A powerful new massively parallel computer model for studying subsurface processes in the Earth will be developed by a team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists because of a recently awarded $4 million U.S. Department of Energy grant. The model, called PFLOTRAN, will enable geoscience researchers to obtain more accurate predictive capabilities for the movement of underground contaminants.
DOE announced the award as part of $60 million in grants for 30 Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) projects over the next three to five years. The Los Alamos-led Multiscale-Multiphase-Multicomponent Subsurface Reactive Flows modeling effort will receive $800,000 a year for five years. Los Alamos members of the team include Peter Lichtner, J. David Moulton, and Bobby Philip.
According to Lichtner, the project's principal investigator, "Predictive modeling of reactive subsurface flows is a daunting task, chiefly because of the range of spatial scales that are involved (from the tiniest pores in the rock to field scales) and the range of time scales involved (from seconds to millions of years). Currently, large-scale three-dimensional models can usually only resolve features down to the order of meters, which makes capturing phenomena at smaller scales, such as millimeters or less, pretty difficult. The modeling process we propose is designed to change that by providing multiscale modeling capabilities at various spatial scales."
The enhanced modeling capabilities that will result from this work could have many applications, including improving scientist's understanding of radionuclide migration at DOE's Hanford facility, where submillimeter-scale transfer effects have thwarted some cleanup efforts. It might also be used for modeling the sequestration of carbon dioxide in deep geologic formations, where a better understanding of underground gas flow patterns is necessary to describe the carbon dioxide dissipation rate.
Other organizations collaborating with Los Alamos on the project include Argonne, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest national laboratories, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
DOE's SciDAC program was launched in 2001 to develop new tools and techniques for advancing scientific research through computer simulation in all mission areas of DOE's Office of Science. More information about the program is available at www.scidac.gov online.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.