NASA Products to Enhance Energy Utility Load Forecasting

Existing energy load forecasting tools rely upon historical load and forecasted weather to predict load within energy company service areas. The shortcomings of load forecasts are often the result of weather forecasts that are not at a fine enough spatial or temporal resolution to capture local-scale weather events. This project aims to improve the performance of load forecasting tools through the integration of high-resolution, weather-related NASA Earth Science Data, such as temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. Three companies are participating in operational testing one natural gas company, and two electric providers. Operational results comparing load forecasts with and without NASA weather forecasts have been generated since March 2010. We have worked with end users at the three companies to refine selection of weather forecast information and optimize load forecast model performance. The project will conclude in 2012 with transitioning documented improvements from the inclusion of NASA forecasts for sustained use by energy utilities nationwide in a variety of load forecasting tools. In addition, Battelle has consulted with energy companies nationwide to document their information needs for long-term planning, in light of climate change and regulatory impacts

El Nino Coupled Tropical Land Surface Hydrologic Response

No abstract availabl

ASSESSMENT OF PALATABILITY ATTRIBUTE OF Gluteaus Medius STEAKS (BEEF TOP SIRLOIN BUTT)

ABSTRACT: Beef top sirloin butts (n = 48

Beyond cognitive deficit: the everyday lived experience of dyslexic students at university

This study explores the lived experiences of three dyslexic university students as they negotiate a number of different learning spaces within their higher education institution. The students completed reflective diaries for a period of three weeks and were subsequently interviewed about the experiences they recorded. The transcribed data from the diaries and interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The following four themes were constructed following analysis: getting things out of my head; holding back – performance as risk; ever-present inner voices – effort of constant self-monitoring; and not belonging in academic spaces – metaphors of misfit. This study argues that attention to the everyday experiences of students with the dyslexia label is as important as knowledge of cognitive differences in the drive to create a more equitable learning environment in higher education

Active Amplification of the Terrestrial Albedo to Mitigate Climate Change: An Exploratory Study

This study explores the potential to enhance the reflectance of solar insolation by the human settlement and grassland components of the Earth's terrestrial surface as a climate change mitigation measure. Preliminary estimates derived using a static radiative transfer model indicate that such efforts could amplify the planetary albedo enough to offset the current global annual average level of radiative forcing caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gases by as much as 30 percent or 0.76 W/m2. Terrestrial albedo amplification may thus extend, by about 25 years, the time available to advance the development and use of low-emission energy conversion technologies which ultimately remain essential to mitigate long-term climate change. However, additional study is needed to confirm the estimates reported here and to assess the economic and environmental impacts of active land-surface albedo amplification as a climate change mitigation measure.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures. In press with Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, N

Soil moisture-Temperature Coupling: A multiscale observational Analysis

[1] Land-atmospheric interactions are complex and variable in space and time. On average soil moisture-temperature coupling is expected to be stronger in transition zones between wet and dry climates. During heatwaves anomalously high coupling may be found in areas of soil moisture deficit and high atmospheric demand of water. Here a new approach is applied to satellite andin situobservations towards the characterization of regions of intense soil moisture-temperature coupling, both in terms of climatology and anomalies during heatwaves. The resulting average summertime couplinghot spotsreflect intermediate climatic regions in agreement with previous studies. Results at heatwave-scale suggest a minor role of soil moisture deficit during the heatwave of 2006 in California but an important one in the 2003 event in Western Europe. Progress towards near-real time satellite products may allow the application of the approach to aid prediction and management of warm extremes

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Large kidneys predict poor renal outcome in subjects with diabetes and chronic kidney disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Renal hypertrophy occurs early in diabetic nephropathy, its later value is unknown. Do large kidneys still predict poor outcome in patients with diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)?</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seventy-five patients with diabetes and CKD according to a Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR, by 51Cr-EDTA clearance) below 60 mL/min/1.73 m²or an Albumin Excretion Rate above 30 mg/24 H, had an ultrasound imaging of the kidneys and were cooperatively followed during five years by the Diabetology and Nephrology departments of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The patients were mainly men (44/75), aged 62 ± 13 yrs, with long-standing diabetes (duration:17 ± 9 yrs, 55/75 type 2), and CKD: initial GFR: 56.5 (8.5-209) mL/min/1.73 m², AER: 196 (20-2358) mg/24 H. Their mean kidney lenght (108 ± 13 mm, 67-147) was correlated to the GFR (r = 0.23, p < 0.05). During the follow-up, 9/11 of the patients who had to start dialysis came from the half with the largest kidneys (LogRank: p < 0.05), despite a 40% higher initial isotopic GFR. Serum creatinine were initially lower (Small kidneys: 125 (79-320) μmol/L, Large: 103 (50-371), p < 0.05), but significantly increased in the "large kidneys" group at the end of the follow-up (Small kidneys: 129 (69-283) μmol/L, Large: 140 (50-952), p < 0.005 vs initial). The difference persisted in the patients with severe renal failure (KDOQI stages 4,5).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Large kidneys still predict progression in advanced CKD complicating diabetes. In these patients, ultrasound imaging not only excludes obstructive renal disease, but also provides information on the progression of the renal disease.</p