Discoveries: Complex Natural and Engineered Systems

Complex systems with many interacting parts exhibit emergent properties.

Complex systems are ubiquitous across the Laboratory’s mission space. We are world leaders in applying multi-disciplinary science to complex systems, particularly those involving nuclear threats, non-nuclear threats, and engineered systems.

The science of coupled natural and engineered complex systems underpins many of the Laboratory’s most challenging mission areas. In these systems, the whole is more than the sum of the parts. The objective of this pillar is to advance a fundamental understanding of complex systems and to mitigate systemic risks posed by an evolving natural and engineered world. Our research and development spans from improving engineered systems such as nuclear weapons and the power grid, to understanding the interface of human and engineered systems from the subsurface to space, to studying how complex natural systems such as disease and weather related disasters impact humanity.

Fuel Cells

Fuel cell development for transportation needs began at Los Alamos. We advanced hydrogen-fueled systems from 1977 onwards, delivering capabilities for national security needs.

Summary

Los Alamos initiated fuel cell development for transportation in 1977; over the next 50 years, the Laboratory developed many seminal patents. The thin-film, low-platinum electrode for the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell (1986–1992) lowered the required amount of expensive platinum metal catalyst by 20–40 times while improving performance. This breakthrough interested automotive manufacturers in fuel cells; PEMs are incorporated into every fuel-cell vehicle sold.

Fundamental understanding of fuel cell processes, especially electrode kinetics, water transport, Nafion structure, and degradation mechanisms have delivered notable fuel cell improvements, including better durability, advanced platinum cathode catalysts, platinum group–free cathode catalysts, and the first comprehensive fuel cell model.

With the development of the fuel cell for transportation, interest in hydrogen as both a fuel and for other uses has dramatically grown.

Contributing authors

Rod Borup and Piotr Zelenay

References

The first comprehensive model of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells:

1. Polymer electrolyte fuel cell model, Springer, T. E, T. A. Zawodzinski, and S. Gottesfeld.  Journal of The Electrochemical Society 138, no. 8 (1991): 2334–42. 

The technology that reduced loading of platinum used in all commercial transportation fuel cells by 20-to-40 times:

2. Thin-film catalyst layers for polymer electrolyte fuel cell electrodes, Wilson, M.S. and S. Gottesfeld. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry 22 (1992): 1–7. 

The first comprehensive review related to PEM fuel cell durability:

3. Scientific Aspects of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Durability and Degradation, Borup, Rod, Jeremy Meyers, Bryan Pivovar et al. Chemical Reviews 107, no. 10 (2007): 3904–3951.

Non–precious metal catalysts with performance approaching that of platinum-based systems:

4. High-Performance Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Derived from Polyaniline, Iron, and Cobalt Wu, Gang, Karren L. More, Christina M. Johnston, and Piotr Zelenay.  Science 332 (2011): 443–447.

Anion exchange membrane (AEM) with performance approaching that of state-of-the-art proton exchange membrane:

5. Highly quaternized polystyrene ionomers for high performance anion exchange membrane water electrolysers, Li, Dongguo, Eun Joo Park, Wenlei Zhu et al. Nature Energy 5, no. 5 (2020): 378–385. 

The Genome

Los Alamos invented the flow cytometer, a device to count, sort, and identify individual cells.  Our pioneering genome libraries led to the Human Genome Project and more.

Summary

The first flow cytometer, or cell sorter, developed in 1965, grew from studies of radiation effects on human health. In the early 1980s, Los Alamos and Livermore pioneered “libraries” of human DNA, mapping diseases to specific chromosome locations. GenBank at Los Alamos was the first public repository of gene sequence data. These pioneering inventions formed the foundations of the DOE-led Human Genome Project in 1987, three years before the wider NIH-led Human Genome Project.

Subsequently, genetic sequence databases for infectious diseases were established and curated at Los Alamos, beginning with a database essential for understanding the origins of HIV and for developing AIDS vaccines. Today, flow cytometers and cell sorters are ubiquitous in every medical and biomedical research laboratory. The Genome Project spurred a trillion-dollar biotechnology industry. Genome sequence databases are used by researchers throughout biology and medicine, including LANL’s 2020 proof of rapid evolution of the COVID virus.

Contributing author

Babs Marrone

References:

First report of a flow cytometer/cell sorter:

1. Electronic Separation of Biological Cells by Volume. Fulwyler, M. J. Science 150 (1965): 910–91.

Identifying the telomere sequence of human chromosomes (see figure):

2. A highly conserved repetitive DNA sequence, (TTAGGG)n, present at the telomeres of human chromosomes. Moyzis, R. K., J. M. Buckingham, L. S. Cram, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 85, no.18 (1988): 6622–6626.

The completed sequence of the human genome:

3. Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome. International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium. Nature 431 (2004): 931–945.

Utilizing the HIV Sequence Database:

4. Timing the Ancestor of the HIV-1 Pandemic Strains. Korber, B., M. Muldoon, J. Theiler, et al. Science 288 (2000): 1789–1796.  

Tracking the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus:

5. Tracking Changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: Evidence that D614G Increases Infectivity of the COVID19 Virus. Korber, B., W. M. Fischer, S. Gnanakaran, et al. Cell 182 (2020): 812–827.

Some excellent review articles can be found in Los Alamos Science: 

5. Flow Cytometry: A New Tool for Quantitative Cell Biology. Cram, L. Scott, Dale M. Holm, and Paul F. Mullaney. Los Alamos Science No. 1, (Summer 1980).
6. GenBank and its Promise for Molecular Genetics. Walter B. Goad,  Los Alamos Science No. 9 (Fall 1983). 
7. Genes by Mail: An interview with L. Scott Cram, Larry L. Deaven, Carl E. Hildebrand, Robert K. Moyzis, and Marvin Van Dilla, Los Alamos Science No. 12 (Spring/Summer 1985). 
8. An entire issue on AIDS Research, Los Alamos Science No. 18, 1989.
9. An entire issue on The Human Genome Project, Los Alamos Science No. 20, 1992.

Earth Systems Modeling

The Laboratory leads ocean and ice modeling for Earth models, interactions between natural and manmade systems, fire, hydrology, ecosystem vulnerability, grid resilience and treaty verification.

Summary

Using groundbreaking 3D atmospheric simulations, LANL tested the hypothesis (mid-1980s) that smoke from nuclear weapons–induced fires would cause a “nuclear winter.” Although the cooling effects were exaggerated, these simulations taught us that solar heating causes smoke to reach the stratosphere. Insight into atmospheric physics, combined with expertise in fluid dynamics and computing, made the Lab the leader in ocean and sea-ice modeling, on the path to fully-coupled Earth system simulations.  

The Lab studies the physical Earth system (atmosphere, oceans, ice, permafrost, rivers) as well as ecosystem vulnerability, fire, grid resilience, and treaty verification, and the interaction between natural and manmade systems. Our research delivered go-to models for sea-ice evolution and wildfire management, and made possible DOE’s orphan methane well abatement program after we discovered the Four Corners methane hot spot. We work at the nexus of earth system modeling and national security.

Contributing authors

Manvendra Dubey and Elizabeth Hunke

References

The foundational ocean modeling approach for parallel computing was presented in:

1. Parallel ocean general circulation modeling, Smith, R. D., Dukowicz, J. K., Malone, R.C.,  Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena 60, 38 (1992).

The fundamental approach for applying parallel computing to ice modeling was presented in:

2. An Elastic–Viscous–Plastic Model for Sea Ice Dynamics, Hunke, E. C., and Dukowicz, J. K., J. Phys. Oceanogr. 27, 1849 (1997).

The impacts of nuclear exchange on the atmosphere were reported in:

3. Influence of solar heating and precipitation scavenging on the simulated lifetime of post-nuclear war smoke, Malone, R.C., Auer, L. H., Glatzmaier, G. A., Wood, M. C.,  and Toon, O. B. ,  Science 230, 317 (1985).

and further refined in:

4. Estimating stratospheric carbon from fires during a regional nuclear exchange, Brown, A. L., Koo, E., and Reisner, L., Fire Safety Journal, 141, (2023) 

Discovery of the methane hot spot in the Four Corners was reported in:

5. Four corners: The largest US methane anomaly viewed from space, Kort, E. A., C. Frankenberg, K. R. Costigan, R. Lindenmaier, M. K. Dubey, and D. Wunch (2014),  Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 6898–6903

The FIRETEC code connected atmospheric and wildfire behavior for a new direction in wildfire modeling:

6. Studying wildfire behavior using FIRETEC, Linn, R., Reisner, J., Colman, J. J., and Winterkamp, J., International Journal of Wildland Fire 11, 233-246 (2002).

A quick study of the wind/fire interaction can be found at:

7. Fluid dynamics of wildfires, Rodman, L., Physics Today 72 (11), 70 (2019).

The Subsurface 

The Laboratory has optimized and controlled subsurface systems from  underground nuclear explosion containment to modern applications for energy extraction, environmental mitigation, and nonproliferation.

Summary

The subsurface provides 80% of US energy resources and 50% of drinking water. Visualizing and understanding what is invisible from the surface is crucial in a realm where geochemistry, geomechanics, and multi-phase flows are all important.

When underground nuclear explosions began in the 1950s, a new science of containment was born, drawing on field measurements, laboratory experiments, and computer simulations. The same tools were applied to subsurface energy, starting with the 1970s Hot Dry Rock experiments in the Jemez Mountains. In turn, new drilling techniques and reservoir modeling tools helped launch the hydraulic fracturing boom and today’s geothermal energy renaissance. Other applications include CO2 sequestration, nuclear waste disposal, hydrogen storage, geothermal energy production, nuclear nonproliferation, and oil and gas extraction.

Sensing, experiments, and computation let us understand the complex nonlinear feedback within subsurface systems. For example, with machine learning, we have made unprecedented advances in earthquake prediction.

Contributing author

Hari Viswanathan

References

Los Alamos did early work on extracting energy from dry rocks. This approach has experienced a recent renaissance:

1. Method of Extracting Heat from Dry Geothermal Reservoirs, Potter, R. M., E.S. Robinson, and M.C. Smith.  US Patent 3,786,858 (1974).
2. Mining the Earth's Heat: Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy. Brown, Donald W., David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, and Vivi Thomas Hriscu. Springer, 2012.

Seismic sensors are a key tool for monitoring underground nuclear explosions.

3. Monitoring underground nuclear explosions. Dahlman, Ola, and Hans Israelson.  Elsevier, 1977.

Recent computational advances have revolutionized our understanding of how liquids and gases flow through fractured rock:

4. From fluid flow to coupled processes in fractured rock: Recent advances and new frontiers. Viswanathan, H. S., J. Ajo‐Franklin, J. T. Birkholzer, et al. Reviews of Geophysics 60, no. 1 (2022): e2021RG000744.

The Planets

Los Alamos flew neutron sensors for nuclear security then went on to map water around the solar system. Our laser instruments explore the Martian surface.

The Curiosity rover carries the Los Alamos ChemCam instrument to measure the chemical composition of rocks on Mars.

Summary

Los Alamos pioneered neutron sensors in space to detect nuclear explosions. The same technology on the Lunar Prospector discovered water at the south pole of the Moon, opening an international race for those resources. Los Alamos’s neutron sensor on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft provided the first detailed, global maps of water reservoirs in the top meter of Mars’s surface. Flying farther, our gamma-ray/neutron detector on the Dawn mission determined the elemental makeup of the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. Los Alamos leads the ChemCam instrument on the Mars Curiosity rover, which zaps rocks with a laser to determine their elemental makeup and chemical composition. ChemCam has observed high levels of manganese oxide on Mars, which suggests that ancient Mars was somewhat Earth-like with high atmospheric oxygen levels. The subsequent SuperCam instrument on Perseverance is exploring the volcanic history, habitability, and role of water in Jezero Crater.

Contributing authors

Ed Fenimore, Nina Lanza, Katherine Mesick 

References

Los Alamos leads the ChemCam instrument on the Mars Curiosity Rover, which zaps rocks with a laser to determine their elemental makeup and identify organic materials. 

1. The ChemCam instrument suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover: Science objectives and mast unit description. Maurice, S. et al. Space Science Reviews 170 (2012): 95–166. 

ChemCam has observed high levels of manganese oxide on Mars, which suggests that ancient Mars was somewhat Earth-like with high atmospheric oxygen levels. The discovery of high abundances of manganese in Gale crater was reported in: 

2. Oxidation of manganese in an ancient aquifer, Kimberley formation, Gale Crater, Mars. Lanza, N.L. et al. Geophysical Research Letters 43, no. 14 (2016): 7398–7407.

The subsequent SuperCam instrument on Perseverance is exploring the volcanic history, habitability, and role of water in Jezero Crater. An overview of the SuperCam instrument and science objectives was reported in: 

3. The SuperCam instrument suite on the NASA Mars 2020 rover: Body unit and combined system tests. Wiens, R.C. et al.  Space Science Reviews 217 (2021). 
4. The SuperCam instrument on the Mars 2020 rover: Science objectives and mast-unit description. Maurice, S. et al.  Space Science Reviews 217 (2021): 47.

An analysis of the first recorded sounds on the surface of Mars was reported in: 

5. In situ recording of Mars soundscape. Maurice, S. et al.,  Nature 605 (2022): 653–658.

The discovery of evidence for water at the lunar poles was reported in:

6. Fluxes of Fast and Epithermal Neutrons from Lunar Prospector: Evidence for Water Ice at the Lunar Poles. W.C. Feldman et al. Science 281 (1998)

Maps of water on Mars were first reported in:

7. Global distribution of near-surface hydrogen on Mars. W.C. Feldman et al.  Journal of Geophysical Research 109 (2004)

A review of planetary nuclear spectroscopy and includes discussion of the Lunar Prospector (neutron and gamma) and Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer results, with early maps of Mars water and CO2 polar caps is:

8. Remote Chemical Sensing Using Nuclear Spectroscopy. Prettyman, T. H. Encyclopedia of the Solar System, 2007. 

A Los Alamos gamma-ray and neutron detector on DAWN mapped the elemental composition for the asteroids Vesta and Ceres:

9. Elemental Mapping by Dawn Reveals Exogenic H in Vesta’s Regolith. Prettyman, Thomas H., et al. Science 338 (2012): 242–246
10. Extensive water ice within Ceres aqueously altered regolith: Evidence from nuclear spectroscopy. Prettyman, Thomas H., et al. Science 355 (2012): 55–59.

A Los Alamos instrument on the Messenger spacecraft discovered water ice at the North pole of Mercury:

11. Evidence for Water Ice Near Mercury’s North Pole from MESSENGER Neutron Spectrometer Measurements. Lawrence, David J., et al. Science 339 (2013): 292–296. 

Space Science

Los Alamos leads the world in space science instruments, delivering discoveries about the magnetosphere, solar wind, planetary environs, and the edge of the solar system.

Summary

Los Alamos has built more magnetospheric and solar wind instruments than any other institute worldwide. The Vela satellites discovered the Earth’s plasma sheet, a foundational cornerstone of magnetospheric science, and heavy ions in the solar wind. Ulysses, the only solar wind mission to orbit over the poles of the Sun, found that the solar wind from the poles is responsible for up to 70% of the plasma filling the heliosphere. Cassini, in orbit around Saturn, discovered water geysers on the moon Enceladus, indicating that the moon has a warm water ocean beneath its icy surface, possibly harboring life. Genesis brought a sample of the solar wind home to Earth. The Van Allen Probes revealed how local wave-particle interactions can suddenly accelerate electrons within the Earth’s radiation belts to become energetic enough to kill orbiting satellites. The IBEX mission mapped the heliosphere, where the solar wind crashes into interstellar space.

Contributing author

Ed Fenimore 

References

The Vela-2A/B spacecraft showed that energetic electrons cluster around the geomagnetic equatorial plane, providing first observational evidence for the existence of the magnetospheric plasma sheet. 

1. Spatial distribution, energy spectra, and time variations of energetic electrons (E > 50 kev) at 17.7 earth radii. Montgomery, M. D., S. Singer, J. P. Conner, and E. E. Stogsdill. Physical Review Letters 14 (1965): 209.
2. Characteristics of the plasma sheet in the earth's magnetotail. Bame, S. J., J. R. Asbridge, H. E. Felthauser, E. W. Hones Jr., and I. B. Strong. Journal of Geophysical Research 72  (1967): 113.

The plasma sheet was also found to be located around the ‘neutral sheet’ region of magnetic field reversal, and it was discovered that it can thicken and thin together with substorm activity. Discovery of earthward, tailward flows in the plasma sheet associated with magnetic reconnection and plasmoid evolution were also made with Vela.

3. Substorm variations of the magnetotail plasma sheet from XSM ˜, -6 RE to XSM ˜ -60 RE. Hones Jr., E. W., J. R. Asbridge, S. J. Bame, and S. Singer. Journal of Geophysical Research 78 (1973): 109.

Higher energy electrons did not move from a region outside the belts slowly toward Earth but were accelerated locally (probably by electromagnetic waves) gaining energy levels that can be lethal to satellites (Reeves et al., Science, 2013).

4. Electron Acceleration in the Heart of the Van Allen Radiation Belts. Reeves, G. D. et al. Science 341 (2013): 991–994 

A Los Alamos instrument on the Cassini mission to the Saturn system discovered water-group ions that originated from the icy Moon Enceladus.

5. Cassini detection of water-group pick-up ions in the Enceladus torus. Tokar, R. L., et al. Geophysical Research Letters 35 (2008): L14202. 

A Los Alamos neutral atom imager on the IBEX mission detected the footprint of the solar wind interacting with the plasma of interstellar space.

6. Global Observations of the Interstellar Interaction from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX). McComas, D. J., et al.  Science 326 (2009): 959–962.