedbacks. The emergent constraint approach is booming in terms of correcting future projections and reducing uncertainty with respect to the global monsoons. Critical challenges remain. Model biases and sparse 20th-century observational data hinder accurate attribution. The interplay between natural variability and anthropogenic forcings, along with nonlinear extreme precipitation risks under warming, demands deeper mechanistic insights. Additionally, SRM’s regional impacts and hemispheric monsoon interactions require systematic evaluation. Addressing these gaps necessitates enhanced observational networks, refined climate models, and interdisciplinary efforts to disentangle multiscale drivers, ultimately improving resilience strategies for monsoon-dependent regions.

climate extreme events↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of 17 N as a time-tagged neutron source for calibration of large antineutrino detectors

Large antineutrino detectors hold the potential for remote nuclear reactor monitoring and discovery, which is of great interest for nonproliferation and treaty verification applications. Correlated-particle calibration sources are especially useful for large-volume designs based on detection of inverse beta-decay events, as the timing information of the coincident particles improves background rejection and event reconstruction. 17 N is a promising calibration source since it emits beta-correlated delayed neutrons and can be produced relatively easily using high-energy neutrons. In this work, we examine the feasibility of 17 N as a time-tagged calibration source for large antineutrino detectors. 17 N was produced using a DT neutron generator from a water sample enriched in 17 O, and the observed production rates were found to be consistent with previous measurements of the 17 O(n,p) 17 N reaction cross-section. As a result, time-tagging of 17 N delayed neutrons is demonstrated via beta-neutron coincidence measurements conducted using a specialized beta detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Microseismicity Modulation Due To Changes in Geothermal Production at San Emidio, Nevada, USA

Brief cessations of geothermal production can induce seismicity, a phenomenon that has drawn increasing attention in recent years. Such observations are rare, and the underlying mechanism requires careful analysis. In April 2022, a dense seismic and hydrologic monitoring system was deployed at the San Emidio geothermal field, Nevada, to accompany a planned power plant shutdown. Using the dense seismic array data, we detected and located ∼1,800 microseismic events (MSEs) and developed a high-resolution tomographic P-wave velocity model. We observed substantially increased microseismicity during shutdown. Most MSEs occurred on pre-existing normal faults, which are contained within extremely low-velocity zones that are likely damaged, fluid-filled, and hydraulically connected to nearby production wells. Hydrologic data show rapid fluid pressure increases of <60 kPa following the shutdown. We suggest that the cessation of production rapidly increased fluid pressures along pre-existing fault zones, activating critically stressed fault patches and fractures and producing microseismicity.

Guo, Hao [University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI (Uni↗