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ORNL: High-resolution modeling assesses impact of cities on river ecosystems

Posted at 3:39 am August 24, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A new study from Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows the far-reaching impacts of U.S. cities’ energy consumption on regional ecosystems. Urban areas cover only about 5 percent of the Southeast’s landscape, but cities’ water and energy infrastructures often extend well beyond urban areas as power plants (represented as black dots) are distributed throughout the entire region. (Credit: Ryan McManamay/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

A new study from Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows the far-reaching impacts of U.S. cities’ energy consumption on regional ecosystems. Urban areas cover only about 5 percent of the Southeast’s landscape, but cities’ water and energy infrastructures often extend well beyond urban areas as power plants (represented as black dots) are distributed throughout the entire region. (Credit: Ryan McManamay/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

New mapping methods developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory can help urban planners minimize the environmental impacts of cities’ water and energy demands on surrounding stream ecologies, a press release said.

In an analysis published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an ORNL-led team used high-resolution geospatial modeling to quantify the effects of land, energy, and water infrastructures on the nation’s rivers and streams.

Using streamflow data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the researchers mapped changes to natural hydrology to assess how infrastructure development and competition over water resources affects the environment at a national scale. Their data-driven approach sheds light on the extent to which water resources and aquatic species are affected by urban infrastructures and could help cities curb their burden on regional ecosystems, the press release said.

The results indicate that urban land transformation and electricity production together affect 7 percent of U.S. streams, which influence habitats for more than 60 percent of all North American freshwater fish, mussel, and crayfish species, the release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Science, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: April Morton, Benjamin Ruddell, Budhendra Bhaduri, Christopher DeRolph, electricity production, energy consumption, environmental impacts, Environmental Sciences Division, Hyun Kim, Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, Liem Tran, Matthew Troia, natural hydrology, Northern Arizona University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, regional ecosystems, Robert Stewart, Ryan McManamay, stream ecologies, streamflow data, Sujithkumar Surendran Nair, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Tennessee, Urban Dynamics Institute, urban infrastructures, urban land transformation, US cities can manage national hydrology and biodiversity using local infrastructure policy

ORNL model explores location of future U.S. population growth

Posted at 8:31 pm January 22, 2015
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

ORNL Population Map

This 3-D visualization represents projected changes in U.S. population between 2010 and 2050 as predicted by a new Oak Ridge National Laboratory model. Areas seen in red indicate higher levels of population growth, whereas the vertical spikes signify population growth with new land development. (Image courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a population distribution model that provides unprecedented county-level predictions of where people will live in the United States in the coming decades.

Initially developed to assist in the siting of new energy infrastructure, the team’s model has a broad range of implications from urban planning to climate change adaptation. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“We do a census every 10 years because those data help us do long-term socioeconomic planning,” said Budhendra Bhaduri, who leads ORNL’s Geographic Information Science and Technology group. “Population projection numbers are important, but many pressing societal needs also require an understanding of where people are going to be. This has always been a challenge; we’ve never had a good method to make future projections spatially explicit.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Amy Rose, Budhendra Bhaduri, Eddie Bright, Geographic Information Science and Technology, Jacob McKee, LandScan Global, LandScan USA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Nuclear Energy, ORNL, population, population map, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Timmy Huynh, Urban Dynamics Institute

Novel ORNL technique enables air-stable water droplet networks

Posted at 12:25 pm May 30, 2014
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

Water Droplet

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a method to create air-stable water droplet networks that are valuable for applications in biological sensing and membrane research. (Image credit: Kyle Kuykendall)

 

A simple new technique to form interlocking beads of water in ambient conditions could prove valuable for applications in biological sensing, membrane research, and harvesting water from fog.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a method to create air-stable water droplet networks known as droplet interface bilayers. These interconnected water droplets have many roles in biological research because their interfaces simulate cell membranes. Cumbersome fabrication methods, however, have limited their use.

“The way they’ve been made since their inception is that two water droplets are formed in an oil bath then brought together while they’re submerged in oil,” said ORNL’s Pat Collier, who led the team’s study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Otherwise they would just pop like soap bubbles.”

Instead of injecting water droplets into an oil bath, the ORNL research team experimented with placing the droplets on a superhydrophobic surface infused with a coating of oil. The droplets aligned side by side without merging. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: air, Air Force Office of Scientific Research Basic Research Initiative, biological research, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, CNMS, DOE, droplet interface bilayers, Georgios Polizos, Jonathan Boreyko, lipid bilayer, lipids, Nanoscale Science Research Centers, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Science, oil bath, oil film, oil-infused surface, ORNL, Panos Datskos, Pat Collier, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Stephen Sarles, SunShot Initiative, superhydrophobic surface, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee, water droplet networks, water droplets

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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