Ocean Worlds in our Solar System are attractive candidates in the search for extra-terrestrial life. The best chances for detecting biosignatures and biology on these bodies lie in in situ investigations of sub-ice oceans in contact with rocky interiors. The actual conditions that will confront an ice-penetrating vehicle (“cryobot”) performing such investigations are largely unknown. However, any Ocean World cryobot must be able to, at a minimum, successfully negotiate five different operating regimes to have a chance of reaching a subsurface ocean: starting at the surface in vacuum at cryogenic temperatures; brittle/cold ice transit; ductile/warm ice transit; negotiating or penetrating salt or sediment layers, and other obstacles; and detecting and transiting ice-water transitions such as voids and the final ocean entry. PROMETHEUS (nuclear-Powered RObotic MEchanism Technology for Hot-water Exploration of Under-ice Space) represents a full cryobot concept and set of key technology demonstrations that advance the capability to perform such investigations. The PROMETHEUS concept is targeted for deployment on Europa, and consists of a fully-instrumented science vehicle able to actively control descent through the ice shell and into the subsurface ocean. The concept employs closed-cycle hot water drilling (CCHWD) technology as the primary means of penetrating ice, and making forward and turning progress. A “passive” (purely conductive) heat transfer system enables penetration starting on the surface where liquid water cannot exist until hole closure is achieved and the system proceeds inside a melt water “bubble”. PROMETHEUS is compatible with a small fission reactor (the NASA Kilopower design) and employs a vertical motion control system using a trailing tether frozen into the ice to guard against falling through voids and enabling controlled entry into the sub-ice ocean. The design is capable of achieving a 20 km descent through a Europan ice profile in under a year and under 500 kg vehicle mass, including reactor mass.

We present EuropeAgriDB v1.0, a dataset of crop production and nitrogen (N) flows in European cropland 1961–2019. The dataset covers 26 present-day countries, detailing the cropland N harvests in 17 crop categories as well as cropland N inputs in synthetic fertilizers, manure, symbiotic fixation, and atmospheric deposition. The study builds on established methods but goes beyond previous research by combining data from FAOSTAT, Eurostat, and a range of national data sources. A key contribution is the comprehensive and detailed coverage of crop production, in particular fodder crops such as temporary grassland, green maize, and forage legumes. For these crops, we have combined the Eurostat crop production statistics database with a range of national databases, statistical yearbooks, and other sources. For other arable and permanent crops, we use the FAOSTAT database which apart from fodder crops offers the longest and most complete time series of crop production. Our crop production dataset, divided into 17 crop categories, provides a solid basis for understanding how crop mix and productivity have varied over time. A second key contribution is the detailed estimation of synthetic N fertilizer application to cropland and permanent grassland. We have assembled a comprehensive dataset based on a wide range of data sources and devised a rigorous method to process it. The result, we believe, is to date the most comprehensive and consistent estimate of the allocation of synthetic N fertilizer between cropland and permanent grassland in Europe. In summary, EuropeAgriDB v1.0 is a detailed, complete, and consistent dataset which will be useful both to understand Europe’s recent agricultural history and to make informed decisions about its future. This is particularly relevant in the current context of the EU Farm to Fork strategy, which requires major reduction in N inputs and surpluses and therefore the best possible quantification.

Texas will be uniquely situated as the nexus of the “X” where the annular eclipse of October 14, 2023 and the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 cross. Everyone in the state of Texas will experience at least 84% solar coverage for one or both of these remarkable events, and over 8 million people will be within a 30 minute drive of totality, not counting the dramatic influx of visitors expected because of the favorable weather conditions. Texas is the fastest growing state, and one with the highest fraction (25%) of children under 18. In addition, it is one with a large population of ESL learners in the path of the dark skies. Our goals are three: 1. To bring information to all regions of the state so that every person has a safe experience of a partial and/or annular eclipse; 2. To maximize the number of Texans (residents and visitors) who can experience totality; and 3. To create a set of activities for schools, for groups, and for citizen scientists to collect data on the environment and on bird and animal behavior during these events. We have created two websites for information about the upcoming eclipses http://space.rice.edu/eclipse and http://texaseclipse.net; we have a mailing list for people and educators interested in eclipses http://eepurl.com/cv68Qj and we have seven eclipse animations already created for planetariums and schools: https://space.rice.edu/eclipse/eclipse_animations.html, plus a number of diagrams. We are creating two more animations describing annular eclipses which should be ready for the AGU meeting. We have developed a set of Powerpoint slides and animations to be used for eclipse training, and special “dome versions” using the fulldome animations, to be used in fixed and portable planetariums. We have already done trainings in South Texas (where the eclipses cross) and will work with AAS, NASA, and other groups to ensure the widest possible dissemination of eclipse information, particularly safety information. By the time of AGU we will have already used these materials in teacher trainings at the CAST conference and planetarium trainings for LIPS, and will post them for download. Educational and safety materials will be provided in both English and Spanish, and presentations for both flatscreen Powerpoint or fulldome planetarium programs will be made freely available, thanks to the NASA HEAT program.

Subduction zones are the interface between Earth’s interior (crust and mantle) and exterior (atmosphere and oceans), where carbon and other volatiles are actively cycled between Earth reservoirs by plate tectonics. Helium is highly sensitive to mantle inputs and can be used to deconvolute mantle and crustal volatile pathways in arcs. We report He isotope and abundance data for 18 deeply-sourced gas seep samples in the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of Argentina and the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) of Chile. We use 4He/20Ne values to assess the extent of air contributions, as well as He concentrations. Air-corrected He isotopes from the CVZ range from 0.21 to 2.58 RA (n=7), with the highest value in the Puna and the lowest in the Sub-Andean foreland fold-and-thrust belt. 4He/20Ne values range from 1.7 to 546 and He contents range from 1.0 to 31 x 106 cm3STP/cm3. Air-corrected He isotopes from the SVZ range from 1.27 to 5.03 RA (n=7), 4He/20Ne values range from 0.3 to 69 and He contents range from 0.5 to 175 x 106 cm3STP/cm3). Taken together, these data reveal a clear southeastward increase in 3He/4He, with the highest values (in the SVZ) plotting below the nominal range of values associated with pure upper mantle He (8 ± 1 RA1), but approaching the mean He isotope value for arc gases of ~5.4 RA2. Notably, the lowest values are found in the CVZ, suggesting more significant crustal contributions to the He budget. The crustal thickness in the CVZ is up to 70 km, significantly more than in the SVZ, where it is just 35-45 km3. It thus appears that crustal thickness exerts a primary control on the extent of fluid-crust interaction, as helium and other volatiles rise through the upper plate in the Andean Convergent Margin. These data agree well with the findings of several previous studies4-14 conducted on the volatile geochemistry along the Andean Convergent Margin, which suggest a much smaller mantle influence, presumably associated with thicker crust masking the signal in the CVZ. [1] Graham, 2002 [2] Hilton et al., 2002 [3] Tassara and Echaurren, 2012 [4] Hilton et al., 1993 [5] Varekamp et al., 2006 [6] Ray et al., 2009 [7] Aguilera et al., 2012 [8] Tardani et al., 2016 [9] Tassi et al., 2016 [10] Tassi et al., 2017 [11] Peralta-Arnold et al., 2017 [12] Chiodi et al., 2019 [13] Inostroza et al., 2020 [14] Robidoux et al., 2020

The solar wind is a continuous outflow of plasma from the Sun, which expands into the space between the planets in our solar system and forms the heliosphere. The solar wind is inherently turbulent and characterised by kinetic micro-instabilities on a range of scales. The Sun also intermittently ejects mass (coronal mass ejections; CMEs) or solar energetic particles (SEPs) which change their trajectory or energy due to their interactions with the solar wind. When these violent particle events hit the Earth’s magnetosphere, they can cause “space weather” with both long- and short-term impacts on our natural and technological environment. This presentation investigates the behaviour and the effects of kinetic instabilities in a turbulent plasma with particular emphasis on energy transfer processes. We utilise the unprecedented observations from ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft, launched in February 2020, to advance our understanding of the Sun, the solar wind, and space weather. Large-scale compressions (ubiquitous in solar-wind turbulence) create conditions for proton, alpha-particle and electron microinstabilities, which then transfer energy to small-scale fluctuations. These instability-driven small-scale fluctuations, including those driven by turbulence and other sources of free energy (e.g. particle beams, differential flows, heat fluxes, temperature anisotropies), make a significant contribution to the fluctuation spectrum at kinetic scales, where energy dissipation occurs. We consider instabilities driven by turbulence in the plasma by using statistical methods to analyse the Solar Orbiter data and characterise the turbulence at the relevant scales and amplitude. Specifically, we evaluate the processes by which turbulence combined with temperature anisotropy causes instability, comparing theoretical calculations with the high resolution data available from the Solar Orbiter MAG and SWA instruments.

Multiplicity of open source remote sensing date platforms help in bringing various opportunities. Spatio-temporal analysis ofa region can help in analysing changes in regional climate over different constituent land use/land cover (LU/LC). This studyderives a pattern of Land Surface Temperature (LST) over a period of 10 years in 11 smart cities of Uttar Pradesh using opensource data and software programs only. Smart cities namely Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad,Prayagraj, Rampur, Saharanpur and Varanasi are studied for LST in year 2010, 2015 and 2019 by using data from BHUVAN,NRSC and Copernicus Global Land Service: Land Cover (CGLS: LC-100) products. Boundary of the smart cities aredigitized form maps of various local authorities. Land use maps are obtained as Annual Landuse Land Cover 250k scaleproducts for year 2010 & 2015 from BHUVAN, NRSC but CGLS: LC-100 products are of resolution 100 m for year 2019.Both the Land use products are having 12 classes in region of smart cities which are reclassified into 5 LU classes of Built-up, Vegetation, Crop land, Barren land and Water. USGS Earth Explore is used to generate LST for year 2010 throughLandsat-5 ETM images by At-Surface Brightness Temperature & for year 2015 and 2019 through Landsat-8 TIRS bandimages by Radiative Transfer equation. Analysis of LST over years and LU classes show that smart cities of Aligarh andJhansi are dominantly warm over other smart cities of Uttar Pradesh. Capital city of Lucknow and Moradabad smart city arerelatively cooler than other smart cities. Rampur and Jhansi are having the lowest and highest standard deviation in LSTrespectively. Difference in LST over smart cities can be in range of 10-15 °C. Barren Land in these smart cities is found to behotter than Built-up land use class and vegetation is having lowest LST in all 11 smart cities. Range between LST values indifferent years over different LU classes vary between 28-35 °C. In Year 2019 LST statistics seem to be cooled down afteryear 2015 being worst in terms of LST range, maximum value and standard deviation of 6.12 °C. Percentage of vegetationhelping in reducing LST is surely a motivation to apply concept of Urban Green Space (UGS) in these 11 smart cities.

The thermodynamic growth of sea ice is a critical factor in the mass balance of Arctic sea ice, which has important implications for Arctic communities and the global climate. However, the magnitude by which snow atop Arctic sea ice limits thermodynamic ice growth is still not fully understood. Prior work has shown that the wind-driven snow redistribution could significantly modify the heat conduction through the snow cover and hence the rate of thermodynamic ice growth. However, the effects of snow redistribution on sea ice growth have not been quantified and are not well represented in climate models. We use observations from the MOSAiC expedition to show how different facets of snow redistribution can enhance or reduce heat conduction through the snow cover for the same mean snow thickness. The net effect depends on ice topography and environmental conditions. For example, snow redistribution onto young ice in April at MOSAiC reduced heat conduction by approximately 5-15%. We quantify the impact winter and springtime snow redistribution events on the heat conduction on deformed, level, and young ice. We explore the implications of these snow redistribution processes in the Community Earth System Model and discuss priorities for improving climate models.

Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys (SIZRS) is a multi-investigator program of repeated ocean, ice, and atmospheric measurements. These measurements make use of U.S. Coast Guard flights across the Beaufort-Chukchi Sea seasonal sea ice zone (SIZ), the region between maximum winter ice extent and minimum summer ice extent. The long-term goal of SIZRS is to track and understand the interplay among the ice, atmosphere, and ocean, contributing to the rapid decline in summer ice extent. The fundamental SIZRS approach is to make monthly flights, June to October, with US Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak C-130s across the Beaufort Sea SIZ along 150°W from 72°N to 76°N or ~ 1 degree of latitude north of the ice edge, whichever is farther north. We make oceanography stations every degree of latitude by dropping Aircraft eXpendable CTDs (AXCTDs) and Aircraft eXpendable Current Profilers (AXCPs) typically while traveling northbound (PI: J. Morison). On the return leg, we drop atmospheric dropsondes from 3000 meters altitude to measure atmospheric temperature, humidity, and winds (PI: A. Schweiger). We also drop UpTempO drifting buoys that report time series of ocean temperature profiles (PI: M. Steele) and various meteorology and ice-tracking buoys of the International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP, PI: I. Rigor).

We aim to better understand the spatial distribution of interseismic overriding plate deformation at and near subduction zones. To this end, we analyze horizontal GNSS velocities in South America, southeast Asia, and northern Japan, computing and interpolating local trench-normal and -parallel velocity components. Velocities generally decrease with distance from the trench with a steep gradient up to a “hurdle”, beyond which the gradient is distinctly lower and velocities are near-zero. The hurdle is located 500–1000 km away from the trench for the trench-perpendicular component and either at the same distance or closer for the trench-parallel. In contrast, significant displacements during large megathrust earthquakes are generally observed beyond the hurdle. To test our hypothesis that the hurdle results from a lateral contrast in overriding plate compliance, we use cyclic three-dimensional finite element models . Our results are consistent with the observed interseismic velocity gradients and far-field coseismic displacement. The gradient in modeled trench-perpendicular velocities depends on the location of the contrast and on the plate compliance on both sides. Trench-parallel velocities have a progressively shallower gradient with distance from the trench and only depend on the near-trench modulus. The inferred contrast probably results from thermal, compositional and thickness contrasts. This interpretation is consistent with the presence, close to the observed hurdle, of major tectonic or geological boundaries separating the plate margin from a distinct, and likely less compliant, plate interior. Stress accumulation on the model’s locked megathrust patches is hardly affected by the distance to the contrast.

Hillslopes are responsible for the production and transport of sediments within a landscape (Gilbert 1877). Since the hillslope gradient and morphology tend to vary across a landscape, it is expected that the erosion and sediment delivery would also be non-uniform. In this study, we explore the probability of the flux at a particular point in the catchment reaching the river mouth using connectivity and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) in the Pranmati river catchment (a small 3rd order Himalayan river catchment within the Ganga River system). Methodology involves characterising the hillslopes of Pranmati river catchment centered on land use and land cover units. Using RUSLE, the sediment yielding capacity of various land cover units are estimated based on which potential source areas are marked. The sediment connectivity within the basin is also calculated by generating a sediment connectivity map of the area using method given by Borcelli et al. (2008). The catchment is categorized into four classes – (A) Highly connected zones with high sediment yielding capacity (B) highly connected zones but low yielding capacity (C) poorly connected zones but high yielding capacity (D) poorly connected zones and low yielding capacity. The area is then mapped on the basis of the defined classes and potential areas of erosion and storage are identified. Our results show that about 62% of the catchment area has low connectivity implying sediment flux generated in these zones have a low probability of leaving the catchment. Only 11% of the catchment area has sediment yield greater than the mean yield per hectare. The sediment generated from this small area of the catchment contributes 93% of the total sediment production of the catchment. References Borselli, L., Cassi, P., & Torri, D. (2008). Prolegomena to sediment and flow connectivity in the landscape: a GIS and field numerical assessment. Catena, 75(3), 268-277. Gilbert, G. K. (1877). Geology of the Henry mountains (pp. i-160). Government Printing Office.

Enhanced water management systems depend on accurate estimation of hydraulic properties of subsurface formations. This is while hydraulic conductivity of geologic formations could vary significantly. Herein, we studied an intensively managed area located in the Upper Sangamon Watershed in Central Illinois, U.S.A., and generated 2D maps of hydraulic conductivity over a large-scale region with quantified uncertainties in different depth layers. In doing so, we made use of low cost, small-scale measurements obtained from the Electrical Earth Resistivity together with more accurate, more expensive pumping tests in a calibration framework based on Kriging. We offered a cost-effective approach to reliably characterize the hydraulic conductivity properties in under-sampled sites and can be particularly used in obtaining large-scale parameter maps for a region using small-scale measurements in an efficient way. This work also includes optimal sensor placement, where the best locations for future data collection are selected by considering the current confidence levels estimated by the Kriging model, which is related to the expected value of information from future sensor data. Our approach is based on the Bayesian experimental design, which selects the best locations, out of a set of candidate locations, based on the value of information that each location is expected to offer.

Turbulence generated by aquatic vegetation plays a vital role in the interfacial transfer process at the air-water interface and sediment-water interface (AWI and SWI), impacting the dissolved oxygen (DO) level, a key indicator of water quality for aquatic ecosystems. We investigated the influence of vegetation, under different submergence ratios and plant densities, on the interfacial gas transfer mechanisms. We conducted laboratory experiments in a unidirectional recirculating flume with simulated rigid vegetation on a sediment bed. Two-dimensional planar Particle Image Velocimetry (2D-PIV) was used to characterize the mean flow field and turbulent quantities. Gas transfer rates at the AWI were determined by monitoring the DO concentration during the re-aeration process in water. SWI interfacial transfer fluxes were estimated by measuring the DO concentration difference between the near-surface and near-bed values. Compared to previous observations on a smooth bed without sediment, the presence of sediment enhances the bottom roughness, which generates stronger bed-shear turbulence. The experimental result shows that turbulence generated from the bed does not affect the surface transfer process directly. However, the near-bed suspended sediment provides a negative buoyancy term that reduces the transfer efficiency according to the predictions by a modified Surface Renewal model for vegetated flows. The measured interfacial transfer fluxes across the SWI show a clear dependence on the within-canopy flow velocity, indicating that bed shear turbulence and within-canopy turbulence are critical indicators of transfer efficiency at SWI in vegetated flows. A new Reynolds number dependence model using near-bed turbulent kinetic energy as an indicator is proposed to provide a universal prediction for the interfacial flux across the SWI in flows with aquatic vegetation. Our study provides critical insight for future studies on water quality management and ecosystem restoration in natural water environments such as lakes, rivers, and wetlands.

Stream water temperature is considered a “master variable” in environmental processes and human activities. Existing process-based models have difficulties with defining true equation parameters, and sometimes simplifications like assuming constant values influence the accuracy of results. Machine learning models are a highly successful tool for simulating stream temperature, but it is challenging to learn about processes and dynamics from their success. Here we integrate process-based modeling (SNTEMP model) and machine learning by building on a recently developed framework for parameter learning. With this framework, we used a deep neural network to map raw information (like catchment attributes and meteorological forcings) to parameters, and then inspected and fed the results into SNTEMP equations which we implemented in a deep learning platform. We trained the deep neural network across many basins in the conterminous United States in order to maximize the capturing of physical relationships and avoid overfitting. The presented framework has the ability of providing dynamic parameters based on the response of basins to meteorological conditions. The goal of this framework is to minimize the differences between stream temperature observations and SNTEMP outputs in the new platform. Parameter learning allows us to learn model parameters on large scales, providing benefits in efficiency, performance, and generalizability through applying global constraints. This method has also been shown to provide more physically-sensible parameters due to applying a global constraint. This model improves our understanding of how to parameterize the physical processes related to water temperature.

As the sea level rises, it is alarming that the threat from flooding induced by tropical cyclones would cause more severe damages to coastal regions worldwide. In order to address this threat, optimizing coastal protective or mitigation strategies is necessary, given limited resources. The optimization methodology must incorporate feedback from stakeholders for practical use. Multiple interviews were conducted by engineering model developers and social scientists with stakeholders who have first-hand knowledge and varied backgrounds in New York. The protective strategies have been tuned to the critical infrastructure's particular and contextual risks due to flood hazards by engaging and integrating stakeholders' knowledge on the interdependency of the infrastructures and other aspects after the first interview. The second interview was conducted for further model improvement.

Coastal regions are continuously under the threat of flooding induced by tropical cyclones worldwide. These threats continue to increase due to the effects of climate change such as sea-level rise. A number of available protective or mitigation strategies have been examined to address this threat and protect coastlines around the world. However, identifying the most effective strategy given limited resources is a complex question. Optimization methodologies as we have proposed integrate physical analysis and stakeholder feedback to come to a set of best mitigation strategies. This study examines physical and socio-economical aspects of flooding impacts to optimize these strategies. These are then examined including seawalls, elevated promenades, and strategic retreats.

Knowing the heterogeneous crustal structure is essential for understanding the ice dynamics, glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and tectonic history in Antarctica. For example, geothermal heat flux (GHF) is a major boundary condition for ice dynamics and the crust thickness and its composition (mafic or felsic) are important factors in GHF. Meanwhile, the GIA signal and its gravity response are essential for detecting mass-balance change and predicting future sea-level change. Errors in the density model used, which may be over 10%, will propagate into the gravity calculations. In this study, we use gravity inversion constrained by seismic depth estimation to recover the heterogeneous crustal structure of Antarctica, and estimate its uncertainties. Specifically, we modify by inversion the density of the uppermost mantle, the crustal density, the Moho depth, and the sedimentary cover thickness with an ensemble model with different density/geometry variation constraints. The output models indicate the most representative model of Antarctic crustal structure within the capacity of the method and current data constraints. Our preliminary results show that crustal density varies between 2.75 to 2.95 g/cm3 while the Moho depth varies between 22 km in Ross Ice Shelf and 54 km in Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains. Low-density sedimentary basins are modelled at up to 10 km thickness beneath the ice shelf, and 3 km inland of Antarctica. Model also shows mantle density varies from 3.25 to 3.35 g/cm3. These density and thickness variations indicate likely substantial differences in crustal heat production, crustal rheology, and the expected GIA response of Antarctica’s crust.

The UN identified water as a human right in 2010; however, the bodies analyzing and designing water management often do not represent a diverse spectrum of the populations they serve. Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems (VCRWS) research focuses on supplying resilient and sustainable solutions to global water and stormwater challenges. A diverse team of faculty, staff and students created a group that discusses diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the context of water resources engineering and associated design and solution considerations. The group has discussed a wide array of topics through the biweekly meetings. Some benefits of this group included the opportunity for personal growth and development, education on incorporating DEI into engineering thought, and re-education on DEI issues. This group served as a mechanism for members to share their grief and concerns over the political, social, and environmental issues that impede positive change. Outputs from this group include (1) competing in the Schiller Challenge through writing a paper on DEI in water engineering as a group, (2) drawing an action plan to further incorporate DEI in the activities of VCRWS through research, symposiums, conferences, public outreach programs, articles and papers, and engineering education, and (3) creating a guideline for creating DEI groups in other departments, research centers and institutions. This presentation will discuss lessons learned from creating and implementing a successful DEI focused working group within the water resource research center and will include some of the future work planned by the VCRWS group, such as incorporating DEI into the Water and Environmental Engineering curriculum through curating audiovisual materials on DEI concepts, and case studies of successes stories of DEI.

Rain gardens are green stormwater infrastructure that are designed to leverage natural processes to mitigate the impacts of urban stormwater through capturing, infiltrating, and filtering run off. Overtime these systems have the potential to buildup fines and nutrients, impacting their sustainable function. A rain garden’s performance depends on its ability to infiltrate runoff which can be reduced by clogging. Another concern is the potential transport of contaminants from rain gardens to groundwater through deep drainage. This study analyses the spatial and temporal distribution of fines and nutrients in three rain gardens through comprehensive field tests, laboratory testing, and computation analysis. Geomorphic studies were performed by integrating the digital elevation models, derived from Lidar surveys, with the FastMech solver within International River Interface Cooperative (iRIC) software, to model shear stress distribution and sediment transport relative to spatial observations of soil texture and nutrient concentrations within the rain garden. The soil properties were also used in creating models of water infiltration and nutrient sorption using Hydrus 1D. Results show that shear stresses in localized sections of each rain garden can be correlated with fines and nutrient distributions, allowing for prioritizing locations for maintenance. To conclude, LiDAR scans, flow and shear stress models, infiltration and nutrient transport models, field and laboratory soil tests can help us understand the surface dynamics and soil attributes, and gradually gain insight into the GSI performance with time.