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NASA NTRS1999

Autonomous Science Analyses of Digital Images for Mars Sample Return and Beyond

To adequately explore high priority landing sites, scientists require rovers with greater mobility. Therefore, future Mars missions will involve rovers capable of traversing tens of kilometers (vs. tens of meters traversed by Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner). However, the current process by which scientists interact with a rover does not scale to such distances. A single science objective is achieved through many iterations of a basic command cycle: (1) all data must be transmitted to Earth and analyzed; (2) from this data, new targets are selected and the necessary information from the appropriate instruments are requested; (3) new commands are then uplinked and executed by the spacecraft and (4) the resulting data are returned to Earth, starting the process again. Experience with rover tests on Earth shows that this time intensive process cannot be substantially shortened given the limited data downlink bandwidth and command cycle opportunities of real missions. Sending complete multicolor panoramas at several waypoints, for example, is out of the question for a single downlink opportunity. As a result, long traverses requiring many science command cycles would likely require many weeks, months or even years, perhaps exceeding rover design life or other constraints. Autonomous onboard science analyses can address these problems in two ways. First, it will allow the rover to transmit only "interesting" images, defined as those likely to have higher science content. Second, the rover will be able to anticipate future commands, for example acquiring and returning spectra of "interesting" rocks along with the images in which they were detected. Such approaches, coupled with appropriate navigational software, address both the data volume and command cycle bottlenecks that limit both rover mobility and science yield. We are developing algorithms to enable such intelligent decision making by autonomous spacecraft. Reflecting the ultimate level of ability we aim for, this program has been dubbed the "Grad Student on Mars Project". We envision, for example, an appropriately intelligent Athena-like rover at the Pathfinder landing site might be able to traverse over the ridge towards "Twin Peaks" to obtain better information on the stratigraphy of these "streamlined islands" or of the size, composition and morphology of boulders located on them. Along the traverse, the intelligent rover would collect and analyze images and obtain spectra of geologically interesting features or regions. The intelligent rover might also traverse further up Arcs Vallis, and find additional paleoflood stage indicators such as slackwater deposits. Recognizing additional regions where boulders are imbricated, noting changes in their size, distribution, morphology, composition and the associated changes in channel geometry would yield important information on the outflow channel's paleoflood history, Representative images and associated supporting data from these locations could be downlinked to Earth along with the data requested by scientists from the previous uplink opportunity. Our initial work has focused on recognizing geologically interesting portions of images. Here we summarize some of the algorithms to date.

Gulick, V. C.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Magnetospheric Geometry in PSR B1929+10 from Radio/X-Ray Alignment

We have conducted a study of two rotation- powered pulsars that emit at both radio and x-ray wavelengths, PSR B0531+21 and PSR B1929+10. Using absolute phase information, we have phase-aligned x-ray and radio profiles from these pulsars. Observations were done using the Green Bank 140ft telescope, and ASCA. The 0531+21 X-ray profile is sharp and lines up well with the radio profile confirming that the X-ray emission from this pulsar is magnetospheric in origin. The 1929+10 profile is approximately sinusoidal with the peak of the emission arriving 67+/-23 degrees after the maximum in the radio emission. The controversy to which the PSR B1929+10 result adds fuel, is whether this "inter" -pulsar, is an "aligned" or "orthogonal" rotator -- describing the alignment of the magnetic axis to the rotation axis. Do the two peaks in the radio profile (the pulse and interpulse) come from a double crossing of a thin hollow cone nearly aligned with rotation axis, or alternatively do they come from from opposite poles of an "orthogonal" rotator where the spin axis is perpendicular to the magnetic axis? The radio to X-ray alignment we find favors the former explanation: if the X-ray hot spot is the result of return currents to the surface from the outward current that generates radio emission, then in the "double-crossing" model, the hot spot phase is expected to lie between the main pulse and interpulse as observed.

Somer, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Signatures of Volatiles in the Lunar Proton Albedo

We find evidence for hydrated material in the lunar regolith using "albedo protons" measured with the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Fluxes of these albedo protons, which are emitted from the regolith due to steady bombardment by high energy radiation (Galactic Cosmic Rays), are observed to peak near the poles, and are inconsistent with the latitude trends of heavy element enrichment (e.g., enhanced Fe abundance). The latitudinal distribution of albedo protons anti-correlates with that of epithermal or high energy neutrons. The high latitude enhancement may be due to the conversion of upward directed secondary neutrons from the lunar regolith into tertiary protons due to neutron-proton collisions in hydrated regolith that is more prevalent near the poles. The CRaTER instrument may thus provide important measurements of volatile distributions within regolith at the Moon and potentially, with similar sensors and observations, at other bodies within the Solar System.

surface↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Impact histories inferred from exogenic boulders on asteroids Ryugu and Bennu

Rubble-pile asteroids, such as (162173) Ryugu and (101955) Bennu, are formed as a result of catastrophic disruption of a parent body and re-accumulation of the fragments by self-gravity. Therefore, reaccumulated rubble piles could include mixtures of materials from both the parent body and its catastrophic impactor, as they did in the case of 2008 TC3 and the Almahata Sitta meteorites (Jenniskens et al. 2009). Indeed, six unusually bright, basaltic, meter-scale boulders were recently identified on Bennu’s dark surface (DellaGiustina et al. 2021), and their close spectral matches to the Howardite-Eucrite-Diogenite (HED) meteorites and Vesta family members indicate that they originated from asteroid (4) Vesta. In parallel, bright exogenic anhydrous-silicate–rich materials were found on Ryugu (Tatsumi et al. 2021). The bright boulders on Ryugu are consistent with ordinary chondrite meteorites, based on their albedo and weak or even absent absorption band at 2 µm. These exogenous materials on the surfaces of rubble-pile asteroids could be a key to constraining their specific impact conditions and collisional evolution. In this study, we report further study of the visible spectrophotometry and morphology of exogenic boulders on Ryugu and Bennu using two multi-band cameras: the telescopic Optical Navigation Camera (ONC-T) onboard the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, and MapCam onboard the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft, respectively. For Ryugu, we first detected objects with peak reflectance brighter by a factor of >1.5 than the surrounding area. Tatsumi et al. (2021) found two spectral groups among the bright boulders: S-type with an absorption near 1 µm and C/X-type with a flat spectrum. That study found 6 S-types and 15 C/X-types, and in this work we additionally find one S-type and ~70 C/X-types. We found that S-type bright boulders follow two parallel trends consistent with space weathering of ordinary chondrites. Fragments from projectiles suggest that Ryugu may not have formed directly from the original parent body, i.e., it is from a second or higher generation of collisional descendants (Sugimoto et al. in revision). For Bennu, we directly surveyed absorption near 1 µm, which is indicative of anhydrous silicates. We propose 77 objects of exogenic origin including 6 boulders previously reported by DellaGiustina et al. (2021). We find that proposed exogenic objects follow two mixing trends with respect to the average spectrum of Bennu (Tatsumi and Popescu et al. submitted). One trend can be explained by mixing with HED as discussed in DellaGiustina et al. (2021), and the other trend can be explained by mixing with another, olivine-rich composition. Near-infrared spectra also support the possibility of multiple compositions among exogenic objects on Bennu. Thus, similar to Ryugu, Bennu could represent a second or higher generation. Using high-resolution images, we found that more than half of the exogenic objects that we identified on Bennu have breccia-like or inclusion-like morphologies. We do not observe a correlation between morphology and spectral shape. Direct comparison of reflectance spectra of exogenic object spectra between Ryugu and Bennu suggests a compositional difference. Furthermore, the number density of exogenic objects > 0.5 m on Bennu is ~40 times that on Ryugu (Tatsumi and Popescu et al. submitted). Bennu exhibits much more contamination from exogenic materials than Ryugu, which likely reflects differences in impact conditions, such as impact velocity and impactor size.

E. Tatsumi↗
NASA NTRS2010

Finding a 24 Day Orbital Period for the X-Ray Binary 1A 1118-616

We report the first determination of the binary period and the orbital ephemeris of the Be X-ray binary containing the pulsar IA 1118-616 (35 years after the discovery of the source). The orbital period is found to be P(sub orb) = 24.0+/-0.4 days. The source was observed by RXTE during its last big X-ray outburst in January 2009, peaking at MJD 54845.4. This outburst was sampled by taking short observations every few days, covering an elapsed time comparable to the orbital period. Using the phase connection technique, pulse arrival time delays could be measured and an orbital solution determined. The data are consistent with a circular orbit, the time of 90 degrees longitude was found to be T,/2 = MJD 54845.37(10), coincident with the peak X-ray flux.

Staubert, R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Hot gas in the cold dark matter scenario: X-ray clusters from a high-resolution numerical simulation

A new, three-dimensional, shock-capturing hydrodynamic code is utilized to determine the distribution of hot gas in a standard cold dark matter (CDM) model of the universe. Periodic boundary conditions are assumed: a box with size 85 h(exp -1) Mpc having cell size 0.31 h(exp -1) Mpc is followed in a simulation with 270(exp 3) = 10(exp 7.3) cells. Adopting standard parameters determined from COBE and light-element nucleosynthesis, sigma(sub 8) = 1.05, omega(sub b) = 0.06, and assuming h = 0.5, we find the X-ray-emitting clusters and compute the luminosity function at several wavelengths, the temperature distribution, and estimated sizes, as well as the evolution of these quantities with redshift. We find that most of the total X-ray emissivity in our box originates in a relatively small number of identifiable clusters which occupy approximately 10(exp -3) of the box volume. This standard CDM model, normalized to COBE, produces approximately 5 times too much emission from clusters having L(sub x) is greater than 10(exp 43) ergs/s, a not-unexpected result. If all other parameters were unchanged, we would expect adequate agreement for sigma(sub 8) = 0.6. This provides a new and independent argument for lower small-scale power than standard CDM at the 8 h(exp -1) Mpc scale. The background radiation field at 1 keV due to clusters in this model is approximately one-third of the observed background, which, after correction for numerical effects, again indicates approximately 5 times too much emission and the appropriateness of sigma(sub 8) = 0.6. If we have used the observed ratio of gas to total mass in clusters, rather than basing the mean density on light-element nucleosynthesis, then the computed luminosity of each cluster would have increased still further, by a factor of approximately 10. The number density of clusters increases to z approximately 1, but the luminosity per typical cluster decreases, with the result that evolution in the number density of bright clusters is moderate in this redshift range, showing a broad peak near z = 0.7, and then a rapid decline above redshift z = 3. Detailed computations of the luminosity functions in the range L(sub x) = 10(exp 40) - 10(exp 44) ergs/s in various energy bands are presented for both cluster central regions and total luminosities to be used in comparison with ROSAT and other observational data sets. The quantitative results found disagree significantly with those found by other investigators using semianalytic techniques. We find little dependence of core radius on cluster luminosity and a dependence of temperature on luminosity given by log kT(sub x) = A + B log L(sub x), which is slightly steeper (B = 0.38) than is indicated by observations. Computed temperatures are somewhat higher than observed, as expected, in that COBE-normalized CDM has too much power on the relevant scales. A modest average temperature gradient is found, with temperatures dropping to 90% of central values at 0.4 h(exp -1) Mpc and 70% of central values at 0.9 h(exp -1) Mpc. Examining the ratio of gas to total mass in the clusters normalized to Omega(sub B) h(exp 2) = 0.015, and comparing with observations, we conclude, in agreement with White (1991), that the cluster observations argue for an open universe.

Kang, Hyesung↗
DOE OSTI2023

Demand-side solutions in the US building sector could achieve deep emissions reductions and avoid over $100 billion in power sector costs

Buildings are energy-intensive and a primary source of US end-use sector carbon emissions. Although building emissions today are 25% below their 2005 peak, far deeper reductions are needed to reach the US 2050 net-zero emissions goal. However, plausible decarbonization pathways that consider both buildings and their interactions with the power grid remain poorly understood. Here, we couple detailed modeling of building energy use and the grid to quantify building decarbonization potential and associated grid impacts. We find up to a 91% reduction in building CO 2 emissions from 2005 levels by 2050 using a portfolio of building efficiency, demand flexibility, and electrification measures alongside rapid grid decarbonization. Building efficiency and flexibility could generate up to $107 billion in annual power system cost savings by 2050, offsetting over a third of the incremental cost of full grid decarbonization. Our results underscore multiple benefits of demand-side solutions for deep decarbonization of US buildings.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Denoising atomic resolution 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy data with tensor singular value decomposition

Tensor singular value decomposition (SVD) is a method to find a low-dimensional representation of data with meaningful structure in three or more dimensions. Here, tensor SVD has been applied to denoise atomic-resolution 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM) data. On data simulated from a SrTiO 3 [100] perfect crystal and a Si [110] edge dislocation, tensor SVD achieved an average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of ~40 dB, which matches or exceeds the performance of other denoising methods, with processing times at least 100 times shorter. On experimental data from SrTiO 3 [100] and LiZnSb [11 2 ¯ 0]/GaSb [110] samples, tensor SVD denoises multiple GB 4D STEM data sets in ten minutes on a typical personal computer. Denoising with tensor SVD improves both convergent beam electron diffraction patterns and virtual-aperture annular dark field images.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Disparities in the air quality monitoring stations and PM₂.₅ in Chicago’s air quality landscape

Fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) poses significant public and environmental health risks in urban areas. Chicago’s dense industry and traffic create variable air quality, yet monitoring is unevenly distributed, resulting in undersampling of air quality data in some city areas. This study applied a hybrid approach using GIS-based kernel density mapping, interpolation modeling (IDW, Spline, Kriging) of USEPA monitoring data, multi-scale temporal trend analyses (hourly to annual), and ESDA. Accordingly, the density surface showed that monitors are concentrated in the affluent north, northwest, and southwest sides of Chicago (up to ~ 0.07 stations per sq mile), while the south and southeast regions, with predominantly minority communities, have virtually no coverage. Overall, citywide coverage is minimal (~ 4–5 monitors total; ~0.02 per sq mile; ≈1 per 600,000 residents). Temporal analyses showed that the city’s mean annual PM₂.₅ (~ 10.8 µg/m³) exceeds USEPA/WHO standards (9 µg/m³), with summer means (~ 17.1 µg/m³) significantly higher than other seasons. Diurnally, a clear pattern was observed, with PM₂.₅ concentrations peaking overnight (00:00–03:00) and during the morning rush hours, and dipping during midday to late afternoon. Spatial distribution of PM₂.₅ identified hotspots near O’Hare Airport, the downtown Loop area, and south-side neighborhoods, contrasting with lower concentrations on the north side, revealing Chicago’s socioeconomic divides and resulting environmental inequities. The findings underscore the need for expanded monitoring and targeted interventions in under-monitored, high-pollution communities to advance equitable community health.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Large Eddy Simulation of the Diurnal Cycle of Shallow Convection in the Central Amazon

Climate models often face challenges in accurately simulating the daily precipitation cycle over tropical land areas, particularly in the Amazon. One contributing factor may be the incomplete representation of the diurnal evolution of shallow cumulus (ShCu) clouds. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of the diurnal cycles of ShCu clouds—from formation to maturation and dissipation—over the Central Amazon (CAMZ). Using observational data from the Green Ocean Amazon 2014 (GoAmazon) campaign and large eddy simulation (LES) modeling, we analyzed the diurnal cycles of six selected pure ShCu cases and their composite behavior. Our results revealed a well-defined cycle, with cloud formation occurring between 10 and 11 local time (LT), maturity from 13 to 15 LT, and dissipation by 17–18 LT. The vertical extent of the liquid water mixing ratio and the intensity of the updraft mass flux were closely associated with increases in turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), enhanced buoyancy flux within the cloud layer, and reduced large-scale subsidence. We further analyzed the diurnal cycles of the convective available potential energy (CAPE), the convective inhibition (CIN), the Bowen ratio (BR), and the vertically integrated TKE in the mixed layer (ITKE-ML), exploring their relationships with the cloud base mass flux (Mb) and cloud depth across the six ShCu cases. ITKE-ML and Mb exhibited similar diurnal trends, peaking at approximately 14–15 LT. However, no consistent relationships were found between CAPE (or BR) and Mb. Similarly, comparisons of the cloud depth with CAPE, BR, ITKE-ML, CIN, and Mb revealed no clear relationships. Smaller ShCu clouds were sometimes linked to higher CAPE and lower CIN. It is important to emphasize that these findings are preliminary and based on a limited sample of ShCu cases. Further research involving an expanded dataset and more detailed analyses of the TKE budget and synoptic conditions is necessary. Such efforts would yield a more comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing ShCu clouds’ vertical development.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1976

Acceleration of auroral electrons in parallel electric fields

Rocket observations of auroral electrons are compared with the predictions of a number of theoretical acceleration mechanisms that involve an electric field parallel to the earth's magnetic field. The theoretical models are discussed in terms of required plasma sources, the location of the acceleration region, and properties of necessary wave-particle scattering mechanisms. We have been unable to find any steady state scatter-free electric field configuration that predicts electron flux distributions in agreement with the observations. The addition of a fluctuating electric field or wave-particle scattering several thousand kilometers above the rocket can modify the theoretical flux distributions so that they agree with measurements. The presence of very narrow energy peaks in the flux contours implies a characteristic temperature of several tens of electron volts or less for the source of field-aligned auroral electrons and a temperature of several hundred electron volts or less for the relatively isotropic 'monoenergetic' auroral electrons. The temperature of the field-aligned electrons is more representative of the magnetosheath or possibly the ionosphere as a source region than of the plasma sheet.

Kaufmann, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Long-latency evoked potentials to irrelevant, deviant stimuli

Occasional shifts of loudness in a repetitive train of clicks elicited a late-positive wave (P3a) in nonattending subjects which peaked at a mean latency of 258 msec and had a frontocentral scalp distribution; P3a was typically preceded by an 'N2' component at 196 msec. The P3a wave was distinguishable from the longer-latency (378 msec) parietocentrally distributed 'P3b' wave that was evoked by the same stimulus in an actively attending subject, thus confirming the findings of Squires et al. (1975). Infrequently presented single sounds did not produce large or consistent N2-P3a components; the critical condition for the generation of an N2-P3a wave seemed to be that the infrequent sounds represent a deviation (intensity increment or decrement) from a repetitive background. Furthermore, increasing the repetition rate of the background clicks drastically reduced N1-P2 amplitude but had little effect on the amplitude of N2-P3a. This suggests that N2-P3a is not simply a delayed N1-P2 'vertex potential', but rather reflects the operation of a 'mismatch' detector, which registers deviations from an ongoing auditory background.

Snyder, E.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Analysis of EUV Dayglow Spectra of Triton, Titan and Earth

We have constructed a coupled ion and neutral chemical model of the ionosphere and thermosphere of Titan. Along with density profiles of ions and minor neutrals, we have computed the heating rates and heating efficiencies for the neutrals and chemical heating rates and efficiencies for the ions. We find that the neutral heating efficiency in our standard model varies from about 30% near 800 km to 22% near 2000 km. The most important heating processes are neutral-neutral reactions and photodissociation. The ion chemical heating rates maximize at about 10 eV cm(sup -3) s(sup -1), and the corresponding ion heating efficiencies peak near 1000 km at about 0.6%.

Fox, Jane L.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating the Impact of Managed EV Charging for Reliable Operation of Bulk Power Systems with High Non-Dispatchable Generation

The growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and variable-generation (VG) sources introduces new challenges for power-system operations. This study introduces a modeling framework and evaluates five EV charging strategies under projected 2040 grid conditions in the Evergy service territory with high non-dispatchable generation. Using realistic EV behavior and generation models, their impacts on system peak demand, ramp rate, and reserve capacity are evaluated. Results show that only the peak-avoidance strategy effectively reduces system peak demand, while decentralized strategies-particularly cost based dynamic charging-can exacerbate peaks due to synchronized user behavior. However, ramp-rate minimization strategy significantly reduce the stress on dispatchable generation achieving the lowest maximum absolute ramp rate (MARR) (56.81 MW) and lowest reserve requirement (2.39 GW). In contrast, unmanaged and TOU random strategies increase the stress on dispatchable generation sources with increased MARR and reserve requirements. These findings highlight the importance of coordinated, system-aware managed charging strategies to ensure reliable and affordable grid operation in the presence of EVs and VG sources.

14 - SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Combining PCA and nonlinear fitting of peak models to re-evaluate C 1s XPS spectrum of cellulose

Cellulose is an example of a material that responds to XPS by the creation of new chemistry not present in the as-received sample. While improvements in instrumentation may be seen in general as beneficial to surface science, recent studies have shown that the consequences for some materials are detrimental. Here, in this work, these problems are illustrated through an analysis of cellulose spectra obtained during a degradation study. C 1s spectra are decomposed into two well-formed component curves that are open to chemical interpretation. In particular, a component-curve representative of pure cellulose is obtained as well as a second component curve that implies cellulose is degraded through the creation of carbon chemistry involving C—O, C$=$O and O—C$=$O. Since cellulose is a crystalline material, formed through the alignment of molecules under the influence of hydrogen bonds, the analysis and findings presented in this paper are relevant to any material analyzed by XPS whose properties are dependent on hydrogen bonds. The analysis techniques are based on an informed vectorial approach, which extracts directly from data spectral shapes that are used to monitor sample degradation via linear least squares optimization. Related mathematics of Principal Component Analysis and linear analysis are presented.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Energy-peak based method to measure top quark mass via B -hadron decay lengths

We develop a method for the determination of the top quark mass using the distribution of the decay length of the B -hadrons originating from its decay. This technique is based on our earlier observation regarding the location of the peak of the b quark energy distribution. Such “energy-peak” methods enjoy a greater degree of model-independence with respect to the kinematics of top quark production compared to earlier proposals. The CMS experiment has implemented the energy-peak method using associated b -jet energy as an approximation for b quark energy. The new method uses B -hadron decay lengths, which are related to b quark energies by convolution. The advantage of the new decay length method is that it can be applied in a way that evades jet-energy scale (JES) uncertainties. Indeed, CMS has measured the top quark mass using B -hadron decay lengths, but they did not incorporate the energy-peak method. Therefore, mismodeling of top quark transverse momentum remains a large uncertainty in their result. We demonstrate that, using energy-peak methods, this systematic uncertainty can become negligible. We show that with the current LHC data set, a sub-GeV statistical uncertainty on the top quark mass can be attained with this method. To achieve a comparable systematic uncertainty as is true for many methods based on exclusive or semi-inclusive observables using hadrons, we find that the quark-hadron transition needs to be described significantly better than is the case with current fragmentation functions and hadronization models.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multi-stage load partitioning in additively manufactured Al6061+TiC nanocomposite characterized by in-situ neutron diffraction

Metal matrix composites (MMCs), combining metal matrix and ceramic particles, exhibit high mechanical strength and stiffness compared to conventional metallic materials. During fusion-based additive manufacturing (AM), MMCs undergo a rapid heating and cooling thermal history, which affects the interfacial bonding, thermal misfit stress and mechanical load transfer behavior between the metal matrix and particles, thus impacting the bulk mechanical performance. Here, we investigate the deformation dynamics and phase-specific load transfer in fusion-based AMed Al6061 +TiC MMCs through in-situ neutron diffraction. By calculating the phase-specific lattice strains, a multi-stage load transfer and deformation behavior during uniaxial compression is revealed: (1) elastic deformation in Stage I for both phases; (2) sudden stress rebalance between two phases in Stage II, evidenced by a sudden decrease in Al lattice strain and increase in TiC; (3) active load carrying by both phases in Stage III, with both phases experiencing an increase in lattice strains. Further, the deformation mechanism of each stage is deducted by correlating the evolutions of the interphase stresses and peaks’ broadening and intensity of the Al matrix. The local plastic deformation of the Al matrix near the phase interface is triggered and leads to stress rebalancing in Stage II. The global plastic deformation subsequently propagates throughout the Al matrix in Stage III, and the composite is further hardened through both dislocation multiplication and load transfer. The findings offer valuable insights into deformation and load-sharing behavior in AMed MMCs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Past fires and post-fire impacts reconstructed from a southwest Australian stalagmite

Speleothem records of past environmental change provide an important opportunity to explore fire frequency and intensity in the past, and the antecedent climatic conditions leading to fire events. Here, fire sensitive geochemical signals in a stalagmite from Yonderup Cave, a shallow cave in Western Australia, are compared to well-documented wildfire events that occurred in recent decades. The results are extended to identify wildfires during the growth interval of the speleothem (1760 CE–2005 CE). Principal component analysis of the stalagmite time-series revealed distinct peaks in a combination of phosphorus and metal (aluminium, zinc, copper and lead) concentrations in response to known fire events, which are interpreted to have come from ash. Varying responses in the geochemical signal in the pre- and post-European colonisation period are likely linked to changes in land management, fire frequency and fire intensities. Of note is what we infer to be a particularly intense fire event concluded to have occurred in 1897 ± 5 CE, which climate sensitive proxies (δ18O and bedrock-derived elements) indicate was preceded by a multi-decadal dry period that began in the late 1860s. The intensity of the deduced fire event is supported by a peak in P that is 6.3 times higher than elsewhere in the speleothem, accompanied by a peak in Zn. It was also inferred that changes to the surface-cave hydrology occurred as a result of this event, indicated by increased input of colloidal organic material onto the stalagmite that was interpreted to be caused by shallow karst bedrock fracturing from the heat-induced deformation that is observed after intense fires. These findings show the potential for speleothems to provide dated records of fire intensity and recurrence intervals. Further development could lead to a better understanding of the climate-fire relationship and the effects of land-management practices on wildfire frequency and intensity.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗