Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Engineering
The Role of Geospatial Intelligence in Modern Military Operations
Published: 2025-02-22
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) has become an indispensable tool in modern military operations since it considerably increases situational awareness, strategic decision-making, and operational success. Advanced geospatial technologies have changed military force collecting, analysis, and spatial data interpretation, including satellite imagery, remote sensing, geographic information systems [...]
Using fracture-scarp lineations as kinematic indicators on active normal fault scarps
Published: 2025-02-22
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Reliable kinematic (slip vector) data collected from offset piercing points, corrugations or striations, is a key input for fault based seismic hazard assessments. However, it can be difficult to interpret kinematic indicators on degraded fault scarps. In this work, we investigate the orientations and growth history of on-fault fracture networks, which extend into the footwall and have greater [...]
The Importance of Geospatial Technology in Monitoring Plant Health
Published: 2025-02-21
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Solving the problems presented by climate change depends on geospatial technology in great measure. Through shifting pest and disease dynamics, increasing frequency of extreme weather events, and modifying growth circumstances, climate change aggravates problems with plant health. For example, remote sensing data and satellite-based climate models help one to forecast how variations in [...]
Geochemical Dynamics in Organic-Rich Mudstone Reservoirs: Interactions and Implications
Published: 2025-02-16
Subjects: Engineering
This paper explores the intricate geochemical characteristics of organic-rich mudstone reservoirs, focusing on key factors such as thermal maturity, wettability, and adsorption properties. These reservoirs, often referred to as unconventional hydrocarbon systems, are composed of complex organic and inorganic phases that interact dynamically over geological timescales. Understanding these [...]
A Systems-Level Approach to Extracting Oxygen from Lunar Regolith via Molten Regolith Electrolysis
Published: 2025-02-12
Subjects: Aerospace Engineering, Engineering, Other Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sciences
We present a top-level architecture for extracting up to 10 metric tonnes per year of oxygen from lunar regolith by means of Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE) using less than 30 kW from vertical solar arrays and a regolith excavator. This System Integration Study identifies specific technology which could be engineered together in the near term into a single system and lander provided focused [...]
Integration of Different Permeability Model Parameters for Permeability Prediction from Capillary Pressure Curves in Carbonate Reservoirs
Published: 2025-02-12
Subjects: Engineering
Permeability prediction is essential for reservoir characterization, commonly derived from core analysis and mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) data. Many conventional models, often calibrated for sandstones, are based on parameters such as porosity or specific mercury saturation points, which limits their accuracy in carbonate reservoirs due to differing rock properties. This study [...]
Managing Smoke Risk from Wildland Fires: Northern California as a Case Study
Published: 2025-02-11
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Smoke fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from increasing wildfires in the western United States threatens public health. While land managers often prioritize reducing wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface, the impact on regional air quality from mitigating wildfire spread is less explored. We develop a framework to quantify wildfire contributions to smoke exposure and assess targeted land [...]
Quantifying interfacial interactions between kerogen, water, and hydrocarbons across thermal maturity levels and their impact on fluid mobility
Published: 2025-02-07
Subjects: Engineering
Wettability of organic-rich mudrocks has significant impacts on multiphase fluid flow and hydrocarbon recovery. Since kerogen can constitute a significant volumetric fraction of mudrocks, the wettability of kerogen can considerably affect the wettability of organic-rich mudrocks. In a recent project, we showed using a combination of experimental methods and molecular simulation studies that [...]
A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis of Large Language Models in Hydrology and Environmental Sciences
Published: 2025-02-05
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering
The application of large language models (LLMs) in hydrology and environmental sciences is expanding rapidly, but a comprehensive understanding of their potential, best practices and application areas are studied extensively. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of recent scientific literature to evaluate publication trends, citation impact, and the key contributors in LLM-related research [...]
Most Landfill Methane Emissions Escape Detection in EPA21 Surface Emission Monitoring Surveys
Published: 2025-02-05
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences
We measured emissions from ten landfills using mobile surveys and Surface Emission Monitoring (SEM) to determine what fraction of emissions that be identified by SEM surveys. Using mobile methane measurements and a back-trajectory attribution and rate estimation method, we measured overall site emissions and those of individual landfill components (active face, closed cells, leachate, etc). We [...]
Comprehensive Assessment of Flood Risk and Community Impact of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Iowa
Published: 2025-02-05
Subjects: Agriculture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Life Sciences
Flooding presents a significant risk to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), especially in regions increasingly affected by extreme weather events. This study uses advanced geospatial analysis techniques to assess the environmental and economic vulnerabilities of 12,703 CAFOs across Iowa, United States. We focused on the exposure of CAFOS to 100-year and 500-year floodplains, [...]
The role of microscopic displacement dynamics for underground hydrogen versus natural gas storage in fractured reservoirs
Published: 2025-01-30
Subjects: Engineering
Repurposing natural gas (methane) storage facilities to hydrogen storage leverages existing infrastructure to address seasonal energy demand-supply fluctuations. However, the differences in the injection-withdrawal cycle between hydrogen and methane-brine systems remain poorly understood. Therefore, we investigate the pore-scale two-phase flow dynamics of hydrogen (H$_2$), methane (CH$_4$), and [...]
Wood gasification in catastrophes: Electricity production from light duty vehicles
Published: 2025-01-28
Subjects: Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Following global catastrophic infrastructure loss (GCIL), traditional electricity networks would be unavailable, necessitating alternative solutions to sustain critical services, such as decentralized electricity generation from wood gas. This study explores the feasibility of using modified light duty vehicles to self-sustain electricity generation by producing wood chips for wood gasification. [...]
Controls on Runoff Efficiency and its Spatiotemporal Variability in South Asian River Basins
Published: 2025-01-22
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Runoff efficiency (RE) represents the potential of a basin to generate runoff in response to precipitation and it varies based on climatology and physiography. It is a key metric that enables hydrologists to compare the hydrologic responses of basins across diverse climates and landscapes. In the large river basins of South Asia, RE plays a key role in floods and drought dynamics but has not been [...]
Recent rise of water levels of Lake Nakuru, Kenya: Unraveling the Changing Precipitation Regime and its Climatic Drivers
Published: 2025-01-21
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Meteorology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
The Kenyan Rift Valley has experienced an abrupt and significant rise in its lake levels since 2010, followed by a more rapid rise since 2020. This paper examines the dynamic changes in precipitation patterns and their climatic drivers in the Kenyan Rift Valley region from 1981 to 2021, focusing on Lake Nakuru. Notably, in 2010, a pivotal change point in precipitation aligns with the rising water [...]