News

Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists are developing powerful machine learning

machine learning (ML)

Machine Learning (ML) refers to the field and practice of using algorithms that are able to “learn” by extracting patterns from a large body of data.

Source: Center of Excellence Source

models — an application of artificial intelligence

artificial intelligence

A machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.

Source: U.S. Department of State Source

— to simulate underground hydrogen storage operations under various cushion gas scenarios. This will play a vital role in the low-carbon economy of the future.

Methane,

methane

A hydrocarbon that is a primary component of natural gas. Methane is also a greenhouse gas (GHG), so its presence in the atmosphere affects the earth’s temperature and climate system

Source: EPA Source

a potent greenhouse gas, is naturally produced in many crucial industries such as agriculture and wastewater treatment. What if we could grab that gas before it goes into the atmosphere, and make something useful out of it? Mango Materials, a California-based biomanufacturing company, has invented a way to do just that.

Aerosol

aerosols

Small particles or droplets, such as wildfire smoke, volcanic gases, or salty sea spray, that float in the air. They are emitted by both natural events and human activities.

Source: NASA Global Climate Change Source

particles have a large impact on climate, but they are difficult to represent in climate models. Particles are tremendously diverse, and their properties change as they move through the atmosphere. However, these particle-level details must be simplified in climate models, and errors from these simplifications are not well understood.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued the topics for the fiscal year 2025 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Release 1 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Please register for one or all of the Department of Energy FY 2025 Phase I Release 1 SBIR/STTR Topics webinars and hear directly from the DOE Topic Managers as they briefly provide insight into their respective topics.

Ice nucleating particles

ice nucleating particles

Tiny specks of material suspended in the air that act as starting points for the formation of ice crystals in clouds.

Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Source

(INPs) are a rare subset of particles that can have an outsized impact on weather and clouds by initiating the process of ice formation in clouds. Cloud ice plays an important role in the formation of precipitation as well as in changing the amount of sunlight clouds reflect to space and the amount of heat trapped by clouds.

Clouds affect the Earth’s weather and climate by influencing light, heat, and moisture in the atmosphere. They come in many varieties with unique impacts on the atmosphere. Researchers strive to understand these nuances to accurately model weather and climate. Artificial intelligence (AI) can help study clouds by analyzing satellite images.